text:
RPS Impressions: Warhammer Online Beta
This is not a review. It also isn't a verdict, or a judgement, or a rating, or anything of the sort. WAR isn't released yet, there'll likely be a fair few changes in the final game, elements of it won't be up and running properly until the servers are jam-packed, and without a doubt none of us have played enough of it to make a really definite judgement. Apart from Jim, who knows full well he won't be playing it until they put some spaceships in.
What it is a discussion. We've been on the WAR closed beta for a few weeks now, and it's certainly a game we've desperately wanted to talk about here. And not simply because we're British, hence playing Warhammer is fairly synonymous with puberty for us. Also because, well, it's potentially the most interesting MMO this year. Despite… ah, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's see what we've got to say…
Edit – a little context. The European closed beta differed significantly to the US closed beta in that players were split onto different servers dependent on their language. The net result was four fairly quiet servers instead of one busy one, and that mean the PvP/RvR elements of the game were barely operable. That's why we don't discuss 'em as much as we do the PvE and Public Quests. If you think we shouldn't be talking about the game at all given that, well, that's your prerogative, but we disagree. We're writing about what the game's European publisher presented us with. Additionally, WAR is far from being just a PvP game – the PvE is substantial and omnipresent, and the reason many people want to play the game. And again – this is not a review. It's just a cheerful, informal discussion of our experiences on the closed beta.
Jim: Come one, come all, back from your tea and masturbation, to discuss Warhammer: Rage Of Eckoning! First, let's talk about how much we've played. I have created three characters, and played nothing
John: I've played a High Elf to 10, a Chaos to 8 and an Orc to 15.
Alec: I've made a few characters to poke about with, mostly on the Destruction side
Kieron: I've played my Witch Elf up to Level 14 or so. A couple of other really low alts. And some messing around with the level 31 stuff. I haven't done much of the PvP or RvR stuff yet. Those areas have been quiet when I've been playing, it seems.
Jim: John, how do you feel about playing another MMO? Your first since City Of Heroes?
John: I've played a bunch of WoW between the two. But it's an interesting thing. It's a comfortable place to be, but sometimes I feel like WAR was a bit too comfortable.
John: WAR is good. It's really, really good. I think they've done a stunning job. But it's also the same as another game.
Jim: What game?
John: WoW.
Jim: Goodness, how dare you.
John: I know! Who'd have thought this would come up?
Alec: They are genuinely trying to take that model further, though
Jim: I'm sure it's completely different.
Alec: It tries quite hard to make its classes distinct, and your every action is that much more tied into the ongoing struggle
John: That's true. And the endgame is very different. And the Public Quests, and the instanced Scenarios, and the whole RvR thing – that's all different. But it feels like a different topping on the same ice cream.
Jim: Alec, how is this making you want to play MMOs again? Aren't you burned out after months of WoW?
Alec: I took a while to click with WAR precisely because of the initial crushing familiarity, but after a while you pick up on how it's more focused on giving you what's fun, not what's a pain in the arse
Jim: The familiarity is a good thing though, right? In the same way that MMO's ease of play and comparative lack of skill demands are a good thing? Get people playing…
Alec: I've yet to decide entirely about this. There are times when I want to throttle everyone involved for being so cynical, but other times when I entirely appreciate that yes, it's bringing people in, and is an entry point to hopefully experimenting with stuff outside of their WoW comfort-grind zone. But at the same time, it turns some people off, and it paints them into a corner. Plus it's depressing that what's likely to be the biggest MMO of the year – and the biggest step-forward MMO of the year – is hanging on to someone else's coat-tails
Jim: =But does the game offer enough new shit to keep time-hungry beasts like me interested?
John: I think its physical similarity has an astounding effect on you. A housemate walked in and said, "How come you're playing WoW again?"
Alec: No, it's not going to appeal to anyone who's completely done with the WoW model. It goes beyond it in many ways, but you don't ever think you're playing a different sort of game
Jim: Let's get away from that for a bit, and assume everyone knows what they're getting themselves in for on that count. John, can you explain those public quests for me.
John: Right, well, you're toddling along, probably killing ten of something, and then you're alerted to a quest that's happening in the area. You can join in without joining a group (although there's a very smart system that lets you join an impromptu group with others taking part, should you wish to), and what you contribute to the push defines the XP and rewards you receive. They're generally three stages, and often end in killing a powerful boss, and they're really rather a lot of fun. They are, without question, WAR's best feature.
Jim: Alec – public quests?
Alec: The public quests do make a big difference
John: They really do. Every MMO from now on is going to do them.
Alec: It terms of it's what you want to play a fantasy MMO for – big fight, nice reward, grouping, but without any of the hassle. It's just there, and instant, no talking required. You get your big monster in about 10 minutes
Jim: That sounds like a great way of getting away from the "massively single-player " trap
Alec: My concern is it's overwhelming the game a little. That's what everyone piles into, and the best rewards only come from doing them multiple times.
Jim: That's something for patch/tweaks though, right?
John: It really is getting away from that. Mucking in to a general effort – that's a great feeling.
Alec: But at the same time it's organically bringing about group play, in the very clever way of dangling a personal carrot in front of you
John: It pushes you into teamplay in other ways too. You're given quests that are simply to take part in a Scenario.
Alec: That may be at the expense of the standard quests, though. Possibly the RvR stuff too, though it was hard to get a good sense of that from the stuff we were playing a couple of weeks back
[Kieron returns from his tea and masturbation]
Kieron: Hullo!
Jim: Kieron Gillen, we're talking public quests
John: The standard quests, that I've played across all races, are pretty poor. Kill 10 of this, gather 5 of those, and then go tell that guy.
Jim: Girren: public quests?
Kieron: That's the thing – I agree entirely with the guys that the public quests are the really nifty PvE component.
Kieron: I mean, I'm a level four Witch-elf and I'm already involved in a mass brawl with a bloody dragon.
John: When I spoke to Mythic and asked them what would be the thing that stood out, they said PQs.
Kieron: Yes, but the game is being hyped as a RvR thing. We haven't done much of that, man.
Kieron: Something Tim E said to me seems relevant – with Warhammer, to have the most fun with it, you have to kind of go with the flow.
Jim: Do you think RvR will matter to the majority of gamers?
Kieron: I suspect it may actually.
John: I think it will have to. The game passionately funnels you into taking part in it. And with a level cap at 40, it's what the game becomes about.
Kieron: Which is what I mean – rather than in WoW where at a similar part of the game I generally stuck my head down and carried on doing my own thing
Alec: I think the PQs are pushing you into it to a significant extent
John: They very quickly set PQs in RvR zones.
Kieron: In Warhammer, you see what's happening. Is there a big RvR scrap going down? I'll go get involved. passing a PQ on the way to something else? Well, why not muck in.
Alec: Yeah, that "well I'm here anyway, and I don't have to anything other than start hitting things" sentiment pervades
Jim: Will making the MMO *more* multiplayer, be the lesson of Warhammer?
Kieron: The ONLY WAR thing
Alec: It's the reason it's important, and not simply A WoW Clone
John: Yeah, it really means that. You CAN skin animals, but really you're meant to be hitting stuff.
Kieron: (Hell, I was amazed there was crafting in it at all. And I'm also disappointed that Witch Elves can't skin elves to make clothes out of it)
John: I think it's going to be a huge success primarily because it apes familiar MMOs enough that people instinctively know what they're doing, but it also is a game that's deliberately built around that endgame world of epic battle. Rather than sticking it on the end so the hardcore have something to do.
Alec: My concern with the PQs and the RvR both is that it really messes up the game's geography. It's not a world filled with events – it's more like wandering around a science museum, and stopping off at the exhibits that have pushy-buttons and flickering lights. It's really unconvincing as a place – it's these pockets of activities within their own weird, insular bubbles, but far too close too each other. There's really no sense that you can explore.
John: I didn't find that at all. I found the PQs occuring naturally between towns, or in contested zones.
Kieron: I disagree too actually, though I know what Alec gets at. Thing is, for me, it's not meant to be a world. It's meant to be a warzone. Those pockets of areas on the maps are individual skirmishes going on, and in terms of giving character to individual conflicts – at least for the Dark Elf stuff – it does it well.
John: There's these old ruins at the bottom of a hill, near a town in the Greenskin area, and on the border of a RvR zone. It has an epic PvE PQ going on, occasionally with enemy players getting mixed up in. It's an awesome site, and feels like it makes sense to be there.
Alec: That's the thing – you can't wander anywhere without some message popping up on screen. It feels artificial to that extent. I want to feel like I've found this stuff, not that it's dropped in my lap.
Kieron: Like – say – this whole forest area off the main path where the elves are counterattacking via these traps, and there's a low level skirmish going on between the two. perpetually, as it's a standard PvE MMO, but decently enough.
Alec: It's not a critical failing, but it's made it hard for me to get a sense of place.
Kieron: I'll give you that those messages can be intrusive. But I think the alternative is worse. "Where's the public quest again?"
Alec: I'd make them further apart and shown on the map, or shown on a map once you speak to an obvious NPC in town
Kieron: Wow – lots more walking. That's the thing – I like its tightness. I like things like not having to kneel and eat food to recover health.
John: All praise the super-fast healing!
Alec: No, not lots more walking, just a bit more breathing space
Kieron: Stuff like that absolutely stopped me playing WoW. I have a very low threshold for boredom.
Alec: Yes, it's identified a shedload of WoW annoyances to get rid of – whilst retaining plenty of others
John: What about the Tome of Knowledge? That was the other Big New Thing, and was the thing I was most looking forward to.
Kieron: The Tome's neat, but I honestly haven't used it much.
Alec: I've used the Tome to check quest details, and that's it
John: I'm really let down by the Tome. For me it's become one of those irritating things that flashes on the screen that I just click on to clear it.
Kieron: What's it actually *meant* to do?
John: And it makes getting at quest details a real fiddle. I assume a hotkey for going straight to quests will be added eventually. It was meant to be this alternative to RvR.
Alec: It's an awful lot of text for a game that's about cartoon characters stabbing each other
John: It was there for the person who wanted to SP the game.
Kieron: Right.
John: It would provide a coherent narrative, and offer its own quests.
Kieron: It's a step on from Middle-Earth's similar thing, I think, in that way
John: But I've not had a single tome quest offered. There are 10,000 Tome Unlocks in the game, and they're fun to get, but then a confusion mess to understand. I think that's what will happen – the Tome will become a fiddly quest journal, with an achievements page.
Kieron: It's a very big achievement page. Anyone got a favourite character class? I like my Witch Elf a lot. Which surprises me, as I despise elves.
John: Okay, I have one other worry, and it's that question.
Jim: Has anyone got to the squig tank? that sounds amazing
Alec: Yeah, I've enjoyed my Chaos Magus, though the floaty disc isn't floaty enough. I get stumped by small hills and puddles.
John: I played as a High Elf first, and it was just so dull. I thought the game was doomed. I played as a Chaos, and I thought: meh. Very standard MMO. I then played as an Orc, and I thought: Woo! Best MMO ever!
Jim: Tell me a bit more about the classes – is there anything specifically unusual?
Alec: Most of the classes are a bit more hybrid than you'd have expected. Still fit into the standard boxes, but generally feel a lot less like you're just Tank or DPS or whatever.
Kieron: Yeah. The thing with the classes is *there is a lot of them*. And they're not just the same with the names filed off.
Jim: Why are orcs so good John?
John: It seems like a squillion times more passion went into that zone. You're immediately firing yourself off Orcapults to reach distant castle roofs. You're having these really funny quest givers talk in grunts. You're a real character.
Kieron: I haven't played the Dwarves, but I've heard similar things
John: Whereas a High Elf is like being a bloody librarian. "Go and find 8 of this plant, for no reason."
Alec: The comedy races were always going to be easier to achieve that with. Which WoW sort of failed at by lumping Gnomes in with Dwarves and Trolls with Orcs in its starting zones
Kieron: And I really enjoyed the DE. Even the "Kill X" quests were often turned into something a little more interesting. Like – say – the one where I collected heads and stuck them on spikes in front of an enemy base to try and lure a hero out to fight.
John: There's an Orc quest similar to that. It makes a big difference.
Alec: There's a lot of head-pole action. I've done that almost half a dozen times
Kieron: Yeah – I used it as an example. there's certainly been mroe pole-head sticking.
John: But even if it's just an aesthetic on the end of a kill quest, it makes it feel like narrative.
Kieron: Yes – exactly.
Alec: It was funny the first time, etc. I just hope they can sustain that kind of thinking without running out of ideas. Having seen some of the l30 stuff, I'm not convinced yet, but there's much I've not done yet.
Kieron: You know, I'm going to go and roll a new High Elf alt after this and see what I make of it
Jim: Speaking of aesthetics – how good looking is it?
Kieron: It's acceptable.
John: It looks like a polished WoW. There's no escaping that comparison.
Alec: you stop noticing what it looks like – it's like a genetic memory of playing an MMO. Though the Inevitable City looks incredible, if horribly confusing to navigate
John: The Inevitable City is utterly brilliant.
Kieron: I haven't been yet. I may go there instead of forming a HE.
John: It's a stunning piece of design. Visually wonderful.
[Alec leaves on a secret mission. It may or may not involve milk.]
Jim: Anyone got something else to add? We can conclude otherwise
John: One thing. I want to make it clear that this is one of those occasions where you're deducting marks from 10, rather than adding them on from 0. They've managed it – they're the first to create an MMO that compares to, and goes beyond, WoW. And that's an absolutely massive deal that shouldn't get lost in the (very valid) nitpicking.
Kieron: Yeah. God knows how it's going to do long term, but given a choice between the two, I'd play this.
John: I think it's best summed up as: they've created the WoW that Kieron wants to play.
Kieron: And I do wonder how much I'll play it – after all, I'm the one of us who *didn't* burn out on WoW. I didn't like it enough to burn out on it.
John: Kieron I use as an example of someone's who entirely immune to grind hypnosis.
Kieron: Heh. of course, it's also the one MMO I'll never review due to conflict of interest stuff (He's writing a comic set in Warhammer at the moment. Out September, Comics peeps – Ed). To conclude: What's your favourite chaos god?
John: God.
Kieron: Slanesh.
John: What's a funny answer to attribute to Alec?
Kieron: The Horned Rat


