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June 21, 2013
How much would you pay to see your side play in a Rugby World Cup final? © Getty Images
£715 for a World Cup final ticket in 2015. Don't say you weren't warned. Debbie Jevans, ER2015 chief executive, must think we were born yesterday - and have made bundles of money overnight.
Announcing this news two days before the first Lions Test looks like a cynical attempt to bury bad news. The assurance that tickets will still be available for £7 is utterly irrelevant, except probably to a handful of children in Milton Keynes, where the least attractive pool match will be played.
Regardless of Ms Jevans claim that she is "passionate about having those lower prices" that will apparently be subsidised by eye-watering prices for the final and other major matches, the situation has arisen from a string of cock-ups.
1. ER2015 agreed to an absurd £80 million ticketing guarantee to the IRB at the outset. No other potential host nation could come close to that figure.
2. The £80 million was agreed on the basis of selling around three million tickets, at a time when there was no arrangement to stage matches in venues big enough to accommodate such numbers. Assumptions must have been made on the availability of Wembley and Old Trafford, which were incorrect.
3. Consequently, when the venues were announced on May 2, 2013, the number of tickets had reduced to 2.6 million. Now, without explanation, it has dropped to 2.3 million. What has happened to 300,000 tickets?
4. Without being bailed out by Cardiff's willingness to host eight matches outside England, the situation would be considerably worse.
With ticket prices so astronomic, it is essential that a system of exchanging them legally during the knock-out stages of the tournament is put in place. There is no mention of such a scheme. Working from the Olympic ticketing model simply won't suffice for a knock-out tournament. All the talk of eliminating touts will come to nothing if fans are stuck with the wrong tickets for quarter-finals and semi-finals, as is bound to happen with pool results unknown.
Anyone stuck with a £715 ticket for a final that his team doesn't reach should be excused for wanting to sell it. In Sydney, after the semi-finals in 2003, the streets were awash with New Zealanders offloading final tickets, all gratefully taken up by English and Australians. Technically, that wasn't allowed, but a World Cup final watched by corporates and disinterested neutrals would be scandalous.
June 19, 2013
The devaluing of an international cap
Wales ... or rather Wales B ... look dejected after losing to Japan © Getty Images
In eight international matches played to date this month by the four home nations, 31 players have made their debuts. Squads of B-list players under the tutorship of interim coaches have travelled the world, mostly playing tier two nations.
Hidden by the vast shadow of the Lions tour to Australia, these low-profile internationals perform a valuable function in terms of development. With the 2015 Rugby World Cup looming, all four unions will have learned something about their youngsters and, crucially, discovered whether they have strength in depth.
England's second string beat Argentina twice without being severely tested, because Argentina, in turn, fielded a team lacking its French-based first choice players. Stuart Lancaster took stop-gap coaches while Messrs Farrell and Rowntree worked with the Lions and, appropriately enough, the BBC sent its B-list summarisers to accompany Eddie Butler. A development opportunity for everyone, and wasn't Andy Robinson a breath of fresh air? Full of insight and constructive comment, pleasantly lacking the ref-bashing rants BBC viewers have endured for several years.
Scotland's defeats to Samoa and South Africa saw nine new caps and a string of injuries, while Ireland left USA and Canada feeling lucky to have notched two wins.
Wales, the most depleted by Lions calls, suffered ignominy in Japan, if anyone takes these results seriously. Which is the point, because no-one really does. All these matches mean nothing in the context of this year's Six Nations or next year's. They mean nothing in terms of where any nation stands in the world order of rugby because there were so many absentees and other mitigating factors. As a result they mean little or nothing to the public.
Yet, in terms of international cap accumulation, running on as a replacement for Ireland in Toronto last weekend carries the same weight as being in Wales' Six Nations winning team or taking on the Wallabies in Brisbane this weekend. The currency of international appearances, already battered by the introduction of more and more replacements, is further devalued by the pretence that this summer's tours are anything like the real thing.
Recognition as a full international should come when both nations field their strongest team, with injury or suspension being the only factors preventing a player's selection. These tours, while undeniably valuable development, should be classed as nothing more than that.
The 31 players newly capped this month will be proud of their achievement, but deep down they, their families and their friends know that they are not proper internationals until they are picked when everybody is available.
June 14, 2013
Are Lions fans getting a raw deal? © Getty Images
In my provincial market town is an old-fashioned cinema, modest in every way and lacking the high-tech equipment of the big city movie centres. Sweets and soft drinks are available at the same window as the tickets. Our box office manager/confectioner morphs into a projectionist at show time. The people watch a film, then leave. It is quite possible to be in the building for three minutes longer than a film and miss nothing. Locals love it for it's simplicity and convenience, and tolerate the iffy sound quality.
Half an hour's drive away is a modern cinema. To watch a film, you first have to negotiate a one-way system, a multi-storey car park, walk through a shopping centre, buy extortionate tickets, avoid rip-off popcorn and drinks, watch endless adverts for things you don't want and trailers for films you would never watch, while being deafened by a sound system that you only wish was iffy. When the film starts 40 minutes later than advertised, mild grumpiness is understandable.
The rugby world is currently stuck watching the trailers. So exhausting has the preamble been, however, that viewers could be excused if they just gave up and went home. The Lions fanfare, already a year long, is falling flat because the sponsors and brand pedlars driving the event failed to ensure there would be worthwhile rugby to watch outside the Tests.
The rugby is the one thing the money men currently can't control, but like the cinema film, it's the only thing the public are interested in and, so far, it's been rubbish. Yes, the match against Queensland Reds was competitive. Fantastic in the context of the other three games, but we are surely clutching at straws. Tours of old had their soft games, but those were tours of 22-30 matches that had time for a bit of everything in the amateur days.
We have players who describe tour selection as the pinnacle of their careers playing against patchwork teams of amateurs and apprentices who might have a more even contest if they played against the Lions' supporters instead. If selection is the pinnacle, it is a scandal that some of the players will return from the tour not having played against any team better than Bedford, with due respect to Bedford.
The reasons for such woeful spectacles of warm up matches are well rehearsed, but after so much hype, such extended, sponsor driven build-up and the Herculean efforts of the players just to get on the tour, it's easy to wonder if it's all worth it and if Australia is worthy of hosting Lions tours. After all, the World Cup is rugby's main event.
Much of this will be forgotten if we witness a blockbuster Test series with the Lions winning the final game and the series by a point after a Campese-style cock-up from whoever wears Quade Cooper's shirt.
But it should be remembered when planning future tours and the hosts, who make a fortune from these tours, should be contractually obliged to provide respectable opponents for the players and something worth watching for the rest of us. If they can't provide local opposition, they should hire it from, for example, the Pacific island nations.
The main event had better be worth the long wait.
Comments (0) British & Irish Lions
June 6, 2013
Brian O'Driscoll spearheaded the Lions' victory over the Western Force on Wednesday © Getty Images
For years the sporting world has looked Australia's way for excellence. At times those glances became envious when Australia was at or near the top of the pile in both forms of rugby, cricket, hockey, swimming, tennis, sailing, to name a few.
In 2000 Sydney hosted what were, for just under 12 years, universally regarded as the best Olympic games ever. When English children wanted to be John Eales, Adam Gilchrist, Kathy Freeman or Ian Thorpe, it was almost understandable, if hard to excuse.
English sports fans who have regular contact with Australians have been accustomed to mockery and bombastic, domineering statements since the dawn of electronic communication, and some time before then. That's all stopped now, replaced by apologetic and self-flagellatory mutterings and gloomy predictions for all that lies ahead.
We English should be loving it, and many certainly are taking the frequent opportunities to repay some of the 'banter' we have endured in the last 25 years. Surely it's wrong to feel sympathy for our Australian cousins, yet they come across as bereft, being unaccustomed to such widespread sporting mediocrity.
In Perth on Wednesday, Western Force conceded more points on a rugby field (69) than Australia's cricketers scored runs the previous day (65). They have excuses, but when were excuses an integral part of the Aussie sporting psyche? Both matches were warm-ups for bigger events, but Australians don't play friendlies at any level.
The Socceroos are shadows of their recent selves, tennis players don't get near the second week of a Grand Slam tournament and, last heard, Mark Webber was moaning about all things concerning the Monaco Grand Prix.
When Chinese and South Korean badminton players were sent home from London 2012 for not trying, some wags suggested double standards were at work while the Australian team was allowed to stay. The word toxic was used about the culture of the swimming team, just as it was by Quade Cooper about the Wallaby squad he is, absurdly, no longer part of.
In the year of a Lions tour and back-to-back Ashes series, British and Irish sports fans look to be in for a spell of domination like never before, but it's an uneasy feeling; there must be more to Australian sport than we are currently seeing.
