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EAST LAKE — Ken Noakes made no greedy or stupid bets during the housing boom that cost him when the real estate market went bust.
He didn't have the money to get in the game, but in this housing collapse, not being a player hasn't meant not getting burned.
Like other renters whose landlords have found themselves unable to make their mortgage payments, Noakes, a 77-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran in poor health, is facing eviction.
So are his 72-year-old wife of 51 years, Lynn, and Leigh, 47, the couple's disabled daughter.
The family lives on Social Security benefits, taking in about $2,500 a month. They've been paying up to $1,500 a month rent since 2007, when they settled in a townhouse on Arabian Lane here at Nature's Watch.
They can't afford eviction.
"The moving costs alone would be a disaster right now," Noakes said.
Noakes, who fought in the Korean War, and his wife moved to Florida in 1981. They began renting in Nature's Watch in 2003.
Their current home is the second they've rented from John Geigle, who owns several Nature's Watch properties.
On limited means, they lived a simple life as the real estate market exploded. An occasional cash bump from Noakes' sale of chemical cleaners like car wash soap and red clay remover helped.
Much of their energy has gone toward caring for Leigh, who was left with serious brain damage after a hit-and-run accident in 1990.
In contrast, Geigle spent the boom years investing in real estate.
He likes Harley-Davidsons and Corvettes. In his home, according to a former business partner, there's a photograph of him and his brother lighting cigars with $100 bills to celebrate making their first $1 million.
In January 2005, Geigle sold the home the Noakes family would eventually rent to an occasional investment partner named Marcella Kaigler, who took out a $248,000 adjustable-rate mortgage on the property.
Kaigler moved in, but the property was too large for a single woman and she wanted to leave. In December 2005, Geigle paid Kaigler $50,000 and again took ownership of the property through a quitclaim deed.
Geigle, 59, agreed to take responsibility for paying the mortgage, which stayed in Kaigler's name.
"At the time I took over, it was appreciation I was hoping for," Geigle said, "and that never happened, it went the other way."
As the big returns of the boom years dried up, Geigle found himself losing money. On one investment — $2 million for a condominium project that went bust — the borrower paid him back only $400,000.
In December 2007, the interest rate jumped on the mortgage Geigle was paying on the Arabian Lane property. He couldn't keep up and tried unsuccessfully to negotiate better terms with the lender.
In March of last year, he stopped making payments.
He feels for Noakes and his family, but said he had tried to get reasonable terms from the bank and has also suffered in the downturn.
On his own home, which is also in Nature's Watch, Geigle said he owes $970,000, but has it for sale at $749,000 and isn't getting any offers.
"This has not been a bowl of cherries for me, either," Geigle said.
The lender on the Arabian Lane home foreclosed and took ownership June 29. On July 5, Realtor Connie Sachse, who represents US Real Estate Services, a handler of foreclosed properties for lenders, paid Noakes a visit.
She said that if the family vacated in two weeks, they would get $500.
Of course, the family doesn't have the money, or a place to go.
Sachse said the company isn't moving to evict them quickly and will work with the family, but they eventually must leave.
"I think it's absolutely awful that these folks are in the position they are in," Sachse said. "It's the times we are in, I guess."
Noakes continued to pay his $1,500 rent to Geigle until October, when he confronted Geigle over pocketing the money and not paying the mortgage. Noakes said Geigle agreed to take $750.
Time passed and Geigle asked for $1,000 a month, which Noakes paid from March to June. That's the last payment Geigle will get, Noakes said.
The war veteran is worried not just because he doesn't have the money to find another rental. In 2007, he had open heart surgery. In May, he had cataract surgery and a few days later suffered a mild stroke.
Since then, he's had some troubling short-term memory lapses. He confuses numbers, too.
"I can't move right now," he said. "I really shouldn't be running around moving things."
Will Van Sant can be reached at email@example.com or (727) 445-4166.


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Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy, written by Greg Dean, is a comprehensive guide for people who are funny, want to be funnier, or have dreams of being a stand-up comedian. This first-of-its-kind audiobook demystifies the craft of comedy by breaking it down to the fundamental skills used by professional funny people. Dean lays out these skills in simple-to-understand lessons that are easy to practice and master.
Dean's original joke diagram explains how jokes are built around two interpretations of one magical element called the connector. You'll learn how to see both the expected interpretation and the unexpected reinterpretation of the connector. And you'll be writing jokes after just one listening.
Dean also teaches "act outs" by explaining points of view (POVs). Act outs are the quick scenes comics act out during a routine. The three POVs inside a scene are the fundamental tools for understanding why act outs are so funny. You'll learn how to form jokes by shifting form one POV that creates an expected interpretation to another POV that reveals an unexpected interpretation. It's fun and easy, and it works.
This audiobook also covers rehearsal, so you can remember your jokes in the same way as you tell a funny story in a social situation. Dean explains how the mind normally remembers in pictures, sounds, and feelings, and then forms those thoughts into words. Memorizing words changes the function of the mind and the sense of humor. Dean offers a simple method for turning every joke into a scene so you can remember in pictures, sounds, and feelings, and tell the story of your jokes. Memorization becomes almost automatic !
Step By Step to Stand-Up Comedy also covers overcoming stage fright, handling hecklers, coping with going blank, dealing with bombing, riffing with the audience, crossing the hurt line, and getting experience. Learn in hours of listening what most comedians learn through years of stage time.
Download the accompanying reference guide.
©2010 Greg Dean (P)2010 Greg Dean
"Essential for the aspiring comic or the working comedian interested in updating his or her comedy routine, Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy is the most comprehensive and useful book ever written on the art of the stand-up comedian." (GoodRead.com)
"It got me onstage and getting laughs."
This is the best distillation of stand-up comedy that I've found. I have friends who have taken Greg's class in person, and loved it. I've only listened to the audiobook, and it's fantastic. If you want to Learn Stand-Up, get this book!!!
"One of the best"
Very comprehensive and well performed. A must-have for anybody who's seriously interested in this craft.
"Great first third, repetitive after that"
I really enjoyed listening to the first third of the book where the author explains his technique for how to create jokes. His system seems sound, and it is worth getting the book for just this part. The rest of the book gets a little repetitive.
"Fantastic Blueprint for Aspiring Comics"
Yes. I have listened to it twice already in order to commit most of the techniques to memory. I listened it once just audio when I was driving during the week and then again to go through all of the exercises provided in the workbook.
I would try another book by Greg Dean because of the way he presented this book was fantastic.
I have the book as well but the techniques only really hit home when I started to listen to this book. The way he explains things make much more sense than actually reading it. With just the book, I found myself having to reread portions of the book and give up on certain concepts. Listening to this book is like having a teacher demonstrate and teach the whole book. Very effective because I could listen to it when doing chores or driving. There's actually much more time when I can listen that I can read.
Using the joke structures I was able to write my own jokes from scratch. I've been able to use the material in my speeches to add humor. I've been getting laughs! I didn't really think it was possible.
I didn't buy this in order to become a stand-up comedian, just to add more humor to my speeches. I had never considered myself "funny" but using the techniques I've trained myself to write jokes and find humor in any situation.
"Hard to keep listening - probably better in print"
I'm hoping that this book lost something on the way to becoming an audiobook because I thought this was a train wreck. Yes, there are some great tips on developing jokes and a stand-up routine but its lost in a bunch of boring narration by the author....stuff that could be easily skipped over in a book format.
I think part of the problem probably lies in the fact that you can't teach humor. You have to have it...you can't fake it. But the author seems to think he can teach ANYONE to write jokes so he spends an inordinate amount of time on the minutia and repeating things.
This book would have been better if he had assumed that people had some clue regarding joke development. Or maybe 1 guide for humorless and one advanced guide for people that already knew a little about being funny.
Instead, this book is only marginally effective, especially in audio format. I couldn't finish it - I was sick of the pace, or lack thereof.
"A great how-to"
Yes. It's a wonderful step-by-step instructional.
I suppose Greg was my favorite character.
A LOT! I now know how to go about following a childhood dream.
I'm not sure why people think they were supposed to be entertained and amused by a how-to manual. This is NOT a joke book. It's a book about how to be a joke teller, and it is a great book for its purpose. Yes, it is repetitive, but that's how Greg gets the point across on how to create jokes.
"Unfortunately comedy CANNOT be taught"
As a professional comedian with 11 years high level performance experience, I downloaded this audiobook because I was simply curious - I was intrigued that someone had actually created a
Nothing, the book was well presented.
Nothing. Maybe more live clips of his own performances, delivery style/s and audience responses. Good and Bad. THAT would have been great!
On the whole - good work Greg.
Over the road truck Driver listen to books to make the miles go by.
"Not up to expectations"
Jokes were not very entertaining. English slang hard to follow. only laughed twice through all the book.
"New Title: "Step by Step to How Not to Be Funny""
Someone who has insomnia but doesn't want to take sleeping pills. Or maybe someone who is testing noise canceling headphones--put on the headphones and play this really loud on your computer speakers to see if the headphones work well or not.
If anything, it should encourage other writers in this genre that a definitive work has yet to be written. How do you write a book on stand-up comedy that isn't funny?
Lassie? Eddie, the dog from Frazier? Silent Bob?
Really? Really? Do I need any more?
"90% informative 10% funny"
This audiobook actually gives laughs. It also is very informative as Greg takes you from your unmotivated but comedian wannabe state to ready to stand in front of a crowd and preform.
This book is worth the cost 2x over as you will learn. How to create, and be creatively funny. It also will make you laugh.
My favorite joke which I guess Greg doesn't think is that funny goes, "If the post office had to operate as a real business, it would be as successful as a steakhouse in India". So if this audiobook was a steakhouse in India, the post office would be a successful business. More so, Indian postofficers would be on a low carb diet which would more or explain their grumpiness.
I guess I can say that being funny takes work, but thanks to Greg we can now understand the science behind it.
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subset: commoncrawl


