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Permanent Records is a year-long project. Each Friday (or thereabouts), I will post a new entry about one specific album, chosen due to its significance to myself as a fan. Though the list is numbered, a particular record's placement should not be considered a ranking. There will be 52 albums in all.
This endeavor is based on a concept started by Chris Tamarri at Crisis/Boring Change.
Today's entry goes out to my favorite pop buddy, Sarah Grace McCandless. She's justified, and I'm stripped.
Executive Producers: Christina Aguilera & Ron Fair /Label: RCA
I don't believe in the concept of "guilty pleasures."
The denial of it is rather simple: like what you like, no need to qualify. If it entertains, if it inspires a positive reaction, then it's yours, accept it. Why feel guilty about it? In fact, the very idea suggests that somehow I should be looking to other people to validate my tastes, and I can't abide that. Think about it? Any time a "list your guilty pleasures" thread pops up somewhere on the internet, what is really going on? People aren't unabashedly celebrating something that brings them pleasure, they are looking for approval from the cool kids. The hope is that others will respond with, "Oh, no need to feel guilty about that. I love that!" and then you'll be able to huddle with the herd to stay warm in the taste storm.
Well, fuck that. Call it the existentialist in me, but I set my own life compass. I know the e-word is terribly outré, something I should have gotten over when adolescence ended, but I don't care. And I don't feel guilty about it, either. So, nyah! Though, I do understand the mentality of such deriders. It's like when someone tells me how much they love Charles Bukowski, and I can't help but look askance at them and wonder with an arched eyebrow, "How long have you been out of college now? You know the man only has, like, six books or something, and all the rest are exactly the same, right?" But the joy in being an existentialist is that I can dismiss your judgment of me while being able to freely indulge in being judgmental myself. Even from here, I can dismiss you judging me a hypocrite. I am Sam Spade, and you don't tell me what to do, dollface.
Nothing gets people's high horses up off their knees faster than an admission to loving pop music. And I'm not talking a neo-hipster, indie kid insistence that someone like Death Cab For Cutie writes excellent pop songs, I'm talking real life, top-of-the-charts, right-now POP! I'm talking Shampoo and the Spice Girls, and up to Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake and Girls Aloud. And no irony either! This entry is about Christina Aguilera's second album, and I am writing it with that previously arched eyebrow lowered, set in the position it grew in at. I love Stripped with all my heart, and I'm not going to apologize to you or anyone for it.
Don't think I don't know what you're doing right now, either. I can feel it. You're judging me even after I told you not to. Can you feel me not caring coming right back atcha all over again? Go ahead and be snooty, but you better be damn sure you can confidently invite me into your house and let me browse through your own music collection without finding some objects of derision. "Oh, look at all these Wilco albums! My, aren't you sensitive and precious?" "Hey, it's Beck! Way to think outside the box...without ever really having to!" And don't even get me started on what's wrong with you Led Zeppelin fans.
The thing is, we all have things that other people think is crap. Some of it might even be critically lauded, but that doesn't mean I can't think it's cheesy. It's all relative, so why look elsewhere when your ears are already telling you everything you need to know?
And before we go on, let's get a couple of more things out of the way:
(1) Yes, I am a dirty old man (too dirty to clean my act up, as they say), and yes, I want to have sex with Christina Aguilera. So what? I also want to have sex with Polly Jean Harvey, think J.C. used to be cuter than Justin (but now, no way), and have made come-ons to Brett Anderson and Damon Albarn, so my lust knows no boundaries of gender or genre.
(2) Yes, Christina writes only a portion of the songs on Stripped. So what? This slavish devotion to the misguided notion that there is something more pure about writing and performing your own material sort of forgets that music is traditionally meant to be sung by everyone. You don't denigrate stage actors for performing in plays that other people wrote, do you? Furthermore, how many songs did Frank Sinatra write? Dusty Springfield's name appears exactly zero times in the writing credits of Dusty In Memphis. And what of singers like Roger Daltrey, or how Elton John's best material has lyrics by Bernie Taupin?
These are pop music prejudices, and they are yours. Take them, keep them, shove them.
Okay, now that you're all huffy and puffy and your arms are folded and you've been sufficiently shut up, you ready to talk about one of the best pop albums of recent memory? Good.
Stripped is an audacious record. It's long: 20 tracks over 78 minutes. It's loud and varied in sound and mood. Some people think Christina hits too many notes, has too many of what the American Idol judges would call "runs" (and yes, you can have some fun with the double play of that word), where she lets her voice trill off in uncharted directions. Stripped could be attacked for being over packed, but really, it's an embarrassment of riches. Christina didn't know where this trip would take her, so she brought everything.
This is the record an artist makes when she's dying to explode. Every pop star reaches a point where they want to break out of the record company stranglehold. The Beatles began as a covers band, don't forget, until one day they decided they wanted to write their own songs and experiment in the studio. Boy bands sue their management to get out of their contracts, and pop divas get sexy, willful, and if we're lucky, outrageous. It doesn't always work. Pink was too contrived, and really, not that good to begin with. Britney waited too long to grow up, and when she claimed she had, we didn't really believe her. We hoped someone would pull her aside and tell her money doesn't equal education, platinum records don't breed sophistication, and hearing her drawl "y'all" just wasn't cute anymore.
Neither of those eventual failures was any surprise. We all suspected that both lasses would eventually reach their sell-by date. It was just a matter of time. Or maybe just I did, I don't know. A lot of people I knew really liked Pink, so it's hard to say. I do know that I was always rooting for Christina. She was the real deal, she had the voice, and even when she was playing the game, it appeared like she knew it and didn't care. Who else would show up to an awards ceremony wearing a giant blonde afro wig? Back when she came to Portland on the final leg of the tour to promote her first album, I wrote the blurb on it for The Portland Mercury. I did it as an open letter to Christina, imploring her to get bold, to be more like Madonna and expand on what she was doing. I like to think she read it, agreed, and Stripped was the result.
(Small aside: My friend was working at an indie record store when that issue of the Mercury was out, and some schmoe she was dating at the time came into the store and said to her, "Did you see that some dude is in here defending Christina Aguilera?" My friend replied, "Yes. That's that guy Jamie I've told you about." He didn't own up to whether or not his shoe tasted good, but he later took her to a Karate show, so fuck that guy. Seriously.)
Part of the appeal of Stripped is that it's an artist on the defensive. Part of the tone of this review is taken from that: yes, I know what you're going to say, but I have news for you, you don't know what I'm going to say and I'm gonna mess your shit up. The single "Fighter" is the best example of this, a girl's anthem saying exactly what I said above. Another single, a collaboration with Lil' Kim, "Can't Hold Us Down," was about the double-standards women are subjected to in games of love, romance, and most of all, sex. Even the album intro is contentious, using clips of Kurt Loder and Fred Durst to revive old feuds and squash them. I wonder if Eminem was too cowardly to give her the license to kick him in the nuts, too?
And yet, though she comes out of the gate swinging, Christina is smart in her sequencing of the album. If we are to accept her thesis that this album is called Stripped because it represents her dropping all pretense, presenting herself as she really is, then she has to show us every emotion, every flaw. The bravado of "Can't Hold Us Down" is followed by the insecurity of "Walk Away." It's the tale of how Christina was duped, how she let the wrong lover trick her into believing he cared, and though she can identify the problem, "the one thing I need to walk away from" is also the hardest link to break. You can have all the strength in the world, but it still takes courage to use it. Thus leading into "Fighter," the display of that strength, where our girl finally learns "just how capable I am to pull through...'Cause if it wasn't for all of your torture/ I wouldn't know how to be this way now and never back down...I am a fighter and I/ I ain't goin' stop/ There is no turning back/ I've had enough." Thus concludes the first salvo.
The rest of the album from there is a representation of Christina's many moods, the various aspects of her personality. There's the party girl of "Dirrty," all cacophonous noise and bold proclamations; the wanton romantic who indulges in "Infatuation;" the dreamer as realist, demanding no less of a soulmate than "Loving Me 4 Me." There are more songs concerned with breaking out of whatever traps you are in, such as "Soar" and the Sugababes rip-off "Make Over" (the opening riff sounds exactly like "Overload," and that word even appears in the chorus), and while that is probably the most dominant theme of the record--the stripping down of one's life in order to run free, the overall effect of Stripped is viewing a woman in all of her aspects, no matter how overwhelming the amount of notes it takes to express them all. It's like a longer version of that horrible Meredith Brookes song, "Bitch."
Like that, but good.
Good because it's filtered through a pop prism. By "pop," one means "popular," and by "popular," one means accessible. That doesn't mean it's not a deep record, it just means that it's presented in such a way that is pleasing to the ear and can be absorbed and understood by as many people as possible. I always say that's the glory of pop music, and in such cases, I usually point to old live footage of Duran Duran where Italian girls with hairy armpits sing along to "Save a Prayer," understanding the emotion despite the language barrier. That's what good pop music does: it stirs us on levels that are beyond intellectual reasoning. It has less to do with chords and charts and technical mumbo jumbo than your average math-rock band, and as a result, it's far more effective. Pop music is more visceral, dropping calculation for level of feeling.
Which isn't to say that this music isn't smart. Christina got a lot of crap when this record came out, especially for the "Xtina" image of the "Dirrty" video and the provocative promotional photos, but Stripped had more going on than just the bump 'n' grind (not that there is anything wrong with that). People wondered what kind of role model Christina Aguilera was for young girls, and I'd have to say, is it really a bad one who tells them to believe in themselves and to not accept the disingenuous, contradictory messages of society? While the first three songs on Stripped are about the political battles of the heart, the final three appeal to the teenage existentialist in me: they're all about standing tall in one's own shoes. "The Voice Within" is about trusting your own instincts, your talents, your personal powers; "I'm OK" is about saying just that despite the people who try to pull you down (here an abusive father); "Keep On Singin' My Song" is the final flight, releasing oneself from all obligations except the ones to ourselves. "I'm gonna carry on...I'mma keep on singin' my song." (Okay, so maybe she's not a grammar role model.)
Of course, I've skipped the best statement of this self-belief, and probably the most popular. On her tour for the album, Christina would save this song for last, coming out by herself in just a T-shirt and jeans. "Did I forget something?" she'd ask. I've played the same game with you, passing right over "Beautiful." It's hard to decide what adjective to use for a song as beautiful as this, since it's already called "Beautiful"--but that's what it is, a real beauty. Ironically, it's one of the two songs on the record Christina didn't co-write. Linda Perry did it all, proving the broken-clock-is-right-twice-a-day cliché. Then again, it takes a well-honed performer's instinct to recognize quality material, to find the right vehicle for your voice, so credit is due.
Everyone has heard "Beautiful" because it was everywhere, a rightful hit if ever there was one. Its message is simple: now and again, we all feel a little down about ourselves, but it's not worth dwelling on, we have to love who we are. TLC attempted a similar message a few years before in "Unpretty," but they were too self-conscious about their own attractiveness to tackle it straight and hid behind third-person anecdotes. Christina has no such fear. It's what allows any of us to step into the narrative. It's from a first-person point of view, but addressed to all. "Now and then I get insecure, from all the pain/ I'm so ashamed/ [But] I am beautiful no matter what they say/ Words can't bring me down." I feel it, you feel it, we all feel it--we're all in this boat together. The song starts with a whisper ("Don't look at me") and builds to a roar, Christina opening up those famous pipes as wide as they'll go. "...the sun will always shine/ And tomorrow we might wake up on the other side." It's a transcendent moment of pop music, the point where the personal becomes the universal. Humanity is the only access code you need to identify.
Which is exactly why everyone reading this should own a copy of Stripped, because regardless of your preconceived notions, somewhere on this record, Christina Aguilera is talking about you.
NOTABLE B-SIDE: The first mash-up that I recall gaining international prominence was "A Stroke of Genius," when Freelance Hellraiser married the vocals from Christina's "Genie In a Bottle" to the music of some Strokes song (I forget which one, but does it matter? They're interchangeable), and everyone realized, "Wow, this is what the Strokes should sound like all the time." In another stroke of genius, a couple of years later Christina turned around and officially hired Freelance Hellraiser to remix "Fighter." He's given it a spy-movie funk line and a driving beat while replacing the bombast with video-game bleeps and bloops. It's just waiting to soundtrack some outer-space battle with lasers and sleek fighter ships, including a big, distorted, atmosphereless explosion after the bridge where Christina lets out a wail and Freelance Hellraiser starts twiddling his knobs. It's excellent, and can be found on the "Fighter" single, as well as a promotional EP that Target put out to promote the Justin/Xtina tour.
Reminder: As always, this post is full of links to Amazon. Click on any one of them when shopping, and Amazon will shave a few pennies off their take to give to me. So, if my reviews make you all hot and bothered and you just have to own one of the things I'm talking about, use my link and contribute to buying me more stuff to review. (Those reading a Live Journal feed will likely have to click to the actual blog page first before heading over to Amazon, though.) Either way, thanks for reading.
Current Soundtrack: Morrissey, "I Will See You In Far Off Places;" Colin Meloy, "Shankhill Butchers (live @ the Birchmere)" & "Charlie;" Sarah Nixey, "The Collector;" Paul Weller, "Alone"
Current Mood: exhausted (it is 4 a.m., after all)
email@example.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication
[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich


