text:
Charles Darwin apparently isn't fit enough to survive Hollywood.
"Creation," a new film drama about "The Origin of Species" author, can't find a U.S. distributor – and the producer is blaming fears of a backlash from creationists.
"This is what we're up against. In 2009. It's amazing," producer Jeremy Thomas told the U.K.-based Telegraph.
But is it fear about offending some – or a greater doubt about the movie's box office potential – that's prompted Hollywood's hands-off approach?
A film about Darwin's crisis of faith after the death of his 10-year-old daughter, at first glace, doesn't cry out "blockbuster" – like, say the "Transformers" series, which is about a different kind of species adaptation.
But Thomas, who produced "Sexy Beast" and the Oscar-winning "The Last Emperor," has a record of quality successes.
Jennifer Connelly, who plays Darwin's deeply religious wife, is an Academy Award winner and proven star. Her husband, Paul Bettany, who plays the tormented Darwin, is no slouch himself. Plus, given the good notices generated by the film, Oscar nominations may not be out of question, particularly with the Best Picture field now expanded to 10 contenders.
Thomas, like Darwin, could be onto something with his theory.
Movieguide.org, which asks its audience to donate to help the site "bring God's light to an industry with much darkness," hasn't reviewed "Creation." But last week, the site posted what it called a "very timely" review of a book about Darwin that contends his "half-baked Theory of Evolution" inspired Hitler and other "genocidal mass murderers."
Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, who saw "Creation" last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, suggested the film actually dances around issues of whether evolution and God are compatible.
"Did [director Jon Amiel] restrain himself in fear of provoking controversy? Has it gotten to that point?" Ebert asks. " 'Creation' dares not state relevant ideas that were acceptable nearly 50 years ago, when 'Inherit the Wind' was nominated for four Academy Awards."
It seems like Hollywood is anything but evolving when movies that tackle weighty matters are shunned. That's not to say it wouldn't take some guts to distribute "Creation" in a country where barely four-in-10 adults believe in the theory of evolution, according to a Gallup poll released in February.
Perhaps outfit with a history of giving a platform to the provocative – are you listening HBO? – will step up and bring "Creation" to a national audience, allowing the people decide the film's merits.
It will be well worth watching the evolution of "Creation," which could end up a test of whether there's still intelligent life left in Hollywood.
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


text:
Pack Program Planning
Annual Program Planning
Your Pack's Annual Program Plan = Satisfied Cub Scouts and Families = A Lifelong Love of Scouting!
Dear Committee Chair and Cubmaster: Let's talk about one of the key elements of all successful packs and an indicator of a potentially successful year. Of course that would be the pack's annual program plan and planning conference.
A research project done by Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, showed that a common element of strong packs is they all have a good annual pack program planned a year in advance that is then shared with all families in the form of a calendar. The important result of a shared annual program calendar is that your pack will attract more families, and Cub Scouts will stay for a long time.
Just as an aside, the other two key elements of successful packs identified in that study were training and just having the right leader to start with.
Here is how a pack program planning conference works. A month or two before the scheduled face-to-face conference, the committee chair and Cubmaster gather the following information:
- Key school dates
- Community event dates
- Your chartered organization's dates
- Personal dates that may affect your pack's activities such as the Cubmaster's anniversary cruise
- District and council dates
- Collected Family Talent Survey sheets from all parents
- Last year's pack annual plan if you have one
To maximize the efficiency of your planning, the following people should attend the conference:
- All pack committee members
- All den leaders
- All pack/den aids and den chiefs (optional)
- Chartered organization representative
- Your unit commissioner (optional)
- Anyone else you think might be helpful, such as other parents
If you choose, you can use a new electronic program planning conference guide for a pack to add some color to the process. This narrated PowerPoint presentation, which takes the pack step-by-step through the planning process, can be found by clicking here.
The result is an annual calendar and plan that all parties agree upon.
Here's a quick rundown of the steps.
Before you start the planning process: Explain to the group the importance of annual program planning, why you are doing it, and the rules for the process during this meeting.
Step 1: This part is easy. Just take the dates you collected and put them into your pack's master calendar—including den meeting dates—either on a hard copy or by plugging the information into an electronic calendar on a computer. An electronic template can be found by clicking here.
Step 2: Before you begin rounding out the master calendar with things you want to do, review what the pack did last year. You might even want to write what you come up with on a flip chart or dry erase board. Ask yourself questions like, what events went well, what events didn't go so well? Did we earn the National Summertime Pack Award? The Journey to Excellence Award? How did we do with den and pack attendance? Did we participate in Cub Scout day camp or family camp? Did we sell popcorn?
Feel free to ask as many questions as you want, but don't spend too much time on this, as the key issue is planning the upcoming year. Just use this research to help guide what you might want to keep, replace, or improve.
Step 3: Do some brainstorming on activities your pack might want to do in addition to den and pack meetings. This could be things such as a blue and gold banquet, pinewood derby, family picnic, first-aid training, pet show, and so on. Remember the brainstorming rule, which is anybody can suggest anything without critique or criticism. Feedback and analysis come later, after all the ideas have been captured. Once you have a list of things your dens and pack might want to do, start prioritizing the list. Is a particular activity something for dens or the pack as a whole? Could the activity be incorporated into a den or pack meeting? And so on.
Take a vote on which activities to include on the den and pack meeting schedule, then add the activities to your calendar.
Step 4: By now, the calendar should be taking shape. It should include school and community dates, holidays, some personal conflict dates, den and pack meetings, additional den and pack activities, and district and council dates. The next step is to assign the person who will be responsible for each event, as well as den responsibilities at pack meetings. This would include names, like "Bob Smith" will be the chair for the blue and gold banquet.
If you are really ambitious, you can even put in event details such as, "Bob will send invitation and assignments to each family by January 1," and, "By November 1, we will get confirmation from the school we can use the cafeteria." Remember that good planning and preparation will lead to family satisfaction. Some of this might have to come after your program planning conference, if you choose activities now and have to recruit chairs later. However, if you know you will be doing some activities again such as your blue and gold banquet, you might already have a commitment from "Bob" by the time the program planning conference happens.
Step 5: You're almost finished. The final step is to review your annual plan to ensure you have captured everything you and your families want to do in the upcoming year. Once you feel comfortable, publish or email your annual plan to each family. A reminder that not everyone has an email account, so be sure your distribution reaches all families. They will feel much more a part of your pack and be able to plan their own family calendar with the pack's calendar in hand. Sharing the annual plan with your families could be the most important step in retaining your Scouts and building tenure, so don't shortcut this one.
Step 6: Annual program planning is an ongoing process. Review the plan each month at your pack leaders' meeting to make sure you are still on track, to recruit chairs and other help, you participate in important meetings, or to make assignments or changes as needed.
A great pack program plan leads to a great pack and den program, which leads to Cub Scouts and their families staying and growing in Scouting.
Good luck! You are taking a big step toward being a great pack!
These tools should make it easier to have up-to-date newsletters and calendars ready when you need them.
Pack newsletter template (Excel). Save the template file, then "Save As" for your first newsletter. This file includes two worksheets (see tabs at the bottom of the screen). Enter the information you want in the newsletter in the "Type Information Here" worksheet. Save the file. Then go to the "View&Print Newsletter" tab to see if the newsletter is as you want it to be. Make any changes on the "Type Information Here" worksheet.* When the newsletter is as you want it, save the file and then print it. If you plan to email the file, first delete the "Type Information Here" worksheet so that the recipients will get only the "View&Print Newsletter."
*Note: The worksheets are protected without a password to allow changes only in certain cells and prevent mistakes. To learn how to change those protected cells in your version of Microsoft Excel®, search for "protection" in the Excel help section. We recommend that after you make the intended changes, you protect the worksheet to prevent unintended changes.
Pack poster templates.
NEW! BSA – Pack Annual Program Planning Conference Guide (PPTX)
Den and Pack Meeting Resource Guide
Boys' Life Cub Scout Leader Notebook
Pack Budget Planning
Planning Your Pack's Annual Program Budget
Pack Operating Budget Worksheet PDF | Excel
Guides to Unit Money-Earning Projects
Cub Scout Leader Book, No. 33221, pages 85–95, 168

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Nothing lasts forever (should that be sujets? anyone?)
I think, ideally, I wish for my bicycle, and my blog, to be sticker-free. Free of brand names, free of cruft, stripped of needless words. For a while, for example, my commuter bike was totally sticker- and word-free, except for the head badge. I decided it looked a little too interesting like that, though, so I stuck some various colored things back on it in an effort to conceal the sleek black machine which lurks beneath. And in practice, back in the real world, I end up leaving some stickers on my bikes, giving in to some cruft, some brand names too, and I'm sure not always succeeding at the Strunk and White ideal in this space: omit needless words (x3). To which I extend and apply polymorphism, to say: Omit needless ads. For the same or similar reasons.
Some stickers (and words) got to go. "Jante sujet à l'usure" is one that I peeled off faster than I throw out pie plates. With those icons added on the sticker, I interpret this message to be: "notice/warning: as also explained in the enclosed user manual, this rim will eventually wear out, and as it does so, the end user should be aware that when it does wear out, it should no longer be used, as riding at speed on a rim which has exceeded its useful working life may be hazardous." Or something like that. Which seems to be a message which serves only the legal liability avoidance instincts of the wheel manufacturer's legal army. Similar to those tags on mattresses. I also tear those off immediately.
When I dream about getting my own handmade bicycle some day, I picture a sleek steel beast, monochrome, midnight black or screaming orange I can't decide, with no brand names or stickers of any kind, only the maker's name or brand, on the down tube on each side, and on the head badge. That's it. The rest of the messages and words I will keep in my head, and if it comes up in conversation, I am more than willing to explain how wheels wear out eventually, or what brand of saddle or hub I'm using on it currently. Ah, to dream. Get up. Go ride.