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BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (From Boca PD) — On Tuesday, August 11 at about 12:55 p.m., Boca Raton Police officers responded to a bank robbery at the Chase Bank, 3013 West Yamato Road.
Responding officers met with employees who said the suspect entered the bank, approached a teller and showed a note demanding $50's and $20's. The suspect told the teller he had a gun, but did not display one. The suspect left the bank with an undetermined amount of cash, in an unknown direction. No one was injured.
The suspect is described as a white male, in his mid 20's, approximately 5'8″ tall, slim build, and unshaven; he was wearing a long sleeve red shirt with a short sleeve purple shirt over it, khaki pants and a white rag or t-shirt around his head.
If anyone has information about this crime, please call Detective Tim Kurdys at (561) 338-1377 or Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.
Use our Lyft promo code BNN123 for substantial discounts for your first Lyft rides. Enter the code in your app, or just click here.
BocaNewsNow.com is the leading hyper-local news website based in and serving Boca Raton, Florida and South Palm Beach County. Our pages have been visited millions of times over our five year history of reporting, providing opinion and snark.
This is not a "mug shot" website. Arrest reports and mugshots are provided by law enforcement officials under Florida Statute. While we review all requests for removal, we are not obligated to remove reports that are a part of the public record.
When removal is appropriate, we do so at no charge. We do not accept payment for mugshot or arrest report deletion.
We remind our readers that an arrest is an accusation. Guilt or innocence is determined in a court of law. Email us at news (at) bocanewsnow.com or telephone 561-419-9520.
All Content Copyright © 2017 MetroDesk Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


text:
System Explorer is free, awards winning software for exploration and management of System Internals. This small software includes many useful tools which help you Keep Your System Under Control. With System Explorer You get also fast access to File Database which help you to determine unwanted processes or threats. System Explorer is translated into 27 languages and is available for download in installer and portable version.
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Download: System Explorer 3.9.1 | 2.0 MB (Freeware)
View: Homepage


text:
Viva Cuba St, Kiwi capital of cool
Alarming stories had begun filtering back to my warm little bunker in Nelson. Cuba Street had apparently lost its mojo. The area had fallen prey to the inexorable march of gentrification, or so I heard. Massive rent hikes had closed a swag of shops and cafes, while other old haunts had been flattened to make way for yuppie apartments. The final kiss of death? The area had been pretentiously rebranded as "the Cuba Quarter".
I was worried. Wellington's Cuba Street remains my favourite inner-city neighbourhood in the country - a warren of splendid bars and restaurants, book shops and record stores, galleries and fashion boutiques, with suits and students, alkies and punks, the well-heeled and the homeless co-existing amiably. And the fact that a plethora of dodgy theme bars, fast food outlets and strip joints sits just around the corner in Courtenay Place acts as the perfect munter-magnet, diverting most of the drunken late-night drama elsewhere.
But I hadn't spent time there for ages. Had Cuba Street really lost its rough and ready charm? Time to head up there for the weekend to find out. Of course, the timing was not auspicious. In the middle of winter, Wellington can be, as my dear old nana used to say, "cold as a witch's tit". However, the music of Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes is guaranteed to warm the blood, and he was in town the night I arrived as part of The Wellington Jazz Festival On Cuba.
Now 71, Valdes is a towering giant in the field of Afro-Cuban music. A New York Times reviewer once noted his penchant for unleashing "great hydraulic fountains of notes, each drop sparkling as it falls". Tonight he brought that virtuosity from Carnegie Hall to a more humble venue just off Cuba Street: Wellington Opera House.
I sat entranced as the maestro massaged, pounded and tickled his piano with hands the size of frying pans, unleashing dazzling sprays of sound over ferocious grooves laid down by three percussionists and a virtuoso double bass player.
But man cannot live by music alone. I needed tucker, so I headed up to Ombra, a spanking new Italian place on the corner of Cuba and Vivian streets, done out like a Venetian backstreet taverna. You want gentrification, here it is: Ombra occupies the site of a former sex shop. Was it true, I asked my contact from Positively Wellington Tourism, that the combined weight of shelf upon shelf of porn, sex toys and risque French maid outfits had weakened the building's superstructure, forcing it to close for refurbishment? No, he said.
Whatever. The former clientele of furtive blokes has now been replaced by a throng of scrubbed-up punters, and the grand old 1922 building has a beautiful new interior of exposed concrete, handmade tiles and soft light that make both food and clientele look ravishing. Chef Giulio Ricatti oversees a menu of about 50 small plates, so I gratefully hoed into superb pork and lemon meatballs and grilled sardines with sultanas, lubricated with a miniature carafe of red.
The next morning, I bumped into Phoenix Foundation singer Sam Scott outside a nearby cafe. A Wellingtonian born and bred, he too bemoaned the neighbourhood's ongoing gentrification, and told me that the raw and grungy little joints that once made Cuba Street so special were now more likely to be found in Newtown, up the road.
But to this visitor's eyes, the area still oozes ramshackle charm. Despite some noticeable sprucing up, Cuba Street still feels diverse, lively and palpably bohemian, as if some space-conscious town planner had shoehorned the best bits of Sydney's Newtown, Melbourne's Fitzroy and Auckland's K Rd into a few tight city blocks. Though a chunk of upper Cuba was bowled for a controversial bypass, and a few scattered apartment blocks have sprung up, most of the street remains resolutely low-rise, crammed with agreeably battered old Edwardian and Italianate buildings that freak out visiting Cantabrians due to the sheer tonnage of unreinforced masonry.
Admittedly, there have been closures. I used to spend hours ferreting through old LPs at the local Real Groovy, which is no more, but vinyl mecca Slow Boat Records is still trading after 23 years and newcomer Rough Peel Records stands just around the corner on Vivian St. Old favourites Ernesto's, La Metropolitain and the Caribbean Bar & Grill have also shut to rising rents, prohibitive earthquake strengthening costs and lean winters, but there remains no shortage of outlets for great food (see sidebar) or life-threateningly strong coffee.
A magnet for coffee chin-strokers, Customs Brew Bar (39 Ghuznee St) specialises in single origin beans from around the globe, dished up via various geek-friendly extraction methods to maximise flavour. If you baulk at the notion of over-zealous baristas eulogising the base notes of blackcurrent and roading tar in your chosen cup of joe, head two doors down to The Milkcrate, where they'll hit you with delicious fair trade organic Peoples Coffee without undue fuss from a sunny corner of the Quilter's Bookshop building. Freshly recaffeinated, you can get an art fix from the Bowen Gallery next door, or climb the stairs to art dealer Hamish McKay.
Fancy a drink? You're in luck. There are more great bars clustered around this area than you'll find anywhere else in the country. Old favourites include teensy cottage rum-bar Havana (Wigan St), local institution The Matterhorn (106 Cuba), and the heroically kitsch Mighty Mighty (upstairs at 104 Cuba). I bowled into the latter, one night, and sat in a warm corner while a hip-hop DJ scratched old self-improvement LPs over spaghetti western soundtracks, improvising a made-to-measure David Lynch film score while a colourful crowd of beardy students, heavily tattooed rockabilly chicks and dapper senior citizens drifted in for a jazz festival show by the Roseneath Centennial Ragtime Band.
Elsewhere around the area there are clear signs of Wellington's much-feted craft beer explosion. With discerning punters deserting the fizzy lolly-water of the big brewers in search of the superior batch-brewed product of the smaller independents, Wellington has the highest per capita craft beer consumption in the country, and there are specialist brew bars galore looking to capitalise on that thirst. You can find a map to the best ones at craftbeercapital.com, which is how I happened upon Golding's Free Dive (14 Leeds St), tucked away down a pedestrian laneway parallel to Cuba St.
Cosy, warm and dimly lit, with great bar food from Pizza Pomodoro next door and an ever-changing menu of cask-conditioned malty goodness, this place deserves to prosper. Their motto? "Beer Is Love." They'll get no argument from me.
Still thirsty? Two of the best artisan breweries in the country - Garage Project (68 Aro St) and ParrotDog (29 Vivian St) - are a five-minute walk away, as is newly opened craft beer haven Rogue & Vagabond (18 Garrett St, near Glover Park).
But after a hectic weekend of eating, drinking, jazz sessions and record shopping, did I notice any significant changes to Cuba Street? Indeed, I did. With more apartments nearby, it's more densely populated these days. Most of the cheap and rowdy flats above the shops are gone, and there aren't as many sex workers and street beggars as there once were. You don't encounter as many mentally unwell people wandering around talking to themselves, and I didn't see a single old drunk guy passed out near the famous clank-slosh-clank bucket fountain; perhaps this is a sign of improved social services, or perhaps they, too, have merely moved out to Newtown.
The street seems a little brighter, a bit flasher, a tad cleaner, but surely that's no bad thing. It may have once added lashings of local colour to this neighbourhood, but why romanticise the dereliction of either buildings or humanity?
Cuba Street continues to evolve, but it still feels like the spiritual heart of this city, and it's still an endearingly eccentric place. On Sunday morning, just before I headed out to the airport, I encountered the kind of sight that used to delight me when I first started coming here 30 years ago.
In the grey early light, making his way between chi-chi cafes hawking eggs benedict to early risers, a man in a violently yellow hi-viz jacket was dragging a huge eight-foot wooden cross down the middle of the road. Stooped under its weight, his face grave, he moved slowly and purposefully, like a penitent Christian heading towards his own crucifixion. It was clear that this was his regular Sunday ritual. Rather than occupy a quiet pew somewhere and sing a few hymns, this eccentric sinner gets out among the thronging multitudes and testifies, and his chosen church is Cuba Street.
Grant Smithies travelled courtesy of Positively Wellington Tourism.
Sunday Star Times


