text:
PPP: We didn't believe our own Colorado recall election poll, so we spiked it
posted at 11:09 am on September 12, 2013 by Guy Benson
Jim Geraghty asks the obvious question: What else haven't they been telling us? Skewed:
Tom Jensen of the Democrat-campaign affiliated polling firm, Public Policy Polling: "We did a poll last weekend in Colorado Senate District 3 and found that voters intended to recall Angela Giron by a 12 point margin, 54/42. In a district that Barack Obama won by almost 20 points I figured there was no way that could be right and made a rare decision not to release the poll. It turns out we should have had more faith in our numbers becaue [sic] she was indeed recalled by 12 points." It's a free country, and if PPP doesn't want to release a result, they're free to eat the costs and keep a survey result to themselves. But the rest of us are free to wonder just how "rare" it is for PPP to not release a poll, and what other results they've withheld from public release.
As for the twin upsets themselves, Erika has already thoroughly mocked Debbie Wasserman Schultz's fever-swamp paranoia about "voter suppression," or whatever — but there's another, totally-predictable element to Democrats' denial and excuse-making:
"Tuesday's low turnout was a result of efforts by the NRA, the Koch brothers, and other right-wing groups…"
Those infernal right-wing moneybags strike again. Except…which side spent more money on the races? (Spoiler: it wasn't even close):
Senate President John Morse and state Sen. Angela Giron lost their seats in the state's first-ever legislative recall election, despite the support of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, hundreds of ground troops from groups like Organizing for America, and a 7-to-1 spending advantage.
Here's Charles Cooke, on how Democrats pulled out all the stops to beat back two local recall efforts — and failed:
By the end of the process, so anxious were the opponents of the recall that they felt compelled to rely heavily on Michael Bloomberg, who sent $350,000 to Colorado to fight the threat; members of Obama's ground team were brought in to boost turnout, and even former president Bill Clinton was wheeled in at the last minute to try to tip the scales. None of it worked. This was the recall that never supposed to happen — let alone be successful. The nine men who set the ball rolling weren't supposed to be capable of organizing a town hall, let alone taking down the state-senate president. And yet they did it. Victor Head, a plumber who had never been politically active, took down a senator in a district that went Democratic in 2012 by ten points; a group of six concerned men from the AR15.com chat room removed the state's top-ranking legislator. "We are a quiet people," recall founder Tim Knight told his victorious friends when the results became known at the Stargazers Theater. "You may be tempted to ignore us. Clearly, that would be a mistake."
It was a mistake, and the gun control lobby suffered a stunning double blow. Which is why shell-shocked Democrats are reduced to muttering about "suppression" and the Koch Brothers.
Recently in the Green Room:
- Prognosticator Startled When Reality Kicks His Ass | Daily Pundit
- PPP: We buried the results of our own Colorado recall election poll because, reasons | pundit from another planet
- Shell Shock | Lynn's Little Nest
- Gun Control, Colorado and the Long View | Stately McDaniel Manor


text:
ED Magedson – Founder
Ripoff Report
Safe National America111 2Nd Ave Ne ST. PETERBERG, Florida United States of America
Does your business have a bad reputation?
Fix it the right way.
Corporate Advocacy Program™
I have a check posted to my bank account for $25 from this company. I have no idea who it is and have no record of authorizing a charge of any kind.
When I contacted the company, i was asked to give all sorts of personal information. I was told that because my zip-code wasn't on file, they needed my social to access my account. Not going to happen!
How can they charge my account without my address, etc? Called the bank to request a reversal and they also told me to report the company.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 01/05/2011 08:01 AM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/safe-national-america/st-peterberg-florida-33701/safe-national-america-charged-my-bank-account-without-authorization-got-runaround-when-678858. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
Click Here to read other Ripoff Reports on Safe National America
If you would like to see more Rip-off Reports on this company/individual, search here:Search Tips
In order to assure the best results in your search:
#1 Consumer Comment
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, January 05, 2011POSTED: Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Think about this.
HOW do you think they got YOUR bank account info?
The answer is, YOU gave it to them. That's how.
NEVER give your checking account info or debit card info to anyone online or over the phone. No exceptions.
Follow this advice and you will have no more problems.
In the mean time you MUST file a WRITTEN complaint on the "unauthorized charge".
Be sure to demand to see a copy of the alleged authorization they have on file. This is your right.
If they give you any problem at all, just refer to FEDERAL BANKING REGULATIONS, Regulation E.
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
Advertisers above have met our
strict standards for business conduct.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Big Stone 75 in western Minnesota was one of the first 60 greater Minnesota projects to get federal stimulus dollars. It's done now. What's the payoff? The road, a key artery through Big Stone County, offers a check on the benefits of the federal stimulus plan. Some good got done. But how do we judge Read more →


text:
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) will release first quarter 2013 earnings next week. Here are the conference call schedules:
Exxon Mobil: April 25, 11am EST, webcast link
ConocoPhillips: April 25, 1pm EST, webcast link
Chevron: April 26, 11am EST, webcast link
Investors in these companies may want to bookmark this article for easy reference to the Q1 earnings information.
For year-over-year comparison purposes, the following chart summarizes year ago (Q1 2012) revenues, earnings, and production:
But that was last year. Now let's take a look and see what Q1 of this year may have in store.
First of all, how does the price of oil and gas compare year over year? In Q1 of 2012, Brent spot started the year around $111/barrel and exited the calendar quarter at $123/barrel.
Brent Crude Oil Spot Price data by YCharts
This year, Brent prices started near the same price as last year, but have fallen to $108/barrel at the end of the first 3 months.
Brent Crude Oil Spot Price data by YCharts
From these charts, I would expect average realized Brent prices for the quarter to be about $10/barrel lower than last year.
The news is much rosier on the natural gas front. Here's what nat gas prices did in Q1 of last year:
Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Price data by YCharts
Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Price data by YCharts
So let's say the average price in Q1 of last year was about $2.50/MMBtu. For Q1 of this year, natural gas prices started the quarter much higher ($3.25 MMBtu) and rose sharply in March to end the calendar quarter around $4/MMBtu. Let's call it an average of $3.50/MMBtu -- about $1 higher than the year earlier. This is welcome news for domestic U.S. gas producers. Perhaps none so much as Exxon Mobil, America's #1 producer of natural gas (see chart below), which has seen its stock price stagnate in the 5 or so years since its takeover of gassy XTO. Note that COP is the #7 producer, and CVX comes in at #10 (as of Q3 2012).
For back of the napkin calculation for the difference in XOM's domestic nat gas revenues year-over-year, let's assume XOM gets the Henry Hub price for its U.S. produced gas and let's say production in Q1 2013 equals Q3 2012 (3,847 MMcf/day). We have the conversion factor:
1 MMBtu = 1,000 cf
XOM nat gas production = (3,847 MMcf/day)*(1 MMBtu/1,000 cf) = 3.847*MM*MM/day = 3,847,000 MMBtu/day.
So, if my ballpark year-over-year average price difference of $1 is close, we have XOM increasing its domestic nat gas revenues by $3.85 million/day or approximately $346.5 million for the quarter. Not too shabby. XOM had 4,734,000,000 shares outstanding at the end of 2012. So this increase in natural gas revenues works out to about $0.07/share.
Higher nat gas prices will be an even bigger per share pop for ConocoPhillips. Using the same assumptions as above, with COP producing 1,544 MMcf/day, we have an extra $1.54 million/day or approximately $138.6 million for the quarter. COP had 1,231,395,000 diluted common shares outstanding at 2012 year end, so that works out to an additional $0.11/share for the quarter.
It will be very interesting to see if the companies raised natural gas production as a result of the higher price. Both XOM and COP shut-in significant capacity when the price of natural gas cratered. It should be relatively easy and inexpensive to turn the spigots back on.
Increasing Earnings By The Share Buyback Method
While reviewing the year-over-year Brent and natural gas pricing just presented, one would think earnings are going to be below last year's since the price of Brent was ~$10/barrel lower and that swamps the domestic natural gas price rise. While this may indeed be the case, there are other considerations: namely, EPS can go up because there are fewer shares outstanding as a result of stock buyback programs.
For example let's take a look at Exxon. As all my followers are aware, it bugs me to no end that XOM spent twice as much on share buybacks ($20 billion) as it did on dividends ($10 billion) in 2012 while its dividend yield is the absolute lowest in its peer group (2.6%). As a result, the number of common shares in XOM were:
End of Q1 2012 : 4,676,000,000
End of Q4 2012 : 4,502,000,000
or a delta of 174,000,000 shares. Now, net income for Q1 2012 was $9.45 billion and EPS was $2.00/share. If net income for Q1 2013 were to be the same as in Q1 2012 ($9.45 billion), the company would now earn $2.10/share (+5%) simply as a result of having fewer outstanding shares.
And this is why I wrote the article Exxon Mobil: Buyback Heavy, Dividend Light and criticized the company's management for its over-the-top 2:1 ratio of buybacks to dividends. It's a way for management to reward themselves at the expense of ordinary shareholders. Not only does management leave the impression that earnings are growing, but their future stock awards will be worth more on a per share basis. Meanwhile, it seem very unfair to shareholders that the biggest publicly traded company with one of the cleanest balance sheets in the business pays the lowest dividend yield in its peer group. It wouldn't bother shareholders so much had the stock price been appreciating, but XOM has gone nowhere in 5 years. When will XOM shareholders hold management accountable for the stock's 5 year very low total return?
Of course ConocoPhillips and Chevron also have share buyback programs, but they are not as absurdly skewed toward buybacks as is XOM's policy. As a result, both COP and CVX pay significantly higher dividend yields and their managements are more focused on growing earnings through operations.
Speaking of dividends, last year, XOM announced a dividend increase on April 25th and raised the quarterly dividend from $0.47/share to $0.57/share. It needs to raise it at least another dime to $0.67/share. At today's closing price of $86.62, that would put the yield at $3.09%. In comparison, CVX's current dividend yield is 3%, and COP is leading the pack at 4.4%. I would be surprised if COP raised its dividend in 2013, but last year, CVX boosted its dividend two days before the Q1 earnings release. I would expect CVX to boost it again next week and remain comfortably ahead of XOM's dividend yield.
Earnings Outlook
The average Q1 earnings estimate for Exxon is $2.04, according to S&P's latest company report dated April 13, 2013.
Chevron had an eventful quarter. The company received permission from Brazil to restart the Frade field. It also announced its Coronado discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. Lastly, there was good news on the Ecuador lawsuit as environmental claims were disavowed under oath by the plaintiffs' own experts. S&P estimates CVX's earnings will come in at $3.08/share.
This will be Conoco Phillips' last quarterly earnings when the prior year's quarter included its Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) midstream and refining assets. COP has also been shedding non-core assets, which make year-over-year production comparisons quite difficult. The average analyst estimate for COP's Q1 earnings is $1.40/share.
Q1's earnings for the big three American oil companies shouldn't contain many surprises. Production for all three should be relatively flat. However, investors should pay special attention to the size of Exxon Mobil's dividend increase and year-over-year natural gas production changes as a result of the positive increase in price.
Disclosure: I am long COP, CVX, XOM. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Additional disclosure: I am an engineer, not a CFA. Please do your own research and contact your investment adviser. I am not responsible for investment decisions you make. Thanks for reading and good luck!


