text:
Saturday, October 31, 2009
1. 82% are over age 70.
2. 11% are over age 99.
3. 27% believe that the nice Mr Muldoon should make way for Winston.
4. 5% believe that Winston is the Prime Minister.
5. 43% say they aren't racist but they wouldn't want their grandchild to marry into Maoridom.
6. 14% believe that Winston isn't Maori.
7. A staggering 69% believe in the A + B theorem.
8. Of those, 54% believe if Social Credit works, no-one else will have to.
9. 22% drive Skodas.
10. 41% believe that sleeping in the raw is deviant.
11. 34% believe that the Moon landings were faked.
12. 3% think Elvis is alive and living in Taihape.
13. 0.016% claim to be Elvis.
14. 7% pick Keith Holyoake as the current Governor General.
15. 2% are virgins
16. 44% wear (grey) slip on (synthetic leather) shoes.
17. 93% of the workers in an illegal distillery in the Catlins swear by him.
18. 14% of those polled in the Rodney District want Winston to stand for Mayor (in W(h)anganui)
19. 81% of those polled in W(h)anganui want Winston to stand for Mayor in their city.
20. 17% think Winston is God.
21. 2% think God thinks Winston's God.
And poor old Phil only manages to beat him by 4%.
Getting The Message
To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1176 without my signature.
For some time now I have lamented the fact that major issue are overlooked while many
unnecessary bills come to me for consideration. Water reform, prison reform, and health
care are major issues my Administration has brought to the table, but the Legislature just
kicks the can down the alley.
Yet another legislative year has come and gone without the major reforms Californians
overwhelmingly deserve. In light of this, and after careful consideration, I believe it is
unnecessary to sign this measure at this time.
Oh The Agony
The first Herald Digipoll since the election confirms other recent polls will National on 57.5% and a staggering 80% approval for its economic management. John Key rightly acknowledges Bill English's performance. Whaleoil, take note.
The Greens fail to make the cut and Labour picks up their lost votes to stagger up to 32%.
Remember all those Labour attacks on Paula Bennett? They worked. She's the rated THE most effective minister in cabinet.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Climate Change fraud # 8,345,678
Images from 2001, top, and 2007, bottom, from Philip's Universal Atlas of the World indicating a big decline in Arctic ice, used as proof of climate change
Spot the same cloud cover in 2001 and 2007? What are the chances this is the same photoshopped photo.
Original photo here.
Dear Brian......
Question for the day
A political party illegally spending $800K in an election campaign via the taxpayers and then retrospectively validating its unlawful actions OR a MP and Minister of the Crown legally claiming traveling expenses for his partner via the taxpayers?
The Hare-Lipped Fox Terrier
Well it appears the little fellow had to swallow his tongue the other day and publicly apologise to a bunch of lawyers who he had potentially defamed.
Adolf wonders when he will publicly apologise to his Kiwisaver clients who have enjoyed the worst returns of any provider, including his enemies the evil life companies.
Gareth Morgan's funds, which were included in a KiwiSaver survey for the first time, came out at the bottom or close to it in every category they are in over one year.
Gareth Morgan's conservative KiwiSaver fund was 13th out of 14 conservative funds over one year with a return of 3.69 per cent and bottom out of 21 funds in the balanced sector with a return of -0.20 per cent.
In the aggressive growth fund category Gareth Morgan's fund was third from the bottom on -5.03 per cent per over one year behind AMP's aggressive fund, which was -9.76 per cent and First NZ Capital's Aggressive Kiwi Fund, on -8.66 per cent.
Why Did It Take Five Years?
He's right, of course, but he forgets that the Labour gummint of those very well organised criminals Clark and Cullen had other priorities. More important things to do. Far more important.
"The measure was introduced to Parliament by Labour almost five years ago but has only finally wriggled its way into law.
That it has taken so long is an indictment on the politicians who have prevaricated rather than the police officers who have long made it clear they were hamstrung when dealing with clever criminals."
They were too busy arranging the retrospective legislation to cover their own theft of public money; preoccupied with the complexities of the Electoral Finance Bill and its crushing of public dissent; distracted by the need to arrange the politicisation of the police and all arms of the public service; otherwise engaged in vilifying the exclusive brethren.
Adolf is grateful to Mr Gower for reminding us what a particularly evil and malevolent cult it was that ran the country from 1999 to 2008.
Who Said He's Dull?
"Well, Mr Speaker, TVNZ could have asked Mr Cunliffe to appear or they could have asked Mr Hughs to appear but they didn't. They asked the Minister of Finance."
Update: Here's the real thing:
"Hon BILL ENGLISH: All decisions about putting together the promotion and the use of it are being made by Television New Zealand (TVNZ), as I understand it. That is the normal relationship that politicians have with TVNZ. It could, of course, have chosen that member to front it, but it did not. It could have chosen Mr Goff to front it, but it did not. I think the reasons are pretty obvious."
Yesterday I watched Cunliffe actually wiping spittle off his chin as he engaged in over egged outrage about some puny matter. He who would valiant be!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
dpf, polls, addition, percentages, error checking
Bank Governor Backs English
Adolf started to read a spittle flecked rant by Cactus and gave up after the first paragraph.
For a more rational analysis, one could do no better than look to the governor of the Reserve Bank who had this to say when he announced today's decision to leave interest rates unchanged for the best part of a year :-
"In New Zealand, the housing market has reversed some of the decline in prices experienced over the past couple of years and a very gradual increase in household spending appears to be taking place. Government spending is also supporting activity. Business spending, however, remains weak and credit growth is very subdued."
If the governor and the finance minister took advice from Cactus and her shrieking friends from the far right, by now we would have blown our economy out of the water by overloading it with unemployed ex civil servants with no job opportunities in the private sector.
It's all to do with timing and the right time to slash the public service is when private industry is ready to soak up the drones and put them to productive work rather than simply transfer them from the public sector payroll to the WINZ payroll.
The shouters seem to ignore John Key's oft repeated statement that he does not intend to make wide ranging cuts 'during a recession.' That's the right call. The fundamentalists of the right should learn to be patient and see what happens when we actually come out of recession.
What on earth is Shane Jones trying to say?
However, the Herald quoted Labour's Shane Jones in saying something I just don't simply understand.
Labour MP Shane Jones took offence at claims from the Maori Party that gang members were "our people".
"Stop calling them our people; they are not our people," he said.
"Our people don't go to jail for killing teenage boys, our people don't go to jail for raping, selling P and celebrating it as a mark of distinction and success.
"They're not our people. In fact they are not people ... They are the slaves that would have been dispatched before Christianity without a sliver of doubt."
What on earth does he mean by that?
Stuck on Losing
I'm fascinated by Labour's obsession with attack politics which, for months on end, have demonstrably weakened their poll ratings by driving lifelong Labour voters away.
With this latest attack, all people see is another tired face from the failed party of the past. Hodgkins.
Adolf is planning an address to his church based on the theme:-
'Everybody wants forgiveness but nobody wants to repent.'
Herein lies the philosophical scotoma which is preventing Labour from making any progress whatsoever. They are like the New York Times and CNN where bankruptcy seems preferable to giving up their failed political bias.
Labour has not truly repented but somehow it expects to enter the kingdom of electoral heaven.
The fundamental basis of Christianity is the opportunity for people to change their lives for the better, without penalty, if they will simply resolve to put aside the bad behavior of the past. There is no price to pay, no preset conditions to meet and the offer is made to all. All their past misdemeanors are written off and they get a new start. For free.
Repentance is described as 'a feeling of sincere and genuine regret or remorse.' It is firmly embedded in our legal system where judges have flexibility in sentencing depending on the extent of remorse shown by the guilty perpetrator. Yet somehow Labour shows not the slightest sign of change. They cling to the attitudes of the past. They continue the abhorrent behavior for which people rejected them. In recent weeks they have been caught out in blatant lying and theft of public money and now they continue with a futile attack on the country's finance minister.
Electoral redemption requires Labour to act like a born again Christian. Politically and electorally they must publicly confess their sins and make a true gesture of repentance. It's not very difficult but until they do they will not go anywhere but down.
When a person decides to be a Christian, he or she stands up in front of a congregation, makes a public statement of faith and promises to do his or her best to follow the teachings of Jesus as set out in the gospels. That person is immediately and warmly welcomed by the congregation. He or she is said to have been metaphorically born again. To have started a new life.
When will we see Labour's latter day Moses? Who will it be who leads them out of Egypt into the promised land of electoral milk and honey? Who will be their Messiah? Will it be the carpenter's son from just down the road?
Labour needs to call a press conference at the close of a special retreat for all MPs and party officials and present for all to see, the parade of Helen Clark remnants declaring that they recognise the policies and attitudes of the past were wrong, making a commitment to search for new policies and develop positive attitudes, promising to work in the interests of all New Zealanders and concluding by singing the national anthem. Then, they might just see a resurgence in the polls.
It would be too much to expect that they might publicly nail a photo shopped effigy of the Bilious Bitch to a cross.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
DomPost Puts The Boot In.........
It is wrong for political pollsters to lie about who they represent and wrong for a politician to pretend no knowledge of activities he is orchestrating from his parliamentary office.
A politician who cannot see that he has outlasted his use-by date. The politician concerned is former Labour Cabinet minister Rick Barker.Yes, there are more than a few who have outlasted their use by dates.
He suggested the volunteers use false names when making the calls, and, when questioned by a reporter about the operation, he said: "I don't know what you're talking about."
It was only when the reporter revealed a thorough knowledge of the subterfuge that Mr Barker admitted its existence and his role in it.
That is not acceptable. Truth is not a negotiable commodity.
It always was for Helen Clark's version of Labour whose proud tradition of lying first continues in the son she never had, Darren Hughs.
".......senior Labour whip Darren Hughes, who is fast building an unwanted reputation for himself as an apologist for indefensible behaviour on the part of his colleagues.
"I'm sure that half the people who try to sell us things on telemarketing aren't giving us their real names," he said by way of justification.
He could have added that noms de guerre are commonly employed in several other professions – prostitution and pole dancing being just two – but he and Mr Goff would be advised to consider what sort of company they and their colleagues wish to keep."Ouch, double ouch.
".....but his conduct also hints at a deeper malaise within the Labour Party. It is a malaise composed, in equal parts, of arrogance, bitterness and sloth......
......Labour's MPs resemble grumpy, disinherited members of the landed gentry who have been turfed out of their comfy gentlemen's club for not paying their subscriptions and are trying to fast talk their way back in past the doorman."
Yes, they all want forgiveness but nobody wants to repent.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Parker fails to make a point, not one, none, zilch
Political Party could have received donations from favoured industry.
Excuse me for being a tad thick, but isn't that what political donations are all about?
Or do the unions expect nothing in return for their hundreds of thousands of donated money to the Labour Party?
David Parker says that's not actually the point. No. Apparently the point is that the donations regime was not transparent enough for the last election to know.
And who was in charge of pushing the donations law through?
David Parker's party.
So what exactly is Parker's point then? Because, I'm fuc*ed if I know!
Scratch The Surface..........
We are blessed in this country to have such an abundant wealth of talented story tellers through whom
Scroll down
A Poem About Tomatoes:-
I know an Abbo whose name is Jim,
I love throwing tomatoes hard at him,
Tomatoes are soft & don't hurt the skin,
But these f.....s do, cos they're still in the tin!!
Therapeutic Blogs?
What HAS surprised me is the revelation in comments threads that a number of bloggers feel that their blogging activities have been therapeutic during their own professionally diagnosed or self perceived bouts of depression. This may well partly explain why some very good blogs fold up after a relatively short time.
IV2 told this story in some detail, as did Blair M. Good on them for being forthright. Adolf well remembers the first blog he ever read, that of one Gordon King- nzpundit, and looking back wonders if he too was using his blog as a recovery from some personal disaster. I recall him mentioning at some stage that his blog 'kept him alive during a difficult patch' or some such. As his paua forming activities took hold his blog faded.
Reading some of the symptoms of depression, Adolf would conclude that almost every person is likely at sometime in his or her life to have experienced Churchill's black dog. Just didn't know what it was. My eighty year old uncle who had an extremely successful career and stable personal life, was diagnosed at the age of 78. For two years his wife struggled before somebody woke up.
I must confess, Adolf does not perceive any such personal advantages from his puny blogging efforts. However, it is not so easy to maintain one's enthusiasm when there is no serious political contest in the offing and when the enemy is so completely in disarray.
I'm eternally grateful to my colleagues at No Minister for it is their intermittent gems which keep the place going.
Monday, October 26, 2009
GST makes me proud to live in New Zealand
She then breathlessly compared the ACC system to other moments in New Zealand history like the emancipation of women, being nuclear weapons free and a process to settle Treaty grievances.
Well, that's a bit like me saying that the introduction of Goods and Service Tax makes me proud to live in Godzone as well, or perhaps, that the introduction of GST is right up there with Rutherford splitting the atom or winning the America's Cup in 1995.
It's a bit hard to take Misa seriously when she goes around comparing truly great moments in NZ history with the introduction of an insurance regime, particularly one which has morphed into an unwieldy and expensive state-run mess.
Misa should think about other reasons why NZ is a great place to live, such as the apparent abundance of hard working people who are propping up her fabulous ACC regime with ever increasing premiums.
I'm not yet convinced that the ACC system is broken to the point that it should be done away with. But I am failing to understand why businesses aren't allowed to contract out of ACC for the private provision of insurance. Misa makes the point that private insurance won't necessarily be any cheaper, but then, it may offer a better service that meets requirements more appropriately for those businesses - faster turnaround and superior care. It's a good thing that National and ACT are working to deliver this.
What other seminal moments in New Zealand non-history make you proud to live here? The punching of Rod Vaughan by Bob Jones? The moment Naomi Lange wore a pink cardigan to meet the Queen, or maybe even the moment in which Inland Revenue's forms were designed in that elegant shade of light blue?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Take a bow Garth Barfoot
Garth is 73. He still flys around the world competing in Ironman triathlons. He is a big donor and supporter of the sport in Auckland and a few years ago completed the ultra enduro around Taupo bike race: four times around the lake - 640K's! It took him almost 24 hrs I recall.
Anyhow, there is Challenge Wanaka in Queenstown in January. It is part of the challenge series of Iron distance triathlons with the biggest one being Challenge Roth in Germany in June/July. Garth has finished that one a few times.
This year at Challenge Queenstown, Garth is donating a travel subsidy to Challenge Roth 2010, worth $10,000 to the first septuagenarian team to cross the line at Challenge Wanaka before the course cut-off at 11.30pm. The entry fee for the event in Germany will be provided by Challenge. So basically, the 70yr olds get the chance to compete in Germay for free with only accommodation to pay for.
"In the twilight years of my triathlon career I am fortunate I can still swim, bike and run for long periods of time," said Barfoot. "Not many of my age group are so fortunate, but there are many who can do so in just one of those disciplines. My gesture is to enable three of them to participate overseas in an internationally recognized event and hopefully to share the wonderful experiences that I've had through getting out of my comfort zone."If you're a follower of triathlon, Garth is just the bees knees. And yes, he is the Barfoot from the legendary real estate firm.
Nice one Garth. You're a bloody legend, and that term is not used lightly on you.
It is reliably reported that Chris Carter went to church this morning to give thanks to God that the Labour Party polling fiasco has knocked his indiscretions off the front page.
So, what have we got ..... Labour is conducting polling from it's parliamentary offices funded from out of the Leaders budget (no big deal, probably all political parties have done this in some shape and form).
The Hon Rick Barker is running the show (well someone has to). In addition to using Labour's parliamentary staffers to do the hard yards they also managed to recruit a member of the Green Party (pretty dumb move #1).
Barker tells those manning the phone banks to lie about their names and who they are working for - suggests a non existent company called Data Research (gueez Wayne, every time I've been polled the caller uses his/her first name so no big deal and one can understand why they wouldn't want to identify as Labour but to lie about it is dumb move #2)
When Barker is challenged on the operation he denies it (lie #2 and dumb move #3)
When Labour Whip Hughes is asked about it he defends the operation (dumb move #4)
When Goff is challenged over it he pulls the rug from under Hughes' feet and sez the whole thing is a mistake and wouldn't happen again (apart from making Hughes look like a dork was Goff saying the polling was a mistake or was he referring to Labour being caught out?)
Then there is the position of the Party President who was reported as being upset (over being kept out of the loop as per the NZ First Party President - over the funding donation scandal - or being caught out?)
Chris Carter has much to be thankful for.
What a clusterfuck.
Labour Finance Minister speaks from the heart, leaves his brain outside
Breaking News.
Labour's Finance Minister, Bill English, (pictured above) has spoken of the "inequity and unfairness" of the tax system.
In a speech largely aimed at "those rich pricks from ACT and National, you know, the John Key types", English has signalled that any changes to the tax system would be based on "equity and fairness" because large-scale "legitimate avoidance behaviour by higher-income earners undermined the goodwill of lower-income earners."
English has been heard to complain to the Prime Minister, Annette King, that "it's quite telling that there has been virtually no growth in the number of people paying tax on $1 million of annual income, since the 39 cent top personal tax rate was introduced 10 years ago.
"Annette, as a country, we want families, businesses, accountants and lawyers looking at how to unlock greater income and productivity, not working out how to minimise their tax."
When asked how people keeping more of their own money to employ staff, invest, save or spend in the economy was "unproductive" or "locked up money" English was non-committal merely saying "look, we are borrowing $250 million per week. How do you expect us to pay that back, with interest, unless we unlock and grab all that unproductive money locked up and owned by rich pricks?
National's opposition finance spokesperson, Nick Smith, refused to comment today, merely referring enquirers to the party's website which he said contained its vision, values and philosophies. When told by reporters that the website was broke and malfunctional, Smith gave a wry look at offered one word: touche.
This newspaper then found two websites that offered real comment on the matter, one of which gave an external debt meter based on the Labour government's borrowing.
G O Oner, One News.
McCarten on Mallard
Adolf couldn't have put it better himself.
"Trevor Mallard was a distraction sitting behind Goff all through his speech, visibly chewing gum like some sort of goon from central casting.
Maybe Labour's image consultants could have a word with their in-house gangster next time he accompanies his new leader."
Yes, there he is, Vladimir, the goon from central casting.
Goff doesn't come off much better either:-
"I couldn't help feeling Goff's delivery was a campaign stump speech written by one of his staff. Unlike Key, it felt that he was talking at the audience rather than to it.......
........Half of the conference were probably members of Goff's party but at the end of his speech Goff had to settle for polite applause. Goff has a big job ahead of him. Even his fan base can't get excited."
Only half the conference Matt? Ninety nine percent, more likely.
No Longer Proud to be Labour
Not only stealing but hiding their identity. That's what happens when your brand has been debauched and you've got your tail between your legs. No money, no morale, no morals.
Adolf hopes Mr Speaker will send a stern letter to the party secretary, requiring him to refund parliamentary services the cost of the three series of polling admitted to in this Herald piece. That is - nominal hire of office space, line rental, cost of toll calls and the value of any other freebies used by this fool Barker and his team
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Moles Removed - Feared Malignant
The next move should be to sack the entire team and start again. That's effectively what Bobby Simpson did when Australian cricket was at its nadir after the captaincy of the ineffectual and tearful Kim Hughs.
The real giveaway was in the penultimate paragraph.
"Moles, 48, was surprisingly chosen as John Bracewell's successor last November after a number of higher profile candidates declined the appointment."
Who'd want to risk his career by coaching a bunch of losers with bad attitude?
This man is 'their' foreign affairs spokesman. Do they really expect foreign governments to take him (or Labour) seriously?
Ok, Labour smartly removed his post from their website and hauled him in for a slap on the hand with a wet bus ticket but the damage is done. He is seen as a motormouth and not a very intelligent motormouth at that.
