text:
Typically, relying on a cameraphone to convey the joie de vivre at Cafe Loup last night after nine of Granta's Best Young American Novelists read and spoke about their work at the New School's Tishman Auditorium leads to blurry, non-specific photographs like the one to the left. But even if the persons captured are hard to identify (Nell Freudenberger's in the center, that's about all who is recognizable) those who attended both reading and afterparty generally had themselves a good time. I got to the reading on the late side, missing out on readings by Gary Shteyngart (whose oratory skills convinced at least one reader to pick up a copy of ABSURDISTAN), Olga Grushin, Akhil Sharma and Daniel Alarcon – handpicked by Ian Jack and Matt Weiland to read on the alleged grounds that they wrote non-American settings, or were born outside of America, depending on whom was asked (when I asked Jack and Weiland about it, each deferred to the other, which was actually pretty funny.)
The other five – Freudenberger, Jess Row, John Wray, Uzodinma Iweala and Gabe Hudson – didn't read but took questions from the audience. One that elicited the most amusing answers was the old standby "why do you write?" Because, evidently, that's all they can do or, as Shteyngart and Wray explained, they had been fired from any other job each tried.
An early beeline to Cafe Loup along with Lizzie Skurnick, Kathy Daneman and Rachel Grady (co-director of JESUS CAMP) meant exchanging greetings with Kate Lee, Elizabeth Spiers and Sloane Crosley, who were having dinner with Whit Stillman. (I also thought I spotted Ian Spiegelman at the far end of the table.)
Kimberly Burns, Granta's publicist, was kind enough to send along additional photos. Ian Jack and Matt Weiland pose with Best Young American Novelists judge (and Slate culture editor) Meaghan O'Rourke:
And Weiland, Gary Shteygart and Akhil Sharma are among those sitting in one of those spacious booths:


text:
OROVILLE — When economist Robert Eyler looks at the north valley economy, he sees pluses, minuses and question marks.
But the bottom line is 2013 was better than 2012, he told about 450 who gathered for the 14th annual Northstate Economic Forecast Conference in Oroville Thursday, at the Gold Country Casino event center.
Pluses are housing prices and job growth.
Housing prices are recovering and rising as foreclosed and short sale properties are bought up, and sellers are putting more on the market.
Housing growth can be expected too, but perhaps not in traditional areas. Rather than single-family dwellings, builders might be putting up more apartments and duplexes. That's a statewide trend that could be seen here too.
Eyler said about 1,300 new jobs have been created in Butte County since 2012, primarily in industries that produce goods.
The minuses are huge: Water, innovation and business climate.
Water and the drought have impacts from agriculture to hydropower, to the price of seed, feed and food; to wildfires and the cost of fighting them.
"Rain is a big deal."
The economic impact of drought is large for the north valley, but gets even larger elsewhere in the state, he said.
Innovation used to command activity and projects at the start of the century, but now is just bantered around.
"We need an innovation bomb."
And for business: "We've got to be thinking about what industries are going to stick around and how to keep them."
Eyler, who attended Chico State University, said businesses that have survived the recession are starting to look at growth.
"Do you have the capacity to keep them?" he asked, ticking off political will, space and an educated labor force.
The state hasn't done much to improve its perception of business friendliness either, he noted.
Money for growth is still a sad picture, saying this is a message he's repeated for several years. While banks are holding on to more cash, they are not lending any more aggressively.
Question marks come in many forms for Eyler, including health care reform — or Obamacare.
"It's experimentation. We have to see how it plays out."
Complicating it for nearly every area of California is the aging population. And who will be attracted to buy health insurance is still an unknown despite the IRS threat of fines to the uninsured.
Other question marks are how Europe is doing, with periods of "wobbliness" that have been more stable lately. China is a huge competitor.
Looking through the eyes of the state, he said the California Department of Finance doesn't see any "real downturns through 2017."
"Every forecast for the state and nation looks very robust for 2014," he said, but reminded that structural budget problems still dog California.
"You hear great news about the state budget, but hear it with a grain of salt."
Also speaking on the Affordable Care Act were Micah Weinberg, CEO of Healthy Systems Project in the Bay Area, and Bob Wentz, CEO of Oroville Hospital.
Ana Varona is the wellness coordinator at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., and talked about how employers and employees can benefit from wellness programs.
Reach Laura Urseny at 896-7756, email@example.com, or on Twitter @LauraUrseny.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
— Sporting News' latest mock draft
First round: 14th overall
Total picks: 8
Round-overall: 1-14, 2-45, 3-81, 4-113, 4-135, 5-152, 6-186, 7-222
1. Defensive line. Coordinator Rob Ryan likes bigger lineman in his 3-4 scheme. The Cowboys also need playmakers at defensive end. Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff is the best player up front, but he is undersized and has gotten worn down the past two seasons. The Cowboys would like the upgrade their line with size and versatility. Drafting a lineman who could play end and tackle would allow Ratliff to play outside and move around on occasion, if not full time.
2. Free safety. The Cowboys upgraded the secondary with the free-agent signing of cornerback Brandon Carr, but the problems in the back in the past two years—which resulted in more passing yards allowed than at any time in team history—are also due to the poor play at safety. Dallas signed free-agent free safety Brodney Pool but he is not considered a long-term option.
3. Linebacker. As the Cowboys learned from the Giants last year, you can never have too many pass rushers, so adding more players to get after the quarterback is a must even though they have the league's best rusher in DeMarcus Ware. The situation is even more acute because Anthony Spencer has yet to give the team a viable threat opposite Ware even though he will receive $8.8 million in 2012 as the team's franchise player.
The Cowboys filled a lot of must haves in free agency so they will enter the draft focusing on the best available player. Still there are positions they need to bulk up for depth purposes. Linebacker, defensive line, safety, cornerback, tight end, receiver and running back are spots the Cowboys could take players.
The Cowboys' list of pre-draft visitors included guard David DeCastro, defensive end Michael Brockers, safety Mark Barron, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw, guards Cordy Glenn, Amini Silatolu and Ronnell Leary, nose tackle Chase Baker, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, safety D.J. Campbell, cornerback Chris Greenwood, cornerback Casey Hayward and linebacker Ronnell Lewis.
It is not a coincidence that the Cowboys' first pick in each of the last six drafts has been a pre-draft visitor. That is also the case for players in the middle rounds. DeCastro, Brockers, Barron, Dontari Poe and Cox are the likely first-round options at 14. Lewis could be a pass-rushing option in the second or third round. They have to take a cornerback at some point because they only have four under contract.
"I think you've got to be willing and able to make some good, quick decisions. If the right guy is there, a guy that has equal value to the 14 pick or better value, I would submit to you we pick away. I don't think it's probably in the cards this time that we move up. But if the right guy is not there for the value, we've got to be prepared to move down." — Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones


text:
The relentless touring schedule of Touché Amoré, of Los Angeles, C.A., exceeds that of most post-hardcore acts. The quintet's fan-base spreads as far as Malaysia, Japan, Australia, and all of Europe. On their new album "Is Survived By", the band displays their maturity from playing countless shows together. They have come in to their own and broke away from the other bands in their genre.
The album was produced by Brad Wood (Sunny Day Real Estate, As Cities Burn, mewithoutYou) and surpasses any quality of past Touché recordings. Also guitarists Nick Steinhardt and Clayton Stevens challenged themselves to progress their already dulcet sound. The guitar work throughout the album is focused and progressive, using high trebly leads, and ambient, reverb permeated riffs when necessary. Forthright chord progressions that pull you in all of the directions vocalist Jeremy Bolm is bringing you in his throaty exclamations.
New inspirations and themes occur during "Is Survived By" that were not seen in their previous two full lengths "…To the Beat of a Dead Horse" (2009) and "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me". With their progressed brighter guitar tones comes brighter (for Touché at least) lyrics. Bolm proclaims, "I was once asked how I'd like to be remembered and I simply smiled and said 'I'd rather stay forever" in the album opener "Just Exist". From there on he goes through themes of overcoming loneliness, dealing with separation, distraction, and the pressures of being in a band.
While the stand-outs on the album are Bolm's lyrics and their advanced guitar experimenting, much is to be said about the bass playing by Tyler Kirby and the velocious drumming as always provided by the constantly shirtless Elliot Babin (who obviously just plays to fast to wear a shirt). Kirby provides some groove to the album with protruding bass licks in "Anyone / Anything" and "Kerosene". Elliot Babin is just showing off in "Just Exist" and the first single off of the album "Harbor". Once again, the band is displaying the payoff that comes from the constant practice that is the endless touring schedule of Touché Amoré.
"Is Survived By" is Touché's longest work to date. The band has been known to keep things "short and sweet" so that the listener does not get bored. This attributes to the progressive character the band has developed. And even in lengthening the songs and producing a longer work, it still ends before you want it to. The title track happens to close the album and is a perfect "sayonara" for listeners and also serves as the longest track on the album, coming in at a whopping 3:30 and is a remembrance letter for the band, explaining how they will be "survived by" their fans and support. Though their work isn't as long as most bands, it never lacks in depth. Hey, isn't the saying quality not quantity anyway? That seems to be the case with the California hard rockers.
The album which debuted at #86 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the vinyl sales chart, was released September 24, 2013 and is available in several formats (LP, CD, digital download) at http://deathwishinc.com/estore/.