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Skip to comments.Rosa Brooks, Special Coordinator for Rule of Law and Humanitarian Policy
Posted on 08/08/2011 3:29:49 PM PDT by jessduntno
Rosa Brooks serves as Counselor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Michele Flournoy.
In May 2010 she also became Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and then Special Coordinator for Rule of Law and Humanitarian Policy.
She is running a new Pentagon office dedicated to those issues. She is on leave from her job as a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Brooks is known as a columnist (most recently with the LA Times) and at the Pentagon her portfolio has included both human rights issues and global engagement and strategic communication.
Her mother, Barbara Ehrenreich, is currently an honorary co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. She also serves on the NORML Board of Directors, the Institute for Policy Studies Board of Trustees and The Nation's Editorial Board. She has served on the editorial boards of Social Policy magazine, Ms., Mother Jones, Seven Days, Lear's, The New Press, and Culturefront.
In 1991 Brooks earned a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, where she studied history and literature.
Brooks' work history has included previous government service as a senior adviser to Assistant Secretary Harold Hongju Koh at the U.S. Department of State, five years as an associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, and a stint as Special Counsel to the President at the Open Society Institute, George Soros' philanthropic foundation.
humanitarian policy = new world order
Payback for writing drivel in the LA Times and supporting Obama no matter what!
We need a cyclone to clean out these Marxists, and homosexual appointments.
The scary part is that these are the types that are worming their way in to all levels of the government. Her mother raised her on a steady diet of socialism and she showed it in spades in the LA Times. Read some her trash. And look where she is. She went from Times Op-Ed writer to a couple of seats from the oval in the Dept of Defense.
And Brooks worked for Honjou Koh, the pro Sharia lawyer and transnationalist now at the State Department.
She called Cheney and Bush psychos to be dealt with like psychos, referring to their crimes."
Red Diaper Baby?
MOTHER: Barbara Ehrenreich
|Date: 8/8/2011 5:29:28 PM
The interviewer asked, "Which would involve some level of compassion?" Ehrenreich replied, "Maybe not compassion, but an empathetic ability."
Another Communist. Wake up and smell the killing fields that inhabits their imaginations, people.
Is this the first that our Republican politicians have heard of this? Real conservatives would be screaming over this.
After reading the bio you posted, I am blown away that this hag could possibly be in a policy position at the Pentagon.
Unbelievable. Our military is so screwed.
"She noted that in producing the Manifesto as a commercial product, capitalists were — as Lenin had once predicted — providing the rope that eventually would hang them."
Yep. These toons have been telling us what would happen and we wouldn't listen. Just like they thought the Tea Party was "Astroturf."
Wonder how Third Manassas will turn out?
Hmmm, Defense? Who said that we should not cut back on Defense spending. I smell the first of many programs to be put up on the chopping block.
Yet the global socialist/Marxist experiment is an EPIC FAIL in every country that has tried it. Abundant facts of the colossal failure now staring them in the face, and they just re-double their efforts. Isn't that the definition of insanity?
I can only suspect that these useful idiots consider themselves part of the elite oligarchy well paid not to engage in any critical thinking, or common sense, for that matter.
This is just plain terrible. All who voted for Obama please stand up and move to the back of the room!
"This is just plain terrible."
Here's the worst part; we caught Van Jones, but no one made a peep about this one and she makes him look like little Lord Fauntleroy.
Beck, Hannity and even BOR were on her...early
BOR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5frNYJ792Ak
Beck: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2634614/replies?c=21
Hannity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eML_U5t7kcI
Rosa Brooks' Muckety map
I've stumbled across Rosa Brooks before while looking up info on Obama's radical friends.
I asked this (rhetorical) question to someone in freepmail:
The real question is not why 0bomba is what he is or why the Dems foisted a piece of ineligible marxist racist muzzie homo-crap on the country; the real question is why every single person who could and should say and do something about him, is dead silent.
Adding - not just about 0h0m0, but the entire leftist facade. A few in DC squeak a bit about this tidbit or that tidbit, but I rarely hear anything about the entire leftist edifice which is in reality nothing less than a silent coup, with everyone keeping mum as though it were not happening. Sure, some bloggers, and a few real journalists, and other private citizens are noticing and saying things. But elected or appointed or hired "public servants"? How many Republcans are saying anything at all? A mere tiny handful.
If I'm wrong, I will be more than happy to be corrected.
Anyone who thinks these people would be any different than Stalin or Pol Pot if they could is willfully blind.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Tween and teen stars of Disney Channel and Disney XD champion kindness and generosity of spirit towards others in "Show Some Heart" video messages to be posted on the young actors' Twitter feeds and @DisneyChannelPR beginning today, February 8. The popular stars share how they "Show Some Heart" and encourage others to share their own acts of kindness via #ShowSomeHeart.
DisneyChannel.com and DisneyXD.com will debut exclusive videos featuring Disney Channel and Disney XD stars sharing Valentine's Day memories and fun messages, beginning February 13. Viewers can answer the call to action by sharing how they "Show Some Heart" on the websites.
Disney stars featured in the "ShowSomeHeart" video messages include: China Anne McClain ("A.N.T. Farm"); Ross Lynch and Laura Marano ("Austin & Ally"); Cole Jensen and Crash ("Crash & Bernstein"); Bridgit Mendler ("Good Luck Charlie"); Debby Ryan ("Jessie"); Leo Howard and Olivia Holt ("Kickin' It"); Spencer Boldman and Tyrel Jackson Williams ("Lab Rats"); and Bella Thorne and Zendaya ("Shake It Up"), among others.


