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CHICAGO — Research in teens adds fresh evidence that the 1980s "crack baby" scare was overblown, finding little proof of any major long-term ill effects in children whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy.
Some studies have linked pregnant women's cocaine use with children's behaviour difficulties, attention problems, anxiety and worse school performance. But the effects were mostly small and may have resulted from other factors including family problems or violence, parents' continued drug use and poverty, the researchers said.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
'Crack baby' hysteria of 1980s was overblown: U.S. study Back to video
They reviewed 27 studies involving more than 5,000 11- to 17-year-olds whose mothers had used cocaine while pregnant. The studies all involved low-income, mostly black and urban families.
The review, led by University of Maryland pediatrics researcher Maureen Black, was released online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
Widespread use of crack cocaine in the 1980s led to the "crack baby" scare, when babies born to crack users sometimes had worrisome symptoms including jitteriness and smaller heads. Studies at the time blamed prenatal drug use, suggested affected children had irreversible brain damage and predicted dire futures for them. These reports led to widespread media coverage featuring breathless headlines and heart-rending images of tiny sick newborns hooked up to hospital machines.


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We love sturdy compact pickups and we mourn that CAFE has largely killed any hope of their return. But we still want them anyway, and we still long for Mahindra.
Oh, you've never heard of Mahindra? That's not a surprise.
Mahindra is an Indian auto maker that was supposed to bring their compact pickup line to the States. Hell, PickupTrucks.com even got a test drive. That was many, many years ago. We've given up hope.
Pauljones shares our skepticism. Here's what he said about the upcoming US launch of the Tata Nano.
Would this be before or after the Mahindra truck goes on sale? The difference in this case would either never or the day after never.
This just makes us sad. Now don't remind us that we've been waiting for Alfa Romeo to come Stateside for as long as we can rememeber.
Photo Credit: Mike Levine/PickupTrucks.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Service Partners
Working for You
At ACC Liverpool we work with a range of partners to make sure we provide visitors with the best possible service in every area of your event or conference.
Our service partners provide outstanding technical expertise on site.
They provide such services as stewarding, cleaning and specialist exhibition supplies. They are flexible to grow to what you need depending on the size of your event - this can be an additional 400 people on site. We also work alongside the Liverpool Convention Bureau (LCB), which provides a full range of additional services to help you ensure your delegates get the most from this wonderful city.
Our Service Partners
ACC Liverpool's service partners work with your event manager to provide the following services:
- Carlisle Support Services – Security and stewarding
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- UK Rigging – rigging
Here are some of our services to make your time at ACC Liverpool even better.
We have invested in the most up-to-date, flexible, robust and reliable IT equipment and support systems available.Visit website
Our award winning in-house production team is here to help. From hiring additional audiovisual equipment to the full management and delivery of a slick, professional production, we have the expertise.Visit website
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Our award-winning team is proud to present the 'At Your Service' package. It's designed with you in mind. It gives you complete assurance, reduces wasted time and makes your budget count.Read more


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djDecks 0.99
djDecks is a computer mixing program for both professional dj's and people that want to start dj'ing.
It includes basic features such as a 3-band equalizer, automatic bpm detection, volume and pitch control, looping and using cue points. Also available are various effects such as an echo (with low and hi-pass cutoff filters), flanger, gapper, bitcrusher and filter. To add more effects, you can also use any VST plugin. You can mix and match 4 inputs and 4 outputs on any audio interface you have, with support for ASIO, DirectSound and WASAPI. Either use your external mixer, or use the internal mixer with limiter and one of the many supported midi controllers such as the Denon HC-4500, Vestax VCI-100, Hercules DJ Consoles or Pioneer CDJ-2000. You can even connect your turntables and use one of the supported TimeCoded vinyls to manipulate your music.
You can save your mixes as a mp3, wav, flac or ogg file so you can listen to them at a later time or even broadcast them live through shoutcast or icecast.
How djDecks looks can also be fully changed using the advanced skinning system. You can also download skins made by other users from the djDecks forum.
djDecks now also allows you to mix video and karaoke tracks.


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Saturday, September 12, 2015
Where's Midland Anyway?
I had a little adventure yesterday! Decided to take a little trip out to the mall and do some shopping. I used to do that on a regular basis, but notsomuch anymore. On the way home I took Diamond Drive - which I have done many times. This time there was a detour after a distance and I followed the detour signs - or at least I thought I did! I kept going and going and eventually I figured I should be getting close to home. Nothing familiar anywhere. I finally stopped and pulled into a driveway and there was a young fellow there. I was going the wrong direction and he got me back on the right track. So turned around and headed back. This time I evidently took the detour turns right since, although it did take quite a while I eventually ended up on the rode to home! Hallelujah! What a strange feeling to wonder where in the heck you are when you know you can't be that far away from your destination. I have no idea where I was!! One good thing that came out of it was that my little old car (17 year old Chevie Prism) was probably enjoying itself running at 55 miles an hour for some lengths of time instead of putting around at 30 and 35 mph in town. It was probably kind of pooped when we got home! Enjoying this fallish weather to the fullest! My favorite time of year.
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i was trying to do some simple text formatting using JEditorPane but then as knowledge grew i found JTextPane easier to implement and more robust.
my query is how do i save the formatted text in JTextPane to file? it should be RTF or HTML or other.. as this file is not opened by the application again.
it is a chat history text file with formatted text.
thank you.


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Stocks continued their upward momentum after the bell yesterday and are higher this morning. Below is the overnight action in the DOW and S&P futures:
The dollar is down pretty significantly overnight obviously correcting a little from is recent rise. Meanwhile the long bond is falling rather dramatically taking it to new recent lows. This is an important theme, again, the Fed is talking like they are pulling support, but the truth is that rates have been rising pretty much all along. Even after Bernanke announced QE, the TNX recovered quickly and just kept climbing. Many market callers will look at this as a normalization of rates, and normally it would be except that there's just one little multi-trillion dollar problem, and that's called debt saturation.
Oil reached $80 a barrel overnight and gold is higher, recovering most of the past two day's fall.
Weekly Jobless claims came in lower than forecast at 432,000, this is 20k less than last week's 452k number. As I read the Department of Labor's report, I find in the unadjusted data that there were 557,000 claims for the week, down from 717,000 in the same week a year earlier. While this sounds like dramatic yoy improvement, what they fail to mention are the tens of thousands on emergency unemployment and that the combined totals are much higher, even with thousands of people each week exhausting all benefits. Here's Econoday's spin, you won't hear them talk about that either:
Jobless claims point convincingly at strength in the labor market. Initial claims fell a very sizable 22,000 in the Dec. 26 week to 432,000 (prior week revised slightly higher to 454,000). Market News International says the Labor Department is comfortable with the week's results and is not warning about holiday-adjustment factors. The four-week average helps smooth out any week-to-week bumps and is clearly pointing to improvement at 460,250 for a decrease of more than 20,000 from a month ago. The four-week average is down 30 percent from its cycle peak in April at 658,750. Continuing claims, at 4.981 million, are down 57,000 in the latest week and down 27 percent from their cycle peak in June at 6.774 million.
Claims data offer a reliable barometer for the labor market and a powerful indication for the monthly employment report. Secondary indications have also been positive this month including improvement in the consumer's assessment of the labor market in Tuesday's Conference Board report and month-to-month gains for the employment indexes of Wednesday's Chicago report and the Philadelphia report at mid-month. The bears will be warning everyone of a pending double dip, but anticipation will be strong that next week's employment report will mark an end to the labor recession. Today's report should be good for risk trades.
An end to the "labor recession?" LOL, that would be funny if it weren't so sad. Hopefully Point can update us with his chart of the combined totals.
Yesterday the total state tax data was released for the third quarter. Do we find that sales tax data is matching the claimed increases in retail sales? NO. Instead what we find is that State, Local Tax Revenues Decline 7%, according to the headline revenue data provided in the Wall Street Journal. But sales taxes declined a whopping 9% while incomes fell 12%! They also provide a state by state table showing that total tax collections nationwide are down 11% year over year. You simply cannot spin that positive, yet they try! They claim that taxes are a "trailing indicator." That is NOT true for sales tax collections, they are real time and they cannot be easily massaged.
I think this shows that the overall economy is still down much more than people are being led to believe. A lot of that can be blamed on substitution bias. As stores go out of business and people fall off the unemployment rolls, then they are simply no longer counted. So you need to stand back and look at the total size of the transactions within the economy, NOT the trumped up GDP data which is just plain old fashioned false.
I have an article coming out later on the fallacy of gold and debt backed money, Bill Still has done a video on the subject as well. I think that's going to smash a lot of myths and half-truths about the subject. Then it's time to celebrate the coming New Year! I hope everyone has a good time, responsibly of course, and can put all this stuff on the back burner for a day.
In celebrating the year of the Great Deception, I dedicate this song to Ben Bernanke, Little Timothy Geithner, our President and all the politicians who "must get credit flowing again," and to all the central bankers and their fellow DEBT pushers of the world! May the New Year bring you exactly what you deserve, you best get busy as you have $2.5 TRILLION in new and old debt to roll! And to all my fellow responsible citizens who see their nonsense for what it is, I hope you have a very Happy New Year!
Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy


