text:
JSR-170 defines itself as "a standard, implementation independent way to access content bi-directionally on a granular level within a content repository," and goes on to define a content repository as "a high-level information management system that is a superset of traditional data repositories, [which] implements 'content services' such as: author based versioning, full textual searching, fine grained access control, content categorization and content event monitoring."
The Java Content Repository API (JSR-170) is an attempt to standardize an API that can be used for accessing a content repository. If you're not familiar with content management systems (CMS) such as Documentum, Vignette, or FileNet, then you must be wondering what a content repository is. Think of a content repository as a generic application "data store" tht can be used for storing both text and binary data (images, word processor documents, PDFs, etc.). One key feature of a content repository is that you don't have to worry about how the data is actually stored: data could be stored in a RDBMS or a filesystem or as an XML document. In addition to providing services for storing and retrieving your data, most content repositories provide advanced services such as uniform access control, searching, versioning, observation, locking, and more.
Various CMSs from different vendors have been on the market for quite some time, and all of these CMSs ship their own version of a content repository. The problem is, each CMS vendor provides its own API for interacting with the content repository shipped with that vendor's CMS. This is a problem for the application developer, since he has to learn a particular vendor's API and potentially tie up his code with one particular CMS implementation.
JSR-170 tries to solve this problem by standardizing the API that should be used for connecting to any content repository. With JCR-170, you develop code by only using the
javax.jcr.* classes and interfaces. This should be able to work with any JSR-170 compliant content repository.
This article is a step-by-step tutorial for newcomers to JSR-170. I've decided to use Apache Jackrabbit, the reference implementation of JSR-170, as the content repository. I'll start the discussion by talking a little more about what content repository is and what is needed for standardizing the content repository API. After that I'll introduce you to JSR-170 by discussing the repository model defined by JSR-170. Next I will talk about what Apache Jackrabbit is, how to build it, and configure it for use. Once Apache Jackrabbit is set up, I will develop a sample application for demonstrating the basic features of JSR-170 API.
As the number of vendors offering proprietary content repositories has increased, the need for common programmatic interface to these repositories has become apparent and that's where JSR-170 comes into play. JSR-170 defines a programmatic interface that should be used for connecting to content repository. You can think about JSR-170 as a JDBC-like API for content repositories, allowing you to develop your program independently of any particular content repository implementation. At runtime, you can configure this program to work either with a natively JSR-170 compliant content repository (e.g., Communique or Apache Jackrabbit) if your repository is not natively JSR-170 compliant (e.g., Documentum or Vignette), then you can use some kind of repository-specific JSR-170 driver that takes care of converting your JSR-170 method calls to repository-specific method calls.
CMSs are a quite old concept. Some of the common applications of CMSs include a web content management system used to manage content (static HTML files and images) on a company's web site, or a document management system where a company stores scanned copies of all sales orders. There are different CMS vendors in the market that provide this type of application. CMS vendors need a content repository as a backend, one that handles both structured and non-structured content efficiently. By "structured content," we mean content like a news item or press release that is posted in the system and retrieved by queries (e.g., your application's front page should display, say, the 3 latest press releases or 10 latest news items). An example of unstructured content is a scanned copy of a sales order or an image that should be displayed on your corporate website.
To support these CMS systems, vendors have developed their own content repositories that ship with their CMS systems. They also provide proprietary APIs that can be used for accessing this repository. As the number of CMS vendors increases, standardizing this API becomes apparent and that's where JSR-170 comes into play.
Figure 1 describes the structure of an application developed using the JSR-170 API. At run time, this application can work with either content repository 1, 2 or 3. Of these, only content repository 2 is natively JSR-170 compliant; the other two repositories need JSR-170 drivers for interacting with a JSR-170 application. Note one more thing: your application does not have to worry about how actual content is stored. Content repository 1 may use RDMBS as underlying data store where as content repository 2 may use the filesystem as its underlying data store, while some other repository could use a mix of these.
Figure 1. Structure of JSR-170 compliant application
The JCR-170 API has different advantages for different stakeholders in content repository space.
JSR-170 says that a content repository is composed of a number of workspaces, which should normally contain similar content. A repository can have one or more workspaces. Each workspace contains a single rooted tree of items. An item is either a node or a property. Each node may have zero or more child nodes and zero or more child properties. Only the root node does not have parent and all other nodes have exactly one parent. Every workspace has only one root node. Properties have one node as a parent and cannot have children; they are leaves of the trees. All of the actual content in the repository is stored within the values of the properties.
Figure 2 describes a content repository model for a sample blogging application. Every child node of the root node represents one blog entry. Any actual data related to a blog entry is stored as properties of
blogEntry. The properties
blogAuthor, and
creationTime should all be self-evident, while the
blogContent property contains actual entry data, and a
blogAttachment property holds a binary image file that is image attached:
Figure 2. Content repository model (click for full-size version)
In addition to this repository model, JSR-170 also defines different features or operations that should be supported by a compliant repository. To make it easy for existing CMS vendors to adopt to these new standards, JSR-170 has brought in the concept of compliance levels, which define the number of features that must be supported for a given level of compliance. JSR-170 defines three different compliance levels:
So, if you are a CMS vendor, the first step is to make your repository Level 1 compliant. As time progresses, you can decide to move to Level 2 compliance and implement advanced features based on your needs or client base.
Apache Jackrabbit is fully JSR-170 compliant, Level 2 compliant, and implements all optional feature blocks. Beyond the JCR-170 API, Jackrabbit features numerous extensions and administrative features that are needed to run a repository but are not specified by JCR-170.
We have decided to use Apache Jackrabbit as the content repository in our sample application. One problem with Apache Jackrabbit is that it doesn't offer a binary release, so developers need to build it from source code before installing it. See Building Jackrabbit for information on how to build Apache Jackrabbit from source code.
After downloading and building the Jackrabbit source code successfully, let's configure it. Jackrabbit needs two parameters at runtime to configure a content repository instance.
Repository home directory: The filesystem path of the directory that usually contains all the repository content, search indexes, internal configuration, and other persistent information managed within the content repository. The directory structure of the content repository will look something like this:
| |
| |-index
| |-meta
| |-namespaces
| |-nodetypes
In this case, value of repository home directory parameter should be
Repository configuration file: The filesystem path of the repository configuration XML file. This file contains configuration information for the repository, including class names for Jackrabbit components (deciding which implementation we want to use) and configuration information required for that component. Take a look at the following listing, which represents what a typical configuration file would look like:
<FileSystem class="org.apache.jackrabbit.core.fs.local.LocalFileSystem">
<param name="path" value="${rep.home}/repository"/>
<Security appName="Jackrabbit">
<AccessManager class="org.apache.jackrabbit.core.security.SimpleAccessManager"/>
<LoginModule class="org.apache.jackrabbit.core.security.SimpleLoginModule">
<param name="anonymousId" value="anonymous"/>
<Workspaces rootPath="${rep.home}/workspaces" defaultWorkspace="default"/>
<Workspace name="${wsp.name}">
<FileSystem class="org.apache.jackrabbit.core.fs.local.LocalFileSystem">
<param name="path" value="${wsp.home}"/>
<param name="url" value="jdbc:derby:${wsp.home}/db;create=true"/>
<param name="schemaObjectPrefix" value="${wsp.name}_"/>
<SearchIndex class="org.apache.jackrabbit.core.query.lucene.SearchIndex">
<param name="path" value="${wsp.home}/index"/>
<Versioning rootPath="${rep.home}/version">
<FileSystem class="org.apache.jackrabbit.core.fs.local.LocalFileSystem">
<param name="path" value="${rep.home}/version" />
<param name="url" value="jdbc:derby:${rep.home}/version/db;create=true"/>
<param name="schemaObjectPrefix" value="version_"/>
<SearchIndex class="org.apache.jackrabbit.core.query.lucene.SearchIndex">
<param name="path" value="${rep.home}/repository/index"/>
In the repository configuration file, the
<Repository> element is a top-most or root element. One
<Repository> element is equivalent to one repository configuration information and it contains following elements
<FileSystem>: The filesystem element represents virtual filesystem implementation that would be used for storing global data--data that is applicable at level of repository, such as registered namespace, custom node types, etc. Apache Jackrabbit provides a few options to store this data. One option is to store it on an underlying filesystem, which we are doing in our sample application by using
LocalFileSystem. If you want this data to be stored in a database, then use
<Security>: The security element contains security configuration information for this repository. It has two child elements:
<AccessManager> and
<LoginModule>. The value of
<AccessManager> indicates the class that should be queried to determine if a user has rights to perform a particular action on a particular item. The
<LoginModule> element allows you to configure a class of
LoginModule type, which is used for implementing authentication.
<Workspaces>: This element holds configuration that is common across all workspaces in that repository. Its
rootPath attribute points to the root directory containing all workspace folders. In our sample directory configuration it would be c:/temp/Blogging/Workspace. The value of
defaultWorkspace attribute contains default name of the workspace.
<Workspace>: This element represents the default template for all workspaces in this repository. So, when you create a new workspace in this repository, its workspace.xml file will look like this element. The
<Workspace> element has three child elements. The first is
<FileSystem>, which configures the virtual filesystem that should be used for storing data related to this workspace. The
<PersistenceManager> element indicates how you want to persist content of this workspace. Apache Jackrabbit gives you with a choice of storing it on the filesystem, in a database, in memory as hashtable, or as an XML file. In our sample we are planning to persist that content in a Derby database. The last element is
<SearchIndex>, which is an optional element. The value of this element points to a class which is used for indexing as well as actual query execution.
<Versioning>: This element configures a versioning-related object. You may have noticed that it contains the same child elements
FileSystem and
PersistentManager as seen in
Workspace. That's because JSR-170 treats version as nodes, and so the same structure can be reused.
<SearchIndex>: This element configures the index that is used for searching repository-wide content.
The repository home directory and repository file configuration parameters are passed either directly to Jackrabbit when a repository instance is created or indirectly through settings for the JNDI object factory. You can set the value of the
org.apache.jackrabbit.repository.home system property to point to the repository home directory. In our example, we will set it to c:/temp/Blogging. Then again, if you have a repository.xml file and you want to use that for setting up the repository, then you can set the value of the
org.apache.jackrabbit.repository.conf system property to point your repository.xml. In our case, we don't want to use an existing repository.xml, instead we want Jackrabbit to generate a default repository.xml file for us. If you don't set either of these properties, then Jackrabbit will treat the current folder as the home directory and create a repository directory structure file as well as a repository.xml file in it. Refer to the Apache Jackrabbit online documentation to configure Apache Tomcat to create a repository configuration object and bind it in the JNDI tree.
With our Apache Jackrabbit installation built and configured, it's time to take the next step and build a sample application. In this section, we will develop a sample blogging application using the JCR-170 API. We need two things for developing this sample application: a backend to add, update, delete, and remove content in the content repository, and a client to provide a UI for performing these operations.
First we create clear-cut separation between these two parts by defining a DAO interface for the backend layer. So, create BlogEntryDAO.java interface like this
public interface BlogEntryDAO {
public void insertBlogEntry(BlogEntryDTO blogEntryDTO)
throws BlogApplicationException;
public void updateBlogEntry(BlogEntryDTO blogEntryDTO)
throws BlogApplicationException;
public ArrayList getBlogList()
throws BlogApplicationException;
public BlogEntryDTO getBlogEntry(String blogTitle)
throws BlogApplicationException;
public void removeBlogEntry(String blogTitle)
throws BlogApplicationException;
public ArrayList searchBlogList(String userName)
throws BlogApplicationException;
public void attachFileToBlogEntry(String blogTitle, InputStream uploadInputStream)
throws BlogApplicationException;
public InputStream getAttachedFile(String blogTitle)
throws BlogApplicationException;
As you can see, this class has methods for adding, updating, searching for blog entries, and two methods for dealing with binary content. Next, we need a DTO class that will be used for carrying data between the web layer and backend layer. Create the
BlogEntryDTO class like this:
public class BlogEntryDTO {
private String userName;
private String title;
private String blogContent;
private Calendar creationTime;
//Getter and setter methods for each of these properties
Every blog entry will have four properties associated with it:
blogContent, and
creationTime. With this interface between the UI layer and backend layer in place we can implement either layer. Because of space constraint, we have decided not to spend time talking about the UI layer; instead you can download sample code for this application from the resources section, where you'll find a sample Struts-based UI for
BlogEntryDAO. The next section describes implementing the backend for the blogging application by implementing
The first thing that we want to do in developing the backend is to write the component that gets a connection to Jackrabbit. To keep things simple, we will get the connection to Jackrabbit at application startup time and drop that connection when the application shuts down. Since we are developing a Struts application, we need to create our own
PlugIn class that gets control at application startup and shutdown times, like this:
public class JackrabbitPlugin implements PlugIn{
public static Session session;
public void destroy() {
public void init(ActionServlet actionServlet, ModuleConfig moduleConfig)
throws ServletException {
try {
Repository repository = new TransientRepository();
session = repository.login(new SimpleCredentials("username",
} catch (LoginException e) {
throw new ServletException(e);
} catch (IOException e) {
throw new ServletException(e);
} catch (RepositoryException e) {
throw new ServletException(e);
public static Session getSession() {
return session;
init() method of
JackrabbitPlugin class will get called at application startup and
destroy() method will get called at shutdown. The code inside the
init() method is used for getting the connection to Jackrabbit. The first thing we do is set the
org.apache.jackrabbit.repository.home system property to point to c:/temp/blogging, indicating where Jackrabbit should store its data. Next, create a new instance of
TransientRepository. This is a class provided by Apache Jackrabbit, offering a proxy to the repository. It starts up the repository automatically when the first session is opened, and automatically stops the repository when the last session is closed.
Once you have a repository object, you can call its
login() method to open a connection.
login() takes an object of type
Credential as an
and argument; if this is null, it is assumed that authentication is handled by mechanism external to the repository itself (for example, the JAAS framework). Since we are not passing a workspace name argument to
login(), Jackrabbit will create default a workspace and return a
Session object for that particular workspace. The
Session object encapsulates both the authorization settings of a particular user and a binding to the workspace specified by the
workspaceName passed on login. Please note that there is a one-to-one mapping between session and workspace.
With Apache Jackrabbit set up properly and our code to connect to it, we can implement the methods of
BlogEntryDAO. The first method that we want to implement is
insertBlogEntry(), which is used for adding new
blogEntry nodes:
public void insertBlogEntry(BlogEntryDTO blogEntryDTO)
throws BlogApplicationException {
Session session = JackrabbitPlugin.getSession();
Node rootNode = session.getRootNode();
Node blogEntry = rootNode.addNode("blogEntry");
blogEntry.setProperty("title", blogEntryDTO.getTitle());
blogEntry.setProperty("blogContent", blogEntryDTO.getBlogContent());
blogEntry.setProperty("creationTime", blogEntryDTO.getCreationTime());
blogEntry.setProperty("userName", blogEntryDTO.getUserName());
The first thing that we are doing in this method is getting an instance of the session object initialized in the
JackrabbitPlugin class. After that, we call
getRootNode() on the session object, which returns root node ("
/") of the workspace. Once we have an object pointing to the root node, we can add a new child node to it by calling
addNode() method on
rootNode; this will create a new child node named
blogEntry. After that, we can set the actual content of
blogEntry as properties of the node. You might remember from the discussion on the repository model that properties are leaves and are used for storing actual content. In the case of
blogEntery, every
blogEntry will have four properties:
creationTime, and
userName, each of which can be set by calling
setProperty() on the newly created
blogEntry node.
Notice the use of the method
session.save() in the
insertBlogEntry() method. This method is needed because changes made through methods of
Node, or
Property are not immediately reflected in the persistent workspace. The changes are held in the transient storage associated with the
Session object until they are either persisted using either
session.save() or
item.save(). Also,
Session.save() validates changes and if this validation succeeds, it persists all pending changes currently stored in the
Session object. Until this is done, changes made using one session are not made visible to other sessions. Conversely,
Session.refresh(false) discards all pending changes currently stored in session. For more fine-grained control over which changes are persisted or discarded, the method
Item.save() and
Item.refresh() are also provided.
Item.save() saves all pending changes in the
Session that apply to a particular item or its subtree. Analogously,
Item.refresh(false) discards all pending changes that apply to that item.
In the web UI you can post a new blog entry by going to the http://localhost:8080/<contentroot> page and clicking on "Add node" link, fill out that form, and click submit to invoke the
insertBlogEntry() method.
How do we test that node was actually added and persisted to content repository? Implement the
getBlogList() method of
BlogEntryDAO method, which returns a list of all child nodes of root node whose name is equal to
blogEntry. The following code listing demonstrates how to do that:
public ArrayList getBlogList() throws BlogApplicationException {
Session session = JackrabbitPlugin.getSession();
ArrayList blogEntryList = new ArrayList();
Node rootNode = session.getRootNode();
NodeIterator blogEntryNodeIterator = rootNode.getNodes();
while (blogEntryNodeIterator.hasNext()) {
Node blogEntry = blogEntryNodeIterator.nextNode();
if (blogEntry.getName().equals("blogEntry") == false)
String title = blogEntry.getProperty("title").getString();
String blogContent = blogEntry.getProperty("blogContent").getString();
Value creationTimeValue = (Value) blogEntry.getProperty(
String userName = blogEntry.getProperty("userName").getString();
BlogEntryDTO blogEntryDTO = new BlogEntryDTO(userName, title,
blogContent, creationTimeValue.getDate());
return blogEntryList;
Once you have a root node object, you can call
getNodes() on it to return all its child nodes. If the node does not have any children, then an empty
NodeIterator is returned. We can iterate through
NodeIterator to get a list of
blogEntry nodes. You can call the node's
getProperty() to read a property with a supplied name.
getProperty() returns an instance of
Value, whose implementation class depends on the type of property stored. Once you have this object you can call type-specific methods such as
getString() for reading a string stored in the property, or
getDate() for a stored date.
When you go to http://localhost:8080/<contextroot> in the web UI, the index page of the blog application will call the
getBlogList() method and it will display all entries on index page.
JSR-170 defines two ways to search for content. One uses XPath syntax and the other uses SQL syntax. The specification mandates that every Level 1 compliant repository should provide support for XPath syntax, but support for SQL search is an optional feature that we will talk more about in the next part.
XPath is a search language originally designed for selecting elements from an XML document. Since a workspace, like an XML document, can be viewed as a tree structure, XPath provides a convenient syntax for searching workspace content.
Let's change our blogging application so that it allows you to search for all blog entries posted by a particular user (i.e., all blog entries where
blogAuthor is some user name). We need two things to implement this: one is a change to the UI to accept the query
userName and display results to the user. This feature can be seen in the sample application, which displays an input box named Blogger Name at the top of page, with a "Search" button. When you input text in this box and click search, control goes to SearchBlogEntriesAction.java, which calls the
searchBlogList() method of
BlogEntryDAO with the blogger name supplied by the user, and displays results as a list. So, the only thing that we have do is implement the
searchBlogList() method of
JackrabbitBlogEntryDAO class like this:
Session session = JackrabbitPlugin.getSession();
Workspace workSpace = session.getWorkspace();
QueryManager queryManager = workSpace.getQueryManager();
StringBuffer queryStr = new StringBuffer(
"//blogEntry[@"+PROP_BLOGAUTHOR +"= '");
Query query = queryManager.createQuery(queryStr.toString(),
QueryResult queryResult = query.execute();
NodeIterator queryResultNodeIterator = queryResult.getNodes();
while (queryResultNodeIterator.hasNext()) {
Node blogEntry = queryResultNodeIterator.nextNode();
String title = blogEntry.getProperty(PROP_TITLE).getString();
String blogContent = blogEntry.getProperty(PROP_BLOGCONTENT).getString();
Value creationTimeValue = (Value) blogEntry.getProperty(
BlogEntryDTO blogEntryDTO = new BlogEntryDTO(userName, title,
blogContent, creationTimeValue.getDate());
Once we have the session object, call the
getWorkspace() method on it to retrieve the workspace attached to the current session. Remember, there is a one-to-one mapping between workspace and session. This workspace object can be used to retrieve the
QueryManager associated with this workspace. The
QueryManager interface encapsulates methods for management of search queries. The next thing that we want to do is to create a query string, which in our case would be
"//blogEntry[@blogAuthor='<bloggerName>'"]. This means "search all nodes with name equal to
blogEntry and value of
blogAuthor property equal to the
<bloggerName> supplied by user". See the JSR-170 specification document for more details on the syntax of an XPath query.
You can create a new query object by calling the
createQuery() method, passing a query string and the name of the query language (XPath in our case). Once you have the
Query object, you can call its
execute() method to actually execute the query and return a
QueryResult object. The results returned always respect the access restrictions of the current session. In other words, if the current session does not have read permission for a particular item, then that item will not be included in the result set, even if it would otherwise constitute a match. All queries are run against the peristent state of the workspace; pending changes stored in the session are not searched. Once you have results you can call
getNodes() method on it to have an iterator go over nodes that match the query.
Two more methods that we want to implement are
updateBlogEntry() and
removeBlogEntry(), which are actually very simple. In both these methods, we retrieve the relevant node by using the title as the primary key. In the update case, set the new values for properties to update, and in the remove case, once you have have target node call the
remove() method on it. Don't forgot to call
session.save() method to make sure that your changes are persisted.
One of the primary requirements of a content repository is that it should be able to handle binary content, such as image files. Now let's assume that we want to allow the user to attach an image to a particular
blogEntry and we also want to add a retrieval method. To do that, we have added two links to every blog entry in its title bar: "attach file" for attaching an image to a blog entry and "display attached file," which displays the image attached to that
blogEntry. To get this feature working we have to implement two methods from
attachFileToBlogEntry() and
getAttachedFile() :
public void attachFileToBlogEntry(String blogTitle,
InputStream uploadInputStream) throws BlogApplicationException {
Session session = JackrabbitPlugin.getSession();
Node blogEntryNode = getBlogEntryNode(blogTitle, session);
blogEntryNode.setProperty(PROP_ATTACHMENT, uploadInputStream);
public InputStream getAttachedFile(String blogTitle) throws BlogApplicationException {
InputStream attachFileIS = null;
Node blogEntryNode = getBlogEntryNode(blogTitle);
Value attachFileValue = (Value) blogEntryNode.getProperty(PROP_ATTACHMENT).getValue();
attachFileIS = attachFileValue.getStream();
return attachFileIS;
As you can see from this code listing, the repository does not treat binary content any different from any other type of content. The only difference is you can add binary content by setting
InputStream as the value of property; the same goes for retrieving a property with a binary value. Where this file is actually stored is determined by the value of the
externalBLOBs attribute in your persistent manager. If its value is
true, then this image file will be stored on filesystem, and if false it will be stored in the database as a BLOB. In our case this value is
true, so the uploaded image file will be stored in the filesystem.
By now you should have a good understanding of JSR-170, Jackrabbit, and how to develop simple applications using JSR-170 API. In this article, our discussion was focused mostly on the basics of JSR-170 and Apache Jackrabbit. We started our discussion by talking about the Java Content Repository API and the benefits of standardization in this space. We then covered the repository model defined by JSR-170 and how to download, configure, and run Apache Jackrabbit. After that, we developed a sample blogging application for demonstrating the basic features of JSR-170 API.
Return to ONJava.com.