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J.K. Rowling 'Very Angry' Her Own Law Firm Revealed Her Pen Name
The author issues a statement saying her "trust turned out to be misplaced"
Mystery solved – and Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is none too pleased.
In yet another surprising twist to a true-life tale that's becoming as fanciful as her work, Rowling's own law firm admitted that one of its partners leaked the information as to the true authorship of The Cuckoo's Calling, a critically acclaimed debut detective novel credited to Robert Galbraith but, in fact, written by Rowling.
In a statement released Thursday through Rowling's publicist, the author says, "A tiny number of people knew my pseudonym and it has not been pleasant to wonder for days how a woman whom I had never heard of prior to Sunday night could have found out something that many of my oldest friends did not know."
Rowling continues: "I had assumed that I could expect total confidentiality from Russells, a reputable professional firm and I feel very angry that my trust turned out to be misplaced."
As for how her identity became known, apparently attorney Chris Gossage told his wife's best friend that Galbraith was actually Rowling, reports The New York Times.
That friend, Judith Callegari, then spilled the beans in a Twitter exchange last week with The Sunday Times of London, before deleting the messages.
After the newspaper confronted Rowling, she admitted to writing the book under a pseudonym, and the newspaper published an article identifying her as the author.
As a result, a once-overlooked book suddenly became an international bestseller.
In light of the controversy, Russells, a London law firm known for its work in the entertainment industry, released its own statement.
It read, "Whilst accepting his own culpability, the disclosure was made in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly. On becoming aware of the circumstances, we immediately notified J.K. Rowling's agent.
"We can confirm that this leak was not part of any marketing plan and that neither J.K. Rowling, her agent nor publishers were in any way involved."


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Turkey Ice Cream? Thanksgiving Flavors from Portland's Salt and Straw,Now at Joan's on Third
Portland's Salt & Straw small batch ice creams aren't sold anywhere else outside of Portland - other than our very own Joan's On Third, that is! Joan had long been searching for the right ice cream to serve at Joan's On Third, and when they tried Salt & Straw they knew that was the one. They somehow managed to convince cousins Kim and Tyler Malek to partner up.
Now, not only can you try this farm-to-cone goodness in town, you can also try their fun Thanksgiving flavors. Co-owner Tyler Malek has really gone all the way this year, creating a whole "Thanksgiving dinner" with ice cream.
The first, is the sweet potato and candied pecan ice cream with gooey marshmallow fluff! If you like sweet potato you will love this.
There's "apple cranberry stuffing." This was a celery ice cream with apple cranberry bread pudding.


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Casablanca, First Leg Got Me To Morocco
I was always curious about Morocco for some reasons that I couldn't describe by words. I didn't even know exactly what it was. Maybe I was curious about the landscape of Mount Atlas. Or maybe about the Berber tribes living there in centuries. Or I just wanted to feel the sensation to ride onto the camel in the middle of Sahara. Perhaps all those could be the reason. Therefore, in one October, after getting approval from my chief, I took a bit longer RnR to visit Morocco in two weeks.
Casablanca became my first leg, of course, since most of airlines coming from all around the world would land in international airport located in this city. It's the largest city in Morocco and home for industrial and economic activities. I didn't have any difficulties while I arrived at the airport. As Indonesian citizen, I was not required to pay the visa to enter Morocco. I just required to bring my passport with me, and I was allowed to stay for 90 days after arrival sign stamped on my passport.
I went out of the airport, searched for the sign of train station that I heard is also located in the airport. Well, I was right. I found it. I would go to Casa Voyageurs, then continued with taxi to get me t to medina (the old town) where hotel that I would stay is located.
Once I arrive in Casa Voyageurs (the main train station in Casablanca), I took taxi to take me to medina. There are two types of taxi in Morocco. Petite taxi (small taxi) that operates within the city, and grand taxi (big taxi, normally they used old Mercedes benz) which can take passenger out of the city. Sharing taxi with other passengers is common thing in Morocco. So, don't be shock while you're sitting at passenger seats, the driver could stop anywhere to carry another passenger with you.
The taxi driver dropped me at the gate of medina. Car was not allowed to enter. Or, car couldn't enter at all since most of streets inside the old town are such small alleys that could only being passed by motor bikes or walking.
I just booked one night room in Casablanca since I didn't find any interesting facts in the city which fitted my interest. Casablanca, in my opinion, is just a typical of big city. People get rushed, and traffic jam could be found easily. In addition, this city is not so friendly for budget traveler. Finding hostel or guest house with lower price could be so challenging. So, one day is enough to see how the city is.
I stayed at Central Hotel. My room located at the third floor where I could see Casa port from small balcony attached to my room. Mohamed, the receptionist, a man in age of 50s, was a gentle man. He ensured that I stay comfortably in his hotel. He gave me some map, showing me how to get Hasan II mosque, as one of tourists attraction in Casa which is located not far from the hotel.
I was exhausted after having almost 14 hours flying from Uganda. What I really wanted to do was to get sleep immediately. But I didn't want to do it since today is the only chance I had to see Casablanca. Tomorrow morning I will leave the city to Fez, where the real adventure began. Therefore, I forced myself to go to the mosque, where many travelers found as a place you must visit when you are in Casablanca. Finding the mosque could be so tricky. Especially I didn't have any GPS application in my phone. However, finally I could make it.
The mosque itself is big. Some even wrote that its the biggest mosque in the world after those in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Non muslims are allowed to enter during particular time. I arrived in the afternoon, so the time for visitor is over already. However, I still could enter the part purposed for women while I did my Ashar pray.
The mosque was built in 1983 and completed its construction in 1993. Commissioned by King Hasan II, the mosque was designed by Michel Pinseau, French architect who had lived in Morocco. The design of the mosque represents the culture and identity of Morocco. Most of construction materials were obtained from the country, including marble from Agadir, the cedar wood taken from middle Atlas and the granites came from Tafraoute. Inside the mosque, it can capacitate 25 thousands people while in the courtyard, 80 thousands people could be accommodated.
The mosque is not only a worship place for people living in Casablanca. It's also the landmark, and a place to do some picnic with family. The place will be full in the weekend as I experienced. In addition, its location next to the Atlantic sea makes it perfect to spend afternoon with friends, relatives and the love ones while seeing the sun goes down.
I returned to the hotel after sunset. I was sleepy and hungry like a hell. Since Central Hotel didn't provide dinner service, Mohammed showed me a restaurant serving Moroccon dishes, which not far from the hotel. However, he suggested me for not using my camera and taking some snaps in the street of Casa.
"You must be very careful, Nurul. Street boys in Casablanca could be so dangerous" he advised.
Well, perhaps you would have some question in mind as I had before departing to Morocco. Is Morocco safe for female solo traveler? My answer is Yes, as long as you follow the local customs and hear your common sense. Dress modestly, not walking around alone in empty street after dark, ask permission to the locals if you want to rake their pictures, and Inshallah you'll be safe.


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Academic toolkit
If you're a paediatric trainee interested in pursuing an academic career pathway, explore this resource - from funding application checklists to tips on writing your PhD application and case studies from those already in research.
Acute and emergency care - prescribing the remedy
Acute and emergency care departments face profound pressures. This report outlines recommendations for delivering a sustainable and resilient emergency care system. It is intended for Government officials, national bodies, commissioners, providers, professional bodies and clinicians.
Adverse childhood experiences – consultation response
In 2017 we responded to the Science and Technology Committee's inquiry into evidence-based early-years intervention.
Allergy care pathway for anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction. This is one of several allergy care pathways, which tell health professionals what they need to know in order to provide the best care possible.
Being me - supporting children and young people
What keeps children in care happy, healthy and well? Care-experienced children and young people worked with RCPCH &Us to create these free resources, including 'health and wellbeing passports', a poster and games to help share who they are, how they are feeling and what support they would like - as ...
Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) in child protection briefings
Serious Case Reviews (SCR) in child protection have been identified and compiled by NSPCC and Knowledge and Information for the RCPCH. They are relevant to all paediatricians and key points have been outlined in bold.
Care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery – consultation response
We responded to the Department for Education in 2017 with recommendations that child health professionals be included in the assessment process to determine whether a child is the victim of modern slavery and human trafficking. Government must allocate more financial resource in order for Local Auth...
Child Protection Companion - about
The Companion is your handbook on all forms of child abuse. It covers child protection processes across the whole range of medical and social interactions: from examination, to identification, to referral, to court.
Child Protection Evidence - Bites
Child Protection Evidence is a resource available for clinicians across the UK and internationally to inform clinical practice, child protection procedures and professional and expert opinion in the legal system. This systematic review evaluates the literature on abusive and non-abusive bites.
Child Protection Evidence - Bruising
Child Protection Evidence is a resource for clinicians across the UK and internationally to inform clinical practice, child protection procedures and professional and expert opinion in the legal system. This systematic review evaluates the scientific literature on abusive and non-abusive bruising.


