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Save $20-$25 off select backpacks at Dick's Sporting Goods on Saturday, August 23. The best deals on backpacks are $25 off Opie daypacks, $20 off Vapor Camo or Metallic backpacks and $20 off Nike Vapor backpacks. There are sizes, styles and colors for students of all ages.
Get $10 Dick's Cash when you buy a $59 or more backpack at Dick's Sporting Goods on Saturday, August 23. With school just begun, this is the perfect time to get a quality backpack that will last throughout the school year in the season's most popular styles and colors. Choose Haystack backpacks from The North Face, Nike Elite backpacks or Air Max Team Training large backpacks and more.
With the new school year comes a new schedule of team sports, and you'll find eve3rything you need for running, training, basketball and soccer at Dick's Sporting Goods. Look for sales and specials on Nike basketball shorts, women's running shorts, men's Swoosh shorts, logo and graphic tees and Storm hoodies for men and women.
More Saturday sales include:
- Climacool Quick backpacks $65
- Big logo backpacks $64.99
- Camden backpacks $74.99
- Men's or women's Surge II backpacks $125
- Haystack backpacks $59
- Men's or women's Wasatch backpacks $69.99
- Men's or women's Recon backpacks $99
- Nike Elite backpacks $80
- Nike Vapor backpacks $49.95
- Team Training Max Air large backpacks $65
- Ultimatum utility backpacks $90
- Brasilia 6 XL backpacks $46
- 25% off women's Great Escape shorts
- 25% off women's Reebok Motion Collection
- Women's Nike Leg-A-See leggings $45-$50
- Women's Nike Mezzo short sleeve signal tops $50
- Women's or men's Storm big logo hoodies %54.99-$59.99
- Men's Alter Ego compression short sleeve tees $59.99
- Men's Fly Blue Swoosh shorts $40
- Men's Dri-Fit Touch tees $32
- Men's Nike Layup shorts $24.98 (Reg. $30)
- Men's Reebok compression shorts $16.50 (Reg. $22)
- Up to 75% off men's, women's and youth clearance golf apparel, footwear and apparel accessories
- BOGO 50% off men's Walter Hagen Essentials golf polos and shorts
- Save $10 off men's adizero solid golf polos, shorts and pants
With Dick's Sporting Goods Winning Price Guarantee, if you find the same item at a lower price, they will match it.
Dick's Sporting Goods is located at 1110 Bower Parkway and at 10204 Two Notch Road in Columbia.
To see all Saturday sales or to place an order online, visit Dick's Sporting Goods website.
As always, maximize your style and minimize your spending~


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What's happening at SPU? This is where you'll find the latest news about research, events, activities, achievements, and milestones in the life of SPU and its people.
Read stories about some of our outstanding graduates, view photo galleries of the events, and more.
Check out the Undergraduate Admissions website to learn about financial aid, visit events, and campus life.
Great things happen outside the classroom here. Learn of the many ways to build community and stay connected.
Former Falcon basketball player and 2015 graduate Suzanna Ohlsen is honored by The Herald newspaper,
Courses in this program offer insights into the nature, contexts, and challenges of reconciliation.
Find out about one of the finest low-residency writing programs in the country.
Learn about SPU's unique new Digital Education Leadership degree.
SPU's Camp Casey on Whidbey Island has special packages for young people, churches, and sports teams.
Christianity Today magazine asked Gregory Wolfe, writer in residence and editor of Image journal, about life-changing books.
In this management graduate program, you will learn about values-based leadership and marketplace theology.
Dr. Christopher Jones '94 hopes the families in his medical practice never need to ask: "Is my kid sick enough that I should pay for a doctor's visit?" Medical director of HopeCentral, a nonprofit health center, he and his team have adapted the concept of concierge medicine to a diverse Seattle neighborhood.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy Leland Saunders earned a $10,100 Graves Award in Humanities for his research project, "The Structure of Moral Judgement: Philosophical Perspectives." His research responds to recent arguments that human beings' concepts of morality are just a quirk of evolution and don't connect to anything deeper.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
CES: Sony outs Playstation Now as PS4 sales surpass four million
Cloud service will let gamers play Playstation titles on smartphones and tablets
LAS VEGAS: JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT FIRM Sony unveiled Playstation Now at CES on Tuesday, a service that will enable gamers to play Playstation titles on smartphones, tablets and smart TVs.
Playstation Now was unveiled by Sony Entertainment CEO Andrew House during Kaz Hirai's opening keynote on Tuesday, following the announcement that the company has shipped 4.2 million Playstation 4 (PS4) consoles, doubling the 2.1 million sales that it saw in its first two weeks since launch.
House said, "We recently introduced the PS4, and it quickly became the largest console launch ever - selling over 2.1 million units in just two weeks.
"The cumulative sell-through has now reached 4.2 million units as of December 28."
Gamers soon won't need a PS4 to play games designed for the PS4, thanks to Sony's unveiling of its cloud gaming network Playstation Now.
The service, which is tipped to launch this summer following a closed beta testing phase beginning in the US this month, will offer users the options to rent game titles or sign up for a Netflix-like subscription service. Sony has yet to announce pricing details.
House said, "The service, in the long-run, will provide Playstation owners with games they love from previous consoles from previous generations.
"It will also introduce the world of Playstation to non-console owners, via Sony smartphone and tablet devices. We are paving the way for gamers to play wherever, whenever."
Sony also announced on Tuesday that it will launch a cloud-based TV service in the US this year, although the firm hasn't revealed any further details yet.
The Japanese company also announced the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact smartphone at CES on Monday, which is a downsized version of its flagship Xperia Z1 device that retains the same high-end specifications. µ
INQ Latest
9 gadgets made obsolete by the iPhone
It's no wonder they cost a small fortune ...
Office 365 corporate users targeted with zero-day ransomware attack
Microsoft took more than a day to start blocking the malware
iPhone 7 release date, specs, price and rumours
Latest rumours point to new 'Space Black' model and tweaked Home button
Facebook is stalking you to help you make new friends
Zuck knows best


text:
About Our Networks
— "In those days in Cuba, jazz was a four-letter word, but we loved that music so much. I remember when I did my first radio broadcast with Willis. " – Paquito D'Rivera remembers VOA's Willis Conover in Washington Post interview.
— Washington Post mentions RFE/RL in article about CIA bin-Laden devils.
Citations of BBG Networks
— Washington Post uses Radio Sawa reporting on Baiji oil refinery falling to insurgents from ISIS.
— Fox News cites VOA piece about Minneapolis man who went to fight with ISIS.
— Arirang, NK News use RFA reporting on World Food Program plan to scale back nutrition program in North Korea.
— France24 cites RFE/RL Tajik service story on army hazing.
— Telegraph quotes statement that Ilham Tohti handed RFA before disappearance.
— Radio Tamazuj quotes VOA interview with SPLM-in-Opposition, Riek Machar on South Sudan peace talks.
— Rudaw quotes RFE/RL interview with Mosul resident who welcomed the Iraqi army's retreat.
— Eurasianet cites RFE/RL Tajik service on detention of Tajik scholar.
— Al Youm Al Sabe'a (Egyptian news site) cited statements aired on Radio Sawa from the British Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah regarding the situation in Iraq. Dakhlallah stated that Isis poses most serious threat to Britain's national security.
— Sada Elbalad (Egyptian news site) cited statements aired on Radio Sawa from the Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel regarding the security collapse in Iraq. The United States signed a strategic agreement with the Iraqi government, but we can't dictate outcomes, Hagel said.
Of Interest
— Al Jazeera shutting down offices in Egypt.
— American confidence in news media declines.
— What's the matter with Russia?
— Understanding Facebook.


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GOULD, Okla. - Twelve people - most of them Oklahoma farmers struggling to make a living in a hard-luck line of work - said they've hit pay dirt: the winning ticket to a $23 million lottery jackpot.
The 12, including a John Deere representative from Texas and two couples, pooled their money to buy $120 in tickets to Saturday night's Texas lottery drawing. One farmhand rolled his pennies to participate.
"Nearly everybody on that list needed money," said Randy Mefford, one of the farmers in and around this town of decaying storefronts and 250 people.
Mefford, who owns and operates one of the largest farming operations in the area, and farmer Darrin Miranda said they would use some of their winnings to pay off debt and continue farming.
The ticket is in a safe place, but they won't say where. The 12, several of whom work for Mefford, said they will turn it in and claim the prize in about three weeks, once they set up bank accounts to handle the money and get other affairs in order.
Tom Macom, who lives in a trailer on his parents' property in nearby Eldorado, purchased the tickets at a gas station in Quanah, about 10 miles away. Macom, who works for Mefford, hadn't realized what he left on the dashboard of his truck until he received a call early Sunday.
"It will be nice to have something for retirement," Mefford said. "That's all you ever really want anyway."
Amarillo Globe-News © 2016. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy / About Our Ads


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Filed under: Uncategorized
A –Aspbergers Syndrome
Asperger's Syndrome – Symptoms
Although there are many possible symptoms of Asperger's syndrome, the main symptom is significant trouble with social situations. Your child may have mild to severe symptoms or have a few or many of these symptoms. Because of the wide variety of symptoms, no two children with Asperger's are alike.
Symptoms during childhood:
Parents often first notice the symptoms of Asperger's syndrome when their child starts preschool and begins to interact with other children. Children with Asperger's syndrome may:
–Not pick up on social cues and may lack inborn social skills, such as being able to read others' body language, start or maintain a conversation, and take turns talking.
–Dislike any changes in routines.
–Appear to lack empathy.
–Be unable to recognize subtle differences in speech tone, pitch, and accent that alter the meaning of others' speech. So your child may not understand a joke or may take a sarcastic comment literally. And his or her speech may be flat and hard to understand because it lacks tone, pitch, and accent.
Have a formal style of speaking that is advanced for his or her age. For example, the child may use the word "beckon" instead of "call" or the word "return" instead of "come back."
–Avoid eye contact or stare at others.
–Have unusual facial expressions or postures.
–Be preoccupied with only one or few interests, which he or she may be very knowledgeable about. Many children with Asperger's syndrome are overly interested in parts of a whole or in unusual activities, such as designing houses, drawing highly detailed scenes, or studying astronomy. They may show an unusual interest in certain topics such as snakes, names of stars, or dinosaurs.
— Talk a lot, usually about a favorite subject. One-sided conversations are common. Internal thoughts are often verbalized.
–Have delayed motor development. Your child may be late in learning to use a fork or spoon, ride a bike, or catch a ball. He or she may have an awkward walk. Handwriting is often poor.
–Have heightened sensitivity and become overstimulated by loud noises, lights, or strong tastes or textures. For more information about these symptoms, see sensory integration dysfunction.
A child with one or two of these symptoms does not necessarily have Asperger's syndrome. To be diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a child must have a combination of these symptoms and significant trouble with social situations.
Although the condition is in some ways similar to autism, a child with Asperger's syndrome typically has normal language and intellectual development. Also, those with Asperger's syndrome typically make more of an effort than those with autism to make friends and engage in activities with others.