text:
A BIG Bank Holiday crowd saw 16-year-old Jake Launchbury ride his first winner on Smugglers Run in the Novice Riders Race at the North Cotswold point-to-point.
Basil Fawlty led the first half of the contest at Paxford, while Corridor Sun looked dangerous until unseating Brad Catton at the 13th fence.
Smugglers Run was a little adrift but closed the gap when Basil Fawlty and his jockey parted company at the fourth from home.
The race was at Smugglers Run's mercy but his stride began to shorten after the second from home.
It needed all his young jockey's skills to withstand the challenge of Karasakal.
The winner is owned by the rider's mother Leanne and stabled with Andrew Campbell at Condicote.
The Launchbury family are based in Bourton-on-the-Water where the jockey is studying for his GCSEs at the Cotswold School.
He is following former pupils Sam Twiston-Davies and Tom Bellamy, who are making a name for themselves under National Hunt rules.
The wet weather held off until the concluding eight-year-old and over Maiden at Paxford.
From halfway, it was between the first and second favourites The Snickett and Tully Donnell Flyer.
Tom Weston held the upper hand but Tom David kept pressing on The Snickett.
They regained the advantage approaching the last and drew clear.
Condicote trainer James Richardson owns the eight-year-old with his brothers Thomas and Edward and their sister Hannah. Anybody who backed odds-on favourite Scenic Route in the Members owe a debt of gratitude to jockey Mark Wall The winner jumped right at many fences and lost several lengths in the process.
Archie Bellamy and Esteem were 20 lengths clear with three fences to jump but began to tread water at the 17th.
Wall has not been the area champion for the last four years for nothing and galvanised his mount for a final effort as they passed their tiring rival to win by three-quarters-of-a-length.
Owner Matthew Burford was convinced his horse had finished second so received a pleasant surprise when the result was announced.
Wall said: "I thought they had gone off too fast and Esteem was better at shorter distances under Rules so I hoped he would tire, but he lasted longer than I anticipated!"
Those people who backed the outsider of three received their reward when Boomtown Kat provided Rachel Talbot with the second win of her career in the Ladies' Open.
Odds-on favourite Current Event was an early casualty, while Dinnie O fought a losing battle from halfway.
The Men's Open also produced a surprising result with Duke Special beating odds-on favourite The Magherally Man.
Weston played a waiting game on the favourite but Dave Mansell kicked clear at the 16th and poached a three-length advantage.
The Magherally Man stayed on strongly but was a head behind at the post.
Tom Lacey has found a niche in the market buying unraced four-year-olds, winning and then packing them off to the sales.
Love Manhattan's victory in the Maiden added to the Chipping Norton trainer's impressive CV.
The winner showed signs of greenness approaching the last fence but had too much speed for Very Keen on the flat.
RESULTS Hunt Members: 1 Scenic Route (M Wall, 1-2 fav), 2 Esteem, 3 Beat the Bandits. Five ran.
Novice Riders: 1 Smugglers Run (J Launchbury, 8-1), 2 Karasakal. Five ran.
Ladies' Open: 1 Boomtown Kat (R Talbot, 4-1), 2 Dinnie O. Three ran.
Men's Open: 1 Duke Special (D Mansell, 7-2), 2 The Magherally Man, 3 Brimham Boy. Four ran.
Restricted: 1 Broken Eagle (J Tudor, 5-2), 2 Firey King, 3 Coolykereen Castle. Five ran.
Maiden (four, five, six and seven-year-old): 1 Love Manhattan (S Drinkwater, 5-4 fav), 2 Very Keen, 3 Some Machine. Eight ran.
Open Maiden (eight-year-old and upwards): 1 The Snickett (T David, 7-4), 2 Tullydonnell Flyer, 3 Roscarno. Six ran.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
HUGE crowds are expected at this year's Armed Forces Day which takes place next month at Himley Hall.
There will be fun and entertainment available for all ages on Sunday June 29 when organisers plan a great day out for the family.
Youngsters will be able to try their hand on a range of free activities including go-karting, a zip line, trampolines, fairground rides and an inflatable truck.
There will also be a parade of historic vehicles and a display from the popular youth marching band.
Formal celebrations start at 2.30pm with a performance from the Staffordshire Military Wives Choir and the D Day Darlings.
There will also be the presentation of the HM Armed Forces Veterans Badge to veterans living in the borough.
Anyone who believes they should be entitled to a badge should contact the Veterans UK helpline on 0808 1914218.
Veterans will need to have applied for and received their badges in order to have them presented on the day.