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Celebrating Quinoa Cooperatives during the International Year of Quinoa
(by Lorenza Vianello, Altromercato)
Although it has been a traditional foodstuff in the Andes for thousands of years, quinoa has become a favourite of health-conscious consumers in Western countries. In fact, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has designated 2013 the International Year of Quinoa.
It's nutritious, tasty, and versatile: quinoa – a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds – is a steadily-growing Fairtrade product among small-scale producer organizations. Six cooperatives and associations (four in Bolivia and one each in Peru and Ecuador) are currently certified Fairtrade, a fact that was relevant during the International Day of the Cooperative on July 6.
High global demand for quinoa means the future looks bright for this traditional crop of the Andean region of South America. From 8 to 12 July, scientists, researchers, academics, and developers have gathered in Ecuador for the fourth World Congress of Quinoa to discuss the importance of quinoa on the global stage and how to ensure that its rapid growth is sustainable.
Carla Veldhuyzen, Regional Manager of the Andes Region for Fairtrade International, reports that the global spotlight on quinoa is welcome news to the farmers. She recently visited small producer organizations in Bolivia, including the oldest Fairtrade Certified quinoa small producer organization, ANAPQUI, which gained certification in 2001.
Risks of a quinoa boom
As the Andes' "golden grain" has found its way onto more and more supermarket shelves in consuming countries, it has gone from a niche health-food product to a mainstream dietary staple. The sharp increase in demand has driven prices up, which has also raised food security concerns.
The issue is that quinoa may become so expensive that the crop's traditional consumers in the Andes won't be able to afford it and will turn to less-healthy imported alternatives. Another worry is that quinoa farmers won't keep as much quinoa for their own family consumption, opting to sell as much as possible.
Veldhuyzen says that these concerns – which are discussed much more seriously outside of quinoa-growing regions – are legitimate, but that the Fairtrade groups don't see them as particularly serious issues.
"They say they are consuming less quinoa, but that's not just because they cannot afford it anymore or because they want to sell all of their quinoa and buy cheap food themselves," she said. "It's also due to changes in the way of life. [Life moves fast], and just to prepare a plate of quinoa is a lot of work. They don't have that time all the time. They aren't worried about it and most say they continue to consume it sufficiently."
Producers' concerns
The more troubling issue that farmers have highlighted has to do with sustainable methods of production. The high price of quinoa has brought many people to the area trying to quickly capitalize on the booming quinoa business.
"People who never were in the quinoa business [are] just suddenly coming to the region and wanting to grow quinoa [without] really using the traditional practices." Veldhuyzen said. "The traditional growers have been living from quinoa all their lives and they know that the land needs it."
A quinoa plant itself is quite hearty, but it can only thrive if the soil has been properly prepared. Crops should be rotated so the soil has at least a year to rest between harvests, and the use of organic fertilizer such as manure is considered essential.
The cooperatives are required to dedicate at least a third of the Fairtrade Premium for environmental measures, which includes encouraging farmers to keep llamas or alpacas for manure production, the planting of living fences (native trees and shrubs) to protect against wind erosion, and training for sustainable methods of mechanized cultivation.
Keeping quinoa local
There are also programs in place to help ensure that quinoa – a source of protein and several minerals – remains part of the local diet. In Bolivia, ANAPQUI sells several hundred tons of quinoa to the government, which is included in food packets given to thousands of pregnant and nursing women each month.
Quinoa has become part of school breakfasts in Peruvian schools, and farmers across the region are taking part in projects that encourage them to grow additional vegetable crops for home consumption rather than devoting every available plot to lucrative quinoa cultivation. Keeping part of the quinoa harvest for family consumption is also encouraged.
Striking a balance between a healthy business and a healthy diet is an important consideration for quinoa farmers and consumers.
"I think it has helped actually, all this commotion [about food security], to have people reflect on what they're doing. It puts an emphasis on developing strategies to produce in a more sustainable way," Veldhuyzen said.


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Tag Archives: geopolitics
Arctic Cruise Missiles and the Methane Hydrate Bonanza
The airspace over Syria is getting crowded. Two weeks ago, a Russian fighter executed a barrel role over a US tanker aircraft, prompting a Russian apology on the re-established air space hotline. The Middle East airspace radar looks like an … Continue reading
Posted in Arctic, Climate Disruption, Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, Uncategorized Tagged Blue Ocean Event, cruise missle, Darwin Effect, david korn, geopolitics, International Resiliency, Jennifer Hynes, Kevin Hester, methane, Middle East, military, Paleo, Paul Beckwith, Russia, Syria, Torstein Viddal Leave a comment
Turkey's Coup Attempt: Empty Set
In the immediate aftermath of Turkey's attempt coup attempt on July 15, 2016, the outstanding journalist and Turkey analyst for the Huffington Post and Al Arabiya, Mahir Zeynalov, expressed this sentiment: Now things are relatively calm in Turkey, I gotta ask: … Continue reading
Dropping Anchor in an Exponential World
Kevin Hester's unique journey has led him to the conclusion that we are perilously close to the extinction of all complex life on the planet. It is a passage that has encompassed a career of heartfelt activism in his native … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Disruption, Oceania, Uncategorized Tagged abrupt climate, collapse, geopolitics, Kevin Hester, methane, Pacific Islands Leave a comment


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Signs of the worldwide economic downturn, known by some as the Great Recession, are nearly absent from modern video games. So it came as a surprise to me when one my assignments in a new video game was to foreclose on homes.
The game is DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue, which is an unlikely candidate for commentary on the economic crisis. DeathSpank is a game about a stupid muscular hero who, under the player's control, goes on an adventure to kill bad guys while searching for several magical thongs. In this game, you'll be using a flaming sword to smite ogres, and you'll collect donkey manure because someone asked you to.
A character in the game gives you a bunch of signs and asks you to help foreclose on some homes. I received the mission a few hours into the game, after being puzzled by the signs planted in front of many of the fantastic homes in the game, signs indicating that these homes had happy mortgages.
Well, these mortgages weren't that happy, and DeathSpank had to foreclose on a bunch of them.
I'm not sure if I have a choice about which homes to foreclose on. I can't tell if there are more homes than there are foreclosure notices. I've foreclosed on a few, including the blasted crater of a home featured in the video here, but I haven't seen any characters reacting differently because I foreclosed on their homes.
As with most things in DeathSpank, you are expected to carry out your missions with glee. I didn't feel much remorse for foreclosing on homes, mainly because the action seemed to be without consequence. Still, I felt less comfortable doing it than I did smiting leprechauns.
There's no deep economic commentary here, but at least there's a sign that the creators of this game know something about what Americans are going through now and that that has some influence on the expression in their work.


