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Travel reviews by Mr S & Ms M from Banstead
On this trip, I visited Botswana & South Africa between 12-Sep-2012 and 27-Sep-2012 and I travelled with 1 other person.
Kwando Lagoon spoilt it. Please see separate email and attachment.
Feedback response
We had extensive discussions with these travellers after their trip. They enjoyed many aspects of their trip, but felt it was spoiled by Kwando Lagoon, and especially by the suspension on Lagoons vehicles, which they described as "boneshakers".
I stayed at and have reviewed:
|Overall rating
|Stanley's Camp, Botswana
13-Sep-2012 review: A reasonable start to our trip.
|Kanana, Botswana
15-Sep-2012 review: Quite a good camp.
|Shinde Camp, Botswana
17-Sep-2012 review: The best camp we stayed at.
|Lagoon Camp, Botswana
20-Sep-2012 review: Why did we go there?
|City Lodge OR Tambo, South Africa
23-Sep-2012 review: A good overnight hotel.
|Mala Mala
24-Sep-2012 review: One of the best camps in Africa.
Trip of a lifetime
On this trip, I visited Namibia between 4-Oct-2010 and 10-Oct-2010 and I travelled with 1 other person.
We spent 6 nights in Kruger National Park, 6 nights in Sabi Sand and 6 nights in Namibia obtaining images for a book on Africa we are writing. We could travel anywhere in the world for the next 10 years and not have a better trip than this, despite the problems with missing luggage etc. No 3 week trip is going to be perfect but this was very close.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can't think of anything.
I stayed at and have reviewed:
|Overall rating
|Olive Grove, Namibia
4-Oct-2010 review: A reasonable overnight stay
|Okaukuejo Camp, Namibia
5-Oct-2010 review: Really enjoyed this camp
|Okonjima Plains Camp, Namibia
8-Oct-2010 review: Had a good time at Okonjima Main Camp
The Holiday from Hell
On this trip, I visited Namibia between 21-Sep-2007 and 7-Oct-2007 and I travelled with 1 other person.
This was the wrong holiday at the wrong time. Christine and I had just sold our business, a manufacturing company employing 70 staff. In April, approx 6 months after booking this trip, we were contacted by our American competitors who made us a good offer for the business. Knowing we were going away in September we stipultaed that we wanted to complete by the end of August to give us sufficient time to arrange things and wind down from the stress of the sale. We eventually completed 2 days before leaving for Namibia and were in no fit state for this type of trip. As a result all sorts of things went wrong, which taken in isolation were insignificant, but added together spoilt the entire trip. Some have already been mentioned.
If we hadn't been so stressed and tired the driving may not have been such an issue, though I have already stated that I underestimated the distances. What I thought would be 2-hour drives were in fact 4 or 5 hour drives. The road conditions were also poor. Even the tarred roads are now in need of repair.
One other point we would like to mention concerns the fax Tracy sent to Pelican Bay. She stated that Ai Aiba is not the sort of lodge to fuss over clients. We're not sure where she gets that impression from. Neither Christine nor I expect people to fuss over us. In fact the opposite is true. All we really want is to be left alone, which is why we organised our own self drive rather than go with a group. As photographers we want the flexibility to wait around for the right moment to take stunning photographs rather than take snap shots.
Finally both Christine and I would like to thank Expert Africa and Tracy for all their help and assistance, especially when things went wrong during our stay.
Feedback response
We're thankful to observe that this kind of disappointed feedback with any of our trips is very unusual. However, it does illustrate several important points though…
Firstly, our self-drive trips around Namibia require more involvement, energy and commitment from our travellers than most fly-in safaris do. These are not trips to that you can just sit back and enjoy – like to a few weeks lying on beach. They are really journeys of discovery, best entered into with an inquisitive mind and reserves of energy. Starting off on one of these trips in an exhausted state is, as demonstrated above, a recipie for disaster.
Secondly, travellers should not underestimate the driving distances and times in Namibia: these can be long. We have noted down the driving times and distances for some of the main routes in our brochure, and our team will always advise you on the more offbeat routes. On some routes, we'll advise that stop is wise; please listen to us, and take the advice seriously.
By way of a 'PS' to this story – having discussed their trip with us at length, and put it into context, they chose to travell to Africa (Namibia) again with us in 2010, and then to Botswana with us in 2012. See details of these trips, above.
I stayed at and have reviewed:
|Overall rating
|Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch, Namibia
22-Sep-2007 review: A great way to start the trip
|Kulala Desert Lodge, Namibia
23-Sep-2007 review: Not ideal for landscape photographers
|Pelican Bay Hotel, Namibia (this camp has since closed)
25-Sep-2007 review: A total disaster. See below.
|Okaukuejo Camp, Namibia
29-Sep-2007 review: The water hole was excellent.
|Waterberg Plateau Lodge, Namibia
1-Oct-2007 review: We didn't stay there
|Okonjima Bush Camp, Namibia
3-Oct-2007 review: Worth going just to visit Africat
|Overall rating
|Coast and Sandwich Harbour, Namibia
26-Sep-2007 review: A disaster


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Thompson.farms necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 169 diseños de 61 diseñadores freelance.
Fusion Ag LLC
Our tag line /slogan is " Where performance and service meet" The reason the we chose Fusion Ag is because our goal is to combine high qualty products (corn and soybeans seed) with unparallel customer service.
The nuts and bolts of our company is we are a ag retail company the specializes in corn, soybean seed sales. We are family owned independant company that strives to supply our growers the best products that we know...
The target audience that we are looking to people in the ag industry. Mainly farmers and other ag retail people. We are located in East Central North Dakota in the heart of the Red River Valley. Our target audience is educated farmers who progressive and knowledgable in agriculture. The age group that we are targeting are 25 to 50 farmers who are up to date in the latest and greatest in our industry..
Our Requirments are wide open.
Some things are:
We are in the agriculture industry
We like the colors of Burnt Orange and Blue other possible colors green and gold...
Could possible tie in some crops into the logo ( soybeans, wheat, corn)
A logo the is one of a kind, dont need any copy cats have already had someone try that...
Something that is simple yet will set us apart from the competition.
Need to be able to have computer copys (jpg.gif etc..) so we can send them to our apparel company.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.

subset: commoncrawl


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Q36. Write a program that reads in a sequence of ints into an array.
The program should the shift each value on one position in the array.
For example, whatever is in array position 4 should be moved into
position 5. Whatever is in the last position should be moved to the start.
//So we can start of by reading in 5 numbers in our array.
public static void main(String[] args) {
String strnum = "";
int[] numbers = new int [5];
int numsread = 0;
for (numsread = 0; numsread < numbers.length; numsread++){
strnum = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter a Mark:");
numbers[numsread] = Integer.parseInt(strnum);}
//we need another temporary variable so we can swap them around one by one. We can use 'i' for this..
int i;
now i think we can start fiddling them around like so..//
i = numbers[4];
numbers[1]= numbers[0];
numbers[0] = i;
System.out.print(numbers[0]+ " ");
System.out.print(numbers[1]+ " ");
System.out.print(numbers[2]+ " ");
System.out.print(numbers[3]+ " ");
System.out.print(numbers[4]+ " ");
Numbers entered: 5,10,15,20,25.
25 5 10 15 20 BUILD SUCCESSFUL (total time: 13 seconds)


