text:
The Lilliput 665-O/P is a 7" widescreen LCD HD field monitor with HDMI, component video inputs (BNC), Features include peaking functions, focus assistance. A sunhood is included. DSLR optimised.
NB: THE 665-O/P DOES NOT FEATURE SDI INPUT. IF YOU REQUIRE THIS INPUT PLEASE CHOOSE 665-O/P/S at THIS link.
Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera CompatibleThis monitor is fitted with the 2674 processing chip - which gives a greater range of input frequencies that can be used. For the full range of compatible frequencies please click here |
This is a 7" unit with superior resolution and higher contrast.The screen resolution is significantly improved over other 7" HDMI monitors. The 665 has 1024×600 pixels on its LCD panel and a contrast ratio of 700:1, This is an outstanding monitor for pro-video users | |
A budget price monitor for the professional user.Camera equipment can be costly but Lilliput endeavour to produce quality monitors at a reasonable price unlike some more well known brands. Lilliput's 665 demands serious consideration by today's video professionals. | |
The 665 features a native resolution of 1024x600 pixels.This high resolution gives an extremely detailed image potentially avoiding problems in the post-production environment making it an ideal choice for the discerning professional user. | |
The 665 features a high 700:1 contrast ratio as a result of its advanced LED backlight design. As a result the image will portray an accurate rendition of the composition avoiding issues in post-production. | |
Most DSLR equipment features a single HDMI output, therefore a splitter is required if multiple monitors are required to be connected.Many Lilliput monitors, including the 665 feature an HDMI output which permits duplicate images to be displayed. Daisy-chaining using our monitors allows a easy and relatively inexpensive method of producing a video array although the output feature is compatible with any screen having an HDMI input. | |
Unlike most monitors the 665 has been designed to accept a wide range of input voltage from 6 to 24V. This allows connection to diverse power sources giving greater flexibility when used in outdoor environments. | |
This allows users to customise features using the programmable buttons on this monitor. This feature has been included following requests from our customers as we are unable to include all possible configurations as standard within the menu system. | |
Following on from our earlier models which featured improved viewing angles, the LCD panel on the 665 was enhanced still further, allowing the image to be viewed by a large production crew simultaneously. | |
Extended choice of battery platesWith the 665, two battery plates are bundled, from a selection including a DU21, QM91D, and F970. When purchasing please select your requirement on the website or call for advice. V-type and A-N battery plates are also available - please enquire for pricing. Please note: Returns on this product will not be accepted by Lilliput UK Ltd with respect to incompatibility problems. | |
Features HDMI, component and composite inputs.Most DSLR cameras now feature HDMI output, but larger production cameras output high definition via component signal. Additionally, the 665 is also available with an HD-SDI video input ( 665-O/P/S). | |
A Shoe Mount adapter is supplied with this monitorBy having the adapter included, the customer can avoid facing additional cost of purchasing a separate unit The 665 features 2 1/4" BS Whitworth thread inserts, allowing the monitor to be quickly mounted on either a tripod or camera. |
Lilliput 665 Instruction Manual | Download |
Lilliput 665 CE Certificate | Download |
Lilliput 665 LCD Panel Datasheet | Download |
Lilliput 665 Mechanical Drawing | Download |
Q. What connections can be used to attach my camera to this monitor?
A. The 665GL-70NP/HO/Y can attach using an HDMI connector (mini HDMI to HDMI is included in the box), Composite connections, and Component connections. The Composite / Component connections are made using a BNC connection – converters for these are available upon request.
Q. Does this unit have a touch screen?
A. No – the smallest screen size we have with a touch screen is the model 669GL-70NP/C/T.
Q. What is the power requirement of this monitor?
A. The power supply included with the unit is a 12V 2A standard wall socket connector. The unit itself uses 9-24V, and the current usage is 650mA (50mA in standby). It is also equipped with an XLR 9-24V DC connector on the back of the unit.
Q. Can I use my camera batteries to power this monitor?
A. Yes – you can use certain types of battery to power this monitor. We supply converter plates which make the monitor compatible with the following types of battery : Canon LP-E6, Sony F-970, Sony QM91D, Panasonic DU21. An internet search for your camera model number should detail which battery you have, and whether or not it is compatible.
Q. What are the monitor dimensions?
A. The monitor dimensions are – Width : 194.5mm, Height : 150mm, Depth : 38.5mm
Q. What resolutions does the 665GL-70NP/HO/Y support?
A. The native resolution is 1024 x 600 pixels, however it will support inputs (through scaling) of 480p (640 x 480), 576i (PAL resolution interlaced), 720p (1280 x 720 progressive scan), 1080i (1920 x 1080 interlaced) and 1080p (1920 x 1080 progressive scan). Differences in aspect ratio between the input signal and the monitor can be rectified using the monitors built in aspect ratio configuration setting – however some ratios will result in horizontal "widescreen" bars or image stretching
Q. How many pixels does the panel have?
A. The panel has a native resolution of 800 x 480, giving 614440 pixels on screen.
Q . What does the unit weigh?
A. The weight of the unit is 584g
Q. Can this unit be used for outside shooting?
A. Yes – the 665GL-70NP/HO/Y has a screen brightness of 250cd/m and a Contrast ratio of 700:1. It also comes supplied with a sunshade to give added extra protection.
Q. Can I attach headphones to this monitor for sound?
A. Yes – you can do this – however the monitor will only play sound if the source connection is HDMI – the other connectivity cables do not pass sound into the system, only image
Monitor Specification | |
Screen Size (diagonal) | 7 inch |
Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
Native Resolution | 1024×600 (native) |
Maximum Resolution | 1920×1080 (maximum) |
Pixel Pitch (mm) | 0.15×0.15 |
Scan Frequency (Hz) | 60-72 |
Response Time (ms) | 10 |
Viewing Angle (degrees) | 150º x, 145º y |
Brightness Ratio (cd/m2) | 250 |
Contrast Ratio | 700:1 |
Backlight | LED |
Video Inputs | HDMI, Component, Composite |
Video Outputs | HDMI |
Audio Outputs | <1W |
Touchscreen Technology | None |
Input Power | DC 6-24V (via XLR) DC 12V via DC jack |
Operating Temperature | |
Mounting Options | ¼ inch BSW thread, shoe mount |
Contents Of Box | |
Product | 1 x 665/O/P monitor |
Connection Cables | 1× HDMI to mini-HDMI cable |
Power Adaptor | 1x DC 12V plug (available in UK, US and EU style) |
Mounts and stands | Hot shoe mount |
Additional accessories | Sunshade, Battery Plates |


