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Governor Taseer's actions in at least two recent incidents have been considered blasphemous by Muslim fundamentalists. The first occurence concerns Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been sentenced to hang after being convicted of defaming the Prophet Mohammed. A 45-year-old mother of five, Bibi denied committing blasphemy, telling investigators that she was being persecuted for her faith in a country where Christians face routine harassment and discrimination. Christian groups and human rights campaigners condemned the verdict and urged that the blasphemy laws be repealed. Pope Benedict XVI called for Bibi's release, declaring that Christians in Pakistan were "often victims of violence and discrimination." Ashiq Masih, Asia Bibi's husband, said he had not had the heart to break the news to two of their children.
Governor Taseer, who was a member of the Pakistan Peoples party (the political party leading the federal government), visited the Sheikhupura central prison to meet with Bibi. According to the Express Tribune, the Governor stated afterward (on November 20) that he would take her clemency appeal to the President. He also told the media after the meeting that Bibi denied saying anything disrespectful about either the Prophet Muhammad or Islam, adding that villagers had chased her to her home, sexually assaulted her, and dragged her through the streets.
Taseer stressed that he did not want to interfere in the judicial proceeding, but would do as much as he could in his capacity to make sure she was not punished for a crime she had not committed. He said that though it was for the President to decide whether he would grant her appeal, he would personally ask the President to pardon her.
Bibi's supporters say she will now appeal the sentence handed down in a local court in the town of Sheikhupura, near Lahore, Pakistan.
In a second public case, after Governor Taseer labeled the blasphemy law "black law," the Chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) — the religious political party, which has a presence in the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan — Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that he intended to quit Pakistan's ruling coalition in protest.
Governor Taseer was also outspoken against the Taliban and militants, regularly condemning the hardcore elements involved in committing suicide blasts and defaming Islam.
Pakistani media has reported that Sherry Rehman, the former Minister of Information and spokesman for the Pakistan People's Party, while lending support to blasphemy convict Asia Bibi on Monday, called for urgent amendments to the country's blasphemy laws.
A countrywide strike was held on Friday, December 31 to rally religious parties against the proposed amendments. In Karachi, protestors demonstrating on the Mauripur road blocked the intersection and suspended traffic. The federal government was under such pressure from public anger that the acting Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Khursheed Shah, announced that the government has no intention of amending the blasphemy law.
Nevertheless, members of government are pushing ahead with revisions to the law. The criticalppp website stated that Sherry Rehman has submitted a private member bill in the National Assembly Secretariat that would, among other things, eliminate the death sentence for those convicted of committing blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed, replacing it with a 10-year prison term.
No Christian has spent more than six or seven years in prison on blasphemy charges; eventually they have been released by order of the High Court. Such a change in the law may potentially add time in prison for those falsely accused.
The federal government has announced three days of mourning for Governor Taseer, and the international community has condemned the assassination. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has met Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, to offer her personal condolences on the assassination of Salman Taseer.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killing, calling it a major setback for the militancy-ridden country and describing Taseer as a genius politician. French comments echoed those of the UN. British Foreign Minister William Hague said that the killing of Salman Taseer is a loss to the leadership of the country. European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton also condemned the killing and demanded the government of Pakistan bring the criminals into a court of justice.
Related article: Muslim Scholars Praise Murder of Pakistani Governor
Muhammad Zamir Assadi is a freelance reporter, based in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Photo of Salman Taseer and Asia Bibi: AP Images


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You can easily stop dogs from barking by using a barking correction collar.
This is a device which you fit onto your Cocker Spaniel's collar and, depending on which type of correction device you buy, can emit either a noise, a mild electric shock, or a dose of citronella (lemon juice), each time he barks.
The device is triggered when a small microphone in the collar picks up the sound of your dog's barking, or by a remote control handset activated by the owner each time their dog is barking excessively.
The momentary 'shock' received from a correction device is enough to stop dogs from barking. It works by startling the dog which literally interrupts their flow of barking; it shocks them into being quiet.
Because the correction is given immediately, your Cocker Spaniel will soon begin to associate it with his barking and will soon learn to stop.
Although the current used in these devices is minimal, and safe, we don't recommend you use the this method of correction to stop dogs from barking as we believe it's more of a punishment for barking, rather than a means of distraction.
It's probably better to use the citronella spray to help stop dogs from barking as it's much kinder than giving your Cocker Spaniel an electric shock - even if it is only a mild one!
Although your dog will find the spray of citronella unpleasant, it won't harm him. He'll begin to associate the spray with his barking and will soon stop. You'll then be able to remove the collar completely.
If you believe the correction device frightens or alarms your dog, please find an alternative barking deterrent to interrupt his flow of barking; for example, throw him a ball, or his favourite toy. There are many alternative methods that you can try to help stop barking dogs from becoming a nuisance - see those listed at the bottom of this page.
A couple of points to note when considering using a barking correction collar to stop dogs from barking:
Although the barking correction device is a punishment based training method, we try to promote reward based training wherever we can.
We recognize, however, that sometimes it may be necessary to use punishment based training methods where a dog is failing to respond to a reward based approach.
Dogs bark when they're communicating with each other - it's perfectly natural, but if it continues for too long, it can become very annoying. You can learn how to stop your dog barking here.
I'm often asked the question, 'Why Do Dogs Bark?' so I decided to answer it here 'Exactly Why Do Dogs Bark'?
There are a few different ways to stop your dog barking, however, not all methods may be suitable for your Cocker Spaniel; what works for one dog may not work for another. I've listed a few different methods to stop your dog barking - see below....
How To Stop Dog Barking With The "Be Quiet" Command
This sounds contradictory, but it's one of the easiest ways to stop dogs barking, especially if you use this method when your pet is a puppy, ie right from day one. You teach your puppy to bark and then train him to stop...!
How To Stop Your Puppy Barking
In the wild, when there was the threat of danger, the mother would attempt to stop her puppy from barking by gently, but firmly, holding the pup's muzzle in her mouth and give off a throaty growl...
How To Stop Dogs Barking At Visitors
Dogs barking when visitor arrive is good, however, you want them to stop once you've greeted you visitors and they've come into your home. However, if the barking continues....
Barking at passers-by is fairly common as dogs can become territorial, however, it can be remedied. Read more on how to stop dogs barking in the garden...
Is your Dog Barking For Attention?
Is your dog driving you mad with his attention-seeking? It's not very nice when you're trying to get through the doorway with bags of shopping in each hand is it? Wouldn't you like your Cocker to sit quietly while you settle in and unpack? If you follow the above link you'll find out more on how to stop dogs barking for attention...
This is a device which fits onto your dog's collar and, depending on which type of correction device you buy, can emit either a noise, a mild electric shock...
A Water Pistol Is An Effective Barking Deterrent
You can use an ordinary water gun or spray bottle to stop dogs barking, just fill it with water, lemon juice or a combination of both and follow these simple steps...
A Rattle Bottle Can Be Used To Stop Dogs Barking
The rattle bottle comes with a serious warning and should only be used when all other training methods have failed, or where the dog's behaviour is severe...
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subset: commoncrawl


text: After doing nothing the last two days, I was getting kinda stir-crazy and thus determined to do at least one mountain, preferably a 14er. I woke up late and eventually berated myself into leaving Vail even later, around 9:00am. After speeding, rather fast, I arrived at the upper 4x4 TH for South Colony Lakes at roughly noon. I assailed South Colony Road in just over an hour-and in a stock Toyota! (I'd pay for that on the way out). I left the upper TH and started out up the trail in decent weather, not the best but definately manageble. I Gained Broken Hand pass in quick time. I don't know why I choose to do the Needle, perhaps because I hadn't climbed it and the weather was supposed to be ok. For some reason other mountains considerably closer to me weren't even an option. Since then, my outlook has changed (for the wiser). Broken Hand Pass From Broken Hand Pass, looking west out across the Alamosa Valley, I could see the weather moving in from the Rio Grande/San Juans on the other side. The mountains were just visible. I could smell the rain but as yet no thunder or 'fireworks'. I believe that liulled me into a false sense of security against better judgement; I climbed on towards the needle. As yet, I hadn't stopped long enough to eat so much as a peanut or to take a drink of water. Pushed for time, I couldn't afford to. I climbed up the first couloir about half way, didn't like the look of the ridge crest that I was heading towards then angled across ( a couple of unnecessary strong class 4 moves) and gained the second couloir. I was wondering what was happening out west but I didn't give too much thought. The route finding demanded attention. I finished climbing and finally reached the ridge. It was at this point when looking out west across the valley that I couldn't see across the valley anymore! In roughly 90 minutes or so, it had literally turned into a shower curtain (no pun intended) of gray with transparent vertical streaks (from the rain). I was worried at this point but not scared. I knew I had to get down. I had NO idea my hair was doing this I thought I'd have time to snap a couple of quick photos from the top and scurry away. The clouds above me were definately grey with an occasional darker mass but were not consolidated-THAT also in hindsight gave me an extra push of false security. Strangely, no thunder or lightning. God should have struck me dead right then & there for stupidity, "(in a deep commanding voice) Ah, we're sorry Ms. Thomas but we regret to inform you that your son is dead because he was STUPID!" I covered the last remaining bit of ridge and signed the register. I took a picture and got up to leave. I took about 2-3 steps and heard this 'crackling' in the air around me. Kind of like crumpling up wax paper. At the time I had no idea what that was. I stopped, said out loud, "What the f*ck is that?" The noise stopped. Confused, I started hiking again and the noise started again. I knew exactly what it was then. I dropped to my stomach and started to rub dirt all over me. I thought it might ground me out further or something. Then almost on cue it finally thundered, for the first time. I have to say, I have NEVER heard thunder sound like this before. It was like listening to it through an extended pop can or some kind of aluminum tube, very strange and un-nerving. This was the one time I didn't bring my axe (one iota of luck there). Now, in addition to being worried, I was scarred. I was f*cking petrified to put it bluntly. After crawling back to the entrance to the couloir, I threw my pack down (hoping it didn't go too far). I got myself a bit off route in order to catch up with it BUT I did catch up with it and I swear to God, in what took me 90 minutes to roughly two hours to ascend (from the saddle) took me an hour flat to descend to the saddle. I never thought once about falling. All I could think about was lightning and getting struck, nothing else. All in all, I was pretty clear in mind and extremely focused. Makes me wonder if this is what technical climbers experience when doing 5.8+ routes. At the saddle, I collapsed. I ducked under an overhang (another bad idea) and had my first drink of water and bite to eat since starting out over 3 hours ago. I'm not sure if my legs collapsed due to lack of food or stress (probably both). Anyway, after only about 5-10 minutes I moved on down the pass. When I got to the open boulderfield all Hell broke loose. It started to lightning in earnest and the skies literally opened up. It rained hard!!! I'm talking swimming pools. The strange thing was that the current storm came up from the Westcliff valley. Most of the clouds that had formed had gradually moved up the valley and pretty much stayed there over the lakes slowly congregating. Either I couldn't see this happening or I wasn't paying attention. The clouds and approaching (westerly) storm didn't hit the Crestones for another 15 minutes or so. Walking across the Boulderfiled in the open with it lightning didn't make me feel any less tense, basically a crapshoot on where the next bolt was going to strike. I relaxed a little at the Needle turnoff on the main trail. I got back to my truck around 4:30-5:00pm absolutely drenched. I drove out absolutely estatic to be alive. "POP!" Like I said earlier about paying for driving up the road so quickly, well, it was time to pay. A flat tire! Quite an impressive gash in the sidewall too, thankfully, it was during a flat spot. I was already drenched so getting out in the rain wasn't going to worry me. Problem was, as I found out, my spare tire was bigger then the tires on the truck! Dam cheap car dealership! I had the front passanger tire off with the truck still jacked up in the mud and digging a hole in the road under my friggin rotor to get my spare tire to fit. I spent a good 45 minutes to an hour in the rain digging that hole. By the time I got the spare on, I looked like I just got out of the mosh pit for Nine Inch Nails at the Woodstock show. I was covered in mud. I threw my clothes in the back (weighed them down first) and drove home in my underwear while periodically hanging my pants out the window to dry off (relatively speaking). I figure that was payment for an incredibly stupid manuever. A day and lesson I'll never forget. Actually taken from a seperate trip to crestone Peak


