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Age of Empires Online
Review by remanemporor
"A game with a good core, but lots and lots of baggage"
Age of Empires has been a pillar of the RTS genre since its first release back in 1997. Its parent company, Ensemble Studios, built up an enormous franchise, spanning 3 games, several expansions, and many spin-offs. After Ensemble closed, however, things were looking grim for the series. Microsoft still held the rights to any sequels, and many fans were worried that MS would pawn it off to a second-rate developer. But out of the Ensemble's ashes came its successor: Robot Entertainment. Together with Gas Powered Games, the two studios created the next iteration of the Age of Empires Series. But it would not be AoE 4 as many were anticipating. Instead, it would create AoE Online, an amalgamation of the setting of the first Age of Empires with the gameplay of the second. Attempting to capitalize on the newly emerging casual market, the game features cartoony graphics and an overarching "home city" that players can customize, and gives benefits to the actual RTS battles.
First you must pick your civilization. As of now, only the Greeks and Egyptians have been released. Both are fairly similar in terms of units and buildings, but the biggest difference is that the Egyptians have more units that are generally weaker than the Greeks, and are more focused on temples.
The Overarching Metagame
This section basically describes everything in the game that is not an RTS battle. This is the overarching "capital city", items system, and quest map that loosely pastes the missions together.
The first area you will arrive in after you select your civilization is your home city. It is here where you acquire your first quests, purchase and apply items to your troops and buildings, unlock new features on the tech tree, craft items from raw resources, send mail to friends, and start a PvP match with players in your party. It is the hub of your activities in the game, and you will be visiting it quite often.
The questing system is pretty straightforward. You get a quest from someone, go out into the world map, and go do it (usually in the form of a typical RTS battle). When you have completed it, you return for your reward, which usually contains at least some experience points and gold. XP is used for leveling up your entire civilization (there are a total of 40 levels), and each level you gain gives you some points to spend on your tech tree, as well as giving you access to better items. Gold is used to buy things at stores, ranging from arrows to equip your archers with, to new buildings for your capital city. Other rewards can include treasure chests that contain a random piece of loot, "points" that can be used in certain cities for powerful items, and sometimes you can even get a very powerful piece armor or weapon to arm your units with.
Items are a big part of Age of Empires Online. Some give extra damage, some give extra health, and some give odd stats like line-of-sight bonuses, or protection from ranged attacks. Advisors give you added help, by decreasing the cost of farms, or allowing you to train units. Items are a cool way to customize your units, but they do have one significant snag. All of the items come in 4 different varieties: common, uncommon, rare, and epic. Non-paying players cannot use rare and epic items, so they will always be at a disadvantage when facing someone who pays for the game (known as a "premium" member). Also, only players with premium accounts are allowed to use advisors. This means that some units, like the Greek Somatophylax will be permanently out of reach for those without premium.
Initially, much of the game will be unavailable to you. To unlock it, you must spend tech points at your capital city to gain the ability to use things such as buildings, units, and upgrades. It is another feature that adds customization to the game, but like items, it too comes with its own problems. For starters, much of the early levels will come down to derping around with basic tier units. Things such as awesome Hippikons and Ballistae are hidden behind high level barriers. You'll have to earn the right to use those awesome things you see in YouTube videos. In addition, all of the "star techs", things that give permanent, global boosts are unavailable to free loaders.
Crafting is fairly basic. You get a crafting school, stick some resources in, and something processed comes out. Unfortunately, there are TONS of crafting materials, and any one item wants only 2 or 3 types of them. This adds up to a lot of wasted inventory space, and for players without premium accounts who can only have 2 warehouses, this can be problematic.
After you have completed a few quests in your capital city, you are thrown out into the rest of the world. There are many different towns you can go to, and each of them have their own form of "points" that can be used in one certain city, and ONLY that city (for example, Sparta points can only be used in Sparta). You can also visit another players city to see if they have a certain item for sale that you desire. That is about the extent of the MMO portion of this MMORTS. If you wanted something with a persistent world that you battled your neighbors in, this is not that game.
But for some reason this game brings a detrimental amount of baggage with the online element. You are constantly reminded that this is indeed a game associated with Microsoft, and you are forced to use the ever infamous Games for Windows Live. You also must be connected to the internet AT ALL TIMES. Even a flicker of your connection immediately throws you out of the current game. This applies to single player games too (and it really, REALLY shouldn't). I have a fairly good connection (one that can play Starcraft 2 with no lag), but I was surprised to see that occasionally it would drop for a few seconds here and there. Even though I can play other games without lag, I have been ejected from this game more than 10 times simply because it only takes a picosecond without internet for AoE Online to throw a tantrum. Even if you think you have a good connection, there is a very real possibility that you don't. There is no grace period. There is no option to reconnect. There is no mercy.
Overall, this overarching metagame brings just as many flaws as it does bonuses. Customization seems good at first, but you'll soon find it only becomes cool when you are at a sufficiently high level to use it. Until then, the inability to use some basic things such as stables, archers, and siege weapons without dumping research points into them seems... smothering. Combine this with the very limited MMO portion of the MMORTS, and a completely stupid internet connection rule, and this entire area gets a 3/10 (Bad)
Campaign RTS Battles
The meat of any RTS game is... the real time strategy of course! Once you have received your quest, you will go to a map that plays like any old AoE game. You gather resources (food, wood, stone, and gold in this game), construct buildings, create your army, and steamroll from one end of the map to the other.
Gathering resources is fairly easy. Simply get a citizen and click on a resource and they will harvest it. There are also some special ways to get the goods. You can build farms for food, and send caravans between a market and a town center to generate gold. This game differs from Age of Empires 3 in the fact that your citizens have to drag resources to a warehouse now, so strategically placing them becomes a priority. You still get population from building houses, but now you have to build 3 extra city centers to reach your max population limit of 200 (houses only get you to 140 as long as you have 1 city center). Finally, the game still has ages (4 of them) that you'll need to advance through to get those higher tech units.
Armies are familiar to anyone who has played an RTS game. You have traditional strengths and weaknesses (spear beats horse, horse beats archer) as well as siege units. There are sea units that can battle each other for naval supremacy, and bombard the coast to give an important edge. Even with its cartoony style, AoE Online basically plays like any other RTS out on the market. Strategy is still important, and it is pretty dang fun towards the end when you are killing off your hopeless enemies.
So it's fun toward the end... but what about the beginning or middle of missions? To their credit, the developers did a great job differentiating the objectives. In some, you must recover some huts. In another, you might have to save some refugees. Finally, you might have to simply destroy your enemy. The problem arises that each mission (with a few camel racing exceptions) starts out almost exactly the same. Make citizens gather food, advance to age 2, build troops to avoid being rushed, build more citizens, advance to age 3, advance to age 4, build army, upgrade army, destroy enemy. No matter the objective, in a huge majority of the campaign battles, this is how the game plays out. Sometimes you do it with sea units, other times you don't destroy the enemy (because you are assigned to defend), but still, almost every game plays like the last with a frustrating sense of deja vu. There simply is no reason to make an early attack when your enemies have pre-created cities, complete with walls, guard towers, and fortresses.
Problems don't stop there unfortunately. Unit pathing is particularly inept, and units are apt to get stuck in trees or buildings. Caravans seem woefully unprepared for use in the game, as they will faceplant into another caravan going the opposite direction. It is often prudent to build at least 2 markets simply to avoid the inefficiency created by poor pathing. Also, using the attack-move feature (a staple in any RTS game) is quite tricky. Sometimes your men will all stop to attack a redoubtable farm while being pelted by arrows, while other times you can witness in horror as your entire legion of spearmen chases after a single citizen, leaving your archers undefended and exposed to marauding cavalry. Yet another problem is the lack of formations. In specific, there is nothing that tells your units to spread out to avoid area-of-affect damage. Many players will find themselves bewildered when they realize the ubiquity of units with aoe damage towards the end of the game. In more than one instance I have been defeated simply because my soldiers were unable to spread out to aptly counter a horde of rampaging elephants.
Also, artificial intelligence, never great in any RTS admittedly, is a great load of garbage. More than a few times I saw enemy villagers come precariously close to my base to collect some food, apparently oblivious to the fact that it had plenty of berry patches next to its base, and not comprehending that my fortress RIGHT NEXT TO THEM was slicing through their unarmored flesh with alarming efficacy. It can show occasional bursts of insight when it harasses your villagers with a raiding party, but this is only possible through ample cheating. Not only does it have a significant resource bonus, but the AI also gets a chance for each of its units to become "elite", granting them substantially increased attack and defense.
As some form of redemption, you can opt to do some of the quests with an ally through co-op mode. There aren't any more enemies for your newfound numerical advantage, but simply getting a good co-op partner is quite difficult. You can wait for hours in matchmaking for someone to join, and then find out they are someone 20 levels below you. They then proceed to simply steal all of your resources while creating exceptionally weak units that can only be described as being worse than cannon fodder.
And the text based chronicles that make up the plot line aren't exactly going to get nominated for being an epic story that keeps us on the edges of our seats...but this is an RTS game, so who really cares?
Altogether, the campaign can be described as having a plethora of problems throughout, but at least being fun and tactical towards the end of a match. At the moment, there seems to be a decided lack of missions for those in the 35-40 level range, so grinding quests seems to be the only way to get through the last part of the game. This gets a 5/10 (Below Average)
Multiplayer RTS Battles
I scoffed when I heard that this game aspired to competitive play. But like any game today (especially one catering to the online community), there must be a way to assert our hegemony over our anonymous adversaries by the manipulation of various avatars that inevitably lead to the destruction of our enemy's empires (that sentence sounded incredulously idiotic).
Wisecracking alliteration aside, multiplayer battles start out like any campaign match. You have a handful of citizens that you must use to gather resources, advance through the ages, build an army, and crush all resistance. It is very simple, and could be fun, if not for its critical flaws.
The time it takes to find a matchmade game can be very long, but once you actually find one your woes are not over. The likelihood that they have different tiers of equipment or they are a different level is demoralizingly high. Simply finding a fair match seems almost impossible. Stomps simply aren't fun forever, especially when you're on the receiving end. Once the majority of players get to the end of the game and are able to compete with one another, we could see this game shine. However, this will make it almost impossible for anyone under the max level to compete at all. Also, if you're a non-paying member, matchmaking takes this into account when it places you against premium members. Essentially, you will be rated lower than them to compensate for your lack of items, but because there are so few people playing right now, you are likely to get thrown into the fray with whomever is playing, regardless of whether it is at all fair or not.
Essentially, PvP could be good sometime in the distant future. It certainly isn't right now. 3/10 (Bad)
Economic Style
Everyone knew this was coming. Perhaps the most controversial issue that people have with this game is how they have to pay for it. In the age where League of Legend's pricing model has been proven to work (to a level that surprised many), gaming companies have been charging in to the fray to capture a new microtransaction market. Age of Empires Online is not technically following this trend (it leans more towards macrotransaction) but it does keep one key feature of the new era: the ability to pay for exactly what you want, and nothing more.
Because of this, Microsoft has been "forced" to increase the price of its game to compensate for everyone not exactly jumping on the bandwagon for 5 dollar Bountiful Bushes. But let me make one thing very clear before I start complaining: THE $100 SEASON PASS IS NOT THE STANDARD PURCHASE! It has been truly discombobulating to watch so many people complain over something that is obviously not intended as the typical transaction. It is only for people who really like the game, and want all that fluffy decorative crap.
The area I take issue with is the cost of single civilizations. Sure, if you're only paying $20 dollars for one premium civilization then you're making a killing. But if you end up wanting to play both the Egyptians and the Greeks (and whoever else may come out) then you'll discover that their campaigns are fairly similar in the beginning, and almost exactly the same towards the end. Combine this with similar units and buildings whose main difference is a measly sprite change, and you may feel a bit ripped off.
But the biggest infraction this game violates is with just how much it wants you to buy premium. I mean it REALLY wants $20, and it does some dirty things to get you to do so. Do you want these awesome purple epic items that you legitimately won off of the corpses of your enemies? Well guess what. YOU CAN'T HAVE THEM! Unless, of course, you were to make a small donation of 20 dollars. Have you been eyeing those advisors? With a small sum of 20 dollars they can all be yours. Until then, Symatophylax Commander Steve shall be locked up behind an iron padlock. You don't want Symatophylax Steve to be locked up, do you? You're a good person! Just $20 please. Advisors. Rare and Epic Items. Ranked PvP. Additional crafting schools, warehouses, and workshops. All tantalizingly laid out in front of you, but just out of reach. The issue is with just how the game acts about it.
Some people have stated that "even though some players don't have access to the best items, it isn't pay-to-win, it is one huge trial that you can play indefinitely." There is some truth to this statement, because you can technically get all the way to level 40 without paying a single Microsoft Point, but in the end AoE Online is crippled unless you buy premium. And as for the argument that it is a trial, not a P2W, I counter by citing that this game has been specifically promoted as "play for free". If you plan to not draw out some money, it may seem fine at first, but towards the end, you'll discover that you are playing a ghost of a game.
I've also heard that Microsoft has screwed up currency exchange rates. For example, what costs $100 in America would cost the equivalent of $138 in Sweden. If you live in a non American country, you may want to be wary of being ripped off by improper prices.
So yes you can pay for what you want, but it will cost quite a bit. And yes you can play for free, but this game does its best to make you feel quite guilty for doing so. 3/10 (Bad)
To sum it all up, this is a game with a good core (end gameplay) that is detracted by intrusive and unnecessary online features, bad PvP, and borderline ridiculous begging for you to buy premium. My suggested action would be this: don't put money into this game for now unless you really, REALLY like it. It's not going anywhere, and it could pull off what League of Legends did, and dramatically improve as time goes on. Save your funds until it is clear what this game will do. End of Nations will be released sometime relatively soon, and it promises to be the largest budget MMORTS to date. With that behemoth in the picture, little critters such as AoE Online could easily die off. With a lack of skirmish mode (among other things), it remains to be seen if this game can do a complete 180 and rise from the ashes, or if it is doomed to be the end of an era. Either way, it isn't going anywhere, so be conservative and enjoy (if you can) the free to play content for now.
-Fun late game
-Some customization elements can be entertaining
-Pay for what you want
-Potential to become good... at some uncertain point in the distant future
-Bad PvP system
-MUST have an internet connection at all times
-Monotonous campaign as you progress
-Customization options can become smothering early on
-Games for Windows Live
-Most missions start the same
-Really wants your money
-No skirmish, formations, quests from levels 35-40
-Potential to die off (playerbase has already been decreasing)
Final Score: 4/10 (Poor)
Reviewer's Rating: 2.0 - Poor
Originally Posted: 09/06/11, Updated 09/14/11
Game Release: Age of Empires Online (US, 08/16/11)
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Cloud Computing Solutions for Data Backup and Recovery
The first step in effectively using cloud computing solutions as a data backup and recovery tool is to make sure you're in a position to take advantage (a financial advantage) of using the cloud. For example, you may have paid for your backup infrastructure long ago, but if you were to now shift to a cloud computing backup model, you would be spending new money rather than merely paying for ongoing support. If a cloud service can get its price close to your ongoing support costs, you might want to consider the cloud as an option.
We always suggest to our clients to start with non-critical applications, and move up the stack as you gain experience… In fact, the best way to go is to Cloud-source stuff you don't want to do, like backups, or more specifically, desktop backups.
In fact, we have several good solutions for backup and recovery from large accredited vendors. One thing to remember though, it's not about the backup, but about the restore, so we also recommend that you truly validate your RTO against cloud backup solutions.
Thoughts? How are you using the cloud for backup and more importantly recovery?
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subset: commoncrawl


