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Saturday, October 31, 2009
Labels: special content
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A revival of interest in Kris Evans seems not to have come too soon, as he has greatly embellished his persona since we first met him. I have seen what is likely to be in the secret compartment, and have only favourable impressions -- most particularly, if only by a whisker, the back, which is outstandingly commanding and elegant at the same time. I don't even mind, that he reminds me completely of James Coburn -- I'm not even sure the latter wouldn't have had a pretty waist, and this is one quite stupefying waist.ReplyDelete
As for Mr Blaze, well, his gesture proves my point about this outpost: it's pretty foreseeable in character.
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Another leaked image of the HTC M8
February 5, 2014 HTC (Android) No Comments
Mobile World Congress is getting closer by the day, so it's not surprising to see more leaked photos of hot new devices.
This is the rear of the HTC M8 according to the tipster, and as you can see its very similar to the HTC One that it succeeds.
HTCFamily_RU leaked the image just a couple of hours ago, and although it looks a lot like the One you can see an additional cut-out above the camera.
We'll be reporting live from Barcelona with all the latest, so follow us on Twitter for the latest.

subset: commoncrawl


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Grant Support: By NIH Grants AR36308 and AR07530 and the Kellogg Program for Training in Research in Clinical Effectiveness.
Requests for Reprints: Jeffrey N. Katz, MD, Arthritis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115.
Current Author Addresses: Dr. Katz: Arthritis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115.
Dr. Liang: Department of Rheumatology-Immunology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115.Dr. Larson, Ms. Eaton, and Ms. Fossel: Robert B. Brigham Multi-purpose Arthritis Center, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.Dr. Stirrat: Longwood Hand Center, 830 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167.
Dr. Sethi: 317 Patrick Street Southwest, Vienna, VA 22180.Dr. Sabra: Department of Medicine, New England Baptist Hospital, 125 Parker Hill Avenue, Boston, MA 02120.
Dr. Krarup: Department of Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
© 1990 American College of PhysiciansAmerican College of Physicians
Study Objective: To assess the value of a history and physical examination findings in diagnosing the carpal tunnel syndrome, and to determine whether constellations of clinical findings identify patients at high or low risk for the carpal tunnel syndrome.
Design: Comparison of diagnostic tests with neurophysiologic testing.
Setting: Patients with upper extremity complaints of diverse causes referred to a neurophysiology laboratory for diagnostic studies.
Methods: Before nerve conduction testing, a history, demographic and physical examination data, and a hand pain diagram were obtained from each patient. Diagrams were categorized as indicating the classic carpal tunnel syndrome, or as probable, possible, or unlikely to indicate the carpal tunnel syndrome. Associations between clinical data and nerve conduction results were examined in univariate and multivariate analyses.
Results: Of 110 patients in the study, 44 (40%) had the carpal tunnel syndrome. Individually, the best predictors were hand pain diagram rating (positive predictive value, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.68) and Tinel sign (positive predictive value, 0.55; CI, 0.45 to 0.65). The combination of a positive Tinel sign and a probable or classic diagram rating had a positive predictive value of 0.71; CI, 0.53 to 0.85. Other findings from physical examination and the history were less useful. Just 9% of patients under 40 years of age with possible or unlikely diagram ratings had the carpal tunnel syndrome.
Conclusions: With the exceptions of age, Tinel sign, and hand pain diagram rating, findings from the physical examination and the history had limited diagnostic utility. Patients under 40 years of age with possible or unlikely diagram ratings were at low risk for the carpal tunnel syndrome. This finding, which should be confirmed in an independent population, suggests that subsets of patients may be managed without nerve conduction studies.
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Beautifully Crafted, Geek-Inspired Cupcakes
camera cookies on Etsy. Still not having satisfied our sweet tooth for sugary treats dressed as our favorite gadgets and videogame characters, we decided to go exploring for cupcakes too and were delighted to find an even more tempting selection than cookies – at least to stare at.
Twitter Cakes: Who knew the Twitter bird could be so pretty? These Twitter cupcakes are like small works of art – we definitely would opt to place these on display versus eating them. Lego Star Wars: Nothing is nerdier than Star Wars other than Lego Star Wars – and we love it. Check out the detail on R2D2. Super Mario Cupcakes: Not just Mario, but all his power-up's and foes make up this sweet box of Mario Brothers themed cupcakes. Ninja Turtle: Taking us down memory lane, these nostalgic Ninja Turtle cupcakes are nothing short of awesome. Where's Splinter?
Princess Leia: The cutest version of Princess Leia we've ever seen, whose hairstyle is made up of two Oreo cookies. We aren't masters in the kitchen, but we're tempted to try and make this one. Pacman: There's something elegant about this Pacman cupcake and we think it's the perfectly crafted shape of this character plus the edible jewel decoration that represents the many dots he gobbles up.
Angry Birds: We've been seeing a lot of Angry Birds paraphernalia around lately – T-shirts, stuffed animals and birthday cakes. These Angry Birds cupcakes are some of the best we've seen where color coordination and different types of frostings have been crafted to match each character. Sweet! Stay tuned for our favorite geek and gaming inspired kyaraben (character bentos). [Via Toxel]


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Brenda Beust Smith photo
I'm going to rename this althaea "Ike." When we drove up the day after the hurricane (spent nite in motel because of high overhanging trees) I could see her blooming above a fallen oak.
I was curious about how the horticultural community survived Ike, so asked for reports. I'll keep adding to this blog as they come in. Here are a few:
• Sunshine Center (for disabled adults): Couple of feet of water, needs to replace appliances, furniture, major cleanup. Greenhouse held up but will have to replace all plants. Vegetable gardens wiped out.
• Jerry's Jungle Garden in Aldine. Open Days canceled for October.
• Shimek Daylily Gardens in Alvin. The gardens have been cleaned up without too much loss. But nine large trees fell, taking with them Nell and Harvey's chimney and causing serious roof damage.
• Houston Audubon Society. Major damage at the High Island gardens. Worried about migrating hummers. Winnie Burkett recommends anyone replanting first read Douglas Tallamy's new book Bringing Nature Home, How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens
• Treesearch Farms on Alabonson: Lost many unusual inground trees, says Heidi Sheesley, although the perennials and containered plants were saved by lying them on their sides. Some greenhouse damage.
• West 11th Street Park: Butterfly garden survived; park a mess of fallen trees.
• Stephen F. Austin Mast Arboretum in Nacogdoches: Pineywoods Native Plant Community hard hit by falling oaks and pines.
• Pineywoods Nursery in Conroe. Cleanup is under way.
• Matt Family Orchard in Tomball. 50% loss or damage to orchard, lots of Asian persimmon fruits to sell if you're interested.
• American Rose Gardens in Shreveport will survive after cleanup, says Baxter Williams. For those who know his and Patsy's incredible Pasadena rose garden, about 75 plants were blown over and took a severe beating. Hopefully they'll come back.
• Martha's Bloomers, Navasota; Buchanan's Native Plants in the Heights and Diane Cabiness' Native Plant Nursery in Montgomery.
• Lucia's Garden: Michael Bettler said what they lost in trees, limbs and green litter, they gained in neighbors, since everyone on their block pitched in to help clean up.
• Kingwood Garden Center in Kingwood. They were about to house most of their plants so lost little.
• Spring Nursery and Landscape in The Woodlands. Minor damage, but significant wind burn on some plants. (Reading this made me realize that's what happened to my leonatis, red rocket rusellia and several salvias. I wondered why they looked so devastated.)
• Harris County Extension Center in Bear Creek Park: Just debris to clean up. Fall Plant Sale postponed but new date will be announced soon.
• Community Association of The Woodlands gardens. The Saturday, Sept. 27, Woodlands Landscaping Solutions has been canceled.
• Nelson Water Gardens in Katy. Silver lining? Cleaning up forced Anita and Rolf to finally do some long postponed reorganizing.
Area community gardens are still assessing their damages.
Brenda Beust Smith photo
There's no real point to this picture of the flower pot man at the Antique Rose Emporium at right. He just makes me smile and after reading about all the damage above, I needed a smile.
Feel free to add other horticultural site reports via the "Comments" below.