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subset: commoncrawl


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'semilinear equations' tag.
Semilinear dispersive and wave equations, of which the defocusing nonlinear wave equation
is a typical example (where is a fixed exponent, and is a scalar field), can be viewed as a "tug of war" between a linear dispersive equation, in this case the linear wave equation
and a nonlinear ODE, in this case the equation
If the nonlinear term was not present, leaving only the dispersive equation (2), then as the term "dispersive" suggests, in the asymptotic limit , the solution would spread out in space and decay in amplitude. For instance, in the model case when and the initial position vanishes (leaving only the initial velocity as non-trivial initial data), the solution for is given by the formula
where is surface measure on the sphere . (To avoid technical issues, let us restrict attention to classical (smooth) solutions.) Thus, if the initial velocity was bounded and compactly supported, then the solution would be bounded by and would thus would decay uniformly to zero as . Similar phenomena occur for all dimensions greater than .
Conversely, if the dispersive term was not present, leaving only the ODE (3), then one no longer expects decay; indeed, given the conserved energy for the ODE (3), we do not expect any decay at all (and indeed, solutions are instead periodic in time for each fixed , as can easily be seen by viewing the ODE (and the energy curves) in phase space).
Depending on the relative "size" of the dispersive term and the nonlinear term , one can heuristically describe the behaviour of a solution at various positions at times as either being dispersion dominated (in which ), nonlinearity dominated (in which ), or contested (in which , are comparable in size). Very roughly speaking, when one is in the dispersion dominated regime, then perturbation theory becomes effective, and one can often show that the solution to the nonlinear equation indeed behaves like the solution to the linear counterpart, in particular exhibiting decay as . In principle, perturbation theory is also available in the nonlinearity dominated regime (in which the dispersion is now viewed as the perturbation, and the nonlinearity as the main term), but in practice this is often difficult to apply (due to the nonlinearity of the approximating equation and the large number of derivatives present in the perturbative term), and so one has to fall back on non-perturbative tools, such as conservation laws and monotonicity formulae. The contested regime is the most interesting, and gives rise to intermediate types of behaviour that are not present in the purely dispersive or purely nonlinear equations, such as solitary wave solutions (solitons) or solutions that blow up in finite time.
In order to analyse how solutions behave in each of these regimes rigorously, one usually works with a variety of function spaces (such as Lebesgue spaces and Sobolev spaces ). As such, one generally needs to first establish a number of function space estimates (e.g. Sobolev inequalities, Hölder-type inequalities, Strichartz estimates, etc.) in order to study these equations at the formal level.
Unfortunately, this emphasis on function spaces and their estimates can obscure the underlying physical intuition behind the dynamics of these equations, and the field of analysis of PDE sometimes acquires a reputation for being unduly technical as a consequence. However, as noted in a previous blog post, one can view function space norms as a way to formalise the intuitive notions of the "height" (amplitude) and "width" (wavelength) of a function (wave).
It turns out that one can similarly analyse the behaviour of nonlinear dispersive equations on a similar heuristic level, as that of understanding the dynamics as the amplitude and wavelength (or frequency ) of a wave. Below the fold I give some examples of this heuristic; for sake of concreteness I restrict attention to the nonlinear wave equation (1), though one can of course extend this heuristic to many other models also. Rigorous analogues of the arguments here can be found in several places, such as the book of Shatah and Struwe, or my own book on the subject.


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Beauty pageant winners in Delaware and Florida lost their crowns this week in separate, unrelated mix-ups.
Amanda Longacre, the woman who was named Miss Delaware, lost hers because she is older than the Miss America organization allows.
In Florida, officials discovered a tabulation error that cost Elizabeth Fechtel her victory.
U.S. & World
The 24-year-old Longacre was crowned June 14 in Delaware, but lost the crown Wednesday. Miss America pageant rules require contestants to be between 17 and 24, and Longacre will turn 25 on Oct. 22, before year's end.
Pageant officials said Thursday that Longacre did nothing wrong and had accurately reported her birthdate on applications.
Runner-up Brittany Lewis was crowned Miss Delaware on Thursday. Pageant officials said both Lewis and Longacre will get to keep their $9,000 scholarships.
Officials of the Miss Florida Organization named a new Miss Florida on Friday after discovering a tabulation error in the judging. As a result, Fechtel, who won the crown last Saturday, is now the runner up. The woman who had come in second — Victoria Cowen — is now the new Miss Florida.
Executive Director Mary Sullivan says the tabulation error was noticed during a routine recount. She says a mark on one judge's ballot was inadvertently overlooked. The ballots were tabulated again by an independent auditor, and the contestants were notified of the correct results.


