text:
I'd agree with you Jeff, but the faces on the Stormies look like they're dirty too. They're not so on the Saga2 Sandtrooper. I might go with the Orange Evo Sandtrooper.
Heh, I still haven't unpacked any of my cinema scenes from POTF2 through Ep I simply because I like the way the figures are displayed in the boxes. I do think that some of the display setups with the new battle packs are pretty nifty though. Even some of the craptastic packs look ok in the package with no new figures at all. But that doesn't mean I'm going to buy any of them. I'm so happy to have broken through that MIP barrier. I still understand the mentality as a lot of stuff looks great in the package and once you open it, it sucks ass.
I pray to God that this week, some one asks hasbro "What in the blazes were you thinking adding dirty stormtroopers to this battle pack?"Kevin
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Rear Trunk Spoiler w/LED Light, GL1500
Rear Trunk Spoiler w/LED Light, GL1500 - This spoiler /
rear wing comes unpainted, ready for surface prep and your custom paint job. It is also equipped with a BRIGHT
LED light module, and is complete with all wiring and installation instructions. It measures
20 1/2" wide x 2 7/8" high, and is compatable with most luggage racks.
Rear Trunk Spoiler w/LED Light, GL1500
Chromed Billet Aluminum Rack, GL1500 & GL1800
Chrome Rear Trunk Racks - These racks are a great addition to
your Gold Wing's rear trunk. They are sturdily built, have a beautiful chrome finish, and provide
lots of extra storage space for those long runs. These are compatable with the 'Trunk/Tourpack Bag'
found on the 'Bags' section of our website.
Chrome Antenna Mount Cover, GL1500
Chrome Antenna Mount Cover, GL1500 - This cool show chromed cover
slips over your original OEM antenna mount's base. Installs easily, adds a great touch of
chrome to your trunk.
Chrome Trunk Keyhole Accent, GL1500
Chrome Trunk Keyhole Accents - Add a bit of
sparkle to your trunk, while protecting it from key scratches. Installs in just minutes!
Trunk Lift Handle for GL1500 & GL1800
Trunk Lift Handle - These beautifully chromed
lift handles allow for easy trunk lid opening, even when wearing gloves. Installs easily with
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Trunk Rail Assembly, GL1800
#52-615 Trunk Rail Assembly, GL1800 - This cool show chromed cover
slips over your original OEM antenna mount's base. Installs easily, adds a great touch of
chrome to your trunk.
Trunk Cargo Net, GL1800
Lighted Vanity Mirror, GL1800
Tourpack Accessories - Improve the storage capability
of your Goldwing tourpack with these cool accessories. Nets, shelves, pouches, vanity mirrors and
more really help you improve the usefulness of your trunk!
Chrome Trunk Light Grills, GL1800
#52-744 Chrome Trunk Light Grilles, GL1800 - These great looking
chrome grilles add a glistening touch to the trunk running lights on your GL1800. These are
easily attached around the outside of your stock lights without modification, and fits all

subset: commoncrawl


text:
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
Knee bruise: Bruising at the knee joint. See detailed information below for a list of 15 causes of Knee bruise, Symptom Checker, including diseases and drug side effect causes.
» Review Causes of Knee bruise: Causes | Symptom Checker »
The following medical conditions are some of the possible
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There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor
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See full list of 15 causes of Knee bruise
» Review Causes of Knee bruise: Causes | Symptom Checker »
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Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common in women, but often fails to be correctly diagnosed. Women with the condition...read more »
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Twitter hits Wall Street today for the first time as a publicly traded company and we'll be following the news and update this blog during the trading day. Twitter priced the IPO at $26 per share.
And SFGate.com has set up a special page where you can follow the stock price and latest headlines.


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Shares of Boc Aviation Ltd (2588.HK) have seen the needle move -0.60% or -0.25 in the most recent session. The HKSE listed company saw a recent bid of $41.40 on 116889 volume.
Investing in the stock market will always involve some level of risk. Investors often have to determine how much they are willing to risk, and try to project what the potential reward could be. Taking on too much risk may put the average investor out of their comfort zone. Finding that sweet spot for risk appetite may help investors get on the correct path to conquering the markets. As companies continue to report quarterly earnings, investors will be watching which companies post larger than expected surprises. Analysts will also be watching the numbers closely in order to make sense of the results and update estimates accordingly.
Taking a deeper look into the technical levels of Boc Aviation Ltd (2588.HK), we can see that the Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -31.11. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.
Boc Aviation Ltd (2588.HK) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of 165.67. Active investors may choose to use this technical indicator as a stock evaluation tool. Used as a coincident indicator, the CCI reading above +100 would reflect strong price action which may signal an uptrend. On the flip side, a reading below -100 may signal a downtrend reflecting weak price action. Using the CCI as a leading indicator, technical analysts may use a +100 reading as an overbought signal and a -100 reading as an oversold indicator, suggesting a trend reversal.
The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, Boc Aviation Ltd's 14-day RSI is currently at 65.46, the 7-day stands at 71.80, and the 3-day is sitting at 69.17.
Currently, the 14-day ADX for Boc Aviation Ltd (2588.HK) is sitting at 34.74. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.


text:
Set Mr Mrs Travel Bag I Honey Moon Couple Gift Bag
Set Mr Mrs Travel Bag I Honey Moon Couple Gift Bag
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Packages for the release of KDE SC 4.9.2 are available for Kubuntu 12.04.1 LTS releases. You can get them from the Kubuntu Backports PPA. They are also in our 12.10 development release.
Bugs in the packaging should be reported to kubuntu-ppa on Launchpad. Bugs in the software to KDE.
Read more at Kubuntu


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Via: MegaDeluxe
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
"A tribute to "Devlin," the most depressing cartoon in the world" Via: Geek Six
Via: CRMP
Deploy the chute! Via: Sporting Sails
To Mario with love: Creating the Turtle Shell Racer with Thingiverse
Chester Museum of Transportation. Via: Helga's Lobster Stew
Anwar, a street vendor, transports beds for sale using his motorcycle at Glagahharjo village, near Yogyakarta July 4, 2011. Anwar said he can travel about 40 km through a few villages a day while selling the beds and can earn 200 thousand rupiah ($23.50) a week. Via:
Via: Paris Theater
Via: Anatomy of ČZ
Via: 1stdibs
"In 1920, Nurse Radburn of Swanscombe, U.K. was provided with a motor cycle by the people of her district. Later, in the Nursing journal: Queen's Nurses' Magazine, adverts for scooters, motocycles and motorcycle attachments began to appear".....Via:
The art of Rafael Nazario
The designs of Austin Rucker
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The story of "Justice" The Fire-breathing Dragon/Motorcycle. Via:
Cool defined. Via: The Vorhese blog
Guy 'Grundy' Spagnoli. Via: The surfing walk of fame
Good dog: Dog Carts and the Extinction of Memory. Via: Terrierman's Daily Dose
Shrouded. By Samm Bennett
L'enfant Dirigible. Via: L.A. Weekly
The art of Denis Polet
Between 1964 and 1966, Carlos Caggiani visited 26 countries on his 1947 Indian Chief motorcycle. His two year adventure is the subject of a book, "Huellas y Horizontes" (Tracks and Horizons). Via:
Via: 66 supa
By Greg Land. Via:
"Vapor Chase" By Mitch Loidolt
On a pale horse. Via:
Via: The New Limb
Shinto priest Oosawa Harutaka has two religions. Via: Nippon News
Wrapped scooter By Christo 1964. Via: Motorcycle Culture
Monday, August 29, 2011
The Amazing comic art of Errol McCarthy. Via:
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If you couldn't understand why anyone spent big money to purchase a car Ferrari wouldn't let you take home a few years ago, we'd guess this video will go a long way towards explaining it.
It appears both cars in this video are Evoluzione models which upgraded the "normal" FXX's 790 horsepower to an even more insane 860 horsepower. Whether you like the looks of this Enzo derived track only test mule or not, it's hard to argue with the glorious sound they make or the resulting desire to drive one.
By the time we got to the end of this video we could almost understand dropping a few million dollars just for the chance to drive one a few times a year. Luckily for those few who have the cash to pay for one, you can now buy an FXX Evoluzione on the open market and take it home post track day.
[via GTspirit]