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|« Ethiopia - Save Ethiopian Refugees in Libya. Act Now
|Ethiopia - Ethiopians suffering in Libya prisons »
Ethiopia - Washington Update
There will be an announcement made by the Senate's Africa subcommittee about the upcoming hearing regarding The Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia. We will let you all know about the details as soon as they are announced. The hearing is intended to advise the Senate on how to proceed with H.R. 2003 (or similar legislation). As we all know Ethiopian democracy achieved a major milestone on October 2nd of last year when the House passed H.R. 2003, the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007. This was evidence of the strong commitment of the congress to the cause of democracy in Ethiopia. It also showed interest in fostering progress in development in Ethiopia.
This public vote sent a strong message to American diplomats and was heard by the Meles regime. Now the next step is to win in the Senate. For this we need to contact our state's Senators and very importantly the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joseph Biden (D – DE), and the ranking member, Richard Lugar (R – IN). We also should contact the Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee, Russ Feingold (D – WI), and the ranking member, John Sununu (R – NH).
Also we should send out thanks and condolences to the late Tom Lantos, Chairman of the House International Relation Committee who tragically passed away yesterday. He was a true champion of human rights and a key supporter of Ethiopia. He will be missed.
In the last weeks our distinguished advocate for democracy and development in Ethiopia, Engineer Hailu Shawel, President of Coalition for Unity and Democracy in Ethiopia (CUD) addressed Ethiopians here in the US in Las Vegas and Dallas where he met enthusiastic audiences concerned with progress in Ethiopia. He presented his vision for Ethiopia, one with human rights, economic development and democracy. He joined by Wzr. Nigest G/Hewoit who urged Ethiopian women to participate in the democracy movement. Doctor Taye Woldesemiat also spoke about unity for all Ethiopians as a necessary step forward.
Finally, we have a new video to be shown on February 17th at the Washington, DC Convention Center documenting the CUD's organization of Ethiopian citizens in Ethiopia. This covers a range of the whole of the country! All invited! Please come!
Mesfin Mekonen, Kinijit International Council Foreign Relations
WHAT'S is the name of the new bill
We know hr2003 is already dead
You guys give it up or you can keep on
Good, we will call our state senators and chairman of the senate relation committee, Joseph Biden. We will let them know that we Ethiopians do not want to be administered by made in America law.
Yaigrecheefe, The February 17 event is a good time to present your gift, the jingle bell song, to CUD. Those who have not heard the song, please refer to the topic "Ethiopian Government Pardons twenty-five CUD supporters"
I'm still singing: Jingle bell, Jingle bell……..
MR mesfin mekonnen - What a losser .here is my advise for you ,you will have many followers if you take your dead Hr 2003 to shabians they will rally to destroy Ethiopia with you. or Just give up and focus on the that little restaurant,we told you last time you came long way from dish washing to managing in that tiny restaurent Please leave us alone ,we ETHIOPIANS don,t need to beg the white man to solve our problem ,Our problems are people like you who don,t have the confidence in their fellow Ethiopians ,the good thing is you and your kinds are old and ready to depart.
we do not paly with the innocent ethiopian blood so make some thing a change from the crul EPRDF regimen so every one work togather to a better democratic country ethiopia so to live happly togather
MR Mesfin Mekonen, Kinijit International Council Foreign Relations' take your video to Asmara and share it with Islamic terrorists,
If you really cared about Ethiopia, why didn't you grab the opportunity to run the most important economic center of ethiopia, Addis ababa, and make a difference, regardless of wither the election was fair or not? instead you chose to provoke the innocent and exposed them to fire.
I don't belong to any party as such but that was when I realized you guys are nothing but power thirty bunch of idiots. I could have forgiven you for that but I will never forgive you for aligning your dumb self with Ethiopia's enemy the Eritreans. you could have used a less poisonous dog than that. how can you do that to your country? wushoch.
Hope [Visitor],
I posted it but they deleted it—-anyways,
I'm gonna take that song and perform in the "Kinijit Idols"
and the Kinijit Sam will say "congratulations you're going to Kallytiwood"
American based CUD is appealling to the United States Senators to snatch power from Nation and Nationalities of Ethiopia and krown its leaders in Addis Ababa. By the way, do these power thirty over there know that the time when only one ethnic group is able to rule Ethiopia is gone? Or are they wise to embrace nations and nationalities of Ethiopia? Aren't they too proud to respect other Nations and nationalities? Are they strong enough to saveguard Mamma Ethiopia from the Eritrean looters? Or they have signed to reward some provinces of Ethiopia to Shaebia for the support they have been extended by it?
Ethiopia is no more an Empire, but a Federal! Whether HR 2003 is approved or not, the Andnet at their foot is impossible any longer. If the unity of Ethiopia is jeopardized, those who want to rule it with rein in the mouth of nation and nationalities are responssible.
If change matters and Barak Obama is going to rule the mighty nation of the world, then nations and nationalites of Ethiopia must also decide for them selves.
Urjiin Ifa!
I think you people are confused between CUD and EPLF.
EPLF and TPLF are basically the same fighting to disintegrate the ancient Ethiopian country.
CUD in this regard is different.
It is an opposition party trying to operate peacefully in Ethiopia.
Don't try to mix these please because there is already an inseparable mix between TPLF and EPLF!
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of nazret.com. The views are solely that of the author. Become a blogger of nazret.com, the #1 Rated Ethiopian Website according to Alexa. Contact us for details
«_alemayehu g_ mariam _» «_ali mohammed_» _education_ «_human rights_» _usaid_ agriculture «alemayehu g_ mariam» birtukan china clinton «commodity exchange» dc9 economics economy ecx «eskinder nega» inflation «meles zenawi» «messay kebede» «messay kebede» mideksa murder wikileaks «yilma bekele»
«_alemayehu g_ mariam _» «_ali mohammed_» _education_ «_human rights_» _usaid_ agriculture «alemayehu g_ mariam» birtukan china clinton «commodity exchange» dc9 economics economy ecx «eskinder nega» inflation «meles zenawi» «messay kebede» «messay kebede» mideksa murder wikileaks «yilma bekele»


