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I am the partner of a father that pays CSA.
We have a child together and he has 3 children to his ex wife. I agree that BOTH parents should contribute however I do not agree on terms of the CSA. Ex wife has also got a baby with her current partner. They both work one full time in Morrisons and the other as a pool supervisor. On minimum wage and topped up obviously again by the government in receipt of benefits. £350 a month my partner paid continuously till oct when his dad died of cancer and through ansence and stress his business went under and not received a wage to make a payment. He offered to make less amounts out of savings to which the reply was I'd rather deal with csa and wait for them. He has since got a new job due having a degree and worked hard and earning 70k a year to which he would have to pay £800 a month. More than his ex earns enabling her to not have to go back to work after having her child. RIDICULOUS. Penalised for having a decent job. The kids stay th us Friday Saturday (refused any involvement during the week) should be a set amount which the other parent should have to match as BOTH should be equal not penalised for bettering your life.
We have 2 children together and when he decided to up and leave, he thought his responsibility towards them also ceased. I let things go for a number of months until eventually I decided to go down the CSA route as why should my children have to go without whilst I had to strictly budget on just my wage? They had 2 parents so surely a little help from both should be available?
The paperwork was really easy to fill in but that is about all that is easy with the process. I have to keep ringing to chase updates about the case and it often takes at least 10 minutes to get through to actually speaking to a human. They then take a further 10 minutes trying to scan read the case as the number you have to call goes to some kind of call centre and not your own individual case worker.
I did eventually receive 2 payments from their father after a number of months when it was confirmed he was working for a company. The money came directly from his wages before he even received them. This was his cue then to leave and become 'self-employed'.
My case has now been sent to their 'self-employment' team. This brings up another heap of problems and still means that my children receive a grand total of nothing from him. They have to do traces with HMRC and investigate 'things' ~ I have no idea what these things are but every time I call they are still doing their investigations. In all this time, they have spoken to him a few times but the process seems so long-winded that circumstances change and they have to start from scratch again. For example, he moved so any letters they sent were being returned.
I have read many articles and comments from other parents about the CSA and in particularly if self-employment is involved. The power just isn't there for the CSA to act quickly and set up payment schedules if a parent decides they don't want to pay anything.
All in all, the CSA can only work on information that can be supplied or that they can slowly find out themselves. This leaves the whole system open to abuse by parents that are adamant they just don't want to pay for their own children. Many times I have felt like just closing the case and calling it a day but then this is the only route open to me for my children to ever receive financial support from their father.
I receive yearly a copy of the payments he should be making. Handy! It's a bit like Bullseye, "look what you could have won". My folder for CSA is getting full of random pieces of paper with empty promises on them including booklets saying what they can do if the non-resident parent doesn't pay. It mentions taking their driving licence from them and even a prison sentence. My case has been going for a good couple of years now and I still never get an answer to my question of just when will any of these further actions take place?
The CSA are firmly stuck here with me between a rock and a hard place. I know alot of people may assume that the parent left with the children are being bitter and money-grabbing and that may be the case for some. However, I now feel like I have to speak out for my children and show them that with family comes responsibility ~ both financially and emotionally. The CSA is supposedly meant to help with this but it just isn't at the moment for me and as such only receives a 1 star rating as it is barely doing anything in my case.
I am a single father with 3 children, with the same ex-partner, of which one lives with me full time and the other two 40% of it. My ex has to date refused to pay her maintenance and this has resulted in a Deduction from Earnings Order - as most will know this is when her wages are legally deducted by the amount she owes in maintenance payments. However, since day 1 of this arrangement, her employer has not once paid what they are supposed to pay nor have they paid on time.
Every single month I phone as the payment is later than their deadline of 19th of each month (3 weeks after the deduction was made) and I usually don't get it until the 4th or 5th week and when I do get it, it is substantially lower than the schedule states it should be.
When they get questioned about this they claim a change of circumstances has altered the schedule, but they never back this up with evidence nor do the alert the CSA to the change, they generally wait until a month or two later when they are asked to explain. My ex is now at a stage in arrears that 40% of her wages (the max. legal amount) should be paid to clear the balance.
The CMaED threaten them with court action and legal sanction month after month but have yet to follow through. After nearly two years I thought we had a result when I was told a Criminal Compliance (CCT) case was going to run, which effectively was going to bring the employer to court for non-payment in breach of the law. Yet again though, this was "postponed" as a new change of circumstances was claimed. I was furious and asked what it was - my ex was apparently working less hours and therefore the schedule was wrong. Now, a CCT cannot run apparently, if an outstanding change of circumstances exists so I would have though to back this up the employer would be expected to demand evidence, and given the nature of the claimed change, surely a simple print-out of recent payslips faxed or posted would take a matter of days at worst. Two months have since passed and not one shred of evidence has been sent OR EVEN ASKED FOR AGAIN.
So, when I called today to find out why not, I was assured that they would send out threatening letters to the employer - the same threatening letters that have been sent out a multitude of times over the last year or two. I'm sure this time it will send shockwaves through their hearts.
Do your job CMaED - ENFORCE payment.
my son is 18 and started work two years ago go even a letter from a judge saying my son started work two years ago but my ex still claims child benefit i have asked the csa why am i still paying when this is clearly fraud they agreed its fraud but will not do anything about it because on there screen it says she still gets child benefit sent letters to child benefit not one reply back sent letter to the police but you would think fraud is fraud but nope they say its up to csa and they will not get involed and csa told me its nothing to do with them so she gets away with fraud
i pay £80 per week now times that over 2 years ya no wonder she still claimes even sent letter to my MP what a waste of time that was
The Child Support Agency is a joke.It took my wife over 9 years to start getting any kind of payment from her ex husband,beat that!!!
You can not operate an honour system where non resident parents honestly disclose their true income voluntarily.Unfotunately alot lie because they wrongly assume its down to the mother or her new partner to pay for the kids letting them off the hook.
The CSA case workers are in the main powerless individuals that you talk to,overwhelmed by the system,too many rules,too many complaints and red tape abound.Most get tired of hearing the same over and over,hearing too many complaints would get anybody down.
I can not believe what we went through,even worse when my wife eventually got her divorce case to court herself by paying for it out of my pocket (no legal aid!)she only managed to get a proportion of their joint property.He claimed to have no money to pay my wife so a forced sale had to be made,but he had 30 days to come up with his half to stop her taking control and selling at true market value.Low and behold he came up with the money in full knowing he was getting it cheap.This was because the valuation was so low by the jointly appointed surveyor.He had run the place down deliberately damaging it,it looked like a bomb had hit it.
He even came to court without a solicitor and this made a mockery of proceedings and even though we won we paid most of our own costs because even though the judge awarded "reasonable costs"to us,her ex said £7k was unreasonable and paid just £2K,ouch!!The judge proclaimed that maintenance was a job for the CSA and not this court.We could have sorted the matter right there and saved time and tax payers money,that was back in early 2001.What was wrong with the courts deciding child maintenance like in the old days?
For the court her ex husband presented accounts that were a real joke,a child could have done it.He is self employed,pays no incometax,lives with his partner who owned a lovely 4 bed detached house down on the south coast and they even regularly went to Florida to stay in her villa,very nice for them!The CSA are not interested in investigating peoples life styles,they seem to accept whatever the non resident parent says.
When the CSA tried contacting him he would evade them by returning letters unopened writing "Not at this address" that worked for years even though his kids had stayed there for short breaks just a couple of times in the early days.He then broke contact with them about 7 or 8 years ago,his choice,he could not care if they were alive or dead!
We tried contacting our local MP,this did help a little as after months of no or little news the CSA did respond.Try this,it may help because the CSA are not scared of jo public but they do care about the Government breathing down their necks.So called MPs cases get noticed!
CSA failed us big time,they never even sent officers to his address to check our story out,so frustrating.By the time they eventually did go years later they had moved house!
By luck and my own hard work I found out where he was living and reported this to the CSA.After much wrangling with them to take action as they were on the verge of dropping her case,a helpful case worker finally telephoned him.He was there at home and claimed to be someone else! Luckily the CSA officer was very helpful,contacted the local council and found out he did live there and they remembered him because he had delayed in paying his community charge,even argued about paying it in full.This prompted another call as this proved he was living at this new address,his own flat,he even had a mortgage on it claiming he earned £40K per year to get it!We asked for a proper assessment of the non residents income to be made but this was rejected without further investigation even though we had hard evidence he had a business and property overseas,this just did not count.
