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George Washington played a couple of seasons with the Chicago White Sox. He hit a respectable .268, with nine homers, 24 doubles and 52 runs batted in. The braided waistcoat and buckle shoes must have slowed him down, though. In his 128-game big-league career, George stole just one base.
None of this will surprise the ecstatic citizens of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Last week, a baseball historian named John Thorn called a press conference in that sleepy city of 40,000 in the Berkshires to unveil a recently discovered document that appears to confirm the existence of baseball in Pittsfield in the year 1791 -- more than half a century before the game's widely accepted date of birth.
Little matter that the George Washington who once graced the White Sox outfield was a native of Linden, Texas, or that he played in 1936 and 1937. In western Massachusetts, baseball fans can take delight as they imagine the Father of Our Country striking out the side in the top of the ninth to win a big one against, say, the Worcester Minutemen. They've got to be grinning that their fair city has now upstaged both Cooperstown, New York (where Abner Doubleday definitely did not invent baseball in 1839), and Hoboken, New Jersey -- where, historians long believed, Alexander Cartwright originated something like the game as we know it in 1846.
Are more revisions in the offing? Possibly. Maybe we'll hear someday that the Mohawks and the Pilgrims played Sunday doubleheaders in Woonsocket. But for the moment, Pittsfield's at the top of the historical standings, thanks to an eight-by-ten sheet of tan paper on which is written a municipal bylaw, dated 1791, that expresses concern over broken glass in the city's new meeting house. "No Person or Inhabitant of said Town," the order reads, "shall be permitted to play at any Game called Wicket, Cricket, Baseball, Batball, Football, Cat, Fives or any other Game or Games with Balls, within the Distance of Eighty Yards from said Meeting House."
If some eighteenth-century slugger did go yard and bust a public window, the fine was to be five shillings. That may be chump change to Alex Rodriguez, but for the average guy tanning leather or making tankards for a living, it was probably big money. It's a good bet the Pittsfielders moved across town before resuming the joys of their summer game.
Why talk about this? For one thing, most baseball fans are hopeless nostalgiaphiles. They can tell you Enos "Country" Slaughter's batting average in 1953 and where Willie Mays ate lunch in his playing days and who pitched game four of the 1926 Series. Anyone fool enough to ask a seamhead for his views on the designated hitter or Bob Feller's social habits had better be ready for a filibuster. But that's not the only reason we invoke baseball's past at the moment. The better one is that the game seems once more on the brink of crisis. Signs and signals are popping up everywhere. The percentage of African-American players in the big leagues is dropping as the most gifted young black athletes find themselves ever more attracted to football and basketball. Many old-guard fans, still smarting from the insult of the 1994 players' strike, imagine that every plug of Red Man in the big leagues is now laced with bogus muscle drugs. Commissioner Bud Selig recently endorsed a thoughtless plan to desecrate baseball's very bases with advertisements for the new Spider-Man movie, and backed off only when the chorus of boos grew loud. The game's most dominant player, Barry Bonds, who's in hot pursuit of Babe Ruth's home-run mark, is a sullen egotist who alienates his own Giants teammates and complains when opposing pitchers intentionally walk him.
The Milwaukee Brewers are $133 million in debt. George Steinbrenner's overpaid Yankees keep winning pennants. And the great Ted Williams's severed head is in a freezer chest, thanks to the biological fantasies of his late, lunatic son. Are there any other soul-killing images we must endure beyond the grotesquery of $15 million-per-year player salaries and second basemen so pumped up on steroids that they look like beer trucks?
Well, how about the recent revelation by Chicago Cubs outfielder Moises Alou that he urinates on his hands to toughen them up for a long season at the plate? He's not the only one. Yankee catcher Jorge Posada also pees on his mitts -- but only in spring training, he claims. Whatever. The notion of these guys picking over the raw-vegetable tray at the clubhouse buffet must give their teammates pause. By the way, whaddya think of Pete Rose and that new "memoir" of his? Guy makes a couple of lousy calls to his bookie from the Cincinnati manager's office and the whole world wants to bust him. George Washington -- the one in the powdered wig -- could not tell a lie. Pete Rose can't tell the truth.
Meanwhile, here in Denver, fans may start wondering if the Colorado Rockies could beat the 1791 Pittsfields. The season's barely six weeks old, and already the Rox are looking up at the Dodgers and Padres. Preston Wilson's on the disabled list, the perennially injured Larry Walker hasn't played yet, and the 2002 rookie of the year, Jason Jennings, wants out -- just like every other Rockies pitcher who hasn't completely lost his mind. Scott Elarton is gone, and multi-millionaire Rockie Denny Neagle can't lift his arm over his head. As for that four-man rotation thing manager Clint Hurdle was fooling around with, even Pittsfield had five starters -- although one of them probably worked nights as a candlemaker.
If Rockies ownership and management once had the idea that winning doesn't matter -- that it was enough just to put nine guys out there and turn on the beer taps behind the bleachers -- falling attendance at Coors Field tells them otherwise. In 1993, when the team was brand-new and playing at old Mile High Stadium, 4,483,350 fans packed the place to greet National League play -- 55,350 per game. In 1995, when Coors Field opened (and the Rockies made their only trip to the playoffs), nearly 4,000,000 showed up. The numbers have been dropping off ever since: Attendance fell below 3,000,000 for the first time in 2002, and last year's fourth-place club drew only 2,334,085 -- 28,815 per game. This spring, the first below-20,000 crowd was announced at a cold, rainy night game.
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At the same time, the Rockies' 1993 expansion mates, the Florida Marlins, have won the World Series twice, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who entered the National League five years after Colorado, did it in 2001. The Mile High franchise that once looked like one of the best in baseball is now in serious trouble. The Montreal Expos are probably going to Washington, D.C.; the Rockies are going nowhere.
Still, baseball fans take their pleasures wherever they can find them. Barry Bonds may be an ill-tempered jerk, but his chase after the Bambino and, beyond that, his run at Henry Aaron, is a spectacle we won't soon forget. No sooner did Roger Clemens, the ageless one, come out of a two-hour retirement and join his hometown Houston Astros than he started the season 7-0 and surpassed Steve Carlton to take second place on the all-time strikeout list. Okay, so maybe he beaned Mike Piazza that time and later threw a sharp sliver of bat at the big catcher's legs, but the Rocket is more exciting on the mound than ever. As for baseball's Battle of the Plutocrats -- the $186 million-per-season payroll New York Yankees versus the $160 million Boston Red Sox -- many envious purists are hoping against hope that both clubs fall on their butts. Instead, we're likely to see a Yanks-Bosox thriller right down to the wire in the American League East. Otherwise, the Cubs' brilliant young pitchers might finally put an end to almost a century of Cubbie frustration -- despite Moises Alou's grooming habits. And in Los Angeles, the Dodgers threaten a long-overdue return to greatness. Let's hope they keep Spider-Man out of the clubhouse, too.
So. Despite its woes and follies and cranky anachronisms, baseball has a power to move us that no other sport can produce. As the good people of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, can tell you, it has always been thus. In that light, witness another testament to the game's old appeal that has to be in the same ballpark, chronologically, as the just-discovered Pittsfield document. In a letter to a friend, an anonymous veteran of the Revolutionary War describes now-President Washington's enthusiasm for rounders, or wicket, or some other predecessor of our national pastime this way: "I have often seen it. He (Washington) sometimes throws and catches a ball for hours with his aide-de-camp."
That's great, but let's not ask how they toughened up their hands.


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munoz1.jpgmunoz2.jpgmunoz4.jpgSome repairs. One in the tail. And one of the rails looks like it got a fin through it at one point. It was repaired but could use some touching up. Id imagine someone would buy this as a "wall Hanger" but it is still very rideable. Price is negotiable. Also interested in trades. Looking fror a fish around 5'4-5'6. (848)480-3492 James
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Thread: 9'0 Signed Micky Munoz $300
Oct 26, 2012, 11:54 PM #1Junior Member
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9'0 Signed Micky Munoz $300

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Investors looking to make money in commodities can buy futures contracts on all kinds of things, such as gold, currencies, wheat. One futures contract investors can't buy is diamonds. But as Alisa Roth reports, some people would like to change that.
When it comes to the image of American brands overseas, commentator Benjamin Barber says that there's a lot of repair work to be done.
Grocery giant Tesco is trying to succeed in the U.S., where many of its fellow British companies have failed. It opens five stores across Southern California this week. Stephen Beard reports on whether the company can break Britain's retail losing streak.
Google announced today it is developing a free cell-phone software package so it can more
easily put ads and services before the eyeballs of people who aren't in front of a PC. The Wall Street Journal's Kevin Delaney talked about it with Kai Ryssdal.
Helium is the second-most abundant element in the universe. But here on Planet Earth the gas is getting harder to come by. A worldwide helium shortage is affecting everything from the party industry to medicine. Amy Scott reports.
PetroChina's IPO turned into a gusher today, making it the first company in the history of the world worth more than $1 trillion. But some analysts say the oil giant's market valuation is artifically high. Bob Moon reports.
Citigroup says it could face as much as $11 billion more in losses -- after it took almost $6 billion in write-offs last month. Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin has been elevated to chairman to fix things. But what will happen to its retail banking business? Jill Barshay reports.