text: Not being funny but I don't need an E-mail to my work E-mail address everytime someone posts up on a thread I have commented on, I can look and check when I like. I thought I had stopped this by going through setting but everytime I think I have done it it keeps doing it. It's doing my nut. Please advise how to stop this.


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How much does the iPad 2 cost?
The Apple iPad 2 will be available in Australia from 5pm Friday 25 March. The tablet is available in black and white models and is priced as follows:
iPad 2 16GB – Wi-Fi $579
iPad 2 32GB – Wi-Fi $689
iPad 2 64GB – Wi-Fi $799
iPad 2 16GB – Wi-Fi + 3G $729
iPad 2 32GB – Wi-Fi + 3G $839
iPad 2 64GB – Wi-Fi + 3G $949
The iPad 2 pricing is cheaper than the original iPad pricing in Australia, which was as follows:
16GB Wi-Fi: $629
32GB Wi-Fi: $759
64GB Wi-Fi: $879
16GB Wi-Fi+3G: $799
32GB Wi-Fi+3G: $928
64GB Wi-Fi+3G: $1049
The iPad 2 will be sold in Australia through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and select Apple authorised resellers, but once again will not be available through telcos like the iPhone is.
How much does the iPad 2's 3G Internet access cost?
Telstra will sell its existing prepaid SIM for the Apple iPad which will also work with the iPad 2. The prepaid SIM pack includes 3GB of data for $30. Telstra customers can then recharge their iPad 2 with the following data plans:
12GB: $150 (365-day expiry)
All data plans above are available without a contract but have a 30-day expiry, with the exception of the 12GB, $150 plan which has a 365 day expiry.
Optus offers both prepaid as well as BYO month-to-month iPad data plans, which will also work with the iPad 2. The telco offers three month-to-month plans with no contract as follows:
For prepaid plans, an Optus prepaid iPad starter kit costs $30 and includes 3GB of data with a 30-day expiry.
Optus prepaid recharges start $15 for 1.5GB of data with a 15-day expiry and range up to $130 for 15GB of data with an expiry of 60 days. Other prepaid Optus options include $20 (2GB/15 day expiry), $30 (4GB/30 day expiry), $40 (5GB/30 day expiry), $50 ($6GB/30 day expiry), $70 (10GB/60 day expiry), $80 (9GB/6 month expiry), and $100 (13GB/60 day expiry).
The iPad 2 is 33 per cent thinner than the original model. It weighs 613g, and will come in both black and white models..
VHA (Vodafone Hutchison Australia)
Like Optus, Vodafone offers both prepaid as well as BYO month-to-month iPad data plans, which will also work with the iPad 2. The telco offers four month-to-month plans with no contract as follows:
Vodafone offers six prepaid data plans for the iPad and iPad 2, as follows:
250MB: $9.95 (30 day expiry)
1GB: $14.95 (30 day expiry)
4GB: $29.95 (30 day expiry)
6GB: $100 (180 day expiry)
10GB: $49 (30 day expiry) 12GB: $150 (365 day expiry)
Vodafone previously offered an unlimited data plan with 30-day expiry for $49.95, but replace this with the $49, 10GB plan from March 3.
3, which is owned and operated by VHA in Australia, offers both dedicated prepaid and monthly data plans for iPad and iPad 2 models. The telco has a smaller range of prepaid data plans, but offers "bonus data" each time customers recharge. The plans are are follows:
500MB+1GB: $15 (30 day expiry)
2GB+2GB: $29 (30 day expiry)
4GB+2GB: $49 (30 day expiry)
12GB: $149 (365 day expiry)
3 says any "bonus data" will not be available immediately upon recharge but will be credited to an account and available for use within 48 hours of a recharge.
All Vodafone and 3 iPad 3G data plans include a free micro SIM starter pack and conveniently, if you recharge before the end of the credit expiry period any unused data will be rolled over to the next month — provided you don't exceed the maximum balance of 14GB.
In addition to prepaid plans, 3 mobile also offers two month-to month iPad plans:


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You might remember Orange-based keyboardist Carl "Sonny" Leyland from his stint as a former member of Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys, plus his curious status as apparently the only rockabilly session pianist of the modern day. Leyland's reliably excellent playing has graced the recordings of such retro elite as Deke Dickerson, Kim Lenz, Biller & Wakefield, and Cave Catt Sammy. I'd also heard Leyland's 1999 solo album, I'm Wise, a fine rock & roll-based effort, but one that barely hinted at the finger-iffic mayhem lurking inside the soul of this outwardly serene Englishman.
Leyland left the Fly-Rite fold a few years back to pursue a solo career as a jazzbo. I heard it from no less an authority than Dickerson that the man was a breathtaking power in his chosen genre. Still, I was unprepared for the thundering bitchenness of Leyland's new release, Gin Mill Jazz, a collection of solo piano performances with a few vocals tossed in. It's as if Leyland absorbed the greasy-black-guy souls of such disparate piano legends as boogie woogie master Albert Ammons, self-proclaimed inventor of jazz Jelly Roll Morton, blues aesthete Sunnyland Slim, ragtime evolutionist Scott Joplin and stride sultan Fats Waller then matched—and in some cases even improved upon—their already astonishing technique.
I'm a big fan of such contemporary piano leviathans as Henry Butler, Dr. John and Cyrus Chestnut, but—I'll go ahead and say it—I must now consider them all Carl "Sonny" Leyland's collective bitch. That this level of virtuosity and versatility emanates from a melanin-deprived Yurripeen heretofore known primarily as a rockabilly musician . . . Well, it astounds and inspires is what it does.
"Rockabilly musicians still come to me for session work, and I'm completely okay with that. I still like rockabilly," says Leyland, who continues to sport a properly oiled coif. "I've never been fickle about music. I still like all of the paths I've been through. I pride myself on my ability to play all these different kinds of music with the correct feeling. If someone hires me to play on a rockabilly record, I don't suddenly start throwing in Bud Powell [bebop] riffs."
But why was Leyland determined to abandon the rockabilly scene in the first place, after spending so many years earning his reputation as the 88s guy in the field? Leyland was the top of the food chain in his circle; few working musicians of any persuasion would sacrifice status and security of that nature to start all over again.
"I've been interested in [jazz] for quite a while," he explains. "I actually started out in blues and boogie-woogie, not the rockabilly thing. I liked '50s music when I was a little kid, but I actually didn't start playing piano until I was 15. I heard some boogie woogie and got excited about that, primarily the Albert Ammons/Pete Johnson/ Meade Lux Lewis/Jimmy Yancey/Cripple Clarence Lofton kind of thing—the stuff that was happening in the '30s. I was very into that kind of archaic, solo-piano sound. I was listening to a bunch of jazz, but I wasn't really capable yet of understanding anything that was harmonically adventurous."
And whither Big Sandy, whose band Leyland is the first to admit he nearly begged to join in the first place? Leyland enjoyed his stint with the band, but as his muse evolved, he simply decided it was time to move on. "With Big Sandy, it just got old for me," he says. "The combination of playing a lot of the same stuff for a long time—which is not to imply they didn't update their repertoire—and always being on the road, it just got tiresome after a while. My motivations were changing, which they do when you start getting up into your 30s. I wanted opportunities to play more jazz."
Sadly, while Leyland refuses to be fickle about music, he soon found the rockabilly scenesters who had once looked up to him as a hero were not as flexible. "My fantasy was, you know, all these people know me and like me, and they'll accept what I'm doing because they care about me as an artist and as a person," he says with a sigh. "But in a lot of situations, it hasn't worked out like that. They just want you to rock & roll, and they don't understand it when you don't. To me, I'm putting out the same feeling and the same energy; I'm just not putting out the same attitude. It's not about standing up when you play and looking a certain way. For instance, I can't go to the Doll Hut anymore. I went there a couple of times and attempted to play jazz, and people were making comments like, 'Go get a job at Nordstrom!'These scenes where it's primarily about looks and attitude, it's so . . . teenage. There are people there that are connoisseurs of music, certainly, but it's kind of like the more of a connoisseur you become, the less people you can reach. It's bizarre."
We shall leave the realm of the bizarre now, for anyone who experiences Leyland's magic without recognizing it as such is clearly an earless, closed-minded moron. Better to continue focusing on the genius at hand, for I am hardly done raving about this man. To wit:
Many jazz revivalists tend to approach their music in a twee, deferential fashion, as if the music itself is a delicate antique that might crumble to dust if handled with undue enthusiasm. Leyland plays jazz with his whole body, with a curled-lip sneer that still owes much to Jerry Lee's killa instinct. Then there's the Unfortunate Technician Syndrome, a malady that Leyland neatly eludes: many artists who base their career on being chops monkeys fall on their face like a Bush twin on a bourbon binge when endeavoring to sing or compose. Yet the best tunes on Gin Mill Jazz aren't the covers by Joplin, Little Brother Montgomery and Charlie Spand; they're Leyland originals such as the giddily melodic title track; the finger-twisting, minor-key workout "Witch's Kitchen"; and the genre-bending, bop-and-boogie fusion "Juke Joint Jump." You vant vocals, Velma? There are too few here for my taste, but when Leyland sings, he conjures up the effortless, cool authority of Roosevelt Sykes, the great, criminally unsung singer/songwriter/pianist who is among Leyland's champions.
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"He's definitely a big guy for me, and I can't help it if a little of that comes through," he says. "I think he's a giant, a guy that really gets overlooked. He had a career that went from 1928 up to about 1980. His lyrics are sheer poetry rather than the run-of-the-mill blues stuff; he's a great pianist, a great performer and a great singer. And he transcends all genres and time periods—his stuff never really sounded dated."
Great pianist, great performer, great singer, transcends genres . . . the very same can be said of Our Mr. Leyland, a man who refuses to be pigeonholed, a man who has created the best piano music I've heard since granny Ella was shittin' yella.
"Sometimes, despite the fact that you can play a lot of things, you feel that you have to confine yourself within a genre because people won't understand," he says. "But if people don't understand, I don't care anymore. I just want to play music for music's sake."
Carl "Sonny" Leyland performs with drummer Hal Smith and bassist Marty Eggers at Steamers, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, (714) 871-8800. Tues., 8 p.m. Free. All ages.