After so many court cases we have lost count,the CSA were thrown out by Magistrates again and again for not being prepared and unable to answer his barristers questions.Yes thats right,the guy paid thousands to solicitors etc rather than pay for his own children.Just think of the waste of tax payers money for the CSA going into court back and fourth a dozen times or more!
Eventually the CSA came back to us with an award of about £6 per week!! We appealed against this taking the CSA to a Tribunal,her ex was in attendance and it was a great day.The judge was assisted by an ex inland revenue officer and they tore his accounts appart and proclaimed the CSA incompatent.Unfortunately due to lack of evidence of income,re- accounts,they could only disallow his unreasonable business expences which were considerable.Worse than a dodgy MP he claimed for as much as possible including holiday flights 4 times per year to Florida and hire car etc etc.It added up to thousands,even disallowed his "rent" he claimed he paid his partner at their house.He said she was just his landlady but unfortunately for him there was enough evidence from his own mouth and things he had written to prove she was his partner.Even his own kids wrote letters confirming they shared a bedroom when they visited.
When quizzed at the tribunal about the Florida villa he said the one year he went the pool was green,hardly luxury!When asked about his Volvo with private registration he claimed it was scrapped!! I would like to visit that salvage yard.When asked about his mortgage application where he claimed income of £40K+ he said he lied,it went on and on.Poor guy,this evidence he provided really shocked the Tribunal and its a wonder he has never been fined or put away in gaol.
The story goes on and on,breath taking really,trying to claim he was ill too,all sorts of rubbish,these kind people really do exist you know and the CSA were useless never questioning him and always taking his word as true with no hard evidence.Finally she was awarded £13K for 9 years backdated money,a tiny sum from a guy claiming on one hand to have a jet set lifestyle with £40K a year,then on the other paying no tax as he earns less than minimum wage!
Even now the payments are spread over I don't know how many years,crazy.He has his place in the UK on the market to sell and will be off to Florida,you can bet on it.
We gave up really,better than nothing.Then he decides to fight the Tribunal ruling way after the deadline for doing so.Pays more solicitors etc but delayed making any payment.He was buying time hoping to do a runner on the liability order and would rather waste the money than see his ex get anything.
Finally he lost his appeal but who really suffers? The kids.The eldest boy is 22 and youngest nearly 18,too little too late for us.
I am a far better father than he could have been anyway but the kids still have hangups about the father that rejected them as a liability,shame.
Some officers in the CSA were understanding,others were not and seemed to believe everything my wifes ex partner said,crazy!We need a better system to handle the bad eggs,CSA claims to have powers but they never use them.Some poor guys are getting nailed to the wall,totally wrong,after setting up a second family home some are getting treated like criminals,losing their new homes to pay the ex wife and kids.This is all wrong,all I ask is play fair,CSA don't seem to care or can not cope.
Hope you found my review of interest and take the time to review it,much appreciated.I have reviews on DooYoo and Ciao website too,please take a look.
My experiences with the CSA are different to the other reviews I have read and I wanted to give a more positive angle on this government run body. It hasn't let me down on the contrary it has supported me and offered invaluable help in securing maintenance for my children.
The CSA or Child Support Agency is part of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. They will chase up, find and collect money from non-supportive, non-resident parents. In other word those parents who bring a child into the world but do not want to help the child financially. It recognises that parents have a duty to provide for their children. The CSA have enforcement powers that allow deductions from earnings and will even prosecute a defaulter.
My ex was a very high earner having worked in the City all of his life. He threatened to give up work when we were separating because he said that he would never support us. He was eventually made redundant as a result of poor performance. He has since worked abroad to dodge maintenance. I do not want to take him to court because I don't want the contact with him, although I would be better off. I contacted the CSA when I found out he had been working back in the City for some time. My ex hasn't given me a penny for the children for three years. They are teenagers and I think it is just that he should be giving them something to make their lives easier.
The CSA is without doubt a seriously flawed system. It needs to be straightened out immediately. It needs to listen to those who have used the system and have experienced its failing's first-hand and it needs to learn from their experiences. It does however have some very caring people running the operation, these people are as frustrated by the procedures as the users. I have encountered many helpful people who have made my journey easier. I have been handled with care and have been kept abreast of the numerous developments that my ex has instigated.
The first huge flaw in the system is that a parent doesn't have to volunteer to pay child maintenance; it is the burden of the resident parent to find out if the other parent is working and then inform the CSA or take the case to court. There are a few parents who volunteer to support their children and contact the agency themselves, I admire those few. If the parent has been working for years you cannot claim back maintenance because you failed to notify them. What a fantastic system we have! It is the children who suffer and something should be done to amend this ridiculous rule. Both parents have a responsibility to their children. We should be supporting our children not making it okay for parents to dodge their financial responsibilities. There must be a new law put in place that enforces this. As a mother and a foster carer I know the cost of picking up the pieces financially and emotionally.
The second rule which I found ludicrous was that the CSA has up to six weeks to enter the case into the system. I was lucky I was told because my case only took just over two weeks. The non-paying parent is then contacted. In my case he pretended that he wasn't the person they were looking for, he tried to delay the initial contact which didn't work because the calls are recorded, so when he did finally admit he was who they were looking for, they had recording to verify they had notified him months before.
If you think the calculation is unfair, you have the right to oppose this decision; the appeal will go forward and be reviewed in a court of law. If your circumstances change you have an obligation to notify the CSA, this however isn't a legal obligation. When an assessment is made of their earnings it only takes into account the earnings over the last year or however long they have been in that employment if shorter. If they are paid out dividends or bonuses this won't show immediately and won't be calculated. Again it is your duty to ask the CSA to do an update on earnings. I was advised to do this annually. They say it is a criminal offence if someone fails to give the CSA information or gives information that they know is false. Realistically they are not going to chase all parents up or check their salaries. It should be a legal requirement although the CSA will take them to court if they found out and the parent could be fined up to £1,000. They say they are successful in around 95% of these cases. In my ex-husbands case £1000 is nothing, what does he have to loose? nothing! and the financial gains are substantial if he keeps quite about his substantial bonus.
There is a nice little loophole in the calculations, if you pay into a pension this can't be calculated towards maintenance. My very clever ex-husband discovered this and immediately dissolved half of his salary into his pension fund. I am fortunate that I was made aware of this and I am now appealing. I have been told that because it is an unreasonable amount that he will not be allowed to continue to do so and the pension will be included in the calculations. I have the CSA to thank for advising me and sending me a variation of assets form. I am appealing against this decision and hope for my children's sake that it will be upheld.
I am fortunate that the people I talked to at the CSA were supportive and very helpful. I felt that they were all against the rules and red tape that govern them. They went out of their way to patiently explain and guide me through the process. Five months later I have had my first payment, it was taken directly from his earnings, and without the CSA I wouldn't have seen a penny.
My conclusion is, fight for your children. I let them down by not doing anything sooner. It is both parents right to support their children. We have a government body that will help us do that. It isn't perfect but there are kind, warm caring people on the other end of the phone. I had heard many stories over the years, completely annihilating the CSA. Don't be deterred as I was. They care and I was dealt with, with respect and dignity.
I am giving this a 4 star for the lovely, helpful staff that I encountered and not for the system.
CSA - CHILD non-SUPPORT AGENCY
I'm sure I cant be the only one that's un-impressed with the service "provided" by this Government agency, I use provided in the loosest term possible.
If it wasn't bad enough that before you speak to anyone you have to go through the automated system to allow them to connect you to someone dealing with your case, only to speak to someone who 99% of the time knows nothing about your case.
They then tell you some cock and bull story, take a number and tell you that your caseworker will call you back, this has been told to me on many occasions and never has it happened.
They then send you letters telling you that they have set up a payment schedule for you to receive the monies owed to you. I received one of these letters in the middle of last month telling me that my first payment on the new schedule was due on the 8th of this month, given that it was a Monday and processing of BACS payments can take an extra couple of days depending on when they are processed I waited until the end of the week before calling them to find out what was happening. You can imagine my shock when I was told that the date they gave me ( 8th ) was when the payment was due but in fact the paying party had until the 19th of next month to make the payment and only if it has not been received by then will they pursue the monies.
