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Tagged: Jane Heller
Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of MLBlogs.com; I come to you now with great humility and regret. After weeks of careful consideration and deliberation with my attorneys, advisers and family, I have decided to come clean.
I, William Scott Lentz of Reading, Pennsylvania, am guilty of using performance enhancing substances…
I know. I know.
"How could you?" you may say. "How could you tarnish yourself?"
While my original blog featured on the front page of MLBlogs.com last November was clean, I must plead guilty to using performance enhancers in December of 2008.
When I wrote "The Best Idea I Ever Had… Maybe" where I suggested Donovan McNabb join the Phillies bullpen, I tested positive for… gulp… SPELL-CHECK. I don't know what I was thinking, it was just the pressure of the moment I suppose. I hadn't written a blog in weeks and I knew that if I didn't post soon, I may be lost in MLBlogosphere obscurity. The blog started off well, but in the second full paragraph I tackled the word "arbitration" which I butchered. So I paniced. I right clicked on the word and selected the correct spelling, a spelling – I must sadly admit – that was not my own.
It doesn't stop there.
A few days later when I posted "C-C-C-Ya Real Soon!" I was on a kick. My McNabb blog drew critical acclaim and I liked the feeling, so I asked Jose Canseco to grease my keyboard with a thin layer of vasoline so my fingers could type faster and thereby allow me to blog faster. The post went by like a blur and before I knew it, it was posted. I wish I could take it back, but I can't. I was just lucky I convinced Canseco to leave me out of his next book. Don't ask me how I did it.
It all just happened so fast.
My third and final "enhanced" post was the fatal "Everything Baseball Should Be: And Everything Baseball Is Not." At this point, I was so engulfed in the ways of dishonest blogging I had no idea which way was up. I took all of my blog-rage out on the Yankees who were an easy target at the time. The blog was full of vasoline-enduced rants and spell-checking that allowed me to use words such as 'allegiance' and 'romanticised.' Words I would have never been able to spell naturally. And – as much as it pains me to say – the meatball line is from Seinfeld.
I am a fraud and I have put myself to shame. I'm embarrassed for myself, I'm embarrased for the Yankees and I'm embarrassed that I just stole another line; this time from Don Zimmer.
I must apologize to all of my fans. You all had faith in me and I let you down. I would like to announce that I will spend the remainder of my blogging career educating young writer about the dangers of spell-check. Children: 'spell-check' is unnatural so rely on your own spelling talents and do not take the easy way out.
I must also apologize to Jane, the most prominent member of Yankee-nation. I should not have taken out my blogging rage out on the Bronx-bombers and I am truly sorry. Let this be a lesson to you… Vasoline kills people.
Mark my words dear blogging friends, my resolve has never been higher than it is on this day. My blogging career is far from over and I promise you I will spend the rest of it proving to you that I can blog clean. You may see a few more spelling errors and a few less alliterations, but darn it, it'll be clean. Have faith in me!


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Yes kids, it's that time again. Our very own DGJ appears tomorrow on a very special episode of Filter entitled "11 Coolest Carrific Moments." No doubt, his noggin will look exceedingly massive (it was filmed during the same shoot as his last appearance, which had the boys and girls screaming "Heed!"). Which is fine, as it makes him feel more like Nick Denton and less like one of Denton's dirty minions. And given Davey's penchant for German-style nihilism, we generally try to indulge his whims. 7pm Eastern, but check your local listings for times.
11 Coolest Carrific Moments [G4]
30 Seconds Over Tokyo, 15 Seconds of Semi-Fame: Davey G. on G4's 'Filter' [Internal]

subset: commoncrawl


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About | 7 Days
It's Friday night and it's been a big week. There's been stupid news, big news, unbelievable news and news about us right here in New Zealand. Then come Jeremy Corbett and two teams of New Zealand's finest comic talent to blast the news out of the water, dissect it, lambast each other and have a brilliant time while doing it.
This is 7 Days, a Friday night comedy satire show, made with the support of NZ on Air, and our best stand-up comedians aren't afraid to do what they do best – take the piss out of everything, but mostly all the news of the week and each other.
"It's a Gas" "Laugh-out-loud funny" "professional idiots". These are just some of the things people said about the first series of 7 Days.
The news changes every week, but 7 Days is staying refreshingly the same. Well ok, we're shooting in a brand new studio, and yes we'll be playing some brand new games, and granted there are new comedians from here and overseas chomping at the bit to come and dissect the news on 7 Days, but apart from that, exactly the same. The same Jeremy Corbett at the helm, with the same lovable team leaders Dai Henwood and Paul Ego, along with some increasingly familiar characters like Ben Hurley, Steve Wrigley, Jeremy Elwood, Michele A'Court and Cori Gonzalez Macuer.
A cutting weekly dose of satire is overdue on New Zealand TV, but it's here now. Every seven days ridiculous things happen in this country but until now there hasn't been a place for our funniest professional comics to say things like "But did you hear…" and "What I can't believe is…" Join us on Friday nights on Three. You might not learn much from their uninformed brilliance, but you'll definitely laugh.
Check out the latest on Facebook
Check us out on Twitter


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When you buy an individual disability income insurance policy, pay attention to whether the contract is noncancelable and guaranteed renewable, or only guaranteed renewable. You'll find this information in the Type of Contract section of the policy.
Noncancelable and guaranteed renewable means that the policy can't be canceled and the contract provisions can't be changed without your consent, and the premium can't be raised for the life of the policy as long as you continue to pay your premiums. Guaranteed renewable means that the policy can't be canceled and the contract provisions can't be changed without your consent as long as you pay your premiums, but the premium can be raised.
A noncancelable and guaranteed renewable contract is preferable to a guaranteed renewable only contract. However, because insurance companies do not have the option of raising premiums if they find the policies have become unprofitable, they are offered only to low-risk occupational groups at a high premium.
If you're offered only a guaranteed renewable policy, don't despair. It's not easy for the insurance company to raise your premium. The company can't do it on an individual basis, and it must have the permission of your state's insurance department, which will only approve the increase if warranted by adverse claims experience. The change would apply to all individuals in the same insurance classification.
The best policies will be both noncancelable and guaranteed renewable.


