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Three basic lessons in photography for shooting in RAW, using Flickr and sizing images correctly.
This is going to be a post where you walk away doing one of three things:
1. Thinking I'm a complete idiot for not knowing this stuff before.
2. Not caring in the slightest because you don't have a blog or take a million pictures on a daily basis.
3. Picking up your jaw from the floor now that you realize how easy and simple some of these things are that you had no clue about or were doing incorrectly before.
I'm hoping there's at least a handful of you that fall into #3. If so, this will be worth it.
Last week, I had some major breakthroughs on some incredibly basic stuff that completely changed parts of my photography process and I figured if I was dumb enough to not know this stuff before, maybe there's some others out there too (wishful thinking at least to make myself feel better) that could benefit from this.
Let's start with some basics, because I get this question on a somewhat regular basis.
I shoot with a Canon T3. I use the stock 18-55mm lens that came with it. That's it. I don't have a tripod, I don't have a macro lens. I have the most entry level DSLR Canon makes. Simple, basic, and it works. I shoot every food picture you see on here in full manual mode. I had no idea how to use a DSLR before June when I got the camera. I taught myself in about 2 weeks through a ridiculous amount of trial and error and reading lots of posts and blogs on photography.
Ok, ready?
1. If you have a Canon DSLR in the original package and DVDs that came with it, you can shoot and edit a RAW image.
Um, hello? This was earthshattering news to me!!
I've literally been pining for Lightroom or some sort of editing software for months now, thinking it was the only way I would be able to shoot in RAW. I was previously shooting everything in L, but the editing process never really looked great because it was an already "formed" image, whereas in RAW, the picture is still "in pieces" if you will, and editing comes out much crisper (that's an incredibly basic and dummied down explanation).
Canon actually gives you their own software on the Solution Disk DVD that came with the camera for editing photos in RAW. It's called Digital Photo Professional. It's no Lightroom, it's basic, but it works and hey, it's free!
The pictures from my last two posts of the dough balls and the parsnip puree were both edited from a RAW image and then converted to jpegs. I used Digital Photo Professional to do some exposure, saturation and sharpness tweaking, converted them to jpegs and then cropped them in Windows Live Photo Gallery.
2. Resizing from a smaller image to a larger image = BAD.
I can't take credit for this realization at all. I owe this completely to Kat, my IT savior (and friend) who has basically taught me anything I know tech related. Here's a glimpse into my psychoticness through our text message exchange the other night.
(There's about 15 other texts from me not showing in this screen shot, haha)
Moral of the story? ALWAYS SIZE DOWN AN IMAGE.
For the past 7 months, I've been shooting in L (usually resulting in about a 4-5mb image), resizing it to a much smaller size, editing it and then uploading it into my posts and having to size it back up to fit my content area here on the blog. And here I was wondering why the hell my images always looked so much more grainy than they did on my camera! Someone hit me for being so dumb. Seriously.
Here's the difference.
Image #1, how I used to do it, resizing up (bad, bad Gina):
Image #2, sized down from Flickr (which we'll get to below):
Admittedly, this is not the easiest picture to see the difference given the nature of a puree, but look at the parsley and some of the "peaks" of the puree. The first one is definitely more fuzzy and grainy.
Here's another (probably better) example:
Image #1, old way:
Image #2, right way:
See the definition in the chia seeds and chocolate chips? I also noticed that both image #1's look darker. I guess that's another effect of sizing up. No bueno.
And this brings me to my last point,
3. Flickr is an amazing resource, use it.
Kat has told me numerous times how she uses Flickr to store all her pictures and then inserts them to her posts from there. I knew many others did this too from hovering over pictures on their blogs and seeing "so an so on Flickr" as the description. I just never understood what the point was! It seemed like another unnecessary step. Why not just download from the camera and put it right into your post that way?
Two reasons:
-If you buy the PRO account (for what amounts to $2/mo) you have unlimited storage. No worrying about slowing your computer down with large files or transferring to an external device. The free account gives you 300mb of uploads a month. That will only last me 9-10 blog posts with the amount and size of the pictures I take so, I'll be upgrading soon.
-Flickr lets you upload the high quality, large sized image and then with one simple right click, you can resize it (down!) and insert it directly into your post, save it to your desktop, whatever.
Lesson over.
If you were a #1 or a #2'er, sorry. I hope you still come back tomorrow. If you were a #3'er, you're welcome. No one ever has to know because you don't have to be as stupid as me and admit your incompetence publicly.
PS- I am no pro by any means, if you think I've gotten something wrong here, feel free to let me know (nicely) in the comments.
If you're a photographer, what are some of your best tips on anything from software to taking pictures to editing?
Related Posts
Roasted Parsnip Puree with Caramelized Onions
Sweet Potato Salsa
I need to start uploading to Flickr….thanks for the reminder!!
I actually found all of that useful! I don't shoot in raw… I've never wanted to use up that much memory on my memory card or computer, but with this new massive camera/memory card I have now I think its time I give it a try. And I can defintely see the difference in those pictures.
LOL! I can't believe you screenshot our convo! HILARIOUS. And I was doubting the difference in quality when we were talking, but now that I see them side by side, it really does make a difference!
nice post! I don't shoot in RAW…YET. I'm getting my new camera on Wednesday and I've proposed that I'm going to shoot in L + RAW starting with that one and I'm doing a 365 project so I can improve my photography :) woohoo! we can accomplish together!
Ha, if I started to admit my own photography epiphanies, you'd surely laugh your way to a soiled seat, so you're good. I never understood what Flickr really was (see??) but seeing as my computer has recently started to slow down, I'm all over it!
That's the camera I got for Christmas. My pictures are still awful (going to read the manual this weekend), so I can appreciate any tips n' tricks you care to share.
Oh… and now I want dough balls.
Thanks for this, Gina! I actually just got the Canon Rebel T3 a few weeks ago and am still experimenting/learning all that it has to offer. I'm definitely a #3 haha
Bookmarking this. I should take way more advantage of my camera than I do. I always say I'm going to take a day and just research…that was 1.5 years ago…oops!
I just ordered a new dslr, my old one was 29372459 years old. Danke.
I like to stick to my iphone pictures. I keep it classy.
I always forget to take pictures for my blog, but if I ever get into the habit, I'll be sure to follow these tips ;)
Great resource. I have had a Canon DSLR for a couple months and yes, there is quite the learning curve. Shooting in RAW format is awesome as it allows you to do so much before it goes to a JPG or other format. I still have a lot to learn and I need to figure a way to get consistent good lighting inside.
Love this. I just got my first dslr last January and there are so many things to learn. I still feel like I just got my camera, haha. I've been wanting to jump on using RAW. I have a Nikon and they give free software too, although I haven't looked into it, I'm sure I can edit RAW with it. I know it's so much better – I'm just scared of the massive files :P I shouldn't let that stop me!
I got a Sony DSLR for my birthday in September and I'm still learning how to use it! I def need a photography lesson, as well as some photo editing help :P
Oh this post is awesome and Im pressed for time but in my photograph section/tab, there are tons of posts about lightroom, all the food styling trips and workshops Ive taken and been on; food styling stuff, lighting, tripods, gears, lens and camera body reviews…I have quite a bit of info.
That said, image sizing is SO tricky and convoluted sometimes. Most times. Sizing from the camera to lightroom back to the blog or back out to another source. It's hard to know what size to take in, edit in, resize for export in, etc…and not everyone's blogs use the same size pics based on how wide or narrow they have their center table, i.e. I can fit a 665 px width pic by design, some bloggers can only fit a 575. Doesn't sound like much diff but it's huge to the eye and if you size it wrong, the compression, the graininess, etc…can be noticeable.
Also…doesnt matter what kind of camera or lens you have if your food is just…ugly. Ugly food that is poorly styled will still be ugly and poorly styled with a very expensive camera. It will simply be captured in better clarity and higher resolution. :)
Great blog! I got a Canon SX40HS for Christmas and I asked for the T3, but my husband said the guy at Best Buy said the SX40 would be easier for me to use without taking a class. You know mine came with a disc and I never opened it, I will do that when I get home from work tonight! Running late for work now, I am going to read your blog in more detail when I get to work, he he! Have a great day!
Oh man…so much information. All wonderful. I always thought Flickr was an unnecessary step too. Maybe not so much. I have had so little time to play with my camera I keep going back to the point and shoot. I am trying not to think about all of the time since October I have wasted having a cool camera and not using it.
Great tips! I've always wondered about storing images on Flickr. Thanks ~ I'm bookmarking this :-)
I totally appreciate this! I had wondered about Flickr for a while and am now finding it very useful. Question though, I can only figure out how to enter one pic into my blog. I click share, wordpress, but then it just makes that picture a post and I cant figure out how to add them individually into my post. Any ideas or thoughts? Thanks so much for all these tips!!!
YES!!! I started using Live writer and did what you said and it totally worked. That will make things WAY easier for me. Thank you soo much!!!
I'm a part-time pro photographer, and I run a bit of a weight loss/gain blog. I must say, however, that I really was impressed by the pictures you've taken, and now I know that it's all been taken with the kit lens gives me a bit more courage to set up pictures better. I wish my kitchen were as photogenic as yours, though!
[…] you to know that these pictures were taken in RAW mode on my new camera. I was inspired by this post. Now I just need to learn how to edit them […]
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Strauss able to declare after India's depleted attack made to suffer
Close: First Test, day two, Lord's
Match score: India 17-0 (Mukund 8*, Gambhir 7*) trail England 474-8 dec (Pietersen 202*, Prior 71, Trott 70; Kumar 5-106) by 457 runs Full scorecard
Session score: England 169-3, India 17-0 England win
Kevin Pietersen has rarely, if ever, been referred to as an anchor except as a form of rhyming slang.
And there still seemed to be pockets of Lord's that did not warm to an innings of value and substance. When he reached 150 with a flick to deep backward square leg that only he can play, 99% of the ground stood in appreciation but there were still some MCC members who, despite being awake, sat impassively not bothering to applaud.
His presence in the England side has been a constant source of debate ever since he made his debut in 2005. Whether it's about his South Africanness or, more recently, his poor form there has never been, and may never be, universal love for KP.
He spent a long time in first gear and he had some scrapes along the way but his patience was rewarded as was the crowd's.
"He's almost in full flow," Nick Knight said on Sky. Pietersen had 173 at the time. That was an indicator of how untypical the innings had been. It had been his slowest Test fifty, off 134 balls, and his slowest Test hundred, off 216 balls, 22 more than his century at Hamilton in 2008.
Joined by Matt Prior, who played another unfussy but highly watchable Lord's cameos, the tempo started to pick up. And as the evening shadows lengthened and the Indian fielders fled to the boundary, Pietersen was alone on the stage. It was some curtain call. He launched the off-spin of Suresh Raina into the pavilion sightscreen, slapped him down the ground for two more and cut him through extra cover to bring up his double hundred.
At the point, the entire ground stood, even the previously recalcitrant members, and England declared. KP departed, stopping as ever to face the crowd arms aloft before disappearing into the pavilion.
There were key moments of fortune for Pietersen. On 49 he appeared to have been caught low by Rahul Dravid at leg slip off Praveen Kumar but he escaped after the umpires referred to the TV replays. Surprisingly, given their recent conduct in West Indies, the Indians took the decision with good grace.
Later, in a terrific piece of Lord's theatre, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, having passed the keeping gloves to Dravid, thought he had Pietersen caught behind off his medium pace. But Pietersen reviewed and there was no edge. Surely it was his day. And it was.
It was also Kumar's. He became the 12th Indian to take five wickets in a Test innings at Lord's and his ability to swing the ball both ways was just as awe-inspiring as Pietersen lashing out at the end of his innings.
Kumar was barely bowling at 80mph but his wrist strength looks phenomenal and his lengths were an improvement on yesterday when he swung the ball too big and too early.
England's declaration left India a testing evening period to survive which they managed, just. Abhinav Mukund might have been leg before to a Chris Tremlett no-ball in the final over but we will never know.
The weather has improved and that normally makes Lord's easier for batting. England are on top but they should not expect easy wickets.
Shot of the day: Pietersen's whipped straight drive, with essence of flamingo, off Ishant Sharma that took him past 158, his previous highest score at Lord's.
Ball of the day: Kumar's hooping inswinger that beat Ian Bell and hit him on the inside of his right thigh.
The if-you-want-something-doing-properly moment of the day: Dhoni, not content with being wicketkeeper and captain, bowled eight overs in two spells with his unthreatening medium-pace.
Celebrity of the day: Singer Lily Allen reacquainting herself with the Test Match Special
Commentary of the day: David Lloyd on Kumar: "He's got a Michelle." (Pfeiffer = five-for)
John Stern is a former editor of The Cricketer
Follow him on Twitter @Cricketer_John

