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8 Things You Should Be Doing in Your UX Practice, but Probably Aren't
Published: July 19, 2009
Let me get a bit meta with you right at the top. This month's column is more than a touch formulaic. But here's the thing: The reason columnists keep coming back to drink from the X-things-you're-not-doing-but-should well is because readers find it irresistible. Why? Because, when this format is done right, it scratches the itch that UX professionals have for self-improvement—for lifting themselves out of their ruts.
So, enough with this combined apology/meta explanation, let's get right to it. In no particular order, here are 8 things you should be doing to improve and grow in your professional practice, but that you're probably not doing—or not doing enough.
Communicate Simply
Admit it. Ours can be an insular profession. As much as most of us think we communicate simply and effectively, we often don't. Why? I think it's because we're sometimes overly concerned about how we're coming across to our fellow UXers. You know what? Forget about them. Your real audience is the business stakeholder. When you're planning a presentation or trying to figure out how to communicate your research or design solution, don't let your inner Nielsen—or head-Nielsen for fans of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica TV series—prevent you from communicating in terms and concepts that your stakeholders can understand and groove on.
You know what this means, don't you? You're not allowed to use the term heuristic evaluation anymore. Banish it from your professional vocabulary! Now, wave goodbye to it, because, if you use it again, I will personally come to your house and punch you in the arm.
Whether you're reporting research results, writing a research plan, showing off a new design, or drafting a specification, keep it simple. Communicate your key points efficiently and using minimal jargon.
Read, Read, Read
I know keeping up with all there is to read is hard for all but the most inveterate readers in our crowd. But it's important that you keep up to date with the latest news about design, user experience, usability, product management, technology, mobility, and more. My advice is to get yourself an RSS reader—Web-based or desktop, whatever works for you—and bookmark and tag relentlessly. Don't worry, you don't have to keep track of what you're bookmarking and tagging—yet.
After a few weeks, once you've built up a nice backlog of reading, I want you to schedule some me-time for yourself. At least once a month, reserve some time for an hour of strolling through your bookmarks and tags, reviewing what you've filed away. Open up a notepad—either a virtual notepad or a real one—and just crank out a raw dump of the main takeaways from each article. If you're doing it electronically, don't forget to note the sources of your takeaways. Just grab the URL and paste it beneath them.
I promise, if you do this for 3 or 4 months, you'll get smarter and be a better UX practitioner—or manager, VP, or whatever. And don't forget to share your gleanings. Not only is this a good way to consolidate your knowledge, it's a good way to spark discussions in your professional community. It's an even-money bet that, pretty soon, you'll find yourself becoming the proverbial font of knowledge that people rely on for user experience expertise.
Pick a New UX Tool and Experiment with It
You want to grow in your practice? Download or browse to a new tool and play around with it. You may not put it into regular rotation, but it'll get you thinking and looking at your practice a bit differently. And who knows, you might find that 10X-efficiency-booster application that works just the way you think about design, IA, user research, or usability.
Here's a good place to start: Check out Russell Wilson's 2008 article "16 Prototyping Tools Reviewed." And give the comments a read, too. There's good stuff there.
Hold a UX Stand-Down and Operational Review
This is something I've done in my management and leadership positions at Sage and Intuit. I got the idea from the US Navy. Periodically, certain naval air units examine and improve operational policies and procedures by standing down for a day and thoroughly reviewing how they do what they do. They look for opportunities to do things better, eliminate procedures and processes of dubious value, and improve safety margins.
I'm sure you have some cruft in your UX practice. So, do yourself and your colleagues a favor. Take a day where all you do is look at what you do, what you produce, and how you deliver your services. It might help for you to pose some form of the following questions to yourself, regarding every aspect of your operation:
- Is this activity or process still meeting the need for which it was originally designed?
- If it isn't, why not?
- If it is, can you meet that need in a better, faster, or stronger way?
- Are you performing any activities or processes that don't meet any of your organization's needs? (And can you stop doing them right now?)
- Are there new needs your current activities and processes are not satisfying?
There are many names for these types of activities. One I've heard in my corporate travels is the stop-start-continue exercise. Whatever you call it, it's a good idea. Do it! Don't worry, I won't punch you in the arm if you don't. But if I see you at a UX conference or meetup, I will give you loads of Jewish-mother guilt.
Stretch Yourself Outside of User Experience
Our profession can be like a comfortable, well-decorated, and distracting gilded cage. It's so comfortable, we are often loath to leave it. Well, guess what? Temporarily assuming a completely different job or responsibility might make you love our little UX world even more when you return to it. And you'll have the added advantage of bringing back an outside-in perspective of your field. So, do yourself a favor. Go do something else for 6 or 12 months—for example, take on a requirements analyst or business analyst role. Be a product manager. Work in the online marketing department. If you have the chops, go write code. Hell, you could even do QA for awhile. (Although it seems to me that it takes a certain kind of focused craziness to geek out on testing and validation.) But it's all good, and it'll pay dividends down the line.
Think About Your UX Career Path
This is the other side of the coin. Who are you professionally? What is your UX specialty, your brand? Are you a strategic UX thinker—business oriented, big picture—or more tactical—testing, testing, testing? Are you a tool wizard—adopting the latest, greatest tools—a specialist—the forms guy or gal—or a cutting-edge Web 2.0/social media wonk? Pick a persona and work it. Specialization is not a bad thing, especially if you're seen as the go-to guy or gal for a particular class of problems.
Repurpose Your UX Assets
Here's a suggestion from John Rhodes, one of the truly talented marketing minds in the user experience industry. He suggests taking reports you've written for several clients and creating a meta report for sale on your Web site. Another suggestion from John is to convert a whitepaper to an MP3 and post it as free download on your Web site or a podcast directory. Use it for marketing or sales support.
Think your stuff isn't worth the reuse effort? Think again. Everything helps. If your for-sale report doesn't sell like hotcakes, you've got a ready-made piece of marketing collateral—or a portfolio piece, if you're looking to get employed by a company that likes to see work samples.
Departing from Script on User Research Visits
Serendipity is the mother of discovery. I have created dozens of user research studies and moderated hundreds of sessions. Invariably, the most interesting and important findings for my clients come from pursuing a line of inquiry that wasn't even part of the original research protocol.
I'll fess up. One of the major mistakes I made as an inexperienced user research practitioner was over-determining the session protocol. In my younger days, I was too eager to cram the protocol full of tasks, questions, and opportunities for recounting critical incidents. I didn't realize that the best, highest-quality insights come from simply being attentive and open to the unexpected, then describing the phenomena you've witnessed and offering some clever and penetrating analysis.
So, learn from my experience. Loosen up your field-research protocol a bit. Don't fill it with too many tasks and questions. And be on the lookout for interesting phenomena, behaviors, or rituals. They're your business-class ticket to insight city.
I'm sure there are lots of other things that we, as UX professionals, should and could be doing. I invite you to share your suggestions in the comments below.
A quick thanks to Susan Hura of SpeechUsability, Daniel Szuc of Apogee, and John Rhodes of Webword for their suggestions and ideas.
Topic: Columns | Design Process | Professional Development | User Research
3 Comments
All good advice, although I like doing UX far too much to stray from it, even for a short while!
I think it's really important to have an outside-in view of UX. I've certainly found that the skills that I've learned outside UX have allowed me to communicate ideas to the team and streamline the project far more, as you gain the foresight of what others will encounter and need from you down the line.
Being open to thinking from outside of your department can add new ideas to what you're working on—especially those front-end programmers who have a myriad of patterns to draw upon.
No matter what, young UX people would always be curious, but left helpless on how and where to find opportunities to build outstanding UX skills. As a newbie to the UX field, I would like to pledge that I should practice certain exercises that Paul Sherman has shared in this article. Also, my gratitude and thankfulness to all UX professionals for saving our "freshers" decades to figure out these kinds of valuable insights and knowledge.
Join the Discussion