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Monday, June 20, 2016
The Principle Is The Same
Let me explain that a bit. I have taken many classes both online and in person. Invariability there is someone in live classes who needs their finished project to look exactly like the class sample. And I suppose there is some value in that. But that has never floated my boat. Well there was that one time when the teacher changed the class so much from the sample that I was not happy; but mostly I like to go my own way. Back in my courting days when women took to wearing pants out to the night club, I wore dresses. My hair stylist likes to part my hair on my bad side, I got her to switch…do you see where I'm going here…I think you do.
So when the Lifebook teacher taught a class on making a junk journal my little outside the box mind baulked. I don't need a purse journal its not something I practiced, journaling while out and about. So I decided to use her technique but not on a journal. She started with white gesso, I went with black. I agree with Seth Apter that it add a richness of depth to a piece.
I started with a piece of junk like she did, but I used something bigger, the packaging that my crafty goodness came in just that day. I turned it into some I need: a pocket. You see I had spent the previous evening looking for my watercolor chart only to find that my Alex drawers had eaten it. After looking everywhere and I mean
ev-ver-ry-where in my studio and if you want to see why that is a frustrating endeavor see my previous post where I gave a tour of my studio spaces. I needed a pocket to hang on the outside of the Alex drawers to hold my chart instead of putting it inside where it could slip behind the drawer again. I didn't even think that was possible.
Here it is empty:
And here full:
And so the principle was the same I just used it my way to make some I needed, something I'll actually use!
Can you guess who the teacher is?
In His Hand,
2016 Craft Room Walk Through
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Birthday 2016 Card haul
Thursday, May 05, 2016
The Pulley Consternation...
IF that title sounds like an episode of The Big Bang Theory hold on. In my last post I told you that my craft space is in the unfinished part of our basement. My stencils hang from a rod suspended on chains. This mostly worked; but to save my shoulders and neck I have to stand on a step stool to sort through them. I wanted them up and out the way when not in use and thus the short chain. I got a smart idea that maybe I could use something to raise and lower the rod and thus begins the saga of the pulley consternation.
This involves physics.
This involves engineering.
Someone should have warned me, I skipped physics took all the biology type science classes instead in high school. I wanted to be a doctor. I felt like I needed the help of Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper, Lenard Hoffstadter and Howard Walowitz. I'm like a dog with a bone on this one. I went to Lowes so often that the staff knew my name. I availed myself, at least twice, of the Same-day-shipping from Amazon. But after much frustration and 4 attempts and throwing too much money at it, I have something that works!
I started with a bike lifter (epic fail)
and while it worked I soon found out that I was not strong enough for this simple set up and that my stencils were so heavy they bent the bar and everything slid to one side or the other. And if I ever did use this thing it would not be often enough.
Enter a block and tackle pulley setup.
This has a 7:1 weight ratio (the physics part) so weak little me is now able to use this with little effort. 7:1 means I pull with one 7th of the force required to lift the actual weight. I conquered
What I used that worked
2 block and tackle pulley setups
6 foot ¼ inch diameter steel rod
2 ¼ inch axel caps
4 or more lag screw eye hooks
2 wire cable clamps (secures rod so that it will not slid out of the lag eyes)
2 block and tackle pulley setups
1 spruce pine furring 2x2x8 strip (cut to 6 feet and sanded smooth)
6 larger screw eye hooks (large enough for the block and tackle hook to pass through)
A wall cleat to tie the ropes off with.
Screw Driver (makes quick work of the screw eyes)
A husband with the patience of Job (NBA playoffs every night)
Oh did I say I made 2 of these yikes! One (shown above) for small stencils and the other for 12 inch stencils.
As always I leave you
In HIs Hands,
Wednesday, February 03, 2016
Hey I Shoot Youtube Videos Too
I like to share on mulitple social media platforms; one of them is youtube but if you've read my blog for any length of time you know this already! I had been filming from my desk in the office part of the space but I'm working on bigger substrates now so I need to move into the larger space.
My studio/office/craft space is in the unfinished part of my basement. This is to my benefit. While I would love one of those Martha Stewart too pretty to create in spaces being in the basement allows me to nail or spill paint all I want. That being said I created a camera rig out of pvc pipe and connectors attached to the rafters.
There is one part that slides so I can move the camera horizontally. I have a 360 flexible gooseneck cell phone clamp that is 31 inches long do I can move the camera vertically. Also a flexible monkey desktop tripod hanging on that. My lights are from the hardware store and have daylight bulbs. I need one more.
I've been away from video making and blogging. But I am returning!
In the Hands of the Creator,


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Old folks might not be the target demographic for the new Hunger Games movie, but that doesn't mean they can't watch it and even enjoy it. Then again, they probably won't all "get" it, as evidenced by this new video from The Fine Brothers.
I like the guy who thinks that anarchy is coming for all of us, and that this movie is really just a preview of the future. I hope I'm on that guy's side when it all falls apart.
And hey, while we're on the subject: I liked this movie! I didn't like the second book, but I thought the movie was a hell of a ride. What'd the rest of you think?


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Let's define our terms
Last week, you used the term "ecoterrorist" with regard to the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). A note on semantics: The Department of Defense defines terrorism as "The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies, often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives."
Somehow, burning a bulldozer fails to meet these criteria. Unlawful and ideological, yes. But they intended to coerce corporate entities (United Land, Virginia Land, Kessler Group, Regency Centers, and Dierman Realty Group), not governments or societies.
Do you feel "terrorized" by the loss of the Land Company's trackhoe? Even developer Wendell Wood seems non-plussed. "You can go buy another."
What is scary is how terms like "ecoterrorist," "cyber-terrorist," "narco-terrorist" and "special-interest terrorist" are slipping into our vernacular.
Know this: "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act" legislation was proposed in Texas and New York, to officially label many forms of advocacy as "terrorism." Plus, President Bush's proposed Patriot Act II hopes to broaden the definition of terrorism and make it easier to sentence such "terrorists" to death. Now, who's scaring who?
Indeed, the ELF is the FBI's top priority regarding domestic terrorism. But I, for one, would hope they'd instead focus more on whoever mailed U.S. military-manufactured anthrax and ricin to Congress.
Truth is, most people agree with ELF's intentions. A recent national survey found that two out of three people think the environment is more important than property rights, corporate profits, or even creating jobs.
The ELF usually targets only the most egregious of industrial polluters and ecology-destroying profiteers. Take Nestle's Ice Mountain bottled water, which built a plant in Michigan's Mecosta County (despite a 2-1 resident vote to deny them zoning) and then proceeded to violate state and federal water rights by siphoning from public rivers and streams. ELF activists, after exhausting legal avenues of dissent, tried to blow up the plant.
Is the sprawling Hollymead Center as bad? No. But Richmond's SUVs were arguably an environmental and social menace. Objectively speaking, SUVs kill more Americans than al-Qaeda does.
The last word: There was a time when we had a very different term for those who sabotage avaricious corporations. As John Adams said of the Sons of Liberty who dunked East India Company tea into Boston harbor: "There is a dignity, a majesty, a sublimity in this last effort of the patriots that I greatly admire."
Brian Wimer
P.S. This week, Bush's Education Secretary called the National Education Association teachers union a "Terrorist Organization" for criticizing the shortcomings of Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. Who's next? Editorialists?


