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Word On The Street
This story appears in the February 1998 issue of Business Start-Ups magazine. Subscribe »
We've all heard about the devastation consuming our nation's small retail enterprises--but finally, a recent study offers scientific insight into what occurs when massive discount retail chains take root in Any Town, USA. While the survey findings are not that surprising, they do highlight the devastating effects of a retail imbalance on the nation's economy.
"The country cannot have a healthy economic balance of growth unless there's a balance in the economy between small businesses and large businesses," says Edward B. Shils, Ph.D., study director of The Shils Report, which measured the impact of mega-retail discount chains on small businesses in various communities.
Hoping to prove his theory, Shils surveyed hundreds of entrepreneurs throughout California, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania. His main findings? Seventy-two percent of respondents expected the mega-retail chains to negatively impact their businesses, 50 percent believed a serious reduction in their work force was an inevitable consequence, and 80 percent anticipated a major decline in sales.
Shils also discovered that wholesalers, the primary buying sources for small retailers, are fast disappearing now that these billion-dollar retailers are buying directly from suppliers and manufacturers. Many of the small stores are now forced to buy from competitors in order to stock their shelves.
In addition, Shils noted that for every part-time job created at a Target or Wal-Mart, a job and a half would be lost at what would have been a Main Street competitor. And alas, these "big boxes"--some of which measure more than 200,000 square feet--are supported by government tax breaks.
Perhaps the biggest problem for communities: Super-sized retailers fail to increase the size of the market. Instead, they just transfer the merchandise sales from lots of smaller companies into their own store by selling items below cost--an advantage unattainable by smaller competitors.
"I've been to malls all over the United States, which were [once] beautiful malls with a lot of small, individual companies," Shils says. But as soon as a Wal-Mart or Target moves in, "stores are boarded up, full of graffiti, and the mall begins to look like a ghetto. What we're really beginning to have is a whole string of national cemeteries. Is that what we want in America?"
But according to Kenneth Stone, an economics professor at Iowa State University and a leading authority on retail trade, the battle's not necessarily a losing one for small business. To fight back, they can establish a niche for themselves and learn to keep customers with exceptional service, flexible return policies, technological advances and extended hours of operation.
"I won't deny there have been a lot of small stores severely impacted by the mass merchandisers," Stone says. "But the smart ones know how to thrive in this environment."
Bard At Work
Whose words these are, I think I know...
By Karin Moeller
Lovers use it to woo, politicians use it to inspire, and now business owners can use it to stimulate communication. What has the power to influence topics as divergent as love, politics and business? Good, old-fashioned poetry.
Jim Armstrong believes in the power of poetry. In the newest twist on human resources specialists, Armstrong's Longmont, Colorado-based CorPoet seeks to put some of the "culture" back in corporate culture with its poetry workshops--or "wordshops."
"I try to tear down the walls of how people perceive poetry, as an intimidating, intellectual ivory tower," says Armstrong, who holds a master's degree in poetry and creative writing.
Armstrong encourages creative expression by sharing examples of poems written by people in the workplace--from janitors to CEOs. Wordshop participants are eventually asked to write poems of their own--but forget about iambic pentameter, rhyming couplets and other traditional poetic parameters.
"Our wordshops allow [employees to express] their feelings about the company," says Armstrong. "They also enable upper management to express their mission for the corporation to everyone in the culture."
At the conclusion of the wordshops, Armstrong compiles an "Annual RePoet"--an anthology of all the poems penned during the wordshops--which can be distributed throughout a company in booklet form, on audiotape or CD-ROM, or even on the business's intranet.
While CorPoet's fee depends on the length of the wordshops and the number of participants, a full-day wordshop usually costs about $1,500. The value of CorPoet's services, however, is harder to quantify.
"It's difficult to put a pricetag on this," says Armstrong, "but we've seen in business that by improving communication and creativity, productivity goes up."
Paradise Lost?
Hawaii rides out a wave of problems.
By Janean Chun
Those braving the bitter cold of winter may long for the balmy tradewinds and white sand beaches that inspired the Hawaiian colloquialism "Lucky you live Hawaii." But Hawaii's entrepreneurs are experiencing a winter of discontent all their own. Business failure rates, bankruptcies and foreclosures are on the rise, while gross state product continues to slide.
"It takes more than a nice climate and a wonderful blend of cultures when you're battling a high tax burden and a ridiculous regulatory system," says Sam Slom, president of Small Business Hawaii, a private small-business association. "[Entrepreneurs] are hanging on by their fingernails."
For three years running, Hawaii's small-business owners, who comprise 98 percent of the state's 25,000 companies, have borne the nation's highest cost of doing business. While other states' economies have improved, Hawaii's has only worsened.
As debates rage about who or what is to blame, several factions have proposed solutions. In 1996, about 50 small-business owners ran for the state legislature. Seven were elected, including Slom, who thinks the number of entrepreneurial candidates will increase significantly this year.
Recently, Gov. Ben Cayetano unveiled his Economic Revitalization Task Force, which proposes seven major initiatives, including a 50 percent cut in the corporate income tax. "This is perhaps the most significant restructuring of a tax code anywhere in the nation," says Tom Leppert, vice chairman of Pacific Century Financial Corp. and facilitator of the task force. "It's aggressive, but given the situation, anything short of that would be a failure."
Meanwhile, the Internet continues to prove that no island is truly an island. Richard Moody, chairman of the board for Honolulu-based High Technology Development Corp., believes big names in technology may eventually move to Hawaii and use the state's features "to attract the brightest minds in the world."
The potential is clear. But can Hawaii live up to it? "If I didn't think we could turn things around, I wouldn't be here," says Slom. "But I'm sticking it out. We have to improve our business climate ourselves."
Pop Stars
Soda-preneurs put the fizz back into the cola wars.
By Debra Phillips
Coke isn't it. At least, that's what fledgling soft-drink companies strive to convince thirsty consumers of--surprisingly, with some success. "You're supposed to be able to do that kind of thing in this country," says Chris Payne, 45, co-founder with his wife, Ginger, of the Evergreen, Colorado-based soda company Ginger's Kitchen LLC. "I say that tongue-in-cheek, but we do believe it."
No reason not to. Even as Coca-Cola and Pepsi gulp down the lion's share of soft-drink sales, a steady stream of soda-preneurs are proving it's possible to burst these cola titans' bubbles--if only a little. And considering the billions of soft drinks consumed each year, a little in this case can add up to quite a lot.
"Through hard work and lots of luck, we've come out with a product that's successful," says Bill Dunman, 40, co-founder of Philadelphia-based Hank's Root Beer Co. How successful? Hank's line of soft drinks tapped into sales of nearly $2 million last year. Claims Dunman, "People are looking for something other than Coke or Pepsi."
Ironically, Dunman reached this conclusion while serving an 11-year stint at Coca-Cola. "They were like `You're nuts, Bill,' " says Dunman, recalling former colleagues' reactions to this piece of blasphemy. "But [Hank's Root Beer] was something I wanted to do."
By way of contrast, fellow soda-preneur Peter van Stolk doesn't dispute charges of craziness--if anything, he welcomes them. "It's a difficult industry," says van Stolk, 34, founder of Urban Juice & Soda, a $4 million Vancouver, British Columbia, beverage company. "How do you capture the attention of the consumer? You make it fun."