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01244 624 027
We encompass the letting and management of a wide variety of properties across Cheshire, North Wales and North Shropshire. Denton Clark Rentals offers a comprehensive management service, or can tailor-make a service that meets your specific requirements. Operated by a small dedicated staff, we pride ourselves on going the "Extra Mile" for not just our Landlords but also our Prospective Tenants.


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Justin Bieber The Key EDP (30ml) is a fruity-floral accord that is enhanced with a sensual dry-down. Opening with a splash of juicy fruits, the fragrance moves into a blooming bouquet heart that is sheer and delicate. Finishing with a deep and enticing dry-down of musk, exotic woods and vanilla tones, this flirtacious and feminine fragrance is presented in crisp white bottle with lock and key detail. - L.M.
Directions of Use:
Spritz onto your pulse points.
Please remember to add postal time (2-3 working days) to obtain a complete estimate of delivery to your door.
You will receive an email to confirm when your item has been sent.
You can also check the status of your order and individual items by accessing My Account details and following the prompts.
Please allow 10 working days from dispatch of your order before notifying us of any late deliveries.
It may be advisable to check with your neighbours to see if a parcel has been left with them, check any outhouses you might have where it may be left if it cannot fit through your letterbox and contact your local sorting office to see if the item has been returned to the depot as undelivered and awaiting collection.
Please see our returns policy.
Average connection time 25 secs
Where reviews refer to foods or cosmetic products, results may vary from person to person. Customer reviews are independent and do not represent the views of The Hut Group.
(1 Reviews)
The key is amazing it has a nice tropical smell and a bit citrusy but it works it's a very nice fragrance
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About a month ago I had a real bad case of the stomach flu. I ended up going in twice for IVs because I became so dehydrated.
One IV was inserted in a vein in the inside of my elbow. The flow rate seemed pretty fast as I was out of there in a lot less time than the other IV. A few days later, a bruise developed on the bicep about 5"-6" from where the IV was inserted. A few days ago, I noticed a bump in the bruised area. I am having a hard time telling, but it may be on that bigger, top vein on the bicep that is visible (see Layne's pipe veins to see what I'm talking about...not that mine looks like that), on a different vein under that particular vein, or just near some vein(s). It is not tender, nor is it warmer to the touch than other parts of my arm.
Is this common?


