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Recently, Louisville, Kentucky hosted the 86th annual National FFA convention. This convention consists of career and college fairs, leadership workshops, sessions put on by the National officers (featuring many motivational speakers), and most importantly, national Career Development Events (CDE's).
In Idaho, to qualify for these National events you are required to have won your state contest (and thus your chapter and district level contests as well).
The Kuna FFA chapter was fortunate to have a state winning agronomy team (with team members Zachary Reynolds, Amanda Reynolds, Macy Hagler, and Elizabeth Reynolds), and a state winning Creed Speaker (Shelby McNeilly).
Though they only had five students qualify, they also brought nine senior members who have been actively involved in FFA throughout their high school career, these individuals were: Brogan Moore, Cassie Curtis, Aaron Emmert, Chelsea Dye, Holly Barrus, Dustin Zabel, Hannah Waldal, Austin Grieve, and Ben Christensen.
Throughout the five day convention these members participated in various leadership workshops (put on by the 2012 National Officers), attended several sessions, listened to several wonderful speakers (Rick Pitino and Josh Sundquist) and discovered the opportunities for colleges and Universities with top class agricultural studies.
The members of the Agronomy team, after months of laborious studying, competed in a two day contest consisting of many parts. Agronomy is more or less the study of plant sciences. Some examples of what the event contains are: crop and weed plant identification, crop and weed seed identification, equipment identification, a teamwork activity, a written test, insect identification and more.
The day after the contest there was an awards luncheon held for all participants of the Agronomy event, awarding bronze, silver, gold, and top ten awards to the 140 individual participants and 36 teams from around the country. Kuna received a gold emblem as a team, and placed 8th overall, with team member Zachary Reynolds as 10th high individual.
The FFA creed was written by E.M. Tiffany in 1928, and adopted by the National FFA organization in 1930. The infamous first line of "I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words, but of deeds-…" is one that all participants in the Creed speaking event are passionate about.
This event is only offered for freshmen members of the FFA. By competing in this event at the chapter, district, or national level, they are taking action to make a difference and participate in the future of agriculture. Kuna's own, Shelby McNeilly, went to Nationals, and stated that the Creed had started out as just a paper she had to memorize, but as she studied for her oral questions she realized that it is much more. She represented Kuna and the state of Idaho well at Nationals, and is to be recognized on doing a job outstandingly well done.
Soon before National Convention, Kuna FFA had yet another plane to fill when their chapter soils team won their State Contest in Burley. The first year team, with members Michael Winger (6th high individual),Camden Kay(seventh high individual), Eric Ball, Michaela Berheim, and Megan Berheim, was ecstatic upon hearing their win, and immediately began planning for their trip to Oklahoma City, OK this spring where they will be representing Idaho at the National Soils contest.
Just two weeks after Nationals, the Kuna FFA held their annual Harvest dance, and their chapter Creed and Degree Night. While Harvest is usually a fundraiser for the chapter, it was agreed upon that all proceeds should go to Boone Bartlome and his family to help them through this difficult time. The chapter is pleased to announce that they raised over $1,500 for the Bartlome family. We would like to thank Hal Coburn for donating his time as DJ to the event and Joanne Curtis for donating her time as photographer.
Chapter Creed and Degree night is when all students wishing to participate in the Creed Speaking career development event are able to prove themselves by reciting the creed in front of 3 judges, the chapter advisors, their peers, and a room full of people.
All participants did an outstanding job, but three really stood out from the crowd: in third place, and receiving thirty dollars off of an FFA jacket, was Erin Kelly; in second place, and receiving forty dollars off of an FFA jacket, was Mason Roberts; and in first place, receiving a free FFA jacket, and representing Kuna at the district event, was Ross Blattner. There were over twenty participants in the contest, all of whom received their Greenhand FFA Degree (along with thirty other peers). Over thirty 2nd year students received their Chapter FFA Degree. The Kuna FFA would like to thank the judges of the Creed Speaking Event, Cassandra Zufelt, Brittany Ratliff, and Josh Sanders, all of whom were asked to judge one of the most competitive creed contests in the chapter's history.
The Kuna FFA would again like to thank all of the members of the community for their support in their recent events. Without you, none of these events would be possible. Additionally, we would like to reiterate our congratulations to all participants in the recent events.
We would also like to remind everyone that chapter produce sales are currently going on, so find a member of Kuna FFA and support them by purchasing navel oranges, ruby red grapefruit, Idaho grown Fuji apples, and Idaho grown U.S. #1 Russet potatoes.


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Train youth and adults on integrating the 40 developmental assets identified by the Search Institute for positive youth development. For the full list of developmental assets, click here.
Worcester County High School SADD members participated in a low ropes course at Peer Leadership on Sept. 16, 2010 in Lewes, Del. Activity conducted by Prevention Program of the Worcester County Health Department in collaboration with the Worcester County Board of Education.
Stephen Decatur High School, Pocomoke High School and Snow Hill High School students attended Peer Leadership program on Sept. 16-17 at Camp Arrowhead in Lewes, Del.
This service is provided by the Prevention Program.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hey BlackBerry fans,
The new Loopt is now available on the BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry Curve 8520 & 8530, in addition to the previously announced supported BlackBerry smartphones (BlackBerry Curve 8900, BlackBerry Tour and BlackBerry Bold 9000).
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With this update, the new Loopt for BlackBerry is available to U.S. users on the Curve 8520, 8530, 8900, Bold 9000 and 9700, and Tour 9630. The previous version of Loopt is still available for legacy devices such as the 8330. To see if your device is supported and get Loopt, visit www.loopt.com using your BlackBerry browser. BlackBerry Storm users? Hang tightwere working on a version for you as well. Sign up to receive updates at www.looptblog.com so you can stay in the loop(t).
-The Loopt Team


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Congratulations to commenter number 4, Mel, who is the winner of the $25 REI gift card!! Thanks everyone for playing along. Happy Holidays!
There are few places I'd rather be than in the woods on a quiet, muddy trail. Whether I'm hiking or taking a run, it's the one place where I can clear my mind while feeding my body and soul. So if you are like me (or you've got a girl like me in your life) this post is for you. I thought I'd share some of my favorite trail gear with all of you lovely readers. With the holiday season upon us, maybe you'll be inspired with some gift ideas for the outdoorsy girl in your life.
1. At the top we have the quick dry Toaster Top and Liberty Pants from Stonewear Designs. Warning: these pieces of clothing are so awesome, functional and comfortable you will never want to take them off! Stonewear Designs is a Colorado-based company comprised of a group of determined women who lead busy lives balancing time between family, friends, work, and play. They developed clothes that make women feel beautiful while performing under strenuous demands. They strive to fit and flatter every type of body with beautiful, durable clothing that will last for years. All Stonewear clothing is Made in the U.S.A.
2. Gypsum Mid Hiking Boots by KEEN. The only brand of boots I wear on the trail! For years, KEEN has been keeping my feet happy and safe on the trail. 'Nuff said.
3. SpeedCross 3 Trail Running shoes by Salomon. I am in love with these awesome, lightweight but aggressive trail shoes that are perfect for muddy, mountainous terrain. I use these all the time and they are by far my faves!
4. I don't own one of these battery-operated mobile power devices yet, but I really want to try one! They seem like a perfect gadget to have handy on a long hike or backpacking trip. Especially if you are like me and snap photos on the trail with your iphone.
And since it's the season to spread the love, I'm going to do another giveaway today. I'm going to give one lucky reader a $25 gift card to REI. Oh yes I am! All you have to do is…
1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite outdoor activity and whether or not you'd be happy to receive any of these gifts above.
2. For one extra entry, go like my facebook page. Come back here and leave another comment telling me you did so (or tell me if you already are a fan.)
3. For one more entry, tweet about the giveaway, including a link to this post and make sure to mention me, @hikemama. Then come back here and leave a comment telling me you tweeted.
sample tweet: Gifts for the Girly Trailblazer and a $25 gift card giveaway to REI! http://wp.me/phD5i-2jB @hikemama
That's it! Good luck and happy trails. One lucky reader will be randomly chosen on Saturday, December 15.
psst–check out my other open giveaway here!


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Two California lawmakers are cashing in on World Cup fever.
Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis) have scheduled early morning fundraisers Wednesday -- during the U.S.-Algeria World Cup game.
Monning invited supporters to DeVere's Irish Pub for the 7:30 a.m. game, according to the Sacramento Bee's CapitalAlert:
U.S. & World
Contribution levels coincide with key positions in the clubs, including $500 "striker' and $3,900 "coach," according to an invitation.
Wolk will be at Gallagher's Irish Pub. Soccer fans have to fork over donations ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 to join this viewing party.
The U.S. must beat Algeria to advance to the elimination round. If the Americans disappoint, no word if Monning or Wolk will give refunds.


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Students banned from homecoming for handing out condoms
Pair was in running for homecoming king and queen
Two high school students running for homecoming king and queen have been banned from the competition after they distributed condoms as a campaign prop.
The Ledger of Lakeland reported Friday that the Polk County school district had banned Dalton Wiggs and Montana Fulkerson from Mulberry High School's homecoming election. Officials said the campaign tactic was inappropriate.
The pair didn't hand the condoms to students but put them in a bag with candy. Students would reach in and grab what they wanted. The condoms had a sticker that read, "Let's Wrap This Up."
The pair said they thought it would be a catchy way to draw attention in a contest against 20 other couples.
Officials said the pair won't be suspended from school but participating in homecoming is a privilege.


