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Fifty thousand people are dead or close to it in Burma, and Barack Obama can state unequivocally that he does not drink designer beer. Seventy five percent of American adults will at some point be impoverished. The average American car owner really must save $30 this summer. Chris Hitchens believes Barack Obama may be pussy-whipped. Ellen Page believes Burmese dictator Than Shwe is a modern Hitler. And when tomorrow comes, Terry McAuliffe believes everyone will be saying that Hillary Clinton did better than they thought she was going to do in both the North Carolina and Indiana primaries tonight. Now there's a statement Glamocracy Megan and I can get behind! After the jump, an unusually hip-hop laden edition of Crappy Hour.
MOE: So I just had a thought. A strategist on Fox News used the word "fulcrum" and it completely tripped up the blonde, who was like, "I'm still fascinated by that word you used Rich, fulcrum." And then the other guy was like, "Yeah, fulcrum what the heck does that mean?" And the strategist laughed
MOE: And said, "It's physics, Bob, it has to do with the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum."
MOE: Which is not a law I particularly remember but it gave me this theory: I think that smart people become Republicans to feel smarter than all their friends.
MEGAN: Whoa, he even quoted that? I think today is a Big Word day because David Axelrod just used the word "potentate" on MSNBC talking about leaders in the Middle East and OPEC.
MEGAN: Okay, and now Joe Scarborough just called Tim Daly the Grand Poobah of the Creative Coalition.
MOE: What does that even mean?
MEGAN: Not that it's a definitive source, but Wiki says
Grand Poobah is a term derived from the name of the haughty character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. In this comic opera, Pooh-Bah holds numerous exalted offices, including Lord Chief Justice, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Master of the Buckhounds, Lord High Auditor, Groom of the Back Stairs, and Lord High Everything Else. The name has come to be used as a mocking title for someone self-important or high-ranking and who either exhibits an inflated self-regard, who acts in several capacities at once, or who has limited authority while taking impressive titles.
Man, now I'm kind of mad. Tim Daly seems really nice.
MOE: Hahaha so it's a more appropriate name for an MC than I knew when I began immediately associating it with this awesome party jam...
MEGAN: Dude, that guy on the TV sorta looks like Kid from Kid N Play...
MOE: Oh dude speaking of amazing segues, apparently Grand Puba holds Nation Of Islam beliefs. Which brings me to Michelle Obama, of whom we now know the same thing thanks to the Grand Puba of paranoid indiscriminate hateration. We should totally form a Hitchens-inspired hip-hop collective. I know some rappers who would dig it. We would get on Stuffwhitepeoplelike IMMEDIATELY.
MEGAN: Oh, Christ, Hitchens takes so fucking long to get to the point, which is him calling Barack, basically, pussy-whipped. Which, obviously, any man that doesn't indiscriminately cheat on his long-suffering wife the way Hitchens does obviously is.
MEGAN: Did I ever mention that I once watched Hitchens leave a party with a really pretty 18 year old? She might've been 20. She had some crazy hero-worship in her eyes, but I'll bet he sweatily fucked that out of her with his stale cigarette smell and tiny British ween.
MOE: Man I was checking TheRoot for some response to the Hitch and the lead story is on "Why The Summer Of '88 Was My Generation's Greatest." The late eighties were so rad in a lot of ways, I'm just remembering. The End of History and the like. But it was also, like, one of the bleakest eras for American cities, which I kind of think represent the future of American pluralism, which apparently Michelle Obama didn't believe in in 1985, which is why we are now wondering if she isn't a radical bitterfascist.
MOE: And that is a very good read on the situation. I was honestly disgusted he chose to go after her fucking college thesis which is basically about how alienated and inferior she felt on account of all the elitist assholes at Princeton.
MOE: And he writes:
To describe it as hard to read would be a mistake; the thesis cannot be "read" at all, in the strict sense of the verb. This is because it wasn't written in any known language.
MOE: Which is true of most academic papers.
MEGAN: Man, I sort of wish I could've written about that for my college thesis. I had to write about the role of ideology in determining women's status in the labor market in Germany before and after reunification.
MOE: But not even of hers.
MOE: I dropped out, yay. I don't think I wrote a decent paper ever in my life after my treatise on the collapse of the Weimar Republic in tenth grade. After that it was all an alcohol haze. I wrote some good stories for the Journal that were better researched than any of my papers, however.
MEGAN: I picked a graduate school based on where I didn't have to write another thesis, which is why I ended up chucking my completed SAIS application in the garbage rather than sending it.
MOE: : This was Christian's take on Hitchens which sort of nicely unpeels the layers of disingenuousness:
What he's really saying is, I, the Hitch, know that people must necessarily allow contradictions into their lives, especially politicians, who typically do so cynically, but I am cynical enough myself to pretend that I don't know that, and so I can write a column that honestly admits that Obama really has nothing in common with his Reverend (did I mention that I, the Hitch, hate all churchees—I know politicians are only pandering to them, but it's fun to pretend they're not) but that his wife is a menace.
7:14 PM asserts that his wife is a menace anyway.
MOE: That was helpful, because I read that shit and thought, "Meh, Hitchens = hater." Which is also a fair conclusion, but not as convincing to the newer Hitchophiles drawn in by his forays into makeover journalism.
MEGAN: Also, I am not going to click that again because it is more than I can handle imagining Hitch having his taint waxed AND NOW I HAVE IMAGINED IT AGAIN and I think I might hate you a little, give me a second to wash the taste of bile out of my mouth and then let's change the subject.
MEGAN: Here, let's talk about Clinton saying that OPEC can no long be allowed to exist so she's going to file a WTO complaint even though, like, she's not so keen on free trade policies or something and I'm pretty sure there's no way it would succeed.
MOE: Ah, yeah so there is a bill to amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal.
MOE: God, remember the fucking Sherman Act?
MEGAN: Which means, what? That we won't buy oil from OPEC anymore? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
MOE: Well, if the Heritage Foundation and major trade unions can agree on something...
Indeed, the only serious challenge to the organization came in 1978 when a U.S. non-profit labor association, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), sued OPEC under the Sherman Antitrust Act, in IAM v. OPEC. But the case was rejected in 1981 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. OPEC, the court affirmed, could not be prosecuted under the Sherman Act due to the foreign sovereign immunity protection it claimed for its member states. That decision was wrong. Government-owned companies that engage in purely business activities do not warrant sovereign immunity protection according to prevailing legal doctrines
MEGAN: Ok, well, then that begs the question of why the Supreme Court didn't overturn the 9th Circuit ruling.
MOE: Okay honestly this is kind of fascinating. What did the union sue OPEC over? It's interesting that basically anyone who works for the aerospace industry, especially in a publicly traded company, puts his or her livelihood in large part at the mercy of oil prices.
MEGAN: Why did the UAW back the 2001 Bush steel tariffs that were so detrimental to the auto industry? Why does the longshoreman's union oppose free trade when their entire livelihood is based on trade? I don't try to figure out union motives based on logic.
MOE: Apparently the effort was led by William "Wimpy" Wimpsinger. I like that he took that "wimp thing" and sort of owned it. Do you think Hitchens cynically wants the Clintons back because it makes his job easier?
I have the distinct feeling that the Obama campaign can't go on much longer without an answer to the question: "Are we getting two for one?" And don't be giving me any grief about asking this. Black Americans used to think that the Clinton twosome was their best friend, too. This time we should find out before it's too late to ask.
And by "find out" he means "not find out and elect my bestie Hillary because I already have 16 years worth of material ideally suited to the venomous erudickhead voice that keeps the kids reading Slate."
MEGAN: Wait, so white man Christopher Hitchens would like Black America to know that the Obamas will... what exactly? Betray them like the Clintons? I think this is why I only read stuff he writes about him waxing his back, sack and crack.
MOE: Oh man hip-hop reference segue time #2 of the morning. Let's give a shout-out to Khia. Dude, the Hitchens inspired DJ collective is a total gold idea. I know these dudes Plastic Little who could get into it. They're biracial like Obama. But I think we've gotta address the notion of Burma, and how this cyclone hit just as Hollywood celebs were getting in on the action.
MEGAN: So, am I right that the appropriately white guilty thing to do is not talk about the oppressive government for a bit?
MOE: Here's the latest "That's So Jane's!" on the matter, God I love this graphic...Apparently you likened Burma to Katie Holmes.
MEGAN: Oppression shows its face in all kinds of dark ways.
It's an Orwellian nightmare that makes China look like a liberal paradise by comparison. For twenty years there has been nothing on this scale and when protests have been staged they have been in the order of hundreds and have been easily dealt with. The monks posed a huge dilemma for the military since they initially felt that they could not simply resort to smashing skulls and opening fire indiscriminately. Buddhists believe that what you do in this life will determine how you come back next time. So massacring a few monks is more likely to see you come back as a cockroach than achieving nirvana.
China looks like a liberal paradise in comparison to a lot of the world, sadly. But did they turn out to not believe in reincarnation? Because 22,000 people are either about to be reborn, or...
MEGAN: Well, but they'll be born in China or India more often than not, so it's like they get reborn into a less oppressive regime?
MOE: Okay here's another thing. The last sentence of that Times story.
If you talk to Vaclav Havel, he'll say that Lou Reed's support for human rights in Czechoslovakia was very important to the cause."
Lou Reed? Really?
MEGAN: Um, I guess the cool factor is really important?
MEGAN: But neither Ellen Page or Jim Carrey is Lou Reed.
MOE: Okay so there's a primary tonight and I'm sick of primary nights but I suppose we ought to address it. Hillary Clinton will win in Indiana because she's "not going to put my lot in with economists." Obama will win North Carolina because Petey Pablo is from there. Oh man, hip-hop foray part III. Do you remember when Petey Pablo did that remix of "North Carolina" on the USA after 9/11? I'm sure you won't, but some commenter might. I think he also went to Afghanistan. Okay. Any predictions?
MOE: Terry McAuliffe is on Fox right now. His prediction is that "people will be saying she did better in both states than they thought she would." Jesus Christ.
MEGAN: I predict me and a lovely bottle of Petite Sirah will be blogging it tonight for Glamocracy. And that I hate being wrong so I don't make predictions but it does seem like the polls are saying that Hillary will take Indiana and Obama will take NC.
MEGAN: Whoa, talk about managing expectations there, Terry Boy. I didn't think the polls in Indiana were that close, plus she's been standing in pickup trucks! Pickup trucks are like electoral gold in Indiana.
MOE: I'm going to leave us with a passage from David Brooks, because I found it calming, sort of like certain candidates.
This wasn't just shameless spin, it was shamelessness with a purpose. Clinton signaled that she wasn't going to concede even an inch to the vast elitist conspiracy. She wasn't going to feel guilty about ignoring the evidence. She was going to stomp on it, flay it and leave it a twisted mass of jelly quivering on the ground. She was going to perform the primordial duty of an alpha dog leader — helping one's own....But, as Sunday's contrast made clear, Obama still seems like a human being. He still seems to return each night to some zone of normalcy where personal reflection lives.He wasn't fully candid when answering questions about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but there are some inner guardrails that prevent the spin from drifting too far from the truth. Thoughtful and conversational, he doesn't seem to possess the trait that Clinton has: automatically assuming that critics are always wrong. Obama still possesses his talent for homeostasis, the ability to return to emotional balance and calm, even amid hysteria.
MEGAN: Yeah, that almost calms me enough to have a nap.


