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The Russian connection: See all our coverage | Read about our investigation
When Jonathan Field was a journalist, he traveled the country talking to people about what was on their minds. He still does. The difference is that today his audience is not primarily the reading public, but clients such as the Disney Channel. As the roving anthropological researcher for Mullen Advertising, the Disney Channel's brand-planning partner, Field flies from city to city, searching out key species in the consumer's natural environment. In one town he might point his video camera at housing contractors who know the inside of the American home; in another he might speak with psychiatrists who know the inside of the families who live in those homes. Even as you read this, he's on the roadlike a reporter without a deadline, investigating a story that never ends.
In the beginning of qualitative consumer research, there was the focus group, the pillar of our Consumer Republic. But as the number of products grows, and as consumers have become more unpredictable and more changeable, savvy marketers are finding new methods to make sense of their moving target. Instead of bringing consumers into a focus groupwhere "marketing perverts sit behind the one-way mirror in their white lab coats," as Ted Nelson, Mullen's director of account planning, puts itresearchers such as Field are out on the street, looking for discontinuities that "linear" techniques such as focus groups ignore. "Focus groups tell you where the consumer has been," says Nelson, "but they tell you very little about where the consumer is going."
The Disney Channel's attempt to find out where the American family is going began at the end of 1996, soon after Anne Sweeney became the channel's president. Sweeney, who holds a master's from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a veteran of Nickelodeon and the Fox channel FX, authorized Field's work as part of a "very far-reaching research project" to explore the wants and needs of the Disney Channel audience. Over the next three months, while crisscrossing the United States, Field sent back hundreds of hours of videotaperecords of conversations with contractors, shrinks, marriage counselors, clergy, family activists, producers of community theater, local disc jockeys, and small-town newspaper columnists. "We're not looking for a consensus. We're not trying to quantify. We're not trying to find out what housewives in Des Moines think," explains Nelson. "We want to know where the thinking of, say, a leftist feminist activist intersects with what housewives in Des Moines think. We're looking for the gaps, the breaks, the fissures in consumers' lives." All the better for Disney to fill them.
In the lexicon of new science, Mullen's research is an example of tracking "discontinuous feedback." Only by being aware of discontinuities in the marketplace, says Nelson, can the cable channel, as well as the other divisions of Disney for whom the agency works, connect with the consumer, and understand what the average wayward consumer wantseven before the average consumer knows it.
Founded in 1983 as a pay service and marketed since 1991 as a basic cable channel as well, the Disney Channel serves a target audience in flux, as the verities of "Leave It to Beaver" domesticity have yielded to the realities of dual-income families, single-parent households, gay parenthood, and all the disruptions wrought by divorce and remarriage. It's chaos out there in the marketplace, and even the Walt Disney Company, whose scrupulously scrubbed theme parks are stock metaphors for corporate control, must confront it.
How does a feedback loop work? Consider the behavior of a swarming beehive. Bees, along with ant colonies and slime mold, are favorite metaphors for society among the economy-as-ecosystem crowd. In this scenario, as recounted by Wired executive editor Kevin Kelly in his manifesto Out of Control, a few bee scouts fly off to check new locations for the hive. Upon returning home, they report their findings by dancing on the resting swarm. The more suitable the place, the more ecstatic and compelling the dance. The most compelling dancer convinces deputy bees to check out the spot it has found; those bees then return to express in dance their own endorsement of the site. As more and more bees go to see it, more and more follow. A feedback loop has been set in motion, increasing in strength until the entire swarm takes off en masse for its new location. The hive has chosen.
Now imagine, as forward-thinking marketers do, the consumer marketplace as a hive, a metaorganism that behaves not like a machine, as classical economists have conceived it, but as a complex living system. Envision consumers not as cogs in this machine of inputs and outputs, supply and demand, and cause and effect, but as members of the hive, each occupying his or her own niche in the honeycomb and displaying no more sense of collective purpose than your average worker bee. Then think of a marketer as a bee dancing frantically to get the hive's attention. The jig of this marketplace bee may not catch the audience's fancy. But if it does, the law of increasing returns kicks in. One day a small bunch of trendsetting bees in Seattle are sipping decaf mocha latte nectar in a local coffeehouse, and before you know it, Starbucks is a national chain with 1,500 stores and counting. The hive has chosen.
Like most trendy terminology, "discontinuous feedback" is not a new process, but a new way of talking about a phenomenon that's already visible. The most successful brands of the last 20 yearsnot to mention the metastasizing Disney empire itselfaren't aiming for a "passive consumer waiting to be jolted into choosing," says Mark Barden, an advertising account planner. They "work with the energy of the market," inviting consumers "to actively consume the message and create their own interpretation."
After working on the Nike account at Wieden & Kennedy, Barden, now a partner at San Francisco ad shop Black Rocket, saw Nike become an "autopoietic system, one that changes by referring to itself." In the beginning there was "Just Do It." Then in the early '90s Nike moved to target women with print ads featuring soliloquies of self-affirmation and the "If You Let Me Play Sports" TV campaign, which won laurels from feminist organizations. These ads allowed "women to interpret the 'Just Do It' theme in a way that was appropriate to them," Barden says, creating feedback that "forever changed the nature of the brand, but within the confines of some basic principles. That's how Nike has been able to sell shoes to the jocks and their moms at the same time."
If Nike's success was the result of intuition, the remaking of the Disney Channel ensues from a systematic attempt to apply the lessons of marketing's new tool kitor at least its new terminology, specifically, the feedback loop. The raw material could not have been more appropriate: The Disney Channel is itself a kind of Möbius strip of brand identity. The channel carries no advertisements; it is one single-minded, 24-hour-a-day advertisement for Disney, where products from Bambi to Jungle 2 Jungle, from "Growing Pains" to classic black-and-white Mickey Mouse cartoons, are resold and recycled. For the 35 million subscribers who receive it, the channel is their most intimate and regular connection to the wonderful world of Disney.
If, as Nelson says, the point of discontinuity research is to expose cultural ruptures, then the channel's research team struck gold. From the focus groups, which represented only about 20 percent of the project, and from Jonathan Field's and other researchers' conversations emerged a picture of the American family in disarrayand discomfort. In late 1996, families and the institutions that served them were still reeling from the "family values" battles of the early '90s. "We found people were very disturbed by it," says Sweeney. Single mothers and parents in two-income households, in particular, "felt judged by the politicians, like they were being told they weren't good enough, that they just didn't measure up." Family life is hard enough nowadays, they said, without their being criticized. "What they wanted from us was to be celebrated, to be inspired. They wanted opportunities to come together and be a family," says Sweeney. A strategy was born: The Disney Channel would be a haven in a heartless world for the American family in all its permutations.
In 1997, they began to revamp the program schedule. One goal was to make the channel more interactive, or, as Sweeney says, "the beginning of an adventure, not the end." The old logo, a faceless Mickey Mouse silhouette framed by an abstract TV, went first. In its place there is now a cartoon of a TV set wearing mouse ears. From inside the set pops out Mickey, fully rendered, belly bouncing Steamboat Willie-style, almost leaping from the TV right into the viewer's living room. Explains Sweeney: "The logo is like your window on Disney and Disney's window on you."
The Disney Channel also started to lard its programs with interactive invitations, ploys to break down the fourth wall between network and viewer. Tune into the channel in the morning and see Bear, the star of "Bear in the Big Blue House," do it in the tradition of Mr. Rogers and Big Bird. "What's that I smell?" asks Bear, a Barneyfied, Big Bird-sized puppet from Jim Henson Television, as he ambles to the camera and presses his out-of-focus nose to the lens. "Oh, it's you I smell. You smell good." And what works for kids works for adults, too. In a promo for Toy Story, the channel flogged the film as a "celebration...happening in your home!" Sweeney and her staff made the programs not only more interactive but more diverse, dividing them into consumercentric zones, each with its own social agenda and cartoon-character-bursting-from-the-screen logo: Winnie-the-Pooh for the wee ones, Goofy for the after-school crowd, and the cross-generational icon Tinkerbell for the family hour.
Its shows reflect the corporate philosophy of the Disney that owns "Ellen" and that refused to bow to pressure from Southern Baptists when a gay group held an event at Walt Disney World: No one is excluded. The channel's nature shows stress ecological responsibility. It marked last year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day by presenting a "celebration of his living legacy" with a multiculti cast of kids. And it is surely the only channel this side of public access to title a program in Swahili: "Omba Mokomba," or "Ask Mokomba," another ecofriendly entry, in which the host of a fictional African television call-in show answers questions about animals.
So far the results are good. In 1997 the channel earned its highest average prime-time rating ever. Viewing by kids ages 9 to 11 jumped 107 percent during prime time and 75 percent on a 24-hour basis, while 33 percent more adults ages 18 to 49 tuned in for the total day. And although a 107 percent leap in viewership among kids still translates into a relatively small rating, it's a number likely to catch a cable operator's eye.
Only one thing can stop the consumer-bee dance: marketers themselves. Nelson's advice to Disney and Mullen's other clients is: "Don't ask, 'Where do we want to go?' Ask, 'Where do we have permission to go?'" This ceding of control makes a lot of clients understandably nervous. Observes Barden: "It's a tough admission for those who have built their careers around the notion that their job is to coerce and control."
But there is less to this kind of consumer empowerment than meets the eye. The consumer is no longer a passive recipient, but instead an active accomplice in the marketing process. In a well-functioning loop, says Barden, "consumers are doing the marketing themselves," like the women who respond to the "If You Let Me Play Sports" campaign and recast the Nike brand in their own image.
That's the same deal the Disney Channel wants its viewers to strike with it: to invest Disney with their own yearnings. Disney promises to answer our deepest desires for security, support, love, involvement, and good timesall the things an ideal family would supply. All we have to do to enjoy the benefits is to watch, to participate, to clap as if for Tinkerbell, because, like Tinkerbell, the Disney brand will not survive and prosper unless we believe.
For all the Disney Channel's attention to the upheaval that's changing the American family and to the discontinuities of the marketplace, a sense of chaos is exactly what its programming lacks. In a series of "family service announcements" that began airing earlier this year, celebrities such as Celine Dion and Michael J. Fox make warm and fuzzy testimonies to family that manage to snuggle up to a sense of empowerment without actually advocating anything. Bear's kiddie viewers don't just smell, they smell good. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the occasion for all God's children to hug themselves, not a reminder of political struggle. The channel gives voice to a multicultural chorus, but its members all sing the same tune.
Since the days of Walt, the genius of Disney entertainment has been to strike the deepest chords of myth while at the same time sweetening them for easy mass palatability. The Disney Channel, with its abundance of viewer celebrations and affirmations and inspirations, unfolds in the same sunlit world. Except this time the object being Disneyfied is not Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. The product of discontinuous feedback is the Disney version of you.
Debra Goldman writes a column on advertising and culture for Adweek magazine.