The Lions can only play the opposition put in front of them. They did the job in Perth, and are not to blame that it was as dreary to watch as the Hong Kong exercise. If Saturday's match in Queensland doesn't provide a stiffer test, questions should be asked about the value and status of Lions tours, for while host countries can't or won't provide respectable opposition prior to the Tests, it's not so much an honour as a chore for players and spectators alike.
Robbie Deans' witterings about the Lions 'getting a bit attitude' from Western Force and being taken apart 'limb by limb' sound desperate and hollow now. It's time for Australia to show some substance, some pride, some backbone, all those characteristics we used to fear and, quietly, admire.
Comments (4) British & Irish Lions
June 2, 2013
Lions scrum-half Mike Phillips races away to score a try against the Barbarians in Hong Kong © Getty Images
If you dread an event badly enough and for long enough, (a gathering of the global extensions of the in-laws for instance) the reality, when it comes, is often far less ghastly than anticipated.
Conversely, when something as over-hyped as this Lions tour has been for so long finally hatches into real men in red shirts playing rugby, it can feel like something of a damp squib.
So it was on Saturday as the tour finally got underway in what must have been a sponsor-driven, fairly useless curtain-raiser in Hong Kong.
International cricket teams touring England used to start with a glorified net against Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI at Arundel Castle. The Duchess considerately selected a gaggle of has-beens and never-will-bes intended to offer little resistance to the visitors (though they beat the 1981 Australians), money was raised for charity and lashings of Pimm's consumed. Quaint, but irrelevant.
What we learned from this weekend's Hong Kong stopover was no more telling than Kepler Wessels bowling a maiden over for Australia against the Duchess's XI in 1985.
It was hot and humid, the Barbarians concept doesn't work in the professional era, Jamie Roberts is good, Owen Farrell is a petulant brat and Joe Rokocoko is still one of the best. Nothing new there.
What we did learn is that to wag a finger at an opponent before swallow-diving in for a try is absolutely fine if you are Mike Phillips, but two wholly unnacceptable, disrespectful examples of how rugby is nose-diving into the darkest recesses of football's behavioural cesspit if your name is Armitage or Ashton. Good thing Rokocoko hasn't attended the Brian Moore school of 'chinning'.
And for all the column miles that have been written about the Lions' essential absence of national identity in favour of the ultimate team ethic, TV viewers in the UK were subjected to the normally steadfast Stuart Barnes banging on incessantly about how well Wales were doing.
Indeed they were, against scratch opponents who also took a pasting from England's second string a week earlier. The real business of the tour can't come soon enough.
Comments (2) British & Irish Lions
May 29, 2013
There's just no getting over the fact that his name will keep being mentioned ... © Getty Images
The long weekend prompted the barmy suggestion to predict the Lions starting XV for the third Test in Sydney on July 6.
The Crooked Feed habitually scoffs at endless media pre-selections which are based on form snapshots and often taken far too seriously by self-styled selectors and readers alike.
What follows is not a selection, more a series of guesses as to which players will be a/ not injured, b/ in form and c/ in favour with Gatland in six weeks time. Further, it is the work of a committee of three who acknowledge that committees, in general, don't work.
15 Halfpenny
Rationale - Lydiate will break down so the flankers pick themselves. Heaslip will get injured , Ben Morgan will have played blinders for England on tour and get drafted in and then - on form- selected as No.8 for the Test side by the last game. O'Connell will provide the bulk and Parling will run the line out. With 'old' second rows we'll see Stevens on as the most mobile prop. Jones is a certainty and Best the best hooker. Cole and Tom Youngs on the bench.
Ben Youngs is the best scrum half. Sexton will be a playmaker relying on Halfpenny to kick.
Injuries will bring Wilkinson on tour. He will be on the subs bench and will come on to win the game.
We'd be interested to see your predictions for the third Test.
Comments (4) British & Irish Lions
May 21, 2013
Armitage, the wave and the s*** book
Delon Armitage dives over for Toulon's try in the Heineken Cup final © Getty Images
Delon Armitage has shown himself to be an impulsive clown on many occasions, most recently by waving at an opponent in the Heineken Cup final. Unfortunately for him, Armitage has enemies with keyboards just waiting to pounce.
Brian Moore, one-time master of winding up opponents, advocated violence as his response of choice. Which is obviously far more acceptable than a cheeky little wave.
Armitage's wave was unnecessary and very easy to spot as he approached the try line. Moore, who condemns the hypocrisy of others countless times in the 's*** book' at which Armitage later had a rather feeble pop, had the luxury of close-quarter encounters to bait his opponents, unseen by the cameras.
Moore's playing career is littered with tales of violent conflict, sometimes without obvious cause. Just read the 's*** book' for examples, the 1989 Lions tour and the 1992 France v England match to name a couple. Whiter than white, Brian? Probably not.
As a player, Moore loved to get under the skin of his opponents. Now, almost 20 years after retirement, he's still at it, provoking Armitage to a furious reaction.
One of the enduring mysteries of rugby union is the thugs/gentlemen relationship. The violence frequently dished out during Moore's time, and to a lesser degree now, was often pre-meditated, dangerous and yet considered an acceptable part of a contact sport. A mildly disrespectful raising of one hand, however, is seriously bad.
The 's*** book' is actually a damned good read, but the carping about others' hypocrisy looks a bit thin now.
May 15, 2013
Wilkinson odds on to play Lions Test
Not convinced by all the 'Jonny Wilkinson won't go on the Lions tour' talk? Not fooled by the selection of only two fly halves in the party?
Neither are the bookmakers.
One leading bookmaker has Wilkinson at odds of 10/11 to be in the match day 23 for any of the Lions Tests. More than that, England's 2003 World Cup winner is 9/4 to score a drop goal in a Lions Test.
For a player who was unavailable for selection, probably needs surgery during the summer and says his body requires "day-to-day management", these odds suggest that that bookmaker knows something that many suspect.
Right now Australians are sniggering into their schooners of fizzy beer as Owen Farrell's game has disintegrated before he was even measured up for his tour kit.
But Aussies fear winners. They will stop laughing if Jonny turns up with his boots in late June, as seems increasingly likely.
May 9, 2013
Lucky Lancaster in the right place
Jonny May could get his chance to shine in Argentina © Getty Images
About 124 weeks from now is the day of reckoning. England will play Wales in the World Cup Pool A match at Twickenham. With due respect to everything that passes between now and then, September 26 2015 must be the focal point of everything Stuart Lancaster and England do.
A daft seeding system means that one of England, Wales and Australia will be eliminated at the pool stage of the World Cup. Meanwhile, a quarter final is all but guaranteed for Samoa or Scotland in Pool B. Goldfish could devise a better system, but that's another story.
Lancaster's decision to use the upcoming Argentina tour for development is excellent, and not only because he's taking a handful of wings that will put Chris Ashton's recent performances into perspective. This summer is his chance to steal a march on Wales and Australia while they concentrate on the shorter term issues presented by the Lions tour.
Whatever disappointment some players felt when omitted by the Celtic-eyed Gatland, if England beat Wales and Australia to win Pool A in 2015 on the way to something special, they won't care about the Lions. There are enough England players and coaches on the Lions trip to examine Gatland's methods, Wales' players and, to a lesser degree, Australia. Good homework.
Simultaneously, key men like Robshaw, Care and Flood are resting (subject to Lions injuries) while Lancaster grooms England's puppies in Argentina.
England are well placed to prepare thoroughly for the biggest event of their careers. Had things gone differently in Cardiff at the end of the Six Nations, Lions selection and the current picture would be very different. For now, however, it is coming together like a plan.
Wales lost narrowly, but repeatedly, in Australia last summer. If they win this summer with a few ringers from the other home nations, I hope they remember who to thank.
May 7, 2013
Premiership's poor relation makes dignified exit
Tom Arscott crosses for London Welsh in the final match of their season © Getty Images
Before we get wrapped up in the Aviva Premiership play-offs, spare a thought for London Welsh. Relegated after one season blighted by harsh treatment, employee fraud and bad luck, Welsh managed to retain their dignity and give a good account of themselves on the field.
The odds of survival were stacked heavily against them from the start. Their playing budget was dwarfed by other Premiership clubs and they had only a few weeks to recruit a squad after legal prevarication delayed confirmation of their promotion.
Their final match at their temporary home in Oxford, a 33-22 win over Worcester, saw the players show the fighting spirit expressed by everyone involved at London Welsh over the past year.
Players and backroom staff are leaving out of necessity, CEO Tony Copsey's short tenure didn't stretch to the end of the season and their major financial backer, Kelvin Bryon, recently reached the end of his tether. Deducted five league points by an RFU panel for the Mike Scott fraud event over the registration of scrum-half Tyson Keats, there was nothing left to smile about.
Lyn Jones' nomination for Director of Rugby of the Year speaks volumes for what has been achieved on a financial shoestring. Among the many strengths the Aviva Premiership boasts is the relative parity of the teams; any team can beat any other on their day. Welsh achieved five wins (and seven defeats narrow enough to earn them a losing bonus point) despite the inequitable distribution of funding among the clubs. Short of ending promotion and relegation altogether, the Premiership is about as closed as a shop can be. There are lessons to be learned.
Injustices and unfair financial arrangements aside, London Welsh should be congratulated on punching above their weight in the Premiership. They kept smiling when it seemed impossible, and though it is hard to see them getting back to the top flight any time soon, there are surely enough guts and spirit in the club for them not to slide into oblivion as Orrell has.

