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Richard Trumka breaks down issues in the Senate stimulus bill
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka argues the coronavirus stimulus package doesn't do enough for frontline health care workers and U.S. pensions.
FOX Business Network (FBN) is a financial news channel delivering real-time information across all platforms that impact both Main Street and Wall Street. Headquartered in New York — the business capital of the world — FBN launched in October 2007 and is the leading business network on television, topping CNBC in Business Day viewers for the second consecutive year. The network is available in more than 80 million homes in all markets across the United States. Owned by FOX, FBN has bureaus in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and London.
Watch more Fox Business Video: https://video.foxbusiness.com
Watch Fox Business Network Live: http://www.foxnewsgo.com/
Watch full episodes of FBN Primetime shows
Lou Dobbs Tonight: https://video.foxbusiness.com/playlist/longform-lou-dobbs-tonight
Trish Regan Primetime: https://video.foxbusiness.com/playlist/longform-trish-regan-primetime
Kennedy: https://video.foxbusiness.com/playlist/longform-kennedy


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Well I'm starting to study a bit on Swing and the JFrame, so please, if this looks ugly please cut me a bit of slack >.<
This is what I've got:
package Core.Engine; import javax.swing.*; import java.awt.*; @SuppressWarnings("serial") public class Engine extends JFrame { static int i; static JPanel PRIME; public Engine(){ JButton[] BUTTON = new JButton[9]; PRIME = new JPanel(new GridLayout(5,6)); String b[] = {"1", "2","4", "3", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "0"}; for(i = 0; i < BUTTON.length; i++){ BUTTON[i] = new JButton(b[i]); BUTTON[i].setSize(30,30); }; PRIME.add(BUTTON[i]); } public static void main(String args[]){ Engine frame = new Engine(); frame.add(PRIME); frame.pack(); frame.setVisible(true); } }
I get an ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException on line 27 and 30 which would be in the Main argument...
Here's the exact error:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 9 at Core.Engine.Engine.<init>(Engine.java:27) at Core.Engine.Engine.main(Engine.java:30)
Could anyone tell me where I went wrong? The array has 9 elements. I set 9 chars... How did it go out of bounds?
Foot Note:
If you have any ideas on how I could improve this code please don't be afraid to mention it!

subset: commoncrawl


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Struggling with dwindling attendance, building maintenance challenges and the task of keep a staff to help fund the future, small churches are looking outside of their own walls to reach people in new�ways to grow their congregations.
Don Remick, an associate conference minister for the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ that includes over 380 churches in the state, has been working for the last 30 years with small churches � defined as having a congregation of 75 or�fewer members�� to help them grow.
Remick said the decline in church attendance has affected every denomination in the last 10 years.
"I think there are many lessons that we have to learn from that," Remick said. "A piece of that is the perception that the church isn�t relevant, that it�s boring or out of touch, or that it imposes beliefs or politics on people."
Remick said his denomination and others have focused on reaching outward in an effort to combat this impression.
"It�s not about waiting for people to come into your church, it�s asking how can you can step outside your church and hear people�s stories," Remick said.
Even with the challenges of small churches, Remick said their value in faith shouldn�t be lost.
"A small church is and always has been one of the fundamental units of faith," Remick said. "It is not in itself meant to be a small version of a big church. Small churches operate in unique ways and have unique ways of reaching out and embracing people � which is an essential piece of faith."
The Union Evangelical Church in Hopedale, under�the Rev.�Sarah Hubbell, has tried to embrace the conference program run by Remick to promote growth at her church.
Hubbell, whose church counts about 45 to 55 in�its congregation, said�church leaders�focused on holding more events at the church and trying to bring in the younger generation.
"We are focusing on trying to grow the next generation of Christians," Hubbell said. She noted that part�of the effort involves�engaging the children of the congregation, but she is also bringing in another minister to talk about encouraging church participation from 20-somethings.
Hubbell started at the church a little over two years ago, after the previous pastor of 10 years had to be let go because the church could no longer afford a full-time pastor.
"They brought�in an�interim pastor to really put a mirror up to the congregation and say �what do you want to do?�" Hubbell said.
She said part of that focus is to spend more time looking outward and offering different community resources.
"We�re also going in a much better direction" financially, Hubbell said. "We�re not borrowing against an endowment."
She said while the place of faith in people�s lives has changed, she still feels it's important for small churches like hers to continue.
"There are so many forces that can unground you and we put a priority on making sure there are activities for people to grow spiritually so they can get grounded," Hubbell said.
In Milford, a largely Catholic community, the Rev. Maddie Sifantus of the First Unitarian Universalist Church said it's important for a community to have a variety of churches so people can always feel welcome.
"In this day and age, the number of churchgoers has dropped off � for all churches. It�s a different world," Sifantus said. "Now we must figure out what is the place of a church in that world. I still think it�s important to have a place for asking the big questions of life, like �Why are we here?�"
She said her church, which used to have a congregation of more than 100 and now sees only about 15 people at the Sunday service, is focusing on providing community services to bring people into the building.
The church offers a daycare service and hosts a community supper, but Sifantus is hoping more community events can be organized.
"For me, those types of things are the draw," Sifantus said.
For other churches that have shrunk from a larger congregation, maintaining those community services can be difficult.
Robert Farmer, the treasurer for the First Community Church of Southborough, noted that with attendance falling to 20 to 25 people on Sundays and an aging church population that has trouble making it to church functions, his church has had to scale way back.
The Sunday school room is no longer used and the church has cancelled one of its weekly Bible studies. There is also only a part-time minister serving the church.
"One of the only reasons we�re able to survive is money that we�ve invested from the sale of the parsonage next to the church," Farmer said.
The 150-year-old church building is a�challenge to maintain.
Regardless of the challenges, Farmer said the church will continue to strive to survive for the sake of its congregation, many of whom are second or third generation members.
"I think that�s part of what keeps us going � the spirit of the people we do have," Farmer said.
In Franklin, the Anglican Church of the Redeemer is small - with about 70 worshipers on Sundays - because it only started about five years ago.
"We�re currently growing steadily in numbers and attendance," said Rector Daniel Sylvia. "Our biggest focus in terms of growth is spending a lot of time really digging into what we are and who we believe."
He credited his church�s growth with personal relationships � noting that while most small churches are moving to part-time clergy, theirs has made having one full time a priority.
"We see a direct result in that investment as far as people being cared for in a quality way," Sylvia said. "That�s really seemed to resonate within our parish."
One challenge Sylvia said their church has faced is finding an appropriate space for worship. Currently, the church leases space in a refurbished mill building.
"It has both blessings and challenges," Sylvia said about the lease. "It hinders our visibility. People don�t know we�re a church from the outside � and we have a hefty monthly payment � but it keeps repair and overhead costs down."
Sylvia said the idea of growing the church is one that is still being prayed over at a leadership level. He noted while there are benefits in terms of being able to offer more, there are some particular challenges with a larger church.
"There is a tighter-knit sense of community in a small church," Sylvia said. "For some people, the large church with a couple hundred people really terrified them. They feel lost."
Sylvia also noted that in a larger church the leadership has to focus more on programs and administrative duties, rather than connecting with the congregation.
"It becomes more of a CEO model by default rather than the shepherd model," Sylvia noted.
Contact Lindsay Corcoran at 508-634-7582 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @LacorcMDN.
Small, struggling churches look outside their walls to attract more members
Struggling with dwindling attendance, building maintenance challenges and the task of keep a staff to help fund the future, small churches are looking outside of their own walls to reach people in new�ways to grow their congregations.


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If your winter-bundling routine could use a few more layers, this is your moment to stock up. With loads of sales across the Internet, you can still find a coat you actually love, a hat to replace the one you just lost, or a boot that'll go from sidewalk to deskside (along with a few less practical pieces, too) for next to nothing — we're talking treasures for at least 70% off, guys.
Shop our favorite picks now and remember: They're bound to sell out in a flash, so get those trigger fingers ready!


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Dog food reviews
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2 Star Dry Dog Food
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Black Gold 23/14 Lamb Meal & Rice
Date of last review
Mon January 29, 2007
Recommended By
Average Price
Average Rating
No recommendations
None indicated
None indicated
Metabolized Energy
385 kcal/cup
Lamb Meal. Brewers Rice, Rice Flour, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Ground Wheat, Poultry Fat Preserved w/ Mixed Tocopherols (Source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavors, Dried Egg Product, Fish Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin 6), Manadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Carbonate.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein, minimum 23.0%
Crude Fat, minimum 14.0%
Crude Fiber, maximum 3.0%
Moisture. Maximum 10.0%
Omega 6 Fatty Acids*, minimum....2.0%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids*, minimum....0.1%
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile
Post a Reply
Registered: October 2005
Posts: 3953
Review Date:
Mon January 29, 2007
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| Rating:
First ingredient is a named meat product.
Insufficient meat content, use of by-products, fat of unidentifiable origin, low quality grains and other controversial filler.
The first ingredient in this food is a named meat product, lamb meal. This is followed by two forms of rice - a practice known as splitting - that leads to speculation that the combined rice products may outweigh the meat as the true first ingredient. Both rice products are low quality - brewers rice is a by-product, whilst rice flour is filler.
This food includes by-products. Chicken by-product meal - a very low quality ingredient. This is defined as "consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice".
The next ingredient is corn.Corn is a difficult to digest grain, which limits its nutritional value for dogs. We consider this to be a low quality ingredient. It is also commonly associated with allergy and skin problems. We prefer not to see the use of this grain in dog food. Wheat is another grain very commonly associated with allergy problems that we prefer not to see used.
Poultry fat is a low quality ingredient rarely found in anything but very low quality foods. Poultry fat is an ingredient of unidentified origin for which it is impossible to determine source or quality. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. AAFCO define this as obtained from the tissues of poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words "used as a preservative".
Beet pulp is another low quality ingredient and filler. It is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. We note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required.
Fish meal, the 11th ingredient is a further meat ingredient in the food. It is far too far down the ingredient list to make any substantive contribution to overall meat content. We find no sign on the manufacturer site of a guarantee that this ingredient is free of ethoxyquin (ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative commonly added to fish ingredients, and which is banned from use in human food due to the belief that it is carcinogenic). We would prefer to see the use of whole eggs rather than egg product in the food.
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text:
Tag: Top Trainers DVD Set
Top Trainers DVD Set Giveaway!
So my boo and I recently signed up to run a half-marathon this October (with the PETA Pack), and I have to be honest, we have been slacking on getting in shape! Eeks! I'm going to kick my keester into high gear starting this week though...
Read more >>