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McMillan returning to Portland, reflects on tenure, regrets how he handled Batum
Batum, Wes, LA thoughts on McMillan
"The focus is going to be on trying to win a basketball game but yeah, of course it's going to be weird."
"There were some players on that team that were probably lost before they even came there. They knew they weren't going to be there long."
PHOENIX -- We're roughly four months short of two years since Nate McMillan last stepped foot inside the building now renamed the Moda Center.
On Monday, Dec. 2, he will return to the place he had coached for seven seasons when he comes in as an assistant for the Indiana Pacers to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. This is the organization he helped transform from a laughingstock to respectability.
Whatever emotions he'll experience from the reunion, McMillan admits it'll be strange, but he makes it clear that the focal point is to get another win.
"The focus is going to be on trying to win a basketball game but yeah, of course it's going to be weird," McMillan said to CSNNW.com via phone in Charlotte, N.C. "The last time I was in that building with basketball going on, I was on the other sideline. So yeah, I'm sure it will be weird just as any other players that come in and have been traded and moved on. But it's part of what we do."
Often when the McMillan Era is brought up, his last season in Portland tends to be the central topic of discussion. Did he lose the team? Did guys form a mutiny? Was he fired prematurely?
[GOOD READ: Earl Watson on how his brother's murder shaped him into the person he is today]
All are logical questions to be asked. That 2011-12 (lockout year) Trail Blazers' roster was assembled on the fly. Brandon Roy announced his retirement from the game prior to the season starting. Greg Oden experienced another knee setback and would not play that year before eventually being waived. And LaMarcus Aldridge suffered a heart condition that required treatment, keeping him out a couple of weeks.
Former Trail Blazers Raymond Felton, Jamal Crawford, Gerald Wallace and Marcus Camby were all on the last year of their deals that season. The team could have gone in one of two ways. Guys could have come together as a team knowing they needed one another to secure a nice financial bump in the offseason. Or guys could play as individuals in attempt to pad their individual stats.
We all know what occurred from there.
And unfortunately for McMillan, a 20-23 record for a projected playoff-contending team that lost seven of its last 10 games wasn't going to equal job security. So taking that all into account, it's fair to pose the following questions: Was he let go prematurely? Did the players give up on him?
"We weren't performing, whether I lost them or not. We weren't performing," he said. "Again, there was some players on that team that were probably lost before they even came there. They knew they weren't going to be there long. Some were free agents. So that wasn't my group of guys. One thing about it is, it's hard when you have a group that you've molded, and to bring in guys that are already molded and shaped, and the number of guys we did bring in that particular year, that was going to be a difficult challenge."
[DWIGHT JAYNES: Trail Blazers avoid rope-a-dope]
So the rebuild, or the retool had to begin and even if the organization elected not to change coaches, McMillan said that would have been something he wouldn't have wanted to be a part of.
"Probably not, you know," he said. "We don't go through this game to get comfortable with losing. But it was never asked, so I can't answer that. I had gone through [a rebuild] for seven years. For me and the fans and the organization, you've gone through that. And to go through that again with the same coach, I don't think that would have been the right thing to do. If you're going to rebuild it, you need to start with the coach, especially in that situation."
There were other challenges McMillan faced during his Portland tenure aside from all the string of injuries and that last season – the handling of Nicolas Batum.
Batum grew frustrated with his role in McMillan's offense. Batum's agent Bouna Ndiaye told CSNNW.com that Batum didn't like playing the role of Bruce Bowen, a stand in the corner player that only shoots the ball when open and defends.
Under coach Terry Stotts, Batum has flourished into one of the most complete players in the league and he's frequently on the triple-double alert.
When Portland acquired one-time All-Star Gerald Wallace via trade midway through the 2010-11 season, McMillan had a tough decision to make. And he made it. It's one of the only things he regrets during his time as the Trail Blazers coach.
"Really, I felt like Nicolas was going to be a good player and a talented player. Again, he was drafted with that in mind, with being a part of the future. Probably the one thing when I look back on my time in Portland that I regret was the decision to take Nicolas out of that lineup and starting Gerald Wallace," McMillan admitted. "That was something that I was battling with the time I was there.
"I knew that Nic was going to be the future. I knew Wesley [Matthews] was going to be the future. Those were the two best wings for us. But bringing in a veteran such as Gerald Wallace and trying to convince him to come off the bench and he did for about a week or two. He felt like he needed to be in the starting lineup. I went against what I really believed was right which was Nicolas and Wesley playing with LaMarcus because they defended and they shot the ball at the two and three positions. But we gave him as much as I felt like he could handle at the time."
Luckily for McMillan, at the moment, he doesn't have to deal with those type of situations. Pacers head coach Frank Vogel will have that task. McMillan jokingly says as an assistant, his naps are shorter and he now finds himself on that first bus to the arena on game days working players out.
[RELATED: Are the Trail Blazers "for real"?]
He has found being an assistant a blessing in disguise in terms of obligations. Oh yeah, and he's enjoying that part of it.
"We [assistants] don't even talk to the media. On Media Day for me, I went out and took a picture and I was back in my office within 15 minutes," he said while laughing. "It was cool, man."
Last season while out of work, McMillan took some time to travel the country and visit some team's practices to keep his coaching mind stimulated. He's never had a year off from basketball so he filled his time visiting George Karl in Denver, Doc Rivers in Boston, Rick Carlisle in Dallas, Monty Williams in New Orleans and Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.
He knew he would coach again soon, so he wanted to make sure he stayed on top of his game by adding a few wrinkles from each coach. When the time came for him to look at some head coaching opportunities this past summer, he said there were some jobs he was interested in and some he wasn't interested in.
At the end of the day, whether he was interviewing for a head gig or an assistant gig, it had to be the right fit. He wasn't taking any job. Indiana was the right place for him.
"When this opportunity was brought to my attention, I never imagined that I would be working in Indiana with Frank," McMillan said. "A lot of what they do, I believe in. They are a team that believes that defense is the No. 1 priority and team chemistry. They've built a solid foundation and I thought it was a good fit. Me and Frank share the same agent so it was a natural fit."
It's going to be strange seeing McMillan on the other team's bench. He said he doesn't know exactly what it's going to feel like or what the reception is going to be like if/when he is shown on the jumbotron screen.
However the Moda Center audience decides to greet McMillan, he just wants them to know that he had a great time when he was there and he's very appreciative of the opportunity he was given.
"I'm really thankful for the opportunity that was given to me by Mr. [Paul] Allen," he said. "My plan was trying to build a team and building a championship team. I had never done that before and when I came there, I was a young coach. I just saw an opportunity with an organization that was passionate about the game and I felt that they would invest in building that type of team, and it almost happened.
"Everything that is happening right now for the Blazers was in the timeline of what we were talking about five years ago. We felt like Brandon Roy, LaMarcus, Greg Oden right now would be in their prime and the West would be falling off. We felt like San Antonio would be taking a step back. Those guys are incredible, but no one expected San Antonio to be this good still. We felt like the Lakers would be getting older, they would be falling off. We felt like Phoenix would change. At that time they had Amar'e and Steve Nash. But we felt like if you gave us three or four years, our guys would have developed and this would be our time. I'm happy for Portland and have many fond memories."
Excerpts from our conversation:
When was the last time you spoke to Paul Allen?: "We spoke probably right after that (firing), and we've haven't talked since then.
Will you speak to Paul Allen at the game on Monday?: "Nah, I don't think so. If I see him, of course, I'll speak. If I see him and we come across each other's paths, yeah, we'll speak. But I don't hold any hard feelings or grudges. And I don' t think he does either."
How do you feel about your overall tenure in Portland?: "We had a plan that was going well. When I first spoke to Mr. Allen and he talked about his plan when he offered me the position to come to Portland, the plan was in place and it was working. We had some unfortunate situations where we just had some injuries that we just could not overcome. To have everything really going according to plan, we had talked about building through the draft, that we were going to be patient. We were lucky enough that some guys did some good things. Kevin Pritchard and our scouts did a good job of drafting. But when you lose a Brandon Roy and Greg Oden in the same year, it's going to be hard for anybody to survive. You take Kobe Bryant and Paul Gasol from the Lakers. You take LeBron James and Dwyane Wade off Miami, it's going to be hard for those organizations to survive. We had that happen in our lockout year. I got caught in a storm."
Was it justifiable firing you?: "Larry [Miller] and I talked about that. I felt what they did, they needed to look at rebuilding that team before it crumbled. We brought in some players and the timeline wasn't the same as the group that was there. Because of Brandon's retirement and knowing it was going to be Greg's last year as a Trail Blazer, we had to make some decisions in a lockout year. And we made some decisions that we thought could help the organization, but it didn't work out. And at that time, I felt like the organization really needed to look at everything. They needed to look at the future and the future was do you continue with me and do you continue with this team? They made the decision to do something and it started with me. I understood they were going to go a different direction."
Thoughts on Damian Lillard and Portland's start to the season?: "That kid is sparking that city and that team like Brandon Roy did. He's having that type of impact on that team. "Yeah, Portland is legit. I think they are. You know I've seen Lillard play a couple of times, but just watching him, he has the poise and the demeanor of a Brandon Roy. He seems to be really calm under pressure. The point guard play was something we were really searching for throughout my time there. Andre Miller came in and really helped us at that position, but he was really passed his prime. So that was really what we were searching for and they got it. They got that guy who looks like he can lead a team and I know LaMarcus, Wesley and Nicolas, those three fit each other. LaMarcus is a low-post guy who can do a number of things and Wesley and Nicolas both defend and can shoot the three ball. Now you got a point guard to go with them. You take LaMarcus and put him at his natural position by bringing in Lopez. You got experience coming off the bench. You got a Mo Williams coming off the bench. You got to be kidding me? Come on now."
Sounds like you would have loved to coach this team: "We had that type of team, but I never had the opportunity to coach that team when we brought in Andre Miller. That year we brought in Miller (2009-10 season), I think my starting lineup would have been Steve Blake, Brandon Roy, Martell [Webster] or Nicolas, LaMarcus and Greg. Coming off the bench we would have had Andre, Rudy [Fernandez], Martell, Travis Outlaw and Joel [Pryzbilla]. So we had a team that would have been deeper than what they have now. But Travis broke his foot, Rudy had some issues, Greg got hurt and Joel got hurt. So we never had an opportunity to see, what I thought talent wise, was one of the better groups we had there but we never seen it in regular season games."
How is it being an assistant?: "Ah man, it's a lot different. Gee-wiz. My naps are shorter. I don't take long naps. Yeah, you get fired up for the game but it really is different in a sense. I really enjoy working out with the guys. I did it my first couple of years in Portland and I did it throughout all my years in Seattle, spending more time talking with the guys. When you're the head coach, because of all the other commitments that you have, you end up kind of distancing yourself from those guys. Your assistants develop more of those relationships. So I've enjoyed the teaching part. Being able to stay after practice and work with the guys on the floor and watching film. And then there are the other things you don't have to do as an assistant such as all the appearances, the speeches and the media. It's different and it's a great opportunity. I'm working with a great group of guys. I couldn't be happier."

subset: commoncrawl


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Anyone else notice that the current Patriots don't match up well against physical teams? More specifically, when opposing teams can get to Brady – the offensive performance suffers.
This has been going on since about 2007. BB himself has stated that they were also out-coached during many of these types of games.
So, why hasn't BB and McD figured out a solution? Haven't they been learning from being outcoached?


