text:
|Species information
|Eye colour
|Skin colour
|Hair colour
|Related to
|Height of average adult
Larger than a wingless horse
|Length of average adult
Larger than a wingless horse
Only Visible to those who
|MoM Classification
- "I mean, a dog'll bite if yeh bait it, won' it - but Thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing - people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?"
- —Professor Rubeus Hagrid during a Care of Magical Creatures class.[src]
A Thestral is a breed of winged horses with a skeletal body, face with reptilian features, and wide, leathery wings that resemble a bat's.
They are very rare, and are considered dangerous by the Ministry of Magic. Thestrals are, undeservedly, known as omens of misfortune and aggression by many wizards because they are visible only to those who have witnessed death at least once (and fully accepted the concept) or due to their somewhat grim, gaunt and ghostly appearance.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Thestrals can be domesticated and mounted, so they are used as an alternative to brooms, Apparition and other methods of transportation. Once trained, they are very diligent and will quickly carry their owners wherever they wish to go.
Due to their classification as XXXX, only experienced wizards should try to handle Thestrals. Breeding as well as owning these beasts may be discouraged or even illegal without Ministry consent; in fact, wizards that live in areas not protected against Muggles are forced by law to perform Disillusionment Charms on their Thestrals regularly.[6]
- Harry Potter: "What are they?"
- Luna Lovegood: "They're called Thestrals. They're quite gentle, really... But people avoid them because they're a bit..."
- Harry Potter: "Different. But why can't the others see them?"
- Luna Lovegood: "They can only be seen by people who've seen death."
- — Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood discussing Thestrals.[src]
Physical appearanceEdit
Thestrals have quite a disturbing appearance and the wizards who are capable of seeing them often only describe these creatures as being sinister and spooky. This is because they are seen as having big, bony figures and their dragon-like faces which bear white, glittering eyes that lack both expression and pupils. Additionally, they are lured by the scent of blood.
Being a type of winged horse, most of their anatomy is identical to a horse, excluding their large wings that sprout from their back. Unlike the Abraxan, another breed of winged horses, Thestral's wings do not possess any feathers at all; they have vast, black and leathery wings that are more similar to those of bats.[6]
Their fleshless, lustrous bodies are covered with a translucent and glossy coat. This smooth and dark skin is a bit slippery and so thin that Thestral's bones are clearly defined through the entire extension of their sleek bodies.
These eerie horses have long black manes, as well as a large tail, either with flowing black hair, like horses or ending in a tuft, like zebras.[7]Another distinction is their sharp fangs used to seize and slash their prey.
These creatures are seemingly rather dull, though Professor Rubeus Hagrid states that they are "dead clever", and, in fact, trained Thestrals are smart enough to understand their rider's words when they ask to travel to a specific location.
These magical creatures can be found in dark environments, and the forest is their natural habitat. They communicate with each other through a shrill and strange shriek that resembles some sort of monstrous bird.
They appear to be loyal creatures, able to discern a friend from an enemy. Thestrals would forcefully attack anyone or anything they see as a threat and, in the unusual case of domesticated Thestrals, any enemy of its owners.[8][9]
In the Battle of Hogwarts, Hogwarts' trained flock of Thestrals cooperated with Buckbeak, the Hippogriff, to attack the Giants fighting for Voldemort. It's unclear whether or not wild herds can similarly cooperate with other species.[10]
Thestrals are carnivorous animals and are attracted to the smell of blood. Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank mentions that they often attack birds. This indicates that, naturally, they hunt not only for food in the ground, but also pursue flying prey.
The Thestrals that live within the Hogwarts grounds, in the Forbidden Forest, are properly fed and well trained. They don't attack other creatures or students unless seriously disturbed.
The Thestral tail hair is a powerful and tricky substance that can be mastered only by a witch or wizard capable of facing death. It should be noted that this substance can be used as a core in a wand's conception and it was used to create the most powerful wand known by wizards, the Elder Wand. [7]
The most well known ability of these beasts is their invisibility to those who haven't seen death. In other words, they are only visible to people who have seen someone dying and fully accepted, understood and internalized the concept.
Thestrals have an extraordinary sense of smell and will easily recognize the smell of blood and fresh flesh, even if the source of the scent is rather distanced.
They also have quite a useful sense of direction. The Thestral can understand exactly where their riders need to go. If their riders have a certain destination in mind, they only need to say the destination and the creature will diligently carry them to the intended location - much like owls do with letters.
These gentle, winged beasts are very capable and fast fliers and can travel long distances hardly beating their large wings. For example, in 1996, six members of the Hogwarts herd (Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood) were capable of flying from Hogwarts (Scotland) to the Ministry of Magic (London) in a brief amount of time.
Their powerful wings are capable of lifting, at least, the burden of two humans plus their own weight.
Interaction with humansEdit
Even with all their useful abilities, Thestrals are rarely used as methods of transportation due to their reputation as omens of evil and their somewhat dreadful and even distasteful appearance.
When riding a Thestral, the traveller usually holds the creature's mane to ensure balance during the flight (or ride.) To aid the mounting, the wizards also place their legs behind the wing joints to provide safety.
Flying on the back of a Thestral during a long journey is frequently an unpleasant experience, particularly to those who dare riding them without seeing the creature. The high speed flight on an invisible steed can be terrifying. The wind will, eventually, cause a temporary deafness and will force the riders to close their eyes. It is often difficult to keep balance on their slick backs.
The Hogwarts herd is gentle towards humans, they react satisfactorily to caresses and avoid attacking owls. However, taking into consideration the Ministry of Magic classification as "dangerous", this behaviour may be exclusive to well-trained Thestrals,[6] or just mere prejudice from the Ministry.
Hogwarts herdEdit
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has a very loyal flock of Thestrals used mainly to pull the carriages that lead elder students from Hogsmeade Station to the gates of the Castle. To people who cannot see Thestrals, it appears that the carriages are autonomous. The herd at Hogwarts started with a male and five females. A number of them have been born since, beginning with one named Tenebrus, which is a special favourite of Hagrid's, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. Harry and a group of students flew Thestrals from Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic in an attempt to rescue Sirius Black. They were also used by Albus Dumbledore, when he needed to travel but didn't care to Apparate.
Rubeus Hagrid, the trainer and breeder of this specific herd, strongly suspects that this is the only trained large group of Thestrals in the whole of Great Britain.
Harry Potter's encounters with ThestralsEdit
Harry Potter first saw the Thestrals at Hogwarts in September of 1995, after having witnessed the murder of Cedric Diggory in June. Harry could not see them that June because he had not yet dealt with what he had witnessed. At first, he wonders why the supposedly horseless carriages are suddenly pulled by such sinister creatures when they are able to move on their own. He points the Thestrals out to Ron Weasley , and realises that Ron cannot see them. Sensing his desperation, Luna Lovegood assures him that she has always been able to see the horses and that he is just as sane as she is. Given Luna's odd habits and beliefs, this statement does not completely reassure Harry.
They were first identified by name by Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, after Hedwig was found injured, when she mentioned that Thestrals sometimes go after birds. They were next mentioned by Hagrid in a Care of Magical Creatures class, where the students were told that they could be used as mounts, and introduced their navigation abilities.
In June of 1996, Harry, Hermione Granger, Ron , Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom flew to London atop the Thestrals in order to find Sirius Black, whom Harry believed to be in danger in the Ministry of Magic. (Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had trouble mounting their Thestrals for the ride since, at least to the three of them, the Thestrals were invisible).[5]
The Order of the Phoenix made use of Thestrals in the summer of 1997 during the Battle of the Seven Potters. Six of the Order's members took Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as Harry, and then the "seven Potters" and their protectors fled 4 Privet Drive to safe houses of other members. Hermione Granger and Kingsley Shacklebolt flew on a Thestral, and so did Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, as Fleur doesn't like brooms.
During the Battle of Hogwarts, Thestrals were seen attacking Lord Voldemort's Giant soldiers from the air.
Nineteen years later, James Potter II teasingly warned his younger brother Albus about the Thestrals before they left for Hogwarts.[9]
Known people who can see ThestralsEdit
|First death witnessed
|Albus Dumbledore (possibly)
|Ariana Dumbledore (possibly)
|As he rode them when he did not feel like using other forms of transportation, it would be odd if he could not see them.
|Rubeus Hagrid
|His father (possibly)
|Hagrid witnessed several deaths over the course of his life, including his father, and could see Thestrals.[11]
|Neville Longbottom
|His grandfather
|Neville mentioned being able to see Thestrals in a fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures class.
|Luna Lovegood
|Her mother
|Luna witnessed her mother die during a magical experiment gone wrong when she was nine years old, circa 1990-1991, and thus could see Thestrals when she first came to Hogwarts.
|Theodore Nott
|His mother (possibly)
|Theodore was one of only three students who could see Thestrals in the aforementioned Fifth year Care of Magical Creatures lesson, and found them distasteful-looking.
|Harry Potter
|Cedric Diggory
|Harry did not see Thestrals immediately after Cedric's death in June of 1995; it took a few months before he accepted this tragic event, and then was able to see Thestrals.
|Kingsley Shacklebolt (possibly)
|As he chose to ride a Thestral during the Battle of the Seven Potters, it is likely that he could see them.
|Severus Snape
|Snape could see Thestrals,[12] presumably as a result of seeing people killed in the First and Second Wizarding Wars, as Dumbledore once asked him "how many men and women" he had "watched die", although Snape had replied that "lately only those whom I could not save".
|William Weasley (possibly)
|As he chose to ride a Thestral over a broomstick during the Battle of the Seven Potters, it is likely that he could see them.
|Fleur Delacour (possibly)
|She chose to ride a Thestral with Bill as she wasn't too fond of riding a broomstick during the Battle of the Seven Potters, so it is most likely she could see them.
Behind the scenesEdit
- J. K. Rowling stated that the core of the Elder Wand is a Thestral tail hair.[7]
- J. K. Rowling also stated that the reason Harry was not able to see Thestrals until the beginning of his fifth year was that when he left Hogwarts in June he had not yet fully come to terms with Cedric's death.[12]
- As described in Goblet of Fire, when Harry and Cedric are transported into the graveyard, Harry's scar begins to hurt and then Wormtail kills Cedric. It mentions "A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids, and he felt something heavy fall to the ground beside him." That meant that Harry had his eyes closed when Cedric died and did not know what fell next to him. Therefore, Harry did not actually witness Cedric's death and should not have been able to see Thestrals as a result of it. Despite this, it is canon that Harry can see Thestrals, as it was clearly stated that he could see them in Phoenix, and thus the way in which he witnessed Cedric's death can be described as a consistency error. If one considers it a mistake that Harry was able to see Thestrals, then he should not have been able to see them until either the death of Sirius Black, or Albus Dumbledore, depending on whether witnessing Black falling through the Veil would count.
- Harry also had the chance to witness at least two people die before the death of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. His mother was murdered by Lord Voldemort when he was one, and Professor Quirrell in his first year. Despite this, Harry is not able to see the Thestrals until the beginning of his fifth year. J. K. Rowling has explained this stating that he was in his crib when his mother was murdered, and passed out before Quirrell died.[13] It's also possible that when his parents died, Harry was too young to truly understand the concept of accepting someone's death. This creates a paradox in the films, since the first film appears to show Harry seeing Quirrell die.
- It may be possible that Bill, Fleur and Kingsley Shacklebolt all saw someone die as they all rode a Thestral during the Battle of the Seven Potters. The explanation is that Kingsley Shacklebolt most likely saw a death during the First Wizarding War. However, who Fleur and Bill saw die is Unknown. It is possible, that, like Hermione, Fleur could not see Thestrals, since she lived in France where the First Wizarding War wasn't as effective, and she was only four years old when Voldemort was defeated the first time.
- In the films, Thestrals do not seem to have visible hair.
- Thestrals also don't seem to have fangs in the film, at least in the young foals. Instead they have a pointed beak which they use to grab food and then they swallow it, almost without chewing, much like birds eat worms.
- Neville Longbottom does not seem to be able to see Thestrals in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Ginny, Luna, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Harry all see Sirius die, while in the book, Ginny, Luna, Ron and Hermione are in a different room when Sirius dies, and though Harry and Neville see him die, they can both already see Thestrals.
- It should also be noted that in the film, Hermione doesn't see Fred die, and Ron has already seen Peter Pettigrew die. Coincidentally, Peter Pettigrew is never shown dying, just being hit by a spell shot from Dobby.
- It is unclear if Nymphadora Tonks can see Thestrals, before she died, as she is unconscious when Sirius died and she doesn't see Alastor Moody die, though she might have died later in the Battle of Hogwarts and might have witnessed Remus Lupin die or others. In the film, she is standing in a tower, and it seems that she and Remus die at the same time, as they're seen reaching out for each other's hands at their last living shot, and then their hands are seen close together when their bodies are shown later, though this might just be a coincidence. So she can most likely would have been able to see the Thestrals if she had lived long enough in the books, but probably not in the films.
- Even though Hermione Granger has ridden on Thestrals twice, she can't see them until late March 1998.
- Coincedentally, if different parts of the films and the books were considered canon, Hermione wouldn't be able to see Thestrals until she saw Severus Snape die, and she wouldn't have seen anyone else. This happens because she doesn't see Dobby die in the book, and doesn't see Fred Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange, or Tom Riddle die in the films.
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Indirectly mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Flashback on Disc 2)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book
- LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
- LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Motorbike Escape
- Harry Potter LEGO Sets
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 10 (Luna Lovegood)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 17 (Educational Decree Nuber Twenty-Four)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 21 (The Eye of the Snake)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 33 (Fight and Flight)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 34 (The Department of Mysteries)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Magical Beasts in Hiding: Ministry of Magic Classification; an A-Z of Fantastic Beasts: Winged Horses
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 J.K. Rowling's Official Site: Extra Stuff
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 4 (The Seven Potters)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Epilogue (Nineteen Years Later)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 36 (The Flaw in the Plan)
- ↑ 30 July, 2007 webchat on Accio! Quote
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 15 August, 2004 Edinburgh Book Festival on Accio! Quote
- ↑ J.K. Rowling's Official Site
|Professors: Silvanus Kettleburn · Rubeus Hagrid · Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank (substitute teacher)
|Textbooks: The Monster Book of Monsters · Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
|Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts: Hagrid's Hut · Forbidden Forest · Care of Magical Creatures classroom
|Creatures studied: Hippogriffs · Flobberworms · Salamanders · Blast-Ended Skrewts · Nifflers · Unicorns · Thestrals · Bowtruckles · Crups · Fire crabs · Knarls · Kneazles · Porlocks