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just curious as to what makes the dude such a "db" and cheap?
I don't blame a solo for being cheap - sometimes they have to scrape by.But there's no excuse for being a feminine hygiene product. There are way too many lawyer feminine hygiene products.
I think that all lawyer douchebags should have to be registered on a website like sex predators.
I. As an incoming 2L, what is the process to begin looking for permanent employment? You should be hearing about OCI soon. You should also begin letter-writing for 2L summer associate positions at the end of July, particularly if you are in the city you'd like to work in. There also should be a job board with postings on your school's OCI website for firms that aren't doing OCI. You can check Westlaw's job board for 2L summer positions, and you can also register to attend regional job fairs.II. When can a incoming 2L begin applying for permenant employment and how would one go about asking firms and offices if they are hiring? Via email or conventional letter? You can begin applying for 2L summer employment now, but I'd probably wait until the end of the month when the SA programs are winding down. I wouldn't bother to ask if an office is hiring; it takes two minutes to personalize a cover letter so you don't lose much if they aren't. Just send your cover letter and a resume. E-mail or conventional doesn't particularly matter some firms prefer one or the other and that would be on their website. I applied to all of my 1L firms by e-mail. Once the balance shifts (as in, you have offers) you may want to evaluate to see how many people they anticipate hiring permanently if they're not a NALP firm. III. When someone says permenant employment, is that strictly referring to summer associate positions? If not, what other type of permenant employment is there? Offers of permanent employment are given at the end of your 2L summer from your 2L employers. That's why it's important to make sure that you're involved in a legitimate summer associate program at a firm that definitely plans on offering employment to most, if not all, of their summer associates. Summer associates will by far have the best chance of permanent employment at the firms, and some firms may not be recruiting 3Ls because of an anticipated higher acceptance rate of permanent employment offers. It's also more likely this year that and next year that law students will be no-offered or cold-offered. This is bad for your 3L employment prospects with firms. If you want government permanent employment, you will most likely need to seek that in the fall or spring of your 3L year. If you want to work with a nonprofit, you should be sure to have a good nonprofit work resume to show you're dedicated to the field. Other types of "permanent" employment are clerkships, academia, in-house counsel, solo, etc. Some people wind up taking "contract" positions, which are basically temporary lawyers for a firm, and the gig doesn't come with the actualy benefits or resume boost of working at the firm.


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This report by the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University's Blum Legal Clinic and the National Juvenile Defender Center provides an overview of young people's access to counsel and the quality of representation in delinquency proceedings in Illinois. It was funded, in part, through MacArthur's Models for Change initiative to reform juvenile justice across the nation. Illinois is one of four states that are the focus of the initiative.
Download related PDF
Download related PDF2


text: Tonight on Nightly Business Report, Microsoft makes it official and names insider Satya Nadella as the company's new CEO. Is this the fresh start investors have been looking for? And, stocks have taken a beating this year leaving many to wonder if there's value to be found in some of the biggest of the blue chips.


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In Lion - on a one person per install setup - the user is admin by default.
Would you recommended this setup?
I thought that the default user should never be admin but have a restricted standard account instead.
If I change my account for the everyday use to standard and keep an extra admin account for maintenaince, what restrictions take place?
e.g. Can I still install software as easily?


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Need more help?
Erik Kelly
Interim Instructional Support Supervisor
Vanessa Yieh
Technology Support Specialist
Zachary Zahringer
Technology Support Specialist
Use Quiz
Quiz — Teaching Well
Overview — Teaching Well with Technology
Teaching with technology is rapidly becoming an increasingly important element in higher education. Instructional technology can be a great benefit to both instructors and students through convenient communication, access to learning materials online, and more.
It is possible to use technology to apply the seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education:
The Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation
The Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI) is a group within the Division of Undergraduate Education that offers a wide-variety of pedagogical resources. DTEI services include workshops and consultations for faculty and graduate students, instructional technology, and classroom support.
Mission statement from the DTEI website:
The DTEI's mission is to improve the quality of teaching and learning through pedagogical development for faculty and teaching assistants; to promote the use of innovative teaching techniques, including the use of instructional technology; and to foster campuswide conversation about enhancing student learning through innovative teaching.
Use Quiz to...
Encourage faculty-student contact
Research has shown that communication between faculty and students is an important factor in a student's motivation and involvement in the course.
Using quiz to enhance faculty-student contact:
Encourage student-student cooperation
An important aspect of learning is team-work and group cooperation. Working together in teams to solve a problem or complete an assignment promotes the discussion of ideas and opinions among peers.
Using quiz to enhance student-student cooperation:
Promote active learning
Creating assignments that require students to apply real world knowledge and events, involve discussion, and critical thinking about past experiences all contribute to increasing active learning.
Using quiz to enhance active learning:
Give prompt feedback
Throughout the quarter, it is important to respond to student inquiries and requests as soon as possible, including the grading of assignments. Doing so makes a large difference in the motivation and involvement of students.
Using quiz to enhance prompt feedback:
Emphasize time on task & reduce wasted time
Encouraging student use of technology to reduce wasted time will help to increase the quality of work and time spent completing tasks.
Using quiz to enhance time on task and reduce wasted time:
Communicate higher expectations
Ensure students are aware of what is expected of them and the work they submit.
Using quiz to communicate higher expectations:
Support diverse student talents & ways of learning
Students learn differently and should be given the opportunity to express their unique talents and strengths throughout the course in various ways.
Using quiz to support diverse talents and ways of learning:


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Generating sufficient retirement income is and always has been the primary objective for clients engaged in planning for the financial future. Ever-increasing longevity rates, while obviously highly desirable for all, have combined with today's low interest rate environment and the widespread disappearance of employer-sponsored pension plans to make creating a sustainable retirement income stream more challenging than ever.
Many clients are considering purchasing annuity products to provide steady income during retirement, but the question remains: Will this income be sufficient in the face of increased life expectancy rates and soaring medical expenses? A new study by the Society of Actuaries may provide a surprisingly effective solution to this dilemma so that annuity products will provide income that is not only steady but also sufficient.
A new ballpark for retirees
Unlike their parents, the vast majority of today's generation of retirees does not have the pension plan safety net to ensure that their retirement standard of living remains in line with what they have become accustomed to expect. Achieving this goal is a personal task in today's world, and many have done an admirable job in contributing to retirement accounts and seeking out the advice of financial professionals.
Unfortunately, the last five years have brought about yet another change in the retirement landscape — namely, consistently low interest rates that, in many cases, have prevented retirement assets from appreciating as expected — and seem destined to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In addition to this, low interest rates have lowered the payout rates that insurance companies are able to offer on investment products, such as annuities, that retirees often rely upon.
As most know, the payout rate on an annuity contract is determined both by the client's life expectancy and the investment returns that the insurance company expects to generate on that client's investment in the product. The payments that an insurance company can be expected to offer a client who begins annuity payouts today are, because of low interest rates, substantially lower than they were for clients who began annuity payouts in 2007, when interest rates were higher. This creates a problem for retirees who had engaged in planning assuming higher interest rates.
The waiting game
Late in 2012, the Society of Actuaries released a study that examined today's retirement income generation problem and posited a simple solution that can produce better results than most would have imagined—waiting. The study shows that waiting just one extra year before beginning the annuity payout period will increase benefits by about 9 percent on average and that working for five extra years can increase annual payouts by an average of about 50 percent.
For many retirees, the extra 9 percent in annual income that can be achieved by waiting one extra year can be sufficient to bridge the gap between the retirement income that they had anticipated 10 years ago and the retirement income that they can realistically expect in today's market. For some, waiting an extra five years could ensure that medical and long-term care expenses — which are typically higher later in retirement — are manageable.
The study also shows a difference in the expected increase in benefits based on income level; waiting an extra year can increase the annuity payout rate by about 16 percent for lower earners, for whom the extra year of savings will likely represent a higher percentage of lifetime savings. Five extra years of earning can increase payout rates by a staggering 98 percent for this lower-income group.
For many clients considering retirement, waiting an extra year — or five — to retire may be undesirable from a personal and emotional standpoint. Educating these clients as to the substantial positive impact that waiting can have on their quality of life during retirement can provide the motivation that these clients need to ensure that their retirement income will be sufficient to meet their needs.
For previous coverage of strategies for ensuring sufficient retirement income in Advisor's Journal, see The New Retirement Income Game: Ousting the 4 Percent Rule.
For in-depth analysis of planning for individual clients' financial needs, see Advisor's Main Library: C—Considerations Underlying the Investment Decision.
Your questions and comments are always welcome. Please contact the Panel of Experts.
See also:


