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Bloemfontein - A Mangaung prison doctor freed by police after being held hostage at the prison was treated and discharged from hospital on Tuesday.
Spokeswoman for Bloemfontein's Rose Park hospital, Esmarie Cronje, said the doctor went through a medical examination, and received treatment for shock. He was discharged on Tuesday morning.
Police task force members stormed two hostage-takers in the prison's medical centre to free the doctor just after 7am on Tuesday, after the failure of nearly 24 hours of negotiations.
The doctor and a nurse were taken hostage on Monday morning by the two inmates during a routine medical inspection for prisoners. The nurse was released shortly after. She was also treated at Rose Park for bruises and shock and discharged.
Prison officials said the two men were initially armed with sharp objects, which they hid in their pants. Later they armed themselves with sharp-edged medical equipment found inside the hostage room.
Managing director for the Mangaung Correctional Centre, Johan Theron, thanked the police and the department of correctional service (DCS) for their help with the hostage drama.
He said no one was seriously injured in the operation.
The prison has launched an immediate investigation into the matter to avoid a repeat.
Free State police spokesman Brigadier Billy Jones said the two inmates would face charges of kidnapping and assault. It was not certain when they would appear in court.
The prison had laid charges of malicious damage against other prisoners who set their prison cells on fire during the hostage drama.
Jones said the investigation into the incidents at the prison would continue.
DCS national commissioner Tom Moyane was at the prison to make an assessment on Tuesday morning. - Sapa


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The Place
The enchanting land where Archimedes taught and Saint Paul preached was a Greek colony, a Roman province, an Arab emirate and a Norman kingdom. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese and Jews made this unique island their own, leaving behind an eclectic history that you can still touch today. And Sicily will touch you. Sicily is Europe, Africa and Asia on one island. Greek tyrants, Arab emirs, Norman knights, Byzantine bishops and Holy Roman Emperors made it the place it is. Experience their eternal legacy in Phoenician settlements, Punic cities, Greek temples, Roman amphitheatres, Norman-Arab castles and Aragonese churches. Thirty centuries of history expressed in the Classical, the Romanesque, the Gothic, the Baroque...
Sikania to its most ancient peoples, our island was Sikelia, Plato's utopian society, to the ancient Greeks. Later, the sonnet was created at the Court of Frederick II, and the Sicilian language claimed its place in the literature of Dante and Boccaccio. Sunny Sicily is Punic Palermo, towering Taormina, ancient Agrigento, splendid Siracusa, and medieval Monreale and Cefalù.
And God created Sicily. The place where the mountains meet the sea. Sicilia,the island in the sun, is home to Heavenly beaches, majestic mountains and Europe's greatest natural wonder, Mount Etna. Sicily's coasts are gold with orange and lemon orchards. Each scenic region offers something different. In northeastern Sicily's Nebrodi Mountains you'll find unexpectedly lush forests. In the central regions you'll encounter rugged land and rolling hills. Dignified vineyards, ancient olive groves, hardy almond orchards and endless wheat fields complete the picture. Summer is amber land under a sky of blue. Winter finds palm trees dusted with snow in a surreal symphony. Spring is a rainbow of wild flowers set against greenest fields...
If you could choose just one place to visit where you could witness everything from the culture of Hellenic antiquity to the glories of the Middle Ages and the wonders of the Renaissance, shaped by a dozen civilizations, Sicily would be that place. And this website would be a good starting point.
Is Sicily Italy? Yes, our island is Italian. And French and Spanish and Greek, with a few German and Arab nuances in its cultural mix. It is the world's island. A place where time and tradition have been forged by peoples and faiths from the north and south, from the east and west. Beauty in diversity: Europe, Africa and Asia in one magical moment...
Bedda, the Sicilian word for "beautiful," is the way we Sicilians describe this place.
You won't be the first guest to enjoy Sicilian hospitality. Cicero, Saint Louis, Richard Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine have already tested the waters for you. Yes, our island has been extending hospitality to first-time visitors for three thousand years. You can be one of them.
We like to think that if the internet existed in Cicero's time he would have visited this site before coming to the island. You won't need papyrus or a Roman courier, just a touchscreen (we're tablet-friendly), keyboard or mouse. We'll take care of the rest.
A world unto itself, this island, in all its complexities, is a land like no other.
In Sicily tourism (a word we don't like too much) isn't just sightseeing. It's an entire culture.
Come visit our sunny island. We've been expecting you for three thousand years!
The Discovery
Things to see and do, scenery, cities, shopping, history, culture, nature, beaches, hotels, maps, restaurants, travel planning, arts, fashion, food and wine, weather, and an online magazine with real information you won't find on any other site, written for thinking people. Find it here.
Come to Sicily...
Featuring descriptions of places you'll want to visit, indexed by both city and things to see and do, along with some useful travel faqs, history (with sections on customs, culture, the Sicilian language, life, genealogy and much more), and even a good book page, this publication offers timely, useful travel information, provided by a qualified staff based in Sicily – not just travel writers or tour guides but insightful archeologists and widely-published historians who really know the people and place, presenting facts and details you won't find anyplace else. Viewed nine thousand times each day, our pages present varied (even controversial) points of view. The real Sicily, not the generic "tourism" version presented by other sites. Most online destination guides list their descriptions by locality. With Best of Sicily, you can search for a city, town or historical site by locality but also by the kind of thing to see. In Sicily archeology alone makes for an adventure, but it's just part of this island's historic heritage.
We're not a travel agency (although we promote several co-branded tours), but you can find a flight, book your hotel and reserve a car through this site. Plan your entire visit, or just find out more about the place and its people. There's something here for almost everybody interested in something Sicilian. Every day, we're Sicily's international point of reference for thousands of the world's most discerning readers: Travelers, teachers, students (for whom we have a special page), journalists, food and wine aficionados, culture vultures, adventurous trekkers and virtual tourists. Informed readers, not generic "visitors."
Beyond the web, Best of Sicily sponsors the publication of more hard-copy books about Sicily in English than any other Sicily destination guide or Sicily-oriented travel service, including the first guide to Sicilian family history research.
This site is for you. Just real, practical information. On our Sicilian history pages, with their links to hundreds of articles, you won't find just a lifeless narrative account of the "who" and "what" of ancient, medieval and modern Sicilian history, you'll understand the "how" and the "why" that makes a very special place come to life.
But no clichés and no platitudes. Whether we're presenting practical sightseeing advice or realistic information about travel safety, that's one thing that has always separated us from the herd of self-interested travel sites published by hotel chains, travel agencies and public travel bureaux.
The People
A new wave of books about Sicily, each a first!
Presenting original articles about people, places, art and design, theatre, cinema, dance, delicious cuisine and Sicilian culture (and even a goddess or two), Best of Sicily Magazine is the first online magazine published entirely in Sicily in English.
Every month, the magazine presents insightful, original articles by Sicily's best authors on the life and soul of the place called Sicilia. And articles on a few "honorary" Sicilians like Aeschylus, Abdullah al Idrisi, Goethe, Wagner, D.H. Lawrence, Emilio Segré and Danilo Dolci. Uncensored, unbiased and uninhibited, it's the real Sicily and real Sicilians. Over 400 original articles you can expect from a real publication like this one, not just items taken from "news feeds," pseudonymous blogs or Wikipedia entries (that any visitor can edit). Our articles on things like the Crusades in Sicily, for example, are written with a uniquely Sicilian focus you simply won't find anyplace else.
Boasting more "unique" foreign (non-Italian) readers around the world than any Sicilian newspaper or hard-copy magazine (over 2 million in 2016 and some 16 million since 2003), enjoying a return-visit rate of 22 percent, this site has a little of everything. Hundreds of articles about people, wildlife, nature, art, out of the way places, esoteric history. And vital social issues dealing with the life of real Sicilians in today's Sicily – things like education, the women's movement, the workplace and environmental conservation. Things that make Sicily a living, breathing place, not just a "tourist destination." The undiscovered, living place, full of complexities and real people. And its own Sicilian identity rooted in a distinctive heritage.
There are some great Sicilian writers, but this site is the most widely read English-language, non-fiction publication about Sicily. And, of course, it's free. (No hard-copy Sicilian newspaper or publication has ever enjoyed so many readers internationally, not even Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's bestselling novel, The Leopard.) The truest colours of this very special place, polished but never varnished, in a multicultural mosaic beyond "Sicilian tourism." We thank you, the web's most sophisticated readers, for making us the world's favorite Sicilian website!

