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|Tim Thomas expects to retire following current deal
|09.15.10 at 12:33 pm ET
WILMINGTON — Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas indicated Wednesday at captain's practice that he sees himself retiring after his current deal expires. Thomas, 36, is entering the second season of a 4-year, $20 million contract signed following his Vezina season in 2008-09 season.
"If I had to speculate right now, I'd say odds are probably yeah," Thomas told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford, while also adding that how he recovers from offseason hip surgery will go a long way in determining whether he attempts to play into his 40's. Thomas will turn 39 in the last year of his deal.
"It all depends. I just had a major hip surgery. If I'm fortunate the next three years and I don't have any other injuries, it makes it easier to play another year or two," Thomas said. "If I happen to have injuries '¦ it's never easy if you want to be able to walk by the time you're done."
Thomas is shooting to be 100 percent by the time the team opens the season on October 9 in Prague. In parts of six seasons, Thomas has compiled a 126-91 record with a 2.61 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
Rob Bradford contributed to this report.
|Tim Thomas: 'My play will do the talking'
|09.13.10 at 2:24 pm ET
BOLTON — Between rehabbing from a hip injury, coming off a season in which he lost his starting job down the stretch, and trying to remain a key piece of the puzzle, Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas had plenty to talk about Monday at the team's golf tournament in Bolton.
Thomas said the hip that was operated on following the season is feeling "pretty good" and that after skating a bit last week, has "passed every test we threw at it so far." He's not sure whether he'll be cleared to go full throttle once camp opens Friday.
"I don't know," Thomas said when asked what his level of participation will be. "That's going to be up to the trainers and physical therapists. It depends on how it reacts as it's going along. You can't really make a projection at this point."
Thomas added that he and the medical staff will "evaluate it as it goes along" and that he should have a clean bill of health by the team the wheels touch down in Prague to open the season on October 9.
"That's what we're shooting for, is opening day of the regular season, 100 percent," Thomas said. It's been going pretty well. It might end up being 100 percent before that."
Much has been made about what Thomas' role with the team will be in the 2010-11 season. After getting the majority of starts in the regular season (43), Thomas saw Tuukka Rask take over as the team's starting goalie in each of the Bruins' two playoff series. The 36-year-old now must focus on proving naysayers wrong and splitting time with Rask once again.
"I thought it over over the summer, and I'm approaching it just like I did every challenge I had at every level going through," Thomas said. "It's a battle against yourself. I've proven in the past what I can do when I bring the best game that I have to the table, so it's up to me just to do that.
"I was promised the same chance [as before], and that's the way I'm approaching it," he added. "I think I will [get a chance]. My play will do the talking. It's in my hands. that's the way I look at it."
|X-Factors: Tuukka and Tim
|08.24.10 at 1:00 am ET
Each day this week, WEEI.com will be putting a player or position in the spotlight based on their 'X-factor' status entering the season. Monday, we took a look at Michael Ryder. Up next are the two men between the pipes in Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas.
Though it may be a bit strange to not consider strong goaltending to be a sure thing in Boston given the past two seasons, it is certainly worth looking into what type of production the Bruins can expect from their netminders. Each player has something big to deal with in 2010-11. For Thomas, its another year under his belt and for Rask it's the dreaded sophomore slump.
For the Bruins, and this goes against most of the fans' wishes this offseason, it would appear the right choice was made in not dealing Thomas and his $5 million salary cap hit. The fact of the matter is that though he is 36 years of age, is coming off hip surgery and did not show his Vezina form last season, Thomas is of utmost important to the Bruins' operation. He started the majority of Boston's regular season games and posted a respectable 2.56 goals against average last season. He didn't get a single start in the postseason, but he played just as big a role as Rask in getting the team there.
So why all the negativity surrounding Thomas? One would have to guess it can't be fun going into each season with fans expecting you to lose your job, something Thomas has undoubtedly had to deal with for quite some time. Though he made $1.8 million more than Rask (after the rookie's performance bonuses), evaluating the position as a whole based on cap hit would actually suggest the Bruins are paying a fair price.
Entering the coming season, the Bruins will be paying $6.25 million for a tandem that gave them a 2.33 goals against average over 82 games last season. The team's GAA was second to only the Devils. For a frame of reference regarding that $6.25 million number, that's exactly how much reigning Vezina winner Ryan Miller will be making with the Sabres next season. Though Thomas' cap hit may be alarming by itself, the Bruins are paying a manageable amount for perhaps the league's best duo in net. Read the rest of this entry »
|Quick thoughts on the Savard situation
|08.10.10 at 5:06 pm ET
It's been a long day for the Bruins, as news hit today that the NHL is indeed investigating center Marc Savard's seven-year, $28.05 million extension. The deal is perceived to be a "retirement contract," as it pays the 33-year-old veteran half its money in the first two years of the deal and the other half over the following five years, which makes for a much more affordable $4.007 million cap hit.
Hours after the news broke, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli came out with a statement in which he said that the investigation has been ongoing and that he had met with NHL lawyers as recently as last week. With the Bruins' cap situation up in the air and the team risking the loss of Savard, it might be a little too much to keep track of. Here's what we've learned today, and what it might mean for the Bruins.
– This investigation has been going on for a while, and by a while, we mean since Savard's contract was registered with the league in the first place way back in December. This means two things. First of all, this isn't some new development for the Bruins. Maybe it was the magical cap relief they were expecting all along when they made signings that in total would put them more than $3 million over the salary cap (Savard's cap hit is $4.007 million).
Secondly, it really dents the validity of rumors that the team was working on trades to move Savard out of town this offseason. In addition to there being zero concrete or validated reports of the Bruins and another team discussing a deal for the center, would it really make sense for the Bruins to shop a player knowing full well that the NHL was intent on voiding his deal? That would make the Bruins look awfully bad as a prospective trade partner for any team in the future.
– Savard is not the only one. The only reason the news came about was because Savard's investigation was listed in the footnotes of arbiter Richard Bloch's rejection of Ilya Kovalchuk's appeal. In noting why the NHL was correct in rejecting the winger's 17-year, $102 million contract with the Devils, Bloch also listed Marian Hossa, Chris Pronger and Roberto Luongo as players also being investigated.
– Yes, the Bruins have been looking to save money off the cap (they're right up against it even when factoring in the $3.5 million they will get in relief to begin the season thanks to Marco Sturm's long-term injury status), but there's no way Savard's contract could be viewed as the one that's weighing them down. In fact, the only reason this deal is being investigated is because it is so team-friendly that the NHL is trying to prevent deals like this from being made going forward.
Both Savard and Tim Thomas ($5 million cap hit in each of the next three seasons) have starred in offseason trade rumors, but their values to the team should not be overlooked. If the team does end up losing Savard for nothing, it would seemingly be a huge loss for the Bruins.
|Rask unshaken by competition, sophomore slump
|08.09.10 at 5:04 pm ET
MIDDLETON — A refreshed and eager Tuukka Rask made his first appearance around these parts in quite some time as he prepared to tee off with teammates and fans for Shawn Thornton's Putts and Punches for Parkinson's golf tournament. With last season's borderline traumatic Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Flyers in the rear view mirror and a new season just around the corner, Rask is ready to build on a 2009-10 performance that saw him become the No. 1 goaltender down the stretch.
"Things are going great. I had an awesome summer in Finland, spent a couple times there, seeing my friends and family and working out," said Rask. "Now I'm back here so it's time to get your thoughts back on the hockey season."
After playing five games in the previous two years, Rask, a former first-round pick acquired from the Maple Leafs in exchange for Andrew Raycroft, made his first real impression in the NHL last season. In splitting time with then-reigning Vezina winner Tim Thomas, Rask started 39 regular- season games and posted a 1.97 goals against average, which, like his .931 save percentage, led the NHL.
Yet as Rask, who started all 13 playoff games for the Bruins, looks to improve and further his accomplishments, he must do so knowing of the sophomore slump that has plagued Raycroft and so many goaltenders before him.
"I've heard about people talking about it," Rask said of the struggles that face second-year goalies, "but not yet in my part, but we'll see what happens. You just try to be yourself and do your best every day and when you know that you have worked hard and you've done everything you can to be at your best, there's nothing you can change and thats something I'm going to try to do. If it goes not so well, then it goes, but we'll see."
Any feared decline in Rask's performance has hardly been the only discussion that has involved the Bruins goaltending this offseason. Given Rask's emergence and Thomas' $5 million cap hit in each of the next three seasons, there has been significant chatter among the fanbase that Thomas should be considered expendable for a team that is struggling against the salary cap.
That's not how Rask sees it, however. He thrived on the competition with Thomas and maintained that having to challenge an established veteran made him better, which in turn made Thomas better.
"We had an awesome time last year," Rask said of his relationship with Thomas. "It's a fair competition for both of us and I think it's healthy for a team and for us when nobody takes anything for granted. We liked it and hopefully that continues."
Thornton, who this offseason re-upped with the Bruins on a two-year pact, can agree.
"They're both professionals," said Thornton, who noted training camp competitions are a natural part of the game. "It's the same for us. My job's not guaranteed either, so every training camp you go in fighting for a spot. I think competition's a good thing. I think it's healthy. I'm sure Tuukka knows that job isn't his and it's not going to be given to him, so that's healthy for them to push each other. We're pretty fortunate to have two No. 1 goalies as far I'm concerned."
Based on the statistics of the two, it's hard to argue with Thornton's logic. Both Thomas and Rask certainly have the pedigrees and reputations to suggest they could earn a starting job on most teams, but the younger of the two doesn't seem to care about anything but what happens on the ice each night.
"Whoever is playing good is going to play," Rask said matter-of-factly. "It doesn't matter if you've got 16,000 Vezinas or zero Vezinas, you know? That's just the way it goes on our team and that's good for everybody I think."
Rask appears to have put on a little weight, though it's nothing noticeable enough to confuse him with any of the league's bigger goaltenders. After playing last season at 171 pounds for a man who stands at 6-foot-2, any bulking up on the 23-year-old's part seems welcomed to him.
"I'm, heavier. I don't know if that's because of the workouts or the food I ate. We're getting there. I'm working out with [Bruins strength and conditioning coach] John Whitesides now so we'll see in a couple weeks what things look like."
Rask is back in the states for good until training camp opens in the middle of September. He pointed to working with Whitesides as a big reason for his early return, admitting that working out by himself isn't as productive as working with a "real trainer." Rask admitted his first full season in the NHL did feel him leaving a little rough when it came to the offseason, but as he trains for 2010-11, everything has been smooth sailing.
"I think it was about five or six weeks [after the season ended], and my body was still kind of feeling the season, but after that, everything was normal and you start doing your workouts and stuff like that and everything felt good," Rask said. "No problems, but it always takes quite a time to recover fully."
Rask signed a two-year extension with the Bruins in November and will earn $1.25 million in each of the next two seasons, at which point he will remain under the Bruins' control as a restricted free agent.
|Thomas denies waiving no-trade clause
|08.06.10 at 10:58 pm ET
LOWELL — Tim Thomas has been a lot of things in his hockey career. He's been the backup, the starter, an All-Star (twice), and a Vezina Trophy winner. Yet more recently, he's been none of those. Instead he's been seen as a contract and a perceived difficult piece for the Bruins to move.
Despite the lot of the rumors (many of which have been quite inaccurate) as the season draws nearer, it seems a foregone conclusion that Thomas and his annual cap hit of $5 million will stay in Boston, which for all intents and purposes is a good thing. Thomas has proven to be able to handle splitting time, and with Tuukka Rask entering his second full season (the NHL equivalent of the Bermuda triangle for goaltenders), having a capable veteran netminder is a big plus.
But back to the trade murmurs, accurate or not, that have ruled the town for the summer. The 36-year-old has spent the offseason hearing his name in trade rumors and reading about how he had allegedly waived his no-trade clause in order to facilitate a move out of town. On the contrary, Thomas noted Friday night that he never spoke to the Bruins about waiving his no-trade clause. In fact, he never spoke to them, period.
"I haven't talked to the team at all, except for the physical therapist that I'm dealing with in recovering from my surgery," Thomas said.
The surgery, of course, is the operation he received to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. He is 11 weeks into a recovery that required 12, so, Thomas stayed on the bench in Milan Lucic's Rock and Jock softball game for charity.
"If it was a week later, I think I'd get the clearance to play," Thomas said, "but right now I have to be a spectator."
With the offseason winding down and the storm passed regarding trade rumors, Thomas looks back on a period in which he heard so much negativity that he's glad the chatter, including more speculation that he'll see decreased playing time, has died and a new season is beginning.
"With everything that's happened I think you've just about seen it all," Thomas said of the rumors. "It's gotten just about as difficult as it can get, so it was just another summer."
Thomas told Matt Kalman of The Bruins Blog that he's not upset with the Bruins, whom he noted are his "employers," for anything in the offseason, though in reading reports and hearing what was said about him in the media, he was surprised by the validity of information that surfaced.
'There's so many little pieces of misinformation that I'm not even going to waste my time setting the record straight,' Thomas said. 'I'm just not going to discuss it anymore. As far as how hard this summer was, every summer I'm replaced as the No. 1 goalie. So it's pretty much standard course.'
The Michigan native and former University of Vermont star also told Kalman that he expects to battle Rask for the starting goaltending spot when training camp opens on September 17, saying that he doesn't "intend on backing anybody up." His words should lead some to the stat sheet, which should remind Bruins fans that despite Rask claiming the job down the stretch, it was Thomas who started the majority of the team's regular season games. Coming off his Vezina-winning 2008-09 season, Thomas went 17-18-8 last season with a 2.56 goals against average and .915 save percentage in 43 games.
The Bruins certainly have issues financially, as they will be less than $400,000 under the salary cap once they enter the season with Marco Sturm's cap relief. The trio of Thomas, Marc Savard, and Michael Ryder have been viewed as guys who may be the victim of the team's attempt to get a little breathing room from that $59.4 million wall. If they, count Thomas among those pleased.
|Slow free agency to blame for slowed trade market
|07.19.10 at 3:41 am ET
The Bruins had plans to be active in the trade market throughout the offseason, and as anyone who's seen their current cap situation could infer, they would have been in far better shape had they been able to move contracts out as they brought new ones in. Yet in all their moves thus far, they've crept closer and closer to that $59.4 million cap ceiling with moves still left to be made.
Dennis Wideman and Nathan Horton's annual cap hits were essentially a wash, with Horton ($4 million) making slightly more, but the $1.1 million Gregory Campbell will earn in each of the next two seasons, in addition to multiple re-signings made by the Bruins, has left the team looking at just over $500,000 to sign both Blake Wheeler and Tyler Seguin, neither of which could be had for such cheap money.
Though the Bruins clearly are in a predicament, it's tough to blame them. In fact, it could be argued that they have actually done the best with the situation the offseason has put them in, with free agency in particular preventing them from potentially making a deal they may be interested in.
Though Ilya Kovalchuk has gotten plenty of attention for still not having signed a deal, the fact of the matter is that the high-scoring winger is not alone is prolonged free agent status. Alexander Frolov, Lee Stempniak, Marty Turco, Paul Kariya and Maxim Afinogenov are just a few of the big names that remain on the market 20 days into free agency.
As a result, general manager Peter Chiarelli said last week to expect the Bruins to be "relatively quiet" as they wrap up Wheeler and Seguin. This means that anyone who has been strung along by each murmur of a rumored deal including Marc Savard or Tim Thomas may be disappointed. Read the rest of this entry »