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I had Smartlipo done on my flanks yesterday and the Dr. only took out 325 CC's of fat and solution. Is this a common amount? From the posts I've been reading, people have had way more taken out usually. I'm 5'5", 147 pounds, and a size 6. I'm just hoping I got a good value for my money.
Only Took out About 325CC's of Fat and Solution with Smart Lipo
Doctor Answers 4
Only Took out About 325CC's of Fat and Solution with Smart Lipo
In my opinion based upon your posted photos, I would have used Smart lipo TRIPLEX on 1064, 1320, 1440 wavelengths between 32 and 40 watts, delivering 50,000 to 80,000 joules of energy. Than liposuction off 1.5 to 2 liters of fatty liquids. Appears as if you did not have enough energy delivered and fats removed. Was your Smart Lipo doctor a boarded PS?
Only 325 cc's removed does sound inadequate. From MIAMI
Liposuction flanks and abdomen
325ccs may be enough for some patients. It depends on the amount of fat they have to begin with before liposuction. An examination is important because sometimes the muscle of the belly bulges forward without there being an abundance of fat. In that case, a tummy tuck is needed to provide better contour.
Learn more: http://www.thenyac.com/liposuction/index.html
Inadequate Fat Removal with Smartlipo?
While only the doctor who performed the procedure can know for sure, 325cc of fat (which includes a percent of the infusion solution as well) would be an inadequate removal in many of my patients for flank liposuction/Smartlipo. I am assuming that the pictures you are showing are before the procedure? If so, you have a lot more in there than was removed. As a general rule when performing flank liposuction, the flanks have to appear straight or even indented inward at the time of surgery to go on and have a really good result. This is a timid amount of removal and it appears more could have been done. This may be a reflection of the experience and training of the surgeon.
Learn more: http://www.eppleysmartlipo.com
You might also like...
You need to have more fat removed
I agree with Dr. Blinski. The more important than the laser lipo is the experience and qualification of the plastic surgeon . Make sure that your surgeon is board certified plastic surgeon and has experience. There are a lot of non plastic surgeons that offer laser lipo with no experience.
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.


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The move was routine. They so often are when the severe injury bug comes to bite.
During a game last week at the Greater N.C. Pro-Am in Durham, North Carolina guard Leslie McDonald darted off the dribble and tried to stop quickly.
Instead, his right knee buckled and down he went.
Torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Massive frustration.
McDonald's 2011-12 season is now likely over long before it even began.
Halted by a routine move. In July. In a pro-am game.
Just like that, North Carolina's chances of winning the 2012 national title took a small hit, another reminder issued that the road from here to April is unpredictable and sometimes treacherous.
Remember last summer when Duke was considered a heavy favorite to win the 2011 national title? Then on the first weekend of December point guard Kyrie Irving messed up his right big toe against Butler. On a fairly routine move as well.
Irving's toe just jammed, damaging ligaments and bone.
Just like that, the star guard spent the next 102 days on the shelf, out of game action.
Just like that, Duke morphed from the obvious choice to win it all into a very good team that had much less margin for error.
Let's get something straight. Leslie McDonald's injury is nowhere near as significant as Irving's.
The Duke guard may have been the best player on his team, the floor general, the guy coach Mike Krzyzewski had redesigned the entire offense around.
McDonald? He was likely to be UNC's seventh or eighth man next season, a valuable spare part mostly.
Yet his absence will certainly alter the dynamics of the team and cause Tar Heels coach Roy Williams to make some tweaks to his plans.
McDonald's injury will also create opportunity for other Tar Heels, most notably sophomore Reggie Bullock and freshman P.J. Hairston. And that, in the big picture, may not be such a bad thing.
When fully healthy, Bullock can be a major difference maker offensively. Think back to last season, to those moments when he really got into a groove. In the first half of a mid-January game against Clemson, Bullock scored 16 points.
Two weeks later, again in the first half, but this time at Boston College, the sharpshooting wing erupted again, hitting four 3-pointers in a 3-minute span.
But also notice that fine print: "When fully healthy …"
That's the worry for Bullock going forward, the anxiety exacerbated some by McDonald's injury.
Bullock, after all, was put on the shelf for good last season on March 1, hampered by a meniscus tear in his left knee. Bullock had surgery on that same knee during his senior year at Kinston High School.
So just what will happen if the injury bug comes to bite him again too?
That's why it's so valuable that the Tar Heels have Hairston, a freshman gunner who might emerge faster than most college newcomers. First, he'll have to prove to Williams that he can be a consistently reliable defender in the college game.
But his confidence and offensive assertiveness should pay off early, especially with the 6-foot-5-inch wing operating in an offense with so many other major weapons for defenses to focus on.
This is where quality depth buoys championship runs.
This is why Williams has so little problem stockpiling McDonald's All-Americans on his roster - this year's squad will have eight of them.
And this is why, when the subsequent questions come flying about whether the Hall of Fame coach ever worries about having too many superb players to please, he always just laughs.
Too many superb players? No such problem.
Because somewhere along the line a few of those superb players are likely to get hurt.
McDonald's injury is rough. But at least it comes in the one area of the depth chart that the Tar Heels are loaded, on the wing where Bullock and Hairston will back up Dexter Strickland and Harrison Barnes.
Now if that cruel injury bug came after Kendall Marshall?
Then Carolina would truly have issues.
But the Heels also have Williams, who was masterful during the 2008-09 season in guiding a team with extraordinary expectations and massive pressure around so many injury potholes.
Let's not forget, before Carolina cut down the nets at Ford Field, they had to keep their boat afloat in some pretty choppy waters.
In the opening weeks of practice, a leg stress fracture sidelined reigning National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough, keeping him out of action for four games. The Tar Heels pressed on.
In the second game of the season, Tyler Zeller fell awkwardly after being fouled on a dunk attempt against Kentucky and broke his left wrist. He wouldn't return to action for 13 weeks.
The Tar Heels pressed on.
Defensive stopper and glue guy Marcus Ginyard had surgery to repair a nagging stress fracture in his left foot but never quite bounced back. Ginyard played all of 37 minutes during the 2008-09 season, his last action of the season coming on Jan. 4.
The Tar Heels pressed on.
And then, in the final days of the regular season, Ty Lawson, that season's ACC Player of the Year, jammed his right big toe in practice and wound up missing UNC's first three postseason games.
The Tar Heels rallied and pressed on and wound up charging to the national title.
McDonald will have surgery Aug. 3 and immediately begin the rehabilitation process. The Tar Heels have already begun tailoring their plans to move forward without him in the lineup.
One routine move can provide quite the plot twist. But ultimately, the Heels can control how they respond.


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New Monitor Keeps Heart Failure Patient Out of Hospital
For 6 million heart failure patients in the United States, hospitalizations are often a way of life. But a new battery-free at-home monitoring system may help keep patients healthy.
At 72, Rose-Marie Stewart is always itching to travel. And it was on a trip in 2008 the 72- year retired equal employment opportunity investigator first noticed something wasn't right. Stewart says, "I went on a cruise and when my friends and I came back my ankles looked like elephant legs and I thought it was because of the driving."
But tests showed Rose-Marie has congestive heart failure. Her heart is too weak or stiff to pump the way it should, leaving her out of breath, and swollen. She says, "I would retain fluid like nobody's business, just swell up like a balloon."
In January of 2013, Rose-Marie was hospitalized for 17 days straight with complications. She says, "It was almost like every month thereafter I was in the hospital for 4 days, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days."
That's when Dr. Robert Cole, Assistant Professor of Cardiology at Emory School of Medicine, told Rose-Marie about a new heart-failure monitoring system known as the CardioMEMS HF System. It was approved in April of 2015 by the Food and Drug Administration. And it's designed to keep heart failure patients like Rose-Marie out of the hospital, allowing them to be monitored in real time from their homes.
Rose-Marie had a tiny battery-free sensor implanted in her pulmonary artery. Once a day, she rests her head on a special pillow, fitted with a sensor that monitors her lung pressures. Dr. Cole explains, "Anytime the patient lays down on the pillow, it transmits information to a small box next to the bedside. That's how the information comes to us."
If Rose-Marie's pressures are off, Dr. Cole is alerted, and calls her, telling her to cut back on or increase her medication. He's only had to do that twice. She hasn't been been hospitalized once since April, when she started using the system.
The system is designed for heart failure patients who've been experiencing complications and have spent time in the hospital over the last year. The device costs about $25,000. Rose-Marie says her insurance company paid for it. She says, "If anybody is going through what I went through, to stay out of the hospital, it's worth the investment, do it."
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to the Atlanta facility that makes the CardioMEMS system. The agency cited "non-conformities" at the Georgia plant.
The FDA says the plant had not met deadlines to address concerns about problems including incorrect serial numbers and possible defects in the coating of the devices.
The company says it's addressing the concerns.