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I have an idea, can we collect donations to an orphanage?
BTC: 1HvApcfgw3VvJRYfVnt8EVQVgsbyvov7PW
ETH: 0xFB86b9D95433a262d46B3f8E89143d4c5512362F
I managed to get a half-decent picture of the award and a happy chick so I thought I'd post it here for posterity!
Back in April, thanks to your support,
It still hasn't sunk in - I never win anything - but I'd like to think that we all won this, I count you all as friends and hencam would have stopped a long time ago if it hadn't been for you guys, you make it all worthwhile.
Thanks! *sniff* :)
It's quite funny if you think about it, as the real stars of the site don't even have any idea of their prestigious award - though they might wonder why they've been treat with a huge bunch of grapes later today!
We are absolutely thrilled to tell you that today hencam was BBC Radio 2's Webcam of the Day!
At one point we had nearly 50 people watching the live stream simultaneously - ouch!
Click here to hear what Steve Wright said about us (and thank you Dan for suggesting us in the first place!)
On Saturday I was interviewed by Rob Dunger of BBC Radio Suffolk who was very nice, and it was probably the first interview where I didn't sound like a complete arse!
Unfortunately they don't have a 'listen again' feature so I can't upload the interview as I don't have a copy of it, and I can't remember what I said either (nerves!) so you'll just have to take it from me it was very entertaining and I said lots of witty and intelligent things (ahem!)
Those lovely supporters of hencam, the Telegraph & Newspaper (Bradford's local newspaper) have covered the recent hatchings at hencam with a written article and also a video!
You can read the article here, and watch me make a fool of myself too (feel free to skip viewing!)
This morning I visited the studio's of BCB (Bradford City Broadcasting) and was interviewed live on air!
It was quite nerve-wracking but good fun, and the guys at BCB are nice chaps (and chapesses!)
Unfortunately (or fortunately!) I haven't got a recording of it.
This weekend's edition of the T and A (Saturday April 14th 2007) featured hencam and Lottie the Lamb in particular!
She was featured on the front-page strapline! (click for bigger)
Nearly the whole of page 3 was devoted to her! (click for bigger)
Then when we were driving home tonight, we happened to pass Wilsden Post Office, and Lottie was even used to advertise the weekend edition of the paper!! (click for bigger)
Thanks to the T&A for the great coverage, it's much appreciated as always, and we hope it spread a bit of humour at the silly happenings here!
Thank you to the Guardian (a very serious and sensible paper for intelligent people!) ran a story on pointless websites (mainly covering the 'watch a cheddar mature' site), but they also listed other webcams, and we were mentioned - yay!
You can read the article here
I'm not sure about 'brilliantly boring' and 'the cult of banality' but I can sort of see where they are coming from...!
Anyway, we all know hens are the ultimate stress-buster and it's nice to see the Guardian realising this too :)
Thanks to Ugly Phil and Rachel from the breakfast show, and all at Kerrang! Radio who chose hencam as their "website of the day" and also interviewed me too for the show!
Click to hear me sound like a pillock :)
Thank you to earthcam who made hencam one of their top ten webcams of the week, they are (in their own words) "chosen by EarthCam based on quality of image, uniqueness of content and overall technical achievements in webcam technology" - whoo many thanks for the award! We were listed just below the Olympics!!! :)
Don't forget, the Look North TV hencam spot can be viewed here too!
This article appears on Page 13 of today's T&A (click for bigger)
I would also like to answer Mr Grosvenor's comment in the T&A re: "My criticism was that it does not cost 50p to feed a hen for a day - even feeding grapes won't cost that" - actually there were SEVERAL issues you raised (which I answered in my original email) - you conveniently ignore the ones you cannot defend and cling to the cost of food issue. It's true that hens don't cost much to keep on a day to day basis (in fact it's chicken-feed!), but people know that - they are donating to provide treats and whatever else the hens might need. Do you really consider the public so stupid as to blindly donate to a website willy nilly? Credit them with some intelligence please!
It might be the Yorkshireman in me but I will be damned if I will sit here whilst your website prints completely unjust and potentially libellious drivel regarding what I spend on my hens to give them the best possible care - when you yourselves represent battery and cage hen farmers. My hens are NOT a means of income - they are much loved pets.
The T&A were lucky even getting a response from you, you've conveniently refused to answer mine or anyone elses emails on the subject.
The Telegraph & Argus (Bradford and it's surrounding areas most widely read newspaper) rang me the other day asking if they could do a follow up piece on hencam. They were the first newspaper to feature hencam and started the whole ball rolling, so how could I refuse? They were very interested in SEPRA's hatchet-job on my site - hopefully the article will show the SEPRA people that they cannot make unfounded allegations against an individual or website and then refuse to answer or apologise for their completely incorrect assumptions.
I sent Dennis Surgenor - the "journalist" who wrote the article on hencam a quick courtesy email to let him know what his good work had achieved thus far:
From: firstname.lastname@example.com
Reply-To: "email@example.com"
To: email@example.com
Date: 21-Mar-2006 22:35
Subject: FAO: Dennis Surgenor
Hello Dennis,
I am not sure if you have received my original email and as you are
the "journalist" who I believe wrote the drivel regarding my site I
thought you should have a chance to see the facts behind hencam and
also the negative publicity you have single-handedly created for
The Telegraph & Argus - which is Bradford's (and it's surrounding
areas') most widely read newspaper - is covering the story regarding
your hatchet-job on my site and hopefully this will spark a second
wave of media interest - it was the T&A which first covered hencam and
from there it snowballed.
I honestly cannot understand why an individual or organisation such as
yourself/SEPRA would go out of it's way to try and destroy something
that was started with the sole purpose of lightening people's days and
bringing a bit of fun back to the Internet.
Hopefully the bad publicity you are now receiving will make you think
twice and enourage you to research your facts more fully in future.
Here are the clips from the BBC Look North news programmes!
The first one is from the lunch-time edition, there was a longer piece on the evening show too!
This morning the hens (and Scarlet and me!) were filmed for a piece which will hopefully be on tonight's BBC Look North programme! I am shocked/bemused/amazed that a silly idea like this can snowball and receive so much attention, but I'm over the moon of course!
Here's a photo of the "shoot".... (Ben the reporter was very nice, I just hope we don't look like complete lunatics...!)
Milly laid an egg too, she's either showing off for the camera or Tilly and Penny are *really* lazy! (year totals: eggs: 9, laid by Milly: 9, laid by lazy good for nothing Tilly and Penny: 0).
Listen to my interview with Jack & Ali at Spin 1038! No sniggering at the back!!
I've also found out we were mentioned on Tuesday's Breakfast show on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, and also on CBC Radio in Canada!!! I'm totally amazed and completely 'flummuxed' by it all!!!
Today it was the turn of very serious national newspaper The Guardian!!
Today Milly, Tilly and Penny were featured in the paper again, this time the Yorkshire Post!!! (click pic for bigger)
The website and hens were on the front page of the Telegraph & Argus!!! I only found out because I had a phone call at work and it was the Yorkshire Post wanting to cover the story, when I asked how they found out they said it was on the front page of the T&A - I was slightly shocked!!! (click images for big version)
Milly, Tilly and Penny make the front page!
Possibly the only time in my life I can honestly say "I was on page 3"...
The hens even featured in the cartoon on the letters page:
Hopefully tomorrow they will be in the Yorkshire Post - more news if and when... :)
The online store is finally properly open! There are tons of weird and wonderful goodies on there from t-shirts to bags to clocks to stickers to mugs to mousemats - you get the idea! If you want something totally unique (nobody has bought one yet!) then have a look and make Tilly, Milly and Penny famous!!
Visit the hencam store now
Thanks Milly :)
Egg-citing things afoot!!!
posted by admin, 17 February 2006 9:52
Expect a big change tomorrow, I plan on getting up early and moving the webcam to a more interesting "hens eye" view. This will mean it's exposed to the elements but I'll try and protect it somehow (not sure yet!)
If the camera doesn't get ruined then it should provide a good view of what's going on. Don't forget that if you have any suggestions on what should be on here, then give me a shout...
Milly has started laying, bless her! We can tell it's her because her eggs are large and creamy/white coloured, and Penny's and Tilly's eggs are browner...
Still no eggs, not really surprising as Tilly and Penny are getting on a bit now (over 3 years old, and modern breeds only really lay for a couple of years - after which they lay the odd egg every now and again) and Milly is 2 years old. The days have started to stay light longer on a night which is nice, so this should trigger their egg laying soon. I will be sure to let you know when they do!
Ok, somebody suggested that it would be more "eggciting" to have more of a chicken's-eye view of the coop, so as long as it isn't chucking it down with rain, I will move the cam in the next few days to an outside location more on their level. It should provide some pretty amusing views (as long as the camera doesn't get busted!) - keep an eye out for more news...


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Parallels Inc., a global leader in cross-platform solutions, makes it simple for customers to use and access the applications and files they need on any device or operating system. We help businesses and individuals securely and productively use their favorite devices and preferred technology, whether it's Windows?, Mac?, iOS, AndroidTM, Chromebook, Linux or the Cloud. Parallels solutions enable seamless delivery of virtual desktops and applications to any device, running Windows on a Mac, Mac management with Microsoft SCCM, and remote access to PCs and Mac computers from any device. Parallels has offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.
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This plug-in makes SCCM 1610 the most robust platform for managing Mac computers by leveraging existing business skills, processes, and systems.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Parallels has worked with Microsoft for over 10 years to ensure our products provide the best user experience.


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The Family Living Center, located in the East Hall of the Kentucky Exposition Center, is part shopping extravaganza, part National Farm Machinery Show reunion, and all fun, according to visitors and vendors.
Visitors can look through a variety of interesting items showcased in more than 80 booths. Family Living Center vendors offer everything from home accessories, to collectibles, clothing and jewelry.
John Harvey, Wilmington, DE, has manned his Classic Tractor Fever booth at the National Farm Machinery Show for 16 years. He has built a successful business offering calendars, books and collectible items for tractor enthusiasts. Harvey has the 22nd edition of the popular "Classic Farm Tractors" calendar in his booth at this year's show, along with a number of books he has written about tractors. Though Harvey is a regular on the Classic Tractor Fever television show on RFD-TV, and also has a sizeable Internet following, he credits the National Farm Machinery Show as being a valuable place to build relationships with customers.
"I wouldn't be coming here if it wasn't an excellent show," he says. "The National Farm Machinery Show is a wonderful place to meet new people and see old friends. Even though it is a show that highlights new machinery, it is also a homecoming of sorts for people who have a passion for antique tractors."
The Family Living Center is set aside from the main National Farm Machinery Show exhibit area so that visitors can casually shop for special gifts and souvenirs. Kate's Corner Kupboard booth offers children's books, crafts and clothing items representing popular tractor lines such as John Deere and Case IH.
Attendees have an opportunity to taste and purchase new foods as part of the Family Living Center experience too. The Wisconsin Cheese and Sausage Company is just one of many vendors that carries a variety of tasty treats.
Exhibitors like Ely Blown Glass offer unique artistic creations. Visitors can even find telescoping flagpoles in the Uncommon USA booth. A variety of jewelry choices can be found in booths ranging from Jan's Indian Jewelry to Unique Jewelry.
And getting back to the "machinery" part of the National Farm Machinery Show, if you are set on taking home a smaller version of something you've seen on the show floor, visit Matsen Miniature Farms to find 1:64-scale models of implements, farm toys and sheds.
The Family Living Center is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day of the show.
See a list of exhibitor booths online at www.farmmachineryshow.org.


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I just booked a trip to Cancun from 19:th of january to 19:th of march.
Question now is if I made a good choice? Is it kiteable on the east coast during that time?
I went to Boracay last year and I think it was pretty shitty, so I hope that Mexico will be better... anyone who can tell from experience?


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Find Your Perfect Home.
Marne Real Estate
Marne is located in Michigan. Marne, Michigan has a population of 3,756. Marne is less family-centric than the surrounding county with 35.13% of the households containing married families with children. The county average for households married with children is 37.24%.
The median household income in Marne, Michigan is $65,938. The median household income for the surrounding county is $58,160 compared to the national median of $53,482. The median age of people living in Marne is 44.6 years.
Marne Weather
The average high temperature in July is 82.8 degrees, with an average low temperature in January of 18.1 degrees. The average rainfall is approximately 36.5 inches per year, with inches of snow per year.
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Marne Zip Codes