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With 2013 firmly on track, Bynum has become an offensive force. No, friends, not Andrew Bynum, but Detroit's Will Bynum. On Sunday, he had 15 points, 2 boards, 5 assists and a steal. When the Pistons played New York in London, Bynum kept his team in the game with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 4 dimes and a steal. The Saturday before that, he clawed his way to 13 points with 4 dishes. With enough minutes to continue to earn stats, Bynum is worth a look in your mid-depth leagues.
Ersan Ilyasova – I could have also led off with Ilyasova. People have asked me in comments if they should wait him out, and I said yes. Coach Jim Boylan had him back in the starting line up, and finally, finally, the wait has paid off. On Saturday, he went for 27 points (a point per minute), 14 rebounds, 4 assists and a block. He also shot 3 for 3 from behind the arc. We want to see more of this, obviously, but let's take this as a good sign.
Andre Drummond – He had 16 points and 7 rebounds plus his usual block, but he also made 6 of 8 from the free throw line. Not only did he make it to the free throw line, but he shot respectably while there. Bravo!
Andre Iguodala – The other Andre has continued to disappoint with 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. He has failed to reach 20 points all month.
Tyler Zeller – Despite beefy minutes (38), he only went for 13 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks. On the other hand, he still got 13 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks. He has double digit points over the last 3 games, plus an average of 3 blocks and 10 rebounds during that time.
Darren Collison – He nearly had a double double with 11 points (2 threes) and 9 assists. He also earned a rebound when the ball magically found its way into his arms. Collison said, "my way is to give you away," and the ball said, "You set me free, and yet I have returned to you. Our love is sealed." TO BE CONTINUED!
Shawn Marion – On Sunday, he went for 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. This comes after an 8 point game, following an 18 pointer, coming after 5 points, and the 20 point game before that. By SAT logic, he will have an 11 point game next time out.
Kenneth Faried – The dreadlocked man from Newark had 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and a healthy 4 blocks.
Russell Westbrook – Despite 36 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, he also missed 6 of 7 from downtown and committed 7 turnovers.
Rajon Rondo – Ha, you think that's impressive? Try 9 rebounds, 15 assists and 9 turnovers! Oh, and he missed 4 of 16 field goal attempts for 8 points. Better luck next time, Russell. *snickers*
Greivis Vasquez – If you were looking for 15 assists and 8 points, you also could have gone with General Greivis on Saturday. He at least only went 3-10 from the field, including 2-6 from the perimeter.
Jarret Jack – Jack has been making the best of his time, going for 25 points on Saturday, plus 12 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and a three.
Earl Clark – A double double was on hand thanks to 14 points and 14 rebounds. Combined with 2 assists, a steal, a block and even a three, it was a good night for Earl. He is averaging 10/10 over the past 5 games.

subset: commoncrawl


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Responding to growing demand from affluent investors for online financial information and advice, Spectrem's online Millionaire Corner last week introduced an online service to look for and vet individual advisors who are members of the site.
Investors using the new service, Find an Advisor, can search the database for a potential advisor by state, specialty and professional designation. Personalized videos and profiles cover such matters as each advisor's credentials, investment philosophy, way of working with clients and links to regulatory filings.
"Our Find An Advisor service meets investors where they increasingly spend their time, which is online and often using social media and mobile devices," Catherine McBreen, Millionaire Corner's president, said in a statement.
Recent studies have shown that wealthy investors are looking to the Internet and social media for access to sophisticated investment advice, a trend wealth management professionals ignore to their disadvantage.
Spectrem said it had created Millionaire Corner, its online investment center, and the new service for connecting advisors and investors in response to its own research that showed the following:
- 64% of ultrawealthy investors, with at least $5 million in net worth not including their primary residence, evaluate financial firms and seek investing information online
- 60% of millionaire investors, with $1 million to $5 million in net worth, use tablets to research investments, and 43% seek financial advice online
- 39% of millionaire investors who are 44 or younger regularly read financial blogs, and 21% rely more on social media than on traditional media for information.
Spectrem's statement said Millionaire Corner had to put aside plans to post client survey results on Find an Advisor after failing to secure approval to do so from the SEC. It said Millionaire Corner in the future would conduct a client survey for each advisor, then share the results directly with the advisor.


