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[23 August 2008]
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
BEIJING - There's a famous Chinese saying, first spoken by the old revolutionary Deng Xiaoping, that people here repeat all the time. It goes like this: "Whether the cat is black or white makes no difference. As long as it catches mice, it is a good cat."
Deng was, at the time, referring to China's economic policy, but years later it serves as the perfect quote to sum up the Beijing Olympic Games. Nobody is quite sure if these Olympics have been a black or white cat. Nobody is quite sure what's real, what's make believe, what's inspirational, what's computer generated, what's a triumph of the human spirit and what's a testament to the capacity of human deception. These have been a wonderful and baffling Olympics, all at the same time.
One thing we do know: These Olympics caught mice. More people across the world watched these Olympics than ever before. And never before has a nation put on such a show. From a gravity-bending Opening Ceremony to Michael Phelps' dramatic effort to win eight golds to Usain Bolt's stunning and light-hearted show of speed to the astounding dominance of Chinese athletes, these Olympics flowed with the sort of precision and force usually associated with military invasions.
The largest band of volunteers in Olympic history - estimates ranged from the official 100,000 to speculation of more than one million - scattered throughout the city, doing everything from holding umbrellas over people's heads to standing in front of trash receptacles and collecting garbage to lingering outside of rest rooms so they could spray after each user. Soldiers stood at rapt attention on almost every street corner. Busses crisscrossed Beijing in a frightening but perfectly timed square dance.
Friendliness reigned. Then again, friendliness was law. Spitting was outlawed. Dissenters were silenced. There were flashing signs at Tiananmen Square that read: "The Police Reminds You To Smile."
What was real? Make believe? Show business? It was never easy to tell. The heart-grabbing highlight of the Opening Ceremonies may have been when a beautiful 9-year-old girl named Lin Miaoke sang "Ode to the Motherland." Tears streamed down people's faces at the Bird's Nest Stadium as Lin sang. A few days later, it was revealed that she did not actually sing, she mimed the words, and another girl, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, had actually provided the voice. The music director said Yang's appearance had been ruled out because of her crooked teeth.
During those stirring ceremonies, 56 children representing the 56 ethnic groups of China marched out, a heartwarming show of unity, a symbol of the way the world's largest nation came together for the Olympics Games. Later, it was announced, that the 56 children were not, in fact, from 56 ethnic groups. They were mostly from the biggest ethnic group, Han Chinese. The official statement was that this was no big deal, that they were merely REPRESENTING the different ethnic groups, they did not have to actually be PART of those different ethnic groups.
Was this a black cat or white?
The sports themselves provided little clarity. When the Chinese women's gymnasts won their first-ever team gold, there were immediate and angry accusations and allegations that they were too young. To be eligible, a gymnast must turn at least 16 in the Olympic year. There was worldwide speculation - but especially in the United States, which had won silver - that some of the Chinese gymnasts (especially a very young-looking He Kexin) were at least two years underage. This led to indignant responses from the Chinese, who produced passports that, they said, proved their point. The International Olympic Committee, having let the argument rage unchecked for more than a week, finally ordered an investigation that nobody expects to settle anything.
There was Jamaican sprinter Bolt, the most startling athlete of these or perhaps any other Games. He not only won the 100 and 200 meters and anchored the winning 4x100 relay, but he set world records in all three, the first time that has ever happened. And even that was not the most amazing part - half the time he seemed to be coasting and dancing (IOC president and stick-in-the-mud Jacques Rogge admonished him for his exuberant celebrations).
What a story. Bolt very clearly checked up near the finish line in his 100-meter dash and he still set the world record. This would be like hitting a 500-foot homer on a check swing. Then, his father gave credit for Usain's speed to the yams he ate in Jamaica. It was all quite literally unbelievable, and within minutes of his first astonishing race, rumors raged about an unchecked steroid program running rampant in Jamaica, a rumor made louder when the Jamaican women swept gold, silver and bronze in their 100-meter dash. Of course, there was no real proof, and no positive drug tests, and little more than cynicism driving the doubts. Then, it is hard not to be cynical in today's sports world.
"It is very painful to be asked this," Ukranian Lyudmila Blonska said softly after she won her silver medal in the heptathlon. A reporter was asking about her previous two-year suspension for steroid use. She looked genuinely hurt by the question.
"I don't think you have to ask it at this moment," she said through sadness and a translator. "Now everything is in the past. I'm not ashamed and those who think I should not be here should look at themselves. It was a mistake in my life, and I have managed to prove that I can compete again. And I am competing."
Six days later, Blonska had her medal stripped and was kicked out of the Olympics for testing steroid positive again. Blonska promptly blamed her husband.
What to believe? What to mistrust? A German reporter walked over one day to ask how Americans view the story of Baltimore's Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals. I said that people are generally in awe of Phelps' dolphin-like skill in the water, his 12,000 calorie a day diet, his preposterous work ethic, his almost superhuman ability to recover, his single mother who made it all possible and so on. The reporter nodded and said, "In Germany, everyone believes he is on drugs."
"Everyone?" I asked.
"Of course. How is this possible otherwise? How can one man be so good?"
This is the weary sports world we have created. We crave the unprecedented and doubt it when we see it. This is the new formula. Michael Phelps took part in "Project Believe," in which he took even more drug tests than required. Then he won a record eight gold medals, one more than swimmer Mark Spitz in 1972.
He won five individual races, and in four of those he set world records (in the fifth, he merely set an Olympic record). He was part of three Olympic relay golds, including the incredible 400-meter relay when relay anchor Jason Lezak chased down France's Alain Bernard - soon to be the Olympic champion - and beat him to the wall. All three of those relays were world-record times too.
It wasn't just Phelps breaking records either - swimming world records kept falling, seemingly every race, 24 of them in all, by far the most ever for a single Olympics. This may have been part illusion, too. Most swimmers used the new, technologically advanced Speedo LZR suit, which is supposed to offer less resistance under water than any other swimsuit. And the pool at the Water Cube was deeper than most and was proudly called "the fastest pool in the world," by Olympic organizers.
As Mark Spitz told ESPNews: "Did anybody measure the pool?"
So, was this a black cat or white? There were inspirational stories, of course. Every Olympics has them. There was 33-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, who became the oldest in a half-century to win a gymnastics medal when she took silver in the vault. She had stayed competitive as a gymnast to pay the medical bills of her son, Alisher, who had been diagnosed with leukemia. "This medal is for my son," she said.
South African swimmer Natalie du Toit competed in the open water 10k swim marathon. Anyone willing to swim six miles in open water, with all the flailing around, is already pretty impressive. Du Toit also had her left leg amputated after a motorcycle accident seven years ago. She finished 16th. "I am not a campaigner," she told reporters. "It's just my personal dream."
Japanese softball pitcher Yukiko Ueno had thrown more than 300 pitches in the day leading up to her gold-medal matchup against the seemingly unbeatable United States team. She had thrown nine innings against the United States and 12 innings against Australia, and there seemed no way she could hold up against an American team that had set the Olympic record for home runs. Instead, she dominated, allowing only one run as Japan stunned the U.S. team in what may be the last Olympic softball game.
Three years ago, American boxer Deontay Wilder quit school to support his daughter, who had been born with spina bifida. He walked into a boxing gymnasium, and three years later he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight class - the only American boxing medal of the Olympics. "Just remember me," he said. "I'm going to be heavyweight champion of the world someday."
There were some lousy stories too; every Olympics also has those. A Cuban taekwondo athlete named Angel Matos was banned for life after he responded to his disqualification by kicking a referee in the face, perhaps a bit of an overreaction. American boxer Demetrius Andrade rushed out of the ring before the referee could even lift the arm of the victor. Here's a strange one: Four show horses were suspended because a derivative of chili peppers was applied to their skin to treat injuries.
And here's an even stranger one: Chinese hurdler, Liu Xiang - whose face is plastered on Nike billboards all over Beijing - pulled out of his event with an injury and without clearing even one hurdle. There was something fishy about it all; Xiang had not competed in months, he had not made many public appearances, he did not even appear in the press conference after he pulled out.
This led to perhaps the strangest story of the Games. Shortly after Xiang's non-race, an anonymous web-poster alleged that Nike - which has a huge investment tied up in Xiang - prompted him to pull out because they felt he was going to lose, and they wanted to protect their star.
Well, the Nike people went crazy. They immediately announced that they had asked the Chinese government to "investigate those that started the rumor." In other words, Nike seemed to be working with a government that has a long history of suppression and censorship (and has been promising to break away from that past) to find someone who wrote a nasty rumor. Later, Nike seemingly backed off a little bit. But the Liu Xiang story remains as baffling as anything else at these Games.
Finally, of course, there's the story of China, perhaps the cloudiest story of all. There's no doubt that the hope was to use the Olympic Games to introduce a new China to the world. And they have done that. These Olympics have drawn raves from all over the world.
Of course, that all came at a price: The government spent more than $40 billion to build new stadiums, arenas and infrastructure. Dissidents were moved out. Visas were refused to those who might cause trouble. Everything had to be perfect. The world had to be impressed. Protests were shoved into out-of-the-way "Protest parks," where almost no one would see them. Certain Internet sites were blocked or delayed. The smog that blocked the sky the first few days of the Olympics was officially called "haze."
"This is a political question," an English interpreter said in a panicked voice when we wanted to ask the volleyball players "Geor" and "Gia" if they had talked with family and friends back in Georgia after the skirmish with Russia began. "I don't want to ask this."
On the other hand, surely some good came of it, too. China opened its country like never before, showed off its beauty and history and the warmth of the people. A lasting memory will be of standing on top of the Great Wall of China with Steven Zeng, a tour guide, and hearing him talk about his 3-year old daughter. He said he taught her to memorize quotes from Confucious. And he promised to take her to Disneyland.
In the end, China put on the most impressive Olympic Games of them all. Nobody knows what will happen here once the world leaves and the nation must deal with the debts owed after the horrible earthquake in Sichuan province, and the water and food issues that are always at the surface for a nation of more than 1.3 billion.
And nobody can say if it these Olympics are a black cat or white. One final story: I was reading the newspaper "China Daily," which is published by the government and, as such, gives the government's opinion. Early in the Olympics, five people protested for Tibetan Independence in Tiananmen Square. As you might imagine, that's not how the paper reported it. Instead the story went like so: "Chinese people condemned and protested against five foreigners for formenting 'Tibetan Independence' at Tiananmen Square yesterday noon."
The story went on to say all five were arrested and taken away. The story ended with the line: "Tiananmen Square returned to normal soon afterwards."
Returned to normal. That seemed like one way to sum up China. But nothing is that simple. I showed the story to a young woman from China and asked her what she thought of it. She smiled and said: "Nobody believes this. These are new days."
Published at: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/article/these-games-were-unprecedented-but-what-was-real-and-what-was-illusion/


