text:
The Big Picture: Conspiracy Weary
Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NEXT
Rather then assume conspiracy theories are all false, OR assume their all true, I do neither and go solely on information and facts. 'Assuming' either way are just as bad as each other.
Being automatically 'pro-conspiracy' might make you a wild-eyed nut job, but sorry Bob, being automatically 'anti-conspiracy' says you shouldn't question certain things, NOTHING should be immune to questioning.
I'd like this video more but I don't believe for a second that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated JFK by himself.
Why Bob? Why are you doing this to me! A perfect episode and then you blew it all with "global warming is real". What is scarier? The actions of humans causing global warming or it just happens and we can do nothing about it? Science trys to prove it but there is not enough evidence to stand right there and say: "Global warming is real.". Polecaps are melting. I can go with that. Weather phenomena which we are observating for some time now are changing. I can live with that. But it has to be: "Global warming is real." A sentence to which more poltical discussion sticks to than scientific evidence.
Only a Sith deals in absolutes.....wait a second
Hilarious video. You know, the main problem of conspiracy theorists is they can't make such funny videos. Everything is too serious for them. Otherwise, many 'conspiracy' 'theories' make a lot of sense. I mean sure, most governments are led by phenomenal idiots and everyone knows that, yet there ARE people who pull the strings from behind. We who live in post-communist countries know that very well. Just USAns don't.
So, conspiracy people, please hire some comedians to present your views! You'll be taken more seriously! Thanks!
Hmmm....I've never looked at conspiracy theories as Religions before, but it DOES actually make a lot of sense that argument. No wonder why fighting conspiracy theorist trolls is as tiresome as fighting preaching fanatic trolls.
Good Vid Bob.
I agree with everything you said, but I am still a sucker for a good alien conspiracy. I know they are all crap, but I just can't turn away. I have watched more videos on UFOs than a sane person should admit to. I blame it all on Star Trek and the X-Files.
I watched this expecting a biased video and I certainly got one. Few facts, heavy bias, already decided all conspiracy theories are lies. Here's a quote from the XKCD comic (post #36 http://xkcd.com/258/)
I think for most genuinely out there, nutty tinfoil hatters, the fact that dozens of eyewitnesses claimed to hear more gunshots than were reported and that the film showed JFK's head moving counter-intuitivley from the reported direction of the gunshot has more to do with their suspicions than him being a president.
BTW I'm neither pro or anti conspiracy theory.
being a Swiss (therefore forever neutral and controversial), i couldn't notice you not mentioning the 9/11 twin towers conspiracy... (unless you lost someone that day, in which case, I truly apologize and am REALLY sorry) so what about it? I am pretty sure this kind of comment is doomed to be moderated, but still...
I think there needs to be a big picture on idealism (creating ideals like justice, gods, etc) and humanity. Its been touched on like twice now and would make an interesting one.
The hell?
Um, yes. I think it's fake because it's an inherently irrational idea. Gloabl Climate Change is real, yes, but so are bowel movements. I don't think it's human-caused.
I believe it's just a "warming cycle" that will end.
The only reason so many people believe in it is because they want to feel smart, in my opinion.
No, it's your culture.
Sometimes people get emotionally disturbed by words, no matter how true they are, and get agressive at you. If apologies can calm you, I apologize for what I said.
I truly doublt it, but let's test that: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.258004-The-Big-Picture-Conspiracy-Weary?page=2#9705465
Before claiming to be smarter than someone, you should probably check your spelling.
Regardless, I'm not going to get into some sort of "Internet Tough Guy" scenario with you. It's pointless and only would lower me to your level of name-calling and mudslinging. I'm comfortable that the argument you present is the most compelling evidence that you're wrong.
You see, this is WHY conspiracy theories are so comforting. I know I'd rather believe that Bush was installed as President by a small cabal of evil old rich ugly white men than acknowledge the possibility that he got legitimately elected, TWICE. That thought that this is actually what a statistically significant portion of my country WANTS in a president is enough to make a nice hot cup of hemlock sound pretty appetizing. :-P
Do you live in England? Once the climate change wrecks the Gulf Stream, they're going to freeze solid.
Religion and Conspiracy Theories have the same big three draws for people:
Ok, so what's all these climatologists, ecologists, and so on's motivation for the biggest deliberate scientific fraud since Darwin decided to fake evolution? Or are all these college types just such idiots they can't see the Obvious Facts that your omniscient Gut has bestowed upon you?
A video that amounts to a hit on the right side of the political spectrum posted on a website that leans very hard to left? Say it ain't so, Bob!
Have you looked into the Church of the SubGenius? More horrifying aliens than the entire Star Trek franchise, from the TechnoMutilator Yacatisma to the Advanced Aluminum Supersonic Nazi Hell Creatures from within the Hollow Earth!
(I'm pretty sure the Space Lizards are in there somewhere, but they're pretty far down the Cosmic Food Chain.)
9/11 conspiracy nuts tend to be 'liberal', in my experience.
Which are you crying about?
Interesting stuff.
The 9/11 Truthers would have made a better target for Iraq War-related conspiracy theory, though. That the Bush Administration lied about WMD in Iraq is plentifully in evidence and was before that war; what nobody anticipated was that they had lied most energetically to themselves. They weren't "fooled" by Saddam Hussein; they started out with a theory and then made sure that all the information the White House received fit that theory, and actively tried to discredit sources -- be they in the State Department, the CIA, the UN, whatever -- who disagreed with them. That isn't conspiracy theory; it's just pathetic, deluded mismanagement, what the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company would act like if it was put in charge of a nuclear power. Cheney and Bush weren't Darths Sidious and Vader; they were Dwight and Michael.
The real conspiracy theories around WMD in Iraq were all focused on trying to avoid facing this fact, especially among the diehards of Bush's own party. For the longest time, these conspiracy theorists were gamely trying to keep the myth of Iraq's secret WMD pipeline to Syria on life support, mostly on the strength of lurid tales told by Iraqis in exchange for a little time-out from the naked human pyramid calisthenics in Abu Ghraib. The Librul Media of course was Covering Up this Startling Revelation.
More recently, the Librul Media has been Covering Up the Startling Revelation that the WikiLeaks disclosures -- which reveal reports of various scraps of the defunct Iraqi weapons program cropping up from time to time -- in fact totally vindicated George Bush and the rationale for the war. Wingnuttia is abuzz with this so-called news. (None of them can quite explain why, if this was true, Bush himself never mentioned anything about it... but never mind.)
Last I recall, Bob didn't touch on the 9/11 deal. Don't be stupid and try to keep up, like reading comprehension, it's good for you.
Another great show Bob, though am I the only one who really wants to see a movie about Kindergarten Cop taking a hit out on Master Chief?
I love how you say all the conspiracy are bs then you say global warming is real. I lol'd
I stand corrected. 9/11's been mentioned so often in this thread I misremembered.
But the Bush administration really DID blow it with Iraq, you've got to admit. And the SCARYMUSLIM whackoes are embarrassing themselves.
You obviously misunderstood me, nobody is forcing anybody to watch anything, but it's poor taste for anybody to come out and say, look people, I'm right, you're wrong, now think like me.
What part of physics don't you understand? The climate changing is a fact. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is higher now than it's been in the last 500,000 years is a fact. Feel free to argue about the correlation between those two things, but I think I'll be naive and believe the folks who study this stuff for a living over some oil company flack.
Pragmatically, most of the things we'd have to do to slow down anthropogenic global climate change are things we OUGHT to be doing anyway to fix our screwed-up industrial culture. I understand why this scares some people - what if we reduce commutes, make cities more convenient for carless folks, clean up the air, and get off of our addiction to foreign oil, and it turns out it was ALL FOR NOTHING?!?
there are as many people who believe in it as there are who don't think it exist, there isn't just a small group of people who say its all lies. Also the fact that it really doesn't matter. It exists, we spend tons of money trying to fix it and maybe we do maybe we don't. It doesn't exist we just wasted billions of dollars becoming hippies for no real good reason.
I don't care if its there or not. the fact of the matter is I don't see it killing off all of mankind in my life time and hey if I am wrong it dose thats freaking sweet I get to see the death of mankind, the fact of the matter is unless it makes the world explode the world is going to recover. sure we might not be part of it but hey looking at all the BS bob just gave I don't see that as a bad thing.
I think I'll go drive around in a hummer to speed things up
Neither I, nor the majority of visitors I imagine, come to the Escapist for an extra dose of poisonous political jaw flapping.
Come on, "The Escapist", and an article that opens up with how the author goes to the trouble to escape the negatives of reality. Yet, here comes the American politics. Really?
I know not to waste my time with Bob any more and bet I'm far from alone in that conclusion.
This video is a "yes" and ends with a "but", or a "true" and ends with a "yet". You have to understand that not everything is a conspiracy but there are times when things do happen because it was a calculated nutshell. I do believe that Obama is someone from the terrist groups, however he does have a "boss" that he does answers to; and no it's not the people of USA.
I am still waiting for a clear video from a security camera showing the alleged Boeing 757 that hit the Pentagon. Just one such video is enough to make all 9/11 truthers shut up forever, but such video will never appear, because the object that hit the Pentagon isn't a Boeing 757. Think about it. While you think about it, you can also think about why there weren't any alarms in the Pentagon, for the entirety of 34 minutes after the second plane hit the WTC, and it was obvious there's an attack going on? I live on the other side of the planet but I was watching CNN 20 minutes after the first plane hit. And I turned on my TV by chance. How do we know there were no alarms in the Pentagon? Because people who survived say it, people like April Gallop, who was in her office and survived the explosion. Prior to 9/11 there were constant evacuation drills but on the very day when this training could've saved so many lives there wasn't an alarm. Really? Are you so gullible?
97% of climatologists say global warming is occurring and caused by humans. But what do THEY know, right?
I really am impressed by some peoples' devotion to being as TRUCULENT as possible.
Not approving, just impressed.
I would try invoking future generations as a reason not to leave them with huge problems, but I suspect you're not going to reproduce anyway.
There are actual conspiracies. Take, for instance, the roman triumvirate: popular politician Julius Caesar, powerful general Pompeius Magnus, and rich property developer Marcus Crassus got together to undermine Roman democracy. Here's the thing about it: it involved exactly 3 people, all of whom had a stake in the game, and lasted just long enough for everyone involved to start stabbing one another in the back. Any conspiracy that involves vast organizations being in on the secret and working together for long periods of time and being well-coordinated is always nonsense.
Perfect example: did Cheney hook up his Haliburton buddies with no-bid contracts? Yeah, probably. It's a conspiracy involving a few people (Cheney, Haliburton CEO, and whatever low-paid bureaucrat had to be paid off) all who stand to gain from the arrangement, and requires competence and cooperation for no longer than it takes to award the contract. Was the Iraq invasion an elaborate conspiracy involving all intelligence networks being manipulated as part of some vast shadow-government conspiracy that managed to make nobody money? No. No one has that power, and if they did they would use it in a far more competent manner.
hmm lets see I've seen the hell that is this world first hand why would I want to bring a child into this world to suffer the same fate? also if you haven't looked around in awhile the world isn't exactly booming at the moment, well unless your china.
also your ability to use big words is countered by my ability to use google
As I've said before, My kind of person *salutes bob*
Why is everyone accusing Bob of being a left-winger? I've checked his blog, and he seems pretty libertarian to me.
|Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NEXT