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Why is everyone talking about the SOCOM Gear NOVAK NeXt?
|Go to Product Page >> Socom Gear M1911 Style 15rd Magazine
|Go to Product Page >> Socom Gear Licensed NOVAK NEXT 1911
A unique pistol featuring licensed and authentic markings from Novak and uses the Novak's hallmark iron sights.
Performs and looks great allowing the user to stand out amongst other users on the skirmish field.
Compatible with plenty of aftermarket parts available making this pistol fully customizable without the difficulty with sourcing the specific parts you want.
Socom gear have released yet another special item after its tan MEU and M82. This time collaborating with Novak, they bring to us the 'Novak neXt' 1911 variant. With feedbacks from their previous Wilson Combat and MEU variants regarding the Novak style sights, it only made sense to release a Novak authorized pistol with Novak markings on the gun itself. So if you liked the Wilson Combat or the MEU pistol from Socom Gear, you're probably going to like this Novak pistol too!
Initial impressions.
Just like the MEU featured in one of our previous reviews, the Novak neXt comes in the same style brown box with the authorized logos and a big product label across the top and back edge of the box. Upon opening the box, you will notice the neXt pistol sits inside a cavity with a sheet of black material holding it in place. Some people prefer this to catch any running excess lubricants from the gun itself as well as reducing abrasive marks from cardboard rubbing against the gun body during transit even though this rarely happens. Since Socom Gear have previously released a few 1911 variants it is no surprise that the packaging is no different to the other variants. What's disappointing however, is that Socom Gear did not bother to provide a new user manual, specific to the Novak neXt and still features the same manual to the MEU even though it's a higher quality glossy booklet that's better than the mundane regular manuals that come with other pistols.
When handling the gun, the finish on the gun is pretty nice as the metal slide has a nice matte black touch to it even though the paint may give you the initial impression it may be plastic. The frame is also made of metal with the same black finish yet does not give this gun a ridiculous weight to it, weighing in at 930g, this is hardly a heavy pistol considering it's a full metal design. The contoured rubber grip houses a Novak logo on both sides as if it's Novak's stamp of approval and there is another featured aspect of the grip even though the ribbed edges look like it may be rather abrasive on your hand as you fire the gun but the most abrasion it will do is just grip your hand better than the regular stippled 1911 grip which may slip if you were not firing this in range conditions. Furthermore, just behind the magazine release latch, the grip also features a thumb groove so that when your thumb is placed on to the mag release, you will not have to reach around the grip plate to press that mag release. Not only will you feel the additional comfort the thumb groove can provide, if your hand is on the smaller scale, this may decrease your reload times by that crucial fraction if you were caught in a tight situation needing to reload your pistol.
Since this is a Novak's approved and licensed product, it comes with no surprise that the iron sights are the classic Novak style sights along with Novak's trademarks throughout the gun. So what's different with these iron sights compared to the previous Novak style sights that are not the official Novak ones? Well, using the classic Novak style sights, featuring the 3-dot high contrast sights along with it gives the impression that even the iron sights have a higher quality control than the standard airsoft guns these days as target acquisition can be made very quickly and easily without obscuring your target sight with the ability to provide a second opinion with the sight by having the high contrast spots giving you a co-witness reading.
Being compatible with using propane as standard, it's no surprise this pistol reaches 300fps in 24celcius. Even with strong, quick snappy recoil, the ability to fire a nicely aimed follow up shot can be done with little difficulty as the rubber damper pad on the recoil spring guide helps to control the excess recoil produced from the blowback chamber.
A grouping test has also been done with the Novak pistol using KSC perfect .20g ammo on propane at 20metres. Without a proper open area to set the hop, we had to make do with the 20metres we have available to do a groupings test with the hop set to what seems correct at this range. A target was printed on an A4 sheet of paper, the shot grouping was recorded before and after the hop adjustments.
The hop adjustment made a dramatic difference as there is only a short distance given for the BB to stabilize its flight path before leaving the barrel which gave a grouping that to be honest, was not much to boast about. After adjusting the hop up, the results was noticeably different providing a 3.5inch grouping at 20metres. Below is the groupings sheet before and after the hop and scope adjustment.
The Socom Gear Novak neXt pistol, although is based on a 1911 and features all the classic 1911 characteristics the additional features have basically enhanced the feel and style of the 1911. In laymen terms, you have an unusual yet a beautiful piece of kit that performs well along with the pistol providing you with extra comfort whilst handling it. The gun performs well straight out of the box with absolutely no additional parts or assembly required, all you need is ammo and gas and you're ready to go! Since the groupings test and fps consistency speaks for itself as well as having the ribbed grip for added comfort and stability providing you a better platform to engage targets at longer range with the help of the licensed Novak sights. With its beautiful finish as well as the feel of sturdiness throughout the whole gun, gone are the days of having to worry about the gun functioning at all if you've caught the gun on a part of a bush as you ran past it. No longer do you have to test and adjust your hop before every round and if you really want to turn this pistol into a pocket sniper cannon, it's compatible with all sorts of aftermarket 1911 parts and if accuracy and air seal is what you're after. Look for the air seal hop up units that the VSR snipers all love, they're also compatible with this pistol too, as well as any other TM style 1911 pistols.


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Synopsis :
Having suffered a traumatic birth, Paolo is disabled both physically and psychologically and must travel to a special hospital in Berlin for rehabilitation. Gianni, who accompanies the boy to Berlin in hopes of getting to know his estranged son, meets Nicole, a strong woman dedicating herself entirely to the care of her handicapped daughter, and through their conversations, Nicole helps Gianni come to terms with the guilt of having abandoned Paolo. This revelation results in an unexpected and fragile happiness between a father and a son discovering each other and themselves in a place far from home.


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The graduation rate is an indicator of success of a college's student in attaining their educational goals. The figures are provided by the College Navigator database offered by the U.S. Department of Education. College Navigator defines graduation rate as the percentage of full-time, first-time undergraduate students. We used the latest figures available, which are of students who began their studies in the fall of 2007 and who graduated within 150% of the normal time to program completion. (For example, for a four-year program, the graduation rate includes students who graduate within six years of beginning the program.)
College Navigator did not have graduation rate figures for all of the colleges on our list. We did not, however, want to penalize those colleges without data. To that end, we simply excluded those schools from the rankings in this category.


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I didn't post it on here yet, but I got into the Cataclysm beta about a week ago on one of my accounts. I decided to spend time first with the Worgen. In addition, I wanted to play around with the new Hunter changes including the beginner experience.
So, I created a Worgen Hunter named Frikkin (why not?). It fits with my naming convention (all F's) and goes well with the name I wanted to give my pet (and eventually did, you'll notice if you see the screenshot), Frak. So, anyway.. I have now gotten through almost all of the initial Worgen starting experience, I believe, and I have to say that, any bugs aside, it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had starting a new character. I think this even trumps the Death Knight starting zone and set of quests. I have heard that the Goblin one is even better, but I am thinking I might save that one until Cata goes live (we'll see).
The feel of the zone is really great. The new landscape phasing is put to good use here too pretty early on. They did an amazing job with the storytelling and I hear that all throughout Cata you will want to start reading the quest text and paying attention to what NPCs have to say (maybe turn on chat bubbles? ). I did have issues with the last (I think) "main" quest bugging out on me, but I'm sure that will be fixed. I especially liked the guy with the checkerboard-cube hat (yeah, I know that is pretty common in the beta.. I was in WotLK beta too).
So, what about the Hunter changes? I'm not all that positive so far about the change to use Focus. I DO like not having mana anymore but I think the regen is just not right yet on the focus side. Of course, I am playing low level so that feeling might change as I progress/login to a high level hunter. The part where you get a pet early on is great, although you can't control him/her. It basically just attacks whatever you are attacking. The only thing I find odd is that it doesn't seem to explain what all the abilities are that you get at level 10 once you can control your pet, etc. They are the normal Hunter pet skills, but there is really no tutorial (unless I missed it) to teach you how to use them all (like feed pet, etc).
So far, I have not visited any old zones or new zones to check them out. I have been sequestered in the Worgen area. Additionally, addons are not enabled yet, so I have been playing with the stock UI (HORROR!). Amazingly enough, I can actually play with this thing.. Odd.. Ok. That's all I have so far. Nothing really exciting on the LIVE wow front, although I did join a group on Fimlys that killed Algalon which was cool. Of course, we were all decked out in our ICC shinies, so it kinda felt like cheating.. Too Bad!
Have a good one!


