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Latch help please!!!(18 Posts)
DS is 6.5 wks old. We've been breastfeeding since birth and have had moderate success, but I'm still having latch issues. I was able to get a good latch when I went to a breastfeeding support group on Tuesday this week but don't seem able to replicate it at home. Yesterday we did a skin to skin day, but I just can't seem to get it right, and both DS and I are getting increasingly frustrated!
I just can't seem to get him to tip his head back when he goes nose to nipple, so the latch is quite shallow. I have a very plentiful milk supply, so he is still getting lots of milk and gaining weight well, but the poor latch means that my nipples are constantly slightly sore, feeding is uncomfortable (although not really painful after the first minute or so), and takes a really long time - about 1.5 hrs!
I'm feeling sleep deprived and quite tearful at the moment as its really getting to me that I don't seem able to feed him to the point where he is really satisfied - you know that lovely 'drunk on milk' look they get? He feeds to sleep, but then when I go to put him down he wakes and starts making feeding cues again.
Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hmm is his tummy turned towards you so he doesn't have to twist his head?
Don't be afraid to take him off and re-latch if it isn't quite right.
Have you tried sort of tickling his nose with your nipple to get a big open gape?
I love that milk drunk look - I hope you get it soon! (And some sleep)
Yes, that's what I've been trying to do with his nose, but he just doesn't seem to open his mouth wide enough in the right place.
He's all lined up nicely, so not twisted.
My nipple is coming out less lipstick shaped than it was, but definitely still misshapen!
Zippy has he been checked for tongue tie? DD's wasn't diagnosed till 12 weeks because, like your DS, she was putting on weight and hitting milestones, but we had a similar experience. Not sure if you have seen This page but it has a list of TT symptoms.
Thanks, that's really interesting, as he does show quite a few if the 'symptoms' listed. I will try and have a look in his mouth later.
I was able to get a good latch the other day at the group, but it did seen to 'slip' as the feed went on.
He's got his 6 week check up (a week late as I was disorganised!) so I'll talk to the dr about it then.
Just be aware that even if the tongue looks normal, there could still be a restriction further back.
Have a look at him front on when he is crying. How far does the tongue lift? Does it curl at the edges? There should be good elevation, and a curled tongue indicates a restricition.
this is helpful
If you do think there might be a tie, be aware that many HCPs have no bloody idea about tongue ties. Find somebody who knows what they are doing.
Zippy, my DD is 4 weeks and I'm having similar problems. She is getting plenty of milk and gaining weight great and I'm not uncomfortable but because her latch is not great, she swallows lots of air and ends up screaming with wind. My problem is also that I can't get her to tilt her head back and open her mouth wide enough.
I can sometimes do it if a go to a Bf drop in and then rarely replicate it at home :/ I understand the theory that the LC keep repeating to me, just can't achieve it with a live baby rather than a doll....
No answers here but I'm lurking as having the same issue with 3 week old DS, though oddly much more on one side than the other. LC helped us a lot with positioning but he just doesn't open wide and it's getting rather frustrating for all involved.
Hello - I am still BF my 11 month old and can remember similar issues at the beginning. In my experience they ironed themselves out. At the start it is slightly painful and also takes ages / milk leaks everywhere / baby sometimes in awkward position etc. I remember there being moments of good latch and moments of bad. I also remember examining my nipple for the lipstick shape! Must be something from one of the books.
I can remember night after night awkwardly propped up with pillows on a chair with my feet on a box like some kind of cramped-up medieval lady at a spinning wheel!!
But it just gets easier. It's partly about getting more confidence handling your baby and getting into comfier positions. Don't forget to be quite bold about getting your own boob into right shape / place.
A couple of my friends had babies at the same time and I've watched them go through the same. Firstly they were covered in milk/baby popping on and off the boob etc. and now they are pros, none of us have needed a muslin cloth for months.
Another thing that helps is feeding lying down. Have you tried it? Baby lies next to you on the bed and feeds that way. It's much more relaxing and gives you both a chance to get it right in more sleepy setting. It was really confidence-building for me.
I think it's a myth about it being possible to get it right with a very little baby to such an extent that you could do it seamlessly in a cafe etc. Very few women actually do this. The reason the breastfeeding leaflets/support group make it seem like it will all fall into place is because it does -- but only with time. Understandably they want to help you persevere with what does (IME) become a very easy, fun, cheap way to feed your baby. Stick with it ladies!
p.s. My baby also had the terrible wind. Don't forget to burp each time. Sit them up against your hand and rub back gently with other hand. They will burp in the end! But also don't worry - the wind issue goes with time too and you will soon have forgotten about it.
Thanks all.
After having a good look at his mouth today it seems unlikely he has a tongue tie - he can stick his tongue out quite far and lifts it up well.
I've had a suggesting that he's doing a small mouth on purpose, as he's realised that this makes it easier for him to control the flow of milk (which makes sense I guess)
There's lots of suggestions in the kellymom site for dealing with over supply, which I'm going to try and work my way through, but trying to get the latch right is still key - it alright for everyone to say 'keep taking him off its it not right', but if we did that he'd starve as he wouldn't get anything - there's only so many times you can do it before he just starts to cry, and then he's so worked up that it becomes impossible!
Hit post too soon, then finished feeding and forgot.
I'll definitely go back to the support group this week, and hopefully that will help - I'll repost on how it goes.
It's great to know I'm not the only one with this - as much as I didn't want to admit it, I think I am suffering from PND, which isn't helping my perspective on this at the moment
I could have written your post too. My baby is 7.5 weeks and I'm driving myself mad trying to work out whether he has tongue tie or reflux. He slips down to a shallow latch too and ive wondered if it is s flow control thing aswell. I got gaviscon from the GP and now he has slight constipation. Or maybe it is all overtiredness? The screaming gets to me and he just isn't a smiley baby. He just seems unhappy and I feel like such a failure. But as someone says he will grow out of it and maybe I'm just looking for a solution to a non problem and babies are just like this?
Hi, I had a similar problem with my dd at that age. I had a bit of oversupply and that made it hard for her to latch properly because the boob is 'too round', if that makes sense, and I thought her mouth was not opening wide enough as well. Kellymom do have great advice, but I found that what worked for me was to express a bit at the beginning of a feed so the breast was softer and easier to suck in properly. To manage over supply I fed on blocks on 3 hours on each side, after about a day my boobs felt much softer and latch improved. I hope this helps... It is frustrating that bf is so bloody difficult! But it does get easier with time, I promise.
Thanks thewhitelady - it's nice to know others have been there and survived! I'm already doing the expressing some off prior to a feed thing - for almost a week now, and either that or the infacol we've been using (for just over a week) has definitely improved his wind - he doesn't seem to be suffering as much, and is doing big burps now mid feed, but we still have explosive poo!
Mrsmellow - when you get chance keep me updated with how you're doing/feeling and I'll do the same - I think it helps to know I'm not alone.
I've had a good chat with DH this morning, and I feel better for telling him how I feel. He's suggested moving to FF (although happy to support me either way) for my sanity and so DS might be better settled, but selfishly I'm not ready to give up BFing yet - at the moment I feel like it's the one thing that's bonding me with DS (and I feel terrible saying that) .
I too think ff wouldn't work for me rather than him. I actually love bf- sometimes feels like the only time he is awake and not screaming and I feel like I can do something useful. He is going to be weighed on Tuesday and have his 6 week check (at 8 weeks) and if not gaining I will fork out for a lactation consultant, insist on either ranitidine or omeprazole and spend a week in bed feeding.
Cried a lot this morning. But he has fed beautifully today and I think I might have fed to sleep for the first time in weeks - usually scream to sleep. Will keep updated.
Am glad you had a good day - DS was weighed this morning and had list a bit of weight after previously gaining well
We've just been to another BFing clinic though, which was great! The helper there said she wouldn't be concerned about a little bit of loss, as he's having plenty of wet and dirty nappies, and also seems to have had a growth spurt length wise - he's now too long for his 0-3month sleep suits.
She also watched me feed, and noticed that as I latch him on I move him upwards and outward ever so slightly, and that 1cm in both directions seem to have made the difference, as there was no lipstick nipple afterwards! Hooray!
We're still doing quite a bit of on and off at the start to get it right, but I feel we're making progress
At her suggestion, I'm also going to try block feeding, so limiting to one side for 4 hrs at a time, to make sure that he's getting the hind milk.
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GALLAGHER-L ArchivesArchiver > GALLAGHER > 2007-12 > 1198364827
From: Esther Ann <>
Subject: Re: [GALLAGHER] Gallagher>Ireland>Beaver Meadows, PA>Bethlehem,PA & Phillipsburg, NJ
Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:07:07 -0500
References: <firstname.lastname@example.com> <email@example.com><firstname.lastname@example.com>
In-Reply-To: <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Thanks for the quick reply.
Sorry, Dick,
I really don't have much on dates on my Gallaghers,
unfortunately, other then the birth and death of
my great grandmother's, Catherine/Katherine Gallagher, Baker. 1889-1963
However your right if yours didn't tip-toe into Philadelphia,
it doesn't matter. I could only guess, depending on position of
my Great grandmother's birth that if she was born in 1889, that
her father John Gallagher might have been born around in the later
1850's or the 1860's and her brother John Gallagher would have been
within the same time period as herself in the 1880's or 90's, again
on their position of birth since I don't know what order they came in and or
my Great grandmothers placement. However, sometime in the early 1930-30
one of the boy's, John, George or William did have a farm of sorts in the
Buck's County, Pa area and again though if yours did not detour into
Pa, then its all mute. lol
But thank you anyway...
Have a great Merry Christmas and Happy/Healthy New Years.
John Gallagher abt:1860ish, Ire-19??, Pa Catherine/Katherine Smith,
abt:1860ish, Ire-19??, Pa
Children: John, William, George, Helen Gordon, Phila,Ann Phister, Mrs.
Wm Slaeter, New Jersey,
Katherine/Catherine Gallagher, Baker, Born:1889 Phila- Died:1963Media,.
Dick Ferguson wrote:
> Hi Esther,
> I just finished checking the notes on my Gallagher families and found
> several John's, but none married to a Catherine (or Katherine) Smith.
> Four of my mother's brothers came to the US. Three ended up in West VA
> where they worked as miners, the other went with my mother and
> grandmother to MA. where he died in 1925 without ever marrying.
> You didn't have any dates in your note which makes it harder to
> establish family connections, but without finding any Catherines it
> didn't much matter
> Sorry about that, but have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year anyway.
> Dick
> Esther Ann wrote:
>> Hi List,
>> I just noticed your inquiry and that you had somewhat local Gallagher,
>> there Dick!
>> I have Philadelphia Gallagher, (which I know there were tons) but bare
>> with me, lol
>> I have a John Gallagher who married a Catherine/Katherine Smith.
>> they had seven or so children, John, William, George, Ann, Katherine,
>> Helen. I'm not
>> sure where they lived in Philly nor unfortunately where they originated
>> from...
>> I have tried through the years, posting and searching online, but there
>> is just so
>> many families with the same names and mine fall through the crack of
>> census times
>> in order to determine one from the others....
>> The only oral history I have been able to gather is that either the
>> parents or one of the
>> brothers did have a farm possibly in the Buck's County area, and one of
>> the boys did
>> work at the Reedman Car Dealership in its early days. However, I have
>> pic's of who
>> we think might be Gallagher guys who use to be line men..... Their
>> physical characters
>> are described as having very jet black hair in youth and dark eyes. My
>> nana was not a
>> tall woman but her love for cooking did result in her being quite large.
>> Now one of her
>> sisters who use to visit and who we think was Helen Hughes, was much
>> taller and
>> a large woman. Two of the sister's did move to the Cape May and
>> Brigatine, New
>> Jersey area by the name of Ann Phister (sp?) and Mrs. Wm Slaeter.(sp?)
>> Does any of this sound
>> familiar to you?
>> Thanks, Esther
>> John Galllagher, - Catherine/Katherine Gallagher
>> Children: John, William, George, Helen Hughes, Phila, Ann Phister, NJ,
>> Mrs. Wm Slaeter, NJ,
>> Katherine Baker, Media, Pa.(my line)
>> wrote:
>>> This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
>>> Author: bdf185
>>> Surnames:
>>> Classification: queries
>>> Message Board URL:
>>> http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.gallagher/1380.2/mb.ashx
>>> Message Board Post:
>>> Hugh,
>>> Do you have any information on what county or townland in Ireland your Gallagher family originated?
>>> My Gallagher family originated in County Donegal, Townland of Arlands. That area is near Burtonport on Donegal's West coast.
>>> My grandfather was Michael Gallagher, born in Feb of 1862. His parents were Hugh Gallagher and Bridget Campbell. Hugh drowned while fishing in 1870. Our family has no knowledge of any brothers and/or sisters of Michael, but suspect that there may be some since Irish farmers in those days tended to have large families.
>>> Irish records in the 1800s are pretty hard to find. Most official Irish records were kept in Dubl1n and were destroyed in the Irish rebellion about 1922. The Griffith's Valuation is available and confirms that there were several Gallagher families present in the Arlands area in 1857 when the valuation was done. I have found links to the 1901 and 1911 census for that area which has helped add some cousins to my tree but nothing confirmable that will get me back further than my great grandfather Hugh.
>>> If your Gallagher family originated in the Arlands area of County Donegal we may be related.
>>> Dick
>>> Important Note:
>>> The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.
>>> -------------------------------
>>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>> -------------------------------
>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
> -------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
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subset: commoncrawl


