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A college freshman hasn't been seen since he walked away from a building at his western Pennsylvania school last week, police said.
Officials at Geneva College said 18-year-old Devon Minor was last seen leaving a dining hall on Thursday.
Minor's roommates alerted administrators when they hadn't seen him by Saturday morning, College provost Ken Carson said. Minor left behind his keys and cell phone.
He is a frequent texter, his family said.
It's not unusual for a college student to be gone for a night, but an absence this long is worrying, Carson said.
Minor's aunt and legal guardian traveled across the state from the family's home in Clifton Heights, Delaware County, to the Beaver County school.
Eleanor Barlow said Minor once left home for 24 hours while in high school and is a self-described loner.
"We're used to him wanting to be a alone but not to this magnitude," she said.
His family put up missing person posters up and around the campus.
Minor had no trouble on campus and there is no sign of foul play, school officials said.
A vigil for Devon and his family was scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mt Zion Baptist Church of Germantown on 41 W Rittenhouse Street in Philly.
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subset: commoncrawl


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A South Carolina woman was arrested Tuesday in the 2008 slaying of her husband, whose dismembered body was found in two Texas lakes, Ennis police say.
Investigators suspect that Gloria Aiken, 47, killed George Frazier, 42, in Ennis. An Ellis County grand jury indicted her last week.
Authorities did not release details of what led to Aiken's arrest.
Police say she reported Frazier missing in February 2008. His relatives told police he had said he was going out with a friend before he disappeared, according to the Ennis Daily News.
Some of Frazier's remains were found in Bardwell Lake in Ellis County, police say. More remains were later found at Richland Chambers Lake in Freestone County.
U.S. marshals arrested Aiken at her home in South Carolina, where she is being held while she awaits extradition to Ellis County.
Anyone with information about the case may call police at 972-875-4462.


text: My names James. I am Caliver King Charles x Jack Russell, and i am 4 months old, I love my mummy and daddy's shoes and socks. I am very playful most of the time except when i can sneak into the bed and snuggle under the duvet. My fav treats are Bonio milky puppy biscuits. They are scrummy.Add to Favorites


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Toronto, ON – Toronto-based MC Sinister just hit us with his latest single, "4th Quarter," off his forthcoming LP entitled The BarFather. … Read More »
Archive Tagged 'Michael Jordan'
Drake, Michael Jordan and more appear in new NBA 2K12 commercial [News/Video]
Toronto, ON – Check out Drake in this new commercial for NBA 2K12. The commercial also features NBA legend Michael Jordan, controversial … Read More »


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[ syll. e-ve-ral(d), ev-era-ld ] The baby boy name Everald is pronounced as EHV-RAHLD †. The origin of Everald is the English language. Everald is a variant form of the name Everild.
Everald is an unusual baby boy name. It is not ranked within the top 1000.
† approx English pronunciation for Everald: EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; V as in "vow (V.AW)" ; R as in "race (R.EY.S)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; D as in "day (D.EY)"


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Get DVD Talk Feeds
The 10-episode HBO series Tell Me You Love Me has come to DVD, and it's brought its baggage. The series concerns therapist May Foster (Jane Alexander) and three pairs of clients. There's 40-something Katie (Alley Walker) and David (Tim Dekay) whose marriage has become sexless; 30-something Carolyn (Sonya Walger) and Pelek (Adam Scott) who've unsuccessfully been trying to conceive; and 20-something Jaime (Michelle Borth) and Hugo (Luke Kirby) whose marriage plans are in tatters over issues of fidelity. Each of these relationships go through dramatic twists and turns as the series unfolds from who's enthusiastic or reluctant to attend therapy, to changed life goals, to revelations about past transgressions and their aftereffects.
Going through therapy is a grim and depressing grind for the participants and the viewer. All of these couples' bonds are severely tested, and the viewer is dragged into each fight and frustration. Every awkward moment in Kate and David's bed, every time Carolyn cries after urinating on a pregnancy-test strip, every argument between Jaime and everybody else in Jaime's life, it's all there. There's also the therapy sessions which frequently devolve into silence and stares all around. Breaking up all this is graphic and gritty but decidedly unsexy fornication by everybody but Kate and David. Before the series runs its course, one may be fast forwarding through the umpteenth copulation between Carolyn and Pelek, Jamie and whoever she's with that episode, and May and her husband Arthur (David Selby).
Tell Me You Love Me utilizes handheld cameras, natural lighting and minimal makeup to provide a gritty realism to the whole affair. The acting is generally very good and often exceeds the thin characters and stilted dialogue.
The DVD
This 10-part series is divided onto four discs stored snuggly in a two-tray digipak. The discs sport an incredibly irritating menu that repeats the same handful of complaints and accusations from the characters across every disc.
The Video:
The 1.78:1 image is enhanced for widescreen display. The series appears to be shot with high-definition video cameras, and generally looks fairly sharp.
Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish. The subtitles appear appropriately sized, paced, and placed.
The Audio:
English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital mixes are available as well as a 2.0 Spanish dub. The audio mixes all sound rather good with no noticeable dropouts or distortions.
The Extras:
Four of the episodes include audio commentaries: one from each pair of actors playing the three principal couples, and one from series creator and writer Cynthia Mort. Because the actors had very little interaction with the other couples, they're often left with little to say when the scenes focus on the other storylines. If Mort had been present for all the commentaries, they'd likely have been considerably stronger.
The only other extra of note are optional "previously on" summations of prior episodes. For viewers watching this DVD set sequentially, these recaps will be unnecessary.
Final Thoughts:
Watching Tell Me You Love Me is a brutal slog not worth undertaking. The Sopranos demonstrated that marital strife, therapy, and sex can all be interesting elements in a television drama, but here we learn they aren't sufficient in themselves. Unfortunately, series creator Cynthia Mort seems to have forgotten or never learned that a good dramatic series provides viewers with a reason to keep coming back episode after episode. Watching Tell Me You Love Me is a chore best skipped.


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"Mad Men" star Jon Hamm calls playing Don Draper on the AMC drama his "best job" ever in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, and reflects on his worst: working on soft-core porn productions for Cinemax.
Don't start searching through Cinemax (a.k.a. Skinemax) archives for a glimpse of Hamm in action, though. The actor was actually working behind the scenes as a set dresser, a gig he had when he turned to television to try — and fail — to find love on 1996 game show "The Big Date."
"I was actually at that time working as a set dresser for Cinemax soft-core-porn movies," he says in the June issue hitting newsstands on Thursday. "It was soul-crushing."
The struggle paid off, obviously. Hamm takes the lead on the big screen this summer in Disney's sports drama, "Million Dollar Arm."
Also read: Why Sports Movies Like 'Million Dollar Arm,' 'Draft Day' Have Become Their Own Underdog Stories
Even with 52 acting credits under his belt, the one that shot him to stardom — and earned him his first Golden Globe, plus 11 Emmy nominations — is still his favorite.
"This is the best job I've ever had and maybe ever will have in my life — it's so fun to play all of this," Hamm says. "It can be relentlessly dark. It can be terribly sexually inappropriate, is a way to say it. But who else gets a chance to do any of that stuff? There's so much there."


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TexPad splashJames Cull on November 26th 2011
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Brandon Webb has, for all intents and purposes, been out of baseball for two years. The right-hander threw just four innings in 2009 and didn't appear at any level in 2010 thanks to bursitis in his right shoulder that required surgery. He was paid for his rehab though, with the Diamondbacks picking up his $8.5 million option for the 2010 campaign, so it's not like he went hungry by missing time.
Webb averaged 227 innings pitched a year from 2004 through 2008, along with 178 strikeouts and groundball to flyball ratios of 3.1 to 4.1. He struck out hitters at an average rate, but has never induced fewer than 62 percent of balls in play as grounders, more than making up for that. Asking him to step back in and dominate is a bit much given the time away as well as questions about how well his shoulder and stuff will hold up, but let's figure out what Webb might be now that he has signed a deal with the Texas Rangers for the 2011 season.
Webb's 2009 PECOTA forecast had him down for a 3.29 ERA, 212 innings pitched, a K/9 of 7.1, and a K/BB of 2.8 along with his usual anti-homer tendencies. That could have happened had his shoulder remained healthy, but since it did not, we'll never know for sure. His 2010 projection, while not aware of the nature of his injury (a little problem that Colin Wyers is working on for 2011) cut into his innings expectations, with 101 frames, but similar production (7.3 K/9, 3.75 ERA, another groundball rate above 60 percent).
His sinker was an "iconic" pitch, as described by Baseball Prospectus 2009, along the lines of "Nolan Ryan's fastball and Mariano Rivera's cutter". That was pre-injury, though. Velocity was never Webb's forte, but the movement on his sinker was phenomenal, which is how 30 percent of batters who faced him grounded out in 2008. Webb did all that with a nondescript defensive unit behind him as well; the Diamondbacks finished #21 in the majors in Defensive Efficiency in 2008 with 68.6 percent of balls in play converted into outs. That was their second-highest DER during Webb's peak years as their ace, so even if he's not 100 percent The Old Brandon Webb, the Rangers' defense should be able to pick him up more than the Snakes ever did, and might even make his WHIP more palatable for fantasy purposes.
With the switch to the tougher American League and things a little up in the air in terms of what his repertoire will look like when he finally does return to the mound, let's use Webb's 30th percentile forecast from 2010 as a guideline for what is to be expected of him (at least until the shiny new PECOTA forecasts are available). Webb's 30th percentile had a 4.19 ERA, 6.8 K/9, a 2.1 K/BB, and, unsurprisingly, a lifetime supply of groundballs.
For a safe estimate, that looks like a pretty solid pitcher for fantasy purposes, especially on a buy-low policy on a potential playoff team, and also when you consider extreme groundball pitchers may be better than we think. If he is healthy—an if of significant size given he hasn't touched a mound in a game since April of 2009—then there is no reason to think Webb will be anything over than what he has always been. That is worth the gamble in your drafts, and if your league mates agree, he may also be worth a few bucks more than a late-round, buy-low option normally would be. It's a shame your auction price can't include incentives like the Rangers' contract does, but if healthy he will be more worth than whatever you paid for him.