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Home »» Corporate Trainer Resume
Corporate Trainer ResumeStephen Arndt
1306 Davis Avenue
San Jose, CA 95131
Career Objective: Seeking the position of Corporate Trainer in one of the most renowned companies and contribute to its successful existence. My strong skills in designing training courses and programs will be very helpful in delivering talented and skilled human resources.
Wide understanding of corporate policies and practices
Effective writing skills
Solid background in training concepts and principles
Strong research skills
Creative problem solving skills
Work Experience:
HR, Corporate Trainer, July 2009-Present
AML, Towson, MD
Developed interactive solutions to meet the customer demands.
Created pro-active programs to cater to the needs of the business.
Researched for more interventions for continuous development of the organization.
Prepared instruction of materials during trainings and workshops.
Facilitated training courses and programs.
Educated employees on the latest technology and its advantages.
Personnel Trainer, December 2007-May 2009
DGF, Bolton, MA
Provided on-the-job trainings to new workers.
Initiated the practice of job rotation so every employee will have a "hand" on the job.
Utilized interactive programs to make the activity interesting.
Facilitated field trips and other educational activities for the employees.
Assessed the training needs of the employees and designed the suited training program.
Masters Degree in Personnel Development
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
Bachelor Degree major in Organizational Design
Stanford University, Stanford, CA

subset: commoncrawl


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Less than five minutes into talking about compostable eating utensils with Diedre Tubb, the SSU senior jumps up and walks purposefully toward the dining hall. It is closed for business, but that doesn't stop her.
Diedre continues talking about the new composting program she has helped launch on campus as she walks around the Zinfandel cafeteria. To fully explain just what she means, she incorporates a lot of visuals, whether they be picking up the actual compostable utensils she is talking about or using her hands and facial expressions.
This is largely due to the fact that Diedre is deaf, with almost no hearing ability. But that hasn't stopped the Environmental Studies and Planning student from accomplishing more on campus during her last semesterthan most students do in four years.
Signing the names of certain items as she speaks, she seamlessly informs while at the same time asking very pertinent questions. It's as if her brain is ten steps ahead of the average person's.
Diedre didn't really have an educational focus until she took a class on natural resource management at SRJC, which she attended before transferring to SSU in the fall of 2010.
"It really opened my eyes to the waste management problems we have, especially here in California. Do you know it takes 22 lbs. of resources (water, soil, fertilizer) in order to make 1 lb. of food?" she asks.
Again, her effortless presentation of information is fascinating.
"I just wish it didn't take me so long to get involved in this field," she said. It's a field she clearly has a passion for, and her passion is contagious. She makes you want to jump up and start .
Tubb is interning during her final semester at SSU for Lisa Andresen, the director of Dining Services, as a Sustainability Ambassador. Together, the two have created a year-long pilot compost project entitled 'Scrap Your Waste' under the campus wide tagline of 'Compost Happens,' that launched in Zinfandel Dining Hall early February.
Andresen already had take-out containers and utensils made of corn and soy products that are compostable (although the plastic wrappers the utensils come in ironically are not) available for student use in the dining hall.
Tubb wanted to take this one step further and have a compost bin available in the dining hall for students to put the compostable containers and food scraps into in addition to the trash and recycling bins.
Housekeeping & Facilities management on campus really made it possible for Dining Services to move forward with this pilot project. They signed Zinfandel Dining Services & Residential Life up with North Bay Corporation, the company that handles waste management for Sonoma County, and hauls the waste twice a week to Carneros Ranch in Petaluma were it is then transformed into compost.
"Worms!" she says, her eyes practically glittering. "If conditions are right, with no vibrations and completely in darkness, worms will break down the food and their castings are what makes up the richness of a finished compost."
Diedre crosses her fingers as she explains if things go her way, the compost will then be hauled back here and used on campus to complete a full cycle. Even though this may not be possible at this time, for the university to even be participating in this pilot program is exceptional.
But for the time being, Diedre is focusing on how to make the students part of the composting process. Although it is largely the job of dining services employees to make sure all waste goes in to the proper bin, 'Scrap Your Waste' cannot be successful without student participation.
Diedre is extremely conscious of good communication and wants to make sure that the students who use Zinfandel Dining Hall don't feel pressured when using the new bins. She is attempting to have a person stand next to each bin to help students know where to put their scraps but worries this might not go over very well.
"I don't want them to feel judged, I just want them to know we're just here to help. But if it's not done in the right way, student won't want to participate." she says.
Although she is graduating in spring she promises to check back in next semester to see how 'Scrap Your Waste' is going. She hopes what she has had time to do here will have made a difference. If she wasn't graduating, Diedre would like to rid the campus of all plastic water bottles.
"I always hear people say, 'SSU uses so many sustainable practices. But do we really?" she says. "Chico State, UC Santa Cruz, and San Francisco State all have compost. We are behind, however, what we have going on now is happily happening."
Maybe according to Tubb's standards, but SSU has proven it is making strides to be even more 'green'. Take the launch of the paper bag campaign this month for instance. The bookstore and all on-campus dining services will begin exclusively carrying paper bags that are 100 percent recyclable and biodegradable.
Diedre aspires to be a community educator for waste management in the future. "But the approach I want to use doesn't really exist yet. I have to be creative," she says.
She especially wants to get the general public more aware of the presence of the deaf community, and make information more accessible to them.
At the moment, she is working to incorporate sign language into all of the events regarding the compost program.
Through the Sustainable Future Fund, an endowment established through a generous gift from SSU alumna Janet Siela (Management, M.A. '80), Diedre received a $500 cash award for her work on this project.
As Dr. I. King Jordan, former President of Gallaudet University said, "Deaf people can do anything but hear." Diedre is well on her way to proving this to be true.
- Kaitlin Zitelli