subset: commoncrawl


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Review into markets in Plymouth has to consider 550-year-old legislation
Posted: December 31, 2013|
A REVIEW into markets in the city has to consider rules set out in a Royal Charter from the 15th Century.
Applications for temporary markets in Devonport have failed because of current legislation – Plymouth City Council has said that an increased interest in setting up farmers' markets has led them to review the policy.
Friends of Devonport Park and other organisations in the area are keen to set markets up, which is currently difficult due to the Royal Charter.
Fairfax Luxmoore, a member of Friends of Devonport Park, said the charter had been compromised by the building of supermarkets and convenience stores in these areas.
Mr Luxmoore said: "Why are we governed by laws made by Henry VI? The rival markets policy of 1440 has been compromised by the building of supermarkets within 6.66 miles of the city centre Pannier Market.
"Charities and not-for-profit voluntary groups should be able to fund-raise by holding temporary markets in Devonport and Stoke.
"Plymouth City Council should actively encourage and advertise these markets especially fresh, local food-producing stall holders."
A council spokeswoman said: "We are currently reviewing our market policy in the light of increasing interest in farmers' markets.
"The review will take into account the views of City Market, City Centre Company and Plymouth Waterfront Partnership.
"It will also look at the number of food events and opportunities for local growers to sell their food.
"The review has to take into consideration a Royal Charter, dating from 1440, which set out how markets can be operated within the city of Plymouth.
"Under this and subsequent legal amendments, the council can hold markets within 6 2/3 mile of Plymouth City Market. The review does not mean we are saying no. It means we need to look carefully at all the implications."


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My column in the DNA, last fortnight
Forty five years ago, the United States of America, did the unthinkable — it put a man, actually two men, on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went into the history books as the first human beings to walk on the surface of earth's only natural satellite. The lines that Armstrong says on stepping on to the lunar surface "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", is part of textbooks around the world. While there was great euphoria on this momentous scientific and technological achievement, the benefits from this, apart from national pride, were seen in the following decades. The investment in putting a man on the moon went beyond the material and the technological. It had a multiplier effect in scientific research, energy sources, food technologies and in many more fields. The impact on society was gradual; it wasn't seen that pervasively in the decade that followed, but the Eighties and the Nineties reaped the benefits of this endeavour. From a communication perspective, the advances in satellite communication and miniaturised integrated circuits that were a by-product of the research into space exploration, transformed the world. Television, computers, mobile phones, and a host of other gadgets, that we don't even think about, are the distant descendents of the investment into space exploration. The world, in the words of the famous media theorist Marshall McLuhan: "human family exists under conditions of a global village. We live in a single constricted space resonant with tribal drums".
Twenty five years ago, in 1989, a British theoretical physicist, Tim Berners-Lee, working in CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland, came up with an innovative way of getting computers in CERN to talk to one another, and thereby allow the various scientists working on different projects to share information. His work led to the creation of the Hyper Text Markup Language, known more popularly by its abbreviation HTML. It allowed people to cross link content, and direct users to different pieces of content sitting on different machines. This simple and elegant way of connecting content led to the birth of the World Wide Web and the Internet revolution that we are living through. When it started, in 1991, there were fewer than 500 servers that were connected. Today, there is no point counting, because by the time you have finished counting the number of servers, a large number would have been added. HTML revolutionised the world of information publishing and sharing. Suddenly everyone could be a publisher, a distributor, a commentator. Like the printing press almost 500 years earlier, the World Wide Web changed the way in which people saw the world. Suddenly, you realised that your views or issues, your fetishes or hobbies were not in any way unique — there were others like you elsewhere in the world. If the moon landings and satellite communication had made humanity a 'global village' – the World Wide Web made it even smaller.
On September 4, the most ubiquitous web brand ever, Google, turns a sweet 16. Two young men, Larry Page and Sergey Brin looked at all the content on the web, and the existing ways of searching for information and decided that it was not good enough. The algorithms that they created for searching, classifying and organising content made using the web a lot more easy, and a lot more accessible. If HTML changed the way we create and share content, Google changed the way we searched and consumed it. There are those of us who remember a world before Google. We used Hotmail for email, Alta Vista for search, Netscape and Internet Explorer as browsers – all that has changed with the advent of Google.
If you really strip away the jargon and the technology from these three landmark events — in essence what they have done is made the world a smaller place, and made people very cognisant of the fact that the differences between the peoples of the world, in different nations, of different languages and traditions is actually not so great. We all bleed when we are cut, grieve when we lose near and dear ones, are inclined to help others (even random strangers), laugh at almost the same things, dance to almost similar beats and so on. Also, what is seen is that the desire for freedom and democratisation, the need to aspire and achieve is universal. What divides us is far less than what unites us.
It is, therefore, not surprising that there has been a backlash against this sense of being a 'global family' with shared ideals and values from those who were the traditional custodians of power – those who held the power over life and death of populations — extreme forms of religion, patriarchy and defenders of 'cultural purity'. These are people who, until a few decades ago, were obeyed without question. Today, they are, mostly, ignored. When we see the backlash of regressive elements — be it the khaps in Haryana, or the mullahs who are asked for opinions, be it former Pope of the Catholic Church or the most extreme of all reactions the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIS) – what they are railing against is that loss in absolute power over the lives of the people they controlled not so long ago. Cultural purity, religious purity, way of life et al are just excuses for wanting absolute power.
Most of the world is slowly moving towards the idea of a global village – people are escaping their shackles and aspiring for the better things in life, including not being restricted in their aspirations. The medievalists who want to drag people back into their cordoned off ghettos are trying their level best to hold on to their crumbling power base, that has been reeling under the onslaught of science and technology, through violence. Like others before them, who stood in the way of aspirations of people, these medievalists too will turn into a footnote in history.


