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Love is in Singles Appreciation Day
I would have liked to get this post done on the weekend, but it's ok. Singles Awareness (and/or Appreciation) Day, or SAD (ha!), is often celebrated on February 15th anyway, as a protest against the commercialism of Valentine's Day.
So anyway, cutsy oootsy look we're a happy gaming couple blog posts are pretty common. And understandably so. Gaming as a couple is tons of fun. I refuse to date non-gamers for that very reason. To quote the Spice Girls, If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my guild. At least, I think that's how that song went.
With the, um, Hallmark sponsored events of the past weekend, there's been a temporary increase of LOOK AT MY WONDERFUL GAMING COUPLE LIFE across the blogosphere. As a result, I feel that there's a need for a strong voice to represent those of us who do not play as a couple. Who, in fact, solo life as gracefully and effortlessly as Snottydin solo heals WoW.
Because, even though I'm convinced that there are a total of, like, three singles (myself included) who play World of Warcraft, we still deserve representation.
What does a single gamer look like?
It is rumored that the single male gamer looks like either this, or this. On rare occasions, he is rumored to look like this and to whisper obscenities to female characters played by men.
It is rumored that the single female gamer looks like either this, or this.
Those rumors could not be further from the truth. In fact, single male gamers all look like this:
And all of us single female gamers look like this:
True story. What can I say, we're a modest bunch. We're also not allowed to post pictures for fear of accusations about our ability to distinguish WoW and eHarmony.
While we're on the topic, I would like to point out that, in my four years of playing WoW, I have met several players who suffered from the inability to disguish WoW and eHarmony. Most of them were already married.
The Challenges of being a Single Gamer
Ah, it is true, we are very strong, independent and resourceful. Still, some days are a little harder than others and seeing the habits of happy gaming couples may cause a little tint of green.
For example, having excuses for screwing up such as "Sorry XYZ was tickling me! Oh, XYZ stop it!" I would appreciate having easy excuses like that on hand . My "Sorry, my cat was tickling me! Oh, cat stop it!" doesn't go over as smoothly.
Having to speak for ourselves all the time can get a little old too. We've all seen these couples where only one person says boo. "Oh, XYZ is going to get a drink. Oh, XYZ is on the phone. Oh, wait a second, XYZ has to go to the bathroom." Once, some time ago, as I was leading a guild-only raid in Ulduar when I received the following whisper from a complete stranger in another guild: "Hey, I'm XYZ's husband. She's missing a buff right now, could you ask the person giving that buff to buff her?" SRSLY! I came pretty close to demanding she be /gkicked. New rule: if I have to ask for my own buffs, then so does everyone else.
But it's not all bad
I know some days are hard. Still, dear fellow singletons, let us remember that some days are wonderful. Wonderful, for come what may, we have each other.
Each other. Our fellow singletons. Our friends with whom we'll stay up until all hours of the night, drinking and laughing over Vent/Skype/telepathy and pwning n00bs in AV. (Or in my case, getting pwned by n00bs in AV.) We're free to do as we wish with our friendships, no worries of hurting a third party. Never anyone reading over our shoulder. Never having to say "hang on, I need to check with the partner". Never having to share out of obligation, only out of free will.
We're never limited to a single gaming partner. Sure, we can have our bestest best friend. But we may have as many bestest best friends as we like. At the same time. At any hour of the day. Like Brittany Spears says: "What we do is innocent, just for fun and nothin' meant. If you don't like the company, let's just do it you and me. You and me…Or three….Or four….- On the floor!"
And yes, she's totally talking about hanging out with single friends in WoW.
Let Us Rejoice!
When I said we soloed life, I lied. We don't solo life, we raid life. 100 player team, Wintergrasp style. And we pwn.Explore posts in the same categories: Beyond WoW
27 Comments on "Love is in Singles Appreciation Day"
February 15, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Word up.
As lonely as it can get, I enjoy being a single gamer at the moment. My time is my own, more or less. Nobody's going to throw a hissy fit if I don't spend all my game time with them. I don't have to consider the politics of playing the 'well if you don't invite THEM, you don't get me' bullshit that seems to fly in some raids.
Also, cats are a valid excuse for everything. Things I have said and heard regarding cats during raids:
"Sorry you died. Cat was eating my sandwich."
"Cuddles is healing today."
"The Overlord speaks, mortals."
February 15, 2010 at 10:21 pm
[Fist bump]
Are there times when I wish I wasn't single? Sure. When I find that special lady, it'll be wonderful, but for now I'm content to be a single guy.
And since I have several lady friends, it's nice not having to worry about someone over my shoulder drawing the wrong conclusions from everything. But then again, I wouldn't let myself get involved with anyone like that.
Oh, and I'll just let your imagination fill in the blanks as far as which of those descriptions of single dude gamers I fit…
February 15, 2010 at 11:58 pm
I was about to get mad at you for posting my picture, but then I got lost in my eyes…
And I noticed you changed the name to "johnnydepp," whoever that may be. Solid choice, "adriannecurry," solid choice.
February 16, 2010 at 3:34 am
Gaming couple bliss, ha!
My gaming significant other adds drama as often as he adds bliss. Remind all singles of THAT. 😛
February 16, 2010 at 9:08 am
Haha, my and my other half tend to keep any of that crap to RL. We game together sure, it's fun, but we don't tend to get overtly flirty ingame.. that's what RL is for >.<
However, these 2 people who enjoy hanging around the North bank and /emoting each other and saying such wonderful words of wisdom as "/y WTB LUKE!" "/y WTB KATE!" *seethe* nobody cares kids, go into whispers, or gtfo. "Omg I saw a cat today it was really awesome it had wheels!" "Cats are awesome but not as awesome as you!" "Too right, I am awesome!" One of these days.. I swear I'm going to explode.
People like that are the reason single gamers start to resent couple gamers.
February 16, 2010 at 2:11 pm
As a fellow single gamer, awesome post! And yes, I agree that it seems to be more the married guys who are more flirty in game.
It is sort of interesting how flirting that would most likely not be ok in real life, are seemingly interpreted as ok ingame.
February 16, 2010 at 3:52 pm
…How'd you get my picture?
February 16, 2010 at 6:09 pm
I am not quite sure what I would do with a gamer GF I have never really found one to be honest. The last girl gamer I met at my work was terribly shy. Even though I found her attractive she was like almost a shut in outside of work


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Forgotten Hope Secret Weapon (FHSW) is an unofficial continuation of the famous Forgotten Hope (FH), a Battlefield 1942 modification. We say unofficial since FHSW is developed by FH fans, not the original FH creators. In 2007 it started as a small addon but since then it has grown to be one of the biggest mods of all time! What makes this mod special is that it adds lots of - but not only - Secret Weapons which saw limited or no action at all during WW2 like jet fighters and super heavy tanks. Some of the maps feature "what-if" battles like a landing operation on the Japanese mainland or attacking a secret German base in the African desert.
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.
the map Alpenfestung now with bunker and Jagdtiger

subset: commoncrawl


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USN-2094-1: Linux kernel (Raring HWE) vulnerability
31 January 2014
linux-lts-raring vulnerability
A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:
- Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
The system could be made to crash or run programs as an administrator.
Software Description
- linux-lts-raring - Linux hardware enablement kernel from Raring
Pageexec reported a bug in the Linux kernel's recvmsg syscall when called from code using the x32 ABI. An unprivileged local user could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service (system crash) or gain administrator privileges.
Update instructions
The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:
- Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
- linux-image-3.8.0-35-generic - 3.8.0-35.52~precise1
To update your system, please follow these instructions: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Security/Upgrades.
After a standard system update you need to reboot your computer to make all the necessary changes.


