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What's inside? Here are the questions answered in today's reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Donating to charities through businesses
2. Advanced board game recommendations
3. School or buy a house?
4. Rapid car loan payoff
5. Dealing with parental yearning
6. Life is not a test
7. Do extra mortgage payments help?
8. Games with great replay value
9. Handling a cash lump sum
10. Setting priorities in complicated situation
Over the last few months, I've been reading Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc.). It's a great page-turner and loaded with interesting characters (some of which don't receive enough page time – but Larsson was planning a ten book series).
The only problem I have with it is that a lot of the male characters are portrayed as seething with anti-female rage (aside from the main character, who is a thinly-veiled substitute for the author himself). They hate women and they abuse women. On the flip side, there are almost no female villains in the books (I can't think of any off-hand). I don't think either sentiment is very realistic… but maybe I'm looking for too much realism in a page-turning mystery series.
Last night, my wife and I ate at Chili's, because Chili's was donating 100% of its profits to St Jude's Children's Hospital on 9/27/10.
My question: We made a small donation that was added to our bill, as a seperate line item, to St Jude's. What are your thoughts on making donations through a third party, like Chili's, or sending a check directly to the charity?
– Robert
I'd prefer to make the donation directly, for three reasons.
First, if I'm making donations myself, I can research and choose the exact charity to give my money to. Some charities are definitely better than others – and some charities focus on areas that I value, while others do not.
Second, if I make donations myself, I can claim the tax deduction myself. If I donate $20 to a registered charity and get a receipt for that donation, that deducts from my taxes, saving me $5 or so (which I could then also donate). In other words, a $25 donation to a registered charity is roughly equal to a $20 non-registered donation at the end of the year when taxes are calculated. In your case, you seem to have been giving the cash to Chili's, not directly to the charity.
This leads me to the third problem. A donation given through Chili's mostly just serves as a PR campaign for Chili's. They'll use your money to make themselves look generous and good when they collect all of those donations together. I really don't like being part of a corporate PR campaign, even if it does benefit a charity in the end.
I really enjoyed your game night post. However, it was pretty clear that you were trying to recommend games for new groups. It sounds like you've been board gaming for a long time. What games do you play the most in your group?
– Kenny
I usually keep notes on the games we play at our game nights. Over the course of the years that I've kept notes on this, our top ten most played games are as follows:
1. Settlers of Catan
2. Dominion
3. Race for the Galaxy
4. Ticket to Ride
5. Agricola
6. Puerto Rico
7. Modern Art
8. For Sale
9. Power Grid
10. Ascension
Just to be forewarn you, some of these games can be pretty complicated and confusing, but they all are well worth spending the time to learn the rules. The simplest one is For Sale; the most complicated is probably Agricola; the one with the steepest learning curve is definitely Race for the Galaxy.
My husband and I are in our late 20's, renting in inner-city Atlanta for approximately $825 including utilities. Currently, he is employed full time in the government/transit sector and makes about $55K after taxes, with benefits. Since losing my job in March, I have freelanced and have a variable income, never exceeding more than spare change per month, and am currently looking for more work. I use my freelance money to pay my 4 credit card bills at a total of $200/month, for which the total combined limit is $2.5K (and amount owed, in fact, because I keep using them when I run out of money, after paying them. Revolving credit indeed!).
My husband foots everything else, and we otherwise have no debt. The only other regular expenses that I can think of are a shared studio space for him at $50/month, and our internet at $50/month. He has an emergency savings of about $6K, which we rarely have touched, but also don't regularly contribute to it. Most of our leftovers at the end of the month sort of sit in his checking account, or get used on vetrinary care and other random small/medium expenses. All in all, we follow a budget and we've got money left over, but we're probably using it relatively unwisely.
Through allowances in Georgia aestheticians requirements, I am certified to practice certain forms of hair care. However, I have no place to do so in our current living arrangements. I cannot practice in a salon environment without an aestheticians license (there may be more allowances, but I am unsure), or unless I work as an apprentice with credit hours being put toward licensing. Apprenticeships are hard to come by despite my haircare experience, so I have been looking into schools. We are car-free, so I can't travel to many of the cheaper schools in the outlying sprawl of Atlanta. There are several schools that are easily accessible, however they are high-end schools with high-end tuition, starting at approximately $15K, all inclusive for the full course and tools.
My husband recently learned that his grandmother has socked away $16K for his education. However, he received scholarships for his BS, graduated three years ago, and has no plans to get his Masters. All technical education and continued learning courses applicable to his work (for which he has been promoted three times) are covered by his employer. On the off chance that we would need to move for his work, his experience in the industry is equivalent or greater than a Masters would be, and he makes for a very qualified applicant in his field. If I were to get licensed, I too could go anywhere with few limitations.
I know you might advise me to take some money out of that $16K to pay off and close my credit cards, or to put the money toward training. However, from the discussions we've had with his family about even accessing the money as a down payment, this seems to be a situation in which the $16K is *his* money, for *his* future. I came into this relationships with these cards, have racked them up since being laid off, and also have that whole "my responsibility" thing. I'm fine with carrying $2.5K for a while, and I hope to get more work to make larger payments and stop using them soon.
We have been window shopping properties for about a year, and are looking to make a move now that we've got the down payment. A lot of the houses and condos in the inner-city neighborhoods we desire are under $100K, and I have arbitrarily set our max at $175K after some possibly inaccurate calculations. At 5% for 30 years, $175K comes out to be less than what we are paying for rent and utilities. (Correct me if I'm wrong, please!) Though we plan to move sometime in late 2011, we haven't sought out mortgage approval yet, so I know that we might need to adjust our expectations.
In order to make money in the hair industry, it seems I'd have to spend a rather large amount of money. It feels like a bad idea to take out a loan for a hair degree, especially when we are looking to buy a house at the same time. I'd like to think that we could balance both, but I would probably be unable to earn anything for at least a year while in training (the schedules are pretty rough.) Not as though I make much now, but with my freelancing, it's at least possible to look for more income. Given all of this, should I pursue training and licensing while putting the house hunting on hold? Should we move to a cheaper rental (I'd hate to move to a "temporary" place)? A combination of these things?
– Jennifer
The "his money for his future" idea is really strange to me. For starters, since you're married, your financial situations are tied deeply to each other. When you have to bend over to pay a debt, you're not able to carry some other load, which he will have to carry (and vice versa). Secondly, if it's his money, he should be able to do with it what he wishes. If you're currently stuck in a revolving door at that credit limit, it's a problem that affects you both.
The first thing you guys need to do is completely merge your personal finances. The idea of "his" money and "her" money, aside from a possible small pool of "spending money" for each of you, needs to go out the door. You're in this together.
I only have a partial picture of your budget here, but I suggest merging your money, getting rid of any and all debts as soon as you can, and establishing small "spending money" pools for each of you that limit your free spending each month.
So, what about the schooling? If you have a hair degree, will you actually be able to use it to earn significantly more than you're making now? Also, are you going to want to practice this trade over the long haul?
This is very much a trade program, meaning that it pays off if you can find work in that field and stay in that field for a while. If you're going to invest in that degree, you need to be sure that the field is open to you and that you have the ability and desire to do it – and to do it well. Also, since your shared financial future is on the line here, you need to make absolutely sure your husband is fully on board with this plan as well – after all, you did marry each other. Don't just insist on it, either – understand what he really wants here.
If all of that is in place, go for it and get that degree.
As for the housing, you should strive to live in the situation that has the lowest monthly cost of living. If you move into an ownership situation, you're adding maintenance costs and insurance costs on top of what you're currently paying. Can you afford that? On the surface, the mortgage is cheaper, but the mortgage doesn't reflect the total cost of ownership.
My husband and I want to pay off our $17,500 (4.5%) car loan as quickly as possible. The payment is $327 per month. I am realizing that car loans must not be calculated the same as my mortgage. When I over pay on my mortgage, the same amount is still do each month, but I see my principal balance going down. With my car, if I send in extra money I see that I owe less (or nothing the next month) but my principal balance hasn't gone down much. I always still pay at least the minimum. My question is, should we just pay the minimum and be saving up to make a huge payment later, or sending extra money each month? If we send in extra money, how will I know when I am close to paying it off?
– Jen
From your question, it seems as though the statements you're getting in the mail are not showing that the balance of your loan is going down with extra payments. If that's not happening, where is your money actually going? Is that extra payment appearing on your bill anywhere? Did your loan not allow you to make early payments?
If I were you, I would quickly call your lender and find out what is going on with your extra payments. Are they being held for future interest?
Once it's clear as to whether extra payments are actually providing a real benefit to you, move forward as you see fit. If you have an emergency fund on hand, there's absolutely no reason not to chase debt freedom.
I read with interest the letter from the older couple that wanted to adopt. Their situation was very similar to mine. We tried different was to conceive and didn't succeed. It was costly and emotionally draining. My wife has pretty much given up but I have the strong feeling to be a parent. As we bought a house this past year, our money is tight. It kills me to think that there are people like us that want kids, and kids that want parents, yet I feel there is some kind of Grand Canyon that separates us. Outside of asking for donations, adopting special needs kids via my home state, or becoming a 'big brother', do your readers know of any other means? I coach and referee soccer each weekend…. And when I see the joy of the kids and their parents, I feel such a strong empty feeling inside.
– Ida
The first step I would take in your journey is to get your finances in the best possible shape. You've just bought a house and you've mentioned that money is "tight." The truth is that adding a child to your life, no matter whether adopted or not, will put a serious strain on your monthly budget. If you're having difficulty making ends meet now without a child, it'll be much harder with a child.
Similarly, you need to both be sure that you're on the same page with adoption. Your mention of the fact that your spouse has "given up" and your recent decision to stretch your finances for a house seems to indicate that you're making life choices that move you away from having a child. Sit down and talk about this, openly.
If adoption is truly not going to work for you, your best approach is to simply be involved with youth organizations. Become a Scout Master. Stay involved in soccer. Get involved in refereeing basketball or umpiring baseball.
If you are going to adopt, one approach to consider is a private adoption, where an adoption lawyer helps you through the legal process of adopting a child that you locate yourself (for example, through advertising in newspapers, a la the film Juno).
The biggest obstacle I have to success is that I feel like everything in my life is a test and if I mess up, I'll somehow fail at life. It makes me nervous about everything. Do you have any suggestions?
– Sam
For there to be a test, there has to be a judge, and only very rarely is someone actually judging you directly on what you're doing right now.
Think about the people in your life. Do you immediately form a deep negative opinion of them if they make one mistake? Almost assuredly, you don't (or you have a very small social circle and possibly some problems that need professional help to overcome).
If you don't apply that strict criteria to others, why are you applying it to yourself? No one is perfect. All we can do is strive to do our best and accept that, yes, sometimes we don't match up to that.
If you're having difficulty reaching that own conclusion, you may find some value in seeking professional help through psychotherapy.
I was hoping you could help shed some light on this for me. My husband and I are considering refinancing our mortgage. Details: currently in year 8 of 30, 5.75 fixed rate mortgage, no PMI, with plans to stay in our house for a very long time. We both have excellent credit and no other debt, and our retirement accts are fully funded. We would refi to a 15-yr at about 4%. According to mortgage and refi calculators it would take 3.5-4 years to recoup the cost of the refi.
Seems like an obvious choice but here's the thing: my stepdad told me that an added mortgage payment of $100 is equal to a 1% rate decrease. Obviously there are different sizes of mortgages and different interest rates on those loans so that advice doesn't seem like it's completely accurate. However, it does seem like there would be some truth to it, so I'm wondering if we should forgo the refi and just add to our principal payment (we are already paying an extra $100+ each month) thereby avoiding all the fees associated with the refi. Or does it make good sense to grab the lower rate?
– Angie
Your stepdad is trying to boil some fairly complicated math down to a simple rule of thumb that doesn't quite hold true. So let's walk through that math instead.
Let's say that you have $200,000 left on your mortgage – I'm just making up a number so we have numbers to use. Your monthly payments on that mortgage would be $1,336.76 a month.
You could refinance that $200,000 into a 15 year mortgage at 4%. This would turn your monthly payment into $1,479.38 a month, but you would be paid off in just 15 years.
On the other hand, you could simply make a $1,436.76 payment each month on the mortgage you have now. This would move your payoff date up about three years, making it effectively a 19 year mortgage.
If you add $200 to the payment, making a $1,536.76 payment each month on your current mortgage, you would move your payoff date up another two years, making it effectively a 17 year mortgage.
So, your father is right in that adding $100 to your payment does effectively act as a reduction in how much you owe. However, it does not add up to enough to make up for the savings you'd get from refinancing to a 15 year at 4%. Compared to adding $200 a month to your current payment, the refinance would give you lower monthly payments and two years quicker to your payoff. Unless your mortgage balance is very, very small, you're better off refinancing.
Like you, I'm obsessed with maximizing the value of my purchases. I like playing video games and I tend to focus on ones with as much replay value as I can find so that the "cost per hour" is as low as possible. What have been your biggest bargain games in this regard?
– Lucas
Excluding free games that I've played extensively, like Desktop Tower Defense, the biggest bang for my buck ever for electronic gaming probably has to be Civilization IV. I can't tell you the number of late nights I've spent sitting there building an empire and thinking to myself, "Just one more turn!"
I asked my wife (a pretty avid gamer herself) what her best value game was and she said, without a doubt, Sim City 2000.
In terms of travel gaming – the kind you can easily keep in your pocket – my winner (again, by a long shot) is Advance Wars: Dual Strike.
What do all three games have in common? They're all turn-based strategy games. For me, those kinds of games are the most fun over the long haul.
My husband and I are both 30 years old. No consumer debt, no student loans. We owe $48,000 at 5.5% on our mortgage – down by one third from when we bought the house 18 months ago. We pay an extra $1000 towards the principal every month.
We also are working towards funding a 6 month emergency stash, saving for a vacation, an eventual replacement car, etc. Everything is where is should be, all our ducks are in a row. Except! We have $25,000 just sitting in an account not earning any interest. When the market started to tank a few years ago we pulled it out and now much, much later the money is still just sitting there. Any advice?
– Nicole
If nothing else, that cash should be in an interest-bearing savings account instead of sitting there earning nothing. Even 1-2% interest is notable on $25,000 – that's $250-500 a year.
If I were you, though, I'd take that cash and throw it straight towards your various goals, starting with the emergency fund. Get that fully funded and suddenly you have the monthly funds you were putting into that free to put towards the other goals. You'll reach all of them much more quickly.
You have goals. You're moving towards them. That's really the best situation anyone can be in.
My husband and I met in high school and ending up having a baby at sixteen. Since then everyday as been a struggle. I am currently 4 months pregnant and just started a new job as a Pharmacy Tech in August. I am currently making about $1,200 a month and my husband makes about the same. Our daughter is in private school due to the state of public schools in our area, and that costs $550 a month. We live with my mother in law so we don't have any household bills except food and cell phones. We are trying to buy a house before January. My husband has no debt but I have $15,000 worth of student loans and various medical bills. With my first check I paid about half of my medical bills off and have about $500 left in those types of bills.
I really need help deciding whether buying a house is a good idea before paying off my student loans. We haven't been pre-approved for a loan yet but are trying to buy a house for around $80,000.
– Donna
With a child coming and a roof over your head for the immediate and indefinite future, I would recommend that your focus be on maximizing your monthly cash flow. That means, rather than taking on the additional bills that a house would give you, pay off that student loans and the other bills first and make sure you can cover whatever the costs will be associated with the baby on the way.
The best thing you can do is to sit down with your mother-in-law and sincerely thank her for helping you guys out. Without her help, you would be in a very deep pickle right now. Talk through the options with her and make sure that she is okay with you staying a bit longer.
If she is, then focus on getting your current debts out of the way and getting your baby delivered safe and sound without any additional debts – and also make sure that you have post-birth work lined up and start saving for a down payment. At that point, you should focus on finding a home.
Got any questions? Email them to me or leave them in the comments and I'll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag. However, I do receive hundreds of questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.