subset: commoncrawl


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With former coach Pop Warner looking on from the heavens, the Temple University Owls dodged the raindrops and hit the field at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium to take on the 10th ranked and hungry for respect University of Louisville Cardinals. It was high stakes for the Cards with their undefeated streak on the line, especially considering that a win gives them their first 9-0 start in school history. That came true with a 45-17 shellacking of the Owls.
It didn't start well. The Cardinal special teams gave up a touchdown on the opening kickoff for the first time since 1978 and took the air out of the crowd 10 seconds into the game. Louisville answered by driving the field for the equalizer and both teams traded scores for a while. The Cards did it with crisp Teddy Bridgewater passing and a tough running game. For Temple, their strength is running the ball and they piled up yards in big chunks. So much so that they should consider running the wishbone offense because they do well on the ground.
Bridgewater went to the locker room with 228 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. More importantly, his play, as well as the rest of the offense got the 12th man back into the game. That kind of energy fuels the Cards. At the opening of the second half, Louisville needed that shot. The Owl run defense played a solid game, but it still couldn't contain the Louisville attack. The third quarter domination was emphatic with the Cards adding 14 points to the score while keeping Temple from gaining anything resembling momentum.
After that kind of performance, Bridgewater left the game to avoid injury. And even though he didn't play the last 11 minutes, it was a career day, coming up with 324 yards and 5 touchdowns. Meanwhile the defense held the lead with Marcus Smith getting a sack and forcing a fumble. Hakeem Smith recovered another. And special teams didn't cost Louisville the game, as it looked like it might have at the start.
Temple looked like they were uncovering a Cardinal Achilles's heel with the running yardage they piled up in the first half, but out of the locker room the Cards stiffened, made adjustments and played one of their better halves of football to end the game. Special teams remained an adventure through the entire game and will have to be shored up if the Cards expect to win by comfortable margins.
Louisville goes on the road for its next contest, heading to Syracuse next Saturday. They return to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium November 24th to conclude the home schedule by taking on Connecticut.
Photos: Louisville.com/Tim Girton


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Zurich, Switzerland (Sports Network) - FIFA announced Tuesday that it has
decided to uphold the result from Friday's CONCACAF World Cup qualifier
between the United States and Costa Rica, which ended in a 1-0 win for the
Costa Rica lodged a formal protest of the result, pleading that the
accumulated snow made for unplayable conditions. But the world governing body
has thrown out the complaint and upheld the final score.
"FIFA has examined the content of the letter and, taking into consideration
article 14, paragraph 4 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup regulations, has confirmed
that the conditions established in the regulations for an official protest
have not been met by the Costa Rica [Football Association]," read a statement
on FIFA's official website. "Therefore, the result of the match played on 22
March stands and is considered as valid."
Both nations return to qualifying action on Tuesday as Costa Rica hosts
Jamaica and the U.S. heads to Mexico.
The Sports Network


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HANLIN-SHEPHERD, Emma June, age 90, of North Lawrence, OH and formerly of Canton, passed away on Wednesday, January 16, 2013.
She was born in Wheeling, WV on September 30, 1922, to the late, Maurice and Sereta Moore.
She was a graduate of Capital University and Case Western Reserve.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William McKinley "Mac" Shepherd; and brothers, Henry and Carl.
Emma is survived by her children, Bruce (Diana) Shepherd of North Lawrence and with whom she resided, and William "Frank" (Vicki) Shepherd of Westerville, OH; stepdaughter, Joan (Russ) Garner of Canton; grand children, Christopher (Amy), Wesley (Erin), Justin, Heather, Brandon and Stephanie Shepherd, Shawn and Kevin (Tarah) Carnes; great grandchildren, Brody, Morgan, Caden, Wyatt, Chloe, Izabella, Juliana, Lucas and Quinton.
She was a longtime member of Zion Lutheran Church of Canton.
Funeral services will be Monday at 12 p.m. in the Reed Funeral Home Canton Chapel, with Pastor Timothy J. Hull of Cornerstone Community Church in Dalton, officiating. Burial will follow in Sunset Hills Burial Park.
Visitation will be two hours prior to the service from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Brenn-Field Nursing Center, Orville, OH or to a charity of your choice.
Those wishing to send condolences or share a fond memory, may sign the Reed On-Line Guestbook at www.reedfuneralhome.com.


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text:
Moderators: IVhorseman, Pwnerade
stubby wrote:You were inb4beluga.
aoffan23 wrote:stubby wrote:The dice pool would work, but it's just equivalent to what he would have if he were a SuperNatural unit. It means that there'd be no difference between killing an enemy Leader or killing some random enemy 3d6 wizard. It doesn't make him feel particularly important.
Maybe have the same dice pool as a penalty? While the leader is still alive, they grant the bonus dice. If they die, then the opponent who killed them gets to use those dice to penalize units however they see fit. So let's go with the 3d6 example, and say the opponent (after killing the leader) rolls a 5, a 3, and a 1. Again, I haven't read up on SuperNatural Dice, but I assume 1s are crit fails as always. So the player uses the 5 to stop a unit of regular minifigs from moving (-5"), the 3 to make a tank gunner miss (-3 to skill, assuming the skill roll is low enough), and the last die does nothing.
It would be pretty cool to see a player scramble to enough units work together to make it so that at least one unit could avoid a negative effect. It's the kind of desperation you'd see if an army lost their most valuable commander.
aoffan23 wrote:Just thought about how overpowered that effect could become, but I think I know a way around it. On the first turn after the leader dies, the opponent can use the full dice pool. Every turn afterward, they remove one die from the pool until there are none remaining, and the force has successfully regrouped. More powerful leaders will have much more dire consquences, and the player will feel it for more turns.
Tzan wrote:Quantumsurfer wrote:I generally agree with TzanWarhead wrote:I agree with QuantumSmurfer.
I agree with Warhead.
Warhead wrote:my head burns with War.
IVhorseman wrote:To oppressive. If two people had leaders like that, they'd just use both of them to slow down each other's combat: Hell no.
Tzan wrote:Quantumsurfer wrote:I generally agree with TzanWarhead wrote:I agree with QuantumSmurfer.
I agree with Warhead.
Warhead wrote:my head burns with War.
Han Solo wrote: Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side kid.
lawmaster wrote:Kill him again.Bragallot wrote:He's already dead.lawmaster wrote:Kill the guy I'm in cc with.
stubby wrote:The unit's CP cost is immediately converted into Instant Benny bonus points which can be divided up and spent during that turn by the Leader and/or any other subordinate units.
Warhead wrote:my head burns with War.
stubby wrote:You were inb4beluga.
Arkbrik wrote:Both Vermin and Cannon Fodder has 1d6 Skill.
Warhead wrote:my head burns with War.
stubby wrote:Civilians have a d4 and they're TOTALLY sacrificable.
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text:
The Republican vice presidential candidate spoke at a rally Monday at Johnson's Corner north of Denver.
Ryan's visit comes after 1.6 million Coloradans cast their vote early, including 35 percent from Democrats and 37 percent from Republicans.
President Barack Obama spoke before 20,000 supporters at a rally Sunday in Aurora in his final stop in Colorado before Election Day.
He said Aurora knows about tragedy after this summer's shooting at a theater left 12 people dead and 58 injured.
He accused Mitt Romney of trying to hide his positions and pretending to be the candidate of change. Romney capped off his Colorado campaign with a rally in Englewood Saturday night.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Denver's Peyton Manning-led offense gets all
the attention, but the Broncos have reportedly suffered a big blow on defense.
Starting cornerback Chris Harris suffered a torn ACL in Sunday's win over the
Chargers, according to the Denver Post.
Harris was hurt in the third quarter and was replaced by Quentin Jammer. The
paper said an MRI exam on Monday confirmed that Harris tore his ACL.
That means the Broncos must play without one of their most valuable defensive
players against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
The 24-year-old Harris had 65 tackles, 13 passes defensed and three
interceptions during the regular season. With Champ Bailey out for much of the
season, Harris became an important part of Denver's secondary.
The Sports Network


