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With the summer weather on it's way more and more of us will be taking our children on holidays with us and with most holidays there will be a swimming pool of some kind. Safety is something I obsess about when it comes to the little ones and when you add water to the equation I panic even more.
These are a very simple tool when it comes to keeping your child safe in water. They come packaged flat as they need to be inflated to use. They have a fun bright colour that will make them more cheerful looking for those bright, sunny days. And the fun aquatic design will hopefully make the children more likely to wear them. The design is of a black and White wale, bubbles, large seashells, and small black and White fish.
The outside of the armbands are a bright fire engine red, and the interior is an egg yoke yellow. When inflated they are super soft with a cushion like bounce to them. These then slide up on to the little ones arms and up on to their bicep. They fit snugly around the child's arms tight enough to ensure they don't slip down and end up floating around the pool and putting your child at risk. But they are also soft enough that they don't irritate the child's skin by rubbing or feeling too tight.
Of course the purpose of the armbands is to aid buoyancy and prevent the child from going under the water, they do this very well and look super cute while doing it. To inflate I just blow them up using the valve and to deflate I just remove the stopper and give the valve a squeeze. They are wafer thin when deflated and this makes them very easy to carry around in my bag. They are very easy to inflate which is really important just a few poofs and they are up. There is nothing worse than hyperventilating while trying to inflate something like this. They take no time at all to inflate so there is no effort needed, they really are that easy.
There is the early learning centre logo visibly on the front letting you know they they are manufactured to the highest child safety standard and there is also a lengthy warning message on the super soft material. I like this because a warning leaflet can be looked at and then tossed in the bin just as the armbands are unwrapped. But having the warning permanently printed on the armbands themselves keeps this vital safety information always in view.
When the children are wearing these I can see the work they are doing. It is very easy to see that these great armbands are literally holding them up above the water. Having this peace of mind is fantastic but it is not a reason to EVER leave a small child unsupervised in water. These armbands are not secured in any way that the child would be unable to remove them themselves so there is always the fear that they could pull one or both of them off and endanger themselves. For that reason the child or children must always be supervised.
These are an necessity in my opinion, if I'm going to be around water I will always have these on the children. They are very easy to use, are comfortable for the child and the bright colours and fun designed makes them enjoyable for the child too.
These are a super simple toy that I love the children to play with as it encourages them to use their imagination rather than just mindlessly play. The little ones love these so much because they can play shopkeeper and the other child or children can be the customer. It is hilarious to watch them as they take on the roles of mummy, daddy and baby. It is so funny to watch them exaggerate the roles as they see them. It is also fantastic that they use numbers, amounts, colours and words as they "shop".
For example they say; I want two strawberries for dinner and one lemon for pudding (what a delicious meal that would be) but toys like these help with colour recognition and also social skills as the children interact with each other.
These hard plastic fruit shapes come in a mesh like bag just like vegetables such as onions would be in, in the supermarket. I however put this bag in the bin once I had opened it as I just emptied these fruits in to their play bucket with the rest of their food shaped toys. I did this for safety reasons as any bag could end up being a danger to the child.
Each toy is vividly coloured in a mix of deep blue, sun yellow, rich red, and grass green. The toys are hollow making them very light to play with and also have a textured / dimpled front to them to make them fun to touch and more realistic to look at. The only difference between each piece is the difference in colour as they all resemble a strawberry in appearance. This however goes unnoticed by the children and they soon begin to call them by their proper names in relation to their colour. They call the yellow a lemon, the green an apple, the blue a blueberry and the red a strawberry. These toys are made of a shiny plastic which makes them very easy to keep clean. I give them a wash in the sink in some warm soapy water every now and then just to keep them as clean as possible. These are also great when used with other food related toys such as tea and kitchen sets. The little ones love to pile these in to their pots and play like they are preparing the evening meal.
Another thing I have noticed is that the children like to pair up the fruits with their proper match. By this I mean they get two blueberries and hold them back to back to make a full fruit, they then use their play knives from their tea sets to cut the fruit in half. When you see a young child doing this rather clever move you can't help but be impressed. That's something worth adding these are perfect for indoor or outdoor play as they are very well made and quite sturdy. They have survived being stood on by children many times and only scuff if they are rubbed along the ground. I love how these help the children to learn all while having far more fun than they would by sitting in the house staring at the TV. So for that reason I give these toys five stars
As a result of a horrible scare I experienced while using the blue version of this ball this pink version ended up in the very same place as the other. THE BIN!
This is an incredibly soft ball that leads the owner in to a false sense of security that their child will be safe while playing with it. The metrical used is a super soft foam that ensures gentle play while the children kick and toss it to each other. That is one of the reason I bought these balls in the first place. I have had too many occasions where a child has ended up in tears after being hit in the face with a ball they where playing with. Also this ball will not burst like a normal inflatable ball would so that also made this more appealing because of the countless numbers of standard footballs that have come and gone over the previous summer months.
Also the fact that this ball wouldn't cause too much damage if used indoors was something that worked in it's favour. But soon enough I realised that this ball and it's blue friend were not as innocent as they first appeared.
The foam on these balls is easily picked at by little fingers and comes off in small clumps. This material can end up in the mouths of the child or pets. I had the horrific experience of discovering some of this very foam in my four year old sisters mouth ( The full story is in the review for the blue version of this ball ),
This reason alone is why I would NEVER recommend this type of ball to be played with unsupervised and especially not by very young children that will put everything into their mouths. This ball is said to be suitable for ages 3 and up but after my terrifying experience I would never allow a child that young to play with this ball.
Another couple of reasons I find this make to be disappointing is that they are very light indeed and will catch the slightest breeze and blow out of the garden or even worse onto the street if your children are playing outside. I know every ball can end up in the neighbours yard or on the road but they normally get kicked out there not blown. This ball also Iike the blue one is absorbent (I know it's made of sponge) I didn't expect it to be SO absorbent. And if the outer seal is broken by being picked at the water gets in even more.
This ball is a fantastic alternative to harder balls that smash windows and hurt children during play but the fact that the material can be swallowed makes this a very dangerous toy indeed. To look at it you would never think it could hurt your child but this very make only in a different colour nearly resulted in an unthinkable situation. Both this hall and the blue version had been played with for months and months before any thing bad happened but once it did we couldn't keep these in our house any longer.
Just as with the blue version I can not give this ball any more than one star and if I could Mark it lower I would.
Please supervise your child while playing with this kind of ball.
This is one of the best toys I have ever bought.
But also one of the WORST toys I have ever bought.
Well it's simple first here's the good points. This ball is super soft. With nearly every toy that is intended to be used for outdoor play they inevitably get played with indoors. This isn't the biggest of problems with small toys that stay on the ground such as outdoor weatherproof jigsaws buckets and spades and so forth but when it comes to footballs the destruction they can cause inside the house is no laughing matter. That is the reason I love this ball, plus it comes from the thrust worthy name of the Early Learning Centre.
When the little ones start kicking this around inside my sitting room it gives me enough time to stop them without the flat screen TV being smashed like it would with a standard hard as a rock football. This ball is the equivalent of kicking a mash mellow around the room. It is made of super soft foam and when it hits against anything most of the force is absorbed by the ball itself. Destruction of my belongings aside the softness of this ball also ensures safe play between the children themselves. When I leave them to have a kick around out in the back garden there is never tears after the ball has hit one or the other in the leg, foot, tummy or even the face. This ball NEVER hurts any child I have allowed to play with it. Think of a bathroom sponge and how that could never hurt you no matter how hard anyone hit you with it, it is exactly the same with this ball.
Now for the downside of using this ball over a standard ball or the Thomas the tank engine ball that I recently reviewed. The fact that it is so light means the wind can catch it very easily and blow it in to the neighbours yard in the blink of an eye and that WILL result in tears from the children especially if the ball can not be retrieved instantly. If this ball is kicked or thrown high enough for even a light breeze to catch it, it annoyingly ends up caught up in trees and bushes way to often for my liking.
Another down side to this soft sponge ball is the fact that it is just that, a sponge. It absorbs water and if it happens to end up in a puddle of dirty water the ball then becomes a breading ground for germs and bugs. It does feel like it has some kind of covering on it and I think that may be there to repel water but I find it doesn't do a good enough job.
But the main reason I no longer use this ball is that sooner rather than later the little ones will pick at it and we all know how sharp their little fingernails are. This not only results in a total mess where clumps and specks of foam are absolutely everywhere. That is the least of my worries I became paranoid and panicked that the children may have put this foam into their mouths like they do with everything else I checked all their mouths and to my horror one of them had a a small clump of foam in her mouth. I was terrified we went to A&E and thankfully everything was okay. In our panic we hadn't noticed that the piece of foam was the same size as the hole in the ball but luckily we had brough it with us to the hospital.
This ball is said to be suitable of ages 3 and up but I would NEVER leave this ball with a child that young. For that reason alone I have taken this ball away and replaced it with the Thomas the Tank Engine ball I mentioned earlier. The only time I would say for you to allow this ball to be used is when you are standing there watching them as they play. But some people I know allow their children to play with these in their room totally unsupervised. I have nightmares about what happened and more so about what could have happened. The doctor said we were very lucky that she hadn't had time to swallow it as the foam would have lodged in her throat and would have cut off her air supply. Even thinking about it makes me shiver.
This ball is super soft and fun to play with but I can't give it more than one star because of the risks involved.
Please observe you children while playing with this kind of ball.
These are great fun during the summer for the little ones although I had to buy two bags as one just wasn't enough to get the desired effect. What I do is inflate our inflatable pool, and instead of filling it with water I fill it with two hundred of these soft play balls. Each bag contains one hundred balls and costs ten pounds so to get the fun deep effect it will cost you twenty pounds. The deeper and wider the pool the better although you can use an empty sand pit too. But the reason I favour the pool is that the edges are soft and there is no risk of the child banging their head off the side while under the balls.
The balls themselves are different shades of lovely Girlie pink. They have a smooth, shiny finish to them which I love because they don't absorb anything like soft material balls might do. They wipe clean or you can do what I do, once a week during the summer (the time they get most use) I use the hose and give them a heavy spray and leave the pool with some water inside and give them a swoosh around. Of course these balls don't HAVE to be used outdoors only but the times I have used them inside I was finding balls under chairs and under the sofa for days after.
These are a good tool when it comes to teaching your child to count. I have found the younger they are of course they can't count too high, so I just unzip the bag and let the children put in one at a time counting up to ten and then they start at one again up to ten and so on. The older the children the more fun it is as they approach the one hundred number and they are thrilled when they get two the last one (with the help of their friends of course). The bag they come in is great for storing the balls. The fact that it has a carry handle and zips closed makes keeping the balls in one place very easy and locating when needed far easier than storing them in a black rubbish bag in the shed. The square bag has a strong sip that helps keep the shape. The bottom stays flat as it too has a strong seam. The bag is see through so the little ones get very excited as they see them being brought towards the pool.
The shape of the balls ensures that it's always safe for the child to put their head beneath them just like it would be in any play pit. There is always air circulating around as there are no edges and there will always be gaps between each and every ball. HOWEVER I still recommend that you monitor the children while they play.
Each ball is the same size and they are all around the size of a tennis ball. They are soft enough to be comfortable to play in and as I said the fact that they are easy to keep clean is something I love as germs can be an issue with communal toys.
These are a very fun, pretty coloured, simple toy that doesn't cost the earth and will last year in year out. They give the children a lot of pleasure and possibly the best part is they encourage them to play outing the fresh air rather than sitting in front of the television while the sun is shining outside.
I love this ball it is perfect for fun safe play for all ages (three years and up). This nine inch ball is made of a soft yet strong rubber material. The fact that it is far softer and lighter than a standard child's football makes this a safe alternative for a game of garden soccer. It is heavy enough to travel in the direction the child wants it to go but not heavy enough to shatter a window if it happens to come hurtling towards it.
This ball is very tactile indeed. It feels lovely to hold, it is fully inflated when you buy it but it has some give meaning that I can't stop squeezing it. The next sentence is very strange I know but it has to be said. The smell of this ball is lovely, it reminds me of my childhood it is a clean but strong rubber smell not offensive at all and it fades off eventually as the ball is used in different situations but the initial small is what memories are made of (for me at least).
The design on this ball is of a very busy Thomas the tank engine design and features a large central cloud like white Thomas & Friends print. That aside the rest of the ball is full of fun Thomas images that the little ones will love.
If this ball is used on grass it will get the odd grass stain but they wash off easily. However if this is used on concrete it will scuff very easily dew to its soft material and heavily printed covering. One hit against a pebble dashed wall and the look of the ball is ruined. This is aimed at younger children so it is unlikely to be man handled so it will last the entire summer you can rest assured. In fact our one has lasted many summers as it only gets used in the park so it never cones into contact with hard surfaces. One last thing on a really hot day this ball will become very soft indeed so it is best to always remember to bring it in doors after playing with it as it can become warped if exposed to prolonged periods of direct sunlight plus the print will fade. This is an unfortunate problem with this ball, as of course out doors is where it is going to be used. This isn enough to put me off being this ball again because it has so may things going in it's favour while only one or two agents. Speaking of outdoors, even though this ball is soft it is NOT suitable for indoor play as it will very easily knock figurines and the like off shelves (I speak from experience).
Another thing I have noticed is that some kids will out and out refuse to play with this ball as it is too young for them but for they age group it is aimed at they seem to love this ball.
This is an affordable, cute as can be, light ball. It is perfect for the little ones over the bright summer months. It costs only £2.80 in Mothercare at the moment and I think it is a great buy for any child but most of all for a Thomas fan.
I bought this for my little sister but I'm embarrassed to say that I have had a go on it quite a few times. The key to this "toy" is good personal balance. It feels more like a workout than a fun game (for me that is my little sister bounces around on it like it is the easiest thing in the world) you use your leg mussels and even your core mussels to keep straight.
This toy is nothing new pogo sticks have been around and very popular for decades. The idea is you place the rubber grip end on the ground, hold the top securely and the slowly step up onto the foot support area one foot at a time. Then jump in that position still holding on tight and the pogo stick will go with you and then enable the user to hop around on the stick. In my experience this simple toy doesn't hold the attention of children that are more used to video games and toys that flash lights and makes sounds. This is a traditional toy, very simple looking, fun to use but do judge whether or not the child you are buying this for will actually enjoy it or not. Mother care is selling this for just under thirty pounds at the moment so it's not the cheapest of toys either.
Construction wise it is well made (as you would expect seeing it has to support a child's weight) it is made of heavy duty aluminium and the foot support base is made of strong, thick plastic. The bottom of the pogo stick has a thick black covering to protect the stick, but not only that it also protects the surface that it is being used on and most importantly it prevents the pole from slipping on smooth surfaces and sending your child flying. The last use for this end cover is to cushion the bounce and prevent uncomfortable vibrations being passed up through the stick into the legs, knees and hands of the user.
Be aware that once this is presented as a gift to a child they will want to use it indoors. This is a very bad idea, the hopping movement can become quite high depending on the strength of the users legs and then add the height of the child to that and low hanging light fittings become a health hazard. Also using it indoors makes every sharp edged piece of furniture very dangerous indeed.
My mother hates this and wishes I had never bought it in the first place and I kind of do too. The reason for this is the amount of tears that have been shed dew to scratched legs, knees and elbows. It doesn't take much to fall off this toy and it is not unheard of for other children to find it amusing to push the user off balance.
All that aside this is a well made, strong OUTDOOR toy that brings back memories of a more innocent time but children to need to be observed while using it for their own safety and the safety of others (if this and the weight of the user comes down on to the foot of another child you can imagine the outcome) two final things worth adding are that this is only suitable for children aged seven and up and must not be used by younger children (another reason to keep an eye on them as little ones will want a go on it too) and the maximum weight it can take is 54kg.
I have given this three stars for the quality of the toy but marked it down dew to the dangers involved.
I love exercising it makes me feel alive and wakes me up first thing in the morning. I go to the gym regularly normally before lunch time and I found this sports shoes to be good for most of the exercises I do while there.
The reason I like this pair over my others is that they are light and flexible and I find that to be useful when doing step aerobics for example. They are roomy enough for me not to feel confined or restricted but they also support my instep and cushion my heel which is vital when partaking in a high impact workout. I have the pink ones like pictured above and they are very Girly which I love.