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Builder Title Services
We've been building for over 100 years
There is nothing like building. Whether it's a home, a community or a company, there is a certain pride in knowing that you've built something of value, something that has an impact on a family, or a city, or an industry. You know how that feels, and we at Stewart know how that feels, too.
Since 1893, we've worked to build a company that has one purpose – to make developing, building, buying, selling and financing real estate easier, faster and more profitable for the real estate industry.
We build trust. One of the largest title insurers in the nation, Stewart is highly regarded not only for a tradition of solid financial strength but as a company that operates by the highest ethical standards. Stewart is an international company that operates in over 40 countries around the globe, and has been recognized by Forbes on their Platinum 400 list of "The Best Big Companies in America."
We build knowledge. You can't make decisions without the right information. From demographics to parcel information, from land use maps to FEMA flood maps – all combined with mapping and aerial photography – Stewart provides the information you need to make the right decision on a potential acquisition. And our staff of experts is always ready to assist you as you work through the approval, acquisition, development, construction and sales phases of your project.
We build technologies. Stewart is widely known throughout the industry as a leader in developing and implementing new technologies that make a difference in the way the real estate industry does business, and many of our tools are designed specifically for you as a builder/developer.
We build profits. While you love the business of building and developing, at the end of the day, it is ultimately a business. We can show you how to make more money utilizing SureClose®, our virtual closing table; Stewart Specialty Insurance Services for personal and commercial lines of insurance as well as home warranties; and Stewart Affiliated Business Arrangements.
We build relationships. With 9,500 issuing offices around the world, we have team members who live and work in your neighborhood. We're members of the home builders association, locally and nationally, and we know and understand the challenges you face everyday. That is why Stewart Builder/Developer Services is the team you can trust for the information, the technologies and the tools to help you build your company.


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The Ann Arbor Area Board of REALTORS® would like to welcome you to our new Monthly Feature newsletter. As a member of the board, you have access to a range of knowledge and services that you can utilize to help benefit your business. Each month, this newsletter will highlight one of these topics and bring you the latest updates, tips and useful information. Topics to look for in the following months include SentriLock™, zipForms®, Realtors Property Resource®, ShowingTime, Tech Helpline and more.
We're starting our Monthly Feature newsletter with Legal Update Month. Throughout the month of January, look on our site and in the newsletter for tips and resources for keeping up to date with new real estate legal affairs.


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Nordic combination
Chris Burkard is one of the best-known surf photographers in the world. His career blossomed not in warm waves, but in Lofoten, with pictures of ice and snow. The place that taught him everything begs the question: Is it necessary to suffer for the perfect moment?
Chris Burkard throws back his head and gazes upward. So that's what he has to climb. He actually wants to climb it, but because everything Burkard decides to do becomes a challenge he would never forgive himself for failing at, he now has to climb it. The question is just: Can he? Burkard spent all night shooting in Reine and then in the waves off Ballstad. He's tired, and he has two backpacks of equipment with him, but no helpers and no climbing gear. He really ought to be taking a rest – finally. But Burkard isn't interested in resting. This is his penultimate day on the Lofoten Islands and the reason he's here is to take photos up there, on Fløya Mountain, of the two rocks across from it. They are known as Svolværgeita, Svolvær the Goat, because they look just like two horns standing 590 meters above the waves. From down here, they are barely visible with the naked eye. It's a pretty tough ascent even for experienced climbers. You can't just stroll up there, growls the local man who drove him here, it's no picnic. Burkard grins and stumps off.
It's a scene that could easily be misconstrued of a man determined to do things his way regardless. A typical Chris Burkard moment. Spend a few days with the photographer, though, and you soon realize how unfair that interpretation would be. Burkard cares nothing for what other people think of him. It's not about thrills for him. He's looking for moments that are unique, moments that maybe only ever arise once. Burkard believes you have to suffer for a good photo.
"If someone tells me it's impossible, says no one has ever done it like that before, then I know I'm on the right track," he says, taking a breather between some huge rocks, the mountaintop still far off. This is the first summer trip Burkard has made to the Lofoten archipelago, to the roughly 80 islands a benevolent Creator scattered north of the Arctic Circle. The Vestfjord separates them from the mainland. Burkard usually comes in winter, but this time the trip is also intended as a comparison, to help him finally comprehend the torments to which he has generally exposed himself up to now.
Burkard, 31, is regarded as one of the best surf, nature and travel photographers in the world. He works for the big magazines, for Esquire, National Geographic and GQ; he has set foot on six of the seven continents and won every award there is to be won. He has 2.7 million followers on Instagram. In fact, you could say that he is a star in a scene that doesn't have many stars. And you could also say that this all happened because Burkard came to the Lofoten Islands.
The first trip, the most important, all-changing trip was years ago. A friend had told him about these lonely, wild, rugged islands in Europe's North Sea. "But I could never have pictured just how wild they really are," he recalls. Burkard had lived a Californian life up to then. He photographed the surfers of his native paradise and other paradises, beneath palm trees, in the sunshine. Fine hotels. Upgraded flights. He lived on a ranch in Pismo Beach with his wife, Breanne, and their two sons. It was all very comfortable, but also – boring. Wherever he went, the scene was already set. The surfers, the hipsters, the backpackers with their coolness codes, Wi-Fi a must, bronzed selfie smiles on their faces. That, too, is why Burkard turned to the Lofoten Islands. He was looking for risk, for a challenge, for something completely different.
He persuaded five professional surfers to make the trip with him. They were drawn by what drew him: the prospect of surfing waves that had never been surfed before and of shooting photos that had never been shot before. They are good guys, tough guys, but the Lofoten Islands are tougher. When they arrive, in March, in winter, snow is pouring from the sky. They cannot see a single meter ahead of them for the fog. Minus degrees in the two digits. They battle their way as far as Unstad, to Tommy Olsen, who rents out a few cabins here – today they belong to a trendy surf camp, but back then they were very basic, no more than emergency shelters. People have been surfing in Unstad since the 1960s, but only in summertime. Burkard and his crew climbed into their full-body neoprene wetsuits, swam out into the Arctic Ocean and surfed. And shot. And lost all sensation in their limbs.
"That's when I knew I had found my purpose. I was paddling in this surreal landscape and experienced an absurd moment between amazement and realization. Between incredulity and the simultaneous knowledge that what I was seeing and experiencing right then was real. Such a moment is rare. You never forget it." Burkard – halfway to the Svolværgeita – smiles.
To that moment, he has since added a string of others experienced all over the world, some even tougher. With and without surfers in his sights. The common element in all these moments is that they took place in extreme weathers. In ice, gales and rugged landscapes. Burkard has braved storms to camp on the Faroe Islands, flown to unpopulated areas of Siberia on board an ancient military helicopter, climbed the highest mountains in Chile, and on Iceland, he body-boarded between icebergs to photograph his surfing pals riding tubes, the tunnels formed by hollow waves.
He almost drowned once, and that was also in Lofoten, on Unstad beach. He was already delirious when they pulled him from the waves. "Nature showed me that she can be stronger when she wants to be. And I showed her that I am tough. The pictures I brought back to California from Lofoten meant more to me than any others I had ever taken because I knew the limits I had pushed beyond to get them. It wasn't a question of money. The pictures had a physical value." Back in the here and now and on the last third of the mountain, Burkard gasps. He sweats. He groans. His tripod alone is anything but light. He sits down on a fallen tree. From here on up, the ascent is pretty much vertical.
You can see right across the bay from here. The Lofoten backdrop is craggy, but its transitions are smooth. Mighty mountains, broad valleys. Small wooden houses beside polished fjords. In summertime, nights that seems like day. And in winter, days when it's always night. It's as though you were in an Edvard Munch painting. You recognize the parts and at the same time, see them as a whole. On top of that, there's the Expressionist light. And a sky that hangs so low you feel you could reach out and scratch it. Does the climb end here? Capitulation? "No, just a breather," says Burkard.
Either he beats a place, or a place beats him. Those are the two options and the second naturally isn't an option at all; never has Burkard turned back. Instead, his aesthetics have defined surf photography, expanded the scope for shooting Arctic latitudes. Burkard's pictures prolong seconds without going into raptures. They are in motion although they freeze movement. We see the waves breaking. Hear the wind roaring. Feel the drops of water. With an almost Buddhist joy in disappearance, the photographer immerses himself in the place where he happens to be, if only for a few days. To become weightier, to become lighter. That's what it's all about.
Ask Tommy Olsen, the man who took Burkard in on his first Lofoten trip, and this is what he will say about Burkard: "A hard worker, harder than all the rest. But still he has remained true to himself. Fame doesn't mean so much to him." The surfer crowd also says that "Chris just did his thing. And his thing made him famous. Olsen, waxing a board in the yard at the Unstad surf camp, goes on to say how it used to look around here: A small place, lots of old people, not much of a future. Not until Burkard came along, that is. Not until his photos put Unstad on the map. The beach, the panorama, his surf camp. Now they even have younger people moving back there, in search of good waves, of a little bit of hang loose, and of themselves. "The place changed Chris," says Olsen pensively. "But Chris also changed the place."
Chris Burkard says: "A place where the unforeseeable can happen is a good place. It makes you grow, whether or not that was your intention. I want to bring people out of their comfort zone. I want them to experience what I experience." One final leap and he's standing on the plateau right at the top of Fløya. Drenched in sweat but with a broad "all's well" grin. Burkard has made it. He empties his rucksack, sets up his tripod. The sun sinks behind the mountains. Across from him, two climbers with ropes are up on the two horns of the "goat" pinnacle Svolværgeita. And then one of them suddenly turns a cartwheel from one horn to the other, across the abyss. It's a moment you cannot plan. A rare moment, an unreal moment, a moment that can change everything. Here on the Lofoten Islands.