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October 26, 2012 06:00pm-09:00pm
Honolulu Museum of Art
'Freak Out!' information
Experience the wonderfully weird at this Halloween warmup! Fancy dress encouraged.
ARTafterDARK admission: $10. Free for museum members.
On stage:
'Uke sensation Taimane Gardner 6:20-6:40pm
Quadrophonix 7-9pm
On screen: Little Shop of Horrors
In the ring: Final round of Spalding House's ARTCLUB! The finalists of this art competition (battles have been happening the past year) go head to head to see who can create the freakiest costume.
Freak Show Costume Instagram Contest: 25 of the creepiest, funkiest, most elaborate and creative costumes will get prizes from sponsor Waikiki Parc. The grand prize? Two nights at the Waikiki Parc. Get entry details here, and as you enter ARTafterDARK: Freak Out. NOTE: Costume accessories larger than 15 inches and play weapons will not be allowed on site. This includes fake guns, swords, bows and arrows, staffs, large wings, or other oversize costume additions. Please plan on leaving these items in your car or in one of our lockers.
Photo booth!: Get your mug shots taken at a photo booth that will be open throughout the evening.
On your plate:
Food and drink by Indigo Restaurant & Bar.
Freaky Ghosts of Fowl (Hawaiian vintage coco bean curried chicken) $7
Wokked Witch Fingers (Chinese long beans with chili black bean sauce) $5
Spicy Devil Cheeks (Szechwan peppercorn-braised Durham Ranch pork cheeks) $7
All plates come with steamed white rice, Asian red cabbage slaw and apple chutney.
Bonus: Nobu Waikiki will serve up its Akuma "Devils" ahi poke ($7) in Palm Courtyard.
Members' only: Special Nobu Waikiki pūpū station and Waikiki Parc wine bar in Mediterranean Courtyard! Also, a photo booth just for members.
After the party: Go to the Zombiethon! in Doris Duke Theatre to see Voodoo Island at 9pm.
Just a reminder—ARTafterDARKers can park in the following locations:
1) FREE: Street parking on Beretania and Kinau Street from 6 p.m.
2) $4: The Pro Park Parking Lot behind the Honolulu Museum of Art School (1111 Victoria St), entrances on Beretania and Young streets. Pay at the yellow slot box next to the parking booth.
3) $5 at the First United Methodist Church Parking Lot on the corner of Beretania and Victoria streets. NOTE: lot closes promptly at 10 p.m.
4) $5 at Kim Chee III Parking Lot on Young Street


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Nine years ago, the American oral history project StoryCorps launched when we put a sound-proof booth in New York's Grand Central Terminal so families could record the stories of their lives.
About a week after we opened, an elderly couple came to record an interview. The wife asked her husband about his experiences as a soldier in World War II, and as he told his story he began to weep. At the end of the interview his wife said "I've been married to this man for 60 years, and this is the first time I've ever seen him cry."
Seven years later, Frank Currie, a World War II veteran suffering from terminal cancer, came with his grandson to a StoryCorps booth in Waco, Texas. We shared this excerpt of that interview with the nation to mark the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Frank Currie died later that afternoon. His grandson told us that he waited to die on Pearl Harbor day. That was his day.
Since StoryCorps opened in 2003, 90,000 Americans have participated in the non-profit project in all 50 states. It's a simple idea: you bring anyone you choose to one of our recording facilities, sit in front of two microphones and have a 40 minute conversation with the help of a trained facilitator. At the end of the session, two CDs have been burned—one goes home with you, and the second is archived in the Library of Congress.
While StoryCorps seeks to celebrate the stories of all Americans, over the last nine years we've also launched a series of major National Initiatives focusing on specific groups whose lives we hope to honor. The first Initiative we ever launched, in partnership with the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, gives every family member who lost a loved one on 9/11 the opportunity to leave a record of their lives. Here is an animation of one of those stories.
StoryCorps has recorded thousands of stories of veterans over the past nine years (walking in the footsteps of the magnificent Veterans Oral History Project at the Library of Congress), but many of these interviews have focused on World War II, Korea and Vietnam. As we thought about which American voices most needed to be heard, there was no question that it was those of 2.5 million men and women who've served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 11 years.
This Veterans day we're excited to launch StoryCorps' Military Voices Initiative (MVI), which will honor the stories of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, service members, and their families. It's our privilege to give those who have served this country the chance to talk about their lives and experiences on their own terms, and to preserve their stories for history.
Here is the first MVI broadcast, Army Specialist Justin Clyburn tells his wife about a friendship he struck up with two Iraqi boys.
Over the coming years StoryCorps MVI will be recording on military bases and in USO centers, veterans service centers, hospitals and homes.
We hope this Initiative will prove meaningful to participants, and move the needle just a bit on helping the 99% of the nation that hasn't served in these conflicts a better understand of the sacrifices those in uniform and their families have made over the past 11 years
Dave Isay is the founder of StoryCorps. StoryCorps MVI is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Boeing. National partners include the Veterans Oral History Project, IAVA and NPR.


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In this book, we've dealt with birds that can imitate sounds, only one group of God's wonderful creatures. We have examined the perfection of the mechanisms that enable them to imitate sounds they have heard, and even form simple sentences. Most humans, with their far superior intelligence, have difficulty in imitating other voices or speech while these little birds are able to imitate many sounds they have heard with perfection, showing how exceptionally skilled they are. Scientific research has concluded that this perfect mechanism in birds is a masterpiece of design. God's supreme knowledge and art, as shown in the magnificence of His creation, is too evident to be obscured by deceitful theories. Swans, peacocks, brightly colored parrots, budgerigars and an infinite variety of living creatures invalidate any claims of coincidence and demonstrate the infinite power of the Lord, our Creator.
"Do they not see the birds suspended in mid-air up in the sky? Nothing holds them there except God…" (Qur'an, 16:79)
As mentioned throughout this book, Darwinists insist on trying to attribute this perfect system to coincidences. According to their mentality, all the living creatures we see around us, all the skills they possess, and all their aesthetics and beauty are products of blind chance. The truth is, it's not possible to explain away the consciousness and design seen in all living creatures, at all times, with coincidences. It is purely because of ideology that Darwinists cannot see this evident reality—or rather, they do see it but won't accept it. These people cling to evolutionary theory out of their belief that it explains the mechanism of life. Accepting that it cannot forces them to accept the only possible and true alternative explanation, which is the truth of creation. This results in the complete collapse of Darwinism and any related materialist ideologies.
"There are certainly Signs in the Earth for people with certainty; and in yourselves as well. Do you not then see?" (Qur'an, 51:20-21)
The thousands of examples that we see around us, but which the Darwinists pretend not to, are important pieces of evidence that destroy the distorted philosophies of those who deny the miracles of God's creation. Every person with a conscience will see in the wonderful structures of living creatures, and in the exceptional balance of the universe, the power of our Supreme and Omnipresent Lord. Darwinism and, consequently, the materialist philosophy that has deceived the world for nearly two centuries, will collapse. People will perceive the existence of God and start to live according to the beautiful ethics bidden by our Lord. The invalid system of thought that forms the basis of Darwinism will be completely destroyed, as God makes known in a verse of the Qur'an:
Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts right through it and it vanishes clean away! (Qur'an, 21:18)
"Among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and Earth and all the creatures He has spread about in them…" (Qur'an, 42:29)


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EMCOR Group, Inc. recently announced that its subsidiary Dynalectric Co. has been awarded two contracts for the installation of electrical systems at the new Resiliency Campus at Fort Benning, Ga. Dynalectric will be responsible for installing a number of different electrical systems in two buildings at Fort Benning's new Resiliency Campus. Dynalectric is required to preserve and restore the building's historical and prominent architectural features.
For one building, a 103,000 square foot, three-story building constructed in 1934, and which will become the keystone of the new Resiliency Campus, Dynalectric will be responsible for a complete electrical and telecommunications reinstallation, as well as installation of LED lighting and a digital lighting control system, new fire alarm system, lightning protection system, new telecommunications riser, and upgraded electrical distribution.
For the second building, a two-story structure, Dynalectric will be responsible for replacement of existing lighting with digital controlled LED fixtures, replacement of the existing fire alarm system, and upgrading the existing electrical systems.
"Dynalectric is pleased to have been selected to provide the range of electrical systems that Fort Benning requires at the Resiliency Campus," stated Ray Hopkins, president of Dynalectric. "Fort Benning is an historical military facility with an important mission, and we look forward to being a part of the team."