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The Champion System Pro Cycling Team was runner-up – by one second – to Team MTN-Qhubeka at the Stage 5 team time trial at the Tour of Korea.
"Everyone gave everything they had," Champion System Assistant Director Chris Wherry said. "Our guys rode a perfect race and never missed a beat. This was the best I've seen our guys perform in a team time trial so far."
The demanding 25.5-kilometer course featured two short, but steep climbs. Champion System was down to just five riders after Fabian Schnaidt crashed out during Stage 3 and Bobbie Traksel had to withdraw due to illness. Despite being shorthanded, Champion System powered to a 35:20 finish, just one second shy of MTN-Qhubeka.
"I thought for sure we had the win today," Wherry said. "The guys looked that good out there and rode their hearts out. I have to take my hat off to the MTN-Qhubeka's team, sometimes you can do everything right and still come up just a little short."
"Although I am disappointed, we rode the best race we possibly could," Zach Bell said. "Not one guy missed a turn and we rode very tight. I honestly don't know where we would have found more seconds."

subset: commoncrawl


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this wiki
|Orbital radius
High; In the tens of billions
|Planetary Governor
Mordian System
|Sub Sector
Mordian is an Imperial Hive World in the Segmentum Obscurus that is the homeworld of the Imperial Guard's Mordian Iron Guard regiments. Many of the Imperium's enemies have underestimated these ranks of colorfully-uniformed troops, only to find out that they are among the toughest and most uncompromising of the Emperor's soldiers. The people of Mordian are often of a dour and grim temperament, living as they do in perpetual darkness. The suicide rate on the planet is reportedly now the highest in the Imperium since the destruction of the Night Lords Traitor Legion's homeworld of Nostramo. Mordian also once came under a great assault by the Forces of Chaos that was defeated only through the extraordinary discipline and valour of the Iron Guard in one of the Imperium's finest moments.
Mordian is a world that is tidally locked with its star, so that the Mordian day is the same as the Mordian year. As the planet does not rotate on its axis this means that like Luna, one-half of the planet is bathed in perpetual darkness and the other half burnt to a cinder by the glaring sun. This unusual planetological characteristic makes Mordian a truly miserable world to live upon, and it has well-earned its moniker as the "World of Eternal Night" as all of the human settlements on the world lie on Mordian's dark side. The planet's lack of rotation prevents any strong winds from developing due to the lack of a Coriolis Effect and as such the atmosphere is thick and dark. The world's billions of human inhabitants live in vast hive cities where all resources are controlled and distributed by the Mordian state. Mordian's hundreds of millions of inhabitants live on a land surface barely one tenth the size of Terra. Its hive cities are characterised by pyramidal, multi-levelled towers rising like mountains of steel and ceramic towards the ebon sky. The planetary government of Mordian is known as the Tetrarchy, and it strictly controls and rations the planet's meagre resources. This scarcity and authoritarian repression naturally breeds discontent, and the existence of the Iron Guard is often the only thing that stands between order and total anarchy. There is much discontent among the people, and the Imperial Guard regiments raised from Mordian, the Mordian Iron Guard, spend much of their time simply keeping the populace in line when they are not deployed to Imperial war zones.
Battle of Mordian
In the long and sinister annals of the Inquisition there are many tales of treachery and horror, of the destruction of worlds and the triumph of man's greed and foolishness. It is a record of human weakness and the power of the Chaos Gods. Yet amongst the record of lost planets and mortal defeat there are a few stories of human victory -- rare cases where the daemonic army of Chaos has been turned aside at the moment of success and driven back into the void from which it came. Mordian is one such world. The greatest threat to Mordian came one hot summer. The stifling heat was unusual even for Mordian, and the planet seethed with unrest. Beneath the streets brooded a secret conspiracy that posed a threat far greater than any seen before. In the depths met a dark conclave, a group of men who knew the extent of Mordian's wealth and wanted it for themselves.
Away from the sight of saner citizens they made their incantations and called upon the Dark Gods of Chaos. A spell was begun. It is impossible to say how much innocent blood was spilled to fuel their sorcery, or what sinister pledges were made to their dark masters. Those who cast the spell sought only personal enrichment; their lust for power knew no bounds. They would destroy the planet itself if they had to. They cared no more for its teeming millions than did the Chaos Gods. The summer grew hotter as the spell neared its completion. Many strange things were reported in the capital city of Vanandra. The cannibal mobs and criminal gangs were restless. Men saw winged monsters hovering in the city lights. People disappeared without a trace.
At last the spell was complete and suddenly the world shook as its sky erupted into flame and disgorged the Warlords of Chaos itself. From the Eye of Terror distorted and ugly spacecraft soared into the Mordian skies to rain fire and destruction upon the world. Chaos Space Marines poured into the city slaying all around in a great and bloody sacrifice to their gods. Daemons stalked the burning towers and hunted the souls of those that fled from the devastation below. From their dark hiding places the servants of Chaos crawled to the surface to bathe in the fire and terror of the world, confident of their masters' favour now that their work was done.
As the sky exploded into flame, the Tetrarchs of Mordian ordered their Astropaths to send psychic calls for help. The power of Chaos was so strong that the Astropaths' minds melted with the effort. It was impossible for anyone to say whether the messages got through or if help was on its way. Meanwhile, the Iron Guard fought a gallant resistance against the daemonic assault. Whilst lesser men fled in terror before the might of Chaos, the Iron Guard stood their ground, pouring volley after volley of laser fire into the enemy's ranks. At last the Iron Guard captains were forced to give the order to withdraw. Though their men would stand until the end, they could achieve little against the hordes of daemons and superhuman Traitor Marines that opposed them. Reluctantly the Iron Guard regrouped around the capital, abandoning the rest of the planet to the enemy.
Whilst the forces of Chaos rampaged throughout Mordian, the Iron Guard prepared Vanandra's defences. Every building became a fortress, every tower a strongpoint, and every street and plaza a killing-zone for the Iron Guard's carefully sighted weapons. At the centre lay the Tetrarchal Palace itself, from which the defence of the capital was coordinated. When the attack began, the Iron Guard was well prepared. Chaos Space Marines fell before their well-disciplined fire as shot after shot struck their ranks. Channelled into well prepared fire traps the Chaos Marines were easily repelled, but far greater and more potent foes followed upon their heels.
From the sewers and service ducts of the capital poured an army of Chaos Cultists, those wretches who had sold their souls to the Dark Gods. Clad in rags and armed with no more than iron bars and lengths of chain, they threw themselves upon the defenders. Driven by their insane devotion to Chaos, they cared little if they lived or died, and thousands were cut down by the devastating weapons of the Iron Guard. Nonetheless, this attack from an unexpected source left the defenders unprepared for the next assault. The Forces of Chaos moved upon the Iron Guard with purpose. Daemons and Chaos Space Marines advanced as one. Bloodthirsters of Khorne roared a great challenge to chill mortal blood. Keepers of Secrets stalked the battlefield, slaying those that dared to look upon them with a withering glare. Whirling Horrors skipped and chattered in an eerie blur of incandescent power. It was a terrifying sight, yet the Iron Guard held firm before the onslaught though many paid the ultimate price for their devotion.
Street by street, building by building, the Iron Guard fell back into the heart of the city. Their lines drew tighter but refused to break, as attack after attack was repulsed. When losses grew too heavy to endure, or as positions were outflanked and became untenable, the Iron Guard withdrew to another line, always preserving what they could of their men and weapons. It was a battle fought with all the tactical brilliance and discipline the best Imperial troops could hope for. Yet it was a battle the Mordians could not win. Eventually they would have nowhere left to retreat. At last the Iron Guard took position around the Tetrarchal Palace itself, the last strongpoint on the whole world. Behind hastily constructed defences the infantry waited for the inevitable attack. From the towers and ceremonial balconies the barrels of Lascannons and other heavy weapons glinted in the light of the burning sky.
Suddenly the horde of Chaos was upon them, screaming and bellowing in its might. Greater Daemons of Nurgle strode clumsily amongst their minions, rising above them four or five times the height of a man, giants and lords of their foul kind. The bloated daemons shuffled forward, putrid innards spilling over the ground, nauseous gasses bubbling from rents and tears in their leathery flesh. Beside them were the Plague Marines of the Death Guard, wholly dedicated to that pestilential god, their armour green and rancid with decay, their rank bodies stiff with disease. Before them came a black cloud of flies which buzzed about the Iron Guard, crawling into their eyes and ears, and filling their mouths with black hairy bodies.
The Iron Guard's Lasguns spat a volley of death into the screaming horde. Again the Lasguns cracked with a single voice, as the captains ordered shot after shot into the vile mass. From the Tetrarchal Palace came the chatter of Autocannons, the angry scream of Bolters and the piercing shriek of Lascannons. With mechanical precision the weapon crews loaded and fired over and over again, never stopping for one moment or breaking their routine. Daemon gore ran like a foul river in the once-white square, but as one beast fell another twice as hideous marched over its body toward the Iron Guard's position. The captains ordered their men back to the palace steps and formed a firing line. Their discipline intact, the Iron Guard prepared for a single volley before the Forces of Chaos fell upon them. Their final moment had come, though there were few left now to witness their inevitable defeat.
Little could the defenders of Mordian know of the power or purposes of Chaos, or that the Chaos Gods' hold upon Mordian was but a tenuous one. The spell that had brought them to mortal space and imbued the flesh of their servants with physical energy was almost spent. The fires that burned in the sky grew dim and the bellows of daemons echoed shallowly in the air. As the Iron Guard watched, their enemies dissolved before their eyes. The sky darkened to its customary blackness. In the dark the guiding lights of Imperial spacecraft glittered amongst the stars. The Iron Guard had won not just a battle, but the most precious thing of all -- time. From beyond the orbit of Mordian, Imperial psykers had wrought a counter-spell to break the hold of Chaos. While the Iron Guard fought upon the planet, a separate battle of wills had raged between the mortals of the Imperium and the Dark Gods. Only the Iron Guard's heroic resistance had given the psykers enough time to work their mystical abilities before Chaos won the planet for all time.
The disappearance of their most potent units demoralized the remnants of the Chaotic attackers and the Iron Guard took the opportunity to rout the enemy and force them from the planet. Through their sheer discipline and willingness to lay down their lives in away that would have impressed even an Astartes, the Mordian Iron Guard had held back the Forces of Chaos long enough for the Imperial Sanctioned Psykers to break the spell, and ensure that Mordia would remain in the hands of the Imperium of Man.
As a result of the Battle of Mordia, the regiments of the Mordian Iron Guard were soon considered some of the most elite units of the Imperial Guard in existence and were deployed to multiple conflicts across the galaxy.
- Codex:Imperial Guard (5th Edition), pg. 16
- Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Version), pg. 59
- Codex: Imperial Guard (2nd Edition), pp. 13-15
- Only War: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 52-53
- White Dwarf 154, "Mordian Iron Guard"