text:
Perhaps the Jockey bra news has flooded your inbox?
We have an article to share, but wanted to make a few statements first:
– City Drawers carries Jockey panties, but we cannot sell their bras (go through their website or to their outlet store).
– If you've watched their youtube, please understand that the glaring misstake is making it seem as though the traditional bra-cup sizing stops at a 'D'. Jockey's not the only brand or retailer to do this. You're hard-pressed to find bigger than a 'DD' at Macy's in Bangor. City Drawers sells a few lines that go to an 'N' cup. So, even if we suggest you try on a DDD, G, or H you are very average.
– Because of that, also understand that the Jockey bra is not a solution for everyone! If you are very narrow in the rib-cage or very busty, it will not be a solution for you.
– We DO have Jockey's new measuring kit in our shop now. Maybe there's something we can all learn from it, but if you want to measure yourself with it rather than purchase your own kit, please stop in to City Drawers to do so. If you decide to purchase a Jockey bra, we'd love to check the fit for you once it arrives. Of course, we charge no fee for any of this! We just want to help you help yourself. Call 338-9980 with any questions.
Below from an industry magazine, Body.
Skepticism For Jockey's Bra Sizing System
(Filed Under wholesale Lingerie News). Reaction in the press to Jockey's new Volumetric Fit System has been generally skeptical, despite the universally-quoted "statistics" that most women are wearing the wrong size bra.
At the end of May the company introduced "Jockey Bra," which replaces traditional band and cup sizing with a new fitting system based on determining one's under bust measurement (30" to 42") and finding the best fitting of one of ten plastic cups supplied (at a cost of $19.95), by Jockey. Under the patented system you will hear sizes like 3-40 and 9-38. The new system also "replaces underwires with a 3-D Contour support" cup, and the company "guarantees consistent sizing in styles that will not be discontinued."
Five bra styles in three different colors are offered, each retailing for $60. In all there are 55 different possible sizes. The bra sizing kit contains ten "volumetric fit cups," a color-coded measuring tape, a lingerie wash bag and a coupon for $20 off the first Jockey Bra purchased. The kit also comes with "a love at first fit" guarantee.
Writing on Cosmopolitan.com, Michelle Ruiz declared, "If they have their way, you'd squish your boobs into various cups, measure your rib cage, then be compelled to buy its $60 Jockey Bra." She concluded, "Chances are I'll be too lazy to get online and pay $20 for a chicken cutlet sizing kit, measure my breasts, and then go find the right Jockey Bra. For $60. Isn't it hard enough to get girls, and by girls I mean myself, to put on a bra in the first place?"
Writing in the New York Times, Stephanie Clifford stated, "Whether Jockey's approach will catch on is uncertain," but conceded the bra is "another step in the evolution of the modern brassiere." She pointed out that at $60 the bra costs "more than many competitors, despite its functional looks and a limited choice of colors: beige, white or black." She added, "The Jockey Bra confronts several business challenges," including the difficulty of introducing a completely new measuring system to the public while at the same time trying to get women to pay up front to join in the experiment.
Clifford, in her article, quotes Charla Welch of The Bra Crusader blog, as stating the plastic-cup approach "wasn't very comfortable" and "Maybe it's just larger breasts, but I had to work it into the plastic cup." Clifford reported that "In standard sizes, Ms. Welch is a 32H, a 9-32 in Jockey's size."
Jockey claims it spent eight years developing the Jockey Bra, scanning "800 female bodies." Declared, Sally Tomkins, senior vice president of design, research and product development for Jockey, "We knew we had to come to market with the best possible product in order to really make a difference in women's lives," adding, "Through our research, and countless hours of testing and talking with women, we are confident we are answering women's desire for the perfect-fitting bra."
"Jockey has several challenges ahead, the first of which is simple: The bra cups look kind of weird. When we held floppy plastic pieces in our hands, we were hesitant — we're supposed to put this where?" wrote Ellie Krupnick on The Huffington Post. "The self-measuring method may also be imprecise," she continued, adding "Jockey is also just one company, albeit a popular one. They may change their bra sizes, but the majority of bra companies still use the classic A-B-C cup sizes. Unless women loyally shop at Jockey alone, they now have to contend with multiple sizing systems."
"The brand is asking customers to shell out money up front for a completely unknown product — pretty risky move," wrote Lauren Le Vine at Redbookmag.com, referring to the initial purchase of the sizing kit. And she noted that "At $60 each, the company is asking customers to put a lot of faith in this whole sizing revolution — although it does come with a money-back guarantee."


