text:
In the 1977 movie "Star Wars," the droid C3P0 is lowered into a vat of oil for maintenance. In fact, one of the few non-complaint opinions he expresses in all of the movies was how good that oil bath was going to feel. Well, he may have been on to something.
Intel has been looking into new ways to keep computers cool, and one of them seems to have paid off after a year-long test. The company recruited Green Revolution Cooling, based in Austin, Texas, to make a rack that would submerge servers in mineral oil. Since the oil doesn't conduct electricity, it makes for a good coolant.
But several modifications need to be done before you can go around dunking an off-the-shelf rack-mounted computer. The fans need to be removed, hard drives need to be either solid state or completely encased, and the processor's heat sink should be designed for liquid, rather than air, cooling.
Also, you can't just add a memory module or replace a component on a whim. The server needs to be pulled out of the tank and the oil drained first. And you have to be super-clean when working with the oil, because enough foreign particles could start to conduct electricity, shorting out everything. After a while, these precautions should become second-nature, though.
And the result — cutting power consumption for servers by 10 percent to 15 percent and for cooling equipment by about 90 percent — could be worth the effort.
About the Author
Greg Crowe is a former GCN staff writer who covered mobile technology.
E-Mail this page
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I used to work on a radaar component back in my younger days that used a silicon oil chamber to totally immerse the magnetron to keep it cool as it generated something like 80KW of RF power. It was pretty effective in keeping that tube cooled and operating at max efficiency....what was new is old, what was old is new again.....
I have a friend that buit a machine and used this method for cooling. While it works, it is messy, and maintenance is a nightmare! Looks good on paper, but when put into practice, not such a good idea....
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text:
Swede athletes recognized at sports program
Gothenburg High School coaches presented Swede athletes with awards and honored all letter winners for winter and spring sports Tuesday in the performing arts center.
Highlighting the event was the announcement of the 2013 special award winners, including 12-sport honorees.
Logan Sheets and Taylor Wolf received the Dutch Zorn Award. The honor is presented annually to the top three-sport senior boy and girl letter winner.
Sheets lettered in football, wrestling and track, while Wolf earned letters in softball, basketball and track.
Preston Franzen earned the Jack Logan award for football excellence. The award is given to an outstanding senior two-year football letterman.
Franzen led the Swedes in rushing with 881 yards and he tied for scoring honors with 36 points.
The 12-sport award is presented to any high school athlete who has been involved in a sport during each season of his or her high school career.
Five seniors qualified: Aaron Collins, Preston Franzen, Logan Koehler, Jacob Matthies and Logan Sheets.
Following are past winners of the Dutch Zorn Award and awards for the various sports. Fall athletes were recognized earlier this year.
SWC Academic All Conf.
Madison Costello, Volleyball; Morgan Kowalewski, Track; Carlie Stevens, Cross Country; Andrea Coder, Girls Golf; Brittyn Munster, Basketball; Logan Sheets, Basketball
NSAA Academic All State
Girls Golf—Andrea Coder & McKinley Harm
Softball—Brittyn Munster & Hanna Wolf
Girls Cross Country—Morgan Kowalewski & Abbigail Mazour
Boys Cross Country—Dylan France & Bryce Kowalewski
Volleyball—Madison Costello & Rachel Rice
Girls Basketball—Emily Franzen & Brittyn Munster
Boys Basketball—Blake Ristine & Logan Sheets
Boys Track & Field—Blake Ristine & Connor Schwanz
Girls Track & Field—Kyndal Holmes & Taylor Mroczek
Boys Golf—Trenton Long & Brett Mann
12 Sport Award Winners
Aaron Collins—Cross Country, Basketball, Track
Preston Franzen—Football, Basketball, Wrestling, Track
Logan Koehler—Football, Basketball, Track
Jacob Matthies—Football, Wrestling, Basketball, Track, Golf
Logan Sheets—Football, Basketball, Track
Summer Lifter Award (2012)
Brittyn Munster & Colby Simants
Girls Golf
Most Valuable—Heidi Teahon
Most Improved—McKinley Harm
Rookie of the Year—Mallory McCoy
Best Individual Performance—Taylour Marshall
Miss Congeniality—Andrea Coder
Team Spirit Award—Courtney Brown & Kelsey Kuhlman
Participation Award—Morgan Weaver, Sydney Sell, Alex Boson, Paula Cardenas
SWC—Andrea Coder, Hiedi Teahon, Mallory McCoy
State Qualifiers—Heidi Teahon, Andrea Coder, Mallory McCoy, McKinley Harm, Taylour Marshall
Letter Winners—Heidi Teahon, Andrea Coder, Courtney Brown, Kelsey Kuhlman, Mallory McCoy, Sydney Sell, Taylour Marshall, McKinley Harm
Cross Country
Most Valuable—Destiny McVay, Aaron Collins, Alex Spencer
Rookie of the Year—Jennifer Maline, Bryce Kowalewski
Hard Worker Award—Alayna Collins, Amanda Kowalewski, Abbie Mazour James Shuman
SWC—Destiny McVay
Letter Winners (girls)—Morgan Kowalewski, Carlie Stevens, Abbie Mazour, Betsy Potter, Alayna Collins, Holly Hudson, Amanda Kowalewski, Jennifer Maline, Destiny McVay
Letter Winners (boys)—Tyler Block, Aaron Collins, Kyle Maline, Alex Spencer, Seth Eggleston, James Shuman, Dylan France, Byce Kowalewski
Most Valuable Player—Jacey Wiggins
Most Improved (Varsity)—Tylyn Haynes
Most Improved (JV)—Kerry Wellman
Spirit Award—Maddy Costello
Hardest Worker—Regan Geiken
SWC 1st Team—Jacey Wiggins, Tiani Reeves
SWC Honorable Mention—Regan Geiken
LJS/AP/OWH Honorable Mention All State—Jacey Wiggins, Tiani Reeves,
Regan Geiken
Letter Winners—Bailey Aden, Kim Whiting, Madelyn Vogel, Rachel Rice, Tiani Reeves, Taylor Mroczek, Aryn Meisinger, McKenzi Hiebner, Tylyn Haynes, Regan Geiken, MaKaela Franzen, Madison Costello, Rebecca Anderson, Jacey Wiggins
MVP—Amanda Barkemeier
Most Improved Varisty—Katlin Harm
Most Improved (JV)—Haley Meyers
Most Dedicated—Shay Wear
Miss Spirit Award—Taylor Wolf
SWC—Not yet determined
Letter Winners—Brittyn Munster, Siera Schwanz, Hanna Wolf, Olivia LaFleur, Shay Wear, Ashley Eskew, Katlin Harm, Emily Franzen, Kyndal Holmes, Taylor Wolf, Becca Riley, Amanda Barkemeier
MVP Offense—Blake Ristine
MVP Defense—Logan Sheets
MVP Special Teams—Trenton Long
Most Improved—Connor Schwanz
Letter Winners—Noah Tripp, Blake Ristine, Connor Schwanz, Jacob Clark, Peston Franzen, Ross Ostendorf, Skyler Kottwitz, Jake Peterson, Logan Sheets, Zach Wolf, Eric Cole, Dalton Goodwin, Adam Speck, Tanner Borchardt, Garett James, Dalton Sylvan, Tyler Baker, Dylan Folkers, Pete Peterson, Jake Matthies, Roy Slack, Logan Koehler, Trenton Long, Chase Ostergard
Boys Basketball
Mr. Hustle—Logan Sheets
All-Around—Logan Koehler
Most Improved—Roy Slack
Best Teammate—Aaron Collins & Blake Ristine
SWC 1st Team—Logan Koehler
SWC 2nd Team—Tanner Borchardt
LJS Academic All State—Logan Sheets & Blake Ristine
LJS/AP/OWH Honorable Mention All State—Logan Koehler, Tanner Borchardt
North Platte Telegraph All Area 1st Team—Logan Koehler
North Platte Telegraph All Area Honorable Mention—Tanner Borchardt
NSAA Academic All State (Nominations)—Blake Ristine & Logan Sheets
Letter Winners—Aaron Collins, Logan Koehler, Jake Matthies, Logan Sheets, Nate Graham, Ross Ostendorf, Blake Ristine, Roy Slack, Tanner Borchardt, Jacob Clark, Conner Schwanz, Chase Ostergard
Girls Basketball
MVP—Brittyn Munster
Lady Swede Hustle Award—Regan Geiken
Most Improved—Aryn Meisinger
Most Supportive Teammate—Taylor Wolf
SWC 1st Team--Brittyn Munster
SWC 2nd Team--Regan Geiken
SWC 3rd Team--Jacey Wiggins
LJS/AP/OWH Honorable Mention All State—Brittyn Munster & Regan Geiken
Letter Winners—Brittyn Munster, Rebecca Anderson, Aryn Meisinger, Taylor Mroczek, Amanda Kowalewski, MaKaela Franzen, Regan Geiken, Jacey Wiggins, Kyndal Holmes, Taylor Wolf, Emily Franzen
Most Valuable Wrestler—Dalton Goodwin
Thor Award—Tyson Miller
Senior of the Year—Dillon Larson
Junior of the Year—Skyler Kottwitz
Sophomore of the Year—Seth Eggleston
Freshman of the Year—Jayden Miller
Most Improved—Tyler Alvarez
JV Wrestler of the Year Award—Dalton Sylvan
Courage Award—Chad Schmiett
Welcome Back Award—Preston Franzen
Newcomer of the Year Award—Dade Brock
Coaches Awards—Talbot Buchholz and Tyler Miller
Letter Winners—Dade Brock, Brandon Stevens, Seth Portiner, Hayden Hubbard, Tyler Miller, Chad Schmeitt, Jayden Miller, Tyler Alvarez, Seth Eggleston, Dalton Sylvan, Keyan Anderson, Tyson Miller, Skyler Kottwitz, Talbot Buchholz, Dalton Goodwin, Dillon Larson, Preston Franzen, Shelby Mannel
Track & Field
MVP—Preston Franzen & Tiani Reeves
Most Improved—Roy Slack & Taylor Mroczek
Chris Metzger Award—Tanner Borchardt & Emily Franzen
Outstanding Performance Award—Blake Ristine & Regan Geiken
Rookie of the Year—Keely Lecher
Letter Winners (boys)—Eric Cole, Aaron Collins, Preston Franzen, Logan Koehler, Logan Sheets, Alex Spencer, Skylar Kottwitz, Ross Ostendorf, Blake Ristine, Roy Slack, Tanner Borchardt, Jacob Clark, Seth Eggleston, Dylan Folkers, Jacob Franzen, Connor Schwanz, Zach Wolf, Matt Bruntz
Letter Winners (girls)—Kenzie Hiebner, Siera Schwanz, Taylor Wolf, Emily Franzen, Regan Geiken, Kyndal Holmes, Shelby Mannel, Abbie Mazour, Aryn Meisinger, Taylor Mroczek, Haley Cline, Ashley Eskew, MaKaela Franzen, McKinley Harm, Amanda Kowalewski, Tiani Reeves, Lauren Andres, Kylee Beyea, Sydney Gruber, Keely Lecher, Jennifer Maline, Destiny McVay
Boys Golf
MVP—Adam Speck
Most Improved—Jacob Matthies
Best Teammate—Cody Cooper
Letter Winners—Jake Matthies, Cody Cooper, Adam Speck, Nathan Graham, Brett Mann, Trenton Long, Drake Brand, Patrick Messersmith
Latest Headlines
- Gothenburg native releases first novel
- We all need help from a friend
- Monsanto hosts 6th annual Safety Day program
- Brady places champ and runner-up at State FCCLA
- Swedes continue conference domination
- Dancing With The Stars changes venues
- Middle-of-the-Pack Finishes For Swede Boys and Girls
- Girls Show Support for Teacher's Cancer Fight