The pink thyme runs around the rim of the sole and the K Swiss badge is also in the very same matching pink which I think is a nice subtle touch. The laces are good quality, thick and strong and long enough to tie if you so wish. That said the trend nowadays is to tuck the lace into the shoes in order to not have an unsightly bow in the front. This can be done with these of course but it is not advisable when working out as that way of wearing them really doesn't secure the shoe to the foot at all. If you do wear them the fashion conscious way the pink under the tongue of the shoe will be more visible which is a plus.
Another thing that I love is the overall shape of this shoe, it is basically a very figure hugging fit, it follows the curve of my foot and adds no width of size to my foot through the fabric used. Some shoes can make my feet look broad when they are not. I have small feet and these well made shoes show that and that's something I love about them.
The contrasting grey makes the pink pop I find, and the bright as can be White also does it's part in making this a very fashionable bright sports shoe. The fact that there ate three colours to match the rest of my outfit with is a welcomed bonus. For example grey sweatpants and a pink top looks great with them.
I love the sole of these shoes, it is fantastic at gripping shiny floors such as that of a basketball court. The reason I mention this is because I need that grip when considering new running shoes. As you can see from the picture above there are lots of little groves in the sole and they really helps in giving me that secure feeling I require while working out. These also don't have that ugly flat sole to them like a lot of sport shoes do recently. They have a nice arch that not only looks good but really makes them very comfortable. They clean easy too with a damp cloth but the laces will need to be popped in to the washing machine.
These really are a fantastic light sports shoe, they are great for every day use such as walking but they are absolutely perfect for light exercise such as jogging and even harder exercise such as running.
I love taking photos and I'm guilty of taking too many of them quite literally thousands of them so that results in countless numbers of SD cards of varying sizes (memory size) sitting in drawers all over my house. The fact that most, if not all digital cameras come with a USB slot on the side so I can transfer my photos to and from my computer or laptop is a very handy way to view and edit them. But to be able to just slot my SD card into this USB stick makes the process even quicker and even more simple to do.
This compact gadget is only the size of a standard USB stick so that means I can carry it around with me to clients and just pop it into my laptop or theirs if I don't happen have mine with me. Having photos of my previous work is a great way of helping a client to know what to expect and what the end result may look like if they use the products correctly.
I just simply remove this tiny reader from my bag pop in my SD card by sliding it into the side of the reader and insert it into the USB slot on the device which I wish to display the images on. They appear almost instantly on screen and I can flick and scroll through them at my leisure. This can also accommodate SDHC they are the high capacity cards and give me the option of using them If I need to. Quite a few new TVs and fancy gadgets have USB slots built in so that as well is fantastic to be able to view my work on a large screen TV if I want to.
Apart from using this for work we had a Playstation 3 that was one of the first models to be realised and that had a SD card slot on the front under the flap but when we replaced our PS3 with the new slimmer bigger memory model the SD card slot had been removed so having this gadget again makes viewing and transferring photos back and forth so much easier than having to do it with the usual USB cable.
This is a plug and play device meaning just that, I just pop it in and it is ready to go it couldn't be easier to use. This one cost me around ten pounds but there are very cheap ones available but I can't vouch on how well they work but you can pick them up in £ world, and saying that according to dooyoo amazon Market place are selling this for only 99p at the moment.
Whether it is £1 or £10 the clear convenience and ease of use of this device means I have to give it five stars.
I'm very lucky seeing the job I'm in, as I regularly receive full size "trial products" from some of the best cosmetics and skin care products from around the world. I am also very lucky to have plenty of beautician, makeup artist and dermatologist friends that are very generous with the products they receive and that's how I have had the opportunity to not only try but enjoy a large selection of Guerlain products from the masters of makeup and skin care at Guerlain France. Lucky me!
The Super Aqua Face Mask is not a prettily packaged as most of their products, it come in a rather standard looking tube compared to their normally lavish looking packaging. However what it does have in it's favour is that it is a pretty colour it's a soft duck egg blue with an attractive and striking gold screw on lid.
I love face masks, they are a fantastic way of ensuring good, deep penetration of the ingredients. Plus I feel like I am treating myself when applying it. First of all I cleanse my face as I would normally do and pat my skin dry using a very soft towel.
Tip : always pat dry never rub as it is harsh on the skin and can cause irritation and drying of the skin which can lead to wrinkles.
Once clean, I then squeeze gently on the tube and out on to my fingertips.
Tip: when using a cream or any product for the first time always squeeze or press as gently as possible as you don't yet know the consistency of the product and how much will be dispensed from the container. As I always say if too much comes out you can't put it back in. This is even more important when dealing with expensive products such as this as you don't want to waste a drop.
With the product on my fingertips I then simply spread slowly across my face all the way up to just below my hairline. As with any mask I of course avoid the delicate eye area. The cream smells wonderful, fresh and clean. It is a lusciously thick, creamy cream that just glides over my skin and feels sensual upon application. Once applied I sit back and watch TV or read a book. It feels wonderfully cool on my skin, refreshingly cool. This mask should be left on for ten minutes at the very least but I always tell my clients this little tip.
Apply a tiny dot of the product to the inside of your arm the day before you try a product for the first time. If no irritation occurs you can then leave the cream, or mask on for double the recommended time.
This tip only applies to moisturising products and moisturising masks.
NEVER! use products that peal, exfoliate, or heat the skin for longer than instructed on the product.
Once the allotted time has passed I then simply wash off the mask using clean, warm water. Using my fingertips again I slowly and gently rub in circular motions to aid in it's removal. Once removed the reason it is called Super Aqua becomes very clear. My skin is SO soft, SO plump, SO incredibly moisturised. I'm young and thankfully don't have any wrinkles but my more mature clients both male and female love how this plumps out their skin and removes fine lines in the process. But it is the feeling of new, fresh, young feeling skin that I love about this product. The results are visible too, my clients have commented that they have received compliments on how well they are looking once they use this mask. And I have also revived nice comments from my colleagues after using Super Aqua the night before. This is a product that actually works, it is one of THE best moisturising products I have every had the privilege of trying. A little goes a long way so one 75ml (£38) tube should last far longer than a cheap mask.
Do I recommend this product?
Absolutely 100% yes.
Stay beautiful xxx
This digital photo frame by Sony sits perched up on our mantle piece day in day out showing me happy memories and images of loved ones and for that reason alone i love this gadget. The DPF-D85 must be plugged in to work (look at it as being like a mini TV although it doesn't have to be plugged in at all times, more about that later) There is even a handy little remote control that comes with it. There is an easy to understand instruction manual included in the box so it's a quick and easy job to get this photo frame up and running. The frame itself has a shiny black surround again like you would find on a large LCD TV. Speaking of LCD that's what the screen is, it is an eight inch LCD and that must be the reason why the pictures are displayed so vividly and clearly on the screen. At the bottom of the glossy black photo frame there is also the Sony logo. The cool thing about this is it lights up and turns off if and when you want it.
There is a good quality stand that comes with the frame and it matches the Sony logo with it's silver toned colouring. There is some memory space built in to this frame which I was surprised and happy to find. But it is quite small at only 250mb but the manual says that means it can hold up to five hundred photos but the higher the quality of the photos I guess the less it will hold. The photos can be displayed in either portrait or landscape so it's up to you. I have displayed it both ways and regularly change it depending on what else I have on my mantelpiece.
There is a nice feature that if I move the frame from one way to the other the screen adjusts just like on an iPad. I like the fact that this frame can also be charged meaning I don't have to have the ugly wire trailing from it at all times. Plus there is a simple on off switch that helps me save power when I wont be there to enjoy the photographs. I have the little SD card that I just reviewed and this is pushed into this frame and that means I can have hundreds of more photos to look at throughout my day or if I use a large capacity card I can have thousands of photos to view. Imagine how many photo albums that would take and how crazy my home would look if I had to display them all each in an individual frame let alone how much money it would cost.
Seeing that I use an SD card to store and view my photos I rarely have to load them directly on to the frame from my computer. But in the time that I have it was a very easy process. I just connected the USB into the computer and the other end into the camera. I then had to choose, edit, crop and adjust them before transferring to the frame. When I give one of these as a gift I like to do all that work myself beforehand and give the frame fully loaded with meaningful photos ready to go. There is a great function that allows me to set cretin photos to cretin dates of the year. This is easy to do and when I gave this to my grandparents I had it set with my parents wedding day picture to appear on their anniversary, and for all her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren's photos to appear on their birthdays and other special occasions. This is a lovely feature and not a week goes buy without my granny ringing up to say who's on the frame. A picture of me sitting in my highchair aged two and a half completely covered in chocolate after eating an Easter Egg would have popped up on Easter Sunday for example.
The remote control allows me to flick through the photographs or pays one that I would like to display for longer, and also allows me access to control the menu settings for slide shows and so forth. This frame not only works great (fantastic clear picture) but it allows me to enjoy photos all day long and all year long. It is easy to keep clean (as long as people don't touch the screen) all I have to do is give the frame a wipe with a cloth and the screen I use the same cleaning tissues I use for my LCD TV and laptop screen.
But the quality of the screen and the stunning style of the frame aside it's the happiness that it has brought my granny that makes me love this digital photo frame so much.
SD cards are literally the brain power needed to save all my photographs on my digital cameras. But i also use different makes and memory sizes in my mobile and the largest in my camcorder. They are in general a fantastically light, unbelievably small, compact little device that more things seem to be requiring each day.
This particular SD is made by Integral I have to admit I have never heard of this manufacture but I received this 2GB SD card with a lovely camera as a gift one Christmas. I thought that was a nice touch to include an SD card so I could start taking pictures straight away. This SD card does not differ in any way to the countless other ones I own that are either sitting in a drawer somewhere or are still in the devices they were bought for. SD cards are just very small hard plastic cases that hold and protect a chip I expect. Inside this plastic case are the brains that hold all my precious photos / memories.
Seeing that this card is only a 2GB model I don't use this for storing video recordings taken with my digital camera. The reason for this is it will run out of space far more quickly if used to store video especially high quality video. It does however hold lots and lots of photographs. I have since bought larger sized cards but I have moved this one from my camera into my digital photo frame so it is still getting plenty if use. All I have to do is slot it into the side of the frame and within seconds hundreds of crystal clear photos can be displayed for my whole family to enjoy.
The little card originally came sealed in one of those horribly annoying clear plastic coverings with the sealed edge (I hate them). In order to open it safely without cutting myself off the sharp hard plastic I needed to use a scissors. Once out it is easy to slot in to whatever device I wish to use it in and in the case of my digital camera I just had to push on the top of the card for it to pop back out, simple. The pictures look great when viewing them on our TV (it has an SD slot on the side) and I'm not sure if the card makes much difference or if it is all down to the camera used.
Technology has come a very long way when you look at these tiny cards and compare then to either a video tape or at the rolls of film it would take to hold all that information. There are of course larger sized cards available (by large I mean in memory) but this is perfect for holding hundreds for photographs at a time and if you shop around online it can be bought for less than five pounds. And amazon have it for only £2.63 at the moment.
I have said before in my reviews that I love Apple products and that I also prefer the in ear kind rather than the ones that rest on the nook of the ear. I'm a sucker for a big name and when it comes to ear and headphones you don't get much bigger than Sennheiser.
Even though I love the look of the White Apple ear buds they are not actually noise cancelling earphones. That said, they are better than the standard earphones that come with iPods. The CX500 still don't feature noise canceling technology but they do use noise isolating techniques. This is achieved by making sure they fit properly in the ear and keeping the music where it should be and external distractions where they belong on the outside. The fact that there is a good selection of ear buds contained with this means that all types of ears can be accommodated. Not every ear is the same so it's great that unlike most ear bud style earphones these gave me a choice to choose from and the option to find which one suites me best. There are three different sizes of the standard traditional ear buds. And there is also three different sizes of enhanced ear buds. Both are soft and comfortable to wear and sit in place with absolutely no slipping.
By finding the right fit the Sennheiser sound is made all the more enjoyable.
There is a noticeable quality to the sound, there is a depth to it that I don't find on even larger headphones. The clarity is unbelievable. Seeing that most people, if not all will be listening to digital recordings the clarity is fantastic. Vocals are crisp and clear every instrument can be heard and unlike the Apple headphones the base is very much there. It has a good strong yet perfectly balanced base level. It is never overpowering to the extent that it turns the sound in to a muffled mess. It it perfectly in proportion to all the other aspects of the sound. There is an easy to use volume control on the lead this is good because I don't have to reach in to find my devise to lower the volume. I can instantly lower the volume if someone needs my attention or higher it if I am on my own. There is also a little clip provided that I use to attach the lead to my coat. And a small pouch is also included but I have never used it as I always carry a handbag.
These cost more than Apple earphones as far as I'm aware (I received these as a lovely gift) but the sound quality if far superior.
This gets used every day in our house, my mother loves her polish caned food and the majority don't come with ring pulls like most tined foods do nowadays. The one we have has a silver lip and magnetic grip I can't see if that's the case on the one pictured above. This has a really good long cord on it and a three pin plug. The reason I mention that is because my friend has one similar and that has a two pin plug and he needs to use an adaptor. The length of the cable is worth mentioning because it is far longer than I would have expected. This is great if you want to open something in a place with better lighting for example. The length allows me quite some distance and this long cord can then be stored under the electric can opener in a place especially made for it.
This gadget works by placing the can under a magnetic hinged arm that lifts and attaches itself to the top of the can. There is then a sharp edged cutter that when I press down on the arm begins to cut the lid off. The can rotates slowly as it cuts and if I was to stop pressing down on the arm the cutting and rotating would stop instantly. Some times I can let it cut all the way around if I want go remove the entire lid. When I do this the top of the can is left magnetically attached to the magnetic arm while the can can then be removed. The lid pops off the arm very easily with a slight pull.
The times when I would like to fully open the can but still leave the lid attached I simply stop pressing the arm as it approaches the end. This leaves a hindged effect to the lid with it still attached on the can. The reason I do this sometimes is if the contents of the can are very liquid, like a thin soup I don't want the lid detaching to cause a slight splash. Even if it did it would not be much but that is me just being picky. There is a knife sharpening tool at the back of this opener and my mother uses it often and finds it does a great job. This does make a bit of noise as it's working hard trying to open cans but it's not much noise compared to most kitchen appliances and for each can it will only be running for fifteen seconds max. This can't open awkward shaped cans like a sardines can, it needs to be round so the tight cutter can work properly.
If some of the contents of the cans ends up spilling on to the body of the opener it wipes clean very easily with a damp cloth. The magnetic arm does get a bit grubby but luckily it is fully detachable from the device and washes up easily in hot soapy water and reattaches as easily as it cam off.
This is a very easy to use, but I feel it is not totally necessary to own after all there are still manual tin openers that will open all shapes and sizes of cans and tins and won't be using your electricity either. Sometimes the old way is the best way.
The difference between DAB and standard radio broadcasts are vast. This stylish looking retro designed radio is perfect for the kitchen and that is exactly where we have it. It is small enough to fit almost anywhere but we currently have it on the windowsill. It is quite compact at only 175mm x 210mm x 110mm and so should not demand too much of your attention and will blend with most kitchen decor. Our kitchen appliances are mostly silver and we have honey coloured flooring throughout so this radio looks fantastic with it's silver front and honey wood coloured surround and tiny rubber feet to help it grip any surface.
One thing I like is that on the very top of the radio there is also a handy handle if you wish to bring it on a pick nick for example or just simple move it from one room to another. A lot of small radios do not have that feature so it's something I appreciate on this model. At the back you will find the aerial and this pushes down when not in use. There is a vivid blue screen on this and it looks great with the silver finish. It is on this little screen that when you want to tune it for the first time the language selection will be displayed.
First pull up the aerial I mentioned earlier from behind the radio. Pull it up as far as it will go and press a little button that can be found down at the left hand side at the bottom of the radio. It is easy to see and find as it is blue in colour and catches the eye. Once pressed the little screen will light up and then you have to choose what language you would like to use. This is very easy to do, using the tune knob. Once done the radio gets straight to work and begins to tune in all the stations that are available. There are thirty presets to use on this radio meaning I can jump directly to my favourite channel without the need of tuning. The sound of this radio compared to standard FM radio (which it can pick up too by the way) is amazing. It's so much clearer, crisper and an overall brighter sound. The process of tuning the radio is a fast one and soon enough there will be a huge selection to choose from. Unlike standard radio DAB will display information on the blue screen about the channel, and the program. This screen will brighten and dim itself depending on the brightness of the room, this means the screen is always easy to read even from afar. This runs off mains power but there is a pack that can be bought separately that charges so you can use it with out the mains plug. The cable on this radio is reasonably long and allows it to be a bit away from the plug socket.
My entire family love listening to this radio first thing in the morning and I find having the radio playing gently in the background is far more bearable and enjoyable than breakfast TV. This is also nice to have running when I'm cooking, it keeps me company and isn't as distracting as TV would be if I was chopping something for example.
This radio not only looks great but more importantly it sounds great and it looks like it will be in our kitchen for many more years to come.


