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Transformers Movie (2007) Leader Class Optimus Prime Review
General Information:
Release Year: May 2007
Retailer: General release (Wal-Mart, Target, Toys 'R' Us etc.)
Price: $39.99 (Depending on retailer)
Accessories: Flame, Gun
Batteries Required: AA x 2 (Included)
- In Box*
- Robot Mode
- Robot Mode (Left side)
- Robot Mode (Right side)
- Robot Mode (Back)
- Robot Mode (Front view)
- Robot Mode (Close up)
- Robot Mode (Posed with weapon deployed)
- Robot Mode (Close up of weapon)
- Robot Mode (Showing finger articulation)
- Robot Mode (Lights glowing)
- Vehicle Mode
- Vehicle Mode (Side)
- Vehicle Mode (Back)
- Vehicle Mode (Front)
- Vehicle Mode (Angle view)
- Vehicle Mode (Close up showing details)
*Image from the official Transformers web site.
Tech Specs:
For thousands of years, OPTIMUS PRIME and his AUTOBOTS have traveled through space in search of the Allspark. For all that time, the AUTOBOT leader has held one goal in mind - to protect the universe from the evil of MEGATRON. For this massive, metal warrior, nothing is more important than freedom; he will sacrifice all for its preservation. He has fought for centuries, modifying his body into an unstoppable war machine, preparing for that day he knows is coming when he and MEGATRON meet for one final battle!
Rank: 10 Courage: 10 Firepower: 10 Skill: 9
The Leader Class packaging is a new shape for Transformers packaging. Instead of a rectangle or squared off shape, it is curved to the right and flat on the left. Optimus is packaged in robot mode, allowing you to reach through the clear window and use his "Try Me!" feature. His package art is a drawing of his head on the lower right hand corner of the box (if you're facing the box). The tech specs are on the back along with a new type of graphic for the tech spec numbers. Instead of a line or just simple numbers this has several balls across a line representing the numbers. Optimus' Leader Class numbers match up with his Protoform. Optimus' cosell on the back is Blackout. On the bottom of the packaging are cosells for Ratchet and Barricade.
Robot Mode:
One of the shocks many fans expressed when the designs for the Transformers movies were revealed was the very "non blocky" look. For a long time now Transformers fans have been used to a very particular type of appearance with their beloved characters. Whether curved or angled, they all had a very solid appearance as opposed to the look of the movie where the Transformers have almost skeletal base structures with armor pieces and machinery on top.
In time, a lot of questions turned to the toys. How would they reconcile the ability to transform and this new aesthetic? Optimus Prime is the perfect answer to that question, displaying a combination of the "panel on machinery" look of the movie CGI models while also having parts that clearly share their roots with the non-movie Transformers toys.
The basic shape of Optimus Prime is humanoid, so that shape is retained between the movie CGI model and the figure. It is fair to say that the figure looks much more thick and angled than his onscreen counterpart. that does not mean he is completely inaccurate however. Starting with the head, one can see the quintessential Optimus head design. He has a central crest with antennae like protrusions on the sides connected to a circular piece on either side of the head. Some embelishments were made such as the addition of angled vents on the sides of his head and an indentation on the crest different than the ones on previous Prime-heads. This version of Optimus Prime (as there will be many, many versions of this character in toy form) has the "battle mode" version of the mouthplate in place - looking like the traditional Optimus Prime most people know. While the onscreen version of this character will feature a controversial mouth with lips, I think it was best to just sculpt the mouthplate instead. Granted they could have done something similar to Galaxy Convoy where there is a mouth with the mouthplate folding over it, but really as unpopular as the "Prime-lips" have been, I don't think anyone actually misses that feature.
The chest section also retains many classic Optimus Prime features while also managing to look a lot like the movie model. On the chest are the front windows of the truck. However, instead of being close together, the designers of the movie decided to have his chest split, revealing tech detail in the middle. The figure does this as well. In between the two windows is a tab (more on that later) and under that are two circles that could be barrels of a weapon or just superfluous tech details (until I see the movie I won't know). On the section below the chest are details that look like the grille on the front end of the truck split up, with the headlights under each grille half. In fact, the grille of the vehicle mode becomes the underside of the robot feet, so these are truly details put in to help the character (both in CGI and toy form) harken back to G1 Optimus Prime. Another detail that carried over from the original Optimus are the row of lights running along the top of his chest. G1 Optimus had these (which included horns) and it is nice to see a similar feature on this successor to G1 Prime.
The movie appearance of having a skeletal substructure with panels on top is intact here. On the shoulders of the CGI model are two blue, angled panels, and the figure has those as well. On either side of his head are two silver vertical panels that are also found in the movie model. Behind those panels are the tops of the smokestacks. The shoulders and elbow sections are rounded and have a very layered, deailed sculpt that includes tues, circles and more. His lower arms are basically a solid rectangle here, but through sculpting and the use of deco patterns, the look of panels on the CGI model's lower arms is replicated. The legs succeed in replicating the movie look very well. The upper legs are thin, rounded sections with a good chunk of detail carried over right from the movie model such as the circles on the inner parts of the knees. The lower legs have panels that fold up over the knees, revealing piston like details underneath straight from the movie model. His feet have the "claw toes" shape of the movie model as well. On the movie model the covers over the front tires of the vehicle mode are de-emphasized but here they of course retain their full size, and they actually add some much needed bulk.
Optimus is cast in metallic blue, red and silver plastic. Paint applications are made from the same colors with the addition of gold. These are largely based on the colors used on the CGI model. However, due to the way mold trees work out, color placement does not 100% match the CGI model, but it comes very close. The silver plastic is mostly used for the parts that serve as the underlying skeletal structure of the robot in the CGI model. The blue and red parts generally act as the armor plating. Some translucent blue plastic can be found on the windows on his chest. An example of paint applications used to help replicate the movie model can be seen on the lower arms. While they are a solid rectangular piece, the movie model has more angled panels over a lower arm piece. To replicate the panel look, sections are painted red and others left metallic blue to look like separate plates.
Swing the cannon on Optimus' right arm forward and it slips over his hand forming an arm cannon. The one in the movie is shown as a bit longer, but here it looks just fine. Pressing the trigger launches a translucent blue missile. He has twenty seven points points of articulation. If that number seems high, ten of those points are actually on his fingers which was a real big surprise. I had not expected something like that on this figure and they look really cool and add to how expressive you can make him when posing the figure.
The Leader class Optimus Prime figure features what is known as the "Automorph" feature that will be featured on many of the movie action figures. "Automorph" refers to a design feature where as you move one piece, another piece moves at the same time - mostly to facilitate transformation. On Optimus this is seen on two parts. Using the aforementioned tab on his chest, you push it down and his head moves down while his chest panels move together. When transforming him into robot mode you press the tab on his lower body and this part slides up as the chest panels slide to the sides. This is accompanied by a sound and orange lights on his chest and eyes flashing. The other Automorph feature is found on the feet. When you turn the fender piece to the sides, his "claw feet" fold back. Not only is this feature nice to see in action, but it also brings the figure a step closer to the visual appearance of the movie character transformations.
- Fold all the fingers on the hands closed and swing the thumb down.
- Swing the weapon back if deployed.
- Push the tab on his chest down and lock it into place.
- Swing down the silver panels on his shoulders.
- Swivel the blue panels on his upper arms over the top of the shoulders.
- Swing down the panels on the undersides of his lower arms.
- Swing open the silver panels and fold the fists in before putting the panels back in place.
- Swing the lower arms up and connect them to the shoulder panels and upper arms.
- Swing the rear truck wheel section on the back down.
- Swing the waist section back, kdeeping the robot legs pointing down.
- On the back, swing the red panels out and then swing the tube sections forward.
- Swing the arm sections back and connect them together.
- Swing up the rear wheel sections and connect them to the arm sections.
- Swing the fenders on the underside of the feet to the sides, then slide them into place to lock them.
- Connect the two legs together.
- Fold out the knee armor panels.
- Swing the knee armor panels forward.
- Swing the legs up and straighten out the panels to form the hood of the truck.
- Swing the red panels on the sides (with the vertical tanks on them) forward.
Vehicle Mode:
Optimus Prime's vehicle mode is a Peterbilt truck. Much ado was made about Optimus being a long nose truck instead of a truck with a flat front end like his G1 incarnation. However there have been a few versions of Optimus Prime already made with a long front nose (including Generation 2 Laser Optimus Prime and Combat Hero Optimus Prime) so this is hardly a precedent of any sort. Since it is the front end of the vehicle that becomes Prime's legs, it is not hard to see how the requirement for Optimus being larger than the Autobots being fulfilled by this form.
The long nose of the truck is straight but also has curved sections such as the tire covers. Over the front windshield windows are two angled covers. Mounted on either side of the nose are two tanks with ring details on them. The sides of the truck have steps that lead up to the doors on the sides. Behind those are round tanks, each serving double duty as the compartment to store the AA batteries the toy uses for its sound and lights. A good section of theweapon for the robot mode can be seen on the back, perhaps this alternate mode's only failing. The rear section has a good bit of vent detailing along with an oval section at the very rear where a trailer would hitch onto. I was surprised to see rather long smokestacks on the vehicle. To satisfy safety laws, the base of the smokestacks are solid plastic while the upper halves are very soft plastic, so much so that I would recommend not trying to play around with them too much for fear of deforming them.
The smaller details on this truck are largely based on its real life counterpart. The front grille has a series of vertical slits with tiny circular details inside of them. The front fender is flat, but again with circular details running along the lower edge. As you follow the lines of the truck from its nose all the way to the back wheels, you'll find several lines of raised circles running along the edges representing bolts. Horizontal line details run along the length of the lower half of the smokestacks. Running along the top edge of the cab section is a row of seven lights to go along with the four headlights. Other small details include windshield wipers sculpted onto the windows as well as a tiny Autobot symbol right on top of the grille in front. This is a detail found on the real vehicle used for filming in the movie, and it is the biggest giveaway of this figures' allegiance. Considering this vehicle mode represents a real life vehicle much like their Alternators toy cousins, it is tiny details such as these that really help make the toy.
It is in this mode that Optimus' colors truly come together (as opposed to the robot mode where they are separated by the arrangement of panels). The front grille, fender, tanks, wheels, steps, smokestacks and window covers are all cast in metallic silver. The rest of the truck is mostly red and blue plastic, with some black plastic at the rear. perhaps the most controversial deco on Optimus are his flames. On the red portions, the flames are painted blue. On the blue sections, they are painted red. Under the blue flames on the front end is a nice gold spray op. There are even blue flames over the red sections over the rear wheels. I have to say that this color scheme works very well. The gold spray ops in particular really give the impression of fire on the front hood. The blue, red and silver are all colors that have come to be associated with Optimus Prime over the years, and they work together nicely in this form.
Optimus Prime rolls on six large wheels. What surprised me is that these wheels are actually rubber, something previously reserved for figures such as those from the Alternators toy line. Given that the figure is a very basic Transformer with no particular gimmick such as Mini-Cons or Cyber Keys, I suspect this was a way to help add some value to the figure and it is really nice to see. Not only does it look cool, but it also harkens back to the very first Optimus Prime toy from over twenty years ago. On the top of the cab is a button (on the right side) that you press to activate a honking noise. At the same time the noise goes off, the orange lights in the windows light up in a pattern to match the noise.
Final Thoughts:
Leader Class Optimus Prime is a breath of fresh air in many ways. His "gimimick" really is just a way to facilitate transformation. He is at its most basic level, a classic Transformer: an alternate form to a robot. However the level of detail, sculpting and posability is fantasitc and manages to take on the difficult task of taking the complex CGI model and putting it into toy form. Highly recommended.