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Every so often the Husband and I look at each other and say, "We should be healthy!" It's not that we're not healthy, I'd say we eat healthier than the average American, but sometimes I'll buy some jalapeno poppers or something and feel guilty about it for the next several weeks.
One day, after I vowed to get really healthy, I did some research online and decided what we really needed to do was detox. If you don't know, a detox diet basically claims it will clean out your entire system by eliminating everything good in life. This includes eliminating all dairy, sweeteners, gluten, soy, alcohol, and caffeine. Basically, we were only allowed to eat raw vegetables because even fruit was off-limits for the first few days.
Despite the fact that I had just graduated from college several months before, where I lived on a diet of Top Ramen, popcorn, and Diet Coke, I was convinced I could do it. I bought the necessary groceries and pictured myself becoming all kinds of awesome after I finished the diet.
I felt pretty good when I set out on the first day. For breakfast, I had nothing since I always skipped breakfast. I couldn't have any caffeine so I decided to have some chamomile tea instead, which did nothing except make me sleepy. As lunch got closer though, I started panicking a bit about how hungry I was getting (probably due to my caffeine withdrawal).
My lunch consisted of carrots, celery, and broccoli.
I grudgingly ate my lunch, but I wasn't happy about it. As the day wore on, I felt worse and worse.
I somehow dragged myself home and collapsed on the couch and not long after the husband got home too and sat down with me.
Me: How do you feel?
Husband: Awful.
Me: Yeah, me too.
Husband: So, do you want to make the call or should I?
Me: You do it. I might feel slightly less guilty if I don't.
Husband: Ok, what do you want on it?
Me: Pepperoni, please.
So yeah, my detox diet lasted less than a day. Don't judge me.


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Dance much: Flailing to Bostonites: 'grooving' to MMW?
It's that time of year where there seems to be something interesting going on every day of the week. When I open the paper to check the calendar listings, it's tough to make up my mind about what to do. So this week I let my friends tell me where to go.
I got the first call Monday afternoon. The Perceptionists were headlining at Satellite Ballroom. As far as underground rap goes, they are the voice of Boston. The other two groups on the bill I hadn't heard, but I figured if they were rolling with The Perceptionists, they had to have something going for them.
The show started hella late due to two-thirds of the performers getting lost on the drive down here. There was no telling when they would arrive, so we slid down the block to Orbit for Monday Night Football. Big mistake. By the time we made it back to the venue, the first opener, Asamov, had already finished performing. People said I missed a good show.
Junk Science, featuring five-foot-one mad rapper Cool Calm Pete, was next. The content of their rhymes made the performance. Every song was a complete thought and ranged from provocative to absolutely ludicrous. The duo chose great beats to rhyme to, but they didn't quite have the stage presence to command an audience. I prefer my Junk Science on disk.
At last Mr. Lif and Akrobatik, aka The Perceptionists, took the stage. The crowd near went bananas. I'm not the type to go crazy at a show. As a matter of fact, I prefer staying out of crowds and generally not raising my voice or flailing around. But midway through the set I found myself, with the rest of the crowd, yelling and jumping. The best part? I didn't give a damn.
Mr. Lif as a soloist is responsible for a number of brilliant hip-hop records. Combine his classic material with the stage presence of Akrobatik (who looked like he could have been a linebacker for the Patriots), and you have the formula for a great night.
My hat's off to The Perceptionists because it's hard to get across an intellectual message and still rock the house. When it was over, all the groups stayed around to sign autographs. Truth is, they seemed to enjoy hanging with the crowd as much as they enjoyed being on stage.
Later in the week I was called to Starr Hill for a bit of Medeski Martin and Wood, a trio I've seen a number of times. I religiously buy their records and stand firm in the belief that they're one of the best contemporary jazz trios out there. However, I never understand why they always sell out clubs to festival kids waiting to dance.
There was a time, almost 10 years ago, when MMW played a more groove-oriented sound that could be danced to. But nearly nine years have passed since the "Shack Man" era, and almost 15 since they were playing small festivals around the country trying to impress the hippies. Now they're straight-up jazz in the sense that they don't give a hoot who's in the audience. They're there to play whatever comes to them at that moment. Nine times out of 10 that moment ain't "groovy"...and it hasn't been for almost five years.
I think a lot of the people show up because of the name but don't know what they're getting into. If they really wanted groovy improv, they could just check out my buddy Matt Wilner or any other local affordable groups who play music more for the audience and less for their own self-indulgence. In a way, I like it when the party kids come out for MMW. I get to smile and watch them try and dance to music that just isn't danceable.


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An estimated forty firefighters from Beaver, Green and Springfield Township departments along with Poland Fire Department responded quickly and knocked down the blaze keeping the most serious damage contained to the Industrial Shredders business. The other businesses housed in the building suffered varying degrees of mainly water and smoke damage. Above, a firefighter from the Western Reserve Joint Fire District walks into Industrial Shredders. Morning Journal/Patti Schaeffer
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"Equine therapist" just doesn't sound as good as "horse whisperer," although that's the term to describe Buck Brannaman's specialty as a trainer of troubled horses. In fact, the subject of the lovely documentary Buck doesn't even whisper: he talks into a microphone so that the rapt horse owners can watch and hear him magically fixing whatever ails their seemingly impossible horses.
Not having an impossible horse, or any horse, I assumed there would be a limit to how much I'd want to see him at work. How often do you need to watch a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat, unless you've got a hat and want a rabbit? But this renowned horse expert — one of three who informed and inspired Nicholas Evans's 1995 bestseller The Horse Whisperer— is worth the 89 minutes that first-time director Cindy Meehl devotes to him.
"Lavishes" might be the more appropriate word. Brannaman is like a classic Jeff Bridges character, warm and wise, but played by a younger, hotter Chris Cooper. When he squints at the sun, or strides bowlegged through the corral, it's swooning time. Even Robert Redford, who talks about Brannaman's consulting role for his 1998 movie adaptation of The Horse Whisperer, doesn't overshadow Brannaman's mystique.
As Meehl tails him on his annual nine-month treks through stunning American landscapes to conduct seminars for horse owners, another, more dramatic story emerges. In childhood Brannaman was a veritable show pony, trained to perform rope tricks at rodeos with his brother. As the "Idaho Cowboys," they starred in a television commercial for Sugar Pops in the early 1970s; when they weren't performing, they were being beaten, whipped and psychologically abused by their father. Brannaman's protective mother died when he was a child, leaving both brothers so vulnerable it seems a shock they survived.
"I've seen some kind of dark things in my life," Brannaman says, in his compellingly quiet way. "But everybody has a bit of a burden to bear, of some sort, so it's all relative." He escaped thanks only to the attentiveness of educators and, at 12, landed in a nurturing foster home. While looking for work out of high school, he saw horse trainer Ray Hunt in action ("It was like a beautiful dance," he recalls) and knew he'd found his calling.
Instead of dwelling on a past that would have broken the spirit of most, Brannaman went forward with grace and sensitivity. Buck has the air of a beautiful little mystery; even knowing the uplifting outcome, you wonder at the strength that brought him to this place.