text:
jayyyrock needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 73 designs submitted by 25 freelance designers.
This is a website that will sell desserts:cookies, cakes, pies, etc. with the freshest ingredients. The baker graduated at the top of her class and is the master dessert chef at a top 5 star hotel. The site is going to play as a location that current clients can place orders and new clients can see new items she has.
Anyone that loves desserts that have the highest quality ingredients and that took some time to make.
The Logo must represent made from scratch, showing that all natural ingredients, etc. Just be creative!


text:
How to Change the Gear Oil on a Dodge Dakota?
Gear oil is used in the differential of vehicles with rear-wheel drive. Four-wheel drive vehicles have a second differential on the front. The differential is what transmits the power from the tran...
Read More »
What Difference Would Changing a 3.92 Gear Ratio to 3.55 Make on a 1999 Dodge Dakota 3.9L?
The 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup was available with either a 2.5-liter inline-four, 3.9-liter V-6, or a 5.2-liter V-8 engine. Available in either two- or four-wheel-drive, the Dakota used either the Ch...
Read More »
How to Change Gear Oil in a Dodge RAM 1500?
Dodge recommends you change the gear oil in the front and rear differential every 15,000 to 25,000 miles. Most Dodge differentials use a drain plug requiring a hex-head ratchet to remove. Some Ram ...
Read More »
How Do I Change the Headlights on a Dodge Dakota?
Having operative headlights is crucial to driving safely (as well as driving legally), and when a headlight burns out or breaks you should replace it immediately. Most cars and trucks are designed ...
Read More »
How to Change a Thermostat on a Dodge Dakota?
Thermostats are devices inside the cooling system of a car that allow the water to circulate throughout the engine to cool down the various mechanical parts. An engine does not run optimally unless...
Read More »


text:
Create a free account to check out faster, store multiple shipping addresses, view and track your orders in your account, and much more.
Please enter your password to continue.
Great smelling, loved the sample. great to try new fragrances at a decent price. Worth ordering full size of the product.5


text:
CONTACT: Janine Kava (518) 629-8071
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Monday, June 5, 2006
The Hudson Valley Community College Foundation will host the 12th annual U.W. Marx Inc. Golf Classic on Monday, July 24, to benefit scholarships, programs, student services and facilities at Hudson Valley Community College.
Registration begins at 11 a.m. at The Country Club of Troy, with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Entry fee is $225 per golfer, which includes greens fees, cart, lunch, dinner and a foursome photo with Golf Classic Pro Keith Fergus. The deadline to register is Thursday, July 13.
The Foundation also is seeking sponsors for the event; sponsorships range from $5,000 to $250. In addition to U.W. Marx, the presenting sponsor, other major sponsors of the event to date are: Callanan Industries; Featherstonhaugh, Wiley, Clyne, Cordo, LLP; The Times Union; United Group; Capital Communications Federal Credit Union; NBT Bank; Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company; Simplex Grinnell; MRK Real Property; Senator Joseph L. Bruno; and the Tri-City Valley Cats.
Last year's event netted more than $50,000. For more information about sponsorships or to register for the event, call the Foundation at (518) 629-7736. To register online, visit http://foundation.hvcc.edu/golfclassic.
The Hudson Valley Community College Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable corporation formed in 1983 to philanthropically support the college's mission. Gifts to the Foundation from alumni, corporations and friends are used to enhance programs, facilities and scholarship opportunities at the college.
Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 60 degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Sciences; and Liberal Arts and Sciences. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of more than 12,000 students and has more than 60,000 alumni.


text:
Maths and physics graduates have a "bleakly negative" image of teaching as a career, new research commissioned by the Department of Education has revealed.
The survey, which was intended by the Education Secretary, Mr Kenneth Baker, to pinpoint ways of attracting more maths and physics teachers into schools, shows that the low pay and poor status of the profession are the chief problem.
The survey found that teaching came over as "a demoralised profession with a poor image and with many aspects which made it unattractive as a potential job option to graduates of mathematics/physics. Mostly, this negative image was felt to be a recent phenomenon."
The low salaries and status were felt to be at the root of this, and "symptomatic of a deep-seated negative view of education from all sides - from the media, from politicians and from parents."
Adding to this impression were "an apparent lack of government support for the profession (in terms of salaries or resources); the damning effects and recent bad press of the pay dispute; the image of teachers themselves, and what they believed to be a high turnover within the teaching profession."
Many graduates felt teaching to be a last resort - "the thing graduates go into if there's nothing else." They were also much more attracted by the job possibilities in science and technology which offered better pay, challenges, interest, variety and prospects.
Social and Community Planning Research, which conducted the survey between November 1985 and February 1986, recommended that Mr Baker address the issues of low pay, poor status and the lack of promotion prospects.
They also suggested that entry requirements for maths and physics teachers could be lowered and that the Government seek to recruit people working in industry, women who have had a career break to bring up children, students on BEd, HND or A level courses, and students from other disciplines.


text:
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has passed a proposal to extend the deadline of the Connaught Place restoration project to June 30. Over the next four months, the exterior of some parts of the market will be renovated and the utility duct in the middle circle completed.
The council members in the monthly meeting held on Thursday took the decision after the contractor requested for an extension to complete the project. The project has been in the making for three-and-a-half years.
The other important agenda in the meeting was a proposed hike in parking charges, that has been deferred in what is now being seen as a ploy before elections.
With the assembly elections ahead, chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who chaired the meeting, did not wish to upset voters by increasing parking charges, sources said.
This despite the fact that both the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and the high court appointed Special Task Force headed by the chief secretary have been pushing for higher charges.
The council has 54 parking sites in its jurisdiction, divided into five groups.
"A study of the parking fee structure has been ordered again and the proposal has been deferred," said member Karan Singh Tanwar, MLA from Delhi Cantt.
If implemented, the parking charges will increase from the existing Rs. 10 for four hours to Rs. 50 for three hours.
Tanwar said the council has, however, decided to go ahead and tender the underground parking at Palika Bazaar that has the capacity for 975 four wheelers and 450 two wheelers.
The parking charges will remain unchanged until further notice.


text:
Home | Letter from the Department Chair | Graduate Program | Graduate Theatre Organization
Graduate Theatre Organization
Quick question about graduate academics?
Productions directed, designed or written
The Graduate Theatre Organization (GTO) enhances the experience of the Masters and PhD students in the Department of Theatre by supporting their creative endeavors as theatre makers and practitioners as well as their professional development as theatre educators and scholars. This is accomplished through the funding of conference presentations, sponsoring guest speakers and pursuing creative opportunities beyond the department, as well as facilitating engagement with the University and the larger community. Since its inception in 2008, GTO members have presented papers, moderated panels and performed both regionally and nationally at the Mid-America Theatre Conference and the conferences of the Central States Communication Association and the Association of Theatre in Higher Education, among others.
department of theatre | college of arts & science | university of missouri
© 2015 — Curators of the University of Missouri. All rights reserved. DMCA and other copyright information.


text:
Cute good night poem in hindi
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,
YOU Are CHANDA And I Am STAR,
Night Is Meant For Sleeping Yaar,
So Take A Pillow And Soja YAAR?
Good Nite.
Post on your Facebook Wall
202 Chars
Category: Good Night
Tagged: Tags: good night poen in hindi, good night poetry in hindi, good nite in poem, gud night poetry in hindi, short cute good night poem, small goodnight poetry
Shared by Night Birdie


text:
The Blue Samurai were too quick and slick for their limited opponents, with playmaker Keisuke Honda opening the scoring early in the 3-0 win and at the centre of all that was good in front of 63,000 happy fans in Saitama on Sunday.
Forwards Ryoichi Maeda and Shinji Okazaki also scored in the easy win, with Oman failing to record a shot on target.
The victory took Japan top of Group B in the fourth round of qualifiers in Asia, with only the top two from the two five-team groups guaranteed a place in Brazil in two years time.
With Honda, Manchester United target Shinji Kagawa and Inter Milan's attacking leftback Yuto Nagatomo in flying form a fifth consecutive finals appearance looks a certainty but the team are taking nothing for granted.
"Keisuke's goal that early made it easier for us. Important, nice to win the first game but it is early days so we have got to keep winning," Kagawa said afterwards.
Although Australia are expected to join Japan in qualifying from Group B, Jordan and Iraq, who met in Amman on Sunday, have been tipped to push the Asian heavyweights close.
However, their 1-1 draw lacked the panache of the Japanese play and neither of the 2011 Asian Cup finalists will have felt too threatened by what they saw in Jordan.
Iraq took the lead early after a neat finish by Nashat Akram but they struggled to create much else and a goalkeeping gaff by Mohammed Kassid allowed the home side to grab an equaliser just before halftime.
While Jordan were gifted a goal, Uzbekistan were angry after believing they had been robbed of one against Iran.
Having wasted several good chances to take the lead against their lethargic opponents, the Uzbeks began celebrating what they thought was a 75th minute goal after Odil Akhmedov's effort appeared to cross the Iranian goalline.
After defender Seyed Hosseini cleared the ball standing behind the line, his team mates made the most of their apparent good fortune to win the game with a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time thanks to substitute Mohammad Khalatbari.
"We scored a goal in the second half, but the referee didn't see it," Uzbekistan coach Vadim Abramov bemoaned.
"I don't know what did happen with us in the last minutes, sometimes we concede goals at the end of the match. We lost the game, but it is not a tragedy."
Iran lead Group A after their opening three points, alongside 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar who won 1-0 in Lebanon.
Sebastian Soria scored the winner but lowly Lebanon will be kicking themselves after Youssef Mohamad missed a great chance to snatch a point late on.


