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Practical Stress Analysis & Finite Element Methods
An opportunity to ensure that your organisation gets maximum benefit from using FEA
Three day course -
September 9th, 10th and 11th 2008
FEA has become widely used and universally accepted in many industry sectors. In order to derive maximum benefit from the available technology, engineers should learn about the many strengths of numerical techniques. At the same time, recommendations on how to avoid the inevitable pitfalls will prove invaluable at a later date.
NAFEMS, the only independent not-for-profit organisation with the aim of promoting the effective and reliable use of FEA, addresses this requirement by providing this three day example-driven, practical course. The course offers excellent guidance on how to judge which approximations are acceptable and appropriate for solving a wide range of practical problems. Of equal importance is the manner in which the results are interpreted. Advice is provided which allows the correct decisions to be taken, based on results which are known to be reliable. Interaction is encouraged throughout the course, with the planning and design of a complete FEA project and examples of simple hand calculations, mesh designs and solution designs being set for the class to complete. The course is completely code independent.
Who Should Attend?
This course is aimed at practising engineers who wish to learn more about how to apply finite element techniques to their particular problems in the most effective manner. The material that is presented is independent of any particular software package, making it ideally suited to current and potential users of all commercial finite element software systems. This course is a must for all engineers aiming to use FEA as a reliable predictive tool for thermal, stiffness and stress analysis.
The course is open to both members and non-members of
Course Programme
Day 1
- Basic Theory of FEA
- Direct Stress and Strain
- Shear Stress and Torsion
- Bending Stress
- Thermal Stress Effects
- Stress Concentration Effects
- Fatigue and Impact
- Properties of Materials
- Stiffness Calculations
- Units and Unity Bracket
Day 2
- Introduction to 1D FEA
- Introduction to 2D Methods
- 2D Plane Stress/Plane Strain
- 2D Axi-Symmetric Problems
- Introduction to the Real World in 3D
- Example of Simple 3D Analysis
- Processing of 3D CAD Data
- Preparing CAD Data for Analysis
- Fast and Accurate Meshing Methods
Day 3
- Design of Loading and Constraints
- Representative Material Properties
- Results Interpretation/Verification
- Balanced Loads/Minimal Constraint
- Non-Linear Considerations
- Introduction to Plasticity in FEA
- Introduction to Contact in FEA
- Best Practice in Industry
- Getting Help When Things Go Wrong
Course Tutor
Bob Johnson has presented courses on behalf of NAFEMS for over 10 years, and is recognised as one of the leading figures in the engineering analysis community in the UK. Bob is a well-respected consultant with a wealth of industrial experience.
His lively presentation style puts over the key concepts in a manner which involves participants fully in the course material.
He is also a qualified NAFEMS Registered Analyst at Advanced Level. In addition to being a regular contributor at international conferences, Bob is also a member of the NAFEMS Education & Training Working Group and Technical Editor of the BENCHmark magazine .
Booths Hall, Knutsford, Cheshire.


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Array mbiras are available in two distinctly different body styles, the acoustic body and the solid body. The tine assembly, note range and pickup system are exactly the same on both models.
Solid body instruments are smaller than the hollow bodies but weigh more. They have a lot less volume acoustically but are still audible enough to practice when "unplugged" and they're much less prone to feedback problems when amplified.
Acoustic body instruments have a rich natural tone that varies considerably depending on the types of wood used. The primary influence on the overall sound characteristics comes from the "anchor board" which is on the inside of the instrument. The entire tine assembly is bolted to it and it in turn transfers the vibrational energy into the hollow body where it's naturally amplified. The volume level of a HB Array mbira is similar to that of a classical, nylon string guitar. We generally use medium hard, heavy and dense woods for the anchor board which produce a good balance between the high and low notes and medium amount of sustain. Softer and lighter wood will produce more bass, less treble and less sustain where harder, heavier and denser wood will produce more treble, less bass and more sustain.
All Array Mbiras come with an in-house custom made 2 channel stereo piezo cable pickup system.The pickups are very accurate in their ability to reproduce the sound of the Array Mbira and can be plugged directly into a recording system or amplifier. A preamp is sometimes needed depending on the system. The pickup system consists of two pickups that are placed under the full length of the compression bar, one on the left side and one on the right side so that every note is fully picked up. The resulting stereo field can be very mesmerizing and hypnotic when recorded or it can be mixed all into a mono signal.
Array Mbiras are carefully and lovingly handcrafted by a small team of dedicated craftsmen and musicians living in the San Diego area of southern California, USA. The climate is very moderate year round and the humidity levels are perfect for building fine quality instruments that are intended to last for many generations.
Standard Note Range
3 octave ___ C2 to B4
4 octave ___ C2 to B5
5 octave ___ C1 to B5
Note range modifications are available on request. For instance, a four octave instrument could be made with the note range of C1 to B4 or C3 to B6.
We've also created a few custom 2, 6 & even 7 octave Mbiras, only available for custom orders.
Size & Weight (Approx)
Hollow Body Models
3 Octave 14″ x 20.5″ x 5.5″- 11lbs
4 Octave 16″ x 25.5″ x 5.5″ – 16lbs
5 Octave 20″ x 30.5″ x 5.5″ – 23lbs
Solid Body Models
3 Octave 8″ x 23.5″ x 1.75″- 10lbs
4 Octave 9″ x 27.5″ x 1.75″ – 12lbs
5 Octave 10″ x 33.5″ x 1.75″ – 13lbs
Micro-tonal tuning
Non-standard specialized tunings are available by master tuner Bill Wesley. Please see the Array System for the standard tuning system.
Shipping Information
All prices for shipping are for Continental US only. For Alaska/Hawaii or International please contact us before placing an order to get a quote.
Custom Built Cases
Any Array Mbira can be ordered with a custom case for traveling, and or shipping. Cases start at $350 and have several options for handles and wheels

subset: commoncrawl


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Volunteers assemble 24,000 meals for seniors at Lime Rock Park
SALISBURY >> High-performance cars whizzed by at tremendous speeds on the tarmac of Lime Rock Park.
Somehow, an army of volunteers clad in red "Hero" shirts who had assembled under a sprawling tent in the outfield of the historic venue worked faster on Saturday afternoon.
With only the benefit of three hours to meet a ambitiously set quota of 24,000 meals for seniors, the wave of volunteers worked in overhaul following a brief orientation from C.B. Wismar that sounded more like a rally. He worked the microphone, whipping them into a frenzy, then unleashed them to do his bidding.
Across America, from the most affluent parts of the Northwest Corner to the poverty-stricken pockets of rural Alabama, 9 million people 50 and above go to sleep hungry each night, said Wismar, vice president of AARP Foundation and one of the chief organizers of Saturday's initiative.
The goal of the Drive to End Hunger, organized by the star-backed Foundation with the help of Lime Rock Park and LaBonne's Markets, is to fill stomachs and eat away at elderly hunger, which has risen dramatically in the last decade, Wismar said.
The initiative has a willing and recognizable spokesman in Jeff Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion who drives the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports. He wasn't in attendance at the event but is expected at Lime Rock on Sept. 18 as part of further promotion for the initiative, Wismar said.
In all, about 250 volunteers spent time packing meals that go to the Connecticut Food Bank and will be dispersed to local food banks in the Northwest Corner, western Massachusetts and Dutchess County, New York.
"This is a real silent problem in America," Wismar said. "Folks who are 50 years old and older are reluctant to admit they're in need. At that point in their lives, they've been told they should to be secure. They're should begin to think about what they want to do with retirement. All of a sudden the economy, some illness, something that happens in the family sets them back and they don't have enough money for food."
Saturday's event was the culmination of something in the works for at least two years. Connecticut was a rare pit stop for an initiative whose circuit consists of major cities where there are NASCAR race tracks. But Wismar said it was crucial to make inroads in the state, with 5 percent of its elderly population suffering from hunger.
A critical cog in helping bring the initiative to Connecticut was Colin Chambers, co-owner of the Fall Village Inn.
Splitting his time between Falls Village and Washington, D.C., where AARP's headquarters are based, Wismar was doing local outreach when he walked into the eatery one day and noticed it donated to a local wood drive called Sunday in the Country Food Drive, formed by Nascar Dave and Bob Chatfield in 1993.
Chambers wasn't familiar with the work Wismar did for AARP till they got talking. He thought AARP meant, "I got a card and a discount at Dunkin' [Donuts]."
Two years and several conversations later, they were standing on the grounds of Lime Rock, owned by Skip Barber, legendary race car driver and founder of a renowned racing school named in his likeness.
"It starts with one little conversation, one little effort, one couple of hundred bucks to a local food bank and can turn into something this big," Chambers said. "So many times you think, 'What could I possibly do?' I might have gotten the ball rolling. The swell just happened. These are all strangers here. Look at them go."
Barber threw his support behind it after hearing the staggering numbers of elderly in need.
"It's mind-blowing," Barber said. "Worse than that, it's grown 70 or 80 percent the last 10 years. It's not just providing the food locally. It's raising the awareness. This part of the world, which is relatively well off, people are totally unaware. When you drive around here, it's so bucolic."
While Connecticut may not be as impacted by hunger as some parts of the country, Wismar said it was on his priority list. With Saturday's initiative in the books, the foundation has held events in 30 states.
"It's so far down on the alphabet," he said when asked why the foundation hadn't visited the state sooner.
Two weeks ago, Wismar was in Alabama talking with a food bank director.
The director recounted an eye-watering tale of a woman whose had donated in the past and suddenly found themselves in need. But they were ashamed to ask for assistance, so the woman drove through the parking lot three times, wondering whether she should stop, Finally, the food bank director flagged her down.
"I am so embarrassed," she told him. "We used to bring food here for people who needed it. Now I'm back because we don't have enough to buy groceries."
Wismar said stories are the reasons for his work.