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Activism, yoga classes and free repairs are all on the menu at Patagonia's new outpost in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood.
Activism, yoga classes and free repairs are all on the menu at Patagonia's new store in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood.
Casey Sheahan, former CEO of Patagonia, has joined FastG8, a digital media company focused on driving e-commerce for brands in the outdoor and active lifestyle marketplaces.
The socially conscious outdoor brand Patagonia has embarked on a coast-to-coast tour to encourage people to repair their existing clothes rather than buy new ones.
Outdoor apparel retailer Patagonia has been awarded the Supply Chain Innovation Award from supply chain management technology provider GT Nexus for continued efforts in creating a responsible supply chain.
As part of a strategic move towards achieving seamless inventory management in an omnichannel retail environment, eco-friendly outdoor apparel retailer and wholesaler Patagonia has extended its partnership with 7thonline to support merchandise and assortment planning for its brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce channel.
Devastating sourcing and supply chain disasters, including the Bangladesh factory collapse in April 2013, have increased the push for retailers and other businesses to implement sustainable and responsible practices across the global supply chain. Tamara Saucier, VP industry – retail solutions, GT Nexus, discussed the topic, and proactive measures retailers can take, with Chain Store Age.
What can retailers be doing to ensure ethical and sustainable supply chain practices?
Patagonia has selected 7thonline, a New York-based omni-channel merchandise and assortment management solution provider to help the retailer better match production supply with dynamic market demand to drive greater customer satisfaction and increased profitability.
Patagonia said Thursday it has renewed its partnership with Epsilon, a subsidiary of Alliance Data Systems Corp., so that Epsilon will continue to provide comprehensive database marketing services designed to give Patagonia a better understanding of customers and improve cross-channel marketing campaign results.
"The defining issue of our time." That's how one retailer I know recently referred...

subset: commoncrawl


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All Items > Knives > Butterfly Knives > Under $16
Suave Black Comb Balisong Trainer Butterfly Knife - Black
- Overall Length:8.85"
- Blade Length:4.00"
- Blade Thickness:0.06"
- Blade Material:Stainless Steel
- Finish:Black
- Handle Length:4.85"
- Handle Thickness:0.48"
- Handle Material:Aluminum
- Color:Black
- Frame/Liner:Stainless Steel
- Weight:3.00 oz.
- Knife Type:Butterfly
- Lock Type:T-Latch
- Best Use:Recreation
- Product Type:Novelty
The Suave butterfly knife has a "comb" blade you can whip out to maintain your good looks. Since the stainless steel blade is dull it makes a superb trainer-style knife to hone your flipper skills. In addition the blade has two tang pins, which means that the handles won't hit each other, resulting in tighter lock-up and reduced blade wear. The Suave butterfly has good action and a light feel.
Please Note: Be sure to maintain all screws with loc-tite. These may come with slight imperfections. These are not the best flippers, but still are a fun knife. If your screws fall out, we will assume you do not love your knife and did not use loc-tite. We still love you though, just don't call us and complain about missing screws.
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Woman stabs attacker in head with screwdriver
Mon, 05 Aug 2013 19:10:23 GMT —
A domestic dispute in Jefferson City turned violent early Monday morning.
The Jefferson City Police Department responded to a disturbance around 2:15 a.m. in the 100 block of W. Atchison Street. Upon arrival, they found a female in the middle of the street bleeding from three stab wounds.
The suspect, 50-year-old Willie Harrison, was found in a parking lot behind 815 Washington Street. He suffered a stab wound to his head.
After obtaining witness statements, police determined that Harrison stabbed the victim with a knife. Out of self-defense, the victim stabbed Harrison in the head with a screwdriver.
Both Harrison and victim were transported to separate area hospitals where they received treatment for non life-threatening injuries.
Harrison was then transported to Cole County Jail and charged with first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action.
He is being held on $50,000 bond.


