text:
USA Today had a story that made my heart palpitate like I was a teenager again.
The National Education Association (NEA) has lost more than 100,000 members since 2010. By 2014, union projections show, it could lose a cumulative total of about 308,000 full-time teachers and other workers, a 16% drop from 2010. Lost dues will shrink NEA's budget an estimated $65 million, or 18%.
NEA calls the membership losses "unprecedented" and predicts they may be a sign of things to come. "Things will never go back to the way they were…"
Let's certainly hope they're right about that.
Let me be upfront with you. My dad was a teacher, he was the principal of every school I attended until high school and then he was the county superintendent of schools. He valued education about all things. And he hated teachers unions with an unbridled passion. I'm his son.
Why do I feel that way? Well go no farther than the speech that Dennis Van Roekel, the president of the NEA gave at the opening of their annual convention. His opening applause line woke up even before my second cup of coffee.
Because we, the more than three million members of the National Education Association – WE … EDUCATE … AMERICA.
We Educate America!
Like Hell you do. Look at any major city and the performance of their "public" school systems. In Chicago, President Obama's home city, less than half of students graduate. Same for Washington DC and they spend more per student than any school system in the U.S.
Test scores have declined virtually every year since the U.S. Department of Education was formed by Jimmy Carter as a sop to the NEA. A high school diploma is worth so little these days that a major effort has to be made at universities to help new freshmen get the tools needed to do even the current level of dumbed down academic work that passes for "undergraduate education".
So, Mr. Van Roekel, to repeat myself, like Hell you do.
Your organization is a failure and it is in business only because you buy the support of Democratic politicians. Like Democratic politicians in the mold of Barack Obama, Van Roekel is a whiner.
We spend endless time getting students ready for and taking standardized tests – all at the expense of literature that inspires students, or history that helps them understand, or the arts that help them express themselves.
Mr. Van Roekel, that's a load of crap. K-12 curriculum – as well as college curriculum – has been dumbed down to the point where graduates can't write or do simple math. The goal of the New York City schools systems not long ago was that their graduates be at least "functionally illiterate." In other words, able to read the directions on the back of a soup can. That's what $10,000 per student per year buys from the NEA.
Let's talk for a second about the programs the NEA does favor since we now know they're against "teaching to the test".
Everybody talks about the "when," with one glaring exception – EARLY CHILDHOOD education. The importance of early childhood education is obvious, the research is clear.
Here, Mr. Van Roekel goes from simple minded pulpit thumping to demonstrating that he is incapable of doing basic research, or that he's lying.
We wrote about early childhood education a while back here at Liberty. We cited a Cato Institute report about an in-depth report on Head Start done by the U.S. Department of Education, here's the kicker:
The bad news came in the study released this month: It found that, by the end of the first grade, children who attended Head Start are essentially indistinguishable from a control group of students who didn't.
What's so damning is that this study used the best possible method to review the program: It looked at a nationally representative sample of 5,000 children who were randomly assigned to either the Head Start ("treatment") group or to the non-Head Start ("control") group.
In fact, not a single one of the 114 tests administered to first graders — of academics, socio-emotional development, health care/health status and parenting practice — showed a reliable, statistically significant effect from participating in Head Start.
Cost of Head Start to U.S. taxpayers? Seven billion dollars. Add to this another 69 programs that suck up over $25B that could be used for productive purposes like buying food or starting a savings account.
Here's the bottom line for the NEA.
So what is the purpose of PUBLIC education in the 21st Century? Why does it need to exist? What do we want it to achieve for students, for society, for America?
The purpose of public education is access and equity!
That's why it's public!
Gee, silly me. I thought the purpose of education was to educate. But then I've been accused of living in a pre-"1984" kind of world. The NEA is the implementation arm of Big Brother's catechism.
But there's more to education than academics. So when we talk about the WHY of public education, we have to address the needs of the WHOLE CHILD.
That means including issues like health care, good nutrition, a safe family and school environment – ALL these things affect learning and impact student development.
And just so you know that their priority is putting children first, here's the wrap-up.
One way is through the political process, and we're going to talk about that a lot over the next few days – because the election this year is critical for public education, and it's also a turning point for the middle class in America.
And first on the list – we must do everything we can to re-elect President Barack Obama!
I don't think there's much more to say, other than get involved in politics at your local level and fight like hell against these infidels. The NEA can't go out of business fast enough.
The fate of the nation is at stake.


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LONDON {AP} Warned of new official doubts about the Concorde's tires, British Airways grounded its supersonic fleet in dramatic fashion Tuesday, pulling a New York-bound plane off the runway.
The airline was told that British and French officials looking into last month's Air France Concorde disaster intended to revoke the jet's airworthiness certification. Later, the French Transport Ministry said the safety concerns focused on the plane's tires and that a formal recommendation that all Concorde flights be suspended was imminent.
The move raised questions about the future of Concorde, the sleek luxury jet that safely carried passengers through the sound barrier for a quarter-century before 113 people died in the July 25 crash near Paris. Air France grounded its Concordes immediately after the crash.
Investigators believe the "initial cause" of the Air France crash was a metal strip that punctured a tire, sending huge chunks of rubber into the area of the fuel tanks. The French Transport Ministry said it would be premature to resume Concorde flights given the number of unanswered questions.
British Airways' decision to ground its Concordes apparently was done with some haste. Tuesday morning's Concorde flight to New York from Heathrow was recalled to the airport gate, rolling back with 37 passengers aboard. The passengers were transferred to other aircraft.
"Following a series of discussions in recent days, we have become aware of the likely interim finding of the joint accident investigators that a single tire burst was the cause of the accident," Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said.
The agency added: "We now take the view that the certificate of airworthiness should be suspended to enable further measures to be considered to ensure that a satisfactory level of safety exists with regard to the risks associated with tire bursts on Concorde."
A statement from the French ministry on the plane's tires did not elaborate on the eventual risks. But the head of the country's Accident and Inquiry Bureau, Paul-Louis Arslanian, said, "We must guarantee a satisfactory level of security."
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DISCONTINUED Sport-Tek® Ladies 3/4-Sleeve T-Shirt. LST305
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Series: Natural Heritage Management Series
By: Willie Towers
56 pages, Col photos, tabs
A joint publication with the Macaulay Institute, this volume looks at the potential for native woodland in upland Scotland and presents a model of how to assess which woodland type is most appropriate to a particular area.
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text: I got this kit the other day and it has a main wiring harness and it has three bare wires coming from it red,blue,white. I was told by American Muscle that those wires needed to be spliced in. The question is I don't know were to connect them to. If you have any info or pics I would greatly appreitate it.


text:
My friend did a thing and let me be a part of it.
He'll say we did the cover together but really he did all the arrangements and we recorded with his equipment and instruments. I just sang mediocrely, played piano and trombone a bit and goofed around with the slide whistle and ipad haha. It was really fun.
We have both been Regina Spektor fans for a long time and when the new album came out we were both living in the same place (almost) so it just worked out.
Check out his other amazing covers and originals on his youtube channel.


text:
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text:
Sarah Meier of Switzerland gave her career the perfect ending, becoming the European figure skating champion before her home fans.
The men's title belonged to Florent Amodio, a 20-year-old Frenchman who turned on his showman's charm Saturday. He did not attempt a quadruple jump but impressed the judges and delighted fans, with a routine of a strutting disco dancer.
Meier earned her first major title with flawless free skate. She edged defending champion Carolina Kostner of Italy by just over two points. Kiira Korpi of Finland, who led after the short program, took the bronze.
Amodio was followed by compatriot and three-time champion Brian Joubert and Czech skater Tomas Verner, the 2008 champion.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
BERN, Switzerland (AP) - Sarah Meier gave her career the perfect ending Saturday, becoming the women's European figure skating champion in front of her home fans.
Meier turned her farewell performance into a victory lap and earned her first major title with flawless free skate after all her rivals fell out of contention.
"It really was the competition of my life. It makes it easier for me to move on with the rest of my life," the 26-year-old Swiss said.
Meier scored a total of 170.60 points, edging defending champion Carolina Kostner of Italy by just over two points. Kiira Korpi of Finland, who led after the short program, took bronze on 166.40.
"It was so hard for me because it was so emotional," said Meier, who buried her face in her hands upon completing her career-defining routine.
"Before the free skate I was no nervous. I tried to concentrate and now all the emotions come out."
Meier, who sat third after Friday's short program, was the last to skate and dealt calmly with rapidly rising tension in the arena as expectations of a Swiss victory grew.
"I almost started crying, I was so moved. I said I had to keep all the energy inside me," she explained.
After landing her opening combination of jumps - a triple lutz-double toeloop-double loop - Meier never faltered in an expressive routine set to music from the film "Love in the Time of Cholera."
Kostner, a three-time champion, lost her shot at victory by falling in both her programs. Her technical skills meant she scored best in the free skate and rose from sixth after the short program.
"I'm very surprised with the result and so happy for Sarah," said Kostner, who denied Meier the European title in 2007 and '08.
The best days of Meier's injury-blighted career seemed long gone after she placed 15th at the Vancouver Olympics.
"Last season was really bad, so it was difficult for me to continue," the Swiss said. "Now I really feel I have reached my limit."
Korpi led after the short program, but sprawled on the ice landing a triple loop, after also putting her hand to the ice.
"I feel happy with this medal, but I know I could have done a lot better," said the 22-year-old Finn, who also took bronze four years ago,
Russian teenager Ksenia Makarova, a former United States junior, failed to defend her second-place spot from Friday and finished fourth. Teammate Alena Leonova rose to fifth having been 13th after a poor short program.
Russian national champion Adelina Sotnikova could not compete this week. The 14-year-old is not eligible under International Skating Union age rules until the 2013 Europeans.