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Riga Transitional Runner Rug in Silver
This collection draws out a range of emotion from the viewer with a blend of modern and traditional that also takes from the trending 'fade' style we have started to see as of late. An amazing piece of design that effectively captures the latest Australian transitional trends. Long lasting, power loomed, made in Turkey and 10mm pile with an array of shapes and sizes - being available in rectangular, runner and even round ranges- this rug is timeless in more ways than one.
All of our rugs are child labour free. 100% of the profit from the sale of each rug supports building brighter futures for the children of India. By educating children, we are empowering them to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
- Dense: 10mm pile
- Style: Transitional
- Weave: Power-Loomed
- Material: Polypropylene (easy to clean, stain resistant)
- Easy to clean
- Made in Turkey
Please Note: Allow for a slight variation of colours depending on monitor settings.


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Rule 534. Wash Trades Prohibited
No person shall place or accept buy and sell orders in the same product and expiration month, and, for a put or call option, the same strike price, where the person knows or reasonably should know that the purpose of the orders is to avoid taking a bona fide market position exposed to market risk (transactions commonly known or referred to as wash sales). Buy and sell orders for different accounts with common beneficial ownership that are entered with the intent to negate market risk or price competition shall also be deemed to violate the prohibition on wash trades. Additionally, no person shall knowingly execute or accommodate the execution of such orders by direct or indirect means.
Rule 539. Prearranged, Pre-Negotiated and Noncompetitive Trades Prohibited
539.A. General Prohibition
No person shall prearrange or pre-negotiate any purchase or sale or noncompetitively execute any transaction, except in accordance with Sections B. and C. below.
539.C. Pre-Execution Communications Regarding Globex Trades
Parties may engage in pre-execution communications with regard transactions executed on the Globex platform where one party (the first party) wishes to be assured that a contra party (the second party) will take the opposite side of the order under the following circumstances:
3. In the case of futures orders, the first party's order must be entered into the Globex platform first and the second party's order may not be entered into the Globex platform until a period of 5 seconds has elapsed from the time of entry of the first order.
Pursuant to an offer of settlement that Elmo Ferreira ("Ferreira") presented at a hearing on February 12, 2013, in which Ferreira neither admitted nor denied the rule violations upon which the penalty is based, a Panel of the NYMEX Business Conduct Committee ("Panel") found that Ferreira voluntarily submitted himself to the jurisdiction of the BCC for purposes of settling this matter and that on November 9, 2011, Ferreira, a trader employed by The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited ("Standard Bank") and another trader employed by Standard Bank, prearranged five trades totaling 90 lots in Crude, Palladium and Platinum for the purpose of transferring positions between two proprietary accounts with common beneficial ownership. The trades were executed on Globex. Four of the five buy and sell orders were entered within one second of each other.
The Panel found that as a result of the foregoing, Ferreira violated Exchange Rules 534 and 539.A. and C.
In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered Ferreira to pay a fine to the Exchange in the amount of $5,000.
February 14, 2013


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I really love Matt Richardson's sweet pumpkin project. It uses a proximity sensor to sense when a trick-or-treater approaches, then goes into "evil mode" where the punkin's LEDs flash red and an evil piezo growl blares out. Oh yeah!
This is the sort of project that would be great for our DIY Haunts Halloween prop contest. You can win all sorts of prizes from Jameco Electronics, MAKE and the Maker Shed, plus you'll end up with a freaky prop to scare the kiddies.


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Release Date: 2008 |
Athom EMERITUS (2)In Flames continue their evolution from Melodic Death Metal to generic radio Metal with th...Flamingabdabs (3)Another In Flames album, another style change, yet strong production values and relentless...when_darkness_falls (2.5)In Flames continue on their crusade of changing music, but this time fall flat on their fa...itachi1452 (3.5)Accessible, catchy, melodic, and somewhat loyal to their roots....
DinoX (4)A brash outing and a step in the right direction for In Flames...Altmer (3)There's something new on every In Flames album, but nothing radically different, and the b...Crimsontide57 (4.5)They age like wine, getting finer with the years....Marinatchae (5)A Sense of Irony....
TheMoonchild (1)Meaningful line that sums this album up perfectly: "You receive what you give, and this is...CoreySzn (3.5)Are the best days of In Flames gone? Yes. Does that mean they can't make a quality relea...
Great review, I feel the same way. This album is good but not great, yet not horrible by any means.
Album Rating: 2.5Good review, I can't see how Alias isn't a recommended track though. That synth is so sick.
Nicely done. I would have mine review out if I could right now.
Album Rating: 4.0Very nice review, you've explained everything so well I'm hesitant to put out my own review when the time comes. Really very well done.
I don't expect much from this. Good review nonetheless.
Album Rating: 2.0We're allowed to rate it if we've heard the stream, right?
Right now this looks like a 3.
yeah, you can rate it whenever.
i will need to let this settle and hear it a few more times before i can rate it. that's fosho.
Album Rating: 4.0Nice review, Jom.
I can't see this being a 3.5 for me, though based on what I've heard. Maybe a 2.5 or 3, like you said.
Album Rating: 3.0Im starting to really like this record...minus the first 3 songs and its as good as Clayman....so im on the border of 3.5 and 4.
Album Rating: 2.0The chosen pessimist was the only song that really stood out to me... his lyrics were pretty bad on the whole album though!
btw nice reviewThis Message Edited On 03.26.08
Album Rating: 4.0Personally I like the album as a whole, alot more than any of their older stuff (but I'm a 00's kid, what do you expect?). The Chosen Pessimist and Alias would have to be my favourite songs, but the whole damn lot is good...well, except for the downsides of Delights and Angers (could have been on STYE) and March to the Shore (as mentioned, could have been on Come Clarity).
Album Rating: 3.0Yeah my rating for this is around 2.5/3 territory. I'll have a review up for this as well considering I'm the kind of fan that really dug those old albums you mentioned, specifically Jester Race and Colony, but also Clayman. I haven't been too thrilled with their newer stuff though.This Message Edited On 03.26.08
I liked this album... I thought it was the best since Colony. Now if they could get the Soilwork singer and put him into In Flames we could have one really good band.
Digging: Violet Cold - Noir Kid
Album Rating: 3.0Getting the Soilwork singer would be trading a bad vocalist for a meh one.
Getting the Soilwork singer would be trading a bad vocalist for a meh one.
Album Rating: 3.0I'm gonna keep the bicycle where I live. Over here using bicycles to commute is much easier than using cars. This Message Edited On 03.26.08
Album Rating: 3.0Excellent review Jom! I listened to this a couple times last night and was quite impressed. You summed up my thoughts about this album perfectly.
Album Rating: 1.5While I find myself really enjoying this review, I also find myself really hating this album. It's filled with laughable melodies and even worse lyrics/vocals.
Album Rating: 3.5I realized that a reason why I can't enjoy this as much as I should is the vocals. In the songs that the vocals are good they do very well, but in the songs they are bad it is extremely bad. I find the album to be kind of inconsistent and a few of the songs are epileptic and are being hold together by the same guitar melody running through it.
Besides from that and a couple of songs that are bad all around
very bad, this album is solid and the music & melodies are overall excellent. 3.5/5 for me, Come Clarity is better.
This Message Edited On 03.26.08
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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CNet Asia has a pre-release sample of the iRiver X20, a widescreen portable media player that holds up the tradition of fine iRiver products. The screen on this baby is 2.2-inches and sharp as a rusty tack in your foot.
The scrollwheel, however, is a little small. But the microSD card (why not just SD?), MPEG4/WMV support, FM radio, and great sound quality make up for its shortcomings. Although it's too late to fix the scrollwheel for its February launch, everything else seems to be in order. It's no (theoretical) widescreen iPod, or even Creative Zen Vision W, since 4GB of memory won't be holding many videos.
iriver X20 [CNet Asia]