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Dear ASF,
Another year has come and gone, and we are about to embark on FY16. I wanted to send a brief memo recapping the past year, and we are currently looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join the ASF Board.
As I look back at FY15 and what ASF has accomplished, I'm proud to serve as chair as our group continues to grow and expand the events and opportunities we provide to our members. Some highlights:


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Falmouth School Board
The Falmouth School Board meets the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:00 pm. Workshop meetings will be held in the Falmouth Elementary School cafeteria and regular meetings will be held in Falmouth Town Hall. Special School Board meetings may be called with prior public notice. All Board meetings, including special meetings, are open to the public. Agendas and minutes for each meeting are posted in all schools, the Falmouth Town Hall, the Falmouth Memorial Library, on Cable TV, and on the school's website.
2015-2016 School Board Meetings - Please note the January 4, 2016 workshop has been changed to January 11, 2016.
Please note: All meetings take place on Mondays (unless otherwise noted).
Members of the School Board
Email Address to All Board Members: To send an email to all board members (preferred method) click here. (Note: this sends an email to multiple recipients. Unfortunately, this link does not work with all email programs. This link will work with Outlook, Outlook Express, and Entourage, and may work with others. If you get returned email, please use the individual links below. If you use web based email, you need to cut/paste the addresses, you cannot click on them to open a new email message.
|new District Communication
Falmouth voted Top City to Live and Learn by Forbes Magazine and Great Schools in 2011!


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Armin van Buuren – In & Out of Love (The Remixes)
A track that has travelled the globe, not only through hundreds of radiostations, played out by DJ's or performed live by Sharon and Armin during the Armin Only – Imagine shows, but also sang along and danced to by millions of Armin fans. 'In & Out of Love' was one of the biggest tracks of 2008, and even received more than 72 million views for its official music video on YouTube.
2 years after its release, 'In & Out of Love' sees a new package of previously unreleased remixes. Legendary producer Chicane gave a warm dancefloor feel to the track, by chopping the vocals and giving it an extra soothing sound. LMC pushed the big room character, while Christian Davies stripped it down to an energetic, proggy track. Kenny Hayes Blue Sphere Mix aims for the tropically warm, Balearic uplifting trance sound, where UK duo Whelan & Di Scala went all-the-way on peak-time house with a sensitive touch.
A new package for a future classic!
Download now on iTunes.
1.In And Out Of Love (Chicane Remix) (07:30)
2.In And Out Of Love (LMC Extended Vocal Mix) (06:25)
3.In And Out Of Love (Christian Davies Remix) (06:27)
4.In And Out Of Love (Kenny Hayes Blue Sphere Mix) (07:56)
5.In And Out Of Love (Whelan And Di Scala Remix) (07:18)
6.In And Out Of Love (UK Radio Edit) (02:47)
7.In And Out Of Love (Extended Mix) (06:04)


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There is an ARCO gas station at Northeast Seventh Avenue and 99th Street. The last three times I went there for gas, all the pumps had signs saying they were out of gas and only had diesel. They keep the price signs and all the pump-area lighting on, so it's impossible to tell before pulling in. Lately, there are never any cars at the pumps. They've blocked the pumps with orange traffic cones. I wonder what they are selling in the store that could make enough profit to keep all that lighting on — and not have to sell gas.
— Earl Kolanda, West Hazel Dell
As you must have noticed, Earl, that station no longer is ARCO. It may become ARCO again, said a staff member who asked to remain anonymous — but for the time being, it is doing business with a different supplier. The station painted over its tall blue-and-white ARCO sign and reopened its pumps after dispensing no gasoline for a few weeks.
"We had a lot of problems with corporate," confessed this staffer, who said that because of difficulties with electronic bank transfers, the station "is no longer in (ARCO's) good graces."
ARCO had demanded that the station buy its gasoline in advance. Making prepayments of many thousands of dollars is impossible while also making payroll and the mortgage, this staffer said. So: "We ended up getting gas from someone else."
According to industry sources, ARCO keeps its prices low by eliminating frills including credit card sales, and by charging a fee for each debit sale — and by frequently insisting that franchisees buy gas in advance. A wire service story that ran in The Columbian in November 2011 detailed a lawsuit filed by a Tacoma ARCO owner claiming the company holds its franchisees to restrictive contracts that allow for very little profit. The Tacoma owner claimed that his gasoline supply was cut off because he was late paying for gas. That's exactly what the 99th Street staffer claimed.
Contacted by email, a spokesperson for ARCO owner BP had no comment. Stay tuned.
— Scott Hewitt
Got a question about your neighborhood? We'll get it answered. Send "What's Up With That?" questions to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The Cardinals have signed former Mets pitcher Jeremy Hefner to a minor league contract. The 29-year-old is hoping to rebound from two Tommy John surgeries since... more
The Rams are turning their attention to Sunday's season finale against the 49ers in Santa Clara. St. Louis has won three in-a-row following last Sunday's 23-17... more
Saint Louis tries to end a three-game losing streak tonight facing Kansas State in Manhattan. The Billikens fell to Southern Illinois by 13 their last time out.
Missouri returns to the hardwood tonight welcoming Arkansas-Pine Bluff to Columbia. The Tigers lost their third straight game, 68-63, to Illinois on Wednesday... more
The Rams took advantage of three turnovers as they topped the Seahawks, 23-17, at CenturyLink Field.
Kari Lehtonen kicked aside 22 shots for his first shutout of the season and 33rd of his career, as the Stars blanked the Blues 3-0 to split the home-and-home series at American Airlines Center.
Girls Basketball...
42nd Annual Visitation Christmas Tournament....
The Blues begin a home-and-home series with the Dallas Stars tomorrow night at Scottrade Center. The teams will rematch Sunday in Dallas.
The Rams are back to work today preparing for Sunday's game against the Seahawks in Seattle. The Rams are 6-and-8. Seattle is 9-and-5. St.
All of the college basketball locals are off the hardwood until next week.
The KLPW Radio Athlete of the Week is Junior Mikayla Espowe with the Union Track and Field Team.
She was 15 years old--an accomplished student-athlete from a loving home, the kind of kid of whom it is said "she has the world going for her."
In November of 2015, her father went in to her room to discover she had taken her own life.
Back in their days, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft were known for trust-busting. In an era of price-fixing, crony capitalism and corruption their actions helped to create more opportunities in the marketplace by creating competition.


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Game Description: Take a trip to outer space with some very hungry cats and some very scared mice. You control a pack of rodents, placing arrows and other directional information on the floor of each level in order to help steer your friends away from danger. In a race against the clock, you'll have to move faster and faster as the game progresses. Full of addicting gameplay, Chu Chu Rocket! is a well-detailed test of your reflexes—not to mention a one-of-a-kind classic straight from Japan.
After Nintendo unveiled the specs for the Game Boy Color's successor, the Game Boy Advance, countless developers and publishers announced interest in releasing software for the new, more powerful handheld, mostly in the form of ports. As fate would have it, one of those publishers would be none other than Sega, Nintendo's most bitter rival. Now free from the burden of hardware manufacturing and in need of cash, Sega has been on a tear announcing any viable piece of software it owns for release on every conceivable gaming platform. It's for this reason that some may decry the release of Chu Chu Rocket! on the Game Boy Advance as nothing but an opportunistic business move by a publisher/developer trying to make a quick buck. But an objective analysis reveals this move to be one of the most beneficial towards gamers that Sega has made in a long time.
For the uninitiated, the premise is simple: herd as many space mice (Chu Chus) as you can into rockets so they can get away from the space cats (KapuKapus). It very much plays out like a quirky variation on the Lemmings theme. Staying with the Lemmings comparison, it's important to know that neither the mice nor cats are very smart. They travel in straight lines until they hit a wall at which point they can only turn to the right. Through careful placement of arrows, you have to direct the mice to their rocket(s) and the cats away from them. It sounds simple enough, but after a few minutes of playing, it's clear that the game has a lot more to offer.
Where Chu Chu Rocket! is successful is in its near flawless translation of all the things that made the original such an approachable and eventually addictive playing experience. The entire look and feel of the original has been faithfully reproduced. Granted, the game was never what you would call graphically intense by any stretch of the imagination, but it counts that the simple 2D bitmap (colored in shades of pastels) look just as beautiful on the 2.5-inch LCD screen. It gives off a child-like sense of playfulness that permeates the entire game and flourishes in this new environment. The tiny squeals of the mice, scratchy yelps of the cats, and the playful, merry-go-round tunes are perfectly suited for the Game Boy Advance's low-tech speaker. These elements are key to the enjoyment of Chu Chu Rocket! so Sonic Team's maintaining them in the translating starts the game off on excellent footing.
What truly separate the Game Boy Advance version from its Dreamcast cousin are the extensive features packed into the game pak. For solo players, there is the "Stage Challenge" and "Puzzle" mode. Each mode requires that you get the mice to the rockets (or lead the cats to all of the mice), only that the "Stage Challenge" is timed and the "Puzzle" mode is not. The "Puzzle" mode boasts newly created Game Boy Advance stages as well as those taken right out of the Dreamcast version. If that weren't enough Sega took advantage of the fanaticism of Chu Chu Rocket! fans and copped the best of the 17,000 customized stages and puzzles that were submitted. The result is 2,500 stages available to play through—you can't call yourself a fan and not be thrilled at such a prospect.
Sonic Team took things to a whole other level by allowing for some unprecedented customization on a handheld. In the create-a-stage mode, intrepid (or simply bored) gamers can create a puzzle themselves and try to one-up the developers at Sonic Team and other Chu Chu Rocket! users. Create-a-character offers an interesting twist. Here you can actually design the characters that appear in the game. Using a rather rudimentary, but effective editing program, you can create little icons to supplant either the mice, cats, or both. It's clearly a feature with appeal to the hardcore, but it's great to have the option nonetheless. Unfortunately, since support for the Game Boy Advance cell phone adapter is not included, gamers will have to forego online gaming and settle for trading customized stages and characters with other gamers in the immediate vicinity via link cables.
The most important feature in the game might be its multiplayer mode. Up to four players can compete at once with the objective being to guide as many mice to your own personal rocket ship and away from your opponent's while doing the opposite with the hungry cats on screen. It comes in two flavors, "Team Battle" which pits teams of two against one another and the winner-take-all tournament called "Four-Player Battle." Both modes are intense by themselves, but Sonic Team adds some interesting things to the mix. In addition to the normal eight, five new "Events" are available. Most notable are "Blindfold the Winner," which causes the mice to become invisible on the winning player's screen and "Nighttime," which limits each player's view to the area directly around his or her rocket. These additions and Chu Chu Rocket!'s mainstays only accentuate the unrelenting pace that these game sessions can reach as you try to place arrows while simultaneously strategizing on how to better help yourself and still hurt your opponent.
With all of this praise I'm heaping on Chu Chu Rocket!, you'd think it would earn a higher rating. Well, for one thing, the controls are not as concise as they were on the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast version used a simple control scheme where the four face buttons were mapped to the four arrow destinations. This was an incredibly easy scheme to grasp and it's one that I appreciate even more now that it isn't available. Sonic Team does offer some compromises but they are far from perfect. The L and R shoulder buttons can be assigned the Left and Right arrows, but during a frantic session, it is too easy to get confused with such an unintuitive setup. Another option requires that you use alternate double-tapping on the A and B buttons but it is totally impractical and not worth mentioning further. The last option was the best choice in the lot, though still not the best suited for this game. It called for holding down the A button and then using the D-pad for direction. This game was designed to take advantage of your reflexes and when the control modes slow you down, the game can't help but suffer as a result.
My last gripe may not really be something that Sonic Team could have avoided, but it is worth mentioning anyway. It's wonderful that so many users were able to contribute their unique, often clever—but mostly frustrating—puzzles for all to enjoy, but after a while it can get to be too much. Soon the puzzles begin to blur into each other, leaving only the most diehard Chu Chu Rocket! fans with the motivation to try and complete even one-tenth of the puzzles available. I am a Chu Chu Rocket! fan and was looking forward to trying out some of these 2,500 new puzzles, but succumbed to Chu Chu Rocket! fatigue very early on.
Chu Chu Rocket! was part of Sega's desperate last-ditch effort to reverse the fortunes of the then ailing Sega Dreamcast. As a result, we saw software that ran the gamut from unique (Jet Grind Radio) to the very bizarre (Seaman), but luckily in the midst of these releases we got a gem like Chu Chu Rocket!. Chu Chu Rocket! is so ingenious, yet simple in its execution that it would have succeeded on almost any platform. In spite of a few flaws, it is damn near a match made in heaven.
According to ESRB, this game contains: Mild Language, Violence
Parents have nothing to worry about, Chu Chu Rocket! is as wholesome as they come. The only thing that might be seen as marginally objectionable is the fact that some mice and cats do fall to their death and some mice will get eaten—but it is not done graphically or gratuitously so it should not be a problem. Chu Chu Rocket! is one of those games that belongs in every gamer's library. Even those who first experienced this puzzler on the Dreamcast should give it a try (at least as a rental) to see it hold up on a handheld. There is nothing like taking Chu Chu Rocket! on the road. Multiplayer Game Boy Advance fans should be aware that thanks to the simple graphics, four-players can play on one cart, so all you need is a link cable and a cart to get a good multiplayer session going. Special features like Team Battle and Four-Player Battle are sure to offer loads of entertaining playing sessions among friends. Gamers playing alone will also find something to love about Chu Chu Rocket! thanks to the 2,500 (it is still an unbelievable number no matter how many times I say it) stages in this little game pak. If nothing else the customization modes should keep you busy for a long while.