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Olivia Wilde has an addiction . . . to changing her hair color. From jet black to bright blond, she has just about tried it all, which makes her the ideal fit as a Revlon hair color spokeswoman. Her experimentation actually started as a preteen when she embraced punk style to its fullest. "When I was 12, I started working my way through the Manic Panic line. I went through purple, green, and I really liked blue," she says. "I remember at one point I wanted to do a sunset. So, I wanted orange into red, which is hard to do crouching over your sink."
PHOTOS: See all the New York Fashion Week Hair and Makeup Details Up Close
While Olivia has stayed away from the primary colors as of late, she hasn't lost her love of experimentation. Even her fiancé, Jason Sudeikis, takes note of her sporadic changes. "I really don't go more than a month with the same hair color," she says. "So he'll tease me and say, 'Honey, it's been a week, are you sure you don't want to change your hair?'"
However, Olivia admits that one of the perks of her color updates is the makeup. "One of the fun things about changing your hair is getting to try out all these different colors. I think if you're a darker brunette, learning to contour is really helpful, and with eye makeup you can be a little bit more bold. And with really blond hair I think [it's best to] use way less makeup."
No matter the hair color, though, Olivia always leans on her makeup staples: a winged cat eye and a handy brow pencil. "I plucked off all my eyebrows because I wanted to be Kate Moss. She had the perfect wisps of eyebrows," Olivia explains. "But what you forget when you're looking at your beauty icon is that they have a completely different face than you."
Her time with the tweezers may be counted among her beauty blunders, but all in all Olivia embraces the trial and errors of life. "If I ever had a daughter I would tell her to make every mistake; go for it," Olivia says.
More From POPSUGAR Beauty:
From Olivia Palermo to Vanessa Hudgens, Keep Up With the Hottest Celebs at Fashion Week
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subset: commoncrawl


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As we pass into a new year, what better time to reflect on times gone by? Instead of the regular reader, I thought I'd just share a few photos from the NYPL Digital Archives.
For those of you watching the ball drop in Times Square—from wherever you are—this bit of information about the ball may be of interest:
For 2011, Waterford Crystal has designed 288 new "Let There Be Love" crystal triangles featuring a romantic pattern that blends a modern cascade of hearts with diamond cutting. 288 triangles are emblazoned with last year's "Let There Be Courage" design of a ribbon medal defining the triumph of courage over adversity; and 1,152 triangles sparkle with the "Let There Be Joy" design of an angel with arms uplifted welcoming the New Year. The remaining 960 triangles are the original "Let There Be Light" design of a stylized radiating sunburst.
|New Year's Eve Ball, 1978. © New York Times
Happy New Year, Readers! Wishing you all a safe and happy celebration. And thanks, as always, for visiting my little corner of the web.


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Entries with no category
Hello Again
Its Lake here with another blog about being a DM or GM. This blog is going to be all about NPC creation and the steps I take. This is really only going to cover my process for important NPCs. Minor NPCs I usually improvise.
Step 1: The Role.
When creating a new NPC, I usually start with the role they plan in their communityor the campaign. Are they the captain of the guard, the local blacksmith, or even the lord?
PC Thoughts and Experiences
So I have been playing RPGs for about 5 to 6 years. I know thats nothing compared to some of you all. This does mean that I have a whole lot of characters sitting in my Mythweavers sheets page, some of which Im currently playing, some were just fun ideas I had, and many are from abandoned games. So, Im gonna go through each and every one and describe my thought processes and experiences with each character. Some of these will be fairly in-depth,
Play by Post vs. Discord games
Recently, I've been working on two different Starfinder games, one I'll be running live on Discord and one here on The Tangled Web. As I've been prepping those games, I've been thinking about the differences in Dming those styles of tabletop playing. The following are just my thoughts on how those formats of playing differ and how they're similar.
Forum based play by post is inherently a slow
Lake's Theory of Dungeon Master Alignment.
First off, I know this may be controversial to say the least. There are a number of you that despise the traditional 9 alignment system in it's griddy/ wheely glory. I understand that you feel that it's limiting player choice, etc. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about DM Alignment.
I am of the opinion that different Dungeon masters are of different alignment, but it of course it
In my time, I have run into a few people that only seem to like to play one specific character, instead of a whole stable. While it's entirely their choice, I personally don't think it's a great idea. Here are my thoughts as to why.
1. Limits your possibilities
There are a lot of games that are recruiting at any given time for a lot of players. If you take a look you'll usually find between one and five games in the recruiting office forum recruiting brand new


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Wilson blinks first in duel with Chicago's Sale
Wild pitch sets up two-out rally in seventh; Trout breaks up perfecto
CHICAGO -- C.J. Wilson pitched better than he has all season, but it didn't matter.
Nobody on the Angels was touching Chris Sale on Sunday night.
"It was a really well-pitched game," Wilson said, "and Sale just had video-game stuff tonight."
Try hitting a guy who features four premium pitches -- a mid-90s four-seam fastball, a low-90s two-seamer, a mid-80s changeup and a low-80s slider -- from a herky-jerky delivery coming off a wiry, 6-foot-6 frame. The Angels couldn't. They managed only one hit, a seventh-inning Mike Trout single that broke up Sale's perfect game with eight outs left, and made Wilson's margin for error almost non-existent in a 3-0 loss at U.S. Cellular Field.
It was a rough way to snap the second three-game winning streak of the season; a tough taste to go home to, now that they've split their six-game road trip and moved to 14-23 --10 games back of the Rangers in the American League West.
But hey, at least they got a hit.
"Obviously, you don't want to get no-hit," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, "but a loss is a loss."
Wilson shut out the White Sox (15-20) through the first six innings, giving up four hits and three walks while keeping the game tied with a lights-out Sale on the other side. But in the bottom of the seventh of a scoreless game, Wilson gave up a one-out walk to Tyler Flowers, a single to Tyler Greene, then put them both in scoring position with a wild pitch.
After getting Alejandro De Aza to ground out to first base, Wilson threw a 3-1 slider to Alexei Ramirez, who lined it into left field for the two-run single that would decide the game.
"It's designed to get him to hit the ball on the ground on that side of the field, or have him swing and miss," said Wilson, who exited after that at-bat and watched Michael Kohn give up a third run on an Alex Rios double. "It's cold outside and all that stuff. I just didn't have maybe the sharpness. He didn't swing and miss at it. What are you gonna do?"
Against Sale, nothing.
The 24-year-old left-hander struck out seven, walked none, faced one over the minimum and allowed only two baserunners -- Trout on his single up the middle with one out in the seventh, and Chris Iannetta in the ninth after he reached on Ramirez's throwing error.
"I don't think they had a chance against him tonight," Rios said. "Seriously."
Sale needed only 14 pitches to get through the first two innings, had thrown fewer than 50 when he took the mound for the sixth and finished his first career shutout with 98 pitches, 68 of which were strikes. He got into only one three-ball count, extending his walk-less streak to 22 1/3 consecutive innings, and threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 28 batters he faced, putting him at 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA on the season.
"I didn't wake up this morning and say, 'I want to throw a perfect game or a no-hitter,'" Sale said. "I come to the ballpark every day when I'm pitching and just want to keep my team in the game and win this game. We did."
On May 4 at Angel Stadium, Orioles right-hander Freddy Garcia had a perfect game through six until batter No. 19, Erick Aybar, broke it up with a single up the middle to lead off the seventh.
Eight days later against Sale, Angels hitter No. 20, Trout, took a 2-0 fastball and ripped a single up the middle to avoid the wrong kind of history.
"I just told myself to hit this ball up the middle, stay to the right side, not try to get too big," Trout said. "I think if I get too big right there, I foul it off or fly out. He had good stuff tonight. You have to give it to him."
Former Rangers starter Kenny Rogers is the only pitcher to hurl a perfect game against the Angels, retiring all 27 in order in Texas on July 28, 1994. They've been no-hit five other times, the last one coming against ex-Twins starter Eric Milton in Minnesota on Sept. 11, 1999, and have now been held to one hit through nine innings on 28 occasions -- with five of those coming against the White Sox.
They'll face Sale again on Friday.
"That competitive side of you wants to get him next time," right fielder Josh Hamilton said. "Everybody has good nights. Sometimes they have phenomenal nights."


