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The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.
Sometimes modesty's the best policy
Val Verde County Game Warden Chrissy Plant made contact with hunters at a camp in West Val Verde County Nov. 7, the second day of general deer season. Although the hunters had no deer, one hunter started bragging about the four javelinas he had killed. They'd scared off his deer at the feeder, he said. Not impressed, Warden Plant cited him for exceeding his bag limit. At another nearby camp, Plant checked some hunters who had been luckier, having taken a nice buck. An hour and a couple flashlight batteries later, Plant found the carcass of a javelina that had been dumped the day before, and a case for waste of game is pending.
Unwise poaching in Wise County
Nov. 5, Wise County Game Warden Chris Dowdy and Tarrant County Game Warden David Vannoy were patrolling Wise County on the eve of the rifle season opener. While investigating a call about a possible poacher, warden Dowdy received another call from a landowner about a deer that had just been shot from the road. After the first call was cleared, the wardens responded to the second call. When they arrived, the wardens found two very upset landowners and one dead white-tailed doe. Darkness had not yet fallen, and the wardens figured that the poachers would soon be back for their take. They didn't have to wait long before the poachers returned. As a pickup truck crept to a stop on the county road, the driver got out and gleefully ran through the field laughing and shouting back to his buddies, "I got it, I got it!" As the driver attempted to return to the truck with the deer, wardens Dowdy and Vannoy surprised the two men and one juvenile. In the truck, the wardens found a rifle, spotlight, headlamps, and beer. Another doe poached from a neighboring county also was found in the bed of the truck. Multiple cases are pending.
Case made by just a hair
Houston County wardens Eddie Lehr and Zak Benge were checking camps in the national forest on opening day of general deer season when a truck pulled up. When asked, the men said they had not killed anything. But Lehr noticed what appeared to be a red stain in the bed of the freshly washed truck and dropped the tailgate. After the wardens found a single deer hair, the suspects finally confessed to killing an illegal buck. After a short interview, the suspect also admitted shooting the deer with a shotgun from Highway 7 near Ratcliff. Cases and restitution pending.
Case of the Misplaced Anger
Sabine County Game Warden Sam Smith and Capt. Tom Jenkins checked a hunter coming out of a wildlife management area on opening day. The man did not have an annual public hunting permit, and as warden Smith wrote the citation, the subject said he was angry at the store that sold him the license for not informing him that he needed a permit to hunt on a wildlife management area, and that he would be having the store pay his fine. Capt. Jenkins, who had walked into the woods while Smith talked with the annoyed license holder, found a permanent stand, corn, and a freshly killed white-tailed doe. The man admitted to all the violations and said he was no longer mad at the store that sold him his license. Cases pending.
Nice deer…too bad it's illegal
Tyler County Game Warden Roy Eddins received a call Nov. 7 that a hunting club member had exceeded the bag limit by killing two bucks with antlers greater than 13 inches. A 10-point buck was seized, and a citation was issued for exceeding the bag limit for a single county. The buck scored 128 5/8. Case pending.
Sometimes waiting's a good thing
Houston County Wardens Eddie Lehr and Zak Benge checked a camp Nov. 7 and found two untagged deer. After interviewing a father and son, it was determined that they had each killed a deer. Unfortunately, the son hadn't wanted to wait in line the previous Friday to buy his license so the father offered to tag each deer. Case pending.
Didn't take CIS to figure this one out
On Nov. 7, Houston County Wardens Zak Benge and Eddie Lehr received an Operation Game Thief tip concerning an illegal buck. They located a deer head in an open field on a private road. It appeared that an animal had dragged the head there. With the tag still attached, locating the suspect was fairly easy. Case pending.
Undersized oysters R a violation
Nov. 6, Chambers County Game Wardens Hector Gonzalez and John Feist filed on three oyster boat captains for possessing a cargo of undersize oysters. Ninety-five sacks of oysters were returned to the reefs. Two days later, Galveston County Game Wardens Mack Chambers, Brain Scott, Vu Nguyen and Lt. Fred Ruiz filed on three oyster boat captains for possessing a cargo of undersized oysters. Seventy-eight sacks of oysters were returned to the reefs. Cases pending.
I Spy
On Nov. 6, Hutchinson County Game Warden Lance Lindley was contacted by a citizen watching a group of hunters through a spotting scope across Lake Meredith. He said one of the hunters had shot a mule deer doe. Warden Lindley went to the location and contacted the hunters. One of them was found to have shot two doe mule deer. Cases and civil restitution filed accordingly.
All in the family
On Nov. 5, Lamar County Game Warden Bryan Callihan and Hopkins County Game Warden Jarrod Bryant caught three groups of spotlighters in Delta County inside two hours. One man said his wife had warned him about road hunting before he left the house. This same man went home and told his son to watch out for game wardens, but the boy didn't listen. An hour later the wardens caught the son on the same road where he dad had been caught.
Jumping the gun with a .22
On Nov. 7, Red River Wardens Daniel Roraback and Benny Richards got a tip on a subject who allegedly killed a buck with a .22 rifle on the Friday before deer season. After a short investigation, the subject confessed to shooting a buck with the rifle the day before deer season and failure to tag the illegal buck deer or fill out his harvest log. Cases and restitution pending.
Well, there was that little deal last year
Morris County Warden Michael Serbanic interviewed a suspect on Nov. 11 after a Morris County deputy stopped him and found a gun and spotlight in the vehicle. The suspect would not admit to road hunting but decided to tell warden Serbanic about the 8-pointer he killed last year and didn't tag. After looking at the man's old license and finding no tags missing and getting the deer head from his residence, citations were issued.
Jig's up for flounder giggers
Nueces County Game Warden Mike Wheelington responded to an Operation Game Thief call that resulted in a man being filed on for gigging five flounder during the November flounder gigging closure.
Nothing accidental about it
On Nov. 12, Refugio County Game Wardens Pinky Gonzales and Danny Kelso received a call from a Refugio County deputy concerning a vehicle he had stopped with a white-tailed buck deer in the back of the vehicle. The two subjects in the vehicle told the wardens that they had accidentally hit the deer with their vehicle. But the wardens found a receipt showing they had purchased a box of bullets about an hour earlier. Checking the deer, the wardens found one shot to the head and one in the neck. Confession, confiscation, impoundment, citations, and a trip to jail followed. Cases pending.
Catching was good for wardens, too
Cameron County Game Wardens Santana Torres, Marc Vela, and Libby Balusek received information on Nov. 10 that several subjects were catching oversize red drum off the Port Mansfield jetties. The wardens headed up the beach and made contact with several vehicles, all of which had at least one violation. A total of 13 cases were made for violations including untagged red drum, improperly tagged red drum, and no fishing license. Civil restitution was filed for one oversize red drum.


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Web-Letter, Issue 79 Provence Star Wash Cloth
Every creative endeavor starts with an imagined idea or rough sketch and, in knitting, ends with something made of stitches and yarn. Jessica Wright-Lichter began with a 5-pointed star, traced on a piece of paper, and a skein of CEY Provence. She ended with this wonderful pointy wash cloth.
An annual visit with friends to Star Island suggested the shape of the piece. Last weekend one of those friends, Toby Wood, was kayaking off the coast of New Hampshire and didn't return home. Jessica would like to share this pattern in his honor.
The Story:
My family's annual summer retreat to Star Island, New Hampshire, inspired this towel's design. Every year, we spend a week on Star, one of the Isles of Shoals. There, we catch up with the friends whom we see every year at this magic place. Many of us "Shoalers" enjoy knitting while we go through all the activities offered on the island. Over the years, it's become clear that knitting a simple piece that works up with only one skein of yarn is the ideal project
When I started to design this star-shaped wash cloth, I knew that I wanted it to work up from start to finish in one piece. I don't like weaving in ends! I looked at lots of knitting motif patterns that started from the outside and ended up in the center (like a tam o'shanter), but I was having trouble figuring out a way to make 5 points ease into one center spot and still have the piece really look like a star.
I then turned to short rows, a technique that has intrigued me for some timeand it worked! Short rows gave me a way to control the shape of the piece as I knitted it up one section at a time. But one problem remained--the center of the star wasn't flat enough to suit me. A few more design attemptsI added to the width of the widest point of each star section and narrowed the points that meet in the centerdid the trick!
Enjoy making this Star Wash Cloth using short rows. It also works well as a trivet, pot holder, and whatever else you can think of.
The Yarns:
Provence 100% mercerized Egyptian cotton
Provence is spun from sturdy, extra-long-staple Egyptian cotton. The longer the fiber strand (or staple), the stronger, smoother, and silkier the final yarn.
To make Provence, the Egyptian cotton is mercerized, a process that smooths the fiber and adds sheen. Mercerized cottons take dyes beautifully, as can be seen in Provence's 57 solid colorsand its new marls.
Provence knits up at a gauge of 5½ sts per inch and it's machine washable. It's great for accessories, summer tops, and children's items.
The Stitches:
Jessica uses short rows to shape each point in her star. This is a great beginner short row project. Each row is written out, and it's a small, quick knit.
Learn how to do short rows.
A crochet trim is added around the edge of the wash cloth. At each tip of the star, 3 single crochet stitches are worked in one stitch to compensate for turning the corner. At the V between each point a sc3tog is worked so there is not a bunched area of stitches at that corner.
Learn how to work a sc3tog.
The Pattern:
Here is the free downloadable Provence Star Wash Cloth pattern.
If you have difficulty downloading or printing the PDF pattern above, try these:
page 1, page 2
Patterns available in
Web-Letter Issue 31
Ravel the Lunch Sack.
Ravel the Leaf Sachet.
Ravel the Bag Bag.

subset: commoncrawl


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Let $K_1, K_2, \ldots K_n$ be convex bodies in $R^d$. Assume that for any index set $I$, $\cap_{i \in I} K_i$ is not empty and is not properly contained in any body $K_i$ for $i\in I$.
Is it true that $\cap_{i \in I} \partial K_i$ is a disjoint union of topological (or even better PL) spheres?


