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How Space Weather Can Influence Elections on Earth - Motherboard
february 2017 by jm
oh, god -- I'm not keen on this take: how's about designing systems that recognise the risks?bit-flips science elections voting-machines vvat belgium bugs risks cosmic-rays
"Everything was going fine, but then suddenly, there were an additional 4,000 votes cast. Because it was a local election, which are normally very small, people were surprised and asked, 'how did this happen?'"
The culprit was not voter fraud or hacked machines. It was a single event upset (SEU), a term describing the fallout of an ionizing particle bouncing off a vulnerable node in the machine's register, causing it to flip a bit, and log the additional votes. The Sun may not have been the direct source of the particle—cosmic rays from outside the solar system are also in the mix—but solar-influenced space weather certainly contributes to these SEUs.
february 2017 by jm
Instapaper Outage Cause & Recovery
february 2017 by jm
Hard to see this as anything other than a pretty awful documentation fail by the AWS RDS service:limits aws rds databases mysql filesystems ops instapaper risks
Without knowledge of the pre-April 2014 file size limit, it was difficult to foresee and prevent this issue. As far as we can tell, there's no information in the RDS console in the form of monitoring, alerts or logging that would have let us know we were approaching the 2TB file size limit, or that we were subject to it in the first place. Even now, there's nothing to indicate that our hosted database has a critical issue.
february 2017 by jm
background doc on the Jeep hack
august 2015 by jm
"Remote Exploitation of an Unaltered Passenger Vehicle", by Dr. Charlie Miller (firstname.lastname@example.com) and Chris Valasek (email@example.com). QNX, unauthenticated D-Bus, etc.jeep hacks exploits d-bus qnx cars safety risks
'Since a vehicle can scan for other vulnerable vehicles and the exploit doesn't require any user interaction, it would be possible to write a worm. This worm would scan for vulnerable vehicles, exploit them with their payload which would scan for other vulnerable vehicles, etc. This is really interesting and scary. Please don't do this. Please.'
august 2015 by jm
Amazon sellers hit by nightmare before Christmas as glitch cuts prices to 1p | Technology | The Guardian
december 2014 by jm
1p amazon resellers repricer-express fail price-cutting automation risks undercutting
From 7-8pm on Friday, [RepricerExpress] software, used by third-party sellers to ensure their products are the cheapest on the market, went a bit haywire and reduced prices to as little as 1p.
december 2014 by jm
The boss has malware, again... : talesfromtechsupport
november 2014 by jm
via:elliot malware e-cigarettes cigarettes smoking china risks
(Via Elliot)
Finally after all traditional means of infection were covered; IT started looking into other possibilities. They finally asked the Executive, "Have there been any changes in your life recently"? The executive answer "Well yes, I quit smoking two weeks ago and switched to e-cigarettes". And that was the answer they were looking for, the made in china e-cigarette had malware hard coded into the charger and when plugged into a computer's USB port the malware phoned home and infected the system. Moral of the story is have you ever question the legitimacy of the $5 dollar EBay made in China USB item that you just plugged into your computer? Because you should, you damn well should.
(Via Elliot)
november 2014 by jm
Biometric authentication failing in Mysore
september 2013 by jm
Biometrics was rolled out for food distribution in order to cut down on fraud, but it's now resulting in a subset of users being unable to authenticate:fail risks biometrics authentication mysore security india fingerprinting
The biometric authentication system installed at the PDS outlets fails to establish the identity of many genuine beneficiaries, mostly workers, as their daily grind in the agricultural fields, construction sites or as domestic help have eroded the lines on their thumb resulting in distorted impressions.
september 2013 by jm
KDE's brush with git repository corruption: post-mortem
march 2013 by jm
a barely-averted disaster... phew.rate-limiting case-studies post-mortems kde git data-corruption risks mirroring replication raid bugs backups snapshots sanity-checks automation ops
One risk demonstrated: by trusting in mirroring, rather than a schedule of snapshot backups covering a wide time range, they nearly had a major outage. Silent data corruption, and code bugs, happen -- backups protect against this, but RAID, replication, and mirrors do not.
Another risk: they didn't have a rate limit on project-deletion, which resulted in the "anongit" mirrors deleting their (safe) data copies in response to the upstream corruption. Rate limiting to sanity-check automated changes is vital. What they should have had in place was described by the fix: 'If a new projects file is generated and is more than 1% different than the previous file, the previous file is kept intact (at 1500 repositories, that means 15 repositories would have to be created or deleted in the span of three minutes, which is extremely unlikely).'
while we planned for the case of the server losing a disk or entirely biting the dust, or the total loss of the VM's filesystem, we didn't plan for the case of filesystem corruption, and the way the corruption affected our mirroring system triggered some very unforeseen and pathological conditions. [...] the corruption was perfectly mirrored... or rather, due to its nature, imperfectly mirrored. And all data on the anongit [mirrors] was lost.
One risk demonstrated: by trusting in mirroring, rather than a schedule of snapshot backups covering a wide time range, they nearly had a major outage. Silent data corruption, and code bugs, happen -- backups protect against this, but RAID, replication, and mirrors do not.
Another risk: they didn't have a rate limit on project-deletion, which resulted in the "anongit" mirrors deleting their (safe) data copies in response to the upstream corruption. Rate limiting to sanity-check automated changes is vital. What they should have had in place was described by the fix: 'If a new projects file is generated and is more than 1% different than the previous file, the previous file is kept intact (at 1500 repositories, that means 15 repositories would have to be created or deleted in the span of three minutes, which is extremely unlikely).'
march 2013 by jm
Air France 447 Flight-Data Recorder Transcript - What Really Happened Aboard Air France 447 - Popular Mechanics
december 2011 by jm
The (comp.)risks of overautomation strike again. "When trouble suddenly springs up and the computer decides that it can no longer cope—on a dark night, perhaps, in turbulence, far from land -- the humans might find themselves with a very incomplete notion of what's going on. They'll wonder: What instruments are reliable, and which can't be trusted?"aviation crash flight flying autopilot stalls warnings alarms ui af447 risks automation
december 2011 by jm
Security Fix - Clampi Trojan: The Rise of Matryoshka Malware
august 2009 by jm
'[Joe] Stewart said the sophistication and stealth of this malware strain has become so bad that it's time for Windows users to start thinking of doing their banking and other sensitive transactions on a dedicated system that is not used for everyday Web surfing.' it's that badjoe-stewart secureworks malware reverse-engineering clampi trojans banking security danger risks windows microsoft fraud
august 2009 by jm
related tags1p ⊕ af447 ⊕ alarms ⊕ amazon ⊕ authentication ⊕ automation ⊕ autopilot ⊕ aviation ⊕ aws ⊕ backups ⊕ banking ⊕ belgium ⊕ biometrics ⊕ bit-flips ⊕ bugs ⊕ cars ⊕ case-studies ⊕ china ⊕ cigarettes ⊕ clampi ⊕ cosmic-rays ⊕ crash ⊕ d-bus ⊕ danger ⊕ data-corruption ⊕ databases ⊕ e-cigarettes ⊕ elections ⊕ exploits ⊕ fail ⊕ filesystems ⊕ fingerprinting ⊕ flight ⊕ flying ⊕ fraud ⊕ git ⊕ hacks ⊕ india ⊕ instapaper ⊕ jeep ⊕ joe-stewart ⊕ kde ⊕ limits ⊕ malware ⊕ microsoft ⊕ mirroring ⊕ mysore ⊕ mysql ⊕ ops ⊕ post-mortems ⊕ price-cutting ⊕ qnx ⊕ raid ⊕ rate-limiting ⊕ rds ⊕ replication ⊕ repricer-express ⊕ resellers ⊕ reverse-engineering ⊕ risks ⊖ safety ⊕ sanity-checks ⊕ science ⊕ secureworks ⊕ security ⊕ smoking ⊕ snapshots ⊕ stalls ⊕ trojans ⊕ ui ⊕ undercutting ⊕ via:elliot ⊕ voting-machines ⊕ vvat ⊕ warnings ⊕ windows ⊕
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Hot meals great salads, great hamburger, soups and homemade deserts ( best in elizabethton
All reviews seem positive
From family friendly trips with kid friendly activities to local plumbers lawyers, spas, and contractors. Judy's Book has millions of listings and reviews for the best and not so great. Whether you're looking for a specific business or just trying to discover great places we make it easy. We're a family oriented site focusing on bringing trusted reviews and recommendations to moms and others. Green and Sustainable places are becoming more relevant to Judy's Book users, have a favorite place? Write a review and tell users why it's Green!

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Starring: Shô Sakurai, Sadao Abe, Kyoko Fukada, Shin'ichi Hatori, Shingo Ippongi, Kendô Kobayashi, Graziano Molteni, Katsuhisa Namase
Director: Takashi Miike | Length: 111 minutes
Genre: Action | Comedy | Fantasy
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010055/
Released/Country: 7 March 2009/Japan
Yatterman (2009) Description: Every week, toy-shop owner Gan and his cute assistant Ai battled the evil Doronbo gang. The gang led by femme fatale Doronjo and her assistants-pig-nosed muscleman Tonzra and rat-faced mecha genius Boyacky-for pieces of the mystical skull stone.
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Taapsee Pannu has managed to make a name for herself in Bollywood and Kollywood.
Taapsee Pannu After doing movies in Kollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood, the pretty actress rose to fame with the movie Pink, starring alongside Amitabh Bachchan. With several movies in her kitty, the actress says she would love to take a break from doing action drama films and try here hand in colour and glamour.
While she awaits the release of her next, Judwaa 2, the 29-year-old actress says, "I want to play roles my age and my type also. I am a huge Bollywood buff. I have grown up watching masala films all my life. I love to dance and have fun. I am an audience to such films so why should I not do such films?'
"I have seen 'Judwaa' and all of David sir's films. I wanted to shift and break from what I have been doing. If I don't do it then it will be boring for the audience. I am really looking forward to adding some crazy, fun colours and glamour to my career," said Taapsee.
"Naam Shabana"
Actress may be looking beyond the action genre but she is excited about the release of "Naam Shabana". Taapsee says the film is an experimentation for the whole cast and crew but it is definitely worth the risk.
"It is the first spin-off and that too of a female character. The filmmakers are taking a risk by making a film on a girl. I am looking forward to it. It is an experimentation for everyone. I am excited to see the reaction of the audience. It is worth the the risk because it has opened up a whole new genre in Bollywood."
Taapsee was part of last year's most successful female- centric film "Pink", which delivered a progressive, provocative and powerful statement about the rights and position of women in the society. The film received an overwhelming response at the box office hence showing the audience's growing acceptance for women-led films.