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Weaver's Cove Energy CEO Gordon Shearer announced plans Thursday to construct an offshore berth in Mount Hope Bay to receive tanker deliveries of liquefied natural gas.
As opposition to the plan to ship liquefied natural gas continues to mount, Weaver's Cove Energy officials are considering changing course once again by developing an offshore berth for the unloading of LNG and the subsequent pumping to its proposed facility along the Taunton River.
The offshore facility, according to plans released Thursday, would be in Somerset waters and sit about 1 mile from the nearest shoreline and 2 miles south of the Braga Bridge. It would connect to the proposed facility via an 4-mile-long buried pipeline. The facility would include berthing structures to secure LNG tankers during unloading operations and support transfer piping and controls.
Weaver's Cove Energy CEO Gordon Shearer said that if approved, the offshore facility would remove the need to use the smaller-sized tankers that are currently proposed to navigate under the Brightman Street Bridge.
"It is an option that we believe addresses the concerns around the issues and perceptions around the Taunton River," Shearer said by phone Thursday. "This will keep LNG ships out of the river altogether and appears to address a lot of what has been raised."
In a move city officials considered a fatal blow to the proposed project, the U.S. Coast Guard announced in October that the proposed shipping route to carry LNG from the Atlantic Ocean to Fall River is "unsuitable from a navigation safety perspective for the type, size and frequency of LNG marine traffic associated."
Coast Guard captain of the port of southeastern Massachusetts Roy Nash specifically noted the waterway from Sandy Point, Prudence, R.I., to the proposed facility on the banks of the Taunton River.
Shearer said this proposal still needs to go through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's "prefiling" process, which would be followed by a six-month period of consultation, drafting and review of environmental data. A formal filing would then take place, leaving a three- to four-month window for FERC review. Shearer said he expects the decision-making process to take approximately 14 months.
"We are not giving up on this project, and this is a sign of that," Shearer said. "What we are trying to do is dissuade those concerns that have led to objections of the project."
Locally, elected officials and those who have followed the project are not convinced Weaver's Cove Energy's latest proposal will do that.
"I don't believe this is a viable option," Mayor Robert Correia said. "It doesn't get rid of the danger at the site itself. ... It still means there will be a storage facility on land sited in a residential area."
As he faces his first significant public challenge in the LNG arena as mayor, Correia said his strategy to defeat this proposal will be to "just be upfront" with the city's objections. He said, however, he finds this proposal an admission that tankers will not cross under the Braga Bridge.
"I think it's a big concession, because they now know they are not getting an LNG ship up the river and into that cove," Correia said.
Support also will not be coming from the head of the City Council Joseph D. Camara.
"He's (Shearer) on the right track. Now he should just keep heading out to the ocean," Camara said. "It's not something I'm going to support. It's still too close to what we're trying to protect here: the people. Putting it in the bay is not the type of offshore we've been talking about."
Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said the offshore proposal is "bordering on stunning in its audaciousness, greed and stupidity."
"If they claim to have been listening and this is what they cane up with after a clear substantive evaluation, then they are not only greedy but deaf and dumb," Lynch said. "To suggest such a ludicrous, unworkable, unimaginable option clearly and finally illustrates their disregard for people in general, nevermind the environment."
Coalition for the Responsible Siting of LNG Facilities members Joseph Carvalho and Michael Miozza both suggested that if this proposal goes forward, FERC should conduct an entirely new review of the project, including the siting of the terminal on New Street.
"We're still going to have vessels coming into Mount Hope Bay, so this still presents safety and security risks," Miozza said. "While this is a change in the project, it is still an unacceptable risk. I will call for them to go back to FERC and start all over again."
Carvalho said Weaver's Cove Energy officials are "grasping at straws."
"I'm as adamantly opposed to this as I am to their other dog-and-pony shows," Carvalho said.
Rhode Island state Rep. Raymond Gallison, D-Bristol, said even if this proposal reached fruition, the transit of tankers would still be forbidden through Ocean State waters due to legislation he authored regulating LNG tankers and their proximity to state assets.
"The federal government says we're allowed to protect the assets of the state of Rhode Island, and under my law our assets are protected," Gallison said, adding he would oppose this proposal.
"I think this is a situation of them just trying to put a dollar over people," Gallison added.
While local officials immediately dismissed the offshore plans, Shearer maintains his position that an LNG facility in the city will be a boon on several fronts.
"Hopefully it addresses the concerns for the region's need for energy and as we're heading into a recession this project will lead to the creation of hundreds of construction jobs," Shearer said. "This project will lead to the creation of construction jobs, as well as lower taxes and energy prices. I would hope at some point a reasonable and balanced and more rational debate will start on this."
E-mail Will Richmond at email@example.com.


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January 30, 2012
Ivan Zenaty to Join Violin Faculty, Now Accepting Students
CLEVELAND, OHIO - January 30, 2012 - It is with a sense of excitement and anticipation that the Cleveland Institute of Music announces the appointment of Mr. Ivan Zenaty to the Violin faculty beginning fall 2012.
Concerning the appointment, President Joel Smirnoff said, "A rigorous and thoughtful process resulted in the unanimous opinion of CIM's violin faculty that Ivan Zenaty possesses the special gifts violinistically, pedagogically, musically and personally that suit the musical philosophy and historic excellence of CIM's faculty and students and its uniquely supportive environment."
Mr. Zenaty will be at CIM for audition day on February 19 and will stay through most of the following week to begin his relationship with the school through meaningful musical personal interactions with students, faculty and staff.
More information and Mr. Zenaty's complete biography and recorded catalogue can be viewed on his website.


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Notes on a "Free Market" and The Great Bail-Out
Longtime readers know that one of my pastimes is losing money in the stock market. Oh, sure, I try to do what I think will make money, but this typically generates the opposite effect, i.e. a losing trade. It's tempting to do the opposite of what one's analysis suggests, i.e. bet on a rising market, but I can't quite bring myself to jump off this cliff.
Astute reader Zeus Y. succinctly summarizes what many of us are sensing:
"I have a strong intuition that October will be the gold-to-lead month as it was in the Great Depression and in the 1987 crash. People sleep through the summer, re-enter in September and will be hit by some cold realities. It just makes sense historically. But on a national and local level too, many people are putting up September as "decision" time (i.e. Whether the surge is working in Iraq or my own disassociation from some institutions I've been spending way too much of my time trying to help carry in financial and non-financial ways), which means that October is likely to be "consequence" time. All Hallow's Eve indeed. It's going to be interesting."
Frequent contributor Fastwater had these thoughts on the extraordinary precariousness of the U.S. economy:
"It's worth reading this blog entry. The author is writing *specifically* about CDPO's. But I think that the general idea applies as well to the entire range of credit derivatives: Sigma Happens.
This is what I've been thinking, but not able to articulate. We are in the middle of a 3-sigma event, but nobody seems to notice that we are in the middle of an unusual event. No, instead this 3-sigma environment has been wrongly perceived as 'it's different this time'. It looks like that misperception is being 'repriced'.
Or, by analogy, rating models -- by assuming there will *never* be higher default rates -- are wayyyyy off, because they did not take the 3-sigma environment into account. I'm wondering how long it will take for this realization to dispel the current Euphorestra induced fog? Maybe a few handfuls of people already understand the reality rather than the illusion. But most are probably not saying anything right now, because they have been told not to.
The larger factor, that leaves me with a queasy feeling, is that the macroeconomic backdrop has changed from a manufacturing base to a service base and that means that capital investment is in furniture. It costs less for a 'service' provider to just close the doors, than to ride out a downturn. Forget about employer loyalty, there's no such thing anymore. So, tell everyone to go home and last one out remember to turn the lights off.
To summarize, high employment could happen almost overnight. Doesn't it strike anyone else as a little odd that, as the subprime and other brokers go out of business there is not even an effort to survive. No progressive downsizing, no visible attempt at all to keep the doors open. They just fall like a row of dominoes. This 'service economy' could turn into something really unpleasant."
In other "free market" news, the regulatory agency which oversees the government-backed mortgage outfits Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are considering allowing these monstrosities to add even more subprime high-risk mortgages to their bloated portfolios of bad debt. For a full account, please read Karl Denninger's account at Market Ticker.
The idea here is to saddle the U.S. taxpayer with the burdens of all these mortgages blowing up in the face of irresponsible lenders and borrowers. As Karl points out: offering this sort of "guarantee" is what triggered the financial problems which nearly sank Fannie Mae just a few years ago. The solution to the weakness caused by blood loss, we're being told, is to bleed the patient further.
The whining and gnashing of teeth has yet to truly begin in Default-Land. So let's look at the borrowers. Yes, no doubt a few people "did the right thing" and saved up money for a down payment and got a 30-year fixed mortgage, and they are now in financial trouble due to illness or job loss. But let's face it: the vast majority of people now at risk of default/foreclosure were basically gambling that the housing market's ascent would never end.
Have we become a nation of aggressively blind-to-risk gamblers? Apparently so. How many stories do we have to read about folks with net income of $2,600/month taking on a mortgage of $2,600/month--on a no-down loan, of course. How many stories do we need to read about people with equity in their homes extracting every last penny via HELOC (home equity lines of credit) or new adjustable-rate mortgages?
And how many young people (i.e. under 35) expect to own a new car, travel to Europe and own their own condo or house--without having to save a dime? I know this may amaze and amuse younger readers, but a mere 20 years ago it was standard practice to scrimp and save for years to come up with a down payment for a house--ditto for the overseas vacation and the new car.
As for my friends who didn't come from/marry into a wealthy family--nobody took overseas trips or bought new cars until they already had a house, which meant they were in their early 30s. And the house was purchased with 20% down, except for veterans who could get a VA loan with 3% down--a huge benefit at the time.
Now we already hear calls for a $200 billion "bail-out" of reckless borrowers and lenders. If we're going to support reckless gambling, why didn't we bail out everyone who lost money gambling in the dot-com stock market meltdown? A financial gamble is a financial gamble, and just because someone gambled with borrowed money doesn't let them off the hook for the losses.
Yes, I gamble in the stock market. There is risk, and anyone who buys and sells securities is (vaguely) aware that they can lose the bet just made. (Or experience has shown them that this is a possibility.) Now that the nation has gambled recklessly with real estate and mortgages, having thrown common-sense to the winds, now "we" (i.e. those not yet bankrupt) are supposed to pay hundreds of billions in taxes (or interest on new Federal debt) to "save" reckless borrowers and their "poor" lenders?
The cheerleaders of our system always refer to the glories of capitalism. Let's recall that the foundation of capitalism is "creative destruction." The market rewardeth and it taketh away. Those who prospered in the feeding-frenzy of loose lending and rising housing demand a socialist "guarantee" now that they've begun to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous capitalist fortune; This is indeed the epitome of hypocrisy.
You can go to Las Vegas and enjoy various distractions without gambling away your entire life savings/net worth. Or you can go there and gamble away your net worth. To say you didn't know you could lose--our sympathy never hits water, no matter how deep we dig.
Speaking of gambling: it's interesting to look back at the Dow Jones Industrial Average circa 1937, 7.5 years after the Great Crash of 1929:
Please see the main site www.oftwominds.com/blog.html for the charts.
I have printed this chart before to suggest we are poised on the cusp of the "echo bust" of the 2000 stock market meltdown. What is interesting in the context of the past few weeks is the high volatility experienced in periods just before sharp declines in 1929 and 1937.
Here we have a 2-year chart of the VIX or volatility index. Note that despite high volatility, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sits a mere 3.6% below its all-time high of 14,000. Is this modest decline all that such volatility begets?
Or do periods of low volatility beget periods of high volatility which beget sharp declines? The next 10 weeks will either support or disprove this assertion.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Notes on a "Free Market" and The Great Bail-Out
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The head of Sony Computer Entertainment America has confirmed on Twitter that the PlayStation Vita will be region free, much like the PlayStation 3.
In a direct response to a user on Twitter who asked if Vita was region free, Shihei Yoshida said "Yes, it is." You can't get much clearer than that.
The PlayStation Vita has been confirmed for release on the 17th of December in Japan and will retail for an equivalent price of $325. With it being region free, anyone from any region will be able to import.
Source: Joystiq