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Friction, or the force of friction, is used to analyze and determine potential movement between the surfaces of two contacting bodies. More specifically, it is the force that resists movement, and consists of several different types. The kind that people are probably most familiar with is called dry friction – as opposed to fluid friction, skin friction, and internal friction. Dry friction is divided into static friction and kinetic friction.
Static Friction and Kinetic Friction
The name pretty much says it all, but here's a basic rundown for good measure. Static friction is the frictional force that resists movement between stationary bodies, or bodies that are not moving relative to each other. The force of friction between a rubber tire and pavement that enables a vehicle to accelerate is a good example of static friction.
This can be mistaken for kinetic friction due to the fact that both the tire and vehicle are moving. However, because the given section of rubber that is in contact with the pavement is stationary relative to the pavement, it is static friction. If it wasn't for the force of static friction, the vehicle would not be able to accelerate – or at least not very fast.
A good example of kinetic friction is when you slam on the brakes while traveling at a high speed, locking the wheels so as to skid on the pavement. From the point the rubber tire begins skidding to the point you either release the brakes or come to a complete stop, it will experience kinetic friction.
The Coefficient of Friction COF (μ) and Traction
Traction is another way of describing the maximum value of static friction prior to movement or slippage. But in order to determine the value of traction, the coefficient of static friction (COF) between the two bodies in question becomes needed. The COF is a value that cannot be derived by calculations but must be found empirically through experimentation.
But thanks to smart people with the time and know-how needed, these values can for the most part be found in various publications, handbooks, and resources, available even for free on the internet (Table of Approximate COF). The reason it can't really be calculated via specific formulas is because every substance is slightly different, and various factors such as temperature and atmosphere often affect accuracy.
The coefficient of friction is the ratio of the force of friction between two bodies and the normal force, or the force that is pressing them together – equal to the weight-force of the upper of the two bodies. There are two types of coefficients of friction: the coefficient of static friction (μs) and the coefficient of kinetic friction(μk). The μs is usually greater than μk.
To put it simply, the force of traction is equal to the force of static friction – meaning the two are synonymous. Likewise, the coefficient of traction is also equal to the coefficient of static friction. Traction and friction are not only very similar but are actually synonymous when it comes to static friction. Kinetic friction takes over once traction is overcome.
The COF of two solid bodies can also vary significantly depending on whether it is dry friction or what is called lubricated friction – a form of fluid friction. This may seem obvious, but there are also certain materials whose COF remains the same regardless of the presence or absence of lubricant such as steel on teflon and steel on polythene.
The Three Laws of Dry Friction and Amontons' First and Second Laws of Friction
Amontons' First Law: "The force of friction is directly proportional to the applied load." For example, if you double the applied load the force of friction will also double – increases or decreases as a ratio.
Amontons' Second Law: "The force of friction is independent of the apparent area of contact." This is the more tricky of the two. The key in understanding this principle is to visualize a microscopic view between the two surfaces in question. "Flat" surfaces such as the face of a smooth brick or steel plate are only flat insofar as the nerve endings in your finger tips can detect.
Break this down to the molecular level and you'll discover something completely different. All surfaces form a range of peaks and valleys when viewed microscopically, the peak-heights of which are determined by material type. Now place two of these "mountainous" surfaces together and it's easy to see that it is only the peaks that will actually be making contact with each other.
As per Amontons' first law, these peaks will be crushed or bent down in proportion to the normal force, causing either more or less of the peaks to be making frictional contact. But if you spread a given weight across a larger area, all you're doing is decreasing the weight at any one point as per the equation for pressure, P=F/A, with P for pressure, F for force, and A for area.
The force is constant as the weight of the object in question doesn't change, which means that as the area changes, the pressure must also change with inverse proportion. This means that less material will actually be in contact per unit area. This then translates into an overall equal amount of frictional force given the same weight-force, proving Amontons' second law.
Rubber Tires and Amontons' Second Law
Well, what about rubber tires? Good question. Amontons' second law is an idealization which assumes more or less rigid and inelastic materials. Apparent superior traction on wider tires can then be attributed to the fact that the comparatively softer rubber is actually deforming elastically to fit the geometry of various ground conditions and therefore be seen as an exception to this law.
However, according to various experts, this apparent exception to Amontons' second law is often misconstrued to mean that the traction of a rubber or otherwise elastic body will always increase in proportion to the surface area of contact. This is not the case. Whatever additional frictional forces elastic materials offer is often negligible when compared to the amount of adhesive friction defined by the material's μ.
To explain further, I'll need to answer the question of why high-performance tires or those used for off-road purposes are often made wider. – Because wider tires compensate for the faster wear rates of rubber with higher μ by spreading the weight across more area! Contrary to popular belief, this is the primary reason for wider tires, not because the width in itself provides more traction. For most intents and purposes, Amontons' second law still holds.
(Here's a webpage I found helpful along these lines – Steve Munden.)
Coulomb's Law of Friction: "Kinetic friction is independent of the sliding velocity." This is pretty straight forward and simply says that the speed at which two bodies are moving relative to each other is irrelevant when trying to determine the force of kinetic friction. This does not however, negate the fact that the coefficient of static friction for most materials is higher than that of kinetic friction.


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Pocket video recorder and player
I commute 2 hours a day by train and also frequently fly coast-to-coast, so I'm always looking for a good portable entertainment device. My laptop is fine to use once in a while, but for my daily commute I just don't want to bother lugging it around. I have a portable DVD player and an iPod, but neither quite does the job…the iPod is great for music, but nothing else. Same for the DVD player and DVDs. Carrying them both at the same time is worse than having a laptop. I haven't been impressed enough with portable video players to actually buy one. Then I came across the Archos AV420. Now that I've had it, I'm surprised I don't hear more about them.
The AV420 is made for watching videos, playing music and viewing photos, and it's pretty good at all three. Music-wise it's primarily made for MP3s (and WMAs), which is fine by me since I'm not a fan of Apple's DRM on iTunes. For video it uses MPEG-4 SP, which is not my first choice but is serviceable. And it will store and view any size JPEG for photos.
Since the MP3 player part works like most others based on MusicMatch, I won't waste time on it, other than to say it's fine for what it is. Same for photo viewing and storage. Video is where it gets interesting, since the AV420 is really a pocket-sized VCR with some fledgling Tivo-like abilities. Hook it up to your TV and you can record whatever is on, and you can also schedule recordings, including having the AV420 change channels with its IR suction cup attachment. You can do some rudimentary Tivo-style scheduling through a My Yahoo! Account but, since I have a Tivo and can dump recorded files directly into the AV420, I haven't bothered with it. The AV420 has 20 GB of storage, enough for about 40 hours of video.
You can also record DVDs to the AV420 for playback on the built-in LCD screen, a brilliant 3.5 TFT. Unfortunately the AV420 will pick up macrovision encoding from standard DVD players, meaning you can't play recorded DVDs from the AV420 to an external device like a TV. Since I bought it to watch on the train, this isn't an issue for me, but could be a deal breaker for some. On the plus side, if you're only going to playback the video on the built-in LCD, you can record the file at a lower resolution to save space. It will still look great on the LCD, since the screen is lower resolution than a TV.
You connect the AV420 to your computer via USB2, and since an XP machine will see it as an external drive, you can store anything you want on it (though it will only display the previously mentioned files). Very handy. It also has a CF card reader that can take an adapter so it can read most digital camera storage cards. I plan to use this on vacation to free up my meager 256K SD card when it's full rather than carrying extra cards.
The AV420 has a docking cradle that is a bit of a nightmare in terms of design — a total of six 2-foot-long composite cables and an S-video cable dangle out the back, in addition to the power cable — but is perfectly functional otherwise, though I wish it had component inputs/outputs. That, aside from the macrovision, is the only real drawback for me. Battery life for video is 4 hours, but on the 20BG version the small rechargeable battery can be switched out so you can buy a second one for long trips. For me, 4 hours is fine for video, and that goes up to something like 12 for audio if you don't use the LCD screen.
The street price of the AV420 is $450, and it tends to get two reactions. Either, wow, that's pricey, I can buy a Mac Mini for that. Or, wow, that's only $100 more than a photo iPod — what a bargain! I obviously fall in the latter category.
Manufactured by Archos03/21/05
(*Newer models with more memory have since been released, such as the Archos 5, which offers 250GB for $300. -- SL — editors)
Archos AV400 $467 (now $200)


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Behind That Locked Door tab by George Harrison, added: August 25th, 2004
Profile History
+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- + | Ultimate Guitar Tabs Archive - your #1 source for tabs! | | http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ | | | | Over 1,000,000 guitar, guitar pro and bass tabs! Also lessons | | news and guitar forums! | + --------------------------------------------------------------------- +
BEHIND THAT LOCKED DOOR (George Harrison) - ALL THINGS MUST PASS (1970) Chords: EADGBE G#: 466544 C#: x46664 Eb: x65343 Bbm: 688666 Ebm7: x68676 Cm: x35543 intro/riff (x2) G# C# G# C# G# Eb E|--11-11--11--11/13\11---8--8-8/9\8---------| B|--13-13--13--13/14\13---9--9-9-------4--4--| G|-------------------------------------5--3--| D|-------------------------------------------| A|-------------------------------------------| E|-------------------------------------------| C# G# Why are you still crying? Bbm Your pain is now through Eb C# G# Please forget those teardrops Ebm7 Let me take them from you Eb C# G# The love you are blessed with Bbm This world's waiting for Eb C# Cm Bbm So let out your heart, please, please G# From behind that locked door RIFF (x2) It's time we start smiling What else should I do With only this short time I'm gonna be here with you And the tales you have taught me From the things that you saw Makes me want out your heart, please, please From behind that locked door RIFF (x2) solo Eb C# G# Bbm E|--3--6--9--13---11--16---13\11--8-------| B|-----------------------------------6\1--| G|----------------------------------------| D|----------------------------------------| A|----------------------------------------| E|----------------------------------------| Eb C# G# Ebm7 E|-------3--6--13---11--16--14/16/14--13/14/13--11/13\11-| B|--6\4--------------------------------------------------| G|-------------------------------------------------------| D|-------------------------------------------------------| A|-------------------------------------------------------| E|-------------------------------------------------------| And if my love goes If I'm rich or I'm poor Please let out my heart, please, please From behind that locked door G# C# G# C# Bbm From behind that locked door G# C# G# C# Bbm Eb G# Tabbed by Alex Yuminov Mail me at firstname.lastname@example.com!
Good tab-- An easier way to play it I've made (using your chords) is capo on the 6th fret- Eb=A shape, C#=G shape, G#=D shape, Bbm= Em shape, and Cm is played at the 8th fret--- I suspect Harrison did play it this way rather than messing with the barre chords.
or capo first with basic chords-probably not how george did it, but it sounds pretty good...
The Ebm7 at the end of the fourth line of the verse is wrong. It should be an F#.