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Education reform backed by the wealthy
Some educators fear Regents Research Fund has its own agenda, is unaccountable to public
A team of two dozen well-paid analysts embedded in the State Education Department is having a dramatic impact on a reform agenda that's causing controversy throughout New York.
None are public servants.
Supported with $19 million in donations from some of the nation's wealthiest philanthropists, the Regents Research Fund team makes up a little-known think tank within the education agency. It is helping drive reforms that affect the state's 3.1 million public school students and employees of almost 700 school districts.
The three-year-old operation, which now comprises 27 full-time staffers and a half-time intern, is unique in public education systems nationwide.
The group is an institute charged with helping the state Board of Regents and Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. find ways to improve student performance and ensure graduates are ready for college or careers.
Barely heard of outside education circles and a mystery even within them, the "Regent fellows" are paid from entities such as the Gates Foundation and some salaries approach $200,000 a year. The arrangement is stirring concern in some quarters that deep-pocketed pedagogues are forcing their reform philosophies on an unwitting populace, and making an end run around government officers.
"We're a public education system," said Carol Burris, principal of South Side High School in Long Island's Rockville Centre. "Having the wealthy pay for it, you're seeing an agenda that is being pushed ... at a rapid pace, and outside the system of public accountability."
The fellows program grew out of former Education Commissioner David Steiner's 2010 decision to use an existing charitable group to give birth to a research arm of his bureaucracy. At the time, the department was being challenged by Washington to improve school results and by Albany to do more with less. Confronted by the department's loss of staff through cuts and early-retirement incentives and federal pressure to adopt reforms under the Race to the Top initiative, Steiner, his then-deputy King and Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch tried something different: They leveraged private donations, starting with $1 million from the private foundation established by Tisch and her husband, Loews Corp. CEO James Tisch, to infuse the Regents Research Fund with dollars to hire education consultants.
What was envisioned as a short-term, relatively small augmentation to SED staff has grown exponentially. Fellows operate independently and communicate regularly with King and many interact regularly with state workers, but are not bound by Public Officer's Law or ethics rules imposed on government officials.
The Regents appear serious about expanding the group. Fellows who signed on for two-year stints have been extended, new research and policy analysts have been hired, and state officials cannot say if or when the experiment will end. Fellows say they don't know when they'll be done, but expect their assignments will run their course.
Earlier this year, Tisch and King tried to recruit James Malatras, a top policy adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to become the RRF's executive director and senior communications fellow. Malatras chose to remain on Cuomo's team, but this summer joined the State University of New York as chief of staff to the chancellor.
Regents Research Fund contributors
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation$3.3 million
James S. and Merryl H. Tisch Fund $400,000 (draw-down on $1 million commitment)
Leona and Harry Helmsley Charity $3.83 million
Amy and Larry Robbins Foundation $500,000
Tortora Silicox Family Foundation $975,000
GE Foundation$3.5 million
Ford Foundation$788,000
Carnegie Corp.$1.2 million
Tiger Foundation$560,000
Robin Hood Foundation $600,000
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation$900,000
Sources: Foundations, State Department of Education, Merryl H. Tisch
The RRF is currently managed by its full-time fundraiser with oversight by SED officials, who also clear its expenditures and procurements.
"We created the fellowship program to reinvigorate the research arm of the department," Tisch said in an interview, adding that she stays at arm's-length from the researchers. "All I did was provide that first gift."
Since that $1 million commitment, other philanthropists have opened their wallets. The Hewlett Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Tiger Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation, the Helmsley Trust and General Electric are among 19 donors that have underwritten the program.
The fellows have been involved in mapping teacher and principal evaluations, redoing student exams and working through the state's implementation of the Common Core standards — reforms that have moved with a speed that many parents and teachers across the state have protested as hasty and harsh.
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, D-Queens, chairwoman of the chamber's Education Committee (which appoints the Regents), said she can't explain what the RRF does. "I don't know anything about it," Nolan said.
Dennis Tompkins, King's communications director, said the fellows offer unique skills and expertise. "They're like rock stars," he said, adding that without their help "we would be struggling."
Burris, named the 2013 Principal of the year by the state School Administrators Association and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, calls the fellows agents of destructive policies. She and other question who they are serving — the Board of Regents, or the wealthy patricians who pay the fellows' salaries.
Two powerful unions, New York State United Teachers and the Public Employees Federation, have complained to the State Education Department.
"You have some extremely bright people but with no education background at all presenting research and rationales for decisions to the State Education Department, who I guess make the final decisions," said Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of NYSUT. "The extent of their role certainly isn't clear enough for me to say where advice ends and real influence begins." He said if you follow the positions of foundations donating to the Regents Research Fund and the positions the Regents are taking, "There are similarities."
PEF Local 194 President Kevin Kroencke, who works at the Education Department, said the fellows seem to be bossing civil servants around. "They're supposed to be advisers," Kroencke said. "They're not supposed to be implementing public programs; they're private sector employees."
Many administrators say the fellows don't listen to comments from the field, and act as de facto representatives of the state agency. "It is unsettling to watch the dismantling of public education by inexperienced employees hired from a special fund," said Katie Zahedi, a middle school principal in Red Hook. "The fellows have taken the work out of the hands of appropriately hired, official NYSED employees and are acting as policy entrepreneurs."
SED officials say the fellows have no authority over state employees, and emphasize that the Regents set the policies that the fellows are there to support.
Tisch said these exchanges sound like healthy debate amid the tumult of reform. Such criticisms, she said, are "a sexy thing to say in this environment."
The key group of senior fellows was assembled in November 2010. Matthew Gross, the first executive director of the fund, who had previously worked for an organization that gets business leaders to partner with schools, joined Kristen Huff, a former College Board research director who has been developing the student learning assessment program. She was the highest-paid fellow last year with total compensation of $192,909, which would have been second only to King's salary of $212,500 if she was on SED's payroll.
Other senior fellows include Amy McIntosh, a former New York City Department of Education administrator who works on teacher and principal effectiveness strategies, and Kate Gerson, a former New York City principal who is doing teacher training workshops.
Gross left about 18 months ago to form a new venture aimed at improving reading. In an interview, Gross said the fellows were "an outside-the-box solution to an outside-the-box problem."
Gross described the fellows as nationally recognized "thought leaders" to help lead the implementation of "next-generation" assessments and other education reforms surrounding Common Core. New York secured almost $700 million through the federal program to bring about changes.
Gross said he helped raise $9 million from foundations to build the RRF. He turned over development efforts to another recruit, Joshua Skolnick, who has tapped several charities to keep the money rolling in, approximately doubling the sum Gross secured. Skolnick did not return calls and emails. Other fellows, including former NewsChannel 13 reporter Beth Wurtmann, declined to discuss their work or referred questions to Tompkins' press office.
The office made two fellows available: Huff and Peter Swerdzewski, two members of a team of five psychometrics specialists who help figure out ways to assess teachers and students.
"There aren't a whole lot of us out there with this training and experience," said Huff. She said the fellows aren't given to a particular philosophy or bias as critics suspect. "It sounds inaccurate to me; it doesn't reflect the way we work."
Swerdzewski said he is trained as a scientist and applies those skills to accomplish the Regents' goals while working alongside state employees. "The working relationship is great," he said.
Representatives of the foundations that support the RRF say donations to the fund are made in the spirit of improving public education. Documents accompanying grants indicate support of the fellowship program, the reform agenda or, in the case of the Carnegie Foundation, to help the fellows design and implement virtual learning. "We are not prescriptive," said Deborah Robinson, a spokeswoman for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has committed $3.3 million to the fund.
Tiger Foundation and its primary backer, hedge fund investor Julian Robertson, are providing $560,000 because they support King and his goals, said spokesman Fraser Seitel. "One of (Robertson's) basic tenants is that teachers should be paid well for good performance," he added.
Donald Juron, chief financial officer for SED, said he assumes the fellows will be working at least through the fall of 2015 if the extensions on implementing New York's Race to the Top plan are approved by the federal government. Meanwhile, the fund is advertising to hire another fellow. Juron and other department officials say the fellows are not replacing state staff.
"Any state would be proud to have people of this capacity working as an arm of the state education department," said Tisch, emphasizing her regard for staff staffers. "They couldn't do it without the leadership, without the people who work for the department."
email@example.com • 518-454-5083 • @JamesMOdato


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text: Blue Bird (16*18) Blue Bird (16*18) Blue Bird (16*18) fabric size - 16*18 inch £9.50 Quantity: at £9.50 each Add To Basket 1 in stock. Due to the nature of hand dyed fabrics the colours may vary from piece to piece. Please also note that some shrinkage can occur so what was 28ct, may measure out to be 29ct after being dyed. Fabric size measurement taken after the dying process. PLEASE NOTE ---- I still need to scan in the fabric photos, what you see is just a rough guide to help those who are wanting to get ahead of others to grab your pice, untill hubby is back tomorrow i cannot get accurate photo's up ( monday 12th nov.) The photo showing the 11 colours together is to help show the differences between fabric colours as a few are similar untill viewd together. from the top blue ( and going clockwise ) we have Blue Bird, Razzleberry Lit pumpkin Lemonade and Lime Tawny Lilac Purple Hue Calypso Icicle Gypsy Shawl Pinkple