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Rebound in Commercial Real Estate to continue
Posted on: Feb 14 14
BOULDER — The good times figure to keep getting better for the local commercial real estate and development sectors in 2014.
Rents will keep rising. Vacancy rates will keep dropping. And new and redeveloped projects will keep springing up at a rapid rate. Those are the general feelings of many in the industry as the New Year begins.
"We're not projecting any big slides in 2014 or 2015," Lynda Gibbons of Gibbons-White Inc. told the crowd at a real estate conference in November, noting that she expects the real estate gains to come across the board for office, retail, flex and industrial spaces.
Gibbons said recently that a number of factors are playing into the area's continued surge. The University of Colorado continues to be a major contributor, she said. Boulder's ever-growing reputation as a technology hub is also factoring in, attracting high-level employees from around the country to the quality of life enjoyed in Boulder County.
With office vacancy rates down 5 percent in downtown and central Boulder, Dean Callan and Co. president Becky Callan Gamble said lease rates can't help but increase.
"Any time you're sub-five on a vacancy rate, that's going to drive lease rates and reduce landlord incentives," Gamble said.
But as rates continue to push upward in Boulder, Gamble noted, that will continue to create opportunities for Boulder's other submarkets like Louisville, Lafayette and Longmont.
Developers are doing their best to capitalize on the demand in Boulder and create more space for companies to stay as they grow. Rally Software Development Corp.'s headquarters at 3333 Walnut St. will more than double in size in the coming months, with the Michigan-based owners of the building planning an 89,000-square-foot addition. Rally signed a lease in June to occupy the expanded building rather than move elsewhere.
"To see a company like that be able to stay in Boulder and double its size, I think that's a great statement," Gamble said.
The most intriguing Boulder project expected to break ground in 2014 and bring new office space by 2015 is the mixed-use redevelopment of the former Daily Camera building at 11th and Pearl streets. Dubbed Pearl West, it will include 160,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space along with parking and other amenities.
But downtown won't be the only focal point in Boulder in 2014. Boulder Junction, at the area of 30th and Pearl streets, continues to boom with development as the 3100 Solana apartments continue to progress and the Depot Square mixed-use development is built.
Outside of Boulder, one of the largest-scale developments in the area in years is breaking ground as the 157-acre, $700 million Superior Town Center finally starts to come to fruition after years of planning. Work is also underway on multiple infill developments in Louisville like Center Court Village, a $31 million mixed-use project expected to be completed this year that will include an Alfalfa's Market, three apartment buildings and retail space. Longmont, meanwhile, should see work begin on the long-anticipated Twin Peaks Mall redevelopment, with work to finish sometime in 2015.
Scott Pedersen, owner of Pederson Development Co. in Boulder and the man behind the Depot Square development, said he believes the commercial boom will continue through 2014.
"There's a fair amount of money that appears to be available to development," Pedersen said.
One thing Pedersen, who specializes mostly in mixed-use infill projects, believes it will be interesting to keep an eye on is the multi-family housing component. With apartment vacancies below three percent in some parts of the county, developers have rushed to meet demand.
"When all the new product comes online, it will be interesting to see what happens to rental rates and to vacancy rates," Pedersen said. "As vacancy starts to increase, rental rates would naturally start to decrease, and we'll just have to see where it settles out."

