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Privacy and emails November 19, 2012Posted by Cameron Shelley in : STV302 , comments closed
The General Petraeus affair has brought new attention to an established issue, that is, privacy of emails. Petraeus was brought low when the FBI accessed an anonymous Gmail account that Petraeus had used to conduct an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. As many commentators have pointed out, it seems odd or ironic that the head of the CIA resorted to a simple (and not very secure) ruse to conduct secret business.
(Rahuldeshmukh101/Wikimedia commons)
In any event, the ease with which the FBI obtained access to Petraeus's emails underlines the lack of privacy that people with such accounts enjoy, according to critics:
The fact that police can get that information with a subpoena — just a letter, usually without approval of a judge — is deeply disturbing to civil libertarians like Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for privacy issues at the ACLU.
The position of the ACLU is that such information should require a warrant, just as if the police were intending to search your house. Needless to say, the police do not take the same view of the matter:
But Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association, says Americans should understand how much more work that would create. "The difference is, an investigative subpoena is a one- or two-pager, and a search warrant is a book report," Burns says.
All those extra warrants, he says, would make life "incredibly difficult" for police.
This issue of the security of someone's email illustrates a common trade-off: Enjoying security means being able to conduct your affairs without enduring the scrutiny of the state. As then-Canadian-Minister-of-Justice (and later Prime Minister) Pierre Trudeau once said, "There is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation." However, privacy also means being able to hide misdeeds from the public, even when the public has a stake in the outcome. (What if Petraeus's mistress had been a foreign agent?) The issue becomes one of how to balance these competing and legitimate interests in a way that is fair to all concerned.
Although I am sure that it would be small comfort to Petraeus, it is worth noting that his arch-adversaries have similar difficulties. According to ABC News, the Taliban has had problems keeping its email list secret:
In a Dilbert-esque faux pax, a Taliban spokesperson sent out a routine email last week with one notable difference.He publicly CC'd the names of everyone on his mailing list.
The names were disclosed in an email by Qari Yousuf Ahmedi, an official Taliban spokesperson, on Saturday. The email was a press release he received from the account of Zabihullah Mujahid, another Taliban spokesperson. Ahmedi then forwarded Mujahid's email to the full Taliban mailing list, but rather than using the BCC function, or blind carbon copy which keeps email addresses private, Ahmedi made the addresses public.
The email list consists mostly of journalists, who would be the natural recipients of a press release. However, it also includes a number of Afghan legislators, academics, and activists, whose loyalties are now, no doubt, under review.
Stewart Brand once said that, "information wants to be free." The tendency of information to escape confinement on the Internet is notorious, as these examples demonstrate. If you are determined to communicate in secret on the 'net, then you should look at these hints from the New York Times. Good luck!
Open government August 4, 2011Posted by Cameron Shelley in : STV202, STV302 , comments closed
Dan Tapscott praises BC's DataBC program in which the BC government will make available to the public a variety of datasets for citizens to mash up.
B.C. is making close to 2,500 data sets available, such as birth rates, provincial obstacles to fish passage, old-growth management areas, carbon emissions statistics and information on schools. This information is searchable and available for anyone to use. The goal is to help citizens and businesses make informed decisions, conduct research, analyze statistics and develop applications.
I certainly agree that this idea is a good one and would like to see it adopted by other governments in the country. (BC also has a winning carbon tax. What are they doing right that the rest of the nation is not?)
Tapscott goes so far as to call this development an example of a new paradigm in government:
In the past, governments collected tax dollars from citizens. Government employees inside the boundaries of government created services that were delivered back to the citizens. This exchange of tax dollars for services will continue, but, courtesy of the Internet, there's an expanded model of government whereby government acts as a platform.
This claim is a little over the top: The government has always been tasked as a "platform", providing information and services to the public as a means of fostering public discourse and private enterprise. What is different is the scope of access to this information. In the past, obtaining such information meant reading through wordy bureaucratic reports or petitioning ministry offices. Having it readily accessible, and searchable, through your computer is new, as is the greater availability of computers and the 'net itself.
As Tapscott says, we can expect many good and interesting results from this measure. As ever, though, greater accessibility and searchability is not an unmixed blessing.
As noted by Wired, open government can have its drawbacks. Consider the case of the website that collects and displays Florida mugshots. When you are arrested in Florida, your mugshot is almost immediately made publicly available on government websites in accordance with the State's broad sunshine laws. Rob Wiggen has created a website that trawls this government info and posts people's shots and rap sheets on the Web. Of course, his website, florida.arrests.org, is indexed by Google, meaning that anyone arrested in Florida will soon find their mugshot coming up at the top of any Google search of their name. Rather than suffer the embarrassment and possible negative employment repercussions of this situation, some people pay exorbitant amounts to third party sites to get their information removed. Sounds a lot like extortion.
So, total access to government data may not be an unalloyed good. In that case, we have to consider what data should perhaps be held back or aggregated, or when some personal embarrassment is a price we should be willing to pay for the greater good of society.
Government accountability and IT July 21, 2011Posted by Cameron Shelley in : STV302 , comments closed
Can the government be made more accountable by consolidation of it's IT infrastructure? "Yes," argues Deborah Moores of the Globe and Mail. One of the obstacles to obtaining government data (assuming there are legitimate grounds for distributing it) is the very fact that governments often have multiple computing platforms. Those platforms may be incompatible or simply poorly connected, so that it is difficult to assemble relevant information when needed. So, a plausible solution would be to impose a single computing setup within the government.
(Image courtesy of Sub619 via Wikimedia Commons.)
Given the record of government IT projects, as revealed in several IEEE blogs, for example, this suggestion should be greeted with some scepticism. It is not that government computer installations should not be more efficient, it is that the complexity and cost of the task is so often underestimated.
Furthermore, efficient IT systems do not necessarily translate into greater transparency. The Chinese government has a pretty good system, which has not made it any more accountable. There is no deterministic relationship between IT and freedom of information, in spite of the early optimism among Internet developers that "information wants to be free". Instead, transparency is a result of an administrative culture, the habits (and laws, of course) through which information is dispensed by those in office.
Instead, I would suggest that we seek a mandate from the government to be more transparent. Although the Harper government campaigned in the past on a platform of transparency, their record has been one of obscurantism and unaccountability, as Moore notes. If transparency is to be realized, let us aim for that goal directly, instead of hoping that it will follow as a side-benefit of an IT project.
Candid smartphone January 27, 2011Posted by Cameron Shelley in : STV202, STV302 , comments closed
First, it was Candid Microphone, a radio show in which Allen Funt took a microphone into the world to record the funny things said by ordinary people. Then, there was Candid Camera, in which Funt did something similar with a TV camera. It was amusing for the audience to see and hear the odd or embarrassing things that their fellow-citizens said and did.
(Image courtesy of Editor at Large via Wikimedia Commons.)
Today, as you know, we have YouTube, which allows anyone to upload videos of people doing noteworthy things. The latest such "viral" video involves a woman falling into a shopping mall fountain while texting. "It's funny 'cause it's not me", as Homer Simpson once said.
This video was apparently captured by the security guards from a security camera in the mall. Nothing new there: Mall cops have been putting together tapes of amusing and naughty shoppers' activities since CC cameras were introduced. Well, if your job were to watch parked cars all day, you would crave some stimulation too.
Of course, it's different when the shoe is on the other foot. Mike Masnick of TechDirt has recently drawn our attention to people who use their smartphone cameras to film authorities (mis)handling their complaints. Here are a few recent examples:
- A woman was complaining to police about being assaulted by a police officer. The police response was unsympathetic, at which point she began to film them. She was then arrested for eavesdropping.
- A pilot is being disciplined by the TSA after he filmed some shortcomings in security at San Francisco Airport.
- A man was charged with various offenses by the TSA after he refused to show ID before boarding a flight although showing ID is not required. The man filmed the whole episode and uploaded it to YouTube.
Thanks Mike!
In each of these cases, the people filming video seem to have been well within their rights to do so. Furthermore, the transparency that ubiquitous filming brings with it can promote a social good, that is, it can pressure authorities to follow the rules instead of acting arbitrarily (in the end). Of course, recording people's behavior, and making a show of doing so, also turns up the social "temperature". That is, it may make people defensive or angry where they would not otherwise be so.
So, incidents like these raise an interesting question (among others): Are we prepared for the emotional consequences of radical transparency in public places? Will we simply adjust, as Mark Zuckerberg suggests, to the new world in which transparency, not privacy, is the default setting of our lives? Or are we simply ill-equipped to deal with a world in which anything we do may be subject to the review of numberless people whom we do not know and who do not know us?
The Panaudicon November 22, 2010Posted by Cameron Shelley in : STV202, STV302 , comments closed
The philosopher Jeremy Bentham is well known for his suggested design for a prison, namely the Panopticon. The design called for a circular array of prison cells wrapped around a central watch tower. The cells would be arranged so that the prisoners could be seen at all times, both by the guards in the central tower, and by the other prisoners. The tower, however, would be equipped with one-way mirrors so that the guards could see the prisoners but not the other way around. The principle of the design was that the radical transparencies of the prisoners' lives would enable the guards (or other prisoners) to see and deal appropriately with every transgression of the rules. The prisoners would learn the essentials of good behaviour and the futility of bad behaviour and so would be rehabilitated for their eventual return to society.
(Image courtesy of Majorly via Wikimedia Commons.)
The Panopticon calls for a trade-off: the total loss of privacy through ubiquitous surveillance in exchange for the prevention of wrongdoing. Although Bentham's proposal has had some, limited influence on prison design, some commentators have worried that we are in the process of constructing a surveillance society, that is, a ubiquitous surveillance system for the entire public realm, fashioned from CCTV, cell phone cameras, airport scanners, aerial drones, and the like. In short, we may be in the process of setting up a Panopticon in which everyone in public are the prisoners, and all the prisoners are also the jailers. The question is: Is this trade-off a good one or a Faustian bargain?
Well, Bentham neglected one issue in his design, namely the role of sound. Transparency might enable prison guards to catch beatings or thefts but one-way mirrors might filter our other sorts of socially unacceptable behaviour such as uttering threats or singing copyrighted songs like "Happy birthday." However, we need not pass over the matter in silence today, especially when there exists a ubiquitous array of sensitive microphones in available in public. Most cell phones have the ability to record conversions occurring over them, or can simply be used as audio recorders. Thus, it is a simple matter to record your conversations or ambient sounds and share them over the 'net. At a more organized level, ShotSpotter system comprises a network of microphones that relays information to a central program employed by some police forces in order to sort out gunshots from other noises. If only such a system could be re-purposed to report suspicious sounds of all kinds to a central database.
(Image courtesy of Ousk via Wikimedia Commons.)
Done! A British company called Audio Analytic has developed software that can take sounds as input and pick out the ones that contain aggressive speech:
"A lot of incidents just can't be picked up by video only systems," said Chris Mitchell, Audio Analytic's boss, on BBC World Service's Digital Planet.
"For example in a hospital where somebody, or a nurse, is being threatened early hours in the morning – that's a very difficult thing for CCTV guards who monitor hundreds of channels worth of video signals on 20 screens or so to pick up."
"Our system picks out the most salient characteristics. These are things related to pitch, tone, intonation."
Of course, not all aggressive vocalizations are actionable. The article mentions that, in testing, the software identified as aggressive a man who got mad at a coffee machine because it "ate" his money. Such instances are known as "false positives", events that the system classifies as hits (here, unacceptable verbal aggression) that are actually misses (here, inoffensive or unactionable vocalizations). The false positive rate, Mitchell comments, is quite low with this system.
Of course, it would be easy for any system to have a low false positive rate in this situation: merely classify almost all sounds as inoffensive. If your system hardly ever classifies any sound as aggressive, it will not likely classify innocent sounds as aggressive.
What about false negatives, that is, sounds that are offensive but are judged innocent by the software? The article contains no comments on the matter, nor does any other article that I have come across. An important design issue for the software is to balance off the interests of people who are harmed by false positives, in this case, people who are deemed aggressive but are not (e.g., just repeating something they heard on YouTube) and the the interests of those people who are harmed by false negatives (e.g., nurses in a hospital whose patients become verbally abusive but are not identified as such). I would suggest that a public discussion of the abilities of software such as this one is in order, to ensure that such trade-offs are made appropriately.
Of course, this point brings us back to the Panopticon. By adding the ability to collect, aggregate, and analyze sounds occurring in public, we now have the ability to achieve total auditory transparency. Let's call it the "Panaudicon"! As in a hospital or prison setting, this ability brings with it the problem of dealing with the errors such a system will inevitably make, both false positive and false negative. Balancing the frequency of these errors will be a test of our sense of fairness in the public deployment of technology.