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Hey all you TAYers, Ani-TAYers, and members of the Ani-Club out there. Richard here from Kotaku East and I need your help again.
We are nearing the halfway point of the Fall 2013 anime season. Like in the spring and summer, I am planning to do an article on the anime you should be watching this season. Last season, I asked everyone at TAY to vote on the anime I should be watching. It was amazingly helpful. Thank you guys a lot for your votes. It really gave me a good idea of the anime people cared about and turned me on to a lot of stuff I would have otherwise missed.
For last season I ended up watching 12 anime series (of the 36 that were airing). It was a lot but I got a great cross section of the different genres and didn't seem to miss any of the popular releases.
This season, however, there are 49 (!) new anime on Japanese TV. I hope to narrow it down to 12 titles to watch for the article and subsequent reviews like I did last season, but other than the small handful that caught my attention right off, I have no idea where to start.
That's where you all come in. Please vote bellow and tell me which shows I should watch before I write this season's "must see" article.
You don't even have to have watched them, really. If you have seen the trailer and think it looks interesting, that is enough for a vote. Vote for as many of them as you want—not just one. And please feel free to tell me why you chose the shows you did in the comments below (this really helps).
So vote away and show me what you think are the best anime of the fall 2013 season!
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
To contact the author of this post, write to email@example.com or find him on Twitter @BiggestinJapan.