Fun, to van Stolk, means getting his employees to dress up in orange jumpsuits or as Elvis impersonators and hand out samples of his soft drinks. And if that isn't enough to go against the flow, van Stolk sells his products in alternative hangouts such as tattoo parlors and skateboard shops. "I don't believe you can be successful in the beverage industry if you play by the rules," van Stolk says, "because the rules are set by Coke and Pepsi."
"The soft-drink industry has to be one of the most monopolized [industries] out there," agrees Ginger Payne, 46. The Paynes' company is making a splash with Revel--a unique soda blend of fruit and spices. "It's a very tough market."
Even so, this isn't keeping companies the likes of Ginger's Kitchen, Hank's Root Beer and Urban Juice & Soda from stirring up sales. Distribution is difficult, as is convincing rut-entrenched consumers to try something new. But an ounce of innovation is worth as much as a gallon of tradition. "You don't go into something thinking you'll fail," says van Stolk. "And we're not going to fail."
Sounds like the real thing to us.
Pilot Program
Need a lift? Join the military.
By Cynthia E. Griffin
In the heat of battle, you process hundreds of facts and make split-second decisions. What are you--a jet jockey or an earthbound entrepreneur?
Both, says Jim Murphy, president of Atlanta-based Afterburner Seminars. Borrowing techniques from his seven-year career as a fighter pilot, Murphy has created a program that trains businesspeople to think like fighter pilots.
Afterburner instructors "are all top military pilots; some are Desert Storm medal recipients," says Murphy, 33, who launched Afterburner when he realized the parallels between fighter pilots and businesspeople. "[Like entrepreneurs,] fighter pilots have to make hundreds of decisions in a matter of minutes, so we get good at prioritizing."
Seminar participants do, too. They learn mission planning, teamwork and debriefing, a blameless process where the goal is to rectify mistakes. "Businesspeople are great at setting goals but don't [always reach them]," Murphy says. "Where small-business owners drop the ball is they never stop to look at why they didn't make the goal."
Afterburner presents half-day seminars for groups of 15 to 1,000. A more intense course, geared toward two to four individuals who learn the concepts in the cockpit of a plane over two days, targets business owners and teaches them how to become a task manager instead of a taskmaster.
The Cold Shoulder
Cold calls feel the deep freeze.
By Karin Moeller
The days of using cold calls as a main prospecting tool seem to be numbered. Case in point: In 1996, American Express Financial Services in Roanoke, Virginia, fearing that bad will generated by cold calling sullied the public's perception of the company, prohibited its financial advisors from making cold calls to residential prospects.
Considered radical by many, the policy change may have been bold enough to revolutionize how business owners approach prospecting. "Cold calling is a numbers game that wears people down," says Bill Cates, a professional speaker who helped American Express develop other prospecting methods. "It's becoming less productive. People use answering machines, caller ID and voice mail to screen calls."
So if cold-calling is out, how should you find prospects? Advertising campaigns, direct mail and seminars are other ways, says Cates, but referrals can be easier and more cost-effective. "If it's your prospects' preferred method of meeting you," he says, "it should be your preferred method of prospecting."
It's A Match
Your shot at the title.
We know, we know. You haven't forgotten. But just in case you've been busy recovering from the holidays, we'll remind you about our contests: Office Depot and Entrepreneur magazine's Small Business Owner of the Year contest (call 800-864-6868, ext. 320), and Dun & Bradstreet and Entrepreneur's Home Office's Homebased Business Challenge (call 800-357-7299, ext. 420).
Read All About It
What are business owners reading these days? The top 10 business books at press time (based on net sales) were:
1. Trump: The Art of the Comeback, by Donald Trump and Kate Bonher, $25.95 (Times Books)
2. The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J. Stanley and William Danko, $22 (Longstreet Press)
3. Die Broke, by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine, $25 (HarperBusiness)
4. The Dilbert Future, by Scott Adams, $25 (HarperBusiness)
5. J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 1998, by J.K. Lasser, $14.95 (MacMillan)
6. Wall Street Money Machine, by Wade B. Cook, $24.95 (Lighthouse Publishing Group)
7. Success Is A Choice, by Rick Pitino, $25 (Broadway Books)
8. What Color is Your Parachute 1998, by Richard Nelson Bolles, $16.95 (Ten Speed Press)
9. The Excel Phenomenon, by James Robinson, $20 (Prima Publishing)
10. Investing for Dummies, by Eric Tyson, $19.99 (IDG Books Worldwide)
source: Waldenbook Co. Inc.
Winning Combination
Hit the jackpot with venture capitalists.
By Cynthia E. Griffin
Venture capitalists know that choosing a plan from the hundreds they receive weekly is risky business. Even though they turn down 99 proposals for every plan funded, there is no guarantee the one chosen will be a megahit.
In fact, Richard Kalenka, a partner at Price Waterhouse LLP in Melville, New York, estimates only one in 10 companies receiving venture capital will be a stellar success, returning five to 10 times the money invested.
To be a superstar, businesses need to possess certain characteristics. "They need a desirable product, breakthrough technology, or an intangible brand that will give them an advantage," says Kalenka, regional director of Price Waterhouse's National Venture Capital Survey. "There also needs to be a large, [relatively stable] target market [or one that will grow over three to five years]."
Perhaps the most important determinant is the company's management team. The members need to know when to bring in more experienced management and be willing to change direction. The final ingredient venture capitalists look for is impeccable timing: knowing when to go public or begin a marketing campaign, for example. Combined, these characteristics improve an emerging company's chances of becoming another Yahoo! or Netscape.
Going Up?
What goes on behind elevator doors?
By G. David Doran
Almost every entrepreneur who rides elevators is familiar with the unwritten code of lift etiquette. Sardined into a tiny box full of strangers, people tend to withdraw into their own little worlds. Or do they? In a recent survey of elevator behavior commissioned by Morristown, New Jersey-based Schindler Elevator Corp., more than half the riders surveyed admitted to "checking out" their fellow passengers, while 35 percent attempt to make eye contact.
The survey also found that the gender gap doesn't close after the elevator doors do: Women are more likely than men to stop a conversation with a friend or colleague if other people enter the car, and men are far more courageous when it comes to chatting up a stranger.
Elevators seem to be a microcosm of the human experience. Survey respondents reported seeing everything from couples necking to a woman going into labor. Lift passengers are also prone to panic attacks, motion sickness and--although only 2 percent would admit to this--getting off at the wrong floor.
In dealing with swiftly closing elevator doors, the majority submit to the inevitable and wait for another car. However, 17 percent of riders stick a handy object between the doors, and 12 percent beg those inside to hold the door. Going up?
And They're Off
Most entrepreneurs use less than $5,000 to start their businesses.
None: 25.6%
Less than $5,000: 34.3%
$5,000 to $9,999: 9.0%
$10,000 to $24,999: 10.0%
$25,000 to $49,999: 5.2%
$50,000 to $99,999: 4.3%
$100,000 to $249,999: 2.9%
$250,000 to $999,999: 1.6%
$1,000,000 or more: .8%
source: 1992 Characteristics of Business Owners / Bureau of the Census
Contact Sources
Afterburner Seminars Inc., (888) 281-0714, http://www.afterburner-seminars.com
Bill Cates, (800) 488-5464, http://www.referralcoach.com
CorPoet, 1237 Third Ave., Longmont, CO 80501, (303) 776-5759
Ginger's Kitchen LLC, P.O. Box 1895, Evergreen, CO 80437, (303) 674-8005
Hank's Root Beer Co., (800) 289-4722, http://www.hanks-rootbeer.com
High Technology Development Corp., firstname.lastname@example.com
Pacific Century Financial Corp., P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846
Price Waterhouse LLP, (516) 425-3140, email@example.com
Schindler Elevator Corp., P.O. Box 1935, Morristown, NJ 07962-1935, (973) 397-6500
The Shils Report, The Fidelity Bldg.,123 S. Broad St., #2030, Philadelphia, PA 19109, http://www.shilsreport.org
Small Business Hawaii, (808) 396-1724, fax: (808) 396-1726
Urban Juice & Soda, (604) 654-6050, http://www.jonessoda.com