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I've mentioned a few times that my Thinkpad boots in under 16 seconds to an Openbox desktop, but I haven't ever really shown how. It takes a little while to arrange a system that runs that fast, but if you're interested and you have a few days to spare, these are the best suggestions I can make.
Before you try something like this, you should be able to handle everything described in the Crux Handbook, including setting up a network, building a custom kernel, configuring your hardware and partitioning a system drive. And of course, all from the command line. Extra points are awarded for style, such as setting up your wireless connection while you're still in the live environment. 😉
Please be aware that this is definitely not a beginner's task. Remember when you first installed Ubuntu and everything just magically worked? I can guarantee you, with 99 44/100 percent certainty, that at the first boot everything will not work — if it boots at all. This is the kind of project where one small button buried deep in a nested menu somewhere will cost you hours of compiling, hours of troubleshooting and days of kicking yourself in the behind.
For partitions, I use a simple four-part scheme — something like this.
/boot 32MB ext2
swap 128MB
/ 4096MB ext2
/home (remainder) ext2
Make sure you set the noatime flag when you build your
/etc/fstab file too. It helps.
Most of the magic happens in the kernel configuration, which should make sense — a custom kernel is still the best and most effective way of speeding up any system, and any distro. Personally I disable almost everything I can think of, although that's going to vary from machine to machine. For the record, this is the hardware I'm using.
- 550Mhz Celeron (Coppermine)
- 192Mb PC100
- 4Mb Silicon Motion, Inc. SM712 LynxEM+
- 20Gb 5400rpm Hitachi hard drive HTS548040M9AT00
- LG CRN8241B 24x CDROM
- 2x USB 1.1 ports, one side and one rear
- Intel 8440MX AC'97 Audio
Network is from an unencrypted access point to a Linksys WPC11 v3 PCMCIA card. This is an 11b card that uses the Prism 2 chipset — in other words, I don't need firmware or special binary packages to get the network up. If yours is different, you're on your own.
My kernel configuration takes everything — absolutely everything — out that isn't essential. I find it makes the system faster, and takes less time to compile. That will be important if you're using a similarly (or even more so) slow machine. So here's what I suggest for 184.108.40.206, downloaded in the live environment, and you can decide if it's to your liking:
Under general setup I disable …
- incomplete code or drivers (it makes setup go by a little quicker)
- optimization for for size
- control group support
- group CPU scheduler
- create deprecated sysfs files
- kernel-user space relay support
- heap randomization
- profiling support
- OProfile system profiling and
- Kprobes
In enable the block layer disable …
- support for large block devices (when they make a terabyte drive for my 550Mhz machine, I'll re-enable it)
- anticipatory and deadline I/O schedulers (which makes CFQ the default)
For processor type and features I …
- disable high resolution timer support
- disable SMP support
- disable single-depth WCHAN output
- set the subarchitecture type to PC-compatible
- set the processor family to Coppermine
- disable HPET timer support
- disable machine check exception
- turn off high memory support
- disable Compat VDSO support
In power management options I …
- disable legacy power management
- enable supend-to-RAM and standby
- disable hibernation (when you boot in 16 seconds, do you really need hibernation?)
- For ACPI …
- disable all deprecated options, as well as the future power /sys interface
- disable battery, since the machine doesn't have one
- disable debug statements
- enable APM and the real mode APM BIOS call (this works for shutdown for me)
- disable CPU frequency scaling, since it will be on AC at all times
- disable CPU idle PM support
The bus options I use are …
- disable deprecated pci_find_*
- enable PCMCIA/Cardbus support and
- disable ioctl
- modularize yenta-compatible support
Under networking …
- disable IPv6
- and wireless options …
- modularize the deprecated 802.11 stack
For block devices under device drivers …
- disable normal floppy disk support
Disable all misc devices.
For ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support …
- disable legacy /proc/ide/ support
- disable probe IDE PCI devices in PCI order
- enable Intel PIIXn chipsets support, and nothing else
For SCSI device support …
- disable SCSI CDROM support
- disable all SCSI transports
- disable all SCSI low-level drivers
Disable all SATA and PATA drivers, all RAID and LVM, Fusion MPT, Firewire and Macintosh support.
For network devices …
- disable all ethernet devices
- under Wireless LAN…
- enable IEEE802.11
- modularize the Hermes chipset and Hermes PCMCIA card support
- modularize IEEE802.11 for Host AP and the Prism2 PC card options
For character devices, disable HPET event timer and hardware random number generator core support.
Under multimedia devices, disable DVB for Linux.
For graphics support and /dev/agpgart, enable only the 440BX option.
For sound, I use ALSA and enable the AC'97 option under PCI devices. I also diable the OSS options.
Most of the USB options I keep because they allow you to use USB flash drives. I do however, disable USB 2.0 support (this machine is 1.1 only), and USB printer and monitor support under USB support.
Under file systems I only leave second extended filesystem enabled. Everything else — including NFS — gets turned off. I also …
- disable dnotify
- disable inotify
- disable kernel automounter version 4
Under cryptographic API, I make sure everything is compiled into the kernel, and not modularized. Then I disable all hardware crypto devices.
Finally, disable all virtualization. I don't see a 550Mhz Celeron as much of a platform for virtualizing. 😉
And that's about it. I'm sure there's more that could be turned off or disabled, but it's tough to test everything in there. 😀
Next step, I set up
/etc/rc.modules to probe orinoco-cs and yenta-socket:
/sbin/modprobe yenta-socket
/sbin/modprobe orinoco-cs
Rather than use the
/etc/rc.d/net daemon, I write the network connection sequence into
/etc/rc.local, like this:
iwconfig eth0 mode managed essid any
ifconfig eth0 up
dhcpcd eth0
For some reason, the net daemon doesn't behave for me like it's supposed to under wireless connections, when I compare it to the wired connections I've tried. That's probably my fault, but this way works perfectly for me.
I use Grub over LILO on my Crux systems. Grub is in the opt repository, which means you have to add it manually to the system, instead of just selecting the core packages. I also add nano from there, because vi just … well, never mind. 😛
When you edit your
/boot/grub/grub.conf file, remember that the partitions are separated in this system — not as subdirectories. In other words, you can probably delete the "/boot" part from the kernel lines, and change the
/dev/hda1 to
/dev/hda3 instead. Setting up Grub for me is less complex than what the handbook suggests; I just
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0)
That does it for me. If you have a stranger arrangement, you'll have to adjust that for your flavor.
At this point, your system should boot. Cross your fingers and give it a try.
If it's up and working, you can continue by setting the compilation flags in
export CHOST="i686-pc-linux-gnu"
export CARCH="i686"
export CFLAGS="-O3 -march=pentium3 -pipe -fomit-frame-pointer -ffast-math"
export CXXFLAGS="-O3 -march=pentium3 -pipe -fomit-frame-pointer -ffast-math"
If "unsafe" CFLAGS are something you worry about, you can use the safe ones from the Gentoo wiki. These haven't given me any problems thus far. (Note: Except for Firefox, which had to be recompiled with the safe flags. Remember that some programs will work this way, and others won't, and I don't have any advice for you on how to predict the results.)
I disable the footprint check since it tends to halt software installations at inconvenient times.
/etc/prt-get.conf, I set the logging feature and "prefer-higher" as default options. Since there's not a lot of screen space available, the list of installed or failed packages can get kicked up off the screen. The logs tell me if something went wrong, at least.
I usually start the software update process at this point. Since my router's settings block rsync, I use httpup to sync with the ports, and then start a system-wide update. That can take about four hours, depending.
From there, start building X, the drivers and the software you want. Configure X with (of all things)
X -configure, and make the directory at
/etc/X11 before moving the generated xorg.conf.new file to it's new location under its new name (xorg.conf, that is).
I use the Arch Linux-style autologin. I also change the runlevels for C1 and C2 to 2345 — like this:
c1:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty 38400 tty1 linux
c2:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty 38400 tty2 linux
I disable all the other terminals; I just don't use them. And I set the multiuser script to start at those same runlevels, like this:
Otherwise, your autologin doesn't spawn terminals, or doesn't kick into graphical mode. And of course, while I'm in there, I change all the "wait" terms to "once" — giving it one last kick in the pants. 😀
Once everything is how you like it, you can boot into a live CD once more and reoptimize the directory structures with this command, from a terminal.
e2fsck -fD /dev/hdXY
The drive assignments will change according to the live environment, and make sure you don't run that on your swap partition. 🙂
I think that's about it. A machine built like this goes from Grub to X in under 16 seconds for me, and that's by far the best performance I've gotten out of any distro I have ever found, with any and all of the tweaks I can find. Just out of curiosity, let me know if it works for you too. 😀


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September 26, 2013
By Edward Rice, III
LAWT Contributing Writer
With more than 300,000 people expected to attend the Taste of Soul, the event offers a unique opportunity for corporate entities and community partners to connect up close and personal with the people they serve. Each year KTTV Fox 11 Los Angeles nightly news anchor, Christine Devine seizes that opportunity and has become one of the station's most popular ambassadors at the Taste of Soul.
"I look forward to it every single year. Fox hosts a booth there where we get to mingle and meet everybody and have the food, you do know I'm there for the food," said Devine with a chuckle. "I think it's just a great way to bring everyone together for a good time. I mean I can't believe the amount of people there. It's just a really good time."
Devine, a 16 time Emmy winning journalist, has covered everything from the LA Riots, to elections and earthquakes. However, it's her adoption segment Wednesday's Child, which has captured the hearts of Taste of Soul regulars. "I find the people to be so loving and supportive, especially of Wednesday's Child," claimed Devine. "I can't tell you how many hugs I get from people saying I love Wednesday's Child. Just to get the support and love on that feels so good and I'm so appreciative." Wednesday's Child is a showcase of children in foster care who need to be adopted. Not all children in foster care do, according to Devine, but a small portion find themselves in that position. "It's a very small percentage but it's a ruling by the court that ties be severed between birth family and children when there is no hope for unification," she explained. As fate would have it Wednesday's Child started out as an assignment, but it was the perfect assignment given the fact that Devine's family had fostered and adopted children growing up. "I felt like I really understood the kids and their journeys and the families too," she stated.
It's evident for Christine that serving the community she covers is more than passion. Her deep commitment to the communities of LA derives from something that was instilled in her as a child. "My mother was in the Peace Corp in Brazil and my step father was in Tanzania. It's that kind of philosophy that they came home with and they became educators—award winning educators," she said proudly. "When I came to LA I knew absolutely no one so being involved in the community was a way to learn about the cities I was reporting on." Apparently during that time she learned a lot about the communities she'd eventually cover and thankfully was moved to action. In addition to her involvement in Wednesday's Child, Christine is also actively involved in The Good News Foundation. The Good News Foundation is an organization she founded along with four other Los Angeles newswomen that aims to make a difference and leave a legacy in Los Angeles through efforts such as building computer labs, a park and a library.
For the Arizona native, Taste of Soul is another chance to come from behind the anchor's desk and come together with the people of LA. "I think the more we can bring the community together on a positive note, on a supportive note, on a 'we can do this together note' the better," she insists. "You know when you walk around people are laughing and smiling, enjoying the sun, enjoying the food, supporting the vendors and that's what it's all about, that's what success is all about. So it's a successful event by the people, for the people." Christine added, "I think its proof that people can come together on a positive note and have a really good time together."


