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Credit Advice
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QuestionPosted in Credit Scores
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0 People Helped
1) Pay cash for the vehicle and continue to pay down my credit card debt.
2) Pay off all outstanding credit debt and partially finance the vehicle at a lower rate (How long will it take for the improved loan rate to kick in?)
Any help would be appreciated.
All Responses
0 People Helped
Credit scores
If your debt is all credit card debt then it will help to have a auto loan showing on your credit report. I would pay down some debt and partially finance the car.
0 People Helped
I would buy an older model car cash ($2-4K), do not carry collision coverage, pay off cc debt with any remaining cash, transfer any remaining credit card debt to a zero percent card then pay off your credits cards before the interest kicks in (usually about 18 months).
0 People Helped
Credit card rates are usually much higher than a car loan rate, so carrying a balance on a credit card is never a good idea. Also, auto loan debt will actually increase your credit score slightly because it is "good debt" whereas credit debt is not.
I am assuming the amount of credit card debt you have is substantial as by not paying it off, you can pay cash for a car. So, if I were you I would pay off the cards and partially finance the vehicle. You may not get a great rate, but you will be building equity and helping your score for your future by ridding yourself of the bad debt. My two cents anyway.
0 People Helped
Pay off credit cards first!
Simple answer, pay off the credit cards, wait a month (don't use them) and then finance the vehicle. You need to wait a month for your credit score (credit cards report $0 balance) to improve.
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Kelly and her vixen friends hit the night out for some VIP action. They were dressed to thrill. Kelly teased the most with dress because it had a nice heart shape opening to show off her tight ass. She was ready to fucking party. We can always count on Esmi to liven up the party as well. She dove into some ass as soon as she had the chance. If she wasn't all up in it, it was bouncing to the beats. Tony and Tarzan were the ladies party flavors. They were toss around like man meat, and the ladies loved it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ultimate Hollywood cougar Demi Moore likes her boyfriend's so young that she is reportedly competing with daughter Rumer Willis for dates.
Like mother, like daughter it seems as according to E! News both Demi and Rumer are interested in 24 year-old Zac Efron. The newly single actress has had her eye on the 'High School Music' star for a while and despite her recent break down and hospitalisation she is actively pursuing it.
But a source revealed that Zac doesn't really know Demi that well and is closer to daughter Rumer who he shares a number of mutual friends.
A source revealed: "They all hang out."
"If anything, Rumer is the one who is after Zac, but she's not his type." They added.
Demi is said to be desperate to hang on to her youthful image by surrounding herself with the hottest young stars.
A close friends revealed that she thinks being seen with a young star will keep her at the top of the A-list. It has been a rough few months for the 'Ghost' actress since the breakdown of her marriage and she has reportedly been leaning heavily on her eldest daughter Rumer for support.
49 year-old Demi has been hitting the clubs hard over the last few months and was out partying with 23 year-old Rumer and teenager Miley Cyrus in Los Angeles only days before her collapse.
Demi And Rumer Hit The Red Carpet Together
Tom Hardy Felt Like 'Idiot' On Jonathan Ross Show
Daniel Radcliffe Turns Down Marriage Proposal
Heidi Klum Was Struggling With Seal's Mood Swing For Months Before Split


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According to the tradition of electional astrology, the answer is a resounding "yes"! Using astrology to choose your wedding date won't make a bad relationship into a good marriage, or vice versa. But it can get you off to a good start, by helping you better understand both your strengths as a couple and areas for potential growth.
Article: Choosing Your Wedding Date With Astrology
Doesn't it stand to reason that if there is indeed "a time to every purpose under heaven," it would make sense to align ourselves and our actions with this purpose? After all, if astrology isn't good for this, what is it good for?
Read the full article »
My first book: STAR GUIDE TO WEDDINGS
"Marriages have horoscopes too! Each has its own personality, purpose, and needs. Whether you're planning the perfect wedding or hoping to nourish the marriage you already have, this little book is an indispensable guide. April's writing is fun, her stories engaging, and best of all, her insights and advice are right on. — Dana Gerhardt, The Mountain Astrologer magazine, Mooncircles.com
Free Wedding Date Astrology Tutorial
If you're pretty adept at astrology and want to take a crack at choosing your own date, my free step-by-step wedding date tutorial will take you behind the curtain and show you how I do it.
If you're an absolute beginner at astrology, this probably isn't for you. But if you're well-versed in astrology (for instance, you recognize planetary aspects and know a void-of-course Moon when you see one) AND you have a high tolerance for both tedium and frustration, then this will be a lot of fun – and for an appealing price (free).
Wedding Date Astrology Workshop – NOW AVAILABLE!
This 28-page workbook and 4 indepth videos will walk you through the entire process of choosing your wedding date from start to finish. If you know some astrology but need just a little hand-holding, this is a fun and cost-effective option. Based on my popular free online tutorial, this workshop has been updated and expanded to include:
- detailed instructions for narrowing the field of choices
- finding a "good" Venus and Moon
- finding the void of course moon and the moon's last aspect
- tools and tips for timing the chart
- helpful planetary tables for 2013 – 2020
Custom Wedding Electional Service
Armed with a combination of electional astrology principles, your birth and composite charts, and your responses to a detailed questionnaire, I will choose the three best days/times within your specified time frame (up to 2 years) and present the dates and charts along with my analysis. CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE.


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On March 20, 2014, we issued an updated research report on Kraft Foods Group, Inc. .
On Feb 13, the consumer food company reported soft fourth-quarter fiscal 2013 results, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate for both revenues and earnings.
Nevertheless, earnings of 45 cents per share grew year over year driven by easy year-ago comparisons and lower costs. Sales also increased 2.3% as better volumes offset weaker pricing. Also, Kraft saw decent market share improvements in 2013.
Kraft's aggressive cost reduction and efficiency-improvement initiatives remain on track providing cash to invest in innovation, brand-building and marketing initiatives. Further, the company is focusing on building shareholders value through share buybacks and regular dividend payments.
However, Kraft's top line has been soft ever since the split from Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ - Free Report) due to broader macro pressures. Several of its product categories — salad dressings, powdered beverages and ready-to-eat desserts — have been soft for the past few quarters due to lower consumption and increased competition. Changes in consumer preferences, their shopping behavior and tough consumer spending environment are hurting retail sales.
Moreover, the first-quarter earnings are expected to be soft due to shift in Easter timing, weak holiday sell-through leading to higher inventory levels with retailers and rising cheese costs.
Furthermore, the North American food industry is facing headwinds from weak job market and the recent cut in federal food assistance offered through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The headwinds are likely to persist in 2014.
In addition, increasing competitive pressures, challenging industry conditions and lack of exposure outside the U.S. concern us.
Other Stocks to Consider
Kraft carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other better-ranked stocks in the food industry include J&J Snack Foods Corp. (JJSF - Free Report) and Diamond Foods, Inc. . Both the companies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
In-Depth Zacks Research for the Tickers Above
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Mondelez International, Inc. (MDLZ) - free report >>


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LOS ANGELES – The surviving founders of the Beach Boys — Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine — made their first public appearance together in 10 years Tuesday, standing atop the historic Capitol Records building in Hollywood.
The trio gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the landmark "Pet Sounds" album and the recent double-platinum certification of 2003's "Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys." The trio was joined by veteran band member Bruce Johnston and former Beach Boy David Marks.
"It's always good to do this while we're living," Jardine quipped to reporters before the event, in which band members were presented with framed plaques each containing two platinum vinyl records.
Plaques also were issued posthumously to Wilson's brothers, Carl and Dennis — both original Beach Boys members.
The reunion of the Beach Boys came after decades of animosity between Love and Wilson, who are cousins.
Love sued Wilson in November, saying Wilson "shamelessly misappropriated (Love's) songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the `Smile' album itself" when Wilson was promoting 2004's "Smile." Love previously sued his cousin in the mid-1990s, seeking more songwriting credit on the band's back catalog.
The two shared a friendly rapport Tuesday, standing side by side and patting each other on the back. In thanking his bandmates, Love lauded "my cousin Brian Wilson, for his incredible abilities that gave us all this amazing life."
When asked if all hatchets have been buried, Love pointed to his back.
"The hatchets are right here," he said with a laugh.
Loved added that between the band members "there's issues that arise, and you resolve them over time."
Of the reunion, he said: "We've been together, just in different configurations and different situations. But this is a great one because everybody's in a celebratory mood, everybody's on their good behavior and everybody's enjoying the fact that our records have been recognized even 40 years after we first put (them) out."
A second greatest-hits compilation, called "The Warmth of the Sun," is planned for release next spring, Love and Wilson said.