subset: commoncrawl


text:
For a time, it seemed like the dragnet that had shut down a metropolitan area of millions while legions of police went house to house looking for the suspected Boston Marathon bomber had failed. But then there were cheers of jubilation as the suspect, who had been holed up in a boat in Watertown, was driven away by police, captured at last. The manhunt was over.
Here is a gallery of photos looking back at the past two days in the search for the Boston Marathon bombers.


text:
by Daniel E. Schmidt, D&DH Editor
This is one of the most dramatic deer hunting videos I've ever seen. A 7-year-old
Pennsylvania boy takes to the woods with his family, and he collects a mature doe.
The twist? He shoots it with an atlatl!
What are your thoughts on hunting with primitive equipment?


text:
New 'Breaking Dawn' Character Posters!
Lee Pace, Maggie Grace, Christian Camargo, Mia Maestro, Rami Malek, and Omar Metwally all channel their vampire characters in newly released character posters for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2!
Casey LaBow, MyAnna Buring, Tracey Heggins, Judith Shekoni, Noel Fisher, Guri Weinberg, Angela Sarafyan, Andrea Gabriel, Patrick Brennan, Marlane Barnes, and Lisa Howard are also featured in new posters!
Earlier this week, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner participated in a panel at 2012 Comic-Con, where they chatted about the upcoming movie.
15+ pictures inside of new Breaking Dawn character posters…


text:
Difference between revisions of "Alopex"
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$ makepkg -si
$ makepkg -si
{{Tip|As configuration is done at compile-time, modifications (such as customized keybindings or colorschemes) can be achieved by moving a copy of config.h (from upstream) to {{ic|~/.ttwm_conf.h}} and editing it to reflect any user preferences. See [[#Configuration]]}}
{{Tip|As configuration is done at compile-time, modifications (such as customized keybindings or colorschemes) can be achieved by moving a copy of config.h(from upstream) to {{ic|~/.ttwm_conf.h}} and editing it to reflect any user preferences. See [[#Configuration]]}}
==Basic usage==
==Basic usage==
Revision as of 23:47, 20 March 2013
Template:Article summary start Template:Article summary text Template:Article summary heading Template:Article summary wiki Template:Article summary wiki Template:Article summary wiki Template:Article summary end
TTWM is a minimal tiling window manager combining concepts or elements from tinywmAUR, dwm, and i3wm. Inspiration has also been drawn from other great tilers like monsterwm. It manages windows using tiling, horizontal or vertical stacking layouts with transient floating and fullscreen modes.
TTWM is currently available in the AUR in two versions, ttwmAUR and ttwm-gitAUR. The first is the final stable build of TTWM 1.0, whereas the "-git" version is the development branch of TTWM 2.0. This page refers almost entirely to ttwm-gitAUR and TTWM 2.0. More information on TTWM 1.0 can be found upstream.
Installing TTWM, from the AUR, is as simple as fetching the PKGBUILD and running the following:
$ makepkg -si
config.h (from upstream) to
~/.ttwm_conf.h and editing it to reflect any user preferences. See #Configuration
Basic usage
By Default, TTWM tracks the following four modifier masks:
Launching programs
Dmenu is a useful addon to TTWM. As opposed to list-style or drop-down menus, dmenu is a type-to-complete program launcher. It is the recommended launcher for TTWM, and the default configuration maps running dmenu to Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress.
To move or assign a window to a given tag, the intended window must first be focused. This can be accomplished by using Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress and/or Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress.
|View Tag "x"
|Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress
|Move to Tag "x"
|Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress
|Assign to Tag "x"
|Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress
|Toggle Visibility of Tag "x"
|Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress
Window layouts
TTWM has three rule-based layouts complimented by transient fullscreen and floating modes: Vertical and Horizontal Stacking and "Monocle" (Full screen with statusbar tabs). By default, TTWM will run using the Vertical Stacking layout. Cycling through all three layouts can be done by pressing Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress. You can select each mode more directly with the following shortcuts:
|Windows visible
|V-Stack (rstack)
|Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress
|Master on left, stack on right
|H-Stack (bstack)
|Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress
|Master on top, stack on bottom
|Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress
|Variable sized tabs for each window
Using the
attachmode option in
~/.ttwm_conf.h, you can specify how many windows you would like to be visible in the stack. You can also use Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress and Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress to dynamically increment and decrement the number of visible windows in the stack (respectively). Furthermore, using Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress will keep all open windows visible.
Cleanly killing a window can be done by pressing Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress. Cleanly exiting TTWM can be done by pressing Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress + Template:Keypress.
As mentioned previously, TTWM is almost entirely configured at compile-time via the editing of its source files, primarily
config.h and
icons.h. The upstream configuration provides sane defaults, but configuration per user-preference is easy to achieve.
Using ~/.ttwm_conf.h
As mentioned in #Installation, ttwm-gitAUR will check for
~/.ttwm_conf.h, and, if it exists, use it to replace the default
config.h before commencing the build. After using makepkg to grab the source, simply copy the
config.h to
~/.ttwm_conf.h. For example, if you have the package directory in your user's
home folder named
ttwm-git, you would run the following command:
$ cp ~/ttwm-git/src/ttwm/config.h ~/.ttwm_conf.h
Once the desired modifications have been made, return to the package directory and compile/install:
$ makepkg -si
f switch to force a recompile
Assuming the configuration changes were valid, the customized TTWM will have been compiled and installed. If problems were encountered, review the output for specific information.
For any changes to take effect, it will be necessary to (re)start TTWM.
Custom Keybindings
One of the main customizations that must be made in
~/.ttwm_conf.h is the use of custom keybindings. To map a custom keybinding, add the necessary lines to the
static Key keys=[] array using the following syntax:
{ MODKEY, <key>, spawn, CMD("program") },
0 for
<key> can either be a hex keycode (e.g.,
0x68) or an X keysym (e.g.,
XK_h). You can check for keycodes and keysyms by using xorg-xev.
You can also define special functions for more complex commands by using
#define FUNCTION "program -switches --options arguments"
which could then be mapped to a keybind using
CMD(FUNCTION) in the above syntax.
#define, you do not quote it in the keybinding declaration.
Configuration Options
Aside from custom keybinds, TTWM offers various configuration options which can be modified in
~/.ttwm_conf.h to help you fine-tune your TTWM setup. Below is an abridged list of available configuration options and explanations of their settings:
|Possible Values
|integers (0 and above)
|Sets the size of a border to be drawn around the focused window
|integers (0 and above)
|Sets the size of a gap to be left between windows
|integers (0 and above)
|Sets the smallest allowed width and height of a window
|True or False
|If "True," hovering the mouse over a window will shift focus to that window
|True or False
|Enables or disables the statusbar
|True or False
|If "True," the statusbar is displayed on the top of the screen. If "False," on bottom
|Determine how much larger (in pixels) the master section is than the stack (0 divides them equally)
|0, 1 or 2
|Determines where to place new windows (0 == master section, 1 == top of the stack, 2 == bottom of the stack)
By passing a script or program as an argument to TTWM, it can create a minimalistic statusbar. To avoid a CPU race (See post #321), TTWM provides a default statusbar script if none is passed to it. This default script displays only a simple clock. For a more powerful statusbar, you can either write a script (or your own small program) or use a statusbar program such as conky. If your script (or conky) takes arguments itself, remember to quote the whole statusbar argument. For example, the following commands would start TTWM with a script or conky (respectively):
$ xinit /usr/bin/ttwm "/home/username/script.sh -args"
$ xinit /usr/bin/ttwm "conky -c /path/to/conkyrc"
To colorize parts (or all) of the output of the script, you can use {#RRGGBB}. "#RRGGBB" is a standard hex color code and using these in brackets will colorize everything on the statusbar following it until another color code is passed.
Using ~/.ttwm_icons.h
As with
config.h, TTWM supports custom iconsets using a customized
icons.h which should be placed at
Icons, similar to the bracketed color codes, are referenced in the statusbar script or program using {i X} where "X" is the number of the icon. View the default
icons.h to see which icons are available and what their value for X is (it is determined by the order in which each icon appears in the array at the bottom of the file). To enable TTWM to use icons, the following line must be included in
#include icons.h
Because these icons are sourced at compile-time, any customization of the icon-set will require the user to recompile, reinstall and restart TTWM.
See also
- TTWM's official website (Refers to 1.0)
- TTWM's Sourcecode on GitHub
- dmenu - Simple application launcher from the developers of dwm
- The TTWM thread on the forums


