text:
Akron -- While most of the campus at The University of Akron was quiet for summer recess, the cast and production staff of Rubber City Shakespeare were hard at work staging their summer productions of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Much Ado About Nothing."
The company is comprised of 12 college and professional actors who will perform both shows in true rotating repertory, presenting a different show every other night. The shows started June 25, and runs Thursday through Sunday until July 13, with no performance on July 4. All evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students (14 and older), and $8 for youth (7 through 13).
All performances are in Schrank Hall South at The University of Akron. Address is: 240 Carroll Street Akron, OH 44325.
Both productions are sponsored by The University of Akron's College of Education.
Company Founder and Artistic Director Dane C. T. Leasure said it had always been a dream of his to start his own theatre company, even when he was an undergraduate at The University of Akron.
"I always wanted to start a theatre company and wanted to do it in Akron," he said.
Determined to make his dream a reality, Leasure went to study at Mary Baldwin College in West Virginia where he earned a MFA and M. Litt. in Shakespeare and Performance.
As part of the program, Leasure was charged in establishing his own theatre company.
"The faculty gave us ten thousand dollars and from there they expect us to plan a season, do all the press work, the marketing, acting, directing, and design," he said. "We had to do it all in a company of twelve actors."
And he did.
On March 2013, Leasure went public and officially launched the Rubber City Shakespeare Company in Akron. His mission is to bring "free and affordable Shakespeare and classical drama to the greater Akron area."
For it's first production the new classical Shakespeare Company performed "A Mid Summer's Nights Dream" in the summer of 2013, "Twelfth Night" last Oct. and "Julius Caesar" this spring.
"Last summer was sort of the grand experiment for the company," Leasure said. "I said let's just run a show, run it for the weekend and see what type of reception we get. If we don't get an audience or we don't do well then maybe this just isn't the time to do this."
Now a year later the production company is staging "Romeo and Juliet" and "Much Ado About Nothing."
Audiences can expect to become part of one of most tragic romances ever written as they watch Rubber City Shakespeare Production of "Romeo and Juliet."
Who else could transform a college lecture hall into the picturesque setting fitting to stage one of the most heart wrenching classics of all time?
Director Kelly Elliott can.
"I wanted to really capitalize on the youth of the cast, as well as, the space that we are performing in," Elliot said on June 18. "That coupled with the fact that most of my students are in college, just out of college, or look like they should still be in college. It kind of made sense."
Elliott said the atmosphere that pulls the show together is that everyone is "here for a Shakespeare English Class" to review "Romeo and Juliet" for the test next class.
"What better way to review for it then by having a reading of it which then evolves as the students get really passionate and caught up in the story themselves."
Allison Good, 25, graduated from The University of Akron in 2011, and dreamed of playing the part of Juliet since she was a young girl. Her dream finally came true when she got the role in late April.
"I never thought it was going to happen," Good said. "And then it did. It was a pretty awesome moment."
Opening night on June 28 will bring a range of emotions for Good as she takes the stage to play a role of a lifetime.
"It will definitely be emotional," she said as a tear fell from her eye. "My mom passed away a week after I got cast so it will be weird not to have her here. I know she has been watching me and helping me but it will be my first show without her."
On April 30 after an 11 years, Good lost her mother to a courageous battle with cancer. Good said her mother was on a breathing machine when she told her she got the part. In that moment, Good said that her mother was so happy for her that she it nearly brought her to tears.
"It was like a gift for her to know," Good said. "She knew how anxious I was to get the part."
On opening night and every night Good takes the stage she will think of her mom, who will be by her side in spirit as she makes her own dream come true.
"If she were here she would probably tell me to keep my chin up and wow them and do awesome like you always do."
For tickets, visit www.rubbercityshakes.com/tickets.html
Contact reporter Heather Beyer at 330-541-9432 or email@example.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RPCNewsLeader?fref=nf
Twitter: @hbeyer12


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My wife wrote about weddings for years, but never one like this, never one in a hot-air balloon that crashed so ... unceremoniously in the yard of a Rancho Peñasquitos man turned uninvited guest who rushed to help Monday, then served the bride a glass of wine.
Who's the wedding crasher in that situation?
What? The "Today" show and CNN cracked similar jokes. How could I resist?
Jonathan and Kerin Narcisse became America's most famous newlyweds overnight, after a balloon with 14 souls aboard, including theirs, crashed in North County and gave bride and groom and media outlets nationwide quite a story.
Both of them laughed about it, long and often, when we talked on Tuesday. Luckily, only one of the passengers (and none of the eight people in the wedding party) was hurt, and that injury was minor.
Everything else about this story? Just the opposite of minor.
Jonathan is a former Des Moines, Iowa, school board member who finished third in the 2010 race to be governor of that fine state and now publishes two newspapers and is editor-in-chief of a third. Kerin is an Iowa native turned chaplain at San Diego Hospice who has always wondered what being near death — near your own — was really like.
There was a sense of peace Monday. "And of course Jonathan was saying enough Jesuses to keep us all covered," she said.
She never would have guessed she'd be near death on her wedding day, especially since the whole overblown idea was hers to begin with. She'd dreamed about hot-air balloons for years and would tell her kids from a previous marriage that she wanted to get married in one. Yeah, sure, mom.
The couple first met when he gave a speech in Iowa more than a decade ago, and again when they both tried to get the same school board member elected in 2003. But he was married with daughters — named Integrity and Perseverance — and nine years ago, she moved to San Diego to pursue a new life, if not that recurring dream of a hot-air balloon.
His marriage ended soon after, and they went about their lives without knowing what the other was up to. Then they reconnected on Facebook.
In mid-November, he professed his love to her by phone. Pretty much just like that.
She was skeptical. She hung up, but he didn't give up. Next phone call, she was still unsure about moving back to Iowa, but agreed to visit.
Talk about a whirlwind. On Dec. 14, he took one of his daughters to a midnight showing of "The Hobbit," then flew to San Diego to make it to Kerin's work party that night. He carried a woman's winter coat, a scarf and some gloves he had bought in Iowa, along with a stuffed animal and a Kay Jewelers' ring catalog. He was on his knees before he took off his hat at her house in Mission Hills.
She said yes. And later this: "You might not have to give up where you live, but you have to go up in a hot-air balloon to get married."
That's when he told her he was afraid of heights. Not afraid. Terrified.
"There's a difference, OK," he told me Tuesday. "Fear is like ice milk. Fear is like good, all-natural ingredient custard. Fear is like 32 degrees freezing and terror is like 47 below."
But he remembered the elaborate tattoo he said he'd get after his father died, and the 20-somethings in the tattoo parlor whom he refused to let see him whine or cry, although it hurt like hell 90 minutes into the process.
Forty-five minutes in a balloon for a lifetime of bliss?
"Simple math," he said. "I was going to channel my inner Denzel Washington, and basically when people looked at me during the wedding video, I would look like I had been born in a hot-air balloon."
He did, and 10 minutes in, just before sunset, the couple were married.
"It was really beautiful," Kerin said. "Jonathan kept saying we couldn't have decorated a church this beautifully, you know. We had the sun glistening on the water and the mountains and the trees."
A friend from San Diego Hospice married them in front of Jonathan's daughters, two of Kerin's four children and one of her daughters-in-law. They read poetry to one another. They saw sights that would inspire it.
For the rest of the trip, though, he looked down but not up. And when he got real nervous, he had to look into his wife's eyes.
His terror was something else. But it was nothing compared to his wife's when the balloon missed its first landing site, hopscotched over several others for several minutes and avoided some power lines on its final descent.
When the balloon basket touched Earth, it stopped only after skidding along the ground, smashing through a fence and scraping by some tree branches. Somewhere along the way, a woman lost the cell phone she used to capture video of the landing and Jonathan lost his hat. Both items were recovered by ground-bound passengers retracing the basket's skid marks.
It was horrifying. It was beautiful. "It," said the groom, "was a fairy tale complete with dragons and moats and dark forests."
One of the first things he told his wife after the crash? "Well, I may not have to move, but I was willing to give up my life for you."
If that's not true love, what is?Copyright © 2017, The San Diego Union-Tribune