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| 6.5°C Belfast
Beyonce and Jay Z proved they are stronger than ever, as they sealed their Los Angeles gig with a kiss.
The husband and wife team, who have been plagued by rumours of marital strife, shared a show-stopping snog on stage after performing Forever Young as their closing song on the latest stop of their joint On The Run tour.
The couple then walked off arm-in-arm, but not before giving loving shout-outs to one another, reported People.
"Last but not least, give it up for Mr Carter," Beyonce said, while the rapper added: "No. Last but not least, give it up for Mrs Carter."
The finale, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, featured a peek into their lives with family footage, including shots of their two-year-old daughter Blue Ivy.
Beyonce and Jay Z appeared to brush off any allegations that their six-year marriage is on the rocks in their united performance.
The 32-year-old singer started welling up as she sang her relationship ballad, Resentment, before she was joined by her husband on a number of duets including Drunk In Love, where Jay Z held his wife from behind.
Speculation over Jay Z - whose real name is Shawn Carter - and Beyonce's marriage began in May, when a video emerged of Beyonce's sister Solange lashing out at the Holy Grail rapper as Beyonce looked on in a New York lift.
The trio released a statement saying they had "moved forward as a united family" but have not spoken about the incident.


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The 2005 repeal of a state law that once forced children accused of drug offenses into adult criminal courts has not compromised public safety and, instead, has provided hundreds of Illinois youth a greater opportunity to turn their lives around, according to a report released today by the Juvenile Justice Initiative. The report is part of the Models for Change initiative supported by the MacArthur Foundation to accelerate progress toward a more rational, fair, effective and developmentally appropriate juvenile justice system.
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text: Sijun Forums :: View topic - [crit] Warangle final Log in to check your private messages Sijun Forums Forum Index >> Archive : Sep99 - Dec00 View previous topic :: View next topic Author Topic : "[crit] Warangle final" poxenmemberMember #Joined: 23 Apr 2000Posts: 356Location: Stenungsund, Sweden Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2000 5:27 am Hallo... have been kinda "not here" for a time now.... my inspiration has been some where else! but now iam back..i think Well, well, you maby have seen this pic earlier? not finished... Here it is, finished! Plz, give me som crit. ------------------ -Poxen firstname.lastname@example.com http://www.zap.to/poxen Back to top AdezJmemberMember #Joined: 22 Oct 1999Posts: 220Location: Sweden! (Gothenburg) Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2000 5:32 am Pretty cool! =) but his neck might be a bit too long? Keep up the good work /Adezj Back to top DivesmemberMember #Joined: 22 Sep 2000Posts: 392Location: Finland Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2000 5:50 am the sword looks 2d. There is yellow comming trough the wings. Also wings look sketchy especially at the bottim. Back to top mickememberMember #Joined: 19 Jan 2000Posts: 1666Location: Oslo/Norway Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2000 10:39 am Glad to you back, pocksen You have improved a lot i can see. Where is that other inspiration source at? Maybe you could try to keep some of the shadows more sharper? It helps more often than trying to keep it smooth.. Looks cool. Mikael ------------------ Mikael's artwork Back to top v1510nArymemberMember #Joined: 31 Dec 2000Posts: 611Location: London , England Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2000 11:31 am Very sw33t picture I like the idea of a long neck but if soo make his body a bit longer as well and what Dives said the sword looks 2D , mabye make the shadows a bit darker .: | v1510nAry | :. Back to top BradfordGuestMember # Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2000 1:25 pm That is very cool. ------------------ firstname.lastname@example.com icq#:3704871 Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Sijun Forums Forum Index -> Archive : Sep99 - Dec00 All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Digital Art----------------Digital Art DiscussionWork in ProgressGallery/Finished Work Miscellaneous----------------Random MusingsArchive : Sep99 - Dec00 You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2005 phpBB Group


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Should Helton retire, it could be on high note
DENVER -- The Rockies' dream of a strong second half and a playoff berth could provide a happy-ever-after ending for veteran first baseman Todd Helton's career.
Helton has not announced whether he will retire at the end of the season, but it is the final year of his contract, his surgically repaired back and right hip are balky and he has started just 53 of the club's 96 games this season. He entered Friday night's game against the Cubs to open the post-break schedule hitting .258 -- nowhere near his standout career standards -- with six home runs and 30 RBIs.
If this is it for Helton, it could be exciting. The Rockies entered Friday 4 1/2 games behind the National League West-leading D-backs, but it was just before the break that the Rockies had a healthy lineup for the first time in a month.
"It's good to be on a team that could be playing meaningful games in September," Helton said. "You'd love to end the season winning [the World Series] on the last day. That's how you'd write the script, but we don't get to write it exactly the way we want."
Helton hopes the All-Star break gave him enough rest to make a big push.
"I feel pretty rested, but I could have used another three or four days," Helton said with a laugh.
Helton has been sharing first base with Jordan Pacheco and, occasionally, Michael Cuddyer, after spending his career as an everyday player. But the time off is not necessarily rest time.
"My swing has been so bad this year that I've had plenty to work on," he said.
Helton's defense has held up, so his value has held even if his hitting has dipped.
"It's still something I could still say is a positive to my game, but I didn't sign up just to go out and play good defense," Helton said. "Obviously, I wish I'd done better up to this point, but I can only try to improve from where I'm at right now."
Rookie third baseman Nolan Arenado believes Helton's glove cannot be underrated.
"If you get the ball close, he's going to make the play -- he's the best scooping first baseman in the game," Arenado said. "He's saved me tons this year. I couldn't be happier with the way he takes care of me. It's pretty awesome having him on the team.
"I've watched him work hard every day. With him, nothing comes easy. You'd think, being older, he could take it easy, but he watches film and does the little things to get better. If he's still doing that, that means I have a long way to go."
Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who took over for Helton as the face of the franchise in recent years, said Helton had not told him he was done at the end of the year but that he would not mind if Helton kept playing.
"I hope he comes back, because I enjoy playing with him so much," Tulowitzki said. "He does a little bit of everything. He's a great player on the field, and everywhere else he helps us professionally. Take a look before the game. He knows how to prepare.
"He can be hard on himself. Everybody sees how upset he can get with himself. But at the end of the day, when he walks out of the locker room, he does a good job putting on his dad face and just being a good guy."


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If Pramod Mahajan were to be alive today, the Bharatiya Janata Party would have shed the long-time ally Shiv Sena and gone it alone in Maharashtra.
If the assembly elections were to have been held simultaneously with the one to the Lok Sabha, then that almost certainly would have been the case.
How do I know?
Because, about a year before he was shot by his brother Praveen, BJP's Maharashtra point man told me so.
The thought process had started soon after the 2004 elections and the BJP was on the back foot and smarting under the imperious ways of the Shiv Sena, especially its chief Bal Thackeray.
The party cadre were also restless, uncomfortable in the unequal partnership where the whip hand was the Sena. The BJP which has the "BJP-100 per cent" slogan for the party thought it would be difficult if it was constantly and consistently riding piggyback on the Shiv Sena.
Mahajan's argument was simple. If the BJP were to snap ties, engage in three-cornered contests with Sena on one hand and the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance on the other, the toss up could be happy.
BJP could win about the same or more than it always did. Likewise, the Sena, even if it was at each other's cost. The bottomline would be the same and a post-poll alliance of convenience was a distinct possible because Congress or NCP were unlikely ever to hobnob with the Sena.
That would end the subservience of the BJP.
It was clear that he was not building scenarios but was unravelling a plan of action he was set upon.
When the two parties contest against each other, the cadres of the party get active, their ambitions get stoked and the party grows. In this country, Mahajan told me at that lunch at the Hotel Intercontinental on Marine Drive in Mumbai, political parties grow using the elections as the medium.
The focus is political clout that can be gained.
This element in the political arena came out sharply to me when I was allowed by Raj Thackeray just before the 1999 elections to the Maharashtra assembly elections to accompany him on his visits to several shakhas in Mumbai where he interacted with his cadre.
They all complained that in constituencies where the BJP had won as part of the alliance, they found it extremely difficult to get anything done for the sainiks. The candidates who won a seat always preferred their cadres for largesse distribution. They agreed that BJP was at the receiving end of this partisanship in constituencies where the Sena had won.
So, Mahajan explained, elections is not just winning seats, but keeping the cadres happy and strengthening a party.
So why not, he argued and said that from that moment on, the BJP would decidedly strive in that direction.
That was perfect logic which also needed a gambler who could assess the odds properly. Ask another political strongman, Sharad Pawar and he would surely concede that he and Mahajan had that ability in ample measure. They respected each other for that ability.
But his death changed that gameplan.
Though his colleagues like Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari knew and seemingly agreed with this plan of action, they apparently did not have the courage or conviction to carry forward that gameplan.
Now, it is there for everyone to see that the relationship between the BJP and the Sena is not warm. They have not even managed to hold a round of discussions on seat sharing specifics. That party is keen on indicating that it has a preference for a possible relationship with the NCP.
BJP is reduced to a state which Mahajan wanted to avoid. It is protesting its loyalty to the Sena as an ally. And the Sena is smirking.
Is Mahajan frowning?
Mahesh Vijapurkar is former Deputy Editor, The Hindu