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Ninjasonik and friends invite you to join them for their Cinco de Mayo festivities.
This Sunday is Cinco de
Drinko Mayo. That's Spanish for, a random excuse to eat amazing Mexican food, drink lots of tequila and party*, and if there's any group that knows about partying, it's the guys of Ninjasonik.
Telli, Jah Jah Brown (aka Ben Robey), and friends will be holding it down at The Flat in Brooklyn, and are inviting you to come through to partake in the festivities. DJ Dirty South Joe and DJ Totally Stoked –you may know her as Miss Appeal — will be holding it down on the 1's & 2's, and are sure to keep the party going until the early light. So come through, take some shots, and get turned up!*we know what Cinco de Mayo is actually Spanish for.


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OWINGS MILLS — The Baltimore Ravens have taken on a Super Bowl or bust mentality, unwilling to settle for anything short of a Vince Lombardi trophy.
The AFC North champion Ravens (12-4) launch their playoff run next Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium against the AFC South champion Houston Texans.
"We've got a three-game season right now," said strong safety Bernard Pollard, a former Texan who signed a two-year contract with Baltimore in August. "We are a team who is hungry. We can't settle for anything less than where we are going. The Super Bowl, that's where we want to go.
"At the end of the day, it's one game at a time. This is honestly the best team I've ever been on. We're excited as a team, and we're going to get this thing rolling."
THE TASK AHEAD ~ Quarterback Joe Flacco has won four of his seven career playoff starts.
Only once, though, has he advanced to the AFC championship game. That was during his rookie season when the Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And Flacco has never made it to the Super Bowl.
He's hoping to change that this year as the second-seeded Ravens (12-4) head into Sunday's AFC divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Ravens are 5-0 against the Texans, including a 29-14 win earlier this season in Baltimore. And they're 5-0 against playoff teams this season.
Flacco was asked whether he regards the playoffs as a personal proving ground.
"It's tough to really think about the results, like what's going to happen if you do go out and win this game, win the next game, win the Super Bowl," he said. "It's tough to really think about what people are going to make of it if that happens. It's our job, it's my job as a quarterback, to take it one game at a time, and like I said, put our team in the best chance to win a game, or give us the ball with a chance to win the game at the end of the game. And I think that's all I can do every week, is come in here and do that and play my best.
"I think when it's all said and done, yeah, playoffs are a big part of what makes great players, but if we were to think of what would happen if we lose, what would happen if we won, then it would make me. It would make our team go out there and play more tentative, because we would be thinking about the results, the fallout of what could possibly happen. And we don't need to be thinking about that; we need to be thinking on the task ahead, and that's winning the football game."


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Guns And Roses Are Not Safe To Drive To
Apparently, Guns 'n Roses unleash your inner road rager!
An insurance study done by the insurance web site confused.com says that "Paradise City" by Guns And Roses is one of the most unsafe songs to drive to! Using their "motormate" app, they had people drive with and without music.
They found that, for guys, rock music caused them to drive faster, more aggressively and to brake later. Ladies, don't be shaking your heads. You're just as bad but with you guys, it's hip hop that turns you into NASCAR wannabes.
The faster the music, the more your body reacts and attempts to match it's rhythyms. Guess that means the most unsafe radio show to drive to would be mine!!
If your ears tend to take control of your right foot, here's a possible solution. Try listening to music that more closely matches your heart rate. The study recommends "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith, David Bowies "Life On Mars" or "Closer" by Kings Of Leon.
Yeah right. Gimme my thrash cds and movate guey!!
Subscribe to KLAQ El Paso on


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Online Apple Store offering redemption codes on OS X Lion and Mountain Lion
Apple has started offering redemption codes on OS X Lion and Mountain Lion, which are now both priced at $19.99 on the Apple Store.
In the past, upgrading your older Mac to a previous software release meant getting in touch with Apple so they could send you a DVD, or a content code. Now however, you can simply purchase either of these software releases online, and Apple will send you a redemption code via email. You can then use this on the Mac App Store to download your software update.
Obviously, the majority of Mac customers will be downloading Mavericks, however Lion/Mountain Lion are still viable options for people with Macs not powerful enough to run Mavericks.
OS X Lion and Mountain Lion are still decent pieces of software, and so the redemption code method of download is a vast improvement on the previous process of upgrading older Macs. If you're system is wanting for power to run Mavericks, but you'd still like an upgrade, Lion and Mountain Lion are both available for purchase from the Apple Store online now! Apple Store
Via: Apple


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Cape Town - Banks will have to prepare themselves for a scenario in which hundreds of thousands of additional home loans will be granted to people who may be unable to afford them.Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale expects banks to grant 600 000 home loans to the so-called gap market over the next 36 months.On Thursday the minister announced this controversial "directive" at the 43rd annual property conference held by the SA Property Owners Association (Sapoa), where he delivered the main address.The gap market comprises those households too "rich" for a subsidy home, but too poor to qualify for housing finance. They typically earn R3 500 to R9 000 a month. The intention is for President Jacob Zuma's R1bn guarantee fund to serve as insurance against defaults on the home loans.The Banking Association of South Africa (Basa) believes this is an impossible target. Pierre Venter, general manager for banking and financial services at Basa, said the market had no houses available for this gap market. And the department of human settlements has so far not discussed any targets with Basa.Venter said the lack of housing for the gap market was reflected in the building statistics from Statistics South Africa (SSA), which showed that for the first two months of this year building plans had been approved for only 2 443 new houses under 80m² in size. At the same time, 2 413 houses under 80m² had been completed.Every year, in all segments, only 35 000 new houses are built, he said. Of these, 20 000 are for households earning R15 000 a month and 5 000 for with an income of R11 000 a month.He said households earning R9 000 a month could afford a R230 000 house but an entry level 45m² house in the market would cost R300 000. Banks have not yet come up with a specific product for the gap market, although Sexwale recently said in his budget presentation to parliament that a mortgage insurance product should become available to banks in April 2012.First National Bank property analyst John Loos said the rate at which banks would grant home loans over the next three years would depend on economic growth and job creation, which are both poor at this stage.Sexwale said South Africa's total housing backlog amounted to 2.1 million homes, and the number of squatter camps across the country had shot up to more than 2 700 from 300 in 1994. The Wendy Machanik property scandal has prompted Sexwale to request that the Estate Agency Affairs Board – which falls under the department of trade and industry – be part of his department in future. From the time the scandal broke earlier this year there has been no reaction from the department of trade and industry either to that scandal or to the firing of Nomonde Mapetla, former CEO of the Estate Agency Affairs Board. - Sake24For business news in Afrikaans, go to www.sake24.com.
Hello!... this is subprime mortgage what lead to the fall of and bail out of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the USA that in turn lead to a world wide recession.
Did Tokyo pay attention to what was happening or was he to occupied in counting his money?
exactly! Its unbelievable he can even suggest that, being a businessman, he should know better ! Maybe he is not that clever after all ????
But the ANC can do everything better than the corrupt, colonial west... didn't you know that? They are perfect, they know everything... so they think!! The problem is that they are sooo incompetent and stupid that they are completely unaware of their deficiencies. There is not hope with morons like this.
Are you kidding me? Isn't this what happened in America, when the banks were giving loans to people who couldn't afford them? Take a hike Tokyo
Tokyo is being unrealistic! Instead of forcing the banks to give money to people who can't afford to pay them back, rather create an environment where these same people earn more money, so that they CAN afford these houses. Win win I say!
recipe for disaster, they mind as well just give them the money
The sub-prime situation in the US started when Clinton decided every US citizen should own a house. This is a noble ideal and something that should be pursued, but he also went to banks to technically manipulate affordability principles to allow people who can not afford houses into the housing market. The SA National Credit Act prevents banks from lending to people who can not afford and SA banks have shown in the past that they are well protected against liquidity shortages due to their conservative capital reserve principles. There has to be a way to give more people the chance to own houses, but not by violating good lending principles.
The product gap is also about the actual product, the house, and whether we can be innovative enough to deliver houses at lower costs. It is also a demand side issue: why do we have so many people in low income brackets? For a few reason: high population growth, low education levels, high unemployment, high tax burden, etc. Housing is a structural and systemic issue in the true sense of those two words and, like education, crime, efficiency, etc, it requires a multi-faceted solution that addresses all things simultaneously. Not something the ANC is particularly good at.
This is not a simple solution and Sexwale's attempt at a solution looks to be either born from ignorance or as an opportunistic attempt for ANC support in next week's election. I think it is the latter.
Does Tokyo understand the business of banks in this regard ? Has he researched this and engaged with the banks before proposing it? Mcim he must go jump
with the increases that unionized workers are getting they would soon be able to afford houses
We need to break the strangle hold of the big 4 banks. They are destroying value by not approving home loans or undervaluing property. Maybe capitec could offer some form of home loan package to these persons. Please remember that the defaults are already budgeted for in Zumas 1 billion fund. Seems a no-brainer really.
With the number of defaults the bamks can expect, that R1 Billion will probably last 6 months...
If the government cannot even pay the Hospital's suppliers where are they going to reimburse Capitec for defaulters. Someone will steal from the 1 billion fund.
@editor, why is it that with your commments system there is no note to say your "message sent, awaiting approval" or something similar, as per any other normal site. All I get is a rotating circle with no indication if my comment has been sent successfully. Then occassionally I see one of my comments posted ...or not...
Can't believe our country is run by such idiots. Where were they the past 2 years. It is these king of loans that caused the recession world wide and now they want to enforce it here. The ANC is masters of mass destruction!
No, you got it wrong. This time it will work because it is a well thought out initiative devised by the best brains the ANC has. Guaranteed to work.
Just another politician trying to get votes with a ridiculous atatement that does not stand up to scrutiny.
R1bn guarantee won't be enough in my opinion. For the 1st year 200000 loans need to be granted if we have the 600000 split equally between the 3 years. If we take the loan amount to be the R230000 amount that people earning R9000 can afford we get the following. 200000 * 230000 = R42bn. Assuming a rate of 9% the interest for these loans in the 1st year would be R4.1bn thus a default of 25% would wipe out the R1bn guarantee in year 1.
Desperate attempts to "buy votes". Short term thinking sadly, I'm quite surprised that Tokyo, a man of otherwise high intellect, would take this position. It's just not sustainable. Sell the government elitists' 7- and S-class cars, buy them 3-series and C-classes and pump the extra cash into,say for example, state subsidies enabling R9000/month to afford the houses by assisting them with a deposit, thereby decreasing the monthly costs and interest rates over a shorter period. More people with houses, decrease the number of debtors, and save the environment because Ministers are driving more eco-friendly cars. It ain't rocket science to formulate sustainable solutions!This is what happens when the interests of a few in power impairs their ability to hold the interests of the masses at heart. Is this the African way?
A welfare state is not sustainable. These are desperate attempts to by the ANC to cloak the maladministration and poor service delivery by effectively "buying votes". I firmly believe in assisting the poor to empower themselves (more bursaries vs social grants for example) than to foster dependencies on handouts. It is my opinion that the old adage "Give a man a fish..." holds true in this context.
amazing that they forecast R300 000 for a 45m2 house, but only allow R62 000 to build it....
i think most of you are overlooking the core problem he is highlight, the fact that squatter camps have overshot - creating more reliance to government. In no way do I suggest that his idea is sound, but because of estate agents who created an artificial market the banks cannot afford to loan people under the R11K threshold money to finance their homes. Now if this issue is not addressed our grnadchildren will be funding RDP house through taxes for years to come.