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Comments on (Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes TypePad 2007-07-19T19:35:22Z UChicagoLaw http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/faculty/ tag:typepad.com,2003:http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/faculty/2007/07/virginias-drive/comments/atom.xml/ Tamara commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e54eda5f198833 2007-09-10T01:23:53Z 2007-09-10T01:23:54Z Tamara http://www.petitiononline.com/TXDRP07/petition.html http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/pr081903c.htm Who receives money from the surcharges? Each surcharge collected by the department under this law will be remitted to...
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/pr081903c.htm

Who receives money from the surcharges?

Each surcharge collected by the department under this law will be remitted to the Comptroller, on a monthly basis. Trauma centers and county and regional emergency medical services will receive 49.5 percent of the collected money, and the Texas Mobility fund will receive 49.5 percent of the collected money. The money that goes to trauma centers will be handled by the Texas Department of Health, while the **Texas Department of Transportation **will handle money going to the **Mobility fund**, which funds highway projects, including the **Trans-Texas Corridor**. The remaining one percent of the collected money will go to DPS for operation of the Driver Responsibility program.

The Driver Responsibility Program was passed into law as part of House bill 3588, article 10. (The text of the law is located at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us, page 152 of the Adobe text version.)

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 Tamara commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e54ecb5f658833 2007-08-16T13:28:09Z 2007-08-16T13:28:09Z Tamara Please tell EVERYONE that you know (and don't know for that matter)!!! Link to Texas Driver Responsibility Program Petition Driver...
Please tell EVERYONE that you know (and don't know for that matter)!!!

Link to Texas Driver Responsibility Program Petition
 Driver Responsibility Program Petition!!!

~Many thanks!!!
 Tamara

Imagine this: You receive a ticket for an expired driver's license; you go to court, pay your fine, and remember in the future to renew your license on time. You're done, right? WRONG! Many months later in the mail you may or may not receive a letter explaining the TX Driver Responsibility Program and that you must also pay a fine to the state (in addition to the city in which the offense occurred) every year for three years. If you fail to do so for whatever reason, your license may become suspended, with or without your notification or knowledge. This means that if you are stopped for let's say a license plate cover on your car, and the officer runs your license, you can be arrested and taken to jail for not paying the surcharge (regardless if you've renewed you license, have never received any notification letters or have no idea that you owed money), or even for paying late. Not paying the surcharge suspends your license, and driving with a suspended license is illegal. You can then be arrested regardless of a lack of notification on the government's part.

Around the time of spring finals, my boyfriend was pulled over for a frivolous reason and then arrested for driving with a suspended license. Apparently, his license (and mine as I would later find out) had been suspended for almost a year, yet we had no idea, and no notification. After an exhausting and financially debilitating journey to end the nightmare, I began my research on this new, mind-boggling law that seemed too cruel to actually exist. I was surprised by the vast number of people who to this day had never heard of the law. I believe there has been an absolute lack in effort to notify citizens of the surcharge, including all of the minor and confusing details. Not to mention, we were never allowed to vote on the issue!

In addition to a fine or resolution within the affiliated jurisdiction, the surcharge must be paid every year for three years; the amount varying from hundreds to thousands of dollars and may be paid in increments of approx. $30 a month. If you miss a payment, or it is late, then your driver's license will be suspended, with or without your notification. After doing some research, it appears that DPS may have failed to notify drivers that their license were/are suspended (some drivers reported not receiving any letter explaining the surcharge and in an article DPS admits to having problems and failing to notify drivers). A result of all of this is that many people are shocked as they're arrested when pulled over for something as small as a headlight, or even going to renew their driver's license.

In my particular situation, our fines were paid completely for the first year and we received no notification the second year. The deadline to pay had not expired and when I entered my information on the DPS website, it showed that I had paid my fine and owed nothing. However, when my future father in law, a 20year+ HPD sergeant, ran my license it said that it had been suspended for almost a year. Later I found out that DPS changed your identification number each year, so even if they fail to notify you, and as a good citizen you pro-actively go to the allocated website to pay a fine, the information you are given could be incorrect. Thus leaving you susceptible to being arrested and then paying hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to get out of jail for essentially driving; not because you didn't pay for whatever violation occurred in the city you received, but because of an additional fine that the state has given you for the same exact violation in said city or jurisdiction. A fine that surprisingly, many drivers have no idea they owe. The financial and economic burden this is placing on hardworking citizens is outrageous.

 After moving twice, I changed my address with the United States Postal Service, I was able to receive an updated voter registration card, vote, pay taxes, purchase a vehicle, transfer the title into my name, renew my driver's license, renew my registration sticker, as well as retain and maintain insurance! The excuse from the surcharge program in not notifying me is that they didn't have my address (which can also be found in the phone book). Anything they had sent me would have been forwarded to my new address or they would at least receive notification of my new address. Additionally, I found a notification regarding a separate issue from DPS and the city of Webster with my updated address on it. Is our government really this unorganized and incompetent that basic data such as an address is incapable of being shared from department to department? Our nation's security could very well depend on our government's ability to function as a unified entity.

My fines are paid off at this time; however my feelings toward the situation have inspired me to educate others of the surcharge program. The additional fees created by the Driver Responsibility Program are unprecedented financial burdens placed on citizens whom can least afford it. One of the most disturbing factors surrounds the distribution of notification letters (a lack of) and the subsequent costly arrest of unknowing, hard working citizens. The surcharge program expires in September of this year (2007), at least it is supposed to. The program was never announced on a public level through the news or mail. Unless you go regularly to the states website, you like so many people, may have never heard of it.

Several other states including Michigan, Virginia, New York, and New Jersey have or are attempting to establish similar surcharge programs. This is not without controversy, as over 150,000 residents have signed petition blocking the legislation. The constitutionality of the law is highly suspect, as it violates the constitution in several areas.

Additionally, my research has revealed that the DRP will not expire as stated previously. The income generating bill is trekking forward albeit a few strategic amendments altering a few of the controversial sections. The amended legislation enabling the DRP takes effect September 1st 2007. What does this mean for (low-income) individuals who currently cannot afford to pay the fees and fines required to reinstate their license? Essentially, the state in realizing the error of their ways, sought to amend their error. In the mean time, where does that leave Texas drivers who were, if not forced, then manipulated into paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars the first time around? Although some may argue that driving is a privilege, many areas, especially in the state of Texas, lack a reasonable mass transit system that connects suburbs to the metropolitan area. One article states that the entire Texas Mobility Fund was created to compensate for the post 9-11 buying habits of Texans. Another detailed study examines how license suspensions unfairly impact the poor and middle class citizens, while the wealthy are vaguely impacted. As for the economic aspect, suspending people's license, especially for not paying fines that they cannot afford, prevents them from driving to work and making money- money that they would likely spend and contribute to the state's economy. Filling our jails/prisons with non-violent, misdemeanor offenders will not solve the extreme overcrowding issues our criminal system is currently facing. In the past, government mishaps have led to restitution to those affected by the poor judgment of law makers.

What options to Texans who want to protest the Driver Responsibility Program have? (Besides writing our representatives, as many people are getting no response) File a Class Action law suit? Organize a Protest? Construct a Petition? Find a member to sponsor a bill blocking the legislation?

Bills set to go into effect on September 1, 2007:

SB 1723- Relating to the collection of surcharges assessed under the Driver Responsibility Program.
 -80R, Author: Ogden/ Sponsor: Krusee

HB 3545- Relating to the surcharge under the DRP for a conviction of driving while license invalid or without financial responsibility.
 -80R

HB 1538- Relating to operating a motor vehicle without establishing financial responsibility: providing a penalty.
 -80R

HB 3669- Relating to providing notice of surcharges under the DRP to a defendant in court prior to accepting a plea.
 -80R

HB 3888- Seeks to alleviate some of the docket pressure on these statutory county courts and district courts by reducing the penalty for a first time offense of driving with an invalid license to a Class C Misdemeanor, punishable by fine only, not to exceed $500; instead of current penalty which includes both a fine and confinement in county jail.
 -80R

HB 3640- Relates to the collection of surcharges assessed under the DRP.
 -80R

The Constitution of 1876 began with a lengthy bill of rights. It declared that Texas was a free and independent state, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, that all free men have equal rights, and that the writ of habeas corpus could not be suspended or unduly delayed. The article also forbade religious tests for office, unreasonable searches, and imprisonment for debt, and it guaranteed liberty of speech and press, the right of the accused to obtain bail and to be tried by a jury, and the right of citizens to keep and bear arms.