text:
The IEEE is considering two possible technologies which could take Wi-Fi to Gigabit speeds by 2012 - even though the standards body won't finally publish the 802.11n fast Wi-Fi specification until November 2009.
Gigabit Wi-Fi is practical, according to the IEEE's Very High Throughput (VHT) study group, which is lobbying to get work started on a faster wireless LAN standard - a move which could drive a nail in the coffin of a potentially faster technology, ultra-wideband. However, the IEEE is not moving quickly on today's current top Wi-Fi, 802.11n, having quietly postponed its final publication until November 2009.
All Wi-Fi vendors (except Nortel) have products which meet the draft 802.11n specification,and claim speeds (or "symbol rates") of up to 300Mbit/s, but actual throughput is much lower - approaching the 100Mbit/s of normal Ethernet.
The VHT study group has suggested two avenues to real Gigabit throughput on Wi-Fi networks, and will request the IEEE's permission to develop either or both as standards, possibly as soon as the IEEE's standards board meeting, in Seoul this month.
One VHT proposal uses frequencies below 6GHz, where current Wi-Fi networks operate, and the other is above 60GHz, where a lot of unlicensed short range radio spectrum is available. Either could lead to products by 2011 or 2012, according to a report in ExtremeTech.
The lower frequency proposal would be backward compatible with 802.11n, but finally abandon the crowded 2.4GHz spectrum. It would only reach about 500Mbit/s throughput per link, but would aggregate multiple links to reach Gigabit speeds.
The 60GHz could have use existing prototype technology, since Gigabit links similar to Wi-Fi have been demonstrated in that range, by US scientists at the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC). However, 60GHz radio waves only have a short range, and their potential has been felt to be limited.
The VHT proposal plans to improve on that using directional antennas to focus the energy in beams that will make the most of the available energy and achieve a range of 10 meters or more.
There are already two short-range wireless standards efforts in or near the Gigabit range. One, ultrawideband (UWB), uses low power across a broad spectrum, but is currently languishing, apparently unable to deliver the products that were promised some years ago, although wireless USB ports that use UWB are available on some laptops.
The other, WirelessHD, uses the spectrum above 60GHz, and has been demonstrated at 5Gbit/s. This has a product timescale similar to suggestions for VHT.
Since some of the same people are involved in both WirelessHD and VHT, (including James Gilb, technical editor for the WirelessHD consortium, who maintains of the 802.11 VHT PAR page), it seems likely that a 60GHz VHT proposal might re-use the physical layer of WirelessHD.
The biggest loser looks like being ultrawideband, once seen as very promising, but now looking shaky as big players like TI pull out.


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Game 2 Tonight
The streak has been broken. After winning Game 1 of seven straight postseason series, the Phillies' streak ended last night, another one-run win for the Giants.
In the last 17 NLCS, the team that has won the first game has gone on to win the series 15 times. So, we'll change that.
Sanchez tonight is tough, great breaking pitches. Their hottest pitcher. He's done well against the Phillies and at Citizens Bank Park. So, we'll change that.
Usual media interview room sessions pre-game, managers and a player from each team..
Both teams will leave after the game for a long flight to the west coast. Both will work out Monday at ATT&T Park. More on that ballpark tomorrow.
The Sarge, Gary Matthews, MVP for the Phillies in the 1983 NLCS win over the Dodgers, gets the honor tonight of throwing out the ceremonial first ball. Ballclubs decide on the honorees and then submit the names to MLB for final approval.
This Date
Phillies are 1-1 on this date in their postseason history. They lost in 10 innings at KC in 1980 in WS # 3 and won, 6-4, at the Vet against the Blue Jays (WS # 2) in 1983.


text:
Cheating the Orphans
WSJ's Mary Anastasia O'Grady and James Freeman discuss Guatemala shutting down the international escape route of Guatemalan children up for potential adopoption. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... working parents want to rescue children from Guatemala orphanages with local on regulation won't allow her to smoke this heartbreaking story is Mary Anastasia O'Grady Mary thanks for being here and there really a place a heartbreaking at the same year Americas column this week to ... adjust in a nutshell because is hard for someone who hasn't studied this issue to understand ... this ... two thousandseven law and policies in Guatemala ... and ... basically prevented lots of adoptions particularly foreign parents adopting ... Guatemalan children ... and how wonderous what is the thinking that you wanna prevent adoptions and keep kids in orphanages ... I that's a really good question I mean effectively issues say that last ... stop ... of their current close down the escape route that these children had for many many years ... aam did bureaucrats in Guatemala say that the reason they did this was that there was an extraordinarily high number ... of Guatemalan children ... being ... adopted outside of the country ... and they thought that was wrong and then they also say that there were some of these children were stolen although they've never really prove any of that ... aam but the problem is is ... that even if you think ok they're too many children who are being given up for adoption ... aam ... it doesn't seem to me like a very good solution ... to basically Scott chiller who have been born from going to loving homes and that's what the law doesn't that's what's so disturbing ... the leads me back to a lot of people in Guatemala who worked with homeless children ... among the pesetas purses piece of them you talk about kids who ... are grandfathered under the law numbers they should be ... able to go to parents in the United States and elsewhere ... but the just because of ... bureaucratic inertia red tape their stock ... again sometimes for years ... in the orphanages there I mean ... did these kids to understand ... that there are people willing to take the momentum ... into the note in many cases there were seven more than several hundred their way I think there were maybe as we I almost a thousand who who are already in the process may have been chosen by a foreign parents ... they had been visited by them ... they had been designated as as the big chill then that would go to these families ... at when the law was passed and the government said as you say ... you're Britney were grandfathered so their ... adoptions were suppose to go through and the old law ... now keep in mind that ... I when the US ... let's add American parent adoptees children they need to ... buy independent DNA test to prove Karen and she so this wasn't a question of stolen children and me and ... the red tape is such that there are still ... on and maybe more than a hundred but I'd I less than two hundred something in an area ... children who are waiting in these are some orphanages some of whom I meant ... aam who know their parents and their parents come and visit them their adoptive parents ... I they come and visit them ... there financially supporting them ... on the parents consider these children their children I mean they feel like the Vuori Ben ... adopt it ... but they cannot get the child because of the bureaucracy and this I think also is ... a good emblematic of the broader problem which is that ... you have children who on it with the mother cannot take care of ... you have parents plenty of them ... sometimes outside of the country some names instead of the country who would like to adopt them ... but the bureaucracy is stopping that an unknown fact ... can bureaucrats feel very good because they're all there are laws are being followed ... but the net effect is that these children are basically institutional lines and I think that's a chronic lung it's it's like a prison sentence when you think about how difficult it would be too well ... to be an orphan and then on top of that this kind of torture of of ... me knowing that there are parents out there who want to you and waiting waiting years ... for for your release of ... it seems to me this is one reason we have a State Department I think is to go overseas and a ... urgent reform of the scan of insane laws is our State Department doing that and in what ... seems like we are the brains and diplomatic pressure to her while the State Department in an offense as they are trying to get these I'd options that were in the process of trying to get them through ... but you know they're also bureaucracy so ... that doesn't mean that the sun ... so there is this everybody's moving said at a glacial pace ... on but equally disturbing is the fact that the State Department and the embassy in Guatemala back when the law was passed was was very much in favor of Islam and this was a lot to do with ... a kind of ... ideologies this in the world that says ... you know an Indian child this morning while mom ... can grow up in New Jersey ... and and you know this this and this is a horrible impression is that you know bureaucrats have had decided for these children where when they could actually be in loving aunts and ... just add the chilli Land specially it's ... ahh are especially harmed by this because ... Americans are one of few people in the world that will ... is explicitly go out and try to find a child especially for family give that child home so ... those children and very low chances in Guatemala team to get up a loving home since it ... was that they can call their own ... tragic and a region so thanks Ruth for sure ...