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Raytheon's Mike Boots Explains Turkey's Patriot Balance
TR Defence's North America correspondent and acting editor-in-chief Hasan Karaahmet has interviewed Mr. Mike Boots, Patriot Turkey Program Manager at Raytheon Defense Systems, to shed light on some of the most common questions Turkish defense enthusiasts ask regarding Turkey's T-LORAMIDS long-range air defence program.
Hasan Karaahmet: Mr. Boots, thank you for agreeing to talk to our readers. As a time-tested, battle-proven system, many countries around the world depend on the Patriot, both NATO and non-NATO. What is the driving force behind Patriot's huge commercial success to this day?
Mike Boots: No other existing system has the proven combat experience of Patriot to engage evolving threats; and no other air and missile defense system has demonstrated the reliability and lower cost of system ownership. Patriot is the backbone of NATO's lower tier defense, and as you know, Patriot is currently deployed in Turkey by NATO members Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.
Hasan Karaahmet: What is the current level of deployment around the world?
Mike Boots: There are currently over 200 Patriot fire units deployed around the world with Raytheon's 12 Patriot partners. More than 40 Patriot fire units are now in construction or are undergoing modernization.
Hasan Karaahmet: How about the US? How long does the US military itself plan on using the Patriot air defence system?
Mike Boots: The US Army has committed to fielding Patriot beyond the year 2048.
Hasan Karaahmet: What's Raytheon's policy on investments in Turkey?
Mike Boots: Raytheon has a long history working in Turkey — from ground based air defence systems like Stinger and Hawk to tactical radars like Firefinder and Sentinel. From our family of air-to-air missiles like AMRAAM and AIM-9 to naval command management systems like Genesis. Raytheon is committed to partnerships with Turkish industry.
Hasan Karaahmet: Any cooperation prospects in regards to Patriot?
Mike Boots: We are already working closely with several Turkish defence companies to produce Patriot components for export to other countries. For example, Aselsan is a key strategic partner for Raytheon on the Antenna Mast Group for the UAE Patriot system. Roketsan is also a key strategic partner, producing components of GEM-T missile for the UAE and Kuwait. Also, Pagatel is producing command and control shelters, and AYESAS is working on the command and control integration.
Hasan Karaahmet: Turkey's Undersecreteriat for Defence Industries, the SSM, has adopted a procurement policy favoring local production and technology sharing. What are Raytheon's views on this?
Mike Boots: Both Roketsan and Aselsan have been awardedRaytheon's prestigious Supplier Excellence awards for the past two years for the excellent work they have performed on these programs. We anticipate increased global Patriot work share for Roketsan and Aselsan and have recently signed long-ter, agreements with these great companies for collaboration on advanced technology co-development projects in the area of high altitude missile defense. In addition to these strategic partner companies I mentioned, many other Turkish defence companies have the experience and skills we look for in our suppliers. As we win in other countries, they will get the opportunity to compete for additional work for those programs.
Hasan Karaahmet: Can the Patriot system be operated in conjunction with an Aselsan radar or launch a Turkish-made missile with comparable capabilities?
Mike Boots: Patriot can use data and information from a wide variety of sources and can interface with a variety of equipment, including missiles. We would need to know the specific sensors or effectors we are talking about in order to adequately answer that question.
Hasan Karaahmet: Does the US government or certain laws restrict the transfer of know-how on any subsystem or component of Patriot to Turkey?
Mike Boots: No! Turkey is a valuable ally of the United States and a NATO partner. Turkey's T-LORAMIDS program fulfills an important NATO air and missile defence commitment.
Hasan Karaahmet: Certain reports appeared in the Turkish defence media indicate that the Patriot procurement has been tied to Turkey's being granted access to F-35 source codes and the SM-2/Aegis technology for TF-2000 class frigates. What can you tell me about this?
Mike Boots: Intellectual property (IP) rights, such as software source codes, are often an issue to be negotiated in any sale of new technology. A customer's desire for IP rights must be balanced with the rights of the inventor and owner of those rights through the negotiation process.
Hasan Karaahmet: Mr. Boots, how does Patriot compare to the other Western contender in T-LORAMIDS, Eurosam's SAMP/T? What makes Patriot the better of the two?
Mike Boots: As I mentioned at the beginning of the interview, no other existing system has the proven combat experience of Patriot to engage evolving threats. No other air and missile defence system has demonstrated the reliability and lower cost of system ownership. Patriot is NATO's lower tier defense with 200 Patriot fire units deployed around the world.
Hasan Karaahmet: In the past, we've published statements from mainly US sources that if Turkey opts for a non-Western solution, integration of the SAM system into NATO networks can be problematic. Can you explain to our viewers as to why this is the case?
Mike Boots: We have read and heard similar statements from various sources. NATO is very serious about protecting critical technology from falling into the hands of potential enemies. Patriot is a key element of NATO air and missile defence capability and works seamlessly with the NATO command and control architecture and other NATO defence systems. NATO would be very careful about what other systems might be connected to the architecture.
Hasan Karaahmet: What's the future for Patriot? Is it going to continue to evolve with new capabilities beyond the GEM=T and PAC-3?
Mike Boots: The Patriot modernization roadmap will ensure Patriot remains the most advanced air and missile defence system in the world. If Turkey chooses Patriot for their long-range air and missile defense system, Turkish industry will have opportunities to participate in co-developing new technologies to help keep Patriot on the leading edge of technology.
Short URL: http://www.trdefence.com/?p=128680


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Swollen lips, a blistered face and nasty weather cut Diana Nyad's open-ocean swim from Cuba to Key West, but she told NBC4 that her historic attempt was still a success.
She was pulled out of the water on Aug. 21, on the eve of her 63rd birthday, 70.1 miles and 52 hours into the swim. It was her fourth attempt in nearly 30 years and her farthest yet of the 103-mile goal.
For Nyad, stopping short of her goal – for which she's trained decades – did not put a damper on the thrill of her experience. That, she says, is her message and the inspiration she spread along the way is proof of her success.
"I think there are millions of people in my position where they try for something that's important to them. Maybe they want to publish that novel that they believe is going to be the big best seller. And there are people that are disappointed in the final moment," she said.
"But does that mean that the whole trip…wasn't an experience and wasn't worthwhile? No."
What's Next for Diana Nyad?: Part 1 | Part 2
The Florida native who now lives in Los Angeles recalled her attempt to swim the Straits of Florida, which was thwarted predominantly by jellyfish.
"I've been swimming nicely. I'm going toward Florida," she said, pantomiming her free-style. "Every fingertip reaches, I'm getting there, we're getting there, we're making the necessary miles.
"At night, the jellyfish come up by the hundreds of thousands."
A jellyfish expert on Nyad's team used an infrared light to spot the jellies.
"She said it looked like a minefield," Nyad said. "Every stroke I was taking was just grabbing 'em, and swimming through them."
The stings were "debilitating," Nyad said, giving her "chills, and asthma."
"I will applaud any swimmer who makes it through there," Nyad said. "I personally went to the mat for it and I can't go out there again and subject myself and my crew to it again."
Nyad first attempted the 103-mile venture in 1978, when she was 28 years old.
This time around, she went out in the water with a team of five boats and 53 handlers, navigators and experts – including those skilled in keeping predators, like sharks and jellyfish, at bay.
During the expedition, which Nyad equated to that of scaling Mt. Everest, she was being fed up to 1,000 calories every 90 minutes and drinking every 45 minutes, usually through a hose from the boat while she treaded water.
The then-62 year old says she was "prepared to suffer." For the first 15 hours of her swim, Nyad was fighting against strong currents from the north and repeatedly cited jellyfish as her main foe.
Almost three days in, Nyad and her team made the decision to stop nearly 30 miles shy of the goal.
"You feel like it's close, but it would've been another two nights – not one night, but two nights – and we all looked at each other, none of us [wanted to] give up, but we thought, we just won't survive two more nights," she said.
Nyad "couldn't have been more prepared" for the trek, armed with cream to protect against venomous jellyfish stings, specialized swim gear, and several medical and ocean experts.
After logging hundreds of hours in the pool and ocean – up to 16 hours at a time – Nyad says this was her last attempt to swim from Cuba, a goal that carried with it a chance to highlight decades of trade and travel embargoes between Cuba and the U.S.
"A little part of my swim was, no big political statement, but just to say, do you know how close we are? You can actually swim over there," she said. "You know, let's stop all this."
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Measuring success of Data.gov - a suggested (simple) framework
The OMB Open Government Directive published on December 8, 2009 includes what are (in my opinion) some undefined terms and very unrealistic expectations and deadlines for federal agency compliance with the directive. It also did not include any method for assessing progress towards the spirit and intent of the stated objectives. I would like to offer a simple framework that the Data.gov effort can use to work (collaboratively) ...more »
Voting on Ideas
Vote for your favorite ideas by clicking on the up arrow.To undo an upvote, simply click the arrow again. This second click removes your vote.