 The Texas Constitution
 Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
 Section 13 - EXCESSIVE BAIL OR FINES; CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT; REMEDY BY DUE COURSE OF LAW
 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. All courts shall be open, and every person for an injury done him, in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law.

The Texas Constitution
 Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
 Section 14 - DOUBLE JEOPARDY
 No person, for the same offense, shall be twice put in jeopardy of life or liberty, nor shall a person be again put upon trial for the same offense, after a verdict of not guilty in a court of competent jurisdiction.

 The Texas Constitution
 Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
 Section 3a - EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW
 Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin. This amendment is self-operative. (Added Nov. 7, 1972.)

The Texas Constitution
 Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
 Section 18 - IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT
 No person shall ever be imprisoned for debt.

The Texas Constitution
 Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
 Section 16 - BILLS OF ATTAINDER; EX POST FACTO OR RETROACTIVE LAWS; IMPAIRING OBLIGATION OF CONTRACTS
 No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, retroactive law, or any law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be made.

The Texas Constitution
 Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
 Section 2 - INHERENT POLITICAL POWER; REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT
 All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient

 Jon Stout commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e39821860e8833 2007-08-02T19:41:30Z 2007-08-02T19:41:31Z Jon Stout http://www.elementh2o.com The State of Virginia in their attemptto raise reveue for out of control spending, has not thought this concept through....
The State of Virginia in their attemptto raise reveue for out of control spending, has not thought this concept through.

Many drivers in the past paid reasonable fines and at least thought about slowing down. Courts were not overburdened by endless litigation. Now I believe many drivers will fight and this will be a burden.

As an example, before this new law, exceeding the speed limit by 20 mph or more was considered reckless driving in Virginia and a court appearance was manadatory.

Most police officers wrote the citation at 19mph or less because they did not want to increase their court appearances and the drivers usually admitted their mistake and paid the fine.

Last April I was stopped for driving 78 mph in a 55 mph zone - reckless driving and a court appearance. I was clearly in the wrong and decided to go to court, plead guilty and pay whatever fine was required.

However, luckily I consulted an attorney who explained the penalties for reckless driving (very high fines, possible suspension of license, high insurance rates and possible jail sentence.

Bottom line - I paid the attorney $1500 and the case was dismissed on a technicality.

The officer had to come to court on his day off (my attorney requested a postponement that changed the officer's schedule), court time was wasted, no fines or court costs, same low insurance rates and I was out $1500. Innocence instead of guilt!

The point is, when you push people into a corner through unreasonable laws -- they tend to push back!
 Lugo commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e398207e698833 2007-08-01T17:20:44Z 2007-08-01T17:20:44Z Lugo I suppose Virginia could have tried to be just a bit more populist by saying that the fine would be...
I suppose Virginia could have tried to be just a bit more populist by saying that the fine would be $1,000 for anyone earning less than $50,000 per year, and $2,000 for anyone reporting income above that, but such a system becomes expensive to administer and then raises other legal objections.

Virginia gets every resident's tax returns every year. Why should they have a problem linking this to traffic fines?

My own view is that I pay taxes all the time, but I get traffic tickets hardly ever. I pay taxes regardless of my behavior, but traffic fines result from avoidable behavior. I would thus FAR prefer a large increase to traffic fines than a small increase in taxes.
 AMC commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e3981d23618833 2007-07-27T22:23:02Z 2007-07-27T22:23:03Z AMC When did driving become a right? It is a privilage. This just puts the burdon onto those who choose to...
When did driving become a right?

It is a privilage. This just puts the burdon onto those who choose to drive.

 LAK commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e3981bb1b68833 2007-07-25T19:35:41Z 2007-07-25T21:15:09Z LAK We should be pricing people out of behaviors left and right. It is the way to regulate behavior without outright...
We should be pricing people out of behaviors left and right. It is the way to regulate behavior without outright prohibitions.$1000 parking fines sound good becasue people won't in fact circle for 30 minutes instead of double parking. They'll take a cab or public transportation.

We should be taxing gasoline consumption and spend that money on building clean and efficient public transportation. We should tax energy consumption, and people mightstart turning off their lights or using the dryer less. It is a great way to requilibrate social systems because change can happen gradually and those who need to change their ways due to money concerns will help pave the way.

"Should be justified by a cost-benefit analysis" seems like a spotty standard though. Sometimes it takes time for systems to re-requilibrate. If you start fining people for double parking, they may drive around like idiots for an hour looking for a spot, and one could argue that this is not justified from a costs standpoint, but in reality you'd have to wait for behavior to change meaningfully before you could make such an assessment, or you would have to help other outcomes happen, by say adequately funding public transportation at the same time you increase fines for double parking.

[I'm also for driving tests with teeth. if 85% of the public thinks they're in the top half of drivers, make them prove it. That'll take many speeders and double parkers off the road]
 bcowan commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e009995c178833 2007-07-24T18:38:32Z 2007-07-24T18:38:32Z bcowan According to what I am calling Constructive Idealism, the place to begin the analysis is with the recognition that precepts...
According to what I am calling Constructive Idealism, the place to begin the analysis is with the recognition that precepts which connect fines with deterrence and taxes with revenue are complex abstractions which attempt to reflect and yet can only relate symbolically to widespread pre-linguistic, vague intuitions concerning the ideal commonwealth. We should not, therefore, expect a statute which seeks to portray one aspect of these connections to bear too heavy a burden of accuracy. The best a statute can probably do is akin to what artistic expression can do with aesthetic intuitions: evoke and even, exceptionally, satisfy them temporarily.

Accordingly, the discomfort expressed by some Virginians may be due to their reaction to an inartistically mixed metaphor. There may never be an appealing, let alone a self-evidently correct, statutory formulation of a state's effort to characterize pervasive unlawful behavior as a revenue opportunity. The difficulty of passing statutes allowing what many consider ugly and exploitative behavior on the condition only that the participants pay taxes for the privilege (I have in mind the prostitution and marijuana businesses and, in many places, the gambling business, although these involve a different kind of symbolic proposition, to be sure) hints at the presence of a strongish feeling that revenue and deterrence are axiologically different, notwithstanding that you can count taxes and fines in the same monetary units.

It may be that people really do not want to drive on new roads that they feel are paved in part with the blood and bones of speeding victims.
 BAC commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e00998b7fb8833 2007-07-23T22:00:41Z 2007-07-23T22:00:41Z BAC And don't forget the enforcement problem caused by a dual-fine system. Who is the VA trooper more likely to pull...
And don't forget the enforcement problem caused by a dual-fine system. Who is the VA trooper more likely to pull over: (1) a VA resident going slightly over the limit subject to a $1,000 fine, or (2) a MD resident going dramatically above the limit whose maxmimum fine is $150?

If all the VA drivers slow down, but the out of state drivers speed up (because of lower enforcement), is it possible that increasing only VA resident fines would lower highway safety?
 saul levmore commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e00998b5708833 2007-07-23T21:42:51Z 2008-01-25T01:07:26Z saul levmore http://profile.typekey.com/slevmore/ I'm not sure I would say problematic, rather than surprising or contrary to the usual "problem." It is revealing of...
I'm not sure I would say problematic, rather than surprising or contrary to the usual "problem." It is revealing of the revenue-raising goal, and just possibly (as suggested in the post) drafted as it was to avoid challenges by non-residents. But turning to the interesting point about internalizing and predicting (uncaught) speeding, I think I disagree. A good state ought to care about the social costs imposed by speedsters wherever they may be. Imagine a much-traveled driver who spends time in forty states but little time in any one, including the home state. We want the state who catches this driver at 100mph to do something serious, and not to act as if the state's job is simply to calculate the in-state dangers caused by this driver.
 Sarah commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e00998b1998833 2007-07-23T21:19:40Z 2007-07-23T21:19:40Z Sarah I don't see why it's problematic to apply the law only to state residents. After all, isn't part of the...
I don't see why it's problematic to apply the law only to state residents. After all, isn't part of the rationale for these fines an assumption that people are typically speeders or non-speeders? That is, we're fine with making speeding a strict-liability offense, because we think one instance of speeding is likely to be indicative of a general tendency to speed. So it's relatively easy to calculate the proper amount of a fine that internalizes social cost discounted by probability of getting caught, assuming that the cited individual's incidence of speeding is 100%. But out-of-staters, though they may be habitual speeders, are not habitual IN-STATE speeders, and so a fine that internalizes costs for state residents greatly overstates the social cost imposed by transient out-of-state speeders (unless we think, for some reason, that they're far less likely to be caught in any particular instance).
 Kimball Corson commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e009979f138833 2007-07-21T13:36:54Z 2007-07-21T13:36:54Z Kimball Corson http://sailblogs.com/member/thewanderer Higher fines to build better roads so you can go faster and pay more and higher fines. Hum.
Higher fines to build better roads so you can go faster and pay more and higher fines. Hum.
 West commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e008dcb34c8834 2007-07-20T21:19:46Z 2007-07-20T21:19:46Z West I have yet to understand why the G.A. didn't simply raise the gas tax. True, sales taxes are always regressive...
I have yet to understand why the G.A. didn't simply raise the gas tax. True, sales taxes are always regressive but it's the best option; the more you drive, the more you pay.

It has always seemed to me that fines associated with misconduct should be a deterrent first and a revenue source second. I find it troubling that the well being of our state roads is now depending on a certain number of people to speed and drive drunk.
 BAC commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e009974b4e8833 2007-07-20T19:16:40Z 2007-07-20T19:16:40Z BAC Perhaps we prefer a $1,000 tax to a $1,000 penalty because we can financially plan for the tax but don't...
Perhaps we prefer a $1,000 tax to a $1,000 penalty because we can financially plan for the tax but don't know whether or not we will be ticketed for speeding and therefore can't (or won't) plan for it financially.