text:
A WHITEFIELD cancer survivor will be special guest at a flagship Race for Life event.
Carolyn Hall, aged 42, will set off the participants at Race for Life in Heaton Park run on Saturday July 12 before joining in the 5k event herself.
Mum-of-two Carolyn was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, when her daughter was just four-years-old.
She said: "It was a terrible shock when I was diagnosed with cancer - it was like being in a bad dream. I never thought it would happen to me."
Carolyn had just celebrated her 40th birthday when she found a lump on her right breast.
After seeing her GP, she was referred for tests to North Manchester Hospital where Carolyn and her husband Stuart received the devastating news that she had breast cancer.
Just days later Carolyn, who has a son Charlie, aged 10 and daughter Lily, aged 6, underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, and then underwent chemotherapy treatment at The Christie.
Carolyn, who is currently recovering from further reconstructive surgery, runs her own business called Total Venues.
She said: "Having cancer was a massive thing to go through. I knew I had no choice but to fight it and I really think that the experience has made me a stronger person."
Carolyn took part in Cancer Research UK's Race for Life in June 2012 — midway through her chemotherapy treatment.
She said: "I have taken part in Race for Life in the past — because my mum lost her life to the disease many years ago."
She added: "Taking part in Race for Life is my way of hitting cancer where it hurts. I'm so grateful for the research that's helped me and now I want to help others by supporting Cancer Research UK's work." On July 12, 5k and 10k Race for Life events will be held at the same time at Heaton Park. And on the following day, July 13, two more 5k events will be held at the same venue.
Cancer Research UK's Race for Life, in partnership with Tesco, is a women-only series of 5k, 10k and Pretty Muddy events which raises millions of pounds every year to help beat cancer sooner.
Carrie Murphy, Cancer Research UK's Heaton Park Events Manager, said: "We're calling on an army of feisty females to help us stop cancer in its tracks. To enter the Race for Lifecall 0845 6006050.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
GenWisconsin-L ArchivesArchiver > GenWisconsin > 1998-11 > 0910492327
From: "David & Sara Rorer" <>
Subject: Re: [GenWisconsin-L] LIGHT BULBS
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1998 21:32:07 -0500
Excuse me:
I see a lot of messages like this on this newsgroup. Really this is kind of
rude don't you think.
First of all when posting to the group indicate to whom you are replying.
Second if you have a personal message for someone don't post to the group.
Instead, use the "reply to sender" button, not the "reply to all" button.
It is simply not polite to use up a lot of peoples internet time by putting
this kind of thing up to a newsgroup.
David Rorer
-----Original Message-----
From: <>
To: <>
Date: Friday, November 06, 1998 6:23 PM
Subject: Re: [GenWisconsin-L] LIGHT BULBS
This thread:
|Re: [GenWisconsin-L] LIGHT BULBS by "David & Sara Rorer" <>