text:
So for the few of us here that watch racing... and the subset of that that follows Indycar... Today is the 1st race of the season starting here in a few this afternoon.
For those with a casual interest but not following the nuts and bolts of the series, the majority of races are on the Versus network this season. They are also available in HD. Channel 603 on Directv is where to find them. Any Directv subscriber should get this channel. Pretty sure Comcast has it as well in their normal package.
The gamble with Versus is that Versus is giving more airtime to the series with pre-race shows, qualifying shows, promo, etc.. Versus won't move the start of a race to a sister channel or join it in action so that we can see the finish of a Netherlands Homerun derby. They also plan not to immediately cutaway after the conclusion of the race and show some of the emotion of the win... or loss...
The downside to Versus is that many who get Versus have never watched the channel or even know they get it.
Bob Jenkins returns to calling races as the Indycar voice in the booth (with Jan Beekhus(sp?) and Robbie Buhl) on Versus.
If I understood correctly, Versus will also do a lot of programming during the month of May around the happenings at the track. That race itself (Indy 500) will still be on ABC television (and ABC still has a few races on the schedule).
Today is a street course from St Petersburg, FL.


text:
Custom Disc Dyes for sale, see my photo album at the link below for info and pricing. See something you like and I don't have it for sale, let me know and I'll do it for you. I can put just about any design on a disc. PM me for interests.
Check out my photo album at http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q300/discdroppings/
Innova Star Orc, $30


text:
Map of Arhaus Furniture
Interested in purchasing Arhaus Furniture information?
Rent-A-Center3272 places
Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership1144 places
Ashley Furniture HomeStore424 places
La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries324 places
Are we missing a Arhaus Furniture location or another place that you know about? Click here to add a place to the map and help make MapMuse even better!


text: Link Ink: Amy Pond's 1/6 Scale Figure, 'Marvel: War Of Heroes' And Super Guitars by Caleb Goellner August 7, 2012 Toys: Big Chief Studios' limited edition 1/6 scale Amy Pond figure is now available for pre-order, with an estimated shipping date within the year. Sales: The Walking Dead #100 sold an estimated 335,082 copies in July... Read More Filed Under: Agent 88, Agent88, Amy Pond, AmyPond, anime, Big Chief Studios, BigChiefStudios, cards, curiosity, Digger T Mesch, DiggerTMesch, Doctor Who, DoctorWho, GUITARS, Jonah Block, JonahBlock, Kickstarter, Lego, mars, Marvel War of Heroes, MarvelWarOfHeroes, Minimates, Mobage, Nami, NASA, One Piece, OnePiece, sales, the walking dead, TheWalkingDead Category: Culture, Link Ink EMAIL SHARE TWEET Pin it! REDDIT Share on Tumblr!


text:
Is a virtual and real reality that you can't get employment for the following reasons.One,you don't have a legally provable resume that an employer would consider of value to shortlist because of huge year gaps in employment.Two,you don't have a high enough credit rating and score for an employer to consider you valuable enough to hire.Three,you don't have a social media profile that others would consider monetarily valuable enough to buy or acquire from you.Four,if you have complained enough to government or business about your employability woes and no one will go to bat for you to get yourself employed that is another sign.Five,you were not smart enough as a youth to make sure that you knew who and whom had access to your employment documentation when you sent it to companies without any conditions attached.That is always a sign that you are not in control of your career or careers in any manner.Sixth,when you have not been able to know who read your online employment documentation because you couldn't afford to spy on your employment documentation readers,that is another sign.
Bono in the Celtic Connection for November 2011 said that he was virtually unemployable without being in the U2 band,he meant that would not be employable outside of his band.
by B1j2p8b1 November 25, 2011
The Urban Dictionary Mug
One side has the word, one side has the definition. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Lotsa space for your liquids.Buy the mug
Trending RN - September 25, 2017
- 1. blink-182
- 2. draymond green
- 3. duff duff
- 4. vanilla sex
- 5. thunder buddy
- 6. cincinnati switcheroo
- 7. i just can't trump today
- 8. feltch
- 9. tmt
- 10. blink 182
- 11. vouch
- 12. hypixel
- 13. hognuts
- 14. mansplain
- 15. ques
- 16. ten-head
- 17. trashnut
- 18. fnl
- 19. lisbon
- 20. ponktacology
- 21. scump
- 22. bolivian flake
- 23. mrw
- 24. stale
- 25. rub down
- 26. dtr
- 27. cushioning
- 28. average joe
- 29. papillion
- 30. cigarettiquette


text:
Jesus Cross Stitch Pattern PDF - The Last Supper - Leonardo da Vinci - Cross Stitch - Instant Download (DAVIN03)
PDF Cross Stitch Chart includes Cover page, DMC material list, DMC Care Page, Color chart, Threads length page and Easy instructions. Adapted from works of art.
60 DMC Colors
Stitches: 168 x 350
Size on 14-count: 12 x 25 inches
Size on 18-count: 10 x 20 inches
Would you like this design as a kit with all the materials included? You will save more than 30% over getting the materials on your own! --> https://www.etsy.com/listing/113044141
Copyright © The Art of Stitch. All rights reserved. All patterns are copyright protected and cannot be reproduced, redistributed, copied or sold. Copyright infringement will be prosecuted by law.
Digital downloads
File delivery
Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed.
Payment Options
Returns & Exchanges
I gladly accept returns and exchanges
Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 30 days of delivery
I don't accept cancellations
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
The following items can't be returned or exchanged
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
- Digital downloads
Conditions of return
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Privacy policy
I will only use your shipping and billing address, and contact information
- To communicate with you about your order
- To fulfill your order
- For legal reasons (like paying taxes)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there tracking with shipping?
The choice is up to you. We offer Standard Mail without tracking, registered mail with tracking as well as Courier. Some countries do not update the tracking info hence at times you will find that the tracking will stop updating the moment it reaches your home country.
Why don't you accept cancellations?
Actually this is not a hard and fast rule. Contact us quickly if you want to cancel and if we have not shipped yet, we will cancel the order for you. We tend to ship earlier than the estimated shipping date, so it's hard for us to gauge when you can cancel safely.
If we have shipped and we can't cancel, you can always send us the item back and receive a refund for the order in full.
It's very important to us that you enjoy your purchase :)
I bought a kit but I would like a PDF too for safekeeping.
That makes sense! If you would like to get the same PDF, let us know and we will arrange for you to get 50% off for the PDF.
I have an artwork I want as a cross stitch. Can you do that?
Of course we can! Simply send us a custom order request with the image attached. Let us know your preferred size and fabric count and we will send you a no-obligations final stitch preview with a quotation.
Can I sell my finished cross stitch?
Yes you can! While you can't distribute the pattern itself as it's under copyright, your finished cross stitch work is your own so you can definitely sell it on eBay, Etsy or anywhere else you like.


text:
I miss you all! I have lots of catching up to do, what i miss? someone fill me in please ty !!
I miss you all! I have lots of catching up to do, what i miss? someone fill me in please ty !!
@Eternal: Sorry :c
What Pokemon could ye imagine Lyra to catch if she journeyed in the Unova Region?
Gothorita ^^ The ribbons matches her :3
BTW, guys, I have this new rule: If yer a usual Club member, ye can request in my shop whenever the hell ye want.
Good idea, right? :3 nya~
Last edited by White_Roar~; 13th November 2012 at 6:19 AM.
Anyway, guys lookie:
These are exclusive for only Lyra/Kotone members from my shop nya~
I have a question about the contest, since stuff was going on and I dunno. So, what must we draw again? Sign-ups end on November 30 and actual contest ends December 31? Digital right? Can I draw the whole thing but then color it and stuff on Paint?
Probably Eternal-kun can deal with things instead XD nya~
Oop, forgot that I asked. Okay, thanks Eternal. Guess I can
halfasscome up with something in a month again...
In the meantime, here's some fanart for y'all to enjoy
Spoiler:- Cute:
Source: Unknown
Signature under construction
Welcome to the Lyra/Kotone Club Christmas contest!
Guess what, y'all. It starts today, with this post, and ends at 12:00 AM GMT -6 on the 24th of December.
Here's some simple rules to follow:
(-) Your entry must have Lyra in it, whether that be a group with a whole bunch of characters and Pokemon, or Lyra as a Pokemon herself, or Lyra by herself; she must be in the drawing somewhere.
(-) Your entry must have something to do with the holidays.
(-) Your entry must be family-friendly. In other words, no nudity or blood. You get the idea.
(-) Entries can be either digital or traditional (pencil/paper)
(-) Entries must be in color. No black and whites.
(-)You must draw your own images. You cannot use anyone else's art. Not even the official stuff.
(-) No shipping pictures. There will be plenty of that in February.
(-) Entries must be sent to my PM box anytime before the contest ends. DO NOT POST THEM IN THE CLUB. I'll do that when I announce the contest winner(s).
(-) You must label your PM drawing as a contest entry. That's very important. I do not want to see any drawings before the contest's end, so I can remain unbiased.
And the most important rule of all:
(-) Have fun. It's the holidays.