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Chris Mocella
Chris J. Mocella '01 is a Science Officer within the Laboratories division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C. Before graduating cum laude with Departmental Honors in Chemistry, Chris worked with Dr. John Conkling on his undergraduate research in the field of energetic reactions and pyrotechnics. Following graduate studies and research at the University of Virginia, Chris began working with CBP as a physical scientist before his promotion to a program manager at the headquarters level. Chris still returns to WC every summer to support Dr. Conkling's yearly Summer Pyrotechnics Seminar held at Washington College for over 25 years. Chris comes from a WC family line: his mother Dr. Beverly Wolff was tenured faculty in the English department as well as an Assistant Dean (and still teaches occasional night courses), and his sister Dr. Barbaranne (Mocella) Liakos '98 is both a WC graduate and has held a visiting lecturer position in the Art History department.
- LinkedIn: Professional Profile
- Web Site: Summer Pyrotechnic Seminars


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Mick Skinner marks England's victory by reading the introduction to Selvey's fifth day report. It's pretty cool.
Good to know he's a cricket fan & Guardian reader too.
They came in their thousands...
Love how he appears to wake as if from a dream. The series has had that kinda vibe to it.


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The latest software based on the Dramatica story development system -- powerful new writing tools for both aspiring writers and established professionals.
3 activations per purchase!
NOTE: This version is NOT OSX 10.15 Catalina-compatible, though this purchase includes a free update to 10.15 Catalina-compatible version when it becomes available.
Got a story in mind?
Dramatica® Story Expert™ is the newest software based on the Dramatica story development system. It has powerful new writing tools for both aspiring writers and established professionals.
How about an idea for a story? Either way, Dramatica® Story Expert™ is a great place to start. As your creative writing partner, it takes you to a special place—a story development environment where together you'll solve the plot and character problems that prevent many good stories from becoming great enough to sell.
Cast and build your characters, plot out your story, layer in themes with universal meaning, and put it all together into scenes to form a solid step outline. Dramatica Story Expert, like all Dramatica products, does something no other writing programs can do—they predict parts of your story based on creative decisions you make! You'll be delighted to see how many of your creative choices Dramatica Story Expert agrees with—and amazed when it presents ideas you haven't thought of yet. You'll be inspired to incorporate those ideas into your developing story and make it even tighter—with no plot holes or character inconsistencies!
Join the Dramatica Community
Thousands of novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, and fiction writers use Dramatica Pro to perfect their story. When you write with Dramatica, you'll join a large supportive writing community. Find free story analyses and articles at Dramatica.com.
Free video training tutorials available at LearnDramaticaStoryExpert.com.
Dramatica Story Expert improvements over Dramatica Pro
PROJECT OVERVIEW: The project overview shows you your story at a glance. It lets you identify your story's title, author, logline, and brief synopsis. The project overview also shows you the four key threads, or throughlines, in your story. These include the "big picture" thread of the Overall Story throughline, the personal thread of the Main Character, the impact of the Influence Character, and the heart thread of the story in the Relationship throughline.
GISTS: Building on Dramatica Pro's outstanding question and answer system, Dramatica Story Expert lets you customize Dramatica's terminology with "gists," short descriptive phrases, so that questions conform to your writing style and the story's subject matter.
MASTER STORY ENGINE: One of Dramatica Story Expert's more advanced features is the new Master Story Engine. The master story engine gives you fifty-six story points with which to control the story's underlying storyform. As you make specific story point choices, Dramatica's interactive story engine shows the effect on the remaining story points. By identifying the parts of the story you know best first, the story engine automatically identifies the implied items that support your choices. Dramatica is the only system that can tell you more about your underlying story dramatics than you tell it. .
NEW TOPIC LISTS: StoryGuide topic lists incorporating "Dramatica for Screenwriters" techniques including Dramatica in Thirty Seconds, New Instant Dramatica, and Using the Plot Sequence Report to Create Scenes.
Getting Started Window, new menus, large character pictures, updated reports window, better name generator, better brainstorming tools, generate scenes command, font controls and preferences, and more.
Click on each thumbnail for a larger screenshot view.
Project Overview
The project overview shows you your story at a glance. It lets you identify your story's title, author, log line, and brief synopsis. The project overview also shows you the four key threads, or throughlines, in your story. These include the "big picture" thread of the Overall Story throughline, the personal thread of the Main Character, the impact of the Influence Character, and the heart thread of the story in the Relationship throughline.
Use the Icon Toolbar to navigate to Dramatica Story Expert's major features and windows.
There's only one way to write your story -- your way. StoryGuide leads you step-by-step through the ideal path to creating your unique story. Quick Start gives you instant feedback, Advanced guide takes you from beginning to end.
Building on Dramatica Pro's outstanding question and answer system, Dramatica Story Expert lets you customize Dramatica's terminology with "gists," short descriptive phrases, so that questions conform to your writing style and the story's subject matter.
Gist Manager
Manage your collections of gists with the gist manager. In addition to the 12,000+ generalized gists that comes with the software, you may create your own specialized gist collections and share them with other writers.
Master Story Engine
One of Dramatica Story Expert's more advanced features is the new Master Story Engine. The master story engine gives you fifty-six story points with which to control the story's underlying storyform. As you make specific story point choices, Dramatica's interactive story engine shows the effect on the remaining story points. By identifying the parts of the story you know best first, the story engine automatically identifies the implied items that support your choices. Dramatica is the only system that can tell you more about your underlying story dramatics than you tell it.
Player Information
Delve into each characters background, habits, and other details in the player information windows. Add new players and edit or remove existing players to create just the right balance for your story.
Plot Progression
Dramatica shows you the linear act structure of your story's 4 throughlines from beginning to middle to end. Each throughline has 4 plot points-signposts indicating how the story will spin from act to act-and 3 acts-your characters' emotional journeys from one plot point to the next.
Character Casting
Visualize your characters by casting them from your choice of over 750 player pictures or importing your own pictures. Name them from a database of over 10,000 unique names.
Asssign Characteristics
Interesting. Deep. Real. Memorable. Dramatica helps you craft characters that leap off the page and into the hearts and minds of your audience. Define the relationships between your characters by assigning thematic elements to character icons. Explore character relationships and see how they help or hinder each other. Decide what's motivating your characters and how they'll express the central themes of your story.
Getting Started Screen
Start off right with Dramatica Story Expert's Getting Started window. Create new projects, open previous project or example files, or explore the many forms of help available to new users.
Theme Browser
See how all your story's thematic elements interconnect in one place. Zoom in to focus on one area of your story, or zoom out to get a bird's eye view of the big picture.
Project Information
Add detailed information about your project including reference materials, sources, and synopses for the Overall Story throughline and the Relationship throughline.
Dramatica Story Expert provides incredibly powerful tools for creating and analyzing stories. With its innovative new Gists interface, it enables anyone to harness the power of this extraordinary software.
Michael Backes, Apple Master; Screenwriter, Rising Sun Cofounder, American Film Institute/Apple Computer Center for Film and Video Makers
Dramatica: Indispensable power tools for my imagination . . . Dramatica is my indispensable tool both in bringing form to my new novels and in the repair and tune-up of stories that I am revisiting. It has added a new, grander dimension to my craft. These are power tools no storyteller should be without.
Tracy Hickman, NY Times Bestselling Author, DragonLance (series), Rose of the Prophet (series), Deathgate Cycle (series), Bronze Chronicles (series)
I've used Dramatica as a creative tool on virtually every script I've written professionally, dating back to before BAND OF BROTHERS. It is, by far, the most comprehensive and useful theory and software for understanding what makes good stories work that I know of. I highly recommend it as a resource for all writers.
Erik Bork, multiple Emmy and Golden Globe-winning screenwriter (HBO's BAND OF BROTHERS and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON)
If Dramatica Story Expert is the Large Hadron Collider of story creation -- and it is -- then the software's new gists are its God particles.
Roger S. H. Schulman Oscar and Emmy-award nominated writer
Since becoming a professional writer, nothing has improved my writing more than Dramatica.
Mike Wollaeger, Writer X-Files, Star Trek: Voyager
I love this new version of Dramatica Story Expert. It has a clever graphical interface that gives you all of the story elements. For those who are new to Dramatica, the terms used are all explained. I would not think of undertaking a new book without using DSE.
Ken Renshaw, author, Shortcuts: Secrets of ESP and Love.
Dramatica has been the only writing partner I have ever known, and it has never let me down. My first two produced screenplays were written with Dramatica software. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, along comes Dramatica Story Expert. It's intuitive. It's interactive. It's inspirational. It knows my screenplay better than I know it myself. It's everything I ever wanted in a writing partner...and more.
Raffaele DiBacco DiBacco Films
I watched my story come alive with Dramatica Story Expert's new organic approach to writing. The new overview window creates a writer's palette, showing throughlines, characters and choices on the same page.
Patricia Fraker actor, educator
I've used Dramatica since 2007 and the new Dramatica Story Expert is a game changer. The new interface puts the story at your fingertips like never before and the new gists feature allows the story to come alive and reveal the structure in a way that allows ideas to be fully developed into a rock solid outline ready to start writing. The best just got better!
David John Jones screenwriter and novelist
Dramatica Theory makes predictions about stories when they are coherent with their own rules, The hardest test would be to use it on real life. Dramatica Story Expert is useful to documentary makers because it offers insights into the often elusive story structure. It can also be useful in the cutting room for the same reason. Dramatica also has something to offer to very short stories, like news reports. Getting answers to just four questions interviews produces a story with a feeling of completeness. What/Where is it? How does it work? What does it mean? Why is it important?
Simon Morice
The Dramatica Theory of Story Structure by Chris Huntley and Melanie Anne Phillips demonstrates the effect of story on the psyche of a human being. Using this theory in tandem with the Dramatica Story Expert software enables a writer to understand how particular elements of a story affect the mind of the viewer, enabling the development of easily accessible, entertaining, and, most importantly, powerful stories about the human condition. If you're going to purchase any story development application, Dramatica Story Expert is by far the best choice.
George Strayton, staff writer on Sam Raimi's XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS and HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS (Universal Studios), writer of DRAGONLANCE starring Kiefer Sutherland (Paramount Pictures), and writer/producer of the upcoming film XOMBIE, recently optioned by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (TRANSFORMERS, FRINGE, STAR TREK, COWBOYS & ALIENS)
The story for Copy Shop was in my head for 10 years. Dramatica is with me for 5 years – long enough to burn the 12 essential questions into my subconsciousness. The 12 minute film won 25 international awards and an Oscar-nomination.
Virgil Widrich, 2001 Oscar Nominee Best Short Film: Copy Shop
I suppose subjecting myself to the process—the discipline of Dramatica—has had an invaluable consequence: I have more confidence in the final product. I know the bones of the screenplay are good because I know I made my fundamental decisions in a most dramatically informed way.
Marc Moss, Screenwriter, Along Came A Spider, Flint
Dramatica is a dream come true for any writer who thinks in cinematic terms, and it makes a wonderful creative companion. You cannot take your brain off it!!!
Euzhan Palcy, Screenwriter/Director, A Dry White Season, Sugar Cane Alley, Cesar
Dramatica Pro guides you through the nitty gritty of creating your story. It's a focusing tool. I've taken my story ideas with character sketches and plugged them into the Dramatica Pro program. By the time I finished answering all of the questions, my story is fully realized and I'm ready to write.
Yvette Freeman, Writer/ActorWinner—Hollywood Black Film Festival Screenwriter Award
Dramatica is the most effective tool in the market place today for writer's on every level.
Bill Duke, Actor/ Producer/ Director, The Limey, Payback, Hoodlum, Sister Act II
Dramatica Pro is a story development tool I am pleased to recommend to other writers. It can either develop a story with minimal feedback from the writer or significantly enhance an existing idea by fanning writer passion to an unexpected level. This has allowed my story development process to shift in several truly systemic ways.
David O'Neal, Novelist, Fool Me Twice, What Goes Around, The Pact With Bruno, Choosing to Kill
I had my pitch meeting with a producer… Everything he wanted to know I'd been forced to game out with my ol' friend Dramatica… the program will make your job as a writer not only easier, but more fun. By the way, I got the deal.
David Obst, Wired Magazine; Author, Too Good to Be Forgotten: Changing America in the '60s and '70s
Dramatica is an essential tool for developing a story's structure. I used it extensively to develop a screenplay that was awarded first place in the SlamDance Screenwriting Competition.
Carl Weaver, 1st Place WinnerSlamDance Competition
My comedy won the first prize in the 'Salzburg Screenplay Competition' today. The jury said that my script was miles ahead of all others.
Virgil Widrich, Winner of the Salzburg Screenplay Competition
I finished the first draft story outline of a piece I've been working on for a couple of months. It came together exactly as I had envisioned it. While I credit myself for a large part of that, endless accolades must go out to Dramatica. The program forced me to focus on exactly what I wanted to do. It also gave me great insights as to do much of it. You guys really did a job with this program.
Dana Cameron, Writer
...I can say that I have never approached a book project with more confidence that I am on the right path. Dramatica Pro refuses to let me off the hook; rather, it forces me to think things through, directly and indirectly, in such a way that no avenues seem to be left unexplored. I feel certain that this thoroughness will eliminate problems down the road—problems that surely would have emerged without Dramatica Pro's vaccination. The process also seems to be drawing from me more than I knew I had in me. That feels good, and is reinforcing as I work through my story idea.
Patricia Sierra, Writer
Creating characters can drive a comic bananas and I take my funny business very seriously. That's why I chose Dramatica Pro to make my work fun. There's only one thing missing – Comedica Pro.
Kat Caverly, aka Shirley Kenosha, Writer/Comedian, TomKat Productions, NYC
I LOVE this software! You and your have my deepest gratitude. That you offer different approaches to the process is extraordinary in software, period, but also, indispensable for a creative modeler like this.
Roseanne Johnston, Writer
Obviously I would not be writing if I had not derived a great deal of enjoyment and many productive hours from Dramatica. It is an impressive and graceful achievement.
Derrick Smith, Writer
I was intrigued enough by the recent write-up of Dramatica in the current issue of the Writers Guild Journal to order a copy of theory book from your company. I am pausing after just a few pages to give you this feedback: The first four pages are perhaps the most intellectually elegant profoundly reframing words I have ever read concerning the idea of story.
Jim Boke Tomlin, Writer
Thanks for a terrific program. Out of the box and without even looking at the manual, I used it to help me find a problem in a script I had written and optioned a couple of years ago, but attracted no further interest. Then I read the manual and have since been using it to outline a novel.
John Michael Flynn, Writer
I've tried other programs and they are all fine products, but Dramatica takes you to deeper levels… If I were to rate the programs I've tried, I'd give top prize to this one. I first read about it in Writers Digest and was curious since it was the only one rated 'Excellent' in the story development software category. Now I see why.
Robert F.Phillips, Writer
Congratulations on a great software!... I'm currently in the process of rewriting a script that I had nearly completed a month ago. Dramatica pointed out the weaknesses in my story structure in the first seven days after installation.
Jan Wellman, Writer
NOTE: Version 5.3 is NOT OSX 10.15 Catalina-compatible, though this purchase includes a free update to 10.15 Catalina-compatible version when it becomes available.
- Intel-based processor
- OSX 10.10 or higher (including 10.13 High Sierra and 10.14 Mojave)
- 250 MB of Hard Disk Space
- Screen resolution: 1200 x 768 minimum
- REQUIRED: Internet connection during installation and activation
- Not available.