text:
Inspired by the latest adaptation of Cinderella, Red Carpet Manicure has launched a limited edition collection of gel nail varnishes, perfect for adding some princess quality to your look. The Magic Wand-Erful nail polish is a shimmery gold shade that will transform your nails without you having to make the trip to the salon, allowing you to shine and shimmer like Cinderella's glass slipper! – I.M N.B. Only to be used with an LED lamp.
Bargain Deal: £10.36
|Click for Deal


text:
DLTK's Crafts for Kids
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LEGO Racers
What do you need help on? Cancel X
Race through exciting LEGO® worlds and battle the greatest LEGO® Racers of all time. You'll have to out-build, out-drive and out-smart your LEGO competitions to face Rocket Racer in the ultimate Championship Race.
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All NaturalFavorites [+]
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You can now enjoy this movie on your iPhone®, iPad®, or compatible Smart TV & Android devices.
Purchase Options
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Available MP4 sizes:SD 480p (1.82 GB)
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DRM-free downloads offer content that is not limited by standard Digital Rights Management (DRM) access technologies. These technologies allow hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to limit the usage of digital content.
When you purchase DRM-free downloadable content, that content is available for you to download on any computer and save to a disk whenever you like. You can also download to multiple computers. There is no timeframe associated with your purchase and the content will not expire.
Running Time: 116 minutes
Released: 10/2017
Studio Name: BAEB
Categories: Natural Breasts All Sex Big Natural Breasts High Definition
Description: Lana Rhoades can't wait to show off her amazing tits! Leah Gotti gets her big booty wrecked! Let Keisha smother you with her giant jugs! Lena Paul has a juicy pussy, and luscious tits? Sign me up!
4 Scenes from All Natural
All Natural: Scene 1
Starring: Lana Rhoades ... More Details
Stars: Lana Rhoades
Sex Acts: Oral Sex, Masturbation, Deep Throating, Vaginal Sex, Rim Job
Positions: Standing Doggy Style, Standing Side Saddle, Cowgirl, Doggy Style, Kneeling, Laying, Missionary, Reverse Cowgirl, Standing, Standing Missionary
Settings: Living Room
All Natural: Scene 2
Starring: Leah Gotti ... More Details
Stars: Leah Gotti
Sex Acts: Oral Sex, Creampie, Tittie Fucking, Deep Throating, Vaginal Sex
Positions: Standing Doggy Style, Suspended/Inverted, Standing Side Saddle, Cowgirl, Kneeling, Reverse Cowgirl, Spoons position, Standing
Settings: Generic Room
All Natural: Scene 3
Starring: Keisha Grey ... More Details
Stars: Keisha Grey
Sex Acts: Oral Sex, Masturbation, Breast Play, Vaginal Sex, Rim Job
Positions: Standing Side Saddle, Cowgirl, Doggy Style, Kneeling, Laying, Reverse Cowgirl, Side Saddle, Spoons position, Standing Missionary
Settings: Bedroom
All Natural: Scene 4
Starring: Lena Paul ... More Details
Stars: Lena Paul
Sex Acts: Oral Sex, Deep Throating, Breast Play, Vaginal Sex, Rim Job
Positions: Standing Doggy Style, Standing Side Saddle, Doggy Style, Kneeling, Missionary, Reverse Cowgirl, Sitting, Spoons position, Standing, Standing Missionary
Settings: Living Room
Recommended Movies


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California's crop of freshmen lawmakers is adjusting to life in Congress. They're still the new kids on the Hill, but after a month in Washington, they've got a sense of how the House works ... and doesn't.
Republican Doug LaMalfa and Democrat Gloria Negrete McLeod aren't rookies in the classic sense: They bring to Washington a combined two decades of legislative experience in Sacramento. But both say lawmaking is different in D.C.
McLeod says the votes come fast, "so you have to really be on your toes to know what you're voting on." She receives a short synopsis of bills from party leaders, but she makes it a point to go online and read the actual bill and background information. "I want to read what I'm doing," she says.
LaMalfa says "the rule thing" makes voting less than "user friendly" to anyone tuning in to C-SPAN — or for new members learning the ropes. For example, when members cast votes on a Motion to Recommit.
"What does that mean to the average person?" LaMalfa asks. "Why isn't it just an up or down on yes or no, you're voting on this bill or this amendment?" He says voting was more clear in the California legislature where you knew "what you were voting on."
Both members have staked out issues of concern to their constituents: LaMalfa, who represents Redding, wants to tackle flood control and forest management; McLeod, whose district is Ontario, is delving into veterans concerns. But committee work is painfully slow. LaMalfa sits on the Agriculture and Natural Resources committees, but he says they've only done organizing work. McLeod also sits on Agriculture and on Veterans Affairs. She says they've yet to schedule a meeting where they "actually deal with bills."
While both have signed on as co-sponsors to bills, neither has yet written one of their own. LaMalfa says it's not a huge priority for him. "There's 435 of us," he says, "so I don't have to be a bill machine here."
On the personal side, the bi-coastal life isn't easy. LaMalfa has small children back in the district and makes it a point to be at their weekend ballgames. The 71-year old McLeod has been spending her off hours in Washington putting together furniture from Target for a small D.C. apartment. Both freshmen have been whisked away to retreats by their respective parties.
LaMalfa says there are just three ways for a Republican to run into a Democrat in Washington: in committee, on the House floor, or by accident. He says there was more interaction between the two parties in Sacramento. One reason: geography. Back in Sacramento, he says, there are 120 legislators. Senators are all on one side of the building, "and you could walk by their offices all day, stick your head in" and chat.
Here, House members have offices in three different buildings across the street from the Capitol. McLeod says all that walking "is gonna trim me down, just walking all over the place." LaMalfa admits he could go door-to-door in his own building, but "I don't know if the members are ever around."
Later this month, some of the freshmen are organizing a bi-partisan bowling night out as a way to build relationships. But it might not be the right sport for these Californians. McLeod says she doesn't bowl. The last time she tried, she says the ball went over her head and landed in the chairs behind her. "That was my last take at bowling."
LaMalfa says he's "not big into it" either. "If I didn't have anything else to do, I'd probably go along." He applauds the opportunity to have an "interrelationship" with politicos from the other party.
The bowling party is scheduled for late February. The next sporting opportunity for the two parties to meet isn't until summer at the annual Congressional baseball game.


