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Smartlist necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 44 diseños de 12 diseñadores freelance.
I require a talented designer to come up with a design for the home page of a site offering first aid training. The design must be bold and attention grabing though incorporate text areas for content rather than just being a glossy magazine. I also require a second page framework that can be used for the rest of the site themed to match the home page.
EFR Greece
This website will be offering training courses for the EFR qualification which you can view the official site here: http://www.emergencyfirstresponse.com/
Although you can be creative and come up with some fresh ideas my initial thoughts were to have a large red cross '+' on the page and this would divide the are into 4 distinct areas. Each of these areas would offer a different form of EFR training.
The four distinct sections are EFR for Diving. EFR Pirmary and Secondary Care, EFR for Children, EFR in the workplace. This needs to look attractive but also have plenty of space for text content for the purposes of SEO and search engine ranking.
We are allowed to re-use the logos of the official EFR site and need to include this software. The site also needs it's own identity and the company is called EFR Greece. It will be in two languages, english and greek so you need to include the two flags on the page - these will end up being links to different language versions.
The design work is for the front page of a website and a second framework page that can be used for contendt for the rest of the pages with a common layout/theme. The designer that completes this work well will be offered the chance to complete up to 6 other projects that need immediate attention.
*** I will pay a bonus of $100 for the winning design to be turned into a tableless XHTML and CSS design (validation W3C)
- Item 1...The final delivered design must be in photoshop using layering to allow for post tweaks by myself if required.
- Absolutely no templates or designs that look like templates! This must be original work.


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The Westboro Baptist Church are the sensible folks best known for their controversial and basically hateful treatment of the homosexual community, dead soldiers, Jewish institutions, and we assume sunlight and happiness.
And now we can add Formula One racing to that list.
Fred Phelps, the leader of the small and crazy Kansas-based church, is going to be in Austin for the Formula One race to protest it. According to the church's diplomatically named website, godhatesfags.com, this is why they are protesting the race:
WBC will picket Formula 1 racing at The Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX to remind this nation that God hates the vwicked people of this land of vain idolaters and that they shall be turned into Hell. These sporting events resemble the patriotic worship-the-flag pep rallies masquerading as sodlier's funerals in that this Bible-ignorant fools worship these race car drivers like they are little gods! Shame on these people for worshipping these athletes instead of following the plain commandments of their God. They ought to obey today before it is too late. WBC knows they will not, never the less, we will kindly warn them to flee the wrath to come. These are the last days of all, Doomed america. Wake up before you find yourselves cast into the deep pit of endless fire!
It seems like God told Phelps that he hates KERS, DRS, and Kimi Raikkonen and it was time to take action.
The best way to protest these folks is to not give them any attention... Or to make out with an F1 driver right in front of them. That'll shut them up, hopefully. CALL ME KIMI!
(Hat Tip to @michaelrennick!)
Photo Credit: Getty Images

subset: commoncrawl


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Celebrities and red carpet fashion followers were shocked and saddened by the news of the death of designer L'Wren Scott Monday.
The girlfriend of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and former fashion model was found dead in her Manhattan apartment of an apparent suicide, according to law enforcement sources.
A spokesperson for Jagger said he was "completely shocked and devastated" by the news. The band landed in Australia Sunday to start a new leg of their tour.
U.S. & World
In a statement to E! News, Madonna called Scott's death "a horrible and tragic loss."
As a model, Scott worked for labels incuding Mugler and Chanel and was shot by photographers Bruce Weber, David Bailey and Jean-Paul Goude. After transitioning into fashion styling she dressed celebrities such as Madonna, and her own designs went on to become a red carpet staple for actresses such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Olivia Wilde, Ellen Barkin and Nicole Kidman.
Scott also designed costumes for the film "Eyes Wide Shut" starring Kidman, and "Ocean's 13" featuring Barkin.
"L'wren Scott was brilliant, elegant, kind, and generous. S*&#. My heart goes out to her loved ones. What a tragedy," tweeted Wilde.
Her first collection as designer was called a Little Black Dress in 2006 and in 2012, during New York Fashion Week, Scott posted her entire collection on Instagram in lieu of staging a formal catwalk presentation.
Many of those she dressed and who admired her took to Twitter and Instagram Monday afternoon to express their shock and sadness over Scott's passing:
Shocked & saddened to hear about @lwrenscott ... A lovely lady. Thoughts & prayers to her family. A horrible tragedy. — Angie Harmon (@Angie_Harmon) March 17, 2014
RIP L'Wren Scott and thank you for making me feel beautiful. @lwrenscott #L'WrenScott — Bo Derek (@boderek) March 17, 2014
My heart goes out to l'wren Scott and her family.... Such a tragedy!!! — Jessica Paster (@justjessStyle) March 17, 2014
Just got news of the beautiful L'wren Scott's death perhaps by her own hand. I am devastated. A rare, wonderful, talented soul. Goodbye. — Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) March 17, 2014
Shocked and saddened by the passing of @lwrenscott ... she was an amazing soul, talented artist and an unbelievably giving friend. RIP. — oliviamunn (@oliviamunn) March 17, 2014
Rest in Peace, beautiful L'Wren Scott. — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) March 17, 2014
Rest in peace, L'Wren Scott. You'll forever be missed. — Marc Jacobs Intl (@MarcJacobsIntl) March 17, 2014
RIP L'wren Scott. A fashion leader and trend setter. She will be missed. — Melissa Rivers (@MelRivers) March 17, 2014
Devastating news .numb from shock. May you rest with the angels '@lwrenscott Our heart is breaking without you. — Arianne Phillips (@ariannephillips) March 17, 2014


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Join us here as we talk about the game LIVE as it happens. The STEELERS are looking to keep their momentum going after a big win against the Raiders. The Bills cannot be taken lightly, they have been in most of their games into the 4th quarter and are coming off a big comeback win against the Bengals. Every player on the field needs to step up their game and bring it on Sunday afternoon, because we need to do our part to stay in the AFC North lead!
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Buffalo, NY.
1pm. EST on CBS
The Steelers Talk section will be closed during the game and will reopen immediately after it's over.


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Lesson Plan
Walt Whitman as a Model Poet: "I Hear My School Singing"
|9 – 12
|Lesson Plan Type
|Standard Lesson
|Estimated Time
|Two 50-minute sessions
|Lesson Author
Dallas, Georgia
Students use Walt Whitman's list poem "I Hear America Singing" as the inspiration to critically reflect on key figures, memories, and events from their own educational community. They review their school Website and use a graphic organizer to analyze various aspects of their school environment. Using "I Hear America Singing" as a model, they then create list poems that reflect a representation of that community. Finally, they reflect upon those individuals or groups who might have been omitted from their poems.
This lesson plan was developed as part of a collaborative professional writing initiative sponsored by the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project (KMWP) at Kennesaw State University.
In writing about a class on modernist poetry, Virginia Schauble notes that after being immersed in poetry every school day, her students now: "... habitually thinks about language and its effects. That is what Whitman was essentially doing... What rubs off on students is a sense of the richness of language: an ear and an eye for a rooted expression-rooted in culture, rooted in a tradition of risk and struggle for one clean expression." (52)
This lesson invites students to use the language of poetry as they reflect on school as community in a poem modeled after Whitman's "I Hear American Singing". The lesson ensures "that opportunities for the interplay between action and reflection are available in a balanced way for students... Essential to praxis is the opportunity to reflect on experience, so that formal study is informed by some appreciation of reality" (Brookfield 50).
Further Reading
Brookfield, S. (1990). The Skillful Teacher. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Schauble, Virginia M. Reading American Modernist Poetry with High-School Seniors." English Journal 81.1 (January 1992): 50-53.


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Dykstra Dives Into The Deep End With Sheen
Most people who have encountered former Phillie Lenny Dykstra are aware that he is not in full possession of all his marbles. Clearly, the elevator does not go to the top floor.
But Dykstra gave new meaning to the word "insane" when he did an interview with NBC reporter John Clark earlier this month.
During the interview, Dykstra talks about the possibility of him being assassinated by a bank, tells his critics "suck my d*ck" and even compares himself to Ghandi. You cannot make this stuff up:
It gets worse when he starts talking about Charlie Sheen. Dykstra calls Sheen "focused." He also blames Sheen's condition on "medication" and says most of it is a "joke."
But my favorite Dykstra moment comes when he blasts Mitch Williams, whom he says he hates. Why? Because, according to Dykstra, "He lost the World Series," and put Dykstra through "torture" as a result. So, the rest of the team had nothing to do with losing the World Series?
Williams is a stand-up guy who admits his own mistakes. Dykstra is a delusional moron who does not deserve to even breathe the same air.
Dykstra is an embarrassment to the Phillies organization. Shameful.
Videos by NBC
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin' Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*


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Calgon Carbon Corporation announced that it has been awarded a contract by Jiaxing Jiayuan Water Co. to supply 1.1 million pounds of granular activated carbon (GAC) to the Jiaxing Nanjiao Water Plant in China for drinking water purification. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The GAC will be installed at the Nanjiao Water Plant, which supplies 40 million gallons of water per day to the 3.3 million residents of Jiaxing, a major city in Zhejiang Province.
"We are very pleased that Jiaxing Jiayuan Water selected Calgon Carbon to provide high-quality drinking water to the residents of Jiaxing," said James Fishburne, senior vice president of Calgon Carbon.