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Bible Search
Passage Lookup: Acts 19:5
1 verse
New King James
Acts 19:5
[ Read Chapter | Show Context | Study Tools | Multi-Translations ]
[ Strong's Interlinear Bible ]
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
1 verse
Copyright Statement:
New King James
© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to https://www.nelsonbibles.com.
Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, December 3rd, 2020
the First Week of Advent


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The colors have become more muted around Asheville, with tones or rust and gold, but the mountains never cease to be breathtaking. As innkeepers, we are often too busy in October to get out to see the peak fall colors, but we managed to get away last week to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Pisgah to see the last colors before the leaves fall and we begin to busy ourselves with Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations. We began the drive with the Folk Art Center. We can never resist a stroll through the galleries of traditional and modern local crafts and fine art. From there we headed south, where the colors brightened.
Late autumn has it's own charms. The woods are less impenetrable with fewer leaves allowing you to see deep into them and appreciate the topography of the land. As we climbed we first were treated to views of the French Broad River and then overlook after overlook of mountain views and rich color. A partly cloudy day is often a more interesting time to visit the mountains than a sunny one. The skies and the hillsides become more dramatic.
As we got to the top of Mount Pisgah we found ourselves in the clouds winding through the tunnels as the fog rolled around us. At that elevation with the cold snap we were having last week I was a little nervous about snow, but we were lucky and the sun shone as we descended the other side. We circled around through the Pisgah National Forest past the Cradle of Forestry and stopped at Looking Glass Falls before heading home. It was a lovely afternoon.
So now the pumpkin has been carved, the trick-or treaters (169 of them!) have come and gone and Thanksgiving is almost here.
The temperature has warmed up again in the afternoons dipping down to the high 30s at night and the leaves are holding their own. It's not quite time to say goodbye to them yet! By then Christmas will almost be here. The Biltmore Estate has already put up the 35 foot Christmas Tree and their Candlelight Evening tours start in just a few days!


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| 6°C Belfast
Antony Cotton has stormed to victory in the final of Let's Dance For Comic Relief with a display of jazz hands and tap dancing.
The star - known for his role as Sean Tully in Coronation Street - said he was "speechless" after he was announced as the winner of the BBC charity dance contest.
Cotton brought a touch of old-fashioned showbusiness to proceedings with a dance to Anything Goes set in an old people's home.
Judge Greg Davies described it as "incredible" and "amazing", while Jo Brand remarked: "I thought it was brilliant and it made me desperate to be in an old people's home."
Beaten into second place was West End star Jodie Prenger who impressed the judges with a flamboyant performance to Cameo's '80s classic Word Up! Dressed in a leather jacket, black leggings, a moustache and afro wig, the actress was "full of energy" and "exciting to watch", according to Frank Skinner.
Meanwhile, the four-strong Soap Stars group - made up of Claire Sweeney, Natalie Cassidy, Ricky Groves and Dean Gaffney - recreated a lively scene from the hit musical Hairspray.
The quartet performed to You Can't Stop The Beat, with Cassidy playing the lead role of Tracy Turnblad and Groves taking on the part played by Hollywood star John Travolta in the film version.
Comedian Tim Vine did his best impression of Justin Timberlake singing Rock Your Body as he strutted around the stage in a white outfit, while funny woman Katherine Ryan poured herself into an extra-curvy body suit for a dance to the Nicki Minaj number Starships.
Comedian Lee Nelson mixed ballet with hip-hop, with Davies admitting he had been to a ballet recently and had found it "boring", but thought Nelson's Swan Lake performance was great.
There were also performances by Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars.


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By DOV S. ZAKHEIM
The former Pentagon comptroller looks at the elusive effort to fix the acquisition system at the Department of Defense and shares his insights on the latest reform effort today.
Continue Reading »
Veterans Day 2020
View as Online Magazine
In this edition
"On November 11, Let's Thank Our Women Veterans."
"Protecting and Serving the Families of our Nation."
"It is Our Duty to Fight for Them."
"Thank Them with Words, but also with Actions."
"We're All in This Together."
"I'm thinking about every American who serves."
"They made it a priority to fight for us."
"Every American, Republican or Democrat, has a sacred responsibility to our veterans."
From Armistice Day to Veterans Day: How History Has Led us to Honor All Heroes of Our Nation
Opinion: Cole offers interesting insights about GOP, Trump
Steve Scalise: GOP voters return to help Trump after 2018 boycott
Will college in the age of corona ever be the same?
Opinion: Trump and the GOP's control of the U.S. Senate
Read More »
View All Events


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This paper was written before Thanksgiving and a handwritten note from Martin to Kris (who publishes his papers on Scribd), tells her of his learning that he was to be transferred. Thank goodness we stopped that. I now understand that he has written a thank-you note to all of us for helping as he is most appreciative… I'll post that once I get it.
In this paper, Martin lays out his case that Depressions are complex beasts that you cannot measure just in stock market movement. He correctly points out that equity markets tend to recover long before the real economy, and his prediction is that we will go on to see new overall highs in our markets and that 2007 was not the final high in this bull market.
That one statement opposes the Elliott Wave experts I follow, I'll just leave that there. While Martin talks about the complexities of international trade, he does not tell us what even the largest considerations are and thus we are left to guess at what he means. He is absolutely correct that there are many myths such as interest rates going down means stocks go up, etc. As he has pointed out before, it is the flow of capital that one must consider. For example, as interest rates rise, money flows away from bonds and will wind up going somewhere else in the short term, that somewhere can be equities.
What leaves me somewhat empty from this conversation is the role that debt and our current money system play in it. Our money now comes into existence as a debt bearing instrument. We had more than two times the per capita debt as compared to the Great Depression going into this one, and that ratio is not substantially improving, while governmental debt is in an exponential growth phase. We also now have a shadow banking world and terrible statistics to consider. While I can see monetizing forcing the price of equities higher, the prospect of creating enough money along with the accompanying debt sounds daunting to say the least. He talks of how a new money system shifted a cycle, well, I see a new system coming as the current one is not mathematically destined to remain much longer. That is not opinion, I can prove the math at least 3 different ways. No currency has been invented yet that repeals the laws of math.
I enjoy Martin's writing for the mental processes it creates, and hope you will use it to strengthen your conceptual base… By the way, I would love to see some real science done on the economy as Martin suggests, I do believe that certain modeling is possible and would be very beneficial to our conceptual understanding.
Friday: Employment Report, Trade Deficit
9 hours ago


