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The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust's special summer fundraiser – Walk for Wards – is set to take place on Sunday, July 13.
Walk for Wards, is part of a national initiative and at RCHT is being used to raise funds for the Royal Cornwall, St Michael's and West Cornwall hospitals, with walkers able to raise money for individual wards or departments or RCHT's general charitable fund.
The easy-going, three-mile walk starts and ends at the Watering Hole on Perranporth Beach where there will also be fun activities for all the family, refreshments and live music.
It is aimed at local people, as well as RCHT staff who can use the event to give their own ward or department charitable fund a boost.
To take part, register for free online: www.walkforwards.co.uk/join/royalcornwallhospitals.


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Episode 7 - Adobe Premiere Pro Picture in Picture
About This Episode
Join Dennis as he shows how to do a picture-in-picture inside of Premiere Pro CS3. Use this technique to start stacking your videos in a vertical fashion as well as opening new creative doors for your expression!
Get the latest tutorials, information and more about any Adobe cloud solution on Adobe Learn.

subset: commoncrawl


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A PAIR of teenagers have admitted taking part in an attempt to rob a man of drugs earlier this year.
The 17-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl both appeared before Swindon Crown Court and admitted attempted robbery.
They were part of an alleged group of four who are said to have gone to a house in Bolingbroke Road, Moredon, to try to steal the drugs on Tuesday, January 8 this year.
Judge Douglas Field remitted both to the youth court where they will be sentenced by magistrates on April 30.
A third girl, also aged 16, admitted the offence at an earlier hearing and has already been dealt with by the lower court.
Samuel Johnston, 20, of Huddleston Close, Gorse Hill, has denied attempted robbery and possessing a bladed article and is in custody awaiting trial.


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Mention that a team runs the wing-T offense and, at least when Wayne County Athletic League football is concerned, thoughts immediately jump to Smithville and its vaunted system.
Dalton coach Bob Ramsay and his coaching staff can be excused for thinking the same about the Middlefield Cardinal Huskies (11-0). That is, until Ramsay saw tapes of the Huskies and their high-octane wing-T in preparation for the Bulldogs' (10-1) Div. V regional semifinal Saturday night (7 p.m.) at Bedford's Steward Field.
"They're a wing-T primarily running-wise, but they spread things out a lot more than typical wing-T team," Ramsay said. "They give a lot more spread looks, triple-sides and things like that, but still run the same wing-T type plays.
"They're real balanced with three or four backs who have 400 yards. They're similar to Smithville in that they're not going to feature one back exclusively."
Ramsay's assignment is to find a way to slow down a Cardinal offense that averaged more than 32 points a game during the regular season. The Huskies may run a balanced wing-T attack, but when a team has thrown for close to 1,500 yards, as Cardinal has this season, it's fairly obvious that it's not dependent exclusively on a punishing ground game.
"Their quarterback has thrown for a lot of touchdowns and they try to get the ball down the middle of the field," Ramsay said. "They're not going to dink and dunk their way down the field."
That quarterback is senior Nick Adams, a 6-foot-1, 185-pounder, who has put up scintillating numbers thus far. Adams has tossed 21 touchdowns and completed 51 percent of his passes for 1,388 yards. Most impressively, however, is that Adams has thrown just five interceptions in 145 passes this year.
"If anyone is the catalyst of our offense, it's Nick," said Huskies coach Eric Cardinal. "He's got size, a good arm and he's a good athlete. But more than anything he's a real cerebral kid who understands our concepts and what we're trying to do.
"We'll run plays where we have checks and Nick can go to the line, look at the defense and get us into the right play if he has to. That's a lot for a 17-year-old kid to handle, but he's done an outstanding job with it."
After rushing for close to 3,000 yards as a team last season, coach Cardinal decided in the offseason his offense needed a little more balance.
"The (Chagrin Valley Conference) that we play in has some bigger schools in it," said Cardinal, who is in his third year leading the Huskies. "We'd play some of them and they'd just put 8-9 guys in the box and say 'OK, run your wing-T stuff,' and we'd get nowhere.
"We wanted to be able to throw the ball more on our terms, not when other teams dictated we had to throw it."
Aside from Adams, the Huskies have a talented collection of backs who can both run and catch the ball. Senior Jesse Soltis has rushed for more 400 yards and seven scores while also hauling in 25 passes for 450 yards and 10 more touchdowns. Brian Borkowski (457 yards), James Feckete (464) and Ken Bevington (404) have all carried the ball effectively for Cardinal this season.
Given the Huskies' proficiency passing the ball, and with Dalton coming off a game where it allowed more than 270 yards through the air, one might envision the Huskies licking their chops this week. Cardinal, however, was quick to downplay that notion.
"I've been in games like that and sometimes those things take on a life of their own," Cardinal said. "I certainly don't think that Dalton is going to be a pushover to pass the ball on at all."
The Huskies went 7-3 last season before running the table this year and making their first playoff appearance in school history. They knocked off Gimour Academy 13-6 following a hectic first week of playoff preparation.
"I don't know that it mattered as much to our staff or players that it was the first time the school was in the playoffs, but it certainly mattered to the community," said Cardinal of the off-field distractions last week. "I thought we were mentally prepared to play, but all the talk is just that unless you've actually experienced it. Looking back on it, we were fortunate we didn't draw a more playoff-hardened team.
"We're definitely more relaxed and ready to go this week."
While the Huskies have their own offensive playmaker in Adams, Dalton can counter with quarterback Mark Jameson, who has combined to rush and pass for more than 1,700 yards. Jameson and running back Derek Jackson (1,335 yards, 20 TDs) give opposing defenses plenty to worry about.
"Jackson is a very good back," Cardinal said. "It looks like Jameson is the guy that makes their offense go. He looks like he's willing to run anywhere he finds a crease.
"It helps both of them that they're running behind a line that snowplows guys out of the way, too."
Both coaches are in agreement about what, if any, impact playing on artificial turf will have on either team.
"It's a novelty for both teams," Ramsay said. "I'm sort of glad that we're going to have a field that's not going to be sloppy and where we'll be able to have some solid footing."
"If you had a team of greyhounds and a team of elephants, then I'd think it might make a difference," Cardinal. "But both teams seem evenly matched, so I don't see it having any effect."
Cardinal does have an idea of what may ultimately decide the outcome.
"It's so cliched to say it, but the team that makes the fewest mistakes stands the best chance," he said. "By mistakes I don't just mean turnovers, but also staying away from the big holding penalty that backs you up and costs you field position.
"It's also important for a team to remember how it got here and stay with what works. When you get out of character, then you can start having problems."
2002 Cardinal Huskies
Coach: Eric Cardinal
@ Garr. Garfield 27-6 W
Pymatuning Valley49-6 W
Beachwood42-14 W
West Geauga24-22 W
@ Aurora35-21 W
Newbury38-7 W
Kirtland21-6 W
@ Berkskire30-7 W
@ Grand Valley49-6 W
@ Hawken 35-21 W
Regional quarterfinal
Gilmour Academy 13-6 W
I'm not sure, but I think the only playoff team Cardinal beat was West G.


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Catwoman, Batgirl and More Go Anime Thanks to 89g [Art]
While you're waiting on DC's animation wing to get around to putting out a full-length Catwoman anime film, consider browsing through the work of deviantART user 89g to tide yourself over. He or she obviously prefers female characters in tight, black zip-up outfits, but Superman, Cable and Deadpool made it in there as well, and you can see a range of approaches in play that veer toward looking like Skottie Young and Frank Quitely's styles at times.
89g must know a thing or two about comics, too, because the eye-scarred Man of Steel concept in that gallery comes straight out of Superman/Batman: The Search for Kryptonite, and Storm was inspired by X-Men: Xenogenesis. However you feel about those storylines, the sketches they've led this artist to make are sleek.
Additionally, there's an uncharacteristically chipper shot of Daken sizing up X-23, but I'm sure that if he ever went anime, there would be a ton of smug scenes like that all over the place. Check out that some other highlights below.