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In his budget speech on Wednesday, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan suggested a tax increase may be an option.
- Read the full speech here
"The initial phase of NHI [national health insurance] development will not place new revenue demands on the fiscus. Over the longer term, however, it is anticipated that a tax increase will be needed," Gordhan said.
In fact reductions have been made to the NHI grant due to slow spending.
"The national treasury is working with the department of health to examine the funding arrangements and system reforms required for NHI. A discussion paper inviting public comment on various options will be published," the finance minister said.
It is expected that the National Health Insurance Bill will be tabled in Parliament in the next financial year and that relevant regulations will be developed and implemented in the coming years.
"Alongside social assistance, access to health care is a vital element in the social wage," said Gordhan who pointed out examples of progress the health sector. "Pilot national health insurance projects have been initiated this year in ten districts, and will include improvements to health facilities, contracting with general practitioners and financial management reforms.
"A new conditional grant is introduced this year to enable the national Department of Health to play a greater role in coordinating these reforms."
Health spending
Spending on health will be R133-billion over the medium term and account for 4.5% of the budget. It has grown by 6.8%. Health financing and national health insurance will account for 44% of health spending over this period.
According to the department's budget vote, one of the strategic objectives over the medium term is to improve healthcare financing through the implementation of the national health insurance. But due to slow spending on the national health insurance conditional grant, Cabinet has approved reductions.
"Reductions of R26-million (R11-million, R10-million and R5.2-million) over the MTEF [Medium term expenditure framework] period have been made to the national health insurance grant, due to slow expenditure," the department said in its vote.
The budget vote shows expenditure on NHI will jump from R161-million in 2011/12 to R315-million in 2012/13. If the following financial year it will increase to R491-million and climb to R672-million by 2015/16.
Despite the cut, the department said the most significant increases in expenditure over the medium term are still in the health financing and national health insurance subprogramme, as a result of the piloting of new interventions in 10 pilot districts in preparation for the rollout of national health insurance.
"The spending focus over the medium term will be on preparing for the implementation of the national health insurance, and providing for the prevention and treatment of HIV and Aids and tuberculosis," the department said.
The department said health financing and the national health insurance undertakes health economics research; develops policy for medical schemes and public private partnerships; provides technical oversight over the Council for Medical Schemes; develops and implements policies, legislation and frameworks for national health insurance; oversees the coordination of research into alternative health care financing mechanisms for achieving universal health coverage; and oversees the national health insurance conditional grant as well as district pilot activities.
Over the medium term, the initiatives implemented through the pilot districts will be expanded to improve the access to and quality of health care.
Major reforms
Two major reforms to conditional grants have been effected, the department of Health said in its budget vote. First, the three health infrastructure grants – hospital revitalisation, health infrastructure and nursing colleges and schools – have been consolidated into a single direct grant, the health facility revitalisation grant.
"It is envisaged that the new configuration will allow for more flexibility for funds to be shifted
between the three windows and thus ensure the timely delivery of health infrastructure," the department said.
The second is the establishment of a new indirect schedule 6A grant, known as the national health grant. This grant will have two components, one for national health insurance and one for health facility revitalisation.
The new grant has moved a major portion of NHI money from provinces back into the national health department's budget.
The department said this measure has been introduced to deal with underspending and weaknesses in the performance on these grants.
"The introduction of the national health grant results in large increases in payments for capital assets for infrastructure projects and goods and services for contractors, namely for general practitioners contracted to work in clinics and community health centres in pilot districts."


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Primitive Hall stands today in Pennsylvania's Chester County much as it did when it was constructed by Joseph Pennock in 1738. Located in the County's West Marlborough Township, the handsome manor house sits on what remains of the 1,250 acres of farmland owned by Pennock nearly 250 years ago.
The Primitive Hall Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to maintaining the manor house and its grounds as a historical monument for the benefit of the public. The Foundation's Board of Trustees, comprised of descendants of Joseph Pennock, completed the interior restoration of the manor house in 1976 and continue to accept tax-deductible contributions to help maintain Primitive Hall and its grounds.