text:
Recurring urinary tract infection (UTI) involves repeated infections of the kidneys or bladder even after proper treatment.
UTIs are usually caused by bacteria. In most cases, the bacteria enter the body through the skin around the genitals and anal area. The bacteria travel up toward the bladder or kidneys. If the bacteria are not killed by the person's immune system, an infection can occur.
A UTI may cause any of the following symptoms: · fever · the need to urinate frequently · painful urination · pain in the abdomen or on the sides of the back below the ribs · nausea and vomiting · incontinence, or involuntary loss of urine · a sensation of fullness in the lower abdomen · blood in the urine
Recurrent UTIs can occur for many reasons, including: · problems with the immune system · the use of a urinary catheter to empty the bladder · abnormalities in kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra can cause repeated infections. The ureters are tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. The urethra is a tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. · damage to part of the urinary system · sexual intercourse, which seems to trigger UTI in some women · poor hygiene, such as wiping from back to front after a bowel movement or not changing the underwear often.
Prevention of recurring urinary tract infections can involve several steps: · A woman who develops UTIs after sexual intercourse may take antibiotics, such as sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, before signs of infection occur. · A person who has a urinary catheter in the bladder needs to have the device changed or cleaned often. · Good hygiene is important for everyone, but especially for those who are bedridden and incontinent. · A person should drink 8 glasses of water every day. · A person should urinate when the urge is felt, rather than holding urine in the bladder for long periods of time.
A history of the symptoms is taken by a healthcare provider. A urine sample may be sent to a lab for a urinalysis and a urine culture. Infected urine often contains bacteria and white blood cells, the infection-fighting cells of the body. Normal urine contains little or no bacteria or white blood cells.
Recurring UTIs can damage the urinary system. A UTI can spread to the blood, causing sepsis. That can cause severe illness and even death.
UTIs are usually not contagious. However, infections of the urethra are generally spread through sexual contact.
A person who has an abnormality in the urinary system may be able to have surgery to correct the problem. Otherwise, antibiotics, such as sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim or nitrofurantoin, are given to treat the UTI. A person may need to take these medications for a week or more in difficult cases of recurrent infection.
A person who has an artificial device, such as a urinary catheter, in the bladder should have the device changed or cleaned regularly.
Antibiotics may cause allergic reactions and stomach upsets. Other side effects vary depending on the medication used.
The person can usually go back to normal activities once the symptoms have gone away.
Often, a person with recurring UTIs is asked to give a urine sample after treatment is completed. A urinalysis and urine culture can be done to check that the bacteria are gone from the urinary tract.


text:
Cooperstown ("Waypoint 2"), Curiosity sol 439
Filed under pretty pictures, amateur image processing, Mars, Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory)
Note: The PDS-processed version replaces the one originally posted here, which was created from raw JPEGs:
The same sol, Curiosity bumped forward slightly and then captured this Navcam panorama showing Cooperstown in the foreground and Mount Sharp in the background.
Copyright holder: John Van Vliet
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
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START Conference Manager
Personal Pregnancy Health Records (PregHeR): Facets to Interface Design
Sanghee Oh, Laura Sheble, and Songphan Cheomprayong
ASIS&T Annual Meeting - 2006 (ASIS&T 2006)
Austin, Texas, November 3-9, 2006
Interest and research in personal health record (PHR) systems has recently increased, leading to the availability of a variety of PHR systems on the market that target everyone from the general public to disease-specific patient groups. Few studies, have dealt with PHR needs of families. No studies have specifically targeted pregnant women regarding PHR systems design despite increased interest in health matters exhibited by pregnant women. In this project, we first developed five facets - Apointment, Diary, Health Data, Finance, and Resources - of personal health information organization and management. We then incorporated two time visualization tools - calendars and timelines - to provide access to information based on time and content. The Agileviews framework of Marchionini, Geisler and Brunk was adopted to structure agile, multiple point access to information in the interface designs. The result is three distinct interface prototypes of the PregHeR system: Calendar View, Timeline I, and Timeline II. This project adds to current research in PHR systems design through the organization of information into content-based facets and by emphasizing personal user needs in the design of personal health record systems interfaces. Valuable extensions of this work could include adoption of the facets for use in other PHR applications and the development of a more comprehensive organizational system for PHRs based on the facets. The PregHeR interface design project could be extended through systems development, and the timeline interfaces could be adopted for time management applications in a variety of subject domains. PHR research would also benefit from user studies of systems based on these interfaces to evaluate specific behavioral and functional aspects of the interfaces.
Conference Manager (V2.52.6)


text:
How do I take advantage of a property boom?
* one would be to have bought on the down and now laugh . I missed that one
However, I am thinking that surely there is some other way. I mean every person here either now has a massive mortgage or are about to enter one. Whereever you go, it is buy buy buy. * The city has a 24% price rise as an area last year yet 4 central popular suburbs still had -10% to -40% losses so it is not great for everyone despite the press. Some suburbs have had 81% increases though
Is there some balancing out of the property market? Eg. knowing that others are locked into mortgages.


text:
By: A.K. Anderson
Number of Reviews: 1184
Average Score: 66
Club Jasmin St Claire
This site is closed.
This site is closed.
I had a lot of names to pick from when I started doing reviews today, but scanning through my list I saw the name Club Jasmin St Claire and the decision was easy. There was no other site that I wanted to do next.
For the three of you out there who don't know the star of ClubJasminStClaire, she was a big-time pornstar in the 1990s who is most famous for her gangbangs. And when I say gangbang, I'm not talking five or 10 guys. I'm talking about Jasmin taking on over 300 in one of her most famous and record-breaking movies, "World's Biggest Gang Bang 2."
So, my personal fascination with Jasmin and the statement on the main tour page, "Legendary Jasmin St Claire reveals her entire hi-res image and video library for the first time!" had me expecting some great things from this site. Unfortunately, I was once again disappointed by a site that failed to live up to the hype.
There are only 56 photo sets and six videos available. Now, I am pretty sure that Jasmin's entire career consists of more than that, so I was expecting to see some regular updating going on. Alas, that was not to be as it has been well over a year since anything new was added. Also, the material is nonexclusive and about 20 of the photo sets are of other sexy pornstars.
While those are enough reasons to be very disappointed with the site, there are some positives I want to mention. First, the quality of the content is good. The photos range from good to high-res and the movies play in a good-looking embedded Flash player. Unfortunately, the vids are not downloadable, but there are a couple lengthy vids of one of her gangbangs.
Also, there is a bonus section consisting of 31 other sites from 31 other pornstar babes, including Amber Peach Raw, Racquel Darrian and Club Alektra Blue. Fans of Jasmin will find Club Jasmin St Claire to be small and disappointing, but those of you just looking for a pornstar gathering might get something out of the network that is included with your membership.
* Please include a pro and a con about the site. Balance is essential in making a comment worthwhile. Scores without comments will be deleted.
* Watch out for ratings of zero and 100. In our opinion, there is no such thing as a site that is absolutely perfect or completely worthless.