text:
According to the Associated Press, a 75-year-old woman in Karlstad, Sweden, is now the proud owner of what is believed to be the fastest residential uplink in the world. Her 40-gigabit-per-second fiber-optic connection is so fast that, in theory, she could be able to download a full-length movie in under 2 seconds.
The speed is generated through the use of a new modulation technique that allows data to be sent between two routers located about 1,240 miles apart without the need of transponders in between. Helping make it possible were Karlstad network unit head Hafsteinn Jonsson and the woman's son, a networking expert living in California.
"We wanted to show that that there are no limitations to Internet speed," Jonsson said. EC


text:
Teen charged in mobile home arsons in Forsyth County
A 16-year-old was taken into custody on suspicion of setting a fire that damaged three mobile homes and an outbuilding on Sunday.
Corey Ray Priddy was charged with arson in connection with a fire around 6:30 p.m. at 5710 Baux Mountain Road off Old Hollow Road. No injuries were reported, but about eight people were displaced.
Firefighters arrived to a fully engulfed outbuilding and three singlewide mobile homes that were actively burning, Forysth County fire officials said.
Investigators determined the fire was intentionally set. Priddy, who lives at 5710 Baux Mountain Road, was charged with setting the fire.
Total damage was estimated at $15,000, and most of the displaced occupants didn't have insurance, fire officials said. The American Red Cross is assisting the displaced.


text:
Voice Mail
This story appears in the July 1997 issue of . Subscribe »
Remain accessible to your customers by automating your front desk.
When customers contact you by phone, a busy signal is one sound you don't want them to hear. Besides turning away potential business, a busy signal announces that your business operates with a single phone line and little or no staff.
That's not exactly the image you want to create. As a business owner, you want your customers to keep coming back. Obviously, a busy signal won't help. Since you can't guarantee you'll always have an open phone line, you need some way to handle the calls you and your staff can't field personally. Voice mail may be just what your business needs.
What Is Voice Mail?
On the surface, voice mail might sound like just a fancy name for an answering machine, but it's much more. Answering machines can't take calls that come in while you're on the phone. Voice mail can. Voice mail also offers added features such as multiple voice-mailboxes, pager notification and remote access.
Perhaps most important, voice mail can create the illusion that yours is a much larger company. "It can make a one-line business seem an awful lot bigger," says Lisa Harrison, business call answering product manager for Nynex, a voice-mail provider in New York City. "That can be a real boost."
Used properly, your voice mail can even serve as a sales and marketing tool. Mark Gordon, president of national voice-mail service provider American Voice Mail, based in Los Angeles, advises recording a greeting that says more than "I'm not available."
"Use it to paint a picture, no matter what you're selling, and get people to want to buy it. You're automating a tremendous amount of work this way," says Gordon, explaining that you can give your sales pitch just once, and every caller will hear it.
There are hundreds of individual voice-mail options, which can make your selection overwhelming. Essentially, however, voice-mail options fall into two categories: voice-mail services you subscribe to and systems you can purchase.
Voice-Mail Services
When you subscribe to most voice-mail services, the company assigns you one phone number for customers to call. You use another, private number to access your messages. Most companies can have your voice-mail service up and running within 24 hours from the time you order it.
"We can do everything from wake-up calls to reminder calls," says Gordon, whose company offers a basic package for $9.95 per month in most areas of the country. This type of service is great for someone starting a sideline business while still employed elsewhere. While you're busy at your job, your voice mail can handle your sideline business calls.
For those who want customers to be able to contact them free of charge, American Voice Mail offers toll-free service for $4.95 per month, plus 10.9 cents per minute.
Because most business is done locally, however, many business owners actually prefer using a local number in the area where they do business, says Gordon. A local number helps a company appear to be a part of the local community, even if it's actually located in another state. With offices in 65 cities across the country, American Voice Mail can usually provide you with a local number.
If you prefer toll-free service at a flat rate, Alpha Voice Mail in Grand Junction, Colorado, offers a complete, toll-free, voice-mail-service package for $46 per month. Your customers have the convenience of using a toll-free number to contact you, and you use a toll-free number to retrieve your messages. Because customers can call you without charge, you may get leads you wouldn't get otherwise, says James Santacroce, one of Alpha's principals. And your cost won't vary with the number or length of calls you receive.
For those who travel extensively, a flat-rate, toll-free service is simply the most convenient system. "I have a lot of truck drivers who use it just to keep in touch with people," says Santacroce.
"You can easily drop $50 to $100 per month on these services," warns John Jainschigg, editor of Teleconnect, a monthly communications magazine, explaining that subscriber services are among the most expensive. Basic service might be only $10 per month, but each option costs extra. So by the time you add all the extra features you want, service can get pricey. Phone company rates are generally lower.
As a more economical option, consider using the voice-mail services offered through your local phone company. You can continue to use your existing phone number--with voice mail--for a monthly fee ranging from $6 to $20 per month, depending on where you live. Some phone companies may also charge a one-time setup fee, ranging from $10 to $65. All these costs are simply added to your phone bill.
Phone companies typically charge businesses a higher rate than residential customers. "It's a policy established by the Communications Act of 1934," explains Joan Rasmussen of Bell Atlantic, an Arlington, Virginia-based phone company. The legislation mandates that telephone service be made affordable to residential customers by charging them lower rates than businesses. In effect, businesses subsidize residential phone-service rates.
If your business is homebased, however, you may qualify for the lower residential rates. Most phone companies charge business rates only when the business is based outside the home and has extensive communications needs.
One drawback of using phone-company services is the fact that they can't always offer what you need. For instance, Nynex offers pager notification only to customers living in New York state.
Regardless of whether you use your phone company or another service, you won't have to purchase or maintain equipment. That means you don't have to worry about expensive repairs, and your voice-mail service won't produce additional office clutter, something that can be crucial in tight quarters. Representatives of most such services are also available around the clock to answer questions. And if the service you ordered isn't meeting your needs, in most cases, you're not obligated to continue it.
Changing technology is another consideration. "If you buy something, you have whatever its capabilities are today," Rasmussen says. "Some of these technologies are changing so much. You will get the advantage of these advances because we're making the upgrades."
Either way, you're obligating yourself to pay monthly fees, but that may be the best way to go if you have limited capital. "What you're doing is exchanging upfront costs for running costs," says Jainschigg, explaining that, with a system purchase, you lay out your cash up front; with a service, you pay monthly fees.
Voice-Mail Equipment for Purchase
For those who prefer upfront costs to running costs, Jainschigg estimates there are between 50 and 100 systems for sale, most of which work with your personal computer. Though most are priced well over $1,000, with many falling in the $5,000-to-$25,000 range, a handful of systems with price tags of $500 or less are available to meet the needs of small companies with limited resources.
Most voice-mail systems offer a variety of useful options that help make your company seem bigger and more professional. If you spend a lot of time away from your office, you'll want a system with pager notification. This feature beeps your pager or forwards your calls to another phone of your choice whenever a message comes in.
Another useful feature is the capability for multiple mailboxes. Systems with this feature can be programmed to ask callers to press a certain number, depending on the reason for their call. For instance, callers can be instructed to press "1" for sales, "2" for billing or "3" for technical support. Not only does this make your company seem larger, but it also helps you sort your messages by priority and type. If your business emphasizes phone sales, be sure to look for a system with ample recording time.
When choosing a voice-mail system, advises Jainschigg, it's important to get one that's not only compatible with your phone system, but one that can be integrated with it as well. If your systems aren't integrated, voice mail could unwittingly send a call to a busy extension, allowing the call to be "dropped on the floor"--the caller will get disconnected rather than reaching your voice mail.
Telephony Experts handles such problems by offering to preprogram its product, the Small Business Assistant, with settings designed to integrate its system with your existing phone system, says Shelton Glenn, a salesperson at Telephony Experts.
Setting up the Small Business Assistant also requires the installation of some hardware. "People are not always comfortable with opening up their PCs," Glenn acknowledges. For those customers, the company offers a free month of technical support, which can be used to guide the purchaser step by step through the installation process.
Your computer's operating system is another consideration in choosing a voice-mail system. Windows 95, for instance, is not designed to be mission-critical, which means it can seize up at any time. If your computer's operating system crashes, so will your voice mail system.
In order to minimize the risk of crashes, Glenn advises using one computer for nothing but your voice-mail system. If you can't afford to dedicate a computer just to voice mail, you'll be safest if you stick with typical computer uses such as word-processing and spreadsheet programs. You could run into trouble, however, when using "high-stress" programs such as page layout and graphics programs, he says.
If you envision heavy computer use and don't have the means to dedicate a separate computer to your voice-mail system, consider buying a stand-alone system. The most affordable stand-alone system on the market is Tina, from Datacom International in Telford, Pennsylvania.
Tina is a box, about the size of a TV remote control, that has a jack to plug into your phone, and both a jack and an electrical plug to connect to the wall.
Tina's features are comparable to those of any computer-based voice-mail system. If you're swamped with paperwork and don't want to take calls, for instance, you can program Tina to route callers to voice mail without ringing your phone. If you're waiting for an important call, you can program the machine to ring your phone only for that call. You can also program it to forward calls to a cellular phone, a pager or a fax machine.
"Some of these little stand-alone boxes are awesome," says Jainschigg. But before you choose a stand-alone system, be sure your phone system has the capability to use all its features. Tina, for example, will work with any phone system, but you must have caller ID and three-way calling in order to take advantage of all its features.
Whether you're looking for voice-mail software or a stand-alone system, the place to shop is a specialized retail store that sells only telecommunications equipment, computers and other business equipment. Another option is to order directly from the manufacturers.
Whatever you buy, consider your business's future needs. If you buy a system designed to handle two phone lines, you may need to buy another system when your company grows and you need to add phone lines down the road. "It wouldn't be practical to run a one- or two-line system with 10 people in your office," Jainschigg says.
Whatever type of voice mail you opt for, you can rest assured that you won't be missing important calls. And when you're in business, every call is an important call.
Serves: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin
Monthly cost: $6.75 to $13.45
Setup fee: $10 for residential customers, $15 for businesses
To order: Call (800) PROFITS or your local phone company
Bell Atlantic
Serves: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia
Monthly cost: $8.50 and up
Setup fee: $10
To order: Call your local phone company
Bell South
Serves: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee
Monthly cost: $6.50 to $12.95
Setup fee: None
To order: Call your local phone company
Nevada Bell
Serves: Nevada
Monthly cost: $19.95
Setup fee: $15
To order: Dial 811 (within Nevada)
Serves: New England states and New York state
Monthly cost: $12 and up
Setup fee: $60.15 in New York only; $34.71 in Massachusetts only
To order: Call (800) 343-4343
Pacific Bell
Serves: California
Monthly cost: $9.95 + 10 cents per minute, to flat rate of $19.95 per mailbox
Setup fee: $19.95 per mailbox
To order: Call your local phone company
Southwest Bell
Serves: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas
Monthly cost: $6.95 and up
Setup fees: $11 residential; $23 businesses
To order: Homebased business owners, call (800) 504-9514. Other business customers, call (800) 773-7928
US West
Serves: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming
Monthly cost: Basic, $12.75; additional features, $3 to $20.75
Setup fee: $10
To order: Call numbers listed in the Call Guide in your local phone book
Note: If you decide not to go with one of your local telephone company's voice-mail services, you should check out these voice-mail hardware and software systems. The systems work with your computer to give you the versatility to forward your calls, notify your pager or take a message.
- Tina is offered in both a one-line (model # 3354, $229) and two-line (model #3365, $299) version. Tina is available through retailers, or by calling Datacom International at (215) 723-3805. For a demonstration, call (888) DCI-TINA.
- The Small Business Assistant is a PC-based system that uses Windows 3.1, 3.11 or 95. The one- or two-line version costs $395 and the three-to-24-line version costs $795. To order, call Telephony Experts at (800) 838-8642.
- VoiceFX is a PC-based software package available in a single-line format for $99, or a multiline format for $199 (handles up to eight lines). To order, call Orion Telecom at (800) 669-8088.
Local Service Providers
Local phone companies will add voice mail to your basic telephone service for monthly fees of $6.25 or more, with most averaging between $10 and $20. Some companies also charge one-time installation fees of $10 to $65. To order, contact your local phone company. Here are some examples.
- Alpha Voice Mail, in Grand Junction, Colorado, offers a complete toll-free and voice-mail service package for a flat fee of $46 per month with no installation or activation fees. To order, call (800) 300-9712.
- American Voice Mail, in Los Angeles, offers basic voice-mail service for $9.95 per month. Toll-free service costs $4.95 per month, plus 10.9 cents per minute. Other premium features are also available for an additional monthly charge. To order, call (800) 347-2861.


