text:
Dear Jackson,
I am amazed that a year has passed already. So far almost nothing has gone as planned, but just about everything has come together perfectly.
A year ago we had no idea that we'd be living in MA. We love walking to the beach and having aunties pop by to say hello. A year ago we had no idea that I'd be working from home. It's a lot of work but I love the balance and I never spend a minute in traffic missing you.
I knew that there would be stress but I had no idea that 90 percent of my anxiety, stress, and tears would revolve around sleep: getting you to sleep at night, getting you to sleep during the day, getting you to stay asleep, are you getting enough sleep (yes, finally!), am I getting enough sleep (not even close!) It's a sobering realization that sleep issues in one form or another will probably last for at least a few more years. My eyeballs might sink into my skull by then but eventually, I know, we'll get past it.
When I look at pictures from the year every memory is so vivid - the fear of an unplanned surgery before you were ready to be born, the hours at home sitting in the rocking chair. You becoming stronger and more mobile. And then watching you become this person with so much curiosity and interest and personality. A boy who swats the dogs in the face when they're in his way, who instigates a game of hide and seek, who points at things he wants, who sits and reads himself books.
For as big as you are in some ways, there are other things that remind me that you're still my little guy. I love that you still prefer being carried close to me in the Ergo over getting in the stroller. As if you just want to remind me that you still feel safest when my arms are wrapped around you.
Well, I like to think of it that way anyway.
Happy birthday, son. I love you, I love you, I love you.


text:
By Victoria Fernette, Public Affairs Specialist, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Armed Services Blood Bank CommandJuly 18, 2012
WASHINGTON, July 18, 2012 -- The Armed Services Blood Program is the official contributor of the blood supply to the military and their Families. Unlike many community type blood organizations, the ASBP is limited to recruiting donors from military facilities and from federal employees alone.
This can be a tough job for us at the ASBP, as many active duty military can be deferred from donating blood due to their travels and deployments. So, often we look to the civilians who work on these military bases and for federal agencies to help us ensure that the blood supply will be available in a time of need.
In recent weeks, the need for blood has increased due to heavy combat activity overseas, so a plea for donations to such places as Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall has gone out.
Take part in supporting the troops in a real-world way by donating blood Wednesday, July 25 from 8 a.m. to noon at Smith Gym on the Henderson Hall portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. The Armed Services Blood Program collection team will be available to accept blood donations from eligible individuals, military and civilian alike. Anyone who is in general good health, is a minimum of 110 pounds and has returned from deployment over 12 months ago may be eligible to donate. To avoid a wait, go online to www.militarydonor.com and schedule an appointment. Simply establish a simple registration profile first, then search for the blood drive using sponsor code: FtMyer.
To save more time, complete the travel history form online at www.militaryblood.dod.mil/wrnmmc/pdfs/ASBBCForm044-ForeignCountryTravelInfo_Oct2010.pdf (see related links, to the right of this article), save it to your computer, print it and bring the completed form to registration. Also, look on www.militaryblood.dod.mil to determine eligibility and find donor deferral criteria.
Each week the ASBP has a quota to fill that consists of type specific units of fresh red cell units needed for combat operations and overseas assistance. In addition, three local hospitals in the National Capital Region - Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Andrews Air Force Base and the Fort Belvoir Hospital - use blood products to support the needs of wounded military personnel in recovery, their Family members and military veterans.
In the past two years, JBM-HH has hosted four blood drives with 300-plus individuals coming forward to help. Total good units collected: 237 units of life saving blood. The goal for the July 25 blood drive is 150 to 175 individuals coming forward to help with a final collection goal of 95 pints of blood.
Be a part of this life saving operation. For more information and registration details: www.militarydonor.com; see www.militaryblood.dod.mil.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
EU's East Would Strengthen Euro, Polish Central Bank Chief Says
New members from the European Union's eastern flank would strengthen the euro zone and shift the balance towards the "hardworking North" against the "chaotic" South, the head of Poland's central bank said Tuesday.
Speaking to bankers in London, National Bank of Poland's governor Marek Belka added that he disliked resorting to national stereotypes, which he said were more a perception than a reality.
But he clearly believes that countries in the EU's east have the right stuff when it comes to adopting the euro, citing the willingness of Estonia and Latvia to collapse domestic demand in order to overcome their economic problems in a comparison with Greece and other southern European nations that was not intended to be flattering to the latter.
"Look at Estonia," Mr. Belka said. "It's the anti-Greece, the strongest state you can possibly imagine. Latvia cut internal consumption by 40%, and still the government was reelected."
All in all, the countries would instill some iron in the euro zone's soul.
"They have managed to build up solid state structures, solid governance structures, adding to stability and not borrowing stability from the rest of Europe," he said.
He characterized those nations–"even Hungary"–as "small Germanys rather than small Greeces."
"People see those countries as the hardworking North rather than the chaotic South," he said.
As a relatively new member of the European Union, Poland is obliged to join the euro zone at some point, but Mr. Belka said that the greater integration among euro-zone members in an effort to resolve the currency area's fiscal crisis would make that difficult.
However, he said Poland couldn't remain outside such a deeply integrated euro zone.
"It's difficult to join that kind of enhanced integration, but impossible or very difficult to stay outside," he said. "We're not like the U.K., we can't marginalize Europe, but Europe can marginalize us."
The euro zone's current problems mean that Poland's economy will grow less rapidly, but its slowdown won't be "that deep," Mr. Belka said.
"This year as we observe a pronounced slowdown of the Polish economy due to external developments," he said.
The rest of the European Union accounts for almost 80% of Poland's exports. But Mr. Belka said that in previous slowdowns, Polish exports as a share of western European demand had increased because they were cheaper than the alternatives.
"When you have austerity, you look for lower cost substitutes," Mr. Belka said.
He added that unlike many countries within the euro zone, Poland had become more competitive relative to Germany.
"We are gaining against the Germans," Mr. Belka said. "I don't think the slowdown will be that deep or pronounced because basically the fundamentals are solid."
Mr. Belka said that as the Polish economy has slowed, Poland's current account deficit is also shrinking, and has done so again in the third quarter after halving in the second.
Write to Paul Hannon at email@example.com


text:
Creating a cozy hearth for the family
by Susan Melgren, Web Editor
diy projects, crafts, suitcases, luggage, repurpose
At Natural Home & Garden, we love the idea of repurposing old items to create new things. Repurposing might involve an investment of time (and creativity) on your part, but ultimately it can save not only resources but the energy it takes to make new products—not to mention money, too.
Old luggage has a certain whimsy and worldly charm that can enhance any home's décor—and the possibilities for using them are endless! Check out these four ideas for repurposing old luggage into fun, functional suitcase crafts.
Who says furniture has to be expensive? Old luggage can make a great side table in a few easy steps, and all it costs is the price of a thrift store suitcase. For a unique bedside table, try stacking a trio of suitcases together. Or top a low stool with a single suitcase for a more modern look (without the need of additional suitcases!).
Photo By Thomas Gibson
Just stack a trio of suitcases for a quick 'n' easy bedside table. (Fun fact: this image was one of the contenders for the cover of the January/February 2012 issue of Natural Home & Garden!)
Photo By Stacie/Courtesy Flickr
For a suitcase table that involves a bit more effort, check out the DIY vintage suitcase tutorial from the blog Stars for Streetlights.
Photo By Susan Wasinger
Create a purrrfect pet bed for your cat (or small dog) by repurposing the better half of a thrift store suitcase. It's pretty easy; just remove the top of the suitcase and fit the bottom with a cozy pillow. For more specific instructions, check out the article "Try This: Cat Baggage."
Photos By Susan Wasinger
Old suitcases can make a comfy perch for humans, too. If extra seating is a problem anytime guests come over, check out this project for turning an old suitcase into a stow-away chair. Pull it out when guests come over, then fold it up and store it until your next big event. This suitcase chair also makes for great portable seating. (All your friends with conventional lawn chairs are sure to be jealous.)
Photos Courtesy Blake Sloane
Sometimes all you need is to take an idea and turn it on its head—or in this case, its side. This medicine cabinet, made by artist Blake Sloane, was made by attaching an old suitcase to the wall and adding a mirror and a few shelves.
A few more possibilities:
• Attach short legs to create an ottoman or low-chest.
• Cut old suitcases in half to create shelves with charm.
• Make a chest of drawers.
• Turn them into adorable outdoor planters.
Subscribe to
Mother Earth Living
Welcome to Mother Earth Living, the authority on green lifestyle and design. Each issue of Mother Earth Living features advice to create naturally healthy and nontoxic homes for yourself and your loved ones. With Mother Earth Living by your side, you'll discover all the best and latest information you want on choosing natural remedies and practicing preventive medicine; cooking with a nutritious and whole-food focus; creating a nontoxic home; and gardening for food, wellness and enjoyment. Subscribe to Mother Earth Living today to get inspired on the art of living wisely and living well.
Save Money & a Few Trees!
Pay now with a credit card and take advantage of our earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. You'll save an additional $5 and get six issues of Mother Earth Living for just $14.95! (Offer valid only in the U.S.)
Or, choose Bill Me and pay just $19.95.
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved | Ogden Publications, Inc., 1503 SW 42nd St., Topeka, Kansas 66609-1265
Special Interest Websites : Community Chickens • Good Things to Eat • Keeping Backyard Bees


text:
Brad Pitt will star in Odyssey, a sci-fi version of Homer's Odyssey. The movie, backed by Warner Bros. will be directed by George Miller, Oscar winning director of Happy Feet.
Brad Pitt had earlier player Achilles in the 2004 Troy, based on Homer's The Iliad. The movie got Pitt a fair bit of drubbing.
The sci-fi Odyssey will be set in outer space, according to Variety. So those of you looking forward to Brad Pitt's toned thighs in a skirt can forget about it. But really Odyssey set in outer space? The mind boggles.
In Homer's Odyssey, Greek general Odysseus is returning to his wife Penelope in Ithaca, after the Trojan war. But Odyssey has to deal with sea-nymphs, witches, monsters, and cyclops for 10 years before he can return.
Brad Pitt will be seen next in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the story of a man who ages backwards, later in 2008. The movie also stars Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.
Brad Pitt will then appear in The Tree of Life, set in the 1950s, in 2009.
The other Brad Pitt movies in production and post-production are Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards, The Fighter, Chad Schmidt, and Dirty Tricks.
Brad Pitt's sci-fi Odyssey will be produced by his own company Plan B.
Earlier, Brad Pitt has produced The Departed and Running with Scissors in 2006, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and co-produced A Mighty Heart in 2007. Brad Pitt has also exec produced Year of the Dog in 2007 and Shantaram that will be released in 2009.
A few days before the announcement of Odyssey, director Ridley Scott, has also announced his first science film, Forever War, since Blade Runner and Alien. Forever War will be based on Joe Haldeman's 1974 novel, "The Odyssey by way of Blade Runner."
But that at least is a sci-fi novel to start with.