subset: commoncrawl


text: Roundup: Eades named MEC hoops officials supervisor June 27, 2013 Story Share The Mountain East Conference hired former Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East and Big Ten official Mike Eades as its first supervisor of men's basketball officials.The 20-plus-year veteran and Princeton native will select, evaluate and assign all officials for every men's basketball game hosted by MEC member institutions beginning with the 2013-14 inaugural season.Eades officiated the 2000 NCAA Division II national championship game and has worked eight NCAA Division I tournaments, including three Sweet 16s, one Elite Eight and the 2013 Final Four in April.The MEC was approved as the NCAA's 25th Division II conference in February and consists of 12 schools from West Virginia, Ohio and Virginia.nnYOUTH SOFTBALL: The Elk District girls 7-and-8-year-old softball team won the West Virginia District 3 tournament Tuesday, scoring eight runs in the final inning of the championship game to defeat Boone Northern 12-8. Elk District played six games throughout the tournament, winning each game. The girls are coached by Andi Geary.nnWVGA GOLF: Two corrections were made with the scores from Wednesday's WVGA Women's Intra-State Matches at Cress Creek Country Club on Thursday. The Resort at Glade Springs' score of 157 was corrected to a final score of 148, earning a third-place finish, and Moundsville Country Club's final score of 178 was corrected to 158, earning a seventh-place finish.nn WVU TRACK: West Virginia University graduated senior runner Sarah-Anne Brault was named to the Capital One All-America women's track and cross country second team on Thursday. This is the second time in her career receiving the honor, after being named to the All-America second team in 2011. Brault finished her career as a Mountaineer in May with a 28th-place finish in the 10,000-meter run at the NCAA East Preliminary.nnPOWER MOVE: Right-handed pitcher Lance Breedlove was promoted from Jamestown (N.Y.) to the Power Thursday. Right-hander John Kuchno has been transferred to Jamestown.nnSOFTBALL CAMP: Concord University softball will hold an individual skills camp under coach Alisa Tasler for girls ages 8-18 from July 15-17 at the Concord softball field.The camp is open to beginners as well as advanced players and attendees will have the opportunity to either commute to the daily camp or stay in the Concord dorms. Residential campers will pay $200, which covers all meals, while commuting campers will pay $150, with the opportunity to purchase a two-meal-a-day ticket for an additional $30. To enroll, interested persons must fill out and send the registration form located at www.cumountainlions.com along with a $50 non-refundable deposit to Alisha Tasler, Head softball coach, Concord University, 1000 Vermillion Street, Athens, WV, 24712. nnCOACHING CLASS: The American Sports Education Program will hold a coaching class July 22-24 at Huntington High School for those interested in coaching a secondary school sport. To register, visit www.wvssac.org. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Philanthropist Betty Schoenbaum of Shoney's fortune turns 100 2 WVU pulls away from Kansas for 56-34 win 3 New company planning $73M synthetic fuel plant in Greenbrier County 4 WVU notebook: Defense feeling a bit run down 5 'Heroin(e)' spotlights women helping combat Huntington's drug crisis Steranka leads Power to 6-2 win at Lakewood Previous Story Justice's lofty goals being met for Greenbrier Classic Next Story


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Blaming everything from the weather to cuts in social programs, Wal-Mart executives reported a 5% drop in profits for their first quarter, which ended April 30.
However, Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer, said he is excited about the progress of the corporation during his first full quarter at the helm with a net income of $3.58 billion. McMillon and other executives for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer discussed the quarter in a prerecorded presentation posted on the Web May 15.
As with several recent quarters, customer traffic at U.S. stores was down compared to the previous year. For 2014, U.S. stores saw 1.4% fewer customers compared to the first quarter of 2013. Wal-Mart officials blamed a long, hard winter and a late spring for part of the decline.
Also cited as a key factor for the performance of U.S. stores is the status of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, from which Congress cut $8.7 billion over 10 years. Despite that, Wal-Mart U.S. CEO Bill Simon said he is confident U.S. numbers will improve, especially with the opening of 13 new Neighborhood Market stores in the first quarter.
"In grocery, we've seen a trend improvement despite approximately 90 basis points of headwind from the reduction in SNAP benefits," Simon said in the prerecorded presentation.
The presentation included little discussion of fresh produce, except for a mention from Rosalind Brewer, president and CEO of Sam's Club.
"Within produce, hard freezes caused citrus availability issues, which were partially offset by strong strawberry and watermelon crops," Brewer said in the prerecorded presentation.
One area of success that spanned virtually all segments of the retailer's multinational operations was its efforts in the e-commerce arena.
"In the first quarter, we grew sales approximately 27%. We're seeing double-digit sales growth from nearly all of our e-commerce and mobile commerce businesses around the world," McMillon said in the presentation.
Both McMillon and Simon touted the "Wal-Mart to Go" grocery delivery and pick-up program.
"We're encouraged by the early results of our Denver grocery delivery and pick-up test, which has multiple pick-up points across 34 stores," Simon said in the presentation. "Early sales are beating expectations and have already exceeded those of our San Francisco-San Jose pilot, which rolled out in calendar year 2011."
Simon said he believes there is potential for good returns on the Wal-Mart Express concept, too.
"We're exploring tethering this format to our larger supercenters," Simon said. "In this test, customers will be able to order supercenter merchandise at a rural Express store and receive it on the same day. On May 2, we opened the first fully tethered Wal-Mart Express store in North Carolina. Customers are buying products, such as bicycles and swimming pools, which they can't traditionally get inside a 10,000-square foot box."


text:
Sight Rhymes 5Language brain teasers are those that involve the English language. You need to think about and manipulate words and letters.
In each group below, the three words end in the same three letters, so they look like they should rhyme, but they don't. See if you can figure out the missing letters in each group.
Example: plo___, tho___, to___ would be plough, though, tough.
1. c___, forw___, rew___
2. cr___, p___, sk___
3. b___, d___, g___
HintOne letter has been filled in for you.
1. ca__, forwa__, rewa__
2. cri__, pi__, ski__
3. bo__, do__, go__
Answer1. card, forward, reward
2. crier, pier, skier
3. bone, done, gone
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 brain teaser, keep track of
which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
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text:
Note: This item is more than three years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
Print – Plain Text – Permalink
News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, firstname.lastname@example.com, 512-389-8030
Jan. 13, 2014
Lake Fork Does It Again: Third Toyota ShareLunker of Season
ATHENS—Lake Fork produced its third Toyota ShareLunker of the season Sunday night.
Randall E. Claybourne of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was fishing by himself in 15 feet of water in the east arm of the lake when the 13.86-pound bass took his jig-and-craw lure about 11:20 p.m.
The fish was 25 inches long and 21 inches in girth. It was held for pickup at Lake Fork Marina, an official Toyota ShareLunker Weigh and Holding Station.
Anyone legally catching a 13-pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, between October 1 and April 30 may submit the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.
The number to call to report a ShareLunker catch is (903) 681-0550. If poor cell phone service prevents use of the voice number, anglers can leave a phone number (including area code) at (888) 784-0600.
Anglers entering fish into the Toyota ShareLunker program receive a free replica of their fish, a certificate and ShareLunker clothing and are recognized at a banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. The person who catches the season's largest entry will be named Angler of the Year. If the Angler of the Year is a Texas resident, that person also receives a lifetime fishing license.
Official ShareLunker weigh and holding stations have been established at a number of reservoirs; a list is at http://tpwd.texas.gov/spdest/visitorcenters/tffc/sharelunker/holding/.
For complete information and rules of the ShareLunker program, tips on caring for big bass, a list of official Toyota ShareLunker weigh and holding stations and a recap of last year's season, see tpwd.texas.gov/sharelunker/. The site also includes a searchable database of all fish entered into the program along with pictures where available.
Information on current catches, including short videos of interviews with anglers when available, will be posted on www.facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram. "Like" this page and you can receive notification and photos of catches as soon as they become available.
The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible by a grant to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. Toyota is a long-time supporter of the Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, providing major funding for a wide variety of education, fish, parks and wildlife projects. Toyota also sponsors the Toyota Texas Bass Classic world championship of bass fishing, which will be held at Lake Fork in May 2014.
Publication — Permission is granted to publish, in whole or in part, any news releases on this page.
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If you have any suggestions for improving these pages, send an e-mail to email@example.com and mention Plain Text Pages.
(5.4.16 i)


text:
Hello dear friends,
Did Bouddha reject the Bhikkhu Sangha here?
Then the Venerable Mahamoggallana grabbed that person by the arm, evicted him through the outer gatehouse, and bolted the door. Then he retourned to the Blessed One and said to him: "I have evicted that person, Bhante. The assembly is pure. Let the Blessed One recite the Patimokkha to the bhikkhus."
"It's astounding and amazing, Moggallana, how that hollow man waited until he was grabbed by the arm." Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhu: "Now, bhikkhus, you yourselves should conduct the uposatha and recite the Patimokkha. From today onward, I will no longer do so. It is impossible and inconceivable that the Tathagata could conduct the uposatha and recite the Patimokkha in an impure assembly"


text:
This game was classified by the community with the following category scores - Violence=1/3, Sex=0/3, Mature Content=0/3. Tank Attack 2D is a top down 2D shooter where the player must drive their tank and kill as many enemy tanks as possible. Take advantage of power ups that spawn such as rapid fire, a four-way laser attack, plasma ball rounds that can bounce of the game boundaries and kill multiple enemies and smart bombs. Watch out for the mega boss tanks!
Buy Xbox content on Xbox.com. Your Xbox 360 console will automatically download the content next time you turn it on and connect to Xbox Live.Learn More


text:
SANTA ANA – A man who admitted he was offered $50,000 to kill an ailing Placentia man testified Thursday that he got scared as he walked up to the home with a semiautomatic handgun.
Brett Schrauben, 40, formerly of Coto de Caza, said when he returned to his pickup, where his friend and getaway driver Thomas Joseph Garrick waited, Garrick volunteered to do the killing.
Prosecutors say that Garrick, 37, of Laguna Hills stabbed Jack Jessee four times in the chest Aug. 13, 1998, when wife Sandra Jessee was out running errands.
Garrick is on trial, charged with murder for financial gain and conspiracy to commit murder. If convicted, he faces a life term in prison without the possibility of parole.
Sandra Jessee is serving the same sentence for orchestrating a hit on her husband because she worried his cancer was eating up their nest egg.
Her son from a previous marriage, Thomas Dayton Aehlert, 42, of Gold Canyon, Ariz., pleaded guilty in 2011 to second-degree murder in a deal negotiated with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony.
Schrauben pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2008, also in exchange for his testimony, and was released after two years of time served.
Defense attorney Dennis O'Connell hammered away at the plea agreements, contending the defendants lied about Garrick's involvement to get leniency.
"The only evidence that connects my client is the testimony of two admitted murderers," O'Connell told jurors in his opening statement on Wednesday, insisting that Schrauben was the killer.