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122 hours, 15 minutes in the making! That's a lot of time considering I have to come out with two Nerd videos a month, so I had to work on this inbetween keeping up with other episodes. All the pre-production work took place in February, we filmed it in March, and since then, I've been editing whenever I had spare time. In the time span this project took, I could have almost become pregnant and had a baby. A disturbing thought, but after it's over, I feel like this episode IS my baby.
So because I worked so hard on this one, I decided to do something that I've never done before, give a sneak peak for my fans here at Cinemassacre. Typically, I post the trailers on YouTube to notify the subscribers there when a new video goes up. But this one is special, so enjoy it, because there isn't going to be another episode this "crazy" for a while.
The video runs approximately 17 minutes long. I'm not 100% sure when it'll be posted, but I think it'll be next week.

subset: commoncrawl


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Fayette boys: Many people will miss Stryker's unique basketball court when The Stage is replaced by a new gymnasium next year, but the place left a bad impression in the minds of Fayette's boys team.
The Eagles visited Stryker Friday to close out play in the old gym. The Panthers responded with a "historically" good shooting night to lambaste Fayette 66-38.
The game didn't start off in such a lop-sided fashion. Fayette managed to keep pace through the first quarter, trailing 10-6, but Stryker broke loose in the second period to go ahead 32-10.
That's it, said Eagle coach Todd Mitchell: Only 10 points on the board for the entire first half.
Stryker took another six-point advantage in the third quarter and the teams played even up in the fourth. There was no catching up with the Panthers' shooting pace.
"They shot 60 percent from both the two- and three-point range," Mitchell said. "We shot 28 percent."
The Eagles wouldn't give up trying to hit from the outside, but only three of 17 tries found their mark.
"We just weren't attacking the basket," Mitchell said, "and so we weren't getting to the line."
Evan Hibbard was the leading Fayette scorer with nine points.
SECTIONALS—The Eagles enter the sectional tournament tonight at Bryan High School with the aim of posting their second victory against Edon. After the regular season, both teams won once.
The first time around Fayette won in overtime. More recently, the Bombers came through with a two-point margin of victory.
Fayette plays the second game tonight, scheduled at 8 p.m., following the sectional opener between Stryker and Edgerton at 6:15.
The winners meet at 8 p.m. Friday before action moves on to Napoleon.
Morenci boys: Morenci's long-distance attack against Whiteford wasn't enough here Thursday, not with the Bobcats living off the free-throw line.
The Bulldogs hit an unusually high 13 three-point shots—a bonus of 13 points—but Whiteford put 23 of 28 through from the line to win 77-66.
Morenci came back to pull within five points midway through the fourth quarter, but fouls got in the way and Whiteford maintained its lead.
Seven Morenci players scored from outside the arc, the Bulldogs went to the line only six times.
Jacob Bovee led scoring for Morenci with 16 points, including four three-pointers.
HUDSON—When Hudson visited Saturday for a non-league contest, it was Morenci that faced a barrage of outside shooting, with the Tigers connecting on 10 shots. They also outpaced Morenci at the line and went home with a 67-52 win.
It proved to be a good trip for Hudson as they picked up only their fourth win of the season.
Bovee was the leader for the Bulldogs with 20 points. Morenci hit 75 percent from the line, but only had eight chances.
• The regular season comes to a close Thursday at Clinton when the Bulldogs try to pick up a final TCC victory against the league's newest entry.
The Bulldogs drew a bye in the opening round of district tournament play next week at Blissfield.
Morenci plays the winner of the Whiteford-Blissfield game at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27.
At 7:30 that night, Sand Creek faces the winner of the Madison-Summerfield contest.
Morenci girls: Good looks, but not too many baskets.
That's how Morenci's first half went when Lenawee Christian School's girls team visited Feb. 12.
But after the half-time break, the Bulldogs got both the looks and the baskets and went on to stop the Cougars 49-33.
"We just needed to get the ball in the hole," said Morenci coach Jim Yatzek, and that's what he got.
Starting off the second half trailing 20-16, Morenci broke the game open with a 15-3 quarter. Most everyone got in on the scoring act.
Nicolette Swimmer started it off, then Chanler McCaskey tied the game. Next it was Jackie Paris's turn with a three-pointer, followed by a bucket from Morgan McVay and then another from Jessica Jones.
Brooke Barrett was next in line as the Bulldogs went on top by nine points at the end of the quarter and 16 at the end of the game.
"They're a decent shooting team," Yatzek said about the visitors, "but we're playing a darn good defense now. I thought they had a pretty difficult time with our defense all night long."
Paris hit three three-pointers and finished with 10 points, along with Swimmer and McCaskey. Paris also collected seven rebounds. Jones finished with three blocks and seven boards. Swimmer grabbed six steals.
Morenci wrestling: Three Morenci wrestlers will advance to regional competition Saturday after top-four finishes in the district tournament. Two of those Bulldogs will compete in the same weight class.
Dustin Roller came through with a fourth place finish in the 130-pound class. Jeffrey Nofziger and Kyle McClain both made it through at 145 pounds.
"It couldn't have worked out any better with having them both at 145," coach Scott Clark said. "It stayed close and they wrestled hard."
Nofziger took third place by topping his teammate in the consolation finals.
It made for a relaxing bout for Clark and his assistant, Jesse Bach, who didn't have to worry about which one came out on top.
With three wrestlers qualifying at 145 pounds, Clark moved McClain up to the 152-pound class for most of the season.
Clark was pleased with McClain's finish since the two-time regional qualifier was seeded down at number nine despite having beaten some of the those ranked ahead of him.
Clark said Nofziger never looked better this season. He's been fighting injuries and will go into the regionals with a 21-7 record. McClain and Roller are the only two wrestlers to advance out of the districts with losing records.
Roller opened with a 22-9 decision against Grass Lake before losing to a returning state champion from Hudson in a 3:12 pin.
He came back with a 19-4 decision against Michigan Center and lost in the finals to a regional qualifier from Sand Creek.
Nofziger pinned a Reading opponent at 4:22 and out-pointed a Jonesville wrestler 21-5. He lost to the eventual champion from Addison, 3-0, and came back in the closing seconds to defeat Grass Lake 6-5.
He defeated his teammate 4-3.
McClain opened with a 3:13 pin against Union City and lost to the Addison champ, 15-3.
He came back to defeat Jonesville 7-2 and upset a Hudson wrestler 3-2.


text:
|Don't ask to ask, just ask
comment on
|( #3333=superdoc: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
You use "put-down" in a way that I find amusing. I never say anything about the person. I only attack the code, and the behavior of publishing bad code. If you think those are personal attacks, you'll probably be offended at most of how I criticize.
I'm very clear that you are not your code, and that I am not my code. That's what most professional programmers must acheive to increase their programming skills.
It's only abrasive when one presumes that "feeling good" is more important than "being effective with your skills". If someone is posting code, they are automatically in the latter category for me. If they're so sensitive that the former is more important, they are not ready for a public code review. {grin}
-- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker
In reply to •Re^2: The Lighter Side of Perl Culture (Part I)
by merlyn


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Texas' DH for now, Moreland deflects trade rumors
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Mitch Moreland discovered one thing this winter.
"You can find out a lot on Twitter," Moreland said.
Social media has become the preferred method of spreading trade rumors, and Moreland's name was prominent this winter after the Rangers acquired Prince Fielder. But Moreland is here in camp and ready to do whatever the club needs. Most likely, he will be the Rangers' primary designated hitter while getting occasional time at first base and the outfield.
But there is still uncertainty, only because Nelson Cruz remains unsigned as a free agent. The Rangers haven't completely ruled out bringing Cruz back, but that would likely be on just a one-year deal, and the price will likely have to come down before anything happens. It might be something that is considered in mid-March if Cruz is still unsigned. Right now, Moreland is Texas' DH.
"I get to play baseball and I'm happy to be with the Rangers," Moreland said. "If something happens, I have to accept it. It's part of it. You've got to be ready for whatever happens. Right now, I'm focused on getting better and helping this team win."


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I am planning on insulating the lower level of my house with R-Max in a method similar to this:
I have a few question about it though:
Can I use something other than Treated wood as this is going inside my house? Maybe cedar?
Where does my electrical fit and mount into all this?
I am planning on using vertical wood paneling rather than Gypsum Board (see image below). I know R-Max is fairly tough and rigid but it does not seem like the most solid thing to mount something too?
What about piping/ducting for hot water radiators/vents? Isn't the best place to have these is under the windows for circulation?


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In Old Girl, Dorothy Bell, Gabby Gonzalez and the Tenth Doctor constantly refer to them as "the Servitors". We should rename the page accordingly.
Talk about it here.
The Osiran service robots, also known as servicers or servitors, were robots disguised as mummies. They were used by such Osirans as Sutekh and Horus.
History Edit
After Marcus Scarman was killed by Sutekh in his tomb, Ibrahim Namin brought several Osiran service robots to an old priory in England in sarcophagi. The robots were confined to a locked wing of the house but had been active for some time. They killed Collins, the butler, when he entered the room. Namin activated the robots once more in order to search for and destroy Warlock and his rescuers, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.
After Namin was killed by Sutekh's puppet, the animated corpse of Scarman, the robots were used as workers and guards. They set up a force-field around the house and constructed an Osiran war missile to free Sutekh from his bonds. They also killed several people on the property, including a poacher named Ernie Clements who attempted to interfere.
Scarman took one of the service robots to the Pyramid of Mars on the mission to find and destroy the Eye of Horus. As part of one of the Pyramid's tests, two of Horus' Osiran service robots would appear when an intruder was trapped in a Tachotron Crucible: One robot would lie, while the other would tell the truth. Another one of Horus' robots also guarded the chamber where the Eye of Horus was located, and fought with Scarman's robot over the Eye. (TV: Pyramids of Mars)
In 2010, UNIT Underbase contained an Osirian service robot salvaged from a past alien invasion of Earth. (COMIC: The Age of Ice)
The Guardian of Truth and Guardian of Lies robots were encountered by Bernice Summerfield in a pyramid on Mars. The Guardian of Lies used the voice of Bernice's dead husband Jason Kane when interacting with Bernice, as it said it would calm her down. (AUDIO: The Pyramid of Sutekh) Ace and Benny found one whilst looking for an Eye of Horus. (AUDIO: The Vaults of Osiris)
Osiran service robots were present on the Shining Horizon. (COMIC: Old Girl)
Technical information Edit
The service robots were powered by a cytronic particle accelerator in the shape of a pyramid that was located on the back. They took voice commands from whoever they were programmed to obey. A special ring was used to activate them or countermand their orders. They were also extremely strong, able to manhandle humans with ease, and could easily strangle someone. (TV: Pyramids of Mars)
Other references Edit
In the video game Happy Deathday, played by Izzy Sinclair on the Time-Space Visualiser, a service robot was among a host of "every single enemy" that the Doctor had ever defeated, who were assembled by the Beige Guardian and pitted against the Doctor's first eight incarnations. (COMIC: Happy Deathday)
In 2007, when Sarah Jane argued with Rose Tyler about the monsters they had encountered, Sarah Jane mentioned "mummies" as one of the many she had encountered. (TV: School Reunion)
When the Skith Leader scanned the Tenth Doctor's mind, a service robot was among the alien creatures shown to him. (COMIC: The First)
Behind the scenes Edit
According to The Brilliant Book 2011, a book that contains non-narrative based information, Winston Churchill encountered the Third Doctor at Omdurman in the Sudan on 3 September 1898, whilst the Doctor was battling what appeared to be an Osiran service robot.