text:
To say that Cherise Madigan '15 has determination would be a great understatement. The 18-year-old peace and justice studies major has been supporting herself financially since she was 16, chats weekly via Skype with an Iraqi feminist, and is the chief executive officer and founder of the non-profit organization The Feminine Alliance (TFA).
Yet she makes her ambition and initiative sound so ordinary. "I went online and googled 'how to start your own non-profit' and I bought the book Non-Profit Management for Dummies. Then I just filled out the paperwork [to become an official non-profit organization]."
But it was her next "ordinary" action that had the greatest impact. "I shot an email to Yanar Mohammed, a feminist activist over in Iraq who runs the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), never thinking she would actually respond," she says. "And then she replied within 24 hours and said she would be very interested in working with us." And this is when the first TFA campaign was born.
TFA exists to "support women's movements worldwide" and backs Mohammed and the network of women's shelters that house human trafficking victims in Baghdad, Iraq. Almost weekly, Madigan and the OWFI president talk via Skype about the needs of the shelters' women. Madigan then puts together a shipment of aid materials and sends it over to Baghdad once per month. TFA's newest program is in Kiserian, Kenya, working with young girls who are victims of child marriage and female genital mutilation.
"Cherise has shown incredible initiative in forming The Feminine Alliance," says Professor Harry Murray, director of the peace and justice studies program. "Her continued concern and efforts for Iraqi women show a rare commitment to justice as well as compassion."
"I've always wanted to work with women—to empower them," says Madigan who was inspired by national bestseller Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. After attending the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative University in Washington, D.C., a conference that brings together student leaders from college campuses nationwide to discuss solutions to global issues, Madigan realized, "If The Feminine Alliance was going to be as big as I wanted it to be, I couldn't do it all by myself."
Enter Melanie Beacham '14 as TFA's media outreach coordinator and Mikella Ackerly '14 as the organization's awareness campaign coordinator. "I really respect the idea that the organization is not presuming to know what aid and what help the people we support need but instead is engaging in dialog and providing the assistance and support that they themselves express that they need," says Ackerly.
While Madigan handles the finances and international communication with Mohammed, Beacham and Ackerly are responsible for the Facebook page, as well as awareness at Nazareth and in the greater Rochester community. Some of their local campaigns include a march to local strip clubs as a form of protest and a movie series featuring films with strong female characters at the Little Theatre in downtown Rochester.
For Madigan, this is a life-long endeavor. "I want to go to Baghdad and work with women hands on." She already has plans to travel to the Iraqi capital next winter to visit Mohammed and the women's shelters to which she's been sending aid. And that same determination that helped her start The Feminine Alliance remains unwavering as she continues forward. "It might fail; it might not work," she says. "But I'll try again with something else. This is definitely what I want to do with the rest of my life."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Painted a year before Tomlin's death, No. 9 exemplifies the non-objective, calligraphic technique for which the artist is best known. In 1945, his friendship with artists in the circle of Adolph Gottlieb and his subsequent immersion in the ideals of abstract expressionism moved Tomlin away from his cubist style. He experimented seriously with automatism and gestural painting, enlarging his canvases and assigning number titles to his paintings. Tomlin's late paintings are not as forceful as mainstream abstract expressionism; instead, they have a considered, rational quality. In his mature work, Tomlin simultaneously combined elements of control and impulses of freedom, expressed through structured grids filled with spontaneous brushstrokes.
Structured in appearance, No. 9 is composed of a series of linear, calligraphic crossed strokes which form a layered network against a field of varied color are The linear grid-like network and its apparent migration toward the center of the image bear similarities to the work of Mondrian and Tomlin's colleague Ad Reinhardt. While most of the strokes in No. 9 are vertical or horizontal, several diagonal and semicircular touches intervene to break the repetition. In late works Tomlin used white or light colors for the most dominant brushstrokes, creating a gossamer, luminous effect. The gray, off-whites, earthy olives, and brick reds of No. 9, are accented with black strokes that heighten the staccato rhythm of the painting.
Adapted from Eye, GHL


text:
Year of publication
- 2010 (7) (remove)
- English (7) (remove)
- Biochemie und Chemie (7) (remove)
- Tetra-my3-tert-butanolato-tetrathallium(I) (2010)
- The title compound, [Tl4(C4H9O)4], featuring a (Tl—O)4 cube, crystallizes with a quarter-molecule (located on a special position of site symmetry An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc. Object name is e-66-m1621-efi1.jpg..) and a half-molecule (located on a special position of site symmetry 23.) in the asymmetric unit. The Tl—O bond distances range from 2.463 (12) to 2.506 (12) Å. All O—Tl—O bond angles are smaller than 90° whereas the Tl—O—Tl angles are wider than a rectangular angle.
- Redetermination of diammonium thiomolybdate (2010)
- In contrast to the previous structure determinations of the title structure, (NH4)2[MoS4], the present determination at 173 K localized the positions of the H atoms. The title structure belongs to the beta-K2SO4 family and all the ions are located on crystallographic mirror planes. The ions are held together by N—H ... S hydrogen bonds (some of which are bifurcated), forming a three-dimensional network. One of the N atoms has nine contacts to the S atoms shorter than 4 Å, and the other has ten.
- 9-Bromo-9-borafluorene (2010)
- The title compound, C12H8BBr, crystallizes with three essentially planar molecules (r.m.s. deviations = 0.018, 0.020 and 0.021Å) in the asymmetric unit: since the title compound is rigid, there are no conformational differences between these three molecules. The crystal packing resembles a herringbone pattern.
- (18-Crown-6)(trifluoromethanesulfonato)sodium (2010)
- The title compound, [Na(CF3O3S)(C12H24O6)], features a sodium cation that is coordinated by eight O atoms in an irregular hexagonal bipyramidal environment. The equatorial positions are occupied by the six O atoms of an 18-crown-6 ether ring. In the axial positions, there is one O atom of a trifluoromethanesulfonate anion and an ether O atom of a symmetry-equivalent crown ether ring. In this way, centrosymmetric dimers are formed.
- Poly[diaqua[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazolido]potassium] (2010)
- The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [K(C5HF6N2)(H2O)2]n, is composed of two 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazolide anions, two potassium cations and four water molecules. The water molecules and 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazolide anions act as bridges between the potassium cations. Each potassium cation is surrounded by four O atoms [K—O = 2.705 (3)–2.767 (3) Å] and four F atoms [K—F = 2.870 (7)–3.215 (13) Å]. The water molecules and the 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazolide anions are connected by O—H ... N hydrogen bonds, forming layers in the ab plane. All –CF3 groups show rotational disorder between two orientations each.
- Tetrabutylammonium tris(methylsulfanylmethyl)phenylborate (2010)
- In the title molecular salt, C16H36N+·C12H20BS3-, three of the four n-butyl chains show a trans conformation, whereas the fourth has the C—C—C—C torsion angle in a gauche conformation [-77.8 (5)°]. In the crystal, molecules are packed in layers parallel to the (101) plane.
- My2-Acetone-diacetone[my3-tris(trifluoromethyl)methanolato]bis[my2-tris(trifluoromethyl)methanolato]trilithium (2010)
- The title compound, [Li3(C4F9O)3(C3H6O)3], features an open Li/O cube with an Li ion missing at one corner. Three of the four bridging O atoms of the cube carry a fluorinated tert-butyl residue, whereas the fourth is part of an acetone molecule. Two of the Li atoms are further bonded to a non-bridging acetone molecule. Two of the lithium ion coordination geometries are very distorted LiO4 tetrahedra; the third could be described as a very distorted LiO3 T-shape with two distant F-atom neighbours. The Li[cdots, three dots, centered]Li contact distances for the three-coordinate Li+ ion [2.608 (14) and 2.631 (12) Å] are much shorter that the contact distance [2.940 (13) Å] between the tetrahedrally coordinated species.


text:
Moderators: Eric, Tomas, robin
ente wrote:Hello Benny,
no, Pocomail and Barca are not totally dead! There is a Pocomail forum at Yahoo with quite some traffic, there somebody jumped in when the "real" Pocoforum seemed to be broken for ever! There is Russ Harvey who runs a site specializing in Pocomail http://www.russharvey.bc.ca/resources/pocomail.html and there is MarcB!!! Go and look at the script section. He wrote many wonderful scripts - and he still does.
I have not been on this page for some time after Slaven seemed to stop watching out that the page gets not broken and after realizing that the promised tiny fixes for the most annoying bugs of Pocomail when using it with Windows 7 will never materialize.
But today, after receiving a mail by NZRussell, telling that the forum is alive again, I was back again.
I use about three dozens of scripts for handling my daily mail traffic, some of the have been written using scripts from the script library, many of them were written by MarcB.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests


text:
- This event has passed.
Weekend Specials
May 10
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 12:00 am on Sunday and Saturday, repeating until May 30, 2020
Grilled Prime Rib Eye
USDA choice cut grilled prime rib eye, cooked to you're liking.
10 oz for $21.99
14 oz for $25.99
Both served with two sides
Fish & Chips
A Beer battered white fish, fried golden brown. Served with French fries & Cole slaw …$13.99
Fried Oysters
9 oysters breaded and fried golden brown, served with choice of 2 sides …$19.99
"If Pigs could Fly"
A small rack of our baby back ribs along side a half order of chicken wings.
Choose from any of our 5 flavors:Buffalo, Honey BBQ, Chesapeake, Grilled Gator wings or our award winning Smoked wings.
Served with you're choice of 2 sides …$20.99


text:
Country Pride–County Wide is the theme of this year's Lenawee County Fair scheduled July 21 to 27.
Country singer Easton Corbin is the leading grandstand show this year. The Lost Trailers are the opening act.
Tickets go on sale April 1 for Corbin's July 24 show. The fair office will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased by visiting startickets.com.
Other fair events include an antique tractor pull, super stock tractor pull, two figure-8 demolition derbies, the Lost Nations Rodeo, a farm stock tractor and pickup pull, a horse pull and the Tuff Truck Competition.
Corbin is the first country male artist in 17 years to have his first two consecutive singles—"A Little More Country Than That" and "Roll With It"— reach No. 1.
For more information about any fair events, call the fair office at 517/263-3007 or visit lenfair.com.