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COVER- Cyberbullied: Fluco parent angered by school, police response
Threats on Facebook against a middle school student are testing how seriously officials take a pair of 2005 Virginia anti-bullying laws, and one Central Virginia mom says that school administrators and police have failed the test.
Stephanie Whindleton couldn't believe it when her 12-year-old daughter– whom she describes as an avid reader and church-goer–- received profanity- and racial-epithet-laden threats on Facebook from a classmate at Fluvanna Middle School. But what turned shock to anger, she says, was that a school administrator and the Fluvanna Sheriff's Office members told her there was nothing they could do about it.
The Facebook exchange that took place April 6 between Whindleton's daughter, Cameron White, and another seventh grader revolved, as so often happens at that age, around a boy. The language received, however, was crude, racist, and threatening:
Whindleton says she took a copy of the diatribe to the Sheriff's Office that evening–- and heard nothing further. The next week when spring break ended, she contacted the school's resource officer and assistant principal Amy Barnabei, who, according to Whindleton, said there was nothing that could be done because the incident didn't happen on school property.
Barnabei did not return a phone call from the Hook, but principal Kathi Driver did, and says she's not at liberty to comment.
"Any time there are threats made whether via the Internet or face to face, we take that very seriously," says principal Driver, who provides an excerpt from the Fluvanna Middle School Handbook. Under the section, "Unacceptable behavior and consequences," there's a mention of harassment and bullying, which can earn three days in-school suspension and notification of the sheriff's department. Really bad behavior could result in out-of-school suspension.
Handbook aside, Whindleton felt like her complaints were ignored.
"I had to control my flesh," says Whindleton, still angry more than a week later. "I'm a God-fearing woman, and I couldn't believe they were telling me there was nothing they could do."
She became even angrier when she contacted the Fluvanna Sheriff's Office.
"Lieutenant [David] Wells told me it would cost Fluvanna money to investigate to find out who it was," says Whindleton, who adds that the identity of the perpetrator was never in question.
"He didn't think I wanted to pursue criminal charges. I said, 'Yes I do.'" According to Whindleton, Wells told her nothing could be done.
"I was livid," recalls Whindleton. "I was completely livid."
"There are different codes that can apply," says Wells. "Sometimes people don't hear everything I say. Without going into specifics, what I said might have been taken out of context."
Frustrated after talking to Wells, Whindleton called Fluvanna Commonwealth's Attorney Jeff Haislip. Only then, she says, did her concerns result in action. A juvenile intake officer told her that the seventh grader who threatened her daughter would be in juvenile court May 5 to face a charge of making electronic threats.
Due to the secrecy surrounding juvenile proceedings, Haislip says he's unable to confirm that, but he explains that in general, a juvenile intake officer acts like a magistrate, and has a number of ways of handling juvenile cases besides ending up in court, including finding no probable cause or having those involved attend an intake hearing. "Because of the goal of rehabilitation, a juvenile probation officer has a great deal of discretion," he says.
"If not for Jeff Haislip, nothing would have been done," maintains Whindleton.
Haislip acknowledges that while there are no state laws specifically labeled cyberbullying, he says in most cases, making a threat is a crime. "If you do anything electronically that makes the person feel threatened," says Haislip, "that could be a felony."
The regional semifinal was a must-win basketball game for Western Albemarle High School against visiting Winchester's Handley High. And someone wanted the Western Warriors to win so badly that they threatened three of Handley's varsity players on Facebook, moving on to text messages and even voice mails.
"What really concerned me was how vulgar it was," says Handley Coach Tom Dixon, citing "Kiss my a**" as one of the lesser examples.
"It upset the kids; it upset the coaches," says Dixon. "We've never dealt with this before, and it was a shock. When they started making comments about what they were going to do, they went too far."
Dixon says the threats, while not specific, were unnerving. So when the Handley team arrived in Crozet for the February 25 game, he notified Western administrators and coaches, who looked at the emails and then went into the training room to inquire about the messages. He says he was told six or seven students were involved.
Later, Dixon says he received a couple of letters of apology from students– and one from a parent. And he compliments Western's handling of the incident
Yet there were other aspects of the game– besides the fact that no one from Handley wanted to even go to the bathroom by themselves– that Dixon hadn't seen before. For example, jeers from a whole section of Warrior fans called out specific names of Handley players.
And the visiting player who got the most threats, Jeremiah Wilson, recently received a scholarship to play football at the University of Maryland.
"Here's a kid," says Dixon, "who has to worry about something besides basketball. What if some nut comes out of the stands?"
Western athletic director Steve Neon and principal Dave Francis did not return phone calls from the Hook, and Albemarle schools spokeswoman Maury Brown says no criminal charges were filed.
"If a student feels threatened or students behave in unsportsmanlike fashion, we investigate and take appropriate action," says Brown. And that can include involving law enforcement.
"Sometimes people take their sports very seriously," she continues. "Unsportsmanlike conduct is not tolerated at Western or at any of our schools. If trash talking crosses the line, it can get into criminal activities, and students need to know that."
Dixon concedes he's seen crazed fan behavior at home.
"We've had kids escorted out of Handley," he says. "We've had racial slurs from our kids made at opposing teams. We've taken kids out of games and told them they couldn't come back to games."
He chalks up some of the bad behavior to kids imitating Duke University's so-called Cameron Crazies that they've seen on TV. But the threats leave him scratching his head.
"Some of them said they were just trying to have fun, trying to gain an advantage," says the Handley coach. "It may be fun for some, but it's not for others."
He see this as a trend that needs to halt before it gets even more disturbing.
"There's a lot of threats being made to people in government," says Dixon. "They don't like a decision, so they make threats."
Five years ago, there wasn't anything on the books to let parents know about kid cruelty–- or assault–- that took place at school, as one family with a child at the same school as Whindleton discovered.
"My son was covered in bruises, and the school said it's horseplay," says the mother, who asks that her name not be used because, "My son has been through absolute hell."
That family no longer lives in Fluvanna, and the mother says she sees a marked difference in attitudes between there and Northern Virginia, where bullying, even in jest, is treated with zero tolerance.
"Moving was the best thing that happened in a long time," says the still-traumatized parent. "You don't realize how bad it is until you're out."
Before they left Central Virginia, however, this family told their story to Delegate Rob Bell, who carried two bills to the General Assembly. Bell's bills, now law, require schools to have character education, including a code of conduct, to notify parents if their child is assaulted on school property, and provide civil immunity to school employees who report bullying. In 2009, the character education law was amended to add electronic devices to the outlawed methods of bullying, harassing, or intimidating, says Bell.
"Cyberbullying is a little harder to address," says Bell. "It's easier to identify a kid punching another in the nose. And the online harassment often takes place off school grounds. How do you address off-grounds behavior at school?"
But should vulgar name-calling on Facebook– particularly when perpetrated by a mouthy pre-adolescent– really warrant a criminal charge?
"That's always the question, whether we should be legislating that," says Bell. And that's why he believes character education is perhaps the more crucial piece of his legislation, requiring school divisions to put anti-bullying in handbooks where both students and parents can see the guidelines.
"We want to change the social pressures at school to make bullying uncool," says Bell. "You have a small population who bully. There's a small population likely to be bullied. And there's a big group in the middle who egg them on– or who turn it around."
Bell recommends reading Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, the book that inspired the comedic Lindsay Lohan film Mean Girls. He calls it a "shockingly serious book."
Dewey Cornell is the school violence expert at UVA and says middle schoolers are at a peak time for bullying. "Their capacity to say hurtful things exceeds their judgment," he says.
In cases where people are seriously injured, there should be legal consequences, he says. Otherwise, he suggests cyberbullying be handled like other issues at school, with education, discipline, and counseling rather than criminal charges. That's why considers threat assessment crucial.
"We want to be careful not to criminalize student behavior, but we have to recognize it can merit serious consequences," he says. "It helps schools avoid over-reacting or under-reacting."
Despite the state legislation, bullying is still common, says Cornell, mentioning a January case in the Shenandoah Valley that resulted in Adam Casey, 17, getting severely beaten and suffering a broken nose and fractured eye socket.
His alleged attacker, Jamar Coleman, 18, was said to have been bullying Casey for two years before the assault at Fort Defiance High School, and Casey's mother, Janessa Manning, told the Staunton News Leader that she'd lodged between 20 and 25 complaints with the school's principal.
Two days before Casey was knocked unconscious, the News Leader reports, Coleman wrote on his Facebook, "Yo Adam Kasey u Keep talkn [expletive] im drop u ya feel me."
Coleman was charged with felonious assault and expelled.
On April 28, folk singer Peter Yarrow (of the 1960s trio Peter, Paul & Mary) told his Charlottesville audience that every day 160,000 students skip school over fears of personal violence.
Beyond the physical scars and absences, bullying can lead to even graver situations, such as the well-publicized January 14 suicide of a bullied Massachusetts teen, Phoebe Prince.
Although nine students have been charged in that incident, cyberbullying continues, and an April 28 report on NBC's Today show featured cases of graphic and disturbing anonymous postings in Houston and in Evanston, Illinois, that one expert calls a "horrific epidemic."
Project Impact
On a reporter's recent visit to Fluvanna Middle School, the result of Bell's character education bill is very much in evidence (although Superintendent Tom Smith refused the Hook permission to take photographs during school hours.)
Rob Silverman is the man in charge of character development there, and he shows a reporter around a facility plastered with warnings like the one designating a main hallway a "no bully zone."
Fluvanna calls its anti-bullying program Project Impact, based on a widely used program developed in Norway, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. From grades K-8, Fluvanna students are given weekly lessons that use role-playing and anecdotal situations.
Silverman shows a large binder that teachers are given about bullying and how to intervene.
Students and parents are warned of the legal consequences of cyberbullying, as well as other youthful indiscretions, like sexting, that can come back to haunt.
"We don't just focus on bullying," says Silverman. "We deal with the whole gamut of behavior."
And when something happens, "We have procedures," says Silverman. "We're not just making it up as we go along."
Teachers, guidance counselors, and school bus drivers are instructed in prevention and are among those notified if bullying occurs. "The more people we have aware, the more likely we are to make the child feel safe," says principal Driver.
Cyberbullying is very difficult for school administrators, says Driver. Not only does it occur off school grounds, but the students can be joking, or borrowing someone else's account. "We don't have any right to go into a Facebook account," says Driver. "That's why we contact the school resource officer."
Fluvanna's Lieutenant Wells points to two statutes in the Code of Virginia: 18.2-157.7:1 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to use a computer to harass. Using a computer to threaten death or bodily harm is a Class 6 felony under 18.2-60, and that's the code under which Western Albemarle student Patrick Crider was charged earlier this year when he allegedly threatened on Facebook to kill classmates.
"It depends on whether there's a threat of bodily harm," says Wells, and whether a reasonable person would be in fear.
He concedes that cyberbullying presents an enforcement dilemma: the difficulty of proving who is actually using the computer to make the threat.
There are other options besides court, says Wells, including the school resource officer– an option Whindleton says didn't help–- and talking to the alleged perpetrator and to parents informally.
"We take everything seriously these days," says Wells. "We can't afford not to."
Whindleton stands by her story that both school and police told her nothing could be done, and that until she talked to Haislip, no one acknowledged legal options.
In cases of cyberbullying, school officials Silverman and Driver recommend that any student victim log off whenever a conversation starts to get uncomfortable. Having the computer in a central room in the house is another way to keep parents involved, although cyberbullying can take place even in the middle of the home with parents present, says Commonwealth's Attorney Haislip.
He advises parents to contact the school, the sheriff's office, or the commonwealth's attorney if threats of bodily harm occur. He says still likes to look at bullying on a case-by-case basis, and acknowledges that youths could be "puffing" and full of hot air in their threats.
"If we did nothing else but prosecute 14-year-olds who say they're going to kick butts on Facebook," notes Haislip, "we'd have to have a special day in court."
Whindleton is still shaken by the online vitriol directed toward her daughter, and she thinks the threat-spewing tween should be charged with a hate crime because, she says, the girl had directed racial slurs toward another African-American girl the day before.
Since school officials were alerted, the alleged threatener is not allowed around Cameron. Both had to sign a "no contact" contract, something Whindleton believes penalizes a child "who didn't do anything."
But perhaps some of the anti-bullying instruction is evident in Cameron's responses to her tormenter. "[D]ont call me that i hve a name [sic]," she writes after being called the b-word, and she asks what she'd done.
"NUTN I JUSS DNT LIKE YO UGLY N***** A**!!!!" comes the response.
Cameron again asks why the other girl is being so mean, and to please stop cyberbullying her, tactics she says she learned from Fluvanna Middle's Silverman.
Whindleton describes her daughter as well-rounded and caring, an active kid in the midst of softball season, playing everything but catcher on three different teams. But even two weeks after the Facebook exchange, an otherwise sunny Cameron says, "It made me feel horrible to know someone would say something like that."
The bullying prevention program at Fluvanna Middle School is losing funding because of local budget constraints, but principal Kathi Driver pledges that the school is not discontinuing the program.
"I truly look at the school as family, says Driver, "and I look at our obligation to protect those children. If they're worried about safety, they're not learning."
18 comments
If they need one day a week in court to deal with this then so be it. Cancel the donuts and do your job.
Wait....didn't something just like this happen in Albemarle (western I think) and it was a big deal...yet this mom had to go to a Commomweath attorney to get action? And wait...didn't Fluvana just go through a big stink about zero tolerance with a Senior that didn't seem to know that a toy gun was in his truck? Fluvana has some serious issues on the ability to balance their "Zero tolerance" policies....The threat to this young lady was pointed at "WHEN CAMERON GET BACK TO SCHOOL SHE GOT IT COMIN!!!" In my mind, that makes it a school issue and should be dealt with accordingly.
Bravo to Ms. Whindleton for knocking on doors until she got some help. This is what parents have to do sometimes to protect their child. Here are some immediate things any school should be able to do- rearrange the bully's schedule so that it does not overlap at any time with the victim, increase hall supervision(by staff and if possible with cameras), ask for access to the victim's facebook so that someone at school can monitor on a daily basis, check daily with the victim or her/his parent to make sure the bullying has stopped, alert all teachers and make it clear that bullying in their classes among students must be addressed- I am sure this is not a complete list but schools should never say there is nothing they can do.
As an Albemarle resident I find the stories about problems at WAHS very concerning.
I wonder why it is always someone elses fault. I must say that both parents have to stepup earlier. Why was these childeren allowed on facebook when they are not of age to be on it. To say as a parent I set it up for the child is just asking for trouble. You are not with them 24 hrs a day and you can bet they are on it when you are not around. Where is the rest of the story about the Whindleton family and the rest of theier family issues. The schools and police are not the parents. Our kids do what they see us as parents do. Mrs. Whindlton's comments to the other child is not in the story. Wonder why?
... transgender, gender queer, gay and lesbian youth/students are bullied and harassed routinely in most schools ... and most students, teachers, and parents seem to think that is entirely ok ... what up with that?
do school districts enforce nondiscrimination policies that include lgbt students, teachers, and others? do local governments include nondiscrimination policies and practices that include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity?
Honorable Mr Bell routinely votes against protections for lgbt youth and others? ... what up with that?
I am having difficulty understanding why this is somehow the school's responsibility and not the parent's responsibility. According to my child, there are anti-bullying posters everywhere in the school and the teachers and staff constantly jump on any kid who is kidding another.
Abundant time and money is spent on anti-bullying and charictar education, taking away time and money from academics.
Maybe if the parents involved would do their job raising their kids with a sense of right and wrong and a little supervision and computer monitoring, the school staff could spend their time teaching instead of having to defend themselves publicly against things that did not happen at the school, during school hours, or anyplace where school staff could be expected to exercise any supervision.
What's next, having the school hire people to go home with each student and watch them 24/7?
to the Obvious...I agree that parents should be shouldering the responsibility of raising the child and today that seems to be rarely happening. Video games, tv, and computers are now babysitters for our children....what a shame. I agree that the school staff should be free to educate...geeze, isn't that what our tax dollars are for?? However, they must maintain order and when a statement like ""...WHEN CAMERON GET BACK TO SCHOOL SHE GOT IT COMIN!!!"...that then puts the arena in the school and a threat for disruption of the order and safety of the other children. As far as abundant time and money spent on anti-bullying, I think the schools are doing what they can but the zero tolerance policy at Fluco has been in question in the recent past and this would be the time for the school to step up and be accountable. The school culture is no longer a situation where we can allow our children to grow and learn by mistakes (regardless of how childish)....its one where everything must be taken seriously. It's sad, I know, but without the scrutiny, our children will be at risk.
@fluco citizen - I totally agree with parents NOT allowing their children on facebook underaged...this is not a playground. The age limit was set up for a reason...so parents should be the example and follow the policies. What a statement is sent by parents "bending" these rules...However, I think the base of the story lies in the fact the school did nothing. The parent had to go to the Commonwealth Attorney for action. As far as the family and the rest of their personal issues, I don't think that played a part in whether the child was being bullied. It happened and should have been handled. Apparently this didn't happen...so the parent of the bullied child sought further help. If the parent of the bullied child said something to the bullier, then more power to her! Apparently the parents of the bullier were of little to no effect on the child behavior, so some outside interference was needed. If my child were being bullied the mother bear would have come out in me with a very cold sweet vengence..which by the way, this has happened more than once as I was raising my children. So I empathize with the child that was being bullied regardless of the family situations. To me this article was not about one family but of the "culture" we have allowed ot fester in our schools.
If I post online that you are going to get it in at Walmart, does that require all retailers to monitor the interactions of each shopper (you know, just in case)? Does that mean that Walmart is now legally liable for everything I do online?
No but would constitute a threat which is the same as over the phone.
I agree that children no matter what the family situation is they do not have to tolerate certain behavior, however, i know this mom and she bahaved at games in such a manner I consider her actions outright irresponsible. The schools and police dont make laws they are only there to enforce them. I wouldnt like it if they went fishing to find a law to fit an incident just to satisfy an individual. Thats what we have the General Assembly for. To say that the Commonwealth Attorney is the only one to do something is wrong. He has a greater ability to charge someone than the school or police. They have to go to a magistrate or intatke officer. He has other avenues. Lets also praise our schools and police for the good things they do also.
What kind of irresponsible parent abandons their responsibilities and lets a 12 year old loose on facebook in the first place?
Be a parent, not a friend (let's give you the benifit of the doubt and assume you are not an opportunist with a lawyer on speed-dial) and say no once in a while.
Due to Mom's failure to properly supervise her child online, the child is exposed to offensive behavior by an equally unspervised child. Rather than take personal responsibility for resolving the problem with the fellow parent and child, she chose to blame the school and law enforcement for the unfortunate offensiveness her lax supervision exposed her child to.
Likely the child's teachers are torn between relief the school year is almost over so they don't have to accept the responsiblity the parent has abdicated, and horror that the child will no doubt be completely unsupervised over the summer.
Regardless of whether one reasons it's the school's responsibility or not, the girl was threatened with violence when she came to school, was clearly scared as most people would be and her mother sought to protect her. I don't see anything wrong with that.
Kids will think twice before doing things like this if they know there are serious consequences. In countries where the penalty for stealing is to have your hands cut off, people know the punishment is severe, and not brushed off. I'm not suggesting such draconian punishments, but unfortunately some people have sunk to the level of animals, where a vicious, pack mentality exists. For such people the only deterrent is the threat of serious punishment. The other option is to try to teach them to be civilized human beings. Unfortunately their environment does not support this, but it does not mean we should not try. The morality of society is degraded indeed and this is a tough problem.
Since no one seems at all interested in blaming the behavior on the kid that posted the vulgar messages, and are looking for institutional scapegoats instead, how about blaming Fluvanna voters and taxpayers?
They are the ones who voted in the anti-spending Board of Supervisors that slashed the budgets of the school system and sheriff's office. Due to those cuts, the bullying prevention coordinator position and the middle school's resource officer have both been removed.
Deleted by moderator.
Its not just that this case involved bullying . It is not that it is cyberbullying. It is that decades after the successes of the civil rights movement some of our young people are still infected with racism.
It is something they got from their parents? Are the schools, churches, and other civic institutions not doing their job,teaching that we are a nation of many colors ,and that we all deserve respect as human beings. Is it the fault of the rightwing media figures like Glenn Beck who espouse a thinly disguised(and sometimes not so disguised) bigotry?
I attended school in another Virginia county in the 50s and 60s. Schools there were segregated until my senior year in 1964-65, when one black student entered my high school but dropped out after a few months. Years later, I read where she could not stand the abuse and hatred heaped upon her by other students. I remember that she was totally ostracized, which would also have been the fate of any white student who tried to befriend her, of that I am sure. And the parents of most of us were strongly opposed to school integration as well.
And this is happening nor. Sad, very sad.
One threat at school is not a reason for the police to arrest a student. It would be a waste of police resources (taxpayer's money) to press charges each time a kid is threatened by one person one time at school.
The police should not arrest a student until it becomes a pattern of one student threatening another student at school, in my opinion. The taxpayers can't afford it!!