text:
Father: EZEKIEL FITCH b: 11 MAR 1732 in Lebanon, New London Co., Connecticut
Mother: SUSANNAH HIGLEY b: 6 MAY 1730 in Simsbury, Hartford Co., Connecticut
Marriage 1 David BOSWORTH b: 25 APR 1750 in Lebanon, New London Co., Connecticut
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Seadog Horn Button
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text:
|02 Oct 2009
Windows 7 Professional x64
And for quicktime files:
Free-Codecs.com : QuickTime Alternative 2.9.2 : QuickTime Alternative will allow you to play QuickTime files (.mov, .qt and other extensions) without having to install the official QuickTime Player.
|My System Specs
|30 Dec 2010
W7 Ultimate SP1, LM18.2 MATE, W10 Home, #All 64 bit
See this thread
I am running Windows 7 (64 bit) and MPC (with the K-Lite Mega codec Pack).
See this post for how I got MPC working again with rmvb files.
|My System Specs
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Sound on movies on *.rmvb is weak
hello, Well, each movie *. Rmvb play in BSPlayer, WMP or Media Player Classic or other player it doesn't work, and movies *.Avi, *.Wmv, *.Mp4 or another format to work smoothly. We're writing what exactly it isn't working, the picture is, only the sound of creaking / hissing / buzzing and it...
|Music, Pictures & Video
rmvb playback problem
hi, my laptop is running on Win7 32 bit, i had installed every software that most ppl suggest, like Klite, CCCP, VLC etc, but i still cant play rmvb smoothly, any expert can help me on this?
|Music, Pictures & Video
Did MS patches (May) break rmvb support in MPC?
Why are media players so difficult to setup? :mad: Setting up Windows is "a piece of cake", compared to the codec nightmares involved in media players (also unlike Windows, Linux & Graphics programs, I haven't seen any decent websites on the subject). Did MS Patches in May break rmvb support in...
RMVB in Windows 7 x64
Hi, Where can I get codecs for RMVB for Windows 7 x64 ? Am currently using Media Player Classic Home Cinema for x64. There is no video, only sound. Or will Media Player Classic Home Cinema for x64 soon support RMVB ? Many thanks
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RMVB videos are choppy when played using MPCHC
Recently i've download some RMVB files but when i'm using MPCHC to play them, some part or almost the whole video is very choppy. I've installed Sharks windows 7 codec. Does that help? Currently using Windows 7 x32-bit
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RMVB Video Files
I download a movie its in 6 parts like this: Eingelocht.rmvb1 Eingelocht.rmvb2 Eingelocht.rmvb3 Eingelocht.rmvb4 Eingelocht.rmvb5 Eingelocht.rmvb6 Through google search i download Real_Alternative_202 to play the video, the first part is working fine to me, but the other parts are not...
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text:
Northern Heat eliminated from tourney
BEMIDJI - Bemidji's 10-U Northern Heat baseball team saw its season come to an end Friday when it lost 13-10 to Colorado in the loser's bracket of the Cal Ripken Midwest Regional tournament at the Little League complex.
Bemidji opened its regional tourney with a 3-2 win over Nebraska Thursday morning but lost 16-9 to Missouri in Thursday's afternoon action.
Friday afternoon the squad was eliminated by Colorado.
Colby Carlson and Mason Morris shared Friday's pitching duties and Reid Colley spearheaded the offense with three hits.
Casey McNamara contributed a 3-run double and Carlson added two doubles.
Colorado forged a 9-1 lead but Bemidji battled back to within 9-6. Trailing 13-10 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Bemidji loaded the bases but the rally came up short.
"We finished 19-9 and had a great year," said Bemidji coach Jason Brodina. "This group was able to play in a region tournament and showed that we belonged. We won one game and came close in the other two."


text:
Community activist who brought gun to school pleads guilty to misdemeanor
Dwayne A. Ferguson, the community activist arrested in February after he was found carrying a loaded handgun at an East Side school where he worked with an after-school program, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor gun charge.
Ferguson, 52, of Butler Avenue, faces up to one year in jail when he is sentenced Aug. 19 by State Supreme Court Justice John L. Michalski on his guilty plea to fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
He was allowed to remain free on his own recognizance, with the condition that he surrender both his firearms to authorities.
Ferguson was originally charged with felony counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds as well as a misdemeanor count of obstructing governmental administration.
The first weapon charge, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, was later dropped after it was determined that Ferguson has a permit for the gun he was found carrying Feb. 6 at Harvey Austin Elementary School.
The Sycamore Street school was put on lockdown shortly after 4 p.m. Feb. 6 when the school office received an anonymous call that there was a man with a gun on or near the school property. About 60 students were in the building for after-school programs.
About 15 patrol cars responded to the scene, and the lockdown ended about four hours later when Ferguson was arrested.
Ferguson, longtime president of the MAD DADS Buffalo chapter and a volunteer with Buffalo Peacemakers, which seeks to defuse violence in neighborhoods and at public events, has worked with at-risk youth in after-school programs in various city schools for several years.


text:
Separate names with a comma.
10PM GMT+1 monday?
10 PM GMT+1 = 3 PM CST? Can we possibly do it earlier? Like around 10-11 AM CST? Im also usually on any time after 11 PM CST until about 3 AM CST.
We can do it like 11am cst on Tuesday?
Yes, that should work. I will also be on at various points of the day tomorrow, you can find me on irc.
I'm here.
Where are you? We were supposed to play 30 minutes ago.
sry I got home like 5 min ago, can you still play?
Yea, I'm on PS as Heysup. Challenge me with LC?
sure, gimmie 2min


text:
Kalo ada request barang khusus boleh, tapi kasih tau dengan jelas beli di mana, dan barangnya apa =) feel free to ask..via message / email email@example.com
Need my help? just contact me!
Do not make direct payment to traveler, use SafePay as mediator for protection. Low fee, safe and easy to use. You will get reputation at the end of the SafePay - how it works
Tuesday 12 February 2013


text:
As I put the last safety pin in my quilt that was taped down to the floor to baste it... I realized that I did it backwards. The quilt top was face down on the floor instead of the quilt back. What was I thinking?? Ahhh.
So should I take all the safety pins out and start completely over? Or should I flip each pin over one by one? Or just go slowly and carefully while I machine quilt it and take the pins out before I get close? I've never done this before! Oops.


text:
Written on: 20/02/2013 by Reginald1234 (1 review written)
I ordered an iPad in Dec 2012 and chose the buy now pay later option. The order was placed and there was no mention of a delivery charge being levied. In jan 2013 I paid the balance in full and was told over the phone that I had nothing moreover pay. The feb 2013 statement showed that I still owed them £4.15 - £3.95 delivery and 20 p interest for not having paid the minimum. I called and queried this and all I or was "Sorry we should ave old you this when you order". Well as a company they have lost my business and as far as recommending them is concerned - KEEP AWAY - there are other companies out there that will give u similar deals.
Written on: 22/02/2013
Hi Reginald1234,
All orders placed with us incur a delivery charge unless the order qualified for Collect+.
When you received your statement, the £3.95 delivery charge will have been shown on this and a payment will have been requested. Buy Now Pay Later is an offer and all Financial Services products, delivery and installation charges are excluded from this offer and the charges are statemented on the next available statement. This is outlined in our Terms and Conditions.
We do apologise that this wasn't explained to you when you called. We will be sure to pass on this feedback.
Many Thanks
Very Network Team
Written on: 22/02/2013
same situation as me but very decided to put a mark on my credit file for a poxy delivery charge which i knew nothing of. didn't help not receiving my statements from very which is not their problem
Written on: 24/02/2013
What if the order is placed over the phone and no mention is made of the collect+ delivery. Very would be quick enough to apologise which doesn't cost them the price of a call either as its the customer who calls and they make £3.95 of the customer. If as an estimate Ver get even 10,000 phone orders where delivery charges are not mentioned Very makes £40,000 - a tidy little sum considering all mail and parcels will be franked.
As rated by our community of reviewers
" Closed account " Read More
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" Unprofessional.... AVOID " Read More
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" Beware! " Read More
Written by Hlhaze


text:
1106 - Syrian rebels angered over opposition leaders fleeing abroad
Syrian fighters fed up with 'cowards in exile'
AL-BAB, Syria (AFP) - Syrian rebels at the front are turning against their commanders who have fled abroad.
11/06/2012 01:44 pm
There are no related objects.
© The Christian Science Monitor. All Rights Reserved.