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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Raleigh, NC, United States, 2012/05/08 - Chevon File, AIA, CDT, of HH Architecture, a full-service design firm in Raleigh, passed the Architectural Registration Examination and is now a Registered Architect - HH-Arch.com.
HH Architecture, a full-service design firm, is pleased to announce that Chevon File, AIA, CDT, passed the Architectural Registration Examination and is now a Registered Architect. Specializing in context-sensitive design, project management, and Revit modeling, Ms. File began working for HH Architecture in 2009 as a project designer and will assume her new role of Architect.
Her current focus is on projects such as the Early College High School renovation at North Carolina State University; the Dairy Museum at North Carolina State University; and the High Point Central High School Gymnasium renovation and addition for Guilford County Schools.
Ms. File graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2000 and earned her Construction Documents Technologist certification in 2004. She is an advocate of new urbanism, transit-oriented development, and sustainable design. Ms. File is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
We are so proud of Chevon and her dedication to becoming a registered architect, said Kristen Hess, Principal at HH Architecture. She is such a talented professional and asset to our team, and we are happy to celebrate her achievement.
HH Architecture currently has a staff of thirteen employees. The company has received several design and business awards, including the Capitol Area Preservation 2010 Anthemion Award for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the Rand-Bryan House, as well as the Steady Growth and Profitability Award from the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce two years in a row. Recent notable projects include the North Carolina Zoo Polar Bear Exhibit Expansion and Renovation and the Ronald McDonald House of Durham Renovation.
About HH Architecture
HH Architecture (hh-arch.com) is a design firm focused on creating spaces that promote learning, wellness, and recreation. We are committed to improving the community through conscientious, responsible design. We are accredited professionals in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and have extensive experience with design that minimizes waste and uses resources wisely.
Written by / Agency / Source: Springleaf Strategies
Availability: All Regions (Including Int'l)
Traffic Booster: [/] Quick Newswire Today Visibility Checker
Distribution / Indexing: [+]


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Carly Flynn '10 Interns for the Arts Department
Carly Flynn '10, current student at Bennington College, has returned to assist Fine Arts Teacher David Dickinson.
Carly Flynn '10, current student at Bennington College, has returned to assist Fine Arts Teacher David Dickinson.
Nine Deerfield artists are currently featured in an art exhibition and competition, located at ArtSpace in Greenfield.
Along with the traditional BBBS activities, such as Pool Night and Game Night, Estelle Kim '11 is leading a series of art classes, now part of the Friday evening repertoire.
Andreas hopes that his film can be screened at local film festivals in addition to school meeting or the Widdies in the spring term.
Over the summer, several students of Deerfield Academy participated in Arts Programs to help hone their skills.
Deerfield artists took top honors at the gallery's awards ceremony on January 29.
Touch Fire is a unique exhibit consistingof work by 21 female ceramicists, showcases the artistic breadth of women artists throughout Japan. The 94 ceramic pieces in the exhibit, all lent by an alumna of Smith College, consist of diverse styles…
Ceramics will not be part of the Deerfield Arts Department curriculum next year. The current economy and scheduling issues are the two main factors to blame in the cutting of the ceramics classes.


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Change Text Limit
I just recently purchased a theme for wordpress and I am trying to make one small edit. The news story on the front page is a widget, that only shows the first 23 words. I want to expand that to show more then 23 words on the front page, but I can not figure out where this is stored. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it. You can see the blog setup at:
Thank you!
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Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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|Page (1) of 1 - 10/17/11
|email article
|print page
Police: Boston fire may have been suicide attemptPolice say Boston fire may have been suicide attempt; firefighters catch boy in 3-story drop
Page: 1
Related Keywords:US-Boston Fire-Explosion, Fires, Suicides, Explosions, Crime, Accidents and disasters, General news
Source:Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.. All Rights Reserved


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This property has been removed by the agent. It may be sold or temporarily removed from the market
4 bedroom detached house for saleThe Draycott at Bluebell Croft, West Avenue, Talke, Stoke-On-Trent, ST7
From £210,000
Property Description
Key features
- Detached house from £210,000
- 4 bedrooms, 1 with ensuite
- Single Garage
- Private Garden
- Master Bedroom - En-suite shower
- Dining Room, Living Room
- Downstairs Cloakroom
Full description
Close to the A34 for CONVENIENT access to Newcastle-under-Lyme, plus the A50 for Stoke, while junction 16 of the M6 is just seven miles away, putting the West Midlands and the North West within EASY REACH.
The Draycott is a 4 bedroom detached family home offering two floors of flexible living accommodation.
On the ground floor you will find a spacious lounge which is located at the front of the property. The separate kitchen and dining rooms are at the rear of the house with the dining room benefiting from French doors leading to a private rear garden which gives you a perfect area for entertaining, and that all important downstairs cloakroom completes the ground floor living space.
On the first floor, you will find a master bedroom with fitted wardrobes and en suite shower room, bedroom two is suitable as a double making it the perfect room for guests or an older child. There is also the main family bathroom on this floor plus bedrooms three and four making the Draycott the ideal family home.
Room Dimensions
- Bedroom - 2.55 x 3.38 metres, 8'4'' x 11'1''
- Bedroom - 2.98 x 3.42 metres, 9'10'' x 11'3''
- Bedroom - 2.91 x 2.98 metres, 9'7'' x 9'10''
- Master Bedroom - 3.38 x 3.77 metres, 11'1'' x 12'5''
- Dining Room - 3.02 x 3.54 metres, 9'11'' x 11'8''
- Kitchen - 3.30 x 3.54 metres, 10'10'' x 11'8''
- Living Room - 4.37 x 4.73 metres, 14'4'' x 15'6''
More information from this developer
To view this media, please visit the on-line version of this page at www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-31601155.html
Listing History
Floorplan 1
Floorplan 2
Map & Street View
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Market Info
Disclaimer - Property reference 6e458bc210504ffa84d8c95fd1f48fd4_4_47_101368. The information displayed about this property comprises a property advertisement. Rightmove.co.uk makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the advertisement or any linked or associated information, and Rightmove has no control over the content. This property advertisement does not constitute property particulars. The information is provided and maintained by Taylor Wimpey. Please contact the selling agent or developer directly to obtain any information which may be available under the terms of The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 or the Home Report if in relation to a residential property in Scotland.
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I'm a bit late with that "news" but I have the second article about Oracle 10g Grid Control Extensibility, published in Q3 2007 issue of IOUG SELECT Journal magazine. Few more words about my future plans.. At the end of September, I'll be at Slovenian Oracle User Group Conference 2007, After SIOUG 2007, I'm planning to visit Laladia where newly renamed event Miracle Oracle Open World takes place, then off to the Australian Oracle User Group Conference 2007, and finally I'm heading to Birmingham for UKOUG 07. So this is it for 2007. I'm looking forward to see you on one of those events!Read More >
A short note to let everyone know that I'll be heading to Dubai later today to participate in Pythian's exhibit in the Business Solutions Hall. For those of you who haven't heard of it, GITEX is like COMDEX for the Middle-East – it's literally the third largest tradeshow in the world where COMDEX is #1 – and it's big, really really big, like 120,000 attendees big. Hope to see you there!Read More >
Recently, I was asked to take a look at a query processing part of a client's application which had started to perform slowly after the application had a maintenance downtime. The idea behind the processing was quite simple.The trick was to add a (redundant) CASE PROCESSED WHEN 0 THEN MOD(SUBS_ID, 7) end expression into ORDER BY clause..In this post I show you how I came to this solution.Read More >
I am sad to report that my RSS feed for oracle-wtf definitely made me say WTF! but not in a good way. Actually visiting the site confirmed my suspicion, it's been hi-jacked by a splogger.Read More >
Greetings everyone. I would like to announce that last weekend the BAAG party was born. If you are tired of observing troubleshooting by guessing day by day, by day, by day, by … — join the forces of BAAG party. We can make a difference together! See you there.Read More >
A few days ago, I did a short post about the start of the Miracle Scotland Database Forum 2007. I decided to wait until getting back home to complete a full-blown description of the event. I should warn you, this will be quite lengthy, so draw a deep breath.Read More >
A short post to draw your attention to this article by Kevin Burton titled "MySQL and the Death of Raid". Although it's written from the MySQL point of view, he does bring up some interesting points on the advantages of what he calls a "RAISe" or Redundant Array of Independent Servers" architecture (actually I coined the RAISe acronym just now :-) ) over the traditional RAID approach of hardening the availability and performance of your disk. Take a look and let me know what you think.Read More >
Yesterday was the opening and I should say it was great — nice tour on the Whiskey Heritage Center and couple interesting and humorous sessions delivered by Jonathan Lewis and Graham Wood combined with whiskey tasting. The evening obviously continued after that but you can assume that anyway if you know what I'm talking about.Read More >
If you are following my blog then you might recall that I'm going to make a presentation on the Miracle Scotland Database Forum 2007. My presentation is called RAC load testing adventures and it's based on a project I've been through with one of our clients.Read More >