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Carbon Fiber Fairings Alternatives for Owners of Kawasaki Z1000, Z750 and Z800
Introducing carbon fiber fairings alternatives to owners of Kawasaki Z1000, Z750 and Z800, Tekarbon has added various selections on the fairings for the new Kawasaki models this summer.
September 18, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Welcoming the owners of Kawasaki Z1000, Z750 and Z800, enthusiasts can customize their bikes with over 20 different parts to choose from at Tekarbon. This summer Tekarbon has added more items to their product line, that means Kawasaki riders will have more to work on their bikes during the winter and any time from now on.
The line of Kawasaki Z750 is not yet fully geared up and currently covers only the parts with popular demands, that includes the front fairing, cowl seat, under tail fairing and windscreen. The Z750 carbon fiber parts, unlike the part for its siblings Z1000, are finished in 2x2 twill weaves - a diagonal weave pattern. The price range of the Z750 is fairly reasonabe, for example the rear hugger with chain guard is available at $149.95 and the under tail fairing prices $129.95. Tekarbon will be continuously adding other panels and parts to Z750 in winter 2013 and spring 2014.
The Z1000 line was introduced to the public back in spring 2013 while more items have been brought in from time to time. A full set of fairings for Z1000 2010-2012 is already available at Tekarbon at this moment. According to the Kawasaki owner's manuals, majority of the Z1000 parts can be installed on ZR1000D and ZR1000DCF 2010-2012, and possibly on other models with more filing and modification.
The Kawasaki Z800 is the latest motorcycle introduced by Kawasaki in spring 2013. This line carries almost all the parts on the bike for modification. From the front fairing, fender to the tail fairing and license plate holder, from large piece to tiny pieces, you can get the carbon fiber version at Tekarbon. The Z800 is currently available in Germany and United Kingdom. There is no confirmation on when it will be imported to the United States. As the replacement of Z750, the 2013 Kawasaki Z800, an 806cc inline-four engine, is sized similarly to Z1000. All the parts for Z800 are finished in 2x2 twill weaves just like Z750. A full set of fairings is priced approximately at USD$3,000.00.
Switch around from plain weaves to twill weaves, or the other way around, cannot be anymore easier. Custom order on weaves pattern is available at Tekarbon. While there is no price difference on the weaves customization, the special production takes approximately four to seven business weeks. Custom orders need to be placed directly with Tekarbon, and all finished products which you can get it right away are available at Tekarbon store - its official website, Amazon.com, Ebay.com and NewEgg.com.
Tekarbon will be continually adding more product selections on the newly added categories as well as more different models to its product offerings. For more detail and latest news, please visit www.Tekarbon.com.
Categories: Automotive
Tags: Carbon fiber, fairings, Kawasaki, Motorcycles, Tekarbon, z1000, z750, z800


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Research Topics
T Christopher Mast
Affiliation: Merck Research Laboratories
Country: USA
Detail Information
- Measuring quality of life among HIV-infected women using a culturally adapted questionnaire in Rakai district, UgandaT C Mast
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, MD, Baltimore, USA
AIDS Care 16:81-94. 2004....
- Epidemiology and economic burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in hospitals and paediatric clinics in Taiwan, 2005-2006T Christopher Mast
Merck and Co, Inc, PO Box 1000, North Wales, PA 19486, USA
Vaccine 28:3008-13. 2010..3 days per paediatric clinic visit. These data show that rotavirus was associated with a substantial proportion of AGE medical visits and had considerable medical costs prior to rotavirus vaccine introduction...
- Burden of childhood rotavirus disease on health systems in the United StatesT Christopher Mast
Merck Research Laboratories, North Wales, PA 19486, USA
Pediatr Infect Dis J 29:e19-25. 2010..To determine the burden of rotavirus disease before the introduction of rotavirus vaccines...
- Development and psychometric properties of the HPV Impact Profile (HIP) to assess the psychosocial burden of HPVT Christopher Mast
Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA, USA
Curr Med Res Opin 25:2609-19. 2009..The HPV Impact Profile (HIP) was developed to determine the psychosocial impact of HPV infection and related interventions...
- The impact of rotavirus gastroenteritis on the familyT Christopher Mast
Merck Research Laboratories, North Wales, PA, USA
BMC Pediatr 9:11. 2009....
- Immunisation coverage among children born to HIV-infected women in Rakai district, Uganda: Effect of voluntary testing and counselling (VCT)T C Mast
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
AIDS Care 18:755-63. 2006..HIV VCT programmes should encourage HIV-infected mothers to complete childhood Immunisation. Improving access to Immunisation services could benefit vulnerable populations such as children born to HIV-infected mothers...
- Case-control study of the effectiveness of vaccination with pentavalent rotavirus vaccine in NicaraguaT Christopher Mast
Merck Research Laboratories, North Wales, PA 19486, USA
Pediatr Infect Dis J 30:e209-15. 2011..partnered with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health to demonstrate the public health impact of routine universal vaccination by delivering more than 1.3 million doses of the oral, pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) in a 3-year period...
- International epidemiology of human pre-existing adenovirus (Ad) type-5, type-6, type-26 and type-36 neutralizing antibodies: correlates of high Ad5 titers and implications for potential HIV vaccine trialsT Christopher Mast
Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA, USA christopher
Vaccine 28:950-7. 2010..Coincident Ad5/6 titers were lower than either Ad5 or Ad6 titers alone. Understanding pre-existing immunity to candidate vaccine vectors may contribute to the evaluation of vaccines in international populations...
- Long-term safety from the raltegravir clinical development programHedy Teppler
Hedy Teppler, MD, Merck Research Laboratories, PO Box 1000, UG3D 56, North Wales, PA 19454 1099, USA
Curr HIV Res 9:40-53. 2011..This manuscript provides a review of the raltegravir safety profile using data from these and other studies in the clinical development program...
- Projecting the effectiveness of RotaTeq® against rotavirus-related hospitalizations and deaths in six Asian countriesAntoine C El Khoury
Merck and Co, Inc, West Point, PA, USA
Hum Vaccin 7:506-10. 2011....


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Schlumberger Introduces ETC 1000 for Test Site Thermal Control
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San Jose--July 15, 1998--Schlumberger Automated Test Equipment (ATE; San Jose) introduced the ETC 1000, a thermal control system providing precision in semiconductor device thermal control. The ETC 1000 offers die and transistor junction temperature control, especially for high-power devices such as microprocessors and system-on-a-chip ASICs.
The ETC 1000 is based on a new technology that is compatible with any ATE or system test application. The system provides set point temperature switching in addition to thermal control.
Other thermal control systems are physically limited by the amount of heat they can transfer from a device. As power densities increase above 10 Watts/cm squared, the effectiveness to respond to changes in DUT dynamic power reduces quickly with other thermal control systems.
The ETC 1000, which features Power Balancing thermal control, is not limited by that power density barrier. It offers +/-2C junction temperature control for power densities of 30 Watts/cm squared and beyond, and features a -35C to +125C set point temperature range. It's not necessary to attach a heat sink or slug to the device for test. The system also allows thermal profiles and transition rates to be programmed.
Other features include an ATE interconnection for SOT/EOT, on-system data collection, a temperature analysis package, support for standard data formats and charting packages, a touch screen operator interface, PC/NT controls, and a Labview extendible s/w environment.
Schlumberger expects to begin shipping the ETC 1000 during Q4 1998. Pricing begins at $156,000 per unit.
Schlumberger ATE
San Jose, CA


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The Chargers vs. Broncos game out of San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium will be locally televised this Sunday now that TV blackout has been lifted.
The Chargers announced that enough tickets have been sold to lift the blackout, per NFL regulations.
Currently, only single Club seats to the game are still available. Fans can purchase those tickets on the Chargers website, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or by visiting the Chargers Ticket Office at Gate C at The Q.
Sunday's game kicks off at 1:25 p.m. and will be televised in San Diego by CBS Sports. Football fans can also listen to the action on the field via local radio broadcast on Rock 105.3 and XTRA Sports 1360. The Spanish broadcast will be available on XHFG 107.3 FM.
Since the Chargers vs. Broncos match-up is a hot ticket, the Chargers and San Diego Police Department are warning fans to be mindful of scalpers and the possibility of fraudulent tickets out there. The best way to ensure that your tickets are not counterfeit is by purchasing them directly from the official team website.
According to the Chargers, several fans were turned away at the Qualcomm gates earlier this season during the Chargers vs. Cowboys game when they tried to enter using fraudulent tickets.
Due to the history – and rivalry – between the Bolts and the Broncos, the team expects potentially the largest crowd of the season at the stadium. Fans are encouraged to carpool to Qualcomm or use public transportation.


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Richard Liboiron
Missing since February 1992 from Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Classification: Missing
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance
Liboiron was last seen in Gatineau, Quebec in February 1992. He has not been heard from since this time.
Ottawa Police Service is handling his case.
Ottawa Police Service
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Adult Missing Persons Unit
613-236-1222 extension 3726
Crime Stoppers
613-233-TIPS (8477) or toll free at 1-800-222-8477
Ottawa Police Service
Agency Case Number: 92-160506
Source Information:
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Ottawa Police Service
Return to the Unexplained Disappearances' Index
Source Information:


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$ 29.99
$ 45.00
Deconstructed 6 panel fitted hat. Surfing bear design on the front. Top panel and under brim contain blue geometric design. Custom palm tree g sprout detail. Serene beach scene on the interior satin lining.
is back-ordered. We will ship it separately in 10 to 15 days.
Sold Out


text: BNW Builders LLC Serving Richmnd, VA 132 Reviews | 5.44 Miles | Web President's Club Master Elite See Our: Job Photos,Reviews & Specialties Connect! Call Us Now! (Click to Show Phone) (804) 346-3300 Mention You Found UsOn GAF.com! Browse Job Photos & Reviews Visit Our Website Visit Us On Facebook In 2013 BNW Builders earned entrance in to the GAF President's Club, an award achieved by only 28 GAF Master Elite roofers in the United States. BNW Builders e ... Read More


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Hospital expands centers for OB/GYN services
Women & Children's Hospital has expanded its network of neighborhood OB/GYN centers to three new locations, the hospital announced.
They are Lancaster OB/GYN in the TOPS-Rehm Plaza, 6363 Transit Road; Lockport OB/GYN, 475 S. Transit Road; and McKinley OB/GYN, 3860 McKinley Parkway, Hamburg.
The hospital also operates two centers in Buffalo and one in North Tonawanda.
Each center has a physician, nurse practitioner and other staff who offer a range of obstetric and gynecology services, including childbirth education, lactation consultation, registered dietitians, fetal monitoring, genetic counseling and testing, and ultrasound exams, according to the hospital.


