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The NetBeans Helper
The NetBeans Helper class is responsible for implementing all the code that is NetBeans-specific. The generic build_system_generator.py script is using this helper to generate all the NetBeans project files (inside the nbproject directory) for each project and a project group that includes all the generated project. Let's take a closer look at this class. The first thing it does is import some useful system modules and then import the BaseHelper and Template classes from the build_system_generator module (as well as the 'title' function for debugging purposes):
#!/usr/bin/env python import os, sys, string from pprint import pprint as pp sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__)), '../')) from build_system_generator import (BaseHelper, Template, title)
Then the Helperclass is defined. This is the class that the build system generator module is using to customize the build system generation for each specific target (NetBeans 6.x in this case). The __init__() method accepts the templates_dir, which is the path to the root of the templates directory used to generate all the build files. It also initializes the separator ('/') and line separator ('\n') to Unix values to make the generated files fit well in their intended environment. The skip_dir is used to tell the recursive drill-down code that looks for projects in sub-directories to ignore directories called 'nbproject' (which is the special sub-directory used by NetBeans to store the build files). The other methods this class implements are: get_templates(), prepare_substitution_dict(), and generate_workspace_files().
class Helper(BaseHelper): """NetBeans6 helper """ def __init__(self, templates_dir): BaseHelper.__init__(self, templates_dir) self.sep = '/' self.linesep = '\n' self.skip_dir = 'nbproject' def get_templates(self, template_type): ... def prepare_substitution_dict(self, ...): ... def generate_workspace_files(self, name, root_path, projects): ...
The get_templates()method is pretty simple. For each build file there is a corresponding template file. These template files are just skeleton of real build files, with some place holders. You will see all the template files soon enough. The get_templates() method just iterates over all the template files (located in the nbproject) and adds a template for the Makefile in the project directory itself. For each such build a file a Template object is generated. Finally the list of Template objects is returned.
def get_templates(self, template_type): result = [Template(os.path.join(self.templates_dir, template_type, 'Makefile'), 'Makefile', template_type)] nb_project = os.path.join(self.templates_dir, template_type, 'nbproject') assert os.path.isdir(nb_project) for f in os.listdir(nb_project): project_file_template = os.path.join(nb_project, f) if not os.path.isfile(project_file_template): continue filename = os.path.join(nb_project, f) relative_path = '/'.join(['nbproject', f]) result.append(Template(filename, relative_path, template_type)) return result
This method is the heart of NetBeans6_Helper class. It is responsible for creating a substitution dictionary that contains all the values to be substituted into the templates of each build file. This is not so trivial because some place holders are supposed to be replaced by dynamic content that is generated on the fly. In addition, as you saw earlier NetBeans has quite a few build files. The prepare_substitution_dict() method has several nested function to assist in prepare the substitution dictionary for each one of them. The nested functions are:
- prepare_makefile() for generating the Makefile-Debug.mk and Makefile-Release.mk files
- prepare_configurations_xml() for generating configurations.xml
- prepare_project_properties() for generating project.properties
- prepare_project_xml() for generating project.xml
The substitution dict for the project's main Makefile is empty because it is a generic file that doesn't have any place holder and the substitution dict for the Makefile-impl.mk file contains only the name of the project so no helper function is necessary. Here is the code of the method (without the nested functions). It accepts a long list of arguments that the various nested functions use to generate the proper values. The operating system and the dynamic library extension are also determined here. This method is called multiple times with different template names (each template_name corresponds to a build file) and prepare_substitution_dict() calls the proper nested function or generates the dict directly (for Makefile and MakeFile-Impl.mk).
def prepare_substitution_dict(self, project_name, project_type, project_file_template, project_dir, libs_dir, dependencies, source_files, header_files, platform): if platform.startswith('darwin'): operating_system = 'MacOSX' ext = 'dylib' elif platform.startswith('linux'): operating_system = 'Linux' ext = 'so' temaplate_name = os.path.basename(project_file_template) if temaplate_name == 'Makefile': return {} if temaplate_name == 'Makefile-Debug.mk': return prepare_makefile('Debug', operating_system) if temaplate_name == 'Makefile-Release.mk': return prepare_makefile('Release', operating_system) if temaplate_name == 'Makefile-impl.mk': return dict(Name=os.path.basename(project_dir)) if temaplate_name == 'configurations.xml': return prepare_configurations_xml(operating_system) if temaplate_name == 'project.properties': return prepare_project_properties() if temaplate_name == 'project.xml': return prepare_project_xml(dependencies) assert False, 'Invalid project file template: ' + temaplate_name return {}
Now, let's examine one of nested functions. I chose the prepare_makefile() function because it is not trivial. The keys in its substitution dictionary are: 'ObjectFiles', 'CompileFiles', 'LinkCommand', 'LDLIBSOPTIONS', 'BuildSubprojects', 'CleanSubprojects', 'OperatingSystem' and 'DynamicLibExtension'. Some of these are simple strings like 'OperatingSystem' and 'DynamicLibExtension'. Others are much more complicated like 'CompileFiles', which is a list of compile commands where each command itself requires a template with substitution values such as 'File', 'CompileFlag', 'Platform' and 'FPIC'. The link command depends on the project type and ldliboptions depends on the platform. Here is the code:
def prepare_makefile(conf, operating_system): compile_flag = '-g' if conf == 'Debug' else '-O2' d = dict(Name=project_name) object_file_template = ' ${OBJECTDIR}/%s.o \\\n' object_files = '' for f in source_files: f = os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(f))[0] object_files += object_file_template % f # Flag for dynamic libraries fpic = '-fPIC ' if project_type == 'dynamic_lib' else '' # Get rid of last forward slash if len(object_files) > 2: object_files = object_files[:-3] d['ObjectFiles'] = object_files compile_file_template = \ '$${OBJECTDIR}/${File}.o: ${File}.cpp \n' + \ '\t$${MKDIR} -p $${OBJECTDIR}\n' + \ '\t$$(COMPILE.cc) ${CompileFlag} -I../.. ${FPIC}-o $${OBJECTDIR}/${File}.o ${File}.cpp\n\n' t = string.Template(compile_file_template) compile_files = '' for f in source_files: f = os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(f))[0] text = t.substitute(dict(File=f, CompileFlag=compile_flag, Platform=platform, FPIC=fpic)) compile_files += text # Get rid of the last two \n\n. compile_files = compile_files[:-2] d['CompileFiles'] = compile_files link_command = '' if project_type == 'dynamic_lib': if platform.startswith('darwin'): link_command = '${LINK.cc} -dynamiclib -install_name lib%s.dylib' % project_name else: assert platform.startswith('linux') link_command = '${LINK.c} -shared' d['LinkCommand'] = link_command ldlibsoptions = '' if dependencies != []: ldliboption_template = '../../hw/%s/dist/%s/GNU-%s/lib%s.a' ldlibsoptions = ' '.join([ldliboption_template % \ (dep.name, conf, operating_system, dep.name) for dep in dependencies]) if operating_system == 'Linux': ldlibsoptions += ' -ldl' d['LDLIBSOPTIONS'] = ldlibsoptions build_subproject_template = '\tcd ../../hw/%s && ${MAKE} -f Makefile CONF=%s' clean_subproject_template = build_subproject_template + ' clean' build_list = [build_subproject_template % (dep.name, conf) for dep in dependencies] clean_list = [clean_subproject_template % (dep.name, conf) for dep in dependencies] d['BuildSubprojects'] = '\n'.join(build_list) d['CleanSubprojects'] = '\n'.join(clean_list) d['OperatingSystem'] = operating_system d['DynamicLibExtension'] = ext return d
Note, that there are better ways to accomplish this task. There are several third-party template languages like Genshi, Mako, Tempita and Jinja. These template engines can handle the nested templates that prepare_makefile() generates manually in a much more natural way. The code could have been much shorter and concise. I made a deliberate decision to use only standard Python libraries in the interest of keeping the scope of this project limited. Choosing a particular template language/engine would have made the code shorter, but required the reader to understand an additional language and might antagonize fans of other template languages.
The other prepare_XXX() nested functions are all very similar to make_makefile() although some of them generate XML files and another one generate a properties file (INI file like).
This method is responsible for generating the project groups in the user account. The reason the method is called generate_workspace_files() is that the method is defined in the generic Helper base class and NetBeans6_Helper is just overriding it. So, the NetBeans-specific term "Project Group" is not used here. The code itself is pretty simple. It either creates or updates the proper .properties files that dictate the contents of the project groups as explained earlier:
def generate_workspace_files(self, name, root_path, projects): """Generate a NetBeans project group for all the generated projects """ base_path = \ '~/.netbeans/6.7/config/Preferences/org/netbeans/modules/projectui' base_path = os.path.expanduser(base_path) if not os.path.exists(base_path): os.makedirs(base_path) # Create a project group groups_path = os.path.join(base_path, 'groups') if not os.path.exists(groups_path): os.makedirs(groups_path) text = """\ name=%s kind=directory path=file\:%s""" group_filename = os.path.join(groups_path, name + '.properties') open(group_filename, 'w').write(text % (name, root_path)) # Make it the active project text = 'active=' + name open(os.path.join(base_path, 'groups.properties'), 'w').write(text)
The NetBeans Project Templates
The substitution dictionaries are very important of course, but they can't do much by themselves. Each build file is generated by substituting the values from the proper dictionary into the proper template file.
As you recall NetBeans can build three types of projects: static library, dynamic library and a program. for each one of them there are templates of all the build files. A few templates are the same for some or all project types, so an identical copy is kept for each one. The templates are organized in the following file system structure:
project_templates NetBeans_6 dynamic_lib Makefile nbproject configurations.xml Makefile-Debug.mk Makefile-Impl.mk Makefile-Release.mk project.properties project.xml program Makefile nbproject ... static_lib Makefile nbproject ...
This regular structure mimics the structure of the build files inside a project directory and allows the generic part of ibs to apply the substitution dicts to the templates blindly and end up with the correct build file in the correct place. Note, the project.properties file that wasn't mentioned earlier. This is an empty file that doesn't seem to have a role in C++ projects, but I keep it there to be consistent with NetBeans.
To create the template files I simply took the various NetBeans build files and replaced anything that was project-specific (like the source files or list of dependencies) with a place holder.Let's examine a couple of template files. Here is the main part of the Makefile-Debug.mk of the 'program' project type:
# Link Libraries and Options LDLIBSOPTIONS=${LDLIBSOPTIONS} # Build Targets .build-conf: $${BUILD_SUBPROJECTS} dist/Debug/GNU-${OperatingSystem}/${name} dist/Debug/GNU-${OperatingSystem}/${name}: $${BUILD_SUBPROJECTS} dist/Debug/GNU-${OperatingSystem}/${name}: $${OBJECTFILES} $${MKDIR} -p dist/Debug/GNU-${OperatingSystem} $${LINK.cc} -o dist/Debug/GNU-${OperatingSystem}/${name} $${OBJECTFILES} $${LDLIBSOPTIONS} ${CompileFiles} # Subprojects .build-subprojects: ${BuildSubprojects} # Clean Targets .clean-conf: $${CLEAN_SUBPROJECTS} $${RM} -r build/Debug $${RM} dist/Debug/GNU-${OperatingSystem}/${name} # Subprojects .clean-subprojects: ${CleanSubprojects}
The placeholder are expressions of the form ${Place holder}. This is the format used by the string.Template class. Unfortunately, this convention is used by make files a lot too for environment variable, defined symbols and make variables. So, when a $ sign is part of the make file it is escaped by additional $ sign. For example, $${MKDIR} will not be treated as a place holder by the ibs.
Here is a simpler template of the project.xml file. It is just a bunch of XML with two place holders for the name of the project and its dependencies:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <project xmlns="http://www.netbeans.org/ns/project/1"> <type>org.netbeans.modules.cnd.makeproject</type> <configuration> <data xmlns="http://www.netbeans.org/ns/make-project/1"> <name>${Name}</name> <make-project-type>0</make-project-type> ${MakeDepProjects} </data> </configuration> </project>