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CEO of Axius Inc. and Finance Professional Indicted for Alleged Roles in Scheme to Bribe Stock Brokers and Manipulate Stock Prices
|U.S. Attorney's Office July 05, 2012
WASHINGTON—The chief executive officer (CEO) of Axius Inc., a Nevada corporation; and a finance professional were indicted today on multiple charges for their alleged roles in a scheme to bribe stock brokers and manipulate the share price of Axius stock, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch for the Eastern District of New York.
Roland Kaufmann, a Swiss citizen and the CEO of Axius, and Jean-Pierre Neuhaus, a Swiss citizen and finance professional, were each charged in an indictment filed today in the Eastern District of New York with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and to violate the Travel Act, one count of securities fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of violating the Travel Act, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering. According to court documents, Axius is incorporated in Nevada and its principal offices are in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Axius is a "holding company and business incubator" that develops other businesses.
"As CEO of Axius, Mr. Kaufmann allegedly conspired with Mr. Neuhaus to fraudulently manipulate the value of his company's stock," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "According to today's indictment, he attempted to bribe stock brokers into artificially propping up the value of Axius stock. With our partners in the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, the Criminal Division's Fraud Section is pursuing a nationwide effort to investigate and prosecute fraudulent conduct in our securities markets."
"Rather than rely on the market to set the true value of Axius' stock, the defendants allegedly sought to buy the best price possible through bribery and deception," said U.S. Attorney Lynch. "Their scheme stood to enrich themselves at the expense of the investing public. We will vigorously investigate and prosecute any such corruption in the securities markets."
"Conspiring to inflate the price of Axius shares artificially was likely to result in unjust enrichment for the defendants and undeserved losses for investors," said Assistant Director in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk of the FBI in New York. "Market-driven fluctuations in share prices are risks investors have to accept. Illegal manipulations become the subject of FBI investigations."
The indictment alleges that Kaufmann, 60, agreed with Neuhaus, 55, to defraud investors in Axius common stock by bribing stock brokers and manipulating the share price. As part of the scheme, they enlisted the assistance of an individual they believed to have access to a group of corrupt stock brokers; this individual was, in fact, an undercover law enforcement agent. Kaufmann and Neuhaus believed that the undercover agent controlled a network of stockbrokers in the United States with discretionary authority to trade stocks on behalf of their clients.
The indictment alleges that Kaufmann and Neuhaus instructed the undercover agent to direct brokers to purchase Axius shares that were owned or controlled by Kaufmann in return for a secret kickback of approximately 26 to 28 percent of the share price. Kaufmann and Neuhaus allegedly instructed the undercover agent as to the price the brokers should pay for the stock, and Kaufmann specifically instructed the undercover agent that the brokers would have to pay gradually higher prices for the shares they were buying. The indictment alleges that Kaufmann and Neuhaus directed the undercover agent that the brokers were to refrain from selling the Axius shares they purchased on behalf of their clients for a one-year period. By preventing sales of Axius stock, Kaufmann and Neuhaus allegedly intended to maintain the fraudulently inflated share price for Axius stock.
Kaufmann and Neuhaus were originally charged in a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York on March 8, 2012. They were arrested on March 8, 2012. No investors were actually defrauded in the undercover operation.
In a related action, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today filed a civil enforcement action against Kaufmann and Neuhaus in the Eastern District of New York. The department thanks the SEC for its cooperation in this matter.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Justin Goodyear of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Jones of the Eastern District of New York. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service.
This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force visit: www.stopfraud.gov.


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Have you noticed how many reality television shows there are these days? It seems like just about every channel has some kind of reality show. Right now some of my favorites are the Impossible shows. There are a bunch of them: Dinner Impossible, Restaurant Impossible and Hotel Impossible. Another favorite (and similar show) is Bar Rescue.
The premise of all these shows is similar. First, find a business that is going down the toilet. Second, bring in an expert and try to fix it. The best part of these programs is watching the experts berate the owners. Much like the Marines, the experts first have to break the owners down before they build them up. Sounds fun, doesn't it?
Hoping to catch a bit of this Impossible wave, I am currently working on a television project for the major networks called Financial Advisor Impossible. I'd love to get your opinion on it.
Here's how it works. First, we'll have all the wirehouses and independent broker-dealers nominate their most pathetic, ill-equipped financial advisors. The key, for us, will be to select advisors before they start skimming client's funds for personal use.
Next, our camera crew will visit the advisor. We'll interview all the advisor's clients (and former clients) who have lost a boatload of money with our luckily selected advisor. Then, we'll zoom into a close shot of the advisor and ask him to discuss his investment philosophy. We will cut back and forth to the host's dumbfounded look.
Once we have our advisor beaten down and looking like the Barney Fife of the field, our expert steps in to save the day. Mr. Expert is an intimidating little man who talks way too fast and always seems to have just a touch of spittle in the corner of his mouth.
Mr. Expert goes on to tell Mr. Fife, "For the past two months, our cameras have been secretly recording all of your office activity." To which, Mr. Fife responds by rolling his eyes into the back of his head, turning pale and falling to the floor.
After the paramedics leave, the recording continues. "Mr. Fife," the expert addresses, "how much time do you waste during a typical day?" Fife replies that he hardly wastes any time because he's a workaholic.
"Roll the tape!" shouts Mr. Expert. For the next five minutes we watch a video montage of our struggling advisor doing everything he can to not pick up the phone and call a prospect. In the first clip, as the market opens, we see the advisor neatly lining up stacks of paper by the printer. In the next clip, the advisor appears to be intently watching CNBC, but on closer review, we see he's actually bouncing back and forth to Dr. Phil.
Next, we see a close-up shot of the advisor's chair with a suit jacket draped over the back. As we closely watch the chair, we can hear in the background people saying, "Where's Matt? He must be around here somewhere, his jacket is on his chair." The camera then quickly cuts to Matt (not wearing his jacket) at a nearby Hooters restaurant enjoying some delicious chicken wings.
Faced with irrefutable evidence, our shamed advisor agrees to do anything we want, as long as we don't show the video to his boss. Mr. Expert slips on his headset, points to the advisor's phone and says the dreaded words, "Let's make some cold calls."
For the next week, as our advisor is dialing for dollars, Mr. Expert is right over his shoulder screaming in his ear, "Tell them if they have the money available they should buy some today. Say it. C'mon, say it!"
I'm still working on the ending but I think the first episode ends with our advisor actually making a sale … a six-month FDIC-insured CD. Am I the only one getting goose bumps here? Stay tuned.


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New Orleans, LA -- Earlier today the Archdiocese of of New Orleans received a letter from the National Football League (NFL) about the unauthorized use of NFL trademarked property. NFL spokes person John Tallibou says that the "Catholic Church in New Orleans has been using unauthorized songs, images, and colors in their services for years that mention "saints" or the Saints color and symbols that are trademarked to the NFL by means of the New Orleans Saints franchise team."
The NFL is demanding that all colors, marks, symbols, signs, and songs that have any reference to "saints" or the colors associated with the team must be removed from the property of all Catholic Churches in New Orelans. So far, the list includes: the color gold, the fleur de lis, the color black, the color white, as well as any songs and prayers that use the words "Saints", "New" or "Orleans".
Archdiocesan spokes person Sarah Jane Caliano has said, "The Archbishop and diocese is stunned by this demand. Does not the NFL know that these symbols are sacred and older than any football franchise? Does the NFL not know that the team was name thus because of the Catholic culture of the city? Gold, gold never tarnishes and keeps its luster and beauty for centuries and there for represents God's divinity and never changing nature. Black represents those who mourn now here on earth for their sins and the sins of the world as well as the mysterious unknown parts of God. The fleur de lis is not just a symbol of the New Orleans Saints but also an ancient image of the Lilly. The same image and flower that symbolizes the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The fleur de lis also represent the purity of Mary and St. Joseph. The color white, the color asociated with so many occasians in the Catholic Church: baptism, confirmation, matrimony. White is the color of purity and rebirth."
Locals are equally stunned by the request of the NFL. Johny Ray of J-Ray tattoos said, "I don't get it. I've been tattooing saints stuff on people all my life. On their hands, arms, backs, legs. Does this mean the NFL now owns those people's body parts."
Whatever the outcome it is clear that New Orleans is not happy with the NFL's request. The Catholic Church of New Orleans is currently in the process of contacting some of its best lawyers and thinkers to help combat the the situation.


