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Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) provides oil & gas drilling & exploration companies technologically advanced equipment and management services that aid in the extraction and production of crude oil and natural gas. 89% of the company's 2008 revenue came from the oilfield services segment, through which Schlumberger provides oil production equipment and services covering the entire life cycle of a reservoir.[1] Within this segment, Schlumberger's Integrated Product Management model provides drilling rig management and services to well constructions and operational rigs.[2] WesternGeco, which accounted for 10% of the company's revenue, provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services to land, marine, and shallow-water well projects.[3]
Schlumberger provides its services to oil and gas companies operating across the world. Although Schlumberger is headquartered in Houston, 57% of the company's sales in 2008 came from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Its abroad operations, especially those located in Latin America, are the fastest growing segments in terms of sales, but Schlumberger's worldwide presence exposes the company's revenue and profitability to regional uncertainty, instability, and currency volatility. Nearly all of Schlumberger's revenue comes from providing services and equipment to oil and gas rigs, and the worldwide levels of oil and gas production heavily effect Schlumberger's revenues as a result.[4] When oil prices peaked around $147/barrel during the first half of 2008, oil exploration and production companies were attempting to extract as much oil from the ground as possible.[5] For Schlumberger, quarterly revenues increased by 15.10%, 19.60%, and 22.50% for the first, second, and third quarter of 2008 when compared to those quarters in 2007.[6] When oil prices fell in the second half of 2008, and crude oil inventories increased, the amount of crude oil produced declined, which has meant less of a need for oilfield services.[7] With fewer contracts and lower sales, Schlumberger has cut its capital expenditures budget for 2009 and has laid off 6% of its work force as of January 2009.[8]
For 2009, weak demand and lower pricing negatively led to declines in both revenue and profitability. For the year, revenue form its oilfield services operations reached $5.74 billion, a 17% decline from 2008.[10] Revenues from WesternGeco fell 8% when compared to revenues from 2008. In 2009, there were an average of 1,385 rigs operating in North America, 40% less than in 2008.[11] Lower levels of rig activity contributed to the 44% drop in revenues from North America. For the company, gross margin fell by 3%, which contributed to the 31% drop in annual profits. In 2010, Schlumberger plans to raise its capital expenditures budget by 24% for oilfield services operations and cut it by 35% for WesternGeco.[12]
Schlumberger's performance in the fourth quarter of 2009 showed improvement in several GeoMarkets and the deepwater drilling industry.[13] Revenue for the final quarter of 2009 increased sequentially in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. Due to rising rig counts, especially deepwater rigs, software and product sales rose in the fourth quarter.[14] Overall, net income for the fourth quarter was $795 million, a 45% decline compared to the same quarter in 2008.[15] Fourth-quarter pretax operating income of $1.01 billion was down 3% sequentially and 37% year-on-year.[16] Profit margins fell 1.57% from the third quarter due to lower sales in Russia and Mexico as well as lower pricing on its products.[17] Using Schlumberger's fourth quarter earnings as an indicator for 2010, CEO Andrew Gould argued that oil prices are likely to remain near the $70 to $80 region. On the other hand, he believes the natural gas markets "remain generally oversupplied," which has the potential of keeping prices relatively low.[18]
Through its oilfield services segment, Schlumberger provides technology, project management tools, and information solutions to companies engage in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Schlumberger divides the company's oilfield services operations geographically into segments called GeoMarkets.[21] The principle GeoMarkets include North America, Latin America, Europe/CIS/Africa, and the Middle East & Asia. When the company was first formed, Schlumberger sold its wireline logging technology in order to provide detailed oil-and-gas well information to exploration and production companies.[22]Through acquisitions and its own research and development department, Schlumberger offers a full range of services and equipment for the entire life cycle of the reservoir.[23] The company's oilfield products include wireline logging, directional drilling technology, well testing, artificial lifts, and information solutions. Schlumberger's operates using a business model known as Integrated Project Management(IPM), which provides its customers with the necessary products and technology as well as the management to operate those products.[24]
In this segment, 2009 full-year revenues decreased 15.5% to $20.52 billion from the previous year's revenue of $24.28 billion[25]. Revenue fell across most geographic divisions. Revenue from operations in North America fell by 37%, the most severe drop among all regions and primarily the result of lower gas prices. Revenue from European and African markets fell by 13% due to reduced demand and unfavorable exchange rates. The bright spot among the segments regional activity was the Latin American region, which saw a negligble decline in revenue and was bolstered by strong gains in the Mexican, Central American, and Brazilian GeoMarkets[26].
Schlumberger's WesternGeco operations provide reservoir imaging, monitoring and well development services, and seismic crews and data processing centers.[28] WesternGeco sells its 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic analysis services for prospective and current reservoirs.[29] Through its WesternGeco operations, Schlumberger provides seismic imaging and monitoring services to land-based, marine, and shallow-water reservoirs.[30]
Full-year 2009 revenue of $2.12 billion was 25% lower than in 200.[31].WesternGeco saw reductions in revenue across all of its product lines. Marine and Multiclient unit revenue dropped most severely, primarily as a result of lower pricing necessary to compete in a market with significantly lower demand, a result of many clients trimming of their discretionary spending budgets[32].
Schlumberger, already the largest oilfield services company by revenue, announced the acquisition of Smith International in February 2010.[33] The all-stock transaction is estimated to be $11 billion, and, as a result of the merger, Schlumberger's revenues have the potential of being double of its nearest rival, Haliburton.[34] From the deal, Schlumberger acquires Smith's drill bit manufacturing business, a segment in which Schlumberger did not have significant operations. The company expects the demand for service-intensive deep water and shale gas drilling to rise in the future, and drill bit manufacturing operations have the potential of giving Schlumberger an advantage in both the types products it offers and overall efficiency. However, Schlumberger has the potential of divesting some of its newly acquired assets for anti-trust and other reasons.[35]
In March 2010, Schlumberger announced the acquisition of Nexus Geosciences, Inc. The Houston-based company provides integrated seismic software and services for rapid imaging, modeling and interpretation, enabling oil and gas companies to rapidly build, update and validate their velocity models.[36] Nexus' software provides information has the potential of reducing uncertainties even in the most complex geological environments. As a result, Schlumberger plans to integrate Nexus Geosciences into the company's WesternGeco unit.[37] Through this acquisition, Schlumberger seeks to draw in exploration and production companies that have begun investigating increasingly complex geographical environments and require advanced equipment and software to do so.[38]
In late March 2010, Shlumberger completed the acquisition of Geoservices, a privately owned oilfield services company with expertise in mud logging, slickline, and production surveillance operations. Shlumberger particularly valued the mud logging portion of Geoservices as it will allow customers to better analyze the increasingly complex geography that they must drill through to reach lucrative oil fields. Geoservices has a range of other new technologies that aim to support the exploration and analysis of potential wells, including the expanding deepwater drilling market [39].
In September 2009, companies including BP, Petroleo Brasileiro and Eni found nearly 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent of potential reserves offshore.[40] Many western oil majors are spending billions of dollars on exploration operations in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Brazil, and offshore West Africa in the hopes of making similar finds.[41] Altough BP's and Petrobras' discoveries are expected to be massive, they are both located in subsalt regions, which have the potential of posing problems for two reasons.[42] First, the crude oil must be pumped through a thick layer of salt that shifts under geological pressure.[43] Also, oil drillers must ensure that paraffin in the oil does not solidify due the low sub-sea temperatures and clog pipelines. As a result, the ability of oil drillers to overcome these challenges depends on the equipment they use.[44] For companies like Schlumberger, the deepwater oil finds have the potential of boosting sales of advanced, and expensive equipment.[45] However, increased deepwater drilling also has the potential of creating a technological race between many of the big oilfield services companies. In September 2009, Schlumberger signed an agreement with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro to build a subsalt research center. Schlumberger is acting quickly as well: the 86,111 square feet facility has the potential of being completed within a year.[46]
Because Schlumberger's services help oil E&P companies extract oil and natural gas from the ground, the company's revenue is strongly effected by the production and consumption of oil and natural gas. In 2008, Schlumberger's quarterly revenue growth closely resembled the changing price of oil. Year-over-year quarterly revenues increased by 15.10%, 19.60%, and 22.50% for the first, second, and third quarter of 2008. During those quarters, oil prices were rising, peaking at $147 per barrel in July 2008.[47] By the end of 2008, oil prices had fallen to under $40 per barrel.[48] Due to lower consumption of oil products, the number of operational U.S. drilling rigs dropped 25% between September 2008 and January 2009.[49]In the fourth quarter, Schlumberger's profit fell 17% from a year earlier as costs rose 19% due to numerous high cost projects involving far offshore drilling.[50] As result, cutting costs became the focus of Schlumberger's management in early 2009.
While profits also fell for first quarter 2009, Schlumberger was able to reduce its operating costs. For the first quarter of 2009, Schlumberger reported revenues of $6 billion versus revenues of $6.89 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, and $6.29 in the first quarter of 2008.[51] Operating income decreased 25% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2008 and 28% year on year.[52] The overall decline in natural gas rigs in North America and Russia meant less need for oilfield services equipment and services and brought on the decline in quarterly revenues for the company's oilfield services segment, which were 13% lower when compared to the fourth quarter 2008.[53] In anticipation of lower demand for its products and services for the rest of 2009, Schlumberger has cut operating costs significantly through layoffs and capital expenditure cuts. Operating costs fell by $405 million in the first quarter of 2009 versus the fourth quarter of 2008.[54]
While sales to international oil producers increased, revenues from U.S. operations continued to decline in the second quarter of 2009. Sales in the U.S. reached a five-year low in the second quarter; revenue from North America was 31% lower sequentially and 43% lower year-on-year.[55] In the U.S., the rig count declined approximately 27% and pricing continued to drop.[56] Although not as severe, revenue declined in almost every GeoMarket in the second quarter of 2009. Operations in Russia were an exception. Sequentially, revenue from Russia increased from offshore activities in the East and generally improved activity levels in East and West Siberia. Overall, net income decreased 13% sequentially and 42% year-on-year.[57] While costs continued to decline, Schlumberger CEO Andrew Gould said that oil prices must reach $70/barrel for oil production activity to increase worldwide.[58]
Several of these trends continued through the third quarter of 2009. Earnings fell 48% in the third quarter due to weak demand and pricing.[59] However, drilling declines slowed internationally and in the U.S..[60] Although these are signs of stabilization, Schlumberger believes that prices are unlikely to improve by the end of 2009.[61] Not only are crude prices expected to remain weak, but seasonal factors and price concession made in the first half have the potential of leading to further drops in earnings in 2009.[62]
For the first nine months of 2009, many of Schlumberger's competitors have faced cash shortages, which have negatively impacted their ability to continue their current operations as well as their ability to expand. Baker Hughes, Weatherford, and Smith International all have cash problems that have the potential of curtailing expenditures and expansions into 2010.[63] Schlumberger has avoided many of the problems facings these companies due to the rise in international sales as well as better operating margins.[64] While international drilling has begun rising, drilling in North America has remained relatively stagnant, which has hurt companies that typically derive most of their sales from the region. As a result of its stronger balance sheet and cash-on-hand, Schlumberger has the potential of gaining market share. [65]
For 2009, low demand for services and discounted pricing contributed greatly to 17% decline in annual Revenue and the 3% drop in gross margin.[66] CEO Andrew Gould argued that low gas and oil prices during the first half of 2009 led to less demand for energy services for 2009. As a result, the trend of rising energy prices in the second half of 2009 has the potential of improving the company's profitability in 2010.[67] While Gould believes that the world supply of usable gas and oil was too high by the end of 2009, government stimulus spending and new drilling projects from companies like General Electric and Chevron have the potential of leading to a rebound in the demand for drilling services.[68]
By operating in over 80 countries worldwide, a majority of Schlumberger's revenue growth comes from operations outside of the United States.[69] Schlumberger operates worldwide for a good reason; the company's two fastest growing GeoMarkets are the Latin America and Europe/CIS/Africa operations because operations in sales of well testing and well development equipment and services in Russia, Venezuela, and Brazil.[70] Operations in these countries required Schlumberger's equipment and operational knowledge in order to test, analyze and developed oilfields discovered in 2007 and 2008.[71] In 2008, Brazil began developing oil wells in its Tupi fields, an offshore oil basin discovered to have a potential 8 million barrels of oil.[72] Developing new fields in Russia, Venezula, and Brazil requires technologically advanced equipment, and Schlumberger's sales in these regions have the potential of benefiting from increased investments in the development of new and current oilfields.
However, Schlumberger's vast operations expose the company's operations and profitability to regional political risk. Regional instability or economic uncertainty have the potential of affecting oilfield developments in a country, and reduces the need for equipment from service companies like Schlumberger.[73]
Schlumberger's Venezuelan operations have the potential of being taken over by the Venezuelan government. By June 2009, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had nationalized most of Venezuela's oil operations, and, beginning in May 2009, Chavez began to seize several small oil service companies along with U.S.-owned gas compression units.[74] Chavez has not taken over the Venezuelan operations of large service companies like Schlumberger, Baker Hughes (BHI), and Halliburton Company (HAL) as of June 2009.[75] However, the company's Venezuelan assets have the potential of being seized by the government if Schlumberger refuses to accept the terms that are on offer or refuse a write-down on their debt.[76]
Currency inflation also has the potential of reducing revenues from the sale oilfield services. In the fourth quarter of 2008, revenues from Latin American operations declined 2% compared to the prior quarter as a result of currency inflation in many Latin American countries.[77] Overall, currency changes in the last quarter of 2008 resulted in a 3% decline in revenues when compared to the third quarter.[78]
In March 2009, Schlumberger finalized a $687 million drilling contract with Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.[79] While Pemex's production declined 9% in 2008, the company plans on reversing that trend by increasing the money it spends on exploration and production projects.[80] Schlumberger singed a three-year contract for Pemex's Chicontepec region, a field located in northern Mexico.[81]
In 2008, 89.5% of Schlumberger's revenue came from the sale of its oilfield services. As a result, the ability to provide its customer's with technologically advanced and accurate equipment has the potential of effecting Schlumberger's revenues substantially.[82] Revenues from Schlumberger's oilfield equipment experienced double-digit growth in 2008, especially equipment used in the development and analysis of complex wells.[83] In response, research and development expenditures increased 12.5% in 2008 when compared to 2007. The need for technologically advanced equipment is capable of determining amount of capital Schlumberger devotes to developing new technology in 2008.[84] Many Oil & Gas Majors have reduce their oil production for the first quarter of 2009, which has resulted in lower sales of Schlumberger's technology.[85]
Baker Hughes (BHI): Baker Hughes is an oilfield services company that sells drilling equipment and provides technology services that help oil E&P companies to drill oil wells.[86] The company operates in two segments: the Drilling and Evaluation segment, and the Completion and Production segment.[87] The drilling and evaluation operations supply products and services like drill bits and wireline logging that are used to drill and evaluate oil and natural gas reservoirs.[88] The company's Completion and Production segment supplies equipment and provides services that aid exploration and production companies from the completion of a well to the end of the reservoir's life. In April 2008, the Company acquired two reservoir consulting firms.[89]
Halliburton Company (HAL): Halliburton supplies oill and natural gas companies equipment and services that help them extract crude oil and natural gas from the ground.[90] The company's Completion and Production operations consist of production enhancement services, completion tools and services, and cementing services designed for completed and operational wells.[91] Oil and natural gas companies can use the equipment and technology provided by Halliburton's Drilling and Evaluation Segment to analyze potential well sites and begin drilling.[92]
BJ Services Company (BJS): BJ Services provides pressure pumping and other oilfield services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies.[93] Pressure pumping services include cementing and stimulation services employed in the completion of new onshore and offshore wells and in remedial work on existing wells and accounts for 81% of the Company's 2008 revenue.[94] BJ Service's oilfield services operations provide equipment that help oil and natural gas companies develop and maintain wells.[95]
|2008 Revenue
|2008 Operating Income
|2008 R&D Expenses
|2008 Gross Profit
|2009 Revenue
|2009 Operating Income
|2009 R&D Expenses
|2009 Gross Profit
|Baker Hughes[98]
Schlumberger registers strong y-o-y growth in its 3Q 08 top-line, however margins decline reflecting the impact of hurricanes - Gustac & Ike, slowdown in Alaska and unfavourable revenue mix in Latin America. [100]