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Decorating Ideas
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A dream kitchen and bathroom…what more can you ask for?! This incredible home was designed by Marsha Faulkner of Studio M Interior Design out of Jacksonville, Florida. The coastal home photographed by Jessica Blank was definitely inspired by the ocean nearby…such a pretty sand and sea color palette! Let's chat about the bathroom for a sec though, I just cannot handle how beautiful it is! All of that storage?! AND a dressing table nestled in the middle? Then all the marble, fab lighting, and beautiful cabinetry?! What a space! See lots more great designs from Marsha right here!
Love turquoise? Visit my shopping blog Everything Turquoise…updated several times throughout the day! Check out Decor by Color for even more color-themed shopping!


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There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up.
- Damien Echols of the now-freed West Memphis 3 discusses his interest in the art of tattooing, and the ink "talismans" he designed, for the Needles & Sins tattoo blog. Quote: "This one is for success in all ventures. And that's what it says around it in the Theban alphabet; it's also nicknamed the Witches' Alphabet. And inside is my name and the word "success" entwined." Echols' interest in the occult and Witchcraft was used against him in court during a time of moral panic in our country, leading him to be unjustly imprisoned for nearly 20 years. Want to be tattooed by Echols? He's raising money to pay off his legal expenses by doing simple "x" tattoos at Sacred Tattoo and Gallery in Soho.
- As many predicted, New York City Republican Councilman (and Theodish Heathen) Dan Halloran will face off against Democratic State Assemblywoman Grace Meng for an empty seat in New York's 6th congressional district. On winning the primary, Meng called for not both campaigns to not "discuss race or religion," which caused a Halloran spokesman to instantly accused the Assemblywoman of "trying to muddy the waters," a tone that Meng called "disrespectful." Considering the backgrounds of Meng and Halloran, I predicted that religion wouldn't be a focus of this race, but Halloran has seemed curiously willing to go on the attack concerning matters of faith. Is this a tactic to shut down discussion before it begins? I guess we'll see as we approach November.
- Why should you avoid over-estimating your religion's growth and numbers? Because it can come to bite you in the ass later. For example, Scientology in Australia saw its numbers crater in most recent census, down to just over 2000 members, despite an official estimating that they had hundreds of thousands of adherents a couple years earlier. Complaints that your faith group is being under-counted in census figures or surveys only seems credible when your numbers keep rising, as they have been for modern Pagans in Australia. A cautionary note for those who are quick to be effusive about our community's growth.
- South Korea, one of the most Christian countries in Asia, is witnessing a revival of interest in its indigenous shamanistic practices, with local mudangs (priests or priestesses) being consulted by politicians and featuring on popular television shows. Sociology professor Shin Kwang-yeong thinks the popularity is due to Koreans dealing with the "strong uncertainties" of their modern existence, with many crediting shamanism with bringing healing and piece of mind to their lives. Quote: "I felt something from my heart. This ritual has everything in there – happiness, sadness, anger and fun […] Sometimes tears pour out from my heart. Sometimes it's just fun when everyone is dancing and bowing. And, it's healing."
- Father Thomas Euteneuer, a star in the Catholic pro-life activist ranks, and vehement anti-Pagan exorcist, admitted to having inappropriate sexual relations with at least one woman back in 2011. Now, a Jane Doe is filing suit against Euteneuer, alleging that the priest sexually abused and assaulted her, using his position as an exorcist as a means to force sexual contact. This spiritual/physical rape of the Jane Doe has caused the Catholic church to recall him for counselling and remove his "priestly faculties," meaning he can no longer perform mass or other sacred rites.
- There's a deep connection between synthesizer music and the occult, Klint Finley explores it for Boing Boing. Quote: "You can find traces of the occult throughout the history of electronic music. The occult obsessed Italian Futurist Luigi Russolo built his own mechanical instruments around 1917. The famous Moog synthesizer made an early appearance in Mick Jagger's soundtrack to Kenneth Anger's occult film Invocation of My Demon Brother in 1969. And in the late 1970s Throbbing Gristle built their own electronic instruments for their occult sound experiments, setting the stage for many of the occult themed industrial bands who followed. The witch house genre keeps this tradition alive today."
- The Border House looks at the controversy surrounding the upcoming game SMITE, and the protests from Hindu activist Rajan Zed over the depiction and ability to control their gods and goddesses, most notably Kali, in the game. The Border House also calls out the "pornification" of Kali. Quote: "This is truly disgusting. Not only is a faith appropriated, but it is done so in a way which turns a widely revered deity into a male sexual fantasy. A goddess in non-sexual nudity is somehow less preferable to a caricature in which she is put in a costume for the male gaze. Whether you agree with Rajan Zed or not about controlling Hindu deities as combat tools is not the issue. The cultural imperialistic mindset which allows a westerner to pornify symbols of Hinduism and yet think he has the right to lecture a Hindu about the religion, this is the issue."
- Associated Press reporter Christopher Torchia says that ancient Greek myths lend valuable context to the country's current fiscal and political crisis. Quote: "Greek mythology is full of examples of how mortals should find the middle way in order to live a happy life, or as it said on the walls of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, 'Nothing in Excess,'" Peter Meineck, associate professor of classics at New York University, wrote in an email. He noted that, according to the Greek poet Hesiod, "the first divine agent that caused creation was Eros — the spirit of erotic drive or the impulse to create anything."
- Tammy Trotter-Bazzle, a Pagan priestess living in South Carolina, shares her experience advising the pastoral staff at AnMed Health after a Pagan patience was admitted. Quote: "I feel blessed and honored to have had that opportunity. At the end of a day, good was done for the greater good. Pagan patients will be better understood at AnMed. And that was, after all, the reason for this class; to help the patient. I, along with many of the local Pagan community, are happy to see this step forward."
- A majority percentage of Jews, Catholics, Mainline Protestants, non-Christian faiths, and unaffiliated religious believers favor same-sex marriage rights. Yet we are told that we must "protect" the conservative Christian viewpoint on marriage by denying all other faiths and traditions the ability to perform legal same-sex rites. How is this about religious freedom again?
- Is polyamory ready for its close-up? A Showtime reality program is on its way, featuring neo-tantra practitioner and "bliss coach" Kamala Devi. Will Paganism make an appearance? Are we ready for the questions if and when it does?
That's it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.


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Are US Banks ready for Basel III?
Final rules for capital adequacy will be a big challenge for banks that aren't prepared
By Tom Kimner, Head of the Americas Risk Practice, SAS
You only have to look at a few of the key requirements in the newly approved final rules for capital adequacy (Basel III) to see the increased complexity you'll be facing. Will your current technology support the computation, integration, aggregation and reporting that you'll need for regulatory capital compliance?
In addition to the newly-introduced US leverage ratio for all banks, advanced approach financial institutions will now be subject to a more stringent supplementary capital leverage ratio. Starting January 1, 2014, FDIC-supervised institutions – including national banks, state banks, bank holding companies (BHCs) – with total assets of more than $500 million, and subsidiaries of foreign banks, began the compliance transition period with revised definitions including Available Capital, Credit and Market Risk RWA Calculations and Leverage Ratios.
Three things you need
First – You need an integrated risk management platform that can incorporate all market risk and credit risk rules and perform exposure calculations across all on- and off- balance sheets activities. The system you choose should be flexible enough to adopt new rules and calculation standards and components.
Second – It is crucial that you have enhanced risk computing and aggregation capabilities. The regulatory rules require an institution's risk management procedures to include the use of stress testing and scenario analysis, which need to be performed consistently across all portfolios. Also, stress testing must be able to demonstrate how economic cycles, especially downturns, impact risk-based capital requirements across multiple future time horizons throughout the entire life of each exposure.
Third – You need to develop a forward-looking risk monitoring system. This will not only serve as an ongoing monitoring and reporting system for current and estimated future leverage ratios, but it will also serve as an interactive platform to diagnose and evaluate the continuing effectiveness of hedges and other loss mitigation strategies.
New technologies that can help
SAS' high-performance risk solution is ideal for the intensive computations necessitated by internal model-based exposure and CVA capital charge calculations. This solution will help establish an ongoing monitoring system for risk exposures and capital ratios and allow banks to integrate those measures into their capital planning and CCAR process.
Improved credit exposure management and capital use. And lower operating costs.
Read More
Make capital management – that is, forward-looking planning and short to midterm use – more efficient and more oriented to risk-adjusted performance measures.