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PLANKTON DYNAMICS IN A NEARSHORE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT: RESPONSES TO SHORT-TERM ENVIRONMENTAL FLUCTUATIONS AND TOP-DOWN CONTROL by Beth Ann Stauffer A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES) May 2012 Copyright 2012 Beth Ann Stauffer
Object Description
|Plankton dynamics in a nearshore coastal environment: responses to short-term environmental fluctuations and top-down control
|Stauffer, Beth Ann
|Author email
|Doctor of Philosophy
|Document type
|Degree program
|Marine and Environmental Biology
|College of Letters, Arts And Sciences
|Date defended/completed
|Date submitted
|Date approved
|Restricted until
|Date published
|Advisor (committee chair)
|Caron, David A.
|Advisor (committee member)
Jones, Burton H.
Heidelberg, Karla B.
Kiefer, Dale A.
Sukhatme, Gaurav S.
|Nearshore coastal environments are common sites of episodic and stochastic events that rapidly alter the physics and chemistry of the water column and thereby affect plankton biomass and community structure. The dominant factors controlling the manner in which the pelagic communities responds to these changes are still poorly understood owing in part to their episodic nature and in part because they often rely on observations made at low temporal/spatial resolution and correlations between instantaneously measured conditions to draw relationships between the biological and physico-chemical parameters. King Harbor is a small, semi-enclosed recreational embayment within Santa Monica Bay. Nonlinear time-series and linear multiple regression analyses of a high-resolution, year-long dataset allowed an in-depth investigation of the relationship between various chemical/physical factors and algal biomass. A significant relationship with the tidal cycle was manifest primarily as increased biomass and bloom initiation during or in the days following neap tide, especially in the hydrodynamically-constrained northern basin of the harbor. Local histories of dissolved nitrate and salinity were also significant predictors of increased biomass, as was reduced wind speed. ❧ A major fish mortality in King Harbor 8 March 2011 killed approximately 170 tons of fish (Pacific sardine) and garnered international attention as a marine system out of balance. In situ sensors present in the harbor prior to, during and after the event revealed rapid decreases in dissolved oxygen in surface waters from 7-9 March 2011, coincident with the fish mortality event. Continuous and automated observations provided evidence that fish respiration, exacerbated by an incursion of upwelled low-oxygen water, was the immediate cause of fish mortality. The hydrodynamically-constrained northern basin transitioned to extreme and sustained hypoxic conditions while spatially-variable hypoxia was also observed throughout the harbor and adjacent bay for more than ten days following the event. Initial recovery of dissolved oxygen in the harbor was facilitated by storm-mediated mixing of the water column. A trophic shift was observed throughout King Harbor concomitant with dramatic changes in water column chemistry associated with the fish kill. Relative abundances of bacterivorous ciliates increased up to > 80% in the weeks following the fish kill. Multivariate analyses also revealed significant temporal dissimilarity in microplankton community composition and trophic structure within King Harbor during hypoxia, subsequent storm-mediated mixing events, and following the storm. Finally, dramatically reduced photosynthetic yield by the phytoplankton in the northern basis indicated severe physiological stress of the phototroph population during the extreme hypoxia. ❧ Top-down control on phytoplankton populations was examined through experimental studies of the interactions between the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans and several red-tide forming algal taxa that were common in King Harbor, with special focus on the toxic dinoflagellate, Alexandrium catenella. A range of N. scintillans growth rates were observed on diets of several red tide-forming taxa (-0.08 to 0.79 d⁻¹). Growth was negligible when offered A. catenella as prey, but growth of N. scintillans on the harmful raphidophyte Heterosigma akashiwo (0.79 d⁻¹) were among the highest published. Although growth on A. catenella was negligible, N. scintillans ingested the toxic dinoflagellate at rates comparable to rates for H. akashiwo, but substantially lower than previously published reports for N. scintillans feeding on A. minutum. Positive growth of N. scintillans was obtained in the presence of high concentrations (16.73 ng ml⁻¹) of purified dissolved saxitoxin, indicating that toxin alone was not responsible for poor growth of the predator on A. catenella. However, H. akashiwo grown in the presence of A. catenella culture (and to a lesser extent, filtrate) exhibited deleterious effects. These results indicate that A. catenella was not sufficient for growth and that allelopathy may further indirectly affect N. scintillans in nature through reduction in the availability of high-quality prey.
|harmful algal blooms; phytoplankton; protistan grazing; tidal forcing
|Part of collection
|University of Southern California dissertations and theses
|Publisher (of the original version)
|University of Southern California
|Place of publication (of the original version)
|Los Angeles, California
|Publisher (of the digital version)
|University of Southern California. Libraries
|Electronically uploaded by the author
|Legacy record ID
|Contributing entity
|University of Southern California
|Stauffer, Beth Ann
|Physical access
|The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.
|Repository name
|University of Southern California Digital Library
|Repository address
|USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA
|Repository email
|Archival file
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|University of Southern California
|Repository email
|Full text
|PLANKTON DYNAMICS IN A NEARSHORE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT: RESPONSES TO SHORT-TERM ENVIRONMENTAL FLUCTUATIONS AND TOP-DOWN CONTROL by Beth Ann Stauffer A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES) May 2012 Copyright 2012 Beth Ann Stauffer


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Safeguarding your data while sharing your collections
OCLC understands that the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our members' information are vital to their business operations and our own success. We use a multi-layered approach to protect key information by constantly monitoring and improving our applications, systems, and processes to meet the growing demands and challenges of dynamic security threats. In recognition of our security efforts, OCLC has met and received registration for ISO 27001 security standards, is Cyber Essentials scheme certified and CSA STAR registered.
Information Security and Enterprise Risk Management
- Implemented an Information Security Management System in accordance with ISO/IEC 27001:2013
- Professional staff of certified information security and information technology professionals and a full-time dedicated specialist in Disaster Recovery
Physical and Environmental Controls
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OCLC's services meet or exceed the recommendations of the Gartner Group1 (Table 1.) and the Cloud Security Alliance's "Security Guidance for Critical Areas of Focus in Cloud Computing."
Table 1. Gartner: Seven Cloud-Computing Security Risks
|Gartner Recommendations
Cloud (BPOS)
|Google Apps
|Privileged user access control
|Regulatory compliance
|Data location
|X (no disclosure)
|Data segregation
|Investigative support
|Long-term viability
1 Jay Heiser and Mark Nicolett. "Assessing the Security Risks of Cloud Computing." Gartner Group. 3 June 2008


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The United Nations was an organization that disbanded due to the start of the Resource Wars.
In the Fallout universe in May 2052, the United Nations began to collapse, due to the start of the Resource Wars following the European Commonwealth's military intervention in the Middle East. The oil-rich states of the Middle East had raised crude oil prices to near confiscatory levels in light of the growing global petroleum shortage. Facing an economic disaster because of European nations' heavy reliance on imported Middle Eastern oil, the European Commonwealth had invaded the Middle East to force its states to lower oil prices or to seize their remaining reserves of petroleum.
The United Nations actively tried to restore the peace with nothing to show for their efforts. As natural resource pressures grew and the United Nations' impotence to maintain a stable international order became clear, many member nations withdrew from the organization, prepared to use military force to defend what was theirs or seize what was somebody else's. The United Nations General Assembly finally disbanded the organization on July 26, 2052 after the majority of its member-states had withdrawn from it. Its last Secretary-General was a Japanese diplomat, Sakugama Okiri, who spoke at the press conference detailing the disbanding of the UN. Finally, its former headquarters in New York was sold to the major toy retailer Bumbalo's to be transformed into a superstore.
- For more information on the organization's real-world counterpart, see United Nations on Wikipedia.
|The following is based on Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel and has not been confirmed by canon sources.
- The manual for Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel states that the United Nations disbanded in 2025.[1]
|End of information based on Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.
- ↑ Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel Manual: In 2025, as the planet's resources dried up, the United Nations fell apart, causing many smaller nations to fall with them as financial havoc swept across the globe.