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Aug 31, 2012 11:00 AM
These Alice + Olivia Larimore Laser Cutout Pumps ($325) seem like they defy the rules of geometry, and we're loving it. The gorgeous pattern cut into the metallic leather reminds us of something we'd spot in the background of an M.C. Escher drawing. Maybe when we're wearing them, we'll be capable of walking up reversed staircases and finding doorways around impossible corners.
If you've got a product or service that you'd like to promote on Outblush, click here to find out about our advertising opportunities.
Outblush is a blog for girls who love to shop. Our staff digs up the best clothes, home stuff, beauty items, and more. New items are posted every day — bookmark us and check out:

subset: commoncrawl


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World's Largest Marine Protected Areas
Created in Pacific Ocean
Vast Ocean Reserve Conserves Vital Resources for Human Well-Being
Click image for hi-res version
A beautiful green moray eel emerges from reef in Phoenix Islands. Divers from the New England Aquarium in Boston found some of the most pristine coral reefs in the world.
Spectacular table corals that take decades to form are found throughout the shallow water coral reefs of the Phoenix Islands. These types of corals can be easily destroyed by commercial fishing activity.
Two green sea turtles are celebrating nature's version of Valentine's Day! Sea turtle populations in the Pacific are in dramatic decline due to by-catch in much commercial fishin gactivity. The new Phoenix Islands Protected Area will provide an important habitat reserve for hese turtles, which can weigh several hundred pounds as adults.
A manta ray swims near two divers on a New England Aquarium scientific expedition to the Phoenix Islands. These gentle gians can reach a wing span of twenty feet. Despite their size, manta rays feed on tiny plankton.
A school of brass striped barracuda swims by New England Aquarium divers. As they entered the waters of the Phoenix Islands, they were awed by the high density of a number of species.
The shallow, remote coral reef systems of the Phoenix Islands provide an ideal shark nursery ground. When New England Aquarium scientists first dove here, they were struck by the abundance and curiosity of the sharks. Unfortunately, subsequent expeditions saw fewer sharks as a result of illegal shark fishing.
BOSTON, MA - February 14, 2008
The small Pacific Island nation of Kiribati has become a global conservation leader by establishing the world's largest marine protected area – a California-sized ocean wilderness of pristine coral reefs and rich fish populations threatened by over-fishing and climate change.
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) conserves one of the Earth's last intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, consisting of eight coral atolls and two submerged reef systems in a nearly uninhabited region of abundant marine and bird life. The 410,500-square-kilometer (158,453-square-mile) protected area also includes underwater mountains and other deep-sea habitat.
Kiribati first declared the creation of PIPA at the 2006 Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Brazil. On Jan. 30, 2008, Kiribati adopted formal regulations for PIPA that more than doubled the original size to make it the largest marine protected area on Earth.
Kiribati and the New England Aquarium (NEAq) developed PIPA over several years of joint scientific research, with funding and technical assistance from Conservation International's (CI) Global Conservation Fund and Pacific Islands Program. The CI support for PIPA is part of the Coral Reef Initiative in the South Pacific (CRISP).
"Kiribati has taken an inspirational step in increasing the size of PIPA well beyond the original eight atolls and globally important seabird, fish and coral reef communities," said Greg Stone, the NEAq vice-president of global marine programs. "The new boundary includes extensive seamount and deep sea habitat, tuna spawning grounds, and as yet unsurveyed submerged reef systems."
Located near the equator in the Central Pacific between Hawaii and Fiji, the Phoenix Islands form an archipelago several hundred miles long. They are part of the Republic of Kiribati, which comprises three distinct island groups (Gilbert Islands, Phoenix Islands and Line Islands) with a total of 33 islands to make it the largest atoll nation in the world.
"The creation of this amazing marine protected area by a small island nation in the Pacific represents a commitment of historic proportions; and all of this by a country that is under serious threat from sea-level rise attributed to global warming," said CI President Russell A. Mittermeier. "The Republic of Kiribati has now set a standard for other countries in the Pacific and elsewhere in the world. We are proud to be associated with this effort that helps the people of Kiribati, and we call on governments and private conservation groups everywhere to support Kiribati in its efforts and make similar commitments to protect their own natural systems."
The Phoenix Islands were featured in a major article in National Geographic in February 2004.
Three NEAq-led research expeditions since 2000 found great marine biodiversity, including more than 120 species of coral and 520 species of fish, some new to science. Some of the most important seabird nesting populations in the Pacific, as well as healthy fish populations and the presence of sea turtles and other species, demonstrated the pristine nature of the area and its importance as a migration route.
Protecting the Phoenix Islands means restricting commercial fishing in the area, resulting in a loss of revenue that the Kiribati government would normally receive from issuing foreign commercial fishing licenses. NEAq and CI are helping Kiribati design an endowment system that will cover the core recurring management costs of PIPA and compensate the government for the foregone commercial fishing license revenues. The plan allows for subsistence fishing by resident communities and other sustainable economic development in designated zones of the protected area.
Keeping oceans and marine ecosystems intact and healthy allows them to better resist the impacts of climate change and continue their natural role of sequestering atmospheric carbon that causes global warming.
Website: http://phoenixislands.org/
Photos: Images link to high-resolution photos available for download. All photos: David Obura
Republic of Kiribati
Tebwe Ietaake, + 686-28630, email@example.com
New England Aquarium
Tony LaCasse, +1-617-877-6871, email@example.com
Conservation International
Sue Miller Taei, Samoa, +685-21593, email@example.com
Tom Cohen, +1-703-341-2729, email@example.com
Conservation International (CI) applies innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity and demonstrate that human societies can live harmoniously with nature. Founded in 1987, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents to help people find economic alternatives without harming their natural environments. For more information about CI, visit www.conservation.org.
The Global Conservation Fund finances the creation, expansion and long-term management of protected areas in the world's biodiversity hotspots, high-biodiversity wilderness areas and important marine regions. The Fund has enabled CI regional programs and more than 40 partners to help protect 38 million hectares (94 million acres) of the world's biologically richest land and seascapes.
The New England Aquarium is one of the most prominent and popular aquariums in the United States. Its mission is to present, promote, and protect the world of water. Beyond its exhibit halls, the Aquarium is also a leading ocean conservation organization with research scientists working around the globe and biologists rescuing stranded marine animals in New England.
Events Calendar
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User/Comment Login
The Sharks let victory slip out of their grasp in their home opener Monday night.
Poised to go in for the go-ahead score in the final minute of play with the score tied 56-56, the Sharks lost the ball when the Orlando Predators (3-0) knocked it out of the hands of quarterback Tommy Grady and the Predators recovered.
Just over a month ago, Kelly Skipper was the running backs coach at Oakland, and his younger brother, Tim, was coaching linebackers at Colorado State.
They didn't have a grand design to wind up coaching in Florida. It just worked out that way.
When Colorado State coach Jim McElwain got the Florida job, he offered Tim the running backs job.
Meanwhile, Greg Olson, who was Oakland's offensive coordinator last year and got the same job with the Jaguars, recommended that coach Gus Bradley hire Kelly, who'd been in Oakland the past eight years.
When it comes to high energy, it's hard to top Gus Bradley, the Jaguars' frenetic head coach.
Bradley, though, might have found a coach who will bring more energy to the meeting rooms than he does.
New quarterback coach Nathanial Hackett, 35, acts as if every day is Christmas morning. General manager Dave Caldwell said Hackett makes Bradley look sedate.
Hackett said he didn't realize he was perceived that way until the first of his four children was born.
Defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks got his moment in the spotlight Thursday night when he got a sack on the final play of the Jaguars 21-13 victory over Tennessee to earn a $600,000 incentive bonus.
Still, Marks figures to be the latest Jaguar to be a wallflower at the Pro Bowl dance when the team is announced Tuesday night because he was 13th in the fan voting at defensive tackle and only the top eight make it.
Marks is tied for second in defensive tackle sacks with Tampa Bay's injured Gerald McCoy. They both have 8.5 sacks.
Putting together an NFL team can be similar to assembling a jigsaw puzzle. A piece that fits in perfectly for one team might not be a good fit for another.
That partly explains why the Baltimore Ravens will have three former Jaguars in their starting lineup today when the two teams meet at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Baltimore Ravens are part of a puzzling trend in the NFL.
Since the 2005 season, when the two-time champion New England Patriots beat the Jaguars 28-3 in a first-round playoff game before losing to Denver the next week, no defending champion has won a playoff game, much less repeated.
Although Seattle rebounded from a 3-3 start and emerge as a playoff contender at 9-4, the two previous Super Bowl champions, the Ravens after the 2012 season and the Giants after the 2011 season, failed to make the playoffs.
The Jaguars defensive players appeared deflated and frustrated Sunday after the Houston Texans ran over them in the second half.
The Jaguars gave up a 16-play, 84-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter that gave Houston the lead. The Texans went on to win, 27-13.
It was the third weekend in a row that the defense seemed to play only one half.
Two weeks ago in Indianapolis, the Jaguars trailed 6-3 at halftime, then the Colts took charge for a 23-3 victory.
Denard Robinson's eyes seems to light up when the Wildcat formation is mentioned.
"It's a little fun, man,'' the Jaguars running back said. "Of course, you get excited when you have another chance to get the ball and have the opportunity to do the zone read.''
Robinson has the skillset to run the Wildcat because he was a quarterback at Michigan and holds the NCAA career record for most rushing yards by a quarterback 4,495.
When Jaguars rookie Aaron Colvin scooped up a fumble by New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell and ran 41 yards in the fourth period for his first touchdown since high school, he just dropped the ball in the end zone.
Then he did a version of the dance Sen'Derrick Marks does when he gets a sack and went to the sideline.
"I wasn't really thinking about getting the ball," Colvin said. "When I'm in the zone, I'm in the zone. I'm just trying to play football. I don't care about accolades and getting footballs and all those things. I'm just helping the team win."
Tom Coughlin is a New York native who has lived only 10 of his 68 years in the Jacksonville area.
Yet the former Jaguars and current Giants coach has found a home here.
Two of his four children and five of his 11 grandchildren live here. He and his wife, Judy, will live in what daughter Keli calls their "forever house" in Atlantic Beach when he retires. And it is the headquarters for his charitable foundation, The Jay Fund, which provides help for families whose children are suffering from cancer.
Rashad Jennings of the New York Giants is eager to play in the good weather in Jacksonville on Sunday.
"It's snowing right now, and I know it's not snowing down there," Jennings said in a conference call Wednesday. "[I can] get out of the weather a little bit."
Still, that's not the only reason the running back is looking forward to playing the Jaguars.
He spent his first four NFL seasons as a Jaguar before he left as a free agent, spent a year in Oakland and then signed a four-year, $14 million deal with the Giants this year.
St. Augustine Record ©2016. All Rights Reserved.