text:
The conservative journalist Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth wrote: "Anyone who has researched the subject of homosexuality knows that many of the most staunch advocates of homosexuality are those who hold a decidedly secular outlook."[1]
At the same time, atheistic communist regimes in history historically have often taken a negative view of homosexuality and within Western World atheism, there is a segment of that atheist population which takes a negative view of homosexuality (See: Atheism and the suppression of homosexuality).
The Barna Group found regarding atheism and morality that those who hold to the worldviews of atheism or agnosticism in America were more likely, than theists in America, to look upon the following behaviors as morally acceptable: illegal drug use; excessive drinking; sexual relationships outside of marriage; abortion; cohabitating with someone of opposite sex outside of marriage; obscene language; gambling; pornography and obscene sexual behavior; and engaging in homosexuality/bisexuality.[2] Given the many diseases associated with homosexuality, the biblical prohibition against homosexuality is quite arguably one of the many examples where the Bible exhibited knowledge that was ahead of its time.
Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin, a militant atheist, had a homosexual relationship with Cheka leader Grigory Zinoviev.[3]
Evolutionary paradigm and homosexuality
In 1993, Professor Miron Baron, M.D., the renowned medical researcher and Professor at Columbia University, wrote in BMJ (British Medical Journal) "...from an evolutionary perspective, genetically determined homosexuality would have become extinct long ago because of reduced reproduction."[4] Richard Dawkins, who is a liberal, speculates that a "gay gene" causes homosexuality, but science has not discovered such a gene (see: Causes of homosexuality)[5]
In the United States, liberals are more likely to believe in the theory of evolution.[6] Also, in the United States, twice as many liberals as conservatives (46% versus 22%) believe people are born homosexual and liberals generally have more favorable opinions about homosexuality.[7] Given Dr. Miron Baron's commentary about homosexuality, many American liberals are inconsistent on the issues of evolution and homosexuality.
An individual's beliefs regarding creation science/creationism and the theory of evolution appear to influence their views on homosexuality. Creationist scientists and creationist assert that the theory of evolution cannot account for the origin of gender and sexual reproduction.[8][9] Creation Ministries International states: "Homosexual acts go against God's original design of a man and a woman becoming one flesh — see Genesis 1 and 2, endorsed by Jesus Himself in Matthew 19:3–6."[10] In addition, the vast majority of creation scientists reject the notion of genetic determinism concerning the origin of homosexuality.[11]
See also:
Atheism, homosexuality, AIDS and penile cancer
Atheism, homosexuality and bestiality
See also: Atheism and bestiality, Homosexuality and bestiality, Atheism and morality, and Atheism and the suppression of homosexuality
Bestiality is the act of engaging in sexual relations with an animal.
Homosexual activist Frank Kameny is a fervent atheist.[12][13]
On Jun 04, 2008, LifeSiteNews wrote:
" | Long-time homosexual activist Frank Kameny's claim to fame is successfully manipulating the American Psychiatric Association into declassifying homosexuality as a mental disorder, and today the Smithsonian honoree is now busily advocating bestiality "as long as the animal doesn't mind."
Kameny, 83, has had a long career advocating the removal of any restrictions on human acts long considered by sane societies as obscene, dangerous, and disordered... Kameny describes his mission as "Americanism in action" by advocating bestiality and encouraging the saturation of American culture with what he calls "more and better and harder-core pornography." According to Americans for Truth about Homosexuality (AFTAH), Kameny wrote an e-mail to them saying that while he was personally opposed to bestiality, he found it an otherwise "harmless" quirk, so long as it was consensual with the animal involved. "Bestiality is not my thing," Kameny wrote. "But it seems to be a harmless foible or idiosyncrasy of some people. So, as long as the animal doesn't mind (and the animal rarely does), I don't mind, and I don't see why anyone else should."[14] |
" |
For more information please see:
Biblical statements concerning atheism
see also: Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian
The writers of the Bible considered the existence of God to be self-evident and Moses simply wrote: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1).[15]
Accordingly, the psalmist David declared:
"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." - Psalms 14:1 (KJV)
The psalmist David also wrote "The heavens declare the glory of God..." - Psalms 19:1
In his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul declared:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse..." - Romans 1:19-20 (NKJV)
Biblical Statements Concerning Homosexuality
For more information please see: Homosexuality and biblical interpretation and Homosexuality and the Bible
Below are some Bible verses that condemn homosexuality: However, the bible cannot be interpreted literally, if this was the case then rebellious children would be killed: Deuteronomy 21:18-21. Also, Women may not speak in church: Cor 14:33-36. The bible is not a collection of dogmatic and strict rules, it is a book of God that promotes compassion, faith in God, truth, and love.
- Leviticus 18:22 - You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.
- Leviticus 20:13 - If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood guiltiness is upon them.
- Romans 1:26-27 - For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
- I Corinthians 6:9 (NIV) - Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
- I Timothy 1:8-11 (NASB) - "But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted."
See also
Atheism, homosexuality and various behaviors:
- Atheism, pederasty and NAMBLA
- Atheism and child pornography
- Atheism and morality
- Atheism and mass murder
- Atheism and cowardice
- Atheism and deception
- Atheism and suicide
- Atheism and obesity
- Atheism and social outcasts
- Homosexual Couples and Domestic Violence
- Homosexuality and murders
- Homosexuality and the suppression of religious liberty
- Homosexuality Statistics
- Homosexuality and Illegal Drug Use
- Gay bathhouses
- Homosexual circuit parties and disease
- Homosexual activists' ideology and loss of life
- Homosexuality and pedophilia
- Homosexuality and obesity
Atheism, homosexuality and various personal consequences:
Causes of homosexuality and atheism:
External links
- ↑ Atheism and homosexuality
- ↑ http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/58-practical-outcomes-replace-biblical-principles-as-the-moral-standard
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEzejRkT78A&feature=youtu.be
- ↑ BMJ. 1993 August 7; 307(6900): 337–338.
- ↑ Richard Dawkins speculates that gene for homosexuality exists
- ↑ https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/22/opinion/polls/main965223.shtml
- ↑ http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=764
- ↑ http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/136
- ↑ http://www.answersingenesis.org/pbs_nova/0928ep5.asp
- ↑ https://creation.com/web-cast-questions-and-answers-2002
- ↑ http://www.answersingenesis.org/pbs_nova/0928ep5.asp
- ↑ 'Gay' Hero Frank Kameny Calls Believers "Christianofascists"; Library of Congress Honors "Gay Is Godly" Atheist
- ↑ Leaders from the 1960s: a biographical sourcebook of American activism By David De Leon, page 253
- ↑ Prominent Homosexual Activist Says Bestiality OK "As Long as the Animal Doesn't Mind"
- ↑ http://www.answersingenesis.org/Home/Area/AnswersBook/existence1.asp

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Oklahoma Megachurch LifeChurch.tv Cleans Up Tornado-Ravaged Backyard
One of the largest churches in America, Lifechurch.tv, with campuses throughout Oklahoma, including two in Oklahoma City, reached out to local residents to spiritually minister and offer physical relief to them after last Monday's devastating EF5 tornado churned through the center of the state.
"Four children whose families are part of LifeChurch.tv were amongst the fatalities of the Moore tornado," Lori Bailey, director of communications for LifeChurch.tv, told The Christian Post on Tuesday. In total, 5,300 people in the area fall within the LifeChurch.tv community, and the church reported contacting 1,500 families over the phone following the twisters.
"As we make contact, we have learned of 82 families within our church whose homes have been lost," Bailey shared via email. The church, which also has campuses in Florida, New York, Tennessee, and Texas, reported working with "about 150 families personally," assigning one contact per family.
To maximize its services, Lifechurch.tv also reached out to other ministries, including Samaritan's Purse, a non-denominational evangelical humanitarian organization best known for its "Operation Christmas Child," which involves sending shoeboxes packed with non-perishable toys and school supplies to third world countries. The two organizations teamed up to "mobilize volunteers to serve with them in debris removal."
"Mostly what we're doing is debris clean up," Brent Graybeal, program manager for Samaritan's Purse, told CP. Nevertheless, their volunteers have ministered to "both the physical and the spiritual and emotional needs of the community."
"They actually go out to meet the homeowners and the volunteers," Graybeal added. "They're here to listen and to pray with them."
After the tornadoes, Samaritan's Purse arrived as quickly as they could, reaching out to homeowners by last Wednesday. "We were here in less than 24 hours on the ground, meeting with churches and local governments," Graybeal noted.
As of Tuesday, Samaritan's Purse reported more than 600 volunteers will have helped and worked with over 50 people. "For many of them, this has been their darkest hour and we're here to be a light to shine for Christ," he said. In the past week, Samaritan's Purse has logged "over 5,000 hours of service."
In addition to Samaritan's Purse, LifeChurch.tv has worked with Feed the Children, an international non-profit Christian organization providing food, clothing, school supplies, medical equipment, and other necessities to those in need. "Last week, LifeChurch.tv transported supplies donated at our OKC Metro campuses to Feed the Children," Bailey shared.
Also, LifeChurch. tv worked with Frontline Church to recruit 400 volunteers to help clean up the Moore cemetery in preparation for graveside services.
Last Wednesday, just two days after the tornado, the South Oklahoma City campus of LifeChurch.tv held a "RESTORE MOORE" family night for the communities of Moore and South Oklahoma City. "Planned as a night of prayer, hope, and restoration, the evening included a candlelight vigil, prayer for the community, messages from several pastors, and opportunities to hear from the community about how we can best meet their needs," a LifeChurch.tv statement explained.
In the past weekend alone, the church reports that thousands of its congregants have helped out with tornado relief, not only in hardest-hit Moore, but also in Shawnee, Luther, and Carney.
LifeChurch.tv has nearly 50,000 people attending in 15 locations each weekend in five states (Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, New York, and Florida) for Sunday services. Also, "tens of thousands of individuals from nearly every country in the world attend Church online weekly at http://live.lifechurch.tv/."
Headquartered in Edmond, Okla., the church plans to continue to serve the tornado-battered communities.
The church group is still receiving donations online at www.lifechurch.tv/relief.


text:
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Robert Pattinson |
The 'Twilight Saga' hunk admitted he would prefer to make smaller, gritty dramas rather than take on blockbuster roles because he thinks he doesn't have the physique to be an action hero.
He said: "If there is a way to maintain a career doing small, interesting movies I would take that option. I'm not buff enough for robot movies."
Robert also revealed he lacks confidence in his abilities and isn't expecting anyone to go wild for his latest movie 'Cosmopolis".
He told Empire magazine: "That's my biggest problem, confidence. I'm taking baby steps and hoping people will keep employing me. I can't see tons of people watching 'Cosmopolis' and screaming at it. It would
be amazing if they did.
Robert, 26, has previously admitted he locked himself in his hotel room for a fortnight prior to shooting the drama movie - which sees him play Eric Packer, a multi-billionaire Wall Street CEO - because he was worried about the role but was calmed down by director David Cronenberg who reassured him that his talent would bring out the best in his alter-ego.
He said: "The preparation, I kind of spent two weeks in my hotel room worrying and confusing myself. I remember the weekend before we started shooting, I called David to talk to him about it, to ask him 'one question' like, 'Want to talk about the movie for a bit?'
"So then I went round to David's house and he said, 'It doesn't really matter. Let's just start, then something will happen.' I think Eric Packer's impossible to approach like you would a normal character."