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A running discussion on the Cincinnati Reds and everything else in the baseball universe.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
2010 Top Prospect List: #21 Daniel Tuttle, rhp
Height 6-2, Weight 175, B/T: R/R, DOB: 8/21/1990
2009 Redlegs Baseball Prospect Ranking: Not Ranked
Daniel Tuttle is an intriguing high school arm that the Reds nabbed in the 2009 draft. The early returns on the Reds 2009 draft class are positive and the organization seems to have made significant strides in the draft, improving their track record with first round picks and their ability to find value later in the draft. Daniel Tuttle falls into the latter category, as his live arm and power stuff gives him true impact potential to go along with significant upside.
Draft Position and Repertoire
The Reds drafted Daniel Tuttle with the 149th overall pick in the 5th round of the 2009 draft out of Randleman High School in North Carolina. He was committed to North Carolina State, but the Reds were able to sign him away. Tuttle is a tall, lanky righthander with a live arm, whose size gives him additional physical projection. He was one of the better high school arms in the draft and has significant upside.
Tuttle features a two-seam fastball that sits in the 90-92 mph range and tops out at 94. His fastball not only has good velocity, but it also has substantial sink and late arm-side run, which would make it ideal for Great American Ballpark. As for offspeed pitches, Tuttle has used both a slider and curveball, but as of late has relied more heavily on the former. His slider sits around 82 mph and has sharp bite. His curveball is a big breaking ball that sits around 74 mph, but lacks the tight, sharp break of his slider. He is also working on a change-up, but it needs quite a bit of work to be an effective pitch.
Tuttle needs to keep refining his offerings, but he already has the makings of two plus pitches in his slider and fastball.
Professional Career
The Reds sent Tuttle to the rookie level Gulf Coast League for his first taste of professional baseball. He had little trouble adjusting to the professional game.
In 32.1 innings, Tuttle posted a 1.67 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and a 30/10 K/BB ratio. He worked in 9 games, starting 7 times and coming out of the bullpen to throw 3.0 innings in 2 other games. He gave up one home run and racked up the ground balls at an impressive rate, posting a stellar 1.90 GB/FB ratio. Overall his ratios were strong, posting a 2.8 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, and a .260 batting average against. In addition, he was actually a bit unlucky, posting a BABIP of .336 and a LOB% of 70.4%. So, he allowed a few more hits than was expected and allowed more runners to score than was expected.
Obviously, it's something of a small sample size and the Gulf Coast League can allow a pitcher to succeed while relying heavily on a good fastball, but Tuttle certainly acquitted himself well in his first taste of pro ball and looks to build on it in 2010.
Pitching Mechanics
Tuttle's mechanics have both positive and negative aspects, which you can see in his MLB scouting video. The defining feature of his delivery is undoubtedly his arm slot, as he works from a low three-quarter arm slot. His arm slot explains the good movement and the arm-side run on his fastball. It also helps explains his free and easy arm action, as the lower arm slot is the more natural and comfortable throwing motion. Unfortunately, his lower arm slot prevents him from taking full advantage of his height and throwing on a downward plane.
Tuttle starts his windup with a step towards first base with his left leg, then rotating his right foot down onto the rubber. He then brings his hands up to his chest and utilizes a very high leg kick, bringing his knee all the way up to his chest. He has a lean body type and longer legs, so when he brings his knee all the way up to his chest with good hip rotation, he creates and stores up significant energy to impart on the ball. He gets a good push off the rubber as he drives towards the plate and unleashes the energy stored in his lower body.
Tuttle has a fairly standard length stride, though it occasionally seems a bit on the short side. He stays very tall throughout the delivery and at times during the follow through he seems to almost stand up even taller. Tuttle has a loose and whippy arm action, seeming to sling the ball a bit. Perhaps not surprisingly, Tuttle struggles with consistency. He's a taller pitcher with longer limbs, which can frequently make it more difficult to keep the moving parts in-sync. Also, it can be difficult for taller pitchers to maintain a consistent arm slot. He's not a giant, but he does struggle with consistency and command. His follow through finishes with his right leg crossing over his plant foot, which leads to a tendency to fall off to the first base side a bit.
His low three-quarter delivery should take some stress off the arm, but could also leave him susceptible to lefthanded hitters. It's easier for lefthanded hitters to track the ball off of a righthander with a lower arm slot, so Tuttle will need to work to ensure he doesn't suffer from an overly extreme platoon split. It wasn't a problem in the Gulf Coast League, but it's something to keep an eye on against more advanced hitters. Overall, his mechanics seem pretty clean and smooth, which when added to his lower arm slot and easy arm action should limit his injury risk.
Tuttle is an interesting prospect whose live arm gives him more upside than might be expected from a 5th round pick. His two potential plus pitches gives him a fairly high ceiling and his clean mechanics should work to reduce his injury risk. Still, he'll need to work to improve his command and find more consistency in both his arm slot and release point.
He's certainly got some work to do, but for now, Tuttle's live arm and high ceiling earns him the #21 spot on the list.
6 comments:
i thought he was a left hander for some reason, that would have been nice. o well, good pickup in the 5th round. this years draft is turning out to be pretty good, hopefully we can repeat thatReplyDelete
Yeah, he's an intriguing arm. It's a small sample size, but so far so good. He's got good stuff, but I wonder if he'll struggle against lefties. Cleveland pitcher Justin Masterson is a prime example of a pitcher who uses a lower arm slot and suffers against lefties as a result. Tuttle's heavy movement on his fastball may make it a weapon that works effectively against both lefties and righties.
Time will tell, but he's an intriguing arm. Thanks for the comment!
- AnonymousDecember 18, 2009 at 3:51 PM
I'm WillReplyDelete
My thoughts on Tuttle have to do with 2 things that I think lead to some problems with his sometimes poor control. Stride and follow through, although really it's only one issue and that's stride. It appears his stride at times is too short which makes it diffcult for him to clear his hips when he tries for extension. It basically forces him to "be taller" to get full extension. If you notice in the video he tends to get on his toes at times which helps lead to erratic control (ankle bone is connected to the knee bone etc...). Good stride (not to be confused w/ overstriding) plus good knee bend equals better balance which equals better control and the longer stride could also help get better extension/explosion which helps with velocity and/or appearance of velocity. What say you Lark?
Well said, sir. I think we are of like mind. That's pretty much what I was getting at with his short stride and "getting taller" in his delivery. He gets taller by going up on the toes of his plant foot. If he IS "short striding" on a regular basis, then he likely does use his "get taller" technique to enable him to effectively direct the momentum generated by his wind-up towards the plate.
I think you hit the nail on the head about using the technique to get maximum extension. The short stride seems to cut off his drive to the plate and the "getting taller" technique seems to be an attempted correction for that problem.
I didn't break it down to quite that level of detail because, frankly, I'm just not sure if he does this on a consistent basis. I scoured the internet for more video or photos of him, but really couldn't find anything. Unfortunately, I just haven't seen enough of him to know for sure and I didn't want to focus too much on a problem that might not really be much of a problem at all. Another year will create a larger body of work and reveal more about his performance and mechanics.
I do agree that a wider base is more stable than a narrow one. If you stand with your feet together, then even a gentle push will knock you off balance. If your feet are spread wider, then you will have a sturdier foundation. It is possible that a longer stride and, subsequently, the wider foundation might increase his consistency and increase the efficiency of his delivery.
At this point, I suspect the gains will be more in consistency than in the velocity. Still, that would be a very good thing.
Anyway, nice breakdown. I think we are of like mind on the subject and it's nice to know that others are seeing what I'm seeing.
Thanks for the comment!!!
- AnonymousMay 30, 2012 at 8:06 PM
If Daniel Tuttle can mature and stay away from drugs and misbehavior he might just give us what we expect from someone with his potential.ReplyDelete
Unfortunately, not looking good on that front:
"5/9/2013: Reds minor league right-hander Dan Tuttle was suspended 100 games for a third positive test for a drug of abuse.
Tuttle was previously suspended in July of 2011. The 22-year-old right-hander owns a 4.13 ERA over parts of four seasons in the minors and has never pitched above A-ball."