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Eye on the streets
Association hopes to deter crime in Warren neighborhoods
June 6, 2013
Bob Weitzel spends at least four nights a month driving through neighborhoods of Warren's 1st and 7th wards, looking for anything that is out of place....
NMC, I guess you forget about the Atlanta child murder in 90's, Wayne Williams 33 victims. Hulon Mitchell 20 victims, Maury Travis 17 victims, Maurice Byrd 20 victims, Lorenzo Gilyard 13 victims, Chester Turner 12 victims, Elton Jackson 12 victims, all of these people targeted women and children. It isn't a racial thing to kill. But when your own community is riddled with crime, it is THAT COMMUNITIES responsibility to be at the for front of the change. If the community happens to be African American, then it is on the people that live there to be the change they want to see. That was my point. It wasn't a bashing of the African American people. Yet no matter how it is sad, relayed, or presented, African American's are offended that they are responsible for their own circumstances with in their own neighborhoods. When you turn your head to crime, crime grows. If it is growing or already beyond a point you find acceptable in your neighborhood, be a part of the change or live with it.
1 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
On the other side Bill it's not just black folks who need control of their oddballs.
The last I recall black folks were not killing masses of children or on school campuses committing murder, neither are they kidnapping and holding teen girls in bunkers on their property.
I believe Nativio took offense at your post because you seem to imply it's the black communities fault for all the crime. And getting them together will create a crime free society.
Everyone conveniently forgets black folks commit crimes involving quick money, whereas the horrific crimes of national scorn typically don't involve blacks.
0 Agrees | 6 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Like I told my kids, "People will treat you the way you act. If you want to act like an arze, thug, moron, ungrateful brat, or sneak, people will treat as such."
5 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
nativio, my comment wasn't racist, it was a point that if the African American community don't like their situation of living in a community that is crime ridden, then it is as much their responsibility as those that are trying to change to be a part of the change. People situation in life isn't always their fault. It is however their responsibility to be part of the change they wish to see. Regardless of color, race, religion, creed, etc... I was offended by WP's comment because he more or less implied that these block watch people were intruding and profiling in a neighborhood that is prominently African American or poor whites. In my neighborhood if I see somebody walking around after a certain hour I don't what color they are. I'll watch because it's MY NEIGHBORHOOD. If I see somebody that doesn't belong do things that look suspicious, I'll watch because it's MY NEIGHBORHOOD. My neighbors do the same. I shouldn't have to move because somebody wants to act like a fool.
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Exactly mssmith! Well said
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nativo my point is racisam comes from both sides black and white and no matter what side it is coming from it is wrong do you think I like being told by a black person that i am a white cracker or that I owe them something because the white person enslaved thier ancestors ignorate people come in the form of all races not just the whites
6 Agrees | 2 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
I'll concede to your point Artic... although I believe much of the blatantly controversial comments made by WP is designed to incite debate, it worked!
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Do you folks realize how silly and childish it is to have to point out that there are bad white people too? And that there are good blacks. And that you have a black pal and know a worthless white?
Jayzus Keerist! Wow.
4 Agrees | 4 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
dstbt you are exactly right i know some white people who you can not trust and they are bad people and i know some black people that way to. what it comes down to is the choices people make no matter what your race is. My best friend is black and is a navy nurse and on the other hand I know a white guy who is nothing but a thug. It makes me mad when comments are made on both sides because I know some whites who hate black and I know somw blacks who think the white man owes them something. This white vs black thing gets old real fast. racism is taught not matter if you are black or white.
4 Agrees | 2 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
nomorecrap, refering to your comment where you were saying true, false and opinion to WPs comments. I notice you did not reply to one, her last comment, and THAT is the ONE I objected to.
" I am sure these "Eye on the Streets" people practice it regularly." She was referring to profiling.
Warrenproud does not have ONE, not ONE shred of proof to make a comment like this. She complains about crime, guns, drugs, but then attacks in racist mode when a GOOD thing is reported on. I will agree that the Zimmerman case is iffy, I will agree law officers sometimes are thugs like the crooks are. But darn nomore, for her to indicate that this group is racially motivated without one once of proof, is nothing more than her angry black butt provoking a racial debate. And your darn right I bit on it. Because she was WAY out of line.
9 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
My guess is that few people are racists but a lot of folks are prejudiced.
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it comes down to trust. I live by some crazy neighbors in a predominant white suburb. I'd trade a few of them for decent and honest black families, tbh.
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The way I see it is there are good and bad people in every race. There is also prejudices within each race. All vying for supremacy. Whites call certain other whites in a low economic class with certain other obvious traits as "white trash." While blacks focus on the lightness or darkness of their black, and call each other the N word. And within all of if they criticize one another. So, You can't lump sum everyone in one box. Reminds me of that song, "All We Need is Love."
4 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Crime is an issue, let us not forget that in all this talk about racism. Were it not such a focus, you would not have two different private prison companies looking to buy the Old Avalon property in Howland in order to put a prison there.
1 Agrees | 3 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Sure, Nort, but I could make the argument that pointing out that even blacks can be racist (which is the gist of what you said) is itself racist! I mean, to say that we have to, contrary to the past, realize that blacks are like whites in being racist, is racist... Lord my head hurts from that puzzle!
And just to get it out there:
Blacks are racist. Whites are racist. Hispanics are racist. Asians are racist.
It is human nature to distrust and think differently of those who are different. Heck, that isn't even limited to humans, it exists in animals.
But take that natural stuff that is ingrained, and then add in all the historical stuff, cultural stuff, socioeconomic stuff and you have modern day America.
Though in this country, white people have been the dominant culture since the inception... And with that, whites get the well deserved blame for apparently being the only racists...Since we created the institutions and the societal forces that kept everyone else in ch
2 Agrees | 5 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
I agree it's no longer confined to a single group, but which group bases their hatred of others believing themselves superior and all others inferior classes of human being?
Some prejudice is based on intelligence not skin complexion. I don't want the company of idiots of any complexion, which is not uncommon.
I believe it's those who adapt prejudice based on complexion or supremacy of ethnicity that are most harmful to society. It's unreasonable to expect folks not to have any amount of prejudice.
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@nativio, I hope that people don't think that racism is a thing of the past. Unfortunately, it's alive and well. The biggest difference between today and the past is that people need to realize that it's not only whites who harbor racism in their hearts.
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@AFRET1, LOL! A lot of firsts today.
But you probably seen the daily poll question. So its a wash. :-)
3 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
There goes our freedom of discussion, right down the toilet!
1 Agrees | 8 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Sorry, God, but I have to agree with Daniel.
4 Agrees | 2 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
You know what it's funny that was said about profiling earlier in the thread. I was actually walking, on my way home from work a month or so ago and that same car was following me very slowly, kept circling the block then waiting at stop signs as I am trudging along. This went on for a surprising amount of time so I decided to have some fun. I had a sandwich bag full of peanuts from my lunch left over. I pulled it out several of the times they passed me purposefully, no doubt they thought it was a bag of drugs or something. I just thought it was funny, would've never happened this way had my skin been a little lighter.
2 Agrees | 11 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Let's examine WP's comment for truth.
Boy goes to buy skittles & tea = True
Zimmerman racially profiles = True (stating "they"always get away, "looks like he's on drugs"). Said without proof or reason to suspect.
I don't trust anyone but law enforcement = Opinion.
Racial profiling exists in Warren = True (according to the Federal probe in 2001 resulting in payouts).
I fail to see why so many find WP so wrong here, his point has merit...
Lastly, if there was a recent burglary, robbery or ANY crime where the police were already searching for a suspect resembling the boy, I'd say Zimmerman was right to follow, but no suspect was being sought!
Agreed Nativio...
3 Agrees | 12 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Damn, I don't see how WP has earned or deserves such an intense amount of hatred. Can't any of you see the other side of this? In your world is there such a thing as going too far?
Even the staunchest conservatives believe Zimmerman should have remained in his Van, thus avoiding confrontation, a scuffle and charges. And what evidence exists to determine the boy was "up to no good" higgs?
That's too much of a beating for WP to endure for making a valid point. I salute anyone man enough to stand next to their words. Those of you who disagree & run could learn from WP.
3 Agrees | 12 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
And that was not be coming to the defense of WarrenProud, who I find happens to say dumb stuff.... My response was more an indictment of some of you...And this weird reality that you folks want to pretend to live in...
Personally, I find Billdog's comment about the "black community" more racist than what WarrenProud said... That's just me. And I know my view on race happens to be more pragmatic and realistic than this shiny, happy people bs that some of you want to truck in.
3 Agrees | 12 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Couldn't have said it better Josh. Thank you. That needed to be said. Boneheads!!!
3 Agrees | 4 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Showing 25 of 37 comments Show More Comments


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Today is the 135th anniversary of the birth of Jack London, author of The Call of the Wild and other famous stories of adventure. Most people think of Alaska when they think of London, but did you know that he was born and lived in California? His famous Beauty Ranch and gravesite are protected in Jack London State Historic Park near Sonoma. He lived there from 1909 until 1916, when he died at the young age of 40 from kidney disease.
Besides Alaska and California, he spent time in Hawaii and other islands in the Pacific. A sailor, adventurer, writer and rancher, London lived a full life and his stories and novels reflect this.
You can enjoy his novels and stories:
- The call of the wild (FIC London)
- White fang and other stories (FIC London)
- Burning daylight (FIC London)
- The sea wolf (FIC London)
- Novels and social writings (FIC London) – includes The people of the abyss, The road, The iron heel, Martin Eden, John Barleycorn and essays.
Or read about his fascinating life:
- Jack London: a writer's adventurous life by Elaine Lisandrelli (921 London)
- Jack London: a biography by Daniel Dyer (921 London)
- Jack London by Thomas Streissguth (921 London)
Related Articles
- Happy Birthday Jack London! (oup.com)


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If the "new HP" can execute this complex integration so it preserves customer loyalty and capitalizes on the combined strengths of HP and Compaq, the company could become the leading systems provider for life science applications.
The latest financial results for HP show that at the companywide level the acquisition appears to be working. The combined revenues of HP and Compaq in Q4 2001 were $18 billion, and in Q4 2002 they came in at $18.2 billion while also improving operating margins. The analysts in IDC's Life Sciences practice have been particularly keen to understand how the merger would affect HP's efforts to serve the needs of pharma and biotech companies, as well as research centers and academic institutions.
Historically HP and Compaq had different strengths in this market. HP was strong in Big Pharma product development, manufacturing, and back-office functions. Compaq was well known for its high-performance line of AlphaServers, mostly used in basic research and drug target discovery. Compaq also fielded a high-profile professional services group dedicated to the life science market. Theoretically the two companies appear to be a good fit to serve this niche, each filling some of the gaps left by the other. Conversations with HP managers in the life science area suggest that the company is working hard to integrate these strengths into a cohesive business unit. However, history teaches us that theoretical synergies often fail to materialize in large mergers and acquisitions.
IDC has had an opportunity to gauge the synergy. In an end-user survey this past year, we asked pharma, biotech, and academic customers a series of questions about their perceptions of which company delivers the best in a wide variety of attributes for servers and storage. Because we started collecting data right after the Compaq acquisition was finalized, we allowed respondents to answer separately for the Compaq and HP brands.
Examples of attributes we asked about included: ability to cluster systems, compatibility with installed systems, main memory capacity and expandability, price/performance ratio, application performance, and system manageability. We asked respondents to rate the importance of each attribute to their own purchase decisions, how satisfied they were with that attribute on their largest current system, and which vendor was currently best at this attribute. It is this latter series of questions that shed the most light on the potential for the HP acquisition of Compaq.
This brand perception data suggests that HP has the opportunity to achieve a very strong position as a leading vendor (if not the leading vendor) of servers and clusters in the life science market. However, to do so requires capturing most of the brand loyalty and respect that Compaq had among users in this market segment. A second possibility is that the combined brand potential will never be realized and HP will settle into the second tier of server vendors for the life sciences.
The third possibility, and in my view the most likely, is that HP will gain some market share through the Compaq acquisition, but the combination of lost momentum during the heat of the takeover, some customer dissatisfaction with the decision to stop advancing the high-performance Alpha processor, and an almost inevitable loss of focus on the customer while going through corporate integration will constrain HP from achieving the highest possible gains in server market share.
Ultimately it is the readers of Bio·IT World and their peers who will decide how this acquisition plays out in the life sciences. When the HP sales rep walks through your door, does he or she have a coherent story about what HP is doing today and where it is headed tomorrow? Does the sales rep understand your particular IT needs, and offer high- quality products at a competitive price, with a compelling service plan? Only customers can ultimately decide the answers to these questions, and they'll vote with their purchases.
HP is now in a position to execute its post-acquisition strategies. The next few months will be critical as to whether it can capitalize on its potential benefits in the life science market. We will observe with interest.
Michael R. Swenson, a senior research analyst at IDC, can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Needham, MA 02494
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The Colts recently released Gary Brackett, but Colts fans still love him.
The former team captain and middle linebacker has written a book about his inspirational and amazing lifestory.
"Winning" tells the tale of Bracketts' amazing rise from walk-on at Rutgers to captain of the Super Bowl champions.
I caught up with Gary at Black Dog Books.