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Monday, November 16, 2009 - 6:22 pm
Live Audio: Evolving Faith – Meaning, Ethics, and Ideas
Listen here, live at 7 pm Central! (caveat: you probably won't hear anything until 10 minutes prior to start time)!
Well, Krista's in Chicago tonight — and she'll be on the receiving end of the conversation this time.
Eboo Patel, founder of Interfaith Youth Core, will lead the discussion and will ask Krista about the surprises and discoveries she has made as religion has moved from the sidelines to the forefront of world affairs.
We'd love to hear your comments whether you were seated in the church or are listening from home or the office. Submit your comments here.
(photo: Kate Moos)


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808 Drum programming (by Eekkoo) from Eekkoo on Vimeo.
Roland TR-727 from Clocklife on Vimeo.
I start my songwriting with the drums. Touching actual buttons and watching flashing lights go left to right as the sequencer plays is more fun than pushing around a mouse. My iPad is getting a lot of attention these days for the fun factor too but the sound is not exactly the same.
"The famous Roland TR-808 was also launched in 1980. At the time it was received with little fanfare, as it did not have digitally sampled sounds; drum machines using digital samples were much more popular. In time, though, the TR-808, along with its successor, the TR-909 (released in 1984), would become a fixture of the burgeoning underground dance, techno, and hip-hop genres, mainly because of its low cost (relative to that of the Linn machines), and the unique character of its analogue-generated sounds." – Wikipedia
For more info: wikipedia.org/Drum_machine
photo credit: Ethan Hein


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Roadrunner men, Hale hold off Bobcats' second-half rally
Updated 12:20 am, Sunday, February 17, 2013
SAN MARCOS — A sign hoisted by a UTSA fan in enemy territory Saturday afternoon pretty much said it all.
"Hale Yeah" was the cheer for the day as the Roadrunners held on for a wild 73-62 victory over the Texas State Bobcats at Strahan Coliseum.
After UTSA point guard Michael Hale III left the floor wincing with a shoulder injury in the first half, he returned to play 19 minutes after intermission to help the Roadrunners hold off a spirited rally by the Bobcats.
"Michael Hale is the toughest player, pound for pound, in America," Texas State coach Doug Davalos said. "He's just a tough kid."
Officially, UTSA didn't announce the nature or the extent of the injury. But Hale acknowledged later that he was in discomfort after he hurt his left shoulder in a scramble for a loose ball with about five minutes left in the first half.
"It was painful, I guess," Hale said after UTSA ended a six-game losing streak. "But I'm really proud of my teammates. They did a great job, everyone."
Sports Channel
When he left the court initially and took a seat on the bench, the trainer wrapped the shoulder heavily. But with the Roadrunners leading by 26 after intermission, Hale surprisingly jogged onto the floor to join the layup line.
He was in the game, for better or worse, and early on it appeared it might be the latter. A few long jumpers missed badly. He had trouble dribbling to his left.
The Bobcats (7-19, 3-11 WAC) capitalized, clamping down defensively all over the floor and chopping what had been a 31-point deficit to 14 with 10 minutes remaining.
With the home fans screaming, they whittled it down to eight a couple of times late in the game, but Hale and the Roadrunners (6-19, 2-12) did just enough to hang on.
Guard Kannon Burrage posted 15 points and seven rebounds to lead UTSA, while Hale contributed 13 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Jeromie Hill added 13 points, Jordan Sims tossed in 12 and Edrico McGregor, playing perhaps his best game of the season, produced 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
"Rico was great," UTSA coach Brooks Thompson said. "He had some huge rebounds and made a couple of big shots down the stretch."
The Bobcats frustrated the Roadrunners with an 81-78 victory in overtime in San Antonio on Jan. 19.
But they couldn't pull off the sweep as the I-35 rivals split the season series for the third year in a row.
Forward Matt Staff led Texas State with 18 points and 13 rebounds.


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Eating WhiteRiddles are little poems or phrases that pose a question that needs answering. Riddles frequently rhyme, but this is not a requirement.
Eating white is what I mostly do
If quick enough, a fruit and some things blue
When you see pink, sky blue, orange, or red
It would be wise to turn my yellow head
In a dark room with blue walls
I run from the ghosts that roam the halls
What am I?
AnswerPacman (Braingle version)
Pacman usually eats the white dots. When a fruit pops up, he may get it or it disappears. When Pacman eats the bigger white dots, the ghosts turn blue and he is able to eat them.
The colors of the ghosts are pink, sky blue, orange and red. When you are coming close to one, you should turn the other way.
The background is black and the maze walls are blue.
What Next?
See another brain teaser just like this one...
Or, just get a random brain teaser
If you become a registered user you can vote on this riddle, keep track of
which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
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Trade Commissioner Service - U.S.A
The United States is our largest trading partner by far. This year, 73 percent of our exports of goods and services will be destined to the United States.
Although doing business there can be a complex undertaking, the U.S. market offers some of the greatest opportunities in the world. Contact the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) and benefit from our international business development professionals.
Exporting to the United States - A Guide for Canadian Businesses
Leading Opportunity Sectors
We serve Canadian clients in all sectors. Based on our knowledge of the market, the following sectors offer the greatest opportunities for Canadian companies:
Aerospace | Agriculture, Food and Beverages | Automotive | Cleantech | Defence and Security | Education | Information and Communications Technologies | Infrastructure, Building Products and Related Services | Life Sciences | Oceans Industries | Oil and Gas
The TCS has multiple trade offices across the United States. Take advantage of them!
Territory covered:
Territories covered:
Atlanta: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Boston: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Chicago: Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin
Dallas/Houston: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Denver: Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Utah
Detroit: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky
Los Angeles/San Diego: Southern California, Nevada, Arizona
Miami: Florida, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Minneapolis: Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
New York: Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania
San Francisco/Palo Alto: Northern California, Hawaii and Guam
Seattle: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Washington: District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland
- Date Modified:


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Hoover's Gina Niph could not believe it.
Tears streaming from her eyes after a tough three-game match, the Cardinals' No. 1 girls singles player hustled out of the Mira Mesa High gym, site of Friday's San Diego Section badminton team championships, and into the quad to cry, exult and contemplate.
Niph, who had lost twice this season to the section's No. 2-seeded girl, Crawford's Thao Nguyen, finally was able to beat Nguyen 4-11, 11-2, 11-9, ultimately helping the top-seeded Cardinals shut out the No. 2 Colts 17-0.
"They were tears of joy," the junior explained. "I got kind of emotional. I was proud of myself. I think everyone expected something different. I think I surprised everyone. I guess the third time is the charm."
While Niph's victory may have surprised some, Hoover's seventh straight championship only worked to further secure its dominance. The Cardinals had beaten Crawford 11-6 in the teams' last regular-season meeting this year.
Niph, unseeded in last year's individual tournament but seeded third at next week's individual championships, later teamed up with Vivian Nguyen to beat Crawford's Melanie Taing and Terra Rey 15-3, 15-5 in girls doubles.
Cardinals coach Vu Nguyen, a 1996 Hoover graduate, said the play of his girls this year has been a key to the team's success.
"Last year we had a very strong group of guys," Vu Nguyen said. "This year's team is all about the girls and the guys. I'm very proud of all of their performances."
Hoover's No. 1 boys singles player, senior Tien Nguyen, last year's individual champ, also dominated with a 15-4, 15-8 win over Crawford's Tien Le. He paired with Vivian Nguyen for a sound 15-8, 15-9 win at No. 1 mixed doubles over the Colts' Thong Hoang and Thao Nguyen.
"We've been practicing six days a week after school, four hours a day," Tien Nguyen said. "We've all been trying to play as hard as we can as individuals to help the team."
Colts coach Yee Yang, a 2007 Crawford alum, said he expected the Cardinals to play strong, but his team did as well.
"Even though we lost, we come out today as winners, not as losers," Yang said. "We had a very strong team this year and it was a good experience for all of us."


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It's a Johnny Depp action figure marathon...
For a great selection of film, comic and TV action figures and collectibles, check out BigBadToyStore.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, PastGenerationToys.com, Urban-Collector.com, ToyDorks.com, MonkeyDepot.com, HobbyLinkJapan.com, and Sekaido.com.
To insure your action figure collection, get in touch with our sponsor Collectibles Insurance.
Hot Toys adoration for actor Johnny Depp continues with the announcement that they will be producing a Sweeney Todd collectible figure. Based on the character from the award-winning Tim Burton movie Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the 1:6th scale action figure follows fast in the footsteps of previously announced Depp product, including Rango (granted it is Depp as a lizard) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Johnny Depp fans rejoice.


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Atlanta Braves 2014 Home Opener Tuesday, April 8
The Atlanta Braves home opener will take place on Tuesday, April 8 vs. their NL East rivals the New York Mets and it will be an extraordinary night for fans in Braves Country! First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., but fans are asked to be in their seats by 6:30 p.m. so they don't miss any of the pregame festivities.
A pregame ceremony will recognize the 40th Anniversary of Hank Aaron hitting his 715th home run and breaking Babe Ruth's long standing record. There will be many special guests and surprises as we honor our beloved home run king.
Throughout the 2014 season the Braves will wear a special patch on the right sleeve of their uniforms and a special decal will be on the Turner Field outfield wall honoring the anniversary of this incredible feat.
To start the festivities, Kristian Bush, half of the award-winning duo Sugarland, will perform a pregame concert in Fan Plaza and will also sing the National Anthem before the game.
Prior to the national anthem, the Atlanta Braves will unveil their 2013 NL East division championship banner and the 2014 team will be introduced and line up along the base path.
The incredibly popular Timothy Miller from the Atlanta Opera will return again this season and will sing "God Bless America" on this special night during the 7th inning stretch.
The first 45,000 fans coming in to Turner Field will receive a commemorative poster of Hank Aaron courtesy of SunTrust.
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting www.braves.com/tickets, the Braves Ticket Office at Turner Field, the Braves Clubhouse Store at the CNN Center, all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 1-800-745-3000.


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Beltre feels for Kouzmanoff
SEATTLE -- Adrian Beltre was activated off the disabled list on Friday but he felt for Kevin Kouzmanoff, who is going to be sidelined for an extended period of time with a herniated disc in his lower back.
"I thought he was our best hitter in the last two weeks," Beltre said. "Power, production, hitting in the clutch, he was better than anybody could have expected. It's tough, we know how hard he worked to get back in the big leagues. You could see in Spring Training he wanted to get back and did everything he could. He did a great job for two weeks. It's sad to see a guy who worked so hard like that get injured."
Beltre was sidelined for two weeks with a strained left quad muscle. He said he has been ready to play for over a week but he's still going to be cautious, especially getting out of the batter's box and running the bases.
"Obviously for the next 10 days or so, I'm not going to force anything," Beltre said. "I want to make sure I'm good. Defense is not a problem but coming out of the box and trying to get that extra gear, I won't be pushing it for the next 7-10 days."
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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Attention A T users. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. 1. Please switch auto forms mode to off. 2. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). 3. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow. You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links.
Contact Us
VA » Health Care » Patient Care Services » PCS » National Chaplain Center
Patient Care Services
National Chaplain Center
The Mission of the National Chaplain Center is to empower Department of Veterans Affairs Chaplains in the achievement of excellence in meeting the Spiritual Healthcare needs of Veterans.
What can a VA Chaplain offer me?
- Find out what a Chaplain Can Do for You?
- Why Might I Want to See a Chaplain? Watch a Very Brief Overview of What VA Chaplains Do and How You Might Benefit From Visiting With a Chaplain.*
- Supportive Spiritual Care
- Patient Care Team
- Lead Ceremonies of Worship & Ritual
- Healthcare Ethics
- Educate Healthcare Teams
- Mediation & Reconcilers
- Complementary Therapies
- Research
*Link will take you outside of the Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA)Website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked websites. The link will open in a new window.


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Who are Center Parcs ?
We are two separate companies sharing the same company name and logo. The UK villages are owned and operated by Center Parcs Limited registered in England. The European villages are owned and operated by Center Parcs Europe NV registered in The Netherlands.
Choose your destination:
Discover Center Parcs UK
Visit centerparcs.co.uk Website
Discover our stunning parks in Europe:
- Villages Nature Paris
- Park Erperheide
- Park Ardennen
- Park De Vossemeren
- Park Les Bois-Francs
- Park Les Hauts de Bruyères
- Park Le Lac d'Ailette
- Park Les Trois Forêts
- Park Bois aux Daims
- Park De Eemhof
- Park Zandvoort
- Park De Kempervennen
- Park Het Heijderbos
- Park De Huttenheugte
- Park Limburgse Peel
- Park Het Meerdal
- Park Port Zélande
- Park Sandur
- Park Nordseeküste
- Park Hochsauerland
- Park Bispinger Heide
- Park Eifel
- Park Bostalsee
Visit Center Parcs Europe Website
- Visitors from Great Britain
- Bezoekers uit Nederland
- Visiteurs de France
- Bezoekers uit België - Visiteurs belge
- Deutsche Besucher
- Visitors from Ireland
- Besucher Schweiz - Visiteurs Suisse
- Visitors from Israel
- Visitantes de España
- Swedish visitor
- Danish visitor
Visitors from other countries:
What does Center Parcs offer?
We provide exceptional short breaks & holidays in the forest throughout the UK and Europe – together we have 26 stunning villages each set in acres of beautiful forest, with first class facilities including stylish accommodation, restaurants and a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities from badminton to sailing.
Please select centerparcs.co.uk for information on UK village locations and Center Parcs Europe for information on The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany.


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Sherpa Throw - Bohemian Paisley
No longer available
- Overview
Cuddly fleece gives this pretty throw an extra layer of warmth. The swirling paisley design is printed on supersoft baby-wale corduroy.
- 50 x 60"
- Printed 100% cotton corduroy.
- Filled with 120-gram-weight polyester.
- Reverses to polyester sherpa.
- Machine wash.
- Imported.
- Dimensions + Care
- Machine wash in warm water; gentle cycle.
- Use only nonchlorine bleach, if needed.
- Tumble dry on low heat; remove promptly.
- Warm iron as needed.
- Shipping Info
This item will arrive in 3-5 business days. Please proceed to the Payment & Review page of Checkout for a precise delivery estimate.
- Final Sale
Final-sale items, identified by a price ending in $0.99, cannot be returned. Once placed, your order for any final sale items cannot be canceled.


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By Varietal
Matriarch Ann "Granny" Kottkamp knew how to keep her family together -- through Sunday Night Suppers. She was a good cook, though not a great and definitely not a creative cook.
Breakfast is my favorite meal, second to a hearty burger on the grill. My grandma used to make Eggs Benedict with sausage patties and I loved the combination of the flavors.
They're a bit messy but delicious. Burgers made extradordinary from the un-ordinary. A great change to the usual grilled burgers.
These burgers were inspired by my love ofpairing pork with apples, horseradish and smokey bacon. I also enjoyed these flavors and ingredients in various ways when I traveled to Germany.
This burger was inspired by my love of pairing pork, apples, horseradish and smokey bacon. It also reminds me of food I enjoyed when I traveled in Germany.


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The 'X-Men: Days Of Future Past' Sentinel Is A Giant Purple Mutant-Hating Robot, As It Should Be
Even though it won't be released until next year, the promotion for the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past movie has already kicked into high gear. We've seen the site showing us glimpses of Bolivar Trask, Bolivar Trask's Amazing Moustache and a few grainy images of the Sentinels, but now, we finally know exactly what those things look like.
And as someone who spends a lot of time thinking about the X-Men, I'm pretty stoked to say that they went ahead and made it a giant purple robot with a machine gun arm. All is as it should be.