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Chapter 10 : A Weasel for a Dragon
|Rating: Mature
|Chapter Reviews: 4
Background: Font color:
Eyes peered at her curiously, wondering exactly what the cause was behind her departure. But as she walked past Ron a goofy and unexplainable grin plastered on his face. He sat there eating his food dreamily looking at everyone, giving a little giggle and smug smile every now and then. Harry nudged him in the arm and he stopped, the smile faltering only for a second before it returned. He ate his oatmeal in silence and said nothing the grin never fading.
Hermione collected her belongings, linking arms with Ginny. She showed her, her frown and the sad face she was wearing before she closed her eyes. She pictured her small little flat and felt the familiar tug on her navel.
A Weasel for a Dragon? You're kidding me right?! He thought angrily as he tossed the Daily Prophet to the side of the room.
The image of the happy couple on the front made him feel sick and distressed. He furiously fisted his hands in his platinum hair screaming out the sorrow he felt.
She kisses him for five seconds and she immediately falls right back in love? He was the one who broke up with her for a stupid reason! She deserves me I love her she's mine, wait. Wait am I saying? His steel grey eyes opened up widely as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
I'm in love with Hermione Granger he thought
He felt hot tears slip from his eyes again, repeatedly being replaced with new ones. He felt sobs wrack his body as he stared at their faces on the cover. He loved her with all is heart and he decided she needed to be happy.
He tossed the Daily Prophet into the flames, watching the fire lick away at the paper, burning the careless smile Hermione wore on the front. If he was going to let her be happy with the Weasel then he wasn't going to see them make googily eyes at each other.
He leaned back in his chair realizing the life ahead of him. He would probably end up marrying the wrong girl, having kids with the wrong girl, love them half-heartedly with the wrong girl. Then he'd die old, grey, and depressed in his bed holding the WRONG girl wishing it was the right girl. Hermione Granger. As the tears streaked down from his blood-shoot eyes he took a deep breath, deciding he was tired for the night.
She walked back and forth nervously in her flat. She twiddled with her thumbs and her nails, Rita Skeeter would be here any minute to welcome her back to the Wizarding world after one short month. Ron was out apparently buying Hermione some flowers, and Ginny sat on the couch staring up at her worriedly.
"I-I'm not sure Gin, I think... no.. I know. I'm in love with Draco" she said
Ginny looked down at her hands, before meeting the caramel eyes of Hermione.
"Well you can't just leave Ron now though, there's so much at stake and there's so much risk and consequence" she said nervously
But Hermione only sighed exasperatedly in reply, "That's the point Ginny! When you're in love you do all that, because!"
Ginny shook her head, "You were with a hot man, angry, and hormone driven for a month. Is it really love?"
Hermione sat down and mulled things over. She shot up form the couch quickly, the breath taking smile gracing her face.
"Yes I am in love with him!" she declared. She raced to the door and twisted the knob open.
But she was greeted with Ron, a bouqet of roses, cameras............. and Rita Skeeter.
Hope you guys liked it! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and its little twist. BUT FEAR NOT THERE ARE STILL A LOT MORE CHAPTERS LEFT IN THIS STORY!!! Thank you for reviews and reading. Love you all !
xoxoxox -GryffindorPrincess918
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text:
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, yesterday addressed the 62nd Session of the U.N. General Assembly which is deliberating upon the theme of the "Peace-building Commission (PBC)."
"The Holy See," said the archbishop speaking English, "warmly welcomed the creation of the PBC, as a response to the need for greater coherence and coordination of international peace-building efforts in post-conflict situations."
In closing, he encouraged the PBC to continue "in the pursuit of its challenging task of helping to rebuild individual lives and entire countries ravaged by war. It shall have fully achieved this task when development, peace and security and human rights will finally be interlinked and mutually re- enforcing in a country which has known the devastation of armed conflict."


text:
The sometimes-uneasy coexistence of e-scooters and bicycles on Toronto streets turned violent Monday, with punches thrown during a downtown confrontation.
Toronto police are asking the public's help searching for an e-scooter driver suspected of assault after an altercation in the Spadina Avenue/Harbord Street area.
According to a police news release, the victim was cycling in a bike lane along Harbord when an e-scooter swerved into the lane and impeded the cyclist's progress.
The two continued traveling until they reached Spadina Avenue, at which point the driver of the e-scooter allegedly punched the cyclist several times in the face before driving away, police say.
The suspect is described as white, 5-foot-six, with shoulder-length blond hair. He was wearing a black/red winter jacket and khaki pants.
Police have released a surveillance camera image of the suspect and ask that anyone who can identify him call 416-808-1400, of Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).


text: Arno, I have a new problem. Alpha channel doesn't show properly on my converted sca models. To be more precise, alpha doesnt work at all. I tried DXT1 and DXT3 with BMP and DDS without success. I have noticed some entries for alpha (Alphadata-Entries) in the generated .X files. Maybe some of the values are not set correct. Do you know where to find more information about these entries and/or how to set them? Regards, Heinrich


text:
Product ID: 037-200218
No other scope manufacturer takes handgunners as seriously as Burris. Proof? Burris offers far more models and feature choices,including scopes with the unique characteristics needed to stand up to the recoil from today's powerful magnums. Burris 2X Plex Black Matte Handgun Scope 200218 is one of those excellent choices. Burris developed the first variable power handgun scope,one of the most powerful handgun scopes out there,with parallax adjustment for precision in a long range and a short range shooting. And,of course,every Burris handgun scope comes with multicoated optics and the unbeatable Burris Forever Warranty. For heavy recoilers,one of the Posi-Lock models is the ideal choice. The Ballistic Plex reticle is especially formulated to deal with more lofty trajectories of handguns. Because of a complex set of variables for the vast range of handgun cartridges from the .223 to the .375 JDJ,and from 4" barrels to 16" barrels,space in this description can hardly cover the countless methods to utilize this very handy feature.
Features of Burris 2X Plex Matte Handgun Scope 200218:
Fully multi-coated with Hi-Lume multi-chemical coating for an unbeatable 99.5% light transmission per lens surface
Waterproof,fogproof,and shockproof
Every Burris riflescope includes a double internal spring force
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Potential leakage problems are completely eliminated with our specially made quad seals
Nitrogen-purged at least 24 times to ensure the elimination of every molecule of moisture
Extremely hard and scratch-resistant finish on outer tube
Comes with a Burris Lifetime warranty


text:
Bordick impressed with top pick Machado
Bordick impressed with top pick Machado
"Bordy's a hard guy to impress, which is good," said manager Buck Showalter. "He was really impressed with [Machado's] work ethic. He said that he hopes that he doesn't grow anymore, he needs to fill into this body first. He's a big kid."
A 6-foot-2, 180-pound shortstop out of Brito Private High School in Miami, Fla., Machado has drawn raves for his smooth footwork, quick hands and solid arm strength. The right-handed hitter batted .639 (55-for-86) with 12 home runs and 56 RBIs in his senior season for Brito and was considered one of three stand-alone talents in this year's Draft.
The Orioles agreed to terms with Machado just minutes before this year's deadline, awarding the 18-year-old a $5.25 million signing bonus -- the second-largest figure in team history. Machado has been working out with Bordick, and the Orioles are hopeful he can get into a few Gulf Coast League games before coming back to Baltimore for an unofficial instructional league next month.


text:
Getting Rid of State and Local Tax Deductions
March 19, 2014
Allowing deductions for state and local taxes only keeps federal tax rates higher, say Jeremy Horpedahl, assistant professor of economics at Buena Vista University, and Harrison Searles, a Mercatus Center MA Fellow.
Taxpayers are allowed to deduct the taxes that they pay to their state and local governments from their federal taxable income. The idea is to provide tax relief to those in high tax states. However, the deduction simply serves to subsidize high taxes and spending because taxpayers in high-tax states do not feel the full burden of those taxes. Instead, it is taxpayers in low-tax states that bear the burden of the taxes because federal tax rates must be raised in order to accommodate those state and local deductions and fund federal spending.
- In 2012, the ability for individuals to deduct their individual income taxes reduced federal tax revenue by $45 billion, according to Office of Management and Budget estimates.
- State and local deductions also incentivize governments to choose deductible taxes rather than more efficient taxes.
- And these deductions do increase state and local spending, as recent estimates show that such spending would drop without deductibility.
Eliminating the deduction would lead to increased macroeconomic activity and potentially more federal tax revenue (depending on how individuals react to what would serve as a tax increase). Were tax rates decreased along with the elimination of the deduction, federal revenue would remain the same and economic activity would be generated. A study by the Tax Foundation found that getting rid of the state and local income and sales tax deduction, while simultaneously cutting income tax rates by 5.8 percent, would lead to a 300,000 job increase.
Removing the deduction for state and local taxes would make the tax code fairer, as high and low tax states would receive equal treatment by the government. Moreover, states and localities would become more efficient as they turned certain services over to private hands.
Source: Jeremy Horpedahl and Harrison Searles, "The Deduction of State and Local Taxes from Federal Income Taxes," Mercatus Center, March 6, 2014.
Browse more articles on Tax and Spending Issues