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Okay, I know that Steve is encouraging us to take care of the homeless, Paul is telling us that we don't have soul mates, and Rebecca is talking about Margaret Thatcher.However, I had to interrupt these important message to tell you about the most awesome fast food development since McDonald's started taking credit cards and Chick-Fil-A started using those enormous ketchup packets.Last night at Wendy's, I saw this new type of drink dispenser. (Is this what people in larger cities have … [Read more...]
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Before you gripe at your mom, or resent the expensive presents your rich brother-in-law buys, read this. … [Read more...]
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If you're teaching your kids about Santa, you're afraid that your children will meet one of those kids in school or on the playground. You know the kind... the ones who purposefully burst the holiday bubble by telling everyone Santa is a conspiracy theory at worst or a myth at best?On the flip side, if you're not raising kids who believe in the big fat man with the red suit, you fear your kids will be the one to ruin it for the rest of the class.How should we -- as parents -- deal with … [Read more...]
Be Fruitful and Multiply
Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov writes this about children: Their first-nature is based on us.This is one reason why the biblical verse says "be fruitful and multiply"—"be fruitful" means to have kids; "multiply" means that you are multiplying. By you having children, there are going to be more yous in the world—more people walking around with your values, your thoughts, your attitudes, your actions, and your reactions.You are making carbon copies of yourself.Therefore, being a parent isn't abo … [Read more...]
The New Definition of "Equality"
... is "men and women are equal — except for all the ways in which women are superior."Carrie Lukas asks, is this the best way to raise our sons? … [Read more...]
Drumroll, Please
Though the women on this blog are not professional book reviewers, we do enjoy reading, we value books, and we want to be able to tell the world when a story really touched us. (Or, less frequently, when one didn't.) Please join us as we tackle life, one page at a time… at our new "sister" blog to "What She Read!" … [Read more...]


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The new fun way to get creative! Take art to the next level and bring it to life with IDO3D! Draw in 3D and create amazing multi-colour 3D masterpieces! Draw, set and connect using the UV light included, you can even draw in the air. Design like a pro with the 3D templates and accessories included, or let your imagination run free.
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Love Your Enemies
Trip Start Jan 03, 2011
38Trip End Mar 26, 2011
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Today, we met with the founder and president of Holy Land Trust, which is where I'm volunteering, named Sami Awad. He is a Palestinian Christian, but he's also a US citizen. He was actually born in Kansas City and then his family moved back to Bethlehem. He is truly an extraordinary man. We've had two sessions with him now, and he's probably one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. He is compassionate, honest, sincere, open, empathetic, personable and just the definition of love. I encourage all of you to google him or maybe search his name on youtube and watch some of his interviews or lectures, because he is an incredible human being. He really walks the walk and lives his own message, which is nonviolent resistance, and this is so rare in our world today.
One idea that really stood out to me from Sami's talk today was when he brought up Jesus' message, "Love your enemies." I've heard this a million times growing up reading the Bible and in Sunday School. I find it to be a pretty universal idea in most religions, and it has always been explained to me on a level that kids my age would understand. The examples usually varied, but the lesson was always the same. However, when Sami brought that same idea up today that I've heard so many times, it struck me in an entirely new way. When Jesus says this in Matthew 5, he doesn't say "try to love your enemies" or "work on loving your enemies." It is a very clear and simple statement, "Love your enemies." It's a demand, it isn't optional. He also doesn't say "love your enemies after they love you first" This is I think is what most of us fall into. We love those who love us, and if someone hates us, then we don't love them. I know I definitely fall into this. I'm not aware of any one individual hating me, but for political leaders that hate or threaten America, I definitely don't make any effort to love them. When Taliban or Al Queda leaders threaten the West, my first reaction is NOT to see them as a child of God. But isn't this exactly what Jesus is asking us to do? If Jesus came in contact with Osama Bin Laden, what would he do? He would love him just like he loved everyone he met, regardless of class, race, or past discretions. He was the true essence of Divine Love, and this is what we are DEMANDED to act upon. Of course, loving someone doesn't mean excusing what they've done. Jesus always held those he healed accountable for their past. These people usually had to take some sort of action to accept their healing or to repent in a way. But love was at the root of it all. I find this so incredibly relevant to the situation here in the Holy Land. This is a conflict revolving around fear and victimization. The Israelis are terrified of the Arab world, particularly the Palestinians, and have been the victim for thousands of years. The Palestinians are scared of Israel and that eventually they will be forced off their land all together, and they definitely feel like the victim of the Occupation. Both sides have valid justification for both their fears and their sense of victimization, but what is the solution? What if they both internalized this idea of loving their enemy? Not waiting until the other side loved them first, but taking a risk and breaking the cycle of violence and fear to bring real love into the situation. What an incredible effect this would have...and what an opportunity for all of us to reevaluate whether we are really living this message on a daily basis!
Ok, enough with the religious and philosophical, here's a funny story from this past Saturday: The language barrier here isn't really as rough as other places. I think I can actually get around here better than I could in France, just because so many people speak english, or at least enough to get by. But what's really great is when we are trying to talk to two people or more, they will start correcting each other and argue over which word, pronunciation, or grammatical structure is right. Of course no one ever asks US which is right, they just argue amongst themselves. It's really hilarious to watch. So when we were touring around villages surrounding Bethlehem on Saturday, we had our regular guide, Elias, who's coordinating everything for us while we here, and a guest guy, Marwan, who is very familiar with all the villages. Elias definitely has the better english of the two, but he's pretty quiet and polite so he doesn't argue with people over this kind of stuff. But Marwan is the opposite, very outspoken and he gets excited pretty easily. So when we were in one town, we saw a tree with little green fruit on it and asked Elias what they were. He said "It's a fig!" Then Marwan said, "No!! It's delicious!" We had a great laugh about that one for quite a while… :)


text:
Difficulty:: Very Easy
Mod Status:: Weekly
Apply In:: CWM Recovery
Requires Root:: Yes
Mod Type:: ROMDifficulty:: Very EasyMod Status:: WeeklyApply In:: CWM RecoveryRequires Root:: YesSource::
MIUI.us Is Proud To Present
MIUI v4.1 2.12.7 for Galaxy Nexus(Verizon)
Installation Instructions
- Place ROM zip file in your SD card
- Boot into recovery
- Create a backup
- Fatory reset device
- Install zip from SD card
- Reboot and enjoy!
Please do not mirror or link my downloads, just link back to this thread.
4.1.2-2.12.7 - Download MD5: 69b44d283f47defd62422ae5a190e2f8
A standard set of gapps is included w/ this ROMJB Gapps, in case we missed something Gapps DownloadNot Working:It may show blank screen during boot for about 20 seconds, this is OK
Old Builds
My downloads are now hosted on goo.im
Check out the MIUI changelog here
ROM Ported from official MIUI-China weekly release by Project_Fien_X and Magiman7
Edited by hoppermi, 09 December 2012 - 07:03 PM.


text:
Extended Stay America Los Angeles - Torrance Del Amo Circle
Select your stay dates to check availability at Extended Stay America Los Angeles - Torrance Del Amo Circle
Extended Stay America Los Angeles - Torrance Del Amo Circle
About the Hotel
Property Location
With a stay at Extended Stay America Los Angeles - Torrance Del Amo Circle in Torrance (Beach Cities), you'll be minutes from Del Amo Fashion Center and close to Hopkins Wilderness Park. This aparthotel is within close proximity of Riviera Health Spa and Wilson Park.
Make yourself at home in one of the 139 air-conditioned rooms featuring kitchens with full-sized refrigerators/freezers and stovetops. 32-inch flat-screen televisions with cable programming provide entertainment, while complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected. Conveniences include desks and microwaves, as well as phones with free local calls.
Make use of convenient amenities, which include complimentary wireless Internet access and discounted use of a nearby fitness facility.
A complimentary continental breakfast is served daily.
Business, Other Amenities
Featured amenities include a 24-hour front desk, laundry facilities, and a safe deposit box at the front desk. Free self parking is available onsite.
Hotel Facilities
- Free WiFi
- Use of nearby fitness center (discount)
- Laundry facilities
- Coffee/tea in common areas
- Number of floors - 3
- Free self parking
- Elevator/lift
- Free breakfast
- Total number of rooms - 139
- 24-hour front desk
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Year Built 1999
Room Facilities
- Coffee/tea maker
- Free local calls
- Hair dryer
- Phone
- Refrigerator
- Private bathroom
- Air conditioning
- Flat-panel TV
- Premium TV channels
- Free WiFi
- Desk
- Iron/ironing board
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Cable TV service
- Cookware, dishware, and utensils
- Stovetop
- Shower/tub combination
- Kitchen
- Full-sized refrigerator/freezer
- Weekly housekeeping provided
- Free toiletries
- Microwave
Hotel Policy
Know Before You Go
- Children 17 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding.
- Guests can arrange to bring pets by contacting the property directly, using the contact information on the booking confirmation (surcharges apply and can be found in the Fees section).
The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.
- Pet fee: USD 25 per pet, per day (maximum USD 150 per stay)
- Weekly housekeeping provided; fees apply for additional cleaning
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
Mandatory Fees and Taxes
You'll be asked to pay the following charges at the property:
- Cash deposit: USD 100 per stay
We have included all charges provided to us by the property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.Show all hotel policy Show less hotel policy