text:
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Completely exhausted, Lindsey Vonn collapsed to the snow soon after crossing the finish line.
Totally elated, Tina Maze performed a cartwheel right after her first win in America.
Once Vonn gets healthy again, this could be quite a rivalry. After all, Vonn has what Maze covets most — the overall World Cup crown. Not that Maze's even thinking that far ahead.
"The season is long. You need to keep your skiing on a high level for three months," the Slovenian standout said.
Her stamina drained, Vonn simply couldn't make up ground on Maze in a giant slalom race Saturday. Vonn finished 21st in her return after missing time with an intestinal illness.
Then again, given the way Maze has been racing of late, no one was going to catch her. Maze used a blazing final run to finish in a combined time of 1 minute, 59.39 seconds to hold off Kathrin Zettel of Austria by nearly a second. Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany was third.
The 29-year-old Maze also won the season-opening GS race in Soelden, Austria, last month, with Zettel taking second there, too.
"I feel like people are watching me now, more than before," Maze said. "I'd like it to continue this way."
All eyes were on Vonn, too, just to see how she performed after a bad stomach bug recently landed her in the hospital.
Vonn was 10th after the first run, but didn't have anything left in the tank for the second pass through the challenging course. The more the four-time overall champion tried to attack the hill, the more snow she sent flying in every direction and the more speed she lost.
"I didn't have the energy I needed to really be competitive," Vonn said. "It's been a real fight to even be able to race today. I didn't have it.
"This isn't exactly the kind of result I was hoping for. But I have to still keep things in perspective and realize that I was very sick just a few days ago."
Vonn did earn her first World Cup points of the season, but trails the leader, Maze, by 240.
However, the next stop is Lake Louise, Alberta, a venue Vonn has typically dominated. She won all three speed races there last season.
Although Vonn competed in Aspen, she would've rather have been going up against the men up north in Lake Louise this weekend. Vonn recently requested to participate in a men's downhill race, only to be rejected by the International Ski Federation.
"I'm definitely frustrated not to be racing with the men," Vonn said. "But I wouldn't be able to race with them at this point anyway. I was sick. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe the opportunity will come up within the next year."
Like possibly an exhibition match against the men down the road?
If that were the case, count Maze in.
"That would be fun," she said.
Vonn's strength has been completely wiped out by the virus, which is finally responding to antibiotics. Until Saturday, she hadn't made it through a full GS run since the bug hit without pulling off to the side out of breath.
This definitely helps with her confidence.
"I just have to stay positive and keep building," said Vonn, who will skip the slalom Sunday to conserve energy.
Maze is showing just how determined she is to steal Vonn's overall title. Maze switched ski technicians before the season and they've instantly been in tune. Maze also finished fourth in a slalom race in Levi, Finland, two weeks ago.
"Everything is under control. I don't risk too much," she explained.
Although Maze finished runner-up to Vonn in the overall standings last season, she still thought of it as a "hard" year.
"It was not a perfect season for me," Maze said. "I had many troubles and many mistakes. I wasn't happy at all. It was tough. I didn't win any races last year."
She might not have ended up No. 1 on the slopes last season, but Maze said she recently occupied the top spot on the musical charts in Slovenia.
She sang on a music video entitled, "My way is my decision," a catchy pop tune. It has generated quite a bit of buzz.
"When I was driving to Soelden, I was almost falling asleep and I heard my song," Maze said. "The announcer said, "Who's this: Adele, Rihanna or Madonna? Can you guess?'
"He let the song roll and then said, 'This is Slovenian skier Tina Maze and she's pretty good at it. For sure, Adele cannot ski that well, but she can.'"
So, is she a budding singer?
"I'm a skier. I don't want to be a singer," Maze said. "But I do like to have fun besides skiing. It was fun to make the video. I'm proud of this."
Teenager Mikaela Shiffrin had the best finish for the Americans as she wound up in ninth place. The 17-year-old was actually on the final step of the podium for quite a while, before finally being bumped off.
"That's a big breakthrough," Shiffrin said.
Julia Mancuso couldn't agree more — for not only Shiffrin, but the rest of the young U.S. skiers.
"Sometimes, it can be daunting with people like me and Lindsey doing well," said Mancuso, who finished 15th. "It's good to show the rest of the team that you just have to go for it. Don't set sights too low because me and Lindsey are both beatable by the young ones — just like today."
The day didn't go quite as well for Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany. She caught an edge that knocked her off balance and straight toward a gate. Just before crashing into the obstacle, she stuck up her left arm, saving her face but bruising her arm.
"It hurts pretty bad," Hoefl-Riesch said.
Pat Graham can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pgraham34


text:
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Wednesday after strong U.S. corporate earnings sent the Dow close to its record high. Japanese shares faltered, however, as the yen rebounded against the dollar.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index fell as the yen strengthened against the dollar following a pledge by finance ministers from the world's largest economies to refrain from intentionally weakening their currencies. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.2 percent to 11,344.45.
Australian stocks hit their highest intraday level in nearly three years. The S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.1 percent to 5,011.60. South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.1 percent to 1,966.76. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines also rose.
Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed for Lunar New Year holidays.
Finance ministers from the world's major advanced economies said in a statement following a meeting in Brussels that they remained committed to exchange rates driven by the market, not government or central bank policies.
Traders interpreted the statement as a message directed at Japan, where the yen has plummeted against the dollar since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office and pushed the central bank for ultra-loose monetary policy.
Central bank governor Masaaki Shirakawa, who has appeared at odds with Abe's views on monetary policy, is resigning next month, giving the government an opportunity to find a successor more sympathetic to its aims.
The Bank of Japan begins a two-day policy meeting Wednesday but analysts said no new initiatives were expected in light of the impending leadership change.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose to its highest close of the year after positive results from two big U.S. consumer brands, beauty products maker Avon and luxury clothing and accessories company Michael Kors. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity in the U.S.
The Dow rose 0.3 percent to 14,018.70, within 1 percent of its record of 14,164 it set in October 2007. The S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent to 1,519.43. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.2 percent to 3,186.49.
Benchmark oil for March delivery was down 8 cents to $97.59 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 48 cents to finish at $97.51 on the Nymex on Tuesday.
In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3452 from $1.3444 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar fell to 93.25 yen from 93.52 yen.
Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson


text:
Do fundamentalist Christians and other followers of bible based religions worship the Bible?
It would seem so, since such die hards only believe what fits the Bible, or what fits their theology that they read into it.
If their were a God, and he came down and made statements that differed from the Bible, most of them would no doubt snub their noses at him.
Just a thought.