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It wasn't exactly "Wind Beneath My Wings," but it was sweet nonetheless.
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore reunited on The Tonight Show Wednesday to sing a duet about how many movies they've done together. The song featured lines like, "You're the Rob Ford to my crack cocaine."
Sandler and Barrymore were visiting The Tonight Show to promote their new film Blended. They kidded about their history as costars in romantic comedies: After The Wedding Singer in 1998, they anchored 50 First Dates in 2004. Sandler and Barrymore joked that they "get to fall in love again roughly every 10 years."
During an otherwise jokey routine, Sandler pulled out the big guns: "I could be the man who grows old with you," he crooned at the end of the pair's musical number, quoting a song from The Wedding Singer.
Barrymore teared up at the off-the-cuff reference: The pair may have grown old(er) together, but they haven't lost a bit of their on-screen chemistry.
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A parody on "Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight". Instead of taking place in the majestic and historic Tower of London, the story takes place on a farm in Kansas and the threat to love is the dreaded dog Towser.
Public Domain (P)2001 K. Anderson Yancy
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- Home
- Calendar
- Plan Your Visit
- Group Outings
- Racing & Wagering
- Trackside OTB
Arlington Unveils Season Membership Plan/'09 Pricing Structure
Arlington Park unveiled its 2009 admissions pricing structure which for the first time offers a limited number of season-long membership packages in the Arlington Racing Club for individuals and families as well as tiered daily admission that includes "Value Day Wednesdays."
Each Arlington Racing Club package for 2009 includes a season pass (valid daily except Arlington Million Day on Saturday, Aug. 8), preferred parking, a wagering credit, guest passes available for one-time use, additional special offers, a monthly E-newsletter, and an invitation to special member's only events.
The individual package, which has a total value of nearly $1,200, is available for just $99, while the family package, which includes two season passes and has a value of almost $1,900, can be purchased for $169.
"A day at Arlington Park has always offered one of the best values on the Chicagoland sports landscape," said Arlington Park President Roy Arnold. "In these trying economic times, these Membership Packages will offer our frequent visitors additional value. A family of four can attend the races as often as they like during the 2009 season for less money than they would spend attending one or two Major League Baseball games."
Membership in the Arlington Racing Club can be purchased beginning March 15 online at www.arlingtonpark.com and those packages will be mailed out beginning the first week of April.
General admission remains $7 for most days during the upcoming Arlington Park season, which runs from Friday, May 1 through Sunday, Sept. 27. Guests purchasing their tickets in advance online at www.arlingtonpark.com will receive $1 off the general admission price while general admission for members of Arlington's Twin Spires Club using their card at the admission gates remains $5. Children aged 17 and under are admitted free every day.
The popular Seniors Day promotion returns for the 2009 season. Each Thursday during the meet, guests aged 55 and older can purchase general admission for just $3 with Seniors Day food and beverage specials offered in the Million Room and in Cobey's Food Court.
In addition, Arlington Park will offer "Value Day Wednesdays" on each Wednesday program (July 1 through Aug. 26) during the 2009. Admission will be just $5 at the gate, $4 if purchased online in advance and for Twin Spires Club members at the door, plus there will be discounted prices on reserved seating in our simulcast centers and food and beverage specials in the Million Room and in Cobey's Food Court.
Special premium pricing will be in effect for two of Arlington's most popular days - Mother's Day (Sunday, May 10) and Father's Day (Sunday, June 21). General admission each of these days will be $10 at the door but can be purchased at the regular $7 price if done in advance online.
General admission for Arlington Million Day, Saturday, Aug. 8, is $15 with reserved grandstand seats available for as little as $25 while reserved seats in Arlington's numerous simulcast centers can be purchased for as little as $6.
General admission and reserved seats for individual days as well as reservations for the Terrace Café will go on sale on April 1 at www.arlingtonpark.com or by calling the Arlington Park reservations line 847-385-7410. Million Room reservations can be made by telephone only beginning on April 1.
In addition, season box seats remain on sale while inventory lasts. Season boxes, many of which include a television set in the box, vary in size from three seats to eight seats and can be purchased using the either the Choice Program or Premium Program option. Prices for season boxes range from $940 to $3,762 in the Choice Program and from $1,045 to $4,200 in the Premium Program.
The Choice Program option gives the box-holder greater flexibility in use of the box while allowing Arlington Park the opportunity to re-sell that unused box and share those proceeds with the box holder if the track is notified in advance that it will be unused for the day, while the Premium Program option gives the box holder exclusive use of the box for the entire meet except Arlington Million Day.
Guests wishing to purchase a season box should contact Diane Collopy in our Sales department at 847-385-7790.


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Here's another look at The Rock in his new action movie "Faster", this one from FilmTotaal. That's a mighty dangerous looking gun you got there, Dwayne.
An ex-con (Dwayne Johnson) is out to avenge his brother's death after they were double-crossed during a heist years ago. Meanwhile, he's being chased by two Detectives (Carla Gugino and Billy Bob Thornton) determined to stop his violent rampage.
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace , Moon Bloodgood, Billy Bob Thornton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Matt Gerald, Annie Corley, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Marisa Saks, Micaela Johnson, Jeffrey Daniel Phillips, Aedin Mincks, and directed by George Tillman Jr.
The Rock dishes it out November 19, 2010.
Get more images and videos at our "Faster" preview page.