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Attendance at CTC has been a topic du jour around the nation's capital of late, so it's no surprise to see Cyril Leeder use every medium available to clarify what is going on with Ottawa Senators ticket sales.
After being featured in two newspaper stories earlier this week, Leeder joined TSN1200's TGOR this morning.
You can check out the full interview here, or via the embed below.
As always, my thoughts in bold.
On any concerns with the dip in attendance this year…
"No. No, we'd like to be full obviously every night, but we're right where we thought we'd be at this point of the year. And as I've said in two of the interviews this week that our revenues on tickets are up this year, year-over-year and compared to last year and compared to the last full year (in) '11/12. Just to change some of the promotions, and the discounting, and the policies we've had have really attributed to that."
As suspected, the Senators aren't selling less seats than they have been. The increased volume of vacant seats is merely a reflection of their policy change.
On what the realistic goal for seasons tickets is…
"Yeah, we've always had a realistic goal for us is to really get a 13,000 season ticket holders and sort of make that our base and hopefully grow from there. We got there one year in 2007/08, the year after the Stanley Cup Final run. And we've made great progress the last two years now. I think we're a little over 12,000 season seat owners now and that's coming off of the last two full years – '11/12 and this year—(We've had) double-digit growth in season seat owners, so we're in a pretty good spot there and we've got a good product. The team is really solid on the ice and we've got a bunch of good, young players and I think that people can see that there is a future with this team. (Fans) like this team a lot and we're making the progress we need to on the season seat side and we just need to stay at that."
A base of 13,000 still seems a modest goal, and it's taken years to even get relatively close.
On the change of course from comp'd tickets or promo tickets…
"We don't comp per se for the sake of papering the house. We've never done that. We do have mandatory complimentary tickets for players and hockey management. Some of our staff can get access and we do the odd charitable event and activity where we do comp tickets. The previous years, we had bonus tickets for our season seat owners. We would have given them with a package of 44 games, they got 50 (pairs of tickets). We've changed that policy primarily because of the feedback we got from the season seat was 'First, we can't use 50. What we'd rather have is an exchange policy where with the 44 (games) that we have, can we exchange some of those seats?' And we've done that. We've gone to a fairly liberal exchange policy. If you can't make a game, you can trade that game in for another game. So they've got a 44-game package. And the other part of that was, (season seat owners) weren't using the tickets the way we were wanted them to. We were hoping that they'd bring somebody to the game that might become a ticket holder at some point and that really wasn't happening. They were, in some cases, they were re-selling those tickets and competing against us on the market. While it might have made us look better and feel a little better with a fuller building, it really didn't get the results that we wanted. We've got some smaller crowds right now compared to other years but we're right on where we thought we'd be. And I think we're in a good spot now going forward with some good games coming up and we'll have a full building here tomorrow night with Boston in town. Next week we've got Vancouver coming in and that will be a big crowd. In December, again we're getting into the meat of our schedule, we've got Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh and Boston games all in that month that will be sellouts as well. So, I think we're on the right track and I think you'll see bigger crowds going forward."
You can't really blame fans for thinking that there's something more to the timing of the organization changing its policy after Eugene Melnyk's appeals to the City for a casino. Considering the very publicized details of how much the organization was/is losing money, the presence of empty seats at each home game is a regular visual reminder that assuredly will be noticed. Hell, it's been in the papers and on radio all week. Whether it's simply an unintended consequence of trying to prevent the devaluing of your product, it's happening and it's there for everyone to see.
On the change of tact in changing the policy from the revenue generated on free tickets…
"You look at that, but the real test for us has been, we want to make sure 'Are we providing good value for our fans?' And we know we are. We've… there's been that third party validation by ESPN and last week by Team Marketing Report indicating that we are the best value in the NHL of all 30 teams when you're coming to a game. So, we take those things into consideration, but we want to make sure that we don't devalue the product as well. If you're discounting too heavily or giving away tickets, that don't really say to the people that are paying full price that the value (that they're paying) is there. You've got to be careful there. It's a fine line that you want to balance. Our objective really here is to really get over 13,000 seats. We really need to be there to ensure we've got fuller buildings on a more regular basis. And when you've got, right now, at 12,000 (season seats) that means you have got over 7,000 seats to sell every night and we won't get there early in the season when you've got a whole bunch of games in the same week. We're just not going to get there at this point, but at some time in the future, we know we will."
It's been some time since I've looked at the ESPN report, and in looking around for this Team Marketing Report, you need to have a paid subscription fee to access it. Anyways, the arbitrary nature of these rankings make it difficult to take them seriously. I mean, do you think the fan base's amount of faith in ownership now is reflected by these rankings. Absolutely not.
On the schedule that the league sent to the Sens and how its wonky nature could be problematic…
"Yes, I think that's true, but that has always been the case in Ottawa. If you look historically over our attendance, the same opponent in October or November won't draw as many (fans) as the same opponent in January or February. It's just early in the year is always tougher. And it seems like we've had a number of special years in succession – this year being an Olympic year – when you look at our schedule. We have no Saturday games from the middle of January right through to April at home – that's just really unusual. Two homes games in February in the whole month, which normally is our best month. We like to have games during the Winterlude Festival and we've got none this year. It's just not ideal, but that's again, we're going to the Olympics and you have a condensed schedule and you have to make things work. As you said, we give our dates to the league and we have some control over them, but not full control over what happens with the schedule. Would we like to have more games in January, February and March? Sure, we'd love to have more home games then. If you look at our schedule now, we have 20 home games in November and December, which is just really about twice as many as we would have during a regular year."
I love listening to Leeder address the issues as they come because he's not out there pouring gasoline all over everything before lighting a match. Everything he says is concise and calculated and he gives you enough information to read between the lines. Does he sound like he's happy with the NHL schedule? No, but he doesn't sound like he has an axe to grind either.
On the budget spent on payroll and it being more flexible if the Sens become closer to their sales goals…
"I think we always try to run the team on a prudent and responsible basis, but at the same time, I know how Eugene (Melnyk) views the hockey operations. He really has bought the team and owns the team because he wants to win the Stanley Cup. This is not a financial return. There has never been an ROI (Return On Investment) calculation done in the ten years that Eugene has been an owner, so I know that if we get in this position where a decision has to be made on whether adding a body to help (the organization) compete on the hockey side, he'll do that. Does he look at the revenues? Sure he does and he pays attention there. But, what's driving the entire process here really is, 'how good is the team and how close are we?' That will drive our decisions on players. Not so much on the business side of things."
The organization keeps reiterating how there will be money available down the road to make this team better, it'll be interesting to see whether the public holds this against the organization if they don't; especially if this statement continues to be made for any length of time.
On alternate revenue streams being explored to generate and contribute to the bottom line…
"We're always looking at different ways to help the bottom line and contribute to the organization. We've done that over the years. We've started our own ticketing company. We're very active now in managing arena facilities in partnership with the city and we'll continue to do those things. As far as new initiatives go, we are looking at a number… I think what you'll see over the next five years or so, I think you'll see a lot of development taking place in and around the Canadian Tire Centre. There's obviously been some housing going on and the auto-mall, but the Tanger Outlet Mall is under construction. The big announcement was the Bass Pro Shop was going across the street as well –a huge facility. So, I think one of the areas that we're looking at is, 'Is there some real estate development opportunities that would help us on the business operations and also help the hockey club going forward?' The more development in the area, the better it is for us and the better it is for our hockey fans. We can add some more networks of roads and it will help people getting in-and-out of the building quicker, and that's one of the things that we're certainly focused on as well."
The Bass Pro Shop probably isn't going to entice me to spend an afternoon there before taking in a game, but I get Leeder's point. As I outlined in a piece a short while ago, the organization has to do a better job of making a Senators game an event to go to. Obviously this year's shitty schedule and the lack of Saturday night games doesn't help matters, but moving forward, I sincerely hope the growth around the arena brings in some businesses and establishments that make me want to be in the vicinity of the Canadian Tire Centre before and after a game.
On the arena coming up to its 20th anniversary and the life-cycle…
"It'll be its 18th anniversary in January. There's a magical number around 25 to 30 (years of age) when the building doesn't wear out, but you really need to look at it and determine 'Are you going to put a major reinvestment into it? Or are you going to look at alternatives? Whether you rebuild it next door or look at other locations."
Oooh, intrigue.
On whether the organization is already having those discussions…
"Not yet, but we're getting pretty close to that window when we start looking at what our options are. If the LRT Plans had come out a few weeks ago and there was a station right at the (Canadian Tire Centre) site in the long-term plan, I don't think we'd even be considering options. We'd just be looking at 'How do we work with the facility here and rebuild it in the current location?' At some point, we'll have to have that discussion – whether we rebuild here or look at alternative locations."
For what it's worth, Ottawa's current LRT Plan calls for Kanata to gets an LRT extension as far as Bayshore, and a dedicated Transitway west of there that extends into the technology parks of north Kanata. In other words, unless something changes, fans will be able to train as far as Bayshore before figuring out a way to get to the arena. This kind of Plan, certainly lends itself to fuelling perceptions that Ottawa's next arena will be downtown.
On the possibility that one day, the home of the Ottawa Senators may be elsewhere…
"It's possible. I don't want to… never is a long time, but it's one of those decisions that is probably not in the short run for us in our short-term thinking here. Obviously we're only 18 years in and we've got a lot of life-cycle left in this building."
True, and considering how the Senators are reportedly losing money, you have to wonder how the organization would be able to finance an arena on their own. Right now, the prospect of a downtown arena anytime soon is nothing but a pipedream.
On ideally whether he'd like the next arena to be downtown if the Sens had to change locations…
"I don't know. I mean, there are a lot of factors that have to go into that decision. That wouldn't be just my decision to make as well. I think that's something that you'd have to look at as an organization, but I've been involved now for 25 years with this team and project and there hasn't been one person who has come forward to me and say 'You know, it'd be a good idea to put this building downtown.' So, I think that's a good theoretical discussion, but there hasn't really been a lot of interest from any parties in having that discussion."
Why would employees talk about it to Leeder? They probably don't mention it because everyone within the organization is tired of listening to fans inundate them with complaints about parking, traffic and the location of the arena being in Kanata.
On the issue of land…
"Yeah, land and who builds the building and who owns it. Those are all considerations you have to review and you couldn't view any one of those on its own. I think it's all part of a longer-term or bigger strategy. Would you want to move your building? I don't really want to get into that debate right now. I don't think it's the right time or the place to open a can of worms and say, 'Gee, should we move the building?' We've been pretty committed to the site and we've done a lot of work in the area – a lot of things to try to improve our lot in life here in Kanata and as I said, it's just been getting better. There's a lot of development happening in the area. If you look at what we came into here in 1996 and what we have now in 2013, it's a totally different situation and one that we're pretty happy with, to be honest."
Again, there's plenty of time to figure this out but if the next arena isn't downtown somebody messed up. The CTC being in Kanata is a huge underlying weakness when trying to persuade people to attend games and invest in season tickets – and Leeder would tell you the same if injected with truth serum.