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The way this works is you extract the track file, patch it, and replace it back in your ISO. Because the patch files contain no original game content, distributing these is completely legal. On the patch-server you'll find everything from brand new tracks to texture-hacks for existing tracks. There are even textures for "new" characters like Baby Waluigi (baby Mario in disguise).
So now I'm going to show you how to patch and apply the first track in that video: Mushroom Peaks
- A Wii-console that plays backups (USB or disc)
- Mario Kart ISO - Don't ask how to acquire a download for this, HackDen does NOT support piracy!
- Wiiscrubber v1.4
- SZS Modifier
Apparently SZS Servers are down, but thatfloorguy was kind enough to upload many of the patches.
Go here
Track Patching
Following these instructions will replace any Single Player instance of Mushroom Gorge with a new track, Mushroom Peaks (seen above).
Load your Mario Kart ISO in Wiiscrubber 1.4 and navigate to Partition 1 - DATA > Race > Course. (Partition 0 if your iso is scrubbed)
You should see a long list of .szs files. Like this:
Scroll down and right click on kinoko_course.szs (NOT kinoko_course_d.szs) - Select Extract and save it to a folder you'll remember.
Now that we've extracted the original track from the ISO, we need to modify it!
Leave Wiiscrubber open for the time being and, if you haven't already, run the setup.exe for SZS Modifier to install it.
Load SZS Modifier. You'll see a short splash screen then a window which should look something like this:
Select File > Open and load kinoko_course.szs - We'll come back to this in a minute.
Now we need to download the modified track patch. Select Patches > Browse Patches on Server.
You'll see the above window appear. Scroll down until you find Mushroom Peaks. Download it.Note - The server may spout an error here. Just try again until the download completes.Once the download is finished, close the browsing window and you should be left with this:
Select Patches > Import Netsafe Patch and a new window will appear.
Select the Mushroom Peaks file you just downloaded and a small window will appear with the patch details.
Press OK to apply the patch. Select File > Save As and save this file where you won't mix it up with the original svs.
Note - If you receive an error trying to apply the patch, try re-downloading the file from the SZS server.Now we need to put the patched track into our ISO. Still got Wiiscrubber open? Good.
Scroll back down to DATA > Race > Courses and right-click on kinoko_course.szs - Select Replace and navigate to the patched kinoko_course.szs file.
That's it, we're done. Add your ISO back to your HDD or burn your disc. Play the game and when you run Mushroom Gorge in any Single Player
mode it will now be replaced with Mushroom Peaks.
This was just an example of replacing a single track with a patched one in Single Player modes. You may want to modify some more tracks in the
future, so to avoid having to burn your disc or load your ISO multiple times try to download and patch all the tracks you think you'll want at one time.
Single/Multi Player Patching
If you had wanted to replace your Multi Player version of Mushroom Gorge, just replace kinoko_course_d.szs with the same hacked szs file you made using the tutorial above. This same process works for all tracks which end in _d.
So in other words, in Wiiscrubber replace kinoko_course.szs and Mushroom Gorge gets replaced in
- Single Player - Grand Prix, TT, VS.
- Single Player Online - WW, Country, Friends
Replace kinoko_course_d.szs and Mushroom Gorge gets replaced in
- Multiplayer (2/3/4 players) - Grand Prix, TT, VS.
- Multiplayer Online (2 players) - WW, Country, Friends
Online PlayThe nature of texture hacks in online play is that any modified information on your iso will not be transferred to anyone you're playing with. In other words, if you're using a completely modified track like the one above, and you go into online WW or Regional to play against other people who haven't modified their tracks the same way, they aren't going to see the same thing you're seeing.
In all likelihood, what they will see is you driving all over the place, through the air, into and out of walls and such. If the people you hook up online with happen to be official N racers and they see your kart/bike exhibiting this really strange behavior, it is possible you could get banned.
On the flip side, if you go online with a texture modified version of one of the original tracks (ie- NOT a brand new track), only you will see the changes but you'll still be able to race like normal with people who have unmodified iso's.
Custom Tracks
Here is the list of designer-encouraged tracks to replace in your iso. The goal being that anyone who used this app to customize their tracks can get together online knowing that they are using the same tracks. I've organized these by Cup and the number slot of the track they replace. So the first modified track, Mushroom Peaks, is in the 3rd slot of the Mushroom Cup and replaces the original corresponding track, Mushroom Gorge.
- Remember to replace courses with _d if you want to play having more than one person on your console.
This list is based on the tracks the szs track-designers used to run their Custom Grand Prix events.
MarioKart Wii-Cups
Mushroom Cup
- Luigi's Island (Patch old_falls_ds_d.szs then replace beginner_course.szs)
- Sunset Forest (Patch kinoko_course.szs then replace farm_course.szs)
- Mushroom Peaks (Patch and replace kinoko_course.szs)
- GBA Sky Garden (Patch and replace factory_course.szs)
Flower Cup
- Rezway (Replaces Mario Circuit)
- *
- Haunted Woods (Replaces DK's Snowboard Cross)
- Guilleh's Course: asdf_course (Patch old_mario_64.szs then replace truck_course.szs)
Star Cup
- Penguin Canyon (Patch old_sherbet_64.szs then replace senior_course.szs)
- *
- *
- Incendia Castle ( Patch and replace old_volcano.szs)
Special Cup
- GBA Rainbow Road (Patch rainbow_course.szs then replace desert_course.szs)
- Space Road (Patch ridgehighway_course_d.szs then replace ridgehighway_course.szs)
- SNES Bowser Castle 2 (Patch and replace koopa_course.szs)
- SNES Rainbow Road (Patch and replace rainbow_course.szs)
MarioKart Retro Cups
Shell Cup
- Green Hill Zone (Patch old_peach_gc.szs)
- Codename:BIGBOX (Patch beginner_course.szs then replace old_falls_ds.szs)
- *
- *
Banana Cup
- Northpole Slide (Patch and replace old_sherbert_64.szs)
- GBA Cheep Cheep Island (Patch and replace old_heyho_gba.szs)
- *
- N64 Wario Stadium (Patch and replace old_waluigi_gc.szs)
Leaf Cup
- *
- Thwomp Cave (Patch and replace old_koopa_64.szs)
- Jungle Safari (Patch and replace old_donkey_64.szs)
- Kartwood Creek (Replaces GCN Mario Circuit)
Lightning Cup
- SNES Mario Circuit 1 (Patch and replace old_mario_sfc.szs)
- Chomp Valley (Patch and replace old_garden_ds.szs)
- *
- *
Renaming Your ISO
This is for USB Loaders.
- Download WIIISORenamerv3.exe
- Use WiiISORenamer.exe to open your Mario Kart Wii iso
- Change your GAMEID and Game Title to any of your choosing -- For instance I changed my custom iso to VOLE01 and Mario Kart Wii Custom
Those were just my examples, you can change them to whatever you want, just make sure not to use the same GAMEID as the other games on your drive.
RiivolutionIf you don't mind using your original disc you can avoid having to replace files in your ISO and load all your custom tracks with your SD card using Riivolution. For more on this go here.
- Chadderz (SVS Modifier's coder)
- MrBean35000vr (Designed Mushroom Peaks + more)
- UgotHacked35000vr
- EC2zigzag
- MKDasher
- NinArm1
- Khacker35000vr (Thwomp Cave - brutal course, very awesome)
- Anyone who designed and uploaded a patch to the SVS server
Must do this some day! If I loaded the same custom track unto my g.f. wii and we went online could we play the custom track online?
lol read the guide. Seriously though, no everyone would have to have the same track patched in. Otherwise everyone will see you driving into walls and such ont their course, and you will see everyone else driving into walls on the course you're playing.


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Local debut: Heavy stuff for teens' souls
It's been a long time since I was a teenager, plowing through three or four 130-page books a week, eagerly exercising a reader's young appetite.
I read books called The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon and The Shooting Party. I read books about adolescent troubles and fantastic adventures and idyllic prairie life. The darkest book I recall reading was Bridge to Terabithia. I was haunted by that book, in part because of the riddle in the pronunciation of its title, but mostly because a girl dies a tragic death in the final chapters.
So when I read a book for adolescents like Shooting Monarchs, whose first 17 pages offer up a three-year-old tethered to his swing-set by his carousing mother, and a young girl herded into a car trunk and killed, I'm filled with uncertainty. Have times changed? Or was I an eighth grader with a sheltered and prudish reading list?
Shooting Monarchs is the first book for teens I have ever read that, in addition to the traditional themes of first love, junior prom, and high school bullies, presents the reader with the death penalty dilemma.
The novel arrives in bookstores this month with a starred review from Booklist, an honor reserved for that publication's highest recommendations. Apparently, abandoned children who become homicidal teens are applauded literary characters for the post-pubescent set. And if anyone should know the reading tastes of that generation, it's the author-– John Halliday is the director of our own Jefferson Madison Regional Library.
"A lot of the themes are very serious," says Halliday. "Justice … the power of human kindness. I really did try to avoid pat answers, though. Teenagers don't want to be preached to."
The final chapter of this story of a seriously misguided youth stops just short of passing sentence on the abject antagonist; Halliday declines to take an overt stance regarding capital punishment as it applies to minors. Indeed, the only direct assertion to be found in Shooting Monarchs is the postscript, in which the author cites national statistics on abduction and murder among young girls and then states unambiguously, "Teenage girls should not jog alone."
This first novel is inspired by a real girl who did.
She fared much worse than the plucky gals of Willoughby Chase… and shared a fate far more common in America than in Terabithia.
John Halliday's debut novel Shooting Monarchs (Simon & Schuster) is available at area bookstores and at Amazon.com. His second novel for young adults, Predictions, due in September, is decidedly less somber.


