text:
Latest Gear Live Videos
- Subscribe:
- YouTube
- iTunes High Definition
- iTunes Standard Version
Does Apple have an iWatch under its sleeve in 2013?
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Wearables, Rumors
It is highly speculated that 2013 is the year that Apple's Tim Cook, or Phil Schiller, will walk on stage at an Apple event rocking something special under his sleeve. Something that you quite possibly couldn't live without. An iWatch.
Rumors are at an all-time high as speculation that Apple is getting serious about getting into the nascent smart wristwatch game, taking on the likes of upstart Cookoo watch and the KickStarter funded Pebble smart watch. Many agree that smart wearable computing is the way of the future. For instance, companies have given their take on wearable computers like, Nike's FuelBand, Jawbone's Up, Fitbit's activity trackers and, most recently, Google Glass. Perhaps, Apple can make them all obsolete with the iWatch. Bloomberg has written a fairly ridiculous essay as to why it might be more lucrative and, more likely, in Apple's best interest to ship an iWatch first rather than an iTV television set.
Click to continue reading Does Apple have an iWatch under its sleeve in 2013?
Pebble wristwatch picks up Bluetooth 4.0 after massive demand
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Wearables, Wireless / WiFi
Allerta, the group behind the Pebble Bluetooth watch that became an overnight Kickstarter sensation, has announced that due to overwhelming demand, the watch will be compatible with Bluetooth 4.0. If you scour the comments on the Pebble Kickstarter page, you'll notice Bluetooth 4.0 requests by the plenty. We figured it was just too late in the game to switch around the design of a watch that's slated to ship so soon, but the company says that Bluetooth 4.0 inclusion was on the list for a while, and therefore, the decision won't affect the ship date at all. That said, when the Pebble watch does ship, it'll be Bluetooth 2.1 out of the gate, with the Bluetooth 4.0 module being activated later through a software update that'll be available to all.
Read More | Pebble
Sony SmartWatch is a Bluetooth companion for your Android smartphone
Posted by Andrey Malskiy Categories: Accessories, Cell Phones, Wearables
Since we're on the topic of watches today, let's talk about the Sony SmartWatch. Powered by Android, the Sony SmartWatch does more than just tell time. The SmartWatch features a 1.3-inch OLED 128 x 128 display, and is 0.3-inches thin. The SmartWatch will allow users to connect the watch to Android devices, thereby allowing them to read texts, tweets, and also use various apps and widgets found on Google Play. The battery life is somewhere around the three to four day mark (depending on use) and has a standby lifespan of 14 days per charge. The SmartWatch features interchangeable straps, so you can color coordinate it to your liking. Expect to pay $150 USD for this one.
Read More | Sony
Qlocktwo W Watch: Time in Words
Posted by Andrey Malskiy Categories: Wearables, Design
Most digital watches are tacky, and some analog watches are difficult to read. However, the The Qlocktwo W by German studio Biegert & Funk offers up a stylish and intelligent solution. The watch spells out time by displaying it in five-minute intervals (i.e. it's five past three.) In order to compensate for the minutes in between dots appear at the bottom of the watch until a new five-minute interval accrues.
You might have seen this design in a wall clock B&F produced, which sells for about $1,100. The wristwatch won't be much of a deal either, as it's set to sell for around $700 USD. If you're ready to pick this watch up, you'll have to wait. There's no set release date yet, however you can sign up for updates on the studio's site.
Read More | Qlocktwo via Technabob
Phosphor Appear watch review
Posted by Taylor Peterson Categories: Accessories, Wearables, Design, Features, Product Reviews
Anyone who knows me know that I love anything pink. Throw some rhinestones in, and that's the icing on the cake. That's why it was love at first sight when I noticed the Phosphor Appear watch on the wrist of a stranger at CES. Seriously, a watch that uses Swarovski crystals to display the time? After seeing it in action, we put it to the test. I've had the Phosphor Appear for a couple of weeks now. Is the watch as good as I first thought? Read on for our full review.
Click to continue reading Phosphor Appear watch review
Bleeding Edge TV 448: Phosphor Appear Swarovski Crystal Watch
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Wearables, Design, Features, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos
The Phosphor Appear is a great looking watch, and a cool gadget to boot! We saw this one at CES, and had to get our hands on one as soon as we saw it. The Phosphor Appear is driven by Micro-Magnetic Mechanical Digital (M3D) technology, the Phosphor Appear watch utilizes miniature-sized rotors adorned with Swarovski crystals that revolve to reveal numerical or chronological information. Every minute, an electrical pulse generates an electromagnetic field that changes the position of the crystals on the face of the watch, which in turn, displays the passing time while producing a distinctive sound unique to the Phosphor Appear digital watch line. You can pick up the Phosphor Appear on Amazon. This video was recorded at CES 2012.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting for sponsoring Bleeding Edge TV. GoToMeeting provides rich, super-simple collaborative virtual meetings - be sure to check them out!
Phosphor Appear watch gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Wearables, Design, Features
We came across the Phosphor Appear watch line at CES. Although the company wasn't exhibiting there, we spotted the watch on someone's wrist and asked them about it immediately. It's definitely an eye-catching timepiece, and it's a cool gadget as well. The watch is driven by Micro-Magnetic Mechanical Digital (M3D) technology, and uses miniature-sized rotors adorned with Swarovski crystals that revolve to reveal the time. Every minute, an electrical pulse generates an electromagnetic field that changes the position of the crystals on the face of the watch, which in turn, displays the passing time. We'll have our review of the Phosphor Appear up later today. For now, enjoy this photo gallery showing it off! You can find great deals on the Phosphor Appear on Amazon.
Gallery: Phosphor Appear watch gallery
Bleeding Edge TV 426: Casio G-Shock GB-6900 Bluetooth Smart watch
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Accessories, CES, CES 2012, Wearables, Features, Podcasts, Video Games, Videocasts, Videos
We bring you a demo and overview of the Casio G-Shock GB-6900 Bluetooth Smart watch from CES 2012. As you'll see in the video, the GB-6900 features Bluetooth functionality that pairs it up with your Bluetooth Smart Ready smartphones and other devices, and lets you get information from those devices (like call alerts, text messages) as well as send commands to them (like lost phone alerts) all from the watch. Very cool, and we are definitely looking forward to getting our hands on the Casio GB-6900 G-Shock! This was recorded at CES 2012.
Big thank you to MozyPro and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! MozyPro provides simple, automatic, and secure data backup. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.
Mothers Day Gift Guide: Sottomarino sapphire crystal ceramic watch
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Wearables, Women, Under $250
We are kicking off our 2011 Mother's Day Gift Guide with a hot one! The Sottomarino ceramic watch with sapphire crystal typically sells for $499, but eBay has it for $159 for the next two hours and 45 minutes (that's 68% off!) Definitely a good-looking timepiece at an awesome price, and the ceramic is virtually scratch-proof. They're brand new and come with a three-year warranty. Oh, and it's the watch that Sandra Bullock rocks in The Blind Side, and we all know how much moms love movies like that.
Read More | Sottomarino watch on eBay
2010 Holiday Gift Guide: SleepTracker Pro Elite
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Wearables, Features, Women, Men, Techies, Under $250, Under $500
Worn like an everyday watch, SleepTracker Pro Elite is ideal for anyone who wants to wake up alert and ready to start the day, such as frequent travelers across time zones, business people looking for an extra edge, students with fluctuating schedules, or busy moms who need to wake up easily (see our original SleepTracker review.) That sounds like just about everyone, so we figured it was a good candidate for our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide. SleepTracker may find multiple almost-awake moments within the sleep cycle. Almost-awake moments may also vary in frequency throughout the night. By monitoring your sleep cycles for optimal waking moments during the preset ALARM WINDOW, SleepTracker finds those almost awake-moments and gently wakes you when you're most alert. The result? You wake up refreshed instead of groggy.
You can pick up the SleepTracker Pro Elite for $175 on Amazon. There's a male version and a female version.
© Gear Live Inc. – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.


text:
IRON MOUNTAIN - A Norway man was issued a citation for disregarding a traffic signal following a two-vehicle accident on U.S. 2 at East Ludington Street Friday afternoon.
No injuries were reported in the crash.
The Iron Mountain Police Department was dispatched to the crash at 2:25 p.m.
Article Photos
Chris Tomassucci/Daily News Photo
Iron Mountain Police and Fire Department personnel respond to a two-vehicle crash in downtown Iron Mountain Friday afternoon. No one was injured in the incident.
Police said a pickup truck, driven by a 52-year-old Norway man was northbound on U.S. 2 at East Ludington and failed to stop for the red light. The pickup truck struck an eastbound passenger car on Ludington Street that was driven by a 65-year-old Iron Mountain man.
The 52-year-old Norway man was issued a disregarding a traffic signal citation.
Iron Mountain Police were assisted on scene by Iron Mountain Fire Department personnel, who responded for spilled fluid.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
5 Oak Bluffs Ave, Oak Bluffs, MA | Directions 0255741.457620 -70.557211
We Always Return to The Captain's Table – My husband and I have made a tradition of staying at the Surfside Motel to celebrate our birthdays and we were happy to discover this restaurant on our first visit to the Vineyard. In the morning, the diner (which was shipped over from the mainland decades ago) has a homey greasy-spoon feel - sit at the counter and have your eggs and coffee while chatting with the cook. In the evenings, WOW! The whole place is transformed into a lovely candlelit cafe with an incredible menu. I look forward to getting my homemade parpadalle with lobster in a saffron cream sauce every year. The waitress even went out of her way to have the chef special-order some of the ingredients when they ran out, knowing my husband and I were aching to have the dish. We're already dreaming of our visit next year. . .
The Wine Bar – at night the captain's table becomes the best place to eat on the vineyard! chef ray schilcher is incredible!!! his shrimp scampi was one of my favorites. the thai red curried mussels. the vietnamese scallops. and the special of flat noodles, which they make earlier in the day - with a lobster cream sauce. all makes me want to go back soon. especially considering ray is moving on and will only be a guest chef until january. i hope i'll be able to find his next restaurant or see his show on food tv!
Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Facebook to see what your friends are up to!
Do you have a review of O-Sun Hibachi & Asian Kitchen on your blog? If you include the Citysearch image link (shown below) in your post, we'll automatically link to your review from the business profile page. Here's how our Linkback system works:
The Linkback system is free and automatic. It's really that easy.
To link to our business profile page, copy the html below to your web page.