subset: commoncrawl


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The Christmas rush to clear a huge backlog of properties before the festive season gets into full swing will create an equal measure of cheer, fear and tears for buyers and sellers, industry specialists say.
"We're busier than a one-legged high jumper," says buyer advocate Christopher Koren, a director of Morrell and Koren, who has been cheering as the recent flood turns into a torrent with additional Sunday and mid-week auctions to handle the overflow.
But there are tears in the eyes of many sellers who have traded up and desperately need to sell their current property or face being left high and dry over the holidays, which will probably bring lower sales volumes and the prospect of bridging finance.
"They'll be on the end of a phone during the action biting their nails," Koren says. The veteran of more than 30 years in the property market reckons auctioneer gavels will continue falling faster than Christmas trees in a pine forest for at least the next two weeks.
That creates opportunities for sassy buyers who shop around for information about their targeted property before the auction, such as whether the owner is desperate to sell.
There's also fear for unrequited property lovers who are desperate to place the winning bid but frightened their dreams will be dashed again and instead have to face the trials and torments of more weekends spent searching.
"It's a dangerous mental space for a buyer," says Rich Harvey, chief executive of propertybuyer.com.au, another buyers' agent. "They can come to an auction incredibly charged, ready to pay a big premium to get it done and to get their lives back."
The obvious danger is over-paying for what looks like a champagne deal that ends up a long-term financial hangover because too much is paid to seal the deal.
"What's the premium?" asks Harvey. "Where's the intrinsic value, what will it be worth in 10 years?"
Real estate agents predict this weekend will go off like a Christmas cracker for their annual bonuses, with more than 2700 auctions being held in Melbourne and Sydney alone.
The end of the school year, Christmas festivities and the disappearance of holidaying deal-makers, such as lawyers and bankers, contributes to an annual rush to have all parties sign on the bottom line.
Cool Melbourne suburbs are hot
Koren likens the volume of auctions over the next few days to patient Japanese commuters being pushed into crowded trains by polite, gloved station guards at the height of the Tokyo rush hour.
His advice to buyers is stay calm amid all the activity and focus on the fundamentals of price, position and suitability – and to be prepared to wait for the next train.
"Houses that are well-priced and acceptable will sell well," he says about a market that, for all the hype of over-heating, still can't find buyers for three out of 10 properties in big centres such as Melbourne.
What's typically hot are the "cool" inner suburbs. For Melbourne they are properties selling in the range of $1.5 million, such as in Richmond, Albert Park and Fitzroy.
Many big houses at the premium end – those that sell for more than $10 million – have been sitting around on agents' books for about a year, Koren adds.
Volumes for Sunday and mid-week auctions are double previous years.
"Many vendors will be very interested in a quick sale because they have probably bought something else and need the sales proceeds to help finance the new deal," Koren says.
From next week, property sales have historically begun to slow as the nation focuses its attention on Christmas, cricket and sun cream.
During the buying bonanza in the dying days of the last boom at the end of 2007, the number of approved home loans fell by more than 10 per cent from December to the end of January, before being devastated by the global financial crisis, according to finder.com, the financial services data group.
But many believe low interest rates and strong demand will continue to feed strong sales.
"Given the current momentum I would not be surprised if we see quite strong market conditions right-up until mid-December," says Cameron Kusher, research analyst for RP Data.
But John Bongiorno, a director of real estate agency Marshall White, believes the market has plateaued.
"There's a good mix of buyers and sellers," he adds.
The final – unsuccessful – auction bid was the beginning, not the end, of Georgina Tuck's campaign to buy a two-bedroom flat in the inner Melbourne suburb of St Kilda. Tuck, 26, who is completing her final exams before qualifying as a doctor of medicine early next year, knew exactly what she wanted in terms of budget and location and had her finances prepared.
"It pays not to be too emotionally invested in a particular property," says the daughter of a country nurse and vet. "I knew what I was after was a fairly generic, two-bedroom apartment, and I knew the areas."
Tuck's research also revealed the apartment she finally bought was being offered at a lower price than the reserve at an earlier auction, which told her the owner was keen to sell. She was also prepared to be flexible – the apartment is tenanted until early next year – which gave her another psychological advantage over any impatient rivals.
Her approach and strategy provides an insight for other buyers.
Each week between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of properties up for auction are not sold. This weekend, properties going to auction could top 1000. Failure to sell means there is a disappointed would-be vendor, often reluctant to go through the emotional turmoil of facing up to another failed auction.
A potential buyer who has the finance, is flexible, has done basic research and is realistic enough to make some minor compromises is well positioned to make a move – there's little to lose.
"It's also a good way to suss out the vendor," Tuck says.
Tuck, who studied medicine at The University of Melbourne after completing her nursing course, says she would have found bidding at a public auction daunting.
She also suspected properties in popular areas, such as inner-city bayside Melbourne, might be more susceptible to underquoting, which buyers' agents claim is rising in step with improving markets.
Mortgage repayments for the 1970s-style, $440,000 apartment will account for about half her salary as a first-year intern.
But she's happy with the deal and opportunities that a two-bedroom apartment will offer to have country friends visit, or prospects for rent to ease any financial pressures.
The Australian Financial Review


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Art of Your Mind
How to use Photoshop to inspire your creativity and make stunning photo art
de Janie News
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Características y detalles
- Categoría Arte y fotografía
Vertical estándar, 20×25 cm
38 Páginas
- Fecha de publicación ago. 25, 2012
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Janie News
Mt Kuring-Gai, NSW, AUSTRALIA
Janie lives in Mount Kuring-Gai, north of Sydney, Australia with her husband Len. They are both avid photographers. She is a past President of Central Coast Leagues Club Camera Club and currently belongs to Castle Hill Camera Club and the North Sydney Leagues Photographic Society. Janie is also a member of both the Photographic Society of America and the Australian Photograph Society. She has been a Federation of Camera Clubs judge for club, national and international competitions since 2007 and has gained both FAPS and AFIAP honours. Janie competes in international salons and writes articles for photography magazines.
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Claiming she wasn't impressed with Russell Brand's joke, the singer says, 'I'm currently plotting my payback.'
Katy Perry is "plotting" her revenge against husband Russell Brand after the funnyman posted an embarrassing picture of the pop star on Twitter.com. The British actor/comedian uploaded a photo to his blog over the festive season showing his spouse looking pale and spotty without any make-up on.
He quickly removed the shot from his page - but Perry admits she is still fuming over the stunt. She tells Britain's Sunday Mirror, "I wasn't too impressed. I'm currently plotting my payback."
Katy Perry and Russell Brand, who began dating in 2009, tied the knot on October 23, 2010. They were married in a traditional Hindu ceremony near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan, India, the same location where Brand had proposed.


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Laurence Fishburne is attached to topline and James Marsh is directing Sobini Films' psychological thriller "Prey"
With Laurence Fishburne attached to topline and James Marsh set to direct, thriller "Prey" is ready to start shooting in the fall.
Based on Jerrold Brown's script, the flick follows a man who sets out on a solo hunting expedition in the middle of winter and severely injures his leg. He is rescued by a mysterious trapper with secretly sinister intentions.
Threesome Mark Amin, Robin Schorr and Cami Winikoff are producing.


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Some wag dubbed the Prius the "Pious," for the smug self-righteousness of its greener-than-thou owners. CNBC ran a segment this morning highlighting an even pricier form of conspicuous green consumption: the installation of geothermal wells in Manhattan as an alternative form of HVAC.
Narrating a segment that would have had Veblen nodding in approval, CNBC's Bertha Coombs observed "for many, it represents bragging rights in the pursuit of green luxury." That segued to a clip of New York magazine's Jesse Oxfeld explicitly making the conspicuous consumption point.
View video here.
JESSE OXFELD: It's really making a statement of "it's important to me to be green, and look how much money I can afford to spend to show off how green I am."
Manhattan apparently has more than three-dozen geo-thermal wells, at such locations as the trendy Diane von Furstenberg studios. Coombs reported that one such installation cost $150,000 more than a conventional HVAC system. But hey, well worth it to flaunt one's commitment to save the earth. Maybe Al Gore will drop by to . . . chill out.


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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (BRAIN) — Apparel brand Twin Six will is getting into the bike business, with four new frames it will debut next week at Interbike.
AMES, Iowa (BRAIN) — Auto cleaner brand Armor All is introducing a line of bicycle cleaners and lubricants in a deal with Iowa-based importer Cycle Force Group.
LUGANO, Switzerland (BRAIN) — When Assos — the inventor of the Lycra bike short and long-time supplier of high-end roadie apparel — decided to come out with its first mountain bike line, baggy shorts were not really part of the plan.
WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — Orbea is working with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall about 715 Avant bikes and framesets, because of concerns over cracking forks. The relevant forks were for use with disc brakes.
Editor's note: This story was originally published Aug. 27. This version is updated to clarify how the E100 spokes are replaced in case of damage. We also added a photo of the spoke ring and the new rim shape.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — BMC's Impec concept bike wasn't the only theoretical display bike on show at Eurobike. Canyon Bicycle, which is not distributed in the U.S. currently, showed a wild idea for a totally wired (and wireless) high performance full suspension road bike.
BONSALL, Calif. (BRAIN) — Two industry veterans are launching a women's chamois cream system that consists of pre-ride cleansing wipes, a during-ride chamois cream and a post-ride shower gel.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — Some say that what you see at Eurobike is coming to the U.S. market soon — maybe as soon as next month's Interbike show (like the GoPro doggy camera mount), or maybe in a matter of years (electric unicycles? Well, maybe someday).
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — After winning awards for the S5 VWD aero road bike, engineers at Cervélo didn't sit back and bask in the glory for long. "We took it as a challenge," said Heather Henderson, senior product manager at Cervélo. "We knew we could make it faster."
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — Park Tool has made a change to one of its most iconic shop tools, the TS-2.2 truing stand. More precisely, the Minnesota manufacturer is offering a new version of its professional-quality truing stand in a powder-coated finish in its trademark shade of blue.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — Scarcely one month after launching the SB5c trail bike and just one week after it introduced a new cross-country race model, Yeti rolled out a third new bike on the opening day of Eurobike.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — Before the Eurobike show floor opened, journalists gathered around the coffee bar in BMC's sleek and modern booth for a critical cup to fuel the day ahead.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — CamelBak is chasing the enduro rider with two new packs with padded inserts and other features designed for the race discipline.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — A new high-end road wheel brand is offering a fresh take on construction and aerodynamic features, as well as an international dream team of wheel and carbon fiber industry veterans as its founding executives.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — A collaboration between Michelin and Northwave has resulted in two new mountain bike sole models being used on three new Northwave shoes for next season.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — Timed for the opening of the Eurobike show here this week, Shimano has announced a new top-tier road shoe and some new handlebar, stem and seatpost options offered in its PRO brand.
ANTWERP, Belgium (BRAIN) — Lazer Sport has unveiled the new Genesis LifeBeam helmet. The model has all the features of its Genesis helmet but with an integrated heart rate sensor.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — Garmin made two product announcements as the Eurobike show opened here with an outdoor demo day Tuesday.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — BRG Sports has made a minority investment in the Swedish company that developed the MIPS helmet technology, which is used by several helmet brands including POC and Scott Sports.
PETALUMA, Calif. (BRAIN) — Cargo bike brand Yuba Bicycles is launching the Flip Flop, a kids' balance bike with a rear rack and a novel frame design that can be flipped over to add about an inch to the frame size for a growing child.