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Town Square
The case for a league of democracies
Original post made by Jane, Professorville, on May 14, 2008
With tensions between Russia and Georgia rising, Chinese nationalism growing in response to condemnation of Beijing's crackdown on Tibet, the dictators of cyclone-ravaged Burma resisting international aid, the crisis in Darfur still raging, the Iranian nuclear programme still burgeoning and Robert Mugabe still clinging violently to rule in Zimbabwe - what do you suppose keeps some foreign policy columnists up at night?
It is the idea of a new international organisation, a league or concert of democratic nations.
The world's democracies could make common cause to act in humanitarian crises when the UN Security Council cannot reach unanimity.
The league of democracies would not be limited to Europeans and Americans but would include the world's other great democracies, such as India, Brazil, Japan and Australia,Web Link
Comments (3)
a resident of East Palo Alto
on May 14, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Really, the concept of "League of Democracies" is just a new face of the "White Man´s Burden", an excuse to attack, invade and steal the resources of any nations.
The old excuse was the opportunity that the People of Colour had to come under the good example of the White Man (in Europe Nazis couldn´t apply that as their colonial power was directed against the territories of other white tribes so they fond the Germanic Man´s Burden). Now, as algasema said about the US it is not politically correct talk about race so there have to be found now forms, new excuses to guarantee the intervention in other nation´s affairs.
a resident of Palo Alto Hills
on May 14, 2008 at 9:31 pm
"The league of democracies would not be limited to Europeans and Americans but would include the world's other great democracies, such as India, Brazil, Japan and Australia."
Are you trying to start another world war? Inclusion v. exclusion seems to me like creating another axis and allies situation. You've got to be crazy. NO WAY!
Americans have become paranoid schizophrenic. So you think the world is out to get you, huh? LOL. Time for the looney bin.
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 15, 2008 at 9:35 am
A better alternative will be the Anglosphere, including countries that speak English and were once part of the British empire, including USA.
With a few exceptions, in Africa, these countries share values,and institutions, they are high trust cultures with the rule of law and democracies
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Don't forget to cast your ballot online. Voting ends May 29th. Stay tuned for the results in the July 21st issue of the Palo Alto Weekly.


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The B-4E Bass Guitar has beveled edges that reveal the contrast between the mahogany body and ebony top for a gorgeous, natural look all its own. Adding to this contrast of woods is the 5-piece neck-thru-body maple/mahogany neck and ebony fingerboard.Ensuring you get the most from the tones these wood combinations provide are ESP SB-4 pickups (bridge and neck) with an ESP ABQ-3 3-band active EQ for extended tone shaping. Dial in more brightness on pop tunes or get more kick on the low-end when you're getting down and dirty on heavier tunes.The neck is 34" scale with an extra-thin contour, and has a 42mm standard nut, and 24 XJ frets. Details include ESP tuners and an ESP BB-604 string-thru-body bridge in black nickel.Specifications:
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We spend on average one third of our lifetime in the bedroom , so you'd think the design and furniture we fill our bedrooms with would be pretty important to us. Well – yes and no. We've trawled the Web to find some of the weirdest and most wonderful pieces of design you may choose to fill your new homes and bedrooms with. Some are super-cool and useful, whilst others are just downright bizarre. Enjoy!
1. The Self Defence Table
Calling all security conscious home-owners – this may be the perfect bedside table for you! Forget sleeping with a knife under your pillow, the Self Defence Table provides all the protection you may need from a would-be intruder. That is if you're brave enough to take them on.
Source: James McAdam
2. The Itchy, Scratchy Bed of Hay
This bed probably isn't going to give you the best night's sleep you've ever had but it is pretty cool. Look closely and you can even see the last two occupants covered in hay.
3. The Bed Trap
Perfect for those who struggle to hold onto a new partner, the Bed Trap (as we've named it) comes complete with a wooden box to hold your beloved in, and stick and string to trap them when they least expect it. Hmm, very romatic.
4. Warping Wallpaper
We reckon these quirky wall coverings would definitely add a different dimension to your bedroom. For non-drug takers this is what an acid trip might look like, and it probably best not to look at when drunk.
5. Bedroom in a Box
This has to be the most usable item on the list, and is in fact brilliant. Perfect for students; people who are likely to move regularly and even refugees in disaster zones; Bedroom in a Box is an example of design genius.
6. Multimedia Chair
What technology modernist wouldn't love this piece of furniture? Complete with DVD storage slotted into the sides of the chair, comfy seating, a flat screen TV and computer desk behind – this piece has it all.
7. The Space Saving 'Computer Desk-Bed'
A genius bit of design work here. This space-saving bed and storage unit folds the mattress down the side of the bed to have the computer desk on top; or rolls down the desk to reveal the mattress whilst keeping everything on the desk just as you left it.
8. Trippy Bookcase
This unusual bookcase looks like it is straight out of the Patrick Swayze film Ghost, as the spirit of the bookcase leaves its body behind.
9. The Space Saving Mattress
For the discerning, space-saving individual who sleeps in one position – all night long, without moving – this is surely the mattress for you.
10. Bookcase Bed for Kids
We doubt there's a single kid out there who wouldn't love this bed surrounded by a bookcase. A secret, little den they can hide and play in, the unusual design may prove difficult for adults to find their way into…Or is that the point?