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The Portage County TEA Party thinks there was voter fraud in Ohio because Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan lost the state. To prove its point, the group plans to make an audit of 864 voters in Suffield Township in southwestern Portage County.
But it's not planning to tell voters who is doing the audit.
Officials at the Portage County Board of Elections said they had no complaints of voter irregularity at the polls, and no protests of election results were filed. They said this year's turnout was in line with past presidential elections.
The TEA Party's contention is that there must be fraud because some polls showed Romney leading prior to the election. That depends on which polls you believed. Many polls in the week before the election, such as CNN, Time, CBS News/Quinnipiac, showed Obama leading Romney.
Others showed the race statistically tied. And all of that was very fluid as the election neared, with poll results changing almost daily.
The TEA Party plans to contact all registered voters in the Suffield B precinct and ask them if they voted, and for whom they voted.
What the TEA Party does not plan to say is that they are members of the TEA Party. In the script provided by the group, volunteers are told to say they are "a volunteer for the Citizens for Fair Elections" doing a survey to "verify that all votes were counted correctly."
The script specifically tells volunteers: "Do not tell anyone you are with the TEA Party."
In an email to members, TEA Party leader Tom Zawistowski said "I do not believe the election results in Ohio or Portage County" because "surveys showed Romney leading between 2 percent and 5 percent and we lost by 5 percent."
THE TEA Party selected Suffield because "it is one of the smallest and strongest conservative townships in the county."
Any difference in the Board of Election's official tallies from the TEA Party's survey will be proof of fraud, the group believes.
"If fraud exists, we will have far more people who claim to have voted vs. what the Board of Elections reported," Zawistowski said.
"We will have people who said they voted that are not shown as voting by the BOE. We will have people who said they did not vote but the BOE has them recorded as voting. We will have significantly more people voting for Romney than the BOE reported or we will have significantly less people voting for Obama than the BOE reported."
If the person won't say for whom they voted, volunteers are to ask "which of the two major political parties you usually agree with."
If that doesn't get a response, they are to ask if the person voted by absentee ballot, by early voting at the elections board, or at the polls on Election Day. All registered voters in the house are to be questioned.
A political scientist at the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron said the TEA Party's audit is fraught with problems and will be statistically useless in proving anything. Dr. Stephen Brooks, the associate director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron said he would be more surprised if there was no difference in the results of the election and the results of the audit.
"Because there is a stigma in not voting, the public is notorious for not answering [post-election surveys] truthfully," Brooks said, adding many surveys over the years scientifically demonstrated the difficulty of asking voters how they voted.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 330-541-9400 ext. 4155


text:
On behalf of the University of Victoria, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics invites the mathematical community to the Winter 2005 Meeting of the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS).
Following the usual format of the CMS Winter Meeting, the program will include a wide variety of sessions, a contributed paper session, and plenary and prize lectures.
All activities and scientific talks will be held at the Victoria Conference Centre and the Empress Hotel.
The most up-to-date information concerning the program, including detailed schedules, will be made available at this web site.
Registration forms appear in the February 2005 issue of the CMS Notes, and are available on this web site, which also provides an on-line form for submission of abstracts.
|Prizes and Awards
|Plenary Speakers
|Contributed Papers Session
|Business Meetings
CMS will be holding the following business meetings:
Executive Committee Meeting: Thursday, December 8
Development Group Luncheon: Friday, December 9
Board of Directors Meeting: Friday, December 9
|Social Events
CMS will be holding the following social events:
Welcoming Reception: Friday, December 9
Participants' Social: Saturday, December 10
Banquet: Sunday, December 11
Complimentary coffee and juice will be available during the scheduled breaks.
|Related Activities
The CMS Committee on Women in Mathematics is inviting all mathematicians attending the CMS Winter Meeting to an open Lunch Meeting of the Committee, to be held on Saturday, December 10th, 2005 at 12:30 PM at Millos Restaurant. There will be a panel discussion at the luncheon on mentoring new faculty and graduate students. Please contact Judith McDonald firstname.lastname@example.com to confirm your attendance.
The CMS Student Committee cordially invites participating students to come to "The Sticky Wicket" on Friday, December 9 at 9:00 PM. The Pub is located in the Strathcona Hotel, 919 Douglas Street, Victoria.
|Exhibitors and Advertisers
Exhibitors will showcase their products from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM on December 10 and 11 in the Foyer of the Victoria Conference Centre.
The Joint Exhibit features books and other products from publishers and other companies and organizations not represented at the meeting. Order forms will be available at the exhibit for your convenience. The CMS will forward any orders to the corresponding company after the meeting. Books and other materials that will be displayed at this Joint Exhibit will be donated to the host university.
We invite participants to visit the CMS Membership Booth and Book Display, located in the Foyer of the Victoria Conference Centre. A representative will be available from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM on December 10 and 11, and from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM on December 12 to answer questions about membership, publications, and other programs.
In response to members' suggestions, an Information Table will be set up in the registration area to display information of interest to participants. Please send a copy of your announcement to the CMS Meetings Coordinator, 577 King Edward, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5, facsimile (613) 565-1539, E-mail email@example.com.
All announcements require prior approval. Once approved, the participant may display up to 100 copies of the announcement. The participant is responsible for providing all copies for display and for removing any remaining copies before 3:00 PM on the last day of the meeting. After that time, all remaining material will be discarded.
Announcements may not be posted in the registration or meeting area. Personal distribution of announcements and announcements of events competing in time or place with the meeting program are not permitted.
This table is not meant for material promoting products or services for sale. Those wishing to promote products for sale should contact the Meetings Coordinator for information on the Joint Exhibit.
Information for exhibitors: Invitation to Exhibit and Contract, Customs Exemption Letter, Floor Plan, or contact the Meeting Coordinator at email@example.com.
|Submission of Abstracts
For abstracts of talks to be published on-line and in the meeting programme, they have to be submitted by October 10, 2005, using the on-line form. The organizers appreciate the cooperation of all speakers in observing this important deadline.
Abstracts for contributed papers can be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com. The email should contain the speaker's name, affiliation, email address, the Primary AMS Classification (http://www.ams.org/msc/), title of talk and abstract (using LaTeX coding if possible).
The registration form is also available from:
CMS Executive Office
577 King Edward
Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K1N 6N5
Tel: 613-562-5702
Fax: 613-565-1539
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Payment may be made by cheque, or by VISA or MasterCard. Although registration fees are given in Canadian dollars, participants may send cheques in US dollars by contacting their financial institution for the current exchange rate.
Please note that payment must be received in Ottawa by October 31 in order to qualify for reduced rates. In order for your payment to be processed before the meeting, it should be received by November 30. Receipts will be provided at the meeting.
|Reduced rate
|Regular rate
|Plenary/Prize/Public Lecturers
|$ 0
|$ 0
|$ 200
|$ 265
|Session Speakers
|$ 225
|$ 295
|Non-Members (fee includes CMS Membership)
|$ 373
|$ 443
|Members CMS/AMS/MAA
|$ 225
|$ 295
|One-day fee (on site only)
|$ 195
|$ 100
|$ 130
|Teachers (K-12, CEGEP, College)
|$ 100
|$ 130
|Banquet (free for plenary/prize lecturers)
|$ 60
|$ 60
Canadian Mathematical Society
AMS = American Mathematical Society
MAA = Mathematical Association of America
|Why Pre-register?
Some of the advantages to pre-registering are:
For all these reasons, we encourage you to pre-register, whether it be before or after the early registration deadline.
|Refund Policy
Participants wishing to cancel their registration must notify the CMS Executive Office in writing by November 30 to receive a refund less a $40 processing fee. Those whose contributed paper has not been accepted will upon request be fully refunded.
|Do you qualify for free CMS membership?
Participants registering in the Non-Member category will automatically receive a free one-year membership.
An AMS or a MAA member who registers at a semi-annual meeting of the CMS and who is not a member of the CMS, is eligible for a one-time only, one-year free membership in the CMS. If you qualify, please visit the CMS booth to complete a membership application form. Please provide proof of current AMS or MAA membership. This offer applies to new members only.
It is recommended that bookings be made early in order to avoid disappointment. All participants must make their own reservations. Blocks of rooms will be held at the locations given below until the date indicated. Reservations made after this date will be on a space available basis. Rates are per room per night and are quoted in Canadian dollars. The conference rate is usually available up to three days before and after the meeting; please quote the Group code. Reservations must be guaranteed by a one-night deposit or a major credit card.
When making your reservation, please clarify payment and cancellation policies as these vary from hotel to hotel. You should get a confirmation number for future reference.
Additional information regarding accommodation choices will be posted as it becomes available.
Booking deadline: November 8, 2005
Hotel code : MATHS, Promo code : GRCMS1
Online Registration
721 Government Street, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 1W5
Applicable taxes: 7% GST, 10% PST,
Phone: 250-384-8111, toll free: 1-800-866-5577
Fax: 250-389-2747
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Parking: $22.00 per night for self-parking (passes available at front desk), $25.00 per night for valet parking
Rates (single or double occupancy):
Fairmont Room - $125.00, Fairmont Deluxe - $165.00, Deluxe Harbourview - $205.00
Suites from $225.00, 10 Moderate rooms - $80.00
$30.00 per night for each additional person, maximum occupancy per room is 4 people
No charge for children up to age 18 who share with their parents, reduced meal rates for children.
Booking deadline: November 6, 2005
Group code: Canadian Mathematical Society
777 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 2B5
Applicable taxes: 7% GST, 10% PST
Phone: 250-388-5111; toll-free 1-800-663-7001
Fax: 250-385-1323
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Parking: $2.00 per night, subject to availability
Rates (single or double occupancy):
Guest Rooms - $75.00, One Bedroom Suites - $90.00
$15.00 per night for each additional person, no charge for children up to age 16 who share with their parents.
|Child Care
Information regarding available child care may be provided by the meeting hotels. Advance research and arrangements are recommended. Please contact the hotels directly to make enquiries.
AKAL Airport Shuttle
providing a
shuttle service from the airport to downtown every ½ hour during the
day and
after every flight arrival at night. The ticket booth is located right
the arrival area. Pick-up at the hotel is available by reservation only
and can
be arranged through the hotel front desk. For further information
contact AKAL
Airport Shuttle at (250) 386-2525.
Please mention you are attending the CMS Meeting to take advantage of the special group rate of $10.00 per person each way. This rate applies whenever at least 3 meeting participants are utilizing the shuttle at the same time. The regular fare is $15.00.
A taxi fare from the airport to downtown costs approximately $45.00.
Budget Rent-A-Car of Victoria Ltd. (www.budgetvictoria.com) can supply cars, trucks, passenger vans and luxury vehicles at special Conference rates. Their offices are located in the airport arrival hall and at 757 Douglas St. (across from the Victoria Conference Centre). For more information contact Budget at phone (250) 953-5300, fax (250) 953-5250, or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.
Detailed information regarding the University of Victoria, the city of Victoria, and the Province of British Columbia, including tourism information, local weather and climate, site and street maps, and itineraries for self-guided tours, are available at the following websites:
|Graduate Student Support
Limited funds are available to partially fund the travel and accommodation costs for bona fide graduate students at a Canadian or other university. Preference is given to Canadian students. To apply for this funding, applicants should submit a letter written by their supervisor or departmental graduate advisor, providing the following: name of student, area of study and level, how the student will benefit from the meeting, whether or not the student be speaking, and what support is available from other sources.
This letter should be sent before October 10, 2005 to firstname.lastname@example.com. Applicants will be notified early in November of the funding decision.
If successful, the student will receive a cheque for reimbursement of expenses after the meeting and upon completion and submission of the standard Travel Expense Claim Form, along with appropriate original receipts.
For more information, please contact the Meeting Committee.
Support from the following is gratefully acknowledged. Additional information regarding support for this meeting will be posted as it becomes available.
The Canadian Mathematical Society wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the Meeting Committee.