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RESIDENTS have until the middle of October to take part in a scheme which could save them money on their energy bills.
They can register an interest in Colchester's Big Community Switch by finding a recent energy bill and visiting www.colchester.gov.uk/bigcommunityswitch by October 13.
They will then receive an email later this month with the chance to switch electrical or gas suppliers and potentially save hundreds of pounds a year.
If they agree, everything is sorted out by scheme organiser iChoosr.
Information is also available by calling 01206 507555.


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We are back at GWPC. A great gym with a good climbing community. New climbers are always welcome. Equipment rentals available. Please come a little early if you need to take the safety test. Climb on! Nicole
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HAYLEY Dreyer, who was critically injured in an accident on Atlas Road on Tuesday evening, is still in a critical but stable condition condition in hospital.
She is kept in an induced coma which will be maintained for a few more days.
Her mother, Renschie, is also in a stable condition.
Hayley is a grade 4 pupil at Oos-Rand Akademie.
"We pray for Hayley, her mother, the family and friends in this difficult time. Please keep on praying," the school posted on its Facebook page.
Previous articles:


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text:
New command post gives unique view over Back to the Bricks
Thu, 15 Aug 2013 23:34:56 GMT —
Itâ??s a view of the Vehicle City like no other.
â??We have a real great view. We have some state of the art cameras,â?? says Lt. Phil Smith of the University of Michigan-Flintâ??s public safety department.
With the click of a mouse, you can pan, you can zoom, you can virtually drop in anywhere in downtown Flint.
â??We were able to put some high resolution cameras that allow us to monitor vehicles and people,â?? says Smith.
More than 100 cameras are scattered across the city giving officers a birdâ??s eye view of the city which allows them to respond in an instant.
â??Weâ??re able to notify maybe our undercover officers, our plain clothes officers on the streets who can go in and get a better look at it,â?? says Lt. Smith.
Officers were put to test Wednesday night. They broke up a fight in a matter of seconds.
â??It was quelled immediately and subjects were arrested and peace restored,â?? says Lt. Collin, Birnie of the Flint police department.
Safety is always a concern during Back to the Bricks but this command center gives them the extra view they need.
â??Those cameras are beautiful, says Birnie. â??You can zoom in right in and see exactly what's going on,â?? he adds.


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text:
Immune Responses in Patients Treated With Raltegravir (RAG-1/2)
This study has been withdrawn prior to enrollment.
(Unexpected and severe difficulties in recruitment.)
McGill University Health Center
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Chris Tsoukas, McGill University Health Center
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: November 4, 2008
Last updated: April 13, 2015
Last verified: April 2015
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
No Study Results Posted on ClinicalTrials.gov for this Study
Study was withdrawn before participants were enrolled.
|Study Status:
|This study has been withdrawn prior to enrollment.
|Study Completion Date:
|August 2011
|Primary Completion Date:
|August 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)


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Jerusalem (Aug. 28)
The Palestine censor today suppressed the news from Washington that the State Department will publish documents establishing the ex-Mufti's collaboration with the Axis. All other reports concerning the ex-Mufti were similarly suppressed today.
(In London, the Cabinet met today to decide on the request of the Palestine Arabs that the ex-Mufti be permitted to participate in the London talks on Palestine. No announcement was made as to the decision reached, but government sources indicated that the request would probably be rejected since its acceptance would provoke world-wide criticism, because of his pro-Nazi record.)
It was reported here today that a large camp for Jews intercepted en route to Palestine is now being built near Tobruk by the British administration. Charles Passman, Palestine representative of the Joint Distribution Committee, was today permitted to visit the camps at Cyprus, following the rejection yesterday of a J.D.C. offer of assistance for the Jewish internees there.


text:
TAMPA — A 23-year-old employee of a child welfare organization has been charged with stealing Walmart gift cards meant for the families of foster children, according to Tampa police.
Management at Hillsborough Kids Inc., 9309 N Florida Ave., started receiving complaints from foster parents that they had received envelopes and notes from the agency without the promised $50 Walmart gift cards on Oct. 21.
When officials checked, they found out that six of the cards that were supposed to be mailed had been used at the New Tampa Walmart.
Unsure if the cards were taken by an employee or postal worker, Hillsborough Kids contacted Tampa police and U.S. postal inspectors in November.
The organization is a child welfare contractor for the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Thirteen gift cards worth $50 each did not make it to the intended foster family, the police report said. Eight of the cards were used at area stores, and five were deactivated before they could be used.
On Jan. 14, police interviewed Hillsborough Kids employee Kristie Feliz Smith of 8611 Tessara Lane and asked if she was responsible for placing the envelopes in the mail, the report said. She said she was one of those people, but denied stealing the cards.
Police showed a surveillance photo of her leaving the New Tampa Walmart on the day someone made $288 in purchases on six of the stolen gift cards, and she acknowledged it was her in the photo, the report said.
She told police that she must have mixed up the Hillsborough Kids cards with the gift cards her mother sent her in the mail.
Police said when they told her the envelopes were sealed in the accounting office and that she would have had to open them to get the cards, Smith told them she reimbursed Hillsborough Kids $400 and should not be charged. Management verified that she had paid them money, police say, but officers still arrested Smith on grand theft charges.
She was released from a Hillsborough County jail Jan. 14 on $2,000 bail.


text:
Early voting site in La Joya closed after county commissioner's request
Mon, 20 Jan 2014 05:55:00 GMT —
La Joya's own county commissioner, Joe Flores, requested to close the early voting site in the city and add one in Peitas. However, the decision left city officials and residents of La Joya livid because they said they were not consulted about the decision. "We are disappointed on Joe Flores who we elected to speak for us, to be our voice," La Joya resident Frances De Leon said. "Who we took time here in La Joya to vote for him in our location." Sunday, city officials invited residents from cities in Hidalgo County to discuss and ask questions regarding the decision. The mayor of La Joya, Fito Salinas, sympathizes with the people TMs disappointment. "I don TMt mind Peitas getting a voting site, and I think they should have one, but we should also get one ourselves, Mayor Salinas said. Mayor Salinas said he found out about the decision last week while he was at the hospital. However, Hidalgo County documents show the decision to close the early voting site was made in December. "We are talking about the decision they made December 20th, and they were still denying us the yes or no," Mayor Salinas said. Mayor Salinas said he has tried contacting Commissioner Flores, but he has not returned his calls. We spoke with city officials and residents who believe the reason behind this decision is politically motivated. "I do feel it's a political reason. It doesn't make any sense to us to why after 30 years," De Leon said. "We've always had a polling location, and like I said before, we house the third largest school district in Texas." Right now, the current District Attorney Rene Guerra, is running against Ricardo Rodriguez. "I think that Mr. Flores caught wind of the reaction, and the fire that we started in La Joya with wanting a new D.A., with wanting a new system, and I feel it was done to suppress and to not vote for the candidate they wanted," De Leon said. The previous early voting location at La Joya Youth Center will no longer serve as an early voting site during the primary or general election. The closest early voting locations for those living in La Joya are located in Peitas or Sullivan. The polling site in La Joya will only be open on election day during the primary and the general election, not during days designated for early voting.


text:
VDOT Listening to Drivers About Dangerous Intersection in Bedford Co.
Bedford Co., VA - Officials say 7,000 cars drive through the intersection of Route 221 and Goode Station Road in Bedford County every single day.
That less than a half mile section of 221 was home to a dozen crashes between 2008 and 2011, one of them deadly. VDOT will take public comment on this intersection for the next 10 days.
Cody Campbell, 22, died in a 2009 crash. The chain reaction started when the car he was riding in was rear-ended, right in front of the Goode Country Store on Route 221 in Bedford County.
This is the sort of thing VDOT hopes $2 million in safety improvements will help prevent.
Ralph Hayes drives on Route 221 five days a week. When Hayes gets to the intersection with Goode Station Road
"I got to slow up real slow through this business area and also the post office because a lot of people come in and out of the traffic and you really can't see them until you're up on 'em."
VDOT wants to grade the banks right along 221 to improve sight distance for drivers. A VDOT survey crew has its eyes on the intersection before possibly adding turn lanes and changing access points to businesses.
"I don't think it will hinder us, it'll just be a change they have to get used to."
Rajel Hernandez still isn't totally used to the traffic, driving to the pizza shop she's had at the corner since December.
"I don't like to come down this way and turn in, because it's too fast."
The improvements on the other hand will take time. Work isn't expected to start for at least two years.
VDOT has heard from citizens who would like to see a stoplight out there and did complete a signal study that looks at things including traffic volume and crash history. It was determined that this area does not meet the criteria for a traffic signal.