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Prices for acoustic engineering work have increased due to rising demand for construction services.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) March 29, 2014
Acoustic engineering services have a buyer power score of 3.4 out of 5. This score is indicative of favorable conditions for the buyer, despite growing demand, high specialization and switching costs and a low number of substitutes in the market. According to IBISWorld research analyst Keiko Cadby, "Buyers gain advantages due to high market share concentration, stable input costs and stable financial health of acoustic engineering service providers."
In the three years to 2013, the recovering US economy has led to overall renewed funding and demand for construction and related activities, which has fueled an upward trend in prices for acoustic engineering services. The need for acoustic engineering services is anticipated to grow over the next three years, says Cadby, "due to consistent demand from downstream industrial production and construction markets, as well as greater government funding for transportation development." This demand growth has been favorable for suppliers, and prices are expected to continue rising, albeit slowly, in the three-year period through 2016. The specialized nature of acoustic engineering services that requires operators to create customized solutions for buyers restricts buyer power. The availability of substitute services is low, as projects and programs require highly skilled workers to provide acoustic engineering solutions.
However, the low market share concentration within the acoustic engineering world is favorable for buyers. Most providers are nonemployers and small companies, which compete heavily on price, driving up negotiating power for buyers. Although the market's few large companies have relatively set prices due to brand quality, the low market share concentration gives buyers a variety of options to choose from when sourcing acoustic engineering services. Buyers are encouraged to bundle their project needs from providers that can offer related services, and elicit multiple bids from vendors to increase options and bolster price competition. Current major vendors include AECOM, Fluor Corporation, Parker Hannifin and URS Corporation. For more information, visit IBISWorld's Acoustic Engineering Services procurement category market research report page.
Follow IBISWorld on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/IBISWorld.
Friend IBISWorld on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBISWorld/121347533189.
IBISWorld Procurement Report Key Topics
This report is intended to assist buyers of acoustical engineering services, including architectural and environmental acoustic consulting, mechanical services including noise and vibration, and building structural vibration services.
Executive Summary
Pricing Environment
Price Fundamentals
Benchmark Price
Pricing Model
Price Drivers
Recent Price Trend
Price Forecast
Product Characteristics
Product Life Cycle
Total Cost of Ownership
Product Specialization
Substitute Goods
Quality Control
Supply Chain & Vendors
Supply Chain Dynamics
Supply Chain Risk
Market Share Concentration
Vendor Financial Benchmarks
Switching Costs
Purchasing Process
Buying Basics
Buying Lead Time
Selection Process
Key RFP Elements
Negotiation Questions
Buyer Power Factors
Key Statistics
About IBISWorld Inc.
IBISWorld is one of the world's leading publishers of business intelligence, specializing in Industry research and Procurement research. Since 1971, IBISWorld has provided thoroughly researched, accurate and current business information. With an extensive online portfolio, valued for its depth and scope, IBISWorld's procurement research reports equip clients with the insight necessary to make better purchasing decisions, faster. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld Procurement serves a range of business, professional service and government organizations through more than 10 locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ibisworld.com or call 1-800-330-3772.


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Ok, I decided to update my phone to Froyo today through the latest version of Kies, the firmware downloads but when it comes to upgrading, it doesn't proceed, instead, my USB device apparently becomes unrecognised and the whole thing stops. Meanwhile, I restarted my phone and loaded up Kies again in attempt to try it, apparently, I had to recover the firmware or something of that sort and Kies told me to hold DOWN + MENU + POWER to get into the recovery mode. When pressing those buttons, I get the the same "Download...Do not turn off Target!!!" message instead.
Loading up "recovery mode" by pressing UP + MENU + POWER works fine though so I don't know what recovery mode Kies is talking about. Any help with upgrading to Froyo would be appreciated. Thank you.
P.S. The phone also works fine after restarting.


text:
TODAY: Tar Sands Blockade Social Media Day of Action
TransCanada has begun construction on the southern segment of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and Tar Sands Blockade has planned a social media day of action.
Below are some links you can share across the web.
Twitter handle: @KXLBlockade
Twitter page: http://twitter.com/KXLBlockade (short URL: http://bit.ly/OsU5Al )
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TarSandsBlockade (short URL: http://on.fb.me/Lkj0Rf )
Website: http://www.tarsandsblockade.org (short URL: http://bit.ly/KXLBlockade )
Join Us Page: http://tarsandsblockade.org/join-us/ (short URL: http://bit.ly/Pbqz0x )
Hashtags: #noKXL #ClimateSOS #tarsands
Texas Landowner Stops TransCanada in Their Tracks ( http://bit.ly/NiNtzW )
Why Liberals and Conservatives Agree on the Keystone XL in Texas ( http://bit.ly/SjXQ7H )
The Gulf Coast Project: A Tar Sands Pipeline from the Outset ( http://bit.ly/PjVtF1 )
Why I'm Joining the Tar Sands Blockade ( http://bit.ly/RN4uWz )
TWEETS:BREAKING: TransCanada met by @KXLBlockade protest at start of Keystone XL south construction. PICS: http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl #noKXL #ClimateSOS
BREAKING: TransCanada begins construction on southern Keystone XL. Follow @KXLBlockade for updates: http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl #noKXL
BREAKING: Keystone XL South construction is underway. But so is resistance, courtesy of @KXLBlockade: http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl #noKXL
TransCanada tried to keep Keystone XL South construction quiet. Our movement won't let them. @KXLBlockade is on site: http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl #noKXL
THIS is what it means when @KXLBlockade says 'Dont Mess With Texas' Keystone South construction begins w/protest: http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl #noKXL
TransCanada wants a dirty #tarsands pipeline built across Texas. @KXLBlockade wants it stopped. Which side are you on? http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl
#Tarsands pipelines mean more spills & climate-cooking CO2. @KXLBlockade means resistance to business as usual. #noKXL http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl
It's Texans vs. Tar Sands. Which side are you on? #noKXL http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl
Hey TransCanada, how many times do we have to say it? #noKXL: not in Texas, or Nebraska, or Canada, or anywhere. No. http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl
TransCanada has begun construction of the southern Keystone XL in Oklahoma and Texas. They tried to keep it quiet, but the Tar Sands Blockade is there to greet them.
Click like and SHARE to spread the news.
For more info: http://bit.ly/Ri2ecl


text:
Spokane Lasik - David Cohen MD - Eye ConsultantLASIK - Laser Eye Surgery
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text:
Friday Fun: Huebrix
This week's game lets you test your strategic thinking skills as you attempt to choose and then follow the correct path for each color you have to work with. Do you have what it takes to see the patterns, plan ahead, and win or will you be denied the satisfaction of victory?
There are thirty-five levels of brain twisting goodness waiting for you.
The first level serves as a basic tutorial to help you familiarize yourself with game play.
Left click on the color you want to work with, hold the mouse button down, and drag it in the desired direction.
When you have successfully completed a level you may click anywhere within the game window to move on to the next one.
Level three bumps you up to working with two colors.
Level five introduces gray blocks that are locked and can not be used.
You get to work with four colors starting on level eight.
Level thirty-two will keep you busy for a bit, but it is not as hard as it seems to be at first glance. Good luck and have fun!


text:
Award-winning activist and filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin comes to John Abbott College for a screening of her latest film We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice, April 13.
The seven people who have requested asylum in Canada have all been cited for expedited deportation hearings in Hong Kong this week that will likely see them shipped back to their countries of origin, to uncertain fates.
Mirmahaleh, 60, is scheduled to be deported on Feb. 28. Canadian immigration officials acknowledge that she was imprisoned for three years in Iran in the 1980s, when her daughter was a toddler, because of her support of the political dissent group Mujahedin-E-Khalq (MeK). They also acknowledge that her husband was executed by the Iranian authorities in 1988 because of his involvement with MeK.
Quebec's Human Rights Commission has ordered the Montreal police department and one of its officers to pay $17,000 to young black man.
Hundreds of law students at 22 law faculties across the country worked together to answer questions for Canadian Council for Refugees
The Joe Rose story could have remained under the radar had it not been for the work of journalist David Shannon
The controversy over the proper scope of immunity in Canada has pitted those who argue the letter of the law and the necessity of immunity for the conduct of international relations on the one hand; and those for whom torture is now recognized as so unconscionable that it should never be covered by immunity. In its ruling last week, the Supreme Court handed the first camp a victory. Now it's up to Parliament to act.
A 17-year-old Mexican youth is scheduled to be deported Thursday morning after he was arrested last week while visiting his old high school.
Canadian political and corporate re-engagement with Iran should only come when Iran meets its international obligations regarding its nuclear program, domestic human rights and support for terrorism.
Renée Lescop's apartment, furnished with antiques and original artwork, is a century-old, ground-floor condo in Mile End.
Chilean-born computer technician Luis Zuniga first made local headlines back in 1988, when he took a Montreal school board to the Human Rights Commission after he was fired from his job there for speaking French with a Spanish accent.
The inaugural Just for Kids Foundation G!EE 9-5 Edition, presented by television and radio host Isabelle Racicot and radio host Tony Stark, raised $351,000 for the cardiology department of the Montreal Children's Hospital as part of the foundation's Take Heart Campaign.
Teen novel breathes new life into Montrealer's fight to get dissident freed from Chinese prison (May 2013)
Fatima Houda-Pepin left the Quebec Liberal caucus Monday, after party leader Philippe Couillard rejected her position calling for a ban on wearing religious symbols by people in positions of authority.
In his 59 years, Ron Schorndorf has never knowingly broken the law. But the endocrinologist at the Jewish General Hospital plans to do just that if the Quebec government passes its secularism charter.
We are Madeleine Parent's close friends and family. We are also feminists, trade unionists and organizations, and we have fought shoulder to shoulder with her for social justice. We are writing today to express our profound disappointment concerning the gratuitous reference to Ms. Parent in the Charter of Quebec Values.
The proposed Charter of Quebec Values 'would not stand up to a court challenge under the current jurisprudence,' Quebec human rights commission says.
The proposal by the Parti Québécois for a Charter of Quebec Values raises key questions about the direction of our society. We write here as mental-health practitioners, researchers and educators directly involved in issues of cultural diversity in mental health and health-care services.
We need to avoid raising expectations about full and fair employment opportunity for all, without discrimination.
As mining conflicts spread in South America, the line between Canadian firms and the Canadian government become blurred for locals


text: We have had very busy days here and last week we finally had a "stay at home day" with nothing planned just lots of play and luckily my camera was close by for this. I was cleaning out our supply closet when my son grabbed some extra party cups. Being an almost 5 year old boy who loves to break, bust and generally act as a wrecking ball he immediately started to knock the cups over. Then I suggested he build them into a wall... and he was off. He created an all red wall, and all blue... even patterns. All to be knocked down by his fire truck. I just thinks it's a great reminder for parents to take time watch their kids play, jump in only to add simple suggestions then sit back and watch them create. We don't have to fill all their days with structure .


text: Here's the new video for Last Shadow Puppets' Standing Next To Me, the best song on their album according to Guardian/Music's ears. Much has been written in the press of the duo's "affection" for each other. But can you blame them for indulging in the odd bit of man-crush with suits like these?