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Posts by: Jan Rimmel
The Boston Globe: The newest place you can use cryptocurrency? Kids TV
Story on the initial coin offering (token sale) of 18moons in The Boston Globe:
Why is Music Beneficial to Early Childhood Development
At 18moons, we are always looking for ways to inspire learning through play. That's what set us on a journey to explore why music is so attractive to children and why is it beneficial to early childhood development. Here's what we found out. Music is considered a language and children are naturally oriented toward learning language. Experts agree that developmentally appropriate music activities involve the whole child and can activate a child's desire for language, a body's urge to move and the brain's attention to patters. It's also appealing to kids because it evokes movement and children delight in and require movement for their development and growth.
When kids engage with music, their ears lead in initiating communication, the voice responds to sounds, and eye-hand coordination are developed through playing musical instruments Music is also considered to be a creative experience which evokes expression of feelings. Because children do not always have the words to express themselves, it's a great way for kids to express themselves, and share and release emotions. Finally, music transmits culture and is an avenue by which beloved songs, rhymes, and dances can be passed down from one generation to another as well as provide a bridge to understanding various cultures. Check out our playlists for kids on Planet Kids and stayed tuned as we introduce a variety of ways for kids to enjoy and experience music in Planet Kids!
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Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars: Top 5 Sweetest Moments
Guaranteed to Satisfy Your Cravings
The Liars of Pretty Little Liars have a lot to deal with. At any given moment, they're trying to stay alive, find "A", finish their homework, be a good friend and, most of the time, be a good girlfriend. But one of the perks of living such dramatic lives is that the Liars often find themselves in sweet, romantic situations. OK, maybe not often, but when romance does find its way into their lives, it's worth remembering.
Here are our picks for the top five sweetest moments from Pretty Little Liars:
Ezria's first time: Ezra (Ian Harding) and Aria's (Lucy Hale) first time was both sweet and, well, hot.
Toby (Keegan Allen) shows up in the Season 2 finale: Toby's line about how pretending not to love Spencer (Troian Bellisario) was the hardest thing he's ever had to do goes down as one of our favorite PLL lines … ever.
Paige (Lindsey Shaw) and Emily's (Shay Mitchell) late-night swim: There's rarely something more romantic than a late-night swim, and despite our suspicions about Paige at the time, this moment was both sweet and daring.
Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) saves Emily: There's nothing more romantic than a guy who's willing to risk his life for one of your best friends. Example A: Caleb getting shot saving Emily from Nate.
Toby and Spencer's first time: Now that we know Toby's secret, this is all very tainted, but in the moment, Toby's return and his first time with Spencer were both very heartwarming.
Rosewood certainly has more lies than romance, but that only makes us cherish the romantic moments that much more! What's your favorite sweet or romantic PLL moment?
Sweet moments like these are powered on Wetpaint by Kelloggs Krave™ Cereal - Every box of Krave™ comes with a sweet moment.
Like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kraveus?fref=ts for double the drama (and double the chocolate).
Season 3 is here! Don't miss an episode, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC Family.
Samantha Highfill is a contributing writer to Wetpaint Entertainment. Follow her on Twitter at @samhighfill.


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International petroleum statistics report, May 1995
The International Petroleum Statistics Report presents data on international oil production, demand, imports, exports, and stocks. The report has four sections. Section 1 contains time series data on world oil production, and on oil demand and stocks in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This section contains annual data beginning in 1985, and monthly data for the most recent two years. Section 2 presents an oil supply/demand balance for the world. This balance is presented in quarterly intervals for the most recent two years. Section 3 presents data on oil imports by OECD countries. This section contains annual data for the most recent year, quarterly data for the most recent two quarters, and monthly data for the most recent twelve months. Section 4 presents annual time series data on world oil production and oil stocks, demand, and trade in OECD countries. World oil production and OECD demand data are for the years 1970 through 1994; OECD stocks from 1973 through 1994; and OECD trade from 1983 through 1993.
|Year of publication:
|petroleum | PETROLEUM | COMPILED DATA | GLOBAL ASPECTS | PRODUCTION | SUPPLY AND DEMAND | IMPORTS | INVENTORIES | OECD | HISTORICAL ASPECTS | NATURAL GAS LIQUIDS | US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
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|Type of publication:
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10009435482
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The cross town traffic will probably slow to a crawl for the chance to wander through the former home of a rock legend.
The London apartment of Jimi Hendrix is being opened to the public for 12 days as part of the "Hendrix in Britain" exhibit that will commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death, reports Vanity Fair.
From September 15-26, visitors will be able to stroll through the four-room flat at 23 Brook Street that the legendary guitarist shared with his girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham.
U.S. & World
In something of a historic coincidence, Hendrix's flat abuts the former home of George Frideric Handel. The famed Baroque composer lived at 25 Brook Street for 36 years and his apartment is now home to the Handel House Museum. Parts of Hendrix's flat serves as administrative offices for the museum.
As part of the exhibition, the Handel House Museum will display a collection of Hendrix-related memorabilia and host talks on the trailblazing musician's legacy.
Curators for the museum hope to raise enough money to properly restore the apartment to its 1960s state and convert it to a permanent Hendrix exhibition.
By all accounts Hendrix enjoyed the domestic side of London life -- though the appliances were not always up to his modern American standards.
"When they first moved in, Hendrix was horrified to find a 1950s gas fridge, which he thought was the most old-fashioned thing he had ever seen," said Claire Parker of the museum's learning and events office. "They bought an electric one, as well as a yellow Formica kitchen table.
Parker said Hendrix "was quite well known in John Lewis," the venerable London department store.
"It's this other side of him you don't really think about -- Jimi Hendrix shopping for carpets and soft furnishings."
When he wasn't at home, Hendrix was honing his sound and building his reputation through incendiary live shows. He came to London in 1966 after being spotted by producer Chas Chandler playing in a New York bar with his band Jimmy James and the Blue Flames.
He began gigging immediately -- a list of his British shows in the exhibition has scores of entries, from pubs to provincial working men's clubs to the vast Isle of Wight rock festival. In 1967 he released the acclaimed album "Are You Experienced?" and soon was touring internationally, gaining fame for his innovative, heavily distorted guitar style.
"He was an absolute revelation to everyone here," said Handel House deputy director Martin Wyatt. "It was like an earthquake rumbling through the music scene."
"I think for Hendrix London was much more open -- in America he was too white for black music and too black for white music. Here there was a burgeoning blues scene that wasn't that categorized."
The Hendrix exhibition, which runs to Nov. 7, is a bit of a shock next to the muted gray walls, oil paintings and harpsichords of the rooms devoted to Handel's life.
Among the exhibits are the Gibson Flying V guitar that Hendrix played at the Isle of Wight festival in August 1970, handwritten lyrics and a splendid orange velvet jacket and black Westerner hat.
There is also a copy of Hendrix's death certificate. He died in a London hotel on Sept. 18, 1970, aged 27. The certificate gives the archetypally rock 'n' roll causes as "inhalation of vomit" and barbiturate intoxication.
Wyatt said some of the museum's supporters were skeptical at first about the Hendrix display. But he is struck by the similarities between the two musicians.
"They were both great improvisers," he said -- Handel on harpsichord, Hendrix on guitar.
He said that on the occasional past openings of Hendrix's apartment, the guitarist's fans have sometimes stayed to listen and learn about Handel.
"We're hoping the exhibition will open the road the other way."
Selected Reading: Vanity Fair, A.P., NME