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Second of four interview clips with Dr. William Keel, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Alabama. Topic discussions on what is happening in galaxy C153, the scientific implications, how this could pertain to us and why the different observations were used.
B. McDaniel and C. Clark (U. Alabama)
Publication: January 6, 2004

subset: commoncrawl


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Thoughts on Pitchfork?
edited May 2012 in Non-Animal Collective Discussion
I know this is a very hipster thing to converse about. And I am not sure if this has been a thread, but I was wondering what your thoughts were on Pitchfork? I believe they can be biased at times.
sucks if animal collective wont be there. no jk, I like the lineup a lot.
I think he means the website, not the festival organized by the website Sagey. Pitchfork, Pitchfork, Pitchfork... I like it as a reference guide and a news site, but I generally do not trust the reviews, ESPECIALLY if they're negative. They do tend to be biased though as the score is attributed to only one writer, so you have things like Fevers and Mirrors originally having a 5.4 score on Pitchfork then the reissue gaining a 9.0. What the fuck indeed. Generally when Pitchfork does assign its BNM label it's good music. I usually check to see what other sites say as well though. But really, no website is completely reliable and as the Panda man himself has said "Get your head out from those mags and websites who try to shape your style. Take a risk just for yourself and wade into the deep end of the ocean." So like the music you like and dislike what you feel like. p.s. My favourite site is Tiny Mix Tapes, the ones I find the most reliable and unbiased. Check it out if you haven't.
I meant the website. And I am a "she" Clawed.
I know you're a girl, sorry! I just automatically typed he because you don't have a feminine name. So what are your thoughts on the site Aslan?
Oh, okay Clawed! And well, I pretty much agree with everything you wrote. I sometimes go there to see whats new but I rarely read their reviews of things because they never seem to take into account the artistry. If the critic doesnt like the genre then its automatically terrible. But I do read some of the interview they have on various musicians. Pitchfork provides an easy way to tell whether a band has made it in the indie world, not by their reviews but by having them in interviews and mentioned on their website.
in the early days of my AC fandom i didnt really like HCTI or campfire songs, but i read the reviews for them from pitchfork while listening to the albums and fell in love. both describe the album so beautifully
I do find they are very accurate when reviewing AnCo (and Deerhunter), but that could just mean I am biased because I love AnCo. The whole of Pitchfork seems to be partial towards AnCo, hence them having the best album of 2009. But most other times I read things and I am like: whut? did I just listen to the same album. And they give unnaturally high ratings to a lot of mainstream garbage (and by garbage I mean Lil Wayne). they make no sense.
if the anco comes out with a new album I'll probably be earnestly reviewing it on pitchfork. I like the concpet of the website. I might try to get more involved soon
Just curious, did anyone else here feel erky when Pitchfork gave Bon Iver a 9.5?
didnt read that one. dont know about bon-iver-bon-jovie,strabberrybonbon bruce springsteen i think abojut your love gurl maddness damn my hair is grey
i think bon iver's first album deserved a 9.5.his S/T deserves an 8.4
I felt as if the Bon Iver album was like an 8 or something and since reviews are opinion. But when you think about it, PF always overates albums so that way they can get some buzz around the internet (MBDTF)!
I was surprised because I was pretty underwhelmed by the album, and Pitchfork's reaction to BI's first album was "meh, decent." You're probably right about creation of buzz Fishy. IMO My Dark Twist Fantasy was deserving of a 9.5, 10 is a bit much. I don't think reviews get the concept of 10/10 - 100% perfect in every way. Maybe it's just my opinion but no album should ever be rated 5/5 except maybe Pet Sounds, Sgt. Peppers, Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, etc.
Bon Iver makes me want to eat my own elbows
I'm with you on that Doc...
I can't tell if that is good or bad thing MoonDog. How you serious were you about that Nicki Minaj album...do you actually like it a little bit? Admit to us if it is so! (six different two letter words in a row)!
Thank God, I thought it was just me. I cant stand Bon Iver. The only song worth listening to imo, is For Emma, but they pretty much all the songs I have heard sound the same to me. And Nicki Minaj is not that bad, but then again she's not that great either. She has moments...
When bumping Nicki Minaj in a mini van downtown you can like her music at times. I never listen to that much Boniver! I prefer the Foxes Fleet!
You dont need to. You listen to one song and you have heard them all. I only listened to them understand why everyone was going crazy over them. But I am still confused. And I like Fleet Foxes too! but not as much as I love of Montreal.
I dont know what to think of pitchfork, I agree with some of their stuff but at the same time I really enjoyed some stuff they didnt like, like young prisms In Between was pretty good for me. But I guess we cant agree on everything.
I don't really like the way they do their reviews. Some of the reviews they do can be good at times though. I also hate when they turn their back on bands and artists that they helped out. But if they turn their back on Japandroids when the new album comes out, I'mma have a problem with that.
I don't like reviews. They mess with my mind. I have never listened to a Bon Iver album but Skinny Love always makes me cry out of nowhere.
Btw Fishy - not serious at all. I was just fishing for outrage since I know a lot of people here HATE her. I don't think it's a good or bad album, I like some of the songs, I really dislike Starships. Putting Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded against Pet Sounds? Hahahaha....
How could P-fork give Danse a 3.9? Hey, how should I know if one really likes Nicki Minaj? (I think other boards would've got really mad at you for saying that though).
That's another mystery to me. That and why they made one of Justin Timberlake's songs as the song of the year. And they gave Floating World by Anathallo a 3.5 - one of the most important albums of my teenagehood.
Down There not BNM?
Seriously! I didn't get it for couple of months because all the reviews were just - it's ok. Then I got and listened to it and I no longer trust critics. Screw em. I don't think they mentioned Cemeteries in the Pitchfork review.
Opps never mind, just checked it and they called it a standout - "Portner's on that same boat later on during Down There's standout "Cemeteries", his voice reverberating off the reflecting pool of the hushed production: "Looking back on/ Old days"."