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Great Britain bobsleigh pilot John Jackson stands just 0.18 seconds off a medal at the halfway stage of the Olympic four-man bobsleigh competition in Rosa Khutor on Saturday night.
Jackson, Britain's last chance of a medal at Sochi 2014, nailed the second fastest time of the second run to move up three places to an overnight position of seventh, and within touching distance of third-placed Maximilian Arndt of Germany.
Jackson was hampered by a start position of 12th in the first run, an order which is determined by the world rankings and tends to afford the fastest ice to the earlier crews.
But his solid second run drive - which was actually one hundredth of a second slower than his first at 55.27 - lifted him into contention, 0.34 seconds off leader Alexander Zubkov of Russia.
Jackson said: "We're still only three tenths off the lead - we're looking good.
"The problem is our start order which means as we've seen from training the first three or four guys are really quick then the ice starts to degrade and gets slower for each sled.
"The first run we made a couple of little mistakes and in the second run we just worked on those to try to tidy them up.
"We almost had identical times and I think that's what has pulled us up the order. We're within quite easy reach of the top four or five."
British alpine skier Dave Ryding was ''pretty gutted'' despite finishing 17th in the men's slalom.
The 27-year-old from Lancashire was in 27th place after his opening run and was aiming to push on from there.
A mistake at one of the gates towards the top of his second run stopped him from moving further up the leaderboard, although he was boosted by several top contenders crashing out and a couple of disqualifications afterwards.
While that meant he finished a respectable 17th with a combined time of one minute 45.91 seconds - 4.07secs adrift of gold medallist Mario Matt - he knew it could have been better.
''I'm pretty gutted,'' he said. ''I made a schoolboy error really. I knew about it, I knew what to do and I did the wrong thing.
''It could have been so much better but that's the way it goes.''
Ryding had the goal of getting into the top 30 after the first run so he would be able to use the course at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center relatively early. After being fourth out of the gate second time around, he had the chance to make a real impression, but his struggles at the start cost him dear.
He said: ''Unfortunately I was on the receiving end of a kicking from the course, it wasn't my day in the end.''
With UK Sport not funding alpine skiers, Ryding has to go it alone and the slalom specialist does not believe his result in Sochi will be enough to turn that around.
''If I'd have nailed that second run, I think I could have achieved that, but it might not be good enough,'' he said.
''(Not being funded) doesn't help because I've got to do everything myself and it's just me and my coach on the road."
Austrian Matt moved into the history books as he became the oldest alpine skier to win an Olympic gold medal. Matt, 34 years and 319 days old, overtakes the record previously held by Norway's Kjetil Andre Aamodt, who was 34 years and 169 days when he triumphed in the men's super G at the Turin Games in 2006.
Pre-race favourite Marcel Hirscher of Austria took silver and Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen earned bronze.
Ireland's Conor Lyne finished 40th out of 43 finishers, 31.45secs adrift of Matt.


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2003 Nissan Murano
Style, Performance & Flair
Nissan has been in the business of producing SUVs for more than a decade now. The company's venerable Pathfinder is a staple in the automotive marketplace and has enjoyed a great amount of success. For the 2000 model year, Nissan introduced the Xterra, a new breed of SUV with a younger buyer focus. The Xterra continues to be an alternative to the Pathfinder for Nissan SUV buyers, but really not that far removed from the roots of the Pathfinder.
Enter the Murano -- sleek, low-slung, sporty, innovative. If Nissan took a radical step with the Xterra four years ago, the Murano is a leap. Its body style and substance screams cutting-edge, and this crossover SUV looks more like a concept sport utility from a major auto show than a current production vehicle. Its radical design may take some getting used to, but, in essence, this may be what is in store for the future of sport utilities.
The Murano, named after the elegantly sculpted glass art that comes from the islands near Venice, was created by Nissan with a definite objective in mind. According to Bill Kirrane, Nissan's vice president and general manager, "As Nissan's first entry into the crossover SUV segment, our objective was to develop a vehicle that truly stands out in the class in terms of styling, performance, comfort convenience, and technology, offering unmatched levels of both fun and functionality." Has Nissan met that goal with the Murano? After thoroughly testing the vehicle, our answer is -- it has come very close.
The first thing that strikes you about the Murano is its exterior styling. The vehicle's all-new exterior is a definite contemporary design, guided by what Nissan calls a "sculpture in motion" theme. The wraparound surface construction features an architectural-looking front grille, upswept D-pillars, a sloping hoodline, and steeply raked windshield. Additional styling cues include a lightweight rear cargo door for easier opening and closing and vertically-stacked Xenon headlights. And, the swoopy rear taillights put an exclamation point on the entire Murano exterior styling theme.
The Murano is powered by a 3.5L DOHC V-6, putting out 245 hp. This engine is derived from Nissan's VQ engine series, and is the same powerplant currently found in the Pathfinder. There's also an all-new Xtronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). This transmission operates as essentially one gear, through the use of a belt and two pulleys. Basically, the transmission eliminates the steps between gears, resulting in a smoother, more efficient operation by keeping the engine in its optimum power range under a variety of driving and load conditions. An available system Nissan calls Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) improves vehicle stability by controlling brake pressure and engine torque, and a Traction Control System (TCS) is also available. An all-new AWD system is on call for enhanced all-weather performance and off-road situations, and a front-wheel-drive model is also available.
The Murano's suspension setup consists of a four-wheel independent suspension setup with multilink rear suspension, cradle-type front subframe, and high-stiffness stabilizer bars. The Murano sits on standard 18-inch rolling stock, featuring stylish aluminum-alloy wheels. Braking is provided by four-wheel vented disc brakes with Brake Assist and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD).
The interior of the Murano is nearly as fresh and innovative as the exterior, and features a fairly spacious cabin with a fold-flat rear seat and a wide cargo area. There's seating for five people, with ample flexible luggage space, and a variety of storage systems, including a two-tier lockable center console storage box. An innovative instrument panel is also included in the interior design, and there is aluminum trim throughout the interior. The Murano has sculpted front and rear seats, and the rear seats recline with a remote flip-down function, resulting in a large flat luggage area. There are available adjustable throttle and brake pedals, with a 3-inch range of adjustability.
The Murano is available in SL and SE models, both in AWD or 2WD front-drive versions. The premium SL trim adds a number of items to the base SE package, including roof rails, adjustable pedals, Bose audio system, cargo cover and net, a leather package, HID headlights, driver-seat memory, and four-way adjustable power passenger's seat.
On the Road
During a weeklong testdrive of the Murano, we found one thing to be readily apparent -- this vehicle definitely draws attention. When the Murano arrived at our offices, we had just finished a testdrive of a HUMMER H2 and felt somewhat relieved that we would be getting into a less conspicuous vehicle (we were continuously stared at everywhere we traveled in the H2). We were wrong. The Murano received almost as much attention as the H2, although we suspected it came from a different crowd of enthusiasts. The Murano's outside styling cues are different from anything on the road, and like it or hate it, the vehicle certainly attracts attention.
During a weeklong testdrive of the Murano, we found one thing to be readily apparent -- this vehicle definitely draws attention. When the Murano arrived at our offices, we had just finished a testdrive of a HUMMER H2 and felt somewhat relieved that we would be getting into a less conspicuous vehicle (we were continuously stared at everywhere we traveled in the H2). We were wrong. The Murano received almost as much attention as the H2, although we suspected it came from a different crowd of enthusiasts. The Murano's outside styling cues are different from anything on the road, and like it or hate it, the vehicle certainly attracts attention.
Crossover SUVs are particularly hot at the moment, and it's easy to see why. These vehicles provide a sporty ride and ease of maneuverability, but with nearly all the features and capabilities of traditional SUVs. Weighing in at approximately 3,900 pounds, the Murano's power-to-weight ratio is fairly impressive, considering its 245hp powerplant. Add in its sportscar-like suspension and you have a quick and nimble vehicle that's certainly a joy to drive. Fuel mileage was also impressive, and we achieved nearly 19 mpg during our testing period.
Our SL AWD test mule offered comfortable and stylish leather seating, and the high-tech look of aluminum trim pieces, a progressively-styled dash and gauge cluster, and numerous interior amenities definitely impressed the senses. We particularly liked the fold-down feature on the second row of seats. By pulling two levers in the luggage area, the seats easily flipped forward on their own accord, providing a large flat luggage area -- one of the easiest conversions we have seen in an SUV.
The Murano is definitely not your standard breed of SUV, and why should it be? Progressive crossover vehicles are currently making a big move into the SUV market mainstream, and vehicles such as the Murano are sure to get the tide moving in the right direction.