text: Brenda has been sharing her love of learning across the nation since 2005, working for schools in New Jersey, California, and now Seattle. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Psychology and earned her M.A. in Public Policy and Education Leadership at Rutgers University while participating in Teach For America. Brenda enjoys camping, reading, running, trying new restaurants, and cheering on the Seahawks with her husband, Justin, and their son, Landon.


text:
I have started up a new blog called "Through My Eyes". It will be photos only, in a large format. This is where I will showcase my favorite photos. There will also be links to purchase prints.
I will still be blogging here about photography, the photo challenges, and random stuff. Eventually this blog will move to the new domain, when I have time to figure out how to migrate the content seamlessly.
Head on over to Through My Eyes and check it out. Let me know what you think of the layout. It's a work in progress, so it may have some rough spots. Thanks for your interest!


text:
13 Jun 2012 2:23 PM #1
Controller not getting events
Architect Build tested:
- Build: 442
- Touch 2.x
- I'm not sure what I did, but nothing reaches the controller no matter what I do.
- Each button has an itemID. I have 16 buttons on the page (simulating a phone keypad panel 1-0,*,#, CONTACTS, SEND, DELETE. [i]-- I thought the itemID would give me the xtype
- Possibly deep nesting of buttons in containers.
- Possibly during project changes something was lost.
- Possibly After adding event binding to one of the buttons, the rest of the buttons don't reach the controller.
- Tried in a new project with itemID and then with ID
- Try all possibilities
- Start from these: [**] cntrl:kbController, with controller action for Ext.Button Tap event. console.log("kbController: button tapped");[**] Deeply nested view:mainTabPanel / tab: keypad / kbPanel / kbTop + kbGrid[**] kbGrid: / kbPanelRowA: kbBtn1,kbBtn2,kbBtn3; / kbPanelRowB: kbBtn4, kbBtn5, kbBtn6 Note: I figured that the itemId is what I set, so that I get the xtype.And that the itemId would be caught by the controller as the id to look for[**] In the controller action selector try: 'kbBtn12, or 'button kbBtn12' or just 'button'[**] In the kbBtn2 add Id 'kbBtn2' and in selector try: '#kbBtn2'[**] Add an event binding to kbBtn1 for Tap: console.log("btn 1 tapped")
- Preview in chrome, hit ctrl-shift-i to see console.
- console to show: 'kbController: button tapped'
- console only shows the kbBtn1 tap if defined
Screenshot, Project, or Video:
- not attached
- not provided
- Win7 and WinXP pro in Preview on Chrome
14 Jun 2012 7:33 PM #2
Can you share your controller code so I can get a better sense for what your trying?Phil Strong
15 Jun 2012 5:38 AM #3
The controller code is simply a BUTTON TAP controller action
tried different selectors, and none worked.
The code is:
console.log("button tapped");
None worked
It seems the kbButton1 with an event binding added action in the VIEW:
console.log("kbButton1 tapped");
15 Jun 2012 5:48 AM #4
So instructions to reproduce are simpler:
In Architect 2:
MainView with two buttons.
In itemId set to kbBtn1, and the second button's itemId to kbBtn2
On the first button add Event Binding / basic event for TAP
Make a Controller and add Actions / Controller Action for button TAP
The bug occurs.
Try changing the Controller action's selection: to button. or to kbBtn2 and it won't work.
18 Jun 2012 7:07 AM #5
Ok so I am able to get it work and I suspect it's because of one thing
1. create a new touch project
2. add a form panel
3. add 2 buttons
itemId: kbBtn1 and kbBtn2
4. add a basic event binding to kbBtn1 (config pane, click + next to events, choose basic, and select tap event)
5. double click tap onkbBtn1Tap (to edit)
6. add the following code
console.log('normal button tap');
8. add MyFormPanel1 as a view of the controller and select remove (either choice would be fine here)
9. add a controller action to MyController
10. targetType: Ext.Button, name: tap (should fill in controlQuery: button, fn: onButtonTap1 for you)
11. edit tap onButtonTap1 controller action and add the following code
console.log('controller action tap');
Preview it from a web server e.g. http://localhost/sandbox/pashute/app.html
Click on button1:
controller action tap app/controller/MyController.js?_dc=1340031614578:31
normal button tap app/view/MyFormPanel1.js?_dc=1340031614583:42
Click on button2 2 times:
2 controller action tap app/controller/MyController.js?_dc=1340031614578:31Phil Strong
20 Jun 2012 3:23 AM #6
So your saying that the missing thing here is that I did not add the MyFormPanel1 in the controller Views ?
But when I do that, it says: MyFormPanel1 is already defined. Do you wish to replace it? or something like that...
21 Jun 2012 10:45 AM #7
Yeah that's ok it's asking if you'd like to continue including it in application or not. Typically you would not but choosing to keep it at the app level won't hurt anything
http://www.sencha.com/forum/showthre...987#post838987Phil Strong


text:
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Arthromyalgia and Fibromyalgia
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text:
Emerson Murphy-Hill, Thomas Zimmermann, Christian Bird, and Nachiappan Nagappan
May 2013
When software engineers fix bugs, they may have several options as to how to fix those bugs. Which fix is chosen has many implications, both for practitioners and researchers: What is the risk of introducing other bugs during the fix? Is the bug fix in the same code that caused the bug? Is the change fixing the cause or just covering a symptom? In this paper, we investigate the issue of alternative fixes to bugs and present an empirical study of how engineers make design choices about how to fix bugs. Based on qualitative interviews with 40 engineers working on a variety of products, 6 bug triage meetings, and a survey filled out by 326 engineers, we found that there are a number of factors, many of them non-technical, that influence how bugs are fixed, such as how close to release the software is. We also discuss several implications for research and practice, including ways to make bug prediction and localization more accurate.
|Publication type
|Published in
|Proceedings of the 35th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2013)
© 2013 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE. http://www.ieee.org/
Emerson Murphy-Hill, Thomas Zimmermann, Christian Bird, and Nachiappan Nagappan. The Design Space of Bug Fixes and How Developers Navigate It, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, January 2015.


text:
7:00 Pizza/Beer/Networking
7:30 Intros/Host/Every Day Carry
7:45 Talk 1: Maintainable CSS with Sass and Bourbon
8:10 Tech Talk: Ruby Gems and Java
8:30 Talk 2:
9:00 End
Talk 1: Maintainable CSS with Sass and Bourbon
When starting a Rails project, it's easy to not pay a much attention to your CSS code. However, as your project evolves, you soon find yourself with spaghetti css, styles distributed amongst different files seemingly at random, and selectors in specificity hell. In this talk, Jon will discuss techniques for giving structure to your CSS with the help of Sass and Bourbon. The topics he will discuss include:
About the Speaker
Jonathan Mumm is a software engineer and developer evangelist at TokBox where he works with developers to build applications using real-time video.
Tech Talk: Ruby Gems and Java
Gems are the standard package for Ruby. Jars are the standard package for most JVM based languages. GemJars is a service which aims to bring RubyGems to the rest of the JVM languages.This talk with address how people who are using 'java' dependency management/build tools like buildr, gradle and ant can include and use RubyGems in their applications.
About the Speaker
Andrew Kiellor is a developer at ThoughtWorks specializing in Ruby, Java, and Shell.
The Climate Corporation helps people and businesses manage and adapt to weather events and climate change. The company's unique technology platform enables the real-time pricing and purchasing of customizable weather risk management products using proprietary global weather simulation modeling and local weather monitoring systems.
The Java stuff was a little less applicable to our own technology stack but I found the sass talk pretty interesting. Currently I am using twitter bootstrap and css organization is always a challenge.
0 · August 23, 2012
Will you be able to open a few more spots? I wish I could go! If not, will you stream it? ore at least record it?
0 · August 17, 2012
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Family Law
Family Law Questions? Ask a Family Lawyer Online.
the time necessary to acquire sufficient education and training to enable the spouse to find appropriate employment;
the income, means, and assets of the spouses, and the liquidity of the assets;
the comparative financial obligations of the spouses;
the age and health of the spouses;
duration of marriage;
tax consequences; and
any other relevant circumstances.
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text:
|Health is not a condition of matter, but of mind
|Written by Justin Newman, medical student
Take a deep breath
The air that you have brought into to your lungs is about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and has less than one percent of carbon dioxide and water vapor. This air passes through the mouth and nostrils where it is warmed and humidified.
This air then goes down and into the lungs, until it finally reaches very tiny sacs called alveoli. There are around 300 million of these small sacs in the average human, which make up a surface area that is about the same size as a tennis court. A tennis court-worth of lung space in your body!
To put that in comparison, you only have about six square feet of skin over your entire body. With every breath, you are moving air into these little sacks, and back out into the world around you at about 15 times each minute.
The air that comes in is rich in oxygen. The air that comes out has less oxygen and much more carbon dioxide. As the air goes into the lungs, the red blood cells pull out the oxygen they need to run the cells of the body. In the cells the oxygen is used and carbon dioxide is let out as the waste. The red blood cells then help to bring that carbon dioxide back to the lungs, where it is released into the lungs and breathed out.
Asthma limits breathing by limiting the flow of air into the lungs. In the normal lungs, the tubes that transport the air from the outside environment to the lungs are initially large and then they branch into smaller and smaller airways.
When a person has asthma, the cells in the airways become swollen, the walls become thicker and they make more mucous than normal. The airways are now smaller and more clogged with mucous, and this makes the pipes into the lungs smaller. Less air can pass to the lungs and breathing becomes much more difficult.
When a person has an asthma attack, not enough air gets in the lungs, and no matter how hard the person breaths they just cannot get enough air into their lungs.
An asthma attack is triggered by things such as changes in the air temperature, smoke, dust, exercise or an infection. Different people have different triggers that cause them to have an attack and these triggers can come at any time, often when they are not expected.
Depending on how bad the asthma is, different treatments are used. During an attack, the person will use an inhaler, which delivers a low dose of steroids to the airways. This medication helps stop the overactive cells and make them less swollen. People with asthma may also need to take longer acting medications, which help to keep the body's asthmatic response in check.
While nobody knows what causes asthma, there are a number of factors that have been associated with it. Asthma is becoming more common, and now one in four children in urban areas will have asthma. Researchers currently think the environment contributes to asthma—maybe since more sterile and clean environments cause the body to have a harder time dealing with asthma triggers.
An increased rate of asthma is found with higher use of antibiotics, in more hygienic, clean, developed countries and with an increased use of cleaning supplies. Factors such as air pollution and tobacco smoke have also been shown to cause an increased risk of asthma.