text:
Discussion in 'Dogs - General Dog Chat' started by bogolove, Apr 21, 2005.
This is unusual....
I'm not sure I want to even THINK of Shiva's reaction! I may have to get some of those . . . I'm a glutton for punishment.
I know, I thought about it too. I bet Brady would go nuts. Brady and his peanut butter...
all Victor would need is MOOORRREE bubble reasons to jump higher! He'd take off and we'd never see him land! http://www.chazhound.com/pictures/showphoto.php?photo=3236&.cat=500&page=6
bubbles were my only way of wearing him out when he first came to us.
well those are natural. My friend had cat nip scented bubbles for her but they were too young at the time to appreciate them.
Smkie, I LOVE that pic of Vic. That's awesome. Carey also adores bubbles, we have a big wand now and she'd rather have the big ones than plain bubbles now. Until they get too big and then she's not quite sure if she wants to try them out!
Smkie! ROFLOL! That is an AWESOME picture. Absolutely T.V. ready.
Sage, I love your picture there with your dog carrying that tree. LOL. Aren't they just so determined? Very cute.
Well, those bubbles look like a hit!
Gus + Bubbles = Distruction!! My house couldn't cope I don't think!!
You could take him outside with them...
gapeach, once last year Hyia and i decided to play a prank on George my wonderful neighbor next door... we turned the fan on high, ran an extension on the porch, got our bubble wands ready (and used mr bubble, the best brand ever with a few added drops of glycerin..) then we sent a jillion thru the air and past his window..he came out with the funniest look on his face,,,,,i have a sketch of it somewhere....Bubbles were a manditory item with Aaron when he was a little guy, i let him blow them in the bathtub.. they don't pop when they land on the water and that makes for even more fun. That pic makes me think Vic is doing his own impersonation of being a bubble, he just looks so floaty.
forgot to ad..i saw a man at the peace gathering blowing bubbles over the camp fire, the bubbles floated strait up into oblivion, he could blow all kinds, including a square bubble inside of another bubble..then later i saw him on Johny Carson..it was amazing..okokok i gotta go take the pic down from mom
s of hyia blowing bubbles and scan..i adore bubbles they just have the magic to them....gotta pick up Aaron, off in the car i go again.
ROFL! Those look like fun! My dogs looooove peanut butter...I might have to get some of those!!
i posted my bubble pic in the art section..gapeach i hope you like it..
lol what will people think up of next?
Could do!! But I don't think they ship over here anyways!!
Well, maybe I will order some and we will see how they are. Since they harden, maybe I could ship a bubble to Gus with a "FRAGILE" label on it... LOL!
He'd like that!!! A bubble from Brady! What could Gus ship you in return? Some river mud for Brady to roll in so he can smell as lovely as Gus does when he's been doing it!! Lol!
Well, Brady would definenetly like that. If you go to my picture gallery, you can see a pic of Brady with mud ALL over his face. Not his paws, not his stomach, just all over his face. They are so silly!


text:
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Map of Bath Fitter
Interested in purchasing Bath Fitter information?
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text:
The American University of Beirut hosted renowned Lebanese singer Magida El-Roumi on July 4 at a special event in which El-Roumi announced her decision to donate the full proceeds from the sales of the first edition of her new album, Ghazal [Words of Romance], to the AUB Scholarship Fund which helps finance the education of needy students.
After singing two songs from her new album to resounding applause and the delight of her numerous fans, El-Roumi thanked AUB for giving her the opportunity of helping develop the next generation of Lebanese who are expected to build a country whose message is peace, education and culture.
In a passionate speech addressed to Lebanese, El-Roumi entreated her compatriots to join her in her mission of peace, rejecting wars and divisions.
"Let's build a Lebanon which promotes education, openness, and culture," she said. Let's pledge our allegiance to Lebanon, the nation, not this camp or that."
El-Roumi added: "Whoever loves people strives to achieve peace on earth and helps them to live in dignity… and helps them achieve their dreams. Lebanon's biggest wealth is in the intellect of its people, and it's our duty to protect it and prevent any brain drain from taking place."
AUB President Peter Dorman thanked El-Roumi, on behalf of the entire AUB community and especially the students, for this "inspiring initiative," and "for helping to open the doors of opportunity to the next generation."
"Throughout her life and career, Magida El-Roumi's love of this country and its people has shown through in all that she does," Dorman added. "From her first hit single, Amm Bahlamak Ya Helm Ya Lubnan (I Dream of you, O Lebanon) in 1975 to the heartrending Qana in 1996 following the brutalization of that town by Israeli forces, Magida El-Roumi has put her conscience and beliefs to beautiful music.
Dorman also recalled the honorary doctorate which AUB had granted to El-Roumi in 2009 in recognition of her contributions to the world of fine arts and culture, and for acting as a dedicated campaigner for human rights and human dignity.
"Today, we are celebrating her most recent beneficent act, which is to give the gift of education to worthy students who could not otherwise afford their tuition. Magida El-Roumi has often spoken of how she was raised with a great reverence for the power and importance of education," he said, adding that it is her characteristic combination of humility and passion, quiet warmth and intense spirit, that she is so widely revered – as an artist and as a person.
President Dorman then presented Magida with a commemorative plaque, inscribed with the AUB seal, for her generous contributions to student scholarships at the University over the years.
Associate VP for Development Imad Baalbaki also commended El-Roumi's ongoing support to the University, dating back to 1996 when she responded to a call by dedicated alumni who were fundraising to help rebuild College Hall after it was destroyed in a 1991 bomb.
"Today, Magida Halim el-Roumi renews her vows to the future of Lebanon through further supporting the most noble of causes - giving the gift of education to bright young minds of these lands who otherwise would not have had a chance for a life-changing education at AUB," added Baalbaki.
Mohammad Shatila, chair of the AUB Scholarship Fundraising Committee thanked El-Roumi for her continuous support and her generous donation of the first edition of her new album Ghazal towards scholarships to needy and bright students. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Magida," he said. "We are eternally grateful."
El-Roumi is an honorary member of the AUB Scholarship Fundraising Committee.


text:
Super Regional rain delay provokes UNC pitching changes
With game one of the Chapel Hill Super Regional postponed, the top-ranked North Carolina baseball team was given both an extra day of rest and an opportunity to reassess its pitching rotation against South Carolina.
In a press conference Thursday, coach Mike Fox announced that pitcher Hobbs Johnson, who started Sunday and threw four pitches of relief Monday, would be UNC's game one starter.
After inclement weather moved the first game of the series to Saturday at noon, the Tar Heels adjusted their rotation to make junior Kent Emanuel the first pitcher any Gamecock sees on the mound this weekend.
Emanuel has been the regular Friday starter for UNC, but a larger-than-usual workload in UNC's Regional provoked announcers and analysts to criticize coaches Fox and Scott Forbes, who have reputations for protecting arms.
The first team All-ACC pitcher, who started Saturday and threw 124 pitches in more than seven innings of work, was brought in as a reliever in the eighth inning Monday and threw 51 pitches on just a day of rest.
Though Forbes admitted he wasn't surprised by the criticism, he wasn't very fond of it.
"Some of it was a little bit disappointing," Forbes said. "When you've had a year like we've had, you think, 'If we're going to go down, we're going to go down with our best guy."
Forbes also said he received supportive texts from former Tar Heel and New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey backing his decision and assuring him that the analysts "didn't know what they're talking about."
Emanuel agreed with his coach and explained that he usually throws on Mondays. He just usually doesn't face competition.
"We talked about it a few days (before the regional). It wasn't anything crazy. It was very planned out," Emanuel said. "Coach Forbes (said), 'You throw your bullpen usually on Monday. Would you be opposed to just doing that with a real batter?
"Of course I was ready to go."
The Tar Heel's ace added that Forbes closely monitored him throughout the weekend to make sure he was OK, and on Monday, Emanuel thought he was throwing harder against Florida Atlantic than he was in his first start against Towson.
With all the attention that has been drawn to the Tar Heels' pitching decisions lately, at UNC's press conference Thursday one theme remained consistent in the Tar Heels' answer — it's not as big of a deal as everyone is making it.
"It's really been blown way out of proportion," Emanuel said.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Tar Heel.