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Lil Wayne is in Critical Condition Following Seizures
UPDATE: Wayne's mother is reportedly on a plane en route to Los Angeles and that all decisions regarding his health — like whether or not to have him on life support — will wait until she arrives.
According to TMZ, Lil Wayne is in critical condition in an ICU following another seizure.
He'd been hospitalized on Tuesday (March 12), but was released a day later, only to be found unconscious on the floor, having more seizures.
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And people from Weezy's camp are beginning to combat the news with their own statements.
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"My son is in good spirit," Birdman tweeted. "feelin much betta…be home soon.YMCMB."
Watch Lil Wayne's "Get A Life" Video


text:
Empty desks part of the plan
Reporter: Karen Doherty
Date online: 10 March 2014
SOME of Oldham's newest secondaries could have the largest number of empty desks in September.
Figures from Oldham Council show Oasis Academy Oldham was left with the most spaces when year 6 pupils were allocated their secondary school places on March 3.
Only 216 current year 6 pupils were given a spot at the Hollins school, which has a 300-place capacity - a shortfall of 28 per cent.
Oldham Academy North, Royton, was 56 short of filling its 240 places (23.3 per cent gap) and Newman College, Chadderton, had an 11 per cent deficit with 267 of its 300 places allocated.
Oasis and Oldham Academy North opened in 2010, a year before Newman College.
The only other schools in the borough with shortfalls were Failsworth, with 300 places and 275 pupils allocated, and Collective Spirit Free School, which opened last year and was four short of its 60 capacity.
Schools point out that the figures, which were forecast, are already changing as parents enquire about places.
Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Cabinet member for education, said: "In recent years, Oldham Council has extensively planned and financially invested in education facilities and provision in Oldham.
"This planning also took into consideration the issue of surplus secondary school places in the borough. Over the past few years, the new or refurbished schools and academies are much bigger schools and therefore have more places for pupils.
"We're seeing a bulge in primary school pupil numbers, similar to many other local authorities across the country. Over the next five years this will feed into our secondary schools intake."
The vast majority of year 6 pupils will go to the secondary school of their choice in September.
A total of 84 per cent of youngsters (2,422) got a place at their preferred secondary, down slightly from 87 per cent last year. Eight per cent will attend their second choice school (six per cent last year) and two per cent their third choice.
Current school occupancy:
SCHOOL, No of places, Allocation 2014/15, Waiting list?
Oasis Academy 300, 216, No;
Oldham Academy North, 240, 184, No;
Blessed JH Newman, 300, 267, No;
Failsworth, 300, 275, No;
Collective Spirit, 60, 56, No;
Crompton House, 195, 195, Yes;
Hathershaw, 210, 210, Yes;
Blue Coat, 240, 240, Yes;
North Chadderton, 240, 240, Yes;
Royton & Crompton, 240, 240, Yes;
Saddleworth, 270, 270, Yes;
Radclyffe, 300, 300, Yes;
Waterhead Academy, 300, 300, Yes.
Oasis Academy Oldham principal David Hayes said the school had built up a financial surplus to mitigate the shortfall at one of the country's most improved secondaries.
"We always knew it would be a challenge and take time to establish ourselves as the school of choice for our area and to bring up the admission numbers," he said.
"We are establishing excellent relationships with the local primary schools in an area where other schools already have long-standing relationships. The turnaround taking place here is clear to see."
Colette Burgess, principal of Oldham Academy North, said the number of pupils allocated was in line with predictions.
"There are fewer 11-year-olds this year but in future years, the number will increase as can be seen by the number of primary school-age children in Oldham."
So all those NIMBYs in Diggle who don't want a new School in the village should start campaigning for Saddleworth School in Uppermill to stop admitting new students .Over the next 5 years there will be plenty of places to absorb Saddleworth students into the rest of the Borough's secondary schools and academies. I am sure residents around the present school in Uppermill would welcome the peace and quiet if the school is closed.
Oasis and Oldham Academy North must think the people of this town have an IQ that is the equivalent of their GCSE pass rates. There's a clear correlation between their empty desks, their inadequate OFSTED ratings and their real GCSE pass rate.
Not all doom and gloom though with Waterhead pulling in all 300 of their students, schools with buildings that are old like Saddleworth or North Chad being full or a school in a derelict building like Collective Spirit being nearly full.
I would be interested to find out the job prospects for the graduates of the 13 schools listed. It should be quite easy for each school to track their students paths after leaving. What percentage go to university, tech' college, or straight to job? What sorts of program do they opt for at college or university - Arts vs Science, etc? I think if the students and parents have the above information provided they would be more confident and secure in their decisions.
@FreddieTucker - think you will find the Oldham Academy North has an Ofsted rating of Good, and very close to outstanding. Will always take time to establish a new school especially in an area that has always had a Catholic school
@Bramble and Oldham Academy North's exam results being some of the worst in the country? Care to comment on that? Students are going through the system NOW and being failed. As for the school previously being a Catholic School, anyone who drives past the school will tell you that all it is now is a Muslim school.
It doesn't matter if a building had £30,000 or £30 million spent on it. it's what you do inside that matters, that's why schools like North Chadderton have a waiting list.
freddietucker. There are no Muslim schools in Oldham. There may be schools where a significant proportion of the intake come from an Islamic background but they all follow a British curriculum.
At Gladys. Unnecessary resurrection of the Diggle Nimbys. So I suppose it's all good for 11+ year old children to leave their houses at stupid O'Clock in the mornings to catch two, maybe three buses to be at school for 8:30-8:45. And yes, I do have children that go to Saddleworth.
@FreddieTucker - I agree about the poor exam results which is why I didn't pick up on it in my previous comment, I was merely pointing out you incorrectly stated it had an inadequate Ofsted. I also need to point it is not a Muslim school at all. One thinks you may be making a sweeping generalisation based on the ethnicity of the pupils who go there. The school didn't use to be Catholic. It used to be Grange. The site it is based on used to be the home of the Catholic school.
@JMTS - go on then tell me what means significant proportion, their own data shows 96%. All I have to go off is the DfE figures for Oldham Academy North
- 6% achieve the EBacc, the lowest in the town
- 42% achieve a GCSE pass in English & Maths, again the lowest in the town and amongst the worst in the country
- just 1 in 3 leave with 5 GCSEs.
A strategy that is based on our school will be eventually full when no one has a choice is very telling. Especially with those exam results.
@freddietucker - just because 96% of the students are Muslim does not make it a Muslim school. As JMTS states, the curriculum is no different to any other school
Oldham academy north has had an 11% decease in gcse results this year it did worse than the previous school that it replaced how can this be classed as good by Ofsted
It's also causing noise pollution for local residents
@royton owl - I suggest you read the Ofsted report online and it will answer your questions. I imagine your second sentence explains the real reason you dislike this school
I'd have thought with just a great Ofsted report the school would be oversubscribed then Bramble. Instead part of the plan seems to be to wait until parents have no choice but to send their children there.