text:
Remember when Han Solo was thawed from the carbonite freeze? Or when Cameron dropped the shocked-coma act in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off?" Or how 'bout when R.P. McMurphy pretended to have been labotomized all to hell (before actually being lobotomized all to hell?) in Cuckoo's Nest. Oh, and let's not forget when Dana Barrett was momentarily lost forever in the charred remains of a demon dog in "Ghostbusters." Death is temporary, cats and kittens. Time to reanimate and get back to work.
The NBA's 149-day lockout came to an end early Saturday morning (unofficially, but close enough for our purposes) and with it, so too ended Razzball's inert-yet-defiant period of fantasy reviews of yesteryear. The second-longest lockout in NBA history is history. It's all about 2012 now. Look at ol' Uncle Sam up there. Does he appear interested in BRI, MLEs, CBAs, Bird and 'Melo rules, and caps? No. He doesn't. You want to know the basics of the tentative agreement? Go here. You want to know what the players thought about it? Go here. Wanna know what the next month is going to be like for real basketball? Go here. Wanna know how to get your fantasy team ship-shaped for the suddenly-happening basketball season? Stay here. Grab a juice box if you must, but I can't guarantee I won't start without you. We've got fewer than 30 days. I can't just go around waiting for everyone to get juice boxes.
We've got about four weeks to prepare you for one last fantasy basketball season before the world goes kaput (according to the Mayans and Britney Spears, whom I believe follow each other on Twitter). Deep breaths. Stretch out your quads. Downward Dog it for a second. Chew some almonds. I'll have Razzball Commenter League information up in the next couple days, followed immediately by the 2011 Top 20 Fantasy Basketball Rankings. Next week, we'll start in on the position rankings and free agency news with the top 100 and 200 followed shortly after. In between, we'll update you on player movement throughout the league and try to maintain fresh rankings according to the free agency movements, signings, trades and the like right up until your draft day and beyond. Whoa. Heavy.
I haven't forgotten about those last 10 2011 Fantasy Basketball Team Previews, but under the circumstances of what I suspect will be bizarre and fast-paced free-agency clusterfudge of changes, it would be better just to keep you informed of the league movement than focusing on specific teams.
Punch it, Chewie! It's good to be back; 1988 was, like, so 23 years ago.


text:
Red Faction
What do you need help on? Cancel X
A revolution has begun on Mars, and you are at the forefront. As part of a rebellious organization known as Red Faction, you must battle through 20 levels that feature deep seas, natural caves, Ultor Corporation's bases, and more. Hijack five land, sea, and air vehicles--each equipped with weapons--including an ATV, a submarine, and a high-flying fighter. Help yourself to 15 weapons of mass destruction, such as railguns, rocket launchers, riot sticks, and heavy explosives. Stealth, cooperation, and action are all important to achieve success.
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To demonstrate the great cultural and multicultural vitality of the church, the prayer of the faithful is often recited in different languages.
Yesterday's papal Mass in Washington was one of those instances. Six languages were used. Here are the English translations of the five Mass intentions not said in English, followed in parentheses by the language in which the prayer was uttered:
— For peace in our world and for the safety of those who seek to achieve it in our fragile world. (Tagalog)
— For children everywhere, may they be blessed with good health and caring families. (Korean)
— That our actions of personal sacrifice will help to alleviate any suffering taking place in our city, nation and world. (Vietnamese)
— For those who are ill, may they be healed through God's infinite mercy. (Igbo)
— For all who have died, that they may attain the fullness of life in the kingdom of heaven. (Spanish)


text:
One of the hottest wines from Italy is a pure Merlot produced on the west coast of Tuscany, near the town of Bolgheri, on the wine estate of Tenuta dell' Ornellaia. Masseto was first commercially produced in 1986, but it has only recently become a legend in its own time. It's a full-throttle, exotic red with mounds of opulent fruit, yet it remains polished and classy in style; it's a cross between a powerfully refined Pomerol from Bordeaux and a fleshy, flamboyant Merlot from California's Napa Valley.
The wine comes from two vineyards on the Ornellaia estate, Masseto and Vigna Vecchia. The latter, whose name in Italian means old vines, produces the most structured wines while the former gives the finesse and class to the pure Merlot. The wine is given the full treatment in the cellar, from long fermentations to extended aging in 100 percent French oak. According to consulting winemaker Michel Rolland, who is famous for making world-class Pomerols as well as other top-rated reds, the wines of Masseto "deserve" the high-class winemaking because of the exceptional quality of the grapes.
Seek out the most recent vintages available, primarily 1997 and 1998. Both are opulent and exciting, bursting with fruit, although I have a slight preference for the 1998. I scored the wines 96 and 97 points, respectively, in Wine Spectator, Cigar Aficionado's sister publication. Older, weaker vintages, including the 1991, 1992 and 1993, are also very good but they lack the richness and generosity of newer vintages. Most Massetos need about five or six years of bottle age to lose some of their baby fat, although the lavish fruit of their youth is irresistible from the outset.
About 1,200 cases (almost half the production) are shipped to the United States each year. Finding a bottle however, can be like panning for gold dust in Manhattan. The release price for the wines is usually about $200 to $240, although prices may double within a few months due to the demand.
For more information visit www.winespectator.com or call the estate at 0565 /762140-1.