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4 Pro Tips for Ignoring Your Phone While Driving
We've all heard the spiel: it's dangerous to drive while distracted and you shouldn't do it. But that's all just talk. You hear it everywhere, right?
How do you actually make the change?
Here are four concrete tips Root drivers have found to be helpful:
1. Choose a time frame and commit, dangit.
So, the first step is to realize we have a problem ("Hello, my name is...") and to commit to making a change -- a concrete change. That means picking an amount of time (at least three weeks, according to science and going cold turkey. Phone in a bag or in the backseat. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Look, we're drivers, too. We get it: it's really hard to break a habit, especially when you've gotten away with it so far. That's why setting a specific time limit is key. Once you set a specific amount of time to completely detox from phone use while driving, make the pledge -- to yourself, your friends, on social media, online with National Safety Council or National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or wherever. But do it. Make the commitment.
2. Prep your driving entertainment in advance.
Think about it: how many times have you needed to fiddle with your phone when your entertainment ended mid-drive? Yep. The night before work, create a playlist or two that covers your commute. Or, before turning your car on, choose a podcast that will get you all the way to your destination.
(Need a playlist to get you started? Check out this one from the Root team.)
However you do it, a little extra effort beforehand can help you avoid a mid-drive entertainment emergency that will leave you diving for your phone.
That brings us to...
3. Create a two-minute pre-driving ritual that works for you.
You've done it with your seatbelt (we hope!). You can do it with other safety measures, too. What else do you need to do before you shift into drive mode? Look up directions or parking info, plug your auxiliary in, start your audio, hit go on GPS?
Create a new habit: Do all those things before you start driving. Every time. We know this isn't easy to remember, especially at the beginning. But after a few weeks, it'll become routine and you won't even think about it anymore.
The most important habit? Turning your phone off or storing it elsewhere before you drive. Lock it in the trunk, put it in the glove box, throw it under your seat -- get creative.
4. Get technology on your side.
Don't trust yourself quite yet? Understood. Thankfully, technology has some tricks up its sleeves. Settings on iOS 11 and some Android phones allow you to enable a Do Not Disturb feature that prevents notifications from coming through while you're driving. You can customize settings, including an auto-reply to texts, or even allow the sender to push an urgent message through.
Want more options? There's an app for that. Tons of free ones, even. They range from automatically silencing your phone while you're driving to updating your friends about where you are on your route. There's even an app that turns off your phone entirely when your car is in motion, with a password required to operate it (talk about parental control).
Bottom line: this transition can be brutal. But if notifications aren't coming through while you're driving, the temptation to pick up the phone will decrease.
It's not easy in this digital world to stay away from your one-and-only phone. We certainly love our devices. But the stats for distracted driving aren't pretty and we'd all like to stay alive -- so let's resolve to do something, yeah?
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Corn is a wonderful crop and I encourage people to grow varieties for cornmeal. In order to do that, you need to grow it out until it has dried on the stalk. The stalk will have dried, also. If you have grown only a small amount you can use your thumbs to push the kernels off the cobs. It doesn't take much to make you start thinking of easier ways to do that job. I have a corn sheller that I found at an antique mall years ago. Corn shellers need to be attached to something to use them properly. I have mine on a box that I made from scrap wood. Painting it makes it not look so scrappy.
My corn sheller box measures 18" wide, 21½" long, and 12" high. I would use different dimensions if I were making a new one and I'll be telling you about that. You can see that I framed the outside of the short sides in wood, in addition to the plywood for the box. That provides extra support and the top piece is a nice edge to hold onto when I'm carrying it. I carry it with the corn sheller against my body and my hands grasping that top strip on each side. It is more manageable than holding the box by its bottom. There is a 1" x 1" nailing strip on the inside bottom edge of the long sides. This is a sturdy box. The sheller is mounted close to the end on one side so that the cobs are ejected to outside the box. I suppose you could hang a basket on the side to catch them.
When I travel I enjoy stopping at antique malls. It used to be I could find corn shellers for $25 – $30 dollars. I would take them apart and add the necessary bolts and wingnuts, give the moving parts some grease, and resell them to my students at the community college for $30-$35 dollars. One hole for the bolts to attach the sheller to a box is usually accessible, but the other is not. The wheel needs to be removed to be able to put a bolt there.
One year I turned over five corn shellers to my students, putting them into the hands of people who would bring them back to life. The price may have gone up some by now, but there are still some good ones out there. Two things to look out for are the tabs that allow you to bolt the sheller to the box and the handle. Sometimes those tabs are broken off and you would have to find an alternate way to attach the sheller to a box—maybe with a clamp. It is nice to have a good wooden handle. Some of the corn shellers I have seen have lost the wood on their handles, leaving only the metal rod. The handle could be replaced with a handle that you can buy to put on a file. You can find old corn shellers on ebay. You will have to pay shipping, but if you aren't in the mood to shop around at antique malls, maybe you don't mind that.
The box for my corn sheller is easily stored in the barn with other seed processing equipment in it. Since I shell my corn all at one time in the fall it is only used seasonally. After shelling, the corn is stored in half gallon jars in the pantry. If you have grown corn to feed to livestock and have your year's supply stored in the corn crib, you might be shelling it out through the year as you need it. At our state fair one year, I saw a corn sheller mounted on a box that had legs tall enough to get a bucket under it. The floor of the box was slanted toward one end. The side at that end had a hole that was covered by a piece of wood that could be slid up to allow the corn to flow into the bucket. That is a handy design, especially if your sheller is used regularly and needs to be a stand-alone piece of equipment.
You do have to think about how to get the corn out of the box. You could tip it on end and pour it out, which is awkward to do. You could reach in with a large kitchen spoon and scoop it out. Flat pancake turners also work to get the corn out of the corners. I used those things until I realized I could put a large pan in there to catch the corn. In the photo you see the pan I use to roast a turkey in at Thanksgiving. It has many other uses, but I bought it for the turkey long ago. It is larger than a large cake pan. If I was to build a new box I would decide what pan I would use to catch the corn and size the box accordingly. A plastic bin would work, also. (Maybe I should look for a pan that fits the box I already have.) In the photo you can see my Bloody Butcher corn in the pan and some kernels that escaped it. After I took the pan out I had to round up those wayward kernels with the pancake turner. The photo shows just how the corn dropped. If the box more closely fit the pan, those stray kernels would have landed in the pan.
Corn shellers are still made, so there are new ones available; but if you can find an old one at a reasonable price, don't hesitate to get it. Don't let a little rust on one deter you from buying it. Keep your eyes open and you will find a good one that you can use. Happy shelling!


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Viviane Reding has begun circulating details of her proposed caps on data and SMS roaming. She wants to see prices capped at €.11 for a text message and €1 a MB for roamed data.
The draft text has been sent to the EU Commissioners for consideration ahead of a formal vote on the matter in October. It also includes a proposal to demand per-second billing on calls lasting more than 30 seconds.
The latter proposal is the most controversial, as some countries already require per-second billing and differing increments are used as a tariff differentiator by many companies. "The regulation of billing increments within the Eurotariff or any other roaming tariff would amount to micro-management," the GSMA told Reuters. "Billing increments are a point of differentiation that operators can use to appeal to customers with different preference."
Quite what kind of customer prefers to be billed by the minute isn't clear - but the GSMA has always protested against change, so its stance is unsurprising.
SMS messages currently cost around €.29 to send while roaming around Europe, and some 2.5 billion are sent annually, so cutting the rate to €.11 could see €450 million less revenue for the mobile operators - unless the cheaper costs drives up usage by at least 100 per cent.
The cap on data is a wholesale rate - the amount the network operators charge each other - so punters will end up paying more than that depending on their tariff. But overall it should drive prices - and profits - down.
There was a fear that operators would cut their wholesale prices before Ms Reding had a chance to champion the ordinary euro-citizen by capping them. That now looks unlikely, though, and leaves the operators fighting a rear-guard action against the caps while trying to work out how they're going to replace that lost revenue. ®