A school that has a 96% one ethnic & religious group intake will never become mixed. It'd be a very brave parent from a non Bangladeshi non Muslim background that would send their child to Oldham Academy North.
@freddietucker - that's a very naive view point. Parents will consider a whole host of things not just Ofsted. You are also ignoring the fact this school has been moved from a predominantly Asian area in to Royton on the site of a different school which has only moved down the road. It is going to take time for historic patterns and trends to change. It's also a very sad point that you feel the need to bring race and religion in to your argument especially when the majority of kids are British!!
EXACTLY what makes someone British. It isn't a real identity is it? Just what is it that you think BRITISH people share that unites them?
@Vivis - quite simply that the fact they are born in Britain? Not rocket science really
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RED has announced the Hydrogen One smartphone, touting it as "the world's first holographic media machine." [Read more…]
RED has announced the Hydrogen One smartphone, touting it as "the world's first holographic media machine." [Read more…]
Canon showed off its next-gen MREAL concepts at the Canon Expo in New York last week. There were several demo options to check out – from car interiors and exteriors to technical repair walkthroughs. [Read more…]
Kodak has unveiled a new version of its SP360 action camera. The Kodak PIXPRO SP360-4K camera features a 12MP sensor and a 360° lens for panoramic photo and video imagery. [Read more…]
I'll be honest, all of the recent 360º cameras haven't really inspired me as I poured over the specs and read their press releases. However, I spent the better part of an evening last weekend looking at the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset and watching far too many reaction videos from first time users. The more I look at Oculus Rift, the more I want one.
My personal favorite reaction video:[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odax7F3tWhM&w=700]
Virtual Reality is on the cusp of being massively huge. It just needs a little push to make it explode. All of the experiences I have watched seem just a little too forced. The horror video game genre seems to me the most fitting for the experience but it is just not mainstream. [Read more…]
We are finally seeing results from a lawsuit that Nikon filed against Sigma in May 2011. A judgment was issued against Sigma last month in Tokyo District court, which awarded 1.5 billion Yen to Nikon (close to $15M USD).
The dispute centers a number of Sigma lenses using vibration reduction technology. Nikon originally sought the equivalent of close to $150M USD; however, the judgment stated that the damages was equivalent to 15% of the profits of the violating products earned by Sigma, cutting damages down from the max profits of 10.1 billion Yen.
This has to be quite the blow to Sigma. The company has been a roll lately with awesome lenses like the 24-105mm f/4 OS and 18-35mm f/1.8 lenses. Hopefully, Sigma's operations won't be negatively affected in a manner that would delay future lens releases and Sigma's momentum will continue to gain traction as a solid third-party lens maker.
[via Nikon Rumors]
The Nikon version of the famous 70-200mm f/4L IS from Canon is expected to arrive next week – just in time for PhotoPlus 2012. Nikon Rumors received word that the lens will be the first to feature Nikon's next-gen VR system.
Given that the Canon equivalent runs $1350 at retail, I'd say that would be a good starting point to look toward for the Nikon lens – possibly up to $1400 or $1500.
Stay tuned for all the news from PhotoPlus next week.
Nikon has just announced the addition of two new lenses to NIKKOR DSLR lens lineup, the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR lenses.
Both lenses should be available later this month. The 18-300mm DX lens retails for $999.95 and the 24-85mm FX lens retails for $599.95.
Also, Nikon announced that total production of NIKKOR lenses for Nikon SLR cameras and Nikon 1 advanced cameras with interchangeable-lens reached seventy million at the end of May 2012.
More details in the press release below. [Read more…]
A lens missing from Nikon's lineup recently appeared in a published patent application at the USPTO. Canon's 70-200mm f/4L and 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses have been popular lenses over the past few years. The original f/4L was so popular that Canon decided to make an IS version and keep both lenses in the lineup.
Now, it looks like Nikon will be jumping on this popular lens size… [Read more…]
I've seen two different sources indicate the coming of an updated Nikon 70-200mm VR lens at Photokina. Nikon Rumors published a story yesterday regarding word from a Nikon VP. Additionally, I recently read a quote from Graham Watson (renowned Tour de France photographer and Nikon shooter) as he spoke in a matter of fact way that a replacement 70-200mm lens was coming from Nikon.
The 70-200mm will be replaced in September by a newer version, the 'N' series – I can't wait to get hold of one!


text:
Ms. Mooryati Soedibyo the world's only known self made noblewomen turned a successful entrepreneur. She was born from the privileged Royal Javanese family, raised inside the Keraton (Javanese Royal Palace).
Ms. Mooryati Soedibyo, the founder of Mustika Ratu, already Indonesian manufacturer of herbal cosmetics and natural supplement, derived from cultural heritage, based on research and Technology.
Stimulated by the wealth of natural resources of Indonesia, e.g.: one of the mega – bio – diversity country in the world. Rather than setting for comfortable and respectable social status, she set up al business home made herbal health supplement called "Jamu" a Javanese health care terminology for wellness and excellence.
She has created more than 250 items of herbal supplement product and 300 items of natural cosmetic that are being merchandised over the counter. Besides Ms. Mooryati Soedibyo is very successful in her franchise business ventures of "Taman Sari Royal Heritage SPA" and a concept in transferring Javanese philosophy or health and wellness of the body mind and spirit set up successfully in the regions locally and abroad e.g.: Canada, Japan, Republic of Czech , Bulgaria and many in Malaysia.
The company are estimated having more than four thousand labours in the corporation, income of around US$38.5 million and gain estimate profit after tax of 12%.
She has been Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia and Senator-member of the regional representative of Jakarta Capital City Government between 2004 and 2009.
In 2007, she has received a Doctorate degree from University of Indonesia in Strategic Marketing.


text:
Hi all I need a little sanity check.
Here is the scenario. I'm testing m0n0wall (net45xx) as a client end of
a Site2Site OpenVPN setup. One of my last hurdles to a small test
deployment is that we use a internal company only domain. So I want
dnsmasq setup to use the users ISP for all normal DNS lookups. But
lookups for our internal domain should be forwarded to the company DNS
cache. This way if the tunnel drops the user doesn't loss there ability
to surf the net.
Now I know dnsmasq is capable of this by passing a ARG like
--server=/domain_name/dns_cache_ip and I've got it working using
exec.php. My questions are is this the only way to get dnsmasq to do
this or is there some other way i.e. config file. And is there a way to
set this up in the web interface (incidentally making me totally blind
hence the sanity check)? If it's not there yet I'd be more then happy to
code it up.


text:
School of Education Receives $2.1 Million
PITAAS to continue its leadership role in teacher education
The School of Education has secured $2.1 million in new Alaska Native teacher education funding. Dean Deborah Lo and Education faculty received the exciting news that the UAS grant proposal for PITAAS (Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators) was awarded by the United States Department of Education. This is a three-year grant that allows UAS to continue its leadership role in teacher education, partnering with the Sealaska Heritage Institute.