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Bestop HighRock Tire Carrier Rear Bumper
- Regular Price: $1,790.65-1,816.20
- Our Price: $1,215.64 - 1,232.99
- Shipping:FREE SHIPPING
- The Bestop HighRock Tire Carrier Rear Bumper gives you sturdy protection and a handy place to store your spare
- 3/16" laser cut stamped steel bumper comes with E-coat, powder-coat, and wrinkle finish to resist corrosion and look great
- Tire carrier mounts to your bumper via mig-welded Mega-Duty spindle; mounts using existing holes in bumper and tailgate
- D-ring attachment joints 1" in thickness
- Tire carrier capable of holding tires up to 40"
- Includes brakelight relocation bracket
- Arm swings out with one-hand operation
- Hi-Lift Jack and fire extinguisher mounts come standard
- 2-Year Warranty
Your Wrangler uses big tires because you use it for big fun. Upgrade your rear bumper while also giving yourself a place to put your oversized spare with the Bestop HighRock Tire Carrier Rear Bumper.
The Bestop HighRock Rear Bumper features all the tough construction that made Bestop famous. That construction features 3/16" laser cut and stamped pieces of steel covered with with powder-coat, E-coat, and wrinkle finish for superior corrosion resistance. The difference with this particular model, however, comes with the heavy-duty, mig-welded, Mega-Duty spare tire spindle. This mechanism can hold up to 40" tires, giving you the peace of mind to roam free and ride where you like without worrying about being stranded from a blowout. Everything stays legal thanks to a brakelight relocation kit, and Hi-Lift Jack and fire extinguisher mounts are also included.
You need both a durable rear bumper and an oversized tire carrier. Get both, and get back to your off-road excursions, with the Bestop HighRock 4x4 Tire Carrier Rear Bumper. Backed by a 2-Year Warranty.


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The Bose® Solo TV sound system is designed to be placed under your TV.
Applies to:
TV size limit
The Bose Solo system is designed for TVs that weigh no more than 40 lbs (18 kg) and have bases no wider than 20" (50.8 cm) and no deeper than 10.25" (26 cm). Most 32" TVs and smaller meet these requirements.
CAUTION: DO NOT place a CRT-type TV on this system. It is not designed for use with this type of TV.
Placement guidelines
The base of your TV should be centered on the top of the system and must not hang over any of its edges
CAUTION: Allowing the base of your TV to hang over any edge of this speaker
system increases the risk of the TV tipping, which may result in injury.
If the TV base is too large to fit on top of the system, place the sound system in another location such as on an open shelf under the TV, but keep it close to your TV so the audio cable will reach. The system can also be placed under a wall-mounted TV
If placing the sound system backed up to a wall, make sure there is at least a
one-inch space between the wall and the rear of the system
If placing the sound system in a cabinet, or on a shelf, position the front of the system as close as possible to the front edge of the shelf for optimum audio performance
CAUTION: With any placement of this product, make sure the ventilation openings on the rear panel are not blocked.


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Peach Fungus
Stockphoto ID: 321192
File name: 105_0511.jpg
Format: digital, 3000+ pixels longest side
Property release: no Model release: no
Source: photo agency Based in: Canada
Description: peach fungus
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This image is copyright protected. There is a fee for any use. This website is not a source of free images.


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Schwab Achieves Highest Scores in Overall Interaction and Account Offerings
Public Company Information:
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Charles Schwab has received the highest ranking in overall satisfaction nationwide in the 2015 U.S. Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction StudySM from J.D. Power. With an index score of 801 on a 1,000-point scale, Schwab scored 38 points above the overall satisfaction industry average, and received the highest scores in the areas of interaction and account offerings.
Charles Schwab President and CEO Walt Bettinger said, "In announcing their latest rankings, J.D. Power emphasized that being a self-directed investor doesn't mean going it alone, and that self-directed investors really do want a relationship with their firm that includes access to do-it-yourself tools and resources as well as help and guidance and superior service when you need it. That couldn't be truer at Schwab." Bettinger continued, "We're continually improving the quality of our interactions and expanding what we offer, bringing investors the resources, tools, products, and people they need to be successful investors backed by the commitment to drive down costs wherever we can."
Last month, Schwab received an index score of 810 and tied for third nationwide in the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Full-Service Investor Satisfaction Study™, the two scores reflecting the company's breadth of capabilities across the range of investor preferences.
At the end of the first quarter, Schwab had attracted approximately 178,000 new brokerage accounts, up 9% from the year-earlier period; total brokerage accounts stood at 6.7 million. The company now serves more than $2.5 trillion in client assets through multiple channels 24/7, including 325 branches and provided over 100,000 planning consultations with clients in 2014.
The official J.D. Power press release can be viewed here.
About Schwab
At Charles Schwab we believe in the power of investing to help individuals create a better future. We have a history of challenging the status quo in our industry, innovating in ways that benefit investors and the advisors and employers who serve them, championing our clients' goals with passion and integrity.
More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
Through its operating subsidiaries, The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; compliance and trade monitoring solutions; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through Schwab Advisor Services. Its banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides banking and lending services and products. More information is available at www.schwab.com and www.aboutschwab.com.
For funds, investors should consider carefully information contained in the prospectus, including investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. You can request a prospectus by calling Schwab at 1-800-435-4000 or by visiting www.schwab.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
*Conditions Apply: Trades in ETFs available through Schwab ETF OneSource™ (including Schwab ETFs™) are available without commissions when placed online in a Schwab account. Service charges apply for trade orders placed through a broker ($25) or by automated phone ($5). An exchange processing fee applies to sell transactions. Certain types of Schwab ETF OneSource transactions are not eligible for the commission waiver, such as short sells and buys to cover (not including Schwab ETFs). Schwab reserves the right to change the ETFs we make available without commissions. All ETFs are subject to management fees and expenses. Please see pricing guide for additional information.
©2015 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC.
Some links provided in this press release take you to websites not owned by Charles Schwab or its affiliates. Charles Schwab is not responsible for the content on those websites and does not provide, edit, or endorse any of the content. Those non-affiliated companies are wholly responsible for the content and features found on their sites


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Search Constraints
You searched for: Publisher California. Department of Transportation Remove constraint Publisher: California. Department of Transportation Subject Structure Remove constraint Subject: Structure Subject Transportation Remove constraint Subject: Transportation Subject Airports Remove constraint Subject: Airports Year 2013 Remove constraint Year: 2013
1 entry found
Search Results
1. Public Use Airports, California, 2013
2013. Uppal, Danny and California. Department of Transportation. This polygon shapefile contains the boundaries of public use airports in California for 2013. These data were created from California Department of... California. Department of Transportation.


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Finishers of The Louisiana Marathon in Baton Rouge.
Spend a day enjoying nature on Fontainbleau State Park Beach.
Tour Landry Vineyards in Monroe to experience some of Louisiana's wine country.
Louis Armstrong Themed Red Beans Car in Red Bean Parade on Lundi Gras in New Orleans ©Instagrammer @FrenchQuarterLife
Shadows on the Teche Museum ©Shadows on the Teche
Uncle Sam Jam - Jefferson Parish ©Uncle Same Jam - Facebook
Explore the beauty of Louisiana's pine forests via horseback in the Kisatchie National Forest.
Go Stand Up Paddleboarding on the Tchefuncte River in the Northshore area of Louisiana. ©Bayou Paddle Co.
Bring your dancing shoes to the Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival in Opelousas.
Admire the amazing gardens in the Afton Villa Gardens in St. Francisville, LA
Visit Landry Vineyards for wine tasting and concerts in Monroe, Louisiana
Houseboating with Miss Sandi Houseboat Rentals. Photo: Miss Sandi Houseboat Rentals ©Miss Sandi Houseboat Rentals
The National WWII Museum's Freedom Pavilion at dusk, located in New Orleans. ©National WWII Museum
Thrill seekers enjoy rides at the Louisiana State Fair in Shreveport
Red River Balloon Rally in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Red River Balloon Rally in Shreveport ©Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Visitors Bureau
Take a break and wander through the trees at the Kisatchie National Forest outside Alexandria.
Red River Balloon Rally in Shreveport-Bossier
View amazing numbers of birds like the Egret on the Grand Isle Loop of the America's Wetland Birding Trail.
Fishing for the big Redfish in the brackish waters in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.
Christmas in Roseland ©Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau
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Hit the trails on horseback in Kisatchie National Forest.
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Explore the Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in Natchitoches.
Head to the historic Grand Opera House of the South in Crowley, Louisiana
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Enjoy Festival Acadiens et Creoles in Lafayette every October.
There are plenty of inshore and offshore Louisiana fishing opportunities.
Hike the trails at Tunica Hills Wildlife Area just a short drive outside Baton Rouge.
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Experience the Cajun version of Mardi Gras at the Courir de Mardi Gras in Eunice, Louisiana.
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Visit Landry Vineyards in Monroe for their Summer Concert Series.
Photo ©Philip Gould
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Gorgeous sunsets can accompany your fishing trip on Poverty Point Reservoir State Park.
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Head to DeRidder for the Beauregard Watermelon Festival.
Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge
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Visit the USS Kidd Veterans Museum in Baton Rouge.
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Don't miss the annual French Quarter Festival in New Orleans - it's one of the largest (and most fun) free festivals in the South!
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Visit the White Tiger at Alexandria's Zoo.
Red River Revel Festival in Shreveport
Experience Buck and Johnny's Zydeco Breakfast in Breaux Bridge.
Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival
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Take the family to experience the magic of the underwater worlds at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. ©Jeff Strout; Audubon Aquarium of Americas
McGees Swamp Tour - Airboat through the swamp!
Audubon Insectarium ©Audubon Institute
Enjoy lakeside camping at Lake Bistineau State Park. Don't forget your kayak!
Students playing cornhole at Southeastern Louisiana University ©Southeastern Louisiana University
White Light Night MidCity Baton Rouge ©Mid-City Makers Market
Your taste buds will sing at the Sweet Dough Pie Festival in Grand Coteau, Louisiana
Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival
Champ the Louisiana Tech University Bulldog Mascot at a pre-game pep rally
San Francisco Plantation recently reopened after more than $1 million in renovations.
Visit the Alexandria Zoo to see Louisiana's native black bears.
Evergreen Plantation