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worldstores necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 100 diseños de 30 diseñadores freelance.
Kiwi Grub
Kiwi Grub wil be the place to go for ex-pat New Zealanders wanting a taste of home. They can buy confectionery, gourmet foods, drinks, groceries etc and we will ship them anywhere in the world.
All New Zealanders living overseas. Generally speaking this is mainly professionals e.g. Accountants, IT professionals, Lawyers, Creatives etc but can also include backpackers and people experiencing a different lifestyle.
I want the logo to be characteristically associated with New Zealand.
I would also like to include a cartoonish looking Kiwi bird in the logo which can be used as the brands mascot (similar in style to Mail Chimps Freddie http://www.mailchimp.com/about/brand-guide)
The Mascot needs to be unique and clearly recognisable with the brand, even when not displayed next to he words Kiwi Grub.
Please include the domain suffix in the logo (e.g. .com, .co.uk, .co.nz, .com.au), however the size and impact needs to be much smaller than the logo words (for your first submission ok just to use .com).
Colour wise I do not have any preference. The site is selling food so it needs to look really fresh.
Style wise, the simpler the better. I need a really clean recognisable logo to represent the brand.
The final winner will need to provide files in .ai format as vector images. Four versions will be required for the final delivery with each url suffix, e.g.
.com version
.co.uk version
.com.au version
.co.nz version
Thanks for reading and hope you can help.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Tuesday March 17, 2020
To our eBags Community,
In this unprecedented global climate, the health and safety of our associates and customers is top priority at eBags.
To support the worldwide efforts to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus, we are encouraging all of our employees to work remotely during that period.
We continue to monitor the updates from federal, state and local officials, and are actively following guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We will provide further updates as the situation continues to develop.
We're committed to standing by you at this uncertain time. To that extent, you can reach us:
- Customer Service Team: We will continue to provide you with exceptional customer service via email and chat. Our Customer Service team is ready to help with your questions. Email email@example.com, chat live by visiting the help center or call us at 1-800-820-6126
- eBags.com: Remains open for business but we recognize some deliveries may take a few extra days. We will also allow customers to return items outside of our normal 30 day return window by contacting our customer care team.
- Social Media Channels: If you need us reach out. We're staffed remotely to be able to respond as quickly as possible.
We thank you for your patience and understanding during this extraordinary time. By working together responsibly, we will overcome this challenge. And when the world is ready to travel again, eBags will be ready to join you.
Take care and stay healthy.
The eBags Team


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To Keep a Falling Egg from Breaking
POSTED ON: March 21, 2012
On Tuesday, March 20, Cooper Union hosted its annual egg drop competition. Students from all three schools were invited to form teams and create devices that would help safetly deliver a chicken egg from the third-floor portico of the Foundation Building to the concrete ground below.
Egg drop devices were constructed by students on site starting at noon, and teams individually began dropping eggs a little after 1:00. Teams were judged on a vareity of factory, including the total weight of their devices and egg (less is more, in that case) and the team's accuracy in hitting a target with the device and its egg payload when dropped from the portico.
Local media was there on the scene and covered the event. Reporters from The New York Daily News and the New York Times blog got the scoop on this exciting Cooper tradition.
Speaking to a reporter for the New York Daily News, President Jamshed Bharucha commented, "I think this is one of the all-time great college traditions. This is low-tech, low-cost, high-brain."


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Browsing Ph.D. theses by Subject "Sales"
Now showing items 1-1 of 1
A Study of Product Launches in the Swedish Pharmaceutical IndustryFraenkel, Stefan C. (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This research identifies a set of key success factors for sales force readiness, for driving the success of a new product launch within the pharmaceutical industry. Drawing from the analysis of fifty product launches in the Swedish pharmaceutical market, the study has succeeded in discriminating between four types of key success factors: the key factors that are important and crucial for a successful launch; the key factors that are important yet not necessarily crucial for a successful launch; the market conditions that are most ideal for a successful launch, and finally the type of newness of the product that is most suitable for successful launch. The overall aim of the research project was to provide guidance in optimizing the sales force readiness during the launch of a new pharmaceutical product. The research question is driven by the great importance and high cost of the sales force, together with the need for the pharmaceutical companies to continuously launch new products in a marketplace with increased challenges for all parts of the business. The research approach divides the research into two main parts. The first part reviews earlier studies/findings in the literature, collects empirical data in the form of six case studies and conducts six expert interviews with the purpose of formulating a Research Model. In the second part, the Research Model and its variables are quantitatively tested against fifty launched pharmaceutical products in Sweden. The study employs a bottom-up analysis method with Partial Least Squares Analysis, being predictive in nature, rather than the more conventional top-down and hypothesis-testing approach that typically employs regression analysis methods. In order to provide both practitioners and researchers with guidance on the results, its interpretation is presented in terms of its managerial implications as well as proposals for further research. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8224
Files in this item: 1Stefan_Fraenkel.pdf (2.535Mb)
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GYPSY leader Billy Welch swerved six penalty points on his driving licence after a court heard he leaves insurance to his wife because he can "barely read".
Appearing at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court under his full name of William Henry Welch, the campaigner for Gypsy and traveller rights - who has appeared on 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' and other TV shows - was granted an absolute discharge after admitting driving a car without insurance.
The court heard how Welch's own car had broken down when he was working in Leominster and a friend leant him a Vauxhall Vectra to drive back home.
Welch told the court that he had rung his wife, Rachel, to check he was covered to drive the Vectra. After reading the insurance policy for their own family Ford Mondeo, she told him that he was.
Welch, 53, of Cobden Street, Darlington, told the court he left insurance documents to his wife because: "I can barely read."
Mrs Welch, 49, told the court: "We were both named on the insurance document and so I thought we were both policy holders."
Andrea Milson, prosecuting, told the court that, in fact, under the insurance, Mrs Welch was the policyholder covered to drive any car, but Mr Welch was a named driver and therefore only covered to drive the family car and not the borrowed Vectra.
The car was stopped by police on the A456 in Worcestershire last August and Welch was subsequently charged with driving with no insurance and no MoT.
Welch admitted both charges but, in a rare "special reasons hearing", his solicitor, David Dedman, argued that the licence should not be endorsed with the usual six penalty points for the offence of having no insurance.
"This was an honest mistake" said Mr Dedman.
"He genuinely believed he was insured and was misled by his wife, not deliberately or intentionally."
Magistrates granted Welch an absolute discharge on the matter of no insurance. They imposed no penalty points, but he was ordered to pay costs of £85. He was fined a further £100 for the offence of driving a vehicle with no MoT test certificate.
Chariman of the Bench, David Callum, said: "We accept you did not intend to drive without insurance."


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It is the mission of the Scott County Library System to make available library materials and information in a variety of formats to people of all ages. This is accomplished through our staff, collections, current technology, comfortable and accessible facilities, and cooperation with other agencies and organizations.
While well-rounded services are provided, special emphasis is placed on materials, opportunities and programs to:
1. Fill the popular material needs of all adults and young adults,
2. Provide informational resources for research on topics of personal interest, and
3. Encourage and inspire a love for reading and learning, especially in pre-school aged children
The Scott County Library System is the oldest county library system in the state and conveniently serves the entire county not covered by municipal services with 6 branch locations and its traveling bookmobile. The system is headquartered in Eldridge, with branch locations in: Blue Grass, Buffalo, Durant, Princeton, and Walcott.
Other Communities in our Service Area Include:
- Dixon
- Donahue
- Long Grove
- Maysville
- McCausland
- Panorama Park
- Park View
- Riverdale
The Scott County Library System is a part of RiverShare, a 9 member consortium of Iowa libraries.
County GIS systems:
Scott County: https://www.scottcountyiowa.com/parcels
Cedar County: http://cedar.iowaassessors.com/search.php
Muscatine County: http://beacon.schneidercorp.com


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- 13th
Albemarle Music Centre
9.30am - 7.15pm
This year the Music for Youth Regional Festivals will take place between February and April in almost 50 locations nationwide. The first stop on our annual season, we welcome 40,000 young musicians to take part in the 2020 Regional Festival Series by attending a Regional Festival to perform or submitting a recording.
Everyone's invited to take part in the UK's largest youth music festival
The Regional Festival Series is free to take part in and open to any type of group, style of music, and standard of playing. We only ask that you're a group of two or more musicians, aged 21 or under.
The Regional Festivals are a fantastic chance for young musicians to perform and share their music, listen to performances from other groups, meet other musicians and gain expert advice from professional musicians and music educators: our Music Mentors.
If you attend a Regional Festival or submit a recording as part of the Regional Festival Series, you will be invited to attend the 2020 National Festival – look out for more information soon.
Head to our Events Map to see what other festivals are happening near you!