Guess the problem for Goff is that Carter is the darling of the Left and Rainbow Wings of the Labour Party and that he (Goff) can't afford a bust up with them as the summer BBQ season beckons.
Labour Lies Again
Here he is again, harping on about so called broken election promises.
Trouble is, it's an election promise National never made. It's one Labour has invented.
Goff is trying to somehow conflate the real election promise which was 'no asset sales in the first term' into something like 'no competition for ACC in the first term.' No wonder people just are not listening to Labour. They are flat out liars.
This sort of nuancing might go down well in university staff rooms and student union meetings but real people recognise bullshit when they see it. One thing is for sure, as far as election promise goes, Labour has none.
For all to see, here is the real election promise, made by National.
From an August 2008 issue of NBR:-
The main points of the policy are:
* Investigate opening the Work Account to competition;
* Conduct a full stock-take of the various components of the ACC scheme, evaluate progress to full funding and identify areas of cross-subsidy or cost-shifting and underfunding of newly legislated entitlements; and
* Investigate the introduction of an independent disputes tribunal to end ACC's dual role of judge and jury on disputed claims.Nowhere is there even the remotest possible inference that there might be a hint of selling off ACC.
Adolf was reminded of this when he read today this story of Diwali of Diweek, a funeral director.
Only in New Zealand could you get such lurid detail printed in a newspaper. Just when you think it can't get worse, it does.
Only in the rain sodden Waikato could you get a grave full of water.
Only in Waikikamukau would they not think to pump out the grave BEFORE the funeral.
Only the Bros would jump into the hole to try and keep the bastard from standing up!
Only in America would someone by now have sold the television rights to the story.
Good Timing - Updated
Two things were notable.
The timing. The first results will be published in two years time. Adolf wonders if that will just happen to be a few months before a general election. Just to remind parents that Labour would rather they didn't know how little Johnny's school was doing.
The throw away phrase. "...the standards would be introduced in all English-based primary and intermediate schools..."
Is there some other type of school? Oh yes, silly me. Kura Kaupapa. So why on earth are they not required to adhere to some decent standards?
The best part of all is that the responsibility for publishing the results lies with trustees, not principals. The trustees will be personally liable under the provisions of the Trustees Act if they fail to publish so they will have no hesitation in firing teachers who attempt to sabotage the process.
You can guarantee some will try.
Update: And they've started, by carefully dressing up the campaign as a 'forum.'
Things will be different...
We've seen just how accurate that view wasn't recently with a number of cases:
1. Ministers Rodney Hide and Heather Roy are attempting to make people affected by their portfolios put money into the ACT Party coffers if they want to hear the Minister's intentions for this area. It doesn't take much imagination to realise the kind of things right-wing bloggers would have written about this if Ministers in the previous govt were doing it, so presumably there'll be no excuses for it under this govt, right? Er, wrong. According to Cactus Kate, it's perfectly alright because the Party gets the money, not the Minister. As someone pointed out, such hair-splitting is classic Winston Peters material - unsurprising I suppose, since he and CK are both lawyers. And according to various commenters, Helen Clark is doing something similar at the UN - this Helen Clark who's now apparently a benchmark for ACT Ministers' behaviour in office being the same one vilified for years as dishonest, corrupt and a disgrace to the nation.
2. Chris Carter blogged a post vaguely comparing the PM to Benito Mussolini, to predictable howls of outrage and ugly gay-bashing on Kiwiblog. Fair enough - it's pointless, stupid and offensive to their victims to compare NZ politicians with murderous dictators, so Carter obviously falls into that category. Fair cop. But hold on a minute - if merely dashing off a blog post comparing the PM to a murderous dictator makes Carter an idiot, how are we to describe the blogger who went out and paid for large billboards comparing the PM to murderous dictators? You'd think, from the comments left by DPF's readers re Carter, that they'd be well placed to have advised him on just how stupid that was, but somehow they neglected to do so - perhaps because they all spent years comparing the PM to murderous dictators themselves in his comments threads.
3. Bill English lies so he can extract more money in allowances from the taxpayer than many of those taxpayers earn in a year. Cries of dishonesty, corruption, disgrace to the nation etc? Still waiting.
4. How about the govt's future plans? The latest one is to give all bureaucrats with enforcement powers the kind of powers only previously granted to Police. Again, no imagination required to picture how a move like this from the previous Labour govt would have been greeted. And yet, somehow, commentary is lacking...
Friday, October 23, 2009
UN and SAP. A clusterfuck starting to happen
Software licences and customization ($11,475,000): as a result of the Organization's stronger negotiation strategy with the software vendors, there would be limited payment for software licensing during the design phase of the project, and any required customizations would be initiated later in 2009.
• Software integration ($21,847,400): based on the above-stated approach to the
acquisition of software integration services, there would be a significant
reduction in the overall work-months required during the biennium 2008-2009, as those resources would be required during the subsequent build and roll-out phases.
• Project and change management ($5,387,700): the ERP project team would postpone the recruitment of its full staffing complement until July 2009 until the initiation of the design phase after the completion of high-level business re-engineering activities in the first quarter of 2009. The change management strategy continues to focus on an awareness campaign for the stakeholders of the ERP project, pending approval by the General Assembly.
• Training ($5,615,400): the commencement of training is dependent upon the acquisition of the ERP software solution, which is in the final phase of evaluation.
• Operational costs ($749,000): the above delays have a corresponding impact on the requirements related to general operating expenses.
Aprez le Train Wreck
Today's piece of stunning stupidity is Goff's reaction to the opening of ACC to competition.
We'll reverse it when we are back in government he bleats.
"He said his party was vehemently opposed and would reverse the changes once back in government."
Never mind that National and ACT were elected on a clear mandate for competition, which Labour tiresomely portrays as privatisation which it is not. They don't seem to realise that it was their capacity for this sort of distortion and deceit which got them thrown out in November.
The subliminal message Goff has just given to the 70% of voters who don't support Labour is simple.
"We haven't learned a thing from our mistakes. We know better that you what's good for you. "
Insurers can confidently invest in this market now, safe in the knowledge that their tenure will be secure for at least twenty years. In fact, Goff's foolish outburst will give the GNActs all the justification they need to lock in the changes so that a future government can not again meddle in the way Clark and Cullen did without a substantial penalty payment to the private insurers.
Nothing to report
The Government's clear intention to open ACC to private competition has driven a wedge between trade unions and the business sector.
Well, duh - that's what National does. Driving a wedge between trade unions and employers is one of their main reasons for existence. In this particular case, it's simply a welcome side-effect of their ideological war against ACC. But in terms of news, it's like reporting Jim Anderton wants to ban another drug - tell us something we don't know.
The real news in it is that Labour is vowing a "tooth and nail" fight over ACC. Really? They're going to move beyond desultory expressions of mild disapproval? Now that we didn't know.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Underselling NZ
Pot. Kettle. Black.
Talk of Hide somehow doing wrong for charging admission to a breakfast
How about the otherwise invisible Helen only appearing for money
Inner City Press: the head of UNDP, Helen Clark, gave a speech in Washington at the Women's Foreign Policy Group, and they charged $250 admission. Is there any kind of rule applicable to UN officials speaking in a for-pay environment and who reviews, obviously it was a fund-raiser, but what comment do you have on that?
Only Half The Story
Some mob of aggressive floggers of Kiwisaver to uninformed lower socio-economic families has indulged in a bit of comparative advertising by e-mail.
(God knows why they pursue this business so hard as there's no money to be made out of it. The broker principal no doubt expects to make a fortune out of trail commission paid on accumulated account balances. Well Adolf has news for him. It won't take too many more episodes such as this for him to have his agency agreement cancelled. Goodbye trail commissions. If this is the same outfit which has been running around door to door then I'd say he is close to being sacked.)
This has upset the victims of their apparent perfidy, ASB and ANZ - both of whom are notable for lamentable historical investment performance - resulting in complaints to the Securities Commission. It's at about this stage that the Herald repeater starts to bend the story away from the truth.
The astute reader will note that the response to the complaint by the Securities Commission is muted, to say the least.
"The email claims Fidelity's KiwiSaver funds are "rated number one across the board" with the best performance of all providers across its conservative, balanced, growth and aggressive funds and includes an attachment comparing investment returns with those of Huljich Wealth Management, ANZ Bank and ASB Bank. Under the figures for ANZ and ASB it states: "They are losing your money."A spokeswoman for the Securities Commission said it was not illegal for providers to talk up their investment products or compare their performance to others as long as the promotion was not misleading, deceptive or confusing."
That's because the idiot salesmen used information which was not inaccurate even though it was not authorised for publication. Technically they were not in breach but ethically they leave much to be desired.
The astute reader then moves to the last paragraph in which the repeater piously quotes Morningstar figures which would have you believe that the fund manager being pilloried is telling lies. Not so. It is the Herald which is telling lies by insinuation and omission.
"A Morningstar report released last week found Fidelity's conservative fund was 10th out of 14 funds, its balanced fund was third out of 20, its growth fund was second out of 17 and its aggressive fund was third out of nine over the two years to September 30."
You see, dear friends, the figures used by the salesmen were the investment performance figures for Kiwisaver fund for the last three months. The Morningstar figures published in the Herald were for the past two years' investment performance.
Is it too much to ask that, just for once, the media could simply tell the truth without the spin?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Veteran can now reveal that Shane Jones has brokered a deal with George Hawkins that will have him (Hawkins) announce his retirement from politics at the 2011 election and work (behind the scenes) to gift the seat to Shane Jones.
Clearly Jones has conceded that Labour has no show in Northland (never has) and the 'Right' faction of Labour is doing a deal to look after one of their own and bugger Labour's so called democratic selection process.
You heard it first from the Veteran.
You Wanted Results?
There'll be plenty more where that came from.
Adolf looks forward to seeing the scythe go though MinEd next.
Referenda and MMP
The details have been well covered elsewhere so it remains only for Adolf to remark that he will be agitating for the retention of MMP, albeit with some major structural adjustments to eliminate mischievous outfits such as Jamdertin's little labour party. In addition, I'd support Homepaddock's suggestions for an increase in the number of registered members required for recognition of a political party. Currently 500, the thresh hold is too low and should be increased to at least 1,000.
Let's face it, if you put it up to 2,000 you might embarrass the Labour Party.
Pedantry of the day
A litany of errors by 111 ambulance dispatchers contributed to a Wellington man's death
Seriously, do you have to be illiterate to get a job in journalism now, or what? The word is 'series,' imbecile - a litany is a call/response prayer used in church.
It's tempting to blame Justice Mahon for this, because he coined the phrase "orchestrated litany of lies" during his Mt Erebus inquiry, to describe the memorised series of lies Air NZ staff repeated in response to his questions. That would be unfair, though - his use of 'litany' to describe it was a fitting metaphor. Sadly, illiterate NZ journos, not having the faintest idea what a litany is, assume he was using a fancy, intellectual-sounding word for 'list,' and figure they'll seem intelligent if they use it that way. Opposite effect, guys - makes you seem really stupid.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A game of three halves
I would have preferred if he had donned his leotards, streaked to Irbland and demanded that all the games be played in three equal halves. That way MTV, TV1 and TV3 could all have a fair share and everyone would be happy.
But I guess I will just have to settle on throwing a day's borrowings at the event to sort it all out.
I have reached the sad conclusion that governments will never stop borrowing/printing money. Mostly because it is and always will be the easy way out. As long as all Western countries do it at roughly an equal rate then the final outcome should be reasonably equitable.
As the interest bills eventually exceed the value of goods mankind can produce, then we can simply take the African approach. Cancel the currencies and start again with new ones. It might piss a few Chinese and Arabs off, but who really cares. They'll never be good at rugby anyway.
So my advise. Buy gold and just enjoy the RWC. It is going to be a great party so make the most of it. I will.
Now you will obey
The pupils' families were told yesterday and the boys will face unspecified disciplinary action.
Earlier this month, Lincoln University fined 15 students $200, made them write an essay on the Holocaust and visit the Holocaust Centre and the German embassy, both in Wellington, at their own expense. They had attended a party last month dressed as Nazis and concentration camp victims.
Naturally, Joris de Bres is flapping his chops as well:
...I expect the school to deal with it, as they appear to be doing.
Yeah, way to demonstrate our staunch opposition to fascism - forcibly deprive people of their freedom of expression. If these students had anything between the legs they'd be telling these jumped-up little Hitlers to get fucked.
Look, Joris - a swastika! Oh no!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Nikau Palms are dying
I had an office in Queen Street at the time. It was all jackhammers and concrete cutters for at least six months. The retailers took a bath. The noise, dust and nuisance was unbearable.
And just so a few Nikau Palms could be planted. Which are now dying.
The palms were planted amid fierce debate. Some Aucklanders believed the removal of the existing exotic plants would amount to downgrading Queen St. In the end the council removed 17 exotic plants.I would have thought the Herald might have at least reminded us which mayor authorised the planting of them; which mayor spent tens of millions on unnecessary centrally planned beautification; and which mayor phoned in from his holiday home in Queenstown to stop the Queen Street massacre as the public backlash peaked.
Dick Hubbard of course.
Rod Oram and Helen Clark's friend.
Could National Lose 2011? Here's How.
Let your imagination run wild for a moment and picture the void left by a go nowhere, do nothing, no talent, still in denial Labour Party - polling at around 15% party vote.
Imagine a small army - maybe a platoon or two - of Redbaiters, erikters, Wake Ups, Manolos etc - fulminating on the sidelines. They have been ineffectual thus far and they need a cause celebre or a trigger point to elevate themselves into the centre of the public consciousness.
It is early 2011 and the recession has not receded. Unemployment remains high. Constraint is the order of the day. Ticket sales have bombed, in spite of a special gummint injection of $5 million (thanks McCully) to promote sales overseas. The projected loss balloons to an unprecedented $60 million and the tax payer sees a looming bill for $40 million.
Enter thePark Yeehaa Party , lead by the charismatic Red Baiter, revealed to be none other than highly successful Ruawai dairy farmer, fifty year old Vlado Yankovich, father of six daughters and scourge of socialism. The Park Yeehaa Party is born but struggles to gain traction as it rails against the socialist pinkos in National and their suckhole comrades in ACT. It soaks up the rump of NZ First and a few disaffected National members. ACT suffers in the polls from its association with National and languishes between 2 and 3 percent. PYP moves up to poll steadily at 6 to 7% and can see Red in parliament.
Then, two months before the election, the All Blacks fail to even make the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup and ticket sales for the remaining games dry up completely. The final is only seventy-five percent sold. Losses now are predicted to exceed $80 mil.
Voters search in desperation for somewhere to go and descend upon the PYP as the only real means of punishing National for the RWC debacle without giving oxygen to the hated Labour Party and the reviled Greens.
National takes a bath and polls 41% party vote, ACT gets 4% but wins two electorates, MP takes 12 seats and the Park Yeehaa Party wins 22% of the party vote, with no electorates. Greens fail to make the cut while Labour outbids Bill English with 18% of the vote.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The ETS sham
The Government decided to press ahead with a revised ETS, introduced with the support of the Maori Party.
The Bill exhibits all the worst features identified by critics of ETS systems. Economists have long tended to prefer a carbon tax to an ETS, because the latter is likely to result in high compliance and administration costs, lack of transparency, massive lobbying for special treatment, corporate welfare, and market manipulation. Politicians are attracted to an ETS because it does not look or sound like a tax, although it is. Moreover, politicians can hand out the associated credits in a politically advantageous way.
The NZ ETS exhibits all these negative features. A large bureaucracy will be needed to manage it, and already the process of establishing the ETS is shot through with lobbying, unprincipled deal-making and divergent treatment of different economic activities. The intensity-based approach will strain the already formidable information and monitoring requirements of an ETS.
As the costs and subsidies become reflected in asset prices, the wealth transfers will become locked in, and politically difficult to change. The notion that, by turning up to the Copenhagen meeting as a world leader in having a legislated ETS, we can influence the world is simply pompous grandstanding. This conceit will be at the expense of New Zealand workers and businesses.
The deals are being done in the back room. It seems the price of support from the Maori Party to simply have the Bill introduced was to include a Treaty of Waitangi clause, to look again at past Treaty settlements, and to allocate carbon credits to iwi fishing interests. There will be more deals. It is obvious who has the leverage here the price to actually get this legislation passed will be high.
Meanwhile the government is congratulating itself for its pragmatism and moderation, due to there being a delayed entry and a gradual transition for various sectors. But the direction of policy is the crucial signal to investors. A gradual transition does not much help as far as jobs and investment are concerned. It is the destination that is the problem, and the signal to business is loud and clear. Invest elsewhere.
Comprehensively Bowled Out, Time After Time.
It's as though every new poll is like failing to avoid the follow on, with a string of top order ducks in the second innings. Mind you, they've got an incumbent top order duck in there now.
TV3 has the grim news for the Labour Losers.
National up 1.8% to 60%
Labour down 2% to 27%
Helen Clark preferred PM by twice as many people as want Filk Off.
Adolf figures this poll and the last Roy Morgan should give Messrs Key and English confidence to do the job which has to be done on ACC and to pull the fangs from the teacher's union.
It's time to make some moves, fellers.
The dog wags the tail, John.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The LAV- Stryker seems like a great modern fighting vehicle
Daniel Yergin on the long goodbye to oil
Both the U.S. Department of Energy and the International Energy Agency project that, even accounting for gains in efficiency, global energy use will increase almost 50 percent from 2006 to 2030 -- and that oil will continue to provide 30 percent or more of the world's energy in 2030.
But will it?
At the time of the first Gulf War in 1991, China was still an oil exporter.
So far this year, more new cars have been sold in China than in the United States. When economic recovery takes hold again, what happens to oil demand in such emerging countries will be crucial.
Inevitably, any country in China's position -- whose demand had grown from 2.5 million barrels per day to 8 million in a decade and a half -- would be worrying about supplies. Such an increase, however, is not a forecast of inevitable strife; it is a message about economic growth and rising standards of living.
How does that get done? How does the world at once meet both the challenge of climate change and the challenge of economic growth -- steady expansion in the industrial countries and more dramatic growth in China, India, and other emerging markets as tens of millions of their citizens rise from poverty and buy appliances and cars?
The answer has to be in another defining change -- an emphasis on technology to a degree never before seen. The energy business has always been a technology business. After all, the men who figured out in 1859, exactly 150 years ago, how to drill that first oil well -- Colonel Drake and his New Haven, Conn., investors -- would, in today's lingo, be described as a group of disruptive technology entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Again and again, in researching oil's history, I was struck by how seemingly insurmountable barriers and obstacles were overcome by technological progress, often unanticipated.
Consider the "peak oil" thesis -- shorthand for the presumption that the world has reached the high point of production and is headed for a downward slope. Historically, peak-oil thinking gains attention during times when markets are tight and prices are rising, stoking fears of a permanent shortage. In 2007 and 2008, the belief system built around peak oil helped drive prices to $147.27. (It was actually the fifth time that the world had supposedly "run out" of oil. The first such episode was in the 1880s; the last instance before this most recent time was in the 1970s.)
However, careful examination of the world's resource base -- including my own firm's analysis of more than 800 of the largest oil fields -- indicates that the resource endowment of the planet is sufficient to keep up with demand for decades to come.