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An Internet poker company founder accused of operating his business like a Ponzi scheme pleaded guilty to conspiracy Monday, but was spared from prison because he needs a heart transplant and could die behind bars.
Raymond Bitar of Glendora, Calif. appeared via videotape from a Los Angeles courtroom before U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan. The founder of Full Tilt Poker was immediately sentenced to time served and had to give up his assets as part of his plea deal.
The judge noted that federal sentencing guidelines called for Bitar to serve more than six years in prison. She agreed that his heart troubles were so serious that prison would likely be a "sentence of death."
Even the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said it could not provide the medical service Bitar needs, Preska said. She added that incarceration also could make him less likely to get a heart transplant.
"I don't think anyone would trade positions with him no matter what," Preska said.
Bitar flew from Ireland during the summer to face charges in a prosecution that shut down U.S. operations for the three largest Internet poker companies.
During his plea, he said he conspired with others to find ways to process hundreds of millions of dollars of gambling revenues through U.S. banks by disguising the income as money generated by phony companies that seemed unrelated to gambling.
He said that he and others falsely promised customers that their money was safe and secure and that funds were held in segregated accounts.
"I regret my actions. I know they were wrong and illegal. I am very sorry," Bitar said.
Prosecutors said nearly $300 million owed to players worldwide was missing. His lawyers have said he was helping recover money.
Although the government did not request a prison sentence for Bitar because of his health, a prosecutor noted that authorities believe he was the most culpable of 11 people charged in the case.


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Liberty News
Community fair welcomes students
Despite the heat, humidity and an afternoon downpour, incoming freshmen and their families descended upon campus Wednesday to check out their new surroundings and meet new classmates. Most made their way to the Vines Center for the annual Community Fair hosted by Liberty's Career Center. About 75 area businesses and churches exhibited to welcome the newcomers. Attendees were treated to pizza, cake, peanuts and other vendor goodies, and were offered opportunities to serve and even rides to church.
Christine Langford came all the way from Ripon, Calif., to study nursing because she said Liberty was "the only school where she felt really comfortable."
Freshman Mariana Capano, most recently from Germantown, Md., plans to study psychology. Having attended a College for a Weekend, she said the "God-centered environment" was a major factor that drew her, and that some of her friends graduated from Liberty.
Freshman activities continue today and tomorrow in anticipation of the fall semester, which begins Monday. Click here for a schedule of this week's events.


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Blog Posts
Last modified:
Monday, December 2, 2019
With the beginning of a new year comes the renewed commitment to shake up our usual routines. We tell ourselves we're going to learn a new skill, take a class or two, strive to get exposed to diverse and different ideas, make healthier choices, take risks in personal and professional lives… an ambitious list of life-changing activities. Luckily, the Library is an ideal starting point to help you turn your New Year's resolutions into real results.


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HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - Bombs in two majority Shi'ite Muslim cities in southern Iraq killed 28 people on Thursday, police and hospital sources said, in an attack aimed at spreading sectarian strife in the country.
Scores more were wounded in the blasts, which struck during a month that is of special significance to Shi'ite Muslims, who are often targeted by al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate and other Sunni Muslim insurgents.
Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Iraq so far this year following last December's withdrawl of U.S. troops, who had invaded in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Although violence is far lower than during the sectarian slaughter of 2006-2007, insurgents have carried out at least one big attack a month this year,
Tensions between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions in Iraq's power-sharing government have been on the rise since the U.S. withdrawl. Rivals of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki accuse him of trying to monopolise power.
Iraqi officials are also now worried that Islamists may be gaining strength from the conflict in neighbouring Syria, where Islamists have joined the ranks of rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
Two explosions near a restaurant in the city of Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, killed 28 people, said Nabil Mohammed, the head of a hospital there.
"We started to stop civilian cars asking them to take the wounded to hospital since there were not enough ambulances to transfer them," said 39-year-old Ihsan al-Khalidi, a schoolteacher who was near the scene of the explosions.
Blood, shoes, body parts and wristwatches were scattered around the site of the blast and grieving women pounded their faces and chests, searching for relatives who might have been hurt.
"Shame on the officials who are just sitting in their offices while explosions hit the city every day," Khalidi said.
In the predominantly Shi'ite city of Kerbala, a car bomb near a bus terminal where pilgrims gather killed two people, a spokesman for the local health office said.
Attacks tend to increase during the period when Shi'ites commemorate the death of the Prophet's grandson, Imam Hussein.
On Tuesday, car bombs targeting Shi'ites in mourning processions killed 14 people in Baghdad.
Shi'ites were not the only target on Thursday. In Falluja, a mainly Sunni city 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, three people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the midst of a group of soldiers who were gathering to get their pay from a state bank, police and health sources said.
A roadside bomb also went off near a checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul, killed one policeman and one civilian, police said.
Additional reporting by Sufyan al-Mashhadani in Mosul, Aseel Kami in Baghdad, Kamal al-Ayash in Falluja; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Angus MacSwan


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Every other Sunday afternoon, you�ll find about 30 Washington County 4-H�ers and their parents at the archery range or skeet/trap range for shooting sports practice. They�re laughing, talking and having a good time, but as soon as they step up to shooting line, the expressions on their faces let you know this is serious business to them. Across the nation, the 4-H Shooting Sports program has become one of the most popular programs, and Florida 4-H is no exception. Washington County 4-H hosts two of the shooting sports disciplines in shotgun and archery. Taking a deeper look into the program, you�ll learn that youth aren�t just being taught to shoot targets with accuracy; they are learning positive skills that will go with them throughout their lives.
The mission of Extension 4-H programs is positive youth development. The different programs, including shooting sports, are vehicles to achieve this. Not only are youth learning safe and responsible use of firearms and principles of archery, they are developing life skills in self-confidence, personal discipline, responsibility and sportsmanship.
Shotgun coach, Gary Clark, stated that safety is the top priority in everything he teaches his members. At a recent shotgun coach recertification session, the trainer commented that Sure Shots 4-H Club members were some of the most conscientious youth she had worked with and that Clark�s dedication to teaching safety and respect for firearms was evident in everything the 4-H�ers did.
Samantha Raney knows first-hand the value of the 4-H Youth Development program; once a Washington County 4-H�er, Raney is now a 4-H volunteer and coach of Top Nocks 4-H Club. While she�s participated in everything from science projects to public speaking to consumer judging, she says that the shooting sports program was one of the most beneficial experiences that she had as a 4-H�er, and she wants to pass that on to other kids.
At the recent Florida 4-H state archery match, 4-H Juniors Gavin Kindig, Cole Dillard and Avery Sapp competed along with Senior 4-H members Levi McDaniel, Joel Owen, Aaron Doss and Nathan Nichols.
Held at the Easton Newberry Sports Complex, 4-H�ers competed in FITA (Federation of International Target Archery) which are the traditional ringed archery targets, field which involves shooting in wooded, rough and rugged terrain at different distances and angels as well as 3-D which involves shooting at wildlife targets where hits are scored according to where it lands on the target.
After a full day of competition with over 230 4-H�ers from all over the state, Cole Dillard placed 10thin Junior Compound and Avery Sapp placed ninth in Junior Compound. Senior 4-H member Aaron Doss placed eighth in Compound. Levi McDaniel, who competed as a Florida National Archery Team Member last year, placed third in Recurve.
The Florida 4-H state shotgun match was hugely successful for the Sure Shots 4-H Club who took away the majority of top placing at the competition. Following are their awards:
Senior Team 1 � Morgan Locke, Whit Pettis, Seth Pemberton, and John Michael Walsingham first in skeet, second in trap, and first Overall Team
Senior Team 2� Tyler Daniels, Matt Fisher, Tyler Imke, and Colby Williams third in trap, and third in Skeet
Intermediate Team 1 � James Wesley Clark, Tripp Hodges, and Tyler Lee first in skeet, first in trap, and first overall
Jr. Team 2 � Caleb Hutching, Dylan Rudd, and Kolton Cox third in trap
Senior Skeet Individual awards � first Morgan Locke, second Whit Pettis, fifth John Walsingham, sixth Tyler Daniels, seventh Tyler Imke, and eighth Seth Pemberton
Senior Trap Individual awards � fifth Colby Williams, seventh Tyler Daniels, eighth Whit Pettis, ninth John Walsingham, and 10thSeth Pemberton
Intermediates Individual Skeet awards � first James Wesley Clark and forth Tyler Lee
Intermediates individual Trap awards � third Tyler Lee, forth James Wesley Clark, fifth Tripp Hodges, sixth Caleb Hutching and eighth Tripp Hodges
Other Notable accomplishments � Morgan Locke had a 25 straight in skeet, Highest overall Senior - Whit Pettis, Highest overall Intermediate - James Wesley Clark
Three 4-H�ers qualified for the National Florida Shotgun Team match to be held this summer in Nebraska - Whit Pettis, Seth Pemberton, and Tyler Daniels.
Parents of the Sure Shots 4-H Club shared these remarks about the positive impacts of the 4-H Shooting Sports program:
There are many personal qualities learned only through individual competition, and many valuable others, only through team competition. The 4-H Shooting Sports program is a unique opportunity that encompasses both aspects of competition, while developing confidence and camaraderie in our youth.
This club has really helped its members with so many different individual aspects: self-control, composure, discipline, disappointment, team spirit, attitude and so much more. The pressure they feel mentally when they are competing is a big part of their performance. They have to learn how to deal with pressure while being the focus of a lot of people. I am so proud to see what an impact this has made on their lives and to know that the character development they are experiencing will last the rest of their lives and will help shape the adults they become.
For more information on 4-H programs, contact Julie Pigott Dillard, 4-H Youth Development Agent, UF IFAS Washington County Extension, at 638-6180 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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Well Bella's back but she's not really Bella anymore....
New Girl104453364
- by chelsea paige.801
- Rating:
- Published: 4 Jan 2015
- Updated: 16 Mar 2015
- Status: Complete
Bella is a 16 year old girl that just moved away from London to California. This is about her 5 or 6 new school in one year. At this new school she runs into some interesting boys, that she thinks look a little familiar. What will happen, will she fall for one of them ,become friends with them or completely hate them. Only time will tell love
©Copyright 2015 Chelsea
©Copyright 2015 Chelsea
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Lots of support here in regard to the word Cult! Thanks.
The fact that other people are trying to proove to you that you must not 'get involved' with the material and people of desteni, is already a point to investigate and a 'proove' that they didnot investigate the material of desteni that is available, for themselves. They are more busy with trying to keep you away from it than do some investigations for themselves. Why? The only answer is fear. Do they fear 'for you'? No, they fear for themselves. Why not trust you in your ability to investigate this and to walk with it as you see it is supporting you and bringing solutions as support for all life? Because they do not trust themselves. Which is the whole problem, we as people do not and cannot trust ourselves as long as we are not self-honest; but we are scared to admit this, to admit that we have lived our live as a mistake and thus have to change, and instead of this ratter attack people who are a threat to this self-believe of being a 'good person'. This trying to convince you with reasons of staying away from desteni is a proove of not being self-honest, because a person with some self-honesty would investigate everything and keep what is best for all, and start walking the process to become a self-honest, trustworthy human being and support you within this.
You can see it as a reflection of your own doubts inside yourself, which is supporting you to stand up in this and make a decission who you want to be and become. I also had this clashes in the beginning of participating within desteni (and still from time to time), and it supported me to see even more clear what is real, and how the human mind is preprogrammed to turn around reality into imagination as a 'private advantage' to survive in/as the energy of self-believe, instead of standing up for what is best for all life in physical reality. And this is quite a process to walk! And at the same time the Best Decission that I have ever made, as I am finally walking what I am able to, which is only possible if it is best for all life, which includes me as life.