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It would be difficult to find a greater number of scrap wire and cable bales in one place than on the 29 acres of land and warehouses in Sihui, Guangdong Province, China, operated by Grand Metal Group.
Raymond Li, president of Grand Metal, began buying and trading scrap metal in 2003 as a way to diversify his outdoor lighting fixture business.
Grand Lighting Co. was already a consumer of recycled-content aluminium and a generator of die-cast aluminium scrap, providing Raymond with his initial familiarity with the scrap recycling business.
In the 10 years since starting Grand Metal, Raymond has overseen the company's tremendous growth, and in 2013 he is continuing to invest in buildings and equipment to enable Grand Metal to handle even larger volumes of scrap in the future.
An Illuminating Thought
Raymond Li established Grand Lighting Co. Ltd. in 1994 with operations in Nanhai, Guangdong Province in South China. "Grand Lighting makes aluminium die-cast outdoor lanterns, garden lights and light posts," says Raymond. "We sell to the export market and to retailers such as Home Depot and Lowes. America has been the biggest market for us."
Grand Lighting (www.grand-lighting.com/company_eng.asp) is "still doing quite well," says Raymond, despite a drop-off in export orders that began to be felt in 2006 and 2007. Although the plummet in the U.S. housing market caused short-term turmoil, Raymond says Grand Lighting has recovered nicely over the last few years. "We recorded a sales record high in 2012," he adds.
While one might think running a sizable manufacturing company would provide enough to do, Raymond says a desire to diversify his business holdings prompted him to enter the scrap industry.
"From 2001 to 2003, when the lighting business was at a reasonable scale, with about 500 employees, I began to research if we should expand our lighting business as a next step," says Raymond. "I concluded that the manufacturing business for export in China looked like it was going to get tougher and tougher. Labor costs were getting higher and also I found every year that material prices were getting higher and higher. It squeezed our margin."
He continues, "Because I'm from Nanhai, which is a scrap center in China, I was also considering that business. As well, I could see that the aluminium ingots we bought for our lanterns were made from recycled aluminium, imported from Europe and America. So I realized that China needs this material and the resource will become more important. I decided to keep the lighting business at a reasonable scale and build up a scrap business."
The scrap business, Grand Metal Group, started in Nanhai in 2003, says Raymond. Initially, the company operated from leased space near the lighting plant. "In 2006, the government built up a scrap industrial park in Sihui," says Raymond, referring to a city about 70 kilometres (43 miles) from Nanhai. "There, we could buy land and build a plant in a place that is easily qualified to get a license and can obtain high-volume scrap import quotas."
The 120,000 square metres of land in the Zhaoqing Asia Metal Recycling Resource Park was purchased in 2006, with construction completed and the plant opening in 2008. "The first half of 2008 was good," notes Raymond. "Unfortunately, the second half brought the financial crisis."
Changing Weather
Recyclers use any number of words to describe the turmoil that took place in the fall of 2008, as commodity prices plummeted and unprecedented numbers of attempts were made to renegotiate or void transactions.
Raymond is among those who can look back at that timeframe and use the word opportunity. "The financial crisis created many opportunities for us, because we built up our reputation during the crisis," he comments. "We did not ask for discounts for the contracts—and this was while some people even walked away from contracts at that time." The decision not to do so caused short-term financial hardship for Grand Metal Group, Raymond acknowledges, but he says he was not tempted to make a different decision. "In my concept, I never thought about walking away or asking for a discount. Those who did were not thinking about the long term."
Raymond says a price drop in 2005 had previously caused some cancelled contracts and some scrap buyers took a hit to their reputations in both years. "I could see some of the same companies that were doing that in 2005 tried again in 2008 and lost their reputations."
He credits his experience in the lighting industry, dealing with large multi-national retailers, as one of the influences on his decision. "I had been conducting international trade for a long time, having been in the lighting business since 1994. In that sector, you wouldn't even think about changing terms. You have to honor a contract."
Hedging also played a role in his survival through the crisis, says Raymond. "I was always careful and conservative and was doing some hedging by 2008. I think the biggest risk in this industry is the fluctuation of prices."
"By the end of 2008 we were low on cash," says Raymond, who notes that by November of that year he "hedged everything" in his transactions. He also credits his scrap suppliers around the world who extended credit terms, "which provided very good support. Thanks to these credit terms we were able to keep going."
Since rebounding from the late 2008 crisis, Grand Metal Group has continued to bring large volumes of material both to its original plant in Nanhai and its resource park location in Sihui.
Projecting an Image
Growing rapidly in just one decade, as Grand Metal Group has done, provides plenty of challenges, including convincing others that the growth comes with good intentions.
Regarding scrap recycling in China, Grand Metal Group President Raymond Li says, "Some people understand the benefits of scrap recycling in China, but others still don't. We try to build up a good business and a good image. We need to prove that we are devoting value to society. It is true that not many people [in China] are familiar with what we are doing. They may even think recycling is polluting the environment. But Grand Metal is working in a professional way of recycling the material and is trying to change the old time image of recycling in people's mind, just like what is in the Western countries."
As well, says Raymond, "We are doing it with a nice factory, good treatment of employees and sound environmental practices," he continues. "That's why we have a nice plant. It's not just for making money, but it's very devoted to society."
In the international trading arena, Raymond says that he quickly learned that his most trusted colleagues and suppliers in the scrap business were involved with organizations such as the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) and the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR).
"Our key suppliers, they are all BIR or ISRI members, so we joined those organizations and have tried to let people know we are serious in the market," says Raymond, who has become a regular attendee of the conventions and events hosted by the two trade groups.
A visit to the Sihui facility reveals warehouse and processing space overflowing with bales of wire and cable brought in from Europe, North America, Australia and Japan. A tour of the 29-acre property demonstrates the great extent to which Grand Metal Group's business now focuses on wire and cable. It also shows why the company has purchased an additional 173,000 square metres (42 acres) in the same resource park.
Large warehouses and processing buildings take up most of the space on the Sihui property, along with an office building, a dormitory building and paved outdoor storage areas that hold bales of material awaiting processing.
Eight wheel loaders maneuver around the property bringing entire bales from storage areas to processing zones, while workers with wheelbarrows transport the smaller loads.
The processing equipment includes some 700 wire and cable stripping machines, staged in more than 200 work stations where work crews operate these machines in sets of three.
The stripped copper and aluminum will be baled and sent to a smelter directly, while the thin cable will be granulated and sent to the next processing stage: a set of 15 water-based separation lines that identify chops that still have plastic attached that are sent through for further cleaning.
The pure metal chops are laid out and fan-dried in their last stage before being packaged for an end consumer.
One warehouse building in Sihui is devoted to the plastic that is recovered. Raymond says there are many manufacturers in China who will use this material as feedstock. "That is one of the advantages of operating in China," says Raymond. "In America or Europe, still not many manufacturers want it."
Raymond says he did not set out with the intention of having Grand Metal Group focus on wire and cable, but instead he developed a profitable business model that has caused it to become a priority.
One extent to which Grand Metal Group now takes wire and cable seriously can be seen in the Sample Room at Sihui, which contains several dozen shelves worth of wire and cable samples sorted by country of origin.
An even more concrete sign (literally and figuratively) is the 42-acre construction site across the street from the current Sihui plant.
Scheduled to open in July 2013, the new land will house four large processing and storage buildings and a new dormitory.
It's clear Grand Metal has already grown into the new space, judging by the number of bales of material waiting to be processed on the company's current grounds—even in the courtyard in front of the office building and on the basketball court now acting as temporary storage space.
Systems in Place
In order to grow so quickly in one decade, says Raymond, Grand Metal Group has adhered to core philosophies and also has paid attention to the business systems it puts in place.
While the customs and inspection agencies in China can be an obstacle to conducting business for many recyclers, Raymond says, "We feel very comfortable with Customs. We have a clearance area located right inside our yard, where we can clear the materials and move them straight into our processing facility."
Grand Metal Group is running on enterprise software made by one of the global leaders in that category. "It provides a stable system from buying to assessment to processing to inventory control," says Raymond.
The enterprise software is providing "shared management concepts" for Grand Metal Group's growing management team, says Raymond. "It is part of what we are doing to build a good team for the business," he comments.
Raymond cites conducting business in good faith as another key philosophy. "People trust us when we report on quality," he says. "The claims process goes smoothly. When you build up a good reputation, it's much easier to communicate with a supplier."
Integrity is a two-way street, adds Raymond. "As well, we are happy to be doing business with honest suppliers who take responsibility for their quality. We are always looking for long-term business. Short-term business deals are not our type. We don't want to buy just one or five loads in six months and then stop."
The author is editorial director of Recycling Today Global Edition and can be contacted at email@example.com.