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App rates restaurants on catering to workers' needs; 9 Philly restaurants included
A new restaurant guide is now available as a cell phone app. But it makes no mention of the quality of the food or service.
It rates restaurants by how they treat their employees.
The Restaurant Opportunities Center, a national organization advocating for people who work in one of the largest industries in the world, has just published the 2013 "Diner's Guide to Ethical Eating." It rates restaurants based on how well they pay their employees (at least $5 for tipped workers, $9 for untipped workers); whether they offer paid sick days; and opportunities for professional advancement.
For years, consumers have been asking about how their food was treated before it got to the plate. Now it's time to ask after the server, says ROC co-founder, Saru Jayaraman.
"Really observing the success of the food movement in having consumers ask every time they eat out -- is this local? Is this organic?
"We want to replicate its success by having consumers also ask, as a consumer, I would love to see you paid sick days," said Jayaraman. "And just say that. Not to tell people where to eat, or not to eat. It's about giving consumers tools they need to speak up every time they eat out, or send a tweet through our new iPhone app if they feel uncomfortable speaking up."
The guide rated 150 of the largest restaurant companies in America, including Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Capitol Grille -- all of which fared poorly due to lawsuits related to wages or discrimination.
The guide also acknowledged locally owned restaurants in several cities. Nine Philadelphia restaurants were rated, up from one restaurant in the 2012 edition.
Jayaraman says Philadelphia is one of the more progressive cities when it comes to restaurant workers, based mostly on the passing of Councilman Jim Kenney's gratuity protection bill last year, and an attempt to pass a paid sick day bill this year. Last week, City Council recognized the efforts of those nine starred restaurants in the ROC guide.
The Philadelphia restaurants included in the ratings are:
The Belgian Cafe
Fergie's Pub
Grace Tavern
Lil Pop Shop
Nodding Head
Support provided by


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Conceived in Colorado Springs in 2006, before smart phones, iPads and other browser-based mobile devices were the norm, PetExec is a web-based system for dog daycare owners to manage their business operations. In addition to dog daycare, pet owners can access information on their pets, schedule appointments, access webcams and perform many other tasks from a secure login. PetExec is committed to providing dog daycare owners a one-stop resource for technology, marketing and consulting needs, as well as the very best customer experience.
"Approached to build a dog daycare system for a new family-owned dog daycare, the idea for PetExec was sparked," explains Paul Naro, PetExec's President. "We saw the need for something more modern than what was available. We thought that the idea of a web-based dog daycare management system just might work. After a bit of discussion and several prototypes and revisions, PetExec was born. Our very first customer, Stay & Play Pet Resort in Fargo, ND continues to thrive today with the help of PetExec."
As business evolved, PetExec realized that it needed to consider technologies that would allow it to cater to a new breed of customers – those who are somewhat tech-savvy.
"In 2006, when we started thinking of the idea of PetExec, we wanted a solution for dog daycare owners, which use technology to not only record activities, but appeal to a particular audience," continues Naro. "At the time, most people were forced into hosted solutions that would only work with specific operating systems. Basically, all of the work would need to be done in the same location. This was far too limiting for our customers, since many people in the dog daycare business are high energy, mobile and need access to information at several areas, inside and outside the facility, to conduct business. We also wanted a secure portal for the two-legged owners for making appointments, messaging, updating statuses, etc."
PetExec, a member of the Rackspace Startup Program, quickly outgrew hosted solutions that only worked with specific operating systems, and now it puts its trust in a hosting provider that has stayed on the cutting edge offering best of breed open cloud technology. "We chose Rackspace for its commitment to Open Source and its reputation for support, which really is truly amazing," says Naro. "We currently have eight VMs running Ubuntu with our own PostgreSQL cluster. As our business grows and our infrastructure gets more complex, we have an excellent growth path within the Rackspace Open Cloud framework."
PetExec now serves customers across the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Paula Mosteller, who handles PetExec's Customer Fulfillment says, "We have enjoyed steady growth and are excited to work with other companies who share a unique vision in the pet care market. We will always be challenged to offer new apps, advanced features and as many ways as possible to keep track of our busy customers' furry clientele. When we hear barking on the other end of the phone, that means business is good."
Passion to do the very best for PetExec customers, who they refer to affectionately as "Pack Mates," has driven the team from day one. Many of their ideas are the driving force of new features built into the PetExec platform. Customers are encouraged to share ideas and help to continue to grow and improve PetExec. Pack mates keep the PetExec team on their toes, and they, along with new technologies and other fresh ideas, keep PetExec both challenging and exciting.
"Each fall, we project our growth and activities for the upcoming year, but keep our options open for a few surprises," concludes Mosteller. "Some goals include frequenting more trade shows and expanding our training and coaching programs. Additionally, we have several 'treats' for our customers including new features, apps and other productivity enhancing tools. We are always excited to hear about new technologies, and thrive on staying current and exchanging ideas with our pack mates. We feel confident that 2013 will be another fantastic year for us."
Are you an entrepreneur involved in an accelerator, university program or backed by a venture capital firm? If so, the Rackspace Startup Program can assist you in launching your business by providing a world class Open Cloud Computing platform with Fanatical Support™ powered by Rackspace on which to build it. Just talk with the Space Cowboys!


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San Jose, California
"I have been a teacher, and I have been an Olympian — being a teacher is both more honorable and more difficult."
Kevin McMahon is a working designer and editor who teaches graphic design, 3D modeling, and video production to high school students. His greatest satisfaction comes from empowering them with the means to create professional-level work. So McMahon provides his students with professional multimedia authoring challenges — everything from logos and T-shirts to 3D animations, documentary films, and original shorts.
McMahon has been hooked on the creative possibilities of digital media since the earliest days of the personal computer and has extended his artistic passion into a teaching career that began in 1996. McMahon has developed digital media courses at Bellarmine College Prep as well as at Stanford University's Digital Media Academy and at various workshops for Adobe.
McMahon's clients include BCP Visual and Performing Arts, Educating for Justice, Georgetown University, HealthyShoulders.com, Parallax Devices, USA Track and Field, and Trader Joe's. He holds a bachelor's degree in studio art and a master's degree in humanities from Georgetown University.
In addition to his digital media and teaching pursuits, McMahon competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games as a hammer thrower. Proud accomplishments. But he is equally proud to be an Adobe Education Leader.


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Like WildfireRiddles are little poems or phrases that pose a question that needs answering. Riddles frequently rhyme, but this is not a requirement.
This deadly 8-letter word can really "put people in a frenzy," and for very good reason. If you drop letter 1 and order the rest of the letters like so [8745623], then you get exactly what the word can do. So, if you are affected by it, you had better get a good [65478], or you could be taking a very long [321]!
HintThe title intimates that this is something that spreads very quickly... it is extremely widespread, as well.
DEM is a Greek root for people. A (PAN- [DEM] -IC) puts people (DEM) in a frenzy (PANIC).
Cide is a Latin root for kill. A pandemic "kills mankind."
And of course...if you contract the disease, you need a good [65478] = MEDIC, or you may take a long [321] = NAP (death).
What Next?
See another brain teaser just like this one...
Or, just get a random brain teaser
If you become a registered user you can vote on this riddle, keep track of
which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Back to Top


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Related story: If you missed it, read about Tomas D. Morales' first day on campus
SAN BERNARDINO - Among the many hats new Cal State San Bernardino President Tomas D. Morales wears is fundraiser-in-chief.
The university has a fundraising goal of 10 percent of its state general fund allocation. Over the past three years, the school has exactly hit that mark, bringing in an average of $5.5 million a year.
Morales has a strong track record as a fundraiser, increasing alumni participation in the annual fund at the College of Staten Island, where he was president for five years, by 50 percent. In all, he raised more than $8 million for the school.
Earlier in his career, he helped bring in $10 million for the City University of New York system and $23 million for Cal Poly Pomona.
"Given the declining level of state support to the CSU, fundraising has never been more important at Cal State San Bernardino," Morales said. "There is no question that fundraising is considered a top responsibility of presidents throughout the CSU, and that is especially clear here in the Inland Empire, considering the demographics of our students and the economic and educational needs of the region."
Cuts in state funding have led to the CSU campuses cutting enrollment by 30,000 students and eliminating 3,000 jobs since the 2007-2008 school year. But donors are unlikely to plug the gaps that Sacramento has left in university coffers.
"From my experience, philanthropy has never been designed to offset state funding," Morales said. "I have yet to meet a donor who is interested in writing a check for basic operations just because the state has reduced support."
Instead, donors bring their checkbooks with specific goals in mind.
"Donors want to advance excellence, giving our faculty and students the types of resources that allow them to make an immediate impact upon graduation," Morales said. "From scholarships to state-of-the-art learning laboratories to endowments, external support is what separates a good university from a great one."
According to Morales, the biggest pressure to do better with fundraising doesn't come from the system's board of trustees and chancellor.
"In my mind, the pressure comes from within," he said. "I will always want CSUSB students to have a premier educational experience, comparable to any university in the country. It's my responsibility to do everything in my power to make that happen. We can and will elevate opportunities for our students and faculty with external support."
Although the university has a full-time fundraising staff - and a new vice president for university advancement, Ron Fremont, newly acquired from Cal Poly Pomona - Morales acknowledges he has an important role to play in the effort.
"A president must always be the face of the university," he said. "I know what it takes for CSUSB to enjoy consistent external support, including expanding and empowering our advancement staff."
Fremont, he said, "and I have spent many years in the CSU and recognize the challenges and opportunities. I foresee great things for Cal State San Bernardino."
Reach Beau via email, call him at 909-386-3826, or find him on Twitter @InlandEd.