text:
The #1 Comedy on television is back for round two as Warner Home Video releases Two and a Half Men: The Complete Second Season. After a year of living together, the second season of the hit CBS show focuses on the wacky Harper brood on their quest to become a typical American family. Two and a Half Men: The Complete Second Season includes all 24 episodes in a 4-disc collection.
Long time bachelor Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and his divorced, uptight brother Alan (Jon Cryer) give a whole new meaning to the word dysfunctional as they attempt to meet women, deal with freak accidents and share parenting responsibilities for Alan's pre-pubescent indolent son Jake (Angus T. Jones.) Boys will be boys as Alan struggles to guide Jake through life with valuable lessons of morality and Charlie's spinster ways continue to get the best of him. Meanwhile, Alan's ex-wife Judith (Marin Hinkle) takes advantage of every opportunity to destroy any self-respect that Alan may have left and Charlie is forced to deal with the come-ons from his crazy neighbor Rose (Melanie Lynskey).


text:
How well does a 72" full length UQ work with a bottom entry HH? Any pics would be great.
How well does a 72" full length UQ work with a bottom entry HH? Any pics would be great.
Go to Jacks R Better for under quilts with slits. Also Arrowhead for synthetic fill underquilts. And, of course, search here with "hennessey" (spelled as it may have appeared.)
JacksRBetter makes some underquilts with slits in them designed to match the HH bottom entry. They work great but in practice you can get by w/o the slits. You just push the UQ out of the way to enter and exit and then it snaps back into place thanks to the bungee suspension.
"Don't speak unless it improves the silence." -proverb
DIY Gathered End Hammock
DIY Stretch-Side Hammock
Stretch-Side "Knotty Mod"
DIY Bugnet
I have a full length underquilt and a Hennessy Scout.
On a recent hang with temps in the high 20's both nights, I "batted" 500.
One night I was comfortable. the second night I froze. Repeated efforts to get the UQ back in position after entry were not very successful. It was very frustrating and uncomfortable.
I have now categorized the Scout as a "warm weather set up"
Others have mastered the art, so it can be done with a conventional underquilt.