text:
Auburn, CA – The first Auburn Art Walk of 2013 takes place from 6:00 to 9:00 pm on Thursday, April 11, in businesses throughout Old Town and Downtown Auburn.
Enjoy a spring evening strolling the streets of Auburn, chatting with the artists about their work and being entertained by live music in a number of locations. A free shuttle connects all venues every 20 minutes from 6:30 to 9:30 pm, sponsored by the Downtown Business Association and the Old Town Business Association. The art is for sale and, after the Art Walk, hangs for two months. The Auburn Art Walk is a free family event.
New venues this year include: Cabe's 958, on Central Square, featuring the work of EV Cain Middle School students of Tom Sarradet; the newly-opened Juan Pena Studio with Deanna Marsh and other artists; JumboGiant; Gaia's Basket has Alison Campbell's acrylics and 9 year old Fiona Clare Gillogly's watercolors; Pioneer United Methodist Church exhibiting the Relay for Life "Survivor Quilts," 979 Hair Salon showing the abstract acrylics of Maha Salem, of Lincoln, and Wild Women in the Garden.
A North Auburn Studio Tour Preview Show is on exhibit at Courthouse Coffee and the student show, "Spring Finale," is at the Placer High School Dungeon Gallery. Intermediate and advanced watercolor students of Sonja Hamilton, enrolled in the Placer School for Adults classes and representing areas ranging from Georgetown to Shingle Springs to Grass Valley, are presenting a group show of auto-themed art entitled, "Classic, Chrome & Rust," at the Chocolate Shoppe & Gift Emporium, to coincide with Auburn Cruise Night.
First time Auburn Art Walk artist and award-winning metal sculptor, Steve Wilson, of Herald, is showing his metal sculpture at Meritage Motors. Steve has been sculpting in steel for over 35 years. An intuitive and imaginative artist with "an eye to the sky," Steve's pieces are often feathered. Ranging from realistic to mythical and small to life sized, each piece has its own unique beauty in this small but powerful exhibition.
Auburn artist and first time Auburn Art Walk participant, Hannah Potter's fine pencil prints and notecards are featured at Amber Collection. Although she is only eighteen, her work has been shown at Auburn's Arts in the Park, among other local venues, and at the Los Angeles County Fair; where one of her pieces was juried number one in its category.
Renee Carrington, of Granite Bay, is showing photography at Bukovina. Renee says, "I have been an elementary school teacher for over 20 years. Education is my passion, but photography is my love. I believe it is important to teach children to appreciate the beauty that surrounds them every day. I seek to capture the power and strength of the earth, sky, and water, as well as its simple elegance and gentleness. My images are treasures taken with love and joy from around the world. I hope to share the exquisite beauty in the small and insignificant, as well as the large and powerful, that I see in the world with others so that they, too, will enjoy it with me."
First time Auburn Art Walk artists also include Cool resident, Aimee Alexander's ink on paper illustrations at Oz Jewelers; Denise Wey, of Grass Valley, showing acrylics at Depoe Bay Coffee Company, and Liz Collins, of Nevada City, with mixed media including oil pastel, acrylic, and map, at Sierra Moon Goldsmiths. Sandra DeLong, of Colfax, shows oils at the Placer County Air Pollution Control District while Auburn artist, Juan Pena, has his watercolors at the Christian Science Reading Room.
Photographer, Michele McCormick, of Folsom, is showing her work at The Domes, Placer County's Administrative Center. Following a long and successful career in public relations, Michele has returned to her original passion: photography. Her wide-ranging work includes portraiture, landscape, travel, animals, food and fine art. The exhibit titled, "Natural Transitions," is available for viewing during business hours of Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm.
For a complete list of venues and featured artists, view the online map at http://PlacerArts.org/programs/artwalk. Free art walk maps may also be picked up at PlacerArts, 808 Lincoln Way, or at any of the participating venues, which are marked by red "Auburn Art Walk" signs.
PlacerArts is the Arts Council of Placer County, a non-profit, public benefit agency and catalyst for the arts and humanities throughout Place County; designated as state-local partner of the California Arts Council, a state agency.
*Auburn Art Walk