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I have several nikon scopes with BDC reticles.The reticle seems to work well.I am just wondering how many on Eastmans are using them?
I have several nikon scopes with BDC reticles.The reticle seems to work well.I am just wondering how many on Eastmans are using them?
The only nikon scope I have is on my 22-250, It's the coyote special retical, alittle different than the regular BDC's
-NRA Life Member
I have a BDC ratical and use the spot on app. It works very well and takes out the guessing. I shoot a lot further then I ever thought would with a light hunting rifle.
I use it and it works great
I use it for varmints. But as with any retical you need to verify the drops. And if you plan on using them only do it on max magnification. So you don't get confused.
I was using it last night for 2 Nikon scopes. A Buckmaster 6-18SF BDC and a M223 2-8. I was using the 53gr V-Max 223. It was interesting to set the wind and use the different charts. There must have been more than 10 reports you can generate for your load. Reports like trajectory, energy, drop, time in flight and a couple others.
I have been using spot on with my t/c omega topped with the Nikon omega since last summer. On paper it has been working pretty nice out to 200 yes. I haven't tried farther than that yet. The one thing that is a little tricky is each magnification point is different from the another. So 3x zoom will be different from 5x which will be different than 7x etc.


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Quality Turquoise Pendants area specialty of Durango Silver Company. We use exceptional quality authentic Turquoise and handcrafted Sterling Silver and/or Gold on request to make some of the most unique and unusual Southwestern Turquoise Pendants coming out of the Southwestern United States today.
We are one of the very few companies in the Southwestern U.S. that puts quality above quantity. We do not mass produce our Jewelry or buy our stones in bulk from China! We have a forty year old collection of high grade Turquoise including Bisbee Turquoise, Morenci Turquoise, Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, Kingman Turquoise, Blue Gem Turquoise, Royston Turquoise, Tortoise Turquoise, Lander County Turquoise, Carico Lake Turquoise, Lookout Mountain Spiderweb Turquoise, Blue Wind Spiderweb Turquoise, Tibetan Spiderweb Turquoiseand more. We own one of the largest Bisbee Turquoise Collections on earth and Bisbee Turquoise is the best Turquoise America has to offer.
We are presently working on the Lookout Mountain Turquoise Mine excavating the finest Spiderweb Turquoise the world has seen in the past 75 years! To the left is a photo of Lookout Mountain Spiderweb Turquoise that will be available soon from Durango Silver Company. This Turquoise is 100% natural sky blue in color with red to black spiderweb matrix.
This is the finest Turquoise available today and is a #6 in hardness on the Moh's scale – Our quality Turquoise Pendents will be available with Lookout Mountain Spiderweb Turquoise soon. We already have a waiting list, mostly from very well known Indian Traders and Collectors so get on the list soon if you are a connoisseur of the ultimate Turquoise.
We invite you to take a look at our quality Turquoise Pendants presentation page.


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The Fourth of July is your favorite holiday! Now you can sport the stars and bars and still rep Houston all year round. Grab the Stars and Stripes tee and you'll have all your bases covered. It features the Texans wordmark overlaying the stars and stripes giving you a chance to cheer on USA and the Texans at the same time!
- 50% Cotton/50% Polyester
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Customized items can be personalized with options such as your name, your favorite number, and/or designs. Some options may be limited by league rules.


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Weather Forecast
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Calendar of Events
- 15 Thu Nov 2012
Rachael Yamagata
Rachael Yamagata, the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter from Virginia, is set to launch her upcoming fall tour in Vancouver on November 15th.
With an always-impeccable live show, Rachael Yamagata is sure to wow Vancouver crowds when she visits the Electric Owl on November 15th. Her latest album release, last fall's Chesapeake, was a great showcase of Yamagata's appeal to listeners of all ages. The Vancouver show will be the first of a string of North American dates.


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London, England (Sports Network) - The pass-run combination of Tom Brady and Stevan Ridley proved to be too overpowering for the St. Louis Rams' defense.
Brady threw four touchdown passes, Ridley totaled 127 yards and a score on the ground and the New England Patriots engineered a tremendous all-around effort in a 45-7 rout at Wembley Stadium.
New England (5-3) reached the end zone on each of its first five possessions and set an NFL record by accumulating more than 350 yards of offense for the 17th consecutive game. The Patriots, who finished with 473 yards on Sunday, broke a tie with the 1999-2000 Rams.
Brady had 304 yards and connected on 23-of-35 throws, eight of which were caught by Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski ended with 146 yards and two touchdowns.
The Sports Network


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Dakar: most epic motorcycle race on Earth. Dakar: too big, too wild and too much for even its organizers to cover effectively. A list of names next to a list of times does little to capture the sheer magnitude of the undertaking. 5,000km, off-road, in 14 days. A minute-long video recap can't do it justice, but somehow, frozen in time, images seem too.
Take this shot for example. That's just a top-down image of Juan Pedrero sliding his KTM 450 Rally on the very edge of a hundred foot precipice. An inch further and he'd be dead. Here's nine more like it.
Photos: Red Bull/KTM
Francisco Lopez, on his Aprilia RXV450, powers his way through a depression full of soft sand. All that is being kicked up by just his little rear tire alone.
This one is similar to what we try to do with photography on HFL. It's not just a big going fast, the bike is just one object that's part of a landscape, conveying a real sense of unique location and experience that's about way more than high shutter speeds and close crops.
Uncommon perspective always helps make a good photo, as do interesting scenery and contrasting colors. You almost don't notice that the rider is sitting down, just cruising. It's this kind of alien landscape that makes Dakar photos so unique.
The two secrets to an iconic Dakar image? Scope and speed. This image has both, drama is created by the dust cloud, clearly conveying that the bike is hauling ass, through a barren valley in the absolute middle of nowhere. If I could do something like this every day, I'd be a happy boy indeed.
All 10 shots are available as high-res desktop wallpapers in the gallery.