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Uretal Flow Assessment During Gynecological Procedures
This study has been completed.
Ethicon, Inc.
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Ethicon, Inc.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: March 28, 2007
Last updated: January 26, 2012
Last verified: January 2012
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
The objective is to evaluate the feasibility of using color Doppler ultrasound in ureteral flow assessment after uterine artery occlusion during a conservative gynecological procedure.
|Conservative Gynecological Procedures
|Device: flostat (TM) System
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
|Official Title:
|An Evaluation of Ureteral Flow After Temporary Bilateral Uterine Artery Occlusion During Conservative Gynecological Procedures
Further study details as provided by Ethicon, Inc.:
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|25 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Meets criteria for conservative gynecological procedure
- At least 25 years of age
- Cervix suitable for tenaculum placement
- Provides written informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Pregnancy
- One or more lower uterine segment fibroids
- Hydronephrosis as determined by renal ultrasound pre-procedurally
- Clinical diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI)
- In the medical judgment of the physician, such a procedure may compromise the patient's condition
- Inability to achieve bilateral occlusion with the clamp placement during the procedure.
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00453882
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00453882
|United States, Florida
|Holy Cross Medical Group
|Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, 33308
Sponsors and Collaborators
Ethicon, Inc.
|Study Director:
|David Robinson, MD
|Ethicon, Inc.
More Information
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|Ethicon, Inc.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00453882 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|March 28, 2007
|Last Updated:
|January 26, 2012
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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Faith is a life-long journey. It is reshaped by the events of our lives and the world in which we live those lives. Where I am in faith and practice today is not where I expect to be tomorrow or where I have been yesterday.
Such a reality leads me to pay attention to my life every day, the good and the bad, the desirable and undesirable. All are a part of who I am and who I am becoming. It is journey marked by change and excitement; also by some trepidation and yearning for the security of the past.
First, let me define what I do not believe. Some convictions I have held dear at some point in my life; others I have always carried with a bit of discomfort.
Creation and the domination system
The Apostles' Creed begins, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth."
Certainly they came about by some means. Lacking scientific insight and sophisticated instruments, the people who gave us the Bible attributed the reality of the world to the God they worshiped, as have many cultures.
The Hebrew/Christian tradition is unique in that the world does not result from divine violence. Rather, it is the intentional creation of a divine being who also seeks to be worshipped and obeyed.
Scripture tells us that harmony results when divine order is followed. That is, when men obey God, women obey men and children obey both men and women. Genesis 38 gives us the story of Tamar, who failed to bear male offspring before her husbands died.
The account describes a culture where male members of the family/clan/tribe make life-and-death decisions regarding the lives of women. Such order is also clear in Exodus, 21:22. It is the domination system that assumes male genitalia are a source of wisdom conferring the right to dominate those on the level below.
If the Judeo/Christian tradition gave priority to Genesis, one where women and men appear to have equality before God, our history would be quite different.
The rest of the commandments, especially nine and 10, which warn against coveting and seeing a wife as a male possession, appear to be directed to males, who would have responsibility for enforcing these commandments and dealing with offenders.
I no longer believe these things.
I believe that the world, the universe or universes, came into being through a series of incidents which may or may not have been designed and guided by a divine mind. The biblical universe does not begin to comprehend the scope of the galactic systems, of which earth is a small, small part.
It is natural to want to explain how it came to be. In the pre-scientific age, it was faith in a supernatural being that explained these things. Today we search with space-based telescopes and spacecraft sent to other planets.
We cannot apply a biblical template from the first century to our contemporary situation.
Men superior to women?
In ages past, systems of faith provided the structure that supported the domination system. The Hebrew/Christian culture has interpreted this order of creation to support the domination of females by males. The Apostle Paul states this clearly in Ephesians 5:22 and I Corinthians 11:3 (and following verses).
Other New Testament references appear to support male/female equality, such as Galatians 3:28. However, this understanding never was a dominating force in Christian culture.
In my early years, I grew up in a congregation and denomination where men sat on one side of the church while women and children sat on the other. Women had no vote in congregational affairs except as they were able to influence their husbands. Women did not become voting members of judicatory assemblies until after I was ordained in 1961. There are denominations today that continue to restrict the leadership of worship to men.
I no longer believe in the system that grew out of it. I choose rather to celebrate the gift of the world, a world that is both wondrous and awful. Wondrous in its beauty and diversity, in its resources and life-giving ecological systems; awful in its earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, floods and other destructive forces.
Are humans made in the image of God?
It is my observation that we tend to believe that "people like us" carry God's image, while people in other lands, other skin tones, languages, religions and customs do not.
It is difficult to face the fact that portions of scripture justify genocide and crimes against humanity. When we do not believe people carry the image of God, we feel justified in doing violence against them.
Christians in this nation have mounted a powerful campaign against abortion because it supposedly takes the life of one created in the image of God. Yet we go to war and report body counts with pride.
This history of violence is clearly reflected in our scriptures (Numbers 21:1-3 and 31:1-12; Deuteronomy 2:34 and 3:1-6). Under today's guidelines for international behavior, such actions would be called genocide or war crimes.
At this point in my life, I can recite the First Article of the Apostles' Creed only with my fingers crossed. This does not absolve me from responsible engagement with my environment. My familiarity with Jesus and His ways leads me to ask important questions as I interact with my world.
As a consumer of non-renewable resources, what is my responsibility to future generations? How do I live so that I value the lives of people in other nations, especially third-world nations, as much as I value people in this country? What does it mean to follow Jesus, who had "compassion on the multitudes" as he fed the hungry crowds?
The challenge is to ask how I can be a responsible citizen of the world as I experience it in all its complexity. What values will guide my life in relation to my fellow inhabitants on planet earth and to the planet itself? This, rather than doctrinaire, closed-end statements about creation, is where I find myself today.
My task as a follower of Jesus is to discern what that means for me and the choices I have the privilege of making.
Robert Mattheis was pastor of Lodi's St. Paul Lutheran Church for 20 years until 1994. That year, he was elected bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod, where he oversaw 215 congregations from Porterville to the Oregon border and east to Elko, Nev. He retired from the synod in 2002.
Mattheis, 71, still lives in Lodi with his wife, Janet. Their daughter, AmyJo Mattheis, is pastor of Way of Christ Community in north Stockton.


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Ingredients: Sweet & Sour Pork w/Rice
Cooked Pork (pork, salt), Pineapple in Light Syrup (sugar and citric acid), Green Peppers, Vinegar, Onions, Red Peppers, Brown Sugar, Sugar, Modified Corn starch, and contains 2% or less of Chicken Base (chicken including natural chicken juices, salt, chicken fat, maltodextrin, hydrolyzed corn gluten, dried whey, spice extractives and onion powder, turmeric), Worcestershire Sauce (distilled vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, salt, caramel color, garlic powder, sugar, spices, anchovies, tamarind, natural flavor), Soy Sauce (wheat, soybeans, salt, alcohol, vinegar, lactic acid), Corn Oil, Sesame/Soybean Oil, Seasoning (autolyzed yeast extract, safflower oil, natural flavor), Sea Salt, Garlic Powder, Spice, and Spice Extract. Rice: Precooked Enriched Rice (enriched with niacin, iron [ferric orthophosphate], thiamine mononitrate, folic acid).
Contains: Milk, Anchovy, Wheat, Soy.


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(Original publication: December 15, 2005)
The Nets have been beaten in back-to-back games in embarrassing fashion over the last nights.
So today, they're left to wonder if their next loss will be a player.
The Nets' 91-83 defeat to the lowly Charlotte Bobcats before 13,363 angry fans last night came on the eve of when all NBA players who signed new contracts over the summer are eligible to be traded.
And the underachieving Nets are definitely shopping, according to several league sources. Rightfully so.
While the Bobcats saw the end of their eight-game losing streak, the Nets dropped their third in a row and fell to 9-12.
The Nets were slightly better than their ugly 94-74 loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
But chemistry remains an issue as center Marc Jackson took a DNP and angrily declared he would welcome a trade. The remaining Nets are left to answer what the Nets are missing the most.
"Our willingness to win," Vince Carter said.
Brevin Knight led Charlotte with 25 points and, once again, the Nets' Big 3 of Richard Jefferson (25 points), Carter (22 points) and Jason Kidd (eight points, 10 assists, eight rebounds) were not enough.
And while the job security of Nets coach Lawrence Frank was not believed to be in immediate jeopardy, Nets president Rod Thorn was meeting with the third-year coach in his office nearly two hours after the game.
The Nets led by 11 in the first quarter, but fired 14 for 44 in the second half.
A Melvin Ely 3-point play and Emeka Okafor free throw with 3:22 left gave Charlotte a 76-66 lead and that was all she wrote.
Jackson, Jeff McInnis, Lamond Murray and Scott Padgett — all signed during the summer — are now trade-eligible.
The Nets are also believed to be dangling guard Zoran Planinic and their two first-round draft picks in order to procure a big body. Planinic was put on the inactive list and did not play, while Jackson and McInnis, the Nets' two main free-agent signings in the offseason, did not play.
Frank said he was searching. Jackson was steamed, nonetheless.
"If (Frank) don't think I can help the team, then maybe get rid of me for somebody you think can help the team," Jackson said. "That DNP is real crazy, man. That DNP, only happens since I've been here."
Players that would become available today who the Nets would have an interest in include Ely, Milwaukee's Dan Gadzuric and the Clippers' Chris Wilcox. Even Houston's Stromile Swift, who the Nets coveted in the off-season, would become available
But whether the Nets are willing to make a bigger deal depends on their patience level. There is a growing sentiment in the organization that Carter could be expendable if it can return an impact defensive player.
"We definitely can turn this thing around and all of the sudden, everybody will be like, 'Wow, this is a great team,' " Carter said.
The Nets haven't had that defensive enforcer since Kenyon Martin was traded to Denver two summers ago. Ironically, the Nuggets are said to be shopping Martin - who comes to the Meadowlands tomorrow night.
Collins update: Nets forward Jason Collins will undergo more tests today to gauge the inflamed peroenal nerve in his right leg. Collins has played the last two games, but continues to feel discomfort. If it continues, surgery may be an alternative.