text:
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text:
Package bufio
Overview ▹
Overview ▾
Package bufio implements buffered I/O. It wraps an io.Reader or io.Writer object, creating another object (Reader or Writer) that also implements the interface but provides buffering and some help for textual I/O.
Index ▹
Index ▾
Package files
Internal call graph ▹
Internal call graph ▾
In the call graph viewer below, each node is a function belonging to this package and its children are the functions it calls—perhaps dynamically.
The root nodes are the entry points of the package: functions that may be called from outside the package. There may be non-exported or anonymous functions among them if they are called dynamically from another package.
Click a node to visit that function's source code.
From there you can visit its callers by
clicking its declaring
Functions may be omitted if they were determined to be unreachable in the particular programs or tests that were analyzed.
const ( // MaxScanTokenSize is the maximum size used to buffer a token // unless the user provides an explicit buffer with Scan.Buffer. // The actual maximum token size may be smaller as the buffer // may need to include, for instance, a newline. MaxScanTokenSize = 64 * 1024 )
var ( ErrInvalidUnreadByte = errors.New("bufio: invalid use of UnreadByte") ErrInvalidUnreadRune = errors.New("bufio: invalid use of UnreadRune") ErrBufferFull = errors.New("bufio: buffer full") ErrNegativeCount = errors.New("bufio: negative count") )
Errors returned by Scanner.
var ( ErrTooLong = errors.New("bufio.Scanner: token too long") ErrNegativeAdvance = errors.New("bufio.Scanner: SplitFunc returns negative advance count") ErrAdvanceTooFar = errors.New("bufio.Scanner: SplitFunc returns advance count beyond input") )
ErrFinalToken is a special sentinel error value. It is intended to be returned by a Split function to indicate that the token being delivered with the error is the last token and scanning should stop after this one. After ErrFinalToken is received by Scan, scanning stops with no error. The value is useful to stop processing early or when it is necessary to deliver a final empty token. One could achieve the same behavior with a custom error value but providing one here is tidier. See the emptyFinalToken example for a use of this value.
var ErrFinalToken = errors.New("final token")
func ScanBytes ¶
func ScanBytes(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byte, err error)
ScanBytes is a split function for a Scanner that returns each byte as a token.
func ScanLines ¶
func ScanLines(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byte, err error)
ScanLines is a split function for a Scanner that returns each line of text, stripped of any trailing end-of-line marker. The returned line may be empty. The end-of-line marker is one optional carriage return followed by one mandatory newline. In regular expression notation, it is `\r?\n`. The last non-empty line of input will be returned even if it has no newline.
func ScanRunes ¶
func ScanRunes(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byte, err error)
ScanRunes is a split function for a Scanner that returns each UTF-8-encoded rune as a token. The sequence of runes returned is equivalent to that from a range loop over the input as a string, which means that erroneous UTF-8 encodings translate to U+FFFD = "\xef\xbf\xbd". Because of the Scan interface, this makes it impossible for the client to distinguish correctly encoded replacement runes from encoding errors.
func ScanWords ¶
func ScanWords(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byte, err error)
ScanWords is a split function for a Scanner that returns each space-separated word of text, with surrounding spaces deleted. It will never return an empty string. The definition of space is set by unicode.IsSpace.
type ReadWriter ¶
ReadWriter stores pointers to a Reader and a Writer. It implements io.ReadWriter.
type ReadWriter struct { *Reader *Writer }
func NewReadWriter ¶
func NewReadWriter(r *Reader, w *Writer) *ReadWriter
NewReadWriter allocates a new ReadWriter that dispatches to r and w.
type Reader ¶
Reader implements buffering for an io.Reader object.
type Reader struct {
// contains filtered or unexported fields
func NewReader ¶
func NewReader(rd io.Reader) *Reader
NewReader returns a new Reader whose buffer has the default size.
func NewReaderSize ¶
func NewReaderSize(rd io.Reader, size int) *Reader
NewReaderSize returns a new Reader whose buffer has at least the specified size. If the argument io.Reader is already a Reader with large enough size, it returns the underlying Reader.
func (*Reader) Buffered ¶
func (b *Reader) Buffered() int
Buffered returns the number of bytes that can be read from the current buffer.
func (*Reader) Discard ¶
func (b *Reader) Discard(n int) (discarded int, err error)
Discard skips the next n bytes, returning the number of bytes discarded.
If Discard skips fewer than n bytes, it also returns an error. If 0 <= n <= b.Buffered(), Discard is guaranteed to succeed without reading from the underlying io.Reader.
func (*Reader) Peek ¶
func (b *Reader) Peek(n int) ([]byte, error)
Peek returns the next n bytes without advancing the reader. The bytes stop being valid at the next read call. If Peek returns fewer than n bytes, it also returns an error explaining why the read is short. The error is ErrBufferFull if n is larger than b's buffer size.
func (*Reader) Read ¶
func (b *Reader) Read(p []byte) (n int, err error)
Read reads data into p. It returns the number of bytes read into p. The bytes are taken from at most one Read on the underlying Reader, hence n may be less than len(p). At EOF, the count will be zero and err will be io.EOF.
func (*Reader) ReadByte ¶
func (b *Reader) ReadByte() (byte, error)
ReadByte reads and returns a single byte. If no byte is available, returns an error.
func (*Reader) ReadBytes ¶
func (b *Reader) ReadBytes(delim byte) ([]byte, error)
ReadBytes reads until the first occurrence of delim in the input, returning a slice containing the data up to and including the delimiter. If ReadBytes encounters an error before finding a delimiter, it returns the data read before the error and the error itself (often io.EOF). ReadBytes returns err != nil if and only if the returned data does not end in delim. For simple uses, a Scanner may be more convenient.
func (*Reader) ReadLine ¶
func (b *Reader) ReadLine() (line []byte, isPrefix bool, err error)
ReadLine is a low-level line-reading primitive. Most callers should use ReadBytes('\n') or ReadString('\n') instead or use a Scanner.
ReadLine tries to return a single line, not including the end-of-line bytes. If the line was too long for the buffer then isPrefix is set and the beginning of the line is returned. The rest of the line will be returned from future calls. isPrefix will be false when returning the last fragment of the line. The returned buffer is only valid until the next call to ReadLine. ReadLine either returns a non-nil line or it returns an error, never both.
The text returned from ReadLine does not include the line end ("\r\n" or "\n"). No indication or error is given if the input ends without a final line end. Calling UnreadByte after ReadLine will always unread the last byte read (possibly a character belonging to the line end) even if that byte is not part of the line returned by ReadLine.
func (*Reader) ReadRune ¶
func (b *Reader) ReadRune() (r rune, size int, err error)
ReadRune reads a single UTF-8 encoded Unicode character and returns the rune and its size in bytes. If the encoded rune is invalid, it consumes one byte and returns unicode.ReplacementChar (U+FFFD) with a size of 1.
func (*Reader) ReadSlice ¶
func (b *Reader) ReadSlice(delim byte) (line []byte, err error)
ReadSlice reads until the first occurrence of delim in the input, returning a slice pointing at the bytes in the buffer. The bytes stop being valid at the next read. If ReadSlice encounters an error before finding a delimiter, it returns all the data in the buffer and the error itself (often io.EOF). ReadSlice fails with error ErrBufferFull if the buffer fills without a delim. Because the data returned from ReadSlice will be overwritten by the next I/O operation, most clients should use ReadBytes or ReadString instead. ReadSlice returns err != nil if and only if line does not end in delim.
func (*Reader) ReadString ¶
func (b *Reader) ReadString(delim byte) (string, error)
ReadString reads until the first occurrence of delim in the input, returning a string containing the data up to and including the delimiter. If ReadString encounters an error before finding a delimiter, it returns the data read before the error and the error itself (often io.EOF). ReadString returns err != nil if and only if the returned data does not end in delim. For simple uses, a Scanner may be more convenient.
func (*Reader) Reset ¶
func (b *Reader) Reset(r io.Reader)
Reset discards any buffered data, resets all state, and switches the buffered reader to read from r.
func (*Reader) UnreadByte ¶
func (b *Reader) UnreadByte() error
UnreadByte unreads the last byte. Only the most recently read byte can be unread.
func (*Reader) UnreadRune ¶
func (b *Reader) UnreadRune() error
UnreadRune unreads the last rune. If the most recent read operation on the buffer was not a ReadRune, UnreadRune returns an error. (In this regard it is stricter than UnreadByte, which will unread the last byte from any read operation.)
func (*Reader) WriteTo ¶
func (b *Reader) WriteTo(w io.Writer) (n int64, err error)
WriteTo implements io.WriterTo.
type Scanner ¶
Scanner provides a convenient interface for reading data such as a file of newline-delimited lines of text. Successive calls to the Scan method will step through the 'tokens' of a file, skipping the bytes between the tokens. The specification of a token is defined by a split function of type SplitFunc; the default split function breaks the input into lines with line termination stripped. Split functions are defined in this package for scanning a file into lines, bytes, UTF-8-encoded runes, and space-delimited words. The client may instead provide a custom split function.
Scanning stops unrecoverably at EOF, the first I/O error, or a token too large to fit in the buffer. When a scan stops, the reader may have advanced arbitrarily far past the last token. Programs that need more control over error handling or large tokens, or must run sequential scans on a reader, should use bufio.Reader instead.
type Scanner struct {
// contains filtered or unexported fields
▹ Example (Custom)
▾ Example (Custom)
Use a Scanner with a custom split function (built by wrapping ScanWords) to validate 32-bit decimal input.
// An artificial input source. const input = "1234 5678 1234567901234567890" scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(input)) // Create a custom split function by wrapping the existing ScanWords function. split := func(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byte, err error) { advance, token, err = bufio.ScanWords(data, atEOF) if err == nil && token != nil { _, err = strconv.ParseInt(string(token), 10, 32) } return } // Set the split function for the scanning operation. scanner.Split(split) // Validate the input for scanner.Scan() { fmt.Printf("%s\n", scanner.Text()) } if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil { fmt.Printf("Invalid input: %s", err) }
1234 5678 Invalid input: strconv.ParseInt: parsing "1234567901234567890": value out of range
▹ Example (EmptyFinalToken)
▾ Example (EmptyFinalToken)
Use a Scanner with a custom split function to parse a comma-separated list with an empty final value.
// Comma-separated list; last entry is empty. const input = "1,2,3,4," scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(input)) // Define a split function that separates on commas. onComma := func(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byte, err error) { for i := 0; i < len(data); i++ { if data[i] == ',' { return i + 1, data[:i], nil } } // There is one final token to be delivered, which may be the empty string. // Returning bufio.ErrFinalToken here tells Scan there are no more tokens after this // but does not trigger an error to be returned from Scan itself. return 0, data, bufio.ErrFinalToken } scanner.Split(onComma) // Scan. for scanner.Scan() { fmt.Printf("%q ", scanner.Text()) } if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil { fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "reading input:", err) }
"1" "2" "3" "4" ""
▹ Example (Lines)
▾ Example (Lines)
The simplest use of a Scanner, to read standard input as a set of lines.
scanner := bufio.NewScanner(os.Stdin)
for scanner.Scan() {
fmt.Println(scanner.Text()) // Println will add back the final '\n'
if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "reading standard input:", err)
▹ Example (Words)
▾ Example (Words)
Use a Scanner to implement a simple word-count utility by scanning the input as a sequence of space-delimited tokens.
// An artificial input source. const input = "Now is the winter of our discontent,\nMade glorious summer by this sun of York.\n" scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(input)) // Set the split function for the scanning operation. scanner.Split(bufio.ScanWords) // Count the words. count := 0 for scanner.Scan() { count++ } if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil { fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "reading input:", err) } fmt.Printf("%d\n", count)
func NewScanner ¶
func NewScanner(r io.Reader) *Scanner
NewScanner returns a new Scanner to read from r. The split function defaults to ScanLines.
func (*Scanner) Buffer ¶
func (s *Scanner) Buffer(buf []byte, max int)
Buffer sets the initial buffer to use when scanning and the maximum size of buffer that may be allocated during scanning. The maximum token size is the larger of max and cap(buf). If max <= cap(buf), Scan will use this buffer only and do no allocation.
By default, Scan uses an internal buffer and sets the maximum token size to MaxScanTokenSize.
Buffer panics if it is called after scanning has started.
func (*Scanner) Bytes ¶
func (s *Scanner) Bytes() []byte
Bytes returns the most recent token generated by a call to Scan. The underlying array may point to data that will be overwritten by a subsequent call to Scan. It does no allocation.
func (*Scanner) Err ¶
func (s *Scanner) Err() error
Err returns the first non-EOF error that was encountered by the Scanner.
func (*Scanner) Scan ¶
func (s *Scanner) Scan() bool
Scan advances the Scanner to the next token, which will then be available through the Bytes or Text method. It returns false when the scan stops, either by reaching the end of the input or an error. After Scan returns false, the Err method will return any error that occurred during scanning, except that if it was io.EOF, Err will return nil. Scan panics if the split function returns 100 empty tokens without advancing the input. This is a common error mode for scanners.
func (*Scanner) Split ¶
func (s *Scanner) Split(split SplitFunc)
Split sets the split function for the Scanner. The default split function is ScanLines.
Split panics if it is called after scanning has started.
func (*Scanner) Text ¶
func (s *Scanner) Text() string
Text returns the most recent token generated by a call to Scan as a newly allocated string holding its bytes.
type SplitFunc ¶
SplitFunc is the signature of the split function used to tokenize the input. The arguments are an initial substring of the remaining unprocessed data and a flag, atEOF, that reports whether the Reader has no more data to give. The return values are the number of bytes to advance the input and the next token to return to the user, plus an error, if any. If the data does not yet hold a complete token, for instance if it has no newline while scanning lines, SplitFunc can return (0, nil, nil) to signal the Scanner to read more data into the slice and try again with a longer slice starting at the same point in the input.
If the returned error is non-nil, scanning stops and the error is returned to the client.
The function is never called with an empty data slice unless atEOF is true. If atEOF is true, however, data may be non-empty and, as always, holds unprocessed text.
type SplitFunc func(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byte, err error)
type Writer ¶
Writer implements buffering for an io.Writer object. If an error occurs writing to a Writer, no more data will be accepted and all subsequent writes will return the error. After all data has been written, the client should call the Flush method to guarantee all data has been forwarded to the underlying io.Writer.
type Writer struct {
// contains filtered or unexported fields
▹ Example
▾ Example
w := bufio.NewWriter(os.Stdout)
fmt.Fprint(w, "Hello, ")
fmt.Fprint(w, "world!")
w.Flush() // Don't forget to flush!
Hello, world!
func NewWriter ¶
func NewWriter(w io.Writer) *Writer
NewWriter returns a new Writer whose buffer has the default size.
func NewWriterSize ¶
func NewWriterSize(w io.Writer, size int) *Writer
NewWriterSize returns a new Writer whose buffer has at least the specified size. If the argument io.Writer is already a Writer with large enough size, it returns the underlying Writer.
func (*Writer) Available ¶
func (b *Writer) Available() int
Available returns how many bytes are unused in the buffer.
func (*Writer) Buffered ¶
func (b *Writer) Buffered() int
Buffered returns the number of bytes that have been written into the current buffer.
func (*Writer) Flush ¶
func (b *Writer) Flush() error
Flush writes any buffered data to the underlying io.Writer.
func (*Writer) ReadFrom ¶
func (b *Writer) ReadFrom(r io.Reader) (n int64, err error)
ReadFrom implements io.ReaderFrom.
func (*Writer) Reset ¶
func (b *Writer) Reset(w io.Writer)
Reset discards any unflushed buffered data, clears any error, and resets b to write its output to w.
func (*Writer) Write ¶
func (b *Writer) Write(p []byte) (nn int, err error)
Write writes the contents of p into the buffer. It returns the number of bytes written. If nn < len(p), it also returns an error explaining why the write is short.
func (*Writer) WriteByte ¶
func (b *Writer) WriteByte(c byte) error
WriteByte writes a single byte.
func (*Writer) WriteRune ¶
func (b *Writer) WriteRune(r rune) (size int, err error)
WriteRune writes a single Unicode code point, returning the number of bytes written and any error.
func (*Writer) WriteString ¶
func (b *Writer) WriteString(s string) (int, error)
WriteString writes a string. It returns the number of bytes written. If the count is less than len(s), it also returns an error explaining why the write is short.