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How many more killed until sensible gun control?
Mike Glaze, Mayors Against Illegal Guns joins Thom Hartmann. Another senseless act of gun violence left 12 people dead and nearly 60 injured at a midnight screening of the new Batman movie last night in Colorado. How many more tragedies is it going to take before we pass sensible gun control laws to protect American lives?
Citizens armed in the theatre would not of helped. in the DARK, with TEAR GAS, with the guy fully armored HEAD TO TOE....with panic and chaos all around them...... theres no way unless someone was a special forces sniper who could of shot him in the eye despite the circumstances.
The kid orered 6000 rounds and all these weapons and equipment over the internet as easy as ordering pizza. within 60 days. I don't understand how he was not flagged by homeland security. Or how anyone could consider those things nescessary for self defense...

subset: commoncrawl


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Martin Sheen to star in "TROLL HUNTER" director's latestMovies/TV,News Michael Gingold
The maker of one of the best modern monster movies switches gears to psychological terror in his new film, THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE, and has cast a screen veteran as its lead.
Screen Daily reports that Martin Sheen will star in the latest from TROLL HUNTER director Andre Øvredal, which is set to shoot this summer in London. THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE was scripted by Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing, and Sheen will play Tommy, a small-town mortician looking into the case of a beautiful young homicide victim of indeterminate identity with no apparent cause of death. "Being a lifelong fan of Martin Sheen, I am honored and thrilled to get the opportunity to work with him," Øvredal tells the trade. "He also perfectly embodies everything I want his character in the movie to be, so this is a dream come true for me. I intend to make THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE a movie that will thrill, scare and delight the widest possible audience." Sheen's past genre credits include THE BELIEVERS, FIRESTARTER, THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE, SPAWN and, most memorably, David Cronenberg's THE DEAD ZONE.