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Out of Body Experience
this wiki
|Out of Body Experience
"This shell moves like a whale with an eating disorder."
|Bloodshot Ramparts
|Given By
|Loader #1340 AI Core
|1340 Shield / Shotgun 1340, XP (amount varies)
|True Vault Hunter Mode
|1340 Shield / Shotgun 1340, 13,144XP
|Borderlands 2
|Mission Type
|Optional Mission
Out of Body Experience involves salvage and restoration attempts for Loader #1340, who has had a change of heart and decided not to kill people.
- "You have blasted out my AI core. I require a new shell. There is a broken Constructor bot in the Bloodshot Dam; insert me into it and I will repay you."
- Pick up AI core
- Install AI core
- Pick up AI core
- Install AI core
- Find radio
- Destroy radio
Upon returning to the Bloodshot Stronghold after Roland has been rescued, a marauder and a wrecked EXP Loader are spawned, with the bandit repeatedly kicking the robot. An AI core with serial number 1340 can then be discovered amid the wreckage of the robot once this has been dealt with. Picking up the AI core triggers the start of the mission.
The first body is a constructor. 1340 will promptly attack upon being installed into it. The constructor presents a slow moving target and is unshielded, so it can be quickly reduced to scrap, once again leaving the AI core behind.
The next body, a WAR Loader, presents a tougher challenge. It may require some well placed critical hits to bring down and corrosive damage helps with quickly reducing its structural integrity.
The third body is the radio in Moxxi's. Installing the AI core will cause the radio to attempt to kill the patrons with horribly off-key obnoxious singing. Shooting the radio once again leaves the AI core on the ground. Retrieving the AI core then completes the final objective. It can be turned over to Marcus in exchange for Shotgun 1340, or to Dr. Zed in exchange for 1340 Shield.
- "Sigh. I give up. You have defeated me. My days of attempting to kill you are truly over: I only wish to help you kill others. Take me to the one called Zed if you wish me to be a shield, or Marcus if you wish me to be a gun."
- If the WAR Loader body is approached before the constructor objective has been completed, it will display the attachment point for the AI core and exhibit an interaction prompt, but cannot be interacted with.


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SEATTLE - One aspect of President Barack Obama's new budget proposal that hasn't gotten much attention is his recommendation to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
For access to this article please sign in or subscribe.
Congress routinely raids the LWCF for purposes other than those for which it was intended. The money is mostly collected from offshore oil and gas fees and is supposed to be used to improve outdoor recreation and preserve public land and water resources.
Hannah Clark, LWCF campaign director for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, said the president also wants Congress to stop diverting the mone...


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The fun of riding a scooter is equal to the pleasure of driving your first car off the lot. Scooter sales have exploded in Houston, ever since the pinch of the economy caused many to downsize their budgets. But Houstonians seem creative in seeking solutions. Why not find methods of saving that are fun instead of just frugal? Why not find methods that may also help the environment? Why not help thin the crown of smog around our city?
Comparing the low fuel costs of a scooter to a hybrid car is like comparing a hybrid car to a Hummer (the super deluxe waste model Hummer). When fuel costs once again soar beyond 4 dollars per gallon--possibly far beyond 4--then even hybrids may begin to shiver for bigger batteries.
So where might you find the best scooter deals and customer service?
Scoot Houston, a solid small business backed by word of mouth advertising, seems a clear winner on all fronts. At Scoot, they sell high quality brands at small business prices. Their sales philosophy is based on building relationships with customers, and their combined experience of more than 30 years in the business provides customized advice for new customers. Further, Scoot is a "one stop shop concept," which includes a full service maintenance facility--ready for oil changes, tune-ups, and larger jobs one may imagine cost a fortune. Scoot Houston understands nothing spreads the word better than stories of satisfied customers. Give it a test try. Ask for Keith.