text:
Always Free Shipping for Birchbox Aces
Free standard shipping on orders $50+
Create a free account to check out faster, store multiple shipping addresses, view and track your orders in your account, and much more.
Please enter your password to continue.
I absolutely love this soap. Its so gentle and you get out of the shower feeling moisturized and refreshed. I even use it on my face. I would definitely recommend it.
No other soap that I have tried (it's safe to say I have tried over 20 brands) has left my skin feeling so fresh, smooth, and rejuvenated. I get excited to wash my face every day just because I know I am going to lather my skin with Denizia. I will be buying this continuously and I can't wait to see my skin be glow and not dry during the winter months!!
I love this soap. It doesn't dry out your skin at all! and it's a big bar, doesn't get all slimy like some soap.
I loved this product. I gave it as a gift and will be buying some for myself for sure! It smells natural and clean. I bought it for my father and he loved getting it. He is going to use it in the kitchen on his tug boat b/c it looks
Although it's a bit pricey for a bar of soap, it works wonders! Lovely, hydrated, soft skin. Works wonders in releiving my dry, itchy winter skin! This is a definite must-have, regardless of price.
I bought this soap because I really am infatuated with products based with olive oil since I have extremely dry skin. This soap did not disappoint. It cleans well while not stripping my skin and I also like that I can use this to clean my face as well as my body since it is so mild. The only thing I am not too crazy about is the scent. I wish it smelled like lavender or some other essential oil. Since it has none blended into it, it just has a blah scent, not quite the robust scent of olive oil from your kitchen but nothing too strong either. Just blah and I personally would enjoy it more if it was scented. That's the reason for only 4 stars. I really give it 4.5 with .5 deducted for scent.
I received the Olive Oil Soap in the Lavender scent, and cannot use it enough. It feels like putting on a very soft soap, and your hands and body feel so smooth and moisturized after using.
I love this soap. It feels like you are putting on moisturizer. I had to take it away from my husband because he was using it too fast.


text:
Current Time 10:12:14am
State Route 83 Bridge to be closed to Traffic in New ConcordWritten by Bill Cassler
Anti-Fracking Folks Call Quake Reports InaccurateWritten by Associated Press
Woman Allegedly Breaks Into Home, Resists Arrest, Is Caught Carrying HeroinWritten by Jeremy Scott
Council: Outdoor Projects Regulated in ByesvilleWritten by Mike McKay
State Route 285 Shut Down in Noble CountyWritten by Bill Cassler
Byesville Boil OrderWritten by AVC News
Wheeling Township Road ClosureWritten by Bill Cassler
Burris Found Competent to Face Murder ChargesWritten by Bill Cassler
Anti-Fracking Group to Hold ConferenceWritten by Associated Press
Tressel a Finalist for U of Akron PresidencyWritten by Associated Press
Tree Time in CambridgeWritten by Jeremy Scott
Cambridge Sirens Sounding Every MonthWritten by Jeremy Scott
Bloomfield Brush FireWritten by Jeremy Scott
Cambridge Boil Order LiftedWritten by AVC News
Tourism Industry attends WorkshopWritten by Guernsey Co. VCB
Over 250 Mumps Cases Now ReportedWritten by Associated Press
Football Coach to Change Plea in Steubenville CaseWritten by Associated Press
- Facebook Links
- Twitter Feeds
- Free Text Alerts
Follow us on Twitter!
AVC News - Daily Local Headlines and Alerts
AVC Sports - Local HS Sports Scores
Get Text Message Local News Alerts and Local HS Sports Scores on Your Cell Phone!
YourRadioPlace.com will alert you to the latest breaking LOCAL news, weather school closings and local HS sports scores for all the games we broadcast via Text Messages to your cell phone or PDA! Sign up now for this FREE service! (Message and Data Rates May Apply - See details under read more link)
AVC Local News Alerts: Text keyword: AVCNEWS to 41411
Local HS Sports Scores: Text keyword: AVCSPORTS to 41411
Message and data rates may apply. To Opt-out text STOP to 41411. For more information text HELP to 41411.
Popular Articles...
Win tickets to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey "Built To Amaze"
Listen to 93-BNV weekday mornings to win tickets to Ringling Bros. and…Read more...
Gotta Love Dem Dogs!!
Hello to my infamous Brew Crew. I love videos. I love dogs.…
Listen to 93-BNV to win Ingrid Michaelson tickets
93-BNV has tickets to the Ingrid Michaelson show on May 25 in…Read more...


text:
UK breakdown coverGet a quote
– buy online
Arrange cover over the phone
Call us on 0800 085 2721
Broken down?
We can help – call us now
0800 88 77 66
There are 66 results - Show results on a map Print this page
Showing 61 - 66 of 66
Rockside Guest House was built in 1847 from Lakeland stone, and is owner-managed by Martin and Caroline. They have modernised the building to provide all mod cons, yet retained many of the original fe...More about Rockside Guest House
Quietly tucked away, this beautiful Victorian Lakeland house is personally-run by owners Richard and Lisa. Delicious food, individually designed bedrooms and warm hospitality ensure an enjoyable stay....More about The Hideaway at Windermere
Built in 1854 as a country retreat, this lovely old house enjoys a peaceful location that is within easy walking distance of the town centre. Bedrooms, some on the ground floor, are attractive and wel...More about Cedar Manor Hotel & Restaurant
This long established hotel enjoys a lakeside setting amidst delightful landscaped gardens. The bright and welcoming day rooms include sumptuous lounges, a conservatory and an opulently decorated rest...More about Miller Howe Hotel
Set above the shores of Lake Windermere in wooded landscaped gardens, this former manor house has been restored to its original splendour. The bedrooms and suites are smart and well appointed. The att...More about Windermere Manor Hotel
A warm welcome awaits at this elegant Georgian country house with views over Esthwaite Water and the surrounding countryside. The thoughtfully equipped bedrooms have been decorated and furnished with ...More about Ees Wyke Country House


text:
Historian, b. in Portugal, 1496; d. 20 October, 1570. Of his early youth little is known. In 1522, he went to Mina in Portuguese Africa, and was made treasurer of the Casa da India, Mina, and Ceuta (African possessions) in 1525, and again in 1532. Here he cultivated his literary inclinations and attached himself to the Crown of Portugal by other ties than those of a faithful subordinate and accountant. At the age of twenty-four, he published a romance of the Emperor Clarimundo, a legendary ancestor of the kings of Portugal. In 1539, when Brazil had begun to be looked upon as an important accession to Portuguese colonial possessions, he obtained a grant of fifty-leagues along the coast at the mouth of the Amazon and forthwith equipped an expedition to occupy it. Ten vessels with nine hundred men, under command of Aires da Cunha, set sail for Brazil, but were wrecked at the bar of the Maranhão, and nearly everybody perished. Two sons of Barros were in the expedition, but their fate is not given. This brought Barros almost to the verge of poverty. He thereafter clung to historic studies, protected and favoured by the king, at whose instigation he wrote his classical work, "Asia", considered of value as a fine piece of Portuguese literature and for the information it affords. Besides giving an account of discovery and conquest, it touches frequently upon the earliest attempts at Christianization by the Portuguese in their African and Asiatic possessions, the founding of churches, etc. The first decade appeared in 1552. Only three have been fully published. A fourth, of somewhat questionable authenticity, has been partly printed.
On the life of Barros, see DE FERIA, Vida de Joao de Barros (Lisbon, 1778); SILVA, Diccionario bibliografico portuguez (Lisbon, 1859), III; Biographie universelle (Paris, 1854), I.
APA citation. (1907). João de Barros. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02309a.htm
MLA citation. "João de Barros." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02309a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Ann M. Bourgeois. Offered to Almighty God for blessings on Maria Albritton & family.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.


text:
The good: The first portion of the road opened in early 2011.
The bad: The second portion won't open until late 2014 — if then.
The good: Traveling the Iron Mountain Road-Bains Gap portion of the road isn't that bad.
The bad: Traveling the Iron Mountain Road-Bains Gap portion will be quickly avoided once the parkway's second half is completed.
The good: The Pelham Road portion of the parkway is expected to be finished soon.
The bad: The Alabama Department of Transportation spent the last $11 million of federal stimulus money originally allocated for the parkway on other projects.
The good: Having one half of the parkway completed is better than having none of it completed.
The bad: $15 million to $20 million is needed to pave the remaining portion of the parkway, and no one's quite sure when that money will trickle down from Washington.
Here we sit on Dec. 1, 2012, more than 14 years after Congress gave the initial go-ahead for the parkway project, 11 years after the first shovel of dirt was turned and nine years after the first portion opened from Interstate 20.
And the parkway still isn't finished.
It is a much-needed road whose fate has been affected, often negatively, by politics, economic realities, problems with construction firms, statewide infrastructure needs and rapidly rising construction costs. That toxic stew of calamities has taken a difficult parkway project and turned it into a road that may take nearly two decades to build.
Solutions aren't bountiful. Money from the federal transportation bill represents the easiest, most convenient solution — but ALDOT will have to dole out its D.C. money as it sees fit, and there's no guarantee today that the money to pave the final portion will be available as fast as we think it should.
Let's be clear: Veterans Memorial Parkway's significance hasn't diminished. When completed, it will be the limited-access, north-south artery this county sorely needs. With Anniston's new mayor in place and an Annistonian residing as the president pro tem of the state Senate, we'd like to believe ALDOT will hear daily of the importance of funding this project's completion.
Until then, we wait. We're getting good at that.


text:
Product 330/444
Set sail on an wonderful adventure with this stunning *MEGA* collection at an UNBELIEVABLE price!!! Perfect for all of your summer, holiday, vacation and everyday scrapping needs!
This collection has everything that you will ever need and more!
You'll receive:
Sail Away - Kit
Sail Away - Alphas
Sail Away - Banner Alpha
Sail Away - Extra Papers
Sail Away - Watercolor Papers
Sail Away - Bottle Caps
Sail Away - Wordy Bits
Sail Away - Clusters
Sail Away - Borders
Sail Away - Stackers
Sail Away - Mini Clusters
*PLUS*…you'll receive the Sail Away Add On FREE with purchase! 6 more papers and 17 wonderful elements to complete this collection!
See it all HERE
Personal Use/S4H
Designer: Created by Jill
Product model: cbj-lcc-samega
File Size: 568 Megs
License: S4H/S4O and Personal use allowed
This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 30 June, 2013.


