text:
Swap Meat
Okay, Thursday is not my best night. I wrote this up last night---and posted it to my own blog! Sorry!
What the hell. Every time Trish stays with me and we watch SPN together, the TV tricks out. Last time I missed 20 minutes, and this time, after the scene in the bar where "Gary" was ordering a banana daiquiri and agreeing with the woman at the bar that he was very good-looking, then the picture went black, then you could hear the Law and Order theme, then a goofy movie with a giant gumball machine came on (this sounds like one of my dreams), then we see Sam walking down the street in a GOOFY costume before being pulled over by the police. When he's escorted "home" and told to listen to his "father" he freaks out, especially when he catches a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror and sees a teen-aged boy looking back at him.
Finally we're back on track, and we see Sam checking out his arms in the mirror (Mary pauses the DVR). When he turns away, we see it's the teen-aged boy who'd been so delighted about being 26 in the bar. He gets Dean to let him drive the Impala, and he guns the engine—right into the trash.
Sam investigates the kid's room, finding Busty Asian Beauties, Star Wars t-shirts and a cloth with markings (pentagram?) and a sword. Immediately he suspects satanic stuff, and when he's called to breakfast, he quizzes his parents about "his" behavior. Turns out his sister knows just what he's into and clues him in on the whereabouts of his special book—his locker at school.
So Sam, wearing a hoodie and doing a fair impression of a teenager, goes to school and finds a "very bad book" in Gary's locker. Meanwhile, Dean and Gary are hunting a witch. Gary knows where the witch is buried and why and leads Dean into the basement of an old house. As Dean is digging up the grave, Gary holds a rifle on him, only to be blown back by the witch's ghost when he tries to shoot. Dean is blown back, too, and the witch charges him, which Gary declares "cool." But I don't think it's resolved. The two of them go drinking together and Gary gets drunk on one shot. He orders a bacon cheeseburger and is taken aback when Dean asks who he is and what he's done with Sam. But Dean goes on to say, "Ordering bacon cheeseburgers now?" Gary runs off with a woman from the bar, saying over his shoulder, "We're going to DO IT!"
Sam encounters Gary's high school buddies, who tranq him and hold him hostage because there wasn't supposed to be an occupant of Gary's body while he inhabits Sam, and they don't want him getting in the way. The high school kids, Trevor and Nora, spill the beans. Gary took over Sam's body in order to kill Dean, because he's on hell's most wanted, and the kids want to collect the bounty.
Trevor doesn't think Gary can go through with killing Dean, so he gets Gary's book and plans a demon summoning.
Next we see Gary in the hotel room with Dean, looking at a lump in Dean's bed. He gets Dean's gun, aims, and Dean steps out of the shadows and punches the kid, finally cluing in.
Trevor calls the demon, who inhabits Nora's body. He asks for the reward, but all she offers is her undying gratitude. Trevor pushes despite warnings from Sam, asking for millions and the love of a girl. She reaches into his chest and rips his heart out. "Tastes like moron." He deserved it.
Gary is falling to pieces in Dean's custody as Dean listens to his voicemail (FINALLY) and then Dean goes flying across the room as Nora appears. (DH pointed out that perhaps the Winchesters should lay down salt at their hotel rooms' doors and windows.) She unties Gary and asks what he wants. He wants to be a witch for real, out from under his parents' control. She says he can have it but he has to meet the boss, Lucifer. (Sam's meat suit is empty, after all.) All he has to do is say yes and he'll get his reward.
Dean attacks but Nora slams him back and stalks Gary. Gary starts an exorcism, which pisses Nora off, but Dean chimes in, and the two work together to exorcise her. I liked that bit. Then Gary repeats the spell, putting him and Sam back in their rightful bodies.
Dean and Sam drive Gary and Nora home. Sam tells Gary he doesn't have it so bad and if he wants to get his dad off his back he needed to rebel in a non-Satanic kind of way. He told the kid Nora was into witchcraft because she liked Gary. Gary was all happy. Dean turned to Sam after all was said and done. "That was a nice thing to say."
"I totally lied," Sam said. "Kid's life sucked ass."
Dean is surprised when Sam said, "All that apple pie family crap is stressful. We didn't miss a thing." So was I. Sam from even 2 years ago wouldn't have said that.
I liked the episode (would have liked it better if I'd SEEN THE WHOLE THING, DAMN YOU CW) and will probably like it better on second viewing. It won't be a favorite, but it was solid and fun. It probably would have fit better in an earlier season and I'm wondering what happened to Lucifer and Death, but...
What did you think?


text: Verizon said only 15 percent of the breaches it analyzed had a complete and reliable count of compromised records. Making up the bulk of the stolen data was payment information and stolen account credentials. System information was also stolen, followed by internal data and intellectual property. Verizon said financially motivated attackers favor payment and personal information; cyberespionage attacks target trade secrets, internal organizational data and system information; and hacktivists seek out personal information and internal organizational data. Account credentials are coveted by all. Payment card data should be encrypted and never stored. Stored account credentials should be hashed and salted, a cryptographic process that makes them difficult to crack.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- - IT & Mobile Communications (Mobile Communications, Networks)
- Consumer Electronics (Visual Display, Digital Appliances, Printing Solutions, Health & Medical Equipment)
- Device Solutions (Memory, System LSI, LED)
- Energy Storage Systems
- Li-ion Batteries
- Key Electronics Components
- Information and Communication Technology Services
- Display (LCD, OLED)
- Electronic Materials
- OLED Glass Substrates
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics leads the global digital market in high-tech electronics manufacturing and digital media through innovative, reliable products and services, talented people and a relentless pursuit of discovery.
Samsung SDI
Samsung SDI takes the lead in the development of new energy solutions by manufacturing the world's leading small-sized Li-ion battery, Automotive Battery, ESS (Energy Storage Systems) and Electronic Materials.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics
Samsung Electro-Mechanics produces high-tech integrated components of electronics and mechanical devices that use the invisible but incredible power to move the world.
Samsung SDS
Samsung SDS is an information and communication technology (ICT) service provider offering innovative products that help make the world a smarter and more convenient place.
Samsung Display
Samsung Display is a global leader in the display industry, realising unimaginable technologies based on the best technical skills that bring LCD & OLED to small-medium and extra-large products.
Samsung Corning Advanced Glass
Samsung Corning Advanced Glass is leading electronic material industry by producing OLED glass substrates and sputtering targets.


text:
ALFÁFARA (Laurente line)
3 Generations
Although some records say that Santiago Laurente was born in Talisay, but his was previously the more political of the two Alfafara lines, more than that of Vicente's. Although Vicente had been a cabeza by the 1820s yet, it was Laurente's sons Marciano and Martin were cabezas de barangay (at the same time) by 1850 . But as fate would have it, Marciano would have all girls and Martin appeared to have had only one married son, although daughter Luisa's son, Timoteo Y. Alfafara, also became a cabeza and was very prominent in Carcar affairs. In a reconstruction of the family done by Alfafara descendants (Vicente line), Timoteo was erroneously reconstructed as a son of a Jorge Alfafara and Iska Caballero, although research of records tends to write the two off as a probably non-existent couple and that Timoteo was instead a son of Luisa Alfafara, daughter of Martin here below. Other than this slip of memory, the reconstruction clearly demonstrated an unbelievable family mobilization effort right down to the present generation.
The Pagusara family account of having been left in Talisay, if ultimately confirmed, may point to Laurente as also the father of the Pagusara patriarch, Patricio Pagusara, but unanswered points would also give rise to speculations why the Pagusaras did not simply volunteer to their Talisay cabeza or parish priest the fact that their main family was in Carcar and named Alfafara, to which surname, per the Claveria decree itself, Patricio and his family would have been perfectly entitled to, also. Records say Patricio was born and resided in Talisay but died and was buried in Carcar in 1895 and that his parents were a Laurente (!) and Maria. Laurente Alfafara's wife Joaquina Maria was also mentioned only as Joaquina in some records, but never as only Maria. Patricio's two sons of which I have a record are also much younger than the other grandchildren of Laurente. But I have a feeling that, if not some other record in Carcar, Talisay records if available could also finally confirm this connection.
[10-May-2011: over the weekend, my reading in Carcar (1815-1826 Bapt) may have been been rewarded with, among other finds for other families, what may be the second clue for the Pagusara tieup. I found the baptismal of a Patricio Gabriel (bapt 14-Mar-1821, 1 week old), son of Santiago Laurente and Ma. Juaquina. There is a post-notation identification in the record that says "Alfafara". If he is the Patricio Pagusara, the latter's children Jacinto (born 1877) and Apolonio by Columba Cibua, may indeed open the possibility of Columba's being a second wife, if not a much much younger first/only, since Patricio Gabriel would have been already 56 by the birth of Jacinto. ]
[13-Jun-2011: Although overall the 1815-26 Baptism volume located for me dates for many early Carcar individuals, new problems also presented themselves. There was a baptism 7-Jul-1826 for Maria Bedala, 1 week, daughter of Francisco Martiano and Ma. Bacilia. A post-notation on the record said "Alfafara" and I presume the parents would be Laurente's son Marciano and wife Basilisa. Except I have a tentative marriage date– 1830– for the two. Or do I? The marriage, 30-Apr-1830, was of Francisco Mariano and Ma. Vasilisa. Same persons? Extremely unhelpful was the fact that their parents are not mentioned in this record (as with other records of that volume until some months later). Two courses of action then: seek an earlier marriage, or check the baptism record again whether it said Maria Bedala was an hija legitima or natural. If no earlier marriage can be found, plus Maria Bedala was legitimate, then just put off the marriage date as a note.]
— o0o —
Laurente Santiago ( -1845) AKA Clemente; Brgy of D. Antonio Urbano in 1828 marriage of daughter Martina
=Joaquina Maria ( –1849)
—Culacita Albarado ( -1817)
—Francisco Ventura (calc. 1807-
–=(1834) Ma. Adriana (calc. 1820-
—Marciano Alfafara ( -1892) pDn: Marciano Francisco
–=(1830) Basilisa Baquilir ( -1865) from Argao pDn: Ma. Basilisa
—-Vidala Alfafara (1826-1876) pDn: Ma. Bedala (bapt.)
=1) Hilario Alega Alegrado (1820-1860) pDn: Ylario Camingaoan (bapt.)
=3) Eugenio Alde
—-Matea Alfafara (1828–1903) pDn: Maria Mathea
=(1846) Vicente Caballero ( ) from San Nicolas; pDn: Vicente Antonio
—-Anastacia Alfafara (1833-1862) pDn: Ma. Athanasia
=(1859) Hilario Alcoy Alcuesar
—-Escolastica Alfafara (1837- ) pDn: Rosa Escolastica (bapt.)
=(1885) Antonio Avilla (Abella?)
=2) Luisa Pestañas
—-Ysidora Alfafara (1839-1895) pDn: Ma. Ysidora
= Valentin Campañon Alvarado ( -1907)
—-Angela Alfafara ( -1868)
=(1866) Agustin Macala
—-Manuela Alfafara ( -1886)
=)1866) Teodoro Genoni Tanuco ( ) AKA Isidoro
—Martina Alfafara ( -1894) pDn: Ma. Martina (marr.)
–=(1828) Pedro Alvarado ( ) pDn: Pedro Albarado (marr.)
—-Mauricio Juanillo (1829– ) pDn: Mauricio Juanillo
—-Maria Francisca (1831– ) pDn: Maria Francisca
—-Nicolas Alvarado (1833– ) pDn: Nicolas de la Cruz
=Feliciana Aledo
—-Tiburcio Albarado (1835– ) pDn: Tiburcio Albarado
—-Benito Albarado (1837– ) pDn: Benito Albarado
—-Ambrosio Alvarado ( ) Tiburcio?
=Martina Dayuja
—-Severo Alvarado (1850–
—Martin Alfafara (1818-1875) pDn: Marten Jabello (bapt.)
–=(1842) Leonora Navarro ( – 1860) pDn: Ma. Leonora
—-Pedro Paciano ( –1843)
—-Josefa Alfafara ( -1857)
—-Micaela Angela (1845–1849) pDn: Mecaila Angela (bapt), Micaela Nicolasa (burial)
—-Catalino Alfafara (1847– ) pDn:
—-Eduarda Alfafara (1849–1945) pDn: Eduarda Ma.
=(1868) Laurencio Alcoseba Ybañez ( ) AKA Lorenzo
—-Nicomedes Alfafara ( -1866)
—-Luisa Alfafara (1853-1894)
=2(1877) Ysidoro (Laoat) Alcuesar (1850-
—-Evarista Alfafara (1855-1857)
—-Santiago Alfafara (1857-1859)
—-Nicacio Alfafara (1859– ) Micacio in Marriage
=1(1884) Filomena Emnacen Alcorcon ( -1886)
=2) Catalina Flores Regis
—Juana Alfafara ( -1883) pDn: Maria Juana
–= (1841) Casimiro Alecha ( ) pDn: Casimiro de la Assumpcion
—Patricio Gabriel (1821– ) pDn: Patricio Gabriel (bapt.)
—Eustaquia Alfafara ( -1884)
–=Domingo Daan
—Maria Alfafara ( -1894)
–= Jose Caballero
—-Ygnacio Cavallero
=(1867) Felicia Lanada
The Pagusara family:
—Patricio Pagusara ( -1895 Carcar)
–=Columbia Sibua
—-Jacinto Pagusara (1877-1961)
=(1899) Romana Barcelos Cui (1876-1948)
—-Apolonio Pagusara (
=(1901) Liceria Roca Alcuetas
(under reconstruction)