text:
There was a recent request for a tutorial on to creating isometric city icons in Inkscape. I'm not an Inkscape user, but hopefully some or all of these Illustrator techniques can be adapted.
Creating an isometric round castle tower with crenelations in Adobe Illustrator CS3.
Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a rectangle of appropriate height and width for your tower.
Create another rectangle the size of the spaces of your crenelations. Make this rectangle a different color than the first rectangle so you can see it easily. This rectangle will be used to cut out the spaces on the top of the tower. Place it over the top of the original rectangle where you want your first crenel to go.
Using the Selection Tool (V), click on the second rectangle once, then hold down alt and start dragging the rectangle to a new position. While you're dragging, press shift to constrain movement to a straight horizontal line. When the new rectangle is in the position you want it, release the mouse button before you release alt and shift.
You now have a second small rectangle. Use Ctrl-D (command-D if you're working in MacOS) to make additional copieseach new copy will appear spaced exactly like the first one, so you don't need to guess to make each crenel identical.
Again using the Selection Tool, drag a marquee around all of the objects to select them all. Open the Pathfinder Window (Ctrl-Shift-F9). In the Pathfinder Window, click the Subtract buttonthe second from the left on the top row.


text:
Get the new Vic Rattlehead t-shirt, pre-order the new album and get free access to exclusive behind-the-scenes content leading up to the album's release at:
Megadeth is confirmed to headline the Festival d'été de Québec in Quebec City, QC on July 18, 2015. Dave Mustaine comments, "What a great way to return to Quebec, headlining the biggest show we have ever done in Canada! I cannot wait to see you all". For tickets and more information, go to infofestival.com.
Congratulations to Monday's #MegadethMondays Twitter winners! @FerRattlehead, @BBibler1970, @CasualOrnstein, @ohcolomustaine! Check back every Monday to twitter.com/megadeth for random #MegadethMondays prize giveaways and Megadeth may just follow you on Twitter!
Congrats to our May's #mymegadeth winner @metaloltimer!! Tag your pics with #mymegadeth on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook for a chance at our random prize draw every month! instagram.com/megadeth
Join the Megadeth Cyber Army, Megadeth's official fan club. Check out everything you get with an Ultimate Soldier Megapack membership: Megadeth Cyber Army 2015 Club T-Shirt, 8X10 Printed Autographed Photo of Dave Mustaine, Personalized Club Membership Card, Cyber Army Challenge Coin: Series V, Collectible Megadeth Backstage Pass, Welcome Letter from Dave Mustaine, Megadeth Cyber Army "Ice" Laminate & Lanyard and much more! Check it out at cyberarmy.megadeth.com.
Tweets from @Megadeth/megadeth-dave-mustaine


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Joining is easy! Get started having fun!
You can pay your dues or even buy a day pass!
Check out the pack having fun at the park!
That's right, there is now a place where you and your dog can play off-leash and enjoy a beautiful slice of nature in Washtenaw County approximately ten miles from downtown Ann Arbor. Paw Run is eighteen completely fenced acres, the majority of the property remains in a natural state with tall grasses that attract a variety of wildlife and songbirds. Paw Run offers nearly a mile of mowed trails, a mowed play-area with a pond and an agility yard (seasonal), a secure double-gated entry system, off-street parking, seating for humans and available water for humans and dogs. Plus more to come!
Paw Run is a private membership-based recreation area. Applicants' dogs must pass a temperament test before they gain access to property. NO PITBULLS, CANE CORSOS OR OTHER FIGHTING BREEDS ARE ALLOWED. We want to ensure that all members and their dogs can enjoy their time at Paw Run so we only allow people with friendly dogs to join. We will refuse membership to any dogs that show unprovoked aggression towards other dogs or people. In addition, if any dogs show aggression after joining Paw Run they will be banned from using the property. Obedience training is not a requirement to join Paw Run but we do recommend a training class for all dogs. Read More...


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In response to summerof67's comment:
moon, I gotta believe that the Gomes/Victorino signings were influenced by the potential impact in the clubhouse - almost as an equal to the impact on the field. After the shenanigans and the ill will of the past two years, I think the Sox just want peace in the valley.
No fireworks, in other words, and certainly no drama. Unfortunately, it may play out on the field in the same way -- no fireworks and no drama.
In other words, I think they are slightly overpaid placeholders for later prospects and signings some years hence.
Can't wait for 2014.
Coversely, and i am not saying that I am a firm believer in this, a good clubhouse could engender a more inspired quality of baseball on the field.


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Deputies seized 38 dogs, many of which were puppies, that were living inside stacked kennels inside a 30-foot recreational vehicle outside of Centralia Thursday afternoon.
The large majority of the kennels, as well as the floor of the trailer, were covered in dog feces. Many of the dogs were sleeping in and eating in their own feces, according to the Lewis County Sheriff's Office.
Jimmie R. Jemison, the owner of the RV, is accused of breeding and keeping the puppies in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
The 49-year-old Centralia man, who called the The Chronicle multiples times in the days leading to Thursday's seizure, said he had ongoing health issues, including a number of severe infections.
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While Jemison will face a charge of second-degree animal cruelty, he was not booked into jail. He was instead transported to Harborview Medical Center, according to the sheriff's office.
Jemison, who told The Chronicle he bred dogs and sold them in order to get money to pay for the care of his animals, said he had been contacted by deputies and an animal control officer before Thursday but he refused to let them come onto his property.
When deputies, code enforcement officers, human officers and a state veterinarian went to Jemison's property on the 1600 block of Little Hanaford Road at 3 p.m. Thursday, they all wore protective apparel due to sanitation concerns, according to the release.
Authorities took 21 adult dogs and 17 puppies, which were a mixed breed of boxer, dachshund, chihuahua and basset hound, from the property, the release states. All the seized dogs were living in the RV with Jemison.
The dogs are now at the Lewis County Animal Shelter under observation and are being treated for dehydration and other ailments, according to the release.
Since it is a criminal case, Jemison has about three weeks to petition to try and get his dogs back before the shelter can adopt them out, said Amy Hanson, manager of the animal shelter.
In the meantime, the shelter will house, feed and care for the dogs, she said.
Due to the large number of dogs, the seizure pushes the animal shelter close to its capacity.
"We're full," she said.
Most of the dogs are well-fed, but the concern is parasites, she said.
"It's just a matter of getting them cleaned up and then socializing them," she said.
A good friend of Jemison, Chuck Haunreiter, said he was trying to act as a liaison between the sheriff's office and Jemison for the past few days. On Friday, Haunreiter said he spoke to Jemison on the phone.
Jemison told him that normally the dogs run free inside the RV and he lets them outside often, Haunreiter said. The reason the dogs were in crates when the police arrived was because the police called him from the driveway to have him come outside.
As for the dirty conditions of the RV, Haunreiter explained: "Jim hadn't cleaned up after his dogs because he was in severe depression for the last nine days — ever since the cops went out there the first time … He never left his motor home, except to feed the animals that were in the other outbuildings."
Chief Deputy Stacy Brown, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said a stun gun was used on Jemisonbecause he was uncooperative and failed to obey orders.
She said an investigation into Jemison began in April.
A Lewis County animal control officer visited Jemison's property previously and saw a number of violations of the Lewis County breeding ordinance, which gave police probable cause, according to a press release from the sheriff's office.
On the surrounding property, deputies found garbage cans and buckets full of feces.
About a dozen domesticated live rats were living in a cage in an outbuilding on the property. Chickens, quail and a goat were also on the property.
Dead opossums were also found.
Brown said the animals outside the RV were not taken as they appeared to be in good health and a relative of Jemison will take care of them while Jemison is in the hospital.


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|Santorin 029 // Ambassadors 4 // Excerpt 3 (Released:
Buy Vinyl €7,50
AMBASSADORS 4 - From Amen to Z
Massive DJ-support by Marcus Intalex, DJ Storm, Bailey, DJ Flight, Randomer, Bop and many more.
The storm is here: The towering thunderheads and piercing sunshine of AMBASSADORS 4 - From Amen to Z. This fourth installment in the AMBASSADORS compilation series unites a multiplicity of Drum'n'Bass styles - high-pressure pop, clouds of old-school jungle, dark cyclones of bass, macro-experiments in climate manipulation. What the tracks have in common is SANTORIN's exacting musicality: Breeze or tornado, it's all been past a tuner. No need to listen for melodies. The melodies will find you and, with a little luck, hack your brain stem.
It's time to strike the sails, drift out to the horse latitudes, foul our anchors in thick mats of bass, let the glittering sunshine burn through to our pineal glands and watch the flying fish!