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Despite seeing his elaborate heels on the feet of countless celebrities, Christian Louboutin's icon status reached all new heights with the release of Jennifer Lopez's new song, "Louboutins" from her upcoming Love? album.
At the recent opening of his Miami boutique, Fashion Week Daily asked the French designer for his take on the single: "Jennifer told me about the song back in January, and I was extremely flattered," he said. "But of course, in America the public pronounces my name in like a million different ways. So Jennifer called me, and she was like, 'Listen, I want to make sure that I get it right.' And she did…from the very first time!"
According Louboutin, who claims to already know the song by heart, Lopez mentions his name 45 times ("Trust me, I've counted!") in the three-plus-minute dance track. We can't wait to see what comes next in the Louboutin-J. Lo love fest: the stiletto master is hard at work creating shoes for the eponymous music video, set to film next month.


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First and foremost I want to give a shout out to Larry Brown for taking one for the team. I'm sure going into tonight he probably figured that Herb Simon had taken enough abuse over the past few seasons so he thought he would get one for the Gipper so to speak.
Now to us.
The Smashing Pumpkins said it best for me here, "Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage".
What does that mean? Well no matter how badly I want to rage against the machine and bang my head and even jump off of a tall building I am still at the mercy of the coaching staff of this team.
First I want to give respect to the Jazz. A well oiled machine that maximizes the talent that is on the floor.
There was one play in the second quarter that I hit replay for about 6 straight times by the Jazz. It was a picture perfect high post, double cut to the glass with a picture perfect lay-up.
I replayed this for myself because I wanted to see what an organized offense actually looked like as I haven't seen one in about 9 years now.
Now to us.
I have been holding off doing one of these because I wanted to kind of do one after a win, but with this team.....
Well I have chosen to go ahead and do one after we have had two games where we did not at least become the event horizon for a black hole. If I would have done one after the Golden State loss I assure you I would have had to ban myself from posting ever again.
But while we have been beaten again by both the Kings and the Jazz at least I felt like we competed.
It did not start out that way tonight though. Honestly with the way this started I was wondering if we would score 70 points for the game while holding them below 100.
But thankfully we picked it up a little anyway.
There are so many ways to go from here. At first I was just going to make this a Troy Murphy and Jim O'Brien free zone and not even talk about them. But it hit me that no matter what I was going to say it was always going to come back to them so I am not even going to avoid the issues.
I don't intend for them to be my main talking points, but I make no guarantees on that.
Although we are not at the 20 game mark it's close enough and I think I am going to go ahead and look at the team overall right now and give the evaluations.
I'll start with the players:
Jeff Foster: By far the most consistent player on the team night in and night out this season. As I stated about 5 years ago to U.B. that Jeff would become a better player once he got older and no longer had the athleticism to rely on. Well I believe that has come true. Since he no longer has the foot speed that he had just a few short years ago he now relies on position, contact and being (I can't believe I'm about to type this) more physical.
In fact by today's NBA standard I would actually consider Jeff a banger.
He has been great on the defensive end, good with rebounding and has not been a total waste of space on offense. He is the elder statesmen of the team.
Now having said all of these warm fuzzy things about Jeff I will still say this. I want Hibbert to start and play more min. Jeff is like Jeff always is; he is good no matter what role or how many min. he is going to play. But the simple reality of the situation is we are not going to compete for much of anything this season so while I still want Jeff to play I don't want to see him gobbling up to many min. because when we are to the point of not being a door mat in the NBA again Jeff will most likely not be here.
However for a person who has never been a Jeff Foster fan I am going to give him a grade I have never given him before that I can remember.
Jeff Foster = A
Danny Granger: Much like Fox Mulder "I want to believe". Look it may just be that after so many years of being a sewer for malcontents, prima donna (notice I did not put that in a plural phrase) and troublemakers Danny looked like Captain America. In other words not only could the guy play ball but he was also the exact image at the exact time that this franchise so desperately needed.
He still is, to a degree.
But as I have been saying in almost every single one of these posts all season long. There is something not right here. I want to believe that it is the heel. I want to believe it is the knee. I want to believe it is some form of physical ailment that is making him at times look like a zombie on the court.
Sadly so for this season he has put away his Captain America costume and picked up his new super hero persona's outfit, Danny the Chucker who's powers seem to be taking the farthest, fastest shot in the entire NBA.
Here is where I will force myself to not go off track and complain about O'Brien, although believe me I want to. I am certain Danny has a green light to shoot, (to a point I am sure he deserves this) and I'm sure Jim doesn't mind Danny taking a quick shot from 3 early in the game to probe the defense.
But I am almost positive (well at least I hope I am anyway) that Jim is not telling him to throw it up from wherever you are with whoever is on you. It could be Danny has lost the faith in his team mates and feels the added burden of trying to be "the man". It could be weighing on him and who could blame him.
But I'm just saying the guy most of the time does not seem to be enjoying playing, at least not like last year. Again it could all be the pain from the heel.
If this is the case coupled with the fact that he is not practicing with the team then I have to wonder if maybe for everybody's long term benefit if we shouldn't sit him for a couple of games. What is the worse that could happen we lose 4 in a row, oh wait...
Defensively he seems to be about what he was last season. Maybe a little better than last season. Rebounding has been hit and miss with some outstanding games and a couple of really low number games.
Leadership is where I seem to be seeing a lapse. Last season only Roy Hibbert cheered more from the bench than him and now this season he seems to not be so involved.
This sounds a lot more negative than I intended for it to be but I guess that is really where I am at right now with him. I still love him as a player and would not trade him for anything less than upper tier talent but I will just say I was hoping for a little more. Maybe my expectations were too high?
Danny Granger = B
Dahntay Jones: Better than expected. In fact up until the mindless benching (I promise I am not going to go off of track here) I thought that he was probably the most important part of the very early success that we had.
Offensively he was far better than advertised and on defense he was giving us exactly what we expected. However what was more important than either of those things was the fact that he brought toughness to our lineup that we have lacked for several years. A player who would bite, kick, scratch and claw not to lose a game.
Now he is not without faults though. While certainly his offense has been a very pleasant surprise he will probably end up with the Al "I've never met a shot I don't like" Harrington award for being the teams black hole. Once it goes in it ain't coming back out. Come hell or high-water he is either going up with a shot or going to take it to the rack. Sometimes this has spectacular success; other times he misses team mates who have wide open shots.
However I tend to be more forgiving, maybe even more that I should be, to players like him because he is always fighting and does not give up. I guess he is the type of player you would want to go to war with.
Dahntay Jones = B
T.J. Ford: His game is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. There have been games where he is simply the worst point guard in all of basketball; I'm including my nephew's 6 year old league btw here. But then there are other times that he has been vastly under rated on this board for sure and actually put in solid overall play.
On defense there has been several times that he was very disruptive to the other team only to be outdone by being very disruptive to our offense on our end of the court.
Look the guy is never going to be a Mark Jackson style of point guard. In fact, again I will not go off of track to talk about O'Brien even though I want to, in style of offense that we employ he would not be allowed to be even if he was. So for those who complain about is few assists a game and lack of overall being a floor general I want to say that while we all might want that our coach does not. So it is hard to blame T.J. for not being something we might want but playing in the style that the coach wants.
But it really has been erratic for him this season. I mean he has had monster swings from game to game and really that is not what you are looking for from your p.g. no matter what style the coach is playing. So while I am not nearly as down on him as others are I will be the first to say that an improvement at the point would not be a bad thing.
T.J. Ford = C
Earl Watson: Exactly about everything you would want from your back up point guard. Hard nosed defender, does not do many stupid things with the ball and has the ability to hit a shot when needed.
Now that is not to say that he is without problems either. He went through a streak of games where he made Jeff Foster look like Jeff Hornacek from the floor. While his defense never waned his pure lack of offense would sometimes kill us.
But very hard to be upset with someone signed to a min. contract asked to come in and be the main backup right away who at least does the first rule of medicine "first do no harm".
Earl Watson = B (this is not an indication that he is better than T.J. btw, it is just based on his play vs. what is expected of him)
And now we come to the musical portion of our show.
Roy Hibbert: This will be very very very very very hard for me not to talk about the coaching staff here. I will try with all my might but I may not be able to help myself.
To begin the year with this guy was as good as any of us would have ever expected him to be. In fact he had far exceeded any expectations I had of him. On offense he was solid, on defense he was not a liability in fact he was actually somewhat of a space eater inside and the rebounding, oh my the rebounding. I never dreamed that the guy would average over 5 rebounds a game for any length of time but he was pulling in 9+ a game and was one of the league leaders in blocked shots.
Then Troy Murphy returned from injury.
From there it has been a free fall that would make any Army HALO jumper proud. However since we are not the army this is not a good thing.
He is at best a shell of himself from earlier this season. Now you can blame it all on Roy or on circumstance or whatever, but there is a disconnect the size of Texas between the way he played when he was paired with an athletic power forward who could defend his man vs. being paired with a power forward who's idea of defense is to formally write and request that his opponent not drive on him.
I don't really even know how to rate Roy here. I know some think I am too easy on him, maybe I am. No matter who is out there with him on defense that does not give him excuse for dropping the ball in the post or getting fooled by a pump fake from 45 feet out from the basket. But still I just think there was a world of difference.
Roy Hibbert = C+
Solomon Jones: Again I will make myself refrain from talking about coaching here. When he was given a chance early in the season he was affective, to his abilities anyway, and he offered up some form of resistance in the post when Roy was not there. In fact between Roy & Solomon and the others we were the best shot blocking team in the NBA.
He is a better free throw shooter than you think; he is also a better scorer than you think as he can hit a jump shot from about 10-12 without much problem.
Look don't get me wrong the guy is not going to challenge Dwight Howard anytime soon as a post presence and I am not saying he should be a starter or even the first backup off of the bench or anything. But I am saying that compared to others who are getting ungodly min. compared to what they are producing I just can NOT see why this guy is getting DNP-CD'd game after game.
But again, low cost back up who is willing to be a good soldier makes me maybe be a little soft on the grade scale with him.
Solomon Jones = C
Luther Head: Oh let's see here the last game we won I believe that Luther had 14 points in 22 min. of play. Then the next night he played 11 min. and was one of only 3 players in the + side of the +/- category (which I pay no attention to but for some reason our coach seems to want to go there when talking about certain players) but since then? Not a single min. on the floor.
This is actually somewhat surprising to me because to be honest with you I would have thought that Luther would have been exactly what O'Brien would want from a p.g. But he has not chosen to go that route.
There are only so many min. in a game so someone is not going to get to play that some of us think should so I guess that would be Luther and Solomon for me.
Defense can tend to be a little spotty as I still have nightmares about S. Jones picking up a foul in the pre-season because Luther let his man blow past him like he was in cement.
But again super cheap back up that is willing to be a good soldier and does seem to produce when called upon?
Luther Head = C
Tyler Hansbrough: Wrecking ball. When I see him on the floor I see a player who is not afraid. Look I have no dog in the fight of if he should or should not have been drafted or if he should have been taken lower or where he went to college at or any of that.
But from what I have seen, I like it. That is why his second half disappearance vs. the Jazz was so both disappointing and maddening. I won't say it is a mystery as to why he didn't play; I think we all know why.
I saw Carlos Boozer back up to him and try and back him down and he did not budge. In fact Carlos bounced off of him and lost the ball. Ford will get the steal for that but it was created by the rock hard physic of Tyler. Btw, this guy dwarfs Millsap in both height and much to my shock strength. In fact Paul looked like a guard compared to Tyler.
For the season though I think we are getting good work from him. I have no idea what his ceiling is and I don't think any of us can really speculate with anything other than a guess.
He does have weaknesses for certain but what I like about him so far anyway is that he seems to be able to learn from his weaknesses and tries to compensate for them.
I want to see more time from him, not less. So you can guess who I want to give up min. for him to get them from.
Decent face up shooter, far better than expected defender. Rebounding seems to be coming along although he does need some work on this. He does have a legitimate problem sometimes getting lift in the lane so he has had his shot blocked a few times.
But overall I will have to say I am pretty happy with him.
Tyler Hansbrough = B
Brandon Rush: To call him a disappointment would be to say that the Titanic was a small mishap.
Look I love defense. Defense wins games yada yada yada...
But you can NOT have your shooting guard score so few point in a game. Unless your name is T.R. Dunn and you are a shooting guard you damn well put the ball in the basket at over 12 points a game.
Look this is one time that I can NOT blame coaching. In fact he has gone out of his way the other way to help Brandon (Oh if only he would do this for Roy). But like Mel Gibson said to the Land Barons in BraveHart "for Chists sake help yourselfs". Well the only person standing between Brandon Rush and success is Brandon Rush.
He was all but given the job on a silver platter. Heck Dunleavy didn't even play for the first few games so that wasn't even an issue.
But giving him minutes on the floor is like giving him the GlennGary leads, he is just throwing them away.
Brandon Rush = D (the only reason this is not an F is because he has done a very admirable job on defense and while I appreciate that we need something else)
Troy Murphy: I think I will just sum up my thoughts on Troy Murphy by posting a photo of his defensive stance.
No it is not fair to state that our entire problem is Troy Murphy, in fact I am glad that vs. the Jazz he didn't suck as bad on defense as he usually does (now that is a ringing endorsement if I have ever uttered one). But to say that he, and to be more specific our coach's love of his game, is not a major problem would not be right either.
This guy is so bad on defense on most nights that he literally makes player around him worse. His shot had not been dropping prior to the Utah game so the one thing he did offer the team (his three's) has not been there either. However to his credit it does look like he has worked on driving the lane this year so I will give him full credit for that.
Look I don't want to sound like a reactionary here but I will just go ahead and make this statement now.
I understand the long term plan. I understand that 2011 is the goal but, and believe me I know this is a huge but, if there is anyway at all to expedite his departure from the team we have got to do this now.
Ok, I'll caveat that by saying he can stay but O'Brien has to go. Actually the more I think about that I still want Murphy to go as well.
Look him playing center instead of Roy makes me want to experiment with LSD. Him playing over 35 min. a game while Tyler plays less than 15 makes me want to put on sack cloth and ashes and whip myself with chains.
Remember this is coming from a person who wanted him here. This is also from the same person who used to defend him to his naysayer for his salary.
But no more. This guy has got to go and I do not want to wait till 2011 to do it.
But like I started out saying "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage" and I know that this suck fest will continue for the next year and a half at least.
Troy Murphy = F
A.J. Price, Mike Dunleavy & Josh McRoberts have not played enough for me to score yet.
I will get to O'Brien and Bird later; it will take an entire post all by itself I assure you.
Now for those of you who have suffered through this nonsense I present you with a parting gift of fruit.