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Danny Fernandes (Feat. Belly) - Automatic
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text: Our Mission The mission of the Erie Chamber Orchestra is to ensure that everyone has access to classical music,regardless of age, income, education or cultural background. To that end, all performances will be presented free of charge Our Story Since its beginning as the Erie Bayfront Orchestra in 1978, the Erie Chamber Orchestra has sustained the vision of its founder and longtime Music Director Bruce Morton Wright of making the tradition of concert music available to all music lovers free of charge. Comprised of the area's finest professional musicians, the Erie Chamber Orchestra's season grew progressively and created several musical traditions. In 1981, the orchestra began a series of tribute concerts for the Martin Luther King Day celebration. Following nine years later was the annual presentation of Menotti's Christmas opera, "Amahl and the Night Visitors," part of a holiday concert season that included a much-loved singalong program. Soon, the versatility and enterprise of Wright's orchestra led to the creation of Erie Opera Theatre, with the Chamber Orchestra, and to the Orchestra's appearance in the pit for Lake Erie Ballet's presentation of "The Nutcracker." The Orchestra also formed the nucleus of the Bemus Bay Pops orchestra that plays to ten thousand people on Chautauqua Lake during the Labor Day weekend. When Wright succumbed to multiple myeloma in 2011, the orchestra faced a crossroads. It responded in 2012 with the appointment of Steven Weiser in the new position of general manager and Matthew Kraemer as only the second music director in the Orchestra's history. Music Director Matthew Kraemer Recognized for his "musical sensitivity" and "energized sense of interpretation", conductor Matthew Kraemer is quickly gaining notice for his inspired performances and versatility. The Buffalo News noted recently, "He presents a tall, dignified and stately podium presence with a quite clear beat, a good sense of shaping melodic lines, and an all business attitude that focused on the music without any histrionics." Appointed Music Director of the Butler County Symphony and the Erie Chamber Orchestra in 2012, he has reinvigorated both ensembles with innovative programming and elevated artistic standards. His active guest conducting schedule has included appearances with many of the nation's finest orchestras, including the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Columbus, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Nashville, North Carolina, Saint Louis, Spokane, and Virginia, as well as Canada's Mississauga Symphony and Hamilton Philharmonic and in Europe with the Vidin Philharmonic and the Orquesta de Cadaqués. Recent and future guest conducting engagements include the Rochester Philharmonic, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Elgin Symphony, and Syracuse's Symphonia. In two short years as Music Director of the Erie Chamber Orchestra, the ensemble has flourished artistically. The orchestra is experiencing a rapidly expanding audience base and increased community support, all while maintaining its 36-year mission of providing exceptional classical music free of charge to northwestern Pennsylvania. The Butler County Symphony is experiencing a similar resurgence in artistic output and community support, attracting new subscribers and offering education concerts at no expense to the county's elementary schools. Mr. Kraemer recently completed a highly successful, five-year tenure as associate conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, where he regularly led the orchestra on each of its concert series, including Classical, Pops, Family, education and community engagement programs. A passionate advocate for new music, he has performed the works of many living composers during his career. He has led composer readings and workshops with several orchestras in the United States, in addition to leading the BPO's Earshot partnership with the American Composers Orchestra in Buffalo for three consecutive seasons. Increasingly recognized for his committed advocacy of music education and his devotion to young audiences, he has created numerous arts education programs and has taught at several music festivals both in the US and abroad. The Buffalo Philharmonic's award-winning education concerts grew exponentially under his leadership, expanding to reach over 40,000 students throughout western New York. He played an integral role in the creation of the orchestra's successful live broadcast concerts with Time Warner Cable, as well as implementing new collaborations with many organizations in the Buffalo community. Prior to his appointment in Buffalo, he served for three seasons as associate conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Recipient of the distinguished Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship and the Bruno Walter Career Development Grant, Mr. Kraemer served a residency with the Vienna Philharmonic at the 2006 Salzburg Music Festival. Equally at home in the ballet pit, he has led fully-staged productions with Virginia Ballet Theatre, Ohio Ballet, First Coast Nutcracker, Neglia Ballet, and Todd Rosenlieb Dance. He has served as conductor for Broadway superstar Idina Menzel's numerous engagements nationwide and has collaborated with many other leading artists, including Philippe Quint, Jennifer Koh, Elmar Oliveira, Rachel Barton Pine, David Kim, Awadagin Pratt, Richard Stolzman, Wu Man, Bela Fleck, Mark O'Connor, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Ben Folds, Chris Botti, the Indigo Girls, Wynona Judd, and Natalie Merchant, among many others. He conducted the Buffalo Philharmonic to considerable acclaim when internationally renowned superstar Lang Lang performed Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto at Kleinhans Music Hall in July, 2011. An Indiana native, Mr. Kraemer studied conducting in Vienna, Austria with Salvador Mas Conde and was twice a fellowship conductor at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. He has additionally participated in the National Arts Center Conductor's Program in Ottawa, Canada. His conducting teachers include David Zinman, Robert Spano, Stanley DeRusha, and Jorma Panula. Mr. Kraemer is a graduate of Butler University and the University of Nevada, where he assisted former Cincinnati Symphony concertmaster Phillip Ruder. An accomplished violinist in his own right, he was a member of the Nightingale String Quartet. Fluent in German and French, his principal violin teachers include Phillip Ruder, Herbert Greenberg, Davis Brooks, and Larry Shapiro. When he is not performing, Mr. Kraemer enjoys cooking, running, and reading. He and his wife Megan reside in Buffalo with their son Gabriel. Bruce Morton Wright Founder Mr. Wright was an Instructor of Fine Arts and the Music Director at Gannon University until July 2011 when he passed away. He was the Director/ Conductor of the Erie Chamber Orchestra, the successor to the Erie Bayfront Orchestra which he founded in 1978, and the Director/ Conductor of the Erie Opera Theatre, which he founded in 1983. Mr. Wright was tremendously active within the Erie Community. He was a past board member of the Martin Luther King Center and Perseus House, a center for delinquent youths. Since 1978 he was active on the board of directors of the Arts Council of Erie. He served on the Minority Panel of the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra Board, and the Association of Pennsylvania Orchestras' Panel of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Mr. Wright also served on the board of the Erie Civic Authority, Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, the Pennsylvania State Council on Arts Education, and the Florence Crittenton Home. In 1997 he was among the graduates of Leadership Erie and recently served on the Board of Villa Maria Center and the Arts Board of the Glenwood YMCA. A performer and supporter of the Arts throughout his entire life, Bruce Morton Wright was a tremendous advocate for furthering the arts in Pennsylvania and Erie County. He will be forever missed by his countless friends and colleagues. Clarence Beyers Founding Patron The support of the late Mr. Clarence E. Beyers was critical in the founding of the original Erie Chamber Orchestra. Although he was a generous contributor to many other organizations, he had a special fondness for the Erie Chamber Orchestra, which he called "his orchestra." It is through his continuing support provided by the Clarence E. Beyers Music Fund as well as the support provided by Gannon University that the Orchestra is able to present these concerts. Professor Annmarie George Program Note Author Professor George started teaching at Gannon University in 1973 where she is an Associate Professor of Music. Professor George has served as Chair of the Fine Arts department for six years, founding Director of the Schuster Gallery, the Creative Arts Program and the Alumni Recruitment Program at the university. Professor George holds an undergraduate degree in Music Education from Daemen College (1966), and a Master of Music Education (1970) from S.U.N.Y. at Fredonia with doctorate studies at Case Western Reserve University. She was one of 28 American Ambassadors selected to be in the first group of music educators to travel to China in 1988 to serve as a teacher and consultant in music education to the music educators in China. Her paper was one of six accepted for presentation to the Chinese Music Educators at the University of Beijing and in Inner Mongolia and was the only paper requested by the Chinese for publication in their National Chinese Music Educator publication. In 2008, she was the first music education major chosen as a Distinguished Alumna of Daemen College. Professor George has published several articles in local, state and national journals, serves on three publishing review boards, committees at the university, including President of the Faculty Senate for 2009-2010, and on various boards of directors locally and nationally. Professor George was honored by her colleagues at Gannon University she received the Distinguished Faculty Award for 2010.


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We have found the perfect way for you to discover and explore one of the world's most beautiful cities, and making a memorable holiday for your family, in Rome. Located just outside the city we have found a lovely campsite, made especially for the safety and comfort of families, with easy access to everything in and around this amazing city.
Two swimming pools, plenty of space, a children's entertainment program and onsite bar and restaurant means that everything you need is within easy reach.
Children's activities include arts & crafts, pool games, evening entertainment, and much more. With the friendly Elf on hand to keep everyone happy, you'll be able to relax and enjoy the Italian sunshine.
The accommodations are basic and adorable, with a small bungalow per family. To accommodate one adult and one child, the bungalow has two single beds, a fridge and private bathroom with a shower.
Larger families have larger accommodation, which include a living area and second bedroom, along with a kitchenette. These are also available for two families to share, with each mobile sleeping 5 people.
Smaller families are also welcome to avail of a larger mobile to spread out a little, but the minimum charge per mobile is for four people sharing, so it's a hefty surcharge to pay.
There is plenty of space to be had outside though, with seating areas, picnic benches, entertainment area and onsite bar and restaurant to relax in.
Special prices are also in place for onsite meals, such as a Continental Breakfast Buffet with bread, jam, butter, coffee, milk, tea, juice, cereals, yogurt, cheeses and sliced cold meats for €6 per person. A simple evening meal of a pasta or pizza with a side dish and dessert will set you back €8, and you can get a packed lunch for a day out. Two sandwiches, fruit, cake and a 2l bottle of water for just €6.
A day out is something you definitely should do, and we have some fantastic options for you.
A day in the city of Rome, with a shuttle from the campsite, means you can experience all the beauty and culture of this historic destination.
Get lost in the cobbled laneways, shop in the street markets and soak up all of this amazing city on a spectacular day out you'll never forget.
Another fantastic day out is to the local theme park. Rainbow MagicLand is just an hour by shuttle from the campsite, with tickets available for sale on site.
With rides and amusements for children and adults of all ages, this is a day out with a difference. Plenty of places to eat, loads to see and do, and scheduled entertainment and shows will keep you all enthralled.
Enter a world of fantasy and magic, with fairies and dragons all wandering around, discover hidden treasures and take a magic carpet ride, this place has it all.
Be ready for some water fun and adventure, with boat rides down slides and through rapids.
Explore castles, hide in the dungeons, and just enjoy a great day out in one of Europe's fantastical theme parks. Stay on into the evening for light shows and more, or head back to the comfort of camp and relax with their nightly entertainment team.
Fire-breathing, Foam Parties, and much more is scheduled to keep everyone entertained and busy. The week will fly past, so you have to make the most of this spectacular destination and make sure you do it all! So enjoy Rome and meet some Italians in the old town…
Have an adventure and excitement-filled day at Rainbow MagicLand…
and spend some lazy afternoons by the pool at the campsite, knowing the children are safe and sound…
We have planned this trip for arrival in Rome on June 18th for 7 nights, FLIGHTS NOT INCLUDED. You can arrange flights to one of two airports in Rome, either Rome Ciampino or Rome Fiumicino (also known as the Leonardo da Vinci Airport), and shuttles from the airport arrivals to the campsite will be waiting for you. Check out of your accommodation on the day of departure by 10am, but enjoy full use of the onsite facilities until it's time for the shuttle to bring you back to the airport.
1 adult & 1 child – €350
1 adult & 2 children – €490
1 adult & 3 children – €620