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Americans pick up phones, cameras to document Hurricane Isaac
TORONTO – Americans across the country held their breath Wednesday as Hurricane Isaac unleashed its fury on Louisiana, Mississippi and along the Gulf Coast Wednesday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, downing trees and washing down deserted streets along the way.
Heavy showers flooded a newly fortified New Orleans that took a severe beating from a much stronger Hurricane Katrina seven years ago to the day.
The Category 1 hurricane made landfall just before 8 p.m. ET Tuesday at the mouth of the Mississippi River, where a wall of water nearly 11 feet high washed inland, drenching regions stretching into the Gulf.
Coverage of the gnarly storm spanned from news outlets tracking the storm to citizens picking up their smart phones and cameras to document and share with the rest of the world what was going on on the ground.
Take a look at Hurricane Isaac, according to news organizations and the public alike.
Some taking shelter from the storm had their cameras in hand to document what was happening outside their window:
This is one man's account of the storm as of Tuesday night on Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans.
In this video, brave citizens illustrated how strong winds were blowing by trying to fight the wind:
Here, ABC News spoke with a reporter at the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper about the public's cautious waiting for the arrival of Isaac.
Viewers of this video can take a look at Isaac, then a tropical storm, and how it battered the Dominican Republic while on its way to the United States.
In Miami, this video was recorded showing firsthand how heavy the rain fell on August 26.
Others tweeted photos and a play-by-play of what they were witnessing on the ground as Isaac tore through the Gulf Coast.
Take a look at photos our Global National correspondent Jennifer Tryon captured while reporting in New Orleans:
This Global News reader and Canadian expat living in New Orleans shared this photo of La Quinta Hotel, in downtown New Orleans, with a side of the building removed in the aftermath of the storm.
(Photo provided by Amanda Saltzman/Global News reader)
400thousand people without power in Louisiana. I won't complain about pruning fingers.
#Isaac @globalnational
– Jennifer Tryon (@GNHealth) August 29, 2012
Storm surge could hit 12 feet if
#Isaac hits the Gulf Coast during high tide. @globalnational
– Jennifer Tryon (@GNHealth) August 27, 2012
AP VIDEO: A camera on the International Space Station captures Hurricane
#Isaac from 253 miles above the Earth: apne.ws/RmrM1V
– The Associated Press (@AP) August 29, 2012
Central New Orleans right now… And still it pours
– Guy Adams (@guyadams) August 29, 2012
Canal St is a giant wind tunnel right now. New Orleans just being hammered relentlessly by rain and howling wind. Noise is unreal.
– Mike Jenkins (@TWCMJenkins) August 29, 2012
Flood water still rising here south of Waveland, MS now filling the entire first flood of the parking garage.
– Reed Timmer (@reedtimmerTVN) August 29, 2012
"I really don't know where the storm is… but it feels like it's just outside my window" – New Orleans resident, Mary Shelton
– BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) August 29, 2012


text: NEW DELHI: The telecom department has allowed Aircel to raise more than Rs 21,000 crore via local and overseas loans through a consortium led by State Bank of India. The financially struggling telco could use the funds to refinance existing debt. Analysts said the in-principle approval could mean the mobile phone operator, 74% owned by Malaysian telecom operator Maxis, is the first to have pledged spectrum to raise money. The move will help in making the company more attractive to a potential buyer.


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Home : Brands : B. Kamins : B. Kamins Clear Skin :
Blemishes and breakouts impact everyone's skin from time to time. Hormonal fluctuations, bacteria buildup, and clogged pores can contribute to a blotchy complexion, one that features those unsightly blackheads and whiteheads. Fortunately, treating these problems is possible thanks to B. Kamins Clear Skin Products. These oil-free, fragrance-free formulas are gentle on your skin, delivering a number of benefits in one easy application.
B. Kamins Clear Skin Products come in a number of styles, making it simple for you to find one that suits your preferences. Use a blemish gel to specifically target blackheads when they appear. A daily acne wash helps you reduce the impurities that can lead to breakouts. A masque helps to purify your skin to reduce the risk of an unsightly breakout. Pads easily swipe across your face to create fresh skin. No matter the style of product you prefer, B. Kamins Clear Skin Products can minimize the appearance of breakouts and blemishes. You can also help to boost your skin's moisture content and protect your complexion from the sun, depending on the product you select. Discover the benefits of these products today.
To add one or more items to your bag, check the box to the left of each desired
item and then click the "Add to Bag" button at the top or bottom of the page. Items
are listed in SKU number order.
Blemishes always appear when you least expect them. While you cannot always prevent breakouts, you can arm yourself with the right products to treat acne problems. B. Kamins Clear Skin Products help you to reduce breakouts, allowing you to discover a complexion with fewer bothersome blemishes. Enjoy a clearer complexion with these products today.
B. Kamins Blemish Gel 10% uses Benzoyl Peroxide to minimize the impact of moderate to severe acne breakouts. This formula gently treats spots, blackheads, and blemishes that can mar your complexion. With its Bio-Maple compound, this gel can reduce the appearance of unsightly breakouts without drying out your skin. It is oil, colorant, and fragrance free, leaving out unnecessary filler ingredients. Normal to oily skin types with acne-prone skin can benefit from this gel.
B. Kamins Acne Wash reduces the excess oils, impurities, and bacteria that can accumulate on your skin and result in breakouts and blemishes. It simultaneously encourages hydration thanks to its Bio-Maple compound. The pH-balanced formula features lactic and glycolic acids, which reduce the dry skin cells that can accumulate on your skin's surface. Thus, you will notice improved skin texture along with minimized blemishes and breakouts. This well-balanced formula works well for individuals with normal to oily skin.
B. Kamins Matte Moisturizer SPF 15 offers a number of important benefits for your complexion. In addition to providing hydration, this moisturizer can soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Acne-prone and oily complexions will enjoy the benefits of this oil-, lanolin-, and fragrance-free formula.


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- Encourages skin' nail and hair growth
- Supports carbohydrate' protein and fat metabolism
Biotin 300 mcg is manufactured by Good 'N Natural® to promote healthy hair' skin and nails.
Biotin 300 mcg increases the elasticity of the hair cortex' preventing and minimizing hair breakage. Biotin helps induce the growth of both hair and new skin cells' and also helps thicken nail cuticles and prevent breakage.
Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin that helps metabolize fatty and amino acids so that they may efficiently be used for energy. Research shows that Biotin possibly stabilizes blood sugars. Biotin 300 mcg may prevent cracking on the sides of the mouth' scaly skin' and hair loss.
Biotin 300 mcg 100 Vegetarian Tablets Includes the Following Ingredients:
Biotin: Promotes hair' nail and skin growth
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are not meant to diagnose' treat or cure any disease or medical condition. Please consult your doctor before starting any exercise or nutritional supplement program or before using these or any product during pregnancy or if you have a serious medical condition.
Serving Size: 1 Tablet
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value
Biotin 300 mcg 100%
Other Ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate' Vegetable Cellulose'
Vegetable Stearic Acid' Silica' Vegetable Magnesium Stearate.
No Gluten' No Yeast' No Wheat'
No Milk or Milk Derivatives'
No Lactose' No Soy' No Egg'
No Corn' No Grapefruit' No Fish'
No Sweetener' No Starch'
No Preservatives' No Artificial Color'
No Artificial Flavor' No Sodium.
For adults' take one (1) to four (4) tablets one to three times daily' preferably with a meal.
If you are pregnant' nursing or taking any medications' consult your doctor before use. Discontinue use and consult your doctor if any adverse reactions occur. Keep out of reach of children. Store in a cool' dry place. Do not use if seal under cap is broken or missing.
Allergy / Dietary Needs
- Artificial Color Free
- Artificial Flavor Free
- Corn Free
- Egg Free
- Fish Free
- Gluten Free
- Lactose Free
- Milk Free
- Preservative Free
- Sodium Free
- Soy Free
- Starch Free
- Vegan Product
- Vegetarian Product
- Wheat Free
- Yeast Free
- Sweeteners Free
- No Milk Derivatives
Ratings & ReviewsReview This Item
Overall Rating for Biotin 300 mcg - 100 Tablets
Displaying reviews 1-3 of 3
By B. K.
from Philadelphia
So far so good.
I recently bought Biotin to assist with the possibility of low vitamin b intake as due to the fact that I dont measure it myself. So far I havent had any side effects that I have been reading in some of the other reviews like queeziness and upset stomache. It is too soon to tell how it has effected my nail or hair health but I was happy with how quickly it was shipped to me. Took about a week today from the day I paid.
Should assist in hair nail and skin growth. No side effects including queeziness or upset stomache in my case.
√ I would recommend this item to a friend.
By DesperatelySeeking
from Brooklyn, NY
Works for reactive hypoglycemia
This fixed the irritability fatigue brain fog that comes from dropping blood sugar. But it made me depressed. Supplementing with vitamin B6 solved this. Too bad I cant take it everyday because biotin causes constipation.
Wipes out hypoglycemia symptoms good low dose
Causes constipation and a dopamine-deficient type of depression
√ I would recommend this item to a friend.
By Christina Nawrocki
from Fairfield Glade, Tn
good suggetion
My finger nails peeling and a friend suggested Biotin.
The pills are very small and easy to take.
√ I would recommend this item to a friend.
Displaying reviews 1-3 of 3
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Please ask any questions you may have about this specific product in the field below.
Your question(s) and our corresponding answer(s) will not be confidential and will be posted publically on this specific product page.
Additionally, PureFormulas is unable to directly recommend products in relation to specific health conditions. Please contact your trusted healthcare practitioner for direct product recommendations.
If you have any general questions regarding orders or our policies and programs, please contact our Customer Happiness Team @ 1.800.383.6008
If you are pregnant, nursing, taking any medications or have any medical condition, consult your doctor before use. Your healthcare professional is the best source for guidance before beginning an exercise or nutritional supplement program.