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Jan 15 2013
Featured Mediterranean House Plan for Large Families
Characteristic of the Mediterranean region as well as the southern states such as Florida and even some regions of California, this Mediterranean house plan boast many recognizable exterior features. Begin with the eye-catching red clay tile roof and the stucco façade. Then notice the arched windows and decorative wrought iron enhance the second floor window/double doors. From the neatly detailed exterior to the elegant and spacious interior, this one-story home plan delivers sophisticated family living. Interesting angles and large windows contribute to a unique yet comfortable atmosphere. Upon entering, a roomy foyer greets all. It quickly introduces the formal gathering spaces where you're sure to host dinner guests and entertain family and friends on holidays. The dining room features a decorative ceiling treatment and stylish columns defining the space while maintaining openness to the living room where large windows and double doors deliver views of the rear yard. Now pay attention to the causal family spaces that team up to create an open area for daily activities and family time. Two islands are better than one in the well-appointed kitchen where you'll also discover a culinary pantry, eating bar, abundant counter space and adjoining nook. The family room connects with the kitchen and nook showcasing a fireplace flanked with built-ins. Along with the nook and formal dining room, you'll find another option for meal time when you take a look at the sweeping covered patio, complete with outdoor kitchen, perfect for summertime barbecues and cookouts with the neighbors. Three family bedrooms and two bathrooms (one can serve as a pool bath easily accessed from the patio) accommodated the children's needs on the right side of the home. These bedrooms are shielded from street noise by the three-car, side-entry garage and laundry room. Don't miss the bonus room above the garage, ideal for a home theater or game room the whole family can enjoy. On the left side of the home, Bedroom 2 delights in a bayed window and enjoys access to a nearby bath. This arrangement is ideal for weekend guests or an aging family member in your care. Your master bedroom is secluded for privacy and loaded with amenities. You'll love the bayed window and luxurious bath delivering pampering features like His and Her walk-in closets, soaking tub, separate shower and dual sinks. Designed with plenty of room for everyone and stylish features that are sure to charm you, this Mediterranean home plan is mixes the best of both worlds – comfortable living and elegant design.
For more information about this Mediterranean house plan, please visit our website. Or browse our entire Mediterranean collection for more options!


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BRUNSWICK, Md. (WUSA) -- Frederick County Sheriff's Office authorities say that a 15-year-old boy has been charged after attacking another boy the same age, in an incident "in the presence of local media personnel."
We have confirmed with our sources that this is the incident involving Brunswick High School student Preston Deener and captured on tape by Hagerstown television station WHAG.
VIDEO: High School Bullying Caught On Tape - WHAG
The incident happened on Monday at the Brunswick Little League Park at 100 A Cummings Drive in Brunswick as Deener was speaking to WHAG about being bullied. Three boys approached him and one boy hit him in the head. Then the boy chased Deener, who ran across the street back on to school property.
We talked to Deener and his mother shortly after the assault. You can see that interview here: http://on.wusa9.com/VZOcNG
In a press release on Friday, authorities do not name either boy involved in the incident. They do say the male who committed the assault was charged via referral to the Department of Juvenile Services with one count of second degree Assault after their investigation was completed on Thursday.
Sheriff's office authorities added that the investigation revealed "was an isolated incident and is unrelated to any previous incidents involving the victim."


text: Joanna Krupa shows off her incredible bikini body as she helps wash fiance Romain Zago's new white Ferrari in Miami. The model, who is the newest cast member on the 'Real Housewives of Miami,' wore a pair of Daisy Dukes before stripping down to her bikini bottoms. Joanna and Romain could be seen playfully spraying each other with the hose and seemed unable to keep their hands off each other, stopping to kiss multiple times. September 9, 2012.


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Hi Zimbra!!
For some reason over the last few weeks we have been flooded with spam that all originates from the extension .Biz ... It is very annoying and has now drawn the ire of my CEO who manages to get several hundred a day. Even though it is unconventional, is it possible to block or reject all email that comes with the extension .biz for example email@example.com or email@example.com? Most of the email domains are masqerading as common and popular email domains except for the 'biz' part.
Any suggestions would be great
PS: I am also open alternative methods that may work. I am not locked into any specific solution.


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Established in 1958 as part of the U.S. Department of Defense, DARPA pursues opportunities for transformational change rather than incremental advances. It does so collaboratively as part of a robust innovation ecosystem that includes academic, corporate, and governmental partners. To fulfill its mission, the Agency relies on diverse performers from throughout this ecosystem to apply multi-disciplinary approaches to both advance knowledge through basic research and create innovative technologies that address current practical problems through applied research. The list of selected opportunities displayed below is provided for convenience. For a complete listing of DARPA opportunities please visit the FedBizOpps website. More
You are now leaving the DARPA.mil website that is under the control and
management of DARPA. The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute
endorsement by DARPA of non-U.S. Government sites or the information,
products, or services contained therein. Although DARPA may or may not
use these sites as additional distribution channels for Department of
Defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of
the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are
provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.
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Get back to doing what you love
We love our customers as much as you love yours. That's why we integrated customer management into the core of our software. PaySimple handles mapping payments to customers, so you can get back to doing what you love.
I'm scared to death of compromising financial information. But, with [PaySimple], it's one thing I don't have to worry about.
Kevin Lamanna - OurHelix
Accept credit cards and eChecks on your iPhone or iPad, or set up auto-pay for recurring customers.
Add a water bottle or t-shirt to an account using the mobile app – no credit card required. Capture touch signatures and send e-receipts.
Showcase your staff & services with beautiful, mobile-friendly booking.
See all appointments for you and your staff in one calendar. Block personal time, set lead times.
Sends automatic follow-ups and reminders with click to cancel or reschedule.
Collect automatically with recurring billing, save time with electronic invoicing, automatic receipts, and automatic reminders.
Customize e-mail templates, receipts, payment reminders, social media plugins and more.
Securely store customer information, payment accounts, and custom fields. Leave data security to us.
Collaborate between other business applications, and we'll help you port over existing customer lists for easy setup.
[My Customers] don't have to bring their payments every time they come in. It's all automated – they love it and I love it.
Dr. Stephanie Harris - Essence Chiropractic Practice
Check out some of our free resources below or visit our blog for more.
November 30, 2015
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smart ™ stroller goes both ways!
verso ™ rear faces the smart™ stroller seat to let baby face you and recline.
Default37.99 Low stock. Ships now
FREE shipping on all orders over € 200.00
It's HOT! because:
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- large, adjustable follow the sun sunhood covers reverse mode too
- swap modes easily with click on, click off quick release
- fits all smart ™ stroller models - just add verso ™!


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Quick Links
Recent News
|Evening Entertainment
Don't forget your evenings! Instead of lounging around in front of the fire, why don't you see a play at Black Bart Theater, or participate in Open Mike Night at the Angels Camp Merc. Silent movies at Ironstone, or Beer Appreciation Night at Alchemy. Check the Visitor's Bureau Calendar for details.


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Home > Television > P > Philly
Scotty Leavenworth
Tom Everett Scott
James Denton
Rick Hoffman
All Cast & Crew >>
Summary:Kathleen Maguire is a year out of law school and steadily building her reputation as a tough, no-nonsense defense attorney in the weathered courtrooms of Philadelphia's City Hall. Kathleen's ex is the formidable, shrewdly arrogant District Attorney, and she's a single mom to a bright 10-year-old son. Kathleen's caseload doubles when her law partner gets shipped off to the sanitarium following weeks on a pill-fed fad diet. Enter the charming Will Froman, a popular young attorney who wants out of the Public Defender's office. He takes opportunistic pity on Kathleen, convincing her that they'd make a good team.


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An event for European Consultants and Systems integrators
IBM Montpellier, France – January 12th – 13th
Organizations today are faced with multiple business challenges. In order to manage growing business demands and complexity, you have to engage new strategies. How can cloud help you approach these new opportunities, and what strategies should you adopt to pursue them? What is the impact to your organization and how will you implement new cloud initiatives? What is your implementation and partnership roadmap that leads to being a successful cloud service provider? This one-and-a-half day workshop will help you address all these questions. It is targeted specifically at Consultants & Systems Integrators. You'll be given presentations of:
_ CSP2 or how IBM can help Consultants and Systems integrators to implement Cloud projects.
_ IBM Cloud Computing strategy and roadmap.
_ Some of our offerings that can help you deploy cloud computing environments for your customers as enhanced Cloud Service
Provider TSAM (Tivoli Service automation Manager) or Cast Iron for hybrid cloud.
_ Virtualization and Cloud Computing
_ A real implementation example
We look forward to meeting you in Montpellier.
Limited seats available, please register via your IBM Representative or Technical Advocate.