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RFPRO Pocket Reference Oscillator Integrates Sinewave SAW Oscillator in SMA Housing
Crystek introduces the new RF Pocket Reference Oscillator (RFPRO Series), the industry's first frequency control product to integrate a complete True SineWave SAW (surface acoustic wave) oscillator in a rugged SMA housing. Connecting the RFPRO Series' female SMA side to +3.3 Vdc will output a clean -135 dBc/Hz phase noise signal at 10 kHz offset. In effect, each RFPRO is a fixed-frequency portable signal generator. Crystek's RFPRO Series oscillator offers frequency stability of ±150 ppm over -20°C to 70°C (operating temperature range rated at -40° to 85°C; storage -45° to 90°C). RFPRO Series oscillators are available off-the-shelf in 500 MHz and 1 GHz frequencies output. Engineered and manufactured in the USA, the RFPRO Series of oscillators is well suited for laboratory and test instrument use.


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My wife�s been working the last five hours and I�ve been drinking for the last four. She�s a phlebotomist. That�s what you call the person who pokes you in the arm with a needle when your blood needs to be drawn. Her patients call her the vampire and then laugh and laugh, even though my wife�s body language, I�m sure, does little to encourage them.
�I hear this twice a day,� she once said to me, holding up two fingers and sticking her tongue out the corner of her mouth to show her irritation. �And they all think they are the first to think of it.�
�Well, shit, it is kind of funny.�
My wife shook her head in disapproval, not understanding how I could find any humor in the joke. Maybe I just don�t think something has to be original to be funny. I just hate how nowadays everybody and everything has to be so darn different and unique. It�s that kind of thinking that�s screwing up the kids of today. I�m a dad and I�m doing what I can to protect my boy from this sort of message. The world is best when it�s normal and predictable.
My wife claims to disagree with me, but I tell her she�s a hypocrite. Case in point: the other day when we were making sweet love, I sized up her neck and bit into it. I probably chomped a little harder than I should have, but I didn�t do it out of meanness. It was more out of drunkenness or horniness. It just seemed like a good idea.
�Ouch!� she screamed, scraping her fingernails across my shoulders. �Why�d you do that?�
�It�s my turn to be the vampire.�
�Get off me,� she said, and when I did, she moved to her side of the bed and turned her back to me. �Pervert.�
I laughed and laughed because she failed to see the humor in the whole thing. I did something out of the routine, something creative to our lovemaking, something original, and she didn�t appreciate it. Instead, she responded by making it clear that she preferred sex our normal way of doing it. Like I said, she�s a hypocrite.
I gotta admit that it felt good to bite her. None of her blood entered my mouth, but the thought of it did and this charged me up and made my mouth get all tingly. I�m a former soldier and soldiers know about blood. I was in the Army, back when we invaded Iraq the first time. I didn�t get to go because I was stationed near Tokyo at Camp Zama, so I never actually bled, but I was willing to because that�s what soldiers do.
Females bleed, too, when they become women. It�s what women do. It�s this blood that draws man and woman together, especially soldiers and women. I tried explaining this to my wife, hoping maybe she�d forgive me, but she wasn�t having it.
�Darren, sometimes you are so darn backwards the way you say things. You sound like the biggest redneck in the world.�
She went the whole next day without talking to me. The only thing she�d do when I�d speak to her is point to the band-aid on her neck.
If I was that backwards or old-fashioned like she said, I wouldn�t be a stay-at-home dad. Some people that don�t like me, mainly her sisters and friends, say I don�t do a damn thing except sit on the couch and drink beer. The truth is, I stayed home so I could teach Jake to be a man, and let�s be honest about it, sitting on the couch and watching TV is part of being a man. If we�d had a girl, I�d probably be out there working because I�d have less to teach her than I do Jake.
He�s 14 and his childhood sure is different than the one I had. In today�s world, there�s so much weird stuff that you have to protect kids from. But at the same time, this generation has been protected so much that they aren�t out there causing the right type of trouble. The kind of trouble where�d I�d raise my voice and say, �Jake, don�t do that.� And when he�d leave the room, I�d brag to my wife and say that he gets his orneriness from me.
The boy reads a lot. I don�t have any problem with that, necessarily, but reading seems like the type of thing that a kid should be talked into doing, not something they�d prefer to do on their own. But ole Jake, he�ll just sit up there in his room and read for hours, especially since I cancelled our internet service a few months back.
Boy, that pissed him and my wife off. �We need the internet. It�s 2008,� they said.
�I know. That�s what I�m protecting you both from.� They didn�t like my answer but they learned to accept it.
I tried to make it up to Jake by buying him an Xbox. I got him this wartime video game, �Call of Duty,� that I was hoping he�d love. He�d play it with me, but only for short periods of time. He didn�t seem that into it.
Whenever I�d shoot his character, I�d say, �Take that you filthy terrorist.� And he�d always say, �Ouch, ouch, ouch,� like he really got hurt.
I was always on the American side. As a former soldier, I just couldn�t see doing it any other way. He didn�t seem to have any objection. That bothered me a little bit. I�d like to see the kid a little more patriotic, a little more thankful for his freedom. I mentioned this to him a few times, but he�d say something smart, like there�s not a 14 year old in any country who�s actually free. Especially one that doesn�t have internet access.
He actually preferred the Wii system my wife got him for his birthday. It�s one of those games that has this handheld pointer device and you�re supposed to stand up and move around like you�re actually playing a sport. When you bowl or play tennis, you actually make that same motion with your arm while holding the controller. I don�t much care for it, but I do like sitting back and watching my wife jiggle her ass when she plays with Jake.
Their game of choice was tennis, a sport I�m not too interested in. I�m more of a hunting, fishing sorta guy. But unfortunately, I�m the only one in my family who is. My son absolutely refuses to go hunting, and the one time I did take him fishing, he vomited when I made him hook the worm. No kidding. He put his knees and hands into the ground and yakked like he�d had too much to drink.
I didn�t take him home because he needed to toughen up. This boy is my blood and I take my job as his father seriously. If truth be told, I�m probably a better father than I am a husband. My son didn�t complain about having to stay. He might be kind of soft, but he is a good boy. I�ll give him that. He and I get along fine. It�s just my childhood was so different than his that we don�t always know where the other is coming from.
After awhile he perked up and started asking me questions about, of all things, the birds that kept flying over us. �What kind of bird is that, Dad? And what about that one with the yellow belly?�
�Shit, son, I don�t know. One that you could shoot with your pellet gun that I bought you last Christmas.� I laughed when I said it. I was half-serious, half-joking, but Jake didn�t laugh. He and I don�t have the same sense of humor.
In fact, now that I think about it, he doesn�t laugh much. I tend to laugh a lot, especially when I�ve had a few beers. My wife, if you asked her, would say that I drink too much. But hey, that�s my right to drink beer if I want to. We have freedoms in this country and I did my part to make sure that we always will. Besides, I�m a grown-assed adult and I�ll do what I want and what I want is to teach my son how to be a man. Not only that, I�ll protect him from the shit that kids need protecting from. That�s why I turned off the internet service.
I don�t use the internet�never have, never will, but Jake and my wife did. My problem with it, in addition to it taking up so much time, was these pop-up ads that kept coming up when Jake was using the computer. The pictures were disgusting and unnatural. I�d walk into Jake�s bedroom and ask him what he was looking at, and he�d say, �I keep getting these pop-up ads, Dad.� They were the most faggoty things that I�ve ever seen in my life.
Once I saw this was a problem that wasn�t going away, I turned off the internet service. Young boys don�t need to see that shit. Boys needs to be boys and get in the kind of trouble that I did when I was a kid. The kind of stuff that�s perfectly normal to get in trouble for: sneaking beer out of the fridge, skipping out on your chores so you can get to second base with some little blonde down at the creek, throwing eggs at cars.
Maybe I�ve had too many beers, but it sure seemed like Jake needed me to teach him how to cause the right kind of trouble. Ideally, a kid would figure it out on his own, but times have changed for the worse. I guess I have to take things into my own hands. My dad probably would�ve done the same thing if he were raising me in today�s world.
I remember when I was about 16, I asked my dad how I would know when I was a man. He didn�t say anything at first. He just walked to the fridge, grabbed a can of beer, set it down on the table in front of me and said, �When you�re old enough to drink that with your old man.�
I wasn�t sure if this was an opening to drink a beer with him or not, but I decided to take my chances. I pulled back the tab and drank it. He stayed silent, sipping from his own beer. When I finished it, I walked to the fridge and got another beer, then another and another. I believe it was the next day that I told him I was going to join the Army when I turned 18. I held true to my word.
That�s probably my favorite moment I ever had with my dad. He taught me to be a man, and I never really thanked him with words, but he wasn�t the kind of dad that would want me to. I thanked him by signing up for the Armed Services.
That�s what men do: we teach our sons to become men and maybe we do it in a way that our wives don�t understand. But men and women are different. We bleed different and we have different enemies out there that want to vampire our blood.
And that�s exactly what I did a few hours ago when I gave my son his first beer. I was so dang proud when he took his first drink. �Way to be cool, son,� I said. He didn�t like it at first, but beer takes getting used to. It�s an acquired taste, I told him. I compared it to boot camp and all of the physical activity you have to do that makes you become a soldier. I told him you�re not a soldier until after you do the things that you don�t like doing. It�s the same thing as becoming a man. �But don�t worry, son. You�ll learn to love beer.� I held my can against my cheek. Man, I love how the condensation makes my face sloppy wet. �It will be the loyal dog you always dreamed of.�
After the second beer, he stopped complaining about the taste. He even started laughing some. I have to tell you, this was one of my favorite father-son moments of all time. It was even better than the first beer I�d had with my dad.
It was beer, and I truly believe this, that helped us understand each other for the first time. I felt so comfortable with him that I started telling him about the crazy shit I used to do when I was a drunken teenager. Like how I used to take my Nova on the interstate and drive over 100 miles an hour with my headlights off. Or when I broke into the old lady�s house who lived next door just so I could piss on her toy poodle. Or like the time I drove out into the country and fired six bullets into the side of some random cow. Man, we kids used to have some crazy times.
I also told him about the first time I got laid. I was drunker than crap and had sex with my buddy�s older sister. I barely even remembered it the next day, but it changed me. Prior to that hook-up, I was kind of nervous around girls, but the beer changed everything. The girls noticed how confident I�d become and that resulted in me getting more and more tail. I guess, now looking back, that�s what my dad was trying to teach me.
And I guess that�s why I ordered my son to get the car keys because he and I were going to go for a little ride. I figured, if he learns how to drive while he�s drunk, he�ll be good at it later on and not get pulled over for drinking and driving like I did a few months back.
That�s how freedoms work. If you abuse it and get caught, you have to understand that there will be consequences. I messed up and now I can�t drive for the next five months. I accept my punishment. If we make it to the whorehouse without getting pulled over, then great. And if we get caught, my son will learn a lesson and never do this again. That�s what happens when you get caught. You learn your lesson and stop fucking up.
�Dad, I don�t think I should drive.� Jacob slipped the car keys in my shirt pocket.
I laughed and handed him a beer. �Drink, son.� I waited for him to do so and then I took the keys out of my pocket and handed them back to him. �Now drive.�
When he agreed, I told him that I was taking him to a whorehouse. He scrunched his face and said that he didn�t want to lose his virginity this way, but I explained to him that everything will look differently after he goes through with it. That he won�t be interested in some damn internet any longer. That maybe after he pops his cherry, he and I can gather up our beer cans and use them for target shooting.
BIO: Matt Ryan lives in Minnesota. His stories have appeared in numerous journals, including Pindeldyboz, Opium, Ghoti, Mud Luscious, and elimae.