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Classical music aficionados can be a picky bunch, especially when it comes to music downloads. When they're not complaining about lack of selection, they're complaining about questionable sound quality. And you can't blame them: it's hard to stock a music store with several centuries worth of compositions, nearly all encoded in 256kbps or less, and each one recorded by multiple orchestras and every egotistical violinist to ever stumble upon a recording contract. (I say this as a violinist of almost 27 years, so draw your own conclusions.)
That's why Sony Music has decided to open Ariama, an online music store that aims to be the iTunes of classical music. The store has been rumored for several months now and has finally made its debut, with offerings from most major classical music labels. The pitch is two-fold: Ariama claims to have a wider selection than almost any other store online, and also offers downloads in a "lossless" FLAC format so that customers can encode the files in whatever manner they please. Them's fightin' words, so we decided to investigate.
Really, Ariama is more like a mishmash of iTunes and Amazon—the store has such a wide selection because it also offers CDs for sale, and in many cases, the albums are CD-only. In that case, it's kind of cheating; if I wanted to buy CDs, I would have gone to Amazon, not an online music service. Still, the overall selection is indeed expansive—if you don't care what format you might get, you likely won't have any problem finding any obscure piece or performer you're looking for on Ariama.
If you do care about finding your favorite recordings in downloadable form, then Ariama is a little more of a challenge to use. As pictured above, the site shows you which songs are available for download versus on CD when you run a search, and we wouldn't exactly say that Ariama has a better selection than iTunes or Amazon MP3, maybe just a slightly different selection. In fact, while numerous other sites casually dismiss iTunes as not having a wide enough classical selection, we found many cases where iTunes and Amazon offered an album for download while Ariama strangely did not (they were CD-only).
Even more annoyingly, when you find an album that's CD-only, the page still acts like you can listen to previews of the songs—that is, until you actually try to listen to the previews. Then it throws up errors. Amazon at least allows you to listen to previews of CD-only albums, and even if Ariama couldn't secure licensing rights to offer those previews, why not just remove the preview buttons on those albums?
If you find an album that offers downloads, you can download each piece separately—grouped in movements, but you can't cherry-pick each track like you could on Amazon MP3 or iTunes (classical music fans would scold you for doing so anyway). When grouped in threes—or however many tracks there are in the piece—the per-track prices are competitive with iTunes and Amazon MP3.
We think the real draw for Ariama is the choice between a standard MP3, encoded at 320kbps, and a "lossless" FLAC file. The FLACs are more expensive, averaging at about $1.50 per track, and are meant to offer an "exact translation of the original audio source." Once downloaded, you can do with the FLAC file as you please—if your music player supports it, you can listen to it without any conversion, or you can encode it into something else, like an even-higher-bitrate MP3.
The question is: if Ariama is marketed toward real audiophiles, will they really opt to buy the FLAC files versus a CD—or even more hardcore, a vinyl recording? (I don't know the answer to that question, so if you have an opinion on the matter, maybe you can tell me.) I have an affinity for classical music because that's what I've spent my whole life playing, but I don't identify as an audiophile—I download pieces for nostalgic reasons, not because I feel the need to hear the bow draw across every string in the orchestra. So, I'm almost always opting for the most affordable version of the specific recording I'm looking for (which, in this case, is the MP3).
That loops us back to the beginning: what's the appeal of Ariama versus online music stores that are much more securely established in the minds of consumers? The overall selection is wide, but the downloadable selection at least seems as limited as the other major online stores. Aside from the appeal of high-quality FLAC files, another thing Ariama has going for it is that it's infinitely more aesthetically pleasing and usable than other classical-only sites, such as eClassical. So, it certainly has potential to succeed in this niche, as long as Sony puts forth the marketing effort to get Ariama's name into the minds of classical music buyers.


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Sep 24, 2013, 11:45 am
Bruce Butler, a General Motors retiree who played the lottery for 40 years, didn't gun down a Southfield liquor store employee because he was angry he'd left a winning ticket on the counter months earlier, his attorney says.
If Butler had won a $1 million prize, he would have known better than to try to cash it at a liquor store, attorney Joe Niskar said in his opening statement Friday.
But while Niskar contends police got the wrong man, prosecutors say they have evidence to prove Butler, 60, of Southfield fatally shot Mike Khmoro, 48, in the parking lot of the liquor store on Oct. 6, 2010.
Butler is now on trial, charged with first-degree murder, in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Police say Butler intended to shoot Khmoro's younger brother, who owned the store, and mistakenly shot Khmoro. Witnesses told police that months before, Butler was upset because he'd left a winning lottery ticket on the counter in the store to get beer, and it was stolen.
In his opening statement, Assistant Prosecutor Ken Frazee told the 10 women and four men on the jury that there is ample evidence to show Butler was the gunman.
Frazee said surveillance cameras showed Butler's black GMC Envoy pull into the store's parking lot at 2:53 p.m., where it remained for more than an hour.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Khmoro — who worked in the liquor store — wheeled a shopping cart full of garbage bags out of the store and to a trash bin. As he wheeled the cart back, someone inside the Envoy shot him four times. He died an hour later at a hospital.
"Mr. Khmoro was defenseless at the time he was shot," Frazee said.
At the time, Butler was months away from retiring from GM after 36 years. He was arrested 10 months later after his brother-in-law, Andrew Roberts, went to police and said Butler had confessed.
Roberts, who is expected to be a key prosecution witness, told police Butler asked him to hide the murder weapon, a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson.
Niskar said police, desperate to solve an unsolved murder, got the wrong man. The SUV on the surveillance tape could have been blue or purple, he said, and Butler, with his distinctive white hair, did not match the description eyewitnesses gave of the driver.
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Sarah Bare's heart is racing, and it's not because she's nervous about her first pregnancy.
The 27-year-old suffers from tachycardia — an inefficient, rapid heartbeat that reduces blood flow to the body — which came on unexpectedly in 2009 during a breathless episode at work.
Luckily, the Squamish resident — herself a trained cardiac care nurse — was working in an Edmonton hospital at the time. She knew enough to go to the emergency department, and they found her heart racing at up to 180 beats per minute. For an adult, 100 is the upper threshold for normal.
Her condition was controlled with medication, but Bare worried it would bar her from having a family.
"My doctor always said there might be an issue getting pregnant," she says, sitting in an exam room in St. Paul's cardiac obstetric clinic with her husband, Bryan, by her side.
So she was referred here, and her baby, now growing well and 21 weeks along, is being carefully monitored.
With this clinic, cardiologists Dr. Marla Kiess and Dr. Jasmine Grewal are helping mothers with heart conditions who would once be warned against pregnancy to fill their hearts with joy.
"It's kind of a unique area," says clinic director Dr. Kiess.
These days, women with heart disease, women who have had heart attacks or congenital heart malformations or even past transplant recipients can give birth safely with the right kind of care — something unheard of a generation ago, when such pregnancies could be fatal.
"I think that we've reduced the mortality rate since we started the clinic," Dr. Kiess says proudly. "We've definitely seen a significant reduction in the number of complications."
The cases they see are remarkably complex. Some women have pulmonary hypertension, a condition with a mortality rate of up to 50 per cent. Others will need valve replacement surgery before pregnancy.
In rare cases, they have even performed heart surgery on women who are pregnant, although the hospital stresses that this happens only in extreme cases where circumstances absolutely necessitate it.
The clinic runs three times a month and has been growing quickly — they have seen some 400 patients from across B.C. over the years — but it runs on a shoestring.
With more funding they'd like to expand to help more women like Bare, who, with luck and with extra care from St. Paul's, will get the gift of a healthy baby boy this December.


text: Mobroder is a new project from rapper Spankrock with producers DJ Hoff and Blu Jemz which was inspired by their love of early 80's Italian electro. Scion A/V released their remix EP for the funky track "Rush" about a month ago with remixes coming from some buzzing producers like In Flagranti, Turbotito, Nile Delta and Da Hardy Boyz. Philly rapstress Amanda Blank drops a verse on the b-side track "Love Duet" (remixed by Shazam). This is a cheeky and fun EP which we guarantee that you'll enjoy, grab the whole thing below.


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When her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in 2009, Nancy Borowick, then a student at the International Center of Photography, decided she would document the experience this time around. "Being able to photograph her during the program gave me a chance to spend more time with her than I could have in any other situation," Borowick, now 26, says. "I really wanted to be along side as she went through all the different stages of treatment and recovery and just experience it with her."
The photographer has compiled her images to create Dessert First, a photo essay and multimedia project (see the video below) that brings both her parents' voices to life. "I started to notice her relationship change with my father and I wanted to document that," says Borowick. "It wasn't until I saw how he reacted to her situation that I realized things may not have been perfect between them before hand. The cancer diagnosis was a reality check for both of them, and through it, their relationship seemed to grow and strengthen."
The photographer noticed that existing multimedia projects about breast cancer didn't typically include male voices. "I never hear from the husband, or the father or the counterpart to the woman who's going through breast cancer," Borowick says. "Hearing his voice, hearing his experience, hearing him talk about my mother—they've been married over 30 years—I was moved by how he felt about her and how he articulated his emotions and feelings."
[vodpod id=Video.15585818&w=735&h=500&fv=]
Finding a balance between being a photographer and daughter was a challenge throughout the experience and shaped how the project was photographed. Borowick admits she didn't photograph her mother in some situations that may have been important to the project because of her familial ties. On one of her visits, Borowick noticed that her mother was exhausted from surgery and decided to set her camera aside. "My impulse was to keep shooting, but the moment I put it down, I was reminded of who this woman was that I was photographing. She wasn't just my subject—she was my mother and my friend and my life," she said. "I just felt like I needed to be her daughter."
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and the American Cancer Society reports an estimated 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will occur among women in the United States this year. About 39,520 of these women will die of the disease. Of those who survive, 10 to 20 percent will develop recurrent breast cancer.
"My mother's hope was that through this project people would see a real story about a woman with breast cancer, a family going through breast cancer," Borowick says. "And, maybe in some crazy way, help them as they try and figure out and articulate what they're experiencing."
Nancy Borowick is a photographer based in New York. Learn more about Dessert First here.