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The sultans of Ternate, Tidor, and Amboina were especially powerful, and the islands they ruled the most rich and productive.
However, Carleton again pressed for the punishment of the perpetrators of "the foule and bloody act" of Amboina.
Once every year the Dutch have to send a large force from Amboina on the following business, about the 20th of October.
The island of Amboina, near Ceram, is about forty leagues in circuit, and gives its name also to some other small adjacent isles.
Here pirates landing, Serrão and his men took possession of their boats and thus reached Amboina in safety.
We were forced therefore to leave this unfriendly place, and to attempt going to Amboina, if the wind would serve.
They kept company with us till we came near Amboina, for which place they stood in, while we continued our course.
As we entered the harbour of Amboina, we met two Dutch ships coming out, laden with cloves and bound for Batavia.
Thus cloves were specially cultivated at Amboina; nutmegs in the Banda islands.
The island of Amboina produces beavers, hogs, and deer, besides other animals.


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DUKE: a gentleman of a doggie
Dog of the Week
Duke is a true gentleman and loyal companion. He loves to sit with you and enjoy your company. Duke is current on his vaccines, neutered, and microchipped. Please come meet him 12pm-7pm Monday-Friday at the Palmetto Animal League Adoption Center. Call 843-645-1725 or email firstname.lastname@example.com for more info on Duke.


text:
|Youth and ignorance: a killer combination
On a day when baseball celebrated the opening of opulent Yankee Stadium, baseball's paupers continued their torrid start. The Florida Marlins swept the Braves with a 6-2 victory Thursday, improving to 8-1. That's the best record in the Majors and is tied for the best start in franchise history with the 1997 and 2004 teams.
As everyone knows, the Marlins have the lowest payroll in baseball, but they also have an impressive assemblage of talent. They lead the NL in runs per game. Their rotation -- Anibal Sanchez, Ricky Nolasco, Andrew Miller, Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad -- is young but is more than getting the job done in the early going, as the Marlins trail only the Dodgers in team ERA. Of course, the rotation was expected to be pretty decent and having been fifth in runs scored last year, it's not totally shocking that they're hitting. What is surprising is that Florida has been playing excellent defense and getting lots of help from a bullpen that looked like a liability entering the season. They committed no errors in their sweep of Atlanta, and the bullpen pitched nine shutout innings. With the slow starts of the Mets and Phillies, what seems (at least to this Atlanta fan) as a mastery of the Braves, and the fact that they haven't even gotten a chance to beat up on Washington yet, one can't help but think we're in for another surprisingly strong year from the young Marlins. And boy, are they young:
Emilio Bonifacio was in Class A and 21 years old, playing for the Lancaster Jethawks, and he earnestly asked his manager a question. "Skip, did you ever play in the big leagues?" Bonifacio inquired. "Yeah, a little bit," said Brett Butler, a veteran of 17 seasons, 2,375 career hits and 558 career steals. "If you listen, I can show you some things that can help you."
I feel incredibly old at the moment.


text: In the strangest development yet in the O. J. Simpson trial,13 of the remaining 18 jurorsshowed up in court today wearing black and saying they would not step into the jury box until Judge Lance Ito agreed to meet with them. The panelists were protesting Ito's dismissal of three of their guards in the wake of allegations that the guards were giving some jurors preferential treatment. Ito met privately with lawyers and sheriff's officials and then began to individually interview each juror. The interviews are expected to conclude Monday. The testimony of police evidence technician Andrea Mazzola, set to resume today, has been postponed until Tuesday. Five jurors did not take part in the protest. It is not yet clear which of thedisgruntled membersare sitting jurors and which are alternates. In another development, a juror says she wants to be released from the jury. The 25 year old flight attendant said in a transcript released today that she "can't take any more."


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|Amherst Ousts Skidmore on the Road for 4th Straight Win
Amherst Ousts Skidmore on the Road for 4th Straight Win
December 9, 2006
From a Skidmore Release
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Amherst College women's basketball team picked up their fourth consecutive win this afternoon when they topped Skidmore College in a non-conference match-up. Amherst moved to 5-3 on the season with the win, and heads into their final game before winter break with great momentum.
The Lord Jeffs played exceptionally well on the day, shooting a blazing 54% from the field, and 58% from three-point range. Amherst saw four different players score in double digits, including getting fourteen points from senior tri-captain Jenny Muller (Andover, MA) off the bench.
Leading Amherst in scoring were Samantha Swenson (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) and Stefanie Reiff (Hinsdale, IL) who each dropped home 18 points in the game. Swenson was 8-for-11 from the field, while also pulling down 12 rebounds for a double-double. Reiff was just as impressive converting 7-of-11 attempts from the field while dishing out 8 assists.
Sophomore Kerry O'Loughlin (Stow, MA) was the final Jeff to score in double digits, as she netted 15 points and hauled in 7 boards of her own.
Senior guard Shardae Gonsalves (New Bedford, MA) led Skidmore with 17 points, while hitting all eight of her free throw attempts, but it was not enough, as Amherst pulled away with a convincing 73-59 win.
Amherst returns to action on Monday when they face Smith College on the road at 7:00 p.m.
|Amherst College > Athletics > Women's Basketball >Amherst Ousts Skidmore on the Road for 4th Straight Win


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Even in a weak market, the float pipeline is a good gauge of investment hotspots. Several recent floats have been for African gold explorers and more are likely if the gold price rises.
The latest is
If its offer succeeds, Canyon will join other recent gold floats, such as Viking Ashanti, which debuted this week at a small discount to its offer price, and Vantage Goldfields, expected to list on May 27. Viking and Vantage are exploring in Ghana and South Africa respectively.
African gold stocks have been among the market's best performers in the past year amid promising exploration results and more investor interest in African mining.
Shares in Ampella Mining, exploring in Burkina Faso, raced higher this week after it announced drilling intersections at its Kouglaga prospect. Ampella has soared from 60¢ in January to $1.86. Perseus Mining, the largest Australian explorer in West Africa by market capitalisation, has rallied in the past 12 months. Other West African gold stocks, such as Mineral Deposits, Azumah Resources, Gryphon Minerals and Adamus Resources, have also rewarded shareholders.
Prospective investors must decide if valuations of West African gold explorers are stretched after recent share-price gains and not discount sovereign risks when investing in emerging markets. And they must look through growing hype about African gold stocks.
A West African connection adds blue-sky appeal to Canyon Resources, but its initial focus is the Cue project in the Murchison Province, a well-known gold area in WA. Canyon has agreements to buy a 100 per cent interest in 20 granted prospecting licenses and applications for another three licences from two local prospectors. The ground covers 18.8 kilometres of the Cue goldfield, about 650km north of Perth, and is viewed as a strategic land holding.
St Barbara Mines first explored and documented the area in 1994, before a private company, Cue Consolidated Gold Mines, explored in 1997. Cue's interests were acquired by Cougar Metals.
Like many exploration floats, Canyon says it has significant historical exploration data to assess and that its ground has not been subject to modern mining techniques.
Canyon's two prospects – Lights of Asia and Cue One North – have had little recent exploration. The independent geologist's report in the prospectus says previous drilling shows potential for 10,000 to 20,000 gold ounces at average grades between three to five grams a tonne.
The report says there is potential for the discovery of small or medium-size gold mineralisation.
Neither project looks like a company maker, but they could be a useful stepping stone for Canyon's exploration ambitions in West Africa and elsewhere.
Canyon has a non-binding, non-exclusive strategic option with Askia Sarl, a private company, to investigate several of its greenfields projects in West Africa and potentially buy them. Askia Sarl can negotiate with other companies and the option lasts a year.
Canyon will start due diligence on Askia Sarl's ground after it lists, so prospective investors should not read too much into the company's West African ambitions just yet.
The issue is whether Canyon's market capitalisation, $5.4 million on listing, fairly reflects the risks. Canyon's capital structure is tight, with management, the board and early investors holding almost a third of shares at listing and most of the issued options.
All up, there are 27.1 million 20¢ shares at listing and another 12.5 million options, mostly struck between 30¢ and 40¢, expiring in June 2013 – a reasonable performance hurdle for management. The offer's broker, Hartleys, gets 3 million options struck at the same prices.
Canyon is issuing 17.5 million shares through the float to raise $3.5 million, enough for a two-year exploration budget at its Cue projects. Drilling should commence soon after the listing.
Canyon clearly suits investors comfortable with speculative micro-cap explorers. The Perth company is among the riskier floats this year given its size. Managing director Gallagher does not have formal mining skills, although the board has plenty of resources experience.
Canyon believes its early stage status and risks are compensated by a low valuation.
A catalyst for post-listing gains could be the acquisition of a West African project later this year, which would give Canyon a point of difference over other small exploration floats.
The Australian Financial Review