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Written on: 25/08/2012 by TonyHopkins (1 review written)
If you would like your items to be delivered on time, correctly packaged and the CORRECT items, then do not order from Pet Planet.
I paid £132 for a rabbit hutch/coop and to include "Express Delivery"
My product arrived within 3 days, only when it arrives, they have sent two box 1's and no box 2.
After calling them back I was told a courier would be over on the Friday to drop off the item and collect the incorrect item.
Friday passes and still no hutch.
Over a week later I still have 2 wrong damned boxes and a very unhappy rabbit without a hutch!
For that kind of money coming out of my bank, I expect MUCH better.
Listen to the reviews over thier poorly trained and feckless staff.
I will not be ordering from here again.......
As rated by our community of reviewers
" Over the last 10 months I have placed 8 orders with VETUK. and over... " Read More
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Written by toneloce19692017


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Suikoden V
Game Info:
Editor review
Rise above titles, labels, and all adversity
It's hard to believe that it's already been over a decade since we were first graced with the adventures of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Though still a relatively young series compared to the more prevalent Final Fantasy or the classic Tales and Star Ocean games, the Suikoden series has managed to carve out its own place in the JRPG kingdom. After the disappointment that was Suikoden IV, Konami has pulled out the stops and put together a game that much like the premise it's based on, gathers together the best parts of its predecessors and produced a truly impressive sequel.
Suikoden V takes place no more than 10 years before the first Suikoden game and is set in the Southern Continent, in a place known as the Queendom of Falena. You'd think this would be a great time to have a female protagonist, but alas, you play as the Prince of Falena. Needless to say, he is neither in line for the throne or even seen as an important figure; something that will change over the course of the game. The country is lead by Queen Arshtat, the current bearer of the Sun Rune, one of the 27 True Runes; while her husband Ferid leads the Queen's Knights, the royal family's personal army. Though the Queen reigns supreme, the country is divided between two rival factions: the Barows family and the Godwin family, each with a son that can marry their way into the throne. Tradition requires that the Princess' husband be determined through an organized physical competition, known simply as the Sacred Games. Though it sounds like an honest and effective way of choosing a husband suited for the role of leading the Queen's Knights, you'll soon find out that nothing is that cut and dry in this place. The nobles will undoubtedly use every trick in the book to make things go their way and even risk civil war to achieve their narrow-minded goals. It's difficult to reveal more without spoiling the story completely, however, I will say that the story is filled with everything you've come to expect from a Suikoden game; intrigue, betrayal, love, death, and plenty of drama.
If you weren't a fan of Suikoden IV's gameplay, then you're in luck because Suikoden V returns the tried-and-true mechanics that made the series great. Six member parties are back (buddy system from Suikoden III does not make a comeback!), support members, skill training, and the overworld map also make their triumphant returns. New features have been added as well, such as formations and formation skills, unite magic attacks, and dialogue choices that have more effect on the outcome of the story. The war mode also received a much needed overhaul and has adopted the look and feel of the war mode of Suikoden II with some noteworthy improvements. Every character you've recruited has an ability they can offer to the unit they're assigned to; whether it be healing or an extra attack, which adds a bit of pre-planning to every engagement. Ship battles have also been incorporated, so you'll be facing a war on two fronts for most of the game. It still plays much like rock-paper-scissors, but since your army is often outnumbered, a good strategy will help lessen the casualties and net you a couple of prize items. I do miss the turn-based wars of Suikoden III, since it becomes increasingly difficult to manage the battle when you've got units under attack on different corners of the map.
Since the game is about gathering the 108 Stars of Destiny, it's only fitting to make them as unique and varied as possible and the game does exactly that. If the characters in this game can teach you one thing, it's to never judge a book by its cover because they could be the exact opposite of how they appear. Take Luserina for one, she's the daughter of the nefarious patriarch of the Barows family and when she's first introduced, you'd think she'd be a brat or something like Asuka from Evangelion just by the way she dresses and conducts herself, but she's actually soft-hearted and quite the idealist. Then of course you have the ultimate mercenary fanboy, Richard. Not only is he very childlike in his mannerisms, he also lacks the traditional look of an established swordsman. Bring him into battle and all of a sudden you find out that he's so good you begin to confuse him with Yuber in Suikoden III. It's these little surprises that make the game that much more interesting and memorable. As expected, you also get a few familiar faces in this game; many of them from Suikoden II. Fans will be pleased to see the younger versions of characters like the mysterious Georg Prime, the ruin explorers Killey and Lorelai, future Black Dragon chefs Retso and Shun Min, and the usual Rune Mistress Jeane and everyone's favorite teleporting lunkhead, Viki. It appears that several artists were signed on to do the character illustrations as the styles aren't consistent, but I have to say these are easily some of my favorite renditions of Suikoden characters ever. A few noteworthy examples include Viki and Lorelai, both of them just look stunning.
The graphics are something of a mixed bag; if I had to compare it with an existing game, it'd have to be The Sims. The in-game models are only sparsely detailed and their animations are rather stiff and identical to every other character. The environments are very large and spacious; cities like Sol-Falena can literally take five minutes to run from end to end. However, all of this real-estate comes with a price; the textures are noticeably repetitive and lack finer details. The aliasing is a huge problem as well, during some of the "overlook" scenes where the player is given a bird's eye view of a city, the engine's issues become obvious. The frame rate is equally problematic, the engine tends to chug when several characters are on screen. At least the models improve ten-fold in the cut-scenes and look striking in their motion-captured animations. The duels are exceptionally exquisite, as Konami seems to have hired some martial artists to do the animations for these scenes and nothing pleases me more than to see an exhibition of a fighting art. The facial expressions are incredible as well, surpassing those seen in Suikoden III. The combat scenes are impressive in their own right, every character has their own unique stance and fighting styles which helps you appreciate the diversity of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Perhaps my biggest issue with the graphics is that the game supports neither widescreen resolutions or Progressive Scan; which is just unacceptable considering this is a triple-A title developed late in the hardware's life cycle and the fact that the two previous games in the Suikoden series supported both features!
Sound effects are nothing to write home about, but they are decidedly more modern; the typical anime slash and clanking noises have been replaced with higher quality, realistic sounding noises. The voice acting is above average, comparable to the previous game in the series, but with a little more personality. My personal favorite was Viki's voice-actress; she really captured the character's essence and her breezy attitude. The music is probably deserves the most praise here; it comes incredibly close to topping Suikoden II's soundtrack. About the only songs that are repeated are the overworld theme and random battle theme; every other location, event, and even characters have their own unique songs. Some sound better than others, but there's nothing more pleasing to the ear than listening to a new song every time you move the game forward. I particularly took a liking to one of the exploration themes, The Deep Forest, The Lost Forest. I'm a huge fan of string instruments and this theme puts you in the right mood for adventure. Without a shadow of a doubt, the most poignant song in the game is the one that has been missing since the PS1 era, the remixed version of Theme of a Moonlit Night and its accompanying flute version The Sound of a Flute in the Moonlit Night; both songs inspire feelings that are just beyond words and even comprehension. These two are a shining example of how an RPG can go beyond being "just a game".
Though the game is excellent in many respects, it still has its flaws. One of them is painfully apparent during most of the game and it happens to be the pace. The beginning is arduously slow; if it wasn't for the drama and the character development, it'd have been a complete disaster. Unfortunately, it continues throughout the game until you get your castle, which doesn't happen until about 20 hours into the story! I haven't played the previous Suikoden games in a while, but I'm pretty sure that it didn't take 20 hours to at least get the castle; heck I practically finished Suikoden IV in less than 20 hours! There's also the issue with load times; loading sequences don't take more than 10 seconds, but they occur frequently and if you're power-leveling it can get frustrating, quickly. The biggest complaint about the game is the difficulty curve; the lack of any real challenge from even the biggest bosses tends to make the game go by a little too quickly and easily. The final boss had to have been the weakest I've fought since Final Fantasy X; it was over before I even got nervous.
Granted, Suikoden V isn't the last RPG to ever be released on the PS2, but it will certainly leave an indelible mark on the pages of this console's history. What better way to ring in the 10th anniversary of such an amazing series than with a game that combines all of the great things that brought it out of obscurity and into the mainstream? I'm sure it goes without saying that I can't wait to see Suikoden VI on the next generation hardware. Long live the Queen indeed!
Reviewed by Toma-kun
December 25, 2008
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Although it's called the San Diego Brewing Company, they really have a lot to offer besides the beer. They do offer a huge assortment of beers, but they are a family restaurant wi...
All reviews seem positive
Hidden brepub across from Kaiser Permanente in Allied Gardens caters to locals with simple pub grub menu and plenty of locally-brewed ales on tap.
From family friendly trips with kid friendly activities to local plumbers lawyers, spas, and contractors. Judy's Book has millions of listings and reviews for the best and not so great. Whether you're looking for a specific business or just trying to discover great places we make it easy. We're a family oriented site focusing on bringing trusted reviews and recommendations to moms and others. Green and Sustainable places are becoming more relevant to Judy's Book users, have a favorite place? Write a review and tell users why it's Green!