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Sticky Peanut Cookie Bars
Peanuts, caramel, and chocolate layers on a shortbread-cookie base.
It's hard not to like these cookie bars, layered with caramel, peanuts, and chocolate. If you decide to give them as a gift, you might want to make two batches—they tend to disappear pretty quickly.... Read More
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A for Adarsh, B for Bofors, Modi trains guns on Congress
Published: 11th September 2013 08:20 AM | Last Updated: 11th September 2013 09:41 AM | A+A A-
With his coronation as BJP's prime ministerial candidate is almost certain after the parliamentary board meeting of the party, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took pot shots at the ruling Congress saying it had given a new lexicon of corruption to the country.
"Now a student will learn A for Adarsh scam, B for Bofors scam, C for CWG scam, D-for Damaad Ka Karobar (son-in-law's business- an obvious reference to Robert Vadra)," Modi said at a rally in favour of Vasundhra Raje Scindia, party's chief ministerial candidate for Rajasthan Assembly polls.
Setting the stage for direct contest between him and likely competitors from the Congress, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Rahul Gandhi, Modi said, "There is no Neta (leader), Neeti (policy), Niyat (intention) and Naitikta (propriety) in the central government...The Congress after 1947 is immersed in the Bhakti of one family only."
"People do not know what issues the PM raised in an important forum like the G-20, but they do know that the Prime Minister did announce a name of his new boss...he is ready to work under leadership of him (Rahul Gandhi) after next 2014 general polls," Modi said at the well-attended rally in Jaipur.
Comparisons between Modi and Rahul are likely to be made when the later addresses a tribal rally in favour of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in Udaipur on Wednesday. A BJP leader told Express that the meeting would be held on Friday and added the much-awaited announcement will came on the same day or a day after.
Meanwhile, RSS leader Ram Madhav on Tuesday set the ball rolling for Modi. Madhav said that the RSS had conveyed its choice to the BJP and now it was up to the party to take a call.
Setting the agenda before the party, Madhav said, "RSS's job is not to convince the BJP, but to convey the nation's mood to the party. We conveyed the public sentiment that is prevailing among people of country. Country wants a distinct change. Same thing became clear during the two-day confabulations (RSS-BJP meet). It has been conveyed to the party, and now it was up to the party to take a decision."
On being asked if he was referring to Modi, he said, "The whole world knows who we are referring to."
Modi will address similar rallies in other poll bound-states-- Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi on September 25 and 29 respectively.
During the same rally, BJP president Rajnath Singh, referring to the recent letter written by jailed IPS officer D G Vanzara, said, "Narendrabhai you are not alone, the entire BJP is with you, the nation is with you."
During the Jaipur rally, the BJP also welcomed Olympic medallist shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore into the party fold, along with Diya Kumari, who belongs to a royal family in Rajasthan.
Also read:
Interlink rivers to address water crisis, says Modi
Rahul Gandhi has proved his mettle for PM's post: Chandy
Opposition slams FM for blaming predecessor for economic crisis


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Uehara hit ground running as Boston's closer
BOSTON -- Looking back on that Friday afternoon in Detroit nearly three months ago is kind of a blur now for Koji Uehara.
But for the Red Sox, June 21 -- the day Uehara was anointed by manager John Farrell as the team's new closer -- was a monumental day in their season.
"I can't really remember when that happened when I was told I would be the closer," said Uehara. "At that point, I had no idea how long I would be doing it."
But Uehara made the decision for Farrell look good by compiling perhaps the most consistently brilliant season by any reliever in team history.
The case can be made -- and should be made -- that Uehara has been the best relief pitcher in the American League this season.
With a fastball that usually stays in the 80s and a devastating splitter, Uehara is having a breakthrough season at the age of 37. In 69 2/3 innings, Uehara has a 1.16 ERA, a .127 opponents' batting average, 96 strikeouts and just nine walks. Uehara has struck out 12.4 batters per nine innings.
How has this happened?
"I'm still trying to figure it out myself," Uehara said through an interpreter. "The latter part of the season last year, I was able to pitch well and prepare well during the offseason and I had a good Spring Training. I'm just maintaining that level of confidence in my pitching."
When the free-agency period started last winter, general manager Ben Cherington swiftly put Uehara on the team's radar.
"He was definitely a target," said Cherington. "We talked to him early, and then as the offseason unfolded, there's always a little bit of a dance you play early in the offseason. It seemed clear by the time we got to the Winter Meetings that there was genuine mutual interest. So once that was clear, we pursued it aggressively. And thankfully we were able to get something done."
The news trickled out about Uehara reaching an agreement with Boston just as the Winter Meetings were coming to a close in Nashville, Tenn. It was a story that didn't generate a lot of buzz.
Up to that point, Uehara was an underrated setup man, one who had put up quietly dominant numbers with the Orioles and Rangers the previous two seasons. Over those two years, Uehara compiled a 2.14 ERA over 101 innings and held opponents to a .162 average. Yet nobody seemed to notice.
"It's nothing that I could do about it," Uehara said. "It's all up to the media and everyone else's perspective. It's the position that I pitch. I just think of it that way."
Pitching the ninth inning for the Red Sox will get you in the spotlight. And Uehara got plenty of it over a nearly historic stretch from Aug. 17-Sept. 17, when he retired 37 batters in a row. That was a team record, and it was just four shy of the Major League record for a reliever, set by Bobby Jenks in 2007.
When that streak finally ended, so did another one. Uehara hadn't given up an earned run since June 30, when Jose Bautista took him deep.
Who knows when Uehara will falter next. It could be a while.
"He's stepped up huge obviously in the role that he's in, and his performance has been remarkable," Cherington said. "He's been good for a long time. But nobody could predict this kind of success."
Unlike some other players who have come over from Japan, Uehara came to the Majors with little fanfare back in 2009. Just like he always did for Yomiuri, Uehara was reliable in the Majors.
A starter for most of his time in Japan, Uehara did close in 2007 with Yomiuri, and for part of the '10 season with the Orioles.
As last winter developed, the Red Sox had Andrew Bailey coming back for another season and also made a trade for Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan. Uehara looked like a luxury item at the time.
"We just saw him as a good pitcher," Cherington said. "We weren't sure what the role would end up being. He's always intrigued us because of his amazing ability to throw strikes and get outs within the strike zone."
While Hanrahan quickly went down for the count with Tommy John surgery and Bailey would soon follow with shoulder surgery, Uehara impressed the Red Sox with the ease by which he dominated in the setup role.
When Bailey -- struggling mightily at the time -- blew another save against the Tigers on June 20, the brass had a meeting in Detroit the next day. After some discussion, Uehara was informed he would be pitching the ninth inning until further notice.
"He's a guy that's suitable for [closing]," pitching coach Juan Nieves said of Uehara. "He's been in that situation. He's a veteran. Another option was Andrew Miller. He was coming on real strong, too. I thought Andrew was throwing the ball the best I've ever seen him. But [Uehara] is a great story, and it couldn't happen to us at a better time."
Considering the season-ending injuries to Hanrahan, Bailey and eventually Miller, it's hard to believe the Red Sox would be on the verge of winning the AL East with nine games to spare if not for the consistency and dependability of Uehara.
"You know, in a way, he's been a godsend, given the turnover with the closer's role, the number of guys that unfortunately went down to injury," said Farrell. "And he's getting the notoriety now. He just happens to be at a more focal role as a closer. Yeah, he's on a historic run, but at the same time, this has been a very successful pitcher his entire career, whether it's in Japan or here."
Though the general perception is that closing is a stress-filled role, Uehara actually found the promotion to be therapeutic.
"I feel that it was even more difficult to pitch in the seventh and eighth inning, because you never know what kind of situation you'll be brought into," Uehara said. "In a sense, it is easier [to pitch the ninth], because you know when you're going to come in."
Another misperception that came with Uehara is that he had durability issues. As he explained to the Red Sox, the reason he had injury problems in previous years was because of his inconsistent use. So the Red Sox have gone to him regularly, and they have watched him have one of his healthiest seasons.
"One of the things we wanted to do when we signed him was just get to know him," said Cherington. "John and Juan did a good job of finding out what worked for him I think through Spring Training. What he's communicated to us is he actually feels better when he's getting regular work in, and that allows him to feel his body and stay in tuned."
Earlier in the season, when Uehara pitched the seventh and eighth, he would practically break the hands of teammates with his enthusiastic high fives in the dugout after a successful inning. Now, he finishes out games, so his teammates can come congratulate him in the victory line.
"There isn't a sense of added happiness of ending the game," Uehara said. "The happiness, the joy comes from knowing that you contributed in winning that game."
Nieves sounds as if he's almost tempted to put his feet up on the bench by the time Uehara enters a game.
"Even in Spring Training, he gave you the most restful innings you could possibly see," Uehara said. "That's what you preach. I'm a firm believer in minimum amount of pitches per innings, as many strikes as possible. If you can get within 10 pitches an inning, you can last a long time. That also minimizes damage.
"I speak to the young kids too about that all the time and say, 'That's not a fluke.' That's the formula. The formula is more strikes. If you take your stuff and just throw it over the plate, you're going to have a great chance. You might get hit sometimes, but you'll learn."
Despite the cultural differences Uehara has with most of his teammates, he is constantly interacting and joking around with them. However, he has not grown a beard like most members of the '13 Red Sox.
"I think that everyone is wearing a beard," Uehara said. "So the fact I don't have one makes me stand out even more."
What makes Uehara stand out is his brilliance -- which is finally generating the buzz it deserves.