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OverviewMt. Xirovouni is the nearby to Dirfis mountain.Although there is a page about Mt. Dirfis i think that it's a nice idea to write some things about this mountain because in all maps is considered a separate mountain and it is less known.The tallest peak of the mountain is called Portaris and it's altitude is 1453m.The second tallest is anonymous and it's 1418m high.
Among them extends a guite long ridgeline somewhere relatively flat but in other places narrow,rocky and steep.Although it is a quite low mountain due to its position(it is exposed to cold northeast winds) it accumulates huge quantities of snow in winter which is sometimes icy,making the ascent together with the steep slopes demanding.
Remains of snow can be found in this mountain even in early June.The period from early December to early April,winter equipment is necessary to climb the mountain:crampons,at least one piolet,gloves and good dressing as the temperature can easily fall below 0 C, let alone the strong winds that usually blow at this mountain .In summertime just a good pair of boots,two mpatons,a hat and a bottle of water(one third to onehalf of the route is above the forest line) are enough.
Getting ThereThe approach to Xirovouni is similar to that of Dirfi.It's a 1 1/2 to 2 hours drive from the city of Athens demanding on the traffic and how guick you are.You take the national road to Lamia,Thesalloniki and at the 61st km you turn right to Chalkida.After 12km you reach the town of Chalkida and you follow the signs for North Evoia. 6 km after this junction at the town of Artaki you turn right following the road to Steni which is a 24km distance.The trekking can start either:1)2km above Steni near a football yard aside banks of the river that flows to Steni(altitute appr. 500m) 2)From the ridge(1000m) between Dirfi and Xirovouni following the opposite to Dirfi direction.The ascent begins on a dirt road on your right hand as you follow the central road from Steni to Stropones.
3)From the beautiful village of Kampia which is located 4km from Steni(there is a sign in your right hand just before Steni).This village is at the bottom of a valley just at the feet of the mountain at an altitude of 500m.All the paths at the beggining pass through impressive forests and later they enter the steep(30-35degrees) scree slopes that lead to the 2nd highest peak.
To reach the highest peak called Portaris you have 2 options:either you follow the long ridgeline(2,5 hours) that connects the 2 peaks,or you follow a well signed path that goes in parallel direction to the ridgeline but much lower inside the forest(900m-1100m).After the forest the path becomes guite steep,enters the alpine zone,ascending in loose gravel and leads you just below the vertical cliffs that form Portaris NW face.
Between these cliffs there is a very steep coulouir(45-50degrees) that leads just straight to Portaris summit
Red TapeThere is no permission needed to ascent this mountain.You should just respect the environment like every mountaineer should do(unfortunately it's still a wish and not the reality in most cases)
CampingThe routes to the peaks are quite steep but they have small vertical gains(500-900m) so they don't last more than 7-8 hours estimating the return. However if someone wants to camp in the mountain,he can find some big and gorgeous meadows just at the end of the forest beside the path that leads to the 2nd highest peak of the mountain(1418m).
There isn't any refuge in the massif of Xirovouni but someone could use Dirfi's hut which is situated 2km(half an hour walk) from Dirfis-Xirovouni ridge.Otherwise you could set a tent in the meadows i mentioned before or inside the forest below the meadows.


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The people who hosted the survival camp at the Milton Center a few weeks ago had a very realistic idea of disasters when they organized it. They did not have underground bunkers filled with Twinkies in mind; instead they wanted to offer some food for thought.
If you lived in New Orleans and knew Hurricane Katrina would hit in a week, how would you prepare for it? Canned food and bottled water? Important documents in a safe place? Your car has a spare tire in the back, doesn't it?
The American Heritage members wanted to hammer that mentality home – be prepared. Take your important documents and photocopy them, put them in a safe place. A fireproof and waterproof safe would work. Take photos of your belongings for insurance purposes. Be sure to keep your animals' information there too – many shelters will refuse to take pets without their information.
Buy a couple jugs and fill them with water, enough for one gallon of water per person per day. Build up your stockpile of canned goods (don't forget the honey! It doesn't spoil) and keep them safe.
All those simple ideas are part of being prepared for a disaster and it doesn't take much.
It's always popular to think about disasters. Hollywood has broken it down into a fine art – lots of explosions, a car flipping over, people screaming, CGI or 3-D ad nauseum. Zombies. Aliens. You know the type.
Filmmakers take the approach that, at the end of the world, there will always be a villain to fight back against. Blow up the invaders; give the zombies that good old double-tap.
Perhaps the best post-apocalyptic film I've seen has to be "The Road." It's not amazing by any stretch of the imagination (and I hear the book is amazing), but I think as far as movies that try to realistically tackle the fall of civilization go, this one was the best.
I think what sold it for me was not the plot or the acting, but instead the stripped-down, bare-bones portrayal of "what if?" There are no aliens. We don't really know how civilization ended, just that it has. It's more a story of survival than disaster, more personal than global in scale.
Survival takes many forms. It can be killing aliens, sure, but more than likely, when we are faced with survival, it will be more along the lines of finding food, shelter and safety. How many of us know how to start a fire with no matches on hand? Or forage for food? How many can entertain themselves or our children without the aid of a television or video games?
It's something to think about. Our families are much more likely to be involved in a house fire or flood than an alien attack.
Quite possibly, knowing how to use a weapon would be handy in the End of Days, but more useful would be basic survival techniques and preparedness.
Thinking ahead has many upsides, of course, but it can save your life and make surviving so much easier for yourself and your family. Take a few minutes to figure out what you might need if your family is simply without power for more than a day. It can be the difference between getting caught by surprise or facing the challenge in comfort.


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One lucky person will have the opportunity to win free gas just for donating blood.
The American Red Cross will host a blood drive on Wednesday at Secrest Auditorium.
Anyone who donates blood will have his or her name entered into a drawing for a chance to win $1,000 gas card from the Red Cross and Marathon Oil.
Executive Director Marlene Henderson said there's a high demand for blood during the summer trauma season.
"We really want to encourage anyone who wants to give blood to make sure that they come out to Secrest Auditorium, or any of the other blood drives around because every unit of blood makes a huge difference in our region," said Henderson.
Henderson said blood donations are down during the summer because many donors take vacations.
She said the Red Cross has to supply 800 units of blood a day to 42 area hospitals.
"The need is constant, it's on-going; anywhere from a trauma patient to a premature baby. That need is there for blood so we're just hoping that everybody can come out, make your appointment," added Henderson.
Those interested in donating can schedule an appointment by calling 1-800-REDCROSS or by going online to www.redcross.org.


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Joseph Joseph Bread Bin 100
Product code: ALJJW95007/2
To add this product to your wishlist please login
A stylish storage solution for the modern kitchen, this bread bin has a tough, durable construction, a non-slip base and a high-quality beech lid. As well as providing ample room for storing bread, its beech lid, when reversed, doubles as a cutting board, thereby saving space and the expense of a buying a separate bread board. Practical crumb-catching grooves cut into its surface also help keep the worktop cleaner during use.
Additional Information
- Brand: Joseph Joseph


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This USB 3.1 Gen 2 card prepares you for the next generation of USB performance, on the inside and outside of your computer. The 2-port card adds one internal Type-A connector as well as one external Type-A connector to your desktop computer, with a combined bandwidth of up to 10Gbps. For power-hungry devices, the card also has an internal SATA power connector, enabling you to use your computer's power supply to add more power to the ports.
With greater bandwidth, you can save time and avoid the performance bottlenecks that are often associated with other connectivity technologies.
Connectivity on the inside and out
With an internal port, you can connect internal devices that use a USB Type-A connector, such as a front-bay SD card reader. Plus, you can use the internal port to keep peripherals safely inside your computer case - perfect for high-capacity USB flash drives or interface devices used for external wireless peripherals such as keyboards and mice or Bluetooth® adapters.
The card also features an external port that can be used for any USB Type-A device, like your external hard drive or any wired peripheral.
Faster USB performance
By adding 10Gbps USB ports to your computer, you can harness the speed of USB 3.1 Gen 2 and rest assured that you're ready for both current and future high-bandwidth USB-A devices.
With higher data throughput, this PCI Express USB 3.1 card is a necessity for external hard drives, hard drive enclosures, and many other USB 3.1 peripherals. Plus, the USB card integrates a SATA power connector to support high-powered devices, making it ideal for use with large external storage solutions.
For more flexibility, you can couple the card with a USB-C to USB-A cable (USB31AC1M) and connect your USB Type-CT devices.
Compatible with your older USB devices
Connecting your older peripherals isn't a problem. This versatile USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) card is backward compatible with legacy USB 3.0 and 2.0 devices that use the common USB Type-A port, so you can eliminate the added expense and aggravation of purchasing new devices.
Easy to install, in virtually any Windows based PC
For a hassle-free installation with no additional software or drivers required, the card is natively supported by most operating systems, and interfaces with the PCI Express 3.0 x4 slot on your computer. Plus, the high-quality card includes both standard-profile and low-profile (half-height) brackets, making it easy to install in full or small form-factor PCs or servers.
The PEXUSB311EI is backed by a StarTech.com 2-year warranty and free lifetime technical support.
|Host interface
|Output interface
|PCIe version
|PCI Card form factor
|Full-height (low-profile)
|USB 3.0 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-C ports quantity
|ASMedia - ASM1142
|Data transfer rate (max)
|10 Gbit/s
|UASP support
|RoHS compliance
|Windows operating systems supported
|Windows 10 Education, Windows 10 Education x64, Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise x64, Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Home x64, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Enterprise x64, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Basic x64, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Home Premium x64, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Professional x64, Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Starter x64, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Windows 8, Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8 Enterprise x64, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Pro x64, Windows 8 x64, Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 Enterprise, Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64, Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 x64
|Mac operating systems supported
|Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite, Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks
|Linux operating systems supported
|Server operating systems supported
|Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012
|Operating temperature (T-T)
|Storage temperature (T-T)
|Operating relative humidity (H-H)
|20 - 80%
|1.8 cm
|9 cm
|12 cm
|55 g
|Package width
|14.2 cm
|Package depth
|17 cm
|Package height
|3 cm
|Package weight
|121 g