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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Sandwiched between the pristine cobblestone streets and bright houses of Old San Juan and the ritzy, high-rise condos of coastal Condado lies the neighborhood of Puerta de Tierra. A thin strip of real estate, once part of colonial San Juan but situated just outside the walled city, this neighborhood was historically the first attacked by various invading armies. Perhaps it's the neighborhood's history as an expendable outcast that lead to Puerta de Tierra's present rough and less than picturesque appearance. Today the neighborhood is mostly known as the easiest way to get to and from Old San Juan, and that's exactly how I discovered it on a recent trip to Puerto Rico. After spending an overcast day in San Juan, I was leaving full of lunch and with a carefully wrapped Vejigante mask, when I found myself driving through an industrial neighborhood, searching for the highway leading back toward my coastal hotel.
Puerta de Tierra reminds me of what Williamsburg probably looked like once, more industrial and full of abandoned warehouses — what many parts of Bushwick look like currently. Driving through a housing project on the south side of the neighborhood — passing by dilapidated buildings, abandoned storefronts, broken windows, peeling paint, empty and overgrown parking lots and a Salvation Army— I discovered that Puerta de Tierra should be known for its fantastic street art. Happening upon mural after mural, I spent the next hour or so in a state of childlike excitement, running from one rundown building to the next, wishing I had more time and a better camera. As it was, this street art delay forced me to drive for hours in a terrifying rainstorm. Looking around the streets of Puerta de Tierra, where lone groups of children played or biked but few pedestrians walked, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a few other couples were wandering the busy, car-heavy thoroughfares in an effort to see the artwork. While parked down a side street to best explore a fertile stretch of abandoned buildings, a man called down from an upstairs window to inform me that he was the artist of one of the pieces I'd already photographed. An artist and a musician living in the neighborhood, he was pleased to see appreciative tourists taking interest in the local artwork.
The street art ranged from elaborate graffiti tags, names or watchwords written in cleverly illegible fonts full of scrolling flourishes, to simple stenciled symbols like a clenched fist, peace sign or flag. There were also a few impressive, multi-walled murals by street artists with careful signatures and a noticeable online presence. Street art is so compelling at times because it isn't just there to beautify or entertain, as we sometimes might think when a Shepard Fairey decorates a wall in lower Manhattan, but because it takes painting back to a fundamental level. The Puerta de Tierra's murals feel more like windows into another place than most contemporary painting I've seen recently. Art has always been about, on some level, transporting its viewers elsewhere or making them see something they wouldn't or couldn't otherwise observe. These murals, in all their varying degrees of conceptual intent, technical range, and artistic prowess, felt like much more than opportunistic experiments. The artwork seemed to be collectively suggesting a different future façade for the neighborhood while offering a look at the sentiments of the people who currently live there. On the highway again and hotel bound, I was very glad to have been waylaid in Puerta de Tierra.


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Company Details
Overstocked Auctions
Overstocked Auctions Summary
On 11/02/2012 Scambook mailed Overstocked Auctions a letter, via First Class Mail, to 2200 SW 10th St.
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 informing them of complaint(s). We are currently waiting for a reply on .
Information about Overstocked Auctions was first submitted to Scambook on Aug 31, 2013. Since then the page has accumulated 1 consumer complaint. On average users reported $60.00 of damages. Scambook's investigation team reached out to this company a total of 1 times, Scambook Investigators last contacted them on Nov 02, 2012.
Company Information
- Address:
- 2200 SW 10th St.
- Deerfield Beach FL 33442
- Website:http://www.zbiddy.com/
- Phone:(954) 834-1550, (888) 406-6509
- Email:
- Additional Employees:
- Mr. Seth Dillon (Customer Service Contact) Darryl Fernandes (Director of Customer Service)
- Outdated Info? Add company information suggestion
- This Company Page started on August 31st, 2013.
- Is This Your Business?
Company Rating
Company Statistics
Complaints Unresolved
- Unresolved Reported Damage $60.00
Scambook Score
Company Statistics
Complaints Unresolved 1
Unresolved Reported Damage $60.00
The company statistics seen here display two important pieces of information about the business. "Complaints Unresolved" tells how many complaints consumers have filed about the company on Scambook. "Unresolved Reported Damages"shows how much money has been lost by all of users who filed complaints against the company.
Company Rating
This score is purely based on complaints submitted to Scambook by consumers. Based on the submitted complaints, number grades from 10 (Highest) to 1 (Lowest) are assigned to businesses. If there is insufficient information or pending updates to a business' profile, you will see a 'NR' (Not Rated) score.
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Thank you for submitting information suggestions.
We will review your suggestions and update the company profile if necessary.
Recent Complaints
I received an email from Overstocked Auctions to participate in a bidding site that was offering electronics, called ZBiddy. Silly me! I registered and provided credit card information. I was not prompted to accept terms or conditions, nor did a ...
Overstocked Auctions Complaint 1622 for $60.00
- Linda
- Posted On: 06/25/2013
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Youkilis departs early with upset stomach
Youkilis departs early with upset stomach
"I was dizzy during BP and tried to gut it out as best I could today," said Youkilis, who exited due to an upset stomach in the middle of the fifth inning and was replaced by Eduardo Escobar at third base. "I really didn't have anything in the tank.
"Once we got to the fourth inning, I went back up [to the clubhouse] and came back out, and I was hurting. I was pretty pale and my stomach wasn't cooperating."
Youkilis, who was acquired with cash considerations from the Red Sox on Sunday in exchange for Brent Lillibridge and right-hander Zach Stewart, drove in a run via a second-inning groundout but joined Escobar as the only hitless White Sox in the game. He ruled out the flu postgame and said he figured to be back in the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon.
Manager Robin Ventura said his team would stick with the same lineup, leaving Youkilis' spot open until Saturday to make sure he was OK.
"They said it was just food; they took my temperature," Youkilis said. "For me, I knew it wasn't the flu. It was something bad. And maybe if it wasn't such a hot day, it would have helped.
"Being out there sweating, you're hurting the team if you can't hit the ball. I wish I could have played, but hopefully I'll be out there tomorrow morning. If my stomach doesn't hurt me, I'm ready to go. I'll get what I need in my system."
Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Merk's Works, and follow him on Twitter @scottmerkin. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text: Exit this survey SMPTE SPEAKERS BUREAU QUESTIONNAIRE * 1. Speaker Name * 2. Contact information: Company name/Affiliation Job Title Street address City State Postal Code Country Email Phone * 3. Preferred method of contact Email Phone * 4. Subject of Speaker's Presentation/Speaker's Area of Expertise 1. 2. 3. 4. * 5. Type of SMPTE events at which you are willing to present. Please check all that apply. Section Meetings Student Chapter Meetings Educational Webcasts Regional Seminars Conferences Participate in Panel Discussions Speak to the Press Virtual Classroom Courses Sustaining Member Companies * 6. Distance you are willing to travel to make presentations: Less than 100 miles More than 100 miles Depends on my work/travel schedule. Internationally Willing to present virtually Not willing to travel * 7. Please include any additional information about your availability, subject matter expertise, etc. Done