But maybe there is a way around that problem. Suppose that when you registered your vehicle you had to make a $1,000 safe driving deposit. The state would refund the $1,000 if you had a clear driving record for the year, but one speeding ticket means no deposit.
 West commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e008dbf0918834 2007-07-20T02:05:07Z 2007-07-20T02:05:08Z West Driving uninsured is not smart. Are you joking?
Driving uninsured is not smart. Are you joking?
 jimbino commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e008dbeda18834 2007-07-20T01:42:37Z 2007-07-20T01:42:37Z jimbino I happily drive uninsured, reasoning that the fine I would incur in being stopped, as I am about once every...
I happily drive uninsured, reasoning that the fine I would incur in being stopped, as I am about once every ten years, is much lower than the financial losses I would incur in paying insurance premiums.

I guess the residents of El Paso, 50% of whom drive uninsured, understand that calculus.
 TCleary commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e008dbca0c8834 2007-07-19T23:47:27Z 2007-07-19T23:47:27Z TCleary My guess is that people are a lot worse at putting a number on future expenses than you may think....
My guess is that people are a lot worse at putting a number on future expenses than you may think. I imagine that people accept a tax on tobacco or gas simply because it is a reasonable amount. I don't think tax payers perform any sort of calculus about social cost when they assess a tax. (A social cost may justify the existence of a tax for a taxpayer but it probably does not inform how they consider the amount.) Rather, consumers are willing to tack on an extra few bucks to a pack of cigarettes because we're still only talking about $8 times whatever one smokes per week. And while drivers will certainly gripe about a $120 ticket, they don't go running to news stations because $120 is reasonable--not because the amount is an accurate estimate of the social cost of speeding times the risk of harm. So even though $1K may or may not better reflect the actual harm, the amount surpasses people's ideas about what is reasonable and therefore fails their standard for assessing a tax.
 West commented on '(Virginia's Driver Responsibility) Fines and Taxes' tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c031153ef00e009965eea8833 2007-07-19T21:36:24Z 2007-07-19T21:36:24Z West "More than ten thousand Virginians have, apparently, already signed a petition against the new law" As of today, the number...
"More than ten thousand Virginians have, apparently, already signed a petition against the new law"

As of today, the number of signatures is over 137,000.