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Online education is anything but new to college campuses. Students have been able to take classes and even full courses entirely online for years.
But thanks in part to a push by Gov. Jerry Brown to have California's public colleges and universities use technology to expand their reach and operate more efficiently, a slew of new initiatives are being launched. The governor earmarked millions of dollars in funding for online course expansion for all higher education sectors in his proposed state budget.
For its part, the 23-campus California State University system and its individual campuses, including San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos, are pursuing several online paths to help students avoid enrollment bottlenecks and finish their degrees more quickly.
Part of the motivation is making sure precious state investments in education don't go to waste. Thousands of students leave school every year without finishing degree programs because of overcrowded classes as well as changing life circumstances.
Even as online education continues to grow, those in the trenches say it is important to make sure quality doesn't erode under the effort to make college more accessible and efficient. A recent bill introduced by state legislators would allow private companies to provide up to 50 of the highest demand classes to public college and university students for credit. It has prompted widespread concern among faculty leaders who are uncomfortable giving up oversight of online courses.
Warren Ashley, director of the center for mediated instruction and distance learning at Cal State University Dominguez Hills, said the best programs are those developed by faculty who want to put their courses online. He and others worry that the emphasis on cost savings might lead some public education programs to become a "Costco of education" that present information but fail to provide the interactive learning environment he called "an essential part of education."
"You take one of this and one of those and one of those and by the time you are at the end of the aisle, you have a degree," Ashley said. "It would be a degree — you can use it to get advanced in your career or get promoted. But you shouldn't confuse it with an education."
Lawmakers say the schools and faculty would play a key role in shaping the programs.
Here are three paths that CSU online education is taking:
Cal State Online
Online courses have mainly been a campus-by-campus effort but a more centralized approach from the CSU system is being pursued. Cal State Online initially will focus on helping students who have hit roadblocks in their studies complete their degrees. A half-dozen online degrees are expected to be offered under the program by the fall.
CSU is partnering with Pearson eCollege for the initiative, with the vendor providing marketing and technical support. While traditional tuition fees are subsidized by the state, Cal State Online programs are run under a self-support model, which means there is no state subsidy and students pay the full cost of instruction.
In January, about two dozen students enrolled in the first program, a bachelor's in business administration out of Cal State Fullerton.
For that degree program, students enroll with at least 60 units of lower-division business courses completed and take one three-unit upper-division class every eight weeks. Most will need about three years to finish their bachelor's degree — after paying for and completing the 60 units — at a cost of $500 per unit or $30,000, said Jenny Zhang, a Fullerton professor and director of the online degree completion program.
By comparison, CSU's annual tuition and fees average about $6,612 per year, a CSU spokesman said. If a student were able to complete a bachelor's degree in four years, and fees weren't increased, that would cost about $26,500.
Offering the degree through Cal State Online expands the reach to a population beyond those students who live within driving distance of Fullerton.
Students enrolled in the program pay more than the regular tuition at CSU campuses but are guaranteed to get the classes they need. Zhang said they receive a higher level of personal service from Fullerton faculty and Pearson staff.
"I talked to them, our business advisor talked to them. We help them to register for classes," Zhang said. "Because they are paying a higher rate, we do want them to be successful and provide them the best we can to help them."
San Jose's experiments
A more experimental model is being pursued at San Jose State University, which has partnered with Udacity, a Silicon Valley for-profit online education startup, to offer entry-level remedial math, algebra and statistics classes in massive open online courses for college credit. Those are considered "gatekeeper classes" and historically have high failure rates among students. Students pay a fee of $150 for the classes, although that was waived this semester after a foundation and donor came forward.
"We are trying to figure out if we can use the technology that is so pervasive in our lives to help students master these classes," said Patricia Lopes Harris, a university spokeswoman. "The idea is if we can increase not just the pass rate but help students master the materials in these classes, they will be able to go on and get their degree in a timely manner."
Gone is the traditional lecture. The Udacity approach calls for a series of short contextual video lessons followed by exercises to ensure the material is understood.
San Jose also is collaborating with edX, a nonprofit online platform founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, to offer an online class in basic circuits. This is the second semester the partnership has offered the class, which is a requirement for electrical engineering majors.
Typically only about 60 percent of the students pass the traditional class; the online version offered last fall had a 91 percent passing rate, with students completing more quizzes and participating in more group work.
"There is no money savings in (the efforts) but what we are hoping is that over time we will reduce the number of students who have to retake and retake and retake these classes in order to pass," Harris said.
Individual CSU campuses
Even while a systemwide approach is being pursued through Cal State Online, professors are being encouraged to embrace digital education at their individual campuses. Cal State San Marcos recently held an online institute attended by 16 professors who plan to convert classes to online formats this summer. The university plans to launch its first online degree program, a master's in education in literacy, in the summer.
San Diego State University is offering 139 online courses at least once in 2012-13, including 84 undergraduate and 55 graduate courses. SDSU also has five fully online graduate programs.
Stanley Maloy, SDSU's dean of the College of Sciences, which has pushed a number of classes and programs online in recent years, said maintaining quality in the programs is crucial.
"The one thing that is key is to make sure the information is there. The student can ask questions and get answers to their questions in a very quick amount of time," Maloy said. "Students in the class interact with other students. And they get all the content they would have got if they were in person."
SDSU has opted to keep its programs in-house and not partner with outside companies, at least for now, said James P. Frazee, director of instructional technology services at San Diego State University.
"The bottom line is that we really feel like the faculty need to own these courses, not a team of instructional designers that may be 300 miles away from here. It is essential for us to have faculty in the driver's seat," Frazee said. "That's how we can preserve the quality of those courses."