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WORK on the new council depot in Winchester reached a milestone when the steel frame of the new workshop and offices was completed.
Rob Humby, deputy leader of Winchester City Council, was on hand to accept an engraved memento recording the event from Andy Wright, project manager from Gentle Consulting, the company that is managing the £2m construction work at Barfield Close, Bar End.
Cllr Humby, who used to work in the steel fabrication industry, was particularly pleased to see how the council's investment was delivering economic activity which is helping to support employment in local businesses.
The new depot is being built to replace the old premises on Bar End Road and will be the operating base for Biffa and The Landscape Group, who undertake refuse collection, grounds and street maintenance under contract to Winchester City Council and East Hampshire District Council.
In spite of recent poor weather the construction of the new depot remains on target for completion in July.


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Are your payroll practices compliant with state and federal regulations? You probably think so, but being wrong could have huge financial consequences.
A wage-and-hour lawsuit cost one dairy more than $400,000. "We paid our employees a salary that was 140 percent of minimum wage, offered a good benefit package, including health insurance, retirement, vacation and a host of other fringe benefits," says one California dairy producer who wishes to remain anonymous. What this dairy didn't know, was that it was paying its employees incorrectly — a preventable mistake that came with a hefty price tag.
This dairy is not alone. There were several six-figure settlements against dairies in California in 2009. If you think this is only a California issue, think again. Wage-based lawsuits have also reared their ugly heads in Washington and Oregon.
Every dairy could be at risk for a wage-and-hour lawsuit, says Anthony Raimondo, agriculture labor law attorney with McCormick Barstow in Fresno, Calif.
Here's a look at why you might be a vulnerable target.
Salaries and overtime
Many dairy producers pay a salary and believe that this takes care of overtime. And, you may argue that this is the way you've always done it and it's worked for you. But Raimondo argues that the potential liability that a dairy operation faces, particularly in California, could be catastrophic.
Even a salaried employee (except certain supervisors) is entitled to overtime above his salary, says Raimondo. Under California law, a salary cannot pay for both regular hours and overtime hours. If a dairy employee works more than 10 hours in a day, or on the seventh consecutive day in a single work week, the employee is entitled to overtime wages on top of the daily rate or salary wage. "The single biggest problem for dairies is the failure to pay these overtime wages," says Raimondo. And, many dairies unknowingly incur overtime due to overnight milking shifts.
From what Raimondo sees, 80 to 90 percent of dairies pay overtime incorrectly. "It's almost unheard of to get a wage-and-hour case where the dairy has a strong defense," says Raimondo, who sees two to five labor litigation cases per month.
Overtime hours and rates must be stated on the check stub. If they are not, the dairy could be penalized. The penalties for not having the check stub correct are severe.
Many dairies continue to offer housing, but too few have written agreements.
Dairies that want to credit the value of housing towards minimum wage must have a written agreement to do so. In the absence of a written agreement, the dairy is liable for minimum-wage claims.
In addition, if housing is used towards minimum wage, you must understand the math involved to compute the value of the house to pay wages and overtime correctly. The value of the house needs to be reflected in the overtime pay.
Written agreements are essential to protect the dairy from liability, as well as provide a tool for eviction if an employee refuses to leave.
Time-keeping practices
There is no required way to keep time records.
But, you must keep time records. Raimondo says that more dairies are keeping time records, but too many still do not.
Under California law, a clock time must be recorded for the following events: started work, stopped for lunch, started after lunch, and time left for the day.
Many dairies use outdated technology to keep their time records, says Raimondo. The old-fashioned punch-style stamp time clocks are messy and prone to mechanical failure.
"I would recommend either a hand-kept time sheet that the employee fills out or to use an electronic time clock that downloads into your computer," says Raimondo. An electronic time clock does not require you to store a ton of paperwork.
Mary Kraft, owner of Quail Ridge and Badger Creek dairies in Fort Morgan, Colo., made the switch to a biometric time clock five years ago. The time clock reads an employee's knuckles to identify them, and the employee must also enter a code to clock in and out. This eliminates employees from punching a friend in because he or she is running late. "The time clock made a big difference for us; it cleaned up our payroll practices," says Kraft.
If you are faced with a lawsuit, and you have no time-keeping records, then you may be at the mercy of what the employee says he or she worked in terms of hours.
Rest and meal breaks
Employees are allowed to skip meal and rest periods, but the dairy must provide notice that the employees are allowed to take them.
Notices should be posted by the time clock in English and in the languages spoken by the employees. A notice should also be included in the employee handbook.
"If there is a posted notice that says the employee has free choice to take rest and meal-periods, the employer is OK as long as the employer does not interfere with the opportunity to take meals and breaks," says Raimondo.
The dairy is not required to provide an eating area for employees, but Raimondo recommends doing this anyway. Don't let employees keep food in the same refrigerator as the cattle medications. "It looks bad and could cause problems," adds Raimondo.
Tools and equipment
You must provide employees with the necessary tools and equipment to do their jobs.
Employers cannot require employees to purchase tools, goods or services. And, employers (and supervisors) should not sell anything to employees. Employees could claim that they were forced to make the purchases due to the supervisor's or employer's control over their job, which can result in liability to the employer. Uniforms must be supplied by the employer, if required.
"The biggest complaint I receive is that dairies do not provide rubber boots," notes Raimondo. At a minimum, provide milkers with rubber boots and aprons.
"If you require the employee to wear it, provide it," advises Raimondo. It is important to note that loss or damage of such items becomes a disciplinary issue and not a payroll issue.
An employer is not required to offer paid vacation. If you do offer paid vacation, it is illegal in California to have a "use-it-or-lose-it" vacation policy. If the employee does not use up all of his or her paid vacation by the end of the year, you can legally pay out the vacation, if you do not want employees to carry over vacation. Within certain limits, California employers can "cap" the maximum vacation accrual to avoid employees stockpiling vacation time.
It is recommended for dairy operations to have a written vacation policy.
There is no insurance to protect your dairy from wage-and-hour lawsuits. The only way to protect your dairy is to comply with the law.
Check regularly to ensure your dairy is compliant with your state and federal regulations.
It's not going away
Until recently, wage-and-hour laws weren't enforced very aggressively. But California, like many other states, is broke and needs to collect revenues, says Anthony Raimondo, agriculture labor law attorney with McCormick Barstow in Fresno, Calif.
In 2009, the California Labor Commissioner became increasingly aggressive about pursuing penalties for technical record-keeping and check-stub violations. These penalties can very quickly rise to tens of thousands of dollars.
A growing threat to the entire industry comes in the form of wage-and-hour class-action lawsuits. In these cases, a single employee can sue the dairy on behalf of current and former employees, even if the employees cannot be found. Typically, these cases will seek a large amount of unpaid wages, as well as a wide range of statutory penalties, says Raimondo.
More private attorneys are pursuing these cases against dairies. The attraction, says Raimondo, is if the lawyer can prove unpaid wages or a right to statutory penalties, he can often force the dairy to pay the plaintiff's attorney fees.
And, these types of lawsuits will continue as long as the industry is seen as vulnerable to these types of wage-and-hour claims, says Raimondo.