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Web 2.0 Expo Google is pushing ahead with Latitude - the mobile service that tells your friends where you are - despite its high-profile introduction of somewhat similar mobile services that hook into its new Google Buzz social networking setup.
During a panel discussion at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, Google man Steve Lee - who heads the company's mobile geolocation work - insisted that "Latitude is not dead." Lee says that the service has grown 30 per cent per month in 2010, and via the Latitude API the company hopes to turn it into a kind of geolocation platform for an army of third-party mobile applications.
Lee acknowledges that Latitude isn't as popular as Google would like it to be, but he chalked this up to "technical issues as well as other issues" with iPhone support. Famously, Apple did not allow Latitude into the iPhone App Store, and Google was forced to launch it on the Jesus Phone as a browser app.
Despite this, the Google man says, eight million people have activated Latitude, and three million of those are active users. The most popular platforms are Android and Blackberry, with Lee claiming that 10 per cent of all Android users are on the service.
Which just goes to show you how many people don't care about privacy. Latitude doesn't just share your location with friends, it shares it with Google - which is already collecting so much else about everything you do.
That said, Lee points out that about a quarter of all Latitude users don't actually share their location with other users. They merely use the service's private "history" tool to track their own whereabouts. In the next few weeks, Lee says, Google will launch a new history tool that "does some analysis" of location data. "We'll provide some really unique insights into your history, including trips you've taken, how much time you spend at work and at home, and other things."
Lee adds that Latitude users aren't as "engaged" as Google would like them to be. This, he said, is the trouble with Latitude's "passive location sharing" setup. You don't have to tell it where you are. Using GPS, cell towers, and Wifi databases, it determines where you - and tells your friends - on its own. "Because it does passive location sharing, it doesn't require the kind of engagement that a check-in model needs," he said.
Lee declined to comment on additional plans for the service. But he seemed to indicate that the service will eventually allow users to actively input their location as text, a setup popularized by Foursquare, Silicon Valley's social startup of the moment. "Foursquare and other services have definitely shown tremendous value," he said. "That's definitely something we're looking at doing. But I still think there's tremendous value in the continuous sharing model ... I think what you'll see from Latitude is a hybrid model."
Lee believes that thanks to the service's existing setup, you'll see "hundreds if not thousands" of third-party apps using the Latitude APIs to tap the user location. He says the APIs will eventually provide both read and write access, so that third-party apps can provide user locations as well as mine them.
He envisions a world where, say, a bank uses your location to determine when an unauthorized person is trying to tap your account. "You can imagine that with location history - Chase offering a discount to connect their location history into the bank, saving their customers some money and providing a better mechanism for anti-fraud." ®
Sponsored: Practical tips for Office 365 tenant-to-tenant migration


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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Justin Tuck called it a funny year. He and his Giants teammates weren't laughing.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Justin Tuck called it a funny year. He and his Giants teammates weren't laughing.
There will be no repeat championship for the Giants, not even a playoff berth. A 9-7 season wasn't good enough this time around.
The Giants saw their playoff hopes end Sunday, minutes after a 42-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, when Chicago beat Detroit 26-24.
"It happens that way," Tuck said after the Giants rebounded from two bad losses and routed the Eagles in what might have been Andy Reid's final game at coach. "I've been 10-6 and not made the playoffs. You've got to win the ones you're supposed to. That's why the division games mean so much. If we'd won the division games, we'd still be in the driver's seat."
Instead, they are headed home early.
"We are certainly disappointed we are not in the playoffs," coach Tom Coughlin said after the Giants missed the postseason for the third time in four years. "Our goal was certainly to be there. Our goal was to win the division. We didn't do that either. We won nine games and there is no way anyone can talk us out of that. We do have the nine wins, but it's not good enough."
A year ago it was. The Giants won their last two games in 2011 to get into the playoffs at 9-7, and finished the season with six straight wins in earning their second NFL title in five seasons.
This marks the seventh straight season the Super Bowl champion has failed to win a playoff game the following year.
Moments after finishing his worst season with the Eagles (4-12), Reid said he would like to return for the final year of a contract that will pay him $6 million next year. Reid expects to meet with owner Jeffrey Lurie on Monday.
"I've been doing it a long time. I have respect for Jeff Lurie. I go in eyes wide open," Reid said. "Either way, I understand. Whatever he chooses will be the right thing. He always does things for the best interests of the Eagles."
Eli Manning did his part to keep the Giants in the chase with a career-best five touchdown passes. Fans who stuck around were chanting "Let's Go Lions" as the final moments ticked off in the Chicago-Detroit game.
"It hurts," said Manning, who finished 13-of-21 for 208 yards and no interceptions. "Each year you want to make the playoffs to give yourself an opportunity to win a championship; 9-7 last year was good enough. It wasn't good enough this year and we knew it wouldn't be."
After going 6-2, they lost five of eight.
"The first thing is you don't ever rely on anybody else in this business," Coughlin said. "You've got to take care of your own business. We certainly had our chances. That will be the No. 1 thing I'll talk to the team about."
Manning woke up the offense with touchdown passes of 3 and 38 yards to rookie Rueben Randle, a 15-yarder to David Wilson and a 24-yarder to Victor Cruz just before halftime for a 35-7 lead. He's the first Giant to throw five TD passes in a game since Phil Simms in 1980. His fifth score was a 1-yard pass to Henry Hynoski in the fourth quarter.
Ahmad Bradshaw, who rushed for 107 yards and passed the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career, also scored on a 1-yard run.
Starting for the first time since a concussion in early November, Michael Vick threw a 7-yard TD to Jeremy Maclin for the Eagles. Vick finished 19-of-35 for 197 yards and one interception before being replaced by Trent Edwards.
The Eagles had hoped to send Reid out on a positive note, but they played poorly.


text:
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text:
Okay so this question reminded me of one my brother asked me a while back about the hit day-time novelty-worn-off-now snoozathon Deal or no deal.
For the uninitiated:
In playing deal or no deal, the player is presented with one of 22 boxes (randomly selected) each containing different sums of money, he then asks in turn for each of the 21 remaining boxes to be opened, occasionally receiving an offer (from a wholly unconvincing 'banker' figure) for the mystery amount in his box.
If he rejects all of the offers along the way, the player is allowed to work his way through several (for some unfathomable reason, emotionally charged) box openings until there remain only two unopened boxes: one of which is his own, the other not. He is then given a choice to stick or switch (take the contents of his own box or the other), something he then agonises pointlessly over for the next 10 minutes.
Monty hall
[If you have not seen the monty hall 'paradox' check out this wikipedia link and prepare to be baffled, then enlightened, then disappointed that the whole thing is so trivial. After which feel free to read on.]
There is a certain similarity, you will agree, between the situation a deal or no deal player finds himself in having rejected all offers and the dilemma of Monty's contestant in the classic problem: several 'bad choices' have been eliminated and he is left with a choice between a better and worse choice with no way of knowing between them.
Question: The solution to the monty hall problem is that it is, in fact, better to switch- does the same apply here? Does this depend upon the money in the boxes? Should every player opt for 'switch', cutting the 10 minutes of agonising away???


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I started using Tilth Beauty Anti-aging Moisturizer and Eye Wondrous Serum a few months ago. I noticed my crow's feet around my eyes had disappeared. Then, I decided to use Tilth on my whole face. Wow what a difference. My skin looked healthier and smoother. People started telling me how fabulous my skin looked and wanted to know what I was doing. I decided to share my little secret.
What's in a Name...?
Tilth Beauty derives its name from the life-giving properties of the earth itself. 'Tilth' refers to the physical condition and health of soil, like its texture and its ability to hold moisture and circulate oxygen. Soil with good 'tilth' is well functioning with an adequate reservoir of water, nutrients, infiltration, and water flow. All of this essential for plant growth.
My sister was so curious about what products I was using. I decided to give Tony Vargus, skin guru and Tilth Beauty, CEO a call. He is a really nice guy and agreed to talk to my sister. One of the most important things he told her was to drink a lot of water and that skin is nourished from the inside out.
I found this on Tilth Beauty.
- We love our customers! That is why we provide them with safe, effective and non-toxic ingredients. We provide unduplicated value: safe, non-toxic ingredients and a veritable garden of healing botanicals.
- We love animals! We are cruelty free, and let's face it – how can real beauty embrace cruelty? It simply can't. We are honest about the true meaning of beauty, and with each product we manufacture, speak for the welfare of those who cannot do it for themselves.
- We love the Earth! Our packaging is eco-friendly, green, and we use sustainable ingredients. It's also really chic!
- We love America! Tilth Beauty™ is proudly made in the U.S.A. and providing jobs to American workers.
Tilth Beauty Anti-aging Firming Moisture Cream, with Renovage™ and luxurious botanicals helps drooping skin defy the daily – and nightly put-downs of gravity. With gentle and innovative plant extracts, this anti-aging cream gives skin what it really needs -- and craves – pure, concentrated botanical nutrition -- wholesome plant-based moisture. Anti-aging Firming Moisture Cream uses nature's genius to soften facial lines, while boosting elasticity, and firmness. Your skin is yearning for this!
1.7 oz/50 g. $55.00
Tilth Beauty Eye Wondrous Serum with peptides and Retinol, Eye Wondrous Serum bids farewell to the appearance of wrinkles and crinkles around your sparkling gems. A-brim with botanical and cosmeceutical helpers, this serum will tempt you to try it beyond the eyes. The good news is – while especially good for the eyes, it also brings astonishing results to the face and neck! How convenient… how practical…. How visionary!
0.5 oz./ 15 g. $62.00
Have you had your berries today? Your skin simply cannot get enough of these super-foods. Berry Toner Extract with anti-oxidant fruit extracts of blueberry, cranberry, and goji berry help deliver a daily harvest of phytonutrients, along with vitamins C and E to your skin at the cellular level. This peerless toner sloughs away left behind make-up, dead skin, while mopping up free radicals that accelerate the aging process. You get toned pores, firm skin, and one berry, berry healthy glow.
4.0 oz./120 ml $32.00
Tilth Beauty Anti-Aging Products are available at Tilth Beauty.