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When most adults think about exercise, they imagine working out in the gym, running on a treadmill, or lifting weights.
But for kids, exercise means playing and being physically active. Kids exercise when they have gym class at school, during recess, at dance class or soccer practice, while riding bikes, or when playing tag.
Everyone can benefit from regular exercise. Kids who are active will:
Besides enjoying the health benefits of regular exercise, kids who are physically fit sleep better. They're also better able to handle physical and emotional challenges — from running to catch a bus to studying for a test.
If you've ever watched kids on a playground, you've seen the three elements of fitness in action when they:
Parents should encourage their kids to do a variety of activities so that they can work on all three elements.
Endurance develops when kids regularly get aerobic activity. During aerobic exercise, the heart beats faster and a person breathes harder. When done regularly and for extended periods of time, aerobic activity strengthens the heart and improves the body's ability to deliver oxygen to all its cells.
Aerobic exercise can be fun for both adults and kids. Examples of aerobic activities include:
Improving strength doesn't have to mean lifting weights. Although some kids benefit from weightlifting, it should be done under the supervision of an experienced adult. Most kids don't need a weight-training program to be strong. Push-ups, stomach crunches, pull-ups, and other exercises help tone and strengthen muscles. Kids also use strength activities during play when they climb, do a handstand, or wrestle.
Stretching exercises help improve flexibility, allowing muscles and joints to bend and move easily through their full range of motion. Kids get chances every day to stretch when reach for a toy just out of reach, practice a split, or do a cartwheel.
Being overweight or obese in childhood has become a serious problem. Many things add to this epidemic, but a big part of it is that kids are becoming more sedentary. In other words, they're sitting around a lot more than they used to.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 8- to 18-year-olds watch about 41/2 hours of television a day over 71/2 hours on all screen media combined (TV, videos, and DVDs, computer and video games). Too much screen time and not enough physical activity add to the problem of childhood obesity.
One of the best ways to get kids to be more active is to limit the amount of time spent in sedentary activities, especially watching TV or playing video games. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends parents:
Parents should make sure that their kids get enough exercise. So, how much is enough? Kids and teens should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity daily.
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) offers these activity guidelines for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers:
Minimum Daily Activity
No specific requirements
Physical activity should encourage motor development
11/2 hours
30 minutes planned physical activity AND 60 minutes unstructured physical activity (free play)
2 hours
60 minutes planned physical activity AND 60 minutes unstructured physical activity (free play)
School age
1 hour or more
Break up into bouts of 15 minutes or more
Infants and young children should not be inactive for prolonged periods of time — no more than 1 hour unless they're sleeping. And school-age children should not be inactive for periods longer than 2 hours.
Combining regular physical activity with a healthy diet is the key to a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some tips for raising fit kids:
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: August 2015
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- In what was the worst kept secret in baseball, the Twins officially announced that the team and manager Ron Gardenhire have agreed on a two-year extension. Though the announcement might be meet with ire in certain circles, Gardenhire has been one of the winningest managers in baseball since assuming the helm of the Twins. His .543 winning percentage ranks 23rd all-time among managers and that is currently third among active managers - trailing just the Angels' Mike Scioscia (22nd .551) and the Braves' Bobby Cox (17th, .557). According to Cot's Contracts, Cox, the long time Braves' manager, is on a one-year contract for $3 million while Scioscia is under contract through 2010 (with an option for 2011) worth $1.75 million a year. Gardenhire's prior contract was worth $2.5 million for two years ($1.25 per), so the current contract is believed to be similar to Scioscia's annual compensation.
In the wake of Pat Neshek's revelation that he will indeed undergo Tommy John surgery, missing the entirety of the 2009 schedule, it propels the necessity of acquiring a reliever pitcher that much further up the Twins' needs list. This, of course, is easier said than done. In 2008, the Twins had used 26% of their payroll to supply their bullpen. In order to maintain a budget that is within reason, the Twins must not participate in inflated contracts to mediocre relievers in a time of desperation. It is forgone conclusion that Dennys Reyes' spot in the bullpen will be accommodated by Craig Breslow and Jose Mijares leaving Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain to assume the role of right-handed setup men in the 6th and 7th innings. The bridge between those pitchers and Joe Nathan (in his second year of a contract with a AAV of $11.25 million) is undefined. Rumor-mongering websites suggest that the Twins would target Juan Cruz, a 30 year old right handed reliever with the Diamondbacks who struck out 71 in his 51 innings of work last year. While a strikeout oriented set-up man would bode well for the Twins, Cruz is a Type A free agent coming at the expense of not only a large three-plus year contract but also two draft picks.
The Yankees and White Sox completed a five-player deal that sends Nick Swisher to the Bronx. Swisher, despite his unmitigated swagger, never fit in to Chicago's lineup very well. He is not a centerfielder while Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye have him blocked at first base and right field, two positions he is more apt to handling. The White Sox organization also cited his .219 batting average as reason that he was not suitable for the team. Whether or not the front office actually believes this to be the explanation for shopping Swish, it should be noted that Swisher had an extremely suppressed batting average on balls in play (.266) in comparison to the rest of the league (.302). His walk rate was also down from his past two seasons, sinking his on-base percentage, but for the most part his BB-to-K was consistent with the past two seasons as well. It just appears that bad luck caught up to him. Expect that Swisher's 2009 season resembles 2007 rather than his 2008 numbers.
The White Sox landed Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez for Swisher and Kanekoa Texieria. Betemit has never had a full-time role to truly define if he is a wash as a prospect. His tenure with the Yankees, Betemit played all four infield positions, but mostly handled first base. The left-handed Betemit has hit the righties well (.799 career OPS) but has been stymied by his counterparts (.636 career OPS). Betemit will probably be asked to man third (along with Josh Fields) and, at times, first to reprieve Konerko from some right handed pitchers. General Manager Kenny Williams told the Chicago Tribune that he believes that Betemit will perform better after he adjusts to his prescription goggles. More likely, Betemit will assume the Juan Uribe role of playing whenever an injury arises. Marquez was a name bandied about during the Santana negotiations last offseason. After a strong showing in AA in 2007, Marquez was sidelined for a significant portion of the 2008 season. He was rumored to be hitting the low-90s with a sinking fastball that was inducing groundballs (47% in AAA). After a half-season or full-season of adjustments in AAA in 2009, Marquez should be a good replacement for Javier Vazquez in the rotation as Gavin Floyd and John Danks accept their rightful place as number one and two starters for the Sox.
Phil Rogers reports that the Royals have hired Mike Arbuckle, an advanced scout for Philadelphia, to fill the role of assistant GM. When the team passed Arbuckle over for Ruben Amaro Jr when Pat Gillick stepped down, Arbuckle accepted the offer to be Dayton Moore's number two man. During the Phillies World Series run Arbuckle did an interview with a Philadelphia daily in which he recollected his time as one of the advanced scouts for the Braves during the 1991 World Series. What information did he provide? He told the Braves to run on then-Twins catcher Brian Harper. The offensive-minded catcher (who batted .311 in 1991), only threw out 28-of-126 base stealers that year (22% caught stealing rate). In legendary Game Six, with the score knotted at three, Rick Aguilera was starting his second consecutive inning in the top of the 11th. The Braves' Sid Bream led off with a single and Bobby Cox sent Keith Mitchell into pinch run for the first baseman. During the regular season in 48 games, Mitchell had successfully stolen three bases in four attempts. Based upon Arbuckle's report, Cox put Mitchell in motion in hopes of gaining scoring position in the pivotal game. Harper's throw to second baseman Chuck Knoblauch cut Mitchell down for the inning's first out and Aguilera retired Brian Hunter and Greg Olson in order. In the bottom of the inning, Kirby Puckett would launch his iconic game-winning home run.
The Tigers are targeting Trevor Hoffman, according to the Detroit Free Press's Jon Paul Morosi. The 41 year old Hoffman would supplant the incumbent Todd Jones of equal age who decided to retire following an injury plagued 2008 season. The Tigers are searching for a interim closer that would sign a one-year contract as the asking price of free agent closers Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood have grown by astronomical proportions. A collegue of Morosi at the Free Press, Jamie Samualson, posted a piece suggesting that one of the reasons to avoid signing Hoffman was his decrease in innings pitching. While there are plenty of reasons to not sign the landmine of a free agent in Hoffman, the decrease in innings pitch is probably the last. After all, the Padres won just 63 games in 2008 limiting the number of save opportunities available to deploy a closer. Hoffman's velocity has leveled out at 86-mph on his fastball, but his devastating changeup still possesses enough of a difference (74 mph) to retire the majority of batters faced. More importantly, his ability to get left-handed batters out has been more pronounced in the past two seasons. In 2007, lefties held a .799 OPS versus the right-handed .492 OPS. This past year Hoffman held righties to a .466 OPS while the lefties increased their output to an .873 OPS. If the Tigers indeed do sign Hoffman, expect Mauer, Morneau and Kubel to make closing games against the Twins a hair raising experience for Tiger fans.
The Marlins are in an active makeover mode. The South Florida franchise is attempting to improve on a 84-win season (+3 over their Pythagorean record) in a very tough NL East by A) selling off Mike Jacobs for Royals reliever Leo Nunez, then B) trading Scott Olson and Josh Willingham to the Nationals in exchange for a handful of players including utility infielder Emilio Bonifacio and finally C) trading Kevin Gregg to the Cubs for a highly touted relief prospect.
A) Unloading Jacobs is a smart move for a small budget team. Jacobs has very good pull power but the Marlins have loads of lumbering power hitters that can't get on first base consistently. In AA, the 24 year old Gaby Sanchez has pieced together a solid minor league pedigree. Like Jacobs, Sanchez would be an inexpensive addition to the team. Unlike Jacobs, Sanchez has found other ways to achieve first base besides simply clubbing the ball. In 1,677 minor league plate appearances, Sanchez possesses a 205/200 BB/K ratio. Nunez, meanwhile, provides the Marlins with an option in the bullpen with his mid-90s fastball (94.4). In 2008, the Marlins milked a satisfactory performance out of the aging Joe Nelson but need to supplement the bullpen with something else. The former Royal improved on his control in 2008 by throwing in the zone 68.8% of the time on the first pitch. This is more than a 10% improvement from his 2007 season.
B) Doing business with the Nationals organization is like bartering with Old Mother Hubbard for food: the cupboards are bare. This trade then was focused on clearing room on both the roster and a potential raise to Olsen and Willingham. Dave Cameron at Fangraphs.com (and USS Mariner) takes a good look at the trade assembled around the pair of Fish. Most will view this as a steal for the Nationals as Olsen just accumulated 200+ innings in 2008 and the right-handed batting Willingham just posted an OPS of .835. Those unfamilar with the left-handed Olsen should know that he has a history of run-ins with players and his own coaching staff - another edition to the all-head-case roster that Jim Bowden is trying to assemble in Washington along with Elijah Dukes and Lasting Milledge. The Marlins do not have a current need for a second baseman in Bonifacio (unless they unload Dan Uggla) and his isn't really strong at either the plate nor the field. The other two minor leaguers seem destined to do just that: be in the minor leagues. Willingham was nearly 30 and is probably past whatever productive output he was going to provide a team.
C) Finally the Cubs grabbed the overvalued 30 year old closer in Kevin Gregg, who made $2.5 million in 2008, for minor league prospect Jose Ceda. Chicago netted themselves the market inflated arbitration eligible Gregg, who experts believe will make more than $4 million in 2009 and whose K/BB ratio took an odd turn this past season. In 2007 Gregg managed to compile a 87/40 K/BB ratio. This past year, Gregg had a 58/37 K/BB ratio. Want another oddity? His groundball rate swelled from 29% in '07 to 45% in '08. This probably has more to do with his employment of the split-finger fastball but it would look as though he is pitching to contact - a recipe for disaster for closers (especially in the confinements of Wrigley). If the Cubs are serious about implementing Gregg as a closer (as opposed to using Carlos Marmol), the results will be like that of Joe Borowski, another closer who pitched to contact after his fastball started to decline. Ceda, meanwhile, resembles a relief prospect that will help in the Marlins bullpen as soon as next year. Splitting time between A+/AA last year, Ceda threw 84.2 innings with a solid 95/42 K/BB ratio and allowed just two home runs. This will be a regrettable trade for the North Siders.