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BAD RAPS: Raptors fans yelled profanities at Steph Curry's parents
Some Toronto Raptors fans continue to give the city a bad rap.
This time several fans hurled profanities at Sonya and Dell Curry when they returned to their hotel after watching their son, Golden State Warriors' star point guard Steph Curry, beat the Raptors 106-105 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
A video of the fans yelling at Curry's parents was first posted by The Render.
WARNING: Video contains coarse languagehttps://twitter.com/TheRenderMedia/status/1138538643579121665
In the video, a few fans can be heard repeatedly yelling at Curry's parents "F— you!"
Ironically, Dell Curry once played for the Raptors from 1999 to 2002. One fan in the video can be heard saying Dell is a legend and not to listen to the other fans heckling him and his wife.
The latest embarrassing behaviour from Raptors fans comes on the heels of footage showing other fans celebrating when Golden State Warriors' small forward Kevin Durant ruptured one of his Achilles during Game 6.
"Very confused around that reaction," Curry said after the game to reporters about the fans reaction to Durant's on-court injury. "It's not my experience with people of this city. I commend Danny Green and Kyle Lowry for signaling to the crowd. I hope that ugliness doesn't show itself again."
Another video that police are now investigating shows a Warriors fan getting sucker punched.
The Raptors and the Golden State Warriors will face-off again for Game 6 in Oakland, Calif. at the Oracle Arena on Thursday.


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This contains the presets for the new MXF OP1a formats, Amazon Kindle Fire, B&N Nook Tablet, and native resolution presets for iPad 1, iPad 2 and Android. Good for both Windows and Mac.
|Adobe Media Encoder
|File Name
|File Size
|Proceed to Download
After downloading a ".zip" file, use the operating system or a utility such as WinZip or PKZIP to access the file's contents.
Need help with downloading? See our Downloading Help documents.
1. Download and Unzip desired preset packages
2. Launch AME
3. In Preset Browser panel, click on Import Presets button and select desired (extracted) presets
The presets appear in the Preset Browser, sorted under the appropriate categories.
License agreement
By using software of Adobe Systems Incorporated or its subsidiaries ("Adobe"); you agree to the following terms and conditions. If you do not agree with such terms and conditions; do not use the software. The terms of an end user license agreement accompanying a particular software file upon installation or download of the software shall supersede the terms presented below.
The export and re-export of Adobe software products are controlled by the United States Export Administration Regulations and such software may not be exported or re-exported to Cuba; Iran; Iraq; Libya; North Korea; Sudan; or Syria or any country to which the United States embargoes goods. In addition; Adobe software may not be distributed to persons on the Table of Denial Orders; the Entity List; or the List of Specially Designated Nationals.
By downloading or using an Adobe software product you are certifying that you are not a national of Cuba; Iran; Iraq; Libya; North Korea; Sudan; or Syria or any country to which the United States embargoes goods and that you are not a person on the Table of Denial Orders; the Entity List; or the List of Specially Designated Nationals.
If the software is designed for use with an application software product (the "Host Application") published by Adobe; Adobe grants you a non-exclusive license to use such software with the Host Application only; provided you possess a valid license from Adobe for the Host Application. Except as set forth below; such software is licensed to you subject to the terms and conditions of the End User License Agreement from Adobe governing your use of the Host Application.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES: YOU AGREE THAT ADOBE HAS MADE NO EXPRESS WARRANTIES TO YOU REGARDING THE SOFTWARE AND THAT THE SOFTWARE IS BEING PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. ADOBE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THE SOFTWARE; EXPRESS OR IMPLIED; INCLUDING; WITHOUT LIMITATION; ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE; MERCHANTABILITY; MERCHANTABLE QUALITY OR NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. Some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties; so the above limitations may not apply to you.
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Single domed nickel plated steel rivet with 6mm cap diameter and 7mm stem. Matching hammer tool is NoG23D.
Traditional tubular rivets (comprising cap and stem) are an economical and practical permanent fastening option when working with leather, PVC, canvas and other textiles. OPAS offer a huge range of sizes and finishes that are ideal for setting both by hammer tool or by one of our larger foot or bench presses. Photo for illustrative purposes only - not actual rivet.


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In the largest civil settlement ever reached by the U.S. and a single company, Bank of America agreed Thursday to pay $16.65 billion to the Department of Justice for selling toxic residential mortgage-backed securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis.
Attorney General Eric Holder said during a Thursday morning press briefing that the settlement with Bank of America marks a "historic step forward in our ongoing effort to protect the American people from financial fraud – and to hold accountable those whose actions threatened the integrity of our financial markets and undermined the stability of our economy."
Under terms of the settlement, BofA must pay $9.65 billion in cash to the Justice Department, several states, and other government agencies, and pay $7 billion in relief to struggling homeowners, borrowers and communities affected by the bank's conduct. "This is appropriate given the size and scope of the wrongdoing at issue," Holder said.
As part of the settlement, BofA will pay $245 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to charges filed by the SEC in August 2013 alleging that the bank "in its own words 'shifted the risk' for losses to investors when it failed to disclose that more than 70% of the mortgages backing the RMBS offering called BOAMS 2008-A originated through its 'wholesale' channel of mortgage brokers unaffiliated with Bank of America entities."
The SEC also filed new charges Thursday in a settled administrative proceeding, in which Bank of America admits that it failed to disclose known uncertainties regarding potential increased costs related to mortgage loan repurchase claims stemming from more than $2 trillion in residential mortgage sales from 2004 through the first half of 2008 by the bank and certain companies it acquired.
To settle the new SEC case, BofA agreed to pay a $20 million penalty while admitting to facts set out in the SEC's order, which requires Bank of America to cease and desist from causing any violations and any future violations of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 12b-20 and 13a-13.
More than $490 million of the settlement will cover tax liabilities for consumers. "Unfortunately, because Congress has failed to extend a law ensuring that most of this relief would not be taxable income, this debt relief will create tax liability for many consumers," Holder said. He then called on Congress to extend the tax relief coverage of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.
Until Congress acts, Holder said, "the hundreds of thousands of consumers we have sought to help through our settlements with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and now Bank of America may see a significant tax bill just as they are beginning to see the light at the end of a dark financial tunnel."
He added: "I want to be very clear: the size and scope of this multibillion-dollar agreement go far beyond the 'cost of doing business.'"
The BofA settlement outcome, Holder continued, "does not preclude any criminal charges against the bank or its employees. Nor was it inevitable, over these last few weeks, that this case would be resolved out of court."
Brian Moynihan, BofA's CEO, said in a Thursday statement that "We believe this settlement, which resolves significant remaining mortgage-related exposures, is in the best interests of our shareholders, and allows us to continue to focus on the future."
The settlement is expected to reduce BofA's third-quarter 2014 pretax earnings by $5.3 billion, or approximately $0.43 per share after tax. The EPS impact reflects the varying tax treatment of the components of the settlement, the bank said.
Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, said in a statement that while DOJ's settlement with BofA is "slightly better than the last two" in that "it provides additional information in the so-called 'Statement of Facts,' – which have not been admitted" the settlement "still conceals the key facts from the American people."
For example, Kelleher asked: "How many tens of billions of dollars did Bank of America's customers, clients, investors and others lose due to years of knowing, systemic fraud? How much did Bank of America make from its illegal actions? How many Bank of America employees, supervisors and executives were involved in or aware of the fraudulent conduct?"
As important, he continued, "banks do not commit crimes; bankers do. Until those individuals, including executives, are held personally and meaningfully accountable, everyone should expect more crime from Wall Street."
Check out BofA to Pay $16.65 Billion to End U.S. Mortgage Probes on ThinkAdvisor.