text:
Neshoba County, Miss. Geyser Falls Water Theme Park will end daily operations Monday, Aug. 5.
Officials say the change is made due to the start date of local schools.
Geyser Falls will continue to operate weekends only from Aug. 10 through Labor Day, Sept. 2.
To purchase tickets, call 601-389-3099 or visit Geyser Falls' website. A link is provided below.


text: Jonny, how many links can you provide to that kind of post in the last week? More than two? (Not counting the "Idiot poster" thread... ) As far as I can see, those much-ridiculed laby girls are virtually nonexistent on TW. The demographics here is very, very heavily biased towards 23-year-old males. I intend to post a thread with some statistics proving this as soon as I have the time. -Midget! Crapper!


text:
Front Office
Jim PaekAssistant Coach
Phone: (616) 774-4585Biography:
The longest-tenured coach in franchise history, Jim Paek begins his ninth season as the Griffins assistant coach. He joined the organization on Aug. 11, 2005.
Paek, 46, helped guide Grand Rapids to its first-ever Calder Cup in 2012-13, along with the AHLs regular season championship in 2005-06 and additional playoff berths in 2006-07 and 2008-09. He even took a turn as the teams bench boss for one game in 2008-09, a 4-0 home victory over Philadelphia on Jan. 10, 2009.
In 2008, Paek earned the right to hoist Lord Stanleys Cup for the third time after coaching the Detroit Red Wings black aces during the parent clubs title run. Ironically, that privilege came at the expense of the Pittsburgh Penguins, with whom he won consecutive Stanley Cups as a defenseman in 1991 and 1992. During five seasons in the NHL (1990-95), he tallied 34 points (5-2934) and 155 penalty minutes in 217 games with Pittsburgh, the Los Angeles Kings and Ottawa Senators.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Toronto, Paek became a U.S. citizen on March 16, 2011. As the first Korean to both play in the NHL and have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup, his Penguins jersey is displayed in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
While in Pittsburgh, he was named the teams 1992 rookie of the year and was the co-winner of its 1993 community service award.
Traded to Los Angeles with former Griffin Marty McSorley for Tomas Sandstrom and Shawn McEachern on Feb. 16, 1994, Paek had the distinction of counting both Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky as teammates. During his 16-year playing career, he also learned from some of hockeys most accomplished coaches, including the legendary Scotty Bowman, Badger Bob Johnson, and Phoenix Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett.
Paek began his professional career with a three-year stint in Muskegon, Mich., during which he helped the IHLs Lumberjacks win the 1989 Turner Cup. He added a fourth and final cup to his playing resume in 1999 as a member of the IHLs Houston Aeros.
Upon retiring in 2003, Paek was named head coach of the WHA2s Orlando Seals, guiding the club to a 27-25-5 record in 2003-04 and coaching in the leagues all-star game. In 2004, he returned to Cleveland and served as an assistant coach for the St. Edwards High School team that won the Ohio state championship, and co-coach of the Cleveland Panthers bantam minor squad that captured the Eastern Elite Amateur Hockey League title.
Paek and his wife, Kortney, have two children, Megan and Kyler.
Number of seasons with the Griffins (through 2013-14): 9
What you love most about working for the Griffins: The players and situations during a season that stretch you as a coach.
Favorite Griffins memory: Beating Manitoba in Game 7 to advance to the conference finals.
Best thing about your job: Being a part of hockey.
States youve lived in: Too many to list; I have a trail from Florida to Alaska and even England.
Sports idol as a youth: Borje Salming of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Personal/professional heroes: Badger Bob Johnson
As a child you dreamed of becoming: A hockey player
First job: I was a paper boy when I was 11.
Proudest professional accomplishment: Winning the Stanley Cup (childhood dream).
Most memorable on-the-job mistake/ embarrassing moment: Falling on the ice with my skate guards on.
Most exciting/unique thing that youve done or place that youve visited: Getting married in Jamaica.
Sports played growing up: All sports. I was a bit of a jock.
Favorite foods: I love all foods and will try anything once as well as Booster club snacks.
Favorite sports movie: Breaking Away
Favorite website: The Griffins website
Favorite book or author: Biographies
Favorite subject in elementary school: Art
Favorite spectator sports: Finals in any spectator sport.
Favorite pro/college sports teams (excluding the Griffins): Detroit Red Wings
Favorite recreational activities/hobbies: Family time
Dan DeVos
David Van Andel
Co-Owner & Chairman
Diane Maher
President & COO - DP Fox
Scott Gorsline
Alternate Governor - Griffins/Senior Vice President - DP Fox
Tim Gortsema
President, CTA
Bob Kaser
Vice President of Community Relations and Broadcasting
Sean Wright
Vice President of Corporate Sales, CTA
Matt Batchelder
Vice President of Ticket Sales
Hockey Operations
Ryan Martin
General Manager
Todd Nelson
Head Coach
Ben Simon
Assistant Coach
Bruce Ramsay
Assistant Coach
Mike Knuble
Assistant Coach
Brian Mahoney-Wilson
Goaltending Development Coach
Bill LeRoy
Video Coach
John Bernal
Athletic Trainer
Brad Thompson
Equipment Manager
Andrew Stegehuis
Assistant Equipment Manager
Marcus Kinney
Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
Kelly Pawlak
Executive Assistant
Public & Community Relations
Randy Cleves
Senior Director of Public Relations, CTA
Jason Pearson
Public Relations Manager
Jessica Albert
Graphic Designer
Lynn Rabaut
Executive Director - Griffins Youth Foundation
Sales & Marketing
Jamie Law
Corporate Sales Account Manager
Steve Ritsema
Corporate Sales Account Manager
Travis Roper
Corporate Sales Account Manager
Amber Getty
Corporate Sales Fulfillment Coordinator
Phil Cronin
Director of Game Operations
John Hoffa
Director of Group Sales
Zack Krywyj
Group Sales Account Manager
Joe Yancho
Group Sales Account Executive
Jessica Boyer
Season Ticket Sales Account Executive
Peter Van Dame
Season Ticket Sales Account Executive
Marissa Malson
Digital Marketing Manager
Sam Iannamico
Graphic Designer
Michael King
Digital Media Producer
Michael Spruit
Digital Media Production Assistant
Finance & Administration/Ticket Operations
Lisa Vedder
Director of Accounting and Tax, CTA
Joe Mendicelli
Accounting Assistant
Chad Erwin
Director of Ticket Operations
Steve Horstmann
Ticket Operations Manager
Rachel Filippini
Ticket Operations Intern
Griff's IceHouse at Belknap Park
Terry Marshall
Facility Manager - Griff's IceHouse
Matt Martinelli
Assistant Facilities Manager - Griff's IceHouse
Peter Piatek
Assistant Facilities Manager - Griff's IceHouse
Deb Huyser
Administrative Assistant - Griff's IceHouse


text:
How do I use TexSubImage2D to replace a part of the texturePosted Tuesday, 10 May, 2011 - 09:34 by kudorgyozo in
Hello, noob question:
I want to have dynamically generated transparent holes in my texture. I have a Bitmap with the original texture already uploaded to the video memory and visible. I draw a transparent hole in it. If I save it as a png file to verify it is ok the hole is there. But when I try to use TexSubImage2D to modify the texture it only works if I replace the whole texture and not just the part with the hole. I use this method in a similar way to TexImage2D: Use LockBits to get the IntPtr with the data, upload the data, release the lock. But here it doesn't work, it replaces it with some garbage, it seems to me as if the number of rows and/or columns to replace are incorrect but I'm not sure.
Edit: I have used TexSubImage2D in C before, and it worked, I really don't know what am I doing wrong here.
Edit: This is what I try to do:
private void drawHole(int x, int y, int r) { Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(x - r, y - r, r * 2, r * 2); Graphics gfx = Graphics.FromImage(texture); gfx.CompositingMode = CompositingMode.SourceCopy; gfx.FillEllipse(Brushes.Transparent, rect); GL.BindTexture(TextureTarget.Texture2D, texId); BitmapData bmp_data = texture.LockBits(rect, ImageLockMode.ReadOnly, System.Drawing.Imaging.PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb); GL.TexSubImage2D(TextureTarget.Texture2D, 0, rect.X, rect.Y, rect.Width, rect.Height, OpenTK.Graphics.OpenGL.PixelFormat.Bgra, PixelType.UnsignedByte, bmp_data.Scan0); texture.UnlockBits(bmp_data); texture.Save("szar.png", ImageFormat.Png); }
Here is what I get:
IMAGE. This is one quad with a texture on it. White is solid and blue is transparent, it is the opengl clearcolor.
I found the solution to this. The short version is that I probably locked more 'bits' and uploaded more data than required, that is why it got distorted. The solution is create a new image with the new smaller dimensions and upload that, or to upload full rows of pixels from the original, or to upload everything again. Correct me if I'm wrong and you're very bored.