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Crudo on a Thursday: out of the foie gras, but not the sea bass
Look beyond the pisco sour and gin fizz
Barbarella Fokos 9:30 a.m., Nov. 19
Hey, Matt:
My husband swears the Tostitos of his childhood (late '70s, early '80s) were round and nacho cheese flavored. He even remembers a commercial starring a guy named Fernando that thought the chips should be renamed Fernando's. I don't remember this at all.
-- Megan McComb, Michigan
Yikes! Another PepsiCo question. After our go-round with them over the sour cream and onion Doritos, we're fools for taking this one on. But judging from the follow-up Doritos comments, you all care deeply for lost snacks, so here's our take on Tostitos. Round they are. Nacho flavored they were. And Fernando? How could you forget him. He was the on-camera spokeschip for Tostitos from 1979 to 1988. Fernando Escandon is a Mexican-born, U.S.-raised actor, voiceover specialist, sports commentator, and local L.A. TV personality. After PepsiCo's embarrassing 1968 "Frito Bandito" commercials, shot dead by political correctness in 1970, Don Fernando was a much more dignified choice.


text:
Hornblower settles with city for $225,000
Published 4:00 am, Sunday, May 24, 2009
Ferry tales: The city will pay $225,000 to a company that leases waterfront property under a legal settlement approved by the Board of Supervisors.
In court papers, San Francisco Pier 33 LLC, which leases property at Pier 33, accused the Port of San Francisco of delaying and withholding approval of Hornblower Cruises' sublease for office space for "political reasons."
The controversy goes back to 2006, when Hornblower won a 10-year, $16 million federal contract to operate the Alcatraz Island ferry.
The Alcatraz ferry had been a union operation since it began in 1973 and the fact that Hornblower does not employ union workers drew a lot of scorn in this fair city.
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- Crows flocking around Vallejosfgate
- Windows of History: Video animation at SF housesfgate
- Salt & Straw features Thanksgiving ice cream flavors in San Franciscosfgate
- The walk to the Big GameSFGate
There were also environmental concerns. When Hornblower took over the ferry service, the company moved it from Pier 41 at Fisherman's Wharf to Pier 31 1/2, about a half-mile away. A waterfront group sued, arguing that the probable traffic impacts along the Embarcadero needed to be studied before the operation changed locations.
The lawsuit was eventually dropped. No environmental study ever took place, but when Hornblower wanted to rent the office space at Pier 33, port officials said that the lease approval would require an environmental review.
Attorneys for San Francisco Pier 33 LLC argued in court papers that, as a result, the company had to rent the space to another company for less money.
The port, which currently leases space to Hornblower at other waterfront locations, could not be reached for comment. City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office declined to comment.
The week in numbers
48.7: Maximum hours firefighters can work in a week under city law.
52: Minimum hours a firefighter will work each week under a proposal by Supervisor John Avalos. Voters would have to agree.
5,000: Postcards printed by Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who wants residents to mail them to the mayor in protest of looming budget cuts.
179 million: Amount, in dollars, the city is expected to lose after voters rejected Tuesday's ballot measures.
Quote of the week
"The cheapest excuse for leadership - it is the cheapest excuse - is stealing money from your neighbor to solve your own budget problems."
- Mayor Gavin Newsom, warning Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger against raiding county funds to shore up the state budget
This week's news:
Today: The Carnaval parade starts at 9:30 a.m. at 24th and Bryant streets in the Mission District.
Monday: City offices are closed for Memorial Day.
Tuesday: The state Supreme Court decides whether the state's same-sex marriage ban is legal.
Wednesday: The supes hold a special meeting at noon to once again debate the Municipal Transportation Agency budget that includes Muni fare hikes and service cuts. And the Planning Department hosts a 5:30 p.m. workshop at 400 North Point St. on the future of port-owned properties along the inland side of the Embarcadero.


text:
If so, Madlab would like to invite you to join them at Madlab for the first Manchester game jam! Madlab will be hosting the event for the full weekend, so Manchester's community of nerds, artists and gamers can get together to design and code playable videogames from scratch in 48 hours (or less!) The jam will be over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd April, to coincide with the Ludum Dare global jam (ludumdare.com/compo).
Some people will be entering the full 48-hour Dare (which is a solo online contest with a few rules), and we'll also be running really fun quick-fire jams on both days, so people can drop in and out over the weekend. We're encouraging group efforts, so none-coders and beginners are all highly encouraged to team up and get stuck in. We'll also have the Larkin' About pervasive gaming experts in the house, and some board/card game folks too, so if you want to take your game idea off the screen and make it into something bigger then we have you covered.
From novice to ninja, everyone is welcome.
Tickets: £5


text:
Winter 2007 – 2008 Activities
With a couple of inches of snow on the ground it is time to get serious about this winter! Mike Braal and Dana Morten will be returning to guide. We will be offering a few additional activities on skis and snowshoes. For those that are interested we will offer a sunset ski every afternoon. It will be a shorter ski or snowshoe that will bring you back to the ski hut at about 5:00. We will also be doing some night activities, whether by the light of the full moon or the help of tiki torches. You can visit with … Continued


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text:
Secrecy shrouds 'Smiling Hacker' case as us keeps coy
The mystery surrounding an Algerian man dubbed the ''smiling hacker'' has deepened, with prosecutors unable to say when he will appear in court and US officials refusing to specify what laws he has broken.
Hamza Bendelladj, 24, was arrested on Jan 6 while his plane was on the tarmac at Suvarnabumi airport.
Police said that Mr Bendelladj _ photographed grinning broadly following his arrest _ had hacked into private accounts in 217 banks and financial companies around the world, earning up to US$20 million (595.6 million baht) per transaction and amassing huge amounts in illicit earnings. He was travelling with his family following a holiday in Malaysia en route to Cairo, Egypt. It is unclear why extradition to the US state of Georgia is being sought and which specific laws Mr Bendelladj is alleged to have broken.