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The mid-January weather in Cologne was cold and gray, with a sprinkling of snow. You could say the same for the style trends inside the convention center at the 2013 IMM/LivingKitchen trade show. Launched two years ago, this event has become a top destination for kitchen professionals from around the world and an early view into upcoming kitchen design innovations and trends.
Many of the colors were as dark and chilly as the winter skies, with snowy cabinets and appliance fronts brightening things up a bit. Brown was also a dominant tone at the show, with rustic woods, glossy lacquers, smooth granites, bright glass and rough ceramics creating some serious style.
Image trends
The effect of all these browns, grays and whites was an earthy but sophisticated palette with a terrific blend of textures and finishes. Softening the strong looks was a lovely mid-toned blue on many of the lacquered cabinet fronts, and sexy, organic curves throughout the show. These curves gentled cabinet edges, sink corners, vent hoods and faucets.
At the other end of the style spectrum were a slew of skinny countertops. I spotted this trend two years ago at the same show and expect to see it show up in the States, too, in the next few years. (It requires a change of American thinking from bigger is better, but it will probably take hold over time.)
Two-toned faucets were also a strong and stylish trend. Their composite cladding typically matched the sinks on which they sat and created a slick, low-maintenance finish in combination with the metal. We are starting to see those in the U.S. already.
Smartphones and tablets are the inspiration for glass-front appliances, many with touch-screen and sleek knob controls. They came in browns, grays, blacks and whites and offered an appealing alternative to stainless. I'm hoping they make their way to the U.S. soon, too, but at present, there's no release date here. I'm thinking we might start seeing them in 2014.
Technology trends
Smartphones have influenced other kitchen manufacturers, too, both in their sleek style and ability to offer customized usage for each owner. One countertop firm, TPB Barcelona, created a porcelain slab countertop that integrated induction cooking right into the counter without the traditional glass cooktop rectangle. It can be designed with as many burners as the owner desires and was a model of Sensible Style. They're working on making it U.S. code-compliant but don't have a release date here yet.
Also customizing-oriented, Gaggenau offered a flexible cooking center that allows homeowners to choose which modules they want to include. Induction, gas, griddle, steam and downdraft vents are all available options. These will be introduced in the U.S. in the spring.
When I first visited this show two years ago, (also as a hosted member of the BLANCO Design Council), Gaggenau introduced the very first full-surface induction cooktop. (B/S/H sister company Thermador introduced this technology in the U.S. last summer.) I was happy to see quite a few more full-surface models this year, as they provide more usable cooking surface to an already excellent cooking technology. More models will ultimately translate to more affordability.
Also notable on the technology front:
• BLANCO showed off a faucet that incorporates instant-hot capability. It doesn't have a U.S. release date yet.
• Miele introduced LED lighting built right into its refrigerator shelves for better visibility, as well as a dispenser on its built-in coffee systems that automatically adjusts to the height of your cup for less spillage. These don't have U.S. release dates yet, either.
Material trends
There were more porcelain and ceramic slab counters (and cabinet fronts) than ever, I was happy to see. These versatile, durable, low-maintenance surfaces are starting to make their way into our market. Cosentino, maker of the Silestone you see at every Home Depot, is building a factory to manufacture these slabs, so it's likely that in the next five years, they'll start becoming as mass market as engineered stone.
Lacquer-front cabinets were very popular this year, whereas last time, textured laminates came on strong. Their rich, glossy finishes could signal a return to a less austere, recession-driven lifestyle. Or they could just signify the tremendous market power of Russia, which adores luxury goods.
Take-away points
Aside from the growing strength of the Russian market, which I've now seen in full force at my last two European trade shows, these are my take-aways from IMM/LivingKitchen:
• Smartphones and tablets will continue to influence how kitchen manufacturers design their products — both visually and functionally — and how the rest of us shape and use our kitchens.
• Expect to see porcelain and ceramic slab countertops come on strong in the next few years.
• Look for more and better induction cooktops. They already offer comparable performance to gas with more energy efficiency and safety.
• Kitchens will continue to integrate into living spaces, with less of a kitchen look and more of a living room feel.


text: Smart multimedia desktop PC with the 4th gen Intel® processors and 4K display support Intel® Core™ processors for productive multitasking and energy efficiency NVIDIA® or AMD discrete graphics for the most demanding of tasks ASUS SonicMaster audio technology and intuitive AudioWizard interface for enhanced sound quality With up to 30% energy savings and under 25dB of sound at idle SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with Ai Charger Shop Modal header Desktop PC The Perfect Home Computer ASUS M32 desktop PC performs everything from your daily tasks to playing 4K Ultra HD video with enhanced energy efficiency. Multitask with several apps at once thanks to the 4th gen Intel® Core™ processor. Power visually demanding programs with discrete NVIDIA graphics. Whatever you choose to do, M32 makes it happen with unique optimization for increased performance or energy savings when you need it. Upcompromising Performance Faster, smarter and more pleasing to the ear The power to amaze With the Intel® Core™ processor, experience new levels of multitasking performance to do more of what you love, whether it's online shopping, writing blogs or piecing together last summer's vacation videos. Advanced graphics M32 desktop PC features discrete NVIDIA or AMD graphics card that delivers twice the performance of the previous generation. Watch up to 4K Ultra HD video and enjoy smoother visuals and more responsiveness when playing the latest games. Music to your ears M32 desktop PC features ASUS SonicMaster audio technology along with MaxxAudio® from Waves combined to give you finely-tuned surround sound for games and movies through your speakers or headphones. Sound for each occasion ASUS AudioWizard is a pre-loaded app with 5 selectable point-and-click audio settings for music, movies, games, voice recording and speech. Each designed to cater to your media preferences. Energy Efficency We design them for better environmental performance Cool, quiet operation Giving you reliability with convenience, M32 desktop PC monitors internal temperatures and intelligently adjusts fan speed to ensure efficient cooling while staying under 25dB of sound at idle—quieter than a library. Fine-tuned to save you energy Thanks to dynamic energy saving optimization, M32 saves you up to 30% energy, giving you high performance or enhanced energy savings when you need it. Ports and Connections Advanced super speed I/O together with latest technology to comprehend all your needs Access your data anywhere, anytime With 100GB of free ASUS WebStorage1, keep your data safe in the cloud and access it anywhere you have an internet connect. What's more, easily share photos and videos with your family and friends through an ASUS WebStorage generated URL link. All-around connectivity M32 comes with all the connectivity options you need. Supersize entertainment via HDMI to an HDTV when watching movies or videos. Transfer data up to 10 times faster and charge compatible devices up to 50% faster with Ai Charger SuperSpeed USB 3.0 even with the PC off2. ODD door with a mirror finish USB3.0 + AI Charger 6-in-1 card reader Headphone Microphone USB2.0 D-Sub Output HDMI-Out LAN(RJ-45) USB2.0 Mircrophone Line out Line in VGA Out* DVI* * M32AA showing here. VGA Out and DVI ports may vary by graphics card. Industry-leading Reliability and Quality Quality you can trust Desktop PC leading Choice ASUS Desktops –Most recommended Windows desktop brand Innovation, design and reliability are at the heart of all ASUS computers. Winning Readers' Choice for overall satisfaction for the second year in a row, and for the third successive year in the home category, is proof that ASUS is better at delivering what customers want than rival Windows desktop PC companies. As PCMag.com says: "If you want a Windows desktop PC, ASUS is the best choice".3. Stringently quality tests M32 is subjected to a series of rigorous noise, vibration, drop and thermal shock tests to ensure it meets and exceeds industry standards to give you unbeatable reliability. Featuring the best motherboards With over 465 million motherboards shipped in the past 24 years, rest assure that your M32 features the finest and most innovative motherboard available for responsive performance and time-tested reliability. DV201 LED monitors are available with select models. Check an ASUS reseller for exact offers. 100GB ASUS WebStorage free for 1 year. The offer will be available from 1 May, 2014. USB 3.0 rates tested with USB 3.0 compatible devices under test conditions. Product and system settings may affect USB 3.0 performance. Ai Charger is available on select models only. Please check with ASUS reseller for exact specifications. Reprinted from www.pcmag.com with permission. © 2014 Ziff Davis, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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Lego Space Shuttle Actually Goes Into Orbit In Amazing Footage
Last year the United States retired NASA's space shuttle program, and shipped the remaining crafts out for display in sites around the country. To pay tribute to the end of the space shuttle era, Romanian high school student Raul Oaida strapped a Lego model space shuttle on a weather ballon and sent it towards the great beyond.
The launch took place on December 31st, with the toy shuttle reaching heights of about 115,000 feet. For comparison sake, a commercial airplane doesn't usually go more than about 50,000 feet in the air. Oaida attached a GoPro Hero video camera to the balloon, which is responsible for the spectacular images above. Yup, that is the curve of the Earth you start seeing around the three minute mark.
The shuttle, which was equipped with a GPS device, landed unharmed a couple hours later in a German forest 150 miles away from the launch point. Oaida wasn't able to convince Romanian air traffic control to allow him flight clearance, so he instead traveled to Germany, where they have less regulations about such things.
If you're wondering, the first song on the video is 'Welcome Home' by Radical face, and the second is 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' by Richard Strauss.