text:
main(713) 222-2273
Schedule an appointment online with ScheduleNow
Kulvinder Bajwa received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio and completed his residencytraining at Conemaugh
Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
in general surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr.
Bajwa's clinical interests are minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery,
bariatric (weight loss) surgery and robotic-assisted surgery. In practice since
2000, he serves as the medical director of the Weight Loss Surgery Program at
Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, and he has served as an
assistant professor of surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston (UTHealth) Medical School since 2008. He is also a Colonel and Command
Surgeon for the U.S. Army Reserve's 75th Training Command.
has been recognized with the Distinguished Teaching Award at both Brooke Army
Medical Center and UTHealth, and as the 2004 Doctor of the Year at Memorial
Hermann Sugar Land, where he served as chief of staff in 2007-08. He has also
received numerous military awards, including 4 Army Commendation Medals,
a Meritorious Service Medal, and the Combat Action Badge.
Bajwa believes that patients need an advocate to guide them to the proper and
reliable sources of information that make them well-informed and prepared to
achieve the best results. Recognizing that surgery is a major event in a
patient's life and not a daily hospital routine, he helps prepare patients for
this experience and gives them realistic expectations during their recovery.
resident of Sugar Land, Dr. Bajwa is married and the father of two
daughters. His favorite activities outside of his practice are running
(finishing his first half Marathon in 2014), skiing, and traveling.
*Plans not accepted by Memorial Hermann. See our list of accepted plans.
Always verify insurance coverage with your provider prior to receiving care.
Primary Office
Phone: (713) 892-5500
Fax: (713) 871-0081
Phone: (713) 486-3950
Fax: (713) 871-0081


text:
21 / 35 scheduled chapter for the month
Read Teaser of PBS Chapter 1421
VOTE for PBS now if you enjoy reading it!
Alternatively, you can give it five stars or write a review for it on NovelUpdates! It would really help the novel out
Feeling like discussing the story with other readers? You can join the PBS Discord Server by clicking here
Support PBS on Patreon to get early-access to chapters!


text:
"From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover you have Helen Hayes with Sanford Dody, "On Reflection"
Books provide our lives with richness and variety. A book can be our friend, constant companion, and our teacher. Books can make us happy or evoke sadness and tears. Books can help our imaginations to soar and provide us with new thoughts, and help us understand more about ourselves and others. As a parent, you are the one who teaches your child love and laughter and how to walk. Be the one who also teaches a love of books and reading. Open a book and give your child wings.
Books to borrow
The following book is available at many public libraries.
"Robespierre: Master of the Guillotine" by John DiConsiglio, illustrations various credits, Franklin Watts/Scholastic, 128 pages
Read aloud: age 8 to 9 and older.
Read yourself: age 9 to 10 and older.
As a young country lawyer in a small town on the outskirts of Paris in 1781, Robespierre defended the poor and helped those who suffered. In 1789, Robespierre made his way to Paris, helped overthrow the king of France, and was instrumental in creating a new government. His belief in freedom for all people made him the most powerful man in all of France and he was hailed as a hero of the common man.
Then the killings began. Robespierre began to suspect enemies everywhere, and under his direction, at least 15,000 were beheaded. At first the people cheered. Then they began to realize that Robespierre had gone too far.
On July 28, 1794, thousands of people lined the streets of Paris to see Robespierre executed by the very machine that had made him famous -- the guillotine.
This fascinating, superbly written book on the life of Maximilien Robespierre is historically accurate, brimming with facts, and will have readers contemplating the abuse of power.
Librarian's choice
Library: South Manatee Branch Library, 6081 26th St. W., Bradenton
Library services manager: Ava Ehde
Choices this week: "Martin's Big Words" by Doreen Rappaport; "Rootabaga Stories" by Carl Sandburg; "Spiderwick Chronicles" series by Tony DiTerlizzi
Books to buy
The following books are available at favorite bookstores.
"Rocket Writes a Story" written and illustrated by Tad Hills, schwartz & wade, 2012, 36 pages, $17.99 hardcover
Read aloud: age 3 to 4 and older.
Read yourself: age 7 to 8.
Rocket the dog learned to love reading through the help of his wonderful teacher, the little yellow bird. Rocket even loved the way books smelled, because when he opened a book, "it smelled like a place he'd never been to, like a friend he'd never met."
Now, Rocket wants to write his own story, but it isn't as easy as Rocket thinks. At first Rocket struggles, but his teacher encourages him to look for new words, inspiration, and the characters for his story. As Rocket writes and rewrites time and again, his story begins to unfold. And best of all, the main character and inspiration for his story becomes his new friend. Spot-on perfect in every way, this delightful story will motivate all children who yearn to be readers and writers themselves.
"Hanging Off Jefferson's Nose: Growing Up on Mount Rushmore" by Tina Nichols Coury, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport, Dial, 2012, 36 pages, $16.99 hardcover
Read aloud: age 6 and older.
Read yourself: age 8 and
In the 1924, famous sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln, traveled to South Dakota where Gutzon presented his idea of honoring four great presidents of our nation by carving their faces into the side of a mountain. Local businessmen liked the idea, and three years later Lincoln and his dad returned to South Dakota to begin the incredibly difficult job.
Always at his father's side, Gutzon was a patient teacher and Lincoln a fast learner.
Lincoln was determined to learn every job on the mountain, and by 1938 Gutzon put Lincoln in charge of the project. A few years later while on a speaking tour, Gutzon died; it was up to Lincoln to see Mount Rushmore finally completed, and at the end of October 1941, that's precisely what he did. Few know the background of Mount Rushmore, and this fascinating book chronicles this exciting, monumental undertaking with flair, precision, and a voice and accompanying artwork
that will thrill readers of all ages.
Reading to and with kids will help them to soar
"From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover you have Helen Hayes with Sanford Dody, "On Reflection"


text:
After all these years, there were never any slogans connecting the Denver D with D.J. and Dumervil.
There never will be, either.
The D in Denver's defense now stands for "different" after the Broncos on Monday released longtime linebacker D.J. Williams while contract talks with Elvis Dumervil may have reached a point of no return.
Williams' release was expected after he fell out of favor in 2012 and had an overvalued $6 million salary due in 2013. A starting linebacker from the time the Broncos selected him out of Miami with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2004 draft until he was slapped with two suspensions that cost him the first nine games of last season, Williams is now part of an NFL free-agent pool that opens for business at 2 p.m. MDT on Tuesday.
The Broncos have expressed interest in Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall, Jacksonville defensive tackle Terrance Knighton and possibly Philadelphia cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, among other free-agent players.
But they were also hoping to prevent Dumervil and their own defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson from entering free agency. With Dumervil, the contract squabble regards a pay cut. With Vickerson, the haggling is over a pay raise.
What a difference a decimal point makes. Vickerson wants a bump from the $1.2 million salary he made last year. Dumervil has agreed to restructure, but not cut, the $12 million salary he is owed in 2013. His salary would become guaranteed by Saturday, so the Broncos want to work out a reduced rate before then.
Broncos chief contract negotiator Mike Sullivan and Dumervil's agent Marty Magid resumed discussions Monday but got no closer to a resolution.
Given the considerable difference in opinion, the pass-rushing defensive end is asking the team to release him before the free-agent market opens Tuesday, rather than wait until Saturday.
"We're at an impasse," Magid said. "There's no animosity whatsoever. Elvis understands this is a business. He'd still like to come back and play for the Broncos under his current contract or restructure proposal that we sent them.
"But if we can't reach common ground and you know as an organization that you're going to release him, then we'd like for them to release him by (2 p.m. MDT) and not wait another four days. No hard feelings. We disagree on their restructure option."
The Broncos, however, may want to use the next four days to either continue negotiating with Dumervil or find his replacement through free agency before releasing their seven-year defensive end and three-time Pro Bowler.
That maneuver in turn would cost Dumervil the first few days of free agency, when teams typically are more inclined to write its biggest checks.
In other moves Monday, the Broncos re-signed special teams standout David Bruton to a three-year, $4.5 million contract, and released backup quarterback Caleb Hanie.
Bruton, who is also a backup safety, could have tried to get a few more dollars in the free-agent market, but what price happiness?
"I've always wanted to stay in Denver since my rookie year," Bruton said in the first news conference of his now five-year Broncos career. "I fell in love with this place. I fell in love with the organization, how it's run. There's opportunities out there, there's always that chance, but I feel like being here in Denver, I need to make the most of my opportunities."
Hanie is a former Colorado State quarterback who was on the Broncos' roster last season but was never activated on the game-day roster as starter Peyton Manning was backed up by rookie Brock Osweiler.
Williams, 30, led the Broncos in tackles as a rookie and remained a starter until last season, when he was suspended six games for violating the league's performance-enhancement policy, and then another three games following a driving while ability impaired conviction.
Upon his return, Williams lost his starting outside linebacker position to Wesley Woodyard, and the Broncos plan to start Nate Irving at middle linebacker this season. Teams that may be interested in Williams include Oakland, Washington, Baltimore, New England and Atlanta.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055, firstname.lastname@example.com or twitter.com/mikeklis
Staying or leaving?
Negotiations continue: Defensive end Elvis Dumervil and defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson
Re-signed: Special-teams standout David Bruton for three years, $4.5 million
Released: Linebacker D.J. Williams and backup quarterback Caleb Hanie