text:
Add Icons, Images, and Effects
To create and manage user interface elements for your app, Xcode offers several tools in addition to Interface Builder.
You create many images for your app, including icons, custom artwork, and launch screens for different iOS devices. Some of these images are required for App Store submission. The asset catalog helps you manage them.
With the particle emitter editor, you can enhance your app by adding animation effects involving moving particles such as snow, sparks, and smoke. These effects are especially useful in games for iOS and Mac.
For Mac apps, the Scene Kit editor helps you work with scenes created in 3D authoring tools and exported as COLLADA Data Asset Exchange (DAE) files.
Add App Icons
Create app icons for all of the operating system versions and devices that your app supports. iOS apps and Mac apps require different types of icons. For either platform, add the required versions of your app icons to an asset catalog in Xcode.
For an iOS app, create an icon to be displayed on a device's Home screen and in the App Store. Xcode doesn't include graphics tools for creating icons; use a graphic design app. You should create several different versions of the icon for use in different situations. Your iOS app can include a small icon (to use when displaying search results) and a high-resolution icon (for devices with Retina displays). When your iOS app's target is universal, you also create versions of the icon for iPad and iPhone devices.
For a Mac app, create a set of icons, consisting of pairs of icons (standard and high resolution) for each icon size—16 x 16, 32 x 32, 128 x 128, 256 x 256, and 512 x 512—used by the Finder to represent your app to the user.
When you create a new project, Xcode creates an asset catalog named
Images.xcassets. Select the asset catalog from the project navigator, and Xcode opens the catalog in the editor area.
The asset catalog contains a list of image sets. Each image set, such as AppIcon in the screenshot, contains all the versions of an image that are necessary to support various devices and scale factors. You can add icon images to your app by dragging them to the appropriate cell in the icon set grid.
You can create additional image sets, such as for buttons and other controls in your app. To create an empty image set or to import images into a new set, click the Add button (+) at the bottom of the image set list.
Create and Set iOS Launch Images
Launch images are displayed while your app is launching on iOS. A launch image matching the device resolution appears as soon as the user taps your app icon. Use screenshots to create your app's launch images, and use the asset catalog to manage all the representations of the launch image.
You can easily capture screenshots for launch images on a device. On the device, configure the screen the way you want it to appear. Press the Lock and Home buttons simultaneously. Your screenshot is saved in the Saved Photos album in the Photos app. Copy the screenshot from the device to your Mac. You can use the iPhoto app, for example, to import the screenshot from the device and then export the screenshot to your Mac as a PNG file.
To set the screenshot as a launch image, select the asset catalog in the project navigator, and select the LaunchImage set. Drag your screenshot to the appropriate cell in the grid.
Add Particle Emitter Effects
Especially useful for developers of iOS and Mac games, Sprite Kit provides a graphics rendering and animation infrastructure. This infrastructure includes particle emitters. Particle emitters can range from a single image that barely moves, to thousands of small particles flying across the screen. You can use particle emitters to simulate fire, rain, smoke, snow, sparks, and other animated effects.
Xcode provides eight particle emitter templates and an editor for manipulating the appearance and behavior of particles.
Create a Sprite Kit–enabled game from the New Project template in Xcode, or use the General pane in the project editor to add the Sprite Kit framework to an existing target. Then add a particle emitter to your project by choosing File > New > File and choosing Resource > SpriteKit Particle File.
Select the particle template from the drop-down menu, and click Next. Enter a name for the emitter in the Save As field. Select the checkbox associated with your project in the Targets area. Xcode creates a file with the extension
Select your particle emitter file in the project navigator, and Xcode opens the file in the particle emitter editor.
Modify the look and feel of the particles with the particle emitter inspector (). For example, you can change the rate at which particles are created, what a particle looks like, and how it acts after it's created. Changes made to the inspector take effect immediately and can be viewed in the editor.
Add 3D Scenes to Your Mac App
Scene Kit is a 3D-rendering framework for Mac apps. Sprite Kit supports the import, manipulation, and rendering of 3D assets without requiring advanced 3D graphical programming skills on your part. With the Scene Kit editor, you can preview 3D scenes, inspect them for information needed for your source code, and adjust scene object parameters to enhance and fine-tune the rendering for your app.
To import a COLLADA Data Asset Exchange (DAE) file into the project, use the project navigator. Select a folder in which you want to save the file. Choose File > Add Files, select the file, and click Add. To browse the 3D scene in Xcode, select the DAE file in the project navigator. Xcode opens the file in the Scene Kit editor.
To preview the scene and run animations, use the controls in the Scene Kit editor's main area. Press the Play button to play an animation. Click the Pause button to pause the animation, and drag the slider to scroll through it. Use the trackpad or mouse to manipulate the point of view.
The inspectors in the utility area allow you to view and edit information about the node in the scene graph list or the object in the entities list. For example, with the nodes attributes inspector, you can adjust camera, light, or geometry attributes, and with the materials inspector, you can adjust many settings on a material and its properties, such as by selecting a lighting model for it and colors and textures for its contents.
Copyright © 2014 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Updated: 2014-03-10