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Time Magazine says Edward Snowden = Aaron Alexis
Steve Watson
Sept 25, 2013
Following a talking point injected by intelligence insiders, the corporate media continues to lump in whistleblowers Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden with foreign spies and turncoats. Time Magazine has taken it a step further, however, comparing the two to actual mass murderers.
The Washingtonian produced the following graphic in a recent piece that compared Manning and Snowden to figures such as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Benedict Arnold, Aldrich Ames and John Walker Lindh – all viewed as traitors for actually providing secrets to foreign powers.
This is pretty much par for the course, despite the fact that Snowden and Manning cannot be viewed in the same light because they a) released evidence that highlighted the government engaging in potentially criminal activity against its own people, and b) they released it to US journalists.
The fact that the US government is using the the Espionage Act to go after whistleblowers exposing the corrupt activities of its spy agencies is an irony not lost on many. However it is rather normal to see the "traitor" talking point repeated, owing to the involvement of classified material.
A few weeks ago, former head of the NSA and the CIA, General Michael Hayden, said he believes that Edward Snowden is worse than any American "traitor" ever, including Benedict Arnold, for blowing the whistle on NSA programs.
"Benedict Arnold was bent on betraying the garrison at West Point to the British during the Revolution. Klaus Fuchs and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg ferreted out nuclear secrets for the Russians. Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen identified American penetrations for ultimate execution by the Soviets."
"But Snowden is in a class by himself." Hayden asserted.
In a piece titled "Slipping Through The Cracks", Time Magazine this week took that deranged argument one step further with the following graphic comparing Manning and Snowden to actual killers:
The logic? Well, Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, and Aaron Alexis, the Navy Yard shooter, were both under the employ of the military and therefore their crimes could have been prevented had it not been for "missed signals in our government-clearance system."
Similarly, Time somehow argues that Manning and Snowden's "crimes" of releasing classified material could have been prevented with more stringent background checks and safeguards against government employees going rogue.
This strain of logic has been pounced upon with revelations last week that the company that vetted Snowden for security clearance, USIS, was also responsible for clearing Alexis.
"From Edward Snowden to Aaron Alexis, what's emerging is a pattern of failure on the part of this company, and a failure of this entire system, that risks nothing less than our national security and the lives of Americans," Senator Claire McCaskill said in a statement last Thursday.
This would be a cogent point if it were not for the fact that lumping in Snowden with a mass murderer is patently idiotic.
.@TIME apparently having trouble distinguishing whistleblowers from mass-murderers. pic.twitter.com/r7CTV10M2v
— Jameel Jaffer (@JameelJaffer) September 22, 2013
Snowden's and Manning's motivations were clear – they were patriotic Americans who discovered that their own government was acting in a corrupt and fundamentally unconstitutional manner. At the point they discovered this, neither of them picked up a gun and started murdering people, they set about informing the public.
So there we have it, another sterling example of the mainstream media ignoring the facts and doling out nothing but establishment fed slander and smear.
Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones' Infowars.com, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham, and a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Literature and Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.
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Many people know Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as an exacting tech visionary. Fewer know him as a romantic, a poet or a costumed "Alice in Wonderland" character at a California shopping mall.
These latter characteristics help make up the portrait of Jobs painted by his first serious girlfriend, Chrisann Brennan, in a "Rolling Stone" story that was shared exclusively with The Associated Press before hitting newsstands Friday.
Brennan and Jobs met in 1972, when he was a senior and she was a junior at Cupertino's Homestead High School. In the piece, she recounts her adventures with a 17-year-old Jobs that summer, from moving into a cabin together to getting paid to portray "Alice" characters at a local mall.
Jobs died Oct. 5 at 56 after struggling for years with pancreatic cancer. After taking his third medical leave from Apple Inc. in January, he resigned as CEO in August, but stayed with the company as chairman. His death came a day after Apple unveiled the latest iPhone, the 4S, which goes on sale Friday.
Brennan's on-and-off relationship with Jobs lasted until the birth of the couple's daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, in 1978.
She says the duo decided to live together that first summer. She tried to snag a room in a Cupertino cabin for them but was turned down by the man renting the place at the time - he said there wasn't room for a couple. Somehow, Steve was able to persuade him to change his mind.
"This alerted me to something remarkable in him," she writes in the "Rolling Stone" essay. "This guy could make things work. And from the way he'd taken charge of the situation, I knew he knew it too."
At the time, Brennan says, Jobs "was almost 100 percent romantic."
"He would tell me we were part of an affiliation of poets and visionaries he called 'the wheat field group' and say we were looking out a window together, with the others, watching the whole world," she writes. "I did not know what he was talking about, but with all my heart I wanted to see such views."
Brennan also recounts how Jobs - who hung a Bob Dylan poster over their bed - would stay up late writing poems on his electric typewriter, often re-writing Dylan tunes.
At the time, Brennan wasn't impressed, seeing the results as "a lot of Bob Dylan songs with a few changes."
"Only now do I see what he was trying to do. He was a loner and he didn't talk much, and I think he used Dylan's songs to make sense of the world," she writes.
On the sillier side, Brennan details how she, Jobs, a roommate named Al and Steve Wozniak (who later co-founded Apple with Jobs) played "Alice" characters at a mall in nearby Santa Clara. Brennan got the part of Alice, while Al, Jobs and Wozniak took turns playing the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit - complete with knee-length giant heads that were incredibly hot because of the summer heat and the mall's broken air conditioner.
Brennan writes that Al, Wozniak and Jobs "could barely handle 10 minutes in costume, and so they would run into the dressing rooms to trade off heads and to drink water every 10 minutes. It was painful and hilarious to watch."
Not all of Brennan's recollections were friendly. In the "Rolling Stone" essay, Brennan refers to "the all-too-often despotic jerk Steve turned into as he rose to meet the world." For two years, Jobs denied that he was the father of Lisa, the child born to Brennan in 1978.
Brennan's piece will run in "Rolling Stone" alongside a cover story by Jeff Goodell, an early Apple employee who has written about the company for the past 17 years. In his article, Goodell describes Jobs' business savvy, as well as the "abrasive personality" and "unapologetic brutality" that those who worked intensely with him experienced.
Rachel Metz is a technology writer for the Associated Press.


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NEW YORK – There is an ongoing discussion taking place in MLS circles that is central to what the league's 34-game regular season will look like in 2011.
In an interview with Soccer America, MLS Commissioner Don Garber says a decision is being weighed between "two approaches": 1) maintaining the balanced format of 2010 in which every team plays the others the same number of times; or 2) moving back to an unbalanced schedule that promotes rivalries.
Garber points out that the balanced schedule, implemented for the first time in league history during 2010, has value to core fans, coaches and technical directors, "who think perhaps it's the fairest way to determine which team is best in the league."
The other scenario being entertained by the league allows for more matches with geographic or historic rivals.
"You get an increased chance of a truly memorable moment that could be put forth on a more regular basis," he said.
With two new expansion clubs joining the fold in 2011 and four additional regular-season matches being added to an already-congested schedule, an unbalanced schedule would also help in reducing the overall travel miles, especially for teams involved in non-league competitions.
"Now that we have Champions League and Open Cup, travel has become a big issue, affecting the health and fitness of our players," Garber told Soccer America. "It has nothing to do with expense. It has to do with putting our best game forward."
When the league unveiled the increased number of matches of the 2011 regular season, it refrained from revealing whether the schedule would be balanced or not in order to give time for the evaluation process currently being led by the Competition Committee.
A final decision on the schedule is expected before MLS Cup 2010.
Ready to Launch: MLS Matchday 2010, The new official MLS iPhone app. It's FREE! Download it here!


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Three weeks after a suspect was arrested and charged with three counts of murder in relation to a missing five-year-old Calgary boy and his grandparents, police have confirmed investigators from Calgary are in Mexico in relation to the homicide investigation.
Despite not locating their bodies, police believe five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Alvin and Kathryn Liknes, were murdered.
On July 15, Douglas Robert Garland, 54, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder following the trio's disappearance. On Tuesday, a police spokesperson confirmed investigators are in Mexico in connection to the investigation but would not elaborate further.
Nathan and his grandparents went missing from the Liknes home in the southwest neighbourhood of Parkhill sometime between the evening of June 29 and the next morning.
On the weekend they went missing, Alvin, 66, and Kathryn, 53, had hosted a three-day estate sale at their home.
The couple were selling off most of their possessions in preparation for a long-planned move to Mexico. Friends and family said the couple had plans to live in Mexico before returning to Canada and settling in Edmonton.
Following Garland's arrest, police said investigators had a 30-day plan derived from intelligence and evidence gathered during their homicide probe.
"We are systematically searching locations that have a high likelihood of locating evidence, utilizing officers from the CPS, RCMP and provincially sanctioned civilian search organizations," police said in a written statement nearly three weeks ago.
Garland is scheduled to next appear in provincial court Aug. 14.