text: The Jammer brand has been around since the Seventies. It is now a collection of vintage parts for your American V-Twin machine. Custom Chrome saw the need and filled the demand by offering what you are looking for all in one place. Jammer is focused on keeping the old school style in session.


text:
|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|"Mark Harwood (JIRA)" <j...@apache.org>
|[jira] Updated: (LUCENE-725) NovelAnalyzer - wraps your choice of Lucene Analyzer and filters out all "boilerplate" text
|Thu, 23 Nov 2006 21:06:03 GMT
[ http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/LUCENE-725?page=all ] Mark Harwood updated LUCENE-725: -------------------------------- Attachment: NovelAnalyzer.java As per comment - a "novel text only" analyzer > NovelAnalyzer - wraps your choice of Lucene Analyzer and filters out all "boilerplate" text > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Key: LUCENE-725 > URL: http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/LUCENE-725 > Project: Lucene - Java > Issue Type: New Feature > Components: Analysis > Reporter: Mark Harwood > Priority: Minor > Attachments: NovelAnalyzer.java > > > This is a class I have found to be useful for analyzing small (in the hundreds) collections of documents and removing any duplicate content such as standard disclaimers or repeated text in an exchange of emails. > This has applications in sampling query results to identify key phrases, improving speed-reading of results with similar content (eg email threads/forum messages) or just removing duplicated noise from a search index. > To be more generally useful it needs to scale to millions of documents - in which case an alternative implementation is required. See the notes in the Javadocs for this class for more discussion on this -- This message is automatically generated by JIRA. - If you think it was sent incorrectly contact one of the administrators: http://issues.apache.org/jira/secure/Administrators.jspa - For more information on JIRA, see: http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com For additional commands, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
|View raw message


text: USG Contributor USG * required fields From* To* Message cancel Architects and designers seek dynamic ways to complement their designs with imagery, shape and eye-catching aesthetics. Today, design professionals have a new option from USG with the Libretto™ Gridless Metal Ceiling System, which creates islands, canopies, radial ceilings, and other dynamic shapes custom-tailored to the size, shape and architectural features of a space. Libretto features individually fabricated aluminum panels attached to a hidden steel carrier system. Panels interconnect to form a continuous plane uninterrupted by a traditional grid. www.usg.com View larger


text: This is a list of potential prospects by positon that we need for the top 3 rounds. QB- Obviously not much of a need right now. A vet back-up is more important next year RB- Again, no need to pick a RB in the draft WR- with aging WR's it wouldnt surprise me if we picked one in the first 3 rounds. Top 5 that woudl be available are: 1. Jeff Samardzija ND 2. Steve Smith USC 3. Robert Meachem TENN 4. Dwayne Bowe LSU 5. Najah Pruden TE- With Witten and Fasano there is no need for a TE OL- Our o-Line is aging and still not that great. There is a very good chance we draft at least 1 O-Lineman in the 1st 3 rounds. 1. Jake Long T Mich 2. Levi Brown T PennState 3. Justin Blalock G Texas 4. Ben Grubbs G Auburn 5. Ryan Kalil C USC DT/Nose Tackle- Ferggie is getting old and it never hurts to have a pair of fresh legs backing up. 1. Frank Okam Texas 2. Amobi Okoye 3. Quinn Pitcock OHST 4. Demarcus Tyler NCST 5. Quinn Pitcock DE- No need for DE. We already have a surpluss of young talent here OLB- Unless a player like Woodley falls to us in the first round we will stay away and stick with what we got. ILB- NO need CB- No Need SS- No Need FS- Watkins hasnt shown anything yet and Davis still isnt very good. If the right player is available we could with FS in the 2nd or 3rd round. 1. Laron Landry LSU 2. Micheal Griffin Texas 3. Brandon Meriweather Miami 4. Eric Weddle Utah 5. Reggie Nelson Florida


text:
As in the title i'm looking to fit some splitters and rear diffuser in carbon..but, here is the difficult bit. Has anyone fitted these and if so where did you get them from? I'm looking for good quality and dont want some old tat that doesnt even fit correctly.
Any help would be appreciated.


text:
Put out several suet feeders so all your resident birds get a turn. A single woodpecker can monopolize a suet feeder for most of the day.
Stock a very low tray feeder (1 foot or less above the ground) with cracked corn for mourning doves, who gather in flocks to feed in fall.
Keep the hummingbird and other nectar feeders up as long as you dare; until freezing temperatures threaten; more than one late migrant has been saved by a forgotten feeder.
Keep the birdbath brimming. Fresh water is vital year-round.
In The Garden
There are plenty of ways to provide bird treats in your garden in the fall. Try some of these ideas.
Keep an eye on any berries or fruits in your yard. They're prime foods for birds that may alight during migration. The Virginia creeper that sprawls through my garden as a groundcover offers its midnight blue berries in early fall, right when vireos and orioles are passing through. The vines of fox grapes winding among the treetops attract later migrants like rose-breasted grosbeaks and tanagers.
Listen for the quiet twitters and sharp chip! notes that betray the presence of song sparrows, white-throats, and other hard-to-see native sparrows around your yard. In the fall, a bounty of ripening seeds on garden plants, grasses, and weeds brings flocks of these LBBs (that's "little brown bird" in birder talk) to backyards. They may stop at abundant seed patches for a morning or a whole week, but they're small, quick moving, and wary of people, so you'll hear them more often than you'll see them.
Check garden centers and nurseries for viburnums, bayberries, and other shrubs that are already full of berries. Cart them home carefully so as not to dislodge the fruit, pop them into the garden, and the birds will reap the benefits immediately. One September I brought home three deciduous hollies; while I was planting the first one, cedar waxwings descended on the shrubs that were still in the pickup truck.
If you love a bargain, check the end-of-season sales at nurseries and garden centers. Trees and shrubs—usually the biggest investment you'll make when creating a bird-friendly yard—are often available at half price. Although the selection may not be as big as it is during the spring, the savings are hard to beat!


text:
The Rugby World Cup is not only an opportunity for New Zealanders to show their skills on the sports fields - we have a wide variety of traditionally Kiwi treats we create in our kitchens.
Owner of Molten restaurant in Mt Eden, Auckland, and star of TVNZ show The Food Truck, Michael Van de Elzen, says you haven't experienced New Zealand until you've eaten quality fish'n'chips at the beach.
"I think [visitors] should start with a good fish'n'chip shop," he says.
"There's some that are so good but there's nothing like going to [Auckland's] Fish Pot Cafe and sitting on Mission Bay beach eating out of newspaper looking out over to Rangitoto with the fountain in the background and children running around on a nice day. If that's not Kiwi, I reckon nothing is."
He says visitors have to try New Zealand's fantastic seafood.
"Alan Brown's Depot [Federal St, central city] he has freshly shucked oysters three different types that are opened there for you. It's always very busy, so you know the seafood is going to be fresh."
Fresh Bluff oysters from down south might be best tried at the Drunken Sailor Cafe in Bluff at the bottom of the South Island.
Last year's MasterChef winner, Brett McGregor, says rugby fans are just in time for the whitebait season on the West Coast of the South Island and could do worse than to try fresh whitebait fritters at a local cafe.
Paringa Salmon Farm Cafe near Lake Paringa, South Westland, comes recommended for whitebait fritters as well as, of course, its fresh salmon dishes.
McGregor says tourists should aim to experience any of New Zealand's fresh produce including beef and lamb. And what better way to try our beef than in that old Kiwi favourite, a mince pie? Hollies Bakery in Hastings took out the top prize for a mince and gravy pie in this year's Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards.
But Van de Elzen says experiencing Kiwi grub is as much about where you eat as what you're eating.
"We've got such beautiful scenery here, particularly around the water. Hammerheads [Restaurant in Auckland] is beautifully located near the water, and of course there's the new Wyndham Quarter, which has been very popular.
"Or why not get a picnic hamper and walk up to the top of Rangitoto? A picnic can be very Kiwi."
Tourists are also encouraged to try a traditional Maori hangi. An online forum recommends the Wairakei Terraces in Taupo for an authentic experience of a hangi cooked the traditional way.
For basic, there's always the humble cheese roll, with Cable Bay Cafe near Nelson one of the best.


text:
Look at these awesome quilts i found online
and a scrappy 9 patch
This is a log cabin with stars
a log cabin with fans
Welcome to the Quilting Board!
Look at these awesome quilts i found online
and a scrappy 9 patch
This is a log cabin with stars
a log cabin with fans
And one more
Oh and here's a close-up of the scrappy 9 patch
A dahlia irish chain
Those are great finds. They are all beautiful quilts!
Wow!! But you have to supply the patterns too!! :wink:
Very nice quilts..great searching for you! I'm going to save those pics..adding even more to my to-do list. I love the fan quilt!
Those ARE awesome. I especially like the green one. Did you buy all of those?
Does anyone have the pattern for that awesome scrappy 9 patch? I have a few, just a few mind you, scraps I could use on one of those babies. :D
Oh I guess I could figure it out--I'm just too tired right now. :roll:
All the quilts are beautiful. I, too, like the scrappy nine patch. Thanks for posting them.
lol no i didnt buy them, would love to though lol found them on an amish webstore for sale. The scrappy 9 patch looks easy. Take the 9 patch, and divide it into dark and light sections, just like a log cabin, and then two of the squares in the patch have triangles. Yeah, i love the green one, never seen fans done with a log cabin, got so high looking at those had to post them lol