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I tend to shy away from straight "information" articles- in other words, I've never written the "How Androgens Work" article, because I've read it several times by several authors, and I really have nothing to add. Gene Transcription and Androgen Receptor Action has been written about over, and over, ad nauseum. All of the articles I've read on the topic are well written and well- they're all the same. Don't get me wrong, all of the articles which discuss the topic are very informative, but when you're done reading them, you don't really have anything you can "use" in your next cycle.
And I'm sure you know the difference between orals and injectables, but do yourself a favor and read this article, because I'm going to explain some things in here that you can use in your next cycle. Actually, I'm going to explain how you can use Winstrol (Stanozolol) as either an oral or injectable, and get a very different set of effects from the same drug- depending on which route of administration you choose to utilize.
First, lets go over the basics of Winstrol, so we're all on the same page here.
Winstrol is a steroid derived from the base structure of Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is just testosterone which has been 5alpha-reduced, meaning it has had the c4-5 double bond removed by two hydrogen atoms. This is very interesting from a chemical/biological standpoint. Once this bond is removed, testosterone has become DHT, and DHT is the body's most potent androgen. DHT has a slew of beneficial effects which are more pronounced than the hormone it's created out of. DHT is able to increase androgen receptor proliferation for almost 24 full hours (1) DHT also has profound effects on the Central Nervous System (CNS), and this is why we often see profoundly increased aggression with athletes who are using DHT derivatives such as Masteron (which has a deceivingly low anabolic and androgenic rating). As an added benefit, DHT can not aromatize (convert via the aromatase enzyme) into estrogen. It's also noteworthy that the injectable version of Winstrol is actually the same exact thing as the oral- it's just micronized Stanozolol powder suspended in water (or sometimes oil).
So what we have in Winstrol is DHT with two modifications- an added c17 methylation, and a very weird "pyrazol" group. The c17 methylation has been added in order to allow Winstrol to survive oral ingestion and the subsequent first pass through the liver. The pyrazol group is a bit weirder- what this means to you and I is that it has another whole "ring" attached to the four ring Steran Nucleus of DHT. Take a look over at the lower left portion of the two molecules below, and you'll notice that Winstrol has an added cyclopentane (5 sided) group (the pyrazol group):
When we really take a look at Winstrol, the anabolic rating of this product is very high (320% that of testosterone) as compared to its androgenic actions (30% of testosterone). Despite this, Winstrol is really a disappointing drug for size gains. What we typically see with this stuff is some pretty decent strength gains and some nice fat loss if the user isn't too sloppy with their diet. Not many people report huge weight gains off of Stanozolol. Although many drugs which bind tightly to the androgen receptor are suspected to exhibit their at least some of their lipolytic (fat-burning) effects through receptor binding affinity. The effects of androgens on the regulation of lipolysis in adipose precursor cells.(2), Winstrol remains a potent cutting drug, despite the fact that it has a relatively weak AR binding ability (3). What this tells me is that there's some stuff going on with regards to Winstrol's mechanism of action, which doesn't involve androgen receptor mediated effects. Still, Winstrol is a very potent compound for enhancing protein synthesis (4-5 ) .
As previously discussed, it's derived from DHT, and DHT is known to have ant-estrogenic effects (6) and Winstrol itself also has anti-progestenic properties (in at least some cases, where it may "block" that receptor) (7). So I think it's safe to say that some of the "hard" look you can get in your physique from Winstrol is because of it's ability to inhibit estrogen and progesterone- known culprits in making a physique appear smooth. Unfortunately, since it is 17aa, it is also liver toxic, especially more so when you inject it and it is subject to what is known as the "first pass" through the liver. The difference between taking oral vs. injectable Winstrol, even though it's technically the same drug, is how and when your body metabolizes it. When you consume a drug orally, that drug is absorbed from the Gastrointestinal tract, where it then passes via the portal vein into the liver -where some drugs are metabolised. This "first pass" can mean that only a certain portion of the drug reaches your body's bloodstream. As previously discussed, a 17aa has been attached to Winstrol to allow a sizeable portion to survive this metabolism.
First pass metabolism can occur in both the gut and the liver, and where this happens can vary with different drugs. First pass metabolism actually occurs in your gut for some drugs and in the liver for others. Once it has been metabolized, it enters the bloodstream. It's important to note that when a blood is metabolized in the Gastrointestinal tract, the blood leaving the Gastrointestinal tract does not go right to the heart, but actually still passes through liver via the hepatic portal vein and then ultimately returns to circulation via the hepatic vein. The liver is your body's filtration unit, and removes large quantities of nutrients, dangerous toxins (or fun toxins, depending on what they are) and other substances from the blood.
So as you can see, when you take an oral steroid such as Winstrol, undergoes a first-pass metabolism in the both the intestines as well as liver. Some drugs can be absorbed more or less totally intact, after only moderate metabolic activity, while some are absorbed only after very extensive metabolic activity. Once it is through this first pass, a given drug then circulates in the blood until it is acquired by another tissue, such as skeletal muscle. Now, if the drug reaches the liver again, it may undergo what is cleverly known as "second-pass" metabolism. Of course, in the case of Winstrol, an injectable version is available, and when we compare the oral and injectable versions of Winstrol and their effects in your body, I think there's some surprising differences. The injectable is (naturally) put right into your bloodstream and only undergoes the far less extensive second pass metabolism, while the oral must endure the gut and liver on it's first pass before ending up in circulation.
Now, here's the interesting part: When you inject Winstrol, instead of taking it orally, you actually get more nitrogen retention (4) (and hence we can infer, more new muscle tissue is being built). SO if you are trying to use Winstrol to build new muscle tissue, the injectable version is going to be far superior to the Oral version. However, there are some advantages that the oral version has over the injectable, including a possible "synergy" with other drugs- but only (primarily) when taken orally.
While in the liver, on it's first pass, Winstrol is exposed to a variety of enzymes and proteins. To understand how a possible synergy between Winstrol and other steroids may be possible, a little background on Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) is first necessary. For our purposes here, all we need to know is that SHBG is a glycoprotein produced in the liver, which binds to testosterone and makes it biologically unavailable to do all the things we want it to do- like building muscle. It serves to transport testosterone throughout the body, but while it remains bound to testosterone, the testosterone can not exert it's anabolic effects.
As you can surmise, a very large portion of the testosterone in your body is bound to SHBG. Wouldn't it be great if we could lower SHBG? With Winstrol we can.
A fairly conservative oral dose of .2mg/kg of Winstrol has been shown to lower SHBG by close to 50%. (8)For me (200lbs) this would mean I would only need around 18mgs/day to free up half of my SHBG bound testosterone! For my omnipresent and hypothetical "100kg bodybuilder"- only 20mgs would be needed (he's 220 lbs for the metrically impaired among us). Now, with less SHBG floating around in me, my anabolic steroid cycle will be more effective, right? Right.
But why can we only expect such a dramatic lowering of SHBG with the oral? Well, obviously, we're taking advantage of the first pass through the liver, where we can have our Winstrol interact with SHBG where it's produced- in the liver…without going through the bloodstream first.
When we take a look at a study done comparing injectable vs. oral contraceptives, we find that the oral version at 70mgs/week (10mgs/day given orally) is more effective at affecting SHBG levels than 400mgs/week given via an injection! (9)In this study, testosterone undecanoate was given at a constant dose along with norestisterone (which raises SHBG). What we see is that when norestisterone is given orally, it produces a far greater effect on SHBG, than when it is administered via an injection. And this is even when the doses of the injectable are 4x higher!
Here's a chart, illustrating exactly what I'm talking about in this study, which I think suggests very strongly that injectable versions of drugs, when compared with the oral version, will have nowhere near as much of an effect on SHBG:
|Group I (Black Circles): Injections of 200 mg NETE at study wk 0, 6, 12, and 18 plus injections of 1000 mg TU at study wk 2, 6, 12, and 18 (T free window). Group II (White Diamonds): Injections of 1000 mg TU together with 400 mg NETE at study wk 0, 6, 12, and 18. Group III (Grey Squares): Injections of 1000 mg TU at study wk 0, 6, 12, and 18 combined with daily oral 10 mg norethisterone acetate (NETE) from week 0 to 24 (9)
Of course, in this study, they're looking at oral vs. injectable versions of a SHBG raising drug- but what we can take away from it is that SHBG interaction with oral compounds is far more pronounced than it is with injectables.
So lets take a small amount of Winstrol with our cycles, and free up some of those steroids we're taking, right? Right!
Unless of course, we're talking about women here…I was recently asked why I recommend that women use the injectable version of Winstrol over the oral. I was asked this question by someone, who I assumed had a female friend who was considering using Winstrol. I then realized I was totally incorrect- not about Winstrol, but about the reason behind the question. You see…I saw a picture of the man who had first asked me the question, and it's readily apparent to me that he probably doesn't actually know any women. But still, his question is valid and bears repeating and answering here.
I recommend that women avoid the oral version of this product for the same reason that men will find that it gives them an increased synergy and effectiveness in their cycles.
When SHBG is lowered in women, there is more free testosterone floating around. And as we've seen, the oral is going to affect SHBG exponentially more than the injectable will. When we lower SHBG too much in women, we see a strong positive correlation with hyperandrogenism (10 ), and hirsuitism (abnormal growth of body hair), as well In fact, non-SHBG-bound testosterone may actually be the defining characteristic for identifying hyperandrogenism in women. In addition, low SHBG contributes to menstrual irregularity.(11)
Finally, and (partially) anecdotally, we also see a greater incidence of clitoral enlargement and acne when the oral version of Winstrol is used by women instead of the injectable. The reasons for this are obvious- When we increase free testosterone by lowering SHBG, we increase the amount of testosterone which is able to be 5a-reduced to DHT. DHT is the primary culprit for steroid induced acne, and is also the hormone responsible for external genital enlargement. Clearly, this is why we see the increased level of clitoral hypertrophy as well as acne when oral Winstrol is used by women.
We can also see increased acne when men use Winstrol orally, but these effects are relatively minor when a 2mg/kg dose is being used to increase the effectiveness of other steroids in a cycle. This isn't carte blanche to go using Winstrol for an extended period of time under the excuse that it's increasing the overall effectiveness of the cycle. Stanozolol has some of the worst liver toxicity (hepatoxicity) of any oral steroid on a mg for mg basis. In addition, it's deleterious effects on your lipid profile (Cholesterol) are also very pronounced, even at low doses- 6mgs/day of Stanozolol can lower HDL (good cholesterol)by 33% and raise LDL (bad cholesterol) by 29% (12 ).
So, hopefully, you've reached the end of this article and realized that Winstrol can be used in any cycle to increase the effectiveness of it, but that it must be used sparingly due to it's possible hepatoxicity and lipid profile effecting properties. Still, when used in heavy testosterone-based profiles, at a dose that will cut your SHBG levels in half, it can increase you other steroids effectiveness quite a bit…but when maximal protein synthesis is wanted, you need to inject it.
There you go…the differences between oral and injectable Winstrol, and how you can use either form to maximize your gains! And yes, Lyle, you can drink Winny
Neural Androgen Receptor Regulation: effects of androgen and antiandrogen. Lu S, Simon NG, Wang Y, Hu S, J Neurobiol 1999 Dec; 41(4):505-12
Endocrinology. 1990 Feb;126(2):1229-34. Xu X, De Pergola G, Bjorntorp P
Endocrinology. 1984 Jun;114(6):2100-6.
Can J Vet Res. 2000 Oct;64(4):246-8.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1997 Sep 15;211(6):719-22
MacDonald PC, Madden JD, Brenner PF, Wilson JD, Siiteri PK 1979 Origin of estrogen in normal men and in women with testicular feminization. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 49:905–916
Agents Actions. 1994 Mar;41(1-2):37-43.
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin response to the Anabolic steroid: Stanozolol: Evidence for its suitability as a Biological Androgen Sensitivity test. J Clin Metab Endocrinol 68: 1195, 1989)
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 87,No. 2 530-539. An Effective Hormonal Male Contraceptive Using Testosterone Undecanoate with Oral or Injectable Norethisterone Preparations Axel Kamischke, Tanja Heuermann, Kathrin Krüger, Sigrid von Eckardstein, Ilka Schellschmidt, Alexander Rübig and Eberhard Nieschlag Institute of Reproductive Medicine of the University (A.K., T.H., K.K., S.V.E., E.N.), D-48129 Münster, Germany; and Schering AG (I.S., A.R.), D-13342 Berlin, Germany
Non-sex hormone-binding globulin-bound testosterone as a marker for hyperandrogenism DC Cumming and SR Wall J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., Nov 1985; 61: 873 – 876.
Menstrual Irregularity in Women with Acromegaly G. A. Kaltsas, J. J. Mukherjee, P. J. Jenkins, M. A. Satta, N. Islam, J. P. Monson, G. M. Besser, and A. B. GrossmanJ. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., Aug 1999; 84: 2731 – 2735
JAMA. 1989 Feb 24;261(8):1165-8