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July 19, 2001
Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot
July 19, 2001
Not since Gary Condit ran for office with the slogan "Setting a Good Example" has the public been presented with an image that begged so much to be tarnished. The "President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security" is anything but that, and its interim report — released this week — is truly shameful.
The whole enterprise is a web of deceit, starting with its fundamental premise: that Social Security is not sustainable in its present form. The standard projections, which are used by the Commission, assume the slowest economic growth in the nation's history. Yet they still show that all promised benefits will be paid for the next 37 years without any changes at all, and that the program will always be able to pay a larger benefit than current retirees receive.
Even if we assume the Commission's pessimistic assessment of the future is correct, the projected size of the shortfall over 75 years is less than we dealt with in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s. We are talking about a small potential problem several decades from now, brought on by the cheery fact that future generations will be living longer lives than we do.
Our descendents — hopefully with more honest political leaders — will have to decide how much of their longer lives they wish to spend in retirement, and how they will pay for it. We are confident that they will be able to handle these choices.
But the Commission is determined to manufacture a mountain from a molehill, in order to prepare the public for its real goal: privatization. To do this, they have adopted some sleight-of-hand that Social Security's more shameless detractors have been practicing on talk shows for years. It's called "Dumping the Social Security Trust Fund in the Trash."
It's easy: just pretend that those hundreds of billions of dollars that Social Security has been piling up to help finance the baby boom retirement don't exist! Since 1984, Social Security has been collecting more revenue than it pays out. The surplus, as required by law, is invested in US Treasury securities. It currently stands at more than $1.1 trillion (approximately $8,000 per worker), and is expected to triple (in real, inflation-adjusted dollars) before it is drawn down to help finance the benefits of the baby boom generation.
The Commissioners would have us believe that all that money taken out of our paychecks over the last decade and a half, and loaned to the Treasury, is as good as gone. Nice try! Sell that story to Citibank, or Bill Gates, or any billionaire or pension fund that has loaned money to the government and received a US Treasury bond in return.
If they could pull off this heist, the Commission would move Social Security's troubles up to 2016. This would provide a time frame that Americans who are not regular science-fiction fans might be able to take seriously.
Of course, even if Social Security did have a problem, privatization would only worsen it. Diverting a chunk of Social Security's revenues into private individual accounts would mean that the program would either have to raise taxes, borrow, or cut benefits. It's clear which direction this Commission would take: they would cut benefits. Hence the need to convince the public that Social Security is facing serious troubles up the road.
Unfortunately, many Democrats gave this notion a bi-partisan stamp of approval a few years ago, for their own political reasons. They thought that they could beat the Republicans' proposed tax cut by arguing that the revenues were needed to "save" Social Security. It wasn't true, nor was it clever: the tax cut passed, and now most Americans think that Social Security is financially unsound.
But Social Security is still immensely popular — it keeps half of our elderly from falling below the poverty line, and for the majority of seniors it is actually their main source of income.
And the truth has a way of leaking out, over time. Those who would harm this program, including the President and his Commission, had better look over their shoulders.
Until recently, Social Security was commonly known as the "third rail" of American politics. At a Harvard conference this month, economist Jeffrey Frankel, an adviser to President Clinton, said that Clinton had "shut off the power in the third rail."
We'll see about that.
Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot are Co-Directors of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in Washington, D.C.


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Montreal Canadiens Training Sessions (all training sessions are subject to cancellation without notice)
February 15 - Between 10:30 am and 11:30 am
Montreal Canadiens Training Sessions
Regular season
Once the schedule is made available to us by the team, we are posting it in the Activity calendar on the mani page of this site. Times are subject to change and sessions can be cancelled at the last minute. The Bell Sports Complex has no control over the team scheduling.
Food and beverage
We are pleased to open our food concession during the training sessions. Please note that all outside food or beverages are forbidden in the facility.
Our friendly staff will be happy to serve you our fresh food, a variety of beverages, regular as well as our specialty coffee selection.
During the Montreal Canadiens training sessions, the Bell Sports Complex employees are welcoming you with courtesy free of charge, we thank you to help us maintain a clean environment in disposing of all garbage in the proper container at the restaurant level and by replacing the tables and chairs to their original position before you leave. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and required in helping us meet the highest standards in customer service.
Players' availability
Players are not available before or after training sessions.
For other information regarding the activities taking place at the Bell Sports Complex and rentals, call our reception desk at 450-926-2887.
Photo credit: Club de hockey Canadien inc.


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More than 50 years after Alfred Hitchcock transformed Norman Bates into a cultural touchstone for violence, madness, and obsession, Hollywood's most infamous mama's boy has been reborn.
In "Bates Motel," a new A&E cable series that airs its season finale tonight, Norman is a teenager who lives with his mother. They're quite close, actually. And why not? As someone once said, "a boy's best friend is his mother."
Viewers like what they see, and "Bates Motel" will return for a second season, extending the legacy of a brilliant novelist named Robert Bloch. He created Norman Bates in 1959's "Psycho," the novel that inspired the original movie, the sequels, the remake, and more.
Carl H. Sederholm, an associate professor of literature at Brigham Young University, has devoted much of his career to exploring the horror fiction of authors like Bloch, Stephen King, and H. P. Lovecraft. I asked Sederholm to consider the meaning and influence of "Psycho," which introduced the world to a shy, awkward, and murderous maniac.
Q: How does the novel "Psycho" fit into its era and the history of horror fiction?
A: Robert Bloch holds a significant place in the development of modern American horror because of the way he took H. P. Lovecraft's style and expanded it to include a deeper investigation of human psychology.
Other writers were taken with mental illness, but Bloch took things further by showing readers that monsters didn't need to have fangs or green skin. He was fascinated by the notion that anybody, even the person next door, could be monstrous.
Another important thing, particularly as we turn to "Psycho," is that Bloch began to explore more deeply the role of abnormal psychology in human action. In this sense, Bloch was like another of his key predecessors, Edgar Allan Poe, an author who was never afraid to investigate the darker impulses of the human heart.
Q: How did Bloch blend the real-life story of the deeply disturbed serial killer Ed Gein with his imagination?
A: The connection between Ed Gein and "Psycho" is one of those things that everyone takes for granted. Gein is regularly cited as a key influence not only on Bloch's development of Norman Bates but also on other major horror characters such as Jame Gumb from "The Silence of the Lambs" and Leatherface from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
Bloch was definitely familiar with the [Gein] case. He lived in Wisconsin at the time Gein was caught and knew some of the details of the horrific crime scene police discovered in Gein's home. In 1960, Bloch wrote an essay called "The Shambles of Ed Gein" that recounts the details of the case and comments on why figures like Gein fascinate Americans.
For "Psycho," though, the connections between Gein and Bates are slightly more coincidental than direct. Gein was interesting to Bloch because he was one of those people who could simply [seem to be] the guy next door. People who knew Gein didn't know what he was doing.
These days, when serial killers or kidnappers or other criminals like that are caught, it's common for neighbors and friends to tell the media that they didn't know their friend was so bad, that he or she just seemed so nice and normal. Bloch was fascinated by the notion that killers could live in communities undetected, that they could seem like ordinary people while committing horrific crimes.
Q: What do you think makes the character of Norman Bates so immortal?
A: One of the most memorable aspects of Psycho, especially the film, is that audiences don't want Norman to get caught, at least not until they understand why he does what he does.
One of the most gripping moments in the film is when Norman is trying to sink Marion Crane's car and it just won't go under water fast enough. In that moment, audiences come to identify with Norman, as if they believe him to be an ordinary guy caught in an extraordinary situation. Just like Bloch's own interest in the Gein case, audiences struggle to understand murderers who seem like everyday folks.
Another other aspect of Norman's popularity is that he represents the difficulty of understanding criminal motives.
Everybody knows that Norman kills because he's haunted by the looming figure of his mother, but what exactly does that mean? Is it enough for society to understand killing solely in terms of psychology, especially when it's so explicitly Oedipal?
Bloch and Hitchcock both try to explain Norman's actions using psychology but neither of them gets it quite right. I wonder if Norman Bates himself could explain the reasons behind his actions.
Q: Do you think the book and movie affected our views of mental illness? Of serial killers and violence?
A: The film was especially important because it opened the way for a new wave of horror films based around crazed killers with strange motives. Films like "Halloween, "Friday the 13th," and all their sequels and knockoffs took the idea of the psycho and made it part of the American film canon. I've reached the point with film that I see every butcher knife as a direct reference to "Psycho."
Q: Do you have any idea if the book popularized the word "psycho," which is so prevalent? There's even a compilation of Calvin & Hobbes cartoons called "Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat."
A: The book and the film definitely made the word "psycho" more common in everyday speech.
Part of the reason was because the term represented an easy way of explaining people like Norman Bates. Instead of having to master a large body of complex psychology, people could just say that some people are psychos.
It also helped reinforce the idea that anybody could be a psycho, especially people that seem so nice and ordinary on the surface. As Norman so memorably reminds people, "we all go a little crazy sometimes," even imaginary stuffed tigers like Hobbes.
Q: What do you make of the book "Psycho" from a modern perspective? Do you think it's literature?
A: Horror novels sometimes have a bad rap with critics who limit their understanding of literature to canonical texts. That's unfortunate. Horror is often a terrific source for reflecting on American fears and anxieties. In my own teaching and writing, I like to point out that cultures may be studied through their monsters.
Q: How influential was "Psycho" as a book?
A: One of the most important things to remember about Robert Bloch was that he was widely influential outside of "Psycho." He would probably be held in high esteem even if he hadn't written "Psycho."
Because of Hitchcock's film, though, Bloch was forever labeled as the author of "Psycho." For better or worse, he grew tired of being known for only that one book. He had a long career and wrote lots of books, short stories, and television and movie screenplays.
Q: He even wrote for the original "Star Trek" series, right?
A: Bloch was something of an expert on Jack the Ripper and wrote a famous story called "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" that was modified and retold in many other settings, including the episode "Wolf in the Fold" from "Star Trek."
Some readers may be interested to know that Bloch also wrote the teleplays for "What are Little Girls Made of?" and "Catspaw," both from the first season of the original "Star Trek" series.
He was a known commodity. He may not have been read as widely as someone like Stephen King, but he was very successful and highly respected by the major horror writers of his generation.
Q: Any other thoughts?
A: "Psycho" was a crowning achievement because it epitomized Bloch's belief that horror is more about human psychology than monsters and that fear ultimately comes from within. Bloch taught readers that anyone could be a monster.
Another reason for Bloch's influence was that he was a genuinely nice guy with a funny sense of humor. He supported other writers, just like his mentor H. P. Lovecraft supported him.
When Bloch was asked why he wrote horror stories, he would often respond that he had the heart of a child – one that he kept in a jar on his desk. He was a funny man who didn't take himself too seriously.
Randy Dotinga is a Monitor contributor.