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Remembering the Past and Looking to the Future
June 2011
This year marks Corning's 160th year, prompting Corning and its employees to remember a very special day 10 years ago, on June 21, 2001, when Corning celebrated its 150th birthday. A spectacular fireworks display lit up the night sky, and the event has since served as a symbol of Corning's growing strength and innovation portfolio.
Longevity for any company is always something that captures people's imaginations, and there are only about a dozen U.S. firms that have lasted as long as Corning has. The company chose this specific day because it is the longest day of the year and is also the day with the most light. Light, playing a common theme in the use of many Corning products, from railroad lanterns and lightbulbs to optical fiber and LCD screens, made this choice appropriate.
In addition to fireworks, the celebration featured music, an address from former U.S. senator and astronaut John Glenn, and the dedication of a time capsule by Jamie Houghton and Amo Houghton Jr.
Also presented during the celebration was a sculpture entitled "Boundless Vision," created by artist Eric Hilton and dedicated to Corning employees around the world. The Steuben Glass sculpture remains on display in the Corning Headquarters lobby.
Adaptability, innovation, adherence to core Values – those are all things that keep a company going. It was true of Corning on its 150th anniversary a decade ago, and it's just as true today.


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Five years ago tire tracks carved by recreational off-road vehicles traced a path of destruction over dead birds and demolished eggs. Today least tern chicks, nesting loggerhead sea turtles, and piping plovers are flourishing at North Carolina's Cape Hatteras National Seashore. After a legal battle waged by Audubon North Carolina and Defenders of Wildlife, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, the National Park Service issued a new rule put into effect this past February that allows ORV access in certain areas within the seashore while also protecting sea turtles and birds. Yet despite this initial compromise, pending congressional legislation and civil litigation could negate the park service's ruling, threatening bird species, other wildlife, and plants on the shore.
"Historically, Cape Hatteras National Seashore has been very important for birds that depend on the barrier islands for nesting, migratory stopovers, and wintering areas," explains Walker Golder, Audubon North Carolina's deputy director.
How to manage Cape Hatteras has been a conservation issue for decades. In 1972 President Richard Nixon issued an executive order requiring the Interior Department and the National Park Service to develop rules regulating ORV use on public lands for the purpose of protecting public safety, minimizing conflicts among land users, and protecting natural resources. President Jimmy Carter clarified the order five years later, saying federal agencies must close areas to ORV use whenever such use was adversely affecting natural resources.
In spite of the two executive orders, the National Park Service never finalized an ORV management plan for Cape Hatteras, relying instead on a draft interim plan developed in 1978.
But from what the Park Service has experienced in recent years, it is possible the draft was never finalized because of controversy and political pressure,explains Mike Murray, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. "ORV management at the seashore is a longstanding, emotionally charged, and highly polarized issue," he says. "There was resistance to portions of the 1978 draft plan, such as a proposed ORV permit requirement, just as there's resistance to the new plan and regulation. I can fully understand why it has been so difficult for the Park Service to complete an ORV management plan and special regulation at the seashore."
As the years passed, growing numbers of people drove on the fragile shores. And more ORVs meant more people in remote areas. Protection for birds decreased, as did breeding productivity, while disturbance increased. The seashore's bird populations began to decline. In 1992, 14 years after the NPS began managing the area based on the draft interim plan, only 12 piping plover breeding pairs made use of the shore. By 2003 that number dropped to two. Only one chick fledged that year (none fledged in 2002 and 2004). From 1995 to 2004 the number of common tern nests on the shore decreased 76 percent, from 739 to 180. By 2007 the number of terns and skimmers nesting on the seashore's beaches had reached historic lows. Indeed, black skimmers and gull-billed terns were absent as a nesting species that year.
"When we began to see problems, we began to work with the seashore to raise awareness of the issues and the need to protect birds on the beach," Golder says.
Because of this effort and to address a continuing decline in nesting bird populations, in 2006 the Park Service, after a yearlong feasibility assessment, issued an Interim Protected Species Management Strategy to provide resource protection guidance until a long-term ORV management plan and regulation could be developed.
"We commented repeatedly that the Interim Protected Species Management Strategy was inadequate," says Golder. "They did focus on piping plovers in 2007 but ignored other birds, sea turtles, science, and the recommendations of the U.S. Geological Survey."
"Unfortunately, the Interim Strategy did not even incorporate the measures that the government's own scientists identified as necessary to protect wildlife at the seashore," says Julie Youngman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. "The natural resources of Cape Hatteras were not being protected for future generations." Jason Rylander, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife, adds, "It was not a legally valid ORV management plan by any means."
On October 18, 2007, Audubon and Defenders of Wildlife, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, sued the National Park Service, arguing that its governance of ORVs was inadequate. The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance, a pro-ORV lobbying group, and Dare and Hyde counties, where the seashore is located, intervened in the suit. After several months the parties agreed to implement another temporary but stricter science-based plan regulating ORV use on Cape Hatteras until the National Park Service finalized a formal ORV management regulation. Under these stricter protections, rare wildlife began to rebound, with several species breeding in record-setting numbers. In 2010, for instance, the seashore had 15 fledged piping plover chicks, 26 fledged American oystercatcher chicks, and 153 sea turtle nests. The court agreement also set a deadline for the final rule to be adopted.
After several years of study, research, and public participation, the National Park Service put its final regulation into effect this past February. The rule allows for year-round ORV beach access on 28 of the shore's 67 miles while simultaneously protecting birds and other wildlife.
"We feel the final rule was very much a compromise," says Heather Starck, executive director of Audubon North Carolina. "It was not everything we hoped for in terms of protecting wildlife," she adds, noting there are more miles devoted to ORV users than she thought were necessary."The folks that use ORVs in Cape Hatteras are only about two percent of the people that visit the seashore."
Still, the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance continues to fight the new regulations even though the majority of the 21,000 commenters on the final environmental impact statement were in favor of the restrictions. In the past the group successfully lobbied in favor of the interim plan on Cape Hatteras. Between June 2008 and January 2009 members of the North Carolina congressional delegation introduced three bills, two in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate, to return to the more lenient management of ORVs under the Interim Strategy. None of those bills passed, but after the final rule was put in place, Representative Walter Jones presented one bill in the House, and Richard Burr, supported by Kay Hagan reintroduced another in the Senate. Both are designed to abolish the regulation and return to prior management measures under which protected species had declined.
Despite the previous bills' failure to pass, Mike Daulton, Audubon vice president for government relations, is cautious. "As long as there's legislation pending, the birds of Cape Hatteras are in danger," he says.
Even if the bills don't pass the House or Senate, the final ruling's supporters have civil litigation to contend with.
The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance also filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department alleging that the National Park Service failed to give ORV riders' interests meaningful consideration. Audubon and Defenders of Wildlife joined the National Parks Conservation Association, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, in an effort to help defend the National Park Service's regulation in the lawsuit. (The alliance declined to comment on Cape Hatteras for this article.)
"The case is basically posturing, utterly without merit," explains Ted Williams, Audubon field editor. When Williams visited Cape Hatteras beaches in 2005 and 2006 he encountered the damage ORVs cause to bird breeding grounds (see "Beach Bums," January-February 2007). The park service's new rules, he says, will sustain imperiled species. But for the rules' dissidents, human access, not species protection, is the issue.
"It's sickening to drive down this island and see rope and signs saying no," explains Carol Busbey, who owns the Natural Art Surf Shop on Hatteras Island in Buxton. Busbey has run the shop for more than 30 years, but since the draft interim plan was replaced,her business has lost a lot of weekend business. "They closed off a lot of places that were special for a lot of people," Busbey says. One week, there were two piping plover nests out on the point, she says, and "they've got acres and acres of land closed."
Commenters on Ted Williams's Fly Rod & Reed blog also express their discontent. "It's not just about ORVs," wrote one. "One piping plover nest closes over 700 acres of beach to all. This is the kind of thing we're fighting." (More fervent comments contained obscenities and had to be edited by Williams.)
Williams's response is that "when we talk about 'fairness' we need to consider all Americans for all time, not the immediate appetites of a few loud, greedy ORV operators."
Although the conservation groups are hopeful that neither the bills nor the lawsuit will reverse the progress made, the attacks do distract the groups from determining if the new protections are effective, says Starck. Even more threatening is the potential result if the new rule is overturned, she says. Political camps opposed to wildlife conservation would see the success of these measures and attempt to reverse other rulings. "If that user group sees that it was overturned here, it could be a really dangerous precedent for wildlife in this country," she says.
Keep an eye out for an upcoming story on Cape Hatteras written by Ted Williams.
*This story was updated on June 13, 2013, to reflect a factual change.