Pitchfork is to music what IGN is to video games. The fact of reviews is they're opinions, and everyone's opinions differ. What I appreciate about Pitchfork is they actually attempt to critique music from an objective standpoint, but I see some of you consider that biased. I personally like a lot of music that I think objectively sucks (radio pop), and I also dislike plenty of songs that are objectively rock solid (select played-out classic rock cuts). To each his own. - - - - From the review for Bon Iver: "Instead of something that scans as "folk," the music here is more like rustic chamber pop with an experimental edge that makes careful use of arrangement and dynamics. And rather than being tied together by a central theme of loss, Vernon has fully shifted into a more impressionistic mode; these songs are broader and more musically sophisticated than those on For Emma at every turn." I couldn't agree more with those sentiments. - - - - From the review for MPP: "What they've constructed here is a new kind of electronic pop-- one which is machine-generated and revels in technology but is also deeply human, never drawing too much attention to its digital nature. It's of the moment and feels new, but it's also striking in its immediacy and comes across as friendly and welcoming." Same deal here; so spot on. - - - - From the review for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: "This isn't the same resourceful prodigy who made The College Dropout or even the wounded soul behind 808s and Heartbreak. Instead, Kanye's Twisted Fantasy incarnation cherry-picks little things from his previous work and blows them up into something less than sane. The expansive, all-encompassing nature of the album is borne out in its staggering guest list which includes mentors Jay-Z, RZA, and No ID, along with new charges like Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon." Again, couldn't agree more. Pitchfork knows music and from my perspective doesn't cater to any specific genre or sensibility. They're brutally honest and have immense depth of understanding and knowledge of music and its coinciding producers. It's all they do, and I can see how some people consider them biased, but to me that's a huge projection totally indicative of the reader's personal bias against their thoughtful, complexly constructed opinions. In short, I haz Pitchfork boner and like McDonald's I'm lovin' it.
I mean of course your opinion is going to coincide with Pitchfork's some or most of the time. It's just all in the chance that they feel the same way you do about that song/album. They said "Cemeteries" in Down There was a standout track of the album, which I couldn't agree more with even though a lot of people preferred Heads Hammock or Lucky 1 or something. It wasn't because me and Pitchfork was right, it's a matter of opinion taking some objectivity into account. And the Pitchfork - IGN comparison is iffy. IGN is a lot more straightforward than Pitchfork, they even have a chart to show why the gave the rating they gave. Pitchfork's system is the most cryptic revewing system, besides of course Robert Christgau. Don't get me wrong, I like Pitchfork, I find it to be one of the most useful music sites on the internet. I especially like the layout.
Pitchfork is better than most other reviewers though in my opinion. I mean look at that Spin list! Yay for objectivity!
Agreed. My favourite still is Tiny Mix Tapes - check 'em out!
I have checked them out, they are pretty good for a lot of reviews, but I still like the P-fork news and there other features. I think you said you like the features on Pitchfork too. I like the u-tube vlogger Anthony Fantano and his Needle Drop reviews. I disagreed on his reviews of Down There and Tomboy but he seems like he is a huge fan of buying music and since it is one guy he is always consistent. Cal Chuchesta! [img]http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m30byyxU0x1rua09bo1_1280.png[/img]
I like Anthony cause he's honest, I don't always like his deduction of reasoning though. He's way too subjective for my taste, and maybe too subjective as the most popular music reviewer. He's really good for a second opinion, and a consumer opinion. I haven't seen his reviews of Down There and Tomboy, but I bet I'd agree with you.
The IGN/Pfork comparison relates strictly to the two sites' specialty focuses - each is highly objective in the approach to reviewing their respective media types. IGN recently gave Ninja Gaiden 3 a brutally low score despite the game's decent sales, because as a piece of electronic entertainment it's absolutely terrible. That doesn't mean it's not enjoyable; it means relative to other video games it's lackluster. Same deal with Pfork - they'll rip apart catchy tunes at the drop of a hat if the artist's integrity is absent or the musical foundation is weak (among other points of focus). And I should've noted I'm agreeing with their reviews from a critique standpoint. I write reviews for all types of media, mostly video games, movies/TV, and music. Even when I don't particularly like a song on a specific album I often tend to agree with the criticisms (positive and/or negative) that Pfork dishes out. A lot of folks get caught up in their own bias and project that onto the reviewer because they're unable to distinguish how they feel about the album from a personal perspective versus how the album stacks up relative to other media in that domain. "It wasn't because me and Pitchfork was right, it's a matter of opinion taking some objectivity into account." True dat.
I mean, I don't want to pick on just Pitchfork, this is also a lot of other review sites. I hate Popmatters! Least favourite review site, they're like a bunch of pubescent girls. OMG I love this album, 100%!! This album sucks, what fags - 20%. If you catch my drift. Pitchfork is still my number 2 review site next to Tiny Mix Tapes! That's really cool that you write reviews, I've always wanted to do that, but I can't get my head around being objective for an album because I like albums because of the way they sound essentially! Plus I don't know a ton of older music that influences the music of today.
I always feel like I'm very critical when I'm talking to you BC, I'm sorry! I guess you just bring out the critic within me. I hope that doesn't sound terrible.
Is it even possible to review music in a objective way? Would you ever want it to be reviewed objectively?
It's impossible to be completely objective when reviewing music, but I think the best reviews try to balance it out. They pull the scope out to compare it to other music, the only way to rate music is by its peers. The pull the scope in to rate the music in of itself, the emotion it carries, etc. I'd like to see if a review system could be made to compare music completely objectively, but I'd have no clue how it could be down. How do rate the warm feeling Air France or Beach House gives you? How do you rate the solemn honesty of James Blake or Avey Tare?
(First comment besides my intro thingy!) I love Pitchfork - there it's out. That said, I don't necessarily rely on their ratings in all cases, especially when other sites give an album, say, an 8.5 average and PF dishes out a 6. Also, I've majorly disagreed with PF's reviews in the past. My most negative comment is that it tries to be too 'cool' sometimes. Ex. Giving Kanye West a 10 on his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? I agree that it is a brilliant hip hop album, completely and wholeheartedly, but the review sounded like it was conforming with the other sites. Also, Coldplay is awesome, and PF in my humble opinion gave in to the stigma around them among critics and said they suck. About the 'objective reviewing' thing - a music critic can't be completely subjective in a review, but being subjective is being human, and you can't have a review that is in the majority 'objective' I think. What would the criteria be anyway? Edit: UprightBC you like MBDTF? Internetz high five!
"It's impossible to be completely objective when reviewing music*, but I think the best reviews try to balance it out. They pull the scope out to compare it to other music, the only way to rate music is by its peers. The pull the scope in to rate the music in of itself, the emotion it carries, etc." *anything And I totally agree. AND I welcome challenging dialogue, claudeavecvin! It's what creates an engaging conversation so long as nobody's hurling personal insults at one another. I'm open to new ideas and don't think I've got it all figured out, although like you I am very opinionated about certain subjects. Also major love for Air France, Beach House, and James Blake! The whole reason I got into writing reviews was because I grew up reading Electronic Gaming Monthly. I felt their writers were superb at explaining the positive/negative qualities about any given game versus all others in the industry, giving me - the reader - a clear cut reason to buy/avoid a particular game. So MoonDog, I do appreciate objectivity, which to me looks like comparing a given product against all others of its kind to have existed. It is, as claudeavecvin said, impossible to be 100% objective but the best critique writers do well to avoid lauding the subject of a review solely because he/she finds it enjoyable. Mzrokkks, hi5!!
can't stand that damn nerd guy! hate him HATE HIM!!!