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Guess what?!? I've got a set of new patterns coming out this month! First up is Gazebo table topper!
Quilt Details
Here are the Kona Cotton Colors I used for the Gazebo table topper on cover of the pattern: Kona Black Background. The other colors are Jamaica, Surf, Pear, Magenta & Lilac.
I made a scrappy version of Gazebo with Uppercase fabric by Janine Vangool for Windham Fabrics.
Gazebo is made using my Hex N More ruler (follow that link to see a video tutorial for how to use the ruler). The pattern is printed in full color, and it includes templates. Plus there's no Y seams!
Angela Walters quilted all 3 Gazebo toppers. I really like how she picked different designs for each one.
You can really see the quilting from the back! You can also see my label that is pieced into the backing.
I can't pick a favorite! I love them all!!
Gazebo is shipping to shops now! Be sure to share your Gazebo table toppers on social media using #GazeboQuilt so we can share in the fun!
© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/


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A few short months ago, it looked like Chad "Money" Mendes was about to hit paydirt: a title shot against featherweight champ Jose Aldo.
A tentative date was rumored: UFC 133 on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia. The undefeated Mendes would tangle with the Brazilian beast.
Then injuries surfaced once again for the champ following the first successful defense of his title against Mark Hominick at UFC 129. But wait – Aldo might not be ready until September or October, per his manager.
It was a bit of a "should I stay or should I go" for Mendes (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a standout collegiate wrestler only three years into the fight game. Instead of waiting, the 26-year-old decided to go and booked a fight against Rani Yahya (16-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) for the late summer event.
Now, the featherweight class is the newest addition to the UFC, and its line to the top might be a little bit shorter for standouts such as Mendes. But title shots aren't just given out like hot dogs on Fourth of July. Why not seize the day? Why pass when opportunity knocks?
These are probably questions from someone who works a regular job and, for the most part, sees career advancement as a linear thing. But for Mendes, a guy who's been competing his entire life and is in the wacky world of prizefighting, it's not the same thing.
As it turns out, Mendes didn't make the decision on a whim. He had a combination of reasons that had as much to do with timing as with external forces in the featherweight division – factors that could hurt him as much as help him. So he passed.
And besides, if you believe that your destiny is to wrap the title around your waist, is the timing as important?
"The whole rumor with me fighting Aldo, it was just a rumor," Mendes recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "There was nothing official. I never had a contract in front of me saying, 'If you sign this, you're going to be fighting for the title.' It was something that was just kind of talked about.
"We knew Florian was coming down, and if he won that fight, it was going to be a toss-up between me and him either way. And then Aldo coming out and saying he's injured and not [being able] to fight until Septemeber, October – that would be like nine months for me just sitting there not fighting.
"I've been competing since I was five years old. It's something that I've done my whole life. It's what I love to do. So, I just hate getting in there and training for months and months at a time with no light at the end of the tunnel. I could have possibly waited and possibly fought Aldo. But what if I would have waited the nine months and Dana said, 'Oh, we still want to put Kenny in. Now, you're going to fight Yahya.'"
At 26 years old, Mendes is at the stage of his career where time is an asset to be used. Sure, he could use it to give him laboratory time in the gym to improve his skills. And he would undoubtedly do that with his Alpha Male teammates. But why not use it for the best kind of experience you can get – the kind where punches and kicks fly at your head in real time?
"I haven't even been doing this for three years yet," Mendes said. "That title is going to be there. I'm taking each fight, I'm doing what it takes to win these fights in the gym. I have confidence in my skills. I know what I can and can't do, and I know that I'm doing everything possible to win.
"I truly believe everything happens for a reason. If for some reason, I didn't win this fight, then it wasn't meant to be."
Mendes will be focusing on an entirely different skillset against Yahya. The featherweight is, at best, average on his feet and exceptional on the mat. If Yahya gets your back, you're in deep trouble. Aldo, on the other hand, is a bruiser on the feet who against Hominick showed off his takedown skills.
Yahya is the more dangerous threat on his back, but what about the champ? Is Mendes' wrestling not the perfect foil to Aldo's striking?
"Oh yeah," Mendes said. "We saw that with his loss to (Luciano) Azevedo. The guy just kept shooting and shooting and shooting, and it wore on [him]. You could see when he finally got taken down, he took a deep breath and was just kind of like, done. Then he ended up getting submitted."
Of course, if Mendes is not careful, the same could happen to him against Yahya, and he might have to wait a while for another chance to meet Aldo.
But that's not such a daunting idea. Either way, he'll eventually get to where he needs to go.
"I do believe my time is going to come," Mendes said. "I will a shot at that belt, and I do believe I'm going to win it eventually."
For the latest on UFC 133, stay to tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.


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Job Information
Comcast Retail Sales Consultant in Homestead, Pennsylvania
Business Unit:
Job Summary:
Responsible for assisting and consulting with customers on our products
and services by utilizing knowledge, skills, and technology to achieve a
world class sales and service experience
Works with moderate supervision/guidance. Is accountable for individual
results and impact on team.
Employees at all levels are expected to:
- Understand our Operating Principles; make them the guidelines for how
you do your job
- Own the customer experience - think and act in ways that put our
customers first, give them seamless digital options at every touchpoint,
and make them promoters of our products and services
- Know your stuff - be enthusiastic learners, users and advocates of our
game-changing technology, products and services, especially our digital
tools and experiences
- Win as a team - make big things happen by working together and being
open to new ideas
- Be an active part of the Net Promoter System - a way of working that
brings more employee and customer feedback into the company - by joining
huddles, making call backs and helping us elevate opportunities to do
better for our customers
Drive results and growth
Respect and promote inclusion and diversity
Do what's right for each other, our customers, investors and our
Core Responsibilities:
- Passionately represents products and services by sharing and
demonstrating product and sales know-how with customers. Provides
product demonstrations to educate customers on full product capabilities
to maximize their experience.
- Takes a customer-first approach with all customer interactions.
Listens and evaluates customer needs and provides appropriate solutions.
Achieves sales and customer experience goals and objectives.
Provides comprehensive customer onboarding activities and ensures
customers fully understand how to use and manage all company
products/services, and gains their consent.
Performs operational and administrative tasks.
Partners with customer care to resolve customer issues, as
- Consistently demonstrates sales excellence and professionalism with
integrity, and a warm and friendly demeanor to customers and teammates.
- Complies with all company and retail operational policies and
- Completes training requirements and actively engage in team huddles
and learning.
Knows and understands sales compensation plan and its key elements.
Must be able to work a flexible schedule that includes evenings,
weekends, holidays, variable schedule(s), and overtime as needed. May be
asked to work in alternate stores outside of home base store. Regular,
consistent and punctual attendance.
- Must be able to carry and lift up to 25 pound boxes, stand and move
about the store constantly.
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Job Specification:
- High School Degree or Equivalent
- Generally requires 1-3 years related experience
Comcast is an EOE/Veterans/Disabled/LGBT employer
- Comcast Jobs


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Some developers prefer that questions remain separate from their main development thread to help keep things organized. Placing your question within this thread will increase its chances of being answered by a member of the community or by the developer.
Before posting, please use the forum search and read through the discussion thread for [Guide] CWM ReParted. If you can't find an answer, post it here, being sure to give as much information as possible (firmware version, steps to reproduce, logcat if available) so that you can get help.
Thanks for understanding and for helping to keep XDA neat and tidy!


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Prod.Code: 10004
Wireless keypad with a buttom (not wireless)
Low consumption and battery life up to 4-5 years.
Easy stay arm-disarm of the system
Built- in panic keys
Avalaible in white colour.
Two way communication Wireless Alarm Panel at 868 MHz
Includes Keypad and illuminated screen LCD
Includes built-in siren answering machine and decoder
Includes a power supply and also optional for GSM/GPRSView more
Two way communication alarm panel at 868MHz
Includes keypad and illuminated LCD screen
Includes buil-in siren, answering machine and decoder
Has the ability to voice commands
Includes a power suply and also optional for GSM/GPRSView more
Touchscreen keypad for wireless panels.
Low consumption and battery life up to 4-5 years.
Easy stay arm-disarm with a key ring.
Avalaible in white or black colour.View more
Two way keyfob to communicate with the alarm pannel
5 commands
Operating frequency at 868 MHz
Very large operating frequency
Battery life up to 4-5 yearsView more


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My contact form is currently down, please email me! email@example.com
I would love to talk to about your wedding or portrait session! I truly believe that everyone should have AMAZING pictures, so I try to give my clients options so that their memories can be captured.
Columbia, MD
Weddings for 2020 start at $3300 for 6 hours. Please contact me for specific details on packages and pricing.
How cute is this baby? I couldn't do much black and
Hey all! So I had a busy weekend with three shoots! Just
So my friends Heather and John just had a baby, Von. They
Babies just cry when I start taking pictures of them.
So you may remember me taking Missy's maternity
Hey everyone! After a long day with the kiddos at school, I
Okay, so it is here! The Devenney Family lives on this
Yes! I finally, after about 3 weeks could sit down and go
Hi everyone! I'm Anna, welcome to my blog. I'm a Howard County, MD wedding and portrait photographer, mama, wife, and teacher. Come explore and hang out a while. To read a blog, hover over a picture that you like...the title of the blog will pop up. Click on that picture to read the entire blog post. You can check out some of my latest photos, my Two Cents Tuesdays (life tips/tricks), or just get to know me a little better. I would love to hear from you in the comments. Thanks for checking out my blog!
Arpasi Photography | 443-745-8369 | email@example.com | Wedding Photography | Wedding Photographer | Highland, MD|ProPhoto Photo Website by Courtney Keim


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The Line
Spec Ops: The Line updated with free co-op content
Spec Ops: The Line has been updated with free co-op content.
The Line headlines
Spec Ops: The Line free co-op DLC to launch "approximately" around August
2K has announce the free co-op DLC for Spec Ops: The Line will release "approximately" in August, according to Gamespot. The DLC adds four co-op missions which take place prior to the game's single-player campaign. Screenshots depicting co-op were posted earlier this month and can be accessed through here. Spec Ops: The Line launched in […]
Spec Ops: The Line given an "M" rating by ESRB for obvious reasons
The ESRB has rated Spec Ops: The Line M for Mature in the US, which is not really shocking, unless a shooter about Spec Ops missions wasn't a large enough clue for some of us out there. However, apparently, you'll be able to do more than just shoot people in the face in this game, […]