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Preview (#2): DishonoredSteve Wright 13 September 2012
[one_half last="no"][gameinfo title="Game Info" game_name="Dishonored" developers="Arkane Studios" publishers="Bethesda" platforms="PC, Xbox 360, PS3″ genres="Stealth, action" release_date="11 October 2012″][/one_half]
I felt a bit out of place at the Royal Automobile Club of Australia last week in Sydney. I mean, I don't think they usually cater to the Batman t-shirt-wearing crowd, but there I was… complete with a face that still had traces of camouflage paint that just wouldn't come off (more on that another time). Nevertheless, I was allowed to enter and have another crack at Bethesda's upcoming Dishonored.
In a sequence that takes place after the experience I went hands-on with at E3, I played as Corvo as he was about to infiltrate a masquerade ball. His target? One of the three sisters Boyle, each of whom was decked out in full costume for the event. Not only did I need to kill the right sister, but I needed to ascertain the correct target first by investigating what each planned to wear. It wasn't a small feat.
Starting off from a river, I needed to get up onto the street and past a couple of guards… and a menacing Tall Boy to boot. For the first twenty minutes, I was determined to do so with force.
It didn't go well.
I gave up eventually and relied upon my special talents – I teleported from one side of the road to the other to evade the goons, and then stopped time to slip around the Tall Boy. Just like that, it took me half a minute using stealth to do something I couldn't at all with brawn.
Executive Producer Julien Roby was quite patient with me as I tried my direct approach, and demonstrated how I could have succeeded using physicality with powerful attacks in Corvo's arsenal. To the game's credit, I was quite versed with Corvo's stealth-based powers, but forgot about things like the whirlwinds he can generate to devastate enemies (and that damn Tall Boy too).
Now realising the potential I had at my fingertips, I played around with different techniques inside the mansion housing the masquerade ball. I snuck around, possessing rats to effortlessly sneak my way upstairs. There, in the "no-entry to guests" portion of the house, I went crazy and performed far more assassinations than attempts at investigating who my real prey was to be. It was exhilarating to be able to take out so many guards without being noticed – I felt part Ezio Auditore, and part Batman.
Eventually, I decided to abandon that course of action, and ran around as a pacifist with full stealth. It was just as fun… and right there lies the true beauty of Dishonored.
Lately, in games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I feel as if the "stealth or force" option really means that you're required to adapt to the situation and use either stealth or force; in those scenarios, it's like only one choice or the other will actually work. While I'm sure it won't 100% the case in Dishonored (I'm looking at you, river sequence!), I do feel that the two main quest areas that I've seen of the game really do allow you to choose one option or the other, rather than figuring out which has to be used for that particular sequence. It seems to me that there has been quite a lot of effort put in to balancing each scenario so that either path will be as effective as the other.
Time will tell if this holds true in the final product, but let me tell you – I'm extremely excited for Dishonored's release on 11 October.


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PARROTS FOR SALE: blue and gold macaw
Posted by tina- utica, ny on 6/23/13IP: 184.108.40.206
beautiful 11 yr old blue and gold macaw. Needs new home as
I have no time to dedicate to him and he needs more
attention. bird and 3x5ft cage $900 or bo. Must pick up in
north utica, ny.
Posts on this thread, including this one
Parrots For Sale: blue and gold macaw, 6/23/13, by tina- utica, ny.