Am I the only one to fail to see the point in sending out letters with dates that really are not worth the ink it took to print them. I asked them why they send out letters that are giving misleading information and all I got as a response was that they had received several complaints about this and it has been mentioned to "management" and they would be addressing it later this year. Pathetic!!!
The other gripe I have with the CSA is that when you start your case, if you do not know where the non resident parent is or how to contact them then the CSA will look for then in their usual lackadaisical manner and then once they track them down they will open the case. In some cases if the non resident is the father, some will deny paternity leading to DNA tests. My point in this part is that the CSA will only start the case when they make first contact with the non resident & whilst things are being set up they will incur arrears & these get added on to the payment schedule. Why do they only start the case from then?
In my case they took over a year to find my childs father as he had changed his name, but they don't then start the case from when I contact them, and the year it took for them to find him does not get taken into account or the years he missed but only from the time they make first contact. And I found this frustrating as I had been in touch with them years earlier but as I said he had changed his name so they closed the case, it wasn't until I then saw him and reported where he was working that they would start to try and make contact with him.
Anyway, my rant is over I just wanted to share my experience with you so that you know roughly what to expect before going to them for help.
So this is my own personal experiences of the service they give. Im sure others have been successful.
I want to give the a rating of 0 stars for this but it won't let me!
I know that the majority of reviewers will probably be mothers but I have known fathers that are having major problems with this excuse for a help line.
The Child Support Agency (CSA) is part of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. Their role is to make sure that parents who live apart from their children contribute financially to their upkeep by paying child maintenance.
A high price to pay if you engage with these people.
Case Number 1:
A mother splits from her partner and when she approaches her ex partner to help with the bringing up of their child he replies no.
She then is meant to call the CSA, and try to resolve the problem.
After trying to get through for days, being put on hold, passed from pillar to post and then finally getting a human voice in the form of a spotty foreign teenager, you kind of want to throw yourself off a cliff than be spoken to by someone who knows nothing about children and barely has passed the legal age themselves.
When filling them in on the details, they then inform you that nothing can be done for all the time that the ex hasn't paid anything. So you only receive payments from the date you have called up.
A few weeks later they get in contact with her to tell her they cant find the father. But as we all know, facebook is a well known source for finding things out on people, and she logged on to find where he was working.
When she told them where he was it was another 5 weeks till her 'case worker' got in contact and again the payment was delayed for several more weeks.
Payments were scheduled to go into her bank and then they weren't as he was un-contactable. Then he was found then 3 weeks later one payment of £12.50 went into her bank.
£12.50 I hear you say. By this point she knew that the father had 2 jobs and was on very good money. So she called them again to inform them that he wasn't telling the truth. 3 weeks later her 'case worker' called again to say that they are working on this case and will be in touch.
This was 18 months ago and she hasn't heard from them at all.
Case 2:
A father splits form the mother and has a two year old son. He pays £40 per week in cash to her. 1 year later she decides she doesn't want him anymore and drops the child off at the fathers house. He takes full responsibility for him and the mother sees the child once a week.
The father has to call CSA for help getting money from the mother, but she moves around all the time and they can't get hold of her.
After weeks of calling, he gives up and goes through the court.
That was 1 year ago and still she doesn't pay.
Basically, it doesnt help to call them. They take so much from the other parent and the parent with responsibility only gets a certain percentage of that money. Then if they are on benefits themselves, they get some money knocked off from them as tax credits class it as income?!?!?
The best way of dealing with it is between each other. If you can come to a amicable agreement and pay in cash weekly then everyone is happy.
The above two cases are myself and my boyfriend.
we can do without the money but its not the point. Both absent parents still get to see their children but dont pay a penny. One even keeps the child benefit payments for themselves and doesn't pass it on.
Both me and my partner work full time just to provide our children with the things they like, want and need. We don't get handouts, just our wages.
The CSA needs to cease trading. They aren't reaching those that need it, they are confusing, time consuming and basically (based on my own experiences) rubbish.
*Please note that this is my opinion and experience. It does not reflect other cases.
The CSA, child support agency. Where do I start?
Firstly, this is more about my experience with this 'service'. I can't tell you any more than what I know.
*What is the CSA?*
This is a service which is meant to help parents with care receive regular maintenance payments from the non resident parent.
They calculate the amount of maintenance by considering the non-resident parents income and arrange a payment schedule. Apparently if the non-resident parent denies being related to the child the CSA can order a paternity test which is charged to that parent.
*First impressions*
I first heard about the CSA when my best friend had her baby. She knew the dad from school but as they weren't in a relationship at the time of conception she didn't know his address, just the area he lived. She managed to get a result within 3 or 4 weeks after they had found him from only a small amount of information provided by her. She has had no problems and 4 years later is still receiving regular payments.
Well done CSA...you might think...yes they hunted him down but the fact of the matter is this bloke is a rather decent bloke anyway and even when he decided he couldn't handle the responsibility of a child he continued paying. A year later he came to his senses and now sees the child regularly, the payments come out of his wages and everything is friendly.
*About my case*
My case is completely different. I won't go into too much detail but I feel the information I give is relevant. My ex left me when I was pregnant, after having my son I started a relationship with an old flame from the past. We moved in together when my son was about 7 months old. I receive Child tax credit and child benefit. That is all.
From the day he was born my ex visited every now and then and from the age of about 2 or 3 months he would care for our son every other weekend for 2 nights. He promised to help with buying things etc but over the first year he provided us with about £200 worth of nappies, milk etc. That's it. A lot less than I was buying for him, aside from that it wasn't regular. I never knew when he would turn up with things so would buy it all anyway so it wasn't saving me anything.
After a year of living day to day I had had enough of not knowing what was happening and contacted the CSA.
I was contacted a few weeks after applying saying that he had agreed to make payments etc. However it wasn't as simple as that. He had told them that he gave me £50 a week!!! AND that he had our son every weekend!! LIES! The lady on the phone told me in a really matter-of-fact tone and I disagreed asking if he was paying me £200 a month would I really be bothering to go to them to get less??
A week or so after my maintenance schedule arrived. After applying in September 2009 I was due my first payment in December. I was rather impressed...but again it wasn't so straight forward. Come December he changed jobs, he told me he had informed them and I called them to make sure. 'Yes he has told us, there will be no re-assessment periods everything should go ahead as normal'.
Well the payment date came and went, 3 or 4 phone calls and I was told to bear with it and wait. The fifth call I was told that 'he has changed jobs and we don't know where he is working'. I KNEW! I informed them of the date he started, where he was working, what hours and listed the dates he couldn't collect our son because he was working and even when he had bragged on facebook about how much he had been paid! They thanked me and said they could use that information.
I finally got the reassessment sheet and was told that because he wasn't working I would get ...NOTHING!
Again, I informed them of where he was working and AGAIN, was told to wait.
More recently I have been assigned a case worker...I am yet to actually speak to her though as she is never in and when she does call back its at 7:50pm when I am putting my son to bed.
This morning I received two letters telling me how much I am entitled to. Though both letters state different amounts. I was told he would have to pack pay from September when the claim was submitted, however the letter say December. I don't see how it could take 5 months when they have all of his details. I feel the reassessment is wrong as he has changed to a higher paying job with more hours and can manage to run a brand new car and go out every night... but that's just my opinion. I suppose I'm bitter but I think I'm allowed to be at this point. I am due to be getting the payment schedule soon but to be honest I'm not holding my breath. We got this far last year and I'm still waiting so unless they have magically grown brains I don't see how this time will be different.
*A better option*
My partner also has a son, his ex left him when she found out she was pregnant and he continued to offer help and support her. He has given her £100 a month and has his son every weekend. Because him and her failed to get on she contacted the CSA and was told that he would have to pay £135 a month, of which she would get £80. She decided to go ahead with it, but my OH suggested they kept it privately as he would pay less and she would get more. They agreed and both are happy.