text:
Welcome to our website! As we have the ability to list over one million items on our website (our selection changes all of the time), it is not feasible for a company our size to record and playback the descriptions on every item on our website. However, if you have a disability we are here to help you. Please call our disability services phone line at 870-935-3772 during regular business hours and one of our kind and friendly personal shoppers will help you navigate through our website, help conduct advanced searches, help you choose the item you are looking for with the specifications you are seeking, read you the specifications of any item and consult with you about the products themselves. There is no charge for the help of this personal shopper for anyone with a disability. Finally, your personal shopper will explain our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and help you place an order if you so desire.
American Drew ARDENNESLIEGECHINACOMPLETE665
Ardennes Collection
American Drew CHERRYGROVECANTEDCHINACOMPL...
Cherry Grove Collection
American Drew CHERRYGROVECHINACOMPLETE358
Cherry Grove Collection
American Drew GRANTHAMHALLCURIOCHINACOMPL...
Grantham Hall Collection
American Drew PARKSTUDIOBARCABINET103
Park Studio Collection


text:
Anytime Fitness recently received honors from CNNMoney.com as well as its hometown newspaper.
CNNMoney.com listed Anytime Fitness as one of its 10 great franchise bets. The news organization, a service of CNN, Fortune and Money magazines, cited the Hastings, MN-based company's growth rate, with almost 1,600 clubs opened in less than 10 years, and the low loan failure rate among its franchisees. Of 147 SBA-backed loans between 2005 and 2010, Anytime Fitness franchisees experienced only four defaults, CNNMoney.com reported.
"The success of any franchise is largely dependent upon the prosperity of its individual franchisees," Dave Mortensen, president and co-founder of Anytime Fitness, said in a statement. "That's why we focus so much on providing our franchisees with the tools and the support they need to be successful."
Anytime Fitness franchisees pay a monthly flat fee of $499 to the company and are not charged a percentage of sales, which differs from other franchise systems, CNNMoney.com reported. Start-up costs for an Anytime club run between $46,299 and $321,899.
"We work closely with our club owners to ensure that expense expectations and proper capitalization are in place well in advance of club openings," said Tim Smith, director of financing for Anytime Fitness. "This, in combination with the superb coaching provided by our team of franchise consultants, gives our franchisees a strong advantage in becoming cash flow positive in a short amount of time."
The other franchise companies CNNMoney.com noted were Little Caesars, Jimmy John's, Days Inn, Subway, Massage Envy, Dairy Queen, Super 8 Motel, Wingstop and Servpro. Only franchises with at least 70 SBA-backed loans in the past five years were included.
On Sunday, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune named Anytime Fitness one of the top 100 workplaces in Minnesota. The survey was based on employee opinions about company leadership, communication, career opportunities, workplace environment, managerial skills, pay and benefits. The analysis included responses from more than 60,000 employees at Minnesota public, private and nonprofit organizations.


text:
Great white challenge
Can a single skier master a staggering 18 000-meter difference in altitude and 85 kilometers of downhill skiing in a day? We head to Arlberg in Austria's largest ski area to find out.
The night brings winter to Arlberg in the shape of ten centimeters of crisp, new snow. The slopes at the western tip of Austria now lie beneath a white blanket that glistens in the sun. Skiers and snowboarders crowd toward the Galzigbahn entrance in gleeful anticipation, and there's a tangible sense of "powder stress" in the air. As the lift shovels those at the front of the queue up the slope, a collective jolt of adrenaline courses through our veins: The slopes are open! An early start is essential because today, every minute counts: We're doing the Run of Fame, a spectacular, 85-kilometer tour of the entire Arlberg ski area. The circuit covers a combined 18 000-meter difference in altitude and passes through the villages of Zürs, Zug, Warth and Lech. Both the start and finish are in St. Anton, a small Tyrolean town well known to skiers and freeriders all over the world as the gateway to one of the best Alpine ski areas. Even Joe Skier can make the round trip in a day, the woman at the tourism office assured us. "But don't dawdle." The last lift closes just after 4 p.m., so I need to be back in St. Anton by then.
I step out of the lift at 9:20 a.m. and am greeted by a cloudless blue sky. The first few swoops are a dream. The snow has the right grip, and the area is so big that the day's first skiers are soon dispersed. In wide arcs, we fly down the slopes. "Your greatest opponent today is fresh snow," says Maris Vagners, my ski guide, as we sail up the next slope in a heated chair lift. "If there's too much of it, they can't keep up with grooming the slopes," he explains, "and some lifts don't open until later." Vagners, 45 – athletic and with a charming smile – hails from the United States and stranded on the Arlberg 27 years ago. He knows the area like the pockets of his grass-green ski pants, and is here to guide me through the maze of pistes and lifts, and keep me from getting hopelessly lost. The Arlberg area does have 305 kilometers of ski runs, after all – and the Run of Fame's signposting is, let's say, not as good as it could be.
The new ski circuit is a monument to the Arlberg stars: Marianne Jahn, Egon Zimmermann, Mario Matt – they all grew up here and went on to win international ski races. I'm not making much progress with my own race. Vagners was right: The next lift, the Flexenbahn, is still closed. "Let's take an extra turn then," he says, pushing off. I follow him. The descents are glorious. But time is short, and I am relieved when the lift finally gets going. The Flexenbahn lift opened last season, completing the Arlberg circuit and making the region the largest continuous ski area in Austria. Before, you had to take the ski bus for this part of the route – people jostled and pushed, the air reeked of sweat and sunscreen, and sometimes even liquor. Now uncluttered ten-seater lifts glide almost silently out of a glass base station and up the mountain. We spot chamois and ibexes sunning themselves on the rocks below. The project cost 45 million euros; another three lifts in the area were also modernized.
There was surprisingly little protest from nature conservationists, partly because the Flexenbahn would result in 120 fewer buses using the pass road every day, and also because no new ski runs were created. Even without a single new piste, the lift has catapulted the ski area into new spheres. "Superlatives are hugely important these days," says Philipp Zangerl, 41, the level-headed boss of the Zürs lifts, who can see the slopes right from his office. Zangerl spent five years working on the new lift. He talks about "main sticking points" and "environmental impact assessment laws," and you sense the project gave him gray hair. But, he says, "if you get the chance to build something like the Flexenbahn, you have to do it."
Arlberg needed the new lift to keep up with the other ski areas
Cable cars have long ceased to be purely a means of transportation, they also convey the message: We can be bigger, go higher and extend further. "The Arlberg needed this lift," says Zangerl, to keep up with the other ski areas, which are also upgrading, modernizing and linking up. "A little bit of winter just won't work," he says, "either you do it properly or you leave well alone." The problem with winter is that you can't depend on it anymore. Once upon a time, the first snow came in November, piled up in January and stayed until April. Today, it's often late January before the first good snow arrives – and then it melts again by early March. Many smaller ski areas in Austria, Germany and Switzerland have already dismantled their lifts, while the large areas attempt to extend the season with artificial snow; but even that requires below-zero temperatures – which are no longer a certainty, either.
Today, though, winter is here in all its glory. We climb into the lift for the Seekopf, the first third of the tour behind us. At the top, a restaurant beckons with a picture-book view and Käsespätzle. I'm ravenous, but there's no time. It's well past 11, and Warth, our turning point, is still a long way off. Instead of a break, we devour ham sandwiches and chocolate in the lift up to the trickiest part of the circuit: a piste that's patrolled but not groomed. The first steep slope is cushioned in deep snow, and although I've been skiing since I could walk, the uneven humps are a challenge for my legs and concentration. In contrast, Vagners glides downhill with enviable elegance. After that, the route is a delight. Far from the lifts, all is still but for the crunch of my skis in the snow. I clamor to repeat the descent, but time is short. We zigzag across the broad slopes of Lech; the ride over to Warth gives me time for a breather.
The next part of our route has too many easy, blue slopes, but I have a mission, and wistfully turn my back on the tempting steep faces. At least we make good time. At 12:50 p.m., I reach the Steffisalp, the halfway point. We still have just over three hours until the lift closes. The post bus picks up all the stragglers – the ignominy! Taxis are an option, albeit one that's as expensive as a visit to the Bergkristall sun terrace in Oberlech, where a plate of pasta with truffles or lobster will set you back 40 euros. Arlberg is no stranger to luxury. At least regular earners have a tale or two to tell back home – and celebrities don't stand out in the crowd.
The latter tend to stay in tiny St. Christoph, which practically consists of a single hotel, the Arlberg Hospiz. Six friends started one of the world's first ski clubs here in 1901. Today, the hotel suites cost upwards of 6000 euros a night. For that, you get to sit by the fireside at a table made of larch-wood hundreds of years old, admire paintings five meters tall and listen to the Steinway grand piano before dinner.
On the return leg of my trip, I hop in the cable car to Lech, then climb to the top of the Rüfikopf. The ski runs up there are wide, white ribbons, and as we glide down them, the afternoon sun bathing the mountaintops in a milky light. I almost forget that this is a race. One more big descent, then I sink contentedly onto a wooden bench in the sunshine outside the Mooserwirt. Made it! The Run of Fame – been there, done that! Inside, "Final Countdown" blasts from the speakers; outside, the beer flows freely. The Mooserwirt in St. Anton is a notorious après-ski bar. It takes four staff to change the barrels and keep the beer flowing. The Arlberg's next project is already in the pipeline: The plan is to link up to the Kappl ski area south of St. Anton. From there, it is only a stone's throw to Ischgl, yet another Alpine superlative. The idea smacks a little of megalomania – or of foresight, depending on your perspective. Whatever the outcome, completing a full circuit in one day will be history.
A brief history of skiing
~ 2500 B.C.: Early Gliders
The oldest confirmed find is the 110 cm "Ski of Hoting," which was discovered in central Sweden in 1921.
1796: dARING troops
The first ski jumpers were Norwegian ski troops flying off the snow-covered roofs of houses and barns.
1888: skiing feat
Fridtjof Nansen skied right across Greenland from east to west to become a Norwegian national hero.
1908: way up
The first motorized lift, forerunner of today's cable car, opened on Bödele Mountain in Vorarlberg, Austria.
1936: alpine gold
In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Franz Pfnür and Christl Cranz won gold in the new Olympic discipline, alpine skiing.
since 1950: mass sport
Capri, Rimini – or St. Moritz? Lifts are increasingly built and ski areas developed as the masses discover skiing.
Getting THERE
Lufthansa flies four times daily from Frankfurt (FRA) to Friedrichshafen (FDH). From there, continue by train or rental car. To calculate your miles, go to meilenrechner.de


text:
Oct. 1, 2007 -- An experimental vaccine-like treatment helps prolong the lives of lab mice with lupus by targeting rogue immune cells linked to the disease.
The treatment is a form of targeted immunotherapy, and a new study shows it prolonged the lives of mice with lupus by 10 months.
Although the results still need to be tested in humans, researchers say the findings may offer new avenues for treating the immune system disease, which affects 1.5 million Americans.
There is no cure for lupus, and currently available treatments, such as high doses of steroids, come with serious side effects. The disease causes the body's immune system to attack its own body, causing inflammation and damage to joints, skin, and other organs.
New Option for Lupus Treatment
In the study, researchers developed an immunotherapy that targeted certain immune cells for destruction without affecting other immune cells and tested it in mice with lupus.
The results showed the experimental treatment greatly reduced lupus involvement of the kidney and extended the life of the mice by about 10 months compared with untreated animals.
Researcher Bindu Varghese of Purdue University and colleagues say the results merit further study of the treatment approach in humans with lupus.