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Valuemax Local San Leandro Garage Door Repair Customer Testimonials
"I called Valuemax after finding them online and read some great reviews. We had a garage door spring finally give out after 10 years and needed it repaced right away. Valuemax sent a technician out right after our call and almost as fast fixed our problem and got our garage door working perfectly. Thank you for the prompt service! "
J. Davis, San Leandro
"I noticed after coming home from work that my garage door would not open and after trying to see what was going wrong I noticed a bent rail and a problem with the wheel. I called Valuemax and in less than 45 minutes I had a serviceman come to my home and fix it. They were very fair in pricing and I loved the fact they were in and out and did quality work, thanks!"
L. Lopez, Oakland
"They showed up 10 minutes early and was out the door less than 30 minutes. They charged me what was quoted and the installer was very nice to work with and also answered some of my questions about garage doors "
K. Myers, Redwood City
"Inexpensive, ontime, and came highly recommended. I had a problem with my garage door do to a broken spring. After calling Valuemax they sent a technician right away as it was an emergency and they got the job done in a flash and everything works perfect now. Awesome job!"
S. Stephenson, Milpitas
"Excellent service. I called Valuemax about a repair that needed to be fixed on my garage door. The work was done quickly and was a reasonable price. I definatelly will keep their number if I ever run into a problem with my garage door again."
B. Johnson, Daly City
"Very prompt and they got the spring fixed less than 30 minutes. I was speechless how easy he made it looked and was impressed with the proffsionalism."
A. Delago, San Leandro
"Thanks for fixing our garage door. We had an emergency and they were on it. Best price in town as I called around trust me. Will definatelly recommend their services to all our friends and family. Thanks again!"
J. Watts, Palo Alto
CA License # 868719


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Yummy Vegan Snacks from Trader Joe's
I practically live at Trader Joe's. I do 90% of my grocery shopping there—they have the best prices, it's super chill and low-key, and they have a ton of amazing vegan options (food, beverages, skin care, hair care, errthang)! Today, I wanted to focus on their SNACKIE TREATS (one of my favorite major food groups)!
Before we delve into their list of yummy vegan snacks, here's a quick note from TJ's:
"For the love of wit (and a few other reasons), we've identified products free of all animal products and/or by-products including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, honey, gelatin, lanolin and confectioner's glaze with the "V" (for Vegan). Please note, this list is not all-inclusive. We do our best to keep the information as up to date and as accurate as possible, but we do introduce and discontinue products all the time, so keep your eyes open and always read product labels."
Vegan Snacks from Trader Joe's:
- Chips, Crackers, Pretzels & Popcorn
- 12 Grain Mini Snack Crackers
- Bagel Chips
- Corn Chip Dippers
- Crunchy Curls
- Fat Free Caramel Popcorn
- Italian Breadsticks with Olive Oil
- Kale Chips
- Kettle Corn
- Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes
- Multigrain Tortilla Chips
- Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
- Oriental Rice Crackers
- Pane Guttiau
- Pita Chips (Cinnamon & Sugar, Sea
- Salt)
- Reduced Guilt Lightly Salted Kettle Cooked
- Potato Chips
- Reduced Guilt Pita Chips w/ Sea Salt
- Reduced Guilt Wheat Crisps
- Restaurant Style White Corn Tortilla Chips egan 6 Edited 5/2/14
- Rice Cakes Light Salt
- Ridge Cut Potato Chips (Lightly Salted,
- Salt & Pepper, Sweet Potato)
- Roasted Seaweed Snack
- Savory Thin Mini Crackers (Regular,
- Multiseed with Soy Sauce)
- Salt & Pepper Crisps
- Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips
- Stone Ground Wheat Crackers
- Tortilla Chips (White, Yellow)
- Tortilla Longboard Chips
- Vegetable Root Chips
- Veggie & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips
- Veggie Chips Potato Snacks
Dips & Salsas
- Chipotle Salsa
- Corn & Chile Tomato-less Salsa
- Double Roasted Salsa
- Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa
- Habanero and Lime Salsa
- Pineapple Salsa
- Roasted Garlic Salsa
- Salsa Verde
- Spicy Smoked Peach Salsa
What's your favorite vegan snack from Trader Joe's?
About Sunny (Sunny's Profile)Longtime vegan, hardcore compassionate beauty junkie, serious cake aficionado, and lover of all things floofy and sparkly! If there's something in particular you'd like me to review, drop me a line at email@example.com. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Google +.
Filed in: vegan food
Comments (3)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
They sound great !
Dude,I live there too. That's probably why we ran into each other.
Huggies. Miss you.
Love the corn chip dippers! And well, just love TJ's as well – the staff is always a blast and helpful too! And the selection and prices cannot be beat!


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Music Department Events
Jun 1
Vocal Recital: Zhi You Koh '19
Saturday, June 1st, 2019
5:00 – 6:00 pm / Applebaum Recital Hall
Zhi You Koh '19 performs songs by Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, and others.
Sponsored by Music. Contact: Holly Streekstra, x4475
Music, Instrumental Music, Vocal & Choral Music, General, Parents
Students, Faculty, Staff, General Public, Alumni, Prospective Students, Families, New Students, Faculty Emeriti


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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Giants tight end Martellus Bennett joked that safety Stevie Brown looked like a young Ed Reed. Bennett's comparison, at least for parts of this season, actually might have some merit.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Giants tight end Martellus Bennett joked that safety Stevie Brown looked like a young Ed Reed. Bennett's comparison, at least for parts of this season, actually might have some merit.
Brown had two more interceptions on Sunday, including an electrifying pick and ensuing 70-yard return in the fourth quarter that looked an awful lot like the future Hall of Fame defensive back for the Ravens. It led to a field goal with 10:19 left that gave the Giants an 18-point lead on their way to beating New Orleans 52-27 at MetLife Stadium.
"The one he picked in the fourth quarter — boy was the timing right,'' Giants coach Tom Coughlin said at the podium. They had flipped the momentum on us almost completely. We weren't doing much about it at the time. But thank goodness he makes that play, and we end up kicking a field goal.''
Brown's 91 yards in interception returns gave him 259 return yards to break the team record set by Emlen Tunnell in 1949 and matched by Dick Lynch in '63. Brown's seven interceptions are the most by a Giant since Mark Haynes had seven in 1984.
Thank goodness for Brown, who has done significantly more than provide an adequate replacement for the injured Kenny Phillips, inactive again on Sunday. Brown was so good on Sunday that he was chosen to greet the media in the separate interview room afforded players in high demand by the press.
The seventh-round draft pick on his third team in three seasons has become a vital part of the Giants' defense.
Brown spent the interview time talking about the team and not him. "We had a great week of practice,'' he said. "So we just tried to carry it over into the game.''
Inside the locker room, players were asked about Antrel Rolle's mid-week declaration that the Giants needed to get a little edgier, a little scrappier. Needed to get some "dog" in them, is how Rolle explained it. The message came through loud and clear, once more proving that Rolle carries one of the most important voices in the room.
"That's what you need,'' Jason Pierre-Paul said. "On defense, you need some dog like that and that's what we were doing.''
Still, Pierre-Paul wasn't ready to hand out any ribbons to the defense. "We had some busted plays,'' he said. "We still haven't played our great football yet.''
"I think everyone knows now that Antrel thinks about what he is going to say,'' Coughlin said. "And what he does say, at this point in time, people take it in a very positive vein.''


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Shopping for books on Amazon (what I normally give up for Lent) must be one of the seven joys of the modern world. And if a book is even vaguely notable or popular, Amazon will often knock 10–20% off the cover price. But just occasionally, an Amazon Marketplace trader (basically another retailer listing their wares on Amazon's website) will undercut Amazon's price for a new version.
What's very sickening is when a week later, this kind of email arrives from The Book Depository:
I am terribly sorry, We have had a problem fulfilling your order as we have run out of stock.
Xxxxx Xxxx Xxxx by Xxxx, Xxx
We have tried to find other copies, but alas we can't locate one even from the publisher's agents currently.
We sell on a number of other sites and although we update our amazon records daily, there is always a slight discrepancy between our actual stock and amazon stock. As result, we sold our last copy of the above title just before you purchased it.
We will request that amazon refund your credit card in full for the transaction today.
I apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you,
Thank you,
Andrew Crawford
The Book Depository UK
It's not that Amazon itself is perfect ... but they seem to offer a more consistent, pleasing customer service. In ten or more years shopping with Amazon - the first books came all the way from the US via amazon.com! - there has been the odd wobble. They once serially delayed shipping a book three weeks at a time for around six months, before I eventually gave up and cancelled the order.
But disappointments seem to happen much more frequently with the Marketplace Traders.