If I could have don things privately I would have, but as it is I waited a year and nothing came from him. The CSA was my only option and I assumed things would be sorted. They are not. However IF/WHEN they are then at least it will be regular and mediated. Some people are impressed with the service, but then some people have exs that are willing to help and give information. Well that's a given...if the bloke is decent enough then I'm sure the CSA wasn't needed anyway, but in the case of those who want to dodge it for as long as possible I think the service is awful! It shouldn't take 5 months to 'track down' someone whose information you have, if they fail to comply within the first 2 months you should repossess their car or something! Why should they be allowed to 'forget' to pay for their child?
I am from both sides of the Child Support Agency sides. I have a son from a previouse relationship who I have never received any money for but that was my choice. The farther was an idiot he never had his name on the birth certificate and told me to have an abortion in the begining because he wasnt ready to be a farther at 26 years of age. I told him I would do it on my own with no help and have done ever since. He was sub-contract employed anyway so they wouldnt have been able to prove how much he earnt he also knew how to get away with paying due to friends of his that had been doing it for years.
A few years later I met my current partner who I have a child and one on the way with he had also got a son from a previouse relationship. Every week he was paying £31 that we were going into the local post office and paying it by their payment slips, but most weeks when we were going to collect his son we were getting a mouthful because she hadnt received her money how can that be our fault when I had the slips to prove we had paid. We tried phoning for her and csa would only shun us it is up to her to phone and that they had our payment recorded.
We decided because she had got married that we would do it as a private matter and give her the money with a book for her to sign to prove we were paying. This worked out great she got her money we had no greif from her it was lovely.
A few months after she decided £31 wasnt enough and contacted the csa who did confirm that this was an appropriate amount for one child on an earning of £223 per week we still have rent and bills also other children to take care for.
Recently my partner has been made redundant which means we can now not pay her the money. We contacted the CSA and they informed us that we would have to pay £5 per week because that is the minimum. We continued to do this privately until we received a letter from the Jobcentre explaining that they were already taking out £5 per week from his jobseekers allowance even though we had had an agreement with the csa, luckily the week that they started taking the money we hadnt paid her due to being away on holdiay so we havent over paid her. We also pay for karate lessons for him and I will always make sure he has clothes and shoes and well fed when he is here with us because I still work I would never see him go without.
2 weeks after being made redundant we received a phone call CSA "you owe us £1300". This was backdated payments that he had missed I asked for a run down of these payments and they sent me a letter through with all the information for the first 4 months my partner hadnt paid anything and I asked him why. He was out of work at the time and that he wasnt claiming jobseekers due to being self employed before. He told me the csa had told him he didnt need to pay anything.
When he contacted them he told them he was out of work and was there any way that we could pay a small amount each week. They told us no it had to be paid in full. "how are we meant to find that money" was my partners response. Little did we know they could see all the credit cards he owned and informed him that he had £2000 on a credit card not that it bothered them that this credit card was already at £4000 and that he owned another 2 over £2000 that were full not that they cared that there was another family they were making suffer for this. Best thing is she wasnt getting a penny of the money that they wanted because she wasnt working at the time it was state money and that was who had it.
It is a sin that now it is back through the csa when us or her have even asked for it to be done that way when he gets a job again this will all be changed I can assure you of that. They are the most impolite service who will ruin the peoples lives who will always pay for their child and wants to be there for them and will let the no good scum fall off the radar and they will probably be dead before they even find them.
If you can go private if you have a good farther in the childs life I would advise it. If you have an idiot like me go to work part time if you can and they will not get involved because it is seen as a private matter it is a 3rd party that you dont need.
I am the mother of a 3 month old child and have recently received a letter from csa saying that my baby's dad has only got to pay 2.50 a week as he's claiming benefit and that its not getting backdated. He doesn't want to have any contact with our baby but has said he will pay. But all I've received since the birth is 20 pounds. He hasn't even brought our baby anything for when she was born.
I disagree with their decision because I know he does work when he can get work, and that he has several times since I've given birth (he's self-employed), but I can't prove it as I don't live in the area anymore. He even gets money in a dodgy way so he can go out with his mates and does what he pleases. I've called the csa but they've said there's nothing I can do as I don't have proof of him working. Its so annoying as he lives at his mums rent free, has no bills and to me it feels like he is not taking any responsibility. You would think he's a child but hes not as hes 28. I've even asked him, before getting in contact with csa, to come up with our own agreement. I mentioned about writing down what our child needs and then going half but he said no and to do it through csa. I now know why he's done it this way.
I feel so let down by the csa as I think he should pay a little bit more. I'm not asking for loads just for the right amount, as what can I get for 2.50. It doesn't even pay half the price for nappies. I'm thinking about cancelling the payment and do it completely alone as that is what I've done so far.
How can they let people like my ex get away with this. It take two to make a baby and it should be both to make sure that the child has what it needs. How can csa think 2.50 is acceptable.
The CSA make sure parents who live apart from their children contribute financially to their upkeep by paying child maintenance...... APPARENTLY !!
Child maintenance is regular, reliable financial support that helps towards a child's everyday living costs.... ALLEDGEDLY!!
The non-resident parent pays child maintenance to the parent with the main day-to-day care ....SUPPOSEDLEY
The CSA can take payments from the non-resident parent and pass them straight on to the parent with care.......SELECTIVELY
You can probably see a pattern emerging here and lets face it, its not looking too good for the CSA.
Now Id heard plenty of negativity regarding the CSA but had also heard from some fathers how money was taken straight from their wages etc so I was in no doubt that when I applied to the CSA, after three years of being promised or messed about with regards financial support by the ex, that they would sort out a fair and suitable agreement.
I checked out their website and after logging in thought that it was comprehendable and I subitted an online request.... fast forward two months and it was still all quiet so I called to speak to someone. That someone turned into four different people at four different branches, general enquiries, Dudley, Litchfield and Shrewsbury.
Eventually a guy on my sixth phone call took pity on me and admitted that although I had a reference number there was no trace of my application on the system. He re-took all my details over the phone and gave me a case number. Finally I thought Id reached someone who could help, someone who knew what they were doing only for him to end the conversation with 'Please leave 12 weeks before chasing this claim as we have a back-log'.
Well Id waited three years so I guess three more months couldnt harm ...
I phoned on the three month deadline date to be told that my case had been moved to Falkirk !! To be honest I think that at this point I may have cried so the lad on the phone out of only pity Im sure tells me that this must be because there is a previous case open up North. I assure him hes mistaken and he assures me that there is an open case with in excess of 20,000 outstanding!
Obviously this isnt the time or place to go into my thoughts as I realised that my child wasnt actually his first and secondly how the hell does one dodge the CSa for so long to reach that amount in arrears?
I dont want to stray from the subject anyhow but seriously how are the CSA not able to trace this father in all those years? What hope does it leave me?
Anyhow I chased this up for the next three months only to get some smarmy letter from the ex solicitor (Yes despite owing 20,000 he is still able to obtain legal funding for a solicitor who will shortly be dragging me and my hard earned cash through the courts) stating that CSA papers have now been filled in and I will be receiving news shortly.
....And I am entitled to ....drum roll please ..
please bear with me on this as I approach my climax
Zilch, nada, zip, niente, rien, a big fat £0.00
And how? In the months that he mananged to stall he gave up working and became a full time student - Now Im sure there will be comments passed amongst you and Ill perhaps get the odd nasty PM but in my minds eye that is one serious loophole?
The CSA seems to work perfectly for those fathers (non resident parents) who actually want to support their children but as for those that dont the CSA really do in my opinion need to toughen up.
Needless to say Im going to rate the CSA with a one lone star and Id like it to be awarded to the guy that actually had the decency to tell me the reason that I was getting nothing as the paperwork tells me nothing except the big fat £0.00 staring at me.
I have / have had no guidance as to what I could do next or when I could re-apply. I have no tabs on the ex so know nothing of his business or if he is indeed or still a student although have since learned that he works at the weekend.
I must apologise now if there is garbling, if its hard to read or if it just offends anyone as Im sure that you can imagine it is a subject that causes my head to pound and my heart to race .. in fact is it possible that im having a panic attack sat here at my keyboard ? ...
Sadly a lot of parents experiance problems with the CSA, whether its due to delays, errors or maladministration, or whether they are PWC or NRP.
Ultimately its our children that become the real victims.
Take a look at ~
The site is packed with information, with more due to be added.
For help, advice and support, you can access the forum by clicking the forum link ~ it's all completely free.