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0 Shouts - 9,032,042 Scrobbles
D12 (aka The Dirty Dozen and D-Twizzy) was initially formed in 1991 by Proof who invited local Detroit rappers such as Bizarre, Eminem and other members who would leave the crew before it achieved success including Eye Kyu, Killa Hawk and Fuzz. The group was a loose collective in the vein of Wu-Tang Clan. Several members began making names for themselves in hip hop during the late 1990s. Bizarre was named Inner City Entertainment's "Flava of the Week". He would also release an album entitled Attack Of The Weirdos and become a member of Tha Outsidaz with Eminem and Rah Digga. Proof won a freestyling competition run by The Source in 1998.Read More...
However, it was as a solo artist that D12 member Eminem found success. All of the members of D12 have aliases and Eminem chose Slim Shady as his. Eminem Was Formerly In A Group Called Soul Intent Along With Proof before leaving and forming with d12. They recorded an album called Infinite followed by an independent EP called The Slim Shady EP in 1997 that caught the attention of famed rap producer Dr. Dre and Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine, and soon signed to Aftermath/Interscope, releasing his breakthrough album The Slim Shady LP in 1999 which went on to be certified 4x platinum in the U.S.
Eminem's success persuaded Proof to establish D12 on a more permanent basis in early 1999. Bizarre, Eminem, Kon Artis, Bugz, and Swifty McVay were recruited to join the group. Kuniva and Kon Artis were previously part of Da Brigade. However, Bugz passed away in Detroit on May 21, 1999 because of a gun incident at a picnic that turned into a shooting death, leading to Kuniva proposing to take Bugz's place. Each of the members of the crew wears a tattoo of Bugz's name in his honor. The tracks Good Die Young and Bugz 97 (the latter of which features an appearance from Bugz) on D12 World are also in his memory.
The six members of D12 signed a contract with Eminem's Shady Records and Interscope in 2000. The fact that D12 rose to prominence after Eminem led many people to assume that the other members had less significance in the group - this would be the concept of the group's 2004 hit single My Band. They also made the song to adress the common using of Eminem featuring D12.
Despite Eminem's prominence in the music industry, D12 insists that there is no frontman in the group and that Eminem is just another member. In spite of this, D12 recently began to tour as a separate entity to Eminem, a controversial move that could lead to confusion among concert-goers who may believe they are paying to see Eminem as well as the other five performers.
Sadly, early morning on April 11, 2006, Proof was shot and killed at a Detroit-area nightclub. Proof, real name DeShaun Holton, was 32 years old. Proof was also one of Eminem's best friends and will be missed by fans and friends.
There is rumored to be a new album in the process that will release either in 2010 or 2011. Eminem and Kon Artis validated that statement in an interview with Tim Westwood. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Top SongsTotal plays on Last.fm over the last 6 months
- LyricsUh yo yo yo yo
I take a couple uppers, I down a couple downers
But nothing compares to these blue and yellow purple pills
I've been to mushroom mountain, once or twice but who's countin'
But nothin' compares to these blue and yellow purple pills
- LyricsI don't know dude
I think everyone's all jealous and shit 'cause I'm like the lead singer of a band dude
And I think everyone's got a fuckin' problem with me dude
And they need to take it up with me after the show
- LyricsSo I changed huh?
You got a phone
Pick it up
Call me
How come, we don't even talk no more
- LyricsThis is how it happens to you
That's how people
Get f***ed up
This is how it happens to you
That's how people
- LyricsYeah, this is dj seven deuce
Of the motown sounds on w-down, ha ha
Give a big shout out to runyan ave.
And them detroit players, y'knowhatimean?
And we gonna go to the phone lines right now
- Fight Music - 556,372 plays
- Another Public Service Announc - 177,430 plays
- Purple Pills - 490,522 plays
- Nasty Mind - 157,425 plays
- Git Up - 208,132 plays


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The big red but kindred hearted demon, Hellboy, has returned to the box office with 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army' and it came back big nailing the top North American box office.
Guillermo del Toro have proved that he and the big red hero Hellboy have a solid fan base with a strong opening of the tamed demon's second movie "Hellboy II: The Golden Army". Expected by many to be able to compete with this year's other summer blockbuster films, the superhero flick collected an impressive $34.5 million from its debut weekend and thus, secured its place on the #1 box office.
Viewed in approximately 4,400 screens at 3,204 theaters, the Universal Pictures' tidbit topped the first "Hellboy" movie, which pulled in $23.2 million on its first weekend. It also won its box office run against two other feature films let out on Friday, July 11, "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" and "Meet Dave". "Journey" debuted third, while "Dave" scored a disappointing seventh place.
With the amazing sales, "Hellboy II" has become del Toro's biggest premiere film beating his previous big-opening of "Blade II" with $32.5 million in 2002. The record makes many believed that the success of the Ron Perlman-starrer film could not be separated from its director. "'Pan's Labyrinth' made a big impression on a lot of people," box-office tracker Media By Numbers's president Paul Dergarabedian stated. "If they weren't fans of Guillermo del Toro before, they certainly are now."
Though showing a great contender side, it doesn't mean that "Hellboy II" gets an easy run at the box office. Breathing down its neck is last week's champ, "Hancock". The Will Smith-actioner movie still displays a solid run raking in another $32 million. With that estimation, the slacker superhero flick has collected $164.1 million from its second weekend screening.
Apart from "Hellboy II", another new movie that should be noticed is the 3-D formatted film starring Brendan Fraser, "Journey". The New Line Cinema's family film secures its third position with a stellar $21 million exceeding box office watchers' expectation. "Journey" marks New Line's solid run at the box office for the third straight time, following "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" and "Sex and the City".
Staying at the last two slots at the top five are "Wall-E" and "Wanted (2008)". Piling up more and more gold to their already passing the $100 million mark record, the Walt Disney/Pixar's film "Wall-E" grosses $18.8 million and Timur Bekmambetov's "Wanted" collects nearly $12 million. On the upsetting box office report, newcomers Eddie Murphy-starring "Dave" can not hold up its comedy making it to collect merely $5.3 million on its debut.


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The Internet of Things
How are we affected when more and more devices – things – are getting connected through the Internet? What new possibilities arrives from this? Will this save the world? Will it give us more marketing possibilities, more devices? Or is it just some geeky fun created by Apple?
The following keynotes have been booked for Gulltaggen to Speak about "The Internet of Things":
- David Rowan, Chief Editor at WIRED (April 28)
- James Whittaker, Distinguished Technical Evangelist at Microsoft (April 28)
- Nico Abbruzzese, Global Director of Creative Technology at Maxus (April 29)
We have also included a closed workshop with limited seating. Tickets available at the INMA counter.
- David Rowan, Chief Editor at WIRED (April 28)


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New Game: "The F**k's Up With This Picture?"
OK, this could be a fun, on-going feature. I'll give you bizarre picture that would seemingly have no rational explanation whatsoever. See if you can guess "The f*&#'s going on in this picture.
Today's is a doozy. No cheating, now…
Okay, give it a shot. What the f&*%'s going on in this picture? Oh, and whatever you decide to guess is not going to be as fucked up as the real answer. Click on the jump for the explanation….
This lady is the Cultural Minister of Sweden. The lady laughing and holding the fork , that is, not the lady poking her head up through a hole and eating the cake.
The Swedish Minister of Culture looks like she's having a ball! All the Swedish people watching also look very tickled by the proceedings. But…"the f#&@'s going on here???
It's the Swedish minister of culture cutting up a taxpayer-funded cake baked to look like a racist caricature of a black woman
Fine. But why is there a racist caricature of a black woman in the first place??
That is the real kicker to this story.
at the opening of an exhibit about the horrors of female circumcision
Holy Hottentot, I shit you not!
"Hey, Dagmar, you know we're having that big exhibit about the horrors of female circumcision and the Cultural Minister wants something to really give it a little va-va-vooom."
"You don't mean…"
"I do…" ( BOTH) "RACIST CARICATURE CAKE!!!"
"You get the german chocolate, I'll make a nose bone out of confectioner's sugar."
Well, that was insensitive and horribly racist but at least they didn't make it look like a victim of female circumcision then got gnawed on by zombies.
People of Sweden: I hereby apologizing for anytime I've ever accused you of being a nation of well-educated and polite social-democrats.


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One button game Run Doc Run! V2
The new version is available here: http://www.over00.com/rundocrun/v2/
Remember to press W to activate jetpack and refresh the page to start over. The game now seems to work in IE but is terribly slow so I suggest using Firefox or Chrome for now. I'll take a look at IE's issues later if I feel like it's worth it.
Previous version is still available here: http://www.over00.com/rundocrun/v1/
Here are the changes for this version:
- Faster falling speed
- Screen larger
- Replaced jump and double-jump by jetpack heat
- Added score
- Add grass ground
- Added grass for hills
- Added scrolling background
- Added jetpack heat bar
I know the hills look bad but that's still temporary. That was just to get rid of the red blocks.
The biggest change is the jumping mechanic. Since I decided to go with a jetpack in V1 I decided that I should fully use this concept instead of pretending the character was jumping. So when you hold W the jetpack activates itself and you'll notice the heating bar growing. When the jetpack is too hot it will stop and your character will fall. You don't have to wait the heat bar to reach 0 to activate the jetpack again but be careful as it's heating way faster than it is cooling down.
I still haven't done any math to make sure there's always a possibility that you can make all jumps so it's quite possible to get stuck from time to time. That will probably come in next version as I add a nicest way to generate hills.
You now fall faster than you climb up which makes sense but also raise difficulty a bit. This produced a problem that sometimes the character would fall lower than the top of some hills resulting in the character getting stuck in the ground. The falling speed is currently set at 7 pixels per loop so if you're only 4 pixels above ground it means the character gets at -3 getting stuck in a hill. I had to modify a bit the code in the logic checking if the character is walking on a hill to "cheat" the position of the character a bit. If there's a collision between the bottom of the character – [falling speed] then I consider the character must land on the top of the hill so directly adjust the position there. So far it seems to work quite well.
The character will now stop going to the right of the screen once it reach 600 pixels (screen is 700 pixels). I'm not yet at the point of caring if I'll put a winning condition or not but instead for now I added a simple score system that will go up as you make progress in the game. Basically the longer you remain alive the higher the score will go up.
I made changes to the "is the character walking on a hill" logic to return the height of the current hill with potential collision instead of just checking if the character is walking on something. This is also to help preventing that the character gets stuck from time to time.
I added a scrolling background (same I used for the Adventures of Bret Airborne Episode 1) and I plan on adding some more fluff like maybe birds, blimps passing by in the sky. Nothing much complicated there but it helps the whole thing to look like something a bit more interesting.
The core mechanics are almost as I want them so I'll now start to think about what I could do to make the whole thing more interesting. Things I have in mind for now are maybe powerups for the jetpack (for longer flight time), bonus score stars to catch and possibly more kind of obstacles to dodge like maybe zombies coming out from the ground.
Take a look and let me you what you think. Suggestions are welcome. Remember that
Still getting the 'walking through hill' issue. Heel of the trailing foot is occasionally level with the top of the hill instead of being 2-3 pixels above. If you're ultimately going to a kind of fake iso perspective and put a road or path on the top of the hills it won't matter, but from your description he should have been reset when he dips under.
(BTW- What kind of collision detection are you doing? I would have thought you could just check the player's bottom right and bottom midpoint against the terrain height for this.)
I think the jetpack cooldown is too slow. I don't think I was ever able to recover if I got stuck in a depression while in the left half of the screen, though I guess it might be possible. I think in a game like this, even if the difficulty ramps up quickly, it still needs to ramp up over some period of time. The other options would be to adjust the walking speed or the magnitude of the hill sizes.
Sometimes the walking animation stops when the jetpack is active and sometimes it doesn't. It should probably always stop, with the both legs in the straight down position if your sprite allows that.
Interesting game. I agree with tfernando above, it appears that you're pretty much doomed if you fall into a chasm, even by accident. I think the jetpack heat thing is the main culprit here: it seems that this will get you caught in a chasm easily without the ability to escape. Getting caught against a wall is bad enough, but then to run out of jetpack heat pretty much dooms you.
Ask yourself: what's the main gameplay aspect that's important here? Let's say you want to test the player's sense of timing. What's the reward for having good timing? Advancing the game. What's the penalty for not having good timing? Falling behind. I think the problem, from a game design point of view, is that the game is about two types of timing: getting high enough on a jump, and not running out of jetpack heat.
I think you might want to simplify that, and perhaps add some other complexity to the game. Perhaps coins that could be collected for bonus score? Then players could time jumps over cliffs, and advanced players could time jumps to get coins.
Some thoughts.
Yes, the above happened to me as well. I tried conserving jet pack usage to minimum, but there was one point that I used just a little too much, and I wasn't able to get over a large cliff after a series of medium cliffs.
Also I may have found a bug, if no one else found it yet, of course. When I was near the right side of the page, almost done, I encountered a flat surface followed by one hill. However, I stopped moving awhile before this hill, causing me to move back to the middle of the page until I jumped up. Apparently, there was an invisible hill in front of me that appeared to me to be sky (shortly after, I encountered the cliff and died). Unless this invisible mt Everest was supposed to be there (which it may well be, if your goal for the game is not to get to the other side but to rack up a large number of points), if this happens again, it might cause a slight hindrance.