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Hello everyone,
We would like to take this opportunity to inform you all that as of our next release (5.18) Sven Co-op will no longer support running on various outdated operating systems. We do not have a release date for 5.18 yet, and to be honest aren't really in a position to consider a date yet, but we'd like to warn you all in advance anyway in case you need to plan any upgrades. We will of course mention this again in the 5.18 release notes, but please treat this as a final reminder.
Part of the reason for this is Valve's decision to drop Windows XP and Vista support with Steam as of 1st January 2019. Also as we previously announced nearly 3 years ago this would be inevitable as operating system components begin to deprecate and remove older functionality, which is beyond our control.
Using more up to date operating systems (and their underlying components) also offers us more opportunity to make the most of their functionality and efficiency upgrades, which ultimately ends up in a better product for all of you.
Windows XP, 2003, Vista, and 2008
We don't need to tell you how out of date Windows XP and 2003 are. Given the growing number of security holes it has going un-patched it would be very ill-advised to use these operating systems for anything at all.
Sven Co-op may still work with Windows Vista and 2008 for a while, however any issues that arise specific to this version will not be supported by us. We've not done anything deliberate to stop this working, but as none of our team use these versions we can't test on them.
As there is a noticeable hardware requirement gap between Windows XP/2003 and Vista (and later) you will almost certainly need to consider this too. This is also out of our control, sorry. The hardware requirements between Windows Vista right the way up to Windows 10 don't have such a wide gap though, so if you're already running Windows Vista there is a likelihood that you can also run any of the newer versions on the same hardware.
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will still be supported for the foreseeable future, again, until circumstances beyond our control dictate otherwise.
Linux using GLIBC earlier than 2.24
All Linux installations will require GLIBC version 2.24 or later. This coincides with an internal infrastructure upgrade from Debian 8 "Jessie" to Debian 9 "Stretch". Debian 9, which we compile our code for Linux on, has not only been stable for nearly 2 years now but can be upgraded to from previous versions easily enough, so this shouldn't be much of an issue. (It can typically be done without issue within the hour on a high speed Internet connection.)
Those of you running Ubuntu version 16.10 or later will not be impacted. If you're running the previous LTS (16.04) you can likely upgrade to the current LTS (18.04) easily enough as with most Debian based Linux distributions.
Sorry to disappoint further, but those of you wanting to run SvenDS on RHEL, CentOS, or FreeBSD will still not be able to do so just as you can't now. To be clear on this, as a game development team we have no desire to support enterprise type distributions of Linux. Though they may be great for many applications, games are certainly not their purpose. Our choice down the Debian distribution path correlates with a happy balance between fairly up to date software and stable proven software. The Debian path also matches Valve's preference with Steam, particularly as they use this for their own SteamOS distribution, of which the current version (3.0) is also based on Debian 9.
If you're not sure which version of GLIBC your Linux installation runs you can find out using `ldd --version` from a terminal, or check this table at Wikipedia.


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George Clooney is appearing at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie, a comic tale of "psychic warfare" by the U.S. military.
"The Men Who Stare at Goats," directed by Grant Heslov, is being shown out of competition in Venice on Tuesday.
Clooney arrived in Venice by speedboat on Monday night, with Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis in tow. The two, who have been seen together recently, are expected to walk the red carpet Tuesday evening.
Clooney, who owns a villa on Lake Como and spends time in Italy, is a frequent guest at the festival.
The movie co-stars Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. It tells the story of a special U.S. army unit experimenting with paranormal powers in warfare.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Sexiest Soldiers Of The Big Screen
PLAY IT NOW: Preview: 'The Men Who Stare At Goats'
PLAY IT NOW: Celebrity Matchmaker: Who Should Date Who? Part IV
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: George Clooney - Movies - Ewan McGregor - Red Carpet - Jeff Bridges


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I have been playing Skyrim for quite some time now and when I heard they updated the Skyrim online version, I downloaded it.
I played it a bit and noticed a bug that happened on single player and the "multiplayer" - whenever I looked at some stuff while in first person, my screen started flashing yellow.
It almost always happened with fire, spell (in the hand), and a bit randomly.
This has never happened before, and I had about 150 hours spent with the same PC specification. Now I have replaced changed the specification and hoped for something better but this doesn't appear to be the case.
Things I have tried:
- deleting the Skyrim online files
- uninstalling Skyrim and downloading again
Specification of my computer:
Display: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series(2548 mb).
Processor: Intel Core 2 Due CPU E6550 @2.33 GHz
Memory: 3582 (DDR 2) Operating system: Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit
I have Direct X 11 installed.
Sorry if there's not enough information, I was reading it all from the dxdiag file.


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The controversial plan by regulator Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to set up an Islamic mega bank using public funds could involve the purchase of an existing lender, Asian Finance Bank (AFB), say industry sources. The AFB is one of three foreign Islamic banks in Malaysia.
But perhaps likely to be more troubling than the use of public funds is a move to offer Islamic banking expert Professor Datuk Dr Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim and other "promoters" of the idea up to nine per cent of the shares in the super bank, which is to be capitalised at US$1 billion (RM3.2 billion)………………………………………..Full Article: Source


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Brenner Children's pediatric emergency department has moved back to its original location. Learn more
In order to help protect patients, family members and health care workers from the spread of COVID-19, no visitors are allowed at any of Wake Forest Baptist Health's outpatient or inpatient facilities, except in certain situations.Learn moreMore COVID-19 Updates
You've probably seen the TV commercials about holiday gifts: Mom loves that diamond necklace and Dad flips for the sports car in the driveway with a big bow on top. But wait a minute! Kids can't afford to buy such expensive gifts. Most kids don't even have jobs. So what do you do if you want to give gifts to the important people in your life?
The good news is that kids shouldn't feel pressure to spend a lot of money on holiday gifts. The best gifts show the person that you know them well and like them a lot. Thankfully, there are many low-cost ways to do that.
Let's start with Mom and Dad. Here are two people who will love homemade gifts. The only people who might like them more are grandparents.
Here are some make-it-yourself gift ideas to try:
It can be expensive and time consuming to buy gifts for a bunch of friends or siblings.
Here are some strategies to simplify gift-giving:
Girls and guys have been asking themselves this question for years and years: Should I buy a gift for my crush? You kind of want to, but there are so many what ifs: What if your crush doesn't get you anything? What if he or she doesn't like the gift? What if your crush doesn't know who you are?
Personal gifts like jewelry, teddy bears, clothes, or perfume can seem romantic, so you might want to avoid those. Non-mushy cards are pretty safe. So are small gifts like cookies or other sweets. If someone gives you a few cookies or a candy cane, you're thinking "Yum!" not "Hey, that boy/girl wants to be my boyfriend/girlfriend."
Sometimes, students put their money together and buy the teacher a holiday gift. Some kids give individual gifts, too. But you can show you appreciate your teacher with a simple card that has a note of thanks inside. You might even mention the favorite thing you've learned in the teacher's class so far this year. It makes teachers feel good to know that some of the important stuff they teach is sinking in!
The holidays are a good time to think about people who are lonely. Maybe there is someone in your class or school who doesn't seem to have many friends. The person might get teased or have troubles, such as a mental or physical handicap.
Consider doing one small kindness for this person. It could be giving a Christmas card or just having a small conversation. You could say, "Hey, I like your Santa hat" or "Would you like a cookie? My mom made them." Even inviting someone who's lonely to join your lunch table can make that kid feel better. Such a small, small thing, but it could mean a lot to someone who feels a little shy or sad at school.
If you're still in need of a gift idea, we have a few for you. We've created coupons and bookmarks you can personalize and give to family or friends. If you already have a gift, these are great little add-on presents to attach to the package.
With the coupons, you can give your little brother something he really wants — like some of your time to play a board game. Or you can give your mom or dad something really priceless: a coupon redeemable for one clean room — yours!
But our favorites are bookmarks you can personalize. On one of the bookmarks, you can write down what you like best about the holidays. A few years ago, we asked kids to answer that question and hardly anyone said presents. Instead, kids told us how much they love seeing relatives (especially cousins) and sharing special family times cooking, singing, and even having mashed potato-eating contests! Your mom, dad, or grandparents would love to know what you like about the holidays, especially if it involves family fun and holiday traditions.
The other bookmarks also make good gifts because you can write in the top 3 reasons you like or love the person who you're giving it to. So for your dad, you might say it's the way he makes up silly songs, cooks cheesy eggs for breakfast, and taught you how to rollerblade. Now, that's a present he can enjoy every time he opens his book.
Let's see ...what's the No. 1 reason we like you? You're such a thoughtful gift-giver that you read all the way to the end of this article!
Happy holidays!
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: December 2012
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The information on this Website is for general informational purposes only and SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical advice, evaluation or care from your physician or other qualified healthcare provider. If you have a medical problem or a health-related question, consult your physician or call Health On-Call at 336-716-2255 or 1-800-446-2255.