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19014 Rental Homes and Apartments for Rent
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The great reservoir
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23
Suggested Further Reading: Matthew 12:33-37
If I should vainly attempt to fashion my discourse after lofty models, I should this morning compare the human heart to the ancient city of Thebes, out of whose hundred gates multitudes of warriors were wont to march. As was the city such were her armies, as was her inward strength, such were they who came forth of her. I might then urge the necessity of keeping the heart, because it is the metropolis of our manhood, the citadel and armoury of our humanity. Let the chief fortress surrender to the enemy, and the occupation of the rest must be an easy task. Let the principal stronghold be possessed by evil, the whole land must be overrun thereby. Instead, however, of doing this, I shall attempt what possibly I may be able to perform, by a humble metaphor and a simple figure, which will be easily understood; I shall endeavour to set forth the wise man's doctrine, that our life issues from the heart, and thus I shall labour to show the absolute necessity of keeping the heart with all diligence. You have seen the great reservoirs provided by our water companies, from which the water which is to supply hundreds of streets and thousands of houses comes. Now, the heart is just the reservoir of man, and our life is allowed to flow in its proper season. That life may flow through different pipes—the mouth, the hand, the eye; but still all the issues of hand, of eye, of lip, derive their source from the great fountain and central reservoir, the heart; and hence there is no difficulty in showing the great necessity that exists for keeping the reservoir, the heart, in a proper state and condition, since otherwise that which flows through the pipes must be tainted and corrupt.
For meditation: God is the only one who knows the natural wickedness of our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9), the only one who can renew them (Ezekiel 36:25-26) and the only one who can produce good from them (John 7:38-39).
Sermon no. 179
20 February (Preached 21 February 1858)


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Thank you for the support we have received during these difficult times.
Stay Safe. From the team at Jansan.
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The Hoopster
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I'm glad to see that the Progressive Policy Institute's extensive research and policy program on the data-driven economy is getting some attention in the White House.
On June 14th the White House released a report entitled Four Years of Broadband Growth. The WH report prominently highlighted PPI's July 2012 policy brief on Investment Heroes:Who's Betting on America's Future, noting that
just two of the largest U.S. telecommunications companies account for greater combined
stateside investment than the top five oil/gas companies, and nearly four times more than the big three auto companies combined.
In addition, the WH report prominently featured our research on the number of jobs created by the App Economy. The White House noted that:
These devices have done more than connect Americans to one another more easily. The integration of mobile broadband, advanced operating systems and increasingly sophisticated hardware, along with low barriers to entry to an open network, have enabled an entire economy of mobile applications to develop in the United States. This "App Economy" is one of America's most dynamic and growing sectors, and one that industry studies have cited as creating more than 500,000 U.S. jobs since 2007.
Truthfully, the White House could have cited other PPI research as well. Here's a list of recent work that we've done on the data-driven economy within the last year:
The Rebalancing Of The California Economy: How Internet/Tech Jobs Are Spreading Across The State
Data, Trade, and Growth (working paper)
Beyond Goods and Services: The (Unmeasured) Rise of the Data-Driven Economy
Investment Heroes:Who's Betting on America's Future
The Geography of the App Economy
We have a lot more in the pipeline!