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This week I spent some time recovering from my recent travels by lolling in bed with the first DVD of Andrew Davies' adaptation The Way We Live Now on my laptop. The always timely subjects known as greed and obsession are at the heart of Anthony Trollope's novel which centers around British speculators and a railroad to be built between Salt Lake City and Vera Cruz. Watching the characters get caught in a web of deceit reminded me of this recent New Yorker article, this, and of course this.
Davies, whose recent Bleak House mini-series earned rave reviews from anyone who's anyone among people who care about that sort of thing, does an excellent job of escalating tension as the drama unfolds. The cast includes P&P's Matthew Mcfadyen, who is in fact so excellent as the louche baronet Sir Felix Carbury that I hardly recognized him, as well as the very pretty Cillian Murphy pictured above, Miranda Otto, and Shirley Henderson. Can't wait to watch the rest. Also, I still have yet to see The Reckoning even though it is a well know fact that I love movies about cute, conflicted priests (even the presence of Shannyn Sossaman can't spoil that for me). But Matthew Mcfadyen apparently co-stars--another reason to finally see it. --Kim
May 16, 2006
The Way We Live Now: In Bed with Matthew Mcfadyen & Cillian Murphy
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text:
The vLaunchpad site is a great resource for finding the best virtualisation blogs around and in the upcoming months will once again have a voting opportunity where you can register which ones you like best. It also handily includes the Twitter id of the blogger. I was curious to find an easy way to see who I wasn't following on Twitter from the list.
By using the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet it's easy to pull down the Twitter links from the web page.
Line 1 pulls down the information from the web page.
Line 2 breaks down the web page content until we get to the information we need.Firstly, we look at the Links property and filter those that include twitter content. Then for each one we split the URL on the / character and pick the username portion, e.g. from the below
we take username.
Since some of the URLs are incomplete a few have a blank username so we use the regex pattern ^[a-z] to match anything with at least one letter. Finally, there were some multiple entries, so we pick out the unique ones and sort them into alphabetical order.
$vlaunchpad = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://planet.vsphere-land.com/" $twitterusers = $vlaunchpad.Links | where {$_.href -match 'twitter.com/'} |foreach {($_.href -split "/")[-1]} | where {$_ -match '^[a-z]'} | select -unique | sort
So now we need to find out who we are already following and then compare the two.
The PowerShell v3 cmdlet Invoke-RestMethod can be used to query the Twitter API. The documentation contains easy to use examples, for instance this one for finding those you are following (friends). So to find out who we are following we can make this query.
$following = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.twitter.com/1/friends/ids.json?cursor=-1&screen_name=jonathanmedd" $following
As you can see though, this only returns the Twitter user id, not the name. Since I haven't yet memorised all of the ids to those I am following, we need to convert them into names. The API documentation also includes a way to lookup these id values and convert them into names.One thing to watch out for is that the maximum number of ids that can be converted per query is 100, so if you are following more than that multiple queries will be required.
Doug Finke has a post on his blog which bundles all of this up into one function, i.e. makes the two Twitter API queries per 100 users, but slightly differently it is focused on those who are following you. To amend this to find those you are following, simply change the line:
$url = "$baseUrl/followers/ids.json?cursor=-1&screen_name=$($screenName)"
$url = "$baseUrl/friends/ids.json?cursor=-1&screen_name=$($screenName)"
(although you may also wish to change all references from followers to friends to save any confusion)
I also needed to make one other change, since by chance I was following a figure exactly divisible by 100, i.e. 600. Consequently, the last statement to make a query on the leftover failed with an error since there was nothing to query. So an updated friends based function now looks like this:
function Get-TwitterFriend ($screenName) { $baseUrl = "https://api.twitter.com/1" function Get-Friend ($userIds) { $userIds = @($userIds) -join "," $url = "$baseUrl/users/lookup.json?user_id=$($userIds)&include_entities=true" (Invoke-RestMethod $url) | Select name, screen_name, location } $url = "$baseUrl/friends/ids.json?cursor=-1&screen_name=$($screenName)" $friends = (Invoke-RestMethod $url).ids $blocks = [Math]::Floor($friends.Count / 100) $leftover = $friends.Count % 100 for($idx=0; $idx -lt $blocks; $idx+=1) { Get-Friend ($friends | select -First 100 -skip ($idx*100)) } if ($leftover -ne 0){ Get-Friend ($friends | select -First $leftOver -skip ($idx*100)) } }
We can now make the Twitter query we need and store the results for comparison:
$TwitterFollowing = Get-TwitterFriend jonathanmedd $TwitterFollowing.Count
All that is left is to compare $TwitterFollowing to $TwitterUsers , see who is missing, then go add those you wish to your followers list.
$TwitterUsers | foreach {if ($_ -notin $TwitterFollowing.Screen_Name){$_}}


text:
Canon 7D MkII Release Date Unknown, Rumors of 23-Megapixel Sensor
Rumors about a new Canon camera circulated during the World Cup 2014. The games were said to have been used as a testing ground for the Canon 7D MkII, the newest addition to the professional APS-C DSLR camera line. It is still unknown however when the camera will be released.
The specs of the camera have been revealed and it would seem that the 7D MkII will be built like a smaller EOS-1D X featuring an integrated grip design. An EOS-1D X body usually means it would sport an EOS-1D top plate which has no mode dial on top of it.
Even with an EOS-1D X style top plate, the camera will still have a pop-up flash. The camera will also be equipped with WiFi capabilities and GPS without having to attach any add-ons.
With a readily available Wi-Fi connection, photographers would probably be able to access their e-mails or Facebook on the camera and may be even able to upload the photos they take directly to the social media or on any image database like Flickr.
The camera was initially speculated to sport a 20-megapixel sensor but there are rumors that it might actually be 23-megapixels. There is still no proof on whether this is true and if anything, Canon might be sticking to the 20-megapixels.
The 7D MkII will also have an ISO exposure of 100-12,800 up to 25,600, 1/8000 shutter speed along with a Quiet shutter mode, Phase detect Auto-focus, as well as continuous shooting of up to 8 frames per second.
Professional photographers however, are looking forward to the 7D MkII's viewfinder which is rumored to have a 100 percent coverage and 1.15x image magnification – higher than its predecessor.


text:
With the legislation requiring annual reading and math testing for every child in grades three through eight, the issue of test quality has never been more crucial. Already students and teachers across the country are protesting dumbed-down school lessons and walking out of exams amid swirling headlines of massive scoring blunders by the testing firms that dominate the burgeoning K-12 testing market. While nearly every state already conducts standardized tests in one form or another, just 15 give annual exams that determine everything from grade promotion to teachers' salaries. The race is now on for the rest to roll out an estimated 260 new exams and snap up the $320 million in federal funds allotted by the Senate for assessment design. "We ought to be very concerned that we get tests of high quality and not just an increase in the quantity of exams," cautions Matthew Gandal, the vice president of Achieve, a group of governors and business leaders that pushes for high academic standards. "There are many ways to do this on the cheap."
Test-prep companies aren't waiting around to see that final product. Kaplan and Princeton Review seasoned by years of providing SAT and ACT Prep and upstart TestU are doing brisk business in the K-12 market producing everything from CD- ROMs and guidebooks meant to help students as young as third graders prepare for state exams to staff development seminars for teachers. This month Kaplan even published a book, "Crusade in the Classroom," which promises to tell parents exactly how President Bush's reforms will impact their children's lives. TestU has gone a step further, charging individual schools over $20,000 to give students access to individually tailored online test prep regimens. Scads of other new products are set to debut this fall. For many education advocates, this boom in coaching services is the most worrisome ripple effect of the Congressional legislation. "Schools are already getting test prep materials instead of library books," says Monty Neill, the executive director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. "There are some quality controls for state testing, but almost none for coaching." And nothing to say that, despite new federal funds reserved for private tutoring services for kids in failing schools, those coaching services will be available to rich and poor students alike.
It's hardly a surprise that folks would rush to cash in on the first significant education reform in decades. One can only hope that it will be parents and kids who profit the most as opposed to the many firms now pledging to leave no child behind.


text:
Slash Number of Bank Fees and Regulate Some, Says Parliamentary Inquiry
Recommends reform of household accounts, comparable lists of services to increase competition between banks
The parliamentary inquiry into bank service fees recommends that the Bank of Israel create a benchmark for households to measure the fees that the banks charge. It also recommends that the Bank of Israel order the banks to reduce the number of fees they charge for retail banking services to households and small businesses, and private banking.
The Supervisor of Banks at the Bank of Israel will publish the benchmark on a quarterly basis, the panel recommended on Tuesday morning. Its purpose is to intensify competition between the banks over the household sector, and help customers reach informed decisions about their banking needs.
The findings presented to the committee about the height of fees and the absence of competition indicate an absence of transparency to customers, mainly because of the sheer number of fees and the absence of focused supervision by a professional agency, the panel said. Having fewer fees would improve transparency, and abolish the practice of having several types of fees apply to a single banking service.
It suggests that certain fees be subject to regulation, and also feels that the Bank of Israel should be the one to regulate prices, not the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The panel recommends setting a uniform list of bank services that would apply to all banks, which would use the same names for fees.
The Bank of Israel should also consider banning fees on exchange rate-related transactions such as deposits, loans and currency conversions, such that the interest that the bank charges, or the exchange rate differences, would include service charges. That way the client can receive a single price for a single transaction and easily compare it with the prices offered by other banks.
The panel adopted a Bank of Israel recommendation to create several models for checking accounts: basic, expanded, and Direct. The banks would charge a single monthly management fee. The fee for the basic package of service, which includes a limited number of transactions each month, would be supervised.
Another Bank of Israel idea that found applause was to institute mechanisms to facilitate moving accounts between banks. The panel recommends a campaign to create public awareness, to take steps to assure enforcement and to create yardsticks for measuring client mobility.
The panel also suggests that banks be required to issue full quarterly statements to customers based on criteria to be set by the Bank of Israel. That too could facilitate transfer from one bank to another, it says.
The Postal Bank should be converted into a proper bank, and the banks should be forced to sever ownership relations with credit card companies, the panel says.
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text: In bug #187064 I talk about changing the robots.txt file so that someone could use google to do searches, or to actually implement a text search. One could then search for "Reported by: Steve Kemp <firstname.lastname@example.com>;" " is An Thi-Nguyen Le <email@example.com>; Source for " site:bugs.debian.org to find all bugs reported by Steve Kemp AND with the maintainer An Thi-Nguyen Le. Alternatively OR could be used. Although this could turn up false hits, I think that they would be unlikely. What would be even nicer is if the BTS was stored in a DB that could be queried using SQL. [1] http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=187064 Drew Daniels