text: In the motivating toy example to our ABC model choice paper, we compare summary statistics, mean, median, variance, and… median absolute deviation (mad). The latest is the only one able to discriminate between our normal and Laplace models (as now discussed on Cross Validated!). When rerunning simulations to produce nicer graphical outcomes (for the revision),


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Once, the distinctions were clear: the Circus handled all things political while the Department dealt with matters military. But over the years the power and influence had passed to the Circus. Now suddenly the department had a job on its hands. Uncertain evidence suggested Soviet missiles being put in place near the German border, while vital film had gone missing and a courier was dead. The Department had to find an old hand to prove its mettle. Fred Leiser, German-speaking Pole turned Englishman and a qualified radio-operator, must be called back to the colours and sent East…
©2010 David Cornwell (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.
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"The Looking Glass War"
This is another brilliant novel by le Carre. It is beautifully written and narrated, to the extent that you almost feel that you are there. I really enjoy the sense of history, little comments like working out the conversion from yards to meters, that really draws you into the book. The plot, as always, is suspense filled and engaging and is revealed through the eyes of several different charters, with different priorities and view points about the unfolding events. Le Carre has the ability to make the reader care abut his characters, regardless if the reaction is positive or negative and writes in a way that most often inspires sympathy for opposing characters turning things that are seen as faults by one character into an understandable reaction due to background and situation by another. I usually prefer to read fantasy but picked up a Le Carre in my teens and the sheer quality of his writing keeps me unable to put his books down, despite this being and area I am usually uninterested in reading.
"Coming into form"
about midway
Harry, he was the most realistic.
yes, it's on a par, he is an excellent reader.
This comment is spoiler, don't read if you have yet to enjoy the story!
I felt the story's premise was good, but the lead character had no good reason for killing the guard which led to his demise and the failure of the mission, which seemed to be a put up job by the Russians anyway, but this was never clarified, perhaps intentionally. However it seemed a bit contrived towards the end, still very good, but not up to the standard of drama later achieved in the likes of tinker tailor and smiley's people.
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text:
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Review and Photos by Jorge Pelaez
Review Samples Courtesy of Gelaskins


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WATSONVILLE -- Fifth-grader Rosanna Cruz grinned and giggled her way through an interview Monday, but she never spoke in her own voice.
The 11-year-old Freedom Elementary School student was born with cerebral palsy, which has left her in a wheelchair and unable to talk. To communicate, she laboriously taps symbols on a touch screen or types words on a virtual keyboard, her message spoken aloud by an electronic device.
It's a slow process. Rosanna would like to speed it up, so she wants to attend a weeklong session focused on technology-assisted communication at Camp Harmon in Boulder Creek in July.
"I want to learn," Rosanna said, her fingers sliding across the surface of the device.
The catch is the $1,200 cost. Rosanna's mother, Fidencia Cruz, is a farmworker from Oaxaca, Mexico. She works in the strawberry fields, but, as with most of Watsonville's agricultural work force during the offseason, she's out of a job now. Even when she does work, it's a lot of money for a single mom of limited means to shell out.
Rosanna is reaching out to the community for help.
Cruz, her Spanish interpreted by Rosanna's classroom aide, Ceci Banuelos, said her daughter's always had a sunny disposition despite her challenges. But her life has improved since she began using the communication device in third grade. She's doing better in school, and she can tell her family what she needs at home, Cruz said.
Still, Rosanna's life could be better, Banuelos said. At a recent "talker" party in the district, she and Rosanna watched a college student with a speaking impairment use a similar device to have a fast-paced conversation.
Banuelos envisions Rosanna using her device with the same ease to increase her academic progress and social life. As it is now, Rosanna interacts with classmates in the classroom, but on the playground she's found it difficult to communicate fast enough to keep potential playmates interested.
The technology is complicated, with hundreds of icons, each with hundreds of associated words.
"It's a lot to learn," Banuelos said.
The camp with its intensive training and opportunities for socializing provides an invaluable experience, said Shannon McCord, an augmentative and alternative communication specialist with the Pajaro Valley school district who has worked with Rosanna for several years. In one week, she said, Rosanna will pick up skills it would take weeks to master during the regular school year.
The camp is run by the Bridge School, a Hillsborough nonprofit that specializes in helping children with severe speech disabilities gain a voice through assistive technology.
McCord said Rosanna has been to the camp twice, but due to the cost, has skipped every other year. Last time, she returned home, no longer just using her device to answer questions but also to initiate conversations. Her confidence is growing, her shyness disappearing, McCord said.
"At Freedom, she's the only kid who uses a machine to talk," McCord said. "It's a rare opportunity for her to be at a camp where everybody has one. As much as it's a struggle for her, she's actually more proficient than a lot of kids so she can shine."
Follow Sentinel reporter Donna Jones on Twitter at Twitter.com/DonnaJonesSCS
WHO: Freedom Elementary School fifth-grader Rosanna Cruz
WHAT: Raising funds for a summer camp to help her improve skills on electronic device she uses to talk
TO DONATE: Rosanna Cruz, account No. 32219596, Bay Federal Credit Union, 3333 Clares St., Capitola