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EDUCATION ministers are expected to this week sign off on NAPLAN tests going online by 2016 to speed up the time it takes for students to receive their results.
At a meeting on Friday they will also consider whether the national literacy and numeracy tests should be tailored to students' abilities to better measure the progress of those who perform at the top and bottom.
Online tests would enable students who answered several questions correctly to be given more advanced questions, while those who were struggling could be given easier questions.
The five-month lag between when students sit NAPLAN in May and when they receive their test results has been a constant source of frustration for teachers, parents and students.
The first national survey of the impact of NAPLAN, conducted by the University of Melbourne this year, found 58 per cent of teachers did not believe NAPLAN was a diagnostic tool.
''Results come out too late in the year to make a significant impact during that year,'' one teacher told the researchers.
Federal School Education minister Peter Garrett said moving NAPLAN online would reduce marking time and help students, parents and teachers get results much faster. ''This will help teachers to identify which students need extra help and to develop strategies to deliver that help,'' Mr Garrett said.
''I'm in favour of processing this work as soon as possible so students and schools get the benefits of online testing.''
Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon said other online assessments had been available in Victoria for 10 years. He strongly supported NAPLAN going online and was sure it could be done by 2016.
''The practicalities of it need to be sorted out more than the principle,'' Mr Dixon said. ''The biggest hurdle for most people will be security. Once the security concerns are allayed the practicalities will take care of themselves.''
The Australian Education Union says changes need to be made to NAPLAN to address problems that have emerged such as excessive test preparation, a narrowing of the curriculum and high levels of student stress.
President Angelo Gavrielatos called for NAPLAN to go online by 2014. ''In an online mode a larger range of items could be delivered, both at the upper and lower levels of ability.
''That would decrease the frustration struggling students, in particular, feel with the current one-size-fits-all test and provide a more effective test of the knowledge and skills of high-performing students.''
Mr Gavrielatos said online tests could also be delivered over a longer period or even on an ongoing basis. ''That would address one of the biggest problems at the moment which is the intense pressure on students and teachers in the lead-up to the week in which the current high-stakes test is conducted.''
Independent Education Union federal secretary Chris Watt said it was time for a major overhaul of NAPLAN. Sample testing could replace the current system, where every student in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit NAPLAN every year. Mr Watt also said online testing had the potential to make NAPLAN a genuinely diagnostic tool for both students and teachers.


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Ross feels usual soreness rebuilding arm strength
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Robbie Ross woke up with a familiar feeling in his left arm Thursday morning, that bit of extra soreness that comes a day after starting a game or throwing multiple innings.
It's something Ross didn't get to experience much as a lefty reliever for the Rangers last year, when he appeared in 58 games and threw 65 innings.
"It's that normal soreness," said Ross, who allowed two runs in three innings Wednesday against the White Sox. "It's that feeling that I'm going three innings now, so I feel good."
Ross progressed through the Minor Leagues primarily as a starter and has been thrust back into the role this spring in a competition for the club's vacant No. 5 starter role. He is competing with Randy Wells, Martin Perez, Justin Grimm and Kyle McClellan, among others.
"We're all working to get a job," said Ross, who is scheduled to pitch four innings his next time out. "I think the biggest thing is we're all out here working our tail off and enjoying it at the same time. You obviously get a little nervous when you think about how things are going to fall into place, but you've just got to enjoy it."
Ross worked two solid innings before faltering in his third, when he hit Adam Dunn and then allowed a home run to Paul Konerko. But Ross said the struggles that inning weren't tied at all to the length he pitched. He said he just didn't make the right pitches to Konerko.
Manager Ron Washington gave Chicago's veteran first baseman all the credit.
"Other than that, I thought Robbie did a great job out there," Washington said. "He moved the ball around, in and out, used his breaking ball and changeup, and I thought he did a good job."


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Cars > Challenges > "american graffiti clone" Vs "NAS T 69"
Everett, Massachusetts
United States
1955 Chevrolet 210 coupe
"american graffiti clone"
1969 Dodge Charger R/T
Head to Head
About "american graffiti clone"
i built 2 clones the 55 and the 32 from the movie american graffiti both cars tour with the stars candy clark and bo hopkins
About "NAS T 69"
i have always wanted a charger since i was little and then i saw this one and i knew it was for me. it is a deadly car though.
Specs for "american graffiti clone"
454 motor 4 speed all the changes made for the movie car
Specs for "NAS T 69"
this car has 428rwhp. i haven't gotten it to the track though
Factory Options for "american graffiti clone"
Factory Options for "NAS T 69"
power windows, a/c, power steering, power brakes etc..
Mods for "american graffiti clone"
all the movie modifications
Mods for "NAS T 69"
oh god alot! i will just let you look at it. kieth black 11:1 pistons, street demon carb., voodoo cam by luanatti, dynamat, full tti exhaust that is mandral bent with flomaster super 40's with 24" long 4" angled cut tips, 17" cragar s/s mags with falken tires, shift kit with 2500 torque converter, adco sway bars + more. runs on 108 octane
Photo Albums 1 – 1 of 1
Photo Albums 1 – 1 of 1
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Cars > Challenges > "american graffiti clone" Vs "NAS T 69"


text:
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CHICAGO — Historic Wrigley Field turned into a waiting room Tuesday night.
The Giants and Cubs sat around for four hours and 34 minutes before the Cubs were awarded a controversial 2-0 victory. The home team led by a pair when a quick storm hit after the top of the fifth inning. The grounds crew made a mistake while spreading the tarp and was never able to get the soaked infield back into playable shape.
The teams and Major League Baseball officials talked past 1 a.m. local time, at which time Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Cubs manager Rick Renteria and the umpires came back out to examine the field for a third time. After a long conversation with Bochy, home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt signaled at 1:16 a.m. that the Cubs had won.
The Giants will likely protest the game, a team official said. Bochy, still livid from the tough loss, said he was "probably not in the right frame of mind" to discuss such a step during a quick postgame session with reporters.
"I'm frustrated. Beside myself," he said. "(A protest) is my last (recourse). I hope they listen and watch what happened there because in this day and time it shouldn't happen -- can't happen, I think, with the importance of these games. I'm going to leave it at that."
A team official said a protest would be based on the fact that the Giants were told everything possible would be done to finish the game, and they believed that wasn't ultimately the case. The controversial loss left the Giants 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers and in a tie with the Atlanta Braves for the second National League wild-card spot.
The Cubs took an early two-run lead when Anthony Rizzo crushed a Ryan Vogelsong pitch deep to right. The Giants put a runner on in each of the first five innings, but couldn't score. Angel Pagan hit a one-out double in the fifth, but Hunter Pence flew out and then Buster Posey popped out as the first drops started to fall. The Giants warmed up for the bottom of the fifth, but the rain grew heavier by the moment and the players were pulled off the field just as Vogelsong finished his warm-up throws.
The grounds crew, after getting a late start, had trouble pulling the wet tarp over portions of the infield and needed several minutes and a couple of different tries to get the tarp in place. With two large patches of dirt exposed to the downpour, fans at Wrigley started chanting: "Pull! Pull! Pull!" Eventually the entire infield was covered by the blue tarp.
It rained for about 15 minutes, and when the tarp was pulled, it was clear that plenty of damage had occurred as the members of the grounds crew struggled with the tarp. The entire left side of the infield was under standing water and a large, deep puddle had formed where the second baseman would normally stand.
Over an hour and a half later, the managers and the umpires walked the infield to examine the dirt. The left side of the infield wasn't fit for play and the rakes and bags of dirt came back out for another round of grooming.
"You know what, the field, it got in bad shape there," Bochy said. "It wasn't quite playable and like I said, it was a 15-minute rain there and they couldn't get the tarp on in time. I just think ... something (more) should have been done."
Another 45 minutes went by before the managers and umpires came out again to kick and test the dirt around the shortstop area. Eventually, Pablo Sandoval, Matt Duffy and Ron Wotus came out to test the track, but none seemed overly optimistic. When a Giant threw a ball to Wotus as he neared left field, the ball stopped dead in the dirt between second and third.
"It was soft. The field was soft," Wotus said. "That's all I really have to say."
Both teams waited in the dugouts for a couple of hours and several hundred fans gathered behind the visiting dugout. Angel Pagan signed autographs and Pablo Sandoval took selfies with fans as a lone grounds crew worker raked a field that looked nearly pristine, but was spongy when stepped on.
Vogelsong had long since given up on returning to the mound, but he hoped his teammates would get a shot, to "play and give us a chance."
The Giants never got the opportunity to come back. More than four hours after the rain stopped, the game was called.
The game was the first to be suspended at Wrigley Field since July 10, 1987. That contest was called due to darkness with the Cubs and Dodgers tied in the bottom of the ninth. It was concluded the next day.
This wasn't the first time rain led to a controversial delay in a game between the Giants and Cubs. A 1999 game at Wrigley Field was postponed because of the "threat" of rain, causing Peter Magowan, the Giants' co-owner at the time, to declare the Cubs were running a "bush-league-type operation." The Giants believed the Cubs postponed that game not because it was supposed to rain, but because they wanted to give extra rest to injured starter Kevin Tapani.
This March, a spring training game between the Giants and Cubs was canceled because the field at the Cubs' new facility in Mesa was ruled unplayable after a short storm. The grounds crew incorrectly emptied the tarp that day and too much of the field was left soaked.
Bochy and general manager Brian Sabean spent the last chunk of Tuesday's delay in the dugout, hoping for a chance to go for a much-needed win. Bochy said he was told the Cubs "were going to do all they can to get this going."
"Things shut down," he said. "It's a long and frustrating night. Hopefully (MLB will) look at it and maybe listen. I don't know what other recourse we can take. It's a tough night for everybody.".
For more on the Giants, see Alex Pavlovic's Giants Extra blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/Giants. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ AlexPavlovic.
Giants (Jake Peavy 2-12) at Chicago Cubs (Edwin Jackson 6-13), 5:05 p.m. CSNBA
Season likely over for Hector Sanchez. PAGE 3