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(The New Republic) If Mitt Romney's association with Bain Capital ends up sinking his presidential campaign, he's unlikely to appreciate the irony. But, if he needs consolation, he might consider seeking solace in American history. The fact is that no successful businessman has ever been a successful president, and only a few have even been serious contenders for the job.
This might seem odd, given Americans' long romance with wealthy entrepreneurs and the enterprises they build. But a talent for developing private companies and making big profits seldom translates into wooing a majority of voters or governing a contentious republic. It may, in fact, blind one from recognizing critical differences between those equally difficult endeavors.
The most famous example of this disconnect was Herbert Hoover -- a multi-millionaire who, like Romney, believed that America needed a shrewd capitalist at the helm of state. By the age of forty, the dour Quaker from rural Iowa had made a sizeable fortune as a metal engineer and developer of mines in several foreign countries. During World War I, Hoover employed his skills for a large, humanitarian purpose, arranging for food to be funneled to the millions of Europeans impoverished by the war. Then, in the 1920s, he became a high-profile Commerce Secretary, bringing industries together in trade associations where they could regulate themselves. Thus, Hoover had gained fame as an unelected public servant as well as one of the richest businessmen of his day -- in contrast with William Randolph Hearst and Henry Ford, self-serving contemporaries who had earlier flirted with presidential runs.
When he ascended to the White House in 1929, many commentators expected that Hoover's organizational acumen would make him a brilliant, practical leader. "We were in a mood for magic," recalled one journalist about the start of his presidential term, "We summoned a great engineer to solve our problems for us; now we sat back comfortably and confidently to watch the problems being solved."
But the onset of the Great Depression later that fall required the skills of a master politician, and Hoover, who had never run for office before, proved to be a less-than-mediocre one. A stiff and awkward speaker, he neither showed empathy for the jobless nor rallied Congress behind a credible plan to reverse the nation's economic slide. Hoover's stern belief in "rugged individualism" had helped win him riches and renown. But it prevented him from recognizing that Americans in trouble needed material relief instead of sermons about the evils of the dole and an unbalanced budget. "The Great Humanitarian who had fed the starving Belgians in 1914, the Great Engineer so hopefully elevated to the presidency in 1928, now appeared as the Great Scrooge," writes one historian. After a career spent commanding his own organizations, Hoover was unable to adjust to a job that required persuasion, adaptation, and compromise.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom Hoover despised, became the exemplar of a chief executive: compassionate, witty, capable of switching from damning his opponents to winning enough of them over whenever necessary. And so, over the next six decades, the idea of a businessman as president largely went out of fashion. Part of this has to do with the fact that Americans wanted professional politicians to administer the new government programs -- domestic and military -- on which a majority of the public had come to depend.
(The only exception to the trend was the GOP nomination of Wendell Willkie in 1940. But it's significant that Willkie, a utility executive, promised to preserve the most important New Deal programs. And, in any case, his erratic speaking style and lack of experience in government convinced most swing voters to stick with FDR.)
But in 1992, many Americans seemed ready again for a self-made mogul who would run America like a business. Growing unemployment and a massive deficit -- coupled with a massive riot in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict -- fueled a sense that the nation was in decline. Ross Perot addressed this fear with brash promises to balance the budget and curb free trade, enlivened with sharp yet homespun metaphors. For a few weeks, he was actually leading the nominees of both major parties in the polls. Yet, like Hoover, Perot was incapable of adjusting to a protean political environment.
The billionaire Texan exerted iron control over his grass-roots operation, firing any paid activists who displeased him. He courted trouble by ad-libbing many speeches, such as one to the NAACP (where he lectured "you people"). And Perot invited the media's ridicule with groundless stories about a Black Panther hit squad and a Republican plot to disrupt his daughter's wedding. Outrage and sarcasm were his sole responses to criticism. "If he thinks he is right," acknowledged Perot's son, Ross Jr., "that is all that matters."
The same could be said about Herman Cain, who, one recalls, was briefly the front-runner for the GOP nomination. Judged at the time the "most likeable" of the contenders, Cain, the former capo of Godfather Pizza, shared the same flaw Perot displayed two decades earlier: a self-righteous, if wisecracking, conviction in his own nostrum (the 9-9-9 tax plan) for fixing a sick economy. Neither man understood that a clever, motivational style is not enough to lift one into the White House.
Michael Kazin's latest book, "American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation," will be out in paperback next month. He teaches history at Georgetown University and is co-editor of Dissent. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.


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BOYS BASKETBALLThe Red Bluff Spartans (13-10, 1-5 Sac River League) fell to Foothill (20-4, 5-0 SRL) 82-59 on the road Friday.
Red Bluff's Greg DuFour led the Spartans in scoring with 15 points.
Joseph Bosetti scored 14 points, Matthew Fox tallied eight points and Wyatt Clement notched six points.
The Spartans are currently fifth in Division III playoff points released Sunday.
The Corning Cardinals (19-4, 7- 0 Northern Athletic League) defeated the visiting Central Valley Falcons on Friday, 57-42.
Corning's Michael Shoemaker scored a team-high 21 points, Chayce Maday followed with 12 points and Nick Hoag added nine points.
The Cards are No. 2 in Division IV playoff points released Sunday, behind only Orland.
The Los Molinos Bulldogs (12- 11, 4-6 Five Star League) fell to Redding Christian at home on Thursday, 50-37.
The Bulldogs are No. 8 in Division V playoff points released Sunday.
GIRLS BASKETBALLThe Corning Lady Cardinals (18-6, 6-1 NAL) edged Central Valley on the road Friday, 50-47.
The Lady Cards are No. 2 in Division IV playoff points released Sunday, behind only Anderson.
The Los Molinos Lady Bulldogs (10-9, 4-6 FSL) beat visiting Redding Christian on Thursday, 42-33.
The Lady Bulldogs are No. 11 in Division V playoff points.
BOYS SOCCERRed Bluff (6-11-2, 3-8-2 SRL) fell on the road to West Valley on Friday, 4-1.
GIRLS SOCCERThe Lady Spartans (6-9-4, 3-6-3 SRL) dropped its season closer to West Valley at home Friday, 1-0.
Sports Editor Andre Byik can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 111 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @TehamaSports


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RECIPES: Recipe Details
Low Country Shrimp and Sausage Burgers with Spicy Remoulade Slaw
For Slaw:
1/2 cup quality mayonnaise
1/4 cup stone ground mustard
1 medium lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 thinly sliced green onions, including green part
2 finely diced jalapeno peppers
15 oz. can kernel corn
4 cups shredded slaw mix
For Shrimp and Sausage Burgers:
1 1/2 cups peeled and deveined fresh shrimp, roughly chopped
1 pound fresh ground country pork sausage
1 large fresh egg, lightly beaten
4 teaspoons seafood seasoning, preferably Old Bay
2 tablespoons corn meal
6 fresh ciabatta rolls
1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter
Vegetable oil, for brushing grill rack
Preheat a gas grill to medium-high heat.
To make slaw, whisk mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in green onions, jalapeno peppers and corn. Toss in slaw mix to coat. Cover and chill for an hour.
To make burgers, in a medium bowl, lightly mix shrimp, sausage, egg, seafood seasoning and corn meal until well combined. Form into 6 patties. Set aside at room temperature.
Split ciabatta rolls in half, and spread one tablespoon of softened butter on each half.
Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Place burgers on rack, cover and grill for about 4-5 minutes per side, until sausage is cooked through. Meanwhile, grill buttered rolls, cut side down, until golden and toasted.
To assemble burgers, place patties on bottom buns, top with slaw, and cover with top buns.
Makes 6 burgers
Growing up in the coastal South, most of our gatherings revolved around low country boils. Friends and family would come together in the back yard and feast on piles of freshly boiled shrimp, smoked sausage, corn, potatoes, cole slaw and hushpuppies. These are classic Southern flavors that blend quite well in a hand-held sandwich. Just like a true low country boil, these burgers can be a bit messy, so lay down the newspaper, grab a stack of napkins, and dig right in!