text:
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Histone H1-derived peptide, phosphorylated by protein kinase A, is a substrate for CDK2 and CDK5 (cyclin dependent kinase 5) and PKA.


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As our mighty Visitor Services team, caterers and planners swing into action for the Museum's biggest event of the year later today, and our Museum scientists make final preparations on their choice specimens, exhibits, equipment and talks for the show, I'm thinking of the things I will definitely be doing in a few hours time when I leave the office myself and visit Science Uncovered. It opens to the public at 16.00 and goes on until 23.00.
High on my list is, naturally, sipping The Pollinator cocktail (left) created exclusively for tonight's occasion. Its ingredients can't be revealed, but I've heard it is infused with vanilla and smells delicious, and is inspired by the pollination process... mmm nice! This concoction is available at the Cocktail bar in the Darwin Centre, and right next to the Food Station, which was a really cool place to hang out last year and have some really fruitful conversations.
Before heading over to the Darwin Centre, I hope to witness the volcano erupting at the Earth Station in the Earth Hall. And on my way from Earth to the Green Bar, I'll stop to listen to the Soapbox Art speakers in the Lasting Impressions gallery. I'm really intrigued about the possibility of a genetically-cloned Elvis mouse (below left) and perplexed by the prospect of women giving birth to endangered dolphins if the future need arose...
Both these somewhat surreal subjects and the speculative uses of scientific advancement, as seen through the eyes of budding Royal College of Art design graduates, are sure to give great food for thought. Soapbox Art is a new addition this year.
'Tails' of mice at Science Uncovered tonight. Left a mouse that could be genetically-cloned from Elvis hair samples... featured in a Soabpox Art session; right a locust devouring a mouse at the Parasites/Pests Station.
On the subject of mice and pests, there will be more to explore at the Darwin Centre science stations. I definitely need to see the locust caught in the act of devouring a mouse at the Parasites/Pests Station, where I heard a rumour there might also be edible chocolate parasites. And I must remember to get some inside information at the Vets Station for a little person I know who wants to become a vetinary surgeon.
Another must is the roaming digital specimen table (below) where I'll have a go - if I can get a look in - at unwrapping a mummified cat and examining the core of the rare Tissint Martian meteorite. The table will be in the Earth Hall (where you can also see the Imaging Station) from 16.00 - 20.00, moving to the Earth globe just outside the Earth Hall from 20.00 - 22.00.
And of course, I'll be drawn to weird fish, ancient skull cups, gorgeous butterflies, giant bugs, native gold, glowing minerals, amazing CT scans and much, much more along the way.
For anyone interested in science and in our planet's history, its solar system and its future, this is the place to be in London tonight.
Find out about the Science Stations and everything that's on tonight at Science Uncovered
Read the news story about the digital specimen table
Download the Science Uncovered map [PDF]
Of course, if you're in Hertfordshire and close to our Museum at Tring, you can join in their amazing Science Uncovered at Tring night there too. The Edge of Extinction display and talk about birds, which is Tring's special area of research, promises to be fascinating as do some of their special bird art presentations. Pictured above is the forest owlet that has recently been making a recovery and actually 'returning from the dead'.


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Your View | February 25 - March 3, 2009
Candidate for Carefree town council Peter Koteas has joined the ranks of the paranoid. He says the supporters of the staggered terms initiative will not show themselves. Well, every Carefree voter received a sample ballot with the names of the supporters of the proposition. Peter, you'd better read your mail.
Interesting article in the Republic. All of a sudden Hayward is representing the Caring about Carefree PAC. Too bad he didn't have the huevos to put his name on the paperwork in the first place. I guess he is more interested in getting his picture in the paper.
Greg Gardner cooks up the greatest financial deals, like the 20 year, seven percent, non-callable bonds that Stevens wanted when Carefree purchased the water company. Wonder who owns them??? Next time you're out on your patio, having a glass of wine with a large Carefree commercial property owner, maybe you too will get a helluva deal. Greg can probably find you attractive financing, for a fee.
So smug-mouth Gemmill spent a bundle to get elected in 2007. Had to, he couldn't do it on the coattails of the Tea Room alone. Yet he, Fulcher, and Meyer are the primary critics of the initiative to allow the voters in Carefree to directly elect their own mayor. They say it will open the door for less qualified candidates to buy the election! Who could be less qualified than Stevens and Fulcher? Who is this rotten bunch to accuse others of buying an election, when they and Miller bought the last one? Let's not forget the venomous PAC that has dedicated all of its resources, including Kiwanis flotsam, to demean the efforts and good intentions of Bob Coady.
It's time Carefree voters did a write-in of John Traynor for council.
Mr. Obama must be in shock since the Dow Jones Industrial average has lost 585 points since he took office.
We're supposed to be upset with Mr. Coady for voting 'no' on the gas lamps and the amphitheater and other wastes of money in this town. Too bad Coady wasn't there to vote no on roundabouts and giving the Desert Forest Golf Club additional water. What we need is for politicians to say no more often, not yes.
It's not surprising that Bob Coady only spent $20 on his last election campaign. He gets all of the free publicity he needs from your newspaper, the Sonoran News.
Bob Coady, the council member spearheading the initiative to directly elect the mayor, should be congratulated and supported for his efforts to drag Carefree into the 21st Century American democratic elective principals. The current old boy, network Mafia that runs Carefree in cahoots with the local Kiwanis Chapter needs to be held accountable for their gross mismanagement of town fiscal affairs. It's time for Carefree voters to boot out these corrupt, self serving, back door manipulators and send a message that Soviet style Polit Bureau government went out with the collapse of the Communist empire decades ago.
Our new President has managed to find the second Cabinet member ever who failed to pay his own income tax. What huge mistake will Mr. Obama make next?
I sure wish one of our creative artists would come up with some kind of a directory for all of the businesses in Stagecoach Village so we could do away with all of those signs. It looks like a giant garage sale on the street.
Now we have a Secretary of the Treasury who did not pay his own Federal income taxes on time. What will Mr. Obama do wrong next time?
I don't know about the rest of your readers but I for one am quite tired of reading about Philip Berg and his jousting with wind mills. Can't we move on to something much more interesting like the fact that the moon landing was faked and of course the big cover up of all time, that the world really is flat. That would keep all of us interested.
Grace Meeth is disgusting. She has made a habit of publicly demeaning the Town Manager and/or staff in every Town Council meeting for months and she does it because she can get away with it. No one takes her on – not the mayor or any member of the town council. When is someone on that council going to grow some spine and put a stop to her damaging and repulsive behavior?
Ed. Note: Each Your View column is about 800 words. We have an excess of over 1500 words and are printing statements on a first come, first serve basis.