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Innovations for predictive virtual keyboards used in smartphones and tablets keep rolling in.
One Wednesday, the SwiftKey Keyboard app for Android smartphones and tablets that allows predictive typing was put up for free in Google Play. The app previously sold for $3.99.
In a blog, London and San Francisco-based SwiftKey also said it added 30 new keyboard designs and improved its prediction engine for what a user wants to type. The company also said keyboard supports 66 languages and claimed that users would be able to type up to three languages at once with improved accuracy.
The announcement came just nine days after Apple announced it will open its upcoming iOS 8 for iPads and iPhones to third-party keyboard apps, which will undoubtedly include keyboards from SwiftKey, Swype and a host of others. Shortly after the Apple announcement on June 2, SwiftKey said it had already begun developing a SwiftKey Keyboard app for iOS 8.
SwiftKey said its predictive keyboards would be free on Android devices. (Image: SwiftKey)
SwiftKey previously introduced SwiftKey Note in January for iOS, allowing users to take advantage of SwiftKey's artificial intelligent innovations with note-taking on iPhones and iPads. Since its introduction in 2010, the SwiftKey Keyboard has spent more days on the highest paid app list in Google Play than any other app, SwiftKey said in announcing the free version. SwiftKey Keyboard now runs on 200,000 devices worldwide, the company said.
While recent news in keyboard upgrades might sound minor in the overall complexity of a new device, messaging is still the most heavily used app on a smartphone and the competition among vendors making predictive keyboard apps is aggressive. Analysts say texting is especially popular with users under the age of 30, but also in many emerging countries, while virtual keyboards have become a mainstay for writing short emails from a smartphone or tablet.
Apple certainly took note of the importance of messaging in its iOS 8 Preview online, noting its Messages app is "the app you use most." Apple plans to make it possible for iOS 8 users to capture any sound and add it to a text conversation. Users also will be able to share a quick video or a location easily, among other improvements.
Apple also said it will bring the "biggest changes to the keyboard since the very first iPhone" with new predictive typing in its QuickType keyboard. Using its own prediction engine, the keyboard will take into account the recipient of the text and in which app a user is typing. In one example described on its Web site, Apple showed how word choices in an email would be more formal when sent to a colleague, while less formal in a text to a friend or relative.
Apple's predictive innovations appear to go beyond what other predictive keyboards now offer, but SwiftKey wasn't shy in a press release announcing its free version, calling it a "mind-reading" app.
Apple is clearly expecting its QuickType keyboard will be a hit with workers and average consumers alike, but analyst Jack Gold said many business users are slow to adopt virtual keyboard technologies. "Some enterprise users are still using hard keyboards on BlackBerry," said Gold of J. Gold Associates.
Even so, SwiftKey's move to make its keyboard app available for free is part of a trend toward "input competition," Gold said. "Users now expect input features on devices to be standard and free and, yes, Apple has raised the bar on this, but others -- even BlackBerry -- have recently enhanced look-ahead typing and word completion features.
"Most of this trend is about better communications with texting and email as users want to increase the speed of their replies," Gold said. "For most users, the amount of messages they deal with through email, Facebook and text has expanded greatly."
Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar WorldPanel, said there's "no question that messaging is a huge battlefield" among vendors. Milanesi said enterprise workers face a difficult time deciding whether to stay with a corporate-approved messaging app because the IT department says it is more secure, over a consumer-grade app that is more flexible and has more features.
"If my personal experience is something to go by, I avoid any kind of corporate messenger app on both my PC and phone and use consumer-grade apps instead," she said. "Personal convenience always comes before company security."
This article, SwiftKey is free for Android, as predictive keyboard competition grows, was originally published at Computerworld.com.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed. His email address is email@example.com.
See more by Matt Hamblen on Computerworld.com.
Read more about mobile apps in Computerworld's Mobile Apps Topic Center.


text:
GHC's SCOREcard is a DegreeWorks web-based academic advising, transfer articulation, and degree audit program that helps students and advisors see at a glance what is needed for program completion. It is not to replace advisors and does not provide an official transcript or graduation audit. When used in conjunction with advising, SCOREcard can help make sure you stick to your graduation or transfer plan.
SCOREcard is available to all GHC students. It will show you your program requirements, courses taken, courses currently being taken, assessment tests, transfer credits and even lets you see what will happen with your completed courses if you change programs.
You will need your GHC ID number and Pin number to log in. Follow these steps to see how SCOREcard can keep you on track for degree completion!
Log into SCORE
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See an academic advisor or email email@example.com