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Really cool.
Let's send one into space.
(What happens to Lego in space? Does anyone know? Does the air in the brick cavities break the model up? I think someone should be finding this sort of thing out.)
Check out this badass Turing Machine made from a single Lego Mindstorms Nxt kit, an impressive reincarnation of the classic concept conceived by maths boffin Alan Turing in 1936. While Turing's idea had an infinite tape, the researchers that built this particular machine were limited to just 32. Put together by Jereon van …
Really cool.
Let's send one into space.
(What happens to Lego in space? Does anyone know? Does the air in the brick cavities break the model up? I think someone should be finding this sort of thing out.)
Didnt the Reg send the Playmonaught into space onboard PARIS?
Must be similar to a Lego man
Did we ever get a report on his / her / its well-being following the trip?
Is it now a bearded Playmomystic convinced it saw a god in the fragments of the bursting launch balloon?
A recent mission, as part of its educational programme, included an astronaut on the ISS building a LEGO model of the ISS in a glove-box before taking it out and letting it float around.
it looks like great fun
Err, I mean I'm sure it would be a useful educational resource for my son.
To get paid to build things like that!
Almost as good as being Quality Controller in a brewery.
What happens if that was the Carling or Foster's brewery?
"Foster's brewery?" = Oxymoron?
Foster's urin treatment and recycling plant, would be more accurate.
But either all Programmable Digital Computers are Turing Machines, or none are (lack of infinitely long "tape").
The tape doesn't have to be a tape. It's all a mind game, a concept. See if you can build Hilbert's Hotel out of lego. For an encore build the coaches for Hilbert's Hotel.
Mathematicians were quite happy with Turing's paper, they had had over 10 years to get used to infinite stuff. Hilbert really upset them about 10 years earlier. I'd guess they were relieved there was only ONE infinite tape and the headaches had worn off.
Big difference. You only need an infinite tape to emulate every other Turing machine, but that's only because you've allowed that other machine an infinite tape. Oddly you could make the same claim regarding the machine having an infinite number of states, symbols, and entries in its state transition table, but these always seem to be deemed finite.
Actually given a finite tape Turing Machine you would only need another finite machine to emulate it (but with a degree more in both its tape length and state transition table size). A Turing Machine machine is still capable of a defined set of finite operations with a finite tape, as all these models demonstrate. Why an infinite tape is critical to the definition is honestly beyond me.
Hilbert's Hotel is something of a joke about struggling to understand the mathematics of infinity. No part of it works in finite space at all.
Yes it includes physical LEGO as a very small and insignificant part of the system, but all the real work is done inside an actual electronic computer.
True - Whilst a lovely demonstration, it would be more impressive were it a purely mechanical device.
Of course we'll both be downvoted for such an opinion by pseudo-fanbois who will then spluff all over the place when they actually see a purely mechanical LEGO one.
You know, like this:
That's actually not quite true. The part inside the electronic computer simulates a finite state machine; the LEGO bits are what transforms the FSM into a Turing machine. You could reasonably argue that the bulk of the compute power is in the LEGO part of the construction.
That said, I was a bit disappointed at the electronic fudging myself. A fully mechanical TM would have been more impressive as well as of more educational value.
But, I think LEGO is probably an insufficient medium for that. Old-style Meccano, on the other hand...
Thank you for that link!
Wow. Cancel my earlier remark about the sufficiency of LEGO. Cancel it with prejudice. That's one heck of a machine.
Need a 'real computer'? Fine - attach it to one of these
Yup. It isn't a Turning machine at all. Sorry, but it isn't.
A Turing machine only holds machine state on the tape. The programme, that is the state transition table is fixed and cannot hold mutable state. That is the definition. This model device only used the tape to provide I/O. There was mutable state inside the simulating engine - the engine internally did the calculation 2+2=4. It was not calculated on the tape, which is what a real Turning machine must do.
So, sorry, nice bit of Lego, but it is NOT a Turing Machine.
Well, it's an unwritten rule that someone has to say you could do it better in Meccano...
But I laboured for a while under the misconception that the Turing Machine reads a program of discrete operations. It doesn't - it's pre-configured with a state machine that acts as the program, which in itself could be huge. I gather the linear program concept only came about with Von Neumann Architecture (for shared memory) or Harvard Architecture (for separate program and memory). Either of which is possibly easier to implement mechanically, but certainly easier to program in...
Joefish, thank you for that link. The article's video was like watching a goldfish swim around in its bowl and calling it a Turing Machine. The French one was amazing. Now let's see that be part of the curriculum in an ICT course!
There is nothing stopping you writing a state control table that implements a program that can use the tape to hold both data and program code for a new automata implemented by the Turing machine. That is after all just unified code and data. And a nice exercise in showing how a Turning machine encompasses all other automata. In principle you could code an x86 interpreter on a Turning machine. All the CPU state still lives on the tape, an you could put x86 code and ordinary data elsewhere on the tape. What matters is that the ONLY mutable data lives on the tape. The table is fixed.
ITS MADE FROM A SINGLE LEGO KIT - what the fuck do you expect ?????
True, but here again is the issue I have with the definition of a Turing machine. To mix code and data on the tape requires a state machine that can remember position, i.e. it implements the equivalent of at least a program counter, address register and accumulator - though addresses will always be relative on the tape. Though since the definition allows for infinite tape, it follows that those addressing registers will also tend towards the infinite, such that a finite state machine is insufficient.
No it's not, as you only get 12 of those right-angled axle joints in the kit and there are 32 of them used for the memory tape. And as someone has already pointed out, a programmable switch-flipper is not a Turing Machine. At best, it's a Brainfuck parser with mechanical memory.
Different infinities. Try Cantor's diagonalisation mechanism to show that the Turing machine can still cover things. So long as there are Aleph null places on the tape, it is big enough.
"letter from the Queen"
How about a posthumous pardon and an apology to his family instead?
Officially a 'posthumous pardon' is not applicable - he was convicted under the (bad) laws of the time, and pardons are reserved for people whose convictions are found to have been wrong, rather than whose prosecution is.
But I can't see why they can't find some official form in which they could apologize for ruining his life, and prematurely depriving us of a genius who played no small part in ensuring the continuity of our own state.
were pardoned after conviction - and those laws still stand.
and then got 42 years (nearly double the original sentence) between them once their means of getting the pardon was uncovered.
You can't get much more official than a written public apology from a serving Prime Minister and published in a national newspaper.
Still proves the point, no matter how duplicitously obtained. If a pair of convicted drug dealers can get the "exercise the Royal Prerogative of mercy" call, and be pardoned of a crime, there is no logical argument the British government can reasonably stand on to deny Turing. The process clearly exists, and has been used recently.
So were the creators thinking "let's build a Turing machine?"
Or were they thinking "Can we make Brainfuck out of Lego?"
Lovely, either way.
Why the appalling noise???
Well, I made a really very excellent sculpture of the red 'Angry Bird' the other day.
Hey, my son asked me to.
Yeah, I waited with bated breath for the day my kid was old enough to play with legos. It was such a rush to get back into it that I spent a few nights up until 3am working on making a truck thing with no bumps at all on any part of the surface. It's tougher than you might think, with a limited block set.
Right now I have to hold myself back from scooping heaps of Lego sets off shelves into my shopping card wherever I go; the main saving grace is that most of the retail stuff is fucking 'Cars' advertising that has four huge plastic chunks with 'lego' written on them. What a load of bullshit. A block with only one purpose isn't a fucking lego, you miserable cock goblins! And can we PLEASE, PLEASE have at least SOME toys that aren't tie ins for movies or TV shows? Fuck's sake, people, I'd like to be able to get something that (a) doesn't talk and (b) doesn't have a 'Cars' character on it and (c) isn't sold in a quaint boutique and made by a bearded craftsman in Vermont, out of lacquered maple (that has undergone at least three hours of foreplay), and which costs $90 for a little car which really is pretty awesome but 90 fucking dollars? I can't afford that shit!
Still, at least they're still making the real ones - you can even get a biggish box full of normal blocks for 30 bucks or so at your favorite huge-box retailer.
The worst part is that since my son is just coming up on four, his ambition outweighs his skill, and he keeps trying to do impossible things (holding a half pound blob of legos cantilevered out six inches and hooked on a tower by one bump) and then freaking the FUCK out when it doesn't work. Still, he's getting better and better, and it's tough to beat doing something like cross-bracing a car chassis and seeing him do it the next day.
Complete agreement on everything...
Have only bought the generic Bricks & More buckets and boxes, especially love the vehicles one, er... I mean my SON loves it of course. He's made a bunch of vehicles and a small pump/ repair station on one of them big grey baseplates...
A little expensive but better than 3 sets of 'Cars' branded Lego boxes.
a mini figure dies.
LEGO the company itself does not use the term LEGOs.
LEGO is a system of components.
You can make hings out of Lego. You might have 'a piece of Lego', but not 'a Lego'
Are the right-angled logo pieces meant to denote binary? I'm assuming that they are. If so, how does two pieces flipped up mean '2' and four flipped up mean '4'. That's not how they would be represented in binary...
3 + 3 = 15?
I think you answered your own question.For this 2 bits flipped = 2 and 4=4
i.e. not binary
To me this looks just like HMS Hermes from the side.


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ALAN Pardew has conceded that Newcastle face a drawn-out battle as they look to turn Loic Remy's loan deal from QPR into a permanent transfer.
Remy will remain at St James' Park until the end of the season after the Magpies shelled out a £2m loan fee to secure his services in the summer.
Pardew has already confirmed his desire to sign the France international permanently, with Remy having made an instant impact since leaving London.
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Saturday's opening goal against Norwich City was the striker's eighth in the last eight league games, and only Sergio Aguero, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge have scored more Premier League goals than him this season.
The terms of Remy's loan from QPR do not include an automatic clause enabling Newcastle to complete a permanent deal, and while QPR officials are understood to have discussed a possible transfer prior to Remy leaving Loftus Road, Pardew has previously admitted the situation is "complicated".
In truth, it is becoming increasingly complex by the week, with competing interest from other clubs threatening to undermine Newcastle's attempts to engineer a long-term deal.
Inter Milan and Napoli have both expressed an interest in Remy, with Arsenal becoming the latest side to be linked with the Frenchman yesterday.
The presence of an £8m release clause in Remy's contract means he is unlikely to remain with QPR, even if they are promoted back to the Premier League, but whether Newcastle would be willing to match his current wages of around £80,000-a-week over a long-term deal remains to be seen.
The Magpies are understood to be paying his wages in full at the moment, but owner Mike Ashley would surely be reluctant to commit to such a sum over the course of a four or five-year contract.
"I think Loic is going to be an ongoing thing," said Pardew. "We are probably going to be talking about that for a long, long time. I don't want to start it now."
In an ideal world, Newcastle would tie up a permanent deal during the January transfer window, but Remy's agents have already indicated that a decision over the 26-year-old's future will be left until next summer.
By that stage, the Magpies could be back in Europe if they maintain the strong recent form that has seen them record victories over Chelsea, Tottenham and Norwich this month.
Saturday's win over the Canaries lifted them to within two points of the top four, a remarkable statistic given that they were languishing in 16th position when they lost at Everton at the end of September.
With West Brom visiting St James' on Saturday, Newcastle have a great opportunity to strengthen their position even further, and while Remy is reluctant to get too carried away, he sees no reason why Champions League qualification should not be regarded as a realistic proposition.
"For the moment, we just carry on and play good," said the striker. "We go game after game and we'll try to win a lot of games. At the end of the season, we can maybe do the Champions League.
"At the moment, we are not focused on that. But we know we have quality and that we can do it. I am not surprised by the quality of this team."


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Ag Boosters announce November winners
THORNDALE—The Thorndale 4-H/FFA Booster Club announced the winners for October in their monthly gun chance drawing, according to Rebecca Garcia, spokesperson.
Winners were Henry Lillard, Kelly Rieger, Casey Fuessel and Gary Oslick.
" The Thorndale 4-H/FFA Booster Club would like to thank the community for always supporting our youth," said Garcia.
Deadline extended for Master Gardener class
CAMERON—The deadline for registering for the 2013 Master Gardener class sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Office and the Little River Basin Master Gardener Association has been extended. The class is an excellent opportunity for those wanting to learn more about gardening or those wanting to become a certified Master Gardener, and would make a terrific Christmas gift.
Classes wi ll be held on Wednesday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon at the Cameron Chamber of Commerce, from Jan. 9 through May 8.
The classes cover many topics, including lawn care, trees and shrubs, disease and weed management, soils, plant nutrition, vegetable and herb gardening, home fruit production, water conservation, plant propagation, flowers and Earth Kind. There are no tests involved in the program. The fee for the class is $150, which includes everything you will need for the class, and a reference manual you will get to keep.
For more information about the local Master Gardener organization, visit their website at www.txmg.org/milam. To get an application, please call the Texas AgriLife Extension Service at 254-697-7045 or drop by the Extension Office at 100 East 1st Street in Cameron. Applications can also be requested by sending an email to email@example.com.