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The 247 Nutrient Monitor from Control Wizard Products is a great all around meter for nutrient applications needing constant monitoring. It measures PPM, pH and Temperature and with its large illuminated display it is easy to read from a distance. Calibration screws are conveniently located on the front for easy access. Control Wizard has priced the new 24-7 Nutrient Monitor to have the lowest MSRP of any constant read meter currently on the market. This low price will allow more first time growers to afford the quality and no hassle features of a constant read meter. Retail Price: $199.95
— Ships from Portland, Oregon USA.


text:
Polar Tourism : Human, Environmental and Governance Dimensions
Patrick T. Maher, Emma J. Stewart, Michael Luck
Foreword vii
Mark Nuttall
Acknowledgments xi
Chapter 1. An Introduction to Polar Tourism: Human, Environmental and Governance Dimensions 3
Patrick T. Maher, Emma J. Stewart, and Michael Lück
Chapter 2. Arctic Tourism. Arctic Tourism Introduction 17 Margaret E. Johnston
Chapter 3. Arctic Human Dimension. Coping With Change and Vulnerability: A Case Study of Resident Attitudes Toward Tourism in Cambridge Bay and Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada 33
Emma J. Stewart, Dianne Draper, and Jackie Dawson
Chapter 4. Arctic Environmental Dimension. Behavior of Belugas in the Presence of Whale-atching Vessels in Churchill, Manitoba and Recommendations for Local Beluga-Watching Activities 54
Christopher D. Malcolm and Heather C. Penner
Chapter 5. Arctic Governance Dimension. Tourism Strategies and Environmental Labeling in Greenland 80
Berit C. Kaae and Matilde K. Råhede
ii Contents
Chapter 6. Antarctic Tourism. Antarctic Tourism
Introduction 105
Kim Crosbie and John Splettstoesser
Chapter 7. Antarctic Human Dimension. Ambassadors for the Experience: Perspectives From the Ross Sea Region 121
Patrick T. Maher
Chapter 8. Antarctic Environmental Dimension. A Case Study on the Effects of Human Activity on Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes weddelli) With Management Outcomes 142
Tamara van Polanen Petel
Chapter 9. Antarctic Governance Dimension. A Long-Term Strategy for Antarctic Tourism: The Key to Decision Making Within the Antarctic Treaty System? 167
Kees Bastmeijer
Chapter 10. Sub-Arctic Tourism. Sub-Arctic Tourism
Introduction 187
John S. Hull
Chapter 11. Sub-Arctic Human Dimension. Resiliency and Tourism in Ontario's Far North: The Social Ecological System of the Weenusk First Nation at Peawanuck 206
R. Harvey Lemelin and Norman McIntyre
Chapter 12. Sub-Arctic Environmental Dimension. Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies of the Tourism Industry in Northern Europe 221
Kaarina Tervo-Kankare and Jarkko Saarinen
Chapter 13. Sub-Antarctic Tourism. Sub-Antarctic Tourism Introduction 239
Eric J. Shelton
Contents iii
Chapter 14. Sub-Antarctic Human Dimension. Managing Tourism on Australia's Sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island 250
Lorne Kriwoken
Chapter 15. Sub-Antarctic Governance Dimension. Policy Framework and Management for the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands 264
Peter McClelland and Mariska Wouters
Chapter 16. Overall Conclusions 279
Debra Enzenbacher
Contributors 295
Index 301
List of Figures
1.1 Polar overview map
1.2 The Kapitan Khlebnikov in the
1.4 A book of Austrian-Russian tourist postcards from the Arctic
1.5 A cruise vessel in
1.7 Accessing much of
1.8 A "new" tourist: an adventurer wanting to undertake unique propositions such as swimming in the
3.1 The tourism system and its relationship to wider forces of change
3.2 Indigenous tourism system
3.4 Tourists taking pictures of a dead seal in Pond Inlet
3.5 Pond Inlet residents covered the dead seal
4.1 Lower Churchill River and the town of
4.4 Kayak tracks in 2006
4.5 Snorkeling trip tracks in 2006
4.6 Recommended caution zones and travel corridor for whale-watching activities
5.1 Map of
5.2 The importance of 23 motives for visiting
5.3 Tourists evaluation of the importance of 17 sustainable tourism principles
5.4 Tourist industry evaluation of the importance of 17 sustainable tourism principles
5.5 Tourists evaluation of the 3 most important of 17 sustainable tourism principles
6.1 Case study locations
6.2 Antarctic tourist trends 1992–2008
7.1 The Ross Sea region7.2 Kolb's experiential learning cycle
7.3 Total NEPr scale scores
7.4 Respondents' intention to undertake certain behaviors postvisit
8.1 Map of section of Vestfold Hills showing location of Weddell seal colonies and map of
8.2 Percentage of lone Weddell seal pups in
8.3 Percentage of lone Weddell seal pups in
8.4 Percentage of Weddell seal cows in
8.5 Percentage of Weddell seal cows in Antarctic looking at the approachers with pups differently exposed
8.6 Scatter plot showing positive relationship between distance of approach to Weddell seals
8.7 Contour maps generated through the proportional odds regression model for the 0.5 predictability threshold
8.8 Percentage of lactating Weddell seals looking at the Hagglund at three distances
8.9 Percentage of lactating Weddell seals looking at quad at three distances
8.10 Percentage of lactating seals that looked at the Hagglundd during four drive-bys
8.11 Percentage of lactating seals reacting to the quad during drive-bys
8.12 Mean distance of the seals from the water during four passages of the quad
11.1 Map of Weensuk First Nation at Peawanuck and Polar Bear
12.2 The Ruka tourism destination in
14.2 Zoning of
15.2 Tourists crossing
15.4 Tourists at
List of Tables
3.1 Four stages of research adopted in the research
3.2 Resident attitudes to tourism in
3.3 Positive consequences of tourism as identifi ed by residents
3.4 Future issues, challenges, and threats as identifi ed by residents
4.1 Classifi cation of beluga group types observed in the
4.3 Focal follows of beluga whales attempted and completed
4.4 Number of paired distance/behavior observations of beluga whales
4.5 Percentages of beluga behaviors observed in Churchill
4.6 Chi-square values for comparison of beluga behavior types
4.7 Percentage of beluga whale group types observed under experimental and control conditions
4.8 Number of samples, time spent, and number of passes and interactions by group type in proximity to kayaks
4.9 Tukey's post hoc signifi cance results between group types for passes and interactions within 100 meters of kayaks
4.10 Number of samples, time spent, and number of passes and interactions by group type in proximity to snorkelers
4.11 Tukey's post hoc signifi cance results between group types for passes and interactions within 100 meters of snorkelers
7.1 Respondents' level of enjoyment
7.2 Respondents' membership status
7.3 Respondents' recollection opinions on visitation
7.4 Respondents' recollection beliefs on tourism and visitation restrictions
7.5 Respondents' thoughts on the label and statement of being an ambassador
7.6 Differences in respondents' NEPr scale scores from anticipation through to recollection
7.7 NEPr scale statements and means
8.1 Description of Weddell seal behavior
12.1 Possible impacts of climate change on tourism as expressed by nature-based tourism entrepreneurs in
12.3 Attitudes of tourism entrepreneurs toward climate change-related statements
12.4 Experiences of changes in climatic conditions among tourism entrepreneurs in
A review of Polar Tourism: Human, Environmental and Governance Dimensions from the September 2012 issue of ARCTIC (Vol. 65, No. 2):