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Sydney has always been a city squeezed by its glorious location. Built on a few parallel streets which stretch back from Circular Quay, it's been restricted by a green ribbon on its east - the Botanical Gardens, the Domain and Hyde Park. To the north, water. To the south, the railway lines of Central Station terminus. To the west, more water. Less glamorous than Circular Quay, the working port of Darling Harbour meant it would never be a low-rise central business district like a European city. The lack of space always meant the city had only one way to go - up, along with its real estate prices.
The announcement of the redevelopment of Darling Harbour represents a partial escape from this geography. A nest of high-rise residential towers will connect the southern CBD to the university precinct of UTS and beyond. Combined with the Barangaroo development, it also means the entire western side of the city will now become a construction zone for the next few years.
And it means Sydney is almost a one-company town. The look and management of the city, at least on its western edge, has been sub-contracted to Lend Lease, which adds Darling Harbour to its Barangaroo property. Bring on the bulldozers.
Darling Harbour will again become a big wealth generator for the city. The blurb for the new development says the convention and exhibition facilities will generate $200 million a year for the economy. Conventions are the lucrative end of the tourism business, with the average business traveller spending six time more than the average tourist.
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the wealth of the nation flowed through the wharves of Darling Harbour. When the railways arrived, they colonised the western side of the harbour. The back waters of the inlet became a vast goods yard. Large bond stores sprung up along the Ultimo-Pyrmont ridge. Australia, Sydney, and Darling Harbour prospered on an earlier commodity boom - wool.
But containerisation, with its need for large amounts of cheap land, eventually drove this trade out of the city altogether. But the time the Wran government decided to follow cities such as Boston in redeveloping its waterfront, Darling Harbour was a rust bucket.
The 1980s plan to redevelop it into a convention, exhibition, shopping and tourist precinct seemed like a winner, especially for a government which had brilliantly revitalised Macquarie Street; and particularly for one that was facing the inevitable ''it's time'' factor by the next election in 1988.
Wran retired triumphantly mid-term, leaving Barrie Unsworth to face the voters. But it all went horribly wrong. Instead of a signature development to mark Australia's bicentennial in January 1988 (and, just co-incidentally, a state election straight after that) it became a symbol of monument building and wrong priorities - at least as far the voters were concerned. Like many construction projects, it was unpopular - until it was finished.
In fact, Darling Harbour has become an enduringly popular place, even though it's never been cool enough for the inner-city cognescenti to embrace it.
But the way it was done symbolised an out-of-touch fading government. Neville Wran boasted: ''I'm bulldozing it through because there will be a lot more criticism if we don't.''
The O'Farrell government is unlikely to have the problem of people resenting the amount of money being spent there, instead of on roads and trains, for one simple reason; it's not taxpayer money. The business of government has changed radically since the 1980s.
The original development of Darling Harbour cost taxpayers about $1 billion. These days, unless absolutely necessary, governments don't use their own money to build things. It just caused complications and an invitation for projects to run over budget. When the Entertainment Centre was built, the building workers' union managed to extract an extra allowance to compensate for the smells of adjacent Chinatown making them hungry.
Despite noisy debates about privatisation, and a deeply sceptical public, there is a quiet bipartisan policy of modern-day politics: get the private sector to use its capital, thus keeping government balance sheets looking pretty for the hovering ratings agencies. But, of course, it's not a free lunch. It just swaps the cost from an upfront hit to a long-term repayment plan. And that's the key to the new Darling Harbour.
The development of Darling Harbour is, to use the terminology, a public-private project. The Lend Lease-led consortium Destination Sydney will produce a masterplan for the whole precinct, and then design, finance, build, operate and maintain the $1 billion project. They will also upgrade the public areas. If it's not finished in three years, or it runs over budget, that's the consortium's problem. Once it's finished, revenue and operating profit goes to government, with the operator, AEG Ogden, (which is part of the Destination Sydney), paid a fixed fee and a percentage of the net operating profit.
Great deal, hey? Actually, it's hard to tell, without knowing the exact numbers. Lend Lease will put in $100 million of its own funds, as will the superannuation fund Hostplus - the rest being financed through debt. Once it's built, the government will make regular payments, called facility service payments, in effect paying back the costs over time. The consortium gets the right to operate the facility for 25 years after construction is finished, before it reverts to public ownership. What the residual value of the facility will be after 25 years is hard to say, as the present buildings are being written off after 24 years of operation.
But as the TV spruikers say, that's not all. There are actually three contracts in the deal. One covers the convention centre but there are two others. Lend Lease gets the development rights over a huge hotel next to the convention centre, and an even larger development on the Entertainment Centre site, where 1400 high-rise units will be built. Lend Lease has to pay for a 99-year lease on the hotel site in 2016. It's a similar deal for the Entertainment Centre site, with payments for 99 year leases progressively between 2013 to 2019.
Aesthetically, it's not likely to compete with the Opera House. The former premier Nick Greiner, chairman of Infrastructure NSW, had some faint praise at the launch: ''It's fine. I think it's about the right blend. It's not a Guggenheim but it's not a four-square [block] … it's a sensible middle ground, it's what you expect … I've always tried to avoid being an architect or a planner and the design review panel thought this was very much the best of the two designs.''
The chief architect of the existing convention centre, Philip Cox, called the demolition of his building ''an act of vandalism''. But despite the grumbles about the look of the development - some of its does look like a badly wrapped present - there were more winners than losers.
For Greiner, Darling Harbour is the gift that keeps giving. Having ridden to victory in 1988 of the back of the Darling Harbour controversy, (one of many that plagued the Wran/Unsworth governments) he is now in charge of it again. Darling Harbour is the first major project NSW Infrastructure has wrestled away from traditional government agencies. Its success is crucial for the credibility of Infrastructure NSW, which is set up as almost a shadow government, or at least a shadow public works department.
Another winner is the owner of Allphones Arena at Homebush, Channel Nine, which will no longer have to compete with Entertainment Centre for the big touring acts. The replacement for the Entertainment Centre is a smaller (8000 seat) theatre - spun as a ''red-carpet entertainment facility''. It's a venue which seems designed as much for conventions as entertainment. Infrastructure NSW points out 80 per cent of commercial events at the existing Entertainment Centre in the past decade have been this size or smaller. Demolishing the Entertainment Centre removes one awkward legacy of the Olympics; two venues where only one was necessary. That was part of the reason the Olympic stadium had trouble becoming a sustainable business; too much competition, especially with the average Sydney sporting crowd being closer to 20,000 than its 80,000 seat capacity.
The deal mightn't be such good news for the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. The convention and exhibition centre has been one of its major rental earners, which it uses to maintain its extensive heritage properties in the Rocks.
The analysts seemed to think Lend Lease had got a good deal. Most raised their estimates of future profits because of the deal.
Investment bank UBS thought Lend Lease would get $10 million as an originator fee, $50 million in construction profit and $20 million to $40 million once its equity was sold on completion. Citibank analysts thought Lend Lease would earn $75 million in construction and advisory profits on the convention centre and $120 million in construction and development profit on the Entertainment Centre precinct. Bank of America Merrill Lynch noted the project provided ''multiple fee opportunities'' for Lend Lease, with its Capella Capital division earning $20 million in fees.
It said its construction margins were ''likely to be towards the top end'' of its typical range. JP Morgan, using the Lend Lease management rule of thumb, estimated a $150 million profit out of the entertainment centre redevelopment.
And this time, the closeness of Chinatown and its smells might be a selling point.
One-man makeover disappearing
THERE'S one in every government - the hard man, the one who takes it upon himself to take the tough decisions, who sees themselves as the only person capable of getting things done, who convinces himself that the way to success is not through popularity but through respect. Bugger the opinion polls, let's just do it.
The last Labor government had Michael Costa, the trenchant treasurer. The last Coalition government had Terry Metherell, the crash-through-or-crash education minister. Before that there was, in the Wran and Unsworth governments, Laurie Brereton, the public works minister.
Brereton left an indelible mark on Sydney. Having been thwarted in his ambition of becoming NSW premier, he poured his considerable energies into a series of projects that changed the face of the city. Darling Harbour was the biggest. The monorail was probably the ugliest.
With the imminent demolition of the monorail, and the vast redevelopment of Darling Harbour, much of the Brereton touch will be erased from the Sydney landscape. This week, he called the redevelopment the ''the work of Philistines''.
His other project, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, remains.
It returns to public ownership in 2022. The last annual report of the Roads and Traffic Authority estimated the minimum cost of the remaining payments as $558 million.


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- + Follow
Sharon Rowan
Designer & Illustrator
Provo, UT
Provo, UT
I'm a designer who loves patterns, cards, and typography, amongst other things.
SUMMARY Graphic designer and photographer with over 9 years graphic design experience and 14 years photography experience. Design background includes experience in print, packaging, identity, illustration, pre-press and production. Proficient in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign. SHARON ROWAN DESIGN/PHOTOGRAPHY www.sharonrowanphotodesign.blogspot.com Owner/Creative Director Design: Branding packaging, designing wedding and birth announcements, logos, website design, movie props and more. Current and previous clients include: · Close To My Heart (stamps and scrapbook paper) · Echo Park Paper (scrapbook paper · CultureGrams (map layouts) · Saga LLC (video game cover, playing cards, website layout) · Galano Productions · Slamdance Film Festival '07, '08 & '09 · National Lampoon's Bag Boy film (designed props) · Pirates of the Great Salt Lake film (designed props) (Weinstein Co) · Berwick Offray (gift card packaging, gift bags) · Rastar (illustrations) Photography: Photograph weddings, bridals, engagements, families, bands, movie sets and more. Current and previous clients include: · Saga LLC · Evil Angel (film) · American Fork (film) · National Lampoon's Bag Boy (film) · Broke City Documentary (Maverick Records) · Pirates of the Great Salt Lake (film) (Weinstein Co) UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY Sept 2009-April 2011 Designer Supported university by designing print items for the school, such as posters, fliars, brochures, programs, etc. SEASTONE LC Oct 2006-Feb 2009 Designer & Photographer Design: Design gift card packaging concepts and graphics specific for each client's style and needs. Clients include: · Target · Walmart · Kohls · Dunkin Brands · Walgreens · Macy's · Home Depot · Cabela's · Bass Pro Shops · Meijer · AAA · Kroger · Costco Photography: Company's sole photographer entirely in charge of catalog photography, website photography, client requests, press releases and more. EDUCATION Brigham Young University: Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis in photography in 2006.