text:
The Sword Of Elendil
Chapter 025
Gilraen woke with a start, her heart thumping.
The murmurs of the night lay like a mother's caress upon the Valley, the crooning of the wakeful Elves blending with the hoots of the night owl and the peeping music of the frogs. She listened closely. The Elves sang the hymn to the rising Sun. Dawn approached.
Why then this night terror? She knew the signs. She had known all her life that she carried within her some of her mother's Sight. To her own dread. She had not her mother's steadfast serenity in embracing the gift.
She rose from her bed, threw a light robe over her gown and drew slippers onto her feet. She stepped softly through the passageway and crept down the broad, shallow stairway to the front hall, where the triple doors led to the courtyard before Elrond's House. A lantern burned on the step, casting a circle of light that did not reach the faces of the men before her. But she knew by their shadowed figures that two Rangers stood there, one in quiet conference with Lord Erestor; the other—a youth, judging by his lanky shape and lesser height—waited somewhat apart.
The Ranger turned at her approach and bowed his head. "Lady Gilraen."
"Hawk!" Laughing, she embraced him, road dust and all, and kissed his scratchy cheek. "Welcome!"
Hawk reached his arm out to the youth standing behind him. "This is Rodnor, my grandson."
Rodnor murmured respectful and unintelligible words.
"Welcome, Rodnor. I am honored to meet one of my people. But tell me, what brings you to Rivendell?"
Hawk's face grew grave. Erestor stepped forward. "May I suggest that we go into the house and discuss this over some refreshment."
Her heart resumed its thumping, and she had a flash of terror for her son. But she smiled at Hawk and asked after her parents, her brother and his wife and children. "All well, lady," he murmured, inclining his noble head in respect.
In the comfortable sitting room on the ground floor, Erestor revived the banked fire against the early morning chill. With a nod and a smile of greeting to Gilraen, the kitchen maid Luinwen set down a tray of food from the kitchen, and laid mugs, pitchers of hot tea and warm nut cakes on the low table before the fire. Erestor sat in a great carved chair, and Gilraen took a seat on a pillowed bench beside him. Hawk motioned his grandson to a stool and sat on the bench beside Gilraen. Luinwen poured tea, and they drank.
"Now," said Erestor, "begin again for the sake of Lady Gilraen."
Hawk looked up from his warm mug, grasped between both rugged hands. "Ill news, my lady, but do not fear for your son. He has met with no harm, as far as we know."
"But you have heard no word?"
"We would not expect to, yet. He and Halbarad planned to scout the lands from the valley where your lord husband's grave lies, on the way to meet us at our Refuge at Dol Draug. Even if they had reached the other Rangers sooner than planned, the news would have to travel to us at the Angle. No, it is Damrod who has met with ill fortune. Slain in the mountains by a party of Orcs."
Gilraen pressed her hands to her mouth. "I did not know him, but I know too well the grief."
Hawk nodded. "He was just reaching the prime of his young manhood, even as Aragorn. But there is worse to tell. We believe we are finally on the trail of the servants of the Enemy, those who sent that party of Uruks near the Angle last year. Tales have reached us from the hill folk of raids against their flocks, and they speak of evil spirits in the land. Scouts say Orcs have moved south from Gundabad. My grandson and I are on our way to join the Rangers at the Refuge. Beleg commands there now. Iorlas and Ingold are even now preparing to lead a troop on horse from the Weather Hills, and Túrin's men are guarding the way from Gundabad in the north. We must rout out these Orcs before they have taken hold. I only hope we are not too late."
Erestor said, "Our scouts have also seen this, and we will send Elves to patrol the pass and the far side of the mountains, or to join you at the Refuge, if you will."
"I most wished to ask the counsel of Elrond, but you say he is not here?"
"No, nor his sons, nor Glorfindel." Erestor spoke in that firm tone that Gilraen recognized as signifying a refusal to answer further questions. Indeed, she herself did not know where the Master of Rivendell had gone. In her heart, she suspected he had gone to Lothlórien to visit his daughter, who had returned there to live with her mother's kin. May she long remain there, out of the sight of my son.
Hawk sighed. "Well, then, we will do our best without his advice."
Erestor stood up. "Baths and beds have been made ready for you, and a meal will be prepared. You should rest and eat before we make our plans."
"I thank you."
Erestor rose and bowed and withdrew from the room, but Hawk remained at Gilraen's side, staring at the fire with frowning brows. The boy began to climb awkwardly to his feet, but Hawk stopped him with a commanding hand.
"What, no bed, no bath?" Gilraen chided.
Hawk turned his fierce eyes to her face. "I have something to tell you."
Her heart was like an icy sword piercing her chest. She waited in silence.
"Daeron has deserted his post."
Fear bloomed like a weed in her mind. "A traitor."
Hawk scrubbed at his beard with one nervous hand. "All we know is that he quarreled with Túrin, arguing that the command should move to the South. Túrin denied him, and he was gone the next day. It was Damrod who brought the news to the Refuge."
"Where is this deserter now?"
"We don't know. He vanished as if the earth had swallowed him; even our best trackers can't find him. I fear the worst, my lady."
"If he is turned traitor, he will try to kill my son again. I know it."
"Think beyond even that dread thing. If he is turned traitor, he will reveal all our secrets to the enemy, including the way to Thurnost."
She covered her face in her hands. Blood, death, terror. All my loved ones, all the children, all our hope. Estel. "You must find him. This time, put him to death."
"You are hard, lady."
She clasped her hands in her lap. "All my pity left me when I heard of his murderous attack on my son."
Hawk huffed in chagrin. "Aragorn had the opposite reaction, and he convinced even me, who believed the worst. And, as I think you know, there are some who question Aragorn's story."
"I know it well, and I am ashamed of my own people for it. Do they now blame him that a traitor is loose?" she cried bitterly.
"There's no time for blame. We must find him, even if it is only a corpse that we find."
Gathering her strength, she rose, holding her arms straight and close to her body in determination. "Then, Captain Hawk, we had best get busy and prepare."
But in her quarters, alone with her fears, she could not keep the tears from coming, thinking of her son at his father's grave, of the threat that now hung over them all. Even after all that had happened, she did not want to believe that Daeron was a traitor. Flashes of memory came to her—his shy face when first they acknowledged their betrothal; his gentle respect. He had never even dared to kiss her, only to hold her hand in a kind of amazed rapture. Long ago, with shame, she had acknowledged, if only to herself, that his admiration had gone to her young head, and she had acted as if she felt more than she did. But I didn't even know that myself—until Arathorn showed me what real love is.
She had, of course, not been present when her father told Daeron the betrothal was broken. She had not even known that Arathorn had asked for her. So young I was, so dazzled with his attentions.
She had known nothing of the duel between her two suitors until Beleg ran into the Keep, shouting for the healer. Arathorn had put out Daeron's eye in a challenge. Even then, the murmurs had gone around Thurnost: Daeron dared raise arms against the Chieftain's son! Our law forbids it.
But Arador insisted that the man had been punished enough. And Arathorn came to her and said, "You are mine now." When he touched her, her very bones melted within her body.
Trembling, her face burning with memory, she dressed in her working clothes, a huge apron covering all, a cloth wrapped around her braided hair. In the kitchen she found the cooks already at work. Luinwen was covered in flour as she made waybread for the party going to war. For war it is, though the numbers be small, our very lives are at stake. In silence she took her place.
All that day, and the next, they gathered supplies, packed, consulted maps, and planned. She drew the youth, Rodnor, to her as a helper and mothered him as if he were Estel returned to childhood.
Hawk laughed, "You will quite put him off. He yearns for manhood, that one, like any lad of sixteen."
But Gilraen knew better. His mother, Hawk's daughter, had died when he was but a babe, he told her, and she saw the wistfulness in his eyes. She knew, too, that his twin brother had died horribly in the Troll hunt, though Rodnor did not speak of it. She gave him a warm cloak that her son had worn before he grew out of it, and for the celebration of music and poetry that night, she dressed Rodnor in a handsome embroidered tunic of dark blue, and took his arm as they walked to the Hall of Fire. As she had expected, he sat in silent awe and enchantment as the song rose and fell with the thrumming harps and melodic flutes of the ancient Elvish lays.
Lately—she knew quite well why—songs of Beren and Lúthien had fallen out of favor in Rivendell. But Lindir had composed a new song about the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and the last stand of Maedhros and Maglor against the might of Angband, when the sons of Ulfang the Easterling went over to Morgoth and betrayed the hopes of the Elves and the Edain.
Gilraen closed her eyes and whispered to herself the words from the ancient tale. Yet neither by wolf, nor by Balrog, nor by Dragon, would Morgoth have achieved his end, but for the treachery of Men. Sorrow washed over her like a cold winter rain.
The beauty of the music convinced Rodnor that it must be true that Elvish minstrels could bring their songs to life before the eyes of their listeners.
Maybe he could ask them to sing about Rodnion.
Rodnor hoped that he did not look as dazed as he felt: like a child in a wonderland of treats. No, like a mere mortal kneeling before the thrones of the Valar, or so he imagined. Indeed, while the Elves all treated him kindly, he could not shake off a shadow of fear. They were so strange. Some had eyes like fire burned their spirits. Inhuman, he thought, and laughed at himself. Of course they are inhuman. They did not die, did not sicken, did not wither with age, like the lady Saelind had done. Even when their bodies died, their spirits still lived in this world. Ghosts. How had Aragorn grown up here? He must ask him about it.
Over the course of the few days in Rivendell, he managed, he thought, to avoid falling into childish awe and dread—until the day he and his grandfather gathered with Erestor to consult about their journey. The map itself was enough to make his jaw drop: A piece of parchment larger than any he had ever seen, even in the Commons, and covered with inks of red, gold, blue and black, of a delicacy and grace beyond his imagination.
Hawk drummed his broad fingers upon the table. "You say the scouts will return from the eastern slopes within the next two days?"
"I expect them, yes," Erestor answered. "Their reports will be worth carrying to the Rangers at the Refuge."
"We will wait till then to leave," Hawk said. "Show me the path they have taken."
Erestor's long, slender finger traced the trail up to the High Pass and beyond. "Their plan is to turn north to the Rhimdath, then cross the mountains again and return along the lower slopes to the Valley, one of the ways you may go. If there is any sign of the enemy in those lands, they will know."
Hawk scratched at his grey-bearded cheek. "We should have asked for a rendezvous at Wolf's Head. But it is too late now."
Erestor shook his elegant head. "Our captain does not know your secret. I myself have not been there since before the time of Aranarth."
Rodnor exclaimed, "What—Aranarth—you mean—" He shuddered at the eyes full of light that the Elf lord turned to his face.
"Yes, I fought with the first Rangers, the Dúnedain of Arthedain," Erestor said gravely, "dwelling at the Refuge to spy on and harry the forces of Rhudaur. Our hideout was never discovered by the forces of Angmar, so well is it hidden at Wolf's Head, even during the final battle when Rivendell itself was besieged. Elves and Men fought and died side by side then."
Rodnor could feel his face turning red. He said nothing in his embarrassment, but he could not take his eyes away from the Elf lord's bright eyes. Erestor smiled. "My memory goes back to Doriath and the court of Thingol and Melian. I was among the last who fled with the princess Elwing, Elrond's mother, when the sons of Fëanor slew our lord Dior and the princes were taken. It is not always the Great Enemy who we fight, alas."
Rodnor shivered under the scrutiny of those ancient eyes. Can he read my mind? Does he see how afraid I am?
His grandfather glared at him, one fierce eyebrow raised, and, clearing his throat, turned back to the map. "The only good bit of news is that Daeron was never posted there, so he does not know the way. But now the name of Wolf's Head, Dol Draug, will be known to the Enemy. We do not know how long we will remain safe, nor how far back his treason goes."
Rodnor swallowed the lump in his throat as the memory of his grandfather's words flashed in his mind: He will reveal all our secrets to the Enemy, including the way to Thurnost. How could a Ranger betray his own people, foreswear his oath pledged for his rayed star? Daeron had always worn his with such pride. Even the Elves can turn against their people, and Erestor remembers it. Is that so different from going over to the Enemy? How can I trust anyone?
That night, their last in Rivendell, Rodnor lay long sleepless in bed, staring at the faint stars through the window. He hoped that he, too, would fight and die bravely when the time came.
The land lay eerily quiet and bleak as Hawk and Rodnor wound their way through the rocky downs north of Rivendell. After climbing out of the Valley along the road to the High Pass, they turned west, away from the mountains, to trudge through the fells, grassy rolling ridges dotted with boulders and trees gnarled by the wind from the north. There was no sign of living creatures beyond the spoor and tracks of wild animals. They saw no people and no evidence that Men had ever lived in this land, until, on the fourth day, they stumbled upon the ancient remains of a road, now crumbled stone amid the bright grasses and falling leaves of autumn. A narrow earthen track lay beside it, worn by the feet of shepherds and their flocks, for this land, once called Rhudaur, the third kingdom of the Northern Dúnedain until it fell under the power of the Sorcerer, now belonged to the hill folk—or what remained of them.
Their pace quickened as they followed the trail, looking sharply for signs of recent passage. But no signs of Men's campfires, nor foraging nor dung of their beasts, were to be seen.
That night, Rodnor woke to see his grandfather standing silent and stern, staring into the night. Rodnor sat up, and saw fire leaping into a blaze in the north.
"What is it?" he whispered.
"I don't know," said Hawk grimly. "It may only be the dry grass ablaze. But we must go there and find out."
At the first light of dawn, they struck out at a quickened pace, making for the white smoke that now plumed over the far hills. For half a day they trudged toward the drifting smoke, until a chill autumn rain began to fall. Rodnor wrapped his cloak around him to block the wind, shielding his face with the deep hood.
The reek of the smoking ruins hit him first: the stench of thatch, wood, and flesh. Hawk loosened his sword in its scabbard, and Rodnor tightened the buckles on his oiled leather jerkin and strung his bow. They circled to the north of the place where the remnants of the fire smoldered under the rain. They peered through the shelter of the thick brush, hung with yellowing leaves and black with soot, and saw what remained of a shepherds' settlement: Ruined heaps of burnt huts, three in all, a sodden burnt field of unharvested grain, and over all, the stink of smoldering embers and wet ash. At the edge of the beaten track into the settlement lay three dead Orcs, their foul hides bristling with arrows. Beside the first heap of ash lay the body of an old woman, still and ghastly in her death.
They crept along the shelter of a stone wall and peered cautiously over it. One of the enemy still remained. A mountain Orc limped through the cinders, its snouted face distorted with rage, one arm dangling useless at its side. Its blood shone black on its greenish scales. It snarled and muttered, "Leave me here, will ya, scum? I'll see to that!" It kicked the old woman's body. "Only a dried up old biddy, and you took all the sheep."
Hawk caught Rodnor's eye and jerked his beard to the right. Rodnor nodded and crept along the ground till he reached the crumbled end of the low wall, waiting for his captain's signal. With a savage shout Hawk heaved a rock toward the Orc, and at the same moment, as the Orc's head turned sharply toward the sound, Rodnor rose in one smooth movement and shot an arrow through the lumpish body. Even before the surprise could register on his hideous face, he fell to the ground.
Hawk leaped to the creature's side and pressed his knife under the long chin.
"Tarks," the Orc spit. "You can kill me, but more will come. You're doomed."
Hawk pushed his knife into the beast's scaly neck. "I'll hang you by your entrails unless you talk."
In what followed, Rodnor found strength in remembering his brother's shattered body, mangled in the Troll's jaws. Now I seek revenge. But the Orc gave them nothing but his slow death. As the last breaths rattled through the monster's throat, Hawk stood up, cast his knife to the ground, and cursed. Sweat dripped down his face. Rodnor could not look at him.
Hawk grunted in disgust. "Come, boy, let's leave this hellish spot."
"The old woman? Should we not bury her?" Rodnor asked. He had covered the still face with a scrap of cloth.
"No time," said Hawk harshly. "And we do not know their rites."
An oppressive silence lay like fog across the land. As Rodnor followed Hawk across the rugged trail, he hummed soundless tunes to shake the horrors out of his head. I am a man now. It is not as glorious as I had imagined.
Suddenly long, deep howls broke the dead gloom. Hawk stopped in his tracks and drew his sword, thrusting his other hand back to stop Rodnor. A swift, low shape moved through the scrubby trees. Fear running through his body, Rodnor strung his bow.
But when the grey beast leaped through the dark trees, his arrow missed. The lean, fell animal flew through the air, a huge red maw lined with yellow teeth snarling and slavering. Hawk fell to the ground, the beast clamping its jaws around his arm. His sword falling from his hand, Hawk pounded the creature with his fist.
Screaming and sobbing, Rodnor leaped at the beast and began to thrust with his dagger into the thick hide. His blade could not penetrate the grey fur, reeking of smoke and blood.
"Run, boy!" shouted Hawk as the wolf's jaws reached for his throat.
But Rodnor stabbed at the beast's neck, seeking an entry to the flesh. As he lifted his arm for another blow, yet another shape moved through the trees.
A man leaped at them, his face grimacing in rage, his empty eye socket twitching as he swung his glittering blade.