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Willunga, a one-hour drive south of Adelaide, is a rural town that was announced as one of five first release sites for the National Broadband Network (NBN).
It has now been on the network for over 12 months, with the NBN switched on in September 2011, covering 940 premises.
NBN Co says there are now just under 1100 premises passed in Willunga and almost half of all premises have signed up for an NBN service.
Computerworld Australia spoke to three business owners in the town about their experience with the NBN.
The Alma Hotel
Melinda McCauley from the Alma Hotel has had one of the most difficult transitions to the NBN.
McCauley took advantage of training sessions for the network to learn about the benefits of high-speed broadband and potential drops in phone and broadband costs.
She was previously using a USB-connected mobile broadband modem for Internet access and now has three NBN plans with NuSkope – two for residential premises on 12Mbps and a 100Mbps connection for the hotel, which provides free Wi-Fi to customers at around 70Mbps.
McCauley has experienced several outages on the NBN. She has a VoIP line on the NBN for the hotel and was unable to make and receive calls for several days due to an NBN Co update, which she says she was not informed about.
NuSkope's CEO, Michael Blake, posted on Whirlpool about the problem.
"What my customers and I myself want to know, WHEN do NBN plan to get their act together? It better be before the phone lines all get cut here in 18 months because how do NBN expect business to run at all without phone lines? Let alone for a 3-4 day wait for a tech to come out. Even Telstra is faster," he wrote.
"This is my second PLEASE EXPLAIN to NBN this year in regards to outages, if the network is going to be this unreliable perhaps they need to hire a few more techs just like Telstra has to cover the issues with their network that's not even 10 per cent built yet and already failing customer's needs."
Blake said over 80 per cent of the NBN faults in Willunga had so far been due to remote firmware updates that failed.
NBN Co told Computerworld Australia a scheduled firmware upgrade of the UNI-V or voice port was carried out in October after technical engagement with and notification to retail service providers.
"During the upgrade an issue arose that affected a handful of voice services offered by one service provider, and NBN Co worked with the provider to minimise the disruption and resolve the issue," a spokesperson said.
The Alma hotel also experienced an outage when a painter at the hotel damaged the fibre connectors in the hotel, which took around three days to get fixed.
The two outages occurred at busy times for the hotel – one in the lead-up to Christmas and the other around Melbourne Cup.
"So we had quite a few people say 'we haven't been able to reach you – what's the problem?' It does have an impact on our business," she says.
Despite the problems, McCauley says she likes being on the NBN and puts the issues down to teething problems.
She says she's saving at least $100 per month on phone costs alone. In total, the saving is around $200 a month, factoring in phone line rental costs and cheaper calls.
"Also, now that we're able to run the extra service of Wi-Fi for our customers that we weren't doing before. Because Willunga is a fairly small country town, it has a big tourist element, so being able to offer [that to customers is good]," she says.


text:
Member? Sign in. Not a member? Register for free.
This app was removed from the App Store.
Face Swap Morph Juggle, Change Body or Put Me Anywhere Booth HD Lite
iOS iPad Entertainment
Prepare yourself for a laughing riot!!!! Put your face on any Photo. Imagine having a photograph with your favorite celebrity or your secret love.
This is Lite version of "Face Off Booth" with a limit of swapping only two faces and only one face for put me anywhere feature.
From the makers of Helium Video Booth
Another fun application for everyone. You choose or click Photo with multiple faces and this application will automagically swap the faces. "Face Off Booth" Uses latest Face Detection Technology and swap the faces intelligently to make it look like a real face.
There are unlimited ways you can have fun with this application
Try it out on celebrity Couples and see how they will look in each other's skin
How to use Face Off Booth:
To Juggle or Swap Faces
Pick a saved Photo or From Facebook Album or click new one with two faces
Face Off Booth will swap the faces
To tweak the placement of a face, just tap on it and Rotate, Zoom or Move the face.
Once you are happy Hit save and it will be saved in App's gallery
Share the photo with Others using Facebook, E-Mail, Twitter or Save it to Photo Library.
+ Auto Face Detection . No need to specify eyes lips or chins positions
+ Ability to choose photo from Library
+ Ability to choose photo from Your Facebook Album
+ Ability to click Photo using Camera (if the device supports one)
+ Zoom / Move Photo to include or exclude faces.
+ Swapping happens instantaneously, No internet connection required
+ Automagically Swaps the faces
+ Rotate, Move, Zoom faces for accurate placement
+ Automatically Saves Photos to App's Gallery
+ Supports Sharing of Photos Via Facebook, E-Mail, Twitter or MMS (Once you have saved it to library)
Have tons of fun changing faces.
Warning: This application is strictly for entertainment purpose only.
What's New
Bug Fixes


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Harrison Ford walking unaided, six weeks after breaking leg
HARRISON FORD is one step closer to resuming work on the upcoming STAR WARS sequel after regaining the ability to walk unaided, weeks after breaking his leg.
The veteran actor was forced to halt filming his role as Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode VII in early June (14) after his left limb was crushed in an onset accident.
He underwent surgery and returned to the U.S. to begin his recovery and rehabilitation, and now it appears he will soon be ready to get back to work after he was photographed strolling in Santa Monica, California on Monday (28Jul14) - without a cast or the need for the supportive crutch was photographed using in late June (14).
His left ankle was simply wrapped in a light bandage.
The 72 year old's injury prompted film bosses at Disney to announce plans to halt production on the movie for two weeks in August (14) to allow director J.J. Abrams time to rework the shooting schedule.
Star Wars: Episode VII is still said to be on track to wrap this autumn (14), ahead of a planned December, 2015 release.


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Unless you are a very small business running without a lot of overhead and liabilities, it is a very good idea to have commercial insurance. Indeed, your financial safety could very well depend on it as commercial not only allows you to recoup your losses in the event of a disaster outside your control, but allows you get your business up and running again. Commercial insurance can also save the ruin of your business by those who would seek to benefit by suing you for damages they have sustained directly in your workplace or through the products and/or services that you market.For m0re details visit Commercial Umbrella.
There are three components to commercial insurance, and you can buy policies that cover one or all of them according to the type and size of business you own. The first one of these, property insurance, is most similar to homeowner's insurance. It reimburses you for damage to your place of business, whether through fire or damage from burglary. As with all insurance policies, you must be careful in making sure that you get the coverage you think you might need. Indeed, it can often be a good idea to get coverage for things you don't think you will need, if the extra cost is reasonable.
Commercial liability insurance is also an important component of commercial business insurance. It guards against lawsuits brought on by customers, and allows you to be reimbursed for things like legal fees and settlement money. Some professions need liability insurance more than others. The healthcare profession, for instance, needs malpractice insurance as they work directly with patients' health and a mistake here could be very costly. Malpractice insurance affects other professional fields as well, from architecture to accountants. Even businesses that sell a product may benefit from this insurance in the event that a customer suffers some injury or damages due to their company or product. Indirect damage, such as Errors and Omissions, can be covered under liability insurance. You can also be reimbursed if your product causes harm to a customer, or if a company vehicle causes the damage. Under commercial vehicle insurance, you can also get coverage that will reimburse you if your vehicle suffers any damage or is broken into. Remember that there are many frivolous lawsuits these days and even legal fees can have a devastating effect on a business. Commercial liability insurance can make the difference between whether or not your business survives such a lawsuit.
The third type of commercial insurance is worker's compensation insurance, and this is to protect you as the employer from exorbitant expenses if your employee is injured while on the job. Most states in the U.S. require some form of this insurance, and it reimburses the employer for medical bills and days of work missed due to the injury, as well as lawsuits for employer negligence.