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JW Pet Hol-ee Roller Rubber Parrot Toy
|JW Pet Company Hol-ee Roller Rubber Parrot Toy for birds provides hours of stimulation and exercise preventing boredom and destructive behaviour in your pet. The unique design allows you to place treats inside the dome and make your pet work for its reward. Tough 100% natural rubber bird toy Provides mental stimulation & exercise Place treats inside to reward pets for play Attached to the end of the tough metal chain is a musical bell that your birdie will find fascinating and continue to play with the Hol-ee Roller even after treats have been eaten. Product is made from tough 100% natural rubber and is best hung from the top of the cage near a perch within easy reach of your bird.Recommended for parrots.Note: Comes in assorted colors. Let us pick one for you!
JW Insight Nutcase Rubber Parrot Toy
|JW Insight Nutcase Rubber Parrot Toy is designed for the bird. Hang toy from the top of the cage near a perch where your parrot can easily reach it. Tough 100% natural rubber bird toy. Nuts or similar sized treats can be placed inside of the football. Activate your bird's body, mind & soul Fill with nuts for super fun play Tough 100% natural rubber Sturdy stainless steel chain. The toy is approximately 4.5" tall by 3" diameter. With chain, total length is about 9 inches including clasp.
ActiviToys Triple Moon Wood Bird Toy
|Insight's ActiviToys Triple Moon Wooden bird toys are the ideal toys to promote both play & exercise! These toys come in a super fun mobile design to help encourage chewing to help condition your birds beak. Easy to attach to your birds cage Made with durable materials - bult to last Fun toy will provide hours of entertainment for your bird
Up to 70% Off + Free Shipping at $75
New Customer Offer
10% off orders over $25 - max discount $5


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Wilkins, chair of the two-day event, said: "This year Media 360 will provide the industry with the opportunity to reflect on where we are as an industry and what the next journey will be."
High profile industry figures including: Frank van der Post, managing director brand and customer experience at British Airways; Craig Inglis, director of marketing at John Lewis; Nigel Gilbert, chief marketing officer at Virgin Media; and Stephen Miron, global chief executive at Global, will be speaking at the event.
There will also be a Media Week debate, which, among others, will have on its panel: Scott Morrison, marketing director at Diesel; Katie Sheppard, director of marketing and relationships at Match.com; and Dominic Grounsell, personal marketing director for the RSA, discussing the current and future relationship between clients and agencies.
Early bird tickets are available until Friday 23 March.
More information about the event can be found here.


text:
Defining the Enrollment Boom
All through the fall semester, community colleges have been reporting enrollment growth. On Thursday, the American Association of Community Colleges released the results of a survey designed to see if the many individual reports add up to a national trend -- and the survey results suggest they do.
Nationally, head count in credit courses is up 11.4 percent over the last year, and 16.9 percent over two years, according to the survey, which included data from hundreds of colleges from every region of the country. Notably, given that about 60 percent of community college students are enrolled part time, one of the most dramatic parts of the new enrollment surge is that it is coming in large part by full-time students. Over the last two years, the percentage gain in full-time students has been more than twice the rate as for part-time students.
Changes in Enrollment Head Count at Community Colleges
|Full Time
|Part Time
|2007 to 2008
|2008 to 2009
|2007 to 2009
In terms of geography, the rates of increase were largely similar across urban, suburban and rural community colleges. But by region, there were clear differences, with the Rocky Mountains seeing the largest increases and being the only region where part-time enrollments outpaced full-time enrollments.
Enrollment Changes at Community Colleges, 2007-9
|New England
|Mid East
|Great Lakes
|Rocky Mountains
|Far West
|Full Time
|Part Time
A report on the results, by Christopher M. Mullin, the AACC program director for policy analysis, and Kent Phillippe, director of research, says that despite the increases, many community colleges fear that they lost students who should have enrolled. And the report notes that many community colleges that were not operating at capacity prior to the enrollment boom may be doing so now.
"The reality of enrollment management is that one never knows how many students who wished to enroll were unable to do so," the report says. Given the importance community colleges place on being "open door institutions," the survey asked whether colleges believed that some potential students were turned away from programs due to capacity issues, and 34.2 percent answered in the affirmative. Asked why students didn't enroll, colleges cited students not having enough money, or flexibility to take courses when they are offered.
Capacity issues were most severe, colleges reported, in programs (such as nursing) with laboratory and other equipment needs.
The experience this fall, the report says, suggests some national policy issues that need attention. One is the need to better educate potential students about financial aid. The report notes that many students who are eligible for aid showed up to enroll without having applied. The other issue is about transfer. With so many more students enrolling at community colleges, the report notes, pressure will grow on four-year institutions when more of these students than in the past want to finish bachelor's programs elsewhere.
Karen Bleeker, president of the Community College of Denver, which is up more than 35 percent in enrollment this fall, said that the national data didn't surprise her. Bleeker said that whether the program is accounting or early childhood education or general education or remedial education, the number of sections is way up, and administrative spaces are being cleared to make more room for classrooms.
One of her deans joked, Bleeker said, that the next person added to one office would have to be attached with Velcro to the ceiling. So far, it looks like the spring enrollments may be up by as much as 50 percent, Bleeker added.
Based on a belief that the college has to respond to students who want to enroll right now, Bleeker said that she does not want anyone turning away students. In the past, the college has sometimes limited sections. With this enrollment surge, she said, "I've told people to just keep filling your sections and then we'll open more sections and we promise we'll find space somewhere."
Deborah M. DiCroce, president of Tidewater Community College, in Virginia, said her institution is fortunate to have recently opened several new facilities, so it is able to handle the larger-than-projected enrollment increase. This fall, when the college expected to see student numbers grow by 6.5 percent, the actual increase was 17.8 percent.
In a split similar to the national data reported by the AACC, Tidewater has seen full-time enrollment grow by 26.4 percent, while part-time enrollment is up only 7.4 percent. DiCroce said that she believes that the economic downturn is the key explanation, with more people feeling the need to either prepare for new jobs or to start higher education without spending as much as they would at a residential four-year institution.
In a shift that she believes is also related to the economy, Tidewater is seeing male enrollment increases outpace female increases (17.4 percent vs. 11.3 percent) for the first time in many years.
Some community colleges started midnight courses this semester as a way to make full use of classroom facilities and to enroll students who have full non-academic lives. Tidewater hasn't gone that route, but DiCroce said that more courses than ever before are being offered at 7 a.m. (in person) and online. "Everything is up," she said.
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text:
fun translucent powder
Verified Purchase
fun translucent powder
It doesn't look like it but the powder is actually translucent. It does give the skin a fun glow. I apply it with a big brush and used the brush that comes with it for the under eye. All in all I think this is a great product and it's so pretty, too!
great product!
Posted by Reviewer1086411 on Apr 29, 2012 | Verified Purchase
easy to apply, easy to blend, I use it as a highlighter and it gives nice subtle glow. really like it and highly recommend!
fun translucent powder
Posted by 5041912745472425161 on Feb 22, 2014 | Verified Purchase
It doesn't look like it but the powder is actually translucent. It does give the skin a fun glow. I apply it with a big brush and used the brush that comes with it for the under eye. All in all I think this is a great product and it's so pretty, too!
Joli produit
Posted by 4882693223103876978 on Aug 19, 2012 | Verified Purchase
Peut s'utiliser en blush comme en poudre libre. Donne un joli effet "glow". Cette marque est à recommander.
happy booster
Posted by 5409262616634244480 on Sep 13, 2012 | Verified Purchase
Even though it's not that crazy pigmented. but that what makes it give the natural effect on the cheek bones. i apply a little and i have that natural glow!!
Makes your skin look beautifull!
Posted by Maglena on Jun 20, 2012 | Verified Purchase
I liked this product very much. It makes your skin look healthy and radiant. I use it at daytime. It includes brush inside. But my powder was without brush (((((
Great highligher
Posted by 4801456190124866685 on Aug 28, 2014 | Verified Purchase
Love this, give a great sheen to the skin. No glitter or sparkle so perfect for those who want a highlighter but nothing too full on. It is buildable too!
Posted by BrittanyAlice on Nov 24, 2012 | Verified Purchase
I don't feel like this make me happier than other highlighters but it's a nice subtle sheen. probably prefer the other highlighters physicians formula does but this one is so cute and would probably make a nice gift because of that factor.
I love this
Posted by 4872887627107523048 on Aug 25, 2012 | Verified Purchase
A great pressed powder that helps keep foundation in place without looking like you dumped your face in a pile of flour. Gives a nice glow without looking oily either.
Posted by 5515745443558817047 on Nov 07, 2012 | Verified Purchase
Nice glow, i use this as a highlighter as it has quite a shine, too much of a shine to use all over my face. Smells amazing and applies smoothly
Not bad.
Posted by Superkoxy on Jul 27, 2012 | Verified Purchase
Not bad.