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Week 17 NFL Picks: Predictions and Advice for Season-Finale Vegas OddsDecember 31, 2015
Even with most of the playoff spots taken, the last week of the NFL regular season is going to feature plenty of drama.
Ten teams have already clinched a postseason berth with only the AFC South and the final AFC wild-card spot up for grabs. With just two teams fighting for each position, there seems to be less do-or-die games than usual. However, almost every seed can change after the upcoming slate of games with only the Washington Redskins set in their No. 4 slot in the NFC.
As a result, 11 of the 16 games have some importance for the playoffs. You can also be certain those eliminated will not roll over like some fans looking at draft positioning might expect. These players are fighting for their jobs, not the betterment of the franchise.
With Week 17 shaping up to be an exciting slate of games, here is a look at predictions for each contest with a breakdown of the top picks against the spread.
|NFL Predictions Week 17
|Predicted Score
|ATS Pick
|New England Patriots
|Miami Dolphins
|Tennessee Titans
|Indianapolis Colts
|Jacksonville Jaguars
|Houston Texans
|Detroit Lions
|Chicago Bears
|Baltimore Ravens
|Cincinnati Bengals
|Pittsburgh Steelers
|Cleveland Browns
|Philadelphia Eagles
|New York Giants
|New York Jets
|Buffalo Bills
|Washington Redskins
|Dallas Cowboys
|New Orleans Saints
|Atlanta Falcons
|Tampa Bay Buccaneers
|Carolina Panthers
|Oakland Raiders
|Kansas City Chiefs
|San Diego Chargers
|Denver Broncos
|St. Louis Rams
|San Francisco 49ers
|Seattle Seahawks
|Arizona Cardinals
|Minnesota Vikings
|Green Bay Packers
|All spread info courtesy of Odds Shark
Best Bets
New England Patriots (-10) vs. Miami Dolphins
While the New England Patriots certainly haven't been dominant over the past month or so as injuries continue to pile up, it's also important not to exaggerate the team's struggles. The Pats are still in line for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, while two of the three losses have come on the road in overtime. The third loss came in a fluky game against the Philadelphia Eagles featuring three non-offensive touchdowns.
With Tom Brady still under center and Rob Gronkowski healthy and catching passes, this is still an offense that will beat most teams.
Additionally, most haven't noticed how well New England's defense has played this year. Chandler Jones leads a front line that ranks second in the NFL in sacks, something that will cause problems for Ryan Tannehill. The quarterback enters the week tied for the most times sacked already this season, including six last Sunday. This has helped stall the offense while also causing plenty of mistakes from the young passer.
Considering Miami also hasn't been able to run the ball consistently and seemingly often forgets Lamar Miller can be a dominant running back, this is not an offense the Patriots will fear.
New England will use a balanced attack to clinch home-field advantage in the playoffs and cruise to victory against a team that has lost five of its last six games.
New York Jets (-3) vs. Buffalo Bills
The New York Jets need this game to clinch a playoff spot, while the Buffalo Bills are fighting just to play the role of spoiler for their coach against his former team. This doesn't always lead to a win, but it certainly helps, especially if the flow of the game slides toward the favorite early.
Of course, the more important factor is that the Jets are simply a much better team. Even with the postseason not guaranteed, this is a group that can legitimately contend in the AFC. Chris Simms discussed the squad's ability on CBS Sports, per Dennis Waszak Jr. of the Associated Press:
Dennis Waszak Jr. @DWAZ73
Chris Simms on CBS Sports Network's "NFL Monday QB" today: "The #Jets are one of the three, four or five best teams in all of football."2015-12-28 22:47:11
The strength of this team is the defensive front that can stop the Bills rushing attack and put all the pressure on Tyrod Taylor to win with his arm. This has led to inconsistent results this season.
Buffalo could have just as many problems with the Jets offense, which is rolling behind the play of Ryan Fitzpatrick. The veteran quarterback has 13 touchdowns and just one interception during the five-game winning streak and will want revenge on his former team just as much as Rex Ryan. As long as he continues throwing the ball up to Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, he will keep putting up these impressive numbers.
Although the Bills fared well defensively against Kellen Moore last week, they are in for a much tougher test in the Jets and simply won't have the ability to keep up.
Minnesota Vikings (+3) vs. Green Bay Packers
You would think any team led by Aaron Rodgers would be fine offensively, but that hasn't been the case lately with the Green Bay Packers struggling to find consistency on that side of the ball.
Offensive lineman Josh Sitton discussed the offense not carrying its weight lately, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com:
I'd be pissed off at us if I was on the defense. They've played pretty damn good this year—even tonight. ... I'd be frustrated if I were them, but they've done a helluva job of not letting that happen and staying positive. We've just got to find a way to be good on offense. We don't have to be great. We have a really good defense and special teams. We just need to be good on offense.
The offense wasn't good or even average in Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals. With nine sacks allowed and just 178 total yards, it was downright awful.
Things won't get too much easier against an attacking Minnesota Vikings defense that ranks sixth in the NFL with just 19.3 points allowed per game this year. Even after Green Bay easily beat this defense earlier in the year, the squad is back on track with three solid games in a row, and it is ready to take on this challenge for the division title.
Look for Adrian Peterson to once again lead the offense, while Teddy Bridgewater continues to take what the defense gives him. The second-year quarterback has six touchdowns and no interceptions in the last three games, which will be plenty good enough to beat the Packers in this highly anticipated battle.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for more year-round sports analysis.


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Hello everyone just added some more for the Month of April! eastersdesigns.wordpress.com/portfolio/graphic-design-3/desktop-and-photoshop-graphics/space-and-fantasy-effects/ eastersdesigns.wordpress.com/portfolio/graphic-design-3/desktop-and-photoshop-graphics/text-effects/ eastersdesigns.wordpress.com/portfolio/graphic-design-3/desktop-and-photoshop-graphics/abstract-images/ Hopefully I should have some more for the end of May, as I'm currently studying a course this year & it's not leaving much time to … Continue reading


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2095 Lakeside Centre Way, Knoxville, TN 37922Request info Add to list
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|Space Type
|Office Space
|For lease: $1.92/sqft
|9,985 sqft
Beautiful finishes. Lake view with patio access. Lots of parking, walking trail, adjacent to retail center with small shops. , Target, Publix,... show more »View Details
|Office Space
|For lease: $1.92/sqft
|2,257 sqft
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2095 Lakeside Centre Way is an office property for lease in Knoxville, TN. The property currently has 2 office spaces for lease and is marketed by Blue Ridge Realty, Inc..
Incredible location at Lakeside Centre. All of the amenities you could want at Pellissippi/Northshore including restaurants, retail, and a walking trail throughout the office park.
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Sporting move for Bendtner
Sporting Libson are understood to be in talks with Arsenal over striker Nicklas Bendtner.
Last Updated: 28/07/11 10:44pm
Sporting Libson are understood to be in talks with Arsenal over striker Nicklas Bendtner.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger last week revealed the 23-year-old had been given permission to miss the friendly against Cologne and training camp in Germany "to sort out his future".
Bendtner, pushed further down the pecking order following the £11million
arrival of Ivory Coast forward Gervinho, was photographed in Portugal and is expected to push through the formalities of his move over the weekend.
With Bendtner's departure set to follow that of long-serving defender Gael
Clichy, Wenger is likely to quickly reinvest those transfer funds, which could
be boosted by a further £4million should Emmanuel Eboue join Galatasaray.
Valencia's Juan Mata and Everton's Phil Jagielka remain high on Wenger's radar.


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Results 1 to 2 of 2
01-28-03, 23:32 #1Registered User
- Join Date
- Jan 2003
- Posts
- 3
Unanswered: error help:Remote access not allowed for Windows NT user activated by SETUSER
I just install SP3 for our SQL Server 2000 yesterday.After that, I have problem using xp_sendmail.
I have a stored procedure in Server A that getting result from Server B.
In Query Analyzer, I can successfully execute procedure A.(exec procedure_name)
However, if I put it in xp_sendmail command....(exec sp_sendmail email_address ,@query='exec procedure_name'),
I got an error message saying 'ODBC error 7410 (42000) Remote access not allowed for Windows NT user activated by SETUSER.'
But before I upgrade, that xp_sendmail works fine for more than one month.
BTW,if in xp_sendmail, I only get result from local server, it works perfect fine.
How can I make it work?
Thanks in advance.
01-28-03, 23:51 #2Registered User
- Join Date
- Oct 2001
- Location
- England
- Posts
- 426
you can put the result of the SP into a global temp table (or permanant one) and select from that in the xp_sendmail.
Don't have 2 sp3 systems here to see what's wrong it but praobably will tomorrow.
Does the profiler show anything interesting?


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Solution variables goes outside upper limit -how to localize fatal overflow occurance
Hello to everyone.
I'm trying to solve transient problem with 2-way FSI (coupled with ANSYS APDL Structural). The working substance is gas (R.-K. model of real gas - one from CFX library). No turbulence presents. Thermal energy is used to account heat dynamics.
At some point of solution (close to its finish) linear solver overflow happens, which is preceded with number of messages, telling that while eveluating some variables (density, enthalpy etc.), the static temperature goes outside upper limit and will be clipped (example message is given bellow).
Moreover, the overflow happens at the final stage of solution, which represents relaxation. This means, that no high external forces (or other excitations) should present at that time and all velocities and gradients should go down (no occasional jumps are expected).
I thought, that the problem arise due to poor mesh quality induced by mesh morphing (actually, I'm still thinking so), but neither changing initial mesh nor changing timestep resolved the issue. Although of course changing the mesh changes the time, when overflow happens. And I do not know, where (geometrically) the problem arises so I cannot concentrate my efforts on that region. (All I can do is look at latest successful timestep results mesh and think: here mesh looks OK, but there it is not so good... possibly, the problem is there...).
If anyone can suggest some way to localize (geometrically or in some other way) the source of solution overflow to become able to resolve this issue, I would appreciate it so much.
Thanks in advance.
In the output panel of CFX-Pre add residuals to the output file. Then you should be able to see where the residuals are growing.
Also, the problem seems to be in temperature and density. Can't you look for regions of inexplicably growing density or temperature?
Thanks for reply.
I'll try to enable residuals in CFX output.
Related to second question: No, I do not see any areas of the groing temperature (global temperature scale limits are ok).
|All times are GMT -4. The time now is 16:06.