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Petition of the day
The petition of the day is:
Issue(s): (1) Whether the First Circuit erred in upholding Massachusetts's selective exclusion law – which makes it a crime for speakers other than clinic "employees or agents . . . acting within the scope of their employment" to "enter or remain on a public way or sidewalk" within thirty-five feet of an entrance, exit, or driveway of "a reproductive health care facility" – under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, on its face and as applied to petitioners; (2) whether, if Hill v. Colorado permits enforcement of this law, Hill should be limited or overruled.
Recommended Citation: Mary Pat Dwyer, Petition of the day, SCOTUSblog (Jun. 20, 2013, 6:42 AM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2013/06/petition-of-the-day-468/


text:
Barkevious Mingo is undeniably talented — maybe the most talented player in this year's NFL draft — but at LSU he was a 230-pound defensive end. And there aren't many 230-pound defensive ends in the NFL.
So that's why Mingo has been bulking up over the last six weeks. And Mingo says he's getting significant results.
"The most important thing, I think, to show is that I've increased weight — putting on a lot of weight, putting on a lot of size," Mingo said on NFL AM. "I'm weighing 245 now. I played most of the season at 230."
Despite that weight gain, Mingo says he has actually gotten faster, and he wants NFL teams to know he'll be able to play either defensive end or outside linebacker in the pros.
"I think I can do it all," Mingo said. "I've been working on linebacking skills, driving back in coverage — that was something I was lacking at LSU. Working on getting my hands better."
Mingo is widely viewed as a Top 10 pick. If he shows at the Scouting Combine that he really is bigger and faster, he'll solidify that status.