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ACParadise Network: American Cosplay Paradise American Cosplay Experience American Cosplay Snapshots
Cosplayer Spookloops > Costume of Oracle (Final Fantasy Tactics)
- Most Recent Photo
- 02-25-2012
- Series
- Final Fantasy Tactics
- Character
- Oracle
- Year Completed:
- 2009
- Construction Difficulty:
- Awards
- Judges Award, Megacon 2009; 2nd Place Veteran Craftsmanship Animazement 2009
- Costume worn at:
- Animazement 2009
- Katsucon 2011
- MegaCon 2009
About this Costume
- Construction Details:
The costume itself wasn't that difficult, the devil was in the details. The robe is the same form as the robe I made for Queen Himiko. The collar is navy satin, the robe itself (and the under pj-like clothes) are made from a crepe material. It's lightweight and takes both paint and heat and bond/applique like no body's business. The hat is faux fur over a plastic canvas form. The bow is stuffed with polyfill (it makes a lovely pillow when you're tired of walking at cons), and the shoes are basic canvas flats I painted.
Making the robe: The only reference I could find was a profile view - no where could I find a full view of the designs on the back. I projected my side view onto a wall covered in paper, traced it, flipped it and traced again, and then improvised the center. From the paper, I traced the design onto white crepe and cut it out into 6 smaller, more manageable pieces. I then spent the next 70 or so hours hand painting it. Once it was all painted, it was ironed onto heat and bond, and then bonded to the robe (one of the scariest moments of my life). The robe is lined with more rust colour crepe, with appliqued circles ringed in 3 rings of satin stitching. The circles are also quartered by twin lines of satin stitching. The only part of the design in the lining that isn't stitched are the black dashes inside the circles - those are painted. The cuffs are twill that's been painted.
The underclothes: Oracle has a decidedly pear shape. To match and so that the robe would hang right, I also needed to be pear shaped... as unflattering as that would be. I made a pair of padonkadonk bloomers stuffed with netting to go under the pants.
This costume needs a little touching up now - I'd like to go back and add some flexible boning to the hem for better shaping if I do come back to this costume again.
Add a Comment


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I'm staring at my laptop screen right now and wondering if I should just slam it shut and go back to bed.
The Orioles are making me want to pull the covers over my head. Maybe I'll bring a blanket to the press box.
They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position last night and are 9-for-61 in their last seven games. They couldn't score after loading the bases with no outs. They stranded eight more runners. The rotation has turned in one quality start in the last 12 games.
I'm not a big fan of parades, especially when they start in the bullpen.
The Orioles are a season-worst seven games below .500, and they have another game against the Cardinals tonight and road series coming up against Atlanta, Texas and Boston.
Is everybody happy?
As The Sun's Jeff Zrebiec wrote yesterday, president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail contacted J.J. Hardy's agent this week to begin talks on a contract extension.
Better sign Hardy quick before he changes his mind.
(Shameless promo alert: The first 10,000 fans 15 and older attending tonight's game will receive a J.J. Hardy T-Shirt.)
Brad Bergesen retired all nine batters he faced last night in relief of starter Chris Jakubauskas. Should the Orioles give him another shot in the rotation?
Brian Matusz is making his sixth start since coming off the disabled list. He's 1-2 with a 9.53 ERA at home this year. He's 0-4 with a 5.93 ERA in five interleague starts.
Alfredo Simon is available in long relief if Matusz makes an early exit. The Orioles really need the young left-hander to quiet the concerns that have built around him.
For all you Nolan Reimold fans, look for him in tonight's lineup against Cardinals southpaw Jaime Garcia. Luke Scott could probably use another day to recover from his run-in with the left field fence - his right knee and right shoulder, and the right side of his face were sore yesterday - and it's the perfect opportunity to pry Reimold off the bench.
At last, the Orioles are being opposed by a left-handed starter. Who knew that it would be a welcomed sight?
I wouldn't celebrate it, no matter how much you've missed Reimold. Garcia is 6-3 with a 3.06 ERA, 26 walks and 88 strikeouts in 100 innings. He's allowed three earned runs or fewer in 15 of his 16 starts. He's thrown two-hit and four-hit shutouts.
He must have been playing a practical joke in that May 28 start in Colorado, when he gave up 11 earned runs and 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings. What a cutup.
"We're going to see a better guy (tonight) - as good if not better," Showalter said.
Showalter made this statement after watching Chris Carpenter go the distance. He wasn't joking.
The Orioles haven't seen much of Garcia. Mark Reynolds is 0-for-2 with a walk. Derrek Lee is 0-for-1. Hardy has walked his only plate appearance.
That's it.
The Orioles have one more game at Camden Yards before heading out of town and not returning until July 14. They'll go on a 10-game road trip and take off three days for the All-Star break.
It would be nice if they could leave on a high note.
It would be nice if they could stop leaving runners in scoring position.
Down on the farm, Ryan Adams delivered the game-winning double last night in Triple-A Norfolk's 2-1 victory over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Adams had been 4-for-31 since rejoining the Tides on June 21, but he collected three hits last night - the last one scoring Josh Bell from first base.
Steve Johnson allowed one run and eight hits in six innings, with one walk and four strikeouts. Jeremy Accardo picked up the win after holding Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to one hit over three scoreless innings.


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Scavenger: Four Vintage Pink Fiberglass Barstools for $250.
In Roscoe Village/Lakeview, there are four vintage pink fiberglass barstools for $250. The seller says they are from the fifties and are in excellent condition. We haven't seen many tall barstools in this style especially in a full set of four.
Apartment Therapy Furniture Classifieds are open for your business in the NAV BAR. Post a particularly good thing, and we'll post you here on the front page...
Thanks, Craig!


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Name: Belle D'Opium
Brand: YSL
Size: 1oz
Price: $49.00
What I liked:
– nice subtle warm floral blend
– wearable for both day and night
– beautiful packaging
What I didn't like:
– not original
– doesn't last very long
When Opium by YSL was first released it created quite a controversy and not just for its name. This exotic blend of rich spicy, woody and floral notes is something people either love or hate (I fall in the first category). So when the "next-generation" of this iconic fragrance was launched last year, I was very excited. Even more so, when I saw the bottle: it's beautiful and elegant, isn't it?
But what about the fragrance? Belle D'Opium is described as a floral-oriental fragrance with notes of peach, jasmine, gardenia, sandalwood and pepper. In reality, it is a common, abstract but warm floral-woody blend that starts with a peach note mixed with just a hint of mandarin. The heart is floral with a mixture of jasmine and synthetic gardenia that cheapens the fragrance and a drydown of sandalwood, amber and the slightest hint of incense.
However, as the fragrance progresses, the notes do change as I mentioned above, but these changes are really light and subtle. You would have to smell the scent very carefully to detect them. The plus side is that this fragrance is neither overpowering nor cloying so it won't give you or those near you a headache. But it's just not original and smells just like a myriad of modern fragrances already on the market.
To make things worse, Belle D'Opium doesn't last very long. Only four hours on me and then it disappeared. So, while it is a warm and light scent that can be worn both during the daytime and evening, if you wanna wear it for the entire day you'll have to reapply it a few times.
Available at: amazon.com and sephora.com
YSL Belle D'Opium Fragrance is a light, warm floral-woody blend. The notes change as the fragrance progress but very subtly. And even though, the scent is lovely and perfect for both day and night, there's just nothing original about it. And it doesn't even last that long.


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June 25, 2013
Colton has yet to fill out a bio.
Rajon Pierre Rondo posted 1605 days ago
Welcome to Boston!!!
Jack Franklin posted 1607 days ago
Congrats on the draft.
Samir posted 1609 days ago
Great read
Hot Read: Platinum Medal
The Insane Life of an NBA Draft Prospect
Received 10,000 Reads • June 25, 2013
Colton is not a member of any communities.
Colton does not have any favorite writers.