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iPad 4 (Late 2012) Reviewby Anand Lal Shimpi on December 6, 2012 4:40 PM EST
CPU Performance
Like the A6, the 4th generation iPad's A6X integrates two custom designed Apple Swift CPU cores that implement the ARMv7 instruction set. The two cores share a 1MB L2 cache, just like they do in the iPhone 5's A6. I spent a lot of time characterizing the architecture and performance of Swift in our iPhone 5 review, so I won't go over a lot of that here. What I will say is that Swift manages to be the best balance of performance and power efficiency in an ARM based CPU core available today. Swift looks a lot like Apple's take on Qualcomm's Krait core. It's not a Cortex A15 competitor from a performance standpoint, but likely a more power efficient design.
Unlike what we saw in the previous iPads, the A6X only boasts a marginal increase in max clock speed (~7%) over the A6. The two Swift cores can run at up to 1.4GHz in the A6X compared to 1.3GHz in the A6.
|Apple iPhone/iPad CPU Clock Comparison
|iPad Frequency Advantage
|Apple A4 Generation
|Apple A5 Generation
|Apple A6 Generation
CPU performance improves substantially over the 3rd generation iPad thanks to the Swift cores. Unfortunately, big gains in CPU performance aren't always apparent in actual use. The iPhone 5 seemed to subjectively gain more from the move to A6, partially because of just how frequency constrained the A5 in the 4S was. The A5X CPUs in the iPad 3 were already running 25% faster than the A5's CPU cores.
I didn't notice appreciable differences in application launch times, but there are a few areas were the faster CPU cores definitely stand out. Auto enhance in iPhoto completes quicker on the iPad 4 vs. its predecessor. This is especially true for work on large (high MP) images. I don't think a pair of Swift cores is all it takes to make the iPad 4 a suitable photo retouching workstation but it's better than the previous model.
|General Use CPU Performance Comparison
|iPad 2/mini
|iPad 3
|iPad 4
|iPhoto Auto Enhance 36MP JPG
|11.7 seconds
|12.0 seconds
|9.1 seconds
|Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Level Load Time
|36.3 seconds
|35.9 seconds
|31.1 seconds
Scrolling around iOS Maps in 3D view is substantially smoother on the 4th gen iPad compared to its predecessor. We noticed something similar in our comparison of the iPhone 5 and 4S. Web pages do load quicker on the iPad 4, although the differences can be small depending on the complexity of the page in question. The real world responsiveness benefit from the faster CPU cores seems to be in the 10 - 30% range depending on what you're doing. The problem is at the lower end of the scale, it can be difficult to really feel if you're comparing the 3rd and 4th gen iPads.
SunSpider has been a part of all of our mobile performance testing for quite a while now. It's not the perfect benchmark, but the test ends up being a good measure of browser performance as well as cache latency and CPU performance.
The Swift cores do an excellent job here thanks to their much improved memory performance. The Nexus 10 should be competitive however the current state of browser optimizations hold it back a bit here.
Google's Octane benchmark is a much larger test than SunSpider, but we're still looking at JavaScript performance. Octane includes all 8 of the tests from Google's older V8 benchmark but adds 5 new ones including a PDF reader, 3D bullet physics engine and portable 3D game console emulator all built in javascript.
Octane tells a very different story. The iPad 4 does very well, but the Nexus 10's Cortex A15s are really allowed to shine here. The A15 is simply in a different league of performance.
We see a similar story with Kraken. Apple improved CPU performance tremendously over the iPad 3, but the Nexus 10 is able to reach new heights.
Why don't we see a direct correlation between these CPU bound js tests and the real world performance numbers I mentioned above? The problem is that most of today's iOS apps are really built for the sort of performance that a pair of Cortex A9s can deliver. I see pockets of CPU bound activity but it's not consistent enough where you're going to necessarily see a dramatic improvement in responsiveness across the board. I do believe the gap is more apparent on the iPhone thanks to the huge difference in frequency between the 4S and 5, but on the iPad the range from subtle to noticeable differences is broader.
Memory Bandwidth
A look at Chipworks' die shot reveals the same memory interface arrangement as we saw in the A5X:
Apple A6X die via Chipworks
The A5X/A6X place the memory interface blocks (and perhaps the controllers themselves?) adjacent to the GPU, while the A5/A6 more tightly integrate the CPU and memory controller. This highlights a pretty substantial difference in priority between the A5/A6 and A5X/A6X SoCs. The latter really do prioritize memory bandwidth delivery to the GPU, and for good reason. The Retina Display equipped iPads have over 4x the number of pixels as the iPhone 5.
The 4th generation iPad that iFixit took apart had 1GB of Hynix LPDDR2-1066 on-board, which would indicate a small increase in memory bandwidth. Just as we saw with the A5/A5X comparison, the additional memory bandwidth doesn't appear to be available to the CPU cores - only the GPU cores.
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darkcrayon - Friday, December 07, 2012 - link"Can you run full OS VMs in iOS? "
Well iOS is perfectly capable of running emulators if that's what you mean. I start up Windows 3.1 on mine every once in a while for a laugh ;)
If you mean run at some metal-level virtualization then no, but then that wouldn't really be running on Android so much as on the hardware of the device. Reply
antef - Friday, December 07, 2012 - linkIf you think Android is just as appliance-like as iOS then I feel there are major things about the platform that you are uninformed about. Not saying that in a demeaning way, just saying perhaps you never discovered these aspects of the system.
iOS cannot be considered a true "computing platform" when you can only get apps via the App Store, they can only do what Apple approves of, and they can't truly run in the background, instead being able to only do certain things when not in the foreground. It's a large set of restrictions limiting what can be done with the device, thus it's an appliance, regardless of what functionality apps may or may not provide. It's no different from a set-top box or any other CE device, except it offers way more apps.
Android, on the other hand, even without rooting or messing with custom ROMs, lets you install any app, from any source, that does anything the developer wishes it to do. You don't have to use any app store or pay Google any fees if you don't want to. Apps can touch almost any part of the system or replace any part of the system. Apps can do absolutely anything in the background with almost no restriction. You can browse and manage files like on a PC. The list goes on and on.
Same thing regarding customization. Without rooting Android, you can change its keyboard, default browser, default mail handler, and the entirely of its home screen (icons, dock, app drawer, all can be replaced with alternate launcher).
Android has very few restrictions above and beyond what a typical desktop platform like Windows has. It's essentially Linux with a special app container format and custom UI, that ships without su by default. Yeah, maybe the typical user just using web, texting, and Facebook will think both platforms are equally appliance-like, but that doesn't change the fact of what Android can do. I believe Anand's analysis is spot on. Reply
darkcrayon - Friday, December 07, 2012 - linkIt seems Android can only do "certain things" in the background as well. Or maybe you can tell me how to play youtube audio from the browser while Chrome is suspended (You can do this in Safari on iOS).
iOS is a true computing platform - it's your definition of "computing" that is the problem. You *can* enter code and run software on it that did not originate on the App Store (not that if you couldn't, it would somehow cease to be a "computing platform".)
It's certainly easier to do more "mucking around" with Android - iOS just has a more security oriented approach while Android has more versatility. Of course for 99% of users for either platform, none of that matters in the slightest as they buy the device to browse the web, play media, and find useful software to run. Reply
Velius - Monday, December 10, 2012 - linkFirst, I have to thank everyone who responded to my original post. I was shaking my head afterward submitting my post since the way it was originally written was definitely flamebait. Kudos for being respectful and *helpful* in your responses, when I most certainly deserved an ass-kicking.
These are all good points (especially antef with respect to my original points) and well expressed. You are right, there are more things that can be customized in Android, but I think you can do it in iOS too - just have to jailbreak it first. The difference, IMO, is that with Android, you *have* to replace most of the defaults because the defaults are really not good. When I used my SGS3, the default keyboard was horrendously slow. SwiftKey 3 rectified that to a large extent, but was a paid app. Why should I have to pay to have a usable keyboard?
Same with the music player - I disagree, first of all, that Poweramp is better than the iOS music player. I found Poweramp to be underwhelming, with player buttons and icons that look like really badly designed bitmaps. Along these lines, any music player on Android lacks the fine-grained seek capabilities that iOS has (which is called "scrubbing" there). I really missed the ability to seek with greater or lesser granularity, going down to the second. You can't do that in Android - the seeks are all giant leaps. Similar story with volume control. There are only 15 settings on the SGS3 (and I assume Android in general). Most of the time, the music I would listen to would be ideally loud between, say, 12 and 13, but I could never set it to that. If I set the volume to 12, it would be too soft, and if I set it to 13, too loud. In iOS, there is very fine control over volume. And let's not even get to transitions between tracks. There is always a gap in the default SGS3 music player between tracks - this would perhaps have been understandable in 1995, but is completely unacceptable today!
These little things add up substantially - the list goes on and on - making iOS just more polished. Even the basic OS responsiveness is a deal-breaker. On my SGS3, if I reboot the phone and go to type something up, say in a text message, it takes about 10 seconds before it even registers my keyboard presses. This is mind-boggling, and I truly wonder how many people on online forums say Android is "faster" - it is not, at least definitely not with the OS interface. I really do believe that people who claim Android is faster just haven't used iOS. Once you do, you just can't go back. :3
Getting back to the original topic, I also don't fully agree that iOS is an appliance. The reason Apple vets software before allowing it to go on the App Store is mostly for quality control. Just search Google for "android apps insecure", and read pages with titles like, "Research says Android users at high risk of installing insecure apps", "Researchers find 1,000 insecure Android apps", and "One in five Android apps is insecure". Yes, you can sideload apps onto your Android phone, but it's a double-edged sword: the Android software ecosystem is a true wild west, with all the attendant issues: buggy or plain crappy software, crashes, malware, insecure apps, etc. I'm not saying Apple's App Store is immune to this, but it's definitely far less prone to it.
In all, I stand by my original claim: "iOS is an appliance, Android is a true computing experience" is a completely bogus and harmful meme. Why harmful? Because millions of people are buying Android phones in the belief that it's better than iOS, when it just isn't. They are thus robbing themselves of a truly polished, wonderfully designed mobile hardware+software computing platform (iOS on iPhone) that is still the top in its class.
Peace. Reply
Velius - Monday, December 10, 2012 - linkJust to clarify, the point I made about Android's responsiveness - and examples I gave from my experience - were all based on Jelly Bean 4.1 stock ROM from Samsung. The "project butter" benefits were only really seen when scrolling between pages (and even then, it got choppy as the SGS3 was loading some widgets). Otherwise, when you open a browser or basically any app, and try to scroll, it is noticeably less smooth. It's like it only scrolls in jumps of 20 pixels at a time. Reducing animation times and forcing GPU rendering in the options alleviated this somewhat, but not entirely.
Again, it boggles the mind how such a powerful device (from the hardware standpoint) can be so slow in its user interface - arguably the most important factor in usability! Reply
DeciusStrabo - Friday, December 07, 2012 - linkfor its power, the App selection, the looks, the lightning connector (yes, except the price it's really a great connector), Airplay etc.
However, I don't like it nearly as much holding it in my hands than my Nexus 10. It's cold, slippery, heavy. You can't really hold it in one hand easily and if you use your body to prop it up if you lie on your couch the edge tends to get really uncomfortable (less than with the iPad 2 but still far too much). As nice as the aluminium looks I prefer the cheaper looking coated plastic of the Nexus 10. Also, speakers on the front > speakers on the back, usually where you tend to hold the thing, even if the one on the iPad is better than the two on the Nexus soundwise. Reply
maximumGPU - Friday, December 07, 2012 - linkwhat's more concerning is how exactly do you have use for 2 same sized tablets?! Reply
eallan - Friday, December 07, 2012 - linkSometimes we like to waste money on toys! Reply
seapeople - Friday, December 07, 2012 - link2 people = use for 2 tablets? Perhaps the guy is married? Otherwise, I agree, he's insane. It would be like the most colossal waste of money on the planet to buy multiple tablets within a five year period. I mean, that's like half a thousand dollars... for each! Only a very select few fat cats in our society make thousands of dollars that they can just spend on stuff. Reply
mavere - Saturday, December 08, 2012 - linkI honestly can't decide whether the latter half of your post is sarcasm. Reply