text:
Politicians from Jerry Brown to Barak Obama have waded into the murky waters known as income inequality. The waters here are murky because it's not easy to know if income inequality comes from a problem with the economy or is the result of market forces and personal choices.
And not knowing that, it's not easy to be sure that the "cure" for unequally distributed income won't create more problems than it solves.
What do we want our country, our state or our region to be: wealthy or fair? And can we somehow be both? History shows that economies often struggle with the competing goals of high average annual income and evenly distributed annual income.
Without worrying where the numbers come from for now, consider two possible scenarios for an economy populated by 10 people. Country X has one person whose income is $100,000 per year and nine whose income is $11,111 per year. In Country Y, everyone earns $20,000 per year. Average annual income in both of these economies is $20,000 per year but it is evenly distributed in Country Y and very uneven in Country X. Some would say Country X is unfair.
In fact, without any additional information, we can only say that Country X is uneven. To say that it is unfair requires that we know a lot more about where the income comes from.
If the "rich person" in Country X forces the rest of the population to work for him and he pays only subsistence wages, most observers would call that economy unfair. Perhaps Country X is a farm and the "rich guy" inherited all of the land and legally owns all of the farm's production.
The poor people are presumably the farm workers. It could be argued that the "poor people" are getting an unfair share of the crop because of birthright. In this case, the poorer people have no choice about their income.
But it's not hard to make Country X look a lot less unfair. Suppose the landowner is the only one who knows how to farm. In that case, handing the land over to anyone else would make all 10 people starve to death. While the subsistence wage for the workers might be very low, it isn't necessarily unfair. The farm owner could have produced enough only for himself and not bother with the other nine people.
Pushing back, you might say the source of the knowledge of how to farm is unfairly distributed.
So unfair starts when only the land owner is given that knowledge. Maybe. But perhaps he isn't given that knowledge. It might be that getting that knowledge is hard and only the "rich person" put in the effort. Having gotten that knowledge, how much of the crop does that person deserve?
There isn't an unambiguous right answer to this in economics; the imbalanced distribution of income in Country X might be fair.
Strangely enough, the economy in which everyone earns the same $20,000 might actually be unfair. Country Y's citizens may have agreed to equally split the crop from a collective farm. But knowing that one's income is thus derived, no one on the farm will work harder than they have to; you're aware of the fact that only one-tenth of your extra effort's output comes back to you.
So an economy that's guaranteed to look fair might never grow! Some would say that economy is inherently unfair to harder working people.
None of these scenarios is right or wrong. None of them accurately describes the US or California. But all of them are plausible. Given that, we have to consider that fairness is a very hard concept to describe and thus, a very hard thing to attain, let alone assure.
Most government policies that attempt to "cure" income inequality simply try to distribute the crop in a more balanced way after it is grown. The assumption in these policies is that the size of the crop is unrelated to its distribution. Clearly, that isn't always true.
For my money the closest we can get to "fair" without destroying more income than we redistribute is to make sure that everyone has access to the means of success: everyone can get a good education, everyone can start a business and every can keep most of the proceeds from their own hard work. We will still have income inequality but it can be argued that each person gets the share of the crop that they worked to produce.
Jay Prag is a finance professor at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. Prag also serves as academic director for the school's Executive Management Program, and can be heard weekly on "Inland Empire News Hour" on KTIE-AM 590.