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Macleans Magazine has issued a press release regarding the Canadian Human Rights Commision's dismissal of the complaint brought against it by the Canadian Islamic Congress.
The complaint was based on the accusation that MacLeans Magazine had published a number of Islamophobic articles most notably an excerpt from Mark Steyn's book America Alone.
A complaint was originally filed with the Ontario Human Rights Commission which ruled that it did not have jurisdiction. However in doing so they summarily convicted MacLeans with their comments.
While freedom of expression must be recognized as a cornerstone of a functioning democracy, the Commission has serious concerns about the content of a number of articles concerning Muslims that have been published by Maclean's magazine and other media outlets. This type of media coverage has been identified as contributing to Islamophobia and promoting societal intolerance towards Muslim, Arab and South Asian Canadians. The Commission recognizes and understands the serious harm that such writings cause, both to the targeted communities and society as a whole. And, while we all recognize and promote the inherent value of freedom of expression, it should also be possible to challenge any institution that contributes to the dissemination of destructive, xenophobic opinions.
A complaint was also filed with the BC Human Rights Tribunal which heard the case over a 5 day period beginning on June 2nd, 2008, which was live-blogged by columnist Andrew Coyne here, here, here, here, here and here.
A decision has yet to be rendered on this one.
I wonder if the Canadian HRC's dismissal of the case is based on the realization that they may have bitten off more than they can chew. This case has drawn a great deal of unwanted publicity as to how arbitrary and one-sided their process is and they may rightfully be afraid that the government may be moved to reduce their power.
Which is exactly what the provincial and federal governments should do. Any government organization with the power to impact people's lives to the extent that the HRCs can do, with the mantra that 'truth is not a defence', need to be severely curtailed.
Interestingly enough, I cannot find any reference on the Canadian Human Rights Commission's website that refers to their dismissing the case against MacLeans. I'll keep looking.


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Copyright Extension: A Way To Protect Hollywood From Having To Compete With The Past
from the makes-sense deptThere has been plenty of talk over the years about why we keep extending copyright. Of course, we've discussed the infamous Mickey Mouse Curve, showing how copyright extension always seems to happen whenever Mickey Mouse is going to hit the public domain.
However, Julian Sanchez notes that this doesn't explain the whole story. After all, if it was just about protecting the very, very small number of works that still have commercial value after so many years, then you would think we would have evolved away from the "copyright absolutely everything for as long as possible" model, to one that plenty of people have suggested: one where there are regular (and perhaps escalating) recurring fees to keep renewing your copyright registration. That way, works like Mickey Mouse could stay covered by copyright, but all the other works which have been otherwise abandoned can actually contribute back to culture and be used by anyone who wants to make something with them.
As Sanchez notes, you would think that even the Disneys of the world would like this model better. Even if it had to pay such recurring fees, the overall cost will ultimately be tiny compared to the value of the copyright. Plus, it would then open up a treasure trove of public domain material that they could use in their own works -- and Disney, in particular, has a well known history of making use of public domain works.
So why do we still have a "copyright everything for as long as we live, plus 70 years" (for now)? Sanchez posits a compelling theory. That Disney and other big copyright holders like this, because it keeps them from having to compete with their own back catalog:
Insanely long copyright terms are how the culture industries avoid competing with their own back catalogs. Imagine that we still had a copyright term that maxed out at 28 years, the regime the first Americans lived under. The shorter term wouldn't in itself have much effect on output or incentives to create. But it would mean that, today, every book, song, image, and movie produced before 1984 was freely available to anyone with an Internet connection. Under those conditions, would we be anywhere near as willing to pay a premium for the latest release? In some cases, no doubt. But when the baseline is that we already have free, completely legal access to every great album, film, or novel produced before the mid-80s—more than any human being could realistically watch, read, or listen to in a lifetime—I wouldn't be surprised if our consumption patterns became a good deal less neophilic, or at the very least, prices on new releases had to drop substantially to remain competitive.This story certainly fits with Disney -- who famously decides to completely stop selling certain old classics and put them "in the vault" for a while, pulling them off the market entirely. For Disney, it's all about keeping out competition, which it wouldn't be able to do if copyright didn't last so long.
This actually reminds me of the missing 20th century of books that we discussed a few months back, highlighting how the amount of new works from each decade drop off rapidly the further back you go, until you hit 1923 -- the current cut-off for the public domain.
Sanchez does note that it's possible this actually drives more investment into new works, since they don't have to compete with the old. And, if you believe (which he doesn't) that new works automatically have more value than old, then you could make a twisted sort of argument that this kind of protectionism, and effective locking-up of about a century's worth of creativity, does "promote the progress" in that it moves the focus to newer works, rather than older ones. But I don't buy that at all. It ignores the fact that the giant gap doesn't just represent competitive works, but also raw material and inspiration for all kinds of amazing new works -- which are effectively killed off.
That gap represents lost culture. But, for the big legacy entertainment players, it might also represent repressed competition. That shouldn't really be surprising. After all, that is the whole purpose of government-granted monopoly privileges.
Filed Under: competition, copyright extension, julian sanchez, mickey mouse, public domain
Companies: disney