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"There was peace and the world had an even tenor to its way. Nothing was revealed in the morning the trend of which was not known the night before. It seems to me that the disaster about to occur was the event that not only made the world rub it's eyes and awake, but woke it with a start - keeping it moving at a rapidly accelerating pace ever since, with less and less peace, satisfaction and happiness. To my mind the world of today awoke April 15th, 1912."
-Jack B. Thayer, Titanic Survivor
Today is 100 years since the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank (yes, I know the sinking was on the 15th, but I'm going to mark the 14th, since that's when the collision occurred and started the chain of events).
I've done annual posts on lesser-known aspects of the disaster, and obviously had quite a bit of time to think about what would be appropriate for today. I hope you enjoy this, as I've tried to connect it with something we still have 100 years later.
The Titanic's story has formed the basis for movies, computer games, TV shows, novelty ice cubes, and books. Even a few musicals (such as the Las Vegas Jubilee comedy-musical-topless show about the sinking), and, most bizarrely, a childrens' inflatable slide.
Lost in all of this is a tragedy in which over 1500 people died. I think any of us would be horrified to see "Holocaust- The Musical!" or "September 11 - a laugh-a-minute review!" and it always irks me that the Titanic's needless loss of human life is often treated as on object of amusement.
Lastly, all of us with an interest in the story owe a debt to the late Walter Lord. Without his research and compelling writing it would likely have been forgotten along with many other turn-of-the-century shipping disasters.
And on with the post.
The Sundowner
The Sundowner (a comical name for those of us in medical profession) is a 58 foot (18m) motor yacht at the Ramsgate Maritime Museum in England. She was, coincidentally, built in 1912, the same year the Titanic sank. She's a fairly nondescript boat, and certainly nothing like the huge ocean liner. One man was to link the 2 ships, both times with remarkable heroism.
Charles Herbert Lightoller
Charles Lightoller was born in Lancashire in 1874. His mother died shortly after his birth from delivery complications, and his father (who owned a cotton mill) abandoned him and left the country a few years later. Both his siblings died in childhood.
When he was 13 Charles signed on to an at-sea apprenticeship, and between 1887 and 1899 went on journeys that led him to being shipwrecked & rescued once, fighting an at-sea fire that threatened his ship, catching malaria, prospecting for gold in the 1898 Klondike gold rush, becoming a cowboy in Alberta, riding railroads as a hobo across Canada, and working as a cattle wrangler on a livestock freighter back to England. He was 23 years old, had circled the world twice, and was penniless upon returning home.
He worked his way up to a Master's certificate, and in 1900 joined the White Star Line, gradually rising in the ranks. He married and had 5 children (2 girls and 3 boys - all served in WWII, with 2 sons killed in the fighting).
In 1912 he was named 1st officer of the brand-new Titanic, though shortly before the voyage a new chief officer was brought aboard, knocking Lightoller down a notch to 2nd officer.
He was off-duty when the ship struck the iceberg, but once alerted quickly went to work. He supervised lowering the port-side lifeboats, never trying to get in one himself. After all the boats were gone and the ship about to go under, he felt he could do no more, and dived into a wave that was breaking over the now-submerged officers' quarters.
As tons of seawater poured down the Titanic's ventilators, he was sucked under, and pinned against one's grating. If it had broken he'd have been sucked deep inside the dying ship and never found, and the suction was so powerful he couldn't break free and swim to the surface.
He'd been trapped underwater for 15-20 seconds when a boiler ruptured deep in the dying ship, sending up a blast of hot air that broke the suction and launched him to the surface.
Reaching the air he was in 28°F (-2° C) water, in which a person couldn't survive more than 15 minutes. He was near lifeboat B, which had overturned, and had about 30 men clinging to it. He swam over and crawled aboard.
Without oars they were unable to move away from the sinking ship, and may have been sucked down with her. But when the first smokestack collapsed into the water (and likely killed many beneath it) the wave pushed their overturned boat safely away.
The upside-down boat was swamped and unstable, and the men clinging to it were in danger of being thrown off in the swells. Lightoller quickly arranged them standing on its bottom in parallel lines, and ordered them to lean right or left to counteract the waves. When the Carpathia came in the morning they were the last boat to be picked up. Lightoller himself was the last survivor of the disaster to be brought aboard, and the highest-ranking officer to live.
He testified at both the British and American hearings, and many of his recommendations to prevent similar disasters from occurring were agreed to by the major maritime nations. Several of them stand to this day (lifeboat drills, enough lifeboats for all aboard, continuous radio communication by all vessels for distress signals, and ship-to-ship notification of icebergs).
He served his country in WWI, receiving decorations and commanding 2 ships. He was sunk (and rescued) again during the war, and later rammed and sank a German U-Boat.
After the war he returned to the White Star Line, but discovered that his association with Titanic had blacklisted him from advancing. He became discouraged and left the sea, taking jobs as an innkeeper and chicken farmer, and writing his autobiography.
But his heart never left the sea, and in 1929 he and his wife bought the little Sundowner and sailed her around Europe.
In 1940 came Great Britain's darkest hour.
Hitler's seemingly invincible armies were swarming across Europe, and a large portion of Britain's armies were trapped at Dunkirk by the invaders. Their options were to surrender or die fighting.
Churchill's government requisitioned every ship and boat available to evacuate them home, and at age 66 the now-retired Lightoller and his oldest son volunteered to take the little Sundowner across the English Channel to help.
Without any armament they set out, dodging strafing Luftwaffe planes. Halfway across they came across another boat that had broken down and caught fire, and rescued her crew. Then Lightoller sailed on. Upon arriving at Dunkirk he took the Sundowner alongside another ship, which quickly off-loaded soldiers to his, then went back for more. He headed back to England with 130 men crammed in his vessel (built to carry perhaps 20 at most). Badly overloaded, the Sundowner was barely maneuverable, but with his experienced hand on the wheel she avoided further airplane machine guns and the wakes of larger ships that threatened to overturn his.
He unloaded the soldiers and was ready to return for more, but with the worsening conditions only faster ships were being sent. The little Sundowner spent the rest of the war doing coastal patrol, and in 1945 she returned to being a pleasure boat. Lightoller and his wife spent the rest of their years sailing her.
Lightoller died in December 1952, a victim of another man-made disaster, the Great London Smog.
His wife continued sailing Sundowner, leading a repeat procession of boats back to Dunkirk in 1965 for the 25th anniversary of the evacuation. After her death the boat had several owners before being purchased by the Ramsgate Maritime museum, and has since led the memorial procession back to Dunkirk twice more (1990 and 2000).
Today this connection to the past is still with us. While the wreckage of the once magnificent Titanic reminds us of her 1500 dead and the lessons taught by the tragedy, the little Sundowner reminds us of courage in the face of adversity- perhaps our most noble capacity.