text:
Step one of this project was to c-l-e-a-n the knifeblock! I just used fantastic cleaner and dishsoap.
I've really been trying to do projects this summer that don't cost any money.....so, I had some gray primer in my closet and that's what got used!
I love it! Free crafts are best crafts for sure.
Love it!! makes me want to redo my knife block!! :)
Super, super cute. A nice upgrade!
What a great idea! thanks for sharing!
nice like it :)
Wonderful! I love small DIY projects. The details of a room sometimes make such a big impact.
Love the new look--I have one of those--now thinking of painting mine too!
This looks great, I love the green! Great blog, I'm a new follower!
OOOH! LOVE this! I recently up-cycled my spice rack and doing this to my knife block would make them match. What a fun idea!
love your blog! I'm a newcomer! I'd love it if you linked up some of your great ideas to Lovely Little Snippets!
I love this idea! Your upcycled knife block looks fab.
very cute idea...thanks for sharing it at my place!
Ok, now I want to do this in my kitchen, too! Don't have any vinyl lettering, but do you think I could modge podge some Cricut-cut paper lettering?
Great project!!
Great job, Nicole! The vinyl lettering is a nice touch!


text:
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster in Wales, Sir Karl Jenkins has composed a major new choral work, Cantata Memoria – For The Children.
Cantata Memoria was commissioned by S4C, the Welsh language TV channel, to mark 50 years since the Aberfan disaster, when 116 children and 28 adults lost their lives after a colliery waste tip collapsed and engulfed Pantglas school and nearby houses, devastating the local community in South Wales.
Penclawdd-born composer Sir Karl Jenkins says, "It was a huge honour to be asked to write this work. Apart from depicting the disaster itself, Cantata Memoria is also a celebration of childhood, gradually moving from darkness to light. I felt privileged and humbled to have been invited to compose this piece, whilst also being mindful of the responsibility the commission carried to create something with integrity and accessibility that would connect and move everyone. Paradoxically, dealing with a subject that lies so deep in the soul of the Welsh was both a harrowing and uplifting experience."
Bryn Terfel adds, "Cantata Memoria is a deeply powerful commemoration of such a sad tragedy in Wales. It has been an honour watching and hearing the piece develop into what will be a work of major significance in Welsh culture and beyond."