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The Ruby vs. PHP BDD Beauty Contest: no contest
For the last week I've been writing a Drupal utility in Ruby. This is a dubious decision, because most Drupal developers would prefer a tool written in Drupal's native PHP. It's less hassle to install, and less hassle to modify.
But I went with Ruby anyway, at least for version 0.1 – partly to keep myself in practice, and partly as an excuse to work out with RSpec, the Behavior Driven Development (BDD) framework for Ruby.
With BDD, before you write your code, you write a spec. Here's a section of one of my specs – it describes an Environment object that can parse a Unix command line and pick out the arguments and the option flags:
1 describe Environment, "created from the command line" do
2 before(:each) do
3 @env = Environment.new
4 end
6 it "should set the usage message attribute" do
7 args = %w(foo bar baz quux)
8 @env.parse_command_line(args)
9 @env.usage_message.should_not be_empty
10 end
12 it "should recognize arguments that are not options" do
13 args = %w(foo bar baz quux)
14 @env.parse_command_line(args)
15 @env.should have(4).args
16 end
18 it "should throw an exception if an illegal option is provided" do
19 args = %w(foo -z bar)
20 lambda { @env.parse_command_line(args) }.should raise_error
21 end
23 it "should allow the cvs path to be set" do
24 test_path = '/bin/cvs'
25 args = ['--cvspath', test_path]
26 @env.parse_command_line(args)
27 @env.get_option(:cvs_command_path).should == test_path
28 end
30 it "should be invalid if cvs path does not exist" do
31 args = ['--cvspath', 'nonexistent']
32 @env.parse_command_line(args)
33 @env.should_not be_valid
34 @env.errors.should have_at_least(1).error
35 @env.errors_on(:cvs_path).should have(1).error
36 @env.errors_on(:cvs_path).should match(/not exist/)
37 end
38 end
The idea is that you write a sentence about what the code should do, along with an executable description that demonstrates the sentence. Then you write the code itself until the description runs without failing.
Advocates of Test-Driven Development (TDD) will recognize this as nearly the same thing. But it does have a few advantages:
BDD avoids using the word "test", which carries uncomfortable connotations like "broken" and "buggy" and "ISO 9002" and "let's do that last, after the documentation". BDD uses words like "describe" and "should" to guide you into a proper, positive frame of mind.
BDD in Ruby uses nifty readable syntax. The syntax is astoundingly addictive. Why read this:
assert(wallet.dollars >= 2e6)
when you can read this:
wallet.should have_at_least(2e6).dollars
or this:
bank = mock('a bank with 2 million dollars')
Oh, sweet RSpec mock syntax. How I wish you had an equivalent in other important languages, like PHP!
Well, the good news is that PHP has testing advocates of its own. Mock objects are apparently well covered by Simpletest, which just happens to be Drupal's preferred PHP testing library. And the syntax looks familiar – it's quite nice, despite some additional clutter:
$observer = $this->getStub('Observer', array('update'));
Meanwhile, at least one person, Pádraic Brady, is working on a BDD framework for PHP: the PHPSpec project. Unfortunately, the results are… less nice:
1 <?php
2 class DescribeNewBowlingGame extends PHPSpec_Context {
3 private $_bowling = null;
5 public function before() {
6 $this->_bowling = new Bowling;
7 }
9 public function itShouldScore0ForGutterGame() {
10 for ($i=1; $i<=20; $i++) {
11 $this->_bowling->hit(0);
12 }
13 $this->spec($this->_bowling->score)->should->equal(0);
14 }
15 }
Compare this to the RSpec code which inspired it:
describe Bowling do
before(:each) do
@bowling = Bowling.new
it "should score 0 for gutter game" do
20.times { @bowling.hit(0) }
@bowling.score.should == 0
It's enough to make you cry.
The thing is, I'm completely convinced that Pádraic is doing the best he can. I am no expert on PHP syntax, having learned it by osmosis from Drupal code, and maybe after I finish Programming PHP I'll know better, but PHPSpec seems to be fundamentally stymied by the ugly syntax of PHP. Specifically:
Why, it's PHP's inability to understand object scoping! You would
think that declaring
_bowling to be
private to a class would be
enough of a clue, but it looks like you're still obligated to refer to
it as
Little things matter
Ruby uses
object.method syntax. PHP uses
$object->method. They
look so comparable! That is, until you run into a chain like:
which is less readable than:
It's all about the typography: the whitespace above the tiny dot separates the words better and makes their shape easier to recognize.
It's good to be an Object
In Ruby, everything is an object, every object is a child of
Object, and
Objects can be monkey-patched. So you can magically
attach new methods like
should and
should_not to the
class and then write things like:
@bowling.score.should be_big
Here we're calling the
should method on
@bowling.score, which is
probably an
Integer, although it might be a
BowlingScore object,
or a
Real, or even
Imaginary if we're bowling on the planet
Vulcan. Ruby does not care. Ruby can roll with those punches. Ruby
Alas, PHP prosaically insists that you call the
should method on
specific objects that can actually understand it. So we have to wrap
the subject of
should in a
$this->spec(), like this:
This line makes my brain hurt because it's got two instances of
$this, both of which are 100% free of significant meaning. The thing
which they refer to – the enclosing
PHPSpec_Context object – is an
irrelevant piece of scaffolding that I do not want to have to think
The PHP version of the Bowling spec reads like this:
This paragraph is a spec, and it-describes-Bowling. Consider the game of bowling that we will discuss in this paragraph. The score-should-be-zero-for-a-gutter-game. That is, if a 'hit' that scores zero pins happens twenty times, this sentence of this paragraph will be true: this paragraph's game's score should equal zero.
Here's the RSpec version:
Let's talk about Bowling. Consider a game of bowling. The score should be zero for a gutter game. That is, if a 'hit' that scores zero pins happens twenty times, the game's score should equal zero.
(Note: Fun as it would be to write down the prose equivalent of a
for loop – it would look like a number-theory textbook – I decided
not to blame PHP for that. I'm pretty sure the language does have
PHP's syntactic cyanide is so bitter that I wonder: is PHPSpec worth it? If the language itself insists on mangling my syntax, why should I bother trying to apply the subtle shading that is BDD? It just gets lost in the noise. Here's a comparison from the PHPSpec docs themselves: the TDD version (PHPUnit):
$logger = new Logger;
and the BDD version (PHPSpec):
$logger = new Logger;
Frankly, I think the first version is clearer: it's shorter, the call
hasFile() is in its natural location, and since neither version
is readable, why not pick the one that's closest to idiomatic PHP?
Others seem to agree with me; just look at
this comment thread.
Pádraic has his work cut out for him, battling heroically against the fundamental structures of the PHP universe. I really feel for the guy, and would sincerely like to help. My personal inclination is to build a macro processor that allows you to write something sensible and have it JIT-compiled into PHP. But maybe I can get used to PHPSpec if I make some subtle vocabulary changes:
This thing, this PHP syntax thing… we will learn to cope with it.
Update: Jan 6, 2012
Dan Bernardic writes:
"All PHPspec is missing is a DSL on top of what he has. Except that I expect it would be a better idea to implement a way for ruby to run PHP code and inspect PHP memory state, just cause rspec for ruby already exists…"
and includes a proof-of-concept Gist.
I've toyed with this idea myself - which is to say, I've sat in an armchair and imagined it, not actually hacked on it - but there are drawbacks. The biggest is that it's not enough to test one's PHP code in isolation; one should test it in an environment that's as close as possible to the production environment. Unless you plan to run your production PHP code inside a Ruby wrapper - and, believe me, you don't - a Ruby-with-embedded-PHP testing framework is going to trade reliability for syntax, and that's not a good trade unless the syntax is truly brainf**ked.


text:
Recent Property Price Reduction of a Two Bedroom Apartment for Sale in Swieqi, MLS: 240021062-126, Price: €186,100
New on the Market and forming part of a block of only 4 units is this recently built APARTMENT enjoying its own roof. Spacious accommodation is in the form of an entrance hall leading to…
Recent Property Price Reduction of a Modern and Highly Finished, First Floor Maisonette for Sale in Safi, MLS: 240021058-18, Price: €193,000
Modern and highly finished first floor MAISONETTE in the quiet village of Safi. Upon entrance one finds a welcoming large space accommodating a modern kitchen with appliances, a dining area and a living area with…
Recent Property Price Reduction of First Floor Maisonette with Own Roof and Airspace for Sale in Zurrieq, MLS: 240021058-17, Price: €205,000
A superb first floor MAISONETTE with own roof and airspace in the core of this charming village. Highly and modern finished with gres flooring and marble stair cases this property comprises of a bright open…
Designer Finished Apartment for Sale in Naxxar, MLS: 240021059-34, Price: €165,000
Designer finished APARTMENT in a very good residential area. Layout consists of a spacious living / dining, separate fully fitted kitchen with appliances, two double bedrooms (main completed with an en-suite), a single bedroom, bathroom,…
Third Floor Apartment for Sale in Marsalforn Gozo, MLS: 240031026-421, Price: €100,000
A third floor flat finished including a brand new oak kitchen.
Recent Property Price Reduction of Two Bedroom Seafront Apartment for Sale in St. Julian's, MLS: 240021057-35, Price: €395,000
Two bedroom SEAFRONT APARTMENT recently refurbished to a very high standard. Layout consists of an open plan kitchen, living / dining with a front balcony enjoying fantastic views of Spinola Bay and the open sea,…
Very Well Located Apartment for Sale in Qawra, MLS: 240041015-214, Price: € 158,000
A very well located, large then usual apartment measuring 155sqm.