text:
The makers of Lean Finely Textured Beef, called "pink slime" by critics, insist their product is not just a cheaper filler added to fresh ground beef, they say it makes beef safer.
And, because LFTB is treated to kill pathogens, and since 2009, every box of LFTB has been inspected and held until it is cleared before shipping, manufacturer Beef Products Inc. claims that use of its product has never led to any deaths or sickness.
BPI owner Eldon Roth told supporters Saturday, "If your grocer doesn't have our product in their ground beef, they don't have the safest ground beef they could have."
But four food safety experts interviewed by ABC News disagree, and they say it's impossible to back up BPI's claim for several reasons.
First, LFTB is not a stand-alone product. You cannot buy it at the grocery store. As BPI said at its news conference, its "a different texture, and that is a finely, a fine texture."
It is not the same as ground beef; the company concedes consumers would not recognize it as hamburger. In fact, it has the consistency of a "meat jello" according to a former USDA microbiologist who studied the material. So, even if the ammonia gas spritz it gets at the BPI plant is effective in destroying e-coli and other pathogens, the consumer never eats that product on its own.
Instead, LFTB is added to fresh ground beef, at a 15 percent ratio. Does that make the beef it's added to safer?
At its news conference, BPI conceded the ammonia treatment of its product has no effect on the ground beef to which it is added.
When asked if LFTB kills pathogens in the beef it's added to, BPI's director of quality assurance Craig Letch said, "We cannot say that."
Bill Marler, a noted food safety attorney who has sued the meat industry over e-coli, toured the BPI plant and has praised BPI's efforts at food safety in the past, told ABC News today, that it is incorrect for BPI to say its product makes the beef supply safer. Because, if it is added to contaminated ground beef, it will have no effect on the e-coli or other pathogens; the ground beef its added to will still be contaminated after the so-called "pink slime" is mixed in.
Carl Custer, the former USDA microbiologist who opposed the inclusion of LFTB in ground beef, agrees, the 15 percent change would be "hardly significant."
Could 100 percent fresh beef actually be more risky because processors would be replacing the 15 percent ammoniated LFTB with untreated meat?
Michelle Simon, a public health lawyer, author of "Appetite For Profit," and a frequent critic of the meat industry, said, "This logic makes no sense." She warns of the potential risk, "Remember, the entire purpose of this stuff is to extend supply, right?"
"So it could even be argued that, far from making the beef supply safer, LFTB just helps spread the entire (unsafe) meat supply even further," Simon. "When you consider that it makes beef cheaper, which of course results in more people eating ground beef, you are exposing more people to our contaminated meat supply."
And Bill Marler adds, "There is no real recent evidence LBTF is any safer than regular ground beef, just BPI claims."
And since the meat industry is so in tune to keeping e-coli out of the ground beef supply, he says, "It won't let the wheels come off on safety without pink slime on the market, it will just test more."
As for BPI's claim that no-one has ever been harmed by a LFTB-made hamburger, that may or may not be true. It's impossible to prove or disprove, say food experts, because the USDA does not trace food poisoning outbreaks back to the processor.
Michelle Simon says, "Of course people have gotten sick eating beef with this stuff in it. We just cannot prove where the bugs came from."
And according to a 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning article in the New York Times, a hamburger patty containing LFTB was linked to the paralysis suffered by dancer Stephanie Smith.
Records obtained by the Times showed "Ten percent of Ms. Smith's burger came from Beef Products." And the article said "federal school lunch officials found e. coli in Beef Products material in 2006 and 2008, and again in August" 2009, leading the company to begin its inspect-and-hold program.
For these reasons, both Marler and Simon say BPI's broad claim that its product makes ground beef safer is misleading.
Now, the USDA has endorsed - but not ordered - the labeling of ground beef containing LFTB. The USDA has announced that beginning today its inspectors will certify that ground beef voluntarily labeled as either "contains Lean Finely Textured Beef" or labeled "LFTB free" will be inspected to ensure it is true to its new label.
BPI released a statement endorsing the plan, saying it is the first step to restoring the reputation of its product.


text:
My turn, I think the bag i pretty solid for a non-minimalist type of guy I throw 110 - 115 meters consistently, 130 meters on a good throw. (real measured D, not message board D)(and that would roughly be 360 - 370 and 425 feet for you american guys).
Anyways nice to hear some oppinions. Also the boss'es are rarely used (only on wide open holes).
1x 175g star max
- heavy wind
2x 175g esp pulses
- spike hyzers
- hyzer
- forehand
2x 175g star wraith
- main driver
- hyzer/hyzerflip
1x 171g, sidewinder
- high turnover anhyzers
- rollers
- shorter thumbers/tommys
fairway drivers:
1x 175g champ leopard
- straight shots with some turnover
2x 175g star TL
- fairway driver for straight shots with little fade
2x 175g star eagle-x
- main fairway driver with some fade
1x 174g opto XXX
- strong headwind disc
- thumbers/tommys
- flex shots
- hard turning
1x 176g esp meteor
- turnover shots with a ton of glide
2x 178g Z buzz
- straight to slight turnover shots
2x 178g Z wasp
- headwind
- hyzer approaches
1x 175g star gator
- strong hyzer with skip
1x 175g ss magic
- jump putting
- bad lies where hyzer release can be an advantage (flips up to straight)
- anhyzer approaches
2x 175g sss warlock
- main putter
1x 175g ss wizard
- hyzer to straight approaches
6 + 6 + 6 + 4 = 22 discs
= 15 molds


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NFL.com blogger Elliott Harrison takes an interesting look at the experienced quarterbacks that are available that a team like the Cardinals could look to to run their offense if a league year ever happens. Harrison agrees that Kolb is likely the hottest commodity out there but he believes it's based more on what team's think he is capable of and not exactly on past performance.
In fact, if you check out the graph they put together, Kolb has a worse QB rating than guys like Donovan McNabb, Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger, and Kyle Orton.
Another thing that stood out to me was the fact that McNabb is only seven years older than Kolb. Sure, that could be an entire NFL career, but it just seems less than you always kind of assumed based on the mentor/successor dynamic they had in Philly.
It seems fairly amazing to me how quickly McNabb went from a stud to a guy that it just doesn't seem like many teams want. I'm very curious to see where Donovan ends up playing next season. Not nearly as interested as Kolb's landing spot, but interested to see how Five's legacy plays out.
>>Data Points: Available QBs bring experience [NFL.com]


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Fab Redux: Feelin' Blue
Fab Redux: Feelin' Blue
Blue has the unfortunate reputation of being associated with the depressing (thanks for that, Picasso!), but I for one get giddy when I see blue. Particularly electric blue — there's just something about it that is, well, electrifying.
That's why I'm taken with this cute little vintage pleated electric blue skirt, $10. It's an extra-small, and has a flattering fitted waist and flared skirt. Nothing to be blue about here!


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Dar Williams
Dar Williams
CCA, Glasgow
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Rob Adams
YOU get more than just songs in a Dar Williams gig. That's probably true of the majority of singer-songwriters, but Williams has a way of sharing quite a lot of her life with her audience so that her time on stage isn't so much a performance as an illustrated conversation.
This can mean that there's more detail than really required on the light fittings and dimmers her husband installed in the house he built for the couple and their family, added to some breathless expositions on life in a college town and New York City dwellers' obsessions with the best places to source wine, olive oil and coffee.
Set against those here, however, were a sincere eulogy to Williams' recently deceased neighbour Pete Seeger, as well as a charmingly self-deprecating memory of a lesson from Joan Baez on the perils of introducing, with naïve glee, a song called The Christians and the Pagans in pre-peace agreement Belfast.
The songs themselves, and the singing of them, also proved a mixed success and her guitar playing was bit too bashy for some of her material. Williams has a liking for sliding up to falsetto lines and doesn't always pull them off comfortably. While it would be good to report You're Aging Well, from her first album some 20 years ago, is doing as the title suggests, it sounded as if it had seen better days.
She was on strong ground with her cover versions, though, revelling particularly in Fred Eaglesmith's Wilder than Her and bringing opening act, Belfast duo Malojian, back for a harmonious version of Fred Neil's Everybody's Talkin'.


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I hope you and your family had a great Christmas and Holiday Season. Actually, this site's birthday was a few days ago, but my family and I went to Disney World for the Christmas Holidays and blogging wasn't exactly on my mind. We had a blast but I don't recommend going to Disney during Christmas week. The crowds were very large with wait times for the most popular rides topping 2-1/2 hours (if you want to experience the decorations and Christmas processionals, try going two weeks prior to Christmas).
Over these past two years, I've learned a lot about myself, personal finance, and building a website. Mostly, I've learned how little I know about all three of these. I've learned about making friendships with people you've never met and how an individual's helpful nature and concern can actually be transmitted over the Internet.
I've learned that blogging is a lot of work, especially when you write an article each day. It isn't the writing that's difficult, it's the research, the editing, the search for an appropriate picture or photograph, the keyword research, the optimization for search engines, and the interaction with readers and their comments when you can't access your site the way you'd like. All in all, it's a three to four hour per day process, in the evenings after work or early mornings prior to going to work.
But would I do it again? You bet!
I'll pick up the daily pace of articles once the holidays are over, but until then, enjoy some of these blasts from the past two years while I take some time off to play with my kids and catch up on some rest:
Use a Time Multiplier to Get Things Done
24 Signs You May Be A Mega Consumer
How I Successfully Time the Markets
7 Things Men Wish Women Knew About Money
Jack, Beans, and A Personal Economic Crisis
10 Places You Don't Need A Good Credit Score


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I've created separate ePatterns for each era for your dolls, in addition to the printed paper pattern. You can use the individual buttons or purchase the entire collection as a bundle. Note that there is a discount if you purchase the bundle with all ePatterns included. The nice thing about the doll-sized ePatterns is that the pieces fit perfectly onto printer pages. There are only a couple of pieces in the entire collection that have to be taped together, making this an easy project for a young seamstress!
This ePattern is for the Doll's Regency Spencer/Pelisse only and will make jackets, coats, and sleeveless pelisses. It's fun to make matching "mommy" and "dolly" outfits, too! Fits all 18″ soft-bodied dolls, like the American Girls, Magic Attic, and Beautiful Girlhood dolls.
[add_to_cart item="DOLLSJP" quantity="user:1″ ]
3 comments on "Doll's Regency Spencer/Pelisse ePattern"
Did you mean "patterns" instead of "buttons" in sentence two above? 🙂 I love all your patterns! Thank you so much for your line! Do you ever plan to offer clothing for boys? And do you have any tips for sizing the swing dress pattern down for dolls?
Nevermind. 🙂 I understand what you were saying above. I purchased the whole set. 🙂


text: I listen to audiobooks when on a long journey in the car with the family. With the Desire I had, I plugged into Aux and listenened through Winamp with Desire on max volume and turning up and down on car stereo as needed. With the Note when I do this the volume just isn't loud enough. At motorway speeds we're straining to hear what's being said. As you can imagine, there's been a bit of p*** taking about the fact that this large phone doesn't play very loudly! Please can anyone help?