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If President Bush wins re-election, the Democrats will need to pick up two seats to take control of the Senate.
Analyzing the battle for the Senate has become a conflict between the objective and the subjective. From an objective point of view, the Senate is a math problem. The Republicans have a 51-seat majority. That means that to take control, the Democrats need to pick up two seats if President Bush wins re-election (and thus keeps the power to break Senate ties in the hands of a Republican vice president), or just one seat if Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is elected.
Of course, a Kerry victory would create a vacancy in the Senate. However, the heavily Democratic Massachusetts Legislature is working on a bill to require a special election. The goal is to remove GOP Gov. Mitt Romney's power to appoint Kerry's replacement. Thus, if Kerry wins the White House, his successor in the Senate is likely to be a fellow Democrat, leaving Senate arithmetic unchanged.
So, let's start with the assumption that Republicans go into the final months of the campaign with 48 seats that they can count on seeing in their column once the votes are tallied. That total includes the 36 Republican-held seats that are not up this cycle, plus the eight safely Republican seats among the 15 GOP seats that are up this cycle. Also included are three more seats (in Kentucky, Missouri, and Pennsylvania) that are likely -- but not certain -- to remain in the GOP column, plus the open Democratic seat in Georgia that is virtually certain to go to the Republican nominee.
For their part, Democrats begin with 44 seats. Those include the 30 Democratic seats not on the ballot this cycle. Plus, out of the 19 Democratic seats that are up this cycle, 10 get counted because they are solidly in the "D" corner. Also in that total are two seats (in California and Wisconsin) that appear likely to stay in the Democratic column, one (in Washington) that leans toward staying Democratic, and the Republican open seat in Illinois, which Democrats are poised to pick up now that GOP nominee investment banker-turned-teacher Jack Ryan has dropped out. Unless Illinois Republicans replace Ryan with a well-known candidate or one who can self-fund the race, their party has no real chance of defeating Democrat Barack Obama.
This means that 92 Senate seats are accounted for. The eight others are the only ones truly in play: five now held by Democrats and three held by Republicans. So, to seize control, Democrats need to win at least six of these eight competitive seats if Kerry wins; seven of the eight if he doesn't. By any measure, that's a tall order.
The Democrats' task seems especially tough when other objective factors are considered. Four of the five competitive seats that the Democrats must defend are open, and it's generally much more difficult to hold on to a seat when no incumbent is running. All four of the Democrats' competitive open seats are in states that President Bush carried in 2000 -- Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The two competitive Republican open seats are also in what's considered Republican-leaning territory -- Colorado and Oklahoma. If history is any guide, keeping these open Senate seats will be easier for the Republicans this year.
However, when the Senate picture is viewed through more-subjective lenses -- such as the quality of individual candidates, the toll taken by primary fights, the relative fundraising strengths, and the issue agenda -- things don't look quite as bleak for Democrats. The early betting was that Democrats would lose a majority of their five open seats in the South, but their candidates are competitive in four of those races. And the fact that the GOP nominees in Colorado and Oklahoma will have to survive bruising primary battles before facing strong Democratic nominees makes both of those states less certain to remain Republican.
So, winning six or seven of the eight competitive Senate contests is not out of the question for the Democrats. Here's where those eight races stand.
Even though Alaska hasn't elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1974, the state's 2004 Senate contest could be the most competitive in the nation. Appointed GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski is saddled with considerable baggage. And Democrats have recruited the strongest possible candidate in former Gov. Tony Knowles.
Murkowski's father, Frank, was first elected to this seat in 1980 and still held it when he ran for governor in 2002. Winning the governorship allowed him to appoint his Senate successor. After several weeks of consideration, he appointed his daughter, a state legislator. The appointment created an uproar. How she got into the Senate isn't Lisa Murkowski's only problem, though. Gov. Murkowski has broken campaign promises and, as a result, diminished his own popularity and added weight to his daughter's baggage.
The incumbent senator's bid for a full, six-year term in her own right got more difficult when two fellow Republicans -- former state Senate President Mike Miller and former U.S. Attorney Wev Shea -- announced that they would challenge her in the August 24 primary. Miller is running because he objects to Lisa Murkowski's appointment by her father and does not consider her sufficiently conservative. Shea entered the contest because he thinks that the state's GOP leadership has ignored ethics allegations against the state party chairman, who is a close friend of the governor, in allowing him to keep his post.
Miller has been on the air and has scored endorsements from some conservative leaders in the state, including Lt. Gov. Loren Leman. Early polling, though, gives Lisa Murkowski a healthy lead. Her two GOP rivals will split the anti-Murkowski vote, increasing her odds of securing the nomination.
Murkowski is a strong, smart candidate who knows what she needs to do to win. She addresses her appointment head-on, telling voters that she hopes that they will consider what she has done in the Senate, not how she got there. She has also been on the air with ads touting her experience and accomplishments in the Senate. Apart from surviving the primary, her other task is to put some distance between her work in the Senate and her father's actions as governor. That will need to be the focus of her race.
Knowles has had his campaign up and running for a year. He's already run a biographical TV ad. He emphasizes his two successful terms as governor and what he sees as Alaska's need to have a Democratic voice in Washington. Knowles, who supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, contends that drilling has a better chance of winning Senate approval if Alaska has someone well positioned to lobby Senate Democrats. It does not help Knowles that the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee is Kerry, one of the Senate's most vocal foes of ANWR. Knowles also isn't helped by the fact that Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota calls drilling in ANWR unnecessary.
Polling continues to show a very tight general election. Monthly surveys conducted by the Democratic firm of Ivan Moore Research show a statistical tie between Murkowski and Knowles. They are both very good candidates, and this race should go down to the wire.
The general election race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado is shaping up to be competitive, but both parties first must choose nominees in August 10 primaries.
The Democratic establishment has rallied around state Attorney General Ken Salazar, but school administrator Mike Miles, who has been campaigning for more than two years, surprised Salazar at the state party convention in May. Not only did Miles draw enough support there to get his name on the primary ballot, he also secured the top line by getting a larger share of the delegate votes than Salazar.
Nevertheless, Salazar is heavily favored to win the Democratic primary. Miles, who has the support of the party's more liberal faction, will force Salazar to expend time and resources to win the nomination.
Salazar brings some important assets to the race. He has won statewide election twice, is considered moderate, and is Hispanic. Salazar has also proven to be a strong fundraiser and has been on the air with biographical spots.
The Republican primary is expected to be more competitive than the Democratic one. Even though former Rep. Bob Schaffer and Coors Brewing Chairman Pete Coors agree on most issues, Schaffer has picked up the support of many of the state's conservative activists and leaders, including that of former Republican Sen. Bill Armstrong. Schaffer's challenge is to increase his name identification and raise enough money to compete effectively with Coors, who has very deep pockets and is a strong fundraiser.
Coors is almost universally known in the state. And he begins the race with the support of Campbell and Gov. Bill Owens. But Coors must make the difficult transition from corporate executive to candidate. His missteps so far include a call for lowering the legal drinking age to 18 -- an idea that came across as self-serving. Coors's other challenge is to distinguish his views from those of Coors Brewing. He has endorsed amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. His company has stated that it does not share that position. It provides benefits to same-sex couples and has an aggressive marketing campaign targeting the gay community. The company's gay-friendliness is what raises doubts among conservatives about candidate Coors.
A mid-June Mason-Dixon poll showed Coors ahead of Schaffer, 39 percent to 35 percent, with 29 percent undecided. Given his well-established name and financial strength, Coors might be the stronger general election candidate. But if the primary turnout is low, the state's most conservative Republicans will pick the nominee -- probably Schaffer.
Republicans argue that Salazar has never been really tested on the campaign trail. That may be true, but the Mason-Dixon poll put him 7 points ahead of Coors and 14 ahead of Schaffer.
The primaries will determine whether one party goes into the general election with an advantage, but expect a competitive contest this fall.
Both parties will host competitive August 31 primaries in Florida, where Democratic Sen. Bob Graham is stepping down after three terms.
In the five-way Democratic contest, the front-runners are former state Education Commissioner Betty Castor, a former president of the University of South Florida; and Rep. Peter Deutsch. Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas has raised a decent amount of money and has aired some television ads, but he is not popular with the Democratic establishment. And former Vice President Gore recently had some very harsh words about Penelas's behavior during the 2000 presidential recount. If anything, Penelas may be a spoiler, since he and Deutsch share a South Florida base.
Geography is bolstering Castor's chances. Her base is along the Interstate 4 corridor, which runs east-west between Daytona Beach and Tampa and generally provides about 38 percent of the Democratic primary vote. The Panhandle makes up another 24 percent. The Gold Coast, which includes Miami-Dade County, Broward County (Fort Lauderdale), and Palm Beach County and is Deutsch's and Penelas's base, accounts for just 34 percent of the vote. The remaining 4 percent is in the Fort Myers area. As the only Democratic candidate from Central Florida against two candidates from South Florida, and as the only woman against two men, Castor has a good shot at the nomination.
Deutsch, though, has a hefty war chest that he is starting to dip into for television ads introducing himself to voters outside of his Broward County-based congressional district. Some of his supporters have formed a controversial 527 group to help him win the nomination. According to news reports, the American Democracy Project's purpose appears to be to criticize Castor's handling of a situation involving a professor accused of aiding Islamic organizations linked to terrorist activities. The project's accusations could cause problems for her. But Deutsch denies any role in its activities.
Most surveys give Castor a double-digit lead over Deutsch and Penelas, but there are enough undecided voters to change the outcome. This primary seems destined to get very ugly.
The Republicans, meanwhile, have eight announced candidates. Former HUD Secretary Mel Martinez; former Rep. Bill McCollum, who was the party's 2000 Senate nominee; and state House Speaker Johnny Byrd are leading the pack. Millionaire businessman Doug Gallagher and businesswoman Karen Saull have promised to spend a lot of their own money and, as a result, may become factors in the race.
At this stage, McCollum has the highest name identification and a base of support among conservatives. Martinez has the backing of much of the GOP establishment, including that of National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman George Allen, as well as considerable support in South Florida's Cuban-American community. Byrd is vying for conservatives, although he presided over a contentious legislative session and got extremely poor reviews for his leadership. Gallagher and Saull have recently launched aggressive television advertising efforts to boost their name identification, but both need to persuade voters that they are substantial candidates.
Given McCollum's 2000 loss, Martinez is widely thought to be a stronger general election option. To win the GOP primary, Martinez needs to become better-known statewide. McCollum leads in the polls, but has not gained much ground in the past year, whereas Martinez appears to be picking up support.
Both national parties will pour huge resources into Florida for the presidential fight. The Senate race will benefit from the parties' get-out-the-vote activities, but may also be relegated to the background this fall.
The open-seat contest in Louisiana has settled into a four-way race involving Republican Rep. David Vitter and three Democrats: Rep. Chris John, state Treasurer John Kennedy, and state Rep. Arthur Morrell.
If none of the candidates gets more than 50 percent of the vote in November, the top two vote-getters -- regardless of party -- will meet in a December runoff. Republicans cleared their field for Vitter, virtually guaranteeing him a spot in the runoff. The Democratic establishment is rallying around John, who has won endorsements from retiring Sen. John Breaux, most statewide Democratic officeholders, and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. Although Kennedy performs well in polls, his support appears to be shallow. And insiders question his ability to raise enough money to be competitive. Morrell, who is African-American, will get some black support.
Vitter is a solid candidate, but he is in an uphill battle against history. First, Louisiana has never elected a Republican to the Senate. Second, Louisianans seldom elect Republicans statewide, and only do so in very unusual circumstances. Third, Louisiana voters tend to be suspicious of candidates from the New Orleans metro area, which is home to Vitter, Kennedy, and Morrell. All of this bodes well for John.
Still, holding this seat in a presidential election year is hardly a slam dunk for Democrats. Vitter is leading in the polls and is ahead of John in fundraising. Louisiana races tend to start late, so there probably won't be much activity beyond raising money and building organizations until fall.
North Carolina
In North Carolina, where Democratic Sen. John Edwards is vacating his seat, businessman Erskine Bowles, who was chief of staff in the Clinton White House, is taking a second shot at the Senate. He was the state's Democratic Senate nominee in 2002, when he spent $6.5 million of his own money but got just 45 percent of the vote against Republican Elizabeth Dole. Democrats argue that Bowles is better positioned for this race, because he retains his generally positive name recognition and has become a more skillful candidate.
The Republican nominee is Rep. Richard Burr, who has been in the race since early last year. He has spent 18 months raising money and building his name identification beyond his 5th District. Taking a page from Dole's successful playbook, he is spending much of his time in small towns and rural areas.
Bowles went on the air in June with two ads, one biographical and another touting his economic proposal. Burr is taking some heat for not yet running ads of his own. But holding back is probably wise, because Bowles has much deeper pockets.
Americans for Job Security aired a pro-Burr spot in June. And Republicans are encouraged that despite having been on the ballot two years ago and having spent a total of $11.3 million in 2002, Bowles is polling below 50 percent and has just an 8-point lead, 47 percent to 39 percent, according to a mid-June Research 2000 survey.
The race will be dominated by talk of trade and job creation. Both candidates have records as free-trade proponents but have adopted more-protectionist views in recent years, as their state has hemorrhaged jobs in the textile and furniture industries.
Bowles's advantage should vanish when Burr goes on the air, but Kerry's selection of Edwards as his running mate has added a new dimension to the race. This contest will almost certainly remain very tight until the end.
For the moment, all of the attention in the contest to replace retiring GOP Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma is on the Republican side, where former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, former Rep. Tom Coburn, and state Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony are vying to win the nomination in the July 27 primary. If no one gets a majority of the vote, there will be a runoff on August 24.
Humphreys is the establishment candidate and collected endorsements from most of the state's top Republicans soon after Nickles announced his retirement. Humphreys has spent much of his time traveling to each county, putting together a grassroots organization. He has two major problems, though. First, being a former "big-city" mayor makes it harder for him to win the support of suburban and rural voters. Second, some Republicans resent that the party leadership anointed him in hopes of avoiding a primary. That resentment produced Anthony's candidacy and, to a lesser extent, Coburn's.
Even though Anthony has been elected statewide three times, he does not seem to be getting any traction and is running a distant third in primary polls. Coburn is another story. As the most socially conservative Republican in the race, he has something of an instant following. But, like Humphreys, he needs to get better known in the western half of the state. All three candidates are on the air, claiming to carry the conservative mantle in the race.
Humphreys and Coburn appear to be locked in a tight primary contest. According to an early-June CMA Strategies poll for the Humphreys campaign, Humphreys had 36 percent, Coburn 34 percent, and Anthony 10 percent.
The presumptive Democratic nominee is Rep. Brad Carson, a moderate representing rural and suburban voters in the 2nd District, which encompasses most of the eastern third of the state. He has compiled a voting record that seems well suited to a Senate bid. Carson is strongly favored to win the Democratic primary, where he will be up against state Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher, lawyer Monte Johnson, and retired teacher Jim Rogers. Carson is focusing on raising money and promoting his economic development plan for western Oklahoma.
Either Humphreys or Coburn would give Carson a very competitive race. Humphreys has aggressively challenged Carson's voting record, but some observers have argued that Coburn might be the stronger GOP nominee, because he and Carson share a suburban Tulsa base. Although many of the voters in that area are registered Democrats, they supported Coburn in his three congressional races.
President Bush should easily carry Oklahoma, but Democrats contend that this outcome won't hurt Carson. The Democrat probably now enjoys a very slim advantage over both Humphreys and Coburn. But, barring a GOP meltdown during the primary contest, the general election race should be extremely tight.
South Carolina
With the primaries and a GOP runoff behind them, both parties are gearing up for the general election in South Carolina, where Democratic Sen. Ernest Hollings is retiring after 38 years.
Three-term Rep. Jim DeMint scored a decisive 59 percent to 41 percent victory over former Gov. David Beasley in the June 22 Republican runoff. DeMint is an unabashed advocate of free trade; Beasley was touting a more protectionist view. But concerns about Beasley's record as governor and his character weighed more heavily, casting doubt on the potency of trade as an issue for South Carolina Republicans.
DeMint now faces state Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, who easily won the Democratic primary. A former teacher and a lawyer, Tenenbaum has twice been elected statewide, has a good fundraising base, and is running as someone who supports the war in Iraq, the death penalty, and a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage nationwide.
Republicans argue that DeMint is the kind of economic conservative who appeals to voters across the spectrum and that Tenenbaum, who supports abortion rights, is more liberal than she claims to be.
Even though trade was not a pivotal issue in the GOP primary, it will get a great deal of attention in the general election campaign, because Tenenbaum is stressing trade and job creation.
She is probably as strong a nominee as Democrats could have hoped to field in South Carolina in a presidential year. Still, South Carolina is one of the most Republican states in the South. And a candidate's past strength in down-ballot contests often does not count for much in a race for federal office.
The first post-runoff poll shows DeMint with a lead over Tenenbaum. But this race could tighten and be decided by the state's 280,000 swing voters.
South Dakota
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota is the only Democratic incumbent whose bid for re-election is now a toss-up. The three-term senator will face former Republican Rep. John Thune, who in 2002 came within 524 votes of ousting freshman Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson.
Democrats argue that Daschle will be a much tougher opponent for Thune than Johnson was. They point out that Daschle has a very long record of delivering for the state. Republicans contend, though, that as party leader, Daschle has put the needs of his national party over the needs of the state. They point specifically to the obstructionist tactics Democrats have used since losing control of the Senate. And Republicans will also try to prove that what Daschle does in Washington is very different from what he voices support for when he's back home.
Thune remains a very strong candidate and seems aware of some of the mistakes he made in 2002. He has restructured his campaign team and is working to make in-roads into Native American reservations, where Johnson trounced him. Thune has also worked hard to close the financial gap with Daschle, who had spent about $8.3 million as of mid-May. Daschle has also been on television for more than a year, with ads designed to show that his efforts in the Senate have improved the lives of average South Dakotans. Thune's television advertising began this month with spots featuring his two daughters talking about his record on issues important to South Dakota.
Observers disagree on where this race stands. Daschle supporters say that he has spent the past year building a very solid foundation and enjoys a lead in the low teens. As evidence, they point to a mid-May Zogby International survey that gave Daschle a 52 percent to 39 percent advantage. Republicans contend that the race is much closer. They point to a Mason-Dixon poll, also taken in May, that showed Daschle ahead by just 2 points, 49 percent to 47 percent.
Either way, the South Dakota race should be undeniably close, once Thune's ads go on the air.
NEXT STORY: Currying Favor