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MC Lyte Speaks On Nicki Minaj Being Mesh Of Some Of The Greatest Female Mc's Of All Time!
Mc Lyte teaching class at Millersville University
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To be sexy. Hell no.
Two examples: Connie Britton at the White House Correspondents' dinner and forever Annette Bening at the Noches de Ninos Gala on Saturday night. Tami Taylor, per usual, brought the ladies. It's one of the cornerstones of Friday Night Lights – Mrs Taylor's tight tops. We're getting more of them – two years more! Yay!
As for Annette – on the arm of Warren Beauty, showing off a new bleach – she turns 51 this month. Same age as Sharon Stone and Madonna. Not fighting it nearly as hard. With better results, non?
Ugh. Tell me again why Hilary Swank has 2 Oscars and Annette has none?
Photos from FayesVision/WENN.com and Russ Einhorn/Brandon Todd/Splashnewsonline.com
They don't have to be in their 20s...
To be sexy. Hell no.


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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Line Art Posters & Mermaid
Here is a sample of some of the artwork I colored from this new collection. It was fun to work on something so large. We have some posters that are 10" x 14" and some posters that are up to 22" x 32.5" Wow! That gives you a lot of space to create a beautiful work of art for your home or as a custom gift.
These are not paint by numbers, or fuzzy posters, simply high-quality line art posters by assorted artists. Each print is on paper that is intended for use with Copic markers.
I really had a lot of fun coloring these giant pictures. Copic markers make the images pop! I particularly liked how complex the wizard image was. I can't tell you how many colors it took to color, but when it was done, it was so worth it! If you are looking for something bigger to color, then I would strongly suggest that you pick up a few of these posters.
Coloring the Mermaid
Here is a close-up of an undersea poster that I am in the middle of coloring. It takes a long time to color each poster, but in the end it is really worth it!
I wanted to add lots of blue to her skin, as this mermaid is underwater, so I colored the skin with E000, YR01, E13, and E15, then added additional shadows to the skin with Boo, to give the hint of blue water. I colored the eyes and lips with BG13, E04, R14 and C3. Her hair is colored with a base of Y11, then I added E42 and E13/E15 for the deepest shadow areas, with a few dots of E04. Her tail is colored with E000 for highlights, then B00, BG13, B12, for the blue areas, with B34 in the shadows. The fringe/fin is colored with E000, RV02, Boo, and BG13. I threw B12 in the deepest shadows on the fringes and fin.
I hope you get a chance to order a few of these posters, and have fun tackling them.
7 comments:
- Dutch Girl said...
I'm not an expert in paper types. But what kind of paper would you use for these larger sizes? I guess you also need a large printer as well?
- March 27, 2012 at 2:42 PM
- marianne walker said...
Larger papers need to be ordered from the manufacturer, and we are selling the images pre-printed, as most people do not have a printer large enough to handle these images. If these were shrunk down to letter size, then the detail would be too fine and very difficult to color.
- March 27, 2012 at 3:06 PM
- Jan Castle said...
Great coloring! Looks like a real challenge! TFS
- March 28, 2012 at 9:10 AM
- Carrie said...
What is the paper like? It is similar to X-Press it?
- March 28, 2012 at 11:16 AM
- Lisa said...
Wow Marianne! Your coloring as always is awesome! Love these new posters! I especially love your wizard! Looks like fun! I am going to try at least on! You are such an enabler! LOL!
Big Hugs!
- March 28, 2012 at 3:15 PM
- ~ Jo ~ said...
Marianne these are awesome! I'm super excited to get my hands on these!
- March 29, 2012 at 5:00 AM
- marianne walker said...
The paper is very nice. Not quite as dense as the X-press it, closer to the softness of Neenah, but not exactly.
- March 29, 2012 at 8:04 AM


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It's that time of year again—August recess! Congress has adjourned for the month of August and will not be back in session until September 9. During their month-long recess, many Members take the opportunity to re-engage with their community and the constituents they serve. This is a perfect opportunity for you to foster and cultivate those very important relationships with your Senators and Representative, as well as their key staff. You want them to know who you are and what issues you care about –early learning, child care, resource and referral services, etc., and how those issues are affecting your local community and your state.
In order to ensure you get the most out of your elected officials this August, we put together our top 5 tips for recess success:
1. Schedule a visit/meeting. Look up the contact information for your Member's district office(s). Call the office or send an email requesting a meeting, and be sure to briefly mention the purpose of the meeting.
2. Do your research before your meeting. You can make the most of your meeting time by being prepared and knowing your audience. Learn about your Member of Congress: is she/he a Democrat or a Republican? Is your Member on Facebook or Twitter? What committees is she/he on? Do those committees work on child care issues? You should also know whether the Member supports an increased investment in child care and early learning (and has voted accordingly). Get background on the issues.
3. Invite your elected officials to your child care program. Reach out to district staff or ask during a meeting with staff or your Member if they would like to visit your child care program: if you're representing a child care resource and referral agency, you may have a recommendation of a place to visit. This is a great way for Members to connect what you do with what children need, and why investments in child care and early learning programs are so important. Members and their staff get a firsthand look at why quality child care is a necessity for any thriving community.
4. Attend scheduled town halls. Another great way to engage with your elected officials during recess is to attend a town hall meeting (or two!). Check your policymaker's website to find out the date and location of any upcoming town hall meetings. In preparation for the meeting, write down–at most–two questions: you will not have a lot of time so make sure your questions are specific and straight to the point.
5. Follow up. If you were able to get a meeting, attend a town hall, and/or host a Member at your early learning program, send a thank you note to your Member and their staff. Thank them for taking the time out to meet with you/have the town hall meeting/visit your program, and gently remind them why they should continue to support child care. Be sure to follow up on any requests you made at the meeting as well as any information they may have asked for. A few words of appreciation will have a lasting impact on your relationship with your elected officials and your long term advocacy efforts.
Good luck and keep us posted on how your recess efforts are going. Let us know how we can help. We have plenty of one pagers, background information and talking points to help you with your recess SUCCESS!