subset: commoncrawl


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Kenny Chesney Talks Concert Security in the Wake of the Boston Marathon Attacks
With the brutal attacks at the Boston Marathon this week so fresh in everyone's mind, it's inevitable that people are thinking more in terms of personal safety than usual -- and country music superstar Kenny Chesney is no exception.
The singer is scheduled to perform in concert at Boston's Gillette Stadium in August, and he admits that the tragic turn of events has got him pondering the security measures at his upcoming shows.
"It's always in the back of our mind, but we have as much security as we possibly can," Chesney tells ABC News Radio in an interview from Thursday (April 18). "We play a lot of these football stadiums, and it's the same security that they would have at a sporting event. And, I mean, you can't overdo it either. What is too much security? What is too little security? So, it does make you think about it."
While he may have additional security at his upcoming concerts, the star says he let down his guard for his new album 'Life on a Rock,' which features songs that offer more personal glimpses than some of his previous work.
"I was able to make a record where I didn't edit myself like you usually do for a record," he observes. "I wrote all these songs knowing that the majority of them would never see the light of day on a radio station or in my show. It allowed me to really be honest with my fans and tell them stories and open up some doors that I haven't, and that felt really good."


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A beating at the hands of a cop, brief torture and a stab wound were all in an hour's work for Jack Bauer, but Kiefer Sutherland needs a little time to mend.
20th Century Fox Television has temporarily shut down production of "24" so that star and executive producer Sutherland can undergo a surgical procedure related to a ruptured cyst near his kidney, the Los Angeles Times reports.
"While Kiefer Sutherland is frustrated to miss even one day of work, he and Fox decided together that it would be best to complete this minor elective procedure now as a precaution as opposed to six weeks from now when production wraps. He looks forward to returning to work next week," the paper quoted Sutherland's publicist in a statement.
Production will probably resume in one week. For those watching the television series, this might come as a surprise since just last episode Bauer took a knife to the stomach and threw the offending blade aside as if it were a toothpick.
20th Century Fox Television also issued a statement to the Times:
"We are temporarily suspending production of '24' while our friend and colleague Kiefer Sutherland undergoes a medical procedure. We hope to resume production shortly and do not anticipate any disruption in the broadcast of this season's episodes."