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All sorts of aggravation in my life recently and I'm not going to go into all of it but I do feel the need to let off some steam this evening.
Last week? Best forgotten.
Friday night was the Halloween party at PASM and it was the best Halloween I've had in years. (Some pictures at the bottom of this post)
Saturday night we had the free night's stay at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile. Since I wasn't going to be driving, I could indulge in some wine with dinner. And after dinner, we walked over to Ashley Road to meet some friends for some more drinks. We went to Castro – I've stared at the sign many times but this was my first time there and it was an odd mix of people but okay I guess. The sad thing is that it's been so long since I've had any alcohol that a glass of wine at dinner and one more drink in the bar were enough to leave me zonked. We were back at the hotel by midnight – much earlier than I'd intended – and I was asleep very soon after that.
One of the sources of aggravation in my life has been my fucking car. A 2002 BMW 330 convertible. I've owned, not sure exactly but around 10 or 12 cars in my life. Most of those have been used cars but I've never really had trouble with any car until this one. It's been one problem after another, starting with a bank loan that I never should have signed, a slashed roof (it's a convertible) 5 months after I got it and a seemingly never-ending series of repairs. Plus now I'm locked into a long (for Hong Kong) daily commute and the car just slurps down gas almost faster than I can put it in, leading to a very expensive daily commute. (The alternative to commuting by car in under an hour, is taxi then bus then two trains then another bus, close to 2 hours each way.)
Add to that the fact that it's not a "Hong Kong car." I didn't know this at the time – and didn't know that it mattered, but the car came to Hong Kong from Japan in 2006. (I bought it in 2007 and may be the first owner the car had here.) Why was it imported? There are no service records prior to my owning it. That might indicate a major collision somewhere in its past? Though all of the mechanics who have looked at the car have told me they see no signs of that. Whoever had the car before me added 19 inch wheels (that I've since replaced), front rear & side body kits and had the seats reupholstered. In any event, when I've gone to sell the car, dealers have noted its status and made lower offers as a result.
I've been trying to sell it off and on for about a year, the problem being that the market value is noticeably less than I owe the bank. At the end of last week, I found a buyer, someone who gave me as good an offer as I'm likely to get. Except that when he came to look at the car, the convertible top wasn't working properly. I told him I'd take care of it before the sale – I figured the motor just might need some lubrication or something. Turns out no – the motor is dying and needs to be replaced and the part costs HK$9,000. I suppose I could check Google and try to find a reconditioned one for sale somewhere in the world and maybe save a little money. Oh, and the air bag sensor in the passenger seat broke last week and replacing that ain't gonna be cheap either.
So at this point, the buyer has backed out of the sale, as one might expect. And I'm stuck with a car that's worth far less than I owe the bank and in need of some sizable repairs. And I know that even if I hold onto it, even if I get these repairs done, in a couple of months something else will break that will cost me another $10k or more. So I'm gonna sell off, take the loss, buy something smaller, lighter, less fancy, cheaper, hopefully less prone to problems.
It's just aggravating because on Friday I thought I had a sale and then I had this news from my mechanic on Saturday. The car drives well. The repairs aren't urgently needed. It's just aggravating.
Anyway, the only real joy in my life these days comes from PASM Workshop, and here are a few shots from our party Friday night, more to be uploaded to Flickr later one. We had a full house, great barbecue, Evelyn our make-up artist did horror make-up for everyone who attended and a really nice set that we all had some fun shooting & posing on.


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Suspicious activity over the last two weeks reported near critical infrastructure and helicopter bases serving the Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas industry has prompted law enforcement agencies to issue a fresh security alert. On Monday, the Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange (LA-Safe) issued a notice to all Gulf operators titled "Suspicious Activity: Helicopter Leasing Facilities," detailing several unusual events that took place between January 21 and 28 in Louisiana and Texas. Allen Verret, executive director of the Offshore Operators Committee, told AIN that the alert was issued because of the "actions, behavior and ethnicity" of suspect individuals. This included surveillance of helicopter leasing facilities at Mouton Cove South near Abbeville, La., and Watercraft Leasing in Broussard, La. The two suspects scoping out Watercraft fled when confronted by security officers. On January 22, an individual inquired about helicopter rental at the BP/PHI Heliport in Houma, La. When questioned by security personnel, the individual refused to produce identification and departed in a black late-model Chevrolet Impala. Suspicious helicopter flyovers/hovers were also reported at the Jonesville (La.) Lock and Dam and the port at Orange, Texas.
Shady Behavior Places Gulf Helo Operators On Alert
- February 4, 2010, 9:56 AM


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Bus users can question First's managing director at a meeting tomorrow.
The Dengie Hundred Bus Users Group is holding its AGM at 1pm at Burnham Town Council offices in Chapel Road.
Giles Fearnley, managing director of First UK bus division, will be attending.
Everyone welcome.
Call 01621 741177 or visit dhbug.org.uk for more information.


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Expense Report Software allows administrators to track and approve expenses for their workforce. Users can log in and create expense reports and then add expense items. Admin users can then log in and approve items, or leave comments in the report. An email can be sent to the user when an expense item is approved or not approved.
|Communications Information Management Records Management Workflow Frameworks Office/Business Financial Accounting groupware
|Operating Systems
|Windows POSIX Linux Other
Release Notes: This release fixes a small bug found in the library file for the system.
Release Notes: This release updates some of the error messages to fix spelling errors.
Release Notes: Minor updates were made to the expense report documentation file.
Release Notes: Some spelling errors that were recently found within the code were fixed.
Release Notes: The information on the systems requirements in the documentation was updated.
I've just installed the Expense Report Software, but there is a problem.
index.php returns user and pass form, but at the end of the page appears one "die?" message. I can't login with both user and pass.
Please give me a clue what is wrong?
Re: error encountered
the project has bugs, index.php won't show up.
error encountered
hi, i downloaded and installed the project, but index.php is being displayed as a blank page. i then tried loading login.php directly, so it takes the login and password from there and redirects back to index.php , once again displaying a blank page. it doesn't show any errors, or warnings. the database and the records have been successfully created, can u please tell me how to fix it now
A Fluent OpenStack client API for Java.
A TWiki appliance that is easy to use and lightweight.


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The stimulus package is going to cost America a lot of money. And yeah, I've got some concerns about various aspects of it. But what's really been turning my stomach lately is the absurdly disingenuous response of Republican politicians and pundits.
Why is it OK to spend extreme amounts of money we don't have on Iraq, but not OK to spend extreme amounts of money we don't have on America?
Well, differing political philosophies about the role of government, of course. And I get that. And I've got various opinions on that.
But I've completely had it with Republicans acting like OMG! The Democrats want to take our money and spend it!
Because yes, you're right, they do want to take my money and spend it. AND SO DO YOU FUCKERS AND AT SIMILARLY ABSURD LEVELS.
The only difference is where they each think it's OK to spend it. And it's just effing crazy for Republicans who have been authorizing an expensive war for years now to somehow pretzel themselves around and start crying about Democratic expenditures. It's pathetic and disgusting and ridiculous.
Further, the Republicans are freaking out because they think that President Obama is heading America towards socialism. And I can understand why that is scary to them. I understand how that is against their economic and political theories.
Maybe you disagree with me, but if you are one who is worried about socialism, welcome to a lighter version of what it's been feeling like for the other half of us for AGES now. You've been trying to take my damn RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS away. You've been trying to legislate what I can do with my body.
Abstinence-only education? Creationism in our schools? Torture? Are you effing kidding me?
Despite all evidence to the contrary, there are people in this country who think America is a Christian nation. Who have no respect for the separation of church and state that our country was bloody FOUNDED ON.
North Dakota (a state with exactly one place you can get an abortion, btw) is on the path to give a bunch of cells HUMAN RIGHTS! We are literally a blink away from some sci-fi tale of the fascist monitoring of women who are under the state's control whenever they become pregnant.
You may disagree with my fears. You may have different philosophies and theories. President Obama and the Democrats have different philosophies and theories from President Bush and the Republicans. That's what it is. That's what it comes down to.
And the... can't find the word... opposition technique of acting like the sky is falling and the Democrats are the ones who just want to spend all our money? I feel like the Republicans are demanding that I believe that the Emperor is wearing clothes. Suddenly spending billions and trillions of dollars is bad, you say?
We have a new President and a Democratic-leaning congress. So now we're going to try it a different way. Now things are going to swing the other way for awhile. That's how America works, like it or not.
You could maybe even say, a little less fascism today and a little more socialism. With any luck, I'm not going to wake up tomorrow in the next Communist Romania and Republicans aren't going to wake up in the next Canada or England, since that prospect is seemingly so terrifying to them.
Republicans: Yes, it's a lot of money, and we can argue about particulars. But don't act like you care about the spending levels, because clearly you don't and never did when it's spent on what you want.


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As a consequence of Mijas' proximity to the warm Mediterranean Sea, there is hardly ever any frost during our very mild winters and rarely extreme heat in the dry summers.
The temperatures settle on an average of 18°C throughout the year. With less than 600 mm of rainfall, which mainly occurs between November and March, Mijas prides itself with 2920 hours and approximately 320 days of sunshine a year.
The Sierra Blanca mountain range protects Mijas from the worst weather and the extreme elements.
Spring: brings with it nice balmy temperatures with mild breezes, but the sea takes time to catch up.
Summer: the hottest months are June, July and August with temperatures around 30°C, 11 hours of sunshine and 15 hours of daylight every day and a maximum of 3 days with rain per month. August is the hottest month and it can get up to 40°C. Cooling breezes make the heat more bearable. The sea temperature settles around 23°C.
Autumn: is normally very mild with some beautiful hot days. The sea remains warm and you can still swim well into October. We get the occasional heavy down pour of rain which is good for the golf courses and generally doesn't last too long. Storms when they occur are impressive.
Autumn/Winter: the coolest months are November to March with temperatures around 13°C and an average of 6 hours of sunshine per day. We normally average about 12 days with some rainfall, with a monthly maximum of 90 mm of precipitation. The sea temperature levels at about 14°C.