text:
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text:
Relationship development in Tokeino Hari's With My Brothers or Oniichan to Issho chapter 32—with its escalating warm and fuzzies—is really the high point of HanaLaLa 33, double shots of Ouran (HikaKao plus Haruhi on the cover) and Furuba (angsty chapters 116-117) aside.
(BTW, theme for this issue: Kidnappings.)
Previously on Oniichan to Issho chapter 31...
Masashi-nii overhears Naka-chan saying that Sakura likes her brother. On the morning of Sakura's exams, Masashi goes to rouse her and thinking she's still asleep, mutters:
If you don't get up soon, I just might attack you...
What does he mean by "attack"?! Sakura awakes and with Masashi's words echoing in her head, is unable to concentrate on her exams.
With My Brothers (Oniichan to Issho) Chapter 32 by Tokeino Hari
As expected, Sakura flubs her exams. She remains shaken up and even as she studies for her math remedials, her thoughts continue to orbit Masashi's "threat." She scribbles
Masashi-nii is an idiot on her notes—to which other brother Takeshi observes,
I don't think that's the right answer.
Flustered, Sakura makes an excuse that she has to go get a drink and trips over Masashi sitting on the stairs. She somersaults over him, prompting Masashi to come all big brotherly.
I'm sorry! Are you all right, Sakura?? He holds up her palm for inspection.
Even if it's just a small scratch, you have take care of it immediately! He doesn't release her hand, falling silent instead, which forces Sakura to ask him what he's thinking.
What 'what'? Masashi dodges the question.
I'm not thinking of anything.
You overheard what Naka-chan said, didn't you?
I...I didn't hear everyth—
Blushing in mortification, Sakura runs off.
I'll just study in the library! she throws over her shoulder. She realizes now that she doesn't want Masashi to become aware of her feelings because she's terrified of his answer.
I'm going to study. Don't follow me!
No. Masashi contrarily answers and sticks out his tongue.
Haah? Sakura starts to run.
I'm leaving!
Even if you do, I'll still catch you! Masashi grabs Sakura's hand as she flees. She resists, demanding that he let her go and Masashi tries to calm her down by saying:
You don't have to worry. I didn't take it seriously.
He continues:
I think Naka-chan was mistaken because of this serious sister complex of mine. And if you think about it, there's really no such thing as 'like' or 'hate' in a family, is there?
I've never thought of stopping being your brother. Ever.
What do you mean?? Sakura tears up.
So, if we're family, we can't ever like each other, is that it?
Is it so bad that I like you??
Sakura not only comes out and says it; she also grabs Masashi's shirt and pulling herself up on tiptoes, kisses him.
If you're not serious, then I'm going to attack!
You go, Sakura-chan! (See what I mean about the increased MasaSaku shippiness?) Anyway, the rest of my summaries and impressions are several paragraphs down. Let's move on to what else is or isn't there in this issue of HanaLaLa. For one, there's no Mr. ERMINE Si Penguasa (Okojo-banchou) by Uno Ayumi-sensei. There are, however—
Full-color title pages
Three of them for Arakure chapter 12, Penguin Revolution chapter 22, and English School Wars or Eikaiwa School Wars chapter 5 (the chapter is not called
Practice in this issue; don't ask me why).
HanaLaLa 33/2008 table of contents
Thirteen Hana to Yume and LaLa shoujo titles are currently in serialization, with latest installments below. [Click links for more details.]
- Dragon's Fiancé by Kusakawa Nari | Chapter 4
- Arakure - The Wild Ones by Fujiwara Kiyo | Chapter 12 [FC title page]
- Penguin Revolution by Tsukuba Sakura | Chapter 22 [FC title page]
- Alice Academy by Higuchi Tachibana | Story 56
- English School Wars by Matsumoto Tomo | Chapter 5 [FC title page]
- Fruits Basket by Takaya Natsuki | Chapter 116 (1 of 2 chapters this issue)
- Fruits Basket by Takaya Natsuki | Chapter 117 (2 of 2 chapters this issue)
- Mr. ERMINE by Uno Ayumi | Chapter 66 (1 of 2 chapters this issue)
- La Corda D'Oro by Kure Yuki | Symphony No. 34
- Skip Beat! by Nakamura Yoshiki | Act.78: Fairy Magic
- Mr. ERMINE by Uno Ayumi | Chapter 67 (2 of 2 chapters this issue)
- Vampire Knight by Hino Matsuri | Eleventh Night: The Memories of Snow, Blood and
- V.B. Rose by Hidaka Banri | Chapter 33
- Ouran High School Host Club by Hatori Bisco | Chapter 39
- With My Brothers by Tokeino Hari | Chapter 32
Latest volume
Ryuu no Hanawazurai 「 龍の花わずらい 」
Volume 8
Arakure 「 アラクレ 」 by Fujiwara Kiyo
Final volume
Penguin Kakumei 「 ペンギン革命 」 by Tsukuba Sakura
Latest volume
Gakuen Alice 「 学園アリス 」 by Higuchi Tachibana
Final volume
Eikaiwa School Wars 「 英会話スクールウォーズ 」
Final volume
Fruits Basket 「 フルーツバスケット 」
Final volume
Okojo-san 「 オコジョさん 」 by Uno Ayumi
Latest volume
Kin Iro no Corda 「 金色のコルダ 」 by Kure Yuki
Latest volume
Skip Beat! 「 スキップ・ビート! 」
Latest volume
Vampire Knight 「 ヴァンパイア騎士 」 by Hino Matsuri
Related: Vampire Knight novel - Vampire Knight: Ice Blue no Tsumi (Vampire Knight: The Sin of Blue) by Matsuri Hino- and Fujisaki Ayuna-sensei
Eleventh Night: The Memories of Snow, Blood and is covered in anime episode 7,
Volume 12
V.B. Rose 「 V・B・ローズ 」 by Hidaka Banri
Latest volume
Ouran Koukou Host Club 「 桜蘭高校ホスト部 」
Chapter 39 continues the Princess Michelle arc.
Latest volume
Oniichan to Issho 「 お兄ちゃんと一緒 」
HanaLaLa 33/2008 went on sale 23 December 2008.
UPCOMING: HanaLala 34/2009
Street date: Sometime January 2009
- Skip Beat! double chapter (Act 79-80)
- Vampire Knight Twelfth Night - 46 pages
HanaLaLa #33/2008 summaries and quick impressions
By huamulan03 (Some rights reserved)
Arakure chapter 12 by Fujiwara Kiyo
The Hana Hime actually appear in Alice Academy, but from the chapter title page (left), you'd be forgiven for thinking that Igarashi, with his impression of a languishing princess, had been drafted along with Natsume and Ruka.
Digression done. So we're still at the onsen and a morose Igarashi flashbacks to how he used to be verbally abused as a kid. (Emo escalating from Sachie's grandfather's wish for his grand-daughter to find happiness with someone who's not yakuza.)
As the adopted yakuza Igarashi "reminisces," the villain top of mind is at large in the hotel. The still unnamed "uncle" recognizes Sachie as the daughter of the Asagi clan and kidnaps her. He then calls Igarashi using Sachie's phone:
Your precious princess is with me. If you want her back, you'll have to come for her yourself, Bodyguard-san.
He leads Igarashi on a timed chase, using things Igarashi is supposed to be afraid of to deter pursuit. Igarashi barrels on from point to point, and Sachie tells her kidnapper that even if Igarashi had been terrified of women, dogs, reptiles, and the dark in the past, he'd already changed—as confirmed by his continued progress which they're tracking on video. Sachie is very proud of Igarashi—a living, on-the-hunt proof of what her mother used to say:
People won't always be like their old selves, you know!
With the clock counting down the seconds, Igarashi finds the fifth key but no Sachie. He despairs of ever being reunited with her.
Where are you?! Worry, regret, fear are a volatile brew that eats away at Igarashi's heart.
Igarashi notices that the key in his hand is different from the others he'd collected. He realizes it's a key to a room in another building—the hotel owner's quarters—and sprints off.
SACHIE-SAMAAA!! He yells in refusal to be parted from her.
Igarashi? Sachie pokes her head out of a window. Igarashi is below the room in which she's held captive.
Wait for me there! she orders him and prepares to climb down. The uncle cries out,
What are you doing??
There's no rule that the princess has to wait to be rescued. I don't want to be a princess who can only wait for her knight!
As Sachie says this, Igarashi prays that he will always be with her... forever.
So more character growth and awww-some Igarashi x Sachie in what was essentially an exercise in angst. Not bad.
Alice Academy (Gakuen Alice) Story 56 by Tachibana Higuchi
The junior high principal allows Hana Hime candidate Hotaru and treasure hunt winner Mikan to attend the Hanazono New Year party—on the condition that Natsume and Ruka who are stuck to the girls come as girls. Not as boys dressed up as girls, mind you, but as girls. Whatever that means.
So we get to see the boys (and You-chan) dressed pretty, pretty, my pretty.
On their way to their audience with the junior high principal, Mikan meets Nobara-chan, a Dangerous Ability type we last encountered in Story 51. She is distressed to see Natsume there and just like in the earlier chapter, she hints at something wicked coming:
Stop him. Natsume is not allowed to be here! Please, Mikan-chan, take Natsume away before it's too late!
Natsume still in cryptic mode, however, just keeps dragging Mikan forward until they all come face to face with the junior high principal, Princess Himemiya. Mikan is starstruck by the Princess's beauty and in turn, the Princess drools as she contemplates Hotaru.
Glek. Who—or what—exactly is Himemiya and what does she plan for Hotaru? Why is Nobara-chan so worried? And why does Natsume still insist on accompanying Mikan to the Hanazono party? Answers to these questions will have to wait until the next chapters because Story 56 is pure transition.
Dragon's Fiancé (Ryuu no Hanawazurai) Chapter 4 by Kusakawa Nari
Market day at the palace and suddenly, Shakuya starts dancing on the grounds.
I can't help it! My body just started to move in time with the music! She inadvertently came under the control of an itinerant snack charmer performing for the shopping crowd. When she finally stops, the real star—the snake—unaccountably homes in on Shakuya, apparently in attack mode. Kwan is quick on the draw with his sword, but before he can skewer the hebi, Lushin grabs the snake's head.
You could've lost your hand, you know, Kwan observes as he sheathes his blade.
Since it was you, I knew you'd be able to stop, Lushin counters before adding,
Although I wouldn't put it past you not to. Lushin then returns the snake to the snake trainer kid, the snake charmer's partner, noting,
You love this snake, don't you?
Shakuya who has been watching quietly until this point realizes that the snake had bitten Lushin. She grabs his hand, intent on dragging Lushin off for some first aid. Lushin follows obediently but tells Shakuya not to worry as the snake is apparently no longer poisonous.
Shakuya, are you worried about me? he teases.
Of course, I am! Shakuya replies, peeved that even in this situation, Lushin is still trying to come on to her. She doesn't expect him to blush prettily at her answer. Discomfited, she lets go of Lushin's hand. How weird is that? When I let go his hand, I lost all feeling in mine.
As she returns to Kwan's side, her second fiancé says,
I should've just killed that snake. That way, you wouldn't have had to attend to Lushin.
He adds:
Or maybe I should've just killed Lushin.
Kwan and Lushin rivalry intensifies, and Kwan/Lushin heart throbs offset each other's proportionally in this chapter. While Shakuya is pleased and at the same time afraid of Kwan's jealousy (I think he was serious, which wins him some (reluctant) points), she's also not immune to Lushin's come-ons as he continues to woo her in his own,
Please take out the flowers in my hair kind of way.
This is the second abduction story I read in this HL issue, although unlike Igarashi's case, this chapter is stuck in a liminal stage. Kwan and Lushin fail to catch up with dragon Shakuya who flew out of the palace under a flute music's sway.
English School Wars (Eikaiwa School Wars) Chapter 5 by Matsumoto Tomo
Cart and Ish are running low on funds and decide to mooch lunch off Kiko. Kiko's mom is all a'tizzy, but Kiko still thinks Ish is irritation without compare—especially as he tells her mom what a good student she is.
Ish, meanwhile, notices Kiko's reluctance to call him by name—when she has no problems doing so with Cart.
Usually, the Japanese have issues with calling someone they're not close to by their first name, he observes.
Would you like to become closer friends with me?
Kyaaa~! So does Kiko start calling Ish—later shown in all his shirtless glory—by his first name? At first she says,
No uei! (No way) and gets all
Being with Shiro is still the best lovey-dovey with close friend Shiro who also dropped by. However—
Datte. When she couldn't find Ish (and Cart) when the two sensei's apartment burned down.
And because she and Ish are now "closer," where do you think Ish (and Cart) will live while they look for a new place? (Can't wait for chapter 6.)
Ouran High School Host Club chapter 39 by Hatori Bisco
Chapter 39 wraps the Princess Michelle arc (the anime replaced Michelle with Eclair in episode 25,
The Host Club's Declaration of Dissolution [Host Club Kaisan Sengen - ホスト部解散宣言]).
From this point onwards, the Haruhi X *insert host's name here* will. Only. Escalate!
Favorite line from this chapter:
I won't distance myself from you. I don't think you're strange.
Sed Haruhi to Tamaki.
Penguin Revolution (Penguin Kakumei) Chapter 22 by Tsukuba Sakura
The third kidnap file: Ryo is captured when he confronts Yasuoka Shuji, Yasuoka Production Operations director, about Aya. But not before Ryo makes it clear that he has no intentions of joining Yasuoka. More importantly, he rejects Yasuoka's offer to do away with Aya, saying that what he (Ryo) has so far achieved in his career was because Aya was his rival.
Ryo is eventually rescued by Fujimaru, with the help of Aya who uses his Makoto Ayaori charm to get her inside the Yasuoka Production building.
Vampire Knight Eleventh Night by Hino Matsuri
Eleventh Night: The Memories of Snow, Blood and is covered in anime episode 7,
The Scarlet Labyrinth (緋色の迷宮 - Hishoku no Rabirinsu)—where Zero is doing some target practice.
This chapter, despite Yuuki's backstory with Kaname, is classic Emo Zero:
I know you like Kuran Kaname. Your blood told me.
Technorati tags
manga, shoujo, HanaLaLa, Hana to Yume, LaLa, Hakusensha, Elex Media, Arakure, Fujiwara Kiyo, Dragon's Fiancé, Ryuu no Hanawazurai, Two Flowers for the Dragon, Kusakawa Nari, Eikaiwa School Wars, Matsumoto Tomo, La Corda D'Oro, Kure Yuki, Fruits Basket, Takaya Natsuki, Gakuen Alice, Higuchi Tachibana, Okojo-san, Uno Ayumi, Oniichan to Issho, Tokeino Hari, Ouran High School Host Club, Hatori Bisco, Penguin Revolution, Tsukuba Sakura, Skip Beat!, Nakamura Yoshiki, V.B. Rose, Hidaka Banri, Vampire Knight, Hino Matsuri
See you in HanaLaLa 34,
~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03)
Looking for other language versions? (Links to Amazon)
With two exceptions, titles here like Oniichan to Issho AKA Me & My Brothers are also available in English from Amazon.com. You might want to check them out in the search box ^^
And yes (this serves as my full disclosure), there's a little something for me to spend on more manga if you decide to order from links that look like this (that's a link to the Skip Beat! search page) ^^


text:
Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail
Site Information
- Site Contact: (540) 962-2214 email@example.com
- Site Access: Free, Daily
- Visit Website
Report Bird Observations [New]
Site MAH13: Top Drive/North Mountain
Elevation: 3139 ft. Touted as "Skyline Drive without the crowds," the Top Drive Scenic Route takes the wildlife watcher along the ridge of North Mountain, providing spectacular views of the Allegheny Mountains to the west and the Blue Ridge to the east. The drive's remoteness leads to some amazing sightings of white-tailed deer and wild turkey crossing the road around almost every turn. The ridgeline leads to higher elevation habitat that holds numerous birds. Species to look for include eastern wood-pewee, white-breasted nuthatch, gray catbird, red-eyed and yellow-throated vireos, scarlet tanager, black-throated green and black-and-white warblers, American redstart and eastern towhee. Keep a careful watch on the sky for the occasional broad-winged or red-tailed hawk soaring overhead. Butterflies decorate the driving scenery with red-spotted purple, pipevine, spicebush and eastern tiger swallowtails being especially numerous. Top Drive is not maintained for winter travel. This section of the tour should be avoided in winter and early spring due to snow and ice. Enjoy the scenery as you travel and please drive carefully.
From Lake Robertson, return west on Rt. 770 for 4.3 miles to FR 447 at the top of the ridge. Turn right on FR 447 and follow it 6.7 miles to Rt. 780; continue 0.4 miles under I-64 to Rt. 850/Top Drive. Turn left on Rt. 850 and follow it 7.8 miles southwest to I-64. To return to the interstate, return to I-64 at the end of Rt. 850. Take I-64 west to Exit #14 (Covington) and begin the Iron Ore Loop, or take I-64 east and begin the Rockbridge River and Ridge Loop at Lexington.