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Reviews & Stories
Microdermabrasion..... Im Giving It a Go the Organic Way
So Ihave noticed that as I get closer to 30 I have started gettuing adult acne and my skin has become greasy out of nowhere! This means large open pores, very noticeable black heads and painful pimples that swell under the skin. Having spent years looking after my skin and it looking pretty good I have decided to do a bit of maintenance and have a series of 6 sessions of microdermabrasion... READ MORE
Endermologie Does Work! But It is Not Permanent and You Need to Maintain
I initially started researching endermologie years ago while I was trying to find out a way to help the awful cellulite i had gained from a battle with deep depression and food. As a 25 year old women who was too embarrassed to go to the beach something had to be done! I am a believer in endermologie, but it is no miracle worker. Just like ANYTHING out there that aids in your wellbeing, you... READ MORE
Recent comments from shadowflower
Hi littlemama, I would definitely recommend Shelton as a practioner, though I would make sure to be vocally firm on which areas that you want to focus on, especially once you have gotten into the swing of things after a few... READ COMMENT


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Common Core Standards & Testing
What are Common Core State Standards?
The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.
Download the California Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects by clicking here. Estándares Estatales Comunes Para Las Artes Del Lenguaje en Español: Kindergarten, Primer Grado, Segundo Grado, Tercer Grado, Cuarto Grado, Quintero Grado, Sexto Grado, Séptimo Grado, Octavo Grado.
Download the California Common Core Standards for Mathematics by clicking here. Estándares Estatales Comunes De Matemáticas en Español: Kindergarten, Primer Grado, Segundo Grado, Tercer Grado, Cuarto Grado, Quintero Grado, Sexto Grado, Séptimo Grado, Octavo Grado.
Evergreen School District has begun to transition to Common Core Standards. We are happy to announce that over the next few years, you will notice some significant changes to instruction and assessment in our schools that will directly impact your child. In 2010, California adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for full implementation during the 2014-15 school year. As we near full implementation and begin to make the transition to CCSS, it is important that you know about these changes and what resources are available to help support your child.
For more information about CCSS, please visit Evergreen School District's Common Core Standards webpage.
California Assessment of Student Progress and Performance (CaASPP)
It is anticipated that parents will receive their child's individual report mid to late September. To view a sample report, please click here. These reports will include detailed information about their child's performance on new, computer-based tests in English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics, which replaced the former paper-based exams. While classroom instruction at all grade levels has shifted, the new State accountability system is in the process of being developed and will take into consideration state assessments and other indicators of school success. Click here to read more about CaASPP.


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For a prairie boy trying to win a job in the NHL, it's hard to guess what would have been a bigger deal …
The driver?
Or the ride?
Calgary Flames alternate captain Curtis Glencross was being quizzed the other day about his leadership role in a locker room full of youngsters, and the 31-year-old left-winger singled out longtime NHL star Sergei Federov as a guy who made him feel welcome when he first arrived at hockey's highest level.
"It started when I was in Anaheim. We came back off an exhibition road-trip, and I was going to jump back on the bus and head back to the hotel, and Sergei came off the bus and asked me if I wanted a ride," Glencross recalled. "So I jumped in. At that time, he had a Ferrari in Anaheim, and I was kind of in shock. He said, 'Let's go have a beer, and then I'll take you back to the hotel.' I was like, 'Alright, this is kinda awesome.'
"From there, it went on. When I got traded to Columbus, (Federov) was in Columbus, and it was the same thing. He just took me under his arm right away again, and we became really good friends."
Fast-forward a few years — and Glencross was recovering from a high-ankle sprain when the likes of Corban Knight, Joni Ortio and Tyler Wotherspoon were summoned from the AHL's Abbotsford Heat for their first taste of big-league action with the Flames recently, but he was still a behind-the-scenes player in trying to help the call-ups get settled at the Saddledome.
After all, if Federov — a three-time Stanley Cup champ during his days with the Detroit Red Wings, the winner of the Hart Trophy in 1994 and No. 48 on the NHL's all-time scoring charts with 1,179 points in 1,248 games — could make time for a wide-eyed rookie, why couldn't he do the same?
"Anytime he was going for dinner, he always asked me to come. He was one of the first guys to see if I needed a ride anywhere when I was in the hotel or anything like that," Glencross said. "He was one guy that always kind of had me under his arm, and I like to hand that down. That's part of the pecking order. When you become an older, veteran guy on the team, you have to look out for the young guys.
"Anytime you can chat it up with the younger guys … Just having a quick conversation with them or ask them how it's going, that's something where it helps. It makes them more comfortable in the room, and it helps them play better."
The Flames, who had Sunday off after returning from a two-game roadie to Dallas and Phoenix, have suffered through a seemingly endless string of injuries to key contributors, but the bright side is the way the youngsters have capitalized on their opportunities with the big club.
Ortio, 22, has three wins in seven starts between the pipes and showed terrific composure after a puck-handling screw-up led to a goal against in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Coyotes.
Before being sidelined by a shoulder injury, 20-year-old centre Markus Granlund had scored in back-to-back games.
Knight, 23, ended the skills competition with the decisive snipe in Friday's 4-3 shootout victory over the Stars, while the 21-year-old Wotherspoon has been steady on the blueline, has collected his first NHL assist and even has his first big-league scar after needing seven stitches to close a cut to his right cheek.
What's also encouraging is how Glencross has performed in three outings since returning from a 29-game layoff.
Some guys never seem to be the same after a high-ankle sprain, but the Flames winger showed flashes of his old self on the road.
He had an assist — a beauty, too — on Paul Byron's powerplay tally in Dallas.
He had a goal in Phoenix and, proof he's already feeling comfortable out there, was also involved in extra-curriculars after the whistle.
Glencross has embraced his mentorship role, but it's nice to be able to lead by example once again.
"I'm one of those guys — I don't like watching, I like playing …" Glencross added. "When you can be out there and anytime you can be a factor and make a difference, it means a lot."
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One parent shares her story about the challenges of treating anorexia. Her experience illustrates a growing trend in the treatment of eating disorders among young people -- involving the parents, who have been considered a big part of the problem.
New approaches to fighting anorexia
Issues St. Paul, Minn. ·


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Chafee, Whitehouse discuss federal highway bill
Highway and bridge construction could cease if a federal highway bill doesn't pass, according to U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
The politicians appeared at a news conference Friday morning to talk about the need to pass the $283 billion bill.
"We will be one of the first states to shut down construction if this bill doesn't pass," said Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat.
The senator described some of the state's roads as "decrepit, ancient (and) falling down around us."
Federal transportation funding is set to dry up Sept. 30. The senator supports the bill to keep federal funding going to states to help maintain and build highways and bridges.
The bill would allocate $211 million to Rhode Island in the first year and that amount would increase from 2015 to 2020.
Whitehouse said it is a bipartisan bill, but he is concerned political gridlock could set in as lawmakers try to figure out how to fund the measure.