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The Australian share market closed firmly in the red after weaker base metals prices and a downwards revision of China's economic growth target weighed on mining stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 58.3 points, or 1.37 per cent, at 4,204.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index shed 58.7 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 4,295.5 points.
On the ASX 24 at 1627 AEDT, the March share price index futures contract was 60 points lower at 4,208 points, with 36,907 contracts traded.
Falls on the domestic market outstripped losses on Wall Street overnight as investors reacted negatively to China revising downwards its 2012 economic growth target to 7.5 per cent, from eight per cent per annum for the past seven years.
Most Asian markets also responded negatively, IG Markets market strategist Stan Shamu said, as investors pondered whether China could successfully engineer a soft landing.
He said there were no major price movements in the Australian equity market after the central bank kept rates on hold, as expected.
"However, the Aussie dollar extended its slide from this morning," Mr Shamu said.
The Australian dollar fell to a low of 1.06116 US cents, near its one-month low, and at 1628 AEDT was fetching 1.6014 US cents.
Mining stocks weighed heavily on the local bourse after base metals prices fell in reaction to China's lowered growth target.
Prices for copper, which is widely viewed as an industrial bellwether, eased almost one per cent amid worries of a slowdown in demand from the world's largest consumer of the red metal.
Copper miner OZ Minerals was down 39 cents, or 3.72 per cent, at $10.10.
BHP Billiton was down 81 cents, or 2.29 per cent, at $34.58 and Rio Tinto lost $1.47, or 2.26 per cent, to $63.62.
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1629 AEDT was $US1,702.30 per ounce, down $US9.80 from Monday's local close of $US1,712.10 per ounce.
In the headlines on Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the nation's current account deficit widened to $8.374 billion in the December quarter, from $5.824 billion in the September quarter.
The result was slightly above market expectations of an $8.1 billion deficit.
In corporate news, Westpac has confirmed plans to send 119 technology jobs overseas to cut costs.
Westpac was down 20 cents at $20.56.
ANZ eased 11 cents to $22.09, Commonwealth Bank gave up 51 cents, or 1.04 per cent, to $48.58 and National Australia Bank dipped five cents to $23.48.
Gloucester Coal has recommended a merger with China's state-owned Yancoal Australia to its shareholders despite changes to the proposal.
Gloucester was down 31 cents, or 3.66 per cent, at $8.15.
Insurer QBE said it was close to finalising several acquisitions that would contribute $US500 million ($A470.19 million) in annual written premiums to the business.
QBE was down three cents at $11.82.
Preliminary national turnover was 2.16 billion securities worth $5.1 billion, with 317 stocks up, 707 down and 360 steady.


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Feb. 6, 2012
The All-Around with Annette Miele | Coach Plocki in WTKA (Feb. 9)
Saturday, Feb. 11 -- at Masters Classic with No. 8 Nebraska, No. 20 Washington and Southern Utah (Lincoln, Neb.), 6 p.m. CST [ Live Video (fee) | Live Results ]
The No. 22-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team (4-0, 3-0 Big Ten) will compete against No. 8 Nebraska (5-1, 1-0 Big Ten), No. 20 Washington (2-3) and Southern Utah (2-4) in the 2012 Masters Classic on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 6 p.m. CST at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb. This is U-M's first meet with more than two squads as the team looks for its second straight season with at least a 5-0 start (5-0 start in 2011).
Opponent Preview
Nebraska is 5-1 on the season and ranked No. 8 in this week's GymInfo Top 25 rankings. Michigan will be the second Big Ten opponent Nebraska has faced since officially joining the conference; the Huskers beat Minnesota in Oklahoma quad last weekend. U-M is 17-19-1 all-time against Nebraska. The two met twice last season, with the Wolverines winning the regular-season meeting (Feb. 13, with Stanford), but Nebraska finishing higher at the NCAA Super Six. This will be Michigan's first trip to Lincoln since Jan. 24, 2010 (L, 196.025-194.725).
Washington is 2-3 on the season and ranked No. 20. The Wolverines won its only meeting head-to-head against Washington at the 1996 Masters Classic.
Southern Utah is 2-4 and is unranked. Michigan has not seen Southern Utah in a meet since the 2010 NCAA Southeast Regional, when the Wolverines finished second and Southern Utah finished third. The last time Michigan faced Southern Utah in a dual meet was Jan. 19, 2007 (W, 194.775-188.625).
Rankings Blitz!
The Wolverines stayed steady at No. 22 in this week's GymInfo Top 25 rankings, released Monday (Feb. 6). A team's ranking is determined by a team's scoring average. [ Rankings ]
|Team Average
|197.031, Utah
|194.381 (22)
|49.475, Alabama
|49.163, (11)
|Uneven Bars
|49.300, Arkansas
|48.744 (16)
|Balance Beam
|49.200, Utah
|Floor Exercise
|49.394, Utah
|39.550, Ashley Priess, Alabama
|38.956, Joanna Sampson (NR)
|9.935, Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA
|9.875, Sachi Sugiyama (T-21)
|Uneven Bars
|9.896, Mariah Howdeshell, Arkansas
|9.806, Sachi Sugiyama (NR)
|Balance Beam
|9.905, Sharaya Musser, Penn State
|9.694, Brittnee Martinez (NR)
|Floor Exercise
|9.925, Jaime Pisani, Arkansas
|9.838, Reema Zakharia (NR)
Last Time Out
Michigan improved to 4-0 on the season after beating No. 20 West Virginia, 194.650-194.050, last Friday (Feb. 3) at Crisler Center. [ Recap ] [ Photo Gallery ] [ Postmeet Interview: Bev Plocki | Annette Miele (Facebook) ] [ Michigan Daily: Recap | Sidebar ]
Podium Toppers
With three more event wins against West Virginia, Michigan gymnasts have won or tied for 13 of 16 event titles so far this season. Additionally, the Wolverines have had three different gymnasts win the all-around: Katie Zurales (Ohio State), Sachi Sugiyama (Minnesota) and Joanna Sampson (West Virginia).
Rising Star
Sophomore Joanna Sampson won her first career all-around title, scoring a career-best 39.300, and finishing among the top three in each event. She tied for event titles on bars (9.900) and floor (9.825), finished second on beam (9.750) and tied for third on vault (9.825). Additionally, Sampson has improved on her all-around score in every meet. She scored a 38.650 in the all-around in Michigan's first two meets, then went 39.225 against Illinois (Jan. 27), before last Friday's 39.300 against West Virginia.
Miele Doing More
After competing on just one event in two meets through the first three weeks of the season, freshman Annette Miele competed in three events against West Virginia. She was inserted into the lineup on beam and bars in place of junior Katie Zurales, scoring a 9.750 on bars (tying for fifth) and a 9.425 on beam. She also competed on floor for the first time as a collegiate gymnast, scoring a 9.575. Miele was slated to compete on vault, as well, but was scratched as the sixth competitor after Michigan hit on its first five routines.
Comeback Kids
The Wolverines have trailed heading into the final rotation in three of its four meets but rallied for the win in all three. Against West Virginia last Friday, Michigan trailed 146.075-145.825 heading into the final rotation but scored a 48.825 on floor, while WVU went 47.975 on beam, counting a fall in the process, giving Michigan the win.
Hot Starts
Michigan's performance on vault has contributed to its 4-0 start to the season. The Wolverines have scored above a 49.000 in every meet this season and rank 11th in the country on that apparatus.
Making Improvements
The Wolverines have improved on their team score in each of the last two meets. Since scoring a 193.150 against Minnesota on Jan. 21, the team scored a 194.225 the next week against Illinois (Jan. 27) and then a 194.650 last weekend against West Virginia (Feb. 3). They scored a 195.500 in its season-opening meet against Ohio State on Jan. 13.
A Perfect Month
Michigan went 3-0 in dual meets during the month of January, beating three ranked Big Ten opponents. The last time it went through the first month of the season without having a loss on its record was 2008.
Injury Update
Junior Natalie Beilstein and sophomore Kristin Nagle will each miss the remainder of the 2012 season. Beilstein suffered her injury while performing on floor at Minnesota on Jan. 21, while Nagle was injured against Illinois on Jan. 27, also on floor. Beilstein is a two-time NCAA All-American and also has Big Ten and NCAA Regional titles to her name (both in 2010). [ Brandon's Blog: Women's Gymnastics Facing Challenges ]
Among The Big Ten's Best
The Wolverines, fresh off winning their fifth straight Big Ten championship last year, were picked to finish second in 2012 in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches poll, second to only new conference member Nebraska. Additionally, freshman Sachi Sugiyama and junior Katie Zurales were named Big Ten Women's Gymnasts to Watch. [ Release ]
2011 Recap
Led by a dynamic group of seniors, including NCAA all-around champion Kylee Botterman, the Wolverines kept numerous streaks alive in 2011. They won their fifth straight (19th overall) Big Ten title, advanced to their 20th NCAA Regional Championship and reached the NCAA Championships for the 19th time in the last 20 years. In all, Michigan finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, reaching the Super Six for the 10th time in program history (first appearance since 2005). Michigan lost Botterman, Sarah Curtis, Kari Pearce, Jordan Sexton and Trish Wilson to graduation after last season.
Returning Wolverines
Headlining the returning Wolverines are juniors Katie Zurales, Natalie Beilstein and Brittnee Martinez, as well as sophomores Joanna Sampson and Reema Zakharia. Sampson is the 2011 NCAA Regional vault champion and Big Ten runner-up on floor, Zakharia (floor), Beilstein (vault) and Zurales (beam) each placed runner-up in events at regionals, and Martinez tied for sixth on bars at the NCAA Individual Event Finals.
New Faces
There are two new faces on the 2012 roster in freshmen Annette Miele and Sachi Sugiyama. Miele is a native of Easton, Pa., and trained with Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center. She was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team (2008-09), and was a three-time USA Visa Championships qualifier. Sugiyama is from Keller, Texas, and trained with Top Flight Gymnastics. She placed ninth on all-around at nationals in 2010.
Following You, Captain!
Junior Katie Zurales and sophomores Teresa Arthur and Shelby Gies have been named team captains for the 2012 season. There are no seniors on the roster this season.
Wolverines in Waiting
On Jan. 11, the Wolverines announced the addition of Lindsay Williams (Northville, Mich./Northville) to its 2013 recruiting class. Williams is the third member of the class, joining prior signees Austin Sheppard (Dallas, Texas/Plano East) and Morgan Smith (Clermont, Fla./East Ridge). Williams trains with Splitz Gymnastics in Canton, Mich., and was the 2011 National Invitational Tournament all-around champion. [ Maize and Blue Sign Smith, Sheppard For 2013 Season ] [ Wolverines Add Williams To 2013 Recruiting Class ]
Against The Best
Michigan is rated to have the ninth-toughest slate by CollegeGymFans.com in 2012. The Wolverines will face four preseason top-10 teams this season, including Nebraska at the Master Classic on Feb. 11, Utah on Feb. 17, Oklahoma on Oct. 24 and Georgia on March 9. [ Release ]
Social Media: Twitter (@umichwgym) | Facebook (Michigan Gymnastics)
The All-Around
The All-Around is the official audio podcast of the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team, posted every Tuesday during the competition season to MGoBlue.com. This week's guest is freshman Annette Miele. [ iTunes ]
Tickets for the 2012 U-M women's gymnastics season are now on sale. To purchase season or individual meet tickets, go to MGoBlue.com/tickets or call 866-296-MTIX (6849).
Crisler Center Construction Update
Fans attending any of Michigan's home meets this season should be aware of the ongoing renovations made to the Crisler Center. [ Construction Updates ]
Friday, Feb. 17 -- vs. Utah (Crisler Center), 6 p.m.
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
» Learn about 2017 Michigan women's gymnastics ticket opportunities.