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How many times do you hear an editor (less often, perhaps, a reviewer) say that the all important thing which will make them take a book on is the voice? Here's the latest version I've come across, from a 4th Estate Editor on the Authonomy blog:
The most overriding thing I look for, though, is that all-important but impossible-to-define 'voice'. You'll no doubt have heard that a hundred times, and will hear it another thousand, but I can't overestimate how important it is; there is no point in worrying about character or dialogue or pace or plot if you don't have a voice to begin with. The thing about voice, from a reader's perspective, is that it's unmistakeably there; there is a subtly different shift in the way you read a paragraph that makes you sit up and pay attention, and want to hear what they've got to say.
Which is all absolutely true - I know it from my own reading, and from doing manuscript reports - but from the point of view of the aspiring writer, it doesn't get you a lot further. We'd all say that we know a good voice when we hear it, but it's very hard to pin down, and so equally hard to explain, or teach, or help you to learn. Moreover, like any single element of craft, trying to tease it out just shows you how inseparable all the elements actually are. And what is the relationship of voice to tone and style?
Well, to start with, what is voice in in creative writing? Just to check, we are talking about the voice of the narration, aren't we? Voice in dialogue is a much easier thing to work out, because generally speaking you're trying for something like verisimilitude: a seemingly authentic representation of actual speech, albeit selective, heightened or affected by other kinds of artifice. If it's a characterised narrative in first person, then, too, the nature of the beast is fairly clear. Here's a protagonist, telling their story, and that protagonist's background and character dictates the nuts and bolts of how they say things: vocabulary, grammar, sentence length and syntax, and so on. Their character also controls what they do and don't notice, which is about controlling point of view, and what they think about themselves and others, which shades into matters of tone. (I would define tone as a matter of dark/light, humorous/bitter, cynical/cheerful, warm/cool, detached/involved, passionate/amused and so on...) You can think clearly about all these things, digging in fiction and non-fiction of the period, analysing grammar and making lists of words, or sitting on buses and making notes. Or you can imagine your narrator sitting across the pub table from you, note his nose ring and tattoos and the chihuahua tucked into his pocket, offer crisps to the dog, ask him what happened and keep your ears open. Most of us do a bit of both. If you've... I was going to say, fully imagined your protagonist, but many aspiring writers are taught that that means having written pages and pages of where he went to school and whether he minds doing the washing up. But it doesn't have to be like that. Once your protagonist is fully present to you, however little you yet know about him (you'll find out as he talks, after all) the voice may well come naturally.
It becomes trickier for beginner writers when the narrator is external to the story. Still, if it's Gardner's third-person-limited (or subjective) then it's not so different from first person: character and point of view shape what's seen, what's said and how it's said. To a greater extent than in first person, you also have the possibility of sliding into a more neutral voice, less closely shaped by a particular personality, until you carry that all the way to Gardner's third-person-objective, where the neutral narrator has no opinions about the events and people s/he narrates. And it's in that seemingly innocuous term 'neutral' that voice becomes difficult to pin down. Whose voice? Even George Eliot - who's often suggested as the exemplar of the omniscient narrator who is not only god-like in knowing everything, but god-like in judging it - fades in and out, as a personality, of her own narration. But, still, we have a sense - however inchoate, however undefined - of the nature of the person we're listening to. Who is that? Is it you? Is it the person you wish you were, or regret that you are?
Because, as one commenter put it, everyone has a voice, just as everyone has an accent. Ask someone in the street to say what's happened in the last five minutes, and they'll choose words to tell the story which are shaped by who they are, and so they'll tell you in their voice. And yet we all know the difference between them and a true raconteur, a born storyteller, the sort who can grip you with a tale of buying a pint of milk and going home with it. That's what editors mean by a voice. It's a voice we keep listening to.
I'm sorry, that's not helpful at all, is it? A good deal of it has to do with a fresh take on the familiar: what oft was said but ne'er so well expressed. We listen/read because the voice is giving us a new take on old things, and that, in itself, is life-enhancing. I've just been to a reading by Stephanie Calman. I laughed a lot, and I'm remembering why her long-ago book, Dressing for Breakfast, still makes me laugh even though the life she's skewering these days, like mine, is very different. Either way, I'm the better for it.
Or it may be because a voice admits us to a mind, a spirit and soul, which is distant from our own and yet the voice makes us live and breathe it. It doesn't mean that your narrator must be narrating explosions or heartbreaks, it means that your narrator must be someone we keep listening to. 'Listen!' s/he says, and we do. Some of it is about confidence, perhaps: the readers trust the narrator, go with the flow, wait out the story, trust that it has beginning, middle and end, and some time or another the story will make us laugh, or cry, or both. As Kearney says, our consciousness of existence is inherently storied. I would extend that to the fact that we are also feeling creatures, and in that feeling lies our consciousness of ourselves. Readerly confidence is engendered by a confident narrator who him/herself has confidence: they have a fascinating story to tell, and their fascination transmits. And that confidence is engendered by... I'm not sure what. A certain take on the world? We're back to tone. A certain way of telling? That's style. Yes, we could break that down into which verb, which noun, what syntax, what grammar. But you can do that for yourselves: help yourself to a handful of strongly-voiced books on your shelves - Chandler, Ackroyd, Austen, Bridget Jones, Barry Unsworth, Marian Keyes - and get on with it.
Yes, I know I'm not being helpful because, in the end, of all the elements of writing voice is the one I can least analyse. And that's not because I'm not interested: I love writing in voices, not just because picking a particular voice and point of view reduces the possibilities for the next word and sentence to something manageable. Nor because I was trained in it by a childhood of the title-and-paragraph game, though it doesn't do to discount, as literary or readerly motivation, sheer pleasure in problem solving and virtuousity, or in the way that successful voices taste good to read. LeCarré says he has to be careful with characters whose voices he loves not to give them more space in the story than they should have. And I was very proud of reviews which praised the 'bilingual dexterity' of The Mathematics of Love. But, unlike plot, structure, research, character or ideas, I really don't know how I did it.


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By Rob Markman
Kendrick Lamar has an undeniable talent for storytelling and one of the most striking examples is his standout "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" on good kid, m.A.A.d city. Fans have been raving about the track and Kendrick explains how it come about.
Lamar found rap as an escape, but some of his friends weren't so lucky. That's where K-Dot found inspiration for his 12-minute narrative "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst."
" 'Sing About Me' is definitely a true song," Kendrick confirmed to MTV News during an interview in a Las Vegas recording studio on Saturday morning.
"First verse is speaking from my partner talkin' to me, speakin' on a story of how I was there when his brother passed and I got to watch him take his last breath," he explained of the song's concept.
Kendrick's homey is accepting of the street lives he and his brother chose, his only request to the emerging star was that if he too were to die that Lamar dedicate a song to him and his brother. "He definitely passed too," Kendrick said somberly.
The track's second verse is a continuation of "Keisha's Song (Her Pain)," a track from Kendrick's 2011 indie album Section.80 where the MC tells a tragic tale of a young prostitute who was raped and slain by a john. Unlike the subjects of the first verse, those close to the real-life Keisha wish that Kendrick had never told her story so publicly. " 'Keisha's Song' is a real song too, and what I didn't understand was the fact that she had a younger sister," he said. "I met her sister and she went at me about her sister Keisha, basically saying she didn't want her to put her business out there and if your album do come out, don't mention me, don't sing about me."
The duality of the mirroring situations was too much for the Black Hippy spitter to ignore, so he went against the wishes of Keisha's sister. "And you're right your brother was a brother to me/ And your sister's situation was the one that pulled me/ In a direction to speak on something that's realer than the TV screen," he raps in the song's third verse.
"That's the flipside of it," he said.


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Corn Bread from Scratch2
Here's a familiar scenario for us: we plan to augment a meal with muffins or quick bread hot from the oven, only to discover that the oven is already in use. The choice has always been between skipping the bread entirely, or baking it ahead of time and eating it cold.
Then we discovered that our slow cookers can serve as mini-ovens. Here's a recipe for Corn Bread From Scratch, baked in the slow cooker. You end up with a delicious, homemade cornbread, hot and ready to eat right along with the rest of the meal.
You'll need to experiment with different pans to find the perfect fit for your slow cooker. The goal is a pan that fits into the crock with some space on all sides. Set it on a rack or trivet to keep it off the bottom of the crock. Loaf pans or small square pans work well in oval slow cookers. If your slow cooker is round, click here for instructions on using a 2-lb. coffee can as a baking insert.
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, Revised & Updated, page 27
Makes 6 servings
Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-3 hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 6-qt.
1 ¼ cups flour
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
¼ cup sugar
4 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup melted butter, or oil
1. In mixing bowl sift together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center.
2. Pour egg, milk, and butter into well. Mix into the dry mixture until just moistened.
3. Pour mixture into a greased 2-quart mold. Cover with a plate. Place on a trivet or rack in the bottom of slow cooker.
4. Cover. Cook on High 2-3 hours.


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I'm 18, french, and I always wanted to create my own World Map of a fantastic world.
I've started with horrible sketch (like everyone), and now I'm trying do to something better with software like Gimp or Photoshop Elements (I don't have Photoshop).
And this is how I discover this site!
I'm practising with Ascension's and RobA's tutorials, but don't ask me why, I don't really obtain the same result XD (especially with mountains and forests). Plus, it's difficult to use Ascension's tutorial because I don't have the french traduction of each command, and Google is not helping me :/
But no matter, my goal is to create epic maps, as all those maps I see on this site!
I hope to pass a good time here!