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West Virginia's Best Small Towns
(page 2 of 8)
Population 8,174
photographed by nikki bowman
Many towns boast a family-friendly atmosphere—a strong school system, parks, and safe streets are often the benchmark. And Bridgeport, a small city near the booming I-79 High Technology Corridor, can honestly say family life, schools, and community spirit are some of its greatest attractions. "From a very young age, our students see the schools as a huge part of our identity," says Matt Demotto, Bridgeport High School assistant principal. "Our schools are all located within a quarter mile of each other. One elementary school, the middle school, and the high school are beside each other. This area is also the location of the city park. It's a high traffic area and the hub of activity in the community."
With a growing population of more than 8,000 people, Bridgeport is changing fast, bringing in new businesses and attracting residents with its proximity to economic drivers like biotechnology, forensic science, biometrics, and aerospace manufacturing companies. Its convenient location—at the crossroads of historic U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 79—means Bridgeport is in a perfect position to continue its upward growth, and residents are passionate about the town's prospects. "Our residents are the biggest asset we have," Matt says. "We are competitive and fair. If you are willing to work hard, be a good neighbor, and raise responsible young people, then Bridgeport is your kind of town."
People in Bridgeport live for school sports—be it high school football, softball, or a WVU Mountaineers game. Bridgeport High School (BHS) alumni pack the stands on game days even years after graduating, cheering for the next generation. Consistently scoring high on national standardized tests, BHS, like many Bridgeport schools, boasts great educators and passionate administrators in an ideal, small town setting, and several other local schools have won awards for excellence. Matt says an emphasis on keeping community members involved in preparing the next generation is key. "Our schools are strong because the overwhelming majority of parents support the schools at all levels."
Bridgeport isn't only known for its great schools; it's also a retail and recreation destination. People from more than 14 counties converge on the Harrison County town for an all-encompassing shopping experience at Meadowbrook Mall (now undergoing a $5 million upgrade that will be complete October 2013) and the plethora of restaurant chains right off of the interstate. The Benedum Civic Center—childhood home of multimillionaire oil tycoon and philanthropist Michael Benedum—is a center of the community as well, housing organizations like Connect Bridgeport, a strong online community and visitor resource. And when the weather is agreeable, you'll find Bridgeport residents flocking to the city's pristine parks, walking trails, ball fields, as well as the new $8 million recreation complex featuring four baseball fields, a one-mile walking trail, and a large multipurpose field. Coupled with growth in the White Oaks business park and the United Hospital Center, the city is adding new opportunities for residents to succeed at every turn. "All these areas have thrived. Really, it has helped make Bridgeport a destination for business, recreation, and health care," says Randy Spellman, director of community development for the city.
Small businesses, too, have been stretching their legs in Bridgeport, especially along its winding and newly revitalized Main Street. Riversong Spa offers all the services required to help this professional community look and feel its best, including makeup artistry, waxing, and facials. Blooms Florist, also in the business of aesthetics, opened its sophisticated and inviting retail space in 2007 and has become a phenomenon in West Virginia and the region, offering full event and wedding planning as well as florist services from a convenient Main Street location. Little shops like Mustard Seed Primitives and Country Peddler provide a diverse assortment of unique gifts, home décor, jewelry, and more.
Don't let Bridgeport's small size fool you, though—this city has an appetite for beautiful art and great food, and if the two can coexist in the same location, all the better. The Shoppes of Averil Place on South Virginia Avenue is a colorful locus of creative energy, complete with a wide front porch and cozy chairs perfect for contemplating a crisp fall day and sipping espresso from the Provence Market Café and Marketplace. Hungry visitors can grab a bite in Provence Market's dining room, which offers a taste of France and an award-winning wine menu, browse Artworks' gallery of art and unique gifts, or take up knitting at The Nest—all under one roof.
The city's vibrant cultural life stems from a growing amount of diversity. Events like Jazz at Charles Pointe and the year-round Bridgeport Farmers Market (both held in the Bridgeport Conference Center) attract everyone from families to young professionals. The sheer popularity of other yearly community gatherings—the fall festival, Christmas parade, Easter egg hunt, and Bridgeport Scottish Festival, to name a few—give the impression that this small town has somehow managed to find a unique balance between economic growth and small town charm that bolsters local pride and gives Bridgeport its winning spirit. "The community supports the community," Matt says. "We have great leadership within our businesses, and many of these leaders give back."


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This character is the lead character of my short animation The Lady and The Lion. She is the most important character, and I am going for absolute accuracy of a wireframe, so the animation and texturing process is smooth running. The teeth are very important, so be sure to analyze them.
As far as concept goes: I struggled to created a portrait of a lady that has the specific forms of no specific culture. In other words, I don't just want an asian, african, central american or european lady. I want something far more wholistic than any one region. That said, if you think you have a suggestion(s) about her facial form and structure, please let me know.
Software: Lightwave


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Clinic Operator: 1-800-4-Sansum1-800-472-6786
by Sarah Washburn , MS, RD, CSO, Oncology Nutritionist
Did you know that your seasonal food choices can help decrease your risk of developing cancer? As the morning gets chillier and leaves fall from the trees, think about the vibrant colors of beets, kale and winter squashes or pumpkins to brighten your meals and arm you with cancer-protecting compounds.
Beets: Betalains are responsible for the vibrant deep red color of beets. Along with other compounds, betalains provide unique anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory protections that contribute to decreasing your cancer risk. Remember to briefly steam or roast your beets as the water-soluble betalain content decreases as the cooking time increases. Steam your beets with the skins on for no more than 15 minutes and roast them for less than one hour.
Kale: Isothiocynates and many other phytonutrients help make this wavy-leaf vegetable a great cancer-fighting food. Try different varieties, including dinosaur (also known as Lacinato, or Tuscan) kale, curly kale or ornamental kale. If you are sensitive to bitter foods, choose smaller leaves as they are more tender and less bitter. Another option is to fold the leaf in half lengthwise and cut out a majority of the fibrous stem as the stem tends to be more bitter than the rest of the leaf. Finally, a little lemon juice or oil can also help decrease the bitterness as well. See below for a Kale Waldorf Salad recipe!
Winter squash and pumpkins: Various carotenoids make these winter favorites great for cancer protection. Try delicata squash for a change. This is a delicious squash with a thin skin (which makes it easier to cut) and has a nutty taste. Just cut in half, turn face down in a roasting pan and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. It will melt in our mouth.
1 bunch curly green kale, rinsed, stems removed and kale finely chopped
2 firm apples or 1 pear and 1 apple, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 cup roughly chopped nuts or pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, figs, dates, raisins or cranberries
1 cup halved red grapes (optional)
2 oranges, peeled and cut into wedges (optional)
Orange Nut Dressing
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup orange juice or orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard Pinch of salt
Sarah Washburn is a Registered Dietitian and a Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition with more than 10 years of experience. Sarah is passionate about providing tailored whole food nutrition recommendations and education to patients throughout the spectrum of their cancer experience. She and our other oncology dietitian, Kristin Price, RD, are integral members of a patient's care team, working closely with physicians and other support staff. You can make an appointment to see one of our Oncology Dietitians by calling (805) 898-2204.