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Brian Emfinger / RealClearWX
Arkansas photographer Brian Emfinger captured this flash of a Geminid fireball over the city lights of Fort Smith, Ark., early Thursday, using a camera that was set up on Mount Magazine, the state's highest point. For more about Emfinger, check out his website, RealClearWX.com.
Arkansas photographer Brian Emfinger says the best meteor he ever captured on camera happened while he was napping.
"Definitely the brightest meteor I've ever imaged," he said today. "If I was awake, it would have been the brightest meteor I've ever seen."
Emfinger, who snaps pictures of storms and sky phenomena for his RealClearWX website, said the Geminid fireball streaked over the skyline of Fort Smith, Ark., at around 1:07 a.m. CT Thursday, while he was in the midst of an all-night meteor photography session.
The Geminid meteor shower is the year's most reliable display of shooting stars, reaching its peak annually on the night of Dec. 13-14. By most accounts, this was a great year for the Geminids, due to a moonless sky and a meteor tally that reportedly peaked at levels well above the typical 100 to 120 per hour. The flashes occur when bits of debris left behind by an extinct comet known as Phaeton burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
Like many meteor fans, Emfinger was watching the skies not only on the peak night, but on the preceding nights as well. On Wednesday night, he drove up to the top of Mount Magazine, the highest point in Arkansas, and then set up a fisheye camera to take pictures automatically. Sometime after midnight, he settled in for a nap in his car.
A while later, he got a call on his cell phone from a friend who reported seeing something like lightning flashes on the horizon ... on a clear night. "He was assuming it was some spectacular meteor," Emfinger recalled.
As soon as he could, Emfinger checked the shots that were stored on his camera. "I scrolled through them real quick — and there it was, descending toward the skyline of Fort Smith," he said. Observers in Oklahoma and other westward states also reported seeing the fireball, Emfinger said.
That blaze of celestial glory wasn't this week's only Geminid highlight. Scroll down below for other scenes from the past couple of nights. It's important to remember that the show isn't over yet: Although the Geminids have passed their peak, there's still a chance to see a fair number of meteors tonight and tomorrow night. Keep a watch on SpaceWeather.com's gallery for still more meteor photos.
One more thing: In advance of the peak, some experts speculated that there might be a separate wave of meteors that would have been known as the Piscids, sparked by the debris left behind by Comet Wirtanen. These meteors would appear to emanate from a point in the constellation Pisces, rather than the Geminids' point of origin in Gemini. However, I've seen no reports of significant sightings on Thursday night — which suggests that the Piscid meteor shower was a no-show.
Brian Emfinger / RealClearWX
Photographer (and storm chaser) Brian Emfinger captured a bright Geminid fireball on camera early today from Mount Magazine State Park in Arkansas. "My camera caught a bunch of meteors, the most I've ever gotten in any one night of shooting meteors," Emfinger told SpaceWeather.com. Check out Emfinger's website, RealClearWX.com.
Frank S. Andreassen / Nettfoto.com
Norwegian photographer Frank S. Andreassen captured this shot of a meteor streaking through the northern lights outside Harstad at 9:30 p.m. local time Thursday night. For more of Andreassen's work, go to Nettfoto.com.
Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images
Israelis float in a hot spring on the shore of the Dead Sea, near the kibbutz of Ein Gedi, as they look for Geminid meteor streaks above the Judean desert.
Jeffrey Phelps
A Geminid meteor appears to dive into the trees in Saukville, Wis., early Friday. Photographer Jeffrey Phelps sent in this image via NBC News' FirstPerson photo-sharing page for sky highlights. (You can, too.)
More about the meteors:
- Aurora sets stage for meteor show
- Flash interactive: What causes a meteor show?
- The scientific story behind meteor showers
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.


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Bump My Ride
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Bump My Ride game information:
Drive your car down the road and bump chasing cars into "love spots" to score points.
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Use Arrow Keys to drive the car.
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- Tower Run
- Friendship Puzzle
- Evil Nun Scary Horror Creepy Game
- Rescue Fish
- Pong Football


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Stop-and-go in the evening rush hour, a trip to the mountains with long descents, a narrow, windy route – every journey is different. What is common to all is that you can rely on Volkswagen Genuine Brakes.
Product information
Volkswagen Genuine brakes enable you to stop safely. In hot weather and on a long downward slope. With an empty boot or heavily laden and with the entire family on board. Reason: Volkswagen Genuine brakes mesh optimally with your braking system. They are designed precisely for your Volkswagen's top speed and its weight. For quality that goes beyond the statutory ECE-R90* brake standard.
* Replacement brake pads for motor vehicles and trailers
Your benefits
If the hand brake is applied, release it. In the other cases, drive immediately to the next specialist to have the defect removed.
Lift lever right up. Press locking button. Pull lever down.
To engage a gear, depress the brake pedal.
Flashes: The locking button in the selector lever has not clicked into place.
Starting will be prevented. To engage a gear, depress the brake pedal and click the selector lever lock into place.
Fully depress the brake pedal.
Head off to your Volkswagen Partner: Have all brake pads checked and replaced, where necessary.
More safety in extreme heat and under heavy strain, more time until the next service. Volkswagen Genuine brake fluid has been developed in conjunction with your brake system and is far more than just standard – to be more precise, it sets its own standard: VW Standard 501 14.


