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★ ★ ★
Cat lovers deserve to die.
Posters bearing that strange statement have been plastered on payphones and subways throughout numerous U.S. cities this summer, from Texas to Michigan.
Similar death wishes are aimed at good-looking people, the tattooed and other groups.
So what's going on here?
The ad campaign, which has sparked outrage as well as confusion, does not intend to condemn people who like cats, the physically attractive or anyone else to death—quite the opposite, actually.
Welcome to the No One Deserves to Die campaign, started by the Lung Cancer Alliance to both raise awareness about lung cancer and try to end the stigma attached to the disease.
"What we're saying is that no one deserves to die," said Kay Cofrancesco, director of Advocacy Relations for the Lung Cancer Alliance. "Whatever your lifestyle choice is, no one deserves to die from lung cancer. We really felt we needed to do something that would grab the attention of the general public."
Earlier this summer, ads began sprouting up all over 31 U.S. cities including Washington, D.C., Dallas and New Orleans, claiming members of various groups (cat lovers, the smug, crazy old aunts, hipsters, the genetically privileged and the tattooed) deserve to die.
The campaign's website says the stigma attached to lung cancer is one that implies those who get it give it to themselves through their choices and behaviors—mainly, cigarette smoking.
According to the website, this simply isn't true. While it is no secret that tobacco smoking greatly increases one's risk of obtaining lung cancer, the campaign insists there are other risk factors as well, like radon or asbestos exposure, second hand smoke, military service (certain dioxin exposure), age, environmental factors, health-related issues and family history. The campaign intends to alert people to these facts, and show that anyone can get lung cancer.
Some people feel the campaign unfairly targets people with particular characteristics, is in poor taste, and condemns people to death based on stereotypical characteristics. For one week, the posters appeared in various cities throughout the U.S. without an explanation, a website or anything to do with lung cancer.
Shelli Williams told CBS Chicago earlier this summer that the "Cat Lovers Deserve to Die" posters are "offensive to people who are animal lovers."
Kyle Rothfus of Lakeview, Ill. told CBS Chicago that, "Nobody deserves to die. Come on, that's a hell of a statement."
That, Cofrancesco retorts, "is exactly the point."
According to noonedeservestodie.org, "Many people believe that if you have lung cancer you did something to deserve it. It sounds absurd, but it's true. Lung cancer doesn't discriminate and neither should you. Help put an end to the stigma and the disease."
Lung cancer, according to the website, is the deadliest of the top four deadliest cancers, killing more people than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined. It is also the least funded of the four. "One in four Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer, of which only two will survive more than five years," the website states.
"Some people don't think there is a lung cancer stigma, when in actuality, ask any survivor, there have been studies done that it does exist and because of the stigma, we've been unable to make progress in many aspects," Cofrancesco said.
Here are the cities that have featured some form of a "No One Deserves to Die" ad:
Washington, DC, Boston, Atlanta, NYC, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Louisville, New Orleans, Miami, Denver, Raleigh-Durham, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas, Albany, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Nashville, Omaha, Salt Lake City, Baltimore, Ann Arbor, Portland, Richmond.


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Thursday, 12 December 2013
Restaurant Martin Wishart - Edinburgh
Here's how it went down….
The restaurant is located on the harbourside in Leith, Edinburgh's old port area, with the entrance itself picked out by hot pink glowing lights. I initially thought it might be a brothel. Carefully concealing my extreme disappointment when I realised it was in fact the restaurant I'd booked a table at, I stepped through the front door to be greeted by the French maitre d'.
Now, as you can well imagine, being from the Essex hinterland, I'm a frigging classy dude and I've eaten in any number of 'posh restaurants' and invariably felt entirely at home. To the manor born (OK, 'manor' in the Arthur Daley sense, but still). Martin Wishart was different. I didn't feel comfortable here. Glancing around the softly lit dining room, I noticed all the other diners, without fail, were extremely dressed up. Evening dresses, suits and ties. Uncomfortably aware of my own, less salubrious attire (tracksuit bottoms tucked into sport socks, deep V t-shirt and novelty tartan cap with attached ginger wig), I couldn't help but feel underdressed. I may have been slightly more tastefully attired, but you get the point.
This was a temple to fine dining populated by an obviously wealthy clientele and for probably the first time ever eating in a restaurant, I felt slightly on edge.
Maybe things would improve when I got stuck into the food, which in this case was to be the tasting menu at £75
An amuse of beetroot macarons, one with horseradish, and another with carrot and cornichon were an interesting idea, but perhaps a little too subtly flavoured for me.
Another amuse followed, to be eaten, I was informed in an almost impenetrable French accent, in a specific order left to right; courgette, basil, curry oil and espelette pepper which was very nice. Pomme dauphine, crème fraiche and smoked salmon, which was curiously presented sitting on a piece of scrunched up tin foil, still, lovely. Finally a warm chicken parfait, Parmesan veloute and port reduction, also cracking.
Partridge ravioli, cabbage with sage, truffle sauce followed and was absolutely banging. A rich meaty ravioli filling in a creamy and beautifully flavoured truffle sauce. Seriously, what's not to like?
Next, a glass containing a ceviche of Gigha halibut with mango & passion fruit was obviously much subtler. Again, it was bloody delicious, seriously good. Fresh tasting and light, I could have finished off a pint of this rather than the demure martini glassful I'd had to make do with.
Loch Fyne crab 'Marie Rose' consisting of a tartare of rose veal, tomato and crab mayonnaise arrived at the table beautifully presented in an attractive glassware dish with pebbles and shells suspended in a bowl underneath. As with the previous dishes, the food itself was beautifully flavoured. The rose veal tartare, subtle and cool against the silky richness of the crab mayonnaise.
Roasted veal sweetbreads were served sitting on a chestnut puree, surrounded by a moat of potato veloute. A bit beige perhaps, but it had knock out flavours. I have a bit of a thing for both sweetbreads and potatoes, in any form, so it was hard to fault really.
The following dish was the main event, roast loin of Ayrshire hare, pastille of braised leg, red cabbage, port wine, braised turnips and dauphine potato. Technically it was an impressive dish. The tiny pastille of braised leg were elegantly cylindrical, crisp and stuffed full of rich meat. The potato dauphine, deep fried potato mixed with choux pastry were perfectly cooked as was the loin of hare, which was delicious.
As I ate, I ear wigged on my next-door neighbours' conversation. A pair of solicitors discussing cases of wine they had in their respective cellars and how one of them had once spanked over a grand on lunch, which probably goes some way in exemplifying the majority of my fellow diners. I was tempted to join in with an excessive anecdote of my own concerning the consumption of multiple doner kebabs during a drunken night out in Essex.
Dessert was phenomenal. I'm struggling to describe what exactly it was, the menu description is just 'salted caramel' but it was somewhere between a cheesecake and a thick toffee like caramel mousse, partnered with poached Guyot pear, peanuts and a pear sorbet, it really was something special.
Coffee and rather lovely petits fours, consisting of whisky truffles, a majari chocolate macaron, spiced orange and mandarin, coffee ganache and salted caramel, rounded things off.
That, with two glasses of wine and service came to £109. One of the most expensive meals I've ever had (no thousand pound lunches here, sadly) and as I said at the beginning of the post, I didn't enjoy it half as much as I thought I would. The food was superb and hard to fault really. Expensive ingredients, beautifully cooked and prepared, lovely.
The problem I had with Restaurant Martin Wishart was the incredibly stuffy, fine dining vibe, the entire French front of house team, albeit consummately pleasant and professional, were always slightly stand offish and gave out a slightly aloof air. It's hard to put my finger on what was up, but I've eaten in enough 'posh' restaurants to know that here, I just didn't feel comfortable and therefore didn't really enjoy the experience. For examples of restaurants that get it right, both The Ledbury and The Square manage to strike the perfect balance between a fine dining experience and warm, professional front of house.
This was the most expensive meal I ate on my stay in Edinburgh and I'm sad to say, the one I probably enjoyed the least, despite the food being excellent.
Restaurant Martin Wishart
54 Shore,
Telephone: 0131 553 3557
6 comments:
Just goes to show a dining experience is just that; the whole thing including ambience & service. I'm sure the chef is delighted with your feedback on the food, but he needs to look at what restaurant he is providing. Bet the likes of those on the next table don't even notice though. Expensive food just because they can & can then boast of it.
- 13 December 2013 at 08:23
It's a brothel you say? Still, £1000 is steep for a spanking
- 13 December 2013 at 14:18
- Unknown said...
I know what you mean! I ate at MW in September 2012 and, although I loved the food, the formality and price tag put me off going to another Michelin star restaurant again! Our next splurge will be Hand and Flowers (in June next year).
- 13 December 2013 at 20:17
I've eaten in a few Michelin starred restaurants in Edin and London, and it always sets me on edge to begin with. I usually find that after a drink or two and something delicious to eat the thought of blowing £100/head is easier to bear.
I have to say didn't find MW any more or less intimidating than any similar restaurant - and infact the food was amongst the very best I've eaten.
Edinburgh can be a wee bit precious, although as my gran used to say - 'Fur coats but nae knickers'.
- 16 December 2013 at 20:06
- Dan said...
Tan-San - Completely agree, it's the whole package. It's a shame things didn't feel right from the front of house side, as the food was banging.
Anonymous - Hahahaha! Indeed.
Clare - I don't think MW is indicative of all Michelin starred dining. In fact, it's probably the only starred restaurant I've eaten in where I've felt uncomfortable. Enjoy the Hand and Flowers!
- 16 December 2013 at 21:06
great posting Dan as was your Castle Terrace one. Struggling to get rid of the image of you with your tucked-in tracksuit, tartan cap & ginger wig however! Seb
- 23 December 2013 at 17:27

subset: commoncrawl


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Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso was released from the hospital shortly after being admitted after hopping some curbs involving Jean-Eric Vergne at today's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Alonso says he's got a stiff neck, so he may avoid crushing walnuts with it for awhile.
Alonso was asked to go to the hospital by the stewards, who received an alarm after his car decelerated with the force of 28 times the pull of gravity when he hopped some curbs trying to avoid hitting Vergne, and in so doing he triggered the alert when his car exceeded 18G vertically, according to the BBC.
Though his back still hurts a bit, he said he's hoping to be alright by the race in Austin in two weeks.
Photo via Getty


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Best of the NorthwestEver wonder what the biggest, baddest, most incredible waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest are? Find out how the Top 100 waterfalls stack up against each other!