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BP Comment Quick Links
July 20, 2006
Schrodinger's Bat
A Plethora of Blunders
"This book is, for the most part, about managers and general managers and owners who sat down, considered something for at least a moment and said, 'I sure think this would be a good idea.'
"Except it wasn't."
-- Rob Neyer from the introduction titled "Hello and Good Luck"
I think most baseball fans appreciate baseball books that challenge their preconceived notions and the game's received wisdom, and widen their understanding of the game.
From attending the recent SABR convention where Jim Bouton spoke, I can recall that tenor in more than one conversation regarding Ball Four. Books like George Will's Men at Work, Daniel Okrent's 9 Innings, and everything from The Hidden Game of Baseball to the Baseball Abstracts to Moneyball have all served both to enlighten and to gently contest my view of the game.
While not quite rising to the level of those books, I do have another that I can slot just below: Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders: A Complete Guide to the Worst Decisions and Stupidest Moments in Baseball History.
Behind the Blunders
There are two underlying reasons why this book captured my attention; its eminently just and considered methodology, and the way in which that methodology is supported by solid reasoning.
First, the methodology. As quoted at the beginning of this column, the book includes 47 major actions or moves primarily taken by managers and general managers (but also including owners both individually and collectively), most of which hurt their teams. What is most important, however, is in how those moves were chosen. Neyer makes the point in the introduction that in selecting these blunders for inclusion in the book he used three primary qualifications; "Premeditation. Contemporary questionability. Ill effects."
Taken one at a time, what those mean is that the move must have a) been well considered and not simply an act which is the product of historical contingency (it could have been otherwise), b) a physical error (a dropped throw or missed catch), or c) a heat-of-the-moment reaction (a missed call or a Zidane-style head butt, for which there is no event in baseball history that really comes close). Second and by far the most important, there had to be at least some rationale available at the time for not making the move. After all, anyone can play Monday morning quarterback, but it's far more difficult to articulate a reasoned case before the results of an event are known. Finally and most obviously, the move had to have ill effects on the franchise in question, therefore making it a blunder.
As an illustration we need look no farther than the recent Reds/Nationals trade. While the full effects will not be known for years to come, the trade fits the first two criteria and may be able to serve as a prominent chapter in a revised version down the road. In this case our own Christina Kahrl made an extremely well-reasoned case for how what we know about the eight players involved in the trade leads us, to put it kindly, to call the deal into question (at least from the Reds and GM Wayne Krivsky's perspective). This kind of analysis, with which Neyer's book is fully stocked, is in sharp contrast to other analysis you'll run across that is perhaps not so well-reasoned.
To cite a similar example from the book where a team traded a hitter in order to shore up the bullpen for the stretch run, Neyer takes on the Jeff Bagwell-for-Larry Andersen trade that Red Sox manager Lou Gorman executed on August 30, 1990. After navigating his way through a bit of historical revisionism Gorman laid out in his biography, Neyer cuts to the heart of the matter and illustrates two key reasons why the move, albeit working out better for the Astros than even they had hoped, could've and should've been called into question.
To start, the Astros asked for any numbers of players in return for Andersen, including pitching prospects Kevin Morton and Dave Owen, who were both in Double-A with Bagwell that season. The fact that neither panned out is not the real issue, but rather that there is so much inherent variability in the futures of pitching prospects (TINSTAAPP) that trading one is far less risky than trading a position player prospect. Even aside from that, however, what was more damning is that the Red Sox failed to take proper note of the context in which Bagwell (and the two pitchers) performed. His 1990 .333/.423/.457 performance in a pitcher's park in a pitcher's league was enough for Bill James, before the 1991 season, to note Bagwell as one of the 15 minor leaguers who might have an impact that year. Well, he certainly had an impact, and as a result the Red Sox hit the trifecta.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention, however, that some the "blunders" in the book are not actually defined as such by Neyer himself. For example, the sale of Babe Ruth to the Red Sox (the chapter also busts the myth of No No Nannette), the playing time given to Pete Gray by the Browns, the trade of Roger Maris from the Kansas City A's to the Yankees, the swap of Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi, and even the acquisition by the Royals of Mark (but certainly not Storm) Davis are all cast as deals that don't quite meet the three criteria. In each case Neyer presents a compelling argument for making the move.
I'll have to admit that while reflecting on the book it occurred to me that perhaps all this focus on negativity is bad for the soul. Why not title the book "Baseball's Mercurial Moves" and focus on those whose moves did turn out to be the difference? The answer probably lies in the fact that the marketing is easier since as we all know good news doesn't sell nearly as well as bad. And even if the book had come from the other direction, those at whose expense the moves were made would still play a prominent role. That's also why the three criteria are so important. In the end they make the book a fair one.
The second reason the book appealed to me was the logical arguments used in almost all of the blunders. Behind that reasoning is a solid grounding in the accepted practices of performance analysis, with an emphasis on Win Shares.
Although Neyer finds it necessary to apologize for the tables he uses in the book (needlessly in my opinion), he does a fine job of integrating the concepts of analysis and introducing the numbers appropriately. Neyer is among the best of a new breed of writer caught up in the midst of a Kuhnnian revolution that sees the baseball world a bit differently, as well as a bit more clearly.
As an example of his use of quantitative analysis, consider the chapter titled "Bill Veeck Trades the Farm." In the offseason prior to the 1960 season and after winning their first pennant in 40 years, owner-operator Veeck of the Chicago White Sox made four terrible trades. In analyzing those trades, Neyer uses Win Shares to quantify the impact of the trade that goes like this:
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Totals Coming 76 77 23 34 12 3 2 0 227 Going 66 125 120 109 87 113 96 70 786
The "coming" included Minnie Minoso, Dick Brown, Don Ferrarese, Jake Striker, Gene Freese, Roy Sievers, and Herb Score while the "going" counted John Romano, Bubba Phillips, Norm Cash, Johnny Callison, Earl Battey, Don Mincher, and Barry Latman.
Neyer then analyzes the Sox seasons during that time frame and considering a number of factors concludes that:
"with those three trades [the Latman for Score trade was minor in comparison to the others], he certainly cost the White Sox two pennants, and perhaps as many as five."
The mention of quantitative methods and performance analysis leads me to a small disclaimer that needs to be made. Neyer enlisted contributions from various writers, and our own Maury Brown, Jim Baker and Rany Jazayerli all contributed some fine work: Brown on collusion and its effects, Baker on Pete Gray, and Jazayerli on the draft and, of course, the Royals.
The Anatomy of Blunders
The book is arranged chronologically with the first blunder, titled "White Sox Replace Hitter with Crook", that tells the story of how the Sox let first baseman Jack Fournier go at the start of the 1917 season and replaced him with Charles Arnold "Chick" Gandil. Needless to say, the slick fielding of Gandil was not enough to make up for the offensive production of Fournier, and when you factor in Gandil's cancerous effects on the team, the move truly rates as a blunder.
From that start the book works it way through the decades and concludes with the chapter "Mo Gets Mo' Rest" recounting how Joe Torre, up two games to one in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, failed to use Mariano Rivera when it mattered most. Neyer contends that Torre, rather than leverage his best reliever, became at least a temporary slave to the Culture of the Save and therefore:
was afraid that if he used Rivera for a couple of innings before the Yankees took a lead, he'd have to use Contreras or Weaver or Chris Hammond in the "save situation."
Each piece runs from two to five pages, and are thus easy to digest between innings (as I did for many of them). Perhaps my favorite feature is the numerous margin notes sprinkled throughout the text that offer additional insights, opposing views, and related information often penned by writers other than Neyer. For example, in the chapter cited earlier criticizing Bill Veeck, the margin includes a response from White Sox aficionado Dom Zminda.
Finally, in addition to margin notes the text includes "Interludes" which are longer essays that include a series of blunders that run in the same vein. These include:
But in order to wet your whistle a final time, I'll leave you with my three favorite blunders from the book:
There are certainly other compelling blunders such as "Royals Sign Davis Bros." and "Cubs Hire Dusty Baker" that could be added to the list, but the latter's contemporaneity makes it a bit too painful to discuss in any length. Be that as it may, adding this book to your baseball library will certainly be anything but a blunder.
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Now available for over 6000 European locations, NAVTEQ's Motorway Junction Objects enable navigation systems to generate 3D animations of complex intersections on key roads such as the Peripherique in Paris, the M1 in the UK or Berlin's A2.
Developed using a combination of NAVTEQ's own navigation expertise, user interface insights and advanced technology, this new product supports the creation in real-time of intuitive visual guidance right from the approach to a junction through the entire manoeuvre. Drivers can instantly recognise the 3D visual cues in complicated situations.
The data is also designed to work seamlessly with NAVTEQ's other visual content such as Sign-As-Real, 3D City Models and 3D Landmarks. By more closely matching what is outside the windshield, drivers will be better informed and better prepared to avoid last minute lane changes.
"Our proprietary research has shown that consumers want visual features which help make driving easier but not more entertaining," explained Frank Pauli vice president, Map and Content products EMEA. "They value visual prompts which enable split second recognition of the situation so they can handle the manoeuvre with confidence. Motorway Junction Objects meets that demand and further expands our growing portfolio of visual content."
Motorway Junction Objects is available in three levels of detail to accommodate a wide variety of hardware and software configurations. The texturing used in the 3D models can also be customised by system manufacturers to create a unique look and feel. There is also flexibility to display what is ahead from different viewing angles – eg. from the driver's perspective or a bird's eye view.
Source: ERTICO.