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CoolPlanet Biofuels: Too good to be true?
Imagine a company that says it can produce virtually limitless amounts of cheap gasoline, create arable land for food production and solve the climate crisis -- all at once.
That's the promise of CoolPlanet BioFuels.
Mike Cheiky, the company's founder and CEO, spoke about CoolPlanet's "negative emissions technology" at Brainstorm Green, FORTUNE's conference about business and the environment. Yes, negative emissions.
Does that mean, I asked him, that the more you drive a car powered by CoolPlanet's biofuels, the more CO2 will be pulled out of the air? Yes, he replied.
"The world doesn't have too much carbon," Cheiky explained. The problem's is that the carbon's in the wrong place. There's too much in the atmosphere, causing global warming, and not enough in the soil. Essentially, Cool Planet has a plan to use plants to remove it from the air and then restore it to the land.
Before you decide that this is too good to be true, you should know that Cheiky, a veteran entrepreneur, has persuaded Google, General Electric, BP, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy, Exelon and venture capital firms Shea Ventures and North Bridge Venture Partners to invest millions of dollars -- he won't say how many millions -- in CoolPlanet Biofuels.
"We have been poked and prodded so many ways by so many people," Cheiky told me. "GE sent 17 people to do their due diligence at a time when we had only 15 employees."
These investors wrote him checks, he added, because of his track record. "I've done six start-ups in my career," he went on, "and I've never had a down round. They've all been very successful."
Cheiky does not lack self-confidence. He and his wife, Charity, started Ohio Scientific, one of the world's first personal computer companies, in 1975, right after he graduated from college. "I was very successful as an early pioneer in the microcomputer era," he told me.
He built an electric car in the early 1990s but subsequently decided that "we would not be able to deploy electric vehicles fast enough to combat climate change." More recently, Cheiky founded Zinc Matrix Power, which became ZPower, a company that makes small rechargeable silver-zinc batteries for mobile applications.
He also started Transonic Combustion, which aims to dramatically improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine. Venrock and Khosla Ventures invested in Transonic, and former GM exec Bob Lutz sits on its board. Cheiky is no longer involved in ZPower or Transonic -- a sign that he is probably better at starting companies than managing them. He says he left Transonic when he realized that "just making the engines more efficient wasn't going to do the job. I had to crack the problem of the fuel."
The concept behind CoolPlanet is simple. Begin with biomass, in the form of wood chips, corn cobs or fast-growing crops like miscanthus. Process it through a bio-fractionator using a proprietary thermal/chemical process. Make gasoline that's identical to the fuel pumped into your car. Then take a carbon-rich byproduct, a solid biochar, and bury it to sequester carbon or use it to enhance soil. (Here's a long interview with Mike Rocke, VP of business development at CoolPlanet BioFuels, explaining the process. I've also pasted an explanation from the company website, below.)
Cheiky says that CoolPlanet Biofuels will be able to make gasoline for $1 a gallon. Yes, $1 a gallon. The company then will deploy biochar to make more land on which more crops can be grown to make more gasoline, and so forth.
He said:
We have a sustainable model. We can power the world, literally, provide all the liquid fuels need for the world, with land that we can create, basically. You've got to take carbon out of the atmosphere and put it back into the ground to have more fertile land to grow more food crops and fuel crops at the same time.
In a decade or two, he told me, as the company gets to massive scale, this new way of making fuels could not only destroy OPEC but offset all of the world's carbon emissions.
Can this be true? It's hard to know, because CoolPlanet is a bit of a black box. The company won't get into the details of its technology, which is understandable; that's its competitive advantage. Cheiky also won't say how much money he has raised, which is unusual; most startups are transparent about their financing. He was also a bit vague when asked about how much water will be needed to grow the feedstock crops. Whether biochar can be used to sequester carbon, and for how long, is yet another unanswered question. (See my blogpost, The carbon negative economy)
Yet Cheiky says the company's technology is already working, albeit on a small scale, near its headquarters in Camarillo, Calif. His plan is to build a commercial plant somewhere in the midwest next year. Initially, the plant will probably run on waste products like corn cobs or wood chips, but it can also consume fast-growing plants like miscanthus, switchgrass and sorghum.
"A giant miscanthus can grow 20 feet tall in a season," Cheiky says. The company said recently that it generated 4,000 gallons of gasoline per acre of biomass in pilot testing using giant miscanthus.
CoolPlanet Biofuels could be a game-changer -- or it could prove to be another disappointment in the biofuels business, which has so far has produced more hype than economic or environmental benefit. Let's hope that Cheiky is right, and that his company is on to something big.
Here's how CoolPlanet explains its process:
This breakthrough utilizes mild process conditions, with process temperatures comparable to a kitchen stovetop and maximum pressures comparable to a portable tire inflator. Input biomass is coarsely ground from in field air-dried bioenergy crops with moisture content in the 10-20 percent range. Many advanced energy crops retain root structure for several years and are simply cut down once a year for harvesting, dramatically reducing the carbon intensity of agricultural activities versus other bio sources such as algae farming or wood clearing, chipping and drying. The total process time from biomass to fuel is under one hour. Total energy and biomass feedstock cost using today's commodity pricing is under 60 cents a gallon.
And here's a video of Mike Cheiky talking about the company at a Google event called Solve for <x>:
Eco gas pump photo via Shutterstock.


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Jing Wang, Tippie College of Business, 319-335-0843
Filling a lonely heart
Filling a lonely heart
Filling a lonely heart
You don't have to have that latest electronic gadget. You know that, but you really want it, and most research would suggest that the lonelier you are, the more likely you are to give in and buy it.
But new research from the University of Iowa suggests that it's not so much if you're lonely, but the nature of the loneliness that matters.
"Unlike previous research suggesting that loneliness should always lead to increased impulsivity, we postulate that only deficits of the most essential relationships will lead to impulsive behaviors," says Jing Wang, associate professor of marketing in the Tippie College of Business, who co-authored the study with Jayati Sinha of Florida International University.
Jing Wang
Relationship deficits, she says, depend on how many friends or emotionally close relationships a person needs. If people lack what they want, she says they're left feeling frustrated and out of sorts.
"If someone has 10 close friends but needs 12 to be happy, then that person is not happy and has a relationship deficit," she says. "But if someone needs just one close friend and has one, then that person is not lonely."
For some, the most important relationships are social (such as friends). For others, they're emotional (a spouse). Which type of relationships are essential to a particular individual? The study found that a person's perception of time plays a role, whether they think life is short and needs to be lived right now—a limited time horizon—or if it's a long ride to be enjoyed slowly—expanded time horizon. Wang and her coauthor showed that emotional relationships are more essential for people who view time as limited, but social relationships are more essential for people who view time as expanded.
Wang and her co-researchers used five experiments with more than 1,000 participants to measure peoples' levels of compulsivity and what causes it. In one, for instance, they gave test subjects $10 and told them they could buy any number of office products available for sale. In another, they asked the subjects to offer their opinion on whether a protagonist in an imagined scenario should make a planned purchase or an impulsive purchase instead. In other experiments, subjects were offered Hershey's Kisses to test their impulsiveness.
Before the experiments, some were reminded that "life is long, enjoy it forever, over a long period of time!" (to put the participants in the mindset of a longer time horizon), or "life is short, enjoy the moment!" (to reinforce a short time horizon).
The experiments all pointed to two types of people being the most susceptible to impulsive purchases—socially lonely people (that is, they don't have many friends and are not fine with that) who have a long time horizon; and emotionally lonely people (people who feel alone) who have more short-term time horizons.
"People who are bothered by the deficit of essential relationships are depleted, it's something that gets on their nerves and they're thinking about it all the time until their mental resources are depleted," Wang says. This depletion then makes them more susceptible to impulsive behavior.
The paper, "How Time Horizon Perceptions and Relationship Deficits Affect Impulsive Consumption," was published in the current issue of the Journal of Marketing Research.


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CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA – A judge says a West Virginia man will not be held criminally responsible for allegedly stealing, sexually assaulting and killing his neighbor's pygmy goat while high on bath salts.
Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge James Stucky ruled Monday that Mark Lucas Thompson of Alum Creek is not competent for trial on the charges he faces for animal cruelty.
The Charleston Gazette reports that the decision comes after several mental evaluations. Stucky instead ordered that Thompson spend six and a half years in treatment at the William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston.
Police arrested Thompson in May 2011 after neighbors found him in his room standing next to the dead goat and dressed in women's clothing. He was indicted for animal cruelty and petit larceny.


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Getty Images
Former Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein has seen his draft stock take a hit in recent weeks. Once regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2013, the man who finished third for the Heisman Trophy could be waiting for a while on draft day.
Helping him enhance his standing will be Authentic Athletix, an agency owned and operated by Peter Schaffer.
Klein was named the Big 12 2012 offensive player of the year, and he won the 2012 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Still, Klein wasn't invited to the Senior Bowl, and some have suggested that he may have to move to receiver at the NFL level.
Klein will get a chance to being changing peoples' minds at the East-West Shrine Classic in Tampa.