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If site search is a must-have for your website, here are three of your best options, compared.
Site search can be a make-or-break feature when you're picking a platform to build your next website. And while it's not available in Webflow (yet!), it's not hard to integrate a third-party option.
Based on our research, we recommend these three options for adding search to your Webflow site:
As we evaluated these search tools, we compared them based on four characteristics:
But first, let's take a brief look at how these tools work.
Google, Swiftype, and Findberry all use a web crawler to index your website's content. What's a web crawler? It's a bot that scans (or "crawls") your website and extracts content for an external database (in this case, a search engine).
Though all three site search options work the same way, they offer different levels of control over how your site's content is indexed:
We'll answer these questions for each site search option below. Ok, let's dive into it!
Surprise! Google Site Search that lets you add search to your website. If you're okay with displaying search ads on your site, you can use it for free, but the ads can be quite obnoxious. To remove ads, you can pay an annual fee starting at $100 and scaling alongside your search traffic.
Google Site Search indexes your site the same way they index the rest of the web, which has its pros and cons.
On the plus side, the first indexing of your site takes just minutes, so you can test the search out quickly. Google's indexing technology also means that your content will be reliably indexed.
Unfortunately, because Google indexes the entire public web on an ongoing basis, your site won't get reindexed very frequently. In fact, you might have to wait a week or more to see your new content in search results.
One advantage of using Google Site Search is that you can index multiple domains (say, your marketing site, help center, and forum) in one search engine at no additional cost. As we'll see, indexing multiple domains is a paid feature for both Swiftype and Findberry.
Google offers multiple layout options, and a basic visual interface for editing the colors of your search results and search bar.
If you need more control, you can also add custom CSS to a specific page or across your site.
Google's default relevance algorithm does a good job of sorting search results, but if you want more control, your options are pretty limited.
You can use what Google calls "Promotions" to display a specific result at the top for a given search query. These seem to be designed for ads, and it's possible that visitors to your site might dismiss them as such, but they could work.
Fuseboard has done a nice job of integrating Google Site Search on their help center by adding custom code and displaying search results in a custom overlay.
Webflow forum member tubes shared his steps for setting up Google Site Search on our forum, so hat tip to him!
Discover the processes and tools behind high-performing websites.
In a pure feature-to-feature comparison, Swiftype offers the most control and customization, along with a slick dashboard and some handy customization options — and their prices reflect that.
You can start with a free trial, but after that, plans start at $299 a month. (Full disclosure: we use Swiftype for our help center, and I used to work there).
With Swiftype, you can index your whole domain, or just specific areas, using blacklist and whitelist rules.
You can also get super precise with their meta tag system, which we use on our CMS-driven help center to dynamically insert content from our help articles. This lets us control exactly what's indexed and what we display on the front end. (And gives content editors control via the Editor.)
Jumping over to Swiftype, you can see that they're pulling these custom fields directly into our search engine.
Lastly, Swiftype crawls your site for new content far more frequently than the others on this list, though frequency is partially a function of how much you're paying.
If you're a developer, you can do pretty much whatever you want with Swiftype's public API. If you're not a developer, you can still get pretty creative with custom CSS and their in-app search result configuration tools. Using the fields in your search engine, you can choose what information to display in autocomplete and search results.
You can also write custom CSS to style the search bar however you'd like, as we've done on our own help center.
Swiftype offers you a lot of control over your search results, and this is how they really make a name for themselves in this space. For starters, you can use their Result Rankings to drag and drop search results for a given query, delete results you want to hide, and add results that don't appear by default.
If you want to get even more precise, you can use the Weights feature to adjust the impact that different fields have on search results.
We use Swiftype on our help center, and styled everything how we wanted using their in app customization and some custom CSS for the search bar.
Webflow forum member domin8tor shared his steps for setting up Swiftype.
Findberry offers site search that feels a lot like Google Site Search, although you can use their free product without displaying ads. If your website features under 100 pages, then you can use Findberry for free. From there, pricing scales as your website grows.
Unlike Google Site Search, Findberry's indexing options are limited by number of pages and by number of domains. As with Swiftype, indexing multiple domains is only available on higher-tier plans.
Another way Findberry mirrors Google Site Search is that you have no control over how they index your website. The catch here, of course, is that while Google has robust indexing and search relevance technology that you can "trust" more, Findberry is a relatively small app and is unlikely to match Google in this domain.
Lastly, Findberry only crawls your site for new content once a week, which could be a problem if you publish frequently.
If you're comfortable writing CSS, you won't have a hard time customizing Findberry's search embed to fit your needs. They even let you customize the code right from their product. But unlike Google and Swiftype, Findberry doesn't let you style your search results visually.
Like Google and Swiftype, Findberry's search results display in a pop-up modal by default, though you can alternatively display results on the same page as the search bar.
On the Pro plan ($9.99/month) and above, you can unlock "Customizable Keyword Weights," which let you adjust the impact of various fields on search results, much like Swiftype's Weights feature. Beyond this, you have no control over the order of search results.
Our QA engineer Anna Sabatini used Findberry on a blog she worked on for a client (to the right of the first post).
Former Webflow community expert and now-QA engineer Anna Sabatini shared how to set up Findberry search on our forum.
Which search tool you use depends on your budget and how flexible you need your search to be. While Swiftype offers a ton of customizability, you'll have to have a serious business need to justify the price tag.
On the other hand, Findberry works well on smaller websites, but lacks the feature set and ease of use that Google and Swiftype offer.
Google seems to walk a middle line, introducing complexity and power where needed, while still offering a visual way for you to style and configure your search experience. And at $100 a year, the entry level price is reasonable for most small- to mid-size websites.
Did we leave anything out? Let us know if you've found a better option in the comments below. (But note that links trigger our spam filters.)
In your inbox, every other week. And unsubscribe in a click, if you want.


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Birmingham Photo Walks
Photo Walks are about slowing down and really looking at the details of the city while learning from being in a group. More a meander than an exercising walk, we usually cover a mile in 90 minutes mixing in a bit of local history, myths, legends and tall stories. While not a formal workshop, I'm always on hand to offer advice and help you get the most out of your camera.
All cameras and levels of experience are welcome. I've even had people come without a camera for the experience of looking at the Birmingham in new ways.
The classic two hour Digbeth walk weaving through the back streets, canals and hinterlands of this mysterious place. We take in (subject to the route) monolithic railway architecture, graffitied buildings, light industry, canals, artist studios, victorian urinals, repurposed factories, forgotten cathedrals, spectacular city views, neo-pagan stone circles and the mysterious terminating viaduct.
Suitable for: All levels of photography and all cameras.
Accessibility: Mostly pavements and canal towpaths. Pretty good accessibility.
Frequency: Monthly-ish all year.
Starting point: Custard Factory by the Green Man at 12pm.
Standard price: £10
Spaghetti Junction
Spaghetti Junction comprises two railway lines, two rivers, three canals and 13.5 miles of motorway. Underneath the monolithic flyovers is a unique landscape which the thousands of drivers who use it every day never see, from the calm of Salford Reservoir to the hidden forests under the concrete brutalism and noise of the flyover itself. The walk lasts 3 hours – bring a packed lunch and a flask.
Suitable for: All levels of photography and all cameras.
Accessibility: Off-road. Not very accessible.
Frequency: Quarterly, for each season.
Starting point: Powerleague 5-a-side car park. You can park there, get a 65/66/67 bus from Birmingham city centre or train to Aston station.
Standard price: £15
City at Night
This 3 hour Night Walk takes in the buildings, canals and roadways of central Birmingham with an emphasis on tripods and long exposures. Starting by New St Station we move up through Victoria Square, over the Queensway and on to the canals of Brindley Place before ending at the new Library in Centenary Square. If you're a complete novice Pete will be on hand to show you how to shoot in Manual and use your tripod effectively. If you're an expert you can benefit from safety in numbers.
Tripods can be hired for £5. This walk only runs in the Winter.
Suitable for: Beginner and Intermediate photographers with cameras that can do long exposures.
Accessibility: Mostly pavements and canal towpaths, some steps. Fairly good accessibility.
Frequency: Occasional on weekday evenings from Nov to Feb.
Starting Point: Birmingham Open Media, Dudley St.
Standard price: £15
Important Information
- Walks have limited places. You can try turning up on the day but I recommend booking in advance to be sure.
- Sturdy shoes are recommended for outside events as we may go off-road.
- Routes are subject to change.
- In the event of really bad weather outdoor events may be postponed in which case a refund will be offered or credit given for a rescheduled date.
- If you need to cancel, please give 48 hours notice and I will happily reschedule you or issue a credit note. If you do not attend and do not give 48 hours notice I am unable to give credit.
- Children under the age of 16 are welcome if accompanied by a paying adult.
- While walks are guided and there is safety in numbers I cannot take any responsibility for the safety and security of yourself or your equipment. Please be careful and act responsibly.


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04:22 Sat 5/26/2012
Off camping in Cromer and surrounding area next week, would have like to find some nice local beer to drink whilst there but looking on various sites seems to be like a lot of East Anglia (Greene King, Adnams) and woodfordes beers seem to be the best avaliable! if anyone knows any nice pubs or breweries in the area please let me know. i believe one pub might sometimes have guests from the Wolf brewery?