text:
Artist description:
this drawing is a robin on a tree. I like robins they are sweet birds,and i hope you like robins and this picture
Flash Draw Created Mar 09, 2009 470 x 338px Unless noted Copyright 2009 babygirlscc.
We encourage you to submit a comment and let the artist know what you think of this drawing. Please log in or join to post a comment.
Post a comment
sooo cute
sO tOTaLly CuTE! Hehehe! 5/51
aw it's so pretty! 5/5 thanks for the comment
Thank u for the comment on my drawing. Ur drawings are good to. 5/5
Aw so cute XD 5:5
This is kawaii! You are improving, you know that! See ya at school! lawliez


text:
UK planning to rebuild a cyber-version of Hadrian's Wall
Which will probably work just as well
The UK government is seriously considering building a national firewall similar to China.
EE rolls out Cat 9
4G is cool for cats
EE has added Cat 9 capabilities to its 4G network and claims the new layer will keep smartphones 'faster on EE than any other UK network'.
Hardware prices jacked up in UK
Thanks Brexit
Major PC suppliers are jacking up their prices in the UK following the country's brilliant move to show the world that Britain can economically destroy itself without any help from the EU.
Brexit threatens Taiwan business
Subsidiaries mostly into IT
A report from Price Waterhouse Coopers Taiwan has warned firms with subsidiaries in Britain could well face being stung for extra tax after the European country completes its divorce from the European Union.
Coppers blur lamb pictures to protect ID
Well they were victims
A copper in West Midland Police's Central Motorway department shared an image of three sheep that had been rescued from suspected poachers. But he has become a twitter sensation because he burred the sheep's faces to protect their ID.
UK hacker will not have to hand over passwords
Love one NCA nil
A UK computer scientist and activist Lauri Love has had a minor victory against the authorities who are trying to extradite him to the US.
UK's doomsday subs rely on Windows XP
40 nuclear warheads under the control of ancient OS
While most of the world would be insane to rely on Windows XP to provide them with security, the UKs 40 nuclear weapons are dependent on the ancient OS.
Tech leaders will be jailed for reporting UK spying
Two years in prison
The UK government is threatening to jail leaders of tech companies who warn their customers that they have been victims of government spying.
Apple takes on the UK government on encryption
We will show them who is boss
Fruity cargo-cult Apple is taking on the UK government warning that Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to give its spooks extra online surveillance powers could weaken the security of personal data for millions of people and paralyse the tech sector.
UK government wants to give iPads to criminals
Teaching them how to steal legitimately
The British government, which is currently taking money out of its health and education system, is thinking of spending a fortune giving over-priced iPads to its criminal population.


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Sports, entertainment venues: HVAC systems
CSE: How do such venues vary from region to region?
Lewis: Different regions have different design conditions, and these need to be considered prior to the start of the design. For a predominately heating climate zone, it may not be the best idea to provide a VAV system unless you know that you can get good circulation of the air throughout the zone. It may be a good idea to design single-zone systems that can force the air throughout the space effectively. In warm and humid climates, you have to design with the heat and humidity in mind. In these zones it makes sense to have a way to treat the humidity the building may encounter.
McKinlay: The design of the air handling systems can vary significantly depending on the climate of a particular region. For example, an arena in the southeastern United States, where humidity is high, may need a dedicated system to pretreat outside air to provide tighter control.
CSE: What unique solutions in heating and cooling systems have you specified recently? What "unusual" HVAC systems have you offered as an option to clients?
Larwood: We're seeing more attention being paid to high-performance building system features to reduce energy use. Due to the occupant density, sports and entertainment venues require significant amounts of outside air. With the use of air quality sensors, the use of outside air is minimized when there are extreme outdoor temperatures. Energy recovery is also a consideration—cooling the incoming outside air with the air being discharged.
Cooper: I've seen pool dehumidification systems, heat recovery chillers, low-temperature heating hot water systems, ventilation control systems, and locker room air transfer systems. We had a project where the domestic hot water boilers (nominally 140 F) were used as a backup source to create low-temperature heating water (nominally 125 F) for the 5 months each year that the campus turned off the steam boilers. Recognizing we had high-efficiency condensing domestic water boilers already in the project, we were able to use these boilers to provide the desired redundancy needed for the heating water system.
McKinlay: We proposed displacement ventilation under the seats for an open-air soccer stadium in the Middle East to keep spectators cool during the game.
Lewis: The trend in sports seems to be the use of VRF systems, which are somewhat unique in the fact that multiple AHUs are tied to a single condensing unit. In these systems the amount of refrigerant piped at any time is controlled by a variable frequency drive (VFD) on the compressor, which makes them very efficient under part load. When specified with the right options, these units can also have different AHUs in different modes. That is, one AHU can be in cooling while another is in heating. This increases the flexibility of the units and makes them very useful in a variety of situations.
CSE: Describe a recent HVAC challenge you encountered and how you worked to overcome it.
Lewis: The biggest challenges lately have been renovating existing arenas that don't currently have existing air conditioning systems. In these types of situations we have been using laser scans to locate all existing pipes, conduits, and ductwork. We then add this information to the model and work with the architect and structural engineers to carve out a path for the ductwork with as little disruption to existing systems as possible. We have also designed unique return air systems where plenums are used in lieu of ductwork. This reduces the quantity of ductwork that needs to be routed through existing space and also saves money for the project.
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JEWEL SAMAD AFP/GETTY IMAGES US President Barack Obama takes the oath of office in front of First Lady Michelle Obama … Continued
Nonbelievers to rally for unbelief in Washington
Thousands of atheists and nonbelievers will gather this Saturday (March 24) on the National Mall in Washington for the "Reason … Continued
Non-theists in the city: Gray off on the wrong foot
An inauguration is a traditional ceremony to mark the beginning of a newly elected leader's term. Such festivities send symbolic … Continued
Selling atheism with billboards
Returning to Manhattan after Thanksgiving, I was greeted at the New Jersey entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel with a huge … Continued
When God enters the voting booth
Pope Benedict XVI and Catholic Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke both recently characterized voting as a moral act with spiritual consequences. The … Continued
Thank the Void I'm an atheist
Q:Do your religious beliefs exalt or stigmatize sex (or both)? Is religion a useful tool for helping young people navigate … Continued
Foreign policy + religion = recipe for disaster
Q: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is recommending that the U.S. government develop a strategy to make religion 'integral' … Continued
The Option to Pray is Sacred
Before the zealots of secularity or God's warriors get going on this one, could we all agree that having the … Continued
Atheism/Agnosticism Plus Compassion Equals Humanism
Karen Armstrong, a religious thinker I can admire and support, has begun a project called the "Charter for Compassion." The … Continued
Rectifying "Religulous"
The quasi-documentary "Religulous" (religion + ridiculous) mixes elements of the passionate Michael Moore with the outrageous faker, Borat. It no … Continued
The Pope and Islam: Let's Stop Kidding Each Other
The Question: Pope Benedict's recent baptism of a well-known Italian Muslim has prompted criticism in much of the Islamic world. … Continued
The Religious Counterculture
A narrative running through countless news articles over the last eighteen months goes something like this. Over the last 20 … Continued
A Mufti, A Christian and a Rabbi
In the West, "A Mufti, a Christian and a Rabbi …" is often how a good interfaith joke begins. But … Continued
Ho Ho Ho: We Spit On Heathen "Happy Holiday" Greetings
This annual nonsense about so-called political correctness "taking the Christ out of Christmas" must come from people who walk around … Continued


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Toronto Blue Jays
Texas Rangers
Thursday, June 13, 7:05 PM CDT, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Esmil Rogers..........Yu Darvish
Rogers will be making his third start of the season after moving out of the bullpen. His last outing vs. Texas was his best, and longest. Rogers lasted four innings, giving up a single run on three hits and a walk, with six strikeouts.
Darvish is 0-1 with a 2.28 ERA in his last four starts, and the Rangers have lost three of those four. He is 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in seven starts at home and has gone 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays in his career.
Friday, June 14, 7:05 PM CDT, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Mark Buehrle..........Justin Grimm
Buehrle is making this start on an extra day of rest thanks to a recent off-day. His last outing came against the Rangers and he allowed just one run over seven innings but took a no-decision after Casey Janssen blew a save opportunity in the 9th.
A four-run inning skewed what was an otherwise strong outing against the Jays his last time out. Grimm kept Toronto off the board the rest of the game, and lasted 5 2/3 innings while striking out six.
Saturday, June 15, 3:05 PM CDT, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Josh Johnson..........Josh Lindblom
Johnson pitched with a blister on his right middle finger during his last start against Texas. He remained in the game but struggled with his command and lasted only five innings -- three runs on five hits -- because of a high pitch count.
Lindblom will make his third start this season. He received a no-decision in his last outing Monday after allowing three runs on five hits in six innings against the Indians.
Sunday, June 16, 2:05 PM CDT, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
R.A. Dickey.........Derek Holland
Dickey allowed seven runs on 10 hits during his last start against the White Sox. It was the third time in his past four outings he allowed at least six runs.
Holland's last start was his shortest this season. He lasted 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the Indians. Holland is 0-2 with a 2.86 ERA in three day starts this season.
Darvish seeks bounce-back effort against Blue Jays
Rogers to start for Toronto after being pushed back by postponement
Both Yu Darvish and Esmil Rogers will be facing familiar foes on Thursday.
The two starters will be up against the same opponent for the second time in as many outings when the Blue Jays visit Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
For Darvish, that means a chance to learn from his last start.
"We all have to study and learn from our mistakes," said Darvish, who allowed three runs (two earned) in seven innings against the Blue Jays last Saturday. "I have to pitch my game and they have to do their jobs."
The Rangers' Japanese pitcher ended up taking the loss against Toronto, and hasn't picked up a victory since May 16 vs. Detroit.
However, that is no reflection on how dominant the right-hander has been on the mound. Darvish has a 2.28 ERA in his last four starts, and has struck out 32 over 27 2/3 innings.
"It really hasn't affected me much," Darvish said of his team's 1-3 record over those starts. "I've done my job. Wins and losses, you can't really control. Some games you give up five runs and still win. Some games you give up one run and still lose. Those things you can't really control. I tried to go deep in the game and give the team a chance to win."
Rogers, who's coming off his best start this season against the Rangers, is looking forward to facing the talented Texas lineup, despite thinking all week he'd be facing the White Sox, before weather altered the plans.
"I got already in my mind how I'm going to pitch these guys, how I'm pitching already," Rogers said of the Rangers. "This team is an aggressive team, I have to have all my pitches ready."
Last time out, the Toronto starter went the deepest he's gone in a game since converting from the bullpen, tossing four innings of one-run ball over 73 pitches and striking out six.
"He got out of there about the time we were ready to get him," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "After the first inning, he went to his offspeed stuff pretty regularly. Now we get to see him a second time."
Rangers: Kinsler nears return
When it comes to second baseman Ian Kinsler and the strained muscle in his right rib cage, he can now see the light at the end of the tunnel in his rehab.
The 30-year-old participated in a full workout prior to Wednesday's game and was subsequently cleared for a rehab assignment.
"I haven't had anything physical to tell me not to continue to push it, continue on the same path," Kinsler said. "Hopefully, I can get on the field real quick."
Kinsler, who's been on the disabled list since May 18, will report to Double-A Frisco on Thursday and be used as the club's designated hitter. He will then play second for the following two games before a final decision is made on returning to the big league club.
Depending on how his rib cage feels, Kinsler could be activated as early as Sunday against the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays: Rotation pushed back because of postponed game
The Blue Jays' game against the White Sox was postponed nearly six hours before game time on Wednesday as a result of the impending weather.
However, instead of sending Rogers back to the bullpen for the Rangers series, Toronto opted to push all its starters back a day, meaning the rotation lines up with Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, and R.A. Dickey to face the Rangers after Rogers.
Not skipping Rogers came as a bit of a surprise, but Blue Jays manager John Gibbons doesn't want to tinker with what's already there.
"He's part of our five-man rotation now, so we'll just keep everyone in line," Gibbons said.
Worth noting
• The Rangers find themselves in a bit of a funk recently. The club has lost three straight series, including one against the Blue Jays last weekend. During that stretch, Texas has gone 3-6.
• Part of the reason for the Rangers' funk is the club's pitching. Texas' ERA has risen from 3.38 to 3.60 over the past nine games. However, that mark is still good for third in the AL, behind only Kansas City and Detroit.
• The Rangers have had the Blue Jays' number at home. Texas holds an all-time record of 60-35 against Toronto at home. It's the second-best mark against any club at home for Texas, behind only Tampa Bay. The Rangers swept the Blue Jays last season at home in a three-game set and have won five of their last six and six of the last eight on their own diamond.