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What is the proper way to control arachnode configuration?
We have different configuration tables in AN database. Still when I do crawler.Start() it tries to load disallowed domains, disallowed uris and some other config stuff from xml files on the disk.
I'm writing my console app for crawling, so I don't have any xmls with config. Could you give some advice, how to handle this properly?
Thank you :)
The .xml files should only be used if the DB cannot be found. Check your build directory.
For best service when you require assistance:
Skype: arachnodedotnet
Figured out: the thing is to properly set up connection string in App.config file of a project that you run. Something like this:
<add name="arachnode_net_ConnectionString"
connectionString="Data Source=LALALA-PC\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=arachnode.net;Integrated Security=True;Connection Timeout=3600; Max Pool Size=100000;"
providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
Don't hardcode the connection string into your code.
The .xml configs are present if you're using one of the database overrides to simulate database presence.
Have you tried customizing Console\Program.cs - this file has everything you need?
The .xml files will be there if you use the DB, and then can easily be used for your non-DB applications.
Are you using the DEMO or the code from SVN?
Not sure, what overrides are you talking about. Is it overriding one of crawler.ApplicationSettings? Then which one is responsible for simulating db?
yea, actually I'm working on creating my own console crawler in my main project solution, taking AN Console app from SVN as a base. I'm connecting to the AN database, restored from .bak as it was written in installation guide. So I'm not sure, why is my console app looking for any .xml config files.
Sorry if any questions are really simple :)
Thanks a lot!
If you're using a non-database storage system, then, you'll need something to mimic the the configuration tables in SQL, thus, the .xml files.
hmm.. Could you maybe advice a place to debug it? because I have restored and reset the database, but still the app throws exception, if does not find xml files with configs
Screenshot(s), specific exception(s)?
This is what I get, when starting engine:
The database connection works well, because I get this exception written into the Exceptions table. Can't really figure out, where am I missing the point..
What is your ConnectionString, here?
Does it match here:
If dbo.DisallowedAbsoluteUris.xml isn't on disk, then it looks like you've never been able to connect to the DB to create the file.
Was this not clear in the instructions? (needs to be improved?)
If we speak about installation instructions, I think there is a space for improvement. What I faced, working in visual studio: when I add connection string to the project in 'properties' -> 'settings' tab, it silently adds kind of project's namespace to connection string name. So no way to set arachnode connection string this way. Only writing it yourself into App.config file.
The other thing to make clear is that you have to set connection string in App.config for the project that you currently build and run. Because ConfigurationManager, which is used in Configuration project will read this file for connection strings.
I had no notifications in visual studio about changing connection string, I also could not follow instruction for checking connection string for Functions project, because I see no 'database' tab in project's properties, I also could not find 'Functions.csproj.user' file. So it was all pretty much confusing for a not experienced .net user like me.
It is also good to mention that, if anyone uses arachnode dlls as a dependency for their own projects, they should also state connection string in App.config file of a project, that they build and run.
OK - I will take a look this weekend.
I am planning to update the DEMO (a good number of fixes and enhancements) to VS2015+.
Thank you for your feedback.
No problem, thank you too! Will you announce the update, when released?
Other things came up this weekend.
BTW, the DEMO update and instructions update won't affect you in any way... crawl away!


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Transfer Information
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The University of the Arts welcomes applications from transfer students. Transfer students are admitted under policies that depend on the major to which they are applying. The University considers any applicant who has been enrolled in a college-level program of study after secondary school to be a transfer applicant. Transfers enjoy a preferred position among applicants for admission since it can be assumed they have matured in their goals and have demonstrated their abilities at the college level.
Transfer Application Requirements
In addition to meeting the requirements described on the Application Process page of this site, transfer applicants must also submit official transcripts from all colleges they have attended in order to complete the application process. Applicants must also notify the UArts Office of Admission of any courses in which they are currently enrolled or intend to complete prior to matriculating. A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for transfer.
Transfer of Credit
It is often possible to transfer credit from previous coursework to UArts. You may receive credit for courses taken at other regionally accredited institutions if these courses are similar to those offered at the University of the Arts. A minimum grade of "C" is required in order to present a course for transfer credit. Only credits are transferable, not grades.
You will be given a preliminary transfer credit evaluation at the time of admission; final award of transfer credit is subject to receipt of final official transcripts and verification by the registrar at the time of enrollment.
Residency Requirements
Transfer students must complete a minimum of 48 credits in studio and/or liberal arts courses at the University.
Transfer credits are applied only to specific studio and liberal arts requirements stipulated for a UArts degree. For this reason, transfer students may be required to complete more than the minimum 48 credits, despite the number of credits earned at previous institutions.
Articulation Agreements
Current list of all Articulation Agreements >>
College of Art, Media & Design
If you submit an application for transfer admission to a program in the College of Art, Media and Design, you will be contacted by the Office of Admissions to schedule a portfolio review with a faculty member from the department to which you are applying. A portfolio review can only be scheduled once all college transcripts and courses in progress have been received, and a preliminary transfer credit evaluation has been completed by the Office of Admission. If you are unable to attend an in-person portfolio review, you may submit your portfolio online or by mail, following guidelines from the department to which you are applying.
If you are admitted, the number of credits and semesters that you will require to complete your degree will depend on the number of liberal arts credits you bring, the number of credits from studio courses, and the number of these courses that are judged equivalent to those in the UArts curriculum.
Freshman Transfers
Transfer students with fewer than 21 transferable liberal arts credits and without qualifications for advanced standing in studio should expect to be registered for first year courses and anticipate being enrolled at The University of the Arts for the equivalent of eight semesters. Those who qualify for either the three-year program or advanced standing but wish to take advantage of the first year programs and elective courses may also apply as freshman transfers.
Three-Year Transfers
Applicants who have not had substantial studio instruction but who present a minimum of 21 transferable credits in liberal arts may qualify for the three-year transfer program. Under this program, students have the opportunity to fulfill the College of Art, Media and Design graduation requirements in three years. In the first year, the first year curriculum is combined with studies in the major department. If approved by both the first year and major-department chairpersons, the transfer student may attain third-year status at the start of his or her second year. This program imposes an extremely demanding schedule and is best suited to mature students who have definitely decided upon a major.
Advanced Standing
Students transferring into the second or third-year level studios of major departments are considered advanced standing candidates. The first year in College of Art, Media and Design programs includes 21 credits of studio classwork in the first year core and elective courses. Students who have completed between 9 and 21 credits in studio and who have studied in the foundation areas may be considered for advanced status. Decisions concerning admission to a major department, class standing, and mandated prerequisites are made by major-department faculty upon an evaluation of the admission portfolio and preliminary transfer-credit analysis.
College of Performing Arts
At the time of your entrance audition, the Audition Committee will evaluate your performance and determine whether to admit you as freshman or advanced standing student. You may receive transfer credit in your major for comparable previous coursework. However, students are not given transfer credit for studio courses until after the completion of their first semester at The University of the Arts. Transfer students should assume that they will receive freshman status unless advanced status is clearly indicated in their letter of admission.


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Possible Duplicate:
How can I significantly improve my hand independence on piano?
I'm a intermediate piano student (I can play almost without a break if you give me notes but am still poor on chords). Recently, I picked up songs with chords in them which require a rhythm (like Piano Man) on the left hand and notes on the right (The lyrics). I am unable to manage my left and right coordination; for some reason my hands love symmetry and if i trying to play a rhythm chord on my left hand and lyrics on my right, I end up doing the lyrics on both or chords on both. I am unable to get my left and right hands do different things. How do I improve this?
I know the obvious answer is "practice". But my question is HOW? What specifically do I need to do in order to improve this aspect.