Recently Updated
- Feb 23 - Unnamed Waterfall
- Feb 17 - Switchback Falls
- Feb 17 - Gossamer Falls
- Feb 14 - Stasel Falls
- Feb 02 - Lower Huckleberry Falls
- Feb 02 - McNeeley Falls
- Feb 02 - Huckleberry Falls
- Feb 02 - Forest Lake Falls
Latest News
Map and Access Revisions
July 04, 2018
After evaluating the usage of the Google Maps widgets used throughout the website over the last month and a half, it became apparent that it won't be possible to continue using custom maps everywhere they were previously used. The interactive maps used for browsing State data will remain unchanged (again, for now), but the maps on the Waterfall pages have been reverted to the standard Google Maps embedded window instead - there won't be markers showing exactly where the waterfalls are, but they will at least be interactive again. Coordinates are still provided for easy searching. This is just a band-aid solution to a longer term problem, and eventually the maps will (hopefully) be fully interactive and show the markers again. When that will happen, I can't say.
In addition to the changes to the maps, it's also become apparent that some changes to the content on this website are necessary. Long story short, too many waterfalls are being loved to death. The impact of Social Media and its associated behaviors on some of these waterfalls is getting harder and harder to ignore or brush aside. Washington State's Panther Creek Falls has fallen victim to a massive increase in foot traffic, to the point where the lush moss carpet which once surrounded the falls has now been beaten to a muddy pulp. One visitor or group of visitors even started a bonfire next to a log near the base of the falls which resulted in three or four trees actually catching fire and being partially scorched (it's lucky the whole forest didn't catch). This is not an isolated occurrence either. Many waterfalls which are more off-the-beaten-path are essentially having paths beaten to them, largely due to the viral nature of pictures on Facebook, Instagram, and whatever other digital flavor of the month is currently the rage, and much more often than should be, the behavior of those who visit these places is unacceptable.
So, while encouraging visitors to be good stewards of the land, practicing leave no trace ethics, and sharing information responsibly is the obvious thing to ask, it's become clear that it's necessary to go one step further where possible. Therefore effective immediately, the Northwest Waterfall Survey will no longer provide explicit directions to any waterfalls which are not accessible via an established and maintained trail, and in some cases even if there is an unofficial trail, if the waterfall is located within a more delicate environment where increased visitation may pose a risk to the long term sustainability of the surroundings, directions may be selectively omitted as well. In contrast however, for off-trail waterfalls which are located in areas where there is little risk of the surroundings being trampled by heavy visitation, explicit directions may be selectively provided - this will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will have to be audited manually. For the time being all off-trail waterfalls have had their directions removed.
About the Northwest Waterfall Survey
We've been at this for over a decade now. While we're not terribly keen to toot our own horn, if you'd like to know a little bit more about us, head on in here.
How to use this siteThe Northwest Waterfall Survey has amassed a huge amount of information over the years. If this is your first time visiting, or you just need a refresher on some of the information available, we recommend you read through the Help page to familiarize yourself before diving head-first into the database.
Total Distribution
|Exactly how many waterfalls do we have inventoried on this website?
|251 waterfalls
|1612 waterfalls
|3051 waterfalls
These ads help to pay our bills. Please consider whitelisting this domain in your adblocker to help keep this site running.


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Peppermint S'more Tassies
Graham cracker cookie cups brim with a luscious peppermint-milk chocolate filling, sweet marshmallow creme and crushed peppermint candies. Santa (and his elves) will look forward to these! —Edwina Gadsby, Hayden, Idaho
Total TimePrep: 25 min. Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
Makes3 dozen
- 1 package (17-1/2 ounces) sugar cookie mix
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/2 cup marshmallow creme
- 1/4 cup crushed peppermint candies
- Preheat oven to 375°. Place cookie mix, cracker crumbs, butter and egg in a large bowl; beat until well mixed. Shape into 36 balls; press onto bottoms and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups.
- Bake 9-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 30 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
- Meanwhile, place chocolate chips in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Stir in extract. Let stand 15 minutes or until cooled. Spoon 2 teaspoons chocolate mixture into each cup.
- Place marshmallow creme in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power 15 seconds or just until softened. Spoon a dollop of marshmallow cream onto each cup; sprinkle with candies.
To Make Ahead: Bake and cool cookie cups as directed. Freeze for up to 1 month. Several hours before serving, proceed with finishing cookies as directed.
Recommended Video
Dec 16, 2013
The crust was a bit involved so I just used 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, and 1 cup flour. The filling was delicious, even without the pretty peppermint sprinkles!
Aug 2, 2013
admittedly, I cannot stand graham crackers, so I substituted refrigerated cookie dough which I liked much better, the rest was SO good, that I could just get a spoon and eat the middle right out of the dish! Luv this one!


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New to the MerWorld? No problem. Here are a few tips for getting the best gift-giving "flip" for your fin.
Curious about how these thingys work? How about safety? Get your questions answered here.Click to Scroll Down
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In 2009, when Emily was about 11 years old, she dreamed of swimming like a mermaid. Desperate to fulfil her dream, she begged her Grandma to make her a real mermaid tail that she could swim in. Well, "Grandma Karen" went to work designing, sewing, fitting and finally created a beautiful mermaid tail that Emily could really swim in! Soon Emily's cousins wanted their own mermaid tails. Then their friends... and their friends. Soon Grandma Karen was selling her creations online and Fin Fun Mermaid Tails was born. And Grandma Karen was sewing just as fast as she could to keep up with demand.
Fast forward to today. Fin Fun Mermaid is still making mermaid tails and selling them all over the world! Grandma Karen doesn't sew them anymore, but she still owns the company and many of her children and grandchildren are running the business. You'll see some of them in the popular YouTube series, Fin Fun World News.
Hi there! I'm not really sure how to begin. So, I guess I'll just start at the beginning. My name is Crystal, Mermaiden of the Arctic Ocean. My kingdom is way up north where it's very, very cold. My father is king of the Arctic Ocean, so that makes me a princess.Read More 235
Hellooooooo humans! I am so thrilled to finally get to speak, well… write to you! My name is Destiny and I'm the Mermaiden of the Caribbean Sea. My kingdom is in the southern Atlantic Ocean near the Gulf of Mexico. There are many tropical islands in my homesea. The water is warm and deep blue and I love it here!Read More 189
Kon'nichiwa! That means hello in Japanese, the language the landfolk use near my homesea. I live in an area of the North Pacific Ocean called the Sea of Japan, where I frequently see and hear the humans as they sail about. Here we have many beautiful miles of coast and deep blue waters bursting with life.Read More 323
G'day, MerMates! I'm Zoey, Mermaiden of the Coral Sea. For all you Bobbers out there, the Coral Sea is off the coast of Australia. No worries! Bobbers is just a nickname we have for you landfolk, since you're always bobbing about on the surface of the water. You don't seem to come down below much, do ya?Read More 451
Hi there! So fabulous to meet you! My name is Waverlee and I'm the royal Mermaiden of the Pacific Ocean. My father, the King of the Pacific, has asked me to represent the merfolk here in our homesea in contacting the human world. I can't even tell you how excited I am that we can show ourselves to humans now! It took a lot of work to convince the MerCouncil to take this big step, but we finally did it!Read More 337
Hello there, human folk! Top o' the mer-mornin' to ya! That's how we say "good day" here in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland, Scotland and England. My name is Bryndolyn MacFinnegan, Mermaiden of the Celtic Sea. But most merfolk just call me Brynn. You can call me Brynn, too!
I get to use my magical powers to help guard the ships that pass by. My Mermaiden power is the gift of light.Read More 123
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Chung, who first came to UTMB as a postdoctoral fellow in 1977, has focused on solving the riddle of neuropathic pain throughout his career. After a short stint as an assistant professor at Seoul's Yonsei University, he returned in 1981 to join the UTMB faculty. In 1992, he developed a model for studying chronically resistant pain that has been accepted worldwide as one of the most widely used standards in the field. The Chung Model uses a specific technique to prepare laboratory mice for research on how pain impulses behave in the spinal cord.
Chung's research into the mechanisms of chronic pain, which is fundamentally different from acute pain, has two main areas of focus: the mechanisms of neuropathic pain and the mechanisms by which acupuncture relieves pain.
Neuropathic pain is different from other types of pain in that it originates from a malfunction of the nervous system. Normal pain-relief measures don't work to relieve it. It often manifests in unusual ways. Light touch, for example, can cause intense discomfort, and tiny temperature changes may feel much larger. Caused by either accidental or disease-induced spinal damage, this kind of pain has proven nearly impossible to treat.
Chung's most recent grant from the National Institutes of Health for $1.7 million, awarded in February, is allowing his research team to examine what his previous research had proven is an important mechanism that causes neuropathic pain.
Under normal conditions, pain impulses coming into the spinal cord are processed through two kinds of neurons, one that boosts their intensity and another that damps that intensity down — a kind of two-part volume knob for pain signals.
According to Chung's data, nerve injury strengthens the effect of the "pain booster" nerve cells, while weakening that of the "pain damper" nerve cells. The result: even the smallest impulse comes out at full blast.
To figure out exactly how this process works, Chung is going to probe the electrical activity of the neurons in question; test whether two particular signaling molecules called free radicals are responsible for the neurons responding differently to the same pain impulse; and test the hypothesis that high levels of iron in the inhibitory neurons are involved in depressing their activity.
The goal is to piece together a coherent picture of the causes of chronic neuropathic pain; Chung believes that if his explanation proves out, it will open up a number of different avenues that could lead to treatments for the condition.
University Boulevard, Galveston, Texas, 77555-0144


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Guest Review: Bend Over Beginner Kit (Girl on Boy)
Ross Swoons Over Bend Over Beginner KitWe're happy to introduce you to our first-ever guest toy reviewer, Ross. He, along with our female winner, Madison, won our Be a Toy Reviewer contest, so they'll give you the lowdown on what toys get them off! We'll rotate their columns so you get a fresh perspective, and to give them time to play with their toys. With no further ado, here's Ross, with his take on the Bend Over Beginner Kit.
Boys, if you've ever thought about bending over for your girlfriend, then we have just the thing for you: the Bend Over Beginner Kit. It includes a cool nylon adjustable harness and two silicone dildos. One dildo is finger sized—perfect for an anal virgin. The other is quite a bit thicker, for when you're ready to take it up a notch. The harness has a pouch in the front that holds a tiny vibrator to stimulate the wearer's clitoris.