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Here's a link to the story.
Here's a link to the story.
I just saw a report by Ted Cople on the Blackwater training camps used to train Ethiopian troops on anti-terrorism combat. Paid for with our tax dollars! Funny how the Ethiopians invaded their neighbor only a few weeks later. This private nazi like organization is a black mark upon this country of ours.
tonybot, please don't take this wrong but it's easy to say "this is bad." It's something esle to come up with a better way of dealing with a situation in the real world.
How would you handle this situation?
Wait a minute, let me see if I can get this right:
A United Nations humanitarian program has gone wrong?
Who could possibly have ever seen this coming?
Lazarus wrote: "How would you handle this situation?"
That's a good question, another question one has to ask is whether we need to "handle" the situation at all. The answer to that question from a purely militaristic and economic standpoint seems to be maybe, maybe not. There's just not much that the countries in the "Horn of Africa" can offer the U.S. save and except for oil, which is hard to extract due to food instability in the region, the instability of the governments in the countries that make up the Horn and the unforgiving terrain. In fact, of the countries that comprise the Horn of Africa (Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia), all have or are suffering from food and civil instability. In the 90's Secretary General of the U.N. Kofi Annan proposed a Food Stability Program for the region that went nowhere because of the wide spread civil instability in the region. Instability generated mostly by Islamic extremists.
To date, it seems the only countries that have been able to maintain any sense of Civil stability are those that have found a way to deal with Islamic extremists in their respective countries. That is Ethiopia's problem; how to deal with radical Islamists. For now, the government is withholding U.N. food supplies from those destabilizing forces and chasing them into whatever neighboring countries to which they might flee. Granted, It sounds a little cruel to withhold food, even from your enemy, but I've never had to deal with that type of situation so who am I to throw stones? Clearly though, something has to be done to stem the tide of radical Islamists not only in the Horn but thoughout Africa. Absent the establishment of a centralized African Government, the next best thing is to work with the goverment(s) you can to lend stability to the region by whatever means possible.
Here's a link to the story.
Posted by Nick Anderson at July 23, 2007 04:20 PM
I am probably just being picky here but it would help if any links you include could be accessed directly and not require "logging in with a password and all to read them. Next to the Middle East, Africa with all of its complex problems is certainly one of our thornier to deal with. It seems the only thing that sort of keeps it on the back burner is that only some but not huge amounts of oil are not involved. Well maybe I am forgetting about Nigeria.
This private nazi like organization is a black mark upon this country of ours.
Posted by: tonybot at July 23, 2007 04:43 PM
More smears, or do you have some facts? "Nazi like?" Your comment cheapens the memories of those who suffered and died at the hands of the real Nazis.
I'm with you Matt, UN humanitarian aid crisis? Incredible!
ANd Murf, pick a side. "maybe, maybe not"?
If Ethiopia chooses to take this policy to fight rebels in its country, so be it. If their country feels like UN Aid is being used to arm these rebels and being exploited to cause even more turmoil then I say cut it off. The UN needs to work on its image.
Spoken like a true neocon there murf! Blame everything on the radical islamists. I guess you guys don't have Clinton to blame so you gotta blame someone else for the instability. Has it ever occured to you that our policies of 18th century type British imperialism might have a destabalizing effect. This administration is a reactionany bunch of nincompoops! They will help whatever party they see as advantageous to the current situation without thinking things all the way through. We, my friend have helped destabalize this region by arming a known human rights violating corrupt government that has used our help to invade a neigboring country. But I forgot! You neocons don't have a problem with violating human rights and invading countries! Why don't we ship all the neocons to some third world country so they can feel more at home?
In addition to Blackstone – there was a recent article in the New Yorker (I know, that makes me a commie) about the insane opium eradication program in Afgahnistan. (See, the guys Karzi likes grow good opium, so we just eradicate the fields of the bad guys who grow bad opium.) But an intersting look at DynaCorp, another tax-funded private army or security firm or whatever. American "Civilians" with heavy machine guns on their jeeps and mini-guns on their choppers. Has this privitaztion thing gone too far? Failing that, how do I start a company where I can buy and carry the really cool guns, and get the American taxpayer to pay for it?
It's now quite clear how the results of the surge will be dealt with by domestic opponents of the Iraq war.
They're going to be ignored.
Hello Mr. Anderson,
I have an comment to make on the art of your cartoon: I am very impressed with the detail of, and the expressive quality on your Ethiopian government fighters face.
On the issue: It is an imperfect world. Sometimes (maybe even quite often) aid is abused. Now, let us see what is done about it now that the situation has been exposed and aired to the world.
JohnG I mean nazi like in the SS sense. A paramiltary organization that has no real ties to the government and so it is not under a oversite committee of any sort. An organization that is draining our resources to God knows what ends. I guess they are trying to make a neocon utopia where violence rules the day in their pursuence of the dipensationalist agenda of the christian fundementalist chicken-hawks that have highjacked the Republican Party. This is a sickening state of affairs and I don't like it.
MikeD wrote: "Murf, pick a side."
Tonybot wrote: "Why don't we ship all the neocons to some third world country so they can feel more at home?"
This isn't a simple black or white issue. Sometimes, picking a side isn't easy or even well advised. Obviously, from a purely humanitarian standpoint, most American's (me included) would like to feed every hungry person no matter what their religious preference, ethnicity or country of origin. Unfortunately, our desire to do a thing doesn't always match up with the will of the people in the Country we wish to help. Sometimes doing nothing is smarter than doing something that ends up being the wrong thing to do over the long haul. We're assisting a friendly government by supplying financial aid. How they use the money or for that matter, deal with their own internal politics is something we should stay out of unless it affects U.S. security or economic interests directly.
I suspect that if you were to take all of the "neocons" and sent them to a third world country, it wouldn't be a third world country for very long.
But an intersting look at DynaCorp, another tax-funded private army or security firm or whatever.
Failing that, how do I start a company where I can buy and carry the really cool guns, and get the American taxpayer to pay for it?
Posted by: harry covert at July 24, 2007 11:10 AM
1) It's Blackwater. Blackstone is an investment group on Wall Street.
2) DynaCorp (actually "DynCorp") has made a ton of money from many clients around the world. The U.S. government in Iraq is just the latest.
3) Any non-felon can set one up and get the requisite licenses. The difficulty is getting clients to believe that you actually know how to use the really cool guns extremely well under fire. Fill out ATF Form 4, pay $200 to the ATF for each machine gun, short barrel rifle or shotgun, or silencer you want to buy, and get the local Chief of Police or Sheriff to sign off that they know of no reason you should not be licensed, and the machine guns, etc. are yours.
So if you want to be a latter day Rambo, the road's open in front of you.
that is all i ask Murf. I see it as the three great options;
or get out of the way
Getting out of the way ( I assume taht best describes your stance) probably is the best course. Right on, brother.
It's now quite clear how the results of the surge will be dealt with by domestic opponents of the Iraq war. They're going to be ignored.
Posted by: Dave at July 24, 2007 11:26 AM
I loved the part down near the bottom where it stated [Bush] will be able to fight his war as he sees fit… Always good to see a pro-war supporter agree that Iraq belongs to GW.


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Zambia Exclusive Breastfeeding Study
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
The study is designed as a randomized, controlled trial with specific observational objectives. All HIV-seropositive pregnant subjects electing to breastfeed their child will be counselled to exclusively breastfeed through 4 months of age. All live-born children will be randomized (1:1) at birth to one of two counseling programs: A) to encourage abrupt weaning at 4 months of age, or B) to encourage exclusive breastfeeding through 6 months of age with the introduction of typical weaning foods ad lib.
HIV Infection
Other: abrupt weaning at 4 months
Other: Continued exclusive breastfeeding
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Prevention
|Official Title:
|Short Duration Exclusive Breastfeeding With Abrupt Weaning to Reduce the Risk of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission
- HIV infection detected by 4 months among children with no evidence of HIV infection at birth. [ Time Frame: 24 months of age ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Magnitude of the reduction in mother-to-child HIV transmission and the magnitude of the increase in non-HIV-related under-2-year mortality, attributable to cessation of breastfeeding at 4 months.
|Study Start Date:
|May 2001
|Study Completion Date:
|December 2006
|Primary Completion Date:
|December 2006 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: Abrupt Weaning
Women were counseled to abruptly wean their child at 4 months of age.
Other: abrupt weaning at 4 months
abrupt weaning at 4 months
Active Comparator: Exclusive breastfeeding per WHO guidelines
Women were counseled to adhere to the WHO recommendations for duration of exclusive breastfeeding.
Other: Continued exclusive breastfeeding
Continued exclusive breastfeeding
Detailed Description:
It is well established that infants breast fed by their HIV-infected mothers are at risk of acquiring HIV infection through breast milk. However, in low resource settings, where the HIV epidemic now predominates, breast feeding cannot simply be replaced by breast milk substitutes since alternatives to breast milk are unavailable, unaffordable and unsafe. With this application we aim to test the safety and efficacy of short duration exclusive breast feeding to minimize risks of HIV transmission without increasing risks of non-HIV infant mortality. We propose a 5-year study of HIV-positive mothers and their children to be conducted in two urban primary health care clinics in Lusaka, Zambia. All HIV-positive women and their infants will be offered the two-dose nevirapine intervention and will be counseled about the risks and benefits of infant feeding options. Women who indicate their decision to breast feed will be eligible for enrollment into the study. A culturally appropriate, affordable and sustainable breast feeding education and support program to encourage exclusive breast feeding will be developed, and all women who elect to breast feed will be encouraged to exclusively breast feed to 4 months. Half of the women will be randomized to a counseling program which will encourage abrupt weaning to full replacement feeding at 4 months, and half will be randomized to a program to encourage continued breast feeding after 4 months with the usual introduction of weaning foods. Children will be followed for two years with regular medical histories, physical exams and clinical sampling. The primary objective of the study, based on the random assignment, is to compare HIV transmission rates and under-2 year mortality rates in children who abruptly wean at four months of age versus children who are weaned according to local practice. The second primary objective, based on observational comparisons, is to compare HIV transmission among infants whose mothers adhere to recommendations to exclusively breast feed with those who do not. Secondary objectives are to describe acute and chronic effects of abrupt weaning on child morbidity. The study proposes to test an inexpensive and potentially sustainable public health intervention to reduce HIV transmission through breast feeding while preserving benefits of breast feeding for other aspects of child health in a very low resource setting.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 40 Years
|Genders Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- HIV-positive pregnant women identified through VCT
- After counseling about the risks and benefits of feeding alternatives report that it is their intended decision to breastfeed
- Live within the catchment area of George or Chawama clinic
- Are between 30 - 34 wks gestation. (To insure that opportunity exists to receive a minimum of 2 lactation counseling sessions prior to delivery)
- Do not have any significant presenting illness that requires hospitalization
- Agree to adhere to the requirements of study participation (including exclusive breastfeeding and randomization into one of two infant feeding groups at four months).
- Willing to inform a household member (preferably husband/father) of HIV-status.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Lives outside of catchment area;
- Have known major illnesses likely to influence pregnancy outcome including diabetes, severe renal or heart disease, or active tuberculosis, prior to randomization;
- Does not intend to breastfeed;
- Prior enrollment in this study or concurrent enrollment in another study
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00310726
|George and Chawama District Health Clinics
|Lusaka, Zambia
|Principal Investigator:
|Louise Kuhn, PhD
|Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
|Principal Investigator:
|Donald M Thea, MD, MSc
|Department of International Health, Boston University School of Public Health
Additional Information:
Additional publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|Donald M. Thea, Boston Medical Center
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00310726 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|April 3, 2006
|Last Updated:
|July 26, 2011
|Health Authority:
|United States: Institutional Review Board
Keywords provided by Boston Medical Center:
Mother to Child Transmission of HIV
Postnatal HIV transmission
Perinatal HIV Transmission
HIV Seronegativity
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on October 13, 2015


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Ubuntu 9.10 Post Installation To-Do List
Here's a shoet list of things to do after you have installed the latest version of Ubuntu. More here
Install video drivers
If required/desired, install hardware specific video drivers (nVidia or ATI). Go to System→Administration→Hardware Drivers and enable the drivers for your video card. You will need to reboot to make this take affect.