text: Me and my husband have been trying for a baby for over three years now, We were going to a fertility clinic for about 8 months before somebody told us to contact this spell caster who is so powerful, We contacted him at this email email@example.com I copied the email and I sent him a mail he replied me and I told me all my sorrow is over, but after three years of trying we were at a point where we were willing to try anything. And I'm glad we came to Dr Dahiru, Because his pregnancy spell cast put us at ease, and I honestly believe him, and his gods really helped us as well, I am thankful for all he has done, he then told me that I should wipe my tears with such comforting words he told me to buy some items that his going to use to cast the pregnancy spell I did and he made the spell for me and told me when next I meet with my husband I we conceive,at first I thought it was a scam but I just followed my inner mind and I sent the money for him to buy all the items after some months I went to check with my doctor and I was 4weeks pregnant, thanks to Dr Dahiru spell temple,I want to use this medium to tell everyone having similar problem. contact him via email: email@example.com if you are trying to get a baby or want your lover back. he has powers to do it, he has done mine,


text:
With an established reputation for providing stylish, wearable fashion,
the Reiss corporate service is here to ensure we can extend our luxury
designs to the people and clients who make your business the success it is today.
Whether you want to maximize the appearance of your employees with bespoke uniforms,
give a gift of distinction representative of your corporation, or finally
make your affiliates feel special with a VIP shopping experience
that is second to none; we make sure your tailored needs are our priority.
Please fill in the contact form below so we can get back to you to discuss your requirements.


text: Well, here's the deal. I have to have my coffee in the morning. If I am running late and it's a choice between brushing my teeth or making coffee, I pick coffee. It's really a necessity. If I don't have it, by 2 PM my students will run me over because I will be in a slump behind my desk. This coffee mug is exactly what I need for those mornings when I am running late. I'm gonna have to pick up a couple of these! $8.99 at Dorm Buys


text:
VP8 Codec: FSF Encourages Free Video Standard
In an open letter to Google, the Free Software Foundation suggested that the software giant freely release the VP8 HD video compression format after having acquired the On2 video technology firm.
"Just think what you can achieve," said the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in their letter to Google, "by releasing the VP8 codec under an irrevocable royalty-free license and pushing it out to users on YouTube?" There's more to it than just free release, however. Google now has the opportunity to end the dependency of the Internet on license-based video formats and proprietary players. Everyone from users to video producers and software and hardware developers would have a viable alternative to patents, fees and usage restrictions, the foundation asserts. Pointing to the YouTube video platform, which has been in Google's hands since the fall of 2006, the foundation reminded the Internet giant of its own growth based on free software and suggested, "You have the leverage to make such free formats a global standard."
On2 was behind VP2, released in 2002 and the basis for the Ogg Theora codec. On2 is also the originator of the HD-capable VP6 codec, which has been a part of Adobe's Flash format since 2004. On2 provided this version free for noncommercial use and is a part of the Ffmpeg project's libavcodec library. The new VP8 version came out September, 2008. VP is a competitor to the equally proprietary H.264 HD compression that is part of the MPEG format, whose licensing the MPEG LA organization maintains. Adobe's Flash plugin supports VP6 and H.264. Free software such as Mozilla Firefox can play the free Theora format, but not VP6 or H.264 on account of the licensing.
Google announced the final takeover of On2 February 19, 2010. The Web video technology company is worth about $125 million to the search engine giant. A motivation for the takeover is Google's interest in the Clifton Park, NY company's compression technology, with Adobe among its clients as well. The intent to purchase goes back to August, 2009. On2 stockholders struggled with this at first, as the WSJ reported, filing a damage claim against On2 and its board in Delaware court that the purchase price of $107 million was too low.
Way to not over reactSeriously buddy above me, way to not over-react...maybe you should calm down instead of raging so freaking hard?
Yeah i think you should...
VP8 and googleTheora was initially based on the vp3 codec source, not vp2. I don't know how much similarity the two still have. The problem with VP8, and any wouldbe alternative codec, is that it starts from the starting line and h.264 is many laps ahead. Hardware decoding is absolutely necessary, especially for mobile devices, and a hardware or multithreaded encoder would be needed too. These that time and resources to code. You'd have to think that Google had some kind of plan in place before spending the money to acquire the IP, and they have a history of releasing projects or code in beta form, so it's surprising that there has been no announcement yet.
downloadWhere the fuck I can finally load this fucking codec down?
I mean. These faggots talk about this codec since six months, and it's not out yet.
What the fuck is this`?
Issue 190/2016
Buy this issue as a PDF
Mirantis Joins Hands with SUSE To Offer RHEL Support; Red Hat Not Happy
Competitors get in the game with RHEL without Red Hat
Linux on Windows 10 Poses a Security Risk
Security researchers have already notified Microsoft; some fixes are available
Mirantis to Refactor OpenStack Fuel for Kubernetes
The company is collaborating with Google and Intel to use Kubernetes as an engine for Fuel
Canonical Joins Document Foundation Advisory Board
The upcoming release of LibreOffice will be available as a snap package
SUSE Joins the Microsoft Test Drive Program
Customers can take a free test drive of SLES for HPC on the Azure Cloud
SiFive Launches a Line of Open Source Chips
San Francisco-based chip company announces their first fully open source chip platform.
Fedora 24 Released
The whole distro gets rebuilt on glibc 2.3
Canonical Announces Cross-Distro Support for Snaps
Ubuntu Vendor tries to solve app packaging and distribution problem across distributions.
ownCloud Forked
Founder of ownCloud launches the Nextcloud project.
HP Enterprise Unveils a Futuristic Computer
Will The Machine change the way future programmers think about memory?


text:
PT. Adhimix Precast Indonesia
PT. Adhimix Precast Indonesia is a national company engaged in manufacturing concrete and construction services, which has a vision to become the leading company in the field of concrete & construction industry through increased employee satisfaction scores, customers, shareholders & sustained growth. Adhimix currently has five business units and several subsidiaries to strengthen the company's position in the concrete industry & construction services. We invite you to join us to jointly develop this rapidly growing business. As for the qualifications and requirements that we need are as follows:
Management Trainee (MT)
- Education: S1 in Civil Engineering & Accounting with GPA min. 2.80
- Maximum age 25 years
- Strong leadership and high adaptability
Engineering Staff (ENG)
- Education: D3 in Civil Engineering with GPA min. 2.80
- Maximum age 27 years
- have good analytical skill
Send letter of application along with the accessories through:
PT. Adhimix Precast Indonesia
Email: email@example.com
by stating the position code as the title / subject, example: MT_Jakarta
Selection Schedule :
Bandung : 26 Maret 2012
Surabaya : 27 Maret 2012
Semarang : 30 Maret 2012
Yogyakarta : 31 Maret 2012
Lowongan Kerja Terkait:
- PT Sika Indonesia
- PT Jakarta Cakratunggal Steel Mills
- PT Additon Karya Sembada
- PT. Multibangun Adhitama Construction (MULTIKON)
- PT Kajima Indonesia


text:
The Epic of Gilgamesh
by Sinleqqiunninni
The Epic of Gilgamesh Fear Quotes
How we cite our quotes: (Tablet.Line)
Quote #10
"Urshanabi, this plant is a plant against decay(?)
by which a man can attain his survival(?).
I will bring it to Uruk-Haven,
and have an old man eat the plant to test it.
The plant's name is 'The Old Man Becomes a Young Man.'
Then I will eat it and return to the condition of my youth." (11.279-291)
Why doesn't Gilgamesh eat the plant straightaway? Does he mistrust Utanapishtim? Clearly he trusted him enough to attach stones to his feet and dive down to the bottom of the sea in search of the plant. Is this a case of the devil you know (doing daring deeds) versus the devil you don't know (eating some weird flower)? We don't know. But Gilgamesh's hesitation might show a development in his character, as he becomes more thoughtful and less reckless over the course of his adventures.


text:
These thorough courses are designed to guide you at your own pace through two of life's most challenging transitions: getting married and becoming a parent. Through videos, audios, and articles, you will find the clarity and serenity you seek.
Sheryl's two bestselling books, "The Conscious Bride" and "The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner" as well as the beautiful eBook she collaborated on with her mother, Dr. Margaret Paul, called "Dear God, What is Love?"
Wedding Day Serenity Meditation CD (download) I created this audio meditation set to soothing music so that you can practice settling your mind and creating a calm space in which to enter your wedding day. Listen to it as many times as you can prior to the big day so that the words and energy filter naturally into your consciousness. Listen to it on your wedding morning to create instant serenity. Duration: 6 minutes and 29 seconds
Download FREE eBooks, reports, and sample posts from the Conscious Weddings E-Course Forum
- Are you tired of feeling lonely and disconnected from your partner? - Are you tired of the negative circle of anger and withdrawal that you get into? - Are ready to heal your relationship, or heal yourself so that you can find the relationship of your dreams?
3 comments to Shop
Copyright © 2016 Conscious Transitions - All Rights Reserved | SITEMAP


text:
See All Brands•See All Categories
Items: 0 • $0.00
Tracking•Help•Contact Us
Retail Price: $11.99
Body FirstImmune Support with Beta-1,3/1,6-D-Glucan and Maitake Mushrooms
90 vcaps
Retail Price: $34.39
Sale Price: $9.89
BHI - Cold
For the temporary relief of:-Chills & Fever-Body Aches-Runny Nose-Nasal Congestion
Each 300 mg tablet contains as active ingredients: Pulsatilla 6X, Sulphur 8X 150 mg each.Inactive ingredients: Lactose, Magnesium stearate.(1X=1:10 dilution, 2X=1:100, 3X=1:1000, etc.)
Manufacturer's Directions
Adults and Children above 6 years: 1 tablet sublingually or dissolved completely in mouth 3 times daily or as directed by a physician. Infants and children to 6 years: 1/2 the adult dosage.
Manufacturer's Disclaimer
If symptoms persist or worsen, a physician should be consulted. As with any drug, if you are pregnant or nursing a baby, seek the advice of a health care professional before using this product. Store tightly closed at room temperature. Protect from light and moisture. Keep this and all medicines out of the reach of children.
Title your review * (150 character max)
Share your opinion * (4000 character max)
How would you rate this?
Heel BHI - Arnica PC 100 tabs
Our Price $9.29
Heel BHI - Migraine 100 tabs
Our Price $8.49
Heel BHI - FluPlus 100 tabs
Our Price $8.09
Heel ClearLife Allergy Relief Spray 20 mL
Our Price $7.09
Heel BHI - Arnica PC 100 tabs
Heel BHI - Body Pure 100 tabs
Our Price $8.29