Now, I am no anal newbie, but it's not hard for me to remember the first time I tried strap-on sex. It was the early '90s, and I lived in a small town where there were no quality sex toy stores. So, I turned to a mail order catalog and bought a dildo and harness. The dildo was huge, hollow and made of firm peach vinyl. The harness was constructed from elastic straps and fit horribly. Because of the lack of information available at the time, I had no idea that anal sex wasn't supposed to hurt. The pain was brutal, and I couldn't sit comfortably for days afterwards.
I definitely kept this in mind when testing out the Bend Over Beginner Kit. My girlfriend put on the harness and turned on the vibrator, which gave her, as she described, a "nice teasing feeling." We started with the slimmer dildo, and it went in easily. I found that I liked the way the dildo curved as it rubbed against my prostate. Once I was good and ready, we switched to the second dildo. This one was more my speed, and it felt great going in. Both dildos have a perfectly smooth texture, making entry easy like Sunday morning. While my girlfriend really dug the buzzing pouch, I was enjoying the sight of her in that sexy purple and black harness.
There are many great things about this kit. First—the price. At $70, the Bend Over Beginner Kit is a steal. Most silicone dildos cost between $35 and $65, and a quality harness will set you back about $50. Do the math. Second, the harness is a Terra Firma style with a removal O-ring. This means that when your loading dock is ready for bigger cargo, all you need is the O-Ring 3-pack instead of a whole new harness. Cool, no? Plus, the harness is washable, so if you get into some messy fun, a clean harness is just a wash and rinse cycle away (just remember to take out the mini vibrator). The only thing this kit is missing is lube, and you're going to want plenty on hand. Just be sure to grab a pump bottle of Liquid Silkwith the Bend Over Beginner Kit, and you're in for some butt lovin' fun.
So, take my word for it, boys. If you're ready to let your girlfriend in the backdoor, get the Bend Over Beginner kit. Your ass will thank you for it.
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SSL makes sure that your website's customers can exchange information with your web server on a secure manner. If your webshop or website asks for a password, it is crucial to us such a certificate to protect your client's details. With this EV-certificate your website will be more secure, even for potential clients that didn't know you before.
An EV (Extended Validation) certificate offers you the best of all. This type of certificate is the only one which colors the address bar of your visitors green. Not only the connection is secure, your customers will also know it's safe. Your company name will be mentioned in the address bar to prove you're an existing company, with a great reputation. The supplier of this certificate will execute some verifications and we'll be at your service to assist you. If you wish to secure several domains, do take a look at the "True BusinessID with EV Multi" certificate.
With the Comodo EV, GeoTrust you get a very sharply priced EV-certificate. The green address bar will assure visitors that they're shopping at a company that can be trusted. Comodo will verify your company information, but the verification process isn't a very big hurdle. Any company in good standing will be able to pass this test, if needed, we will be glad to assist you with this.
Symantec (formerly VeriSign) is the top brand for online security. With this certificate you get the green address bar providing a higher trust level and Symantec's exclusive "seal in search" to even further improve on that. The "seal in search" technology will show a Norton trust-logo next to your company name in search results, if the user enabled this.
A "domain validation" certificate can be issued in a matter of minutes. The certificate authority will send an e-mail to a trusted e-mail address connected to your domain name, with a link for verification. Once you completed the easy verification via that link, the certificate is almost instantly issued and ready to be used.
An entry-level certificate that does what it needs to do: secure you network traffic with encryption. Just like all other certificates we offer, the Comodo PositiveSSL has an extremely high browser recognition. Every single browser that is not largely outdated will know this certificate to be secure and trustworthy. Comodo combines this with very low pricing. In most cases the certificate will be issued in a couple of minutes.
GeoTrust is a well known brand in the security business. The QuickSSL Premium is the best choice for the demanding user. Next to all modern popular browsers, this certificate is also recognised by the already somewhat older systems and mobile devices.
Wildcard certificates allow you to secure all subdomains of your domain name with one certificate. Do you need a certificate for ftp.yourname and mail.yourname and www.yourname and...? Apply for one certificate that secures all of them.
This offers you a wildcard certificate at an incredibly low price tag. Browser recognition is just as good as any of the other more expensive certificates and this certificate can also be issued in a matter of minutes. There is one drawback: the Comodo uses more than one intermediate certificate. This normally shouldn't be a problem, but it turns out that this doesn't combine well with many versions of MS Exchange or MS Remote Desktop. So for those implementations, we would advice the GeoTrust RapidSSL wildcard.
RapidSSL is the somewhat less expensive brand from GeoTrust, but still offers strong encryption. This certificate is "domain validation", so will be issued in a matter of minutes. This is the most cost-effective way to secure your website and e-mail solutions with one certificate.
If you need to secure more than one domain name, a MultiDomain certificate is the solution. Do also keep in mind that every certificate needs its own dedicated IP-address on the server. So installing separate certificates for every domain name, would mean you need many IP addresses. With a MultiDomain certificate, you have many names in one certificate, but no need for extra IP's. Also when installing on multiple servers, getting a MultiDomain can be a cost saver, because you only need to buy one certificate.
This sharply priced multidomain certificate will by default allow you to secure up to 3 domain names. Extra names cost € 25,00 per name or € 119,00 per wildcard. This is a domain validated certificate, so it will be quick and easy to get issued.
Do you need a certificate with green address bar for more than one domain name? Save money and get the Comodo EV Multi! This can also be installed on more than one server. Save money and time by putting all your names in one certificate. The basic version of this certificate will protect up to two names, extra names can be added at € 49,00 per name.


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NORFOLK — He moves more slowly and speaks more quietly than folks remember, but there's nothing wrong with C.J. Woollum's mind, or his appetite, as he wages the most difficult battle of his life.
Woollum, the longtime face of Christopher Newport athletics, has begun to get out again as he recovers from brain surgery last summer to remove a cancerous tumor.
He was, in equal portions feisty, funny and humble in his lengthiest public outing since the surgery, as he was one of six inducted Tuesday into the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame at a banquet held at Scope.
"If I had known I was getting all this attention," Woollum began his acceptance speech, "I'd have gotten sick a long time ago."
Woollum was accompanied by family and friends and a sizable contingent from CNU, where he has worked for nearly three decades and still remains Director of Athletics Emeritus.
"I'm feeling fine," Woollum said before the ceremony. "It's become a running joke with those close to me, that every time somebody comes up to me and says, 'Man, you look great,' which makes me worry how awful I must have looked."
Just weeks after he announced his retirement as CNU's day-to-day athletic director, Woollum was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He underwent surgery on July 27 and had a golf ball-sized tumor removed from his brain.
He was in guarded condition for several weeks and then moved in August to a Newport News rehabilitation facility, where he remains as he regains strength and undergoes further treatment.
Not a big man to begin with, Woollum lost 30 pounds following the surgery, but has gained back much of it.
"I'm eating like a horse," he said.
Woollum's chemotherapy treatment consists of taking three pills daily, he said. He is more than halfway through a regimen of 30 radiation treatments. He's experienced no hair loss or nausea and marveled that he hasn't had headaches.
"He's doing good," daughter Kristy Creagh said. "He's improved so much. He's made a lot of progress from where he was."
Creagh and Woollum's other daughter, Emily, started a post on the website CaringBridge to provide updates on their father's condition. The link is caringbridge.org/visit/woollum.
"We felt it was important," Creagh said. "Even though he's modest about himself, we thought we should do it. We've been overwhelmed by the support and prayers of so many people. He enjoys reading them and we think it's helped."
Woollum appeared energized to be among the several hundred in attendance, which included past inductees and many he knows and respects. Some knew of his plight, others did not. He mentioned it, but did not dwell on it.
"On July 27," Woollum told the audience in the midst of his remarks, "I had a golf ball-sized malignant tumor removed from my brain. I'm on the mend. I'm getting treatment daily. We're going to whip this thing."
Woollum and those around him are under no illusions that he has prevailed or that the road ahead won't be difficult. He aims to return home in the next couple of weeks. He attended a CNU volleyball match last week and has mentioned going to the Captains' football game Saturday.
"The doctors are pleased," Emily Woollum said. "We're just taking it day by day."
The CNU community has rallied around Woollum. One measure: On Monday, Nov. 5, the Captains and Hampton U. will play an exhibition fund-raiser 7 p.m. at the Freeman Center. Admission is free, but CNU is asking for donations, and all proceeds will go to the Coaches vs. Cancer Fund in Woollum's name.
Woollum is genuinely humbled by the outpouring of support he's received, as well as Tuesday's honor. The idea of being in the same class as basketball talents Dave Twardzik and Bobby Dandridge, and a hockey legend such as John Brophy, boggled his mind.
"I'm very grateful," Woollum said. "A lot of people probably question the selection, but I'm real proud of it. It's a real tribute to the people I've been around for almost 40 years. To say I was shocked (when told of the selection) would be an understatement."
Woollum's induction Tuesday came first, a courtesy in case he tired and was unable to stay for the entire ceremony. But he remained until the end, as vibrant and engaged as when he arrived. As he and the group were leaving, he turned to CNU athletic communications director Francis Tommasino and cracked, "I hope I passed the audition."
Woollum is a Beatles aficionado, and he cribbed the line from the late John Lennon, who said it at the end of the band's Apple Studio rooftop performance for the 1970 documentary, "Let It Be." Lennon's line was actually, "I'd like to say 'Thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition."
Safe to say that Woollum passed.


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Overall Score: 97.1
Overall Score: 94.9
Overall Score: 94.4
Like her sister ships the Legend and the Spirit, the Seabourn Pride has a staff-to-passenger ratio of nearly one to one. Guests stay in 104 suites, ranging from 277 to 575 square feet; 40 percent have balconies, and all have ocean views. Drinks at the four bars and lounges are included in your fare, as are all meals, even when you choose to opt for one of the smaller restaurants over the main dining room; each has a menu created by chef Charlie Palmer. Like her sister ships (which also score in the 90s on the Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Survey), the Pride has a private marina, which extends from the rear of the ship, allowing guests to enjoy water sports even at sea. The Pride gets around: In addition to world cruises, she has Baltic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Asian itineraries.