text: by ChEnected Guest May 16, 2013 Comments (5) AIChE Topics: Professional Development Students Share This Post: By Nicholas Tesla My name is Nicholas Tesla, and I'm an unemployed chemical engineer. That's not technically true; I am an avid blogger, and I work in a pizzeria to pay my rent. I spend my free time doing odd jobs: mowing lawns, clearing brush, painting houses. In short, my career isn't really "taking off" just yet. It's not for lack of trying - I've sent my resume to dozens and dozens of companies. I don't have an interest in graduate school, but it's something I've been considering since industry doesn't appear to be lucrative for me. I contacted ChEnected after seeing a few posts from more successful ChemE's. "I got my dream job right out of college!" Nice. Good for you. I didn't. In fact, if the Internet is anything to be believed, chemists (and even chemical engineers) face a growing unemployment rate with just a B.S. degree, but that doesn't mean you can't do something to help your situation. So here is an article for the rest of us, an article written to the unemployed ChemE (wherever you are). So you graduated. Now what? Being busy boosts your morale and your image. Did you not get that job offer before graduating? It can be emotionally difficult to watch as your friends head off to make $68k/year at Fortune 500 companies. "Hey! I'm totally smarter than Joe Smith? How did he get a job before me?" Even if you were smarter than Joe Smith, what did he do to score that awesome job? Did he co-op? Did he talk to professors more? Maybe he has a skill that you lack! Maybe his GPA was just better. Maybe his r?sum? looks better. But you cannot sit on your couch watching re-runs of Breaking Bad and think, "Man - I should get an RV and head out to the country...I'd make so much money!" You can't sit on your couch five days a week submitting your r?sum? via some online service to company after company. Odds are, a real person isn't going to see your r?sum? before you get that e-mail saying, "Thanks, but no thanks." Being busy is good for morale, and it's good for the job search. So first thing: Go get a job. No employer is going to want a ChemE that sat at home and did nothing but try and get the job they trained for. I get it - from a young age we're told that if we don't want to have a future flippin' burgers then we need to get a good degree. Now you've gone to a good school, have a great degree, and you're being told that you're going to have to get a job flippin' burgers. This isn't forever. So do something. Try looking for lab tech jobs at the local college. Use Facebook, Twitter for more than pictures of food Next step? Get on social media and build a network. Log into that forgotten LinkedIn account, and add all your friends from college, your professors, folks you interviewed with. Add everyone! Make sure your profile looks like it belongs to a professional. You are a chemical engineer! You are marketable, and you need to represent that idea. Get a Twitter account. Add journals and professors and students, and join scientific communities. I started on Twitter at the urge of a chemist and have since seen two interviews develop from it. Build a network and a reputation. I recommend making friends with ChemJobber. AIChE and ChEnected already have a great resource for starting out in social media. Here's another great trick: point people to your LinkedIn on your r?sum?. Ever thought about scientific writing? Start a blog, like I did, and write about what interests you - this can show future employers that you know what you're talking about and aren't just a pretty face. Don't give up I worked for a Fortune 500 company for 30 days. The company didn't have any projects for me. My manager had me scrubbing and organizing the lab. And then I got a call one Friday afternoon telling me that my contract was being terminated. My heart dropped, and I spent a month on my mom's couch doing nothing. But you know what? No employer likes a gap in employment. No employer is just going to magically come to you. You have to find them. If you use social media correctly, you'll have taken the first step towards your amazing future career. What are your questions or advice on job searches? You can follow Nicholas Telsa (aka @KentuckyTesla) on Twitter and see what he's up to through the blog Kentucky Chemistry. Log in to post comments Comments BS Daly (not verified) May 17, 2013 Having personally interviewed a few fellow YP chemes, I can offer a few tips based what I've seen: 1. Leverage all of the experience you had during your senior design project as much as possible. In lieu of actual industry experience, it's the best way to showcase your technical skills and show a prospective employer that you have engineering competence. 2. The biggest thing holding many new graduates is a lack of good process simulation experience. If you didn't get enough exposure to simulations during your senior design, AIChE offers a few webinars on the subject (BTW the first 6 are few with your AIChE membership) and if you have some money stowed away, try taking a simulation course offered by some of the simulations *cough*Chemstations*cough*. 3. Make the most of your burger flipping experience because sometimes the skills that helped you get promoted in that job can be sold to prospective employers. For example I was sold on one of the new grads I hired because they were able to leverage their experience being the manager of a Chipotle to the position I was hiring for. 4. Finally, if you have time on your hands then the best thing you can do for your career is join AIChE and take on leadership roles either locally or nationally. YPC has many positions and roles it always looking to fill as well as other committee within the Institute as well as possible roles at local sections. Why bother? Well number one it allows you to interact with other chemical engineers who can give you tips or give you the chance to get face to face with engineers in middle management. Second, it gives you valuable experience leading a group and working to meet an objective or even blaze a new trail by taking charge of new objectives for the Institute. I mean what's the worst that can happen? If it fails, no big deal, no one is going to fire, it's a volunteer organization. Just move on to the next project and see if that works. It's not so much a resume builder than it is a confidence builder and that will shine through when you interview with prospective employers. That's it. I will you luck Nick. I'm sure if you keep plugging away you'll eventually find that dream job you've been seeking. nicholastesla (not verified) May 17, 2013 Thanks so much for the advice. I'm sad to say that my school's 'senior design' was horribly lacking; we were asked to conduct a process simulation for the production of dimethyl ether from methanol. There was little to no hands-on application to this project but it provided us with amazing process simulation experience (especially with troubleshooting ASPEN with Excel and MATLAB tie-ins). I am going to make the most of my pizza-tossing just like I made the most of my burger flipping years ago. These opportunities provide amazing chances to interact with the customer on a product that you produced. I am responsible for selling the product and assisting the customer when the product is not the product they thought they were getting. It's important to remember that everything you do can be beneficial experience for the future. The other lamentation that I have is that where I live does not have a full-chapter of AIChE; I was the secretary for our student chapter in college and have continued to pay my dues since graduation. The seminars - like you mentioned - are amazing. Don't neglect ACS, either - after all, we're chemists, too. Thanks again. BS Daly (not verified) May 21, 2013 "The other lamentation that I have is that where I live does not have a full-chapter of AIChE" Hence my saying there are many *National* committees you can participate in who would welcome you with open arms. If anything the YP Committee needs help with planning conference events at both the Annual and Spring or representing the YPC at student regionals. Douglas Clark (not verified) May 22, 2013 You probably both already know about the Virtual Local Section (VLS) also http://virtual.aiche.org/. It can't completely substitute for the real-world version, but it does present some good opportunities. You can see upcoming events here: http://virtual.aiche.org/Events and view archived lectures/meetings here: http://virtual.aiche.org/content/resourceslinksnew Wael Charanek Feb 24, 2015 Which webinars cover process simulations? Log in to post comments


text:
Flat roof base triangle for 20° tp 30° installations
10 years warranty on the mounting kit
MCS accredited mounting system.
S: FLEX mounting systems are suitable for all roof types and able to withstand all weather conditions, being made from high quality aluminium and stainless steel.
- Can be used with a wide range of PV modules
- High degree of pre-assembly and use of click technology
- Adjustable module clamps means one end and one middle clamp for all frame thicknesses
- For use in PV arrays on pitched roofs, flat roofs and ground mount
- According to DIN 1055; with verifiable structural analysis for maximum safety, upon request
- Corrosion resistant and completely recyclable, because all components are manufactured using aluminium or stainless steel and include a 10-year warranty (25 years if regular inspections take place)
Quality certifications
- MCS Accredited
- Climatic tests approved
- 10 years warranty


text:
Power Supply
Electric power and energy supply
Our mission is to supply our members with reliable, cost-effective, long-term energy and energy services. To that end, MRES maintains a portfolio of resources that includes hydropower, coal, wind and other fossil fuels. Learn more about our power supply portfolio.
Integrated resource plan
MRES constantly works to meet its members' energy needs by updating its demand projections and relying on its integrated resource plan (IRP) that includes the goals of adequate and reliable supply, minimizing costs and environmental impacts, and avoiding undue risks to its members and ultimate consumers.
New business opportunities
If your municipal utility is searching for power supply, MRES can help. For more than 30 years, we have been providing low-cost power and energy-related services to over 55 communities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. Whether your utility desires firm supply, interruptible energy, or exposure to the wholesale marketplace, MRES can develop a power supply program to best fit your needs.
Call us at 1-800-678-4042, or send an email, and a team of energy experts will be assembled to respond to your needs.


text:
Pirates place Jakubauskas on DL, make flurry of roster moves
The Pirates placed pitcher Chris Jakubauskas on the disabled list this morning, after he was hit in the head by a Lance Berkman comebacker last night. Jakubauskas was released from the hospital after being diagnosed with a head contusion and concussion. The Pirates also optioned Daniel McCutchen to Triple-A, and called up Brian Burres and Brian Bass. To make room on the 40-man roster for Bass, minor league outfielder Brandon Jones was designated for assignment. Jeff Karstens also may be brought up from Triple-A to start on Tuesday. Karstens is not currently on the 40-man roster.
40-Man Roster...
This content is for Pirates Prospects subscribers only. Subscribers get access to all of our daily articles on the Pirates and their minor league system, with live coverage throughout the system on a daily basis. Our lowest rates are $2.22 per month under our Top Prospect Plan, which also gets you a 40% discount on the 2017 Prospect Guide. Subscribe today to access all of our daily coverage of the Pirates' system.
If you're already a member, you can log in below. If you think you're receiving this message in error, please e-mail email@example.com.
Matt has covered the Pirates at Wait 'Til Next Year, Pittsburgh Lumber Co. and now Pirates Prospects. He served as Pirates team expert for Heater Magazine in 2009 and 2010 and has contributed to Graphical Player 2009, 2010 and 2011. Matt was also the editor of the 2011 and 2012 Pirates Prospects Annuals.


text:
Speed up your debug routine!
Automated exception search integrated into your IDE
Tired of useless tips?
Binary XML file line #7: Duplicate id 0x7f0d00a1, tag null, or parent id 0xffffffff with another fragment for com.google.android.gms.maps.SupportMapFragment
This site uses cookies, as explained in our cookie policy. If you agree to our use of cookies, please close this message and continue to use this site.