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Eurohoc Floorball Mini Set
by Eurohoc
Eurohoc Floorball Mini Set
- 12 sticks, 2 balls, holdall and rules
- Played indoors or outdoors on tarmac or grass
- Shaft length 52cm, total length of the stick 72cm
Floorball is a game, which has action and excitement, and boys and girls of all ages easily master the simple rules and skills.
This high quality Eurohoc Floorball Mini Set contains everything you need to enjoy an innovative game of Floorball.
- The game is played with great success in the UK, Europe and America.
- Safe, easy to learn and emphasises movement and alertness, rather than strength or height.
The number of players vary to suit the size of the playing area available, whether on indoor surfaces or outdoors on tarmac or grass.
- Sticks crafted from lightweight, high tensile plastic.
- Stick - shaft diameter 25mm, shaft length 52cm, total length of the stick is 72cm.
- Available in red and yellow.
Additional Information
Set Comprises of:
- Eurohoc Set : 12 sticks (6 red and 6 yellow), 2 balls, holdall and a set of rules.
- Spare sticks can be purchased separately. Please search on our website for Eurohoc Floorball Mini Stick.
Customer Reviews for Eurohoc Floorball Mini Set
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Hey guys I just finished listing something new in the store. My girls suggested to me that this year instead of the Red and Green for my Christmas kit that I make one in Light Pink and Mint Green so took their advise and this is what I came up with. The new kit is called "I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas". The Kit and coordinating products are all on sale 50% off and the Bundle is marked down to just $5. I have a little Alpha freebie I made for you all to coordinate with it so be sure to scroll down page and pick it up before coming to the store and checking it out. You can find it tonight at my JSS Outlet store here.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas Alpha Freebie and New Release
4 comments:
- Mat's Merry Memoirs said...
Lovely soft pastel colors, thanks!
- December 16, 2015 at 5:58 AM
- Pam K said...
Thank you for the pretty alpha -- the colors are sweet!
- December 16, 2015 at 10:01 AM
- Stacey said...
the kit is gorgeous! thanks so much for the matching alpha1
- December 16, 2015 at 5:08 PM
thanks so much!
- December 17, 2015 at 3:13 PM
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11|01|2013 11:27 am EDT
Web.com signs 2013 RAA, launches expression of interest site [Press Release]
Another group of registrars will be switching to the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) with ICANN, allowing them to participate in selling new gTLDs. Web.com owns the original Domain registrar, Network Solutions and Register.com. The company also launched an expression of interest site for new gTLDs, promising a "Best price guarantee" and 10% discount for a "buyer's club". It appears that there's no cost to participating in this club.
"We are staying ahead of the curve with our customers at the top of our minds," said David Brown, Chairman and CEO of Web.com. "As owner of two of the largest retail registrars in the world, we are committed to enabling our customers to be among the first to acquire new gTLDs."
See the full press release after the jump.
Web.com Takes Small Business Website Names to the Next Level
Signing ICANN's 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement
Owner of several global domain registrars is now ready to support new top-level domain names
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – November 1, 2013 – Web.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: WWWW), provider of Internet services and online marketing solutions for small businesses, has authorized its registrars to sign ICANN's 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) in preparation for distributing hundreds of new website address extensions, called generic top-level domains (gTLDs), as they become available starting late 2013.
"We are staying ahead of the curve with our customers at the top of our minds," said David Brown, Chairman and CEO of Web.com. "As owner of two of the largest retail registrars in the world, we are committed to enabling our customers to be among the first to acquire new gTLDs."
With the added option of taking advantage of gTLDs, a small business can further extend its brand into its website address. For instance, a pizza parlor could register for a ".pizza" gTLD or that same small business could showcase its menu by registering a ".menu" gTLD.
"ICANN is pleased that the Web.com registrar family has formally signed the 2013 RAA," said Akram Atallah, President, ICANN Generic Domains Division. "By adopting the agreement, Web.com is demonstrating its commitment to providing strong benefits to all of its registrants, especially its small business customers."
Customers may visit newtlds.web.com to indicate interest in the new gTLDs before they go on sale.
About Web.com
Web.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: WWWW) provides a full range of Internet services to small businesses to help them compete and succeed online. Web.com is owner of several global domain registrars and further meets the needs of small businesses anywhere along their lifecycle with affordable, subscription-based solutions including website design and management, search engine optimization, online marketing campaigns, local sales leads, social media, mobile products, eCommerce solutions and call center services. For more information, please visit www.web.com; follow Web.com on Twitter @webdotcom or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/web.com. For additional online marketing resources and small business networking, please visit Web.com's Small Business Forum.


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Winking dogs may be cute, but the winking eye indicates a problem that should be attended to.
dogs that wink are cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beagles are grand.....and also labs
Dogs are people, too--just a more evolved kind...!
Mine both smile at me and I love it. I believe they are angels in disguise.
nice one granny
I love that. I live it as well as see many attempts to communicate


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From Jolie to Sabri: Stars visit Syrian refugees in Jordan
World Food Program representative, Hend Sabri, visited the Syrian refugees in the Zaatari camp
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Tunisian actress Hend Sabri swapped celebrity glamour for humanitarian action this week when she paid a visit to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
The star - who has been a long-time representative of the World Food Program - went to see how the 35,000 hot meals provided by the charity every day help the residents of the sprawling tent city to survive.
Doing her bit for the ever-increasing number of people forced to flee from the bloodshed of Syria, in a bid to make improvements Hend spoke to the refugees about the conditions of the camp and the quality of food they are given.
This isn't the first time the Zaatrari camp has been given the celebrity treatment - Hend has followed in the footsteps of Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie who visited the camp earlier this month as part of her role as special envoy for the UN's refugee agency.
Do you think it's appropriate for celebrities to visit refugee camps on behalf of charities? Does it attract more attention to the suffering of refugees or to the stars themselves? Leave us your thoughts below!
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- How adorable! Hend Sabri's baby rocks it in trendy oversized shades
- Ambassador Against Hunger Hend Sabry ironically looking fuller than usual
- Namaste, Dalai Lama! Iranian actress gets a meet and greet with the Tibetan spiritual leader
- Angelina Jolie: Hollywood star pitches up in Syrian refugee camp
- Syrian movie star pitches up in Zaatari refugee camp


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My Nonprofit Reviews
Joe Y
Review for Jessica Locke Firefighters Fund Inc, Watertown, MA, USA
Jessica Locke and The Fire Fighters Fund has helped the Newton Fire Department in so many ways. Jessica has gone from station to station and documented the problems and needs of each of the members. She has written letters, held signs along with firefighters at various protests and pressured city officials to replace outdated, unsafe equipment and apparatus. She even went as far as creating a video to document and dispute the findings of city officials as to the cause of a serious accident involving a 24 year old fire engine the city still had in service. She has been a true advocate for members of our department.
As for the Alexander Technique, I can't say enough about it. After suffering headaches daily for 20 years, Jessica's work has reduced that to an occasional one here and there. It definitely made a difference.
More Feedback
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US envoy George Mitchell met Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday, reiterating that the two-state solution was the only viable answer to the Middle East conflict.
"The president of the United States (Barack Obama) and Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton) have made our policy clear - the only viable resolution to this conflict is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states," Mitchell told reporters after the meeting in Ramallah.
"As President Obama said last week, America will not turn... (its) back on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own," he said, referring to Obama's address to the Muslim world.
The US envoy also reiterated statements he made the previous day in meetings with Israeli leaders that Washington was seeking "conditions for the prompt resumption and early conclusion of negotiations."
And he said that both Israelis and Palestinians had obligations under the 2003 international Road Map peace plan that among other things calls on Palestinians to halt violence and on Israel to stop settlement activity.
Tuesday evening Mitchell met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
"Israel is working to promote peace and security with our Palestinian neighbors and with the wider Arab world," Netanyahu announced after his four-hour meeting with Mitchell.
In his meeting with Netanyahu, Mitchell stressed that Israel and the US are allies and that the bond between them is unbreakable.
Mitchell's visit received an encouraging boost from Damascus on Tuesday, as Hamas head in Syria Khaled Mashaal said American pressure on Israel to freeze settlement construction was a necessary move for the revival of the political process.
Mashaal, for his part said urged the international community to recognize his organization as a "positive instrument" in efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.
"President Obama is speaking a new language, but we expect real pressure on the Israelis," Mashaal said. "There are demands that Israel freeze settlement construction, but this is not that price we are looking for, despite that fact that it is an important step."