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The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Infinite XP
Load the "Raid On Oscorp" mission. Proceed through the mission until you leave the air vents, and a cutscene will begin. Hold Back to skip the cutscene. Stealth kill four enemies, and then disposed of the final enemy as desired. After defeating the last enemy, pause the game. Select the "Restart" option, then choose "Yes" to restart from the last checkpoint, which is where you leave the air vents. Repeat this process until you reach the desired suit level. Note: The max suit level is 8.
Bonus costumes
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding costume. To change costumes, go to Peter Parker's closet at Aunt May's home. Open the "Wardrobe" menu to cycle through the available costumes.
- Amazing Spider-Man (2012): Start the main campaign.
- Amazing Spider-Man (2014): Start the main campaign.
- Big Time: Clear one Russian hideout.
- Cosmic Spider-Man: GameStop pre-order bonus.
- Electro-Proof: PlayStation Network DLC.
- Flipside: Clear one Russian hideout.
- Hornet: Successfully complete all 15 race challenges.
- Iron Spider Armor: GameStop pre-order bonus.
- Noir Spider-Man: GameStop pre-order bonus.
- Ricochet: Unlocked during Story mode progression.
- Scarlet Spider (2012): Clear one Russian hideout.
- Spider Armor Mk. II: Clear one Russian hideout.
- Spider-Carnage: Successfully complete the game on any difficulty.
- Spider-Man 2099: Clear one Russian hideout.
- Superior Spider-Man: Successfully complete all 12 combat challenges.
- Symbiote: GameStop pre-order bonus.
- Ultimate Spider-Man (Miles Morales): Successfully complete Chapter 6.
- Vigilante: Start the main campaign.
All Black Cat journal audio logs locations
Search the indicated locations to find all 10 Black Cat journal audio logs and get the "Lover" achievement. Note: All the other audio logs are not needed for any achievements in the game, and can be ignored. Five of Black Cat's journals can be found during Story missions. The other five are hidden in the open world. If you fully upgrade your Spider-Sense, they will be highlighted on the mini-map when you get close to them. Pause the game, and select the "Messages" tab to see exactly which logs have been found. Each journal has its own number, allowing you to keep track of which ones are missing.
Easy "Aerial Break" achievement
Shortly after the "The Kingpin Of Crime!" mission begins, you will encounter the first armored enemy in the game. You will be given a short text tutorial. To disable an enemy's armor, press B repeatedly. Do this until all the yellow heavy armor disappears. Then, attack with a standard Web-Strike (RB) to get the "Aerial Break" achievement. Note: You do not have to kill the enemy with the Web-Strike.
Easy "Friendly Fire" achievement
During the Carnage Boss fight in the "Maximum Carnage" mission, you can activate levers around the room to release a burst of fire near them. This must be done in the second half of the Boss fight, after Cletus Kasady turns into Carnage. Simply stand under the levers, wait for Carnage to get close to you, and press LB to pull them. When Carnage jumps up the wall, activate all the levers around the room and hit him with a Seismic Blast to make him fall down into the fire. Do this three times to get the "Friendly Fire" achievement.
Easy "I'm On A Roll!" achievement
You can easily achieve a combo streak of 42 during the combat challenges, which can be started at the arcade machine in Stan's Comic Book Store (marked with a blue book-symbol on your map). Simply keep attacking the last remaining enemy of a round with the Web-Strike attack (RB). The Web-Strike does not actually do any damage, allowing you to keep using the move until you have reached the 42 streak combo to get the "I'm On A Roll!" achievement.
Easy "Sneaky" achievement
There are five Russian hideouts in the game, and they are displayed with a purple eye-symbol on your map. They will appear automatically after making some progress in the story. Go to the southern most hideout, as it is very easy and quick to complete. Once you are inside, web-rush to the ceiling, and you should see the target below (a container with a new suit). Simply defeat the nearby guards, then go to the container to complete the hideout. You must ensure the awareness level (the bar in the top left corner of the screen) remains at zero to get the "Sneaky" achievement. If you raise your awareness level, pause the game, and choose to restart. The hideouts disappear once you have completed them.
Accomplish the indicated achievement to get the corresponding number of Gamerscore points:
- Human (25 points): Complete the game on Human difficulty.
- Hero (40 points): Complete the game on Hero difficulty.
- Super Hero (80 points): Complete the game on Super Hero difficulty.
- Bookworm (25 points): Collect all Spider-Man comic books.
- Lover (15 points): Retrieve all parts of Black Cat's journal.
- Special Agent (15 points): Retrieve all parts of Menken's journal.
- Investigator (15 points): Retrieve all parts of Detective's journal.
- I'm on a Roll (15 points): Achieve a combo streak of 42.
- Stay Down! (10 points): Perform 15 signature moves.
- Breaker (10 points): Destroy 20 body armors.
- Know Your Enemies (15 points): Unlock all character bios.
- Reporter (15 points): Complete all photo challenges.
- All Tied Up (25 points): Defeat 50 enemies by performing stealth takedowns.
- Drop It! (30 points): Disarm 50 enemies.
- Fashionista (20 points): Unlock all suits.
- Infiltration (20 points): Complete all hideouts.
- Luchador! (15 points): Complete all combat challenges.
- Can't Hit Me (20 points): Achieve 30 multidodges.
- Timing Is Everything (20 points): Achieve 100 critical hits.
- Lightweight Champion (20 points): Defeat 100 enemies.
- Middleweight Champion (20 points): Defeat 300 enemies.
- Heavyweight Champion (20 points): Defeat 500 enemies.
- Hero of the People (30 points): Save 50 civilians.
- Ultimate Spider-Man (30 points): Reach maximum levels for all suits.
- State of the Art (20 points): Unlock all concept art.
- True Hero (20 points): Get your heroism to the maximum.
- Enforcer (15 points): Complete 10 deadlock situations.
- Fireman (15 points): Complete 10 building on fire situations.
- Guardian Angel (15 points): Complete 10 rescue situations.
- Vigilante (15 points): Complete 10 petty crime situations.
- Fast-Tracker (15 points): Complete 5 races.
- Master of the Web (20 points): Perform 50 signature moves.
- Sneaky (20 points): Complete a hideout without being spotted.
Additionally, there are 13 secret achievements:
- Hunter of Killers (30 points): Photographed all Cletus Kasady symbols.
- Shocking! (30 points): Defeated Shocker.
- The Hunter, Hunted (30 points): Defeated Kraven.
- Lovers' Quarrel (20 points): Defeated Black Cat.
- Is It Over? (20 points): Defeated Cletus Kasady.
- You Are Under Arrest (20 points): Defeated Kingpin.
- The Green Goblin (30 points): Defeated Green Goblin.
- Switch Off (30 points): Defeated Electro.
- Now It Is Over (30 points): Defeated Carnage.
- Friendly Fire (15 points): Damaged Carnage with fire at least 3 times before defeating him.
- Shotgun (10 points): Acquired the Seismic Blast ability.
- Disintegrator (10 points): Acquired the Ionic Web ablity.
- Aerial Break (20 points): Destroyed any armored enemy using Web-Strike.