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Moscow, Russia (Sports Network) - Andreas Seppi of Italy outlasted Brazil's
Thomaz Bellucci in Sunday's final at the Kremlin Cup.
The second-seeded Seppi rallied past Bellucci, the No. 4 seed, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3),
6-3 to capture his second title of 2012.
The Italian won in Belgrade back in May, then lost to Andy Roddick in
Eastbourne in June and fell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Metz last month. Seppi
improved to 3-3 in career finals.
Bellucci was trying to claim his second title of the year after beating Janko
Tipsarevic in Gstaad back in July. He fell to 3-2 all-time in title matches.
Seppi leads the all-time series with Bellucci by a 2-1 margin.
With the win, Seppi took home $121,520.
The Sports Network


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Seungchun Lim
Sculptures by Seungchun Lim.
images via akive
Sculptures by Seungchun Lim.
images via akive
Otis Hope Carey explores his indigenous heritage in a series that mixes 1960s optical art with themes of home and dreams of safe passage for his ancestors and the Gumbaynggirr people. His first solo exhibition, "NGURAALAMI," will be on display at China Heights Gallery in Surry Hills (Sydney) starting May 27th. More images and video below!
Japanese Artist Motoi Yamamoto's incredible, labyrinthine installations are the result of 45 hours of meticulously piled grains of salt, strewn inside a medieval castle in the South of France. I've posted about his work several times (here, here, here) but I never grow tired of it.
See more images of "Floating Garden" and "Labyrinth" below or as part of the exhibition Univers'sel at Aigues-Mortes until November 30th.
It took the Google Cultural Institute five years to archive 200 artworks in super high resolution (we're talking gigapixels). Now they've scanned 1,000 in just a few months all thanks to a new camera! The device, dubbed the Art Camera, has cut down capture time from a full day to around 30 minutes. With 20 cameras built, Google has been lending them out to major institutions in cities across the globe free of charge!
It is pretty incredible how far you can zoom into the artworks; have a look here. Watch the video below.
A selection of images from Maria Baoli's latest series, which involves a mirrored triangle highlighting simple daily gestures that usually go unnoticed. More images from "Kaleidoscopic" below.
Selection of work by Los Angeles-based illustrator Sally Deng. More images below.


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Employers' Deadline to Inform Employees of Health Exchanges and Cost-Sharing Plans Extended
The March 1 deadline for businesses to notify employees of their benefits cost-sharing plans and government-run health insurance exchanges has been postponed. A new deadline is expected by fall.
The March 1 deadline for businesses to notify employees of health care cost-sharing plans and health insurance exchanges available under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has been pushed back, according to a frequently asked question page posted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The fact sheet states a new official deadline has not been set, but employers should expect it to be sometime in late summer or fall.
Under health care reform, employers are required to provide employees a written notice of coverage options available through the Affordable Care Act. The written notice also must include information from the company explaining how much of the total cost of its employer-offered health plan it will pay. If that number is less than 60 percent of the total cost, employees may be eligible to receive a premium tax credit to purchase a qualified health plan through an exchange established under health care reform act, according to the CMS' FAQ page.
The U.S. Labor Department is considering releasing "model, generic language" to employers as an example for the written notifications they will be required to distribute later this year, according to the fact sheet.
The March 1 deadline has been postponed to allow for a smoother transition to the government-run exchanges, and so the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service will be able to provide employers with more education and guidance on how to compose the written notifications, the fact page states.
Max Mihelich is Workforce's editorial intern. Comment below or email email@example.com.


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Looks like most of your attachments went kaput, would love to see them though.
The small village of Adabastrium, in the Everoak Forest. The Nastrills and the Giteaus enstablished there when they found a deposit of Adabastrium, a metal hard as iron and with alabaster-like patterns. Nastrills were miners, while Giteaus were blacksmiths. Afterwards the Wookcook, a farmer's family, enstablished in the nearby. Some foreigners later enstablished their homes in Adabastrium, hit by the cleaningness of the village and the continuous coming and going of visitors.
Nowaday the comunity is rich and lead by the 3 houseolders from the Inn of the Lucky Miner.
This is a "complete" work, ready to be used in a session with my group.
Step 1: hand-drawn map:
Step 2: scanned image and redrawn using photoshop:
Step 3: 2d to 3d with sketchup:
Step 4: final version, with 2d and 3d together and a legend: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3206226/Adabastrio%20(1).jpg
If I will go over this project again i will add the icons to the actual map (non only the legend), but for now i think it's enough.
Pcs will arrive late in the town and will go to the Inn for a bed. The mourning after they will leave the village, but after a few time they will arrive at the town again. Something is causing the village to be in a parallel universe that has the shape of a sphere. It work like the town in the recent fringe episode. PCs will have to investigate to find what's holding Adabastrium in this spherical universe. (hint: i really like Carrie)
Last edited by David Corsalini; 03-09-2012 at 12:33 PM.
Looks like most of your attachments went kaput, would love to see them though.
Edited the first post with working attachments.


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The idea of being paid to eat sounds great doesn't it? It will sound even better once you find out that this South Korean woman makes over $9000 a month just for eating dinner. I know what you're thinking– where are the job applications!?
But before you go and quit your day job to become a full-time eater, you should probably know that there's a catch. Seo Yeon Park, the beautiful 33-year-old who makes a living off of eating, must spend her dinnertime in front of a webcam to appease hundreds of adoring fans.
A little awkward? You bet.
But many of the Koreans who tune into Seo Yeon Park's live-channel argue that paying to watch Seo Yeon eat is perfectly reasonable. We want to emphasize that although Park is noticeably attractive, there is no nudity or sex involved. Many people are quick to assume that her popularity is due to some strange fetish among viewers, but fans argue that they primarily watch Seo Yeon Park to heal their loneliness and their hunger pangs.
"People enjoy the vicarious pleasure of my online show when they can't eat that much, don't want to eat food at night, or are on a diet," Seo Yeon told Reuters.
For this reason, Seo Yeon only eats top quality food that costs about $3000-$5000 a month. Seo Yeon will spend several hours eating (trust us, this girl can eat!) and spend a few more hours chatting with her fans. The entire show is roughly 4-6 hours and available every night. The show contains a live chat room and has become very interactive for her fans.
"For Koreans, eating is an extremely social, communal activity, which is why even the Korean word 'family' means 'those who eat together,'" says Professor Sung-hee Park of Ewha University's Division of Media Studies.
This is precisely why the show has become extremely popular among individuals who don't want to eat by themselves.
"One of the best comments I ever received from a viewer who said that she had gotten over her anorexia by watching me eat," says Park. "That really meant a lot to me."
As a token of appreciation, many fans send in money. Seo Yeon Park gets paid so much that she was able to quit her day job at a consulting agency and now puts her full attention towards eating.
Lucky for her, Seo Yeon's metabolism seems perfectly capable of adjusting to her job. Fans have watched her consume 4 whole pizzas in the span of a few hours and still maintain a fit body. Now that's impressive!
If you still find yourself puzzled by all this, you're not alone. In fact, Seo Yeon often receives harsh criticism from people who don't support her channel.
"I get some really awful commenters who make me reexamine 'why am I doing this again?' but at the end of the day the positive feedback overwhelmingly outweighs the bad, so I am happy to continue." she says.
And she's not the only one! Over 3,500 people have been doing similar online programs sponsored by restaurants.
We're not quite sure that this is a fad that will work in America, but we're certainly interested in seeing how this progresses in Korea.