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Please ask us about anything by filling out the form on the left.
If you submitted a question, we will respond as quickly as possible,
usually within 24 hours. If you submitted a suggestion or comment.
thanks for the feedback!
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text:
Alien Detention Standards:
Observations on the Adherence to ICE's Medical Standards in Detention Facilities
GAO-08-869T: Published: Jun 4, 2008. Publicly Released: Jun 4, 2008.
Additional Materials:
- Highlights Page:
- Full Report:
- Accessible Text:
(202) 512-8816
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
In fiscal year 2007, Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained over 311,000 aliens, with an average daily population of over 30,000 and an average length of stay of about 37 days in one of approximately 300 facilities. The care and treatment of aliens while in detention is a significant challenge to ICE, as concerns continue to be raised by members of Congress and advocacy groups about the treatment of the growing number of aliens while in ICE's custody. This testimony focuses on (1) the extent to which 23 facilities complied with medical care standards, (2) deficiencies found during ICE's annual compliance inspection reviews, and (3) the types of complaints filed by alien detainees about detention conditions. This testimony is based on GAO's July 2007 report evaluating, among other things, the extent to which 23 facilities complied with aspects of eight of ICE's 38 National Detention Standards. This report did not address quality of care issues.
At the time of its visits, GAO observed instances of noncompliance with ICE's medical care standards at 3 of the 23 facilities visited. These instances related to staff not administering a mandatory 14-day physical exam to approximately 260 detainees, not administering medical screenings immediately upon admission, and first aid kits not being available as required. However, these instances did not show a pervasive or persistent pattern of noncompliance across all 23 facilities. Officials at some facilities told GAO that meeting the specialized medical and mental health needs of detainees had been challenging, citing difficulties they had experienced in obtaining ICE approval for outside nonroutine medical and mental health care. On the other hand, GAO observed instances where detainees were receiving specialized care at the facilities visited. At the time of its study, GAO reviewed the most recently available ICE annual inspection reports for 20 of the 23 detention facilities that it visited; these reports showed that ICE reviewers had identified a total of 59 instances of noncompliance with National Detention Standards, 4 of which involved medical care. One facility had sick call request forms that were available only in English whereas the population was largely Spanish speaking. Another did not maintain alien medical records on-site. One facility's staff failed to obtain informed consent from the detainee when prescribing psychiatric medication. Finally, another facility did not have medical staff on-site to screen detainees arriving after 5 p.m. and did not have a properly locked medical cabinet. GAO did not determine whether these instances of noncompliance were subsequently corrected as required. The types of grievances at the facilities GAO visited typically included the lack of timely response to requests for medical treatment, missing property, high commissary prices, poor food quality and insufficient food quantity, high telephone costs, problems with telephones, and questions concerning detention case management issues. ICE's detainee grievance standard states that facilities shall establish and implement procedures for informal and formal resolution of detainee grievances. Four of the 23 facilities GAO visited did not comply with all aspects of ICE's detainee grievance standards. For example, one facility did not properly log all grievances that GAO found in their facility files. Detainee complaints may also be filed with several governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The primary way for detainees to file complaints is to contact the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG). About 11 percent of detainee complaints to the OIG between 2005 and 2006 involved medical treatment issues. However, we found that the OIG complaint hotline 1-800 number was blocked or otherwise restricted at 12 of the facilities we tested. OIG investigates the most serious complaints and refers the remainder to other DHS components. GAO could not determine the number of cases referred to ICE's Detention Removal Office and concluded that ICE's detainee complaint database was not sufficiently reliable.
Jul 31, 2017
Refugees:Actions Needed by State Department and DHS to Further Strengthen Applicant Screening Process and Assess Fraud RisksGAO-17-706: Published: Jul 31, 2017. Publicly Released: Jul 31, 2017.
Jul 27, 2017
Federal Emergency Management Agency:Additional Actions Needed to Improve Handling of Employee Misconduct AllegationsGAO-17-758T: Published: Jul 27, 2017. Publicly Released: Jul 27, 2017.
National Mall:Actions Needed to Better Manage Physical Security RisksGAO-17-679: Published: Jul 27, 2017. Publicly Released: Jul 27, 2017.
Jul 25, 2017
Coast Guard Acquisitions:Limited Strategic Planning Efforts Pose Risk for Future AcquisitionsGAO-17-747T: Published: Jul 25, 2017. Publicly Released: Jul 25, 2017.
Southwest Border:Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Management and Assess Effectiveness of Land-based Surveillance TechnologyGAO-17-765T: Published: Jul 25, 2017. Publicly Released: Jul 25, 2017.
Jul 20, 2017
Supply Chain Security:CBP Needs to Enforce Compliance and Assess the Effectiveness of the Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier RequirementsGAO-17-650: Published: Jul 20, 2017. Publicly Released: Jul 20, 2017.
Jul 18, 2017
Federal Emergency Management Agency:Additional Actions Needed to Improve Handling of Employee Misconduct AllegationsGAO-17-613: Published: Jul 18, 2017. Publicly Released: Jul 18, 2017.
Jun 29, 2017
Critical Infrastructure Protection:DHS Has Fully Implemented Its Chemical Security Expedited Approval Program, and Participation to Date Has Been LimitedGAO-17-502: Published: Jun 29, 2017. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 2017.
Jun 7, 2017
Coast Guard Recapitalization:Matching Needs and Resources Continue to Strain Acquisition EffortsGAO-17-654T: Published: Jun 7, 2017. Publicly Released: Jun 7, 2017.
Jun 1, 2017
Immigration Courts:Actions Needed to Reduce Case Backlog and Address Long-Standing Management and Operational ChallengesGAO-17-438: Published: Jun 1, 2017. Publicly Released: Jun 1, 2017.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here


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Arts and Crafts Find New Life Online
It's an overcast December afternoon, but the Pop Up Community Center in downtown Manhattan is buzzing. Spread along a white wooden table, a half-dozen people are ironing plastic bags together to create a fabric made of recycled material. Others are bent over sewing machines, turning the plastic into colorful tote bags, wallets, even pillows. Occasionally they turn for advice to Anda Lewis Corrie, who is leading this workshop on transforming old plastic bags into useful objects.
Just another community service project? Not quite. Corrie works in marketing for Etsy, an online marketplace where people sell their own handmade crafts. And this workshop is all about sharing the do-it-yourself (DIY) experience—an impulse that Etsy and a number of other companies, large and small, have converted into a sizable business. Etsy won't reveal its revenues but expects to turn a profit early next year on what it takes in from a 20 cents-per-item listing fee and the 3.5% commission on goods that merchants sell through the site. In 2007 those merchants sold 1.92 million items worth a total of $26.5 million, according to Etsy. The 2 1/2-year-old startup produces online videos, hosts virtual town halls, and runs workshops with the goal of persuading more folks to teach each other to create and sell crafts on Etsy. Since it's a sort of eBay (EBAY) for handmade crafts, the more people who sign up to sell their handiworks on the site, the better the company does. Says Corrie: "We want to help people make a living making things."
Although the craft craze is well-established, with sales hitting $31 billion in 2007, it's taking off with a vengeance online. Hubert Burda Media, Germany's 58-year-old sewing-magazine and pattern giant, relaunched its English-language BurdaStyle Web site in July to share sewing patterns that can be modified to make new designs by the site's visitors. Sebastopol (Calif.) publisher O'Reilly Media launched Make and Craft over the past three years; they're print and online how-to magazines that pluck examples from the intricate videos and design blueprints that readers submit online. At the site of British startup StyleShake, users design and work together online on their own cocktail dresses, which they can send to the company to have turned into clothing for them.
Many of these companies say they trace their lineage to the open-source technology movement formed in the '90s by computer programmers who wanted to create software anyone could build upon. Rather than one expert teaching people how to do something, the open-source movement underscored how groups of people could share expertise and build on that knowledge. Now this mindset is rapidly spreading. Says Elizabeth Osder, a visiting professor at the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Southern California: "There is this resurgence of interest in DIY and then the desire to bundle up pieces of information and share them in an open-source way."
For Burda, the timing couldn't be better. The company wants to create a virtual DIY community beyond Europe. It's the biggest pattern seller there, yet it claims less than 2% of the U.S. market. So while Burda doesn't profit from the patterns that are pulled from its Web site, it hopes word of mouth will boost sales of its other patterns in the U.S. Each week Burda publishes a different pattern online, for items such as wide-leg trousers or a pencil skirt with pleats. They appear as PDFs that visitors can copy to their computers or print out. Sewers can alter the patterns as they fancy, and there are no restrictions on selling finished clothing.
The BurdaStyle community gets into full open-source swing after each new pattern is posted. Members swap written tips and post photos in the digital forum and group blog on how to alter the designs. They even create detailed, step-by-step slide shows demonstrating how to change the collar on a jacket or turn pajamas into maternity wear. Relaunched five months ago, BurdaStyle has about 29,000 members and clocks 1.5 million page views a month.
It has a loyal fan in Mirela Popovici. The 28-year-old spends hours on the site downloading patterns, getting advice in the forums from other members, and creating how-to slide shows. A computer programmer by day, the Hollywood (Fla.) resident spends her evenings and weekends whipping up skirts, dresses, and tops. Last January she created a shop on Etsy. Popovici signed up for free to register a Web site on the service under her name at mirela.etsy.com, paying Etsy only listing fees and sales commissions. Now, in addition to lingerie and jewelry, she sells some of the clothing she makes using Burda's patterns. "I love to alter their patterns," Popovici says. "And having the community makes it so easy to figure out how to make different alterations."
Etsy was one of the pioneers of turning sharing into good business. Early in 2007 it created Etsy Labs, a community space at its headquarters in a warehouse near scruffy downtown Brooklyn. About a dozen times a month, Etsy sellers and other craftspeople hold evening classes where they teach others in the Etsy community how to be handy, showing them how to design and sew stuffed animals, build their own musical instruments, and bind books. The company, founded by three twentysomething friends who met as undergrads at New York University, now has 50,000 active sellers and 600,000 registered members.
The online DIY movement is hottest among people under 30. Using the Internet is second nature, and they already share almost every aspect of their lives on the Web. It's just a step to sharing that knowledge in the real world. Last year, 45,000 people crowded the San Mateo (Calif.) Fairgrounds, where Make was holding its second annual Maker Faire. It brought together 300 innovative DIYers and featured power-tool drag races (belt sanders and weed whackers on wheels can reach 60mph) and a life-size mechanical giraffe.
Eric Wilhelm's experience reflects the urge to be more hands-on. While earning his PhD in mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the then-23-year-old took up kitesurfing. He didn't have thousands of dollars for equipment, so Wilhelm built his own boards and posted detailed designs on his Web site. Readers asked for more information and help building other projects. So two years ago he launched Instructables.com, where anyone could contribute how-tos and get reader feedback.
Now, Instructables has 7,500 directions for everything from making a pinhole camera to sculpting a chair out of wood. "My grandfather had a bunch of baby-food jars with screws and nails in the basement, and after ignoring the skill it took to use those, people are now seeing that that's valuable," Wilhelm says. "They're afraid of losing touch with how to do stuff. That's why it's hip and cool to knit now."