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August 27, 2014
As school begins for many students across the U.S., a reminder to praise our teachers and offer "soft eyes" of compassion to our children.
Krista is given a new appreciation for "the sidelines of my education."
Ojibwe teacher Keller Paap reflects on his work and the necessity of his language to adapt in order for it to flourish.


text: in message <20040823_(_dot_)_231846_(_dot_)_7ede85c647d0486f_(_dot_)_10_(_dot_)_0_(_dot_)_3_(_dot_)_20_(_at_)_bugsgrief_(_dot_)_net>, wrote horio shoichi thusly... > > On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 09:59:52 +0700 "User &" > <pirat_(_at_)_access_(_dot_)_inet_(_dot_)_co_(_dot_)_th> wrote: > > > there should some way to tell make that if ports have been made > > package, the next time that ports should not have been made > > again in the make package-recursive from some other ports. Concur. > Unfortunately, no. Change CFLAGS and remake, change some of make > options and remake, ... They give (for the most part) single same > package name. So, package-recursive is useful, rather not wasteful, only if a port depends on previously un-packaged ports. > This problem (no straightforward way to indicate what exactly the > outcome is) is inherent even in compilations (or file naming > conventions we have). Since make package has undergone build > process, and doesn't know if it is being repackaged with the same > set of files, it probably took the safest path, which is the right > thing, I guess. How about use of digest checksum(s) stored in a port's file to compare w/ that of port's package before start of package-ing? If package name is different or the checksums don't match (say, different options, CFLAGS & such), package should be built. - Parv --


text:
Live broadcasts to cinemas around the world from Shakespeare's home town
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text:
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP)—He has a unique golf pedigree, ferocious power off the tee, and a first name that could confound any spell-checker.
Venezuelan rookie Jhonattan Vegas also has his first PGA Tour victory after showing the playoff poise of a veteran in the Bob Hope Classic.
Vegas made a 13-foot par putt on the second playoff hole Sunday after putting his tee shot in the water, holding off Gary Woodland to win in just his fifth tour star.
Vegas is the first Venezuelan to win a PGA Tour event, but his remarkably steady performance over 92 holes in the five-day event suggests he's capable of winning again—and maybe even energizing an unpopular sport in his homeland.
"Just to think about winning on the PGA Tour, that's something," Vegas said. "But to make it happen is something else, and it's a crazy feeling. It was tough today to stay neutral and play golf, and that's why."
Vegas improbably became the first rookie to win the 52-year-old tournament with a spectacular up-and-down par after knocking his 92nd tee shot into the water 160 yards from the hole.
With the light fading rapidly behind the San Jacinto Mountains, Vegas got help from two poor shots by Woodland, who also was seeking his first tour win. Woodland's approach shot landed in a bunker, and his sand shot trickled to the opposite side of the green.
After his drop, Vegas confidently put a 9-iron right behind the pin. Woodland missed a par putt, and Vegas holed his $900,000 putt.
"Seemed like we were out there forever," said Woodland, a former college basketball player from Kansas. "We were grinding all day. Jhonattan got off to a pretty good start, and I was just trying to catch him all day, so the playoff was no different. It was just sudden death, but who made the first mistake? And it looked like I did."
Vegas and Woodland eliminated defending champion Bill Haas with birdies on the first playoff hole after all three finished the final round at 27-under 333. Vegas is the third straight player to get his first PGA Tour victory at the Hope, joining Pat Perez and Haas.
Vegas and Woodland closed with 3-under 69s and Haas shot a 66.
Vegas' path to the PGA Tour started in the remote reaches of Venezuela, where the toddler imitated his father's golf swing with sticks and stones while growing up in an oil-drilling camp. Maybe that's why Vegas never gave up hope when he missed a 9-foot putt that could have won it on the final regulation hole — or even when his second playoff hole started in the drink.
The 26-year-old needed a wealth of patience and perseverance just to make it to Palm Springs from that camp in the Orinoco River valley—and when Woodland made a few mistakes of his own, the man they're already calling Jhonny Vegas hit the biggest jackpot of his pioneering career.
"To my country, I hope this means a lot," Vegas said. "I really hope it means people changing (their minds) about the sport."
Playing one group apart, Haas and Vegas both missed short putts on the final regulation hole. A few minutes after Haas botched a 6-footer for birdie, Vegas couldn't connect, making his only bogey of the final day. Woodland, who shared the lead with Vegas after each of the final three rounds, got into the playoff with a birdie on the final regulation hole.
Vegas cut a confident figure on the Palmer Private course, wearing a neon-peach shirt with stark white pants and Nike hat. He was followed by his mother and his father, Carlos, who got his son into the game while selling food and tending a nine-hole course in that oil camp.
Vegas left home at 17, moving to Houston to study golf and English before playing at the University of Texas.
"Life for me hasn't been always the best," Vegas said. "I had to fight to get where I am. I'm a fighter, and if I set a goal in front of me, I'm just going to die just to get there, and fight hard to accomplish what I set out in my mind."
Vegas' victory should give a boost to his desire to revive the sport in his native country, where golf has been under criticism from President Hugo Chavez, who has closed six courses in the past seven years. Vegas has expressed a desire to speak with Chavez, hoping to change the president's mind about the sport that Chavez has decried as a pastime of the rich.
"I hope they know about the story, and that it is possible to get to the PGA Tour and win," Vegas said of his fellow Venezuelans. "I hope people realize that all over the world."
The Masters will have a bit of Vegas flair this year—and not just from Jhonattan. His father wouldn't miss it for the world.
"I know it's a dream that my dad and my American friends have to go to the Masters, just to walk around," Vegas said with a broad smile. "That's what they told me. It's like, 'Before I die, just please get me to the Masters."'
Ryan Palmer shot an 8-under 64 in the final round to finish fourth at 26 under, while Brian Gay's 10-under 62 shot him up from 37th place to a tie for fifth with Kevin Na (67) at 24 under.
Photos - Getty
Greg Beacham, AP Sports Writer
Yahoo Sports (AP) GolfGreedy.com


text:
Celebrity Moms Nov. 9, 2010 AT 2:06PM
Miranda Kerr is baring more than just her baby bump in the December issue of W.
For the magazine's family issue, she poses nude.
"Yes, I am pregnant. Four months along," she announced in August -- a month after UsMagazine.com broke the news.
PHOTOS: Orlando Bloom and other stars who've fallen for models
Kerr's modeling days soon may be numbered.
"My ideal situation would be to live on a farm in a solar-powered house with a hammock and a vegetable patch," the model - who wed Orlando Bloom this past summer -- told Page Six Magazine in 2008. "When this is all over, that's where I'll be. I've always wanted kids, so someday, eventually, yes, it will happen."