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19 February 2009.
19 February 2009.
WARNING: This article contains personal opinions.
A newsletter reader this week sent an e-mail asking a simple question:
I have heard about surveys showing genealogy to be the 2nd most popular hobby in America. Now I need a citation on this statistic and can't find one on the Internet. Can you help?
In short, the answer is "No." In fact, I question the "fact." I don't believe that genealogy is as popular as often claimed. Let's look at the facts.
I have heard two slightly different claims:
1. Genealogy is the most popular (or second or third or fourth most popular) topic on the World Wide Web.
2. Genealogy is the most popular (or second or third or fourth most popular) hobby/personal interest in the United States.
I have no doubt that genealogy is very popular. For proof, I can point out that more than 40,000 people read this newsletter every week. FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com are some of the more popular sites on the Web with hundreds of thousands of users. Local genealogy libraries and Family History Centers serve thousands of patrons every day. The study of one's family tree obviously is a popular activity among Americans, but is it really the second most popular interest? Or tenth most popular? Or fiftieth?
The only reputable survey that I know of was published in American Demographics magazine in 1995. The survey reported that some 113 million adults in the US, or four out of ten of us, were at least somewhat interested in family history. This survey appears to prove that genealogy is one of America's most popular hobbies.
I do believe this article's accuracy, but I suggest you closely examine the question asked: "at least somewhat interested." If you approached 100 strangers on the street and asked each of them if they were "at least somewhat interested" in their family tree, how many would answer in the affirmative?
Now, what happens if you ask 100 strangers if they are VERY interested in their family tree or if they have ever done anything at all to discover more about their ancestry? I don't know the answer to that, but I suspect it would be much less than four out of ten.
While many people may claim to be "somewhat interested," I dare say that most of them have never been to a genealogy library or to a courthouse. Most have never cranked a single roll of microfilm in their lives. How many people in your neighborhood do that? Some may have looked at one or two free online genealogy databases to find people of the same last name, but does that count as being interested in genealogy? I don't think they are very interested if they have never gone beyond the simplest of searches.
The American Demographics magazine survey was conducted in 1995, when the World Wide Web was in its infancy. In that year, probably 90% of all Americans had never seen the Web. In fact, some had yet to hear of it. What a difference we have seen the the past fourteen years! Today we do know that genealogy is a very popular topic on the web. I suspect there are more genealogists today than in 1995.
In short, while the 1995 survey in American Demographics magazine may be interesting, I believe it is no longer valid. The genealogy world has changed greatly since 1995. I would not trust a survey that is fourteen years old to provide meaningful answers about anything that is popular on today's World Wide Web.
The other surveys that I am aware of were conducted by Maritz Research. These surveys asked similar vague questions:
1. Are you at least "somewhat interested" in tracing your family history?
2. Are you at least "somewhat involved" with genealogy?
Sixty percent of the respondents said they were at least "somewhat interested," and 45% claimed to be at least "somewhat involved" with genealogy. That sounds promising. However, again, let's examine the questions.
What is the definition of "at least somewhat?" Does "at least somewhat interested" mean, "I remember grandmother talking about that?" Or does it mean, "I have a database on my computer or a notebook on the shelf containing the results of my own search?"
The other thing that bothers me about the Maritz Research is the fact that it was commissioned and paid for by Broderbund, the former producers of Family Tree Maker software. One has to wonder how accurate a survey is when the company paying the researchers has a very biased interest in the results.
The reports of the Maritz Research surveys always reported glowing results and then casually mentioned that Family Tree Maker was the best-selling genealogy program in the world. The same reports usually did not mention that the company that produced Family Tree Maker commissioned and paid for the entire survey.
I wonder what the percentages would be in response to this question:
Have you personally done any research on your ancestry in the past year?
To be sure, genealogy is very popular on the World Wide Web. A search for the word "genealogy" on Google returns more than 97 million occurrences of the word. Time Magazine even named genealogy as one of the four most popular topics on the Internet in its 19 April 1999 cover article. (Sex, finance, and sports were the other three.)
My question is this: Does this high number of web sites reflect the true popularity of genealogy, or is it merely a reflection of the fact that today's genealogy programs can create thousands of web pages from one person's database? I suspect the answer is a blend of both.
The fact that 97 million web pages contain the word "genealogy" does not equate to 97 million people posting their own ancestry. In fact, it might be only tens of thousands of people using their genealogy programs to create thousands of web pages each.
If genealogy is truly one of the four most popular personal interests of Americans, we should be able to prove that by other means, right? We should be able to measure the dollars being spent, the popularity of local and national conferences, the number of magazines that serve this personal interest, and more. These are all tried and true measurements used by tens of thousands of marketing firms and others.
Let's start with magazines. If genealogy were truly as popular as our nation's interest in sports, at least one genealogy magazine would have a circulation similar to that of Sports Illustrated. Sadly, I do not know of such a genealogy publication. I could make the same argument about Newsweek, Oprah Magazine, Boating Magazine, Field & Stream, This Old House, Travel & Leisure Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Popular Mechanics, various movie fan magazines, and many more. There is no genealogy magazine in a list of the 100 most popular magazines of today. The magazine stand at your local drug store or grocery store probably contains no genealogy magazines at all. Larger bookstores typically do have genealogy magazines available, but not nearly as many as for other topics, such as sports, automobiles, needlework, camping, or pets. If I stop at the local magazine rack, I get the impression that more people are interested in poodles than in their ancestry.
How about national conventions?
The national Star Wars convention draws 40,000 to 50,000 attendees per year. The National Rifle Association's conventions attract 60,000+ attendees. The national convention of ham radio operators draws 25,000 to 30,000 attendees every year to Dayton, Ohio. A local health and fitness expo in Phoenix draws 70,000 attendees, and I suspect most of them live within 100 miles of the conference location. Local golfing, hunting, or fishing conferences near me regularly draw 10,000 people and, again, I suspect that most attendees live within 100 miles of the convention center.
Then there are hundreds of local and regional antique fairs, hot rod shows, boating shows, sportsmen's shows, and more. Many of these attract tens of thousands of people; some attract hundreds of thousands.
So, how big are the national genealogical conferences? In recent years, the two largest conferences attracted only 800 to 1,600 attendees each. Is this an indication that genealogy is one of the five most popular personal interests among Americans?
Side note: Other countries with smaller populations seem to attract more people to genealogy conferences. The annual Who Do You Think You Are? show in London typically attracts 12,000 to 15,000 attendees. However, not all of the attendees are genealogists; some are history buffs, others are military re-enactors, etc. The Biennale de Généalogie held in Paris in December 2006 attracted more than 16,000 attendees. The smaller Congrés de la Fédération Française de Généalogie is hosted annually in different cities in France and always attracts several thousand French men and women.
Finally, let's examine the businesses that serve this personal interest. I do not have sales figures available, but obviously the golfing industry serves a multi-billion dollar marketplace. So do firms that sell to hunting, fishing, gardening, health & fitness, pets, firearms, stamp collecting enthusiasts, and other companies that serve personal interests.
What is the total dollar amount spent on genealogy per year? While I am sure it is a significant sum, it must be a pittance when compared to the other personal interests just mentioned. Let's compare the money spent against that of other personal interests: golf, hunting, fishing, etc.
In summation, I will suggest that genealogy is indeed a very popular activity among Americans. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million, people are actively looking for their family heritage. However, that number pales in comparison to some other personal interests that I have mentioned.
Do you believe there are more genealogists than that? Is genealogy one of the top five personal interests in America? I have one challenge for you: find some believable statistics to prove it!
Source: Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter.


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Evil DIMwit wrote:Newtown:
I'm not sure if it's clear that to get a bonus in Newtown you have to hold every territory of the corresponding color. I need a way to state that more succinctly, though.
Haha, okay. I remember asking about this before and thought you said the opposite, but okay. You could probably stand to increase them by one a piece, except Industrial, then. Rather difficult to hold any one color except green.
Evil DIMwit wrote:Enclave:
I might increase Barley to 3. Meadow might be worth 4, maybe.
You really should...
Evil DIMwit wrote:Aeternum:
Yes, castles count in region calculations, just as they do in Feudal War.
Ah, okay. Thanks for clearing that up.
Evil DIMwit wrote:Fahrenheit:
To get to the Oases, you need to break through some neutrals, so I want them a bit overvalued.I'm thinking something like 3 for every oasis territory, 3 for every desert territory one away from the twins, 2 for the next layer, and 1 for the next layer (maybe 2 for FL3).
The brown lines are pretty much just there to delineate which region of the desert corresponds to which Classic territory, and accordingly separate the regions that the letter codes refer to.
Ah, okay. I just made the assumption they'd all be neutral 1's like Oasis, but your idea seems good. And with it I think the bonuses would be fine with that.