text:
Not a member yet?
Subscribe Now!
User Email
Forgot Password?
Player Rankings
Rankings Portal
Class of '14 HS Player Rankings
Class of '15 HS Player Rankings
Class of '16 HS Player Rankings
Class of '17 HS Player Rankings
Top 300 2014 Draft Prospects
Top 50 2014 College Prospects
Top 100 2014 Juco Prospects
2013 Summer Collegiate Top Prospect Index
Rankings FAQs
College Team Rankings
Final 2013 Top 25 College Teams
Final 2013 Top 50 Juco Teams
Final 2013 Top 50 Summer Collegiate Teams
High School Rankings
Top 50 HS Teams
Travel Team Rankings
12u Travel Team Rankings
13u Travel Team Rankings
14u Travel Team Rankings
15u Travel Team Rankings
16u Travel Team Rankings
17u Travel Team Rankings
18u Travel Team Rankings
Top Uncommitted Prospects
College Recruit Rankings
Recruit Scoop
Perfect Game All American Classic
2014 Preseason All Americans
2014 Preseason Underclass All Americans
Showcase Portal
Sign up for Showcases
Showcase Schedule
Player Profiles & Reports
Showcase News
Showcase FAQs
League Portal
Sign up for Leagues
League Schedule
League Player Profiles
League News
Tournament Portal
Team Sign up
Tournament Schedule
Recent Tournaments
Tournament News
Player Team Bulletin Board
Need Insurance?
Tournament FAQs
All American Classic
Perfect Game All American Classic
PG Super25
PG Super25 Portal
About PG Super25
PG Super25 Schedule
PG Super25 FAQs
National Championships
July 9-13, 2014 Nashville, TN
July 11-15, 2014 Charleston, SC
July 16-20, 2014 Craigs Ranch McKinney, TX
July 30-Aug 3, 2014 Ft.Myers, FL
July 23-27, 2014 Phoenix, AZ
PG Spring Swing
PG Spring Swing Portal
About PG Spring Swing
Contact PG Spring Swing
Top Uncommitted Prospects
Scout Blog Central
College Commitments
PG MLB Players
Event Records
2014 National Pre-Draft
2014 Jr National
2014 National Showcase
Player Profile Preview
2014 MLB Draft
Draft Portal
2013 MLB Draft Picks/Signings
2014 Raw Draft Order
Top 300 2014 Draft Prospects
Top 50 2014 College Prospects
Top 200 2014 Juco Prospects
Top 200 2015 Draft Prospects
Top 100 2016 Draft Prospects
2013 Summer Collegiate Top Prospect Index
2013 MLB Draft LIVE! pick tracker & chat
2013 MLB Draft Preview Content
2013 MLB Draft
2013 MLB Draft review: American League
2013 MLB Draft review: National League
Perfect Game MLB Players
MLB Player of the Day
Apr 22
Jose Fernandez
Minor League Coverage
Minor League Portal
Organizational Top Prospect Lists
Perfect Game All American Classic
2014 Preseason All Americans
2014 Preseason Underclass All Americans
2014 National Pre-Draft
2014 Jr National
2014 National Showcase
College Baseball
College Portal
Premium College Blog
College Top 25
College Recruit Rankings
Recruit Scoop
College Commitments
College News
College Forums
Rogers' College Premium Forum
College Baseball Clubhouse
College Baseball Scoreboard
Junior College Baseball
Junior College Portal
Top 200 2014 Juco Prospects
Preseason 2014 Top 50 Juco Teams
Summer Collegiate Baseball
2013 Summer Collegiate Top Prospect Index
Final 2013 Top 50 Summer Collegiate Teams
Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League
College Baseball Tickets
Learn about College Baseball Tickets
About PG Spring Swing
Contact PG Spring Swing
Follow Kendall Rogers on Twitter
College Baseball on Facebook
Top Uncommitted Prospects
College & High School tournaments coming to LakePoint in 2015
About PG Spring Swing
Contact PG Spring Swing
High School Baseball
High School Portal
Top 50 HS Teams
2014 High School Preview Index
College Commitments
High School Baseball News
2013 Nationasl HS Preseason Top 50
Top Uncommitted Prospects
Top 50 HS Teams
Follow Todd Gold on Twitter
Follow PG HS Baseball on Twitter
PG HS Baseball on Facebook
College & High School tournaments coming to LakePoint in 2015
About PG Spring Swing
Contact PG Spring Swing
Article Portal
High School
Summer Collegiate
Minor League
Allan Simpson
Kendall Rogers
Jeff Dahn
David Rawnsley
Jery Ford
Patrick Ebert
Todd Gold
Jheremy Brown
Matt Rodriguez
Jason Piddington
Perfect Game Staff
Recent Releases
PG Spring Top gets top billing
Draft Focus: Chris Oliver
Popup Spotlight: Cam Bishop
Projected Field of 64: April 23
Draft Focus: Spencer Adams
So Cal lefty projects at No. 1
College roundup: Crazy Tuesday
TCU adds catcher Zack Plunkett
College prospect buzz: April 22
JUCO Top 50 Teams: April 22
+ More Articles
Popular PG Articles
2014 PGCBL All-Star Game in Elmira
MLB Draft: State-by-State Lists
Brady Aiken game report (4/16)
2014 MLB Draft: Top 100 Prospects
National HS Top 50: March 31
+ More Articles
Popular College Articles
College Top 25: Taking control
College Top 25: Moving on up
Projected Field of 64: April 16
College Top 25: Plenty of chaos
College Top 25: Back in business
+ More College Articles
Join the Discussion
Forum Home
Rogers' College Premium Forum
College Baseball Clubhouse
Draft Forum
Perfect Game
About Perfect Game
Contact Perfect Game
PG Facility
Job Opportunity
Get Social with PG
PG on Facebook
Follow PG on Twitter
College Baseball on Facebook
Follow Kendall Rogers on Twitter
PG HS Baseball on Facebook
Follow PG HS on Twitter
Search Over 60,000 Videos
Video Matchups
PG Promos
Skillshow Services
LakePoint Updates
Recruiter Tools
For Recruiters and Scouts
Advanced Search
Top Uncommitted Prospects
College Commitments/Interests
Scout Blogs
Event Records
Perfect Game All American Classic
2014 National Pre-Draft
2014 Jr National
2014 National Showcase
Perfect Game MLB Players
MLB Player of the Day
Apr 22
Jose Fernandez
Minor League Coverage
Minor League Portal
Organizational Top Prospect Lists
PG Player Reports
2014 P/C Indoor Showcase - Reports
2014 Northeast Indoor - Reports
2014 World Showcase - Reports
2014 Nat'l Underclass Session 3 - Reports
2014 World Uncommitted - Reports
2013 National Underclass Main - Reports
2013 National Underclass 1 - Reports
2013 West Uncommitted - Reports
2013 Caribbean Underclass - Reports
2013 Caribbean Top Showcase - Reports
2013 California Underclass - Reports
2013 Norcal Showcase - Reports
+ More Events
Showcase Top Prospects
2014 P/C Indoor Showcase
2014 Northeast Indoor
2014 World Showcase
2014 Nat'l Underclass Session 3
2014 World Uncommitted
2013 National Underclass Main
2013 National Underclass 1
2013 West Uncommitted
2013 Caribbean Underclass
2013 Caribbean Top Showcase
2013 California Underclass
2013 Norcal Showcase
+ More Events
All Tournament Teams
2014 PG High School Showdown
2014 PG High School Showdown-Academies
2013 WWBA World Championship
2013 WWBA Freshman World Champ
2013 WWBA Underclass World Championship
2013 WWBA Florida Qualifier
2013 WWBA South Qualifier
2013 WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship
2013 PG/Evoshield Natl Champ (Upperclass)
2013 PG/Evoshield Natl Champ (Underclass)
2013 WWBA 16u Labor Day Classic
2013 WWBA 18u Labor Day Classic
+ More Events
recent topics
recent posts
Perfect Game
Draft Insider Forum
College notes from week 7 - big pitching matchups
Insider-based subscribers can receive updates and reports from the PG staff on some of the top draft-eligible players from across the nation.
show rated messages only
you must log in at the top of the page to post
There were some marquee pitching matchups last weekend, including Marcus Stroman vs. Buck Farmer, Bobby Wahl vs. Hudson Randall and Ryne Stanek vs. Ryan Eades. My notes will be a little more broken than what I've done in past weeks to conserve time.
Buck Farmer (Georgia Tech RHP):
Big kid, well built. Momentum carries him to 1B side on release. 93 FB. Sharp breaking ball that varies between curve and slider depending on how he throws it and based on the situation. Threw strikes in this game, working quickly. Did a nice job getting out of bases loaded jam in 4th getting a tapper back to mound for 1-2-3 DP. Pitches backwards at time using slurve to set up FB. Runs and fields position well for big guy.
Marcus Stroman (Duke RHP):
Little guy, but well put together, good athlete, quick-twitch. Electric arm speed, ball explodes out of hand. 93-95 in this game. Well balanced on mound. Tight breaking slider to go with hard boring fastball. Slider is especially nasty when he's ahead of count and buries it. Mixed pitches/sequencing well. Holds runners well, really good mound presence/composure. Interesting as starter, maintained velo well deep into game. Induced lots of ground balls. Good command of zone.
Brandon Thomas (Georgia Tech OF):
Tall, upright LH stance. Tall, rangy athlete. Good strength. Resembles Andre Ethier physically and as hitter at same stage of career. Good bat speed, easy swing, ability to catch up with Stroman's heat. Keeps barrel in zone, ability to drive the ball to the opposite field. Nice job working count.
Bobby Wahl (Ole Miss RHP):
Nice big, athletic frame. Similar build to Karsten Whitson. Very good FB, has some late life. Good arm speed. Aggressive approach, goes right after hitters. Pitches off fastball. Sharp slider has sharp diving life. Also threw good change. Confident pitcher that shows some emotion on mound. Pitching style somewhat similar to Gerrit Cole. Effectively wild at times. Very impressive RHP that should be premium pick in 2013.
Hudson Randall (Florida RHP):
Pitchability RHP. Changes speeds and commands ball extremely well. Throws in upper-80s, ability to touch 90/91. Sharp slow curveball, really nice fade on change. Some movement to FB. Did a nice job settling down in this game after giving up 3 runs in 1st, including 2-run shot to Ole Miss 1B Matt Snyder.
Ryan Eades (LSU RHP):
Skinny with strength, great projectability. High waist. Slow windup, fast arm, smooth and easy delivery. Good fastball velo that sat in low-90s, touched mid-90s early (some reports had him up to 97). Sharp upper-70s curve, really nice changeup maintaing arm speed with sinking action. 3 quick outs to start game, using just 8 pitches. Good pitch sequence, pitches off fastball. Premium 2013 draft RHP.
Ryne Stanek (Arkansas RHP):
Similar to Eades. Projectable, slender frame with broad shoulders. A little more effort to delivery than Eades, but pitches more like a true power pitcher. Easy FB velocity. Nasty, sharp slider. Curve more of a big bender, slider has tighter, sharper break. FB 93 (reports also had him up to 97), slider 84. Throws downhill. Another premium 2013 draft RHP in a very promising sophomore class in SEC.
Ty Ross (LSU catcher):
Good size, target behind plate. Loose, flexible frame. Sets up well, very good defensive tools with cannon for arm. Good bat speed. Currently more of a line drive approach but power is there.
Kevin Gausman (LSU RHP):
From brief video clips of Gausman during game, they showed him showing a few of the nasty sliders that we heard about after the weekend from his performance. The pitch had wicked break, thrown with the same arm speed as his fastball (which reportedly was up to 99) and is released out of his hand like his FB. Very impressive albeit in a very short taste of his outing. If he pitches like that more often he could push his name into the favorite for the No. 1 overall pick, if he hasn't already.
show rated messages only
you must log in at the top of the page to post
Draft Insider Forum
College notes from week 7 - big pitching matchups
Powered by AspNetForum
© 2006-2010 Jitbit Software
Preseason All-Americans
Preseason Underclass All Americans
Perfect Game All-American Classic
PG Pro Shop
Perfect Game Spring Swing
PG Super25
Perfect Game National Showcase event videos
1,323 MLB Draft Picks
LakePoint Development
Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League
Baseball Web TV
MLB Pitch, Hit & Run
Atlanta Braves Tickets
Perfect Game High School Showdown
Skillshow online video ACT profiles
Minor League Baseball
LakePoint Housing – Experient (all Georgia events)
Lee County Sports Organizing Committee (all Fort Myers, FL events)
GroupHousing (all other events)
High School Baseball Web
Car Rental for PG Events
Cedar Rapids Kernels
Florida Sports Foundation
Copyright 1995-
by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.
About Perfect Game
Contact us


text:
Blue Yoga
Born in England and long time native of metropolitan Detroit, Paul has been a dedicated vinyasa yoga practitioner for well over a decade. As a teacher, he inspires his students to light their own internal fire, cultivating deep relaxation and encouraging self-discovery and transformation through synchronized breath and movement.
Delivering classes that have the intensity for challenging the body and engaging the mind, increasing strength, stamina, flexibility and balance while enhancing physical health and well being.
Teaching from the heart, Paul gives students an extraordinary experience through a dynamic class, taking the mind and body on a journey and assisting students to reach their full potential, both on and off the mat!
"You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind." - Timothy Leary


text:
6 Reasons why user testing fails
: The most common reasons for failing to do proper user testing : http://keynotopia.com/6-reasons-why-user-testing-fails/
: The most common reasons for failing to do proper user testing : http://keynotopia.com/6-reasons-why-user-testing-fails/
: The project is on mobile experience design, it's called Rimino – A Human Touch on Mobile Experience. : http://www.nickfinck.com/blog/entry/human_touch_and_the_mobile_experience/
: A great case study on running a usability test on the iPad – or mobile devices in general. Interesting results from the iReddit app. : http://www.intuitionhq.com/blog/2011/07/mobile-usability/
: This past year, we brought you stories on everything from tweeting toddler toys and streamlined ATMs to news-reading apps and remote controls that magically change channels with a wave of the hand. Though wildly different from one another, these projects share a common denominator: They all display intriguing user-interface innovations. : http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662959/12-of-the-years-best-ideas-in-interface-design-slideshow#1
: Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas's The Pragmatic Programmer is a bible of sorts when it comes to effective programming. One of the strongest take home points from the book was their advice to gently exceed expectations. It's one of those little nuggets of advice that is so subtle that it's easy to go in […]
: Web search engines show millions of results for any keyword in 2 to 5 seconds and the visitors select any URL on a search engine result page (SERP) in next 10 seconds. After landing to your Website, any visitor takes only 5 to 8 seconds to analyze whether this page serves their purpose or […]
: I have tried and fallen in love with countless applications, from Balsamiq to Mockingbird to FlairBuilder. Although each has felt like true love, over time my gaze has wandered, and I find myself flirting with another tool. : http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/07/keynote-as-a-collaborative-wireframing-tool/
: In this installment of my column, I'll take a look at one of the most important visual design elements for graphic user interfaces: typography. I'll concentrate on general guidelines for the effective use of typography in the design of applications for children between 3 and 10 years of age. What considerations do we need […]
: Following on from James's post iPad app user testing : Observations from the field, this post reveals the equipment we've refined to collect iPad test data and how to deliver an engaging experience for the project owners. : http://www.cxpartners.co.uk/news/ipad_usability_testing_-_our_equipment.htm
: Femme Den's tagline is "We save good women from bad design." Going forward, I encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to gender, just as you'd think outside the box for any other design problem. : http://cognition.happycog.com/article/designers-are-from-mars
Contribute a guest post to UX Booth and let the community know what's important to you!