text:
dick clark productions (dcp LLC) Reports Fiscal Year End Conference Call
Sep 28, 2010, 22:02 ET from dick clark productions, inc.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- dcp LLC today announced financial results for its year which ended June 30, 2010. Results are available for current Note Holders review at IntraLinks dcp LLC Exchange website.
Management discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations will be available for current Note Holders review at least three days prior to the scheduled conference call. Note Holders will be notified via IntraLinks dcp LLC Exchange when the MD&A is posted.
Conference Call Information:
dcp LLC will host a conference call to discuss the year end results on Thursday, October 14, 2010, at 2:00-3:00 p.m. (ET).
The year end results and conference call access information is available to current Note Holders on IntraLinks dcp LLC Exchange website as notified.
If you are a prospective investor who is a qualified section 144A institutional buyer, securities analyst or market maker and wish to participate in the conference call please contact our Trustee at the number noted below.
About dcp LLC
Through our wholly-owned subsidiary dick clark productions, inc., established in 1957, we are one of the world's premier production companies, providing quality entertainment through a wide range of television shows and other assets. We produce some of the most widely viewed and recognizable television programming, including the Golden Globe Awards, the American Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and New Year's Rockin' Eve and, together with 19 Entertainment Ltd., So You Think You Can Dance. We own a valuable library of over 50 years of shows totaling more than 7,500 musical performances and 2,500 hours of television programming.
For further information, contact our Trustee:
Alex Briffett, Senior Associate
The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company
700 S. Flower Street, Suite 500
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Telephone: (213) 630-6489
E-mail: email@example.com


text:
The enrolment for Winter Term of our Language Classes is now open.
We are offering a range of Evening Language Classes starting on 14 January 2014. For more information please visit our website or the enrolment page.
We are also offering a number of One-term Language Modules for King's Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students. The enrolment is taking place on 4 December 2013. For more information, please visit our website.


text:
i surf extensively on my mobile devices and enjoy using the fairly new gmail mobile site (see our coverage). google continues to support the mobile market with its new google news for mobile devices beta page.
google news for mobile devices gives you quick access to news in categories like sports, health, business, tech, and more. simply go to google.com on your device and select the news hyperlink.
don't forget about the google personalized home site for mobile devices.
mobility site provided the link.
user comments 1 comment(s)
|not needed for blackberry (9:32am est wed mar 01 2006)
google news already automatically senses if you use a blackberry browser, and formats it for the screen. it is awesome! i always read the news when i'm waiting in line. good way for cell phone users to keep up tho. – by h00kw0rm


text:
Too many patients are "shockingly" let down by poor care in the NHS, a report revealing a series of damning failures claims today.
The Patients' Association said its snapshot findings were a "wake-up call" for Westminster and the NHS and demanded action to prevent mistakes being repeated.
Among patients whose plight is highlighted is that of RAF veteran George Robertshaw who died alone at home in February, six weeks short of his 105th birthday, hours after he was discharged from Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where he had been briefly admitted for treatment.
His family say he should never have been allowed home. His care team found him cold, thirsty and very weak and despite their efforts and those of his GP, the hospital refused to re-admit him.
In another case, the family of pensioner Masie Walton say they were shocked by staffing levels and standards of care and hygiene at Dewsbury and District Hospital where she was treated before her death in July.
They still had serious concerns about the cause of her death, and claimed she was left waiting 90 minutes for pain relief for a severe headache the night before she died when they were told only one doctor was covering the hospital.
Today's report details 13 accounts from patients or relatives who have experienced poor care in hospitals and care homes.
Chief executive Katherine Murphy said: "These appalling and tragic cases serve to highlight the devastating consequences when poor practice is left unchallenged and unchanged.
"Whilst there is a lot to be proud of about the NHS, including the overwhelming majority of staff who are skilled and hard-working, these cases are a tragic wake-up call for those in Westminster as well as on hospital wards.
"A new culture of care with a commitment and priority from trust boards needs to be put at the heart of the health service, for those who do not appropriate action needs to happen."
Mr Robertshaw's son John said it was the second time in a year his father had been discharged home without proper support.
"Had the seriousness of my father's condition been correctly diagnosed by a doctor on his arrival and admittance to hospital, the outcome may well have been different," he said.
"As it was, he was wrongly sent home, and nobody at the hospital was prepared to re-admit this seriously ill 104-year-old man. They just weren't interested at all... he died in his home alone under what conditions we will never know.
"My father was a strong independent person who served his country when it needed him and yet the very systems he fought for let him down when he needed them most. I don't want it to happen to anybody else."
Mrs Walton's children Jeanette Vaines and David Walton said their mother suffered multiple failures in her treatment.
They added: "Since her death, we feel we have had no time to grieve; instead we have had to argue with professional medical staff about our mother's poor hospital care and determine her cause of death."
NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar said: "We should never excuse poor standards of care and we need to take bold and decisive action when we see it happening. We need to ensure that the care provided to every NHS patient is of the standards of the best."
The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS trust said: "We would offer our deepest condolences to Mr Robertshaw's family. We have investigated the complaint and learned a great deal from this."
Helen Thomson, interim director of nursing at the Mid Yorkshire NHS trust which runs Dewsbury's hospital, said: "We acknowledge that there were failings in this case and that the standards of care provided to Mrs Walton fell below what we would both expect and want for our patients."
A number of improvements had since been made to elderly care wards including a review of staff levels, walk-rounds by ward sisters at visiting times to address concerns of relatives and snap inspections by clinical and management teams.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "These cases are shocking and tragic. That's why next year we will introduce new ways of measuring and publishing the experiences that patients have in hospital.
"By shining a light on those organisations which have problems, we will be able to drive up standards so that everyone gets the quality of care they should expect."


text:
For much of this season, Ian Kinsler has been one of the Texas Rangers' best offensive players — right up there with Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz.
But since returning from a month-long stay on the disabled list last month, Kinsler has struggled to find the stroke he had over the first month-and-a-half of the season.
When he hit the disabled list following the Rangers' game on May 17, Kinsler was hitting .302 with a .369 on-base percentage and a .488 slugging percenage. When he returned to the lineup on June 15, he struggled through the month of June, hitting just .228 over those 15 games with a .246 slugging percentage. Yikes.
But now, he's starting to heat back up and had a huge game on Monday night as he racked up four RBIs in the Rangers' series-opening win in Baltimore. His bases-clearing double in the sixth inning was the key blow to Baltimore's hopes and for the month of July he's now hitting .333 with a .481 slugging percentage with a double, a homer and six RBIs and is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak. He's also walked six times and struck out just twice.
The Rangers are always at their best when Kinsler is hitting at the top of the lineup, and if this month, so far, is any sign of things to come, the Rangers' offense appears to be in good hands for the time being.


text:
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Mobile site
Thursday, July 25, 2013 - Page updated at 06:00 a.m.
Recipe: Training Table Brownies
Makes 16-20 brownies
2 sticks plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
7 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
½ teaspoon baking powder
For frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
4-6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Make brownies: melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add baking chocolate. Stir until chocolate has melted. Remove pot from heat. Add sugars and stir until incorporated into butter and chocolate. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
3. Crack eggs into a medium-sized bowl. Beat with a fork. Add salt and vanilla extract to the eggs and stir to combine. Pour beaten eggs into cooled chocolate mixture and stir together.
4. Mix flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a large bowl. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture and stir until a thick batter forms.
5. Grease a 18-by-13-inch sheet pan with butter. Line bottom of sheet pan with parchment paper and grease top of parchment paper. Lightly flour. Pour batter onto the sheet pan and spread in an even layer. Bake for 25 minutes.
6. Make frosting: Place butter in a stand mixer. Add confectioners' sugar, 4 tablespoons of whipping cream, vanilla and salt. Turn mixer on low until the sugar is incorporated, then increase speed to medium and mix until a thick frosting forms.
7. Melt chocolate chips over a double boiler. With mixer running on low, pour warm melted chocolate into the frosting. Mix until chocolate is incorporated into the frosting. Increase speed to medium. Beat until frosting is fluffy, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of whipping cream, if needed. Immediately frost cooled brownies. Let frosting set for an hour before wrapping in plastic wrap. Cut into squares before serving.
Adapted by The Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer from "The Southern Tailgating Cookbook: A Game-Day Guide for Lovers of Food, Football, & the South," by Taylor Mathis (UNC Press, 2013).
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text:
In celebration of the Chamber's 100th anniversary, let's take another look at Naperville in 1913. Or rather, let's listen!
Chicago's first telephone company was founded in 1878 and the use of the telephone grew tremendously during the last decades of the 19th century.
Originally telephones connected one-to-one. For instance, Naperville's first private telephone connected Philip Beckman's home to his harness shop at Chicago and Washington. Eventually switchboards made it practical to connect with anyone.
Early in 1913, the City of Naperville Council resolved that the Inter-State Telephone and Telegraph company be required to furnish seven free telephones per their franchise agreement for the residences of council members Givler, Hiltenbrand, Bowman, Schwartz, Luebcke and Palm.
The meeting minutes don't say what kind of phone, but both wall units and candlestick units were in vogue then.
The telephone directory gave instructions for use in the front of the book:
"To call the Exchange Office, take the hand telephone from the hook and place at the ear. (If the telephone has a crank attachment for signaling Central, give two quick turns of the crank before removing the hand telephone from the hook.)
The Operator will say 'Number please?' Give the exchange name and number of the subscriber wanted...Remain with the telephone at the ear until an answer is received."
The directory also begs to "call attention to the fact that we maintain a messenger service at each exchange and will call any party with who you wish to talk, even though he has no telephone."
A little over 350 telephone numbers were listed in the directory from that era, including North-Western College (now North Central), the Naperville Lounge Company (later Kroehler) and W.W. Wickel Drugs (now Oswald's Pharmacy.)
In February of 1913 the council granted the Chicago Telephone company permission to trim five elm trees on High Street west of Main Street and moved to pay the city's telephone bill of $13.36.
How the times have changed!