text:
Java metasearch for P2P private torrent trackers. Works in Linux, Windows and Mac platforms.
You only needs accounts from different trackers. You login, from PBTS, to the trackers in which you already have accounts. Then you can search content in which trackers you want to search.
The information about your login are only saved in your pc for local access. PBTS use this information directly to the trackers. You can view the code, it's Open Source! and check it.
Avaliable trackers:
BitSoup, MVTracker, XSpeeds, PublicHD, BajaunaPeli, XBytes, BitShock, Blu-bits, blu-torrents and Torronteros.
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Sentence GLAAD to a pit of Chick-fil-A
by Mark Segal
Originally printed 8/16/2012 (Issue 2033 - Between The Lines News)
Let's not waste words here: Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), you screwed up royally. In leading the chicken wars of last week, you need to go back to P.R. 101. It was the largest public-relations failure for this community in a decade. The final straw was your promotion of the kiss-in. Are we back in high school? If so, you get an F. If you represent this community, I for one am embarrassed by your lack of professionalism and knowledge of the media ... Is that not what you are supposed to be an expert on?
As to last Friday's kiss-in, which GLAAD promoted but did not endorse, you should have known this was a bad idea. Learn to lead, and learn that leading means sometimes saying no. You could have just stood down, but instead you gave this juvenile act credibility. A kiss-in, relegating our community to exactly where the right-wing wants us. You'll be seeing those pictures in future right-wing advertising campaigns.
We can only move on when GLAAD stops attempting to defend itself and its actions and stops blaming our political allies. Accept the responsibility, then we'll all learn from it and move on to rebuild. Sometimes failure can be an opportunity.
Now that my feelings -- my strong feelings -- are out there, let's take a look at the mistakes and what can be learned from them.
First, choose your battles well. Before engaging in a battle, know your opponents and what they bring to the fight. That boils down to research. If you had done this, you might not have sent out the stream of press releases. In politics they call this opposition research. In this incident, the following questions would have helped GLAAD better prepare:
-- Do we need to engage in this battle or will it be a distraction from other more important issues?
-- Is our message clear and simple to understand by the public?
-- Where are the majority of Chick-fil-A franchises in the U.S. and do we have troops there?
-- Who is their customer base?
-- What would their defense be?
-- Are we prepared with a statement for all possible responses they might use?
-- Where do they advertise?
-- Who would be their spokesperson?
--What is their image, and the image of their supporters they will bring to the media?
-- Who are our spokespeople and have we prepared them with the script of the issues?
-- Can we, most importantly, control the debate?
-- And if all else fails, what is our back-up plan?
From the beginning, it seemed GLAAD never had any of the above. And that's the short list when you're thinking of engaging in a P.R. battle.
Now the actual damage. Among the real winners, in order: Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Chick-fil-A. Bet you're surprised to see those first two on the winners' list. Well, Huckabee devised and came up with "Appreciation Day," and Santorum was first in line. The two losers of the Republican primaries now have a road back out of isolation. For Santorum, this could launch his next presidential run. Yes, the damage is that severe. As for Chick-fil-A, I have to admire the way they handled their message and the media.
The final piece of damage? When hundreds of thousands across the nation showed up to support Chick-fil-A, what were our numbers? Let's say they were low. Why did we get into a fight we didn't need to enter, and why were we totally unprepared? If you issue a press release, be assured of why you are issuing it, whose actions you are promoting, if it meets the needs of the community and whether it will be a distraction or incur damage.
Others arguments and ideas this column does not have space for: civil disobedience, violence against children, the First Amendment, religious freedom, nondiscrimination policies and even Biblical knowledge.
In conclusion, GLAAD, if your mission is to do P.R. for the community, you failed. If your mission is to represent the community to foster better treatment of the LGBT community in the media, you failed. The magnitude of this error is so great that GLAAD should now be on the community's watch list. As someone who has worked for 43 years to bring media to where it is today, I join with the voices in our community who will not tolerate another in a long line of GLAAD missteps.
My suggestion? Instead of issuing a continuous stream of press releases like they are blue-light specials, your board should have a long retreat and look at your mission, and maybe even redefine it. This is a wake-up call.Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation's most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. He can be reached at email@example.com.
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Su Casa Reminder For Jan. 20, 2013
Show Us Your (Instagram) Stuff!
Been nesting like a little bird lately? We want to see it! Take a photo of your latest home-design marvel and share it with us.
Show off your home-design pictures on Instagram and tag them #CasaSnap. If we see a photo we like, we will feature it on CasaSugar. We want to see your decorating and design chops right now, so get busy!
Source: Instagram user story_of_us


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LONG BEACH, N. Y. (Nov. 18)
Dr. Joseph Burg, Minister of Social Welfare in Israel, told the 54th annual convention of the Religious Zionists of America here, that "Christian and Arab citizens of Israel are enjoying complete religious freedom and cultural autonomy in their varied Spiritual practices. All restrictions on the movement of Arabs in Israel have recently been rescinded."
Mr. Burg said that "the Government of Israel is erecting schools of all kinds to meet the needs of Arab and Christian children. The Government is also subsidizing the construction of religious institutions for Arabs and Christians. The standard of living of Israel's Arabs are far superior to those who live in neighboring Arab countries."
The Israeli Minister also said that "the Arabs of Israel are being trained to become productive and well-adjusted citizens of Israel by being offered medical, technological, and scientific courses on all levels of competence. It is to be hoped that the second generation Arab will surmount the still lingering prejudice of his family and become a fully dedicated, hard-working, and understanding citizen of Israel."
Mr. Burg, who is also a prominent leader of the Religious Zionist Party in Israel, pointed to "Israel's incredible achievements in fostering a whole network of religious institutions, such as vocational schools, daily adult educational facilities, religious settlements on the exposed fringes of the border areas, and university schooling. The Religious Zionists in Israel have set up a unique type of school combining the elements of manual and vocational-type training with intellectual studies, to make the graduate a competent and informed citizen of the state."
He urged "the firmest typed unity" between Israeli and religious American Jewry. "This united force will bring about a greater understanding in building the State of Israel as the showpiece of moral value in the world," he said.