text:
Peter Amor is a very nice man. 25 years ago he set up the Wye Valley Brewery, which brews some very nice beers indeed. Earler this year, once the silver jubilee celebrations had died down, he decided he wanted to give something back to the industry he´d built his livelihood on. He wanted to do something to help celebrate British beer.
Ian Hudson, a former brewery employee, had by this time set up a film production conmpany. So Ian and Peter started talking, then contacted me with a view to making some kind of film that sang the praises of British beer.
After kicking a few ideas around, we decided to start off by making a series of video blogs. Once a month, we will be filming in a particular region of the UK, to produce monthly pairs of blogs. I believe (though I may be wrong) that these represent a bit of a depatrture for V-Blogging in that they´re made with a full film crew and hopefully therefore have a veneer of professionalism to them.
They´re not necessarily aimed at a beer geek audience but at a more general public, and we´re exploring ways to give them a wider reach in an age where TV channels won´t commission many serious content about beer. So if you´re a fellow beer blogger and you´re thinking ´this is rally basic stuff´ - fine, but it´s not basic to most people. The featured beers will be limited to cask ales, because that´s what Peter´s passionate about and he´s paying the bills. But in today´s brewing scene, limiting it to cask is hardly a hardship.
My bit is easy. I have to select a few beers from that region, drink them, and talk about them on camera. We decided to do the first one from Nottingham, home of the 2010 Champion Beer of Britain, Harvest Pale. Here are the results. Apart from convincing me of the urgent need for a diet, I´m quite pleased.
Pete Brown's British Beer Blog from Ian Hudson Films on Vimeo.
Mr Amor has a harder task. He has to explain the history and production of beer, the ingredients and the process. Here´s his first one.
Peter Amor's British Brewing Blog from Ian Hudson Films on Vimeo.
We´re quite pleased with the results for a first go. Next month we´re in Wales. If you think we should come and see you, let me know!
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Monday, 27 September 2010
The Cask Report
Have spent most of the day in a radio studio doing syndicated interviews about the Cask Report, which we're launching today. This means the Report, which I was hoping to put up here as an exclusive here earlier today, has already been picked up by several bloggers which, along with some favourable national media coverage, is great stuff.
Regular readers of this blog will know I'm hardly a cask ale purist. I regularly criticize people who are. But cask ale is the most misunderstood of beers. And it was cask ale brewers who got together and decided we needed an industry report on their part of the beer market. I'm proud to write the report each year, and to be a spokesperson for cask ale when the report comes out.
This year's report contains great news for cask ale brewers and pubs that sell it. In fact, it's the best news we've had in the four years I've been doing the report:
- 5% value growth versus 2% value decline for beer overall.
- Volume steady versus 4% volume decline for beer overall – the first time since 1994 that cask volume hasn't fallen.
- 120,000 new drinkers taking total cask drinkers to 8.6 million
- 4% increase in distribution, with 3000 new pubs stocking cask
- Average age of the cask drinker is getting younger – 17% increase in 18-24 year-old drinkers.
This in an amazing performance given the general state of pubs and the collapse of volume in the beer market as a whole.
But despite the fact that many people simplify this good news into "cask is growing", actually it's not. Cask's fantastic performance is great news for drinkers, but good as it is, it's still only static in volume terms. That's because most cask ale drinkers only drink it infrequently, and average throughput of cask ale (in line with beer generally) is down 5 per cent.
I have a tiny worry that in spreading the good news about cask, we might make drinkers, brewers and pubs complacent, that all you need to do is stick a few handpulls on the bar and everything will be sorted.
It doesn't work like that.
In the beer world, we spend time with other like-minded people. The brewers and publicans I speak to are all doing really well, but that's because they work hard developing beers, keeping them in great condition, and telling people how good they are. It doesn't happen automatically. 46% of the UK population have still never tried cask ale. Only 18% of drinkers claim to drink it on a regular basis. People still don't know that much about it.
It's important that anyone who loves cask ale who reads the report (downloadable here in full) reads the warnings as well as the fantastic news on cask's resurgence.
|Look, I just do as I'm told.
Friday, 10 September 2010
Plzen: Built on Beer
OK so the live blogging experiment was only partially successful (what can I say? I had a cold). But here, better late than never, is another post from our recent beer bloggers' Czech trip.
In retrospect, some places seem fated to become what they are, drawn hopelessly to their destiny. I thought I knew the story of Plzen, but as with so many stories, the narrative is geological. Sometimes I'm a historian, but sometimes you have to be an archaeologist: if you gently scrape away the story on the surface, you find another one beneath, and maybe even one below that.
|Wonder if this is where my publisher got the idea for the horrid old cover of Man Walks into a Pub from?
Plzen (places in the Czech Republic have both German and Czech names, and when you're there it starts to feel appropriate to use the Czech spelling) is synonymous with beer, and with the date 1842, when Josef Groll allegedly brewed the first golden lager, the style which eventually became known as Pilsner. That's bollocks of course – there was golden lager before Groll – but there's no denying the astonishing impact his intervention had on the beer world.
Legend has it that the circumstances leading up to Groll's appointment saw the quality of the town's beer deteriorate so badly that it was ceremonially poured down the drain in front of the town hall. Prior to this, the people of Plzen had had the right to brew themselves – a privilege not given lightly. After the ceremonial dumping of the beer, the city formed a burghers brewery, a collective venture that employed Groll and made history.
The clues to the layer beneath are there for all to see in that story. Why was beer so important to the citizens of Plzen? Why did they all have brewing rights?
And so you come back to fate and destiny.
Plzen lies in rolling, tree-lined Bohemian countryside. Naked, in the thirteenth century, it would have been one of those locations that screamed "Build on me!", especially if you were looking to build a gaff that could be easily defended during centuries of almost constant warfare. Amid a confluence of rivers, stands a gentle, dome shaped hill. Town square on top of the hill, a cathedral in the middle of that with a 100-metre-high tower for observation, nice grid system of streets, a network of walls and moats at the bottom of the hill, and you've got a town that withstood fairly regular assault until 1618 and the opening exchanges of the Thirty Years War.
Why is this relevant to beer? Because that gentle hill is made of sandstone, easily excavated. And as soon as the town was granted its charter in 1295, the citizens began to dig. First cellars, then tunnels joining them up, and soon there was a 19km underground network inside the hill.
And according to the tour guide (not always reliable, but in this case very plausible), the initial reason for digging was storage for beer – in other words, lagering. All burghers had brewing rights, and it seems many used them. It backs up what Protzy has discovered talking to historic German breweries, that lagering goes back much longer than we thought. In the labyrinth beneath Plzen, there are even underground bars and restaurants, where people who brewed better beer than their neighbours sold it to them though holes in their cellar walls.
You can now go on a tour of the 'Plzen historic underground' starting at the town's brewery museum. Thankfully the old man in Czech trousers who greets your hangover with traditional songs played on an accordion remains on the surface, and a sexy-librarian type tour guide issues hard hats (this is not just health and safety gone mad – you will smack your head) and guides you through 800 metres of tunnels and caves.
The sound of running water is constant. There are about 360 wells down here, providing the famous soft water that's so important to Pilsner beer. The natural temperature is around five degrees Celsius. Among the many museum pieces are drinking vessels from down the centuries. Tin steins from the fifteenth century look pretty similar to anything you see in souvenir shops today.
|OK, the table's from IKEA, but the tankard is over four centuries old.
All these factors – along with the treasured Saaz hops grown nearby – come together to make brewing great beer seem inevitable. Beer came to the Czech Republic with its first inhabitants – evidence of brewing and drinking has been found in the dwellings of early Teutons, Slavs and Celts, and by AD 922 the newly consecrated Bishop Vojtech was complaining about the scale of brewing in Brevnov monastery in Prague.
So Plzen was a hugely significant brewing city before Groll came along. In fact, that's why they hired him – it was inconceivable that the city should have substandard beer after such a long brewing history. Plzen literally stands on its brewing heritage. The question is, what really happened to make such dramatic intervention necessary? Why did the burghers pool their collective brewing rights? Did the beer really deteriorate so badly it had to be poured away, or was the move simply a less dramatic reaction to the Industrial Revolution, an acknowledgement that brewing needed to happen on a bigger scale?
I don't know, but in Plzen, nobody is saying anything to spoil the legend.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Nexium Capsules Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID) Specific Clinical Experience Investigation
This study has been completed.
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: March 22, 2012
Last updated: June 20, 2017
Last verified: June 2017
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Detailed Description:
The purpose of this investigation is to collect following data in patients given Nexium capsule (Nexium) for long term in usual-post-marketing therapy to prevention of recurrence of gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).
|Gastric Ulcer Duodenal Ulcer
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Observational Model: Cohort
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Official Title:
|Nexium Capsules Specific Clinical Experience Investigation for Long-term Use Concerning Prevention of Recurrence of Gastric Ulcer or Duodenal Ulcer With NSAIDs
Resource links provided by NLM:
Drug Information available for: Esomeprazole Esomeprazole Sodium Esomeprazole magnesiumU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by AstraZeneca:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- Number of Adverse Drug Reactions [ Time Frame: 1 Year ]Adverse event incidence
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- Non-recurrence rate of peptic ulcer [ Time Frame: 1 Year ]
|Actual Study Start Date:
|April 19, 2012
|Study Completion Date:
|August 27, 2015
|Primary Completion Date:
|August 27, 2015 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Detailed Description:
Nexium capsules Specific Clinical Experience Investigation for long-term use concerning prevention of recurrence of gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer with NSAIDs
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|Child, Adult, Senior
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Non-Probability Sample
Study Population
Patients who are given NSAIDs for long terms to control pain due to disease such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and given Nexium to suppress recurrence of gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer.
(Patients who have previous experience of Nexium given in the treatment for gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer can be registered to this S-CEI.)
Inclusion Criteria:
-Patients who are given NSAIDs for long terms to control pain due to disease such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and given Nexium to suppress recurrence of gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients having gastric ulcer/duodenal ulcer when Nexium is started (Active phase (A1, A2) or healing phase (H1, H2) of Sakita-Miwa classification on endoscopy)
- Patients who had been given Nexium for suppression of recurrence of gastric ulcer/duodenal ulcer.
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01562600
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01562600
|Research Site
|Aichi, Japan
|Research Site
|Akita, Japan
|Research Site
|Aomori, Japan
|Research Site
|Chiba, Japan
|Research Site
|Ehime, Japan
|Research Site
|Fukui, Japan
|Research Site
|Fukuoka, Japan
|Research Site
|Fukushima, Japan
|Research Site
|Gifu, Japan
|Research Site
|Gunma, Japan
|Research Site
|Hiroshima, Japan
|Research Site
|Hokkaido, Japan
|Research Site
|Hyogo, Japan
|Research Site
|Ibaraki, Japan
|Research Site
|Ishikawa, Japan
|Research Site
|Iwate, Japan
|Research Site
|Kagawa, Japan
|Research Site
|Kagoshima, Japan
|Research Site
|Kanagawa, Japan
|Research Site
|Kochi, Japan
|Research Site
|Kumamoto, Japan
|Research Site
|Kyoto, Japan
|Research Site
|Mie, Japan
|Research Site
|Miyagi, Japan
|Research Site
|Miyazaki, Japan
|Research Site
|Nagano, Japan
|Research Site
|Nagasaki, Japan
|Research Site
|Nara, Japan
|Research Site
|Niigata, Japan
|Research Site
|Oita, Japan
|Research Site
|Okayama, Japan
|Research Site
|Osaka, Japan
|Research Site
|Saga, Japan
|Research Site
|Saitama, Japan
|Research Site
|Shiga, Japan
|Research Site
|Shimane, Japan
|Research Site
|Shizuoka, Japan
|Research Site
|Tochigi, Japan
|Research Site
|Tokushima, Japan
|Research Site
|Tokyo, Japan
|Research Site
|Tottori, Japan
|Research Site
|Toyama, Japan
|Research Site
|Wakayama, Japan
|Research Site
|Yamagata, Japan
|Research Site
|Yamaguchi, Japan
|Research Site
|Yamanashi, Japan
Sponsors and Collaborators
|Study Director:
|Shigeru Yoshida, MD
|Astrazeneca K.K.
More Information
Additional Information:
Keywords provided by AstraZeneca:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 25, 2017
Additional Information:
|Responsible Party:
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01562600 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|March 22, 2012
|Last Updated:
|June 20, 2017
Keywords provided by AstraZeneca:
Gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Stomach Ulcer
Duodenal Ulcer
Pathologic Processes
Peptic Ulcer
Duodenal Diseases
Intestinal Diseases
Gastrointestinal Diseases
Digestive System Diseases
Stomach Diseases
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
Anti-Ulcer Agents
Gastrointestinal Agents
Proton Pump Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Analgesics, Non-Narcotic
Sensory System Agents
Peripheral Nervous System Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Anti-Inflammatory Agents
Antirheumatic Agents
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 25, 2017