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Many Argentineans did not rate his chances with the national side when he took over and they didn't exactly inspire during qualification or at the World Cup. Is he still a national hero in Argentina? One thing that's always struck me about Maradona is not just how people admire him as a player, but how Argentines love him for what he did for the country. I've heard this from lots of different people. That said, very few people thought him becoming coach was a good idea. A better draw against an easier side, against England for example, might have helped in the quarters, but the way they lost to Germany confirmed most people's suspicions about how him being in charge. Lots of Brits suggested it was like gazza being in charge of England. It was actually a mix of Gazza and Keegan.
Will the national team be better off without him and his questionable tactical nous? It's very easy to assume so and we'll soon know. Things will certainly be calmer, but The Copa America is next year which will be very competitive, plus Argentina are hosts so the pressure will be on. It's easy to forget that despite people saying that Marcelo Bielsa is a god, for example, his side went out of 2002 in the group phase. Coaching Argentina is not an easy gig, and it is not just tactical genius that helps coaches succeed.
I'm guessing sales of natty grey suits will nosedive in Buenos Aires? I think they were out of most of us mere mortals' budget in the first place. At least they all looked good when it went pear shaped.
Messi. Not as good a player as Maradona was is he? Ha ha, the best thing about Messi is how long we still have to enjoy watching him. He has a fairly major image problem in Argentina, because of his performances for the national side, which frustrate the average fan, but I'd say it's naive to expect Messi to play as well as at Barcelona for any other club or international side, with the exception of Spain. Brazil 2014 will be huge for him. If he never kicks a ball again he'll already be considered a legend, but he does need a great world cup to be compared to Maradona.
How did the Barra Bravas behave during their paid jollies to South Africa.English hooligans had to hand in their passports, In Argentina, I read that some were even on El Diego's flight over? They behaved pretty badly. You had three sets of barras there. Some were self-financed, some pooled cash via their scandalously formed NGO. Then you had the ones who, they themselves admitted, dealt directly with Bilardo and Maradona. They were the ones on the plane with the squad. It's disgusting, but barras are worse than hooligans as they more institutionalised than hooligans. Some were deported, I saw some just being aggressive and lairy and growling as they wandered around at the World Cup, but it's probably just as well there wasn't an England Argentina. Any excuse...
Rupert Fryer has been in touch with EFW. He wants to know about your encounter with Socrates out in South Africa and also, somewhat mischievously asked about your views on Kirchner? Well the encounter with Socrates never happened. I was supposed to be interviewing the great man but the security guards clearly had no idea who he was, his accreditation wasn't up to scratch and wouldn't let him into the TV compound… As for Kirchner, I assume he's referring to Cristina, not Néstor, and I'm not so sure he's asking about what I think about the policies, so I'm avoiding that one...
Did Argentineans switch their support to Uruguay after were dumped out by Germany.Rightly or wrongly I compare Argentina and Uruguay's relationship to England and Scotland's. I think most Argentines wanted the Charruas to do well, even if the were a bit envious. Just as in the analogy, the opposite does not tend to occur.
How will Brazil 2014 differ from South Africa 2010? Will there be a South American feel to it or will FIFA stifle it out in their quest for bland commercialisation across the world?South Africa was such a commercial success that's it's very unlikely that FIFA or the sponsors will change much. Hopefully there'll be less vuvuzelas, and I'm sure that the Brazilian culture and football culture is do strong that it will still come through, how much so depends though...
Argentina are due to host ' Copa America' in 2011. Surely the stadiums there will need a makeover? I do not think many have had a lick of paint since 1978 World Cup. You've been listening to Diego, I see. He said the changing rooms at River Plate's Monumental hadn't been done up since '78, which is why the Brazil qualifier ended up in Rosario. Grounds in Argentina are in chronic need of investment, although if its just paint you're after, the previous River Plate president sold a percentage of three player's transfer rights to drum up the money to repaint the stadium a few months back.
Argentinos Juniors won the Championship last season. Is the league there more open than Premiership or is it mainly a case of Boca Juniors and River Plate swapping titles.It is one of the most open leagues in the world right now. The last eight tournaments – don't forget they have two league's for one 'normal' European season – have produced eight different champions. Many think it's a sign of the lack of real quality in the country, but it keeps things interesting. River and Boca were both dire last year. Its not a good time for the big clubs. To give you an idea, not one of the Big Five qualified for the Libertadores. It's like Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool not making the Champions League. And not just one of them, all of them.
I read in 'When Saturday Comes', talk of introducing ID card schemes in Argentina. Is this scheme is still on the table and how will it effect football tourists picking up tickets?. Will they have to rely on expensive tour agencies? The idea gained some momentum about a year ago but has gone off the boil. It will no doubt be brought up again soon, and it will almost definitely mean more expensive tickets for tourists. Boca charge the gringos $400 to see the superclásico with River at the Bombonera. That's the upper limit, but a standing ticket to games is around £5, so tourists may be prevented from buying the same tickets as locals.
I've been told that the best way to experience a match for football tourists out there is to buy a local a match ticket and let him/her be your guide for the day. Is that something you've heard of? It's not something I've heard about, but I'm sure locals would be delighted to be given a ticket. Buying tickets and getting into games is pretty straight forward so I'm not sure it's necessary.
What is the best derby match you've been to in Argentina? The superclásico really is brilliant for the atmosphere, but in the past couple of years they haven't produced great games, and after half an hour things tend to die down a bit. For tension and atmosphere, lots say the Rosario clásico is a probably the most violent of all. I did go to a very highly-strung huracan- San lorenzo, which was such a potentially dangerous game that one taxi driver refused to take me to the ground. If it's just singing and drums you want, you'll get it at most games.
Does anything else come close? Lots of people consider a Real Madrid – Barcelona game up there, and I've been lucky to see that game both at the Bernabeu and the Camp Nou. They're great, but for different reasons. For atmosphere there are few places that come close to Argentina, in my opinion.
Is it safe to watch football in Argentina? Yes and no. Its probably not a very good idea to go to games waving around lots of money and big cameras. Football related violence and murders are on the up and make lots of headlines, but it has nothing to do with tourists- they are internal wrangles between the barras. Just be sensible about where you go is my advice.
What is the worst trouble you've seen at a match?Unfortunately I have probably become slightly far too used to things that go on at games, so have stopped being surprised by things like the huge brawl and riot which I saw on the final day of last season at Huracan.
Do you still get scantily clad cheerleaders at league games over there?You certainly do, and a thriving wag culture on the back of it. You also have the sight of girls paid by the sponsors to stand behind players in post match interviews, do you have a sweaty player talking about the game, flanked by two buxom Lycra-clad beauties staring at the camera.
EFW will be over in Buenos Aires in 2012 for a few weeks. Aside from the football, what else is there to see? Lots of good museums and galleries, good shopping, lots of over-sized steaks, lots of tango, goods clubs and bars, lots of great wine... I'm sure you'll keep yourself busy.
How did you find yourself in Buenos Aires making a living out of reporting about football? Well I was living in Spain, doing the same thing as i am now, more or less, before coming to a bit of a cross roads. My girlfriend is Argentine, so we basically decided between London and Buenos Aires, and the vote was a clear cut 2-0.
And finally Lukey Moore from the rather splendid Football Ramble has been all over Twitter saying he marked you out of a recent game you played in. Any excuses Mr Richards? I've had plenty of opportunities to have to find excuses throughout the course of my playing career... I did actually put us ahead at 2-1 in that game, but also suffered the onslaught of cramp at the same time, which I think is roughly the moment when Mr. Moore decided he would mark me. Say no more.


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The Development of the Artifacts of Culture Change Tool - This is the full report written for CMS who funded the project explaining rationale for the tool, how the tool was developed including the point scale selected, and a large Source Information table which gives backup for each item such as where that practice can be located around the country and any research found supporting items.
The Artifacts of Culture Change Privacy Policy Vol.1, No 1 Artifacts of Culture Change Benchmark Reports, 4/1/10-3/31/11
Colorado Culture Change Collaborative (CCCC) Grant Project Summary - This document summarizes an almost one year project funded by the Colorado Culture Change Accountability Board CMP Grants and managed by Carmen Bowman of Edu-Catering. The summary goes into great detail about the project which sought to work with 20 nursing homes who voluntarily chose three culture change practices as identified by the Artifacts of Culture Change measurement tool. Homes agreed to meet as teams every other week to implement the three practices and share their story at the end of the project. They also completed the Artifacts tool at the beginning and end of the project. An increase in points, approximately a total of 15 for three practices (at 5 points each) was anticipated. However, the average point increase of 47 points was shocking and showed the value of joining such a project, a little support and mostly the power of making a commitment. The Artifacts tool also proved to do accomplish one of its identified goals by co-developers Karen Schoeneman of CMS and Bowman of Edu-Catering to serve as an educational tool. Many teams stated that the Artifacts tool opened their eyes to all that could be and that "it was the right thing to do" to incorporate more of the represented culture change practices for the residents they serve. Learn more about Edu-Catering and Artifacts initiatives here: http://www.edu-catering.com/artifacts_of_culture_change
Colorado Culture Change Coalition (CCCC) Technical Assistance Project Report of Year One 2012
Colorado Culture Change Coalition (CCCC) Technical Assistance Project Report of Year Two
Colorado Culture Change Coalition (CCCC) Assisted Living Technical Assistance Project 2014
Arkansas Culture Change Project Summary - Through the work of Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care's AR Innovative Performance Program (AIPP) a quality improvement program was implemented to teach nursing facility and assisted living facility staff processes to implement culture change and individualized person-centered care. This report summarize the projects results.
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Letter of Support