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Impossible Passes, No Gringos and Popusas!
Trip Start Dec 08, 2004
38Trip End Dec 07, 2005
"El Salvador"
"Have you been there?"
"Whats it like?"
"Oh...well we didnt actually travel there. We just got a bus to San Salvador and then a bus out the next morning, its meant to be really dangerous"
This is the same conversation we had with the very few people we spoke to who had actually been to El Salvador. No one had actually travelled around or knew anything about it. El Salvador is a country, like many in Central America, getting back on its feet after a terrible civil war that lasted 12 years and cost thousands of lives
Situated on the Pacific coast of Central America, El Salvador has Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and east. It is the smallest of the Central American countries, and the only one without an Atlantic coastline. Most of the country is on a fertile volcanic plateau about 2,000 ft (607 m) high.
Here is a brief history of El Salvador:
The Pipil Indians, descendants of the Aztecs, likely migrated to the region in the 11th century. In 1525, Pedro de Alvarado, a lieutenant of Cort�s of Spain, conquered El Salvador.
El Salvador, with the other countries of Central America, declared its independence from Spain on 15th September 1821, and was part of a federation of Central American states until that union dissolved in 1838. For decades after its independence, El Salvador experienced numerous revolutions and wars against other Central American republics. From 1931 to 1979 El Salvador was ruled by a series of military dictatorships.
In 1969, El Salvador invaded Honduras after Honduran landowners deported several thousand Salvadorans
In the 1970s discontent with societal inequalities, a poor economy, and the repressive measures of dictatorship led to civil war between the government, ruled since 1961 by the right-wing National Conciliation Party (PCN), and leftist antigovernment guerrilla units, whose leading group was the Farabundo Mart� National Liberation Front (FMLN). The U.S. intervened on the side of the military dictatorship, despite its scores of human rights violations. Between 1979 and 1981, about 30,000 people were killed by right-wing death squads backed by the military. The presidency of Jos� Napole�n Duarte, a moderate civilian, from 1984-1989, offered an alternative to the political extremes of right and left, but Duarte was unable to end the war and in 1989, Alfredo Cristiani of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) was elected. On Jan. 16, 1992, the government signed a peace treaty with the guerrilla forces, formally ending the 12-year civil war that had killed 75,000.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated the country, leaving 200 dead and over 30,000 homeless. In Jan. and Feb. 2001, major earthquakes struck El Salvador, damaging about 20% of the nation's housing. An even worse disaster beset the country in the summer when a severe drought destroyed 80% of the country's crops, causing famine in the countryside.
In 2004, Antonio Saca of ARENA was elected president and is in power today. Not a cheery history is it?
Undeterred by peoples opinions we headed to the south west of Guatemala to the border to find out for ourselves
Our journey into El Salvador was going to be easy, just a few hours by bus and a couple of changes, no problem......yeah right!
We arrived at the border without a hitch. I was extremely pleased to see it was marked! None of the borders so far have been marked as such, so its been unclear as to when exactly we have left one country and entered another. So I was very excited by the fact that in the road halfway on the bridge joining Guatamala and El Salvador there was a metal strip marking the border!
The bicycle taxis found at every boarder usually peddle you from one side to the other for a small fee, as its always a fair distance and in the heat after a usually long chicken bus ordeal walking with backpack isnt high on the priority list. Here they could only legally take us to the line which I was very pleased about. "Guatemala!" hop "El Salvador!" hop "Guatemala!" hop "El Salvador!" as you can imagine this went on for quite some time until Keith eventually dragged me away.
We were heading for Tacuba, a tiny little mountain town on the edge of the Parque National El Imposible where we planned to do a mountain biking tour through the Parque to the coast. El Imposible is a protected area of original tropical cloud forest carpeting the mountains of North El Salvador and is home to over 400 types of trees and many rare or endangered plants and wildlife.
According to the Lonely Planets transport info and maps, the journey from the border to Tacuba was easy
So what was planned to be a 2 hour max jouney soon became 5 hours. It was getting dark and not wanting to bus hop by night we stopped over in Auachapan a town at the foot of the mountains and unknowingly its the home of the Popusa!
Popusa is a typical food of El Salvador. It's a maize flour dough which is made into a cup and filled typically with cheese and beans and then flattened into a pancake and lighltly fried. It�s served with pickled shredded cabbage and carrot and a tomtato salsa. WOWEEE! We were in taste bud heaven! (Anyone visiting El Salvador and wanting to taste the best pupusas in the country go to Lo Chozas just outside Auachapan) yummy!
The shower in our hotel room wasn't working so we were upgraded into one of the best rooms in the hotel. It was huge with air con, TV, dressing room and a bathroom big enough to merengue in. Not only that, it had agua cliente (hot water)!
They don�t do hot water in Guatemala. If your lucky (and if the risk of electrocution is outweighed by your need to wash) a hot water shower in Guatemala typically has an electrical filament in the shower head that heats the water as you use it
So the chance to have a shower without risking death was wonderful. Every cloud has its silver lining......
Mama y Papa hostel in Tacuba was lovely and so aptly named because for the 3 days we were there we had a surrogate family and enough pets to fill a small farmyard. They have a duck which is in love with the cat and follows the cat around all day, extremely amusing, although sadly the ducks sentiments aren�t recipricated. Mama and Papa run the hostel (we dont know their names thats what you call them) and Manalo, their son, organises tours.
On our first day in Tacuba, Manalo took us to the famous La Ceiba de los pericos. It�s a 600 year old Ceiba tree (the national tree of Guatemala) where at dusk hundreds of parrots collect to roost. The tree was impressive enough by itself, it was immense. We waited patiently for the sun to fall and then gradually one by one small flocks of green parrots flew over head gathering in the surrounding palms. In just 15 minutes there were hundreds of them. All of a sudden they simultaneously launched into the air creating a huge swooping cloud of flashing green above us, slowly dispersing as they found a place in the Ceiba to roost
The next day when the ear ringing had subsided it was mountain bike time! Manalo drove us in his pick up to one of the highest peaks in El Impossible. The drive up there was breath taking, it was our first experience of really untouched rain forest and exactly how imagined it.
The parque isn�t called El Imposible without reason. Its an area of extremely steep towering mountains breaking into the clouds and deep gorges all blanketed in thick varied forest. It was because of these gorges it got its name. Many coffee growers died by falling to their death trying to pass one gorge by using tree trunks to came a bridge. We were relieved that they had now built a proper bridge.
Manolo unloaded some very dodgey looking bikes and told us to just follow the path down the mountain and hed see us at the bottom. Oh my life! The path down was so steep and all loose gravel, mud and big rocks which seemed to creep up on you un noticed until the last second as i found out. I started of really slow but my confidence grew and we were soon flying down the track whooping and shrieking like a pair of over excited holwer monkeys
Three hours later with blistered hands, bruised bums, covered head to toe in mud and a small step closer to death it was time to hit the beach!
We spent the night at a house on the beach. Literally on the beach. Its was in a tiny fishing community so no tourists and nobody apart from fishing families to be seen.
We had freshly caught fish for dinner and sat around a campfire drinking and chatting. Manalo told us of his time in the Army during the civil war. It is horrific what these people have been through, it doesnt seem real when you read about it but to hear it from someone who actually fought and saw many freinds die in combat makes it all harrowingly real. After watching the sun come up we went to bed.
On the drive home the next day, we were about to experience natures best hangover cure. The weather was beautiful the skies blue with the mellow warmth of the morning sun. As we got closer to the mountains and started to climb the clouds started to gather soon becoming a menacing dark backdrop to the mountains
We were in the back of the pickup and open to the elements. I have never felt anything like it. The only thing i can compare it to would be showering under a jet wash. The raindrops were huge and falling with incredible force they felt like hail stones. The intensity of the rain was incredible. The once dry dust roads became gushing rivers. There was no where to shelter until we reached a town 20 minutes away. Soaked to the bone we waited for it to pass and changed into some dry clothes. Unfortunatly proving pointless as we only caught up with it again. Umm maybe we should buy some waterproofs.
After much needed hot showers and dinner a powercut set in. Out came the candles, Manalo played the guitar and I got my first full game of scrabble (Keith always gets bored halfway through). Thank you Ruth.
Tacuba is at the beginning of the Route de Flores, a string of little towns on a main route through the highlands. We visited a few but Juayua was the best. Every weekend they have a food festival. Thats my kind of town! We saw and tasted everything from sausage called "white sumpremecy" ummmm and fried frog, not just the legs this is a whole frog
Santa Ana was next. We stayed with a freind of Manalos who had just recently opened his home to travellers (Casa Frolaz in the north of the town). Javier was lovely he took us for days out and gave us a personal tour of his coffee finca. The finca house was built by his father, somewhat of an eccentric, desinging it to look like a mayan temple. Javier took us to a few towns nearby and to the lakes. Lago Coatepeque a volcanic crater lake where we climbed Cerro Verde volcanoe and Lago Guija with some very cool rock carvings where we had a picnic.
Lago Guija is on the border and is shared with Guatemala. It said to be the most beautiful lake in El Salvador and it probably is if wasnt for the litter. Litter is a terrible problem everywhere we have been in Central America. There is no recycling and more importantly no education about the environment. People leave and drop rubbish without a care and strangely the amount of litter everywhere doesnt seem bother them. Plastic is a huge problem, everything from water to an apple comes in a plastic bag and if not they will puty it in one. They look at me as if im mad when i ask for something without a bag, its crazy. I didnt really appreciate how much waste us humans produce and what a mess of thew world we are making. Its all buried and out of sight in England but here even if it is collected up its then dumped on the side of a mountain. Scarey!
The climate was starting to get hotter and we were in desperate need of some cooler clothes so we made an overnight stop in San Salvador. It was like being in the states with shopping malls, cinemas and fast food restarunts everywhere
After a brief and shocking reminder of the western world we headed north towards the Honduran border stopping at Suchitoto and La Palma.
Suchitoto is is described as being like Antigua in Guatemala before the tourists arrived. It was beautiful. A small colonial town on the shores of a lake lined with cobble streets and very hot! This was sign of things to come we had had it easy until now it was like being in a sauna. Just standing was an effort and a walk around town was equivalent to a marathon. So a walk to the nearby waterfall at midday wasnt such a great plan. Typically it was a cockup thanks to LP. Only 30 minute walk it said up a gentle hill it said and then an hour gentle stroll back to town. Try a 1 1/2 hours hiking up a steep enbankment and then 2 hour walk back to town! Actually we managed to hitch back but still there is no way it would have been a 1 hour stroll it took us nearly 20 minutes in a car. The waterfall wasnt falling with water as it is dry season but it was still beautiful. Due to volcanic nature of the rocks it was made up of lots of hexagonal pillars giving the look of a giant black church organ
La Palma was our last stop in El Salvador. It is the artesan capital of El Salvador and as I am collecting typical art from each country we visit it was a must. El Salvador has a style of painting unique to the country. Usually scenes of cockerals, houses, pots, flowers and people painted in very bright colours with a simple black out line painted on wooden trays or boxes. The hotel we stayed in was fantastic, almost every wall or flat surface was painted like this. See the pics of our room.
Near to La Palma is El Pital the highest point (2730 mteres) in El Salvador, which of cause we had to climb. Actually there is a bus taking you up the ridiculously steep road to a plato at the bottom of the summit where we then made the 2 hour steep climb to the top. Apparently the views from the top are breathtaking on a clear day (which it definately was not) and you can make out the volcanoes of Guatemala in the distance. We chose a bad day and there was nothing but cloud at the top, it was hard to see your hand infront of you at some points. A local stray dog accompanied us all the way up and back down. It was lovely to have a dog to walk although I think it was him walking us most of the time. From La Palma it was then north to El Poy on the border and into Honduras.
El Salvador was a breath of fresh air! Only 4 other gringos in 2 weeks, incredible! (in-cred-ee-blay in spanish) a huge change from Guatemala. Locals stopped and watched with suprised and curious faces where ever we went. The people were wonderful, always eager to chat or help and test out any English they knew to welcome us to their country
Everything isnt handed to you on plate like it is in Guatemala. Tourism hasn't polished and fluffed up all the sights and places of interest, its just how it is and thats that. So you have to work a little harder to find its beauty but its an honest untouched beauty and we are glad to have experienced it.
For anyone thinking of going to El Salvador, DO! Its a beautiful country and a shame to miss. If you go to Santa Ana make sure you stay with Javier at Casa Frolez. He �s a incredibley kind, freindly and helpful man with a beautiful house and for 6 dollars a night this is one hostal you wont want to leave.