text:
Hi all,
I am experiencing a problem in converting std::string to CString, and I don't know why it occurs. I am not using MFC. I just included atlstr.h.
Here is the code I use:
string mpname = "SCCMDC.SCCM.COM";
CString sMPIP(mpname.c_str());
cout << "sMPIP: " << sMPIP << endl;
printf("Printf: %s", sMPIP);
printf("Printf2: %s", &sMPIP);
cout returns something like this:
sMPIP: 000000000003046F8
While the two printfs returns something like this:
Printf: <
Printf: H=1
I am not sure if the above is causing another error: adding two CStrings.
CString sNewloc = "something" + cString1 + " something " + cString2;
printf("new loc: %s", sNewloc);
Am I converting it wrong or am I just printing it wrong? Can anyone help me with this?
Thank you!


text:
ID Login:
(a) Registration is open to all business entities and individuals.
(b) For needs of future disputes, or claim the rights of domain names, the original application document will be needed.
(a) Minimum: 3
(b) Maximum: 63
(c) comprise of letters and numbers
(d) A domain name cannot begin or end with a hyphen "-" or contain a hyphen "-" on the 3rd and 4th position.
1-10 years
(a) To transfer domain into Net-Chinese, registrant shall renew at least 1 year.
(b) Transfer of domain between registrars is not allowed within the first 60 days of the initial registration or renewal of a domain.
(c) Transfer of domain between registrars is not allowed in the 60 days of the previous registrar-to-registrar transfer.
(d) Domain auth code is required.
(e) Domain has to be in "OK" status.
1. Request the domain name transfer and confirm the authcode.
2. During the process of transfer, the original registrar and the new registrar will send a confirm email to the address which the Applicant submitted when registering the domain name. The e-mail address must be valid so that the applicant may proceed the transfer process successfully.
3. Applicant has to follow the instruction to confirm the transfer.
*the applicant will be informed by Net-Chinese by e-mail to renew the domain name around
30 days and 7 days before the domain name expiration date*
*the applicant will be informed by Net-Chinese by e-mail to renew the domain name in 5 days after the domain name expiration date*
1. The introduction and information of the domains in the website are for reference only. The applicant should fully acknowledge and agree that all the domain names should comply with the Domain Name Registration Agreement of all gTLDs and ccTLDs of ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the Domain Name Management Regulation, the Dispute Resolution, other related regulations and the policy requirements of the highest authority of each domain.
2. The regulation of the renewal of each domain is different and might be amended occasionally. Please pay and finish the domain renewal 30 days before the expiration date; if the renewal date is within 30 days before the expiration date, Net-Chinese will handle the domain name renewal according to the regulations of each registry. The additional charge should be at the applicant's own expense.