text:
Thanks for taking time to read this. I have 2 kernels. To both these kernels I send the same 2 memory buffers as arguments, where each of the memory buffers have the size -> sizeof(int) * 10.
I call init_mpm( ) first and I set m[i] to the subsequent address locations in bmasks. Basically I am holding an array of addresses.
I next call resolve_address( ) and I assign the value m[i], which actually now holds the address values from bmasks from the previous call to init_mpm( ) to a pointer p. But now when I try to resolve the pointer as p[0], I get clBuildProgram error of -42. Can't I resolve the address like this? Isn't p now holding the address and can't it be resolved as an integer using p[0]? I am actually trying to hold an array of address from a memory object across multiple kernel invocations and later resolve these addresses in another kernel.
__kernel void init_mpm(__global int *m, __global int *bmasks)
unsigned int i = 0;
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
bmasks[i] = i;
m[i] = bmasks + i;
__kernel void resolve_address(__global int *m, __global int *bmasks)
unsigned int i = 0;
__global int *p;
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
p = m[i];
m[i] = p[0]; <-- this line gives me an error. If I comment this line I get no errors during compilation


text:
You can use another audio device, such as a portable digital music player, with your Bose® wireless computer speaker. This requires using a stereo audio cable with a 3.5 mm (1/8-inch) mini plug (not provided) that is appropriate for the connected audio device.
Adding another music source
Applies to:
Plug the cable from the audio device into the AUDIO IN jack on the back of the Bose® wireless computer speaker
On the remote, press Aux
Set the connected device to full volume, then use the Bose® Wireless computer speaker volume buttons to adjust the level


text:
C.P. Company research ethics is grounded on founder Massimo Osti's painstaking work, on his continuous try to evolve fabrics and clothing, to make them better, more comfortable, more functional. He also wanted to garment dye every piece of clothing.
Garment dyeing is an amazing way to make any fabric almost unshrinkable, and to give it an unparelleled softness as well. Any piece of clothing, when garment dyed, become comfortable as it was part of our wardrobe for years, even though it's actually new. But garment dyeing has its rules, like the one who impose the dyeing process to be executed at high-temperature (over 90°). It's so hot, it can transform fibres. Like making them lose their stretch properties.
Nycra is born from C.P. Company's will to give stretch properties to the high-quality nylon used to produce a big part of C.P.'s collection. The initial target was to enhance nylon fabrics performance, to produce shoulderpieces that won't restrain body movement. That's why C.P. Company turned to Lycra, one of the very first revolutionary man-made fibre which changed clothing during the 20th century.
The invention of Lycra is credited to american chemist Joseph Sivers. During wartime, Shivers started to look for a substitute to the rubber used to make women's girdles. During his experiments, he invented a new elastic fibre, which wasn't really appreciated by DuPont, the big company he was working for at that time. They told him to give up his experiments with stretch fabric. He did not. Shivers was a stubborn researcher: he kept on working on his new fibers for ten years, until one day he finally perfected Lycra, at the end of the Fifties. That's why C.P. Company likes Lycra: it's a revolutionary invention born from a stubborn man, capable of looking straight to the future of clothing. Like Joseph Shivers on his Lycra, C.P. Company worked painstakingly on Nycra, trying to find the right amount (a small amount indeed, less than 5%) of Lycra to mix with nylon, so to produce a fabric which could be garment dyed, not losing its stretch properties in the process.
Nycra is designed specifically to be garment dyed, a fabric that has nylon's tenacity and Lycra stretch features. Also, the garment dyeing process gives amazing colour depth to the finished garments, which become also water and stain-resistant after a final anti-drop treatment.


text:
Object Responsibility
This series, The Object-Oriented Thought Process, is intended for someone just learning an object-oriented language and wants to understand the basic concepts before jumping into the code or someone who wants to understand the infrastructure behind an OOP language they are already using. Click here to start at the beginning of the series.
In keeping with the code examples used in the previous articles, Java will be the language used to implement the concepts in code. One of the reasons that I like to use Java is because you can download the Java compiler for personal use at the Sun Microsystems Web site http://java.sun.com/. You can download the J2SE 1.4.2 SDK (software development kit) to compile and execute these applications and I will provide the code listings for all examples in this article. I have the SDK 1.4.0 loaded on my machine. I will also provide figures and the output (when appropriate) for these examples. See the previous articles in this series for detailed descriptions for compiling and running all the code examples in this series.
An Object Must be Responsible for Itself
One of the most important mantras used in object-oriented design is that of "an object must be responsible for itself". I first heard this phrase while taking my first class in object-oriented programming class in Smalltalk. Because I had never programmed in an object-oriented language before, I was curious as to what this really meant.
While there are many ways to approach this point, it really boils down to the concept of encapsulation, just as everything does when dealing with properly designed classes. The whole concept of an object is that it contains both attributes and behaviors. In structured programming, there is code and there is data, and the two are thought of as separate entities. The power of an object is that these two separate entities are encapsulated together to form a single, atomic entity. It is in this fundamental concept of an encapsulated, atomic entity that you come to realize how and why an object is responsible for itself.
A straightforward definition for object-responsibility is this: An object must contain the data (attributes) and code (methods) necessary to perform any and all services that are required by the object. This means that the object must have the capability to perform required services itself or at least know how to find and invoke these services. Rather than attempt to further refine the definition, take a look at an example that illustrates this responsibility concept.
An Internet Example
Consider a simple banner (a Java object/applet) that is placed at the top of a web page. The banner is a basic rectangle which cycles through multiple text messages. The banner contains several attributes such as the background color of the banner, the color of each of the messages, the size of the rectangle, and so forth. The banner also contains at least one method, the code that controls the fading in and out of the various messages.
This Java object is invoked by HTML code in the Web page, the code might look something like this:
<object code="banner.class" width="600" height="70">
The important thing to note here is that everything in the object is contained neatly in the class file. As stated above, "banner.class" includes all the attributes and all the code that is necessary for the banner to execute properly.
To further understand the power of encapsulation, it is important to realize that "banner.class" is, most likely, physically located somewhere on the Internetnot on the local machine. The implication is that while the browser can invoke the banner object, it has no idea what to do with itit simply loads it. In short, the browser is not responsible for any functionality of the banner object. The banner object is responsible for itself. Any functionality (services) that the banner must deliver, the banner must perform and manage itself.
One question that may come up is this: if the banner object is totally self contained, how can the Web page communicate with the object? There may be some basic functionality that the banner performs that requires no information; however, consider that different Web pages may want to use the same banner object. It is likely that each of the sites will want to display different messages and set the banner attributes differently. For example, one site may want the banner background to be red, while another may want the banner background to be blue. The answer to this is simple: parameters are used to convey information from a specific Web page to the object invoked by that page. Thus, we can get unique information into a self-contained object.
An Application Example
While the Internet provides a good example as to how self-contained objects are used, we can also consider standalone application when looking for an example to illustrate object responsibility. One of my favorite examples is that of a generic paint program. No doubt that everyone has used a basic drawing program that allows a user to select a shape from a pallet and then drag it to a canvas, where the shape is dropped and displayed. From the user's perspective, this activity is accomplished by a variety of mouse actions. First, the user hovers over a specific shape with the mouse (perhaps a circle), right clicks, drags the shape to a location on the canvas and then lifts his/her finger off the mouse.This last action causes the shape to be placed at the desired location. In fact, what is really happening when our user's finger is lifted from the mouse button? We can use this action to illustrate our object responsibility concept. Let's assume that when the finger is lifted from the mouse button that the resulting message from this event is simply: draw. Consider the mouse as an object and that the mouse is only responsible for itself as well. The mouse can, and should only do mouse things. In this context, when the finger is lifted from the mouse button, the mouse thing to do is to draw. But draw what? Actually, the mouse doesn't care. It is not the mouse's responsibility to know how to draw anything. Its responsibility is to signal when to draw, not what to draw.
If this is the case (remember that a circle was selected), how does the right thing get drawn? The answer is actually pretty straightforward; the circle knows how to draw itself. The circle is responsible for doing circle thingsjust like the mouse is responsible for doing mouse things. So, if you select a circle, the circle object that is created knows everything possible about how to use a circle in the application.
This model has a major implication. Because the mouse does not need to know anything about specific shape objects, all it needs to do to draw a shape is to send the message draw. Actually, this will take the form of a method called draw( ). Thus, more shapes can be added without having to change any of the mouse's behavior. The only constraint is that any shape object installed in the application must implement a draw( ) method. If there is no draw( ) method, an exception will be generated when the mouse mouse-up action attempts to invoke the object's non-existent draw( ) method. In this design methodology, there is a de facto contract between the mouse class and the shape class and these contracts are made possible by the powerful object-oriented design technique called polymorphism.
Page 1 of 4
This article was originally published on May 24, 2005
IT Solutions Builder TOP IT RESOURCES TO MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
Which topic are you interested in?
Data Storage
IT Management
What is your company size?
What is your job title?
What is your job function?
Searching our resource database to find your matches...