text:
Newport County AFC are holding an auction of promises fundraising event and among the goodies on offer will be the chance to report on the Exiles for
the South Wales Argus.
The auction will be held tonight starting at 7pm, at Bar Amber and all funds raised will benefit the club's Academy from U12s through to U16s.
The evening will kick off with a 'meet the manager' question and answer session with Justin Edinburgh, followed by the auction of promises.
Selected Newport County players will be in attendance and the event will be hosted by BBC Radio commentator Rob Phillips.
The promises on offer will include the chance for a person to join South Wales Argus reporters at a County game and to get their own match report printed in the paper.
Other promises include:
•A selected away trip for two people with game tickets travelling with the N e w p o r t County management and players on the team coach, including pre and post match meals with players.
•An opportunity to take part in a full outfield coaching session with the first team under the guidance of Justin Edinburgh and Jimmy Dack.
•A pair of signed Theo Walcott football boots.
•A signed Peter Crouch Stoke City shirt.
•Shirts signed by Newport County legends Gary Warren (signed ICT shirt); Sam Foley (signed Yeovil shirt); and Danny Rose (signed Fleetwood shirt).
Newport County Academy director Glyn Jones said: "This is a great opportunity for the people of Newport to show their support for the Newport County Academy which aims to continue to produce young exciting talent such as Andrew Hughes and Lee Evans."


text:
BURNLEY are confident of keeping Danny Ings in the January transfer window, despite boosting their attacking ranks with the capture of Ashley Barnes.
The 24-year-old completed his move from Brighton yesterday, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal on the eve of today's Championship game at struggling Yeovil Town.
But Barnes will have to wait for his opportunity in the side initially, given the form of his old Seagulls team-mate Sam Vokes and top scorer Ings, who despite being tracked by Premier League clubs – with Liverpool and Everton among them – has signalled his intention to stay for the remainder of the season.
Interest has grown in the former Bournemouth striker, who fired his 20th goal for the club this season in last weekend's narrow FA Cup defeat at Southampton.
An increasing number of top flight teams – north and south of the border – and top end Championship clubs have all scouted the England Under 21 international.
Although an offer in the region of £5million or more would have to be given careful consideration, the Burnley board have stressed there is no wish to sell.
And the sentiment seems shared, with Ings understood to have intimated that he is set on remaining at Turf Moor and boosting Burnley's promotion push, before reassessing his future in the summer when he will have one year left to run on his current deal and will know which division the Clarets will compete in.
And Dyche hopes their promotion ambitions will be enhanced by having Barnes on board, with possibly more new faces to follow.
"That's the first marker and we'll see what comes beyond that," said the Burnley boss.
"It depends on what aligns at what level we can afford. It's not just the affordability but it is often a deciding factor.
"There are other things, such as player availability. It's a fluid situation. This month there will be other teams who might know of your interest in a player and then they get injuries or suspensions – these are always the shifting sands of football and it can change in a matter of a week if not days.
"We have to be aware of that and align ourselves accordingly and that's what we've done so far.
"There are a couple of maybes because as we've suggested many times because there isn't a deep pot available so we've had to use it wisely.
"There are a few different possible available players who could strengthen us as a unit.
"It's just what we deem fit in different areas."
He added: "It depends how things align from availability meets the financial side of things meets clubs agreeing.
"We have to be flexible with it."


text:
I share the same sentiment about how All-star starters are selected, but All-star festivities are usually dedicated for fans so we really can't argue about who the majority want to see. The main problem is that the promotion of players is unequal. I mean despite the struggles of the Lakers and Celtics, Kobe, KG and the rest of the gang are more exposed to the media (highlights, articles, promotional videos, etc.).
The best way for this is to limit and filter the selection of players then from the crop the fans will choose who they want to see, as MAStamper suggested. Or have the fans' votes have 1/3 weight and the other weights will come from coaches and/or players themselves.