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SALEM - The woman found dead off Egypt Road Monday morning has been identified at Ardes Bauman, 60, of Salem.
Perry Township Police Chief Mike Emigh said Tuesday dental records have confirmed Bauman's identity.
She was also the owner of the minivan police had found parked on the side of Egypt Road. The minivan is currently in police custody for evidence.
Emigh said the coroner's office handled notifying Bauman's relatives, who lived in other jurisdictions.
The cause of death has not yet been determined. Emigh said he will not release further information until the coroner's office makes a conclusive decision about the cause of death.
A patrolman on Egypt Road found Bauman's vehicle at 9:30 a.m. Monday. The body was found soon after.
Emigh, who was out of town at a homeland security event, came back to assist in the investigation. Police also utilized the Bureau of Criminal Information and Investigation, as well as the State Fire Marshal's investigator.


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Visitors bureau redesigns its Web presence
A link on the home page takes visitors to a brief photo gallery of places and events in the area so they can see what there is to do.
Winchester — The biggest lifeline the Winchester-Frederick County Convention and Visitors Bureau has to the rest of the world is its website.
That lifeline became a little stronger Thursday when the…
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The judge in the George Zimmerman case ruled that the identities of potential jurors will be kept confidential.
During jury selection next week, potential jurors only will be referred to by their jury numbers.
Related: Zimmerman defense wants certain words kept out
The judge also prohibited photographers from taking photos of potential jurors during jury selection.
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.


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Top Definition
Tired, Wired and Weird. Usually a state of being after a significant period of partying.
We are going to be hella tweird after this weekend.
от myco2012 08 октомври 2011
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
That was weird.
Tweird man!
от Natarooski 24 януари 2013
A kid 11 to 12 years old who is not quite a teenager who we refer to as a "TWEEN" (meaning in between child and teen). They are starting puberty which makes them "WEIRD". Thus they are a TWEIRD!
OMG my daughter is always talking about boys and she is so spacey lately. What am I going to do, she is such a tweird?!
от BabyChaun 14 септември 2011
something that is tite and weird
от liljayhawkboyy 18 май 2008


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The Village Family Services 6736 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Suite 200 North Hollywood, CA 91606
Irma Seilicovich is COO and co-founder of The Village Family Services, a nonprofit that works primarily with children exposed to trauma, in North Hollywood, CA. Ms. Seilicovich has been actively working in the mental health field for over 20 years with a focus on children and families who have been victims of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Formerly coordinator for the Trauma Center at Children's Institute Inc. and a current member of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), Ms. Seilicovich continues her association with the NCTSN while implementing evidence-based trauma treatment for children at The Village Family Services.
1800 S. Brand Blvd, #123 Glendale, CA 91225
Lisette Rivas-Hermina has been a senior training specialist at the Children's Institute, Inc. She now works as a consultant and trainer for Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) in Los Angeles. She remains involved with NCTSN activities to promote the use of evidenced-based trauma treatment for children and their families. Ms. Rivas-Hermina provides treatment to children and their families in Spanish and English in her private practice using both TF-CBT and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy.
Rady Children's Hospital 3020 Children's Way, MC 6024 San Diego, CA 92123
Robyn Igelman has been the treatment outcome coordinator with the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. She now works within the Developmental Services Department as the regional coordinator for First 5 Healthy Development Services in the North Coastal regions of San Diego county. She remains active with NCTSN activities focused on partnering with youth and families and the zero to six population.
The Treatment and Services Adaptation (TSA) Center for Resiliency, Hope, and Wellness in Schools will: 1) serve as the primary resource site for schools to access trauma-related products and training through the NCTSN; 2) develop and disseminate school-based, trauma-informed interventions to improve schools' understanding of and responses to trauma; and 3) create technology-enhanced tools and materials for broader dissemination in schools. Given the broad array of traumas experienced by students, and in an effort to help meet the training and service needs of each school, the center will address all types of trauma. The center will also partner with the NCCTS and its member and alumni sites to build resilience in schools by preparing and educating school personnel to be responsive to the needs of children and families with seamless, accessible, and effective services that involve all members of the school community. Additionally, the center will fill critical gaps by providing widespread access to, training in, and implementation support for materials and resources including: 1) enhancing the expertise of school personnel in the prevention-recovery continuum (including violence and bullying prevention) and in using the methodology in the Listen, Protect, and Connect — Model & Teach Psychological First Aid for Children (endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education) for school crisis intervention; 2) addressing the lack of evidence-based programs in schools with minimal mental health resources by disseminating the teacher-led Support for Students Exposed to Trauma (SSET) program, and by developing a self-guided Web-based Student Trauma Resiliency Curriculum (STRC) program for older middle and high school students; 3) extending the reach of school-based trauma interventions to address the needs of elementary-age students by incorporating the Bounce Back program; and 4) identifying and addressing the needs of particularly vulnerable students such as LGBT youth.
The Community Trauma Treatment Center for Runaway and Homeless Youth uses knowledge about trauma to transform service delivery to homeless youth ages 13-21 in the Hollywood community. This work includes the implementation of evidence- and practice-based clinical treatment; the development, implementation, and evaluation of trauma-informed services; and capacity-building activities directed at direct care and clinical staff. The Division of Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is the lead agency and is collaborating with four community Agencies—Covenant House California, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, the Los Angeles Youth Network, and My Friend's Place—and other agencies within the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership. In addition to the work done to improve local services for homeless youth, the Community Trauma Treatment Center for Runaway and Homeless Youth is developing products and training curricula (including web-based training) and is partnering with national technical assistance organizations to transform services for homeless youth nationally.
The Chadwick Trauma-Informed Systems Dissemination and Implementation Project (CTISP-DI) will be created by the Chadwick Center for Children and Families and the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC) to meet the needs of child abuse victims served by Child Protective Services and Child Welfare (CW) services across the nation. The center—in cooperation with the NCCTS, other select US Treatment and Services Adaptation (TSA) Centers and Community Treatment and Services (CTS) Centers, NCTSN committees, and CW and mental health organizations providing trauma treatment nationwide—will lead the transformation of public CW agencies into trauma-informed systems. CTISP-DI will translate the Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Conceptual Framework developed by CTISP into a systems-level intervention with multiple components including training, consultation, and ongoing support using the Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice Toolkit and the revised version of the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit (also developed as part of CTISP), among other tools. The CTISP-DI Trauma-Informed Child Welfare System Intervention will be disseminated to at least six CW systems in the United States to help them become supercommunities that fully implement the intervention at a true performance level. These evolved, trauma-informed CW systems will then reach thousands of children and families, and will serve as exemplars for their states and the nation while helping to lead the movement to true trauma-informed practice. The CTISP-DI will help to change the wider community CW system into a multidimensional, evidence-based, trauma-informed system that is better able to meet the unique needs of children and families involved in the CW system.