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Quick Hits: Blackhawks top Sharks
Quick hits -- every one of them clean -- on Chicago's 5-3 comeback win in San Jose Tuesday night:
• First, the controversy. If you haven't seen it, take a look at the play that earned San Jose's Andrew Desjardins a match penalty for intent to injure.
Here's the way I see it: Chicago's Jamal Mayers exposes himself by turning to look for the pass as he's cutting through the middle. You gotta keep your head up in the trolley tracks. Desjardins leans in with his shoulder and makes primary contact with the shoulder of Mayers, who crumples to the ice.
So it's not a head shot. But do his feet leave the ice prior to the hit? I don't think so. His back foot, maybe, but it looked to me like it was in the act of taking a stride, not leaping.
A vicious hit? Definitely. But "contact with the head with intent to injure"? Not a chance. This hit was as clean as they come. So yeah, I think the officials blew the call.
Of course, I'm saying that after having seen multiple angles in repeated viewings, so it's tough to point fingers on this one. At full speed, it was very, very close and I'm guessing that the violence of the collision and Mayers' slow recovery led the officials to err on the side of caution.
• The match penalty was quickly rescinded post-game, according to Kevin Kurz of Comcast SportsNet
That's the right decision. Full marks to the league for taking care of it promptly.
• I'm guessing some Chicago fans weren't happy to see Duncan Keith go after Desjardins in the aftermath of the hit, but he had to drop the gloves. It was his suicide pass that exposed Mayers in the first place, so he owed him that much. Losing your top blueliner for 19 minutes in a key game might seem like a no-win, but there's a galvanizing effect when a player not normally known for dropping the mitts (Keith hadn't fought since 2010) steps in to protect a fallen teammate. His willingness to step up and take a beating in that situation is the sort of moment that can turn a good season into a magical one.
• You had two of the top-three defenses in the NHL matching up, including one that has given up just two first-period goals all season. So of course they exploded for six goals in the opening stanza, including four in an 89-second span. You'd like to spread the blame for the sloppiness that led to that outburst, giving a fair share to the defenders who failed to handle their assignments, but honestly, five of those were on the goalies -- including all three allowed by Corey Crawford. Chicago's 'tender has been dynamite this season, but he allowed a big rebound that led to Joe Pavelski's opener, and then was sniped twice because he was playing too deep in his net. Antti Niemi wasn't much better at the other end, failing to track the puck on Chicago's second and third markers. Both settled in, but the wild start was on them.
• Jonathan Toews looked like a world beater every time he stepped on the ice. He was 17-of-26 on the draw, made a nice play to initiate Brandon Saad's goal, then stripped the puck from Douglas Murray beside the net before feeding Patrick Kane in front of a gaping cage for the winner. His best play, though, went virtually unnoticed. After winning a battle along the boards, he drove the net. Finding his lane blocked, Toews looked for a target out front, but Marian Hossa had backed out of the slot. His decision: throw it hard off Marc-Edouard Vlasic's skates and hope for a good bounce. Didn't work, but it was the sort of play only a truly elite player thinks of.
• Hard to double-check the numbers when I saw Brandon Saad played just 13:41. The rookie made the most of his time, scoring his first NHL goal to initiate Chicago's comeback, then showing consistent net presence and puck poise. He makes you notice him every shift. It's just a matter of time before he breaks through in a big way.
• Can't say enough about the long and short-term vision of Joel Quenneville tonight. He played a hunch that Crawford could get his act together if given a chance, and the netminder was sharp after allowing that third goal. His bolder move though was allowing Saad to continue skating with Toews and Hossa during the past few games. When a rookie isn't putting up points while playing with those two, it's hard to justify his spot. Coach Q kept the faith, and he was rewarded Tuesday night.
• The Hawks are now 8-0-2 on the season...and have played just twice in the friendly confines of the United Center.
• Despite the grumblings of Sharks fans, that Desjardins penalty didn't cost San Jose the game. Lousy defensive play and a sputtering top line did. After scoring 26 points between them in San Jose's first five games, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau now have just two assists in their last five after being shut out Tuesday night. They weren't invisible -- Marleau was robbed at point-blank range by Crawford's best save of the night and Thornton had a couple sniffs down low -- but they weren't important players, either. The Sharks have dropped three straight now, and it's easy to see that skid continuing if the big unit doesn't produce.
• How top-heavy has the Sharks' early success been? Tommy Wingels' goal was the first scored by one of their third- or fourth-liners in 10 games this season. Michal Handzus' was the second.
• Didn't notice new Shark Scott Gomez much, but the stats showed that he went nine-of-10 in the circle. A quiet contribution, but it's best not to expect too much from him.


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Tribal dress: Spell & The Gypsy Collective || Jewelry: Spell & vintage || Concho belt: Vintage ]] Crochet vest: Coco || Platform heels: The White Pepper
This is going to be my most worn look in summer, I think. I wear all my favorite pieces especially by my favorite brand Spell Designs, they have the most beautiful and dreamy clothes. That dress is definitely my favorite, I love its colors, its print and cut! I definitely will never regret buying it! I already bought a Spell tribal playsuit which has a similar cut and it's been worn many many many times. Both are so airy and comfortable. I combined it with my crochet vest, my favorite turquoise jewelry and concho belt and the only thing I still need is a trailer so I can travel and live out my inner gypsy haha.
Btw my new platform heels are the most comfortable heels I've ever owned, I can walk hours in them without getting tired/ hurt feet.


text:
- Author(s):
- Matthias Ruffert
- Year:
- 2016
- Language:
- english
- Size:
- 16x24 cm
- Pages:
- 200
- 9789089521859
- ISBN E-book:
- 9789089521866
- Edition:
- Paperback
- 828
Europa Law Publishing
The Model Rules on EU Administrative Procedures: AdjucationBack
In various European countries, debates on the transformation of administrative law are held from a national perspective and with different intensity. Given the considerable effects such a discussion may have on the methods of administrative legal scholarship, an analysis of these developments in a European context promises valuable results. For this purpose, a long term transnational exchange of ideas – between administrative law scholars from England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, was initiated in 2005 in Dornburg Castle and then continued with meetings in London (2007), Paris (2009) and Dornburg Castle again (2012). The fifth workshop took place in Rome in April 2015. This time, the group considered a proposal for codification, the Model Rules of the Research Network on European Administrative Law (ReNEUAL). It analysed the Third Book of the Model Rules on single administrative decisions in particular.
About the editor
The editor Matthias Ruffert is Professor of Public Law and European Law, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany. He initiated the group and is co-leading it with Pascale Gonod, Université de Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, and Andrew Le Sueur, Queen Mary College, University of London.


text: In celebration of National Zookeeper Appreciation Week , I'd like to give you a behind-the-scenes look at how some Animal Care staff work diligently to keep our living collection happy and healthy! Animals that come into the National Aquarium always go through a quarantine period before they are introduced into exhibits. This is to make sure that we don't introduce animals that are carrying serious diseases and to let them adapt fully to new environments. Managing quarantine for a facility the size of the National Aquarium is not easy, and our success is based heavily on the staff's diligent care and attention. In total, the Animal Care Center is staffed by three full-time employees, three volunteers and interns. Together, our Animal Health and Animal Care Center teams have developed protocols for quarantine, but often have to adapt them based on the animals' histories, behavioral or environmental needs, and diagnostic testing. We rely on the wonderful staff at our Animal Care Center to constantly adapt to meet the animals' needs and get them thriving in their temporary quarantine homes before making the big move onto exhibit! Stay tuned for more National Zookeeper Appreciation Week features! Tags: baltimore, zookeeper-appreciation-week, national-aquarium-experts, animal-health Categories: Behind-The-Scenes Previous Post Next Post


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The Shannon lecture series at Carleton University, Ottawa called Grub and Grog: Food and Drink in History will bring in speakers from as far away as San Francisco, Minnesota, and Victoria BC to speak on the history of food and drink.
There are three lectures left, and they are -
October 25, 2013 Adventures in Cooking from the Past. Ken Albala, Department of History, University of the Pacific.
November 8, 2013 The Tavern Company: Food, Drink, and the Bonds of Sociability in a Colonial Society. Julia Roberts, Department of History, University of Waterloo.
November 15, 2013 Only in Canada: History, Ecology and Culture of Edible Wild Plants of First Peoples in Western Canada. Nancy Turner, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria.
For further information please contact the Department of History at (613) 520-2828, by email to firstname.lastname@example.com or visit our website at www.carleton.ca/history.
All lectures will take place in the Humanities Lecture Theatre, 303 Paterson Hall, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. followed by a reception in the Department of History Lobby, fourth floor Paterson Hall.