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HP dresses up to present new products
Hewlett-Packard (HP) presented a special sneak preview of a number of upcoming products on the evening of April 18 at Studio 450, near Penn Station in Manhattan. Most of these products are officially premiering now or in June, but HP provided an elegant showcase to whet the appetites of consumers and professionals alike, with a variety of simulated environments ranging from a college dorm room to an elaborate in-flight setting. At this particular event, even the food was high-tech, with Nova Catering & Events providing a variety of delicious offerings, including a caprese salad hors d'oeuvre speared on a small capsule of vinaigrette which is then injected directly into the mouth.
The new products on display were every bit as impressive as the catering and, of course, the demo environments in which they were presented. One of the more popular environments was the "cafe" setting, wherein a variety of stylish new HP ENVY laptops were displayed, including the Sleekbook and its slightly larger counterpart, the Ultrabook. Both are made of natural materials and designed to be thin and lightweight, without sacrificing connectivity, usability or high quality picture and audio. In fact, despite being as thin as 19.8 mm and weighing less than four pounds, these laptops are equipped with Beats Audio and feature subwoofers for top sound quality. The HP ENVY Spectre, also displayed in the cafe setting, is even thinner and lighter at only 14.5 mm and 3.07 pounds; made entirely of aluminum, it is the younger cousin to the all-glass Spectra, launched in January.
The very impressive "frequent flyer airline cabin" setting also showcased a number of new HP laptops, including the EliteBook 8470p/8570p (expected to be available June 4), as well as a new mobile printer, the HP Officejet 150 Mobile All-in-One. Purported to be the world's first inkjet mobile all-in-one, this handy device weighs in at only 6.8 pounds and features built-in Bluetooth and a 2.36 inch color touchscreen to manage print, scan and copy tasks. Coupled with the EliteBook or one of HP's other new laptops, this device gives the user an entire portable office weighing only 10 pounds, and the copy quality is surprisingly sharp, with very little degradation from the original.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the least popular demo environment was the standard office setting, despite an elaborate set-up that included a large San Jose Sharks banner (presumably the HP staff didn't' have time to switch it out for New York Rangers memorabilia). The home office "where I work" simulations fared better, and perhaps the most impressive product that I saw all evening was the HP Z1, an all-in-one workstation with an eye-catching display that snaps open and shut using a hydraulic system, and that allows the user to swap out parts and make upgrades without the use of any tools. As spokesman Jim Christensen said of his own fast learning curve with the workstation, "If even a marketing guy can figure it out, it must be user-friendly."
You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.
Posted in: Gadgets, On Location, Stuff to Buy
Tags: Hewlett-Packard, HP EliteBook, HP Envy computers, HP Officejet, HP Sleekbook, HP Ultrabook, HP Z1


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Caverion Industry is born – Finland's largest provider of industrial operation and maintenance services
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Technical Maintenance and Managed Services
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Photographer's Note
The waterfront area of Mykonos Town is known as 'Little Venice' and for obvious reasons. Here I liked the colour of the sea contrasting against the reddish brown rocks in the fg. Big package tour boats from other Greek Islands and doing Mediterranean cruises dock top left and passengers walk to and from the town, on daytrips. Meals and drinks in Little Venice are quite expensive and if you're on a budget it is recommended to seek out a much cheaper 'Taverna' even if it does not have absolute waterfront views.
pierrefonds, ikeharel, chrislo, fds, macjake, timecapturer, Cricri, jhm, rychem, ourania oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne
Critiques | Translate
pierrefonds (97857) 2013-11-15 5:29
Hi Chris,
The distance between the beach an the houses is giving depth to the composition. The point of view is showing the details, the colors of the sea and of the buildings. The good luminosity is bringing out the beauty of the colors. Have a nice day.
Sergiom (117241) 2013-11-15 5:31
Bonjour Chris,
J'aime beaucoup quand cela brasse un peu pour la photo. Ici, les vagues semblent assez forte. J'aime le point de vue sur la ville et ses belles couleurs blanche et bleu. La lumičre est superbe.
chrislo (4097) 2013-11-15 6:46
Hello Chris,
One of the most photographed spots in Mikonos but still always so pleasant to look at, showing the beautiful white façades of the waterfront. Beautiful capture with the rocky beach in the FG giving depth to the image. The blue of the water contrasting with the white façades makes this scene very attractive.
Kind regards,
fds (9963) 2013-11-15 7:17
dear friend another very beautiful image with great sea with very beautiful colors and very nice village in front of the sea
great clarity and location dear friend
npecanhuk (79329) 2013-11-15 7:27
Hi Chris!
Very interesting and attractive picture, for its white & blue buildings and the colors & transparency of those waters that were so beautifully captured by you!
TFS - congrats,
ikeharel (102119) 2013-11-15 8:13
Good evening Chris,
Magnificent turquoise color of the rough sea, and great contrast to white houses along the waterfront.
Blue shutters and windows frames in a returning-pattern is a marvelous sight.
Nice taken photo.
macjake (94835) 2013-11-15 15:49
Hi Chris
From reading your note i THINK I have my answer already, but i'll ask it anyways....
I've seen dozens and dozens of photos from this or very very similar shorelines from Greek Islands, but have never seen anyone actually sitting and eating/drinking at the tables!!! They're always empty!!!!
just like the empty chairs on the right here.
is it just because of the high cost? and if so, why not reduce the price a bit to at least get some customers!
as for the photo, its beautiful.
the white and blue colors stand out so well, and the active water adds a nice atmosphere.
good shot
Corry (4508) 2013-11-15 20:41
Bonjour Chris
Un magnifique contraste de couleurs créé par les maisons, l'eau et les vagues. Superbe capture.
jjcordier (79299) 2013-11-15 23:16
Joli point de vue sur ce bord de mer avec ces immeubles "les pieds dans l'eau" et cette mer un peu agitée mais aux belles couleurs.
dkmurphys (77526) 2013-11-15 23:25
Hi Chris,
Superb place in lovely colors. I like the picturesque of this image and the dynamic of the waves.
Enjoy a nice weekend.
siudzi (34141) 2013-11-16 1:00
Hi Chris,
Beautiful postcard from Greece! Love the combination of blue, white and brown tones here which built a really charming scene. Perfectly executed clarity and sharpness made the image simply fantastic! TFS!
Have a nice weekend!
timecapturer (49288) 2013-11-16 3:03
Hi Chris
love this view, brings back so many memories and seen here with a rougher sea it makes the atmosphere and magic of the place all the more palpable. Personally I always use the tavernas the other side of here in the harbour. They are a lot less expensive and are used by the locals and have bit more character to my mind, nevertheless I know this part of the town is amazingly popular, and your shot does it full justice.
Enjoy your weekend - B.
Cricri (176) 2013-11-16 3:57
Hi Chris
J'aime le POV sur les habitations en bleu et blanc au bord de l'eau, la couleur de la mer agitée, belle présentation
Belle journée
jhm (196607) 2013-11-16 6:47
Hello Chris,
This is a wonderful architecture picture with the blue windows.
Perspective and depth are here extraordinarily lovely.
Composition and presentation are excellent.
Very well done, TFS.
Have a nice weekend,
rychem (70897) 2013-11-16 8:24
The color of water is really beautiful, picturesque town with typical Mediterranean architecture, beautiful place and excellent photo
regards Ryszard
Silvio1953 (197720) 2013-11-16 9:53
Ciao Chris, great view of lovely place, fantastic mediterranean colors, splendid light and wonderful clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio
jemaflor (129739) 2013-11-18 10:43
Hi Chris,
An interesting pov on these famous houses with blue balconies, well framed with the sea and these waves.
ourania (51103) 2014-01-03 12:41
Hello Chris,
I like very much the vividness of this iconic view that fills the frame with the colours and natural elements this place is known and loved for. You took a bold decision to show the light as brilliant and overwhelming as it really is, the result you got is so effective. I also like the luminosity of the whites, the vivid textures, the powerful motion of the sea, the sense of the strong wind blowing. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a wonderful year!
Photo Information
- Copyright: Chris Jules (ChrisJ) (156091)
- Genre: Miejsca
- Medium: Kolorowe
- Date Taken: 2013-07-11
- Categories: Natura
- Camera: Pentax Me Super, Polarizing Filter
- Naświetlenie: f/11, 1/125 sekund
- More Photo Info: view
- Wersja zdjęcia: Oryginalna wersja
- Date Submitted: 2013-11-15 5:25