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Don't miss out. Stay Informed. Get EcoWatch's Top News of the Day.
In a breathtaking but largely overlooked ruling this week, a federal judge agreed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may disregard studies on the health impacts of mountaintop removal mining in its permitting process, only two weeks after Goldman Prize Award-winning activist Maria Gunnoe wrote an impassioned plea to President Obama to renew withdrawn funding for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research on strip mining operations and redouble federal action to address the decades-old humanitarian disaster.
(Gunnoe's full letter is below.)
The prophetic call for immediate federal action by Gunnoe, a community organizer for the West Virginia-based Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and a long-time witness to the tragedy of mountaintop removal, has never been so timely."Appalachian citizens are the casualties of a silent "war on people" who live where coal is extracted," Gunnoe wrote the President. "Citizens of all ages are dying for the coal industry's bottom line."
Gunnoe concluded:
We all must recognize and resolve these mountaintop-removal-caused health problems and end the onslaught of pollution on people. Ending mountaintop removal could be as simple as passing HR 526: the Appalachian Community Health Emergency Act, or possibly even an Executive Order. The ACHE Act will place a moratorium on all new mountaintop removal permits. This bill, when passed, will immediately improve the lives and health of the people who live with these impacts daily.
Two years ago, in fact, the USGS published preliminary findings on "unusually high" toxic compounds in the soil and water near strip mining operations. That USGS research team is no longer funded.
"Our state politicians display a willful ignorance of some 24 peer-reviewed scientific reports about mountaintop removal's human health effects," Gunnoe wrote. "Studies show a correlation between living near a mountaintop removal site and significantly increased rates of cancer, birth defects and premature deaths. We believe they'd have a much harder time ignoring studies put out by the USGS."
Besieged residents in strip mining areas of Illinois, including Rocky Branch, and Kentucky, where a similar ruling over ignored human health risks, have long called for federal enforcement and action of flawed mining regulations.
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Non Surgical Rhinoplasty Before and After Pictures by Sam Gershenbaum, DO
26 year old female from miami 2 weeks after non surgical rhinoplasty using juvederm, 1cc.
notice the straighter dorsum and increased tip projection and elevation
Patient DetailsSex: Female
Age: 26 years old
Procedure performed on: Nose
Before and After Pictures
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Performed by Sam Gershenbaum, DO, Miami, Florida
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Salmon and Sea Trout Close Season
The Environment Agency is reminding anglers that today (Thursday 31 October) sees the start of the close season for salmon and sea trout fishing in Hampshire.
Source: Environment Agency
This means that rivers such as the Lymington, Meon, Test and Itchen will close to anglers who traditionally fish for either of these species.
The fishing season for salmon runs from 17 January until 2 October and the season for Sea Trout from 1 May until 31 October. The closed seasons are in place to ensure as many salmon and sea trout as possible return to our rivers to spawn and do so in peak condition.
Sadly salmon numbers on the Test and Itchen are currently below their conservation limit and sea trout across the south coast are considered at risk. The conservation limit is the minimum number of fish required to return to a river and spawn to sustain the population. Therefore every single fish is vitally important if we are to ensure survival of both of these species for future generations.
Specialist Environment Agency fisheries enforcement officers will be actively patrolling the areas rivers day and night over the coming months to ensure as many of these fish as possible reach their spawning grounds. Illegal exploitation is one of the biggest threats to both species particularly when they are ascending their natal river systems to spawn. A single female salmon can carry between 450 and 750 eggs per pound of body weight; removing a single ten pound fish from a fragile stock can have long term consequences for the species.
Tim Sykes, Solent Fisheries and Biodiversity Team Leader, said:
"We know that the vast majority of anglers who enjoy our rivers abide by the rules and take great care to protect fish. We all need to play a part to secure angling opportunities for the future.
However, we take any reports of poaching very seriously and all efforts are being made to protect these fragile populations of salmon and sea trout. Anyone found to be fishing for them illegally could face prosecution, up to a £50,000 fine and have their equipment, boats and vehicles seized and forfeited.
Our team has recently launched our successful Salmon Watch campaign and we urge members of the public to report any suspected poaching incidents to us on our incident hotline 0800807060. If a salmon or sea trout is hooked accidentally it must be returned immediately to the river where it was caught."
Launched in August this year, the Salmon Watch campaign is part of the Environment Agency's ongoing crackdown against fish theft and illegal angling. Since a previous anti-poaching campaign was launched across Hampshire in October 2012, Environment Agency Fisheries Officers have arrested or cautioned several poachers who were caught fishing illegally as a direct result of reports we received from the public. This is good news, but there is still much more work to do to clamp down on fish crime, particularly involving the theft of salmon.
The start of these closed seasons does not mean that fishing is completely unavailable for anglers who wish to try some river fishing at this time of year. With the correct Environment Agency rod licence fishing for coarse fish is available on some stretches of river until 15 March, and from 3 April until 31 October fly fishing for brown trout is available.
If anyone thinks that they have seen any illegal fishing, or trade in illegally caught fish, they should phone the Environment Agency's 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 807060 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 with information on environmental crime.
National and Regional byelaws can be found on the Environment Agency's website HERE
By the Same Author
- Environment Agency Awards Fisheries Contract to the Angling Trust
- Fish stocks boost for the River Rother
- Southern Water Fined for Major Pollution
- EA Blitz on Rod Licence Cheats
- Yorkshire Anglers Warned to Obey the Law
- Companies Fined for Slurry Pollution of Skelton Beck
- Salmon and Sea Trout Close Season
- Putting Nature Back Into the Blackwater River
- Water Voles Return to the River Meon
- River Crane Pollution Update
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Comments (6 posted):
Money talks, Spotty Money screams....Well, it certianly seems to, although I'm not sure where money comes into it in this case. I always think it quite strange that we never seem to hear of Trout or Salmon anglers screaming out for an end to the "injustice" of the close season in the same way that Coarse anglers do . . . . . . . Yes, I know that we can still fish for Trout in lakes most of the year much the same as coarse anglers do as well, but you just never seem to hear of any river anglers complaining about their season . . . . . . .
I would love to know how many Salmon and Sea Trout are released from the commercial 'Mullet nets' set in the Test and Itchen estuaries/Southampton Water?Well, you'd think that the skippers would know the difference, wouldn't you? [tongue firmly in left cheek]
Well, it certianly seems to, although I'm not sure where money comes into it in this case. I always think it quite strange that we never seem to hear of Trout or Salmon anglers screaming out for an end to the "injustice" of the close season in the same way that Coarse anglers do . . . . . . . Yes, I know that we can still fish for Trout in lakes most of the year much the same as coarse anglers do as well, but you just never seem to hear of any river anglers complaining about their season . . . . . . .The only time I hear them complain on the Ribble is when I tell them about the numbers I see running the river after the season has closed :D Always get a great run in the first few weeks of the closed season. The polite ones say don't tell me anymore! The impolite ones I can't repeat on here as you'll ban me :D
I would love to know how many Salmon and Sea Trout are released from the commercial 'Mullet nets' set in the Test and Itchen estuaries/Southampton Water?A few years ago I was on holiday in Poole and I had the use of a 12 footer with a seagull. Mainly I fished at night but every morning I came in about 5/6 am there were two men with high power binoculars watching over the water. At first I thought they were twitchers but curiosity got the better of me so I asked them and they were EA officers watching the commercial boats to make sure they were not taking any sea trout or salmon. They were in that stand of trees on the high ground every morning over the fortnight I was there. most of the gill netters were using Poole canoes. If only the officers so ardent about our coarse stocks.
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by Sheri
(Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada)
Cat is freaking out and scaring us. I have a two year old tabby who has been fixed since he was six months old. He sometimes acts like he is scared of life. He always wants to be on my bed and sleep with me, which is fine.
When he comes up on the bed it is like he is scared. He crouches down and his eyes open really wide and he acts very sketchy. He has always been welcome on my bed. Sometimes he sits on my bed looking up into an empty corner of the room, his tail is going back and forth like crazy and he has his ears back.
He sits doing this for up to 30 minutes. He only acts like this in my bedroom. He has always been a very loving guy, he loves affection and has a need to be loved often.
Last night my daughter found him in her baby's crib, when she tried to pick him up he freaked out and kept batting at her with his paws, nails out, he was making a weird sound.
My daughters room is in the basement, this cat hates the basement and never goes down there. This behavior is scaring us. We are thinking there is something wrong with his brain. We have other cats and he plays and has a great time with them. I hope someone can help. Thank you!
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"Educating Rita;" Enabling Frank
At the Theatre with Audrey Linden
In the exhilarating production of Willy Russell's "Educating Rita" at Theatre 40, if I had one word to describe the play, it would be enervating. It definitely was enervating, and at times the pace was annoyingly fast. Director, Robert Mackenzie kept the audience awake with his pacing. There were few lulls, and the intermission gave a welcome respite. That being said, the deliberate contrast between pondering Frank and the rapid Rita worked well to show the contrast. The play, written in 1980, pitted the older, slower literature professor, Frank, so well-acted by Adrian Neil, with the explosive, exuberant Rita. Murielle Zuker could slow down her performance a mite. Both actors were convincing and balanced each other, and are to be commended for maintaining "veddy" good, "spot on" British accents. Adrian Neil is British, but Murielle hails from Chile. Overall, the play was enjoyable, despite the pacing in Act 1.
The film version done in 1983 starred Michael Caine as Frank and Julie Waters as Rita. It would not be fair to compare anyone to Michael Caine, so I won't. Russell's play contrasts the older professor, who has given up on writing poetry in exchange for rounds at the pub. Frank is a divorced has-been who is content to coast by and rest on his laurels. He tucks his scotch behind works of literature in his bookcase. He prefers to go and get "pissed" at his local pub rather than show up for the ratatouille his live-in girlfriend, ex-student, has slaved over. He has taken on a tutoring assignment with a student from the "Open University", and he expects to be bored. Wrong. Dead wrong.
The ebullient Rita bursts into the scene in Frank's office. She is there as a student from the "Open University" because she is desperate to better herself. This lower class hairdresser wants an education so she can change her life. Rita thinks an education will give her what the upper classes have; a choice. But, Frank wonders if it will it lead to a choice for the better. He admires her openness and frankness. But, that simplistic way Rita has will not help her pass the college exams she must take. Frank has to change Rita. And, by his own example, Frank is educated and a professor, but he is not happy with his lot in life.
At their first meeting, Frank tries to discourage the education-starved Rita to no avail. She wants something from him. And it is clear Frank is attracted to her. "You're the first breath of air that's walked into this room in years." Frank feels he is "an appalling teacher in order with appalling students." Neil does a fine job in bringing the aging hippie-professor to life. He is disarmingly charming, and I hoped his Frank would get his act together.
While Zuker had a repetitive and fast way of entering the scenes, when Zuker's Rita was listening to Frank, she was totally involved. Her expressions showed a deep and attentive thoughtfulness in those silences. The silences are challenges for actors, and Zuker showed what a fine actress she is. I could literally see her mind working. Her expressions, when she was wound up over seeing "Mc Beth" were priceless. And she made the lines fresh and new.
Frank does not want to take on the assignment, but he needs the money. He likes his life the way it is. He can take a nip of booze, hidden behind a book and take solace in his office. And, a well-designed office Jeff G. Rack has given the characters to have their tutoring sessions in. The walls are olive with wainscoting, bookshelves, desk-table, paintings on the wall, Persian rug, etc. The set had a nice open feel to it.
Frank introduces Rita to E. M. Forster's "Howard's End" which she hates. Why? Rita found a sentence in the book which showed Forster did not care about the plight of the poor, which makes his book trash and rubbish in her mind. Rita finds "Peer Gynt" better suited to radio. Rita can sum it all up in one or two sentences, but she needs to learn to expound and write essays for the exam ritual. She cannot have sentimentality and must be objective. In short, she cannot be the Rita she is now, and Frank admires this honest and endearing Rita. He has "one thousand things he'd like to do" with her besides educate her.
Frank and Rita are an odd couple. Rita wants to better herself. Frank does not want to be challenged. He is in an enjoyable rut and wants to maintain the status quo. He does not want Rita to "abandon her uniqueness."
In Act 2, after the dramatic arc, hurricane Rita eclipses and surpasses her tutor. That is difficult for Frank to take. After all, he created this new Rita. He gave her knowledge and she is the product of his teaching. That becomes part of the dramatic climax. Does Rita have a mind of her own? Or is she parroting Frank? What happened to her direct and simplistic way of expressing herself? Is she espousing Frank's words or her own? Will she come into her own? Will she see through Frank? Will she expect Frank to change? Will she "find a culture or merely sing a different song?" That is the heart of this well-wrought play.
There is something of a grand deception going on in this play. Is Rita "less than" or is Frank? Many questions are raised regarding people's station in life, the importance of an education, the lack of education and society, and the importance of growing and changing. And, if you see the play, you will find your own set of questions to ponder. It is an interesting dilemma and a fascinating play Willy Russell gave us. The questions he poses are just as relevant now as they were in 1980.
"Educating Rita" runs through June 23rd at Theatre 40's Reuben Cordova Theatre located at the BHHS campus at 241 Moreno Dr. in Beverly Hills. Ample free parking is provided in the parking structure. Call 310-364-0535 for tickets. This play runs in tandem with "The Love List" directed by Howard Storm, which opens May 29th.
Audrey Linden is a writer, actress and singer. She can be seen in a long-running "Associated Tax Resolution" commercial, two "Little Caesars" spots, a "Teva International Pharmaceutical" short, Gene Simmons' "Family Jewels," "America's Court with Judge Ross," VHS "Tough Love 2," "Wendy's" etc. "Sensationails" commercial and print.
Audrey teaches ON CAMERA COMMERCIAL and IMPROV COMEDY WORKSHOPS through the City of Beverly Hills. To register, call 310-285-6850. Her classes are held at 241 Moreno Dr. B.H. 90212. Her classes are on-going in June through July for summer. IMPROV COMEDY is 4 weeks starting June 9th through July 7th with no class June 30th. ON CAMERA COMMERCIALS starts June 5th and is 5 sessions through July 10th no class on July 3rdFor more information, go to www.beverlyhills.com/bhregonline and contact Audrey at firstname.lastname@example.com