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Rebekah Brooks 'chatted about hacking at Prime Minister's party'
FORMER newspaper editor Rebekah Brooks chatted about phone hacking at a birthday party for Prime Minister David Cameron, a court heard yesterday.
The ex-News International boss spoke briefly about alleged hacking to one of the PM's closest friends, the jury was told.
At the time, her ex-lover Andy Coulson was director of communications at Downing Street.
Coulson had resigned as editor of the News of the World after the phone hacking scandal first broke in 2006.
But he was still the target of negative media stories when Brooks joined 60 guests at Chequers for Mr Cameron's 44th birthday party in October 2010.
The ex-News International boss spoke briefly about alleged hacking to one of the PM's closest friends
Dom Loehnis, a close friend of Mr Cameron, asked Brooks if Coulson could survive the press speculation and keep his job at Number 10, the court heard.
Mr Loehnis, who works for a headhunting firm, told the Old Bailey: "She said she was not sure he could survive." During a two-minute chat, Brooks and Mr Loehnis agreed it was common knowledge mobile phone voice mail security could be breached.
The PM's friend told the jury that Brooks, who also edited the News of the World and, later, the Sun, never mentioned the 2006 case or hinted she had any knowledge of phone hacking.
Jonathan Laidlaw, QC, defending, asked Mr Loehnis: "She said nothing at all to indicate or hint at her having been involved in commissioning phone hacking during her time as editor?" The witness replied: "No, she didn't."
Jurors heard further evidence about a lunch attended by Brooks and Eimear Cook, ex-wife of golfer Colin Montgomerie, at the London home of mutual friends Rafi and Joanne Manoukian.
Mrs Cook, 44, told on Monday that Brooks boasted about how easy it was to hack into mobile phone voice mails. Brooks denies making such remarks and she was backed up yesterday by Mrs Manoukian who told the court: "I don't remember phone hacking being talked about."
Brooks, 45, of Churchill, Oxon, denies conspiracy to hack phones between 2000 and 2006.
Coulson, 45, of Preston, Kent, and six others have also pleaded not guilty to related charges.
The trial continues.


text: Vu Cong Dien has only been on the professional scene for a few years yet his works are already in high demand in Europe, Australia, the US and Japan. Dien's style of painting is characterized by vast expanses of fields dominated by large balloon shaped trees. He uses mono and dichromatic color schemes to achieve a sense of tranquility and peace.


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When the Dead Start Singing Trailer (1998)
29 July 1998 Adventure, Drama, Comedy 99 mins
At the beginning of 1990s, two Croatian emigrants, economically minded Cinco and politically minded Marinko, arrive in Croatia from Germany, homesick for their families and hometowns. In order to get a German pension, Cinco pretends to be dead and travels in a coffin. Soon, Marinko joins him because he is running away from an old agent of the Yugoslav State Security Service. On their trip in a motor hearse, Cinco and Marinko face many adventures, which culminate when they are stopped at Serbian barricades close to their destination.
Watch the official When the Dead Start Singing 1998 trailer in HD below or find more When the Dead Start Singing videos on Vidimovie.


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While Williams may be a very long way from home, rest assured that the college is completely committed to your student's health and well being.
We in Health Services fulfill that commitment by providing a full range of medical and counseling services, health education programs, and 24/7 emergency response. Learn more about us in this brief overview of services.
All registered Williams students may use the Health Center, and there are no charges for clinic visits or counseling visits at the Health Center. Most laboratory tests and diagnostic studies, prescription drugs and consultation or treatment outside the Health Center are the student's financial responsibility as are certain vaccines required for students traveling internationally. Learn more about the health insurance requirements under "Williams Healthcare Premium" below.
We provide these services to your student (just as your professional caregivers provide them to you) with the promise of full confidentiality. Indeed, except in cases of clear emergency, we're legally prohibited from sharing any information about our confidential conversations with your student unless he or she gives us permission to do so.
Within these guidelines, we're delighted to partner with you in ensuring your student a healthy Williams experience. You can help us best by…
- learning about the full scope of our services. Our website is a comprehensive information resource, and we're happy to answer any general questions you might have.
- encouraging the student to call or stop by the Health Center with any question or concern. Once students learn how easy and comfortable is is to access our services, they're empowered to take charge of their own health and well being as young adults
If your student is new to Williams, focusing on the following will help for a smooth transition.
Accept or Waive the Williams Healthcare Premium
Massachusetts law requires all college students to have health insurance. Williams offers health insurance with an annual premium. If you determine that your own insurance plan provides comparable coverage, you must waive participation in Williams' insurance plan before August 1 to avoid that charge. If you need Williams' health insurance coverage, please enroll before August 1. More information can be found here.
Health Requirements for New Students
All medical history and immunization information must be completed and received by the Williams Student Health Center by July 1st, in order for your student to obtain their dorm room key and participate in any EphVentures program during First Days orientation.Your student will need to see a doctor visit to complete and submit these required documents, so it pays to plan early!
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We enjoy working with our wonderful students and welcome our new students to Williams College !


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Return To Forever - Romantic Warrior (Music CD)
Release Date: 18 October 1999
Artist: Return To Forever
£5.79 includes FREE UK Postage (other delivery options available)
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UK - Shipping Included
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Europe Zone 1 - £1.29
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Europe Zone 3 - £1.69
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Vatican City
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1. Medieval Overture
2. Sorceress
3. Romantic Warrior
4. Majestic Dance
5. Magician
6. Duel Of The Jester And The Tyrant
Release Date: 18 October 1999
Artist: Return To Forever
For more information and our Delivery Policy see here.
For more information and our Returns Policy see here.
Catalogue No: CK65524


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Injury slows down Flemington's senior clerk of the course
For the past 44 years, the senior clerk of the course at Flemington - John Patterson - has escorted the winner of the Melbourne Cup back to the mounting yard. But this year the 75-year-old is facing an uphill battle to do it all again.
Source: ABC News | Duration: 1min 42sec
Topics: horse-racing, flemington-3031


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BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — Twelve-year-old Megan Rao doesn't remember her dad, a South Carolina trooper who was killed 10 years ago as he helped a stranded motorist. But she is grateful that his fellow officers and the rest of the state remember his sacrifice.
Megan came to the Department of Public Safety headquarters Friday for the dedication of a memorial to the 50 state troopers who have died in the line of duty since the Highway Patrol was organized in 1930. Her dad, Michael Rao, is the ninth name in the third column.
Megan's grandmother, Lois Rao, was with her.
"He was a real hero," she said of her son. "This was bittersweet, absolutely bittersweet. It's hard for a mother, you know? But I'm so proud and so glad all of these men are being remembered."
Being a South Carolina trooper is a dangerous job. State troopers account for nearly one in five of the
officers killed in the line of duty since the Highway Patrol was organized in 1930, yet troopers represent just one out of every 15 law officers in South Carolina.
"The names of the fallen troopers etched into the monument take up less than half of the marker's surface. The first to die on duty, Ralph McCracken, was killed in 1931 when his motorcycle hit a mail carrier in Fairfield County. The last name – for now – is Kevin Cusack, killed when his cruiser crashed while on patrol in Lancaster County in 2010.
In between are men like David Bailey, killed in a Greenville County crash while chasing a suspect in 2000; Richard Woods, shot to death by a burglary suspect he pulled over for speeding in Beaufort County in 1969; and Arnold Carter, who died when he was struck by a car racing other vehicles in Williamsburg County in 1956.
"Some of them gave their lives during a traffic stop. Some of them lost their lives by a cold-blooded murderer. All of them deserve this fitting tribute," Department of Public Safety Director Leroy Smith said.
The memorial owes its existence to the work of trooper Bob Beres, who decided in 2010 there needed to be some reminder of his colleagues who gave their lives. Beres organized a 24-hour run that raised more than a third of the money needed to pay for the memorial. The rest came through donations, many of them spurred by Beres' work.
Some smiles accompanied Friday's somber ceremony, as families of the fallen troopers traced their relatives' names or posed for pictures.
Friday was a good day for Lois Rao. She fights for victims' rights and to make sure law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty are remembered throughout the state. The man driving the pickup truck that killed her son on Interstate 95 was only given five years of probation because he was 77 at the time of the wreck and had medical problems.
"This is just so special," Rao said. "I know these 50 men aren't forgotten, but it is so nice to see this memorial and know they will always be remembered."


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To celebrate Rioja Tapas Fantasticas, Wines from Rioja has teamed up with Square Meal to offer complimentary tapas or a light bite with the purchase of a glass of Rioja at participating restaurants.
Enjoy your Rioja with rich Ibérico ham, punchy manchego cheese, crisp croquetas or one of the many bite-size dishes on offer at leading restaurants across the capital.
Wines from Rioja will be bringing this activity to London as part of a summer of celebration of the Spanish tapas culture, culminating in the annual Rioja Tapas Fantasticas festival. This two day celebration of Rioja wine, Spanish food and lifestyle will take place on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th June at Potters Fields Park on London's South Bank.
Diners can pick up a Taste Tapas Fantasticas redemption card and one stamp per glass of Rioja ordered at our associated venues. Diners who collect six stamps from different outlets can claim a complimentary glass and four sampling tokens at Rioja Tapas Fantasticas and for 12 stamps will receive a complimentary glass and four sampling tokens at the festival plus a bottle of Rioja wine sent to their home.
Restaurants participating in Taste Tapas Fantasticas include:
Terms and conditions: Taste Tapas Fantasticas will be running in selected London restaurants from 19 May until 16 June.To obtain a stamp please present your Taste Tapas Fantasticas loyalty card at the time of ordering. Strictly one stamp per diner per visit. Diners can claim a complimentary glass and four sampling tokens at Rioja Tapas Fantasticas when they have filled their loyalty card with 6 stamps. Diners who fill 12 stamps will receive a complimentary glass and four sampling tokens at Rioja Tapas Fantasticas and a bottle of Rioja wine (to be sent to their home address). Loyalty rewards will only be issued with proof of purchase to back up the stamped card – please ensure all corresponding receipts are presented to claim your reward. Loyalty rewards are subject to availability and issued at the discretion of Wines from Rioja. Loyalty rewards can only be collected from the Rioja Tapas Fantasticas info hub within the festival on 14 and 15 June. Only one loyalty reward will be issued per person. Employees of Wines from Rioja, Square Meal, restaurants participating in Taste Tapas Fantasticas, and any affiliates are not eligible for loyalty rewards. Only Rioja by the glass is valid in the promotion. No cash alternatives.