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Kathy Wen (b. 1985) joined the Creativity Explored studio in 2008. Wen has an infectious enthusiam. Her graphite drawings and watercolors of animals and landscapes are spare resulting in very stylized silhouettes. Each artwork is meticulously patterned and embellished with layers of color.
Wen's graphite drawings of animals are spare and have a confident lightness of touch that lends poise to their stylized silhouettes. The creature's body is then delicately hatched with figures that have a typographical value: Ss, Os, commas, colons, hyphens, etc, which give the surface a verbal interplay with its visuals. These animals are typically alone in the frame, but recently she has begun integrating her bestiary into a landscape that is meticulously patterned and embellished with layers of watercolor.
Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions at Creativity Explored.
on paper
Half of the proceeds from each art sale go directly to the studio artist.
Price includes domestic shipping.


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Open source middleware player Talend has released its ESB Studio Standard Edition (SE) and ESB Enterprise Edition (EE) for Data Services. Talend ESB Studio SE is a companion graphical user interface (GUI) for Talend's open source ESB products, which is used by developers to build integration processes.
Users can drag-and-drop basic integration components and connectors onto a graphical workspace, draw connections and relationships between them, and set specific properties.
This approach is designed to allow developers to simulate messaging routes from within the Talend ESB Studio SE and observe the execution flow, providing statistics on each aspect of the route that is executed for each message.
By providing a functional view of the actual integration processes, Talend ESB Studio SE significantly increases developer productivity, freeing users to focus on more complex tasks.
Talend ESB Studio SE also contains the Talend ESB Route Builder for the design of integration solutions based on Enterprise Integration Patterns (EIPs) — a standard set of integration templates used to address standard integration needs.
Built for use with the Apache Camel project as well as Talend ESB products, the Talend ESB Route Builder allows users to drag-and-drop EIPs onto a palette and configure them, eliminating the need to write code or use a domain-specific language (DSL).
Talend ESB Enterprise Edition (EE) for Data Services is an enterprise service bus (ESB) that allows development teams to holistically address integration projects — combining application integration and data management for complex, heterogeneous IT environments.
Talend ESB EE for Data Services frees data management processes that are traditionally bound to specific applications by abstracting them as standards-based services that can be reused by other applications. The reuse of data services across multiple applications maximizes the value of initial investments in standalone data integration solutions.


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The Daily Mail captured these pictures of Jeremy Clarkson riding a Vespa GTV around his village in the Cotswolds. The fat, balding Top Gear presenter's hatred for motorcycles and those who ride them is well known, to the point where Clarkson once suggested that stretching wire across roads would help reduce their number. Ironically, not only is he riding a scooter, but it appears he's operating it illegally. The scooter Jeremy is riding is a Vespa GTV, which comes in 125 and 250cc versions. We don't know if he has a motorcycle license, but if he doesn't, Clarkson was violating the law by not equipping the scooter with L plates (which are used in the UK to signify that a learner rider is operating the vehicle). Learners are allowed to operate motorcycles of 125cc or less, so if this is the 250cc version, that could be a further violation. That machine makes about 22 HP and is capable of reaching 76 MPH, in excess of the national speed limit. Clarkson once said, "Some parents say drugs are the biggest threat to youngsters. I disagree. Every weekend, everyone under 25 takes crack, smack and E and very few are harmed. Bikes are far more dangerous." [The Daily Mail via Moto Meme]
More from Jalopnik
Rob Emslie
So does this mean he's a Mod, and not a Rocker?


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CLEVELAND, March 29 (UPI) -- Jrue Holiday started and finished a key fourth-quarter run with 3-pointers Friday, vaulting Philadelphia to a 97-87 decision over Cleveland.
The Cavaliers were within four points with 7 minutes to play when Philadelphia put together a 10-2 spurt.
The only two 3-pointers Holiday hit in the game came during that stretch, which led to the 76ers winning their second in a row.
Evan Turner scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Philadelphia, which is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race with little chance of catching eighth-place Milwaukee.
Holiday finished with 18 points and Thaddeus Young contributed 16 for the 76ers.
C.J. Miles came off the bench to deliver 19 points for Cleveland, which has lost seven in a row.


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My son has been using LxMint12 and WinXP in a multi-boot system (two primary partitions on one hard drive) for a long time with BING 1.87 as Boot Manager (bootloader for LM12 in the root directory).
A few days ago I installed an additional LxMint17 partition (bootloader in LM17 root). My son frequently left a USB stick in its port without unmounting it between sessions. BING used to recognize it as HD-1. I mention this because I could imagine that this might be the starting point of the difficulties described hereafter(?).
After installation of LM17 my son did not boot the new OS but instead booted the familiar LM12 several times successfully from HD-0 (I do not know whether the USB stick was plugged in during these successful HDD boots). During one of those sessions I searched for the Thunderbird profile folder. Maybe I even had a look at GParted but nothing that in my opinion could have affected the partitioning scheme. Nevertheless the system was halted on reboot.
When rebooting with the BING 1.87 CD the only option I got was "Upgrade BootIt NG". After some poking around in the fog (e.g. manually choosing the EMBRM partition or letting setup choose the partition, different restarts with the LM12 and 17 live DVD's with and without the USB stick in its port, resizing the EMBRM without changing the size and even deleting the EMBRM altogether) I got the additional BING options "Reactivate BootIt NG" and "Capture MBR". All attempts but the last to boot from the hard drive ended up in a system halt. "Capture MBR" asked for a file name but I did not know what to put there. Whatever name I inserted led to an error. When I tried to install BIBM it even did not recognize my HDD.
At one specific time I even ended up with losing all partitions except one of the Linuxes plus the Linux Swap but succeeded in undeleting the other partitions plus some old rubbish.j
What can I do to repair the MBR and EMBRM? (unfortunately a backup of the EMBRM does not exist). The WinXP partition could be sacrificed. It is obsolete anyway and does not contain essential data.


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Stephen Hughes wrote:[Looking at a Greek construction] "in and of itself" is not such an easy thing to deal with, I find.
Justin Cofer wrote:So what's your opinion on the best way to help the student to get to this stage
Wes Wood wrote:Would you please make some suggestions on the types of materials you are referring to?
Well, these are wishlist items for Greek, not a available resources.Stephen Hughes wrote:A comprehensive but simple Greek - Greek (with English in brackets) (L2-L2(with L1 in brackets)) learner's dictionary with synonyms antonyms and common useages (collocations). Students who have reached higher than intermediate should have access to Greek - Greek (L2-L2) reference materials (without English (L1) in brackets)
My own notes that serve me as a stop-gap look like:
ῥίζα - (1) τὸ εντὸς τῆς γῆς μέρος τῶν φυτῶν; (2) (μτφ.) βάσις, θεμέλιον
>>ῥίζα, καρπὸν, κλῆμα/κλάδος, βλαστός, φύλλον, ἄνθος||<<δένδρον, χόρτος||++ ῥιζόω||(( ἔχειν||))βαστάζειν||
If that were adapted for (lower) intermediate students, it looks ugly, but it could be:
ῥίζα - (1) τὸ εντὸς τῆς γῆς μέρος τῶν φυτῶν [the part of a plant which is in the ground]; (2) (μτφ.) βάσις [lowest part], θεμέλιον [foundation]
>>ῥίζα [root], καρπὸν [fruit], κλῆμα/ κλάδος [branch], βλαστός [bud], φύλλον [leaf], ἄνθος [flower - part of a plant]||<<δένδρον [tree]), χόρτος [grass], ἄνθος [flower - plant]||++ ῥιζόω [uproot]||(( ἔχειν [to have]||))βαστάζειν [to support]||
The symbols mean:
>> belongs to the group
<< is part of a
++ other related parts of speech
(( one can __ it
)) it can
By way of a simple example:Stephen Hughes wrote:A set of grammatical transformations for every point of grammar together with the traditional "explanations and translations". That is to say that for at least all the major points of grammar, students should learn how to express that point of grammar without using itself in the paraphrase.
The genitive of material from which somethng is made can be expressed by an adjective in -ινος. Saying, "Can be expressed by a genitive in -ινος" as well as the usual explanation in English would probably be good for encouraging "in and of itself" interaction with the language.