text:
|The NBA 30 on 30: Blogosphere Forecast (5 of 7)
|10.26.10 at 12:13 pm ET
NBA fans live a team's ups and downs. They react to every draft pick, trade and free-agent signing. They debate the merits of the 15th man. They find significance in the most insignificant stats. They simply KNOW their team. So, too, do bloggers. That's why we sought the opinion of the league's best blogs — one for each of the 30 teams — to break down the team they cover and, of course, the Celtics.
We'll move to the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division with the fifth of a seven-part series (Don't forget to check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4) …
by Jason Walker, Peachtree Hoops
ON THE HAWKS: The Hawks spent the summer, once again, reinvesting in the status quo (see Johnson, Joe), which has seen them improve on their record every season since their 13-win nadir in 2004-05.
The major changes were on the bench, where the team replaced Mike Woodson with longtime assistant Larry Drew. Gone are the constant switching defensively and the heavy reliance on iso-sets offensively in favor of a motion offense and playing it straight defensively.
Such change should result in a rise in turnovers, a stat that has always kept the Hawks' offensive efficiency near the top of the NBA but also kept their best defenders, Josh Smith and Al Horford, in better positions to help the team defensively.
The Hawks were also very fortunate last year in terms of injuries, so their lack of depth didn't harm them in terms of their regular-season record.
Between the adjustment to new schemes and a likely injury or two to the main core, the Hawks should see the end of their annual increase in win total, but the continued improvement in their younger players (Smith, Horford, Marvin Williams and Jeff Teague) should help balance that somewhat, giving them another 50-win season, fourth in the conference — and getting bounced again in the second round of the playoffs.
ON THE CELTICS: The Celtics have a good thing going … and going … and going with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, led by one of the most exciting players in basketball in Rajon Rondo.
The true test of whether your franchise is a contender is when the regular season predictions don't mean jack squat, and the C's have been in that neighborhood ever since acquiring KG and Ray. It's a great place to be, and this season is no different.
With a plethora of big men (Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal and Glen Davis) to supplement the core roster in case of any injury up front due to age (and there is considerable age there), Boston should be able to capture home-court again, which makes them a very tough out come postseason time, as they proved so well last season.
I believe they're a lock for the Eastern Conference Finals.
by David Arnott, Rufus on Fire
ON THE BOBCATS: The Bobcats will have a huge hurdle to overcome this season, having lost their starting point guard and starting center (Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler).
Barring a trade, they're looking to replace them with D.J. Augustin, a young player Larry Brown seems to despise, and Nazr Mohammed, a center whose sell-by date is long-since passed (last season's career year notwithstanding).
Even if Gerald Wallace remains an All-Star, and Stephen Jackson and Tyrus Thomas continue playing as well as they did last season for the Cats, they're going to struggle to get to 40 wins — and could easily finish with near 30 wins.
ON THE CELTICS: The Celtics' window could be closed this season, given the likely continued decline of Pierce, Garnett and Allen.
There's also no telling, really, how much Tom Thibodeau meant to the Celtics' defensive excellence the past few years, and any kind of decline on that end of the floor might be the death knell for them as true title contenders, since no one on the team is a killer offensive threat.
So, give them 50 wins again.
by Benny Vargas, All U Can Heat
ON THE HEAT: After a much ballyhooed offseason, the Heat enter the 2010-11 season as legitimate title contenders.
The additions of Chris Bosh and LeBron James along with the re-signing of Dwyane Wade has caused a seismic wave throughout the league, which could signal the beginning of a new NBA dynasty on South Beach.
Miami will have to battle through glaring holes at the 1 and 5 spots, despite their newly assembled constellation of stars.
The Heat must find a way to become a cohesive unit, within an 82-game span, leading into the playoffs. Once the postseason gets underway, expect Miami to face difficult obstacles in Boston and Orlando. Both teams have been together longer and have big edges at the center and point guard positions.
Predicting Miami's season is difficult, because so many factors come into play. Look for the Heat to make the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Boston and for the series to go seven games with the decisive contest being held in Miami.
The Heat will have a stellar regular season, earning the top seed in the East, but don't expect them to match the record-setting 72 wins that the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls managed to get.
ON THE CELTICS: While Vegas odds-makers have listed the flashy names on the Heat lineup as favorites to win the Eastern Conference, one has to love the Celtics' chances.
Boston solidified their roster this offseason with several free-agent signings. The additions only help to strengthen a team that was a Kendrick Perkins injury or a few more key rebounds away from winning an NBA title.
Boston has All-Stars at every position on the floor. While Allen declined a bit last year, Rondo's emergence as an elite NBA player compensated for the slip in Allen's game. KG and Shaq must be held back a bit during the regular season, so they can be healthy and rested for the playoffs.
Expect to see Boston easily win the Atlantic Division but to finish with the third seed for the playoffs. The Celtics showed last year that they don't need to overexert themselves for 82 games in order to have postseason success.
No matter their seeding, the Celtics should be considered the Eastern Conference favorites once the playoffs begin. In the end, it will be Boston and Miami squaring off for a chance to dethrone the Lakers.
by Evan Dunlap, Orlando Pinstriped Post
ON THE MAGIC: I'm expecting bounce-back seasons from Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson, as well as another year of improvement for Dwight Howard.
I've pegged them for 62 wins, because although the East got stronger this offseason, the Magic certainly didn't decline in talent level from the last two seasons, when they won 59 games apiece.
Carter worked hard on his body this offseason and appears to be much more comfortable on the floor. His jumper has rarely even caught the rim in preseason, as he's getting his body square and legs into the shot before firing away.
Orlando brought Quentin Richardson aboard, largely due to his 3-point shooting, which will force the Celtics to think twice about leaving him open. The Celtics exposed Orlando in the conference finals last season by utterly ignoring Matt Barnes on the perimeter, due to his unreliable outside shot, which freed them to pack the paint, stymieing Howard inside and shutting down driving lanes for Carter and Nelson. Clearly, Richardson will be one key against Boston.
Orlando will likely win far more games than the Celtics do this season, but don't let that disparity fool you: If these teams meet for the third consecutive postseason, it'll be anyone's series.
ON THE CELTICS: The Celtics proved last season that they're a tough team to peg, at least until the playoffs roll around.
Given the continuity in Boston's locker room, at least as far as leadership is concerned, I expect another season of Doc Rivers managing his players' minutes closely, and the players conserving their energy.
This approach worked to great effect last year, as they took the defending champion Lakers to the brink in the Finals after most basketball observers counted them out, first against the Cavaliers and then against the Magic.
Overall, I've pegged the Celtics for a win total in the mid-40s, likely 46-36. If that seems low, or insulting, to the Boston faithful, I think it's instructive to point out the regular season doesn't mean a whole lot to this team.
While I'm dubious that the Celtics can flip the switch again, so to speak, Rivers will keep that possibility open so long as he's able to keep the veteran core fresh. And regardless of their health or engagement level, they'll always be a tough matchup for the Magic.
The cost-effective additions of Shaquille and Jermaine O'Neal — along with Perkins — give Boston three of the top five Dwight Howard defenders in the league.
by Beckley Mason, Truth About It
ON THE WIZARDS: The Wizards enter the 2010-11 season with positive energy flowing out their ears.
John Wall has already proven to be a man-child not only as an ankle-breaking wunderkind, but as a steady-handed floor marshal — unafraid to put veterans in their place, literally, on the basketball court.
But however solid Wall may be this year, the squad as a whole is perforated with imperfections. Gilbert Arenas can't guard anyone, only a couple players can hit 3s and the Wizards' young posts have a history of weak rebounding and late help defense.
See, this is a team full of "you know, if…"s. Because, you know, if Gilbert stays healthy and embraces the off-ball responsibilities like he did in the preseason, if 30-year-old Josh Howard returns to his near All-Star levels of play, if JaVale McGee builds on his breakout summer, if Andray Blatche plays like he did down the stretch last year (21 points a game from January to March), and if Al Thornton eschews the mid-range game and focuses on becoming Count Dunkula, this could be a pretty good team.
That's far too many ifs for the irresponsible optimism that pervades D.C. hoops fans — but an appropriate amount for a team heading into a 35-47 season.
ON THE CELTICS: Was the Celtics' run to last year's Finals the last violent spasm of a dying monster, or simply proof that the beast was slumbering throughout the regular season?
Rondo is superb (Hubie Brown voice) and the East's best point guard, but the rest of the Celtics' starting five is declining — that is, unless The Big Ticket really is bouncing back on that right knee.
Boston's pride won 50 games last year and is replacing Perkins with the chalk outlines of the O'Neals, a significant downgrade defensively and offensively (KP is the best screener in the league). The frontcourt is deeper, but also less effective until Perk returns, and then at what level will he play?
The Celtics should also be concerned after losing Tony Allen, the East's best perimeter defender and resident LeBron/Wade specialist. Who fills that void? Ray, Pierce, Nate Robinson, Delonte West all fall well short defensively.
On any other team, these concerns would lead one to declare, "They will be worse than last year." But this is the Celtics, who, like the Spurs in the West, must be taken seriously until emphatically proven otherwise. Most of the East sucks yet again, so 50-plus should be in the cards once more — 55-plus if Garnett is truly "back."
Stay tuned for Part 6 of this seven-part series: the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division.
|Irish Coffee: Celtics & Heat get … it … on
|at 9:39 am ET
Wake up with the Celtics and your daily dose of Irish Coffee '¦
Just how out of control has the hype surrounding the Miami Heat gotten this season? Here's Exhibit A: The Whiskey Tango All-American Bar & Grill in Hollwyood, Fla., is picking up the bar tab each time the Heat lose a game this NBA season.
I guess basketball fans in Miami will be drinking for free tonight.
And just how out of control has the hype surrounding the Boston Celtics gotten this season? Here's Exhibit A: This guy will trade his car and his camera for a pair of tickets.
I'm guessing Vince Wilfork wouldn't trade front-row tickets for a 1994 Honda Civic.
By the way, if you're looking for front-row tickets to tonight's game between the C's and Heat, Stub Hub has got one for you. It'll only cost you $18,824.00.
The NBA is upon us, and that means newspaper columnists are waxing poetic about who will win, who will lose, who will rise and who will fall in the league this year. Let's check in with some of the best columnists covering the league around the country.
The Washington Post's Michael Wilbon says this NBA regular season is the most anticipated since Michael Jordan's 1995 return to the game, and he picked the Celtics over the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals …
"Now, they'll find out what it is like to get every team's best, most fanatical and purposeful effort every night, starting in Boston tonight," Wilbon wrote. "And they'll do it without having the savvy that comes from winning a championship together . . . which is why I don't believe that Miami is going to win the NBA championship this season. Oh, they'll win three or four before this group calls it quits – but not this year. They can win 65, 66 games in the regular season and it won't help them one iota during the playoffs."
The New York Post's Peter Vecsey not only believes the Los Angeles Lakers will win a third straight title this season — but he thinks they'll win a fourth next year. In his eyes, the only team that stands in Kobe Bryant's way? The Orlando Magic …
"Only a David Stern-stimulated, full-term lockout, Jerry Buss deciding he's bored of winning or a dashboard-light outage can stop the Lakers from seeing paradise next season. Only Orlando and injuries can prevent them from three-peating this season."
The Los Angeles Times' Mark Heisler is in Boston, and he's reopening the wounds of Game 7. Good times …
"Remember Game 6 in 2008 when the Celtics sent the Lakers home as crispy critters in a 131-92 rout that recalled the horrors of the rivalry from 1959-1984, when the Lakers were 0-8 in Finals meetings featuring Frank Selvy's miss, Jack Kent Cooke's balloons, James Worthy's interception, Magic Johnson's dribbling out the clock, the Sauna Game, the 3 a.m. fire alarm, fans rocking their bus.
"This Celtics loss was worse.
"At least the Lakers never blew a 13-point second-half lead in Game 7 with a title within their grasp."
Meanwhile, ESPN polled 25 of its NBA writers, and 24 of them picked either the Lakers or Heat to win the NBA title. Only ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg picked the Celtics.