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Jasper County officials agree that it would be in the public's best interest to invest on updating a Master Infrastructure Plan for Exit 8 on Interstate 95 in Hardeeville.
Representatives of ROI Consulting and Alliance Consulting Engineers made a presentation to the Jasper County Council and city of Hardeeville officials during a workshop Monday on how to "market Exit 8 as a commercial property" in a unified manner.
"We see this area as potential for economic development and this is going to help us market those projects," County Administrator Andrew Fulghum said.
Fulghum said ROI would concentrate on an aesthetics analysis of Exit 8, while Alliance Consulting Engineers would focus on a utilities analysis of the area.
During its regular meeting Monday, County Council approved paying half of the $110,200 price tag for the Master Infrastructure Plan review, if Hardeeville picks up the other half.
Councilman Marty Sauls supported the effort.
"We all know that Hilton Head has global recognition," Sauls said. "Exit 8 is the gateway to Hilton Head Island."
Councilman Tom Johnson liked the proposal, but not the use of the term "gateway."
He said Exit 8 should become a destination point onto itself.
Hardeeville Mayor Bronco Bostick and City Manager Bob Nanni were at the workshop.
They favored the initiative and said the proposal would be brought to City Council. Nanni said the existing Infrastructure Plan for Exit 8 is 10 to 12 years old and in need of an update.
In other action:
• Final approval was given to an ordinance rezoning property at 3949 Bees Creek Road from Residential Zone to Rural Preservation Zone. The change would allow for the establishment of a restaurant featuring barbecue, according the proprietor, Rodney Brown.
• First reading was taken of an ordinance to reduce the Road Maintenance Fee from $25 to $20. Director of Administrative Services Ronnie Malphrus said upon final approval after third reading, the fee reduction would go into effect Jan. 1, 2014.
• First reading of an ordinance approving a lease agreement between Jasper County and the United Way of the Lowcountry for the use of space at the Emergency Services building. A $100 rental fee would cover utilities.
• A resolution presented by Johnson was approved that would transfer the Jasper Ocean Terminal site to Jasper County for completion, if the Joint Project Office does not proceed in an expeditious manner at its Sept. 17 meeting.
• Phil Richardson, the Southern Carolina Alliance promoter of economic development for Jasper County received permission from council to pursue construction of a speculative building. Richardson said he would seek USDA grant money for the project.
• Approved a low bid of $103,111 for paving Stiney Road.


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NanotechnologySLN #: 30428
Course Prefix: LAW-607
Course Section: 001
Credit Hours: 2
Instructor(s): Bowman
Course Description:
Nanotechnology is the next "big thing" in technology and the law. Nanotechnology is the science of the small – the ability to manipulate and utilize materials at the "nanoscale" level, where they display unique and beneficial characteristics. Nanotechnology is expected to revolutionize electronics, medicine, agriculture, materials science, consumer products, manufacturing, and many other industries. Already, several hundred nanotechnology products are on the market, and many more are currently being developed. May law firms have recently established nanotechnology practice groups to help service this rapidly emerging new industry. This seminar will provide an overview of the legal and policy issues relating to nanotechnology, including risk management, national and international regulation, intellectual property, privacy issues, and liability issues.
Additional Information:
Credit Hours: 2
Grading Option: Letter Grade Only
Written Assignment: Research Paper
Graduation Writing Requirement: Yes*
Flexible Writing Requirement: Yes*
Skills Requirement: No
Note: Only one of the above listed requirements can be fulfilled with this course.
Experiential Learning: No
Special Withdrawal Course: No
Limited Enrollment Number: 15
Final Exam Given: No
Paper Or In-Class Presentation: Paper Required
Participation Points: Yes
Attendance Policy: Per Statement Of Student Policies
Additional Attendance Policy: Included in participation points
* The law school has a policy that Is used To calculate credit hours. Please see the Statement of Student Policies.


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I have just sat through 2 days of lectures on all aspects of genealogy here in Columbus, OH. I have learned a lot of new techniques and places to search. I have also been reminded of some old techniques to try. Now I just want to go home and bury myself in my genealogy. There are 2 problems with that plan:
1. My real job!
2. Lineage week in DC is coming up and I have 9 reports to write, 1 luncheon meeting to plan, 1 convention activity to prepare for, and flyers to make for a National Conference in June.
And, I almost forgot, I need to synthesize the information I obtained on my little research trip.
So, I'll just look forward to the end of April when I can spend a little of my "free" time on genealogy.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Ohio Genealogical Society
Posted by Kimberly Nagy at 4/02/2011 05:31:00 PM
Labels: Lineage Week, Ohio Genealogical Society
2 comments:
Oh, how I wish I had been there. We were supposed to attend the First Families Dinner (for me) and the Civil War Families Dinner (for my husband), but finances prevented us from attending. Maybe someday the event will be held in Dayton. I can always hope!ReplyDelete
Amazing how we let bills and a real job get in the way of we really should be doing :-)ReplyDelete
Theresa (Tangled Trees)
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Juts noticed this news...
Hey Allen, I'm glad you're doing well and you sound like your on a great path to recovery. Does your area have a cardiac rehab program? Sometimes you can join one and your insurance will pay for all or a portion of the costs.
Also there is a support group out there called Mended Hearts. They are usually for people who've had a bypass surgery which , thankfully, it sounds like you're not going through. However it's often helpful to talk over your experiences with someone else who's been through it.
I'm actually working on finishing up a video on self-management of cardiovascular disease so this topic has been on my mind for the past couple years.
http://www.americanheart.org is als a good place to look for information on various topics.
And here's a website on DVT - deep vein thrombosis I posted for the women going on the long flight to Okinawa for the tour.
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/mosb ... bosis.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 000156.htm
I'm sure you'll be back on the floor in no time and hope your recovery continues to go well.


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Umberto Eco's novel the Name of the Rose is about monks. Fundementally it is about theology and the way that a theology which is taken seriously can lead to real world consequences. Eco reflects on many ideas- the role of learning, the Renaissance, science and the begginings of modern society- but one of the key themes of the book is about laughter. Is laughter ultimately justified in the sight of God, or is it a signal of the dominance of Satan in the world? One monk Jorge argues that laughter is the principle of all evil:
Jorge's position is based on his belief that he knows what is true. Think about it for a second. In his universe, there are only two kinds of statements. The first are statements which are true. They are either descriptions of God's mercy and power or prayers to God. To laugh at these is to imagine that God's sovereignty is funny. The second set of statements are statements that attack God or condemn him or ignore him. These again should not spark laughter but rage and denounciation. Jorge's position is set out from a position of power: Christianity is, and to laugh is to say that it is not. It is to disturb the single truth and single rule of God.
Certainly one who accepts dangerous ideas can also appreciate the jesting of the ignorant man who laughs at the sole truth one should know, which has already been said once and for all. With his laughter the fool says in his heart 'Deus non est' (God is not)
In contrast to this Eco develops another character William of Baskerville who argues against Jorge. I take William's arguments to be dual: interestingly they imagine a world in which knowledge is much more unstable than in Jorge's world. Baskerville's first challenge concerns scriptural and other examples of the persecuted: they laugh at those who persecute them. He sets up the Christian not as an authority or an authoritative presence but as the subordinate: his point therefore is akin, and Eco would know this, to Christ's to the inquisition in the Brothers Karamazov. Secondly he argues that there are things which scripture does not declare upon:
God demands that we apply our reason to many obscure things about which Scripture has left us free to decide. And when someone suggests you believe in a proposition, you must first examine it to see whether it is acceptable, because our reason was created by God, and whatever pleases our reason can but please divine reason, of which for that matter, we know only what we infer from our own reason by analogy and often by negation. Thus you see to undermine the false authority of an absurd proposition that offends reason, laughter can sometimes also be a suitable instrument.
Laughter for Baskerville serves to mark the division between propositions which are absurd and those which are plausible. Tell me that a secret cabal of aliens runs the world and I'll laugh, argue in favour of Keynesianism or Monetarism and I'll respond seriously. The key point here though is that William admits of a whole set of questions that Jorge does not admit of: questions which are ambiguous where our judgement is uncertain and God does not provide a rule. Laughter is a device within a continuous argument.
What I think is so interesting about Baskerville's position and Jorge's position is that Eco cleverly exposes one of the functions of laughter. In a world where everything was known, where the world was revealed, Jorge might well be right. Laughter would be silly: either indecorous or positively slanderous of truth. This is not the world that we live in: Baskerville's view of truth, that we do not know much and that that that we do know must be constructed painstakenly from argument and inference is much more familiar to a world of laughter. His is a reminder that we are strangers in our own land and what we understand is much less than what we do not understand. Jorge is wrong, the fool who laughs has not said in his heart Deus non est, he has said that he is a fool!


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Proximity Search
Using the Proximity Search
STEP 1Enter an address or choose from our list of starting points.
STEP 2Next, choose your search radius and click "Find Address". You can then further narrow your results using the available filters.
STEP 3When you are ready to see the results of your Search, click the "Search" button.