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END-1: First Line Chemotherapy for Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Carcinoma With Carboplatin and Liposomal Doxorubicin
This study has been completed.
National Cancer Institute, Naples
Information provided by:
National Cancer Institute, Naples
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: November 17, 2006
Last updated: September 4, 2007
Last verified: September 2007
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Detailed Description:
The purpose of this study is to evaluate activity and toxicity of the combination of carboplatin and liposomal doxorubicin as first-line chemotherapy of patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma.
|Endometrial Cancer
|Drug: liposomal doxorubicin Drug: carboplatin
|Phase 2
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|Phase II Multicentered Study of First-Line Chemotherapy for Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Carcinoma With the Combination of Carboplatin and Liposomal Doxorubicin
Resource links provided by NLM:
Drug Information available for: Doxorubicin Doxorubicin hydrochloride CarboplatinU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by National Cancer Institute, Naples:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- Objective response rate (complete and partial responses)
- Toxicity
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|November 2002
Treatment is planned with carboplatin AUC 5 given IV on day 1 and liposomal doxorubicin 40 mg/m2 given IV on day 1, with treatment repeated every 28 days. Delays in treatment administration and dose reductions have been planned according to toxicity.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Cytologic / histologic diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma
- Indication for chemotherapy
- Age 75 years or less
- Life expectancy of at least 3 months
- Measurable disease > 1 cm
Exclusion Criteria:
- Previous or concomitant malignant neoplasia (not including basocellular or spinocellular skin carcinoma or in-situ carcinoma of the uterine cervix, provided they are being adequately treated)
- Performance status (ECOG) > 2
- Previous chemotherapy treatment
- Heart disease (heart failure, myocardial heart attack within 6 months prior to randomization, atrioventricular block of any degree, serious arrhythmia)
- Leukocytes < 4000/mm3, platelets < 100000/mm3
- Impaired renal function (creatinine > o = 1.25 times the upper normal limit) or liver function (SGOT or SGPT > o = 1.25 times the upper normal limit)
- Present or suspected hemorrhagic syndromes
- Uncooperative and/or unreliable patients
- Patient's inability to access the center
- Refusal of informed consent
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00401635
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00401635
|Ospedale Fatebenefratelli, U.O. di Oncologia
|Benevento, BN, Italy, 82100
|Ospedale Pierantoni, Divisione di Oncologia Medica
|Forli', FO, Italy, 47100
|Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori , Divisione di Oncologia Medica B
|Napoli, Italy, 80131
|Ospedale S. Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli
|Roma, Italy, 00186
Sponsors and Collaborators
National Cancer Institute, Naples
|Principal Investigator:
|Sandro Pignata, M.D., Ph.D
|National Cancer Institute, Naples
|Principal Investigator:
|Francesco Perrone, M.D., Ph.D
|National Cancer Institute, Naples
More Information
Keywords provided by National Cancer Institute, Naples:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on August 22, 2017
Pignata S, Scambia G, Pisano C, Breda E, Di Maio M, Greggi S, Ferrandina G, Lorusso D, Zagonel V, Febbraro A, Riva N, De Rosa V, Gallo C, Perrone F; Multicentre Italian Trials in Ovarian Cancer and Gynecologic Malignancies Group. A multicentre phase II study of carboplatin plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin as first-line chemotherapy for patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma: the END-1 study of the MITO (Multicentre Italian Trials in Ovarian Cancer and Gynecologic Malignancies) group. Br J Cancer. 2007 Jun 4;96(11):1639-43. Epub 2007 May 8.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00401635 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|November 17, 2006
|Last Updated:
|September 4, 2007
Keywords provided by National Cancer Institute, Naples:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Endometrial Neoplasms
Uterine Neoplasms
Genital Neoplasms, Female
Urogenital Neoplasms
Neoplasms by Site
Uterine Diseases
Genital Diseases, Female
Liposomal doxorubicin
Antineoplastic Agents
Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
Topoisomerase II Inhibitors
Topoisomerase Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on August 22, 2017


text:
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We make custom replacement covers that fit perfectly for IKEA's most popular sofas, chairs and armchairs. Wide variety of custom IKEA covers – choose from 200+ fabrics, order online.
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Two little-known local linemen who have toiled in the trenches for the past four seasons, quietly doing the dreaded dirty work that so often goes unnoticed _ especially when your team is consistently losing week after week, year after year.
But the Golden Flashes have suddenly stopped the bleeding thanks in major part to a group of resilient young men who paid their dues and then some.
True warriors, like Brian Hallett and Aaron Mayer.
Hallett, a former multi-sport star at Norton High School, and Mayer, a prep football standout at Woodridge, both rejected other tempting offers in order to join what was a poor excuse for a college football program when they first arrived at Kent State.
And neither player regrets that decision in the least, especially now that they've helped the Flashes finally turn the proverbial corner.
"They can definitely say they're leaving this program better than they found it, and that's something to be proud of," said head coach Dean Pees, whose Kent State squad (5-5) can finish the year with a winning record for the first time since 1987 by defeating Miami Saturday at Dix Stadium. "I feel real good for those guys, because I know what they've been through. They stuck it out through some tremendously difficult times."
The trials and tribulations actually began before Hallett and Mayer even set foot on campus.
Hallett, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound offensive lineman, was offered a scholarship by Pittsburgh after his junior year of high school. But that offer was revoked when the team changed coaches, even though Hallett was rated the third-best offensive lineman in the entire state of Ohio following his senior year.
"It was disappointing at the time," Hallett admitted. "Then after I committed to Kent State I got an offer from Northwestern, but I wasn't interested. Sure I thought about going to (a more well-known program). But things just didn't pan out."
Mayer, a 6-2, 275-pound defensive tackle, drew interest from several non-Division I schools after earning all-state honors as a senior for the Bulldogs. But he chose to walk on at Kent State instead.
"I always dreamed of playing Division I football, and I was just happy that someone gave me an opportunity," said Mayer. "I knew I had the ability to play at this level, and I just wanted a chance to prove it."
Mayer proved himself quickly to Pees, who rewarded him with a scholarship after taking over the Flashes in 1998.
"He worked so hard and did everything we asked," said Pees. "I certainly felt he deserved a scholarship."
While linemen seldom see much action at the collegiate level as underclassmen, both Hallett and Mayer were thrown to the wolves almost immediately. Hallett stepped into the starting lineup as a true freshman midway through the year while Mayer played in all 11 games as a redshirt frosh in 1998, when both players were forced to battle much more experienced and mature opponents.
"What sticks in my mind is my first collegiate game, when we played in front of 85,000 people at Georgia," said Mayer. "I found out quickly what Division I football was all about. It was tough, but honestly I thought it would be a lot tougher than it was."
Hallett couldn't agree more.
"I loved playing as a freshman," he said. "I remember going out there and pancaking linebackers and thinking wow, this is great. If I'm doing this to a senior now, think of what's going to happen when I'm a senior."
Just as he envisioned, Hallett has developed into one of the Mid-American Conference's most dominating linemen. He's the Flashes' strongest player (480-pound bench press), he's versatile and athletic enough to play any position up front, and he's incredibly durable.
Kent State's 2001 tri-captain has started 35 straight games, missing just one half of one game due to an ankle injury.
"I started as a freshman after the senior playing in front of me got hurt, so I guess the injury swings have gone my way," said Hallett. "I wrestled in high school and that increased my flexibility, which has helped a lot. But I've also been very lucky."
With a little more good fortune, Hallett could be playing football on Sundays next year.
"Pro scouts are interested in Brian, and I think someone will give him a look," said Pees. "His only drawback is probably his height. But even if pro football doesn't work out, Brian has plenty to fall back on."
Hallett is one of the country's top performers in the shot put, and has two years of eligibility left in track and field at Kent State. He also carries a 3.77 grade-point average as an industrial technology major, and is a candidate for academic All-American honors.
"Brian's been a leader in everything he's done from high school on," said Pees. "He's a great football player and a model citizen. We're going to miss him."
Mayer, like Hallett, starred as an offensive lineman in high school. But Pees, seeking to shore up a depleted defensive line, moved Mayer to the other side of the ball in '98.
"I thought I was a lot better offensive lineman, but the coaches made the decision," said Mayer. "I was a walk-on, so I didn't care where they put me. I just shut up and played."
Mayer played his way into the rotation as a freshman, and never left. He's been a key cog in a previously porous Kent State defensive unit that has steadily progressed during the past four seasons.
"Aaron isn't flashy. He's just real solid," said Pees. "He's come a long way as a walk-on, and he's a person to be admired both on and off the field. He's a real good leader in a quiet way."
Mayer quietly goes about his business every Saturday, taking on blockers and filling gaps up front so his teammates can make plays. His statistics aren't eye-popping, but that's by design.
"As a defensive lineman in our system, you have to swallow your pride," said Mayer. "Everyone wants to make the sacks and the big plays, but in reality not everyone can. I think the biggest difference in our defense this year is that everyone has accepted their role, because they realize if we all do our job the rest will take care of itself."
Mayer is also taking care of business in the classroom. He'll graduate with a degree in technology education this coming May, and plans to teach and coach at the high school level.
"I don't want to coach college football," said Mayer. "I've seen all the hours our coaches put in. I don't want any part of that."
While the spotlight shines once again on the quarterbacks, Hallett and Mayer will secretly slug it out with their interior foes one last time Saturday at Dix Stadium. And they plan to go out swinging.
"I'm getting more antsy every day," said Mayer. "I'm trying not to think about it too much, but we know what's at stake. We haven't had a winning season here in a long, long time. This is huge."
Before this year Hallett and Mayer had tasted victory just three times in 30 outings at Kent State, which makes the surprising success they've enjoyed in 2001 seem even sweeter.
"It feels great," said Hallett. "We were so close to winning so many games before, especially last year, but we just couldn't catch any breaks. But once we won a couple games, we started to believe in ourselves. Coach Pees has always said that was our biggest problem. We just didn't believe."
Fielding a winning team at Kent State is finally believable, which makes all the tough times worth taking for Hallett, Mayer and their unheralded teammates in the trenches.
"It's been quite a ride, but it's been fun," said Mayer. "I have no regrets."
E-mail: email@example.com
Phone: (330) 678-5460


text:
Wright Creative Inc Photographer
britt riggModel Female Margate, Florida, US
My Website: http://www.facebook.com/#!/brittany.riggMy MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/brittanyann
Mayhem # 1275416
About MeA little bit about me that you should know:
I take my work seriously
I have a great sense of humor
I will try every pose that I think is cool (even if it means breaking a leg)
I am determined
I like to have fun while shooting
Music is my world and I love to dance
If I don't feel comfortable with something, DON'T TRY TO PERSUADE ME
If you are a scammer, I WILL scam you right back! SO BEWARE!
I don't care how much you pay me, I WILL NOT DO ANY SEX SCENE!
I get irritated with stupidity (but don't we all)
So, with everything said, ONLY message me if you plan on shooting and keeping your word. I give you my word, I hope you can do the same! Also, I'm currently only looking for paid assignments. I will only do tfp or tfcd if it really is going to be worth it for the both of us! Now, let the fun begin!
Now let's have some fun and create some good images B-)
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text:
Bobble Fun Scarf by Linda Medina
Welcome! You are browsing as a guestWould you like to see projects made from this pattern and much more? create a free account What am I missing?
© Annie's
Bobble Fun Scarf
Skill Level
Finished Measurements
7 inches wide x 72 inches long
- Berroco Boboli (worsted weight; 42% wool/35% acrylic/23% viscose; 206 yds/100g per hank): 3 hanks Ceylon #5320
- Size 10 (6mm) needles
21 sts and 22 rows = 4 inches/10cm in Bobble and Rib pat (blocked).
To save time, take time to check gauge.
For more information, see: http://www.creativeknittingmagazine.com/