If you have an experience with the CSA that you are happy to share with others, please add it to the site.
afairercsaforall have now started a PETITION for 'A FAIRER CSA FOR ALL'. The petition covers ~
# The CSA having no legal duty of care.
# Tax Credits & Disability elements.
# Non residents parents accrual of arrears courtesy of the CSA.
# Assessing Income.
# Shared Care.
# Complaints to the CSA.
~ the full petition can be found at afairercsaforall.co.uk, please come show your support.
afairercsaforall are proud to support the 'End child poverty campaign'.
Child support agency.. What a joke.. I have been with the child support agency since August 2007 .. Since that date I have had 4 payments from my previous partner.. The arrear currently stand at £1300.. As yes it makes my blood boil that he will not help with my daughters living costs and yet I cannot stop his access due to the law. Since the payments have stopped I have been chasing the csa weekly to try and make them do something and anything to enforce the monthly payments and to get the arrears paid off. The csa is a waste of space and money as they will not do anything until the arrears reach £2000 and even then they have told me that it will be a long time before anything happens. I have to say that if you are claiming through the csa good luck to you all we will all need it.
CSA......supposed to stand for child support agency!!
ive been with the csa for 4 years and its been a right pain to try and get help with my childs funding,i went the first year with no financial help at all from "the father" it was an immense struggle as my child was a baby at the time and needed clothes, nappies, milk, and not to mention all the accesories needed all of which i had to save up for.
when payments did finally start i wondered why there was a deduction for his step children as 15% is allowed for the first one and 10% for each one after,even though they get csa support from their father,it was a farce.not to mention the endless phone calls i had to make to sort it out and then had a bigger phone bill to boot!!!
meanwhile i got £10 a week and my childs father was having abroad holidays left right and centre, bought a house with his mistress, new kitchen built, new cars, all designer clothes...the list was endless, but couldnt even bring his child a packet of sweets on his not so regular visits!!!
then came the arrears,and even though for months my child went without,because i was then on benefits i was allowed my £10 but the rest went to the government,so my child never got her arrears,in the end my ex paid £25 and my child got £10 of it.
the payments have been sorted for a year now,and have been recieving it ok,but got a letter last month saying its all going to change,and there are two choices given
ALL the amount will come to me but my working tax credit will change to make up for it
make an agreement with ex that he pays the amount to me(which after all the fuss in the first place he will agree but never stick to it)
so really there is only one choice to be had.
i think in principal the csa is a good idea if it was done properly,but in practice its just made life difficult as its the child that suffers in the end because they have gone without


text:
Las Vegas -- Tatyana Designs opened its 10th Bettie Page store, on Newbury Street in Boston.
"We are confident that our new Boston location will track the success of our other nine company-owned outlets all located in prime 'street' or up-scale mall locations. We are looking at additional East Coast locations as we aggressively pursue our growth strategy," said Tatyana Designs co-CEO Jan Glaser.
Bettie Page, which targets 18-35 year-old, fashion-conscious women, specializes in contemporary designs inspired by the 1950's and the iconic pin-up star Bettie Page.

subset: commoncrawl


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These potatoes are full of rambunctious spice and tangy tomato, golden with turmeric, and fragrant with garlic and ginger. Breaking the potatoes, rather than mashing or slicing, gives a delight of texture. The variety of sizes means that each piece of potato has absorbed differing amounts of flavor, making each bite unique. It's all about variety, that spice of life. The potatoes are good hot, but they are also good cold. But like Goldilocks, I find room temperature is just right.–Marlena Spieler
Gingered Tomato-Curry Potatoes Recipe
- Quick Glance
- Serves 4
- 1 pound small new potatoes, such as Jersey Royals, Pink Fir Apples, or creamers
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- Several large pinches sea salt, preferably coarse grain or flaked
- 5 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped ginger
- 6 to 8 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 2 teaspoons yellow or black mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- Large pinch of ground coriander
- Pinch of asafetida
- Medium to large pinch of red pepper flakes
- 4 to 6 large ripe tomatoes, grated over the large holes of a box grater
- Pinch of ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1. Boil the potatoes in their skins until they are just tender; drain and set aside. When cool enough to handle, hold on to each with a clean towel and peel, then break the potatoes up coarsely with a fork, each potato into 3 or so pieces; remove any extra skin that can be picked out and toss the broken potatoes with the turmeric, using a little more than called for in the recipe, if needed, to turn the potatoes a golden yellow. Season to taste with salt.
- 2. In a nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, shallots, and mustard seeds. Cook until the mustard seeds start to pop a little, then sprinkle in the cumin seeds, coriander, asafetida, and red pepper flakes.
- 3. Add the tomato and cook mixture over medium heat until it makes a sauce, then gently add the potatoes and toss them in the tomato mixture until well combined.
- 4. Continue to cook down until the tomatoes turn into a thick sauce that clings to the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and sprinkle with ground cumin. Serve warm, or at room temperature, sprinkled with the chopped cilantro.
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text:
Some do it because they like to tinker, some do it for the competition and others do it to be around friends with a common goal.
One thing they can all agree on is the real-world engineering experience they are receiving while a part of the the Dunlap Eagles Robotics Team.
Some do it because they like to tinker, some do it for the competition and others do it to be around friends with a common goal.
One thing they can all agree on is the real-world engineering experience they are receiving while a part of the the Dunlap Eagles Robotics Team.
"We're trying to give them leadership skills and build an interest in science and technology and mathematics," said Gordon Mills, DERT coordinator.
Established in 2005, DERT began as a group effort with the Peoria Heights High School robotics team as they built a robot for the regional FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competition at Purdue University.
After seeing how much his students enjoyed it, Mills and a school board member approached the school board with the possibility of making it a club at DHS.
Switching from a collaborative effort to one squarely on Mills' and other volunteers' shoulders, was not easy.
"It was a big change," Mills said. "When we became our own team, there were a lot of logistics — fundraising and coordination of all of the teams."
On the surface it may seem like all DERT does is produce robots, but the club is more than that.
There are two mechanical robotics teams, one electrical team, an IT and website design team, an animation team, a 3D modeling team and a public relations team.
"Pretty much the whole team is run like a company with different departments," Mills said. "They each have to kind of fulfill their responsibility to be successful."
While their big competition at Purdue isn't until March, DERT is currently preparing for the local VEX robot competition Dec. 18. This small-scale robot competition is for Peoria-area schools.
"The idea is to give them practice and experience and problem solving to figure this out and what the robots can do on the small scale," Mills said. "If we're going to make mistakes, let's make them on the small (robots) because we can fix those easily."
"They're learning to work as a team," Mills said. "They're learning different aspects of different robots and what to expect of them, how to program them and things like that."
The local showcase will most likely feature two robots from each team. Mills said this gives more people a chance to get involved that normally would not. This year the team has around 35 students on its roster.
The competition itself is run like any other athletic event. First, because schools take more than one robot team, they are split up and paired with robots from other schools. For instance, one robot from Dunlap could be teamed with a robot from Richwoods.
The idea of the competition is to complete certain tasks using the robots and work as a team.
One such task has a robot lift plastic doughnuts and put them on a post, while another aspect is to get a robot to lift itself off the ground by climbing a ladder. Points are given to teams for completing different tasks.
"(Students) had to get together and decide, 'Do we want (the robot) to focus on picking up rings, do we want it to just be able to lift itself up or do we want a defensive one that can get in the way of everyone else and keep them from scoring?'" Mills said. "Once they decided that, they had to decide how they were going to get it to work."
Valuable mentorship
In addition to leadership, Mills said it is also about forging relationships with professional engineers in the area that can help guide the students in the competition and in possible future professions.
"We are also giving them contacts both at (Dell Services and Engineering Solutions) and Caterpillar," Mills said. "They're developing contacts with them, seeing what a real engineer is like, not just reading it out of a book."
FIRST founded the robotics competition to show students that engineering can be fun, and not just about an engineer always being stuck behind a desk, Mills said.
Tom Staley, a mentor from Dell Services and Engineering Solutions, said he has been a mentor at DHS for a few years and loves it. He said they are there to help guide the students, but above anything else, he wants them to have fun.
"There's no point in doing anything if you aren't having fun and if they learn something along the way, then all the better," Staley said.