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Culture clash
Down on your knee, out with the ring: This is how men traditionally propose in the West, but it's only one of many traditions.
a matter of choice
"Would you make miso soup for me every day?" In the past, Japenese women could expect their suitor to pop this question, but these days, most would prefer to be admired for more than just their cooking skills. In traditional families, however, the parents have the final say.
a matter of respect
Men in Fiji first approach a woman's parents, who can expect to receive a beautiful pair of whale teeth as an engagement gift.
a matter of convention
Talk about traditional: Among heterosexuals in the United States, men propose to women 95 percent of the time. In Scotland and Ireland, women like to take the initiative – but only in a leap year, on February 29.


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The Big Picture: Schlocktober 2012: Orca
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Sea World will never be the same again.
So it´s Moby Dick with an Orca?
You know what?! Monster movies are weird!!
Clearly, someone on the Dishonored development team developed a phobia of whales as a result of this movie, because that's the only reason whales get horribly mistreated in the game lore.
You know what? I really like Schlocktober, but this is the first one that's made me seriously want to go out and watch this movie.
Captcha: Stay safe. Bit late for Richard Harris.
Ouch! That whale just took Bo Derek from a 10 to a 8.5
I used to call them killer whales, but now I call them Orcas, because killer whales, regardless of how true that name is in the wild, seems to condescending to me.
Whoa... okay that is surprisingly kicksss.
Well I'm glad a movie about an orca wasn't all black and white.
Well... that was one smart orca. Anyone got a harpoon? The ocean feels a little less safe now.
I was WAITING for someone to make a Moby Dick reference! BOB! You're slipping!
Though, honestly, if the guy actually quoted Moby Dick, it probably would have crappified the movie a bit...
Except it's the whale that wants revenge.
Color me intrigued, and for monster movies that usually takes some doing. I might have to find this thing and watch it now.
So a "horror" movie has shots of whales swimming majestically to melodic mood music? ...what?
While I prefer Piranha as the superb Jaws knock off because of Joe Dante's humour, I may have to re-watch this one and see if my opinion changes.
When you said that the first part of the orca.s plan could be possible I like to know what you were smoking because 1 I don't even a orca can eat that much fish 2 there not that smart and if they are I say we put them on the top 3 things that may exterminate humanity in the future.
Weird Al already made that joke on I Love the 70s, so... Not quite as funny as it should have been.
OT: I've actually heard of Orca and seen the miscarriage footage. It is incredibly uncomfortable (But Squishy Reproductive part shots are always going to be for me), but this still sounds like something I really would consider watching. It feels more like a good movie than a silly knockoff, and that's what ropes me in.
Good show, Moviebob.
Didn't that ice berg bit also happen in futurama?
If only Melville have managed to pen Moby Dick 2!
I've been caught! You haven't seen the last of me! Hahaha! (tosses smoke bomb)
Well, here's to more awesome monster movies with insane ideas.
Why yes, it did. It ate all the penguins.
I knew I recognized that scene in Orca from somewhere.
As for the movie itself, the thought of the orca knowing enough to blow up that building blew my mind, I know there's the whole suspension of disbelief but seriously after that it could've used a gun and I wouldn't have been surprised.
well this explains the dead orca in Jaws 2...
That is the killer-whale equivalent to a dude in sunglasses casually walking away from an explosion. That is incredible.
My dad loved this movie; thanks to this reminder of the film's existence, I'm going to get a copy of it for him now.
I'm fairly certain the miscarriage scene scarred me as a child.
It does not surprise me that Richard Harris was in one of these movies. I've seen his collaborations with Godfrey Ho. It was probably an easy time for both. Harris worked for a month, got paid for 6 and had a nice vacation in the Asian world. Godfrey for enough material out of Harris for about 2 dozen movies.
For more justification, Orcas aren't whales. They are dolphins.
My mind has just been blown.
There are few things from my childhood that I remember as vividly as _that_ scene...
How did I miss this? I mean I look up Dino De Laurentiis on Wiki and this film doesn't show up on his filmography. It look like someone need to update his info!
I remember my dad talking about this movie when I was little and thanks to the wonderful days of Canal 5's movie trilogy weekends (I miss those), I remember watching this and thinking "meh, this kinda sucks" and mind you, I already watched many 80's horror flicks by then (I seriously miss those weekends).
That was a while ago, I'll definitely need to watch this again.
An Orca doesn't need to eat all the fish as it's an apex predator so just going to an area of the ocean they usually don't will cause other sea creatures to flee. example birds in the garden cat walks through and birds and squirrels flee, yes house cats are apex predators too.
Lord help us all when the greats of literature act like the movie biz and start penning unnecessary sequels...
CAPTCHA: no-brainer
True that, Captcha...in more ways than one!
Funny enough, there are almost ZERO human fatalities by wild orcas... though the CAPTIVE orcas have attacked a few people.
Still, it's very true that, yes, orcas have been known to beat the living tar out of, and then eat, giant great white sharks. Which is awesome.
Obviously that dude never heard dynamite fishing or electric fishing.
|Pages 1 2 3 NEXT


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We hereby invite you to our event called Phone Bank @ Balik Pulau. Details as follow :- Click EVENT DETAILS to find out more about the event and join. Please also save our number +6019-2765200 as a contact in your phone. Thank you.
Phone Bank @ Balik Pulau, 2017-06-15 @ 10:30AM
Jun 13, 2017 | Events


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Utilize these AquaBot pet fish to navigate through different under water environments, without all the messy clean-up! Powered by electro-magnetic propulsion and a water activated automatic on and off sensor, kids can command their pet fish using the newly addition remote control making the AquaBot explore its environment, swim dive and change directions. Excitingly, kids can play with their HEXBUG AquaBot collection together by simply using a Channel 1 remote to control the first fish and a Channel 2 remote to control the other fish. To preserve battery life, the AquaBot will go into sleep mode after five minutes of inactivity and wake when activated. The new Aquabot has 3 different speeds and can travel 3 different directions to explore its environment. These colorful, robotic fish come in 4 various colors and are styled with life-like markings.
Ages 3+


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The Hope College Concert Series and Hope College Social Activities Committee will host Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken on Friday, March 2, at 8 p.m. in the DeWitt Center main theatre.
Webb and McCracken will headline the show, drawing from their extensive experience both as a duo and as solo artists.
Webb first gained recognition as a member of the group Caedmon's Call, with which he has released seven studio albums and various EPs. Webb then began to pursue his own solo career, and as a solo artist, he continued to explore new styles and sounds in his music. He has released six acclaimed solo albums and various EPs. He is recognized for his innovations in traditional styles as well as his hard-hitting and direct lyrics. As "Indie Vision Music" has said of his album "Stockholm Syndrome," "Derek continues to speak his mind on pressing issues in the world around him and to do so over an ever-changing musical landscape."
McCracken is also a singer-songwriter with widespread experience. She has worked with and written songs for various artists, and she has released five albums of her own. Kristin Garrett of "Christianity Today" has called her album "In Feast or Fallow" "perhaps the most beautiful, poignant collection [of hymns] on this side of the century."
Webb and McCracken are married, and they have been writing and performing music together for some time. They have released two EPs together and are currently touring the nation. A.L. Harper of "Blogcritics" called their first EP together "hauntingly beautiful, touching, and gently passionate."
Webb and McCracken will also help lead music during the college's Chapel service in Dimnent Memorial Chapel during the morning of March 2.
Tickets for the evening concert are $10 for the general public and $5 for Hope students. Public tickets are available for purchase online at https://tickets.hope.edu/ticketing as well as at the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and can be called at (616) 395-7890. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door, which will open at 7:30 p.m.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Avenue, between Ninth and 11th streets. The DeWitt Center is located at 141 E. 12th St., on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street.


text: QUOTE (in "Rough / Uncut Alexandrite." by puru on Sep 07 2009, 09:10 AM)i can provide but i dont know how to price an alex stone ?]]>I would like to know where I can get a rough / uncut stone certified that it is alexandrite. We have in our possession a large piece that we would like to sell to potential collectors.