text:
Leave a Review
This is a family favorite and has joined the lineup for Thanksgiving dinner. We do add (considerably) more horseradish that the recipe calls for.flag if inappropriate
This recipe is incredible, without changing a thing. I happen to love brussel sprouts, but this recipe could reform even the most vehement sprout-hater. The sprouts are creamy, flavorful without being gloppy, and the intermittent onions are just incredible. Highly recommended--and easy too! A great Thanksgiving dish.flag if inappropriate
Lucky for us, little did we realize that not much of my husband's family are brussels sprouts fans, so we were left with most of the left-overs. Dinner was on Saturday, left-overs were finished Monday. The combination of flavors was out of this world. Plus, the bitterness of the horseradish and sprouts as part of Thanksgiving dinner, where some of the dishes tend to lean towards the sweeter side (sweet potatoes, glazed carrots, etc.) was PERFECT. I will definitely be making this again...maybe I'll try it on the other side of the family next time...or maybe not, I wouldn't have any left-overs!flag if inappropriate
I made this using milk instead of cream, adding more flour to thicken and also used more horseradish.flag if inappropriate
I was underwhelmed by this dish. I read all of the reviews before preparing it and so grated allspice and added freshly ground nutmeg as well (as I tend to do with this type of green). Additionally I added more horseradish to give it more zip and a few shakes of garlic powder. I served it for Thanksgiving and while my guests raved about the other dishes no one said a word about this, so I guess that really says it all. There was nothing really wrong with it other than that it was a bit bland, it just wasn't specail, and that's what I try for during the holidays.flag if inappropriate
There are better brussel sprout recipes out there. I followed the recipe, but wished I added more horseradish in retrospect because as is, the taste is very mild. For all the work and calories, it is just okay.flag if inappropriate
This was a wonderful addition to our Thanksgiving dinner- quite easy and very flavorful. I had to use "red" pear onions because that's all the market had- but they were a very pretty addition!flag if inappropriate
Brussel Sprouts are served precisely once a year in this family, and I guess I wanted to make them a little differently this year. I made this dish for 20 people for Thanksgiving -- and what a bust! I doubled the recipe, however in retrospect, I should not have doubled the horseradish!!! I think one tablespoon of horseradish would have been enough for a triple recipe! My sister told me if I had just boiled them and put some butter on them, everyone probably would have gobbled them down - but these were just sick. A waste of good brussel sprouts, whipping cream, and butter! Never again.flag if inappropriate
My husband, the picky one, loved this with our Thanksgiving meal. I liked it okay. I am not a huge fan of horseradish.flag if inappropriate
I am not an experienced cook and made these for my first Thanksgiving meal. They were easy and delicious--I couldn't believe I had made them!flag if inappropriate


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The pixel aspect ratio of a video stream can be computed from the display aspect ratio (usually 4:3 or 16:9) and the frame width and height. For example, a DVD 4:3 video stream encoded at 720x480 would have a PAR of (4*480):(3*720), or 8:9; the same stream encoded at 704x480 would have a PAR of 10:11.
Note that video captured by standard-definition digital camcorders is 720 pixels wide but has a PAR of 10:11, giving a display aspect ratio of a little bit wider than 4:3. This has to be taken into account when converting DV to DVD or other formats.
See also aspect ratio.


text:
Anderson County teenager injured in accident on lake
An Anderson County teen suffered minor injuries after a personal watercraft exploded on Hartwell Lake in Anderson this weekend.
Anderson County Fire Chief Billy Gibson said the teen pulled up to a dock on the edge of the lake and put gas into the oil port, causing the sudden blaze. The accident occurred around 6 p.m. Saturday. Gibson said the accident occurred near Portman Marina.
"It blew the engine is what it did," Gibson said.
As a result of the fire, Gibson said about 5 to 8 gallons of gas leaked into the lake.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, Anderson County firefighters and the local Hazardous Materials team helped in the cleanup of the lake, the chief said.
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Alex Pham
Revolving Door (1)
Sightings (11)
Media Critic Wades Through a Very Muddy YouTube News Story Trail - Posted December 28, 2012
As The Guardian's head of media and technology Dan Sabbagh reminds at the end of his brief but very fun summary of some widely disseminated upside-down coverage of Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment being stripped of billions of YouTube channel views, "partial facts + ... [FishbowlLA]
LAT 's Alex Pham Makes a Beeline for Billboard - Posted September 21, 2012
Geoff Boucher's decision to take his Hero Complex 2.0 show to EW... [FishbowlLA]
Google's 'Panda' Still a Bear for Demand Media - Posted February 17, 2012
Although there are several silver linings in the fourth quarter 2011 results released by content firm Demand Media, the bottom line is that the six-year-old outfit is still reeling from changes made last spring to Google's search algorithms. The Silicon Valley giant's much publicized adjustments... [FishbowlLA]
Dumb Idea of the Week: French Kiss Video Bowling - Posted June 10, 2011
Here's a concept product that gives whole new meaning to "slobbering guy in the corner gets to play the winner." ... [FishbowlLA]
Newspaper Blogs Most Popular List by Simon Owens - Posted May 7, 2009
Media blogger, Simon Owens over at Bloggasm...how can we put this gently...has a lot of time on his hands? In a good way...he could be putting his time toward something destructive...more so than media blogging... Anyway, he ranked the top 50 newspaper blogs: To determine ... [FishbowlLA]
LAT In 90 Seconds - Posted October 20, 2008
Graph Of The Day: Geoff Boucher takes in the landscape at the Spike TV Scream Awards and notices... [FishbowlLA]
We (Heart) LAT Tech Geeks - Posted June 5, 2008
The PR department at the L.A. Times just sent us an e-mail (see below) promoting the Business Section's new blog -- as if we needed the introduction! We have already become addicted to the musings and findings of Alex Pham... [FishbowlLA]
LAT In 90 Seconds - Posted February 26, 2008
Who's Her Daddy? Britney Spears' father, James Spears, and her attorney John Eardley are fighting over who has the right to control her "finances and life" while the pop star's estate ... [FishbowlLA]
LAT In 90 Seconds - Posted February 25, 2008
Grand Theft Merger: It didn't take long for the video game publishing business to start imitating the rest of the entertainment world. On Sunday, Electronic Arts Inc. launched a $2-billion takeover bid for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., "s... [FishbowlLA]
LAT In 90 Seconds - Posted January 10, 2008
"Mayor" Of Hollywood Dies: Johnny Grant, the beloved honorary mayor of Hollywood, was found dead in bed at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where he lived. He was 84. ... [FishbowlLA]
LAT in 90: Brainiacs - Posted August 7, 2007
Hal Fishman Obit KTLA's erudite anchor Hal Fishman died at 75 after nearly 50 years in television. Dennis McClellan's obit explains why Fishman was significant and relevant.On-line only. ... [FishbowlLA]


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Knitted from high-stretch ponte, Lanvin's pencil skirt will sculpt and smooth your figure. The simple palette and classic silhouette offer endless styling options. Wear yours with a cozy cardigan or dress it up with a sheer silk blouse.
Black stretch-ponteZip fastening along back49% polyamide, 43% wool, 8% elastaneDry clean
Product code: 372678 - Need help? Contact us


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One of the largest e-commerce sites in the world, Taobao has been extremely popular in China since its launch a few years ago. It has now been planning its regional expansion by moving southwards to the money bags of Singapore and the rest of South East Asia.
Cool people news alert: WeChat are so intent on making us the most satisfied customers on earth they have now installed vending machines doling out discounted tasty beverages for all its users.
Best named app ever App Annie has just finished its tour of fundraising round the neighborhood and has returned to base with over $15 million in the bank.
REVAMP ALERT. Apparently it's definitely time to bring out the new collection. Yahoo and Google have both been launching brand new logos lately.
Welcome back my good pals. It has been a long time coming and there is nothing like running away to the wild countryside of the UK to remind oneself that in fact, life in the city is much more sane. So fear not, my fine friends, the news, the excitement, the scandals, its all back on the THEM.pro blog. There is nothing better than some good old Apple news to kick-start us back into work.
Opera has a Chinese mobile browser named Oupeng. Apparently, this browser has now reached and topped the 100 million downloads in the mainland. This comes in at a third of all Opera downloads worldwide, an impressive figure if you ask me.
We all know how much China loves Wechat, this fact has now just been reinforced as China Mobile launches its very own Wechat data package sim card.
There is nothing worse than realizing you can't find your phone and that is the one time you left it on silent mode. So, what do you usually do? You cry for a bit, look around frantically and then bribe all your family members into helping you find it. Somehow, mine always end up down the side of a piece of furniture.
There is nothing we love more in China than Karaoke. No jokes, there are more Karaoke joints open 24/7 than there are normal bars! (excluding sanlitun) In light of this fantastic truth about our great nation, the Taiwanese have decided to cash in on the double trend of singing to a TV and growing smartphone users.
Linked is pushing itself onto companies more and more as it hopes to become a recognizable social media tool.
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The place you've got gender in can also grow the odds of acquiring pregnant with a boy baby. Should you lessen the distance the male sperm has to journey, then this, coupled with the truth that it truly is sooner can consequence in it reaching the egg to begin with. It also minimises the length of time inside the acidic vagina. For this reason, opt for deeper positions, such as "doggy style" or the woman on prime we the required head begin.
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Pick The Gender Of Your Baby
For some, this need is simply just a deep-rooted have to have to stability out their families. There is totally a certain factor balanced about having a relatives which has the two boys and females in. Despite the truth that countless couples who would seriously like to have children of each sexes, couple of do anything favourable about it, preferring to leave issues to probability or not even realizing that they are able to essentially influence the gender of their baby prior to, and at the time of, conception. Countless partners essentially need to understanding the total spectrum of parenthood, savoring carrying out stereotypical woman/boy activities. There's also evidence to advise that boys who've sisters often develop up to be a lot alot more delicate adults with an knowledge of the opposite gender.
For some partners, until they look at proactive actions to alter their habits and conduct, absolutely nothing at all will transform and they'll proceed to have young youngsters of the identical gender ad-infinitum. To give you an instance of this, your diet close to the time of conception can radically affect the odds of you conceiving a baby of a certain gender. Unless of course you know which food items you desire to eat to decide the gender of your baby, nothing at all will modify if you are one specific of these men and females who're in specific delicate in this respect.
Learn how to Minimize Baby Fat Fast – Get rid of Extra Pounds Following Pregnancy
The joy of a long-awaited birth of a baby most of the time is accompanied by disappointment triggered by gaining extra kilos throughout pregnancy. days pass, but the excess fat does not decrease.
In fact, not each individual lady is gaining added weight for the duration of pregnancy. due to physiological standards, a lady can get about 17-22 lbs through pregnancy. Females naturally get rid of these added pounds for the duration of childbirth and within the postpartum interval. But, having said that, extremely typically expectant moms exceed this quantity, choosing up to forty-45 further lbs although waiting for the baby.
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Those missing James Cameron's elaborately beautiful planet of Pandora can get a taste at Seattle's new 'Avatar' exhibit.
'AVATAR: The Exhibit' opened Saturday at the EMP Museum but could come to other cities before it closes in September 2012. The interactive and high-tech exhibit features videos on the alien Na'vi culture and on the real-life scientists and experts who helped create the alien world.
Visitors can transform into one of "Avatar's" CG alien characters and act out a scene, create Pandoran plants with a kit based on scientific facts and walk by a life-size projection of the Pandoran forest where animated woodsprites react to human movements. Some key costumes and props from the film will be on display, including the 13.5-foot armored AMP suit worn by Stephen Lang as villain Col. Quaritch.
The exhibit will also look at the 2009 Oscar contender's innovative filmmaking techniques as well as immerse visitor's in Jake's and Neytiri's rain forest world.
Would you go to the 'Avatar' exhibit? Tell us in the comments!