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A platinum card with diverse features or a classic card with a competitive interest rate, the Bank of Sydney might have just the card you're looking for.
Cards not available for application
Bank of Sydney does not currently have any credit cards open for applications. However, this information has been kept for historical purposes.
Bank of Sydney Australia began operations in the form of a full service retail bank in 2001, and it has more than 15 branches spread across Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. In addition to offering its customers evolving and competitive personal and business banking solutions, this bank also boasts of offering well a qualified Trade Finance division that focuses on the Mediterranean, North African, and Middle Eastern regions. The credit cards Bank of Sydney offers take into account that not all its customers have the same requirements. While you have a budget card that comes with various benefits, you can also opt for a premium card that offers even more.
Comparison of Bank of Sydney's Credit Cards
Types of credit cards that the Bank of Sydney offers
Bank of Sydney gives it customers the option to choose between two credit cards, and both come with a Visa connection. Details of these cards are as follows.
Low interest rate credit cards
This credit card from Bank of Sydney ensures that your experience remains convenient and rewarding, while also offering a highly competitive interest rate. This card comes with a reward program, and it offers other benefits as well.
Learn more about balance transfer credit cards
Platinum credit cards
The Bank of Sydney Platinum Visa Card is for people who look for excellence in service, and this card can work in enhancing your lifestyle through a well rated rewards program as well as complimentary insurance covers and a range of other opportunities and privileges.
Learn more about platinum credit cards
Benefits of Bank of Sydney credit cards
Credit cards that Bank of Sydney issues come with the following benefits.
Annual fee waiver
If you apply before a given date you can receive a waiver on the first year's annual fee. This requires that your credit card should remain active, and that there should be a minimum monthly deposit of $2,000.00 in a linked Bank of Sydney account. Subsequent waivers of the annual fee depend on the bank's judgement. The annual fee for the Platinum Visa Card is $129, and the Classic Visa Card attracts an annual fee of $49.
Rewards program
If you use the Platinum Visa Card you earn $8.00 for every $1,000.00 you spend on eligible purchases. In case on the Classic Visa Card you earn $4.00 for every $1,000.00 you spend on eligible purchases, but this is only when you spend more than $5,000 and up to $30,000 p.a. These cash rewards credit directly to a linked Bank of Sydney savings or transaction account, and you can use the same to make purchases across Australia.
Insurance covers
If you're looking for a credit card that offers complimentary insurance covers, the Platinum Visa Card requires your attention. This card provides you up to $500,000 in the form Travel Accident Insurance, which covers you and immediate family members as long as you use your Platinum card to pay for travel fares. Other covers include the following.
Overseas travel insurance
Through this you get cover to deal with contingencies like overseas medical expenses, travel cancellation, missed travel connections, lost luggage, accidental death or disability, personal liability, and more.
Extended warranty insurance
When you use your Platinum card to buy a new domestic appliance anywhere in Australia you get an extension of up to 12 months on the original manufacturer's warranty.
Purchase security insurance
This provides cover for new items you buy using this card against theft and accidental damage for 90 days from the purchase date.
Transport accident insurance
This provides cover in the event you or a family member travelling with you dies or is seriously injured, either while riding as a passenger, or while boarding or alighting.
Interstate flight insurance
This cover is in place to provide protection if your luggage is delayed or lost during an interstate flight.
Interest free days
Both cards give you the ability to enjoy as many as 55 interest free days on purchases, but you have to make sure you that don't have any balance transferring from one billing cycle to the next.
Balance transfers
You can use both these cards to transfer balances from existing credit cards. The minimum you can transfer is $500 and the maximum cannot exceed 95% on your card's credit limit. Through the balance transfer offer you can look forward to paying 0% p.a. interest on transferred balances for 6 months. Any leftover balance at the end of this 6 months period starts attracting the card's purchase rate.
Concierge service
The Platinum Visa Card from Bank of Sydney enables you to book restaurant tables or tickets to movies and shows at any time, from anywhere in the world, by accessing its round-the-clock concierge service.
Additional card
Both cards allow you to apply for an additional card, and there is no additional card fee.
How to apply for a Bank of Sydney Credit Card
You can begin the process of applying for a Bank of Sydney credit card online. Start by visiting their website and downloading a Bank of Sydney credit card application form. Once you complete the application you can visit any Bank of Sydney branch to submit your application or you can scan and mail it, either via email or via regular mail. To apply for a Bank of Sydney credit card you have to meet certain eligibility criteria. You should meet minimum income requirements, you should be at least 18 years of age, and you should be a permanent resident of Australia. The application process requires that you submit certain details, which include the following.
- Personal details. These include your name, date of birth, mailing address, email address, and phone number.
- Income details. Prepare to submit income details from all sources, which include shares and real estate.
- Liabilities and expenditure. If you have existing loans or credit cards, you'll have to part with information surrounding how much you owe and credit limits. Other details you have to submit include expenses related to rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, child support, and so on.
What happens next?
After you submit your application the bank reviews it and gets in touch with you. If it requires any information you'll have to submit the needful for the process to move forward. As part of the process, after the bank decides to offer you a card, you have to go through an identity check. You can do so by visiting a branch and submitting copies of the required documents, or you can mail in certified copies as well. Once the identity check is complete, the bank dispatches your credit card.
Activating your card
You can activate your Bank of Sydney credit card by visiting the Bank of Sydney website at any time, or by calling the Bank of Sydney helpline between 09.00 am and 05.00 pm.
Frequently asked questions
The following are answers to commonly asked questions about Bank of Sydney credit cards.
What is the credit limit?
What is the minimum repayment?
Your minimum monthly repayment is either 2%.
Is the interest rate on cash advances the same as the interest rate on purchases?
No, the cash advance interest rate is higher than the purchase rate.
How do I earn cash rewards?
As a holder of the Platinum or Classic credit card you stand to earn cash rewards each time you or an additional card holder makes an eligible purchase. The cash rewards you earn depend on the card you have.
How do I use my cash rewards?
Your cash rewards accumulate in a savings or transaction account linked directly to your credit card, and you can use these cash rewards to make purchases. You can make purchases at any merchant in Australia who has an EFTPOS terminal, but you cannot redeem them outside Australia. You can also turn to an ATM to withdraw your cash rewards, by simply selecting the 'savings' option.
When do my cash rewards expire?
Your cash rewards expire when you or the bank closes or terminates your account; when the cash rewards program ceases to exist; or upon your demise.
How can I cancel my account?
You can cancel your Bank of Sydney credit card account at any time by getting in touch with the bank. You can also cancel any additional card linked to the main card at any time. Once you cancel the primary card, any additional card cancels automatically. If you request for a cancellation the bank contacts you to confirm cancellation details. You must return the card, and any additional cards, to the bank, or destroy them. After you cancel the card you remain liable for charges you make using the card before the termination request goes through. Moving forward, you have to keep making payments as per the original contract, and cancelling direct debits or any other regular payment is your responsibility.


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College Football Top 25 Weekend Recap – Week Three
Week Three is in the books, and it was an exciting one featuring a slugfest between two top five teams, the end of the nation's longest winning streak and a bunch of outstanding individual performances. Here is this week's wrap-up from the top 25.
#1 Oklahoma 23, #5 Florida State 13
Oklahoma's defense dominated the game, holding the Seminoles to just 27 yards rushing, forcing three turnovers and getting six sacks. Oklahoma sophomore receiver Kenny Stills had seven catches for 125 yards, including the eventual game-winner, a 37-yard jump ball reception for a touchdown with 7:00 to go in the fourth quarter.
2011 NCAA College Football – Week Three Preview
This week, things start getting interesting in college football with a handful of conference games, a couple of contests between ranked teams and, arguably, the non-conference game of the year under the lights in Tallahassee. Here are the highlights for the Top 25:
Oklahoma Tops AP Football Poll for Record 100th Time
Oklahoma on Sunday became the first team ever to be ranked #1 in the AP football poll 100 times.
The Sooners were ranked #1 for the first time in 1954, the second year of Oklahoma's NCAA-record 47-game winning streak, which lasted from 1953-1957. They have spent at least one week in the top spot in 19 different seasons.
Minnesota Head Coach Jerry Kill Hospitalized After Sideline Seizure During Game
University of Minnesota Golden Gophers head football fcoach Jerry Kill spent Saturday night in a Minneapolis hospital after suffering a seizure on the sidelines during the waning moments of his team's 28-21 loss to New Mexico State.
College Football Top 25 Weekend Recap – Week Two
While many of this weekend's games were just tune-ups for showdowns to come, there were several great battles to keep things exciting, including Michigan's last-second win over Notre Dame, South Carolina's shootout victory over Georgia and Auburn stuffing Mississippi State at the goal line to win their 17th straight game.
With that, here are the highlights from the top 25 and other games of interest this week:
2011 NCAA College Football Week Two Preview
As you might expect this time of year, there are not a lot of marquee games and only one matchup between top 25 teams (#3 Alabama vs. #23 Penn State)


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FCI, a leading supplier of power products and interconnect systems, and
3M (News - Alert) have entered into a second-source agreement covering the High Power
Card Edge (HPCE®) and HP2™ power product families.
"We are excited about this opportunity," said Dong Yu, global power
portfolio director at FCI. "Working with 3M will drive the standard for
low-profile, high-efficiency power connectors and cable assemblies. HPCE
already has great traction in the market and HP2 will further extend the
family with innovative, two-piece solutions for board-to-board and
cable-to-board applications."
"3M is extremely pleased to work with FCI by providing the industry with
a second source of FCI's innovative HPCE and HP2 power connectors and
cable assemblies," said David Schneider, global business manager for
interconnect, 3M
Electronic Solutions Division. "FCI's expertise in power product
design and 3M's expertise in connector technology and material science
is a good match to offer a standard, dual-sourced power solution."
The HPCE connector is a next-generation power card edge connector for
demanding applications requiring high linear current density and low
power loss. HPCE offers a low profile height (2.8 mm for straddle mount
and 7.5 mm for right angle) and is based on very cost-effective and
highly reliable stamped-and-formed power contact technology similar to
othe power solutions from FCI.
The HPCE connector incorporates an innovative power contact and housing
design that permits a more compact and lower profile package for
demanding AC and DC power supply and/or add-in card applications. HPCE's
low profile height (for maximized airflow), significantly increased
linear current density and low contact resistance characteristics are
ideal for next generation 1U/2U servers, storage enclosures,
telecommunications equipment and datacom/networking equipment.
The innovative HPCE cable-to-card edge is available with the same
desirable features as the standard HPCE board mount product but is
focused on power distribution applications via cabling. It includes high
power (10 - 14 AWG wire) and low power (14 - 16 AWG wire) contact
options as well as integrated signal contacts (22 - 26 AWG wire). The
modular tooling approach maximizes flexibility to meet a wide range of
power distribution requirements including bus bar attachment. The
integrated latching option makes it ideal for high shock-and-vibration
The HP2 product is similar to HPCE but utilizes a two-piece design
(header-to-receptacle connectors/cable assemblies). Integrated guide
features make it ideal for blindmate applications where system guidance
is not readily available. The HP2 product is available in board-to-board
and cable-to-board configurations and includes power contacts for power
distribution and signal contacts for power control.
3M anticipates having the connectors available in early 2013.
About 3M Electronic Solution Division - Interconnect3M
Electronic Solutions Division's Interconnect business offers a variety
of innovative connectors, cables and cable assemblies, embedded
capacitance materials and Textool brand test and burn-in sockets for
component engineers and designers in the electronics industry. For more
information about 3M's interconnect solutions, visit: http://www.3Mconnectors.com.
Information about 3M Company is available online.
About FCIWith operations in 30 countries, FCI is a leading
manufacturer of connectors. Our 14,000 employees are committed to
providing customers with high-quality, innovative products for a wide
range of consumer and industrial applications. For more information: http://www.fci.com
3M and Textool are trademarks of 3M Company. HPCE® and HP2®
are registered trademarks of FCI. All other trademarks, names and brands
listed herein are property of their respective owners and/or companies.
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ITEXPO: February 14 - 16, 2018 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Real Time Web Solutions Conference: February 14 - 16, 2018 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
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text: Most will say we are crazy but- We have 4 Simplicity garden tractors around here and they are great for odd and end things. 1- 3416H with mower/tiller for tilling gardens and customers that like the way it mows and stripes their lawn. 2- AC 912H(Simplicity 7112H) with 20.5 robin engine, snowblower/mower for sidewalk snowblowing and mowing the same as #1 3- 4040 powermax snowblower/mower/tiller/front and rear blade/loader/ 3pt and pto for the things #1 and 2 do, plus small landscaping as it fits the same 48" power rake as= 4- Legacy XL 4x4 27hp 3pt pto with mower/snowblower/front broom/blade/landscape rake/power rake/seeder used mainly for small residential landscape work and the first 3 d0. We have found that these machines are reliable and great for those special customers that want that roller decks cut and striping, plus the growing garden tilling business, not to mention in winter they make walk behind snowblowers obsolete. Has anyone else tried this?