text:
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The Striking of Bas Rutten: Along the Ropes
May 04, 2012, 02:55:47 PM »
Bas Rutten has become one of the best known personalities in MMA for his humorous and insightful color commentary, coaching and his anchor role on the popular mixed martial arts TV show, InsideMMA. Before he became a recognizable pundit, however, Rutten was the three times King of Pancrase, and the UFC heavyweight champion - becoming arguably the most successful striker in MMA up to that point. Beginning in Kyokushin Karate, then moving to Muay Thai, Rutten went undefeated in his first fourteen professional fights before being approached by Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki to join their newly formed Pancrase organization.
Pancrase, touting "hybrid wrestling" rules, sought to bolster their roster with a credible kickboxer among the many grapplers in the organization.
Unfortunately for Bas Rutten, the rules of Pancrase heavily favored grapplers; knees to the head were forbidden without knee pads, knockdowns resulted in a referee's count, and striking on the ground was heavily frowned upon. Further to this, no gloves were worn and hand attacks to the head were only permitted with the palms - effectively shortening the range of straight punches, the traditional weapon of a striker against grappler.
Having no sprawl to speak of, Rutten quickly learned to fight from his back, and utilize a savage guillotine to submit opponents while they attempted to take him down.
Further to this he developed several tactics to limit the number of exchanges and damage his opponents as much as possible in doing so. Rutten's use of his trademark "Liver Shot" has been discussed many times before and will be dealt with in the second installment of this series, but what has received little attention is Bas Rutten's handy work along the ropes.
Bas Rutten was not a gifted boxer. A great puncher, certainly, but he lacked the versatile jab and footwork of the world's other premier strikers. It was Rutten's spleen burstingly strong punching salvos at close range which won him standing exchanges, particularly in Pancrase - where the insistence on palm strikes limited his range anyway. One can watch a highlight of Bas Rutten and will see a great many seemingly wild rushes of the opponent against the ropes. It is certainly true that Rutten's style was aggressive and swarming, but it did not lack science. Despite his inferior boxing game, and a reach disadvantage, Rutten was able to get the better of both Guy Mezger and Maurice Smith - much more accomplished pure kickboxers - on the feet in his Pancrase matches. Rutten landed telling power shots on both men which better known names in the kickboxing world were not able to, simply through his unique strategy of bullying men on to the ropes.
A quick glance through this excellent highlight will allow you to notice just how much of Bas' offense was done against the ropes. Due to his opponent's compromised stance:
They could not get power in to their strikes, meaning that Rutten was never seriously troubled by his lack of head movement.
His opponent had no base to stand up to the force of Rutten's own strikes without being thrown to and fro.
Rutten could often apply his excellent Thai Plumm clinch against opponents who were off balanced by his powerful strikes. Bas Rutten did much to popularize this clinch as one of the most dangerous areas in modern MMA.
Rutten's success on the feet against men who were desperate to take him down and against elite strikers, using many of the same methods, stemmed from his effective kicking game. It is no secret that Bas Rutten's roundhouse kicks were some of the hardest in MMA, certainly the hardest in Pancrase - and he used this to intimidate his adversaries routinely. The disadvantage of using roundhouse kicks is that they can often be caught, even if successful, and a winded opponent can take the kicker down and lay there until he feels healthy again (this is exactly what happened in the second half of Rutten's fight with Randleman). Rutten knew this, and often used the front kick to wind his opponents, dictate where the match took place, and to place them at the mercy of his whirling palm strike dervish.
It should be noted that front kicks are much harder to catch if they are successful, due to their forcing the opponent away from oneself. Even if the kick is caught, the extended leg makes it much harder to reach for the kicker's standing foot. Rutten landed a great many hard, fight changing palm strikes from a position of hopping on one leg, following such a caught kick.
Rutten's front kick was not like that of Anderson Silva or Lyoto Machida - a snap front kick - but rather an extremely powerful push kick. By slamming this in to his opponents chest, he was able to throw them against the ropes. This not only bounced the opponent, professional wrestling style, off of the ropes to meet Bas' lunging straight, but collapsed their stance, nullifying their ability to throw powerful punches against him. Rutten had also had success in Muay Thai with this same strategy and it remained one of his go to offensives throughout his career. The teep on to the ropes, followed by a flurry of punches, and then in to clinch work. At the beginning of this clip, against the best kickboxer America has ever produced, Maurice Smith, Rutten fakes a low kick and throws a front kick which forces Smith along the ropes. Rutten proceeds to land the most meaningful strikes of the match and forces the K-1 veteran and kickboxing world champion to take him down.
Much of Rutten's finest work was done in toe to toe flurries with the opponent's back to the ropes. This translated to his match with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in the UFC as well. After spending much of the fight on his back against the judoka, Rutten began to pile on the pressure in the final minute of the fight, before he stopped Kohsaka with a familiar salvo againt the cage. The use of gloves had allowed Bas to show better boxing out in the open, but it was collapsing his opponent's stance against the cage which still let him do the most damage. Watch from 0:52 for Rutten to start forcing the exhausted Japanese fighter's back to the cage.
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Re: The Striking of Bas Rutten: Along the Ropes
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May 04, 2012, 09:33:27 PM »
Bas Rutten wasn't a good boxer because boxing sucks.
He always stated himself that you should never 'jab' in a fight.
Rutten's front kick was not like that of Anderson Silva or Lyoto Machida - a snap front kick - but rather an extremely powerful push kick. By slamming this in to his opponents chest, he was able to throw them against the ropes.
Both Machida and Silva are more than capable of throwing a 'push kick' (gay name for a thrusting front kick).
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text:
Risky Roundup
Markets across the globe are trying to price in a wide array of risk factors and as bad as that is it might have been a lot worse if it were not for the shale gas and oil revolution in the United States. The International Energy Agency seemed to say just that in their latest report. The EIA says that pressure on global oil markets will ease in spite of rising geopolitical tensions because of surging supply from Iraq and other producers like the United States. Iraqi oil production hit a whopping 30.49 million barrels a day which was the highest levels in 35 years.
This should be a stark warning to Vladimir Putin whose folly in Crimea could force his energy customers to seek a more stable supplier. Russia is very dependent on energy exports and the IEA says that at this point the West and Russia are mutually dependent on each other, but that could change in the near future with global supply on the rise. From a long-term view this invasion of the Crimea could do lasting damage to the Russian economy and while the Chinese may keep buying Russia's oil they obviously are having problems of their own.
The Guardian reports that "China is braced for a wave of industrial bankruptcies as its slowing economy forces companies with sky-high debts to the wall, the country's premier has said. Premier Li Keqiang told lenders to China's private sector factories they should expect debt defaults as the world's second largest economy encounters "serious challenges" in the year ahead.
Speaking after the annual session of the national people's congress, Li Keqiang said: "We are going to confront serious challenges this year and some challenges may be even more complex."
He told lenders to China's private sector factories they should expect debt defaults. Li said China must "ensure steady growth, ensure employment, avert inflation and defuse risks" while also fighting pollution, among other tasks. "So we need to strike a proper balance amidst all these goals and objectives," he added. "This is not going to be easy," he said.
Li's warning followed the failure of Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy to make a payment on a 1bn yuan (£118m) bond last week. The default was the first of its kind for China and widely seen as pointing to the end of 11th-hour government bailouts for troubled enterprises"
Both China and Russian stocks have been hit hard but don't look to the euro for safety. Mario Draghi, "Mr. Whatever it takes" is showing his displeasure with the currency's resent assent. He is warning that the assessment of price stability is becoming increasingly relevant. Worries about deflationary pressures could inspire stimulus from the ECB. This of course would be a new course for the European Central bank that in the past has been more focused on fighting inflation over everything else.
While the comments by Draghi seemed to slow gold's epic and historic run it did not break it because it only will enhance gold's stature as a safe haven in an increasingly unsafe world. Add to that the historic divergence that we have seen between stocks and commodities are reverting to the mean. Gold prices went inverse to stocks at a historic pace now looks poised to recapture everything it gave up last year.
Oil of course is falling as demand prospects are looking more-shaky. Brent crude which gained on WTI earlier on reversed as U.S. economic data suggest that our demand be a bit better that anticipated. Still with U.S. stocks taking a hit the Brent/WTI spread could widen as the show down over the Ukraine will wait for the vote that could provide cover for Vladimir Putin incursions into other countries.
Spring is springing and it has waged on Nat gas prices, still don't look for prices to fall too far as to have high prices producers will have to be inspired to produce at a record pace.


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Dorian Lynskey writes about music for the Guardian, Observer and Q, and is the author of 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs.
London (CNN) -- The artwork for "The Next Day," David Bowie's first album in 10 years and a record that nobody outside his inner circle suspected was coming, is a witty vandalization of the sleeve of 1977's "Heroes." As its designer, Jonathan Barnbrook, explains: The "Heroes" cover obscured by the white square is about the spirit of great pop or rock music which is "of the moment," forgetting or obliterating the past. However, we all know that this is never quite the case, no matter how much we try, we cannot break free from the past."
Read more: David Bowie returns with new single, album
In that sense it's an unbeatable image. Bowie's glittering reputation rests on his determination, during his extraordinary run of albums in the 1970s, to escape the past and embrace the future, but he was also clever enough to realize that there's no such thing as an entirely blank slate, and that tension was the motor of his genius. The excitement surrounding his surprise comeback, after a decade of supposed retirement, reminds us that he is rock's unrivalled innovator-in-chief.
His early reinventions could perhaps be explained by sheer ambition. That's why David Jones from suburban Bromley, on the southern outskirts of London, became David Bowie (rhymes with Zoe, not Maui) and then Bowie, fearing that 1969's "Space Oddity" would render him a one-hit wonder, became Ziggy Stardust, the first post-modern rock star. If fame was all he was looking for, he would have been happy with that, but his hunger for change exceeded his appetite for success. He killed off Ziggy after just 18 months and unveiled a series of new identities, each with its own sound.
laying in bed high listening to Bowies new song. A moment of bliss I never thought Id have again. Listening to new bowie for the first time.— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) January 9, 2013
Photos: David Bowie's ever-changing look
To listen to all of Bowie's 70s albums in sequence is still a dizzying experience, because each one attempts to eclipse its predecessor. On "Aladdin Sane" he explored the relationship between showbusiness and mental illness. "Diamond Dogs" was an apocalyptic vision which spun the mid-70s' darkest fears into a kind of glam-rock opera. The "plastic soul" of "Young Americans" was his strange response to the sound of black America and "Station to Station," recorded in cocaine-maddened seclusion in Los Angeles in the guise of the "Thin White Duke," presaged his return to Europe.
Remarkably, these page-turning albums emerged at the rate of around one a year. The only possible comparison in terms of creative momentum is the Beatles, and there were four of them. Beyond the records themselves, Bowie's restless eye for new stimuli, drawn from the worlds of cinema, theatre, fashion and visual art, made him pop's most imaginative stylist. London's V&A museum is mounting a major retrospective of his visual work this spring -- rare honor for a pop star.
Read more: Bowie back after the bonds
As the artwork of "he Next Day" and the lyrics of comeback single "Where Are We Now?" suggest, Bowie's mystique resides most powerfully in the three albums he recorded in Berlin in the late 70s: "Low," "Heroes" and "Lodger." Of all his rebirths this was the most radical, influential and multi-faceted. The Berlin albums are perfectly poised between art and pop, containing both avant-garde enigmas like "Warszawa" and glorious, gripping songs like the title track of "Heroes," which sounded not at all out of place, 35 years later, as Team GB's Olympic anthem.
He'll yeah! Welcome back David! DavidBowie!!!!!davidbowie.com/the-next-day— jonathan ross (@wossy) January 8, 2013
Brian Eno, who worked on Bowie's Berlin trilogy, once compared rock music to a blank sheet of paper that was rapidly filled in and Bowie did more than anyone in the 70s to colonize that white space. Each record was, to quote one song title, a fantastic voyage, alerting other musicians to new possibilities and charting a path for entire scenes. It's impossible to imagine the landscape of early 80s pop, for example, without Bowie's influence, and you can detect his DNA in countless artists, from Pet Shop Boys to Lady Gaga, U2 to Blur, Joy Division to Nine Inch Nails, Franz Ferdinand to LCD Soundsystem. To any musician who worries about reconciling artistic integrity with commercial success, or sonic innovation with emotional truth, Bowie's 70s work is proof that, with enough talent and judgement, you can have it all.
Of course records this good cast a long shadow and, to paraphrase Barnbrook, no matter how much he tried, Bowie couldn't break free from the past. While his bad albums in subsequent decades were justly criticized, his good ones were unfairly underrated. Although he remained curious, enthusiastic and eager to take risks right up to 2003's "Reality," he was punished for no longer reinventing the wheel with each release. As long as Bowie was still recording regularly, all but his most devoted fans took him for granted. They won't be making that mistake again.
Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.
Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dorian Lynskey.