Itineraries/Schedule: 96.7
Shore Excursions: 84.2
Crew/Service: 98.3
Cabins: 93.3
Food/Dining: 96.7
Activites/Facilities: 88.3
Design/Layout: 93.3
Passengers: 208
The highest rated of Seabourn's impressive fleet, the Seabourn Odyssey was launched in 2009 as the first of Seabourn's trio of larger ships (the Sojourn and Quest followed in June 2010 and June 2011). Each has 225 suites, compared to 104 on the line's earlier ships. Almost 90 percent of the cabins, which range in size from 295 to 1,189 square feet, have verandas. As with other Seabourn ships (all of which score in the 90s on Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Survey), chef Charlie Palmer presides over the kitchens, but a new addition is the Colonnade, an indoor/outdoor restaurant where meals are prepared in an open kitchen. At 11,400 square feet, the Spa at Seabourn is one of the largest found on any luxury ship. The Odyssey spends much of the year exploring the Mediterranean (Greek Isles, Dalmatian Coast, and Turkey), but also has Fort Lauderdale-to-Los Angeles and South Pacific itineraries.
Itineraries/Schedule: 94.6
Shore Excursions: 90.9
Crew/Service: 95.7
Cabins: 96.7
Food/Dining: 97.8
Activites/Facilities: 91.1
Design/Layout: 93.5
Passengers: 450
Overall Score: 91.7
Overall Score: 90.9
Overall Score: 90.5
Overall Score: 90.4
Overall Score: 90.3
Overall Score: 90.2
Overall Score: 89.9
Overall Score: 89.2
Unlike Regent's two other ships, the line's smallest vessel, the 490-passenger Seven Seas Navigator, can't claim to be an "all-balcony" ship, but it's close: 85 percent of its staterooms have them. The Navigator underwent a thorough refurbishment in 2009, which included the addition of a contemporary steak house, Prime 7, complementing the ship's three other dining options. Also in 2009, Canyon Ranch took the helm of the ship's spa and fitness facilities. Since May 2011, all Regent packages have included pre-cruise hotel accommodations and ground transfers to the ship. Summer finds the ship in Alaska; fall, on the east coast of the U.S. and Canada; and in winter and spring, it sails the Caribbean.
**Itineraries/Schedule: **90.6
Shore Excursions: 83.3
Crew/Service: 92.9
Cabins: 94.5
Food/Dining: 90.5
Activites/Facilities: 84.1
Design/Layout: 88.4
Passengers: 490
Overall Score: 89.0
Overall Score: 88.7
Overall Score: 88.7
The Silver Cloud was Silversea's first ship, launched in 1994, and it set the tone for the three ships that followed, delivering intimate luxury when much of the industry was headed in the direction of increasingly large vessels with every shop, toy, and sport a ship could hold. Suites range in size from 240 to 1,314 square feet and include a number of personalized amenities: choose your soap (Bulgari or Ferragamo) and pillow (the menu has nine choices), and there's a minibar stocked with your preferences. The main restaurant and Le Champagne have menus created in collaboration with Relais & Châteaux. The Silver Cloud generally spends summers on European itineraries (both North Sea and Mediterranean), and winters in the Caribbean and South America.
**Itineraries/Schedule: **92.6
Shore Excursions: 78.3
Crew/Service: 94.6
Cabins: 91.9
Food/Dining: 91.3
Activites/Facilities: 82.6
Design/Layout: 89.1
Passengers: 296
Overall Score: 87.1
Overall Score: 86.8
Overall Score: 86.5
Overall Score: 86.1
Windstar's three ships are not floating hotels or malls. They are genuine sailing ships, delivering modern luxuries as well as true nautical experiences, complete with portholes. The Wind Star, like its sister Wind Spirit, is a four-masted schooner, and its compact cabins are built for both comfort and efficient use of finite space. All three Windstar schooners sail in two of the most appealing cruise regions on earth: the Caribbean in winter, and Europe and the Mediterranean in summer. Wind Star favors the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, thence through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean. In April, it repositions east to Europe (returning west in November), where its seven-day itineraries include stops from Lisbon and Barcelona to Rome and Venice, and on to Aegean ports including Athens, Istanbul, and Mykonos in the Cyclades. The six triangular, computer-operated sails are more than decorative, but wind power only supplements the engine power required to meet schedules. All 74 cabins are cozy, yet big enough for queen-size beds and hi-tech toys, as well as daily fresh fruit and flowers. Being a small ship, it has only two restaurants—one formal, one casual, both with open seating—but you can also dine under the stars at the Candles grill.
Itineraries/Schedule: 94.6
Shore Excursions: 76.5
Crew/Service: 94.1
Cabins: 80.5
Food/Dining: 91.5
Activites/Facilities: 78.6
Design/Layout: 86.2
Passengers: 148
Overall Score: 86.1
Overall Score: 86.1
Enormous by Windstar standards, the Wind Surf is still small by most cruise ship measures: six decks holding only 156 cabins. The Wind Surf is a sailing yacht, and its seven computer-operated, triangular sails are both decorative and efficient, adding wind power to the engines that keep the ship on schedule. Like all Windstar ships, it sails two of the most popular seas on earth: the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. It winters among several of the larger Lesser Antilles: Antigua, Martinique, St. Lucia, Dominica, and St. Barts. In spring, it repositions to Europe on a transatlantic cruise from Barbados to Lisbon, and begins itineraries in southern Europe ranging from Barcelona to Nice, Rome, and Venice. It then moves on to the Aegean for stops at Mykonos, Santorini, and Rhodes, and finally to Istanbul, Kuşadasi, and Bodrum on the Turkish coast. The Wind Surf has multiple eateries and a special emphasis on fitness, with a spa and a fitness center, two pools and two hot tubs, and a water sports platform at the stern from which you can kayak, windsurf, or water-ski.
Itineraries/Schedule: 92.1
Shore Excursions: 72.3
Crew/Service: 91.4
Cabins: 85.7
Food/Dining: 89.3
Activites/Facilities: 80.4
Design/Layout: 90.6
Passengers: 312
Along with the slightly larger Serenity, the service and amenities aboard the 461-cabin Crystal Symphony have sufficiently impressed Condé Nast Traveler readers that they have voted Crystal the world's best large-ship cruise line in a record 17 Readers' Choice surveys. Symphony was the first of the line's two ships to go under the knife: a multimillion-dollar renovation completed in 2009 gave the ship a more contemporary feel. The Symphony and the Serenity have the same lineup of dining venues, including Silk Road (under the direction of celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa) and restaurateur Piero Selvaggio's Prego. The Symphony will be spending summer 2011 on North America's West Coast and summer 2012 in Europe; in fall foliage season, it can often be found off the New England and eastern Canadian coasts. Itineraries after March 2012 are all-inclusive, with complimentary wine and spirits and prepaid gratuities.
Itineraries/Schedule: 93.2
Shore Excursions: 89.2
Crew/Service: 96.0
Cabins: 90.0
Food/Dining: 94.4
Activites/Facilities: 91.5
Design/Layout: 94.6
Passengers: 922
The 535-cabin Crystal Serenity underwent an extensive renovation in May 2011, with new bedding and updated decor (tufted headboards and state-of-the-art lighting), which brought it up to par with the Symphony, its slightly smaller sister ship. Both ships have Creative Learning Institutes, with course offerings from language classes to keyboard lessons, which help earn the line some of the industry's highest scores for activities among Condé Nast Traveler readers. New in 2011 on both ships are "Perfect Choice Dining," which provides passengers with flexible dining times in the main restaurant, and the "You Care, We Care" program, in which Crystal covers the expenses of their new voluntourism-focused shore excursions. In addition to world cruises, the Serenity can often be found in the Baltic early in the summer, the Mediterranean in late summer and fall, and the Caribbean in winter. Itineraries after March 2012 are all-inclusive, with complimentary wine and spirits and prepaid gratuities.
Itineraries/Schedule: 93.3
**Shore Excursions: **87.3
Crew/Service: 96.6
Cabins: 89.6
Food/Dining: 96.6
Activites/Facilities: 93.3
Design/Layout: 95.6
Passengers: 1,070
The highest rated of Regent Seven Seas' ships, the Seven Seas Voyager may bill itself as the second "all-suite, all-balcony" ship and the second vessel to have a restaurant operated by Le Cordon Bleu (the first ship, in both cases, being her sister the Mariner), but the Voyager is first in terms of the size of its staterooms. With the smallest measuring 356 square feet, the ship has the largest "lead-in" suites in the industry. The Voyager was renovated in December 2008, and new additions include the Prime 7 steak house and a Canyon Ranch–branded spa. The Voyager is always on the move, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, though in summer she can often be found in the Mediterranean or Scandinavia.
Itineraries/Schedule: 95.8
Shore Excursions: 84.4
Crew/Service: 95.8
Cabins: 95.8
Food/Dining: 93.2
Activites/Facilities: 89.2
Design/Layout: 94.3
Passengers: 700
Overall Score: 91.3
The Seven Seas Mariner was launched in 2001 as the world's first "all-suite, all-balcony" ship and has been regularly refurbished since then. All three Regent ships underwent a $70 million "enhancement" in 2009, which included the addition of a contemporary steak house, Prime 7. That same year, the cruise line began its partnership with Canyon Ranch, which oversees the ship's spa and fitness area. Since April 2011, all Regent packages have included pre-cruise hotel accommodations and ground transfers to the ship. From April to November, the Mariner sails Mediterranean itineraries; in March and November she makes Atlantic crossings; in the winter and spring, she starts in the Caribbean and does a circumnavigation of South America.
Itineraries/Schedule: 93.8
Shore Excursions: 81.9
Crew/Service: 94.2
Cabins: 92.7
Food/Dining: 90.5
Activites/Facilities: 90.0
Design/Layout: 89.6
Passengers: 700
Overall Score: 88.2
The Regatta was Oceania's very first ship, launched in 1998 and refurbished in 2011. It set the tone for the line—a luxury product on mid-sized ships at competitive prices. Like its sister ship the Nautica, the Regatta has 342 staterooms as well as four dining venues under the direction of Jacques Pépin. Also like the other Oceania vessels, it has collaborated with Canyon Ranch since 2009—the spa menu ventures beyond the standard therapeutic offerings to include acupuncture, Ayurveda, and reiki. This year, the Regatta will mark some firsts for the Oceania line when it sails to Alaska in the summer and the coasts of New England and eastern Canada in the fall.