text:
For the sense pin and extented sense pin codes visit http://lam.kilu.de/lam2/sense.htm, please.
To make any supported display resolution available in System 7.1 (and probably some other System versions), use "Activate all Resolutions", an extension which permits to access any resolution by the usual monitor control panel.
Connecting 68k Macs to LCD Monitors
Started by ajacocks , Apr 24 2012 12:58 PM
61 replies to this topic
Posted 27 October 2013 - 09:50 PM
Posted 30 March 2016 - 11:20 PM
Regarding the previous post it seems that the online versions of »Löten am Mac« or the »Macwrench« wiki are not operational any more. Luckily applefritter still hosts an off-line version of »Löten am Mac« (welding your mac) in mixed English and German language. The file includes complete information on the use of sense pin codes and extended sense pin codes in the Mac monitor connector.
Edited by register, 30 March 2016 - 11:23 PM.
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text:
Distance Calculator Map
Distance CalculatorWelcome to Distance Calculator, a free to use distance calculator where you can fond the distance between any two addresses
Enter the starting location and ending location above and click "submit" to get how far it is from the first place to the second place.
About Distance Calculator
Distance-Calculator.co.za is a free to use online distance calculator that calculates the distance between any two addresses in the world, in South Africa or International.
Whether you are looking for how far it is from Cape to Johannesburg, or the distance between your house and work, the distance calculator can work it out for you.


text:
What are the pros?
What are the cons?
This Chard is an attractive, low maintenance, and delicious green, great in salads when small, or steamed alone, with other greens, or added to soups. Insects and disease are a non issue with these, but the deer just loved them.
Would you recommend this product to a friend?
600 characters left


text:
According to the research analysts Gartner, Android has successfully taken control of 25% of the world's smartphones. This means that it now occupies the number two spot behind Symbian, but crucially for the Android fans, ahead of Apple's iOS. This is great news for Android as an mobile OS, but the most revealing news comes from the overall sale of smartphones world wide.
There were allegedly 417 million units sold in the third quarter of 2010. In comparison to the third quarter of 2009, this is a 35% gain. This has massive consequences for entertainment in the mobile space, especially when combined with social gaming. It certainly seems as though 2011 will be the year the smartphone went mainstream and we're bound to find a whole host of start-ups that make the most of that.
[Source: Gartner]


text:
Laker girls rally to topple Crosby-Ironton
With eight minutes to go in Friday's Mid-State Conference game, something clicked over in the Detroit Lakes huddle -- and it was called urgency.
"We were down seven points and we just decided it was time to start playing, in that I mean, start outworking (Crosby-Ironton) and just play harder," said DL head coach Mike Hoganson.
That's exactly what the Lakers did, in the form of a rally in which capped a 47-45 win over Crosby-Ironton (12-5) for DL's fourth win of the season and third in conference play.
Courtney Gray and Kayli Muckenhirn sparked the Lakers' rally with some timely baskets.
DL also had to handle the Rangers without starting guard Taylor Tschider (knee) and forward Jen Matter, who was in foul trouble through the second half.
Gray scored eight of her 12 points in the second half, while Muckenhirn finished with 10.
Courtney Hedstrom and Matter each finished with eight points.
"We had some big contributions off the bench, with Jalen Even having a big game and Rachel Shane playing a very aggressive game, along with Hannah Halbakken," Hoganson said. "This win was a confidence builder, and it was nice seeing new people step up."
The win improved DL to 4-3 in the month of January, as they leave the 2009 portion of their schedule behind them.
"It's a new calendar year and a new team for us," Hoganson said. "They are maturing and growing as a team."
The Lakers (4-12) will travel to Thief River Falls (4-11) Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. start.
Laker results
Crosby-Ironton at Detroit Lakes, Friday, Jan. 30.
Rangers 22 23 - 45
Lakers 18 29 - 47
Scoring stats (2-3-ftm-fta-pts) -- DL: Ashlyn Jasken 0-1-0-0-3; Courtney Gray 3-0-6-7-12; Courtney Hedstrom 1-2-0-0-8; Jenny Matter 4-0-0-0-8; Kayli Muckenhirn 2-2-0-0-10; Rachel Shane 1-1-1-3-6. Team: 11-6-7-10-47.
CI: Katie Swanhorst 0-3-2-2-11; Jana Anderson 1-2-13-14-21; September Hushek 0-0-1-2-1; Kendra Perpich 0-2-0-0-6; Sienna Miller 1-0-0-0-2; Missy Foote 2-0-0-2-4. Team: 4-7-16-27-45.