text:
Expert publishing blog opinions are solely those of the blogger and not necessarily endorsed by DBW.
I always find it amazing when researching marketing strategies how incredibly superstitious and eager some authors are to not just believe, but also truly embrace urban myths.
Especially if it might impact their careers.
The Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL) borrowing system is a prime example.
So rather than relying upon your cousin's friend's blog to terrify you that KOLL is killing your book sales, let's return to a trusted friend.
Math. Good, old-fashioned math. Let's calculate how KOLL is affecting your book sales rather than running around the room waving our hands over our heads. 🙂
I am going to use examples from my platform; however, you can calculate your numbers using your own data. Drilling down into your sales numbers is the only way for anyone to determine if any advertising venture is worthwhile or not.
Indie authors, or even small/trade publishers can perform this series of calculations to see if KOLL is a cost-effective option for their book titles.
Let's look at those titles priced between 99¢ and $2.98. These 35 percent royalty books generate 35¢ to $1.04 royalty-per-sale.
Since the current KOLL Payout is approximately $1.60/borrow, any title in this 99¢-$2.98 price range is actually making money from each borrow.
In the case of 99¢ titles, you are actually quadrupling your royalties versus a sale. #sweet
The next price bandwidth we want to look at is the $2.99 titles. If we simply looked at raw numbers, it would appear that these books were losing money on KOLL.
The $2.99 price point at 70 percent royalty = $2.09 – KOLL royalty of approximately $1.60 = a net loss of 50¢/borrow versus purchase.
But not all sales at $2.99 are paid out at 70 percent royalty. A subset of your sales is always calculated at 35 percent royalty if the sales originate outside the territories covered by the 70 percent royalty contract.
On average, you can expect about 7 to 8 percent of your sales are going to fall under the 35 percent royalty rule. This brings down your $2.09 average royalty at 70 percent down to a combined 70 percent + 35 percent royalty of $2.00/book.
Now, we must subtract the delivery charge of 8¢, which brings our average royalty per book down to $1.92/book.
Average net royalty $1.92 – $1.60 KOLL average royalty = 32¢
That brings your net loss down to 32¢/borrow versus purchase.
However, we must now factor in a more human component. The question becomes: "Would each of the KOLL borrowers have actually bought your book?"
The answer is clearly "no." People love bargains, and people really love free.
So the more difficult question to answer is… how many of the borrowers would have bought your book if they had no free option?
This number is more difficult to nail down. But still, I persist!
First, I look at my borrow/purchase ratio. For my books, my borrow/purchase ratio averages about 15 percent, which means that approximately 15 percent of my "would-be" purchases have been diverted into borrows.
Even if you assumed that an extremely conservative figure, such as 50 percent of all borrowers would have bought your book if they did not have the free KOLL option, that brings your "lost" sales down to 7.5 percent of your total sales.
A more realistic number is something like 25 percent of those who borrowed your book would have bought your book without the free option. This brings your "lost" sales down to about 3.75 percent of your overall royalties.
Let's say you had combined Sales and Borrows of 100. You can estimate your "loss" of revenue by multiplying 100 x 3.75 percent (the amount of borrows that would have been purchases in that pool) = about 4 sales diverted to borrowing.
4 sales total x 32¢ net loss per borrow = $1.28¢/100 sales.
And given some of the woo1ly nature of my math, I think we can say your loss is negligible, at worst. Even doubling this number means that for every 100 sales, you are "losing" $2.56 to borrows.
For every 100 sales at $2.99 your paid royalties would be 96 Paid x $1.92 = $184.32 + 4 Borrows at $1.60 ($6.40) = Total royalties = $190.72
Versus 100 sales at $2.99 = 192.00
Either way you calculate it you have "lost" less than $2 per 100 sales.
That is a number I can easily accept as the cost of doing business.
Now let's move on to the titles in the $3.99 category.
The "raw" royalty ($3.99 x 70 percent royalty) is $2.80/sale
Factor in the 8 percent of books sold at the 35 percent royalty rate ($3.99 x 35 percent royalty = $1.40)
92 books at $2.80 = $258
+ 8 books at $1.40 = $11
= $2.69/sale
Minus the 8¢ delivery fee = $2.61/sale
$2.61/sale – $1.60 KOLL royalty = $1.01/book loss.
So for every 100 sales/borrows, you are losing about 4 sales x $1.01 = $4.04 loss per 100 books.
Okay, that is a little more. However, it is well within an acceptable bandwidth of loss given the exposure of KOLL.
For $4.99, the amount rises…
Raw royalty ($4.99 x 70 percent royalty) = $3.49.
Factoring in the 8 percent of books sold at the 35 percent royalty = $3.35
Minus delivery cost of 8¢ = $3.27.
$3.27 royalty/book – $1.60 KOLL royalty/borrow = Net loss of $1.67
So, for every 100 sales/borrows, you are losing 4 sales x $1.67 = $6.68 loss per 100 books.
Even at the full rate of 15 percent borrows (assuming each would have been a sale) you are, at maximum, losing $25/100 books (total paid royalty = $277.95). For an approximate loss of 10% of "paid" income.
All right. So that number is a chunk of change.
At the $4.99 price tag and above, you might be able to make the case that your KOLL borrows are cannibalizing your sales.
For books $3.99 or below? Not so much.
But wait! There are several more layers to this puzzle!
In the next blog entry, we are going to drill down even deeper to see what other benefits a KOLL borrow offers along with assessing KOLL + Free giveaways together to see the full benefit package of KDP Select.
Stay tuned for next week!
Cannibal image via Shutterstock.


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Author: Jennifer Forman Orth
Invading your brain since 2002.
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I am pleased to announce that my post "Square Pegs" has been selected for the 2007 science blogging anthology "Open Laboratory 2007." It is an honor to be chosen as there are not only many fine posts that will be sharing the pages, but also many more fine posts that were submitted but did not make it in this year.
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That's a great blog Jennifer. Congrats on being chosen for the anthology!Bill
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The size, shape, length, width, and girth of my fully erect penis, coupled with the undulating, tight-gripping spaciousness of her well-lubricated vagina make us totally cumpatible.
by buttfinger November 30, 2013
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One side has the word, one side has the definition. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Lotsa space for your liquids.Buy the mug


text:
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 6/9/2013 (1447 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
RCMP are on the hunt for some copper cable.
On Thursday, Headingley RCMP received a call regarding the theft of some copper wire at a Manitoba Hydro substation in the R.M. of MacDonald. It's believed the incident occurred Wednesday.
Besides the missing cable, which is estimated to be worth $20,000, damages were also incurred to a section of fence at the substation (the fence was torn apart to steal the grounding cables). Replacement costs of the fence figure to be in the $100,000 range.
If you have any information on this incident, contact Headingley RCMP at (204) 831-5929 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).


text:
Many businesses own and operate a blog. Blogging is quite popular these days, because it's a fabulous way to market your brand. But unless you're a huge organization with a dedicated marketing team, your blog may not be receiving the attention it deserves. As a small business, when you're low on time, updating the blog is likely one of the first "to do's" to be cast aside. We're here to tell you that's not the wisest choice. Blogging may not seem essential, but it's actually more important than you might think. We're going to break down the 4 reasons blogging is a crucial marketing tactic for your business.
- Want to drive site traffic?
Obviously, the answer is YES! The more traffic your website receives, the more opportunity you have to gain leads and make sales. You can drive site traffic by blogging, using social media and ranking high in online searches. Consider how many pages your website has and how often those pages are updated. Likely your business doesn't have multiple pages being restructured regularly. Blogging solves this issue as each post is one more indexed page on your site. Which means, it's one more chance to show up in search engines and drive traffic. The new content is a cue to Google and other search engines that your site is active. Blogging and social media also go hand in hand. Every time a new blog is posted, you're creating shareable content, which exposes you to a new audience. Updating blog content regularly can also help you maintain your social media presence by driving new users to your website. Bottom line, blogging works closely with search engines and social media to drive more traffic to your site.
- Do you want traffic converted to leads?
Now that your blog is driving traffic to your site, you have the opportunity to convert this traffic to leads. Every new post brings another chance to generate leads. The more you blog, the more opportunity you create. Be sure every single blog post includes a lead generating call to action. In exchange for the visitor providing their contact information, you offer something worthwhile, such as a free ebook, free webinar, free trial, etc. This automatically turns site traffic into sales leads.
- Do you want to establish authority?
If you're consistently publishing helpful content for your target customer, this will aid in you becoming an authority in their mind. Creating authority is powerful and goes a long way in elevating your brand with consumers and even within your industry. By establishing your expertise, your business develops trust and interest among potential customers. If you provide educational blog posts, prospects will enter the sales process more informed, which can lead to more productive sales conversions.
- Are you interested in long-term results?
Blog posts ranked in search engines will continue to drive site traffic and generate new leads for days, weeks, months and years to come. Your blog will be working for you even as you sleep, so to speak. This is exactly why the effort to constantly update your blog is so worthwhile. One new post has the opportunity to bring in more views and leads in the future. Not every post will be a compounding post but, the more you write, the more chance you have of generating a blog post that continuously garners new traffic, and ultimately leads.
Hopefully this serves as a reminder of how vital blogging is for your business. Though immediate results may not be seen, over time, additional traffic and leads will be automatically produced.