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Rumble, the Mechanized Menace
|Release date (US)
|April 26th, 2011
|Highlights & notes
|Related links
|Patch chronology
|← Previous
|Next →
New Skins in the Store 编辑
The following skins were released along with this patch.
The following skins were released along with this patch, but were not available for purchase until a later date.
- Nunu Bot - Available on Monday, May 5.
- Lord Mordekaiser - Available with next patch, on Tuesday, May 10.
PVP.net v1.34.12 编辑
- Users can now grant other members of their Ranked or Normal team permission to invite other users.
League of Legends V220.127.116.11 编辑
英雄 编辑
Rumble, The Mechanized Menace (Original Stats)
- Flamespitter: Rumble torches the area in front of him with his flamethrower dealing damage to all units in a cone for several seconds. While in the "Danger Zone," this spell deals additional damage.
- Scrap Shield: Rumble creates a shield blocking incoming damage for several seconds and granting a short duration speed boost. While in the "Danger Zone," the shield's strength and speed boost increase.
- Electro-Harpoon: Rumble launches a missile that deals magic damage and applies a stackable slow on the target. A second shot can be fired for no additional cost within several seconds. While in the "Danger Zone," the damage and slow percentage is increased.
- The Equalizer (Ultimate): Rumble calls down a line of rockets over the target location. Enemies in the scorched area take damage over time and are slowed.
- Junkyard Titan (Innate): Rumble's abilities generate heat. When Rumble is above 50 heat, he is in the "Danger Zone," causing all his basic spells to have additional effects. When Rumble reaches 100 heat he overheats, silencing himself and causing his physical attacks to deal additional magic damage. Rumble loses heat over time.
Alistar (Rework)
- Updated walking animation.
- Stats:
- Base health reduced to 442 from 468.
- Health per level reduced to 110 from 114.
- Base mana increased to 215 from 192.
- Mana per level increased to 38 from 33.
- Base attack damage reduced to 55.03 from 59.525.
- Attack damage per level increased to 3.62 from 3.375.
- Movement speed increased to 305 from 300.
- Removed innate Colossal Strength Colossal Strength:
- Alistar deals 20 / 40 / 60% additional damage to turrets.
- New innate Trample:
- Whenever Alistar casts a spell, he gains Trample for 3 seconds ignoring unit collision and dealing 9 + (1×level) + (0.1 per ability power) area damage per second. It deals double damage to minions and monsters.
- Added new animations and particles for Trample.
- Pulverize:
- Base damage reduced to 60/105/150/195/240 from 80/125/170/220/270.
- Ability power ratio reduced to 0.8 from 1.0.
- Cooldown changed to 17/16/15/14/13 from 15 at all ranks.
- Range increased to 365 from 330.
- Stun duration after the 1 second knock-up reduced to 0.5 seconds from 1 second.
- Headbutt:
- Base damage reduced to 85/135/185/235/285 from 90/140/190/245/300.
- Cooldown changed to 14/13/12/11/10 from 12 at all ranks.
- It can now target minions.
- Improved targeting against moving targets.
- Pyroclasm:
- It no longer gets blocked by spell shields.
- Fixed a bug where it could sometimes fizzle if there was an enemy stealthed nearby.
- Yordle Snap Trap:
- Mana cost reduced to 50 from 60.
- Activation range increased to 150 from 125.
- 90 Caliber Net: mana cost reduced to 75 from 90.
- Ace in the Hole:
- Mana cost reduced to 100 from 150.
- Range increased to 1900/2050/2200 from 1600/1900/2200.
- Mystic Shot now has an additive 0.2 ability power ratio.
- Trueshot Barrage now scales additively with both attack damage and ability power instead of just the highest of the two.
Fiddlesticks (Rework)
- Stats:
- Base armor increased to 10 from 5.25.
- Armor per level increased to 3.5 from 3.
- Movement speed increased to 310 from 300.
- Terrify:
- Mana cost reduced to 65/75/85/95/105 from 65/80/95/110/125.
- Range increased to 575 from 525.
- Drain:
- Ability power ratio increased to 0.5 from 0.48.
- Damage to heal ratio reduced to 60/65/70/75/80% from 100% at all ranks.
- Leash range reduced to 650 from 700.
- Dark Wind:
- Base damage adjusted to 65/85/105/125/145 from 100.
- Ability power ratio increased to 0.45 from 0.35.
- It now bounces 5 times at all ranks from 2/4/6/8/10.
- Cooldown adjusted to 15/14/13/12/11 from 14 at all ranks.
- Projectile speed decreased to 1100 from 1200.
- Crowstorm:
- Base damage per second reduced to 125/225/325 from 150/250/350.
- Ability power ratio increased to 0.4 from 0.35.
- Cooldown reduced to 150/140/130 from 150 at all ranks.
Gangplank (Rework)
- Stats:
- Base mana increased to 255 from 239.
- Mana per level increased to 40 from 34.
- Movement speed increased to 320 from 315.
- Raise Morale:
- Passive:
- Movement speed bonus changed to 3/4/5/6/7% from 2/4/6/8/10%.
- Attack damage bonus changed to 8/10/12/14/16 from 8/12/16/20/24.
- New Active:
- No longer needs to target a unit to activate, so Gangplank can no longer kill allied minions.
- Activating it grants Gangplank 14/18/22/26/30% movement speed and 20/28/36/44/52 attack damage instead of his passive bonuses.
- The activation also grants nearby allies 7/9/11/13/15% movement speed and 10/14/18/22/26 attack damage.
- Duration reduced to 6 seconds from 10.
- Mana cost changed to 50/55/60/65/70 from 60 at all ranks.
- Previous Active: Gangplank kills an allied minion, inspiring himself and nearby champions to receive Raise Morale's passive benefits for 10 seconds. This gives Gangplank double the effect for the duration.
- Passive:
- Cannon Barrage:
- Area of effect size reduced significantly.
- Base damage per cannonball reduced to 65/110/155 from 100/140/180.
- It now slows all enemies in the area of effect immediately for the duration instead of requiring a cannonball to hit to apply the slow.
- Slow reduced to 15/20/25% from 35/45/55%.
- Updated the random algorithm to not favor one quadrant over others.
- Fixed a bug where the tooltip said it lasted for 8 seconds, when it actually lasts 7 seconds.
- Parrrley:
- Base damage reduced to 20/45/70/95/120 from 20/55/90/120/150.
- Extra gold gain on kill reduced to 4/6/8/10/12 from 4/7/10/13/16.
- Cooldown reduced to 5 from 6.
- Mana cost reduced to 40/45/50/55/60 from 50/55/60/65/70.
- Remove Scurvy: base heal changed to 80/150/220/290/360 from 70/125/195/280/380.
- Grog Soaked Blade:
- Damage per second increased to 5 + (1×level) from 5 - 11 (based on level) / 12 - 18 (based on level).
- Fixed a bug where it only applied 9 damage ticks instead of 10.
- Fixed a bug where Mimic Distortion Mimic Distortion would not properly show allies if it was ready to cast or not.
- Fixed a bug where Resonating Strike Resonating Strike could follow the target over indefinite distance.
- Fixed a bug where Paranoia would follow targets over variable amounts of distance depending on spell rank.
- Overload: mana scaling reduced to 8% from 10%.
- Desperate Power: spell vamp increased to 15/20/25% from 15%.
- Power Chord:
- Aria of Perseverance: Diminuendo duration increased to 4 seconds from 3.
- Song of Celerity: Tempo slow increased to 40% from 25%.
- Hymn of Valor: attack damage and ability power aura increased to 8/11/14/17/20 from 6/8/10/12/14.
- Fixed a bug where Rabid Bite Rabid Bite could be dodged.
- Pick a Card Pick a Card: Blue Card Blue Card damage to mana restore ratio increased to 65% from 50%.
- Tiger Stance:
- Hit particle no longer plays on turrets.
- Udyr's hands will now always display hand particles when his next attack will shred the target.
- Stats:
- Base attack damage increased to 56 from 49.
- Attack damage per level decreased to 3.1 from 3.3.
- Fixed a bug where Three Talon Strike could be activated while it was still active.
- Battle Cry:
- Passive attack speed increased to 20/25/30/35/40% from 15/20/25/30/35%.
- Passive attack speed is no longer removed while the ability is on cooldown.
- Crescent Sweep:
- Base armor and magic resistance bonus reduced to 25 at all ranks from 30/40/50.
- It gives 7/10/13 extra armor and magic resist for each champion hit.
- Revised Zilean's idle animation loop.
- Fixed a bug where 基兰的 Chrono Shift would sometimes not report to allies whether it was castable.
物品 编辑
- now shows an upgrade path into instead of .
- Recipe changed to + + + 600g from + + 600g.
- Armor increased to 75 from 55.
General 编辑
- Revised tooltips for Anivia, 20px Dr. Mundo and Tryndamere.
- Updated numerous character bios.
- Updated the following 'move-to-unit' spells, so they will fail less often: Aegis of Zeonia, Audacious Charge, Bandage Toss, Bladesurge, Cataclysm, Demacian Standard + Dragon Strike, Headbutt, Heroic Charge Heroic Charge, Leap Strike, Paranoia, Resonating Strike Resonating Strike, Safeguard and Twisted Advance.
- Fixed a bug where Fear abilities were slowing the target additively rather than multiplicatively.
- Fixed a bug where Exhaust was slowing the target additively rather than multiplicatively.
- Fixed a bug where Evelynn's new attack animations were playing too quickly.
- Fixed a bug with Mordekaiser's taunt animation.
- Fixed a display issue with the Battleborn Kayle skin.
- Changed the general frost slow particle (ie: 艾希的 Frost Shot, ) to significantly reduce frame lag.
- Improved the following spell particles: 特朗德尔的 Agony, 努努的Absolute Zero Absolute Zero.
- Fixed a bug with the active particle.
Hotfix 编辑
A hotfix went live on the 28th of April, with several bug fixes. The hotfix contains the following changes:
- Fixed a bug where 阿利斯塔的 Headbutt would lock him out of spells for the duration and a short period afterward.
- Fixed a bug where 普朗克的 Raise Morale would break nearby enemy spell shields.
- Fixed a bug where Raise Morale would reveal Gangplank to nearby enemy champions.
- Fixed a bug where 凯尔的 Reckoning was not showing the animation, and would not be castable again until after you attacked.
- Fixed a few bugs where 兰博的 The Equalizer was sometimes not showing properly related to fog of war. Also fixed some team color bugs.
Undocumented changes 编辑
英雄 编辑
- Champion square background has been darkened.
- Champion square has been zoomed in further.
- Classic skin splash art has been updated.
- Sanguine Pool has a new animation.
Structures 编辑
- The Nexus has a new explosion animation.
PVP.net 编辑
- "Bruiser" tag renamed back to "Fighter"
Patch Preview Video 编辑
|League of Legends: Release History
|Season Three
|Season Two
|Season One
|Closed Beta
|Alpha Stage


text:
Festivals & Events:
The Market on the Plaza is a vibrant local community event providing an avenue to support regional and local businesses that offer Colorado-proud homegrown food and homemade products like art and jewelry. The short list of available products includes: produce, dairy and meats; jewelry and textiles; and entertainment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Market on the Plaza is held on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Heritage Plaza, the center of Mountain Village. Heritage Plaza is steps from the free gondola and is adjacent to Sunset Plaza, where the popular free Summer Concert Series brings noteworthy, high-caliber musicians of all genres to Mountain Village, and draws approximately 1,500- to 2,000-people to Mountain Village each Wednesday. » August 7, 14, 21