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On the road again...
I have a love/hate relationship with running. I do it, but sometimes I love to hate it.
Roads were made for journeys...
Team 9 from Outer Space
"Don't feel like running today...suck it up and run ...you're an athlete." (John Stanton, founder & owner of The Running Room)
Three half marathons later, I got a number. Half Fanatic #9292. :)
Next time, take the win though. Can't let her have them all.


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RANDY Foye came off the bench and scored 17 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 95-86 NBA victory over the star-studded but struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Foye made four three-pointers in the fourth quarter, while Al Jefferson completed a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds for Utah, who ended a three-game losing streak.
Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 29 points and Dwight Howard added 19 points and nine rebounds, but the Lakers were unable to build on their first win of the fledgling season, a 108-79 victory over Detroit on Sunday.
Bryant scored the Lakers' final 14 points, but it wasn't enough for the team that have lost four of their first five games.
Despite the disappointments, Howard said he and Bryant need to display confidence.
"We have to do a better job keeping our frustrations on the inside and play through it," Howard said.
That's a recipe that seems to suit Bryant, who answered with characteristic swagger when asked if he was worried about the Lakers' season.
"I'm shaking in my Nikes," he said.
While the re-vamped Lakers continued their quest for chemistry, cross-town rivals the Los Angeles Clippers handed the San Antonio Spurs their first defeat of the season, 106-84.
Blake Griffin scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and teammates DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul both registered double-doubles as well.
Golden State recorded a 106-96 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Australian centre Andrew Bogut playing a minor role in the victory.
Bogut, on a 20-minute limit while he fully recovers from off-season left ankle surgery, totalled 17 minutes.
He went scoreless on two shots but had five assists, three rebounds and a block.
Originally published as Foye leads Jazz in win over Lakers


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EOC sets timetable to elect 6th Patriarch
Expand Messages
- http://www.waltainfo.com/index.php?id=7277:eoc-sets-timetable-to-elect-6th-patriarch&option=com_content&catid=52:national-news&Itemid=291
EOC sets timetable to elect 6th Patriarch
Addis Ababa, February 8, 2013 (WIC) - The Ethiopian Orthodox Church
(EOC) said it has set a timetable to elect the 6th Patriarch from
Feb.8-March 3, 2013.
According to the timetable, weeklong prayers will be served beginning
from this Friday in connection with the election of the Patriarch.
Followers of the EOC, Sunday school students and the clergy can propose
the would be Patriarch from 8-15 Feb. 2013.
Those residing in foreign countries can send name of the would be
patriarch through fax numbers 011-156711 and 011-1580540.
Nearly 800 archbishops, department heads of the patriarchate office,
ancient monasteries and churches, clergy, followers of the EOC and
Sunday school students will vote for the new patriarch.
The election will be held on 28 February 2013 and the result will be
made official same day in the evening. On the third day, the new
Patriarch will be sworn in at the Holy Trinity Church here.
Your message has been successfully submitted and would be delivered to recipients shortly.


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However, in the past few days, more than one possible retirement location has been batted around. Some expect to see the family head back to Chicago where Obama taught law and served during his time as a senator. He also worked there as a community organizer and has called the city home for a good chunk of his life. "Whenever I come to Chicago and I see great friends, it reminds me of why I got into politics — because a lot of people here played a role in me becoming a state senator, becoming a U.S. senator, and ultimately becoming president," said Obama in a speech in Chicago last month, joking about his changed appearance: "So the job has been wearing me down a bit, I admit, grey hair and all that."
As friendly and positive as the speech was about his old stomping grounds in Chicago, that right there might be one reason not to head there when his tenure is up. According to Politico, friends of the president were told he might be headed for New York City where a greater degree of privacy might still be possible. Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser and confidant, said that the president missed walking on the city streets, forced now to take limousines and make careful stops. "What he cherishes and misses is the serendipity — you don't know who you're going to bump into or what they're going to say. He hungers for that. It's on us to make sure he has more of those moments," said Jarret to Politico.
Ultimately, the choice may also be out of Mr. and Mrs. Obama's hands, and in their daughters'. Their youngest daughter, Sasha, now 12, will likely have a major influence on the move, according to Obama. "We've got to make sure that she's doing well … until she goes off to college," he told ABC. "Sasha will have a big say in where we are … Obviously they — and Michelle — have made a lot of sacrifices on behalf of my cockamamie ideas, the running for office and things," he said humorously. So it's entirely possible the family with remain in Washington, D.C., where Sasha is presently enrolled in school.
Of course, many former presidents have summer homes around the country apart from their primary residence. George W. Bush lives in Dallas, Texas, but spends a great deal of time at his ranch in Crawford. This is not an uncommon practice for retired presidents and their families, and is another possible explanation for the property in Asheville. Given their daughter Sasha's schooling, it may also be a home bought in preparation for when the couple finds themselves with an empty nest a few years down the road.
More from Wall St. Cheat Sheet:
- Obamacare Remains the Elephant in the Room for Healthcare Costs
- Obama's Plan to Cut Emissions: Why Some Politicians Hate It
- Obamacare and Benghazi: Is the Real Crisis in American Leadership?
Follow Anthea Mitchell on Twitter @AntheaWSCS


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Quick A/N about the frightfic I promised
Category: My Chemical Romance - Rating: PG-13 - Genres: - Published: 2012-09-26 - Updated: 2012-09-27 - 94 words
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Celebrating Diwali, New Year
Updated 12:26 am, Saturday, November 10, 2012
A local Hindu community will celebrate Diwali and the New Year with a series of events beginning Sunday and culminating with "Annakut" on Nov. 18.
The local BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is organizing the events at its facility on the North Side, 5044 N. Loop 1604 West near Interstate 10.
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a socio-religious movement recognized by the United Nations for promoting world peace and known for preserving Indian heritage and Hindu principles.
All events are open to the public.
Sunday's events are from 8:25 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.; Tuesday's at 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday's at 7 and 9 a.m., noon, 4 and 7 p.m.
News Channel
The Annakut on Nov. 18 is a ritual offering of large amounts of food.
It will be from noon to 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Children's Diwali is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Shuttles will be provided from the Park and Ride area under Interstate 10 from 4 to 9 p.m.
For more information, call 210-492-4008.


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According to twitter.com, "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"
Twitter is a "micro-blog". Like a blog, Twitter allows you to create an online journal or diary and share it with the world. However, unlike a blog, Twitter only allows entries/thoughts that are less than 140 characters. This limitation demands short updates and quick thoughts. This allows users to share experiences through Twitter much faster and more frequently than is conventionally done through a blog.
Why are we using Twitter at Sanger & Eby?
Well, just like the definition above stats, we want to share what we're doing here at Sanger & Eby. We believe that we have a great story to tell, and want to have a running dialogue with you—our friend. We'll be sharing stories right here on our blog as well, of course, but Twitter will allow us to quickly record and publish smaller experiences.
Also, we understand the you live in a busy world—if you follow our Twitter feed, you'll be able to very quickly get a feel for recent happenings here at Sanger & Eby. If you have time to learn more, then you can read the blog!
Finally, we are always striving to stay in touch with the latest Internet trends, and what better way to showcase this expertise than by putting it to use ourselves!
Twitter Fun
Many celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher (@APlusK), Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstronG), Shaquille O'Neal (@The_Real_Shaq) and even Cincinnati's Chad Johnson/Ochocinco (@OGOchoCinco) to name a few, are using Twitter to talk directly to their fans. And not just one-way communication, either. I follow the @The_Real_Shaq and @OGOchoCinco Twitter pages. They regularly post dozens of Tweets a day, which are nearly completely filled with replies to people who have sent messages to them directly. I'm not the biggest fan of Chad, but I have a lot of respect for how engaging he is with his fans.
More Information
Of course, this is just an introduction. There's a lot more than meets the eye at first glance with Twitter. A few examples: using Twitter via mobile phone SMS messages, learning about breaking news—many events hit Twitter before mainstream media, and even chatting directly with your favorite celebrity, as highlighted above.
If you want to learn more about Twitter, here are a few links that may be helpful:
What is Twitter? Twitter Basics
How to Set Up a Twitter Account
Why Use Twitter?
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Vixen Chat: Karrine Steffans Clears Up 'Basketball Wives' Rumors, Talks Two Marriages and Lil' Wayne
Immediately, it's apparent: Karrine Steffans likes to talk, and her beef today is with source-less media, specifically Rolling Out. The urban entertainment site has offended the LA resident by blasting a list of her alleged ex-lovers, sex game ratings included.
"Half the list I don't even know," she states in frustration. "It's so gauche, it's so pedestrian. There are so many things that are beneath me. I am a three-time New York Times bestseller, I sold a bunch of books all around the world and I've been on Oprah. I do things that other people can't do; I'm over here working. What I'm not over here doing is [going] online making lists."
Or joining the cast of Basketball Wives LA, she says.
Rumors flew recently that the Drink, Fuck, Sleep writer would become the newest victim of reality TV lenses, maybe even adding some much needed excitement for the West Coast clique. Although, she stalled the rumor mill (for now), Vixen snatched up an hour with her to discuss the popular VH1 show, her objections to female friends, the 10-year anniversary of Confessions of a Video Vixen and how she reacted to Lil Wayne's seizure news.–Niki McGloster