text:
THIS RESTAURANT HAS CHANGED LOCATIONS Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
646 W. 131st St. (Twelfth Ave.) Send to Phone
212-694-1777 | Make Restaurant Reservations
OpenLunch & Dinner daily
- Dress code: Casual
- Reservations suggested
* Click here for rating key
THIS RESTAURANT HAS CHANGED LOCATIONS Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Restaurant Review: When this Syracuse-based barbecue shack announced it was storming Manhattan in 2004, few gave it more than a year. But once you see the lines for the juicy 'cue it serves up on a daily basis, you'll become a believer. Fried green tomatoes, Creole-spiced deviled eggs and barbecue pork ribs will take you back down south. If you can't decide, try our favorite: the Big Ass Pork Plate.
Discover the best female chefs, top pizzerias and stellar seafood restaurants with GAYOT's Top 10 lists of the best restaurants in America.


text:
Air transportation in a carbon constrained world: Long-term dynamics of policies and strategies for mitigating the carbon footprint of commercial aviation
With increasing demand for air transportation worldwide and decreasing marginal fuel efficiency improvements, the contribution of aviation to climate change relative to other sectors is projected to increase in the future. As a result, growing public and political pressures are likely to further target air transportation to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The key challenges faced by policy makers and air transportation industry stakeholders is to reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions while sustaining mobility for passengers and time-sensitive cargo as well as meeting future demand for air transportation in developing and emerging countries. This paper examines five generic policies for reducing the emissions of commercial aviation; (1) technological efficiency improvements, (2) operational efficiency improvements, (3) use of alternative fuels, (4) demand shift and (5) carbon pricing (i.e. market-based incentives). In order to evaluate the impacts of these policies on total emissions, air transport mobility, airfares and airline profitability, a system dynamics modeling approach was used. The Global Aviation Industry Dynamics (GAID) model captures the systemic interactions and the delayed feedbacks in the air transportation system and allows scenarios testing through simulations. For this analysis, a set of 34 scenarios with various levels of aggressiveness along the five generic policies were simulated and tested. It was found that no single policy can maintain emissions levels steady while increasing projected demand for air transportation. Simulation results suggest that a combination of the proposed policies does produce results that are close to a "weak" sustainability definition of increasing supply to meet new demand needs while maintaining constant or increasing slightly emissions levels. A combination of policies that includes aggressive levels of technological and operations efficiency improvements, use of biofuels along with moderate levels of carbon pricing and short-haul demand shifts efforts achieves a 140% increase in capacity in 2024 over 2004 while only increasing emissions by 20% over 2004. In addition, airline profitability is moderately impacted (10% reduction) compared to other scenarios where profitability is reduced by over 50% which pose a threat to necessary investments and the implementation of mitigating measures to reduce CO2 emissions. This study has shown that an approach based on a portfolio of mitigating measures and policies spanning across technology and operational improvements, use of biofuels, demand shift and carbon pricing is required to transition the air transportation industry close to an operating point of environmental and mobility sustainability.
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Volume (Year): 45 (2011)
Issue (Month): 10 ()
Pages: 1077-1091
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References listed on IDEAS
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- Ribeiro, Suzana K & Kobayashi, Shigeki & Beuthe, Michel & Gasca, Jorge & Greene, David & Lee, David S. & Muromachi, Yasunori & Newton, Peter J. & Plotkin, Steven & Sperling, Daniel & Wit, Ron & Zhou, , 2007. "Transportation and its Infrastructure," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt98m5t1rv, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
- Schafer, Andreas & Victor, David G., 2000. "The future mobility of the world population," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 171-205, April.
- Abbas, Khaled A. & Bell, Michael G. H., 1994. "System dynamics applicability to transportation modeling," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 373-390, September.
- Scheraga, Carl A., 2004. "Operational efficiency versus financial mobility in the global airline industry: a data envelopment and Tobit analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 383-404, June.
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text: On Sun, 5 Oct 2003, Chris Tillman wrote: > On Sun, Oct 05, 2003 at 01:08:16PM +0200, Max Power wrote: > > Sorry, I have forgotten the subject! > > ---------- > > Von: Max Power <firstname.lastname@example.com> > > Datum: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 13:00:44 +0200 > > An: <email@example.com> > > > > Hello debian-user! 1st, sorry for my bad english! I want to put debian woody > > 3.0 on my Apple iMac 500MHZ CD-RW. My problem ist to partition the harddisk. > > I don´t know all of the commands like "b" for Apple_Bootstrap or "i" for > > erase and "p" to show the table. So I want to know all of the necesary > > commands, that i can install Mac-OS 9.2 and debian woody 3.0 PPC on my PPC. > > > > What is the command to create the Root-Partition / Swap-Partition / > > Mac-Partition? http://people.debian.org/~branden/ibook/ Excerpt from the page: "These instructions should apply to any model of iBook, but they have only been tested by the author on a 2001 iBook Dual USB" I used the instructions for a PowerBook G4 (867 MHz), with Mac OS X already on the very last partition of the disk -- I left the very first part of the hard disk free for Debian ... and it worked out of the box for me (and at this time I didn't have nearly the slightest idea of how Debian works; I had used RedHat Linux about 2 years before that) I definitely can't say whether this page will help you, as I don't know your machine: If in doubt: Please don't use it... But the instructions there might give you an idea perhaps of what it's about. I'd back up everything I have on a disk before partitioning it .. Good luck, Wolfgang Brandon Robinson, I Cc this to you as I have never told you that your page http://people.debian.org/~branden/ibook/ worked for me, too ... Thanks for it .. Best Regards, Wolfgang -- Profile, Links: http://profiles.yahoo.com/wolfgangpfeiffer


text:
- Sound: 4
- Overall Impression: 6
- Reliability & Durability: 8
- Action, Fit & Finish: 6
- Features: 8
Users' score:
(11 votes)
Sound — 4
Style: everything from Clapton to classical, to Folk, to blues. Though this guitar has a great sound for blues and isn't bad for finger-picking, strumming chords is out of the question. If you try to play chords the sound is far to twangy, metallic, and contorted. The sound produced in general is a bit tinny for my liking, with the ability to produce rich base tones almost non-existant. That said, if you like to play blues, this guitar is awesome.
Overall Impression — 6
This guitar is good for blues and some louder, grungier styles of fingerpicking. This is my first guitar which I've been playing for a few months now, but it falls short of even my playing ability after this short a time. If it were stolen I would probably go for a Martin.
Reliability & Durability — 8
I would take this guitar to a gig, just so long as I wasn't trying to play anything soft and beautiful. This guitar only has one volume: loud, and sounds horrible at quieter volumes. The hardware seems sturdy and durable, and the guitar is dependable, and stays in tune for months. Also, despite everything I've put it through, there is hardly a scratch in the finish.
Action, Fit & Finish — 6
Action is not bad on this guitar but could be better, and it feels like it is well built, although a close inspection reveals minor flaws (ie. glue in otherwise unseen cracks, etc).
Features — 8
- 20 frets - Rosewood fretboard - Pickguard - Non-locking tuners - Inlaid fret dots - Spruce top - Dreadnought style - Standard acoustic features, nothing special but everything you really need.