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Release Date: 2012 |
Trebor. STAFF (4)Welcome home Coheed fans, The Afterman: Ascension is so good it erases the damage done by ...Thompson D. Gerhart STAFF (4)Coheed and Cambria regroup and release the soul successor to From Fear Through The Eyes Of...SowingSeason STAFF (3.5)The Afterman: Ascension marks indisputable growth for a band that up until this point seem...PostMesmeric (3.5)Coheed and Cambria's first half of their double album lacks a unified mood like their past...
marksellsuswallets (3.5)Not a true return to form, but at the very least proof that Coheed haven't run out of stea...JazzHands333 (4.5)Simultaneously a return to form and a step up....Starblind (2)A rushed, sloppy, unfocused mess of an album....theamericangod (4)Year of the Black Rainbow will forever be known as a temporary detour in the increasingly ...
Album Rating: 4.0Sputnik insists that my soundoff should be a review, and since I want to share my thoughts on this,
yet I can't condense my thoughts any more than this, here's a review that should be a soundoff. This
is probably my shortest and worst review ever since it isn't a fleshed-out review at all, so I
apologize for the lack of detail and possible vagueness.
Good stuff man don't sweat the details this is a good concise writeup, have a pos
Album Rating: 3.5idk man, you rated this same as GAi and say it's a step back from their last 2, which are pretty much their worst albums
Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Offdamn, a staff and contributor showing me up in the same day
Digging: Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights
Album Rating: 4.0Alright so, I just wrote in a new little section that actually goes into what the music on this album sounds like. I think it just improved this review by a lot. And don't worry Treb, you still have the best review of this album on the site.
Album Rating: 4.0Thanks dude. I needed to add something in lol, I felt like I didn't describe anything about the album's sound at all.
Album Rating: 4.0This album has so many interesting qualities about it, yet it's all over the place, and it's a bit uneven because of it.
Ah, but unlike GA1 (and presumably YOTBR) it still manages to sound cohesive (apart from maybe the Domino-t/t transition), so that the diversity of ideas just makes it more interesting as a whole; they vary it well and manage to remain focused throughout
Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound OffIt's hard to find a single sentence I agree with in this here review.
Album Rating: 4.0What's your fave here, Storm?
Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound OffIt's all crap.
Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound OffI like the title song some.
Album Rating: 4.0Lol, still an insta5
Yeah, t/t is great
Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound OffIt's a grower as is any Coheed material so none of us actually have a final opinion right now.
I do know that I AM the Sputnikmusic Coheed and Cambria champion so any other CC review not done by me is not even a real review.
Album Rating: 4.0Aww, even mine :[?
And yeah, you should have a final showdown with Neverender and EverythingEvil4482 to prove it (are are they your alts?)
Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound OffNo those aren't accounts of mine.
Yours are still good, but they're not written by the 4 time Coheed and Cambria Champion. I don't think I reviewed YOTBR, otherwise I would be your 5 time Coheed and Cambria champion and once this album is reviewed by me I will be.
Album Rating: 4.0Lol, I'll have to find another band to be the sputfanboy of, probs gonna be Thrice
Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound OffIluvatar prolly has dibs on Taking Back Sunday that fag
Album Rating: 4.0What a dipshit lol, he's like the Staff CC champ, but still a noob
Album Rating: 4.0Yes you do
Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound OffI won't fight you for that one foxxxy lol
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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December 7, 2013
Willimantic, Conn.-Despite a 26-point
scoring effort from senior guard Nyheem Sanders
(Pawtucket, RI), the Rhode Island College men's basketball team
fell to Eastern Connecticut, 77-74, on Saturday afternoon at
Geissler Gymnasium in the Little East Conference opener for both
In the opening minutes
of the first half, Rhode Island College (4-4, 0-1 LEC) stormed ahead
of the Warriors, 8-2, behind four points from both Sanders and
sophomore center Mike Neal (Pawtucket, RI). However,
Eastern Connecticut (7-1, 1-0 LEC) responded with back-to-back treys
from sophomore guard Trachone Preston (Enfield, CT) and
senior guard Brian Salzillo (North Haven, CT) to tie the
score, 8-8, with 16:04 on the clock.
Senior guard
Nyheem Sanders
After Eastern jumped
ahead of RIC by three following a trio of free throws from Salzillo
at the 15:35 mark, the Anchormen answered back with a 9-0 run to
make it, 19-13, with 12:32 remaining in the frame. Sanders keyed the
scoring burst for the visitors with four of the nine points, while
senior guard Michael Palumbo (Providence, RI) capped off the
run with a basket in the paint.
Spearheaded by five
straight points from Salzillo, the Warriors rallied to regain the
lead, 21-19, at the 10:27 mark and eventually pushed the margin to
four behind a layup from freshman forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield,
CT) with 9:33 on the clock. Yet, the Anchormen once again pushed
ahead of the hosts, this time with 11 unanswered points, capped off
by three free throws from Sanders, to capture a 28-23 advantage with
7:19 left in the half.
As the two Little East
Conference rivals continued to exchange baskets down the stretch in
the first half, Eastern Connecticut gathered some momentum and
eventually took a 33-32 lead at the 3:26 mark, courtesy of a
three-pointer from Salzillo. However, the Anchormen went on to
outscore the Warriors, 7-6, through the final three minutes, sending
the two squads into the intermission knotted at 39.
The Anchormen opened the
second half with a full head of steam, as the visitors started the
stanza on a 12-2 run to take a 51-41 lead with 14:47 on the clock.
The scoring run was keyed by junior guard Eric Alleyne
(Watertown, MA), who recorded five of RIC's first 12 points in
the frame.
Trailing by
double-digits, Eastern Connecticut recovered from its early
second-half slump and followed with a scoring burst of its own.
Through the next nine minutes, the Warriors outscored the Anchormen,
20-10, and went on to tie the game at 61 with 5:30 remaining in the
half. Junior forward Brandon Yarborough (Stamford, CT) capped
off the run with a pair of free throws, while Salzillo keyed the
outburst with a trio of three pointers.
RIC jumped back out in
front of Eastern, 64-61, following a three-pointer from junior
forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, NY) at the 5:10 mark, but
quickly fell behind, 69-64, with just 2:17 on the clock after the
Warriors rattled off eight consecutive points. It would prove to be
the last lead of the game for the Anchormen, as although the
visitors were able to cut the deficit to just one point on two
separate occasions in the final two minutes, they couldn't muster
enough offense to overtake the hosts, en route to the three-point
Aside from the scoring
outburst from Sanders, who also chipped in with four rebounds, two
steals and two assists, Burton contributed with 10 points, four
steals and two rebounds.
Alleyne finished with
nine points and three assists, while Neal also chalked up nine
points. Palumbo chipped in with seven points off the bench, while
senior guard Tom DeCiantis (North Kingstown, RI) corralled a
team-high nine rebounds to go along with four points, two blocks and
two assists.
Salzillo paced Eastern
with 24 points, which included six three-pointers, to go along with
three rebounds and three steals. Preston registered 22 points, seven
rebounds and four assists, while senior guard Mike Garrow
(Terryville, CT) added 11 points, four rebounds and three
assists. Lindo hauled in a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with
four points and two blocks.
The Warriors dominated
the glass on Saturday, gathering a whopping 39 rebounds, compared to
just 24 for RIC. Eastern finished with 16 second-chance points,
largely due in part to the squad's 13 offensive rebounds.
Keyed by a stingy
defensive effort, the Anchormen forced 18 turnovers on the day and
totaled 20 points off of those miscues, while coughing up the ball
just 11 times themselves.
RIC shot 45 percent
(25-for-56) from the floor, 33 percent (7-for-21) from beyond the
three-point arc and 71 percent (17-for-24) from the free throw line.
Eastern shot 42 percent
(21-for-50) from the field, 36 percent (8-for-22) from downtown, and
79 percent (27-for-34) from the charity stripe.
In upcoming action, Rhode Island
College will
Tuesday, Dec. 10 (7:30 p.m.).


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Rick Santorum lands primetime speaking role at Republican National Convention
Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who provided Mitt Romney's stiffest test during the GOP primary season, will deliver a primetime address to the Republican National Convention later this month.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Tuesday announced speaking roles for Santorum, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin.
"As our party unites around Governor Romney, these four great leaders will lend their voices in support of his vision to get America back on track,'' Priebus said in a statement.
Santorum suspended his campaign in April, two weeks before a primary in his home state that he appeared in danger of losing to Romney. He won 11 states and 255 delegates while running to the right of Romney, particularly on social issues.
After bowing out of the race, Santorum was slow to back Romney, finally endorsing his former rival in a late-night e-mail to his supporters. Santorum has kept a low profile since his exit.
But a primetime speaking slot will once more shine the spotlight on Santorum, who has hinted at a future presidential run by frequently comparing his unsuccessful nominating bid this year to Ronald Reagan's in 1976. After losing the GOP nomination to Gerald Ford in 1976, Reagan won the nomination and the White House in 1980.
Jeb Bush, son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of former President George W. Bush, is also considered a possible presidential candidate in future election years.
Rand Paul is the son of Texas Representative Ron Paul, a Republican presidential candidate this year.
Fallin is a first-term governor who also served a term in the House of Representatives.