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On a Saturday, July 2, 2005, approximately 1.30AM, a local homeless man named Carlos Holguin died. There's been much speculation how he died. Initial reports stated that he was badly injured as he was 'burned in an accident while grilling with propane.' Many of the local homeless community who knew and love Carlos thought otherwise believing there was a 'hate crime' involved. In fact, they are certain of it. The case is now closed with his death attributed to an accident. A week after Carlos' death, we held a memorial service at our church for him. We were surprised how many people from the homeless community had gathered to pray and honor his life.
One conversation I had was with a man who was not homeless and he did not know Carlos at all. When I asked him, "Why are you here?", he replied with this answer (paraphrase):
"Reverend, I'm here because I needed to be here. You see, I was once homeless many years ago and I remember how it used to be. Being alone. And no, I don't know this man, Carlos, but I read the article about his death and felt I needed to be here to somehow let him know that his life mattered."
Honestly, I didn't know Carlos very well or "Los" as many in the homeless community called this dude. We chatted a few times but one thing I knew about "Los" was that he was nearly always happy. He was always smiling and encouraging people. He called me "Rev" and shouted it at the top of his longs whenever he saw me. He was always nearly drunk as well and could tell he was drinking away some of his pain.
There are times I'll sit in my church office and wonder if what we're doing as a church means anything at all. We are so far from being the church we ought to be but nevertheless, I find strength in knowing that in some way or another, we are communicating and demonstrating to ourselves and others that PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD and IF PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD, THEY OUGHT TO MATTER TO THE CHURCH. PEOPLE OUGHT TO MATTER TO QUEST…
As you soak in the words of GOSPEL this week that YOUR lives matter to Christ, may you be encouraged and convicted to speak those words of TRUTH to others in your lives – both friends and strangers.
Filed under: church


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The SEI helps advance software engineering principles and practices and serves as a national resource in software engineering, computer security, and process improvement. The SEI works closely with defense and government organizations, industry, and academia to continually improve software-intensive systems. Its core purpose is to help organizations improve their software engineering capabilities and develop or acquire the right software, defect free, within budget and on time, every time.
Learn more
The local clustering coefficient is examined for its topological implications and a new formula to generate the local clustering coefficient is given. The formula is based on the homology of the local induced subgraph.
Ask a question about this White Paper


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Aviemore Webcams for up to date visual conditions
There are lots of Aviemore webcams dotted around the area looking at the weather, the snow, big birds, furry mamals and general views. Here's a small selection of them to give you an idea of what it's like in the Aviemore area right now!
Mountain Spirit Shop on Grampian Road, Aviemore webcam
The camera looks out over the south face of Craigellachie (493m/1617ft).
Cairngorm Mountain webcams
Ptarmigan Top Station cam – remember, this one's situated over 1000m above sea level so the view isn't always guaranteed!!
Day Lodge cam – situated at the back of the Day Lodge, looking up past the Mountain Garden to Coire Cas and the Headwall beyond.
Winter Highland webcam White Lady Ski Hut
Looking SSW from the Scottish Ski Club hut at the foot of the White Lady on Cairn Gorm.
Winter Highland webcam Loch Morlich Watersports Boathouse
Looking out across Loch Morlich and up to Cairngorm Mountain from the Loch Morlich Watersports Boathouse.


text: In September, we reported on the Ninth Circuit's order deferring the implementation of extensive changes to the NCAA's policy governing the compensation of student athletes. On September 30, Ninth Circuit ruled that student-athletes can be provided scholarships that cover the full cost of attending college, and struck down a lower court decision that would have permitted student-athletes to be paid for the use of their names, images and likenesses. One day later, the Division I Council and the Student-Athlete Experience Committee decided to take a closer look at the time demands on student-athletes. The Division I board of directors asked both the Division I Council and the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to provide guidance on how to more accurately measure and limit the time commitments of college athletes, acknowledging that the greatest concern is that athletic commitments can interfere with student-athletes' ability to pursue certain majors, internships and other opportunities.