text:
Halton is involved from target-setting to facility use and focuses on creating positive indoor environment experiences for people.
Who we are
The voice behind halton
The owner and Chairman of Halton Group Mika Halttunen welcomes you to Halton's world.
Mika presents the essentials of Halton and explains what the company is all about. With nearly 50 years of Halton, is the company still following the same basic principles as in the beginning?
What we do
Halton Group is the global technology leader in indoor air solutions for demanding spaces. We provide solutions for commercial and public premises, healthcare institutions and laboratories, professional kitchens and restaurants as well as energy production environments and marine vessels. We provide our end-users with safe, comfortable and productive indoor environments that are energy-efficient and comply with sustainable principles.
Business segments
Through its business segments, Halton offers a globally unique range of indoor environment expertise and pioneering technology to enable indoor environments that are healthy, comfortable, productive and energy-efficient throughout their life cycle.
Halton was founded in Finland in 1969 by Seppo Halttunen. The company is owned by the Halttunen family and headquartered in Helsinki. Today, we have production units in Finland, France, Germany, UK, USA, Canada, China and Malaysia and R&D units in eight of these. Licensed production is carried out in South-Africa, Mexico, New-Zealand and Australia. Halton Group employs over 1550 people in over 30 countries. The company's turnover in 2018 was approximately 218 million euros.


text:
Current record: 67-54, 2nd place in NL Central, 6.5 games back
Up Next: San Diego Padres, 53-70, 4th place in NL West, 14.5 games back
Season Series: 1-2
Notes: Not a lot new to say since the Bucs played the Padres last weekend and dropped two games. Carlos Quentin and Chase Headley are still their best hitters. The Pirates need to take two out of three to spilt the season series and sweep to win it.
Familiar Faces: None, since Ross Ohlendorf was optioned to AAA last week.
Probable Pitchers
Monday: TBA
vs. RH Edinson Volquez (7-9, 142.0 IP, 133 K, 4.31 ERA, 1.44 WHIP)
The Pirates had to use Wandy Rodriguez in yesterday's 19 inning game so it remains to be seen who will start tonight. After the game, Kevin Correia volunteered to start even though he had pitched two innings.
Tuesday: RH A.J. Burnett (15-4, 145.0 IP, 126 K, 3.54 ERA, 1.19 WHIP)
vs. RH Jason Marquis (8-11, 122.1 IP, 86 K, 5.30 ERA, 1.46 WHIP)
Matchup-wise, this one is clearly in the Bucs' favor. The mumbers above include his time in Minnesota, but Marquis has been much better since going to San Diego (6-7, 88.1 IP, 74 K, 4.08 ERA, 1.27 WHIP.)
Wednesday: RH James McDonald (11-5, 147.0 IP, 133 K, 3.61 ERA, 1.19 WHIP)
vs. TBA
McDonald goes out to prove that his last outing was no fluke. Petco Park is a great place to do just that.
No lineup yet.
Filed under: baseball, Pirates | Tagged: A.J. Burnett, baseball, Carlos Quentin, Chase Headley, Edinson Volquez, James McDonald, Jason Marquis, Kevin Correia, Padres, Pirates, Ross Ohlendorf, Wandy Rodriguez | Leave a comment »