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Member since January 7, 2014
Right now, I'm reading:
"A Breath of Life" (Clarice Lispector)
My favorite story of all time is:
"The Hour of the Star"
In bed I like to read:
Wikipedia bios.
Besides SMITH, I read stories at:
Triple Canopy, The Moth, Esopus, This American Life, my house.
If you were to throw up your hands in exasperation and yell "it's the story of my life," what would you be talking about?
My unknowable sexual preferences.
What six words would I tell my teen self if I could go back in time?
Just hurry the hell up, girl!
The song that encapsulates the soundtrack of my life is?
"I'm Shady." Can't you tell?
If I could have one person read my writing on SMITH it would be?
I'll tighten up the screws and get back to this one.
©2005 - 2017 Six Words, LLC


text:
Barbara Scott has overcome adversity in the male domain to become the first woman chairman of stewards in Australia.
Harness Racing South Australia announced on Monday that Scott, who is a senior steward with Harness Racing New South Wales, will head its panel of stewards from July 17.
In 2009 Scott won an unfair dismissal claim against the NSW Greyhound and Harness Racing Regulatory Authority, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission finding her dismissal was "harsh, unreasonable and unjust".
The commission established that the chairman of stewards at the time had resented Scott filing a sexual harassment complaint against a steward and that had led to her dismissal from a temporary position. She was reinstated and later became a senior steward.
Scott started as a trainee steward in regional New South Wales in 2006 and has chaired more than 150 race meetings in NSW. She has also officiated at some of the biggest racing events in Australasian harness racing, including the 2013 and 2014 Inter-Dominion and the Miracle Mile.
She has been involved in harness racing for more than 33 years as an owner, stablehand, pedigree researcher and business owner.
•Racing Victoria stewards have cleared all jockeys following an inquiry into a fall at Cranbourne in which Chad Schofield sustained neck fractures.
Schofield will be out of the saddle indefinitely after the June 8 fall when his mount Made Of Ice stumbled over a fallen horse. Steven Arnold and Ben Thompson were concussed in the fall.
Stewards resumed the inquiry at Sunday's Cranbourne meeting, taking evidence from seven jockeys who rode in the race before establishing that Thompson's mount Donarchie clipped heels and fell when over-racing, triggering a chain reaction.
Schofield, who has won three group 1 races this season, is wearing a neck brace and his injury will be reassessed next month.
•Wednesday's meeting at Geelong's synthetic track will be a seven-race card because the benchmark 78 race was deleted after attracting only five acceptors.
With aap


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-Heavy snow opens the month of December
-Article on climate change in Minnesota in Source magazine
-Weekly Weather potpourri
-MPR listener questions
-Almanac for December 6th
-Past weather
Topic: Heavy snow opens the month of December
Most of the state reported measurable snowfall during the first week of December. Monday through Wednesday of this week (Dec 2-4) brought almost continuous snow to many areas of northeastern Minnesota, especially the north shore along Lake Superior. The greatest amount of snowfall reported by a National Weather Service observer came from 7 miles north of Two Harbors where 35.3 inches was recorded. The Duluth Weather Service Office reported a storm total of 23.3 inches, and Duluth public schools were cancelled two consecutive days over the 3rd and 4th. Tofte reported 25 inches and Wolf Ridge reported 20.7 inches for the week. Many other areas of the state accumulated 5 to 10 inches of snowfall this week, while areas of southeastern Minnesota received mostly rain and drizzle.
Several observers reported some new daily snowfall records for dates this week: On December 2nd, Grand Rapids reported a new daily snowfall record of 9.5 inches (and new daily precipitation record of 0.59 inches); on December 3rd new daily snowfall records were reported from Wadena (9.0"), Sandy Lake Dam (7.5"), and Brainerd (5.5", plus record precipitation of 0.60"); on December 4th new daily record snowfall amounts were reported from International Falls (8.5") and St Cloud (5.0" tied 1926); and on December 5th new daily record snowfall amounts were reported from Itasca State Park (5.0") and Grand Portage (8.2").
Following the snowfall an Arctic air mass spilled into the state from the north causing overnight lows to drop below 0 degrees F in many places. Of further note, the National Weather Service forecast models suggest that cold and snowy weather will dominate the state throughout the first three weeks of December. Some of the coldest December temperatures since 2008 are expected around southern portions of the state.
You can read more about the week's snowfall at the State Climatology Office and NWS-Duluth web sites:
Topic: Follow-up on Source Magazine Article
Many WeatherTalk Newsletter readers and others have been asking to read the article about climate change in Minnesota which was published this fall in Source Magazine produced by the University of Minnesota Extension. Indeed climate change is real in our state, and already having measurable consequences. You can read the entire article on-line by going to
Topic: Weekly Weather potpourri:
A significant tropical cyclone was forming in the Bay of Bengal off the southeast coast of India this week. It was expected to bring high winds and heavy rains to portions of the east India coastline.
Highlights from the weekly drought assessment by Brad Rippey at the USDA World Agricultural Outlook Board:
-There was negligible change in U.S. drought coverage during the seven-day drought-monitoring period, as tranquil weather prevailed in the wake of a pre-Thanksgiving storm across the South and East.
-Parts of the six-state Southeast region experienced a beneficial boost in soil moisture from the pre-Thanksgiving storm. As a result, Southeastern coverage of abnormal dryness (D0) dipped to 42.99% on December 3, down from 56.87% two weeks ago.
- Since the current drought-monitoring period ended (7 a.m. EST on December 3), a new winter storm has begun to unfold across the U.S. Improvements related to this storm will be reflected in next weeks U.S. Drought Monitor, to be released on December 12.
The NOAA web site offers a brush-up on winter weather advisories, watches, and warnings, including criteria used for such information and some winter driving tips. Given our recent change over to winter it might be worth reviewing for yourself at...
MPR listener question: With an Arctic air mass expected to visit us, our family was wondering what is the coldest ever December temperature in Minnesota? An what about the coldest windchill conditions in December?
Answer: The coldest temperature measured in December is -57 degrees on New Years Eve at Pokegama Dam in 1898. Incidentally the high warmed all the way up to -10 degrees F that day. The worst December windchill conditions were on December 23, 1983 when windchill values in the northern Red River Valley ranged from -55 to -60 degrees F.
Twin Cities Almanac for December 6th:
The average MSP high temperature for this date is 29 degrees F (plus or minus 11 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 14 degrees F (plus or minus 12 degrees F standard deviation).
MSP Local Records for December 6th:
MSP weather records for this date include: highest daily maximum temperature of 63 degrees F in 1939; lowest daily maximum temperature of -2 degrees F in 1972; lowest daily minimum temperature is -19 degrees F in 1972; highest daily minimum temperature of 37 F in 1951; record precipitation of 0.53 inches in 1935; and a record 4.1 inches of snow fell on this date in 1969.
Average dew point for December 6th is 13 degrees F, with a maximum of 42 degrees F in 1951 and a minimum of -28 degrees F in 1972.
All-time state records for December 6th:
The state record high temperature for this date is 73 degrees F at Beardsley (Big Stone County), Marsall, and Milan in 1939. The state record low temperature for this date is -34 degrees F at Ft Ripley (Crow Wing County) in 1873. State record precipitation for this date is 2.00 inches at Worthington (Nobles County) in 1917; and state record snowfall for this date is 23.2 inches at Duluth (St Louis County) in 1950.
Past Weather Features:
A slow moving heavy snow storm brought the state to a standstill over December 5-7, 1950. Many observers reported over a foot of snowfall. Some of the heaviest amounts included 33.1 inches at Duluth, 24.2 inches at Cloquet, 14 inches at Faribault, and 12.7 inches at Rochester.
December 6-7, 1972 brought an Arctic air mass which set several low temperature records across the state of Minnesota. Nearly all portions of the state saw the thermometer drop to -20 degrees F or colder, with dangerous windchill conditions. For many communities temperatures never rose above zero F over those two days.
December 6, 1939 was arguably the warmest December day in Minnesota history. Over 40 state weather observers reported high temperatures in the 60s F, with 6 communities exceeding 70 degrees F under bright, sunny skies. The entire month was warm with many days over 50 degrees F. It turned out to be the warmest December in state history.
Sunny and cold on Saturday, then increasing clouds on Sunday with a chance for snow. Continued chance for snow on Monday with cold temperatures. Generally dry and cold next Tuesday and Wednesday, then a warming trend starts on Thursday pulling temperatures back up to the teens and twenties, with a chance for snow towards next weekend.
Further Information:
For older versions of the "Minnesota WeatherTalk" newsletter go to
For access to other information resources go to
NOTE: News releases were current as of the date of issue. If you have a question on older releases, use the news release search (upper left-hand column of the News main page) or the main Extension search (upper right of this page) to locate more recent information.