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Intruder begs his victims for help and other odd crimes
A Salt Lake City break-in goes awry for the intruder. In Michigan, a man gets prison for spitting in a cop's sandwich - those and other odd crimes in this edition of the bizarre blotter.
Victims help dude who broke in and bled all over their house
People at a home in Salt Lake City ending up saving the life of a man who broke in last week. The 20-year-old is accused of breaking out a window to enter the house, but cutting his arm badly in the process. The victims called 911, and one of them also realized he knew the intruder. "I met the kid the weekend before," said Pablo Solorio. "He knew my name. He was like, 'Pablo, help me! Help me! Help me!'" The intruder was taken to the hospital and is expected to be arrested when released.
- via KSL.com
Stiff sentence for spit sandwich
A man in Michigan's Upper Peninsula will spend a minimum of two years in prison for spitting in an officer's food. Dalton Ursulean, 24, was sentenced Monday for spitting into a snack wrap and serving it to a uniformed police officer in August 2012. Though Ursulean tested positive for hepatitis C, his attorney said he didn't know he had the infection - and the officer who was served spit did not get the disease. Prison was chosen instead of jail because Ursulean has three previous felonies, six misdemeanors and nine jail incidents.
- via the Iron Mountain Daily News
He fled in a wheelchair and got away
Police in Oakland, Calif. are looking for a man who allegedly beat a woman with his cane and then fled - in a wheelchair. The victim says the man rolled up behind her Monday night and knocked her unconscious by striking her face with a wooden cane. He then wheeled himself away. Police don't know why he attacked her.
- via Contra Costa Times
Not the girl you want to steal a phone from
Two Detroit cops are accused of robbing three men at gunpoint because they suspected the men of stealing a phone from one of their daughters. David Pomeroy and Michael Notoriano allegedly tracked the stolen phone to the three men in July. Authorities allege that they got the girl's phone back, but also took a handgun, cash and pot. Both police sergeants were arraigned on multiple charges Monday.
- via the St. Paul Pioneer Press


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The corporate boards of Viacom and CBS agreed to merge in an all-stock deal Tuesday, reuniting the Redstone family's entertainment holdings after a series of legal battles and corporate intrigues.
The move is intended to enable the blended company valued at about $30 billion to fight off bulked-up competitors and a new threat from digital rivals with well-financed streaming services.
Viacom Chief Executive Bob Bakish is to oversee the new company, which will be called ViacomCBS. The deal would combine such well-known entertainment brands as CBS and Showtime with Viacom's Paramount television and movie studios, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV.
CBS also owns the book publisher Simon & Schuster. Current CBS CEO Joe Ianiello is to oversee the former CBS properties under Bakish.
"Our unique ability to produce premium and polar content for global audiences at scale - for our platforms and for our partners around the world - will enable us to maximize our business for today, while positioning us to lead for tomorrow," Bakish said in a statement.
The new chairwoman of the combined company is to be Shari Redstone, who controls the family's holding company, National Amusements, along with her 96-year-old father, Sumner Redstone. While Viacom and CBS are publicly traded, they are both controlled by the family through National Amusements.
It would seem unlikely that the merger would be blocked by federal regulators or antitrust lawyers. Viacom and CBS are largely not direct competitors, and the U.S. Justice Department recently lost its challenge to the AT&T takeover of Time Warner.
Yet even if the deal goes through, and even at its new heft, the new Viacom would remain on the smaller side.
Comcast, the parent of NBC and Universal, and AT&T, after its takeover of Time Warner and CNN, each combine Hollywood firepower with critical communication services via cable and the Internet as well as digital phones and mobile phones. They are vastly larger than ViacomCBS would be.
So too is the new Disney, further bolstered by its recent acquisition of much of Fox's entertainment holdings, including the Star Wars and Marvel franchises.
Like Disney, AT&T is moving aggressively to create a new entertainment streaming service. For AT&T, the service will focus on the DC comic books superhero franchises, its HBO programs and films, as well as its cartoon and movie archives.
Yet many are watching the nation's leading digital giants with great concern. Amazon and Netflix have dipped into seemingly bottomless wallets to draw creative talent away from conventional networks and studios, encouraging Americans to sever their cable subscriptions with a wealth of new shows. Apple is also embarking on offering original television content as well (it has had paid streaming services for years).
CBS has moved on streaming more than its broadcast rivals, with a digital 24-hour news service called CBSN and a paid entertainment streaming service. That service, called CBS All Access, has enjoyed some modest success with hits such as The Good Fight and a renewal of the Star Trek franchise.
Sumner Redstone split CBS from Viacom in January 2006 in the belief it would unshackle the more profitable entertainment vehicle Viacom from the lagging, old school network television divisions of CBS. As it happened, CBS proved the more dynamic company under Les Moonves, then CEO and later chairman.
As Sumner Redstone aged, Shari Redstone had to battle with her father's former girlfriends and his executives to ensure her position. CBS, led by Moonves, fought in the boardroom and courtroom to dilute the voting stake of National Amusements to prevent her gaining control of the company. But Moonves was derailed by a sexual assault and harassment scandal, which led to his firing. (He has denied the accusations.)
With Moonves gone, the path to the reunification of the two wings of the Redstone entertainment empire was far smoother. The more pressing problem now is that the new ViacomCBS may not be big enough to hold off its rivals in Hollywood or Silicon Valley. If it does not successfuly acquire other properties, the merged company may have just made itself appealing enough to be bought by a larger player, like Amazon — which doesn't have a network — or Verizon, which lacks any major TV presence.
Soon, one mega entertainment company may be bringing us "Dora The Explorer," "The Daily Show" and "60 Minutes." Viacom and CBS said today that they are merging. Together, they are going to create a $30 billion giant. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik joins us now from New York with the details.
Hey, David.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: So can you just give us a picture of what this combined CBS-Viacom behemoth will look like?
FOLKENFLIK: Yeah. From any objective standard, they got a whole lot of properties. Under the same roof, you'll have CBS network, CBS News, you'll have Showtime, the entertainment premium channel on cable, you'll have Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, MTV and Paramount Pictures and television studios as well.
CHANG: Man, phew (ph). And why are these already two huge companies merging now?
FOLKENFLIK: Well, the logic behind the deal - I think the best word for it is fear. Now, executives are putting a good face on it. We heard earlier this afternoon from Viacom CEO Bob Bakish on a call with analysts this afternoon. Here's what he had to say.
BOB BAKISH: Simply put, the combined company will be one of only a few with the breadth and depth of content and platforms and the global reach to shape the future of the industry.
FOLKENFLIK: Bakish is going to be running the combined company, which they claim is going to be called ViacomCBS. You know, that may be true. They may be one of only a few, but there are a lot of others if you think about it. Think of Disney, which, you know, has the children's franchises like "The Lion King." It's got ESPN, the ABC network, a heck of a lot more and bought a lot of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, at least the entertainment parts at Fox. Think of Homer Simpson, think of the X-Men, think of cable channels like FX. And then there's these other giants - AT&T, Comcast - these guys are a combination of entertainment properties as well as ISP and telephone providers. And then up north, Silicon Valley - look at Amazon and Netflix, even soon Apple. You've got folks that seemingly have bottomless wallets to compete against. They're paying a lot of money to draw a lot of creative talent down there. And they're just so much bigger than even this combined Viacom will be.
CHANG: Sure. I also understand there's some interesting history here - right? - like the Redstone family has controlled both of these companies at various times. What role did any family drama play into this merger?
FOLKENFLIK: There's been a lot of drama. Sumner Redstone is in his mid-90s. He's the patriarch of National Amusements, the holding company that controls both of these companies. He split them apart effective in January of 2006. He wanted to unleash what he thought was the profit to be driven by the entertainment side over at Viacom. Actually, CBS performed much better. Shari Redstone had been his presumed successor, and yet he didn't want to let go. He had to fight with his former girlfriends. He had to fight with some of his executives over at CBS in the boardrooms, in the courtrooms, to make this happen. She prevailed. And ultimately, she was able to get these two companies to agree to merge once she was able to force out Les Moonves, who was felled in a sexual harassment and assault scandal. It's important to note he denies the allegations made against him.
CHANG: Right. Do you think the federal government is going to approve this merger?
FOLKENFLIK: I think they will. I mean, they basically gave the matador defense to the Disney takeover the entertainment properties of Fox. And the Justice Department lost its challenge to try to keep off the takeover of Time Warner and its properties, including CNN, by AT&T. So I think that you're going to look - probably going to be a light touch from federal regulators as Viacom and CBS don't really compete very much at all. I think the real challenge is is this combined ViacomCBS going to be big enough to compete in the world of streamers? They say they've got a lot of content to offer, and that's true. But if you look over at Disney, if you look at AT&T-Time Warner and you look up north to Silicon Valley, there are a lot of folks that have a lot of content that they're going to have to compete against.
CHANG: That's NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik.
Thanks so much, David.
FOLKENFLIK: You bet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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New Mexico bases its withholding tax on an estimate of an employee's State income tax liability. The State credits taxes withheld against the employee's actual income tax liability on the New Mexico personal income tax return. State withholding tax is like federal withholding tax.
An employer who withholds a portion of an employee's wages for payment of federal income tax must withhold state income tax. This includes employers of some agricultural workers. There is a limited exception for certain nonresident employees.
Also exempt from withholding tax is income wholly earned by a Native American member of a New Mexico federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo on the lands of the nation, tribe or pueblo where he or she is enrolled and lives.
The income earned from active-duty military service is also exempt from withholding requirements.
"Employer" is defined in Section 7-3-3 NMSA 1978. In general, "employer" means a person doing business in the state or deriving income from state sources who pays wages to an employee for services performed.
"Employee" is defined in Section 7-3-3 NMSA 1978. In general, "employee" means a New Mexico resident who performs services either within or without the state for an employer. It also includes nonresidents who perform services within the state for an employer.
"Wages" is defined in Section 7-3-3 NMSA 1978. In general, "wages" means payment in cash or other form for services performed by an employee for an employer.
The amount of tax withheld may vary depending on how many allowances an employee claims on the federal W-4 form and how often wages are paid. Employers should refer to the New Mexico State Wage Withholding Tables located in the FYI-104 to determine the proper amount to withhold.
FYI-104: New Mexico Withholding Tax
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Crimestoppers Crime of the Week
Victoria Crime Stoppers and the Victoria Police Department need your help to identify the person responsible for a robbery.
On the morning of July 17, the owner of a business the 700 block of South Delmar entered his shop to find a unknown Hispanic Male stealing property. After the owner confronted the male he was pushed to the ground causing him to be injured. The male fled the area in a white Chevrolet Suburban pulling a flatbed trailer. This was the second time during the month of July that the business had been robbed.
If you have any information about this crime call Crime Stoppers 572-4200 or visit our website: CrimeStoppersVictoria.com. If the information you give Crime Stoppers leads to an arrest and charges being filed you could earn a cash reward up to $1,000.