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The Blizzard Puck Q12 Plus LED Par Can Stage Light brings total versatility in a compact design by featuring a total of 12 state-of-the-art 10-Watt Quad-Color LEDs in a unique 6 RGBW (Red/Green/Blue/White), 6 RGBA (Red/Green/Blue/Amber) LED configuration! Combining RGBW and RGBA LEDs generates extreme output and exceptional color mixing, allowing the Puck Q12 Plus to effortlessly create both delicate pastels and fiery oranges and ambers.
Blizzard Puck Q12 Plus LED Par Can Stage Light Features


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Add these shoulder exercises into your regular workout routine and increase your upper body strength, while strengthening and stabilizing your shoulders. From the stability ball dumbbell press to the medicine ball push-up, these exercises are a great way to strengthen your deltoids, rotator cuff and trapezius muscles. Browse through our large collection of detailed tutorials and step-by-step demonstrations from today's leaders in the health fitness industry. For full workout routines featuring these shoulder exercises, visit our Workouts section.
Fit Life Articles
If you feel like you need more time for yourself—time to eat better, exercise more, declutter your home or just making some changes—here are five ways to accept and address the challenges of life and succeed.
With all of the time, energy and sleepless nights that go into caring for a new baby, exercise is probably the last thing on your mind. But rather than thinking of exercise as precious time spent away from baby and family, you can include your baby in your workouts. These...
Tight IT bands—those long pieces of connective tissue that run along the outsides of the legs—can be symptomatic of imbalances or weaknesses in other parts of the legs or hips. Yoga, when practiced with proper alignment and body awareness, is effective for finding those...


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March 1, 2008
Fourteenth-ranked Ball State beat No.7 UCLA for the second straight night at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind.
The Cardinals won 30-21, 30-26, 30-24 in 86 minutes before a crowd of 3,572, eclipsing Friday night's season-high for attendance. Ball State won its seventh straight and 11th in its last 12 matches, raising its record to 12-6, The Bruins, who lost their fourth straight, fell to 10-9.
Once again, neither team hit efficiently, but Ball State made fewer mistakes across the board. For the second straight night, the Cardinals out-blocked the Bruins, 14-8, and were more composed on the service line, producing three aces against eight errors. The Bruins committed 16 service errors with just three aces. Ball State hit .273, and UCLA hit just .126
Sophomore Garrett Muagututia led the Bruins with 11 kills, but made 15 errors in 32 attempts. Freshman Weston Dunlap recorded nine kills and Sean O'Malley added seven. Junior setter Matt Wade started, but managed just five assists before giving way to Kevin Ker, who led the Bruins with 32 assists. Senior Tony Ker recorded eight digs, inching closer to the all-time UCLA career record.
Marcus Imwalle led the Cardinals with 12 kills, followed by senior Patrick Durbin, who added 10 (.474).
The Bruins return home Tues., Mar. 4 for a non-league match against Lewis at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion. The next night UCLA hosts UC Santa Cruz.


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If you haven't heard, the natural pet product category of the pet industry is booming! More and more companies are sprouting up with new and innovative natural pet products and well-established companies are launching more lines to appeal to the consumer seeking out a better quality natural pet product for their pets.
After a successful Made in the USA pet product expo in February of this year, in New York City, Long Island Pet Professionals and Whitegate PR are excited announce their next in this series of expos with a 'Natural Pet Product Expo' on Thursday, October 16, 2014 from 2pm - 8pm smack dab in the middle of New York City at the pet friendly Hotel Pennsylvania in the Gold Ballroom (401 7th Avenue, New York, N.Y., 10001).
This one-day event will still have that patriotic twist, as the vendors at the event will feature their 'Made in America' natural pet products on display and for sale exclusively to retailers. NYC and tri-state area retailers, pet influencers, pet celebrities and the media are invited for this exclusive event, to meet and learn about Natural Pet Products that are proudly made in the USA!
When: Thursday, October 16, 2014 from 2pm - 8pm
Where: Hotel Pennsylvania
401 7th Avenue (Directly across from Penn Station) In the Gold Ballroom
New York, NY 10001
What: NYC Re-tails & Sales Expo - featuring Natural Pet Products that are Made in the USA!
Become a Vendor: Click here to become a vendor - limited space so hurry!
Retailers: To register for this exclusive event, at no charge to you, please click here.
"Our successful event in February which featured pet product vendors that were Made in the USA, brought pet companies from all across the USA to NYC and retailers from different areas including Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Boston and Long Island! The next event in October will feature Natural Pet products that are Made in the USA - and if you have been paying attention to the industry this is a booming area as the demand from retailers and pet parents for such products is growing daily," stated Nancy E. Hassel, founder and President of Long Island Pet Professionals.
"We are excited to be in a bigger venue to allow more vendors for retailers to meet and a later time from 2pm- 8pm to accommodate more people to attend later in the day," stated Dana Humphrey of Whitegate PR. "And we are thrilled that to once again have Pet Age Magazine is our Presenting Media Sponsor!"
This is the perfect opportunity for pet retailers to meet the makers of natural American-made pet products!
Brought to you by Long Island Pet Professionals and Whitegate PR. NYC retailers and members of the media, to request an interview or find out more information contact Nancy Hassel at (631) 446-1105 or Dana Humphrey at (619) 414-9307 or by email at firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com.
**Limited vendor space left! Sponsorship opportunities available.**
To learn more about the event, register as press or a retailer to attend or to become a vendor go to www.RetailsandSalesPetExpo.com.


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All branches of Marin County Free Library will be closed on Monday, July 4 for Independence Day.
Construction crews were out in full force this morning at the Novato Library! Teams of children and adults designed, constructed and tested buildings made of straw, sticks and bricks as part of the Summer Reading Program "3 Little Pigs: The Science Behind the Story."
After retelling the story of the Three Little Pigs, we discussed our challenge question, formed a hypothesis and got down to the nitty-gritty of testing our theories. The challenge quickly morphed into "how can we construct stronger houses than the 3 Little Pigs?" with some fantastic results! As a group we were able to construct 9 straw houses, 10 stick homes and 12 brick buildings that refused to be knocked down!
All in all, our observations led us to conclude that the pyramid design is a very sturdy building shape, leaving "somewhere for air to go" helps houses withstand wind forces and building with friends and family ROCKS!
Check out all the photos from the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marincountyfreelibrary
Stay tuned for more science events coming this fall!


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Aug 17, 2011 11:58 AM
Brushing your teeth is a lot more fun than getting a root canal, but that's a little bit depressing for the title of a book. The perfect gift for kids or one of your hygienically challenged buddies, Brushing Your Teeth Can Be Fun by Munro Leaf ($15) originally started out as the original 'YOU: being beautiful' with tons of ideas on how to grow up healthy, strong, and smart. And since we don't plan on growing up anytime soon, we think this book still applies to us over 20-somethings.
If you've got a product or service that you'd like to promote on Outblush, click here to find out about our advertising opportunities.
Outblush is a blog for girls who love to shop. Our staff digs up the best clothes, home stuff, beauty items, and more. New items are posted every day — bookmark us and check out:


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Foliage Contests →
Foliage Ambassador Contest
The foliage ambassador contest is now closed. Thanks to all who submitted reports. Come back next fall to report on the color in your area.
Please Note: This article was accurate at the time of publication. When planning a trip, please confirm details by directly contacting any company or establishment you intend to visit.