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Date(s) - Jan 10th 2019
All Day
Moravian Museum of Bethlehem
Kemerer Museum, 427 North New Street.; Moravian Museum, 66 West Church Street.; Single Sisters House, 50 West Church Street & 1810 Goundie House, 501 Main Street
View the Holiday Putz Trail–a traditional Moravian decoration that features ornate figurines, animals and building scenes to tell the Nativity Story. The word comes from the German term, which means "to decorate" or "to embellish." These miniature replicas depict various settings of the Nativity story through the use of handmade, ornately produced figurines, animals and building structures to recreate the holiest of scenes. The Holiday Putz Trail is included in the ticket for Trees of Historic Bethlehem.
Nov. 16-Jan. 13


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President Obama's vow Wednesday to include gun control in his State of the Union address marks the first time in more than a decade a president will highlight the issue in his agenda-setting speech…
"I will be talking about them in my State of the Union, and we will be working with interested members of Congress to try to get something done," he said at a press conference Wednesday.
The State of the Union is usually one of the president's most important speeches of the year, in which he lays out his priorities and policy agenda.
Sunday night, President Obama said he would use whatever powers his office holds to address this violence. He should begin immediately by sending a legislative package to Capitol Hill that the new Congress can consider and vote on as its first order of business when it convenes in January. The package should have three main elements:
First, it should prohibit the manufacture and sale of the military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips that have been used in too many mass shootings, including in Newtown. The previous ban on assault weapons expired in 2004. While President George W. Bush supported reinstating it, Congress never acted. The time has plainly come. Banning these weapons and ammunition does not mean there will never be another mass shooting. But these weapons were designed for mass killing, not hunting or self-defense. They do not belong in our communities.
Second, the president's legislative package should fix the broken background check system. Currently, nearly half of all gun sales in the U.S. are conducted without a background check. Criminals, the mentally ill, minors and domestic abusers are all prohibited from purchasing guns, but they all can do so as easily as attending a gun show or going online. The check takes only a few seconds, and it doesn't infringe on anyone's rights. That's why polls show that more than 80% of gun owners support a change in law to require background checks for all gun sales…
Third, the president's legislative package should make gun trafficking a felony. Gun rights advocates agree that penalties for illegal use and possession of guns should be stiffened — and so should penalties on those who are engaged in gun trafficking.
The data in social science are rarely this clear. They strongly suggest that we have so much more gun violence than other countries because we have far more permissive laws than others regarding the sale and possession of guns. With 5 percent of the world's population, the United States has 50 percent of the guns.
There is clear evidence that tightening laws — even in highly individualistic countries with long traditions of gun ownership — can reduce gun violence. In Australia, after a 1996 ban on all automatic and semiautomatic weapons — a real ban, not like the one we enacted in 1994 with 600-plus exceptions — gun-related homicides dropped 59 percent over the next decade. The rate of suicide by firearm plummeted 65 percent. (Almost 20,000 Americans die each year using guns to commit suicide — a method that is much more successful than other forms of suicide.)
There will always be evil or disturbed people. And they might be influenced by popular culture. But how is government going to identify the darkest thoughts in people's minds before they have taken any action? Certainly those who urge that government be modest in its reach would not want government to monitor thoughts, curb free expression, and ban the sale of information and entertainment.
Instead, why not have government do something much simpler and that has proven successful: limit access to guns. And not another toothless ban, riddled with exceptions, which the gun lobby would use to "prove" that such bans don't reduce violence.
Was the Ban Effective at Reducing Gun Violence In General?
That is unclear. According to a 2004 study from the University of Pennsylvania, the number of people killed in mass shootings did go down generally during the years that the ban was in effect. The exception was 1999, the year that the shooting at Columbine High School happened.
The number of mass shootings per year has doubled since the ban expired, but the researchers say it's difficult to discern whether there was a cause-and-effect relationship.
The study found that gun crimes involving assault weapons declined by as much as 72 percent in the localities examined after the ban went into effect. However, the authors note that these types of weapons were only used in 2 to 8 percent of the gun crimes committed prior to the ban, so the larger impact on gun violence was minimal.
"We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation's recent drop in gun violence," the study concluded.
Indeed, the federal assault-weapons ban was allowed to expire in 2004 in part because it didn't accomplish the goal the anti-gun lobby was pursuing, which — and I put this only slightly uncharitably — was to ban the sale of scary-looking guns. Despite the fact that rifles simpliciter were used in only 3 percent of homicides last year, not only did the law take the bizarre tack of banning specific model names such as the "Mac 10" — the equivalent of making marijuana illegal only if it's referred to as "sweet Ganja" — but, in addition, many of the features such laws ban do not straightforwardly increase lethality. Many writers have noted that even high-capacity magazines are a mixed bag for would-be mass murderers. They make reloading less frequently necessary, but they are also more likely to jam — as James Holmes's did in the theater in Aurora.
The fixation on the expiration of the ban as the source of our ills fits into the broader pathology with which liberals talk about gun control — namely, as if there weren't any of it. Connecticut has robust gun-control laws, as does, for instance, Chicago, whose recent rash of gun murders must have Al Capone resting peacefully in his grave. Constructing new restrictions that would (a) have prevented Newtown and (b) be consistent with the Second Amendment is not nearly as easy as many on the left seem to assume. Indeed, few seem to understand, or admit, that the kind of gun-control legislation that could put a serious dent in gun violence would look a lot like the Volstead Act. How'd that work out?
Of course, it isn't just the assault-weapons talk that catches liberals in leave of the facts. You'll have also seen non sequiturs about the "gun-show loophole" or the scourge of handguns used in violent crimes, or ignorance of or elision of the meaning of words like "semi-automatic" and "machine gun," none of which are straightforwardly related to the facts as we know them in Newtown. Which brings us to the third liberal virtue the current debate is wanting.
Others are suggesting a de-facto ban, accomplished either through a huge tax, or a ban on ammunition. Oh, I've also seen calls to limit the amount of ammunition people can buy, but I don't think those people have thought this through. For starters, the number of bullets used by a typical rampage shooter is about what a target shooter or hunter might go through in an afternoon or two of range practice. And most gun homicides are not rampage shootings; they have one or two victims, and a correspondingly small number of cartridges expended. Moreover, even a very strict per-purchase limit would permit people to accumulate ammunition over time.
No, the people who want to tax guns at 17,000%, or ban ammunition, or make cartridges cost $2,000 apiece, are the only ones hinting at something that might make a real dent in America's unusually high rate of gun homicide. Except for one thing: you can't do an end-run around an enumerated right with some sort of semantic game. Chief Justice John Roberts is not Rumplestiltskin; he is not bound by the universe to disappear if you can only find the correct secret word.
You cannot accomplish back-door censorship by taxing at 100% all profits of any news corporation named after a "carnivorous mammal of the dog family with a pointed muzzle and bushy tail, proverbial for its cunning." You cannot curtail the right to protest by requiring instant background checks and a 90-day waiting period on anyone who wants to assemble with 500 of their friends in a public area. Nor can you restrict the supply of ink used to print Korans. If you pass a law like that, the Supreme Court will say "nice try, guys" and void all the painstakingly constructed verbal origami that was supposed to make civil liberties infringement look like an innocent exercise of the taxing power.
Goldberg cites evidence from Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA, that concealed-carry permit holders actually commit crimes at a lower rate than the general population.
The General Accountability Office recently found that the number of concealed weapon permits in America has surged to approximately 8 million.
According to anti-gun advocates, such an increase in guns would cause a cause a corresponding increase in gun-related violence or crime. In fact, the opposite is true. The FBI reported this year that violent crime rates in the U.S. are reaching historic lows.
This comes in spite of the fact that the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004. Supporters of the ban (not including anti-gun groups who thought it didn't go far enough in the first place) claimed that gun crime would skyrocket when the ban was lifted. That wasn't true at all.
Only one public policy has ever been shown to reduce the death rate from such crimes: concealed-carry laws…
Someone planning to commit a single murder in a concealed-carry state only has to weigh the odds of one person being armed. But a criminal planning to commit murder in a public place has to worry that anyone in the entire area might have a gun.
You will notice that most multiple-victim shootings occur in "gun-free zones" — even within states that have concealed-carry laws: public schools, churches, Sikh temples, post offices, the movie theater where James Holmes committed mass murder, and the Portland, Ore., mall where a nut starting gunning down shoppers a few weeks ago.
Guns were banned in all these places. Mass killers may be crazy, but they're not stupid.
"I haven't heard anything actually from the Republican Party, and you just wonder this long after a mass killing like that—little six- and seven-year- olds—that there's not a single Republican in America in elected office that's not going to step up and say something. I think it's time to talk guys, women. One way or the other: where do you stand on this issue? Where do you stand on gun safety? Where do you stand on our culture of violence? Where do you stand on mental health? Where do you stand? I want to hear it!"
Via Mediaite.