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Man stabbed in Aberdeen during fight
Police say Vincelah Hayes stabbed during fight over woman
Police in Harford County said a man was stabbed several times during a fight over a woman at a gas station in Aberdeen on Sunday night.
Aberdeen police were called to the Exxon station on North Philadelphia Boulevard around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, where they found Vincelah Hayes, 41, suffering from several stab wounds.
Detectives said Hayes got into a fight with two people over a woman, and during the fight, one of those people stabbed him several times in the back.
Paramedics treated Hayes at the scene and took him to Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore with non-life-threatening injuries. He's expected to be released from the hospital Monday.
Police said two people have been identified as the culprits involved. Charges are pending.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the Aberdeen Police Department at 410-272-2121.


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Actress Emma Roberts is engaged to her "American Horror Story" co-star Evan Peters.
Extra was the first to report the big news. Peters apparently proposed to Roberts over the holidays with a pink gold diamond ring in New York City, before the pair went to London to celebrate the new year.
So … is it pink or is it gold? Or am I just a typical man who doesn't understand these things?
Roberts was spotted Sunday wearing a big piece of jewelry on her left hand while arriving in New Orleans with Peters, according to E! News.
Because big news like this always has to be confirmed, know that both People magazine and Us Weekly found their own sources to verify the engagement.
Roberts, 22, and Peters, 26, have been dating since 2012. They're known for having a somewhat a volatile relationship, which certainly bodes well for a long, happy marriage. Last summer, Roberts was arrested in Canada for an alleged domestic violence incident after she pretty much beat up Peters, supposedly leaving him with a bloody nose and a bite mark. Roberts was released after Peters declined to file charges.
Sounds like she'd make a great Mike Tyson on Halloween.
"It was an unfortunate incident and misunderstanding," read a joint statement released by Roberts and Peters following the arrest, according to Us Weekly. "Ms. Roberts was released after questioning, and the couple are working together to move past it."
Good luck, kids.
Contact Tony Hicks at Facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.TonyHicks or Twitter.com/insertfoot.


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Risk Assurance
Risk Assurance covers all risk services where EY is providing independent assurance and the preparation towards assurance to our clients where the assurance can be used by our clients to build confidence and trust with their customers, the general market/public, key stakeholders or when regulatory (by law or oversight) or contractually required.
We can help with:
- Working with Audit professionals to help create trust and confidence in their financial reporting and internal control over financial reporting
- Business growth, by providing assurance to clients and other stakeholders related to internal controls
- Business improvement, by assessing risks and controls related to business imperatives, such as launching new products/services, implementing new technologies or remediating control issues
- Providing industry/sector insights and thought leadership with a focus on risk and control matters
How we can help
Companies, investors and other stakeholders rely on our independent assessment services to make business decisions. We provide an unbiased assessment of the risks and the effectiveness of related controls.
Service Organizations Control Reporting (SOCR)
We provide the preparation towards assurance and confidence to external stakeholders — in line with applicable assurance standards like SOC1, SOC2, ISAE3402 and others.
Our SOCR services are designed to help service organizations:
- Build trust and confidence for organizations that operate information systems and provide business process services supporting financial reporting in the delivery processes and controls through a report they can deliver to their clients and client's external auditors.
- To meet the needs of a broad range of users who require information and assurance about the controls that affect the security, privacy, confidentiality, availability, and processing integrity of the systems.
Example offerings:
- Service Organization Control reporting according to AICPA SSAE 16 (SOC 1) or ISAE 3402 or AICPA AT101 (SOC 2 or SOC 3), etc.
ISO management system certification
Providing an accredited attestation statement intended for the general public on the quality of an implemented management system in accordance with the respective ISO standard (like ISO27001, ISO20000 and ISO14001), or helping an organization prepare to obtain one.
The ISO Certification service is aimed at providing implementation of and actual certification according to ISO standards and other similar frameworks. Certification is done through a separate EY-owned company called EY CertifyPoint.
Example offerings:
- Management system implementation or certification (under accreditation) in the area of Information Security (ISO27001), Quality (ISO9001), IT Service Management (ISO20000), Business Continuity Management (ISO22301), Environmental Management (ISO14001)
- Unaccredited certification against existing standards like Privacy Seal, Webtrust, CSA Star (Cloud), etc.
Financial Audit IT Integration
The execution of IT-related audit procedures in support of financial statement audits and reporting on internal control over financial reporting
This service contains the execution of IT-related audit procedures (including IT-related procedures beyond ITGCs) in support of financial statement audits and reporting on internal control over financial reporting (Integrated and Non-Integrated audits). Our balance of experience and skills in IT and business processes supports our Assurance practice in delivering audits.
Example offerings:
- IT General controls testing
- Application and IT dependent controls testing
- Electronic audit evidence testing
Regulatory Compliance
We can provide support as well as an assessment to the board of directors and senior management with respect to regulatory compliance.
We help organizations to manage regulatory compliance risks and help organizations to prevent claims, penalties, fines and litigation from their regulatory bodies (law or oversight).
Example offerings:
- Develop compliance management framework
- Regulatory compliance tool implementation
- Specific compliance assessments (HIPAA, FCPA, FDA/GxP)
Contractual Compliance
We provide support as well as an assessment to the board of directors and senior management with respect to regulatory or contractual compliance.
Our services are aimed at providing an assessment to the board of directors and senior management with respect to contractual compliance. We help organizations to manage their contractual compliance risks and help organizations to prevent claims, penalties, fines and litigation from their contracting parties.
Example offerings:
- Software license management
- Vendor risk services