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After you've been in the clergy long enough, you get to the point where you've seen just about everything.
And the Rev. James Shaughnessy, pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 6001 W. 15th St., has a story that tops them all.
"When I was the chaplain at Lansing at the penitentiary, the inmates also stored their music instruments in the chapel. They would usually get there about five minutes before I would start a service for the men. I'd let them get their stuff, and they'd leave," Shaughnessy says.
"One time I started the service, and they came. They wanted the instruments, and I said, 'No, you need to wait another 15 minutes till I'm done.'"
The inmates left, and Shaughnessy started the service.
"All the sudden I heard this crash. There was a false ceiling over the chapel. An inmate fell through right in front of the altar and landed on his back. He was trying to get to the office so he could get to the instruments," the pastor says.
But Shaughnessy remained cool.
"I suggested to the men they might want to work on their burglary skills."
Short on dough
Like Shaughnessy, nearly every minister, pastor and rabbi has a funny story or two to tell about an experience they've had on the job.
Stories about times when things didn't go as planned, times when it really helped to have a good sense of humor.
The Rev. Jim Dunkin has a story like that.
He's senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church, 2415 Clinton Parkway.
"In Kingfisher, Okla., where I once served as pastor, we had a man who prepared the elements for Communion. He kept frozen bread in the church freezer that we used to break (during Communion). It was always a real heavy, nice loaf of bread," Dunkin says.
"One Sunday morning in this small town, when no grocery stores were open, he told me we had no bread. He asked me if I had any. I didn't. So he called his wife, and she said they had one hot dog bun. So we used that."
The story continues: "The last service I had in that congregation was Christmas Eve, and the stores were closed. He told me we had no bread in the freezer again. So he called his wife.
"She had one whole-wheat hot dog bun. So my last Communion with that congregation, I lifted up a whole-wheat hot dog bun," Dunkin says.
Dunkin took the incident in stride.
"You have to have a sense of humor. God's given me one, so I can do that," Dunkin says. "Jesus just tried to use the common elements that they had at His table bread and wine for the everlasting remembrance of Him. If they'd been eating hot dogs, I guess they would have used hot dog buns."
Close to the congregation
The Rev. Judy Long O'Neal knows firsthand about the value of being able to laugh at oneself.
She's senior pastor at Centenary United Methodist Church, 245 N. Fourth St.
O'Neal recalls a particular experience she had when she was a student intern at Centenary Church.
"We had a rail between the Communion table and the worshippers, and they would come up and kneel at the rail. On this particular Sunday, a woman who uses a wheelchair came up for Communion," O'Neal says.
"So I leaned over the rail with the chalice which holds grape juice and as I leaned over to offer the Communion cup, the rail came off. I fell forward and two steps down, just short of landing on the woman's lap. I spilled grape juice everywhere, including on the people next to us."
That was about five years ago.
"I've never been allowed to forget this," O'Neal says.
Last-minute ride
The Rev. Peter Luckey had an experience a couple of months ago that still has him laughing at himself.
"I have this old Volvo that has over 100,000 miles on it. I CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1D
was in a funeral procession, and the car died in the middle of it. I think it was the alternator," says Luckey, senior pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt.
"So there I am in my funeral vestments and with my prayer book in hand, hitchhiking along 15th Street to get to the cemetery."
But all was not lost.
"The funerals in Lawrence that we do always have a police escort from the church to the cemetery. The escort was circling back, and I flagged down the squad car," Luckey says. "So Lawrence's finest provided me free transportation, and I got there just in time to give the last words. I showed up in the squad car. They got a big kick out of it."
(Luckey has since gotten rid of the old Volvo and replaced it with a new vehicle.)
Lawrence pastors agree: You've got to be able to laugh in this line of work.
"I think it's absolutely essential to have a sense of humor. If you're not able to enjoy being a minister and find fun in it, that's a shame. It really is what makes the job worth it day in and day out," Luckey says.
Religion doesn't have to be such a serious business.
"Somebody said that humor is the hand of God in a troubled world," Luckey adds.
Copyright 2017 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We strive to uphold our values for every story published.


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Contact Loews Atlanta Hotel
Have a question?
Want to leave a comment? We would love to hear from you.
Atlanta, GA
Saltwood, located inside the Loews Atlanta Hotel, is Midtown's newest small-plate-style restaurant.
Named for its emphasis on salted, cured meats and classically rustic presentation on wood blocks, this casual eatery features a charcuterie station that serves as the restaurant's centerpiece. Diners can pull up bar stools to sample house-made and locally sourced items and sip on handcrafted cocktails and local microbrews while watching the restaurant's charcuterie chef hand-carve meats and assemble charcuterie plates.
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Loews hotel newsletter delivers value directly to your inbox. Sign up to receive the best luxury hotel deals, as well as news, updates, and other information. Offering a collection of distinct properties throughout North America, Loews is the perfect partner for your next family vacation, romantic getaway or relaxing golf vacation. Simply fill out the information below to receive the very best of Loews.


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Despite the fact that legendary Swedish doomsters CANDLEMASS have just completed work on their final studio album, the band's bassist/leader Leif Edling tells Terrorizer magazine that the group is not planning on hanging it up anytime soon.
"We're not splitting up," he said. "Yes, this is to be our last album, but we don't plan to disappear from the scene for quite awhile. We will tour this year, hopefully the next one as well, and then there's our upcoming 30th anniversary. So plenty more doom to come! It's just that we want to stop before we get too old and start putting out half-lame albums. Instead, we'll slowly fade away into the sunset with our dignity intact. We're not young anymore. Actually, some of the stuff I've been writing for this album ism in fact, about saying goodbye. It's a bit psalm-like in parts and has got a big epic vibe."
He added, "I have got a very good feeling about this album. It's so metal, so heavy, so doomy, so epic.. It's fucking colossal! I think this will turn out as good as [2009's] 'Death Magic Doom', something I thought would be impossible."
CANDLEMASS's final CD is tentatively due in April via Napalm Records. Songtitles set to appear on the effort include "Prophet", "Sadness Run Deep" and "Water Witch".
CANDLEMASS celebrated its 25-year anniversary by performing an extra-long, two-and-a-half-hour set at Debaser Medis in Stockholm on December 18, 2010. The band's classic debut album, "Epicus Doomicus Metalicus", was played in its entirety for the first time with the original singer Johan Längqvist.
Source: Blabbermouth.net


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Survey: Romney's Mormon religion may have little impact in election
nhsaint PETERBOROUGH, NHAug. 6, 2012 7:59 a.m.
Interestingly, many of my atheist friends are died-in-the-wool Romney supporters. My evangelical friends are lukewarm Romney supporters. My LDS friends are largely Romney supporters, but there are maybe 20% who are not sure of him because of his policies regarding taxation (or lack thereof) of the wealthy.
I live in the Northeast, a notoriously anti-religion region of the U.S.. From my perspective, Romney's LDS foundation seems not to bother people. They are more concerned about his policies. He has never been one to pound the scriptures as a politician, but lives his religious beliefs out in his personal life in a way that seems comfortable for most people.
Mike in Cedar City Cedar City, UtahAug. 6, 2012 6:44 a.m.
objections to Romney's Mormonism will be overshadowed by other problems like Bain Capital, overseas bank accounts, the "what is he hiding" issue on his taxes, but his Mormonism will be a 'dog whistle' type of objection, not spoken but a factor nonetheless.
ugottabkidn Sandy, UTAug. 4, 2012 7:38 p.m.
Virtually all Republicans share Mitt Romney's real religion and it has nothing to do with Mormonism or any other form of the current crop of aleged Christian churches.
awsomeron Waianae, HIAug. 4, 2012 4:39 p.m.
I believe that Romney is a Mormon but I do not believe he is Mormon enough. However I will most likely Vote for him. Because of the almost anyone except Obama factor. Romeny's stand on Abortion is Weak and his actions a Gov of Mass, to stop Abortion extremely lacking at best.
In Hawaii Abortion is a Non-Issue, everyone that can win a race is Pro Choice, and they Range from the moderate to the vile. The least of all Evil still being Evil you do the best you can and ride it out. Obama is going to Win the State (3 meaningless electrol votes at the end of the day) but the Dem choice for the Senate is so Vile that we might get a very mod repub Senator who swars to be willing to cross the asile. This might happen Obama Coat Tales or Not. The Vile person has to win the primarary election. I am crossing lines to help see that this does not happen.
I do Not believe that Obama is a Muslim. Muslim do not Abort. I do believe he is an extreme Liberal and my objection is his stand on Abortion.
Screwdriver Casa Grande, AZAug. 4, 2012 8:34 a.m.
We could slash the deficit to half but republicans are crying about the military budget of 1 trillion dollars not being big enough. We spend more than the rest of the world combined - it's big enough.
Dadof5sons Montesano, WAAug. 4, 2012 3:22 a.m.
News Flash When Obama ran for president He was one of two things. Either the most dumbest person on the face of the whole earth. Because any one with a IQ of 40 could have see the train that hit America/ Or The biggest con artist in the world. And lied to the American people like there nothing before. When He knew full well what the shape of the economy was when he ran He even said If I can not turn this economy around in three years then I am a one term president. He promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term Now our deficit is at 5.8 trillion and climbing? GWB May have started the train wreck But Obama has opened the throttle and caused more damage in three years then anything all the other presidents combined ever did.
RFLASH Salt Lake City, UTJuly 30, 2012 5:16 p.m.
Think about all of the economic problems, now blamed on Obama, which were caused during the Bush administration. The worst hit before Obama even took office! Yet, everyone puts the blame on Obama and Republicans do nothing but make sure he fails. AS for Romney, it won't be the religion that causes him problems. It is his wealth and the way in which he has obtained it and used it. It isn't bad to be rich, but, come on, the avereage American shouldn't be concerned about the way things are headed? I think people will be looking more for someone that they can relate to.Mormons want him because he is one of them. The rest of the nation will be considering jobs, taxes and health care. What has any Republican done in those areas? Nothing! Tell me one great accomplishment of the Republican party besides their fight to make Obama fail. I don't think Romney has a chance in the end.
wilson-kelly Vale, ORJuly 27, 2012 10:43 a.m.
Romney's religion plays the biggest roll among the LDS. "He is a mormon! Vote for him!"
If you were to evaluate his 'conservative (?)' stand, you may want to rethink your vote. This takes NOTHING away from his accomplishments, just stating, if he were to win, you would be foolish to expect great changes. Another 4 years of Obama might be what it takes to wake the masses. Bankruptcy, non ending war, welfare state, devalued $ and the rest doesn't seem to have had much impact yet.
It shouldn't just be about the pres, one should consider their reps in the house and senate. Can you spell spineless? Where are the checks and balances?
HS Fan Salt Lake City, UTJuly 27, 2012 10:30 a.m.
IMAN is spot on. He left office with an approval rating in the 30's and an abysmal economic record. He'll be the first candidate since McGovern not to carry his home state. But I guess he'll start telling people he actually considers Utah his home state just so thinks he won't carry that distinction. As his poll numbers continue to fall Republicans will want to consider a do over to this years primary.
IMAN Marlborough, MAJuly 27, 2012 5:41 a.m.
Mr. Romneys' religious preference should be the least of his worries. He's got his record as a governer that he will be very busy trying to defend.
Mad Hatter Provo, UTJuly 27, 2012 12:46 a.m.
The only people concerned about Mitt Romney's religion are conservative evangelicals. They will hold their collective noses and vote for him anyway because they've been conditioned to fear Barack Obama more. Although they may consider Romney not to be a full-fledged Christian, they consider Obama to be a Muslim and anti-Christian even though he attends a Christian church much as does Romney.
Republican strategists have done an excellent job in vilifing Obama and making him into "the other." The "Anyone But Obama" message is so strong among the conservative core that they will gladly accept someone they otherwise can't stomach just so that Obama doesn't get re-elected.
Strange world!!