Mills and Staley said it is important that the students know they make all of the decisions and the mentors are there just to answer questions if need be.
"I know enough to stop them and ask questions to make them think," Staley said. "That's the idea, to get them to think and solve their own problems."
DHS junior Kyle Ernst has been a member of DERT since his freshman year. He said he has always enjoyed tinkering and doing things with his hands, so this group was perfect for him.
"It's just a fun experience for me — just the whole experience building the robot and hanging out with friends. We have a lot of enthusiasm at the competitions, so it's a lot of fun," Ernst said.
Ernst, the mechanical lead for DERT, said he appreciates having engineering mentors there to help the students. While he is not going into this specific field of engineering, he feels it is a great advantage for those who are.
FIRST things first
The regional competition at Purdue University is March 17-19, for which DERT is always preparing. While they take a couple of robots to the VEX competition, they only take one robot to the FIRST competition where the rules, field of play, and number of teams differs drastically.
"You're building a large-scale robot competing on a field the size of a basketball court," Mills said. "You're dealing with teams from different states in the area as well as different countries — some teams from Israel and other places as well."
Mills said besides a basic frame of the robot they receive from FIRST, everything else is built from scratch by each team. The rules aren't too strict but teams can't have anything specially created just for them.
Upon arrival in Lafayette, Ind., teams first compete in a series of seeding matches. Those lead to a ranking of every team, then the highest seeded teams choose their partners for the main competition.
As per the competition rules, DERT does not yet know what the robot's tasks are going to be.
"They let us know in January, then we have six weeks to build," Mills said.
Just as VEX robots serve certain roles in the game, FIRST robots are built to play a role in a game where teams are paired and must work together.
It starts with the public relations team, which has to know the ins and outs of the robot. They will spend their time in the team's designated pit area trying to drum up interest in DERT's product. When teams come looking for alliances after the seeding matches, the PR team has its work cut out for it trying to recruit partners.
They also have a team in the stands scouting other robots, noting their strengths and weaknesses. This comes in handy when they are looking for partners to see how they can work well together, but also against the competition to know how to exploit the other teams.
Future funding
While Dell, Infotech and other engineering companies help sponsor the team, Mills said it is not nearly enough to cover everything.
"(Dell) takes care of a good part of our costs with the team registration and basic robot parts and kits — anything we might need," Mills said. "Even with all of that, we are still working on fundraising throughout the year."
Even though the team is in its sixth year of existence, Mills said they are still trying to figure out the best way to make sure the group continues, so future engineers can take advantage of everything DERT has to offer.
Mills said they are teaching the project leaders to mentor the younger students, and to get them involved as much as possible.
"(We're) trying to get team leads to train (the younger students), so when the leads are gone, we have good leaders ready to take their place."


text:
Mets' roster picture coming into focus
VIERA, Fla. -- With 31 players left in camp, Mets officials have begun informing players of their roster status. Though the team will not make many of its decisions final until this weekend, several items have become clear:
• Both Ike Davis and Lucas Duda are heavy favorites to make the Opening Day roster. Though the Mets have not chosen one over the other as the starter, Davis holds the edge in both Grapefruit League statistics and historic performance, and also appeared to be the favorite heading into Spring Training. Whoever loses the competition should see heavy at-bats as a designated hitter in Anaheim from April 11-13.
• Juan Lagares has continually impressed officials with his outfield defense, which may be enough to earn him an extended trial in center field to start the season. But even if he plays most days in April over Eric Young Jr., he will not have unlimited rope.
"I think everybody would probably agree he's our best outfielder, he's our best center fielder," general manager Sandy Alderson said. "But he's going to have to hit a little bit, too. If he were to start on Opening Day, we would have to see over a period of time -- how long, how short, I don't know -- if he could carry the offensive side of the game as well. If that's not the case, typically a guy like that would be better off playing somewhere else, but that's premature."
If Lagares starts in center field on Opening Day, Curtis Granderson and Chris Young will flank him in left and right, respectively.
• Vic Black took the first step toward rebounding from a tough spring with 1 1/3 scoreless innings on Tuesday against the Nationals. Black, who entered the game with a 6.75 ERA, stranded an inherited runner in the third inning before pitching around a walk and a hit in the fourth. He will have one, maybe two more appearances to prove he belongs in the Opening Day bullpen after a strong run late last season.
"Performances matter," Alderson said. "I think last year was a small sample. This year is an almost equal sample, so I think we have to take everything into account. We're not ignoring Spring Training performance."
Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDicomo. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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text:
4 has a classic style that I spent wayyyyyyyyyy too much time on lol.
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4 has a classic style that I spent wayyyyyyyyyy too much time on lol.
Follow me at @Bluejbgold
I do not even think this is a question. It is easily COD: Modern Warfare.
Not a single terrible map online unlike MW2 and Black Ops. The multiplayer was not as buggy so you did not have infinite care packages dropping all of the time and you did not have stupid killstreaks like explosive RC car or Nuclear bomb.
The single player was awesome as well.
I will be renting MW3 for the single player, but I am keeping an eye on Battlefield 3. That game looks awesome!
COD4 has some of the best maps of all time.
World at War was pretty underrated.
But COD4 is probably the best.
"I had to take her down like Chris Brown."
-Lance Stephenson
World at War's online play was TRASH. Story line was decent. But all it really had going for it was Nazi zombies.
Follow me at @Bluejbgold
Call of Duty 2 (not listed in poll) but gets my vote. One of the best games ever made.
[/center]If you havin' depth problems, I feel bad for you son; I got 99 problems but a bench ain't one! - Hicks
I would fight for saying COD4 was the best game ever(FPS), at least multiplayer.. Though there is also an argument for Halo, more specifically Halo 2 which really started it all.
LOVED Halo 2 and COD4.. Played way too much COD4 lol, it was so much fun though and me and my friends dominated, i still go back to it every now and then even though its an "old" game. Didnt like the other COD that much when compared to COD4.. COD4 takes more skill than the new games.. The new ones you have too many strong automatic weapons where ppl that arent good can just spray and kill you.
Last edited by Ownagedood; 06-04-2011 at 11:26 AM.
Maybe on a console perhaps, but CounterStrike and Doom laugh at the notion that Halo 2 started it all.
"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel
"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Halo 2 was the first game that made it so easy to hop in and out of matches IMO. 3 was a huge let down though and completely killed the series for me.
Unreal Tournament, Allied Assault, Quake III, and CoD1 (and countless others) all say hello.
Last edited by Sandman21; 06-05-2011 at 08:56 PM.
"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel
"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Not to mention Team Fortress Classic.
I don't think any of those had the ease or accessibility of jumping in and out as Halo2 + Xbox Live. You'd be hard pressed to convince me that any game played a greater role in the explosion of the online FPS genre than Halo 2.
Did you play any of the games we're talking about? I think you had to be there to truly appreciate them.
Yes I played them, I played Counter Strike even in college still and that was years after it had come out, but none of them created the size of community that Halo 2 did. Did they create loyal communities to those games? Yes, absolutely, but Halo 2 created the FPS phenomenon.
I guess we just disagree on what "started it all" means. I think Sandman and I are thinking more along the lines of games that made FPS what they are in terms of gameplay, fun, innovation, and you're speaking more to mass appeal and when it hit it big.
Although, if I'm not mistaken, Halo: Combat Evolved was one of the first FPS's to really have the regenerating shield+health bar just by staying out of combat mechanic right? Or am I mis-remembering that? Hard to believe it's been almost 10 years since the first Halo...wow.
I believe Halo 2 was indeed the first FPS to use regen health. Although tbh, its probably my most despised "innovation" for the FPS of the last decade or so. Give me the old school medpaks/recharge stations any day of the week.
"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel
"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
I can't disagree with that, but it did seem to appease the masses.
I actually thought it was a step forward to go with "get out of the way, heal up, then get back to it" as opposed to medpacks and recharge stations. I enjoyed them at the time, but I'd rather just "catch my breath" and then dive right back in rather than having to run back to a specific spot just to get more.
Not to say I think the older mode should be completely done away with; I think it has its place in certain games or modes, and I'm all about having choices when it comes to games (thinking of various game modes).