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I had a chance to talk to former Oriole Rafael Palmeiro about Wednesday's Hall of Fame announcement that the Baseball Writers' Association of America did not vote in anyone for the 2013 induction class.
That includes Palmeiro, who was on his third year of the ballot and is one of just four players in the game's history to have at least 500 homers and 3,000 hits.
He's also the only one on this year's ballot to have tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. In 2005, months after he told a congressional committee that he had never taken steroids, a drug test found stanozolol in his system and Major League Baseball suspended him for 10 days.
That was Palmeiro's last season. He was eligible for the Hall for the first time in 2011 and received 64 votes, or 11 percent of ballots turned in. Last year, he jumped a bit, garnering 72 votes and 12.6 percent. But this year, with a host of strong first-time candidates on the ballot and voters not allowed to check off more than 10 names, Palmeiro dropped to just 8.8 percent and 50 votes.
He's not sure why 22 fewer voters passed him by this year, assuming it has to do with the quality of the ballot. Next year, another wave of excellent players will be added, including Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas and Mike Mussina.
Palmeiro realizes he could get less than the 5 percent needed to stay eligible – and so his dream of being in the Hall of Fame would then be in the hands of the Veterans' Committee.
He says he understands why he isn't already in Cooperstown. And he has not wavered from the story he told in 2005 – that he did not purposely take steroids, but must have injected a tainted vial of B-12 supplement that he received from teammate Miguel Tejada as an energy boost.
Here's Palmeiro:
On realizing his vote tally dropped: "I wasn't even thinking about it. When I was watching (MLB Network) and I first saw the announcement that no one had gotten in, I was really surprised. It didn't really dawn on me to see how many people had voted for me. And then when they put up the numbers, I was like, 'Wait a minute. I got 8.8 percent, which was less than last year. I lost support. I lost a lot of people who voted for me last year.' That was a little bit surprising, but it's not unexpected, I guess, I've seen what has happened with (Mark) McGwire and now I am understanding a little bit more about how the voting works. With more people on the ballot that are going to get more votes, some guys may say, 'OK, I'm going to have to change my vote from Palmeiro to Bagwell or Biggio or make room for others.' So I guess that is maybe what happened. Maybe they thought, 'Hey, he just doesn't deserve to be in it.' But I still got 50 votes. I have to look at it from the positive side."
On his chances: "I think there are still people out there that aren't looking at what happened to me at the end of my career, but are looking at my whole body of work. And I appreciate that. And to the people that don't, the people that look at it from the standpoint of, 'Hey, he tested positive for something and there's no way they are going to put him in. That's fine. I respect that, too.'"
On whether he's bothered by voters changing their ballots: "No, because there are more people that are more worthy than I am. I mean, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, those two guys are, I think, probably the best two players that have ever played the game and happen to be in the same era. So, no, I don't have a problem with guys getting the votes over me, because, yeah, they were better. That's fine. The one (thing) that is hard is the one where they are not giving me or any of the other guys slack (on the steroids issue). Especially me, because I keep looking back at that incident and what happened to me was basically at the end of my career. I had already hit 3,000 hits (at the time of his suspension) and had 500 home runs. They can use it against me. But it was at the end of my career and it was basically a lack of due diligence on my part and I basically ruined my career over a mistake that really shouldn't have happened. But that's the way it is."
On the steroid test tainting his legacy: "I live with it every day. There's nothing I can do about that. But I can see if I did something at the beginning of my career or the middle of my career and the change in my production was so overwhelming that people were like, 'Whoa, we've got to watch this guy.' But that never happened. My improvements were gradual improvements throughout the years based on the efforts and hard work I put into the game. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at the end and it basically wiped out everything that I had did for 20 years. And that's unfortunate."
On no one getting voted in: "It's unreal to me, truthfully, it's unreal. But the writers wanted to make a statement and send a message and they did. These two guys (Bonds and Clemens) are definitely two of the greatest players of all time. And not just that but there are other players that didn't get enough votes: (Craig) Biggio, for instance, who had a great career. (Mike) Piazza, the best offensive catcher of his era and he came up short. There are a lot of great players (on the ballot) and for not one to go in is unbelievable."
On concerns that he could drop off the ballot in 2014: "I was concerned the first year. I was concerned that I wasn't going to get any votes. And then last year I was concerned again that I was going to dip down below the threshold and this year I didn't really think about it because I was concentrating on the numbers at the top of the list and dropping didn't even dawn on me. So now I am concerned that now, in the next year with the guys coming up, some of my votes will be taken off and given to other guys. It is concerning, but I don't think there is anything I can do. I always go back to the same thing, that some of these guys that have me on the fence can look at my whole career and not just look at what happened at the end of my career and base their decision on that."
On whether a message was sent to him Wednesday: "I don't know if there was a message that was sent to me. But I think there was a message sent to this year's class. Starting three years ago, they ask me every year and I can tell you I don't know if I will ever have a chance to get in at anytime in the 15 years that I'm a part of it, if I am lucky enough to get enough votes to stay on every year. I have thought about it as being very unlikely from the get-go. But it seems to me it is becoming more unlikely as we go. I don't know if the criteria needs to change (for his induction to be a reality) or if they have to look at it from a different standpoint or look at the era in a different light, I don't know. Dropping down from (12.6) to 8.8 is definitely not a good sign."
On his thoughts entering Wednesday: "I think it was about the same. The curiosity was there because Bonds and Clemens were on the ballot and (Sammy) Sosa for that matter. So that was just a curiosity I had; it didn't make it more important or less important. It is always important because it is the Hall of Fame and it is the pinnacle of achievement in our game. I wasn't really optimistic or anything."
On his perception of the voters' mentality: "It's hard to say because I don't know all the voters. … I don't know what they are thinking, I don't know how they weigh their options of how to vote or not. … Maybe I'll get more votes in the future. Maybe I'll get less votes. But I don't think it is going to be a drastic change unless they change the way the voting is done and the criteria of the vote and how they weigh this era of the last 25 years. If it doesn't change, I'm not sure if any of us is going to get in. But if they loosen up and give the voters a better understanding … You have 569 guys voting and each one of them has to make up their own idea of what it is and everyone has a different opinion. Some of them have a real hard stand on them, some of them, like Buster Olney (of ESPN), said, 'These guys are the best of the best of their era and I don't care what they did, they are the best and they are all going to go in.' And then you have the other guys that are hard-core hardliners and say, 'This is the Holy Grail of Baseball and no way.' I think if they had guidelines that you could follow for the last 25 years then maybe your chances would be better. But it doesn't seem like anything like that is going to happen."
His overall thoughts on his legacy: "I didn't expect much difference than last year. It's like anything else. You get used to it and you don't expect different results. You kind of sit back and kind of go with it. I did what I did. I had the career that I had … and it wasn't good enough basically. I made a mistake in judgment at the end. And that shouldn't happen to a player of my caliber at the stage of my career, going through what I had gone through that year with Congress. It happened. The unthinkable happened to me and it ruined my career and any chances I had at the Hall of Fame are probably gone with that. Ever since 2005 I kind of felt this was going to happen when I went down (with the positive test). It's not a surprise. I've learned to live with it. It's hard. It's hard because baseball is my life and my family has suffered as much as I have and I put everything I had into the game. I didn't have much, but I put everything I had into it. I wasn't the most talented, I wasn't the most gifted, I wasn't a big strong guy, I wasn't fast. I wasn't special. I just played the game and did some good things for a long time. And it just wasn't good enough."
On his story of inadvertently taking steroids: "It hasn't changed. There is nothing to change about it, man. I wish I could go back and do it again. I wish I could go back and change the mistake that I made or go back and prove myself that I didn't do anything wrong, but I can't. There is nothing that I can do and say. I can go on TV and do all the interviews and do the same thing all over again. But some people are going to say, 'Whatever. He is just doing that for the Hall of Fame.' That's the last thing I want to do. I don't want to go out and have some kind of campaign for the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a very special place for some very special people that have played this game. My campaign ended in 2005. What I say at this point hardly matters."