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African Antelope Facts & Information
Spoors, Facts and Information for some of the antelope species found in Southern Africa
Antelope are classified as permanent hollow horns found on the males and only occur in Africa and Asia
Mountain Biker gets taken out by Red Hartebeest | The Real Story - Buck Norris
Eland - african antelope facts
The largest of the antelope, eland can weigh up to 680 kg and stand 178 cm at the shoulder.
Eland are graceful animals, with a large pendulous dewlap and pale fawn colour.
Despite its massive size, eland are excellent jumpers and can easily clear two meters.
Both sexes have horns which curve in a short outward an upward twist.
These horns are used to knock down foliage and although mainly browsers they do occasionally eat grass. Eland can be found in semi desert, miombo woodlands, grasslands, and acacia savannah.
Eland Hoofprint
Red Hartebeest - african antelope
High shouldered and a somewhat awkward looking antelope with a long pointed head.
Hartebeest are one of the fastest and enduring antelopes.
Males can weigh up to 150 kg and the female at 120 kg
Both sexes have horns.
They eat mainly grasses but will also browse.
Herd strength can vary from groups of 20 to several hundred.
Adult bulls are territorial with the territorial bull and his
In flight exhibits a "rocking horse" motion which is further exaggerated by its long face.
Has a habit of using an ant hill as a look out point
Hartebeest Hoofprint
Kudu - african antelope factsA large handsome antelope with long twisting spiraled horns displayed by the males
They are predominantly browsers but will eat grass under exceptional circumstances
The main rutting period is mid winter with most births occurring during the summer months when a single calf is born after a gestation period of approx. 210 days
They live in small family groups generally not more than 12 consisting of females and calves. Males join the groups only for mating purposes
Kudu are mainly diurnal being most active in the mornings and
late afternoons
Kudu have acute hearing and are able to turn their large rounded ears in almost any direction
Kudu are ruminants and have a specially adapted stomach divided into 4 sections.
Kudu will issue a harsh bark as a warning cry at the threat of predators such as leopard, cheetah or lion
photos Kudu Antelope
Kudu Hoofprint
Nyala - african antelope facts
A medium-sized antelope, with 3 to 14 vertical white stripes on its sides
The ram carries a fringe of long hair (dewlap) which hangs from
its underparts
The female is yellow brown in colour to a chestnut - also with distinctive vertical stripes on its sides
Nyala inhabits dense bush, riverside thickets and the fringes of forests with their natural diet comprising leaves, fruit, herbs, legumes, and fresh grass.
Nyala rams are not territorial and can often be seen in small groups with ewes and lambs
Nyala Hoofprint
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Adam Hasner is branding himself in Florida's Republican U.S. Senate primary as the perfect trifecta: an anti-establishment, principled conservative who was among the first to confront Charlie Crist's moderate ways.
Yet a review of Hasner's record as a state legislator reveals a more nuanced record than the staunch conservative who now urges "no compromise" in Washington over the debt talks.
Hasner was the consummate Republican insider — down to his red white and blue boots made from elephant skin —who served eight years in the House, four as majority leader.
While he has criticized better-funded Senate rivals of raking in special interest money, Hasner raised $2.7 million himself for his House campaigns and three separate fundraising committees he controlled. About a fifth of the money came from Tallahassee, where lobbyists and consultants seek to influence state lawmakers.
Once called the "most partisan Republican in Tallahassee," by Marco Rubio, Hasner waged battles against labor unions and led the charge in 2009 to reject $444 million in federal stimulus money for unemployment compensation, saying it hurt businesses and created new entitlements.
But Hasner also supported a watered-down climate-change law that the Legislature now wants to repeal. And he voted for a budget with $2.2 billion in tax and fee increases and billions more in federal stimulus money. He also favored high-speed rail and SunRail, which tea party activists came to abhor.
Though he fought Crist at times, Hasner also boasted of working with the governor on the federal stimulus program.
"Despite claims to the contrary, Gov. Crist and the Florida Legislature are working together and are still awaiting details and answers from the Obama administration about the conditions of the necessary federal waiver for education stimulus dollars," Hasner wrote in a March 23, 2009, statement to refute news reports that a rift between Republicans and their governor would endanger education funding.
As his campaign gains momentum, Hasner's past and present profile is drawing more scrutiny — and criticism.
"One person I will not support in this race is Adam Hasner," said Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, who dropped out of the Senate race last week. "I think what he has talked about on the campaign trail versus his record as a legislator would diminish the chances of Republicans winning in November 2012."
Haridopolos singled out Hasner's criticism of his failure to get an illegal immigration background check known as E-Verify passed in this year's legislative session.
"He had an opportunity for 8 years to get something done on illegal immigration," Haridopolos said of his one-time friend, who left the House in 2010 due to term limits. Hasner did co-sponsor an E-Verify bill in his final year and it passed the House but died in the Senate.
"How do you quote a shrug?" Hasner spokesman Douglass Mayer said. "Adam is focused on building on the support he's received from grass-roots conservatives across Florida and the country, and we wish Senate President Haridopolos the best."
The one-time front-runner gone, Hasner, 41, of Delray Beach, still faces three other competitors in the primary, and some Republicans yearn for other candidates to get in the race, worried about the prospects of defeating incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
His strategy has been to rebrand himself as an outsider, much in the way former House Speaker Rubio did in his successful run for U.S. Senate. Hasner has worked to insert Crist, the bête noire of conservatives, into the race.
Crist, who eagerly supported the stimulus, became an effective foil for Rubio, whose own record was more nuanced than he suggested on the campaign trail. Hasner sees an opportunity to draw similar contrasts but also attack a rival, George LeMieux, who was a longtime confidant of Crist's.
Mostly, he's telling voters he'll shake things up.
"A lot of folks within the Republican establishment in Tallahassee, within the party, certainly don't want to see someone like me get into the race," Hasner said during a radio interview in March. "But you know, my message is one that is resonating with the conservative activists. I'm not going to worry about being politically correct."
The grass-roots, tea party activists he is courting — crisscrossing the state in a Toyota Highlander — could provide the spark Hasner needs to jump to the front, much as it did for Rubio.
On the campaign trail, Hasner rails against federal spending and debt and business-as-usual politicians, and warns about radical Islam.
"Adam is hitting the right tones," said Richard Swier, a conservative activist and radio host in Sarasota.
Hasner has picked up endorsements of the Republican group FreedomWorks and other conservative groups and lawmakers. He scored favorably with conservative groups while in the House, though the Christian Coalition in 2007 gave him an F for voting to expand gaming.
Tea party activists are skeptical of establishment politicians. While he now accuses his opponents of raking in special interest money, Hasner was a prolific fundraiser.
He controlled not one but three political committees outside his regular campaign account, raking in more than $390,000 from an array of interests trying to influence the agenda in the state Capitol. Hours before the 2009 legislative session began, Hasner collected $48,700. His biggest contributor was health care giant HCA, which doled out three checks totalling $57,500.
In his final election in 2008, Hasner became the first House member to raise $1 million, an eye popping number for any candidate, let alone one with token Democratic opposition. The money came from dozens of constituents but also an array of lobbyists, health care companies, telecommunication giants, insurers and developers.
Legislative political committees have long been a source of controversy as they allow legislators to take in unlimited funds with the stated purpose of supporting a cause or other candidates. Some have treated them as slush funds, dining on expensive meals, paying for travel and high-priced consultants.
Hasner said he formed Florida On The Move I, II and III so he could support like-minded Republicans and give them triple the $500 contribution limit. Records show he wrote checks to scores of lawmakers.
Roughly half of the $360,000 he spent — $182,000 —went to pay for three committee employees as well as Hasner, who was reimbursed $33,000 for travel, meals and other expenses related to the fundraising.
"There is nothing to hide," he said in a recent interview. "Everything has been disclosed and everything followed the law to a T."
Hasner makes relatively little mention of his time in the House, save the two years when he was Rubio's "hand-picked" Republican leader.
Together, the two helped shape a cap-and-trade-style legislation to counteract a global warming plan of Crist's. But, unlike their successors in the Legislature this year, neither Rubio nor Hasner actually balked at cap-and-trade legislation outright.
After Rubio left, Hasner continued serving as majority leader in 2009 when he had to back leadership and vote for the budget packed with stimulus money and new taxes and fees. Crist wanted the money in the budget.
Hasner, who advocated against a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase, did warn that the stimulus money was no "silver bullet" and wasn't to be taken lightly.
"The Florida House is carefully examining the specifics of the stimulus plan and making sure that we do not create a situation which is not in Florida's long-term best interests," he wrote in a new release.
Still, Hasner saw an opportunity to use $500,000 of the stimulus to help people convert their gas guzzlers into electric cars. From the spring through the fall of 2009, Hasner was credited by the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for working with Crist's energy office to get the program launched.
"This is an important first step in establishing Florida as a national leader in the emerging battery-operated electric-car industry," said Hasner, who used to drive around in a hybrid vehicle. "The rest of the country will be following our lead in this clean tech industry."
In 2010, his last year in office, Hasner again voted for a budget packed with stimulus money, this time $2.6 billion.
Hasner insists he is the same guy today as he was before. "I don't need to reinvent myself as a conservative."
Times staff writer Connie Humburg contributed to this report.