text: 21 January Report from the Kahororo, Congo project - Two years in background January 21, 2016By Web Admin Democratic Republic of Congo 0 He chose the village of Kahororo, in a low-lying area halfway between Uvira, Congo, and Bujumbura, Burundi. It is a Batwa/Pygmy village – really a reservation. The Batwa/Pygmy people are a highly oppressed minority, rather like American Indians, making up less than 1% of the total population, who were once forest dwellers and hunters, but now gathered into small areas of mostly non-arable land. Kahororo is surrounded by water and marshes. There was no school, no health clinic, no road, no significant buildings of any kind. Unemployment is essentially 100%. The people remember only a single outside intervention in their past, when United Nations troops passed through in 2004, raped some of the women, and gave them HIV. Life expectancy is under 35, and more than half of the children died before the age of five, almost all the result of waterborne illnesses. The Intervention With the funds received, Friendly Water for the World provided two steel molds and a toolkit under our long-term loan agreement for use in producing BioSand Filters, and enough materials to build the first 30-35 Filters. Eliphaz trained a group of 16 women and 14 men for six days in fabricating, distributing, installing, and maintaining the Filters, as well as providing training in community sanitation and hygiene. In 38 days, 31 BioSand Filters were built and installed. A formal BioSand group was formed, and leader elected. More materials were requested and provided, so that Filters could also be sold outside of the community. Over the next six months, 85 BioSand Filters were build and installed in Kahororo. Results Major improvements in health were seen within three weeks. Over the course of the next year, under-five child mortality was reduced by more than 90%, from as many as one child death every three days, to as few as one every six months. Longevity increased among adults as well. A school was started. The group began selling Filters to surrounding communities. A World Bank committee charged with improving the conditions of Batwa/Pygmy people heard about the "miracle of Kahororo" and visited Kahororo in January 2015. The residents told them they wanted to spread the work to other Batwa/Pygmy communities. One person trained – Konka Shindano – became a BioSand technician. In September 2015, at Friendly Water for the World's request, he traveled almost 500 miles away, to Beni and Butembo in the far northeastern corner of the Congo to train other Batwa/Pygmy communities. He had never traveled more than 15 miles away from Kahororo before. It turned out he spoke the same languages (Kimpute/Killesse), and the fact that he could teach technical skills was seen as extraordinary. His presence and expertise was much sought-after by village leaders and the length of his trip had to be doubled. He is likely to return there to assist with future trainings in 2016. Kahororo village leader Anania Shigira says, "Water is Life, and is a fundamental life. As one of the fundamental rights, life can now be returned to my community and my people are revitalized because we now have access to clean water through BioSand Water Filters. Thank you! We note that the sustained action of Friendly Water for the World is the first intervention toward the development of Kahororo since the world began. We were yesterday forgotten, discriminated against, and marginalized, but today we now have become proud and worthy thanks to the BioSand Filter program." Please help us extend the miracle of Kahororo to other communities through your contributions large and small. And please share this post with your friends Related Posts A report on our We Stopped Cholera kickoff Celebration On Friday evening, some 300 people turned out to see Clay Jenkinson as Meriwether Lewis. (and Seaman the Newfie!) In addition to a fabulous performance (we will have him back!), Clay indicated he wants to support Friendly Water for the World even more, noting that we are "a global expression of Jeffersonian Democracy in action." We are working on bigger plans together! Saturday was Friendly Water's Administration and Operations Director Drissia Ras' day. Besides being a scientist (one of the world's leading experts on the removal of arsenic with a BioSand Filter), organizer, website and data coordinator, and French and Arabic translator (and, boy, do we need it!), she is also a fabulous cook! On Saturdaymorning, she led a jam-packed Moroccan Cooking Class at Bayview Market (with thanks to the Storman Family for letting us have the space), teaching how to prepare couscous with all the trimmings. I have already heard from two of her students that they went right home and prepared it themselves, and it was fabulous. Then, in the evening, we had our Victory Dinner, also featuring Moroccan food. We talked about the next steps in the We Stopped Cholera Campaign (more on that later). And then, we auctioned off the Board Chairman's 36-year-old moustache! The bidding was wild and woolly, with bids for him to keep the moustache, shave it off, trim it, shave off half of it. Finally, a syndicate formed, and it was decided that it simply had to go, at a final price of more than $700 to ensure clean water. Tai the barber, who has wanted to get rid of the darn thing for almost a decade, was there to do the honors. Let's remember that this is just the beginning of the Campaign, not the end. There will be a Black Friday wine-tasting, "A Little Wine After Shopping", at the Women's Club of Olympia, and on January 17th, a "There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch" Free Lunch, with food from Olympia's own Nineveh. Watch this space for details. Thanks to all who made this possible, and are helping to ensure clean water with us all over the world! "I NOW CONDUCT MY LIFE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" A combination of malnutrition, lack of health care access, and, above all, lack of access to clean water, means that the camp is full of orphans, while at the same time mortality rates among children under five is extremely high. In late 2014, Friendly Water for the World Medical Officer Dr. Kambale Musubao traveled to one section of the camp, where he conducted HIV testing. He found 63 families (with a total of 378 children) impacted by HIV. In the year prior to the testing, these families lost 80 children under the age of five from waterborne illnesses. Through a small grant from Friendly Water for the World's Card Fund ($2,920 to be exact), all 63 families were provided with BioSand Water Filters, as well as basic education in sanitation and hygiene. In December, Dr. Kambale returned to conduct an epidemiological survey of the families. He found that, among adults, there was not a single death from waterborne illnesses – not one - and HIV-related deaths were reduced by 70%. Under-five mortality was reduced by 75% (it likely would have been reduced more, except that in the very close quarters of the camp, children visit other children and families who continue to consume contaminated water.) Dysentery and diarrhea among the children went from being a near-universal condition to a rarity. School attendance had radically increased. And among the adults infected with HIV, chronic illness among the 63 was reduced from 51 people to 12. Cholera cases were reduced from 23 cases to 2; typhoid cases from 20 a month to an average of one. Dr. Kambale believes reductions would be even greater if more attention were paid to sanitation and hygiene, and if participants didn't sometimes pour overly chlorinated water, obtained from other non-government organizations, into the Filters, destroying the bio-layer and reducing Filter efficiency. "After the death of my husband from HIV," said Mwenge, "I had no energy for my daily routine. But now after the use of the BioSand Filter, my health has improved a lot, and I can work. I almost forgot that I am an HIV person". Mwenge is now selling filtered water to her neighbors (at approximately one-sixteenth the cost of bottled water), and in the past several months, has earned $108. Her neighbors Aline and Jean said that before the use of the BioSand Filter, they were in constant fear of death. But today, they have hopes for normal lives, health, and life expectancy. "BioSand Filters are not just helping reduce the spread of disease," notes Dr. Kambale, "but also lift the people's spirits and gives them hope for a better life." Friendly Water for the World is now expanding the program and the hope is that, during the next year, as part of our Building New Lives Campaign, people with HIV will be trained to fabricate, distribute, install, and maintain BioSand Filters, as well as conduct community sanitation campaigns inside the refugee camp Make this YOUR story of hope. Join the Building the New Lives Campaign. Also Please share this with your friends. Kasaana People Living With HIV Kids were taken out of school to walk up to 5.5 kilometers each day, twice a day, to fetch dirty water for their sick parents. Research has shown that, with consistent access to clean water, the life expectancy of a person living with HIV can be extended from 5-8 years. With clean water and anti-retroviral drugs, life can be extended indefinitely. But taking anti-retroviral drugs without clean water can reduce their effectiveness by up to 80%, as the body cannot resist opportunistic infections. Last year, Friendly Water for the World's Uganda Country Representative Richard Kyambadde (who is openly HIV positive, and wants you to know it), trained the group Kasaana People Living with HIV to build 59 BioSand Filters, as well as to undertake spring protection activities. Health improved almost immediately, and massively. But, especially in the dry season, the people still had to walk up to 5.5 kilometers to fetch water. As part of a large grant from One Day's Wages based in Seattle, Washington, Rotary Clubs based in Luxembourg, and Rotary International Foundation, the people of Kasaana have been trained to build rainwater catchment systems using ferrocement tanks that they fabricate themselves. Ten have been built thus far. Now these folks - most of whom were "fixing to die" - have a ready source of employment, building such systems for their neighbors and in neighboring communities. Their skills are going to be incorporated into the new Friendly Water for the World Center for Clean Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. Thanks to all who made it possible. The "muzungu" (white person) in some of the photos is John Bailey, a retired engineer, living in Hubbardsville, New York. John came to our Friendly Water for the World training in Anacortes, Washington last July, and is now putting his skills to good use! (which isn't to say that he didn't before - LOL!) Please help us extend this work to other communities of people living with HIV. Friendly Water for the World- www.friendlywater.net And please share this with friends. We Stopped Cholera Press Release In Goma, a city of a million people in eastern Congo-DRC, with 600,000 refugees ringing the city, there is not a drop of clean water. Since January 2015, there have been more than 100,000 documented cases of cholera, with over 2,000 deaths. Overall, in the past three years, there have been far more cholera deaths in the Congo and surrounding countries than all ebola-related deaths worldwide combined. It has been worse for the 3,800 children in the 26 orphanages in the city, most of which were established to take in orphans from the 17-year war which killed almost seven million people. Friendly Water for the World Medical Officer Dr. Kambale Musubao visited all 26, documenting more than 700 cholera cases between January and June, and at least 67 deaths, almost one out of every ten confirmed cases. Friendly Water for the World (www.friendlywater.net) had trained two teams of BioSand Filter fabricators (one made up entirely of women rape survivors from the war.) Over the past two months, Dr. Kambale and his colleagues have installed BioSand Water Filters in all 26 orphanages, and taught basic hygiene and community sanitation. As of September 2nd, there is not a single case of cholera in any orphanage in Goma. "It's no miracle," said Friendly Water for the World Board Chairman David Albert, "It's just good science, strategically and appropriately applied by people who really care." BioSand Water Filters were invented by Dr. David Manz at the University of Calgary. He patented the technology, which requires no chemicals, electricity, motorized equipment, or moving parts, and is made of all locally available materials, and gave the patent to the world. BioSand Water Filters can remove up to 99% of bacteria, and virtually 100% of viruses, worms, protozoa, and amoeba which cause waterborne illnesses such as cholera, typhoid, bacterial dysentery, Rotavirus, hepatitis A, giardia, and cryptosporidiosis. Friendly Water for the World is a knowledge-sharing and training organization working with communities in 12 countries to help them ensure their own clean water supply. "This is a story of hope," said Jim Cooper, Olympia, Washington City Councilman and President, United Way of the Pacific Northwest, who is serving as the We Stopped Cholera Victory Campaign Co-Chair. "It is proof of how a very little bit can be stretched a very long way. We are humbled by the effort." The total cost of eradicating cholera in the 26 orphanages was $1,980. Dr. Kambale Musubao is a physician and surgeon in the Congo, who also runs three health clinics for war orphans. He traded in his hospital-based surgery practice, noting, "In the hospital, I could save at most one or two people a day. Working on clean water with Friendly Water for the World, I can save thousands." A celebration with all 3,800 children was held Goma on September 20th. Photos will soon be available. Friendly Water for the World is kicking off its four-month long We Stopped Cholera Victory Campaign with events in Olympia, Washington October 23-24, featuring awarding-winning humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson of NPR's "The Jefferson Hour" (http://www.jeffersonhour.com). The aim is to raise enough funds to replicate the Goma effort and support other communities' efforts to ensure access to clean water by a factor of 50. THIS is What Success Looks Like – NOTHING HAPPENS There – when "nothing happens", it is often a revelation. While surrounding communities are experiencing disease and even death, when "nothing happens" in the community because of a health intervention, there is much rejoicing. There is even more rejoicing, and a feeling of great pride, when not only are our new friends surviving and even healthy when the periodic epidemics sweep through, but when they do this for themselves and for their neighbors - without governments (local, national, or foreign), banks, churches, white missionaries, huge NGOs and charities, political parties. Sometimes, even without doctors or nurses (because there aren't any!) They make "nothing happen" with their own intelligence, ingenuity, pent-up energy, generosity, and caring. (And a little knowledge sharing and training, in the case below all secondhand, tools, and some cheerleading – perhaps our biggest asset - from us.) So there is great excitement outside of Gisenyi, Rwanda. Early this year, our Friendly Water for the World affiliate God in Us-Africa trained a group of 20 HIV-positive widows – of different ages, religions, and tribal affiliations - in building BioSand Water Filters, and in teaching community sanitation and hygiene. They called their group "Tunyamazimeza"– meaning "Use Clean Water" in Kinyarwanda, elected a President, and set up a bank account. They started by building and installing Filters for themselves and their children, and, as we've seen virtually everywhere, within less than a month waterborne and opportunistic infections disappeared, and the women got stronger. No typhoid, no cholera, no bacterial dysentery, no ambiasis, no Rotavirus. They made "nothing happen"! Then they went to work. Over the past four months, Tunyamazimeza has built and installed 164 BioSand Water Filters, many of them ordered by local schools who have seen how much "nothing happens" when the kids have access to clean water. They made a profit of $835. They spent the first $225 to buy health insurance for 56 children, who can now access health care at government health clinics when they need it, and free pharmaceuticals (the bane of health care in many subSaharan environments.) Of course, most of them don't need much of it anymore, as "nothing is happening". They are using the rest of the funds to rent land for next year to cultivate fruit and vegetables, both for the market, and for their own families to supplement their limited diets. These are now some very happy people! (And of course they are continuing to build BioSand Filters.) Now, people are streaming in from other districts, pleading with God in Us-Africa and Friendly Water for the World to start programs in their communities. And local governments, too. We have 12 projects now, and a team that does nothing but monitoring and evaluation. I expect we will triple that in the next year, perhaps to include Friendly Water soapmaking, and training in building eco-friendly latrines. Of course, that means we need more help from all of you. Please consider supporting us with a monthly pledge (you can do that through our website at www.friendlywater.net ); even $5 a month can make a huge difference in people's lives. Help us make "nothing happen"! (And share this with your friends, so that they can, too!) People with Albinism Groups trained by Friendly Water for the World – frequently made up of HIV+ people, widows, formerly unemployed youth – as well as our country representatives, often take up the conditions faced by even poorer members in their communities. God in Us-Africa, our Friendly Water for the World partner in Rwanda, supplied us with the photos below, of their work in providing clean water to albino children. In the DRC-Congo, we are exploring setting up a workshop in the production of BioSand Filters with an albino rights group, which will provide its members a means of earning a living even at the same time as contributing greatly to community health. We dream of the time that, instead of being among the most stigmatized, they are valued for the important contributions they make to the life of their communities. Please share, and if you can, send a little bit our way Comment (0) Comments are closed.