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The Golden Globes are over. That means it's time to get serious about the Oscars. Glenn Whipp chats on Periscope about how his Golden Globes predictions went and what to expect when the Academy Award nominations are announced Thursday. Watch it here.
Host Ricky Gervais repeatedly jabbed at what he called the "worthless" awards and the crowd responded with knowing, if slightly uncomfortable, laughs.
Yet even amid the cynicism, tonight's Globes also showed off moments of genuine affection for some of the year's most ambitious movies and some of the industry's biggest and most durable stars, as Alejandro G. Iñárritu's brutal western "The Revenant" and Ridley Scott's sci-fi adventure film "The Martian" earned top prizes and Sylvester Stallone drew a rousing standing ovation for his return to his signature role as Rocky Balboa in "Creed."
While Gervais delivered the kind of cringe-inducing zingers one would expect in Hollywood's booziest awards show, taking shots at everyone from Sean Penn to Caitlyn Jenner to Mel Gibson, the 73rd Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel nevertheless delivered quite a few surprises, demonstrating yet again that this awards season has been anything but predictable.
What exactly happens after the awards show? In addition to celebrities mingling, the Golden Globes after-parties this year include a Champagne vending machine and a chocolate mixology bar. Take a look inside the party scene.
Brie Larson took the award for lead actress in a motion picture, drama, for her leading role in "Room." But for a natural introvert, all of the attention has been overwhelming.
"You feel like you have a friend wherever you go," she said about having fans.
Nonetheless, as she continues to talk about the film she discovers new things about it and how it connects with different people.
To be sure, Leonardo DiCaprio thought Jonah Hill made for an excellent bear during the 73rd Golden Globes -- "That was amazing," he said. But the bear that audiences see in DiCaprio's much-talked-about scene from "The Revenant" was a beast of a different kind.
Asked by a reporter backstage about the process of making the gory assault scene, in which the bear savagely attacks DiCaprio, the actor said he wasn't supposed to talk in great detail about the process that he and "Revenent" director Alejandro G. Iñárritu used to complete the scene.
"Alejandro watched over 100 different bear attacks," DiCaprio, joined by Iñárritu, did offer.
In Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs," Kate Winslet took everything in stride as Joanna Hoffman, Steve Jobs' Polish Armenian marketing matriarch at Apple. She navigated product launches, technological innovation and Jobs' erratic personality with a cool head. But in real life, backstage at the Golden Globes after accepting her award for supporting actress on Sunday, the British actress was far more emotional.
"I really am so shocked right now, so shocked," she said. "I never expected it, never, ever. Standing here I keep thinking this is not happening; I honestly, truthfully did not expect this at all -- and I am so thrilled."
Ricky Gervais prides himself on being an equal-opportunity offender. As host of the Golden Globes he took aim at every conceivable target, some deserving, others perhaps less so. We'll let you decide.
You know, for many people, darkness is a bleak, empty space that's vacant and void. But for me, it's an expression of our pain and you can create something beautiful out of what makes you sad. That's what I got to do here. It was so full of release, there was so much I had to say.
For the "haters," who said "Empire" wasn't good because of how it centers homosexuality, Golden Globe winner Taraji P. Henson has a few choice words:
"That's nonsense and its fear," she said. "The numbers speak for themselves. We just ignore it. People are dealing with this. It's not a joke. That's why it's in the script. People are struggling with this."
Jennifer Lawrence isn't worried about a fallout with new pal Amy Schumer.
Lawrence and Schumer were both nominated for actress in a comedy for "Joy" and "Trainwreck," respectively. Lawrence ultimately won out. But everything is going to be A-OK in JLaw and ASchu-land, so our squad goals can remain in tact.
Like her sister, Amy Schumer is equally as baffled by the fuss over her new boyfriend. "Everyone's treating it like I've never had a boyfriend before," she said with a shrug from her table, which she's sharing with J-Law and Judd Apatow. "And after everything this year, like, that's what you're talking about? Okay."
During another break, two nominees shared a moment when Will Smith sauntered over to Jane Fonda to give her a hug.
"What an important movie," she told him, referring to "Concussion."