text:
Smoke Over Malibu is the new soft-boiled mystery by Tim Walker. It's a slapstick noir novel set in LA – think Raymond Chandler meets Nick Hornby or The Big Lebowski meets Lovejoy.
The Hon. Lucius Kluge – honourable, lucky, clever – might be the only guy in Los Angeles who's still living in the past. Lucky pines for the old days of the New Hollywood, before Star Wars and superheroes blew up the movies for good. He spends his days working for an antiques business, his nights boozing and brooding on his former life as an almost-successful screenwriter.
But when his ex-best friend goes AWOL and his elderly boss is assaulted during the theft of a vintage cookie jar, Lucky and his partner Raul are spurred reluctantly into something like action.
Read on for an extract from Smoke Over Malibu!
Smoke Over Malibu
Tim Walker
Part One
Sir Lucky
The dead guy's place was in the Canyons, at the end of one of those bronchial cul‑de‑sacs above Franklin that I can still never find without the GPS. The homes petered out into parched scrub and eucalyptus at the top of the street, where the bungalow I was hunting squatted alone on a knoll like a kid left out of a game. As I parked the truck in the turnaround, the sound startled a gang of mule deer who'd been grazing on the slope across from the house. They hurried away through the undergrowth, into the hills beneath the Hollywood sign. I killed the engine and stared after them awhile, still only half-awake. It was eight-fifteen a.m.
I could tell you about the weather, but this is Los Angeles – you already know about the weather. So I'll tell you about the bungalow: it was a 1940s Craftsman in avocado, with white trim, leaded windows and a long porch at the top of a steep flight of wooden steps. Cleo Habibi idled in the porch-swing at the summit, flaunting her West Coast dentistry as I clambered to meet her.
'Hey, Lucky.'
Cleo had on her sale-day ensemble: blue jeans to signify the weekend; a grey blazer that says she's all business. She was hugging her tablet computer. As I reached the top step, she raised a long, black Audrey Hepburn eyebrow and waited for me to catch my breath. I'd achieved consciousness on the couch an hour beforehand, with just enough time to choose between a shower, a shave or a pot of coffee. I chose the coffee.
'Man, you look rough,' she said. 'Need a lie-down?'
'Very funny. Who's the stiff[~]?'
'Name's Marty Kann. Seventy-four. Production designer, retired. Massive stroke. Survived his darling wife Pam by a mere eighteen months.'
'That's sweet.'
'Ain't it.'
'One. Marty Jr. Lives in Reno.'
'Well, somebody has to.'
She handed me the tablet, and I scanned the items she 'd marked for my attention: a Spanish Revival-style tile table; two Bill Curry Stemlite lamps; some vintage movie merch. A respectable inventory.
'We just dug out a couple Native American baskets,' she said. 'Could be authentic; could be from one of those gift shops down at the pueblo. But you should take a look. Mrs Kann was a set decorator. These two had taste.'
'Sure. Thanks, Cleo.'
Cleo Habibi will as happily unload the home of a dead parking valet as a dead movie star. But whether it's some Holmby Hills pile or a casita in Highland Park, her commission is a flat 30 per cent, and she is a sucker for nothing – except, on occasion, an English accent. Hence our arrangement: I get a tip-off and first refusal on any promising Californian objets; she gets a good price and half an hour of my scintillating conversation. She's single with forty in the headlights, just like yours truly. We all get our kicks where we can.
'You want to wait for your partner?'
'Nah, he'll be a while. You know Raúl.'
'Okay,' she said. 'Then let's get started.'
Estate sales are installation art, each bereft home a retrospective, curated by Cleo's assistant Yolanda and her menopausal minions. They clean, they catalogue, they value, they display. Every Habibi Estates home has the same odour, a blend of industrial-cleaning products disguising the olfactory traces of the departed: their cologne, their last cooked meal, their valedictory bowel movement.
The house was bigger inside than out. The handsome, high-ceilinged
sitting room had a view through to the galley kitchen and a Danish drop-leaf table set for six. A side corridor led to the bathroom, two bedrooms and a study. Beyond the dining room, sliding glass doors gave out onto a patio and a once-prim back garden, now browning with neglect.
Cleo was right – these two had taste. The decor may have been dated, but it was composed with an artist's eye. Each room had its own distinct, detailed vibe like the different rides at Disneyland: the sitting room was an Alpine ski lodge, the kitchen a kitschy roadside diner. The bathroom had hinoki panelling and a bamboo feature, as if transplanted whole from a Japanese tea house.
'Nice place,' I said.
Cleo folded her arms. 'We did not find it this way.'
'Not at all. Those eighteen months Marty was alone? He did a good job burying all this in garbage. Looked like a flophouse. Smelled like a bar.'
'Huh. So you tampered with the evidence.'
'My guess? Guy drank himself to death.'
'Loneliness,' I replied. 'It's a killer.'
She frowned and looked at the floor, and I figured I'd said the wrong thing. I changed the subject: 'Let's start in the kitchen.'
Hollywood can be barren ground for an antique picker; almost no one stays in the neighbourhood long enough to gather a trove of lasting value. But the Kanns had found their homestead and settled. I could tell as much by the microwave oven built into the turquoise kitchen surround; it was the size of a minivan, manufactured no later than the mid-80s. Old people
rarely redecorate, so by the time they finally expire, their properties are amber-clad mosquitoes, deep-storing the DNA of at least two decades previously. I browsed the spines of Pam Kann's cookbooks: Julia Child, Wok Cooking Made Easy, The Essential Salad Compendium.
The Kanns liked to travel. In one of the kitchen cabinets was a selection of souvenir coffee mugs. The Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas. The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the open cupboard below, I found the first item worth my time.
'Hey Cleo, you know what this is?'
I took a stout ceramic figure from the cupboard and set him on the Formica countertop between two stacks of matching crockery. He was ten inches tall and almost as wide, wearing red tails, green waistcoat, riding boots and a top hat, with a bullwhip coiled at his waist.
'I have a feeling you're going to tell me.'
'You ever see Dumbo?'
'The flying elephant? When I was a kid, I guess.'
'This is the Ringmaster, from the circus. The bad guy. Remember?'
Cleo shrugged: 'Nope.'
I lifted the Ringmaster's head and shoulders free of his body.
'He's a cookie jar, see?'
'He's ugly as shit.'
I smirked and studied the jar. The glaze was mostly in fine condition, though I could see a fingernail chip on the lid's inside rim and a hairline crack on the base. He was ugly, but I didn't much care: I still get that first-kiss thrill anytime I find a piece with a history, lurking in a cupboard or a loft. I wondered whether the Kanns were accidental collectors, or connoisseurs.
'See that?' I pointed to the maker's mark. 'Kirby Balboa pottery, Newport Beach. Licensed by Disney to make official ceramic merchandise. Dumbo was, what . . . nineteen-forty? 'Forty-one?'
'Beats me.'
'Well, he doesn't look too bad for seventy-something. I'll give you two-fifty.'
'Two hundred and fifty bucks? For that thing?'
'He's worth more. Cookie jars are a hot market.'
'Wow. Okay, sold.'
'And I could've had him for twenty. Aren't you glad I'm so honest?'
'Honest as a bus-bench lawyer,' said Cleo, who then turned and yelled over her shoulder: 'Yolanda. YOLANDA!'
Her assistant shuffled into the kitchen wearing a Habibi Estates-branded polo and Marigolds, holding what looked like the dust filter from a vacuum cleaner.
'Would you please bubble-wrap this monstrosity for Lucky?'
Yolanda nodded quickly.
'Thaaaank you.'
Cleo carried a sheet of red spot stickers, and she slapped one on every piece I picked. In the sitting room was the Spanish Revival-style side table, with six decorative tiles inlaid in walnut, depicting a Conestoga wagon crossing the Sierra, its Stetsoned guide clip-clopping ahead. Minimal wear and tear. Red spot. A rare and elegant Kem Weber Airline chair faced the hearth, reupholstered but otherwise in excellent nick: a mid-century piece worthy of a museum exhibit.
'You said he was a production designer?'
'That's right. And she was a set decorator.'
'Huh. Makes sense.'
Someone had arrayed a selection of empty picture frames on the mantelpiece. A plastic Christmas spruce stood tilting towards the hearth, adorned with baubles as if it were mid-December. The tree was $15, the decorations $40 for the set.
At the back of the wardrobe in the master bedroom, behind a thicket of wooden shoe trees, I found a gym bag containing tinned food, chlorine tabs, a first-aid kit, a torch and extra batteries: the Kanns were earthquake-ready, just in case The Big One struck. That noodle soup won't save you now, I thought to myself. I disregarded the clothes and demanded red spots for the Stemlite reading lamps and the Navajo Dazzler rug at the foot of the queen-size bed.
'These are the baskets I was talking about,' Cleo said. 'What do you think?'
Yolanda and her subordinates had filled two coiled juncus baskets with old sunglasses and scents and arranged them side by side on top of the dresser.
'They look like tat,' I said. 'But I'll take them, see what the boss thinks.'
Cleo emptied the baskets onto the bedspread so I could take a closer look at the weave. I couldn't say for sure – I just work here – but I had a feeling they were Mission Indian-made, maybe even nineteenth century. That meant a three-figure price tag. I decided I'd been generous to warn Cleo of the cookie jar's worth.
'I'll give you fifty for the pair,' I said.
'Fifty dollars? You've got to be kidding.'
'Fine,' I replied, and I knelt to roll up the rug. This is how we flirt.
'Come on, Cleo. I'm giving you good money for the Weber chair.'
'Okay. Seventy.'
'You're haggling for the sake of ten dollars?'
'Screw you. A hundred.'
'Alright, alright. Seventy.'
The second bedroom still bore the unmistakable traces of a teenage Marty Jr: racks of redundant CDs, ranks of plastic action figures and an old games console coated in the accumulated grease of a dozen kids' fingertips. Peeling bubble-gum stickers papered the chest of drawers. The walls were a map of questionable pop-cultural landmarks, and I tutted as my eye passed over posters for Deadbolt and Axeman, both tawdry comic-book blockbusters from the early aughts.
'All this superhero crap,' I said.
Cleo chuckled to herself: 'So British.'
Americans still think I sound English; to the English, I'm beginning to sound American. Plummy accent, apple-pie vocab.
Marty Kann's study was snug and neat, the latter of which was likely Yolanda's doing. Facing the desk was a nearly-new Herman Miller chair with added lumbar support, the essential accessory of the sedentary, 21st-century creative. The shelves bore art books, pulp novels, ancient VHS tapes and a smattering of studio ephemera. On the walls, among the empty hooks where favoured pictures had already been removed, were framed set photos from films on which I supposed he'd earned production credits: some sci‑fi, some fantasy, a couple of corny thrillers and an old Kurt Russell movie I'd never seen.
I was a writer in another life, so I have a thing for desks, and Marty did not disappoint. He'd spent at least the last few years of his career behind a single-pedestal, brushed-steel tanker desk, a weighty, purposeful worktop for a man who means it. A Boston sharpener was clamped to one edge, handy for whittling Blackwings. He'd fitted locking castors to the legs, and I could see the ruts in the shagpile where he'd moved it to the far wall to escape the diverting view from his window – a patch of lawn, a lemon tree. I examined the manufacturer's brand beneath the keyhole on the pencil drawer: McDowell & Craig, Norwalk, CA.
'We couldn't find the key,' said Cleo. 'But the drawer's unlocked.'
'Not a problem,' I said, brushing my palm across the metal desktop. 'We can get the lock changed. With a spit and polish, this'll fetch eight hundred. Will you take four-fifty?'
We shook on it, and Cleo tapped the details into her tablet. Beside the desk were two packing boxes filled with Marty's pencils and unused sketchbooks; two more with old, rolled drawings. Most of his work had gone to his son or to a studio archive, said Cleo. I offered her fifty clams for what remained, assuming there 'd be something in there to frame up and flog to a film buff. A final box held reams of blank stationery, some of it personalised. I admire a guy who still composes his correspondence in longhand. But really, who was going to buy a dead man's letterhead?
I've now and then found major pottery nestling in the grasses of old Hancock Park mansions, but the Kanns' yard was unremarkable. The planting beds were stripped, the water feature stagnant. I gave the wicker furniture a once-over. Cleo shaded her eyes and watched scrub jays flitting through the bougainvillea.
The back entrance to the garage was down a set of cement steps to the side of the house. The space had been converted into an artist's studio. Inside, one of Cleo's employees was arranging easels and oil paints. Canvases leaned in a stack against the wall, the top one smeared with depressive, expressionist stripes of grey, green and taupe.