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Kim Chuan Toh to receive Farkas Prize from INFORMS Optimization Society
By Olivia M. Hall
Kim Chuan Toh Ph.D. '96 is the 2017 recipient of the Farkas Prize, awarded annually to a mid-career researcher in the field of optimization by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) Optimization Society.
The prize committee recognizes Toh "for his fundamental contributions to the theory, practice, and application of convex optimization"; his active involvement in professional societies, journals, and conferences; and in particular his status as one of "the world's leading figures in semidefinite programming."
Immediately upon graduating from Cornell's Center for Applied Mathematics (CAM), the Singapore native joined the faculty of the National University of Singapore (NUS), where today he serves as Professor and Provost's Chair in the Department of Mathematics with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Analytics and Operations.
While Toh wrote his dissertation on linear algebra (under the tutelage of Nick Trefethen, now at Oxford University), he dedicated the first decade of his career to the design, analysis, and implementation of interior-point methods for semidefinite programming (SDP), as well as more generally symmetric cone programming.
This work began during his last year at Cornell as a collaboration with Leon C. Welch Professor Emeritus Mike Todd (who nominated Toh for the prize) and then-OR graduate student Reha Tütüncü Ph.D. '96 (now Chief Risk Officer at SECOR Asset Management) and resulted in the release of the software package SDPT3, one of the first widely available codes for SDP.
According to Stephen J. Wright, Professor and Chair of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who supported Toh's nomination, the software package "played a critical role in promoting the widespread adoption of SDP… in the modeling and solution of practical problems" in such areas as science, engineering, and economics. It is the default solver for several modeling languages, including CVX and YALMIP.
Todd credits Toh with "always significant and very often decisive" contributions to refining and expanding SDPT3 with new features that keep it in wide use for SDPs of moderate dimension, primarily in academic teaching and research.
Toh has also developed specialized algorithms for solving large-scale SDPs in such applications as sensor-network localization, 3D chromosome modeling, image restoration, and covariance selection, often in collaborative work. In 2009, for example, his NNLS solver "set a performance benchmark in matrix completion…, reporting solution of a problem with dimension more than 100,000 in less than 10 minutes on a desktop PC," Wright wrote.
In the past decade, Toh's particular focus has been on using augmented Lagrangian-based methods to tackle what Wright called "one of the biggest challenges in computational optimization": developing solvers for general conic problems with millions of variables and constraints. Todd considers the SDPNAL and SDPNAL+ codes that are the fruits of Toh's collaboration with his NUS colleague Defeng Sun and former students Xinyuan Zhao and Liuqin Yang to be "state-of-the-art" solvers in this area.
In sum, the Farkas prize committee concluded that "each of Toh's contributions is an impressive mixture of new theoretical insights, numerically sound algorithmic strategies, and efficient implementation."
Toh's reaction to such recognition is true to what Todd describes as his "self-effacing nature": "Naturally, I feel honored and privileged to be awarded the prize," Toh said. He went on to thank his nominators, the prize committee, NUS and Singapore's grant agencies, and his collaborators and students.
Not least, Toh credits the warm atmosphere at Cornell's Center for Applied Math and the freedom to take classes and find advisors from across campus with setting him on the career path he has taken. "I can only say that I was extremely fortunate to meet both Nick and Mike at Cornell, and to have their guidance and support over the years," he said.


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Stefan Saroiu
I am a researcher in the Mobility and Networking Research Group at Microsoft Research, Redmond. My current research interests are structured into two research thrusts: trustworthy computing (1, 2, 3, 4) and incorporating machine learning into mobile systems (1, 2). At Microsoft, I have also worked on the firmware TPM and on the Zero-Effort Payments (ZEP) projects. Prior to coming to Microsoft, I was a faculty member of the Computer Science Department at the University of Toronto. I received my Ph.D. from the Computer Science & Engineering department at the University of Washington.
Complete list of publications.
Stefan Saroiu
Microsoft Research
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Tel: 425-538-6886
Fax: 425-936-7329


text:
Rilde attempts to calm her mind and prays briefly to Kord, then takes stock again. When you say "personal effects", what do you mean? Specifically, what equipment does she have left? And does this seem to be the same room she was in before?
After taking stock, she calls out. "Ran-po? San-ji?"


text:
In the course of my travels through the landscape of the internet the other day I came across this:
At first I was actually stunned by how pretty and serene the moving image was. I thought to myself, "That is really quite pretty," which is somewhat uncharacteristic of me.
Later, I looked at it again and it terrified me somewhat. It look on an ethereal quality, something more haunting. It was no longer just two people, frozen in a moment of happy contentment. Suddenly it looked almost… ghostly, you know? It got me thinking about the web of time, the way memories are sliced separate from reality. Some moments are really quite lovely, if only they could be frozen in place, allowed to continue on forever, unaware of the progress or decline that comes as the world continues spinning past them. How wonderful it would be if you could preserve them like this, but wouldn't that deprive them of their meaning, leaving them stripped of their context and ultimately hollow?
Oh well. Just thinking. Every love story eventually becomes a ghost story, and every happy home eventually becomes a haunted house.


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text: How can I create more complete customer profiles? By Michael Fisher, President, Yesmail Interactive. Published on August 29, 2013. In the new age of email marketing, marketers need to be equipped in order to fully engage and target profitable customers. Though most marketers believe they have a thorough understanding of customers' interaction with the brand and transaction history, they struggle with deeper customer insights, such as social media participation and channel preference. As more customer information becomes available, marketers will need to apply strategic insights to retain and grow their customer bases. By not engaging with customers properly, marketers are frustrating them with irrelevant marketing messages. To ensure relationship longevity with customers, marketers must incorporate critical cross-channel data to inform customer messaging and offers. According to a recent study of executive-level marketers, 86% of those surveyed said that having a more complete customer profile would increase company revenue. Marketers should be tapping into all available data in order to send out meaningful customer communication streams. Research has consistently proven that relevance drives revenue. What brands fail to realize is they already have an abundance of information about their customers--it's just siloed or inaccessible. In most cases, there's valuable data available to create the ultimate 360-degree customer profile, which incorporates enhanced targeting and personalization. Brands should start thinking more about the customer lifecycle and focus less on reactive data, such as transactions. As it stands, marketers are relying heavily on response-based transactions, such as customer inquiries or browsing patterns. We also encourage marketers to tap more into event-based triggers in order to segment customers. Big data is at our fingertips. Let's use it! Failing to use triggers such as purchase behavior, online browsing history and profitability models hinders the deliverability of targeted messages across defined communications channels. If marketers fail to adopt more sophisticated ways of engaging the customer, customer engagement levels could drop significantly. Intimate knowledge of customer preferences plays a vital role in forging a healthy, long-lasting relationship. Moving forward, cross-channel marketing platforms should completely integrate with any source of customer data, both offline and online. Michael Fisher is president of Infogroup's Yesmail Interactive (http://www.yesmail.com), which provides email, mobile and social marketing solutions. Most Popular In this article: BtoBContent Marketing