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Nice hotel for a Holiday inn!, we booked with Mileage points. We got upgraded to an executive room!
This hotel has a nice Sauna. Only disappointment was that they forgot to swap our used wine glasses after the second night. We stayed 4 nights.
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- Stay in the heart of Helsinki at the refurbished Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre hotel. Enjoy excellent location & transport links at the Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre hotel. Check in to your refreshed, Scandinavian-style guest room, overlooking Finlandia Hall or bustling Eliel Square. Our stylish & comfortable open lobby invites you to linger - a completely new area where you can relax & really make yourself at home during your stay with us. Connect your laptop to free Wi-Fi or use our E-Bar & catch up with your friends or meet your colleagues at the lounge. Eating, drinking, socialising - there are so many ways you can use the space day & night. Convenient Finnair shuttle service runs to & from Helsinki Airport next to the Central Railway Station. The Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre is just five minutes away by train & the new Helsinki Music Centre and a verdant Töölönlahti Bay is just a short walk from the hotel. The shops, stores - including the iconic Stockmann and sights of Helsinki are also within strolling distance. Start your day with our fantastic breakfast buffet with a range of delicious options. The all-day dining menu packed with much-loved favorites, you can enjoy anywhere & anytime. Our To Go Café serves Segafredo coffee plus snacks 24-hours seven days a week. And of course in this family-friendly Helsinki hotel, kids eat free. ... more less
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with IHG, Priceline, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Ctrip TA, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire and HotelQuickly so you can book your Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
- Also Known As:
- Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre Hotel Helsinki
- Helsinki Holiday Inn


text:
Disciples 3 Review
What a disappointment. A game that seems to have such promise when you first start playing is so fatally flawed in combat basics that you might not choose to finish it. And for those of us who have Disciples II in our long-term top five -- one of those games that stays on the computer and gets played again and again -- it is an even bigger disappointment. Disciples 3 eliminates almost all strategy components reducing it to a linear hack-and-slash. Game balance is terrible. One fundamental design decision means there is almost no replayability even if you fix the worst flaws. And the UI is simply bizarre for a professional release.
What a difference a few hours can make
Ever wonder why RPGwatch never bases a serious review on an overview of a game, a quick run-through of a level or two, or a demo? This is a prime example of why you have to spend hours with a game before you can be so bold as to foist your opinion off on others who might be foolish enough to trust your review.
An hour into this game (or the demo) and you will be in love with it. You will already have decided that it will be one of the best games of the past few years and a wonderful improvement over the Disciples II you still enjoy to play. Disciple 3 has a level of Art and Cinematography that is absolutely stunning; whoever did the art design clearly put passion and care into what he/she did. Disciples 3 is simply beautiful to look at - even the splash screens are worth pausing to enjoy.
Two hours into playing you are smiling ear to ear at the new combat system. Moving your army, the new "hot spots", new special abilities for your creatures (and hero), the dynamic use of obstacles on the battlefield -- all combine for a lot of fun. The design of the new combat system is excellent and normally would provide hours of challenges.
Four or five hours in you are starting to see that Disciples 3 increased the RPG/Quest aspect of the game. You have rescued an angel on a mysterious mission and even met the evil protagonist who disappears after the usual threats and the promise of things to come. You are so busy building your character and trying to figure out how things work that you push aside the nagging things that are starting to add up and bother you.
After all, you think, it is a new game and perhaps you have just not figured it out. Maybe you have just had a run of bad luck in your battles when the opponents seemed to be nailing you with critical strike after critical, while you sometimes "miss" 6-7 times in a row. Maybe you have some kind of a keyboard issue on your computer that you had not noticed before that is causing problems with the UI. Perhaps the manual -- if you could find it -- would clear things up. Hopefully later you will start to see opposing heroes attacking and have to start thinking about strategy rather than just a Diablo-like "here is a group of pigmies, and another group of pigmies, and another group of pigmies, and yet another ..."
Finally, 30-plus hours in, with two campaigns finished and having replayed several missions to try to figure things out, you will realize it was not you. Disciples 3 was simply shipped badly flawed and incomplete. It is as though they had a superb idea, did all the graphics and hard work, and then ran out of time and money with just two months to go. The keyboard routines didn't work so they just cut them out and went with mouse clicks. They couldn't find an experienced gamer to help balance the creatures, so they asked "Fred from Accounting" to make up a spreadsheet based on whatever he could figure out. Unfortunately, Fred seems to love criticals! So the first thing Fred did was make sure all the enemy mobs score critical hits more than half the time. And, of course, Fred knew that it was unrealistic that you hit on every strike, so "... let me just tweek the player misses a bit ..."
When you finally invest enough time to really understand the game, you will see that combat is broken, the UI has a perverse case of schizophrenia, strategy has been reduced to a linear hack-and-slash, replayability is gone, the choice of "mage, warrior or thief" means absolutely nothing and you might as well play the game through without spells. Methinks you will probably lose interest part way through the first of three campaigns, force yourself to complete one play-through since you paid for it, and then are not likely to play it again unless there is a significant - and unlikely - patch in the future.
A note -- this critical review is coming from someone who thinks Disciples II is one of the best games I own and who wrote one of the first, and very positive, reviews of Disciples II when it first came out years ago. I really want to find good things to say about Disciples 3.
When is a critical not a critical?
Criticals are a key part of the fun in game combat -- they add unpredictability and variation and challenges. Purists can argue forever whether the right percentage for crits is 2%, 5%, 10% or even as high as 20%. But, by definition, crits need to be a "minority event" - even rare. Sixty percent is not rare!
In Disciples 3 they appear to happen more than 60% of the time for enemy mobs, and perhaps 30% of the time for your forces. This is by design, not random chance. When you are targeting, your chance for a critical is displayed. For your mobs it seems to display between 25% and 55% (though it seems to occur less than that). For the enemy mobs I cannot give solid evidence, but it clearly is more than half, and anecdotally I would guess it averages in the 60% range.
This destroys any balance in combat, even if the basic data for the creatures made sense (which it does not). Picture a starter army of hero, healer (for 37 HPs), a basic melee unit at 150 HPs and a "something" (probably a useless, at level 1, mage or archer.) You are taking on a group of orcs who hit for 60. You hit for 50. For a strategy player this is a nice challenge -- no problem with careful healing and using all the tricks we know. It was a typical fight in Disciples II. Except this time you miss one of the two strikes you get before dying. And the orcs are critting for 120 a pop, two of their three strikes. The badly implemented crits turn this into a fight where you average hitting for 25 against an enemy that averages 100. It destroys any balance that might have been there.
This scales up as you level. Later your mobs are hitting (when they do not miss) for 100-150 while heavies are critting for 400+ on you again and again. I had to go with three healers until I found equal flaws in design that I could exploit to get around this.
This criticals issue is on top of some major imbalance in creature stats that made it to the final release uncorrected. Many of the basic stats seem just "wrong." But the worst relates to one of the best new features: special abilities of the mobs. Some of these are simply overpowered. A line of demons get massive regeneration for 10 turns that heals 150 HPs per turn -- more than twice the heal of the best cleric in the game. Some special spells -- like a three-turn area effect transform or paralyze -- are just too strong. Some leader skills make tough battles as easy (and boring) as though you were playing on god mode. And there are many cases of low level monsters hitting for a ton while some high level mobs seem to have forgotten to take their vitamins this week.
To add final insult to injury, criticals ignore armor or buffs - something else that was overlooked in the final release.
The Thong of Impenetrability
Misses are just as badly butchered. Frequently at higher levels I've seen instances where three top-level melee units cannot kill a solo healer. Three veteran knights on horseback with swords somehow cannot even touch a girl standing next to them in a dress. By the way: she had no buffs or special abilities. Either she had an amazing degree of hip flexibility to dodge swords, or she was wearing the ultra-rare Thong of Impenetrability +10. Were it not for my mages, I would still be playing that mission two days later.
When top melee units - including your hero - miss six times in a row (my record is nine misses), something is sadly broken. The display says I have a 29% chance of missing ... so the probability of 6 misses in a row should be 0.06%, far less than 1%! (.29 raised to the 6th). Now if this happens 4 or 5 times per mission, then either my computer random number generator is on drugs or Disciples 3 has a seriously broken math engine.
God mode -- whether you want it or not
Here's another example of horrible balance, though one that works for the player. By mid way through each campaign you should be able to get your hero's armor to 90+. By the end, you are over 100. That means you are invulnerable to all non-spells (except crits -- that ignore armor). Up against a tough opponent? Just quickly send your hero into the middle of things to attack whatever is needed - the AI sees you are invulnerable, so it ignores you.
Or get defacto god mode with the right mix of characters. One caster has a mass petrify spell that lasts three rounds. Get two of them in the back and take on any enemy in the game on auto pilot.
The Devil's hero even can get a petrify spell. Picture a Legion of the Dammed group, without a healer, easily defeating an enemy capitol without taking any damage! Your hero freezes the guardian each round, and the melee and casters take their time chewing though those 3000 HPs while never seeing the 250 nukes. Use the same approach when defeating, without taking any damage, an enemy resource guardian.
My Kingdom for a good modder?
It is hard to comprehend how Disciples 3 was shipped this way. Most of the balancing problems are more a database issue than programming. If Disciples 3 supported mods, a good modder could fix the worst problems over a long weekend and probably resolve almost all of them in a couple weeks. I even spent a few hours trying to slog through the data files for the creatures to see if I could discover the criticals stats for each.
Wither goes the strategy and replayability?
While most of the balance/criticals issues seem to be solvable, many of the other issues need a major patch - not likely since the game has been out for months outside the USA.
Strategy is largely gone; your choice of "Mage, Warrior, or Thief" at the beginning means next to nothing. Whatever your choice, you still get the same warrior hero. You cannot play with a mage or thief (or ranger). Choose mage and you can cast two main map spells per day -- but the way the game is designed you will rarely cast more than a couple spells per campaign! Choose warrior and you get one spell, plus regenerate 15% per day.
You do not need other armies. The missions and maps are so linear that your main hero can easily do the entire mission/campaign. And worst of all, there are no longer enemy armies causing you to have to think about defense. You don't need other armies (the only roamers are occasional small groups of creatures that attack your resources. But your resources in Disciples 3 can defend themselves).
An "unintended consequence" of all this is to virtually eliminate replayability. The story and map is tightly linear and you get just one hero. Nothing significant can change the second time through. Disciple 3 loses out on one of the classic enjoyments of a game like this -- no longer can you try a whole new approach, see if you can sneak through, or try to nurse a starting mage with a weak front line through the first couple of levels.
UI needs a time out
The last problem to be covered is bewildering from a leading game producer. The UI needs to be put on some serious meds. It seems to have a mild case of schizophrenia, or ADD, or something!
Hot buttons do not work. All is mouse-driven. There is even a file in the game directory for hot buttons but they are disabled in the game. Time and again you need a cumbersome series of clicks all over the screen when you could just normally press the "x" key. Example: after every move during combat you need to go to the lower left and click that you are done. Even scroll bars do not work. Scrolling through the inventory requires 20 or so clicks on the arrows to move the bar; the bar moves, you just cannot drag it. Sometime the "ESC" works, sometimes it does not and you have to click on the menu button.
When the AI casts a spell on you while on the map, about two-thirds of the time your own ability to then cast a spell is disabled. Perhaps this is a "feature" and not a bug…maybe the AI is also casting "silence" on those times it grays out your ability to then cast a heal…
Load and save is a mess. The game is saved as something like "Mission III -- Into the Breech move 9". All the missions and all the campaigns are saved mixed together. Now, this might not sound like much of an issue but the titles only show the left 20 characters or so when you go to load a game. It cuts off the "day" number for most of them. You might have several listings all saying the same "Mission III -- Into the Bre" - and it is an alpha sort so "9" comes after "11". This is a small thing, but one of dozens of examples of a UI that should not have been released.
The fog of war approach is a mess with the unintended consequence of helping eliminate the need for strategy and making additional armies. The problem is not FoW far away -- but FoW close to you. Many mobs simply do not show up until your hero is right next to them. Worse -- the minimap never indicates where you are looking when you are watching someone moving in a distant location. The "view outline" stays centered on your hero. So you see them moving, but have absolutely no idea where they were.
During combat - until you learn how to disable it - the magnificent cinematic focusing on the spell caster does not let you see if anyone was hit. It is a beautiful close-up of the caster in action -- but forgets there is a game going on. After a battle the "level up" messages happen in less than 1/2 second so you might not be able to tell who leveled without going into each character.
Almost an RPG
At first you will think the RPG/Quest aspects of the game gave been strengthened. Mission one of the first campaign sets the stage for a decent storyline but the implementations seems to be as though following a sparse outline that was never finished. Two or three times in a mission you might get some vague text that refers to the quests, but there is no depth or detail. Characters show up and seem important but are never seen again. There is really only a little sense of story or goal after the first few missions.
Part way through campaign two is a series of events that hint at the promise the RPG elements must have held in the original, unfinished, design but it is so weakly presented and disjointed that you really have to work to fill in the storyline and make it all come together.
There are more "Quests", but they turn out to be all rather phony. You are going down a trail killing groups of orcs, when someone tells you the next orcs "captured the Whatsis of Thingamabob" so you need to kill them. You go down the path, kill the same group of orcs you would have killed anyway, and get a message that the "Whatsis" was successfully found: end of quest. It is sort of like telling an airline pilot going from New York to London that he has a new quest to do on the way -- fly over some water.
Meanwhile, since there are never any enemy armies attacking your lands, so there is no sense of a mission or strategy. You do not defend cities. No one ever attacks your main base. Making additional heroes is unneeded and impracticable. It becomes a strategy game where you only need tactics and no strategy. It is an RPG with only a rough outline of a story.
The Bottom Line
The possibilities for Disciples 3 were amazing when you look at all the good in it. If you step back a few feet and imagine what it could have been -- and the outstanding ideas the designers appear to have had at the start of the project -- Disciples 3 seemed to have been on track to be one of the best games of the past few years for strategy/RPGers.
But somehow, at the end, they lost their way or just ran out of gas. The UI was never finished. The basic game math and balancing appears to never have been revisited after the original placeholders. Strategy and replayability was sacrificed. I get the feeling that the final 4-6 weeks of polishing never happened, and that somehow the game was never play-tested by gamers. My release says version 1.06 but I have heard nothing about patches currently in process.
This is baffling since the game has been out for months outside the USA. I had read some of the Russian reviews (talk about an exercise in insanity -- reading Russian documents translated by Google) and could never quite understand the mixed emotions I was reading. They seemed to feel let down, yet they praised the game. You sensed they were uncomfortable saying critical things about the game. There was a sadness about the reviews.
As someone who loves Disciples II, now I get it.
Information aboutDisciples 3: Renaissance
Developer: .dat
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Combat: Turn-based
Play-time: 40-60 hours
Voice-acting: None
Regions & platforms
Europe & USA
· Homepage
· Platform: PC
· Released at 2010-06-25
· Publisher: Kalypso Media
More information
- Length: A complete playthrough takes at least 40-50 hours
- Graphics: Stunning at times obviously a work-of-love
- The UI is a mess.
- Strategy has all but been eliminated by design decisions
- Replayability: Almost none