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When L.A. Theatre Works founder Susan Loewenberg called then-UCLA law professor Geoffrey Cowan with a First Amendment question, Cowan acted on his own right to freedom of speech. "I always thought of it as a theatrical production — not on Broadway but maybe something to be done in some theater in Springfield or something," Cowan says of "Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers."
When L.A. Theatre Works founder Susan Loewenberg called then-UCLA law professor Geoffrey Cowan with a First Amendment question, Cowan acted on his own right to freedom of speech. "I always thought of it as a theatrical production — not on Broadway but maybe something to be done in some theater in Springfield or something," Cowan says of "Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers." Cowan wrote the historical docudrama with Leroy Aarons, a former reporter for the Washington Post. Its first act chronicles a debate in Post executive editor Ben Bradlee's living room over whether to publish the Pentagon Papers — damning Department of Defense documents on America's Vietnam War policies. "It was a fundamental issue of the public's right to know, on one hand, and, in certain circumstances, the need to protect the nation by preserving certain secrets," Cowan says. The second act features what Loewenberg calls "a real 'Perry Mason' trial." That's based on the Post's and the New York Times' trek to the Supreme Court to combat prior restraint from President Richard Nixon's administration, which had sought injunctions against printing the documents. The papers revealed, among other things, that President Lyndon B. Johnson expanded Vietnam efforts while promising the American people that wouldn't happen. Their leak partially inspired Nixon to create his "plumbers" — a group that later burglarized Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. "I always thought the most dramatic, engaging and profound way to open my media law class was the Pentagon Papers case," Cowan says. "It always made for a really compelling story, and it occurred to me that this would be a great courtroom drama." So Cowan figured that while he had Loewenberg's ear — one attuned to running a radio-theater organization with America's largest library of recorded stage plays — he'd bend it. "When you're a producer, everybody wants to send you a play. No matter who it is, you always go, 'Oh, God,' because 98 percent of the plays you read aren't any good," Loewenberg says. "I didn't have much hope for it at that time. Little did I know." "Top Secret" was revised and reconfigured into a radio play. Actors held scripts and performed live, yet they spoke into separate microphones for a National Public Radio recording. After just six weeks, the original recording — featuring Ed Asner, Marsha Mason and Hector Elizondo — was made. It won the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's 1992 Gold Award for outstanding radio production of the year and earned inclusion in L.A. Theatre Works' touring rotation. Sixteen years later, Cowan, now a USC professor, is right: "Top Secret" is coming to Springfield. Led by film, TV and stage actors John Heard, Gregory Harrison, Shannon Cochran and John Vickery, "Top Secret" is touring and will stop Friday at Sangamon Auditorium. At a later date, WUIS-FM 91.9, Springfield's public-radio affiliate, will broadcast the performance. Following Friday's performance, a live discussion will be held about "Top Secret's" subject matter. (For more Pentagon Papers information, visit www.topsecret.org, a Web site created to complement the play.) Heard plays Bradlee; Harrison is Brian Kelly, a composite-character lawyer for the Post; Cochran is Post publisher Katharine Graham; and Vickery portrays both Post editor Ben Bagdikian and Robert Mardian, federal prosecutor of Daniel Ellsberg, the DOD employee who leaked the papers. Apart from the more immediate timing of a presidential election year, the cast and co-writer find "Top Secret's" issues as relevant today as they were nearly four decades ago. "The Internet makes it harder to keep things secret because there are more outlets," Cowan says. "Newspaper economics have made it harder for journalists to be as brave as they might be in a more robust time. And the (Supreme) court is more conservative today, so I don't know how it would come down in the same set of circumstances. Yet, two Pulitzer Prizes in 2006 went to people who wrote about things some thought should never have been told." Cowan is referring to a New York Times story on electronic surveillance of telephone conversations and a Washington Post story on more-aggressive interrogation of prisoners held by Americans in other countries. "Some people said it was a treasonous act for those papers to run those stories," Cowan says. "Others called it the highest act of patriotism. These issues couldn't be more current." Whether it's the social satire of "Chicago" (with which he's toured nationally) or the hard accountability of "Top Secret," Harrison enjoys resonant dramatic work. "More than 35 years after the fact, this is still something we're dealing with on a daily basis in the national news," Harrison says. "I love the post-performance discussions because I learn things and find so many different perspectives on these issues beyond my own research for the role." Cochran says the Pentagon Papers provided "a watershed understanding" of what the U.S. government was capable of covering up and that perhaps not much has been learned from history. "I find that the students who come to see ('Top Secret') are fascinated by the story, but their next thought is, 'Hey, isn't this the same problem that's being played out today with our government?'" Cochran says. "It's the idea of what the government isn't telling us … and that sometimes all this over-classification turns out to be to prevent the government from being embarrassed." In hand with "Top Secret's" historical significance is its high drama spread over two acts, as Cowan predicted and as Loewenberg and a rotating cast of actors learned over the years. "It's a great story about positive aspects of a democracy that works and another lesson about checks and balances in government," Loewenberg says. "These feisty, courageous, crusty journalists really come alive, and you see who they were." Harrison has enjoyed radio drama since listening to "Gunsmoke" on the radio as a child, and had itched for a chance to perform with L.A. Theatre Works since learning of it 20 years ago. "You have to make subtle adjustments, find the music of a play both rhythmically and in the emotional notes you're playing," Harrison says of adapting to this presentational format. "You don't use your physical instrument to convey anything. It would be like a painter having to take a color or two out of his palette, and figuring out how to use what's left to paint the same picture." A veteran of many TV guest-starring roles, Cochran relishes the stylistic stretch of an actor's vocal muscle afforded by this production. "TV is such a tiny, tiny medium for the voice, and actors very rarely get to do much stylistically with their voices," she says. "And you can find where emotion, intellect and musicality lie within that. Plus, your work is for the microphone, not for the person you're in the scene with. You can't turn and relate to that person in the same way because then you go off-mike. "It sounds simple, but actors are so used to getting energy from another person. Your ears must work more aggressively to play as if you're looking into the other person's eyes." Nick Rogers can be reached at 747-9587. Read his blog at blogs.sj-r.com/unpaintedhuffhines. "Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers" Presented by L.A. Theatre Works WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday WHERE: Sangamon Auditorium, University of Illinois at Springfield TICKETS: $41 and $36; available at the auditorium ticket office, by calling 206-6160 or online at www.sangamonauditorium.org


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Parks official earned $300,000 a year, according to salary database
A California park district general manager earned over $300,000 in total compensation in 2009, according to data released Tuesday by the state controller.
Joseph Donofrio, former general manager of the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, was paid $306,474 in 2009 along with $16,500 in deferred compensation. Donofrio retired last year and now receives a pension from the district.
His compensation was published Tuesday along with those of thousands of other special district employees as a part of an ambitious database project led by state Controller John Chiang.
The database, which was launched in response to the salary scandal in the city of Bell, now includes figures from all of California's cities and counties and over 1,500 special districts.
Chiang said in a recent interview that he viewed the website as a way to create more dialogue about public sector compensation.
"The question for all of us is how do we make government more interactive?" he said. "I think that will be a game-changer."
The new data added Tuesday include figures from over 500 cemetery, electric, flood control and community service districts. None of the employees ranked as high as some from a previous release that covered public hospital executives. The highest-paid special district employee in the database is still Michael Covert, chief executive of the Palomar Pomerado Hospital District in San Diego, who earned about $1 million in 2009.
But Donofrio's compensation stood out among those released Tuesday because of the nature of his organization and its relatively small staff. He appears to have been the best-paid park manager in the state.
The district owns and manages about 30,000 acres of land in the Monterey Peninsula and has 17 full-time employees, according to its current general manager, James Sulentich.
Sulentich said he makes only half of what Donofrio was paid. When asked why his predecessor's wages were so much higher, Sulentich said he wasn't sure.
The president of the park district's board of directors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The second- and third-highest paid park managers came from the Hesperia Recreation and Park District and Conejo Recreation and Park District, and made $225,000 and $202,000, respectively. Both of those districts have far more employees than the Monterey Peninsula District.
In addition to total compensation, Chiang's site includes data on employee salaries and health and retirement benefits. It is expected to be completed in June, when figures for state government employees will be uploaded.
The Times' Sunshine page: Check out reader-submitted documents
Request for salary bonus figures for Burbank city employees called 'illogical'
Bell hopes to take back $4.5 million found in pension account created by Rizzo
-- Sam Allen


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You've heard of working out your biceps by lifting your beer bottle to your mouth, but could drinking booze actually lead to more working out?
According to one University of Miami professor, the answer is yes: the more liquor you down, the more likely you are to hit the gym.
In a study published in the American Journal of Health Promotions, professor of health economics Michael French, who said that heavy drinkers tend to work out 19.9 more minutes per week than teetotalers.
U.S. & World
"We conducted the study and found that moderate drinkers actually do exercise more but heavier drinkers also exercise more than abstainers, which was a bit of a surprise to us," said French.
The study, which analyzed the data of 230,000 Americans, found that overall, those who booze have a 10 percent increase in probability of engaging in vigorous exercise over non-drinkers.
The study also found that light drinkers tended to exercise 5.7 more minutes per week than non-drinkers and moderate drinkers exercised 10.1 more minutes.
The numbers could mean that drinkers are simply taking steps to fight the caloric intake that comes with drinking, but French had another explanation.
"It could also mean that moderate drinkers are just living a more moderate lifestyle," he said.
So, should drinkers start cracking open that six pack if they want six pack abs?
"We don't want to advocate that those who want to improve their exercise program should start drinking," French said. "In fact, I would strongly suggest that this is not a definitive cause and effect relationship."
South Floridians said the study likely won't change anyone's lifestyle.
"I don't think it's going to change anybody either way," said moderate drinker Corry Smith. "I think that if you work out, you work out, if you drink, you drink. I don't think, you're going to stop either."