text:
(continued from page 8)
When you smoke cigars you never know who you might run into. As a landscape and wildlife photographer, I travel quite extensively to some of the most beautiful places on earth. During a recent trip to Aspen, Colorado, to shoot wildflowers at the Maroon Bells wilderness area, my photographic sidekick, Tom Kennedy, and I found ourselves on the receiving end of cigar praise from a most esteemed aficionado.
We had just used up the good morning light and put away several rolls of film. It was time to celebrate with a couple of fine cigars. As we headed down the trail to the truck, our tripods slung over our shoulders, we passed by a man wearing dark sunglasses. We really didn't pay much attention, until we heard him talking (the voice was very familiar). Ten paces later we both looked at each other, then gazed back up the trail; "Jack Nicholson!" we said in stereo.
Upon reaching the truck we dug into our cache and pulled out two Joya De Nicaraguas and a pint bottle of Red Hook's Double Black Stout (a very nice combination), walked back to the trail head and sat on a big rock to toast a fine day of shooting. Not too far into our cigars we noticed Mr. Nicholson checking us out from afar, probably thinking of us as a couple of paparazzi. Not being the case, we continued to enjoy our cigars and made no move to grab our cameras. He then continued down the trail and right up to the base of the rock where we sat. Politely we tipped our cigars. He stood there looking us up and down, placed his hands in his pockets and with that unmistakable style and voice said, "Excellent, gentlemen. Excellent!"
Robert E. Long II
Lake Forest, California
Editor's note: I received this copy of a letter from Rich Andresen of Dallas, Texas. I wanted to share it with you.
To: Steve Bartolin, president
The Broadmoor
cc: Marvin Shanken
I recently spent four nights at the Broadmoor. After hearing so much for so long about the Broadmoor, I am pleased to say that it met or exceeded my expectations in all areas, except one. The service is exceptional, the food is four-star and the surroundings are majestic. Truly a "class act." However, I am sorry to say that I find your policy regarding smoking to be arbitrary and not at all in keeping with your image.
Most establishments which have a reputation for fine food, fine wines and in general the finer things in life, have an appreciation for fine cigars as well. I am very surprised and disappointed that the Broadmoor does not.
However, allowing the smoking of cigarettes and disallowing the smoking of cigars goes beyond a lack of culture; it is an outright insult. Put simply, cigarettes stink. They are full of chemicals and paper which produce an acrid and irritating smoke. Cigars, on the other hand, are not made with paper or chemicals, and produce a fragrant, rich aroma. Yet to take the provincial and arbitrary position that cigarette smoking is acceptable and cigar smoking is not, I think you need to reexamine your policy in this area.
I went into your Terrace Lounge to have some Port with the company of friends after a truly fine meal in the Tavern. When I lit a rather expensive and very fine cigar, I was asked to leave! And the people all around were smoking nasty smelling cigarettes and were treated with dignity. This is utterly ridiculous. I would suggest that you consider smoking in general as something you allow or disallow in various areas of the Broadmoor.
Contrary to what you may expect from my feelings expressed so far, I would have no problem with a no-smoking policy in any of the restaurants or other areas which may be designated non-smoking, including non-smoking rooms. However, I can't respect a bar which permits cigarette smoking and bans cigar smoking. Where is the logic in this? Is someone in a cigarette smoke-filled bar going to complain about cigars? You might consider a smoking section or even a cigar smoking section where cigarettes are not allowed, but banning cigars altogether is arbitrary and actually quite unbelievable, especially at a fine establishment like the Broadmoor. You might even consider a special bar, lounge or other area for cigar lovers, specializing in fine Ports, Cognacs and single malt Scotches along with a selection of fine cigars. You might be very surprised at how many of your customers (including the ladies) would appreciate this. You would no doubt receive mention in Cigar Aficionado magazine as well. I have enclosed a copy of this beautiful magazine for your enjoyment.
I must ask you to give some serious thought to this policy. It is outdated, arbitrary and very offensive. As much as I like everything else about the Broadmoor, I find this completely unacceptable and an obstacle to my future patronage. I would also like to suggest that until you change this policy, that you make your policy in this clear in your advertising.
Rich Andresen
Dallas, Texas
Editor's note: Rich, America needs more thoughtful, discriminating people like you. Thanks for politely expressing "our" view.
Dear Marvin,
I am writing to you in the hope that, by publishing this letter, some sort of etiquette on helping yourself from one's host cigar box can be established.
The facts are simple: The first guests to a drinks party I was giving were about to arrive and I had just a slight hesitation about leaving my see-through acrylic humidor in its usual place, in the sitting room. I thought to myself that since I had invited only friends, most of them colleagues from the diplomatic community in Tel Aviv and some of them neighbors from the highly sophisticated Israeli bohemia of Jaffa, there was no reason to assume that anything could go wrong.
In fact, the worst happened. Around the time the party was supposed to end, I saw one of my Jaffa neighbors puffing (obviously with great delight) what looked suspiciously like a Cohiba Robusto. I said to him that I was happy that I had found a fellow cigar lover among my friends. He told me, candidly, that he had taken his own cigars with him but that, "Cohiba is of course much better."
The point is that my humidor had quite a few Cohibas but only one robusto left, the one I have been dreaming of finding that perfect situation that "deserved" it! (Even on my 40th birthday I opted for a Lancero because the dinner was not outstanding, although quite excellent.)
The only partially comforting thought that has kept at large murderous intents has been the hope that the recipient of my unsolicited generosity reads Cigar Aficionado.
Jorge Torres-Pereira
Jaffa, Israel
Dear Marvin,
Family coming to visit? Beware! Lock up your humidor. Here's why.
It was last summer and my brother-in-law, wife and I flew to California to visit their dad. It had been a while since we all had been together and we were looking forward to a good time filled with good food, drink and golf. The weekend surpassed our expectations, which included a quick jaunt to the Monterey Peninsula. However, the last evening of the trip was about to be marred by my cigar inexperience.
My father-in-law had been at his office all day, and assuming that it would be OK to have a cigar from his humidor, I proceeded to evaluate which I thought would be a good smoke. The previous year I had been experimenting and enjoying cigar smoking, although it was infrequent and collegiate. I am sure that some of the selections I had chosen during that year had the owners of smoke shops laughing their asses off after I had left.
Consequently, I choose a cigar because it had a good-looking box and had a name that made it sound prestigious. I knew nothing of its history, its properties or value. Without a second thought I lit up what, even to my inexperienced palate, evaluated as a pretty damn good cigar! Upon my father-in-law's arrival home, he was greeted with the most glorious aroma.
The details that followed I cannot quite recall (I believe it is my psyche attempting to block out my stupidity). As it turned out, I had helped myself to one of Mr. Davidoff's last legacies from the land of Cuba. A Davidoff Dom Perignon. My father-in-law had painstakingly kept these beauties alive and well for the past two decades. He himself limited their smoking to one a decade!
Talk about a good reason for locking up your humidor. After this incident I committed to becoming more knowledgeable and experienced regarding cigars. My primary source of information was Cigar Aficionado with a little help from the local smoking club and shop. Thanks to that, I've had a chance to apologize to my father-in-law, who is an avid reader, a true aficionado and one hell of a guy.
Thank you for the education and this opportunity to apologize for the error of my ways.
Darnestown, Maryland
Dear Marvin,
It was a beautiful day as I left the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. I stopped at 4th Avenue and 4th Street and lit my cigar while waiting for the walk signal. A young lady, with lots of hardware drilled into her nose, looked at me and snarled "disgusting." As my blue cigar smoke swirled upward, bound for the ozone layer, the light changed. She stridently stomped into the intersection and was narrowly missed by a driver running the red light.
Log in if you're already registered.
Or register for Cigar Aficionado today—it's free.
Registration allows you to:
Keep track of your favorite cigars in your personal humidor.
Comment on all our stories.
Ratings & Reviews
Search our database of more than 17,000 cigar tasting notes by score, brand, country, size, price range, year, wrapper and more, plus add your favorites to your Personal Humidor.


text:
Our vision is to continue to improve our no-kill sanctuary on our 20 acre site which we own. Our first priority is to find them permanent, loving homes. Those animals who are not adopted will live out their lives in our sanctuary well fed, well loved and without fear. We are committed to doing all we can to help bring an end to the killing of healthy cats and dogs, including feral cats, as well as those who are sick or injured but could regain their health with medical intervention. Further, we embrace The Declaration of the No Kill Movement in the United States, and we envision the day when there are no more homeless pets and when every animal can be guaranteed a safe and loving life.
Our feline adoption fee is $75. This only partially reimburses us for the amount of money we spend on each kitten or cat.
We have rescued several dogs but do not have a facility where we can house them so we partner with other rescue groups and individuals to find them loving permanent homes. Every dog is given a tip-to-tail physical, tested for contagious diseases, vaccinated, spay/neutered, microchipped, and treated with Heartguard and flea/tick medicine. All of the requirements explained above for our feline adoptions and the same for our canine adoptions.
Thank You!
Your message has been sent to Sisters Animal Sanctuary.
You'll receive a copy, too, at to help you keep track of which pets you've inquired about, and which shelters and rescues you've emailed.
NOTE: Some shelters have physical locations you can visit; some of these shelters may only have pets for a limited time, so please do not wait for a reply—just go visit the shelter! Other organizations are rescue groups run by busy volunteers who may take a while to reply. You can find information about the shelter or rescue group caring for this pet, and their adoption procedures, on the pet's details page on Adopt-a-Pet.com.


text:
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center Foundation supporters are putting the final touches on preparations for the nonprofit's biggest fundraiser of the year.
The Foundation's Heartbeat Gala will celebrate its 19th year on Feb. 2 as donors and community members come together to raise money for the Stead Heart and Vascular Center housed at the hospital. Leading the way is chairman Don Kendrick, who serves at the Foundation's first vice chairman when he's not also serving La Verne where he is the mayor.
The Heartbeat Gala is the largest fundraiser for the foundation in terms of attendees and money raised. Tickets for the festive evening at the DoubleTree Hotel in Ontario are $225 per person. Since its inception, the gala has raised more than $2.5 million for equipment, programs and an endowment fund. This year gala proceeds will be used to purchase the Volcano System, an intra-vascular ultrasound, to aid doctors while treating their patients. The lone machine costs $80,000.
The evening will begin at 5 p.m. with a lovely reception and silent auction of delightful items and baskets. Dinner then will be served while a live auction is conducted.
Dancing will round out the night. Other entertainment will include Cirque From the Heart (a juggler, contortionist and an interactive segment) along with Bonita High School's Jazz Band.
"It is heartwarming to have generous support from our community and hospital friends who continue to support Heartbeat Gala on an annual basis. Because of their loyalty, the hospital can continue to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for the Stead Heart and Vascular Center that ultimately saves lives," said Glenda Ferguson, director of development for Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center Foundation.
The Stead Heart Center was established in 1986 shortly after the Bill Stead family provided a generous gift to the hospital in memory of Charles and Marion Stead. The facility became the Stead Heart and Vascular Center in 2006 when its programs where expanded.
Today, it provides excellent cardiovascular and stroke services to Inland Valley residents by offering testing, medical procedures and rehabilitation.
Reservations are necessary for this black-tie optional fundraiser.
For more information, call 909-865-9139.


text:
Hello all,
I am in Greensboro for the next week visiting my in-laws and I'm contemplating a day trip to Charlotte to play some of the stellar courses in the area. My original thought was that I would attempt to play Renaissance and Hornet's Nest in one day, but I wanted to hear what other people thought first. Do you think it would be better to choose one particular course and play it from multiple layouts, or is it worth trying to get in multiple courses? If there are other Charlotte courses that you think would be better representative of the Charlotte disc golf scene, please let me know that as well!
Secondly, I believe I will be making this trip on Friday of this week. If anyone is interested in meeting up to play a few rounds and help me find my way around the courses, I'd love to play a round with you! Just let me know.


text:
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga.—The Cincinnati Bengals played to a pretty big crowd of national media and fans during their joint training camp practice with the Atlanta Falcons Monday. They're about to draw a much bigger audience when they debut on the latest season of HBO's Hard Knocks Tuesday night (10 p.m. ET).
The Bengals have been here before, as they were featured in the 2009 edition of the documentary series. But the cast has seen a sea change, as only 13 players from camp four years ago are on Cincinnati's current roster.
MORE: Vince Young signs with Packers | RG3 update
Gone from the sequel is one of the biggest personalities in franchise history—Chad Ochocinco. Back as Chad Johnson, we saw his last moments as an NFL player when he was cut by the Miami Dolphins in the most dramatic scene of last year's Hard Knocks with the Miami Dolphins.
That doesn't mean that this year's more youthful, less flashy, more talented Bengals don't have veteran personalities to take the spotlight. Count on the starring role to belong to Adam Jones.
It's been five years since Jones, when he was better known as "Pacman," provided a most memorable Hard Knocks moment himself. Then a Dallas Cowboy, Jones showed off his punt return skills by catching six balls at one time.
Off the field, there is the redemption angle with Jones, who's shaken off his troubled past to become a strong contributor for an established playoff team.
If there's another seasoned Bengal made to be miked up, it would be James Harrison. The outspoken former Pittsburgh Steeler should take full advantage of being uncensored on HBO.
It also will be hard for the network to ignore the Bengals rookie with the most interesting background: defensive end Margus Hunt. The 6-8, 280 pound Estonian has the large personality to match his massive frame.
Their coach is still Marvin Lewis, and for the first time in his tenure, the Bengals are coming off consecutive playoff berths. He considers Hard Knocks to be more of a minor inconvenience than any sort of real distraction. When the Bengals did the show in '09, it was no distraction at all, given they went on to win the AFC North. He has great respect for the hard work HBO's NFL Films crew puts in right along with his players.
"These guys bust their tail to do their jobs," Lewis said. "You get to know them. They're out there and when somebody's moving, they're working, following them, and they try to put a show together.
"We've got a football team to put together, and we're looking forward to that."
There are great expectations for Lewis' budding Bengals in 2013, and those who tune into Hard Knocks for the "real" football will get a real treat in seeing some talented young players at work.