text:
Grace: Bride of Montana by NY Times and USA Today best-selling author Debra Holland is number 41 in the unprecedented 50-Book American Mail-Order Brides series. Practical Grace Dickinson thought she had her life all planned, including picking out the perfect husband. But she couldn't have predicted the disaster that changed everything, leaving her no choice but to become a mail-order bride to a most imperfect man. Grace: Bride of Montana is also part of Debra Holland's award-winning Montana Sky Series, which includes The Mail-Order Brides of the West. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Lara Asmundson. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/056288/bk_acx0_056288_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
Victoria Lowell grew up in the privileged world of the Boston Brahmins. She had everything she could want...except love. After being jilted, the society miss travels a thousand miles to marry a man she's never met whose romantic letters won her heart. To her surprise, and dismay, the groom who meets her at the train station exhibits little interest in romance. David O'Brien, a divorced shopkeeper of Irish descent, wants nothing to do with matters of the heart. But his young daughter needs a mother and his meddling sister believes she's done him a favor by corresponding with a mail-order bride. Impressed by Victoria, he holds off on revealing the true author of the letters she received and sets a date for their marriage. Love isn't part of the bargain, as far as he's concerned. But love is what Victoria has come this far to find. When the truth finally comes out, it will take more than a miracle to deliver a happily-ever-after. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Liisa Ivary. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/065479/bk_acx0_065479_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
Tabitha: Bride of Missouri is the 24th in the unprecedented 50-book American Mail-Order Brides series.An orphan since she was 10, Tabitha Phillips was raised by a cousin who resented her, and she went out on her own as soon as she could. When the factory where she was working burned down, she was forced to return to her childhood home under the scrutiny of her critical relatives.As an employee at the post office, Tabitha isn't supposed to become involved in the doings of her customers. But when one young man's heart could be broken by a thoughtless letter, she sees a chance to make a difference...for herself as well as for him. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Meghan Kelly. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/121271/bk_acx0_121271_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
A sweet, wholesome romance set in 1890. Lilly Lind was forced to emigrate from Sweden two years ago, due to circumstances beyond her control. She finds a job as a garment maker in the Brown Textile Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, finally feeling as though she is settling in her new country. Then a suspicious fire burns the mill, making Lilly seek another way to survive. She answers a mail-order bride ad in the Grooms' Gazette and sets off for Chicago, believing she will be a business owner's wife. Kansas rancher Seth Reagan travels to the Union Stockyards in Chicago to attend the 1890 American Fat Stock Show, the American Horse Show, and to purchase horseflesh to augment his herd. When arriving at the train station, he overhears a conversation between a young woman and a shady-looking man. Seth becomes concerned for the mail-order bride who is whisked away to a saloon, not to her new husband's home. When Seth goes to the saloon to check on the young woman, he finds her in trouble and offers to help her escape. While buying horses and arranging their return travel to Kansas, Seth realizes he would like to bring Lilly home with him, too, but she is still being hunted by the saloon owner's thugs. Lilly's good fortune in meeting Seth makes her want to start a life with this man, but he came to Illinois for horses, not a bride. Would he want her after he learns of her secrets? 1. Language: English. Narrator: Linda Velwest. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/057611/bk_acx0_057611_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
Constance has always done everything by the book. Follow the rules, be good, and hide. Can this letter to a man she doesn't know break her out of the shadows? Drake has dreamed of going to sea, but Father's ultimatum has him sending for a mail-order bride. He'll take care of her, but she needs to know, he'll leave for the sea after they're married. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Jennifer Cadena. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/058207/bk_acx0_058207_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
Samuel Morrison, a farmer from Iowa, is in need of a wife and a mother for Lizzie, his three-year old daughter. He reads an article from Massachusetts advertising mail order brides. He writes to the agency stating he's looking for a partner who will work by his side and, hopefully, come to care for him and be a loving mother to Lizzie. Hannah Brown responds to his letter. Though she doesn't say too much about herself, Samuel decides to take a chance and asks her to come to Iowa. This woman is everything he wants in a wife and more - or so he thinks. Hannah has a secret that, if revealed, could devastate their future. If Hannah tells Samuel, will he send her away? She could lose all she's come to cherish. Is Hannah willing to take that chance? 1. Language: English. Narrator: Emma Lysy. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/061346/bk_acx0_061346_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
Laurel Weidner desires a life of her own away from Philadelphia society and a dull, boring marriage. She is sent to live with her aunt in Lawrence, Massachusetts. When her aunt dies in a tornado, she gets a job at the Brown Textile Mill to avoid going back home. Two months later the mill burns down, and her father threatens to bring her back to Philadelphia. When the mill and her livelihood perish with the fire, she has no other choice but to answer an ad in the Grooms' Gazette and become a Mail-Order Bride. Will she find peace and long lasting love in the arms of a stranger? Griffin Benning needs a mother for his children. When his wife died, he lost his two children to his in-laws who claimed to have a better environment for raising his children. He misses his family and is coerced into advertising in the Grooms' Gazette for a wife to raise his children and work the farm in order to get them back. Will his ad for a Mail-Order Bride provide what he needs? Can he find love and happiness with a stranger? Can these two strangers find a common ground to reach their goals along with a happy-ever-after? 1. Language: English. Narrator: Cindy Killavey. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/059637/bk_acx0_059637_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
Her sister gone, her roommates soon to follow, Leora Mitchell must now face the fact that she, along with the others, are mail-order brides. For years, her life revolved around Brown's Textile Mill, her sister Lottie, and their friends. Now, as mail-order brides, they'd be scattered across the country, ready to start a new life. The only problem was Leora had no idea what that life looked like, nor did she have any idea who she was without the familiar faces she loved so much. Pastor Theron Drake needed a wife, and the crazy folks in his congregation whole-heartedly agreed. So much so, they thought they should have as much access to the new Mrs. Drake as he did! They volunteered her for everything they could think of and made her the director of the annual Christmas Play. Throw in the town bully/busybody who'd rather have her own choice of a Mrs. Drake, and you have a mail-order bride that doesn't know if she's coming or going. Will Theron and Leora's new marriage survive the onslaught of his over-zealous parishioners? Or will she crack under the pressure, turn tail, and run? Find out in this hilarious romp, how two people are forced to discover their true strengths and weaknesses. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Michael Rahhal. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/065236/bk_acx0_065236_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
A warehouse fire in Lawrence, Massachusetts has taken Genevieve "Genny" Copeland's livelihood, but opened a new opportunity for her. If she takes the chance, she could have the family she's always dreamed of but it would mean leaving everything she's always known. Believing that opportunity only knocks once, Genny gets on a train west to Elko, Nevada and a new life. She becomes a mail-order bride. Stuart MacDonnell lost his wife in child-birth six months ago. Now he's left to raise a two year-old and a six month-old baby alone. He needs a wife but doesn't want to court someone and pretend to be in love. He'll never love again, but he needs a wife now and orders a mail-order bride. Can Stuart and Genny come together and find happiness when they are at odds with each other? Will they find common ground and will love bloom amid the beautiful Ruby Mountains of Nevada? 1. Language: English. Narrator: Jill Smith. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/078661/bk_acx0_078661_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.


text:
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian court denied parole to child killer Marc Dutroux on Monday, ruling he could not be freed with a security tag on his ankle as there was no prospect of him fitting back into society.
Dutroux, 56, was sentenced in 2004 to life in prison for kidnapping and raping six girls and killing four of them in the 1990s. In prison since his 1996 arrest, he became eligible this year to request early release with an electronic ankle band.
The court said that it considered whether Dutroux would be able to integrate into society, whether he would commit new crimes, whether he would seek contact with the victims and whether he showed remorse regarding his victims.
"The court analyzed the first issue and came to the conclusion that there was evidence against. This gives the court the opportunity to immediately deny the request," Luc Hennaert, court president, told reporters after the hearing.
Neither Dutroux nor his lawyer attended the court session.
In Belgium, electronic ankle bands are often used to allow police to monitor a detainee's whereabouts outside prison and to alert them if the person moves beyond a permitted area.
The Dutroux case has deeply traumatized Belgium because of the horrific nature of the murders and because of perceived errors made during investigations.
Belgian police visited one of Dutroux's houses where two victims, both eight years old, were being held and failed to find them. The two later starved to death in a makeshift dungeon.
Jean Lambrecks, the father of Eefje Lambrecks who was kidnapped and killed by Dutroux when she was 19 years old, told reporters outside the court he was satisfied with the ruling.
"I hope he will sit out his sentence completely," he said.
Dutroux, who can make another request for an ankle band in February 2014, will have to appear before a judge again in April 2013 to discuss a full conditional release.
His former wife and accomplice, Michelle Martin, was released from prison in July last year and sent to a convent after serving half of her term.
(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Mark Heinrich)


text:
Vaccines. It's become such a controversial topic in America that we might as well add it alongside religion and politics as subjects to avoid during polite dinner conversation. As a new mom I scouered bookshelves to educate myself on both sides of the discussion on vaccine safety and effectiveness to ensure I make the best choices for my son, Cole.
Then it hits me. Choice. There are other moms all over the world, who want to protect their children from preventable diseases, but they don't have access to vaccines. These moms don't have a choice. As a result, many of them will have to hold their beloved babies in their arms as they take their last breath on earth. Every child deserves a shot at a healthy life, which is why I'm supporting the Shot@Life campaign. Cole inspires me to want to help other children that are less fortunate than he is.
For our love of children we need to learn about, advocate for, and donate vaccines. With our help the United Nations Foundation's Shot@Life campaign will decrease vaccine-preventable childhood deaths and give children a shot at a healthy life. There are other organizations that are working towards the common goal of providing vaccines where they are most needed. For example, I volunteer with a non-profit organization called Sustainable Healthcare for Haiti.
Sustainable Healthcare for Haiti (SHH) is in the process of planning and developing a medical clinic and children's hospital in Jerusalem, Haiti, a city just north of Port-au-Prince. As you might have read or seen in the news recently, the cholera vaccine needs to be dispensed immediately to everyone in Haiti. Doses are being prepared and distributed, but there are not enough clinics to vaccinate the population. The medical clinic that SHH is building in Jerusalem could help to meet this dire need.
Join me in support of the Shot@Life campaign and Sustainable Healthcare for Haiti. Support comes in many forms: a tweet on Twitter, a "like" on Facebook, a dollar donation. And just to be clear there is no affiliation between Shot@Life and Sustainable Healthcare for Haiti. I'm just sharing what they both mean and represent to me! For more information and to follow updates online, please stay connected.
Together, we can make a difference and save lives.


text:
Why Join the AHA?
If your field is history—no matter your specialization or profession—membership in the American Historical Association is indispensable. Among the numerous organizations that serve historians, only the AHA brings together historians from all geographical, chronological, and topical specializations and all work contexts, embracing the breadth and variety of activity in history today. More importantly, only the AHA addresses the interests of the discipline as a whole as well as the diverse needs of its individual members. No matter what other specialized organizations you belong to, membership in the AHA is still essential because it provides national leadership on issues such as academic freedom, access to archives, the centrality of history to public culture, improvements in curricula, and other vital issues.
Advocate for the Discipline
- Working to protect history and the rights of historians at local and national levels with the National Coalition for History, the National Humanities Alliance, and the Consortium of Social Science Associations
- Issuing public statements to uphold academic freedom, safeguard history education, secure resources for historical study, preserve historical archives, and protect historians around the world
- Supporting efforts to ensure broad participation by women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, independent scholars, public historians, and teachers
Promote Scholarly Discussion
- Publishing the American Historical Review, the major journal of record for the historical discipline offering hundreds of indispensable book reviews and original scholarship from every major field of study
- Hosting our annual meeting, the largest gathering of historians in the United States featuring panels, workshops, posters, and receptions to interest every historian
- Publishing Perspectives on History, the newsmagazine for the historical profession, which offers articles and commentary on teaching, technology, history in the media, public history, archives, and research
- Posting on a wide range of topics relevant to members and the history discipline on Perspectives Daily, the official blog of the AHA
- Facilitating AHA Communities, an online forum where members can join in discussion and collaborate with other historians and educators
Advance Teaching and Learning
- Improving history curriculum at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels through projects such as Tuning and Bridging Cultures
- Providing AHA awards and grants to recognize excellence in publications, research, teaching, and mentoring
- Offering online resources for creating lesson plans, bringing digital history into the classroom, and identifying key skills history students develop
Enhance Career Development
- Giving employers and job seekers a place to connect on the AHA Career Center
- Demonstrating how graduate programs in history can prepare doctoral students for a wide spectrum of career opportunities through Career Diversity for Historians, a three-year, Mellon-funded program
- Collecting resources to help members manage their careers at any stage and in any professional area, whether searching for a job with a BA in history, launching a post-PhD job search, finding a niche in public history, getting ready for tenure review, or exploring options in the private sector
Everything Has a History
Gift Memberships
Looking for the perfect gift for the historian in your life? AHA membership supports historians in all fields, all professions, and all stages.
Discounts and Special Offers
Oxford University Press
The History Teacher
Office Depot/OfficeMax
ACLS Humanities E-Book
Choice Reviews Online
Oxford English Dictionary
Pacific Historical Review
History Compass
Community College Humanities Association
American Political Science Association
Chicago Manual of Style Online


text:
February is the Second Month of the Year in calendar and has 28 days commonly but 29 days in Leap Year. Each month of the year has its merits. February month main emphasize is arrival of a Valentine Week. It comes after January and comes before the month of March. February is also known as Valentine Month and provide us Passion, Faithfulness, Respect and Sentiment and also this Month has Semi-Cold Weather. Free Download Goodbye January Welcome February Quotes from here.
Goodbye January Welcome February Quotes
Quote for February month –
"February is the month of love
With its semi-cold weather
It feels more romantic."
Here we have images of Hello February Goodbye January, Welcome February Quotes, Photos, Wallpaper and HD Pics. You can send these free images to your loved ones and friends to wish them the best for a month.
Wishes for Goodbye January Welcome February with Quotes
February month is called "Febrero" in Spanish and "Février" in French.
Birth Flower – Violet
Birthstone – Amethyst
We hope you liked these free images of the month of February. Similarly, if you want Images for the rest of the months, contact us here.