text:
She Says
"I've been unhappy for a long time, but never allowed myself to acknowledge it," said a wistful Kate, 45. "But now that it's just the two of us, this emptiness won't go away."
"Phil and I have been together for 23 years. Our son, Ben, is a junior in college, and Meg graduated from high school in June. She's less independent than Ben, and I'm worried about how she'll manage at college. I'm upset enough about having them both gone; the fact that I feel as if I'm living with a stranger makes it worse. My husband and I occupy the same house, but we're emotionally alienated. We used to have such rich conversations — about plays, books, current events — but there are days now when we barely speak to each other."
"Frankly, I'm scared. Everyone keeps telling me how free I should feel, but I don't see it that way. I was very good at being a mom. Now, a period in my life that I loved is over. I'm just so sad: I'll be someplace like the supermarket, and the tears will start.
"Being a great wife and mother was my lifelong dream. Even as a girl I vowed never to get divorced because I knew the pain of a broken home. My parents split up when I was 3, and I moved with my father from Delaware to North Carolina. I gathered that Mom had had an affair, but Dad refused to talk about it. I didn't see her until I was 12, when she stopped briefly on her way to Miami. Over the years, I tried to have a relationship with her, but it was hopeless. I've finally given up. It all happened long ago, but I still feel this intense anger — at my dad for taking me away from my mother and at her for letting him do it.
"I met Phil the summer after I graduated from college. I was working at the local library. Phil came in — he was from Boston and visiting his grandmother in North Carolina — and I felt an instant spark. He was charming, funny, and cute in an all-American way. He invited me to dinner and, a week later, asked me to marry him. I accepted, but knew my dad and stepmother would flip out. So we had a long-distance romance for six months before breaking the news. When we did, my folks were delighted. Phil had just completed his engineering degree and had a job in New York. I moved up north, and we found a small house in the suburbs. Ben was born the following year, and we agreed I'd stay home. Meg was born three years later.
"I threw myself into motherhood. I sewed the kids' Halloween costumes myself — no store-bought masks for my children — baked cookies, decorated the house for every holiday. But it was hard to be both Mom and Wife. Phil is a great dad, but we'd quarrel because he'd want us to go away together for a weekend, and I felt uncomfortable leaving the kids with someone. On weekends, he wanted peace and quiet, but I loved the hubbub of having our kids' friends running in and out.
"But as the kids got older and wanted to spend more time with their friends and less with us, I sensed that Phil and I were drifting apart. Our lovemaking was less passionate, and we rarely had the deep conversations we once thrived on. When I tried to discuss this, Phil brushed me off.
"Everyone thinks Phil is the nicest guy, and with other people, he is. But with me, he'll rant for hours. The night I forgot to turn off the car headlights and drained the battery, he was so furious I thought he'd have a coronary. And talk about road rage! God help the driver who cuts off Phil; he'll tailgate him for miles just to teach him a lesson.
"He never cares about what I want. Just the other day, I said I wanted a coffee ice cream cone, but he came back with a different flavor he thought I should try instead. Okay, that's petty, but I hate his presuming he knows me better than I do. And I wish I had a nickel for every time he's said he'd be someplace at a certain time but showed up late. Last week, after I had a root canal, I waited 45 minutes for him to pick me up.
"I've tried everything to improve our marriage. I've gone to other therapists; Phil came once, then refused to return. I've read self-help books. I've cajoled him to talk. But Phil will deny, deny, deny until a problem hits him over the head — even now, when he's clearly sad about Meg's leaving, too.
"He's just so unemotional, and I'm so lonely. I don't want to separate, but I don't want to live like this, either."
He Says
"Kate's right. I am sad. I never thought the kids' leaving would affect me this way," said Phil. "I look at their baby pictures and want to turn back time.
"I'm not comfortable with counseling. The one time we went, I was constantly on the hot seat. But I want to be happy as much as Kate does. She has always brought out the best in me. She digs deep, tries to get me to communicate. I'm not good at that.
"But I do resent the way she blames me for everything wrong in our marriage. She's always been controlling — whether it's what movie to see or whether to go away for a weekend, the decision is in her hands. Just once, it would be nice do what I want.
"Kate also holds grudges. I mean, she's still talking about that ice cream cone! Was that a federal offense? I genuinely thought she'd like to try a new flavor. And I know I messed up with the dentist. But it's not as if she was standing in the pouring rain; she was in a comfortable waiting room with a book. There should be a statute of limitations on the amount of time I'm condemned for these things.
"I know I get angry too easily, especially when I'm driving, but Kate's anxieties make me crazy. I'm worried about Meg, too, but I can't spend every waking minute discussing every possible thing that could go wrong. Kate starts her day anxious!
"I was raised outside of Boston. My family — Dad, Mom, my older sister, and I — lived in a three-bedroom apartment above the drugstore Dad owned. My mom was a school secretary. I got interested in computers in the early 1980s, switched from industrial engineering to software programming, and was hired by a large New York firm. I worked there for 15 years, but in the early 1990s, the company was forced to make layoffs, and I was one of them. I was out of work for seven months before I got my current job. It was a very tough time. I felt I was letting my family down.
"Kate is the finest woman I've ever known. My meeting her was pure good luck. I was visiting my grandmother, and she asked me to return a book to the library where Kate was working. It was love at first sight for me. She thought I was kidding when I asked her to marry me so soon, but I couldn't have been more serious. I wanted kids right away, too. And she's wrong about the peace and quiet: I liked having kids hang out at our place; it's just that I also wanted private time with my wife. We're the only couple I know who've never once been away for a weekend alone.
"For a long time, I was so caught up with work I didn't realize we had drifted apart. Kate may have vowed to be a good mother, but I vowed to be a good provider so that my family wouldn't have to worry about every cent the way my folks did. When Kate complained, I didn't pay attention. I figured she was overreacting because of her lonely childhood.
"I'd love to get back to the way we were. But I'll be honest: There's a lot about Kate I don't like anymore. She's always nagging me or the kids about something. But I swear, I am totally committed to our marriage."
The Counselor Says
"Kate and Phil's situation is not uncommon," said the counselor. "For years, they focused their energies on raising a family, and their busy days shielded them from the full impact of their marital troubles. But as their lives began to change, the ties that held them together began to unravel. The pileup of daily irritations and arguments created deep resentments, leaving them sad and unmoored.
"At several sessions, we discussed the 'separation anxiety' parents feel when a child departs for college. Whether it's their first child or their fourth, couples are often surprised by the intensity of their feelings. But everyone reacts differently.
"For Kate, the child of a bitter divorce who prided herself on being a good wife and mother, the empty nest meant the loss of her very identity. It may also have unearthed unresolved feelings of childhood abandonment. When Phil minimized or discounted Kate's worries, her anxieties mushroomed, increasing the need to control her husband and children through nagging.
"After only one session, Kate and Phil began to relax, as it dawned on them that there was nothing specifically 'wrong' with their marriage; the relationship simply needed to change to fit this new life stage.
"One key step for this couple was to learn to voice their opinions without blaming or accusing. I also explained that anger builds slowly. The first time Phil was late, Kate might have felt resentful but swallowed her frustration and said nothing. Yet each subsequent episode added more fuel until she was left with a profound sense that her husband didn't care about her. I told Kate, 'You're making too big a leap,' and advised her to try hard not to make cosmic generalizations from small incidents. 'Tolerate the wrong-flavor ice cream, and focus on the fact that Phil loves you and tries to do the right thing, even though he sometimes slips up,' I said.
"Raised in a family that never discussed personal feelings, Phil found it hard to share even minor aspects of his day, let alone engage in the kind of heartfelt conversations Kate rightly expected. He even had trouble being casually intimate — holding her hand, putting an arm around her shoulder. 'Such gestures are the glue that holds couples together,' I said. 'Phil needs to find a way to feel comfortable while reaching out so bottled-up feelings don't come out in angry explosions.'
"Realizing that this tendency was destroying their intimacy, Phil worked with me on anger management. The first step was to identify physical sensations — a tightening in his neck or clenching in his jaw — that signaled anger. Then we targeted the specific issues that provoked him, with him jotting down in a notebook the moments he felt irritated. Time and again, Kate's obsessing about the kids triggered negative reactions, in part because it tapped into his own fears. One solution was for them to set aside time every night to discuss 'kid worries.' That way, Kate felt her concerns were addressed, and Phil knew there were limits.
"To improve communication, Phil had to get in the habit of expressing his views. He resented the way Kate orchestrated their life yet acquiesced to her suggestions. So now, before making plans, Kate asks Phil which restaurant or play he'd like to go to. I also noted that they always socialized with other people. 'You two need to have fun by yourselves,' I said. 'By doing so, you'll have a reason to continue the hard work of counseling.' They've spent recent weekends hiking or antiquing around New England and staying in bed-and-breakfasts. As they began to enjoy each other's company again, their intimacy was restored.
"And Kate has rediscovered some of her pre-motherhood interests. Just before they drove Meg to college, she started taking courses in decorative design at a local college. She's not sure where it will lead, she told me, but design is a longtime passion she now has the time and money to pursue. Both of them miss the kids and are counting the days to parents' weekend, but there's a positive twist: 'A year ago, I would have been sobbing in my room and Phil would be ignoring me, watching the football game. Now we're able to comfort each other.' They also gained strength from seeing their daughter on campus confidently making her way through the maze of class registration, dormitory move-in and meal-plan sign-ups. 'It's clear she'll be okay,' said Kate.
"'And we will, too,' said Phil."
"Can This Marriage Be Saved?" is the most popular, most enduring women's magazine feature in the world. This month's case is based on interviews with clients and information from the files of Susan Healy, RCSW, a family therapist in Merrick, New York. The story told here is true, although names and other details have been changed to conceal identities. "Can This Marriage Be Saved?" is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation.
Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal magazine, September 2004.