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Seventh Grade
Seventh Grade is a memoir zine by Naomi Oceans, a pen name for Marina, and was written in 2007, and published in Berkeley, California, USA. The autobiographical story reflects on events and emotions over the period of a school year. It includes poems and copies of journal pages with sketches from that time, as well as quotes directly from Naomi's diary. It is a personal look into puberty, self realizations and emotional growth.
It's a story about first kisses, about blue-haired friends, silence, and local suicides.
I was there because I hadn't spoken in over two days. Because I refused to eat and my parents found food hidden all over my room (some chewed for flavor then spit out into ziplocs). I was there because when I was three my mom had explained the intricate scars on her wrists and she now saw my shallow rows of red. Because I was born two days after Kurt Cobain and a Pisces. I was there because I hadn't been going to school because I couldn't stop the tears for more than half an hour because I was dissolving because I needed to feel control because cutting had lost its power because I had no excuse to be this sad.
See Also


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Get breaking news, insider information and curiosities by following The Journal on Twitter. Here are some feeds and a list of Journal newsroom folks to follow:
- Members of the Edmonton Journal newsroom
- JournalGoosecam: Nesting updates, fashion advice, and the latest in maternity lifestyle from sassy Mama Goose. (Seasonal)
You can also follow our various section feeds:
- EJ_Arts: Stay on top of the local arts scene.
- EJ_Biz: Follow local business news.
- EJ_Cares: Get help from our customer service team about subscriptions, website errors or concerns! Coverage from 9-5, Monday through Friday.
- EJ_Eskimos: Stay on top of all things Eskimos with tweets from edmontonjournal.com's Eskimos page.
- EJ_Food: Tweets from edmontonjournal.com's Food & Wine and Dining Out pages.
- EJ_Life: Follow local stories about food, fashion, families, lifestyle, health and home décor by The Journal's features writers.
- EJ_Oilers: Stay on top of all things Edmonton Oilers with tweets from edmontonjournal.com's Hockey page.
- EJ_Sports: Scores, game updates, trades and more: all things sporting out of the Journal.
The Journal is on Facebook, too. Check out some of our official pages:
And here's our YouTube channel.
And our Foursquare profile.
Or our Google+ page.
We're always hungry for your feedback, so let us know what you think by sending us an e-mail at email@example.com


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Many people do not ask enough initial questions when hiring a Sober Coach or a Sober Companion in Los Angeles. Usually, the family, the business associate, or the client is more interested in getting a "quick fix" for the their perceived problem than in making sure the company the hire has the qualified and experienced staff to do the work.
More often than not, they do not take the necessary time required to set up parameters that will guarantee the greatest success with the Sober Coach they intend to use. It is essential that you be sure that the person, team, or firm you select is willing to comply with your wishes and vision. If the addict or alcoholic in question in willing to seek residential treatment, it is crucial that you discuss the treatment concept with caring professionals who already have taken an interest in your case.
You need to be sure of a couple of things. First, be sure the individual or firm you select has experience – verifiable experience. Right now, this field is wide open. There are neither California State nor Federal guidelines for Sober Coaching or for Sober Companionship. This means you will have to rely upon their general reputation and standing among their peers. While we hope the State of California will address this lack, we doubt that guidance will come anytime soon; after all, the State has enough trouble balancing a budget and staffing prisons with psychologists, psychiatrists, and other health professionals.
When you are ready to hire a Sober Coach or a Sober Companion, be sure to ask for references – not only from their clients, but also from treatment professionals in the field. Use your best judgment, and do as much research as possible.
Any special needs or concerns the client might have, such as medical or dietary needs, lists of medications, names of the client's doctors, etc., should be readily available to the Sober Coach or Sober Companion before the relationship commences. Be sure to make your Sober Coach aware of names and locations of treatment facilities, Sober Living facilities, or favorite 12-Step meetings with which the client has had some contact.
Most important: talk to your intended Sober Coach or Sober Companion a few times; make sure they remember your name & the general idea of what the client's needs are. Listen for their active interest in your case, and you will save yourself a lot of grief (and a lot of money).
Recovery is not only possible, it is probable – with the right help.


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A Letter To My Daughters: The unauthorized preview edition of the Obama children's book
Dear Malia and Sasha,
Hello. It's Barack Obama, your father, and your president. Remember that other book I wrote, Dreams from My Father? This book is Dreams From Your Father. Like Martin Luther King, I have lots of dreams, so many that your mother sometimes has to wake me up by kicking me and shouting things about bending the curve.
I hope you cleaned up after Bo before reading this! Earlier this month, I said that people were talking about me like a dog. As you know, that means that they were saying mainly positive things but had some questions about whether I was responsible for destroying some of their valuables.
The book is supposed to be about thirteen inspirational Americans. So far, the public only knows that it includes Georgia O'Keeffe, Jackie Robinson, and George Washington. That's because I am all ten of the other inspirational Americans. What can I say? Sometimes I even inspire myself.
I'm kidding. You know me! I like to make jokes! We should have more White House Correspondents Dinners. I always dominate those. With my jests. Here's one I just thought of: "If this stimulus package doesn't work out, instead of a beer summit, we'll have to have a bear summit!" Malia, I can sense that you're not laughing. But consider that this joke works on multiple levels. Bear markets are the kinds of markets that my predecessor caused. Also, they are an animal that I can throw my economic team to, if things get really tough. So I can assure you that this is a funny joke.
This page is just a picture of a bear, which I think drives that point home.
I'm going to explain the stimulus package now. Malia and Sasha, I will explain the stimulus package to you when you're older; please continue to page 40.
You still with me, readers? All right. Here's what I want you to ask yourself about the stimulus package. "Do I have a job?" If the answer is yes, you're welcome. That was definitely the stimulus package! If the answer is no, I'm sorry about that. Not because it's my fault, because it's not. Just because that's the kind of guy I happen to be.
Hi again, girls! Do you think I should do an audio-book version of this? I think it would be kind of stately. Maybe I'll win another Grammy! Maybe while I'm at it I should also make an audio-book version of me reading the Harry Potter books to you at bedtime. Maybe I'll win two other Grammies! Maybe that will help the economy.
Here is some wisdom. America is built on the ability to pursue your dreams and forge your own path. That is something I know from experience, as an American. Take that, Newt Gingrich.
But seriously, America is great. Look at me. I pursued all kinds of dreams. It was always my dream to be elected president in a very difficult economic time, plummet in popularity, and lose control of Congress during the midterm elections. My dream is so close to coming true. I like a challenge. That's why I do the Saturday crossword and made health-care reform a priority.
I hope that inspired you! Remember, no matter who you are, you can live out your dreams! Just look at me. I let nothing stand in my way to reach my goal -- not my youth, not my exceptional personal attractiveness, not the fact that I'm currently serving as president of the United States. In spite of all that, I'm living the dream: I'm a children's book author!
Your Father, the Author of this Book,
President Barack Obama
P.S.: Please buy this book, America. So far, this is my best idea for stimulating the economy. Also, invest in Alvin Greene action figures.
Alexandra Petri
| September 14, 2010; 1:02 PM ET
Categories: Barack Obama | Tags: Barack Obama, Of Thee I Sing, dreams
Save & Share: Previous: Election season heats up -- with stories of Justin Bieber
Next: The new adventures of old Christine O'Donnell
When will he ever just do his job? Bytheway, he's got those girls goose stepping on the cover!
Posted by: waxdiva | September 15, 2010 9:25 PM | Report abuse
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Alfa Romeo 2.0 8V screws connecting rods ARP
Screws connecting rods ARP for Alfa Romeo Nord 2000cc 8V, engine code 105 and Alfa Romeo 75 Twin Spark 2000cc 8v, engine code 06224.
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Their catalog ranges from high performance to exotic specialized hardware for Formula 1, Indy Car, NASCAR, endurance races and marine applications. The list of ARP clients reads like "who's who" motoring around the world.