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Communism in Asia
communism, fundamentally, a system of social organization in which property (especially real property and the means of production) is held in common. Thus, the ejido system of the indigenous people of Mexico and the property-and-work system of the Inca were both communist, although the former was a matter of more or less independent communities cultivating their own lands in common and the latter a type of community organization within a highly organized empire.
In modern usage, the term Communism (written with a capital C) is applied to the movement that aims to overthrow the capitalist order by revolutionary means and to establish a classless society in which all goods will be socially owned. The theories of the movement come from Karl Marx, as modified by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, leader of the successful Communist revolution in Russia. Communism, in this sense, is to be distinguished from socialism, which (as the term is commonly understood) seeks similar ends but by evolution rather than revolution.
Origins of Communism
Early Forms and Theories
Communism as a theory of government and social reform may be said, in a limited sense, to have begun with the ancient Greek idea of the Golden Age, a concept of a world of communal bliss and harmony without the institution of private property. Plato, in his Republic, outlined a society with communal holding of property; his concept of a hierarchical social system including slavery has by some been called "aristocratic communism."
The Neoplatonists revived the idea of common property, which was also strong in some religious groups such as the Jewish Essenes and certain early Christian communities. These opponents of private property held that property holding was evil and irreligious and that God had created the world for the use of all humanity. The first of these ideas was particularly strong among Manichaean and Gnostic heretics, such as the Cathari, but these concepts were also found in some orthodox Christian groups (e.g., the Franciscans).
The manorial system of the Middle Ages included common cultivation of the fields and communal use of the village commons, which might be vigorously defended against the lord. It was partly to uphold these common rights, threatened by early agrarian capitalism, that the participants in the Peasants' Revolt (1381) in England and the insurgents of the Peasants' War in 16th-century Germany advocated common ownership of land and of the means of production.
In the 16th and 17th cent. such intellectual works as Sir Thomas More's Utopia proposed forms of communal property ownership in reaction to what the authors felt was the selfishness and depredation of growing economic individualism. In addition, some religious groups of the early modern period advocated forms of communism, just as had certain of the early Christians. The Anabaptists under Thomas Münzer were the real upholders of communism in the Peasants' War, and they were savagely punished for their beliefs. This same mixture of religious enthusiasm and economic reform was shown in 17th-century England by the tiny sect of the Diggers, who actually sought to put their theories into practice on common land.
First Responses to Capitalism
Capitalism, reinforced by the Industrial Revolution, which began in the 18th cent., brought about the conditions that gave rise to modern communism. Wages, hours, and factory conditions for the new industrial class were appalling, and protest grew. Although the French Revolution ended without satisfying radical demands for economic egalitarianism, the voice of François Babeuf was strongly raised against economic inequality and the power of private property. For his class consciousness and his will to revolution he has been considered the first modern communist. Although he was guillotined, his movement (Babouvism) lived on, and the organization of his secret revolutionary society on the "cell" system was to be developed later as a means of militant revolution.
In the early 19th cent. ardent opponents of industrial society created a wide variety of protest theories. Already what is generally known as utopian communism had been well launched by the comte de Saint-Simon. In this era a number of advocates gathered followers, founded small cults, and attempted to launch communistic settlements, particularly in the United States. Most notable among such men were Robert Owen, Étienne Cabet, and Charles Fourier. Pierre Joseph Proudhon, although he did not adopt the principle of common ownership, exercised great influence by his attacks on the evils of private property.
A host of critics and idealistic revolutionists arose in Germany, but more important was the survival or revival of Babouvism in secret French and Italian revolutionary societies, intent on overthrowing the established governments and on setting up a new, propertyless society. It was among them that the terms communism and socialism were first used. They were used vaguely and more or less interchangeably, although there was a tendency to use the term socialist to denote those who merely stressed a strong state as the owner of all means of production, and the term communist for those who stressed the abolition of all private property (except immediate personal goods). Among the chief leaders of such revolutionary groups were the Frenchmen Louis Blanc and (far more radical) Louis Auguste Blanqui, both of whom played important roles in the February Revolution of 1848.
The Communist Manifesto
The year 1848 was also marked by the appearance of The Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the primary exposition of the socioeconomic doctrine that came to be known as Marxism. It postulated the inevitability of a communist society, which would result when economic forces (the determinants of history) caused the class war; in this struggle the exploited industrial proletariat would overthrow the capitalists and establish the new classless order of social ownership. Marxian theories and programs soon came to dominate left-wing thought. Although the German group (founded in 1847) for which The Communist Manifesto was written was called the Communist League, the Marxist movement went forward under the name of socialism; its 19th-century history is treated in the article under that heading and under Socialist parties, in European history.
The Growth of Modern Communism
Early Years
The modern form of Communism (written with a capital C) began to develop with the split (1903) within the Russian Social Democratic Labor party into factions of Bolshevism and Menshevism. The more radical wing, the Bolsheviks, were led by Lenin and advocated immediate and violent revolution to bring about the downfall of capitalism and the establishment of an international socialist state. The triumph of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution of 1917 gave them the leadership in socialist action. They constituted the Communist party in 1918 (see Communist party, in the USSR).
Meanwhile World War I had shaken the socialist movement as a whole by splitting those who cooperated with the governments in waging the war from those who maintained a stand for revolution against all capitalist governments. Chief among the stalwart revolutionists were the Communist party in Russia and the Spartacus party (later the Communist party) in Germany. The establishment of a working socialist state in Russia tended to give that country leadership, and Leninism grew stronger. Communist revolts immediately after the war failed in Germany, and the briefly successful Communist state under Béla Kun in Hungary was also repressed with great bloodshed.
Under the Comintern
The revolutionary socialists now broke completely with the moderate majority of the movement, withdrew from the Second International, and formed (1919) the Third International, or Comintern, in 1919. Henceforth, the term Communism was applied to the ideology of the parties founded under the aegis of the Comintern. Their program called for the uniting of all the workers of the world for the coming world revolution, which would be followed by the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat and state socialism. Ultimately there would develop a harmonious classless society, and the state would wither away.
The Communist parties were organized on a hierarchical basis, with active cells of members as the broad base; they were made up only of the elite—those approved by the higher members of the party as being reliable, active, and subject completely to party rule. Communist parties were formed in countries throughout the world and were particularly active in trying to win control of labor unions and in fomenting labor unrest.
Despite the existence of the Comintern, however, the Communist party in the USSR adopted, under Joseph Stalin, the theory of "socialism in one country," which asserted the possibility of building a true Communist system in one country alone. This departure from Marxist internationalism was challenged by Leon Trotsky, whose theory of "permanent revolution" stressed the necessity of world revolution. After Trotsky was expelled (1929) from the Soviet Union, he founded a Fourth, or Trotskyist, International to rival the Comintern.
Stalin's program of building the Soviet Union as the model and base of Communism in the world had the effect of tying Communist and Soviet policy even more closely together, an effect intensified by the "monolithic unity" produced by the party purges of the 1930s. It became clearly evident in that decade that in practice Communism, contrary to the hopes of theorists and intellectuals, had created in the USSR a giant totalitarian state that dominated every aspect of life and denied the ideal of individual liberty.
Except for the Mongolian People's Republic (see Mongolia, republic), no other Communist state was created before World War II. The Chinese Communist party was founded in 1921 and began a long struggle for power with the Kuomintang. However, it received little aid from the USSR, and it was not to achieve its goal until 1949.
In the late 1920s and early 30s the Communist parties followed a policy of total hostility to the socialists, and in Germany this was one factor that facilitated the rise of the Nazis. In 1935, however, the Comintern dictated a change in policy, and the Communists began to work with other leftist and liberal parties for liberal legislation and government, as in the Popular Front government in France.
Cold War Years
In World War II the USSR became an ally of the Western capitalist nations after Germany attacked it in 1941. As part of its cooperation with the Allies, the USSR brought about (1943) the dissolution of the Comintern. Hopes for continued cooperation, intrinsic in the formation of the United Nations, were dashed, however, by a widening rift between the Soviet bloc and the Western democracies, especially the United States, after the war (see cold war).
Communism had been vastly strengthened by the winning of many new nations into the zone of Soviet influence and strength in Eastern Europe. Governments strictly modeled on the Soviet Communist plan were installed in the "satellite" states—Albania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and East Germany. A Communist government was also created under Marshal Tito in Yugoslavia, but Tito's independent policies led to the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the Cominform, which had replaced the Comintern, and Titoism was labeled deviationist.
By 1950 the Chinese Communists held all of China except Taiwan, thus controlling the most populous nation in the world. A Communist administration was also installed in North Korea, and fighting between the People's Republic of Korea (Communist) and the southern Republic of Korea exploded in the Korean War (1950–53), fought between Communist and United Nations troops. Other areas where rising Communist strength provoked dissension and in some cases actual fighting include Malaya, Laos, many nations of the Middle East and Africa, and, especially, Vietnam, where the United States intervened to aid the South Vietnamese regime against Communist guerrillas and North Vietnam (see Vietnam War). In many of these poor countries, Communists attempted, with varying degrees of success, to unite with nationalist and socialist forces against Western imperialism.
After the death of Stalin in 1953 some relaxation of Soviet Communist strictures seemed to occur, and at the 20th party congress (1956) Premier Nikita Khruschchev denounced the methods of Stalin and called for a return to the principles of Lenin, thus presaging some change in Communist methods, although none in fundamental ideology. A resurgence of nationalist feeling within the Soviet bloc—as was vividly demonstrated by the bloodily suppressed Hungarian uprising of 1956—ultimately had to be acknowledged by the USSR. However, while the USSR began to allow some limited freedom of action to the countries of Eastern Europe, the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 demonstrated its determination to prevent serious challenges to its domination.
Ideological differences between China and the USSR became increasingly apparent in the 1960s and 70s, with China portraying itself as a leader of the underdeveloped world against the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, both the USSR and China sought better relations with the United States in the 1970s.
The Collapse of Communism
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union and relaxed Communist strictures with the reform policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). The Soviet Union did not intervene as the Soviet-bloc nations of Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary all abandoned dictatorial Communist rule by 1990. In 1991, driven by nationalistic ferver in many of the republics and a collapsing economy, the Soviet Union dissolved and Gorbachev resigned as president.
By the beginning of the 21st cent. traditional Communist party dictatorships held power only in China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. China, Laos, Vietnam, and, to a lesser degree, Cuba have reduced state control of the economy in order to stimulate growth. Although economic reform has been allowed in these countries, their Communist parties have proved unwilling to submit to popular democratic movements; in 1989 the Chinese government brutally crushed student demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Communist parties, or their descendent parties, remain politically important in many Eastern European nations and in Russia and many of the other nations that emerged from the former Soviet Union.
See M. Beer, The General History of Socialism and Social Struggles (2 vol., tr. 1957); Z. K. Brzezinski, Ideology and Power in Soviet Politics (rev. ed. 1967); F. W. Houn, A Short History of Chinese Communism (1967); L. Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (2d ed. 1970); R. C. Goldston, Communism (1972); R. Dunajevskaya, Marxism and Freedom (4th ed. 1975); R. V. Daniels, ed., A Documentary History of Communism (2 vol., 2d ed. 1988; vol. 2, rev. ed., 1994); A. Dirlik, The Origins of Chinese Communism (1989); E. Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes (1994); F. Furet, The Passing of an Illusion (1999); S. Kotkin, Uncivil Society: 1989 and the Implosion of the Communist Establishment (2009); A. Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe (2012). See also the books in the Annals of Communism Series, pub. by Yale Univ. Press.