text:
Five-star 2014 guard JaQuan Lyle headlined the list of recruiting targets at Assembly Hall Tuesday night as top-ranked Indiana rolled No. 14 North Carolina 83-59.
The 6-foot-4 guard from Evansville (IN) Bosse was making his second trip to IU this season. Ranked 16th in the 2014 class, Lyle also was on hand for Indiana's Hoosier Hysteria.
Lyle was joined by another top-50 2014 prospect in Park Tudor small forward Trevon Bluiett. Bluiett's Park Tudor teammate 6-foot-8 freshman (2016) Joey Brunk was also at the game. Lyle and Bluiett play on the same AAU team, Spiece Indy Heat.
Bronson Kessinger, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Corydon (IN), was on hand. It is at least Kessinger's fourth unofficial visit to IU. He also attended Hoosier Hysteria.
Indiana 2013 signee Devin Davis was at the game. Davis and Warren Central open their high school Friday against fellow IU recruit Collin Hartman and Cathedral.
With Indiana expected to be on the road next year for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, IU coach Tom Crean said he'd like to add a marquee non-conference home game.
Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich this fall proposed home-and-home series with Indiana in all sports. Louisville coach Rick Pitino, whose team was in Portland the same as IU in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, said he would like to play Indiana.
That could become a moot point as far as basketball is related if Louisville ends up in the ACC and a part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Another potential opponent that has been mentioned several places is Kansas.
Crean was asked if there's a chance the IU-Kentucky series could resume next season.
"I think that ship has sailed," Crean said. He added that IU is willing to play Kentucky under the condition of its final proposal, which was a combination of neutral site games - which UK prefers - and home and home - with is IU's choice.
Crean opened his postgame press conference by mentioning Bill Buher, a long-time scorer's table worker at IU who died recently of cancer.
Buher missed IU's second game of the season, was back for the third game against Sam Houston State, but wasn't at Assembly Hall Sunday against Ball State.
"When he was back for the Sam Houston State game, I said, 'Man, we missed you," Crean said. "He said, 'Yeah, this is where I need to be.' Then he wasn't there for the Ball State game. … We were making plans this morning to honor him as an honorary captain, either before the next game or the game after, and he never got to tonight. … It doesn't matter if he's never scored a basket at Indiana, he's a part of Indiana."
Former IU standout Chris Reynolds was honored in a pregame ceremony. Reynolds, co-captain of the 1992-93 Big Ten championship squad and a key member of the 1992 Final Four squad, is in his ninth season as an IU administrator.
After serving as a senior associate athletic director, Reynolds is taking a position as deputy AD at Northwestern.
"Chris has been a fixture at Indiana for a long time," Crean said. "I knew him from Michigan State when I was at Michigan State and he was at Michigan State. He has been in the foxhole with us since the first day we got here, and it was not easy. We're going to miss him, and that's why we honored him tonight."
Tuesday was a big day for the Zeller family.
Their two oldest sons, Luke and Tyler, played in the same NBA game, and Cody Zeller scored a game-high 20 points in marquee matchup in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, leading IU past Tyler's former team, North Carolina.
Tyler Zeller had two points and two rebounds for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who fell 91-78 to the Phoenix Suns. Luke Zeller had one rebound for the Suns.
Steve and Lorri Zeller were in attendance at the IU-UNC game.
Crean said IU has started using a stopwatch in practice to see how quickly it gets a shot on a fast break. … Students camped out Monday night to be first in line for the IU-UNC game. … Indiana shot only 12 free throws against UNC, the Hoosiers fewest since shooting the same number Jan. 4, 2011 in a 67-63 loss to Minnesota. Only three IU players went to the line. Zeller was 4-for-6, Victor Oladipo 3-for-4, and Yogi Ferrell 2-for-2.


text:
Maine, N.B. push 'two-nation vacation'
From CBC News Tuesday, August 22, 2006
New Brunswick and Maine tourism officials have joined forces to encourage travellers to take their vacations in both places. A new "two-nation vacation" brochure details three week-long road trips that involve crossing the Maine-New Brunswick border. Read full story…..


text:
he future vision of BouMatic, the only US end-to-end manufacturer of dairy equipment, is being shared at 11 regional and international meetings held around the globe. The meetings kicked off in Syracuse, NY, April 8-10, followed by a meeting in America's Dairy Land at BouMatic's global headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. BouMatic dealers will hear President Bob Luna and other experts train them to help dairy producers find solutions to all their dairy production problems not just their equipment problems. In releasing many exciting new products, dealers and dairies will benefit from the results of Luna's vision: "It's up to BouMatic to come up with the technology that can help dairy producers be more efficient, effective and productive."
BouMatic is forging the success of the dairy industry by training its global network of 1000+ dealers to help dairy producers consider the benefits of technology to milk their cows "gently, quickly and completely." Dealers will be trained to give dairy producers the improved tools to calculate the total ownership costs, and evaluate the potential return in order to make informed decisions.
"Strategic Dealer designations will be awarded to dealers who exemplify our philosophy of providing excellent customer service to dairy producers to develop an end-to-end solution from BouMatic focused on the health and welfare of the cow," said President Bob Luna. Strategic Dealers demonstrate commitment to the rigorous BouMatic principles of caring for cows and providing a full line of services and programs to assist the dairy producers reach their goals. Using BouMatic University's 100+ courses on milk quality and dairy management, dealers train their personnel to help dairy producers examine all aspects of their dairies to produce the highest quality milk profitably.
Dealers Recognized:
Overall Strategic Dealer for North America--Seehafer Refrigeration of Marshfield, WI
Accepting the Overall Strategic Dealer award for North America were owners, Doug and John Seehafer.
Pictured from left: Mike Connell, Doug Seehafer, John Seehafer, and Duane Kleve.
Strategic Dealer for North America Central Region--LDS, Inc. of Chilton, WI
Accepting the Strategic Dealer award on behalf of LDS, Inc. were, Joe Leitner, Cindy Jetzer, Mike Brantmeier, Randy Buechel, Scott Buechel, Jason Pearson, and Corey Schneider.
Pictured from left in back Mike Brantmeier, Randy Buechel, Scott Buechel, Jason Pearson, Corey Schneider, and Duane Kleve, BouMatic Sales Manager for North America Central Region. Pictured from left in front Cindy Jetzer, Joe Leitner, and Mike Connell, BouMatic Sales Manager for North America.
Strategic Dealer for North America East Region--Finger Lakes Dairy Service, Inc. of Seneca Falls, NY
Daryl Hurst accepted the award on behalf of Finger Lakes Dairy Services, Inc.
Strategic Dealer for North America East Region-WG Dairy Supply, Inc. of Creston, OH.
Tony Stoller, Dean Stoller and Nate Miller accepted the Strategic Dealer award on behalf of WG Dairy Supply, Inc.
Strategic Dealer for North America West Region-Elk Grove Dairy Service, Inc. of Elk Grove, CA
Brian Donglemans accepted the Strategic Dealer award on behalf of Elk Grove Dairy Service, Inc.
Strategic Dealer for North America West Region-Valley Dairy Products, Inc. of Dexter, NM
Saul Ordonez accepted the award on behalf of Valley Dairy Products, Inc.
Founded in 1939, BouMatic is a dairy technology leader and manufacturer of durable, high quality milking systems. The company continues its aggressive investment in product research and development focused on the health and well-being of the cow, which supports its position as a leader in global milking technology. BouMatic serves dairy producers in over 45 countries, and employs 475 people worldwide, with global headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, USA and European headquarters in Remicourt, Belgium. For more information visit: www.boumatic.com


text:
Gene Expression Profiling and Bioinformatic Analysis Identifying Genes and Biochemical Pathways in Type 2 Diabetes
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Type 2 diabetes is a disorder of the metabolic system that greatly affects individual health and imposes significant cost for society on health care. It is necessary to initiate research with emphasis on improvement on quality of life and reduce the serious complications as a result of type 2 diabetes.
In type 2 diabetes insulin resistance and impairment of insulin secretion by beta-cells are the major pathophysiological defects and characterized by raised plasma glucose levels. Today, little is known about gene regulation and biochemical pathways involved in the disease.
Bioinformatics and gene expression microarrays (GEM) will be applied to gain insight into the molecular pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes. The simultaneous monitoring of thousands of genes in parallel can identify novel genes and entire biochemical pathways that are dysregulated at the transcriptional level. Affymetrix Inc. chips or spotted arrays will be applied as DNA microarray tools. Bioinformatic software programs and databases will be employed as data mining tools in order to perform statistical analysis, cluster analysis and biochemical pathway analysis.
Biopsies from skeletal muscle and adipose tissue from both diabetics and nondiabetics will be applied. Changes in genes and biochemical pathways between diabetics and nondiabetics and functional relationships between adipose tissue and skeletal muscle will be investigated.
Grouping of subtypes in type 2 diabetes will be performed and a classification system will be constructed. Building a classifier may provide better and more precise diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
Major advances in health science of type 2 diabetes thus seems to be promising and paving the way for individual treatment based on a more precise diagnosis.
|Type 2 Diabetes
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Time Perspective: Prospective
|Official Title:
|Gene Expression Profiling by DNA Chips and Subsequent Bioinformatic Analysis for Identification of Genes and Biochemical Pathways Associated With Type 2 Diabetes
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|30 Years to 65 Years (Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
Of diabetic subjects:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Age: 30-65 years
Of nondiabetic subjects:
- Age: 30-65 years
Exclusion Criteria:
Of diabetic subjects:
- Medication, which have any influence on glucose metabolism and gene expression in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle at the time of sampling of biopsies.
- Disease in liver, heart, vessels or endocrine organs
Of nondiabetic subjects:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Relatives with type 2 diabetes
- Hyperglycemia
- Medication, which have any influence on glucose metabolism and gene expression in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle at the time of sampling of biopsies.
- Disease in liver, heart, vessels or endocrine organs
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00143013
|Contact: Vibe Skov, PhD
|Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Genetics, KKA
|Odense C, Funen, Denmark, 5000
|Contact: Vibe Skov, MSc +45 6541 2837 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator:
|Vibe Skov, MSc
|Odense University Hospital
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00143013 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|September 1, 2005
|Last Updated:
|June 11, 2008
Keywords provided by Odense University Hospital:
type 2 diabetes
skeletal muscle
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
Glucose Metabolism Disorders
Metabolic Diseases
Endocrine System Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