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Completed Projects
This report is part of the Large-scale Evaluation of Driver Education Project being conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation and Northport Associates for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
This study presents new estimates of the prevalence of drowsy drivers on U.S. roads using data from a nationally-representative survey of drivers, and examines the role of drowsy driving in a nationally-representative sample of crashes.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. In an effort to reduce crashes and fatalities among young drivers, nearly all states have implemented graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems.
This annual survey of driver behavior and attitudes toward safety on the roads continues to show that drivers can improve their habits behind the wheel.
Risk mapping methodology from Phase II has been applied to four additional states: Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah. Supplementary risk maps for Michigan have also been developed as part of Phase III and Phase III has included a validation study of the star rating protocol utilizing data from Iowa and Washington.
New Jersey possesses one of the strictest GDL implementations in the country. A cursory examination of New Jersey's teen crash risk showed promising results, necessitating a more in-depth examination to determine the true impact of its GDL laws. The study revealed significant reductions in crashes, injuries and deaths among 17 and 18-year olds, indicating New Jersey may indeed be a good model for other states to follow.
As traffic safety professionals, losing even one life is unacceptable but losing one life every fourteen minutes in outrageous.
Using a cross-sectional survey this project provided information regarding senior drivers knowledge of the potential impact that prescription and over the counter medication use has on their ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. This study yielded new information about knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors of people age 55 and over with respect to medications and driving.
This report is a follow up to the 2008 Traffic Safety Culture Index, a nationally representative survey to evaluate driver behavior and attitudes on the road asentative telephone survey which assesses a few key indicators of the degree to which traffic safety is valued and is being pursued.
In 2006 the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAAFTS) identified Senior Safety and Mobility as a priority research area.


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How do you capture the imagination of school children in the subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths?
It's a tough job and one which, here at QinetiQ, we like to help with through a variety of activities, such as our STEM outreach programme and Schools Day.
Schools day is a fantastic opportunity to enter QinetiQ's Farnborough site. Steeped in British technological history (link), our site has restricted security access and boasts some unique facilities and capabilities. Once a year, we invite a selection of 11-16 year olds along to visit and experience QinetiQ for themselves.
This year, schools day has grown. The children will have a rare opportunity to have hands-on experience on military simulators such as flying a Chinook or Harrier, see the Ion Thrusters featured on BBC Sky at Night, and participate in security monitoring with Optasense.
It's always a great day, not just for inspiring a new generation to take up the mantle of science and technology, but also to witness the passing of knowledge from top experts in their field to the experts of the future, and watching the motivational employee experience in the process.
Roll on April 19, schools day.