Itineraries/Schedule: 93.8
Shore Excursions: 65.9
Crew/Service: 95.9
Cabins: 90.7
Food/Dining: 96.6
Activites/Facilities: 77.7
Design/Layout: 93.4
Passengers: 684
Overall Score: 87.6
Overall Score: 87.3
Overall Score: 87.3
Overall Score: 86.2
Overall Score: 85.9
Overall Score: 85.2
Overall Score: 85.1
Overall Score: 84.6
Overall Score: 84.4
Overall Score: 83.5
Overall Score: 83.5
Overall Score: 83.4
Overall Score: 84.5
Overall Score: 84.5
Though it is the smallest of Cunard's three ships, the Queen Victoria still has room for 2,014 passengers. The ship was launched in 2007, and while much of onboard life is similar to that of the other Cunard ships, including a three-tiered suites and dining program, the ship also claims a number of firsts in the cruise world: private boxes in its Royal Court Theatre, a museum dedicated to the Cunard line, a two-story library with 6,000 books, and a fencing program. As with other Cunard ships, Anglophilic guests can head to the Golden Lion Pub for a pint or the Queen's Room for white-gloved afternoon tea. While the Queen Victoria spends much of each year in the Mediterranean, it also travels through the Panama Canal on voyages departing from Fort Lauderdale, and to Hawaii on trips departing from Los Angeles.
Itineraries/Schedule: 90.3
Shore Excursions: 80.0
Crew/Service: 89.3
Cabins: 80.6
Food/Dining: 81.6
Activites/Facilities: 83.2
Design/Layout: 86.4
Passengers: 2,000
Overall Score: 89.9
One of the Disney Cruise Line's first two ships, the **Disney Wonder **debuted in 1999, a year after her sister ship, the Magic. As with the Magic, the Wonder celebrates Disney characters and the artists who created them. The ship's godmother was Tinkerbell, while all Disney ships include Animator's Palate restaurants, whose interiors are decorated with sketches of characters and feature columns and walls at impossible fun-house angles. A show starring costumed cast members is the highlight of dinner. (Passengers who want a break from all the family fun can head to the adults-only Remy for French or Palo for Italian.) In 2011, the Wonder began offering Alaska itineraries in the summer; she sails in the Bahamas and along the Mexican Riviera in the fall and winter.
Itineraries/Schedule: 86.3
Shore Excursions: 79.4
Crew/Service: 95.6
Cabins: 90.4
Food/Dining: 84.1
Activites/Facilities: 91.8
Design/Layout: 93.4
Passengers: 2,700
Overall Score: 89.5
Overall Score: 88.6
The Celebrity Equinox is the second of the fleet's top-of-the-line Solstice-class ships, the most remarkable feature of which is the half-acre lawn on the top deck, covered with real grass, where passengers picnic, lounge, and play croquet or bocce. Fort Lauderdale is its home port for winter cruises in the Caribbean, from Mexico to Barbados; Rome is home in summer for Mediterranean cruises; and two 14-night "repositioning" transatlantic cruises connect the two cities in April and November. The two-week cruises are the only option if you want to test all ten onboard dining venues. Three of them—Continental, Asian, and Italian kitchens—promise extra-special food and service for extra fees. The main dining room is a dramatic draw, however; it's white and glittering, with a two-story wine rack at the center. A Mediterranean restaurant is only available to passengers who stay in the spa-class cabins, which also include free access to steam rooms and saunas.
Itineraries/Schedule: 94.3
Shore Excursions: 72.0
Crew/Service: 94.3
Cabins: 91.5
Food/Dining: 84.8
Activites/Facilities: 87.4
Design/Layout: 92.4
Passengers: 2,850
Overall Score: 87.0
Overall Score: 86.2
Overall Score: 84.8
Overall Score: 83.7
Overall Score: 82.7
Overall Score: 82.7
Overall Score: 82.3
Overall Score: 82.1
Overall Score: 82.0
Overall Score: 80.5
The Star Princess and its nearly identical sisters, the Grand and Golden Princesses, are slightly smaller than the fleet's more modern ships. They debuted around the turn of the century, but Princess has retrofitted each with popular new features, including a poolside screen showing first-run movies, concerts, and sports events (they hand out popcorn and blankets in the evenings), and an adults-only deck area with massage cabanas. The ship also has four distinct swimming pools: one with the movie screen, one covered, one with a current, and a peaceful aft pool with expansive sea views on deck 12, which is otherwise devoted to cabins. The hard-to-find Oasis bar is worth the hunt for its plunge pool and two hot tubs.
Itineraries/Schedule: 87.4
Shore Excursions: 71.9
Crew/Service: 85.7
Cabins: 79.6
Food/Dining: 78.0
Activites/Facilities: 78.2
Design/Layout: 82.3
Passengers: 2,590
Overall Score: 81.6
Overall Score: 83.0
Condé Nast Traveler readers give high marks to the Sapphire Princess's itineraries, which take it to Alaska in the summer, then Hawaii and the South Pacific in the cooler months, on sailings that last up to 28 days. More than half the cabins have balconies, the better to see the fjords and glaciers of the Inside Passage. However, the Sapphire lacks some of the fleet's recent features, such as the poolside movie screen. Its dining system differs as well: The four main dining rooms have different themes and decor, but the same menu from the same kitchen, so that passengers who don't choose traditional set seating times can experience a little environmental variety. A high-tech entertainment lounge called Club Fusion has multiple flat-screen TVs and space for games, performances, and late-night dancing. What it lacks is lower-tech panoramic views, but you'll find those aplenty at the parties in the top-deck Skywalkers lounge.
Itineraries/Schedule: 87.0
Shore Excursions: 80.2
Crew/Service: 86.3
Cabins: 82.4
Food/Dining: 80.9
Activites/Facilities: 80.5
Design/Layout: 83.2
Passengers: 2,670
Overall Score: 80.3
Overall Score: 79.8
Overall Score: 79.7
Overall Score: 98.1
Overall Score: 97.7
Overall Score: 90.2
Overall Score: 90.2
Large for a river cruise ship, the River Adagio designed to cruise on the widest downriver stretches of the Danube, from Budapest east to the Black Sea. You'll want to be on the open-air sundeck when the Adagio reaches the famous Iron Gate gorge separating Serbia and Romania. Identical to the Aria, which also cruises the Danube, the Adagio has four decks carrying 164 passengers. All cabins are exterior; none have double beds, but some have balconies and all have big windows that, when you're not on the sundeck, deliver open-air panoramas of the plains and bluffs of southern Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania. The ship's size allows more generous public spaces and facilities, including a sauna.
Itineraries/Schedule: 95.7
Shore Excursions: 91.3
Crew/Service: 92.8
Cabins: 83.8
Food/Dining: 92.6
Activites/Facilities: 86.8
Design/Layout: 88.2
Passengers: 164
Overall Score: 95.7
Overall Score: 95.5
Overall Score: 91.1
One of several sister ships, the long, low River Concerto has Grand Circle's signature look: white paint, blue trim, lots of big windows. It surpasses its sisters, however, because three times a year it embarks on Grand Circle's most ambitious European cruise: a 26-day itinerary from Amsterdam to Bucharest via the Rhine, the Main, and the Danube rivers (plus a canal or two). You glide past the shores of nine countries, with stops at ports including Cologne, Nuremberg, Vienna, Budapest, and Belgrade. The 70 cabins are designed for comfort (except, perhaps, for the immovable twin beds), with full bathrooms, ample storage, and great views. Some have balconies, but on clear days, passengers gather on the rooftop sundeck for full panoramas of the passing old-world river towns, castles, and farmlands.
Itineraries/Schedule: 97.4
Shore Excursions: 92.3
Crew/Service: 100.0
Cabins: 79.5
Food/Dining: 94.7
Activites/Facilities: 82.1
Design/Layout: 92.1
Passengers: 140
Overall Score: 95.0
The River Beatrice debuted in March 2009, and Condé Nast Traveler readers have already rated it the world's best river ship. Eighty percent of its 80 staterooms have French balconies (only the 13 cabins on the lowest of its three decks do not). Most staterooms are 150 square feet, decorated in stylized floral patterns and crisp whites and beiges, while suites measure 225 square feet. The fare at the restaurant, on the Danube Deck, draws inspiration from Austrian and Hungarian cuisine, appropriate given that the ship's itineraries follow the Danube from Budapest to Linz, Germany, with a day in Salzburg (reached via bus).
Itineraries/Schedule: 96.5
Shore Excursions: 96.5
Crew/Service: 94.2
Cabins: 91.9
Food/Dining: 93.0
Activites/Facilities: 89.5
Design/Layout: 92.9
Passengers: 160
Overall Score: 94.6
One of Uniworld's older ships, the River Queen was launched in 1999 and can boast some river cruise ship firsts, including the first elevator and the first ship to be constructed with three decks and a Sun Deck (now common to many Uniworld ships). While the River Queen was refurbished in 2005, it retains its distinct riverboat profile, recalling vintage steamships, while the decor in the common areas plays on Art Deco themes in blue and white. Standard staterooms measure 151 square feet, while suites are approximately 65 square feet larger. Most of the year, the ship sails the "European Jewels" itinerary, from Amsterdam to Budapest along the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers.
Itineraries/Schedule: 100.0
Shore Excursions: 100.0
Crew/Service: 97.2
Cabins: 87.3
Food/Dining: 94.4
Activites/Facilities: 97.1
Design/Layout: 95.8
Passengers: 132
Overall Score: 87.0
Overall Score: 87.0
The River Ambassador was the first ship built by the Uniworld line (it debuted in 1993) and was most recently refurbished in 2011. All staterooms face the water and are divided over two decks, with 30 rooms on each. During the day, life on board the ship revolves around the main lounge with panoramic windows, on the Rhine Deck, while meals are served below, on the Moselle Deck. Included in the fare is Wi-Fi Internet access, as well as bicycles and walking sticks in port. The ship travels principally through Germany, with much of the year devoted to the new ten-day "Treasures of Prague, the Rhine and Main" itineraries. (The ship itself, however, doesn't travel to Prague; instead, passengers travel by bus to and from nearby Nuremburg.)