'Who was the painter?'
Cleo shrugged again. 'I guess Marty,' she replied.
'Not a fan?'
'I don't really go for that abstract stuff.'
'Tell you what,' I said, inspecting another canvas and finding more of the same, 'I think you were right about the drinking.'
I turned to find Cleo holding an old, red firefighter's helmet, partially blackened by fire damage, with the words 'Engine 13' on the front.
'Recognise this?' she said. 'It's the guy's helmet from Axeman. Guess Marty or Pam must've worked on that movie. Did you see it?'
I scoffed: 'What do you think?'
'I take it you're not interested,' she replied, and put the helmet back on its shelf. 'Your loss. Some geek is gonna love it.'
On another shelf I noticed two leather baseball gloves – one child-sized,
one adult – and was momentarily bummed out by the thought that Marty and Marty Jr would never play catch again. A dusty diner neon hung high on the wall, refugee from the scenery of some rock-and-roll period piece: 'Burgers Fries Shakes'. It looked fixable. Red spot. A pair of small pet crates had been stacked next to packing boxes bearing the Habibi Estates logo, which were stuffed with Life magazines, copies of Reader's Digest and Marty Jr's old comic books.
'They had cats?'
Another shrug. To take too great an interest in the emotional lives of an estate 's late owners – their work, their relationships, their pets – would be to confront the melancholy realities of her business. I could hardly blame Cleo for keeping her distance. She flicked a switch, and the rusty garage door heaved itself open with a scream.
A courier's note poked from the Kanns' mailbox, saying Sorry We Missed You. It had started to yellow and curl in the heat. Two senior señoras were already in line at the foot of the porch steps, waiting for the sale to commence at ten a.m. Cleo's most committed regulars, they glared at me as I emerged from the garage, terminally resentful of the VIP privileges I was afforded by Habibi Estates. I waved to them, teasing: 'Hello, ladies.'
Across the street, Raúl Gupta was lounging against the truck, eating a breakfast burrito. Specks of scrambled egg garnished his moustache. He was resting both elbows on the bonnet behind him, which merely accentuated the proud thrust of his pot belly. We both have our stomachs, Raúl and I, but mine is the understated paunch of a slender six-footer, concealed for the most part by dark sweaters or fitted shirts. Raúl's, by contrast, busies itself beneath his too-small logo Ts like a raccoon rummaging through a handbag. Mine is a symptom of age and laziness, his is a fundamental feature. He made a little bow as I approached.
'My liege,' he said, doffing his Ray-Bans.
A lot of people in LA rise early for conference calls to New York and London, but Raúl seems to live on Hawaii time. Ever since his Camry had a falling-out with a fire hydrant, he's also missing a car – and the cul‑de‑sac was an uphill walk from the closest bus stop. Add to that the leash around his wrist, which was attached to his obstinate French bulldog, and you have a tasting menu of the excuses I was about to hear for his being almost a full hour late.
'I bought you breakfast,' he said, and produced a second foil-wrapped
burrito from his back pocket, distorted by the curve of his buttock.
'Thanks,' I replied. 'I'll eat after.'
The dog sat blinking on the bench seat of the truck as we shouldered the tools of our trade: moving blankets, shrink-wrap, a stair-climbing dolly. We worked through the house methodically, Cleo trailing behind, crossing each item off her inventory. The line of impatient shoppers snaked along the block by the time we clanged down the steps with the tanker desk strapped to the dolly, both of us clinging on like cattle wranglers.
To look at us you'd think Raúl was the one out of shape, but after we 'd hefted the desk into the truck, it's me who was wheezing, sweaty as a Coke from the freezer cabinet. I let Raúl secure our haul, while I wrote out a cheque to Habibi Estates and Cleo addressed the queue from the porch balustrade: 'Ladies, no large handbags near the jewellery! Gentlemen, no fighting over the Frank Sinatra records . . .'
Raúl hopped from the tailgate to the tarmac. 'Gimme a minute,' he said, and he jogged back towards the garage. I pondered the people in line. The two old maids vied for pole position: eternal rivals bonded by a mutual respect, the McEnroe and Borg of weekend antiquing. Behind them, a heavyset Latino gentleman with untidy facial hair; a pair of old hippies, or else ageing studio execs in mufti; a woman dragging a toddler in a tutu, perchance lost en route to a child beauty pageant; a speckling of hipsters, one straight-facedly sporting a fedora.
Once they were inside, the competition could be fierce. Cleo's customers were not above switching price tags. Some would secrete costlier items around the house and return to buy them for half-price after the midday markdown.
I watched as a station wagon pulled up and spewed out three generations of suburban soccer mom. They joined the line behind a guy with a mobility walker, whom I fancied wouldn't even make it as far as the front door. Many of Cleo's most loyal customers were only a few bridge hands from the grave, but as their health faded, the urge to hoard burned ever brighter. Good news for Cleo: when they shuffled off a year or two hence, she could sell the same old rubbish all over again.
As the shoppers finally climbed the steps to the bungalow, Raúl returned from the garage with his arms full. Under his left was one of the pet crates; under his right, one of the packing boxes filled with magazines.
'Is he still not house-trained?' I said.
'C'mon, Lucky,' said Raúl. 'Give the kid a break.'
Rather than teach his pet to defecate outdoors, Raúl had papered his floors with newsprint, and then repeatedly failed to admonish the animal when it crapped all over the condo. Now the wretched creature would only perform a bowel movement if it was hunkered down on a copy of California Sunday. Hence the magazines. The little dog stared inscrutably at us both.
'Does he actually do anything except eat, sleep and shit?'
'He has mucho skills,' said Raúl. 'He is a crime deterrent. He is a fantastic listener. And he sucks in women like a goddam shoestore.'
'Really? Because to me, he reads kind of gay.'
Raúl ignored that and held out the crate for the dog to nose. 'Look what I got, buddy. Now you can travel anywhere. The world is your oyster!'
'Isn't that like sleeping in a dead person's bed? What if it's haunted by a cat?'
Cleo strolled to us across the turnaround. I held out the cheque, which she folded into her blazer pocket.
'Pleasure as always,' she said. 'So I'll see you soon?'
'As long as people keep dying,' I replied.
She noticed the dog, still mute and inert in the driving seat.
'AAAwww! Is that a French bulldog? Is he yours, Raúl? What's his name?'
'Burgers,' said Raúl.
Cleo paused and pursed her lips.
'Burgers? Why'd you call him Burgers?'
'Because imagine me standing in the middle of a park with my empty dog leash, yelling "Burgers! Burgers!" . . .'
She considered the image in silence for a second, and then tipped her head back and laughed, grabbing Raúl's arm to keep her balance. Raúl nodded triumphantly at her amusement. 'And that,' he said, 'is why I called him Burgers.'
Cleo recovered and sighed and dried her dark eyes delicately so as not to smudge her mascara. She bent over to ruffle the dog's ears.
'Aaawww, Burgers,' she said. 'You are so cute!'
Raúl just gave me a long look, steady and smug, as if to say: See?
The truck is a customised Dodge cube, circa 1985, with bouncy suspension, duff a/c and half a million miles on the clock. It has the words 'Bart's Olde California' and a phone number stencilled along the side. Bart has added some other personal touches over the years, like the ladder rack and the running board. The faulty mechanical tail-lift is long gone, and in its place Bart has jerry-rigged a retractable stepladder to save his AARP knees from hopping on and off the tailgate.
He ought to have traded the vehicle in years ago but, being an antique dealer, he 's disinclined to replace anything that still functions.
The cab smells like the '80s: cigs, stale Nescafé, synthetic fibres. Hell, it even sounds like the '80s. The radio's bust and can only find KCRW for seconds at a time, but there 's a cassette player and a handful of Bart's old tapes in the glove compartment with the paperwork and the peppermint Altoids. We 've a choice of Graceland, After the Gold Rush, Running on Empty or – Raúl's favourite – the original Broadway cast recording of Les Misérables. The lyrics to 'I Dreamed a Dream' are baked into my subconscious, like the unwanted raisins in an oatmeal cookie.
I fought hard with the stick and the wheel to squeeze out of the turnaround, now that the truck was heavy with furniture and the shoppers' parked cars had congested the kerbs. Cleo stood in the door of the garage, smiling wryly at my efforts. Looming at her shoulder, as uncomfortably close as a tailgating lorry, was the heavyset guy with the scruffy facial hair. He was holding the Axeman helmet, and he watched with narrowed eyes as we rolled away.
'Hey,' said Raúl. 'Was that Paul Giamatti?'
'Paul Giamatti the actor? Where?'
'In the garage. That fat guy. Looked like Paul Giamatti.'
'What? That guy looked nothing like Paul Giamatti.'
'He was like a Latino Paul Giamatti.'
'Well, then he wasn't Paul Giamatti.'
'But he looked like Paul Giamatti, is what I'm saying.'
'Sure. If Paul Giamatti were ten years older, a foot taller, twenty pounds heavier and had another guy's face.'
'Hey, Giamatti is extremely versatile.'
I had only consumed half of my warped breakfast burrito; the remainder sat wrapped in one of the cup holders. I could sense Raúl sizing it up. Burgers perched on his lap, peering over the dashboard.
'You can eat that if you want,' I said.
'Yeah, I'm done.'
'You hear that, Burgers?'
Raúl had torn some pages from one of Marty Kann's old subscriptions and laid them in the base of the pet crate, which sat between us on the bench seat. Now he slid the burrito from its foil wrapping and put it inside, tugging a morsel of chorizo from the tortilla and offering it to the dog. Burgers sniffed it, licked it, and then allowed himself to be led into the crate by the nose. Raúl closed the cage door behind him. I could hear Burgers masticating over the rattle of the engine.
'So I put your name on the guest list for Blowing Up at the Lo‑Ball,' said Raúl.
'Huh,' I replied, trying to sound grateful but non-committal.
'Plus one,' he said. 'Bring a lady.'
'Huh,' I said again, eyes on the road. 'So what is it, like an open-mic
'An open-mic night? Who do you think I am? It's Blowing Up! It's one of the city's top comedy nights. Read LA Weekly once in a while, asshole.'
In the two years we'd worked together, I'd avoided ever seeing Raúl's stand‑up act – mostly out of fear: fear he 'd be bad; fear he'd be good. The fear is laced with envy, that he possesses the cojones to stand alone before a crowd and invite their judgement. The Lo‑Ball was high stakes – his biggest gig to date – and he was uncharacteristically anxious. I'd yet to decide whether I could bear to attend.
'Are they paying you?'
'Headliner gets a share of the door. I get free drinks. But if I do good, Verne says he 'll make me a regular.'
We paused at a Stop sign on Beachwood. I pulled my e‑cigarette from my jeans pocket and puffed on it. E‑cigarettes are to cigarettes what The Godfather Part III is to The Godfather Part II, but you can only hock so much phlegm before you start to get spooked by the prospect of lung cancer.
'That shit'll kill you,' said Raúl.
'No, it won't. That's the whole point.'
'Is it FDA-approved? I don't think so.'
'Jesus, Raúl. It's lighter than a Marlboro Light.'
'Whatever you say, Sir Lucky. I just think: if you're gonna quit, then quit.'
This 'Sir Lucky' nonsense? I am the second son of a minor English aristocrat and his American trophy wife. Pater's proper title is Alistair Kluge, Viscount Wonersh, which makes me the Hon. Lucius Kluge: Honourable, Lucky, Clever. Are any of those adjectives accurate? Everything's relative.
Raúl Gupta is how this fish-out‑of‑water comedy becomes a buddy flick. Part Chicano, part Gujarati, all Angeleno: Eastern flavours swaddled in SoCal culture, like a Korean taco. At law school he played percussion for a post-post-punk band, which gave him an appetite for the limelight that, at twenty-nine, remains unsatisfied.
'So tell me a joke,' I said. 'What should I expect from your act?'
'I cover a lot of topics,' Raúl replied. 'Dating, dog ownership, coffee culture, Asian-American enterprise, my parents. But I can't just do you a bit in the frickin' truck. Besides, the element of surprise is a crucial tool in a comic's arsenal.'
I inhaled another hit of liquid nicotine. 'Did you compose that mantra yourself, or do they teach it in Comedy 101?'
He turned to look at me, less than impressed. 'Do you act like a douchebag on purpose?' he said. 'Or does it come naturally?'
I grinned: I do it on purpose. I swung the truck onto Franklin, squinting as the mid-morning sun cut through the cab like a reprimand.


text:
2005 Big Buck Club Winners
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