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-or- Register at the Citadel
DiCarrigan's Den
Locations (Establishment) (Any)
's comment on 2007-06-05 02:57 PM
KendraHeart, while you are entitled to your opinion, perhaps you could phrase your criticism more courteously?
It's not bad, but DiCarrigan's Den doesn't have anything outstanding about it. I assume that it was intended to be a generic location, someplace that would serve as part of a cityscape, rather than an adventure waiting to happen.
Of course, not every pub needs to be filled with assassins and schemes against the PCs. This one gives the GM the option of adding intrigue, as spies and nobles meet within its private chambers, but doesn't ram the plot hooks down anyone's throat.
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Swords. Why does it always have to be swords?
Articles (Rules and Advice) (Game Mastering)
's comment on 2006-09-29 02:33 PM
Modern reproductions of weapons are seldom weighted and balanced correctly. Most historical combat weapons were less than one pound per foot of overall length. While there are heavier weapons extant from that period, they are not intended to be used in combat, rather they are ceremonial weapons or intended for other uses (such as a headsman's sword).
Go to Comment
Swords. Why does it always have to be swords?
Articles (Rules and Advice) (Game Mastering)
's comment on 2006-09-29 03:23 PM
A well done article, that raises a good way for gamemasters to differentiate their games from the run-of-the-mill.
Although Swords are the "Weapons of Kings", many other weapons have comparable ceremonial and symbolic value in different cultures. The ancient Celts and some Germanic tribes would give a spear and a shield to a young man when he was accepted as a man and a warrior of his people. The Mongols were attached to their composite bows, which would often be covered with fancifully tooled and dyed leather and have a matching bow case or scabbard to protect the weapon when it was not in use. The Persian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire both issued maces to officers as symbols of their authority, as did the Babylonians millenia before them.
Any of these weapons can make an attractive alternate to the more commonplace sword.
Go to Comment
Madam Pernouds Alehouse
Locations (Establishment) (Any)
's comment on 2007-06-14 03:39 PM
Isn't Pernoud's place just down the street from
Bassage Market
Go to Comment
Omen Birds
Lifeforms (Fauna) (Any)
's comment on 2006-09-26 06:25 PM
A handy critter to think of when Hallowe'en rolls around. If I get a horror-themed game going next month, my players may discover what omen birds are capable of.
As harbingers of death, there is a possible supernatural element that can be played up: What would cause a flock of these birds to obsessively hunt a particular individual or village? That sounds like a curse to me! While we might look for naturalistic explanations, our less scientific ancestors would see this as the darkest of witchcraft.
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Red Tiles
Locations (Establishment) (Any)
's comment on 2006-10-12 05:33 PM
"I have a rather demanding commission for your firm. I have several styles of floor tiles that I would like to see produced, with quite specific patterns stamped upon them. As you can see from my specifications, I also require that a few unusual pigments be used to glaze the tiles."
"I know that it will entail some extra expense, but I am prepared to compensate your firm accordingly. Each tile must be made EXACTLY to our specifications, after all, these will be placed in the homes of some of the city's most prominent families"
Thus, the Mage Varenius began his scheme to place an arcane septahedron of summoning in several mansions belonging to the land's most powerful nobles....
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Locations (City) (Mountains)
's comment on 2007-04-13 03:40 PM
A city like Lazhkmazhon would be likely to have a large seasonal population, the "Summer People", who would maintain two residences. In the warm months, they would live and work in the mountain city, then when the autumn winds called to them, they would travel to the lowlands to pass the winter.
Go to Comment
Watch Out for that... ouch...
Dungeons (Any) (Traps)
's comment on 2006-09-27 03:17 PM
It needs a hidden area where the trap builder and his minions can watch while drinking beer, like a bunch of rednecks with a bug light.
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In Case of Emergency Break Glass
Dungeons (Any) (Traps)
's comment on 2006-09-27 10:29 PM
The treasure might not be as valuable as it appeared, but to a medieval tech base, the glass itself would be valuable. A room where a valuable, artistically crafted window was on display might form such a trap without any intent on the part of the room's creator. Of course, flammable gas is unlikely in such an instance, but bad air is likely. For example, lamps may have been left behind the glass, burning until they used up all the oxygen.
Go to Comment
Amulet of the Damned
Items (Jewelry) (Magical)
's comment on 2006-10-12 01:04 PM
A subtle curse, but implacable in its effects. I can see this thing falling into the hands of a powerful leader, who could wield it to build undead into an army to overthrow his enemies, only discovering its curse too late. Someone who hoped to command the undead to leave his lands could instead find himself plagued with them as they return for their vengeance.
Go to Comment
The Bowmen of Love
Society/ Organizations (Ethnic/Cultural) (Area)
's comment on 2007-02-02 03:58 PM
Love is one of the most powerful forces possible, so I would expect an organization like this to be supported by some governments or religions, who would seek to control the power they wield. They might be completely aboveboard in one region, but actively hunted in the next.
The political impact of their actions could be significant; they might be seen as agents of whatever powers are their patrons unless they adopted a policy of strict political neutrality.
Go to Comment
King's Hands
Society/ Organizations (Criminal/Espionage) (Regional)
's comment on 2007-02-02 03:35 PM
patriotic characters could be recruited to aid these mysterious figures... Of course, if they run into trouble, the Crown will disavow any knowledge of their actions.
("Good Luck, Lord Phelps! This scroll will self-destruct in 10 seconds....")
On the other hand, these folks might use those opposed to the Crown as "cut outs", setting them up to take any fallout from their operations...
Go to Comment
Locations (City) (Mountains)
's comment on 2007-02-05 02:50 PM
A credible, reasonably detailed town that leaves me hungry for more information.
While some hooks for adventure are provided (the nearby ruins and the nests of the vile "blood dodger" parasites), no information was provided about the human conflicts to be found in such a place. Additional history about the ruins and details about blood dodgers would be helpful.
A variety of conflicts would doubtlessly be encountered in such a town:
- While the Gison (Dwarves) are friendly neighbors, perhaps some of them object to the townfolk's activities? After all the Gison have done for the town, I would imagine they might be annoyed if their well-intentioned advice and direction is disregarded.
- The military veterans that make up much of the population may encourage strict order and crush out attempts at crime, but they will have the same weaknesses and passions as anyone else. Surely there are issues that these people disagree over? Conflicts where personal liberties are trodden upon in the name of "the common good" come to mind. Some of the town's leadership might abuse their positions for personal advantage.
- Should some threat endanger the land, its rulers may need the city to send a military force in response. Because this city is so heavily militarized, the ruler may demand an unusually large number of troops respond from there. After all, they have committed substantial resources to keeping the town safe: Shouldn't the town return the favor? This may cause hardship and danger for the town, gutted of defenders.
Go to Comment
Locations (City) (Mountains)
's comment on 2007-02-05 05:39 PM
I took a look at the related subs that you had linked already, but I was considering its "local flavor" and how it would be used in a campaign. I like the basic idea, but it left me wanting more information about the local people, what they do, and how they could be used to spark adventures.
Go to Comment
MoonHunter's Top Tips for 2005
Articles (Rules and Advice) (Gaming - In General)
's comment on 2006-11-18 12:26 PM
More good, solid tips that GMs would be wise to remember.
In my time as a GM, the items and magic that are most often underestimated are those that give information or facilitate movement. It's easy to see how a potent combat item will impact the game, where an item that gives broad powers of detection or overcomes a common obstacle may actually have a broader impact.
Go to Comment
Ocadian PitFiend
Lifeforms (Flora) (Desert)
's comment on 2007-03-29 05:11 PM
An interesting symbiotic lifeform, well described and detailed. The thorough description lends authenticity: It reminds me of some of the science fiction creatures I've seen.
Go to Comment
Balisk Lichen
Lifeforms (Flora) (Any)
's comment on 2006-09-23 07:04 PM
A handy little plant. I would expect the lichen to only grow on the victims of certain types of petrifying creatures. The idea that the "stoner" carries it as part of their system sounds convincing and also summons up some unpleasant images:
"From your vantage point on the bluff, you can make out the gorgon approaching the statues that once were your cohorts. She begins licking them all over their bodies."
Go to Comment
Dead Pepper
Lifeforms (Flora) (Desert)
's comment on 2006-09-11 04:17 PM
I think that I see a camp of fire-breathing Gypsies in the adventurers' future...
Go to Comment
The Tabards of Nhil-Haress
Items (Clothes) (Magical)
's comment on 2006-09-12 08:12 PM
A most striking post. Well worth unearthing from its slumber.
Go to Comment
Loot and Rewards
Articles (Rules and Advice) (Game Mastering)
's comment on 2006-09-12 01:25 PM
Vengeance is Best Served...
A.) Cold
B.) Hot
C.) With Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti
One excellent reward for a job well done is Revenge. If your villain is suitably odious, your players will get a great deal of enjoyment just from taking him down. This feeling is especially strong when they were impotent to strike at the villain in an earlier scene or adventure. A little bit of frustration early on can pay off greatly when the tables turn in the finale. I've seen players come to their feet cheering when a particularly nasty villain went down.
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Professor E. Gary Spitko teaches courses in Arbitration Law and Practice, Mediation: Theory and Practice, Employment Discrimination, Employment Law, and Wills and Trusts. He has published extensively in the areas of arbitration, donative transfers, employment law, and law & sexuality. His recent book, 'Antigay Bias in Role-Model Occupations' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017) explores how employment discrimination has been used to reinforce social understandings about the inferior nature of gay people by disassociating gay people from certain positive qualities and values while strengthening the association between these qualities and values and the heterosexual majority and its institutions. His scholarship has appeared in numerous leading law reviews including the Washington University Law Quarterly, the U.C. Davis Law Review, the Indiana Law Journal, the Washington and Lee Law Review, the Georgia Law Review, the Arizona Law Review, the Florida Law Review, and the University of Colorado Law Review as well as top specialty and peer-reviewed journals in his areas of scholarly interest such as the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, the Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, and the Harvard Negotiation Law Review. His scholarship has been cited in several hundred law review articles as well as various casebooks, treatises, and federal and state court opinions. The Supreme Court of New Jersey approvingly quoted Professor Spitko's scholarship arguing in favor of a "likelihood of harm to the child" standard for reviewing arbitration awards respecting child custody and visitation rights in becoming the first state high court in the nation to adopt such a standard.
Professor Spitko is an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Since 2011, he has served as an arbitrator in employment arbitrations administered by the American Arbitration Association.
Professor Spitko earned his A.B., with distinction in all subjects, from Cornell University and his J.D., with high honors, from the Duke University School of Law, where he was elected to Order of the Coif. While a law student at Duke, he served as an editor of the Duke Law Journal and as the executive editor of the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum. Following law school, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Gerald Bard Tjoflat, who was then Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He practiced law for several years as an associate at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., and at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in Atlanta, Georgia where his practice focused exclusively on employment law. Prior to joining the Santa Clara University School of Law faculty in 2002, Professor Spitko was an assistant professor and then an associate professor at the Indiana University School of Law. He also has taught as a visiting professor at the Ohio State University College of Law.
J.D., with high honors, Order of the Coif, Duke University School of Law, 1991
A.B., with distinction in all subjects, Cornell University, 1987
Areas of Specialization
Arbitration, Donative Transfers, Employment Law, Law & Sexuality
Affiliations and Honors
Faculty Scholar, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
Faculty Director, Conflict Resolution Programming, Santa Clara University School of Law
Academic Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
Executive Committee, Section on Dispute Resolution, Association of American Law Schools, 2015-present
Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association (Roster of Neutrals for employment law cases), 2011-present
Director, Santa Clara Law Study Abroad Program in Oxford, U.K., 2016; Sydney, Australia, 2006-07
Chair (2006), Program Chair (2005), Executive Committee (2003-08), Section on Donative Transfers, Association of American Law Schools