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I knew something would have to give in tonight's Parenthood when I got to the halfway point, and just about everybody was behaving fairly reasonably. This was weird, because at least half of the storylines were vaguely unbelievable and/or obviously forced on the show to provide some false drama. The fallout from the Adam and Rachel kiss, for instance, mostly just involved Adam telling Kristina (after Crosby cautioned he shouldn't) and Kristina asking if Rachel would be fired. And the Joel and Julia storyline was about the two trying to track down their future child's birth father to have a little meet and greet with the guy. Amber struggled with money, Crosby and Jasmine realized they had to make some things clear for Jabbar, and Sarah was nowhere to be seen. Clearly, the bad shit was just around the corner.
And then, oh then, everything erupted. Parenthood is almost always at its best when things erupt because the show gets that in an argument, people can be petulant and small, but they're rarely coming at issues from positions they don't believe in (unless they're total dicks). Take, for instance, what happens once Kristina finds out that Adam hasn't fired Rachel. It's a tough scene to watch because it's easy to understand why Adam didn't fire her—she's a good employee, in spite of everything else—but it's also easy to understand why Kristina's so damn angry about the whole thing. Would you want your husband working with a younger woman who's obviously enamored of him, particularly when you're still trying to lose pregnancy weight? Probably not. We in the audience know that Adam Braverman is a damn saint who would never do anything to hurt Kristina, but to her, he's only human, and his failure to fire Rachel is a sign of him thinking with his dick.
A lot of Parenthood relies on people doing believably stupid things, and that sometimes means the show stumbles. Rachel kissing Adam was so obviously the show trying to come up with something to goose the drama, but Adam not firing her felt like something his character would do. So was the scene where Adam lied to his wife about the firing, believing, for whatever reason, that he could indefinitely put off having the conversation where he admitted he hadn't. Of all of the characters on this show, Adam most believes in his own bullshit, which gets him into trouble more often than not. He doesn't fire Rachel because he's trying to be the good guy and spare her feelings. He doesn't tell his wife the truth for the same reason. Both actions can't occupy the same space, and Kristina's hurt feelings are the kind of small-scale Armageddon that makes this show compelling at its best. I wasn't terribly thrilled about the way to this point, but I'm interested to see where all of this is going.
Similarly, Crosby and Jasmine not realizing that Jabbar would somehow realize via osmosis that his parents had split up and wouldn't be getting married struck me as a little dumb. I get hoping that you won't have to have a difficult conversation with your child, but there's that and then there's apparently not understanding that 6-year-olds don't always grasp the intricacies of adult relationships. Once the two got over their momentary stupidity, however, this was really quite a good storyline, showing how the show excels at portraying those small moments in families that make all the difference. As an added bonus, it was a storyline that seemed custom-made to return Jasmine to a place where she could be seen as likeable again. The show's struggled with the character, precisely because the freewheeling Crosby is often easier for the audience to sympathize with, and this was a good return to form for the character. It's nice to remember that she's not always nagging someone about something. Crosby and Jasmine sleeping together, however? That's something I'll wait and see on. Seems disastrous, but I think the show realizes that, at the very least.
Meanwhile, Amber's money troubles were also perfectly observed. Turning to a family member for financial help is never fun, no matter how much you're certain you'll get the money and no matter how much you're certain that they'll be happy to help, and the scene between Amber and Camille hit all the right notes for this sort of thing. I also liked that Sarah tried to help Amber get her budget under control, only to find that her daughter had no idea what any of the stuff her mom was asking about actually cost (and seemed offended to even be asked about it). I think I like Amber so much because she reminds me of me at her age. I, too, had basically no interest in budgeting or getting my finances under control, and that made for more than a few tense conversations with family. Still, Amber's getting it together, and I'm just glad the show didn't have someone steal her rent money out of the landlord's mailbox or something (which I was certain we were headed for when she crammed that huge wad of cash in an envelope—who doesn't have a checking account?!).
Once again, though, the Joel and Julia storyline was pretty dumb. I actually didn't mind how it started out. Zoe is working well within the framework of the little family, and I thought, like Joel, that it was high time we met the birth father. Unfortunately, the kid was such a mustache-twirling villain that it was hard to find something in this scene other than the writers heaping more problems on Joel and Julia. Remember what I said earlier about this show excelling at arguments where you completely understand where both parties are coming from? That wasn't really true here, as the bio-dad was all, "You should totally give us money for this baby," and Julia and Joel were all, "That's illegal," and bio-dad said, "But you're a lawyer! You make the laws!" and Joel all but threw him bodily out of his house and said, "No, my wife upholds the laws." That moment was kind of awesome, but the whole character of the birth father was one that didn't really work.
Look: I get that people are going to be opportunistic in this situation. I get that this kid who works in a grocery store and knocked up his girlfriend is going to walk into Joel and Julia's house and say, "Hey. Now this is living." (Parenthood, though subtly, has always played around with class distinctions between its characters.) I'm fine with all of that. But the way he immediately jumped to a payoff was both crass and didn't even attempt to get into the character's head in an interesting way. He's just a plot impediment, standing in the way of Joel and Julia getting the baby they want, and people on Parenthood usually get what they want. (I'm not saying this is a bad thing.) Yes, the way that Joel and Julia have gotten this baby so easily is blatantly unrealistic, but attempting to toss in a complication like this out of nowhere doesn't help in that regard. There's an interesting story to tell about wealthy people who adopt a baby from people of very little means. There's an interesting story to tell about a birth father who talks a birth mother out of signing her child away so quickly. But I'm not sure this is it, and I'm not sure it should happen this suddenly.
Stray observations:
- Braverman of the week: I'm going to give this award to Crosby, as he says exactly the right thing in every situation. Okay, yeah, he was wrong to suggest Adam shouldn't have told Kristina about the kiss, but, honestly, I totally see where he was coming from. And he got to hook up with his super-hot ex-fiancée!
- I liked the family dinner in Adam and Kristina's place. I always enjoy the kids joking around, and it's fun to see the characters being warm toward each other like this. But more Haddie please.
- Nora is an awfully cute baby. It's good to know that Jason Katims learned his lessons with Gracie Bell over on Friday Night Lights. Television demands preternaturally cute children!
- This is a show known for goofy musical choices, but even I can't quite believe how goofy the choice to have Rachel sit down and start playing "Moonlight Sonata" to score some SUPER DRAMATIC STUFF was.
- I must say the "next week on" did not fill me with extreme confidence in terms of the show no longer forcing drama on the characters.
- "We'll have an illiterate headbanger." "But a pretty one."
- "We all kissed each other."