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8-year-old girl writes open letter to Justin Bieber
An eight-year-old girl from Ohio has written a letter to Justin Bieber asking him "why did he do it" after his DUI arrest in Miami.
Serafina, said that she was very disappointed in the 19-year-old singer and told him that he should be disappointed in himself and asked him to just take a minute to think about what he did, Fox News reported.
The girl's mother Ami claimed that her daughter had been a fan of the 'Baby' hitmaker since she was three years old and therefore she used his arrest as an opportunity to talk to Serafina about good and bad choices.
Ami claimed that she is hoping that Bieber will somehow see or hear the letter.
(Posted on 26-01-2014)
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About C2C2 Options Exchange, an all-electronic exchange, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBOE Holdings, Inc. C2 operates under a separate exchange license with its own rules and access structure, employing a market model that provides a maker-taker fee schedule and a modified price-time matching algorithm for multiply-listed classes.
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Fifty years ago, a group of pesky Cal-Tech students hijacked the University of Washington's halftime "flip-card" stunt in a Rose Bowl prank for the ages.
The Los Angeles Times tells the story of Lyn Hardy, the ringleader behind one of the greatest college football stunts of all time. UW fans on one side of the stadium were given flip cards that were supposed to spell out "WASHINGTON" but instead read "CALTECH." It's a marvelous tale, and you can read the full story here.
Hardy, now 69, says he learned how the stunt worked from UW cheerleaders. Upon learning the Husky Marching Band and Cheer Squad were staying at Long Beach State dormitories, Hardy—a Cal-Tech junior at the time—posed as a reporter for the Dorsey High student newspaper and walked right in. When everyone left for dinner, Hardy and another of Cal-Tech's legendary "Fiendish 14" swiped a card-stunt instruction book and headed back to Pasadena, where they made some 2,400 copies.
Jack Briggs, Washington's 1961 student body president, said at the time that the prank was "not in the best of taste." Fifty years later, though, it's still a classic.
Of course, Washington beat top-ranked Minnesota that day 17-7.
Enjoy this week's Dawg Treats:
- UW alum Nick Handy is departing his post as Washington's state elections director after leading widely praised reform efforts that have boosted voter turnout.
- A study by UW researcher Daryl Haggard explores the future of the Milky Way's central black hole.
- UW students win $40,000 to help make water safe to drink.
- Former UW President Mark Emmert, now the head of the NCAA, is profiled in this piece by the New York Times. The story focuses on overseeing integrity and the threat of income in college sports.
Read more…


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What's striking is how a relatively small amount of color is used with maximum effectiveness.
A touch of bold 1940's lipstick red is guaranteed to be memorable in a kitchen, no matter how the color is used. I have a serious affinity for red, which conveys a sense of energy and fun and makes me admire the daring of red kitchen folk.
New York designer Joe Nye basically created a black and white room with a huge pop from an unusual red ceiling keyed off the knobs on the pro-style range. It's clearly a new room — flat screen's the tell — with whiffs of vintage from the wallpaper and a battery of semi-flushmount school house fixtures, definitely love-it-or-hate-it lighting championed by Restoration Hardware lighting, among others.… Continue Reading


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The Big Trail
1930. USA. Raoul Walsh. 121 min.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 1:30 p.m.
Theater 1 (The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1), T1
The Big Trail
1930. USA. Directed by Raoul Walsh. With John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, Tully Marshall, Tyrone Power, Sr. The Museum's restoration of the widescreen Grandeur process reveals a sweeping epic, extraordinary in the early sound period for being shot almost entirely outdoors. The film contains images of great natural beauty, not the least of which is twenty-three-year-old John Wayne in his first major role. Special thanks to the Film Foundation 121 min.
In the Film exhibition An Auteurist History of Film
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In Scene Report, musicians from all over the globe fill us in on what's going on sonically in their hometowns. This week Naoko of Shonen Knife gives the scoop on Osaka, Japan.
There is no definite scene in Osaka. Each band is acting and playing as they want. Shonen Knife is like that, and Boredoms are the same. Bands who got major contracts, most of all move to Tokyo. Shonen Knife are staying in Osaka, though. Boredoms, too. The trend of these years in Osaka "scene" was that teenage bands played stupid J-Pop taste songs with lyrics of love. Recently, I can see some cool bands whose roots are American or British rock music like Futsu No Shiawase (ordinary happy) or Red Sneakers. I think it is a good trend.
Next page: Bands Worth Watching
1 of 4


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HOUSTON -- (Jan. 26, 2012) -- Like a magician employing sleight of hand, the protein mitoNEET -- a mysterious but important player in diabetes, cancer and aging -- draws the eye with a flurry of movement in one location while the subtle, more crucial action takes place somewhere else.
Using a combination of laboratory experiments and computer modeling, scientists from Rice University and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have deciphered part of mitoNEET's movements to get a better understanding of how it handles its potentially toxic payload of iron and sulfur. Their research is described this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"We scrutinize proteins with an unconventional approach," said Jos Onuchic, Rice's Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Physics and Astronomy and co-director of the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics. "We use biophysics to probe biology rather than the other way around. Using computational theory, we find structures that are possible -- regardless of whether they've already been observed experimentally -- and we ask ourselves whether these structures might be biologically significant."
Study co-leader Patricia Jennings, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCSD, who has collaborated with Onuchic for 15 years, said they save a great deal of time by using structural biophysics to guide their experiments on a wide variety of targets. For example, Jennings' laboratory determined less than five years ago that mitoNEET contained a novel folded structure. Since then, her lab has been using insights gained from static and dynamic snapshots of the protein to guide biological and biochemical studies.
"I think people forget that proteins are machines with moving parts," said study lead author Elizabeth Baxter, a UCSD graduate student who works under the guidance of both Onuchic and Jennings. "We start with the static snapshot and model in the funct
|Contact: Jade Boyd
Rice University