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Flavorful Toppings for a Robust Sourdough Crust
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Having had great success with dough recipes from Peter Reinhart's American Pie, I expected his sourdough crust to be as tangy and aromatic as the best examples of this superior variety of bread. My toppings would have to be equally assertive and delicious to create balanced and harmonious pizza.
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Sourdough Pizza Crust »
Roasted Tomato, Ricotta, and Lemon Pizza »
Roasted Garlic, Caramelized Leek, and Bacon Pizza »
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I wanted to do a plain pie, but I felt a classic Margherita would not be best-suited for this crust. I like to roast tomatoes at low heat to concentrate their flavor and develop their sugars, a technique I picked up from Tom Colicchio's Think Like a Chef. Tomatoes cooked this way shine in many applications, from risotto to salads, and I knew they would be great on a pizza. Lemon zest and ricotta made with fresh lemon juice using Kenji's five-minute recipe added acidity and vibrant grace notes to an already delicious pie.
A childhood friend of mine loved garlic and onion pizza, one of the most delicious pies to eat, and probably the worst for your breath. I developed a more grown-up version, using sweet, mellow roasted garlic paste and leeks gently caramelized in rendered bacon fat. The resulting pie was just as delicious as the ones I remembered from long-ago sleepovers, but mellower and more complex because of its slow-cooked toppings. The crispy bacon didn't hurt either.
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Look to margins for answers on expansion decisions in 2012
Lon Frahm knows what he's talking about when it comes to expansion. The 2009 Top Producer of the Year winner has added 25 quarter-sections, about 4,000 acres, in the past three years to his Colby, Kan., operation. Today he farms 20,000 acres. His expansion philosophy: "It's not about whether the crop price is high or low, it's about margin."
In Frahm's view, you need excess machinery, capital or labor for an expansion to make economic sense. When nearby land becomes available and he can economically swing it, he's in the market. Because the average quarter in his area comes up for sale only every 30 years, Frahm feels the year for potential expansion is irrelevant.
Determining whether expansion makes sense goes far beyond land and commodity cycles. Absolutely nothing will slow down expansion, in Frahm's opinion. "I keep finding economies of scale. I don't see anything to stop the growth of large farms," he says.
According to Dave Kohl, professor emeritus of ag economics at Virginia Tech, producers should have a working capital to revenue ratio of at least 25%. In today's volatile environment, 30% to even 35% is ideal before pulling the expansion trigger, he advises. "It's not an option but a requirement," Kohl adds. Maintaining a high level of working capital puts producers in a position to consider new opportunities, too.
Chief among the tough questions producers should ask themselves are whether an expansion leads to greater profits. Also apply the shock test, Kohl advises. Can you handle shocks of 20% lower prices and 15% higher costs?
Another question to consider is whether you have the right management systems in place. Does expanding stretch you outside your management ability, and if so, what will it take to handle it?
"Cheap money can be a trap," Kohl says. Low interest rates are not that low if producers have a hard time paying back the money or turning a profit.
For some producers, expansion might indeed make sense in the coming months. Several strong years' worth of profits and cheap interest rates makes expansion cost less, says Mike Boehlje, an ag economist at Purdue University.
That doesn't mean all producers should charge full speed ahead and expand this year, he cautions. "The biggest challenge is to think about how an expansion fits into the current operation."
In production agriculture, it's common to think of expansion in regard to more resources, more machinery, etc., Boehlje says. "In the business world, it's about revenue and sales. The emphasis is to get more revenue from the current resource base, not a focus exclusively on getting bigger," he explains.
Typically, the lowest-cost way to expand is to get better at what you're doing and reap more revenue out of your current resource base. Once you reach that point, you can concentrate on expanding.
"Now is not the time to leverage yourself up even if you can access credit," Boehlje says. "You have to worry about risk."
The Cost of Land. For grain farmers, justifying expansion comes down to one thing: "the cost of the land," says Gary Schnitkey, a Univer-sity of Illinois ag economist. When renting, it's important to have the ability to adjust the price of land if commodity prices drop. Landlords might be reluctant to reduce rents, however, he says. "It will take more than one year of poor prices to get things to come down."
Purchasing land has been a good investment in the past, but it's important to not make land
purchases by overextending on the debt side, he says.
"The way I look at rented land is that rent is a variable expense in the long term—it can go up and down—while land ownership [payments] is for the most part a fixed cost, although in a declining interest rate environment there are opportunities to roll the cost down," Schnitkey adds.
Money Tree. Cash flow is essential when in expansion mode, stresses Mark Winger, senior vice president of administration for Farm Credit of Western Kansas. "An operation can be very profitable but yet not be able to generate sufficient cash flow, often as a result of tax avoidance," he says.
"Margin hits the nail on the head," Winger adds. In the past few years, the farmers who made
a profit in spite of the wide swings in commodity and input prices are those who understand costs and lock in profits, rather than those who just produce a crop and hope the market will allow them to cover costs, he explains. "In the short run, the 'grow, then sell' strategy can work great if commodity prices increase after the cost of production is locked in, but sometimes it will go the other way, Winger says.
Price Outlook. In terms of budgeting, Schnitkey believes an average price of $4.50 for corn and $10.50 for soybeans is likely for the next five years, although prices will probably be higher than that this year.
It's possible, however, that in an individual year, corn prices could be as low as $3 to $3.50, Schnitkey cautions. That said, "2012 is a fine time to expand if farmers can get a land base at a reasonable price."
In the Midwest, a good share of expansion is being paid for with cash-flow money. "Land priced as $10,000 per acre won't cash-flow unless you put $5,000 down," Schnitkey says.


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Once upon a time, I wrote about how I missed the old bridge � the one that connected Bridge Street in Bridgeton to Johnson Street in New Bern until it was torn down in the early �50s. This, despite the fact I was not even alive when it came down.
Once upon a time, I wrote about how I missed the old bridge � the one that connected Bridge Street in Bridgeton to Johnson Street in New Bern until it was torn down in the early �50s. This, despite the fact I was not even alive when it came down.
It seems I�m not alone.
Last Saturday morning, the Bridgeton Improvement Committee (BIC for short, or at least until lawyers for a certain writing implement company show up) dedicated a little park at the end of Bridge Street to commemorate that long-ago and romantic bridge.
It�s a nice little park � not a big one, mind you, because you could walk its circumference in about a minute � but nice, with a couple of benches and an archway pointing you in the direction where the old bridge stood and toward a stirring look at New Bern across the waves.
Waves if the wind is right, of course.
The Neuse River Bridge, as it was called, was built way back in 1898, the same year that the USS Maine went down in Havana�s harbor, setting Teddy Roosevelt�s famously clenched teeth on edge and leading America into war with Spain.
Before you write to tell me that William McKinley, not Teddy, was president then, allow me to tell you I know that�s true. But historians tell us that Roosevelt, who was the assistant secretary of the navy at the time, ran roughshod over his boss, John D. Long, and his boss, President McKinley, pulling every string, rope and line he could grab to bring us into a war.
But before I land us on San Juan Hill, which is nowhere near Bridgeton, let me return to the bridge at hand.
I am told Bridgeton was named for its bridges � if so, the town is a fairly recent one, for before the Neuse River Bridge of �98, there were no bridges crossing the Neuse around here. A man who wanted to take his horse or new-fangled horseless buggy across the water had to find one of the local ferries, such as Street�s Ferry near the present-day Weyerhaeuser plant.
That new bridge was 5,100 feet long and featured a swing span part way across to allow taller boats to go through. It was surfaced with boards that clattered nicely beneath your wheels and also had a curious structure � the bridge keeper�s house � built right on the side of the bridge itself.
The trestle we all know and love on that end of town was built not long after, in 1903.
The bridge was mostly swept away twice � in 1913 and 1933 � by hurricanes. Each time, the swing span and the little house survived and, after the �33 event, the bridge keeper named Odie Everington moved his little family (his wife and eight children, I�m thinking we were told at the dedication) into the house. He never taught them to swim; he thought it was healthier to fear the water than to survive in it.
During the 1940s, that bridge was the social connection between the two towns. Little Bridgeton thrived, complete with drug stores and gas stations and other businesses that today are either gone, empty or turned into a little police station and city hall. Soldiers patrolled the bridge during the war, and Dr. Bill Hand (no relation that I know of) ran a well-known Boy Scout troop from the New Bern side.
In the early �50s, it was declared to be too old-fashioned and was torn down to make way for the concrete-and-steel John Lawson Bridge at the end of Broad Street. When we first moved into the area, I used to ride my bike across that bridge with my daughter, Rachel, bouncing along behind me in one of those bike-mounted toddler�s seats. I used to think she was fine with the rides, but have since learned they are some of her most terrifying memories of early life.
Today the John Lawson Bridge is gone as well, replaced by that convoluted engineering marvel connecting Bridgeton to James City and James City to New Bern across the Trent. I ride that bridge on my bike as well � but I�d never be crazy enough to cart a toddler across.
Much of this information was provided by Alan Welch.
Contact Bill Hand at firstname.lastname@example.com.