Speaking of ESPN writers, Chris Sheridan's pick for Defensive Player of the Year: Tony Allen? Wait, what? Is Sheridan related to Tony?
We all know the only guy whose opinion really matters when it comes to the Celtics is Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. While he won't be in attendance tonight, he still shared his thoughts on the C's with Dennis & Callahan this morning:
"I love the Celtics, and they were one game away last year from winning it all. Those guys know how to get it done. They did it a few years ago. Last year, it was heartbreaking to lose to the Lakers the way they did. But if anybody knows how to do it, it's Doc (Rivers) and KG (Kevin Garnett) and Ray (Allen) and Paul Pierce, who's been such a great player for so long.
"They add Shaq, Jermaine O'Neal, they've got a lot of great players, so they don't need any advice from me. They know how to do it. I'll be excited to watch them. They've got a great opportunity as well. I hope they take advantage of it."
Brady really went out on a limb with his prediction there, didn't he?
For the most part, members of the Celtics and Heat are saying all the right things leading up to tonight's game. We sifted through all the run-of-the-mill answers to the millions of NBA opening-night questions to bring you the best from each team:
"For us, this game is to set the tone," Glen "Big Baby" Davis told NBA.com. "We have to set the tone against a team like that and just let them know, hey, you guys got a new group of guys, but we're still the team to beat in the East."
"I've had my battles with Boston the last few years when I was back in Cleveland, and I've seen the great games they've had with Miami also, so we're going to take the challenge and it's going to be fun to start the season this way," LeBron James told The Miami Herald. "It'll be a very hostile environment, and us being the most hated team in the world, it'll even be more hostile."
Lace 'em up, fellas. It's game time. Keep checking in at WEEI.com all day. We've got plenty more preview stuff leading up to the game, and we'll have you covered pregame, in-game and postgame. I think I just wrote game too many times.
Can you tell I'm excited for this NBA season to tip off? Maybe I'll buy that front-row seat at Stub Hub.
(Have a question, concern or conception for tomorrow's Irish Coffee? Send a message to @brohrbach on Twitter.)
|Doc Rivers: C's just 'other team that's playing'
|10.25.10 at 8:43 pm ET
WALTHAM — So finally, thankfully, mercifully no more hype – just the game.
Ever since the game was announced as part of the full NBA schedule on Aug. 10, news and sports outlets across the country and the globe circled Oct. 26 on their calendars as a "must-cover" event at Boston's TD Garden.
Doc Rivers maintains those news and sports outlets won't be in Boston Tuesday to see a great game but what they think will be one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
'All eyes will be on the game in Boston, but I think all eyes will really be on Miami. We're the other team that's playing and we're just going to show up. But I'm sure everybody is there to see Miami.
'It's opening night, it's great. It's opening night at home. We've had a lot of time to prepare for the game, which is nice, and we're ready to play.'
Rivers said Monday that he feels confident his team is ready for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat on Tuesday at TD Garden.
And it's fitting that James plays his first official game on the same court he played his last for the Cavaliers. But unlike Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last May 13, James will be playing alongside players named Wade and Bosh, even if those three played very little together in the preseason because of Wade's nagging hamstring injury.
'I would say it probably hurts them more than it hurts us," Rivers said. "It probably hurts both teams, not being able to scout them and see what exactly what they're going to do when they're all on the floor. You can make the case that not being able to practice at all [together] it may hurt them as much. I don't think it matters. I guarantee you that Wade will have the ball a lot, so will LeBron and so will Bosh.' Read the rest of this entry »
|Doc: Shaq attack starting Tuesday
|at 2:59 pm ET
WALTHAM — Barring any unforeseen changes, Shaquille O'Neal will make his Celtics debut as the starting center on opening night against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat on Tuesday night at TD Garden.
"Most likely Shaq, to be honest," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said following Monday's practice. "We haven't officially announced it but most likely."
Rivers added that back-up centers Jermaine O'Neal and Semih Erden will both suit up and be ready to play. O'Neal has been playing with torn cartilage in his left wrist while Erden has a sore shoulder that Rivers indicated will take some "managing" to keep him healthy enough to play.
|Irish Coffee: NBA Fun & Games
|at 10:53 am ET
Wake up with the Celtics and your daily dose of Irish Coffee '¦
Over the weekend, NBA.com released a series of videos — entitled "NBA Unscripted" — leading up to tomorrow's opening-night tipoff between the Celtics and Heat.
The footage includes some pretty cool interactions between the C's Big Three. Here are some nuggets:
Kevin Garnett: "This training camp has some of the same energy that '07 did. We stepped in the gym, and everybody was there early. I just feel like we're reliving that. It feels like deja vu a little bit. In '07, when we were alone, we came in the gym, and there was an energy. You could feel it. There were certain things you didn't have to say."
Ray Allen: "After Game 7, we were on the bus, and we started talking about the summer and the future, and we all hurt inside. We all had pain, and to this moment it bothered me to think where we were, what we did and what we could've gotten accomplished. We can say that we don't have regrets, but there are things that we wish we could've done better."
There's plenty more on the Celtics in the Unscripted series. Check these out: The Countdown, Embracing a Role and Floor Leader, which includes this from Rajon Rondo:
"The more years I play and each year I get more experience, the more of a leadership role I have to take on as the point guard of this team. It's as simple as that. Whether I play as great as I did the last couple years or not, I'm still the leader. I'm here for a reason."
Of course, no NBA preview would be complete without plenty of Heat discussion. Unscripted is no different. Here's a couple tidbits from Miami:
Chris Bosh: "To get to where we want to go, it has to be intense. We know that other teams like the Celtics are out there working very, very hard, so we probably have to go even harder."
Dwyane Wade: "People say we're there, but we're not there yet. We look at the Boston Celtics of the world and say, 'That's what we need to get to.' And we've gotta work very hard to get there."
Shaquille O'Neal generates more gems than Tiffany & Co. After posing as a statue (sorry, "Shaqtue") for an hour in Harvard Square last week, The Big Shamrock is already planning his next stunt, according to USA Today.
Always wondered what Shaq might look like as a woman? Well, on the subway this Halloween, you just might meet Shaquita, a 7-foot-1, 345-pound woman. Ever want to hurl a snowball at Shaq? This winter, he may don a snowsuit and stand in a field somewhere as a human target.
"This is the funnest team I've been on in my life," Shaq told the paper. "Seriously. These guys are great. Usually, I'm the ringleader of bringing fun to a team, but I haven't even done anything yet. These guys crack me up. Big Baby (Glen Davis) and Nate Robinson, they need their own TV show."
Still, in the same article, Doc Rivers stressed that Shaq's maintaining a balance between off-the-court fun and on-the-court production.
"This city wants a winner," added Shaq. "I want a winner. Everybody on this team wants to win. For me, that's what it's all about."
KG isn't the only Celtics veteran feeling fully healthy after a summer filled with thoughts of vengeance. According to Jackie MacMullan on ESPN.com, Pierce is, too.
"I feel great for the first time in a long time," Pierce told MacMullan.
After suffering knee, foot and thumb injuries during the 2009-10 regular season, Pierce reportedly had to wear a brace and some serious padding in his shoe just to make it through the NBA Finals.
The most disturbing revelation from MacMullan's fantastic piece (per usual): After Pierce's minor surgery midway through last season, his knee would actually pop open and gush liquid (I hope you're not eating your breakfast with this Irish Coffee).
"I was probably a little stubborn about not letting it heal right," Pierce admitted to ESPN.com. "I told them I was fine, but I had this fluid leaking out all over the place. It wasn't so much the pain. I just lost all my strength. I played a lot of last season on basically one leg."
It's nice to see Stephane Lasme getting a shot at making another NBA roster. The former UMass standout received an invite to work out for the Phoenix Suns, according to NBA reporter Alex Kennedy.
Lasme was a stand-up guy in Celtics training camp, and even carried himself with dignity following the news that the C's cut him from the roster — wishing each of his teammates good luck this season.
The C's have a deep roster this year, so failing to make the cut shouldn't deflate a guy like Lasme, who could still contribute to an NBA team.
Green Street has you covered for any and all information you could possibly want leading up to tomorrow night's opener. Paul Flannery has already churned out a ton of impressive stuff, including a great piece on Jermaine O'Neal, a breakdown of the secret to the Big Three's success, this season's top five NBA storylines and his Talking Hoops podcast.
Meanwhile, I contacted 30 blogs from around the league to give you a prediction for the team they cover and, of course, the Celtics. I'll say this: You'll be surprised by the range of projections. Part 1 is already up on the blog. Stay tuned for the remainder of the Western Conference today and the Eastern Conference tomorrow.
(Have a question, concern or conception for tomorrow's Irish Coffee? Send a message to @brohrbach on Twitter.)
|Sunday is no day of rest for Celtics
|10.24.10 at 4:51 pm ET
WALTHAM — You could tell immediately after practice on Sunday that this was no ordinary weekend practice. It's not often the Celtics practice both days on the weekend but Doc Rivers is giving his team every chance to get prepared for the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
"We didn't do much today," Rivers said. "I really went back and forth with giving them the day off or getting them to run through some stuff. A lot of skeleton today and very little contact and going over our defensive schemes."
Then, on their own, new players like Von Wafer, Luke Harangody and Semih Erden worked on the offensive sets. The intensity was certainly there.
Tempers flared between Delonte West and Wafer during a post-practice drill, the Celtics continued preparations for the Miami Heat on Sunday at their practice facility.
Wafer, who won the last 15th and final roster spot after the final preseason game last Wednesday, played with Harangody against West and Erden in a 2-on-2 drill as extra time is being spent at the end of practice for new players trying to learn the Celtics offensive sets before they open the season Tuesday night at home. Wafer and West exchanged words after West drove to the basket and beat Wafer for a couple of buckets.
"Listen it's game one, even if it wasn't Miami, everybody is going to be excited," Rivers said. "This is a special situation. Let's just be honest. Everybody is excited about it. Our guys try to downplay it until you walk through the locker room and hear them talking about it. The film is on all day, watching Miami. Let's just go out and have fun and see what we have the next night. We'd like to win them both.
The Celtics play in Cleveland on Wednesday, the night after their season opener against the Heat at TD Garden.
|Pierce: No window watching needed
|10.20.10 at 11:51 pm ET
Everyone assumed that the Celtics starters would play only until halftime in Wednesday's preseason finale against the New Jersey Nets … including, apparently, some of the players.
Boston got off to a sluggish start, and while New Jersey figures to be much-improved this year with new head coach Avery Johnson, the Celtics had no business being down 14 points early in the second quarter, on their home court, in their final tuneup before the most important (or, at least, most hyped?) regular season game in NBA history on Tuesday night at TD Garden.
And their captain knew it. Paul Pierce, who finished with a game-high 17 points in a 107-92 win over the Nets, said the Celtics wanted a good feeling heading into the season.
'We knew that was not our brand of basketball how we came out to start the game," Pierce said of allowing the Nets to shoot 50 percent and score 55 points in the first half. "We wanted to try to establish the tone in the third quarter and we just have to do a better job on starting games off and understanding on what we need to do. But I think for the most part we are ready.
'You want to sort of build something going into the season individually and as a team. It's about getting the confidence going. You want to be playing well not just as a team. Trying to figure out some things I am trying to do offensively just to get some confidence to know I can get the job done during the regular season.'
But that wasn't the only message Pierce sent after the game. He was asked if he views this season, starting with Tuesday's showdown with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, as a final shot at an NBA title with the current group of Celtics.
"I don't look at it that way," Pierce said. "I've got four years left, shoot. The window's open as long as I'm here. Definitely, the sense of urgency is there every year we have our team [together]. We don't look ahead at a window. The object is to have a sense of urgency now and then next year, worry about that."
Latest from Bleacher Report
- Isaiah Thomas to Play vs. Wizards After Missing 2 Games with Knee Injury
- Ray Allen Not Invited to Rajon Rondo's NBA Title Celebration After...
- Isaiah Thomas Will Miss Next 2 Games for Celtics with Knee Injury
- Al Horford, Avery Bradley Out vs. Suns with Elbow, Hamstring Injuries
- Avery Bradley Returns from Achilles Injury for Celtics vs. Hawks
- Isaiah Thomas Criticizes DeMarre Carroll for Flagrant Foul in Celtics vs...