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Tuesday, After Christmas
One hallmark of the ongoing string of artistic triumphs that is the Romanian New Wave (which, as Corneliu Porumboiu's Police, Adjective recently demonstrated, hardly peaked when Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days took the Palme d'Or at Cannes back in '07) is its modest virtuosity--a very sophisticated and well-considered use of film language that never blatantly calls attention to itself but is, upon reflection, steadily and resoundingly impressive. Though its subject matter is significantly lighter than average when it comes to the stream of wonderful Romanian films that have found their way to our shores over the past few years, Radu Muntean's Tuesday, After Christmas (which, in a coincidence much droller than anything in the sober, progressively heartrending film itself, will actually be released to DVD on December 27th, the actual Tuesday after Christmas!) belongs in their deservedly esteemed company, as the aesthetic principles it has in common with them are adhered to just as rigorously, and to just as profoundly moving and devastating effect.
The film tells a story that has been told countless times and on every level, from TV soaps to Ibsen and Godard: the dissolution of a marriage in the face of adultery, in this case the husband's banally predictable infidelity with a younger woman. We open on the postcoital bliss featured (rather misleadingly) on the DVD packaging; Paul (Mimi Branescu) and Raluca (Maria Popistasu) banter, joke, and discuss plans happily, various possibilities floated for the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays. Only gradually through this conversation do we infer that Paul is married to someone else, with whom he has a seven-year-old daughter, and we get just enough of a tossed-off inkling to guess what we later discover: Raluca and Paul have met because she is his daughter's dentist. The scene, wonderfully performed, is only the first example of the film's supple narrative economy and understated expository elegance.
It's an elegance and economy that Muntean maintains throughout, and his bold, risky, yet measured and perfectly calibrated style--with its long takes, absence of score, and real-time, everyday-life temporal tone--yields higher and higher emotional dividends as the stakes are revealed. Paul, a banker, and his wife, Adriana (Mirela Oprisor), a lawyer, are comfortably successful members of Romania's newly affluent post-Cold War middle class, and we experience their family unit as stable, loving, and warm as we witness the well-worn routine of Paul and Adriana's marriage and family life. They get their Christmas shopping done, have dinner, decide whether their little girl should get braces (the latter in a fraught scene in which the family interacts professionally with Raluca at her office), go on a double date with another couple of their acquaintance, etc. The accommodating and caring Adriana--though she is Paul's age rather than several years younger, like Raluca, and despite having perhaps a slightly cooler and more no-nonsense tone than the mistress--offers in herself no motivation for Paul to look elsewhere. The couple's sole problem seems to be routine, and Paul's method of addressing that common dissatisfaction by having his affair and falling in love with Raluca will lead to the end of their marriage and family, with no comforting explanation to imply that the situation could have been warded off with better behavior or sharper foresight on the part of anyone involved.
The scene in which Paul abruptly confesses to Adriana and this long-term, loving couple (married for 10 years) shatters apart before our eyes is the film's artistic and dramatic center, and it is a tour de force. In its emotional perceptiveness and range, it recalls Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage; in its unbroken-take stylistic audacity, it brings to mind the half-hour, single-sequence exchange between Brigitte Bardot and Michel Piccoli in Godard's Contempt. (A much looser but very intriguing similarity also exists between Tuesday, After Christmas and Eyes Wide Shut in that both suggestively center a family/marriage crisis around the happy holidays, and that the couple on screen--Mimi Branescu and Mirela Oprisor, in this case--are together in real life, too.) Branescu and Oprisor's fine performances as they live out their characters' ebbing and flowing of pain, guilt, shame, rage, retribution, and resignation dovetails with the unblinking camera eye of Muntean and cinematographer Tudor Lucaciu to create one of the most involving, urgent, utterly convincing onscreen exchanges in recent memory. Both the filmmaking and the acting are just phenomenal; if we feel exhausted at the end of this alternatingly brutal and sadly tender scene (which results in a realistic finality and sense of loss as Paul packs his things), what a challenge it must have been to plan it and play it out with such conviction and concentration.
It's not so much the casual, refreshingly nonchalant and unpuritanical approach the film takes to its nudity and sex that makes Tuesday, After Christmas a "mature" movie for grown-ups only; it's more the range of feeling and understanding with which it envelops each one of its characters as they all weather an unforgiving and destructive emotional storm. The achieves a rare kind of purity from its lack of sentimentality and its refusal to conveniently and shallowly assign blame or otherwise manipulate our impressions of its good, flawed, completely recognizable people, all of whose pain we can empathize with. There is no score or emphatic editing whatsoever, no shortcuts taken to elicit our affective response; this film, which possesses some of the highest merits of both the best classical and most rigorous modern cinema, goes about that the hard way, and it succeeds splendidly.
Aside from some noticeable aliasing on the opening credits (which are white on black, a notorious magnet for that particular video flaw), the film's 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is awfully good, with no detectable compression artifacts, soft blacks, or flickering whites (especially important when considering the film's bright-wintry, naturalistic interior and exterior lighting). The film's visual experience overall is never impinged upon by any video issues.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is more than adequate to the film's aptly austere and relatively quiet sound design, with all the fullness and depth of the mostly intimate dialogue-and-ambient-noise soundscape perfectly preserved and clear as a bell.
None aside from several trailers for other Kino releases.
Another jewel in the crown of contemporary Romanian cinema, Radu Muntean's Tuesday, After Christmas deals with the typical dramatic stuff of infidelity, marriage, divorce, and family turbulence with a degree of gracefulness and insight that evokes not at all the way those problems are too-tidily dealt with in too much entertainment, but rather the messy, tensely emotional urgency they take on when they're happening in your life. It's a clear-eyed, sober, serious, and genuine work that's brimming with sympathy but free of sap or sentimentality. The tremendous craftsmanship, skill, and sensitivity/intuition at every level on the part of those telling this story that makes one "feel good" here, not an everybody's-fine happy ending; the respect bestowed by the filmmakers upon both the characters and us in Tuesday, After Christmas is all too uncommon and most welcome. Highly Recommended.
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WATCH: President Obama Addresses the Nation on Debt Ceiling Drama [LIVE VIDEO]
President Barack Obama has scheduled a last-minute speech to address the nation on the drama surrounding the debt ceiling and the potential of a U.S. default.
The speech comes after Republicans and Democrats failed to strike a "grand bargain" that would have raised the debt ceiling and avoided the U.S. defaulting and losing its AAA credit rating, Obama will address the nation beginning at 9:00 PM ET. His speech will be followed by a response from U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH).
As with many of Obama's high-profile speeches, the prime time address will be live streamed via whitehouse.gov. We've embedded the live stream below for your convenience.


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In one of my previous posts, I had shown how to create jQuery drop shadow plugin. To create the drop shadow effect, I was basically creating a div behind the elements which were to be shadowed. I knew about CSS3 box-shadow property but I did not consider it for the drop shadow effect because CSS3 is only supported by modern standard-compliant browsers but a comment of C-King at my previous post made me rethink about it and in this post, the plugin has been modified to create the CSS3 drop shadow effect.
The plugin now applies CSS3 drop shadow effect for the browsers that support it or it will use div-based approach like it did before. The plugin now checks if the current browser supports CSS3 and if so, it will apply CSS3 drop shadow effect and if CSS3 is not supported, it will apply div-based drop shadow effect. A new blur option has been added into updated plugin which is only applicable if current browser supports CSS3.
The plugin has been checked working fine in IE6+, FF, Webkit and Opera.


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December 7, 2009
Free Digi - Sweet Trouble
Soooo, since I have been wanting to do a easel card I chose to do that and then I kept my surface pretty flat. I added a fairly flat trim and then punched some snowflakes to match. I really love this style of card and I will be makikng many more of these and they are really simple as well, but I have to say it was hard to keep things flat and easy for mailing! I also used the embossing folder on one side and carried my pp up into my card that was on the base where my sentiment is. I drew a circle on my snowflakes and added some pink stickles. I also added some diamond stickles on her hat fluff. I also drew little circle on my container holding the candy canes to jaze it up a little to match the pp somewhat. I thought this image turned out really cute all colored up and I don't think she looks like much trouble either!! but then again, I don't own her! hehe
ok.. it is now 1:30AM and I am dead tired so that is it for me for this day!! Have a sweet day!
6 comments:
- Jessie said...
I love your easel card Nina! I have been wanting to try one for ages now and still haven't made one. I think that will be my mission for this week :)
- December 7, 2009 at 6:39 AM
- Patti J said...
Wow Nina - love your new blog look! You are so festive and ready for the holidays! Beautiful! Your easel card is fantastic! Great job, and great choice of papers and colors!
- December 7, 2009 at 8:08 AM
- The Other Patti Sue said...
Super,super cute Nina! Your dp and embossing is perfect! I love how the circles on your embossing coordinates with the circles you put on the tin for the candy canes! And yes easel cards are so much fun! Get some sleep girl, you have a very busy few days ahead of you!
- December 7, 2009 at 8:17 AM
- craftieodmae said...
I love your easil card, wish I had thought of that LOL. It's fantastic!
- December 7, 2009 at 12:39 PM
- Kim Mc said...
Well I continue to be so honored that you were inspired by my sweet (most of the time) puppy and I will always cherish this image!! I absolutely love all the DT cards and yours is no exception! The easel card is fab (check out mine on Wednesday!) and I love all the colors!! And your coloring of her is perfect...I love the varying tones...she definitely is not a one color dog but hard to tell that in pics somehow you knew! Also your snowflakes are perfect!!! I had one on an earlier version of my card but it didn't make into the final...maybe for the ones I send out though...I love yours! Thanks again for sharing Malie and hope you get rested up for Wednesday!
Aloha, Kim
- December 8, 2009 at 2:01 AM
- Nilla said...
Gorgeous card (and an easel card, BRAVO)! Love all about it and the image is so cute! Hugs Nilla
- December 8, 2009 at 3:07 AM