text:
News & Updates
- Request for Proposals: CT Special Education Parent Survey
- Supporting the Academic Needs of Kindergarten Students with Significant Cognitive Delays
- A Letter from the Executive Director of SERC
- Y.E.S for Diversity- Youth Empowerment Summit
- Preparing for the Road Ahead: Helping Students Transition to College & Careers
|Job Embedded Professional Development: Teaching and Learning
The State Education Resource Center (SERC) offers a variety of professional development, including technical assistance (TA) related to best practices in co-teaching and differentiated instruction. In-district, job-embedded TA is designed to meet your school or district needs to make the support more strategic and impactful.
You can customize your staff's professional development by choosing from the topics listed below, or contact SERC in order to develop a specific plan that fits your needs.
Download Co-Teaching Flyer
Download Differentiated Instruction Flyer
Visit Co-Teaching and Differentiated Instruction web pages for more information.


text:
No Messi, no problem: Abidal, Fabregas and Sanchez star vs. Mallorca
Barcelona achieved a fantastic 5-0 win against Mallorca at the Camp Nou in Matchday 30 of La Liga. Cesc Fabregas (hat-trick) and Alexis Sanchez (brace) scored the goals for the Blaugrana, who enjoyed 72 percent of possession, created 22 goal-scoring chances and attempted 18 shots, nine of them on target.
Let's face it: This was a potentially dangerous match as, understandably, the prospect of maintaining the very comfortable lead at the top of La Liga for yet another week could simply not compare to the excitement of fighting for qualification for the Champions League semifinals in a few days' time.
- Fabregas hat trick leads Barca
- Abidal returns for Barcelona
In his return to the Camp Nou technical area, Tito Vilanova chose to reserve key men such as David Villa, Sergio Busquets and Xavi Hernandez for the decisive upcoming clash against Paris Saint-Germain and chose a starting eleven full of players who haven't managed to earn as much time on the field as they would have liked to so far this season.
The absence of quadruple Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi due to the hamstring injury he picked up at the Parc des Princes in midweek definitely left a potentially difficult gap to fill but, fortunately, the Cesc-Alexis duo stepped up with one of the best partnership performances that Cules have witnessed in recent times. The pair seemed to always find each other thanks to accurate returns, superb mutual services, fabulous individual touches and lethal finishing in front of goal.
While the fact that Mallorca is currently the team with the weakest defensive record in the entire Spanish league can't be overlooked, seeing how Barcelona could achieve such a placid victory without the club's best ever goal-scorer is reassuring and shows the remarkable depth of a squad full of World Cup winners and internationally recognised stars.
There were plenty of first-time passes, runs between the lines, combination play and, above all, it was clear that players were fully focused on finishing the job in hand without hesitation, evidenced by the Catalans' 4-0 at halftime.
Having said all of the above, my favourite moment of the night didn't actually have that much to do with the game itself. A massive 406 days after his last competitive appearance, the legendary Eric Abidal finally returned to professional football in front of the adoring Catalan crowd, who were delighted to gift their hero with an emotional standing ovation when he jumped on the pitch on the 69th minute.
Words simply can't explain my admiration for what the relentless Frenchman has achieved. Despite being faced with a daunting amount of terrible news in recent years, Abidal never stopped being optimistic and has, perhaps unwillingly, become a role model for his teammates during his absence. Overcoming a liver transplant surgery is a huge achievement in itself, but being able to do so and then come back to play football at professional level shows an unprecedented level of commitment that is truly unheard of -- Welcome back, Abi!
The inconvenient match against Mallorca is finally over and fans can now focus on the upcoming battle against PSG in midweek. The main talking point will obviously be whether Vilanova should force Messi back into the team if he doesn't reach an optimum level of fitness. But, judging by the tremendous job by the Cesc-Alexis tandem tonight and the favourable 2-2 draw collected in the away leg, I feel La Pulga should only be included if the risk of a long-term injury is non-existent.
Player Ratings (0-10; 10=best)
Jose Manuel Pinto (6) -- Another comfortable game for the veteran goalkeeper. Never truly troubled by the Mallorca forwards.
Dani Alves (8) -- Continued his remarkable improvement of late with continuous overlaps from the right flank.
Gerard Pique (7) -- Always able to beat his mark and start the Blaugrana possessions from the back line. Joined attack with ease whenever possible and even came to close to scoring with an accurate header.
Marc Bartra (6) -- Very solid throughout the whole match, partnering well with the more experienced Pique in central defence.
Martin Montoya (6) -- Another confident performance from the La Masia graduate, keeping his attacking game nice and simple and solving his defending duties effectively.
Alex Song (7) -- Reliable. His powerful presence in midfield enabled him to provide the more attack-minded players with calm passes, defensive cover and support if needed.
Andres Iniesta (8) -- Conducted the Blaugrana orchestra with yet another classy performance, setting the pace of the game in the absence of Xavi. Assisted Fabregas for his third goal of the night.
Thiago Alcantara (6) -- Performed to a good level, always making himself available and contributing to the overall success of the team by distributing the ball quickly when needed.
Cesc Fabregas (10) -- Man of the Match -- A night to remember: The Catalan grabbed his first ever hat trick as a professional after 469 games by delivering the sort of performances that Cules have been eagerly awaiting since he returned home back in August 2011. He also had time to assist Sanchez twice. Used the space that normally belongs to Messi perfectly, showing that, when fully confident and focused, he is one of the best finishers in the squad.
Cristian Tello (7) -- Displayed his impressive pace once again, continuously beating his marker and often finding his teammates when crossing. Another step towards establishing himself within Vilanova's starting eleven whenever bigger matches come.
Alexis Sanchez (9) -- At last, an incredibly encouraging performance from one of the team's most hard-working members. Scored twice, assisted Fabregas twice. Let's hope the Chilean forward can build on his success in coming matches as, quite frankly, the team could certainly do with his goals in the upcoming crucial matches.
Substitutes: Eric Abidal (7), Jonathan Dos Santos (6), Gerard Deulofeu (6)
Have your say
What did you think of Barcelona's performance vs. Mallorca?
Who was your Man of the Match? What are your player ratings?
I welcome and appreciate all respectful feedback.
For more news and opinion notes on Barcelona, follow Francesc Tomas at @Barcablog_com and Facebook; 33,000 Cules have already joined.


text: The-Great-Gatsby By September 20, 2012 1:28 PM Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Category: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter More Leave a comment Send to a friend! Print this page Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr! More from GBF Micca – Babe of the Day Who's The Hot Girl in the Salon Grafix 'Play It Big' Commercial? Busty GIFs of Babes at the Beach Best Hump Day Pictures Ever (This Week) Best of the Web