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Cleveland Indians Steve Kinsella of Wahoo's On First talks about why the Indians should pursue outfielder Marlon Byrd.
"But in spite of his struggles, signing Marlon Byrd would be a low-cost gamble who could help the Indians right away. Byrd would give the Tribe a more potent right-handed outfielder than Aaron Cunningham, whose role at this point is to be a late-game defensive replacement for Johnny Damon or Shelley Duncan. He has appeared in 34 games (just 14 starts) and is hitting .200/.284/.233. Perhaps more significantly in terms of his role with Cleveland, he has failed to produce against left handed pitching, hitting .172 (5-for-29). Like Cunningham, Byrd is a right-handed hitters who plays all three outfield position. He has a history of success against southpaws with a career .283/.338/.443 triple-slash, and even through his struggles this year he's managed to put up an impressive .327/.353/.408 line against left-handed pitching in 2012. He turns 35 at the end of August so he is well suited for a part-time role as a traditional fourth outfielder, which the Indians lack right now."
Cleveland Cavaliers Conrad Kaczmarek at Fear the Sword goes over some of the free agent options for the Cavs this offseason.
"Omer Asik, Chicago Bulls: Asik has been a name that has been linked to the Cavaliers for a while now. Asik is a young big man that plays superb defense. He was basically the anchor of the Bulls bench unit which was among the best defensive groups in the entire league. He's just 25 years old and it's not easy to find 7-footers that protect the rim quite like he can. He is incredibly raw on offense, but that's not why we'd want him. Two problems with signing Asik: 1) His limited offensive game means that Cleveland would need some sort of scoring threat in the post. Having a big man rotation of Asik, Tristan Thompson, and Anderson Varejao would be elite defensively, but incompetent on offense. 2) He was drafted in the second round and therefore falls under the Gilbert Arenas Rule. That means he is a restricted free agent and can only be offered $5 million per year from any team. The Bulls have a chance to re-sign him, but are pretty far over the salary cap. It may come down to whether they want to keep Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. Delonte West, Dallas Mavericks: I'm not sure how he left things with the Cavaliers, but West had some solid years in Wine and Gold. West has also expressed interest in staying in Dallas, but as they turn their attention to Deron Williams, the Cavaliers may be able to bring West back. If the Cavaliers don't draft a starting caliber shooting guard, they could do a lot worse than Delonte West. West has been a plus-defender throughout his career and has the ability to handle the ball well enough to play some backup point."Have a post that you think should be featured in our daily Blog Roundup? Email the link here. You can also follow Glenn on Twitter.


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Economic downturn affects giving to and from churches
A poor economy hurts more than places where people work.
Places of worship can also feel the pinch in several ways.
Thirty-eight percent of churches reported a decline in general giving in 2009 compared with 2008, according to State of the Plate research recently released by Maximum Generosity and Christianity Today International.
It also found that 31 percent of churches increased their benevolence giving to help people in the church and community facing critical financial needs.
Pastors in the Erie area reported mixed results in these tough economic times.
Some churches are seeing fewer donations while others have received more requests for help, usually financial rather than spiritual.
"We would love to see it translate into more people coming in (to worship)," the Rev. Donald Hornsby said.
He's the pastor of South Harborcreek United Methodist Church in Harborcreek Township and Kingsley United Methodist Church in Erie.
They haven't seen spikes in attendance, but have received more calls from people needing financial assistance, he said. And the Harborcreek congregation has continued its collection for a food bank to feed the hungry.
Hornsby said some churches in the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church had to cut back. But so far he hasn't seen a decrease in collections at his own churches, he said.
Information on how to manage finances from a biblical perspective has helped. Hornsby also has emphasized the need to give despite the economic downturn.
It has had a negative effect on overall giving, said the Rev. J. Kenneth Laber, chairman of the Erie Lutheran Parish Stewardship Committee. But he said he's also seen some individuals grow in their giving as a response to the needs of others.
Laber also said that people without money can give their time and talent to churches.
"There are many other ways to give," he said.
"Giving on a fixed income" is the topic of a workshop that will be part of a stewardship seminar Laber's committee is presenting this month at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Erie.
Although church attendance may not have increased with the financial struggles, Laber said church leaders have grown in their commitment to keeping churches alive.
He's also noticed a resiliency in people. They won't let economic troubles get them down, and their faith is helping with that attitude, Laber said.
Another local congregation tapped into the enthusiasm over a recent merger to achieve a good financial year in 2009 despite the economy.
New Hope Presbyterian Church formed from the merger of Sarah Hearn and Perkins Presbyterian churches in October 2008, about 10 months after the recession began.
The congregations had been aging and dwindling, with Sarah Hearn in an old building its members couldn't afford to keep up. They moved into the newer Perkins site, and the new church has been growing.
The Rev. Dwayne Cole said that because of the congregation's enthusiasm, New Hope took in more money in 2009 than anticipated or spent.
DANA MASSING can be reached at 870-1729 or by e-mail.


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When you enter Historic Jonesborough, Tennessee, you're taking a journey into the past. A unique 18th century town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Tennessee, Jonesborough's natural beauty, charming architecture, and storytelling heritage have attracted visitors worldwide. Centrally located in Northeast Tennessee among Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol, there is always something going on.
As you walk along Jonesborough's well preserved Main Street, you easily drop back in time to the days of Daniel Boone, Andrew Jackson, David Crockett, John Sevier and the many other historic figures that lived in or around Jonesborough. Learn about the State of Franklin, the first attempt of statehood after the American Revolution; and the Emancipator, the first publication in the country solely supporting the abolition of slavery. Jonesborough's wonderful history makes it a perfect vacation destination as you travel in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Because there are so many interesting tales, it doesn't take long to see why Jonesborough is the Storytelling Capital of the World and the home of the International Storytelling Center. Stay a day, a week or forever, and create your own stories in beautiful Historic Jonesborough.


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+ New/Updated + Top Stories + Search/Filter + Statistics + Invite Author + Report Bug + Control Panel + Author List + Story List +
| Harry Potter and the Heir of Merlin
by -> hermionestar14
Reviews (389) | Updated : 29/05/05 | Published : 22/06/04 | Romance/None | Rating: PG
This chapter was posted on: 22/06/04
It was a hot and lazy day at Privet Drive, and even the bees seemed to be going in slow motion. A fourteen year old boy named Harry Potter was slaving away over his Aunt Petunia's flower bed, spreading manure around the charming, colorful plants. He straightened up and his back gave a loud crack. He glanced longingly at the orange popsicle his fat cousin Dudley was slurping up, and wished he could take it and shove it up the lardy pig's behind. But he knew that if he did anything of the sort, he'd be thrown out of Dudley's second bedroom and locked in his cupboard with bread and water for the rest of the summer.
Harry's beautiful, emerald eyes scanned the backyard and something strange caught his eye. An extremely small owl was out in broad daylight, struggling with an extremely large parcel.Owl post. Traditional for wizards...and Harry was a wizard...maybe one of the greatest of all time...at least in his future he could be.
The suffering bird came to a rest on the sill of Harry's open window.
"Harry Potter! Get back to work you filthy, little mongrel!" his aunt screamed. "Dudley, would you like another lemon pop?" Obviously, Dudley had gone off his diet, Harry thought.
Harry rolled his eyes and went back to work. He knew he'd have to wait to get up to his room to see who the parcel was from. While Dudley's mother got him another lemon pop, and cooed and fawned over him, Harry thought about the past 14 years with the Dursley's.
They had not been easy. Harry's parents had been killed when he was just one year old, by the most infamous and powerful wizards in the books... Lord Voldemort. And somehow miraculously, Harry had escaped him, but with a souvenir of Voldemort's curse...a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Ever since Harry had gotten his letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he had four adventure packed years behind him, where he had encountered Voldemort once each time and come out alive. His most recent year, his fourth year, Harry had played an unwilling role in bringing Voldemort back to his form.
Although Harry was a hero at his school and in the wizarding world, here, at 4 Privet Drive, the Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley, his closest relatives, treated him like no more than dirt. When Harry stumbled into the house, covered in sweat, dirt and manure, he did not receive a pat on the back, nor an offering of ice cold lemonade, but a shrill cry from his aunt and a reprimand from his beefy Uncle Vernon to stop tracking dirt into the house. And Harry wished that he didn't have kin like the Dursleys.
Harry tiptoed up the steps of the house, so as not to receive another rebuke from his uncle and quicly took a cool shower and changed into a horrible neon orange and mustard yellow checked sweater that reminded him painfully of his friend Hagrid and Hagrid's horrible hairy suit and tie. He would have even taken some of his old friend's rock cakes right now, just to fatten him up a bit, he thought, as he rolled the edges of the sleeves over six times and fastened a leather strap aroung the huge brown pants to hold them up. Not that anyone would see how far down my pants hang, he thought, since the sweater almost touches my knees.
Suddenly, Harry remembered the owl in his room, and dashed in. The owl was sitting in a dignified position on his bedspread. Harry quickly released the letter from the owl's leg and sent the owl off on his next journey.
Harry quickly unfolded the letter and glanced at the bottom of the letter and grinned so widely, he thought his face would crack.