text:
Full-figured women rely on Blue Skinny Jeans jeans as an essential part of their casual attire. There are many varieties and colors of jeans that are available for this group. If you are a plus size lady you can find jeans that are made for your specific body type whether you are tall or short, pear-shaped or well-rounded. There is a jean available that will emphasize your best attributes and camouflage your flaws. The right fitting jean is a great addition to any wardrobe.
It is important to accept the shape and size of your body, and get over the fact that you are not a size 6 or 8, before you go shopping for a pair of jeans. When you do not accept yourself, they are negative thoughts, and they will make you have a negative image about yourself. Focus on the fact that you are a healthy woman. This will make it easier to find a pair of jeans that is so you!
It depends upon the manufacturer, of course, but larger size jeans usually come in sizes 14 to 28. Size 14 in a plus size garment generally corresponds to a 16 regular. Larger size dungarees are offered with "Misses" measurements and with "Junior" measurements. The former term means that the legs are looser, the hip section is wider, and the waistband sits higher than it does in the Juniors.
Jeans in a "junior" cut fit snugly in the leg and sit low on the waist. They are rather form-fitting, and full-figured shoppers should try on both jean cuts, taking into consideration their comfort and style, as well as the look. Model the different cuts in a full-length mirror, or, better yet, a three-way mirror, so that you can evaluate the fit from a number of perspectives. Make sure you are completely satisfied in every way before you buy. There is no best cut-it is a personal choice.
Full figured women who have a "pear" shape prefer boot cut jeans. A pear shaped body can be described as being biggest in the middle section (from the lower part of the stomach to the upper thighs).
Boot cut jeans are popular because they de-emphasize the longer part of the body, which is a slimming look. Boot cut jeans generally look better with shoes with a heel or even platform shoes instead of shoes with a flat heel.
Tapered jeans usually do not look good on a plus size woman and should be avoided, unless you really want to draw attention to the least liked parts of your body. Tapered style bottoms should really be reserved for the very thin girls.
You have prepared everything you will need for your trip - pocket money, pair of jeans, couple of plain shirts, some nice clothes to go out in, a digital camera, etc. when all of sudden your attention turns on that comfortable, soft, and ultra-sweet plus size lingerie. But should you bring it or not?
Well, it depends on the kind of trip you are heading off to. If it's a boot camp, by all means, hesitate for a second. But if it is one of those most anticipated trips - could be your honeymoon, much-awaited vacation, special visit to a close friend or relative, or a simple overnight trip getaway, count your plus size lingerie in. Yes, many would advise that you should only bring light weight things on a trip. Fortunately, most of lingerie pieces are made of soft, thin and lightweight materials that you can bring along anywhere you go.
Suppose you are going to spend your very first night with your husband in a very romantic place. Wouldn't it be nice to wear one of those lovely adorned plus size lingerie garments instead of a plain dress to complete your sultry look while having a private candlelight dinner? Put on a very dramatic eye make-up, make luscious rich lips, choose to wear a long, shiny and flower-patterned plus size gown and nice pair of stilettos, and don't forget to perfume your body with a fresh floral scent. The lingerie you chose will be just as unforgettable as the night and every time you wear your lingerie again, your husband will remember how gorgeous you looked on your honeymoon.
This tip is also true if you are going on a vacation. Surprise your partner with your very sexy plus size lingerie and he will appreciate how you planned to please him by making an effort to bring your favorite bed time outfit. If your planned trip is with your friend or close relative, I would say it is still wise to pack your plus size lingerie. To look stylish and feel great during the night time when chatting just before sleeping is the best form of bonding between close buddies, it is nice to walk around with your plus size gown and matching robe. Packing your personal plus size lingerie will save you from the hassle of buying a new piece of lingerie along the way, as you know that shopping for the perfect plus size lingerie is not as easy as picking groceries.
Living far away from the comfort of your home, even for just a few hours or days, can be very stressful. Your plus size lingerie will help relax you and loosen the stress before you sleep as you become intimate with yourself again. Women testified that wearing their favorite lingerie made them feel sexy and confident, even when away from the comfort of their own home. Even if the type of lingerie that you brought on a trip is meant to be worn under your daytime outfit, knowing that you look fabulous under your thick coat or heavy jacket reflects your beauty and self-esteem.
The right pair of denim jeans may be the single most important piece of clothing in your wardrobe and will without a doubt be the most versatile piece in your collection. Plus size denim lines are ever increasing and the trend focused options available in standard sizing are rapidly becoming available for the plus size community. From your favorite tee to a kimono top, your entire look can be changed without ever taking off your denim. However, what looks stylish and sexy on one woman, makes another one look frumpy or outdated. So, how do you know what's right for you? Below are some basic guidelines to follow when shopping for the perfect piece of denim.
The golden rule is: Know what thyself is workin with! If you got it flaunt it, accentuate the positives. Booty like J Lo? Mile long legs? These are the features you want to accentuate. Work with different washes and of the minute denim shapes like boot-cut and wide leg that enhance your favorite features.
What is your body style? Wide Hips, avoid the temptation of drowning yourself in relaxed fit jeans, they will only add inches where you're trying to lose them. Instead draw the eye down and balance the body with a pair of slight flare boot-cut jeans in a mid rise that's fitted throughout the hips. If you have short legs, make sure you pay attention to the length; this is one of the most important aspects when choosing a pair of jeans. Denim should be about a half of an inch above the ground when wearing heels or flats. Darker washes, with a front crease from the knee to the hem, also elongate your legs. A new option re-emerging is the higher waist trouser jean, which not only slims, but creates the illusion of mile long legs. Girls with a boyish figure or a body style considered to be rectangular will want to opt for a cut that will add the illusion of having curves, such as a mid-rise flare leg jean, where the denim is fitted through the hips and thigh, with the flare beginning above the knee.
The devil is in the details; you will want to consider different details of the jean itself. A fan of distressing and aged denim? Make sure not to go overboard. Extreme fading or jeans that appear to be destroyed may be popular with 15 year old pop tarts, but in reality can look tacky and dated. Dark denim in a crisp shape is always chic, as is a medium wash with well placed whiskering. Pay attention to pocket shape and angle. Hexagonal shapes that angle in towards the center tend to work best in creating a heart shaped booty for any body. Pockets placed slightly higher on the tush tend to make a flat booty look perkier and higher. Flap, or cargo pockets, also add some oomph to a small tush. Long pockets that pass the bottom of the tush are fantastic for shaping and lifting an ample booty. Avoid excess fading on the butt and the thighs, as they will make these areas look larger. Also pay attention to a lot of whiskering around the zipper area, which can also accentuate the hips. When considering rise, most women will be best served by a mid rise (a few inches below your belly button).
When choosing the right pair of plus size denim know your body type first and foremost, it is the basis of your search. Know which styles will work with your type and most importantly, what makes you feel fabulous.
Here are important tips for the best care of your denim jeans. Jeans will last longer and fit better if you treat them just a little differently than your other clothing.
Tag Check
Check the cleaning instructions and type of your jeans which is located on a tag inside your jeans. "Pre-washed" or "pre-distressed" indicates that the jeans have undergone manufacturing processes to create fading and to minimize shrinking. However, these jeans can still fade and shrink if you wash in hot water and dry in hot temperature. To minimize fading and shrinking always wash in cold water and air dry. Even safer is to dry clean.
"Raw" or "dry" indicates that the jeans have not been washed, and the blue color is not set.
"Single wash" means that the jeans have been soaked once in cold water to soften the fabric and set the blue dye.
"Sanforized" means that your jeans have been pre-shrunk. Most jean fabric is processed by this patented technique. It's been around for 70 years. No chemicals are involved. Shrinkage can still occur if you use hot water to wash or tumble dry with hot air.
"Unsanforized" or "shrink to fit" indicates that the jeans will definitely shrink as much as 2" on the waist. The longer you soak jeans and the hotter the water, the more they shrink. Dry them in a machine will increase shrinkage.
Washing & Drying
The more you wash and wear your jeans, the more they fade and the shorter their life span. Some believe that never washing jeans will make them last longer, but this is a myth because the acids and oils in your own skin wears on the cotton fabric. It's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation! So the best care is the gentlest washing such as turning them inside out and soaking them in your tub and gently agitating them, and then air drying, and as seldom as possible! Again dry cleaning is the safest.
You can add some table salt to the cold water to further minimize fading and shrinking. Use I cup per bath tub or cup per washing machine load.
Some believe that putting jeans in a freezer bag and then placing them in a freezer overnight will clean them. Unfortunately this is also a myth. Freezing kills odor-causing bacteria, but does remove the oils and acids from our skin or from dirt.
Soap & Detergent
Some jean fanatics use no soap or detergent. They just soak their jeans and freeze them to remove odor. If you want soap, a mild type will minimize fading and deterioration. The mildest soaps are Woolite and Dr. Bronner's. The mildest detergent is Orvus Paste which is used to wash quilts and horses! Turn the jeans inside out and soak them in cold water with the soap or detergent already dissolved for about 45 minutes. Once in a while gently agitate the jeans with your hands. To dry just hang them outside preferably flat.
To machine wash, the best way is to turn your jeans inside out. Set your washer on the most delicate cycle using cold water for both your wash and rinse cycles. Also use the largest amount of water and don't wash the jeans with any other clothing, except other jeans of the same color, but no more than 5 pairs per load. Fill the washer with cold water and dissolve your mild soap in the water and then add the jeans. If you want to use fabric softener never pour it straight into the washer water. Rather, use the fabric softener dispenser. When the washing is complete, hand your jeans inside or outside to dry.
The best way to dry jeans is never in a machine! If you must use a dryer be sure to use the lowest heat setting or no heat at all.
Hot water and hot machine drying cause fading and shrinkage even if your jeans have been pre-shrunk. Never use bleach unless you want to "acid wash" you jeans - see my instructions for acid washing. Never mix jeans with any other color clothing in your washer. Wash light blue and dark blue jeans separately. The safest way to stretch your jeans is to wear them while they are damp! And believe it or not there are health concerns for both men and women involving tight jeans. Studies show that women who are susceptible to yeast and bladder infections should minimize the wearing of tight jeans. Studies also show that men who constantly wearing tight pants have a decreased sperm count!