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Lesson Plan
Weaving the Threads: Integrating Poetry Annotation and Web Technology
|6 – 8
|Lesson Plan Type
|Standard Lesson
|Estimated Time
|Five 50-minute sessions
|Lesson Author
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Using a poem as the foundation for further investigation into a culture can be very rewarding and highly engaging, especially when students can compose in an electronic format and use a combination of print and electronic sources in their quest for information. This project provides the organizational support (the poem) to help students learn more about the nature of hypertext composing. After reading and discussing several poems by modern Native American writers, students individually or as a class select one for further investigation. Next, they identify key words and phrases in the poem and use them as a starting point for research. Each key word or phrase becomes hyperlinked text on a student-created Web page that will lead the reader to information. Finally, students publish their work on the Internet, allowing them to write for an authentic audience beyond the confines of the classroom and the school.
ReadWriteThink Webbing Tool: Students use this online tool to create a variety of free-form graphic organizers including cluster, hierarchy, and cause and effect webs. Completed webs can be printed.
Michael Joyce, in his 1995 book Of Two Minds: Hypertext Pedagogy and Politics, writes that hypertext technology specifically offers the possibility of adapting cognitive skills "that experts routinely, subtly, and self-consciously apply in accomplishing intellectual tasks" (40). He adds that hypertext tools "promise to unlock these skills for novice learners and to empower and enfranchise their learning" (40).
When we read, internalize, and re-create the utterances of others, we engage in a dialogue with the text, the subject, the reader, the author, and exterior, associated texts. When readers engage in a hypertext, they engage in just such a dialogue, navigating and exploring the text for connections, associations, and reflections-the sorts of "intellectual tasks" that Joyce refers to. This associational thinking takes place when a reader dances through a hypertext web and when a writer choreographs the dance a reader might perform when he or she sees the music of links, and frequently helps novice learners move beyond simply following the dance steps to creating their own dance in reaction.
In this project, the process of writing and creating links helps students think not only of alternative textual forms but of more traditional organizational principals, only with more options. It also brings together the textual elements of color, font, image, as well as the more traditional conventions of print text. Further, students become more conscious of textual cues. Combined, these elements help students begin to "unlock" the "novice" skills Joyce refers to, as they write in an authentic environment and experience, in concrete form, associational and reflective intellectual tasks.
Further Reading
Eyman, Douglas. "Hypertext in the Computer-Facilitated Writing Class." Kairos 1.2 (Summer 1996)
Patterson, Nancy. "Making Connections: Hypertext and Research in a Middle School Classroom." English Journal 89.1 (September 1999): 69-73.
Patterson, Nancy. "Weaving Middle School Webs: Hypertext in the Language Arts Classroom." Kairos 5.1 (Spring 2000).


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PromISSe educational experiments
Students aged 10–14 years are able to perform their own identical experiments and discover how convection and foams differ under the influence of gravity compared to the Station's weightless environment.
Schools can order the educational kits by clicking the link on the right of this page.
This demonstration illustrates to students on a small scale how thermal gradients drive convective currents and thus, on the large scale of a planet, how temperature gradients influence density-driven convection and create atmospheric and oceanic currents.
EPO FOAM-Stability
This experiment demonstrates physical properties of wet foams and how gravity influences stability as well as how understanding foam formation and stability can help us make cutting-edge materials. André will show to students how a foam is created from pure water in microgravity, and observe its stability.
Take your classroom into space
Using good scientific practice, students on the ground can compare their results with André's identical space experiments, by means of both recorded and live-link activities for educational events.
The EPO Convection and Foam Stability inflight call took place at the end of April. Participating venues were Nemo Science Center, Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Speyer Techniek Museum, Speyer (Germany), National Space Centre, Leicester (United Kingdom), Parque de las Ciencias, Granada (Spain).


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Home oxygen therapy involves breathing in air that contains more oxygen than normal from a cylinder or machine in your home.
It may be prescribed if you have a heart or lung condition that causes low oxygen levels in your blood.
You can take oxygen in a number of ways using a:
tube positioned under your nose (nasal cannula)
face mask placed over your nose and mouth
tube placed into your mouth and down your windpipe
The tube or mask is attached to a ventilator machine.
How home oxygen therapy can help
If you have a health condition that causes low levels of oxygen in your blood, you may feel breathless and tired, particularly after walking or coughing. Fluid may also build up around your ankles.
Breathing air with oxygen increases the amount of oxygen in your blood.
This makes it easier to carry out activities that might otherwise be difficult, and helps reduce your symptoms.
Oxygen therapy also helps prevent damage to the heart and brain, which can be caused by low levels of oxygen in the blood.
It can help people with a range of health conditions, such as:
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- pulmonary fibrosis
- heart failure
- obesity-related hypoventilation
- severe long-term asthma
- pulmonary hypertension
- conditions affecting the nerves and muscles or ribcage
- cystic fibrosis
People who have oxygen therapy have different requirements. For example, you may only need oxygen for short periods during the day when you're walking about (ambulatory oxygen), or you may need it for longer periods during the day and night.
When oxygen therapy shouldn't be used
Oxygen therapy shouldn't be used to relieve breathlessness if your oxygen levels are normal.
This is because it can decrease your fitness level and cause a delay in finding out what's making you breathless.
Oxygen therapy assessment
If you have a long-term condition and your doctor thinks oxygen therapy might be helpful, you'll be asked to visit your nearest oxygen clinic for an assessment.
The amount of oxygen in your blood will be measured by taking a blood sample from your earlobe or wrist, or by attaching a sensor to your finger (a pulse oximetry test).
You may also be asked to breathe into a device called a spirometer during a lung function test. Regular oxygen treatment may be recommended if your blood oxygen level is low.
If you decide to have oxygen treatment at home, a healthcare professional at the clinic will help you work out how much oxygen you'll need and for how long. They'll also discuss the different ways you can take it.
Once you've agreed this with the clinic, they'll complete a home oxygen order form for you. It's similar to a prescription, and gets sent to the company delivering your oxygen and equipment.
You'll be asked to fill in a consent form, plus a form that asks a number of safety-related questions, such as whether you've had any falls recently. The forms are needed to make sure oxygen is installed in your home in the safest way possible.
The oxygen clinician will need to share some information about your requirements with the NHS and other key organisations, including the home oxygen supplier, your local fire and rescue service, and your electricity provider.
An engineer will visit your home to install the equipment, check that it's working properly, and explain how to use it. They'll also carry out a risk assessment and provide you with other important information, such as how to order oxygen refills.
Large oxygen cylinders
Oxygen cylinders will probably be prescribed if you only need oxygen for short periods to relieve attacks of breathlessness after an illness.
Oxygen is breathed in through a face mask or soft tube inserted into your nose (nasal cannula). You can talk, eat and drink while using a nasal cannula.
The use of oxygen cylinders should be regularly reviewed, and treatment should be stopped if your blood oxygen levels have returned to normal.
Oxygen concentrator machine
An oxygen concentrator machine is suitable if you'd benefit from having oxygen for many hours a day, including while you're asleep. It ensures you have a source of oxygen that never runs out.
The machine is about 75cm (2.5 feet) high and plugs into an electrical socket. It filters oxygen from the air in the room and delivers it through plastic tubes to a mask or nasal cannula.
Long tubing can be fixed around the floor or skirting board of your house, with two points where you can "plug in" to the oxygen supply. When the machine is installed, the engineer or nurse will discuss the length of tubing needed.
The machine is very quiet and compact. The engineer will explain how to use it and answer any questions you have.
A back-up oxygen cylinder will be provided in case there's a problem with the oxygen machine or there's a power cut. Regular maintenance checks will also be carried out to ensure the concentrator is always working properly.
Portable (ambulatory) oxygen
It may be possible to use a small, portable oxygen cylinder outside your home. This is called portable oxygen or ambulatory oxygen.
You'll need to be assessed to see whether you're able to use portable oxygen and whether it's likely to be beneficial.
Portable cylinders can deliver oxygen at a wide range of flow rates. Your oxygen healthcare professional will be able to advise you about the flow of oxygen you need. Regulators or conserving devices can be fitted to your cylinder so it lasts longer.
When full, portable oxygen cylinders weigh just over 2.3kg (5lbs) and hold just under two hours of oxygen (at a rate of 2 litres a minute).
Going on holiday
As long as you're well enough to travel and you plan in advance, you should be able to go on holiday while using oxygen.
Speak to staff at your local oxygen clinic as soon as possible if you're thinking about going on holiday, particularly if you want to go abroad.
They can advise you about what you need to do to stay safe while you're away. For example, you'll need to take your usual medication and a copy of your home oxygen order form.
Before travelling, you should tell the travel company that you use oxygen as they may need to make certain arrangements in advance. Travel insurance is essential.
If you're going on holiday in the UK, talk to your oxygen supplier to see whether it's possible for oxygen to be delivered to your destination. Try to give them as much notice as possible.
The British Lung Foundation website has more information and advice about going on holiday with a lung condition. You can also read more about what you need to consider before you travel.
Safety advice
Oxygen is a fire hazard, so you need to take precautions if you're using oxygen at home.
For example:
- never let anyone smoke while you're using oxygen
- keep oxygen at least six feet away from flames or heat sources, such as gas cookers and gas heaters
- don't use flammable liquids, such as cleaning fluid, paint thinner or aerosols, while using oxygen
- don't use oil-based emollients, such as Vaseline, when using oxygen
- install fire alarms and smoke detectors in your home and make sure they're working
- inform your local fire brigade that you have oxygen at home
- keep oxygen cylinders upright to prevent them being damaged
Home oxygen suppliers
There are four companies in England that provide home oxygen services for the NHS. Each covers a certain geographical area.
Your oxygen treatment clinic will organise your oxygen supply from one of the suppliers below:
- Air Liquide :
- 0808 143 9991 for London
- 0808 143 9992 for north west
- 0808 143 9993 for East Midlands
- 0808 143 9999 for south west
- Baywater Healthcare : covers Yorkshire and Humberside, West Midlands and Wales (0800 373 580)
- BOC : covers the east and north east of England and Northern Ireland (0800 136 603)
- Dolby Vivisol : covers the south of England (0800 917 9840)