Itineraries/Schedule: 92.9
Shore Excursions: 90.5
Crew/Service: 95.2
Cabins: 73.8
Food/Dining: 85.7
Activites/Facilities: 85.4
Design/Layout: 85.7
Passengers: 120
Overall Score: 94.1
Overall Score: 93.9
Overall Score: 93.5
Overall Score: 93.3
Overall Score: 93.3
The one thing that distinguishes the 189-passenger Viking Legend (and the Viking Prestige) from Viking River Cruises' other ships won't be obvious when you first step aboard. In 2009, when the Legend joined the Viking fleet, it was outfitted with a propulsion system that increased fuel efficiency by 20 percent (a green first in the industry) and provided for a quieter cruise. The ship has two 310-square-foot suites, while most staterooms measure 155 square feet; those on the upper two (of three) decks have French balconies. Solo travelers may want to consider one of the Legend's five single berths. All cabins are stocked with L'Occitane products and furnished with flat-screen TVs. The Legend sails between Passau and Budapest (or, on a longer trip, between Nuremberg and Budapest) along Europe's most legendary river, the Danube.
Itineraries/Schedule: 95.1
Shore Excursions: 94.8
Crew/Service: 95.1
Cabins: 87.1
Food/Dining: 88.6
Activites/Facilities: 87.8
Design/Layout: 91.3
Passengers: 189
Overall Score: 92.9
Overall Score: 92.3
Overall Score: 92.3
Overall Score: 92.3
Overall Score: 92.0
** Overall Score: 88.1**
Overall Score: 88.1
The 67 cabins on the River Empress (inaugurated in 2001) are spread over three decks, with the 22 on the Rhine Deck having French balconies. The ship's life is also concentrated on the Rhine Deck, with the main lounge at the prow and the restaurant aft. Free laundry and daily newspapers have been offered since 2010 as extra amenities to passengers in the four suites; all cabins have flat-screen TVs and L'Occitane products. The ship spends most of the year sailing its 15-day "European Jewels" itinerary, from Amsterdam to Budapest, with spring sailings along the Rhine and December sailings on the Danube that stop at five of Europe's most famous Christmas markets.
Itineraries/Schedule: 91.7
Shore Excursions: 93.1
Crew/Service: 93.1
Cabins: 81.9
Food/Dining: 84.7
Activites/Facilities: 85.9
Design/Layout: 86.1
Passengers: 134
Overall Score: 89.0
The 150-passenger Viking Pride has three identical sisters: the Europe, the Neptune, and the Spirit. The 75 staterooms on each are outside with river views, while the top two categories also have large picture windows that open. All measure 170 square feet, except for the 12 in category E, which are 120 square feet. As is true of all the ships in the line, excursions, from touring the Dutch Paleis Het Loo to attending an organ recital at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Passau, are included in the fare. The Pride will be spending 2011 sailing the Danube, including the 15-day Grand European Tour from Amsterdam to Budapest; in 2012, she'll be found on the Seine, in Paris and Normandy.
Itineraries/Schedule: 95.6
Shore Excursions: 94.6
Crew/Service: 94.8
Cabins: 87.2
Food/Dining: 86.5
Activites/Facilities: 78.9
Design/Layout: 85.3
Passengers: 150
One of the newer members of the Uniworld family, the **River Royale **was inaugurated in 2006. As its name implies, this ship sails only French itineraries. Staterooms on the highest, Azure Deck have French balconies and are decorated in a blue-and-gold theme, while Burgundy staterooms on the deck below are, appropriately, decorated in deep red; all come stocked with L'Occitane products. While the ship is sailing, passengers spend most of their time on the Azure Deck, also the home of the reception and lounge areas, or above, on the Sun Deck. The ship travels through Burgundy and Provence, on the Saône and Rhône rivers.
Itineraries/Schedule: 95.3
Shore Excursions: 95.3
Crew/Service: 96.5
Cabins: 88.4
Food/Dining: 87.2
Activites/Facilities: 83.7
Design/Layout: 91.9
Passengers: 132
Overall Score: 81.5
One of several sister ships that sail Germany and the Low Countries, the long, low River Rhapsody has Grand Circle's signature look: boxy build, white paint, blue trim, lots of big windows. The 70 cabins are designed for comfort (except, perhaps, for the immovable twin beds), with full bathrooms, ample storage, and great big windows. Some cabins have balconies, but on clear days, passengers gather up top on the sundeck for full panoramas of the passing old-world river towns, castles, and farmlands. Depending on the itinerary (Danube, Rhine, Main, Mosel), stops may include Cologne, Strasbourg, and Amsterdam, among others. Because the Rhapsody and her musical sisters mainly sail the same routes, and all their crews get high marks, you can choose your cruise based more on your availability than a preference for a particular ship.
Itineraries/Schedule: 88.9
Shore Excursions: 86.7
Crew/Service: 88.9
Cabins: 60.0
Food/Dining: 82.2
Activites/Facilities: 79.5
Design/Layout: 84.1
Passengers: 140
Overall Score: 91.2
Overall Score: 90.7
Overall Score: 90.7
Overall Score: 89.7
The 150-passenger Viking Spirit has three identical sisters: the Europe, the Neptune, and the Pride. The 75 staterooms on each ship are outside with river views, while the top two categories of staterooms have large picture windows that open. All rooms measure 170 square feet, except for the 12 in category E, which are 120 square feet. As is true of all Viking ships, excursions on the Spirit, from touring Claude Monet's house at Giverny to a guided walking tour of Rouen, Normandy's historic capital, are included in the fare. The Spirit spends her time sailing the Seine between Paris and Normandy. Itineraries on the ship can be combined with sails on other Viking River Cruises ships to create a 15-day "France's Finest" trip, extending from Avignon in the south to the beaches of Normandy in the north.
Itineraries/Schedule: 96.6
Shore Excursions: 93.9
Crew/Service: 95.1
Cabins: 85.9
Food/Dining: 87.4
Activites/Facilities: 81.3
Design/Layout: 87.4
Passengers: 150
Overall Score: 89.4
Overall Score: 89.4
Uniworld's 82-passenger Egypt option, the River Tosca, launched in 2009 and a year later was given a two-month makeover. While the line had been sailing the Nile for years, until then they had relied on chartered ships. Cabins (which measure over 300 square feet) have a cool classic look with large mirrors, tufted headboards, heavy drapes, nail-head-lined furniture, and conservative wallpaper, but the lobby and dining rooms are more exuberant with ornate marble floors, busts, and striking carved lanterns. On the top deck, there is an open-air pool for sunning as the ship sails down the Nile on 8- and 12-day itineraries.
Itineraries/Schedule: 92.6
Shore Excursions: 96.3
Crew/Service: 92.6
Cabins: 88.9
Food/Dining: 88.9
Activites/Facilities: 80.8
Design/Layout: 85.2
Passengers: 82
Overall Score: 89.0
Overall Score: 88.9
Overall Score: 88.4
Overall Score: 87.6
Overall Score: 79.2
Overall Score: 79.2
Originally built in 1984, the Viking Helgi was the first of Viking River Cruises' Russian ships to be refurbished, in 2008. Along with her sisters the Kirov and Pakhomov, the Helgi has long been among the most highly rated river ships sailing in that country. The Surkov has two spacious suites measuring 290 square feet, but even most staterooms, while smaller, are still a relatively generous 161 square feet. (There are also two single cabins, measuring 75 square feet each.) There is open seating at the ship's restaurant, and passengers can count on Russian specialties appearing on menus during the course of a sail. The Surkov sails the same "Waterways of the Czars" itinerary as the_Kirov_, traveling between Moscow and St. Petersburg from May to October.
Itineraries/Schedule: 84.6
Shore Excursions: 87.7
Crew/Service: 86.2
Cabins: 63.1
Food/Dining: 75.4
Activites/Facilities: 79.4
Design/Layout: 78.1
Passengers: 210
Overall Score: 87.2
Overall Score: 86.2
Overall Score: 84.6


text:
As new initiatives have been filed in recent weeks with the state attorney general, the sponsors of these measures have come under criticism -- not as much for what the initiatives propose but for the people making the proposals.
One frequent criticism: the initiative sponsors are rich.
They are wealthy unions or cororations. Or they are billionaires in some cases. And why should rich people come down and impose their policy preferences?
U.S. & World
The criticism is unsurprising, but it misses the point.
The problem with initiative sponsors in California isn't that they're rich.
The problem with initiative sponsors in California is that they aren't perfect.
Because in California, an initiative sponsor must be perfect.
How's that? Unlike in every other state and country with an initiative process, California doesn't permit the legislative body to make fixes or changes to a ballot initiative.
Only the people can make a change. So what the initiative sponsor drafts is what will stand, no matter how poorly drafted.
Of course, initiative sponsors can deal with this problem by including language that permits legislative amendment of their measures. But many of the initiatives recently filed don't include such language. One tax initiative -- an income tax increase to fund education -- makes doubly sure that no problems will be fixed by expressly prohibiting amendment.
If you bother to read initiatives, you should look at the end of the measures to see whether amendment is permitted. And if it isn't, you should understand that the people who wrote this initiative think they are perfect.
Then you might ask yourself if you should trust a measure from people who are so sure of themselves.
Let us know what you think. Comment below, send us your thoughts via Twitter @PropZero or add your comment to our Facebook page.


text:
One look at Blake Lively at the National Board of Review Gala last night in NYC and I was starstruck. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes an outfit feels completely fresh, very of-the-moment, and just has that 'oh!' factor. My eye was first drawn to the gorgeous pop of turquoise jewelry against her purple Marchesa dress. If this pairing doesn't convince you to immediately try the two colors together, I don't know what will. Plus, it's a great reminder that turquoise is NOT just a summer stone.
I also love the dress, in what looks to be a purple ultrasuede, with its delicate cutouts that almost make it appear like a beautiful paper art. The loose hair and understated makeup make it a home run in my book. So go ahead: find yourself a pretty purple dress and try on some of these jewels for size:
18k Yellow Gold Turquoise 2.19 ctw Diamond Cocktail Ring sz 6.5
20K yellow gold turquoise earrings
Handcrafted Sterling Silver & Gold Floral 16 ctw Rose-Cut Diamond Turquoise Hinged Bangle Bracelet


text:
Kayley's Constellations
Hubbard was taking a course on War & Peace and Anna Karenina on Monday nights at Lakeland Community College, and the professor was Hubbard's age, which didn't inspire confidence. Most of the students were older than the professor, older than Hubbard: bearded, backpack-toting retirees, and middle-aged women with loud raspy voices. The men usually nodded off during class, while the women rambled on about their own unhappy families, and this didn't inspire confidence either, at least not in Hubbard.