text:
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/4/2013 (1588 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA -- In an era in which parties stockpile dirt on one another in the political equivalent of mutually assured destruction, Justin Trudeau admits he's taking a gamble by offering to unilaterally disarm.
But the Liberal leadership front-runner is betting Canadians would rather have a leader who sticks resolutely to the high road than another purveyor of negative attacks ads and the other dark arts of modern politics -- like exploiting wedge issues and regional divisions.
"You're absolutely right, it's a bit of a gamble I'm taking," Trudeau said during an interview with The Canadian Press.
The former school teacher said the choice before him reminds him of what he used to tell students about the Cold War.
"You point a gun at someone's head and they point a gun back at you, and you've got a room full of people watching, you've only got two ways out of it. Either one of you pulls the trigger... or else one of you chooses to put the gun down and say, 'Well, if you're going to shoot me, you're going to shoot me unarmed in front of all these people.'
"And I like to believe that Canadians will respond to the latter."
The Montreal MP, eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, is expected to handily secure the leadership Sunday. He fully expects he'll quickly face a barrage of Conservative attack ads, similar to the ones that so effectively trashed the party's past two leaders, Stéphane Dion and Michael Ignatieff.
"The Conservatives are going to attack because that's what they do. This is the one way they know how to do politics and they're better at it than anyone else," Trudeau said.
While he's vowing to remain resolutely positive, Trudeau stressed he's no naive Boy Scout; he doesn't intend to simply let attacks go unanswered.
"We're working on trying to figure out how to respond in a way that's strong enough for Canadians to see that I won't be pushed around but not based around attacks and negativity," he said.
"I'm not going to sit back but I'm also not going to be dragged down to the same level as they are because across the country I have seen Canadians sick and tired of the negativity and the fighting."
But it's not just attack ads Trudeau is promising to eschew. He's rejecting the entire thesis successful political marketing means identifying potential supporters and then targeting those sympathetic segments of the population with messages tailored specifically to their concerns.
Trudeau acknowledged "micro-targeting" of voters is "an extremely effective way of doing politics."
But he contended it's a negative approach in a country as diverse as Canada. And, as practised by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, he maintained it has exacerbated regional, linguistic, cultural and religious tensions and ultimately made Canada harder to govern.
"You can get elected through the politics of negativity and division. You just can't govern worth a damn because you've gone and turned people away from the kind of active, engaged citizenship that is the source of any solution, any meaningful incremental change. And I refuse to win in such a way that would hamper my ability to govern responsibly for the entire country."
-- The Canadian Press


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|Re: Question about inflation theory
|"George Dishman"
|Sun, 19 Mar 2006 20:24:05 -0000
"George" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected] > Recently, new results were released from NASA's Wilkinson Microwave > Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite, launched in 2001 to measure the > temperature of radiant heat left over from the Big Bang, which is the > theoretical beginning to the universe. The new WMAP observations, > announced at a NASA press conference today, reveal what the universe was > like in the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. From the > microwave background, researchers teased out a new signal called the > "polarization signal." According to the conclusions of this report, > during this growth spurt, a tiny region, likely no larger than a marble, > grew in a trillionth of a second to become larger than the visible > universe. Well, I'm confused. According to Einstein nothing can travel > faster than the speed of light. If that is true, how is it that the > universe expanded from the size of a marble to something large than the > visible universe in a trillionth of a second? Releativity says an object cannot travel through space faster than the speed of light in vacuo, but that doesn't stop the sapce between objects expanding at a rate such that the distance between them increases faster than that speed. > I'm neither an astrophysicist nor a physicist, which is why I'm asking > this question here. And please be kind, as my calculus is a little rusty > these days. Any thoughts? This is probably the best introduction to the subject around: http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm HTH George (D)
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The language of poetry is particularly well-suited to capture the beauty of nature. Now, journey into the writings of poets through the ages, as they examine, respond to, and celebrate the wonders of the natural environment. Divided into four sections to reflect the four seasons, this collection includes such luminaries as William Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and many more, in a time span covering the 16th through the early 20th century. With an introduction and nature photographs by Greg Fox.
Audience: General
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 124
Published: 21st March 2014
Publisher: Sugar Maple Press
Country of Publication: US
Dimensions (cm): 22.9 x 15.2 x 0.7
Weight (kg): 0.19


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ARP Brake Hat Bolt Kit w/ Washers 5/16-24 UHL: 0.88
Product Details
The perfect upgrade for many original brake hat bolts, this ARP kit features bolts produced from only the finest quality 8740 chrome moly. Features an exclusive 12-point cap screw design and appropriate grip length per the application. All ARP brake hat bolts are drilled to permit safety wiring. Rated 200,000 psi tensile strength.
- Brake Hat Bolt Kit w/ Washers
- Thread: 5/16-24
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Bones unearthed by landscape gardeners laying a driveway at a house in Purley have been hailed as a significant archaeological discovery after it was confirmed they are at least 1,200 years old.
The skull and thigh bone discovered in Riddlesdown Road on April 14 have been analysed by experts who say they are Saxon and date back to between 670 and 775AD.
Croydon's association with the Saxons is well documented, with the original Saxon name Croindene meaning valley of the crocuses.
But this is the first time a grave of that era has been discovered this far south.
English Heritage will now be investigating whether there could be graves as far south as the possible prehistoric linear earthwork on the edge of Riddlesdown Common.
An English Heritage spokesman said: "The recent discovery is very much of archaeological interest. "It has been known for some time that a Saxon cemetery existed close to the junction of Riddlesdown Road and Mitchley Avenue but a grave of that era has never been discovered this far south.
Ancient earthworks were at times used to fix boundaries in the Saxon landscape which were then on occasion used as the location for burials. "The recently discovered human remains suggest that the distribution of graves could range as far south as the possible prehistoric linear earthwork on the edge of Riddlesdown Common.
"We are currently awaiting, via the Museum of London Archaeology, receipt of the police report concerning the discovery of the remains. "It will be of particular interest to understand whether any grave goods were present and if it was an isolated grave."
The Carpenter family that lives at the address have been informed. No further police investigation is now required and their case has been closed.


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BONN (May. 16)
The schedule of German court interrogations of eight ex-Nazis, who will testify in connection with the Jerusalem trial of Adolf Eichmann, was made public by the German Government today. All of the men have been unable to go to Jerusalem to testify, since the Israeli Government had refused to grant them immunity from arrest and possible trial for their crimes against Jews.
Under the rules, it was announced here, only representatives of the Eichmann prosecution and defense will be permitted in the courtrooms where the ex-Nazis will be questioned before German judges. The press and the public will be barred. Both sides have agreed they will not disclose the nature of the testimony here, unless that testimony is revealed by the court in Jerusalem.
First to be interrogated, on Thursday, will be Dr. Eberhard von Thadden, former expert on Jewish affairs for the Nazi Foreign Ministry. His interrogation will take place before a German judge at Neuss.
The next day, Otto Winkelmann, a former SS group leader, will be questioned at Kiel. Edmund Vessenmayer, Hitler Government liaison officer in Hungary, will face a court at Darmstadt on May 23. The following day, Dr. Franz Six, former SS officer, will be questioned at Kettelschwang, Bavaria.
Former General von dem Bach Zelewski, who led Hitler commando units during the war, will appear at a court at Nuremberg on May 25. Max Merten, former Nazi war administrator at Salonika, Greece, will face interrogation in Berlin on May 26. Finally, before a magistrate at Frankfurt, on May 29, there will be interrogations for Hermann Krumey, Eichmann's deputy in Hungary; and former Auschwitz commandant Richard Baer.


text: It may surprise you to know that the first grapes were planted in Queensland in 1860 in Roma, 500km west of Brisbane. The state also has pockets of wineries in many regions including Toowoomba, the Gold Coast hinterland, Mt Tamborine, the Scenic Rim and the Sunshine Coast hinterland. However, there are only two official wine growing regions: the Granite Belt – one of Australia's highest wine growing regions that's 220km south-west of Brisbane and famous for alternative varieties such as Tempranillo, Nebbiolo and Barbera – and South Burnett – a relatively new region on the Sunshine Coast where the sub-tropical climate is great for Verdelho, Chardonnay and Sangiovese. While we don't currently have any wines from Queensland, they're on their way. Our Tasting Panel is busy talking to local producers to secure you the state's best, so watch this space.


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Tamashii Nations is adding to their Feudal Japan-inspired Star Wars Movie Realization line with this awesome Stormtrooper Archer figure. It follows previous releases like Taikoyaku Stormtrooper with drums and Ashigaru Stormtrooper. Check out more pics below.
The archer will be available next March, and it comes with a fold-up bow, quiver and arrows, and a sword. It will be available for pre-order on September 30th at the Tamashii Web Shop for 8,856 Yen (or $85 USD)
(via Toyark)


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JERUSALEM (Jan. 27)
A recently adopted Swiss law, ordering banks in Switzerland to disclose the names of holders of secret accounts identified until now only by coded numbers, will go into effect about April 10, the Israel Foreign Ministry announced here today.
The Ministry made the announcement in reply to inquiries by Israeli residents as to the date when they might apply to Swiss banks for the disclosures authorized by the new law. Jewish organizations that have pressed for the adoption of the new Swiss law have claimed there may be valuables and money amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in Swiss banks, deposited there by Jews who had fled the Nazi regime during World War II. who had perished during the Nazi holocaust.
When the identity of the original depositors is revealed, heirs will be in a position to claim the money or valuables. The Ministry requested persons concerned not to file claims until the law becomes effective and means for implementing the new law are made public by Swiss authorities.