text:
CSS Selectors, Java Interop and Scraping
Building a DOM
Parsing HTML can be tricky, most of my naive attempts to parse real-world pages produced a lot of stack traces. The Validator.nu HTML parser has so far cleared those low hurdles. It's implemented in Java and it has a maven artifact, which makes it easy to include in a leiningen project, so it's my current weapon of choice.
:dependencies [[org.clojure/clojure "1.2.0"]
[org.clojure/clojure-contrib "1.2.0"]
[nu.validator.htmlparser/htmlparser "1.2.1"]]
It's easy to get a DOM from a webpage using Validator.nu (api docs here), feed
HtmlDocumentBuilder an
InputSource which you feed a
java.io.Reader, which is easily created via the
reader fn from
(defn build-document [file-name]
(.parse (HtmlDocumentBuilder.) (InputSource. (reader file-name))))
Converting the DOM to a seq
Clojure comes with a few very nice tree walking facilities. We can't use them until we convert a dom with nodes of type, well,
Node and branches of
NodeList into seqs that Clojure is more adept at manipulating.
NodeList has two methods on it,
getLength() and
item(int index). One approach is to close over an index binding and recursively create the seq:
(defn nodelist-seq [node-list]
(letfn [(internal [i]
(when (< i (.getLength node-list))
(cons (.item node-list i) (internal (inc i))))))]
(internal 0)))
Another is to keep the current index in an atom, and implement
Iterator with it, which Clojure can make into a seq for you:
(defn nodelist-seq [node-list]
(let [i (atom 0)]
(reify Iterator
(hasNext [_]
(< @i (.getLength node-list)))
(next [_]
(.item node-list @i)]
(swap! i inc)))))))
Where I'm using
try/finally as a replacement for Common Lisp's
With that in place, it's not hard to turn a DOM into a nested seq, which either zippers found in
clojure.zip or Stuart Sierra's
clojure.walk should be able to navigate for you quite adeptly.
I'd like to be able to select a node by:
- id:
- tag name:
- class attribute:
And I'd like selectors to work from any node I give it. This way I can write a selector that will work at multiple places in a tree, making them more reusable. Being able to turn a DOM into a seq suggests that filtering it on a predicate would be a quick way to write the above selectors, here are supporting functions to inspect the nodes themselves:
(defn element-tagname [elt]
(when (= Node/ELEMENT_NODE (.getNodeType elt))
(.getNodeName elt)))
(defn get-attribute [elt attr]
(.?. elt getAttributes (getNamedItem attr) getValue))
(defn hasclass? [elt class]
(when-let [class-attr (get-attribute elt "class")]
(some #(= class %) (split class-attr #" "))))
.?. method in
get-attribute is remarkably useful. It's analogous to the
.. operator in
clojure.core for chaining method invocations on objects. As not all
Node objects have attributes on them, and not all attributes have the one we're looking for, in both cases, a null value is returned by the method invoked. Trying to invoke any other method returns an NPE.
.?. does the grunt-work of handling that and short-circuiting to return nil.
Document object has two methods on it that are just too good to pass up, though.
getElementById and
getElementsByTagName might give better performance than scanning the entire tree, so if we're selecting from the root, then we'd like to use them. Multimethods solve our dilemma nicely.
(defn doc-or-node [node & _]
(if (instance? Document node)
(defmulti id-sel doc-or-node)
(defmulti element-sel doc-or-node)
(defmethod id-sel Document [document id]
(.getElementById document (.substring id 1)))
(defmethod id-sel Node [node id]
(filter #(= (.substring id 1) (get-attribute % "id")) (dom-seq node)))
(defmethod element-sel Document [document elt-name]
(.getElementsByTagname document elt-name))
(defmethod element-sel Node [node elt-name]
(filter #(= elt-name (element-tagname %)) (dom-seq node)))
Finally, if each selector takes a single
Node and returns a list of
Nodes, then I'll note that you can "chain" selectors together with
(->> (element-sel document "body")
(mapcat #(element-sel % "table"))
(mapcat #(element-sel % "tr"))
(mapcat #(class-sel % ".odd")))
With this property, we'd need to make sure that
Document version of
id-sel above wraps it's single
Node in a list. This sort of chaining ability, of taking a bunch of things, and applying them in sequence to get a single thing throws up the use reduce flags in my head. My first attempt nearly works out of the gate:
(defn $ [node & selectors]
(reduce mapcat node selectors))
The problems with it being that
mapcat takes it's function argument first, while we're passing our selector functions in second, and that
mapcat takes a list, not a single item. Here's how I fixed it:
(defn flip [f]
(fn [& args]
(apply f (reverse args))))
(defn $ [node & selectors]
(reduce (flip mapcat) [node] selectors))
So now we have a new selector that composes the behavior of a bunch of selectors.
The 'M' Word
By now, you may have realized that this approach is the same as that suddenly ubiquitous and hip mathematical notion, the List monad. I won't expound any further on the point, you're either interested in monads or you're not. I'm of the mind that they're a remarkably useful construct, but a bit obtuse when approached from the narrow description of only their mathematical properties.
You can find a larger working example expanding upon all the code in this post on my github


text:
· Out lesbian labor activist Mary Kay Henry to take over SEIU.
· Finland to vote on marriage equality and gay adoption.
· Madonna and child.
· Study by New York City Department of Health: "Only 23 per cent of women required their male partners to use condoms during anal sex, compared with 61 per cent of gay or bisexual men."
· SB1070: Arizona Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva calls for boycott of his own state. San Francisco City Supervisor David Campos to call for boycott of Arizona. McCain says new law is a "good tool" but unsure "whether all of it is legal or not." Phoenix will sue.
· Famed NYC night club promoter Marc Berkley dies.
· After many years of opposition, Walmart may have found a NYC location. Labor activists promise to give it the "fight of their lives."
· Coming soon: Trey Songz reality show.
· Stephen Hawking warns against making contact with aliens. "They might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Advanced aliens would perhaps be nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach. If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans."
· Twelve confirmed dead—including 3-month-old baby and two other children—after weekend tornado outbreak in Mississippi.


text:
Signed, your guild's spoiled brat
This is going to be an unusual follow up to my positivity post…. Sometimes I wish my guildmates weren't so mature. Yes, yes, not a thing you hear every day! See, I'm a big baby and I'm embarassed about it. In real life, nobody notices cause there are always louder, crankier babies around. But in my guild? It's like I log on and I have about 24 daddies (and 3 mommies) to take care of me. So in hopes of poking fun at myself, or finding fellow spoiled brats who might relate, here are some situations that automatically turn me into a 3 year old stomping her foot:
– Not getting slotted for a raid
– Not getting slotted for a raid that I actually organised (although the fact that it even happens makes you wonder!)
– People asking for buffs while I'm still running back (OMG PATIENCE PEOPLE!)
– Not being assigned to tank X (unless I'm healing, when I'm healing I'm not interested in tanking X, just thought I should clarify)
– Someone asking for a heal (like I'm TOTALLY not watching your health bar)
– Not getting an immediate response to a question
– When something I say in chat is overlooked
– Being forgotten when summons are tossed out
– Being made fun of when trying to explain a fight for the first time
Oddly enough, loot issues (which seems to be a predominant culprit when it comes to hissy fits) rarely phase me. But for everyting else, heaven forbid the world doesn't revolve around me!
I don't know about other spoiled brats, but I'm thankful that people around me in game ignore my little spats or gently tease me about them. I suppose it could be insulting, but I find it reassuring when one of the guys says "you're cute when you're angry". I see it as "Yes, we both know you're getting upset about something you shouldn't, but I'll still talk to you after you calm down." After raid where I've been more fragile than usual, say after a rough day at work (my job is pretty intense!) or during finals week, I always cringe. Did my childishness annoy everyone? Will I log on to find I've been demoted? What if they gkick me? It's so comforting to log on and have everyone act like nothing happened.
When it comes down to it, I do wish I wasn't the only big baby in the guild, but at the same time, I guess I'm kind of grateful that my guildmates are mature enough to let my storms pass through and are ready to play again when I am.Explore posts in the same categories: Guild thoughts
Tags: drama, guild stuff, whiningBoth comments and pings are currently closed.


text:
Hi Guys and Girls,
We are looking to release a nice little app that will allow you to control a few of your VFX services without logging in to the Web portal, its called VFX Manager and you lucky folks at Geekzone get to look at it first, this is the first cut (beta) so we are looking for some feedback on it please.
It has support for call forwards and some call control options, also the Big one I'm sure a lot of you will like it has a tab for Call Logs, Placed, Received and Missed call logs are all visable from this Tab.
Remember please this is the first cut and more features will be added later.
This app interacts directly with your VFX account and any changes here will be reflected in your VFX account and vise versa.
This is the Logon Screen, enter your VFX logon details here
This is the call Forward Screen, get easy access to the the basic call forwards.
The Next Screen is Call Control and you get access a few of the options here, including adding , editing and deleting criteria for your Call Notify.
Finally the last Tab is call logs, won't show this as I have all my Call logs on it . you will just have to download it and see for your self.
At this stage we have a Windows Version Located Here
windows .exe version:
A Ubuntu Linux Version Located here
linux .deb version:
An Apple one will follow hopefully in a day or two.... (but that's just like Apple always following the Windows apps )
Hope you all enjoy this and we think you will be pretty happy with the app, as i said there will be more coming especially for the advanced feature sets and VoiceMail, so happy to receive feedback on this for improvements, issues and requests, please remember for requests this is just a lightweight app that is easy and functional and is not designed to replace the portal.
Phil Moore
Operations Manager
WorldxChange Communications


text:
Get started arranging more awesome dates locally. Learn how far your desires can go and open a chest of naughty wonders. We offer you the finest dating service on the web.
Sign up in two ticks and create a flirty profile to hang out with more single men or women online. Get on to the next level of dating online when joining our dating resource!
Get inspired by naughty online dating to set up breathtaking dates in the real world! Hundreds of singles have already found their dating mates via our dating website. Be the next one to get lucky!
Break the ice in a chat, push your playful drive to the maximum and go wild with your flirting. Never be too shy to start a new conversation in one of our chat rooms or send the first message.
Our dating website is a place where thousands of single women and men hang out online and set up breathtaking real life dates. Online dating is the best trend of the 21st century to keep you happy.
Make more frisky connections whenever you want, push the envelope of dating online. To stay on the wave of real pleasure, don't forget to look for your possible matches on our site.
Use the best opportunity to meet your sassy matches. Take advantage of our smart search to get a quick overview of all naughty local singles. Find the one to become your dating partner!
Flirt with bunches of cheeky single women, hang out online and skim the cream off your dating online. With our help, it will be a piece of cake for you to find a dating partner from your wildest dreams.
The advanced anti-fraud system we use at our dating website, combined with our security policy make it safe and secure to date at our site. Make new connections with your communication safely stored.
Hurry up to hit on and try awesome experiences that you won't ever forget!
I have found my match here. He came down for a couple of days recently and our meeting went well from the moment we met at the airport... He will be visiting me again really soon. I am Truly Blessed. Thanks Again.
Lots of very sexy members in my area that I really am getting to know. Had 4 dates already and 2 of them ended up in my bed. Thanks!
My friends registered me on this site as a joke after my divorce, and I never believed it would work, but started using Benaughty anyway. Chatted with several girls and then met Her on the Forum. She's smart, sexy and funny. We've been seeing each other for a couple of months now!