text:
juju is devops distilled.
Juju enables you to use Charms to deploy your application architectures to EC2, OpenStack, Azure, HP your data center and even your own Ubuntu based laptop. Moving between models is simple giving you the flexibility to switch hosts whenever you want — for free.
For more information, see the docs.
Getting started
juju is written in Go (http://golang.org), a modern, compiled, statically typed,
concurrent language. This document describes how to build
juju from source.
If you are looking for binary releases of
juju, they are available from the Juju
stable PPA,
https://launchpad.net/~juju/+archive/stable, and can be installed with:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:juju/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install juju
Setting GOPATH
When working with the source of Go programs, you should define a path within
your home directory (or other workspace) which will be your
is similar to Java's
CLASSPATH or Python's
GOPATH is documented
online at
http://golang.org/pkg/go/build/ and inside the
go tool itself
go help gopath
Various conventions exist for naming the location of your
GOPATH, but it should
exist, and be writable by you. For example
export GOPATH=${HOME}/work
mkdir $GOPATH
will define and create
$HOME/work as your local
GOPATH. The
go tool itself
will create three subdirectories inside your
GOPATH when required;
bin, which hold the source of Go programs, compiled packages and compiled
binaries, respectively.
GOPATH correctly is critical when developing Go programs. Set and
export it as part of your login script.
$GOPATH/bin to your
PATH, so you can run the go programs you install:
Getting juju
The easiest way to get the source for
juju is to use the
go get command.
go get -d -v github.com/juju/juju/...
This command will checkout the source of
juju and inspect it for any unmet
Go package dependencies, downloading those as well.
go get will also build and
juju and its dependencies. To checkout without installing, use the
-d flag. More details on the
go get flags are available using
go help get
At this point you will have the git local repository of the
juju source at
$GOPATH/github.com/juju/juju. The source for any dependent packages will
also be available inside
$GOPATH. You can use
git pull --rebase, or the
less convenient
go get -u github.com/juju/juju/... to update the source
from time to time.
If you want to know more about contributing to
juju, please read the
CONTRIBUTING companion to this file.
Installing prerequisites
You can use
make install-dependencies or, if you prefer to install
them manually, check the Makefile target.
This will add some PPAs to ensure that you can install the required golang and mongodb-server versions for precise onwards, in addition to the other dependencies.
Building juju
go install -v github.com/juju/juju/...
Will build juju and install the binary commands into
$GOPATH/bin. It is likely
if you have just completed the previous step to get the
juju source, the
install process will produce no output, as the final executables are up-to-date.
If you do see any errors, there is a good chance they are due to changes in
juju's dependencies. See the
Dependency management section of
CONTRIBUTING for more information on getting the dependencies right.
Using juju
After following the steps above you will have the
juju client installed in
GOPATH/bin/juju. You should ensure that this version of
juju appears earlier
in your path than any packaged versions of
juju, or older Python juju
commands. You can verify this using
which juju
You should be able to bootstrap a local model now with the following (Note: the use of sudo for bootstrap here is only required for the local provider because it uses LXC, which requires root privileges)
juju init
juju switch local
sudo juju bootstrap
juju client program, and the juju 'tools' are deployed in lockstep. When a
release of
juju is made, the compiled tools matching that version of juju
are extracted and uploaded to a known location. This consumes a release version
number, and implies that no tools are available for the next, development, version
of juju. Therefore, when using the development version of juju you will need to
pass an additional flag,
--upload-tools to instruct the
juju client to build
a set of tools from source and upload them to the model as part of the
bootstrap process.
juju bootstrap -m your-model --upload-tools {--debug}
Installing bash completion for juju
make install-etc
Will install Bash completion for
juju cli to
/etc/bash_completion.d/juju. It does
dynamic completion for commands requiring service, unit or machine names (like e.g.
juju status , juju ssh , juju terminate-machine , etc),
by parsing cached
juju status output for speedup. It also does command flags
completion by parsing
juju help ... output.


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For years, the medical community abstained from studying hangover cures because doctors didn't want to be seen as encouraging overindulgence of alcohol. What helped change that was grasping the severity of the problem: it's estimated that painful hangovers cost the U.S. economy $148 billion annually. Recovering revelers either call in sick or show up with headaches, nausea, decreased skills and general misery. Now, scientists are calling for more research into cures. What about tequila shots or a bottle of wine actually causes the pain of a hangover? Dehydration was blamed in the past, but that's changing.
What are your homemade hangover cures and what do actual doctors recommend?
Dr. Sharon Orrange, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC; Also has a private practice in Internal Medicine at USC


text:
Be a part of a unique online community that connects post production professionals and film academics worldwide.
You'll have access to personalize your news feed, access to Live Post Talks and much more. Contribute to the community by posting interesting post production content.
September 1, 2010, 2:56 pm
Second part of my breakdown on a scene from the classic Western film, The Wild Bunch.
April 7, 2011, 2:42 pm
A new series of interviews with industry professionals focusing on the relational aspects of the editorial process.
January 12, 2011, 12:48 pm
A study of the Hoth Battle in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back from a film editing perspective. Check out the full post here
December 15, 2010, 3:11 pm
A study of the Hoth Battle in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back from a film editing perspective.
October 25, 2010, 2:12 pm
An analysis of a scene from the mystery, Blue Velvet, in study of its editorial qualities. Check out the full post at: http://coldpost.tv/scene-breakdown-blue-velvet-part-1/716/
September 27, 2010, 1:46 pm
An analysis of 2 scenes from the episode, "Maidenform", from the AMC show, Mad Men, in study of their editorial qualities. Check out the full post at: http://coldpost.tv/scene-breakdown-mad-men-maidenform/657/
September 13, 2010, 10:38 am
Second part of my breakdown on the interrogation scene from The Dark Knight.
September 7, 2010, 3:53 pm
A scene critique from the thriller, The Dark Knight, from an editorial perspective.
August 30, 2010, 3:31 pm
Scene breakdowns from an editorial perspective. The first of two parts focusing on a scene from the western The Wild Bunch
Jody McVeigh-Schultz and Lane Farnham discuss tackling HBO's documentary series McMillion$, a series that explores the f ...
Gordon sits down with cinematographer James Kniest to discuss his work on The Haunting of Bly Manor. Including hiding people ...
Gordon sits down with documentary editor and producer Kathryn Robson to discuss storytelling and her work on the hit Netflix ...
Choose what Post News gets sent directly to your E-Mail, daily or weekly.
Get your post news on your favourite Apple device, when you want it where you want it.
Get your post news on your favourite Android device with the AOTG Android App.


text:
As I've been mentioning lately I have been working on using PyGObject + GObject Introspection (recently forked, now called PyGI + PyGObject + Gobject Introspection) and have some exciting news!
I have been working on fleshing out a whole bunch of unit tests which exercise the entire GUPnP API. I hate a major roadblock in that PyGI did not support native callbacks! So, after a week or two detour I have implemented PyGI callbacks (which now work rather nicely, but need a bunch of stylistic cleanups and error checking before its pushed back upstream.. priorities!) as well as some working GUPnP demos.
My best demo so far is about 25 lines of python which:
1) Gets all devices on one network interface
2) Scans for all the services each device provides
3) If the device is GMediaRenderer and it provides an AVTransport Service (it does...) then it
3a) Stops whatever is currently playing
3b) Loads a new URI (hardcoded from my mediatomb server for now, havn't played enough with gupnp-av to dynamically get the mediatomb data -- for now!)
3c) Initiates playing
3a->3c have been tested using the synchronous GUPnP action api (send_action...) as well as the asynchronous API (begin_action.... end_action...) with callbacks!
Update: Seems this info is out-dated already, Zach has done quite some more after this.