text:
I am going through as many articles, FAQ's, as I can. I'm using search function to look for pretty much any MMORPG reference and reading that, and I'm expecting to spend dozens of hours before I can get any type of idea of what I'm doing. But I'd like to cut down that time as much as I can.
My plan right now is to use some old computers (windows & macs) as servers and then focusing on playability and scalability vs. graphics and art. Once we have a solid base and are confident we can actually make money we will then expand. It's a bit backwards but I'd rather find out very soon the exact speed, cost, data transfers, processing power needed, etc.
Any help on anything on the list below would be very, very, very helpful.
1 Best Resources for learning Javascript 2 Best Resources for learning PHP 3 Best Resources for Learning C++ 4 Resources on tying in PHP with Javascript & C++ 5 Resources for learning Database Management 6 Resources for learning Server Management 7 Resources for learning good game design. 8 Resources for learning Network systems. (How the bits break down, what a packet is.) 9 Resources for free or cheap textbooks / college level courses. (I like knowledge but don't like academics) 10 Other Resources on topics I may of missed that help MORPG's. 11 Open source programs and solutions for misc Game Design tasks. (Digital Synthesizers for sound effects, and um... other stuff I can't think of because i'm a noob. All I have is GIMP, MAMP, etc.)
And if anyone can answer the incredibly noobish questions below I really appreciate it. I saved them for last because I have a feeling they're going to make people wince.
Can you (legally and easily) implement C++ programming in a browser without a download? Is C++ client side capable?
Can you interface server-side database languages with client-side browser languages?
Are any of the listed languages going to be drastically changed anytime soon? Will me learning C++ be useless due to C+++ or something?
Also, if someone would have the kindness the give me an email address for further noob questions that would be incredibly appreciated.
I can answer one question... I still use c++, and it looks like itll be around for a while yet.
If I were to make a browser game, id use asp.net, because its what I learnt, its a nice complete package and you need nothing else but it, thats the main reason why I like it. Theres a fair bit on google for it too, especially for first starting.
For the server side, it is possible to use C++, but it is not often used. The most popular languages for the server side of a web app are PHP and ASP, although a variety of options exist. You would typically pair this with a database engine for storing data persistently; a very popular option is MySQL.
There are many good books on web programming; one is here. This has been well-reviewed and covers all the basic stuff you need to know to start building web apps. It doesn't cover Flash or Silverlight, or anything specific to game design. But, it should keep you plenty busy for awhile, and you can get to the other stuff later.
Will me learning C++ be useless due to C+++
Haha... that made my day.
C++ is only going to be useful if you want to have a live game experience. PHP and HTTP for that matter is based on the Request / Response model. Meaning you ask a question, you get an answer. Things like pushing events down to the player cannot be done unless the player continuously asks the server for updates. Obviously this is not an ideal approach for live gaming. There is a way around it using the chunked protocol, but that is way out of your league right now and it's also a less favourable approach compared to the new capabilities offered in HTML 5. HTML 5 brings a lot of new features to the table that will make building a browser based game worth your while. You have web sockets for multiplayer communication, you have the new Canvas for advanced 2D and 3D rendering (using WebGL), and you have offline storage capabilities. Everything is there for you, but it requires quite a bit of technical know-how. Flash and Silverlight are of course alternatives, but I personally don't think they'll survive the onslaught of HTML 5.
Just use Chrome or Firefox 4 and check out this site to wet your whistle.@SolidSam
Once we have a solid base and are confident we can actually make money we will then expand.
Before you continue, Javascript is OK, especially with HTML5, but please take PHP out of the picture, it's legacy technology with no future. Go for .NET or Java. PHP will make your life a living hell.
My plan right now is to use some old computers (windows & macs) as servers and then focusing on playability and scalability vs. graphics and art. Once we have a solid base and are confident we can actually make money we will then expand.
Fair enough.
Any help on anything on the list below would be very, very, very helpful. 1 Best Resources for learning Javascript 2 Best Resources for learning PHP 3 Best Resources for Learning C++
Oh boy.. Javascript is a scripting language and as such fairly straightforward to learn. I always check for resources (books) at O'Reilly: http://oreilly.com/javascript/, but any tutorial should the job really. You could also try to learn the relatively new language haXe which compiles to many other languages including JScript and C++. It's probably now the time to start using IRC as well. Look at the Freenode channels, there is one for each important programming language/technology. I'm not sure which C++ book to recommend, but our valued member .oisyn will soon give you a suggestion or two.
Ask yourself the question if learning C++ is a good idea anyway. It's a complex language and it will take a lot of time to master. The focus is now shifting to more... productive technologies like .NET which also tend to make the web developer's job a bit simpler. I would thus recommend starting out with C#. You will not be bothered with the syntactic hell of C++ and you'll have a huge standard library at your disposal.
5 Resources for learning Database Management
I can't recommend anything good for practical database management. Try looking at O'Reilly for some possible guides on SQL.
6 Resources for learning Server Management
This requires practical know-how in my eyes and hardly any book will teach you all the quirks. It's like having books for carpenters.
7 Resources for learning good game design. 8 Resources for learning Network systems. (How the bits break down, what a packet is.) 9 Resources for free or cheap textbooks / college level courses. (I like knowledge but don't like academics)
Good game design is mastered, I can't recommend many books and I've read many. And just don't go over to GameDev.net asking these questions or they'll be quick to recommend expensive junk written by kids. Get the book "Computer Networks" by Tannenbaum, it's the Bible on networking and Tannenbaum has a very smooth didactic style.
11 Open source programs and solutions for misc Game Design tasks. (Digital Synthesizers for sound effects, and um... other stuff I can't think of because i'm a noob. All I have is GIMP, MAMP, etc.)
Wait, wait... get some paper and a pen first. When you start needing the software, come back. You don't need it now.
Legally yes, easily not at all. C++ is everything-capable, but there are simpler solutions. Listen to Reedbeta.
Why would you want to do that??? It would be hard to manage security, but you can make a bridge if you really need it.
Well, yes, people are trying to get rid of PHP. Developing with it is quite hard. Other platforms as .NET and Java will let you be more productive while ignoring system-specific aspects (You don't need to know about electronics to use your MP3-player). .NET for example has a powerful technology called LINQ that allows you to query pretty much every resource in the same way, no matter if ternary storage database or a single text file on a FAT32 system. Java's web technologies also allow for easy aspect-oriented development.
C++ will be around a bit more for sure, but its days are also counted. It used to be good in the days where one needed both performance and some self-documentation in the code, but in today's world of quad cores it's almost useless. Compilers are also so advanced, they can just-in-time compile Python's byte code to machine code with almost the same quality. Even embedded programming is moving towards .NET (Netduino) and Java (Arduino), because people want to be a lot more productive with a short learning curve. Take my advice and stay away from C++ unless your job depends on it.
Will PM you.
1 Best Resources for learning Javascript 2 Best Resources for learning PHP ... 11 Open source programs and solutions for misc Game Design tasks. (Digital Synthesizers for sound effects, and um... other stuff I can't think of because i'm a noob. All I have is GIMP, MAMP, etc.)
May I recommend the National Library Of Congress, Pocket Edition?@SolidSam
spend dozens of hours before I can get any type of idea of what I'm doing
Your unit is off. Try "months" instead of "hours" for a list that includes multiple languages, systems knowledge, and also knowledge on sidebar items like music creation....
Anywho, check an older post of mine for approaching game development. You are totally over-reaching with trying to learn all that up front.
Haha!;) that made me lol quite hard, random bs is always good
Regarding the questions posted by the op - quite possibly you've got a looong way to go: 1) Server Side - if you've chosen PHP, but using raw PHP is not your goal you could consider using a framework. A full-stack, such as Symfony should serve you well. It may be a bit of a learning curve, but it will speed up your dev as compared to using raw PHP. You get an orm, generators, good debug toolbar (checking db queries, how long they take, tracing what exactly happened during request and more). Not to mention, by default you'll be forced to some good practice, working in a well organised MVC pattern, some security issues will be sorted / instant-fixable by default, etc. You may spend some time on just learning it, but you'll get a better chance of making something functional and maintainable. All docs, wiki, forums, plugins (sfGuard!), etc. you'll find there: http://www.symfony-project.org/
Haha! that made me lol quite hard, random bs is always good
I've got to agree there. Let's try to keep things logical with this type of advice. It's all right to give credit to .net, but not just say bs about it or PHP. PHP is growing faster than .net or java:
No. Not right now. Google tried Native Client a while back, but that as close as it ever got to browsers downloading and running C and C++ code natively.@SolidSam
Depends on what you mean by "interface". Essentially, a server application is an "interface" between a client and a server.@SolidSam
All language evolve, ebb and flow into and out of popularity, but don't break too often. However, libraries and frameworks that sit over the language and always help the developer gain some amount of efficiency break much more often.
So, you may be safe with, for example, PHP, but Symphony (to grab touch_the_sky's suggestion for no particular reason except it's the post above mine) will likely eventually have breaking changes or go out of favor.
Thank you for all the responses.
It's kind of funny that you guys are on different sides of php vs .net. I've skimmed articles and I haven't made up my mind, but I'm leaning towards .net.
I really appreciate the detailed info and after research I'll plan accordingly. I've got so many tabs up in my browser right now...
Necroside, Rouncer, Reedbeta, TheNut, Mihail121, Alphadog, Touch_the_sky, Fireside,
You guys make the world a better place.
For me at least.
I'll add one more voice to the "not-so-anti-PHP" side: there's nothing wrong with PHP.
It's really a c-like web scripting language with a big ecosystem of tools, associated modules and people. As a low-level scripting language, it is very versatile but can be quite a mess in inexperienced hands. Adding a layer like symfony constrains the space, adds focus and can lead to a functional website just like adding MVC2 to the C# language can.
It seams you have a lot to learn in different areas of webdesign. I would recommand not to start with any kind of game. Make some simple websites first to get the hang of it. Once you get to the level where you are actually capable of making a game you will have much more structure in your code and a game becomes more feasible. A MORPG will need quite some coordination and is very unlikely to work as a first project.
As for PHP vs .net it really doesn't matter that much. You can make a game with either one. Keep in mind, if you use PHP you also need to install a server in order to develop anything. In this case I would recommand to install xampp as a package. This also means you need some basic knowledge in how to use this and thus it is one more thing to learn. Therefore, I would recommand to use .net so you can just download VS Express and get started right away. One more reason to use .net is that you have much more convenient debugger capabilities than you have with PHP. VS lets you even debugg JavaScript, at least to some extent.
Further more in PHP only newer versions allow for object oriented programming whereas .net has a proper object oriented desing by nature and allows you to use a modern software architecture without any problems at all. Once you get used to .net's LINQ and Lambda expressions your source code will become much cleaner and more readable and therefore more maintainable. Also, you might run into trouble with versions down the road when using PHP. .Net is amazingly backwards compatible.
I personally favour .net. C# is certainly worth learning and if your game gets so advanced that a browser is no longer an option, you could switch to silverlight and still use C#.


text: Back in July 2006, I had the opportunity to be part of a cool initiative called "Month of Browser Bugs". This initiative was created by H.D Moore in order to raise the awareness of security vulnerabilities in web browsers. Back then it was mainly focused on system Active-X issues, but it also provided some great examples of how, so called "unexploitable" vulnerabilities, can still be abused for a remote code execution. The initiative was a great success, in my opinion, and made the browser vendors more attentive to security vulnerabilities in their products (e.g. In Internet Explorer 8, installed Active-X controls are now not running automatically, and can be opted-in to run on specific sites).Today, three years after the "Month of Browser Bugs", I've decided to declare July 2009 as "Month of Twitter Bugs" (MoTB). I'm doing so in order to raise the awareness of the Twitter API issue I recently blogged about. MoTB could have been easily converted to any other "Month of Web2.0 service bugs", and I hope that Twitter and other Web2.0 API providers will work closely with their API consumers to develop more secure products.Each day I will publish a new vulnerability in a 3rd party Twitter service on the twitpwn.com web site. As those vulnerabilities can be exploited to create a Twitter worm, I'm going to give the 3rd party service provider and Twitter at-least 24 hours heads-up before I publish the vulnerability.Even though I have enough vulnerabilities for this month, you are more than welcomed to send me (via email or twitter) vulnerabilities you find in 3rd party Twitter services. I will do my best to publish all submitted vulnerabilities. I will, of course, credit the submitter. See you in July.


text:
More than 40 readers weighed in on our online comments system in response to a Nov. 13 poll (please add your thoughts at goo.gl/j9AfoH).
The Town Crier launched the survey because we want to provide the most useful and least annoying comments system that technology (and our office's IT budget) can supply.
By a three-to-one ratio, readers felt that "up-voting" comments – tallying thumbs-up or thumbs-down to indicate sentiment – was more annoying than helpful.
Although the Town Crier's comments system, like many others, is designed to prevent one person from voting multiple times, any tech-savvy user can circumvent those controls. It doesn't sound as though legitimate voters are finding this feature particularly useful, so we're likely to remove the comments voting system unless we hear from many who love it.
That brings up the next subject of hot debate – to what extent people should have to identify themselves openly and/or consistently in the comments section. Town Crier staff administrators are able to see the email address associated with each comment on our site. That information remains private, but it gives us a handle on who is commenting when.
Some readers made it clear on the survey that they suspect a small number of individuals may operate multiple, seemingly different, aliases. We've observed many instances where that accusation was incorrect. Commenters may not choose to share their identity publicly, but they often use email addresses known to staff to match with real human beings.
The Town Crier could start asking readers to log in to our website to leave a comment. That doesn't prevent people from making up multiple identities, because spoofing email addresses (and even IP addresses) is easy to do in this day and age. Or, we could require that people comment using only their real names. Given how often lawsuits fly over schools issues in this town, doing so may gag voices that previously felt comfortable speaking.
As a staff, we're collectively conflicted about the competing values of privacy, freedom of speech and transparency. No solution is foolproof, so we're asking the community as a whole to share their preferences.
– New Media Editor Eliza Ridgeway


text:
Excavating a Pair of Mining Stocks
One of the best feelings of being an investor is waking up to find one of the stocks in your portfolio is the recipient of a buyout offer at a substantial premium to its current price. It is like winning a small lottery: unexpected, but very welcome. I got to experience this on Monday as one of the core positions in the small-cap portion of my portfolio, Aurizon Mines (AZK), received a buyout offer from Alamos Gold for an approximate 40% premium.
Consolidation among the smaller gold miners makes good strategic sense. Despite historically high prices for gold and silver, the sector has been challenged over the last few years. Significant cost inflation in operating costs, strikes and troubles ramping up production are just some of the headwinds the industry has faced....322 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
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