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By Rick Eymer
Palo Alto Online Sports
History shows that October 6 holds special significance for the Stanford football program as the perhaps the most memorable date.
The team's 2007 upset of No. 2 ranked USC -- now recognized as one of the greatest college football upsets of all time -- cemented that date as the most hallowed one on the Stanford football calendar.
In the past 40 years, not only has Stanford won each time it has played a football game on October 6, the nature of each Cardinal win on that date has been truly remarkable.
Stanford hopes to add to that legacy this Saturday in its homecoming game against Arizona in Stanford Stadium at noon.
For No. 18 Stanford (1-1, 3-1) to make it a memorable day again, quarterback Josh Nunes, tight end Levine Toilolo and wide receiver Ty Montgomery will need rebound games. All three are more than capable of responding with huge games.
Stanford, however, will have to be much better than it was in last week's 17-13 Pac-12 Conference loss at Washington, a setback Cardinal coach David Shaw said belonged to everybody.
"It's time we put it all together," Shaw said. "We will go back to work and put guys in position to succeed. We have to throw the ball and we have to catch the ball. It's as simple as that."
Nunes completed less than 50 percent of his passes against the Huskies, though there were several dropped passes, particularly deep throws to Toilolo and Montgomery.
"Every ball he threw down field was perfect, except one," Shaw said. "It's not anything Josh can't do and hasn't done thousand times. It's a two minute conversation. He missed one downfield throw, the last one of the game. He has a 6-8 guy he has a wide range of options there. One thing he can't do is throw it too far down field."
Nunes says its simply a matter of throwing the ball better.
"We're definitely close," he said. "The pass protection was really good in the game. It's just a matter of upping our completion percentage. It is something very fixable. I just need to throw it better. I just have to get settled in early."
The 6-8 Toilolo managed one reception, and also fumbled. Montgomery caught six passes, but for only 39 yards. Both receivers are supposed to be deep threats capable of catching passes in a crowded end zone.
"We can't have as many three and outs as we had (Stanford converted five of 18 third downs against Washington). We want to be a team that can really march down the field," Nunes said. There is a mood of urgency but not to the point we need to rush or overcompensate."
A victory over Arizona would erase any doubts lingering about a team that has BCS bowl game expectations. There's still plenty of time to make a mark.
The Wildcats (0-2, 3-2) are coming off a wild 38-35 loss to Oregon State and have their own history against Stanford. Until Washington held the Cardinal offense to zero touchdowns, it was Arizona, in 2006, which had that distinction.
Arizona also held Stanford to its lowest offensive output in school history (52 yards) that year.
It's been a lot different in recent years. The teams combined for over 1,000 yards in Arizona's win three years ago. Stanford dominated the past two years to the tune of a combined 79-27 score. Andrew Luck threw for a combined 618 yards.
While history says October 6 provides memorable games for Stanford, the Cardinal is looking for a victory on Saturday any way it can get it -- especially after the disappointing effort in Seattle.
"It's not the end of the world," Stanford senior nose guard Terrence Stephens said. "After a loss you get up and be a man about it. You don't sulk it. There's no room to step backward."
That was a sentiment shared by most of his teammates.
"You come back every single week and you have to play another game. You have to prepare the next week like you did before," Cardinal linebacker Shayne Skov said. "We have been a sound team."
And what about this Arizona team? The Wildcats average nearly 35 points a game and 538.2 offensive yards per contest.
"They do a good job keeping the ball between the running back and the quarterback," Skov said. "It's a little annoying when teams are going sideline to sideline. It's like basketball on grass."
Senior tight end Zach Ertz continues to be a shining light after recording a career-high 106 yards on six catches against the Huskies. He's the team leader with 15 receptions (with Montgomery) and 252 reception yards.
There's nothing wrong with Stanford's defense either. It still leads the Pac -12 in rushing defense (65.2) and is second in scoring defense (15.2).


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Here is the minor league recap for August 5, 2012.
In an up and down game the AZL Cubs wound up on the losing end dropping Sunday's game 8-6. In his first start Duane Underwood struggled big time giving up four runs, three earned in just .1 innings and just like that the Cubs were down 4-0. Over the next three innings the Cubs offense would come to life scoring six runs. Ben Carhart was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jacob Rogers and David Bote had a hit and each drove two runs as well. Top prospect Albert Almora was 1-for-5 and Carlos Penalver drove a run home. Leading 6-4 the Cubs turned it over the bullpen and after Brian Smith calmed things down, Ethan Elias really struggled giving up four runs over three innings. Steve Perakslis and Chad Martin combined to pitch the last three innings holding the Giants scorelss. After being down early and then taking the lead it is definitely tough to not come out on top of this one.
Just when it looked like Boise was going to cruise to an easy win a five run seventh happened to tie the game at nine. Luckily for Boise Daniel Vogelbach wasn't going to let this one slip away as he connected for a game winning home run in the top of the 11th. Lance Rymel had qutie the night on Sunday going 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. Trey Martin and Marco Hernandez each had three hits with Martin driving in two runs. Izaac Garsez had his best game yet, going 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Wilson Contreras had two hits and scored three runs and Stephen Bruno added a hit and two RBIs. Ian Dickson started and took a no decision as he gave up three runs on three hits in five innings. Hunter Ackerman and Rafael Diplan did not have there best days combining to giving up six runs, five earned in just two innings. Su-Min Jung recorded his first win of the season and Eduardo Orozco closed it out earning his second save. Wow, was it a crazy game on Sunday, luckily for us the Hawks took the W.
Clinton scored two in the eighth to defeat Peoria 3-2. Michael Jensen started and pitched well allowing one run on five hits, while striking out four in five innings pitched. Sheldon McDonald pick up right were he left off striking out three in two scoreless innings. Austin Reed, however was not very good on Sunday giving up two runs in two innings and taking the loss. Not much happening on the offensive side as the Chiefs only had five hits. With the promotion of Javier Baez, Timothy Saunders was sent to Peoria and he ended the game 1-for-4 with a double. Yanel Cabezas had a double as well as an RBI. Wes Darvill, Sergio Burruel, and Oliver Zapata all had one hit a piece in the loss.
Daytona dropped another one Dunedin on Sunday losing 4-2. Christian Villanueva was the only Cubs player with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-4 in the loss. Rubi Silva had a hit and drove in John Andreoli who also had a run scored. Rebel Ridling, Rafael Lopez, and Micah Gibbs all had one hit, with Ridling scoring a run. PJ Francescon started and gave up two runs in two innings, striking out four. Frank Del Valle also gave up two runs, but did strike out five in his four innings of relief. Ryan Searl thew the last two innings not allowing a run and striking one out. Javier Baez struggled again in his second game with Daytona going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. It is not the way wanted to start and it is not the way Daytona wanted things to go this weekend.
After being up early, Tennessee tied it in the seventh, only to lose it in the bottom of the ninth 5-4. Jutin Bour had a nice game going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, bringing his season total to 92. Nelson Perez added two hits including his fifth home run of the season and Matt Cerda also had two hits on the evening. Logan Watkins and Nate Samson each had a hit and Watkins scored a run and stole his 21st base of the season. Eric Jokisch started, but did not factor in the decision pitching five innings and giving up three runs, while striking out six. Brian Schlitter took the loss giving up the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
Iowa gave up one in each the eighth and the ninth to lose to Reno 2-1. The bright spot on Sunday was Casey Coleman. He pitched outstanding going six innings allowing no runs on two hits and striking out eight. Jay Jackson pitched a scoreless seventh striking out one batter. Marcus Hatley and Esmailin Caridad each gave up a run and Caridad took the loss. Well it happened to Iowa again on Sunday, this time losing Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters to the big club. Diory Hernandez was 1-for-3 with the Cubs only RBI. Greg Rohan stayed hot going 1-for-4 in the loss. There isn't much exciting happening in Iowa right now and with the departures of Jackson, Vitters, Welington Castillo, and Adrian Cardenas thing probably will continue to be a struggle.
Thanks for Reading,


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Technology's economic renaissance is also leading to a boom, version 2.0, in real estate.
Thank you, Apple.
The Silicon Valley giant is leading the "biggest leasing surge" since the first dot-com boom, as Apple is the leading lessor of 2.7 million square feet in new office space, according to Bloomberg News.
Rents are increasing to an average of $36 per square foot, propelling the market six-fold from a record low in 2009, the news network reported.
Apple, the world's most valuable company, has leased more than 1 million square feet of space in Sunnyvale, Bloomberg reported, and may soon rent another 700,000 square feet.
The market is responding: office vacancy in Sunnyvale declined to 16.3 percent in the fourth quarter and rents rose 18 percent from a year earlier to $45.60 a square foot, according to data from real estate data-crunchers Cassidy Turley.
In Santa Clara, rents increased 11 percent to $24 a square foot, while vacancy fell to 21.5 percent from 22.3 percent, Bloomberg reported.
This may not last forever: Apple plans to build a 2.8 million square foot headquarters in Cupertino, which when completed would be one of the world's biggest office buildings.