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You got to hand it to President Obama, he single-handedly has made billions obsolete and the national debt in the trillions%u2026 or you can use the word zillions which is defined as an indefinite amount.And zillions is what inspired me to write this column about the Spectacular "KA" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. KA by Cirque du Soleil features acrobatic performances, martial arts, puppetry and zillions and zillions of Ninjas all around you%u2026 to the left, right, in front of you and above you. Plus there's another zillion on stage shooting back arrows, spears and fireballs as the story unfolds of this epic saga of separated twins.
Incredible staging brings giant boats and platforms on stage; lights appearing and disappearing right before your eyes as the light whirlpools into disappearing holes in front of you.I could understand why the tickets were $150 each; there is a tremendous payroll to meet. Only casinos of MGM Grand caliber had stages that could accommodate the audiences needed to put on such spectaculars. Originally we were offered the KA tickets, which Sharon really didn't want to see and I asked my nephew's contact in Vegas if we could seeCarmen Electra at the MGM Grand's Crazy Horse Paris show instead? This boggled the mind of the contact who couldn't believe that Sharon did not want to see "KA, the best spectacular show in Vegas." I asked if it was possible to see both shows that night, she checked and offered us KA tickets for the 7pm show and said we could catch the 10:30 Carmen Electra show too.There's an old saying I sincerely believe in, if you don't ask%u2026you don't get.We got two $150 seats and two $75 seats comp and outside of the aggravation of my scooter breaking down in the MGM Grand it was a perfect night enjoying two completely different types of shows.
I've been to the original Crazy Horse Cabaret in Paris in 1951 and was pleasantly surprised to not see the same nude bodies that I had seen 58 years ago.These ladies were beautiful and talented dancers. Nudity didn't bother me in Paris and I certainly enjoyed the gorgeous talented nude bodies performing that night, especially Carmen Electra.
L'Art Du Nude, The Art of the Nude introduced in Paris in 1951, successfully came to Vegas in 2001 and since then, impossibly beautiful dancers perform on stage in an intimate cabaret revue. If a pretty girl is like a melody, then we had a grand opera of dazzling dancing dames to feast our eyes on.
Another spectacular, the Lion King has been on Broadway since 1998. We were able to catch it at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas. Ironically, in 1998 I was reading its New York Times ad which offered preview seats.I told my wife Sharon this has got to be a hit, let's get tickets and she said no. After it opened to rave revues, it was impossible to get affordable tickets through the years. Part of our Monte Carlo package included two seats to the Lion King and that's how finally we got to see it and my wife Sharon loved it.This proves my point to you men. Never listen to your wives, when you know they always make wrong decisions.It took me 11 years to be able to say that and it will probably be another zillion years to be able to say it again.
Screech at you next week!
©2009 Community News Group
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a man apparently answering an advertisement on a social media site for sale of an all-terrain vehicle was shot and killed in north Philadelphia.
A police spokeswoman said initial information indicates that the 27-year-old New Jersey man and two other people were in West Oak Lane on Friday night answering a Craigslist ad for an ATV.
Witnesses said the victim talked with a man who told him to walk around to look at the four-wheeler, and they lost sight of him down the street — then heard two gunshots shortly afterward.
Officers found the victim on the street with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the left side of his face, and emergency responders pronounced him dead at 11:23 p.m. Friday. No arrests have been reported.


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Wanganui District Council chief executive Kevin Ross has confirmed reports that identified shortcomings in Wanganui's wastewater treatment plant were never sent to Horizons.
Horizons relied on the district council's data to ensure the plant was working properly.
However with the information not forthcoming, Horizons said it just had its annual visual assessment to check the plant and up until recently described it as working well.
Mr Ross has taken ultimate responsibility for the reports not being forwarded to the regional council. The data was later provided as part of the annual plan.
Horizons' environmental protection team used that information to compile its own report which outlines significant shortfalls in the monitoring of Wanganui's wastewater treatment plant.
It covers October and November 2012 and notes that there were "numerous non-compliance" issues regarding the wastewater treatment plant.
These include:
Exceeding consent limits, faecal coliforms and suspended solids;
Not altering the frequency of sampling when non-compliance was identified;
No notification of change in sampling frequency;
No formal reporting of non-compliances to Horizons' environmental protection manager;
Mixing zone [located 1.6km out to sea] had not been checked for any suspended materials, bad smells, or change in clarity or colour of the water;
The collection of shellfish for monitoring was not at the required frequency;
The sea floor survey was not undertaken;
The annual report was late and had to be requested.
Reports with this information were written but not sent to Horizons, Mr Ross said.
The Horizons' environmental protection team issues a report about every two months on the plant. They are signed off by environmental protection manager Alison Russell.
Previous reports for 2012 note simply that the plant was "working well", based on annual visits to the wastewater treatment plant by Horizons staff.
Ms Russell said the site visit was a visual assessment only.
"We can assess the odour, for example. And at the time we last visited, in May 2012, there were no objectionable odours noticeable beyond the boundary of the wastewater treatment plant, nor had there been any complaints at that time."
Ms Russell said a true picture of how the plant was operating was only available once the Wanganui District Council provided the data assessment to Horizons as part of its annual plan.
"This showed that there were significant shortfalls at the plant."
She said Horizons and the council had met several times since then to discuss how the problems could be resolved.
She said Horizons' monitoring of the plant was standard.
Horizons issued the council with an abatement notice on January 9, after a stench had been wafting over Wanganui for about four weeks. The smell is not a breach of the council's consent, but is a breach of regional rules.
It has since been revealed by the council that the treatment plant was poorly designed and has never functioned properly. The council is currently working with wastewater experts Cardno BTO to determine the future of the plant.
In response to questions from the Wanganui Chronicle about the non-compliance, Wanganui District Council chief executive Kevin Ross issued the following statement.
"The key performance indicators in the Wanganui District Council's Annual Report have shown there are areas where the treatment plant is non-compliant.
"The ultimate responsibility for reporting to Horizons lies with Wanganui District Council's chief executive.
"Unfortunately, although the reports were prepared, they were not sent to Horizons. We have reinforced the required procedures to ensure this does not happen again."


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Jones, George W. (2010) Blame them, not us: how the Comprehensive Spending Review reflects the interests of the cabinet, and not the people. British Politics and Policy at LSE (05 Nov 2010) Blog Entry.
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While others have tried to look into their crystal balls and predict the effects of the government's Comprehensive Spending Review on the economy and society, it is just as important to look at how it was carried out. Professor George Jones argues that the political games and ploys used reflect the realities of cabinet government
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|© 2011 The Author
|Library of Congress subject classification:
|J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain
|Departments > Government
Collections > British Politics and Policy at LSE
Research centres and groups > LSE Public Policy Group
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|18 Jan 2012 14:50
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text:
Note : Your Quotation Request will be directed to Anritsu.
The MA2475D from Anritsu is a Power Sensor with Frequency 0.01 to 50 GHz, Power Range -70 to 20 dBm. Tags: Diode Power Sensor. More details for MA2475D can be seen below.
TVAC compliant USB and LAN Power Sensor
You can now find similar products from multiple companies on everything RF.


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Make Snowflake Counting Cards
Get your preschooler ready for kindergarten by helping him learn numbers 1-10 with pretty snowflake counting cards. Offering crafting, creativity, and math practice, this activity is packed with valuable learning. Cutting and gluing help build fine motor skills, and making snowflakes is great for boosting creativity. Gather a few sheets of construction paper and card stock to get started!
What You Need:
- 5-6 sheets of white construction paper, cut into 4" squares
- 10 8" x 10" sheets of cardstock or other thick paper in any color but white
- Safety scissors
- Glue stick
- Markers or crayons
What You Do:
- Before starting the craft, talk about snowflakes with your child. What are snowflakes? What makes them special?
- Hand him one of the white construction paper squares and ask him to fold it in half along the diagonal, and then in half once again. He should end up with a folded-up triangle.
- Help him cut shapes into the folded triangle using the scissors.
- Once he is finished cutting, unfold the paper to reveal a pretty snowflake.
- Repeat steps 2-4 with the rest of the construction paper squares. Make some of your own snowflakes to help with the cutting.
- Now make the counting cards. Each sheet of card stock will be one card. Help your child number the cards from 1-10 with the markers or crayons. If he has trouble, lightly write the numbers in pencil first and have him trace over them.
- Decorate the reverse side of the cards with the paper snowflakes. Encourage him to arrange the snowflakes on the cards as he likes, then glue them down.
- Set the cards aside to dry.
- Once the cards are dry, it's time to play! Hold the counting cards up one by one and ask him to say the number. Then practice counting by having him arrange the cards in order from 1 to 10.
Use your counting cards regularly to help your child with number recognition and counting 1-10.


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Welcome to the first release candidate for phpMyAdmin 3.2.0. This version contains a number of small new features and some bug fixes.
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Sport item created by , May 5, 2010
Really amazing headphones. Easy and durable to use.
Pros - Packaging
Cons - Sound quality, build quality, overall design
These headphones were not designed very well imo. There is a noticable seal problem. The headband has zero pressure and the earcups swivel in the wrong direction. When you press on the earcups for seal, the sound gets much better.
As a result, the sound is suprisingly bass light for a skullcandy. The mids are Ok in this price range and the soundstage is pretty good. The highs are terrible though. Very plasticy, peaky.
Compared to other department store headphones, like Sony, JVC, AIWA, KOSS etc.... These sound about the same level as a AIWA but not a KOSS or Sony. I think the packaging, looks, and comfort take too much away from the potential sound.
Mine are modded and sound worlds better than stock. If you own a par, atleast check out my mod thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/472522/skullcandy-lowrider-mod
If you are looking for WalMart headphones, look elsewhere at Sony, Koss, JVC. These are very mediocre unmodded, even for only $20.


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By Richard Clarke
This season's title-winners could be the team who copes best
with the rigours of the FA Cup and Champions League, according to
Arsène Wenger.
Arsenal kept pace with Manchester United at the top of the table with a 3-0 win at Fulham on Saturday. It was an important return to form after, in the manager's words, "they lacked edge" in the 1-1 draw with Birmingham a week earlier. Perhaps focus is hard to find right now given that Arsenal are juggling two domestic cups plus their League commitments - and that massive tie with Milan is less than a month away.
After the win at Craven Cottage, it was suggested to Wenger that, because it was so tight at the top, the games between the leading contenders would decide the title.
"It is a bit early for that," he replied. "It depends also how the teams will do in the FA Cup and Champions League, how much strength will they lose? What kind of injuries they will have? So it is too early to say, but certainly these types of games could be the deciders.
"What is interesting now is we have 54 points, Manchester United have 54, Chelsea have 50. The race looks to be very exciting and very interesting. Last year at that period we were not in the race - this year we are highly in the race. And we really want to do it."