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U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Company Fired Female Worker for Complaints About Gender-Based Abuse, Discharged Male Manager Who Refused to Fire Her, Federal Agency Charged
BALTIMORE – A construction company that provides services to the U.S. Army at its Aberdeen, Md., location will pay $230,000 and furnish other substantial relief to settle an EEOC gender-based abuse and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
In its suit the EEOC charged that Bell BCI, LLC and the Bell Company, LLC, both doing business as "The Bell Company," violated federal law by subjecting Elaine Cusato to a sexually hostile and offensive work environment while she was employed as a skilled equipment operator. The EEOC said that Cusato was subjected to daily criticism by her supervisor, the plumbing crew foreman, with a vehemence, aggression and profanity that was not directed at male workers. Further, the EEOC charged that when mechanical foreman Timothy Shultz refused to fire Cusato solely because she was considered a "troublemaker" for complaining about the sex discrimination, both were fired as retaliation.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sex and retaliation for complaining about it. The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action Nos. 1:10-cv-01342 and 1:10-cv-02710) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division, after first attempting to reach a settlement out of court through its conciliation process.
In addition to the monetary relief to Cusato and Shultz, the consent decree requires that the Bell Company provide significant remedial relief:
"Employers have a responsibility to maintain an environment free of gender-based harassment and retaliation, which are clearly and simply illegal," said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence. "This settlement provides appropriate relief to the victims while implementing measures to prohibit this type of misconduct in the future."
In fiscal year 2010, the EEOC received 29,029 sex-based charges and 30,948 retaliation charges filed under Title VII.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the agency is available at its web site at www.eeoc.gov.


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Purchasing Bulk CBD oil at wholesale in Carrie basis is not an easy task. There are many things to consider when doing so. In fact, the cost and quality of the oil would depend on the plant it is extracted. Another factor that has a direct impact on the price of the product is the quantity of Wholesale Bulk CBD oil produced by the plant.
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Given its nature as such a minimally invasive means of using CBD, the topical cannabinoid method is favored by many consumers that are just barely dipping their toe into the much larger pool of the hemp oil industry at large. Many people are hesitant to take CBD oil orally. An external application feels much safer for a first time experience, especially given the targeted response.
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CER Update
The Committee for Environmental Responsibility (CER) had a very productive fall semester. I'd like to share some of the highlights.
Desiderata for new Tritton Dorm. In anticipation of the new dorm CER proposed the following features.
- Ground Source heat pump HVAC system
- Integrated Smart Metering
- Dual flush toilets to help conserve water
- Green Roof
- Grey water reuse
- Sustainable landscaping
- Covered bicycle parking
- Incorporating recycling work flow into plan
Green Plan for managing and reducing waste on campus. With assistance from an outside consultant, CER devised a plan that would eventually shift the campus-wide waste management and recycling practices toward more sustainable methods.
- Provide for on-site composting of Dining Hall food waste.
- Develop a plan to double Haverford College's recycling rate and implement programs that would allow Haverford to materially benefit from the increase in recoverables.
- Revise waste collection practices to reduce amount and frequency of trash removal from campus.
Preliminary approval has been given to purchase a Vegawatt Power System which turns waste vegetable oil from food service operations into electricity with a 5kW generator.
Student Farm/Garden proposal. Students got approval to expand the current student garden at HCA. Historically, farming has been a part of Haverford College and CER students would like to resurrect this tradition.
CPGC: Walking the Walk. CER has joined with the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) to help them "Go Green".
- CPGC has agreed to higher costs for using sustainable products for their cafe events.
- Educating the college community on recycling.
- Composting food scraps from the cafe.
- Buying "Green" office products.
- Buying offsets for business travel and visiting speakers.
- Encouraging , libraries, administrative departmentsto purchase recycled paper for all uses.
- Educating that recycling guidelines have changed. We can now recycle plastics 1-7.
- Recyclemania kicks off March 2010.
Tags: Composting, dual flush toilets, gray water, green roof, heat pumps, Recycling, student farm, travel offsets, vegawatt


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I don't know who the author is, but the following advice sounds pretty good to me.
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?"
Answers ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. You have to put the glass of water down for a while and rest before holding it again. Likewise, once you're refreshed, you can carry on with the burden.
"So before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home; you can pick it up tomorrow. Put it down, and don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while."
Here are some tidbits from the same author:
♦ Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
♦ Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
♦ Always wear stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
♦ Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be "recalled" by their maker.
♦ If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
♦ If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
♦ Your sole purpose in life may simply be to be kind to others.
♦ Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time or you won't have a leg to stand on.
♦ Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
♦ When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
♦ Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
♦ You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
♦ Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
♦ A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
♦ We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all live in the same box. (This one is attributed to Robert Fulghum)


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Jan. 30, 2012 –Today, Secretary Robert Barham of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) announced the fall shrimp season will close in the remaining portion of Shrimp Management Zone 1, excluding the open waters of Breton and Chandeleur sounds, at official sunset on February 2, 2012.
The Department took action in December to extend the fall shrimp season in these waters, but current sampling conducted by LDWF fisheries biologists indicates that average white shrimp size in these waters is smaller than 100 count per pound. This action protects these small, white shrimp and provides increased opportunity for growth to larger, more valuable sizes. It also protects juvenile brown shrimp which begin to recruit into these waters in early spring.
Effective with this closure, shrimping will only be allowed in:
- The open waters of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds as described by the double-rig line in R.S.56:495.1.(A)2, and
- State outside waters seaward of the inside/outside shrimp line east of the U.S. Coast Guard navigational light off the northwest shore of Caillou Boca at 29 degrees 03 minutes 10 seconds north latitude and 90 degrees 50 minutes 27 seconds west longitude, and
- State outside waters seaward of the inside/outside shrimp line west of Freshwater Bayou Canal at 92 degrees 18 minutes 33 seconds west longitude
A map of those waters which will remain open to shrimping is available on the LDWF website. Click here. [4]
The shrimping industry is the most valuable commercial fishery in Louisiana, averaging over 8,700 licensed recreational and commercial shrimpers annually over the past five years.
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov [5], on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb [6]or follow us on Twitter @LDWF.
For more information, please contact Laura Wooderson at firstname.lastname@example.com or (225) 610-2363.


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Man Arrested for Branding Woman's Genitals Arrested Again for Dog Porn
The arrest of an Arizona man early this month on suspicion of branding his name into the private parts of at least one former girlfriend has resulted in the same man's arrest earlier this week on bestiality charges.
Christopher Lynn Jackson of Chandler was picked up on Monday after Maricopa County Sheriff's Office detectives found multiple pornographic videos in his home featuring himself and two women performing "various sex acts" on his German Shepherd.
"If you saw the video, you'd be pretty sick," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "We weren't expecting this."
The search warrant that led police to discover the disturbing footage stemmed from allegations that Jackson had branded his initials into his then-girlfriend's "vaginal area" and declared that "her vagina was his."
The victim claims Jackson, who owns a landscaping business called Lawn Tamers, "bragged" about having branded his name into the genitals of previous girlfriends as well.
In addition to Jackson, authorities in Maricopa County also arrested 61-year-old Josephine Erikson, one of the women believed to have participated in the "dog porn."
Meanwhile, Dirk, the German Shepherd, was taken from Jackson's home by detectives, and he is currently in their care.