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Last week, a San Jose civil jury awarded the residents $111 million, the largest such award for a failure-to-maintain lawsuit against a mobile home park in California. Previous awards in other California cases topped out around $12 million. If the verdict stands, 61 tenants out of 1,500 people who live in the park could reap an average of $100,000 each in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages of $1.57 million apiece.
The money would be quite a windfall for the tenants, many of whom live on limited incomes and say they cannot sell their mobile homes because the park has such a bad reputation.
"We always knew it was a David and Goliath thing, going up against a multibillion-dollar corporation," said resident Joan Malone, 66, who helped spearhead the effort. "Now, people are coming up to me with their faces shining. We finally have justice."
The unprecedented verdict has sent shock waves through the industry, even as the park's owner vows to try to get it overturned. Equity Lifestyle Properties, a publicly traded company chaired by billionaire Sam Zell, is the largest mobile home park owner in the nation, with 140,333 home sites in 379 properties in 32 states and Canada. The award represents about 10 percent of its assets.
"We could not disagree more strongly with the jury's verdicts," said Equity Lifestyle CEO Marguerite Nader, referring to the damage awards, which were handed down in two separate phases of trial. "This property is a well-located, 100 percent-occupied, institutional quality asset that received the Manufactured Housing Institute's Community of the Year award in 2012."
California Hawaiian was once a pristine seniors-only park. But conditions began to go downhill in 1997, some longtime tenants said, after ELS took over. It had already been converted to a family park by then.
The tenants' suit described a litany of troubles: The once-scenic artificial lakes became slick with slime. Sewers backed up into people's homes. Brownouts and blackouts were common. Street lighting was inadequate, making it dangerous to go out at night. Homeless people camped out under the clubhouse stage and roamed the streets. Once, in 2012, Malone said, the large black iron gate at the front entrance even fell over -- and lay there for about two weeks.
One of the worst problems was that the water for the entire park of 420 households would frequently be turned off -- without notice -- for up to 20 hours at a time, they said.
The residents, who own their own trailers but pay space rents of at least $800 a month plus utilities, property taxes and mortgage payments, complained -- to a series of short-term managers -- but said it was to no avail.
Residents formed a homeowners association in 2007 and sued in 2009. Gela DePutter, 59, a semiretired former Hitachi analyst, remembers getting "threatening" letters from management after the suit was filed. About half the tenants who originally joined the suit bailed out, leaving a core group of determined people.
"I had to follow through with this," DePutter said. "I knew we were going to win but I'm floored at how much."
Gary Stutzman said when the owners did make repairs, the work was shoddy. After he complained for years about the lakewater lapping right up against his house, one corner of the house crumpled and the driveway wound up being laced with cracks. A crew came and chopped up the driveway, he said in an interview, but instead of hauling the pieces away, they dumped them at the edge of the lake, leaving a still-unsightly mess. Lawyers for the tenants said the jury was aghast at the "deplorable conditions," finding after a nearly three-month-long trial that even though ELS had made some significant improvements after the lawsuit was filed, the company was negligent, in breach of contract and had created a public nuisance by failing to maintain the park and provide sufficient security. Some serious problems remain to be fixed, including the substandard electrical system.
The case highlights what the tenants' lawyers contend is a common problem statewide -- the failure by some owners to maintain their mobile home parks, which can be cash cows.
For instance, ELS was spending between $101,000 and $273,000 on upkeep annually at California Hawaiian and taking in more than $4.5 million, according to the San Diego lawyers who represented the residents, James C. Allen and David Semelsberger. The lawyers will reap 40 percent of the award.
Others said the case could set a dangerous precedent. "If verdicts like these are held up," said Phil Woog, an Orange County lawyer who defends park owners, "there won't be a mobile home park industry."
Allen said the jury was won over in part because of the testimony of the residents, including Heather and Dion Berry, a clean-cut young couple in their early 30s with three young children. Among other problems, they described how difficult it was for the family to safely shower, go to the bathroom or use the tap water because of the sewer backups. Now, they're excited about the possibility of netting more than $2 million, after attorneys' fees. They have their first move already planned.
Said Heather Berry, "To get out of here, into a safe home."


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Poor quality display
'deep, rich, vibrant images'
Slim attractive design
Thin, tall and narrow chassis makes it more comfortable to use than other big-screen Androids
Great user interface customisations
'It's also one of the most responsive accelerometer-equipped smartphones we've tested. '
'So the Samsung Omnia 7 is a fine phone for the most part and Windows Phone 7 is a cracking attempt from Microsoft to get itself back in the smartphone race. '
'cool industrial design'
'We were impressed with some of the small touches, including the super-responsive, touch-sensitive back and search keys, while the physical Start button has a more reassuring click than Apple's iPhone 4, even if it is slightly smaller. '
Great 8-megapixel camera
Great multimedia device
Gorgeous screen
Excellent call quality
High pixel density display
Truly amazing screen
Amazing screen
'It's a high end phone with a mid-tier price, and the quality, speed, materials and grand display are simply wonderful. '
'People are very happy with such a phone.'
' An extraordinary mobile phone we have evaluated is the HTC Inspire 4G, a phone that was conceived to compete the mobile phone market.'
'The HTC Inspire 4G is affordably priced and boasts a large display. '
'helpful "Great phone'
'That's because the HD2 looks and feels like a full-fledged mobile Internet device that you can slip in your pocket. '
'most useful Windows Mobile 6.5 feature'
'Without reservation, we consider the HTC HD2 the best WM smartphone money can buy. '
Very poor call quality
Fast and usable camera
Excellent performance
Funky looking
'small and cute looking mobile phone'
'full QWERTY keyboard'
'decent QWERTY keyboard'
User-friendly interface
Resistance to dust, water, and shock
Well protected microSD card slot
Fully packed with features
Screen resolution on the Xcover is a disappointing
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews.
We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews
covering over 29,474 products.
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Cantor plans to resign from leadership
Wed., June 11, 2014
WASHINGTON — Repudiated at the polls, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor intends to resign his leadership post, officials said Wednesday, clearing the way for a potentially disruptive Republican shake-up a few months before midterm elections with control of Congress at stake.
Cantor, R-Va., was expected to make a formal announcement of his plans at a late-afternoon meeting of the party's rank and file, less than 24 hours after he lost a primary to a little-known and underfunded rival backed by tea party groups.
Even before his announcement, jockeying broke out among fellow Republicans eager to move up the House leadership ladder — or establish a foothold on it.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the party whip and third-ranking leader, informed fellow Republicans he intended to run to succeed Cantor, officials said, and Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas also made clear his interest.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was hoping to replace McCarthy in his current spot, the officials said.
Cantor's office declined to confirm his decision, which was reported by numerous Republican aides as well as lobbyists who said they had been informed of the plans.
The resignation would mark a swift end to a quick rise to power for Cantor, 51, who was elected to Congress in 2000, was appointed to the leadership two years later, and then rose steadily to become the second-most powerful Republican in the House. In that post, he was the most powerful Jewish Republican in Congress, and occasionally was seen as a potential rival to Speaker John Boehner but more often as a likely successor.
He was defeated Tuesday by primary rival David Brat, an economics professor making his first run for office in an underfunded campaign that benefited from the support of tea party groups.
Brat campaigned as a foe of immigration legislation, and said Cantor was likely to help immigrants living in the United States illegally gain amnesty if given a new term in the House.
Interviewed on MSNBC, Brat declined to spell out any policy specifics.
"I'm a Ph.D. in economics, and so you analyze every situation uniquely," he said.
Brat begins the fall campaign as a decided favorite in the race against Democratic rival Jack Trammell in a solidly Republican Richmond-area district.
His primary triumph was by far the biggest of the 2014 campaign season for tea party forces, although last week they forced veteran Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran into a June 24 runoff and they hope state Sen. Chris McDaniel will achieve victory then.
Tuesday's outcome may well mark the end of Cantor's political career, although at his age he has plenty of time to attempt a comeback.
The impact of Cantor's surprise loss on the fate of immigration legislation in the current Congress seemed clear. Conservatives will now be emboldened in their opposition to legislation to create a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally, and party leaders who are sympathetic to such legislation will likely be less willing to try.
Cantor has compiled a solidly conservative voting record in his tenure, but he was sometimes viewed with suspicion by tea party activists who said he had been in Congress too long and was insufficiently committed to blocking immigration legislation. Many party officials argue that Republicans must temper their hard line on immigration if they are to compete effectively in future presidential elections.
One Republican said he feared the effects of Cantor's defeat could be debilitating for the party.
Interviewed on MSNBC, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he was worried that the result of Cantor's stunning loss may be even more congressional gridlock. Asked if he thought immigration legislation was dead, he replied, "I'm concerned that Ted Cruz supporters, Rand Paul supporters, are going to use this as an excuse" to shut down the government.
"This is not conservatism to me," King said. "Shutting down the government is not being conservative."
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Buy This Print! choose size to add to cart: 5x7 or 8x10 // View Cart
All Photos Copyright © Annie Ray, AnnieRay.net
Photobooth and party photographs can be used for personal use. Please do not edit or crop these photographs in anyway.
©2011-2020 Annie Ray / website by City On Fire