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The week in review
Worst Memorial Day crash: An eastbound 2003 BMW on I-64 on Afton Mountain hits the guardrail on the right around 5:30pm May 28, veers back across the eastbound lanes, hits an embankment, becomes airborne, rolls upside down, and strikes the cab of a westbound tractor trailer. That impact tears the Beamer in two, and the driver is thrown from the car. At press time, the Charlottesville driver is still being treated at UVA Medical Center, and the Virginia State Police have not released his name. The driver of the 18-wheeler, who is from South Carolina and was carrying a load of big rolls of paper, is uninjured.
Worst golf cart accident: A 10-year-old boy dies May 27 when the E-Z-Go utility vehicle he was riding overturns on top of him near Dooms in Augusta County, NBC29 reports.
Worst tractor accident: A tow truck is used to remove a tractor pinning a man May 22 in the 2600 block of Thomas Jefferson Parkway, according to the Newsplex. The man is seriously injured, and the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Worst paper mill accident: David McCormick of Appomattox is crushed to death by a large roll of paper May 23 at a Greif Inc. warehouse in Amherst County, the AP reports.
Closest call: Two motorcyclists on their way to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington for the Memorial Day ceremonies collide on eastbound I-64 at exit 118, which is near U.S. 29. The riders from Tennessee and Wisconsin are taken to UVA Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries, according to NBC29.
Most contested 'Y': The lawsuit brought by a consortium of local gyms, including ACAC and Gold's Gym, against the proposed YMCA in McIntire Park goes to the Virginia Supreme Court June 7, Henry Graff reports for NBC29. The gyms contend they should have been allowed to bid on the project rather than the city contracting with the nonprofit YMCA.
Worst boundary crossing: The Virginia Board of Psychology indefinitely suspends the license of local clinical psychologist Carrie Schaffer for continued intimate contact with a former client, even after self-reporting in 2009 that the relationship had ended, according to the Daily Progress.
Biggest job discrimination suit: A UVA Law School group called the Molly Pitcher Project files suit May 23 challenging the federal ban on women in combat and claiming it stifled career advancement in the military, according to the DP.
Biggest family feud: The Dixon clan, owners of the storied Cavalier Hotel at Virginia Beach and their own private mountaintop-removal mine along U.S. 15 in Buckingham, are embroiled in a three-week trial for control of Kyanite Mining Corporation, according to Bill McElway in the Times-Dispatch.
Precious mineral we never heard of before: Buckingham is loaded with otherwise rare, aqua-colored kyanite, which is used in spark plugs.
Worst getaway attempt: Joshua Wayne Painter, 28, of Shipman is charged with attempted capital murder for driving away with a Nelson deputy hanging onto his steering wheel, WINA reports. He's also charged with two felony counts of assault and battery of a police officer, possession of meth with the intent to distribute, and resisting arrest.
Speediest: Canadian police officer John Dukovic, 50, of Ontario, is clocked at 107mph on Interstate 81 May 22 in Augusta County. According to the News Leader, he was consuming an alcohol-infused energy drink around 11am as he headed north in his Corvette. Dukovic was charged with driving with an open container and reckless driving.
Best-timed nap: UVA fourth-year Chris Lemos was snoozing on his sofa before studying the evening of May 22 when a bullet enters his bedroom window, whizzes across the desk where he intended to study, and goes through a wall at his apartment in the Dovecote complex at 1204 Wertland Street. Aaron Richardson reports in the Progress that the .45-caliber bullet came from shots fired in the 700 block of Prospect Avenue more than half a mile away.


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Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2013 (19) | 2012 (23) | 2011 (12) | 2010 (21) | 2009 (23)
2013 Affiliate Records
MLB: [92-70] NL West
AAA: [76-68] Pacific Coast League – Albuquerque
AA: [59-80] Southern League – Chattanooga
A+: [65-75] California League – Rancho Cucamonga
A: [67-72] Midwest League – Great Lakes
Graduated Prospects
Yasiel Puig (OF); Tim Federowicz (C); Scott Van Slyke (OF/1B); Hyun-jin Ryu (RHP); Stephen Fife (RHP); Paco Rodriguez (LHP)
The Run Down
After a holiday hiatus, we have returned to our MiLB preview series. To get us back into prospect mode, let's all scream Puig on three. One, two, three, PUIG. Good, we're back. We're talking about the Dodgers today, a top-heavy farm, but a group that offers plenty of fantasy intrigue. There's a lot going on here from spots one to six, but things take a turn toward the boring when we reach the last four names of the top ten. Still, Seager, Pederson, and Urias are all of the high-impact variety, while Lee, Guerrero, and Anderson should all develop into relevant fantasy pieces in their own right. Combine those six with recent grads like Yasiel Puig and Hyun-jin Ryu, and this Dodgers org begins to take shape as one that develops well and spends wisely in the international markets. That's a particularly effective model for sustainable success.


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Florida Gulf Coast Continues Improbable, High-Flying Run Through NCAAs
Senior guard Sherwood Brown (17 points against SDSU) epitomizes the Eagles' run-and-fun system. (Rob Carr/Getty)
PHILADELPHIA -- Six times in NCAA Tournament history, a No. 15 seed had beaten a No. 2 seed in the opening round of the tournament. Each time the victory was attended by a nationwide flurry of discovery and excitement. And each time that flurry lasted just 48 hours, as the 15 seed fell in the second round, hung over from adulation and lacking the depth and endurance to sustain a run to the Sweet 16 or deeper. That all ended, spectacularly and wildly, Sunday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Florida Gulf Coast University, a team unlike any other in the history of March Madness, advanced into the second weekend of the tournament with a massive bandwagon of new fans behind it.
The Eagles, loosed from their 16-year-old campus in Southwestern Florida, with their entrepreneur coach (Andy Enfield) and his model wife, roster of the unwanted and undiscovered and array of fearless fast break dunks and no-look passes, blitzed San Diego State, 81-71, the same way they dismantled Georgetown two nights earlier. This time it was a blinding 17-0 run lasting just over five minutes of the second half. It turned a narrow, 54-52 lead into a 71-52 margin with 4:19 to play in the game. By the time it was finished, No. 7 San Diego State had all but walked off the floor, reduced to hangdog spectators in America's newest highlight reel.
The Eagles (26-10 and winners of the Atlantic Sun Conference) were again led by the fearless and dazzling point guard Brett Comer. He scored eight points and handed out 13 assists, many of them on lob passes and no-looks leading to dunks by FGCU's deep array of athletic inside players. And again, the Eagles' voracious backourt of Bernard Thompson (23) and Sherwood Brown (17) combined for 40 points. Most of all, FGCU continued to fly -- almost literally -- in the fact of a modern college basketball game dominated by defense, over-coaching and low scoring, forcing fast breaks and long, daring passes at every turn.
They advanced to a delicious matchup with Florida on Friday in Arlington, Texas. The Gators are the giant power from far to the north in their home state. A school whose celebrity head coach, Billy Donovan, will be asked if he recruited any of the Eagles and will have to answer honestly that he did not. It will be yet another matchup a little unlike any other in the tournament's history.
The decisive segment of the game was carved from another era. Clinging to a 54-52 lead over San Diego State (which beat Oklahoma in the first round and finished its season at 23-11), the Eagles intensified their defensive pressure and ran off misses and steals with aplomb. It started innocently, with a single free throw from Brown, who then hit a three-pointer. Before the run was over, San Diego State had failed to score on nine consecutive possessions. Brown and Thompson each scored five points in the run and right after San Diego State finally scored, FGCU sophomore Eric McKnight slammed home a dunk from Comer to bury the Aztecs with just over four minutes left.


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carries her own pineapple juice
If someone has an easy tip, please tell me how I can change one word in my trip report (or do it for me, if you have the power?) - it's the "2 trips a month apart" trip report and I used ASS as the abbreviation for All Star Sports instead of ASSp. I just want the little "p" added. Thanks.


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Posted 9 years ago
(619 items)
I was excited to win this rare set at auction, but I was on pins and needles waiting for the eight pieces to be shipped in one box - the underplate is almost 13 inches across and the pitcher is 12.5 inches tall. The pitcher is marked with the Harrach "feather plume" mark. Solid vaseline glass handle, and the whole set glows brilliantly under black light. Expertly enameled. Harrach produced several different varieties of mottled glass - in addition to the uranium glass pictured here, they produced yellow variegated glass for Moser, and several varieties of marmoriertes type glass to compete with Loetz. Stay tuned - I have another large bowl on the way in this same type of glass that matches a marked pair of vases that have been in my collection for years, and will post photos here when that arrives.


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If you don't rest, you won't grow muscles. Simple as that. Your body does not build muscle in the gym, it builds muscle while resting
For maximum muscle gain, the focus of your workouts should consist of free weight exercises. Not machines or bodyweight exercises
Did you know, when you spend £49.99 or more you get FREE DELIVERY
Keep an eye on this box when browsing through categories. You'll find some useful tips to help you reach your goals!
We accept all the major credit & debit cards. We also accept Paypal Payments too.
Trec Nutrition UK is registered in England & Wales. Company Registration Number 6331694 Trec is a registered Trademark. www.mammothsupplements is an affiliated website


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About this download
This program will update VAIO Smart Network to version 3.3.1.08110 and will resolve the following symptoms:
- Incorrect status of VAIO Smart Network when system is Shutdown/Restarted and at the same Wireless Hardware Switch is turn On/Off.
Available Downloads:
VAIO Smart Network Update version 3.3.1.08110
File name: EP0000600191.exe
File size: 7.58 MB (7946160 bytes)
File Info
File Name
- To install VAIO Smart Network Update version 3.3.1.08110
File Version
- 3.3.1.08110
File Size
Release Date
- 2010-09-07
System Requirements
- Windows 7 64bit
- Windows 7 32bit
1. Download the file to a temporary or download directory (Please note this directory for reference later).
2. Go to the directory where the file was downloaded and double-click EP0000600191.exe.
3. Follow the instructions displayed in the installation wizard.
4. After installation is completed, please restart the computer
To check if installation is successful:
1. Go to C:\ProgramFiles\Sony\VAIO Smart Network\
2. Version.txt should indicate 3.3.1.08110


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Wai Lana's Asana of the Week: Lying Stretch
Banish tension with this feel-good stretch whenever you need a pick-me-up.
The steps to do this Lying Stretch Asana are :
- Lie on your back and raise your arms over your head.
- Inhale as you stretch the right side of your body, keeping the left side relaxed. Your right leg and buttock stretch down, while your right arm and the right side of your torso stretch up. Extend away from the waist in both directions. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds.
- Exhale and relax, then repeat, stretching the left side of your body.
- Now inhale and stretch your whole body. Stretch upward from the waist through your chest and arms, downward through your hips, legs, and toes.
- Exhale and relax completely. Repeat the entire exercise once or twice.
Learn this easy yoga pose with Wai Lana.
Focus in the Pose…
Stretch through your fingers and point your toes. Lengthen the side of your body that you are stretching.
- Quick tension reliever
- Relieves fatigue
- Stretches the entire body