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* Visit our Possible Market Price Guide for more details.
** Approximately, based on a 36 month loan agreement. Minimum loan amount (order total) $500. Visit our Financial Service Guide for more details.
Quality solid teak made 4pc coffee table and seaters with thick waterproof cushions: 1x Coffee Table, 1x 2 Seater, 2x Single Seater.
Our BALI series solid teak furniture and made from eco-friendly natural plantation teak wood, all crafted by hand. The A Grade teak wood and genuine brass hardware made our BALI teak furniture a premium class in the industry.
TEAK: King of Outdoor Furniture Teak is recognized for its durability and stability under severe climate conditions. For over the centuries Teak wood is Ideal timber for shipbuilding and marine application. Carpenters and Woodworkers consider Teak as King of the woods when compare to other wood like Eucalyptus and Acacia. Teak wood has a natural oil content that prevents the wood from rotting, cracking and resists termites, fungal stains and also other insects that can destroy wood. Teak has a very good resistance to water and moisture that is why is used in shipbuilding, wooden flooring, outdoor furniture. Teak wood has high durability and long lifespan with low maintenance that is why it more expensive as compared to other woods like Acacia and Eucalyptus. Teak is very dense wood and heavy wood. ifurniture , the revolutionist in the industry, sells the premium grade teak furniture at cheap prices than other sellers Eucalyptus prices, What's your decision? As we said, it is about intelligence. ifurniture where the smart canadian buy furniture 2 save big!
For teak furniture maintenance, please search online or either 'weather' your teak or apply teak oil.
Measurement: cm1 x TIF-462 Deep Seating 2 Seater (L126xW74xH82cm)2 x TIF-461 Deep Seating 1 Seater (L70xW74xH82cm)1 x TIF-463 Rectangular Coffee Table (L96xW50xH43cm)
Easy assembly needed.
It is important to understand that any timber exposed to exterior weather conditions will have some form of timber change and movement. The change of color (normally turns a silvery gray over time) and finishing like splitting or cracking is considered normal. Regular re-oiling of your furniture will help to keep the color and reduce and may prevent cracking, but there is no guarantee that it will.


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Designers van over de hele wereld zenden creatieve ontwerpen in voor Domainer in gecodeerde website ontwerpen - custom.
The website is old and it needs a total revamp so I want this site to have an absolute new web 2.0 look with new categories (menus) etc, depending on what you think is most important.
9000 fonts and counting...
Desired Color Scheme:
I prefer happy colors, sky blue/white, red/white, etc. BUT if you have a concept, I love innovation
Desired Style:
Cool, funky, pizzaz, glitter, eye catching, lovely design, more importantly, a design that allows the adsense to monetize greatly!!!
Accepted File Formats:
coded, and compatible with the site. The site is html with php code inside.
Thefonthut.com is a website about fonts as you know. The look of the website has just been too old for too long. The are some categories (menus) and functions/areas that are not important, while others that might be important and are missing. I have just recently bought it and want a complete and I mean it COMPLETE new look to the site web 2.0-ish, and not only look with the same categories (menus), but a redesign of the site in a sense of what is important and what is not. Logo is needed (nothing too special but if you're nice you can win ;)
I will add a section or menu for original tutorials so you should consider that.
Please also look at the categories (menus) and figure out the order of importance and what needs to go and what needs to come.
One VERY VERY important thing is the monetization of the site. I want the site to produce a very high CTR. At the moment it is horrible.
I need a person who is a master at adsense placement, and I am talking strategic adsense placement, and not just flooding. That means you understand the importance of color coordination, placement in certain important areas etc. Such adsense geniuses can raise CTR o 5% easily, so do me proud :). As for the text link ads, you can take them off, but leave me a tiny space where I can have a few text ads added.
I would like the other subpages to be remodelled according to the main page, money is not an issue and at the end of the contest, the winner will implement the changes to the site and I will pay for that service if the price is competitive.


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Helical spring; English name:helical spring. A spiral spring made of spring wire.
Folding appearance differentiation
There are many types of spiral springs, which can be divided into:
Ordinary cylindrical coil springs;
Reducing helical springs.
According to the direction of the spiral can be divided into:
Left-handed spring
Right-handed spring.
Cylindrical coil springs are simple in structure, easy to manufacture and most widely used. Its characteristic line is a straight line, which can be used as compression spring, tension spring and torsion spring. When the load is large and the radial dimension is limited, two compression springs with different diameters can be used together to form a combined spring.
Column spiral compression spring parts, names, specifications:
1. Spring wire diameter: d, the spring wire diameter.
2. Spring Outer Diameter: D0, indicating the outer diameter of the spring.
3. Spring inner diameter: D1, indicating the inner diameter of the spring, D1 = D-2d.
4. The diameter of the spring: D2, the average diameter of the spring, D2 = D-d.
5. Pitch: t, in addition to the support rings at both ends, indicates the axial distance between two adjacent rings.
6. The effective number of turns n, the number of support turns n2 and the total number of turns n1, in order to make the compression spring work stable, uniform force, the spring will be tight and smooth at both ends when manufacturing. The tightly flattened part only serves as a support, so it is a support ring. There are three types of support rings: 1.5, 2, and 2.5, and 2.5 are the most used. The rest of the circles are kept at equal pitches, called effective laps. The total number of turns n1 is the sum of the number of effective turns n and the number of support turns n2.
7. Free height: H0, the total height of the spring when it is not affected by external forces, H0=nt+(n2-0.5)d.
8. Expand the length: L, the length of the blank used to make the spring, L≈n1√(πD2)²+t².
Folding characteristics
Variable diameter spiral spring is divided into: conical coil spring, spiral coil spring, concave coil spring.
Tapered coil springs have good cushioning properties and can withstand large loads.
Helical coil springs can store more energy and withstand higher loads, but the manufacturing process is more complicated.
Concave coil springs are similar in performance to conical coil springs and are used in cushions and mattresses.
The surface of the spring steel wire has round and rectangular shapes, and the circular cross section is most commonly used.
A coil spring, a torsion spring, is a spring that is subjected to torsional deformation, and its working portion is also wound tightly into a spiral shape. The end structure of the torsion spring is a torsion arm that is machined into various shapes instead of a hook. Torsion springs are often used in mechanical balance mechanisms and are widely used in industrial production such as automobiles, machine tools, and electrical appliances.