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"Finally," he said at the 11th Annual Young Hollywood Awards Sunday in Santa Monica, where he was named artist of the year. "Once and for all" he'll speak directly about the topic.
But the winner of American Idol, Kris Allen, 23, is already speaking out in support of his good friend and runner-up, praising Lambert for his openness.
"I think he's happier that he can be himself and it's nice," Allen says of Lambert, 27, stepping out with his friend Drake LaBry. "Adam is who he is and he's not afraid. I support him in whatever he does."
Allen, back in Los Angeles Sunday to sing the national anthem at game 2 of the Lakers-Magic NBA championship series, says that he has met LaBry, and, "he's a really nice guy."
Allen calls Lambert and LaBry's friendship a "cool combination," because they're so different. "Drake's from Louisiana and Adam is from L.A.," he says. "But they click well and they're really nice together."
Enjoying the SpotlightMeanwhile, Allen looked relaxed an hour before singing the national anthem, which he executed to perfection, drawing a huge ovation from the Staples Center crowd, which included Rihanna, Diddy, Simon Baker and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Allen's wife Katherine joined him at the game, which the Lakers won, and she has been with him for the past couple of weeks. "[Winning Idol] has completely changed our lives," Allen says. "She is happy to be here and supporting me and she is just as excited as I am."
And the couple have even more good news to share, as Allen has officially inked a record deal with 19 Recordings and Jive Records.
"I'm really looking forward to what is next," Allen said in a statement about the deal. "I'm very grateful to be working with Simon Fuller and his team at 19 Entertainment, along with Barry Weiss and Jive Records on my debut album. Everyone's been asking me what it's going to sound like. It will be very similar to what you heard from me on the show – definitely in the pop/rock genre. I can't wait to get started!"
With his debut album due in the fall, Allen – along with Lambert and the rest of season 8's top 10 – is gearing up for the Idols Live Tour, which opens July 5 in Portland, Ore.
But Allen says his wife won't be following him on the road. "She's going to come to a couple of shows," he says, "but then she is going to go home and hang out with friends and family."


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Cursed Treasure Level Pack
DescripciónTake on the role as the evil overlord of the orcs, demons and the undead and protect you gems from being stolen by the righteous heroes.
HackBuilding towers gives gold - Using spells gives mana.
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Top Definition
something that makes you feel as good or better than when you have an orgasm...xD
starburst is orgasmic.
taking a pee or a shit is orgasmic.
hugs are orgasmic.
streching is orgasmic.
taking a pee or a shit is orgasmic.
hugs are orgasmic.
streching is orgasmic.
by krazi daisey !!~!! bo's clone...tihehehe January 19, 2003
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
Totally unrelated to and having nothing to do with sex, but almost as pleasurable and fun or important to you as gettin it on.
Have you seen my newest painting? It's orgasmic?
You should really check out that orgasmic book.
Your bod is orgasmic.
You should really check out that orgasmic book.
Your bod is orgasmic.
by Alex Keys August 06, 2005
A word that describes something that brings you great joy.
I'm telling you Staff Sargeant Bohannon ain't no more orgasmic job in the Corps than artillery...VT frag over a herd of water buffalo...White Phosphorous on a VC vill....fleshettes nailing a Cong to a Banyan tree. Semper-friggin'-fi!
by harry flashman July 10, 2003
something that is unbelievably pleasurable that it reminds you of an orgasm or something you take great pleasure in doing/eating/looking at
girl one: Oh my god isnt johnny depp just orgasmic in pirates of the caribbean?
girl 2: Oh my god..yes!
girl 2: Oh my god..yes!
by chatz macjones October 06, 2005
Super sexy, super awesome, super arousing
Mallory Lynn
by aka Baby October 25, 2003
Something that is so good that it figuratively (or literally) gives you an orgasm.
The woman serving the meals was so hot that she was orgasmically good looking.
by Darth Kiljoy June 26, 2006
giving extreme pleasure
Russell Watson
by Anonymous August 23, 2003


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If ordered today, we estimate your order will be printed, packed and ready for shipment on Wednesday, September 28.
Starfish Toasting Flutes
Item Number: DWH20657
Description and Details
The romance of your beach theme wedding is captured on these toasting flutes' starfish and shell design. The white porcelain stems are accented with glitter for sparkle. Personalization not available on these flutes. Sold per set of 2.
- Size: 9 1/2" tall


text:
I posted the below already in the discussion thread on Ken's decision to shut down the message boards on this site, but wanted to post an add'tl heads up for folks here, in Midwest area.
An understandable, even if SAD, decision by Ken re: closing the message board operation of this site. People don't really understand how complex running a LARGE board like this can be.
FWIW, for those in the Midwest area around Detroit (especially those attending the "special event" soon coming up) I may be able to offer a partial replacement for the loss of this website's message boards, on the site we've been building.
It will IN NO WAY EVER be as massive and comprehensive as THIS site has been (taking on covering the whole country? No thanks) but rather will be LOCALLY focused and "real world" not only "online" in nature.
Full details will be available to discuss with those attending the EVENT… and/or by contacting me via the Detroit Blackjack Team (dot com) either the webmail form or comment in the blog section.
Thanks KEN for all you've done on this site and best of variance (not luck!) in all your endeavors in the future!
Not sure if you're right Spaw, as I don't see anything specific enough in what I wrote that reveals anything related to DAY or TIME or even exact LOCATION of any event in question.
Those who know about it, know what I mean and I think those who don't know anything, still don't know anything specific enough that'd be useful to them.
That said, however… if any principals involved object to what I've written it will be promptly edited of course.
Full speed ahead Buddy, the idea and implimentation for the Midwest Website will be of great news to all the Midwest AP's!
This was going to be revealed at the upcoming event, the timing is great.
DBJT, make sure that the site is posted clearly please.
The site will include a member only section for those who it is felt are serious players, with experience, and TRUSTWORTHY and LOYAL to one another. This has been in the planning stages by the DBJT for some time and I wholly endorse it.
The timing could not be better
Thanks, DBJT!!
Thanks CP, you're truly a Gentleman and a Scholar
RE: for the benefit of the "general public" readership who may be unaware (now and for future reference, when this-here board is closed and this message exists only in archive) the website in question is:
At the moment it's a private members-only site with FORUM and WEBMAIL and BLOG and DOWNLOADS etc, which I've been in the process of building up, to hopefully make it suitable to serve a larger membership than it has in the past. (Previously this was just a small private space used by the small team that I've played with, off and on, over the last couple years…)
It's actually not QUITE ready for prime time, however, so this announcement IS a little premature. But, yes, since Ken's decided to close his board now, I will try and move things forward faster.
My plans for this site ARE a bit different than anything that's been done in this area in the past, however… details of which will probably be discussed at the 'event' and, later, on the board itself. Again, anyone active as an AP in the Midwest who's interested in learning more, email me using the mail form on main page of the site…
Quote: BrianCP said:
I'm going to lose contact with all of the midwest APs before I get my bankroll together! I hope I can find you guys in the future, CP and southpaw and everyone else.
Just remember, "Detroit Black Jack Team,,DBJT"
My best to you young man
Thanks again for the pointer CP
Also FYI guys… if you'd like to just keep informed in a general way about what we're doing over there, in the future, without being actively involved (perhaps you're interested in team play but not currently living in Midwest/Detroit area) you can also just add an email address to our contact list using the Email Manager link on the main page.
I just got that set up a few weeks ago and it's a nice system for managing your own email contact on our list: you can add or remove your own info at any time and all it does is put in a line in a text file I maintain stored on the server… no auto-reply or confirm or anything like that. It just adds or removes your email address from a simple text file list.
I'll be using that list from time to time to post a newsletter or just simple announcement type messages — obviously nothing *proprietary* but just some of the appropriate "public facing" stuff re: the website and things like that… just another way folks from here can maybe stay connected.
Aha… one caveat however, if you will.
Please only sign up IF you are actually in the SE-Michigan, Midwest, Detroit area OR living elsewhere but still actually PLAY in the Detroit-area and this region's casinos a substantial amount of time out of the year.
While I'd love to be able to offer memberships for just *everyone* (like the pros on this board living in Vegas and etc) this site IS going to be more focused on real world activities of team-players in this area… so I can't approve memberships for just *anyone* at the moment
A different kind of "General" membership as team ASSOCIATE is something I plan for the future too, but that needs to be discussed among the CORE members first (coming soon).
If you fall into that category, please just add your email address to our mailing list from the Mailing List Manager link on the main site page, for the time being, and I'll be in touch with you that way at a later date regarding this option…
Hi Sonny:
Re: website design, do you mean the overall site or just the phpBB forum style?
The FORUM style is based on an old but "abandoned" style called Semi-Green that I've updated and adapted into this blackjack customization. It was a PITA to do, actually, as the original author of Semi-Green did not want to have anything to do with resurrecting his style, LOL, so I couldn't get any answers to any of my questions
The overall site design/style is all my own however… except for the graphic of the blackjack table which I cribbed from another site actually (but still cleaned up and improved a bit, I think, with the edge fading and etc…)
The rounded corners stuff used on many pages is another bit of (apparently) abandoned JavaScript from here: http://www.ruzee.com/ and I've also adapted the blog section skin/style to kind of look like that, from another WordPress skin.
All in all, it's kind of a hodge podge of bits of code and graphics that I've put together from a variety of places, but still overall "original" in final effect, I think.
Curious really IF it DOES look like some other site after all, given it's been put together from so many different sources (Frankenstein site? LOL)
Quote: DBJT said:
Curious really IF it DOES look like some other site after all, given it's been put together from so many different sources (Frankenstein site? LOL)
I was going to say, it is a very distinctive site design. That's why I was surprised that it looked familiar. It looks good though. I think all of the elements work together well. Navigation is easy and intuitive too.
I was just curious if your team is affiliated with those other groups or any of their people. Are you familiar with them?
Quote: Sonny said:
I was just curious if your team is affiliated with those other groups or any of their people. Are you familiar with them?
Well probably shouldn't say one way or the other on a public message, y'know, but I guess maybe sub-conciously some other older site's design could have stuck in my head and influenced me somehow, as I was pulling the bits together for this design?
Yeah… that's the ticket. Sounds reasonable to me
Quote: Sonny said:
That website looks very familiar. Maybe it's just a popular template. Is that group affiliated with the old Carnivore Investment Strategies group? Or any of it's previous incarnations (Duke team, CardCountersCafe team, etc.). Is NC still involved?
Last I heard he disappeared.
Extra "Heads Up" for Midwesterners…
The BlackjackInfo Knowledge Base contains over 200,000 messages posted by the BlackjackInfo community.
Posting and replies to the knowledge base are no longer available, but comments and replies are welcomed on the blog.