text:
Setting My Record Straight About Gays
June 22, 2010 on 12:00 pm | In Acceptance, Character, Homosexuality, Leviticus, PFLAG, Values Email This Post
'My blog today has to do with teaching you how to respond to lies. Most importantly, lies about me. At 63 years of age (okay, 63 and a half), I am absolutely blown away by the casual meanness and vulgarity that passes for opinion and discourse. In my early years, if you wrote or verbally gave an argument that had even a tinge of nastiness (forget the vulgarity), both you and your point of view would be flushed…intellectually disqualified. Nowadays though, people feel frighteningly free to criticize with vulgarities, insults, lies, exaggerations, misrepresentations, character assassination and downright ferocious meanness.
Nothing new here. I've been commenting on this for a while, but last night a friend approached me…a friend approached me and asked me how he should handle a particular situation. (I thought I was getting into "Dr. Laura gear"). Somebody had contacted him and challenged him about being my friend because, (and to quote that person) "she hates gays". For almost a dozen years (I think they're automatically renewed computer-wise daily…you've probably seen it or heard about it), a blog appears under different sources, ostensibly asking me to answer questions about some of the Bible's entries about slavery, daughters…so forth. It supposes that I ever quoted Leviticus that homosexuality is an abomination. That never happened. I repeat: that never happened. I never said that. I don't believe that.
In fact (which they will deny…don't you love activism?) I was one of the earliest radio hosts to support organizations such as PFLAG (you know, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and other efforts to encourage openness and acceptance of gays in their own families, much less society. But to my surprise (but not naivetë), to many activists, truth is irrelevant when the intent is to rally support through raising passions, especially negative passions. Get people angry and they stop thinking for themselves.
Here's the truth: I'm for marriage as a bond between a man and a woman. I'm for children having the benefit of a married mommy and daddy, which by the way also means that you straight women should not intentionally exclude a daddy from your kid's lives just because you want to be a mommy. But most importantly, you listen every day, you hear I take calls almost daily from gay men and women asking my advice on personal and family matters. These are the people who know the truth about me because, you know what, they actually listen to my daily radio program. They call because they know I can and will help. And every week I receive letters from listeners and fans who are gay and thank me when I take a call or read a letter from another gay listener, and here's what they think, in their own words (let me get this ready…okay):
"Thank you for reading the email from the gay gentleman. I'm a gay woman (I don't like the word 'lesbian') [she writes] and listen to you faithfully. I applaud you for protecting children and keeping people on the right path. I echo the feelings of the gay man who emailed you today. I am and have been single for 10 years. I just wanted to let you know how much I agree with you on how to make relationships work. I only wish I had found you before my partner left. If I had, I don't think she would have ended the relationship. I hope more people in gay relationships will listen to you."
Here's another one:
"I just heard you read the email over the air from the faithful gay listener. Add me to the column! I'm a gay male in central Virginia who listens to you every day after I get home from work. I've been listening regularly for the past three years and I wouldn't miss it. Gay or straight…white, black, green, purple, or blue…Momma Laura knows how to knock some sense into people's heads."
[Laughs] And, something I saved…something I saved. Here's a call I got recently from a gay listener [listen to the audio here]
Caller: Thank you Dr. Laura.
Dr. L: Thank you.
Caller: I have to say, right off the bat that I need to apologize to you publicly because I wrote you a nasty-gram under the impression that you were against gay people. And I know better now, so I deeply apologize for that.
Dr. L: Thank you. How kind of you and thank you very much, and I accept your apology.
Caller: Thank you.
In fact, I get (brace yourself) disappointed and angry emails each week from people upset that I help gay callers. I give advice to gays and lesbians who call my show. One radio station dropped me because I give advice to gays and lesbians. Quite openly, I have been personally very hurt over the years with the misrepresentation which has led to a generation of folks who haven't read my books, haven't attended a "one-woman show", haven't listened to my radio show, yet presumed to know me and what I stand for. Having people believe that I'm a bigot and hate me…and "hate" is the word…is horrible, frustrating, demoralizing and unbelievably painful.
So my answer to my friend who wanted to know what he should say to people who challenge him being my friend, is to tell those people to listen to my show. I am happy to have any and all draw their own conclusions about me from aninformed position, for a change, by listening to my program for a month or two. So there is a lesson in all of this: don't let anybody tell you how to feel about another person without exploring the situation yourself and don't waste hate. Save hate for those who…like the Taliban, hang to their necks until dead seven year old children in order to scare a village and take control. That's where hate ought to go.'


text:
Substantive changes from version 1 to 2 are marked in red; changes from 2 to 3 are marked in blue; changes from 3 to 4 are marked in purple.
Counting email, this now reflects approximately 200 comments from
across the blogosphere. Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.
Since this process has to close sometime, I'm declaring that there
will be at most one more pre-publication draft.
I will post a fair copy of the final version. For legal purposes,
this work is ©2002 by Eric S. Raymond. Email me for distribution
terms — I'm not especially interested in making money from it, but I
want some artistic control of how it's used.
WHEREAS, the year since the terrible events of 9/11 has exposed
the vacuity and moral confusion of all too many of the thinkers,
politicians, and activists operating within conventional political
WHEREAS, the Left has failed us by succumbing to reflexive
anti-Americanism; by apologizing for terrorist acts; by propounding
squalid theories of moral equivalence; and by blaming the victims of
evil for the act of evil;
WHEREAS, the Right has failed us by pushing `anti-terrorist'
measures which bid fair to be both ineffective and prejudicial to the
central liberties of a free society; and in some cases by rhetorically
descending to almost the same level of bigotry as our enemies;
WHEREAS, even many of the Libertarians from whom we expected more
intelligence have retreated into a petulant isolationism, refusing to
recognize that, at this time, using the state to carry the war back to the aggressors is
our only practical instrument of self-defense;
WE THEREFORE ASSERT the following convictions as the basis of
the anti-idiotarian position:
THAT Western civilization is threatened with the specter of mass death
perpetrated by nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons placed in the
hands of terrorists by rogue states;
THAT the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attack, and its lesser
sequels, are motivated by a combination of religious fanaticism and
a smoldering resentment of the West's success and by their own culture's failures;
THAT the terrorists have declared and are
pursuing a war not against the vices of Western civilization but
against its core virtues; against the freedom of thought and speech
and conscience, against the life of reason; against the equality of
women, against pluralism and tolerance; against, indeed, all the
qualities which separate civilized human beings from savagery, slavery, and
THAT no adjustments of American or Western foreign policy, or
concessions to the Palestinians, or actions taken against
globalization, or efforts to alleviate world poverty,
are of more than incidental interest to these terrorists;
THAT, upon their own representation, they will not by dissuaded from
their violence by any surrender less extreme than the imposition of Islam
and shari'a law on the kaffir West;
THAT, as said terrorists have demonstrated the willingness to use
civilian airliners as flying bombs to kill thousands of innocent
people, we would commit a vast crime of moral negligence if we
underestimated their future malice even
without weapons of mass destruction;
THAT they have sought, and on plausible evidence found, alliance
with rogue states such as Iraq, Iran, and
North Korea; states that are known to have active programs working
towards the development and delivery of weapons of mass destruction
that would multiply the terrorists' ability to commit atrocities by a
THAT Saddam Hussein poses a particularly clear and present
danger in combination with them, a danger
demonstrated by his known efforts to develop nuclear weapons, his use
of chemical weapons even on his own population, his demonstrated
willingness to commit aggression against peaceful neighbors, and his
known links to the Islamic terror network in Palestine and
WE THEREFORE AFFIRM that both the terrorists and their state
sponsors have made themselves outlaws from the moral community of man,
to be dealt with as rabid dogs are.
WE FURTHER AFFIRM that the `root cause' of Islamo-fascist terrorism
lies in the animating politico-religious ideas of fundamentalist Islam
and not in any signicant respect elsewhere, and that a central aim of
the war against terror must be to displace, discredit, and destroy
those animating ideas.
WE REJECT, as a self-serving power grab by the least trustworthy
elements of our own side, the theory that terrorist depredations can
be effectively prevented by further restrictions on the right of free
speech, or the right of peacible assembly, or the right to bear
arms in self-defense; and we strenuously oppose police-state measures
such as the imposition of national ID cards or airport-level
surveillance of public areas;
IN GRAVE KNOWLEDGE that the state of war brings
out the worst in both individual human beings and societies, we reject
the alternative of ceding to the world's barbarians the exclusive
privilege of force;
WE SUPPORT the efforts of the United States of America, its allies,
and the West to hunt down and capture or kill individual members
of the Islamo-fascist terror network;
WE SUPPORT speedy American and allied military action against the
rogue states that support terrorism, both as a means of alleviating
the immediate threat and of deterring future state sponsorship of
terrorism by the threat of war to the knife.
WE SUPPORT, in recognition of the fact that the
military and police cannot be everywhere, efforts to meet the
distributed threat with a distributed response; to arm airline pilots, and to recognize as well the
ordinary citizen's right and obligation to respond to terrorist
aggression with effective force.
WE SUPPORT, as an alternative greatly preferable to future
nuclear/chemical/biological blackmail of the West, the forcible overthrowing of the governments of Iraq and of other
nations that combine sponsorship of terrorism with the possession of
weapons of mass destruction; and the occupation of those
nations until such time as the root causes of terrorism have
been eradicated from their societies.
WE DEFINE IDIOTARIANISM as the species of delusion
within the moral community of mankind that gives
aid and comfort to terrorists and dictators operating outside it.
WE REJECT the idiotarianism of the Left — the moral blindness that
refuses to recognize that free markets, individual liberty, and
experimental science have made the West a fundamentally better place
than any culture in which jihad, 'honor killings', and female genital
mutilation are daily practices approved by a stultifying religion.
WE REJECT the idiotarianism of the Right — whether it manifests as
head-in-the-sand isolationism or as a a
Christian-chauvinist political agenda that echoes the religious
absolutism of our enemies.
WE ARE MEMBERS OF A CIVILIZATION, and we hold that civilization
to be worth defending. We have not sought war, but we will fight it
to the end. We will fight for our civilization in our thoughts, in
our words, and in our deeds.
WE HAVE AWAKENED. We have seen the face of evil in the acts of the
Bin Ladens and Husseins and Arafats of the world; we have seen through
the lies and self-delusions of the idiotarians, who did so much both to
make their evil possible before the fact and to deny and excuse it
afterwards. We shall not flinch from our duty to confront that
WE SHALL DEMAND as citizens and voters that
those we delegate to lead pursue the war against terror with an
unflagging will to victory and all means necessary — while
remaining always mindful that in the process of fighting the enemy we
must not stoop to the enemy's level of contempt for human rights and
dignity, must not become what we fight;
WE SHALL REMEMBER that in this struggle more
than previous conventional wars, the West's keenest weapons are reason
and the truth; that it is our obligation as citizens to insist on
reason and the truth; that we must shine a pitiless light on the lies
from which terrorist hatred is built; and that we must also be
vigilant against the expedient lie from our own side, lest our
victories become tainted and hollow, leaving root causes unaddressed
and sowing trouble for the future.
WE HAVE FAITH that we are equal to these
challenges; we shall not be paralyzed by fear of the enemy, nor
yet by fear of ourselves;
WE SHALL SHED the moral cowards and the appeasers and the
apologists; and we shall fight the barbarians and fanatics, and we
shall defeat them. We shall defeat them in war, crushing
their dream of dominion; and we shall defeat them in peace, using our
wealth and freedoms to win their women and
children to civilized ways, and ultimately wiping their diseased and
virulent ideologies from the face of the
THIS WE SWEAR, on the graves of those who died at the World Trade
Center; and those who died in the Sari Club in Bali; and those who
died on U.S.S. Cole; and indeed on the graves of all the nameless
victims in the Middle East itself who have been slaughtered by
terrorism and rogue states:
Eric S. Raymond 17 October 2002 ____________________ (your signature here)