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I am a member of a couple forums out there on the web and I have found that many people on many forums have trouble deciding what to do with the Raspberry Pi. Sometimes people don't understand how much a small ARM processor can accomplish.
We all know that the main goals of this project are educational. We will not be discussing that here. This thread is to showcase projects that people are making, ideas, uses for the Pi, etc. I will try and look through posts and link to ones I find but inevitably I will miss some so just let me know if you want it included here. Likewise if you see your work linked here and would prefer it to be removed, let me know.
Media Player: For early adopters, media slinging will be a primary use. The Raspberry Pi features full hardware decode at up to 1080p by 30 fps.
Emulation box: This will be one of my first projects. Upon launch someone will need to re-compile some emulators to work. I expect this to be a non-issue, getting some optimised for the R-Pi will take someone familure with ARM cores and ARM assembly. Un-optimized many games made well into the 90's should run fine. Particularly appealing is the fact that the R-Pi should embed into a joystick just fine for some self contained gaming. Just a warning: in some countries it is illegal to own ROMs even if you own a legit copy of the game, be aware of your local laws.
Integration Projects: Projects where the Pi is integrated into something, for example keyboards, external HDD enclosures, retro game consoles, retro PCs, USB Hubs, etc. One of our forum moderators Abishur is working on a NES integration project:
For the good of the community projects: Anything that will benefit not computer literate people or the educational launch. One person so far at the head of this is Liam Fraser. He has so far made YouTube tutorials, and is heading up the GUI SD card imaging application seen:
Controller for a homebrew CNC machine: Motor control for a CNC machine.
Timelapse Photogrophy. Mounted to a dolly and controlling a camera for time-lapse photography.
This guide is not finished by any means. I will be adding to it. If you want something added to it please post in this thread or in this thread…


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Dear Abby
DEAR ABBY: My oldest son came out to me as a gay man in a private conversation. I have no problem with him being gay; however, I DO have a problem with the fact that he has asked me not to tell anyone. He isn't ready to come out to anyone else. I tried to advise him that until he is true to himself, he won't be happy. My son says if he comes out to anyone else, it would "hurt so many people."
I will keep his secret, but there is a young woman he is living with and planning to marry, and I do not believe this is fair to her or her child. He is not happy being a gay man, and that's why he's choosing to live a lie. He was raised in church and feels like he is betraying God by being gay.
How can I support him and lie to this young woman he is with? My son is so confused. How do I help him and keep his secret at the same time? -- ANONYMOUS
DEAR ANONYMOUS: Your son may not be "happy" being a gay man, but that is who he is. For him to keep a secret like this from his fiancee, who plans to share the rest of her life with him, will be MORE hurtful to her if he goes through with the wedding than telling her now.
Help him by encouraging him to seek counseling through an LGBT community center. It will be strictly confidential, and there is nothing he can tell them they haven't heard before. He has already cracked open his closet door by disclosing his sexual orientation to you. This tells me that on some level he wants to open it all the way.
He is fortunate that he has a parent who is as accepting and wise about life as you. Continue talking to him and encourage him to talk more with you. It may help him to become more comfortable opening up and to accept reality.
DEAR ABBY: I live in a small town where traffic isn't much of a problem. Recently, though, a young man was killed in a car wreck. He ran into a semi because he was texting while driving. His final text was to a friend who had asked if they could get together for a night of fun.
As a rule, we look down on people who drink and drive, as this is unacceptable in today's world. But we do nothing to drivers who text and drive. Please advise your readers that no message is worth dying over. Last night there was ANOTHER traffic accident caused by the same thing! -- ROBERT IN KILGORE, TEXAS
DEAR ROBERT: Sadly, that "night of fun" will have to be postponed indefinitely. Sometimes it takes a tragedy (or two) to wake people up because they're operating under the delusion that they are the exception to the rules of the road or are invincible.
DEAR ABBY: My mother is in her mid-90s and in good health. She has no intention of dying soon, but asked me an interesting question. She has mileage points with a major airline and was wondering if she can use them for the "final trip" back to her home state for burial when the time comes. Do you know the answer? -- ONE-WAY TICKET
DEAR ONE-WAY: Your question is not only an interesting one, but it's a first. I contacted a spokesperson for a major airline who responded that his company does not accept mileage points as a form of payment for any type of "shipment." For her last flight, your mother would no longer be considered a passenger; she would be cargo, which is why her points idea won't fly.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.


text:
Four years of sponsorship and not one custom decal was ever made in my honor. Yes, I know . . . shocking. My father use to say, "If you don't toot your own horn, nobody else will." I guess that could mean a lot of different things . . . . I always took it as, "If you don't let the world know how great you are no one will do it for you." Well, I've never been one to brag, and I'm not about to start now.
So for lack of a better segway, "If you don't make your own custom decal in your honor, no one will do it for you." Drum roll please . . .
Ta daaa . . .
Okay, let me explain a little bit before all you religious zealots raise your pitchforks, organize yourselves together into an angry mob and go on the hunt for me. This all came about accidentally. Late one night, couldn't sleep, surfing the interweb, saw somewhere a link to a Canadian company with a website that you could make your own stickers fairly cheaply and easily. Wasn't really interested in doing so cause having your own sticker when you are not affiliated with a company or nothing . . . well that just smells of complete and utter egotism and self-absorption (wait, did I mention that I have a blog?!).
Boredom and insomnia led to the creation.
Really, when you make your own sticker, put Jebus' face on it and your name. . . well, that's right up there with Oasis's claim that they were bigger than The Beatles, who incidentally said that they were bigger than Jesus, thus making the former larger than the bearded Christian Deity (for the record I hate Oasis and Liam & Nolel Gallagher, who in my opinion are a couple of silly, self absorbed wankers).
However, pomposity is the furthest thing from the truth . . . where in actual fact it's more of a humbling thing for me. Ride. Your. Bike. Dumbass. was more of a message to myself. I need to ride my bike more, and I am a dumbass. Simple, dimple, pimple. It started out as a sticker that I was going to make for myself for shits and giggles, then turned into something bigger than Jesus (there I go again tooting my own horn). Who knew.
The whole Jebus thing? Well, can you imagine Jebus calling you a 'dumbass'? No!?! I can. I mean I can imagine him calling me one. But, he still loves me. And I got to remember to love myself too.
Firstly, send me a self addressed, stamped envelope OR if you're a local get a hold of me to arrange a pick-up. Sorry, no deliveries.
* you can find my e-mail address (over there dummy ------->) to get in contact and I will send you my snail mail address.
Secondly, you must either join my "Followers" (which I have re-instated for the holiday season) or, if you are already a follower, find someone else to join, or make up a false identity and join. I don't really care . . . . what matters here people are numbers, large numbers to make me feel better about myself. I don't belong to Crackbook so I can't go trolling any other way for ways of gaining false numbers of true friends. And this is where the creation of the sticker really took on a form of it's own - it is meant as a 'thank you' for all of you have been reading for the past few years. And a means to bribe others to follow the blog. Meh. Whatever it takes.
* you must prove to me that someone has joined my list of follower or no Jebus love for you.
Thirdly, if you don't want to join my list of followers and don't want to recruit someone to join, nor want to falsify an identity AND still want a sticker - it will cost you $14.95, plus shipping, handling and duty.
It troubles me so much that the little man from down south can have so many followers and offers them so little. It use to be a goal of mine to get 1/3 of Richard's following.
Pfffft, now I intend to crush him under the weight of my slowly shrinking mass and my increasingly growing blog following. If I must bribe people, so be it. Not like he isn't doing the same with promising (yet hardly produces . . . and that makes him a tease) schexy photos of Sonya Looney.
I have 37, 000 stickers to give away - start the movement, start the 'following'.
I'm working on a second batch, specialty decals - scratch and sniff. Scientists are presently working night and day attempting to reproduce my sent. Let the followers line up.