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SHINE GLOBAL FUNDRAISER at Sara Tecchia Roma New York Gallery
Monday, May 1, 2006, at Sara Tecchia Roma New York Gallery,529 West 20th Street, 2nd Floor, between 10th & 11th Avenues, New York City---Shine Global Fundraiser for Completion of the movie "War Dance", a documentary film which highlights how three Ugandan refugee children, victimized by civil war triumph through the inspiration of music and dance. Benefit Committee: Susan Maclaury & Albie Hecht, Mary Alice & Lenny Carr, Deirdre & Gregory Griffin, Jennifer Monachino Lapey & Ian Lapey, Susan Shin, Jamie Whitehead. Time: Cocktail reception at 6:30 PM, speaker program and trailer screening with comments from emmy award winning director Sean Fine at 7:00 PM PHOTO CREDIT: ©Manhattan Society.com 2006 by Christopher London For more information, to learn more about production of this documentary film PLEASE VISIT SHINEGLOBAL'S WEB SITE: www.shineglobal.orgRead More


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Tools purchased under the agreement include Board Station(R), Expedition(TM), XtremePCB(TM), ICX(R) and DMS(TM) for printed circuit board design; ModelSim(R), Precision(R) Synthesis, Catapult(TM) C, and the HDL Designer Series(TM) for ASIC and FPGA design; and Seamless(R) for system design.
As a result of the agreement, Siemens benefits not only from a wide range of Mentor product families but also achieves the flexibility necessary to efficiently serve the needs of a fast moving global distributed engineering organization. The arrangement will enable Siemens to rapidly adopt new Mentor products when and where the need arises.
"We chose Mentor Graphics as a global provider of design solutions because they have the broadest range of market-leading products in design areas that are critical to us," stated the speaker of the Siemens Mentor Users Group (SMUG), Mr. Johann Poschl, CAE manager, Siemens PSE, Vienna. "Mentor's leading technologies will enable us to deliver cutting edge products faster and more cost-effectively."
"Mentor is pleased to work with Siemens on a worldwide basis. This new agreement increases our ability to provide design solutions for Siemens' business-critical applications, and enables Mentor to respond more quickly than ever to Siemens' rapidly changing design tool needs," said Don Maulsby, senior vice president, World Trade at Mentor Graphics.
"To cover multiple Siemens business units around the globe with one multi year agreement is a win-win situation for both of us -- Siemens as well as Mentor," said Mr. Georg Pilartz, vice president, Global Procurement, Siemens Munich.
About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of over $700 million and employs approximately 3,850 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.
About Siemens
Siemens (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electrical engineering and electronics. The company has 440,000 employees working to develop and manufacture products, design and install complex systems and projects, and tailor a wide range of services for individual requirements. Siemens provides innovative technologies and comprehensive know-how to benefit customers in 190 countries. Founded more than 150 years ago, the company is active in the areas of Information and Communications, Automation and Control, Power, Transportation, Medical, and Lighting. In fiscal 2004 (ended September 30), Siemens had sales of EUR 75.2 billion and net income of EUR 3.405 billion. Further information is available on the internet at: http://www.siemens.com/
Mentor Graphics is a registered trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.
Mentor Graphics Ry Schwark, 503-685-1660 Email Contact Suzanne Graham, 503-685-7789 Email Contact


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Happy National Pie Day! 10 Savory Pie Recipes We Love
Wait, it's not March 14th. We still have a couple of months before Pi Day. But today the pie gods are giving us another excuse to eat pie. January 23 is National Pie Day as sanctioned by the Pie Council (yes, such a council exists). They picked 1/23 because "celebrating is as easy as 1-2-3."
This means, if you haven't eaten a pie already, locating one should be very high on your priority list. In addition to the sweet pies, save room for a slice of the savory stuff, too.
Herewith recipes for turkey pot pie, Cornish pasties, cornbread skillet pie, shepherd's pie, and more.
All the Recipes
- Shepherd's Pie with Jalapeno-Pea Purée »
- Rabbit, Prune, and Onion Pie »
- Bacon Mincemeat Pie »
- Cornish Pasty »
- Leftover Turkey Pot Pie »
- Sausage and Feta Hand Pies »
- Green Bean Casserole Pie »
- Long Leek Pie »
- Cornbread and Beef Skillet Pie »
- Steak and Kidney Pie »
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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LITTLE ROCK — Talking with Bryce Petty's junior high coach, "what is" trumped "what if."
LITTLE ROCK — Talking with Bryce Petty's junior high coach, "what is" trumped "what if."
More than once, Danny Spencer was asked if Mike Malham Jr.'s offense would have changed if Petty, author of amazing passing numbers at Baylor, had completed high school in Cabot. No way to know, he said. With Malham, the running joke — pardon the pun — is that his Panthers have three plays, all runs. Seriously, the Panthers' 66 pass attempts this past season is probably a record under Malham.
Running Malham's offense under Spencer, Petty did throw four passes as a ninth grader in 2005, three of them for touchdowns during a 10-0 season.
End of the "what-if" angle.
Ongoing is the friendship between Spencer and Petty and their families.
Twice after coaching a Thursday night game, Spencer drove 5 1-2 hours to Midlothian, about 35 miles southwest of Dallas, to watch Petty play on a Friday night. He stayed with Petty's parents, Todd and Dena. When the Pettys were in Cabot, the Spencers considered changing churches because of Dena's work as youth minister.
"Our son and daughter are big Razorback fans, but they are bigger Bryce Petty fans," Spencer said. "Especially my wife. If it was up to my wife, our son would have been named Bryce."
Instead, the 11-year-old is Leyton. A big tennis fan, wife Kim liked it because Lleyton Hewitt was No. 1 in the world at age 20. Spencer agreed because the name and spelling are unique.
Spencer and Petty text regularly, including a good luck before each game and an honest critique afterward, and talk occasionally.
When Baylor made the Fiesta Bowl, Spencer considered taking the family to Arizona for the game. Son and 7-year-old daughter nixed that, something about Christmas at home.
"If my son is half the young man that Bryce is when he grows up, I would be the proudest father in the world," Spencer said.
A few notes about Petty speak to the quality of the young man. He has been on the Big 12 Commissioner's honor roll at least a half dozen times, graduated last May, went to Kenya on a mission trip with other Baylor students, and waited almost 1,800 days to become the starting quarterback. Now a leading candidate for the 2014 Heisman Trophy, he was rated the No. 25, 35, and 54 high school quarterback by various recruiting services, sporting numbers that were good, but not spectacular.
During Baylor's 11-2 season, he completed 250-of-403 for 4,200 yards and 32 touchdowns with three interceptions. Some might credit Art Briles' system for the yards and TDs, but Petty's stamp is on the meager number of picks.
Petty told Spencer he felt like he "let so many people down" when he threw an interception in the regular-season loss to Oklahoma State and when he did the same in the Fiesta Bowl.
"He's harder on himself than the coaches are," Spencer said. "He demands perfection."
Starting junior high football, Petty and the other half-scared seventh graders got the "be responsible" speech from Spencer — the talk about keeping up with cleats, helmets, shoulder pads, and never accusing somebody of stealing missing equipment.
That year, Petty lost his cleats, size 9 1-2 or 10. Identifiable by initials inside the shoes, Spencer had them. His rule is that the player must come to him and admit responsibility for the missing item. Petty never fessed up and the coach figured he had another pair of shoes. Correct, to a point. Petty spent the season wearing a size 7 1-2 and running in pain.
Lesson learned.
Spencer is waiting on the dates of Baylor's spring practice, hoping to watch.
"Coach Briles just doesn't let anybody attend," Spencer said.
An intercession by Petty would go a long way. Like Spencer's intro to Briles prior to the Buffalo game in September.
"Any coach of Bryce is a coach of mine," Briles told Spencer.
Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com.


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After its launch yesterday, the Dragon capsule is now on its way to the International Space Station. But the Falcon 9 rocket carried something else too: the ashes of James Doohan, the actor who played Scotty in Star Trek.
His ashes were in the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, which separated from the capsule nine minutes and 49 seconds after the launch. The ashes canister is now in orbit alongside Gordon Cooper. He was one of the original Mercury Seven, the first astronauts in the history of American spaceflight. The guys with The Right Stuff.
Cooper was the first American to sleep in orbit and the last American astronaut to be in orbit on his own. He was also part of the Gemini Project but didn't make it into Apollo.
I wish I could end this article saying that Gordon Cooper and Scotty would sleep in orbit for ever, but sadly their canisters will fall down to Earth in about a year, disintegrating on re-entry. [Celestis via CSM]