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Project: Gata
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Jump to content
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what transportation to use
how to get it
I say we make a giant slingshot.
And considering there's two Gatas, if the slingshot malfunctions, well, we get a second try!
Become a German spy: done.
Easier version of your idea, Waffles: have Gata become a German spy, who meets with an American Air Force member on a mission, falls in love, and gets married.
You know what.
Yes, you're right.
But that gives me a good idea: a charity run by FOLS to pay for economically challenged LEGO fans to visit conventions. Now, I understand that LEGO is not a cheap hobby, so the chances are that serious LEGO fans aren't completely impoverished, but there is still a great gap between very poor and being able to pay for their own trips. This would be a great way to give back to the community and give people a great experience.
Right now it's just an idea, but I'd love to make it reality.
when you don't create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. your tastes only narrow & exclude people. so create.
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The Notso Special at Bonneville Salt Flats - Bonneville or BustWritten by on May 21, 2013 The Notso Special Gets To Turn A Wheel In Anger
Bonneville Salt Flats are a long way from Southern California, especially when towing an enclosed trailer, dealing with a blowout on said trailer, and stopping in Las Vegas to source the last few parts needed. That said, 14 hours after leaving Source Interlink's Tech Center, we pulled into our hotel in Wendover on Sunday afternoon, ready for some decent sleep, knowing it'd be the calm before the storm. Custom Classic Trucks editor Ryan Manson had arrived ahead of us, and along with his dad, Gary, crewed on the car probably way more than they'd envisioned once we made it onto the salt on Monday morning.
As mentioned last month, there were still plenty of jobs left to do before the car was race ready, so once we'd set up our pit we got to work. It wasn't long before Chris Smith, who works at Kugel Komponents, was helping, followed in short order by Jerry, Jeff, and Joe Kugel. They were there to race customer Rhett Butler's T, but were sidelined owing to mechanical failure, and I can't thank them enough for pitching in, or indeed Butler himself, who lent me his rear brake pads when I realized I'd left my Wilwood pads back in the shop!
Suddenly it looked like we had half a chance of actually finishing the car, as in no time the brakes and clutch were bled and working, the wheelbase was set, the fuel system was plumbed and working, all suspension and steering bolts were checked, and we had steering stops and a running engine. Which just left us requiring a hood and trans tunnel, or so I thought. I'd brought aluminum sheet with me to fabricate these, prepared to screw them to the sheetmetal if necessary.
I went off to do my rookie orientation along with Manson and my girl, who'd be my crew/recovery drivers and as such had to attend, then collect the necessary paperwork and SCTA vehicle logbook while Smith continued to fettle the car. When we returned, we towed the car down to the tech inspection area.
It didn't take long to realize that despite us having brought a welder, compressor, and enough tools to do what was required to make the car legal, it wasn't going to happen. I was told the fuel tank had to be completely sealed from the driver compartment, meaning fabricating a tonneau for the bed, not a job we could easily undertake (or indeed buy the material for) at Bonneville. Also, slings on the rear suspension arms were required, which I'd known about but not had time to make, though we'd brought steel cable to use temporarily, it still needed the rear shocks installed, our fire extinguisher lines weren't in the right place or long enough (they should be aimed at the headers and oil pan area), and it needed an inertia switch in the fuel pump circuit. I also still had to fit the SFI-spec rollcage padding and would require a dished steering wheel in order to reach it with the arm restraints in place. Coupled with the fact we only had a day left before having to be back at work, we'd be down to just my girlfriend and myself by the morning, and I'd pretty much run out of funds, I reluctantly realized it wasn't going to happen, and called it quits—though I had a plan B.
El Mirage. There was still the two-day season-wrapping meet in November, so that was the new goal. Plenty of time to fab the tonneau, trans tunnel, and hood (the last of which we showed you in the Feb. '13 issue), mount rear shocks, and fab the suspension slings, not to mention give the car a thorough going-over to double-check everything.
November rolled around and we passed tech and the bailout test, and completed another rookie orientation (El Mirage is a different course than Bonneville, with no turnouts or mile markers and different return road etiquette depending on which Bonneville course you're on, so procedures are different here), filled in the paperwork, and found ourselves ready to race.
I've got to thank Jeff Kugel, again, who acted as crew chief, as it was invaluable having someone experienced around for my first effort. My initial shakedown run netted a speed of 119.7 mph, followed by a 141.9, good enough for me to obtain my D license. Of course you know I'm going to say this, but I'm sure there was more in the car to go 150 on the next run for my C license (no really, there was!), but I'll never know, as the meeting was finished by then. If all goes to plan, the turbo Zetec will be in place by Spring, and I'll be learning about computers, turbos, and fuel injectors. So this concludes this chapter in the short life of the Notso Special, but like all good—and some not-so good—stories, it's … to be continued.
Thanks to the entire Kugel family, Chris Smith, Ryan and Gary Manson, Tim Sutton, Don Lindfors, Nick Fioto, Wes Drelleshak, Saul Vargas, Steven Rupp, and the SCTA guys 'n' gals.
While not a definitive guide to running at Bonneville or El Mirage, hopefully this has given you an idea of what is required to do so. If you need more information, or to obtain an SCTA rulebook (you don't want to start building a car without one!) or forms, contact the SCTA at www.scta-bni.org.
More Photos From This Article View Slideshow
5 There's a rookie orientation meeting every day, which is mandatory for new drivers and crews. Nathan Stewart explains what to do and which way to turn out in an emergency, where to turn out on each course, and numerous other procedures. A booklet is also supplied at both Bonneville and El Mirage detailing these procedures.6 Part of the rookie orientation is to drive one of the short courses in your crew truck (which must be equipped with a fire extinguisher and CB radio). Here we're passing the 1-mile marker.7 Back in our pit, while the wind had picked up and many teams had left for the night, we fired the car for the first time. If a car is running, someone has to be in it at all times.8 Tech inspection. These guys don't miss a thing, and as well as noting what I already knew was still required, pointed out a number of small—and one not-so small—things that I didn't.9 Inspector Rob Zomber signed my entry/inspection form, after making several notes on what needed revising or adding.10 Having made the decision to give up our attempt at readying the car, we took it away from the pits to get some tracking shots. Driving race cars anywhere except on the course is forbidden, but I figured it wasn't registered, tech'd, or displaying a race number, so did it anyway. Yep, I got reprimanded, but we got the shots, and more importantly, I finally got to drive my car and see how it handled up to about 50 mph.11 Here's the paperwork, (left to right) El Mirage and Bonneville Rookie orientation booklets, my entry/inspection failure sheet, and the car's SCTA logbook. Below that is the copy of the reverse of the entry/inspection form, and the SCTA rulebook, which I must have read at least a hundred times over the preceding months.12 Back at the shop, and here's a card template for the trans tunnel. Note the rusty floor from the Bonneville Salt too!13 Without a slip roll at my disposal, I formed the tunnel by bending the aluminum around gas bottles and steel posts in our parking lot! The 90-degree bends were formed by hammering over the edges of a steel welding table. The rearmost section of the tunnel is steel, and I'll likely move the switches to a panel here.
14 I used 0.090-inch aluminum to box in the fuel tank, forming this bulkhead halfway along the pickup bed.15 With a 1x1-inch angle steel framework bolted to the bedsides, the bulkhead and across the back of the cab, I bent up a section of 0.090 aluminum to check for clearance over the fuel line fittings. The fittings covered in blue tape are the rollover valves/breathers, and these will require extra clearance, but I wanted the tonneau as low as possible.16 A mandrel-bent U section of aluminum tubing was cut on a bandsaw to provide the rollover valve clearance "bubbles".17 Jimmy White at Circle City Hot Rods welded the aluminum tonneau once I'd cut and bent everything to shape using his equipment.18 The finished tonneau, attached with Dzus fasteners around the perimeter, and sealed with rubber gaskets.19 Underneath the tonneau, I was also required to fabricate a cover for the shoulder harness adjusters, as this area was open into the cab. This is also aluminum, with two bubbles to clear the harness mounting bolts. These were formed by clamping a section of rollcage tubing in a vice, and using a ball-peen hammer to form the domes by hammering the aluminum into the end of the tubing. Rubber gasket is also used here.20 And so to El Mirage. Once the car passed its tech inspection I had to complete a bailout test under the watchful eye of inspector, Mike Spacek, where you have to prove all switches and fire extinguisher buttons are within reach once the harness is tightened, and that you can release the harness and exit the car within 90 seconds.21 More paperwork! Here I'm signing the entry/inspection forms for El Mirage, but this time the car passed!
23 Finally, I'm strapped in the car and in line to make my rookie pass, which mustn't exceed 150 mph by the way. The race number and class are marked on the car in shoe whitener, GMR denoting Gas Modified Roadster, and C denoting engine displacement. However, I was signed on to race as a guest for time only, and not competing for points, as I'm not a member of an SCTA club.24 The culmination of all those months of work is around 50 seconds of fun before the engine is shut off! This is my rookie run, netting a speed of 119 mph.