text:
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Board registration threat in the Gorge
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Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20007
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 3:57 pm
Post subject: Board registration threat in the Gorge
Oregon SB 1028 would require windsurfers using Oregon launches -- including tourists -- to register their boards with the state. Heres the Bills bills key point, IMO, [with my clarifications in brackets]:
(2) A person may not use a Class 2 waterway [i.e., the Columbia, by definition, because its not natural] for a recreational use unless the person obtains the express permission of the riparian [shoreline] landowner. However, a person using a Class 2 waterway that is located on public lands may act as if the person has express permission of the riparian landowner if the person complies with all applicable laws, rules and policies [including registered, stickered boards, if that passes] established by any public body, as defined in ORS 174.109, or federal agency with management authority over the Class 2 waterway.
New Mexico tried board registrations years ago. We got the bill aborrted by walking into the legislature with a very short board and explaining that many sailors have large quivers of them and rotate their quivers very often.
Is this bill intended to protect tributary shoreline homeowners, or is it a desperate, veiled attempt to find a way to tax windsurfing? Ill never forget or forgive the state of CA for trying to make me pay about $78 to ENTER a local state park just because I had a quiver of WSing gear inside my van (I havent been back to CA since, and that was in the 80s). Does anyone want the Gorge to get that kind of reputation?
This begs a question: How can 9 people pass a state law, as is implied below?
Wont this bill drive many local windsurfers to WA, and some tourists to avoid the Gorge altogether? Wouldnt all OR towns and tourist-related businesses on the Columbia be wise to oppose this bill? Should the CGWA notify them of it and its potential for impacting their economy?
Mike \m/
Excerpts from a PacNW regional forum post:
> Recently a bill SB 1028 was introduced into the Oregon Senate. For the
> licencing of small water craft and restrictions to access of waterways.
> This type of stuff has been going on in Oregon for several years. Each
> time the amendment was defended. This time the backers of reducing
> water access have found allies. This really goes back to several land
> owners on the John Day River not wanting fishermen and hunters accessing
> the river banks and having boaters float the river. And if you remember
> the licencing part from several years ago when it went back to some
> counties that needed more funding for their marine patrols.
> In past, the amendment was limited to said named rivers. This time they
> are going after all river systems to limit access. And to add insult to
> injury they want to licence all small boats in Oregon. The bill has a
> forming of a committee which has representation formed up against river
> access users. It is 4 of 9 representatives right from the start against
> river users. Add one more and good by access. It requires a fee for
> the length of your boat (windsurfer) and number installed on the board.
> The problem is Oregon has not defined what a boat is or is not. Dont
> laugh, I use to have numbers on my sailboard when I lived in Iowa. And
> I saw Iowa Marine Officers ticket an out of state sailboard. That would
> go over real well for the windsurfing tourist in Hood River!
> It really would be great if a Windsurfing Lawyer would look over this
> bill and report back what they think?
> --
> Anthony
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Joined: 30 May 2000
Posts: 671
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 6:52 pm
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
Imagine the State of Oregon trying to make money in the name
of SAFETY. At least they will be creating a few jobs for the resulting law enforcement. Leave it to govt to create the problems we pay them to solve. If they play with our heads, we gotta pay? Yep,
looks like they might have found another big cash cow!!
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Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 61
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 6:54 pm
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
Its rather ironic that they label boards as small boats.
Most of them dont even float with a single persons body weight on them.
does this mean were going to see an increase in the number of stone cold sinkers out there??
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Joined: 12 Mar 2003
Posts: 271
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 11:52 pm
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
I guess the 9 people that made this law are kiters, they wanted to reduce the number of WSers to the max so they enjoy better,spin around and around and around, plus less right of way...
Rio Vista, CA will be the call instead. The town will see prosperity in no time. I better open a hot dog-burger place and Call it Sail 4 less burgers.
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Joined: 17 May 2000
Posts: 17
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 9:10 am
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
I really love the Gorge, and I go there every year, but this would kill it for me. Its bad enough Hood River charges to park everywhere in town, and you have to pay at virtually all sailing sites. Ill just save my gas money and fly to Maui where its more friendly...also plenty of wind and waves here in good old CA. If this passes, Hood River will turn back into a truck stop. Way to go Oregon
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Joined: 06 May 2002
Posts: 56
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 1:34 pm
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
I think you are jumping to the wrong conclusion:
There is nothing in SB 1028 (or in SB 438, a companion bill) that even intimates that registration of windsurf boards is on the horizon. The registration requirements only apply to boats.
The bills flow, in large part, from property owners along the Deschutes who have gotten fed up with disruption caused by the friction between floaters and fishermen
I am all too familair with government and the stupid rules that it hacthes, but in this intance you might be getting a woprked up over a non-existaent threat.
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Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20007
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 5:08 pm
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
I hope youre right that Anthony is jumping to conclusions, but:
SB 1028 . . . limits
public use of class 2 waterways [thats the Columbia] to that allowed by the riparian [shoreline] landowner. The bill requires the State Land Board to adopt, by rule, river management plans
and creates an advisory committee [these committees can carry a lot of weight]. . . . The bill allows the
State Land Board to delegate program administration to another public body [thats scary, if Anthonys is right that the present committee is almost tied in its vote on this issue].. . . It requires the State Marine Board to create a
river recreation use registration fee program and non-motorized boat fee [!] to finance planning, management, enforcement, facilities, etc. It requires river
users to have either a user registration or boat registration. It allows the
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and the State Marine Board to enter
into agreements with the State Land Board.
If I were a Hood River businessman, the Arlington mayor, or any Gorge WSing shop, Id want this bill, its sponsors, and their intent observed closely to prevent yet another opportunity for apathy and/or ignorance to let things get out of hand. Anthony thinks its real; you dont. NM barely defeated a very similar bill; some states WSers let it slip through and now pay the consequences.
Id sure like to hear some more from both sides on this issue. I dont like having laws on the books with this much potential for a committeee to add more grief to our lives just by waving its collective hand.
Mike \m/
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Joined: 12 Mar 2003
Posts: 271
Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:51 am
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
May be its the lack of wind in the gorge [while here in the bay were getting all the wind all sring 4/3 wetsuit] got Mike to think of the none saiblable condition as a state of Oregon law enforcement.
Make a trip to Cali Mike ,wind is nice, people are even nicer, makes you forget about the 80s.
No 2.5 or 3.5 yet but a lot of good time on 4.5-6.0.
I hope you guys start having some good wind by now, May is a absolutely the start for the Gorge.
Take it easy on those back loops though, theyre still challenging SF sailors.
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Joined: 24 Jun 2001
Posts: 63
Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 9:12 pm
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
Chill on the kiters bro, sounds like you are still insecure about sharing the H2O and cant get over it....
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Joined: 12 Mar 2003
Posts: 271
Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 12:08 am
Post subject: RE: Board registration threat in the Gorge
What Im pretty sure of bro, Is youre one of those. Not a pure kiter nor a pure windsurfer. Checking out both sites and posting here and there. As a former windsurfer you sound too disappointed, wether you should go back to windsurfing and suck again or stick to the boring hanging spinning kiting. Figure out your way and come post at IWINDSURF.
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