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Resident Evil 2
Secrets/Hunk Walkthrough by A.Insam
Version: 1.1 | Updated: 01/31/01 | Search Guide | Bookmark Guide
- Version 1.0 January 30, 2001
FAQ made
- Version 1.1 January 30, 2001
Bit of update
See Copyright at end of FAQ
Questions and Comments mail to: email@example.com
Resident Evil2 on Dreamcast is not to be underestimated! This game came out
countless years ago on Playstation, some early month in 1998 and I remember
buying it on day of release! Prior to completion the game was finished again
and again, seven odd times before I managed to get the 4th survivor, but it was
worth it! In terms of gameplay and graphics, it was miles ahead of Resident
Evil, the original set in a mansion, home to the vile secretive experiments of
Umbrella should be a real company, if they were then i'd work for them! I see
no problem in the reanimation of the dead and the creation of ultimate
bio-weapons. If only Wesker had not perished (or not as in Code Veronica).
Still the game continues and is released on multiple formats. There was a
Resident evil on N64, but despite what people say, it was poor and had terrible
graphics even though the fools spent years compressing it.
So I'm writing a FAQ three years later? What's going on? Well I added to my
complete Resi collection the second on the Dreamcast and it's much better!
I found virtually no information anywhere on the Dreamcast version even though
there is so much to do! All FAQs were stopped after the playstation version
was made so there is none for the Dreamcast, unfair!
Anyway, the graphics are completely amazing! Even with the original
backgrounds, the animation is super smooth and textures are better than PC!
There are still two CDs with the same storyline and everything but the entire
thing is better! For a start the FMV cut scenes are full screen which may
sound like nothing, but they look amazing when you watch them again (or for the
first time) especially the one with the Umbrella troopers which in my opinion
is the best.
As a bonus the combined two CDs contain tons of extras in the special option:
-All of the cut scenes for both characters viewable in a FMV viewer
-Rough sketches of the original game ideas, zombie pics and everything!
-Illustrations of the characters which are high quality
-3d models of all characters you meet, alas you can't zoom in on them :(
And if that isn't enough there are enough game modes to play:
Orignal Resident evil2 is the original Playstation version with enhanced
graphics and fixed annoying problems like glitching and ammo storage. There
are three modes of play compared to the PSX two:
-Easy (mode for amateurs and grannies)
-Normal (normal playing for Resi soldiers)
-Hard (super hard version for hardcore fighters)
Arranged Resident evil2 is even cooler with the original japanese version
enhanced a bit. Sounds exactly the same eh? Well for a start the zombies are
easier to kill, they take 3 shots to drop. There are even some new camera
angles! I've only spotted one in the police hallway, but I will find more (I
keep dying as i play on expert!) and will post them. Hallegedly there are some
more items that are in different places and some extra notes (maybe some films
to be developed?) and then that would be cool, something to do eh? As well as
this the handgun makes the zombie heads explode like melons like the enhanced
director's cut 92fs beretta! only not as much, 1 in 20 shots i'd say. The
modes are:
-Rookie (super-easy, gives you machine gun with inf. ammo)
-Hard (Hard? why are all japanese game versions easier anyway?)
-Expert (AAAArgh, Ok this one isn't easy, I can last 10 mins!)
The expert mode has super nails zombie that take 20 odd shots to kill (no
lies!) and when they come after you, they move at running speed (on caution!)
so it's quite difficult one could say. I played expert and found brad vickers,
i shot him 40 times with a pistol, he didn't even sway with the shots, he just
took them and then killed me............ >8-(
Hunk is the coolest character in the game. All this nonsense about him being
Wesker is lies though, and has been proven by Resident evil 3: last escape.
Still he is one tough mutha and can take more pain than Leon and Claire. He
hsa the G-Virus and must escape the Police station to suceed in his mission.
All of his team mates are dead, but he will survive and continue to serve
Umbrella in their nefarious research! This game is harder than all of the B
scenarios combined so you need skills.
Please understand that I have written this FAQ for Hunk differently to everyone
else as most of them are time ones and are not concerned with survival. The
majority of them are too difficult and are usually....
This room is filled with ten zombies, turn to the left, then right, walk a bit,
hug the wall and run rings around the last one and then out the door.
This never works and if you want to complete this quickly then it's easier to
decide how to avoid the creatures yourself. To survive the Hunk missions you
have to use ammo and will get chowed so it's impossible to avoid it. I will
add a Tofu one when I figure out how to write one that isn't just "run away".
Hunk weapons:
HKVP70 9mm Handgun and 150 rounds
Desert Eagle 50AE Magnum and one clip
Remington M1100 Shotgun and 15 shells
Two Green/Blue herbs
Room1: The entrance
No monsters in here so just jump up onto the ledge from the water and go up the
stairs, turn left and through the door.
Room2: The Chess plug room
There are quite a few zombies in here so you need to kill them unless you want
to try your luck at avoiding them. Use the HK VP70 pistol to shoot the crazy
zombie woman infront of you until she drops to the ground. Then shoot the
zombie standing on the bridge unless he is looking the other way and then run
past him. When on the other side, slot the two zombies guarding the door to
the next room. You need to drop them both and will probably use up more than
one clip alone in this room.
Room3: Sewer hallway
Immediatly equip the Remington M1100 Shotgun and shoot up the zombies infront
of you. This is not necassery, but gives you more time to get to the door.
The zombie scum to the right of where you come out pose no threat unless you
hang around to long. After you shoot the zombies (you don't have to) then run
up to the door directly ahead and aim upwards to explode the two other zombie
heads. You should be able to decapitate them both if you are a true commando.
Before you leave the room, equip the Desert Eagle 50AE Magnum.
Room4: Skegfest Sewer
There are some grisly bugs down here so make sure they don't touch you or else
you will have to use up a health potion (as they poison you). With the magnum
equipped, move down the tunnel until you hit the wall. If you have auto-aim
feature on (which is quite useful in some situations) then use it and you
should turn to the enemy off the screen which is to the right. If not then
point your gun down the long sewer and aim downwards. When the big hairy
spider comes along then shoot it. Fortunatly no ickle spiders come out as they
drown presumably. Then after you shoot the spider, pace it down the tunnel
until the screen shows you the end, aim up and look down till you see the ol'
hairy spider legs poking round the corner. Then when the beast comes out then
shoot him dead. Then it's around the corner and up the ladder. Get ready to
Room5: Kennel room
As soon as you come out of the sewer, run forwards but turn right to avoid the
scampering zombie dogs. The trick is to always be moving right so that they
jump and miss. Basically you don't need to shoot any of them, I wouldn't even
try unless you want to be eaten. Instead run forwards with a little cheeky
dodge and turn right when you hit the wall. I occasionally get bitten once on
the arse by a dog, but it never really matters. Hunk can take the pain. After
that, through the door, easy.
Room6: Prison hallway
This room is pretty hard so equip the Remington M1100 Shotgun again and move
right upto the zombies sleeping on the floor. If you have auto-aim on then you
should point offscreen to the left where some explosive fire zombies are coming
from. You don't really want to be shooting them up so turn around at the floor
surfing zombies and shoot the one crawling towards your foot. One shot should
be enough to kill them both. Then run round the corner, use the shotgun to
knock the two close proximity zombies guarding the door. You shouldn't need
any more than two rounds to do that, but if you split one in two by accident
then give him some more shotgun. Move quickly though cos the zombies round the
corner will bust you up.
Room7: Parking lot pimpin
This room is very easy if you just run forwards and then veer of to the right.
When you do this the crazy mongrel with leap at you and miss. Then you can
swerve back onto the track and peg it up to the door to escape. The doberman
dogs will give chase but hunk is a quality runner and should outpace them.
Room8: Crowfest basement
Equip the ol' HK VP70 pistol and walk (or run) around the corner. Aim down the
hallway and gun down the evil crows that infest the place. Make sure that you
are far from the first line of crows so that you don't have to aim downwards.
Then open fire and keep on shooting until you hear 7 odd squawks followed by
multiple thuds and then you can escape up the stairs. One lone crow or a few
will not be able to peck you up if you run in a straight line and don't stop or
aim to shoot.
Room9: Abandoned hallway
With the pistol, walk so you are parallel with the corridor and aim down it and
keep shooting every second or so. Don't use the shotgun or magnum as the dogs
in this hallway will be hard pressed to get anywhere near you. Begin shooting
down the hallway. The sound should go something like... "squeek, squeek,
squeek, squeek, arf!" so keep firing until you hear 3 dogs yelp. They should
be right at the bottom of the corridor in pools of blood. Then run out the
door before equipping yourself with the Remington M1100 Shotgun.
Room10: Detective office
With the shotgun loaded with multiple shells, walk down the hallway until you
can see down it. There is a scummy looking zombie ahead, ignore him and turn
into the office. move quickly down past the desks and the office with the safe
(do not turn right into the zombie) and stop when you see the two zombies. I
believe one is infront and one to the right. Assess the situation and explode
the zombie head infront of you and the one on the right if it poses as a threat
or if you like zombie brains. Then run upto the door and there and shoot the
last zombie in the head so it explodes like a can of tomato soup. Quickly
access the inventory and reload the shotgun, you should have used 4 shotgun
shells at the most in this room. Go through the door and prepare to get cained
by zombie.
Room11: Zombiefest lounge
Aaiiieee, after you cry, equip the shotgun (you should have already done that)
and aim upwards to the sky. Immediatly blast when any zombie gets within
range. I wouldn't move at all, it's possible to run through them without