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Kodak today unveiled a set of partnerships that provide consumers exciting new tools and resources to enhance their experiences with Kodak digital display devices, including wireless digital frames and the new Kodak Theatre HD Player.
Through partnerships with Flickr, YouTube, FrameChannel, a service of Frame Media, Inc. and RadioTime, along with Kodak's own premier photo-sharing service, Kodak gallery, consumers will be provided with compelling, dynamic and easy-to-use options for enjoying their personal content along side other essential information that matters to them.
Leveraging the latest wireless and digital display technologies, Kodak is answering the growing consumer demand for flexible and timely, in-home photo and information access.
Kodak and Flickr
Flickr, a division of Yahoo! Inc. and a global leader in the consumer photography industry, has entered into a relationship with Kodak to heighten the consumer experience with wireless digital frames. Through its alliance with Kodak, Flickr members can now enjoy their digital pictures on the new Kodak Easyshare Wireless Digital Frame and Kodak Theatre HD Player.
Kodak and YouTube
YouTube is the world's most popular online video community. The Kodak and YouTube partnership will enable consumers to search, view and rate favourite YouTube user videos through the Kodak Theatre HD Player, as well as access their online playlists.
Kodak and FrameChannel
FrameChannel is a web-service that lets users program delivery of commercial third-party content including news, sports and weather updates, and access to images from popular photo sharing web sites. The Kodak and FrameChannel partnership will allow users of Kodak Easyshare Wireless Digital Frames and the Kodak Theatre HD Player, access to more than 200 dynamic content channels and the opportunity to customise the delivery of selected information to meet a user's individual needs and preferences.
Kodak and RadioTime
RadioTime is an Internet radio aggregator providing dependable connectivity to thousands of radio channels and programming. Kodak's relationship with RadioTime grants Kodak users access to an array of contemporary audio programming, via the Kodak Theatre HD Player. Users can easily tune-in to free talk and music radio, including their favourite local radio stations.
Kodak Gallery
Kodak Gallery is a leading photo sharing site with over 70 million members. Kodak Easyshare Wireless Digital Frames and Kodak Theatre HD Players connected to Kodak Gallery offer consumers the ability to enjoy all of their albums and friends albums via these display devices. Additionally, with Kodak's Picture Mail feature, users will be automatically notified when another Kodak Gallery member shares pictures through an on-frame message.
About the Kodak Easyshare System
Kodak continues to bring groundbreaking features to its award-winning Kodak Easyshare Digital Photography System, enhancing the digital photography experience for consumers worldwide. The Easyshare System consists of digital cameras, picture frames, online services, software, inkjet printers, and accessories-making picture taking, sharing and archiving effortless. All Kodak Easyshare Digital Picture Frames announced today include the latest version of Kodak Easyshare Software Digital Frame Edition, with Kodak Easyshare Digital Display Software, featuring an array of enhancements to help consumers find, create and share pictures like never before. Version 7.0 Software now includes direct access to Kodak Gallery, making it simple to find albums stored online. The new Kodak Easyshare Software Version 7.0 can be downloaded for free. Further information on all Kodak Easyshare products can be found at www.kodak.com


text: Hello and much respect to any and all who have sucessfully completed a thru hike! I have this ever growing itch to plan a thru hike, but I need two major peices of info. How much does an average thru hike cost and how long do I need to train before hand. I did more than one forum search before making this post, so if there is an old thread about this...sorry, I did not find it. I don't want major specifics, just a general number from the "experienced ones"!


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This project supports The City's priority of making Calgary a healthy and green city by investing in renewable energy. This project was funded by The City of Calgary's Sustainable Buildings Partnership Program.
For more information:
Interested in installing solar panels at your home? In January 2009, the Government of Alberta's Micro-generation regulation came into effect. This regulation is a set of simplified rules that allows Albertans to generate their own environmentally friendly electricity. Visit the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) website to learn more about this regulation and how to find local energy providers to discuss your solar options.


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Worldwide Locations
Education activist and "favorite" guest of Oprah Winfrey Dr. Tererai Trent talks to Asia Society in advance of her keynote at the Partnership for Global Learning Conference on June 27, 2014.
Watch: the singing, songwriting, claw-hammer-banjo playing, Mandarin-speaking Abigail Washburn performs at Asia Society's National Chinese Language Conference in Los Angeles on May 8, 2014.
As a native Mandarin speaker and a diligent student of English and German, I can't help asking whether machine translation signals the obsolescence of learning a foreign language.
In an Asia Society exclusive video, the eminent Chinese novelist shares his considered views on what makes for successful literary translation.
Speaking before an Asia Society audience about the future of U.S.–China relations, Australia's Chinese-speaking, wisecracking former prime minister argued strongly for Chinese-language education in the West.
Can we finally make education the great equalizer Horace Mann said it could be, nearly 200 years ago? Tony Jackson cites some common practices in East Asian school systems that are among the world's best.
Is Shanghai a model of educational equity, as the OECD international school rankings suggest? Asia Society's Jeff Wang offers a ground-level view.
Holding firm to her motto — "If you can DREAM it, you can DO it" — the Asia 21 Young Leader explains how, at the age of 12, she decided to dedicate herself to providing children in Pakistan with an education.
Shanghai's world-leading education system results from unremitting education reform during the past decades, not from cheating, writes Zhang Mingxuan.
Reporting from China, Asia Society Vice President Tom Nagorski reports on some of the many powerful moments in a three-day gathering aimed at bringing great minds and talent together to tackle issues across the Asia Pacific.
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The murder trial of Billy Norbury, who is accused of shooting and killing his Redwood Valley neighbor, is scheduled to begin today.
Norbury, 34, faces a murder charge with a special allegation that he used a gun in the killing of Jamal Andrews, 30, on the night of Jan. 24. Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke heard motions Thursday regarding evidence the prosecution and defense are seeking to admit at trial.
Andrews was a reggae musician with the band High Grade Allstars.
Court discussion on Thursday focused on the evidence regarding Norbury's sanity and intoxication, and testimony Norbury's Ukiah defense attorney Al Kubanis claimed could be hearsay.
Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster and Kubanis debated in court the applicability of state law that says a person who is voluntarily intoxicated isn't less guilty of a crime because he or she was intoxicated. Behnke said he plans to give the arguments further review based on case law Eyster referred to in court Thursday.
Norbury changed his not guilty plea to one of not guilty by reason of insanity in July. When an insanity plea is entered, the court can appoint two or three doctors to evaluate the defendant. Kubanis said previously that he found information in Norbury's divorce file that spurred the need for a psychiatric evaluation.
Behnke said the court may have to work around scheduling issues with the doctors appointed to testify regarding Norbury's sanity.
Eyster said he prefers to address the two issues separately. Kubanis told the court he hadn't yet decided whether he would rather the jury heard them separately or together "to determine the degree of culpability." He said he plans to have a firm position by Wednesday, when the court will likely take up further procedural questions after an estimated two days of jury selection.
Tiffany Revelle can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com, on Twitter @TiffanyRevelle or at 468-3523.