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Mappings of Danxia–Krane looks to the Danxia mountains in southeast China for the inspiration of their spring/summer 2014 collection. Moved by the mountains' hues that are the result of erosion and environmental uplift, Krane infuses their signature accessories with a certain flare, offering soft suedes and exotic leathers, complete with refined mechanical hardware. Spotlighting the new collection, Krane enlisted photographer McKenzie James to shoot Elite model Liam Hickey. Juxtaposing images of Liam and their spring collection with architectural fragments, Ron Wan designed Krane's lookbook to coincide with the season's inspiration. / Production by Jessica Tjeng. Grooming by Luisa Duran.
First Look | Krane Spring/Summer 2014 Collection
Published on


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Meghan Ebersole
Associate Director of Freshman Recruitment
Graduated from APU: 2009
Degree(s): B.A. in English, Literature concentration
Hometown: La Verne, CA
Graduated from APU: 2009
Degree(s): B.A. in English, Literature concentration
Hometown: La Verne, CA
(800) 825-5278
Q & A with Meghan...
- How has APU transformed you?
- It would be hard to be a student at Azusa Pacific University and not be transformed. I still look back on those four years and wonder how did I end up here, and so blessed? I was transformed not only academically, but also spiritually, in ways that I could never have imagined. Whether it was in class or out of class, I learned how to build my foundation on faith and to surround myself with a group of believers that would challenge me and encourage me. I realized the hope and love that God has in store for me and it is based on that that I now continue my path and follow the plans He has for me. I am so grateful to have been at APU during such a transformational time of life and to have had such a wonderful group of people to lead me through the changes, both small and big.
- Which activities at APU have you most enjoyed being a part of?
- Throughout my time at APU, I was privileged to be a part of Discipleship Group (D-Group) ministries as well as the intern program in Undergraduate Admissions. I was also a devoted fan of many intramural teams and spent a significant amount of time perfecting my ping pong skills in the Cougar Dome. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading the literature that my English professors recommended.
- What advice would you give to prospective students?
- I think the best advice that someone gave me when I was looking at colleges was to remember that God would put me where He wanted me, and that the place I am in now is part of the path He has for me. I would tell students to enjoy looking at schools; as stressful as it may seem, this is something that can be fun, so enjoy the process. Visit the campuses you are interested in, as it will give you the best idea of where you 'fit,' and don't be afraid to ask questions.


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by Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) Jan 3, 2013
Industry tracker comScore on Thursday reported that US shoppers spent a total of $42.3 billion online during the year-end holiday season -- a 14 percent jump from the same period in 2011.
"The 2012 online holiday season was once again a very strong season with growth rates in the mid-teens as we reached record-setting spending levels," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.
US e-commerce started out "at a very healthy" rate in November but consumers quickly eased back on spending, apparently due to concerns that Congress would fail to make a budget deal averting a "fiscal cliff."
"You might say that had it not been for Congress, every other indicator suggested it would have been an even merrier Christmas for online retailers," Fulgoni said.
A "December swoon" in online shopping coincided with a drop in consumer confidence attributed in large part to worries that unresolved budget matters would trigger automatic tax increases and spending cuts at year's end.
US President Barack Obama late Wednesday signed a "fiscal cliff" deal into law, averting a financial crisis with global repercussions.
However, the International Monetary Fund, rating agencies and analysts warned that the critical problem of deficits and debt still hang over the US economy.
Financial markets turned cool towards the last-minute agreement Thursday, in contrast to the initial stocks surge which had greeted the deal Wednesday.
The agreement averted across-the-board tax hikes and automatic spending cuts which some had feared could have tipped the US economy back into recession.
While Democrats and Republicans passed a compromise, they only delayed the imposition of spending cuts for two months, meaning another debilitating stand-off is almost certain at the end of February.
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United States Attorney Richard Callahan said today that for the fiscal year 2013, his office had collected $11,448,830 in criminal and civil actions during the year. Of this amount, $10,113,957 was collected in criminal actions and $1,334,873 was collected in civil actions. In addition, $11 million also assisted partner law enforcement agencies in the Eastern District of Missouri in collecting an additional $8,442,329 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2013. Forfeited assets are deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund and are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.Earlier today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department collected approximately $8.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013. The more than $8 billion in collections in FY 2013 represents nearly three times the appropriated $2.76 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney's offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period
2 Responses to "U.S. ATTORNEY RICHARD CALLAHAN'S OFFICE COLLECTED BIG BUCKS"
In a perfect world Attorney Callahan would announce he had recovered the $45M notorious bank robber Shaun Hayes owed to all the banks he swindled. That would be worth an announcemt and a legal holiday!
[…] The office of the US attorney in Eastern Missouri, that was responsible for taking away Jimmy Tebeau's 350 acre music campground ,has declared that it raked in over 8 million in profits from asset seizures. US attorney General Holder reported 8.1 Billion iun seized assets for 2013. READ MORE… […]


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Halle Berry and her hunky beau Gabriel Aubry were spotted walking through the Beverly Center in Los Angeles yesterday on their way to lunch at P.F. Chang's China Bistro.
They make such a hot couple. Can't wait to see that little baby. Not too much longer, she's due next month.
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text: Hi sesh, thanks for your answer. >> What would be the approach to extend a ScriptScope by the properties of >> an object? Or in other words: How can I evaluate an expression in an >> object's scope? > > Any valid IronPython script snippet can be executed in the context of a scope. Since an expression is just another code snippet,you can the appropriate hosting API methods to achieve it. There are more than one ways to do it, the most typical being the one where you'd create a 'ScriptSource' object using the ScriptEngine.CreateScriptSource* methods and invoke the 'Execute' method on it and passing the relevant scope to it. (More information about various ways to execute a code snippet can be found at http://blogs.msdn.com/seshadripv/archive/2008/07/28/various-ways-to-execute-script-using-the-dlr-hosting-api.aspx) > > Here's a typical execute call that executes a expression in a given scope. > ScriptScope scope = pythonEngine.CreateScope(); > var src = eng.CreateScriptSourceFromString( "someVar1+someVar2",SourceCodeKind.Expression); > src.Execute(scope); I meant something different. I wanted to access the properties of an object in a scope. Meanwhile I found the solution: class ObjectSymbolDictionary : CustomSymbolDictionary { ObjectOperations ops; object obj; public ObjectSymbolDictionary(ScriptEngine engine, object obj) : base() { this.ops = engine.Operations; this.obj = obj; } override bool TryGetExtraValue(SymbolId key, out object value) { string name = SymbolTable.IdToString(key); if (ops.TryGetMember(obj, name, out value)) return true; value = null; return false; } } Regards, Christian