text:
Gentle Giant Unveils Star Wars Biker Scout Jumbo Figure
As time continues to fly by, Gentle Giant has been hard at work creating their next large-scale figure, the Biker Scout. This Biker Scout Jumbo Figure should be a welcome addition to any existing Star Wars collection, especially if you have been getting in on the Jumbo Figure action from Gentle Giant. The figure was crafted in the 1/6 scale, is priced at $80, and should arrive in Q1 of 2015. Here's more from Gentle Giant:
Digitally scanned from mint 3 ¾" Kenner originals and reproduced at a Jumbo size, no detail has been overlooked. Roto cast and made of durable plastics, this jumbo figure includes a faithfully reproduced Scout Blaster accessory! It even comes fully articulated!
With a commitment to keep in line with the vintage Kenner experience, Gentle Giant has packaged this figure with a Return of the Jedi-inspired backer card featuring original photos and artwork. Designed with the collector in mind, the figure comes in a resealable plastic outer clam shell to help protect and display this limited edition figure.


text:
Wauwatosa Catholic School
Wauwatosa Catholic will be the first Catholic International Baccalaureate K3 to 8th grade school in this area. It is a new school opening in the fall of 2011, sponsored by St. Pius X and St. Bernard Parishes. This blog will update the community on its newest school. Visit www.wauwatosacatholic.org for more information.
(She just MIGHT look familiar!) Meet Tosa Catholic's FIRST First Grade Teacher!
Hailing from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Jenna Rosenfeldt is a very outgoing, happy person who enjoys being around people. If Ms. Rosenfeldt look vaguely familiar to you, we may have an answer. She commented, "I work at Miller Park doing in-game promotions, so watch for me on the big screen!" She has a love of sports, running, and above all Music! Ms. Rosenfeldt has a degree from Concordia University with specialties in Early Childhood Education on up to eighth grade.
She'll hang up her Brewer cap at the end of summer to sport a new cap, "the First First Grade Teacher at Wauwatosa Catholic School."
Ms. Rosenfeldt adds, "My personal goal is to create a learning environment where children feel safe and excited to learn. When children feel this way, they can start to inquire about things they want to know!" The kids are looking forward to a wonderful year at Wauwatosa Catholic School with Ms. Rosenfeldt and the other fantastic faculty members. (see previous blogs)
ALL are welcome to stop by or call anytime: 258-9977. Additional faculty has been added to meet popular demand! Some grade levels are full or nearly full. Call to inquire about your grade level of interest.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.


text:
You need to be logged in to do that...
Before you can vote for cool new LEGO sets, or submit your own you'll need to sign in with or register for a LEGO ID:
Sign in with ?
You're currently signed in to LEGO ID as . Would you like to sign in to LEGO Ideas with this LEGO ID?
Whoa there...
LEGO Ideas is only available for builders 13 and older. Instead, check out LEGO.com for fun activities on the Games and Create & Share pages.
Hubble Repair Mission
In Stores
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken some of the most memorable and inspiring images of the heavens. For almost twenty five years it has broadened our understanding and deepened our knowledge of our Universe. There was a time though when all this capability and potential was almost lost. During it's construction there was a flaw in Hubble which would require space shuttle repair missions correct these flaws. On flights STS-61, STS-82. STS-103 and STS-109 the Hubble was captured and repaired and enhanced. In May of 2009, STS-125 successfully completed the last servicing mission keeping Hubble alive and well ensuring the discovery and learning doesn't stop.
This model features two astronauts working in tandem repairing the space telescope. During an actual repair mission, the telescope would be captured by the Space Shuttle's remote manipulator arm and brought into the cargo bay with it's solar panels retracted. For details there are several Hubble serviceable components including the Wide Field Camera which was replaced on the STS-125 mission.
Here's my first pass at the model.
After re-watching the movie Hubble 3D, which is about the STS-125 mission to save Hubble I tweaked the interior details a bit. There's a bit more playability now. It's really hard to reach up into this tiny Hubble and remove some of those circuits. Sadly I couldn't find a way to recreate all the screw Astronaut John Grunsfeld had to remove. I do have a removable handle (on the right) so that you can recreate Astronaut Mike "Mass" Massimino breaking it (on purpose!).


text:
Kroah-Hartman: Remove Hyper-V Driver from Kernel?
Microsoft caused a sensation with its release of its Hyper-V virtualization driver -- now its inclusion in the Linux kernel could be in doubt.
In the gmane.linux.kernel newsgroup, lead driver developer Kroah-Hartman announced the state of drivers in the kernel staging tree, which ones will come and which will go. As he says, "If
no one steps up to maintain and work to get the code merged into the main portion of the kernel, the drivers will be removed," as drivers/staging/ is no "dumping ground for dead code." Next to some Android and WLAN drivers, Microsoft's Hyper-V driver is definitely among those that could be dropped.
Redmond's driver seems to have cost the kernel team quite a bit. Kroah-Hartman writes that it took over 200 patches to get the code "into semi-sane kernel coding style," apparently mostly through his personal effort ("someone owes me a bit [sic] bottle of rum for that work!"). The main problem, however, is the total unresponsiveness of the Microsoft team: "Unfortunately the Microsoft developers seem to have disappeared, and no one is answering my emails. If they do not show back up to claim this driver soon, it will be removed in the 2.6.33 release. So sad...."
The situation is especially sad for Kroah-Hartman in that it was mostly through his effort that Microsoft put the code under GPL. The Hyper-V driver will nevertheless still appear in the 2.6.32 kernel, as he writes in the newsgroup.
The linux-staging developer tree has been around since June 2008. It contains drivers in early development that are tested and cleaned up for the main kernel.
I'm clueless and even I understandI've never submitted a patch to the Kernel, but even so I know that every Open Source project including the Linux Kernel has coding standards that should be followed. Microsoft developers dumping code into the kernel and running away isn't appropriate and their code should not be included. If I submitted cruddy code to the Kernel would someone else make hundreds of edits to get it included? I think not.
So, is Microsoft trying to play more games here? "See, we tried to participate in open source, but they would accept our contributions."
Remove Hyper-V driver from kernel?Classic case of the kernel team wanting to have their cake and eat it. If you wanted the Microsoft devs to be able to maintain the code, perhaps making over 200 changes wasn't a particularly wise way to go about it? You can't claim that proprietary drivers are bad and se that as reasoning for not providing a stable interface and then throw the toys out of the pram when third party code is written to third parties coding conventions.
Ultimately it's those wanting to use Linux who suffer as a result of this mentality. Throwing the Hyper-V drivers out will send a very clear message to third parties that there is no point sharing driver code with the FOSS community, because its just going to get thrown back in your face. Meanwhile, Windows on Hyper-V looks a more and more promising server infrastructure, eating into the one market where Linux has traditionally been strong.
"gmane.linux.kernel newsgroup"The "gmane.linux.kernel newsgroup" is just a gateway between the regular Linux Kernel Mailing List (lkml) and INN. Good to see that the author is so intimately familiar with the Linux kernel development process.
Issue 199/2017
Buy this issue as a PDF
Red Hat Announces OpenShift.io
Red Hat takes its IDE online.
Microsoft Bakes Linux into Windows Server
Microsoft is slowly becoming a Linux vendor.
Fearless Coyote, Linux Kernel 4.11 is Out
The new kernel makes swap implementation more scalable, which will help cloud providers.
Docker Appoints Steve Singh CEO
The new CEO comes from a very strong SaaS background.
Docker Announces Linux Kit and Moby Project
Both projects help organizations build their own containerized systems.
Ubuntu Returns to Gnome as Its Mobile Plans Shatter
Mark Shuttleworth has resumed the position of CEO of Canonical.
Microsoft is Shutting Down CodePlex
Microsoft's open source code hosting platform CodePlex will come to an end after a more than 10-year stint.
Fedora 26 Alpha Released
Comes with Gnome 3.24
Old Linux Kernel Bug Discovered
The bug was introduced back in 2009 and has been lurking around all this time.
OpenSSH 7.5 Released
The new release deprecates the sshd_config UsePrivilegeSeparation option.