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A Little Juice to the Brain Eases Depression
The combination of electrical current therapy and sertraline in the treatment of major depression proved to be beneficial for patients.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 6, 2013 (MedPage Today) — Noninvasive, electric stimulation of the brain appears to help the initial phase of treatment in major depressive disorder, especially in combination with an antidepressant, a double-blind trial showed.
Six weeks of daily transcranial direct current stimulation sessions reduced depression scores roughly the same as sertraline, Andre R. Brunoni, MD, PhD, of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and colleagues reported online in JAMA Psychiatry.
The two together brought scores down by an average 8.5 points more than sertraline alone on a depression rating scale, and by 5.9 points more than direct current stimulation alone.
A 3-point difference on that Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) is considered clinically relevant.
"Noninvasive brain stimulation is becoming an established therapy for the treatment of depression," Brunoni and colleagues wrote.
The weak electrical current applied across large electrodes on the scalp may work by boosting activity in an area of the brain known to be hypoactive in depression, with the advantage of not having the same adverse effects and contraindications as antidepressant drugs, the group pointed out.
The device also is relatively inexpensive, so it might be a "cost-effective alternative for regions with low resources where the prevalence of major depressive disorder is high, such as most developing nations," they added.
However, the treatment is less practical than taking a pill, and it's not clear how its results would hold up in the maintenance phase.
"Even if transcranial direct current stimulation becomes available for in-house use, it would still require 20- to 30-minute daily sessions for several weeks," Brunoni's group wrote.
Their Sertraline vs Electrical Current Therapy for Treating Depression Clinical Study (SELECT TDCS) compared in a two-by-two design treatment with 6 weeks of sertraline at 50 mg per day or placebo and 2-mA anodal left/cathodal right prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (30-minute sessions each weekday plus two extra sessions every other week) or sham.
It included 120 antidepressant-naive patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder but no psychotic or bipolar component, seen at a single outpatient center in an academic setting in São Paulo. The cohort had a relatively low degree of refractoriness and short duration of the index episode.
The only thing that wasn't better than inactive treatment at the end of the 6-week period was sertraline alone, with a mean difference of 2.9 points versus placebo.
The explanation may have been that 50 mg per day was a low dose for some participants, though there have been negative trials with sertraline in major depressive disorder, the researchers pointed out.
Transcranial direct current stimulation improved MADRS score by 5.6 points over sham.
The combination of the two appeared to work fastest, as that was the only group with a significant change in score at week two. Factorial analysis suggested that the initial effect was driven primarily by the electric stimulation treatment.
The two appeared to be additive rather than synergistic.
Clinical response with at least a 50 percent reduction in baseline MADRS score was significantly more common with transcranial direct current stimulation or combination treatment than with placebo (43 percent and 63 percent versus 17 percent).
Remission, with MADRS score falling to 10 points or less, occurred in 47 percent of the combo group and 40 percent of the electrical stimulation group, which were both significantly better than the 13 percent rate with placebo.
Sertraline alone induced remission in 30 percent, although this difference didn't reach significance.
No negative cognitive effects were seen with transcranial direct current stimulation, though skin redness was more common at the end of week two.
Of the seven episodes of treatment-emergent mania or hypomania, five were in the combined treatment group, including one severe manic episode requiring pharmacologic intervention.
Mania or hypomania induction may be similar with transcranial direct current stimulation as with antidepressants, so such events need careful monitoring in future trials, Brunoni's group noted.
Further research is needed into longer-term effects and into use in the inpatient setting, they added.
Their trial includes an open-label phase for sham nonresponders to cross over to 10 days of active transcranial direct current stimulation, as well as a 6-month follow-up phase for those who responded to active treatment in the first 6 weeks.
Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking
Additionally reviewed by Dorothy Caputo, MA


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Metal Slug (NeoGeo) review
"Monotony never manages to get a foothold, though, as the ragtag enemy army manages to pack more depth than most RPGs. This quickly becomes evident when Marco is suddenly ambushed by a trio of enemy schooners while crossing a massive bridge shining in the moonlight. The sunbathing goons on the upper decks quickly decide to hold their noses and hop overboard, while another crony slams on an accordion-like pump as his dinghy begins to take on water. Yet another begins to scream like a little girl when he realizes that his worst nightmare is right above him, brandishing a shotgun."
Staff review by John L (October 18, 2004)
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Hot Dog of the Week: Krakus Market in Philadelphia
A unique hot dog feature each week from hot dog connoisseur and cartoonist Hawk Krall!
While Philadelphia has become more and more of a hot dog city, with two new spots opening in the next few months, one thing it's always been is a sausage town. Italian, German, Pennsylvania Dutch, Polish—we've got all sorts of uber-authentic, homemade encased meats that aren't really hot dogs but are just too incredible not to write about.
A few weeks ago we featured the kielbasa from Swiacki Meats in Port Richmond; this week it's a kielbasa variety from nearby Krakus Market, a full-service Polish grocery store and restaurant that also has a staggering variety of house-cured Polish meats and sausages.
The variety is overwhelming here, with the standard kielbasa and kabanosy but also "Polish Hot Dog Kielbaski," Hunters-Style, Wedding Sausage, Smoked Juniper Sausage, Thick Ring Kielbasa, and all sorts of deli meats like headcheese, tongue, and Polish Mortadella.
Aside from the meat case there's also a full selection of Polish groceries, everything from pierogi (many varieties) to imported Polish beers and an incredible array of mustards, pickles, and sauces that are ridiculously affordable. Things like red pepper mustard and apple horseradish for no more than $1.25 a jar.
Of course we had to try out the "Pyszne Hot-Dog Kielbaski" which was basically a smoked mini kielbasa in the shape of a hot dog with a thick natural casing. It's cooked in an iron skillet with a slab of imported polish butter, on a club roll with some pickles and whole-grain mustard. Delicious but the bread was too much; the next batch served on standard hot dog buns turned out to be the way to go.
Notice that while these are definitely the shape and size of a hot dog, the meat grind is coarser and more like a kielbasa, as was the intense smoky pork-garlic flavor. Not a bad thing at all, these can really stand up to strong mustards and horseradish where a standard hot dog might get lost under the toppings.
Next up was the rope kielbasa, steamed in water before being finished off in the pan with more of the polish butter. Coarse ground, mildly smoked and insanely garlicky, it smelled like a garlic factory for the next two days but we couldn't stop eating it. We tried these a bunch of different ways but the kielbasa was so delicious and powerful, all you really need is some horseradish and a beer.
Krakus Market
3150 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134 (map) 215-426-4336; krakusmarket.com
Hawk Krall is a Philadelphia-based illustrator who has a serious thing for hot dogs. Dig his dog drawings? Many of the illustrations he has created for Hot Dog of the Week are available for sale: hawkkrall.net/prints/.
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Against the earlier shooting in Baton Rouge Louisiana, unfortunately this police shooting will lead the news cycles – guaranteed.
This latest shooting happened only a few hours ago. Police said the incident began with a traffic stop around 9 p.m (link).
Sketchy Details
/ No media yet – As best we can determine, a woman named Lavish Reynolds (aka Diamond Reynolds) immediately began live-streaming video of the aftermath from a police officer shooting her boyfriend four times. A four year old girl was in the back seat.
Local Media Report – MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — WCCO confirms that a 32-year-old man has died after an officer-involved shooting Wednesday night in Falcon Heights.
Philando Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, says he died at Hennepin County Medical Center. St. Anthony Police confirmed the shooting, which happened in the area of Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her daughter were in the car at the time. Reynolds is in custody Wednesday night.
A video circulating on Facebook, which was pulled from the site before midnight, was filmed by Reynolds and appears to show the aftermath of the shooting.
Reynolds, who was in the front passenger seat, says in the video that she was pulled over for a broken tail light. She says police asked Castile, who was driving, for his license and registration.
She says as Castile was reaching for his wallet, he informed officers that he had a firearm in his possession, and a conceal-and-carry permit. Reynolds says in the video that an officer then shot her boyfriend four times. (read more)
According to the video (auto-streamed to Facebook here) and the narration, Philando Castile was driving, Ms Reynolds was the passenger as they were pulled over by the police. Her boyfriend informed the police officer he was licensed to carry a firearm, and when he reached for his wallet to get his ID the officer fired into the vehicle four times.
Here's the video, but be warned this is very graphic, unsettling, and emotionally disturbing to watch and hear the driver explain what's going on:
Reynolds: Stay with me. We got pulled over for a busted tail light in the back and he's covered … they killed my boyfriend. He's licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out his pocket and he let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm.
Officer: Ma'am, keep your hands where they are.
Reynolds: I am sir, no worries.
Officer: [Yells expletive.]
Reynolds: He just got his arm shot off. We got pulled over on Larpenteur.
Officer: I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his head up!
Reynolds: He had, you told him to get his ID sir, his driver's license. Please don't tell me he's dead.
Officer: [Expletive.]
Reynolds: Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that.
Officer: Keep your hands where they are.
Reynolds: Yes I will, sir. I will keep my hands where they are. Please don't tell me that he's gone. Please don't tell me that he's gone. Please officer, don't tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir.
Other Officer: Get the female passenger out of the car.
Reynolds: Where's my daughter you have my daughter?"
[Five Minutes Later]
Reynolds: I got … the Roseville Police got me handcuffed, my phone is about to die. I'm on Larpenteur and Fry and the Roseville Police Department just shot my boyfriend. They shot him four times. He has a license to carry. We had a busted tail light. And we had some weed in the car that's about it. (Transcript Via CBS Minnesota)
Here's the facebook link:
In anticipation of this video disappearing there's also a duplicate copy available below.