text:
According to Israeli coder Tal Ater, any computer running the Chrome browser can eavesdrop on conversations happening around it.
While working on his speech on recognition software, Ater found the eavesdropping bug. "Even while not using your computer - conversations, meetings and phone calls next to your computer may be recorded and compromised," wrote Ater in a blog post after finding the bug. Ater says the bug emerges when malicious sites try to sabotage the way Chrome handles speech recognition. Usually users must grant each page individual access to the computer's microphone to listen in. Once permission has been granted, Chrome lets users know via a blinking red dot on the tab for that specific site. Ater showed on his blog that a malicious attacker could input a specifically crafted code to exploit these permissions by launching a "pop-under" window that starts the speech recognition system. "The malicious site you visited can continue listening in on you long after you have left it," explained Ater. "As long as Chrome is still running nothing said next to your computer is private."
Google was told about this bug in September last year and found a way to fix it in October 2013. However, the fix has yet to be rolled out to Chrome. Google reassured users by saying that there is no immediate threat to users from the speech recognition system. "The security of our users is a top priority, and this feature was designed with security and privacy in mind," said a Google spokesperson. "We've re-investigated and still believe there is no immediate threat, since a user must first enable speech recognition for each site that requests it." According to Google, "The feature is in compliance with the current W3C specification, and we continue to work on improvements."
Photo credit: screengrab


text:
JUL 24, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle
A Must Read - Share
JERUSALEM (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres ended his term as president of Israel on Thursday — a man who symbolizes hopes for peace capping a seven-decade public career amid the brutal reality of war.
Having never served in the army, he lacked the halo that propelled ex-generals like Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon to political heights.
Since the 1980s he came to be associated with a single-minded drive to achieve peace with the Arabs that many in Israel considered naive and out of touch with the hostility toward Israel in the region.
A longtime leader of the
Read More
Editor's Picks
Hey you have no friends!!! Get to work and start inviting friends to help build your Comunitee. Click Here to invite friends.
© 2011 Comunitee, Inc.


text:
Ready to watch this entire course?
Become a member and get unlimited access to the entire skills library of over 4,900 courses, including more 3D + Animation and personalized recommendations.Start Your Free Trial Now
- Overview
- Transcript
- View Offline
- Understanding material channels
- Applying materials via projection
- Limiting materials with selection tags
- Texturing type
- Using Falloff to limit the effects of lights
- Working with visible or volumetric light
- Painting on objects and textures with brushes in BodyPaint
- Hiding seams with projection painting
Skill Level Beginner
In CINEMA 4D, there are several different types of lights, and they're all designed to be used in different situations to help you get just the lighting look that you need. I've got a very simple scene here with a sphere and a floor, and let's add a light to the scene. So underneath the light icon here are the different types of light that you can add, and so let's tear this off. I'm going to highlight this little double line and tear off this menu and have it float as a palette, and that's going to allow me to add the different lights without having to go back to this. I could always close this up and then tear it off again by doing that.
So let's bring that over here to the left-hand side of the window. So the very first type of light we want to add is something called a basic light and it's an omni light. And so if I click that, I get a dark scene. Now, why is that? The reason I get a dark scene is because when CINEMA 4D adds objects, it adds them to the center of the world. The center of the world in this case is in the floor and below the sphere, and so it's not illuminating anything. So let's hit Command+R or Ctrl+R on the keyboard and you'll see that in fact our scene is dark. So I'll hit A on the keyboard to redraw the frame.
So let's hit E on the keyboard to get the Move tool and then drag it up on the Y axis, up above the sphere. Now, when we drag it up, let's use the 1 key and pan down a little bit. You could see that the icon for this light is a little star that has little lines pointing in all directions. That's because the Omni light shines equally in all directions. When I hit Command+R or Ctrl+R to render, you could see that my light is shining in a spherical area, all around my sphere, just above it. And you could see that I've got this falloff region of light where it transitions from bright to dark, down below.
I don't have shadows; that's because shadows are off by default. The other thing you'll notice is that the light is passing through the sphere and illuminating the floor, and that is one of the most important characteristics: light passes through objects and it does not bounce. To illustrate how the omni light is shining in all directions, I'm going to hold down the Control key and drag a copy of the sphere up. So let's first select the sphere. I'll click on it in the Object Manager. And then I'm going to hold down the Control key and drag up on the Y axis handle. When I do that, I'm making a copy of the sphere, and I'm going to drag it up above.
And let's bring it down just a bit, so we can see both of these, and you'll see that when we render--Command+R or Ctrl+R--you can see that the light is exactly the same above the sphere as it is below the sphere. That is an omni light, and an omni light shines equally in all directions. I don't normally use it. There are a few very special instances where I do, but most of the time I prefer to use the area lights or spot lights. So let's take a look at those next. I'm going to delete both the upper sphere and the light source, so I'll hold down the Shift key to grab both of those and hit Delete. And now we're back to our original scene. And if I add a spot Light to the scene, you can see that a spot light is this cone, and when I hit Command+R or Ctrl+R, I get nothing.
And that's because our light is at the center of the world and there is nothing inside the cone right now. So let's hit A on the keyboard to redraw it, and let's drag up on the Y axis, and then on the Z axis we'll drag until our light is hitting the sphere. Then let's also rotate it down just a bit. Hit R on the keyboard and grab the red axis band and point it down until it's hitting your sphere. Now, don't worry about matching my angle exactly. That's not really important. Let's hit Command+R or Ctrl+R to render the scene. And you can see that our spot light is indeed a cone of light that's hitting the sphere, and nothing outside the cone of light is being illuminated.
So this is a directional light source contained within a cone. One of the cool things about that light is that if you click on the light and look at its attributes, under the Details property, there is an Inner and Outer Angle, and the Inner and Outer Angle, along with the Aspect Ratio, allow you to control the shape of that cone. So I can take the outer angle-- the outer angle is this white line here and the inner angle is going to be an inner zone that's based on this light gray line. So, right now the inner angle is 0. If I take the inner angle from 0 and drag it outward, you could see I get a second cone on the inside.
And look what happens to my shape. Let's hit Command+R or Ctrl+R on the keyboard. You will see the region of falloff, the transition from the dark area to the light area, has gotten a lot sharper. Let's take the inner angle and bring it all the way up to the outer angle, and you can see, I've got a very hard falloff region now. In fact, it's given me a choppiness here. And that's not really good, so I'm going to bring that back down, but that gives you an illustration of what that inner angle does. Let's bring that back down to 0. The next thing is the Aspect Ratio. The aspect ratio controls the relationship of this circle. How high is it related to how wide it is? And so we can adjust the aspect ratio and make it an oval this way, or we can flatten it out and make it an oval that way.
And if we make it too small this way, we can always adjust the outer angle to make that cone of light spread out. I'm going to delete this light source again to get back to our basic scene. The next thing we're going to add is an area light. Now, I don't need to click and hold on this light button over here, because I've got the light tab pulled off over here and floating, so I'll add an area light to the scene. And you can see, an area light comes in to the center of the world. Let's move it on its Z axis and see. It's a rectangle. And this rectangle of light is used to simulate things like windows and doorways and that sort of thing.
It's also used like a soft light in photography. It becomes a big rectangle of light that really softens out the way that light hits your objects. When I hit Command+R or Ctrl+R on the keyboard, you can see that that rectangle of light shines in two directions along its Z axis, and that's what's giving me this dark line. Because it's a plane that's infinitely thin, you get no light emitting from the edges of that plane. And so if I go to the Light and look at the Details tab, at the very bottom is a Z Direction Only. And I click on that and now my light is only going to shine along the +Z axis.
And I'll hit Command+R or Ctrl+R, and again render that frame. You can see that there is our light shine only on the Z axis. So the area light can be used to great effect. I really use the area light most often. Let's delete our area and then add a target light. The Target Light is one of the few objects that doesn't come into the center of the world. When I click it, I'm going to get a spot light that is automatically shining down at the center of the world. Let's back up a little bit so we can see what's going on here. On our light source, we have this little target tag, and the tag is telling the light to always point at this light target null object.
If I move that that light target null, you could see that the light always follows it. And if I grab the light and move it around, the light always tries to point at that light target. No matter where I drag it around, it will always orient towards that light. Now the target light comes in as a spot light, and I don't use spot lights very often. I prefer to use area lights. And so, one of the great things about lights in C4D is that you can change them from one light type to another. Let's go to the light object and then under the General properties, I can change the Type from Spot and change it to Area light, and so now I've got a target area.
And if I want to make this area bigger, I can drag on these handles and make it larger, and that works for all the light types except for the Omni. I can make that light much larger and now when I render, you can see I've got a much better illumination. Of course, there's that problem. I can always go back to the Details tab and turn off that Z Direction. So now it's only going to shine along the +Z. Command+R or Ctrl+R, and there's a much better illumination of my scene. The last light type that I want to talk about in detail is the Infinite Light. These other two light sources I don't really use very often. I'll explain what they do.
The infinite light, when you add it to the scene, is a directional light source that is an infinite wall of lights. Let's delete our main light, which is this Light here and the Light Target. I'll delete those out of the scene. And the way the infinite light works is that it's an infinite wall of light that shines in all directions. Now, this is really intended to simulate how we perceive the sun. The sun is millions of millions of miles away, but the light coming off the sun is effectively parallel to us, because we're so small compared to that light source. And we perceive that parallel light as an infinite wall of light shining down on us.
Now, if I render the scene--Command+R or Ctrl+R--what you'll notice is that it's not illuminating the floor. That's because the light is moving parallel to the Z axis of this light source. And because the plane is parallel to that Z axis, it's not being illuminated, so I need to rotate this light. I'll hit R on the keyboard and select the light source and then I'll rotate it around. And as I rotate, you'll see that the floor becomes illuminated. And now let's hit Command+R or Ctrl+R again. When I do that, you could see that my plane, the floor object, goes off to infinity, to the horizon, but so does the light; it travels off to infinity in all directions.
And so this is a really great light to use when you're illuminating outdoor scenes. If you're building a model of a city or if you're doing an architectural rending where you're putting a house on a work site, then the infinite light is a great way to start the lightning in your scene, because it behaves a lot like the sun does. And of course that begs a questions: What is this Sun Light here? The Sun Light is something I don't normally ever use. If I click and hold on it and add it to the scene, the sun light has this special tag on it that allows you to simulate different locations on the Earth at times of the year. So it's got a Calendar function and a Time function and a Longitude and Latitude function.
This light was added for architects who have to be a very specific about the location and time of day that they're trying to simulate. So they've given us this tag that allows you to correct how that light looks at that location in space and time. Now I don't normally use it because I try to stylize my light more, but it's there if you need it. The last type of light is this IES light. And I'll delete the sun light from the scene and delete the other light source, the infinite light, and let's add an IES light. Now, when I add an IES light, what it's asking for is an IES file, and I don't have any IES files on my machine, so I'll just cancel this out.
What that relates to is a special codebook for lights that all lightning designers refer to. And so if you're working on a set, you're building a set for a reference, or if you're doing an architectural rendering where your client specified very specific types of lights, these lights can be looked up in the IES table and the properties of those lights can be simulated here in C4D. So that's--once again that's something I normally do, because I'm a motion graphics artist, but if you're doing architectural renderings, it's a really valuable technique. That's a quick summary of the different types of lights that you have in C4D.
The most important thing to remember about them is that you're not limited to having just one type of light in the scene. You can have any number of lights in the scene, and you can use those light types to simulate all kinds of different light behavior.