text:
The increased susceptibility to latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) of HIV-1-infected persons represents a challenge in TB epidemic control. However few studies have evaluated LTBI predictors in a generalized HIV/TB epidemic setting.
The study recruited 335 HIV-infected participants from Khayelitsha, Cape Town between February 2008 and November 2010. Tuberculin skin tests and interferon-gamma release assays were performed on all participants and active TB excluded using a symptom screen, TB microscopy and culture.
LTBI prevalence was 52.7% and 61.2% (TST and IGRA respectively). Being a recent TB contact (OR 2.07; 95% C.I. 1.15–3.69) was associated with TST positivity. Participants with a CD4>200 had a two-fold higher risk of IGRA positivity compared to those with CD4 counts <200 (OR 2.07; 95% C.I. 0.99–4.34). There was also a 19% increase in IGRA positivity risk for every additional year of schooling and a strong association between years of schooling and employment (p = 0.0004). A decreased risk of IGRA positivity was observed in persons with a BCG scar (OR 0.46; 95% C.I. 0.31–0.69) and in smokers (OR 0.47; 95% C.I. 0.23–0.96).
We report the novel findings of a decreased risk of IGRA positivity in HIV-infected smokers possibly due to decreased interferon production, and in the persons with a BCG scar suggesting a protective role for BCG in this population. We also found an increased risk of TST positivity in employed persons, possibly due to ongoing transmission in public modes of transport.
Citation: Oni T, Gideon HP, Bangani N, Tsekela R, Seldon R, Wood K, et al. (2012) Smoking, BCG and Employment and the Risk of Tuberculosis Infection in HIV-Infected Persons in South Africa. PLoS ONE7(10): e47072. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0047072
Editor: Jean Louis Herrmann, Hopital Raymond Poincare - Universite Versailles St. Quentin, France
Received: June 25, 2012; Accepted: September 7, 2012; Published: October 9, 2012
Copyright: © Oni et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: RJW is funded by the Wellcome Trust (084323, 088316) and MRC (UK). This study was supported by the ILULU Consortium, which is funded by a grant from the European Union (Sante/2006/105-061). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
A high prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) globally means there remains a pool of M.tb. infection from which new cases will arise. HIV-1 (HIV)-infected persons are often over-represented among TB cases, as the risk of re-infection and reactivation are greater.
Detection of LTBI enables identification of HIV-infected persons who would benefit from preventive therapy. However, in high HIV/TB prevalence, low-income settings, screening the general population for LTBI poses significant operational and economic challenges. A greater understanding of risk factors for infection could enable more accurate identification of high-risk persons who might benefit from preventive therapy. A better comprehension of factors that increase the risk of TB infection could also facilitate developing other interventions to attenuate this risk.
To this end, studies have examined the prevalence of, and risk factors for LTBI in health care workers (HCW), who experience a higher risk of TB exposure than the general population [1]–[11]. However, HCW do not represent the population of HIV-infected adults. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of LTBI and to evaluate associated risk factors in HIV-infected adults in a high HIV/TB burden setting.
From February 2008 to November 2010, consecutive patients attending the HIV wellness clinic at Khayelitsha day hospital were informed about the study on weekday mornings, when the clinic was busiest, and were invited to participate. Adults aged over 18 years with no signs and symptoms of TB disease were potentially eligible for inclusion. Active TB was excluded by induced sputum sent for TB microscopy and culture. In addition, all patients with a positive tuberculin skin test had chest radiography performed. During the study period 335 HIV-infected persons with no signs and symptoms of TB and from whom sputum samples could be collected, were identified. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants, and the study was approved by the University of Cape Town Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee.
Tuberculin Skin Test
A Mantoux skin test was performed in enrolled patients using 2 tuberculin units (TU) of purified protein derivative (PPD) of tuberculin RT23 injected intradermally into the volar aspect of the forearm. This was read 48–72 hours after administration by measuring the induration transverse diameter. A positive TST was defined as ≥5 mm.
Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA)
A 7-day in-house IGRA assay was performed as described elsewhere [12]. Briefly, whole blood was diluted 1∶10 final concentration in RPMI 1640 medium containing 1% L-Glutamine and added to a 24-well flat bottom plate at 1 ml/well. Antigens (ESAT-6, CFP-10 (Proteix, Czech Republic) and ESAT-6/CFP-10 Fusion Protein (Leiden University Medical Centre, Netherlands)) were added at a final concentration of 5 µg/ml. After mixing, the plate was incubated at 37°C with 5% CO2 for 7 days. The supernatants were then harvested into sample storage tubes and IFN-γ ELISA performed [13]. The antigen-specific cut-off values were chosen using the QuantiFERON Gold-in-Tube (QFT-GIT) test as an arbitrary gold standard. The lowest cut-off values that provided 100% sensitivity at the highest likelihood ratio were chosen.
Statistical Analysis
Baseline characteristics were compared using simple proportions. Risk factors associated with TST and IGRA positivity were analysed using multivariable logistic regression. The model was built manually starting with an empty model. Nested models were compared using the likelihood ratio test. The Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) was used to compare non-nested models with a significantly lower AIC (>10%) indicating an improved model. Significance testing was done using a combination of two-sided p-values (p<0.05), 95% confidence intervals and p-value function graphs. All data were analysed using STATA 10.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA).
We recruited 335 HIV-infected persons. Compared to TST negative, TST positive participants were more likely to be employed (36.7% versus 29.3%), and were more likely to report contact with a TB case within the preceding 12 months (25.3% versus 14.1%) (Table 1). There was no difference in the median CD4 count between TST negative and positive persons (CD4 337 (IQR 226–337) versus 362 (IQR 253–519); Spearman's correlation coefficient r = 0.082; p = 0.148)). However, the median overall CD4 count of 345 in this study population reflects a lack of severe immunosuppression and could explain the lack of an association between CD4 count and TST positivity. Alternatively, the study may also have been insufficiently powered to detect this association.
Prevalence of TST and IGRA Positivity
We examined the LTBI prevalence using the TST and found a prevalence of 52.7% (95% C.I. 47.3%–58.3%). Using the IGRA, the effect of immunosuppression was less marked with a higher prevalence of IGRA positivity compared to TST positivity (61.2% (95% C.I. 55.7%–66.4%).
Factors Associated with TB Infection
A recent contact with a TB case in the preceding 12 months was the only significant variable associated with TST positivity in the multivariable regression model (OR 2.07; 95% C.I. 1.15–3.69). The inclusion of additional variables into this model did not significantly improve the fit of the model to the data.
The presence of a BCG scar was associated with a reduction in risk of IGRA positivity (OR 0.59; 95% C.I. 0.35–1.02) (Table 2). The overall median ESAT-6 (277 (IQR 0–1414) vs. 578 (IQR 166–2420)), CFP-10 (110 (IQR 0–893) vs. 305 (IQR 44–1193)) and fusion protein (358 (IQR 0–1745) vs. 440 (IQR 105–2122)) responses (pg/ml) were lower in persons with a BCG scar compared to those without a scar respectively (Figure 1). In addition, there was an increase in the risk of IGRA positivity for every additional year of schooling (OR 1.19; 95% C.I. 1.05–1.34). Of note, there was a strong correlation between educational attainment and employment status (Pearson chi2 p = 0.005).
Medians and interquartile ranges shown above each plot. Extreme values not shown.
The odds of being IGRA positive were 53% lower in smokers compared to non-smokers. We considered misclassification bias as a potential reason for this finding and performed sensitivity analysis, creating a new smoking variable by re-classifying ex-smokers as current smokers. This resulted in an increase in the proportion of female smokers from 24% to 28%. However, this did not alter the final model results. We also examined the interaction between smoking and gender, and found a statistically significant interaction variable suggesting that the effect of smoking on LTBI risk is different for the two gender groups, with a higher risk of IGRA positivity in male smokers (interaction variable OR 3.12; p = 0.038). We also compared the mitogen responses between smokers and non-smokers and although lower in smokers, there was no statistically significant difference in the median response to mitogen in smokers (11338 (IQR 5611–27606) pg/ml) versus non-smokers (12832 (IQR 3873–34179) pg/ml).
The odds of being IGRA positive were 2-fold higher in HIV-infected persons with CD4 count ≥200 cells/mm3 compared to <200 cells/mm3. Although only 2% of HIV-infected persons were on ART, we found that the odds of being IGRA positive in persons on ART were 90% lower than those not on ART, after adjusting for CD4 count.
Although the CD4 count, ART status and BCG scar variables in this model had p values of >0.05, the corresponding p-value function graphs showed that majority of data lay away from the line of no effect. The CD4 count and BCG scar graphs were also narrow, indicating high precision of estimates (graphs not shown).
We examined the prevalence of latent TB infection and risk factors that associate with TST and IGRA in HIV-infected adults in a high HIV/TB-burden setting and interestingly these factors differed.
TST positivity was associated with a recent TB contact history. Few TB contact studies have been conducted in high HIV/TB burden settings [14], [15] and these support data from this study showing a higher risk of TB infection among TB contacts with the risk increasing with duration and intensity of exposure [15].
Our results revealed decreased odds of IGRA positivity in smokers compared to non-smokers. Existing literature has shown an increased risk of TST positivity in smokers and so this finding was unexpected [16]. Smoking is known to have immunosuppressive effects and has also been shown in in vitro studies to significantly reduce monocyte derived macrophage production of interferon-gamma [17]. These effects combined with HIV infection, although increasing the risk of TB infection, could paradoxically result in decreased odds of IGRA positivity, potentially limiting the performance of IGRA in HIV-infected smokers.
We also found increased odds of IGRA positivity with more years of education. Education was strongly associated with employment in our data suggesting these variables may be measuring similar exposures. The risk of LTBI is conventionally thought to be higher in lower socioeconomic groups and several studies conducted in high burden settings have reported increased risk of TB with lower income [18], [19]. We therefore expected unemployment (as a marker of marginalisation and lower socioeconomic status) to be associated with a higher risk of LTBI. However, the data suggest the opposite. Khayelitsha is an informal township 30km outside Cape Town and employment necessitates travel to Cape Town using overcrowded and poorly ventilated modes of public transport. Furthermore the force of infection in Cape Town townships has previously been reported as being exceptionally high [20]. One possible explanation is that TB transmission is occurring on public transport increasing the risk of LTBI in employed persons who use these modes of transport more frequently and for longer distances and are potentially repeatedly exposed. Alternatively, these results could indicate exposure to TB from co-workers or in the general work environment, although the majority of employment opportunities occur in more affluent parts of Cape Town, where the TB burden is significantly lower.
There was a negative association between IGRA positivity and the presence of BCG scar. These findings suggest a protective role for BCG against LTBI diagnosed using IGRA. In high-burden settings, BCG vaccination is given at birth to reduce the risk of disseminated TB in children. These results suggest that BCG also protects against TB infection in HIV co-infected young adults. This effect of BCG against LTBI has been reported in one study of children with household TB contacts that reported the absence of a BCG scar as an independent risk factor for LTBI diagnosed using an in-house ELISpot assay [21].
BCG vaccination status was determined using the presence of a BCG scar. However it is possible that some participants were BCG vaccinated but had no scars. Therefore the protective effect of BCG might be limited to persons who scar. Another possibility proposed by Lalvani et al is that the scarring response to BCG could represent a surrogate marker of individuals who have pre-existing protective immunity to tuberculosis that is not induced by BCG vaccination [22].
The use of an in-house IGRA limits the generalisability of these findings. Quantitative antigen responses were therefore presented and demonstrate significantly lower responses in persons with a BCG scar. Furthermore, an earlier comparison of this assay with the QFT-GIT revealed an identical proportion of positive responders suggesting comparability between these tests.
There is a possibility of bias due to misclassification of smokers. We performed sensitivity analysis and showed that the final result was unchanged. We however acknowledge residual confounding as a potential limitation of this study.
Our data indicate an increased risk of LTBI in TB contacts highlighting ongoing transmission in the community. The novel finding of a higher risk of LTBI in educated and employed persons also suggests ongoing transmission and further research is required to explore the contribution of public transport to high transmission rates and the potential for public space to be targeted in the development of TB control strategies in high-burden settings. Smoking, as a risk factor for LTBI, is important from a public health perspective, with up to 15% of TB cases worldwide estimated to be attributable to tobacco exposure [23]. It is a potentially more readily modifiable risk factor compared to other factors that predispose to TB infection and disease and therefore a potential target for TB control strategies. We found a lower rate of IGRA positivity in HIV-infected smokers. This may relate to the immunosuppressive effects of smoking and impaired interferon-gamma production in HIV-infected persons, potentially limiting the performance of this test in this sub-group. A recent study of 1128 children in Europe showed that BCG vaccination may be effective at protecting children against M.tb. infection [24]. We found the presence of a BCG scar to be negatively associated with IGRA positivity suggesting a protective role for BCG vaccination in HIV co-infected adults.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: TO RJW. Performed the experiments: TO HPG RT NB RS KW RTG. Analyzed the data: TO. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: KAW THMO RJW. Wrote the paper: TO RJW.
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The killing of Pakistani reporter Syed Saleem Shahzad is spurring both the country's embattered community of journalists and international press organizations into action.
Last week, local reporters launched a 24-hour sit-in outside Pakistan's parliament building amid accusations that the country's intelligence agency, the ISI, played a role in the violence against the press and in Shahzad's fatal beating.
"We will keep protesting until the killers are brought to justice" Hamid Mir, a Pakistani news anchor, told NPR's "Morning Edition" this week.
Also read: News Budgets Busted by Cost of Covering Disasters
Pakistan has become an increasingly perilous country for both foreign and local journalists. The 44 reporters who died in Pakistan last year rank the country as the most dangerous for journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Before his body was found along a canal bank outside of Islamabad, Shahzad had reported that Pakistani officials had discovered Al Qaeda cells comprised of navy officers. Shahzad previously worked as the Pakistan Bureau Chief of Asia Times Online (Hong Kong) and Italian news agency Adnkronos. Though many suspect them of playing a role in Shahzad's death, the ISI is reportedly investigating his killing.
It's not just Shahzad's death that is rousing journalists to action. His killing was followed less than a month later by the assault of journalist Waqar Kiani. Kiani said that he was beaten by men in police uniforms, days after he published an account of being abducted and tortured by intelligence officers in 2008.
Outside of Pakistan, publications such as the Guardian have asked Pakistan's government to launch investigations into the violence against Kiani.
But some press organizations are arguing that the media business must take matters into its own hands. The CPJ, for instance, argues that organizations should band together to create locally based watchdog groups in the country, that would boast hotlines to the Pakistani police in order to curb the kidnappings.
"With its vibrant and financially successful media culture, this should be a Pakistani initiative," Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ's Asia Program, told TheWrap. "Media houses should lend manpower and financial support. Of course, NGOs have helped in other countries and, though working with international groups on this initiative might seem cumbersome, an alert system to protect journalists that reaches across borders can be helpful, too."
Even without such safety nets in place, reporters such as Kiani are wary of accepting government protections — believing that Pakistan's police apparatus may rank as the biggest threat of all.
"I can't trust those guards," Kiani told NPR.
"If something happens to me tomorrow, who will suffer? Only my family. My wife and my children," Kiani added.