text:
May 31, 2014 8:19 AM
One of America's most beloved sitcoms has been remastered in high definition for your viewing pleasure. The Honeymooners on Blu-Ray ($75) features all 39 episodes from the critically acclaimed series' run, plus a bunch of special features to boot. Take a break from those Toddlers and Tiaras reruns and rediscover a period when television strived for quality.
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text:
Hardy Brown
Position: LB-DB-FB
Height: 6-0 Weight: 193 lbs.
Born: May 8, 1924 in Quanah, TX
Died: November 8, 1991 in Stockton, CA
High School: Masonic Home School
College: SMU, Tulsa (school history)
Drafted by the New York Giants in the 12th round (104th overall) of the 1947 NFL Draft.
Weighted Career AV (100-95-...): 5 (9377th overall since 1950)
1-time Pro Bowler (fine print)


text:
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Advocacy fly-in: A Breath of fresh Air
Crisis-ism … a condition in which you don't know you're in crisis because you're always in crisis, you've always been in crisis, and you've always gotten through, so what the heck.
Crisis-ism is the inability to apprehend that this time it's different, that this time the crisis is
an actual crisis.—Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 24, 2011.
Published by the Assisted Living FedeRAti On OF AMeRicA,
Alexandria, virginia. Assisted Living Executive (issn 1553-8281) is published
bimonthly, by the Assisted Living federation of America, 1650 King
street, suite 602, Alexandria, virginia 22314. Periodicals postage paid at
Alexandria, vA, and additional mailing offices. ALf A member companies
receive subscriptions for staff as part of their membership. free controlled
subscriptions are also available to qualified individuals in the senior
living business. senior living and other professionals who do not qualify
may purchase an annual subscription: $95 for individuals and $125 for
institutions. Go to www.alfa.org/subscribe for details.
POstMAstER: sEnd AddREss ChAnGEs tO
Assisted Living Executive, 1650 King street, suite 602, Alexandria, virginia
22314; 703/894-1805. Printed in usA. Copyright 2011. Prior to photocopying
items for educational classroom, internal, or personal use, please contact
the Copyright Clearance Center, Customer service, 978.750.8400, 222
Rosewood dr., danvers, MA 01923 or check CCC Online at www.copyright.
com. Assisted Living Executive will not be responsible for the return of any
unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.
Copyright ©2011 Assisted Living federation of America. All rights reserved.
no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form—
print, electronic, or otherwise— without written permission from ALfA.
At this writing, Maginot lines are being drawn in all the states, most dramatically in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania—and in Washington,
D.C. On one side are people who tell us they care very much about our nation's future. And on the other side are, well, people who tell us they care very much about
our nation's future.
Both sides seem deeply entrenched, clutching their beliefs and political life-experience in preparation for a long siege. And, so far, no one has dared venture into
the no-man's land between the lines. THAT would require courage and leadership.
The net effect? Almost nothing is getting done to meet the challenges of the
greatest fiscal crisis in our nation's history.
In the nation's capitol, lobbyists and advocacy groups are daily trying to influence their elected representatives to protect or increase funding for their federally-subsidized programs. While there is a lot of pressure on politicians to face the
crisis, there is also a lot of pressure on them to keep their heads down or just kick
the can down the road. You've always gotten through, so what the heck.
So ALFA's Advocacy Day Fly-In last week (see page 56) must have felt like a
breath of fresh air to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Leaders in the senior living industry converged on Capitol Hill—and they didn't
have their hands out! They had a much more compelling message and a much
more positive story to tell.
During the Fly-In, 160 senior living executives visited more than half the offices
of the 535 elected representatives that make up the U.S. House and Senate. They
came from all over the country, representing 56 senior living companies serving
tens of thousands of seniors and their families. Their most important purpose was
educational. They wanted their elected officials to know what the senior living business is all about, how our business takes care of our nation's seniors, how Congress
can support the seniors in our care, and the importance of visiting ALFA members'
senior living communities in their own congressional district or state to see with
their own eyes.
Why are ALFA's Advocacy Fly-Ins so extremely important? Because an informed
U.S. Congress won't try to fix something that ain't broke. The industry you've chosen
as your profession does an extraordinary job taking care of seniors. It is reflected in
satisfied residents, families, and employees. It is reflected in high rates of occupancy.
And it is reflected in how well the senior living business continues to weather the
fiscal storm.
To learn more about ALFA's public policy programs at the federal level and in
your state, visit www.ALFA.org/policy.
Richard P. Grimes, firstname.lastname@example.com, is president/CEO of the
Assisted Living federation of America, www.alfa.org, representing
professionally managed senior living communities and the
residents and families they serve.
Click to subscribe to this magazine


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Department of Pediatrics
Keck School of Medicine
4650 Sunset Blvd., MS #71
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone: (323) 361-2303
Fax: (323) 361-3719
D. Brent Polk, M.D. Department Chair
Children's Hospital Los Angeles ranks fifth in the nation on the 2013-14 U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of children's hospitals- one of only 10 children's hospitals in the country, and the only one in California, to make the prestigious list. One of only 12 children's hospitals designated a "Top Hospital" for 2012 by The Leapfrog Group, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is also designated a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center- an honor held by only 7 percent of hospitals nationwide.
The Department is comprised of two distinct programs that interrelate on an educational, clinical and scientific level, but maintain separate divisional administration (except for neonatology) and unique identities. Although they have a common mission, the goals and objectives of each component are focused and appropriate to their facilities and opportunities.
At CHLA, the emphasis is on research, tertiary clinical services and educational programs that are aimed at the development of academic pediatricians and pediatric community leaders. The faculty is large (325 faculty members, including members of other departments), highly specialized and covers a broad range of competencies. There are four Centers at CHLA, representing large-volume, multidisciplinary programs of national prominence. They are: Heart, Cancer and Blood Diseases, Orthopedics and Endocrinology, and Diabetes and Metabolism.
A team of plastic surgeons from Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) traveled 7,500 miles to Jordan, where they operated on dozens of children with physical deformities too complicated to be treated by doctors at the King Hussein Medical Center in Amman.
Soda consumers may be getting a much higher dose of the harmful sugar fructose than they have been led to believe, according to a new study led by Michael Goran, director of the Childhood Obesity Research Center (CORC) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
A public education program that trained and fielded a cadre of health mentors in California significantly boosted Latino residents' knowledge of everything from cholesterol and diabetes to the importance of nutrition and exercise, a USC study showed.
Pat Levitt, PhD, provost professor of pediatrics, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology and pharmacy at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, was recently elected as a member into the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academy of Sciences.
A mother and her 25-week-old fetus are doing well after a USC surgeon and pediatrician performed a successful in utero cardiac interventional procedure on the fetus at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center late last month.
Thomas Coates, MD, professor of pediatrics and pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and section head of hematology in the division of hematology oncology at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, along with four other co-principal investigators, recently received a five-year, $9.5 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
Keck Medicine of USC has opened the USC Center for Childhood Communication on the campus of John Tracy Clinic, 806 W. Adams Blvd., in Los Angeles. Pediatric audiology and speech pathology specialists began seeing patients on Oct. 1.
A longitudinal study of 1,563 10th-grade students in Los Angeles County found that teenagers were more likely to smoke or drink alcohol if their friends posted photos of smoking or drinking on online social networking sites like Facebook or Myspace


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No.19 Restaurant at Ingon Manor - Restaurants in Stratford upon Avon
What is it?
Situated just outside Stratford Town, this rustic feeling pretty Restaurant is in Ingon Manor part of a local popular golf course & country club complex. Great for an intimate dining experience, good range of fine dining food with an atmosphere full of character. Fantastic for locals if you want a scenery change to get out of town for a quiet evening.
Contact Information
No.19 Restaurant at Ingon Manor
Ingon Manor
Ingon Lane
Tel: 01789 731 857
Website: www.number19restaurant.co.uk


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Winemaker's Notes:
Deep ruby red color, very appealing. The nose shows black currant, vanilla and violet aromas while on the palate the wine is packed with raspberry and dark cherry fruit, with a prevalence of fruit over oak. A spicy, medium bodied, generous, full flavored wine of rich red fruit with a touch of vanilla, mocha with round, firm, friendly tannins, good structure and acidity.


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Porterville, California ambient experimental post-rock and spoken-word band Hotel Books have signed with Ohio independent label InVogue Records. As a new addition to the label's roster, a double EP by Hotel Books, titled I Am Almost Happy Here But I Never Feel At Home, will be released on July 1st. Later this summer the band is scheduled to enter the studio to record its debut full-length album, which I am fairly sure is yet to be titled.
Fronted by vocalist and poet Cam Smith, Hotel Books evolved from Cam with a changing lineup of musicians to the four-piece outfit it is today. As I understand it, Hotel Books was just a duo for some time. But having listened to a few of their newer songs as well as their older material, the full band sound better complements Cam's intelligent and emotive streams of spoken word as musical vehicles to carry them forward into well-composed builds and breaks. In fact, I haven't come across spoken-word and music combinations this impressive since listening to certain songs by MewithoutYou, The Hold Steady, and imadethismistake. Actually, I can take that one step further by saying it is probably my favorite poetry and music project since Jack Kerouac and Steve Allen's Poetry for the Beat Generation, William S. Burroughs and Kurt Cobain did The Priest They Called Him, and Kailani Amerson joined The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower for the opening track, "Exhibitionism," on the album Dissertation, Honey (2003).
While Hotel Books' music is strong and well executed, it is the vocals that keep the listener absorbed. Cam's words, as much as they way they are delivered, are the undeniably the main focus. There are a lot of topics covered in these songs - the examining of one's soul, a figurative dissection of the heart, the imparting of important experiences and observations, describing significant relationships, among other things - but none more so than love. It is artistic expression at its finest.
The video attached to this write-up is for the song "Cult Leader," which is on the B Side of Hotel Books' upcoming double EP on InVogue Records.