text:
In a dramatic illustration of just how much security relationships had changed in Europe over a decade, NATO in July 1997 invited three of its former Warsaw Pact adversaries in Eastern Europe to join the alliance. The NATO-led coalition force in Bosnia and Herzegovina--which included contingents from 20 non-NATO nations--was successful in maintaining a troubled peace in that war-weary country. Peace, however, was hardly a universal condition in 1997. As the year ended, there were some 30 conflicts of varying size and intensity ongoing throughout the world. In the Middle East, Iraq's Pres. Saddam Hussein once again balked at cooperating with UN weapons inspectors and seemed determined to provoke a military confrontation with the United States. Central Africa was a particularly volatile region, with national borders of little use in containing the violence. Civil war continued to ravage Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The armed forces of Albania and Zaire disintegrated when put to the test, and the death of a princess and the awarding of a prestigious international prize added momentum to a unique international movement to ban antipersonnel land mines. (For approximate strengths of selected regular armed forces of the world, see below.)
Arms Control and Disarmament
U.S. and Russian nuclear disarmament was restrained by the continued reluctance of the Russian State Duma (the legislature's lower house) to ratify the 1993 Strategic Arms Reduction Talks II (START-II) treaty. At their March summit meeting in Helsinki, Fin., U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton and Russian Pres. Boris Yeltsin agreed on a framework for the follow-up START-III treaty, which would cut each country's strategic nuclear arsenal to no more than 2,500 warheads. In an effort to make the START-II treaty more palatable to the State Duma, they also agreed to extend the treaty's reduction period by five years. A protocol incorporating this provision was signed by the two countries in September, along with several documents relating to the 1972 antiballistic missile (ABM) treaty. These named Belarus, Russia, Kazakstan, and Ukraine as successors to the Soviet Union for the purposes of the treaty and defined the parameters of the shorter-range missile defense systems that would not be subject to the treaty.
With the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD) dragging its heels on negotiating a ban on antipersonnel land mines, the impetus in this field shifted to the "Ottawa Process"--named after the site of an October 1996 conference sponsored by Canada with the express aim of achieving a global ban at the earliest possible date. In addition to nations, the process included a number of nongovernmental organizations. The most notable of these was the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), a coalition of more than 1,000 organizations in over 60 countries. A treaty text was adopted at a follow-up conference in Oslo in September. Diana, princess of Wales--who had been the world's most visible advocate of a land mine ban and was to have addressed the Oslo conference--was killed in an automobile accident on August 31. (See OBITUARIES.) The U.S. had preferred the CD as the forum for regulating land mines and rather reluctantly joined the Oslo conference. American efforts to amend the draft treaty to allow several exceptions--such as the continued use of antipersonnel mines in Korea--failed, and President Clinton announced that the U.S. would not sign the treaty. He did, however, launch an initiative to raise $1 billion each year for mine-clearing operations with the goal of eradicating by 2010 all land mines threatening civilian populations. A number of countries with large stockpiles of land mines--such as Russia and China--did not attend the Oslo meeting. When the ICBL and its American coordinator, Jody Williams, were jointly awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize in October, President Yeltsin announced that Russia would support the treaty. (See NOBEL PRIZES.) It was opened for signature in Ottawa on December 3 and within a few days was signed by the representatives of 123 countries. Despite Yeltsin's earlier statements, Russia did not immediately sign. Other significant absentees included China and the United States.
The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in April, and José Mauricio Bustani of Brazil was elected the first director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the treaty's implementing body. The U.S. ratified the convention in April, and Russia followed suit in November. India, China, and South Korea were among the signatories that for the first time acknowledged having chemical-weapons programs.
United States
Once again, Congress appropriated more money for defense than the Clinton administration had requested, passing a $247.7 billion Department of Defense budget for fiscal 1998. President Clinton exercised restraint in using his new line item veto authority, trimming just 13 projects worth $144 million from the bill. These included the money to operate the SR-71 "Blackbird" spy planes--a program that Congress had kept alive since the air force had tried in 1989 to retire the supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. Clinton signed the authorization bill despite reservations about provisions that dealt with the closing of several air force maintenance depots.
In May the Pentagon completed its Quadrennial Defense Review, which concluded that the U.S. must retain the ability to win two regional wars at the same time. The report recommended a modest reduction in total military personnel strength while maintaining 100,000 troops in both Europe and Asia and called for another round of military base closings. In November Secretary of Defense William Cohen announced a Defense Reform Initiative, which aimed to streamline the organization and operation of his department and thereby generate savings to help fund the development and procurement of a new generation of information-based weapons systems. Highlights of the plan included the reduction over 18 months of one-third of the personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the creation of a Threat Reduction & Treaty Compliance Agency by consolidation of the On-Site-Inspection Agency, the Defense Special Weapons Agency, and the Defense Technology Security Administration.
The U.S.'s armed forces suffered more from troubles of their own making during the year than from any foreign foe. Celebrations of the air force's 50th anniversary were clouded by the unprecedented early retirement of the service's chief of staff and several high-visibility cases of alleged sexual misconduct. Gen. Ronald Fogleman resigned in protest over plans to discipline the general in charge of an air force facility in Saudi Arabia struck by a terrorist bomb in June 1996. An earlier air force investigation had cleared the officer of any responsibility for the incident. The air force's first female B-52 pilot, charged with adultery and fraternization, accepted a general discharge rather than face a court-martial, and an air force general who was the leading candidate to replace Gen. John Shalikashvili as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff took his name out of contention after allegations that he had had an adulterous affair more than a decade earlier were made. As a result, Gen. Henry Shelton in October became the third successive army incumbent in the nation's top military post, which had traditionally been rotated among the three services.
The sergeant major of the army--the service's top enlisted man--was first suspended from his duties and then replaced to face a court-martial after he was charged with sexual harassment. In a report released in September, a senior army review panel concluded that sexual harassment and discrimination existed throughout the service. A Defense Department panel in December recommended reducing the integration of men and women in the armed services.
The high operational requirements resulting from the U.S's many overseas commitments took a toll on pilot retention, especially those flying high-performance fighter aircraft. More than 700 experienced pilots left the air force during the year. The Pentagon in July suspended indefinitely military participation in the antidrug patrols along the border with Mexico after a marine shot and killed an 18-year-old Texan. A spate of military aircraft accidents in September prompted the secretary of defense to order all the services to implement a 24-hour "safety stand-down." During the year the air force rolled out its first F-22 "Raptor" air superiority fighter, and the B-2 stealth bomber was declared to be ready for operational use.
Despite strong Russian objections, leaders of the 16 NATO countries in July offered membership to the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. The accession process was expected to take two years. The heads of state also signed a Founding Act that regulated NATO's special relationship with Russia and a Charter with a similar purpose with Ukraine. To strengthen its links with other nonmembers, NATO bolstered its Partnership for Peace program and established the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. The 36,000-strong NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina maintained a fragile peace between the three ethnic communities, but it became clear that a sizable NATO presence would be required in that country after the SFOR's mandate ended in mid-1998. In December NATO foreign ministers tasked their military authorities to provide early in 1998 options for a follow-on force.
Russian participation in the SFOR remained an example of the close cooperation that could be achieved at the working level. The Russian-NATO Joint Permanent Council established by the Founding Act held several meetings, at both the ministerial and ambassadorial levels. In October Russia appointed a military representative to NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The alliance continued to refine the plans to modernize its command structure. France decided to postpone its return to NATO's integrated military structure after the U.S. refused to give up command of the alliance's Southern Command, but the French indicated they would not block the military reorganization. In March U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark was named to replace Gen. George Joulwan as the supreme Allied commander, Europe.
The misdeeds of some NATO soldiers during the 1993 UN intervention in Somalia continued to have repercussions. In Canada a royal commission found that Canadian officers in Somalia and Ottawa had covered up the torture and murder of civilians by Canadian paratroops. Two Italian generals resigned after a newsmagazine alleged that Italian troops had abused and killed unarmed Somalis. The Italian government pledged to conduct a full inquiry.
United Kingdom
In March a contract was signed for the production of three new "Astute"-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, which were scheduled to enter service early in the next century. In May George Robertson was named secretary of state for defense in the new Labour Party government. Despite its strong antinuclear tradition, the Labour Party at its annual conference voted to retain Britain's nuclear deterrent. In October the government confirmed that it would buy seven more American Trident D5 missiles, to be delivered in 1998. They were to be fitted with British-made nuclear warheads. This would increase the British inventory of these submarine-launched ballistic missiles to 58.
Alain Richard was named defense minister in the Socialist Party Cabinet that took power in June. The new government announced that it would pare down its troop levels in Africa and would no longer intervene in the domestic affairs of its former colonies there. (See Spotlight: France's New African Policy.) It also modified a controversial plan of the previous government to call up young people for five days to assess their suitability for the military and to lecture them on patriotism as France made the transition to an all-volunteer force over the next few years. Instead, they would be called up for a single day before their 18th birthday to learn about defense issues. The government also pledged more than F 80 billion for military procurement in 1998, down from the F 90 billion in the previous government's plans.
German troops involved in an operation in March to rescue foreigners from the anarchy in Albania opened fire on Albanian gunmen in what was described as the first foreign combat by the German military since the end of World War II. The public and government proudly marked the event as another step in overcoming the taboos that had grown from the reactions to Germany's militaristic past. Germans were less pleased with the behaviour of some of their troops at home. Bullying within the ranks was on the increase, and several times during the year soldiers were involved in vicious attacks on foreign workers.
The Turkish military, which regarded itself as the defender of Turkey's secular tradition, made no secret of its displeasure with the Islamist government of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and was credited with a major role in his overthrow in June. In little more than a year, the armed forces expelled more than 200 officers charged with having extreme Islamist tendencies. Ismet Sezgin was named defense minister in the new government. He endorsed the previous government's $31 billion 10-year weapons-acquisition program. In midyear and again in September, Turkish troops conducted major incursions into northern Iraq to attack bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Some 8,000 remained in Iraq to police a security buffer zone. The controversial Russian sale of its sophisticated S-300 air defense missile system to the Republic of Cyprus raised tensions between Turkey, Greece, and Russia. Turkey warned that it would not tolerate the missiles' deployment and searched several third-country ships it suspected of carrying the weapons as they passed through the Turkish Straits. Greece, Russia, and the Greek Cypriot government suggested that the missiles would not be deployed if Turkey agreed to the demilitarization of Cyprus.
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
In a February decree Russian Pres. Boris Yeltsin ordered a 200,000-man cut in the armed forces, reducing them to an authorized strength of 1.2 million by the end of the year. Dissatisfied with the slow pace of military reform, Yeltsin in May fired both the defense minister and the chief of the general staff. They were replaced by Gen. Igor Sergeyev, the chief of the strategic rocket forces, and Gen. Anatoly Kvashnin. This new team supported Yeltsin's major reform proposals made public in July. The downsizing of the armed forces would continue, reaching a low of 1.2 million authorized military personnel by the end of 1998. Reorganization of Russia's five major services began by combining the strategic rocket forces, the military space troops, and the strategic defense assets of the air defense troops. The air force and the rest of the air defense troops were scheduled to be merged by the end of 1998.
As Russia's conventional military strength deteriorated, increased emphasis was placed on nuclear deterrence, including the possibility of using nuclear weapons to counter a conventional attack. Production of a new intercontinental ballistic missile began, and work started on the first of a new class of strategic missile-carrying submarines. Fulfilling a pledge President Yeltsin had made in May, Russia no longer aimed its nuclear missiles at targets in NATO countries. The bloated defense industry inherited from the Soviet Union remained in trouble, with frequent strikes. The Defense Ministry lacked the money to pay the enterprises so that they in turn could pay their workers and suppliers. In military procurement the government could afford only to fund prototypes of new conventional weapons in an effort to stay abreast of the latest military technology and to seek foreign sales to sustain the most important enterprises. Such new weapons included the S-37 experimental jet fighter developed by Sukhoi. With wings that were swept forward, the plane was touted as an equal to the American F-22. A new "Black Eagle" main battle tank was also displayed for the first time.
Russia and Ukraine finally settled their long dispute over the division of the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine agreed to lease base facilities in Sevastopol and several other locations on the Crimean Peninsula to Russia for 20 years. The two sides could not agree, however, on the terms for Russia to buy back some 40 strategic bombers inherited by Ukraine when the Soviet Union dissolved. These included the bulk of the supersonic Tu-160 "Blackjacks" that had been in the Soviet inventory.
Despite the presence of a large CIS peacekeeping force in Tajikistan, fighting went on there throughout most of the year between troops loyal to the government and those that had turned against it. In August the government declared victory over the mutineers. Members of illegal armed groups were given until November 17 to turn in their weapons. Uzbekistan, fearing that the conflicts in Tajikistan and Afghanistan might spill over onto its territory, continued to build up its armed forces.
Georgia's Pres. Eduard Shevardnadze again threatened to end the mandate of the Russian peacekeeping force in the Georgian breakaway province of Abkhazia unless the Russians protected returning ethnic Georgians, who had been expelled from the region. At a CIS summit meeting in October, the mandate was extended only until the end of the year. The U.S. bought 21 MiG-29 jet fighters from Moldova after there were reports that Iran was interested in them. Some of the planes were capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
The Rest of Europe
In the civil unrest that broke out in Albania in March, the armed forces proved unwilling or unable to stand up to the rebel groups. Troops deserted; most of the country's arsenals were looted of their weapons; and the defense minister fled the country. A 6,000-strong international force led by Italy moved into the country to distribute food and medicine and to help restore order. The new government fired most of the generals in the army, and several NATO countries offered to help rebuild the Albanian military as a smaller security force. Only 45,000 weapons were turned in during an amnesty period ended on September 30, and government officials estimated that some 600,000 military weapons remained in the hands of the population.
The Muslim and Croat military forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina continued to receive shipments of military equipment--including tanks, heavy artillery, and helicopters--in a controversial program sponsored by the U.S., Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia and designed to give those forces parity with the Bosnian Serbs. In the 18 months that the June 1996 Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control had been in effect, the four Balkan parties--Croatia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Bosnian Serbs--had destroyed almost 6,600 pieces of heavy military equipment.
Middle East
The UN Security Council refused to lift the economic sanctions it had imposed on Iraq in 1990 because of its concerns that it had not received a full accounting of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction but postponed a decision on an Anglo-American proposal to impose additional sanctions. President Hussein retaliated by briefly expelling the Americans from the UN weapons inspection teams in Iraq and threatening to shoot down American U-2 reconnaissance planes, whereupon the Security Council passed the added sanctions. In October Iranian and Iraqi warplanes violated the no-fly zone established in southern Iraq, which prompted the U.S. to speed up the deployment of an aircraft carrier battle group to the Persian Gulf. The Iranian planes had bombed anti-Iranian rebels located in Iraq. Iran's military strength and its self-sufficiency in arms production continued to grow, as the U.S. had mixed results in its efforts to prevent other countries from providing Iran with advanced weapons technology. China agreed to stop selling Iran cruise missiles, but the Russian government denied that it was supplying Iran with ballistic missile technology despite American and Israeli intelligence reports that individual Russian scientists and enterprises were involved in this activity.
Israel and Turkey continued to cooperate in defense matters. The two countries agreed to produce jointly a long-range air-to-surface missile, a development Egypt warned could trigger a regional arms race. In Lebanon Islamic guerrillas ambushed and killed an elite Israeli naval commando team as it attempted a raid on a guerrilla headquarters near Sidon; this revived the debate within Israel on the value of military operations inside Lebanon.