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https://kriesi.at/support/topic/ (Purchase code hidden if logged out) – (Purchase code hidden if logged out) -and-failing-miserably?message= (Purchase code hidden if logged out) -error is the original thread.
Unfortunately, now that the div is next to the logo, it only looks good on desktop computers. Resizing it down to a mobile screen, and the div gets merged with the logo… is there a way to prevent that, and keep the phone number as part of the header in a small screen? Maybe a feature request to implement a phone number field in the header in the theme options?
Hi xorred,
You'll need to add adjusted css to the media queries to get the new div looking the way you'd like on the specific devices. Open up the layout.css file and search for #Media Queries. You can either add to the ones here or copy the ones you'll need to make new rules for into your custom.css file so that you don't lose the changes when you do a theme update.
I'll send the request for an additional field in the header but its a pretty low chance since it goes against the very simplistic nature of the design.
I'm trying to do the exact same thing with a phone number. How did you get this to work? I can't figure out how to get it to call different CSS classes. How would the custom.css need to look for it to pull different styling for desktop, tablet and mobile phone?
Hi mlah384,
Open up the layout.css file and search for #Media Queries. You can either add to the ones here or copy the ones you'll need to make new rules for into your custom.css file. Each media query checks for the screen size and then outputs the css for that size. So, depending on the items you have added, you'll customize the css for each query so that the phone number is where you want it as the theme responds to the different devices.
Here is an quick intro about their use if you are unfamiliar: http://webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/css3-media-queries
The topic 'phone number next to logo, and it's no longer responsive….' is closed to new replies.