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KIMBERLYS2012's Blogs
Stressful Week
Friday, January 31, 2014 3 comments
Well, life has a way of throwing a curve ball. This past week there was a parole hearing for one of the men responsible for my little brother's death. This man was paroled after serving 7 years of his sentence. I forgive him, but still struggle...
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Starting a new streak!!
Thursday, January 09, 2014 1 comments
Finally! The scale is moving in the right direction. . .down! I believe I've had weight loss for 2 weeks in a row. A new streak, one that I want to continue! I'm still have many challenges, but I have not given up. I will keep trying. I really l...
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Not giving up!!!!,
Friday, December 27, 2013 2 comments
So, my intentions were to track, track, track this week. I was not successful. I gained weight too. :( The good news is that although I didn't meet my goals this week I did have some success. The holidays always involve a lot of food, treats, et...
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Baby Steps. . . are still steps forward!!
Monday, December 23, 2013 1 comments
I'm trying to track food and fitness daily. Have I done that? Well, not totally, but I'm trying. I have tracked a few meals . . . baby steps. Today, is a new day and I can start again, and will this morning. Breakfast tracked! Shoveling snow, d...
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Raising the Bar
Thursday, December 19, 2013 3 comments
I've decided after a very rough week, that I need to do something to raise the bar and help me get back on track. This is such a rough time of year for me. In 2005, my younger brother was killed in a robbery where he worked. We had a funeral on...
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Still trying. . .and not expecting perfection.
Thursday, October 31, 2013 4 comments
The reality is that I'm not going to be perfect and that's okay. I'm going to keep trying even on rough days. I have a goal and as long as I keep moving forward it is still a forward motion. I have already found some things that I love about the...
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The struggle
Sunday, September 22, 2013 5 comments
I should be closer to my goal by now, but am really struggling and have had several setbacks. I've gained some weight back (but am now losing again). Controlling my food choices and staying on track are really difficult for me right now. It seem...
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Spinning my wheels, but not going anywhere!
Saturday, July 20, 2013 9 comments
I'm feeling really disappointed in my current progress. I wanted to be closer to my goal at this point. I need to get going. I need to track, track, track, but haven't had the time to get on the computer or to do any planning. We are going to mo...
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Emotional or Stress Eating?
Monday, February 18, 2013 2 comments
The past few weeks have been very stressful, and up until now, I thought that stress didn't effect my eating. WRONG!! I have been really struggling to do the basic things I need to do to stay on track. I haven't had the motivation, or desire to ...
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A huge milestone!
Sunday, February 03, 2013 5 comments
I can't believe I have hit such a huge milestone. Thanks you Jesus!!!! I have never been able to maintain such big changes, and still feel good about them. In the past there was frustration, resentment, and a enormous feeling of deprivation. I d...
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On the way down!
Saturday, January 12, 2013 5 comments
Woo Hoo! I'm so thrilled it was a great week! I lost the last of the holiday weight, plus a smidge! Now I am feeling better! I'm feeling motivated to do more. I'm tracking food and fitness! I need to do more intensive exercise and strength train...
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Starting over and being kind to myself for setbacks.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 3 comments
We just returned from an awesome vacation with friends and family, but it seems that everything was centered around food and eating. It was the holidays, you know! Snacking, and no portion control. I am more successful at home, because I don't h...
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A New Beginning
Saturday, December 15, 2012 4 comments
At 43 years old, a new beginning? Well, that's exactly where I am, in 2012 . . . a new beginning.. I've started a new way of living this past August. No more excuses for why I'm making poor choices. I'm so excited about the changes I've been mak...
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Wyndham Orlando Resort Completes Reno
Tuesday March 11th, 2014 - 11:12AM
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ORLANDO—Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive has completed a multi-million dollar renovation including the lobby lounge, guestrooms and 25,000 sq. ft. of newly constructed meeting space and outdoor venues.
The completed hotel renovation complements an expansive 100,000-sq.-ft. retail and dining development, I-Shops, taking shape on International Drive.
Beginning in 2012, the two-year renovation project at Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive touched every aspect of the property. Upon arrival, guests now pass under a grand porte-cochère before entering the fully remodeled lobby outfitted in a modernized palette by New York-based design firm Krause+Sawyer. Features include a chandelier custom-created by Neidhardt Lighting and warm tones of natural materials like wood, marble and tile that are juxtaposed by strong accents of black-and-white stripes and cheerful patterns. Designed to seamlessly transition from indoor to outdoor spaces, the lobby leads guests' eyes to a connecting patio and beyond to the pool area. The lobby lounge offers seating areas with touches such as a selection of lifestyle, travel and design books and easily accessible power outlets to plug in to electronic devices. It also has a communal networking station.
The 613 guestrooms, laid out across several free-standing buildings on the resort's grounds, feature contemporary décor that complements the lobby interior. Features include bed and desk furnishings in warm wood tones, crisp white linens accented by bold shots of poppy red and cool blue accessories, black-and-white area rugs and vivacious artwork. Each guestroom has been updated with True Blue Spa bath products and technological upgrades such as 40-in. flat-screen TVs and MP3 docking stations.
Guest accommodations vary across 13 different configurations, including the Florida Fun Suite. This family room concept offers a kid-friendly nook just off the main bedroom equipped with bunk beds, a bean bag chair and a wall-mounted TV.
The hotel's meeting space renovation includes a new 25,000 sq.-ft. ballroom. Exterior renovations are near completion as well, with new landscaping on the Grand Lawn and new furniture on the decks of the resort's heated outdoor swimming pools. Additional upgrades are set to take place throughout 2014. Cooper's Hawk Winery, a new full-service restaurant offering modern casual dining and handcrafted wines, is scheduled to open by the fall.
International Drive's redevelopment will culminate in a new $200-million entertainment complex just south of the Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive. The complex includes restaurants, clubs, shops and three attractions operated by Merlin Entertainments: the 400-ft. observation wheel, the Orlando Eye, SEA LIFE Aquarium and a Madame Tussauds wax attraction. Restaurants will open beginning in spring of 2014 with the main opening of the complex scheduled for spring of 2015.
Tags: Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive • Krause and Sawyer • Neidhardt Lighting • Hospitality • Architecure & Interiors • Construction/Renovation •
With all of the question marks that always exist when it comes to navigating current conditions and forecasting future ones—i.e. the all-too-common inning analogy—and calls to action to advocate for the hospitality industry, one thing seemed overwhelming clear: the reminder that with all of the concerns and considerations, the hotel business is experiencing opportunity that is at an all-time high.
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Lamar Wilson | Photo: Christopher Polke | June 25, 2013
While performing in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 53,000 fans, Taylor Swift was caught rocking out at the piano.
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Photographer Christopher Polke took the photo during her hit song, "All Too Well." Swift's stop in town was the second of 13 North American stadium dates on her Red Tour. "I was working the arena with a 400 mm lens looking for a nice vantage point when I ended up in the center aisle," Polke remembers. "Taylor was elevated and I shot long. Sometimes the obvious is the best shot."


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Forecast discussion: As we head into the last days of August, we are beginning to see the tug of war between two seasons. As we approach the Labor Day weekend, the first half of the weekend will feel like autumn. But, as we move into the second half of the weekend, we will return to the high humidity and the risk of some inclement weather.
Right now, it feels quite comfortable, as the humidity remains quite low. A cold front that passed through last night brought northwest winds this afternoon, and the mixing of the cooler air with the warmer air over us created those strong breezes Thursday afternoon. East-southeast winds will help bring cooler temperatures on Friday, with highs only in the lower 70's in the capital city.
It will remain cool on Saturday, as we will remain with easterly winds, although it will begin to turn to the southeast. However, as the high pressure center moves off to the east, our winds will turn to the south-southwest, helping to increase our humidity. We will feel the muggy weather on Sunday, as our temperatures climb into the middle 80's. Also, there is the risk of seeing an isolated shower or thunderstorm, as a cold front inches towards New England.
For Labor Day, it will look like the worst day of the weekend. I am expecting mostly cloudy skies, but I am not expecting a washout. However, there will be scattered showers and a possible thunderstorm throughout the day. Temperatures will remain mild, with highs in the lower 80's. The front will finally pass through on Tuesday, but there is a slight risk for showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon.
It appears the computer models continue to disagree on the long range weather forecast. The American model continues to keep the front stalled, allowing for more scattered showers and thunderstorms into Wednesday. But, the European model moves the front out to sea, allowing for a new high pressure center to take over the eastern U.S. At this time, I am not agreeing with the American model. It has been more consistent in its forecast, but the weather factors do not add up. There is no blocking pattern over Greenland right now that would allow the front to remain stationary. So, I will give us dry weather for Wednesday but keeping some moisture in our atmosphere. This would mean some limited sunshine, with the high moving over New England on Thursday. This will give us mostly sunny skies going into the following weekend.
Finally, please be careful if you are heading to any beaches this weekend. The High Surf Advisory remains in effect, due to the high surf created by Cristobal. The advisory was extended into Friday night, although the risk for rip currents will lower to moderate. Seas and swells will continue to slowly decay through the weekend, making it safer to enjoy the waters by Saturday.
72 hour forecast:
Tonight: Partly cloudy and cool with a low of 60.
Friday: Mostly sunny and cooler with a high of 72. Winds will shift to the east-southeast at 10-13 mph.
Friday night: Partly cloudy with a low of 58. Winds will come from the south-southeast at 3-6 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny with a high of 76.
Saturday night: Partly cloudy with increasing clouds by dawn and a low of 65.
Sunday: Partly sunny with isolated showers or thunderstorms by the mid-afternoon. We will have a high of 83.
Sunday night: Cloudy with scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm. We will see a low of 70.
Extended Forecast:
Labor Day: Cloudy with scattered showers and a possible thunderstorm. Highs 81-84, lows 66-69.
Tuesday: Partly sunny with possible afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Highs 79-82, lows 65-68.
Wednesday: Partly sunny. Highs 79-82, lows 61-64.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs 78-81, lows 63-66.