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Why do you have to remove piercings during surgery?
Why does Nail polish , artificial nails & gel polish have to come off ? why do piercings have to come out and ... Most importantly what do you do when you have a patient with a dermal piercing ? These are implanted piercings which usually have a ball or a gemstone protruding from the skin held by an anchor which has healed under the skin.
Doctor Answers 2
Metal accesories and surgery
Wearing metal accesories like rings, piercings and earing during a surgical procedure at the surgical room can make interference with the electrocautery, and it can cause undesirable burns in the transsurgical period. Nylon and Lycra underwear also can cause burns. That's why you are not supposed to wear them in the surgical room.
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.


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UHF Honors SJEH Volunteers
John's Episcopal Hospital volunteer Ruth Hamburger was honored at the Hospital Auxilian and Volunteer Achievement Award Ceremony held by the United Hospital Fund at the Grand Ballroom of The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on Friday, March 19. Hamburger has been a volunteer at St. John's for 15 years.
"We are very proud to nominate Ms. Hamburger to represent our volunteers at the United Hospital Fund Award Ceremony," said Eric Matza, Vice President of Development and Public Relations, St. John's Episcopal Hospital.
"Ms. Hamburger donates her time and energy and serves the community and Hospital well. She helps patients navigate the Hospital and makes their experience here that much better."
Hamburger escorts patients to their varied destinations in the Hospital facility and provides office support in the Admitting Department.
She has also volunteered as a tutor in a public school and at a nursing home as well. In 2008 she received the "President's Call to Service Award" from the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) for having donated more than 4,000 hours of service and for making a difference in people's lives.
"I enjoy working directly with the public," Hamburger said. "Working with the Hospital employees has been a pleasure with their camaraderie, togetherness and welcoming atmosphere," she added.


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/// TV Review: 'Hannibal'
March 28, 2013 | Variety
At first blush, "Hannibal" looks like the conceptual twin of CBS timeslot rival "Elementary," a series that seeks to leverage a brilliant literary character to sell a moody procedural. It's also a little like "It Takes a Thief," only here substituting a serial killer. Stick with the series through a handful of episodes, though, and… Read more
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Write Review for Blu-ray Crazy, Stupid, Love. [Blu-ray/DVD] [Canadian; French] (Blu-ray 15828995),
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Blu-ray Crazy, Stupid, Love. [Blu-ray/DVD] [Canadian; French]
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Blu-ray Crazy, Stupid, Love. [Blu-ray/DVD] [Canadian; French]
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"[The film] fills its scenes with bright surprises while making an appealing new case for the old-fashioned notion of soul mates."
Wall Street Journal
3 stars out of 4 -- "CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE is a sweet romantic comedy about good-hearted people....Marisa Tomei enters the movie as a tornado of warm comic energy."
Chicago Sun-Times
"CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE is one from the heart and one for the heart....It may well restore your faith in the very possibility of love, to say nothing of romantic comedies."
Los Angeles Times
4.5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] crazy funny delight....The only thing 3D about this sexy, hilarious romp is a script full of three-dimensional human beings."
Box Office
"Everyone in CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE is served well by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's crisp, intelligent direction. Their instincts keep the story moving deftly..."
"[R]emarkably sane and reasonably smart....This movie, packed with appealing stars, is a smooth blend of modern comic genres with a surprising undercurrent of dark, difficult emotion."
New York Times
"[T]he interplay between Carell and Gosling generates most of the comedy....Gosling and Stone, too, have wonderful chemistry..."
A.V. Club
"[A] terrifically amusing study in contemporary behavior....Carell gives a ruefully funny and lived-in performance..." -- Grade: A
Entertainment Weekly
3 stars out of 4 -- "What makes CRAZY STUPID LOVE a cut above is actors who let pain seep into the laughs. Here's a comedy you really can take to heart."
Rolling Stone
"CRAZY is clever....The script sets up rote situations, then turns them on their head or takes them in unexpected directions."
Hollywood Reporter
4 stars out of 5 -- "It's a funny movie that tiptoes into adult pain, and it's full of witty touches..."
Total Film
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The First Sex: The Natural Talents of Women and How They Are Changing the Worldby Helen Fisher
"Tomorrow belongs to women," notes celebrated anthropologist Helen Fisher. In her explosive new book, The First Sex, she illustrates this enticing assertion. Drawing on original research, Fisher reveals how women and their natural talents are changing the world, making them ideal leaders and successful shapers of business and society--today and on into the twenty-first century.
Looking back to prehistoric times, Fisher shows how the special structure of the female brain enables women to do "web thinking" or "synthesis thinking," as compared to men's more linear or "step" thinking. With lively anecdotes and fascinating stories, Fisher reveals how women's special talents--superior verbal abilities, people savvy, acute senses, healing techniques, and more--are geared to success in today's worlds of medicine, education, communications, law, philanthropy, and government. Changes in society--the growth of the communications economy and new trends in family--are also giving women an advantage: women's unique talents are especially needed in our modern age.
This eye-opening book will change the way you see yourself, your family, and the world around you, including every man and woman you meet.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Editorial Reviews
The New York Times Book Review
Publishers Weekly
"[Fisher's] science and her sociology make for a well-reasoned case that the people Simone de Beauvoir once defined as 'the second sex' are about to move to the head of the class."
Product Details
- 9780307766113
- Publisher:
- Random House Publishing Group
- Publication date:
- 09/29/2010
- Sold by:
- Random House
- Format:
- NOOK Book
- Pages:
- 400
- Sales rank:
- 851,253
- File size:
Read an Excerpt
Women's Contextual View
What man has assurance enough to pretend to know thoroughly the riddle of a woman's mind?
God created woman. And boredom did indeed cease from that moment." Friedrich Nietzsche was no feminist, but he apparently appreciated the female mind. He was not the first. Women have been adding zest, wit, intelligence, and compassion to human life since our ancestors stoked their fires in Africa a million years ago.
Now women are about to change the world. Why? Because during the millions of years that our forebears traveled in small hunting-and-gathering bands, the sexes did different jobs. Those jobs required different skills. As time and nature tirelessly propagated successful workers, natural selection built different aptitudes into the male and female brain. No two people are the same. But, on average, women and men possess a number of different innate skills. And current trends suggest that many sectors of the twenty-first-century economic community are going to need the natural talents of women.
Please do not mistake me. Men have many natural abilities that will be essential in the coming global marketplace. Nor have men been laggards in the past. They have explored and mapped the world; produced most of our literature, arts, and sciences; and invented many of the pleasures of contemporary life, from the printing press to lightbulbs, sneakers, chocolate, and the Internet. Men will continue to make enormous contributions to our high-tech society.
But women have begun to enter the paid workforce in record numbers almost everywhere on earth. As these women penetrate, even saturate, the global marketplace in coming decades, I think they will introduce remarkably innovative ideas and practices.
What are women's natural talents? How will women change the world? I begin with how women think.
I believe there are subtle differences in the ways that men and women, on average, organize their thoughts--variations that appear to stem from differences in brain structure. Moreover, as discussed throughout this book, women's "way of seeing" has already begun to permeate our newspapers, TV shows, classrooms, boardrooms, chambers of government, courtrooms, hospitals, voting booths, and bedrooms. Feminine thinking is even affecting our basic beliefs about justice, health, charity, leisure, intimacy, romance, and family. So I start with that aspect of femininity that I believe will have the most ubiquitous impact on tomorrow.
In this chapter I maintain that women, on average, take a broader perspective than men do--on any issue. Women think contextually, holistically. They also display more mental flexibility, apply more intuitive and imaginative judgments, and have a greater tendency to plan long term--other aspects of their contextual perspective. I discuss the scientific evidence for these female traits and the probable brain networks associated with them. Then I trace women's outstanding march into the world of paid employment and conclude that women's broad, contextual, holistic way of seeing will pervade every aspect of twenty-first-century economic and social life.
The Female Mind
"When the mind is thinking, it is talking to itself," Plato said. Everyone has tossed around in bed at night churning over a business problem or a troubled love affair. Images appear, then vanish. Scenes unfurl. Snippets of conversation emerge from nowhere, dissolve, then repeat themselves. A rush of anger engulfs you. Then pity. Then despair. Then rationality takes over for a moment and you resolve to do this, then that. On goes the debate as clock hands wind from three to four. A committee meeting is in progress in your head.
"The mind is a strange machine which can combine the materials offered to it in the most astonishing ways," wrote the British philosopher Bertrand Russell. Both men and women absorb large amounts of data and weigh a vast array of variables almost simultaneously.
Psychologists report, however, that women more regularly think contextually; they take a more "holistic" view of the issue at hand.1 That is, they integrate more details of the world around them, details ranging from the nuances of body posture to the position of objects in a room.2
Women's ability to integrate myriad facts is nowhere more evident than in the office. Female executives, business analysts note, tend to approach business issues from a broader perspective than do their male colleagues.3 Women tend to gather more data that pertain to a topic and connect these details faster. As women make decisions, they weigh more variables, consider more options and outcomes, recall more points of view, and see more ways to proceed. They integrate, generalize, and synthesize. And women, on average, tolerate ambiguity better than men do4--probably because they visualize more of the factors involved in any issue.
In short, women tend to think in webs of interrelated factors, not straight lines. I call this female manner of thought "web thinking."
From the Hardcover edition.
Meet the Author
Helen Fisher is an anthropologist at Rutgers University and the author of The Sex Contract: The Evolution of Human Behavior and Anatomy of Love: The Natural History of Monogamy, Adultery, and Divorce. For her books, articles, and radio appearances, Dr. Fisher received the American Anthropological Association's Distinguished Service Award in 1985.
From the Hardcover edition.
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This is a book that you need if you are going to do a research paper about men and women. This author has worked so hard to give the reader a huge amount of information!