text:
WP faces tough losses
Winter Park's boys basketball team has continued to pursue some of the toughest teams in the nation in the past two weeks. Their schedule has spread out more as they've traveled the country, with the Wildcats (15-6, 8-0) facing tough losses against St. Patrick and in Milwaukee.
Against St. Patrick on Jan. 14, the Wildcats were down by as much as 20 points before rallying late to try to catch up to the Celtics from Elizabeth, N.J. But the Wildcats couldn't rally fast enough to cover the gap, losing 75-66.
"We've been coming out too slow," Winter Park's Austin Rivers said.
Rivers put on a show against St. Patrick, picking up 38 points and 5 rebounds.
Against the Boys and Girls school at the Brandon Jennings Invitational, the Wildcats pushed a stalemate into overtime thanks to Rivers' stellar shooting again.
The Wildcats' star picked up 35 points and 9 rebounds in the game. But again, the Wildcats had trouble in the end, watching the Kangaroos nail a crucial shot near the end of OT to edge them out in an 81-79 win.
Brett Comer had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in the game to help pace the Wildcats in three categories.
Now the Wildcats face another 10 days off before they host Heritage High School from Palm Bay. The Panthers are 12-8 overall.
With only a few games left in the regular season, the Wildcats are readying for the playoffs after going undefeated in district play, guaranteeing them a slot in the postseason.


text:
U-Store-It Trust, a self-storage real estate investment trust, sold a portfolio of 18 self-storage properties to the joint venture Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors and Flagship Investment Group, a central Florida-based developer, owner and operator of self-storage facilities.
Totaling 7,870 units and 975,600 square feet of self-storage, the properties are in Indianapolis, Cleveland and Canton, Ohio. The company plans to make significant capital and operational improvements.
Kayne Anderson and Flagship now own 29 self-storage facilities, operating under the StorKwik brand in six markets across the United States, representing a total of 14,780 storage units with 1,861,176 square feet.
"The partnership with Kayne Anderson is one that we hope to continue growing as our combined expertise, reputation and strength in the sector continues to bear fruit," said Chip Headley, president and chief investment officer at Flagship Investment Group.
"By continuing to align with strong operating partners like Flagship, Kayne Anderson is able to capitalize on compelling investments like the U-Store-It purchase where we believe value can be added through capital and operational improvements," said Al Rabil, managing partner of Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors.
Steve Hryszko, vice president for the CB Richard Ellis Self Storage Advisory Group Cleveland office, brokered the sale.
In addition to its portfolio of self-storage properties, Kayne Anderson also owns 28 student housing properties with over 14,000 beds in 19 states and 21 university markets across the United States.
The CB Richard Ellis Self Storage Advisory Group specializes in the acquisition, disposition, and financing of self-storage facilities nationwide.


text:
Guy Thibaudeau
Found 10 Records, 10 Photos and 13,683 Family Trees
Born on 1917 to Emile Thibaudeau and Eva Ringuette. Guy married Marguerite Dessureau and had 7 children. He passed away on 22 Jun 1993.
Family Members
Ready to discover your family story?
Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.
Potential photos and documents for Guy ThibaudeauView All 10 Images
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Surname meaning for "Thibaudeau"
French: pet form of


text:
ISONAS Takes Its Training Program On the Road And Provides Hands-On Education to Partners
Leading Colorado-based access control manufacturer offers same day certification and educates integrators about its Pure IP access control systems with an on-site training program
Boulder, CO (PRWEB) June 21, 2016
ISONAS Inc., a leading pure IP access control system manufacturer, today announced that it is taking its training programs on the road to better educate partners and integrators. In 2015, ISONAS launched its online certified partner training program and will now be taking that training on the road for a hands-on experience. This new training program will give integrators the opportunity to become an ISONAS certified partner in just a single day. By taking its certified training program to set locations throughout the country, ISONAS is empowering security partners and integrators to successfully implement Pure IP Access Control solutions for customers.
While still providing partners complimentary online training, the on-site training program gives integrators hands-on experience with the ISONAS PowerNet™ hardware series with labs specific to wiring and installation scenarios. In addition, an ISONAS expert will also educate integrators on the new Pure AccessTM software and how to deploy a cloud based software. Attendees will receive exclusive product information to have at their fingertips and keep them up-to-date on best practices when installing an ISONAS Pure IP access control system. Attendees have the opportunity to take home their very own demo kit and Pure AccessTM demo license in order to support future customer presentations.
"ISONAS is dedicated to providing our integrators and partners with the tools and knowledge necessary to make them successful with Pure IP access control. Our goal is to make our partners realize the benefits of a state-of-the-art access control system that is simple, cost-effective, scalable and most importantly, reliable," states Robert Lydic, Global VP of Sales at ISONAS. "Our Certified Partner Program was designed to provide our partners the highest level of service from pre-sales support to post-sales support in addition to project benefits. Our partners are highly valued by ISONAS and we are committed to ensuring these technicians have state-of-the-art training on a continual basis."
ISONAS is committed to educating the community and its partners about their patented Pure IP access control system that is pushing the market to the next level of technology, IP. With the implementation of the on-site training programs working in tandem with the existing online virtual training sessions, ISONAS and its certified partners can continue to drive the access control industry to new horizons.
For more information or to register for one of our training classes, contact your Inside Sales Account Executive, call us at 800.581.0083 or email us at email@example.com.
About ISONAS Inc.
ISONAS was the first access control company to design and manufacture a true IP-to-the-door solution that eliminates the needless complexity of inconvenient control panels, separate power supply, and dedicated hard-wiring, and continues to lead the security industry by changing the game in access control technology. Our network-based PowerNet™ reader-controllers offer a patented technology that easily integrates with Windows-based software to deliver more simplicity, greater value, and total flexibility to go places you never thought possible. ISONAS provides a proven IP solution that is revolutionizing the industry for a broad range of vertical markets worldwide. The company was recently recognized by the BizWest Mercury 100 List as one of the fastest growing companies in Boulder Valley. For more information, visit: http://www.isonas.com or call 800-581-0083.
Company Contact:
Melissa Stenger, VP of Customer Experience
ISONAS Inc.
Phone: 303-951-7216
Email: melissas(at)isonas(dot)com
PR Contact:
Monique Merhige, President
Infusion Direct Marketing & Advertising, Inc.
Phone: 631-846-1558
Email: monique(at)infusiondirect(dot)com
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/06/prweb13503160.htm


text:
Earns Albright degree
Ann M. Schlough of Lehighton graduated with honors on June 11 from Albright College, Reading.
A student in the college's Accelerated Degree Program, she earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
While she was attending the college, Ms. Schlough maintained fulltime employment as the director of the Carbon County Computer Information System, Judicial Division. She received this degree 30 years after her graduation in 1981 from Panther Valley High School.
She is married to John Schlough. They have a daughter Sarah.