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Regular People Can Be Internet Marketers
Posted on Jun 26 2011 at 01:28:33 PM in Entrepreneurship
Hi, I'm a beginning internet marketer. I used to have a regular job like, I suppose, most people have. It required that I drive long distances every day. I live in the mountains of North Carolina, almost to the Tennessee border.
I would drive 35 miles in to work and the same back. Gas was not as high priced as it is now, but it still took a good chunk of my pay. It took me about 45 minutes to get to work in the morning or whenever I was scheduled. In reality, my workday started an hour or so before I left with my morning routine, breakfast, shower, dress, etc.
In the place that I worked, the ones that worked very hard, were made to work even harder to make up for the ones that didn't. The ones that didn't do their jobs or didn't do them very well, had few repercussions and got their bonuses and raises just as if they were performing well. The people that were actually doing the work got criticism, little praise, and were always afraid they would get fired for something they weren't doing well enough. My self confidence was mostly gone. All the while, the management staff walked around with clipboards and did very little. Do these sound like your working conditions?
This situation would make anyone unhappy. My "significant other" said it turned me into a "nutburger". I was. It was awful. I was spending almost 14 hours out of every day either at work or on the way to or from work. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I can't remember a movie or television show that I watched all the way through after work. I would just fall asleep in my chair. My two days off per week was spent mostly recuperating from the work week before I had to go back and do it all over again. I was physically and emotionally spent.
About a year ago, I had had enough and I quit. I had an idea to raise chickens on my little farm and sell eggs. This is a lot of work. I was not making a bunch of money with the eggs, so I started looking around on the internet for opportunities. I did a little of the surveys for money and blogged a little with clickbank links and then one day while I was cruising the internet, I found a video that has had a life changing effect on me. It described something I was not familiar with - mentoring and internet marketing.
I had never considered internet marketing because I don't have anything to sell. I did a bit more research and found that many people were making money in affiliate marketing. I learned that there are individuals and companies listed on the internet that will pay you a commission to promote and sell their products on your website. This sounded too good to be true. How do I do this?
I needed to find out how to be an affiliate marketer. A little more research turned up an answer for me. I needed a mentor. Back to the internet I went. I found some very loud and obnoxious ads for services related to affiliate marketing and mentoring, from books to cd packages to downloadable software – all of them were supposed to make money for me 'the easy way' or 'overnight'.
Only one of the links I found appealed to me as honest and sincere. It was an unpretentious video that said internet marketing could be confusing and frustrating and took time and effort, like everything else worthwhile. The young man in the video also said that, although he was successful now, he had made mistakes in the beginning of his career, been frustrated to the point of throwing his computer out the window, and was willing to teach me how to become successful, avoid those mistakes and to do every step necessary to become a successful internet marketer, including setting up a website. What's more, inside his community, he would teach me how to market that website and give me a community of some of the best internet marketers for continued support. This sounded more like what I was looking for, so I signed up and now, I'm an internet marketer. I have a website, published blogs and an article in Ezines.
If you are looking to ditch your full or part-time job, I wouldn't recommend you do that until your internet marketing business is producing good income. Internet marketing can provide that, but it does take time to develop your business. This can be done in your spare time outside your regular employment. That's the beauty of internet marketing – you set your own hours. You control everything in your business. There's no boss breathing down your neck or criticizing you and you don't have to leave home to do it. There's really no time like the present to start. If you're wondering, I've spent very little money on my business and what I have spent, I expect to make back many times in the future.
I'm still working on the money part but, nothing comes overnight. I am working very hard at marketing and am expecting good things in my future. I think I've made some pretty good progress in less than a month. I'm learning good things from my mentors and I expect to continue learning and developing more marketing strategies. What's more, through my achievements so far, I've gained some of my self confidence back and expect to make a success of my business. Watch me!
Lorraine Ballard is an internet marketer, originally from the southeast coast of Florida. She now lives on her small farm in the mountains of North Carolina with a flock of chickens and a small herd of goats. She is presently working with The Six Figure Mentors.


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September 18-19, 2012: How Blue is Your Bottom Line?
Toronto, ON
The challenges of meeting growing water demand present critical business, security and environmental risks and opportunities.
In this two-day course, you will learn how water issues affect business' bottom line. You will come to understand business risks relating to water scarcity and be provided with tools to build responsible, sustainable strategies into your decision making. Business, government, industry representatives and those organizations interested in achieving a blue bottom line will benefit from this course.
Developed in association with University of Toronto's Centre for Environment, Tangerine Tango, and Water Canada.


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crown cutting tools
has anyone ordered and used one of these kits? and do they perform well? price seems awful cheap and wonder if I should order something from Brownnels instead? Thanks! :)
Caveat emptor. The quality of the website and the gross misspellings would drive me away from a purchase from them.
I agree with Matt g on this one. You would be better off buying from Bronwells or Midway USA. You know that they sell quality tools and returns would be much less hassle from them than some fly by night guy on the net.
With all the machine work I do, I can totally say that buy good quality tools. I can sneak by with cheap end mills sometimes, but when it comes to precision work, only the best tools need apply. A simple rough cut, fine , use a cheap tool. But something you want to be precise and look good. Spend the money. I have small .015 size end mills that run me $50 a piece. I use them for engraving. I tried using the cheaper ones and they were so off center ground that the engravings looked stupid.
So pay once and be happy.
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TWA Braids????
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 32
Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 12:45AM
: TWA Braids????
Hi you guys! Do you ladies think I should do braids ? I go back to school in August and my schedule is going to be on the heavy side. I dont want to mistreat my hair because of stress and lack of time. Should I do braids and if yes, what kind? Indivisual braids or cornrows/frenchbraids ? Which would be safer? How long would you suggest I leave them in? Ive heard that extra tension on my hair is bad, but I never had a huge problem with braids before.
Sorry, im such a Newb lol Im rocking 2 or 3 inches of hair, and I dont want another set back. Thanks curlies!


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What a surprise to wake up to this morning as almost from nowhere Paramount Pictures have been quietly making a sequel to the 2008 movie, Cloverfield.
You remember the movie, the one where a group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack!
The first movie was made on an estimated budget of $25,000,000 and has become a cult movie for fans of the rampaging creature.
Yep, that's the one, there was news of a sequel to the movie coming out, with IMDB having a page calling it "Untitled Cloverfield Sequel", but now we know the name, "10 Cloverfield Lane".
"The idea came up a long time ago during production. We wanted to make it a blood relative of Cloverfield. The idea was developed over time. We wanted to hold back the title for as long as possible." ~ J. J. Abrams speaking to Collider
We haven't got many details on 10 Cloverfield Lane yet, but we do know that J.J. Abrams is back with Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures for the sequel and it also stars John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr.
10 Cloverfield Lane Synopsis
Waking up from a car accident, a young woman finds herself in the basement of a man who says he's saved her life from a chemical attack that has left the outside uninhabitable.
Latest news on the movie is that it has a budget of around $100,000,000 and has been directed by Dan Trachtenberg with J.J. Abrams taking the helm as producer. It also seems that the movie is already completed and is ready to go, so Abrams and Paramount certainly kept this one quiet!
10 Cloverfield Lane Poster
10 Cloverfield Lane will be in UK cinemas on 8th April 2016, so we won't have long to wait to see the sequel.
So what are your thoughts on the new trailer? Have you seen the first movie and what were your thoughts on that one? We would love to know in our comments section.
We will update as and when we get more news.


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Photos are for members only!!
Peachmate is a 100% free sex site for adults looking for fun with no strings attached.
Escort ads, casual sex groups, personal ads, video chat and much more.
I am a white male, diesase free, drug free, i love to chill with friends and hang out and partry right now i ma going to be attending UNO on a baseball scholarship.


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"Big Ole Texas Christmas" from Phil Vassar and Ray Benson [AUDIO]
It's finally the time of year for new Holiday songs to start arriving. I've always wondered how artists actually record these songs when its spring or summertime just to have it released right before Thanksgiving. How do they get all that Christmas spirit and party atmosphere put together to make sure the song feels right? Here is a new song, just released today from Phil Vassar and Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel. "Big Ole Texas Christmas" is a swinging new holiday tune that will ask the musical question "Where's Willie?" "He's got something for me."


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News Studio Trigger Teases Inferno Cop Sequel at Anime Expo
posted on 2014-07-07 13:10 EDT
Studio Trigger mentioned the tentative anime series Inferno Cop II at its Anime Expo panel on Friday, stating that, "if we didn't get positive feedback here, we thought about just tossing it into the garbage." The panel included new visuals from Inferno Cop conceptual designer Shigeto Koyama, including designs for three new characters.
Inferno Cop's Twitter account posted comments on Friday about the alleged new series:
It gets hectic when making an anime, so it's a pain
え…ほんとに2やんの?— インフェルノコップ2(仮) (@infernocop) July 4, 2014
アニメ化すると忙しくなるから嫌だなあ— インフェルノコップ2(仮) (@infernocop) July 4, 2014
Inferno Cop's Twitter account wrote in October that "Starting today, I will be known as Inferno Cop 2. It seems like a sequel was announced in a distant foreign land." However, the unofficial Twitter account for Trigger clarified, "We did present a joke pv video at an event that took place in Tokushima (we just came back). […] We may possibly do it after [Kill la Kill], who knows."