text:
The night
She brushed her hands upon my flushed cheek
Smelled of childhood remnants of a dusty weeping willow
Clouds soothe, Shredded by the calico
Were oh so vast and quick as I was on my own now
This time like every other time I believe that I never find
Another sweet little girl with sequined sea foam eyes
Ocean lapping voice smile coy as the brightest quiet span of sky
And I'm all alone again tonight not again, not again, not again
And don't it feel allright. and don't it feel so nice. Lovely
Still I'm unable to inhale all the riches
As I'm awkward as a wound on my bones
Still I've got cobblestone joints and plate glass points
As I'm all by myself tonight not again not againE
And don't it feel allright. and don't it feel so nice. Lovely
Well if you should nervously break down
When its time for the shakedown would you take it
It's when you cry just a little but you laugh in the middle that you've made it
And don't it feel allright. and don't it feel so nice
Say it again. Lovely. So lovely. to do it again
Again. Loving again. It's coming again
Tonight, not again sözleri, Muzik2.Net sayfasýndan yayýnlanmýþtýr.
Jason Mraz


text:
Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Green Lake Community Center Advisory Council continue a Seattle tradition with the 36th annual Pathway of Lights. This year's event will take place from 5 – 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 8, rain or shine. Admission is free.
Join thousands of families, friends, and neighbors in this beloved Seattle tradition and travel the 2.8-mile path around the lake, taking in the warm glow of the luminaria. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own lights and candles to add to the ambiance.
Local musicians will perform at four sites around the lake:
- The Green Lake Community Center on the east side
- The Green Lake Small Craft Center (the Aqua Theater) on the south side
- The Bathhouse Theater (Seattle Public Theatre) on the north side
- The Arch on the east of side of the community center/pool featuring Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center artists
Warm drinks and treats will be available at those locations, as will donation bins for nonperishable food items for Northwest Harvest.
Volunteers are needed to help place and light the thousands of luminaria, and to clean up after the event. Individuals, businesses, community organizations and school and scout groups are welcome to participate. Setup takes place from 2:30 – 5 p.m., and the lighting of the candles takes place at 5 p.m. Cleanup is from 8 – 9 p.m.
Become a fan of the Pathway: facebook.com/GreenLakePathwayofLights
Parks works in partnership with the Associated Recreation Council (ARC) to bring high-quality, accessible and affordable recreation opportunities to the people of Seattle. For more information on ARC, please see http://www.arcseattle.org/.
Musicians and volunteers are still needed. For more information, please contact Jeff Skinner at 206-386-4235 or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.
# # #


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Why does some members seem so keen on making this diorama look bad?
Does it really matter that someone did it better or even larger?
I think this is a nice diorama and a great piece of work - I know I'd never have the bricks nor the space to do something like this.
Why not just look at this in a positive manner, instead of looking for flaws and errors?


text:
BIA Leggings YD Geo print
Help save our oceans with our new Healthy Seas Collection. We have created this new collection using beautiful fabrics that incorporate ECONYL® fiber, made out of nylon waste and abandoned fishing nets rescued by the Healthy Seas initiative.
This collection is not only planet friendly, it also has neat features like high elastane, providing excellent compression that aids blood flow during exercise which is perfect for confident squats, and a handy side phone pocket.
The print section flows down the side of the legs then wraps around the calf area meeting an elegant black cuff finish on the ankle.
We are proud to support financially the Healthy Seas Initiative, a journey from waste to wear.
More details at Healthy Seas


text:
Photo By: Juan Fernando Castro
Photo By: Pinnacle Estate Properties, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
Photo By: John Granen
Photo By: Smith & Associates Real Estate, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
Photo By: Jessica Alexander
Photo By: Regan Baker Design Inc.
Photo By: Alexia Fodere
Modern Kitchen With Under-Cabinet Lights
Under-cabinet lighting, along with a trio of modern pendant lights, illuminates this sleek white and gray kitchen.
Visit Original Photo
French Farmhouse Exterior at Night
Landscape lights brightly illuminate this French Farmhouse exterior, large circle driveway and four-car garage. Soft light glows from the windows of the home with 6,000 square feet of living space, including six bedrooms, six bathrooms and a meticulously landscaped backyard with swimming pool and hot tub.
Cozy Eclectic Family Room
The green walls of this family room offer the perfect backdrop for a family's favorite art work. Comfortable gray couches, ample throw pillows with mismatched patterns and colors and a rustic wooden coffee table enhance the room's cozy ambiance.
Decorated Outdoor Space with Cedar Table and Turquoise Lanterns
Take advantage of a privacy screen or wall separating your patio from neighbors. Hang lanterns, which can cast a glow at night without taking up floor or table space on a patio. Thrift shop for used wire lanterns or globes, spray paint then any shot of color you desire and add candles. A hanging glass lantern project is one that even beginner DIYers can handle.
Rustic Living Room With Tumbled Tile Floors
Enter into this spacious family room with 12-foot ceilings and tumbled tile flooring from the kitchen or dining room. Exposed hardwood beams and a tiled fireplace give this rustic room a classic edge paired with contemporary artwork. Traditional, neutral seating options work with the classic area rug just steps from the French doors that lead to the patio and swimming pool.
Kitchenette With Plate Storage and White Cabinets
The plate rack is on full view here, and solves what could've been a tricky storage issue for dishes. Elsewhere, the kitchen cabinet knobs are among the thoughtful touches. Wijaya points out that they're painted the same color as the cabinets to create a seamless, muted look.
Backyard With She-Shed and Concrete Steps
Wijaya explains how the custom concrete steps connect all six(!) of the outdoor seating spaces, optimizing indoor-outdoor living. (Note the she-shed in the corner.)
Transitional Kitchen With Blue Cabinets
The white walls in this transitional kitchen are offset by striking blue-gray cabinetry. An unpainted wall of cabinets near the island emphasizes the wood grain.
Contemporary Living Room With Tufted Furniture, Patterned Wallpaper and Thick, White Fireplace Surround
A modern patterned wallpaper print was installed to draw attention to the fireplace, as seen on HGTV Fixer Upper. The fireplace and mantel were entirely reworked and surrounded with the bold, contrasty wallpaper to create an accent wall that ties in visually with the trim, door and furnishings. Cozy neutral furniture with a tufted finish is brightened with yellow throw pillows.
Pink and White Modern Girl's Bedroom
For a girl who likes pink, this is a chic way to do it. Instead of washing the entire room in the color, the designer selected accent areas: around the bed and desk, shelving and a couple of drawers.
Guest Bathroom With Pink Tile Floor
In the bathroom, Wijaya and her team opted for a vanity top that looks and resembles concrete, but is actually Caesarstone, which Wijaya says bears a resemblance to rugged concrete. Plus, she likes that it's highly durable. And even though the guest house skews more English cottage than modern farmhouse, the shower tile and flooring are of the same kind found in the main house.
Family Room With Stone Fireplace and Bookcase
Here, Wijaya added a stone fireplace that uses a bioethanol system, which she notes is ventless and smoke-free. A custom built-in bookcase is painted the same shade found on the home's exterior; the color reappears in the kitchen and laundry area.
Guest House Bedroom With Carriage Doors
"The main focal point in the guest house bedroom area is the beautiful carriage doors next to the bed," says Wijaya. To achieve this overall look, she and her team added horizontal shiplap and wide shelving above the doors to soften the appearance, and make them look less like actual doors. "By adding beams to the ceiling in the guest house bedroom and using different wall textures in each space, we created a complex multi-dimensional space," she adds. The final result? Creating the illusion of a separate bedroom, kitchen, sitting area and bathroom, "even though they are all in one big open space," she notes. Mission accomplished.
Kitchen With Brass Elements and Shelf
Brass decor complements the kitchen's handcrafted brass hanging rail imported from the U.K. Hanging elements in general are ideal storage solutions for small kitchens.
Kitchen With Retro Fridge and Shelves
Adjacent to the mudroom, the kitchen is outfitted with a walnut butcher block counter and a cute retro fridge. Wijaya and her team also added custom-built kitchen shelves, plate racks and a brass hanging rail, "all of which are typically featured in traditional English cottages," she notes. "I wanted the guest house to feel like a mini vacation home."
Small Mudroom With Custom Bench and Shelf
A mini mudroom area by the entrance features a custom-made bench and shelf with wooden pegs. The space may be small, but its functionality can't be denied.
English Cottage Guest House With Carriage Doors
"I also wanted to create an English cottage-inspired guest house as a way to add value to the home," Wijaya explains of the former garage, noting that the addition can be rented out for extra income. Besides one bedroom and bath, the unit contains a private entrance and kitchenette. The carriage doors are also custom, and continue the theme of indoor-outdoor living.
Backyard With Deck and She-Shed
"There was no landscaping and the backyard was empty, lacking visual interest and creativity," Wijaya recounts about first acquiring the home. So she added some color as a fun factor, and used mature landscaping and greenery to enclose the yard. She relays how this creates the illusion that the property is surrounded by nature and further away from the city. "We wanted the space to feel like a private sanctuary and retreat for the future homeowner," she says.
Master Suite Deck With Lounge Chairs
"My favorite outdoor space is the private deck by the master suite and guest bedroom," says Wijaya. "I love how the design elements, layout and landscaping make this outdoor area a balanced, beautiful and tranquil space for the homeowner."
Surprisingly, the deck is not real wood, but in fact man-made composite wood decking. "We chose this material because it is long-lasting, durable, and waterproof," says Wijaya.