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Curtain Call
This story appears in the October 2004 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
Selling your business can be a difficult and upsetting process. But it's nothing like the emotional train wreck waiting for you on the day after the sale, when you suddenly discover that you don't know what to do with yourself. You can't go into the office; you can't visit customers or send e-mails to vendors. The life you spent years building is suddenly gone.
Gone but not forgotten. Without the usual frenetic demands on your time and attention, your life seems to come to a screeching halt. Meanwhile, your mind continues to race to find the answer to one haunting question: What's next?
Chuck Hawks, an executive coach with DreamsFulfilled in Charlotte, North Carolina, helps executives and entrepreneurs answer that very question. "Selling out can create a sense of loss, or a sense of relief," says Hawks. Either way, it's a chance to find something that fulfills you in new ways. "It may not be a business thing. It may be moving to Tahiti or working for a charity. It's a chance to [ask], What really lights me up?"
Maybe you already know what lights you up and have a plan to pursue it. If you don't have such a plan, take a cue from the entrepreneurs below who have found rewarding ways to sell their businesses but keep their sanity.
Passion Play
In the 1980s, before Petco and Petsmart became household names, there was Animal Kingdom, a large Dallas pet store modeled on the dreams (and the MBA project) of its co-founder, Carol Frank. Within three years, the store was approaching the million-dollar sales mark. At the same time, however, Frank was feeling the urge to do something else.
The energy that drives entrepreneurs into a business is often the same energy that drives them out of it. For Frank, now 45, the prospect of new challenges moved her quickly out of the retail business and into distribution-and then out of distribution and into manufacturing. In the space of 10 short years, retailer Animal Kingdom begat wholesaler Avian Kingdom Supply, which begat manufacturer Avian Adventures (both of which Frank founded on her own).
"Entrepreneurs are often people [who] need kinetic energy to feel satisfied," says Hawks. This may explain why so many entrepreneurs, like Frank, are repeat performers. "They can't sit still for 30 seconds."
There are various names given to people who channel their energy into new businesses. Whether you call them "serial entrepreneurs" or "second-stage entrepreneurs," it's clear that the thrill of creating something from nothing is what really keeps them going. For Frank, each business she sold helped fund the growth of the next. Interestingly, each time she started a new venture, it was within the same core industry.
"The pet industry is addictive," Frank says. "I don't remember thinking,'I want to sell this company, and I need something to do next.' I saw a new opportunity to stay in the industry."
Frank's self-described addiction is another name for the passion that motivates entrepreneurs. "Many entrepreneurs are just never truly satisfied," says Hawks. "They see these businesses as a vehicle-a way to support their passion for an industry."
There may be at least one more transition ahead for Frank. "The plan is to sell Avian Adventures in five years when we get to $10 million," she says (projected sales for 2004 are $2 million). "At that point, we'll sell for enough money for me to retire." Of course, her definition of retirement includes speaking engagements, writing books, and educating people about how to care for exotic birds-just another way to express her passion for the business.
The Bigger Picture
Some entrepreneurs might hesitate at the idea of working inside a public company. The restrictions of reporting to a boss and taking direction from those who are higher in the chain of command might give some entrepreneurs second thoughts.
Kevin McDonald, 35, would not be among those. Now executive vice president and general manager at the Nasdaq-listed Inforte Corp. in Chicago, McDonald was, until recently, the co-founder and CEO of Compendit Inc., a $9.6 million consulting business specializing in enterprise resource planning. In March of this year, McDonald and his team sold out to Inforte for $6 million in cash upfront-and as much as $6.3 million more paid on performance over the next two years.
McDonald could have walked away, but he didn't. With an eye on having a smaller slice of a much bigger pie, McDonald took the job as executive vice president and general manager, and the business now continues intact as a division within Inforte. His executive team and most of the 54 Compendit employees stayed, too. Although he now reports to the CEO of Inforte, McDonald jokes that he doesn't struggle with the chain of command. "As an entrepreneur, I have always worked for my team, my customers, my wife, the bank...what's one more boss?"
Being a part of a larger company was not so much an exit strategy as it was a strategic move for Compendit. "I prefer to think of it as finding a partner to help us get to the next level," says McDonald of the sale. "We knew the market demand [for our services] was there; we just needed the infrastructure. But focusing on building the infrastructure was a distraction." Rather than miss a window of opportunity, McDonald and his team decided to sell to a group that had the people, the technology and the capital already in place.
Has the sale affected his daily routine? "It is a little different," he admits. "I get to focus on things that I'm good at and where I can add value." Plus, there's that incentive to keep the business growing. So even though Inforte is taking some of the back-office load, McDonald is under the gun to continue sales growth. "The other difference is that I'm working 40 percent harder now," he laughs.
There is the occasional ambiguity of working for a public company. Former Compendit employees often find themselves asking where their authority ends and Inforte's begins. "We're learning the life of a public company," says McDonald, "but we share a pretty similar vision about where we want to take this business."
Started in New York City by Michael Sonnenfeldt, the group meets to discuss budgeting and family issues, such as "How do I keep what I earned?" and "Talking to my kids/spouse about money," as well as more technical financial issues like "How should I set up the sale of my company to get the best advantages in retirement?"
Sonnenfeldt says he started the group six years ago in response to his own needs for support and knowledge after he sold his real estate investment business, which at the time had assets of $1 billion spread over 200 properties. "It's hard to find the right environment to ask elementary questions when most people expect you to be an expert," he explains.
Managing new wealth is obviously a common concern among the members, so lessons on investing are a large part of the Tiger 21 curriculum. "Each of us is expert at something particular to our specific industries, but we aren't expert at investing," says Sonnenfeldt. "Now, as an investor, the world becomes more complex-exactly at the moment you've lost the infrastructure you had as a CEO."
Today, Tiger 21 has about 30 members with net worths from $15 million to $100 million each. Those members are divided among three separate groups that meet one full day per month. The result is strong peer relationships that build trust, loyalty and mutual support. Current groups are centered in New York City (though one splits its time between New York City, and Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida), but Sonnenfeldt expects to have several satellite groups operational soon. So if the $20,000 annual membership fee fits your budget, you can find more information at www.tiger21.com.
Rebound and Rebuild
Like McDonald, Whit McIsaac, 43, also went to work for the company that bought him out. But unlike McDonald, McIsaac's results were not all good.
In November 2000, McIsaac sold Client Profiles, his Atlanta-based legal technology company, to a well-funded dotcom for more than $4.6 million. As the transaction closed, McIsaac held his breath and hoped for the best. If the merger was good, it could mean national expansion. "We really wanted to take it to the next level, and [the buyer] assured us that we'd control the sales and marketing end. It was a no-lose proposition for us," he says.
But the dotcom tide was turning, and the acquirer was changing strategy, even as it continued to burn through capital. "We moved into the palace in January 2001," says McIsaac, referring to the huge new office built with the acquiring company's venture money. "Then, at my first corporate meeting, they told me we'd have to cut 20 percent of the staff. We wanted their power and money and energy. Instead, we immediately got into cost-cutting mode."
The "fairy tale turned nightmare" lasted only eight months. McIsaac worked desperately to keep his group together and his customers happy. The larger firm's infrastructure wasn't always customer-friendly, and its need to cut costs threatened to squash the high-level reputation Client Profiles had nurtured.
"By the end of that time, they had laid off most of their staff," recalls McIsaac. The Client Profiles team fared somewhat better. "As much as they tried [to break us up], we never unraveled. Our group really stuck together."
In the end, the acquiring company simply asked McIsaac to take the company back. The nightmare was going to have a happy ending after all. "We kept all the cash, 20 percent of the equity, and all the assets and accounts we had brought in," he says. "It was a very well-managed transition. They were stand-up people. They allowed us to get back up and running without any difficulty."
Though McIsaac describes the whole incident as painful, it paid off in the end. "Looking back, we're a heck of a lot stronger based on that experience," he says. Today, Client Profiles is once again independent and profitable, with 52 employees and approximately $10 million in revenue. Without venture money or palatial offices to distract them, they've sold their products to more than a thousand law firms in 37 states.
It's clear McIsaac prefers being in charge of his own destiny. He says without hesitation, "It's been a great two years."
Pass It Along
These days, David Minor gets his entrepreneurial thrills vicariously. It wasn't always that way. In 1998, Minor sold the landscaping business he started in his garage to an industry giant. Minor, just 39 at the time, took some time off to relax and even considered permanent retirement. "From May to November of 1999, I was out playing golf, traveling...and bored out of my mind," recalls Minor with a laugh. Instead of retiring, he began looking for a new business and a new passion.
As it turned out, a new passion found him when Texas Christian University (TCU) asked him to help develop an entrepreneurial studies program. Minor jumped into academia with the same energy that helped him build his $11.5 million landscaping empire. Starting from scratch, Minor became the founding director at-and the driving force behind-the highly respected Neeley Entrepreneurship Program at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.
Of course, moving from the boardroom to the classroom meant a cut in pay for Minor, but he says the work is more rewarding in other ways. "I love what I'm doing. I'm able to make a difference in people's lives, and ultimately, that's what life is about," he says. In fact, his work makes a difference in a lot of people's lives. The program at TCU now has more than 225 students enrolled in entrepreneurial classes.
Executive coach Hawks understands Minor's decision to join academia. In most cases, the entrepreneur's true passion is not about making money, says Hawks. "Money and fame are great things to have for about 10 minutes, but what really drives most entrepreneurs is actually feeling like they've made a difference in other people's lives."
is an investment banker and author of the e-book Finding Funding.
Change Gears, and Change the World
Want to change the world? If you're looking to really make a difference in the world, consider philanthropy. Through charitable giving, endowments and foundations, your wealth can make the world a better place while, perhaps, preserving your place in history among the great benefactors. Consider, for example, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was created in 2000 to help cure disease and improve education. Even Bill knows that there's more to life than business.
Whether you choose to give to an existing charity or to start your own foundation, be sure to get the facts. There are several organizations out there to help you, including-get this-the IRS. Before sending a big check to any charity, check out their IRS Form 990 filing, which can tell you things like how much the organization spends on executive salaries. (Click here for a deeper explanation of the form.) A reputable charity should be able to provide that form as well as audited financials.
Get more facts on philanthropy from these worthwhile organizations:
- The Foundation Incubator allows new philanthropists can learn the ropes in an "intimate and trusting environment," according to Foundation literature. The Foundation Incubator, based in Palo Alto, California, is a support network and a technical resource for anyone who has, or would like to start, a serious philanthropic endeavor.
- GuideStar is the ultimate source for finding and evaluating nonprofit organizations. Their encyclopedic database of charities can help you sort the saints from the scammers. Start any serious giving campaign here.
- The Philanthropy Roundtable, a national association of more than 600 individual and organizational donors, says it "attracts independent-minded donors who understand that philanthropy is difficult to do well." The Roundtable provides both peer support and professional advice. The organization's bimonthly magazine, Philanthropy, is also a great resource.
- Women & Philanthropy supports and encourages women and girls to work together on specific issues within the field of philanthropy.