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Steve Jobs – The Movie
How do you do justice to the Steve Jobs story in a two-hour screenplay? That is the challenge facing Aaron Sorkin, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who is adapting Walter Isaacson's biography of the Apple founder for a movie.
Mr. Sorkin—whose works include "The Social Network" and television drama "The West Wing"—gave clues to how he will solve the problem at the All Things D conference in California on Wednesday.
For starters, he won't try to cram too much in with a "cradle to grave" story. No easy task given that Mr. Isaacson's tome ran 656 pages. Instead, Mr. Sorkin wants to focus on a "point of friction" in Mr. Jobs's life, though he isn't sure what that will be yet. One trick Mr. Sorkin says he sometimes uses to make his protagonists interesting: writing their story as if they are making their case to God for why they should be let into heaven.
Who will play Mr. Jobs? Mr. Sorkin doesn't know but says the actor will have to be very smart. You can't fake intelligence, he said. That may be true in Silicon Valley, though not necessarily in Hollywood.


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One of the most troubling aspects of being a property owner is a negative cash flow. Apart from bad tenants, negative cash flow is the only thing that gives the owners a hugely annoying itch on the back, in a place where they can do nothing. Most of the owners can live with the fact that their properties are not producing any profits, but when they start incurring losses, they tend to lose their patience.
An owner cannot ride the storm solely based on the hope that they can make money when the real estate cycle turns into the in their favor. Most of the property investors purchase property solely in a long term view. This makes investing heavily into the property an impractical option.
The tightening of mortgage rules has, in proverbial terms provided "light at the end of the tunnel". The recent changes make all the buyers without good credit, stable income or cash to pay a substantial down payment ineligible for mortgage. Such disqualified buyers make an ideal partner in the short term "Rent to Own" method.
This strategy is designed in such a way that the tenant buys the property from the owner a few years down the line. A typical Rent to Own agreement has the following transactions.
1. The prospective buyer moves into the property as a tenant after paying a small amount as a down payment.
2. The tenant pays the owner a rent, which has a fixed component contributing for the purchase down the line.
3. Five years later (just an approximation), the tenant purchases the property from the owner, who deducts the monthly component from the price of the property.
Both parties involved in this transaction are benefitted from this kind of agreement. The tenant finds a home that can become their own in a few years down the line. As a tenant stays on the property, they can find out the various advantages and disadvantages of staying at that location first hand. This allows the tenant to make an informed decision at the end of the day.
The owner finds a perfect solution for his problem: negative cash flow. A typical tenant does not contribute to the necessary repairs or maintenance of the property. These works fall under the domain of an owner, which contributes to an increase in the expenditure incurred by the property. On the other hand, a "Rent to own" tenant takes care of the house in a better fashion, as they typically treat the house as their own. This decreases the expenditure and solves the negative cash flow problem.
The presence of a Rent to own tenant ensures a steadied source of cash flow that helps in generation of regular income to the household. The additional component paid every month is handy whenever the owner encounters an unexpected pitfall. The result of a Rent to own agreement is an extremely conducive scenario for all the parties involved in the transaction.


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NetBeans Ruby Support Soon
By David Coldrick on Jan 24, 2007
Tor has another great tease of a NetBeans JRuby support screenshot in his blog. Looks like - fingers and toes crossed - the next milestone, milestone 7, will be our first opportunity to play with it. Can't wait! I've even started reading The PickAxe in preparation