Class lasted two hours, but 40 minutes in, just as Hubbard was finally working up the nerve to interrupt the women and say what he'd been thinking all weekend essentially that Levin was a really great guy, though he hoped to make it sound more intelligent than that LeAnn Koleske raised her hand and demanded a smoke break. Before the poor professor could even assent, the women rose in unison and zipped up their puffy coats with fur-fringed hoods, which, worn over leggings, made them look like blown-up versions of their own kids dressed as pumpkins or gourds or snowballs for Halloween. Rummaging through their purses, they hustled out the side door of the Lakeland Community College West Annex Building.
Hubbard didn't smoke, but he followed the women anyway, since he'd been working all day at the mattress store and was longing for some fresh air. Besides, he didn't want to be left alone with the nodding retirees and the professor, whom Hubbard felt nervous around outside of class time, unsure whether the similarity in their ages overrode their teacher-student relationship, or vice versa. So he headed outside and sat on the steps beneath the cold white stars, eating a sandwich and trying to read in the cone of salty blue light from the security lamps. But it was too cold to concentrate, and he wound up watching the women as they huddled in the little alley beside the concrete fountain, which froze up in winter, and smoked their Kool 100s, bobbing their knees against the cold.
As they smoked, the women began to talk loudly about blow jobs– so loudly that Hubbard wondered whether the women, who always talked loudly, were speaking especially loudly for his benefit, so that their blow-job talk would not be drowned in the night wind that whipped off Lake Oshetega, but would reach his ears instead. Or maybe it was accidental, and the women didn't care one bit whether Hubbard heard them talking about blow jobs, when they gave their first blow job, when they gave their last blow job, how many total blow jobs they had approximately given in the course of their blow-job-giving lives. Either way, the words "blow job" clearly reached Hubbard's ears, as he sat there on the side steps of the LCCWAB, his book on his lap, eating a bologna-and-tomato sandwich because he worked till seven on Monday nights and thus had no time to prepare a bologna-and-tomato omelet, or, better yet, some of his famous bologna-and-tomato pasta.
Hubbard knew that he was not the epicenter of the universe, and so it was a mistake to think that everything that happened happened to him. The wind did not whip off Lake Oshetega to make him, Jim Hubbard, cold, and similarly the women smoking Kool 100s did not, or probably did not, use wind-piercing voices to convey to him, Jim Hubbard, their talk of blow jobs. On the other hand, while the wind didn't intend to make Hubbard feel cold, it was entirely possible that the women intended to make Hubbard feel something with their wind-piercing talk of blow jobs, the proper duration of a blow job, when should a blow job be abandoned, the optimal time of day at which to administer a blow job. At this point, then, the question became, what did the women mean, provided they meant something, which granted was impossible to prove, unless Hubbard asked them, which was impossible?
Sometimes, when Hubbard saw a photograph of himself, one taken from an angle that showed the round bones of his face in an unfamiliar way, or captured an expression different from the one he fashioned for the mirror, it jolted him the way a sudden recovery from amnesia might. Such a photograph seemed to prove that he'd been wrong all along, everything he'd ever done and thought and said had been utterly and terribly false, since it all failed to take into account the existence of the person in the photograph, who could only be Hubbard and no one else, but whom Hubbard didn't even recognize.
How much harder then, Hubbard thought, to see himself from these women's point of view, when even his own view of himself could be cast into doubt by a photograph. Because while Hubbard was Hubbard, these women were these women, and so to see himself through their eyes, he'd have to first step outside himself, which even in the case of the photograph he couldn't really do. And then, if he, Hubbard, did manage to escape his own body and mind– which would require a miracle– he'd then have to enter into the bodies and minds of these women, which would require a second, more elaborate miracle.
Hubbard was 24 years old. Although he ate a lot of bologna, and bologna was mostly fat, he was not fat. Nor was he short. In fact, he was rather tall. Each night, before bed, he did 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups, in sets of 25. Therefore it was not impossible that the women, who were after all quite a bit older, and less fit, might have found Hubbard sexually palatable, or even desirable. They might even have thought him a stud, a strapping young stud, a stallion, and so purposely projected their talk of blow jobs through the noisy wind, perhaps to suggest to Hubbard that they might perform blow jobs on him, or perhaps because they derived an idle pleasure from speaking of blow jobs the role of the tongue, the role of the hands, swallowing within earshot of a strapping young stallion such as Hubbard.
Watching the women lipstick-stain their long cigarettes, blowing the smoke upward into the noisy wind, hair-feathers mixing with the furry fringes of the satiny hoods of their puffy coats, feet locked together and knees bobbing gently against the cold, Hubbard could almost see himself in this way, as an object of sexual desire. But deep down he could never believe it, because he, Hubbard, at 24, had, in simple point of fact, never received a blow job. Though from day to day this didn't disturb him much, still in the presence of these women and their blow-job talk he began to worry that this simple fact, this condition which, when he thought of it, struck Hubbard as so strange, so contrary to the lived life he knew was somehow plainly obvious to these chain-smoking women, who had no doubt developed, over the years, a formidable body of knowledge about blow jobs and blow-job-related topics, a womanly intuition, such that they could glance once at him, Jim Hubbard, and see it written all over his face: never been blown.
Was it really possible, Hubbard wondered, that he had never been blown? It seemed impossible he was not a freak, nor was he a prude, he was Jim Hubbard, former captain of the Lakeland South basketball team, first-team all-county forward, now maintaining an honor-roll GPA at LCC while working a respectable albeit unstellar job at Verlo Mattress. A good, normal guy. Granted, there had been a few undiscussable years in there, years of watching TV in his parents' attic, after his sister Kayley died, but he had finally recovered his Jim Hubbardness, his good-normal-guy-ness. And though the years of 19, 20, and 21 were admittedly prime blow-job-getting years, which he had admittedly wasted, still before and since he was a normal, blow-job-worthy guy. He had friends, and he and his friends went to bars on the weekend and talked to the girls they knew from high school, and the girls the girls they knew from high school knew, and occasionally a girl Hubbard knew from LCC, and he was an easygoing guy with a newish Ford Probe who had read Anna Karenina, and loved his sister, and was working, slowly but surely, toward a degree in Business Finance.
And he was also the guy whom Beth Oettinger, the incomparably lovely Beth Oettinger, described on Prom Night as "the most darling-eyed boy in Lakeland." And so, according to any normal standards, he was a guy who should have received, since puberty, at least an average number of blow jobs, be it 24, or 60, or 441. Hubbard wasn't sure about the stats. Most of the time, in fact, he just assumed that he had received that many blow jobs, since everyone else seemed to think so, and Hubbard couldn't see any reason not to believe them.
But when he heard LeAnn Koleske make a slurping sound with her cheeks, glancing in his direction while she expertly lit a second cigarette against the wind, the realization that he had never been blown, not even once, struck him much the way the photograph taken from an unfamiliar angle did. This just-revealed person was him it was clearly him but it didn't seem like him at all. He barely believed it. A photograph was proof that he, Jim Hubbard, had looked a certain way at a certain moment through a camera lens. But allegations of never having had a blow job were dauntingly hard to prove. There was no record of blow jobs at City Hall, and there was certainly no record of the absence of blow jobs. There was only a string of blow-job-free days in Jim Hubbard's past, and this was the odd thing: because everyone had blow-job-free days, except possibly an NBA player, or a really famous rapper. And what was his, Jim Hubbard's, blow-job-free life, thus far, except a bundle of blow-job-free days, tied together with the thin thread of Jim Hubbard's memory? It was nothing but that. It was exactly that.
And yet, though there was nothing unusual about a blow-job-free day, there was something unusual, something downright eerie, about a blow-job-free life, even though a life was just a summation of days, one plus one plus one, and nothing else. Just the way that after Hubbard's sister, Kayley, dove into the quarry from the cliff that all the kids in Lakeland dove into the quarry from on star-shot summer nights when no cops were around, all the kids, the high-school kids of Lakeland, leaping in succession off the high cliff on star-shot summer nights, grabbing up at the stars and then bicycle-wheeling their legs or arching over into a downward knife-slice through the darkness, holding their screams in at first before letting it all out halfway down, one after the other, or else a group of girls grasping hands and leaping together feet-first on the count of three, which Jim Hubbard had seen countless times from across the quarry on bright-moon nights, five girls' hands lifting in unison, five ligatured Y's dark against the less-dark cliff for a split-second before separating, wondrous to watch, what all the kids of Lakeland had always done, what Jim Hubbard himself had always done, celebrated so many star-shot summer nights in humid Lakeland this way, leaping off the cliff with friends, even during that first summer home from college, that distant dream of a far-off college he'd attended for one year, he and his friends gathered for beer-drinking and cliff-leaping on several nights that summer, up till and including the night it happened, the night Kayley Hubbard let go of Gina Nesby's hand and flipped her Y-shape into a downward knife-slice Kayley was a varsity diver and plunged toward the water like every high-school kid in Lakeland with an ounce of courage or self-confidence or susceptibility to peer pressure had ever done since the day that the quarry had finished being excavated for its rock and mineral and was filled with water, every kid including Jim and Kayley Hubbard, except Kayley didn't hit the water but instead the floating seat of a broken metal folding chair, the first kid in history to ever do this on a star-shot summer night well, after that happened, Jim Hubbard knew that being alive was just a bundle of days of not being dead, tied together with a thin thread of memory, and that being dead was just a bundle of days of not being alive, tied together with nothing.
So the days lined up for Hubbard, his and Kayley's both. Days of watching TV in the attic, of always wearing a blanket around his shoulders when he went downstairs to eat. Days of having to be comforted by his parents when he wished he could be comforting them. Of course no one was at fault, it was an accident, whatever that meant, but Hubbard had groped for the same stars that very night, and so he felt, in some way, responsible.
Thinking of Kayley this way, as the wind whipped fiercely up the little alley, Hubbard regretted ever spending a single second worrying about blow jobs. But on the other hand, life went on, at least for the living, and Kayley, it occurred to him, was not the sort of girl who would have wanted him never to get a blow job, as some kind of weird tribute, or something. Even though Kayley died at 15, Hubbard felt certain that she had not died without giving at least one and probably quite a few blow jobs, and then demanding that the boy return the favor, because that was how Kayley was– "irrepressible" was how adults described it, when they weren't upset with her.