text:
Dashing hunk, Tom Hardy, who played the witty Mr Eames in "Inception" has cause quite a kerfuffle in the media on Friday by admitting in an interview with Now magazine that he fooled around with men when he was a teen.
In the interview he said that he had experimented with his sexuality in his youth but admitted that gay sex "does nothing" for him now that he's hitting his thirties.
The 32-year-old actor was asked if he ever had sex with a man. He said "As a boy? Of course I have. I'm an actor for f**k's sake.
"I'm an artist. I've played with everything and everyone. But I'm not into men sexually. I love the form and the physicality, but the gay sex bit does nothing for me... To me it just doesn't compute now that I'm into my thirties and it doesn't do it for me. I'm done experimenting."
"There's plenty of other stuff in a relationship with another man, especially gay men, that I need in my life."
"A lot of gay men get my thing for shoes. I don't think I'm metrosexual but I'm definitely my mother's son. I have definite feminine qualities and a lot of gay men are incredibly masculine."
Hardy was best known for his role in "Bronson" before Christopher Nolan's "Inception" hit the screens. He has now been signed up for "This Means War" alongside Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon. The gorgeous actor was signed up over Sam Worthington (of "Avatar fame).
We will definitely be seeing more of this "artist" in the future…lucky us.


text:
Definition of adytum in English:
noun (plural adyta /ˈadɪtə/)
The innermost sanctuary of an ancient Greek temple.
Example sentences
- In the adytum was generally to be found a tomb or sacred images.
- The most famous adytum in Greece was in the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
- They were descending the tapestries of the oratory walls or scuttling beneath the arrases that screened off the adyta behind the idol.
Latin, from Greek aduton, neuter singular of adutos 'impenetrable', from a- 'not' + duein 'enter'.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: ady¦tum
Definition of adytum in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
= trending


text:
Definition of gigabit in English:
(abbreviation Gb)
A unit of information equal to one thousand million (109) or (strictly) 230 bits.
Example sentences
- A megabit is one million bits; a gigabit is one billion bits.
- For example, it's been estimated that a photonic internet could transmit data at 160 gigabits per second, which is thousands of times faster than today's typical high-speed connection.
- The total bandwidth per port ranges from 3 gigabits to more than 60 gigabits per second.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: giga|bit
Definition of gigabit in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
= trending


text:
- Columbia UniversityM.S. in Journalism, 2009 - 2010
- Boston UniversityB.S. in Journalism, 2004 - 2008
- The National Law Journal / Legal TimesLegal Business Reporter, 2013
- The National Law Journal (past)
- Legal Times (past)
- The Blog of Legal Times (past)
- alm.com (past)
Start Google Plus
Get started with Google Plus - import your Facebook photos and download a browser extension.
National Law Journal
The National Law Journal reports legal news for attorneys: NLJ 250, top law firms, the blt, legal times, rankings, archives, court decisions
The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
We cover law, lobbying, politics, crime, courts, business, and culture in the nation's capital and beyond.
Judge Rules for LeBron James, Tosses Paternity Suit - The BLT: The Blog ...
A federal judge in Washington has ruled in favor of basketball star LeBron James in a lawsuit brought by a local lawyer who says he is James
Google Uncle Sam Search Engine
Google Uncle Sam Search Engine. (U.S. Government Search). Loading.
Drew Curtis' FARK.com
Satirical views on interesting, bizarre and amusing stories, submitted by a community of millions of news junkies, with regular Photoshop co
The Rohan Aurora | Technology, Innovation and Being TRA !
A blog encompassing latest innovations in biomedical engineering and internet technologies.