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Ugly in LA: Kennedy, Gibson,Mattingly among 8 suspendedAP PHOTO
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, center, yells at members of the Arizona Diamondbacks while umpire Manny Gonzalez holds him back on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
NEW YORK Arizona pitcher Ian Kennedy was suspended for 10 games and Diamondbacks infielder Eric Hinske for five Friday for their roles in a brawl this week, while managers Don Mattingly and Kirk Gibson were given one-game bans.
In all, eight members of the Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations were suspended by Major League Baseball Senior Vice President Joe Garagiola Jr.
He cited Kennedy for intentionally throwing a pitch at the head of Zack Greinke after a warning had been issued on Tuesday night and Hinske for leaving the dugout and aggressive actions. Mattingly was penalized for his conduct and Gibson for Kennedys actions following a warning.
Dodgers pitcher J.P. Howell and infielder-outfielder Skip Schumaker were suspended two games apiece for aggressive actions and Los Angeles hitting coach Mark McGwire two games for his conduct.
Los Angeles pitcher Ronald Belisario was suspended one game for aggressive actions.
All eight were fined, as were Greinke, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, Arizona catcher Miguel Montero and Diamondbacks outfielder Gerardo Parra.
MLB fined the Dodgers for allowing players on the disabled list to leave the dugout and enter the field during the brawl. MLB also banned disable list players on the Dodgers and Diamondbacks from sitting in their dugouts through Sunday.
Mattingly was to serve his penalty during Friday nights series opener at Pittsburgh and Gibson during Arizonas game at San Diego. McGwire was to miss games Friday and Saturday.
If players appeal, theyre penalties are held off until after hearings and decisions.
Kennedy hit Puig with a pitch that deflected off his back to his nose in the sixth, and Greinke hit Montero on the back in the seventh, drawing a warning from umpires. Both teams charged onto the field, but the scrum broke up quickly with no punches thrown.
Kennedy then hit Greinke on the upper left shoulder in the bottom half of the inning, and the ball deflected off his helmet. A prolonged and more heated scuffle ensued against a railing on the first-base side.
Kennedy, Gibson and Diamondbacks coach Turner Ward were ejected after the shoving match. Puig, McGwire and Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario also were tossed.
Mattingly had to be restrained as he tried to get at Gibson, and they exchanged words briefly. McGwire and third base coach Matt Williams grabbed each others shirts in a tense standoff and shouted at each other.MORE IN Sports WireBETHESDA, Md. Full StoryNEW YORK Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knick has agreed to chase a fourth Olympic mens... Full StoryDUBLIN Graeme McDowell rejected the chance to replace Rory McIlroy in the Irish Olympic team on... Full Story
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text: Gavin Rich - SuperSportJohannesburg - The two teams who have won the Absa Currie Cup the most in the history of South Africa's long-running domestic competition will be the ones under the most pressure when the second round of fixtures in the 2011 edition is played this weekend.Both Western Province and the Blue Bulls have been robbed of the bulk of their usual squad by Springbok call-ups and a combination of other factors, but the fans of the two respected unions will still be demanding success after both teams experienced hiccups in the opening round.The Bulls were comprehensively outplayed by the Sharks in Durban, while WP were held to a draw by Griquas. Considering how weakened WP are that result would not have been a surprise to everyone, but at Newlands they should expect to beat Griquas regardless of how many players are missing.Province coach Allister Coetzee did make a good point this week when he said the Currie Cup this year should be more about readying players for next year's Super Rugby than about winning the trophy. With Super Rugby now extending over so many months and demanding so much of the participants there is no longer any lingering question about which is the more important competition.However Coetzee will also know that the Stormers' chances next year will be best served by a winning environment at Province over the next few months, so his side can't afford to slip up again when they play the Platinum Leopards in Potchefstroom on Friday night. WP have lost Gary van Aswegen to injury and will be fielding Demetri Catrakilis, the Varsity Cup-winning UCT flyhalf, in a Currie Cup starting lineup for the first time.Although the Leopards lost heavily to the Cheetahs last week, Coetzee has noted an improvement in the Leopards, and given the way his side has struggled in first phase just recently, it is unsurprising that he is a bit wary."I don't know where they get them from but the Leopards seem to always have big locks and they have a big pack generally," said Coetzee.Of the two fierce rivals, who will clash at Newlands the following week, it is the Bulls who have the tougher ask this weekend. They play the Fre State Cheetahs, and though they have home ground advantage, that means less to them against these opponents in this competition than it did in the past and it would in Super Rugby.In the under-strength domestic season, the Cheetahs are formidable opponents anywhere, and there recent record against the Bulls is a good one, with their last defeat to them in the Currie Cup coming in the 2009 final, when the Bulls were at full strength.So it's a tough ask for the under-pressure Bulls, and their coach Pine Pienaar knows they have to lift their performance significantly from last week."To beat Free State will require a great effort from us and we will have no choice but to respond to the pressure that we face. No team can afford to lose a home match in this competition," said Pienaar.With basically their entire first choice pack out, the Bulls are in the unusual situation of being up against it in precisely the area where usually they are strong.Realistically the Cheetahs and the Golden Lions, as the Super Rugby teams that have lost the fewest players, should be favoured to play in the final this year, as they did in the last World Cup year in 2007. But one top side that might cause us to rethink that is the Sharks, who were impressive in their Durban opener and who, because of the recruitment of Frederic Michalak and Marius Joubert from France, boast a useful and experienced backline.They shouldn't have too much trouble seeing off the challenge of the Pumas in Nelspruit on Friday night, but for the Lions it is going to be far tougher as they go to Kimberley to play against Griquas on Saturday afternoon. The Lions battled more than anticipated against the Pumas last week and Griquas start as marginal favourites for this game.


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ASK IRA: Does Bosh need buttons pushed?
Q: Did you get the sense from Friday night that Chris Bosh hadn't yet figured out a reason to have a chip on his shoulder for this season? — Fil.
A: While Chris said he did react to the "Over-rated!" chants at Madison Square Garden, I would not overstate that. It is not Chris' personality to need to find a reason to fight. He is an even-keeled sort who plays off precision more than passion. Even at his most fired up, he doesn't look all that fired up. But he was huge at the end of Saturday's victory over the Wizards, making smart play after smart play after smart play. He showed this weekend he can step forward when needed.
Q: Are we going to see Bosh get abused for the next six years down low against much stronger power forwards? — Chris.
A: No, we're going to see him thrive with his finesse game. That's who he has, and in recent weeks there has been a substantial payoff. Again, accept him for what he is. It was All-Star good in Toronto and has significantly substantial these past three week.
Q: Do you believe that Mario Chalmers is a better fit for this team as the starting point guard over Arroyo? — Jose.
A: No. Carlos is a true ballhandler and better at getting the team settled at the start of games. Mario does not have the instincts or the handle of a playmaker, making him better suited to fill a swing role off the bench. His late foul Saturday in Washington on Kirk Hinrich immediately off an inbounds play was one of those what-the-heck-are-you-thinking moments.
Q: Isn't Juwan a weak link if Bosh gets in foul trouble? He cannot rebound, jump or play defense. He also seems reluctant to shoot since his slow feet aren't enabling him to do things he used to. –Phil
A: Look, Juwan signed on as a third-stringer, with Udonis Haslem's injury pushing him up the ladder. I do agree that he may no longer be an everyday presence. But he doesn't hurt the team when he is in there. I do see the Heat moving more toward Joel Anthony at power forward, especially in matchups such as the Friday one against Amare Stoudemire, when he made an impact with his defense.
Q: Do you think that the hatred toward LeBron these past months will impact the total number of votes he gets for the All-Star Game? — Naveen.
A: Apparently not, at least when considering the initial balloting returns. Even on the road, for as many who jeer, there are twice as many in awe, which is why they're in the building in the first place.


text:
2014 - Koppenberg
Submitted by David on
- Sportif Images
- Green Curry
- Bo Bickerstaff
Learn more of the race, history, details and past winners at http://303cycling.com/The-Colorado-Koppenberg-race
13 Comments
Just road the course today
Submitted by Dirt Racer (not verified) on
Just road the course today and the dirt road is in awesome shape versus a few weeks ago. Cool video going around by Neal Henderson on facebook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0GiNmuYr50&feature=youtu.be
Points: 33
Tough Day
Submitted by That Guy (not verified) on
Warm temps, but that wind was pretty tough most of the day. I felt a little better about how much I was struggling up that first little dirt hill before turning left after I saw some of the Pro 1/2s pedaling squares heading up it too.
Points: 25
Hats off to Kristen Peterson for the Win and the successful...
Submitted by Kris Thompson on
The successful transition from being a successful triathlete to winning Koppenberg.
Your name will live in the books now for winning the prestigious Koppenberg, http://303cycling.com/The-Colorado-Koppenberg-race
Points: 33
Some GoPro from the race
Submitted by Stephen Fitzgerald (not verified) on
As far as race video edits go, this one is pretty horrible because I lost track of when the camera was on/off and then the battery died. BUT... at least it shows some of the action from the SM35+ 3 race.
Points: 37
Submitted by Stephen Fitzgerald (not verified) on
Pics from the races around 11:45
Points: 31
Great event!
Submitted by Scott (not verified) on
Great event!
Thanks WOL for putting on another great event for everyone. It is always a fun, organized race on a challenging course. It would be great if the hill were in closer proximity to where spectators could get to it and then back to the finish, but that is kinda out of your control!
See you next year.
Points: 47
TWO great events
Submitted by chris (not verified) on
Kopp is always great, well done WOL! Cafe Velo TT was crazy well organized, beautiful, but hard race. CPRacing put on one fine event(very small team)
Points: 39
Cat 5s 10 min faster than Cat4s?
Submitted by Ultimate Warrio... (not verified) on
Seems odd that the SM5 would do 3 laps in 41 min, but the SM4s did 3 laps in 51 min? I didn't see the 4s, did they just stay together and not push the pace early?
Points: 15
Oops, 4s did 4 laps it seems.
Submitted by Ultimate Warrio... (not verified) on
Oops, 4s did 4 laps it seems.
Points: 25
I thought that the BIG K was
Submitted by Cyclist (not verified) on
I thought that the BIG K was a real race. Guess it was equal to a criterium for most groups.
Points: 15
Double Cat. 5 Crit Length
Submitted by Racer (not verified) on
In BRAC land, Cat. 5s do 20 minute crits. So Koppenburg is doubling them up.
Kopp is a Dirt Circuit Race. Sweet, Short and Hard!
Points: 37
if crits are 3 or 4 laps and
Submitted by Rick Flair (not verified) on
if crits are 3 or 4 laps and 35% dirt, then yeah, it's like a crit
Points: 46
2014 45+ Open full race video w/overlay
Submitted by aataxhelp (not verified) on
Points: 23