It made Hubbard smile now, into his open book, to think that Kayley had possibly even become the Blow-Job Queen of Lakeland South by the end of her sophomore year, Hubbard's lone forgotten year at the far-off college. When Kayley was alive, of course, such a thought would have gnawed at Hubbard like an ulcer. He was a protective big brother, but not the kind who would have beaten the snot out of a guy his sister had blown, even though he, Hubbard, was tall and fit, and capable of beating the snot out of most guys. If he'd ever heard of such a thing, his sister's blow-job prowess, he would have stewed but said nothing. He'd never, in fact, heard of such a thing, but now, putting the words "Kayley" and "blow job" into the same mental sentences for the very first time, it seemed quite obvious that she was exactly the girl who would have been first to begin giving blow jobs, the Stacey Merving of her class, though smarter and far more lovely, and, Hubbard hoped, slightly more picky about whom she blew.
Yes, Kayley would have certainly been the first. She was the bravest person he knew, the most daring and curious, the most freely giving and the most unconcerned about what anyone else might say or think. And she was the most loving person Hubbard had ever met, the most carelessly loving person, and she would have reigned over the world of blow jobs like a goddess, like a constellation, as Hubbard now saw. She would have been fanatical about blowing whomever she loved, even if she only loved him a little, be it Trevor Szymczak, or Wes McCabe, or Brad Albini. Hubbard didn't care to think about that part.
But then again, why not think about it? Brad Albini was a part of it too, the lanky dread-locked soccer player who was two years younger than Hubbard, one year older than Kayley, and the fact that Kayley had blown Brad Albini, as Hubbard now saw, as the women stubbed out their second round of Kool 100s with the toes of pointy boots, still bobbing their knees like sandpipers the fact that Kayley had blown Brad Albini was a part of it too, it was of a piece with everything, there was no separating Brad Albini from Kayley Hubbard, from the summer stars above Lakeland, from Jim Hubbard himself, from Anna Karenina and the capital of Paraguay and the blanket Hubbard wore around his shoulders for three years, as if it would protect him, keep him warm, as if it were the kind of swimmer's shawl that Kayley wrapped herself in at meets when she climbed from the water after a dive, glancing over at her big brother for a nod of approval which, thank God, he had never failed to give. All of the constellations, all of the star-shapes that Kayley and Jim Hubbard and every other kid in Lakeland had ever groped for, legs kicking, screams coming, in that tiny ascent that is basically all of life, that is all that could ever be hoped for from life all of these constellations had been named long ago, as Hubbard now saw, for women who were just like Kayley.
Hubbard shut his book, stood up, and held the door for the shivering, shuffling women, nodding down at them as they passed. There were a million things you had to hold in your head at once, while you were alive, and Kayley blowing Brad Albini was one of those million things, and you were dead if you forgot it, stone dead. Though of course you would die soon enough, even if you remembered it, along with the other 999,999 things, which was impossible. You would die soon enough, along with all the people you blew or who blew you, and so all life could be was a brief groping at the far-off stars, a churning of legs in the air, and the stars don't care, and nobody cares, but you do it anyway, why not, because you're Jim Hubbard, you're susceptible to peer pressure, or maybe you're brave.


text:
Archive: Brochures and Reports
From 1998 onwards
Our mission is the undertaking of basic research for future information and communication technology. In keeping with this objective, we at the Peter Grünberg Institute research into new physical concepts and materials and operate a state-of-the-art platform for the development of process engineering, instruments and innovative nanoelectronic materials systems. Since 2009, as part of the Helmholtz Association's Programme-Oriented Funding (POF), our activities have centred on the programme "Basic Research for Information Technologies of the Future", within the Helmholtz research area of "Key Technologies". More detailed information about our institute, research programme, our scientific-technical infrastructure, as well as selected highlights from 2009 through to 2011 and other topics of interest can be found in the "PGI Interim Report 2009-2011".
2009 has been a very eventful year for the IFF. To name but some highlights:
In March, the Peter Grünberg Centre officially opened. It constitutes the central platform for basic research in the field of nanoelectronics in the Jülich-Aachen region, and the first research institution in the field of nanoelectronics in Germany that is fully open to external users.
The IFF neutron researchers have secured funding worth around € 1.1 million as part of the 7th EU Framework Programme for the exploitation and further development of neutron scattering for European science. At the SNS in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the strongest neutron source in the world, a state-of-the-art neutron spin echo (NSE) spectrometer was inaugurated by the JCNS in November.
Also in November, work began with a groundbreaking ceremony for an extension to the Ernst-Ruska-Centre (ER-C) on the campus of Forschungszentrum Jülich. It will house a unique electron microscope with a world-beating resolution of 50 billionths of a millimetre.
Last, but not least, the "IFF Spring School" celebrated its 40th year running.
Please read on in the annual report 2009, where you will further find a typical cross section through the research conducted at the IFF in 2009, within the Helmholtz research programmes "Condensed Matter Physics", "Information Technology with Nanoelectronic Systems", and "Large-scale Facilities for Research with Photons, Neutrons, and Ions".
Persistent Identifier: urn:nbn:de:0001-2010051905
The annual report is intended to inform the international scientific community, including our scientific advisory board and the Helmholtz Association about the research activities of the IFF during the past year. We have attempted to present a typical cross section through the research conducted at the IFF, within the Helmholtz Research Programmes "Condensed Matter Physics", "Information Technology with Nanoelectronic Systems", and "Large-scale Facilities for Research with Photons, Neutrons, and Ions".
Title left: Aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy image of a thin film of the relaxor ferroelectric Ca0.28Ba0.72Nb2O6 on a SrTiO3 substrate (in false colours). Both the amorphous area on the left, and the complex structure of the material are clearly resolved.
Title right: The flow behavior of red blood cells in microcapillaries and microfluidic devices is governed by the deformability of the cells, their hydrodynamic interactions, and thermally induced cell membrane undulations. These mechanisms have been studied in silico. The state-of-the-art simulations predict that, at physiological hematocrit values, 3 distinct phases exist.
Persistent Identifier: urn:nbn:de:0001-00462
IFF Scientific Report 2007 (German/English)
Researchers at Jülich and Hamburg have discovered that in the case of magnetic structures nature prefers one form rather than its mirror image in thin metallic structures. Title picture, left: Homochiral magnetic order in a one-atomic layer thick film of Mn atoms on a W(110) surface. The local magnetic moments at Mn atoms shown as red and green arrows are aligned antiferromagnetically between nearest-neighbour atoms. Superimposed is a spiral pattern of unirotational direction. The picture shows a left-rotating cycloidal spiral, which was found in nature. The bottom picture shows the mirror image, a right rotating spiral, which does not exist. The work results from a collaboration between the IFF and the Institute of Applied Physics at the University of Hamburg. The results have been published in Nature 447, p190 (2007).
Persistent Identifier: urn:nbn:de:0001-00493
Scientists of the Institute of Solid State Research (IFF) have found a magnetic switching method which achieves the fastest speed ever reported by applying an external magnetic field. The figure shows the emission of spin-waves during the switching process.
In disk-shaped small magnets of about a micrometre the magnetization can naturally align to form vortex structures. These vortices have a centre called the "core", a region spanning about ten nanometres - the length of less than one hundred atoms. The vortex core is a region where the magnetization points perpendicular to the surface, either "up" or "down". This naturally lends itself to applications in binary data storage, especially as the magnetization direction is very stable. This stability is caused by the strongest force present in magnets, the so-called exchange interaction. Only by exploiting this force does it become possible to flip the core without applying very strong fields - that is what the scientists discovered with the help of computer simulations.
Persistent Identifier: urn:nbn:de:0001-00476
IFF Brochure
This publication is intended to give in-depth information about IFF's activities. You are invited to discover what makes research so fascinating and what IFF's contributions are. On 28 pages the brochure portrays the institute, its strategy, competences and instrumentation. We report on special achievements and the opportunities open to students and trainees. The brochure focuses on six interlinked research topics since our strengths are interdisciplinarity and cooperation. The topics range from innovative information technologies and winterized diesel fuel to methods for the computation of solids and liquids.
IFF Ergebnisbericht 2004 / 2005
Research reports
- Condensed matter Electronic and Magnetic Phenomena from Matter to Materials Soft Matter and Biophysics.
- Information technology with nanoelectronic systems Magnetroelectronics and Spintronics THz-Electronics Hysteretic Oxide-Based Memories.
- Large scale facilities for research with photons, neutrons and ions.
IFF Ergebnisbericht 2002 / 2003
When a thin elastic foil with high shear modulus and low bending rigidity is crumpled by an external force, the stretching and bending energies are not distributed uniformly, but condense into localized folds and conical dislocations. A familiar example of such a material is paper. The crumpling process can be studied very well by computer simulations. The picture shows a circular piece of an originally flat, thin elastic sheet which has been compressed by a constant isotropic force to about a third of its original (linear) size. A characteristic pattern of folds has formed, which is shown here in the flat reference state. Colouring is used to indicate the sharpness of the folds where yellow means a nearly flat surface, blue indicates weakly curved regions while strongly curved folds are shown in red.
IFF Scientific Report 2001 / 2002
Polarized neutron diffraction under grazing incidence from an optical grating covered with a nickel layer. Data were obtained on the reflectometer "HADAS" in the neutron guide hall ELLA at the DIDO reactor. The graph shows the count rate in the "up-up" channel (i.e. scattering without change of polarization) as a function of the angle of incidence (abscissa) and exit (ordinate). From the full polarization dependence, structural and magnetic contributions can be separated and the magnetic roughness and shape anisotropy can be determined.
IFF Scientific Report 2000 / 2001
Atomic view of a monatomic film of magnetic manganese atoms deposited on a (110)-oriented tungsten surface, Mn/W(110). The magnetic moments indicated by arrows are arranged in an antiferromagnetic order, a cheauerboard arrangement of red and green atoms. All Mn atoms are chemically and structurally indistinguishable and differ only in the relative orientation of the magnetic moments. The total magnetization is zero. This atomic scale magnetic structure can be detected using a spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscope (SP-STM).
IFF Scientific Report 1999 / 2000
Topography of polished (100)-surfaces of various single crystals of SrTiO3, obtained by AFM after thermal treatment at ambient pressure. All surfaces exhibit the same characteristic changes compared to the original surface prior to heat treatment, namely the formation of the step-like terraces and the appearance of the droplet-like features on top of the surface.
IFF Scientific Report 1998 / 1999
Atomic view of a complex arrangement of twin boundaries in the electroceramic material barium titanate (BaTiO3). The pseudocolour image shows the phase of a quantum mechanical electron wave function which was reconstructed numerically from a series of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images. In contrast to an image, the interpretation of the quantum mechanical phase is straightforward, because the latter is free from the severe imaging artefacts introduced by the observation instrument.