text:
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Yum. The tea that first got me into liking steeped bananas! Bought this one on request from my sister (although she didn't end up trying it before I left after Christmas).
This is one of the teas where I actually don't really care for the smell of the dry leaf. Although nutty, I find it rather bland and unappetizing. Luckily the tea tastes better than it smells (although the smell becomes more richly nutty when steeped)! Generally I find it to be nutty and smooth with a nice hint of banana – it doesn't have much banana flavour right now though, as the sample bag I bought appears to now have run out (1 banana chunk in this cup, boo). But it's still good! I prefer Banana Oolong though, so am ok with this tea not becoming a part of the permanent collection.


text: Whether you're refrigerating fresh fish or freezing steaks, vacuum packing helps the food stay in top condition longer. Keeping food from coming in contact with air means no freezer burn, no oxidation, and slower deterioration. Unlike most vacuum sealers, the rechargeable Caso hand-held vacuum sealer takes up little room in a kitchen cabinet or on the counter. It looks like a small hair dryer and comes with quart- and gallon-size reusable zip-top bags. It also includes two stoppers to vacuum-seal open wine bottles.


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Three Things At Three. George Clooney is now rumoured to have a romance with Stacy Keibler by partying with the former wrestler in Canada over the weekend.
Bob Seger's music will finally be available on iTunes, beginning today.
The highest paid men in entertainment?
1. Tyler Perry 130 million
2. Jerry Bruckheimer 113 million
3. Steven Speilberg 107 million
4. Elton John 100 million
5. Simon Cowell 90 million.


text:
31,968 Dojos and growing
Helping people find Dojo since 2004
Currently online: 1172 Visitors
Distance is showed approximately from the downtown area of Hyde Park, IN. Click on 'Map' next to a Dojo to see it on the Map. To see a list of Martial Arts and Self Defense classes near you, Search with your address.
Most of these Martial Arts Studios, clubs and gyms offer Karate classes for kids or Self Defense classes for children, men and women in Hyde Park area. If you are looking for classes or lessons near your address in Hyde Park, please use the following search box and see a list of Martial Arts Schools, clubs and organizations near you.
See Martial Arts Schools and classes in places around Hyde Park, Indiana: Muncie, Selma, Irvington, Desoto, Parker City, Windsor, Albany.
If you are associated with a Martial Arts School, Club or Dojo in Hyde Park, please list it with dojos.info.


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Staffordshire FA
by: Speyemobile • 4
All Android applications categories
by: Speyemobile • 4
Staffordshire FA Handbook is the official handbook for the Staffordshire Football Association. Once downloaded it can be used without an internet connection and therefore it is totally mobile. Whether you are checking rules or searching for contact details they can easily be found in the interactive handbook.
Contact the person directly from the app by double tapping the email address or telephone number.
from 4 reviews
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text:
HOPE NOW Benefit Concert - Hosted by King Namoa & Family
Blackbird Raum
Jaspers House Live Band, Rex Per Diem, Pet Sounds, Down Dirty Shake, Heavy As Bricks, Bellyfull
The Phoenix Theater
201 Washington St
Petaluma, CA, 94952
Doors 7:30 PM / Show 8:00 PM (event ends at 11:30 PM)
This event is all ages
Blackbird Raum formed from the nucleus of a squatter community living in abandoned buildings and greenbelt treehouses in Santa Cruz, CA, in 2005.
Using instruments you might find in a bluegrass band, Blackbird Raum creates progressive folk punk with an often bleak and mournful flavor that is more reminiscent of black metal, crust, and neo-folk.
When they aren't touring, members of Blackbird Raum play traditional American and European music, hang out in the woods, raise children and read a lot of library books.
Jaspers House Live Band
Featuring Nasty Nate, Mc Check, King Namoa, Fusion SPC, Honest D, Sky Eye & Pure Powers
Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds, four guys mostly not old enough to drink, display every hallmark of a young 21st-century band. Their first show, from four years ago, is available in six separate installments on YouTube; they self-record their music and release it on CD-R; and their singer, Cory Oleson, has been known to take the stage in nothing but tight-ass booty shorts.
But hinted at in the band's name—taken from the 40-year-old Beach Boys album—is a subscription to the idea that a band should believe in its music as an original force in the world, and not merely a condensed representation of its modern iPod playlists. Their grasp of this kind of urgency harks back to bands like the Get Up Kids or Desaparecidos, bands that were elevated, then subsequently decried, with one single word: "emo." Pet Sounds may well reclaim the word as a compliment again.
"I want to make songs that, when we're singing 'em, people are like, 'They've seen some shit,'" says 20-year-old singer-guitarist Dominic Agius. On their EP Everyone Is Wrong, whether howling about drugs and forgiveness in "Five Lines" or seizing fleeting moments in "Situations," shit is definitely on display; even in an acoustic setting, the band is intense. They're danceable without falling back on hi-hat disco beats, and epic without relying on delay pedals.
"Old Tequila Skeleton March" sounds like just that: after four bars of a wordless a cappella vocal, a super-low fuzzed-out bass takes sharp stabs at the comfort. "Our inhibitions are our only disease / And I need you like you need me," sings Oleson, while extended drum rolls fill random space. Later, a drunk carnival guitar solo brings it all reeling back hazily, and it might not be a coincidence that the song clocks in at exactly 4:20.
Pet Sounds are heading back out on the road in January with fellow locals A Pack of Wolves, and they'll soon start recording a full-length album. A recent lineup change with Steve Ziesche and Tony Serronato has reinvigorated the band, and Oleson and Agius continue to push each other with their writing. "When he does something that's really cool, and I admire, and I'm proud to be in a band with him," says Agius of Oleson, "it motivates me to write something on par with it."
From the Bohemian - 12/24/2008 edition (http://www.metroactive.com/bohemian/12.24.08/music-pet-sounds-0852.html)
Tickets Available at the Door
Upcoming Events
The Phoenix Theater
Sat, November 25
Sage The Gemini, P-Lo, Shabazz, Nef The Pharoah, Bobby Brackins, DJ Amen
Wed, November 29
The Faceless
Fri, December 1
R4id, Year Of The Fist
Sat, December 2
Fri, December 8
Frobeck, Thus the Buzz


text: So I had been thinking about the Gibson SG Bass Standard Reissue – you know that one that's supposed to me muddy and flabby. I was certainly not going to buy without trying and playing so I went along on Monday to my local store (DV247 in Barnet) where they had one in stock. My real intention was to discover how awful this bass really was – and move on. I got sat down and plugged-in. The decision to buy happened about one minute later. One hour later it was at home and really I haven't put it down since. Is it Muddy? Absolutely not. The open E string is a lot more tight and controlled that my American P-Bass. Short Scale is Flabby? No – 3.25 inches less scale than a 34 inch, does not translate to the fretboard. There is some minor relief due to the scale, but I only noticed this when stretching from 5th degree on the 4th string to 6th degree on the 3rd. What About Neck-Dive? Yes – I moved the strap-lock to the horn and yet still when released the bass takes the fast route south. I got used to it after an hour. There is no Top-End? True, there is little to show past 1,000Hz. EQ can solve this – or you could use a Jazz Bass. What About the Low-End? I did a software frequency analysis of the SG and my P-Bass. The SG produced 8db more output below 120hz than the P. Yes – 8db more. That said, it produced 12db less at frequencies above 2k. It's Not Great for Finger Picking Partially true. It certainly can rival a good P-Bass when playing just the neck pickup but it is missing the high-mids and the fingers cannot tease them out. Is It Good with a Pick? Utterly and Absolutely. This is the very best picking bass. Not so that you can get the hollow tone that you would from a P-Bass. The bottom-end on the SG is so massive, that even with a pick you can get finger-style tones from it. A 2mm pick produces a tone that can be used where you might use a P-Bass with fingers – think of a Blues Boogie, it looks weird but it really works. So What Does it Sound Like? I have been planning this video-christmas-card for a while and had assumed that I would use my P-Bass to record it. However, the SG had its name written all over this. This was recorded today. http://youtu.be/2WZlY7LI5DU Final Word? Don't buy an SG Bass only because you think you have small hands or short fingers, there's really not a lot of extra relief on offer. Buy an SG Bass because it's small, light, looks weird, loves picks and will guarantee that you are crowned King of The Deep.