text:
- Find thousands of quality link prospects in seconds.
- Automatically sort your prospects into themed strategies.
- Collect new, relevant prospects every week.
- Link Builder quickly shines a spotlight on your competitor's linking strategies. —Keith Saye, bestwebsitedesign.co.uk
- Wthin minutes I was able to tell exactly what niches I had not yet exploited. —Pete Kever, president, GHIIS
- Makes light work of some of the Link building tasks we all have to do. —Brian Mathers, Online Excellence.com
Link Building Made Easy
Make no mistake about it: if you want to speed your site to the top of the search engine listings, you're going to need inbound links. In fact, Google, king of the major search engines, states unequivocally that "the quantity, quality and relevance of links count towards your rating."
And according to search marketing guru Aaron Wall, "Link building is going to be the SEO trump card for the foreseeable future."
In fact, inbound links give you double benefits - first, it boosts your search engine rankings and second, it brings potential visitors direct to your site.
Try the New Link Builder Tool FREE for 7 Days!
But Here's Where It Gets Tricky…
Not all links are created equal. In the land of link building, quality reigns supreme – it's much more important than quantity. Getting a small number of inbound links from relevant, authoritative sites can greatly improve your site's rankings, while dozens of links from lower-tier sites can prove next to useless.
Obtaining quality links from a diverse range of websites is the ultimate objective of any link building strategy. It's also one of the biggest challenges SEOs and website owners face today. Why? Because trying to separate good sites from worthless ones is no easy task. Truth be told, searching for quality links can be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.
The best pages to get a link from will themselves have a high number of inbound links. This high number ensures that these pages:
- are popular and likely to be authoritative
- have human visitors who are likely to click through to your site and
- will pass on 'link juice' to you (since Google already considers them an authority)
Here's something else to consider: not only do you want to find high quality link prospects; you want to find sites that will act quickly to create a link back to your site. That way you get an immediate return on your efforts.
So what is the best, most efficient way to find promising link prospects – those that will bring you fast, measurable business results? Better yet, once you do start building quality inbound links, how can you effectively measure and refine your strategy so that you're always one step ahead of your competitors?
Try the New Link Builder Tool FREE for 7 Days!
The Answers Lie with Link Builder
Link Builder is an exciting new tool from Wordtracker, designed to help you instantly identify your best link prospects - and build a linking campaign that exponentially grows your online presence.
With Link Builder, finding quality link prospects has never been easier. In just minutes, you can uncover thousands of credible, relevant links that will accelerate your climb in the search engine rankings – faster than you ever thought possible!
How Does Link Builder Help You?
With a premium Link Builder subscription, you'll be able to:
- see who's linking to your web pages
- see who's linking to your competitors' pages
- understand your competitors' strategies and how effective they are
- filter your searches to find the links you want
- cherry-pick the best links and save them into a campaign
- target a specific sector
- build and manage as many campaigns as you want
Just as importantly, Link Builder helps you use this data to create your own intelligent linking strategy, one that will crank up your website's performance and ultimately lead to more traffic, conversions and profits.
Try the New Link Builder Tool FREE for 7 Days!
The Link Builder tool provides four major advantages that help you overcome the challenges of successful link building. With Link Builder, you have the ability to:
- Quickly find relevant link prospects – sites that could link to yours
- Evaluate these prospects to concentrate your efforts on the best
- Organize your link prospects into campaigns and keep track of whom you've contacted
- Analyze sites that rank well for a particular keyword
Advantage #1: Quickly find relevant link prospects
By analyzing the competitive landscape, Link Builder helps you find quality link prospects - quickly. See how many sites already link to your competitors, how many links they provide, and which sites bring the most search engine benefit.
Using this information, you'll be able to find quality sites that could link to yours.
Let's imagine that you're marketing a new website for a local coffee shop in Seattle. You want to start ranking for your important keywords and want to know where your competitors get their links. Let's look at the links that some of your larger, more established competitors get:
Figure 1. Using Link Builder, you can find and analyze the links that your competitors get - then target them in your own campaigns
Here are the results for those competing sites:
Figure 2. With Link Builder, you can examine the links for a whole site (as shown), or single out a particular page on a competitor's site
Link Builder helps you assess your competitors' link building strategies. You'll quickly be able to:
- identify how many other websites are linking to your competitors' sites, or even a particular page on their site
- analyze your competition (that's anyone ranking above you for a particular keyword) to see the number - and the quality - of their inbound links
- analyze the pages that are competing with you in the search engine rankings to see what inbound links they have – and which links are pushing them to the top of search engine results
By incorporating this knowledge into your own campaign, you can ensure that your link building plans piggyback on your competitors' hard work!
Try the New Link Builder Tool FREE for 7 Days!
Advantage #2: Evaluate your link prospects to find the best
With Link Builder, finding your ideal link targets is a snap. Simply type in a keyword you'd like to rank for – and Link Builder will give you a list of the target sites in your sector. You'll get up to 1,000 potential new link targets with every search!
To help you find the best links, we take out the links that don't help you, including:
- No-follow links
- Deleted links
- Image links
- Mentions
- Alt text
- Redirect
That leaves you with only those domains that provide the type of text links search engines love. And, as we mentioned earlier, getting a small number of links from relevant, authoritative pages can have a tremendous impact on your site's rankings.
Link Builder ranks every link, so it's easy to find high quality targets for your campaigns. Or, by applying a simple Link Builder filter, you can easily locate specific sites (such as those that end in .edu or .gov) in your marketplace.
Let's look at our coffee shop example again. This time, we're looking at links to a competitor, seattlesbest.com, that contain the text .edu.
Figure 3. Link Builder helps you find well respected, relevant websites to target in your linking strategy – in this case, we've filtered out the .edu sites that link to seattlesbest.com
Search engines love sites that are continually updated – so blogs can make great link targets. With Link Builder, you can quickly identify, organize and save target lists of those all-important blogs.
Figure 4. A selection of the blogging sites that link to www.starbucks.com – blogs make great link targets
A keyword search on Link Builder triggers a link analysis of the top 10 search results on Google – providing invaluable competitive information. So, you can collect blogs that link to starbucks.com and blogs that link to seattlesbest.com - and then save them as link prospects for your own blog campaigns.
With Link Builder, searching on any established brand term can provide you with thousands of opportunities!
Try the New Link Builder Tool FREE for 7 Days!
Advantage #3: Easily organize your link prospects into campaigns
The visionary behind the Link Builder tool is Ken McGaffin, Wordtracker's chief marketing officer and a sought-after link building expert. With decades of proven experience - as an SEO consultant for some of the world's foremost brands - Ken has designed a tool specifically to make link building simpler, more efficient and more effective.
With Link Builder's intuitive, web-based interface, it's easy to create multiple, targeted linking campaigns from the ground up. You can have a blog campaign, an academic campaign, an article campaign, a news campaign, a directory campaign and a social media campaign. You can even design campaigns to match (or outdo) your competitors'.
Link Builder lets you save as many projects and run as many campaigns as you like. There's no limit. Whether you're building links for one site or hundreds – you won't pay any extra. Manage all of your linking campaigns in one place... now what could be easier than that?
Try the New Link Builder Tool FREE for 7 Days!
Advantage #4: Analyze sites that rank well for a particular keyword (so you can mimic their linking strategy)
Link Builder lets you analyze your competitors' links around any keyword you choose.
Search on a particular keyword, such as Seattle coffee shop, and Link Builder will find the top 10 websites on Google's search results page for that keyword. It will also tell you the number of websites that link to those pages. So, for any keyword, you can see the competition you face.
Figure 5. Search on a keyword – in this case, Seattle coffee shop – and you'll find thousands of new link targets
What's more, if you know that a particular keyword is already bringing you solid sales, Link Builder will help you determine what you need to do to improve your ranking. As any professional search engine marketer will tell you, it's easier to build on your success than to start trying to rank for a new and untested keyword.
So, if you're already ranking for the keyword Seattle coffee shop, Link Builder can show you:
- which pages rank ahead of you
- how many sites link to those competing pages
- which sites those links come from
As a result, you'll be able to discover why you're being outranked for your most important keywords. Then you can get to work building a list of relevant link prospects - and start reversing that trend!
Let's look at the results for a search on Seattle coffee shop:
Figure 6. Zokacoffee.com comes out at the top of Google rankings for the keyword Seattle coffee shop: Link Builder can show you the links that take Zoka coffee to that top spot
Other tools may provide raw link analysis, but let's face it: you need to be an SEO expert to know what to do with it. Link Builder provides no-nonsense, practical information that virtually anyone can use to simplify and enhance their search marketing efforts.
Who Should Be Using Link Builder?
- Website owners who want to build links that attract more visitors and potential customers
- Website editors who want to establish their site as an authority
- Search engine marketers who need an easy-to-follow method for creating successful link building campaigns
So What's a Tool like this Worth to You?
Consider the fact that Link Builder gives you 1,000 potential link targets with every search. Not to mention, it helps you keep tabs on your competitors, create and manage multiple linking campaigns, and measure and monitor your results. All without the guesswork, and without spending hours upon hours researching websites to see if they're link-worthy.
What would this kind of comprehensive link building support be worth to you?
Given all of the above, you might easily be willing to pay $250 a month to be able to fast-track your ascent to the top of search engine listings. And you would surely pay $100 a month…right?
But the cost of a subscription to Link Builder is an astoundingly low $69 a month. That's just $2.26 a day!
Try the New Link Builder Tool FREE for 7 Days!
For the price of a cup of coffee, you can have 24/7 access to exclusive linking insights, available only through Link Builder.
Steal valuable traffic from your fiercest competitors…generate more sales and revenue…and establish your brand as a leader in your market space…all for just $2 a day.
And as if all of this wasn't reason enough to subscribe to Link Builder, there's more.
Special Limited Time Offer: Order Within 48 Hours and Get $68 Worth of Bonuses – Absolutely FREE!
That's right – sign up for our free, 7-day trial of Link Builder today and get a collection of business-boosting bonuses that are only available from Wordtracker!
Here's what you'll get:
Bonus #1: Link Building Basics Guide (Value - $19)
As the internet becomes more competitive and businesses continue to expand their online presence, more and more website owners are asking, "How do I improve my rankings on Google?" They know it's important to appear prominently in search engine results - but they don't know how to get the inbound links they need.
Written by link building expert (and Wordtracker CMO) Ken McGaffin, our "Link Building Basics" guide tells you how to use Link Builder to effectively manage your link building campaigns and propel your website to the top of search engine listings. You'll learn:
- Why link building is so vital
- How to analyze your own site and formulate a successful linking strategy
- How to evaluate your competitors' linking efforts
- How to get inbound links – guaranteed!
During your first week of using Link Builder, we'll send you easy-to-follow articles packed with screenshots and practical advice - so you can quickly turn your site into a profitable, sales-generating machine!
Bonus #2: Link Building Webinar (Value - $49)
Sign up for a trial today and you'll receive an exclusive invitation to Ken McGaffin's Link Builder webinar. He'll discuss:
- What makes a quality link?
- How to plan your link campaigns to generate the maximum return
- How to get links without asking
- How to get people to use your keywords when they link to your site
- How Google Analytics can support your link campaigns
Want a second opinion on your link building strategy? Wondering why you're not beating the competition in the search engines? Ken will give you clear insights and practical advice – it's the same information he's provided to his large consultancy clients for thousands of dollars – but you'll be getting it for free!
These rare and valuable bonuses are only available when you sign up for a Link Builder trial – and you must respond within 48 hours to claim them.
Ready to Make Headway with Your Link Building Efforts?
With Link Builder, you can:
- Stop wasting your time on poor-quality links – and start finding the best link prospects in any market.
- Uncover your competitors' link building strategies and beat them at their own game.
- Evaluate your own link profile - and see how you can turn this information into hundreds of top quality link prospects.
- Find out why you're being outranked on your most important keywords - and what you can do about it.
- Find the online community around any topic and establish your brand presence.
- Keep discovering more and more link prospects in lucrative niche markets.
Risk Nothing with Our 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee!
Try Link Builder absolutely free for a full week. If you don't think it's the most intuitive, insightful SEO tool you've ever used, let us know within 30 days and we'll refund every penny you paid. No questions, no hassles.
Are you ready to crank your website's performance into high gear?
Start Building Links to Build Your Search Engine Rankings
Sign Up for Your Free 7-Day Link Builder Trial Today!
Here's what some people are saying about Ken McGaffin, the mastermind behind Wordtracker's Link Builder tool:
"Link building really is a daunting task. Thank you for breaking it down into useful, practical steps."
- Mia Rose, Site-building-made-easy.com
"Thanks guys for bringing such master piece for us all."
- Sally Croft, Studentloanblog
"One huge thing that many people (including myself) can overlook during an SEO campaign is aligning yourself with industry experts and journalists that can put out your content on trusted domains... these are the links that boost authority, trust rank etc. and really set your site apart from the slew of competitors using traditional linking schemes and paid links with spammy anchor text. Well done and thanks for the thought put into this."
- Jason, SEO Fanatic, blueseolosangeles.com
"So many of these techniques aren't used or even thought of for the link building process!"
- Jane, Carbon Footprint Defined
Start building links today
Get instant access to Link Builder.
No minimum term, cancel any time.
Start your free trial today and you'll pay just $69 a month (just over $2 a day).
Or take an annual subscription for $449 and save $379 (46%).
Get these great bonuses
- Link Building Basics (value: $19)
This 50-page e-book shows you how to manage your link building campaigns and propel your website to the top of search engine listings.
- Link Building Webinar (value: $49)
You're guaranteed an exclusive invitation to Ken McGaffin's Link Building webinar.
Wordtracker's Money-Back Guarantee
Try Link Builder risk free with our 100% Money-Back Guarantee. If within 30 days you don't feel that the tool has brought you real value, we'll return every penny – no questions asked!