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Wheat farmers and researchers from every region of the country were on Capitol Hill together this week, pressing the importance of long-term and stable agriculture research funding as part of the wheat industry's annual fly-in focusing on innovation in the public sector. The goal was to educate policy makers about the process of developing new and better wheat plants, which can easily take 10 years per variety, and the importance of adequate, consistent funding even in a time of deep fiscal uncertainty.
Despite increased private investment, wheat research is primarily done within USDA, through USDA grants and at land-grant universities around the country that also get significant funding from state governments and wheat growers directly. Public programs are uniquely suited to address the basic questions all plant scientists need answered and to operationalize research into locally-adapted wheat varieties. Despite demonstrated return on investment of up to $32 to $1, just 1.6 percent of the $142 billion annual federal investment in research goes to agriculture, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
More about wheat research needs and the wheat research community is at www.wheatworld.org/research.
More on this week's fly-in is at http://www.wheatworld.org/news-events/2013/04/wheat-stakeholders-press-necessity-of-consistent-federal-research-funding/.


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Valentine's Day is nearly upon us. How will you celebrate?
Dinner with your sweetie? Candles and wine? Romantic cards? Here are five festive ways to use red without feeling Christmas-y.
1. Throw on an adorable little RED dress from JCrew.
* Wrapping and ruching is flattering. Keep accesories to a minimum (no necklaces with this special neckline) and try neutral shoes.
2. Bright and colorful pants and jeans are a mega hot trend right now. These are from Madewell and would be adorable with flats or heels.
3. Too much color for you? What about just adding pops of color with your accessories? Like red shoes, for instance. JCPenney is working hard to re-create their brands for a new audience. These shoes are sexy, fun and affordable
They'd be cute mini skirt or skinny jeans and flirty blouse.
4. Still too sassy for you? Go with another very popular trend and carry this exceptional red clutch bag from Etsy.
It's got a monkey fist knot on the zipper and I promise it will make any outfit feel more festive without making you feel like one of Santa's helpers!
My last trick isn't something to wear, it's an idea. Why not send HIM a bunch of red roses? At the OFFICE! With a sexy note...
Happy Valentine's Day, dear readers! I hope your day is special.
Blackbird blogs almost every day at say la vee.
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Potts Law Firm filed a ...
To support water and wastewater utilities in implementing security standards to protect the public from potential bioterrorism and other threats, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a $1.6 million grant for the development of voluntary guidelines that will provide a basis for developing new industry standards.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), together with the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), will work to develop guidance that cover the design, construction, rehabilitation, installation, operation and maintenance of water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure systems.
The guidance materials will aid water and wastewater utilities in mitigating vulnerabilities of their systems to man-made threats and natural disasters, mitigating potential disasters throughout the design and construction of new systems, and the operation and maintenance of existing ones.
"Providing risk reduction guidance for water, wastewater and stormwater systems is a critical step in protecting our nation's infrastructure and the public from potential terrorist threats," said ASCE executive director Patrick J. Natale, P.E., F.ASCE. "Through our collaboration with the AWWA and WEF, and with the support of the EPA, we will be able to provide resources for local communities to thwart economic disaster and illness among the public."
"We are delighted to partner with ASCE, AWWA, and EPA to provide much needed guidance for protecting our critical water infrastructure," said WEF executive director Bill Bertera.
The guidelines and other resources will be disseminated through technical sessions, workshops and conferences in order to educate designers, owners and operators of water, wastewater, and stormwater systems. As the lead agency responsible for water infrastructure security, the EPA has fostered public/private partnerships with non-profit associations, government agencies and utilities to develop effective guidelines and solutions to protect the nation's drinking water supply and wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
In June 2002, President Bush signed into law the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (PL 107-188), requiring over 8,000 community water systems serving populations of 3,300 or more to conduct and submit vulnerability assessments and emergency response plans to EPA.
There is currently not a similar requirement for vulnerability assessments by wastewater utilities; however legislation providing funding for wastewater utilities to implement security improvements has been approved by the House of Representatives and is pending in the Senate.
The standards to be developed under Water Infrastructure Security Enhancements Standards Committee (WISE SC) will help water and wastewater utilities to identify and prioritize security concerns, conduct vulnerability assessments, and develop security plans.


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The first batch of nine Montessori teacher trainees have graduated from the Ghana Montessori International Teacher Training Centre (GMI) at Cantonments in Accra.
At the ceremony, the Little Explorers Montessori Plus School, which houses the GMI, was also presented with an accreditation by the Montessori Centre International of the United Kingdom.
The nine teachers who graduated from GMI were presented with certificates after their training. They are: Fuen Pardo, Cynthia Annoh, Ania Judson, Devyani Bhatia, Sahar El-Khaldi, Sarah Craig, Eunice Mensah, Neha Chugh and Rana Torbay.
Speaking at the event, the Director of Ghana Montessori International Training Centre, Mrs Kamilla Kirpalani, said the aim of the centre established a year ago, was to spread a deep understanding of how to support children during their formative years.
She said the graduates produced the highest score marks worldwide, and "we are very proud and confident that they will become fine practitioners".
She announced the formation of the West African Montessori Association, a non-profit organisation charged with creating a forum on best practices.
The Director of Little Explorers Montessori, Mrs Karine McVeigh, said the objective of the set up was to give children in their early years an environment conducive for learning and fulfilling their potential.
In an address read on her behalf, the Deputy Minister of Education, Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, said the Montessori system had now been recognised worldwide as the best method to bring up confident, balanced and competent children.
As part of the accreditation process, she said, the academic director of Montessori International Centre spent some days at the school to observe the children and teachers, "also dissecting our systems and procedures".
The Ministry of Education, he said, would continue to support any initiative that recognised and enhanced the potential of children.


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Author Archives: Milton S. Eisenshower
BorrowDirect Outage: April 1, 7am
There will be a BorrowDirect full system outage tomorrow starting at 7am lasting for approximately 30 minutes. Please consider this outage as you plan your April 1 work. For those unfamiliar with the service, you can use BorrowDirect to search and … Continue reading
Reads to Savor: Nurses & Doctors!
You've already seen our previous "Reads to Savor" posts about Actors and about Science Fiction. Another group of materials that might not spring to mind involves the heroic lives of medical professionals – something Hopkins folks actually know a lot about! … Continue reading
Reads to Savor: Sci Fi!
As all you dedicated library blog readers know, we love SciFi (just take a look at the related posts listed below). If you share this passion, here are some tips to find good SciFi to read during break. Finding Science Fiction Go … Continue reading
Reads to Savor: Actors' Bios!
At this time of year, many of us are looking forward to reading more relaxing things than what we've been reading all semester. Time to read for fun! But, how to find these "reads to savor" you ask? This is the first of … Continue reading
Oh, Catalyst. What can't you do?!
Are you using Catalyst yet? It's the Hopkins Libraries' spiffy new catalog interface. Check out this video on how easy it is to find ebooks in Catalyst… This post comes to us from SAIS Librarian Steve Sears. Thanks, Steve! Treat yourself … Continue reading
HUT Closed Saturday
The Hutzler Reading Room (fondly known as "the HUT") will be closed this Saturday, October 23 for a University event. We will resume regular hours on Sunday, October 24, opening at noon. We apologize for any inconvenience.
OECD Gets a Makeover
SourceOECD is now OECD iLibrary. This is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's online library for books, papers and statistics and the gateway to OECD's analysis and data. The latter forms OECD Stat, a large collection of datasets. Try … Continue reading
$5,000 Student/Faculty Grants Available
Technology Fellowship Program Overview What: Mini-grant program enabling faculty/student teams to develop web-based resources for undergraduate courses Who: Fulltime faculty who teach courses with significant fulltime undergraduate enrollment; fulltime undergraduate or graduate students Awards: $5,000 per faculty-student team–$4,000 for student … Continue reading
LexisNexis Statistical Insight improved
LexisNexis Statistical has a new name – LexisNexis Statistical Insight – and a new look. You can use this resource to search for publications containing statistics and filter your results by subject, issuing agency, full-text, etc. Within LexisNexis, you'll also … Continue reading
Uncovering Black History in Baltimore
February is a busy month in the Afro American Newspapers Archive and Research Center, as archivist John Gartrell and his staff work to provide archival materials to students, researchers, and public historians, as well as to journalists at the Afro. … Continue reading