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Muskegon, Michigan — Reid Supply Company, a Michigan-based, premier global distributor of industrial supplies for more than 60 years has responded to government's need for a multipurpose convenience point for builders of rail systems, roads and bridges. The company recently added more than 8,000 items to its online web site and offers free CAD drawings of most of their industrial parts.
"We saw the need to offer more safety equipment and rugged work clothing to complement our vast line of industrial supplies", says John Carrier, President of Reid Supply Company. "For many years, we have been supplying industrial products to road, bridge and rail builders. Now we have added some well known workwear names to our roster, including high visibility attire."
The company now offers rugged work clothing from Carhartt and Dickies, and safety boots and shoes from makers like Bates, Danner, Georgia Boot, Nautilus, Rocky and Wolverine, on their web site at ReidSupply.com. According to Reid Supply's Director of Marketing, Greg Palmer, the site allows businesses to find the exact products that they need quickly, so they can get their gear fast and easy.
"Reid wants the world to know that we offer much more than just the best industrial products around," said Palmer. "We offer the best customer service in the industrial supplies marketplace, at least that's what our customers tell us on a regular basis."
Reid Supply says that they have many of the products needed for the new push to construct high-speed rail service throughout the nation, many of which offer a unique lifetime warranty, even in the shop environment, and recently expanded high-visibility safety workwear and steel-toe footwear.
In addition to the new selection of Dickies clothing and safety products, ReidSupply.com also boasts their multiple, color-coded category merchandising system to help customers find exact industrial products within of these color-coded categories:
- Knobs, Handles and Hand Wheels
- Clamps and Workholding
- Tooling Components
- Fasteners and Hardware
- Leveling Devices and Vibration Control
- Material Handling
- Bearings and Power Transmission
- Metalworking
- Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO)
- Pneumatics and Hydraulics
- Structural Systems
- Safety
- Apparel and Footwear
"Our exclusive color-coded system is great for customers who want to locate specific items with a minimum of effort," says Palmer. "We have organized all of our products into categories and color-coded them for easy reference and access."
ReidSupply.com offers free CAD drawings for engineers, technicians, students and hobbyists. Over 90% of their industrial parts have free CAD drawings available and anyone can download them at ReidSupply.com. According to Palmer, these drawings fit the needs of designers and engineers who save valuable time by incorporating the company's CAD drawings and parts into their prototypes and production models.
Reid Supply Company, which began selling industrial supplies in 1948 in Muskegon, Michigan, serves virtually every industry including Aerospace; CAD and Engineering; Construction; Education; Food Processing; Government; Manufacturing; Medical; Oil, Gas and Alternative Energy; Packaging; as well as the student and hobbyist.


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The KGB finally got what it wanted—the separation of church and Bible in the West—with disastrous results.
Two majors with the KGB stood over Gavin Ashenden, who was caught smuggling Bibles into the old Soviet Union during the eighties. Who were his contacts, and where were the Bibles going? If Ashenden didn't cooperate, the KGB officers warned, he'd be convicted of smuggling gold bullion into the country—because of his gold wedding ring! Alas, this trumped up charge was no joke. The sentence was 20 years in a Siberian labor camp.
But Ashenden stood firm, and they finally let him go.
If only Christians in the West would do likewise when it comes to the Bible. Ashenden, who's an Anglican priest and a contributor to the BBC, was back in Russia this month and got an earful from some of the Russian people, who accused Western Christians of capitulating to secular culture, especially when it comes to the redefinition of marriage. They told him "we have lived under the dead weight of atheist secularism, and we know how empty and dangerous it is to human flourishing."
In "Anglican Ink" Ashenden notes that when the Marxists took control of Russia a century ago, they first set their sights on Christians and the churches—and they're doing it again. As before, he adds, "The cultural and political screws are slowly tightening against those who do read the Bible and keep faith with it in the public space."
Tragically, many Christians—or at least those who identify as Christians—have given up the Bible, which Ashenden calls "the bedrock of the church"—without a whimper of protest. A recent survey says that 60 percent of the members of the Church of England "never" read the Bible—that's right, never. It's little wonder that so many churches there are dying. As Ashenden notes, "Only the Bible challenges the claims of secularism."
According to researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli, biblical illiteracy is running rampant on this side of the Pond, too. Fewer than one in two adults can name the four Gospels. Many Christians cannot name more than two or three of Jesus's disciples. They say America is "a nation of biblical illiterates."
No wonder our culture is awash in confusion. What Amos wrote centuries ago is just as true in our day: " 'The time is surely coming,' says the Sovereign LORD, 'when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the LORD.' " That was a word of judgment—to the people of Israel and to us today.
We miss out on so much when we fail to tap the Bible's power. Charles Spurgeon once said, "If you wish to know God you must know his word; if you wish to perceive his power you must see how he worketh by his word; if you wish to know his purpose before it is actually brought to pass you can only discover it by his word."
In this, the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation—which gave the Word of God back to the people, proclaimed it as the final authority in the Christian life, and unleashed its liberating power in society—it is a scandal that so few Christians read it.
Our worldview is rooted in the Bible. We would not know God, our Savior, or our purposes in this world as beings made in God's image without it. So let's get back into it—not with grousing, but with gratitude. Come to BreakPoint.org for some resources to help you better understand and enjoy the Word of God. One is Stan Guthrie's great book, God's Story in 66 Verses: Understand the Entire Bible by Focusing on Just One Verse in Each Book. Another is Martin Luther's Garland Prayer of Four Strands—it's easy and helpful!
At Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, she was presented with a Bible and told, "Here is Wisdom; this is the Royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God." If we believe that, as the KGB certainly did, let's tap that lively power—starting today!
— by Eric Metaxas
Metaxas is the voice of Breakpoint, a radio commentary (www.breakpoint.org). Copyright© 2017 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. BreakPoint is a ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.


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A new UC Davis study shows that a common antibacterial chemical added to bath soaps can alter hormonal activity in rats and in human cells in the laboratory—and does so by a previously unreported mechanism.
The findings come as an increasing number of studies – of both lab animals and humans – are revealing that some synthetic chemicals in household products can cause health problems by interfering with normal hormone action.
Called endocrine disruptors, or endocrine disrupting substances (EDS), such chemicals have been linked in animal studies to a variety of problems, including cancer, reproductive failure and developmental anomalies.
This is the first endocrine study to investigate the hormone effects of the antibacterial compound triclocarban (also known as TCC or 3,4,4'-trichlorocarbanilide), which is widely used in household and personal care products including bar soaps, body washes, cleansing lotions, wipes and detergents. Triclocarban-containing products have been marketed broadly in the United States and Europe for more than 45 years; an estimated 1 million pounds of triclocarban are imported annually for the U.S. market.
The researchers found two key effects: In human cells in the laboratory, triclocarban increased gene expression that is normally regulated by testosterone. And when male rats were fed triclocarban, testosterone-dependent organs such as the prostate gland grew abnormally large.
Also, the authors said their discovery that triclocarban increased hormone effects was new. All previous studies of endocrine disruptors had found that they generally act by blocking or decreasing hormone effects.
"This finding may eventually lead to an explanation for some rises in some previously described reproductive problems that have been difficult to understand," said one author, Bill Lasley, a UC Davis expert on reproductive toxicology and professor emeritus of veterinary medicine. More analyses of antibacterials and endocrine effects are planned, he said.
Consumers should not take this study as guidance on whether to use triclocarban-containing products, Lasley said. "Our mothers taught us to wash our hands well before the advent of antimicrobial soaps, and that practice alone prevents the spread of disease."
The new study was published online this week by the journal Endocrinology ("Triclocarban enhances testosterone action: A new type of endocrine disruptor"") at: http://endo.endojournals.org/rep.shtml).
The nine authors are Lasley; Jiangang Chen; Ki Chang Ahn; Nancy Gee, Mohamed I. Mohamed, Antoni Duleba, Ling Zhao, Shirley Gee and Bruce Hammock. They are associated with these UC Davis programs: Center for Health and the Environment; Department of Entomology; California National Primate Research Center; Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the School of Medicine; Department of Nutrition; and the Cancer Center.
In their disclosure statement, the authors report that six of them have taken steps to patent their findings through the University of California.
This research was supported by the Superfund Basic Research Program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Media contacts:
- Bill Lasley, Center for Health and the Environment, (530) 752-8506 (Dec. 7 phone: 415-669-7927), email@example.com
- Sylvia Wright, News Service, (530) 752-7704, email@example.com