text: by Loraine Kasprzak Aug 30, 2011 Comments (2) AIChE Topics: Professional Development General Interest Share This Post: Since Linkedin was launched in 2005, social media has increasingly played a role in our lives, both personal and professional. A recent New York Times article discussed the idea of how you influence people - or don't - based your social media reach. We know we reach the ChEnected community of engineering professionals via a variety of social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, to name a few. That got us thinking: how are engineers using these tools - and more importantly, why? So we'd like to find out how you're using social media and where it's been of value to you. We'll report on our findings in a series of CEP articles and ChEnected posts, starting in early 2012. Please take two minutes and share your insights by answering our short questionnaire. We may just quote you in an upcoming article or blog post! Tell us how you use social media by filling out our brief questionnaire. Comments Nemoy (not verified) Aug 31, 2011 This is a very interesting question on a few different levels. One has to acknowledge the stance pharmaceutical companies has taken in regards to facebook pages (long story short, they killed them all due to Facebook instigating policies allowing users to comment on those pages which caused problems for FDA regulations of drugs, etc.). For average Chemical Engineers working in a plant or a design firm, the one employee generally won't announce via social media when new projects are announced (they are usually done through press releases by the company). From that perspective, I don't foresee engineers (unless they are in business development) announcing via social media that Company X has received $X contract to design and construct Y Plant in Z location. This is actually quite interesting because the company I am working with now is actually planning on using social media for a number of advertising for their new products. I actually see more smaller companies utilizing social media for advertising rather then big chemical companies or design firms. Douglas Clark (not verified) Aug 31, 2011 Hi, Nemoy. Thanks for your comments. Yes, there are a lot of different angles to this question, and we're very interested to learn more from readers. I hope you did (or will) fill out the questionnaire!


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EXCLUSIVE: A potential single-camera comedy series for HBO is building a formidable team. Jay Roach is set to direct the project, titled The Third Coast, which has Annette Bening attached to star. I hear Bening and the producers are doing an informal reading to get a feel for the show before they take it formally to HBO, the network for which it is earmarked. Written by Paul Rudnick, Third Coast revolves around a larger-than-life casting director (Bening) in New Mexico. Rudnick, Roach and John Lyons executive produce. The Third Coast brings Oscar-nominated Bening back to HBO where she toplined the 2005 movie Mrs. Harris, earning an Emmy nomination. For Roach, Third Coast falls under a two-year deal with HBO he inked last year on the heels of back-to-back best movie/miniseries and directing Emmys he landed for the network's Recount and Game Change.
Annette Bening To Topline Jay Roach Comedy Series Project Eyed By HBO
6 Comments
Very funny (as everybody is) in the Kristen Wiig movie, a great premise, with Rudnick sounds like it's gonna be great.
You couldn't pay me to see a Wiig film. She is so overrated as a film presence. Just annoying and bland as she was on SNL. I'm bummed Annette was in it because HER I love seeing.
Considering that Annette is a very serious dramatic actress, one of the very best, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that she has a serious sense of humor …
I never found Annette Bening to be terribly funny, but her comedic timing was off the charts in The Grifters . Bening deserved the Oscar for that performance – over Whoopi Goldberg.
Jay Roach gets the best out of his actors without ever having them feel pushed or pulled — Benning has all the goods — good things will come of this combo!
I think about her performance in "American Beauty" all of the time. A great performance with lots of comedy – a throwback to the greats of the thirties and the forties yet completely modern and current.


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During Apple's media event in San Jose this past Tuesday, the company announced a new 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Alongside the arrival of the Retina Display, Apple has also eliminated the optical drive and slimmed down the device, also including flash storage instead of a traditional hard drive. On Wednesday, Apple posted the first television ad for … Read More
iPad mini features Advanced Software To Detect and Prevent Unintended Touch
Apple introduced the new iPad mini on Tuesday and already, users are beginning to notice some smarter features that the Cupertino company has included that wouldn't be available on competing devices. According to the Apple's iPad mini design website, the company has included advanced software in the iPad mini that detects and prevents unintended touches. This is just one of … Read More
Apple Inc. (AAPL) Phil Schiller Defends iPad mini Pricing
On Tuesday, Apple Inc. (AAPL) introduced the widely rumored iPad Mini. Although the iPad mini was exactly what users were expecting, a smaller screen, a full sized experience, many are still disappointed with the pricing of the device, which starts at $329. Users expected AAPL to introduce a device in the $199-$299 price range, usually what Android tablets are selling … Read More
Apple Inc. (AAPL) Introduces New 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display
On Tuesday, alongside the announcement of the new iPad mini and the 4th generation iPad, Apple Inc. (AAPL) also went ahead to introduce a thinner, lighter 13 inch MacBook Pro with a Retina Display. The new MacBook Pro is only 0.75 inches and 3.57 pounds in weight, making nearly 20% thinner than its predecessor and about a pound lighter and … Read More
Apple Introduces 4th Generation iPad, with Lightining Connector, A6X Processor
It's only been 6 months since the introduction of the third generation iPad, and Apple has already introduced a new version of it. On Tuesday, alongside the announcement of the iPad mini, Apple introduced the refreshed iPad, calling it the 4th gen iPad instead. The 4th generation iPad has been updated with the new Lightning connector currently on the iPhone … Read More
Apple Introduces iPad mini With 7.9 Inch Screen, FaceTime HD, and LTE Wireless
It's finally here! On Tuesday, Apple introduced the iPad mini during a media event at the California Theatre in San Jose, California. The iPad Mini has been a rumor around the web for several months now, and several weeks prior to announcement, parts began to leak. The iPad Mini is only 7.2-mm thin, down from the full sized iPad's 9.4 … Read More
Apple Inc. (AAPL) to Price iPad Mini at $329 for Entry Level Model?
With Apple Inc. (AAPL) "iPad Mini" media event scheduled for October 23rd, reports about pricing for the new device are beginning to appear online. Over the weekend, 9to5Mac reported that the iPad Mini would be priced at around $329 for an entry level WiFi only model. That is a $170 difference from the full sized WiFi only model. According to … Read More
Apple Inc. (AAPL) Acquires HTML5 Web App Startup, Particle
On Wednesday, Apple Inc. (AAPL) acquired HTML5 web app company, Particle. AAPL has acquired other companies in the past in order to develop a key part of one of their projects or create an entirely new one. CNET initially reported that Apple acquired the San Francisco based startup and that they acquired the company for its talents in the industry … Read More
Apple Issues Invitations for October 23rd iPad Mini Media Event
On Tuesday, Apple issued invitations for a media event on Tuesday, October 23rd, likely to introduce the rumored iPad Mini. The arrival of the invitation was first reported by The Loop, the invitation has numerous colors surrounding half of an Apple logo in the center, with a tagline that reads, "We've got a little more to show you." The design … Read More
Photos of "iPad Mini" Battery With Alleged 16.7 Watt-Hour Capacity Appears Online
Over the weekend, MacRumors reported that they received a set of photos of what appears to be batteries for an iOS devices from a source who claimed that they were for the rumored iPad Mini. The battery had a model number of A1445 and an Apple part number of 616-0641 and was reportedly 3.72 volts, which is roughly 16.7 Watt-Hour … Read More
Apple Retail Stores to Start Stocking iPhone 5 Cases in Late October
Apple will begin stocking iPhone 5 cases in bulk by the end of this month according to multiple sources, allowing users of the newest iPhone to simply walk into a store and access a range of different cases for their device. With the iPhone 5, Apple did not introduce a case of their own, leaving the development entirely up to … Read More
Apple Inc. (AAPL) to Open Wangfujing Street Retail Store, Third Store in Beijing
Early last week, reports of Apple Inc. (AAPL) opening a third store in Beijing were published, with photos from chinese site MicGadget showing the entrance of the new store under construction. On Sunday, Apple confirmed that they are going to open the third store in Beijing, located on the iconic Wangfujing Street. The Cupertino, Calif., company confirmed that the store … Read More
Apple's Special Media Event for iPad Mini Scheduled for October 23?
On Friday, AllThingsD reported that Apple is planning to schedule a special media event for the rumored "iPad Mini" on Tuesday, October 23rd. The device, which is rumored to carry a 7.85 inch screen will likely feature all of the same cameras as on the iPhone 4S as well as the new Lightning connector for iOS devices and the updated … Read More
Japanese Carrier Softbank Reportedly in Talks to Take over US Carrier Sprint
Japanese mobile carrier Softbank is reportedly in talks to buy Sprint Nextel Corp. On Thursday, a report from Bloomberg noted that Softbank was looking to purchase two-thirds of the Sprint Nextel company which would give them control of the company. The transaction will cost Softbank a hefty $19 billion, or 1.5 trillion yen and will allow them to enter the … Read More
Apple Releases New iPod TV Ad "Bounce"
With Apple beginning to ship iPods in high volume this week, the Cupertino company aired their first television ads for the updated iPod lineup. The ad called, "Bounce" was originally shown during the media event in September where Apple unveiled the iPhone 5, 5th gen iPod touch (5G) with a taller screen and Lightning connector, and iPod nano with a … Read More


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Design, build and test your own vehicle made from recycled materials in this drop-in workshop.
Allow 30 – 45 minutes to complete a Little Makers project. Sometimes creativity can get messy, so dress your little maker (and yourself) in old clothing that can be splattered with things like paint and ink. $8 per family, plus NYSCI admission ($5 per family for members).
Preregistration is recommended. For more information, call 718-699-0005 ext. 341.
Little Makers is a series of programs where families with young children can tinker, design and create together. This program is supported in part by funding from the Altman Foundation and the Liu Foundation.
Little Makers: On the Move will take place in Maker Space. Maker Space is made possible thanks to an investment by Cognizant through its Making the Future education initiative.