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Hereford High School wins top honors at national competition
Students built electric car, competed in race
At a racetrack in Irvine, Calif., two weeks ago, the racing was very quiet, where race cars of the future, built by teams of high school students, were duking it out in the national finals of an electric car, time trial series.
Mobile users tap here to watch video
A team from Hereford High School won the whole thing.
"That was actually incredible. It's amazing to say that our team, that Hereford has a national champion team," second driver and senior Nick Pindale said.
Using an electric vehicle named Vader, Hereford's team of five took the Electrathon America trophy at the California Challenge, which is part of the U.S. Department of Education's Solar Decathlon program.
"There were just teams at the competition and they were just like, 'Yeah, your car looks like Darth Vader.' So it's just intimidating, I guess," junior Maddie Westwater said.
The car that drove the farthest in one hour won. It wasn't an easy ride.
"We had a monitor in front of us and you had to constantly watch that and make sure your amperage, which is how much power is being consumed, wasn't too high or too low because you didn't want to have a lot of energy left over and you didn't want to have too much consumed or else it would die before the race was over," driver and senior Josh Perry said.
Vader is about 350 pounds of parts foraged from kits and cost about $5,000 to build.
"All of our hard work definitely paid off and it was just an amazing experience," senior co-captain Mckenzie Clark said.
The students said the key to their success is no breakdowns.
Their technology teachers Brian King and Michael Dodd-O will tell you it's work ethic.
"There were kids staying after until 7 at night working on this car because they wanted to get it running. They were coming in at 6:30 in the morning working on this car just because they wanted to get this thing running," Hereford High School technology education teacher Michael Dodd-O said.
Race organizers believe they're breeding a new generation of car creators -- a pipeline to bring EV technology to everyone.
Click here for more information on the California Challenge or the U.S. DOE Solar Decathlon.


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Again for the hard of hearing.
Originally Posted by mike505
Pain is Temporary, Pride & Achievement is Forever.
i call this project ruggy. lol idk it needed a name after i changed the shocks on it
i changed the rear shocks on my rusty cause i could never use the full power on a track it would just lift the front end right up and it was very bouncey in the strait n corners. now it runs great. smokin the comp. got ne questions suggestions or ne thing else holla at me at hustler_rustler on aim
Last edited by hustler_rustler; 12-15-2006 at 06:01 PM.
race,flip,crash,break.....= r/c
My rusty pede (hehe). Rustler drivetrain with stampede chassis.
I fixed the linking for the last 2 for you. - Mike505
Last edited by mike505; 11-15-2007 at 11:06 PM.
RC enthusiast!
Last edited by mike505; 11-15-2007 at 11:06 PM.
Here are some up to date pictures of my Nitro Rusty. I couldn't downsiz them so you'll have to click on the links. Sorry!
Last edited by nitro20; 01-16-2007 at 11:17 AM.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
okay here it goes
well ive finally did it.What do you think?
Here's my new rusty. stock as cr@p other than the big bores, shock tower, and cooling head...but hey whats the fun in buying a fully tricked out truck? It sure isn't clean but im workin on that.
Updated pic of mine. Looks exactly the same except I've modified the mounting of the rear shock tower so the Atomik body fits as well as it does on a GT.
(still needs decals n' stuff)
cant hav my sig anymor becus it was over 3 lines?!
Gone for a while but now i'm back. Old outdated pic.
Don't have that engine anymore, i''ll update later
Last edited by BlUeRuStY; 03-04-2007 at 01:02 PM.
E-maxx 3905
RD Racing 3.3 Rusty
aluminum shock tower, thats it.
T-maxx 3.3
Revo 3.3
Nitro Rustler 2.5
Hope you all enjoy this is Chris Kaczanowski mustang
So you want to drive it, NO I said NO!
youl enjoy these!! totally sick!
O.S Powered Jato,Rustler 2.5,Z445,KX250,450R,F 150
My old hosting seems to have gone away, so heres some shots from various builds of my truck, starting with the most current first.
By caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, By the beans of Java
do thoughts acquire speed, hands acquire shaking, the shaking
becomes a warning, By caffeine alone do I set my mind in motion.
Last edited by PulsarD; 04-23-2007 at 12:34 PM.
By caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, By the beans of Java
do thoughts acquire speed, hands acquire shaking, the shaking
becomes a warning, By caffeine alone do I set my mind in motion.
heres mine not done yet with it still workin on some aluminum parts and roll cage.
trx 2.5 rusty
timaya E blitzar fully aluminum
My 2.5 Nitro Rustler.
Jato Resonator Pipe and Header
Big Bore Shocks
Moab tires
Motor Saver air filter
Last edited by mike505; 11-15-2007 at 11:09 PM.
No Limit R/C of Maryland
Rustler with 3.3, I have more to say than 50
Ok so here it is. my $2,000 Rusty.
Whats on it??
New style lower chassis
CF upper
CF Shock towers
XTM .18 with XTM pipe
Ballbearing diff
K & N airfilter
Airtronics throttle servo
Futaba steering servo
XTM full threaded alum shocks rear
XTM alum shocks front
Custom bellcrank mount
XTM front servo mount
Steel output youkes
Custom wiring job
XTM 1000 MAH batt pack
Custom paint job
Wonder where the reciver is?? It is where the batts used to go.
Whats to come??
Some red and blue LED lights
working on a cooling fan.
Hre is my 3rd and last Nitro Rustler. I have finally put as much aluminum on it as I can and it now will become a shelf queen.
The stats;
Motor saver air filter
THS Racing pipe
Traxxas big bore aluminum shocks
RD Racing Top & bottom chassis, rear arm mounts, axle carriers, and tie bar
Newera c-hubs, knuckles, and drag link
Lunsford titanium turn buckles, hinge pins, and king pins
RC-Parts bell cranks
Fastlane front & rear bulks, front & rear shock towers, and extended suspension arms
RC10GT tank
Venom hunp pack
RPM bumper
JR Z590 steering servo & Z270 throttle servo
Futaba 2PL radio
Bearings throughout
Jato drive shafts
Revo 3.3
N. Rusty 18TM
Stampede MM7700
Here are a couple pics of my rusty with some anacondas. I know alot of people are skeptical about them, but I've had great luck so far. They have alittle over a gallon on them, and still have plenty of life and traction.
Please keep all images to a width of 600 pixels or less. To do this, you must edit the image using an image editor before you upload the picture to your host.
I have changed the images to links so that people don't have to scroll to read the thread.
Last edited by Misbehavin'; 06-23-2007 at 09:13 AM.
Too many RC's to list.. lol
Updated pics of my Nitro Rustler 2.5
My anacondas rock. they hook really good
LOL at the lt1>LS1 lolololololol
Nitro Rustler: TRX 3.3, Associated Tuned Pipe
All crammed up on the "RC table". (they're listed in my sig)
cant hav my sig anymor becus it was over 3 lines?!
heres my new rusty completly stock except for
-feul filter
-jato rims and tires
never been used
jumping in backyard
and after
If it isnt fast ,it isnt cool.
Well guys, I got a little tired of street driving with my Rustler, since I now have a 4-Tec. Decided to turn my Rusty back into an off-roading machine. I installed all the aluminum parts I had, changed the tires, and did a little bit of suspension work.. I think its good to go.
[QUOTE=BiGbAdBass08]yo guys just showing u my first paint job im new do this so im pretty pround of my first painted body shell
The Early Bird Always Catches The Early Worm..
here is mine. excuse the backwards tire tread on one of the rear tires. my bad.. but i hope to run her today for the first time in like a few months...
here is my baby..
im from louisiana. pm me so we can bash together!
So I just got my new aluminum parts on
Haven't put my engine back in because its ugly in comparison to the rest of the parts...
>Less talk, more pics!<
Thats it for now, pm me if you want to know what parts I've got
Oh, and I know there is a large stack of washers mounted to my front end, I use that to keep my front end down while gunning it to drift; works pretty well.
$1400 Nitro Rustler and counting :D