text:
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Air Maui Helicopters is a long-standing member of the Maui helicopter community and over the years has flown tens of thousands of passenger to the far reaches of the island. Known widely for its congenial staff and 'laid back' company culture Air Maui has provided a faultless customer security profile in all its years of service on island. Air Maui exclusively uses the A-Star touring helicopters.
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text:
Like me On Facebook - Follow me on Twitter - Follow on Bloglovin'
I'll have to treat myself to Bad Romance. I always have issues wearing Glastonberry alone with it not looking smooth around the edges, so I definitely have to get my hands on this!
Antonia x | Fifi and the Diamonds
OMG, that lip colour is absolutely stunning on you! Such a gorgeous colour!
Tessa at Bramble & Thorn
Wow the lipstick looks amazing! Love the shade!
xx Mira
That lip colour is stunning on you xoxo
♥ Cateaclysmic ♥
they sound so good - your lipstick looks absolutely amazing, such a nice colour x
CLUB AVENUE / http://club-avenue.blogspot.com / instagram
Everything in her line seems to possess traces of magic
Wow what a fab lip colour, looks amazing Lily!
alice x | beautybyalicee
The scrub sounds great!
Katie Loves ~ A Fashion & Beauty Blog.
Follow on Bloglovin' ~ 'Katie Loves'
ohhhh i absolutely love that colour.
Jess x
It all sounds so lovely! Love that lip pencil colour x
GORGEOUS my lovely.
I have been dying to get my hands on this lipstick for quite some time! May have to purchase after pay day x
that lipstick though :O wow!!!
asking for anyones recommendations on my latest blogpost... sophheydoll,blogspot.co.uk please have a look and comment! X
The colour of this lipstick is AMAZING <3
This is such a beautiful lip color, I am in love!
This lipstick sounds amazing! I love the color <3
I love charlotte tilbury, she has such great products! I'm seriously in love with that lipstick
Blog | Instagram
This color looks amazing on you!!ReplyDelete
The shade of lipstick... J'ADORE!!!!
That lipstick shade is beautiful and I could definitely use a lip scrub, especially with all this cold weather! I love CT's lip cheat in Pillow Talk so I think I'm going to have to invest in some more of her lip products! Also her packaging is just so glamorous!
Hayley xo | Sailor Stories
Lily, that lip colour is absolutely gorgeous. It really suits you !
Been wanting some CT for ages, and I have the same problem with purple lipsticks so thank lawd for these Lip Cheats!
Lauren x
Britton Loves | Lifestyle Food Fashion Beauty - www.brittonloves.blogspot.co.uk
This lipstick really suits you, I love the colour! :) xxReplyDelete
Bad Romance is now on my CT wishlist, all her products are just ugh divine! xx
Randomly found your blog and can't express how I like it! It was so interesting to read your posts and also I'd like to say that you have beautiful photos!
p.s. new post - how I met Victoria Beckham http://www.dianacloudlet.com/2015/02/victoria-beckham-zip-pouch-met-victoria-beckham.html
Diana Cloudlet
Love that lip combination! I love Charlotte Tilbury's line x
That colour really suits you! I don't think I have the patience to wear such a bold lip - I'd always be worried that it was all over my face/teeth haha. Maybe when I master the art of lining my lips! xx
Abby | Eärendil
lovely lipstick colour!
These Charlotte Tilbury products are looking amazing !
Win Pink in Tokyo clothing on my blog !
I love this color on you:P
Shall We Sasa
This is a Goregous color and it looks lovely on you. I've been wanting some of her products especially her lipsticks and Pillow Talk.
Jackie | fashionxfairytale | bloglovin' |
That shade of lipstick is beautiful. I want it!
The CT lip liners are amazing, cannot wait to try the darker shades now :) x
The Honeybee scrub sounds lovely!
The Velvet Black // UK Style & Beauty Blog
Gorgeous colour!x
A beautiful shade on you!
that color looks awesome on you, i really want to try her products as everyone seems to love them so much!
xx danielle // shades of danielle
I really want to have a look at those new lip liners! I also love Glastonberry, its my favourite darker shade :)
That lip shade is gorgeous. I really need to try some CT products soon, I just don't know where to start x
That lipstick is great on you!
Denim jacket and midi skirt on
lb-lc | IT fashion and lifestyle blog
Ooo vampy! Love this for a night out.
That lip color is beautiful!! I need that color in my life!ReplyDelete
The lip color! Nice things Lily, I wish we had this brand in Slovakia, too.
Love this lip colour, beautiful choice!
How did I not know that she was adding more things to her range! I am obsessed with her products! Will definitely need to look into these ASAP! X
I love those charlotte tilbury lipsticks! the packaging is so beautiful!
xx Angie | http://thefashionfuse.com/
Love the lispitck, that color is beautiful!ReplyDelete
This is so beautiful! x
Blog | A Girl with a Camera
I love how fancy the packaging looks and that lipstick is amazing on you xxx
These products look amazing. Charlotte Tilbury never fails on packaging. Does anyone know of any good dupes for her products? xo
These colours look way too dark for me but they look gorgeous all the same!
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Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.


text:
Welcome to RVchecks™
RVchecks.com is the second product offering of iMobile Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Sparta Commercial Services, Inc., and is an online provider of Recreational Vehicle history reports. Our RV history reports contain important and valuable information about any reported damage, salvage, and other relevant data concerning a particular pre-owned RV. This critical information is available to any interested party by entering a seventeen digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) at our website. Our system is able to extract information from multiple data sources, including, but not limited to, government agencies throughout the U.S. RVchecks.com is committed to delivering up-to-date, accurate information to consumers, RV dealers, lenders, insurers, and other interested parties, and we offer a "no-hassle" 100% money-back guarantee.
When you need to know...