text:
UTAH STATE PRISON — In a cramped room here in the Wasatch medium-security unit, inmates sit hunched over computers, trying to decipher the aged writings of people long dead.
Some scroll through reels of microfilm, searching for a name that can help unlock the secrets of the past.
They are among hundreds of inmates doing genealogical work in family-history centers run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints inside the prison.
"The genealogical program here is a haven to get away from the environment within the prison itself," inmate Dan Maroney said. "It's a place for fellowship."
Read the full story on DESERT NEWS.


text:
Apple's ongoing war with Samsung crossed international waters and came back home this week.
The iPad-maker filed its latest suit against the Korean technology company in a San Jose federal court Tuesday.
The two tech giants have been suing each other in courts across the country trying to block the sale of the iPad and the Galaxy tablet.
Apple's latest complaint stems from an earlier ruling against the company in the same court. In December, District Judge Lucy Koh rejected Apple's request for a preliminary injunction to block Samsung from selling its tablet in the United States.
The latest complaint was filed under seal, which means the specific contents of the filings are not made public for quite some time.
But Paidcontent.org was able to extract two specific patent filings that Apple cited in the brief filing that is available to look at.
Both patents -- 8,074,172 and 8,086,604 -- were recently granted and they appear to be centered around the auto-correct feature on Apple's iPad and iPhone.
It is not clear what Samsung product the new lawsuit is aimed at but it marks a new way Apple is trying to protect its products.
Paidcontent.org reports that Apple has so far taken an approach to using design patents to defend its products against competitors but this time the company appears to be using utility patents instead.
Apple is seeking another preliminary injunction in the current suit.
Apple Files Another Federal Suit Against Samsung
Apple's ongoing war with Samsung crossed international waters and came back home this week.


text:
June 24
Quotes of the day from previous years:
- 2004
- Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. ~ Alfred Whitney Griswold
- selected by Kalki
- 2005
- Conservative, n. A statesman enamored of existing evils, as opposed to a Liberal, who wants to replace them with new ones. ~ Ambrose Bierce (born 24 June 1842)
- proposed by JeffQ
- 2006
- There is nothing better or more necessary than love. ~ John of the Cross (born 24 June 1542)
- proposed by Kalki
- 2007
- Absurdity, n. A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion. ~ Ambrose Bierce
- proposed by JeffQ
- 2008
- All I do is done in love; all I suffer, I suffer in the sweetness of love. ~ John of the Cross (born this day)
- proposed by Kalki
- 2009
- Guilt, n. The condition of one who is known to have committed an indiscretion, as distinguished from the state of him who has covered his tracks. ~ Ambrose Bierce, born that day.
- proposed by MosheZadka
- 2010
- Acquaintance, n. A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. ~ Ambrose Bierce
- proposed by Jeff Q
- 2011
- A thousand graces diffusing
He passed through the groves in haste,
And merely regarding them
As He passed
Clothed them with His beauty.
~ John of the Cross ~
- proposed by Kalki
- 2012
|The very pure spirit does not bother about the regard of others or human respect, but communes inwardly with God, alone and in solitude as to all forms, and with delightful tranquility, for the knowledge of God is received in divine silence.
|~ John of the Cross ~
- proposed by Kalki
- 2013
|I have said that God is pleased with nothing but love; but before I explain this, it will be as well to set forth the grounds on which the assertion rests. All our works, and all our labours, how grand soever they may be, are nothing in the sight of God, for we can give Him nothing, neither can we by them fulfil His desire, which is the growth of our soul. As to Himself He desires nothing of this, for He has need of nothing, and so, if He is pleased with anything it is with the growth of the soul; and as there is no way in which the soul can grow but in becoming in a manner equal to Him, for this reason only is He pleased with our love.
|~ John of the Cross ~
- proposed by Kalki
- 2014
|The soul may always say, whether occupied with temporal or spiritual things, "My sole occupation is love." Happy life! happy state! and happy the soul which has attained to it!
|~ John of the Cross ~
- proposed by Kalki
- 2015
|Any law that takes hold of a man's daily life cannot prevail in a community, unless the vast majority of the community are actively in favor of it. The laws that are the most operative are the laws which protect life.
|~ Henry Ward Beecher ~
- proposed by Kalki
- 2016
|Humor is … nearer right than any emotion we have. Humor is the atmosphere in which grace most flourishes.
|~ Henry Ward Beecher ~
- proposed by Kalki
- 2017
|The cynic is one who never sees a good quality in a man and never fails to see a bad one. He is the human owl, vigilant in darkness and blind to light, mousing for vermin, and never seeing noble game. The cynic puts all human actions into two classes — openly bad and secretly bad.
|~ Henry Ward Beecher ~
- proposed by Kalki
- 2018
|When, O crowned Jesus; when, O loving Saviour; when, O patient and just Judge — when wilt Thou come forth from Thy hiding, and change tears to smiles, and groans to joys? When shall that choral song burst forth, sweeping through the air, and circling about Thy throne, which shall proclaim the redemption of the world to the Lord God?
|~ Henry Ward Beecher ~
- proposed by Kalki
- 2019
|Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling. The Idiot's activity is not confined to any special field of thought or action, but "pervades and regulates the whole." He has the last word in everything; his decision is unappealable. He sets the fashions and opinion of taste, dictates the limitations of speech and circumscribes conduct with a dead-line.
|~ Ambrose Bierce ~
- proposed by Kalki
The Quote of the Day (QOTD) is a prominent feature of the Wikiquote Main Page. Thank you for submitting, reviewing, and ranking suggestions!
- Ranking system
- 4 : Excellent – should definitely be used. (This is the utmost ranking and should be used by any editor for only one quote at a time for each date.)
- 3 : Very Good – strong desire to see it used.
- 2 : Good – some desire to see it used.
- 1 : Acceptable – but with no particular desire to see it used.
- 0 : Not acceptable – not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.
- An averaging of the rankings provided to each suggestion produces it's general ranking in considerations for selection of Quote of the Day. The selections made are usually chosen from the top ranked options existing on the page, but the provision of highly ranked late additions, especially in regard to special events (most commonly in regard to the deaths of famous people, or other major social or physical occurrences), always remain an option for final selections.
- Thank you for participating!
Circus, n. A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool. ~ Ambrose Bierce, born that day.
- 3 Jeff Q (talk) 00:23, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
- 2 Kalki 19:03, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- 2 InvisibleSun 22:40, 23 June 2007 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 04:28, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
- 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 02:10, 21 June 2013 (UTC) Clever but what about Cirque du Soleil; they don't use animals.
The little white dove
Has returned to the ark with the bough;
And now the turtle-dove
Its desired mate
On the green banks has found.
~ John of the Cross
- 3 Kalki 09:33, 21 June 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
- 1 Zarbon 02:38, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
- 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 02:10, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
Let us rejoice, O my Beloved!
Let us go forth to see ourselves in Thy beauty,
To the mountain and the hill,
Where the pure water flows:
Let us enter into the heart of the thicket.
~ John of the Cross
- 3 Kalki 09:33, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 02:38, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
- 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 02:10, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
My Beloved is the mountains,
The solitary wooded valleys,
The strange islands,
The roaring torrents,
The whisper of the amorous gales;
The tranquil night
At the approaches of the dawn,
The silent music,
The murmuring solitude,
The supper which revives, and enkindles love.
~ John of the Cross
- 3 Kalki 09:33, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 02:38, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
- 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 02:10, 21 June 2013 (UTC)


text:
Dragonfly Wine Market opens Monday in Uptown Shelby. The market will carry at least 55 varieties of craft beers, international and nationwide wines.
SHELBY � A market on South Lafayette Street sells items that match the music heard over the store's speakers: eclectic.
A customer will hear music from all eras while shopping. Wines of red, white, dry and sweet are stacked along the market's walls and racks. Craft beers, from local breweries to organic and gluten-free, fill metal shelves.
Dragonfly Wine Market opens Monday in Uptown Shelby. The market will carry at least 55 varieties of craft beers, international and nationwide wines. Also offered are gourmet foods - from chocolates and dips to cheeses.
Owners Jamie and Jane Coulter said opening the market has been a three-year project. They also own Dragonfly Urban Farm in Shelby, known for its organic vegetables.
�We decided now is the time to make this come true,� Jamie said. �We think Shelby is ready for it.�
Antiques, gifts and wine accessories are part of the market�s merchandise. The Coulters are working on a schedule to showcase work from local artists and host wine and beer tastings in the future.
The name �Dragonfly� fit for the Coulters.
They noticed their personal collection of ornaments, table decorations and even a towel holder with the winged insect grew over time. Jane said in some cultures, dragonflies are a sign of good luck. The Coulters want that for their unique market, with wines ranging from $6.95 to more than $100.
�We�re excited about being here in Shelby. It�s a great-sized town,� Jamie said. �Come see us. We have a taste for every palette.�
Reach reporter Alicia Banks at 704-669-3338.
Dragonfly Wine Market
-Wine, craft beer, gifts
Where : 221 South Lafayette St., Suite 5, Shelby
Open : First day, Monday, Oct. 1
10 a.m. � 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday
Closed Sundays
-Visit http://www.dragonflywinemarket.com/ or click �Like� on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DragonflyWineMarket.
For more information about Dragonfly, products and events, contact Jamie or Jane Coulter at 704-466-3578.