text:
How to avoid headaches and risk by using IBM Systems Director VMControl and SmartCloud Entry
When organizations start thinking about embarking on a cloud deployment, they see the advantages of a utility-like model and the appeal of something such as Amazon's EC2 public cloud offering resonates strongly with them. However, according to the analysts, a primary concern about using public clouds is security, since most people have heard the horror stories about outages and data leaks. And so, despite the ease-of-use of the public cloud, the attraction of private cloud is that clients get the same user experience but it is all safely built inside of their own firewall - using their own resources and their own IT infrastructure, thereby eliminating what they perceive as the biggest risks with a public cloud.
But what often gets overlooked in the evaluation of public vs. private cloud is that when anyone enters into an agreement to use a public cloud, they never have the headache of looking after the infrastructure. They basically pay for the workloads they want and get billed as they use them and that is all they have to do. The cloud provider, whether it is Amazon or someone else, has an army of people who are in charge of looking after the hardware that is running that cloud: keeping it properly functioning, managing it and patching it - and there is a lot of work involved in doing that. When a customer decides to implement a private cloud model, they inherit that maintenance headache - along with everything else that comes with being responsible for a cloud infrastructure.
As a result, when you think about implementing a private cloud, it is also necessary to think about how you will manage not only the virtualized resources but also the underlying physical infrastructure to guarantee service delivery and adhere to SLAs. Where IBM has a significant benefit over competing private cloud software providers is that we also deliver the platform management to help clients look after the physical infrastructure - and none of our competitors do that.
SmartCloud Entry
IBM SmartCloud Entry is our entry-level private cloud. It is a robust cloud software offering that takes your virtualized environment from cloud-ready to cloud. Users can request and provision an environment quickly through an easy-to-use Web-based interface and IT managers can monitor and manage this environment for improved efficiency and utilization of the data center. IBM SmartCloud Entry works with the IBM BladeCenter Foundation for cloud virtualization platform and the IBM ReadyPack for Cloud in addition to most IBM System x and BladeCenter servers. The IBM PureFlex System is delivered with IBM SmartCloud Entry for easy cloud-ready deployments.
SmartCloud Entry is a thin layer of software that overlays IBM Systems Director and IBM Systems Director VMControl. Those products provide you with platform management and the virtualization management. SmartCloud Entry adds cloud capabilities as well as a simple self-service Web portal enabling end users to provision their own workloads without involving the IT or systems administrator. It also takes care of metrics on the back end to track who is using which workload for how long so that the IT team can then "bill" people as they use workloads, providing a method to move to a pay-as-you-go or utility model as opposed to the traditional route of having to pay capital expense for provisioning new hardware and software. And, it also pushes the burden of provisioning (or creating a new virtual machine or workload) to the individual so it becomes a self-service IT infrastructure instead of having those requests become backlogged tasks for IT administrators.
With something like vCloud from VMware, clients get a cloud management layer but nothing to help diagnose or fix the underlying physical infrastructure if anything goes wrong – whereas, IBM offers that as an inherent part of SmartCloud Entry. We give you the tools you need to manage, diagnose, and repair the physical infrastructure to keep a cloud up and running and that is a major benefit of SmartCloud Entry.
Currently, PowerVM and VMware are supported by SmartCloud Entry, with support for additional hypervisors to be added in the future. There is a very high level of interest in KVM. We have large numbers of customers that are clearly looking to move to open source and KVM in a big way including their approach to delivering those workloads through the cloud.
Why KVM and Cloud?
The cloud use case is expected to drive a lot of adoption of KVM and provide a good reason for many people to move to the open source virtualization model. Cloud provides a level of abstraction so the end user doesn't know or care what workloads are running on, and therefore, the people who provide the cloud infrastructure can move to implement the most cost-effective infrastructure which is where KVM and open source stack up very well. It no longer becomes a brand name issue. It becomes all about operational efficiency and the services that are delivered to end users.
Just think about what happens when organizations are using something like Amazon, a public cloud. In that scenario, they don't know or care what the infrastructure is underneath so long as it works and the workloads are available. Adding this cloud layer of abstraction provides a great opportunity for alternative technologies like KVM. If the technology presents a great value proposition to the operators of the cloud in terms of both costs and the features that is offered, it gives them a good way to accelerate their deployment in large organizations.
Customer Reduces Server Count by 80% with IBM Systems Director Software and KVM
Have no doubt – KVM is ready for enterprise use. For example, a payment-processing company in Japan recently reduced its server count, decreased its use of electricity and space in its data center, and simplified IT administration by working with an IBM Premier Business Partner to consolidate its ERP environment onto IBM System x servers virtualized with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and managed with IBM Systems Director software. The client consolidated its ERP environment onto nine IBM System x3550 M3 servers running the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system. The operating system incorporates a KVM hypervisor - allowing multiple virtual operating systems to run on a host platform - which the client employed to virtualize the System x environment.
The partner also helped the client implement IBM Systems Director VMControl Enterprise Edition V2.4 software to manage the virtualized environment and provide advanced levels of usability and visibility. By implementing IBM System x servers virtualized with KVM hypervisor technology and running IBM Systems Director software, the client consolidated the work of 57 previous servers into just nine System x servers - a server reduction of 84%. As a result, the client significantly reduced electricity and space consumption in its data center, greatly simplified IT administration, and gained the scalability to accommodate ongoing business growth.
The Pieces Add Up
With Systems Director and VMControl, you get management of physical and virtual resources from one single pane of glass. Even if you are just embarking on development of a cloud environment in your organization, with SmartCloud Entry, you get an easy on-ramp to the private cloud. And with support for KVM coming soon in SmartCloud Entry, organizations will also be able to gain the additional cost efficiencies of the open source hypervisor in their private cloud environments.
Kelly Beavers
Vice President and Business Line Executive
IBM Systems Software


text:
Betfair Hollywood Park has strengthened considerably its
2-year-olds stakes program for both the 2012 Spring/Summer and Autumn meets.
Purses for the Hollywood Juvenile Championship and the
Landaluce, fixtures on the Spring/Summer calendar, have doubled from $100,000
to $200,000 while the Cinderella Stakes and Willard L. Proctor Memorial have
gone from $70,000-added in 2011 to $100,000 this year.
Additionally, the Grade I Hollywood Starlet, one of the
highlights of the Autumn meet, has been raised from $200,000-added to $500,000
A Grade III at six furlongs, the Hollywood Juvenile will be
run for the 73rd time Saturday, July 14. The Landaluce – restricted
to fillies and also at six furlongs - will have its 68th renewal the
same day.
Both the Cinderella, which is for fillies, and the Proctor
will be offered Saturday, June 16. The two races are 5 ½ furlongs.
Captured in the past by such stars as Blind Luck, Surfside,
Sharp Cat, Serena's Song, Very Subtle and Althea, the Starlet, which is run at
1 1/16 miles, is scheduled for Dec. 8.
The first payment of $250 for both the Starlet and the
$750,000-guaranteed CashCall Futurity – a Grade I which will be run Dec. 15 -
are due May 18, according to Martin Panza, Betfair Hollywood Park's racing
secretary and vice president-racing.
"These increases reward those owners and trainers who
support the 2-year-old program during the Spring/Summer meet,'' said Panza.
"We've doubled the purses for two of our four stakes during the Spring/Summer
and we have eight stakes for 2-year-olds – at different distances on two
surfaces – during the Autumn season.''
Betfair Hollywood Park's 50-day Spring/Summer meet will begin
Thursday, April 26 and continue through Sunday, July 15.
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal...
Ricardo Santana, Jr., winner of the 2017 Oklahoma ...
Champagne Room came to the $200,000 Remington Park...
Bob Baffert didn't mix words Saturday evening. "We...
The champion is back. Wait, no, I'm not talking ab...
Copyright © 2010 -
Horse Racing Labs, LLC