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Nobody will cover fall camp like PowerMizzou.com. We will have analysis, reaction, photos and video from every single practice leading up to the season opener. To get your free trial membership going today, justclick right here.
The Missouri Tigers finally put the pads on for Monday morning's practice. There were a few big hits on the first day of full contact. PowerMizzou.com has a jam-packed recap:
*The injury news is mostly good. Michael Egnew and Jon Gissinger were not restricted at all. T.J. Moe still had on the red pullover and Gary Pinkel described his progress as "two steps forward, then he'll take one step back."
Article Continues Below
The news is not as positive on Josh Tatum. We'll have the full explanation in Pinkel's video interview in a few hours, but Missouri is definitely looking at the possibility of a medical redshirt. Pinkel said even if Tatum was fully healthy, he hasn't hit anyone, lifted a weight, or done anything else for about four months now. The coach certainly sounded as if the extra year would be nearly a foregone conclusion for Tatum.
*Among observers at practice was a Minnesota Vikings scout. We joked they need a quarterback so badly perhaps they were wondering if Blaine Gabbert could go pro yet.
*I spent a long time watching the offensive and defensive line drills. I will be doing a story on the O-Line later this week, but here are some impressions:
I saw no one block Aldon Smith. He was the only lineman on either side of the ball that won every one of his matchups that I saw. He started things off by going around Dan Hoch with Hoch hardly putting a hand on him. He also beat left tackle Elvis Fisher twice. It looked like Smith was working on both sides, while Brian Coulter lined up exclusively on the left side and Jacquies Smith exclusively on the right. I would not at all discount the fact that neither job is safe and Aldon Smith has a shot to start at one of them.
There were a lot of interesting matchups. Terrell Resonno got matched up against the most experienced offensive lineman in Kurtis Gregory. The duo split two matchups. Jaron Baston and Tim Barnes should be a fun battle to watch. Baston got the win the first two times.
Austin Wuebbels has really impressed a few people in camp. He got the best of Dominique Hamilton the first time, but Hamilton came back to beat him later.
Hoch rebounded from the first performance against Smith and stonewalled Coulter three times that I saw.
Elvis Fisher drove Jacquies Smith all the way back to the line of scrimmage on one impressive turn.
One of the reserves that has really impressed me is J.T. Beasley. He held off George White while I was watching. I think Beasley will do well at his new position of right guard.
*The second-team offensive line looked to be Mike Prince, Jayson Palmgren, Travis Ruth, Beasley and Daniel Jenkins from left to right. Kirk Lakebrink also worked in at right tackle with the twos.
*Also spent some time watching the seven-on-seven passing drills.
Donovan Bonner didn't get a takeaway, but did a nice job jumping in front of a receiver to knock down a Blaine Dalton pass.
Dalton came back to hit freshman Jaleel Clark on a slant route for a score.
Kevin Rutland continues to stand out at corner. He had a tough pick of Gabbert in the end zone and later defended Jared Perry perfectly on a corner route that had no chance.
*Got a chance to see Rolandis Woodland, Kip Edwards, Jasper Simmons and Kendial Lawrence working on kickoff returns. All four caught the ball, which is the major battle. I really like Simmons' athletic ability. I think he's very, very likely to see the field and might be an early leader on returns.
*Some notes from 11-on-11:
No doubt Jimmy Costello is the #2 quarterback right now. He hit Michael Egnew for a big gain down the sideline on the first play. He also threw touchdowns to Jerrell Jackson and Woodland later on.
Robert Steeples made the first real big hit of camp, standing up Gissinger in the flat. If he'd gone full out, it may have taken Giss a while to get up. Tyler Crane also delivered a big shot on Jackson.
Dalton showed off good moves on a quarterback keeper, slipping between two would-be tacklers.
I think Andrew Jones is the most likely guy to take over the Tommy Saunders role of third-down safety outlet. He made multiple third-down catches to move the chains.
Pinkel said he's not yet pleased with the consistency of the number one offense or defense. However, one play stood out defensively to me. Jacquies Smith was immediately on Gabbert with pressure, forcing him to throw a screen pass before he wanted to. Sean Weatherspoon was right there to break up the pass once it was thrown. It's amazing how much better pressure can make a defense.
Kendial Lawrence once again turned heads with a beautiful cutback move that led to about a 15-yard run. He's #3 RIGHT NOW (not officially) and I wouldn't completely rule out the chance of him pushing pretty hard for #2.
T-Shirt Update: The coaches' shirts today said "Everyone has a plan" on the front and "Until they get hit" on the back. Pinkel said it was a quote from Evander Holyfield.
Play of the Day: In red zone drills, Costello floated a perfect pass over the outstretched arms of Zaviar Gooden. Jerrell Jackson hauled it in and got two feet down for the touchdown.
The Tigers return to practice at 7:15 on Tuesday morning and again at 3:45 in the afternoon. PowerMizzou.com will be there with full coverage throughout the day.
Nobody will cover fall camp like PowerMizzou.com. We will have analysis, reaction, photos and video from every single practice leading up to the season opener. To get your free trial membership going today, justclick right here.
Click Here to view this Link. PowerMizzou.com's fall camp coverage is sponsored by CJ's in Tiger Country, home of the BYFO (Burn Your Face Off). For the best wings around, check out CJ's at 7-4 E. Broadway in Columbia or call in an order at (573) 442-7777. Click on the graphic above for more information.


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New York Yimby reported that the Skateboarders in Upper Manhattan are in for a new experience. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation gave its blessing to a proposal to upgrade the 20-year-old skate park in Riverside Park. Continue Reading →
Tag Archives: Robert Moses
HW Props: Bruce Dearstyne's 'The Spirit Of New York' (Book)
In this lively and engaging book, Bruce W. Dearstyne presents New York State history by exploring sixteen dramatic events. Continue Reading →
A Secret Sanctuary Reopens To The Public In Central Park
A long closed, and little know section of Central Park has reopened to the public, the New York Times reports. Known as the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, this four-acre section that wraps around the Pond at the southeast corner of the park, was largely overlooked and overrun by weeds starting in the 1930s. Continue Reading →


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Love to See Red
I compliment you on bringing back the original "Red" Connelly, the man with the gift of ironic understatement and sarcasm, in your News Hostage column. I really missed Connelly's "Sports for Heretics" column at the Public News, and it's a delight to see his wit gracing the pages of the alternative press once again. He often took swipes at news figures even in his sports columns, so it's nice that he now has the "column inches" (a term he loves to use when referring to page space) to hold court.
Mr. Connelly, you're a wonderful writer and comedian (yes, comedian)! Keep up the fine work! (When are we gonna see a best-of volume of your stuff?)
Charles Tatum II
via Internet
Media Monitor
Just wanted to let you know how much I like your News Hostage column. Someone needs to monitor the media here because it is uncompetitive and boring. I especially liked your piece on Ken Hoffman a few weeks ago (I used to work for the Post).
Jeff Share
via Internet
Coming Right Back
I loved your column and hope that News Hostage is going to be a regular feature. If so, you will never run out of things to write about! I'm so glad to know I am not the only one who notices the insipid musings that pass for legitimate news stories in this city.
If you plan to do this regularly, you might want to consider doing an all Channel 2 column, as they are the dumbest of the dumb in all categories of news in Houston. Why do they think it is news to terrify us with stories about things we have absolutely no control over?
Keep up the great work!
Brynette Lowe
via Internet
Truth Tester
Congratulations to Shaila Dewan on her well-written expose of the TAAS ["The Fix Is In," February 25; "Adding It All Up," March 4].
The truth about the education of our children is being sacrificed upon the career altars of many politicians and education bureaucrats, locally, statewide and nationally. The extent of that borders on the criminal.
My research of the 50 largest Texas school districts further corroborates Ms. Dewan's article. For example, every one of the 50 largest school districts showed dramatic improvement from 1995 to 1998 in the percentages passing all parts of the TAAS in every one of the following categories of enrollment: economically disadvantaged, Hispanics and African-Americans. The average improvement for each of the three categories was about 20 percentage points from 1995 to 1998.
If anyone believes that this miraculous improvement could happen in each of the three categories in every one of the 50 largest school districts, without exception, there is some prime Florida swampland I would like to sell to them!
The politicians and "educrats" can preen and pound on the podiums all they like at the state and national levels. The truth is, however, things will not get better until each of us obtains the real facts about his own school district and gets involved at the local level.
Bob Lemer
Fail Safe
This is the biggest drop-bomb to blow up: the way this state "rates" student testing. I knew there was a problem with this system when I saw some of my classmates cheat in a group, with a supposed supervisor standing two feet away.
Now it is an eye-opener to find out why my freshman year in college bit my ass. The test results they give you do not show how you did, but only how your group did as a whole. Shaila Dewan should find out how many raises and promotions have gone out since I graduated from high school in 1994, because this is when they really wanted us to "get smart" with the TAAS. Great job with this paper!
Ima Inyang
via Internet
Anomalous Anomalies
I read Ms. Dewan's article regarding TAAS "anomalies" -- this is the term the Fort Bend school district's staff attorney is applying to the allegations of cheating on this test -- with great interest and concern. I find it interesting that TEA would allow the school districts in question to investigate themselves! I liken that to turning the fox loose in the henhouse. Just as HISD's investigators found no evidence of wrongdoing, what do you expect the other districts' conclusions will be?
Another fine example of why Texas was ranked among the lowest in the country in teacher pay and education for our buck, but among the top in what we pay administrators and football programs!
At least Fort Bend has created another word for the children to use when caught cheating on a test: "Oh, no, Mr. Jones, I didn't cheat. It is just an 'anomaly' that I changed so many answers."
Name withheld by request
via Internet
Book 'Em!
In order to detect cheating on the TAAS test, use a variant of a test used in medieval England. Send investigators into classrooms with a book written at the appropriate grade level. Have each student read a couple of paragraphs from the book.
Mervin Miller
Erectable Officials
Enjoyed your article [Insider, by Tim Fleck, March 4]. As a Robert Eckels supporter with a "front row" seat to county government for the past 19 years, I am not surprised that all the elected officials and insiders interviewed support only the "status quo."
If citizens realized how much power a county commissioner wields in his precinct and how the spending of tax money is influenced by campaign contributions, golf trips, hunting trips, private dinners, side business deals and inside information, they would demand more than a change; they would demand indictments. How can people seriously debate against what he wants, unless their view is extremely biased?
I was at the state of the county speech. All Judge Eckels stated were facts; has anyone said he was up there lying? Radack has had a hard-on for Eckels since he took office. He butted heads with Eckels's father because Bob supported Tracy Maxon when Radack ran against him.
The ones objecting to his ideas can complain all they want, but Eckels is right. If you doubt me, go interview the "man on the street."
Hill Adams
via Internet
Hurricane Rehab
As someone who has seen three townhouse complexes go up within two blocks of his Montrose apartment, I can assure Robert F. Alexander [Letters, "Bunker Down," March 4] that the new ticky-tacky boxes I saw constructed look exactly alike, down to the pressed-wood two-by-four construction, fake brick siding and chimneys and beige fucking paint job.
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You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!
They're expensively hideous crap guaranteed to blow down in the next hurricane. A $250,000 pile of toothpicks is a heavy price to pay for the right to walk to Starbucks.
R.T. Castleberry
Correcting the Record
Erroneous information was provided to the Houston Press by Houston Independent School District last week and was published in a story entitled "HISD fires, reprimands and probes."
In a correction memo, HISD spokesman Terry Abbott says that the name of Kashmere Gardens Elementary School teacher Frankie Garner was not listed on an erasure analysis of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills for five years, as previously reported. (An erasure analysis shows how many times answers on a test are changed.) This information, Abbott says, "does not change HISD's decision to terminate the teacher based on the investigation showing that answers on the TAAS test were changed.