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As the ashes from the Seattle music-scene explosion settle, record company executives and journalists are clawing through the debris in search of the next hotbed of underground music. So far, Chicago, Portland and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, have all been considered potential usurpers to the throne. And now, thanks in large part to the punk-rock chieftains in Rocket From the Crypt, San Diego is undergoing some pretty heavy scrutiny--scrutiny that Crypt vocalist/guitarist/frontman John Reis (aka "Speedo") says he could easily do without.
"There are a lot of good bands here," he says. "But there are a lot of good bands everywhere. As far as the San Diego scene goes, I'm completely, 100 percent biased. Of course I love these bands, but it's definitely not `the next big thing.' I mean, bands like the Nephews and Truman's Water are really good. They're weird. They're creative. They're doing their own thing. But there's nothing about them that's commercially viable."
The same cannot be said about Rocket From the Crypt. The band makes infectious hardcore that's packed with taut, musclebound melodies, high-octane rhythms and Reis's patented stoner lyrics. This combination has already caught the attention of Interscope Records, which signed the group early last year, and MTV's 120 Minutes, which is putting Crypt material in regular rotation. These are impressive credentials, but Reis is reticent to discuss the possibility that he and his fellow players are on the cusp of becoming rock stars. "I think that writers and the media in general are pressed to find the `new thing,' or whatever," he notes. "They tend to blow things out of proportion just to make it more interesting. We're still playing the same places that we played the first time we went on tour, when nobody knew who we were. The only difference this time around is that instead of there being five people in attendance, there's a hundred and five. I mean, we're far from becoming anything of great international concern."
Rocket From the Crypt first took off just over three years ago, after Reis parted ways with his previous band, the now-defunct Pitchfork: "It was growing too stuffy and serious," he says. He subsequently formed Crypt with bassist Petey X, guitarist ND (given name: Andy Stamets), drummer Sean and backup vocalist Elaina. This lineup recorded its first full-length disc, Paint as a Fragrance, in February 1991, for a mere $1,000. In spite of this relatively miniscule expenditure, however, the 28-minute LP--featuring classic Crypt titles such as "Evil Party," "Jiggy Jig" and "Weak Superhero" --served as an impressive, although scattered, sampler of the band's distinctive punk/pop sound. Reis accurately describes Fragrance as "a poor man's punk-rock Beatles record. We used lots of different instrumentation on that record--not for the sake of being eclectic, but just because it was there and it kind of fit. It was a real nonserious thing, and we wanted to try all different kinds of stuff."
In spite of Fragrance's quality, it was the Crypt's sophomore effort, 1992's Circa: Now, that pricked industry moguls' ears. Polished to the point of perfection, the album--featuring Reis, Petey X, ND and newly appointed Rocketeers Apollo 9 (saxophone) and Atom (drums)--oozed with the brand of musical appeal that previously had been the purview of the Seattle crowd. From the elegant punk-rock blasts of "Short Lip Fuser" and "Killy Kill" to the punchy-power balladry of "Hairball Alley," Circa:Now, like Nirvana's Nevermind, was biting, abrasive rock and roll that could also be enjoyed by Mom and Dad.
"I think we approached that record the only way we could at the time," Reis says. "It was the kind of thing where we were stuck between making a record that sounded all clean and slick and at the same time using up our entire budget, or making a record that sounded shitty and keeping the rest of the money. We wanted to do both, but we really couldn't afford to record two different albums, so we opted to pick the songs that lent themselves to the production thing a little more."
Not long after Circa:Now hit stores, droves of A&R scouts came calling on the band. After careful reflection and a dozen or so power lunches, Reis and company decided to accept an offer from producer Jimmy Iovine's Interscope label, the home of Helmet, Primus and Doctor Dre. Reis is hardly starry-eyed about this deal, though. He says the best thing about signing with a major label was having an excuse to quit his day job.
"I had my own little painting company at the time, which was basically just me and Andy painting apartments all day long," he explains. "And we both totally hated it. We'd call in, quit work early and go to the movies or whatever, because we really can't stand work. So when all these labels wanted to meet with us, it was a good excuse for us not to work."
Reis presently is keeping busy both with the Crypt and Drive Like Jehu, a more experimental band that was also snatched up by Interscope last year. Although Jehu (formed by Reis and ex-Pitchfork vocalist Rick Fork in 1991) is generally portrayed as his "other" band, Reis is quick to belie this perception. "Rick is like the best singer I could ever find," he declares. "I love playing with him, and I didn't want to throw that away. I mean, both bands have their downfalls, and both definitely have their good points as well. I would never want to just do one of these bands, because that would mean having to sacrifice a little bit of what I'm about."
Another side of Reis's creativity can be heard on All Systems Go, an anthology of the Crypt's indie singles, issued on the Headhunter imprint. Recorded over a three-year span, the nineteen numbers on Systems are as spontaneous as Circa:Now is glossy, thereby proving that the Crypt doesn't have to be a spit-and-polish outfit. The album reveals a different and more dangerous side of the Crypt, but there remains a playful edge: For example, the phrase "Garth Brooks is a Dick" is physically emblazoned on the disc. "Boychucker," a nasty dose of punning rockabilly, and the anthemic "Normal Carpet Ride," once available only from the Sub-Pop label, are especially lethal tracks, while a previously unreleased sendup of Adam and the Ants' "Press Darlings" finds the group willing to offer an obligatory post-punk cover.
Considered as a whole, the songs on All Systems Go are more indicative of the group's frenetic live shows than of some of its other recordings. On stage the Crypt's nightly repertoire is marked by quick jolts of chaotic feedback, improvisational walls-of-sound and instrument-shredding performed with the grace of bull elephants on a rampage. Adding a touch of surrealism to the mix are the players' uniforms: two-tone bowling shirts that leave the band looking like an Eddie Cochran tribute group on Methedrine.
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Reis insists that neither these outfits nor the Crypt's stage antics indicate an unhealthy fascination with preening-rock-star ideology. "We're getting shirts made for this tour," he admits, "but they really have very little to do with what we're all about. It's just kind of a fun thing to do. When you grow up with Alice Cooper, or Kiss, or even James Brown for that matter, it's kind of hard to get away from the arena-rock thing. I mean, it's like, `Okay, arena rock is stupid, and blah, blah, blah.' But it's still kind of cool to put on a show, too--as long as everyone realizes that it's not meant to be taken seriously, and there's no real worshiping going on."
Rocket From the Crypt's goal, Reis adds, is actually quite simple: "Just playing some burning punk-rock and roll."
Rocket From the Crypt, with 68 Comeback and Grimace. 8 p.m. Tuesday, February 15, Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder, $7.35 in advance/$8.40 day of show, 290-


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Intersession Technology Workshops for UNI Faculty, January 3-7
ITS-Educational Technology invites faculty to register for workshops being offered the week before classes resume for the Spring semester. Workshops address eLearning, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, HTML, Preparing Course Materials for the Web, Lecture Capture using Panopto, and Video Conferencing using Adobe Connect. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Visit http://www.uni.edu/its/training/winter-intersession for a schedule and to access online registration.


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Deep Lead Events & What's On This Month
Young Professionals Network - Coffee Catch UpThursday, 28 September Webster's Market and Cafe
Come along for a chat and a coffee before work. Feel free to quickly pop in or stay longer. A great way to network in a relaxed setting. Date: Thu... more
Blue Pyrenees Magic Bike RideFriday, 29 September Blue Pyrenees Estate
Whether you are an experinced rider looking for a challengng ride, someone new to the sport who is just learning the ropes or just a rider who enjo... more
Horsham Show30 Sep to 4 Oct Horsham Showgrounds
The Horsham Show begins on Saturday, September 30 with a twilight riverfront carnival. Sunday, October 1 is the traditional show day with all of t... more
Constructed Narratives19 Aug to 8 Oct Horsham Regional Art Gallery
The artists in Constructed Narratives explore culturally diverse stories of self-determination and identity; they question the perspective of mains... more
Impressions: Print making in the Wimmera19 Aug to 8 Oct Horsham Regional Art Gallery
Explore the work of Australia's representative at the Venice Bienale. "One drawing is sown on the stone or etching plate, and a harvest is reap... more
A Gallery Experience22 Aug to 6 Oct Horsham Regional Art Gallery
We are happy to provide tours for community groups or organisations, host your next meeting in the gallery and we will provide a tour, or organise ... more
MADE for school holiday fun23 Sep to 8 Oct Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E)
These school holidays at MADE (Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka) kids can grab a trail journal and discover the sites of the Eureka Stockad... more
Sovereign Hill's School Holidays23 Sep to 8 Oct Sovereign Hill
During the 1850s gold rush, thousands flocked to the goldfields in search of their fortune, and this year, visitors of the feathered and furry vari... more
2017 Avoca Riverside Market22 Jan every month on the fourth Sun until 24 Dec 2017 Avoca Riverside Market
The tranquillity of the venue on the grassy banks of the Avoca River adds to the enjoyment of meandering around the Riverside Market. Browse stall... more