text:
How can you profit from high time value prior to a news event while protecting yourself from a limit move?
Sell a straddle prior to the announcement while buying tail protection with long out-of-the-money options.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grain report is released some time during the second week of each month. The most recent report came out May 9, 2014. The May grain report does not have a lot of hard data to work with. There are plenty of adjusted projections as opposed to real results that affect futures and options pricing. We will be taking a look at how the USDA grain report affects the corn (CBOT:CN14), wheat (CBOT:ZWN15) and soybean (CBOT:ZSN14) markets.
The premium level in options pricing generally will not drop until after the results of the grain report are released. Option premium comprises both expiration value and time value. Expiration value is the price that the premium will be trading at the conclusion of the expiration cycle. Let's use the example of the December 530 corn puts. December futures settled at $4.98¾ on May 9. The Dec 530 puts closed at 56.75. The Dec 530 puts would be priced at 31.25 at the end of the expiration cycle. That is the "in-the-money" portion of the current premium price. The remaining 31.25 is the time value. Time value is a wasting asset that vanishes completely at expiration. If there is a degree of uncertainty or fear in the marketplace then the rate of decay in the time value can be slowed down or even reversed.
The settlement price for July corn futures was $5.11-¼ on May 8. The Dec 510 calls closed at 40.5 and the Dec 510 puts closed at 40. The straddle was at 80.5 with 79.25 being time value. Theoretically time value should recede after a grain report because the degree of uncertainty in the marketplace will have diminished. Shorting the Dec 510 corn straddle at 80.5 is one way to take advantage of that.
If December corn makes too much of a move it won't matter how much time value recedes because the other part of the premium, expiration value, will have gained so much. The size of the straddle covers a lot of ground to the upside and the downside, but if there is a limit move to either the downside or upside the losses can be catastrophic. In order to define the risk in the position a trader can go long "tails." The tails are the insurance policies that stop the bleeding in the position. Going long both an out-of-the-money call and an out-of-the-money put accomplishes this purpose.
This trade of going long Dec 590 calls for 15.25 and going long the Dec 430 puts for 9.25 comprises a net debit of 24.5. The combined position now has a net credit of 56. This reduces the trades' maximum possible profit by 24.5 but the maximum possible loss at expiration is now 24 as opposed to being unlimited to the upside and $4.29 ½ to the downside. At noon EDT the crop report came out and December futures settled at $4.98¾. The Dec 510 straddle declined to 77.25 from 80.5 despite moving 12.5¢ further away from the strike price. The long tails, however, dropped from 24.5 to 22.375. The tails cut the profitability of the trade from 3.25¢ to 1.125¢. The trader also can place wider tails on such as going long the 610 calls and 510 puts. The premium that a trader has to pay for this insurance is not as large but the coverage is also not as good. The maximum possible loss would increase to 44 from 24.
Let's take a look at how this strategy worked for wheat. On May 8, July wheat settled at $7.29½. The Dec 730 straddle closed at 60.375. The tails, which were comprised of the Dec 670 puts and the Dec 790 calls, were priced at 15. The composite position logged in at a credit of 45.375. The maximum possible loss at expiration would be 14.625¢. On May 11, July wheat settled at $7.22½. The short straddle declined in price to 56.5 for a gain of 3.875¢. The tails actually increased in price to 16.125¢, thereby increasing the overall profitability to 5.125¢ (see "Playing the middle").
A similar strategy in soybeans resulted in a net loss under a penny despite a move in the July futures of 28.5. The greater the movement in the underlying futures contract the less effective the strategy is. If there isn't a great deal of movement the results are instantly profitable.
Dan Keegan is an instructor with the Chicago School of Trading. Reach him at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, topped with a crown, dominates Viejo Vallarta, the city's historic UNESCO World Heritage site. (Maribeth Mellin / SF)
I have certain expectations when visiting Puerto Vallarta. I plan to eat well and often, purchase more than I can carry and learn something totally unexpected. Gorgeous sunsets are a given, as are mountains so lush they soothe weary eyes. I'll inhale the sweet scent of mangos and churros, tap my toes to salsa and mariachis and exchange cheek smooches with (nearly) everyone I meet.
In short, I'll savor all my favorite Mexican sensations without racing all over the country. Puerto Vallarta, you see, has a bit of everything I adore about Mexico. And though I've visited PV, as it's known informally, at least two dozen times, I always find a new favorite thing. What follows are just a few of the reasons I keep returning.
Civilized beauty
So iconic as to be passe, the view of the filigreed crown atop PV's Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, set against the blue horizon and Bahia de Banderas, always sends my inner shutter into ecstasy.
Surrounded by a panorama of white boxes with bumpy terracotta roofs tumbling down steep hillsides, the church dominates Viejo Vallarta, the city's historic UNESCO World Heritage site. My preferred perch for this portrait is the Celestial Suite at Hacienda San Angel, though it's hard to find a bad angle from the hills above the city.
With unusual prescience, the city's leaders have long protected this view, ensuring wires and cables are buried beneath river-stone streets.
At street level, PV's recently remodeled waterfront malecón serves as a combo sculpture gallery, performance space and front porch for all vallartaneses and their guests. Lingering sunsets bring out lovers, browsers, buskers and baby strollers.
On Sunday evenings, dancers gather in the main plaza to practice the danzón, a strictly choreographed dance led by live bands.
When I have just a few days in PV, I stay right in the middle of it all and usually end up with an extra bag — PV's shops and galleries are packed with the best folk art from throughout the country.
Taco tutorial
One recent morning I began the day scarfing down tacos de birria, bits of savory stewed meat on a corn tortilla, and drinking hearty birria broth in a plastic glass at a simple stand on a busy downtown street. It wasn't a breakfast I'd normally try, but I was under the spell of Chacha, the ebullient guide leading the Taco and More Tour from Vallarta Eats. "I want to make you feel good eating on the street," Chacha said as she led our group of eager eaters deep into the soul of PV.
Three hours later I'd learned more about the tastiest bits of pig parts than I care to remember and devoured carnitas, chicharrones, shrimp-stuffed jalapeños, pescado sarandeado (red snapper glazed with spices and mayonnaise), mango lollipops and way more. Travel writing can be all-consuming.
Gustatory ecstasy
Until Chacha awakened my tastebuds I'd pretty much concentrated on PV's vibrant restaurant scene, so impressive it supports a 10-day-long Gourmet Festival every November. I have my favorite spots, of course: Blanca Blue for pure escapist romance and fine Mexican wines; Cafe des Artistes or Trio for any chocolate dessert; Vista Grill for its unbeatable view of fireworks flashing over the bay; La Palapa for Sunday breakfast on the beach; Mariscos 8 Tostadas for camarones aguachile, shrimp marinated in lots of lime juice and fiery chilies.
Recently, I discovered all sorts of new treats including the absolutely best pulpo ever at Esquina de los Caprichios, an artsy tapas bar tucked on a steep corner, and tangy, inexpensive ceviche and cerveza at El Barracuda. Every time I visit I'm convinced PV is the second best dining city in Mexico (after Mexico City) — I'm sure readers will happily insist I'm wrong, and add more PV favorites to the list.
Natural bliss
Carretera Barra de Navidad winds its tortuous way south of PV past eye-popping scenery to idyllic beaches, hidden jungle rivers and precious nature reserves.
These days, my favorite turnoff leads to an enchanting 20-acre Eden where hummingbirds and butterflies flit about orchids. At Vallarta Botanical Gardens a half-hour south of PV, tropical hillsides nourish leafy tree ferns, spiky agave, blankets of fuchsia bougainvillea and fields of pink and blue wildflowers. A dusty trail winds downhill to the chilly Río Horcones while another pathway enters a fantastical orchid nursery and the Hacienda de Oro restaurant and shop, where dining tables face the treetops and honeys, jams, blown glass and beaded jewelry sit temptingly on rustic wood shelves. Friends told me the gardens were the ideal escape — after one visit I understood why.
Cultural immersion
Pablo could have been 90 or 60. It's hard to tell when a man's face is creased by harsh mountain sun and he speaks the language of the peyote people of the high Sierra Madre. The elder shaman in the Huichol village of San Andres Coamihata, Pablo greeted us in all his finery, his straw hat covered with feathers. For the next three hours our small tour group witnessed a culture few outsiders see outside the galleries and shops in PV.
Huichol bead and yarn work is among Mexico's most precious folk arts, and PV is the easiest place to find a wide array of masks, figurines and bowls with swirling patterns made from thousand of tiny colored beads or strands of yarn. Some of the finest pieces are on display in Viejo Vallarta at Peyote People, where the owners freely dispense intriguing info about this elusive indigenous group.
Men and women dressed in elaborately embroidered shirts and pants practice their art in shops and markets around the city. But to understand Huichol culture, visitors must make special arrangements and treat the experience with utmost respect.
I traveled to San Andres with Vallarta Adventures, a well-established company with connections at a few villages. Tour guide Martin Aver explained a bit about the culture as our flight took us northwest into the mountains where only a few dirt trails wound through forests.
Benito, our Huichol guide, blessed us as we entered the village, where two men played a dirge on handcrafted instruments similar to violins. Accompanied by the inevitable band of semi-shy children and languid dogs, we checked out the worn table where shamans determine future events during a peyote-enhanced trance.
Inside a circular ceremonial house, Benito explained the petroglyphs covering the walls. In the church, he showed us a hole in the dirt floor representing the womb of the world. Bashful women in bright yellow blouses and long blue skirts stood half-hidden behind wooden doors; many covered their faces the moment they sensed a camera pointed their way.
We were led to a gathering of artists displaying their simple, primitive handicrafts and purchased bracelets and necklaces, beaded iguanas climbing carved branches, and masks with swirling patterns and flowers representing peyote plants. With bundles in hand, we boarded the plane and waved to the gathering below. A subdued sense of awe settled upon as Aver said, "We always leave with great emotion."
Maribeth Mellin has received Mexico's prestigious Pluma de Plata for her book Traveler's Mexico Companion.
Learn about Vallarta Botanical Gardens
We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!
If you would like to donate directly to the non-profits in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit, here are some suggestions you may want to consider to help our local communities in this time of greatest need.