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Student survives bomb attack at Boston Marathon
Staff writer
Ryan Wiebe of Peabody goes to Kansas State University, right next door to Fort Riley. He had heard bomb blasts before; one such practice explosion rattled the glass of his dorm room window.
The blasts at the Boston Marathon were much louder because Wiebe was much closer, only about two blocks away. He heard two explosions and they seemed to occur in quick succession, although he read in media reports there was about 12 seconds in between. He could feel the impact of the bombs, the Earth shake, as mini tremors rolled through his body.
At the time, he did not know they were bombs. It was Patriots' Day in Boston, a daylong party, maybe it was cannons firing in celebration. The sounds of sirens and a wave of police officers alerted Wiebe that something more malicious had occurred.
At that point, Wiebe was a spectator. He was meeting up with K-State marathon club teammate Lyndy Stucky of Texas and her parents after she completed the race. At about 2:50 p.m. the bombs went off and she joined Wiebe and her family, walking away from the marathon route with a frightened crowd. They stopped at a nearby hotel and watched a television report that said 12 people had been hurt.
It took considerable time to get back to their hotel; the subway had been closed, blocking a quick route. As more information became available they learned about 200 people were hurt; three people had died.
Wiebe feels very lucky, maybe luckier than most. He was positioned near the finish line after completing his own run, moving later to celebrate with Stucky. In almost that very spot one of the bombs was detonated.
He viewed one of the pictures of the aftermath and saw the pavement where he was standing smeared with blood. He said he is still trying to process feelings of grief — why he was chosen to live and others to die.
In the time he stood in that spot, he was not suspicious. He was carrying a black bag himself, transporting his phone, wallet, and other small items. Everyone was carrying some type of tote. Lone bags left by spectators were not out of the ordinary.
"Even if I did see somebody drop the bag off, that would be the last thing I would think," Wiebe said.
The events completely obscured what was a victorious day for Wiebe and his teammates. Wiebe set a new personal record in his third marathon, running the 26.5-mile race in 2 hours, 46 minutes.
"Every once in a while in running, everything clicks together," Wiebe said.
Wiebe's performance was influenced by the spectacle of the event. The biggest race Wiebe had previously run was the marathon in Kansas City with about 10,000 runners. The Boston Marathon had about 27,000 runners, more people than the enrollment at K-State. Wiebe said it felt like there were a million spectators on the streets.
The experience was unlike anything Wiebe had done. As he ran the early stages of the race through residential areas, people were out barbecuing. Wiebe was offered a beer more than once.
At mile 13, the runners passed by Wellesley College. The passage is nicknamed the scream tunnel because of the cacophonous noise created by the students of the all-girls college.
Wiebe was buoyed on the back half of the race. One or two spectators lined up on the route, turned to six, then eight, and then 15 people stacked in a row like sardines near the finish line. At the same time, the buildings seem to rise around runners. He was running into a valley with the noise building like a rolling timpani as he inched closer to the finish line.
Some of the participants were walking. Wiebe did not know how that was possible with all the people cheering.
The experience was worth the year of planning Wiebe committed to have the K-State Marathon Club participate. It was worth the approximately $120 entry fee and travel expenses.
"It went from a great day, running wise, to being overshadowed by destruction and sadness," Wiebe said.
Wiebe can't think of a valid reason someone would want to bomb the marathon and ruin everyone's experience. The best he can come up with that it gives the perpetrators a few moments in the national spotlight.


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I've read on several occasions that you'll be able to finish Diablo III playing solo. Yes, you can bring your friends along for the ride, but on the normal setting you should be able to beat the game all by your lonesome. Now, take a look at how WoW's quest lines changed from pre to post Cata. Sure, there was a lot --a lot!-- of meandering quest lines that got cleaned up, but think about what also changed: any requirements for teaming up.
The last vestiges of group quests are found in the Outland and Northrend zones (including the BC racial starting areas). The new post-Cata quest chains are all on rails, too: you have to do them in sequence, no exceptions. This means you zip right along, heading straight up to L60. Things get a wee bit diverted in Outland and Northrend with the lack of updates to those areas, but the L85 Express kicks right back into gear once you hit the Cata zones.
The first few times you level up to L85, that's not a big issue. You can quest, you can run instances, you can run BGs. You can even heavily incorporate herb gathering and mining into your leveling experience if you feel like it. But after a while, you start to get tired of seeing the same zone in the same order again and again and again. Yes, the phasing is cool, and you do have a visible impact on the world. And yes, the quests-on-rails is a consequence of that design decision. However, a side effect of it is the lack of group play when you're out questing in Azeroth.
Let's think about this for a moment.
- A design that emphasizes --and encourages-- solo play until you get to max level.
- Due to the speed of leveling, the emphasis isn't simply on playability, but on how quick you can get to max level.
- The quests-on-rails environment is all about telling the story --the same story-- which is completely locked in to this expansion. This means that if Blizz were to create another expansion that had an impact in the two main continents of Azeroth, this entire environment would have to be redone, the story rewritten.
I'll give Blizz the benefit of the doubt in that I'm sure they wanted to tell a good story that couldn't be told without a complete revamp of the Old World, but the law of unintended consequences has re-emphasized that all the action is at max level. Being out in the field is a solo affair, and unless you play in a PvP realm, there's not a lot of interaction going on in Azeroth.
Now look, I know quite well you can turn off XP and goof around as much as you want. But I have tried to slow down advancement on a few of my toons while still collecting XP, and unless you spend your time in zones far below your class, it's almost impossible to not level up while questing. And fairly rapidly, at that.
A side effect of Blizz's current quest design philosophy is that it is so jarring to move from Azeroth to Outland and Northrend, where the quest-on-rails simply doesn't exist. That's why the upcoming adjustments in leveling in Northrend became so necessary: they were the brake on the L85 Express.
However, never has this design philosophy been so evident as when you leave WoW and enter another MMO.
LOTRO is a lot like 'old style WoW': there are mostly solo quests out there, and you can do them in any order you want (within reason, naturally). You're not locked in all the time. LOTRO also doesn't have a bunch of small quests as part of a large chain, either; it's all one long quest, but it's broken into sections without having to subdivide into mini-quests. There are some group quests as well: people hook up for those quests, and they're done ala pre-Cata WoW. The leveling is at a more sedate pace, which matches the tone of the MMO. Sure, people will want to play WoW because they loved the story found in the books and Warcraft I-III, but not as many as you might think. In LOTRO, however, the story is the primary draw, and Turbine knows it. If you spread out the pace of leveling you can immerse yourself more fully into Middle Earth, and you can be more social with friends. End level raiding isn't their primary design emphasis.
Now Age of Conan... That is a horse of a different color.
AoC does have a neat little trick called offline leveling that allows you to level more rapidly once you're past L30, which is perfect for those who choose to accelerate their movement to max level. But if you choose to level using questing, you're in for a surprise.
Once you get past the Tortage starter area, the number of group quests really goes up. Sure, you have a lot of individual quests to work on, but AoC practically pushes you into group cooperation with the way the zones are designed. The Cimmerian area Connall's Valley has the Vanir deployed more like an instance than anything else, and their movements are a lot more detailed than I've seen in WoW. As I've commented before on the AI, enemies are far more sensitive to nearby attacks and use real tactics to give themselves the best possible advantage. For some quests it becomes absolutely necessary to work in a group, even if the quest itself isn't flagged as a group quest.
With AoC the focus is not only on creating a more demanding quest line, but one that encourages group cooperation. AoC shares a similarity with LOTRO in that the journey is important enough to encourage immersion, but the approach to get people involved in the journey is different. The net result, however, is that both MMOs slow down leveling; their devs don't focus the MMOs to getting the player to max level as quickly as possible.
This upcoming week, we'll hear about the new WoW expansion from Blizzcon --and if you don't think we'll hear something, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you-- and I wonder what Blizz will do to counteract the heavily story-laden Star Wars: The Old Republic juggernaut. Will they orient themselves even more toward end-game raiding, or will they go off the quests-on-rails and change their quest focus again? I guess we'll find out soon.