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American pikas, the chirpy, potato-sized denizens of rocky debris in mountain ranges and high plateaus in western North America, are holding their own in the Southern Rocky Mountains, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.
Led by CU-Boulder doctoral student Liesl Erb, the study team assessed 69 historical sites known to host pikas in a swath of the Southern Rockies ranging from southern Wyoming through Colorado and into northern New Mexico. The results showed that 65 of the 69 historical sites that had hosted pikas -- some dating back more than a century -- were still occupied by the round-eared, hamster-like mammals, Erb said.
The new study stands in contrast to a 2011 study in Nevada's Great Basin that showed local extinction rates of pika populations there have increased nearly five-fold in the past decade. That study, by a separate research group, also showed that local Great Basin pika populations had moved up in elevation nearly 500 feet in the past 10 years, a migration believed to be triggered by warming temperatures.
Despite the low number of extirpations, or local population extinctions, in the Southern Rockies, the CU-Boulder team found that the pattern of pika disappearance at particular sites was not random, said Erb of the ecology and evolutionary biology department and lead study author. "The sites that had been abandoned by pikas in our study area all were drier on average than the occupied sites," she said.
A paper on the new CU-Boulder study by Erb is being published in the September issue of the journal Ecology. Co-authors include CU-Boulder Research Associate Chris Ray and Associate Professor Robert Guralnick, both affiliated with the ecology and evolutionary biology department.
The study was funded primarily by the National Geographic Society.
One likely reason for the relative success of pikas in the Southern Rocky Mountains study is that available habitats are higher in elevation and are more contiguous than habitats in Nevada's Great Basin, said Erb. But some climate models are predicting drier conditions in parts of the Southern Rockies in the coming decades as the climate warms, she said.
Alpine species are among the plants and animals most threatened by climatic shifts because of their physiological and geographic constraints, said Erb. In 2010, the U.S. government denied endangered species listing for the American pika in part because there was insufficient data on its distribution and abundance across western North America. The American pika lives in mountainous regions including British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, California and New Mexico.
Surprisingly, most of the pikas that have disappeared from Great Basin sites under study in recent years were from sites that experienced extremely cold temperatures and may be related to a lack of winter snowpack insulation, said Ray, who has participated in several Great Basin pika studies including the 2011 study. Ray suspects pikas may reduce summer foraging activities to avoid heat stress caused by rising temperatures, leading to smaller winter food caches that can't sustain them during extreme cold snaps.
Guralnick, also curator of invertebrate zoology for the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, said pikas are becoming a "bellwether" species for mountain ecosystems, primarily due to their recent Great Basin declines. Prior to the new CU survey, population trends of pikas in the Rockies were relatively unknown, he said.
"Many have assumed that warming temperatures would be the primary signal affecting North American pikas," said Guralnick. "This study shows it is more complicated than that, and that drier conditions could affect the persistence of pikas across the West."
The CU-Boulder study team initially looked at about 800 historical records of pika sightings in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, but most locations were not specific enough for scientific use. The team eventually narrowed down the historical sites of pikas to 69 specific places known to have been occupied at some point before 1980, using tools like GPS to help pinpoint the geographical accuracy of each individual site.
Members of the rabbit family, the conspicuous pikas can be seen scurrying about rocky debris known as talus in alpine and subalpine regions of the Rockies, emitting their signature, high-pitched squeaks. Instead of hibernating, pikas cache huge amounts of plants and flowers known as hay piles under large rocks that sustain them through the long winters.
The CU team used data from Oregon State University's PRISM Climate Group to compile local climate information from 1908 to 2007 for the 69 historical pika sites in the Southern Rockies. The information produced estimates of monthly precipitation and minimum and maximum temperatures. The team confirmed the presence of pikas at each site either visually, by their distinctive squeaks, or by evidence of fresh pika hay piles cached under rocks in the study areas.
Sites visited early in the 2008 field season that lacked fresh pika signs were revisited in late October and early November for re-evaluation, Erb said. In places where pikas were still absent, researchers searched rock slopes up to two miles in all directions in an attempt to locate pika populations.
Volunteers have helped gather similar data on pikas through the PikaNET program, the Front Range Pika Project and the New Mexico Pika Monitoring Project. Such volunteer projects are organized through collaborations between CU-Boulder, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Denver Zoo, Rocky Mountain Wild, Colorado State University, the Mountain Studies Institute in Silverton, Colo., the San Juan Public Lands Center headquartered in Durango, Colo., and the Seventh Generation Institute in Santa Fe, N.M.
"It is good news that pikas are doing better in the Southern Rocky Mountains than some other places," said Erb. "It is likely that the geographic traits of the Rockies are a big reason why we are not seeing significant declines, at least not yet."
|Contact: Liesl Erb
University of Colorado at Boulder


text:
If you're looking for the lowest prices to buy Seasonique online, HealthPricer.com is your best site to meet all your health care needs. HealthPricer allows you to search for and easily compare Seasonique prices at reliable online pharmacies. There's no better place to discover the best prices for the best products. Before you make a purchase, you should check out the verified Seasonique reviews to ensure you receive a quality product and service from one of our licensed online pharmacy merchants, or you can leave a review to help others with their purchase! When you're ready to buy, all you have to do is click "Go to Store" or the Pharmacy logo to make your purchase. It's that quick and easy. We also offer rx coupons on the Coupons tab! You can redeem coupons instantly at checkout to save even more money, get free shipping, and other great discounts. Be sure to check for a Seasonique coupon, and coupons for other products!
SeasoniqueCary Byrd
Select Dosage


text:
$msg = ""; $myaddress = "sacha" + "@" + "sachachua.com"; $page = "2006.09.30.php"; $page_title = "2006.09.30"; $page_updated = "2006-09-3019:19:0219:19:02-0400"; $maintainer = "sacha" + "@" + "sachachua.com"; require_once "include/calendar.php"; require_once "include/planner-include.php"; require_once "include/header.inc.php"; ?>
Headlines for Saturday:
Work on research
If I've invited you to do something today, please accept my apologies and last-minute cancellation. I am currently in no condition to receive guests, and need to sort through some deeply disturbing things. I'm not sure if I can explain things over the phone or IM just yet.
Warm and fuzzy thoughts will be much appreciated.
Was propositioned over dinner last night by someone whom I had hoped would be a good mentor and friend. Firmly said no and left when I was too uncomfortable. Later that night, found myself losing touch with reality. Couldn't clearly remember more than a few minutes at a time. This freaked the heck out of me. Other things, too, disturbed me a great deal, but I need to sort that out later.
Right now, I need to feel safe. I need to feel loved. I need to feel good about myself.
I'm terrified that this will happen again and again in the future, just because I'm female and just because I am who I am.
I'm frustrated that I can't just get over it.
I'm ashamed because I wasn't myself afterwards.
I'm sad that other people live that kind of life.
And I'm *darned* lucky that the universe pulls me out of situations like this and that I have friends to run to when crazy stuff happens.
And I'm trying my best not to be angry or disappointed (but not for the reasons you might think)...
And I'm trying to fight off the panic, trying not to cry so hard I feel like throwing up, trying not to freak all of my friends out in the process... My rationalization engine's kicking in overtime trying to reassure me that it's good that I learn these lessons now, good that the circumstances were just right to keep me safe and all of that, but I'm still terrified and I'm still scared and I'm still trying my best to remember what makes me feel good about myself.
So it's time to break out the GoodKarma page and the Cute Overload blog, time to bring out the stuffed toys and the letters, time to wrap myself in the warm and fuzzy thoughts people are sending my way and would have sent my way had they heard about it in realtime...
But I don't want to ever have this feeling again.
Many many many thanks to Dan and Jed for coming over, reassuring me, and helping me sort things out. Warm and fuzzies back to Leigh, Quinn, Wayne, and all the other people who sent me thoughts of hot chocolate. Warm and fuzzies out to everyone else, too. Life is good.
Post-mortem to be friends-only-ed on LJ soon. Going out for dinner, walk, and long conversation.


text:
Excerpts of Apple's apology to China
Here are some highlights from Apple CEO Tim Cook's apology and explanation about the company's repair and warranty policies in China, followed by excerpts from recent stories in the Chinese press:
On Apple's admitted missteps:
"To our valued customers in China: In the past two weeks, we have received a significant amount of feedback about our repair and warranty practices in China. We have thoughtfully considered the feedback, carefully reviewed the return, repair and replacement policies with regulators, and examined how we communicate our hardware warranties as well as manage our service provider compliance. In the process of studying the issues, we recognize that some people may have viewed our lack of communication as arrogant, or as a sign that we didn't care about or value their feedback. We sincerely apologize to our customers for any concern or confusion we may have caused."
On Apple's commitment to do better:
"We recognize that we have much to learn about operating and communicating in China, but we want to assure everyone that we bring the same deep commitment and passion to China as we do to any other part of the world. This commitment, a desire to delight all of our customers and provide them with an extremely high-quality experience, is deeply rooted in the culture of our company. And we will not rest until we achieve this goal."
On the company's new repair-replacement policy in China, which is now better than its repair-replacement policy in the United States:
"If a customer's iPhone cannot be repaired quickly by replacing a component, then Apple provides a repair subassembly, consisting of all-new parts attached to the back of the customer's existing iPhone 4 or 4S. However, it has been suggested that since the repair subassembly is nearly a full replacement, it would be better for our customers to receive a replacement unit instead. So, starting this month, Apple will upgrade our iPhone 4 and 4S service kits to full replacement units with all-new parts and a new one-year warranty starting from the date of replacement."
On Apple's customer-service track record in China:
"Customer satisfaction, which is our most important measure of success, has been exceptionally high for these repairs -- almost 90 percent on average."
From China Daily on Sunday:
"The China Consumer's Association (CCA) has asked Apple Inc. to 'sincerely apologize to Chinese consumers' and 'thoroughly correct its problems,' after the US firm took little action to address waves of criticism. The CCA said that, in 2012, it twice urged Apple to properly handle the complaints but only received halfhearted replies, with the real problems unsolved."
"Even after the March 15 CCTV show, Apple released only a 200-character statement saying it is dedicated to making first-class products and attaches high importance to every consumer's ideas. Netizens labeled it a 'typical official reply full of empty talk."'
"Analysts said Apple arrogance is sustained by its strong market presence in China. Its innovative products and aggressive marketing strategy have made it fearless of consumers' frowns."
From People's Daily on Monday:
"It remains to be seen whether this global tech giant will be pressurized to respond to the complaints, as China market becomes an ever-bigger part of its global operation."


text:
Action Comics #976
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Doug Mahnke
This is part 4 of the Superman crossover that began here , and continued here, and here. This made me so happy! The real DC Universe…the one that was destroyed six years ago and broke my heart…is back! As Mr. Oz said in this comic, the memories of all has been restored. Superman now remembers his life before and after Flashpoint. What is next? Will everyone else remember their entire histories? Will Cassandra Cain remember she is Batgirl again? Is the "him" Mxyzptlk refers to Dr. Manhattan? Speaking of Mxyzptlk…I could see David Lynch directing a Superman movie with him as the villain. This was a fantastic Mxyzptlk story. Thank you Dan Jurgens!