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I coach executives, managers, project managers and project teams to attain new levels of personal and project performance. Through coaching, we can address organizational politics, team development, group process, interpersonal communication — anything that involves the connections between people. Phone coaching offers a confidential and cost-effective alternative to in-person meetings.
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Although you'll see more dramatic results when you're able to establish a close, long-term relationship with your coach, I offer short engagements because it's possible that a short session can make a significant difference, and I want to give you a chance to explore whether my coaching style is a fit for you.
Most clients work with me over the phone. For your sessions, just call me at the number below. You're responsible for telephone charges.
This item is a service.
To avoid shipping charges, be sure to select "downloadable" for the shipping method.
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Scooped: Easy Peach Sorbet
I scream, you scream, we all scream for...
Get the Recipe
When you get great peaches, all you want to do is not screw them up. And most of the time, that's pretty easy: just eat them straight, maybe with some bourbon-spiked whipped cream on the side. But if you want to be more creative, or you have some less than stellar specimens (perfectly ripe but a hair too tart, or not quite as sweet as you'd like), there's no easier trip from fruit to dessert than sorbet. Especially this one, which is also kind to frozen peaches, and doesn't even make you remove the skins.
These kinds of sorbets are dead simple. Dice your peaches, blend them with acid and sugar, and add salt to taste. That's it. No water, syrup, or other flavors needed. I leave the skins on because 1) I'm lazy, and would rather strain for two minutes than peel for five, and 2) I think they add a certain complex tartness to the purée. But if you're using frozen peaches—and it's totally okay if you are—don't worry about it. Add a touch more acid if you like; my choice is lime juice, an under-appreciated peach bedfellow.
I find that sorbets tend to work even better with imperfect fruit because they demand a ton of sugar to freeze right. If you have a perfectly ripe, honeyed peach, that much sugar can dull its complexity. But if your peach is a bit too tart, sugar rounds out its flavor perfectly. (Of course, do feel free to use your fantastic peaches here too; the sorbet you see above was made with a generous shipment from the good people at Frog Hollow Farms, who grow some fine, fine stonefruit.)
To serve, a not too sweet coffee cake is nice. Or more of that bourbon-ized whipped cream. Cream optional.
Get the Recipe
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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'commutators' tag.
This is a sequel to my previous blog post "Cayley graphs and the geometry of groups". In that post, the concept of a Cayley graph of a group was used to place some geometry on that group . In this post, we explore a variant of that theme, in which (fragments of) a Cayley graph on is used to describe the basic algebraic structure of , and in particular on elementary word identities in . Readers who are familiar with either category theory or group homology/cohomology will recognise these concepts lurking not far beneath the surface; we wil remark briefly on these connections later in this post. However, no knowledge of categories or cohomology is needed for the main discussion, which is primarily focused on elementary group theory.
Throughout this post, we fix a single group , which is allowed to be non-abelian and/or infinite. All our graphs will be directed, with loops and multiple edges permitted.
In the previous post, we drew the entire Cayley graph of a group . Here, we will be working much more locally, and will only draw the portions of the Cayley graph that are relevant to the discussion. In this graph, the vertices are elements of the group , and one draws a directed edge from to labeled (or "coloured") by the group element for any ; the graph consisting of all such vertices and edges will be denoted . Thus, a typical edge in looks like this:
Figure 1.
One usually does not work with the complete Cayley graph . It is customary to instead work with smaller Cayley graphs , in which the edge colours are restricted to a smaller subset of , such as a set of generators for . As we will be working locally, we will in fact work with even smaller fragments of at a time; in particular, we only use a handful of colours (no more than nine, in fact, for any given diagram), and we will not require these colours to generate the entire group (we do not care if the Cayley graph is connected or not, as this is a global property rather than a local one).
Cayley graphs are left-invariant: for any , the left translation map is a graph isomorphism. To emphasise this left invariance, we will usually omit the vertex labels, and leave only the coloured directed edge, like so:
Figure 2.
This is analogous to how, in undergraduate mathematics and physics, vectors in Euclidean space are often depicted as arrows of a given magnitude and direction, with the initial and final points of this arrow being of secondary importance only. (Indeed, this depiction of vectors in a vector space can be viewed as an abelian special case of the more general depiction of group elements used in this post.)
Let us define a diagram to be a finite directed graph , with edges coloured by elements of , which has at least one graph homomorphism into the complete Cayley graph of ; thus there exists a map (not necessarily injective) with the property that whenever is a directed edge in coloured by a group element . Informally, a diagram is a finite subgraph of a Cayley graph with the vertex labels omitted, and with distinct vertices permitted to represent the same group element. Thus, for instance, the single directed edge displayed in Figure 2 is a very simple example of a diagram. An even simpler example of a diagram would be a depiction of the identity element:
We will however omit the identity loops in our diagrams in order to reduce clutter.
We make the obvious remark that any directed edge in a diagram can be coloured by at most one group element , since implies . This simple observation provides a way to prove group theoretic identities using diagrams: to show that two group elements are equal, it suffices to show that they connect together (with the same orientation) the same pair of vertices in a diagram.
Remark 1 One can also interpret these diagrams as commutative diagrams in a category in which all the objects are copies of , and the morphisms are right-translation maps. However, we will deviate somewhat from the category theoretic way of thinking here by focusing on the geometric arrangement and shape of these diagrams, rather than on their abstract combinatorial description. In particular, we view the arrows more as distorted analogues of vector arrows, than as the abstract arrows appearing in category theory.
Just as vector addition can be expressed via concatenation of arrows, group multiplication can be described by concatenation of directed edges. Indeed, for any , the vertices can be connected by the following triangular diagram:
In a similar spirit, inversion is described by the following diagram:
Figure 5.
We make the pedantic remark though that we do not consider a edge to be the reversal of the edge, but rather as a distinct edge that just happens to have the same initial and final endpoints as the reversal of the edge. (This will be of minor importance later, when we start integrating "-forms" on such edges.)
A fundamental operation for us will be that of gluing two diagrams together.
Lemma 1 ((Labeled) gluing) Let be two diagrams of a given group . Suppose that the intersection of the two diagrams connects all of (i.e. any two elements of are joined by a path in ). Then the union is also a diagram of .
Proof: By hypothesis, we have graph homomorphisms , . If they agree on then one simply glues together the two homomorphisms to create a new graph homomorphism . If they do not agree, one can apply a left translation to either or to make the two diagrams agree on at least one vertex of ; then by the connected nature of we see that they now must agree on all vertices of , and then we can form the glued graph homomorphism as before.
The above lemma required one to specify the label the vertices of (in order to form the intersection and union ). However, if one is presented with two diagrams with unlabeled vertices, one can identify some partial set of vertices of with a partial set of vertices of of matching cardinality. Provided that the subdiagram common to and after this identification connects all of the common vertices together, we may use the above lemma to create a glued diagram .
For instance, if a diagram contains two of the three edges in the triangular diagram in Figure 4, one can "fill in" the triangle by gluing in the third edge:
Figure 6.
One can use glued diagrams to demonstrate various basic group-theoretic identities. For instance, by gluing together two copies of the triangular diagram in Figure 4 to create the glued diagram
Figure 7.
and then filling in two more triangles, we obtain a tetrahedral diagram that demonstrates the associative law :
Figure 8.
Similarly, by gluing together two copies of Figure 4 with three copies of Figure 5 in an appropriate order, we can demonstrate the Abel identity :
Figure 9.
In addition to gluing, we will also use the trivial operation of erasing: if is a diagram for a group , then any subgraph of (formed by removing vertices and/or edges) is also a diagram of . This operation is not strictly necessary for our applications, but serves to reduce clutter in the pictures.
If two group elements commute, then we obtain a parallelogram as a diagram, exactly as in the vector space case:
Figure 10.
In general, of course, two arbitrary group elements will fail to commute, and so this parallelogram is no longer available. However, various substitutes for this diagram exist. For instance, if we introduce the conjugate of one group element by another, then we have the following slightly distorted parallelogram:
Figure 11.
By appropriate gluing and filling, this can be used to demonstrate the homomorphism properties of a conjugation map :
Figure 12.
Figure 13.
Another way to replace the parallelogram in Figure 10 is to introduce the commutator of two elements, in which case we can perturb the parallelogram into a pentagon:
Figure 14.
We will tend to depict commutator edges as being somewhat shorter than the edges generating that commutator, reflecting a "perturbative" or "nilpotent" philosophy. (Of course, to fully reflect a nilpotent perspective, one should orient commutator edges in a different dimension from their generating edges, but of course the diagrams drawn here do not have enough dimensions to display this perspective easily.) We will also be adopting a "Lie" perspective of interpreting groups as behaving like perturbations of vector spaces, in particular by trying to draw all edges of the same colour as being approximately (though not perfectly) parallel to each other (and with approximately the same length).
Gluing the above pentagon with the conjugation parallelogram and erasing some edges, we discover a "commutator-conjugate" triangle, describing the basic identity :
Figure 15.
Other gluings can also give the basic relations between commutators and conjugates. For instance, by gluing the pentagon in Figure 14 with its reflection, we see that . The following diagram, obtained by gluing together copies of Figures 11 and 15, demonstrates that ,
Figure 16.
while this figure demonstrates that :
Figure 17.
Now we turn to a more sophisticated identity, the Hall-Witt identity
which is the fully noncommutative version of the more well-known Jacobi identity for Lie algebras.
The full diagram for the Hall-Witt identity resembles a slightly truncated parallelopiped. Drawing this truncated paralleopiped in full would result in a rather complicated looking diagram, so I will instead display three components of this diagram separately, and leave it to the reader to mentally glue these three components back to form the full parallelopiped. The first component of the diagram is formed by gluing together three pentagons from Figure 14, and looks like this:
This should be thought of as the "back" of the truncated parallelopiped needed to establish the Hall-Witt identity.
While it is not needed for proving the Hall-Witt identity, we also observe for future reference that we may also glue in some distorted parallelograms and obtain a slightly more complicated diagram:
Figure 19.
To form the second component, let us now erase all interior components of Figure 18 or Figure 19:
Figure 20.
Then we fill in three distorted parallelograms:
Figure 21.
This is the second component, and is the "front" of the truncated praallelopiped, minus the portions exposed by the truncation.
Finally, we turn to the third component. We begin by erasing the outer edges from the second component in Figure 21:
Figure 22.
We glue in three copies of the commutator-conjugate triangle from Figure 15:
Figure 23.
But now we observe that we can fill in three pentagons, and obtain a small triangle with edges :
Figure 24.
Erasing everything except this triangle gives the Hall-Witt identity. Alternatively, one can glue together Figures 18, 21, and 24 to obtain a truncated parallelopiped which one can view as a geometric representation of the proof of the Hall-Witt identity.
Among other things, I found these diagrams to be useful to visualise group cohomology; I give a simple example of this below, developing an analogue of the Hall-Witt identity for -cocycles.