text:
Should you buy GTA V or Saints Row IV?
Los Santos or Steelport? It's been a while since their releases, but you still haven't made the plunge. In the wake of both Saints Row IV and Grand Theft Auto V, comparisons are bound to be drawn between the two. Which one is better? Are you going to explore both? The clear-cut answer to this question might be yes, if your pockets happen to overflow. For the rest of us, questions must be asked -- which one are you going to enjoy more? Lucky for you, we've got a handy guide to figuring out which game you're going to want to pick up depending on what type of gamer you are. In the end, if you want to pick up both, you'll at least have left considerably more educated. And that's a public service that we, dear readers, do just for you.
Sandbox/Open World Gameplay
This may seem like a no-brainer -- both Grand Theft Auto V and Saints Row IV are considered sandbox games. Go anywhere and do anything and the like -- it's common knowledge. However, Steelport and Los Santos are two very different cities. The virtual Steelport of Saints Row IV is the same world you may already have explored in Saints Row: The Third, only blanketed in darkness. While you can explore the city to your leisure, it's a lot smaller than you may realize. Coupled with the fact that the only real landmarks are missions and clothing/item/automobile shops, there's not a whole lot to do, and most of the time you'll be taken to different locales to carry out missions.
Los Santos, on the other hand, is a multifaceted city with day and night cycles, and every mission you participate in is carried out in the game world. On paper, it's an easy decision, but for some players more choices spell out doom for a completed single-player campaign. Consider your play style. Do you have difficulty concentrating on story missions? The better choice would be Saints Row IV. You're not required to fulfill side missions across Steelport to stay on rack, and story missions are always at the forefront of mission selection. Are you more concerned with stealing a car, gallivanting around town, and casually causing chaos? GTA V will tickle your fancy. You'll find that while both offer options for open world play, each has different strengths.
How goofy do you want to be when you tackle sandbox games? Are you looking for a story you can relate to or are you ready for over-the-top action with ridiculous scenarios? Again, this is where the similar games diverge, taking completely different paths. Humor is integral to the Saints Row experience, from the tacky costumes to the raunchy jokes. It's a nonstop barrage of silliness, with massive sex toys as weapons, dubstep guns, and mascot outfits that can be worn in cutscenes.
On the flip side, GTA V is occasionally hilarious, but the focus is undoubtedly ob story over joke-a-minute humor. There's an inherent grittiness amongst every expletive and radio advertisement about hand sanitizer that strips off the top layer of your skin. Three intertwining narratives will eventually converge, and you'll be privy to the private moments and trials of the three male protagonists. For balls-out wackiness and full-throttle comedy, Saints Row IV has you covered. For narrative spliced with humor and drama, you'll want Grand Theft Auto V.


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Tonight, Congressman Alan Nunnelee issued the following statement in response to President Obama's State of the Union address.
"I appreciate the President's call for bipartisanship and his emphasis on creating jobs. However, he has yet to take a serious stance on a plan to reign in the national debt and present a strategy for real spending reform.
"My concerns lie in his so-called "investments' in innovation, infrastructure and education. In Washington speak, investments mean spending. These are the same type of investments that made up the failed stimulus package. We've already been down this road and the stimulus spending failed - failed to create jobs and helped raise the national debt to a record $14 trillion.
"We need to invest in our future generations by relieving them of the insurmountable amount of debt they will inherit due to the government's thoughtless spending. The harsh reality is that we are leaving our children and grandchildren with a burden that they will not be able to lift - one that will paralyze them and deprive them of the American dream that previous generations of Americans have enjoyed.
"Americans have been suffering from an unemployment rate at a staggering 9% for the past 20 months, and Mississippians are feeling the pain of an unemployment rate hovering around 10%. Our families are not encouraged by the President's failed investments. What our families want is a sense of certainty that comes only from knowing that Washington is moving out of the way and opening the door for the private sector to flourish.
"I was not sent to Washington to endorse unnecessary new spending proposals. This is a step in the wrong direction and a path that leads to nowhere.The President has overseen the most fiscally irresponsible period in the history of this nation and we simply cannot afford to follow his lead. Tonight's speech is a continuation of the same rhetoric we have heard over the past two years. In two weeks the President will submit his budget and then we will see if his actions speak louder than his words," concluded Nunnelee.


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Well, that was a crazy one, eh?
What are your feelings coming out of a strange game like that? Are you pleased the team managed to salvage a point or disappointed things weren't kept a little tighter in the back? It's a tough call, but at the end of the day, D.C. United is still at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
Here's your post-game rundown:
- Official dcunited.com game recap
- Post-game quotes from both teams
- Article on pre-game rally and march
- Photos!
What did you think of the match tonight?


text: 2010/02/28 Neil Davies <semanticphilosopher at googlemail.com>: > I've never observed ones that size. I have an application that runs in 'rate > equivalent real-time' (i.e. there may be some jitter in the exact time of > events but it does not accumulate). It does have some visibility of likely > time of future events and uses that to perform some speculative garbage > collection. Do you have information on how it behaves without speculative GC? -- Jason Dusek


text:
This star rating is the opinion of the property owner only. A Self-Rated hotel has not been assessed by the AA or Visit Britain, whose official star ratings we use across LateRooms.com.
Brambletye Hotel3 Self rated
The Square, Lewes Road, Forest Row, RH18 5EZ
Price FromView Rooms
- Very Good
- 21 guest reviews
"We asked for a quiet room and we got one, beds were tiny. Very warm no draughts...."
"Staff were very friendly and helpful, the food was very good and the room was also of a very good standard...."
"A perfect stop foř our family. We had interconnecting rooms - very clean, quiet great shower and comfy beds...."
"I booked a room only a fortnight in advance. Was pleased to be telephoned by the manager the next day to explain they had an event in the ba..."
"We went in a family group to celebrate a 60th birthday so the age range was early 20s to 60. We have stayed here a few times before and have..."
About the hotel
Our Hotel is maintained to a high standard and all rooms have a large flat screen TV, a fridge, new decor and bathroom. The Brambletye Hotel located in the centre of the picturesque village of Forest Row which is on the edge of Ashdown Forest. It has served as a hotel since 1866 and was featured in 'Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of Black Peter'.
The public areas include a smart, spacious open plan bar and restaurant. Functions rooms are available for both business and private parties. The bedrooms are neatly appointed, well coordinated and well equipped for your satisfaction. The hotel is an ideal base for visiting many of the historic and interesting sites in the area. Perfect for business and leisure guests. The Brambletye Hotel is extremely popular for weddings,christenings,birthday parties etc. There will be music until 1a. m. on friday and saturday nights. If you require a quiet room please inform us at time of booking. The hotel has free guest car park, free internet, bar & restaurant and function rooms. It is situated in the centre of the lovely village of Forest Row with its varied shops & restaurants. It is 15 minutes to the train station & bus station with the local bus stop just opposite to the hotel. Our Cancellation policy:If rooms are cancelled up to 3 days prior to the date of arrival,no fee will be charged. If cancelled or modified later or in case of a no-show,the total price of reservation will be charged. For group bookings the cancellation policy is 2 months prior to arrival.
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- Main
- Hotel Non-Smoking Throughout, Cots available, Safety Deposit Box, Tea/Coffee making facilities in each room, Hairdryer in each room, Iron And Board In Each Room, Telephone In Each Room, Wake Up Call Available, Interconnecting rooms available, Childrens Facilities - Outdoor, Ground floor bedrooms
- Parking
- Car parking available onsite
- Business
- Wi-Fi Available, Meeting Facilities, Wi-Fi Available In Public Areas, Wi-Fi Available In Rooms, Private dining services
- Dining
- Restaurant, Lounge Menu, Bar, Breakfast to go
- In Room Entertainment
- TV, Radio
- Leisure
- [Channels] News
Useful Info Show/hide
- Between 14:00 and 22:00
- By 11:00 hours
- Up to 8 years old
- The price shown is based on the occupancy and dates you have searched for. Prices and availability are subject to change based on the arrival date, number of nights and occupancy searched for. All prices are inclusive of all local taxes.
- Pets are not allowed
Customer Reviews
Our reviews are from genuine LateRooms.com customers. We verify that the customer has stayed before leaving a review.
Very Good
90% would recommend it to a friend
Customer service
Food quality
Room quality
Comfortable hotel
We asked for a quiet room and we got one, beds were tiny.
Very warm no draughts....
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Too noisy and long wait for breakfast
I was given room 11 which is over the bar area.
The room was fine. Unfortunately I wasn't informed that there was a band playing that night ( and every Fri and Sat supposedly) that would go on until almost 1am. It vibrated in my bedroom so I had to stay up watching TV til late as I was unable to sleep ( it felt as if the band were in the room!) . When I spoke to the reception staff in the morning, they said it was on the website, but it is NOT AT ALL clear. This needs to be addressed. I spoke to others at breakfast and they felt the same. I was also really disappointed with the service of the staff at breakfast. It took 50 minutes to get a cooked breakfast although there were only five of tables waiting. There was no explanation and the staff seemed clueless. They were obviously having a bad day So disappointed. I wrote to the manager but have not received a reply so far which further disappoints me. . Do not go on the weekend if you want a quiet, relaxing night away!!. Otherwise I guess it would be fine.
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text:
I knew last night's Good Question would generate some reaction, as we looked at whether American attitudes towards Muslims were fair. 40 percent of Americans think that Islam is more likely to encourage violence than other religions, that's up from 25 percent after the 9/11 attacks.
Here's some of the e-mail I've received:
"In order to balance the picture of a weeping Ellison, you should have mentioned the peaceful muslims of Lockerbie, the peaceful muslims who are executing Coptic Christians in Egypt, the peaceful muslims who are killing Anglican Christians in Africa, the peaceful muslim of Fort Hood, the peaceful muslims of Somalia who are pirates on the high seas, the peaceful muslims of Minnesota who send the sons to Africa to join terrorist groups, and finally the peaceful muslims of 9-ll. Yes, Jason, I too am weeping." — John Winslow
"It seemed to me tonight that you went out of your way to minimize Muslim world wide terrorism as any real threat to the US and counter balanced it with so called Christian terrorists (a handful of abortionists) and some unspecified Jewish terrorism…and then the attempt to compare present congressional hearings as similar to McCarthyism was pathetic…Your expert was hardly an expert…where do you find some of them…I was there when McCarthyism was in full swing and I can say that this is not even remotely close to those days." — Stanton Berg
Many have challenged me to come up with a list of Christian or Jewish terrorism that compares to the history of terrorism committed by Muslims. To me, that's not really the point. The issue is whether today, or over the last decade, the entire Muslim faith deserves to be painted with such a broad brush. The other question — which is somewhat provocative — is whether we are overstating the risk of extremists who are Muslim.
Why is it that we call these people Muslim extremists, but we don't call Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church "Christian Extremists"? We just call them extremists and crazies. Why don't we use the same standard with these terrorists?
"Hey there…I thought you did a darn good job with a brief piece on a complex topic." — Kevin Shannon
"Thanks a lot for your 'good question' regarding Islam. Sincerely. I'm not Muslim myself, but I have a lot of Muslim friends and they have told me that they feel very, very prejudiced almost every day.. In America, this simply should not be the case. If we're a country of freedom, then prejudice is not at all what we should be spreading. Islam is not only a religion of peace, it is also tied closely with Christianity. For example: In the Old Testament of the Bible, the word used for God is 'Eloh'. This word gave etymological birth to the Arabic word 'Allah'. To see otherwise upstanding Christian Americans giving such an awful name to their spiritual brothers is… well, it's heartbreaking." — David Backe