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- 1 of 1 Photos | View More Photos
In July Cambridge natives Michael Ray, left, and Ethan Forman took a backpacking and fly fishing trip to the Little Kennebago lake region of Maine. They spent a week outdoors in the woods of Maine and New Hampshire. They're shown here with a copy of The Daily & Sunday Jeffersonian as they crossed into Maine from New Hampshire.


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Enjoying fine wine is a lifelong learning pursuit
One of the most telling early experiences in my personal discovery of wine came neither in a cool wine cellar nor at a wine-tasting. Rather, it came in the late 1980s reading a book.
Kermit Lynch's "Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer's Tour of France" (North Point Press, 1988) fired my imagination to learn about and perhaps even visit independent producers living amidst the French vineyards. It also inspired abiding curiosity about that quintessentially French concept — terroir.
Now, Lynch has published a 25th-anniversary edition. It includes a new epilogue, updated stories about the winemakers and Lynch's 25 most memorable wines. You can order a signed copy of the book for $23 until Nov. 9 and save $7 off the regular price at www.kermitlynch.com.
Lynch writes evocatively of the romance and pleasures, as well as the frustrations and difficulties, of traveling France's back roads as a professional wine buyer. In rereading my original dog-eared copy, his description of arriving in southern France still has a magical effect:
"As one enters Provence ... the road passes through a gorge that pinches right up to the shoulder of the autoroute, then opens out upon a vast, vine-covered plain. The effect is emotionally exhilarating, like the untying of a mental knot, a release and a shock of open space within that mirrors the widening landscape without. Shortly afterward, a large road sign announces: Vous êtes en Provence."
Brilliant Provence sunshine and smells of wild lavender and rosemary practically beckon from the page. Other chapters provide beguiling glimpses of winemakers, culture and landscapes in Burgundy, the Loire Valley, Languedoc, Bordeaux and the southern and northern Rhône Valley.
Most importantly, the book inspires a desire to uncork wines from the marvelous producers that Lynch profiles so intriguingly. For me, tasting and sharing wines from his producers over the years has resulted in much pleasure, lasting friendships and insights into the elusive notion of terroir.
Today, Lynch still imports many of the passionate producers originally featured. Domaine Tempier produces earthy, meaty, yet elegant mourvèdre-based wines from Bandol near the Mediterranean Sea. Not far inland, the Brunier's Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe continues producing rich, profoundly aromatic red blends and equally intriguing white blends in and around Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
In the northern Rhône, three generations of the Clape family turn out beautifully balanced syrah-based reds in Cornas. A little farther north in Burgundy, Aubert de Villaine continues his vision of producing terrific aligoté-based white wines, while Domaine Raveneau continues producing amazingly pure and steely gems in Chablis.
Prices have risen along with the producers' fame, not an unreasonable development given the quality and simple inflation. But take heart. The wine-loving Lynch still imports lesser-known producers with plenty to offer at relatively lower prices. Try:
The 2012 Domaine du Salvard Cheverny, France (Luxury 48141; $14.99) comes from vines growing just east of Tours in the Loire Valley. The fifth-generation Delaille family now makes this tasty white from sauvignon blanc blended with a healthy dose of chardonnay.
Classic aromas of grapefruit and quince leap from the glass. Taut, crisp citrus and guava flavors layer with refreshing acidity. A touch of creaminess adds depth to the beautifully balanced dry finish. Pair with mussels steamed in white wine, butter and shallots. Highly recommended.
The 2011 Domaine Ostertag Les Vieilles Vignes de Sylvaner, Alsace, France (Luxury 48244; $22.99; available at the Waterworks and Cranberry Mall stores only) comes from the iconoclastic André Ostertag. His Sylvaner vines average 40 years old and grow in clay, gravel and granite.
The resulting wine delivers rich depth of fruit with terrific balance. The golden color unfolds grapefruit, honey and floral aromas. Ripe peach and citrus flavors carry through the dry finish. Pair with seafood crepes. Highly recommended.
The 2010 Domaine Maestracci E Prove, Corse Calvi, France (Luxury 48071; $19.99) comes from an exotic blend of niellucciu, grenache, sciacarellu and syrah grapes grown on a hot plateau on the island of Corsica. Winemaker Michel Raoust balances dark, fruity freshness with earthy complexity for a perfect complement to roasted lamb with garlic. Highly recommended.
Dave DeSimone writes about wine for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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MOTHER-of-one and former chain-smoker Arzu Anderson is poised to help Swindonians quit by sharing her own battle with and ultimate victory over her tobacco addiction.
The 46-year-old, from Priory Vale, trained as an advisor at the Swindon Stop Smoking Service after giving up the habit and hopes her story will inspire others to follow her example ahead of national No Smoking Day, on Wednesday, March 12.
This year the day of action has a 'V for Victory' theme and is set to encourage scores of smokers to stub out their habit for good.
"I was totally addicted for years and let the habit rule my entire life," she said. "So I'm proof you really can give up. If I did it, believe me, anyone can.
"I don't underestimate how hard it is, having been through it myself, and without structured help it's even harder.
"You're four times more likely to succeed with support, so make sure you give yourself the best chance."
One in five adults still smokes in Swindon, although about two thirds of smokers want to quit.
Arzu started smoking as an engineering student, aged 17, when she lived in Turkey.
"Smoking was very much the culture and I could easily get through two packets a day, especially during exams," she said.
"After graduating I moved to the UK. Back then you could still smoke on planes and I remember booking my seat at the back to do so. I became an au pair and even though I didn't smoke around the children, I had no intention of giving up. I liked it and was totally dependent."
It was only when Arzu became a mother that the truly harmful impact of smoking dawned on her. By this time she had moved to Swindon and was working as a design engineer at Tyco Electronics.
"I started to hate myself for smoking now I had a baby who needed me. I remember running out of cigarettes and having to walk to the shop with the pram, and detesting the whole thing – wasting the money, the horrible smell. I always washed my hands, but the guilt was still there," she said.
Determined to give up for her son Aidan, now 14, Arzu sought help from her GP.
"I was pointed towards a group support session at the Link Centre and also prescribed tablets. It set me on the right path, but the support and medication out now is much more advanced," she said.
"I also had my son to keep me motivated. Suddenly I realised it was crazy to keep playing Russian roulette with my life, now he relied on me. I simply couldn't let him down, so I did it for him."
Although Arzu still occasionally still thinks about smoking, she has not lit a cigarette since and over the years it has become easier.
"I don't think about it much now, whereas before I never even imagined I could live without it. But it is an ongoing battle and you've got to keep reminding yourself of all the benefits – more money, being able to breathe properly and of course being there for your kid's future. All these things made me recognise I'd be mad to go back to it."
The opportunity to help other smokers stub out the habit came by chance. Arzu was made redundant and used the money to fund her retraining to become a psychologist. Five years ago Arzu started clinics for smokers in Swindon and now works for the Stop Smoking Service.
"Lots of people say they wish they had done it much sooner. So many smokers want to stop, but just don't think it's possible because cigarettes are a crutch they rely on. Just talking things through and providing that encouragement goes a long way," she said.
"People are very appreciative and say things like I've saved their life, which is wonderful." I see people of all ages, although they are usually older and prompted by a health issue or, like me, considering the impact it has on their children."
- In Swindon, many smokers will experience years of poor health, with about 1,700 suffering from a smoking-related disease each year.
- The cost of smoking-related hospital admissions in Swindon will reach £6.9 million this year, according to the London Health Observatory Local Tobacco Control Profiles.
- Smoking is estimated to cost Swindon £1.4 million a year in terms of additional GP consultations, £119,000 in nurse consultations, and over £858,000 in additional prescription costs, according to the NICE Tobacco Control Return on Investment tool.
- Every year, second-hand smoke exposure is responsible for 500 childhood disease in Swindon, according to research by the Royal College of Physicians.
- Smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable disease and premature death in the UK. It will claim the life of one in every two smokers.
- 21 per cent of the adult population in Swindon still smoke.
- This year it is forecast that smoking will cost 260 lives in Swindon.
- A survey of more than 1,000 people across the South West shows that more than a quarter (27 per cent) of smokers in Swindon and Wiltshire said they were worried that they won't live long enough to support loved ones in times of need.
- And nine out of 10 (93 per cent) of smokers' families and friends want them to quit.


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A ROAMING quiz aims to test people's knowledge of their town when it takes to the streets of Marlow this evening.
The Marlow Walk and Quiz starts and ends at the Church Hall on the Causeway, Marlow from 7pm and aims to put residents' wits to the test during a stroll around town.
It has been organised by the Marlow Thames Rotary Club in support of the Marlow Community Youth Project, which runs 'The Crypt' youth cafe at All Saints Church.
The guided walk, followed by a two course supper and cash bar, tests teams' knowledge in categories such as 'who lived where', 'how people lived' and 'surprising Marlow facts'.
Tickets cost £12, or £6 for children on the door. The price includes supper.


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BANNING >> People inside two vehicles driving north on Blanchard Street on Thursday exchanged gunfire, police said.
According to a Banning Police Department release, witnesses said about 5:45 p.m. a minivan and a Chrysler were north on Blanchard, north of Hoffer Street when passengers from each vehicle started shooting at each other while moving, according to witnesses.
There was no evidence that any of the vehicles' passengers were wounded.
The vehicles left before officers arrived but several spent bullet cases were found in the road in the 1000 block of North Blanchard, according to the release.
An unoccupied vehicle parked in front of a home in that vicinity was struck in the front bumper.
Anyone with information on the incident can call the Banning Police Department at 951-922-3170.