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Monday, June 15, 2015 -- 8:20 PM EST
Maryland pro shines brightest in field full of stars, dons second bracelet and pockets $224K.
Read More
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 -- 2:12 AM EST
Poker pro tops stacked final table in Deuce-to-Seven championship.
Saturday, July 7, 2012 -- 6:39 PM EST
Las Vegas Poker Pro Collects His Second WSOP Gold Bracelet Just as Main Event Begins.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 -- 3:51 PM EST
26-Year-Old Las Vegas Poker Pro Wins Deuce-To-Seven Triple-Draw Lowball Championship.
Sunday, June 12, 2011 -- 1:40 PM EST
Event #16 Official Report -- No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Championship.
Monday, June 6, 2011 -- 6:09 PM EST
Event #9 Official Report -- No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Single-Draw Lowball.
Monday, June 6, 2011 -- 5:59 PM EST
Amazing Feat: Englishman Collects Gold Bracelet First Time He Plays the Game.
Saturday, June 12, 2010 -- 2:17 PM EST
Michigan's Baker Collects nearly $250,000 and 1st WSOP Gold Bracelet.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 -- 2:17 PM EST
Lowball Specialist Yan Chen Captures 1st WSOP Gold Bracelet.
For more than forty years, the World Series of Poker has been the most trusted name in the game. WSOP.com continues this legacy, yet strikes the proper balance between professional-grade and accessible. It's all the action and prestige of the World Series of Poker, from the comfort of your home or locale of choice. At WSOP.com, anyone can play and anyone can win. Dreams are dealt on daily basis. And no matter who you are, there's always a seat waiting for you.
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To really envision the possibilities of a K-State experience, there's no substitute for seeing the campus in person. There are a variety of ways to tailor your visit to be a perfect fit.
Personalized campus visit
A personalized campus visit is all about you. It's tailored to your specific academic and extracurricular interests. Personalized visits can be scheduled throughout the year, based on availability.
Group visit
Group visits are available for school or community groups and offer a variety of schedule options. We can help plan a visit experience for your group, kindergarten and up.
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Formats PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360
Developer Ivory Tower/Ubisoft Reflections
Publisher Ubisoft
Released 14 November 2014
The video game landscape is changing. Largely gone are the days when wholly completed projects would be printed on discs and inserted in our consoles, played until completion and then stored away likely never to be seen again. We live in an age of downloadable content additions, "shared-world experiences" and expansion packs that tread a the line between commercial cynicism and cultural value.
It is into this environment that new games must venture in order to justify the kinds of nine figure budgets that are increasingly being reported on. Indeed, without such an approach a game is unlikely to generate the kind of investment that would classify it as a member of the nebulously-titled 'triple-A' crowd.
Into this space enters The Crew, a massively multiplayer online driving game set across the entirety of the United States. That's 'entirety' in the pragmatic, rather than the idealist, sense. The map is not to scale, rather landmarks and cities are correctly positioned in relation to one another and driving between them means racing across routes lined with roughly the right kind of scenery. It's a shared experience, with other players occupying the world with you, and what's on the disc is far from what's eventually going to be available.
"Two years ago I would have said that on day launch day the content that's on the disc would be everything," explains The Crew's creative director Julian Gerighty. "Today, though, and this is both a blessing and curse, we can continue working on the game and adding things to it after it has been released and submitted.
"Yes, you could do that two years ago, but what I'm finding with this console generation is that there's a much bigger opportunity to continue building content far beyond launch day. That's my vision for The Crew, to continue supporting it way down the line. We've negotiated with Ubisoft to keep the team working on the game for a year after release to deliver content packs, new missions and skills and even major features."
Gerighty's desire is to provide this kind of post-launch support without charging players extra to engage with it. The plan is to instead underpin the business model with a micro-transaction system that sees players part with cash to add extra cars to the game, presumably in a way similar to that seen in Forza Motorsport.
The grand scheme is to give players what Gerighty describes as a "platform for driving games", in which multiple styles, tastes and disciplines are covered. It's here that the open-world comes into play, the broad range of environments giving you the option of street racing, off-road hill climbs and takedown challenges in which you must destroy another car within a set time limit. There's even a full recreation of California's Laguna Seca racetrack for you to drive to and compete on.
It's undoubtedly an idea of significant scope, one that will likely require many hours of investment to appreciate it in the way intended. What it's not, however, is an idea that has come about without existing foundations.
"Our core team has been working together for about 15 years," Gerighty tells me, "I joined the team about three years ago as creative director. Our studio director has always had the vision of creating large, shared-world driving games - that goes back to Test Drive Unlimited on Xbox 360, the idea of which is essentially Destiny with cars. That game was the precursor to The Crew, really, although it's very bare bones by comparison.
"I'm seeing a lot of games launching with this similar concept, but without the social layer at the base in the way that we've got it. For me, this generation is all about creating connected experiences. The reason for that is that playing in a world populated by other real people is going to be more surprising and engaging than an AI world. No matter how good the AI is, having other people in the world is going to create a more powerful experience."
A consistent theme comes to the fore when you begin to reel off console games attempting to provide 'connected experiences'. Destiny, Grand Theft Auto Online, War Thunder et al revolve around conflict, either by design or player persuasion. Gerighty is intent on making sure The Crew's communal elements don't exclusively revolve around competition in this way by not encouraging players towards specific routines of play that define a universal base of interaction.
You can decide to concentrate solely on racing your peers, but equally you can ignore that side altogether and instead embark on road trips across the country or work together as a team against an AI entity. The idea goes back to the initial concept of creating a driving game platform, in which 'driving' is the key word... a 'racing game platform' would be a different proposition.
Creating this kind of pick-n-choose environment is a far cry from how games used to be made, requiring a completely different skill set based around facilitating player actions rather than guiding them at every opportunity. It's something Gerighty seems to savour.
"Fundamentally our jobs have changed because of the move towards designing logic and systems over very defined paths for players to follow," discusses Gerighty. "Going back to something very linear and something that's very 'level designed' kind of feels like a chore for me now, I don't enjoy those kinds of experiences very much at all anymore.
"Some people do that kind of thing very well. Naughty Dog still creates some fantastic linear experiences, but in general I'm not so interested in them. I think that's been a huge change in this industry and a change in what our jobs mean. It's been a pleasurable change, though, because designing something that's going to be the same every time you play takes the magic out of video games. It does for me, at least."
And that's where The Crew is either going to succeed or fail, in its provision of allowing us to do something different every time we play. It's no easy task, not least given that driving games must adhere to the rigid fundamentals of vehicular interaction: accelerate, brake, reverse and turn.
Reimagining the framework within which those commands operate, to the extent that The Crew feels like a wide open platform for you to experience 'driving', is where Gerighty and his team will be judged