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A Bar May Be the Place to Understand Markets: BuchananMark Buchanan
(Corrects VIX index peak in first paragraph. For more Bloomberg View, click on VIEW <GO>.)
Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The aftermath of the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankruptcy in 2008 was a scary time: One measure of stock-market volatility, known as the VIX or the "fear index," reached a peak daily closing price of more than 80, compared with about 18 today. Scarier is the knowledge that we'll be there again sometime. That's how markets go: Unexpected chaos is the rule.
Economists have wondered for decades why markets have "excess volatility" -- that is, why prices move up and down more than they should by any sensible reckoning of assets' fundamental value. We routinely have things like the crash of 1987, or the Flash Crash of May 6, 2010, shocking events that seem to strike out of nowhere.
Yet the nature of this chaos might not be as mysterious as it seems. From the right perspective -- not that of mainstream economics -- it looks like a natural consequence of a market game that often deludes investors into thinking they know how it works.
The idea comes by way of a silly thought experiment invented in 1994 by Brian Arthur, an economist then at Stanford University. Imagine a college bar with music and cheap drinks every Thursday night. Naturally, lots of students want to go. Trouble is, it's a tiny place, and they will enjoy it only if 60 percent or fewer of them go. Otherwise, they will suffer miserably in the cramped heat. Hence, each week, every student faces a tricky decision: How to do what most other people will not do. (No cheating -- everyone has to decide at the same time.)
Game Theory
By tradition, economists analyze situations like this using game theory, which attempts to explain strategic interactions. It assumes that every student will think hard about the best strategy, and remain aware that others will do the same, everyone taking into account everyone else's likely actions. By this method, the bar problem is devilish. Deductive thinking can't give a good solution because if everyone chose one "best" solution, all students would go to the bar or stay at home, and be miserable either way. Strict reasoning falls down.
Drawing on psychology, Arthur argued that people might make decisions in more practical terms using simple theories or hypotheses. For example, a person might think, "crowded last week, should be less crowded this week," and choose to go. Another might think differently, "crowded two weeks in a row, likely to be crowded again," and stay at home. Psychologists have shown that people often make decisions by holding a handful of such theories in their minds, using whichever one seems recently to be working best.
Looking at the bar puzzle this way, Arthur found, you can quickly see how what happens at popular nightspots might fluctuate quite randomly from night to night. He used a computer to simulate a group of people using various theories about whether to go to the bar, and learning by trial and error. Quite quickly, the weekly attendance settled at an average of about 60 percent. But -- and this is the significant point -- the number didn't settle down to 60. Rather, it kept fluctuating above and below in a random way, as people changed their tactics from week to week, responding to others who were also changing theirs.
Notice that there's no "equilibrium" here of the kind that economists often like and expect. There's no state of unchanging balance into which things settle. Lots of surprises emerge from a completely static situation: people just trying to solve the same problem week after week.
OK, cute puzzle. So what?
With a few small adjustments, this game can be used to describe the stock market. Replace "go" with "buy" and "stay at home" with "sell," and suppose the difference in the number buying and selling drives a price change up or down. The bar game then takes a step toward the kind of thing that John Maynard Keynes had in mind when he suggested that markets resemble a beauty contest in which people guess whom they think most others will choose as the most beautiful. In the markets, Keynes suggested, we must "devote our intelligences to anticipating what average opinion expects the average opinion to be."
Ecological Models
Two decades later, the bar game now looks more profound than anyone would have imagined it could. Step by step, a handful of physicists, computer scientists and economists have transformed this curiosity into what are now arguably the most realistic models of markets. Such models treat markets as ever-evolving ecologies of investors who aim to profit on the basis of strategies they keep updating as they learn, or at least try to learn, from the past. Among other things, these ecological models reproduce the same kind of "excess" price fluctuations and sporadic upheavals we see in real markets.
In reality, of course, markets are often whacked by external events such as bank failures and policy announcements. But in these models, tumultuous market plunges can also emerge from nothing more than a chance momentary concentration of investors' strategies -- a crowd-like similarity in thinking and behavior. There are periods when many market participants see patterns they interpret similarly. As a result, they react similarly and in concert, yet in a way that no one sees coming in advance.
This kind of natural herding leads to the so-called fat-tailed statistics of markets, reflecting their susceptibility to large crashes and rallies over minutes, hours and months. It also leads to many other more subtle, but realistic, features of real markets, such as their "long memory" -- an episode of high market volatility now has measurable effects lasting as long as 10 years into the future. None of these things emerges in any natural way from traditional equilibrium models.
Of course, no one working on these models would claim that they offer anything more than a crude picture. But the picture gets a few things right, and takes a first step into seeing the consequences of real human behavior in all its adaptive, changeable and less-than-rational glory. (I've given some further detail on market models of this kind on my blog.)
No theory of markets will ever come to a final set of elegant equations, like one often finds in physics. Understanding markets, like understanding evolution or the weather, means dealing in approximations, in decent but flawed models, and exploring any scheme that helps make sense of a very chaotic and changeable reality. Even if it does start off as a silly game about a bar.
(Mark Buchanan, a theoretical physicist and the author of "The Social Atom: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You," is a Bloomberg View columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
Read more opinion online from Bloomberg View.
To contact the writer of this article: Mark Buchanan at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this article: Mark Whitehouse at email@example.com.


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LONG BEACH - Lobbyists and others who try to influence policy at City Hall will soon have to start registering and reporting their activity.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to create a lobbyist registration ordinance, although the law will exempt nonprofits, city employee associations and local business improvement districts.
Although there was brief disagreement among council members about which groups should be exempted, the council moved the legislation forward fairly quickly after years of debating the issue.
The council killed the last version of the ordinance in 2008, but that was before the news broke in recent months that a prominent lobbyist had taken vacations with and given a free hotel room to a top city official, which put pressure on the council to pass a lobbyist law.
Council members Robert Garcia and Gerrie Schipske asked to bring the law back late last year.
"I think this finds a balance" between transparency and protecting the public's access to the council, 4th District Councilman Patrick O'Donnell said.
Under the ordinance, lobbyists - people who are paid to influence city policy - would have to register, report on their lobbying activity, and report various information such as the names of their clients and the issues they were lobbying about.
The law would apply to any contact between lobbyists and any city or Redevelopment Agency officials and board members, including employees, unless they have a purely clerical or secretarial job.
Registration would be required only when a lobbying firm receives more than $3,200 in compensation in three months, or when an employee of a company spends more than 50 hours in three months lobbying on behalf of that company.
Lobbyists would have to pay an annual $100 fee plus $25 for each client who pays more than $500 to the lobbyist in one year.
The law exempts city employee associations that are negotiating working conditions or contracts, members of neighborhood organizations and project area committees, and board members and employees of nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporations and uncompensated board members of other non-profit groups.
The council also added an exemption for business improvement districts, which were established to benefit the city.
Third District Councilman Gary DeLong had previously made a motion to remove the exemptions for unions and non-profits, but that idea never made it to a vote.
The council is required to revisit the ordinance in one year to determine if any changes need to be made.
Unlike in 2008, no lobbyists spoke out against the law during the meeting, although several were in attendance, including Mike Murchison, the lobbyist whose controversial vacation with former Development Services Director Craig Beck led to Beck's demotion.
After the vote outside of the council chamber, lobbyists said they could accept the law, which seemed inevitable.
"I think it was a train I could not stop," said Carl Kemp, a lobbyist who represents the shipping industry and recently spoke before the council on behalf of a medical marijuana collective.
However, he and Diane Ripley, who represents oil companies and other businesses, said public officials should be held responsible as well and that there shouldn't be exemptions.
"At no point were any of the city officials held accountable," Ripley said. A few members of the public seemed to agree with these points, telling the council that employee unions or nonprofits shouldn't be exempt.
However, several representatives of nonprofits said they are different than traditional lobbyists, advocating not for shareholders, but often for those who can't advocate for themselves.
Murchison, who has stayed quiet over the last three months during the controversy over his lobbying role, wouldn't comment on past issues, but he said he supported the council's decision on the lobbyist ordinance. Asked whether he is still in contact with Beck, he replied: "Craig Beck and I continue to be good friends."
firstname.lastname@example.com, 562-499-1278


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About FDA
FY 2011 OCP Performance Report
Commissioner's Report
Combination products are therapeutic and diagnostic products that combine drugs, devices, and/or biological products. Technological advances continue to merge product types and blur the historical lines of separation between FDA's human medical product centers, which are made up of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), and the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). Because combination products involve components that would normally be regulated under different types of regulatory authorities, and frequently by different FDA Centers, they raise regulatory, policy, and review management challenges. Differences in regulatory pathways for each component can impact the regulatory processes for all aspects of product development and management, including pre-clinical testing, clinical investigation, marketing applications, manufacturing and quality control, adverse event reporting, promotion and advertising, user fees, and post-approval modifications.
OCP continues to enhance the transparency and predictability of the combination product lead Center assignment and review process. In this regard, OCP continues to facilitate interactions between industry and FDA to clearly delineate regulatory paths, monitor and adjust processes to ensure timely and effective review, and ensure the consistent and appropriate postmarket regulation of combination products. In addition to combination products, OCP also has classification and assignment responsibilities for non-combination drug, device, and biologic products.
Combination products are likely to become more complicated as new technologies emerge and existing technologies mature. Therefore, OCP will continue to focus on the most important issues relating to the regulation of combination products. OCP is committed to actively assisting industry and FDA reviewers in understanding the complexities of this regulatory area.
A major OCP accomplishment in FY 2011 was the issuance of two related draft guidance documents: Draft Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff – Classification of Products as Drugs and Devices and Additional Product Classification Issues and Draft Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff – Interpretation of the Term "Chemical Action" in the Definition of Device Under Section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. We believe these guidance documents will provide industry with a clear understanding of FDA's classification process.
FDA looks forward to ensuring success in meeting the unique challenges in the review and regulation of combination products.
Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D.
Commissioner of Food and Drugs