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3D Wax Printing by Jewelry Art Studio
High Precision 3d wax printing service also known as wax growing.
We convert your CAD Designs into castable 3d wax models. Our printers produce patterns for lost wax casting / investment casting.
It is a very simple process, all you do is e-mail us your CAD file and we will provide you with a quote. Then we will print (grow) your wax models.
Raffini and Ani, Jewelry Art Studio
(213) 623-5577


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- Category: Religion & Spirituality
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The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. It is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin. The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.
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Well, if you're a landscape contractor with residential clients, you may have seen irrigation controllers that look like they were made in Bedrock. Old-fashioned, clock-based controllers—essentially big timers with valves hooked up to them. They seem antiquated, especially when you compare them to today's smart irrigation control devices.
"There are a lot of older technology controllers out there that could potentially be upgraded, there's no doubt about that," said John Eggleston of ServiceFirst Irrigation in Lansing, Michigan. Rainstorm or not, freezing conditions or not, these controllers tell systems to water at a certain time, whether plant material needs it or not.
A home that's being irrigated this way is stuck back in time, maybe not as far as the Jurassic Era, but at least fifteen to thirty years. Most homeowners wouldn't be caught dead with carpeting this old. Yet when it comes to their irrigation controllers, they probably don't think about them at all. And most of them don't realize that they're costing them money every day in unnecessarily high water bills.
Well, it's time to bring them into the 21st century. If you have clients who are still watering with Barney Rubble's controller, you have a ready-made market right at your fingertips. That market is ripe, and getting riper every day. Many analysts are predicting an uptick in the housing market in the near future, as our country begins emerging from the recessionary cocoon.
New housing starts are up, and people will also be looking to upgrade their existing homes.
Now is the time to talk to your clients, whether they are home developers or homeowners, about making the move to smart control.
how they save water and money Smart controllers irrigate only when it's appropriate. That's determined through weather information they receive wirelessly or via the Internet. Others use soil- moisture, rain, wind or solar sensors installed on the property itself. Many calculate evapotransporation (ET) values based on the data gathered from the sensors or weather stations. There are also units that use historical weather data by zip code. This is usually combined with sensor or weather station data, or used as a backup should those other information sources fail.
Smart controllers use this information to schedule when and how long to irrigate. However they work, smart controllers cut residential water bills by at least 30 percent and, it's claimed, possibly as high as 70 percent.
"I think a compelling argument can be made for a smart controller saving [the client] money over the lifetime of the system," said Maurice Dowell, owner and president of Dowco Enterprises, Inc., a lawn care maintenance and landscape design company in Chesterfield, Missouri.
In the course of doing irrigation repairs, his company replaces conventional controllers when they reach the end of their useful lives. When that happens, "It's not a hard sell to upgrade clients to a smart controller. People will make the initial investment to get the long-term benefits."
We're not talking about pared-down commercial controllers here.
These products are made just for residential applications. For your homeowner client, there are two ways you can go. You can install a brand-spankin' new controller to replace the old one. Or, you can leave the old controller in place and add to it an additional device that will turn it into a smart unit. Either way is a winner.
New construction, new smart controller?
If you're trying to get smart controllers into a new subdivision or condo project, you might have more success with the individual home owner rather than the developer. "The landscape contractor is always the last one on the project," said Alex Fransen, landscape development manager at Steele Blades Lawn and Landscaping in Louisville, Kentucky. "There's no money left for us. If they didn't have a huge budget set aside for landscaping, they're going to go bare bones for irrigation. Smart controllers cost more, and the builders try to beat you down in price. Once the builder's gone, you've got to get in front of the homeowner and show him all the benefits he'll get from a smart controller."
"When you get into areas where water concerns are big, such as Texas and the Southwest, there's a major opportunity to upsell watersaving devices, whether they're smart controllers or even simple sensors," says Eggleston. "That's especially true for high-end residential situations."
Weather stations—onsite or nearby?
Some smart controllers gather weather information from a wireless or wired weather station or sensors on the property itself. Some use weather data received over the Internet from nearby towers.
"My personal opinion is that anything that's site-based is going to be more accurate, because it's dialed into the conditions at that particular site," says Eggleston. "It gives you a much better picture of what's happening to your plant material and your soils."
"Gaining weather data from the actual property is a distinction in smart control," said Brodie Bruner, vice president of business development for Garland, Texas-based Weathermatic. "We gather ours locally so it's microclimate-specific, and can be sensitive to the unique weather conditions that exist on any particular property."
"You have actual measurement of the microclimate of the property," said Alfonso Meza, product manager for contractor controllers for Rain Bird in Azusa, California. "You're not getting this remote information that might be incorrect because it's from too far away. Maybe it's too hot or too cold there, compared to your property.'
There's another way to crack that lucrative retrofit market without ripping the old controller completely off the wall. You don't always have to start from scratch. Upgrading your client to a smart controller could be as easy as plugging something into a socket.
"It depends on what's in place already," said Eggleston. "Say they've got something that's not too old, with a pretty good life ahead of it, or good programming capabilities—it's got possibilities."
This is not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. In the customer's best interest, you need to look at using some of the add-ons instead of jumping into an expensive control system right off the bat, Eggleston feels. "Here in my market, Michigan, some smart control systems are being put in with the potential to be added to down the road, using just a simple sensor right now. You have to look at each site and determine what's appropriate."
Rebates for installation
You may not be the only one who wants your client to install a smart control at his house. "We're seeing rebates to incentivize property owners to upgrade their control systems," says Bruner. "Additionally, we've seen state and local mandates and changes in building codes that are incentivizing upgrades as well. We have rebates for the retrofit market and building code enhancements for the new construction market. It's definitely a growing trend, as water becomes more important."
In some areas, developers are literally required to install smart control in new housing in order to receive their certificates of occupancy. Rebates are available from water districts that make the installation of smart control virtually free in some areas, such as parts of Southern California, and in the states of Washington, Utah, Texas and Florida.
For the last eight years, Weathermatic has been part of water district programs where SmartLine controllers and weather stations have been given away free to homeowners. That's how much some municipalities believe in smart control.
Overcoming resistance
If you have a balky homeowner who points to his old conventional sprinkler timer and says, "It's working just fine; leave it alone," what do you say? You need to educate him. "We've got two things going on," said Irrisoft's CEO Steve Moore. "You've got some contractors who are afraid of technology, because they don't understand it or have experience with it. And some have been burned by products out there that aren't doing it right. I think it's important that contractors get educated—not only on how to install smart control, but also about how this technology works and the science behind it."
Brandon Walker is service manager for Sprinklawn Irrigation, Inc., in Springfield, Illinois. They've installed smart controllers for many of their residential clients. Walker agrees that many homeowners have found smart controllers to be complicated, especially older models. "The newer models are a bit more customer-friendly. Generally, we program them ourselves, and tell the customers not to touch them."
This hasn't been a problem, since their clients didn't really touch the old controllers either, even when their sprinklers came on during rainstorms. "These new systems have worked out great, because they are based on how much rainfall we get. They'll shut off [for rain], calculate how much rain we actually got, then water accordingly over the following week."
"People are very good about turning their sprinkler timers up, because the landscape screams at them that it needs more water," said Moore. "There's a lot more apprehension about turning the sprinkler timer down, because the landscape doesn't scream as loud that it's getting overwatered. Plants are very adaptable. That's where I think there's an education job that the landscape contractor has to have with the client." He points out that climate-controlled irrigation, because of its reaction to hourly conditions, is more efficient and gives plants just the right amount of water. He adds, "Let technology do its job; it works."
But some homeowners and contractors aren't completely comfortable "letting the technology do its job," and letting a smart controller completely take over scheduling. That's why Hunter Industries in San Marcos, California, decided that theirs shouldn't. "We still want homeowners to see the system coming on at the times they feel it should come on," said product manager John Wascher. "If it's a Monday/Wednesday/Friday setting, then the controller is going to come on during those days."
Only the length of time changes. Hunter based this decision on experience. "We used to sell a big, complicated controller, where you'd input the soil and plant types, slopes and everything else, and it fully took over the scheduling," said Wascher. "But it was very confusing for people. We'd get a phone call from a homeowner saying, 'The system's not working.' It was working, it had just decided that it wasn't going to irrigate that day."
That being said, "Consumers are getting more sophisticated and interested in saving water," said Bruner. "There's a higher level of interest in everything 'smart' around the home, not just using smart irrigation controllers."
"The irrigation industry is going the way of the computer industry," says Fransen. "If you've had a smart controller for a year now, it's out of date. This technology is outdoing itself every season. As it does, things are going to get cheaper. We may have a couple of more years to go, but eventually, you're going to buy a Rain Bird EXP or Hunter PRO-C and be able to throw a smart controller in there for maybe twenty bucks more." While this may be a bit of an overstatement, in general, he's probably correct.
Smart controllers are here to stay, and they're going to keep getting better. Best of all, from your point of view, they practically sell themselves. Do a good job explaining the water and monetary savings, add the benefit to plant material that smart control brings, and you should be able to pull Fred and Wilma into 2013, pronto.


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"I am super confident about Himmatwala's success": Sajid Khan
After giving Super Hits in a row such as Heyy Babyy, Housefull and Housefull 2, Film maker Sajid Khan is very confident about the success of his upcoming film Himmatwala (remake of the 1983 hit) which stars Ajay Devgn and southern actor Tamannah.
"I am super confident about the film's success. Yeh hit hai boss! I believe I have done justice to the original. However, the remake is not the same, it is my take on the original Himmatwala," said Sajid Khan who recently unveiled the official trailer of the film on the sets of dance reality show Nach Baliye 5 which he is co-judging with actor Shilpa Shetty and choreographer Terence Lewis. Moreover, The Film maker also said only actor Ajay Devgn could have done justice to the role "When I thought of the word 'himmatwala', I couldn't think of anyone other that Ajay Devgn who could do justice to the role. He is a great actor and can portray emotions, anger and action effectively." added the 40 year old Director.
After Himmatwala, Sajid Khan will be making another action thriller with nawab Saif Ali Khan "I am yet to finish a portion of Himmatwala. My next project will be with Saif Ali Khan and will most likely go on the floors by June." informed Sajid Khan.