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WASHINGTON - A case that began four years ago with the tantalizing and volatile premise that officials of a major pro-Israel lobbying organization were illegally trafficking in sensitive national security information collapsed on Friday as prosecutors asked that all charges be withdrawn.
From the beginning, the case against the lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was highly unusual. The two, Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, were charged under the World War I-era Espionage Act, accused of improperly providing to their colleagues, journalists and Israeli diplomats sensitive information they had acquired by speaking with American policy makers.
Some lawyers at the Justice Department had always had significant reservations about the case, some current and former officials said. They believed that Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman had acted imprudently, but doubted that either man should be criminally prosecuted. Nevertheless, F.B.I. agents poured substantial resources into the case, and the decision to seek a dismissal infuriated many within the law enforcement agency.
But several current and former officials said the decision to abandon the case was no surprise. With adverse judicial rulings making the prosecution increasingly risky, lawyers in the United States Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Va., and at Justice Department headquarters met on several occasions in recent weeks, agonizing over whether to go forward with the trial, which was scheduled to begin June 2.
Last week, officials from the F.B.I.'s Washington office who investigated the case made their final pleas to keep the case alive, arguing that there was enough evidence to persuade a jury to find the two men guilty. But prosecutors - including some who had worked on the case for years - disagreed.
Joseph Persichini Jr., the top official at the F.B.I.'s Washington office, praised the work of the F.B.I. agents on the case, and said he was "disappointed" in the decision to drop the charges.
The case had raised delicate political issues about the role played by American Jewish supporters of Israel and their close, behind-the-scenes relationships with top government officials. Advocates of civil liberties and of open government asserted that the defendants were being singled out for activities that were part of the accepted and routine way that American policy on Israel and the Middle East had been formulated for years, with people exchanging information.
The decision to drop the case comes just days before Aipac is scheduled to begin its annual policy conference in Washington, which has often served as an advertisement of its influence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is scheduled to address the event via satellite.
Lawyers for Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman said in a statement that while they were pleased at the decision, the government had erred in bringing the case in the first place and had caused great damage to their clients. Aipac dismissed the men early in 2004 after prosecutors presented some of their evidence to an Aipac lawyer. The group later agreed to subsidize their legal costs.
The Justice Department said that the decision to drop the case had been made solely by career prosecutors in Alexandria, and that senior officials of the Obama administration had acted only to approve the recommendation.
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Several other officials said, however, that while senior political appointees at the Justice Department did not direct subordinates to drop the case, they were heavily involved in the deliberations. These officials said David S. Kris, the newly appointed chief of the department's national security division, and Dana J. Boente, the interim United States attorney in Alexandria, had conferred regularly with prosecutors and ultimately decided to accept the recommendation to abandon the case. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was informed and raised no objections.
The case would have been the first prosecution under the espionage law in which no documents were involved and in which the defendants were not officials who provided the information, but the private citizens who received it from them in conversations.
While Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman trafficked in facts, ideas and rumor, they had done so with the full awareness of officials in the United States and Israel, who found they often helped lubricate the wheels of decision-making between two close, but sometimes quarrelsome, friends.
The move by the government to end the case came in a motion filed with the Federal Court in Alexandria.
In pretrial maneuvering, the prosecution suffered several setbacks in rulings from the trial judge, T. S. Ellis III, that were upheld by a federal appeals court in Richmond, Va. Judge Ellis rejected several government efforts to conceal classified information if the case went to trial. Moreover, he ruled that the government could prevail only if it met a high standard; he said prosecutors would have to demonstrate that Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman knew that their distribution of the information would harm United States national security.
The investigation of Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman also surfaced recently in news reports that Representative Jane Harman, a California Democrat long involved in intelligence matters, was overheard on a government wiretap discussing the case. As reported by Congressional Quarterly, which covers Capitol Hill, and The New York Times, Ms. Harman was overheard agreeing with an Israeli intelligence operative to try to intercede with Bush administration officials to obtain leniency for Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman in exchange for help in persuading Democratic leaders to make her chairwoman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Ms. Harman has denied interceding for Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman, and has expressed anger that she was wiretapped. She is to be among the featured speakers at the Aipac conference next week.
Over government objections, Judge Ellis had also ruled that the defense could call as witnesses several senior Bush administration foreign policy officials to demonstrate that what occurred was part of the continuing process of information trading and did not involve anything nefarious. The defense lawyers were planning to call as witnesses former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Stephen J. Hadley, the former national security adviser; and several others. Government policy makers indicated they were clearly uncomfortable with senior officials' testifying in open court over policy deliberations.
The government's motion to dismiss said the government was obliged take a final review of the case to consider "the likelihood that classified information will be revealed at trial, any damage to the national security that might result from a disclosure of classified information and the likelihood the government would prevail at trial."


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Sony Issues Ultimatum to PS3 Hackers
Notice: Unauthorized circumvention devices for the PlayStation 3 system have been recently released by hackers. These devices permit the use of unauthorized or pirated software. Use of such devices or software violates the terms of the "System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System" and the "Terms of Services and User Agreement" for the PlayStation Network/Qriocity and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. Violation of the System Software Licence Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System invalidates the consumer guarantee for that system. In addition, copying or playing pirated software is a violation of International Copyright Laws. Consumers using circumvention devices or running unauthorized or pirated software will have access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently.
To avoid this, consumers must immediately cease use and remove all circumvention devices and delete all unauthorized or pirated software from their PlayStation 3 systems.
We've seen similar warnings issued for cheating on consoles, and punishment tends to follow. If you've been experimenting with the hacks and pirated games and want to keep your PlayStation Network access, now might be a good time to stop. The blog is unclear on whether the bans will be issued by console or username.
The legal drama between Sony and hacker George Hotz has been unfolding over the last few months. The hacks quickly led to easily pirated games, and Sony took Hotz to court. After District Court Judge Susan Illston expressed confusion regarding jurisdiction, Sony won a small victory with a temporary restraining order. This kept George Hotz and the group fail0verflow from assisting in or distributing the hack information, but by then it had been widely circulated anyway.
Illston ultimately denied Sony's request for expedited discovery, which Sony had planned to use to subpoena companies like Twitter and Google to learn the identities of other hackers. However, Illson also granted permission for Sony to sift through Hotz's computer, and the company could still issue the subpoenas if granted permission next month.


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The U.S. Congress needs to pass cybersecurity legislation creating voluntary standards for businesses operating critical infrastructure before the country is the victim of a major cyberattack, one lawmaker said.
A major attack is coming, said Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and cosponsor of a wide-ranging cybersecurity bill stalled in the Senate.
"We know it's only a matter of when, not whether, we have a catastrophic attack," she said at a Woodrow Wilson Center debate about cybersecurity. "My hope is this isn't a case where Congress does nothing until there is a catastrophic attack on our critical infrastructure and then, inevitably, we will overreact and that will make [civil liberties groups] very uncomfortable."
One major problem with cybersecurity efforts in the U.S. is that businesses being attacked often don't have a complete picture of the threats, said General Keith Alexander, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the U.S. National Security Agency. Government agencies and businesses need better incentives to share information with each other, he said.
"The people who run the networks understand what's happening on their networks, given the information they have," Alexander said. "The problem is they don't have all the information. Government has some, they have some, academia has some, and we're not sharing."
Alexander has voiced support for the Cybersecurity Act, the legislation introduced by Collins and three other senators earlier this year. The bill would create voluntary cybersecurity standards for U.S. businesses and would set up mechanisms for the government to share cyberthreat information with businesses and for businesses to share it with each other.
The nature of cyberattacks is changing, from simple intrusions to disruptive attacks, Alexander said. At some point, attackers may seek to destroy networks or infrastructure such as the electrical grid or stock markets, he said.
While Collins and Alexander called for new cybersecurity measures, Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), urged lawmakers to take a thoughtful approach. Government efforts in the area need strong oversight, and some recent proposals in Congress would put the NSA or U.S. Department of Defense in charge of most government cybersecurity programs, he said.
Programs at the NSA or DOD would have little transparency to the public, Romero said.
Romero said he's concerned that the fight against cyberattacks will become similar to the country's decade-old fight against terrorism. "In the name of fighting terrorism, we tortured, we abrogated due process for certain detainees, we opened a military camp in Guantanamo that's still open to this day," he said. "In the name of national security and cybersecurity, we could easily go too far as well."
The Cybersecurity Act had several civil liberties protections, Collins said. Civil liberties concerns are a good reason for Congress to act now, not after a major attack, she said.
In addition to destructive attacks, cybercriminals are stealing U.S. intellectual property, she said. "It is our economic edge, our intellectual property, our R&D, that's being stolen," she said. "It costs billions of dollars and millions of jobs to our country."
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com.