text: We absolutely love it when cyberspace and meatspace intersect, which is why we're enthused over this Online Notification Picture Frame. It's a DIY project that connects via some interface (the guy doesn't say) to a computer, which feeds online status information back to the display. If a person's online, the LED next to his photo lights up. We'd prefer it if this were a more digital solution like an actual photo frame that dynamically displayed the pictures of people who were online, but this is a good start. [Volunteer Lab Rat via Hacked Gadgets]


text:
Train Limoges → Toulouse
Duration 3h17 - From $26
- Departure station : Limoges benedicti ( )
- Arrival station : Toulouse matabiau (64, Boulevard Pierre Sémard BP 35203 31079 Toulouse cedex 5)
Limoges and its precious porcelain Limoges is located in the southwestern part of France, on the foothills of the Massif Central Mountain. This 125.000 inhabitants city is built on the banks of the Vienne river, almost 280 km away from Bordeaux. Learn more about Limoges
Take in the Myriad colors and flavors of France's southwest
Toulouse, the capital of Midi-Pyrénées region Toulouse is a French city located in the South West of France in the Midi-Pyrénées region. The region is well known for its sunny climate and gastronomy. As for Toulouse, the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées region, is a city with an exceptional heritage. From its beautiful private mansions, churches, museums and landmarks, the pink city, as it is also known (Ville Rose in French) will charm you. Toulouse is France's 4th biggest city and as such is home to over 400,000 inhabitants. The city which can be easily reached from Paris of Bordeaux is also a well-known university town and the European aeronautical capital. Did you know that Toulouse is the iconic capital of Rugby. Its flagship team is Stade Toulousain, which is one of the most successful clubs in Europe with eighteen league titles in France, three cups of France and four cups of Europe. Learn more about Toulouse
Book your journey from Limoges to Toulouse From $26 $93
Practical information
Reviews & ratings
Overall appreciation
Value for moneyConvenience
"Good efficient service. A little pricey. But overall a very pleasant journey. "


text:
Story highlights
- Mother's front page ad begs son to come home for Lunar New Year
- She promises not to force him to get married anymore
- Many young singles dread going home to face probing questions about their love lives
- Some resort to renting fake boyfriends online to get parents off their backs
A Chinese mother, desperate for her son to come home for the upcoming Lunar New Year, has placed a full page ad in a newspaper in Australia, saying she won't pressure him to get married anymore.
"Dear Peng, I've called you many times but you don't pick up, maybe you will see this," the anonymous mother wrote, according to a copy of the ad provided to CNN by the newspaper.
"Dad and mom won't ever force you to get married anymore, come home for Chinese New Year! From your mom who loves you."
The ad, which appeared on the front page of the Chinese Melbourne Daily on Tuesday, would cost $2,796.80 Australian dollars ($2465), according to its advertising rate card.
The newspaper, which serves the city's Chinese community, has a circulation of 18,000, according to its website.
"We assume from the ad that the mother is from mainland China and her son is living in Melbourne," said Cecil Huang, the paper's editor.
The mother, who lives in Guangzhou had placed the ad after losing contact with her son, reported state-media Xinhua news agency.
Every year around this time, many Chinese prepare to head home for China's most important festival.
But many of the younger generation dread facing family confrontations about their love life.
On the online Chinese forum Tianya.cn, a single man asked for advice on facing his family.
"It's almost that time of the year, how should I explain to my family and relatives that I am single?" a user in Guangzhou "1979xiaozhu" posted.
Many of the replies were telling him to not go home instead.
User "qianlidaiwanwoduxing" wrote: "Going home means they will either arrange blind dates for you or you get scolded."
"This year my mom gave me an ultimatum. One, bring 50,000 yuan, second, bring a wife home. If I don't have both then she said I don't need to come home. What a tragedy," said user "fghjkh84."
Those who can't handle the pressure of nagging parents can rent a boyfriend for the day through China's online shopping giant, Taobao.com.
Rental counterfeit boyfriends come with services such as meeting the parents, shopping and watching movies.
One customer left a satisfied review for her purchase.
"He was very nice and humorous. He knows how to cook and offers to carry things when shopping. Dad and mom are very happy," the anonymous reviewer wrote.


text:
Americans among us, rejoice! For this weekend will be a long one! Need a place to talk about your Memorial Day plans? Welcome to Kotaku's official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves. This is the place where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. Want to talk about new games, old games, games that aren't even out yet? Knock yourselves out!
This highly illogical TAYpic by dabeezkneez84 beams Kirk and Spock smack dab into the "Rich and Poor" painting. And Star Trek's famous duo come with Tribbles. Sure looks like Angry, Impoverished Dude is going to eat that furry extraterrestrial, don't it?
You can do funny things with pictures, right? Want everyone on this fine web forum to see? Here's what you do. Post your masterpieces in the #TAYpics thread. Don't forget to keep your image in a 16x9 ratio if you want a slice of Talk Amongst Yourselves glory. Grab the base image here. Don't forget to keep your image in a 16x9 ratio if you want a slice of TAY glory. The best ones will be featured in future installments of Talk Amongst Yourselves.


text:
Cazenovia boys basketball edges Solvay
CAZENOVIA - Cazenovia's boys basketball team outscored Solvay by six points in the third quarter and that turned out to be the difference in a 56-50 victory Saturday. The Lakers quick, athletic guards took advantage of the Bearcats switch to man-to-man defense to start the second half to take the lead.
Solvay cut the Cazenovia lead to two points with three minutes to play but the hosts clamped down defensively and held the visitors to one shot per possession to come away with the victory.
Kevin Hopsicker scored 17 points to lead the Lakers while Ryman Seeley added 15 in the victory.
"They're a three-headed monster," said Cazenovia coach Paul Harney of Hopsicker, Seeley and Andrew Vogl. "Today they went after Vogl and the other two stepped up."
Cazenovia plays league-leader Skaneateles on Tuesday. If the Lakers win they will force a three-way tie for the league title with Solvay and Skaneateles.
Solvay 17 12 12 9 - 50
Cazenovia 18 11 18 9 - 56
Solvay (11-7): Dan Fantacone 2, Nick Filippi 14, John Savo 14, Brandon Pelose 9, Sal Tartaro 9, Davis Kippen 2.
Cazenovia (11-6): Kevin Hopsicker 17, Andrew Vogl 7, Jeff Dewan 4, Ryman Seeley 15, Ross Gerber 3, Matt Bonavita 10.


text:
We know how to get snapshots of what proteins look like. These static pictures tell us where all the atoms of a protein reside within a crystal, which gives us a sense of their structure and lets us design drugs that fit neatly within that structure, altering its activity.
But, in actual cells, proteins are nothing like the static, rigid structures found in crystals. Instead they writhe, buffeted by Brownian motion and constantly shifting among similar energy states. Until we develop a microscope that can resolve all this motion, the best we can do is to run molecular simulations on our computers. Unfortunately, most proteins have a lot of atoms to keep track of, which makes those simulations extremely computationally expensive.
Now, some researchers have figured out how to run the simulations on Google's cloud computing architecture. Although each of the individual simulations is short, they can be aggregated to provide a picture of long-term behavior. And, with this method of aggregating them in place, the system should be able to work with just about any cloud service available.
Typically, it's difficult to split a molecular simulation up into smaller jobs. Distant parts of a protein remain physically connected through a series of chemical bonds, and the structure can involve folding and turns that bring distant parts of the protein close together in space. As a result, each step of the simulation typically has to consider the entire protein at once, and the next step depends on the output of the first. That essentially makes any simulation a single large computation. To get more than a few milliseconds takes a lot of computational power.
And it's important to get more than a few milliseconds. The proteins may shift back and forth between hundreds of states, and the differences between any two can determine whether the protein is active or inactive, susceptible to a drug or not. So, you need to run the simulation longer to make sure that it has time to sample a lot of these states.
Or maybe you don't. Some researchers at Stanford, collaborating with a pair of Googlers, have moved the simulation code over to Google's Exacycle cloud computing system. But the cloud still can't run a single simulation as a massively parallel computation. So, instead, the system ran tens of thousands of simulations at once, each of them for a relatively short amount of time. Individually, they were short (only two milliseconds), but collectively, they explored a lot of the potential energy landscape the protein explores. The trick was writing the code that would merge all the individual simulations into a single picture of the protein's behavior.
Why does this work? Because a protein typically has a limited number of highly stable states and tends to shift back and forth between those and other states that are only occupied briefly. As one of the authors, Russ Biagio Altman, put it to Ars, "there is not a very long 'memory' of previously visited states." There are very few cases where an important structural state is reached by a series of unlikely intermediates, so cutting the simulation short doesn't miss all that much. In fact, Altman said that the system could be set up to prioritize any simulations that come across a rare state.
In this case, the authors looked at a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR), a member of a huge class of proteins that's involved in a lot of key biological processes and implicated in a number of diseases. The crystal structures for the active and inactive states have been solved, and the authors started out a number of simulations in each. Many of these evolved into a common intermediate state, and all three of these states made short excursions into other temporary states. The authors also showed that the simulations could incorporate things like drugs or the normal chemicals that interact with the receptor.
It's still not clear that this system will work for every protein; some may have transitions that are simply slow enough that the short simulations won't capture important behavior. But it seems likely that a lot of proteins could be handled with this technique. And the approach should be more general than simply running it on Google's system. Altman says it would work on dedicated computing clusters, and "we should be able to do this on other cloud infrastructures going forward."
Nature Chemistry, 2013. DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1821 (About DOIs).