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Just one more day, and our new adventure starts. This year, we will tour Europe by ship. A whole new experience for us. We have never been on a big cruise ship before. We do not have any plans after the cruise.
Maybe we will travel to the south of Italy (Vesuv, Apula, Calabria), or South Tyrol.
Cruise Ship: MSC Orchestra
Length: 294 meters
Width: 33 meters
Draft: 8 meters
78880 horsepower
23 kn
3013 people in 1275 cabins
Cruise Details:
La Spezia (Cinque Terre), Italy
Genua, Italy
Cannes, France
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Ajaccio (Corsica), France
Rome, Italy
After the cruise: (maybe)
South Tyrol
Apula, Italy
Calabria, Italy
Vesuv, Italy


text:
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If it's possible for a movie to be agressively bland, Race to Witch Mountain is that movie. You're liable to forget it even before you've finished watching it, so why bother? Its sole purpose seems to be to waste 100 minutes of your kids' time, but as video babysitters go, they and you can do much better than this Bruckheimer-for-kids adventure, a reboot of the wan Disney franchise best known for 1975's Escape to Witch Mountain and 1978's Return from Witch Mountain.
Loosely based on the book by Alexander Key that started it all, Race to Witch Mountain casts the Rock as Jack Bruno, Las Vegas cab driver and convicted felon. When he gets a fare from two Star Wars stormtroopers, we learn that the UFO Space Expo is in town. It's a good excuse for a Las Vegas cab driver and convicted felon to get to know outer-space expert Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino), who he chauffeurs to her thankless job of being heckled off the lecture stage by UFO conspiracy nuts oddly unwilling to hear any science. Meanwhile, Jack's moved on to another fare: two apparent teens named Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig). No such luck: they're actually superpowered EBEs (Extraterrestrial Biological Entities) on a mission to save their world and ours, if they can only elude a Siphon (space assassin) and the government suits led by ruthless Major Henry Burke (Ciarán Hinds), who has their spaceship in the super-secret government installation at Witch Mountain. Mayhem levels increase steadily until the inevitable showdown at the big ol' rock with the funny name.
Pretty much the best that can be said for Race to Witch Mountain is that the flying saucer is really cool looking. There's quite a bit of badly staged and edited action, but no real excitement. The Rock brings some charisma to counteract the alien kids, who are designed to have none (the naturally blank Ludwig excels in this area). As a reminder of what comic energy looks like, Garry Marshall shows up as a scientist in a Winnebago, but he's the exception to the rule that this movie mercilessly wastes actors in pastepudding bland roles: Gugino, Tom Everett Scott, Chris Marquette, and Cheech Marin must've had to mumble their salary as a mantra to get through with this insistently uninteresting material. Even sought-after creature designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. couldn't be bothered to come up with anything memorable. The franchise's original child stars (Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann) show up in cameos. Let's hope Robb and Ludwig never have to perform the same function.
Disney's Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy edition of Race to Witch Mountain is technically impressive. The A/V transfer is state-of-the-art, accurately bottling the movie's colorful, weird look in a spotless picture. Nighttime scenes and those with special effects look as strange as they did on screen, but never lose any detail, and contrast is solid. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is a powerhouse, with plenty of activity all around the surround channels, well-calibrated balance, and a dynamism that's quite strong for a mid-range kid's picture.
This special edition includes a handful of bonus features. Eight "Deleted Scenes" (23:21 with "Play All" option, SD) come with introductions by director Andy Fickman, and there's a reel of "Bloopers" (3:37, SD). In "Which Mountain?" (8:20, HD) Fickman reveals the references to the original Witch Mountain movies, homages to Disney, and cameos peppered into his movie.
Also adding value are that bonus DVD copy and a third disc that holds a Digital Copy for yet more portable playback.
Review gear: |
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer


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by Andrew Yee
You know singlespeed cyclocross racing has become popular when your local series has two categories and field limits, there's a "world championship" event, and a company like Rolf Prima releases a cyclocross-specific singlespeed wheelset. All for good reason, as singlespeeds are simple, light and allow you to focus more on just pedaling as fast as you can.
Curious? Giving singlespeed cyclocross racing a try doesn't require a dedicated bike – singlespeed conversion is easy [see our conversion how-to], even if just for one event. But once you find that the singleminded-nature and simplicity of riding one gear is appealing, you may find yourself heading down the path of acquiring dedicated equipment and even spare bikes.
The Specs
Rolf has recognized the growth of this segment of cyclocross and now offers no less than seven different wheel configurations for cyclocross. The SSCX wheelset is a modified version of its VCX cyclocross wheel (reviewed in Cyclocross Magazine Issue 7) but is customized for the singlespeed racer. I had a chance to ride and review an early pair of these specialized wheels from Rolf over the last few weeks.The SSCX wheelset comes in two rear hub configurations: with a standard rear ENO hub that retails for $749, or an eccentric ENO hub to allow for chain tension adjustment that retails for $799. Both ENO hubs are made for Rolf by White Industries. For rims, just like with the VCX wheel, you can now choose between a clincher and tubular.
The wheels feature a 31mm deep sectioned aluminum rim that's 21mm wide, outside-to-outside. That's about 2mm wider than the "standard" Mavic Open Pro clincher rim. The front hub is Rolf's own dF3.4. But the real story is the rear ENO hubs. The eccentric option allows 15mm of total horizontal adjustment to tension your chain. That's quite a bit and allows a few different cog sizes without requiring a chain length adjustment, given that a one tooth increase (or decrease) in rear cog requires just over 3mm of adjustment.
Either the eccentric version or standard ENO hub has a flip-flop option, one side for a singlespeed freewheel, and the other side for a fixed gear, should normal freewheel-based singlespeed cyclocross become too mainstream for you and you want to give fixed gear cyclocross a try (see our article on this: FixieCross: Equal Parts Ridiculous and Zen). The fixed gear side requires a proprietary splined cog from White Industries but is locked into place by a simple lock ring.
Of course, the Rolf's unique paired spoke lacing pattern deserves mention. It's been proven in the Tour de France, has aerodynamic benefits and ends up using fewer spokes. And it creates big gaps between spoke pairs for a unique look.
Setting the SSCX Wheels Up
I tested a set of the $799 SSCX with the eccentric hub option. I had a Bianchi Cross Concept set up for singlespeed racing with a tensioner and a singlespeed cog and spacers on a rear road wheel. To install the SSCX rear wheel, I took off my rear wheel, about 100 grams of tensioner and a few chain links. To get up and running, I needed to get a singlespeed freewheel, and used a standard Shimano BMX 18 tooth freewheel for a 3/32" chain (about $20 at your local bike shop – check there first – or widely available online). If you know you're dedicated to the one gear movement for life, there are fancier freewheel options, including White Industries' sealed cartridge bearing freewheel that retails for $95.
Many singlespeeders choose one gear and ride it regardless of the course, and I tend to fall in that category. But it's important to note that if you're the type of singlespeeder that heads to a race armed with a slew of cogs to find the perfect gearing for every situation, this may not be your wheel, as you'll need be armed with freewheels, not cogs, and removal of the freewheel takes considerably more effort than a cassette freehub cog, at least on a Shimano-compatible freewheel. The SSCX's axle cap interferes with the Shimano removal tool, and so you need to remove that first with a 4mm Allen key. And removing a freewheel (at least for this weakling) always takes a lot of effort and grunting unless you've got a table-mounted vice – unlikely at a race.
The upside I discovered in this process is that the axle caps are replaceable, making it really easy to convert these from 130mm to 135mm spacing (or 126mm if you've got a retro road ride). Got a 29er in the garage that runs rim brakes? These would work just fine with different caps.
Setting the wheel up in my bike was surprisingly easy. After mounting and inflating a tire, I grabbed an adjustable wrench to hold the axle flats in the desired place and a 6mm Allen wrench to secure the bolts that clamp the wheel to the frame. You'll need to ride with the Allen wrench in case of flats, but can get by in a pinch by finger-rotating the eccentric axle to adjust the chain. It's of course good practice to ride with a multi-tool, but I'm the first to admit there are many times I forget it at home – now it becomes a necessity. It's important to note that the rotating the axle does make slight changes to your bike's geometry. Like rear-facing horizontal dropouts, the eccentric ENO hub changes the effective chainstay length, but also adds the ability to slightly adjust the height of the rear wheel. If you're going to change rear freewheels frequently, you may have to adjust your brake pads.
The Ride
Once fully dialed, the rear wheel works like a cyclocross wheel should. I rode the wheel on a bunch of local trails, a practice race and in a local race down in Monterey. Despite a number of botched jumps, quite a few rocks and roots, a poor curb hop and some serious mashing up a painfully steep hill, the wheel held its place in the frame, was reasonably quiet, and spun true and round. Just as with the company's VCX wheel, I was impressed with the durability – a good thing as the nipples are internal and require a tire removal for truing. I slammed a few course "features" hard enough to bottom out and pinch a tube, both front and rear, and the rim survived without a nick. The company is confident in their strength as there's no rider weight limit for these wheels, and like the VCX, I think they're an ideal build for the bigger guy.
Because I didn't need a tensioner anymore, my drivetrain got both quieter and a bit smoother, as there wasn't another pulley or roller to press up against the chain or add extra friction. That's definitely a nice benefit.
Some racers are attracted to singlespeeding for the simplicity, but a few like it because bikes can be ultralight. Although you can save a little weight by removing your tensioner and shortening your chain, the SSCX wheels aren't designed for weight weenies. At 1590 grams complete (we measured 1700 grams with rim strips and rear axle bolts) (50 grams less for the standard hub), they're not the lightest wheels for sure, and take a little more effort to spin up than some light road wheels available at the price. That's in part due to the beefy, deep section rim that provides the wheels' durability (and aerodynamics if paired with a road tire). It's also important to note that, unlike typical road wheels, the freehub is not included in the weight – you must factor in the weight of the freewheel, not just a cog. But the upside is that when conditions get nasty, a wrecked freehub won't ruin your wheels as you can easily replace the freewheel.
Once you get up to speed, you can ride with confidence – the braking track is machined and offers predictable braking. And the deeper rim profile may shed certain tights or mud should conditions get sloppy.
The front wheel, although not singlespeed specific, is quite nice and features a 200 gram hub. It's the same wheel we reviewed with the VCX wheelset, and tips the scales around 700 grams.
Although we didn't test this wheelset in a tubeless conversion set up, we did have success running the VCX wheels reviewed as tubeless with a Stans strip earlier and would guess these wheels, with the exact same rim as the VCX, would also work well (although neither Rolf nor Cyclocross Magazine endorses such use).
New for 2011 is Rolf's alloy tubular rim option, and I suspect that many dedicated singlespeed cyclocross racers will opt for this. We did not have a chance to test this option. Curiously, unlike most wheelsets with tubular options, the SSCX wheels are actually about 60 grams heavier with a tubular rim.
The Verdict
The SSCX wheels are a very nice option for the serious singlespeeder. The eccentric hub provides an easy option to convert a cyclocross frame with vertical dropouts to singlespeed use. With a proven design and a strong rim, based on our two months of abuse, I think they will be plenty durable for many seasons of use. The external freewheel configuration ensures years of smooth coasting, but makes regular changing of rear cogs quite difficult.
They're not the lightest option, and at $799 they're more than some complete singlespeed cyclocross bikes. But if you're serious about the sport and hard on your equipment, they're definitely worth a look. With the SSCXWC just around the corner, Rolf's SSCX wheels will have you already just two letters short of the Golden Speedo.
Rolf Prima Eccentric ENO Hub SSCX Wheelset
Rim: 31mm deep, 21mm wide alloy clincher (tubular available)
Rear Hub: ENO eccentric axle flip-flop hub, cartridge bearings, accepts singlespeed freewheel and White Industries splined fixed cogs, 6mm Allen clamp bolts, 345 grams (made by White Industries)
Front Hub: 200 grams, cartridge bearing
Spokes/Build: 16 spokes, paired lacing, front and rear. Assembled by hand in Eugene, Oregon
Weight: 1700 grams with rim strips, 720 grams front without quick release, 980 grams rear with bolts. (1595 grams list, 665g front, 960g rear)
For more info: http://www.rolfprima.com/products-SSCX.php
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Tag: rikomagic
How to fix "Unfortunately, the Process android.process acore has stopped" on MK802 Android devices
You might have ran into the same issue as me on your MK802 or MK802 III device, where it starts showing an error saying "Unfortunately, the Process android.process.acore has stopped". Once this starts happening, that error doesn't seem to impact the normal operations of the device (at least not video), but sadly the error pops […]
How to upgrade the MK802 III firmware
The MK802 III is an awesome and cheap device to make a smart TV out of your regular TV (see my review here). Rikomagic, the company behind the MK802 III, regularly provides firmware updates. Alternate firmwares are also provided by external vendors, but today I'm going to explain to you how to update the Firmware […]
Review: Rikomagic MK802 III
The MK802 series are Mini computers the size of a USB key, that plug in to the HDMI port of your HD TV, and make it a smart TV. I've owned an MK802 Clone for the past 6 month, and this has become my main multimedia device at home since the day I got it. […]