firing a shot and without getting bled, but requires Tofu style skill. Anyway
you should either get the one infront or the two the right. If there is time
then aim forwards (not looking up) and fire multiple shots into the crowd of
three to the left where the door is. This should drop them all. If there are
still zombies left then you will probably get bitten from behind, but this
doesn't really matter. Run out the door.
Room12: Police hallway
Unfortunatly this room is empty so there is nothing to kill. Take this time to
reflect on your ammunition supply. You need at least 10 rounds or so with the
Remington M1100 Shotgun to deal with the last few rooms. Then you want lots of
Desert Eagle 50AE Magnum rounds, about 8 or so. You should be loaded with HK
VP70 pistol rounds, 100 ish if you are good. Anyway you should probably have
well over that amount for all of the weapons unless you have been going Rambo
with the ammo. The most important ammo is the shotgun so make em' count
As for health, you needs to be having quite a lot as the next rooms will
certainly take it out o you. If you are poisoned at this stage then you are
stupid and should have realised earlier. Basically ur screwed if you have used
up one health thing and are on caution or less, so start again and use more
sense. When you have finished, reload ALL guns and move into the next room.
Room13: Reception website (arf arf)
You're probably a bit sweaty now. This room has two spiders. I had struggles
with this room until i found out how to beat it. Equip the Desert Eagle 50AE
Magnum immediatly and slot the spider straight ahead as soon as you enter.
There is no need to look down or aim much (unless you have no auto-aim) and
then run around a bit to squish up the little arachnoids. I usually brick it
and pace it around the scary spiders and slot the big hairy spider around the
corner with the Magnum between the eight of it's eyes before it can come around
to see me. This usually results in me getting bitten several times by little
arachnoids, but i can take the pain! Run quickly into the door to escape.
Room14: Licker hallway
I don't like this room , it contains lots of lickers which are most definety my
leasy fav. enemies as they are strong, fast and deadly (just like me) so you
can either run or shoot them in the face before they can tongue you. I usually
run as well to cut down on time, but it results in my getting stuck in the
corner surrounded by three lickers and then get cut up some before I have the
sense to shoot them. So, shoot them, but only with the magnum so you get quick
efficient kills. Remember to kill them all or else you will get stuck up in a
traffic jam of lickers. Then run past the remainder (if you can) and through
the next door.
Room15: Boarded hallway
This is another room that i had problems with. So equip the magnum again and
run down the corridor until you get to the right turn. Don't follow it around
though or else you will eat acid, wait for the plant to give chase (you can't
see it so just assume that it can smell you) and then pace it back up to the
entrance. Then make sure you can get a clear shot down the hallway and run
until you are far away and shoot it three times with the magnum. It should
die. Follow it around the corner and stop (not on the plant because they can
still lash you with dying tentacles) and shoot the other one three times. Then
exit the room, BUT FIRST, equip the shotgun (unless you have around three shots
left) and exit the do.
Room16: Staircase hall
IMMEDIATLY run right. Don't turn and run, just run right as soon as you enter.
This should avoid the acid of the two super red plants. Then run until you
hit the end where the grey door is, quickly spin around and fire of three
shotgun shells. This should hopefully kill them both at the same time. If not
then finish them off with magnum/pistols and run over their bodies (bodies?)
and up the stairs. Remember to check your status if you are poisoned. Avoid
their acid at all costs. Run up the stairs.
Room17: Statue corridor
Don't hang around on the stairs to long or else you will get trapped. You can
expect the Mr. X to bust around the corner and mash you up with some fatal
combos so run into the corner which is in the top left of the screen. Wait
here and face the T-103. When he is within a decent distance by which i mean
distance that you can run from (not knife distance) then run in a wide arc
around his side and off down the corridor. Mr. X is pretty slow so he can't
catch you. I wouldn't recommend shooting him as he is INVINCIBLE, well not
really but you can try, it will just result in you losing all of your ammo and
DYING. Ok, through the next door it is.
Room18: S.T.A.R.S. hallway
Easy room, equip the HK VP70 pistol and walk up to every zombie and shoot them
3 odd times in the head. This should kill them all. There are a few undead
crawlies, don't be tempted to let them chow you (although hunk's football kick
is ill) and just shoot them ALL. Then make sure you are ready for some stress
and go through the door.
Room19: Room of death
There are some super-fly eight figga lickas in here, they can drop you in three
seconds and cut up. So don't try shooting them, even with the magnum they can
take a round to the eye so just get ready for some skills. The first one is
pretty easy so turn on the spot to the right and run down there. Don't be
tempted to run as then you won't turn fast enough and will end up running into
him and then he'll cut you, your exit will be blocked, you reach for the gat
but you end up six feet deep. So just avoid the first and run into the door to
exit the room. There is another one in your way and he'll probably slice you a
bit, but they always stop for a bit and give you time to run around. If one
jumps then make sure you turn or else you lose your head, ya heard?
Room20: Library
Another chill room. It doesn't matter if you have no ammo for the magnum cos
you won't be using it. All you need is lots of pistol rounds and 8 odd shells
(at the least) for the last rooms or so. If your health is at caution, wait
until you finish the next room before you recharge with some green herb. Load
out the HK VP70 pistol and on into the next room. By now you should be feeling
some pressure and your heart is pounding like Mr X.
Room21: Police upper hallway
Nice and easy if you remain focused. Use the pistol to attack the red plants
from long range. The one off screen you can hear by the impact noise the
bullets make. The first one is always on screen. With auto-aim this part is
easy. The plants take multiple shots to destroy, around twenty so be careful.
When running across the balcony to the next doorway, be aware that there the
dead vines of the plant can lash out sometimes so always run. Before you go
into the next room it is urged that you use you last (or not last) if you are
on caution. This last room is always hard and requires skills. Equip the
tactical Remington M1100 Shotgun and reload it with as many shells as you have.
Enter the do.
Room22: Waiting room
This room will almost certainly get you bitten if not once, then eight times.
The room contains eight zombies all looking directly at you, they are
surrounding the door, to the left, the right and tons ahead. I guess this is
the hardest room in the ENTIRE game so be cool and hack it. There are two ways
to do this. There are really three, but the third involves weaving through the
entire crowd which is possible as there is a nice wide path through the
zombies, but the camera makes it hard unless you know the route very well.
So the first tactic is to let the first zombie chow you, then chuck him off and
let the second zombie chow you, then the third and then the fourth. After this
you will be bleeding like fresh roadkill but will have time to either use your
last healthpack (if you have none then you will die) and then use the shotgun
to explode the zombie heads like a melon shooting contest. This requires lots
of ammo and lots of health.
If you have no health left (although you need to be on "fine" to survive) then
just run into the first zombie ahead to get bitten. Although this sounds
crazy, you only get bitten once, or twice so you can shoot the rest up with the
shotgun by aiming forwards and then you can escape.
Anyway you do this, you will get bitten so don't complain. You need the
shotgun or else this level is not passable.
Room23: Helicopter hallway
More zombies for you to face, 1 very close on the left, three on the right and
two by the chopper. As you start explode the skegfest zombie on the left.
Then run away from the crowd by the door (but only a little bit to avoid the
others) and turn and shoot them up with 3 odd shotgun rounds to the abdomen.
The other undead explosive fire zombies can be shot for fun with the pistol or
remaining magnum rounds, but by now you will be afraid of zombies so just leave
the room.
Room24: Crow hall
No crows alas, but a Mr. x back to dish out some prime beats. He starts off
quite far away but it makes no difference. You should play it safe and empty
clip loads of bullets into him before you have no other chance to run, but this
is pointless if you are relying mainly on pistol rounds. You need several
magnum rounds to drop him. If you have to run, which you always will then
don't run straight into him, wait until he charges up a shot and then commando
roll through his legs, hit him with a low blow and run out the door. If you
are on caution then the same applies, you can take a punch and then he will
follow it up with the double axehandle smash so you have a chance to run even
on "danger".
Even if you are on "danger" to begin with you still have a chance. Don't
bother shooting him as he will catch up to quickly. You can wait around the
corner where the crow victim lies, when the T-103 makes a tight turn, cut
around the outside and run along the outer wall to avoid him. If you try this
and die, then you could have considered walking backwards slowly and then when
he punches, run, but don't say i didn't warn you.
Room25: Helicopter site
The escape for the 4th survivor. Watch the end sequence and then get annoyed
with your crap ranking. I can only manage a "D" at the moment, but I have yet
to see if it unlocks anything more. I believe the Dreamcast version has
ranking and Playstation doesn't, but I'm not certain, I'm probably wrong. But
anyway, i'm sure that the mode will unlock even more secrets when you get an A
grade, infact i'm positive! But to get an A grade you probably need to complete
the game in 3 minutes or something crazy. I'll keep trying though!
Thanks to:
-Kendo gunshop
No thanks to:
-Gun survivor, no thank you
-Annoying Sherry
-Chief Irons
-Annoying MC amateur websites
2001 Copyright by A.Insam
This FAQ must not be recreated or anything or else i send Hunk round to cut you
up with his combat knife. Don't be posting this on your reject website without
consent and you can't put it onto your website unless it's Resident Evil
devoted so don't send me mail unless it is, ya heard?
Send me e-mails on questions/comments and the such on the game.
FAQ Display Options: Printable Version