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Quick Answer – The "labels" of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, Homosexual and so forth have all come into our language much more recently and are not mentioned anywhere in the original languages of the Holy Scriptures. There are passages that condemn same-sex rape, prostitution and idol worship. We fully recognize this and are in agreement with the Word of God that these actions are destructive and anyone who partakes in these sins without true repentance will not inherit eternal life.
Reconsidering the Bible and Homosexuality from Recycle Your Faith on Vimeo.
Kathy Baldock is affiliated with Affirming Christian Network and has resources and a blog at Canyon Walker Connections.
Detailed Answer –
We could go the long, in-depth route here giving a dissertation of the lengthy, philosophic controversy, but, there's no reason to go the "wordy" route with a bunch of "Thee's, Thou's and Thine's" and clutter God's simple truths with religious rhetoric. Nevertheless we shouldn't just try to find the Cliff's Notes on Scripture either. We hope that this article is a good balance.
Understanding the Scriptures does not begin with church tradition and dogma but with the Biblical texts themselves. People misunderstand and misquote the Scriptures for several reasons – one main one – they don't read the Bible for themselves. They swallow any form of "truth" that sounds reasonable to them and then spew it out in ignorance. Another explanation is that if they do read the Word – they don't "understand" it.
Knowing what the Bible not only says but means is important so that you do not allow anyone to dictate your walk with Christ or get you off track. When you stand before the Lord – you will stand before Him alone. You, only, will be accountable for your actions. It's a serious responsibility to be a Christian. So dig into the Bible for yourself and challenge your heart to find the truth – not YOUR truth but God's truth for you. The Word says to seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened.
That all being said – Let's dig into the Word of God to see His viewpoint on homosexuality.
Did you know that the words "homosexual" and "homosexuality" do not appear in the Bible – at least they are absent from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. Those "labels" were added in the late 19th century. The authors of the Bible had little or no comprehension of same-sex, committed relationships. Their languages used back then had no words for these concepts. The idea of sexual orientation was not a part of human thinking during Biblical culture.
However the controversy happens because out of over 30,000 verses in the Bible there are two writers that mention same-sex acts in six different passages and they are condemned every time. These passages are crucial to our understanding of how we should view sex and how we should treat others.
So let's not just "read" these passages – Let's really understand them.
Understanding Scripture requires a few steps. It is essential to learn how the Biblical authors expressed themselves during the time of their writings and how things related in terms of their culture. Look behind the scenes. Ask questions like: Who wrote the Scripture and who was he writing to? What is the main topic? When was it written and what was the culture of the day? Why was it written? Looking behind the scenes will help you understand why God even wanted these things recorded and how they can apply to us today.
So the first passage that addresses same-sex acts is in the first book of the Bible – Genesis.
1st Passage: Genesis 19 Specifically 1-11 Take time out to read it >
Now look behind the scenes >
From: Moses – who had been born a Hebrew slave, became a pampered Egyptian prince, a murderer, and then a desert tribesman who led the Nation of Israel out of slavery. You might have heard of him from the Ten Commandments or the parting of the Red Sea.
To: Genesis is a part of what's called the "Pentateuch" which is a fancy name for the first five books of the Old Testament. In the Jewish faith it would be called the "Torah." This is a Hebrew history book written for the Jewish people covering from the creation story through the Nation of Israel preparing for their exile as told in the following book Exodus.
Re: Moses wrote this book wanting to remind the Nation of Israel where they came from so that they could understand where they were going. Through stories of many people who loved and quarreled, believed and doubted, married and had children, experience sin, consequence and grace, Moses traces their roots to a single family and even back to the foundation of the planet.
This passage tells the story of God holding the people of Sodom accountable and it very clearly shows the consequences of their rebellion and persistent sinful lives.
Common Misunderstanding: God destroyed the city of Sodom because of homosexuality.
Truth: The men of the city of Sodom wanted to commit a brutal, homosexual gang rape. We simply cannot condemn a sexual orientation because of a rape. There is a heterosexual rape described in the Judges 19:1-30. Shall we condemn heterosexuality because of that rape? This passage clearly teaches us that rape is evil and certainly not an acceptable form of God's idea of sex.
2nd & 3rd passages: Leviticus 18 & 20 Specifically 18:22 & 20:13
Take time out to read it > 1 2
Now look behind the scenes >
From: By the time he wrote Leviticus, Moses' attitude toward God had moved from ignorance and terror to fascination and love. He had tried being a brave freedom fighter on his own terms and had ended up committing murder – oops. When those utopian fantasies were far behind him and he only wanted to be left alone to raise sheep for his father-in-law. God sent him to be his people's great liberator but this time on God's terms.
To: Leviticus (when translated means "The LORD spoke") is the 3rd book of the Pentateuch, and is also known by the name it is given by Jewish rabbis, "the Priest's Manual." Moses was writing to the people of Israel and specifically their priests.
Re: Leviticus is a narrative pause in the story of the Israelites on their way, saved out of Egypt, settling in the land of Canaan. God literally sets in place a very detailed moral standard of do's and don'ts for His people. Magic was popular in their day. Casting spells was a common thing in their culture. In Canaan, where the Israelites were heading, things were even more heathen (sinful). Canaanite gods liked having orgies that included male-male sexual idol worship and they also liked having children sacrificed to them. This book would become a direct guide for God's people challenging them to live a life of holiness.
These two scriptures Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13 are explicitly against sex between two men for the sake of idol worship. They are also just a glimpse of a very detailed, very long list of laws found in the Levitical Law which also contains approximately 600 other laws like "don't get tattoos, don't sacrifice your children to false gods, don't have sex with a close relative or animals, and don't trim your beard." While these things might seem like silly rules, God wasn't being nit-picky. He wanted His children to be holy and set apart from the heathen people of Canaan and not to fall into their idol worshipping ways.
So why don't we keep all of these holy laws? That's just it – they were laws set in place for a certain people in a certain cultural situation. These were a people without a government at that time. Thousands of years later – our culture has changed completely and so have our laws. For instance, our laws today say that you shouldn't have multiple wives; that tattoos are legal for those over 18; and that it's okay to be homosexual. Also as the New Testament shows us, Jesus came to fulfill the law and to sum up the entire law in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
Galatians 5:13-14 (New International Version)
13. You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Truth: These men were celebrating their false gods and worshiping them with promiscuous sexual acts. These passages clearly teach us to be set apart and be different from the world. We should live holy lives before God and not have male-male sex for idol worship.
Those are the three areas in the Old Testament that address same sex sinful acts. Let's look into the New Testament.


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GM-PAC? GOP Should Just Say No — But They Won't
Supposedly conservative politicians can't possibly defend their acceptance of political contributions from General Motor's political action committee.
September 29, 2010 - 12:06 am
But if you concede the PAC's continued existence, you're then forced to ask: How can the GOP candidates listed above defend taking its money? This is not a situation where letting bygones be bygones is even remotely appropriate.
This is the same General Motors whose government overseers in bankruptcy, fresh from ripping off disfavored secured creditors at Chrysler, performed a similar act on GM's unsecured bondholders — real flesh-and-blood people who have suffered tremendously.
This is the same General Motors that, as it was shafting creditors, gave the United Auto Workers a deal so sweet that union president Ron Gettelfinger openly bragged to his members that the union's supposed "concessions" involved "no loss in your base hourly pay, no reduction in your health care, and no reduction in pensions." UAW-GM retirees, who conveniently don't get to vote on contracts, also got the shaft.
This is the same GM which, with White House help as it was keeping the UAW whole, "schemed with Big Labor bosses to preserve UAW members' costly pension funds by shafting their nonunion counterparts" — including 20,000 former salaried employees at Delphi, who also "lost all of their health and life insurance benefits."
This is the same General Motors whose government overseers, according to TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky, as reported by the New York Times, closed "scores of dealerships without adequately considering the jobs that would be lost or having a firm idea of the cost savings that would be achieved." The jobs losses amounted to tens of thousands. Closure decisions appeared to have been based more on political and racial factors than valid economic considerations. Before the termination decisions were announced, GM's minority-owned dealers fretted that almost 60% of them (roughly 174 of 300) would be shut down. As it worked out, both at Chrysler and GM, they were closed in virtually exact proportion to all other dealers. Amazing how that worked out, isn't it?
I have seen no indication that GM and the administration have any intentions of retreating from their legalities-be-damned, consequences-be-damned outlook. And yet, we see the names and amounts listed above: Portman — $5,000; Blunt — $5,000; Coates — $5,000; and "Young Gun" (or is it "Young Blank") Eric Cantor — $2,000.
Seriously, guys: How could you? Until you return the money, how can we ever believe anything you tell us about the capitalist, free-enterprise system and your support for the Constitution?
This sad episode should disabuse sensible conservatives of any notion they might have that they will be able ease up even a teeny-tiny bit if the fall elections result in GOP congressional and Senate majorities.