text:
Central New Yorkers get a taste of small business at Harvest Fest
Sun, 04 Nov 2012 02:39:34 GMT —
Wine, beer, cheese, mustard, olives and other foods highlighted the Pride of New York Harvest Fest at the New York State Fairgrounds this weekend, as about 50 of New York's small businesses gave the public a taste of their products.
Each table had something a little bit different, with each vendor trying to spark sales by giving the interested public a sample of their foods.
"It really helps get our product out there faster than just word of mouth," Mackenzie Williams of Rome Grown Garlic Olives says. "By you coming here and tasting it you can say, 'yeah, I really like that'."
Many of those in attendance were saying, "yeah, I really like that." Noting the variety of foods and drinks available, all grown here in New York State.
"I'm quite impressed by the variety of vendors here," Gregory Redmond, a North Syracuse native says. "Everything from food, to beer to wine, to specialty gourmet foods, it's quite vast, so we enjoy it."
While many locals showed up to the Horticulture building to get a taste, the festival attracted people from well beyond the Central New York borders as well. John Braun and Kris Stone, both hailing from Boston, came back to Harvest Festival today for the second year, and said they would make it three next year as well.
"A lot of great local foods, and beers and wines, the great thing is that there's a mix of everything, beer, wine and also food," Braun says. "All the vendors have no problem reaching out to you, giving you information, just to get to know who you are," Stone added.
Tickets are $20 at the door, and the event continues from noon until 5 p.m. on Sunday.


text:
As a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to honor the upcoming King Holiday, the Moore's Ford Memorial Committee is issuing a ''Call for Performing Artists'' to prepare acts for its second annual Tri-County Talent Show, set for 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Oconee County Civic Center.
Currently enrolled public high school students, grades nine through 12, from Athens-Clarke, Oconee and Walton counties are eligible to compete for $1,000 worth of prize money. Permitted acts include songs, music, dance, poetry and dramatic readings, both solo and group. An art exhibit, with many works to be sold by silent auction, will accompany the talent show.
''We wish to showcase student talent in this annual tribute to Dr. King,'' said MFMC chairman the Rev. J. L. Nunnally. ''We nearly filled the civic center last year. It should be a great evening.''
The benefit performance will raise money for the Moore's Ford Memorial Scholarship Endowment. The multiracial citizens group, formed to commemorate two African-American couples killed by racial violence at the Moore's Ford Bridge in 1946, awards six $1,000 annual scholarships to area high school seniors each spring as memorials to the victims.
Performers should focus on the show's theme - Live the Dream, Celebrate the Dream, Achieve the Dream - on Dr. King and his legacy, or the more general themes of social justice, equality, brotherhood, civil rights and racial reconciliation. Auditions will be held Dec. 19 at the civic center, next to Oconee County High School.
For information and event guidelines, contact Fred Johnson at (706) 769-2569.
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Wednesday, December 10, 2003.
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text:
Chez Azur restaurant
1 Dock Road,, The Docks, Galway City, GalwayBook a Table Now
Price Range:
3 reviews
Chez AzurSubmit a review
1 reviews
First Timer
Credibility Score:52%
Reviewed 25th November 2013 (visited 22 November 2013)
excellent food would consider Chez Azur expensive if I did not have the voucher however with the voucher I found the food, value for money and service excellent
1 reviews
First Timer
Credibility Score:52%
Reviewed 21st November 2013 (visited 20 November 2013)
Food very very tasty. Only complaint I would have is the portion size. Got a tiny bowl of veg for 3 people and had to order extra veg and potatoes just to fill us up. Overall very good and will return
anna gimpel
1 reviews
First Timer
Credibility Score:0%
Reviewed 25th July 2013 (visited 24 July 2013)
Perfectly cooked fish, white wine to warm, service very friendly,


text:
Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states.
He awoke-and wanted Mars. The valleys, he thought. What would it be like to trudge among them? Great and greater yet: the dream grew as he became fully conscious, the dream and the yearning. He could almost feel the enveloping presence of the other world, which only Government agents and high officials had seen. A clerk like himself? Not likely.


text:
At Gemvara, we believe that the jewelry you wear should be one of a kind, like you. That's why we make each piece to order, one at a time, just the way you want it. Choose Fire Opal and Sterling Silver or Rose de France and Rose Gold: it's your choice. Mix and match gems and precious metals for a look that's exactly you. Gemvara uses only the highest quality materials to craft your Rose Gold Citrine Birthstone Jewelry design with meticulous attention to detail. Our precious metals are recycled or responsibly mined. Legend says citrine has the power to protect against jealousy and snakebite. Citrine is yellow quartz, a close relative of amethyst, the purple quartz gem. Citrine is a November birthstone and the 13th anniversary gem.Warm 14-karat rose gold owes its lovely color to additional copper mixed in with a minimum of 58.3% pure gold. Its glowing pink color flatters skin tones.Our wide selection of Rose Gold Citrine Birthstone Jewelry by talented designers means you can find jewelry that's exactly your style. You can also shop by style, choosing our Hearts, Mothers, or RG Collections. Gemvara's fine quality Rose Gold Citrine Birthstone Jewelry is designed to be passed down for generations to come, crafted by hand in the United States.
We can help right away. Chat with a jewelry expert now!


text:
A state regulatory agency is investigating recent race-related incidents among residents at the Texas Boys Ranch, officials at the ranch said Tuesday.
On Feb. 8, a small group of residents, white and Hispanic, allegedly bound a black boy's hands and feet and held a Confederate flag in the air, said Randy Tungate, Texas Boys Ranch administrator.
Several boys presumably had the flag in their room, Tungate said, "and they take it outside where the little guy is tied up there, they go over there, they hold the flag over the top of him and said, 'Hail to the victors,' or whatever."
Tungate said he confiscated the flag and the ropes used to tie the boy and restricted two boys from participating in cottage activities for one week.
The hog-tying incident occurred after the kids were roping, and it started out as horseplay, Tungate said.
And in another racial incident, two black residents were arrested for burglary and breaking and entering on March 1. The black residents entered the cottage of a white resident.
According to a sheriff's report, words had been exchanged before the March 1 incident.
One of the boys arrested told the white boy that he was going to kill his girlfriend. The white boy said he was going to drag the black boy behind a truck, the sheriff's report states.
The black boys busted through the door to the white boy's cottage March 1, the report states. The boy who was threatened to be dragged behind a truck asked the house parent if he could punch the white boy.
She told the two boys who later were arrested, and someone else with them, that they needed to leave, the report stated.
The white boy told authorities that he should not have threatened the black boy and believes that statement incited them to go to his cottage to fight him.
One of the boys arrested will likely be placed at a different facility, Tungate said. The other has returned to the ranch, he said.
The Texas Boys Ranch, located about 3 miles east of Lubbock International Airport, primarily provides shelter for children from abusive environments and, occasionally, those who have been in trouble with the law. It provides care for up to 24 children.
Ranch officials did not report the alleged hog-tying incident to the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, which licenses the boys ranch, Texas Boys Ranch President Lynn Harms said. The situation fell into a gray area of which incidents should be reported to the state, he said.
"We're very open. It was inappropriate. We addressed the inappropriate behaviors. What we dealt with was inappropriate horseplay and we addressed it that way," Harms said.
Tungate said, "We dealt with this internally because we didn't believe that significant damage had been done to anyone. We felt like we nipped it immediately."
A Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services spokeswoman said the agency is investigating claims at the Texas Boys Ranch.
Harms said the Feb. 8 and March 1 incidents are the ones being reviewed.
"As they come in and do their investigation, they may say, 'You are in violation of such and such standard on not reporting this incident.' Probably, if I were redoing this thing, I would call our licensing director" to ensure that the boys ranch is adhering to reporting requirements, Harms said.
"That probably should have been done."
Dirk Fillpot can be contacted at 766-8727 or email@example.com
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text:
Rachel Johnson
Found 10 Records, 10 Photos and 13,825,025 Family Trees
Born in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA on 1 Aug 1781 to Joseph Johnson and Rachel Miller. Rachel married Samuel Crampton and had 6 children. She passed away on 1 Aug 1814.
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Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.
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Surname meaning for "Johnson"
English and Scottish: patronymic from the personal name