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Three or four months ago, I promised Henry of Why Homeschool that I would take on the Carnival of Homeschool again. It so happens that I'll be your host next Tuesday week: April 24th, 2007.
The theme this time will be BEES of course! Here's a graphic you can SAVE (download it and save it on your own computer and then put it on your blog in a post if you want). You may use this graphic if you are posting about the Carnival.
- If you don't know what a Carnival is, go find out at Henry's "What is a Blog Carnival?" post.
- If you would like to submit, go to the Carnival Submit Post or Blog Carnival.
- Do you want to see previous Carnivals to get some ideas? Go see the Carnival Archives.
- If you would like to see who's up next to host the Carnival, go see the Carnival Line-Up.
Have a great week!
Buzz Words: Homeschooling, Carnival, Priorities, Home School, Submissions, Fun, Homeschool, Bees, Insects, Education, Carnival of Homeschool, Blogging, Blog Carnival, April, Parenting, Blogs


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Base Ball Bear promoting C, L-R: Yuasa Shohei, Koide Yusuke, Horinouchi Daisuke, Sekine Shiori
Artist: Base Ball Bear
Product Code: TOCT-26149
Release Date: 2006.11.29
Label: EMI Music Japan
Base Ball Bear is a pop-rock band created by a group of high school students who originally created an OASIS cover band. Their stand-out trademark is their use of both male and female vocals with their female bassist, Sekine Shiori, who contributes to the main vocals of male guitarist and vocalist Koide Yusuke. Guitarist Yuasa Shohei and drummer Horinouchi Daisuke round out the band.


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Young Fam - Im Ill Pt. 2 (Lil Wayne Sample) [Unsigned Hype]
"1st Single off of Young Fam's New Mixtape "Born To Fly" ( FREE DOWNLOAD )
Video shot by @PhocusNGrind For any more info, get at us @YoungFam and check out more music at http://www.youtube.com/youngfamtv "
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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Hearing test
This article with questionable factual accuracy needs more medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary sources, specifically: This article does not cite any references or sources. This article has been tagged since July 2007..
A hearing test is an evaluation of the sensitivity of a person's sense of hearing, most often performed by an audiologist using an audiometer. Audiologists are the only health professionals with extensive training on the anatomy and physiology of hearing, and are the only health professionals certified to perform diagnostic hearing tests. It is used to determine a person's hearing sensitivity at different frequencies.
A hearing test is usually administered to a person by having them sit in a soundproof booth with a set of headphones over the ears or small foam insert earphones placed in the ears, which is connected to an audiometer. The audiometer produces tones at specific frequencies and set levels to each ear independently. The audiologist plots the loudness (in decibels) on an audiogram. The person having their hearing tested will convey that they have heard the tone by either raising their hand or pressing a button. As the test progresses, the audiologist plots points on a graph where the frequency is on the x-axis and the loudness on the y-axis. Once each frequency of normal hearing ability is tested and plotted the points are joined by a line so that one can see at a glance the frequencies a person is not hearing normally and to what degree the hearing loss is. Normal hearing at any frequency is a threshold of 20dB or quieter, with worsening hearing the number increases.
Hearing tests are often conducted at workplaces as part of health and safety initiatives.
A complete hearing evaluation involves several other tests as well. In order to determine what kind of hearing loss is present, a bone conduction hearing test is administered. In this test, a small vibrator is placed behind the ear or on the forehead. The vibrator vibrates at specific frequencies, and the person being tested hears tones or beeps just like in the test with earphones. This test helps the audiologist determine whether the hearing loss is conductive (caused by problems in the outer or middle ear) or sensorineural (caused by problems in the cochlea, the sensory organ of hearing) or neural - caused by a problem in the auditory nerve or auditory pathways/cortex of the brain. The audiologist may also conduct speech tests, whereby the patient repeats the words he or she hears. In addition, a test called a tympanogram is generally done. In this test, a small probe is placed in the ear and the air pressure in the ear canal is varied. This test tells the audiologist how well the ear drum and other structures in the middle ear are working, the ear canal volume indicates if a perforation in the ear drum (tympanic memebrane) is present, the middle ear pressure indicates if any fluid is present in the middle ear space (also called "glue ear" or "otitis media with effusion") and the compliance measurement indicates how well the ear drum and ossicles (3 ear bones) are moving. The last test the audiologist may perform is an acoustic reflex test. In this test a probe is placed in the ear and a loud (greater than 70 dB) tone is produced. The test measures the reflexive contraction of the stapedius muscle, which is important in protecting the ear from loud noises, such as a person's own speech which may be 90dB at the ear drum. This test can be used to estimate the hearing thresholds in patients that are unable to perform normal pure tone audiometry and can also give information about the vestibular and facial nerves and indicate if a lesion is present.


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Since 1983, Huck Finn Adventures has rented canoes and kayaks on the Farmington River in Avon and Simsbury, Connecticut, as well as on the Park River in Hartford.
Our trips are perfect for novice paddlers, families, and large groups.
Let us help you get out on the river and paddle!
Call (860)-693-0385 to speak with us!


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The commercial and recreational harvests of finfish and shellfish continued a decline in 2012.
The commercial and recreational harvests of finfish and shellfish continued a decline in 2012.
Commercial fishermen harvested 56.7 million pounds of seafood with an estimated dockside value of $73 million. That is down 16 percent from 67.5 million pounds the previous year.
A contributor to the decrease on the commercial side is the shoaling of Oregon Inlet, which has particularly impacted fisheries such as summer flounder.
According to the 2012 commercial and recreational seafood harvests, there was a 90-percent drop in the number of fishing trips using flounder trawls and flynets, which are commonly used by boats that use Oregon Inlet. The gears account for the majority of the Atlantic menhaden, squid and summer flounder landings, all which decreased. Fewer flynet trips likely contributed to decrease in Atlantic croaker landings.
High fuel prices and stricter federal regulations were also an impact.
The landings report was presented to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, which met May 29 through June 1 in Morehead City.
�We�ve lost those harvests. It�s definitely a big impact on our finfish,� said Alan Bianchi, the division�s commercial statistics program manager, in an interview Thursday following his presentation.
Hard blue crabs remain the top commercial species harvested, with 26.8 million pounds landed in 2012, but a downward trend continues due to environmental and market conditions, as well as damage to infrastructure caused by hurricanes. Shrimp and Atlantic croaker continue to hold the second and third spots.
But when looking at changes in the Top 5, spiny dogfish and striped mullet now take fourth and fifth, replacing summer flounder and southern flounder, which help the spots in 2008.
On the recreational side, landings dropped to 12 million pounds in 2012 from 13.2 million the previous year.
There were harvest losses in species such as ocean striped bass and dogfish sharks, but a highlight for 2012 was a record set for red drum, with 1.5 million releases in 2012.
�That�s three times higher than we�ve ever had before,� said Doug Mumford, recreational statistics manager. �I think that�s remarkable.�
Mumford said all the right environmental conditions made for a strong increase in the spawning stock.
Those juvenile fish released will grow to a size that will allow them to be caught this year.
Dolphinfish remained the top catch for anglers, who harvested 2.6 million pounds in 2012. Yellowfin tuna followed with bluefish, wahoo, and spotted sea trout rounded out the top 5.
The full landings report can be found of the N.C. Division of Marine fisheries website at portal.ncdenr.org.


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Makoto Yoshizumi
Tales of for Vita news coming soon, says producer
Tales of series producer Makoto Yoshizumi has hinted we'll see the Namco RPG series make its way to Vita, saying that we should expect news shortly. It comes as Xillia released on PS3 in Japan last week, with Yoshizumi saying to Dengeki that work has already begun on the next main Tales installment.Thanks, Andriasang.
Makoto Yoshizumi headlines
Tales studio head gives good and bad news
Namco Bandai has no plans to bring the Wii version of Tales of Graces to the West, but it is considering HD ports of older games in the series.
Makoto Yoshizumi latest


text: Not sure if they fit? Call one of our quality fitment experts for some advice. With the year, make and model of your vehicle, our quality experts will confirm your fitment or recommend a better option. Need wheels? Our experts can recommend the best fitment for your vehicle. We offer a wide selection of models, sizes and finishes to best suit your vehicle. When you purchase wheels & tires from All Star Motorsports you get guaranteed fitments as well as free mount and balance, lugs, locks, hub rings and our world famous All Star service.