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text:
Will Lauren Conrad play a version of herself in the film version of her debut novel, "L.A. Candy?"
Not if she can help it, the star told People.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Authors — Hollywood's Fave Bookworms
"I think my acting is offensive!" the star told the mag at a launch event for her clothing line at Kohls. "I'm an awful actor, I'm not super comfortable with it."
LC's previous acting experiences include roles in "Epic Movie" (where she played herself) and an episode of The CW's "Privileged" (it's arguable whether or not her five seasons on MTV's "The Hills" could be considered "acting").
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Stars Of 'The Hills'
However, Lauren hinted that she may be working on her acting game – and didn't outright deny taking on the role of Jane Roberts.
"In fact, I was just trying to do lines… and they'll tell you, I cannot memorize lines," she said.
Although she may not have faith in her own abilities, in a poll on AccessHollywood.com, AH Nation voters overwhelmingly chose Lauren to play Jane, with the former reality star earning 47% of the vote. Lindsay Lohan, at 34%, came in second.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Keepin' It Real With TV's Hottest Reality Stars!
Either way, Lauren said she'd be very involved in developing the recently announced film.
"If you're putting your name on something, it's really important to be a part of it, or else people will just do whatever they want with it, and then it's not really you," she told People. "And it won't be true. I'm planning on being a part of it from start to finish."
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Fashion Flashback: Lauren Conrad
PLAY IT NOW: Access Extended: Lauren Conrad Getting In 'Shape'
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Lauren Conrad - The Hills - TV - CW - MTV


text: Welcome I have made one machine runnig with The Perfect Setup with Ubuntu 12.04 and ISPConfig3 which supports my main portal. As my portal has recently developed (over 600 users online in peak time) my one machine (Quad 9550, 4GB RAM) is not working properly in peak times. I have one spare machine (with same parameters) and I would like to mirror primary machine in order to make better permormance for my portal. And now how am I supposed to do it? I must install spare copy of Perfect setup on new machine and what then? Is there any manual for this?


text:
Today's first athlete run-in story comes to us from Austin, Tex., where an unusually high number of our athlete run-in stories originate. It's from Robert, an Austin resident, about current Buccaneer and former Longhorn Chris Simms.
It was a few years ago when Simms was Texas' QB and the team didn't get much respect, especially because they kept getting pounded by OU. It was about 4 a.m. in Austin, which if you know Austin means there's a steady migration from downtown back to campus (post hook-up, late night grubbin', etc. after Sixth Street shuts down). We were standing outside his dorm at Dobie near the parking garage just off Guadalupe. He sees a tricked-out white escalade making its way up the street and going into the parking garage. Behind the wheel is none other than Simms. The car's going too fast though and bumps up right into the ceiling on the low-clearance garage crumpling the top of his car. The door opens and out comes Simms, looking pretty damned surprised. Now, we didn't give him a breathalyzer or anything, but Simms looked pretty drunk and he got confirmation when Simms looked at us and said "Did that thing hit me? Or did I hit it?" I like to imagine Simms saying that each time he gets knocked down in Tampa Bay.
This, by the way, is all David Carr says, all the time, over and over.
Athlete Run-In: Helping Clinton Portis Score [Deadspin]


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Elie Saab Exhibition to Display Kristen Stewart's 'Eclipse' Premiere DressNov 27th, 2010 | By Stefanie | Category: Fandom, Featured Articles
Vogue.com is reporting that Harrods, a well-known department store in London, will be hosting an exhibition of Elie Saab gowns worn by various actresses. The Elie Saab dress Kristen Stewart wore at the world premiere of Eclipse will be among those on display. The exhibition will also feature dresses worn by Marion Cotillard, Halle
[continue reading…]


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Bruins ride Tuukka Rask, Adam McQuaid to sweep of Pens, shot at Cup
BOSTON -- Tuukka Rask grabbed the final shot in his big glove as the buzzer sounded, sealing the Boston Bruins' stunning sweep of the suddenly powerless Pittsburgh Penguins.
All Rask needed was one goal of offensive support from his Bruins teammates to get Boston back in the Stanley Cup finals.
Defenseman Adam McQuaid snapped a third-period tie, and Rask did the rest as the Bruins beat the Penguins 1-0 to complete a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday night.
They did it by allowing the NHL's highest-scoring team just two goals in four games -- with Rask posting shutouts in the opener and the clincher.
Boston's defense showed it could score as well when McQuaid provided the only offense the Bruins needed at 5:01 of the third period.
"I think first and foremost, we're obviously trying to be solid defensively," McQuaid, who had one goal in 32 regular-season games but two in the playoffs, said of the defensemen. "It obviously feels good. It feels good to be able to contribute that way when you don't normally.
"You look at so many great efforts we had from guys. The last 10 minutes of the game, guys were all over the ice, doing whatever it took to preserve that goal."
McQuaid's goal sparked a chant of "We want the Cup!" from the capacity crowd. At the end of the game, the Bruins were one step closer to another title.
Boston will face either the Chicago Blackhawks or Los Angeles Kings when the Bruins shoot for their second Stanley Cup championship in three years.
Chicago leads the Western Conference series 3-1 and can advance to the finals with a home win on Saturday night. If the Blackhawks get there, it will set up the first finals matchup of Original Six NHL franchises since 1979.
In the last minute, with goalie Tomas Vokoun removed for an extra skater, the Penguins kept the pressure on Rask. Pittsburgh's final shot, a 40-footer from the center of the zone from Jarome Iginla, was plucked out of the air by Rask.
Seconds later, he was surrounded by ecstatic teammates.
"It's just a scramble," Rask said. "You can't see anything, and people are laying everywhere."
Iginla had turned down a trade from Calgary to Boston before being dealt to Pittsburgh because he thought the Penguins had a better chance to win the Cup, but that turned out to be wrong.
The Penguins never led in the series.
"I just didn't play very well," he said. "That's when you want to play your best for the team."
Iginla and offensive stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin got no points in the series.
"I don't feel like they totally shut us down," Crosby said. "I feel like we got chances, but Rask made some big saves."
McQuaid scored on a 45-foot slap shot from the right over the Vokoun's glove.
"We were a little sluggish the first two periods," Bruins forward Milan Lucic said, "and we said, 'We have to win a period to win a series.'"
They did just that.
The top-seeded Penguins were trying to overcome both the disciplined defense of the fourth-seeded Bruins and history. Only three teams had lost a series after winning the first three games. The last was the Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Penguins felt they were "put together to win the Stanley Cup. That's our expectation from Day 1," coach Dan Bylsma said. "You're going to look at this as a missed opportunity."
Pittsburgh was swept for the first time in 47 series. The last team to do it to the Penguins was Boston in 1979.
The Penguins also lost the first three games of their opening-round series last year against Philadelphia before being eliminated in six games.
Rask, who replaced 2011 playoff MVP Tim Thomas when Thomas decided not to play after last season, was solid again with 26 saves, but didn't have to stop many challenging shots.
"He has been the reason why we're here," Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron said of Rask, who stopped 134 of 136 shots in the series. "We just played our game the whole time. We put a lot of pressure in their zone."
The Penguins had been shut out just twice in their previous 147 games before being blanked twice in the four games against the Bruins. Pittsburgh lost Game 1 at home 3-0.
Holding down Crosby and Malkin was the key.
"He is the best player in the world," Bergeron said of Crosby. "We did a good job with that."
After the game, a calm Rask felt that shutting out the potent Penguins twice wasn't such an overwhelming feat.
"Every game starts with zero," he said, "so you have a chance."
On the winning goal, Brad Marchand held the puck along the left boards in the offensive zone and waited for McQuaid to skate up ice. Marchand fed the puck toward the blue line where McQuaid, with no Penguins player close to him, unleashed the winning shot.
There was little sustained offense in the first two periods when Pittsburgh outshot Boston 20-17.
Boston's Kaspars Daugavins hit a post at 2:56 of the second period during his first appearance in the series. Daugavins replaced injured center Gregory Campbell, who broke his leg in the second period of Boston's 2-1, double-overtime win in Game 3 on Wednesday night.
At 10:56 of the second on Friday, Vokoun made a save with his right pad against streaking Tyler Seguin from the left side.
The Bruins got this far by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the first round and then taking out the New York Rangers in five to reach the East finals.
Boston rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period of Game 7 against Toronto just to reach the second round.
"It seems like a lifetime ago," Lucic said. "Without that Game 7, to come back and win it, if it wasn't for that we wouldn't be here right now."
The Penguins topped the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators to reach the NHL's final four.
They got no further.
"At the end it felt like not only Tuukka Rask was keeping the puck out of the net, but there was a force around the net," Bylsma said. "There's no question that the performance he put in in this series was elite."
Game notes
The Bruins and Penguins combined for zero power-play goals in the series. It's the first time that's happened in the playoffs since 1988, according to Elias Sports Bureau. ... John Krasinski, star of "The Office" and a native of nearby Newton was in the stands with his wife, actress Emily Blunt. ... William and Patricia Campbell, whose daughter Krystle died in the Boston Marathon bombings, waved the "Fan Banner," a traditional part of pregame activities. ... Gregory Campbell's father, Colin, was a defenseman on the 1979 Penguins, who were swept by the Bruins. Gregory Campbell gave a wave to the crowd when he was shown on the arena video board.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.


text:
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BearingPoint's Lean 4.0 approach helped us bring light into the jungle of digitalization. Based on the results we were able to find our own interpretation of digitalization, fully integrated with our lean production initiatives.
Corporate head of logistics, automotive OEM


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text: With a new Esprit on something resembling the horizon, we started getting nostalgic for the old S1 and S2. Which, were our pockets lined with a modicum of dosh, could get us in some serious, serious, unthinkable trouble. Meanwhile, here's a Top Gear clip from the first season featuring Jezza and the Stig whirling one of the last examples of the line around Dunsfold airfield, as well as a discussion of the merits of pop-up headlights.