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Affinity Online: How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel LearningMizuko Ito, Crystle Martin, Rachel Cody Pfister, Matthew H. Rafalow, Katie Salen, and Amanda Wortman
From Good Intentions to Real Outcomes:
Equity by Design in Learning TechnologiesJustin Reich and Mizuko Ito
Participatory Culture in a Networked Era: A Conversation on Youth, Learning, Commerce, and PoliticsHenry Jenkins, Mizuko Ito, danah boyd
Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and DesignMizuko Ito, Kris Gutierrez, Sonia Livingstone, Bill Penuel, Jean Rhodes, Katie Salen, Juliet Schor, Julian Sefton-Green, and S. Craig Watkins
Safe Space and Shared Interests: YOUmedia Chicago as a Laboratory for Connected LearningKiley Larson, Mizuko Ito, Eric Brown, Mike Hawkins, Nichole Pinkard, Penny Sebring
Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected WorldMizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe, and Izumi Tzuji Eds.
"This is the first comprehensive book to examine the full range of practices we associate with Otaku culture. The range of material covered here - from train watchers to cosplayers, from model builders to fansubbers - is really spectacular, helping us to move beyond encrusted stereotypes of the isolated Otaku to a much more nuanced understanding of the Otaku subculture."
--Henry Jenkins
Engineering Play: A Cultural History of Children's SoftwareMizuko Ito.
"In a sophisticated and subtle analysis of software for children, the author explores the complex interplay among historical forces, parental ideals, children's desires, the consumer marketplace, and the Zeitgeist."
--Howard Gardner
Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New MediaMizuko Ito, et al.
"This is a beautifully written and extraordinarily rich account of perhaps the most important challenge cyberspace gives us: understanding how it is changing out kids and how it might change our understanding of literacy."
--Lawrence Lessig
Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese LifeMizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe, and Misa Matsuda Eds.
"This is not just about a technology or the way it is used in one country. It's about understanding one of the most important ways that twenty-first century lives will differ from those of the twentieth century."
--Howard Rheingold
Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth ProjectMizuko Ito, et al.


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Practical information
- When?: To be confirmed
- Where: Jávea
- More information : http://www.xabia.org/ver/1611/Ajedrez-Viviente.html
- Autonomous region: Region of Valencia
- Province/Island: Alicante - Alacant
- Category: Festivity of National Tourist Interest
- Theme: Popular
Children in Xàbia-Jávea stage a theatre performance on a huge chessboard.
In August, the town of Xàbia-Jávea, in the province of Alicante, holds a unique theatre performance: Human Chess. Boys and girls from local schools, aged 6-14 years, take part in this unusual initiative, bringing a range of characters to life. Using a game of chess as its basis, each year a different story is told with script, stage design and musical accompaniment. You do not have to know the rules of the game to enjoy and understand this theatrical representation.
A narrator and two players (a student and a special guest, somehow affiliated to the town) read out the movements from an outstanding match in the history of chess. The young actors move as though they were pieces on the board, giving form to the work of theatre.
Practical information
- Date: To be confirmed
Contact details


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Following the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut ten days ago, I'd like to dedicate this 'Around The Blogs' issue to discussion of the aftermath by and among bloggers. Needless to say, most of their effort has been taken up with responding to hysteria and panic-mongering by politicians and the media.
Standing head and shoulders above all the other comments and opinions I've read is Larry Correia's masterful article 'An opinion on gun control'. It's one of the best pieces I've ever read on the subject, and I recommend it unreservedly. Here's just one quote out of a very long and eminently readable piece.
"... here is the nail in the coffin for Gun Free Zones. Over the last fifty years, with only one single exception (Gabby Giffords), every single mass shooting event with more than four casualties has taken place in a place where guns were supposedly not allowed."
Go read the whole thing. You can't afford not to. Thanks, Larry, for a hell of a piece of writing, and an important public service. You did good, brother.
Second only to Larry's article is an excellent piece by 'Kontra' titled 'Why Not Renew the 'Assault Weapons' Ban? Well, I'll Tell You...'. The author goes into detail about why the various elements of the previous assault weapons ban, and those proposed after the Newtown shooting, are essentially meaningless. It's an important education in the facts of the matter, and I recommend it very highly.
Several articles highlight the essential hypocrisy of many responses to the Newtown tragedy.
- Referring to President Obama's public weeping over the dead children of Newtown, David McElroy asks 'Where are Obama's tears when he's the one killing innocent children?' He points out that the President has issued orders for drone strikes against alleged 'enemies' of the USA (who've not been charged, tried, or found guilty of any offense) that have killed '500 to 900' innocent civilians (including children), as well as those considered 'guilty'.
- Karl Denninger describes 'Obama's Hypocrisy Problem On Guns'. He points out: "Up until all of these people in political office disband their police forces, their Secret Service details, throw down their own arms, armored cars, body armor and other defensive means of interdicting assault they have nothing -- not even a moral argument -- behind them in their demand that you disarm and become an intentional victim -- no matter who you are."
- CenTexTim makes two excellent points. First, the NRA's call for more armed officers in schools has been vilified by the media; yet the same media supported a Justice Department program to place armed police in schools after the Columbine shootings in 1999. Second, the media has been largely silent about the Obama administration's slashing of funding for school safety programs. Media hypocrisy, anyone?
- Roberta X points out: "27 people, most of them children, are murdered in a picturesque little whitebread Connecticut town and the media and politicians are all over it, with plenty of emoting and shrill cries to 'do something'. In Chicago, over 30 people, most of them young adults and most of them nonwhite, are murdered and it's 'a typical month'."
Rev. Donald Sensing brings us his Advent sermon after the Newtown shootings. It's powerful stuff for those of us who are Christians. Here's a very brief excerpt.
Researchers say that each week American children converse with their parents for about 40 minutes but watch television about 1,500 minutes. The average teenager spends nine hundred hours in school per year and fifteen hundred hours watching television. These hours do not include the time kids may spend listening to heavy metal or "gangsta" rap, which glorifies killing cops and raping women, or playing computer games both violent and occultic, or watching violent movies on video or in theaters.
. . .
Whose voice are our kids listening to? The massacres at Sandy Hook and other schools didn't happen for no reason. We cannot pretend they are unconnected to our culture. We have to raise our voices as Christian disciples, calling to our children and our nation, offering voices of life, of hope, of peace. We have to raise our voices in judgment against death dealers who promote violence and breed despair, especially in our children.
Go read the whole thing. Recommended.
Say Uncle points out that adding more gun control laws to the existing body of legislation won't do anything to prevent more such tragedies.
A 20 year-old had a couple of handguns (illegal). And, depending on the press report, had an assault weapon (illegal), automatic rifle (illegal), or machine gun (illegal). Shot his mom in the face (illegal). Stole his mom's vehicle (illegal). Transported the gun in the vehicle (illegal) within 1,000 feet of a school (illegal). Carried it onto school property (illegal). Broke and entered (illegal). Carried a gun in a school (illegal). Discharged a firearm (illegal). Shot at people (illegal). Killed some people (illegal). Killed himself (not sure if illegal).
And I'm sure broke other laws I'm not aware of. But, you know, one more gun law ought to do it. Right?
He's right, of course . . . but too many aren't interested in facts - only in feelings. More fools they.
The Blue Review describes itself as 'a journal of popular scholarship published by the Boise State University College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs'. It's not the sort of Web site I'd normally choose to visit, but I was led to an outstanding blog article there by a woman whose son exhibits destructive mental tendencies not unlike those that appear to have driven the Newtown murderer. She says simply 'I am Adam Lanza's mother'.
Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, "Look, Mom, I'm really sorry. Can I have video games back today?"
"No way," I told him. "You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly."
His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. "Then I'm going to kill myself," he said. "I'm going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself."
That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right.
"Where are you taking me?" he said, suddenly worried. "Where are we going?"
"You know where we are going," I replied.
"No! You can't do that to me! You're sending me to hell! You're sending me straight to hell!"
I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. "Call the police," I said. "Hurry."
Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn't escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I'm still stronger than he is, but I won't be for much longer.
The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork—"Were there any difficulties with... at what age did your child... were there any problems with... has your child ever experienced... does your child have..."
There's more at the link. Very important reading, IMHO, and highly recommended. I'd like to thank Liza Long for having the courage to share so intimate and traumatic a burden with us. Perhaps only by vicariously sharing her experiences can we understand what it's like to have to live with this problem.
Matthew of 'Straight Forward In A Crooked World' responds to an accusatory e-mail accusing him of having blood on his hands because he's a member of the NRA.
I own chainsaws, I am not to blame for the deforestation of the rain forests.
I own a car, I am not to blame for the drunk drivers of this world.
I hunt wild game, I am not blame for those who slaughter wild dolphins in Taiji.
More at the link. He's right, of course - not that his accuser is likely to be mollified by facts . . .
My friend Matt G., who's a police officer, shares his thoughts on violence, including this one:
If guns are the problem, why is my life not steeped in violence? Even though I literally am dispatched to every call involving violence in my jurisdiction for half of every other day, I have seen very little in the way of gun violence in the last 12 years of service. I've never been shot at. I've never shot at anyone. I've never arrested anyone for intentionally shooting at another person (true story!). I've only a handful of times arrested people for pointing guns at others. This is in Texas, where private ownership of firearms is almost unrestricted...
More at the link. Good stuff.
Blackfive makes some very important points concerning mental health and gun control. Thought-provoking.
Sarah Hoyt brings her own school experience as a student and mother to the debate.
I remember the bad ideas in the wake of Columbine. I'm afraid what they will be now. School shootings aren't that common, but they are, of course, horrible and attention grabbers. And because the media amplifies them, they seem to be MORE common.
Which means people hungry for power love to use them to get the ability to pound all those square pegs into round holes, and to make all those goats into sheep.
It won't help, but it will give them power. And you see, in the end, that's what it is.
More at the link. Highly recommended reading.
Patrick, one of the contributors to Popehat, examines the First Amendment in the same terms that are currently being applied to the Second Amendment by those wanting to impose more gun control. It's a very interesting and illuminating approach. Recommended.
Borepatch points out that the logical result of calls for 'more police in schools' is an endless turning of the official screw.
We've seen this game before, played out by the TSA: terrorists take guns onto planes and so we have metal detectors. Then they put bombs in suitcases and so all our luggage gets X-Ray'ed. Then they take bombs in their shoes and we have to take our shoes off in security. Then they use liquids and mothers can't take bottles of breast milk.
It's a stupid game and we should stop playing. There literally is no end, either to the TSA's idiocy or to Wayne LaPierre's. Actually I just lied - there is an end, and it's called a Police State. No thanks.
More at the link.
Finally, although they're not blogs, I recommend two newspaper opinion pieces dealing with this tragedy.
- David Kopel, writing in the Wall Street Journal, examines 'Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown'.
- Charles Krauthammer, writing in the Washington Post, discusses 'The roots of mass murder'.
Both articles are very sober, pertinent analyses.
That's all for this week. More from the blogosphere in the New Year.