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California Strikes Gold with Lowest-Ever Smoking Rate
July 18, 2011
It's not just the sunny climate that gives the Golden State its healthy glow: The rate of smoking among California adults has just hit a record low, dropping to 11.9 percent.
California now joins Utah as one of two states in the nation to achieve the federal Healthy People 2020 target of reducing the prevalence of adult smoking to 12 percent. Nationally, the adult smoking rate is 20.6 percent, a level that's remained essentially unchanged since 2004.
California has achieved extraordinary success in reducing smoking since it launched a comprehensive Tobacco Control Program with voter approval of a 25-cent per pack cigarette tax. The 1988 referendum hiking the tax required that 20 percent of the new revenues from it would be earmarked for health education against tobacco use. The state mounted aggressive media campaigns to counter industry marketing and funded local programs to help smokers quit and prevent kids from starting.
Chart: Smoking prevalence among California adults, 1984-2010
In 1995, California became the first state in the nation to ban smoking at indoor work sites and restaurants. It extended the smoke-free policy to bars in 1998.
All of these steps helped to change the social norms about tobacco use, and reduced both adult and youth smoking dramatically.
Unfortunately, the state has not kept up its groundbreaking pace. Its current cigarette tax of 87 cents is lower than the national average of $1.46 per pack, and California is only spending about $75 million annually on tobacco prevention — just 17 percent of the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's got to do better.
Still, California has set another trend and reached an historic mark on the path toward freedom from the disease and death caused by tobacco use. Other states should copy its healthy style.


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Rightside slashes new gTLD prices to $0.99
Rightside registrar eNom is to offer domains in several Rightside gTLDs for $0.99 over the coming days.
Today, .rocks domains can be obtained for the special price. They're usually $12.99 a year.
The price does not apply to renewals. Customers have to use the promo code "pocketchange".
Rightside stablemates .forsale, .reviews, .ninja and .social will get the $0.99 treatment for one day each over the coming week.
As we've learned over the last several months, super-cheap domains boost TLDs' numbers as some of the internet's less than ethical characters bulk-register thousands of throwaway domains at once.
So far, gTLDs such as .xyz, .country and .kim have been affected by these spikes, which I currently believe are related to typosquatting campaigns in legacy gTLDs.
I would not be at all surprised if Rightside becomes the latest registry to see its volume swell for similar reasons.
Google leaks 282,000 private Whois records
Google has accidentally revealed registrant contact information for 282,867 domain names that were supposed to be protected by a privacy service.
The bug reportedly affected 94% of the 305,925 domains registered via Google Apps, an eNom reseller.
The glitch was discovered by Cisco and reported to Google February 19. It has since been fixed and customers were notified yesterday.
Google acknowledged in an email to customers that the problem was caused by a "software defect in the Google Apps domain renewal system".
It seems that anyone who acquired a domain with privacy through Google Apps since mid-2013 and has since renewed the registration will have had their identities unmasked in Whois upon renewal.
Names, addresses, emails and phone numbers were revealed.
Due to services such as DomainTools, which cache Whois records, there's no putting the genie back in the bottle. The information is out there for good now.
It's a pretty major embarrassment for Google, which recently launched its own registrar.
Demand Media spins off Rightside
Demand Media has completed the spin-off of its domain name business, Rightside.
Shares in the new company, which will be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, went to existing Demand Media shareholders.
Trading under the ticker symbol NAME, Rightside stock started off at $16.77 yesterday morning and is currently trading at around $15.07.
Rightside comprises number two registrar eNom, retail registrar Name.com, new gTLD portfolio registry United TLD (which is branded Rightside), and its share of auction house NameJet.
It is headed by CEO Taryn Naidu and chairman David Panos.
The company also today named its initial board of directors.
NameCheap: a top ten registrar?
eNom reseller NameCheap is actually in the top 10 largest registrars in terms of domains under management, judging by data in regulatory documents filed by eNom parent Rightside.
According to a Rightside SEC filing related to its spin-off from Demand Media, NameCheap accounted for 23% of the company's total domains under management as of September 30.
With the same document declaring Rightside has over 12 million names under management as of the same date, NameCheap apparently looks after just under 2.8 million domains.
By my reckoning, this means NameCheap is very probably the ninth-largest registrar by DUM out there, sandwiched between GMO Internet and FastDomain.
My comparison is not completely apples-to-apples — NameCheap's number may include ccTLD registrations and I'm levering the company into a gTLDs-only league table — so may not be fully reliable.
But it's the first solid indication of the size of NameCheap's business I've seen in a while.
While NameCheap is accredited by ICANN in its own right, it has never registered more than a handful of domains under its own name, leaving it in the sub-900 range in the DUM league table.
According to Rightside, NameCheap is under contract to exclusively use eNom's wholesale services until December 2014, but the deal does have one-year renewals built in.
Demand Media to spin off domains business as Rightside
Demand Media has confirmed its plan to spin off its domain name business into a separate company.
The new firm will be called Rightside. As the (rather good) name suggests, it will include the company's interests in over 100 new gTLD applications and registries.
As well as United TLD, it will also include eNom, Name.com and Demand's stake in NameJet.
Rightside will be based in Kirkland, Washington, and headed by new appointed CEO Taryn Naidu, who's been running Demand's domain unit internally for the last couple of years.


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SQL Server 2000 DTS Part 10 - DTS Designer Tasks - The Data Driven Query Task
February 27, 2004
In the arsenal of DTS Designer Tasks, the one that leads in terms of versatility (and complexity) is the Data Driven Query Task. Its most distinctive feature, distancing it from other tasks, is its ability to not only handle inserts of rows during transformation, but also process any other T-SQL statements, such as UPDATEs, DELETEs, or stored procedures. This flexibility comes, however, with a performance price tag, so you should avoid it unless its added functionality makes its use justified or necessary. Insert operations are much more efficiently handled with previously discussed Transform Data and Bulk Insert tasks.
Before we look into implementation details and examples, let's make sure you understand the basic idea on which this extra functionality is based. You will shortly recognize that the "Data Driven Query" name aptly reflects the mechanism employed for data transformation in this case.
Transformation of each row of data between its source and target is divided into two main stages. Initial row processing is done via a custom ActiveX script. Logic implemented by the script examines each row from data source (in addition to performing whatever other tasks might be required) and depending on conditions you specify (for example, in the simplest case, match on a specific value from a particular field), it calls one of TSQL statements you created. TSQL statements are typically parameterized, with parameter values derived from a table called, in Data Driven Query parlance, a binding table. Typically, the same table functions also as the data target, although this is not mandatory (since the target table is the one specified within the TSQL statement and can be any table available via a DTS connection used by the Data Driven Query task). Note that actual change to the target table happens only as the result of execution of the selected TSQL statement (which might change from one data source row to another), with values of parameters derived from columns in the binding table (which, in turn, are derived from ActiveX script transformation of rows in the source table).
Now, that the basic premise of the task has been presented, let's discuss each of its components in detail (you can find their graphical representation on the Data Driven Query Task Properties dialog box) and provide a simple example illustrating their functionality:


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hammondcast Livestream channel: http://www.livestream.com/hammondcast The weekly show is now in it's 26th year and has influenced the broadcasts of David Letterman and others. Billboard Magazine hailed Jon's show as "The Alternative to MTV". The Jon Hammond Show can be seen worldwide at various times streaming from www.mnn.org and on channels 56 and 108 in Manhattan. Media Personality: Host and narrator of his TV show, as well as co-host of numerous radio broadcasts, Jon has defined a musical and personal style that is unmistakeable. As Musical Director, Producer and Host of The Jon Hammond Show, Mr. Hammond formed a unique multi-media music group. © www.HammondCast.com Bob Cunningham, Bass, Bernard Purdie, Jon Hammond, Local 802, Musicians Union, NDR Jazz, Late Rent, Mikell's, Jazz Foundation of America, Elmar Lemes, ASCAP Network, B3 organ, XK-3c, Blues, Funky, Rhonda Hamilton, WBGO ASCAP Network Behind The Beat with Jon Hammond "LATE RENT" Elmar Lemes photo of Jon Hammond playing XK-3 organ at Local 802 Monday Night Jazz Session sponsored by Jazz Foundation of America Jon Hammond MySpace HammondCast ASCAP Network Behind The Beat "NDR SESSIONS Projekt" Jon Hammond is an endorsed artist of Hammond Suzuki USA B3 organ, XK-1, XK-3c, XB-2, Suzuki, Jon Hammond, Accordion, Excelsior, Musicians Union, Local 802, Musikmesse, Apple iTunes, iPod, KYOU Radio
© 2017 Spike Cable Networks. All Rights Reserved.