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LeBron James is on one of the greatest hot streaks in NBA history right now.
He had 39 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists last night against Oklahoma City. It was his seventh-straight game with at least 30 points while shooting 58% or better.
We are watching LeBron reach his peak, and all week commentators (and even LeBron himself) have been playing up the Michael Jordan-LeBron James comparisons.
But according to Jordan, LeBron still has one obvious flaw in his game still — he has a tendency to shoot jumpers when he goes left, and drive to the basket when he goes right.
Here's the key passage from ESPN's Wright Thompson's article on Michael Jordan today:
"It has to do with his mechanics and how he loads the ball for release. 'So if I have to guard him,' Jordan says, 'I'm gonna push him left so nine times out of 10, he's gonna shoot a jump shot. If he goes right, he's going to the hole and I can't stop him. So I ain't letting him go right.'
"For the rest of the game, when LeBron gets the ball and starts his move, Jordan will call out some variation of 'drive' or 'shoot.' ... He's answering texts, buried in his phone, when the play-by-play guy announces a LeBron jump shot. Without looking up, Jordan says, 'Left?'"
There's some evidence that Jordan is actually right.
Here's LeBron's shot chart for 2013. He has taken 175 two-point jump shots from the left side of the court, and only 87 two-point jumpers from the right side of the court.
This indicates that LeBron is typically getting to the rim more often when he goes right than when he goes left.
It's not "90%" like MJ said, but it's significant.
LeBron shoots 73% when he gets to the rim, and 40% when he takes a two-pointer from the left side of the court. So you absolutely want him to take jump shots.
There isn't much to complain about with LeBron's game. But MJ, always the perfectionist, has found something legitimate.


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Time of Miracles
1989 DramaIt is 1945, and Yugoslavia is now definitely part of the Communist Bloc of nations. When the local school burns down, injuring its teacher, Nicodemus (Predag Miki Manojlovic) the town's communist leader, insists that the townspeople must convert the church into something useful by painting over the icons and murals. When the townspeople refuse to do this, he and the recovering teacher do the painting, with the townspeople (and priest) mulishly standing around outside. Imagine the mayor's disgust, then, when the icons miraculously begin to reappear despite the paint coating them. His fury knows no bounds when the teacher, who dies, is restored to life by a mysterious stranger. The town is full of exactly the sort of religious fervor which he sought to quell.~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide


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The first rocket engine test that I ever saw in person at the NASA Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi occurred well over twenty years ago. I'd already been doing test data analysis and power balance analysis in support of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) Project for some months. I had made several data review presentations in front of then chief engineer (and rocket engine legend) Otto Goetz. I could quote engine facts, statistics, and tell you all about how the SSME worked. I'd even seen some videos of engine tests. But it was not until I saw a test in person that I achieved the state that can only be described as awestruck.
It was late in the evening and a little chilly. Though we'd arrived at the control center before dusk, test preparations had dragged on so that now darkness had enveloped the center. The test stand stood out against the blackened sky like a battleship docked in the distance. Brian, my team lead at the time with whom I'd driven down from Huntsville, and I were standing outside in the control room in the parking lot. The radiation from the hydrogen flair stack off to our left warmed one side of our face as the breeze cooled the opposite cheek. The wailing of the final warning sirens drifted off and all that could be heard was the burning torch of the flair stack and, in the distance, the low surging and gushing of water being pumped into the flame bucket. We were a just a couple of hundred yards from the stand.
Then, the engine started.
First, there is the flash and then, quickly, the wave of noise swallows you where you stand. Unless you are there, you cannot appreciate the volume of the sound. It is not mechanical exactly. It is certainly not musical. It is not a howl or a screech. It is, rather, a rumble through your chest and a shattering roar and rattle through your head. You think instinctively to yourself that something this primal, this terrible must be tearing the night asunder; it surely must be destructive, like a savage crack of thunder that continues on and on without yielding. You are deafened to everything else, deprived of hearing because of all that you hear. Yet before your eyes there is the small yet piercing brightness of the engine nozzle exit that can just be seen on what you know to be deck 5 of the stand and, to the right, there are flashes of orange flame stabbing into the billowing exhaust clouds mounting to ten stories high, tinged rusty in the fluctuating shadows. It is like a bomb exploding continuously for eight minutes and yet the amazing thing, in incongruent fact so difficult to grasp as you are trying to absorb and appreciate the sensation is that the whole event is controlled and contained. You cannot believe that so much raw power can be expressed by what is only a distant dot within your field of vision.
This is an experience that I wish everyone could have. There are so many extraordinary feats of engineering all around us that we can appreciate and admire, but nothing for me has ever been as visceral as seeing an engine test, especially at night, with the nozzle open to the night air (and not buried in a diffuser). No engine schematic or listing of characteristics or series of still pictures is an adequate substitute for the majesty of that controlled power.
Since that first test, I've seen any number of other engine tests including SSME (what we now call RS-25), a couple of other, smaller engines, and, of course, J-2X. But it was not until the end of June of this year that I again had the opportunity to see a nighttime test on NASA SSC test stand A1. This was J-2X E10002. Below is the video, and it's really cool, but I wish that you could have been there, standing beside me in the parking lot. Listen carefully to the end of the recording and you'll hear people cheering. I was amongst the appreciative, awestruck chorus.