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After years of waiting, Trance fans around the world can finally celebrate as the long-awaited full-length album "Moons Of Jupiter" has finally arrived from Gaia, the iconic two-man group made up of DJ/Producer Armin Van Buuren and producer Benno de Goeij (of R...[more]
Los Angeles rising production duo BEAUZ makeS their debut release on Universal Music with their brand new single "Sayonara" ft Maggie Szabo. Building a huge name for themselves with seamless production and continuous hit after hit, brothers BEAUZ (Bernie and J...[more]
Thank you for allowing me to share in your wonderful Book of Faces. I like to think of the Internet as a tiny mutant-man with flesh the texture of brain tissue. And now I a...
The world's largest DJ directory bringing you DJ profiles since 1997
Discover DJ events, buy tickets and more, including following your favorite venues, promoters and DJs
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Press play on your music career for club, festival and event job opportunities
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VMware Solution Providers resell VMware technology combined with their expertise and services to design, plan and deploy industry leading virtualization and cloud computing solutions.
The VMware Solution Provider Program gives partners access to benefits, rewards and resources that
Through robust sales and technical training, certification, exceptional marketing and sales tools, and reliable technical support, you are fully enabled to deliver proven technology and valued expertise to your customers.
As a Solution Provider Partner, VMware helps you best serve your customers' needs through the unique value VMware virtualization products and solutions offer - from the desktop to the datacenter to the cloud.
Expand your business growth with VMware Solution Competencies. Get equipped with the knowledge, skills and tools for successful customer engagements and accelerate your sales and services growth.
For a detailed list of program requirements for both Developed and Developing countries please see the attached Solution Provider Program Guide.
VMware is proud to have its partner program, the VMware Partner Network, recognized with a 5-star rating in CRN's 2017 Partner Program Guide.


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Walter Mabry, 38 years old, born in Alabama, was a farmer who owned real estate valued at $4,000 and whose personal property was valued at $6,200. Also a farmer, Alexander Mabry had been born in Georgia, and according to the census, he owned real estate valued at $25,000 and personal property with a value of $75,000. Although Walter Mabry's holdings were substantial, by 1860's standards, Alexander Mabry was a very wealthy man. In fact, if the figures on the census record were accurate, the value of Alexander Mabry's real estate and personal property exceeded that of any other resident of Attalaville, Mississippi in 1860. Although the U. S. Census of 1860, Slave Schedule, shows that Walker (sic) Mabry owned six slaves, three males, ages 40, 50, and 58, and three females, ages 14, 20, and 65, Alexander Mabry's name does not appear as an owner on the same schedule.
Others who lived in Attalaville, Mississippi in 1860 were male heads of households identified as Robert Campbell, James Burrell, Jesse Armstrong, Joseph K. Shrock, John Clowers, William Martin, James Martin, J. C. Bryan, J. A. Dixon, William C. Hearst, John B. Luster, Obadiah Dumas, Thomas Cotton, Mathew Roby, Robert Dowling, William Simmons, Berry McMillan, A. Horton, William Burrell, Thomas W. Evans, and Jackson Ousley.
Next: Mabry Family in Mississippi - Post Civil War


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Bachelor's degree in English education; Michael is currently working on her master's degree in technical communication at Colorado State University.
Professional background:
Michael came to Colorado Public Radio in 2016 after receiving one of the organization's year-long fellowships. Through that program, she worked in various areas of the newsroom learning and honing her reporting skills before earning a permanent position as general assignment reporter and producer.
Michael got her start in journalism at the radio station at Colorado State University where she worked on-air shifts and was later named station manager. During her tenure as a student at CSU, she served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper and led the school's reporting efforts during the Aurora theater shooting.


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Heileen 3 continues the story from the end of the second game and takes place in the Caribbean islands. Traveling side by side with Morgan the pirate, Heileen will search for her missing friends, hoping to reunite with all of them. But that's only the beginning, because the story continues! You'll have a fixed amount of in-game time to unlock a romance or a profession ending! Do you have what it takes to make it? The game plays like a raising/dating sim, in which you can learn several different skills and unlock advanced activities. The Virtues/Sins system of the second game is present as well, making every decision you take in the game shape Heileen's personality.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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CHICAGO -- Bally Total Fitness, Chicago, has signed a deal with its senior lenders that will allow the company to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The senior lenders, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Anchorage Advisors LLC, will provide financing and cut Bally's debt by at least $660 million.
Under the restructuring plan, which was filed last Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, secured lenders who are owed $242 million will get 94 percent of the reorganized company's equity. Three percent of the equity will be given to management, and the remaining 3 percent will go to pay noteholders and unsecured creditors, according to the plan.
JP Morgan and Anchorage Advisors, which are providing a $39 million loan to finance the restructuring, will essentially become the new owners of Bally, although sources say both companies could sell their stakes once they recoup their losses. JP Morgan will receive a 50.5 percent stake in the company, and Anchorage Advisors will receive a 33.7 percent stake, according to court documents.
A hearing is set for July 15 in bankruptcy court. The agreement requires court approval by July 30 and plan confirmation by Sept. 15.
"Bally is poised to exit Chapter 11 later this summer, and our future looks extremely bright," Bally CEO Michael Sheehan said in a statement sent to Club Industry's Fitness Business Pro. "The reorganized Bally will be a stronger, leaner organization with a healthy balance sheet and working capital that can be deployed to fund new club development and improvements, as well as important technology enhancements, all of which will help Bally attract and retain members. We are very excited about the opportunity for Bally to grow and enhance our brand from this point forward."
Last December, Bally filed for bankruptcy, the second time it had sought Chapter 11 protection in the span of 17 months. At the end of December, Bally operated 328 clubs in 25 states, a figure that reflected the closing of 19 clubs shortly after the bankruptcy filing. Bally listed assets of $1.16 billion and debts of $1.58 billion.


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Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
You sure this isn't referring to the normal version of the Xine-GUI? LMCE uses its own, which does not seem to support that many of the functions of the standard Xine GUI.
IN mplayer the + and - keys on your keyboard are supposed to adjust the audio sync.For Xine the m and n keys are supposed to do it.Couldn't see an option for the /etc/pluto/xine.conf configuration file to set it permanently though,


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Follow-up Auditing
An audit is officially closed after all of the recommendations have been recommended for closure through the follow-up audit process. The final audit report that is distributed to the Board of Regents Audit Committee includes the chancellor or vice president's formal response consisting of the plan of action and implementation deadline for each recommendation in the report. Audit and Consulting Services will use the implementation deadline to determine when follow-up procedures should be conducted. Sometimes we need to wait for an appropriate duration of time beyond the implementation deadline in order to have enough data on which to perform follow-up procedures. See below for the most frequently asked questions in regards to follow-up auditing.