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I'm just about all charted out when it comes to the 2010 draft, but I posted one more on our Draft Blog. This time, I compared the top 50 bonuses vs. the top 50 slots. It should come as no surprise that the slots are out of touch with reality—this year, they were out of touch by 37 percent.
- Many bloggers and non-professional analysts suggested that Stephen Strasburg's mechanics could result in injury, a claim which BA (among others) didn't agree with. In light of his recent injury, has there been any re-evaluation of what constitutes a healthy delivery? Mark Prior too was noted for his perfect mechanics, which obviously didn't turn out to be perfect.
Sean O'Neill
The story here isn't that Strasburg had perfect mechanics and then got hurt. Unlike with Prior, no one suggested that Strasburg had a flawless delivery that would keep him healthy. He doesn't throw with a lot of effort, so there were no major red flags, at least not for the many scouts we talked to about him. (I covered a lot of this ground in a 2009 column
The story here is that every pitcher is at the risk of injury. That's just the nature of pitching. Throwing a baseball is an unnatural motion, and there's no such thing as a perfect delivery that can guarantee a pitcher won't get hurt. Teams are devoting more time and money to keeping pitchers healthy, and to no avail. Almost every pitcher is going to sustain an injury at some point, and the cause isn't always easy to pinpoint.
Did Strasburg need Tommy John surgery because of his mechanics? Because 68 big league innings and 55 more in the minors over a combined five months constitute the most stressful workload he's ever had? Because he came back too quickly from shoulder stiffness a month earlier? Because he did something funny to his elbow throwing a changeup on the pitch he got hurt? Because a young arm just can't handle the stress of throwing upper-90s fastballs and high-80s curveball? Because he was unlucky?
I could predict doom and gloom for any number of the game's best pitching prospects, and I'd be right more than I wanted—because pitchers get hurt.
- Royals prospects Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers each have had great seasons. Each was a little different in what they did, where they did it, and they're one year apart from each other in age and pro experience. How would you rank them in terms of who had the best season and who's the best long-term prospect (assuming Myers moves to right field, like most believe)? I can see a case for ranking them in any order.
Chuck Pattison
Lenexa, Kan.
Moustakas, Hosmer and Myers are three of the best hitting prospects in baseball. Combine them with all the young arms the Royals have amassed, and Kansas City has the game's best farm system and, finally, some real hope for the future.
I agree that with the two criteria Chuck has mentioned, you could line them up in any order. As prospects, I would rank Moustakas first, followed by Hosmer and Myers. Moustakas has the most power of any of them, and they're all going to be playing positions where power is at a premium. He also has proven himself at a higher level of the minors and is close to major league-ready. Hosmer and Myers do control the strike zone better.
None of them will contribute much defensive value, as Moustakas will be an average third baseman at best (and may have to move), while Hosmer will play first base and Myers likely will wind up in right field. If Myers was a lock to stay behind the plate and be a solid defender there, I'd be very tempted to rank ahead of the other two.
To me, Myers' season has been the most impressive. He has hit .310/.423/.496 with 79 walks as a 19-year-old in two difficult Class A hitting environments. By comparison, as 19-year-olds in Class A, Moustakas batted .272/.337/.468 and Hosmer put up .241/.334/.361 numbers.
After Myers, I'd give Moustakas' 2010 performance (.321/.370/.614 between Double-A and Triple-A) the edge over Hosmer's (.341/.407/.573 between high Class A and Double-A). Moustakas destroyed Double-A for an 1.100 OPS, though again, Hosmer has controlled the strike zone better.
- What do you think of Blue Jays outfield prospect Eric Thames? How soon do you see him getting to the majors and what kind of impact do you think he'll have?
Scott Davis
Kitchener, Ont.
I've heard nothing about New Hampshire's Eric Thames this year, despite his impressive numbers in Double-A. I'm guessing some of this has to do with the fact that he's a left fielder/DH, so I assume his defensive potential is limited, but it's hard to argue with a productive bat. Will Thames crack BA's Blue Jays Top 10 Prospects list and does he have a chance at the overall Top 100?
Stephen Blackmore
Guelph, Ont.
Thames' season is more impressive than his prospect status. Fully healthy after battling quadriceps injuries since the Blue Jays made him a seventh-round pick in 2008, he's hitting .290/.372/.529 and ranks sixth in the minors with 101 RBIs.
However, he's not easy to project as a regular on a big league contender. Thames' strength and power stand out, but he has an aggressive approach that leads to a lot of strikeouts, and he may not hit consistently enough to be an everyday player in the majors. His speed and defense are fringy, so his bat has to carry him.
The Blue Jays have been on a mission to add prospects since Alex Anthopoulos took over last fall. They traded Roy Halladay, spent $11.6 million on the 2010 draft and have been aggressive on the international market, paying $10 million for Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria and $2.8 million for Venezuelan righthander Adonis Cardona. Thames has boosted his stock since we rated him Toronto's 18th-best prospect in the 2010 Prospect Handbook, but that influx of talent will prevent him from moving up much in next year's book. I don't see him making our Blue Jays Top 10 and he won't crack the overall Top 100. If he keeps hitting like he has this year, he could make it to Toronto by mid-2011.


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Sarah Jessica Parker Celebrates Halston in Canada
Celeb Style: Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker celebrated Halston at The Bay at Yonge and Queen in Toronto, Canada showing off her killer legs and unbeatable hair. She covered up her fitted purple mini dress with a black Marchesa tuxedo jacket, adding silver satin Ferragamo pumps, a sparkly Halston handbag and festive jewelry to complete the look. Brighten up your evenings with similar pieces now!
Image Source: INFphoto.com


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|Sacramento Garage Cabinets, Commercial Cabinetry,
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PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. adults ages 24 to 34 who live at home with parents are significantly less likely to be "thriving" than counterparts not living at home, a survey found.
The Gallup Daily tracking interviews, conducted Aug. 7 to Dec. 29, asked adults age 5 and younger about their current living arrangements. Fourteen percent of those age 24 to 34 reported they lived at home with their parents.
Gallup classifies Americans as thriving, struggling or suffering, depending on how they rate their current and future lives on a ladder scale with steps numbered zero to 10. People are considered thriving if they rated their current lives a 7 or higher and their lives in five years an 8 or higher.
Previous Gallup polling showed young adults who lived at home were significantly less likely to be married, to be employed full time, and to have a college education than those the same age but don't live at home. Therefore, it is not surprising to find that those living at home are less likely to be thriving, Gallup said.
However, even after accounting for marital status, employment, education and a number of other demographic variables, those 24-34 and living at home are less likely to be thriving.
This suggests that while living with one's parents may have some benefits for young people who have not yet found their full footing in society, the net effect of living at home lowers young adults' perceptions of where they stand in life. Something about living at home appears to drive down young adults' overall life evaluations, Gallup said.
Younger adults ages 24 to 34 who lived at home generally did worse than those who did not live at home on five of the six domains of well-being -- life evaluation, physical health, emotional health, healthy behaviors and basic access to things that promote healthy living.
For the young adults living at home with their parents, the margin of error was 2 percentage points. For results based on the total sample of 1,076 adults ages 24 to 34 living at home with their parents, the margin of error was 4 percentage.


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Every day is Earth Day when you ride a bicycle. Nau Clothing, makers of sustainable urban and outdoor wear for women and men invites velojoy readers to celebrate with 20 percent off on Monday, April 22. Use code INSIDEDEAL at checkout at nau.com . Nau also donates 2 percent of sales every day to their Partners for Change, including the national cycling advocacy organization Bikes Belong.
Top photo: Deft Jacket, Ayre Long-Sleeve Top, Pentacle Pant
Bottom photo: Lightbeam Shirt, Motil Short


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All work and no play makes Brian a dull blogger. I'm actually not much of a gambler at all (seriously, mom, I promise) but the thing about being in Las Vegas for a week is, like it or not, you're gonna walk through a lot of casinos. The casino in the lobby of the Venetian is loaded with all kinds of fun slot machines–Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Top Gun–you name it.
Being the diehard tech blogger that I am, however, one particular unit caught my eye: an eBay slot machine. Not sure how this ties in with the company's new strategy, but whatever the case may be, it's one stunner of a gambling device.
I couldn't help but take a few minutes of video of the thing on my trusty Creative Vado HD. Check it out, after the jump.
For PCMag's full ces coverage, go to http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,2235882,00.asp.