text:
March 06. 2014 8:31PM
Several union deals on Windham ballots
By APRIL GUILMET
Union Leader Correspondent
— Voters at the March 11 polls will have their say on a variety of town and school warrant articles next week, including several collective bargaining agreements and a $250,000 multi-use recreation field.
Among the items on the school side is Article 2, a two-year agreement with the teachers union. The contract would cost $488,269 next year and $505,237 the following year.
Tax impact would be 24 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value or $84 for the owner of a $350,000 home.
Article 4, a proposed four-year contract with district's instructional assistants, will cost $66,247 next year if passed. Tax impact would average 3 cents per thousand.
Voters will also get to weigh in on the district's proposed $45,624,106 overall budget. The new budget represents an $814,106 increase over the current year and would have a tax impact of 35 cents per thousand.
On the town side is Article 4, which asks voters to approve a $275,000 multi-use recreation field. About $95,000 of that would come from general taxation and the rest from bonds.
Article 5, a citizens petition article for the $860,000 bonded purchase of the historic Campbell Farm at 137 Kendall Pond Road, would result in the preservation of the property for educational and recreational uses. If the article is approved, the site would remain a protected conservation spot, with the town making annual payments of $85,000 toward the bond over the course of the next decade.
Article 9, a $16,290 contract with the town's municipal workers, includes 2 percent cost-of-living raises over the next three years.
Article 10, a $74,820 contract with the town's firefighters union, represents at 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise that would become effective next month should the item pass.
Article 11, $195,770 contract with the town's police union, represents the first such contract in several years. The contract, moved forward unchanged to the ballot during last month's town deliberative session, includes 2.5 percent cost-of-living wage increases starting April 1 and a "hard cap" on accrued earned time of 960 hours.
Article 14 asks voters to approve the purchase of an $850,000 Quint vehicle for the fire department. The vehicle, which is a combination tanker, fire engine and aerial device, would replace the department's 34-year-old ladder truck. Fire officials said that a positive vote on the item would still be null and void of the department fails to acquire an $807,500 Federal Assistance to Firefighters grant to fund the bulk of the purchase.
Article 29, Windham's proposed $12,580,680 operating budget, represents a $470,978 increase over the current year's budget.
Ballot voting on all town and school items will take place Tuesday, March 11, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Windham High School.


text: In the Cheboygan Tribune from this past Thursday there was an article, "Local Job Providers back Legislation". The article told of Representative Frank Foster's efforts to help by "waving the requirement for employers to pay unemployment insurance taxes on employees working under visas." Mr Foster seems to have an interest in job creation but appears confused about who he wants to help. In the term "Local Job Providers" the Local refers only to where the business is located – not providing jobs to locals! The workers in question are from eastern Europe for the most part, are hired through employment agencies for the summer and take jobs away from local people looking for work. Mr. Foster, in his legislation, is providing one more reason for a business to hire a foreign worker over our citizens - no unemployment tax to pay - because they are leaving! Maybe the foreign worker unemployment tax could go into a fund to help unemployed locals. Seems like the objective is more to provide cheap captive labor than help local workers. It is not my intent to disparage local businesspeople as abusive. They are just working to make a living and spend the least possible money to do it. It is my intent to clearly state that we have many people who are out of work and we do not need one more reason for businesses to not hire them. It seems that some of our representatives are working to make it hard for our citizens to get jobs, vote consistently against any increase in the minimum wage, force the unemployed workers onto food stamps and then cut the food stamp program. Sweet. I will remember Mr Frank Foster at the ballot box. Allen Moberly Cheboygan


text:
Friday, August 3: Mostly sunny. Oak Bluffs harbor is bustling with visitors on the promenade and boats in the water, in the afternoon. Youngsters carry ice cream cones. A steady stream of visitors move slowly off the passenger ferry Island Queen, under a hot, late-afternoon sun. A steady, unwavering southwest breeze in the afternoon cools the landscape, and fills sails offshore.
Saturday, August 4: Southwest wind starts out strong in the morning. Hot. Deep blue skies overhead. Breeze lightens only slightly. Crows have a verbal dispute in downtown Vineyard Haven, aloft in the trees overlooking Veterans Memorial Park.
Sunday, August 5: Fog early. A still morning. Blue heron flies near the shoreline, almost touching the water. An osprey follows. A passing shower in the morning. Heavy rain lasts only a few minutes. Clouds lift. Wind from the southwest rises to 20 m.p.h. High surf. Sun breaks through in the afternoon. Nantucket Sound sparkles in the late afternoon sunshine. High, rolling seas.
Monday, August 6: Sunny. Hot. Temperature rises to the high 80s in the shade. Parking is at a premium at the Joseph A. Sylvia State Beach.
Tuesday, August 7: Sunny. The last of the schooners returns to Vineyard Haven harbor in the late afternoon, in time for a spectacular sunset. High-altitude clouds spun into streaks by wind, color the evening.
Wednesday, August 8: Mostly cloudy in the morning. Sun breaks in the afternoon. Moist maritime air rolls in. Hazy sunshine in the afternoon. A large crowd poses for family portrait in front of the Edgartown Lighthouse. Sailboat Magic Carpet leaves the harbor for a sunset cruise.
Thursday, August 9: Hazy muggy morning in Edgartown Harbor. Powerboats rush out of the harbor in the morning, making motor music. Clouds increase. Light south breeze.


text:
Class of 1993 Spring 2016 Letter
Greetings from Luther College! I am writing this letter to you before the start of spring semester, and after January Term break, but activities and events for the coming months are definitely on the minds of faculty, students, and staff. For example, today's Bulletin, published by the Campus Programming Office, reminds us to get our tickets for February's Center Stage Series; attend the ELCA summer camp and spring career fairs, held in Dahl Centennial Union; and—for sophomore students—to act quickly and sign up, if interested, for the few remaining spots in Luther's 2016-17 Nottingham Program. As always, there's a lot going on at our Alma Mater.


text:
Canadian grocery store chain Loblaws knew they had a great BBQ sauce based on customer comments. But they didn't understand why sales were so dismal.
Until they invited customers to post product reviews on their website. Only then did they discover the problem was the bottle – it was too tall to fit in refrigerator doors! They redesigned the bottle and their sales immediately increased.
That's user-generated content directly leading to an increase in sales. That's the power of social media marketing.
Are you still sitting on the sidelines when it comes to social media marketing because you know you can't control the conversations about your company, your products and your services? And because you have no idea how to respond to negative comments?


text:
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places."
~ ~ ~
Ephesians 6:12
~ ~ ~
NOTICE: This Blog contains thoughts, ideas, and images that are not consistent with or in keeping with the policies and ideas expressed by george soros and/or the democrat socialist party. Accordingly, you are hereby notified that the thoughts, ideas and facts presented on this web page constitute hate speech and you are warned that, as such, they may cause discomfort or offense to democrats, liberals, moonbats, socialist, those educated by the government, non-achievers, those suffering from wealth-envy and followers of The Chosen One. Continue at your own risk !
Sheee's Baaack !!
"Today is a big day in America. Only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good."
... Dingy Harry Reid !
"we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it !"
... Nancy Pelosi !
Never Forget
Huge Crowd Awaits Unveiling of Hussein Statue !
Monday, February 28, 2011
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
Union Busting ?
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
And Then There Were None........!
Frank Buckles, the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, has died. He was 110 !
More here !
posted by Sarge @
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Stimulus !
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
Stuff that didn't make it this month !
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
Pt. 2 !
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
Pt. 3 !
posted by Sarge @
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Pt. 4 !
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
Pt. 5 !
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
Pt. 6
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
So how did you break your collarbone ?
Click on pic to enlarge !
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
A cross between Richard Simmons and a troll...!
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
A Wisconsin honors English teacher...!
Filthy Democrats
Stupid Moonbats
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
God help us !
The can
has retired itself from the kicking game and governments find themselves confronted with a thousand foot concrete wall, extending to the horizon in both directions, against which lies an immense pile of cans. A can of Hope here; a can of Change there. And somewhere under the pile, a can labeled the "Middle East Peace Process"."
posted by Sarge @
0 comments
Cleanse your soul
with a little
Southern Boogie !
The Oath of the
Right-wing Extremist !
I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation
under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
The Second Amendment:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
I do solemnly swear
that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ...
~ Title 10, US Code ~
Let us pray... Give me a sense of humor, Lord, Give me the grace to see a joke, To get some humor out of life, And pass it on to other folk.
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" !
...Benjamin Franklin
"Don't let anybody tell you that, you know, it's corporations and businesses that create jobs." !
...Hitlery Klinton
"Give whites a pile of bricks and they'll make a city, give blacks a city and they'll make a pile of bricks"
Teach someone how to fish, and you lose a Democrat voter !
Never try to teach a liberal to think, It wastes your time and annoys the liberal !
Liberalism is a sick religion based solely on emotion and feelgoodism and wiping away their perceived guilt with other peoples money. It has never been based in thought and common sense !
"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."... Clarence Darrow !
"We have to spend money to keep from going bankrupt"
...Joe Biden !
"We tax everything that moves and doesn't move"....
Hitlery Klinton !
"I do think there are certain times
we should infringe on your freedom" !
.... Michael Bloomberg
"I never drink water because fish fuck in it"....
W.C.Fields !
"Life's tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid...." John Wayne !
"we are truly being governed by our inferiors, and in some cases criminals"
...Plato !
"Sure We Can Kill ISIS, But We're Not Going To Get Suckered Into That
...John Kerry !
"Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do".... !
"God have mercy on my enemies because I won't." ...
George S. Patton ! !
"There is no worse foolishness than the truth in the mouth of a fool"...
Don Colacho ! !
"If you take out the killings, Washington D.C. has one of the lowest crime rates in the country." ...
Marion Barry !
"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."
... Sir Winston Churchill !
Old Crap
Can you believe she's 67 ?
Granny holds a grudge !
Are we there yet ?
Purple haze, all in my brain Lately things they do...
Rosie .... is that you ?
It's suppertime !
The "Eye in the sky" !
.... and The Lord spoke !
Shit happens !
Gittin' the hell outta Dodge !
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text:
As more retailers offered deals on Thanksgiving Day, the number of Americans visiting stores to shop on the holiday jumped 83% this year, while a record number of people shopped online.
Continue Reading Below
Taking advantage of door buster deals, the average shopper spent $423 this weekend, up from $398 a year ago, while total spending reached an estimated $59.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Shoppers even headed out earlier this year with stores like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) and Toys 'R' Us opening as early as 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, with 28% making it to the store by midnight on Black Friday, compared with just 24.4% a year ago.
An estimated 35 million Americans visited stores after gobbling up their turkey dinners, up from just 6 million a year ago, according to the NRF.
"From green beans to great deals, millions of Americans found time this Thanksgiving to make the most of retailers' promotions," NRF CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.
On Black Friday, which marks the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season, a record 247 million shoppers visited stores and web sites, up from 226 million a year ago, according to the NRF survey conducted by BIGinsight, which polled more than 4,000 consumers on Nov. 23-24.
More shoppers visited brick-and-mortar stores this year compared with in 2011, however, online spending continued to make up a larger portion of holiday sales as consumers looking to avoid traffic and long lines shopped from the comfort of their living room.
E-Commerce Takes Bigger Bite Out of Black Friday
U.S. retail e-commerce spending this Black Friday reached $1.042 billion, making it the biggest online spending day to date in 2012 and marking a 26% increase from the 2011 period, according to data from comScore (NASDAQ:SCOR), which measures digital sales.
Typically a lighter shopping period, sales grew 32% on Thanksgiving Day to $633 million.
"We continue to see this shopping day become more and more prominent in the e-commerce channel – particularly among those who prefer to avoid crowds at the stores," comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement released on Sunday.
So far in the November-December 2012 holiday season online sales are up 16% year-over-year to $13.7 billion, comScore said. The average person spent $172.42 online this weekend, or approximately 40.7% of their total Black Friday spending, up from 37.8% in 2011, according to the NRF.
Reston, Va.-based comScore said it is looking forward to a high-traffic Cyber Monday as people head back to work. E-commerce sales this Monday are expected to be the heaviest of the season – if not ever –predicted to surpass $1.5 billion.
Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last week forecast a record-breaking Cyber Monday, with online revenue growing 18% to $2 billion. It had also expected sales to grow 12% year-over-year on Black Friday.
As of Sunday, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) had been the most visited online retail site over Black Friday weekend, recording a year-over-year increase of 18%, followed by Wal-Mart and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), according to the comScore data. Rounding out the top five most frequented retail sites this weekend were Target (NYSE:TGT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Online vs. Brick-and-Mortar Retail Stocks
A sign of online retail's growing footprint in holiday shopping, sales of online-only retailers like Amazon, eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK) are up 46% this year, more than double brick-and-mortar retailers.
Big-box retailers are starting to invest more heavily in their Web presence in an effort to better compete with online-only competitors that have been snagging a broader chunk of retail spending.
Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy, for example, adopted an aggressive holiday strategy this year that included matching prices from some of its biggest online rivals like Amazon and delivering goods directly to shoppers when inventory is not available in-store at the time of purchase to dissuade them from buying the item over the Internet.
The ailing consumer electronics giant's new chief executive, Hubert Joly, has pledged to grow the company's online sales, while streamlining the organization so that it operates as a more nimble company. Part of that strategy has included investing online, while closing certain 50,000 square foot brick-and-mortar stores in poorer performing regions.