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Grants: Overview
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) solicits grant applications that relate to its scientific priorities and research interests. For some programs, the NHGRI participates with other Institutes and Centers (IC) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). All NIH solicitations are published weekly as articles in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts [grants.nih.gov] and archived by date and announcement category. The archive can be browsed, or searched by keyword.
Grants Guide
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- NIH Electronic Grant Submission
- Applying for an NHGRI Grant
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Last Updated: February 17, 2012


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I thought that next week's downloadable two-chapter expansion to Dead Space 2 was called Severed because it involved a certain Dead Space character who chopped off his own hand.
That guy was in Dead Space Extraction, the Wii and PlayStation 3 game that served as both a prequel to the Dead Space saga and specifically to next week's Severed expansion. But that man, whose loss of a hand was one of Extraction's most memorable and shockingly interactive scenes, is not the star of Severed. Two of Extraction's other Ensemble leads are, Gabe Weller and his girlfriend Lexine.
What's Severed mean, then, I asked an EA rep who played through part of the expansion for me at a demo event in New York. It represents the separation between Weller and Lexine, the EA guy said, and maybe other things. I assume it also involves the limbs you have to shoot off to kill Dead Space's bad guys.
The expansion runs contemporaneously with the Dead Space 2 game's main plot. You're Weller, not DS2 hero Isaac Clarke, and you're a soldier, not an engineer. You're more heavily armed than Isaac was in much of the game, though I was told this doesn't mean Severed is the action-game version of Dead Space 2's horror show; it's not Aliens to the main game's Alien.
The setting is the Titan Mines, an area brought over from the main game's multiplayer and the plot will intersect with Dead Space 2's enough that players may catch wind of events from the main game in these two chapters. I was told the new chapters are substantial, but I don't have an estimate on how long this $US7 expansion will last. I was most intrigued by the EA rep's suggestion that this expansion might set the stage for things that come next. A sequel tease in here, perhaps?
We'll see next week, and maybe learn some more new meanings for 'Severed." It'll be out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but there's no PC version on the release schedule.


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- Power transmission / design engineering / machine elements / connection technology / machine and plant construction |
"We have always been thinking globally"
Component manufacturer RINGSPANN is rigorously pursuing its expansion course
With the commissioning of its second production plant in Bad Homburg, RINGSPANN has achieved a key milestone in mid-2017 on its way to becoming a full-range supplier of high-quality power transmission components. For Managing Director Fabian Maurer, however, this is just one small part of the globally aligned corporate strategy that aims to bring all product groups to the level that RINGSPANN's freewheels division has been at for decades: At the forefront of international markets! In an interview, the company boss outlines the measures that are on his agenda for 2018.
Mr Maurer, why build a second production site in direct proximity to the RINGSPANN headquarters in Bad Homburg?
Maurer: Within the scope of the corporate strategy we formulated in 2014, we took the decision to develop RINGSPANN into an international full-range supplier for high-quality clutches and brakes for industrial power transmission. It was therefore necessary – among other things – to create two fundamental conditions. Firstly: We want to be able to assert our market leadership in the freewheels segment and keep the competition at a clear distance. And secondly: We need more space for development for our other product lines of industrial brakes, shaft-hub-connections and overload clutches and shaft couplings to help pursue their growth and particularly generate more exponential growth. With the construction of the second plant, the investment in numerous new machinery and the establishment of modern lean management processes, we have now created excellent development and production conditions for all product lines.
Are these measures already yielding visible effects for customers?
Maurer: While 2016 was characterised by numerous innovations in our freewheels product range, this year primarily showcased the field of industrial brakes and shaft-hub-connections, which have made significant strides with a wide range of new standard and premium solutions. In terms of shaft-hub-connections we were also able to release an online shop with an innovative new calculation tool for engineers. Our couplings division, meanwhile, is poised to come out in full force in 2018. Generally speaking, the improved development and manufacturing environments – flanked by further modernisation measures – will enable us to significantly energise our product policy. This is crucial for our future positioning, because you will only be taken seriously as a full-range supplier or one-stop supplier once you can present a portfolio that is truly representative with regards to selection and type diversity.
What market coverage do RINGSPANN products currently achieve for power transmission?
Maurer: When it comes to freewheels, we are world market leaders; here, our range of products covers more than 90 percent of all currently conceivable products, models and variants. When it comes to brakes, we are among the manufacturers who can present an almost comprehensive technological cross-section of the world of industrial brakes with a market coverage of almost 80 percent. It is similar for shaft-hub-connections. And our overload clutches and shaft coupling portfolio currently represents approx. half of all existing products...
...which is presumably why you see the greatest potential for growth here?
Maurer: We are already noting significant growth impulses in these areas. We already expanded the product range for overload clutches in 2016, and once more this year. Our shaft coupling portfolio was also greatly expanded in recent months and supplemented by many new coupling types – we are currently working on the last pages of the new product catalogue, which will be coming out in 2018.
Just to clarify, let us ask once more: Your market analyses are always oriented towards events on the world markets?
Maurer: Correct, we have always been thinking globally – by the way, this also applies to our other product lines of clamping fixtures and remote control systems. Worldwide, RINGSPANN now has seven production sites and 13 international companies. And irrespective of whether its gear manufacturing, vehicle or aircraft construction, railway or marine engineering, wind power, mining or the raw materials industry – our more than 6,000 customers operate largely globally. This alone is why it is so fundamentally important that we continue to pursue our development, also through the international expansion of the RINGSPANN Group, towards becoming a full-range supplier.
How are you progressing in terms of the continuing internationalisation of your company?
Maurer: Every year we are growing a great deal in this area. Let me remind you that a representative office in Singapore and subsidiaries in Sweden and South Africa have been part of the RINGSPANN Group since 2015. And that our Italian company was added in 2016. As of 2017 we have a subsidiary in Austria, and our next steps on the international stage are right around the corner. During this process of internationalisation, we have kept an eye on both our product lines for power transmission and our product areas of clamping fixtures and remote control systems, i.e. mechanical remote control systems such as push/pull cables.
Could you offer us a glimpse behind the scenes?
Maurer: On 1 January 2018, we will again be strengthening our industrial brakes division with the takeover of a north Italian manufacturer. Furthermore, my calendar already holds the next promising discussions due to take place with foreign representatives. We remain well on target because improving customer orientation through a stronger local presence is another firm target of our medium and long-term corporate strategy.
What are the objectives of what seems to be quite a comprehensive overall strategy?
Maurer: Our Group strategy is indeed comprehensive and bundles a whole host of measures and objectives at different levels. A lot has already been mentioned over the course of this discussion. I would, however, also like to mention that we are currently implementing various measures on increasing efficiency, process optimisation and on the structural modernisation of administration and procurement. Other areas of activity include the further development of our industry managers, who possess special and detailed knowledge on our target groups and key markets, as well as the continued improvement of employee qualifications – for example with the help of our RINGSPANN academy. And finally, as part of our overall strategy we are working on the systematic digitalisation of all company processes.
The digitalisation of all company processes? That sounds like no end of work...
Maurer: ...it is, especially considering this not only means the company-wide introduction of SAP and the integration of new 3D CAD and CRM systems, but also the digitalisation of production and business processes. It also incorporates the functional further development of the RINGSPANN website with interactive tools for purchasers and design engineers. Within the scope of the digitalisation process, we are cooperating very closely with the specialists at CiP Lernfabrik at Technische Universität Darmstadt. This cooperation has provided us with a whole host of innovative ideas.
What timetable have you set to implement your strategic objectives?
Maurer: The numerous measures of the overall strategy were divided into short and medium-term individual projects in 2014, and we have since been able to successfully complete many; some projects that were launched later are still in progress. Overall, we are making excellent time and, as has been mentioned previously, the commissioning of our new plant in Bad Homburg represents the realisation of a key milestone. Many projects that build upon it, as well as various longer-term undertakings, will naturally accompany us a while longer. We assume that most of the measures and objectives will have been realised by 2020, but I am sure that at this point we will have long since added many new ideas to our to-do list.
Mr Maurer, thank you for this interview.
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Wednesday April 9, 2014 7:52 pm
Report: iPad Air & iPad mini Retina to gain Touch ID, 8MP camera, A8 chip this year
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Rumors
Apple may be prepping the 2014 iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display models to include Touch ID, among other new additions. According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the prediction is that we'll see an expected chip bump with the Apple A8 processor, rear iSight camera resolution increased to 8MP, and the aforementioned Touch ID fingerprint recognition security feature in both the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display.
Kuo also believes that this year's iPads will launch earlier than they did last year, which would imply that they should arrive sooner than November. As for the long-rumored 12.9-inch iPad? Kuo says that the larger tablet is unlikely to appear in 2014.
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Pastor Turns Former Halloween Store, Victoria Secret Into Church at Mall
One church in North Carolina is bringing Jesus to the malls this Christmas season, offering worship and gift-wrapping services to holiday shoppers.
Westside Fellowship Church in Alamance County, for the second consecutive year, is renting out two spaces at Holy Hill Mall, hoping to remind people of the true meaning of Christmas.
"Our goal is to take Jesus to the people," Kurt Ward, executive pastor of Westside Fellowship, told The Christian Post. "Everyone goes to the mall at Christmastime. Christmas has become so commercialized –for many Christmas is just about the shopping and the gifts. Through this outreach, we want to remind people of the true meaning of Christmas."
"Redeeming" a space formerly rented by Spirit Halloween, the leaders of the church desire to fill the place with the Holy Spirit this Christmas instead. They offer everything from Sunday morning services to prayer stations staffed with volunteers ready to assist anyone in need.
On Fridays and Saturdays, they will also wrap gifts out of a desire to give to the people and be a good neighbor. The service is free to the public and is especially popular among fathers, who shop with their children, Ward described.
Westside Fellowship additionally rents out a former Victoria Secret space for use as a children's ministry area.
"We're hopeful that our presence [will] help remind people of the true meaning of Christmas," the associate pastor shared with CP.
"We are located right next to the Santaland display, where Santa is on hand to take photos. It is great to have people in line waiting for Santa, knowing that they could be looking over at one of our signs that remind them of Jesus and his birth."
The church, which usually meets on their permanent campus in Elon, holds no separate services on Sunday at their usual building. Senior pastor Mike Mitchener will preach to the congregation and curious shoppers every week starting in December, and will also be speaking on Christmas Day.
Mitchener envisioned the idea for their outreach at the mall last year in February.
"Twenty months ago ... our senior pastor Mike Mitchener started going to the West Burlington area to pray for God to bring revival," Ward explained. "He would sit in his car in the parking lot of the mall and ask God to bring an awakening to the area and for Him to clearly show the role or roles that He wanted Westside Fellowship to play."
"At the time, Mike wasn't specifically praying for the mall, just for the area in general. However, the mall itself was indicative of what was happening throughout the region."
The Burlington area had been hard hit by the recession, and the mall in particular had lost several tenants to other profitable areas.
As a result, an investment group eventually purchased the mall with the goal to revitalize the area. One of the investors was a member of Westside Fellowship, which paved a way for the church to enter into the mall.
"God was urging the leadership team of Westside to step out in faith and become a multisite church. The desire was to reach the unchurched of the West Burlington area, while at the same time maintaining the strong sense of biblical community that God had created at Westside," Ward added. "Westside, a church that celebrated its 10th anniversary in April 2011, had been designed to strategically carry out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission."
In order to do so effectively, Mitchener and the other leaders felt called to "go" – to move beyond the walls of its permanent worship center and reach out to a new area, like Holy Hill Mall.
"God has paved the way for much of this work," the Westside pastor affirmed. "We feel that He orchestrated the steps that allowed us to be in the mall in the first place."
The ownership and management have been very cooperative with the church, appreciating the additional traffic that Westside brings to the mall. The surrounding tenants have also been receptive to the church as well.
As far as the impact it has made on the community so far, the effects are ongoing.
Last December, 50 families visited the space at the mall for the first time. An additional 20 families made their second visit to the space again. Westside follows up with first time visitors through phone calls and letters.
Just this past Sunday, the church baptized four people who had visited them for the first time at the mall last December, Ward told CP.
The church, wanting a more permanent presence in the area, hopes to create a second campus for their members and visitors after this December and is confident that God will provide them with a space. "Our current, permanent worship center is only about six or seven miles from the mall, but it is out in a rural part of the county and the perception is that we are 'way out there' in the country. This year, we want to eliminate that excuse."
"There are several churches in the West Burlington area. However, the majority of the people remain unchurched here. Many have some church background; however, many simple refuse to go to church. It is our desire to provide them with hope. We want them to see Jesus through us and come to a place where they recognize their need for Him."
Services at Holy Hill Mall begin at 10:30 a.m. EST on Sundays. For more information, visit the church's website here.