text:
rogerfederer.com - Cincinnati: the draw
Navigation with Access Keys
- [Alt + 0] - Startseite
- [Alt + 1] - Navigation
- [Alt + 2] - Inhalt
- [Alt + 3] - Kontakt
- [Alt + 4] - Sitemap
- [Alt + 5] - Suche
Language menu
© Hamburg sports & entertainment GmbH
Cincinnati: the draw
11.08.2013 | Tennis, Starseite 1
The draw for the Masters-1000 tournament in Cincinnati is out, Roger's path to a sixth victory is no easy one.
After a first-round bye he will either play his first match against Mardy Fish (ATP 78) or Philipp Kohlschreiber (ATP 24). In the quarter-finals, a meeting with Rafael Nadal is possible before Andy Murray could then be waiting in the semis.
As defending champion, Roger is aiming at his sixth victory in Cincinnati after 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012.
@ Fancyfree you are a fedal. No surprised. I am fed up with Nadal getting the glory, his injury is so fake. I feel sorry for Roger who is getting all the backlash from us and media. No one questioned Nadal fake injury. The truth is there. The media will never question Nadal fake injury and how did he recover so quickly, that is questionable. Look at Delpo, it took him a year to get his game back.
I will always support Roger. However blasting Rafa, will not help Roger one iota and really it's getting so tiresome to read again and again and again …..
Me too. Well said MISSFED!!
Couldn't agree more MISSFED.
edit - be
I know right. I did it last year at a couple of USO matches and some AO matches. The day after i felt horrible, but it was worth it. I've read that his outfit will be dark gray..but I'm not sure.
Will Roger being wearing a new outfit?
Kenna, that beautiful back of Tommy Haas has reaped dividends! He won in two sets against Kevin Anderson.
As for Roger's match tonight ….. Oh the temptation to stay up …..
As for Roger's match tonight ….. Oh the temptation to stay up …..
Edit- scheduled. My mistake
Too bad that Roger is sheduled in the night matches. I really loved to see him. But even when I'm sleeping I will support him.


text:
You are here:
Islamic Banking
Islamic Banking
Central Bank
Amar Singh
Popular Articles About Islamic Banking
Islamic banking
October 23, 2006
This is with reference to your news item 'Islamic banking still a distant dream' (ET, Oct 16). Almost all the foreign banks have started their Islamic Banking units or divisions in their respective banks. In India, a large amount of funds are lying in current accounts because of the reason of avoiding interest. In some localities, certain communities are not banking because of their attitude towards interest. These funds can be taped into the interest-free banking net work and the dividend or profit...
Islamic Banking Articles By Date
India signs $100-million draft export pact with Islamic Development Bank
April 5, 2016
DUBAI: India has signed an agreement with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for a possible USD 100 million line of credit to facilitate exports to IDB's member countries. The MoU was inked between the IDB's private sector arm, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank), a specialised financial institution, wholly owned by the government of India to finance and facilitate foreign trade....
Students now eye Islamic banking
June 1, 2006
J Padmapriya & Sreekala G , TNN
HYDERABAD: Islamic banking may be a non-starter in India, but Hyderabad-based Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance is churning out students, eyeing lucrative jobs in the Gulf. The institute, which offers web-based courses on Islamic finance, has enrolled about 200 students, some of whom are from Guyana, Tunisia and the Gulf. Talking to ET, Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance dean M A Majeed says: "We are beginning to get more interest from students wanting to pursue Islamic finance.
Islamic banking on offer soon
May 7, 2007
Deepshikha Sikarwar , TNN
NEW DELHI: Overseas branches of domestic banks may be able to offer Islamic banking products. RBI is exploring the possibility of allowing them to do so. Islamic banking products are designed in sync with the principles of Islam. The products have to keep in mind that banks can't pay interest on deposits nor charge for advances, as interest income is not allowed in the religion. Specialised Islamic banking products are designed on profit-sharing basis. ...
UAE Islamic banking sector to achieve $263 billion assets by 2019
March 30, 2015
DUBAI: Islamic banking is growing at more than twice the rate of conventional banking in the UAE and the sector is on track to achieve $263 billion of Sharia- compliant assets by 2019, according to a report. The UAE Islamic financial sector, estimated to be worth $127 billion in 2014, is the third largest Islamic banking market by value after the Saudi Arabian and Malaysian markets, said the World Islamic Banking Competitiveness (WIBC) report compiled by the Ernst &...
IIM Kashipur begins 2-day course on Islamic banking & finance
August 24, 2013
NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kashipur today launched a two-day management development programme on Islamic Banking and Finance. The programme is the first of such executive course to offer Islamic banking and finance. "I am sure the choice of the present programme on Islamic Banking and Finance (IBF) is a very relevant exercise to build professional capacity among the interested participants in this area," said Ninong Ering, Minister of...
Do we need an Islamic banking model?
July 30, 2006
Priti Patnaik , TNN
Wonder why Islamic banking is not making its presence felt in India, even as banks in most of South Asia are getting excited about such offerings? Simply because the government sees this as a non-starter. "The existing system is fine. We do not see any need to introduce Islamic banking. It will not be easy introducing Islamic banking in the country," a source in the government says, adding that it will need separate accounting principles, given the nature of the operations.
Finmin wants NBFCs to start Islamic banking
April 6, 2010
Dheeraj Tiwari , ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: The finance ministry is considering a new category of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) that will offer Islamic banking products in India. The decision follows RBI's reluctance to allow commercial banks to offer these products for viability reasons. "It is in early stages of discussion. The idea is to start with NBFCs so that they can gain experience and also issues regarding financing and the model of Islamic banking can be addressed," said...
'Islamic banking ideal to boost green finance'
July 5, 2011
DUBAI: Islamic Banking is the right platform to boost 'green financing' as it is based on the concept of promoting good practices and values, a leading Indian banker in Qatar has said. R Seetharaman, the Chief Executive Officer of Doha Bank , said Islamic banking is not just a financial system, but is part of a total value-based social system that seeks to enhance the general welfare of society as a whole. Seetharaman...
Islamic banking! Now, what is that?
July 11, 2005
Sanjay Moolchandani , INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK
In a move that has the potential of dramatically alter banking, the government has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to explore ways to introduce Islamic banking in the country. Recently, the finance ministry had sounded out the RBI on the subject. The central bank has already formed a senior team to look into the matter. The group is headed by Anand Sinha, chief general manager in charge, department of banking operations & development, and includes senior bankers from State Bank of India and...
Islamic banking not consistent with existing laws: Reserve Bank
May 9, 2013
SRINAGAR: The Reserve Bank today said Islamic banking is not consistent with current banking laws in India. "We got to see that Islamic Banking which does not allow charging interest or taking of interest is inconsistent with our existing laws... All that I am saying is Islamic banking is not consistent with current banking laws," RBI Governor D Subbarao said after the board meeting here. Charging of interest is...
First Sharia-based NBFC to open in Kerala after RBI nod
August 18, 2013
MUMBAI: After refusing to allow Islamic banking in the country for long, the Reserve Bank seems to have moved closer to changing its stand by permitting the state-run Kerala Industrial Development Corporation to launch an NBFC that will offer services compatible with Sharia law. "The RBI has permitted KSIDC to float a non-banking finance company and offer products based on Islamic finance principles," the Central bank spokesperson...
Path Solutions to set up Global Support & Development Centre
July 25, 2013
KOCHI: Path Solutions India, a provider of Islamic core banking system, is setting up its first Global Support and Development Centre at Infopark Cherthala. The new office will be inaugurated tomorrow. Path Solutions India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Path Solutions K.S.C.C, Kuwait and is recognised as a market leader specialised in the provision of Islamic and Investment software solutions for banks and financial institutions, a company press release said. ...
Islamic banking impossible in Indian regulatory set-up: D Subbarao
May 9, 2013
ET Bureau
MUMBAI: RBI governor D Subbarao on Wednesday said implementing Islamic banking model in India would be impossible because it is inconsistent with the banking regulatory set-up where interest is charged and given. However, he said he has suggested the government that the decision being political, it must debate and, if required, bring in a law. "It can be a parallel system for which a separate regulatory set-up can be created," the governor said. "It is a...
Islamic banking not consistent with existing laws: Reserve Bank
May 9, 2013
SRINAGAR: The Reserve Bank today said Islamic banking is not consistent with current banking laws in India. "We got to see that Islamic Banking which does not allow charging interest or taking of interest is inconsistent with our existing laws... All that I am saying is Islamic banking is not consistent with current banking laws," RBI Governor D Subbarao said after the board meeting here. Charging of interest is necessary to conduct banking operation...
Islamic banking inconsistent with the regulatory set up in India, says RBI governor D Subbarao
May 8, 2013
Anita Bhoir , ET Bureau
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India governor D Subbarao on Wednesday said implementing Islamic banking model in India would be impossible because it is inconsistent with the banking regulatory set up where interest is charged and given. However, he said he has suggested the government that the decision being political, it must debate and, if required, bring in a law. "It can be a parallel system for which a separate regulatory...
More Popular Articles about Islamic Banking:
Responsibility to check money laundering rests with government: RBI
May 8, 2013
SRINAGAR: Amid allegations of money laundering against banks and insurance companies by an online portal, Reserve Bank Governor D Subbarao today said it was the responsibility of the government and tax authorities to check such activities. "RBI is not directly involved... even banks are not directly responsible. They are not expected to inquire about the source of income. It is for government and tax authorities to check money laundering," he said while addressing...
BSE Institute, TASIS to launch course in Islamic banking
March 20, 2013
MUMBAI: The BSE Institute, in association with Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions (TASIS), has devised an online certification programme in 'Islamic banking, finance and capital markets'. The programme would be launched tomorrow, it said in a press release. Islamic banking and finance is fast-emerging as a specialised area of finance and has already made its presence in over 75 countries with assets under it close to USD 1.5 trillion, it said. The...
More Islamic Banking Articles by Date:
© 2016 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved
Index by Keyword
Index by Date
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Advertise with us