text:
Upon first glimpse of Ms. Fortune, one of the femme fatales in the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade fighter Skullgirls, I was all "Oh cute, a kitty girl." Then she ripped off her own head and threw it at her opponent.
While we've seen Ms. Fortune in action before, this new character highlight video gives us our first look at her without some guy talking over it, ruining everything. Isn't she adorable?
You'll notice the obvious jokes are missing from this post. I'm leaving that up to you folks. Don't let me down.
You can contact Michael Fahey, the author of this post, at email@example.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.


text:
cactus card 4
This is a card of my original cactus illustration printed onto a 100% recycled card measuring 105 mm by 148 mm. It comes with a matching brown recycled envelope, sealed in a fully compostable and biodegradable corn starch packet.
The card is blank inside for you to write your own message.


text:
There are no Upcoming Shows listed for this comedian.
Nicol Paone
NICOL PAONE (Actress, writer, comedian) is an alumnus of the prestigious GROUNDLINGS SUNDAY COMPANY. Currently she is a series regular on VH1's STEVIE TV and spent three seasons on Rosie O'Donnell's cult hit, "THE BIG GAY SKETCH SHOW." Described as a "character goddess" by Variety, Nicol has appeared on "30 ROCK" as a young Elaine Stritch and was in Judd Apatow's recent film, "THIS IS FORTY," opposite Leslie Mann and Albert Brooks. "This is Forty," marks her second Judd Apatow film as she had a dramatic turn playing Adam Sandler's sister in "FUNNY PEOPLE."
She wrote for the TBS comedy show, "LAST LAUGH" and guest starred in an episode of FX's "THE LEAGUE." Her piece, "TALES OF A SEMI-PRO LESBIAN" on Zoey Daschanel's HELLOGIGGLES.COM was one of the top ten read pieces for the 2012. She has also written several exclusives for Will Ferrell's FUNNYORDIE.COM and has over a million hits
Nicol Paone's Upcoming Shows
Nicol Paone is Known For


text:
Videos | March 16, 2009
What's Up March 2009: Saturn observed through history
Saturn has been observed by astronomers and studied by spacecraft. Plus, the planet looks beautiful this month.
Transcript:What's Up for March? Saturn, the jewel of the solar system
Hello and welcome. I'm Jane Houston Jones from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
During 2009, we're celebrating International Year of Astronomy by taking you on a tour of one of the month's best celestial objects. And this month, it's Saturn!
When Galileo aimed his telescopes at Saturn in 1610 he wasn't sure what he was seeing. He thought the rings were "handles" or large moons on either side of the planet.
A few years later in 1612, he was astounded that the "handles" he previously observed had disappeared! And in 1616, the handles were back, but they looked different. This time he saw two half-circles on either side of the round globe of Saturn.
Other observers added to the knowledge of the Saturn system in the 1600's. Christian Huygens observed that every 14 to 15 years, Earth passes through the plane of Saturn's rings, and they appear to disappear. This is the same view that Galileo saw half a century earlier.
Giovanni Cassini discovered new moons of Saturn during the ring plane crossings of 1671 and again in 1684. He was the first to see a gap in the rings, which was later named the Cassini Divison in his honor.
Three hundred years later, our fascination with the Saturn system grew with the flybys of Voyager 1 and 2. Voyager discovered a new outer ring called the G-ring, spokes in the B-ring and braiding on the F ring. The F ring had just been discovered the year before by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft. New moons, ringlets and gaps between Saturn's rings were just some of the Voyagers' many discoveries.
The Cassini spacecraft has been returning amazing results from the Saturn System for almost 5 years. It's in the middle of a 2-year extended mission right now. One of the mission highlights was the landing of the Huygens Probe on Saturn's moon Titan.
Geysers spewing water ice through vents on the moon Enceladus remind us of the Old Faithful Geyser on Earth.
This summer, for the first time ever, telescopes on earth and a spacecraft at Saturn will both view Saturn's rings as they seem to disappear. Cassini will have a bird's-eye view of this event.
This month, don't miss Venus in the western sky right at sunset, while you wait a few hours for Saturn to rise in the East. Saturn will be worth the wait. It always looks more impressive when it's higher in the sky.
You can read more about Saturn this month on NASA's International Year of Astronomy website: astronomy2009.nasa.gov
And you can learn all about NASA's missions at www.nasa.gov
That's all for this month. I'm Jane Houston Jones.


text:
QUINCY — A second child has died in a Quincy house fire that also killed the 3-year-old boy's father and younger brother.
The Quincy Herald-Whig reports (http://bit.ly/1mCh8oh ) that Lewis Bassett Jr. died Saturday after he was flown for treatment to St. Louis Children's Hospital. His father, 43-year-old Lewis Bassett, and brother, 1-year-old Ladavion Bassett, were pronounced dead at a local hospital after the blaze.
Quincy Fire Chief Joe Henning said Sunday that fire and police are investigating what caused the fire.
Mourners gathered at the home leaving flowers, wreaths, balloons and a wooden cross.
Lewis Bassett's sister, Richelle Bias, said she's "going to miss all three of them."


text:
NGames updates the fairytale-inspired tower defense game just in time for a new server launch
NGames, a leading online games publisher, has today rolled out 5 key gameplay optimisations for fairytale-inspired tactical tower defense game, Pockie Defense. Inspired by player feedback, the optimisations ensure smoother progress through the games early sequences.
Pockie Defense is a new tactical tower defense game starring well-known fairytale characters, currently in open beta on the Game321.com online games portal. Players are challenged with developing and defending grand castles in a bid to stop the Wicked Witch from taking over Fairytale world. To keep her from turning every kind-hearted citizen into a hideous monster, players will need to band together with a variety of famous fairytale characters, from Peter Pan to Red Riding Hood, and put their special skills to work.
After providing feedback on Pockie Defense's opening segments and learning curve. publisher NGames has responded to beta players by rolling out 5 key improvements to the early game.
Stronger Starting Partners
In the land of fairytales, an adventurer is only as good as his or her entourage. Players meet famous faces as soon as they step into their Pockie Defense adventure, with Little Red Riding making an early appearance to offer a helping hand.
Not content with simply skipping through the forest and having her grandma eaten by the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding now enters the fray with C rank powers, packing a stunning Blaze Land skill and wicked burning effects to strike enemies more effectively.
One-click Functionality
With a myriad of options and skills at a players disposal, Pockie Defense's tower battles can be intense tactical affairs. To help, NGames has optimised the battle interface, making tower placement and dispatching battle partners a one-click process.
Less time clicking, more time beating the Wicked Witch's minions.
Free 7-day Gift Pack
Players can now grab a special 7-day Pack upon entering the game, containing a rare partner, advanced equipment, artefacts, and free beer for recruiting more fairytale battle partners at the in-game bar.
Extra Energy
Players eager to progress through the early stages without pause now benefit from increased energy supplies. Another free Gift Pack handed out at the start of the game, the Energy Pack contains massive amounts of energy to make the journey through Fairytale World more captivating than ever before.
New Quest Interface
Last but by no means least, Pockie Defense now boasts a massively overhauled quest interface, providing players with straightforward guides and detailed quest descriptions as they explore the fairy tale world.
The latest server, S3-Snow White, is launching for Pockie Defense today, Jan 16th. Interested gamers can visit the official website on the Game321 portal and play the open beta for free now: http://go.game321.com/pr_pd.htm
Official Site: http://defense.game321.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PockieDefenseGame
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PockieDefense
Gamers can enjoy a variety of free online games, including popular anime MMO's, Pockie Ninja II Original and Pockie Pirates, on Game321 now: http://www.game321.com
About Pockie Defense
Pockie Defense is a new tower defense game combing role-play and tactics with the background setting of well-known fairy tales. Players act as the main adventurer in a fairy tale, growing with partners like Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Peter Pan as they battle to keep the world at peace by preventing the invasive Witch and her immortal troops.


text: Do you hunger for more of God and desire to be used and grow in your giftings, for His glory? At MDT e³ you will experience how God calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things as you step out in faith and grow in your relationship with the Lord and experience being His hands and feet to the nations. MDT e³ is a partnership between Moldova and Romania with training time spent in both countries. All instruction will be taught in English.


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Gift card 30 €
A gift card can be used to pay for all services at Grand Rose SPA Hotel, Tallinn Viimsi SPA, SPA18+, Atlantis H2O Aquapark, Viimsi Cinema and Black Rose Pub
One gift card can be used multiple times, up to the extent of the selected amount; for example, you can use it to pay for an exciting Wednesday adventure at Atlantis H2O Aquapark, on Thursday visit to Viimsi Cinema and on a weekend visit to the Spa and Sauna Centre at Grand Rose SPA Hotel.
A gift card is a fun birthday present or a welcome surprise for a friend!
The completed gift card will be sent to your e-mail address, after which you can print it out yourself.
Gift cards purchased from the e-shop cannot be issued on-site at the Atlantis H2O Aquapark.
The term of validity for gift cards is 12 months.


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AICC General Secretary Sanjay Nirupam on Saturday threatened to immolate himself if his demand for reduction in power tariff in Mumbai was not accepted.
Talking to reporters outside the Reliance Energy office in Kandivali where he is on a hunger strike, Nirupam said he would immolate himself outside Reliance ADA group chief Anil Ambani's house, if his demand was not met.
Nirupam wants Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to announce audit of all power companies supplying electricity to Mumbai.
He said his fast has entered the third day and his health was good.
"Sugar levels are fluctuating but I will continue with my hunger strike," the MP from Mumbai North said, adding that he would continue his agitation till the demand was met.
Mumbai suburbs guardian minister Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan, city Congress president Janardhan Chandurkar and senior leader Kripashankar Singh visited Nirupam at the fast site and offered their support.
Mumbai was excluded from the recent government's decision of 20 per cent cut in power tariff charged to domestic consumers, industries and powerlooms by the state-run Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MahaVitaran).
The state Cabinet had last week decided that the concession of 20 per cent power tariff cut would be applicable to consumers with consumption of less than 300 units.
The reduction in power tariff will not be applicable in the metropolis where players are other than MahaVitaran supply power. Mumbai consumers get power supply from Tata Power, Reliance Infrastructure and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking.