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Category Archives: nature
To Have a Right Relationship with the World Around Us
– Helen Hoover
Helen Hoover was a writer about nature as well as being a metallurgist. She died in 1984 at the age of 74.
President Obama has in the last two days, begun to rectify some of the environmental mistakes made by the Bush administration. California and some other states will be able to set their own, higher emission standards. Yesterday, my minister at the Unitarian Universalist church I attend discussed how we can have a right relationship with our environment and interconnected web of existence.
I began thinking that sometimes, in my grandiose view of myself and the world, I think I have all the time and space I need to do my will. But in reality, our resources are limited, and already we are losing needed material and precious species that will never return to our planet.
Let us remember we are here only for a short while, but others will come after us. We need to take care of our earth just as much as we need to take care of ourselves. If we think only of our own pleasure, we are likely to become selfish and live destructive lives.
Those of us who have chosen a path of personal growth probably realize how much we have squandered our energy and dissipated vital forces. We may have tried to impose our fantasies and our wills on other people and we abused those who needed our love and trust. We thought we were little gods and that the world was here just for us. We can still learn how to have that right relationship with the world that surrounds us. It is good to be aware of all that is special in this world, including ourselves.
Related Articles
- I am a Unitarian Universalist (christophersmark.wordpress.com)
- Advice and support for someone with no family (ask.metafilter.com)
- One Congregation, Many Paths (timesunion.com)


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Call us now for a free vinyl siding estimate: 315-729-1120
Many People have written and asked:
What would you or do you put on your home Duane?.
I try to practice what I preach and this year I will be vinyl Siding my own home.
I choose Certainteed Monogram siding for not only my own home but that of my customers. It's a .046 thickness panel and has a great warranty from fading. To learn more:
I am very proud that both myself and my company are a Certainteed 5 star vinyl siding contractor.
I also am accredited from the vinyl siding institute.
We have touched on a number of different things in our previous posts. This one is focusing on vinyl siding your home in the Rochester to Syracuse NY areas:
Vinyl siding: good, bad or ugly?
Vinyl siding can be all of the above. I'd like to explore each possibility individually. We can get the worst out of the way first. Note that the quality of your materials and correct installation solve 99% of any possible cosmetic issues.
Vinyl siding: the ugly!
If you can't immediately envision an ugly siding job, take a look around the next time you go for a drive. Ithaca, Syracuse, and Rochester are no exceptions to shoddy craftsmanship. They each have their fair amount of poorly installed vinyl siding, just like anywhere.
One common cause of ugly vinyl siding in our central NY areas is ripples in the panels. This is caused by over driving the nails attaching to your wall, or stretching panels up and down, forcing the lines to match another section of wall. Cheap vinyl siding also can be chalky and look faded after a few years, if the color isn't injected into the panel's material, instead of being applied on top of it.
Anyone can do a vinyl siding installation. It takes real experience and skill to make it look good, however. Only then will your money be well spent.
Vinyl Siding: the bad!
Vinyl siding likes to expand. Most people, and contractors for that matter, think it's "side to side" expansion and contractions on the panels. While that is true to a certain extent, the majority of expansion is downward. This is why you may notice unclipped or missing sections of siding in the middle of a wall, upon closer inspection. If you don't snap a piece of siding completely when nailing, the paneling can expand downward and become unsnapped.
Vinyl siding doesn't like impact. If you have a lot of small stones, sticks, kid's toys, etc., and hit them with a mower, chances are you are going to have holes or cracks in your siding. This can be prevented by buying thicker panels and/or aiming the mower chute away from your house. Expect baseballs, car doors, and golf balls to do damage if in close contact with your home.
Guys: Keep your grill a safe distance away from vinyl siding! I once saw a place in Syracuse that had experienced the effects of a grill located slightly too close to the house, the results weren't pretty.
Vinyl Siding: the good.
Vinyl is final!
If you use a good quality siding on your home, you can eliminate most problems mentioned above.
You no longer have to paint your home. Vinyl siding is virtually maintenance free. A high quality vinyl siding job can increase your home's value by more than the cost of the job itself, in some cases.
It increases the "R" value of your home, as well as stopping drafts. This is increasingly true if you use an insulated vinyl siding or apply a high "r" board to your home prior to siding.
Add style: there are many trim accessories you can choose from, these will allow you to change the entire exterior style of your home, if you choose to.
Curb appeal is priceless. If you really want your neighbors to take notice of your home, new siding is an easy way to get there.
In closing:
If you choose a nice quality vinyl siding, and use a skilled, conscientious installer, vinyl siding can add value to your home that is difficult to beat.


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Chrysler announced today that it'll officially reopen the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, MI in late 2012 to build the 2013 SRT Viper. The real news, however, is that when it slithers out of its old skin it'll also shed the Dodge moniker with it.
"The next generation Viper will make its return to the product lineup in late 2012 as a 2013 model," said SRT Brand & Motorsports President/CEO Ralph Gilles in a press release earlier today. "We're extremely excited that our ultimate American sports car will continue to live on and be produced exclusively here in the Motor City."
From now on, the Dodge brand will also no longer play host to the Viper. Instead the supercar will just be called the SRT Viper.
So let me get this straight — since Fiat's taken over they've now added three new brand sales channels? Yes, the Italians are monuments to efficiency, aren't they?
Photo Credit: magic robots / Flickr