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SKU:15365Artist:Compatible Figures:N/ACompatible Software:DAZ Studio 4.12Install Types:
SKU:15365Artist:Compatible Figures:N/ACompatible Software:DAZ Studio 4.12Install Types:
- Daz Connect
- Manual Install
- Daz Connect
- Manual Install
This product is in these bundles
Cantering Action is an 15-pose motion cycle for the DAZ Horse 2 and includes 12 Genesis rider poses.
The sequential poses give you a variety of choices for portraying single horses, with or without riders, as well as for stampeding herds and charging troops. The sequences are ideal for multiple comic book frames. And the cycle is suitable as basic animation key-frames.
The DAZ Horse 2 pose series features a series of horse action and drama for every equestrian adventure imaginable. All motion cycles are based on the stop-motion photography of Eadweard Muybridge.
This series includes basic action-cycles for Walking, Trotting, Cantering, Galloping, and Jumping horses. Each set is also designed to merge with others by transiting from certain key-frames. The horse can go from standing to walking to galloping (trotting and cantering) to jumping. It's a unique presentation of motion poses. There is a lot of latitude for customizing the poses and the combinations.
Cantering Action can start and end with a standing horse pose for a complete cycle of movement. Or it can be cycled into a continued canter. Or it can be merged with another action sequence.
Partial poses to seat riders on a zeroed horse are included for Genesis Basic Male and Female, Genesis V4 and M4, and Genesis V5 and M5. As partial poses they can seat your other Genesis poses on the horse. There are also basic poses for cantering riders.
Horse textures are courtesy of CWRW.
What's Included and Features
- 15 Sequential Poses of a Cantering Horse: (.DUF)
- Canter-01
- Canter-02
- Canter-03
- Canter-04
- Canter-05
- Canter-06
- Canter-07
- Canter-08
- Canter-09
- Canter-10
- Canter-11
- Canter-12
- Canter-13
- Canter-14
- Canter-15
- 12 Rider poses for Genesis: (.DUF)
- Rider C-11 BGF Partial
- Rider C-11 BGF
- Rider C-11 BGM Partial
- Rider C-11 BGM
- Rider C-11 M4 Partial
- Rider C-11 M4
- Rider C-11 M5 Partial
- Rider C-11 M5
- Rider C-11 V4 Partial
- Rider C-11 V4
- Rider C-11 V5 Partial
- Rider C-11 V5
- This product includes:
- 1 DSON Core installer
- 15 Sequential Poses of a Cantering Horse: (.DUF)


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Well, lots of mistakes. Here's a good example of one: Friday Oct 5 mistake.
I decided to go the budget route to get started and see if this is interesting. So, if you like the podcasts, send a note to the webmaster at sqlservercentral.com and I'll see if I can get a little more investment from Red Gate. I'll probably buy a few things myself, but this recording stuff gets expensive quick.
I'll describe some of the equipment I used, but basically it's a mic, Audacity, and my rumbling, stumbling voice. In case you want to see how it goes, here's a shot (courtesy of my daughter) of my desk, the sound editing in progress and big Diet Pepsi by my side.
I had a logitech desktop microphone that plugs into a sound card, but I really couldn't get good sound from it. The audio was too low, hard to understand, so while I'd bought it years ago, the $15 investment was wasted money.
I bought a Shure C608 with a line level (1/8") plug that plugged into my Dell desktop, but it had some scratchiness and low volume levels, so I decided this was a bad idea as well. This setup looks close to what I got for $50. I added a desktop stand to bring this up to about $65.
I decided one more try here since I'd heard a pre-amp makes a difference. The microphone had an XLR plug, so I went to the audio shop and spent $100 on an M-Audio FastTrack USB device. This can take a line level plug, like a guitar, or a microphone XLR plug. I got the single plug version instead of the double for $200. If I need to upgrade, I will. One hint here, upgrade the drivers. I almost took this back until I did that.
I'd like to reduce the rumbling and scratching in my voice. I'll try this on the Mac, but I think I might invest in the Blue Snowball Mic. It was recommended on GeekBrief and they do a great job. For $150, I'd be at the place I am now, but I'd have a shock mount as well.
I did buy a pop filter, which is basically a screen. It helps suppress the "S" and "P" harshness in your voice. It was about $30 and worth it.
So far I'm using Audacity, recommended on a number of Podcast sites. It works well, it's easy to use and I can put together multiple tracks.
However, on my XP SP2 system, with 2GB of RAM and an AMD 3800 processor, it flakes on the second or third track sometimes. So I end up recording the short parts (intro, music credit, etc.) and saving those off as MP3 files. Then I record the long editorial and add everything else in. Not sure what's wrong here.
I'm likely to upgrade to better software at some point since the flakiness really bothers me.


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Raspberry Apple Cake
This recipe won first prize at the annual Apple Festival in Lincoln County, North Carolina! It's not your usual apple cake—you spread raspberry jam over the crust, then cover that with apple pie filling and a sour cream topping. I hope it's a winner in your book, too. —Pinkie Mosteller, Lincolnton, North Carolina
Total TimePrep: 15 min. Bake: 30 min. + chilling
Makes6 servings
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
- 1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling
- 4 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
- Spread into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove cake. Spread with jam and top with pie filling. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over filling. Combine the sour cream, vanilla and remaining sugar; spread over top.
- Bake 10 minutes longer or until topping is set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until chilled.


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Posted 9 years ago
(10 items)
I got this lamp recently at an estate sale and I have been trying to find out who made it. After hours of looking at pictures I'm wondering if it could of been made by Dino Martens it reminds me of some of his other pieces. I'm hoping someone may have some information for me. Thanks


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Heart-Shaped Watermelons
Why, back in my day the apples were always apple shaped and the watermelons were always watermelon shaped. There were no fancy molds using "technology" and other computerized doodads. For better or for worse, Japanese farmers have figured out how to turn the humble watermelon into a perfectly-formed heart. Aww.
Farmer Hiroichi Kimura from Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture is credited for creating the lovable melons, using a process that took him years of trial and error to develop. According to reviewers, they are crunchy and taste both mellow and sweet (just like hearts.)


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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Lamont Jones scored 19 points, hitting 10 of 11 free throws, as Iona rallied to defeat Siena 66-62 Friday night in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.
The Gaels (8-6, 2-1), who trailed 38-28 early in the second half, were still behind by nine with 9:14 left before rattling off 11 straight points to lead 51-49. Sean Armand's 3-pointer started the run, then Jones scored five straight points and Armand capped it with another trey.
The lead changed eight more times, with Iona scoring six straight points to lead 63-58 with 21 seconds left.
The Saints (2-12, 0-3) closed the gap to three twice, but got no closer, with the Gaels making 3 of 4 free throws.
Armand added 14 points, David Laury 12 and A.J. English 11 for Iona.
O.D. Anosike had 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Rob Poole added 18 points for Siena, which has lost 10 straight.


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Caveat on all the maps
These maps exist for educational and general reference purposes only. While all efforts have been made to make them as accurate as possible without destroying clarity, there is no absolute guarantee of accuracy. As such, these maps have no reliability for purposes of navigation, border disputes, or tribal claims.
These maps are about power and political reality, not legitimacy
International borders reflect those recognized at the time by most powers, colors reflect control at the time. Neither has anything to do with what was then or is now perceived as right or wrong, just or unjust.
About Omniatlas™
Omniatlas.com is run by Rick Westera, a software developer, part-time historian and eccentric polymath based in Auckland, New Zealand. You can contact him via Omniatlas on Facebook or Twitter.
An atlas such as this would have been impossible to produce without access to wikipedia, Google, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Microsoft Encarta, and assistance from Auckland City Libraries and the University of Auckland. The following people have also made notable contributions to this site:
- Timothy NeenoCairoEgypt
- Maksym MaiorovSevastopolUkraine
- Sam HuddyLos Angeles, CaliforniaUnited States
- Janina GaudinPortmanteau DigitalAucklandNew Zealand
- Philip DainekaBelarus
- Ben Cahoonworldstatesmen.orgArlington, VirginiaUnited States
- Erik BengtssonStockholmSweden