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- 1/3 Cup Creamy Almond Butter
- 1/3 Brown Rice Syrup (or Maple Syrup)
- 1 tsp. Real Vanilla Extract
- 3 Cups Crisped Brown Rice from the health food store
- 7 oz. Good Quality, Dark Chocolate ( I used bittersweet Scharfenberger chocolate- it's more expensive but you can really taste the difference)
- 1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter or Earth Balance margarine
1. Using a double boiler, set a glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water, making sure that the bowl is not touching the water. Put the almond butter, brown rice syrup and vanilla extract in the bowl and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Pour brown crisped rice into the pot with the syrup. Mix with a spoon.
2. Spray the bottom and sides of a 8×8 glass pan with a light coat of desired neutral tasting oil (coconut, canola, grapeseed etc.). Pour the rice mix in and push it down with the back of a spoon.
4. Add the pieces of chocolate to melt slowly in a clean double boiler, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is melted, add the butter or Earth Balance margarine and stir. Pour the chocolate on top of the rice crisps and quickly spread it across the top with an offset spatula or back of a spoon in an even layer. Refrigerate for at least a half hour to set and cut them in to squares with a sharp knife. Keep stored in the fridge and try to eat them within two days or freeze in an airtight container.
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adapted from the Sprouted Kitchen


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Desert Suede
Dose of Color
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Our Liquid Matte Lipstick has a velvety high-fashion matte finish which envelops lips in rich, long wearing color. It applies as a creamy liquid but after a few minutes it dries to an ultra comfortable matte finish.
Colors may vary, the results of our colors may vary due to a number of factors including but not limited to; monitor resolution settings, lighting & skin tone, etc.
Exfoliate lips before use. Avoid oily/greasy foods.


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Article content
Who says politics is boring? Sometimes heated discussions involving political pundits can get a bit out of hand and end with in scuffle like this one involving two Jordanian journalists during a live TV discussion about the Syria crisis.
Appearing on the show "Between Opposing Opinions" on 7 Stars network, journalists Mohammed Al-Jayousi and Shaker Al-Johari had to be pulled apart by production staff after the two started shoving a table at one another, breaking it in the process.
The chaos erupted after Al-Jayousi reportedly provoked Al-Johari by accusing him of supporting the Syrian revolution.
Al-Johari responded by accusing Al-Jayousi of supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad's government in exchange for money, prompting Al-Jayousi to say, "Shut up."
Al-Johari responded to the retort by getting up from his seat, sparking the shoving match.
A video clip of the on-air brawl has gone viral, watch it here:
tap here to see other videos from our team.


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Din kurv er tomKøb
You might remember our lovely partner school from Haiger, Germany as last semester they were kind enough to write a short summary of their experiences of using our digital solutions. In October we had the chance to meet their media team in Frankfurt at the annual Buchmesse and conduct a quick interview about how things are going in the school, how kids are doing, and you know, about mozaBook itself.
King Stephen Báthory Primary School No. 5 in Łodz has been using the mozaBook software since August 31, 2017. After the signing of the Partner School Agreement officially establishing our partnership. The software is installed on all interactive boards in the school and after a year of using these tools in our work we can definitely confirm that mozaLearn offers an integrated learning environment, providing teachers of all subjects with various educational tools such as videos, animation, and 3D models.
Six months ago we had the chance to host three amazing German teachers at our dedicated training center in Szeged, Hungary. The media team of the Mittelpunkt Elementary School travelled all the way from Haiger with a clear purpose: learn about the mozaLearn system as much as possible, then implement our digital solutions, mozaBook and mozaWeb in their wonderful elementary school.
Sechs Monate ist es nun her, dass wir in Szeged, Ungarn zu Gast waren. Nach drei spannenden Tagen, in denen wir eine Einführung in die Möglichkeiten des Mozabooks bekommen haben, waren wir davon überzeugt unbedingt mit der Software an unserer Grundschule arbeiten zu wollen.
I would like to give you a few tips and emphasize how useful and exciting mozaBook can be in the field of second language teaching and learning.
Mozaik Education is delighted to see more and more schools using our educational presentation software, mozaBook. In this blog post I will tell you a bit more about our work in the Netherlands.
There is a good proverb: "Knowledge is boundless, human capacity, limited." Even if it is a popular wisdom, we, at Mozaik Education, bend over backwards trying to argue the point.
Learning is most effective when information reaches students through as many different channels as possible. Learning styles and the ways information is received may vary. Therefore, teachers must prepare carefully to be able to elaborate on different topics. mozaBook makes explaining the material significantly easier and decreases the amount of time spent on preparation.
Last December, just before Christmas, Mozaik was invited to the beautiful, historic city of Cluj-Napoca to speak about digital education at the local Babes-Bolyai University.
In addition to having to adhere to the national curriculum, teachers need to motivate disinterested students, consider each student's individual needs, build a sense of community within their classroom, and create assessments that measure both skill development and critical thinking.
The use of boards, projectors, and audio and video players in the classroom used to require a great deal of effort and preparation from teachers. But fear not, for mozaBook provides the perfect solution to this problem: now you can collect all the supplementary content that you wish to upgrade your lessons with in one place.
It is easy to help your students develop memory and attention skills with the help of mozaBook's tool set.


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the site for organized workers in "big beer"
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Fri, 21 Dec, 2012
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This site is provided by the European Federation of Food Agriculture and Tourism trade unions (EFFAT). It is supported by our Global Federation - the IUF - and all its other regional organizations.
This website was generated with support from the European Commission . The sole responsibility for this website and its content lies with the authors. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.


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Round Two in the Texas battle to limit abortions to 20 weeks and to require that abortionists meet the same standards as any other ambulatory surgical center started yesterday. Round One went to state Senator Wendy Davis, whose filibuster lasted almost long enough to stop the bill in the previous session, and to the mob that disrupted the legislature long enough to kill SB5. Pro-abortion forces in Texas wanted a rematch, but Davis says that she has no plans to conduct another filibuster (via LifeNews):
A spokesman for Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis, who stood and spoke for more than 12 hours to help kill the bill last week, says she won't filibuster the legislation a second time.
"You can't have a 30-day filibuster," says spokesman Rick Svatora. "The point is [Republicans] mismanaged things so badly the first time around it allowed a filibuster to occur. The Lt. Gov. [David Dewhurst] has pledged he won't allow that to happen this time around."
Really? Not even an attempt? Davis didn't have to stage a 30-day filibuster the last time, thanks to complacent Republicans who didn't anticipate the last-day tactic. Even with that, Davis didn't actually succeed in blocking the vote; Republicans used parliamentary tactics to finally end her floor time and had long enough to get the vote accomplished. The remaining time got stolen from the legislature by observers in the gallery, who erupted in protest and refused to allow the chamber to come to order. Republicans plan to prepare for that this time around, too, as Dewhurst told me last week.
One might think that Davis would at least offer a pro forma attempt at a filibuster, if for no other reason than to satisfy her legion of fans outside of Texas, which includes more than a few members of the media. That cheering section doesn't include Kirsten Powers, as she explains at The Daily Beast:
So no, I don't stand with Wendy. Nor do most women, as it turns out. According to a June National Journal poll, 50 percent of women support, and 43 percent oppose, a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, except in cases of rape and incest.
One can assume I am also not the only woman in America who is really tiring of the Wendys of the world claiming to represent "women's rights" in their quest to mainstream a medical procedure—elective late-term abortion—that most of the civilized world finds barbaric and abhorrent. In many European countries, you can't get an abortion past 12 weeks, except in narrow circumstances. Gallup reported in January that 80 percent of Americans think abortion should be illegal in the third trimester, and 64 percent think it should be illegal in the second trimester.
If the majority of Americans oppose elective late-term abortion, why do we have Davis complaining to CBS's Bob Schieffer that the male politicians who are championing the late-term abortion ban are "bullying women"? Maybe it's she who is bullying the rest of us into supporting a view that is mocked by scientific advancement; namely 3-D sonograms. Maybe we should be thankful for the men and wonder what is wrong with the women who think protecting the right to abort your baby for any reason up to the 26th week is a "human right."
Heck, even Wendy doesn't plan to stand with Wendy this time around.


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Hy everyone!
I am recently started using Jnes for emulating NES and like it very much, but have some problem with certain games:
When trying to start games with mapper 118, 119, 228 and 232.
Others are working great.
Please someone help me, whats the problem and how to solve it?


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Download link (right click and 'save-as') for playing in VLC or other compatible player.
What was happening in Philosophy in 1905? This lecture will seek to answer that question by picking out some of the most influential works of philosophy that were published in or shortly before that year, describing both those works themselves and their intellectual context. The works discussed will include Henri Poincare\'s Science and Hypothesis, Edmund Husserl\'s Logical Investigations, Gottlob Frege\'s Fundamental Laws of Arithmetic and Bertrand Russell\'s \'On Denoting\'. What I hope to bring out is how the seminal works of that period established the tone and content of twentieth century philosophy and drew the battlelines of the great philosophical disputes of the last hundred years: Intuitionism versus Logicism, Phenomenology versus Analytic Philosophy, etc.


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- Fixed triangle
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£4.99 standard rate with 2 - 3 working day delivery. United Kingdom mainland only.
All other UK postcodes will be 3 - 5 day delivery. Free delivery on orders over £50.
If you're not happy with your items for any reason, you can return them to us within 45 days of receiving them for a full refund if they are in a saleable, unworn condition.
Customers are accountable for return shipping charges. We suggest using a recorded or signed for delivery service to ensure the parcel is tracked and insured. All parcels are the customer's responsibility until we receive them.
Please view our Deliveries & Returns page for more information.