text:
ELYRIA — Gone are the days when happy schoolchildren come home to tell parents about the extra time they got to spend outside because of a fire drill.
Now, parents hear stories of students being told to silently stand in the corner of a classroom away from doors and windows while teachers shut off lights and lock classroom doors. Depending on the school, it may be called a quiet drill or lockdown drill. It doesn't matter the name, the goal is the same.
Schools are now preparing students for matters much worse than fire and smoke-filled hallways. Students also have to know what to do if an armed intruder invades the sanctity of their school.
"We are thinking about it every day," said Dawn McCreedy, Elyria's director of pupil services. "It's a sad fact of life, but we are taking measures to keep kids safe on a daily basis."
McCreedy's words ring home on a day like Friday, when a devastating shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut left 20 young students dead as well as six adults, and prompted school leaders to review their own crisis plans.
It is the second worst mass shooting in U.S. history, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 when 33 people died. The tragedy eclipses the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in which 13 died and 24 were injured.
If any good comes from such tragedies, it's the fact that school officials in other districts use the information that can be gleaned to keep kids in their own schools safer.
"We have fire drills, lockdown drills, evacuation drills — you name it," Lorain Superintendent Tom Tucker said. "We are doing everything we can, and the purpose is to have everyone safe."
Tucker would not go into detail about the specific crisis plans the district uses, but he said that when the threat is from the area surrounding a school — an armed criminal running loose in the neighborhood — one sort of lockdown drill includes locking all doors so no one can enter or exit a building.
When the security of the building is compromised, a more intensified lockdown includes locking all classroom doors and keeping everyone in place.
"No one moves, no one goes into the halls, and no one leaves the building," he said.
McCreedy said crisis plans are always changing and every new scenario is an opportunity to say, "What more could have been done?"
"Columbine and Virginia Tech taught us that sitting and waiting is not always the best option," McCreedy said. "Kids died hiding under their desks. We want our staff to be able to analyze situations and know it's not always a good thing to hide. Sometimes it's best to evaluate the situation and make an escape if you can."
McCreedy said in Elyria, school officials often meet with local law enforcement to come up with scenario plans. The information is then sent to teachers, who in the prior shootings have been the ones who have had to make the gut-wrenching, split-second decisions.
While the debate over what could be done is likely to continue, what parents can do today is focus on their children, said Oberlin Schools Superintendent John Schroth. They cannot process tragedy like adults and may also wonder if their schools are safe.
"The actions of a deranged individual cannot be explained or justified," Schroth said in a emailed message to parents. "Please monitor your children closely for signs of distress and encourage those who come forward with comments and concerns to talk about their feelings."
Schroth said counselors will be available Monday for those students who need to talk.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Emiliano Cardboard Caskett
This particular EMILIANO Cardboard Casket is produced with the highest quality of ash wood.This casket is availablein the color Cherry. The double covered top offers ways and options for viewing. The casketis equipped with sets of brass grips that are shaded in Gold plate. A comprehensive carving is gloriously depicted at the top of the lid, the edges and also the facets.
Within you will find a filling that is certainly designed out of the softest velvet material hued in white. It will be suitable for a divine funeral. This top quality hand-sculpted casket gives nothing but value to the individual you once treasured dearly.
Additional Product Information
|Mahogany Veneer
Additional description goes here
|Dark Cherry
|High Gloss
Finest quality velvet fabric in white is laid on its interior to match.
Additional description goes here.
|Corner Accessories
|Additional description goes here.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank you, and the care that you have provided us. The casket was beautiful, and the funeral director you reccomended us took care of us and have helped make the service very beautiful."
- Adam H. Dandenong, Vic
"My family and I just want to thank you from the bottom of our heart. We thought we couldn't afford a decent casket after we saw the prices at the funeral homes.. until we came accross your website and have found the perfect one for a decent price. Again we just want to thank you, for guiding us through the buying process and made it easy for our family"
- Jason P. Heidelberg, Vic
"Our Son was a big collingwood fan and supporter. So we wanted a casket that allowed us to embrace this. After a quick chat with the staff at Coffin World... we were able to get a lovely white metal casket with colours of the collingwood football club beatifully placed on it. I just want to thank you again for your speedy service, as we were in a rush, and the attention to detail you placed on us. We felt at ease and taken care of every step of the way."
- Emily K. Clayton, Vic
"We would like to extend our appreciation and thank you for the detail and care that you put into your work, the casket that was provided for our father was elegant and beatiful. We appreciate very much your kindness and generosity during these difficult times"
- Charles R. Cheltenham, Vic


text:
'I couldn't understand why this freak was targeting my Quattroporte for such abuse'
Hah! I caught the lesbian who keeps slapping stickers on my Quattroporte. There's a coffee shop right opposite where I normally park, so I set up a stakeout and, seven Americanos (what else, right?) later, she turned up. She wasn't quite what I expected - she looked pretty preppy and was younger than I'd thought. I watched her walk up the road, look around and then walk back again.
She had one of those really annoying "This is not a bag, this is a piece of straw, I'm saving the world, aren't I brilliant!!!" type bags. She stuck her hand in it and pulled out some bits of paper. She pulled the back off some of them and stuck them right in the middle of my windscreen before scuttling away like the rat she clearly is.
I leapt off my stool and ran over to the car. The stickers said: "Go home, pollute your own evil country you roadhog." This carpet-muncher must have actually gone and got these made up somewhere and paid money for it. Unbelievable. How did she know that I was American?
I moved quickly on down the street after her, keeping a bit of a distance so that she wouldn't know I was following. This wasn't a case for the police - it was a case for SUPERCOOP. The car vandal turned down Chepstow Road and I was hot on her tail. She turned left and went past the Cock & Bottle pub. A hundred yards later, she turned into a road and entered a huge house. Not only was this asswipe a vandal, but she was loaded to boot. I relaxed, because now I knew where she lived, I could really think about my plan of action. Revenge was obviously the first thing on my mind, but how?
I wandered around the back to see more of the house. It was seriously huge and had a big garden. I couldn't understand why this freak, who lives three streets away from me, was targeting my Quattroporte for such particular abuse. I needed to know whether it was an attack on me or just on any nice cars in the neighbourhood. The thing was, she knew I was American, so it had to be personal. I was pretty sure that I didn't know her - maybe she was an Indy reader? Having read some of the abuse launched at me in letters and emails recently, I wouldn't put anything past you bastards. You just can't accept that I'm a successful American coming over here and telling you all about it. Well, guess what? Hard cheese, as Ben always says. I'm here to stay.
Anyway, back to the story. I waited for about half an hour and was about to head home when she comes out of her house again. Before I can do anything, she gets into a really expensive Range Rover Vogue parked in the street. I was fuming - those things EAT gas, and she dares to hassle me for stuff...
My plan was formed, though. I waited until she went and then hailed a cab up to Notting Hill. I went into the photocopying place and asked them whether they could make REALLY sticky stickers for me. They looked a touch puzzled but said that, yes, they could. I ordered 100 stickers in bright red with black writing and went to Kensington Place for a celebration lunch while they printed them up.
Michael Winner was in there and I had to wait 20 minutes for a table because he'd commandeered one for four all to himself. I nearly went over and let him have it, but I had other things on my plate and decided to behave. After a great lunch of roast partridge and bread sauce (your only really decent contribution to global cuisine), I returned to the photocopy place. The long-haired student behind the desk handed me a bag and asked me what I was going to do with them. I told him to mind his own business and get a haircut, and I was gone.
I was feeling really good, actually. There's nothing like a good plan when it comes together. I sat on a bench and inspected my stickers. "Vote Bush for a third term - make the world a safer place." I actually chuckled to myself out loud and realised that I must look like a loon-ball. I hailed another cab and headed back down to the Grove. I got out at the Cock & Bottle and peered round the corner. The Range Rover was back and parked in the same place. I looked around, nobody, I got to work. By the time I was finished, the machine looked like a Republican Party golf cart. One woman walked past me as I was working, but she just tut-tutted in that " don't want to get involved but you're a monster" type of Brit way. I took a few steps back to admire my handiwork and then hotfooted it into the Cock & Bottle for a celebratory drink or six.
I sat by the window and waited for my quarry. It didn't take long. A neighbour walked past and then rang her doorbell to inform her of the situation. She came out and went totally ballistic. I couldn't hear anything, but it was like watching a great silent movie. I don't think I'll be getting any more hassle from this particular protagonist. Oh, and just in case she is an Indy reader: don't mess with the Coop - you'll always end up in second place. Cooper out.
scoopercooper@ gmail.com; www.myspace.com/scoopercooper
Belfast Telegraph
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text:
ACParadise Network: American Cosplay Paradise American Cosplay Experience American Cosplay Snapshots
Cosplayer Darth Sunshine > Costume of Princess Zelda (Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past)
- Most Recent Photo
- 09-16-2011
- Series
- Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Character
- Princess Zelda
- Year Completed:
- 2013
- Construction Difficulty:
- Costume worn at:
- A-Kon 2013
About this Costume
- Construction Details:
Zelda's dresses are usually very elaborate and have many pieces, so it's nice to have something simple and comfy to wear, and easy to pack! :D
The white under dress was Butterick 5315, I lengthened the skirt and used a different pattern for the sleeves for the extra poof. The blue dress is two different patterns, McCall's 5954 for bodice, and the same skirt pattern as the white dress, just gathered. Unfortunately I didn't have the budget to search for a more accurate blue, so I ended up settling for what was at Joann's since I had a gift card. I might redo that if I ever find a better fabric.
The tiara is actually a choker I found at Joann's, along with the bracelet. The earrings came from an Etsy store, I just painted them.
The wig is a Jenny from New Look in 24/613. I meant to do the little hair flippies, but I ended up realizing too the soon to the photo shoot that I couldn't just curl and sew in some extensions like I had intended, and that I would have to cut into the wig itself. Hopefully I'll get that part figured out some time soon.
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