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I always have at least 7 types in my fridge. I like everything from Frank's to Tapatio to the green Tabasco to Sriracha. But none of these are hot enough really. I'm looking for a new one.
What are your favorites?? And what kind of food do you put them on?
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|December 13, 2008, 11:41 PM
Junior member
Join Date: January 5, 2005
Location: East Bay NorCal, People's Republik of Kalifornia
Posts: 5,866
Swiss Precision Quality Schmidt Rubin K31 Carbine
Did I make a mistake?
I just ordered one of these:
I couldn't help it. At 210, plus shipping and 30 bucks FFL, if it's not a C&R, I'm buying a Swiss made, .308 caliber tack driver, I think. I went for it, thinking I haven't found any others at a better price come up in a LONG time.
I like accurate guns, and, this just looked to good to pass up.
Am I way off? Should I have bought a Mauser 24/47 instead, for half the price? Keep in mind I currently have 30-06, and will have a 308, one of these days...
Or, the more expensive,
|December 14, 2008, 12:21 AM
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Join Date: April 30, 2002
Location: The Republic of Texas
Posts: 391
You have done well Socrates.
Every rifle nut should have at least one K31.
The rifles are precision built and the 7.5x55 cartridge
is inherently an accurate design.
The K31 is basically a target rifle disguised as a service rifle.
enjoy your new prize !
|December 14, 2008, 03:53 AM
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Is there a better, or cheaper source for such surplus rifles???
|December 14, 2008, 11:57 AM
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Join Date: December 20, 2007
Posts: 180
They are available at on-line auctions (Gun Broker and Auction Arms), as well as various and sundry on-line estate sales. Whether or not they are cheaper from these sources is a matter of luck and timing.
It helps if you have a C&R FFL, because it cuts down on the cost and hassle of actually getting your hands on one if you win one at the auctions
|December 14, 2008, 02:16 PM
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Join Date: July 18, 2008
Location: Amarillo, Tx
Posts: 616
The cheapest K-31 I've seen was a private individual trying to sell one at a gun show. The dealers weren't giving him anything for it. I asked him what he'd like, he said $200, we dealt right there on the spot. I got a great gun (walnut) at a great price, he got some cash, we screwed a few grubbing dealers, and the gun is...um...how do I say this...off the books. As in off the government's radar. A non-gun. An all-around great deal.
Last edited by jsmaye; December 15, 2008 at 08:04 AM. Reason: Clarify the "off-the-books" statement.
|December 14, 2008, 02:32 PM
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Posts: 180
Gunshows are another alternative and you don't need a C$R to take possession.
|December 14, 2008, 03:21 PM
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Join Date: April 30, 2002
Location: The Republic of Texas
Posts: 391
Not really. I have purchased quite a few K31's and overall the
best and least expensive have been from SAMCO. I always
ordered their "special select walnut". The rifle in the picture
above I got from them. SAMCO has the only large lot of K31
rifles in the US at this time. Most re-sellers that have them
got them from SAMCO. The metal is almost invariably excellent
on the K31's. The stock condition however can vary a LOT. If you
care about looks, buy "special select" or spend a little extra and
pry a nice one out of the hands of a collector.
Socrates asked - Is there a better, or cheaper source for such surplus rifles???
|December 14, 2008, 07:05 PM
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Location: East Bay NorCal, People's Republik of Kalifornia
Posts: 5,866
Thanks for the great comments. I'm looking forward to having a swiss tack driver, and, since it's .308, that gives me 30-06, 7.62 X 54R, and 7.5 x 55 Swiss, which means it will be pretty easy to buy bullets.
|December 14, 2008, 07:15 PM
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Join Date: December 20, 2007
Posts: 180
One thing, Socrates--most 7.62 x 54R rifles have a nominal bore diameter of 310.5-.312. You can use .308 bullets, but will likely experience diminished accuracy and possibly increased bore wear.
You may want to slug your bore and use bullets of a size appropriate to your results.
|December 14, 2008, 07:33 PM
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Join Date: July 20, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10,170
A couple things that might be worth your time to read
1MOA is not uncommon for these rifles when using Swiss GP11 surplus ammo and often better with Hornady or Norma. Prvi Partizan, Wolf Gold (repackaged Prvi) and FNM are not typically as accurate, but they are cheaper than Hornady or Norma and provide Boxer-Primed Brass cases.
Also, If you want a really accurate Mosin, look at a Finnish M39. 1MOA or less is not uncommon with good ammo (i.e. Lapua 7.62x53R) and these rifles have .308 bores.
Smith, and Wesson, and Me. -H. Callahan
Well waddaya know, one buwwet weft! -E. Fudd
All bad precedents begin as justifiable measures. -J. Caesar
|December 14, 2008, 08:51 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: December 20, 2007
Posts: 180
You are right about the K31/GP11 combo.
Have always heard that if the barrel is marked with a "D", it is .310-.312
|December 15, 2008, 03:54 AM
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Join Date: June 7, 2008
Location: Tacoma, WA
Posts: 106
I did allot of research awhile back on the k31 and $200-250 seemed about average. Often, though, the good deals required shipping. I got one for $240 at Cabelas and I believe it originated from SAMCO. Also, mine has walnut but the wood is not nearly as nice as the Doctor's.
|December 15, 2008, 08:37 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: June 23, 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 5,647
The Swiss rifle is an incredibly fine quality surplus gun. It was a steal when they first came in and were selling relatively cheaply. I sold mine, however. I just could not fully warm up to the action and the ammo choices were pretty limited at the time. Did not shoot it a great deal. If it is your piece of cake, you can't go wrong. IF you can still get a nice one, not the raggedy ones that show up now. I more or less have stuck with the Swedish rifles as a quality surplus Mauser. Little more ammo choices too. Much nicer guns than the Mosins, whose only advantage is being dirt cheap, for a centerfire. The Swiss guns ook like they were made like fine custom guns, almost. Flawless execution of the design.
Your gun is like your nose, it is just wrong for someone else to pick it for you!
|December 15, 2008, 09:50 AM
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Join Date: January 5, 2005
Location: East Bay NorCal, People's Republik of Kalifornia
Posts: 5,866
Anyone have a good place to find some 7.5 x 55 surplus ammo, either reloadable, or not?
|December 15, 2008, 10:51 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: December 20, 2007
Posts: 180
AIM surplus
Graf and Sons
Ammunition to go
Sportsman's Guide
Ammo Man
Cheaper than dirt
J & G sales
|December 15, 2008, 12:08 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: May 16, 2008
Posts: 9,598
Thanks for that list. A few on there I did not know about.
Maybe we should get a sticky going on here with a list of C&R firearms dealers and a list of accessory providers.
$0 of an NRA membership goes to legislative action or court battles. Not a dime. Only money contributed to the NRA-ILA or NRA-PVF. Second Amendment Foundation is a solid alternative.
First Shotgun Thread First Rifle Thread First Pistol Thread
|December 16, 2008, 07:40 PM
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Location: Indianapolis, IN
Posts: 15,982
I just traded into a walnut stocked K31 to go with my Gew.96/11. Can't wait!
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The Arms Room: An Online Museum.
|December 16, 2008, 10:15 PM
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Join Date: July 20, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10,170
Smith, and Wesson, and Me. -H. Callahan
Well waddaya know, one buwwet weft! -E. Fudd
All bad precedents begin as justifiable measures. -J. Caesar
|December 17, 2008, 03:45 PM
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Join Date: July 3, 2008
Location: Montana
Posts: 169
Brownells also has k31 accessories.
|December 18, 2008, 05:08 PM
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Join Date: December 29, 2007
Location: Arizona
Posts: 416
Nice rifle! Now you need a Swede to go with it.
|December 19, 2008, 12:45 AM
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Join Date: March 21, 2008
Posts: 2
Cool Beans
The Swiss Schmidt-Rubin K31 Carbine
By David Tong
The Swiss, knowing that their neutrality might put them at odds with European aggressor nations, have always been a nation of rifleman. To this day every Swiss male serves in the military, either full time or as a reservist, from age 18 to 42, and has a fully-automatic rifle in his residence should an unlikely call to arms ever occur.
They have always been technical innovators in regards to weapon design, even if some of their solutions have not been adopted by any major power. The Karabiner 31 is a case in point.
Messrs. Schmidt (designer of the original rifle action) and Rubin (designer of the smokeless powder cartridge it used) developed a straight-pull, bolt action rifle that the Swiss adopted as their Model 1889. It differs from the usual turn bolt action in that the motion to work the action is a straight pull backward followed by a straight push forward, rather than the up and back, forward and down motion to which the rest of the world is accustomed in its bolt guns.
It does so by using a cam pin, much like that of the AR-15/M16, which imparts rotational motion and primary extraction (the initial removal by rotation of the spent cartridge case) of the bolt from its locked to an unlocked state. The stated advantage of the straight-pull system is to better allow for rapid, repeat fire from concealment or cover without exposing the rifleman's arm and position. The disadvantage of the system is its primary extraction; lacking the normal turn bolt's great rotational leverage imparted by the shooter's arm, a neglected or dirty chamber can theoretically tie up the action. However, most authorities agree that the consistency of manufacture of both rifle and ammo, along with the drilled-in care Swiss NCOs imparted to their troopers made this a non-issue.
The system served through two major variants, the Model 1889, and the later Model 1911, both using the so-called "GP90" 7.5X55mm cartridge. The earliest versions used a round nosed projectile, while later versions used a spitzer bullet. Both were loaded to a maximum average pressure (MAP) of less than 40,000 c.u.p., well below the MAP of the later K31's ammunition. 7.5mm bullets for the rear-locking Model 1889 and 1911 rifles are no longer available.
The K31 made its debut in the Swiss military in 1935, and along with the change in ammunition came changes to the basic rifle action as well. Earlier Schmidt-Rubin rifles featured rear locking lugs, with the majority of the bolt length behind the magazine. To accommodate the higher-powered GP11 cartridge, Swiss ordnance redesigned the bolt system to include forward locking lugs, and its concurrent repositioning of the bolt over the magazine when locked and in battery, thus shortening the action.
Here are the basic specifications of the Karabiner 31:
· 25.65" barrel
· 6 round detachable box magazine serial numbered to rifle
· Bayonet (ideally but rarely) serialed to rifle
· 582,000 produced between 1933-1958
One thing that is not commonly known is that the K31's bullets are not "7.5mm," but actually .307" (essentially 7.62mm). This simplifies reloading, since standard .308" bullets may be used. Interestingly, the Swiss have always specified non-corrosive primers in their Schmidt-Rubin ammo, which with the customary good care means that most surplus rifles will have barrels in far better shape than is the norm for a smokepole of this age.
As was common practice for the day, the K31 had an open, sliding tangent type sight mounted ahead of the receiver, graduated from 100 to 1500 meters. Windage "adjustment" was achieved by drifting a unique, diagonally dovetailed front sight that was available in several sight heights for fine elevation changes. The sights were the then common inverted "V" in front, with a U-notch rear blade.
Unlike rifles manufactured by the major powers, the Swiss rifles did not suffer wartime production exigencies. The quality of the manufacture was never a question, and just one look at the bolt system during field stripping will tell you why. K31s are at once both easier to strip completely, without tools, and more difficult to routinely "field strip," because of the need to line up parts correctly to ensure that the cam system operates.
About the only manufacturing economy the Swiss took was the use of a beech, instead of the earlier walnut, stock and handguard. All metal parts show a very high level of finish machine work, with no rough tool marks evident even below the stock line. The trigger is your typical two-stage military type, but again due to high quality materials, heat-treatment, and proper fitting it breaks cleanly at about 5 pounds after the initial slack is taken up.
Separating the barreled action from the stock shows this quality of manufacture. Both handguard and stock feature a full serial number, and the main bedding block under the receiver ring rests on a metal shim (available in several arsenal thickness') to ensure a stable platform and consistency of bedding for accuracy.
As is usually the case with military bolt guns, the barrel is not free-floated. Instead, there is an inch-long contact point at the forward end of the stock, presumably not just for accuracy but also for bayonet use. Switzerland was probably the last country in Europe still using a bolt action rifle as their principal infantry weapon in the late 1950s.
I have not yet taken the rifle to a rifle range for accuracy testing at measured distances. In informal shooting from the bench (and offhand), it shoots quite well using Swiss surplus GP11 cartridges. Incidentally, this is the same ammo used by individual marksmen in matches in Switzerland, a far cry from what every other nation does. Recoil is about what you'd expect a .30-06 power level round to be like, firm and not helped by the usual curved steel buttplate.
I've fitted mine with a lace-up leather comb riser from Brauer Brothers, which raises my eye for a proper cheek weld, and have also purchased but not yet installed a Picatinny rail that displaces the rear sight leaf. This will enable the use of a long-eye-relief optic much like German WW I and WW II sniper rifles. At this point, I'm thinking about using the Burris 2-7X pistol scope, which will both allow for wide field of view snap shooting in our dense Oregon woods, as well as for the longer-distance precision a fixed power "Scout" scope would not be able to provide.
The rifles themselves are cheap and plentiful as of this writing (2005) and are available from many sources in Shotgun News. You can expect to live with about "80%" condition of the stock furniture, but usually with an immaculate barrel and bolt. Ammo costs are not great, roughly $0.40 per round for Swiss surplus, which is Berdan primed. There are sources of Boxer cases, most notably a short production run of Hornady hunting ammo, in 165 grain BTSP guise, as well as pricey Norma brass.
If you are hankering for something a bit unusual, yet practical for target shooting and hunting most North American game animals, a K31 is far from the worst choice you can make. Depending on your sense of humor, it might be a pretty good one.
|December 19, 2008, 07:33 AM
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FWIW, that article is a bit incorrect in that the Schmidt-Rubin Gew.1911 does indeed fire the GP11 cartridge and not the GP90. (Hence the name.)
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|December 19, 2008, 12:28 PM
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Join Date: November 17, 2004
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 270
Also, the author calls it a Schmidt-Rubin, which it is not. I believe those two guys were long dead by the time K31s were designed...
|December 20, 2008, 10:06 PM
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Seems to be favorable according to this:
|December 21, 2008, 10:42 PM
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Pretty bloody funny.
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text:
The 2011 Baltimore Ravens may be the most frustrating football team I've ever laid eyes on. They can and will beat anybody, but they can and will lose to anyone as well.
We were told repeatedly that the Ravens had learned from their mistakes in losses to the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. They wouldn't take anyone for granted and would take care of business. Oh well. The Ravens could've taken a stranglehold of the division, instead they are looking up at the Steelers and Bengals.
Finally, just a quick note for Cam Cameron: you have Ray Rice on your team. Please use him.