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Coming soon
Golden Yoga & Healing Arts is a family focused yoga and healing center, in Golden, Colorado, ready to help you with all aspects of your healing journey. It does not matter if your healing journey began with an injury, illness or just life, we have something for everyone in your family. Come in, experience the space, take a class, or make an appointment with one of our Healing Practitioners and begin your journey with us.


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Join us for a free tour of the labor and delivery area, postpartum unit and newborn nursery. Please note: For those couples taking the one-day or three-week prepared childbirth class, the tour is already included with your class (except Lankenau). The tour is not included in the two-week accelerated prepared childbirth series.
For the comfort and safety of the new moms and babies at the hospital, we cannot accept walk-ins for tours. You must register ahead of time. This tour is intended for the expectant mother and one support person.
- There are no children permitted on the tour.
- One registry per couple. Please use the expectant mothers name only.
- Please allow ample time for parking and arrival to the lobby. The tour will leave promptly at the scheduled time and we are unable to accommodate late arrivals.
Childbirth education classes are offered to clients delivering their baby at a Main Line Health hospital: Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr, Paoli and Riddle hospitals.
Registration fees for Main Line Health maternity education programs may be eligible for reimbursement from your insurance plan. Please check you plan benefits for more information.


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Demand for new land to grow crops could lead to the conversion of natural areas close to the size of Brazil by 2050, potentially exceeding the level beyond which there is a risk of irreversible and abrupt environmental change, a U.N. report warns
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Demand for new land to grow crops could lead to the conversion of natural areas close to the size of Brazil by 2050, potentially exceeding the level beyond which there is a risk of irreversible and abrupt environmental change, a U.N. report said on Friday.
The need to feed the planet's fast-growing population led cropland to expand 11 percent between 1961 and 2007, at the expense of savannah, grassland and forests, the report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said. Environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity now affect an estimated 23 percent of the world's soils.
"Recognising that land is a finite resource, we need to become more efficient in the ways we produce, supply and consume," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a statement. "We must be able to define and adhere to the boundaries within which the world can safely operate to save millions of hectares by 2050."
A shift to more protein-rich diets in developing countries and growing demand for biofuels and other bio-materials, especially in developed countries, are increasing demand for land, the report said.
"As demand grows, the price for land and derived products will increase, with potentially negative consequences for food security," the report warned.
The global cropland area could safely rise to 1,640 million hectares from around 1,500 million now. But by 2050, under business-as-usual conditions, expected land demand will overshoot safe limits, and an additional 320 million to 849 million hectares of natural land may be converted to grow crops, the report calculated, well above the 164 million considered safe.
The expansion of urban areas is also a problem, with up to 5 percent of global land (around 15 billion hectares) expected to be covered by built-up areas by 2050, it said. These often expand at the expense of agricultural land, and agricultural land expands at the expense of forests, especially in tropical regions, it noted.
The report, launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, was produced by the International Resource Panel, a consortium of 27 resource scientists, 33 national governments and other groups hosted by UNEP.
The study tracks land use for domestic consumption in countries and regions, indicating whether they have gone beyond a "safe operating space" (SOS). This denotes the tipping point at which the risk of irreversible damage – through loss of biodiversity and fertile soils, release of carbon dioxide, and the disruption of water and nutrient cycles – becomes unacceptable.
For example, in the European Union, 0.31 hectares per person were needed in 2007 - a quarter more than what is domestically available in the region, and one third more than the globally available cropland per person.
"It's clear that developed nations are taking more than our fair share of the world's available land," said Michael Warhurst, a resource use campaigner with Friends of the Earth. "To cut Europe's land use by a third, as the report says is necessary. We need to reduce our consumption of meat and dairy products and not use more land for biofuels or biomass."
In a foreword to the report, UNEP's Steiner said growth in cropland cannot be controlled by increasing yields alone, which have started to stagnate in some regions. He pointed to "new opportunities to steer consumption towards levels of sustainability, particularly in high-consuming regions".
Between 161 million and 319 million hectares of land could be saved by 2050, the report said, if the world followed measures including:
- planning land use to minimise expansion of built-up areas on fertile soils
- investing in the restoration of degraded land
- improving farming practices to boost yields in an ecologically and socially acceptable way
- cutting food waste and shifting towards more vegetable-based diets
- reducing subsidies for biofuel crops and phasing out biofuel quotas in consuming countries
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Now with integrated process connections and evaluation electronics
Extremely fast, robust and flexible
The compact TN type temperature sensors are distinguished by excellent response times, high pressure resistance and integrated process connections. The sensors easily resist applications with temperatures up to 150 °C and high pressure loads up to 400 bar. The measuring range is freely scalable.
Updating a classic
What is new is the quick and easy handling via three pushbuttons. The display can be switched from the indication of "red" to an alternating indication of "red - green". So, switching states can be highlighted or an independent colour window can be created. The sensor head can be rotated and offers optimum readability from any position. Thanks to captive laser labelling on the stainless steel housing, the units can still be identified after years.
Savings potential
Evaluation electronics and integrated process connections in one unit do not require complex documentation and save storage cost.


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The Vandalia Drummer News encourages readers to write letters to the editor:
• Letters should be typed, or printed legibly, signed and include current address and daytime phone number of the author. Full addresses will not be published. Form and anonymous letters will not be accepted.
• Letters to the editor must be 350 words or less. Deadline for letters is 9 a.m. the Friday before publication. Letter writers have a limit of two published letters every 30 days.
• Letters will be verified by the newspaper via telephone. The newspaper reserves the right to edit for length, style and grammar and to limit the number of letters on a specific topic.
• If content is libelous or misleading, letters will not be printed. For letters that include claims that are not a matter of public record, the burden of proof of the claim(s) fall upon the letter writer.
• Election letters will be published prior to the election, but not the week/day before the election, that issue is reserved for the newspaper's endorsements.
• Opinions of letter writers or columnists are those of the author only. They do not represent the opinion of the staff and management of AIM Media Midwest or the Vandalia Drummer News.
Send letters to 694 W. National Road, Vandalia, OH 45377 or email@example.com.


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IIES researchers receive funding for project on teamwork and gender discrimination
Several researchers at the IIES have received funding for a project looking at how the prevalence of teamwork contributes to gender discrimination in the labor market.
Ingvild Almås, Serena Cocciolo and Jonathan de Quidt from the IIES, together with Anna Sandberg (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University), have received a grant of 300 000 SEK from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Kungliga Vetenskapsakademin) for their project "Gender Discrimination in the Evaluation of Teamwork".
One question the project aims to answer is whether gender discrimination increases in settings where employees work in teams compared to individual work arrangements. Most previous research on gender discrimination in the labor market has focused on individual work settings. However, production arrangements in most industries are shifting towards teamwork.
While teamwork may increase productivity and worker satisfaction, one potential downside is the difficulty of observing each team member's contribution to the team's joint output. Thus, teamwork may leave more room for gender stereotypes and discrimination to influence hiring and promotion decisions. The aim of this project is to explore how the prevalence of teamwork contributes to economic gender gaps.
Last updated:
December 6, 2018
Page editor: Michaela De Verdier
Source: IIES


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Man's 8-Month Erection Is Even More Ridiculous Than It Sounds
Unlike the 'Star Wars' series, an erection should eventually end.
A 44-year-old truck driver from Newark, Delaware named Daniel Metzgar has gone to court seeking unspecified damages after a botched penile implant in 2009 left him with a woody that lasted eight months. That's right – his stiffie almost went full term.
The boner proved so problematic Metzgar even had trouble getting his newspaper in the morning, which is ridiculous, because who the hell still gets a newspaper.
After the surgery, Metzgar's scrotum ballooned to the size of a volleyball, which probably made it an ordeal to get behind the wheel of his big rig. Metzgar, though, was under the impression his fun bag may enlarge like a bag of microwave popcorn, so he waited a few months before seeking help.
Metzgar, who is married, sought to have the implant removed, but he lost his insurance after the procedure and didn't have the 10 grand needed to pay for it, which resulted in the ultimate irony: he needed to raise funds so he could stop raising his unit. Kickstarter?
He wound up getting the device removed in 2010 after his scrotum burst during a family trip to Niagara Falls (and you thought the most embarrassing thing your dad did on vacation was wear socks and sandals). He has since gotten a different device, but the damage has been done. Scars from the initial procedure have made his winkie half as big and he claims he no longer gets the same pleasure he once did.
While testifying, Metzgar proved his 'nads are as big as his third leg was when he said, "I could hardly dance, with an erection poking my partner." And his other gem: "It's not something you want to bring out at parties and show to friends."
Well, depending on the party, maybe you do.