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Originally today I was planning on writing something up about the Wintersday event in Guild Wars 2, but there will be a large number of people doing that already, and I don't see myself being able to add anything new that, especially when I haven't yet tried everything. I have some lore stuff I want to ponder through, but not right now.
I did realize, though, that the game has been out for just under four months now. Crazy, right? It's been that long. It feels, to me, like it's been out forever…and yet there are times where it still feels brand new, like it released last week. It is also the end of the year, and that's always a good time to look back and reflect on things. So today I am going to look back over my time in-game over the past few months, and talk about my favorite parts of it so far. There are flaws to the game, of course – a great number of them. But those will be left aside for now. It's time to talk about the good.
So, what do I like best about Guild Wars 2 so far?
The game makes me enjoy playing things I normally dislike.
The fact that I'm even playing Guild Wars 2 at all is testament to that. I am not an MMO gamer. I do not like MMOs. I have tried pretty much every major one that's released over the past decade, with none keeping me interested for more than a month. The original Guild Wars I fell in love with, but that was because it was so different than the standard MMO – so much so that it could barely be called one. I was very apprehensive about Guild Wars 2 for a good, long time, because of the fact that it was taking on so many parts of standard MMOs that I dislike – part of why I loved GW1 so much was because everything was instanced. I'm not generally a social gamer, and usually, I don't want to see other people around when I'm playing.
And yet…in GW2, it's completely different. I've gone from not liking other people being around, to being indifferent, to actively wanting to play with others. Whether I'm partied up with some friends/guildies, or just running around and finding another person or group doing the same things I'm doing and going along with them for a while…I enjoy there being other players around me. The game doesn't punish you for playing with others, like so many MMOs do. It's truly cooperative in a way that most MMOs will never manage, and I love it.
So, I like playing a game that's a genre I dislike, and I like playing it socially, which normally I do not. I also find that I enjoy playing roles that normally I am not fond of. Ordinarily, I hate support and healing types. I can't stand it, because in other games you spend so much time just watching the UI instead of actually participating in the fight. And yet, my second character that I got to level 80 was a Guardian. A Guardian that is, in fact, specced fully for healing and support. And I love it. I love playing her. I can't do huge amounts of damage in a fight, but I love that a well-timed virtue can protect people from potentially being one-shotted if they don't dodge in time. I love that so many of my skills are fields that combo to remove conditions, as condition removal is not nearly common enough in the game. I love that I can pile on pretty much every boon in the game. I love that almost everything I do will grant healing in some manner. I love that I'm still capable of fighting and doing a good amount of damage if support isn't needed at the moment.
And more than anything else, I love that sitting there and watching the party UI is not something I can do, but instead I have to pay attention to the fight and move around as much as if I was playing my Mesmer.
The game can be utterly ridiculous sometimes.
There are so, so, so many silly things you can do in this game. And if it can be done, we've probably done it.
Take Feedback, for example. It's a skill that I think should be stapled to every Mesmer's bar, because it's just so useful…it also lets you do some pretty ridiculous things. Such as creating yourself a small army of graveling babies to fight with you in the Ascalonian Catacombs dungeon. Or giving the Defiler in one of the Twilight Arbor explorable paths the status effect of "Bees". Or knocking off half the health of the Dredge Mining Suit in one of the Fractals if you time it right.
There's also the fact that it's an Ethereal combo field, so if you use it with pistol off-hand and also have a Thief in the group that's dual-wielding pistols, it's very possible to build up 25 stacks of confusion on an enemy…
Outside of playing with skills, there's a ton of other bizarre and hilarious things you can do. Not long after Halloween, we decided to do the pirate jumping puzzle in Lion's Arch all in our Halloween costumes…which mean riding our brooms throughout the puzzle. Last night we decided to take things one step sillier, after having all managed to craft Wintersday endless tonics…and did the LA jump puzzles like this:
Why yes, that is a plush griffon, princess doll, and toy soldier, with minipets.
And then, there's the fact that occasionally the game bugs out. And sometimes, these bugs are hilarious and awesome. Such as having a hovering shark running through Lion's Arch.
So yeah, the game is definitely big on silly sometimes.
I love my guild.
I am the leader of I Can Outtweet a Centaur! [TWIT], and…honestly, my guild is great. It started out in BWE3 as something silly for the GW2 twitter users, and while the core of the guild is still that it's the unofficial twitter community guild…it's grown so much beyond that. We're open for anyone to join that wants to, and as a result we're a mix of tweeples, offline friends and family of members, and guildless players we've run into and played with out in the world.
It's also grown in size far beyond where I ever thought we'd be, which is amazing.
There is also a real sense of community within the guild, that I enjoy and I'm so happy exists. Very often I see people offer up items in guild chat that they got and think would possibly go to better use being given to someone else than being sold. We have a packed guild bank. A large number of us exchanged in-game Wintersday gifts. One of my favorite recent things was Optimus saying in vent that he was a few gold short of…something, I don't remember what, and the rest of us in vent/the party proceeding to bird-bomb him with a couple of gold each. At the exact same time, without planning it at all.
There's also the fact that we are quite silly, as was shown in the point above this one. Those screenshots? Things we did last night. We tend to do things like turn everything in the world we can jump on into a jumping puzzle, including dungeons. And that includes dragging NPCs with us in the process.
And guild chat can be extremely entertaining as well…as this screenshot shows…
Yup. That's my guild.
The game is absolutely beautiful, and they put a ton of work into it.
People point this out all the time, but it's worth saying again. The game is gorgeous. Wintersday just proved that over again, with Lion's Arch covered in snow and decorations, as well as the maps and art for Tixx's Infinirarium, the Winter Wonderland jumping puzzle, Bell Choir, Snowball Mayhem…it's just lovely.
There's also the fact that ArenaNet isn't going to just sit back and rest on what they have already, but still work like mad to add new things to the game. I can't remember who it was, but someone said on twitter that they put more work into their holidays events than many games do a full expansion…and really, I agree. I had high hopes for holidays in Guild Wars 2, being as I loved them in GW1. Halloween raised the bar for Wintersday even higher. And when the update arrived? Shattered right through that bar.
Also, did I mention the game is amazingly pretty? I'm pretty sure I did. But to be sure I made the point clear, I'll just leave this screenshot of the scene you see when entering Winter Wonderland.
ArenaNet cares about the playerbase and community.
I can't talk about the things I like about Guild Wars 2 without mentioning the dev teams behind the game. They really do care about and love their game, and care about the playerbase. They care about the community that the game has. They listen to us when we have things to say. They own up when they make mistakes, and take steps to try and fix them. They participate in the community themselves.
And if you're on any social media channels, you quickly realize that they are not a faceless company, but made up of people who are just as down to earth and fun as anyone else. They are a great bunch of people talk to, as well as to play with in-game.
They also acknowledge their fans, which is great, and not something many companies do. There was the Fan Day event, where they invited fans to visit the offices. There were the giveaways over the summer, where a number of fansites and blogs (this one included!) were given keys for the BWEs to give away. There's the fact that fansite interviews with members of ArenaNet are fairly common.
And I can't forget what a number of fans, myself included, received in the mail this week:
Best card ever? Why, I do think so.
The game isn't perfect. There's a lot of things with it that can be fixed, or that should be in but are missing. But there's far more good to it than there is bad. And what is good about Guild Wars 2, is absolutely amazing. I could write all day on what I enjoy about it.
Happy Wintersday and a lovely New Year to all!


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Question: I've been working through some disaster recovery scenario testing and sometimes I see databases marked SUSPECT and sometimes RECOVERY_PENDING. Why are there two different database states when in earlier versions there was only SUSPECT?
Answer: From SQL Server 2005 onwards (when the metadata subsystem inside SQL Server was extensively rewritten), the database management portion of the Storage Engine has surfaced a variety of new states in the sys.databases catalog view. The SUSPECT and RECOVERY_PENDING statuses are needed because they describe quite different states of the database.
The RECOVERY_PENDING state means one of two things: either the database could not be opened to determine whether crash recovery needs to be performed, or crash recovery needs to be performed but was unable to start.
The boot page (page 9 in file 1) contains a flag that indicates whether the database was cleanly shut down (i.e. with no uncommitted transactions) or not. If the boot page is inaccessible for some reason, the database cannot be started as SQL Server doesn't know if crash recovery has to be performed to make the database transactionally (and potentially structurally) consistent.
If the boot page indicates that crash recovery needs to be performed, but something is preventing crash recovery from beginning (e.g. a missing transaction log file, or a damaged log file header), then the database cannot be opened as there's no other way to make the database transactionally consistent.
The SUSPECT state means that recovery started but was unable to complete. Note that I didn't say "crash recovery" – instead I just said "recovery". This is because the act of making the database transactionally consistent could be performed while starting the database (i.e. crash recovery) or is a running transaction needs to be rolled back for some reason.
In the first case, a failed crash recovery will mark the database SUSPECT. In the second case, if a transaction is rolled back and hits some kind of corruption which prevents the rollback completing, the database is then transactionally inconsistent and has to be taken offline immediately, and marked SUSPECT.
In other words, you could think of the SUSPECT state as being that SQL Server knows the database is inconsistent in some way
It's very important to know the difference between these states as SUSPECT is a more dire situation than RECOVERY_PENDING. In the RECOVERY_PENDING case, you may be able to get crash recovery to proceed by setting the database offline and then online again. If this does not work, or you've got a SUSPECT status, restoring from backups may be the best bet, or potentially using EMERGENCY mode to access the inconsistent data if no backups are available.