text:
Check out my designs and tell me what you think.
Archived Contest Submissions
|Prints / Wins
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7 Followers
Following 14
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Hey, I posted a critique of your Waiting design in this thread: http://www.designbyhumans.com/forums/show/411255
Please check out my 'Owl' design, i think you'll like it :)
Thanks !
Welcome! Check out my shirt "Blooming Imagination" if you like… I also have other stuff if you care to look…thanks!
hi, hello! :) feel free to visit my designs.. and please do vote if you like :)
hey! what's up. just lets you know that i have some design in the running. I am sure that you will find one that you like. Have a quick look and let me know what is the one you prefer.
Heyyy, fellow human! Love your profile pic! I'm keeping a sharp eye out for all your great stuff! I've just got some of my very first designs in the running, would be fantastic if you could vote and leave a comment, you know you want to!! Whenever you put a new design in just let me know and I'll check it out for sure! Charlie :D


text:
The world's first 'elfie': Elephant takes a snap of herself on phone
AN elephant has taken what is thought to be the world's first "elfie" after a man dropped his phone in her enclosure.
"I have shown everybody the elephant selfie, and they all love it"Scott Brierley
Scott Brierley, 23, was at the West Midlands Safari Park in Bewdley, Worcs, and getting snap-happy taking photos of the animals when he dropped his phone.
Keepers ordered him to stay in his car and keep moving and said they would try to retrieve it for him later.
When his phone was returned to him Scott was stunned to see 22-year-old African elephant Latabe had touched the screen with her trunk and taken a picture of herself staring directly into the lens.
Events manager Scott said: "I hit my phone on the side of the car door and it fell down onto the grass.
"The elephant was all over it, I think he thought it was food. I didn't dare get out the car to get it. I just drove to one of the workers I could see and he went to get it.
"I really couldn't believe when the iPhone came back, I pressed the centre button to check it was still working and wow there it was – me and my friend were in shock.
"The elephant had taken two pictures, but the second isn't very good.
"I have shown everybody the elephant selfie, and they all love it."
Andy Plumb, head keeper at the park, was as stunned as Scott was to see the photo.
He said: "Lots of people have dropped their phones at our park but I've never seen anything like this.
"What a picture! We're very proud of Latabe."


text:
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Pasir Mas, Kelantan
Thanks Meter: 583
sir, that is what i am talking about.... i'm enjoying my KK-cyanogenmod based rom. so let you think that samsung will release their software upgrade that is KK on our Y's. so expect the gb update on our Y's and i am not expecting upgrade from samsung anymore....
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Written on: 21/02/2014
Wanted flowers to be delivered to my niece in Paris on 4th February. Ordered on 31st January. She never received them. Told Interflora it is now too late for delivery. Still waiting for a refund of my money after 2 phone calls and several e-mails. Service is shockingly bad for a well known Co.


text:
The Santa Clara County Coroner on Wednesday identified the tree trimmer killed when a California live oak fell on top of him in Los Gatos as Francisco Javier Meza-Diaz of Gilroy.
The 61-year-old man was killed Monday just before 1 p.m. when he was cutting a tree at 16860 Quarry Road in a rural section of town. He was with a 23-year-old man, who was taken to Valley Medical Center with undisclosed injuries.
In a brief phone interview Wednesday, property owner Tom Grammer told NBC Bay Area that the death was an "accident," and that he was helping the family prepare for a funeral. He declined to say more.
Patricia Ortiz, a spokeswoman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said investigators are looking into what happened. OSHA has up to six months to complete an investgation.
Neighbor Marguerite Garth told NBC Bay Area on Wednesday that Grammer had left a note on her house Monday morning, asking her to sell her a slice of land for about $10,000. She said he had been asking her for a while, but she wasn't interested.
Grammer had bought the property about two years ago, and a fire destroyed the home there in March 2011. According to building records, Grammer had applied to demolish the home last year, and rebuild a new home in March. In 2010, the town issued a stop work order on Grammer's request to do some plumbing and grading in the creek. That matter was not resolved, according to records.
The tree in question was not near the creek, but closer to Quarry Road.
Fred Bear, who has lived on the street for 49 years, told NBC Bay Area in an earlier interview that Grammer told him that he was planning to install natural gas and sewer lines on the rural property.
"Cutting down trees can be very dangerous work," Bear said. "I don't know how much experience they had."
Contact Lisa Fernandez at firstname.lastname@example.com or 408-432-4758. Follow her at Twitter.com/ljfernandez.


text:
The boy, whose real name is Luie Rivera Jr, is seen slapping a woman's backside and riding in a Ferrari in some videos.
In another instance posted on YouTube, he sings: "Coke ain't a bad word" – and then appears with the drink Coca-Cola in his hands.
Lil Poopy music that was posted to an online mixtape site last October has lyrics that include him singing about being a "bad boy" and a "cocaine cowboy", the Associated Press news agency reported.
Police from the boy's hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts, have filed a complaint against his father, Luie Rivera, asking state child welfare officials to look into possible abuse and neglect in relation to the videos.
The move followed a report in a local newspaper, The Enterprise, on Lil Poopy.
The Department of Children and Families said officials are looking into the case, adding that the investigation will include interviews with family members and school officials.
A lawyer representing the young rapper's family has criticised the investigation as "racially-tinged".
Joseph Krowski Jr said Lil Poopy, who is of Puerto Rican descent, is a well-adjusted fourth-grader with a good family life and musical talent.
"This is just what I would call a racially-tinged investigation because whoever watched it probably doesn't understand rap," Mr Krowski said.
"This isn't some child left alone that's not going to school."
Mr Krowski argues that content in the videos is protected by the First Amendment of the US constitution, which guarantees free speech.


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ON August 12th the Vale Volunteer Bureau held its 10th annual awards event, which recognises local volunteers in the Vale. This year the event was hosted by the Vale of Glamorgan Mayor; Howard Hamilton at Cardiff and Vale College, Glamorgan Suite.
The volunteers were nominated for their initiative, dedication or their personal qualities. This year Max Williams from Penarth Youth Project was the overall winner for the young person's category. The event also celebrated young people 14-25 yrs who were awarded their Millennium Volunteer certificates for the amount of hours they have contributed to volunteering.
Included as part of the event was the presentation to the Mayor of a cheque for £46,470,000. This is an increase of just over 11½ million in the previous year. This cheque represents the monetary value of volunteering shown in monetary terms and shows just how much volunteering is worth to the Vale of Glamorgan.
At the event we saw the Launch of Dish Out Dosh a youth led grant which is available for youth projects across the vale. Applications packs are available from Vale Volunteer Bureau until the closing date 22 September 2014.
We also saw the release of Morgan Rogers digital story on how his volunteering changed his life, Clare Humphreys the Youth Volunteering Advisor said "It's been brilliant getting to make a series of films for Young people, Morgan's story is inspiring and will I definitely challenge the stereo type of young people and volunteering".
The Director of the Vale Volunteer Bureau Alison Steere said 'today's event recognised volunteer's achievements. Volunteers from all over the Vale were involved in everything from encouraging children to save money to volunteering on a write with us programme for cancer patients and survivors. As Director of the Vale Volunteer Bureau I feel extremely privileged to have met these volunteers and to hear some of their fascinating stories of their achievements and how they have benefited their local communities'.


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A German Shepherd in France saved his 63-year-old owner from committing suicide by leaping up to knock aside the gun she had pointed at her heart.
The woman walked into her garden in the French town of Sorgues and fired several test shots with a .22 caliber rifle before turning the gun on herself.
Just as she was about to pull the trigger, her loyal dog jumped in to prevent the shot by knocking the weapon from her hands.
She did suffer a chest injury, but her wounds were not fatal. She was found by her husband, who rushed her to a hospital. Medical staff reported the chest laceration was most likely a flesh wound.
"At the moment she pulled the trigger, her dog jumped on her and diverted the shot. [The dog] probably sensed things and knocked into her to save her," local police reported to the Telegraph.