text:
Instagram, the requisite photo application for iPhone users, is now coming to Android and Google Play.
Kevin Systrom, an Instagram co-founder, showed off a prototype of the app running on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus at SXSW, and said that "in some ways, it's better than our iPhone app," according to The Verge.
The free photo app now has 27 million users and will likely garner a few more million on the new platform. However, many sources felt that it was time to take Google Play down a peg (the old Android Market) by following up the story with Mika Mobile announcing it would drop support for its Battleheart app because its wasn't cost-effective for Android. This led to the inevitable discussion about how Android users are cheapskates and iPhone users are an app developer's dream.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
We like to point out that comparing iPhone users and Android phone users is futile. iPhone users tend to be older and wealthier (67 percent of iPhone users make $200,000 a year or more,) while Android users are younger and often less affluent. Then if you add the fact that Android developers make their apps more expensive than on iTunes -- $3.74 versus $1.47 -- it doesn't make for a particularly good business plan.
However, Instagram is a free app and won't be affected by cost. Now if only Instagram can make money off of their app . . .


text:
You don't have any saved vehicles!
Look for this link on your favorites:
Once you've saved some vehicles, you can view them here at any time.
AUTOMAX HYUNDAI DEL CITY WHERE THE DEALS ARE AUTOMATIC!! OKLAHOMA'S OLDEST NUMBER ONE VOLUME DEALER. PROUDLY SERVING THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA FOR OVER A QUARTER OF A CENTURY! 2020 Hyundai Tucson Sport **REAR BACKUP CAMERA**, **BLUETOOTH, HANDS-FREE**, **KEYLESS ENTRY**, **BLIND SPOT MONITOR**, **APPLE CARPLAY**, **ANDROID AUTO**. Winter White FWD 6-Speed Automatic with Shiftronic 2.4L I4 DGI DOHC 16V
22/28 City/Highway MPG Price includes: **ADDITIONAL REBATES AVAILABLE FOR QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS**$2000 - Retail Bonus Cash. Exp. 06/30/2020
New vehicle pricing includes all offers and incentives. Tax Title and Tags not included in vehicle prices shown and must be paid by the purchaser. While great effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site errors do occur so please verify information with a customer service rep.
*Number of views in last 30 days
† Based on 2020 EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
Phone: 405-801-3550http://maps.google.com/?q=4401%20Tinker%20Diagonal%20Rd.%20%2C%20Del%20City%2C%20OK%2073115


text:
Is Cassandra Peterson Taller Than Honor Blackman?
Who is taller?!
Cassandra Peterson is taller than Honor Blackman by 5cm.
That's roughly 2 inches or 0.05 metres.
Have a look at Cassandra Peterson's and Honor Blackman's pages to see some more information about their heights and names.
You can also check your height against theirs and see how you compare.


text:
Dismiss Notice
Hi everyone,
Apple just released Logic Pro 10.5 for MacOS 10.15. We found out that Crush Pack, Mod Pack, Replika, and Replika XT will crash.
Our teams are currently working on a fix, and we hope to have this out to you as soon as we can!
Best wishes,
The NI Team
stereo82's Recent Activity
No recent activity information is available for stereo82.


text:
The Coast Guard assisted five people aboard a 22-foot disabled boat taking on water Tuesday at the entrance to Bogue Inlet near Swansboro.
The Coast Guard assisted five people aboard a 22-foot disabled boat taking on water Tuesday at the entrance to Bogue Inlet near Swansboro.
The owner of the 22-foot boat called Coast Guard by cell phone about 2 p.m. Tuesday, reporting his boat was taking on water over its topsides, according to a Coast Guard press release.
Coast Guard crews from Emerald Isle were dispatched two rescue boats and reached the distressed boat in about 15 minutes.
"We're very fortunate that the vessel taking on water had enough life jackets aboard for everyone and they put them on," said Petty Officer 1st Class Colin Smith, the executive petty officer of Station Emerald Isle.
The larger rescue vessel could not reach the boat because it was in water too shallow, however, the smaller vessel reached the distressed crew and cast them a line for a tow to "safer water," according to the press release.
Once the boat was in safe water, the SPC-SW crew placed the boat in a side tow, transferred the people from the disabled boat and began pumping out the sinking boat.
The Coast Guard crew towed the boat to the Cedar Point Wildlife Ramp in Cedar Point.
There were no reports of injuries, but the Coast Guard advised boaters to heed Bogue Inlet's shifting shoals and breaking surf, which worsens on outgoing tides, according to the press release.


text:
Chase the big dreams. Blow past tiny doubts.
When you join GoDaddy you'll realize we work differently–ordinary isn't part of our DNA. We believe when imaginations run wild you can achieve amazing accomplishments. Make it happen.
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text:
Just who is the World Heavyweight Champion? Tonight's acting general manager, Chris Jericho, promises to address the big question on his show tonight, but not until everyone gets... well... lei-ed. He makes good on his word when hundreds of leis drop from the ceiling, kicking off what Jericho promises will be Raw's biggest party ever. Festivities will include Lita versus Trish Stratus for the Women's Title and something called the Rock and Roll Limbo-A-Go-Go. But first, Vince McMahon will join Jericho on the Highlight Reel to answer "The Question" as Raw goes live once again from Flair Country, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Wasting little time, the Chairman of the Board gets right down to the controversial title situation that saw Chris Benoit pin Edge just as he was tapping out from a Crippler Crossface. In Vince's mind, two challengers doing something like that usually means neither of them are named champion. That's all Triple H apparently needs to hear, and a smiling Game makes his way to the ring. McMahon congratulates Helmsley, but it's for the impending release of his fitness book and Blade: Trinity. Trips makes a grab for the belt, causing McMahon to come right out with it -- no one will be named champion tonight. Instead, McMahon vacates the title with the intent to force the vacationing Eric Bischoff to sort out the mess when he returns next week. Do I even need to tell you how upset this makes Triple H?
As you might expect, Triple H goes on a rampage backstage while his teammates in Evolution try to calm him down. Once again, tensions flare up between Trips and Batista. Elsewhere, Christian barges in on Jericho's rather unique GM's office to protest the ring attire he's been given. Y2J tells him the only way he'll wrestle Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Title tonight is if he suits up as ordered. Benoit also drops in, feeling a bit anxious as he waits for Bischoff's decision next Monday. We do get a rare smile from the Crippler a minute later when he finds out he'll be teaming with Jericho to take on Triple H and Batista later tonight.
Match 1 - Eugene vs. Maven
Maven offers a pre-match handshake but William Regal remains skeptical. Eugene gets the better of things during some early mat wrestling, and Maven looks like he's being a good sport about it. That illusion quickly fades when he fakes getting tripped along the ropes, earning Regal an unwarranted ejection from ringside. Eugene rips off a couple of two counts, so Maven slows the pace and offers the youngster a handshake. Maven takes advantage of Eugene's naivete by kicking him repeatedly in the leg and choking him in the corner, forcing the ref to call for the bell. That's not enough for Maven though, as he grabs Eugene's tag team title belt and lays out Regal when he comes to check on his ward. Time will tell if Maven has enough personality to pull off a heel turn.
Jericho calls for the Raw Divas to join him in the ring for Rock and Roll Limbo-A-Go-Go. As the name implies, it's a limbo contest set to the music of Jericho's band Fozzy. Christy Hemme takes the title of limbo champ, and the GM orders the girls to dance while he launches into a live version of Don't You Wish You Were Me. How should I put this... it's the opposite of good. The lights suddenly go out, and for the first time I am actually happy to see Muhammed Hassad and his manager appear on the Titan Tron. Hassad declares that the party is over, and promises to make everyone feel the same way he does when he makes his debut next week.
Speaking of people I'm not usually happy to see on Raw, Simon Dean makes his way down the ramp. Dean wants to talk about his Fitno Powder, but Jericho won't let him plug it unless he agrees to participate in his first actual wrestling match. You know what that means.
Match 2 - Simon Dean vs. The Hurricane
Hurricane obliges Dean by participating in some mat wrestling, but the fitness guru is the first to turn it into a more pro-style affair with some big right hands and a backbreaker. The fans get a "Simon sucks" chant going to prove they already hate this guy, but I suppose that's the point. After some near falls both ways, Hurricane gets some momentum going with spinning headscissors and an uppercut. But Dean ducks the Shining Wizard, grabbing a handful of tights and rolling up his foe to win his debut match.
Randy Orton joins The Coach backstage for some interview time. Randy does a little gloating about the end of Triple H's title reign, pointing out that he can compete for the world title if Bischoff declares Benoit or Edge the new champ. His mood changes a bit when he's interrupted by Edge's music and Raw's most bitter superstar storms down to the ring. Edge says he came to Charlotte ready to defend his world title but got screwed again. In his mind, he won both the battle royal and the Triple Threat Match a week ago and blames just one person for the current predicament: Orton. He calls out Randy, who quickly joins him in the squared circle. Orton reminds Edge that he ordered the three-way dance and kicked out Evolution to even give the Canadian a shot at the title. Edge responds by calling Orton another word for a female dog, touching off a scrap that makes Ron Artest look like a boy scout. Nine men, including Sgt. Slaughter and Arn Anderson, eventually pull the two rivals
I have two words for Blade: Trinity: midnight show. I'm there.
Match 3 - Shelton Benjamin (champion) vs. Captain Charisma (challenger) - Intercontinental Title Match
Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but Captain Charisma is really mild-mannered Christian under that mask. It looks like Hurricane and Rosey aren't the only superheroes on Raw, thanks to the Captain's red tights and mask with little 'C's' on the side. After he gets some laughs out of his system, the champ trades near falls with his challenger until he gets strung on the top rope and locked in an abdominal stretch. Benjamin rallies by catching the Captain coming off the top rope and follows with a Russian leg sweep and a big sunset flip from the top rope, both for two counts. Shelton misses his leap into the corner and finds himself kicking out a second later. Tyson Tomko lends a hand by tossing the belt to his man and hitting a big boot to the face, but Benjamin turns the tables by hitting a spinning kick and kicking Tomko off the apron. With Captain Charisma's mask turned around, he's easy pickings for a t-bone suplex that ends the match. Jericho can't resist one last laugh at Christian's expense, and he also announces that he's booked Orton and Edge to face each other next week. And since he won't be GM after tonight, that makes perfect sense, I guess.
The Smackdown Rebound shows us JBL and Orlando Jordan laying the proverbial smack down on The Undertaker with some help form the Basham Brothers. At least I think that's them, I didn't read Dale Plummer's Smackdown report last Friday. Shame on me.
Backstage, Lita gets stopped by Gene Snitsky for his usual bit of rambling nonsense. Did you know he ended Kane's career? Just ask him, he'll tell you. Elsewhere, Triple H and Flair leave the world's longest voice mail for Bischoff expounding on all the reasons The Game should be named champ when Eric returns. Helmsley is just about to end the message with a threat when Batista stops him from "making a big mistake." See you in the ring.
Match 4 - Batista and Triple H vs. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho
In an amusing start, Trips gets angry when Lillian Garcia announces him as a "former" world champ and chases her into my lap... I mean, the crowd. A big "we want Flair" chant goes up as the Nature Boy counsels his teammates from ringside. Batista has to save Triple H from an early Crippler Crossface, but both heels soon find themselves in a heap on the floor as we go to a commercial. Batista has Jericho in a camel clutch when we return, and HHH tags in to administer an abdominal stretch. Flair interferes liberally, setting up a Triple H neckbreaker for two. Batista tags in to toss Y2J around a bit before dropping him with a clothesline. Jericho manages to trip the big man into the turnbuckles long enough to make the hot tag to Benoit, who starts unloading on Evolution. Trips takes a bunch of abuse thanks to three rolling German suplexes, a lionsault and a diving headbutt. Our heroes lock him in the Walls of Jericho and the CCF at the same time, but Batista saves his bacon
once again. A frustrated Game grabs a steel chair, waffling both Benoit and the ref when he calls for the DQ. His next swing is targeted for Jericho but hits Batista instead. Trips gets Jericho with his next shot, but the damage to the already shaky Evolution chemistry is already done.
A couple of stagehands watch Trish stretch in preparation for her match until she hints that they should leave. Her challenger stops by to give her the literal kiss of death. Yes, you read that right, Lita and Trish kissed. Ahem.
Main Event - Trish Stratus (champion) vs. Lita (challenger) - Women's Title Match
Yes, the main event is a women's match, but stick around, because I have a feeling this is not going to suck. Trish uses the Matrix to avoid some early harm, but Lita still covers her for two and gets another near fall with a Russian leg sweep. Stratus is dumped over the top rope to the floor and Lita looks like she darn near kills herself with a tope that sees her land awkwardly on her neck and shoulder after nailing Trish. Later replays make it look a little less painful, but it's still a scary spot. Trish cheats by using her facemask to get in a shot from the floor, but soon finds herself on the wrong end of a superplex when she re-enters the ring. Trish revives to hit a high kick, though Lita counters her mounted corner punches with a power bomb. More countering leads to near falls both ways, setting us up for the big finish. Trish goes for the Stratusfaction, but Lita escapes and hits an inverted Twist of Fate. A moonsault finds its mark and Lita wins the women's title to complete a long feud. Good night everyone.
Nick Tylwalk has been a SLAM! Wrestling contributor since 1998. He's hoping this report will have the headline "RAW: Everyone Gets Lei-ed" but that's in the hands of the editors.