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You won't learn the secret to McDonald's golden crisp french fries, but if you attend a cooking class in the new Ronald McDonald House kitchen, you will learn how to make asparagus and mushroom risotto, chicken and dumplings, and red velvet cupcakes among other dishes.
Several top toques in San Diego are donating their time and expertise to teach the Cooking With Love classes to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego. In San Diego since 1980, the charity opened its Ronald McDonald House as a home away from home for families with seriously ill children being treated at area hospitals.
Last summer, RMHCSD opened its new, 65,000-square-foot, 47-bedroom center across from Rady's Children's Hospital. It came equipped with a cook's dream: a spanking new kitchen.
Two kitchens, actually.
Separate from a gleaming commercial operation — where staff serves three meals a day — is an area with six cooking stations in which families staying at the house can prepare their own meals. The chief glory is 47 small refrigerators lining the walls, one for each guest room's use.
"We've never had the capacity that we have now," said Sandy Camarillo, chief operating officer of RMHCSD. "Before, all we had was one big refrigerator that everyone had to share. I was really glad to see the old 10-foot kitchen go. Every bit of it."
The Cooking With Love series is set up so 24 students can participate hands-on at these cooking stations while about 50 more can look on. Carol Clark, a board trustee of RMHCSD and chair of the series, began in November searching for a talented culinary roster and her plate quickly filled.
"I love to bake and cook and I love to go to restaurants," said Clark. "It wasn't hard to find good chefs willing to teach in this world-class kitchen and help raise community awareness about the families who use Ronald McDonald House. I knew these chefs could bring people in."
Sharon Smith, vice president of development for the charity, said cooking classes seemed like a natural for attracting the public.
"We wanted a 'friend raiser' rather than a fundraiser," said Smith. "We want everyone to come see the house and how wonderful it is."
Culinary curriculum
Cooking With Love classes will meet from 3 to 6 p.m. Sundays in Ronald McDonald House's new kitchen at 2929 Children's Way. Classes are $75 to participate in a hands-on session or $50 to observe, with all proceeds going to the house. The schedule:
• March 21: Chef Philippe Verpiand of Cavaillon Restaurant in Santaluz will share his approach to his native regional fare combined with local ingredients and modern techniques. This class is being underwritten by Bristol Farms.
• May 23: Chef de Cuisine Jeffrey Kaplan of Luc's Bistro in Poway will show students how to prepare Southern favorites.
• July 18: Chef Michelle Ciccarelli reveals her secrets behind her diminutive cakes at Cups Organic Bakery in La Jolla. She is also the creator of the signature Ronald McDonald House Love Cup, a lemon-vanilla bean cupcake with lemonade Swiss meringue frosting and fresh strawberries.
• Sept. 26: Executive chef/owner Victor Jimenez of Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop will share his interpretation of dishes embodying the American West.
• Nov. 21: Executive chef Brian Malarkey, formerly of The Oceanaire Seafood Room and a past cheftestant on Bravo TV's "Top Chef," will put a healthy spin on his award-winning seafood dishes. (Note: This class is $100 for the hands-on session and $75 to observe.)
Volunteer opps
Much of the perishables and pantry staples guest families use to prepare meals at Ronald McDonald House have been donated. Volunteer cooks and drivers are also always needed. To learn more about making donations and volunteer opportunities, call (858) 467-4750 or visit rmhcsd.org.


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Maintenance Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying engineering concepts to the optimization of equipment, procedures, and departmental budgets to achieve better maintainability, reliability, and availability of equipment.\nhttp://acautoelectrical.co.nz/services/engineering-and-maintenance\n
Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author.While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server.
Machines are a critical piece of current society. They are required in varying backgrounds from little machines, for example, espresso processors to the monstrous mechanical machines which fabricate our customer items.
These machines should be legitimately kept up so as to guarantee that they keep on working accurately. Without this machine support, the gadgets could separate, ceasing generation and now and again taking a chance with the soundness of the general population working them. In expansive modern machines, engineersneed to consistently keep up the framework, frequently stripping it down and examining each part.
And additionally guaranteeing machine security through the review and upkeep of the machine, specialists should be ensured against the likelihood of mischief. Architects can help in this procedure by introducing custom-manufactured machine security protects. These are intended to protect the administrator against flying parts or broken pieces from the creation line. Working rather like uproar shields, these machine security monitors avoid the pieces making them fall innocuously to the ground. With new wellbeing and security laws being executed each year and with individuals attempting to get up to speed with the most recent plan changes in hardware, these wellbeing watches have turned into an imperative piece of processing plant life.
New thoughts concerning this issue are presently beginning to crawl into the work environment, with numerous reasoning that machine wellbeing and support capacities ought to be utilized as an approach to upgrade the operation of the plant. As opposed to attempting to return the machine to its unique execution, essentially by keeping up those parts which are not filling in and also beforehand, the choice is there to enhance turnaround through enhancing the activity of the machine once a day.
When I searched on Internet about the best website for maintenance of machines, the best website was of www.AcAutoElectrical.co.nz which provides all the facilities of maintenance services at very reasonable rates.
For Best Engineering and Maintenance
Visit:-> http://acautoelectrical.co.nz/services/engineering-and-maintenance
14 Clarence St South, Addington,
Christchurch 8024
State South island
Ph: 03-338-4653
Email: [email protected]


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The Pain Of Watching Non Geeks Use Computers
All you can do is sit back and wait. Trying to give useful computer tech tips to people not raised with computers? You'd have a better chance of convincing the pope not to molest little boys. [Via GeeksAreSexy]
This post was created by a user and has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone can post awesome lists and creations. Learn more or post your buzz!
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ChinaFAQs: China's Ten Key Energy Efficiency Projects
Key Points
- In 2004, China launched its "Ten Key Projects" initiative, a billion dollar program that provides financial support for energy-saving projects ranging from the power sector to construction across the nation.
- The Chinese government approved nearly 550 applications in 2007 and more than 1,200 applications in 2008.
China's "Ten Key Projects" to Save Energy
It's a "top ten" list you've probably never heard of. But China's "Ten Key Projects" initiative may revolutionize the way that nation produces and uses energy.
The billion dollar effort, launched in 2004 and incorporated into the China's latest economic development plan, provides financial incentives for local governments and industry to pursue a wide range of energy-saving projects. The goal is to conserve the equivalent of some 250 million metric tons of coal equivalent (Mtce), preventing emissions of over 600 million tons of CO2.i,ii
The "Key Projects" target technological improvements in ten areas (see Table: Ten Key Projects for Energy Savings). Some projects aim to improve industry's use of energy, and are linked to another of China's major energy-saving initiatives, the "Top-1000 Energy Consuming Enterprises Program," (see ChinaFAQs: Efficiency, a Thousand Companies at a Time). Others target residential and government energy use or specific technologies like green lighting.
A number of China's industrial producers lag behind their global peers in energy efficiency–causing a drain on resources, excess pollution, and lost profits. Chinese cement, copper, and paper-makers, for instance, use between 45% and 120% more energy per ton than European and US competitors. Common equipment like motors, boilers and pumps often run with up to 20% less efficiency.iii And energy use in commercial buildings is set to grow rapidly unless design inefficiencies are remedied. For instance, heat loss through exterior walls is 3-5 times higher than similar buildings in Japan and Canada.iv
The biggest gains from "Key Projects" are expected to come from efforts to renovate coal-fired industrial boilers, build combined heat and power systems in urban areas, deployment of new technologies and processes that save oil, and build more energy efficient residential and commercial spaces.v
China has earmarked roughly $1 billion in incentives for implementation of five of the ten key projects (coal industrial boilers or kilns, waste heat recovery/waste power recovery, petrochemical conservation or substitution, electrical machinery energy saving system, and energy system optimization). To qualify for this funding, which comes from China's Ministry of Finance, enterprises must apply to one of 20 technical assistance centers established by the government. Applicants have to undergo a comprehensive energy audit, demonstrate that they have adequate accounting and management systems in place, and show that the project will save at least the equivalent of 10,000 Mtce.
Applicants get 60% of the project's capital costs upfront – but the remaining 40% is not provided until after the technology is installed and actual energy savings are evaluated. If independent reviewers conclude that the project is successful, applicants can also receive financial awards linked to the amount of energy saved.vi
So far, there has been plenty of interest. In 2007, officials approved 546 projects and in 2008 received more than 1,200 applications. Final results won't be known until all the projects are finished, but China's focus on industrial and residential efficiency and technology is an important step towards curbing emissions. The goals for energy savings of the 10 Key Projects are provided below.
Source: LBNL estimates and calculations based on National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC), 2006. Implementation Suggestions of Ten Key Energy-Conservation Projects during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, NDRC Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection Document #: [2006] 1457.
Note: Mt = million tons, FYP = Five Year Plan, Mtce = million tons of coal equivalent (1 tce = 29.7 GJ = 27.8 MBtu), CO2 = carbon dioxide, TWh = terawatt-hour.
Total of individual programs is higher than stated savings goal of 250 Mtce in 2010. Values are based on primary (source) electricity, accounting for losses during electricity generation, transmission, and distribution; value for oil conservation and substitution includes only 8 Mtce for oil conservation because 7 of the 8 efforts outlined focus on fuel substitution, while only one focuses on oil saving.
|Notes and References
|i Energy use and energy savings are reported in Chinese units of million metric tons of coal equivalent (Mtce). One Mtce equals 0.29 exajoules (EJs) and 0.28 quadrillion British thermal units (Quads).
|ii "China Medium and Long Term Energy Plan," presentation by Lu Wenbin, China's National Development and Reform Commission, Beijing, 2005.
|iii Williams, Robert (Sept. 2005) "The Chinese Motor System Optimization Experience: Developing a Template for a National Program," Paper for Energy Efficiency in Motor-Driven Systems International Conference, Heidelberg, Germany. Available: www.gfse.at/fileadmin/dam/gfse/gfse7/EEMODSfinal2.pdf
|iv Lin J and Zhou N (August 2007), "The reality of future scenarios of commercial building energy consumption in China," LBNL: Berkeley, CA. p. 9-10
|v "The Greening of the Middle Kingdom: The Story of Energy Efficiency in China," by Mark D. Levine, Nan Zhou, and Lynn Price, I The Bridge. U.S. National Academies of Sciences. Volume: 39, Number: 2 - Summer 2009.
|vi In eastern China, companies can receive $29 for every ton of coal equivalent saved per year above 10,000 tce. In mid- and western China, the rate is $36 for every tce saved.
Expert Blog Posts
Experts In the News
A study co-authored by Valerie Karplus says that with reforms, wind-generated electricity could account for up to three quarters of China's target of supplying 20 percent of primary energy demand with non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 in "This is how composicion de la viagra China can live up to its huge wind energy potential" The Washington Post
- Nathaniel Aden , World Resources Institute
- Joshua Busby , Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
- Edward Cunningham , Boston University
- Erica Downs , Eurasia Group
- Meredydd Evans , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Barbara Finamore , Natural Resources Defense Council
- Jerry Fletcher , West Virginia University
- Carla Freeman , Johns Hopkins SAIS
- David Fridley , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Kelly Sims Gallagher , Tufts University
- Banning Garrett , Singularity University
- Kate Gordon , The Paulson Institute
- Melanie Hart , Center for American Progress
- Mikkal Herberg , The National Bureau of Asian Research
- Isabel Hilton , Chinadialogue
- Trevor Houser , Peterson Institute for International Economics
- S.T. Hsieh , Tulane University
- Angel Hsu , Yale Center for Environment and Policy
- Daniel Kammen , University of California, Berkeley
- Robert Kapp , Robert A. Kapp and Associates
- Valerie Karplus , Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Albert Keidel , Atlantic Council
- David Kline , Citizens' Climate Lobby
- Bo Kong , University of Oklahoma College of International Studies
- Michael Levi , Council on Foreign Relations
- Mark Levine , Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
- Joanna Lewis , Georgetown University
- Kenneth Lieberthal , The Brookings Institution
- Haibing Ma , Worldwatch Institute
- Denise Mauzerall , Princeton University
- Mackay Miller , National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Irving Mintzer , Potomac Energy Fund
- Jonathan Moch , Harvard University
- Clayton Munnings , Resources for the Future
- Jane Nakano , Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Chris Nielsen , Harvard University
- Rose Niu , The Paulson Institute
- Stephanie Ohshita , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Huei Peng , University of Michigan
- Lynn Price , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- David Pumphrey , Center for Strategic and International Studies
- JingJing Qian , Natural Resources Defense Council
- Rod Quinn , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Luke Schoen , Tsinghua-Berkeley Inter-University Program
- Deborah Seligsohn , UCSD
- Monisha Shah , National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Bo Shen , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Ranping Song , World Resources Institute
- Edward Steinfeld , Brown University
- Jennifer Turner , Woodrow Wilson Center
- Alex Wang , UCLA School of Law
- Elizabeth Wilson , University of Minnesota
- Julian Wong , Green Leap Forward
- Ailun Yang , World Resources Institute
- Zhang Xiaoquan , The Nature Conservancy
- Nan Zhou , Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Data Sources
BP Statistical Review of World Energy
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (ORNL)
China Energy Databook (LBNL)
Key China Energy Statistics 2011 (LBNL)
Climate Analysis Indicator Tool (CAIT)
Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR)
Energy Information Administration (EIA)
International Energy Agency (IEA)
The World Bank
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)