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Tom writes,
How do I kill wild onions in my lawn?
I have a two acre lot in west Tennessee on what used to be agricultural land. I can't afford to seed or sod the whole thing. The front yard is not too bad because it has been hydroseeded with Bermuda. In the back, all we have done is mow. (Oddly, when you cut a pasture with a riding mower, it doesn't know it's not a pasture any more. . .ha ha!) We have onions out the ying yang! I've heard liming will help. That makes a little sense to me because I limed my front yard a few years ago, and the onions are almost non existent. I was looking at your Battleship III. Is this a good product to spray on my seeded/sodded areas as well as my non seeded areas?
Battleship III is a good product, but since it is 2, 4-D free it is not labeled to treat wild onions. A product with 2, 4-D is usually suggested. We would recommend the Hi-Yield 2, 4-D Selective Weed Killer as your best option for treating wild onions.
Answer last updated on: 04/06/2011
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text:
The San Antonio Shopping Center and its surrounding neighborhood in Mountain View was closed for about three hours Sunday night as police responded to a suspicious package.
The police tweeted that they got a call at 6:10 p.m. from a resident on San Antonio Road who reported a pressure cooker was seen in the bushes near the front doors of a building there.
Upon arriving at the scene police said they used an infrared device and found the pressure cooker was radiating heat.
Police said to ensure utmost safety of the community they set up a perimeter and evacuated nearby buildings.
They also called in outside agencies to help with evacuations.
Just after 9 p.m. police tweeted an "all clear" and said residents were being allowed back into their homes.
The area that had been blocked off is bordered by San Antonio Road, California Street and El Camino Real, and extends past Showers Drive, according to police.
Police tweeted the map below that shows the impacted areas.


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|Re: Tolkien signature
Subject: Re: Tolkien signature
by Jlong on 2008/10/11 8:24:03
Has anyone heard back from Bloomsbury or found out anything else about the other Tolkien items circulating around with similar signatures? I've been watching the Bloomsbury listing on eBay and someone bid on the item. What a shame it would be to see someone pay a lot of money for this item.


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Eugene schools use bond measure money to repair 'unsafe' schools
EUGENE, Ore. -- Structurally unstable school buildings around Lane County will soon see changes to make them more secure, thanks to a bond measure passed last month, the Eugene-4J School District said Wednesday.
Back in 2007, the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Studies released an open-file report that said many public schools and service buildings were "at risk of collapse" if a major earthquake hit the area.
Nearly six years later, the 4J School District facilities manager Harlan Coats said they're now working to repair its aging structures.
"There's cracks all over the floors," Coats said, walking the halls of Roosevelt Middle School in Eugene. "It's a pretty old heating system in the building, it needs a new roof, the windows need to be redone ... it's in pretty rough shape."
Lane County Emergency Manager Linda Cook said each building owner works with their structure to make sure the proper safety measures are taken.
"Of course we know that there are some very old buildings in Lane County, and there's really nothing we can do about that," Cook said. "We're really gonna have to rely on the facility owners to be taking good care of their structures."
That's why the 4J School District is using part of the funding from bond measure 20-210 that passed April 1 to fund reconstruction projects at Roosevelt and three other schools listed on the 2007 study.
"Students and staff are gonna love these buildings you know. They're gonna be modern the computer systems are gonna be up to date and it's gonna be a real treat," Coats said.
The 4J School District is making progress on their building upgrades, but campus Human Resources Director Dennis Carr said the 60's vintage Lane Community College buildings have had similar issues.
"Thanks to the voters we've at least twice that i know of had the opportunity through bond proceeds to upgrade the buildings...so they're in reasonably good condition," Carr said.
Carr added that at this time none of their buildings are at risk of collapse.
Another building on the agenda for renovations is city hall, which prompted all of the city offices to move out last year.


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OK gang!
I need some ideas. I have a few in mind but not sure how pretty it will look. I'm preparing for my first wedding cake on Sunday. The wedding cake will be 3 tiers on the tall tier cake stand. There will be gold and silver edible pearls placed randomly on spirals. The border will have the gold and silver pearls as well. The top will contain white icing roses wi/ inedbile gold and silver leaves.
I was thinking of placing silk white rose garland around the base of the cake plate so you won't see the legs of the stand. Then maybe place some silk white rose petals on the table around the cake. Or should I use some garland with a little silver or gold in it? What do you think? I'm trying to get a mental picture of how it would look but to me it seems like it would look a little plain.
Need some more ideas.
Tulle tulle tulle..... and the placement of flowers , whether it be the silk roses you mentioned on ones in wedding color will be awesome... perhaps some fake pearls draped here and there on the table to bring out the pearls on the cake??...? I always see tulle and that alone makes it so pretty!!
You have white, gold and silver. How about another colour ?
The garland sounds nice. I just miss another colour.
Maybe like a grean. Like leaves or something.
How would I place the tulle on the table? I never used tulle before.
..a strand of mini lights on the table would be pretty too!
I would go with the white rose petals.....I think simplicity when it comes to the table scapes because you want the focus on the cake. How big is the table.....my mind just went wandering and I thought if you had some silver lame' (sp?) fabric, you could make a scarf on the table and then place the cake in the center of that surrounded by the white rose petals....too bad my oldest daughter isn't here reading this, she is brillant at decorating tables and could probably give alot better advice. I do the cakes and she does all the coordinating decorations.
...votive candles?! I think either the lights or the candles would really make the gold and silver sparkle!
I forgot to mention that the bride wants to keep it simple because her cake is simple. Not too elegant or over the top.
I like your ideas. If you want it to look a little fancier you can put an exta table cloth on the top and bunch it up to create folds of fabric on the table and then do everything else you planned. i've also seen this done with tulle with white christmas lights under it.
tulle is simple but elegant... you buy a few yards and drape it and then you would bunch it up is places..... I will see if I can find a picture.... until then there is always the possibility of using a tablecloth the color of the cake...go look at our wedding cake heres the link
I put the table cloth up there because Publix just sat the cake down and the club put it on the table it was very bland... so I stripped a table and thats what I did...
Ok. I see what you did and now I have an idea. I need to go to Michael's to do some serious searching.
If anyone has anymore pictures of table decor please share.
Thanks to all who provided some help. I will definitely make a list of everyone's ideas and see which one works best.
Good luck.... you asked for ideas I guess we did our job!
Yes you did and I appreciate it all the ideas. I think I'm going to go with your first idea about tulle. I was thinking white tulle with silk petals on the tulle. That way the cake would look like it was floating on clouds. What do you think?
The tulle always adds a lot, is very light and airy, and it comes in all kinds of colors. You could do a drape, kindof scalloped just around the edges of the table that would add some fullness but still keep it all simple! Janice
sounds superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Flavy. There was a reception held at the Senior Center where I go, (they rent out the room) and the room was absolutely transformed from a very large, plain place with lots of windows, into a fairyland just with tulle and ribbon and a few flowers. It was really lovely! Janice


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Shrewsbury Park & Recreation gives special thanks
Thank you to all the individuals and groups who helped with town clean up day on April 10th!
[This includes:]Shrewsbury Little League, Spring Street School 4th Grade Student Council, Parker Road Preschool families, Boy Scout Troop 114, Daisy Girl Scout Troop 30996, Shrewsbury American Youth Football, Cub Scout Park 62, Shrewsbury Pop Warner Football, Families and Individuals who helped at Dean Park & Jordan Pond.
Short URL: http://www.communityadvocate.com/?p=6993
Posted by Community Advocate Staff on Apr 30 2010. Filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry


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The Authentic Lesbian Review: The Candidate
Dana Vespoli is a fucking genius! The last flick I watched from Dana also happened to be a Sweethearts Video title called Lefty that I completely went ape shit over (review here), and following up with The Candidate was exactly what I needed. The plot is beyond captivating, nothing new for my fellow Dana fanatics, the acting is so spot on you once again forget you're watching a porno, something I really value, and, of course, the sex is great. The Candidate is situated in today's hostile and terrifyingly politically charged good ole U S of A. Sounds incredibly sexy … Continue reading The Authentic Lesbian Review: The Candidate