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Orlando, Florida (June 10, 2015) — Four travel journalists recently captured top honors in the 2015 IPW Travel Writer Awards competition. The winners were announced on June 1 during a media reception at the IPW trade show in Orlando, Florida. The U.S. Travel Association, which coordinates the awards, received nearly 200 contest entries from journalists representing more than 40 countries. The honors were awarded as follows:
Best IPW Host City (Chicago) Article — Brazilian travel writer Rogério Almeida captured top honors in this category, which judges articles highlighting the previous year's IPW host city. His story, Chicago: Uma Cidade Para Todos ("Chicago: A City for Everyone"), appeared in the June 2014 issue of Fácil, a glossy Brazilian lifestyle magazine. Almeida's article focused on Chicago's culture, diverse population, festivals and architecture.
Best U.S. Travel Destination Article — Due to the high number of outstanding entries received, the judges selected two winners in this category. Stockholm-based freelance journalist and photographer Jonas Henningsson won for his story Heta Harlem ("Hot Harlem"), which was published in April 2014 in Vagabond Magazine, one of Sweden's largest-circulating consumer travel publications. Harlem's history, restaurants and jazz music scene were highlighted in the story.
Also winning in this category is April Orcutt, a freelance journalist who specializes in writing about soft adventure, environmental awareness, road trips and travel for women. Her story, California's Milky Way, appeared in The Dallas Morning News in March 2014. It described the delights of exploring the Sonoma Marin Cheese Trail, visiting the tasting rooms of boutique cheese makers, and touring creameries that offer public tours.
Best Trade Publication Article — Katherine Lawrey, features editor for TTG (Travel Trade Gazette), a travel trade publication in the United Kingdom, was recognized in this category. Her article, Sound of the Streets, focused on how the French Quarter Festival, a four-day celebration of New Orleans' music and food, exemplifies the city's "post-Katrina spirit of survival." In addition to describing the festival, Lawrey invited readers along as she biked through the St. Louis Cemetery to "view the city's famous above ground tombs" and floated on a tour boat through feral swamps, on the lookout for alligators and other wildlife.
During their evaluation of the entries, the judges looked for articles that featured original ideas and exceptional storytelling skills, as well as prose that would inspire readers to travel to the United States.
The IPW Travel Writer Awards competition is held annually. Each of the winning writers receives $1,000 and an award certificate. This year's competition was sponsored by CityPASS, the company that offers discounted admission booklets for the top attractions in 12 North American destinations.
Photo Caption: The winners and sponsors of the IPW 2015 Travel Writer Awards (left to right): Mike Morey, co-founder and co-chairman of CityPASS, one of the contest sponsors; Megan Allen, president and CEO of CityPASS; Brazilian freelance journalist Rogério Almeida, winner in the "Best IPW Host City Article" category; Swedish freelance writer Jonas Henningsson, one of two winners in the "Best U.S. Travel Destination Article" category; U.S. freelance journalist April Orcutt, the second winner for "Best U.S. Travel Destination Article"; Mike Gallagher, co-founder and co-chairman of CityPASS; Katherine Lawrey, features editor for TTG (Travel Trade Gazette) Digital magazine and the winner for "Best Trade Publication" article; Christopher L. Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA; and Roger J. Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
The U.S. Travel Association is a national, nonprofit organization representing all components of the travel industry, which generates $2.1 trillion in economic output and supports 15 million jobs. U.S. Travel's mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. For more information, visit www.ustravel.org.
For more than 17 years, CityPASS ticket booklets have been the premier product for travelers who want to visit a destination's top attractions while enjoying significant savings of up to 50 percent. CityPASS ticket booklets, which have a 95 percent customer recommendation rating, contain prepaid admission to the most popular attractions in 12 North American destinations: New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Southern California, Tampa Bay and Toronto. For more information, visit CityPASS.com.


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Liberty News
Shakespeare production to showcase new Jerry Falwell Library
'As You Like It' show times
To purchase tickets, visit the Tower Theater website or call the Liberty University Box Office at (434) 582-SEAT (7328) during weekday business hours.
All the world's a stage, and Liberty University is being transformed into one, too, for this week's Summer Shakespeare production of "As You Like It" in the new Jerry Falwell Library.
The Department of Theatre Arts' rendition of the pastoral comedy opens tonight at 8 p.m. and continues through Saturday with additional performances Monday through Wednesday.
Liberty debuted Summer Shakespeare with "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 2009. This is the second year the theatre department has staged a play in one of its non-theatrical facilities on campus, which is in the midst of a $500 million rebuilding. After putting on "Hamlet" late last May in the Hancock Welcome Center, "As You Like It" is also the department's second stab at a "promenade" production, wherein audiences follow the actors through various locations of a building or outdoor setting to watch as the scenes unfold.
|Director Scott Hayes is the associate dean of Liberty University's School of Communication & Creative Arts.
Director Scott Hayes, associate dean for the School of Communication & Creative Arts, said the play's adaptation to the spacious new library developed naturally, with no revision of Shakespeare's original text required.
"In this promenade style of theater, the audience moves within the play and the Shakespearean dialogue describes wherever they are," Hayes said, noting that it eliminates the need for expensive sets. "There are so many beautiful architectural elements we can exploit and, surprisingly, the acoustics within the library are pretty good."
The $50 million, 170,000-square-foot library opened in January. Architectural elements include a 4-story book tower, rooftop terrace, lakeside balconies, and a floating staircase. It is designed with more than 80,000 square feet of interior and exterior glass, offering plenty of natural light and breathtaking views.
The play will incorporate the use of balconies, both for the actors and the audiences looking down on them. The effect is to transport spectators into the scenes, through not only the actors' words and gestures, but their own movements and interaction.
"Because the audience travels around, it gets to participate in a much more significant way than with a standard production," Hayes said. "It's really a great audience experience because you have to suspend your disbelief."
Back in their heyday of the late 1500s and early 1600s, Shakespearean performances were often performed in courts or royal halls, and audiences often would engage in impromptu participation, Hayes said.
"(Shakespearean plays) didn't travel but (the actors) would have to perform wherever they were asked and very quickly," he said, noting "The Merry Wives of Windsor" was commissioned by the Queen of England and performed in a palace. "That's what our audiences can expect, an immediacy similar to the effect that the Elizabethans would have experienced," Hayes said.
The cast of "As You Like It" has been trained to spontaneously interact with members of the audience, and to work around patrons of the library, which will still be open after the 8 p.m. showtimes.
"A lot of times, promenade theatre companies do shows within a market where actors have to be able to deal with inadvertent audience members," Hayes said.
Spectators buying tickets to the play will be given bracelets allowing them to pass into certain areas as they follow the performance, but other areas are open to the nonpaying public as well.
"Signs will be posted saying we'll be in a room at a particular time, but people who are there will have an opportunity to watch the show," Hayes said.
Hayes first worked on a promenade staging of "Romeo and Juliet" in 2011 while serving as chair of the theatre department at Regent University.
|Andy Geffken plays Orlando.
|Erica Geffken plays Rosalind.
The 14-member cast includes 11 undergraduate students, including a few freshmen from this past fall's laboratory workshop production of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew," on the Tower Theater's Second Stage. Andy Geffken, a professor of theatre arts at Liberty, plays the lead role of Orlando, while his wife and fellow Liberty alum Erica Geffken plays the heroine, Rosalind.
Neal Brasher, the assistant professor of theatre arts who developed the Shakespeare program at Liberty and the off-stage concept with last summer's performance of "Hamlet," plays Rosalind's father, Duke Senior, and his brother, Duke Frederick.