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Meningitis Angels Launch National Photo Contest "I Took the Shot"
May 03, 2012, 09:48 ET from Meningitis Angels
HOUSTON, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Meningitis Angels (MA) a national organization founded in memory of Ryan Milley the only child of Bob and Frankie Milley (Milley) announced today the launch of a national contest that would have tweens and teens ages 10-18 submit a photo of themselves getting their meningitis shot. A complete set of rules for entry may be found at http://www.meningitis-angels.org/meningitis-angels-vaccination-poster-contest.html. "We hope this contest will increase the meningococcal vaccination rate which is only about 50% among teens nationwide," said Milley.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120503/DC00222 )
Meningococcal disease is a sudden aggressive illness that can lead to death within 24-48 hours of the first symptoms. Survivors may suffer permanent brain damage, learning disabilities, vision and hearing loss, severe organ damage, seizure disorders, and limb amputations.
Milley and MA National Teen Leaders, Carye Wynn of New Jersey, Johnny D'Antona of New York/North Carolina and Harley Beaty of Texas recently presented across south east Kansas. This week of education kicked off with MA presenting Wynn with a college scholarship and Kansas Senator Vicki Schmidt presenting a state resolution to Meningitis Angels, declaring April 16-20, Kansas Meningitis Awareness Week and recognizing World Meningitis Day.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Immunization Program (KDHEIP), multiple county health departments, Dillion Pharmacies and others joined MA in educating thousands throughout the week which included private and public health care providers, middle, high school and college students and the public, on the disease and the prevention.
Milley said, "Before vaccinations, thousands of infants and toddlers died or were left debilitated from Hib and Pneumococcal meningitis. Thanks to vaccines these are almost eradicated in the US. However tweens and teens are still among the highest risk for meningococcal disease and the hardest to reach for health care and vaccinations.
MA works with schools, public and private health care providers, immunization coalitions and medical facilities around the country to create awareness and vaccination programs such as those presented in Kansas.
According to ACIP/CDC children ages (11) years, teens age 16, ALL upon college entry and all who have compromised immune systems should be vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis. "Meningitis does not stop at the dorm room door. It is imperative we educate all on this deadly disease as well as other forms of vaccine preventable meningitis," said Milley.
During National Infant Immunization Week, Milley, along with other speakers from the CDC, Mexico and the Texas Health Department presented at the Texas Vaccines For Children (TVFC) Bi-national Conference hosted by the Hidalgo County Health Department. They spoke not only about meningitis but other vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough.
"We must do everything to prevent this deadly disease in the age groups where it is preventable. It is the right thing to do. No infant, child or adult should die or be left debilitated from any vaccine preventable disease especially one as deadly as meningitis," Concluded Milley.
For more information on meningitis or to contact MA visit, www.meningitis-angels.org or http://www.CDC.gov
SOURCE Meningitis Angels