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Our FIT heat-shrink tubing offers a reliable way to protect and seal terminations or add additional mechanical ruggedness. FIT preferred heatshrink products are made from premium compounds under the tightest manufacturing controls. This means FIT will consistently have excellent physical characteristics such as low longitudinal shrinkage and wide temperature ranges while providing an elegant appearance when used alone or on OEM equipment.
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- Permits
- Midwest Endangered Species Home
- Applying for a Permit
- Choosing the Right Permit
- HCPs and Incidental Take Permits
- Midwest HCPs
- Enhancement of Survival Permits
Endangered Species Program
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species program is conserving and restoring threatened and endangered species and their ecosystems.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in the Midwest
The Midwest Region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Find a location near you »
Endangered Species Permits
Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA)
A Candidate Conservation Agreement is a formal agreement between the Service and one or more parties to address the conservation needs of proposed or candidate species, or species likely to become candidates, before they become listed as endangered or threatened. Landowners voluntarily commit to conservation actions that will help stabilize or restore the species with the goal that listing will become unnecessary.
Candidate Conservation Agreements encourage conservation actions for species that are candidates for listing as threatened or endangered, or are likely to become candidates. The goal is that conservation can preclude the need for federal listing as threatened or endangered or can occur before the species status has become so dire that listing is necessary. Although a single property owner's activities may not eliminate the need to list, conservation, if conducted by enough property owners throughout the species' range, can eliminate the need to list.
Benefits to Landowners
Candidate Conservation Agreements may benefit landowners in several ways. First, if the actions preclude listing, the landowner is not regulated by the Endangered Species Act. Second, if the conservation actions are not sufficient and the species is listed, the Agreement automatically becomes a permit authorizing the landowner incidental take of the species. Thus, the agreements provide landowners with assurances that their conservation efforts will not result in future regulatory obligations in excess of those they agree to at the time they enter into the Agreement. Third, for landowners who want to conserve the species or want to manage habitat on their land, the Agreement provides an avenue to potential federal or state cost-share programs.
Directions for Preparing a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances
Frequently Asked Questions about Candidate Conservation Agreements
An example Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances: Eastern Massasauga on Rome Nature Preserve in Ashtabula County, Ohio


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Learn how to set up your Workspace Email account on Outlook 2016. Then you can send and receive business emails from Outlook on your Windows computer.This article is for Workspace Email only, for Office 365, see Set up my Office 365 email on Outlook 2016 (Windows);.
- Open Outlook 2016, click File then + Add Account. (Learn how to install Outlook 2016.)
- On the Auto Account Setup page, confirm that the E-mail Account is selected.
- Enter your account details in the fields provided.
Field What to enter… Your Name The name you want to display as your sender name. Email Address Your Workspace Email account address. Password Your Workspace Email account password. Re-type Password Your email account password.
- Click Next, Outlook will use Auto Account Setup to find your account server details, and set up your account. You will see check marks appear next to each line, and then a message that your account is successfully configured.
Note: If the Auto Account Setup tool can't add your account, you may need to manually configure it.
- Click Finish.
- Confirm your email is working by sending yourself a test email from your webmail and responding to it from Outlook 2016.
Next steps
More info


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LaTuaModa is an outlet of Lingerie online linked to the world of the big brands, always looking for different forms of creative and always attentive to new trends, styles and cultures that characterize the luxury fashion.
Looking for a stylish watch to give to your man? We recommend you Emporio Armani, Calvin Klein, Timex, Dolce & Gabbana and the evergreen Casio, with its vintage vein or, if your man is an athlete, without doubt Sector.
Clothing section is constantly evolving, so there is always great deals on coats, jackets and parkas. If you do not fear the cold that comes and goes, you can concentrate on discounts outlets that we have dedicated to pole, the shirts and jeans.
If you give a little bit, or better yet a shade of gray to your love life our "Lingerie" section is perfect for you, with everything you need to achieve in the most sensual and erotic way all your smaller fantasy, safeguarding your privacy, in fact you can take advantage of our anonymous shipments if you like.
As the official dealer of each producer included in our store, the authenticity of each product is guaranteed, and is complete with original box and tag.


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Avengers assemble! Well, actually you have a little more time to munch on some shawarma, but keep your super-suits close by, as the highly anticipated sequel to the billion-dollar box office juggernaut officially has a release date.
Walt Disney Studios announced today that Marvel Studios will release the follow-up to Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson's superhero ensemble film on May 1, 2015.
It was recently announced that director Joss Whedon, the man behind the first film, will not only return to write and direct the Avengers sequel, but will also help develop a Marvel-centric show for ABC.
U.S. & World
Read all about how Robert Downey Jr. injured himself on the set of Iron Man 3!
And if May 2015 seems like eons away, don't go all evil Loki on us. Because you'll have plenty of super-romps to hold you over until then, including Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier as well as Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014.
And the 2015 release date officially pits Avengers 2 against what's speculated to be the release date for the long-awaited Justice League ensemble. Get ready for one heck of a super summer, folks!


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Current Law Students / Re: Anybody use ROM Law?« on: March 23, 2006, 07:27:46 AM »
Just thought I would update this topic. I've used romlaw for the last 6 months and it is great. They have briefs for most major text books. While the briefs aren't perfect, they are normally pretty good. And, they also allow you to copy paste, so you can just copy them into your notes.


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NEWINGTON — USA Training Centers, USA Mavericks and Seacoast Mavericks, part of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, have announced the addition of Dave Adam to the staff.
A 1994 graduate from Central Connecticut State University, Dave was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 1990 MLB Draft. He joined the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Houston Astros in the spring of 1998. In July 1998, Dave pitched in Mexico for the Mexico City Tigres. Adam finished his career in the Atlantic League with the Bridgeport Bluefish from 1999-2000 and led the league in saves as well as winning the Atlantic League Championship in 1999.
From 2001 to 2005 he worked as an associate scout for the Pittsburg Pirates. Locally in 2001-02 he was the assistant coach for Oyster River High School. In 2002-03 he was the head coach for Hesser College in Manchester. From 2004 until 2011, Dave was the head coach at Newmarket High School. He was named Foster's Daily Democrat Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2008, where he led the Newmarket Mules to the state finals. Dave Adam is currently the owner of the Seacoast Fall Baseball League and Strike Three Baseball.
"What Dave brings to our program is his wealth of experience as well as a ton of gathered information from the best research available," Mavericks' owner Dave Hoyt said. "He has the ability to deliver that knowledge to the Maverick pitchers and staff. We are thrilled to have him. With regard to management and operations, this will greatly benefit USA Training Centers, USA Mavericks Club, and the Seacoast Mavericks moving forward."
"Joining the Mavericks program is an opportunity to work exclusively with pitchers and continue to develop a pitching program that is up to date with technology and current training methods with a larger number of players," Adam said. "It also gives me a chance to teach pitching on the New Hampshire Seacoast where I started 12 years ago."


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Lee68 necesitaba un nuevo diseño de impreso o envases y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 12 diseños de 2 diseñadores freelance.
Master Forex Course
I'm the managing director of Tradingcollege.co.uk
We are in the process of creating many products and we want a professional look.
A DVD cover design and DVD design.
Its a forex course so we need it branded with some sort of Currency image For example
DVD Case:
' Master Forex Course'
3 day event with live markets
Image or design
'Presented by Trading College
on the back of the DVD we require Copyright 2010 LeesandfordLtd. All rights reserved
Also on back of DVD case we require a list of Course content
We require a high quality design
Section 1 Forex Basics and
Section 2 Planing for a days money
Strategy 1: London Morning Breakout
Strategy 2: Wake up and trade
Strategy 3: Euro Scalper
Section 3 Using the Wave Principle for Day Trading
Section 4 Automate your Trading
Section 5 Money Management
Section 6 Further strategies
Strategy 4 GBP overnight Range Break
Strategy 5 Scalping the British pound Futures
Strategy 6 Take the Reversal
Strategy 7 Trade the News
Strategy 8 Working with Pro-Floor Pivots
Strategy 9 Working with Fibonacci
Section 6 Swing Trading
Strategy 1 Pro-squeeze and Pro-trend Combination
Strategy 2 The Ultimate Reversal
Strategy 3 Investment Strategy
Strategy 4 Working with Floor pivots for Swing Trading
We need some technical advice on how to get design onto a DVD. we do have our own DVD printer