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Listen To Pharell Williams' 'Happy' Performed By 'Family Guy' Characters [VIDEO]
It seems like the new trend is for voice artists to remake songs from movies in cartoon voices. A few weeks ago, we shared a video with you of Brian Hull performing his rendition of "Let It Go" from "Frozen" using 21 different Disney voices.
Mikey Bolts is the latest to jump on the bandwagon with his take on Pharell Williams' hit from the "Despicable Me 2″ soundtrack, "Happy" using the voices from "Family Guy"!
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The city of Coronado can keep $5.8 million originally intended for its now-defunct redevelopment fund and it has the right to try and recoup an additional $32.6 million in redevelopment loans, a Superior Court judge has ruled.
The decision rendered by Judge Michael Kenny in Sacramento on Friday is the latest in a series of cases arising out of the state's decision to kill local redevelopment agencies three years ago.
At issue for Coronado was the state Department of Finance's position that a series of loans adding up to the $32.6 million figure could not be collected under the laws governing the dissolution of redevelopment agencies.
The department also contested that a post-dissolution to keep $5.8 million that Coronado had promised to its redevelopment agency fund was improper.
Judge Kenny disagreed with the department on both.
"It's a big win for the city," said Coronado City Attorney Johanna Canlas. "It makes sure that the city and its citizens get back the money they are entitled to."
The Legislature in 2011 approved legislation that killed more than 400 redevelopment agencies statewide. The 60-year program was established primarily to combat urban blight and gave city and county redevelopment agencies a greater share of property tax revenues from projects created after a redevelopment area was declared.
Gov Jerry Brown moved to scrap the agencies as the state grappled with budget shortfalls, arguing the agencies benefitted from the higher tax revenues at the expense of schools and other local agencies such as police and fire departments. He also questioned whether some local governments were using the redevelopment and funds properly.
Coronado established its redevelopment agency in 1985 for school district and city projects. During the years it was in place, it served as the financing mechanism to build or refurbish a variety of public facilities, including three schools, a community center, City Hall and police and public works facilities.
As it was winding down its redevelopment agency in the spring of 2012, Coronado transferred $5.8 million in unspent money stemming from promissory notes for two loans it had agreed to issue to city's community development revolving fund in 2008 and 2009. The Department of Finance contested that move and threatened that failure to hand over that money could lead to a decrease in sales and use and property tax revenues to the city.
The judge's ruling agreed with Coronado's argument that the $5.8 million was always effectively within the city's control because it had never actually been transferred to the redevelopment agency.
"The Court concludes that the transfer did not violate the redevelopment dissolution laws and that the (Department of Finance) erred by disallowing it," Kenny wrote in his ruling, which he reaffirmed during a brief hearing in Sacramento Friday morning.
A spokesman in the governor's office said the department will appeal the Judge Kenny's decision.
The ruling means that money stays in the city's general fund, which was budgeted at $42 million in the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Obligations from the former redevelopment agency are paid from a trust fund administered by the county but overseen by the Department of Finance.
Kenny's ruling also rejects the Department of Finance's position that $32.6 million in loans from the city to its redevelopment agency could not be recognized as "enforceable obligations" under the terms of the dissolution laws for all redevelopment agencies in the state.
City Attorney Canlas said the effect of that part of the ruling is that Coronado can petition to recoup all that money from the trust fund.


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Gahanna-Jefferson Curriculum Overview
In meeting the challenges of educating each Gahanna student in the most meaningful, appropriate manner, the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools have established classroom curriculum to meet the individual needs of all students. In order to accomplish this, the curriculum department works with teams of teachers to develop courses of study in core academic areas that incorporate the new State of Ohio Content Standards and National Standards from each respective field. Each Gahanna Course of Study is fully aligned with the state and national standards; yet, also exceeds the minimum requirements set forth by the Ohio Department of Education.
In Gahanna-Jefferson Schools, we have a history of a commitment to excellence. The district is driven by a single, primary focus--The Student Comes First!
Tia Holliman
Director of Curriculum
Erin Schmidt
Academic Officer
(Language Arts, Social Studies)
Jessica Slocum
Academic Officer
(High School Curriculum)
Sharon Suriano
Academic Officer (Teacher Leader)
(Math, Science, Health)
Diane Caulkins
Curriculum Administrative Assistant
Phone: (614) 479-1309 | Fax: (614) 478-5568
The Gahanna-Jefferson Public School Graduate Profile defines our students and serves as our guide to further prepare them with the academic, character, and social and cultural skills required for the 21st century global world. A GJPS graduate is...
Following this guiding principle, we have established high expectations for our students and hold ourselves accountable by setting benchmarks and other indicators for each course that are correlated to the State of Ohio Content Standards. Beyond the core courses of math, science, language arts and social studies, students are provided a balanced curriculum that includes courses in art, music, technical education, health and physical education with talented specialists in every building. Middle and high school students can select from a variety of classes in vocal, instrumental and string music, and options in an international language study in German, French, Latin, Mandarin Chinese or Spanish. Many extracurricular and curricular options abound for students to explore and develop their interests.
The district offers a variety of programs and differentiated instructional strategies to successfully meet the individual needs of each child, ranging from special education services for students with various handicaps to enrichment and accelerated classes for gifted and talented students. Our students also benefit from a wealth of experience offered by district psychologists, counselors, speech pathologists, nurses, and academic intervention specialists. Intervention programs conducted after school, in the classroom and in the summer assist struggling students with academic needs in various subject areas, especially reading and math.
The excellence of the Gahanna-Jefferson curriculum is maintained through a focus on quality approaches enabling us to use the latest research methods in a systematic way. Teachers are provided with professional development opportunities which increase the understanding of how we learn, specifically how the brain processes information, and provide strategies to reach the unique needs of each child, differentiating the learning experiences for all. Teachers are encouraged to give students opportunities to express their knowledge, their understanding and their questions in many different forums. Our new teachers are provided year-long mentors and monthly seminars to assist them in their first-year experience. Veteran teachers continue to be engaged in meaningful work that allows them to research, reflect and continue to deepen their understanding of student learning and the various content areas.
Using these quality strategies supports the district's goal of developing appropriate methods of assessment to ensure continuous progress and promote lifelong learning. A concerted effort to keep class sizes small has allowed teachers to meet the needs of the individual learner consistently by personalizing instruction and developing positive relationships with students. Our district's comprehensive improvement plan calls for class size caps be 25 or fewer students per teacher at the high school and three middle schools. At the seven elementary schools class sizes are 24 or less in grades 3-5 and 22 or less in grades K-2.
Comprehensive Improvement Plans at both the district and building levels hold us accountable and provide a guide to accomplishing measurable improvements in the schools' and district's performance.
In this global society, the district integrates technology education into daily lesson plans offering unlimited potential for customized learning. Teachers use technology as they explore content, developing students' competency and building expertise. A state-of-the-art technology training center provides technical support for staff and students during the day and for the community in the evenings.
Our students learn in an environment that fosters academic excellence, self-discipline, respect for different cultures, physical and mental fitness and parent/community involvement. Students' individual needs may be met through traditional or special/alternative educational options.
Our district approach to teaching and learning is standards-based education.
Standards-based education is a process for planning, delivering, monitoring and improving academic programs in which clearly defined academic content standards provide the basis for content in instruction and assessment. In standards-based education, the standards help to ensure that students learn what is important, rather than allowing textbooks to dictate classroom practice. Student learning is the focus of standards-based education. Standards-based education aims for higher and deeper level of what students should know, understand and be able to do.
Standards-based education is the underlying district philosophy behind the core academic areas-mathematics, English/language arts, social studies and science.
Mathematical literacy is essential to becoming an informed and competent citizen. This literacy involves understanding mathematical principles, developing mathematical ways of thinking, and developing fluency with numbers. Students develop this literacy by actively doing mathematics - using their skills and knowledge to explore and solve problems, investigating mathematical ideas, and explaining what they see.
The Gahanna-Jefferson mathematics program focuses on the meaningful development of mathematical knowledge through a standards-based approach that emphasizes the following:
Children who develop their own approaches based on mathematical reasoning, rather than relying on mathematical procedures, become better, more flexible mathematicians. Mathematics, when taught in a standards-based classroom, becomes "the power of thought" rather than "the power of facts" to build student mathematical literacy.
The instructional philosophy of our district is to teach language arts through a balanced literacy approach. In this comprehensive literacy vision, teachers scaffold students' reading, writing, and thinking through demonstration, shared demonstration, guided practice, independent practice, response and feedback, and ongoing assessment. In creating this vision teachers work to:
In working to embrace these practices, teachers rely on critical instructional components. These components are the foundation for what is taught as learners gradually move from dependence to independence. The degree and intensity of support the learner requires to be successful determines how instruction is structured. The components are:
Effective social studies integrate history, geography, economics, political science, humanities and social sciences enabling each young person to experience the connected nature of land and people, and the human experience in a developmentally appropriate way. Our program is aligned with the Ohio Social Studies Standards and the National Council for Social Studies. The framework is based on seven standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities, and Social Studies Skills and Methods.
Within our district we have an emphasis on helping students develop the skills necessary to make informed and reasoned decisions and to actively participate as a responsible citizen in our community, state and world. By learning about significant people, places, events and issues in the past, it better helps us to understand the present. The course of study is one that promotes learning by building on skills learned from kindergarten through 12th grade and is expanded through experiential learning and reading non-fiction and historical fiction texts that give students an appreciation of how people lived, why they made the decisions they did and the challenges they faced.
Science is one of many ways people explore and understand the natural world. Making discoveries and building understandings of the natural world through the scientific endeavor rely upon making observations, drawing inferences, and exploring testable hypotheses. The target of scientific activity is the development of operational understandings of how the world works. Our science program embraces this philosophy and consists of an articulated comprehensive set of engaging and challenging science activities which will consistently and incrementally develop powerful scientific literacy in the following six standards: Earth and Space, Life, Physical, Science and Technology, Scientific Inquiry, and Scientific Ways of Knowing.
In the classroom, students are provided many opportunities to develop and maintain the essential skills that form the basis for scientific lifelong learning and investigation of the natural world. Classroom materials integrate science content and scientific inquiry while students build investigative skills with a wide variety of hands-on experiences, critical thinking exercise, and problem-solving opportunities.