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30 November 2020MetrolExpo'2020 Online
31 August 2020Ex-proof certificate on Crystal products
31 August 2020Pattern approval on AMETEK 5100 laser analyzers
31 August 2020OilExpo Fair in Kazan
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Beamex MC6-T, version "-R" multifunction calibrator and communicator with built-in dry-block
Please kindly note that our brochures are in Russian, since they describe the products customized to the requirements of the CIS market and accounts for the results of local certification tests. Therefore the features and specifications of these localized products may differ from those listed in manufacturer's original brochures. However, if you would like to download manufacturer brochures in English, such choice is provided.
Our order forms are also customized to the requirements of the CIS market, they are composed in Russian and must be filled in by the End-user to avoid misinterpretation


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Jorge Gurgel takes a lot of flack from a lot of people.
Over the years, he's developed a reputation as a guy who fights to his own detriment at times – one who abandons his formidable skills on the ground in favor of more aesthetically pleasing ventures on the feet. It's certainly entertaining to the eyes of the casual fan, but it's not always the best recipe for victory.
The Ohio-based Gurgel (14-7 MMA, 2-2 SF) puts it on the line again tonight against fellow lightweight Joe Duarte (9-2 MMA, 1-0 SF). The pair headlines Strikeforce Challengers 18, which takes place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The main card airs on Showtime.
"It's not like I'm going to change," Gurgel told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "I have trained extensively in my striking, Muay Thai for this fight. I've been doing Muay Thai for over 10 years.
"Don't get me wrong. Jorge Gurgel is going to show up Friday, and he's going to meet Joe Duarte in the center. But if I have a chance to snap some arms or squeeze some necks, I'll do that."
Easier said than done, of course.
Historically, the second-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Gurgel has continually reverted back to a predominant kickboxing strategy once the cage door closes. And it's led to a mixed bag of results.
"I fell in love with Muay Thai and turned everything into somewhat of a pissing contest," Gurgel said. "I got rightfully released by the UFC (in 2007) by fighting down to my opponents' level and not to my full abilities.
"Everybody that has trained with me – especially my students or Rich (Franklin) himself, Matt Brown, Dustin Hazelett (and) all the guys that train with me – they are the ones that get more frustrated. They know what I can do when I get people down to the ground."
It's almost like an addiction he has not yet fully been able to shake.
The good news is Gurgel has started to show signs of evolution at the age of 34. In his most recent fight, he recorded his first submission win since 2005 with a first-round guillotine choke of Billy Vaughn in March at "Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson."
His transformation, not coincidentally, has also run parallel with a positive development in his personal life. Gurgel married Zoila Frausto, the current Bellator women's 115-pound champion, in February. It's safe to say she has had a big influence in all aspects of his life.
"I never thought I needed extra motivation," Gurgel said. "I didn't need it, but Zoila is such a blessing in my life. It's made me even have a more intelligent approach to the fight game.
"She was built for this game. She has the right mindset for the fighting game. She has the work ethic, that unmatched work ethic. She gives the support I need and vice versa. We are always on the same page."
The couple initially met in November 2009 while they fulfilled behind-the-scenes promotional obligations related to Strikeforce Challengers 4.
"It was almost like the butterfly effect," Gurgel said. "It was very weird. I was walking out of a photo shoot. My favorite color has always been hot pink. It's very weird. She walked in the photo shoot with this pink skirt – like this gladiator pink skirt, black and pink.
"I just looked over and Kru Mark DellaGrotte was with me. I looked over and said, 'I like your skirt.' She looked at me and said, 'Well, maybe I'll let you borrow it sometime.' And that was it."
They tied the knot 15 months later.
"She turned the page in my book and made me a better fighter and a better man," Gurgel said.
For the latest on Strikeforce Challengers 18 stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.


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Check out the first trailer from the M. Night Shyamalan-inspired Devil. Five people get stuck in an elevator, but one of them is the devil. Horror ensues.
The film Devil is inspired by a story by Shyamalan, and directed by Drew Dowdle and John Erick Dowdle. The film hits theaters September 17th, 2010.


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Classical Adlerian individual psychotherapy, brief therapy, couple therapy, and family therapy follow parallel paths. Clients are encouraged to overcome their feelings of insecurity, develop deeper feelings of connectedness, and to redirect their striving for significance into more socially beneficial directions. Through a respectful Socratic dialogue, they are challenged to correct mistaken assumptions, attitudes, behaviors and feelings about themselves and the world. Constant encouragement stimulates clients to attempt what was previously felt as impossible. The growth of confidence, pride, and gratification leads to a greater desire and ability to cooperate. The objective of Classical Adlerian psychotherapy is to replace exaggerated self-protection, self-enhancement, and self-indulgence with courageous social contribution.
See also[edit | edit source]
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- Alfred Adler Institutes of San Francisco and Northwestern Washington
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A LAST-MINUTE decision to keep HMP The Verne open as a prison has been condemned.
Employees were reportedly told yesterday that due to 'overcrowding in the prison service' The Verne will not become an immigration removal centre as planned until later this year.
Prison Service bosses insist that it will still hold illegal immigrants and that the decision to revert to prison status was just a 'temporary measure'.
But staff said they were 'very unhappy' at the late-notice announcement as the first immigration detainees are due to arrive on Monday.
The Ministry of Justice insisted there are 'no current plans to review staff levels'.
But employees have said it is 'just a matter of time' before prisoners are re-allocated to Portland, wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers' money.
One source said: "I believe they are planning to have both immigration detainees and Category C prisoners at HMP The Verne.
"Apparently there could be detainees in part of the prison and inmates in another.
"It beggars belief. There is massive overcrowding in the prison service and over the last few weeks there have barely been 100 spaces in the system.
"They have closed all these prisons and now they have nowhere to put inmates.
"The prison service is in crisis. There is an increasing population of prisoners and they've got nowhere to put them.
"What they're essentially saying by keeping HMP The Verne as a prison is 'we will be putting immigration detainees here, but we may also fill it up with prisoners'."
Another source described the inside of the prison as 'a building site'.
He added: "There are only two units ready for work and still around 80 contractors on site.
"Our main concern is that we have got all the staff here ready for the immigration centre and the prison will not need as many people, so jobs are at risk."
It is believed around £8m has been spent on the re-role of the prison.
The former Victorian barracks, transformed into a jail more than 60 years ago, is due to house 580 people waiting to be removed from the UK.
South Dorset MP Richard Drax, pictured left, has said he believes the move has been made to 'give the justice department a bit more flexibility'.
He said he had been assured there would not be any job losses or changes for the future plans for HMP The Verne.
He added: "I was as surprised as everyone else to hear the news that The Verne would remain an HMP. This, I think, is giving the justice department a little bit more flexibility until September.
"Retaining the name is not going to affect the plans for the prison in the future."
The situation will be reviewed by the Ministry of Justice in September.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "HMP The Verne will begin holding immigration detainees from Monday, March 24.
"Build-up to its total capacity will be completed by September.
"While build-up takes place and until refurbishment is completed, NOMS will retain The Verne as a prison, but it will hold exclusively detainees on behalf of the Home Office.
"This temporary arrangement does not affect the number of staff employed.
"There are no current plans to review staff levels."


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We've heard from several customers recently about two common email scams that have been making their way into mailboxes. In response to this we have published two Knowledgebase articles describing these two particular types of scams to help customers recognize these emails for what they are: SCAMS. One involves domain names and the other is an ... Read More »