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Artist: Ron Zollinger
Biography: Cache native and owner of historic Zollinger Tree and Fruit Farm, Providencee UT. Worked to have the famr put into a State Conservation Easement. In the 1980's Zollinger produced modern steel sculpture that is recognized statewide.
Notes: Donated funds; commissioned by City Fine Arts Committee.
Description: Steel sculpture, 1987
Location: Library


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- Quick – up to 6 times faster than traditional suspension systems
- Safe – can be pre-installed to channel using pre-fitted washer/nut or using retention clip reducing time working at height
- Easy – integral ergonomically designed release button allows for simple adjustment
- Secure – button acts as a locking screw and indicator clearly highlights the wire is locked in position for ultimate security
- Versatile – variety of foot attachments available to suit applications
- Strong – highest load rating capability to date up to 250 kg with 5:1 SWL
UniGrip - Side Exit is designed for applications in which wire cannot exit centrally (avoiding clashes with services). Supplied with a hex nut, the product offers side wire exit.
To view the range of UniGrip feet variants to suit all building services applications, click 'related products' below.


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By Teachers, For Teachers
Teenagers love to talk. Venture into any high school classroom and chattering abounds. Oftentimes, the chatter is about instruction and in a class of 25 or so students, we can often miss some of the most insightful or interesting comments since there is so much competition for "air space."
What if we could keep a seamless record of students' ideas and thoughts about a classroom activity that actually enhanced and deepened the learning experience?
In our increasingly linguistically-diverse classes, tweeting affords students the opportunity to comment in 140 characters. This format fosters precision, revision, and editing since the tweet is a short written expression that is instantaneous and reaches a huge audience.
Imagine a high school classroom where there is a discussion about a novel or video and the students are able to respond immediately. There are additional advantages to teaching our students how to 'tweet" in class.
Our students are well versed and expect to use technology as a means to learn about and understand the world. Yet, as teachers, we are often hesitant to encourage and teach our students how to use a web-based tool like Twitter in the classroom.
Be bold and give twitter a try. Once you get past the social media stigma in schools, you may find a free teaching tool that gives students a voice.
Do you use twitter in the classroom or other social media? Share in the comments section!


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Update: July 3 – Long-term Review
We've been using the Teva Pivot for a few months now and have a few things to say about it.
The greatest quality of these shoes is they are comfortable on the bike and off the bike. Three hour rides are no problem no matter what the terrain. They excel in rough descents as there's good support and good shock absorption with the shoe. Hiking around the woods and walking around town for the post-ride beers are easy tasks for the Pivot.
But its asset as a good hiker comes with downside as well. The sole is a bit soft and although great for taking big hits or hike-a-bike, one feels that the shoe is not very efficient while climbing. The other issue is the shank in the sole to stiffen up the pedaling platform doesn't go all the way up the toe box. It ends shortly after the cleat to give the shoe some flexibility for hiking. Thus we sometimes felt like our toes were hanging off the end of the shoe platform. We've seen other companies severely taper the shank to give the toe box more flex but still balance it with some support. It's not a deal breaker for us but it makes this shoe more suited for mixed terrain and less for those long XC rides.
Sizing is a bit bigger compared to other Teva shoes we've tried in the past.
Durability of the shoe seems good, just like our year-old Links shoes that are holding up really well. And the wide velcro to tighten the shoes and keep the laces in place is a nice addition. The appearance is a bit polarizing to some but we like it and it really does the job well of keeping the laces from bouncing around while pedaling.
It's great to have this option from Teva and we hope to see many more new designs from them.
First Impressions: April 25, 2013
We tried the Teva Pivot for a couple days of riding in the Santa Cruz forest and came away pleased.
First, the cleat mated perfectly with the new Crank Brothers Mallet with no need for spacers. The sole rested on the pedal body with just the right amount of pressure so that the weight of the rider was distributed throughout the pedal cleat and cage. Yet, some amount of float was still available to the rider.
The pedal was easy to get in to with an audible 'snap' and clicking out was obvious as well. Pedaling was good but there is the sensation of the shoe bending near the toe box. Unlike traditional spd shoes, the shank or stiff part of the sole does not extend the length of the shoe so the bending near the front of the cleat is a little bit foreign. I'll move the cleat lower on the shoe to get more of the stiff part of the sole.
On a couple of occasions on very technical descents, I descended without clicking in and simply placed my shoe more forward on the pedal. This was a great option as the Pivot and the Mallet pedal seemed to interface very well when used as a flat pedal.
And finally, I spent a whole day at Sea Otter just walking around with this shoe. I found the shoe supportive, shock absorbing and easy to walk on. I hiked and descended some dirt hills and the shoe was one of the most comfortable clipless types that I've ever used. I even drove home with them and the recessed cleat was out of the way of the car's pedals. When I ran though, I could feel the cleat distinctly as the shoe bent and the exposed the cleat a bit more.
Fit and comfort is amazing as the shoe has a wide toe box and excellent support. The heel area provided excellent support as well with minimal movement or rubbing during the ride.
Seems like a really versatile and well thought-out product so we'll give a more detailed update after we've put in a dozen rides on it.
Teva Pivot Highlights
- Lightweight – lightest skate style clipless shoes available
- Sealed cleat holes to keep water out
- Uses Torx bolts from the inside of the shoe for reliablity and prevent damage to the bolt
- Cleat system is compatible with Shimano, Crank Brothers and other 2-bolt systems
- Cleat is internally adjustable through the sole from above to protect the hardware
- Spider365 Rubber sole for grip
- PedalLINK Clipless outsole for all-mountain riding
- Composite midsole plate for pedaling efficiency and walkability
- Hook and loop strap to keep your laces out of the chain
- Closed cell foam to avoid water absorption
- Comfortable to walk or hike on.
Price: $150
Availability: July 2013


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Ross' gem lifts Rangers to shutout of Mariners
Lefty strong for 7 2/3 innings; Fielder, Kouzmanoff go back to back
ARLINGTON -- Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux describes Robbie Ross Jr. as a guy who has "never had a bad day" in the Major Leagues.
But even Ross, who walks around the ballpark with a perpetual smile on his face, had to admit that Jackie Robinson Day, 2014, was extra special for him.
Ross pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings and earned his first victory as a starter in a 5-0 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night. Prince Fielder's first home run of the season, followed by Kevin Kouzmanoff a few moments later, gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the second and Ross took it from there.
"It was awesome," Ross said. "To get the first one out of the way, especially on a very special day like today, Jackie Robinson Day, it was very special."
The shutout was the Rangers' fourth in their last nine games as they lead the Major Leagues in that department. Rangers pitchers also have a 2.71 ERA in their last nine games -- 2.26 by the starters -- in helping keep things afloat while the offense tries to get going.
"They have been great lately, definitely," Fielder said.
"All of our pitchers are starting to come around," manager Ron Washington said. "The bullpen has been doing a good job and our starters are keeping us in ballgames. Robbie tonight did exactly what he needed to do."
What Ross wanted to do was attack the Mariners with his fastball, keep the ball in the strike zone and get quick outs. He did exactly that either with the cutter, sinker and occasional slider, holding the Mariners to five hits. He hit two batters but did not walk anybody and got 16 ground balls.
"That's what I try to do," Ross said. "I try to go out there and attack them. If it starts happening where they're swinging and hitting it and pounding it all over the place, then maybe switch things up. Tonight we were making plays for me so I was just attacking them and doing the best I could."
Ross, who walked six in his last start in Boston, threw 90 pitches and 59 were strikes. His only two strikeouts were on the first two hitters of the game.
"He was able to get in on us and kind of mix it up," Mariners shortstop Brad Miller said. "He was cutting and sinking it with some good offspeed pitches. We really just didn't string together good at-bats off him. Credit to him, but we were battling and our relievers kept it close. We just couldn't string it together off him."
"I was just trying to get some quick outs and get us back in the dugout quickly," Ross said. "I was trying not to be too fine and pick and hit little spots. I was trying to work as quick as I can and get outs and have my guys make plays behind me … not put too much pressure on myself trying to strike everybody out."
Ross also didn't have to wait until later in the game for his run support as he did in two previous starts. Fielder hit a 1-1 fastball from Mariners starter Blake Beavan deep to right-center to lead off the second inning to give the Rangers a 1-0 advantage. He had gone 51 at-bats to start the season without a home run before that blast, but also 109 at-bats going back to last year with the Tigers, including postseason.
"It means a lot," shortstop Elvis Andrus said. "We knew that was going to happen. I don't want to lead the team in homers. It feels good. When you see the big boy start feeling better, it's going to make the whole team start feeling better. Really happy to have it, especially in that moment. We were 0-0 and after that you saw the whole team and the whole offense change a little bit."
Kouzmanoff followed with his first home run for the Rangers. It's the first time the Rangers have hit more than one home run in a game this season. Kouzmanoff also had a two-run double in the eighth and is now 9-for-20 (.450) in six games while Adrian Beltre is on the disabled list with a strained left quad muscle.
"I'm trying to get a good pitch to hit and hit it hard," Kouzmanoff said. "Unfortunately Beltre got hurt so right now I'm playing third. They are big shoes to fill but I'm trying to do the best I can."
His starting pitcher did the same and it made for a special night on Jackie Robinson Day in Arlington.


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I used some striped paper with blues and greens in it to cut for the blanket of this card. This cut can be found on two Cricut cartridges . . . the Sampler cartridge and New Arrival. The blanket paper was a double sided paper, so the flip side was used for the light blue squares.
Did you know that tomorrow is National Card Making Day!?!?! I might try to start celebrating early by working on a set of Disney Themed cards that I have in mind. Maybe that Disney Pixar Blog Hop we just got done having inspired me.