Sometimes you see a hybrid mode, such as in Aliens vs. Predator for 360 where if you're playing as the Predator, I believe you can heal and recharge on your own, but if you take the time to find a place to recharge, you get your energy back much faster and I think in at least one iteration of this franchise you could spend a big chunk of your energy to almost-instantly heal yourself back up, too.
I'm loving this now being a video game discussion thread.
Follow me at @Bluejbgold
You do realize we're still just talking FPS and that there already is a video game discussion thread?
Still say the original is my favorite.
Last time I checked, FPS is a genre of video games, and they are being discussed. And "What Video Game Did You Last Play" doesn't really classify under discussion
Follow me at @Bluejbgold
Socom / Socom2 in my opinion was the first console based game that had a huge online mode with thousands of players online all the time and you could even play against people in Europe and Asia. It was one of the first console games to use a headset mic to communicate with other players as well. Those were the days....Socom 2 is one of the best games ever made. It has like 20 online maps, and most of them were expandable depending on how many players you wanted in the game. The entire online game set up was fully customizable. From time limits, kill limits, rounds up to best of 11, weapons allowed. Amazing game.
Picked up Socom 4 just the other day, and then the Network went down for a month!
Last edited by graphic-er; 06-08-2011 at 04:36 PM.
You can't get champagne from a garden hose.


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Posted 5 years ago
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This clock has been in my family for several generations. passed wityh very little info except that it hung in a train station years ago and has been an heirloom to our family. I have been trying to find anything i can about it. History or whatever to pass on to my kids. It says Ansonia clock company, New York. it also says "thirty days" below the smaller dial. the wooden case opens from the left side to the right. I havent found another like it.. Any history of it??


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Washington follows MLB memo on playing regulars
PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Rangers brought Jurickson Profar, Elvis Andrus, Prince Fielder and Leonys Martin to Peoria on Sunday for their Cactus League game against the Mariners. That satisfied Major League Baseball's edict that every team needs to have at least four starters or established players in their lineup every day in Spring Training.
Manager Ron Washington received a memorandum from the Commissioner's Office reminding him of that after the Marlins complained about the Red Sox lineup last Thursday in Florida. Washington did not need to the reminder.
Washington plans out his Spring Training lineups so that he staggers the playing time of his starters. Fielder got the day off on Friday when the Rangers played at the Dodgers but made the trip to Peoria. Adrian Beltre was off on Sunday but will play the next three days, including a road game on Tuesday against the White Sox.
"We try to be accommodating," Washington said. "If they have to remind you too much, you're going to get a letter with some numbers [a fine] and they're not pretty numbers. I want to make sure I give my guys rest they don't leave here tired."
T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com Read his blog, Postcards from Elysian Fields and follow him on Twitter @Sullivan_Ranger. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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I created a web form that is a table view with 15 rows and 5 colums. the bottom row and right most column are for calculated values. When a user enters a value in any of the fields, calculated values are adjusted. I have the form working perfectly in IE, but in Forefox, the calculated value fields remain blank. To keep users from modifying the totals, I set the calculated fields, disadled="disabled". Since disabled fields don't pass when form is submitted via post, I created a hidden field to hold the value. The hidden field has the same name as the disabled field except the last letter of the name duplicates. I.E. PreKDiscrepancy & PreKDiscrepancyy.
Here is an example of the calculation for the first row:
DH = parseInt(document.forms(0).PreKCurrentTrained.value, 10) + parseInt(document.forms(0).PreKAbsent.value, 10);
DH = DH + parseInt(document.forms(0).PreKOptOut.value, 10);
DH = parseInt(document.forms(0).PreKEnroll.value, 10) - DH;
document.forms(0).PreKDiscrepancy.value = DH
document.forms(0).PreKDiscrepancyy.value = DH
what about the code does firefox not like?
Why are you using "disabled" and then having to create a hidden field to pass the value when "readonly" disallows entry into the field but still passes it so as to do away with your hidden field.
Also, you didn't say what results you get in Google Chrome, Safari or Opera. Do they produce the same result as IE or the same as Firefox?
Ok. I figured out what to do to get the JS to work, but I don't know why the original code didn't work
DH = parseInt(document.getElementById('PreKCurrentTrained').value, 10) + parseInt(document.getElementById('PreKAbsent').value, 10);
rather than
DH = parseInt(document.forms(0).PreKCurrentTrained.value, 10) + parseInt(document.forms(0).PreKAbsent.value, 10);
For some reason document.forms(0).element... is not supported by all browsers where as getElementById is.
Also you shouldn't be using parseInt unless you are converting between number bases. To convert a string to a number use either num = Number(str) or num = (+str);
I was using disabled fields because I want to have the fields gray'd out. Readonly looks like a regular field that is broken and not typable.
As for the other browsers your guess is as good as mine. I do not have them installed. I originally wasn't going to bother testing in another browser since the code runs on a sharepoint site. Sharepoint sites, by default do not support browsers other that IE since the site is coded to use active x. I ran into the problem answering a question for a user who was trying to use firefox. Someday Microsoft might change the software to work in other browsers. Better to write cross browser compliant code and have it work than to have people complain and have to rework the code at a later date when I don't remember how it works.
Unless parseInt uses a lot more processing power and slows down a page significantly, I'm not rewriting several hundred lines of cod.
Only if you don't style it. You can use CSS to style it to look whatever way you like, just as you can style disabled fields so they don't appear to be greyed out Youy should use CSS to define the appearance, not use the wrong HTML just because it defaults to the appearance you want..
I didn't realize that text boxes could be styled to look greyed out, when in fact they are read only. It's great to learn something new. I'll have to wait for my next app to try this. No sense redesigning a form, pocessing page and the SQL server storred procedure that works.


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Testimony continued on Thursday in Solano County Superior Court for a Santa Rosa man accused of the 2003 cold-case killing of a Fairfield woman.
Ricardo Cruz is facing his second jury trial on a murder charge related to the Nov. 26, 2003, stabbing death of Kathryn Vitagliano. After a three-week trial that ended in September, a Solano County Superior Court jury was left deadlocked and a mistrial was declared.
Vitagliano, 55, was found stabbed multiple times in her Robin Drive home. The investigation went cold until 2010, when investigators obtained a DNA sample from Cruz, 36, who had been dating one of Vitagliano's daughters in the months prior to the death.
A key piece of evidence in the circumstantial case is the presence of male DNA found underneath one of Vitagliano's fingernails. A sample of Cruz's DNA, voluntarily obtained by cold case investigators in 2010, was a match and is not in dispute between attorneys in the case.
However, a part of Cruz's defense is Deputy Public Defender Thomas Barrett's belief that another man is responsible for the slaying.
Barrett has implicated Oregon resident Jose Gallego, whose relationship with Vitagliano ended about a decade before her death. Gallego was interviewed by investigators in the case and cleared of any involvement.
On Thursday, Gallego was offered immunity from prosecutors in exchange for his testimony.
Gallego denied his involvement in her death and testified that he was not in California at the time.
The trial is set to resume at 10 a.m. today in the Fairfield courtroom of Judge Peter B. Foor.
Cruz has pleaded not guilty and remains in Solano County Jail, with bail set at $1 million.
Follow Staff Writer Ryan Chalk at Twitter.com/RyanChalk1883.


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- Date: May 2, 2013 PIO Number: 13-5-3
In honor of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, the Broward Sheriff's Office Police Athletic League will hold its sixth annual Fallen Officers Memorial Martial Arts Tournament. This event is free and open to the public.
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 4
Millennium Middle School
5803 N.W. 94th Ave., Tamarac
Deputy Larry Klarman of BSO's School Resource Deputy unit organized the tournament. The entrance fee for competitors is $20. Raffle tickets will be available for purchase. All money collected will be donated to the Police Athletic League and will benefit the children of fallen officers.
Competitors of all ages will be judged on weapons, forms, self-defense, sparring, kendo and ju-jitsu. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Contact Deputy Klarman for more information at (954) 914-3982 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
This report by:
Dani Moschella
5/2/2011 1145
Posted At: 05/02/2013 11:44 AM
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A veteran dairy farmer from central Missouri has heard about an E. coli outbreak in his area that has sickened 13 people and now wonders aloud if raw milk is harming the reputation of other dairy farmers.