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Here's a very thorough and illuminating study into digit ratio (a subject previously covered on this blog) that adds a new angle: the relation of female to male digit ratio by ethnicity, and what it could mean about current human evolution. The study's findings also have some interesting implications for pickup and game, and for male and female reproductive success and health in general.
This is a Big Info post, so I suggest you read the study at the link provided to get the full impact of its conclusions. Bonus: your diligence will help keep the comments free of non sequitur-ish clutter. To keep things straight in your head, it helps to remember that low digit ratio (a shorter index finger than ring finger) corresponds to exposure to higher levels of testosterone in the womb, and a high digit ratio corresponds to higher estrogen exposure in the womb. Prenatal hormone exposure influences the development of the brain, and thus the personality and behavioral inclinations of the adult.
The 2nd:4th digit ratio, sexual dimorphism, population differences, and reproductive success: evidence for sexually antagonistic genes? […]
We report data on the following. (a) reproductive success and 2D:4D from England, Germany, Spain, Hungary (ethnic Hungarians and Gypsy subjects), Poland, and Jamaica (women only). Significant negative associations were found between 2D:4D in men and reproductive success in the English and Spanish samples and significant positive relationships between 2D:4D in women and reproductive success in the English, German, and Hungarian samples. The English sample also showed that married women had higher 2D:4D ratios than unmarried women, suggesting male choice for a correlate of high ratio in women, and that a female 2D:4D ratio greater than male 2D:4D predicted high reproductive success within couples. Comparison of 2D:4D ratios of 62 father:child pairs gave a significant positive relationship. This suggested that genes inherited from the father had some influence on the formation of the 2D:4D ratio. Waist:hip ratio in a sample of English and Jamaican women was negatively related to 2D:4D. (b) Sex and population differences in mean 2D:4D in samples from England, Germany, Spain, Hungary (including ethnic Hungarians and Gypsy subjects), Poland, Jamaica, Finland, and South Africa (a Zulu sample). Significant sex and population differences in mean 2D:4D were apparent.
It has been known for some time that the ratio between the length of the 2nd and 4th digits (2D:4D) is a sexually dimorphic trait (Baker, 1888; George, 1930). In general, mean 2D:4D has been found to be lower in men compared to women (Phelps, 1952). The differentiation of the digits is under the control of Homeobox or Hox genes (the posterior-most Hoxd and Hoxa genes), which also control the differentiation of the testes and ovaries (Peichel et al., 1997; Herault et al., 1997).
Some people don't like it when I use the term biomechanics in discussions of love and sex and men and women. They complain it's reductionist, that I'm somehow violating a cosmic rule by analyzing the component parts of relationship dynamics and the sexes. I think studies like this must give them the hives, for every time one of these babies drops in the lap of intellectual debate, my reductionist worldview is further confirmed. Hey, I love poetry and starlight gazing and flutters of the heart as much as the next romantic sucker, and happily wallow in it, but I also love the truth. Especially when it has real world implications for my own life.
A correlate of maternal levels of testosterone and estrogen is waist:hip ratio (WHR). Women with low ratios have low testosterone and high estrogen, while women with high WHR have high testosterone and low estrogen (Evans et al., 1983). The WHR of women has in turn been found to correlate with the 2D:4D ratio of their children, i.e., women with low WHR have male and female children with high 2D:4D, and mothers with high WHR have low 2D:4D ratio children of both sexes (Manning et al., 1999). We argue that 2D:4D may be a marker for sexually antagonistic genes (Rice, 1996a, 1996b; Rice and Holland, 1997) that exert their effects prenatally.
I'm building up to a blockbuster hypothesis, so read the above again. Women with low WHRs, (that is, women with sexy hourglass figures) give birth to boys and girls with more feminine digit ratios — they pass their femininity on to their kids of either sex — and women with high WHRs (more boyish figures) give birth to more masculine sons and daughters. Scientists refer to this prenatal process as the actions of sexually antagonistic genes, meaning genes that are good for sons are bad for daughters, and vice versa.
On the one hand, low 2D:4D may indicate prenatal exposure to high testosterone and low estrogen levels, a situation that enhances fertility in males but reduces it in females. On the other hand, high 2D:4D ratios may correlate prenatally with low testosterone and high estrogen and be associated with low fertility in males and high [fertility] in females.
Digit ratio means something. It has real ramifications for your reproductive success, if this study is on the right track. Naturally, men and women don't go around examining each others' hands for mate suitability. Rather, we are attuned to more conspicuous behavioral and physical characteristics which act as a proxy for the genes that influence mate value and, by extension, digit ratio.
(Though it should be noted that there is such a thing as objectively appealing feminine and masculine hands. "Manhands" — hi Sandy! — are unattractive to most men, and strong bear claw hands on men are attractive to most women.)
I'm going to skip through a lot of tables and analysis on marriage rates, fecundity and digit ratio to get to the game-relevant meat of this study. (If you're interested, some data I'm passing over for discussion include the results that male digit ratio had no effect on male marriage rate, but female digit ratio did have an effect — women with higher ratios (more feminine) were more likely to get married. Fecundity — large family size — was also positively correlated to high female digit ratio and low male digit ratio.)
We do not argue that the 2D:4D ratio is important mechanistically or as a display trait in mate choice. Most probably it affords us a window into prenatal hormonal conditions. […]
Our results indicate significant differences in mean 2D:4D between populations and confirm that the trait is sexually dimorphic. There was also a trend for 2D:4D to be negatively related to reproductive success in males (the English and Spanish samples) and positively in females (the English, German, and Hungarian Caucasian and Gypsy samples). There are many cultural and biological factors that intervene between fertility and reproductive success. Perhaps the most important is the fertility of the long-term partner. In an English sample we found high reproductive success in partnerships in which the male had lower 2D:4D than his partner and low reproductive success when 2D:4D was higher than that of his partner. When English and Jamaican data were pooled, there was some evidence of a weak negative association between WHR and 2D:4D in women. […]
The 2D:4D ratio is negatively related to testosterone and to sperm numbers (Manning et al., 1998). Our Finnish sample had very low male 2D:4D, and it is known that Finnish men have sperm counts that are nearly double that of men worldwide (Suominen and Vierula, 1993; Vierula et al., 1996).
Go Finns! The intra- and interethnic and interracial comparisons of 2D:4D digit ratio in men and women are the most interesting part of this study. The graph below is chock full of potential insights into ethnic differences in sexual behavior.
Poles of both sexes (on the far left) have the highest overall digit ratios in this sample, and Finnish men (far right) the lowest. Poles also show the least within-sex variance in ratios, and Finns and Hungarians the most. Intersex comparisons show that Polish women and men have nearly identical digit ratios and variance, and Finnish women are significantly more feminine relative to their male co-ethnics. Steady on, because this is leading to something.
We suggest the following model. Consider a man who has had high testosterone and low estrogen exposure in utero, i.e., he has a low 2D:4D ratio. It would be of advantage to him if his sons shared these characters. They may therefore make many grandchildren to him. However, what of his daughters? High testosterone and low estrogen could compromise the development of their reproductive system and therefore reduce their fitness. Similarly, a woman with low testosterone and high prenatal exposure to estrogen may produce fertile daughters but low-fertility sons. In such a situation, modifiers of genes controlling sex-limited prenatal testosterone and estrogen exposure may arise and spread. Eventually, we may expect complete sex dependence to characterize the expression of genes that influence prenatal hormonal levels.
The distribution of the 2D:4D ratio shows a high degree of overlap between males and females. This suggests that sex-limited expression is incomplete. Why is this so? Sex limitation is a complex adaptation, involving the evolution of sex-specific regulatory sequences (Rice, 1996a). It will therefore evolve slowly.
The fact that male-female digit ratios for many ethnic populations overlap and thus disadvantage the opposite sex children of the dominant gene expression suggests, tantalizingly, that evolution on these sex-dependent genes is in an incomplete stage. That is, we humans are a sputtering work in progress, and our current beta testing blueprint is rife with bugs and unintended algorithms. In his image, my ass.
Now we may begin the impolite hypothesizing. Are Finns, by virtue of their non-overlapping intersex digit ratios, a more evolved race than Poles? Not so fast. The study authors offer an alternative explanation to incomplete evolution.
However, other things being equal, it will eventually evolve. So do we simply need more time or are there other factors operating here? One possibility is the occurence of cycles of intragenomic conflict. Males, because they produce low-cost sperm, are able to fertilize many eggs. Females, because they produce high-cost ova, are limited to smaller numbers of offspring. In populations with polygyny or frequent extra-pair copulations (EPCs), the variance of male reproductive success is high. That is, a small proportion of successful males may fertilize a high proportion of eggs. When strict monogamy is practiced by most females, the variance in male reproductive success is similar to that of females. In such a situation, polygyny or EPCs may be a successful female strategy if there is substantial heritable variance in male fitness. If there is little such variance, female monogamy would be favored.
Suppose there are two loci controlling in utero hormonal exposure: one influencing testosterone levels and the other estrogen. A mutation arises at the testoster- one locus of a male, which increases in utero exposure. He has high testosterone levels and sperm counts, and these traits are passed on to his sons. However, because sex limitation is incomplete, his daughters have reduced fertility. The existence of such a male or small numbers of such males increases the variance in male fitness and favors a polygynous or EPC strategy in females. The high testosterone mutation will spread and with it the frequency of polygyny or EPCs. However, as the mutation becomes common, the variance in male fitness declines and females switch to increasing frequencies of monogamy. Now conditions favor the spread of a mutation at the estrogen locus, which increases in utero estrogen exposure. Alternating cycles of high prenatal testosterone and high prenatal estrogen will ccur. This is interlocus coevolution of sexually anagonistic genes. Such coevolution has the characteristics of the Red Queen process (Rice and Holland, 1997). Sexually antagonistic genes should affect fertility and, because of population cycles, may be at different frequencies in different populations. In populations with high prenatal exposure to testosterone in both males and females, there may be substantial differences in the variance in male and female reproductive success.
A negative relationship between 2D:4D and offspring number would be expected in males and a positive association in females. In addition, there will be selective pressure for the accumulation of modifiers that cause sex-limited expression. A population that is highly estrogenized in utero would have no marked difference in variance of male and female repro- ductive success, no strong correlation between 2D:4D ratio and offspring number, and little selective pressure for sex-limited expression of prenatal genes.
There is little variance in Polish male fitness, as judged by their tight gradient digit ratios. Or, to put it another way, Poland is filled with beta males and not too many omegas or alpha male cads. Poland is a place where female monogamy is favored. The fact that Polish men also have relatively high digit ratios suggests that the men are, like their women, more favorable to monogamy.
Now compare that to Finns. Finnish men have a lot of variance in digit ratio, and a very low (masculinized) overall ratio. We can then surmise that Finland is filled with a wide variety of men (relative to their population), from omegas to betas to alphas, who are, nonetheless, more masculine than men from most other ethnic backgrounds. Finnish women would be open to alpha cad flings, cheating and using betas as emotional tampons. Presumably, some Finnish men would be glad to oblige. Both sexes would be less disposed to monogamy.
That is, at least, what a digit ratio hypothesis into sexual behavior differences would tell us. Is it true?
Roosh recently wrote a post about how the Polish women in Poland were much more open to "beta male game" than American women are. He said Polish chicks loved being courted in the traditional sense, didn't play "I'm the princess, here" games, and were inclined to long term relationships. His experience in Poland precisely matches my experience with Polish chicks. They really are sweeter, more feminine and less interested in short term flings than women from other backgrounds.
And both our experiences with Polish chicks corroborate digit ratio analysis; the high overall digit ratio and low intrasex digit ratio variance of Polish girls predisposes them to LTRs and preferring the company of more attentive, "traditional" men.
My hypothesis then, based on digit ratio analysis, is that in countries where the women have a high overall digit ratio (longer index finger than ring finger) and a low intrasex variance in digit ratio (where most women and men have pretty much the same digit ratio), monogamy will be the preferred relationship norm of the women and aloof alpha male game will need to be distilled with a heavy dose of beta provider game.
I therefore predict, based on the above ethnic comparison graph, that should Roosh go to Finland, he will have to run some seriously hardcore push-pull alpha cad game on the local Finnish women. If my digit ratio hypothesis is correct, he will find Finnish girls to be very similar to coastal city American girls, and very different from Polish girls.
Here's hoping Roosh takes a detour to Finland and either confirms or falsifies my hypothesis. If he won't, then maybe I will have to. In the interest of science, of course.