text:
Does Working Capital Management Affect Profitability of Belgian Firms?
The relation between working capital management and corporate profitablity is investigated for a sample of 1,009 large Belgian non-financial firms for the 1992-1996 period. Trade credit policy and inventory policy are measured by number of days accounts receivable, accounts payable and inventories, and the cash conversion cycle is used as a comprehensice measure of working capital management. The results suggest that managers can increase corporate profitablity by reducing the number of days accounts receivable and inventories. Less profitable firms wait longer to pay their bills. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2003.
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Volume (Year): 30 (2003-04)
Issue (Month): 3-4 ()
Pages: 573-588
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text: i have gotten in the habit of not doing so, with rare exception. i fail to see the need. i have never had any problems with <img /> boxes taking on wacky proportions as a result of this practice. and especially if you need to adjust the slicing of a larger graphic, or simply the dimensions of a whole one, leaving the markup dynamic just makes the most sense to me. but i see width and height attributes all the time, so are there some advatages to using them that i'm not familiar with?


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General Question
How can I position divs inside a table which centers when user resizes the browser?
I've my website made up in a table. I want to position text over some images. I did this by positioning divs.
Everything was great however I set my margins as auto as I want the page to center when the user resizes their browser. Obviously if divs are set to a specific position they'll stay and not move with the rest of the content.
I got around this by setting my margin-right: auto, and then inputting my margin-left with pixels.
My problem is sometime when I open the page everything is in the right position, other times the text has jumped up or down.
What is the right way to do this (keeping in mind my main layout is in tables not divs), I can't seem to find any correct help on the internet?
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text:
Pressed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) to explain statements earlier in his confirmation hearing that the Iranian government is "legitimate," defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel clarified what he meant.
Gillibrand expressed concern that Hagel was saying that the current Iranian regime is a legitimate government, saying that she did not think so.
"What I meant to say, should have said, is that it's 'recognizable,'" Hagel said of the Iranian government. "It is recognized at the United Nations. Most of our allies have embassies there. That's what I should have said."
Gillibrand issued a less-than fully supportive statement of Hagel's nomination a few weeks ago, saying she would wait to render judgment until after his confirmation hearing. Part of her concerns are with how Hagel's previous statements and actions jive with her advocacy as a senator for Israel, gay rights and women's issues -- three areas of concern Hagel would face as he works on military and personnel policy as the next defense chief.


text:
Adoption and Impacts of Zero-Tillage in the Rice-Wheat Zone of Irrigated Punjab, Pakistan
This study documents the adoption and impacts of zero-tillage (ZT) wheat in the ricewheat systems of Pakistan's Punjab province primarily drawing on a detailed empirical survey of 458 rice-wheat farmers. Our random stratified sample revealed 19% to be ZT wheat adopters and a similar share of the wheat area in the surveyed communities to be under ZT. The study suggests that diffusion has stagnated and also flags the issue of disadoption (14%). ZT adopters, non-adopters, and disadopters differ significantly in terms of their resource bases, with adopters typically showing the most favorable values. ZT drastically reduces tractor operations in farmers' ZT wheat fields from an average of 8 passes to a single pass, implying a saving of 7 tractor hours and 35 liters of diesel per hectare. ZT did not have any significant effect on the mean farmer estimated wheat yield of 3.3 tons per hectare. ZT also had no significant effect on water productivity for wheat or spillover effect on the subsequent rice crop. ZT primarily appears to be a cost-saving technology for wheat in Pakistan's Punjab. Based on these findings, the study provides a number of recommendations for research and development in Pakistan Punjab's rice-wheat systems.
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|Date of creation:
|Dec 2007
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| Postal: Apdo. Postal 6-641, 06600 Mexico, D.F.
Phone: +52(55) 5804-2004
Fax: +52(55) 5804-7558
Web page: http://www.cimmyt.org/
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text:
What Do Americans Think About Sacrificing Rights to Fight Terrorism After 9/11?
The terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 left an indelible mark on Americans. But even as the first responders climbed through the rubble in New York, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania, the country embarked on a "War on Terror." With that war came years of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, indefinite detention of terror suspects without charges or trial, enhanced interrogation techniques, extraordinary rendition and the passage of the USA Patriot Act.
Ten years later, Americans are still wondering if it was wise to sacrifice some privacy and freedoms in order to fight terrorism.
The World Trade Center Cross May Become a National Monument
Can a country of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Unitarians, Wiccans, Pagans, Native Americans, Agnostics and atheists view a cross as a national symbol? That's the question New Yorkers will soon have to answer.
Hurricane Irene Clean-Up Begins, Despite FEMA Funding Concerns [VIDEO]
Hurricane Irene may end up being one of the 10 costliest catastrophes in U.S. history. Industry experts currently put the storm's damage at $7 billion to $10 billion; however, much of that destruction may not be covered by insurance because it was caused by flooding and not winds. Flooding is often excluded from standard insurance policies.
US Military Suffers Deadliest Month in Afghanistan in August with 66 Fatalities
Hurricane Irene Aftermath — At Least 44 Dead and Millions Without Power [VIDEO]
Cleanup efforts have begun in communities that were devastated by Hurricane Irene over the weekend. Although trucks and supplies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are en route, access to some areas has been cut off by floodwaters that washed out or damaged roads and bridges.
"Irene was gonna land somewhere. We're not Manhattan, our small streams quickly became big rivers," Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin told The Brattleboro (Vt.) Reformer. "We've lost churches, homes and historic bridges. But we will rebuild."
Suicide Bomber Kills Dozens at Baghdad Mosque [VIDEO]
Hurricane Irene Leaves Floods and Mayhem in Its Wake Along East Coast [VIDEO]
Before weakening to a tropical storm, the first hurricane of the season hit the Eastern seaboard with torrential rains, strong winds and floods.
Hurricane Irene made landfall on Saturday in North Carolina, moved northward along the coast then slammed into Little Egg Inlet, N.J., as a Category 1 storm. Despite predictions, Irene then lost steam as it lumbered toward New England.
Rare East Coast Earthquake Damages National Cathedral, Washington Monument [VIDEO]
The 5.8-magnitude earthquake that unnerved millions of people on the East Coast of the United States on Tuesday forced schools in three states to close and damaged several buildings and federal landmarks.
At least four aftershocks followed the powerful quake, including a 3.4-magnitude tremblor that hit near the nation's capital overnight.
Hurricane Irene Strengthens, Heads Toward the US [VIDEO]
Authorities along the Atlantic seaboard are closely monitoring Hurricane Irene's projected path, and preparing for the powerful storm's arrival later in the week.
The first major hurricane of the season became a Category 2 storm on Aug. 22, and could strengthen even more in the coming days.
President Obama's Approval Rating on the Economy Plunges to New Low
Barack Obama's approval rating on the economy has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency. That's the latest word from a Gallup poll released on Wednesday.


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On the day of final arguments in the Rock Island Railroad bankruptcy case in the late 1970s, attorney Nicholas G. Manos stepped up to the lectern for one of the biggest moments of his life.
Silence fell over the crowded federal district courtroom as Mr. Manos looked straight into the judge's eyes and said:
"Your honor, I can hardly wait to hear what I am about to say."
With that, the courtroom exploded with laughter. Mr. Manos' daughter, Stathy White, who witnessed the moment, said the comment illustrated her father's intelligence and charisma.


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This caterpillar was on my silver curtain in my living room next to the back door. I have no idea how it got there. It seems to have a spur on its back and fine hairs. The stripe down its back is yellow and has red spots down the side aswell as a faint grey/white line. I would love to know what it is and also what it eats so that I can put it back in the right place. (I assume it was from my garden.) I live in south east England.


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Disney is set to re-release 3D versions of animated pics including "Finding Nemo," "Monsters, Inc." and "The Little Mermaid."
"Great stories and great characters are timeless, and at Disney we're fortunate to have a treasure trove of both," Walt Disney Studios prexy Alan Bergman said in a statement.
Studio has dated the pics to bow over the next two years, but the next film is a personal family favorite.
"Monster's Inc. 3D" was announced for theatre release on January 18th of 2013.
Source: Press Release
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