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rofessor Rick Payne dates his ex Nina Haley, who just became a colleague, even after she admits having a son, Elliot, although he always hated being around kids. Melinda notices Payne's wife's ghost, who causes accidents, but he refuses her help until the abuse becomes dangerous. Meanwhile he starts suspecting and gets confirmed that Elliot is his biological son and a genius, so he offers to pay for private schooling. Melinda's friend detective Carl Neely discovers the truth.Resumen IMDb.com
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A curious madness seems to have infected the world. By happenstance, I have been doing more reading about what caused the financial collapse of the Western World four years ago, and it seems clear to me that we are no closer to fixing the problem today than we were when it came home to roost.
The story, according to New York Times reporter Gretchen Morgenson and housing expert Joshua Rosner, begins with a Minnesotan who grew up 50 miles from here. James Johnson, originally from Benson, cut quite a swath in Washington. Had Walter Mondale been elected president in 1984, Johnson was the odds-on favorite to become his chief of staff.
That didn't happen, so, Morgenson and Rosner report in their book "Reckless Endangerment," the well-connected Johnson became the CEO of Fannie Mae.
Over nine years, Johnson took home an estimated $100 million. Fannie Mae, being a quasi-government agency — meaning it could make money for profit, but taxpayers were on the hook for its losses — let lending standards deteriorate while playing political hardball with any member of Congress who had the temerity to ask questions. Johnson and his crew made campaign contributions themselves and provided lucrative jobs to congressional family members and former staff. Any member of Congress who didn't play get-along, go-along, was warned in no uncertain terms, say Morgenson and Rosner.
Meanwhile, Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin pushed for repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act that separated commercial from investment banking. After leaving the Treasury, Rubin became vice president of Citigroup and pocketed $100 million, while his protege, Tim Geithner (who today is Obama's treasury secretary), as the head of the New York Federal Reserve, reduced its oversight of Wall Street.
Lest you think I'm just picking on the Democrats, in 1999, after leaving Fannie Mae, Johnson joined the board of Goldman Sachs, the same year that Henry Paulson (who later became Bush's treasury secretary) became Goldman's CEO. Paulson was in charge when Goldman created some of its most catastrophic securities while Geithner's Fed looked the other way. To date, the American taxpayers have paid $153 billion to save Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Maybe they didn't commit any statutory crimes, but if the concept of a "public trust" actually existed, one would think these guys would at least be shamed out of positions of influence. Instead, with Geithner now serving as their poster boy, they remain influential members of the Washington-Wall Street establishment.
What makes it all seem like an enduring madness, however, came after reading "Boomerang" by Michael Lewis. He describes what happened in other nations while the group above was plundering America.
Iceland used to be a volcanic rock inhabited by fishermen and a few farmers. Then they discovered investment banking. One hedge fund manager explained it this way, Lewis writes: "You have a dog, and I have a cat. We agree that each is worth a billion dollars. You sell me the dog for a billion, and I sell you the cat for a billion. Now we are no longer pet owners but Icelandic banks, with a billion dollars in new assets." And with that, they went on a buying binge across the globe, using false assets to create false prosperity.
In Greece, which has the entire western economy teetering on the brink, the average government worker makes three times what anybody makes in the private sector. The national railroad has annual revenues of $100 million euros, a wage bill of $400 million and other expenses totalling $300 million.
In 2009, an election year, tax collection came to a halt for fear of offending voters. Meanwhile, Lewis writes, it is widely believed that all 300 members of the Greek parliament cheat on their taxes.
Lewis writes, "The structure of the Greek economy is collectivist, but … its real structure is every man for himself."
Yet the Greeks blame everybody but themselves for the mess.
In Ireland, like in the U.S., a housing mania took hold. When it collapsed, leaving acres of half-built housing tracts, the pro-business politicians weren't blamed like they were elsewhere. Without complaint, the Irish allowed the government to bail out the banks. Lewis writes that Americans are more likely to reveal personal problems, while the Irish remain tight-lipped. Centuries of hardship will do that to a people.
Germany meanwhile remains the most stable ship in the Western World. Its banks were burned by some bad bets on U.S. mortgage bonds, Lewis writes, mostly because the Germans thought there were rules — like thinking AAA-rated bonds were "risk free," but few Germans walk away from their debts, so their banks remain healthy. They are now demanding that the Greeks change their national character in exchange for a bailout. Good luck with that.
Paul Krugman, the New York Times liberal columnist, keeps saying Americans don't understand debt, and that the government needs to keep spending borrowed money to save the economy.
That requires an act of faith, but when one realizes that the madness is far more widespread than just the U.S., one has to wonder how much is enough, and how will it all be repaid. Spoiled by prosperity, we are still talking about what we are all entitled to instead of thrift. The tsunami of red ink may still be a hundred yards out, but I don't think we are building a breakwater fast enough.
Tom West is the general manager of the Peach. He may be reached at (320) 352-6569 or by e-mail at [email protected]


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Newt Gingrich in Jacksonville Thursday
Newly minted top tier presidential contender Newt Gingrich is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting in Jacksonville Thursday. The First Coast Tea Party town hall starts at 2 p.m. at Jacksonville Landing, 2 Independent Dr, and is free and open to the public.
He and wife Calista are expected back in Florida Nov. 26 for an 11 a.m. book-signing at Books-A-Million in Naples, 9100 Strada Place.


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ONLY a Russian deputy foreign minister could insult with such diplomatic finesse, and leave no bruises.
"You send delegations from Pakistan every few months to us. From your National Defence University, your National Management College, from your government think tanks…," he said as an opening swipe. "Do you people learn nothing at all?" I gave the only answer possible: "I understand Your Excellency's impatience. It must be exasperating to host so many delegations from us. The truth is that Russia is developing at such a dynamic pace that unless we visit you every six months, we can never keep up with your progress…."
That same logic could apply to Dubai. It needs to be revisited every six months. Otherwise one will miss witnessing its dramatic transformation from the chrysalis of a tiny sandy sheikhdom into an iridescent butterfly, a commercial paradise.
The similarity between two archetypal city-states — 16th-century Venice and 21st-century Dubai — goes beyond the obvious.
Venice has its Lido, Dubai its Creek; Venice its natural canals and graceful gondolas, Dubai its expensively dredged water-channels with sputtering public abras and sleek private yachts.
The doge and his court have a parallel in Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's affluent and civic-minded Medicis. Dubai's skyline looks like a tantalising display of Venice's Murano glass — elaborate, expensive and fragile. A year or so ago, Dubai was thought to be bankrupt and needed a bail-out by neighbouring Abu Dhabi. Now, yesterday's banker once again casts envious looks at his erstwhile client.
Is there a singular reason for Dubai's economic recovery? None that cannot be explained by conventional economics. Will Dubai continue to grow upwards and heavenwards, like its spectacular shimmering stalagmite — the Burj Al Khalifa? Why not?
Dubai's wealth remains as diverse as the composition of its population. Its trade comes from all over the globe. Activity reaches a crescendo in the winter months. A Gulf winter is the short respite between the rigours of two unrelenting Khaleej summers. Through very skilful marketing, though, Dubai has used its benign winter weather to sell itself as a holiday haven to Europeans, Russians and East Coast Americans, desperate to defrost and if possible to celebrate a non-denominational Xmas.
Some years ago, there was a sign outside empty British churches that read: "CH—CH' means nothing if UR not in it". Christmas in Dubai is Xmas without Jesus Christ in it. To visit any shopping mall in Dubai in the shopping days leading up to the 25th of December is to become aware that Christ has been air-brushed out of '-----mas' and substituted by the image of a jovial euro Santa Claus.
The journey to Bethlehem, the search for a room at an inn, and the miraculous birth in a grubby manger would seem to have no place or relevance in Christian tradition anymore. Santa Claus, his attendant elves, and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer have become the latest symbols of a forgotten Nativity.
Any modern Joseph in search of a room would find a bed in Dubai as precious and overpriced as it was 2012 years ago, despite the almost limitless new hotels and apartment blocks springing up every month, filling the sparse waste that once existed between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
In Dubai, as in other Muslim countries in the Gulf, Christians appear to worship not in churches but at shopping malls not dissimilar to cathedrals. Designer boutiques located off each central nave are their chapels, celebrity-sponsored perfumes their holy water, and the wafer of communion has assumed the shape of a plastic credit card.
All the traditional appurtenances have been glocalised. No one sees anything incongruous in seeing artificial conifers or pine trees, their boughs weighed down by un-melting snow, or Keralese Santas surrounded by Filipino elves, or a Santa underwater replete with oxygen tanks, goggles and a soggy beard competing with exotic tropical fish for the attention of jaded shoppers.
Care is taken not to exclude non-Christians from being part of the festive ritual. Interestingly, while prayer areas within the shopping malls are unobtrusive and discreetly located, at specified times, the azan replaces the carols or pop hits being piped through the public address system, but it does little to deplete the crowds. Shoppers do not need a periodical call to spend.
Outside, the design of mosques dotted throughout the various suburbs of Dubai and of Abu Dhabi have been standardised. At first glance, they appear to be similar — the domes, the pointed minarets, the non-figurative decoration and the quality, sandstone finish — and then, one looks more closely and can identify the differences wrought by municipal architects. Each municipality like a sect within a common religion has adopted its own approach to Islam.
Dubai's challenge to Samuel Huntington's theory of the clash of civilisations is most apparent in its Jumeirah beach residences. There, in a narrow cavern, flanked by walls of luxury hotels and shopping malls, holidaymakers from either side of the religious divide sit together and savour every sort of international cuisine — Italian, French, Russian, Gujarati, Lebanese. For entertainment, they can watch a ceaseless cavalcade of young locals cruise past in their designer cars, their engines purring sensuously. Throughout the night, the single road becomes a motorised catwalk.
One is tempted to ask, if God had intended to invent Dubai, why did He bother to create such a disorderly world?
The writer is an author.