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Testimony :: H.E. Leonid Kozhara
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine - Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased and honoured to be here with you today as Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
It is a great responsibility for me personally and for Ukraine to lead the world's largest regional security organization throughout this year.
With 57 participating States stretching from Vancouver to Vladivostok, the OSCE is uniquely designed as a comprehensive and an inclusive platform for security dialogue in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian area.
We strongly believe that the OSCE is well suited to address the changing security challenges in its area and that we need to continue strengthening its tool box and improving its coherence.
Ukraine, as the Chairmanship-in-Office, is a consistent advocate of the OSCE concept of comprehensive, cooperative, equal and indivisible security.
We take the view that lasting and sustainable peace and security can only be achieved by pursuing a balanced approach across all three dimensions – the political and military, the environmental and economic as well as the human dimension.
As we approach the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, the "Helsinki+40 process", launched in Dublin last year, should serve, in our understanding, as a catalyst for re-energizing the Organization.
A strong engagement from the United States will be of great importance for success of the effort.
Distinguished audience,
We are convinced that the Human Dimension belongs to the core of the concept of comprehensive security.
The Ukrainian Chairmanship outlined the overarching goal of promoting full implementation of the existing human dimension commitments by all participating States.
The fight against trafficking in persons remains one of the key issues that are being addressed by the OSCE under the Ukrainian Chairmanship. It is a plague that many OSCE countries, including Ukraine, have been suffering from for many years. We need to combine all possible instruments to meet this challenge.
A set of public events has been organised to this end, one of them being the international conference on strengthening of the OSCE response to trafficking in human beings, to be held in Kyiv in June.
Fostering the freedom of the media is also among our priorities in this dimension. A Human Rights Seminar in Warsaw is planned to address the media freedom legislation issues. It would result in developing relevant recommendations for participating States.
We will also strive to achieve progress in the areas of free movement of people, promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination, freedom of association and assembly, inter-religious dialogue, in promoting freedom of religion or belief, as well as democratic elections and election observation.
Attaching great importance to the promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination through youth education, the Chairmanship is preparing to host the OSCE Youth Summit in July – August 2013 in Crimea, Ukraine.
We also believe in the importance of constructive engagement of civil society in achieving the OSCE goals.
Election monitoring is one of the hallmarks of the OSCE. A smooth co-operation between the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and ODIHR is essential. The OSCE must speak in one voice.
It is for the benefit of all the OSCE participating States to take recommendations made by international observation missions seriously. For instance, following the October 2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine, its Government approved a relevant Action Plan on priority measures to improve the electoral legislation.
At the same time, to ensure compliance in election observation, it is important to safeguard independence, impartiality and professionalism of observers in line with OSCE decisions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Progress in finding sustainable and long-term solution to the protracted conflicts in the OSCE area is on top of our agenda.
My first visit in the capacity of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in January was to Moldova. I encouraged the leadership in Chisinau and Tiraspol to engage constructively into the negotiation process.
The political will for mutual rapprochement at both banks of Dniester is a key to finding compromise solutions.
We hope that the results of current political process in Moldova will give a new impetus to further development of dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol, to which Ukraine remains ready to contribute.
We remain convinced that success of the Geneva process is crucial for improving the security and humanitarian situation in the conflict areas in Georgia.
The Chairmanship welcomes and supports the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs directed at promoting dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
During my upcoming visit to the South Caucasus on 17-20 June I intend to underline the need for a strict implementation of ceasefire, and to support the call of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs for a more active engagement in the negotiations over the Basic principles of the settlement.
Within the political and military dimension, we aim at modernizing the OSCE politico-military instruments.
As a strong advocate of non-proliferation, Ukraine attaches special importance to enhancing the OSCE's profile in countering the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
We appreciate the high level of cooperation between Ukraine and the United States on updating the 1994 OSCE Principles Governing Non-Proliferation. We expect that in close collaboration with the United States and other key stakeholders we will be able to finalize this work prior to the Kyiv OSCE Ministerial Council in December this year.
Combating cybercrime remains of paramount importance. To this end, Ukraine will continue to provide support to the OSCE Open-ended Informal Working Group.
We will also work together with its Chair, the Permanent Representative of the USA to the OSCE and all participating States to achieve progress on the initial set of confidence building measures to reduce the risks of conflicts stemming from the use of information and communication technologies.
Distinguished audience,
It would hardly be possible to promote a comprehensive and lasting security in the OSCE region without properly addressing challenges in the economic and environmental sphere.
We have proposed to explore whether the OSCE could provide an added value and play a role in the development of the new trade and transport corridors.
The core theme here is also increasing stability and security by improving the environmental footprint of energy-related activities
In this context we came out with the initiative to hold a High Level International Conference on energy security under the auspice of the OSCE Chairmanship in Ashgabat in October this year. We count on active U.S. engagement in implementing this initiative.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The withdrawal of international security forces from Afghanistan in 2014 will have considerable security implications for the OSCE area.
As the OSCE Chairmanship we will further explore areas that require enhanced interaction with Afghanistan, as well as synergy in activities of relevant international actors, to effectively address challenges arising from transition of responsibility in the country.
The OSCE has regular dialogue with Partners in the Middle East.
It also promotes concrete projects which can offer the best practices of the OSCE, together with lessons learned, on the challenges of democratic change, upon request by Partners in the region. The number of the requests is growing, and the scope of interest is increasing in all three OSCE dimensions. We remain fully committed to this process.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Now, as I have dwelt enough upon the OSCE Chairmanship agenda, let me put on the toga of the Foreign Minister of Ukraine and say some words about my country's foreign and internal politics, as they are of obvious interest to this distinguished audience.
The Ukrainian politics are currently streamlined by two processes, perfectly complementary to each other.
The first is the ambitious programme of internal reforms that the Government is deliberately implementing under the clear mandate by the citizens that have elected it.
The second is the process of the European integration of Ukraine and, in particular, the preparation for signing of the Association agreement with the European Union in November this year.
Ukraine is focused at conducting successful reforms in budget financing, electoral legislation, rule of law sphere, administrative governance, fight against corruption and public policy.
There are several reforms currently ongoing in Ukraine, but I would like to underline our actions in reforming our judiciary system. The adoption of a new Criminal Procedure Code and laws on Bar became cornerstones of this judiciary reform.
At the same time a special Constitutional Assembly has been established to elaborate approaches and visions for reforming the Constitution of Ukraine.
While reforming the judicial system, we followed direct consultation and expert advice from the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission. Many of the EU's requirements regarding legal reform have already been implemented.
Numerous Ukrainian reforms have been praised internationally. For instance, the pension reform was estimated as one of the most socially balanced reforms in Europe by the World Bank.
The World Customs Organisation has commended the new Customs Code for its compliance with international and European standards.
And the Danish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights together with the Council of Europe experts regards the new Criminal Procedure Code as indeed one of the best in Europe.
The Ukrainian leadership is truly committed to doing everything in its power to ensure the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union during the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November this year.
Nevertheless, in the end we are determined to implement all the declared reforms not so much to report good news to the EU, but to ensure democratic and pro-European development of Ukraine from within.
Let me finally say some words about Ukraine's relations with Russia.
No country can obviously change its geography. This means there's no other option for Ukraine but to strive to maintain good-neighbourly and partnership relations with Russia.
There is an intensive public debate in Ukraine about its relations with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Let me be absolutely clear on that.
Russia and the Customs Union as a whole are key trade partners of Ukraine. Should Ukraine not aim at the most favourable trade regime with the Customs Union? Of course it should.
Just two examples: the European Free Trade Association that unites four wealthy European countries has already held eight rounds of talks about a free trade area with the Customs Union. The New Zealand is currently doing exactly the same.
Ukraine has asked for an observer status in the Customs Union. We consider that it would serve Ukraine's interests in its trade with the Union and at the same time would correspond to Kiev's commitments within the WTO and with the European Union. Ukraine's proposal is currently under consideration and we hope for a prompt positive result.
Ladies and gentlemen!
Much speech is one thing, well-timed speech is another, said the great Sophocles two and a half thousand years ago.
As I do not believe either in the effectiveness of sterile monologues or flamboyant speeches, I stand ready, in my both current capacities, to be engaged with you in an informal yet substantial discussion.
I thank you!