text:
Dallas >Restaurants >
Pizza >Besa's Pizza & Pasta
14856 Preston Rd, Dallas, TX | Directions 7525432.950981 -96.803552
Mon-Sat 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sun 12 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Best pizza in town! – For Citysearch: Besa's Pizza is one of the best I've tried. There's something about it that is just addicting. Ever since I tried it, I keep on coming back.
Great Food – Love everything about this place, make sure you ask for the homemade Italian butter during dinnertime!
Besa's Pizza & Pasta - Very Nice – May 13, 2011, my first visit. We were looking for Italian BYOB restaurant. If you're only interested in atmosphere, this ain't it. But, the food was very good, wait service - outstanding, friendliness - over the top. You feel welcomed and appreciated from the moment you walk in the door. Never pushy of felt rushed. . . . And NO CORKAGE FEE!! Definitely need to bookmark this place as a favorite.
Best Pizza in Dallas – I've never tried anything on the menu besides the pizza. If you go in and have one slice of their amazing pizza, you won't want to try anything else. There are only a handful of really good pizza places in North Dallas - one in Plano, and the one in Addison Circle's not bad, but Besa's is the real deal.
If you're wanting delicious New York style pizza, you won't find a better place within 15 miles (not that I've found anyway).
Good Food! – I've always had a good experience dining here. Their food is great, and the service has always been up to par! I go here atleast once or twice a month!
Bad experience - manager/owner lost a lifetime of business – We were dining with a group of 18 people Saturday 8/21/10. I had ordered Chicken Parmigiana from the menu. When it arrived, I started to eat it, and it was tough and chewy. Every other time I had eaten there, the chicken was tender and tasty. I asked the waiter if I could get a fresh dish made up or speak to the manager. He said ok, but the manager did not appear until after the whole party had finished their meals (20-30 minutes later). His excuse was he was busy or was away from the restaurant.
This sounds like other similar bad experience reviews here.
When the manager did come over and asked what was wrong, I told him. His response was (paraphrased) "we have sold this same dish many times tonight, nobody else has complained, there is nothing wrong with the food." I asked if he could take it off the bill. (too late to make a new dish by now) He said no, not his problem. Furthermore, he said I should have told him after the first taste (well I did try, but he was busy or out of the restaurant!) He threatened to call the police if I didn't pay the bill.
His wife added (paraphrased) "if you don't like the food, go somewhere else." Wow, they definitely didn't pass customer service101.
Not a good experience, they were rude and not willing to make it right for a long-time customer. I won't be going there again or recommending to my friends, despite having had good experience and food there for the past 5 years.
It's a shame, because the food is generally good, but there are other places we will go to now. Even worse for the owner - we have spent several hundred dollars in the past, and the groups of friends we dine with have spent similar amounts. That future business is GONE! He doesn't realize that for a few dollars (his cost) he could have kept a loyal customer plus all of our friends we dine with. We're taking our money elsewhere. In a challenging economy, you work extra hard to please loyal customer, not tell them to go somewhere else.
Bottom line, hope your food comes out tasty and cooked the first time. If it isn't, it will be your fault!
Favorite Pizza in Dallas – Yum. I know of no better pizza in Dallas. Meatball sub is also a favoraite.
best pizza in DFW- Period! – We have been wanting to try out this place for a while now. This past Saturday we finally did. I was actually mad at myself for not having gone there earlier! Their pizza is to die for, definitely the best in DFW and probably among my top 5 overall (including but not limited to pizzas in L.A., NY, Chicago, France, Germany, ITALY etc.): great crust, amazing cheese, not too much sauce, great (and generous) toppings.... We actually ordered way more than we could eat that night, so we had the leftovers for dinner the next day. EVEN AS REHEATED LEFTOVERS THIS PIZZA EASILY BEAT ANY OTHER PLACE HERE IN DALLAS!!!
Don't waste your time W/the bad reviews, cause ITS THE BEST! – Hey people! Dont waste you time reading the not so nice reviews, cause they aren't true! Besa's Italian food is literally some of the best Italian that you can get outside of ITALY and/or NYC! This family-owned restaurant is full of some of the most lovely, honest, respectful hard working, people i have ever met...and you can taste it in the food! They have perfected all of their menu items, and the fast and friendly waitstaff really have it down pat! Besa's is perfect for a cozy date-night or for a family get-together. I always leave happy, satisfied, full, and with pleanty of leftovers to hold me off till i have to come back for MORE! :)
View more Reviews for Besa's Pizza & Pasta
Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Facebook to see what your friends are up to!
Do you have a review of Besa's Pizza & Pasta on your blog? If you include the Citysearch image link (shown below) in your post, we'll automatically link to your review from the business profile page. Here's how our Linkback system works:
The Linkback system is free and automatic. It's really that easy.
To link to our business profile page, copy the html below to your web page.


text:
(based on 30 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
5 Stars
4 Stars
3 Stars
2 Stars
1 Stars
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Best Uses
Reviewed by 30 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-10
Back to top
Previous | Next »
low price not low quality
By Liz
from Manassas, VA
About Me Bargain Hunter, Practical
Comments about Oval Braided Rug:
Good quality for the price
Bottom LineYes, I would recommend this to a friend
Was this review helpful? Yes / No
- You may also flag this review
Wedgewood is not navy blue
By Kollene
from Worthington, Oh
About Me Practical
I got several of these for my kitchen. If you order the Wedgewood expect navy blue. What they sent said Wedgewood on the bag but someone mismarked the bag as Wedgewood when it was navy blue. What a mess....
Bottom LineNo, I would not recommend this to a friend
Not bad!
By JoPlatt
from Old Bridge,NJ
About Me Bargain Hunter, High-End Shopper, Practical, Stylish
I use this in the kitchen and have had it in my foyer also. Even though it says spot clean I have washed it in the washer a few times already and it came out fine. I didn't put it in the dryer though, just in case.
Great for my brick floors!
By Jo
from Florence, SC
About Me Bargain Hunter
I needed something that would not slip or have rubber backing to use on my brick floors. These rugs are excellent and do a wonderful job. Thanks!
Buying another matching one
By Ole Kitty the TV watcher
from Hurricane, WV
Adds color to room. Saves carpet from dirty shoe stains.
waiting for back order
By cleo
from Reading,PA
I am still waiting for a back order of the 48x28 rug therefore I have not used the smaller rugs as of today. They will all go in the same room. Please advise
you get what you pay for
By Nan
from Upsate NY
Good thing I'm not using these where I need ti impress anyone because they are junk
great product
By monty
from montgomery, al
great rug.
I would buy this product again
these rugs are really nice. They look so good in my den and hall way. I will get another for a bedroom
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
By Lucy
from Lewisburg, PA
I purchased this and another size of this rug and was truly disappointed. They are made of a synthetic-like braid which crinkles like plastic and they slide around everywhere. Unlike my oval braid rug from the early 1980's, these have no cotton or wool in them and the braids pull apart when my dog lays on the rug. Not one of my best purchases.


text:
brikguy is a pretty cool guy, eh? Posts weird threads and doesn't afraid of anything!!
Moderator: Bonn-o-Tron
Tzan wrote:Quantumsurfer wrote:I generally agree with TzanWarhead wrote:I agree with QuantumSmurfer.
I agree with Warhead.
OneEye589 wrote:I'm sick of pretending I'm not a bitchin' rock star from Mars.
razgriz 25th inf. wrote:holy shit, thats YOU?! I saw you the other day under that underpass, you were chainsawing a womans dick off.
Silverdream wrote:MOST UNLIKED BY SILVERDREAM
-Vami IV
WINNER: Nitewatchman
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
EDWARDSVILLE — Southern Illinois University Edwardsville golf coach Derrick Brown has announced the addition of William Leaf to play golf for the Cougars.
Leaf was a three-time All State honoree, and a four-time Conference Player of the Year while at Winona (Minn.) Senior High School. He is coming off a second-place finish at the Minnesota Class 3A High School Tournament. Leaf finished five-under par to capture the Section Championship, and ranked first in the state with a scoring average of 71.3.
"We are thrilled to add William to our 2013 class," Brown said. "He had a strong senior season and I look forward to coaching him for the next four years."
Leaf also fared well in summer tournaments. He fired rounds of 72-68-77 to finish 19th at the Minnesota Open in 2012. In 2011 he was Winona City and Club Champion. He earned a fourth-place finish at the 2010 Minnesota Jr. PGA Championship.
Women's team
Three SIUE women golfers were recognized as All-American Scholars by the Women's Golf Coaches Association. Molly Marcum, Taylor Rumple, and Ashton Staireach were honored for their academic success.
Student-athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 to be recognized by the WGCA as All-American Scholars.
Marcum is undeclared in her major; Stair is a Kinesiology and Health Education major, while Rumple received a degree in Kinesiology and Health Education during spring commencement.


text:
I LOVE all the Crafter's Workshop templates. They are so versatile and can be used with chalks, spray ink, acrylic paint, and even texture molding paste for 3D effects. This is by far the best investment for your scrapbook stash!
Used this with Maya Mist for a very fun layout!