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It's hard to forgive someone who does not recognise or accept his/her mistakes. ~ Sindiswa Skefile
Why should you pay for their callousness? This is their problem, not yours, dear stop hurting yourself, be free. ~ Gina Walters
You don't do it for them, you do it for you.
So long as you carry the anger of the pain, the person who hurt you continues to hurt you, even if they have apologized, forgotten or died. You have taken up their task by continuing to hurt yourself in their absence. ~ David Brown
Some people that intentionally hurt you, will never admit it or ever apologize to you for what they have done. So my theory is to forgive yourself, for putting in too much wasted time, thought, feelings and effort into someone who clearly did not deserve it, then one can move on! ~ Jay Jingles
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If you have aspirations of being a salesman in the near future or want to fine tune your skills, here are some methods, tips, and suggestions to consider that will enable you to be the best salesman you can be.
Understanding the Product or Service
Before you are racking up commissions left and right you will have to know the product you are selling like the back of your hand. Companies will train you and give you all the understanding you need. After all, they need their salesmen to be as knowledgeable as possible in order to answer every possible question that the client or customer might have.
The training doesn't stop there for you because in your spare time (at home) you should research the product and service more thoroughly. Think of your job like a classroom. Why? Well, when you leave the classroom you have homework to do ordinarily. When you leave work you can gain an edge if you continue to do your homework and take your knowledge of the product or service to the next level.
Understanding Your Customer or Clients Needs
Understanding what your customer or client needs is very important in your success as a salesman. You do not have to sell every products or service to everyone who walks in the door or speaks to you on the phone. It is crucial to understand what your potential customer needs, so that you can better serve them. If you know what they want, then you know what to give them, it's that simple. You must ask the customer detailed questions on what they need and why they need it.
If you are under fire from a barrage of questions from a client and you are unsure what to say, try avoiding answers such as ''Ummm....'', ''I don't know.'', and ''I can't help you.'' You must seek someone in your company that can better answer your customer's questions.
Focus on the Positive Rather Than the Negative
Few products are ''perfect'' and without flaws. When a customer asks you questions and you know the answer will not be a positive one, you can twist the negative into a positive.
Treating Everyone with Respect
If you are dealing with a customer who will not purchase the most expensive item you sell, it shouldn't matter. Not everyone can afford the best items you have to offer. You must keep in mind that every customer is the most important customer. You might deal with customers who in your eyes are ''small potatoes'' in comparison with others. Never act discourteous or uninterested in a customer because they want to know more about the $10 item you have and not the $1,000 item.
Also, if you treat a person with respect and answer all of their questions without an attitude, they will be more inclined to come back and give you their business again.
The Most Important Thing......
Regardless of what type of sales job you have, remember to have fun and enjoy yourself. If you do your homework, respect everyone who walks in the store and gives you a phone call, and understand what your customers or clients need, there is no reason why you shouldn't have considerable success.
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A collection of examples from the Prosthetic Knowledge Tumblr archive on the modern adoption of an older computer output technology - the plotter.
Invented in 1953, the plotter was a vectorial drawing output device developed by Remington-Rand for the UNIVAC computer for technical drawing. As other forms of printers nor monitors were as ubiquitous as they are now, the plotter drawing became the main format for early computer art, which can be seen by the many examples produced by the Algorists.
As new approaches and availability to technical means, plotter or vector drawing has over the last ten years had a renaissance, with various projects utilizing this method for 'live' drawings. Many move away from traditional pen drawing, utilizing other media such as lasers, spray paint, and brushes. Here are a small collection of examples which take the plotter principle and apply it in new and interesting ways.
Lunar Trails
Project by Seb Lee-Delisle takes well known arcade game 'Lunar Lander', and documents every gameplay on an accompanying visual plot.
Lunar Trails is an interactive installation, first commissioned by the Dublin Science Gallery for their GAME exhibition, running from November 2012 to the end of January 2013.
It features a full size arcade cabinet running the vintage 1979 game Lunar Lander. As you play the game, the path that you take is rendered on the wall with a large hanging drawing robot.
The trails build up to produce artworks that are solely created by the game players, and is a reflection of all their individual journeys to the surface of the moon.
Snail Trail
Animation installation by Phillip Artus is a looping narrative of an evolving snail, constantly drawn with laser on a revolving photosensitive surface.
A snail invents the wheel and goes through a cultural evolution to finally get back to its origin.
A laser animation is projected at an angle of 360° onto a column, so that the audience has to walk around to follow the course of the snail. The projection surface is of a phosphorescent material, which creates an after-glowing trail that fades out slowly.
Mind Out
Mechanical drawing installation by Mattias Jones creates a room-filled one-line drawing which imitates the flight pattern of a bee.
Towards the end of 2012, as part of The Festival of the Mind in Sheffield, myself and a small team of technicians, coders and mathematicians developed a drawing system and put it to work. The robots drew one line pattern solutions, the shortest line possible, derived from theories on how bees fly from flower to flower. It ended up covering three walls and the floor of a twenty foot cube in one unbroken line.
Motion Copy System
A research group at Keio University, led by Seiichiro Katsura, has developed the Motion Copy System. This system can identify and store detailed brush strokes, based on information about movement in calligraphy. This enables a robot to faithfully reproduce the detailed brush strokes.
This system stores calligraphy movements by using a brush where the handle and tip are separate. The two parts are connected, with the head as the master system and the tip as the slave system. Characters can be written by handling the device in the same way as an ordinary brush.
Unlike conventional motion capture systems, a feature of this one is, it can record and reproduce the force applied to the brush as well as the sensation when you touch something. Until now, passing on traditional skills has depended on intuition and experience. It's hoped that this new system will enable skills to be learned more efficiently.
A drawing machine by Jürg Lehni from 2005, works like a plotter but draws on a big plane of semi-opaque glass.
Jürg is also responsible for the graphiti drawing machine Hektor, a drawing machine from 2003 which draws with a spray can.
Also of interest: "Computing/Drawing With a Vintage Pen Plotter" by Carl Lostritto - modern drawing experiments with an older technology.
You should check out this very large scale plotter (16'x12') we built here in Colorado for drawing in sand, powered by an arduino Mega.
There will probably be others chiming in here - but I'd also point to my colleague Stephen Cartwright's latest work, in which he's doing long-exposure photographs of an LED on a plotter to create maps of his daily movements :


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The Buffalo Bills defence confused Drew Brees at times early on. Roughed him up a bit. And made him work.
But that still didn't work.
The veteran quarterback wound up having one of the best statistical games of his storied NFL career on Sunday. Brees completed all but eight of his 34 passes for five touchdowns and no picks, as his New Orleans Saints defeated the visiting Bills 35-17.
After the Bills took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, Brees was sensationally sharp: going 19-of-25 for 284 yards and four more TDs.


text: Sir: The Sindh government had declared holidays on the birth and death anniversaries of former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. If these governments claim to be democratic, pluralistic and all-encompassing, then why have they not declared a public holiday on the birth anniversary of Liaquat Ali Khan? He was born on October 1, 1895 in East Punjab. Liaquat Ali Khan was the first prime minister and defence minister of Pakistan and needless to say, a very revered and esteemed figure.He was a great orator who devoted his life for the welfare of the Muslims of the subcontinent.He was assassinated at a public meeting in Rawalpindi on October 16, 1951, which was one of the most unfortunate incidents in the history of Pakistan. The Objectives Resolution, which called for values of faith in the business of the state, was moved by the late Liaquat Ali Khan.The government regularly declares a public holiday on the birth anniversaries of the Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal. Similarly, the government should declare a public holiday on the birth anniversary of Liaquat Ali Khan. At federal level, all government and private offices should be closed to commemorate and honour this great figure in history.Ghazanfar Ali KhanIslamabad


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Former CIA agent Jeffrey Sterling was was indicted in January for telling New York Times reporter James Risen secret details of a failed CIA plot to sabotage Iran's nuclear program in 2000. Though Risen never wrote about the plot in the Times, as the CIA convinced him it would harm national security, he did write about it in a 2006 book.
Now, the Times reports, federal prosecutors, with the approval of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., are "trying to force" Risen to testify at a criminal trial about his source.
To what extent are reporters' conversations with sources protected? Not by any specific federal law. Nonetheless, Justice Department rules try to avoid forcing reporters to reveal information about their sources.
Justice Department regulations instruct prosecutors to "ordinarily refrain" from issuing subpoenas to the news media that could damage its "news gathering function," citing "the importance of freedom of the press to a free and democratic society."
But the rules also allow the attorney general to make an exception after weighing "the proper balance between the public's interest in the free dissemination of information and effective law enforcement."
Still, Risen plans to fight this subpoena as he has fought others on this case in the past. "I am going to fight this subpoena," Risen told the Times. "I will always protect my sources, and I think this is a fight about the First Amendment and the freedom of the press."
(h/t Gawker)