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WELCOME TO _CERES_ AND THE "NGU FAMILY SAGA" March 23, 2009Posted by Administrator in : Politics , trackback
If you'll look in the upper lefthand corner of this blog page,
you'll see a small button labelled "Ceres". Its presence there
represents an experiment that could just turn out to be something
As many readers know, my heretofore unpublished novel _Ceres_ is a
sequel to _Pallas_, part of what will eventually be a four-book "saga"
concerning several generations of a pioneer family settling on, and
terraforming some of the worldlets that make up the Asteroid Belt, a
region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter containing millions of
rocks ranging in size from a few hundred miles' diameter to grains of
_Ceres_ tells the story of two young people, brother and sister
Wilson and Llyra Ngu, great-grandchildren of Emerson Ngu, who was the
protagonist of _Pallas_. Born into a wealthy family and raised on the
terraformed asteroid Pallas, second largest of the Belt asteroids,
both have ambitions that require leaving their homes for the depths of
Wilson, 17 at the beginning of the story, but considered a fully
grown man in his pioneering society, wants to be an asteroid hunter,
prospecting the Solar System for rare, desirable, or useful materials,
while collecting bounties by protecting the System's Settled Worlds
from impacts like the one that killed off the dinosaurs. Presently, he
works for his father, Adam, Chief Engineer of the Ceres Terraformation
Project. Wilson has also been conducting an extremely long distance
Internet romance with a beautiful girl about his own age who belongs
to an entire family of asteroid hunters. He longs to meet her in the
Llyra, 13, is a figure skater (the only one in the Asteroid Belt,
where hockey is a favorite sport) who wants, more than anything, to
skate competitively on Earth. Advised, because she was born and raised
at one twentieth of the home planet's gravity, that such an ambition
could destroy her physically or even kill her, she undertakes a long
journey from world to world, always to a higher level of gravity, in
which she trains, sometimes for years, before moving on to the next
She is accompanied by her coach, tutor, and companion, Jasmeen
Khalidov, 19, who was born on Mars to Chechen refugees who fled there
to avoid Russian butchery. Jasmeen is probably the most important
person in Llyra's life because her parents are estranged and often
absent. Her father lives on Ceres, and her mother, Ardith, is a famous
chemist, specializing in finding new uses for the materials found in
Llyra's journey, of course, gives us a chance to see the Solar
System in the 22nd century, and those who live in it, especially in
the Moon and in West America. We'll also see remnants of socialism in
East America, and the 22nd century equivalent of today's authoritarian
environmentalism, the so-called Mass Movement, which claims, absurdly,
that importing materials from the Asteroid Belt and other places will
alter the mass of the Earth's crust, cause it slow down, relative to
the core, and make it quake and buckle, wiping out all life on the
And then there's the Mass Movement's violent arm, Null Delta Em.
Villains you'll love to hate.
Add two or three love stories, a spaceport security scene some
have said will be worth the price of the published book by itself, a
spectacular spaceliner hijacking, baseball — and a gourmet restaurant
– on Mars and you'll get an idea why this is my favorite of my own
What I hope to accomplish with this book, indeed, with all four,
is to reintroduce the human race — especially Americans — to a
future Robert Heinlein, George O. Smith, even socialists like Arthur
Clarke once told them about, before we began to fear what appears to
lie ahead. I want the human race — especially Americans — to dream
again of a future worth looking forward to, a future worth fighting
Certain "sophisticates" will tell you that's corny — or that it's
overreaching. Some even say that time has passed me by as an author,
that I'm obsolete, that there's no place for me in the post 9/11
You know who you are.
Well, welcome to the _post_ post 9/11 world it's in our hands to
create. The first step in creating that world is imagining that it is
Naturally, as author, I retain all rights to _Ceres_ and expect my
claim to be respected, especially by libertarians. If you like what
you read here, the way to share it with others is by giving them the
URL.* We'll add a chapter a week until the book is finished. Somewhere
along the line, I'll upload the prequel, _Pallas_, and eventually add
_Ares_ (the story of young Julie Segovia — Llyra's grandmother) and
finally _Beautiful Dreamer_ which is all about .. but that would be
Wouldn't it?
* http://www.bigheadpress.com/lneilsmith/?page_id=53
- 1. Mike Busch - March 23, 2009
I wondered what trouble you'd been getting into lately .
Looks like I have some reading to do!
- 2. Administrator - March 23, 2009
I actually finished _Ceres_ on Xmas Day, 2005. [Insert long story about trying to sell it -- or even get an agent to look at it.] Spent most of the time since then writing scripts for _Roswell, Texas_, _TimePeeper_, and most lately, _Phoebus Krumm_.
I'm presently working on _What Libertarians Believe_ with my daughter Rylla, and will likely do another non-fiction later this year.
I yearn to get back to _Ares_. Don't look too oddly at me when I say that I can feel and almost hear the characters inside me, screaming that they want to live.
- 3. Victor Milán - March 23, 2009
And we're all screaming that we want to read ARES.
- 4. Victor Milán - March 23, 2009
Well, and CERES too, of course. The difference being, we get to.
- 5. David Anderson - March 23, 2009
I'm in…but I'll wait for a few chapters to be available. I'm not crazy about serials. Maybe I'll re-read Ceres first.
- 6. Administrator - March 23, 2009
Victor, I will keep that in mind. _Ares_ is a great story, I think, about a character, Julie Segovia, I've become fascinated with, and whom you will meet in _Ceres_. We'll see Billy Ngu, Emerson's oldest son, and Brody, his youngest, who will be the protagonist in _Beautiful Dreamer_. We'll also see Mars, before and after terraformation, and the process — very different from Pallas and Ceres — by which it came to be livable.
- 7. Administrator - March 23, 2009
Hi, Dave! And welcome.
- 8. al perez - March 24, 2009
Hopefully some publisher somewhere will see that you are getting enough "hits" on _Ceres_ to admit it is worth spending the money to print your work instead of letting you find an alternate method of publication (and hopefully your friends will get money into your hands between now and then!!!)
As for the shortage of dreams of a future, even that promised by socialist utopians., offered by so many publishers, we live in an era of betrayed dreams. The betrayers and murderers of dream bare not let us dream again, lest we see their crimes and fulfill their nightmares.
Thank you for sharing your dream.
- 9. SJ Doc - March 24, 2009
Baen Books had published your completed *Forge of the Elders*, and still sells it via Webscriptions (which I bought as well as the paperback copy I picked up when it went into print; my eyes are going bad, and i can enlarge text on a computer screen without having to handle a magnifying glass).
Would it be impertinent to ask why Jim Baen's successors might have been unwilling to publish *Ceres* (and put *Pallas* back into print)?
- 10. Administrator - March 24, 2009
I enjoyed working with the folks at Baen, especially Toni Weisskopf, who is the only editor who ever caught me in a firearms error. The sales of _Forge of the Elders_ were disappointing, at least that's my understanding, and nothing I could do seemed to improve them.
That, of course, may be my problem in general, rather than looking to some sort of blacklist (which Baen would be the very last to participate in). I just don't sell well enough. I don't know why. It's one of the greatest and most painful mysteries of my life.
Everybody has a theory, mostly that I'm too forthright in my political opinions. But if I weren't, what would be the point of writing in the first place?
_Pallas_, of course, was originally published by Tor. My editor there, Jim Frenkel, for all that he is a bedwetting liberal (you know it's true, Jim) is an honorable and decent man who always treated me with kindness, and bent over backwards to get my books on the market. He's another one I've disappointed and I wish it were in my power to surprise.
In the end, folks — and I do not mean to make a duty or a guilt trip out of it — it's ultimately up to you. I know you like what I write, and you buy as much as tyou can. I write the best stuff I can, and stay in touch with my readers. I think I need my readers to find me more readers, but I know you all recommend my books to others all the time.
But we need to do something else, and I just don't know what it is. I've just joined Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Scribd. Maybe that will help. And publishing _Ceres_ online is another attempt at raising my market visibility.
In any case, thank you all for being there, very much.
- 11. al perez - March 25, 2009
Maybe if you and Aaron can get The Mitzvah made into a movie or miniseries you can get the "name recognition " you deserve and thus increase the sale of your books to the level they deserve.
- 12. SJ Doc - March 25, 2009
If *Ceres* cannot find publication in dead-tree format, would Ms. Weisskopf and her colleagues at Baen find it prohibitively cost-inefficient to utter this novel – and (copyright issues overcome) *Pallas* as well – electronically, among their Webscriptions offerings?
At http://www.webscription.net/p-152-forge-of-the-elders.aspx , your *Forge of the Elders* will continue "in print" and available to readers long after Amazon.com is linking to used book dealers peddling old, yellowed pulp copies for $.99 plus S&H, and will generate a trickle of revenue for you and for Baen.
Which the sale of those used copies will not.
The costs involved in converting a book into the various digital formats in such an offering are far lower than uttering a paperback edition.
Moreover, the cost of *maintaining* your novels "in print" and available for purchase from their publisher become so low (and the Keynesian "velocity of money" New Deal legislation taxing businesses on unsold physical inventory does not apply to files on a hard drive in the pubisher's computer system the way it does to books in a warehouse) that there is no need for your *Forge of the Elders* ever to go out of print.
(( This legislative legacy of "the Crooner" [as Mencken called him] has been the bane of the productive midlist writer ever since the 1930s, and was discussed at some length in the *SFWA Bulletin* sometime back in the '90s. It's responsible for publishers pulping massive amounts of perfectly good, ready-to-sell books in their inventories just before the close of their corporate business year so as to avoid suffering this punitive tax. ))
I think that this is what your colleague, Mr. Schulman, has been trying to do with his Web site at http://www.pulpless.com/ . The Baen Books approach seems to me more robust, including even better potential for the online marketing of your output.
If the Webscriptions option has not yet been considered, and your relations continue cordial with Baen Books and the staff at Tor, might such be considered?
- 13. Anders Monsen - March 25, 2009
What about turning Ceres into a book for the iPhone?
- 14. SJ Doc - March 25, 2009
More on the *SFWA Bulletin* article mentioned above, which was published in 1993 as "How Thor Power Hammered Publishing" by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr.
See http://www.sfwa.org/bulletin/articles/thor.htm
I knew I'd find the damned thing online if I just kept looking….
- 15. Stephen - March 27, 2009
I am a little surprised that Pallas didn't do better than it did. As I told El Neil some years back I think it as good story as Ringworld. Better in some ways.
- 16. L. Neil Smith - March 27, 2009
Imagine _my_ surprise, Stephen, after working on it all those years. I don't know why it didn't sell better. It's possible that if I did — if selling better required compromising what I believe in and write — that I'd still do iy the same way and take the lumps. More than possible, an absolute certainty.
- 17. SJ Doc - March 28, 2009
It's been a while since I'd read *Pallas*, but let me give some thought to "why it didn't sell better."
First, consider that it may have been marketed improperly. Not inadequately, but improperly.
If memory is serving me properly, *Pallas* is very much a bildungsroman, tracking the development of its central viewpoint character from childhood through a critically decisive adolescence to life as an adult.
Could this have sold better if marketed as a "Young Adult" novel? Could it sell well as such right now?
Right now, I'm going again through a time when I've got adolescents and pre-adolescents in the household. Grandkids. I'm again being exposed to their reading appetites, as well as what's being assigned to them in the way of school reading tasks.
Gawd, but the stuff they're being assigned. "Sucks" doesn't begin to describe the full ugliness of it.
This poses simultaneously an obstacle and an opportunity for books like *Pallas* (and, for that matter, like J. Neil Schulman's *Alongside Night*). The educationalists in the government indoctrination centers would strain themselves into hernias trying to keep their students away from work like yours.
The students themselves, however, plagued by what their teahers are forcing upon them, both need and would delight in something of an antidote.
That's where novels like your *Pallas* can serve very well.
Considering the rising incidence of "oppositional defiant disorder" among America's children and teen-agers, the market for libertarian literature seems to be growing most rapidly among readers in the second generation of life.
Consider it.
- 18. Ann Morgan - March 30, 2009
L. Neil: I think you should make a paypal link on the bottom of the pages with the chapters to Ceres. I actually feel kind of bad that you could not get this published and are letting everyone read it for free without you getting anything
- 19. Ann Morgan - March 30, 2009
Sorry, didn't say that very well in my above message, the link should be for voluntary donations, if you make people pay first in order to access the story at all, you'll probably have less readers. I really loved the previous book, Pallas, though. It's one of my favorite books.
- 20. Wayne Grantham - April 18, 2009
I, too, began my science fiction reading adventures with the Heinlein "juvies." They were in my junior high school library–something that probably doesn't happen any more, the way I hear that the government children's prisons try to manage what kids see and read.
I've been reading each chapter of _Ceres_, then impatiently waiting for the next. I'm also impatiently waiting for _Ceres_ to show up in my local B&N. I like to hold a book in my hands–ol' Neanderthal me!
- 21. bob tanner - April 30, 2009
L neil, I always look forward to your books whenever or however they come out…I was recently in Portland OR and saw your STAR WARS books o the shelf there–Powells Book Store. You never fail to come up with a great story and powerful political info as a Major part of it…I LOVE IT…bob
- 22. Administrator - April 30, 2009
Thanks to Wayne and Bob. I's very nice to get good feedback.
- 23. Mike Davis - May 7, 2009
It's funny. But I had forgotten that some of your characters are based on some of my acquaintences. I can't help but think about Marshall Fritz and Karl Hess when I read about Pallas and now Ceres.
What the usual suspects see as archaic, I see as heroic. As you know there are few things more heroic than the man or woman who takes responsibility for his or her life (success, failure, happiness, loneliness, etc etc.)
Thanks for reminding me of people that are now gone who's ideas transcend mortality. Thanks also for reminding me of a world of heroes and heroines.
I look forward to adding "Ceres" to my L. Neil Smith collection when it is available for purchase. Until then "Pallas or Bust."
- 24. Rodger - July 19, 2009
So how do your loyal readers pay you for this boon?
Could you post a snail mail address so we could shower you with FRN's?
- 25. Iloilo Jones - July 26, 2009
I'd like to voluntarily pay for the entertainment, adventure, and fun of reading Ceres. Please give me a way to do so.
Your fan,


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Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: Branagh's Macbeth is a Wonderfully Tempestuous Production
For a brief week, the Seattle International Film Festival was able to bring Manchester International Festival's production of Macbeth to the Uptown Theater in Seattle. As a part of a series called National Theater Live (which includes Othello with Adrian Lester and Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller), this production stars the illustrious Kenneth Branagh as the titular Scottish King. I was lucky enough to get tickets to see this thunderous play.
Co-directed by Branagh and Rob Ashford, the production was spectral, but appropriately stark. A lot of the eerie desolation came from the fact that it takes place in a deconsecrated Manchester church. The floors of the church were ripped out, so the stage was a pit of austere earth across which the witches skulked and the Scottish thanes clashed bloodily. Rain was poured unsparingly onto the actors. The dim lighting was the perfect harshness for this sinister play.


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I was on a twister kick, they were habit forming. Made with the small tool.
Welcome to the Quilting Board!
I was on a twister kick, they were habit forming. Made with the small tool.
They are all beautiful!! I love playing with the twister tool.
all are very nice. i like the prairie points on the first one
Nancy in western NY
before you speak THINK
T is it True? H is it Helpful? I is it Inspiring? N is it Necessary? K is it Kind?
I definitely have to get one of those rulers!
A fabric stash is always missing that one fabric needed to finish the quilt on which you're working.
All are really really nice. I love the prairie points.
really cute! I bought the twister tool the other day and can't wait to try it out!
Wish i could do those! They bafffled me too much!! LOL...had one sent to me with ruler but I still messed up so i just put it away for future project....guess i was too wound up to fully pay attention to directions! Sigh..
take plenty of pic of family & friends, keep tabs on loved ones but make time for yourself !
I may need to get me a twister tool. Nice job
Those are beautiful. I haven't tried it yet. Have the tool but don't have the nerve to try it yet.
Looks so complicated. Is it?
so many quilts to make, so little time.
Colour does make them....