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Tabloid-staple Nadya Suleman (also known as "Octomom") has made headlines again — but at least it's not because she plans to have another child.
The 36-year-old is featured in a racy photo spread for a British magazine, Closer. In the story, Suleman flaunts her post-babies body, and claims she has no interest in dating men until her octuplets are 18 years old.
"I've been celibate for 13 years... I've only ever slept with two men," she says. "I get way too much male attention, but I won't date until the octuplets are 18 — I live for them now," she insists.
VIDEO: Octomom Brings Babies, Bedlam to TodaySuleman first gained international attention in 2009 after giving birth to octuplets via IVF — despite the fact that she already had six other children (from five pregnancies) and was struggling to make ends meet.
Octomom's Doctor Loses Medical LicenseShe insists that even after giving birth to 14 children, she doesn't need to work to maintain her figure. "I just pinged back into shape like a rubber band after the kids — I don't know how I did it," Suleman told the magazine."I eat like a horse, don't count calories and have never owned a set of scales. I gained an entire human when I was pregnant with the octuplets... but, two months later, I was a size 8 again. Now, I never weigh myself."The rest of Suleman's semi-scandalous photos can be seen here.


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Government Sues Big Banks Over Risky Mortgage Securities
The Federal Government filed suit against more than a dozen big banks over mortgage backed securities the banks sold during the housing boom. Essentially the government claims the banks were selling securities that were riskier than advertised.
As we reported earlier, The New York Timesreported this news, last night. But, now, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which was appointed to oversee mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, filed the lawsuits today.
As NPR's Jim Zarroli put it to All Things Considered's Melissa Block, this lawsuit hits 17 of "the biggest, most important financial institutions" in the world. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are all included in the lawsuit.
Jim said this is the government's attempt to collect billions in losses that Fannie and Freddie sustained buying bad mortgages. The government alleges that the banks sold them by providing "materially false or misleading statements and omissions."
This is a suit similar to one filed by the government against UBS last year, said Jim. Except that it broadens the scope to many more financial institutions. The reason the government is acting now, said Jim, is because the statute of limitations is about to expire.
The Times classifies the government's move as the most "intense effort by the federal government to go after the financial services industry for its alleged mortgage misdeeds." Remember that the financial collapse in 2008 was in large part driven by the subprime mortgage crisis.
Jim told Melissa that this new suit "greatly complicates" life for banks. "A lot of them are already in a morass of legal problems," said Jim. Private investors are filing suits and many state attorney generals are taking them to court because of what they say are illegal foreclosure practices.
All of that along with the economic downturn "has left them in a precarious situation," said Jim.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Surly Canvas Riding Jacket
Those who are familiar with our customs and philosophy on clothing probably can figure out a few things about our Canvas Riding Jacket. It's not made of space-age polymers and it most certainly does not follow the traditional technicolor dreamcoat aesthetic that most cycling oriented garments seem to go for. It's a jacket that's more suited for life on a bike than actual 'bike-rides.'
Our Canvas Riding Jacket is – you guessed it – waxed cotton canvas on the outside with a 100% Merino wool liner in the body of the jacket and a Polyester liner in the sleeves to prevent bunching. The waxed canvas gives you protection from the elements while the liner is light to make the jacket better for layering. And it's wool, so you've got that going for you. There is a two-way zipper and a Fonzarelli-approved collar so you'll always look cool, regardless of whether or not you're freezing your ass off standing around a bonfire in the middle of February. There is also a hidden chest pocket for small items like phones, cold looking hamsters, used or unused chewing gum, cigarette butts, basically anything that'll fit. We've made a couple updates to our initial design like improved snaps, separate, fleece-lined hand warmer pockets and a slightly less tapered cut at the waist.


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All-Star Game leaves Selig excited for second half
NEW YORK -- As Commissioner, Bud Selig's only All-Star rooting interest is for a competitive, crisply-performed game. And the American League's 3-0 win had him smiling as he left Citi Field on Tuesday night.
"The whole night was just wonderful," Selig said. "It gives you baseball at its best. A tough, well-played game. Great plays. Good pitching, that's the name of the game today. Neil Diamond [singing 'Sweet Caroline' in the eighth inning]. This is part of America. This makes me feel good.
"And then [Yankees closer] Mariano Rivera winning the MVP. And I meant what I said to him. He's the greatest relief pitcher of all time. And what an absolutely marvelous human being. I'm proud of our players. I really am."
The All-Star Game marks the symbolic, though not mathematical, end of the first half of the season and beginning of the second half. Looking back at what's transpired so far, Selig said he was most pleased at the number of young players who are beginning to make their mark on the game.
"The performance of a whole new generation of players ... I really am getting a kick out of that," Selig said. "You know, people worry in every generation and every cycle that your players are getting old and what are we going to do? Then all of a sudden along comes Mike Trout and Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw, and you can go on and on and on.
"[Dodgers outfielder Yasiel] Puig, of course. An amazing start. The Cardinals have some guys who established themselves last year, but the constant replenishment of their system is very, very impressive. Domonic Brown has been very good with the Phillies. The Red Sox's shortstop, Jose Iglesias.
"Manny Machado. For some reason, I wind up watching a lot of Orioles games, and he is something. He is something really special. I saw him make a play last week that would have made Brooks Robinson proud."
There were a record 39 first-time All-Stars selected to this year's game.
Selig is also proud that 17 teams are within eight games of a Wild Card berth.
"I remember when I appointed my blue ribbon committee," Selig said. "They were stunned in 1998 at how tough it was for a small or medium market to win. They virtually didn't at all. So now you look at the standings. Oakland leading. It's remarkable. Pittsburgh playing beautifully. Tampa Bay playing very well. I just talked to [Rays owner] Stu Sternberg and he's very optimistic.
"It's been a wonderful year. A lot of crazy games. But that's good. It's not good when you're running a club and you blow leads in the eighth and ninth innings. That's very bad. But the first half's been very good and I really look forward to the second half, because I believe in every division, we're going to have a heck of a race."


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There was no good news for USC football when the NCAA handed down its sanctions. The Trojans will face the following:
- 2 year bowl ban
- 4 years of probation
- Loss of scholarships
The Trojans may also lose their 2004 National Championship.
Filed under: College Football, Football, Men of Troy, PAC-10, Pete Carroll, Reggie Bush, Sports, Trojans, University of Southern California, USC, USC Football, USC Football Recruiting, USC Logo | Tagged: USC, USC Football, usc-football-sanctions, usc-ncaa, usc-sanctions | 1 Comment »


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Nuggets tie team mark with 20th straight home win
Wilson Chandler scored 21 points in place of the injured Danilo Gallinari to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets 132-114 Saturday for their 20th consecutive win at home, matching a team record.
Reserve Corey Brewer led the Nuggets with 22 points. Andre Iguodala had 18 points and a season-high 14 assists, while Andre Miller added 11 points and 12 assists as Denver finished with a season high in points while improving to a league-best 35-3 at home.
The Nuggets also won 20 in a row at home from Jan. 9-March 30, 1985.
Jeremy Lin scored 23 points for the Rockets, who lost their seventh straight to the Nuggets, including all four this season. James Harden added 14 points for Houston, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Denver was playing for the first time since losing the sharp-shooting Gallinari to a season-ending left knee injury. Gallinari was injured when his knee buckled as he drove the lane in Thursday's win against Dallas.
The Nuggets also were without Ty Lawson, their leading scorer who is out indefinitely because of a plantar fascia tear in his right foot.
Like Denver, Houston also was short-handed, playing without Carlos Delfino (flu) and Chandler Parsons (right calf strain).
Up by eight at the half, the Nuggets opened a 102-83 lead going into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rockets 13-5 in the last 2:34 of the third while showcasing their team depth. Evan Fournier, who had 17 points and was among seven Nuggets in double figures, hit a 3-pointer to start the run. He later drove the lane before passing behind his back to fellow reserve Anthony Randolph for a dunk.
By the time Brewer hit a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play on successive possessions midway through the fourth quarter, the Nuggets had the game in hand with a 118-90 lead. Denver substituted freely the rest of the way.
Chandler hit consecutive 3-pointers in the last 1:41 of the second quarter to give the Nuggets a 64-56 halftime lead.
Trailing 12-4 in the opening minutes, Houston hit four 3-pointers in a row, including consecutive baskets from beyond the arc by Francisco Garcia on the way to a 35-25 lead after the first quarter.
But Denver got back in it by running the floor, going on an 18-4 burst highlighted by a pair of rim-rattling dunks by Javale McGee off feeds from Fournier to surge back in front.
NOTES: Delfino has missed the past three games because of illness and Houston has been without Parsons, the team's second-leading scorer, for the last two. ... The Nuggets' Lawson has missed the last four games and five of the past six because of the foot injury. ... Iguodala's double-double was his ninth of the season. ... The Nuggets' previous season high was 128 points against Chicago on Feb. 7.