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DEAR ABBY: "Barney" and I are in our 40s and have been married two years. Barney is a neatnik. His nighttime ritual of cleaning up before bed takes an hour or more. Before we can be intimate, this ritual must be performed, which rules out anything in the afternoon or that's spontaneous.
Barney is also a night owl. Sometimes he goes straight from the shower to the Internet or reading, ignoring sex altogether, even if we planned and talked about it while getting ready to clean up for the night.
I have fallen asleep many nights waiting for him, only to awaken hours later and see he's still not beside me. When we discuss it later, he says it's a selfish habit he "got away with" in his last marriage. He enjoys sex but becomes easily distracted.
Should we seek counseling for this or try something else? Barney displays all the signs of ADD and has since his childhood days. — FRUSTRATED IN CLINTON, IOWA
DEAR FRUSTRATED: By all means seek counseling. The ritual you described could be a symptom of a disorder, or your husband may have a very weak sex drive. However, one thing is clear: If Barney isn't in bed with you, it's because he'd rather be elsewhere.
For your sake, the sooner you get some straight answers the better you'll be. His comment about "getting away with it" tells me he knows what he's doing wasn't fair to his last wife, and it isn't fair to you.
DEAR ABBY: For the last 10 years, my friends and I have gotten together on a fairly regular basis. We always bring potluck to share. While "Marcia" and I were assembling a meal, "Cindy" would contribute a bag of chips. We finally told her we thought the offerings were unequal, so she shaped up.
We recently celebrated my birthday at my house, and Cindy "surprised" me with a beautiful blueberry crumble cake (her specialty). I was delighted and told her I had been craving that particular treat.
As the afternoon wore on, I asked if we should bring out the dessert, but she said she wanted to "wait a while." A half-hour later, she announced she had to leave and wanted to take the cake with her. (We often take leftovers home, but her dessert hadn't even made it to the table.) When I said, "But we have no other dessert!" she said she had company coming and needed to take it with her. Then she put it in the container she had brought it in and left.
Cindy is a close friend, and Marcia and I have put up with some of her quirks. But I'm thinking about confronting her about this latest gaffe because I'm afraid if I don't, my resentment will continue to build and our friendship will "crumble." Am I being petty? — DESERTED DESSERT LOVER
DEAR D.D.L.: Petty? I don't think so. What she did took the cake — and I'm not talking about pastry.
I don't know what qualities you look for in a close friend, but Cindy appears to be unusually self-centered. What she said was not only rude, but showed a distinct lack of empathy for your feelings.
By all means, clear the air, but don't count on Cindy to change. In fact, don't count on her for anything.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)


text:
The S-mark has been well known for many years. In recent times it has also been possible to ENEC-mark luminaires. ENEC stands for European Norms Electrical Certification.
The ENEC system currently encompasses some 21 different countries. The ENEC mark has the same value as each member country's own approval symbol.
A separate agreement with the supervising national body is required in order to ENEC-mark luminaires, in our case Intertek ETL Semko, and to certify that the quality system in production corresponds to the requirements set out in ISO 9002.


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Iraqi, U.S. Forces Foil Attack, Capture Terrorists, Disarm Explosives
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2006 – In separate operations this week throughout Iraq, Iraqi and U.S. forces stopped a terrorist attack against a police station, captured five suspected terrorists, and disarmed seven improvised explosive devices, U.S. military officials reported.
Iraqi police and Task Force Band of Brothers soldiers thwarted a terrorist attack against a Mosul police station yesterday.
The attack began when a terrorist dressed as a police officer approached the gate to the police station and detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and wounding six police officers.
Immediately following the explosion, two other masked terrorists attempted to attack the station with small-arms fire. Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, quickly identified and engaged the gunmen, killing both.
The wounded police officers were transported to a nearby coalition medical facility.
Elsewhere, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, detained five suspected terrorists after being attacked by small-arms fire at about 11 a.m. Aug. 22 in the neighborhood of Saab Al Bour, just north of Baghdad.
The soldiers also confiscated three AK-47s, a PKC with a sniper scope, and ammunition. The detainees are being held for questioning.
In a series of Aug. 21 operations, Iraqi army and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered and destroyed seven improvised explosive devices in and around Baghdad.
Iraqi army soldiers found and disarmed an IED at about 10 a.m. in an area south of Baghdad. An explosive ordnance team from 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, destroyed the device.
In another incident, soldiers from 2nd BCT located an IED on the side of a road southeast of Iskandariyah at about 9:30 a.m. An EOD team detonated the 152 mm round.
Soldiers from 8th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found a roadside bomb consisting of a 122 mm mortar round partially buried in a main thoroughfare of Ameriyah at about 11:20 a.m. The device was removed and destroyed by an EOD team.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, noticed a copper wire coming out of the ground and leading back to a house nearby while conducting a reconnaissance mission near Najaf at about 8:10 a.m. Upon inspection, they discovered the wire ran to a firing position previously used for explosive devices and to a second explosive device. An EOD team disarmed and destroyed the explosive devices.
In a similar incident at about 11:50 a.m., soldiers from 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, found a 152 mm IED on the side of a rural road near Hjaddah in the far northern suburbs of Baghdad. An EOD team destroyed the roadside bomb.
In another incident, soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, discovered an IED buried in the middle of a busy road in Yusufiyah while conducting a route-clearance mission at about 2 p.m. The 120 mm mortar round was unearthed and destroyed by an EOD team.
(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
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text:
Yamaha YZF1000 Accessory Covers
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Selling Price:
Info: 3M Film 8mil Thick - 4PC Set
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Electricity Competition In Texas, Illinois Brought Lower Prices Than Michigan
Cause of rolling blackouts remain in dispute
The debate about opening up Michigan's electricity market to competition took an interesting turn at a recent hearing on the issue.
The Michigan Jobs and Energy Coalition, which includes the state's two largest utilities, Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison, has repeatedly said that open competition in the electricity market would lead to service reliability issues. As an example, the group has said the open market in Texas can be blamed for rolling blackouts that have occurred in the Lone Star state.
But one of the Michigan coalition's allies in the fight, Bob Manning, who is vice chair of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, testified against that point of view.
In testimony on March 18 before the Michigan House Energy and Technology Committee, Manning responded to a question about rolling blackouts in Texas by saying severe weather caused them, not the less regulated Texas electricity market.
"Rolling blackouts in Texas were weather related," he said. "They were not ready for ice storms . . . [they] had nothing to do with electric deregulation. There are no [electric market] models that protect you from natural events."
That claim about blackouts being caused by electricity competition, was used in the coalition's statewide ad campaign. A representative of the Michigan coalition also made the claim in a Jan 11 article in Michigan Capitol Confidential.
The House Energy and Technology Committee is holding presentation hearings on House Bill 5184, which would lift the 10 percent cap on competition in Michigan's electricity market. The cap reinstated a quasi-monopoly status for CMS and DTE. It was one of two major components of the state's 2008 energy bill, now Public Act 295. The other major component was the establishment of a 10 percent in-state renewable energy mandate.
Getting House Bill 5184 out of committee likely will be an uphill battle. Sen. Mike Nofs, R-Battle Creek, is committee chairman of the Senate Energy and Technology Committee, and has made clear there is little interest in taking up the issue in the Senate.
If no action is taken this year, a new electricity deregulation bill would have to introduced in the 2015-2016 legislative term.
Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, the sponsor of the bill, told the committee he would like to see the House pass the bill and make electricity competition the "official position of the House."
He also said he hoped the hearings would "address some of the scare tactics used against deregulation."
Manning said he had been a strong supporter of deregulation in the late 1990s, but he said his experience as energy manager for H-E-B Grocery in Texas (which is similar to Meijer stores in the Great Lakes region) convinced him that it doesn't work well. He said that when natural gas prices spiraled upward (about a decade ago) competition failed to provide relief for Texas ratepayers.
Yet a comparison of electricity prices over the past decade shows that Michigan rates increased much faster than in Texas, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission.
Phillip R. O'Conner, of PROactive Strategies, a policy analysis provider specializing in insurance and energy regulation, also jumped on claims by opponents of competition.
"The idea that Texas has had rolling blackouts is just plain false," O'Conner told the committee.
Testimony of those supporting House Bill 5184 included comparisons between Michigan and Illinois, which have reversed places in terms of which has the highest and lowest rates. Since 2008 when electric competition was capped, rates have climbed in Michigan and the state now has the highest rates in the region. Meanwhile, Illinois, with its deregulated market now has the lowest rates in the region.
See also:
Electricity Competition In Illinois
Misleading Commercial On Electrical Rates
Energy Expert: Michigan Should Eliminate Its Utility Monopoly For Lower Rates
Expert: Utilities Distorting Electric Choice Track Record
Bill Would Open Up Competition In Michigan's Electricity Market
With Competition Diminished, Michigan Citizens Paying High Price For Electricity
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is a nonprofit institute that advances the principles of free markets and limited government. Through our research and education programs, we challenge government overreach and advocate for free-market approach to public policy that frees people to realize their potential and dreams.
Please consider contributing to our work to advance a freer and more prosperous state.