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Best definition
You and your buddy go out to a grave yard and dig up a woman that's about 2 weeks dead.
She needs to not be rotted and dried up. Then you lay her out on the ground spread eagle with pants/panties removed. You place your mouth on her vaginal region and get your buddy to jump on her stomach. The flowing of the beautiful juices will commence. Swallow.
Yo we went mulpin last night. It was great.


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Value Line is regarded as the best independent research available. More than just recommendations, Value Line provides the rationale behind its picks for greater understanding.
When times are good, a company's financial situation tends to slip into the background. Cash flow is healthy; bank loans are available; and, if necessary, stock and debt offerings can be made to bring in funds for expansion. However, the picture turns quite a bit darker when the economy starts contracting. During a recession, cash flow falls, banks aren't eager to lend, and pricing conditions are tougher when trying to sell shares or corporate debt. It's during the hard times that a company's financial strength shines through. The recent financial crisis brought that home with a vengeance.
The importance to investors of a company's financial strength matters in several ways. When income is the primary consideration, a strong balance sheet provides greater assurance that a dividend can be maintained. Adequate financing is also important for stockholders to ensure that operations can be expanded without an undue portion of the benefit going to the bank or to bondholders. Shares of deep-pocketed companies are generally more stable, as well.
Value Line classifies 1,700 companies' Financial Strength ratings (located at the bottom right of every Ratings & Reports page) from A++ to C, in nine steps. Those receiving the top grade include household names, such as Coca-Cola (KO - Free Analyst Report), Exxon Mobil (XOM - Free Analyst Report), Intel (INTC - Free Analyst Report), IBM (IBM - Free Analyst Report), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Analyst Report), McDonald's (MCD - Free Analyst Report), and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT - Free Analyst Report), among others. The lowest grade is reserved for companies experiencing serious financial difficulty – even insolvency.Quite a few ingredients go into Value Line's Financial Strength ratings. Balance sheet leverage, business risk, the level and direction of profits, cash flow, earned returns, cash, corporate size, and stock price, all contribute to a company's relative position on the scale. The amount of cash on hand, net of debt, is an important consideration. Take Microsoft (MSFT - Free Analyst Report), another A++ rated company, for example. With over $57 billion in cash available, the software giant can easily finance its operations, capital spending, dividend obligations, and a share repurchase program. At the other end of the spectrum, struggling retailer Zale Corp. (ZLC), rated C+ for Financial Strength, is less well financed.
Muddying the waters is the fact that not all industries are structured the same way financially. The Utilities and Financial sectors are prominent examples in that regard. Electric, natural gas, and water utilities are much more highly leveraged than industrial companies, with debt often topping 50% of total capitalization. Utilities are required to use more debt, because it is cheaper than equity. The increased financial risk is offset by reduced business risk, since utilities are a regulated monopoly. Relatively more equity and better fixed-charge coverage ratios support utilities' Financial Strength ratings. Con Edison (ED) is an example of an electric utility with above-average finances. For financial services providers, such as banks, thrifts, and insurance companies, the amount of capital, as measured by the equity to assets ratio, is a key consideration. More capital is better from a regulatory standpoint, but too much cuts down on profitability. Loss reserves are important, as well, as are funding sources. For lenders, deposits insured by the U.S. government represent a firmer source of liquidity than borrowings. It's when liquidity dries up that disruption occurs in the credit markets.
It's important to note that financial strength doesn't always translate into stock market outperformance. Shares of smaller companies and companies that are more leveraged often do significantly better when the economy is coming out of a recession. Since those groups are more sensitive to broader business conditions, their profits stand to rise more on a percentage basis in the early stages of a recovery. But, for investors looking for dividend-paying stocks and stocks to hold on to for a long period of time, it pays to be aware of a company's financial standing.


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Payroll and benefits often represent the biggest component of a practice's overhead. You can maximize your investment in your staff by ensuring they have the training, tools and management from you that helps them be as productive as possible.
Step 1: Write Job Descriptions
Clear job descriptions aren't just for the hiring process; they define roles and responsibilities and help set employee expectations. Job descriptions can be used as training or cross-training guides and in employee performance appraisals. Keep descriptions current – they can provide documentation in employee legal disputes.
Step 2: Communicate regularly and often
Keep your staff informed – daily 10-minute standup meetings work great. Ask for feedback and involve them in decisions. Be clear about business goals and the importance of their specific contributions. Communicating well with employees motivates them to do quality work and increases their loyalty.
Step 3: Training
For new hires, provide the tasks and behaviors expected of them for their current position, but don't stop there. Create long-term training and development plans to expand employees' skills and abilities. Reinforce the value of training and development by allowing paid time for training, budgeting for employee training sessions and providing incentives for skill development. Follow up with employees to show interest in their growth and request feedback from what they learned that could be implemented into your business. Cross-train your entire office so if one person is ill or on vacation, your team can continue business as usual.
Step 4: Maximize Technology
Whether it's your CRM or your broker-dealer's business processing systems, most advisor practices don't make the most of technology. Encourage employees to explore systems and vendor or BD websites for tips and best practices. In-house broker-dealer technologies often streamline daily tasks like organizing files and account data while improving submission and account update processes. Allow time for staff to attend any classes, seminars or webcasts offered either by product vendors or your broker-dealer to receive guided, hands-on experience with new technologies that can help improve the efficiency of your practice.
Step 5: Get Out of Their Way
Micromanagement can hold back your practice's growth potential. Focus on the "what" that needs to be accomplished, not the "how." Encourage and empower your staff to find better, faster or more efficient ways to get work done, without the need for you to bless every adjustment.
Step 6: Review Your Office Environment
Is your staff workspace conducive to productivity? It's natural to put off rearranging, relocating or expanding your office, but many advisors who face the challenge find a big payoff for the effort. Being distracted, too hot or cold, or overcrowded can lead to lower productivity and turnover. It can also give clients and prospects a negative perception. Work with your team to look at your office with a critical eye and develop ideas for improving it.
As an employer and manager, your job includes making sure your employees have everything they need to be successful in their jobs. They will always appreciate your efforts to help them be as efficient and productive – a definite win-win for your business!