text:
Love In The Autumn Breeze
Short Story by: asba
Status: Finished
Genre: Romance
Love In The Autumn Breeze
I held my breath as I drew in the fresh air filling my loungs. It was that kind of air that you feel you can never get enough of, and you try to draw so much in you forget to breathe out again. My eyes slowly closed feeling the wind pull at my hair, throwing it in all directions, causing a chaos for me to fix up later. An unconcious smile pulled at my lips, as I shivered from the beauty of it all.
I opened my eyes again in a daze and watched the colourful landscape; a circle of trees stood at the end of the big field, being the shelter for two horses. Leaves in all colours, red, yellow, orange brown, covered the trunk that had stood the weathers for hundreds of years. Green grass covered the fields still, with pearls of water on the edge from yesterdays rain, and the afternoon sun hoovered above the horizon, twinkling inbetween the branches of the forrest.
My arms swung out in the air on impulse, and I twirled around the soft grass, my scarf and dress twirling with me. I laughed out in empty air, just happy to be alive. Suddenly I stopped, feeling eyes on me, and I slowly searched the area, and found you leaning against the fence of the field. Your hands tucked in your jacket pockets and a blissful smile on your face, suggesting you had been watching for a while. I blushed slightly, thinking I must've looked silly dancing around all by myself. You shook your head slightly with a smile, and started walking towards me. I shook off the embarressment and ran towards you, longing for your arms.
I threw my arms around your neck, and you laughed as you pulled me off the ground, and twirled me around so I swung in open air for a few seconds, before you put me down and drew me close, your expression suddenly serious but passionate. My smile faded, grasping the loving expression in your eyes, that went deep into your soul. I let myself succumb to your arms pulling me even closer, and your lips brushing against mine, in a soft, but breath taking kiss. I smiled before you released my lips and looked deep into my eyes, filling me with warmth from top to toe. You closed your eyes and kissed my forehead as I rested my weight against your chest, my arms now wrapped around your waist.
You whispered "come" in my ear, and gently pulled me with you. We walked across the field, still with arms wrapped around eachother, and down to the river a little further down. Sitting down on the river bank with high reed surrounding us I sighed in bliss. Sitting in silence, feeling the safety of your arms and the comforting sound of the river floating by in whispers was a heavenly experience.
I could feel your smile as you bent down to kiss my forehead. I looked up at you, meeting your gaze, and closed my eyes as your lips met mine again, in another soft kiss, sending me sky-high inside. You hummed comfortably before whispering "I love you" in my ear. Pulling my arms even closer around you, I replied with "I love you too. Always."
We sat there till darkness filled the air, and cold crept up on us, from the lack of movement. And so went home, made hot chocolate, wrapped ourselves in a blanket, and talked and kissed till the early hours, knowing there was nowhere else we'd rather be. Knowing we were safe right here and now, and knowing we wanted this moment and this day to last for ever. And knowing no matter what came our way, we loved eachother, and that was enough.
*Please comment*
- xxx -
© Copyright 2017 asba. All rights reserved.
Add Your Comments:
Other Content by asba
Book / True Confessions
Short Story / Romance
Short Story / Other
Short Story / Mystery and Crime
Short Story / Young Adult
Book / Humor


text: Hey everyone! I just purchased a 2012 silverado LTZ extended cab. I want to level the truck because I think we would all agree it gives it a tougher stance and helps with allowing bigger wheels and tires. Now the million dollar question. BDS, rough country, ready lift? This is my first truck so I'm new at this. Any Info from everyone as to what brand y'all think I should use would be great! Thanks in advance for the help!!


text:
Great story again Tim. Good to hear that you are doing well and experiencing the American way. Also nice of you to meet up with Mark and Debbie. I am sure that they also enjoyed seeing you.
PS. I hope you didn't buy one of those stupid hats for me.....
Steak and rodeo
Trip Start Unknown
55Trip End Ongoing
Map your own trip!
Loading Map
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
When i arrived at the hostel, I rang the dude and he just told me to find a bunk and sort out the payment in the morning. When I got to there room there were 3 bunk beds. But 9 beds... 3 beds per bunk bed. So I had to try squeeze into this tiny space without making too much noise (a skill which I mastered by the end of my stay).
The next day I met up with brad stevens parents mark and Debbie and his grandparents and they took me to the JFK museum and memorial and then for lunch. After a month of 1 minute noodles and bread with peanut butter, I really appreciated a nice meal. After lunch I returned to the hostel where I went to the cinemas with some people from the hostel and the ticket cost $1.75.
The following day I went to a real western clothes shop which sold real cowboy hats, boots, shirts and belts which was cool and in the evening we went to see a rodeo. The rodeo was cool and showed me the real Texas style. After the rodeo we went To western style bar which was huge and had a beer there.
On the last day I managed to stay at the hyatt regency (5 star I believe) for free for one night which was a nice change from the 3 person bunk bed. Getting there was a bit of a mission though. I put in hyatt airport in my hostel and told me to take 2 different buses. When I got on the bus I talked to the bus driver and he said he had no idea of any hotel where I was going. At the transfer station I talked to him and another bus driver and they were really cool and interested where I was from and where I was going. Then I got onto the other bus with one of them and he drove off the route and dropped me off at the door of the hotel. After a little while I found out there were 7 different hyatts around the airport and had to take a cab but it was still a funny experience. Lesson: check which hotel to go to.
At the airport now going to dc where I have to take several subways and buses to get to my hostel so will see how I go.


text:
Montana residents, businesses glad dairy cliff averted
BELGRADE, Mont. - When asked about how much milk his family goes through, Belgrade resident Joe Thomas said "about two gallons a week."
People like Thomas go through a lot of milk. It's a household staple. In fact on Wednesday, it's the sole reason he was at the grocery store.
But the dairy product most don't think twice about buying has gotten a lot of attention lately, because of the so-called dairy cliff.
The farm bill was set to expire unless Congress signed an extension. There were fears milk prices would skyrocket.
"Most of the drinks that we make have milk- latte, cappuccino" said Stephanie Wiliams, a barista at Cafe M in Belgrade.
She said the coffee shop would have had no choice but to up their drink prices.
"That's a big thing for us" she said.
Luckily, it looks like they won't have to resort to that. Party leaders on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have agreed to a one-year extension of the expired farm bill.
At Lee and Dad's IGA in Belgrade, a gallon of milk cost $3.39. But if Congress didn't sign that extension, that price would have gone up to 7 or 8 dollars a gallon.
Customers said they probably would have bitten the bullet if prices doubled.
"My kids probably drink it so I would probably still buy it" Thomas said.
Belgrade resident Dan Neely said he thinks milk is expensive as it is, but the way he looks at it- "You just go, okay do I want it or not? Okay, I want it. I want it on my cereal."
Williams said she's glad Congress acted.
"It's a brand new year, so I'm sure something else will come for us to worry about" she said. "But we're glad this one's done."


text:
Date of Stay: October, 2011
We were given 6 different 50-amp sites to choose from. You check in at the motel. No one was available to escort us. When we got to the sites it was impossible to tell where the site numbers were. Some of the sites were empty but the electric box was already being used by an RV on the "other" side. We finally made a decision and tried to park the 5th wheel (37'). There were low hanging power lines and a large tree in our way. While trying to maneuver the power lines, our RV was damaged by a large limb. The people in the office were absolutely no help. Extremely over-priced. Can not recommend this place to anyone.
Date of Stay: October, 2011
Very nice park. Extremely clean - easy to get in and out. Highly recommend this park.
Date of Stay: October, 2010
Very nice, extra-wide space. I think we had a "premium" site - plenty of room to park our truck beside the 5th-wheel. My only complaint is that I was charged an extra $12 but I don't know what it was for. I asked if cable was included and was told "yes". Now, looking back on my receipt, I have no idea what I paid $12 for unless it was the cable. Would stay here again but will be extra-diligent in reviewing charges before paying.
Date of Stay: October, 2010
It is average at best: basically a gravel lot with hookups. The website indicated that the pool was being remodeled but, when looking at it, they've filled it with old tires. Doesn't look like it's being worked on. The hot tub was supposed to be available from 3pm - 6pm. We went to use it at 5pm (since we had just arrived). The man in the office said, "Well, it will take about an hour to warm up: you should have told me when you checked in that you wanted to use it." Like it was our fault. We can not recommend this one.


text:
I blew a Zinc Power Hen today at the local sporting goods shop. I liked it a lot I thought it a good call The sound was great tand it ran well. The one I blew was a single. has anyone else blown this call or own one what do you think?
Moderators: callinfowl, Mallyard, stumpjumper, okiequacker
Return to Duck Calls and Calling Forum
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
Welcome to the El Paso Corn Festival! Our theme this year is "The Blues Brothers" so you should have plenty of options decorating your car, float, or significant other. Once again we will have the Carnival all three days, entertainment in the Library Park, and of course the parade on Saturday at Noon.
Armbands Available Everyday!
Armbands will be available once again for all three days! Last years Saturday armbands were a success so the Carnival has agreed to do them again this year. Advanced armband sales will be available prior to the festival for $15.00 and are good for Thursday or Friday night Only. During the festival they are $20.00 for Thursday or Friday nights. Saturday arm bands will be available at the Carnival for $25.00.