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Yes I sure am!! I have some film photos from last weekend in Northern california that have been preventing me from posting about our trip!!! For some reason the photo place, failed to put the wedding pics (B&W on FILM) on the CD... so I wait!! who knows when I will have a chance to make the trek to Hollywood and have them throw the pics on the CD :(
Anywho... STAY TUNED!!
Here are some of my faves from San Francisco on FILM!
Color First!
Behind on my BLOGIN
Posted by Robin and Jeff on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 / Comments: (0)


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Sunday might be a day of rest for some.
For Marina Shafir, it will be a day of restoration.
Her mind. Her body. Her emotions. All are overdue for an upgrade.
With her pro MMA debut four months behind her, Shafir returns to the ring to take on former Invicta fighter Amanda Bell at Chaos at the Casino 5 on Sunday at Hollywood Park Casino.
"I'm so gung-ho about the 10th and I can't sleep," the featherweight said last week after a workout at Glendale Fighting Club. "I couldn't fall asleep till 3:30 because I was tossing and turning, thinking about everything I wanted to do."
What Shafir hopes to do is continue her run of success and keep her name in the minds of MMA promoters. Nicknamed "The Supernova from Moldova," the former judoka rattled off five consecutive first-round submission victories as an amateur in less than two years before going pro and securing an armbar tapout of Chandra Engel in April at Chaos at the Casino 4.
With Shafir, 27, a longtime friend and training partner of undefeated UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, the results aren't terribly shocking.
Next up is Bell (1-2), who went 6-1 as an amateur — including a third-round TKO of Shafir teammate Jessamyn Duke in 2011 — before signing with Invicta and losing her pro debut to Tamikka Brents early last year.
"I know that she's a brawler and she's big and she thinks she's a grappler and there might be some striking in there," Shafir said of Bell, 27, who defeated Brittney Elkin via rear-naked choke on a regional card in April for her first pro victory.
Shafir is so precisely focused on Sunday, it almost doesn't matter who she is fighting.
She isn't taking this bout lightly, but she is back in a familiar setting, the first pro fight jitters long gone.
"I was looking forward to the opponent before that and now I'm looking forward to the opponent now," Shafir said. "If it wasn't her, I'd be looking forward to the next opponent they put in front of me. I just feel like whoever they put in front of me, it'll be a challenge."
Over the past two years, trainer Edmond Tarverdyan has witnessed Shafir's metamorphosis into a professional fighter. The work ethic was always there, Tarverdyan said, pointing to the years Shafir dedicated her life to judo.
But now it's been complemented with an insatiable drive and a sense of purpose.
"Now she is understanding what a professional athlete really should do. Her work ethic's been tremendous, giving her best every day in training sessions," Tarverdyan said. "It's been in a way where I have to tell her it's enough already. You're in good shape. Save some energy, go home and rest. You have another day tomorrow to train hard.
"And that's the way an athlete should work, relentless and working very hard. I'm very happy with her progress and her work ethic. And that's what's gonna show Sunday."
Shafir's evolution has been two-fold. Most telling is her mental approach to training. She is calmer in preparing for a multitude of scenarios — from Plan A to Plan Z, Shafir said — to ensure there are answers to every situation.
"My mind is there, but I don't get ahead of myself during training," she said. "Everything is just smarter that we do. I've just fallen into the groove. Every camp, I feel more focused."
More gradual has been the physical transformation. Months upon months of sparring, grappling and conditioning have changed her body, which comes as a surprise to Shafir.
"You look down and you look yourself, you don't really see that much of a difference. And you look at a picture at a certain angle and it's like, 'What? That's not me. That's not me at all.'" Shafir said. "My chest, my back, everything, my legs. Nothing is the same since last camp. I'm way more solid."
Glendale Fighting Club provides the opportunity for growth. Shafir does have her Four Horsewomen teammates in Rousey, Duke and Shayna Baszler, but she also has several men with whom to train, some bigger and stronger, others smaller and quicker.
One new twist is Dutch strawweight Jemyma Betrian, at 23 already an accomplished fighter from Curacao who will be on the same card as Shafir and making her pro MMA debut Sunday.
Whereas Shafir fights at 145 pounds — 10 pounds more than the bantamweights — Betrian typically fights at 115 pounds, which brings another exciting dimension to training.
"She's the aggressive chihuahua. I love sparring with her. I absolutely love sparring with her because the first two rounds you're pretty much just keeping up," Shafir said. "You're keeping up, you're staying stable. It's gotta be agility and speed, and then the next two rounds that's when you can start laying in a little bit. It's awesome.
"She's picked up the pace mentally and physically, personally for me. And she's helped me grow tremendously. It's nice having other positive energy in the gym. Another motivator in the gym like her."
Add it all up, and Shafir is primed for Sunday. Who better to assess it than Tarverdyan, who not only sees room for improvement, but has overseen the development.
"An athlete has to learn and progress every day, get better every day. That's a good fighter," he said. "She learned a lot from her last fight. Yes, the opponent wasn't a tough challenge for her, but it doesn't matter. It's the gym work we put in, that she's been putting in. She's been looking great, so she's learned a lot from her last fight to this fight.
"Absolutely, she's a better Marina."


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Spam musubi,veggie straws,fruit leather,m&m cookies 12-01, a photo by Rina Ameriasianbento on Flickr.
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Hello and welcome! My name is Rina. I am blessed with a wonderful husband and our amazing son. My goal is to present our son a variety of foods that are healthy, mixing the cultures and ideas in packing balanced lunches. I also try to present them in a fun way which led to my collection of bento boxes and accessories. Thank you so much for stopping by!
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Money affects and influences just about all of our decisions, from the products we purchase every day to when we pay our bills. It also has an effect on how and when we watch video—from traditional TV to video on the go via the latest wireless devices. Earning power also sways how much we view, as well as what else we're doing while we're watching.
This year's Advertising and Audiences Report looks into our collective wallets and found that viewing behavior is linked to income as well as education—two demographic traits that aren't mutually exclusive.


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