text:
After 15 years at the top of the game - well, mostly - we're not entirely sure why Michael Owen feels the need to take on Twitter trolls.
But apparently he thinks otherwise: when Twitter users blasted him after a seemingly inoffensive message about Stoke's loss to Manchester City on New Year's Day ("Tough game today and not many teams get anything away at Man City. Shame our 10 game unbeaten run in the Premier League is over. #Stoke"), Owen was upset by the abuse he received.
"New Year but things never change. About 100 replies to my last tweet so far and every single one is abusive. What a lovely world we live in," he Tweeted afterwards, a message which prompted a flurry of more supportive messages which seemed to cheer him up.
"Tweet something like that and then you see the nicer side of Twitter. The minority always ruin it for genuinely decent people." he wrote.
But he wasn't quite done: one more Tweet came from Owen, who reminded his critics of his great career by sending out this message with a picture of the trophy cabinet in his multi-million pound home in Cheshire.
"Oh, and just to remind the trolls with a short memory out there," he wrote before posting his picture, which we've annotated to show which awards are which:
- Sports & Recreation
- Arts & Entertainment
- Michael Owen


text:
Leap of faith for Gazelles on Morocco rally
Two San Diego sisters compete in 9-day event
San Diego sisters Susanah and Jo Hannah Hoehn are seasoned travelers and hikers. Parts of southern Africa have been among their destinations, with Morocco, to the north, on their to-do list. That trip began this week. But they never expected to see the countryside through the windshield of a Range Rover racing across the Sahara Desert.
The Hoehns will be part of the all-women, 24th annual Rallye Aicha des Gazelles. It is billed as the toughest all-women's event in the world. This nine-day rally is considered to be tougher than the Baja 1000 and more mental than the famed Dakar rally.
There will be 160 two-person teams from 24 countries racing in three vehicle classes, including 4x4 SUV/truck and quad/motorcycle. The Hoehns are among four teams from the United States. Participants range from professional drivers, athletes and celebrities to adventurers.
The teams rely on brains, not brawn to compete. They are not allowed to use GPS navigation or other mapping devices. Cellphones are not allowed, not even binoculars. The only direction is by a hard-copy map from the 1950s, a compass, a course plotter, the navigator's triangulations and instinct. Teams will find their way through about 50 checkpoints across the Sahara. There is no set course, no markers and no support crew on the trail. But there is an electronic tracker in each vehicle to be sure all are accounted for at the end of the day.
Listen to their Maynard's Garage radio interview:
Accommodations in the desert will be tents and French army food rations. A few portable showers will be available at the major overnight checkpoints, shared among 300 women.
The Gazelles also is a "sustainable" race, with tenets to "Leave no trace." Even vehicle carbon emissions are tallied for scoring. The team with the fewest penalty points wins.
You may have seen the Hoehn sisters in their humorous car-dealership TV ads. Their day jobs are with the Hoehn Motors group, which has 11 dealerships around Carlsbad. Jo Hannah, 27, is the general manager at the Jaguar Land Rover franchise, and Susanah, 26, is the GM at the Honda store.
The sisters are just 13 months apart in age, went to the same college (Dartmouth) and now live together and work in the family business.
So why see Morocco the hard way?
"We jumped at the chance when we heard about it – no hesitation," Jo Hannah said, with a hint of red mist rising in her eyes at the anticipation of competition.
"We are hoping our unspoken language will be an advantage," she said.
The days will begin with a 4 a.m. wakeup, 5 a.m. driver's meeting and a 6 a.m. start. If all goes well, they will have found the checkpoint by 7 p.m. If not, it could be midnight, said Jo Hannah, who will be the driver.
They are excited and anxious to get there "to find out what we don't know," said Susanah, who has the unforgiving job of navigator. "There are certain things you can't figure out till you get there."
But today they are in Paris for the ceremonial kickoff of the rally. From there they will drive eight hours south to Casablanca and then cross the Atlas Mountains for the race start on March 20 at Erfoud near the Algerian border. The rally will end March 29 at Essaouira, which is along the coast and a few towns to the south of Casablanca.
The weather in the Sahara this time of year is comparable to San Diego's deserts – highs in the 70s and 80s and cool at night. It's about the same latitude as San Diego and the terrain looks similar to our deserts, Jo Hannah said.
Their camel for this run is a Range Rover Sport that has been wrapped in the Hoehn team's unique mosaic-tile design. Their SUV has a 510-horsepower, supercharged V-8 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission with high- and low-range 4WD system and locking differentials. There is a complete system of electronic driver assistance, including Sand mode for improved traction. The four-corner air suspension can give another 2.6 inches of lift when needed. Fuel economy is sketchy at 14 mpg city, 19 highway, but a 27.7 gallon tank will be an asset in getting from checkpoint to checkpoint.
Rallye Aicha des Gazelles
If the Gazelles rally sounds intriguing, now is the time to begin preparing. It's an all-inclusive package program that for 2014 cost $18,400 per team. That includes access to mechanics in the evenings (the teams must diagnose problems and request repairs), fuel, hotels, food and safety for two weeks. Trainer Emily Miller says to budget $11,000 to $12,000 per person. And it is possible to rent a vehicle for about $6,000, she said.
If the truck breaks, the women will try to fix it. Susanah's first job at the Honda dealership was as a lube tech, doing oil changes and tire changes.
The electronic sophistication of the Rover Sport cuts both ways. It is built to handle safari conditions. But if a sensor fails or the suspension can't inflate, the truck is vulnerable, Jo Hannah said. The women are packing just meager replacement parts: a few tools, two spare tires with wheels, a couple of extra tie rods and a couple of engine belts. It all fits into a foot-by-foot case, she said. The only vehicle modification is a roll bar.
"We are lucky because the Range Rover has so much power," she said. "We will be able to do things that other vehicles can't."
The Hoehns will be on the starting line with 20 other vehicles in their class. "Then you find your own path," Susanah said. "I'll have to be running up a lot of dunes to verify what is on the other side."
They have been practicing in Ocotillo and the Imperial Sand Dunes, near Glamis. But those dunes are mole hills compared to the Sahara, said their trainer Emily Miller.
"These are the biggest dunes in the Morocco. It's very rough," she said.
Miller is a three-time Gazelle veteran who learned from off-road-racing legend Rod Hall. Based in Encinitas, Miller, 47, also has raced off-road for General Motors and has been a professional driver for tire company BF Goodrich and Michelin.
While the rally is as tough as the Baja 1000 and Dakar, it's more like dancing backward in the sand in high heels.
"The Gazelles rally goes against everything an off-road racer does," Miller said, "because we try to keep our speed up and take the smoothest line. This rally is about slowing down and taking the straightest line."
It's also about what your vehicle can handle for nine days – and how much the humans can handle for nine days.
"Participants can't rest for a minute," Miller said. "If the navigator rests, you get lost. And if you get lost, how do you get unlost?
Speed depends on terrain, generally between a crawl and up to about 60 mph. Most of the time they won't be in eyesight of other vehicles, Jo Hannah said. "But during the big dune days we will find another partner team to go through, as vehicles can roll over."
The key for their success is to not break the vehicle, Miller said. She has been teaching Jo Hannah throttle control, line choice and smoothness.
"Now I watch the tachometer, for engine speed, more than the speedometer," Jo Hannah said. "It's scary because on rock crawls you can slow down and pick your route," she said. "But on dunes you have to commit and accelerate and plan your route just a few steps in advance. We will tackle one dune at a time before attacking the next."
It is hostile terrain but not a hostile country. Morocco, primarily French-speaking, actually likes Americans and hosting the rally, Miller said. The rally is also a non-profit event that benefits the country. A medical caravan follows the rally to provide treatments to the people. Benefits also include the building of schools, support of orphanages and to provide job training for women. King Mohammed VI lends the Coat of Arms every year for competitor vests showing his support of the women's initiatives he has championed in Morocco.
Miller will be back at the rally but as a staff and media driver following the U.S. teams. She says the Hoehns are as ready as they will ever be: "They are tough, smart, not pampered and organized. They will learn what it is like to rely on their vehicle for everything. It will be a good professional building tool for them."
They will make mistakes, she said, but also counsels: "Learn from your mistakes quickly and don't make them again."


text:
Jack Link's Original Beef Steak (1 oz., 12 pk.)
by Jack Link's | Item #: 512197 | Model #: 220897 |
Free shipping
- $3.50 off with Instant Savings
Offer ends September 18
- Instant Savings is subject to availability, valid dates, and a limit of 9999 items per member. Additional purchases may be made at full retail price, unless otherwise restricted. See program details.
- Member price $12.98
- Instant Savings -$3.50
- $ 9 48
- $1.08 ea
Non-members pay 10% surchargeJoin now!
- Shipping
- Free shipping
- Enter ZIP Code for shipping options
- Estimated arrival
- Free Pickup
Save Time With Subscriptions
The minimum quantity is 1.
Order every:
Free shipping
Estimated arrival
Shipping to Alaska or Hawaii adds a location surcharge to the regular rate. We offer an expanded assortment, however some restrictions may apply. Delivery estimates, taxes, and fees are based on ZIP Code. Club Pickup orders are based on your club's current price and item availability on the day of payment.
related products
1 of
About this item
- Slow cooked and seasoned meats
- 12 individually packaged sticks
- Great for individual resale or for on-the-go snacking
It all started in 1885. Jack's great-grandparents settled in the north woods of Wisconsin, bringing with them family meat snack recipes and an adventurous pioneer spirit. Their time-honored tradition of using only premium cuts of meat and the finest spices and seasonings still holds true today.
Assembled Country
Component Country
Member reviews & questions
Ask & Answer
Policies & plans
Shipping Information
Shipping Information
Standard - 2 to 6 business days
Value - 5 to 8 business days
Warranty Information
This product is covered by the Sam's Club Member Satisfaction Guarantee.