text:
When it comes to getting a broadband modem for your notebook, if you don't want a USB version, you have PC Cards or Express Cards to choose from. The catch is that if you have more than one computer and each of them needs a different expansion card type you are out of luck.
AT&T has a new mobile broadband modem coming that is from Sierra Wireless called the AirCard 890. The device is set to land on May 5 and supports the faster AT&T HSPA 7.2 networks in place around the country.
The coolest feature of the 890 is that the device can be used in either PC Card or Express Card slots thanks to its design. The card will sell for $49.99 after a mail-in rebate and new agreement. The card costs $149.99 up front.


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Birth & Midwifery in Saudi Arabia
Resources for parents and practitioners
Connect with many more midwives and birth enthusiasts from around the world by joining IAM, the International Alliance of Midwives!
Some of the following sites may not be in English; an online translator may be useful.
Birth Situation Room Report
Midwifery Today Country Contact*
*To learn what a Country Contact is or to reach any Midwifery Today Country Contact, click here.
Aisha Alhajjar has been networking in Saudi Arabia since arriving in 2010 (she was previously in Egypt) and is pleased to have brought together about a dozen doulas from all around the country. She hosts monthly doula meetings. She also collaborates with Al Bidayyah Center to coordinate breastfeeding counselor trainings and participates in monthly breastfeeding meetings and mothers' gatherings. She has begun her educational journey to midwifery and has brought several of her doula sisters along with her. The only midwives she has met work mostly as obstetric nurses in hospitals, as homebith is not legal, however she dreams of the day where Alternative Birth Centers and homebirth midwifery are the norm.
Aisha writes a blog (see below) as well as two weekly columns on Saudi Life that raise awareness about natural birth, breastfeeding, and parenting; other writing include freelance journalism for Arab News as well as some in Arabic for the Ministry of Health. She is the first instructor of the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth® in her country and is excited to bring it to the Middle East. However, she is currently rolling out an Islamic childbirth and doula education program (AMANI Birth) and hopes to have it recognized by the Saudi Ministry of Health. She also hopes to open a string of AMANI Birth ABCs that would serve women as well as be a training grounds for aspiring midwives.
- saudibirthstory.blogspot.com—Aisha Alhajjar's blog
- www.amanibirth.com—AMANI Birth
What is the biggest challenge facing normal birth in your country and what is being done to address it?
Saudi Arabia is a unique mix of technology and tradition. Unfortunately, like in the United States, technology and obstetric dominance is the norm for birth. It's said that out-of-hospital births are illegal. Although I haven't checked the law personally, I can attest that there are no out-of-hospital birth centers, let alone professional midwives attending homebirths in the metropolitan areas.
There are some gems in the hospital birthing world, but finding them can take some dedicated detective work. In the local culture, seeking a second opinion is considered shameful, which often leaves women stuck with the first care provider they visit. In government hospitals it is not even allowed. This makes women extremely vulnerable to the protocols of their doctors.
Women are often naïve to this and simply visit the clinic nearest their home or the one included on their insurance provider's list. Families who do this are especially subject to the hit or miss chance of exercising personal choice in their care plan. Sadly, "miss" seems to surface more than "hit."
There are a mix of hospital rules, some of which still forbid anyone, even the father of the baby, to attend women in labor, let alone delivery. A contributing factor is the strict segregation of the sexes, with the maternity unit restricted to "women only" in some hospitals. Fortunately, some hospitals do allow and even encourage personal labor support, though it is usually limited to just one person at a time. Doulas are not known in the culture and hospital midwives are oftentimes just obstetric nurses who do not catch babies nor preside over care.
However, there is a growing expat community of women who are entering the doula and childbirth education fields. A handful of them are also embarking on distance education programs of midwifery from the United States, myself included. The public voice for natural birth on the Saudi Life motherhood column (saudilife.net/motherhood) has begun to raise awareness and draw together women who advocate for natural birth and choices in labor and delivery.
This expat community of "birthy sisters" are pioneers for expectant families. The dream is to open women-focused freestanding birth centers. Although we are not sure how we will overcome the cultural barriers and address current governmental structures, we are optimistic and moving forward in our personal education efforts to ensure that we are prepared and ready when the time comes.
There have been reports in Arabic news about the ministry of health's vision for a more European model of women-centered care. This will take extensive infrastructure and planning and we hope that we can do our part to propel this vision and contribute from the ground floor.
— Aisha Al Hajjar
AMANI Birth


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Splatah King
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I always try to advance my station, Tech level, and Upgrades first. Do this after building a very small force, just enough for defense. The reason for the small force is because every time you build the next level of the space station it completely heals itself. after you have all of the upgrades and most of the mines start building as many corvettes as you can because of the first wave of fighters than hero's and cap ships but don't put them on the map. after this is done start building frigates for complicating things on the battle field. than as soon as the enemy attacks than launch your entire force at once. This will take out there force that they built up and you have most of the troops left so you can counter attack.
Also do you play just one vs one or team games? this would also help. :P
The other thing that u might want to do is change the over all difficulty of the game so that it is slightly easier
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Love this! Elements of the track sound like Scooby Doo music haha, sounds niceeeee, and well let's not get started on how good Hov's flow is!
Great song! This is knocking for sure! I hope the track comes on iTunes so we can support the artists!
Great!! I hope there's a longer version too!
Timbaland Take Over! Enough said
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text:
Redick rental still an upgrade for Bucks
J.J. Redick is a rental policy for the Bucks, who have no guarantees they can sign him to a new contract this summer.
But the former Orlando Magic guard is a decent rental at that, after being acquired in a six-player deal at the trade deadline Thursday. He provides some more pop in the backcourt and real relief for starters Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, who have played heavy minutes this season.
In fact, coach Jim Boylan was talking about having to play Jennings and Ellis too much after the Bucks' 113-111 overtime loss to Brooklyn on Tuesday at the Barclays Center. But Boylan said he had no other choice.
Now he does, in the form of a player averaging a career-best 45% from the field and 39% from three-point range.
"If you go with the old theory you can never have too many shooters, we feel confident we've added a good one," Bucks general manager John Hammond said.
Redick has improved "by leaps and bounds" said someone close to the situation in Orlando. And he's in his prime at age 28 and his seventh NBA season.
Redick, forward Gustavo Ayon and guard Ish Smith are expected to be in Milwaukee on Friday morning. They will undergo physicals before they can practice with their new team. The Bucks play again Saturday when they host the Atlanta Hawks and Josh Smith.
The Bucks also made a determined effort to get Smith, the top player available at the trade deadline, but the Hawks ultimately decided not to make a deal.
Redick was in Dallas on Thursday, where the Magic had played Wednesday night, when he learned of the trade to the Bucks.
"I think with them bringing me in I assume they want to get into the playoffs, make a playoff run and get as high a seed as possible," Redick said. "Hopefully, I can help them do that and we'll deal with the summer when the summer happens."
Redick is in the final year of a contract that pays him about $6.2 million this season.
- Middleton gets first-hand look at global game in Australia
- Careful planning pays off for Bucks picks Maker, Brogdon
- Video: Get to know Thon Maker
- Video: Thon Maker's high school highlights
- Video: Bucks pick Virginia's Brogdon with 36th pick
- Denzel Valentine downplays reported severity of knee problems
- Wade Baldwin shares interesting ties with Jason Kidd
- Jakob Poeltl discusses defense ahead of NBA draft
- Kidd's 3-year extension done, takes him through 2019-'20 season
- Bucks open summer league play July 8 vs. Cavs


text:
Twice-Baked Deviled Potatoes RecipeRead Reviews Be the first to add a review
4.5 4 9
The delicious side dish from Karol Chandler-Ezell of Nacogdoches, Texas is flavored with bacon and cheddar, and has just a hint of Dijon mustard. And since they take under 30 minutes, they're perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.
- 4 small baking potatoes
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup real bacon bits
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Dash paprika
- Scrub and pierce potatoes; place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 7-10 minutes or until tender, turning once. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut a thin slice off the top of each potato and discard. Scoop out pulp, leaving a thin shell.
- In a large bowl, mash the pulp with butter and milk. Stir in the cheese, bacon, onions, mustard and paprika. Spoon into potato shells. Return to the microwave-safe plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.
Editor's Note: This recipe was tested in a 1,100-watt microwave.
Originally published as Twice-Baked Deviled Potatoes in Simple & Delicious May/June 2007, p19
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Reviewed Dec. 25, 2013
"Made this with a ham for Christmas dinner and my whole family loved it. Forgot to buy green onions so used some freeze dried chives instead which worked fine but the green onions would have been better. Awesome recipe! Will be making often."
Reviewed Apr. 4, 2012
"Yum. Love this one."
Reviewed Jan. 12, 2011
"Have made this many times! If I don't have green onions on hand, I will use a small amount of frozen chopped onions with equally tasty results."
Reviewed Mar. 15, 2009
"Very flavorful!"