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Dec 26, 2010 9:40 AM
Have you ever, once, heard someone complain because she was "too firm?" Honestly. We think it would be grounds for assault. We're all looking for that magic elixir that firms our bodies while conditioning our skin. Right now, we're leaning on Philosophy Eternal Grace Firming Body Emulsion. It smells nice, the olive and macadamia nut oils help make our skin feel soft, and we're hoping that in combination with our exercise, it's tightening the skin.
Firming is big business, girls. Take a look at some of these other Firming Lotions.
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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The University of Connecticut Libraries began a Strategic Planning process in Fall 1994. The goal of this process was to determine strategic initiatives that would best position us for the future. Strategic Initiatives, the Libraries Strategic Planning document, outlines the areas of primary focus and details action items to advance the accomplishment of these initiatives. The success of these initiatives is dependent, in part, on the effectiveness of individuals and the degree to which they have been trained. The initiatives focusing on academic partnerships, user services, staff, and regional campus libraries are particularly dependent on staff ability. Hence, the need for training on a regular, systematic basic is imbedded in the accomplishment of these new enterprises. It is essential that staff be efficient and effective in the implementation, application, and evaluation of these new activities.
This paper will discuss the current plan of training activities for staff at the Regional Campus Libraries. A discussion of the University Libraries organizational structure, organizational changes, and new initiatives is included in order to provide a clear, current description of the University Libraries as a whole and to enhance the conceptual understanding behind this training initiative.
The University Of Connecticut Libraries
Organizational Structure
The University of Connecticut Libraries reviewed the organizational structure of the Libraries and proposed revising the hierarchy model to a structure that has users as its center. The new structure, reflecting a team based environment, is comprised of seven functional areas: Access Services; Collections Services; Dodd Research Center (Archives and Special Collections); Information Technology Services; Regional Campus Libraries; Research and Information Services; and Directors Office and Administrative Services. Each area is responsible for specific functions and related responsibilities for the University Libraries system-wide. Each functional area is led by an area head who is responsible for overseeing the areas responsibilities and who represents the area and its responsibilities, as well as the management of the Libraries by membership on the Leadership Council, the principal decision-making body for the University Libraries.
Functional Changes
Each functional area is responsible for the organization, management, delivery, policies, and procedures for specific library functions. Inherent within each functional area is also the concept that we are now one library system rather than six discrete campuses. Consequently, services and activities such as Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery, Circulation, Collection Development, Reserves, User Education, Reference, and Library Liaisons (to Academic Schools and Departments) ought to be as consistent as possible among the six campuses. In order to accomplish this, procedures have been established to make the provision of these services, from a functional viewpoint, uniform system-wide. Technology, in support of these services and activities and critical to the success of virtually every library activity at some level, is both designated as a separate functional area and also as the area responsible for supporting technology related activities of each functional area.
Each area is responsible for all decisions and activities necessary to ensure the effective organization and operation of the area. These responsibilities are accomplished by the work of many functional and cross-functional teams. Functional teams, whose members are from within an area, review and respond to issues and concerns regarding area roles and responsibilities. Cross-functional teams, whose members have diverse skills that are culled system-wide from several functional areas, have been formed to assume responsibility for specific functions or initiatives. These may include user surveys, library liaisons, the University Libraries WWW page, networked resources, and document delivery.
Organizational Changes
Organizational changes have been generated by a variety of institutional and economic issues. An era of shrinking budgets and increasing demands on staff, collections, services, and resources, have encouraged us to review how we perform our responsibilities and allocate our resources, and to determine what is needed so that the provision of high quality collections and services is continued. These issues have suggested we look at the variables in the human and fiscal resources equation and reevaluate how we allocate our time, talent, and financial assets. Next to revising the structure of the Libraries, the most significant accomplishment in the organization change effort has been the establishment of the one library concept: that is a single system with distributed service points. It is this principle that assures equal access to collections and services regardless of the campus on which faculty, students, and staff work or study. It is this principle that unites faculty, students, and staff system-wide.
The establishment of a team-based structure has encouraged greater responsibility by staff in the review, analysis, and revision of issues and concerns through participation in area wide meetings, functional and cross-functional teams. Through functional and cross- functional team work, issues can be discussed and revisions and solutions can be achieved. Shared discussion and decision making have generated greater understanding of and commitment to changes, new processes and procedures, and new initiatives. These results have also heightened our awareness of the need for training.
Lastly, these changes have generated a slow but growing change in the organizational culture of the Libraries. In the new model, there is a shift from an emphasis on individual achievement, initiatives, and decision-making to shared vision, mutual respect, collaborative learning, cooperative initiatives, and group decision-making. This type of change takes time. We have made strides, however, towards realizing this culture change and each day brings us closer to our goal.
New Initiatives
The University Libraries have established the follow initiatives as strategically important.
The Regional Campuses allow the University to provide Connecticuts citizens educational programs in five different locations throughout the state. All five Regional campuses, Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, Torrington, and Waterbury offer access to baccalaureate study on a local basis with programs that may be completed at the main campus in Storrs. Workshops, seminars, and other continuing education opportunities
are also offered at these campuses for students and local community residents. Demographically, the Regional Campuses represent approximately 20% of the Universitys faculty and students.
Campus Locations
Regional Campus Libraries can be found at each of the five campus locations throughout the state of Connecticut: Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, Torrington, and Waterbury. (See map at conclusion of paper)
Major Programmatic Areas
The Regional Campuses support 2 year and 4 year undergraduate programs and graduate programs in Business Administration, Educational Leadership, Marine Science, and Social Work. Specialized programs are offered by the Cooperative Extension Service, the Marine Sciences and Technology Center, Office of Continuing Education, Institute for Public Service International, and the Small Business Development Center.
Collections And Services
The Regional Campus Libraries support the academic programs of the campuses they serve by providing core collections for the first two years of undergraduate study, strong business collections, and research collections in marine science and social work. They are full functioning libraries that serve as Gateway Libraries to the shared resources, collections, and services provided by the University of Connecticut Libraries A full range of user services are offered including: reference service, user education, interlibrary loan/document delivery, and library liaisons.
The current Regional Campus Libraries staff consists of the Area Head for Regional Campus Libraries, 10 university librarians and 8 university library assistants.
Staff Training Concerns
Regional Campus Library staff expressed concerns similar to those of their Storrs colleagues. The advent of new library initiatives, networked resources, staffing concerns, and technology issues generated interest in training opportunities to meet new job responsibilities and to enhance skills to better meet user needs. Additionally, interest in training was fueled by the rapid increase of access to electronic resources and databases, coupled with technological issues, and distance from Storrs and other campuses.
Needs Assessment Questionnaire
A Needs Assessment Questionnaire was completed by Regional Campus staff in January 1997 and provides a snapshot of training needs at that time. The purpose of this questionnaire was to gather input from staff in order to assess levels of knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience. The information gathered was used to plan training sessions to augments library staffs ability to accomplish strategic initiatives given programmatic, staffing, and geographical issues of concern to the Regional Campus Libraries.
What Was Measured
This questionnaire asked staff to indicate basic demographic information, shifts in job responsibilities, level of experience with specific job responsibilities, level of training for specific job responsibilities, level of confidence in using electronic resources, and interest in training for specific job related tasks.
Questionnaire Results
The questionnaire results indicated that, in general, the typical regional campus staff member has been at UConn ranging from six years up through twenty-five years. Library ranks are spread over all categories with the largest per cent of library assistants at the ULA II rank (17%) and the largest per cent of librarians at UL II rank (28%) followed closely by UL III rank (22%). (The University of Connecticut Library ranks are: University Library Assistant I - V for non - MLS staff and University Librarian I - III, University Assistant Librarian, and University Associate Librarian for librarians). Job responsibilities were spread over each library functional area. However, 83% indicated that their present responsibilities represented a change from those that they were hired to perform with an increase in public services (37%). In general, when asked to indicate how familiar they were with basic library services such as circulation, reserves, interlibrary loan, and reference service, most items were ranked "very familiar" with the exceptions being ILL (38% somewhat familiar), cataloging (28% does not apply), personnel (29% does not apply), library policies (25% familiar), and serials claims (28% not familiar).
For each job responsibility listed such as circulation, reserves, collection development, reference service and user instruction, most staff indicated need for some training, especially for user instruction (50% moderate training). Generally, in assessing levels of confidence using electronic resources such as the Libraries online catalog, PsycInfo, ERIC, Lexis/Nexis, and the Internet, staff indicated a rank of "some confidence" for most items and "very confident" for items like HOMER (53%), the Libraries online catalog, JREF (50%), a Wilson database of journal references, and email (50%). When asked to indicate tasks within broad job functions where additional training was desired, the items receiving the most responses were: circulation (26%); reserves (24%); electronic resources (30%); budgeting (31%); and computer troubleshooting (35%).
Implementing Results
Based on data generated by the questionnaire results, training sessions
were arranged for several library functional tasks in circulation and acquisitions,
as well as public services responsibilities. This discussion will focus
on training conducted for public service responsibilities. All training
sessions were open to all staff regardless of rank, experience, or specific
job responsibilities. Since library staff within each campus library may
be asked to assist patrons, it was determined that providing staff with
at least a basic understanding of reference and information services tasks
would enhance basic public services, especially in the occasional absence
of a librarian.
Training Program
The purpose of the training program was and is to provide staff who are assuming either expanding job responsibilities or new tasks with the educational experiences needed to fulfill these roles. On site individual and small group training was conducted on an "as needed" or "as appropriate" basis to address situations at hand. However, library wide initiatives and networked resources generated the need for a training plan to address these issues on a more formal, systematic basis. Therefore, opportunities to participate in continual learning situations, which exist at the main campus, have been established for and extended to regional campus library staff. It is hoped that these experiences will strengthen public service staff knowledge, skills, and abilities and enhance their effectiveness in the fulfillment of public service responsibilities.
The training program intends to augment each staff members ability to provide excellent service by broadening his/her experiences and enhancing the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential to effective reference and information services for all users system wide. Essentially, training seeks:
The selection of trainers is based on the nature of the training session, and the knowledge, skills, and experience of the trainer. Any staff member may be requested to participate as a trainer or may volunteer to conduct a training session. Additionally, when appropriate, experts from beyond the library staff may be retained to conduct specialized training. The training agenda, evaluation, and follow-up are determined by the trainers in conjunction with appropriate staff. It is hoped that training sessions will beget new and additional trainers who will bring to these sessions diverse experiences, skills, and perspectives that will benefit staff and users system-wide.
Training Timetable
Formal training began in February 1997. Since that time training sessions have occurred on an individual and group basis. Instruction in Circulation, Interlibrary Loan/ Document Delivery, and related access issues has been held at each regional campus library. Training for the new acquisitions plans for books, periodicals, and serials has been conducted for each staff involved in these activities.
An ambitious timetable for public services training began in February
1997 with a session on the Reference Interview. Activities for 1997 - 1998
included individual database discussions and formal sessions for Library
Liaison Roles and Responsibilities, and Collection Development Activities.
Additional activities are suggested for research assistance within academic
disciplines (humanities, social sciences, sciences, and business), user
education, outreach, and technology and access issues.
Training Sessions
The Reference Interview
This session discussed strategies for conducting effective reference interviews. Issues such as open and closed questions, interpersonal skills, and strategies and techniques for clarifying and refining the reference question were discussed. (Conducted February 1997)
Liaison Roles And Responsibilities
This session discussed the overall purpose of the Library Liaison program, the roles and responsibilities of Library Liaisons, Mentoring, Training, and Collection Development activities. (Conducted February 1998)
Collection Development Activities
This session discussed the overall principles and practices of collection development activities for liaisons. Topics included approval plan mechanics, collection development beyond approval plan parameters, budget strategy, networked services, consortium initiatives, and communicating with users about collecting goals. (Conducted March 1998)
Subject Specific Resources
Sessions for 1998 - 1999 will include discussions on print materials,
electronic databases and resources for research and user education in the
Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences and Business.
What We Have Learned
About The Process
We have learned that:
Staff have made great strides towards building our skills portfolios
in a short time and under difficult conditions. Training is both a horizontal
and vertical process. In one sense, we are building similar skills across
a wide variety of resources, and in another sense we are building on basic
skills and gaining expertise. The staff have also become more proactive
in the learning process and more savvy consumers of training. Concerns
regarding training content, duplication of topics, opportunity for hands-on
experience, follow-up, facilitators, training site, and staffing issues
are now raised regularly. These types of concerns indicate that staff are
now more alert to their learning needs and are more willing to suggest
methods to pursue learning. Training is viewed as critical in an organization
committed to continual improvement and excellent user services. Consequently,
the need for training is viewed positively.
Next Steps
How We Will Proceed
The Regional Campus Libraries have established teams responsible for specific issues and initiatives. In particular, the teams for Access Services, Collections, Networked Services/Web Pages, and Library Instruction Reference are in the process of discussing staffing, networked and print resources, user services, and training issues specific to these areas. These discussions have generated suggestions for training session topics, trainers, training sites, training times and frequency. These teams will work with appropriate University Libraries staff to develop and conduct training. We are now in the process of discussing training sessions for Summer 98, Fall 98, and Spring 99. To date, there are tentative plans to offer additional subject specific seminars, a second session on the Reference Interview, Lexis/Nexis legal searching, and an update on technology and access issues.
How Training Will Continue
The Area Head for Regional Campus Libraries has appointed a coordinator
for Regional Campus Libraries Training. This staff member is responsible
to cull information from teams and to help coordinate training sessions.
Additionally, the Coordinator will develop and maintain a Regional Campus
Libraries training calendar, establish mechanisms for assessment and evaluation
of training sessions within the Regional Campuses, collect requests for
individual training, suggest contacts for follow-up activities, and assist
in facilitating system-wide training within the present physical and geographical
structure. Future training opportunities will include workshops and seminars
on electronic resources and databases and occasions for staff to participate
in new technology for teaching and learning. Lastly, efforts are being
made to investigate mechanisms to conduct training via distance learning
techniques to accommodate geographical and staffing issues system-wide
and to provide online tutorials for self-training and reinforcement.
Go to the UA Library Home Page


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|19th August 2011, 01:17 PM
|#41 (permalink)
They have said 'Epic Scale', I have googled for information on just how big that is... Realistically to be able to have jets the area must be huge. Of course the aircraft always get more allowable battlefield area to operate in than the land forces before you get killed for leaving the battle.
Personally, I'm definitely getting BF3 because BFBC2 was really just a stop gap measure in my eyes to tide over the BF crowd and to help pay for BF3 development and refine the technology. As was also MOH which was a fine multiplayer game sadly left in the dust for BF3. And so I want to see the return on my $$ for buying BFBC2 and MOH and I expect an excellent game which will reward team work much more than COD (outside of scrims)
There's bugger all reason to buy MW3 though, unless they really manage to undo the damage they have done in the last few years. It is simply NOT the hottest property in this game season though. Far from it
|19th August 2011, 01:21 PM
|#43 (permalink)
I was planning to buy it anyway, I've never been a nerfherder- sorry I meant Battlefielder, simple mistake, anyway the Dedicated Servers is what makes it a done deal for me.
I hope everyone understands the sub models for Call of Duty Elite. There's a paid model and then there's the free model, there are no restrictions on the game you play with the free Elite model. You play the full game for free and buy map packs when they get released, that's it. The paid version is better stats tracking, achievement system, premium content and free map packs. You don't need any of this and it doesn't give anyone an upper hand.
|19th August 2011, 02:19 PM
|#44 (permalink)
I personally like the stats bling - not that it will help my game
|19th August 2011, 03:59 PM
|#45 (permalink)
The last update I saw (but that was a review post) was $7.99 USD or $99 AUD (a little Aus currency joke there) Kingie which isn't too bad, it's unlikely I'd go for it, but then I'm a diehard mmo subscriber so probably will get sucked in at some stage.
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