"We've been opposed to this raw milk thing for a long time because it gives dairy farmers a bad name," David Braun, owner of a 120-cow, 400-acre farm in Cole County, Mo., told KRCG13 News.
The 77-year-old noted that his farm follows strict sanitation guidelines.
Raw milk has been linked to E.coli outbreaks in Missouri and Oregon, and the number of adults -- and children -- sickened by the contaminated milk continues to grow.
At least 17 people in Oregon have fallen ill after drinking raw milk from the Foundation Farm near Wilsonville, Ore., according to a report by OregonLive. Of the 17 confirmed cases, four are children who are have now been hospitalized. Three of them, including a one-year-old, are currently on kidney support.
Owners of the Foundation Farm have voluntarily suspended distribution of their milk.
In Missouri, the number of people sickened has grown to 13, including two young children. Six of those cases have been linked to raw milk sold from an unnamed dairy farm in Howard County, Mo., as reported by the Associated Press.
The Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune first reported the outbreak last week. By Thursday, health officials reported a 17-month-old with symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe condition that can lead to permanent kidney damage in some who survive the illness. According to the Center for Food Security and Public Health, HUS is fatal in 3 to 10 percent of children.
Supporters of raw milk often take risks in consuming the unpasteurized milk, which is 150 times more likely to be the cause of an outbreak than pasteurized milk.
Alvaro Garcia, extension dairy specialist at South Dakota State University, has addressed some of the common misconceptions surrounding the issue. He refutes the notion, often cited by raw milk supporters, that raw milk is healther because enzymes and nutrients are destroyed during pasteurization.
"Research has not been able to prove these claims," Garcia says. "In fact, recent research has proven that aside from 10 percent loss in vitamin C, the rest of the vitamins were not affected. In the same trial the main milk enzymes lactoferrin, lacto-peroxidase, and lysozyme maintained highly significant activity after pasteurization."


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Celebrate your friends' new union with some vino and the hint of future occasions with this personalized wedding gift wine box. With space for three bottles of bubbly, red, white or rosé, they'll remember your thoughtful congrats every year they pop a cork. Each bottle compartment is labeled with instructions on when to open, whether it's as soon the first year or an anniversary years from today.
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After decades of sharing my opinions on the editorial page, I can speak authoritatively about one thing I've learned over the years.
If you write an opinion that people agree with, you are wise, knowledgeable, well-researched and unafraid to tell it like it is. And if you write an opinion that people disagree with, you are inaccurate, uninformed, ill-tempered, mean-spirited and need to learn to keep your opinions to yourself.
I've known that for years. And the rest of you — those who are paying attention — have seen it this month as readers have held a dialogue about a couple of opinion page columnists, Thomas Sowell and Cynthia Tucker.
It started with a letter to the editor a month ago. The letter writer opined that Sowell was "bitter," "alienated" and "venomous" and that we should stop running his column.
That brought responses both in support of and opposed to that opinion. There were letters. There were phone calls to "Tell It to the E-R." And there were phone calls to me, even though I was a disinterested (but amused) party to this argument.
One phone message went something like this: "I'm not sure if you're thinking about canceling Thomas Sowell, but I hope you don't. He really tells it like it is. I agree with him all the time. He's just so smart. On the other hand, that Cynthia Tucker is so misinformed and full of hate. I really hope you cancel her columns. She's just always wrong about things."
See, Sowell is very conservative. If you're conservative, you probably think he's brilliant and tells it like it is. Tucker is very liberal. If you're liberal, you probably think she's brilliant and tells it like it is.
People taking part in the argument over whether Sowell or Tucker should be banished love to say, "I'm a firm believer in the First Amendment, but ..." They usually stop there, because they soon realize the absurdity of the unspoken second part of that sentence: "... but I wish you'd only print opinions that I agree with."
Too many people dislike hearing opinions that differ from their own. That's why Fox News is so popular with conservatives, and MSNBC is so popular with liberals. God forbid they'd want to hear the other side of the argument.
We have liberal columnists and conservative columnists. We have liberal letter writers and conservative ones. If opinions — even those that differ from your own — make you uncomfortable, you probably should skip the opinion page. Being exposed to the other side of the argument ... it's not worth the risk.
Newspapers serve as a soapbox and let all readers share their opinions. I hope newspapers never change in that regard. I don't want the United States to be like other countries, where each political party has its own newspaper — one for the conservatives, one for the liberals, one for the socialists, and so on. If you pick up the party's newspaper, you know exactly what you're getting.
I'd rather have a newspaper with an opinion page that occasionally challenges your thinking, whatever it is.
And before you counter with the argument that the E-R leans one way or the other on the opinion page — in letters and columns anyway, not our editorials on the left side of the page — I'd remind you that bias is in the eye of the beholder. Conservatives think we're a liberal rag. Liberals think we're horribly conservative.
Maybe the truth lies somewhere in between.
David Little is editor of the Enterprise-Record and Oroville Mercury-Register. His column appears each Sunday. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter, @ER_DavidLittle.


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Case IH is teaming up with "sister company," Ram Trucks, in a campaign that declares 2013 "The Year of the Farmer." By sister companies, it gives recognition that both manufacturers are majority-owned subsidiaries of the Italian Fiat Industries.
The Ram Trucks advertising/public relations spot, which aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday, received rave reviews via social media by most everyone involved in the agricultural industry. The sponsor companies, and especially Case IH, are using the Super Bowl ad as an entrance into grabbing attention for the companies' support of the FFA and agriculture in general.
The two-minute Ram Trucks spot features "So God made a farmer" presented by the late broadcaster Paul Harvey at the 1978 National FFA Convention. The spot is launching "a year-long, multi-tiered initiative dedicated to highlighting and underscoring the importance of farmers in America," Case IH announced.
Viewers are being invited to visit http://www.RamTrucks.com/KeepPlowing for an opportunity to benefit the FFA. As part of the effort, Case IH appears to be doing the heavy lifting to take the message to agriculture.
"Case IH is powered by a steadfast commitment to making farmers more successful," said Kyle Russell, Case IH senior director of marketing. "Now, we're pleased to collaborate on this exciting program that salutes the role of farmers throughout history, and also supports farmers of the future with its connection to FFA. Ram Trucks has made this generous offer to donate to the FFA every time someone shares 'The Year of the Farmer' video and we want to make sure all of agriculture knows they have the opportunity to influence this donation."
Together with "Case IH and other partners," Ram Truck officials say a main aim is to raise awareness and generate funds for FFA hunger relief efforts in local communities across America. For every view, download or share of the two-minute "So God Made a Farmer" spot located on the brand's website, Ram will make a donation to the National FFA Organization with the intent of generating $1 million.


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One Direction's 3D Movie Trailer Premiere!
Simon Cowell's international boyband sensation One Direction just released the trailer for their new 3D feature film, set to be released August 23!
The film contains performances of their chart-topping smash hits like "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Live While We're Young" from their albums UP ALL NIGHT and TAKE ME HOME, which are available on Syco Records, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the friendly if not fraternal bandmates who make up the group, filmed while on their world tour - Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson.
The members of One Direction all auditioned for the UK edition of Cowell's hit international reality singing competition, THE X FACTOR, and were hand-picked by the impressario to become the new boyband to take over the world, just as his own Westlife had before them. The rest, they say, is history - over 14 million singles and 8 albums sold in three short years.
Concert films have hit remarkable highs and massive lows in recent years - while Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus have found massive success and big box office status with their respective musical films, GLEE: THE 3D MOVIE and others have been less successful. Concert films are one of the most difficult forms to pull off of all the sub-genres within the movie musical landscape.
View my 2011 interview with Simon Cowell here.
Check out the epic 1D 3D trailer below, which premiered on ITV's DAYBREAK!
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From This Author Pat Cerasaro


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Specializing in all things geek — including science experiments gone awry, dystopias, and alien attacks — Tim Burton's morose imagination and kooky humor keeps his fans coming back for more. Opening today is his latest venture, Dark Shadows. The flick is a reboot of the '60s-era TV show, starring Tim's muse Johnny Depp as a vampire who ends up in the disco era with his dysfunctional descendants. To celebrate his quirkiest creations, we've rounded up geek favorites from Tim's 17 years of film-making.
Photos Courtesy of Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Walt Disney Studios