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With Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement, there is a new swing justice in town....So Cohen is hoping for outcome-oriented decisionmaking from the newly empowered justice. Nice of him to come right out and say it. He gives little credit to Kennedy's commitment to First Amendment rights, which has, I think, been the most distinctive aspect of his role on the Court.
Looking back at the 5-to-4 decisions in which Justice O'Connor was in the majority suggests that having Justice Kennedy replace her in the center could mean major changes. She provided the fifth vote to reject a constitutional challenge to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, while he dissented. She was the fifth vote to uphold affirmative action in public university admissions, while he again dissented. Although both justices have supported Roe, he has voted to uphold greater restrictions on abortion rights....
[T]here are signs that his views are evolving. Last year, he wrote the decision ending the juvenile death penalty, reversing his 1989 position. And he has become an increasingly strong advocate for taking international law into account, to the distress of many conservatives.
He is also someone who cares what other people think. The Supreme Court scuttlebutt has always been that he is open to persuasion by colleagues, and even law clerks. It is sometimes said condescendingly, but there is something refreshing about a justice who genuinely seems to have an open mind. When he switched sides on the juvenile death penalty, he wrote a thoughtful opinion noting both that the American people had turned against it and that "the overwhelming weight of international opinion" opposed it.
Perhaps most important, it is not yet clear how Justice Kennedy will be changed by his vastly expanded influence. Justice O'Connor was very aware of her position as the swing justice, and it made her deeply aware of the impact her votes had on real people's lives. Justice Kennedy may inherit that mantle of concern. It is one thing to argue in dissent that campaign finance laws violate the First Amendment. It is quite another to cast the vote that prevents a nation weary of lobbying scandals from trying to clean up its elections.
It was often said that the Rehnquist Court was really the O'Connor Court. In the same way, the Roberts Court could turn out to be the Kennedy Court. It is too early to know what that would mean — even Justice Kennedy probably couldn't say. But it is likely that rather than pleasing any ideology or interest group, the court will be guided by one man's sometimes idiosyncratic, but evidently quite sincere, attempt to reach the right result.
I assume Kennedy will be changed by his new position of power, but I hope he uses it to bring principle and clarity to the law.


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Microsoft will deliver betas of both its integrated development environment (IDE), codenamed Visual Studio 11, and .NET Framework 4.5 on Wednesday, February 29.
The Visual Studio team, according to Microsoft, has focused its efforts on three core themes in the forthcoming release: helping developers build modern consumer and business applications, providing a simplified and distraction-free environment for maximum productivity and enabling collaborative and agile development teams.
"We undertook building Visual Studio 11 with a focus on offering today's software developer the very best environment for efficiently building applications-for both businesses and consumers," says S. Somsegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft. "In addition, our work has been highly influenced by the proliferation of devices and a passion for enabling developers to focus on building high quality, modern applications with data that seamlessly flows from one device to another, easily incorporating intuitive interfaces such as touch and voice. We want developers to be productive in building such applications, whether they're using C++, JavaScript, Visual Basic or C#."
Somasegar says Visual Studio 11 will embrace the whole spectrum of developers, from professionals working on mission-critical business applications to amateurs writing mobile apps in their spare time.
"Historically, the Developer Division at Microsoft focused entirely on the "professional developer," on the approximately 10 million people that built software as their primary vocation," Somasegar says. "Over the last few years, however, the software development landscape has significantly changed. What used to be 10 million developers is now upwards of 100 million, spanning not only "professional developers," but also students, entrepreneurs and in general people who want to build an app and put it up on an app store. From professionals to hobbyists, developers today build applications that span from the business world to the consumer world and that run on a wide range of client and server platforms and devices."
Visual Studio 11 closes the gap
The new IDE also focuses on what Microsoft calls "continuous value delivery," closing the loop between development and DevOps, explains Jason Zander, corporate vice president, Visual Studio. Zander says the IDE provides an experience that spans the lifecycle of software creation from architecture and user interface design to code creation, insight and analysis, deployment, testing and validation. It uses application lifecycle management (ALM) capabilities to help project stakeholders keep their efforts in synch at each step.
"In the Visual Studio 11 release, we're providing a continuous flow of value, allowing teams to use agile processes and gather feedback early and often," explains Jason Zander, corporate vice president, Visual Studio. "Storyboarding and Feedback Manager enable development teams to react rapidly to change, allowing stakeholder requirements to be captured and traced throughout the entire delivery cycle. Visual Studio 11 also introduces support for teams working together in the DevOps cycle. IntelliTrace in production allows teams to debug issues that occur on production servers, which is a key capability for software teams delivering services."
Visual Studio collaboration
The Visual Studio 11 Team Foundation Server (TFS) Beta will serve as the collaboration hub at the center of the Visual Studio ALM solution, giving teams the ability to track projects through each stage of software development, from keeping tabs on version control to continually deploying software updates.
For teams that want to give TFS a test drive, Microsoft will roll out Team Foundation Server Express with the beta. TFS Express, which is free to individuals and teams of up to five members, includes core developer features such as Source Code Control, Work Item Tracking, Build Automation and Agile Taskboard.
"Between Visual Studio Express and Team Foundation Server Express, we've got everything you need to get started in a frictionless way," Somasegar says.
The beta release will also include support for Windows 8 and web development in Visual Studio Express for Windows 8 and Visual Studio 11 Express for Web, respectively. Somasegar promises the Visual Studio team is working closely with the Windows team.
"We are definitely in synch with the Windows team for the Windows 8 product cycle," he says.
The new features in Visual Studio 11 include the following:
- Reduced toolbar commands. The team has reduced the number of default commands that appear on toolbars in the user interface in an effort to create a larger and less cluttered default work area. For instance, the cut, copy and paste toolbar commands were removed because the team's research showed most developers use the keyboard shortcuts instead. Developers can still access the commands through drop-down menus or add them back to the toolbar if desired.
- Simplified graphics. With an eye toward helping developers focus on their content rather than the user interface, the team has eliminated the use of color within tools, except where it is used for notification or status change purposes. The team has also attempted to make the interface less distracting by simplifying other user interface graphics, like line work and iconography.
- Comprehensive search. This new capability gives developers the ability to quickly find what they're looking for within commands and configuration options, tool windows and open files.
- Workflow hubs. In an effort to streamline common tasks, these new workflow hubs combine them into one simplified window so developers aren't forced to interact with two or more tool windows to accomplish tasks.
- Preview tabs. These new tabs give developers the ability to view the content of documents and are reused as the developer works, meaning developers no longer end up with large numbers of extraneous documents open as a byproduct of tasks like debugging or browsing results.
- "We know that developers can lose a lot of their time just orienting themselves to a project and the tools they are working with," Zander says. "By refreshing the user interface, we've made much of the core functionality easier for a developer to find and use quickly, helping maintain concentration."
New in .NET Framework
The beta will also showcase enhancements to the .NET Framework 4.5. The team added built-in C# and Visual Basic support for writing asynchronous code. Additionally, it has integrated Type Providers with F# to make data access a simple matter in F# programs and components. The team also overhauled the Common Language Runtime to provide better performance, particularly for server applications and services.
It has added background server garbage collection, multicore background JIT compilation and profile-guided optimisation to help managed applications start faster and run with better throughput and lower latency. It has also built on .NET's support for networking libraries, including support for modern HTTP libraries and WebSockets.
Other .NET Framework improvements include regular expression processing and better support for compression standards, enhanced HTML5 support, developer productivity enhancements in Entity Framework and optimised mobile experiences through ASP.NET.
The Visual Studio 11 Beta and .NET Framework 4.5 Beta will be released with a "go live" licence that allows users to install them in a production environment.
Visual Studio 11 is expected to launch later this year. We'll bring you updated impressions when we learn more.


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Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Applying Question-Answer Relationships to Pictures
A picture is worth a thousand words as students are guided in viewing wordless picture books and responding to four different types of questions about the images they see.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Recurring Lesson
Sort, Hunt, Write: A Weekly Spelling Program
It's easy to make spelling fun. Using a variety of activities from sorting to using words in context will help deepen students' understanding of word patterns.


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OPL looking for child actors and actresses for 'The Masque of Pyramus and Thisbe'
ONEIDA >> Oneida Public Library's Children's Summer Theater is currently holding a cast call for children ages 8-14 for its upcoming production of an original improvisational theater piece called "The Masque of Pyramus and Thisbe."
Part of the OPL's Summer Reading Program, "The Masque" combines a theater workshop led by Tom Lemery and a mask workshop led by Carol Cotten. Over five weeks, Tuesday through Thursday mornings from July 9 through Aug. 8, 24 children will create masks for their characters on stage in Cotten's workshop and then rehearse the play under the direction of Lemery.
"The Masque of Pyramus and Thisbe" requires neither set nor props, since the young actors will play the roles of both human and nonhuman characters through mime, sound effects and a minimum of words. An actor, wearing a mask that identifies the character, may play one of the human characters like the lovelorn Pyramus, or a nonhuman character like the Wall, one of the Trees, the Lion or even Old Ninny's Tomb.
Though the ancient tale of the star-crossed lovers Pyramus and Thisbe ended tragically, as told by Ovid, "The Masque" retells the story as a comic pantomime with music created by the actors mimicking instruments or singing nonsense words.
"The Masque" program begins July 9 and will run from 9-11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until Aug. 8. On Thursday afternoon, Aug. 8, the OPL Children Players will perform the play for the public in the auditorium of the First Presbyterian Church at Broad and Stone streets.
Pre-registration is required because of the limit of 24 actors in the play's cast and thus in the Theater and Mask workshops. Parents or guardians can sign up for "The Masque" at the OPL's check-out desk. The program, like all those in the OPL's Summer Reading Program, is free.
For more information, stop by the Oneida Library, 220 Broad St., or call Tom Murray at 363-3050.