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Friday, April 13, 2012
A handful of self-publishing "don't"s
1. Don't ever send your manuscript to the printer without first having at least one third-party with competent editing skills mark it up. This should go without saying. Most self published Civil War authors seem to have little notion of their own limitations as writers.
2. It seems that POD services allow authors to alter their manuscripts at will without disclosure to the buyer as to what version they are getting. Taken to an absurd level, each book printed can have the same ISBN but different text. I know a guy that submitted several different versions of his manuscript within a single month, many of the changes suggested by customers that bought the first version. I could detect nothing that would indicate that the guy recognized how much of a disservice he was doing to the customers that purchased the book soon after release. Don't drag your book down to the level of buggy computer software requiring the release of a series of patches merely to make it respectable. It's even worse than that. Software patches are free but manuscript fixes require full price repurchase.
3. Don't offer pre-orders unless you first understand what the concept means. A friend and I recently pre-ordered a book (full price plus shipping) from an author with the understanding that the print run would be limited. Soon after, we discovered that it was in fact a POD book and an online retailer had it in stock and was selling it for almost 40% less with free shipping. Several weeks later, neither of us have our copies in hand.
4. Do use blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to promote your book (if you don't, who will?) but don't ignore questions from potential customers. In countless instances, I've solicited information from authors only to receive no reply.
5. Along similar lines, unless you want potential customers to consider your book vaporware, don't fail to regularly update your social media site. A simple progress report takes only seconds to write but it can keep web surfers from deleting your 'dead' site from their bookmarks folder and forgetting about you.
6 comments:
Thanks so much for this post. I have steered clear of many self-published titles for reasons one, two, and three. Unfortunately, the lack of editing is also showing up more and more on e-book titles.
Scholarship alone is not enough to build a reader base. If a writer never intends to publish anything again, he/she could ignore your advice, I suppose, and simply "take the money and run". Unfortunately, an author doing that also manages to perpetuate the new stereotype that POD is nothing more than vanity-press drivel.Authors looking to have control of the publishing process should not look for "self-publishing" options unless they are prepared to hire professional editors, designers and individuals who understand the publication and distribution. A better option can be "partnership publishing," where an author can work with an established publishing house that handles editorial, design, distribution and paperwork, and the author participates in the print run and is able to sell books directly. The self-publishing movement has been wonderful for allowing many voices to reach the marketplace, but what the glut of sub-standard books available now points out is that raw content dumped into a dustjacket or an ePub file does little good for anyone.
ReplyDeleteHere's one: don't, under any circumstance, use illustrations by friends or relatives unless they are real pros. They all - ALL - look silly and hurt the book.
ReplyDeleteRepliesNo kidding. The instance most memorable to me is an author's use of his pre-teen son's colored pencil sketches of the generals as book illustrations. They had no business being there.
I did consider adding an offshoot of this to my list -- don't have only a close family member proofread the manuscript.Good points, Drew. I find it (slightly) amusing when we turn down a manuscript for all the right reasons, only to see it self-published 45 days later with all the obvious problems we pointed out to the author in the cold hard light of permanence. We see this same thing with a particular press that doesn't, apparently employ editors of any variety, be they developmental or proofers.
Being of libertarian bent I welcome all the options we have today and the weakening of the traditional gatekeepers. However, they also played a role in weeding out the chaff from the wheat.
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EDGARTOWN, Mass. >> The White House is conducting a review of programs that have equipped local police departments with military gear from the Pentagon, urged by President Barack Obama's call for more separation between the nation's armed forces and civilian law enforcement.
The examination comes in the aftermath of the police response to unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police killing of an unarmed black man.
Two senior administration officials said Saturday that the review will examine whether the programs are appropriate; the amount of training provided for using military equipment; and how well the government audits the use of the money and equipment by local police departments.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the review by name.
The review will be led by White House staff including the Domestic Policy Council, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, and agencies such as the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and Treasury. The officials say the review will be coordinated with Congress, where several lawmakers have called for a re-examination of the military-to-police programs.
On Monday, Obama acknowledged that the images of well-armed police confronting protesters with combat weapons in Ferguson made it useful to review how local law enforcement agencies have used federal grants that permit them to obtain heavier armaments.
"There is a big difference between our military and our local law enforcement, and we don't want those lines blurred," Obama told reporters at the White House. "That would be contrary to our traditions."


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RELATIVES of Richard III have lost their High Court battle with Justice Secretary Chris Grayling over where the monarch's remains should be reburied.
Three High Court judges have today ruled in favour of the Justice Secretary saying campaigners and distant relatives of the king cannot have a public consultation on his burial place.
They said it was "time for King Richard III to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest" and rejected the Plantagenet Alliance's claims there should be a wide-ranging public consultation to decide the king's final resting place.
Vanessa Roe, a Plantagenet Alliance member and 16th great niece of Richard said she was frustrated and disappointed at the news.
"We are very disappointed with the result, in our opinion it's not the right one.
"It's frustrating, because we want justice for Richard and for York. It's more disappointing for him than anyone else."
Ms Roe also dubbed Justice Secretary Chris Grayling "ungracious" after he said the Plantagenet Alliance had only "tenuous claims to being relatives of Richard III", and criticised them for wasting tax payers money by bringing the legal challenge.
She said the Alliance would consider their options before deciding whether to take more action, and the group's lawyer Matthew Howarth said an appeal was now under consideration.
Mr Howarth said: "We obviously respect and accept today's verdict, and are grateful to have had the opportunity to raise this matter before the courts, but are naturally disappointed at the decision, which we regard as highly regrettable."
York MPs Julian Sturdy and Hugh Bayley have also spoken of their disappointed at the news.
Mr Sturdy slammed the decision, saying the original exhumation licence amounted to nothing more than "a 'finders keepers' agreement concocted behind closed doors."
He added: "It is immensely frustrating that despite the unprecedented discovery of such a historically, politically and culturally significant monarch, the Ministry of Justice still refuses to listen to the public on such an important issue.
"Over 60,000 people have signed petitions on where they think the reburial should take place and such strong public feeling should not be ignored. Many of my own constituents believe they have been cheated out of the democratic and open debate that should have taken place over such an important chapter in our heritage.
"It is only right and proper that King Richard should return to his home city of York, even if on a temporary basis, after spending the last 500 years under a car park in Leicester. The people of Yorkshire deserve the chance to pay their final respects to the last Yorkist King, whose death brought about the end of one of the most brutal conflicts in our history."
But York's council and Minster, and the University of York, have said only that they are pleased clarity has been brought to the process.
In a joint statement, the three bodies said they looked forward to working with Leicester to tell Richard III's story, and his links to York and Yorkshire.
The Plantagenet Alliance launched the legal challenge in March, but waited nine and a half weeks for a result.
They argued a public consultation should be held over his reburial, and the Ministry of Justice's original exhumation licence, which said the remains should be re-interred in Leicester, overturned.
Today Lady Justice Hallett, sitting with Mr Justice Ouseley and Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, ruled there were no public law grounds for interfering with the plans for reburial at Leicester Cathedral.
The three judges said in a joint ruling: "Since Richard III's exhumation on 5th September 2012, passions have been roused and much ink has been spilt.
"Issues relating to his life and death and place of re-interment have been exhaustively examined and debated.
"The Very Reverend David Monteith, the Dean of Leicester Cathedral, has explained the considerable efforts and expenditure invested by the cathedral in order to create a lasting burial place "as befits an anointed King".
"We agree that it is time for Richard III to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest."
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