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Joe Reed of Altoona didn't think much of it when his friend in Alabama showed him a ballfield before he flew home to Pennsylvania.
"You've seen one ballfield, you've seen them all,'' Reed said, not thinking too much of the Miracle League ballfield his friend had shown him.
Once he got home, Reed saw an article in his Kiwanis magazine about the same kind of ballfield. About the same time, he heard about some money available through the Pittsburgh Pirates organization to help build the same kind of field.
Article Photos
Mirror photo by Mary Haley
Robin McClure of Altoona and her son, Jorden, have been involved with the Miracle League of Blair County for several years. Jorden started playing
baseball with the league when he was about 5, usually with his older brother, Zach, or his older sister, Brittany, teaming with him as his buddy.
Too many coincidences for Reed.
"I thought, 'I'm supposed to do this,''' he said. What he ended up doing is pitching the start of Miracle League of Blair County to fellow Kiwanians.
The league played its first game in July 2007.
Miracle League got its start in Conyers, Ga., in 1997 when a young boy in a wheelchair wanted to play baseball. Children with special needs are matched with healthy kids, their "buddies,'' who round the bases with them, so that for most, for the first time, they can play sports, Reed said.
"For most of them, this is it,'' he said. "Some of them do horseback riding, and some do Special Olympics, but not many.''
The local Miracle League chapter is this year's Season of Sharing designee, picked by the Altoona Mirror as a
worthy charity that readers are encouraged to send donations to help support. The league has just finished resurfacing its ballfield but needs to replenish its funds because it took money from other resources to help cover the cost of the resurfacing, Reed said.
The Season of Sharing program is the Mirror's holiday fundraiser that partners with the Central Pennsylvania Community Foundation and readers.
Past recipients include Shriners Hospital for Children, Big Brothers Big Sisters, U.S. Armed Forces Mothers and the Gloria Gates Foundation.
Reed said the league needs to make up between $10,000 and $20,000 to replace the money it spent on the resurfacing of the ballfield.
The league needed to resurface the field because the walkers and wheelchairs used by some of the players were getting caught in seams that ran through the old surface, he said.
Getting the local Miracle League off the ground wasn't hard, at least not at first, Reed said. Once he'd made his own decision to proceed, he approached the Kiwanis board with the idea.
"Almost before I got it out of my mouth, they said, 'Let's build it,'" he said.
One of the hardest parts about building a Miracle League field is usually getting the land, but that was no problem in Blair County. The local Kiwanis club already had a tract of land next door, near where the Teener League played ball.
Reed said based on research he received through Penn State Altoona, he estimated that 10,200 children with special needs in central Pennsylvania could benefit from the ballpark.
Armed with that knowledge, he began the slow process of raising money to build the park from the ground up. It took awhile, even to win over some social service agencies that serve special needs children because he had to convince them that Miracle League wasn't taking their place, he said.
"Once they realized that, then they came on board,'' he said.
Some big companies were very helpful, including Sheetz Inc., Leonard S. Fiore Inc. general contractors, Burgmeiers Hauling Inc., M&T Bank, Reliance Bank, Blair Electric Service Co., Blair Sign Co., and many other companies, Reed said. Several firms gave in-kind donations, such as Fiore and Sheetz, which provided construction workers and material free of charge.
He also credited several media outlets for helping to get out the word that the fundraising effort was underway.
In response, the donations, large and small, started coming in. Reed remembers getting the big checks, like the $25,000 donation from Walmart and the one dollar bill in an envelope that he said obviously came from a child. Finally, they had the $115,000 they needed to finish the ballpark.
"Looking back at the fundraising we did, I don't know how we raised all that money,'' he said. "It was amazing, and it's still happening today.'' Groups like the Altoona Curve baseball team continue to provide support through fundraising efforts it sponsors that are invaluable, Reed said.
The first game featured 24 players with two teams.
This past summer, the league had grown to 148 players with eight teams.
Over the years, adults have joined the ranks of
the players.
"A lot of these adults have never played baseball in their lives,'' Reed said.
Currently, there are 250 Miracle League organizations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia. The Blair County group serves much of central Pennsylvania, with some kids and their parents traveling 90 minutes to attend games because, until a newly formed organization in Indiana recently got off the ground, the closest one was in Murrysville, Reed said.
The buddies who pair up with the players range in age from 12 years old to people in their 80s, Reed said. Many of them have no connection to anyone with special needs; they just wanted to volunteer to help, he said. Once they sign up to be a buddy, the majority of them stay with the league for years, he said.
"Sometimes I think the buddies have more fun than the players,'' Reed said.
One player who has lots of fun when he's out there on the field is Jorden McClure, now 12.
"Be sure to get the half in there,'' his mom, Robin, said.
Jorden started playing in the league when he was about 5, he said.
He loves it when he's trying to outmaneuver the referees after he's hit the ball. Jorden, who has a motorized wheelchair, said they'll try to get in his way, but he just quickly dodges around them.
"The refs are so funny,'' he said. "I like bouncing up and down in my chair so that I can go faster.''
Jorden's buddies are usually his older brother, Zach, or his older sister, Brittany.
"It's a wonderful experience being involved with Miracle League,'' said Brittany, who's 20. "There's so many things that we take for granted, like walking, talking, running and dancing. This is a great opportunity to give a child the chance to play baseball when otherwise they wouldn't normally have the chance.''
Robin said she first heard about the league from a neighbor who was a board member for the league. She was excited about the idea because she didn't think Jorden would ever be able to play any sport.
Her entire family quickly got involved in the group, with her husband, Sam, a retired Altoona police officer, helping to organize the popular annual Guns N' Hoses fundraiser.
Robin, who is now a board member, credits Reed, his wife, Annette, and others for their dedication to the league, even though many, like the Reeds, don't have any children or grandchildren with special needs.
"No one gets paid, that's what makes it special,'' she said. "They're just there to see the joy in the kids' faces. Usually at every game, there's not a dry eye there. It's a very touching thing to see.''