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The Federal Reserve's chief policymaking group, the Federal Open Market Committee, has vast power over the economy through its ability to set monetary policy.
Here is a look at how the FOMC operates.
Q: What is the FOMC's primary role?
A: Its mission is to keep the economy, inflation and employment on a healthy track. When the economy weakens, Fed policymakers cut interest rates or keep them low. The lower interest rates are aimed at promoting increased borrowing and spending by consumers and businesses to spur economic growth. When the economy grows so fast that inflation becomes a threat, Fed policymakers raise rates or keep them high. That makes it costlier for people to get loans and means less borrowing and spending. Economic activity slows and inflation pressures ease.
Q: How does the FOMC move interest rates?
A: Its policymakers decide whether to buy securities from banks. The banks sell those securities to the Fed and receive money from the Fed which they can use to make more loans. That acts to lower the interest that banks charge for those loans. Conversely, if the Fed wants to raise interest rates, it sells Treasury securities to the banks, pulling money out of the financial system and raising the cost for loans. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is responsible for conducting these operations. After the financial crisis struck in 2008, the Fed pursued other, more unconventional steps to aid the economy. Among other actions, it bought more than $2 trillion in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities. The goal was to drive down long-term interest rates, to spur more borrowing and spending and lift stock prices.
Q: Who's on the FOMC?
A: It's composed of:
— The Fed's Board of Governors in Washington, which has seven members.
— The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
— Four of the remaining 11 presidents of the Fed's regional banks. They serve one-year terms on a rotating basis.
The current roster of voting members: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen and Fed Governors Elizabeth Duke, Jerome Powell, Sarah Bloom Raskin, Jeremy Stein and Daniel Tarullo, all based in Washington; William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Q: How often does the FOMC meet?
A: It regularly meets eight times a year at the Fed's Washington headquarters. During the financial crisis, the FOMC also held emergency meetings, mostly by video conference. This year, all its meetings are taking place over two days.
Q: When does the FOMC announce its rate decisions?
A: The Fed this year changed its schedule for issuing policy statements, a shift that gives Bernanke the chance to better control the message the Fed sends investors. Each of the eight meetings each year will be followed by a policy statement around 2 p.m. on the second day. After four of the meetings, Bernanke holds a news conference around 2:30 p.m. (There was no news conference Wednesday.) Before the change, nearly two hours passed between when the statement was issued and Bernanke's news conference began. By reducing the time in between, Bernanke can more quickly manage how the Fed's statement is interpreted.
Q: How are the FOMC's rate decisions approved?
A: By a majority of the 12 voting members. Unlike the Supreme Court, close votes on the FOMC are rare. It might unnerve financial markets if investors felt the Fed chairman couldn't command widespread support for his policies. Last year, all policy decisions were approved on 11-1 votes, with Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, dissenting at all eight meetings. Lacker doesn't have a vote this year. But George, a new voting member, has cast a lone dissenting vote at the first three meetings this year. George has expressed concerns about the risk of higher inflation caused by the Fed's policies — the same fear Lacker had voiced.
Q: How are Fed officials selected?
A: The president nominates the Fed chairman and his colleagues on the board of governors in Washington. They must be confirmed by the Senate. The presidents of the 12 regional Fed banks are appointed by each bank's board of directors, with approval from the Fed's board. The 2010 Dodd-Frank law revamping the nation's financial system bars bankers who sit on the regional boards from voting for the regional bank president. Other local business people serving on the boards still retain their vote. This change was made to address concerns about potential conflicts of interest between the Fed and banks which are regulated by the Fed.
Q: How and why was the Fed created?
A: Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. The legislation was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on Dec. 23, 1913. The Fed began operating in 1914. It was created in response to a series of bank panics that plagued the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Those panics led to bank failures and business bankruptcies that roiled the economy.


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Mentorship & Policy Training Application Chatbot
Use this Template now!
Are you looking for people who are interested in mentorship and other programs related to health and life development and get them to register with you? This chatbot template will help you do that in a straightforward manner by collecting their information to generate legitimate leads for you.
Popular Chatbot Templates in the B2B Services Industry or for Lead Generation Use-case
Ebook Design Services ChatbotMore often than not, businesses publish eBooks to help customers through their buying journey. However, the ideal number of downloads are never achievable unless the eBook's cover speaks for itself. Thats why we have companies providing eBook design services. If you're in the marketing team of an eBook services company, this chatbot template is going to help you flaunt your design team's past work and pass on some leads to your sales team.
Uniform Management Services ChatbotUniforms are a direct reflection of a brand. If you're wondering why your prospects aren't giving you consignments, its probably because you haven't communicated your capabilities to them. What if a chatbot can brag about your designs and get your consignments rolling?
B2B Social Media Services ChatbotHaving a strong presence on social media has become the norm for most businesses. Especially for restaurants that are always on the look to entice customers with offers. If you help restaurants grow their presence on social media and want to source more clients for the same, this chatbot template is the best one you'll find.
Lead Generation for Early StartupsAre you an early stage startup looking to acquire your first customers? Here's a moment of truth- nobody likes to join a waitlist to test out a product they cannot look and feel. Instead, why not tell them what it's about and give them some value? And what could be a better way than a chatbot? Suggestions?
After implementing TARS, one of the Auto clients we work with has reduced the time it takes to field questions over 60%, and more importantly, their sales conversions have doubled. Overall, the benefits of using TARS has been a great amount of time and money saved by automating processes and in turn, increasing sales and the bottom line.
Mark IdzikFounder, Triproweb.com
I've been using Tars for my agency to schedule calls with clients. So far it got me almost $10,000 in B2B sales using the chatbots. The feedback I get is - they enjoy filling out the bots, it feels more 'human' vs. forms.
Rose TablanFounder, Your Go-To Funnel Nerd
10,500+ Bot Creators
18,000+ Chatbots Created
25M+ Bot Conversations
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a B2B Services chatbot?
A B2B Services chatbot is a fully automated piece of software that has a conversation with your prospects to capture and qualify leads in your digital marketing campaigns.
What is a conversion rate?
Your conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your landing page that gives you their contact information or makes a purchase on the spot. For example, if 200 people visit your page per month and 100 give you their contact info, then your conversion rate for the month is 50%.
Why does conversion rate matter?
Getting traffic to your landing pages is time and money-intensive. You either spend hours making the content required for good search rankings or spend large sums of money on Google Ads to show up at the top of the page. To maximize the ROI on these investments, you need to maximize your conversion rate as much as possible. To do this you must reduce friction in the lead generation process. One way to do this is by increasing user engagement. The vast majority of your prospects are dropping from your page because they don't like forms and they don't like reading blocks of text. Chatbots solve this engagement problem. By engaging prospects in a real conversation, they transform the lead generation process into a personalized process that gives prospects the engagement that they desire, and increases your conversion rate by 2x.
Can I use this B2B Services chatbot template for free?
Yes you can. Website chatbots can live on the bottom right of your website, ready to capture and qualify leads for you all day, everyday. In fact, we use a chatbot on our website ourselves and it generates 100s of leads for us per month! If you want to build a chatbot for your website, sign up for the Tars Chatbot Builder over HERE or book a free call with a Tars conversational design expert over HERE (they can help you get set up).
What other software (e.g. CRMs, ESPs) can B2B Services chatbots integrate with?
Using Tars' powerful API integration feature and Zapier integration, your Tars chatbot can integrate with thousands of your favourite business management apps. If you need help setting up, or want a Tars conversational expert to design a bot for you for FREE, book a time slot with us over HERE.
Can I edit this B2B Services chatbot template?
If you sign up for the Tars Chatbot Builder, you can use this B2B Services chatbot template as a base and make all the customizations your heart desires within a matter of minutes. You can sign up over HERE and check out our complete chatbot tutorial over HERE. If you need help setting up, or want a Tars conversational expert to design a bot for you for FREE, book a time slot with us over HERE.
Do I need to know how to code to build a B2B Services chatbot?
Contrary to common belief, you do not need to be an expert programmer to build a chatbot. In fact, using the Tars builder you don't need to know any programming at all. We built the Tars Chatbot Builder first and foremost for the marketer with NO CODING EXPERIENCE in mind. Sign up and start creating over HERE.
Can you build a B2B Services chatbot for me?
We have a team of highly motivated conversational design experts whose sole aim in life is to create the most optimized chatbot for your law firm. You can book a time slot with them for free over HERE.
I cannot find a chatbot template in your galley. Can I request it?
Why request a chatbot template when you can create a bespoke chatbot that fits your exact needs within a matter of minutes? Tars is the internet's most intuitive chatbot creation tool. It allows you to build high-converting conversational experiences like the one above to take your law firm's marketing to the next level. If you need help setting up, or want a Tars conversational expert to design a bot for you for FREE, book a time slot with us over HERE.
Can I change the language of this B2B Services chatbot template?
Yes. B2B Services chatbot templates created in the Tars Chatbot Builder function like regular webpages. This means that they can support every single language that your browser supports.
Ready for higher conversion rates?
Book a slot with a Tars expert to see how chatbots can increase your conversion rate by 50%
How it works?
Create a Conversation Workflow
Signup and create a Conversation Workflow from scratch using our workflow builder or use a pre-built template.
Use the Conversation as your post-click
Landing Page
Each Chatbot Conversation lives on its own URL, like a typical landing page.
Use this Chatbot URL as your Ad Campaign
destination and you are done.
View, Download and Integrate your
Conversation Data
Check the leads collected right in your dashboard, download it in an excel sheet or send it to your preferred CRM and marketing apps.


text:
About Us
Overview: The Bay Village Green Team is a group of volunteer Bay Village residents who meet quarterly to discuss sustainability issues for Bay Village and to plan for upcoming projects. We work with the Mayor and City Council to develop and implement plans that will make Bay Village a more sustainable community. All residents are welcome to participate. The team is working in the areas of general sustainability, waste management, environment and energy, transportation, organic foods and communications / education.
Purpose: The air that we breathe, the water that we drink, and the food that we consume, can all be impacted by the choices that we make in our daily lives. The consequences of some of these choices can affect both current and future generations. With over 100 EPA Superfund sites in the city of Cleveland alone, and many more in surrounding suburbs, our region knows the consequences of unsustainable environmental practices. A significant amount of time and expense has gone into cleaning up these "mistakes" of the past.
Unlike those who led the industrial revolution of the last century, we must make sure that we do not leave a financial and environmental burden to future
generations. It is more prudent to implement sustainable practices now than to deal with the consequences of inaction later. We must reexamine the ways that we produce, consume, and dispose of products. We must also find ways to implement energy conservation techniques into our everyday lives. This site is an effort to connect Bay Village residents with local resources and local information that will help us all live more sustainable and healthy lives.
Founded: 2007
Our Mission Statement: The Bay Village Green Team's mission is to improve the quality of life by decreasing our city's environmental footprint. Our vision is for Bay Village to become a model sustainable community for current and future residents.


text:
|more useful options
gideondsouzaby gideondsouza (Pilgrim)
|on Nov 23, 2012 at 06:44 UTC ( #1005218=user: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
I have a obsessive passion for building things and an odd need to know how everything works.
I come from the world of C# . I love variety and own Linux, OSX and Windows :)
Being interested in all sorts of things, I've recently taken up the challenge of learning linux and perl sickeningly well.I recently built www.perlmonksflair.com. Check it out! Discuss it here : 1049026