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Adobe Systems has rolled out patches for security vulnerabilities found in Adobe Reader 7.0 and 7.0.1, and Acrobat 7.0 and 7.0.1.
The hole in the products, referred to as an XXE (XML external entity) vulnerability, can allow XML scripts to be used to discover a user's local files. An attacker could then maliciously use the gathered information.
Adobe pointed out that local files could be found only if the attacker knows the complete file names and paths in advance of such an attack.
The vulnerability impacts Acrobat and Reader products running on both Windows and Mac platforms.
According to Adobe, Windows customers who use Reader and Acrobat should download the updates provided on its website at www.adobe.com/support/downloads.


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I've reviewed a number of GPS fitness watches over the past few years. One of the most impressive was the Motorola MotoActv – it had a beautiful touch-screen, could play music via Bluetooth, and was solid on the tracking side. Unfortunately the MotoActv had some fatal flaws, namely poor battery life and ineffective waterproofing, particularly […]
Timex Introduces Ironman One GPS+ Smart Watch
August 7, 2014 By 7 Comments
Mio Link Wrist Mounted Heart Rate Monitor Review: A Runner's Perspective
July 28, 2014 By 19 Comments


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real estate consultants in Ada, OK
Margaret Barton & Assoc Real Estate1230 Arlington St, Ada, OK map
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Belt backs Bumgarner's shutdown of Nationals
Belt backs Bumgarner's shutdown of Nationals
SAN FRANCISCO -- Madison Bumgarner struggled to finish hitters in his previous appearance against the Washington Nationals. This time he finished the game. Backed by three RBIs from Brandon Belt, who almost nullified his powerful hitting with confounding baserunning, Bumgarner limited the Nationals to five hits in San Francisco's 6-1 triumph Tuesday night. Bumgarner (13-7) recorded his second complete game of the season and his career while posting his eighth victory following a Giants defeat. And that was no ordinary setback Monday. Washington, the National League's highest-scoring team since the All-Star break, amassed 21 hits while handing the Giants their worst loss of the year, 14-2.
"I knew especially after what they did to me at their place and what they did last night, I was going to make sure I had complete focus and put the ball where it needed to go," Bumgarner said. Bumgarner acknowledged that he dwelled on coping with the heat before and during that July 4 game at Washington, where the temperature rose steadily from its game-time measurement of 84 degrees. The atmosphere diverted his attention from the Nationals' hitters, who stuffed seven runs and nine hits into his five-inning stint. Bumgarner looked unusually vulnerable as he yielded three home runs, all on two-strike counts. "It had been a long time since I played a hot day game like that," said Bumgarner, who improved to 8-1 at AT&T Park this year and lowered his NL-best home ERA to 1.87. "I was focused more on not letting that bother me than anything else and I forgot what I was doing." This time, Bumgarner's concentration never wavered throughout his 108-pitch effort. Only two Nationals reached scoring position. One was Jayson Werth, who tripled and scored in the seventh inning. Even that was a tainted run, because right fielder Hunter Pence thought that he might collide with center fielder Angel Pagan and flinched as he stuck out his glove for Werth's drive, causing the ball to drop safely. Otherwise, Pence reveled in Bumgarner's mastery as he played behind him.
"I know what those hitters are up against when they're facing him," said Pence, formerly of the Astros and Phillies. "Standing out there, I'm kind of laughing, because I know what they're dealing with."Superb as Bumgarner was, manager Bruce Bochy planned to install reliever Sergio Romo for the ninth inning. Then the Giants scored four eighth-inning runs to seal their first win over Washington in five games.
"That enabled us to let [Bumgarner] finish the game," Bochy said after the Giants remained in a first-place tie with Los Angeles in the West standings.That late surge reflected the renewed potential of San Francisco's offense. The batting order included Pence, the Giants' celebrated Trade Deadline acquisition, and Pablo Sandoval, fresh off the disabled list, joining each other for the first time. Pence, Belt and Marco Scutaro each collected three hits and Pagan contributed two as San Francisco totaled 13 hits. "We have a lot of big bats in there," an appreciative Bumgarner said. "It's a lot more dangerous than we have been in the past. I think it's going to help us a lot." Belt drove in two runs off Jordan Zimmermann (9-7), who entered the game as the National League's ERA leader, but was thrown out trying to take extra bases on a second-inning double off the left-field wall and a sixth-inning single that struck the top of the right-field barrier. San Francisco's big eighth included another RBI single for Belt, who this time stopped safely at first and later scored the final run. "I guess he went to the thinking of 'I'm going to run until they tag me,'" Bochy said jokingly. Said a chastened Belt, "I like to have games like this, but at the same time, I don't want to make the mistakes that I did, especially against teams like this. You've got to be smart." Belt slowed down as he rounded second base during his second-inning gaffe. He watched his sixth-inning drive instead of running until he was sure it cleared the wall, which it didn't. "Players have hit a lot of balls over their lives, and usually you know which ones are going and which ones aren't," Belt said. "It was one of those things where I decided not to go, and I don't think I've ever done that before. I'm not going to do that again."
Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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New value for ABA members
CareerAdvice LIVE! is a free monthly webinar series that offers practical tips on selected topics — some for seasoned lawyers and others for new lawyers or law students. Experienced career counselor Kathy Morris, an author and speaker at attorney career programs nationwide, will host the 45-minute webinar at 1 p.m. ET on the second Friday of each month.
Coming this month:
Interviewing Wisely in a Challenging Market1 p.m. ET, Friday, Nov. 8With today's tight job market, you may feel that every interview takes on a larger-than-life urgency. But white-knuckle interviewing won't help you convert an interview into an offer. Our featured guests will offer advice on how to effectively communicate your value to a potential employer and turn pointed questions into opportunities to shine. Don't miss this chance to have alaw firm hiring partner and a legal search professional coach you on how to interview wisely and well.
Featured speakers:
Evan Anderson is managing director of BCG Attorney Search's San Francisco office and the director of BCG's Diversity Recruiting Practice. Anderson works with a variety of candidates in a range of practice areas, placingparticular emphasis on gender, ethnicity and LGBT diversity.Anderson's educational background, coupled with 15 years ofexperience in attorney career counseling, have earned him the title of superstar recruiter.
Liz Price is the professional personnel partner for Alston & Bird LLP. She is responsible for the firm's hiring, training, development, compensation, promotion of associates and alumni relations as part of the firm's overall integrated approach to talent management. Price was a trial attorney at the firm and a U.S. Army interrogator who will also give you the straight story on interviewing well. She is a past president of the Atlanta Bar Association and currently serves on the board of the NALP Foundation.
Kathy Morris, the CareerAdvice Live series moderator, founded Under Advisement Ltd. in 1988 to provide advice to lawyers, law students and legal employers about job search, practice readiness and work performance issues. A former criminal defense lawyer and law school ethics professor, she is also a leader in the lawyer training and development field, a published author and a frequent speaker at legal career programs nationwide.
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New ethics opinion: Lawyers' use of deal-of-the-day marketing programs
10 tech tips for better, safer travel
Strategies to succeedat law firm leadership
8 keys to exposing billable time killers7 pointers to get paidfor your workTailor your career tofit your strengths10 tips for approaching lawyer rankings and ratingsChoosing between the cloud, desktop or hybrid solutionsHow to avoid common mistakes in appellate practiceTop female lawyers share leadership insights
Building a paperlesslaw office
What to consider before joining a board
ABA Advantage


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by Pat Griggs, J. Endersby
Joseph Hooker was one of the creators of the modern scientist - medical graduate, botanist, plant collector and adventurer - who circled the globe, discovering, describing, naming or introducing over 12,000 plants that have changed the face of our gardens and landscape.
A confidante of Charles Darwin, he made his first plant collecting expedition to Antarctica in 1837, an epic undertaking that took him to the ends of the known world, collecting and identifying hundreds of plants.
Following major expeditions to the Himalayas and India, he was appointed Assistant Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1855, and later traveled to the Western United States, eventually bringing back over 1000 specimens.
Extensively and beautifully illustrated from the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Joseph Hooker Botanical Trailblazer takes the reader on an extraordinary voyage with one of the world's greatest botanists.
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 64 pages
- Publisher: Royal Botanic Gardens
- Publication Date: 14/11/2011
- Category: Trees, wildflowers & plants
Free Home Delivery
on all orders
Pick up orders
from local bookshops


text:
Carolina Panthers center Ryan Kalil guarantees Super Bowl win
Players have been running mouths a lot lately. We all know about what Lebron James said two years ago. Mike Vick says the Eagles can be a dynasty. At least Lebron has collected on one of his promises. And now this…
Ryan Kalil, center for the Carolina Panthers took out a full page ad in the Charlotte Observer to tell fans why the Panthers would win the Super Bowl this year.
I know this time of year as players head back to camp, everyone is optimistic and full of hope. And I'm cool with players saying it. But it's probably not wise to take out a full page ad in your home team town paper. It's cool to say it around the locker room and on the team bus, but this?
About Ed
Ed is one half of the Sports Brothers. He has been in the radio industry for 14 years working in several formats including urban and talk. Upon returning to Miami in 2006 and working at WTPS, he and Jeff Fox were paired up and started The Sports Brothers.


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Jon Miller and Cody Mitchell, seniors at Glenn High School, recently posted a video on YouTube entitled Empire City of Kernersville. The video, which is a spoof from the popular R&B song by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z called Empire State of Mind. For more, see the Thursday, Jan. 10 edition.
Empire City of Kernersville
Previous post: Körner's Folly will be closed throughout Januar
Next post: Growing up on a farm


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'Tis the Season for Holiday Stupidity
It all starts on Black Friday, the most American of "holidays." Some stores can't even wait until midnight to start offering bargains to shoppers looking to jump start holiday gift buying. Others open insanely early […]
About Mikael Carlson
Mikael Carlson is the award-winning political fiction author of The iCandidate and the Michael Bennit Series of political dramas. He has also written the thriller The Eyes of Others. His current series, The Black Swan Saga, are epic dystopian political thrillers that showcase a world of corporate governance dominated by elitists. The first two novels, America, Inc. and America, Inc.: Bounded Rationality are available now. He lives in Danbury, CT.
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