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Notts County draw a blank
Notts County continued their pre-season preparations with a goalless draw at Nuneaton.
Last Updated: 16/07/14 12:48pm
Notts County continued their pre-season preparations with a goalless draw at Nuneaton.
Wolves winger Zeli Ismail started for the Magpies ahead of his proposed loan move to Meadow Lane and the majority of Shaun Derry's starting XI played for 70 minutes.
Clear chances were few and far between at both ends, although Notts looked more of a threat going forward when Alan Smith moved into attack to partner Ronan Murray as part of a 4-4-2 formation.
Murray stung the palms of the home goalkeeper with a shot from outside the area while Smith was unfortunate not to win a penalty when he appeared to be prevented from capitalising on a defensive error by a shirt pull. However, the referee waved play on.
At the other end, Fabian Spiess was eager to make a good impression following Bartosz Bialkowski's move to Ipswich and the young German made two good saves to deny the non-league side.
Winger Adam Dawson and Jeremy Balmy, both trialists introduced at half-time, got plenty of crosses into the Nuneaton box but Notts were unable to take advantage of one of them. The closest they came was when midfielder Elliott Whitehouse, another trialist, saw his downward header brilliantly saved by Reice Charles-Cooke.
Only a superb last-ditch challenge from youth-team left-back Kyle Symons prevented Nuneaton from winning the game late on.


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Deborah Jiang Stein spent the first year of her life in prison, born to a mother who was a long-time heroin addict, sentenced to prison when she was pregnant. Deborah, now a motivational speaker for women in prison, has a fascinating story. While she was adopted by two English professors, her early years of turmoil led to a life of crime, violence, and drugs. Only later, in her late twenties, did she transform her life. She stands as proof that anyone can rewrite their story and forge a new path. Here's more from Deborah:
Jennifer Haupt: Tell me about the motivational speaking that you do with women in prison. What is your main message for them?
Deborah Jiang Stein: I see myself as a scout and guide for women who seek an alternative reality to the one they are living, for themselves and their children. As a speaker, I open myself as an example of what it looks like to live with irreconcilability. I share some details about my fractured start in life and on into the present, with lessons I've learned each step along the way. We discuss forgiveness and redemption, and how I believe we are empowered when we can embrace our complete selves.
While I used to think I'd "resolve" how I felt about my prison roots - a legacy of crime, heroin, and prison - I believe that the journey is to live with what's irreconcilable. At times I'm still uncomfortable with the reality of my prison birth. I do, however, see that acceptance is possible for everything, and that we can even embrace our dark side. What I once saw as a tragic, damned life I now call a gift. As I give voice to my own darkness, it shines a beam of hope about what's possible, against all odds.
I also keynote at conferences, as well as other women's groups, and address professionals in mental health, child welfare, and corrections. My message is the same. I leave my audiences with more questions than answers because if we seek and ask ourselves questions, we can face our secrets, our demons, and come out the other side.
JH: Tell me a bit about being born in prison.
DJS: I was born in the Federal Women's Prison in Alderson, West Virginia. I'm experiential by nature, and I could not absorb the truth of my prison birth until I set foot on those grounds. Over ten years ago I requested a tour. Up to that point I'd carried my prison birth as a stigma. I felt like scum of the earth. By the time I was seventeen I'd shoot up anything I could get my hands on - heroin, coke, speed, hallucinogens, meth...I'm lucky I'm alive. Even more so because I set aside the little pocketknife I carried as a child for a 10-inch switchblade and a .38 special. And so I turned to crime, violence, and drugs for relief, and also for revenge against a world I thought had "done me wrong."
"Scare the demon away," was my unconscious yearning when I wrote the prison for a tour. I learned more details about my history in prison while I was there and also that I endured the usual withdrawal and other infant symptoms - sensory overload, and physical and emotional delays. It is taking a lifetime to re-wire my brain and I am still learning how to manage these delays.
JH: Why did you decide to write your memoir and tell your story now?
DJS: My passion is short story writing, and in fact, I'm almost done with a manuscript of my stories. However, I first used my life story as material for a novel. Many agents and editors expressed interest but they all requested memoir. I backed away from that for several years, out of a need for privacy, and also because I need to learn about the special craft of memoir.
My story speaks to how we all yearn to find redemption, hope in our lives, and that we can learn to live with our demons. I'm an example of what's possible when the odds are stacked against a person and I've learned from my audiences that my story offers hope about transformation, and how a burden can turn into a blessing. (My agent is now shopping my memoir proposal.)
JH: What percentage of women in prison are mothers? Single mothers? What are the biggest problems that they and their children face?
DJS: About 85% of women in prison are mothers. It's unclear how many are single. Almost 2 million children under the age of eighteen have a parent in prison, and most of these kids are under age ten. That's a population larger than the city of San Francisco, larger than the state of Delaware.
The most obvious problem is the stigma of prison, and of course, the broken bond between mother and child. Women in prison are outcasts, and on top of that, women in the margins live with more stigma than men.
JH: Is there a high percentage of children whose mothers are in prison who grow up and wind up in prison themselves?
DJS: There are two schools of thought on this. Some research says that 70% of the children of inmates end up as offenders, whether the kids were separated from the environment of crime or not. That was the case with me.
The other school believes that children whose mothers are in prison become offenders themselves because society expects them to be offenders. This reminds me of the situation where, in a school experiment, teachers treated gifted children as low-achievers, and in turn treated low-achievers as gifted. The outcome: the gifted began to fail, and the once considered low-achieving students started to excel.
JH: Tell me about the book of daily meditations that you wrote, Colors?
DJS: After I cleaned up my life, I wrote a book of daily meditations, Colors: Multicultural Inspirations. It sold well and the book is even more relevant now, with our expanding multiracial population. Unfortunately, the book is out of print but the rights have returned to me so I'm excited for another publisher to pick this up again.
JH: When did you start doing writing workshops for women in prison, and why? How many workshops have you done? What is so powerful about helping women to discover their voices?
DJS: After my private tour of the Alderson prison a little over ten years ago, I felt compelled to give back to my roots. I felt lucky to be alive, to have survived even my birth. I returned to Alderson, and other women's prison across the country, to conduct writing workshops. I've led over 100 prison writing workshops, and one participant even won the Federal Bureau of Prisons' national writing contest. I've collected enough writing from my workshops for an anthology I'd like published.
I recognized, though, that I'd reach more women as a speaker. My work now is to address as many women in prisons as possible. I stand in halls filled with 200+ women at a time and when tears flow - which happens often, and with many - I acknowledge this as bravery. It takes courage for a woman in prison, for anyone, to stand up and show pain, and then find the strength to explore it.
Lighting the spark of hope is the first step to create a new reality. I believe I was born to speak, to use my voice to reach where most people won't go, to give voice to where women are hidden and wounded. It's ironic, since at times I was mute as a girl. I am moved by the magic and the mystery, the destiny of this full circle.
For more information about Deborah Jiang Stein, visit her website at www.deborahstein.com.