text:
They asked to feature a piece I wrote on director Douglas Sirk's highly entertaining Lured (1947) some time ago and posted it alongside several other very well written guest bloggers assessments of other classic movies on their site here.
This droll film, blending suspense, romance, and comedy is also available on DVD and has appeared on TCM from time to time in the past. The comic element in this movie, which was made independently by Hunt Stromberg Productions, is unexpectedly not courtesy of Lucille Ball, (who never looked more exquisite on film), but of Boris Karloff, having a fine sinister romp as a mentally unbalanced dress designer!
Btw, an additional attraction in this movie is that Sirk gave one of my favorite actors, George Sanders, an opportunity to play the hero instead of the heel, which he does with his customary aplomb, revealing as well a playfulness that was uniquely his own. Sirk and Sanders also teamed up effectively in Summer Storm (1944) and A Scandal in Paris (1946), both of which are slated to be reviewed soon on this blog.
Below you can see a clip of the stylish opening sequence of Lured (1947)...cue the fog machine...this is London...
The cast of Lured (1947) also includes Sir Cedric Hardwicke in one of his fascinating turns as a respectable man whose sense of right and wrong takes some surprising twists, (think of a modern day "Frollo" to Laughton's The Hunchback of Notre Dame) . After seeing this film for the first time a few year's ago and having the depth and breadth of Hardwicke's talent pointed out to me by a friend (Miss Goddess, you dickens!), I was compelled to write the following memo to her:
Office of Dr. Hackenbush, D.O., DVM, PhD., QED
One Vicious Circle
Isle of Skye, Cyberspace, NY
Dear Miss Goddess,
I am writing this missive to you to ask that you please pay a Ms. Moira Finnie's physical therapy bill in the immediate future, since, thanks to the opening of the floodgates on her memories of and curiosity about one Sir Cedric Hardwicke, she has taken both volumes of his autobiography, "A Victorian in Orbit" and "Let's Pretend; Recollections and Reflections of a Lucky Actor" out of her local library. Her unalloyed enjoyment of these wittily written tomes has led to her carrying both volumes with her at all times in a voluminous bag, (along with other "vitals" such as her dayrunner, water bottles, 28 pens--only two of which actually work--a comb, a few linty breath mints, more keys than a janitor at Bellevue, and an unfortunately slim wallet).
Ms. Finnie claims that toting these books along with everything else will allow her to read Mr. Hardwicke's distinctly Shavian reminiscences and observations whenever she is standing in line at the grocery store, sitting in traffic, goofing off at work, waiting for clothes to dry in the drier, and catching a breath of fresh air. Consequently, this formerly hale and hearty woman has a distinct stoop of her right shoulder, which she also claims aches whenever she stops carrying that now weighty bag around. We are also considering having a psych consult due to the number of people who've reported seeing this "alleged madwoman" (their words, not mine), laughing uproariously in grocery stores and traffic jams. It is our considered opinion that you, Miss Goddess, are actually responsible for this turn of events, since you began her slide into infirmity and possible unstoppable mirth by piquing the interest of this formerly serious, capable worker bee in such trivialities.
Therefore, please remit payment for 12 sessions of physical therapy to my account forthwith, along with a sum to cover the psych consult.
Yours very truly,
Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush
P.S. Ms. Finnie is also suffering from the possibly delusional conviction that these 2 volumes of Hardwicke's autobiography are actually the same bio, with some updates added to the 1960 version with the snappier, space age title, "A Victorian in Orbit."
~~~~~If you can stand one more "must-read" book for this summer, you might enjoy Hardwicke's autobiographies too. Affordable used copies can readily be found on the internet, since my eagerness to read these memoirs led me to some horrendous library fines! I recommend Hardwicke's humor and perceptive insights to anyone seeking a respite from this less articulate but over-informed globe spinning off kilter. His was another, seemingly more civilized age.
~~~~~Uh-oh, now I'm in real hot water. Unfortunately, I have just discovered some new Hardwicke artifact and am now on a second crusade to unearth a record album made by Sir Cedric (who had a lot of alimony to pay) in the 1950s or early 1960s. It is called "Co-Star: The Record Acting Game" and promises me that I (who, me?) can now play a scene opposite the thespian from MacBeth, A School for Scandal and something called Death Is Called Sam (Hey, could that be what Mr. Brink of On Borrowed Time fame is called at home?). Apparently there are copies of this tantalizing sounding record around on the internet, though I suspect they may prove pricey.


text:
7363 Old Columbia Rd, Columbia, MD | Directions 21046-173239.168333 -76.881208
24 Hours Service
Neighborhoods: Columbia
Do not take your pet here. The manager gave my fiancee and I a horrible attitude when we tried to arrange to pick up our dog. Preston closes at 4pm, which is not very convenient for anyone who works for for a living. The manager said the only way we could pick our dog up after 4pm was if he was got groomed too. Against my better judgement we agreed to this. When my fiancee was stuck in evening rush hour traffic and said she would be 5-10 minutes late, she was told our dog would have to stay another night. The manager would not speak to her on the phone because she "didn't feel like it."
The price is cheap enough to keep your dog here but the facilities are run down and the kennel space leaves much to be desired. My dog has stayed outside of our home before but only after his stay at Preston did he exhibit signs of stress - he nawed his back paw down to bare skin and it was inflamed for a week after he returned home.
I'd recommend going with a more reputable kennel that cares more about its clients and their dogs. We will not be coming back to Preston.
My oldest dog has been coming here all of his life, 11 years, for both grooming and boarding, and he is always happy when we arrive. I have left him here as long as 10 days and he has always been happy and healthy when I return for him.
My younger dogs have also started coming to Preston. They are both neurotic and still enjoying arriving. When I pick them up after a visit for either grooming or boarding, they are calm and healthy. This has not been true at other reputable kennels.
An added benefit to this place is that you get what you don't pay for---good food, individual attention, playtime. I love Preston.
Preston's can be dangerous place for your pet – On Mon., August 15, I took Alice and Emily, our two female Cavaliers, over to Preston's to be groomed, as we had many times in the past. They were apparently left in the dryer too long, and Emily died. Alice had a nosebleed and barely survived, but is recoveringy. On Wed, Aug. 17, I went over to Preston's to retrieve their leashes and collars and to talk with the owner. He flat-out lied to me about what happened, saying they were being washed when they both "went down." When we saw Alice over at our vet's office less than an hour after it happened, she was dry and her hair was straight, as was Emily's when we saw her body downstairs at the vet's office. It takes five hours or more for a Cavalier's hair to dry if they are not blow-dried, and their hair curls up. Emmy's ashes were returned to us today. We are devastated. She was four years old and a beautiful little girl. This is not the first time Preston's has killed a dog.
G. Tudor
Never once had a problem – We were given the recommendation for this kennel by a former PETA lawyer. We've brought our older dog there for 4 years and both of ours together for 2. They have both never come home anything but happy.
bad place for toy dogs – I recently took my dog to Preston for a week. When I picked the dog up, the dog was not in good shape and needed to see the vetinarian immediately. The dog had to be put on medications for two weeks and is still recovering. I do not know if the dogs disposition will ever be the same towards our kids.
Worrisome – I recently took my two small dogs to Preston to be housed together during a one week vacation. We had taken one of our dogs there before, and like one of the other reviewers, I always got a sense that the staff was not particularly experienced in handling dogs. Other than the receptionist, I found the other staff to be generally very young and not particularly friendly. When we picked up our dogs, I noticed that one of them had been bathed (we did not ask for that service) while the other had not. The dog that had not been bathed came home with an eye abrasion and a bad infection that we discovered after taking the dog to the vet. That dog's condition deteriorated over the course of the week, and he sadly passed away just a week after we picked him up from Preston. I cannot be sure of what happened during the week we were gone, but I find my experience with Preston to be extremely worrisome, and I will not return.
Baltimore Examiner Story – I am a reporter with The Baltimore Examiner working on a story about the two dogs who lost their lives at Preston Country Club. If the owner of those pets or anyone else interested in contributing to the story (opinions on the Club, etc) could contact me at 410-878-6115, I would appreciate it!
Not so great for strong-willed dogs – We took our large-breed dog to Preston for the New Years holiday despite some concerns that arose when we dropped him off. When we arrived, the kennel seemed to be in chaos, perhaps because of the holiday. There were many young people (late teens, early twenties) shuttling the dogs about, weighing them. The young man who took our dog didn't seem to have a clue about how to handle a large-breed and was trying to force our dog onto the scale to weigh him -- there were no introductions, no sniffing of the hand, no treats, no time for our dog to get to know this large man who was suddenly handling him. Our dog, a young unneutered male, did not take kindly to this rough handling and snarled -- did not bite. I had to come into the room to help calm our dog down and get him on the scale. Having done so, he was led off into the kennel. When I returned to pick the dog up a couple days later, I was told in a kindly, helpful and non-confrontational, non-blaming manner that our dog had snapped at one of the staff when he tried to put a lead around his neck. I spoke with the gentleman involved and it sounded like he had stepped into the kennel and suddenly reached out to put a lead around the dog's neck, again without any introductions, sniffing, treats, etc. Our dog then put his mouth around the man's wrist, held for a second, then let go. Basically, trying to say, "Hey, back off and treat me with a little respect before you start shoving me around." Further, having boarded this same dog at two other kennels, we have never had similar problems. I think the staff here love animals but they don't respect them or know enough about their psychology, particularly large-breed guard dogs. If you have a dog who loves everyone (a Labrador or Golden), Preston is probably fine. If you have a strong-willed dog, think about a different kennel. I think they all love the dogs, but there is a difference between loving dogs and respecting them.
Be cautious – I do not recommend this grooming facility as they "accidentally" placed my two dogs in the drying machine following a bath which ultimately cost my animals their life.
Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Facebook to see what your friends are up to!
Do you have a review of Preston Country Club for Pets Inc on your blog? If you include the Citysearch image link (shown below) in your post, we'll automatically link to your review from the business profile page. Here's how our Linkback system works:
The Linkback system is free and automatic. It's really that easy.
To link to our business profile page, copy the html below to your web page.


text: Guests at Spa & Wellness St. Gerlach are also offered an opportunity to relax in comfort in our generous 7x14-metre indoor Roman swimming pool, and on sunny days the large sliding doors are opened to an idyllic and sun-drenched area where guests can sunbathe. In addition to swimming pool, our guests can also relax in a sauna with Turkish bath. It goes without saying that all these facilities are available to Spa guests at no extra charge.