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New YorkBlogs
If There Were 25 Hours In The Day...
I think a lot of us would like a direct line "upstairs" these days [Animal]
I was never afraid of Snuggle. The new Burger King? Creepy [LittlePea]
First Christmas decorations in the city? [mcbrooklyn]
Astroland is only half-dead. Get Miracle Max! [BeehiveHairdresser]


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Georgia came oh so close to grabbing a share of the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division lead Tuesday night, but Florida won again on the road after it sank a back-breaking shot that left the Bulldogs stunned.
The 24th-ranked Gators got a 3-pointer from Erving Walker from about 30 feet to force a second overtime and then poured on nine straight points and pulled away for a 104-91 victory in sold-out Stegeman Coliseum.
See more photos from the game.
"It was a great shot," Georgia center Jeremy Price said. "It shocked everybody."
Georgia (14-5, 3-3 SEC) fell two games behind Florida (16-4, 5-1) in the SEC East and now must hit the road for games at No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday and Arkansas a week from today.
"That was a hell of a game," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "They played their tails off and our kids did, too. I appreciate our fans coming. We had a great atmosphere. We had a great game. We came up short. The kid made a great play at the end there to get it to a second overtime and I felt like in the second overtime we were fatigued a little bit and Florida got the lead there and we couldn't respond."
The Bulldogs were 8-0 at home before losing two of three games in their homestand.
Georgia trailed Florida 72-64 with 3:07 left in regulation, but rallied to send the game to overtime.
Trey Thompkins' putback off a Dustin Ware miss on a drive beat the buzzer and tied the game at 73-73. Thompkins finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.
"They got a lucky tip-in to get it to overtime and then Irving hits a lucky shot to get to the second overtime," said Florida forward Chandler Parsons, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
In the first overtime, Sherrard Brantley, a 55.6 percent free-throw shooter, hit two free throws with 39.5 second left to put Georgia ahead 83-82.
Jeremy Price added two more from the foul line with 6.7 seconds left, but then Walker, a 5-foot-8 junior guard, sank the long 3-pointer with one second left in the first overtime.
"We thought we had the win already, but he threw it up and made the shot," said Georgia forward Travis Leslie, who led the Bulldogs with 21 points, but had six turnovers. "In the second overtime, they just got a quick start and got the lead and it was just hard to get back in it."
Leslie said he was defending at the 3-point line, "but I couldn't get to him."
Walker, who along with Kenny Boynton had a game-high 24 points, said he thought he heard Fox say something about fouling him "so I just tried to take the 3 before they could foul me. It felt good. ... I knew it had a good shot of going in."
Fox said his philosophy on fouling in that situation is that "we've always trusted our defense. In that situation, especially the way rebounding was going in the second half, I didn't feel like we were going to do anything different."
Florida scored nine straight points to start the second overtime while Georgia had three turnovers on its first three possessions by Robinson, Price and Leslie. Ware and Robinson ended up fouling out of the game.
Parsons hit a 3-pointer and layup to give the Gators a 94-85 lead.
Georgia finished with 20 turnovers and already had its most in SEC play with fewer than 10 minutes left in regulation.
"I thought going into the first overtime, that our team was teetering a bit," Florida coach Billy Donovan said, "but I think what happened to us going into the first overtime, happened to them going into the second."
Florida is 5-0 on the road this year, including 3-0 in the SEC with wins at Tennessee, Auburn and now Georgia. The Gators also got 23 points from center Vernon Macklin, who hit 10 of 15 shots.
Georgia had a fourth straight home sellout crowd, but its fans left disappointed.
Georgia couldn't close the deal against the Gators a week after it lost 59-57 on a controversial putback at the buzzer to Tennessee when some thought that an over the back should have been called.
"One of them still makes me angry," Fox said of the loss to the Volunteers. "There's worse things in life that are going to happen to (his players). They have no choice to get back up and they will. I'll make sure that they do."
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Release Date: 2005 |
Album Rating: 4.0Found this without a review and tought `Why not?´. Whatever , give me some feedback on the review
Album Rating: 3.0Ocean Bed is the best song on this one, truly a great tune. for me, the following album is a lot better as a whole. pos'd
Album Rating: 4.0Hahha thanks man. Ocean bed is good, however the one i like the most is The Distance, simply perfect.
Btw, the bonus version includes the piano version of distance, you should check.
Album Rating: 4.5My favorite band that was influenced by Sanctuary/Nevermore. Their first three albums are pretty amazing if you like their take on power/prog/thrash. I think Waves of Visual Decay is a stronger album, but that doesn't lessen this album in any way. Both albums absolutely excel at creating a very palpable atmosphere.
Album Rating: 4.0Yea during my Nevermore fever i was always looking for something similar but couldn´t find it. These guys came really close. Waves of Visual Decay is such a sick album, really good.
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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WASHINGTON, March 16 (UPI) -- An addition to a U.S. House report on Hurricane Katrina blames Michael Brown, the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for the response.
The report said Brown ignored the new but untested National Response Plan, ignored or went around his direct superior and called the White House directly, The Washington Post reports.
Brown resigned shortly after Katrina devastated much of the U.S. Gulf Coast amid accusations he failed as head of FEMA.
The report is a supplement to a Feb. 15 report released by an all-Republican panel called "A Failure of Initiative," which laid blame on a variety of federal, state and local government officials.
It said Brown didn't report to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff like he was supposed to.
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-Va, the chairman of the panel, called for FEMA to be re-evaluated but not the disaster plan.
He said it wasn't given a chance to be tested.
A House committee is currently reviewing Katrina relief efforts and a Senate panel is working on their own report.


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Oconee County commissioners are expected to consider tonight where to find nearly $3 million that will allow crews to start work on a new $6.7 million public safety complex.
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Since voters approved the construction of a new Oconee County Jail and 911 call center as part of the county's special-purpose, local-option sales tax referendum in 1999, $3.7 million in SPLOST revenue has been allocated for the project.
But when designers finalized the plans for the law enforcement complex in April 2004, they estimated the two new buildings will cost $6.7 million.
Instead of waiting for the SPLOST revenue allocated to the project to reach $6.7 million, the Oconee County Commission will discuss additional funding for the expansion at its regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. today.
The additional funding source will provide the rest of the money needed to complete the $6.7 million project so that construction can begin.
Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said construction of the complex could start as early as June or July if the commission approves a plan to provide the $2.7 million needed to complete the project.
"Assuming the funding is approved, and I don't have any reason to think it won't be, the earliest construction could start would be June or July," Berry said.
The three-building law enforcement complex would consist of the existing Frank Norris Building on Georgia Highway 53 in Watkinsville, as well as a new combined administrative building and jail and a third building housing the county's 911 call center and an emergency services center, Berry said.
Oconee County's 911 call center is currently housed in the communications room of the sheriff's department. It can accommodate two 911 operators. The new call center would be able to house up to 10.
Berry said the county doesn't need 10 operators now, but he would like the call center to have the space to expand when it needs to.
"We don't need that many right now," he said. "But we're looking into the future and what we will need as the county grows."
The new jail and call center will be located behind the existing Oconee County Jail and sheriff's office. When construction on the new buildings is complete, the current sheriff's office would be demolished and turned into a parking lot for the new complex.
In other business at today's meeting, the commission will hold the first reading of the proposed amendment of its master planned development zoning ordinance. The amended version was approved by the Oconee County Planning Commission at its meeting March 21. It now must be approved by the county commission before the ordinance is changed.
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This is the l33test bunny you'll ever meet on Xbox Live.
-Sally Squeeps
This is the l33test bunny you'll ever meet on Xbox Live.
-Sally Squeeps
It's embarrassing when your pet Guinea Pig has unlocked more achievements on X-box than you have...
- Sally Squeeps
Okay, I heard you! Dinner's ready I know but listen just give me like five more minutes to get to the next Bon Fire, okay? Dark Souls doesn't have a "pause the game so you can eat dinner" function, mom! I've told you that a thousand times already!
AcualyIsJooby says: "This is The Legend of NintenCat."
I think that would make squeedorably awesome video game!
-Sally Squeeps
Do you have a squee pet that you want to share with the world? Send us your pet pictures and stories, and they could end up on Daily Squee!


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This product is no longer available.
You can try these similar gifts instead.
Flat Out Hanging Toiletry Kit
This gift is every overpacker's dream. Separate compartments and nooks and crannies fit all the necessities, but then it can be laid flat to take up little precious space in their luggage.


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Sometimes inspiration comes during the darkest days.
For the Dave Matthews Band, it came in the days after the death of founding saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who died in August after being injured in an ATV accident, while they were still working on "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King."
Although the band has always been top-notch in concert, it had been struggling in the studio in recent years with production issues and conflicting views about where it was headed.
On "GrooGrux King," which was Moore's nickname, the band members' motives are clear, even while their hearts are heavy.
No surprise – much of the album is concerned with death and the weightier questions surrounding it. Doesn't everyone deserve to have the good life? Matthews asks in the groovy love song "Spaceman." But it don't always work out. Cry, cry, baby, if we must.
"Spaceman" is actually a lighter moment, especially when paired with the funereal, nearly menacing "Squirm," and it serves as almost a coping mechanism throughout the album, mixing pretty sounds with dark lyrics and vice versa. It works well in the horn-heavy, churning "Shake Me Like a Monkey" and the single "Funny the Way It Is," which juxtaposes jazzy tinges with dark-hearted sentiments.
It's melancholy stuff, for sure. But its singular purpose also makes "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" the best Dave Matthews Band album in more than a decade.
Download this: "Funny the Way It Is"