text:
Skip to comments.Kaufman County (30 mi. east of Dallas) Judge calls shooting an 'ambush' (prosecutor gunned down)
Posted on 01/31/2013 10:41:07 AM PST by Zakeet
A Kaufman County assistant district attorney was shot dead outside the courthouse Thursday, spurring a complete lockdown of the grounds and an active search for the two shooters.
Kaufman County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Pat Laney said the suspects ambushed the assistant DA on his way in to court and shot him multiple times in a parking lot at about 8:50 a.m. They then fled the scene. The courthouse was locked down and later closed for the day.
County Judge Bruce Wood confirmed the victim's identity, however his family has not been notified. Wood told News 8's Jonathan Betz that the victim was not working on any high-profile cases that would've required any extra security. Investigators are following up on his caseload, however.
Wood told Betz that courthouse security is always tight, but not in the parking lot. He classified the shooting as an "ambush."
(Excerpt) Read more at wfaa.com ...
Yet another reason why we need to disarm law abiding citizens!
Gun free zone? Why do we keep blaming the inanimate object and not the actual law breaker?
Lesson: Don't overcharge the peeps, especially on gun charges.
Press is saying it might be linked to the Ayrian Brotherhood.
Yeah, right.
Sounds a lot like a hit.
yep. Between the Ayrian brotherhood and those darn Amish people......
"...not working on any high-profile cases..."
My guess would be drug related regardless of denials, maybe even a Mexican cartel hit on Texas soil. And, there's always the triangle possibility.
The question to be answered is, "Who would most benefit from this man's death?"........
The question to be answered is, Who would most benefit from this mans death?........
Rep. John W. Patman added: "The people have a right to keep arms; therefore, if we should have some Executive who attempted to set himself up as dictator or king, the people can organize themselves together and, with the arms and ammunition they have, they can properly protect themselves. . . ."
This screams drug hit and while I agree that there is a definite head in the sand approach to Mexican drug violence spillover, Ayrians do run a lot of meth.
"...darn Amish people".
uh oh, you've gone and done it now.
Hmmm .. news mediots still not reporting what was on his docket in *past* years ...
Per: http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013/01/county-employee-shot-outside-courthouse-in-downtown-kaufman.html/
Mark Hasse was chief of the Dallas County district attorneys organized-crime section from 1985 until 1988 and a former president of the Dallas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Gulf Cartel or their allies, Eric Holder's buddies.
Texas did something bad to a NarcoTrafficker, and THIS is how they communicate.
Can I assume their kids will be performing at the Super Bowl? It's late notice and all, but surely with the full backing of the WH they can be squeezed in.
Read the story elsewhere this evening. Interesting. Don't have too many prosecutors getting hit over the years. This is fairly new.
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text:
But today's version of the design is very specific - I wanted to use this design to form the "feather" body of Duchess Reigns:
In order to create a layered, regimented texture like this, the design can't be random or freeform. Here's another version of the same design, stitched slightly differently to form this texture:
The difference is short, stacked shapes verses long, wiggly flowing shapes working in all directions. Two different styles, two different textures. Never underestimate the power of a wiggly line!
So for Duchess Reigns I know I need to keep things short, stacked, and under control. Here's a video on how this design was filled through one of her arms:
As you can see, filling flame stitch through this section will be a very different experience than if I stitched long wiggly lines very randomly through her body. It's really down to finding the texture you want and figuring out the best way to make it happen.
So definitely give both the short, stacked version and long wiggly versions of Flame Stitch a try and link up with us tomorrow to share where you've quilted them in Express Your Love!
Let's go quilt,
Leah Day


text:
Topic: Best SW video games?
I didn't really know where to put this so here it is.
I am still playing N64 Pod racer and Shadows of the Empire because I own a Mac and a lot of computer based games don't release Mac versions still. I used to play the hell out of the Super Nintendo Star Wars games, especially the Empire and Jedi versions. So I am basically a Nintendo fan.
So my question to all of you who are gamers is...
If I am going to buy a consoled system which one has the best selection of SW games? I especially like stuff from the "classic" Star Was series but I want something that I can play a wide variety of SW games on that have good graphics and interesting back stories.
BTW does anyone know if they ever made a Tie simulator for Mac? I checked around the net and couldn't find anything.
Thanks for any feedback...:)
[url=http://www.bobafettfanclub.com/multimedia/galleries/thumbnails.php?album=lastupby&uid=1624]My Fan Art[/url]


text:
It seems only yesterday the only hybrid on any highway was a Toyota Prius or two. Now around where I live, you can see phalanxes of Priuses on any given day. On top of that, it seems everyone who makes anything that helps drive a commercial vehicle has got a hybrid offering of somes sort on the road or at least in the works.
This was driven home to me (no pun intended, honestly) recently when I got to witness an Allison Transmission "ride and drive" outside their headquarters in Indianapolis. It was not an elaborate event, at least not compared to some others held a few years back by this maker of automatic transmissions for commercial vehicles, but it was certainly geared to impressing potential customers.
There was an on-road and an off-road course so customers could experience how the automatics are designed to deliver "smooth power" no matter what the truck is doing-- whether that be rolling in traffic or tackling a slope at a construction site.
Getting back to hybrids, in a chat with Steve Spurlin, recently named executive director of 3000/4000 Series & application engineering for the manufacturer, I learned that Allison is well along in fielding a full-blown hybrid electric drive system for transit buses, dubbed Ev Drive.
According to Allison, its Ev Drive can significantly enhance the performance of transit buses, suburban
coaches and articulated buses running in a variety of applications - whether stop-and-go city
traffic, operating over the road or in some combination of the two.
If hybrids can be found now in passenger cars, pickup trucks, medium-duty trucks and transit buses, how much longer till they find their way into heavy-duty rigs? Don't better on it not happening sooner than later.


text:
Perhaps lost in the shuffle of internet rubbernecking about that astonishing photo of a bear in midair limply falling from a tree was a reason it was probably tranquilized in the first place: it got too close to the dorms on the University of Colorado campus.
In a sad postscript, the Boulder Daily Camera reports that the animal known to the internet as the "falling bear" had again wandered to the wrong place: it was apparently killed on a local highway after getting hit by two cars on Thursday. According to the newspaper report, there were "minor injuries to one of the drivers" of the vehicles and one of the cars was totaled.
The midair bear photo, taken by student photographer Andy Duann (who now owns the copyright), will live online forever, but now the picture is tinged with tragedy. Goodbye, midair bear; may you float forevermore.