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NASTY NICE spreads its evil messageJanuary 21, 2009 at 12:24 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: biotech, health economics, NICE, pharmaceutical companies, RA, Rheumatoid arthritis, science, UK
I'm currently working on a transcription about pharmaceutical companies, and it's hardly giving away state secrets to mention that the guy has just said that many other countries are looking to NICE, (who base their decisions on whether a drug is approved in the UK on 'health economics' which boils down to 'if it's expensive then the answer is no). This is a real concern because if more and more countries move to this model then more and more pharmaceutical and biotech companies are going to have to reconsider whether it's worth their while developing expensive biologics such as anti-TNFs. If they decide it's NOT worth while, where does that leave us, the patients?
This is a particular concern for RA because frequently a drug that works well for a while in one patient suddenly stops working and they need to move on to something else. I've posted about that before I think, regarding the NICE decision (now withdrawn for reevaluation) to refuse a further anti-TNF treatment to someone that's already had one). So if the companies stop developing these drugs, then we'll be in the same situation down the line as we are now – a small number of drugs to try, if NASTY even let us try them, and then bang – here comes the wheelchair.
Sorry for the lack of positivity in this post – I'm quite stressed right now! But then again, I'm stressed because I have a lot of work and I'm GLAD I have a lot of work to keep the wolf from the door in the current economic climate!
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91 Days Episode 7
Synopsis :
During Prohibition, the law held no power and the mafia ruled the town.
The story takes place in Lawless, a town thriving on black market sales of illicitly brewed liquor. Avilio returns to Lawless after some time away, following the murder of his family in a mafia dispute there.
One day, Avilio receives a letter from a mysterious sender, prompting him to return to Lawless for revenge. He then infiltrates the Vanetti family, the ones responsible for his family's murder, and sets about befriending the don's son, Nero, to set his vengeance in motion.
Killing brings more killing, and revenge spawns more revenge. How will the 91-day story of these men guided by a tragic fate end?
(Source: Crunchyroll)
The anime was announced in March 2016. It will be directed by Hiro Kaburaki and written by Taku Kishimoto, with animation by the studio Shuka. Tomohiro Kishi will design the series' characters, and Shōgo Kaida will produce the music.[3][1] The opening theme song, "Signal", will be performed by TK from Ling tosite sigure, while the closing theme, "Rain or Shine", will be performed by ELISA.[4] ELISA is preparing multiple versions of the same ending song.
Information :
Type: TV
Episodes: Unknown
Status: Currently Airing
Aired: Jul 9, 2016 to ?
Premiered: Summer 2016
Broadcast: Saturdays at 01:55 (JST)
Producers: Shochiku
Licensors: None found, add some
Studios: Shuka
Source: Original
Genres: Drama
Duration: Unknown
Rating: R – 17+ (violence & profanity)
91 Days Episode 7
Trailer :
File Info :
quality 720P
Subtitles: eng


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A continuing dramatic migration of textile manufacturing from developed nations to developing nations is causing changes to the lineup of major world cotton buyers, says Memphis, Tenn., cotton merchant William B. Dunavant.
"The major traditional consumers like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are losing their textile industries," he said at the 2001 Beltwide Cotton Conferences at Anaheim, Calif. "We're fighting the same scenario in the U.S. as our textile business moves to Mexico and Canada."
While this has led a number of analysts to predict that in five years U.S. cotton consumption will drop to 8 million bales, Dunavant sees a less grim scenario. "I think it will continue to drop, but not that dramatically. I think the Caribbean Basin Initiative will, in time, be a factor in stopping the demise of the U.S. textile industry."
In the meantime, he said, the Russian textile industry "is becoming revitalized" and will import about 1.6 million bales this season, most from countries in the region. Turkey will import about the same amount, most from the U.S., while India will import about 1.5 million bales, the bulk of it from West Africa. The bright spot is Mexico, expected to import 2.1 million bales, with the U.S. the major supplier.
Brazil and Italy will import another 2 million-plus bales, almost none from the U.S. Bangladesh is a growth market, going from only 450,000 bales five years ago to 750,000 this year, and Dunavant expects in time the United State will become their major supplier.
"Indonesia, a traditional importer, will buy 2.075 million bales," he said, "but Australia will be their major supplier because of quality and proximity."
Japan's imports will drop to 1.15 million bales from 2 million just a few years ago years ago; Korea's will drop by a nearly similar amount, and there will be declines in imports by Hong Kong and Taiwan.
As has been the case for more than a decade, China will be "the major player" in the world market, Dunavant said.
While China's National Statistics Bureau is projecting a crop this season of 19.98 million bales, "we believe that is incorrect" and that it will be nearer 18.5 million.
"I speculate that since the bureau is a big political structure in China, their number has political ramifications, and it seems they're trying to keep domestic cotton prices low in order to benefit their textile industry."
With China's entry into the World Trade Organization, Dunavant said, "they will be a greater importer of cotton in the 2001-2002 crop year."
China has "really been focused on reducing their vast carryover" he noted, "and this season it is becoming closer to a reality. In the future, I believe they will be a bigger player in importing cotton and exporting textiles."


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Reviews - Brooklands Hotel3
1 Kerley Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5DW
Customer Reviews
Our reviews are from genuine LateRooms.com customers. We verify that the customer has stayed before leaving a review.
Very Good
85% would recommend it to a friend
Customer service
Food quality
Room quality
Overnight stay was ok
City centre and beach are in walking distance, room was small but ok for a single nicht, parking available but you can get blocked by others.
2 Nights in Paradise
Simply put we had a wonderful holiday.
Perfect weather, perfect hotel in the perfect location. This hotel has a lovely atmosphere and I hope to return here again in the near future.
Read More Less
Wonderful stay.
Had a wonderfull time, everyone was kind.
Thank you for letting us bring out dog. We hope to come back in the near future
Kind regards
Fatima Vieira
Read More Less
lovely stay service and food / accommodation all excellent would recomemmendBOURNEMOUTH
few minutes walk to the sandy beaches and town centre restaurants....
plus free parking. Its one of those hotel/B n Bs where they squeeze in as many rooms in as possible to make more money, so they erect thin walls between you and the rooms on either side, with the consequent noises seeping into ur room, like chatting, TV, yawning , snoring etc....so its always best to bring headphones along to drown out all that....Still, comfy bed. Might stay again but theres so many hotels in Bournemouth to choose from.
Read More Less
Last weekend in Sept '15
Single room booked - small but clean & adequate.
Attention to detail. Breakfast options very well thought out. Would not hesitate to re-book.
Read More Less
Short break Bournemouth
My partner thoroughly enjoyed our little Dorset break - everyone was lovely and we felt very welcome.
We would certainly book again!
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Weekend Stay
Very friendly welcome,
Breakfast was excellent, huge variety and fantastic service
Last minute stay in Bournemouth - wouldn't change a thing!
This week I stayed with a friend in a standard twin room, some of the previous reviews mentioned how the rooms were small, but it was all you needed.
Clean, safe, everything worked, nothing was broken, comfy bed. We chose not to go with breakfast, but that was a personal choice and nothing to do with what we've seen on reviews. We were able to park our car in the hotel car park for the whole time we stayed with the hotel, and it was free and only a short walk into town/beach so it was really handy. The only negative would be that it's at the top of a fairly steep hill, so your legs ache by the time you've got to the top. And it's not really a 'negative', but the reception is unmanned so we had to ring the bell three times before someone greeted us, but the guy was polite, apologised and was very helpful so that definitely made up for it.
Read More Less
Brooklands' reception was exceptional
I arrived at the hotel after midnight inspire of the reception desk being closed.
I was well received even though a glitch on the LateRooms website had allowed me to book a room for a time the hotel's reception was closed. I appreciated the warm welcome I still received.
The room was very clean as was the shower area which made for an agreeable stay. Overall it was great value for money
Read More Less


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Bulldog owners tend to really love their breed, and want to be knowledgeable of what a bulldog owner needs to do to have a healthy, happy dog. However, after some thorough research you will realize that there are several things in your home that you had no idea your puppy was allergic to or somehow posed some other threat to your bulldog. Within this article you will learn of 5 extremely common household items and foods that you should keep away from your bulldog at all times.
1. Raisins: The danger that raisins pose to dogs is severe and mysterious. Typically leading to kidney failure, raisins have a tendency to make your puppy severely sick, and in the worst-case scenarios, kill them. This includes foods with raisins in them, such as oatmeal raisin cookies. Be sure to keep raisins well out of reach of your pup at all times. You will be lucky if your pup's body just rejects the raisins with diarrhea or vomit. Please heed this warning.
2. Grapes: You may consider this common sense after the bit about raisins, but let's be clear that it's not the processing of raisins that's dangerous to your roly-poly canine. This means that grapes are also equally as dangerous. Many dog owners play "catch the grape" with their pet and report little to no problems. Veterinarians suspect that this is due to low grape content, meaning they just didn't give them enough to make them terminally ill. Some believe that the dog species has a high tendency to be allergic to grapes and raisins, but not all dogs are, which may be true, like the poison ivy allergy in the human species. The dogs who are allergic to grapes and raisins could die. Do you really want to risk it?
3. Aloe Plant: A lot of those with green thumbs like to keep Aloe Plants in the house because of their skin healing powers. Be sure to keep these out of reach of your bulldog. And for everyone else, you know how when you put lotion on your legs your pup likes to follow you around and lick you? Well the same goes for any aloe lotion, cream, or oil that you may have around the house. Ingestion can lead to a very sick dog. Known symptoms are changes in urine color, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, and rarely, tremors.
4. Avocado: Avocados are incredibly healthy for humans, but its best that you know they're not quite as healthy for your pet. While they don't tend to lead to a vet visit, they do tend to irritate the digestive track. Avocados cause vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation in your dog.
5. Ibuprofen: Veterinarians have been known to advise that owners give their sick pups low doses of human medicine to hold them over until the vet opens. Know that Ibuprofen is not a medicine that you should ever give your pup. It can be life-threatening in high doses, and can commonly be severe otherwise. Ibuprofen can cause seizures, death, halitosis, kidney failure, abdominal pain, anemia, black-tarry stool, bloody vomit, and lethargy. You do not want to give this to your pup.
Now you're much better prepared to protect your bulldog pup from harm. Overall the best advice is to stick with edibles that are specifically created for dogs, and keep everything else out of reach. Be sure to be thorough with your research if you do want to start cooking for your dog or giving them whole food treats from your own pantry.
Find more infomation on www.bulldogsworld.com
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