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Red Sox got their man in John Farrell
David Ortiz suspected from the start that the Red Sox eventually would hire John Farrell away from Toronto Blue Jays as their next manager.
General manager Ben Cherington, Ortiz knew, wanted somebody who would command respect in the clubhouse and work effectively with the front office to change the direction of the franchise after a 93-loss season.
Farrell, the team's former pitching coach, had those qualities.
"There is something that they see in him,'' Ortiz said Sunday after learning the Red Sox had signed Farrell to a three-year contract. "Ben got his guy and he has things lined up to make the ball club better. He wanted Farrell to be part of that.''
The 50-year-old Farrell had a year remaining on his contract with the Blue Jays and extricating him from that deal took 10 days of high-level negotiations between the teams. The Red Sox eventually gave up their starting shortstop, Mike Aviles, as compensation.
It was only the sixth time in major league history a manager under contract was essentially traded to another team.
Farrell started the process Oct. 9 when he told Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos that he wanted to leave Toronto after two seasons and replace the fired Bobby Valentine in Boston.
"John expressed to me that he'd really like an opportunity to pursue that if it came about,'' Anthopoulos said during a conference call. "As John explained it to me, this was a dream job for him, an opportunity he really wanted to pursue.''
The Red Sox had not yet requested permission of the Blue Jays to speak to Farrell. That came a few days later when principal owner John Henry called Toronto team president Paul Beeston.
Compensation talks occurred primarily at the ownership level, Red Sox team president Larry Lucchino speaking frequently with Beeston.
The discussions were not without some rancor, the Blue Jays growing angry about media coverage of the situation.
"There was a lot of, to be completely candid, gamesmanship and a lot of things that went on from a negotiating standpoint. Not on our end, just a lot of things that were coming out that were completely false,'' Anthopoulos said.
"We're pretty good in terms of not putting things out there in the media and leaking things or saying things. The upsetting part for me were how many false reports were out there that I didn't think were fair to John or to myself or to the organization.''
Anthopoulos also was annoyed that the news was leaked to the Boston media late Saturday night, breaking an agreement between the teams. Commissioner Bud Selig did not approve the deal until Sunday.
"It probably didn't go as smoothly as we think it could have,'' Anthopoulos said.
The Red Sox will have a news conference early this week at Fenway Park. But statements released on Sunday made clear their joy.
"I'm extremely excited to be returning to the Red Sox and to Boston,'' Farrell said. "I love this organization. It's a great franchise in a special city and region, with great fans, and we want nothing more than to reward their faith in us.''
Said Cherington: "We are thrilled to name John Farrell as our new manager. I have known him in various capacities throughout my career, and I hold him in the highest regard as a baseball man and as a person.''
Farrell was the successful pitching coach of the Red Sox from 2007-10. With Terry Francona seemingly entrenched as manager and Farrell desirous of running his own team, he left for Toronto.
When Francona was fired following the collapse of the 2011 Red Sox, it created what Anthopoulos called "a perfect storm'' of events that led to Farrell returning to Boston.
"I don't think anybody could have expected that,'' he said.
Anthopoulos would not comment on the widely held belief that the Sox tried to get Farrell after last season. But he said he had respect for Farrell being honest with him.
"I understand the connection; I understand the ties,'' Anthopoulos said. "John had been there a long time and had a lot of strong relationships there. Spent a lot of time in the city. It's not completely foreign to me why there would be an appeal there. That's how he expressed it to me; this was the one job. There was no other city for him that was a perfect fit or a perfect opportunity. He was very candid.''
Farrell was 154-170 in two seasons with Toronto. The Red Sox play the Blue Jays early next season, a three-game series in Toronto starting April 5.
The choice of Farrell was a popular one with Red Sox players. Jon Lester wrote, "Welcome back John!! Can't wait to get back to work!!'' on Twitter early Sunday morning.
"He has a great relationship with our pitchers and I think they need that,'' Ortiz said. "If you can line up your pitching staff, it makes everything easier.
"I think [Farrell] will give us a chance to win games because the pitchers will produce for him. It was hard to win games last season because we were always behind. That's a tough position.''
Ortiz believes the Red Sox also will benefit from Farrell being so familiar with the team.
"Definitely,'' he said. "I'm pretty sure he'll walk in and handle his business. He'll be in a situation where he doesn't have to come in and learn the program. He can just do his thing.''
The Red Sox have missed the playoffs three seasons in a row and were an embarrassment last season. There is much work to be done rebuilding the roster and hiring a coaching staff.
Hiring Farrell is the first step of many.
"I'm very excited to have him back and I'm looking forward to playing for him,'' second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "He's been through it before here and it should be fun trying to accomplish our goals together.''
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Hi there,
I've packed my openSUSE installation in a tar.gz file.
Download: openSUSE-11.1-1-x1000-ppc64.tar.gz "experimental"
Known problems:
- SB600 Soundchip doesn't work
- 3D acceleration doesn't work
Here are the installation instructions for openSUSE (based on the Fedora installation instructions by Pat Wall. Thanks to Pat )
You must have another Linux distribution already installed such as Debian, MintPPC, Ubuntu etc in
order to install openSUSE 11.1-1. Login to your current Linux distribution, e.g. Debian or
Ubuntu and create an ext3 partition of at least 20GB using GParted or similar tool of your choice.
You should also create a Linux swap partition.
Login to your current Linux distribution, e.g. Debian or Ubuntu, and open a terminal to complete
the following steps.
Become the root user by entering
Code: Select all
Enter your root password <return>
Download the kernel tarball from the following URL: kernel-3.10.3-6.17-2-powerpc-x1000-ubuntu.tar.bz2
Unpack the kernel tarball and copy it to your CF Card or USB Stick so it will be available to select
when booting from CFE:
Code: Select all
tar jxvf kernel-3.10.3-6.17-2-powerpc-x1000-ubuntu.tar.bz2
Code: Select all
cp /path/to/vmlinux-3.10.3-2-ubuntu /path/to/cfcard
Create a mount point on which to mount the openSUSE tarball:
Code: Select all
mkdir /mnt/opensuse
Mount the partition where you want to install openSUSE.
Code: Select all
mount -t ext3 /dev/sdXX /mnt/opensuse
Download the openSUSE tarball from the following URL: openSUSE-11.1-1-x1000-ppc64.tar.gz
(The compressed image is 1.1GB in size and will expand to 3.1GB )
Copy the tar.gz file to the partition where you want to install openSUSE.
Code: Select all
cp openSUSE-11.1-1-x1000-ppc64.tar.gz /mnt/opensuse
Change to /mnt/opensuse.
Code: Select all
cd /mnt/opensuse
Unpack the tarball.
Code: Select all
tar zxvf openSUSE-11.1-1-x1000-ppc64.tar.gz
Configure fstab to reflect your system e.g. replacing the strings with your own root partition
and swap partition respectively. In this example /dev/sdb2 is the root partition and /dev/sdb3 is the
swap partition.
Code: Select all
nano -w /mnt/opensuse/etc/fstab
You can now reboot into your openSUSE installation:
Code: Select all
/dev/sdb2 / ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/sdb3 swap swap defaults 0 0
Code: Select all
Booting openSUSE
To boot openSUSE at the CFE prompt you will need to do the following:
Remember to substitute the root partition (/dev/sdb2 in this example) that you installed openSUSE on.
(Note this is typed as a single line at the CFE prompt)
Boot the provided vmlinux-3.10.3-2-ubuntu kernel from a usb stick or compact flash card.
Code: Select all
CFE> setenv bootargs "root=/dev/sdb2"
(compact flash card)
Code: Select all
CFE> boot -elf -noints -fatfs cf0:vmlinux-3.10.3-2-ubuntu
(USB disk)
Code: Select all
CFE> boot -elf -noints -fatfs usbdisk0:vmlinux-3.10.3-2-ubuntu
openSUSE will now boot to the "Shell Login" Screen.
Login into openSUSE with the administrator account root.
The default root password is: amigaone (all lower-case)
Change the root password to the password of your choice.
Code: Select all
Enter your new password and confirm.
While still logged in as root you will need to setup X11.
Code: Select all
Configure your display, the resolution and the colors.
Save you configuration.
Start the KDE Display Manager with
You can login with the user "amigaone".
Code: Select all
The default password is: amigaone (all lower-case)
Have a lot of fun with openSUSE. Be aware, that openSUSE is experimental and isn't supported.


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Augustana Reports Largest Number of International Students
Fifty four new students representing 20 countries and five continents will begin their studies at Augustana this fall -- the College's largest-ever incoming class of international students.
Augustana Professor Authors Book on 'Economic Dysfunction'
"Fubarnomics," the new book by Dr. Robert W. Wright, Nef Family chair of political economy, tackles conditions like financial bubbles and collapses and probes the dark recesses of economic dysfunction.
College and Community Band Returns from Concert Tour
Members of the Augustana College and Community Band are back in the U.S. after a two-week concert tour of Greece and Turkey. The Band presented four concerts and performed with native artists.
Rob Oliver Editorial Says No Need to Go Away to Do Research
President Rob Oliver's recent editorial in the Argus Leader emphasizes the need to convey to the young people of our region that they don't need to go away to go far in scientific research.
Augustana Sees 250 Percent Increase in Anthropology Majors
Augustana College is reporting a 250 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in its anthropology major. This fall, Augustana's student roster will list 21 anthropology majors.
Augustana Presents Holiday Jam With the Hegg Brothers
Tickets are now on sale for "Holiday Jam With the Hegg Brothers," a musical evening of holiday favorites in St. Paul, Minn., presented by Augustana in celebration of the College's 150th anniversary.
Sophomore Honors Award Recipients Announced
Four rising juniors have been selected to receive the prestigious Sophomore Honors, an award which recognizes students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement at an early stage of their college careers.
Professor Emeritus Richard Forman Passes Away at 82
Dr. Richard W. Forman, professor emeritus of Mathematics, died Wednesday, June 30. He was 82. The funeral service was held on Tuesday, July 6, at Our Savior's Lutheran Church.
The Augustana Band Bound for Egypt in January 2011
In its infancy, the Augustana Band stayed close to home. Today, with a rich tradition of excellence firmly established, the band is preparing for its fourth international tour, exploring the Nile Valley of Egypt.
Vikings Ranked National Leader in Academic and Athletic Excellence
Augustana finished the 2009-10 year ranked No. 11 in the final standings of the NCAA Division II Learfield Sports Directors' Cup and had the second highest Academic Success Rate of the top 15 institutions in the final standings.


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Hoover Dam Express Half Day Tour incl. Helicopter Flight
Come on a tour half an hour outside of buzzing Las Vegas, and enjoy the incredible view of the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. This tour includes a helicopter ride taking you around the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead area for some amazing views of one of the largest man-made lakes and the dam.
We almost garauntee that you will be amazed by the size of the Hoover Dam and taken back by all of it's beauty. It's truely a fantastic sight!
- 15 minutes helicopter ride over the Hoover Dam
- Photo stop at the iconic 'Welcome to Las Vegas' sign
- Government guided VIP tour inside the Hoover Dam
- Access to the newly opened visitors center, museum and monuments
- Photo opportunities of the newly built Pat Tillman / Mike O'Callaghan Bypass Bridge
Duration: 4 ½ hours
Important information:
- Shortly after your booking is complete, you will receive an e-ticket by email. Please print out your ticket and bring it with you on the tour.
- This tour includes free hotel pick-up and drop-off for guests staying in hotels near the The Strip. Later in the booking process we will ask for your hotel details. Pick-up is between 9:00 AM and 10:15 AM for the 10:30 AM departure, and between 11:00 AM and 12:15 AM for the 12:30 AM departure.
- 24 to 48 hours before your tour date, you must call our agent to schedule pick up time at your hotel on or near The Strip .On the e-ticket you receive after you have completed your booking our agents toll free number is stated
- The tour is in English.
- Children's tickets are available for children under 2 years old.
- Passengers who have a pacemaker will not be able to go inside the Hoover Dam due to the electromagnets in use inside.
- No food or drinks is allowed inside the Hoover Dam.
- The following items are prohibited on our motor coach tours due to security restrictions at the Hoover Dam: Luggage, large backpacks, suit cases, briefcases, coolers and alcohol.
Reserve tickets
Hoover Dam Express Half Day Tour incl. Helicopter Flight
This tour includes roundtrip hotel transfer.
Hoover Dam Express Half Day Tour incl. Helicopter Flight
The tour departs two times a day at 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM.
See where the Hoover Dam is situated:
View map


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Heath Shuler's opinion on the trucking industry
The trucking industry as of late is struggling to find drivers. There is so much freight to move this day and age but not enough qualified people to get the goods from place to place. The biggest struggle right now is in the oil fields of Western North Dakota. The industry is booming and truck dealerships have more work than ever to keep those trucks on the road to help the trucking companies be as efficient as possible.
Nelson International of North Dakota and Minnesota is one of the largest and most well know truck dealers in the area. They have been around for over 50 years and have seen it all, but nothing like this. Nelson International is a Navistar International truck dealer where you can buy a International, Kenworth, Frieghtliner, Volvo or Peterbilt Truck in North Dakota and Minnesota. They have been selling more trucks than ever and an even bigger part of their business as of late, due to the below average roads, is the parts side of the business. If you are looking to buy heavy duty all makes semi truck parts in North Dakota and Minnesota, Nelson International is the place to go.
Representatives from the company say that the most difficult thing about the booming business is keeping up in the shop. If you are trying to service a class 8 semi truck, it can be as long as a two week wait to get it in. Nelson Leasing has found ways to keep the trucking companies moving as well as the owner operators. They are one of the best places to lease a truck in Fargo, Bismarck, Dickinson, and Willmar.
People in this economy should have no reason to complain because there is more work than these companies can find people for.
And that's the Heath Shuler Opinion!