text:
Hi Travelers,
We have finalized our 16 day trip to Northern Italy thanks to the help of fellow Fodor members. Now comes the fun part. I've poured over trip reports and have plenty of guide books. If you have any suggestions for day trips, sightseeing and of course restaurants, it would be greatly appreciated.
Here is our itinerary:
Bologna - 4 nights (4 full days to sightsee - no car)
Hotel Porta San Mamolo
Suggestions for Day Trips (no car) and Restaurants?
Plan to do Italian Days Food Experience one day
(side note - so sad about the recent earthquake)
Rent Car Day 5 - drive to Ortisei ( would we have time to stop in Verona?)
Ortisei/Dolomites - 3 nights (1 day travel - 2 full days to sightsee)
Hotel Grones
Suggestions for Day Trips? We will be having Dinner at the Hotel, but suggestions for local lunch places are appreciated.
Day 8 - Drive to Alba/Piemonte Region
Alba/Pidmonte Region - 4 nights (1 day travel - 3 full days to sightsee)
Villa la Favorita
Suggestions for Day Trips and Restaurants?
We've never been to Portofino but have done the Cinque Terra.
Is Turin worth visiting?
Is Valle D'Aosta region too far?
Day 12 - Drive to Bellagio
Bellagio/The Lakes Region - 4 nights (1 day travel - 3 full days to sightsee)
Hotel Metropole
Suggestions for Day Trips and Restaurants?
Looks like a day trip via ferry to Varenna looks fun.
Day 16 - Drive to Malpensa
First Hotel - 1 night
Suggestions for a Restaurant?
Fly home, hopefully after a wonderful Northern Italian Experience. Thanks to all for suggestions.
Recent ActivityView all Europe activity »
- 1 Paris, Normandy & Amsterdam with College Graduate
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- 10 which language school in Italy?
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Northern Italy Itinerary Finalized - Sightseeing and Food Help?
Hi Travelers,
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I love it !
Yes, Torino is worth a day. You will love Hotel Grones.
You may have seen my report from 2009--if not, click on my name. Have lunch in Castelrotto one day---you pick it.
The trattoria next door to the First Hotel is one of my favs---have eaten there twice. Have fun !
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I have lots of food information in my trip reports covering those areas; I stayed at Villa Favorita outside Alba. Lovely. Highly recommend a visit to Turin.
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Wow, thanks ekscrunchy. I love your trip repot style. I too love to write everything we ate, so years after we can relive the moments. I've got lots of reading from your links to do now. Thanks so much!
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Glad to help. Feel free to ask any and all questions, especially regarding food!
Val d'Aosta is too far to include on this trip.
You will not need a car in Bologna, but may have to take a taxi to restaurants, as some good ones are located a bit out of the center (not the ones I wrote about in that report, linked above). The SlowFood guide has a good list; I linked the names of SlowFood restaurants in Bologna on this thread; note the locations.
Possible day trips could include Modena.
If you want to visit wineries in Piemonte, you should ask Roberta at Villa Favorita to set you up in advance. Also see this planning thread that I began before my trip several years ago:
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Anyone going to Northern Italy should not by-pass Stressa. A most beautiful town
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Hi Owen,
I tried to book the Stresa-Hotel La Palma but it was booked for our time period. That is why we opted for Lake Como and Bellagio.
I have my Michelin #561 regional map and it looks like trying to visit Stressa on our way from Alba to Bellagio it too far out of our way. Also to do a day trip from Bellagio to Stressa looks to far away.
If you think we could fit it in, let me know. Otherwise, it's a great reason to plan another trip to go back. Thank you for the suggestion.
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We returned recently from northern Italy (Venezia, Bergamo, Como, Milano), so here's a few recommendations.
Lake Como – Unless you're a shopper, skip Bellagio (which we loved 20 years ago and is now overrun with shops). Stay on the boat to Varenna – perhaps even more beautiful and more laid back. Have a great lunch/dinner at Vecchia Varenna. Walk up the hill to the Hotel Cipressi and pay the 4 E for the lovely gardens overlooking both legs of Lake Como.
By all means give a lot of time to Torino. The one restaurant we really loved was Toricelli. It was a few years ago, so I'd also check recent Trip Advisor and other reviews.
In the Langhe, we stayed at Ca d'Lupo in Montelupo Albese, (a few miles above Alba) and the restaurant was outstanding.
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I might agree with PaoloCast about Bellagio. When is this trip? What days of the week would you be on Lake Como? Does the Metropole in Bellagio have parking?
If you're going in high season, esp. over a weekend, consider staying in Varenna at the Hotel du Lac.
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Hi PaoloCast and Jean,
We'll be in Bellagio mid week this fall. The Hotel Metropole has good reviews on Trip Advisor and is right on Lake Como. I have a confirmation for a "larger" corner room with two balconies. It's very resonable at 150E a night. Not sure about parking. Hotel du Lac looks lovely. We're there for four nights so if we stayed in Varenna, are there good restaurants?
PaoloCast, thanks for the restaurant suggestions. Torino will definately be one of our day trips from Alba.
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From Bellagio - I visited Villa Carlotta. It is on the west side of the lake in a small town caled Tremezzo. We also wandered around a nearby town called Cadenabbia, we may have walked from one to the other I can' recall. Villa Carlotta has a villa to tour but the gardens were the big draw for us. It sounds like you have a fun trip planned, have fun!
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For Bob the Nav,
Just checked out Castelrotto photos on-line. Amazing. Many thanks to you as you always have helped us plan perfect trips in the past and now. Thanks for the restaurant advise for First Hotel. I was hoping our last meal wasn't hotel food.
I have Villa Carlotta highlighted in my guide book. My book says to take the ferry to Menaggio and then a bus. Do you remember how you got there? Seems like the Villa is between Tremezzo and Menaggio.
Thanks everyone!
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Ferry stops at Villa Carlotta or very near to it.
Alba..best meals, hands down, were at Profumo di Vino in Treiso, a short distance, easy drive.
Cuisine was elevated above other places we ate, places which had more press. I don't take notes on meals, but have photos of dishes I liked.
Also enjoyed Enoclub in their brick vaulted rooms. We loved the Piemonte, uncrowded, beautiful, excellent food and wine, charming villages to explore in a small area.
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Love your name! You made me laugh. I always take pictures of our food. Makes my hubbie crazy, but he loves to see them when we're home. We also have a silly thing we do called food art, where we take whatever is left on the plate (usually bones and garnish) and create smiling faces at the end of our meal to thank the chef. They usually come out of the kitchen with a big smile. Thanks for the suggestions.
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Hi easygoer,
For the Dolomites, spend an afternoon (or a day) in the beautiful Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi. The Mont Seuc/Seiser Alm cable car from Ortisei takes you there. At the top you'll find a restaurant with a huge outdoor deck and paved paths leading into the Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi.
My opinion... be sure to drive the Gardena Pass, at least up to the cafe/rest stop. It's our favorite drive in the area. Stunning!
If you feel like a scenic drive including 4 passes, try this:
This is our own "best of the Dolomites drive". It can easily be done in a day and covers drives over 4 Dolomite Passes.
It can be started/ended from any point, but I'll use Ortisei:
From Ortisei drive through St. Christina and Selva to the Gardena Pass. Take this to Colfosco/Corvara (Alta Badia). Don't take the Sella Pass turnoff). At Corvara, take the Campolongo Pass to Arabba. From Arraba take the Pordoi Pass towards Canazei. Before you get to Canazei, take the Sella Pass. From the Sella Pass get right on the Gardena Pass back to Ortisei. There's a cafe/restaurant/rest stop at the "top" of the Gardena and Sella Passes. You'll also notice a few small places to park along the passes to get out and walk among the Dolomite peaks.
For some info and photo's of the passes, check out:
Some are listed under the German and or Italian name:
Gardena Pass - Grödnerjoch
Sella Pass - Sellajoch
Pordoi Pass - Passo di Pordoi
Campolongo Pass - Passo di Campolongo
Here's a few other cable car trips in the Val Gardena:
Here's a link to an interactive map of the area:
Opening times of the cable cars/lifts:
If interested, we have photo's at:
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Hi Paul,
You helped so much with my original post re: planning. I remember you suggested staying in Alta Badia at the Montanara. It was a hard choice choosing Ortisei, but this will give us a reason to go back to the area. Thanks for the great links. Boy do I have some fun reading to do.
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Hey easygoer - we took the ferry and it was probably to Menaggio, then we walked to villa carlotta. I think we walked to Cadenabbia also, I don't remember taking a bus. But, we were also drinking wine so maybe we did get on a bus! haha!
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text: I'm wondering if I can put a coat of paint (por-15) on the fins of the two coils on my GX620 engine? I have bit of por-15 left and the fins are quite rusty. I tried to clean but just can't get the rust off. I got the coils sitting on the bench and por works good right over rust..I know the flywheel sides need to be bare..and maybe the bolt holes where it mounts..but what about the rest of the metal legs? The por-15 has minimal shelf life anyway so thought it would be put to use since I can get at the coils. I hate to put rusty parts on a clean engine. Thanks


text: i was thinking and just wanted to shair my thoughts -.- texans ranked 5th 1 Vikings 12-4-0 i see the vikeings wining if old man farve comes back to play 2 Colts 14-2-0 colts will be the colts but will lose agin this year 3 Packers 11-5-0 packers worked hard all season but fell a game short of the super bowl 4 Patriots 10-6-0 a come back year for brady im looking forawrd to seeing what happens 5 Texans 9-7-0 matt schaub and the offince are on fire they are happy to just get to the play offs 6 Cowboys 11-5-0 the cowgirls arnt as good as every one thinks if there so good they would of made it bye now 7 Chargers 13-3-0 ryan mathews turns out to be a stud 8 Saints 13-3-0 i dont think its possiple for them to repeat 9 Jets 9-7-0 rex ryans defence will be crazy 10 Bengals 10-6-0 there o line is going need help next year in the draft 11 Falcons 9-7-0 duanta *pay me* robinson will suck and cause the falcons to draft a corner in the next draft 12 giants 8-8-0 will maby make it farther but they need help 13 Ravens 9-7-0 flaco and there new wide recivers are guna be on fire 14 Titans 8-8-0 chris johnson will stay solid just wont be as good as last year 15 Panthers 8-8-0 there new qb will be much beter then jake. 16 Eagles 11-5-0 why the hell would you trade mcnabb thats all i got to say 17 Cardinals 10-6-0 there guna wish warner unretires 18 49ers 8-8-0 get a real qb for crying out loud 19 Steelers 9-7-0 bens screw up will cost the steelers ther season 20 Broncos 8-8-0 tradeing marshal was just stuped 21 Bears 7-9-0 great pickups this offseason 22 Dolphins 7-9-0 great pick up of marshal cant wait to see whats going to happen 23 Redskins 4-12-0 mcnabb will help them out so much 24 Raiders 5-11-0 great job geting rid of russel 25 Jaguars 7-9-0 jags will be the jags 26 Seahawks 5-11-0 nothing good happens maby some injurys ? 27 Browns 5-11-0 a tip of advice use the rookie!! 28 Bills 6-10-0 crap crap crap 29 Chiefs 4-12-0 i think they may be beter then the browns this year not shur tho 30 Buccaneers 3-13-0 great draft picks 31 Rams 1-15-0 great pickups in bradford and a beter o line this year 32 Lions 2-14-0 saying it now stafford gets hurt because of o line


text: I've recently returned from a 7 month deployment and I'm itching to get started on some new instruments. In between finishing up two archtop guitars, I've started cutting woods for several basses. Specs will be posted shortly, but for now here's the bulk of the neck wood cut and planed: {} That picture shows: (8) 3/4" maple (9) 1/8" maple (2) 1" walnut (7) 1/4" walnut (4) 1/8" walnut (3) 1/4" flamed maple (3) 7/8" flamed maple I've got a bit of mahogany to cut and then all of the neck laminates will be done.