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Elsevier has a long-standing agreement with Wellcome which ensures authors publishing in Elsevier journals are compliant with its open access policy.
Open access policy
The Wellcome Policy requires authors to make research papers that have been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and are supported in whole or in part by Wellcome funding, to be made available through PubMed Central (PMC) and Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC) as soon as possible and in any event within six months of the journal publisher's official date of final publication. Elsevier provides gold open access publishing options which enable authors to be fully compliant with the Wellcome policy.
Gold open access
- Authors can choose to publish under an open access "hybrid" option in over 1900 established journals as well as in a number of open access journals.
- A publication fee is required to be paid in order to make an article open access. Wellcome will meet these costs for its funded authors. See the Wellcome Authors' Guide for further details. Elsevier's open access publication fees range between c$150 and c$6000 US Dollars excluding tax and are journal specific; please refer to the guide for authors on the journal homepage.
- When publishing under either one of these open access options, the corresponding author will be given a choice of Creative Commons licenses. The Wellcome policy states that authors are required to select a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. Read the Wellcome "CC-BY FAQ" for further information.
- Elsevier will deposit the final published journal article in PubMed Central (PMC), and to PMC mirror sites such as Europe PMC, on behalf of the author. The version that appears in PMC will have a CrossMark® identifier and link back to the authoritative version of record on ScienceDirect.
- Please note: when publishing with Elsevier the only way a researcher can comply with Wellcome's OA policy is to select the gold open access ("author pays") option. The Lancet in addition to proving a hybrid OA option, also allow authors to self-archive that manuscript in PMC/Europe PMC, 6 months following publication
Green open access
- When publishing with Elsevier the only way a researcher can comply with Wellcome's OA policy is to select the gold open access ("author pays") option. The exception is for authors publishing in The Lancet, which allows authors to self archive after 6 months. Click here to see Wellcome applicable embargo periods
- Please note: From the 25th March 2013, if you are a Wellcome-funded author and if any of your Elsevier published articles are not available in Europe PMC then you may use Elsevier's self-archiving policy (which would not normally be applicable to authors funded by Wellcome) to deposit papers in this repository. Deposits made via this route must adhere to the journal-specific embargo. Such articles can be posted under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
Help and Support
- Please see our list of FAQs
- For compliance queries please contact us
- For more information read Wellcome's open access policy


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While economists may debate whether the global economy is in full recovery, one can see some positive signs in the activities of the wealthiest Americans.
For example, each week comes news of another record-breaking day on the stock market. At the same time, blue-chip fine art prices are in the stratosphere, with Francis Bacon's triptych of Lucian Freud recently fetching a record $142 million at auction.
Even the housing market has at last rebounded, with prices in some parts of the country 20 percent to 30 percent higher than they were just a year ago. Add the increasing value of rare automobiles, jewelry and other collections, and it's enough to break open the vintage champagne, although that, too, has gone up in price.
The sense of financial panic that gripped us all seems to have let go.
In this period of relative calm, financially speaking, now is an opportune time to review one's insurance policy coverage terms, conditions and, especially, financial limits. In the same way that investment portfolios are being carefully reviewed — and rebalanced in some cases — insurance products also need the occasional once-over. With less to worry about in the financial markets, why not take a few hours to sit with an insurance agent or broker and discuss the rising exposures to net wealth and their insurance treatment.
Dan Glunt, senior VP of HUB International's San Francisco office, recently warned that "more than capital market risk can wipe out a client's balance sheet. An uninsured or underinsured event can do the same damage and more."
Time for a check-up
Such losses are far from uncommon. Glunt painted a picture of someone whose invested assets have reached $10 million, thanks to rising equity values and other asset appreciation. "The person is told by his advisor that a $10 million umbrella insurance policy is all he needs to absorb potentially catastrophic financial losses above the limits provided in his underlying car insurance or homeowners insurance," he explains. "In truth, the limits should be commensurate with the person's exposure to risk, not his or her invested assets."
He's right. The exposure to risk for affluent individuals is much higher than for more average income earners. Time and again, Glunt said, "someone of wealth is rear-ended in a minor automobile accident, everyone shakes hands and exchanges their insurance company and other personal contact information. Then the rear-ended person looks up the other driver on Google and realizes he or she is of significant means. Suddenly, their neck hurts."
Not just wealthy people require higher-limit umbrella or personal excess liability insurance. Glunt has several clients who have invested substantially in startup technology companies in the Bay Area. In anticipation of a big payday when these businesses go public in an IPO, the clients are buying expensive homes, automobiles and even fine art.
"They're picking up Teslas and Ferraris and fine art, even though their companies are completely illiquid for the moment," Glunt said. "To borrow a term from gambling, they're 'betting on the come,' hoping they'll have what they need when the big liquidity event happens in a couple or three years."
Such individuals also need very high-limit umbrella policies. Glunt explained that "If they're in a car wreck, the plaintiff will wait to sue until the IPO scores."
On the bright side, much higher limits of personal excess insurance are now available in the marketplace. This type of coverage also remains a great value. "If you go to a wealthy client and say, 'By the way, you can buy another $20 million in liability coverage for $1,500 a year,' do you really think the client will balk? Of course not," said Glunt. "There have been events where claims for bodily injury have topped $40 million. And the numbers aren't going down."
Tracking the rocket
In this period of rising values for so many types of investable assets, high-net-worth individuals need to ensure that their other insurance policies' limits are in tune with this increased worth. A Picasso that may have been valued at $10 million five years ago could be worth $15 million today. Ditto the 1962 Porsche. While nobody likes to think about financial risk, especially when times are good, this is just the time to ponder.
The reason is because we all have an inclination towards over-confidence when feeling flush. Human behavior is such that we quickly forget or dismiss harsh experiences, preferring to recall the good times.
The same behavior that can lead to faulty investment thinking also can undermine personal risk management. The important thing is to recognize this tendency and not let it slip by unnoticed, or have an insurance broker who diligently pursues a meeting with you to re-evaluate your financial exposures.
Glunt said the problem is not financial advisors, many of whom clearly understand the impact of rising or falling net worth on one's decision-making about personal risk. "Most wealth advisors in San Francisco are extremely sophisticated, some of the best I've worked with," he adds. "They're incredibly sharp."
But insurance protection is sometimes overlooked amid all the other issues wealthy clients must contend with. "That's why a specialized insurance broker and insurance company are as important as a top financial advisor," he said. "You need advice from all of them to build wealth and preserve it."
In this regard, a close relationship is key. Just like an advisor is more than someone who knows how best to invest money, a broker is someone who knows more than how to buy the least expensive insurance. In both cases, the upsides and downsides need to be carefully weighed.


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Tel: 1.604.662.8111 | Reservations 1.800.663.1515 | Corporate Site
Official Pan Pacific Vancouver Blog. Book online now or call reservations Toll-Free at 1.800.663.1515
Tag Archives: DaiLo Toronto
Eat! Vancouver 2015April 26, 2015
Most people know Eat! Vancouver for its food expo, which will be held at BC Place this year from May 1 to May 3. The expo features hundreds of exhibitors offering cooking demonstrations and selling kitchen gadgets, as well as … Continue reading


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Last Saturday in Michigan, a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 speared off the road at high speed and into a line of trees, crashing and burning to a charred heap. The driver may have been racing against a Toyota.
According to Michigan's Wood TV 8, two witnesses saw a Lamborghini (this LP640 had an MSRP of $354K) side-by-side with "a red or orange Toyota-type passenger vehicle" near Holland, MI. The Lamborghini, which is no stranger to this kind of thing, then lost control and slid off the road. The other car did not stop to help.
The Lamborghini driver is perfectly fine; he only received a bump on the head.
(Hat tip to Adam and Brandon!)
Photo Credit: Wood TV 8


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Screamer ltd 10m does have a lightish bar feel, but not when turning. Then it gets a little heavy.
The nrg...
Rider: Weight,Level (14th season)
Style: Freeriding, Surf
Weather: 18 to 23 knots
Satisfaction: 9/10 ( its not an edge lol!!)
Disclosure: Eppo team rider
My Comments:
Jason from Westoz asked for some feedback on this kite. So I got my mate Lee (10 plus years experience) and we took this kite today for a crack in those north wester weirdo winds. We both agreed on what we found, although that is to be expected as we have similar riding style, flat out!
First thing that comes to mind is this kite sits in a weird part of the kite spectrum. It does have a relatively flat profile (obviously not anywhere near as the edge of course) and yet it sits quite deep in the window when on the water. And yet...yes the power is definetly apparent, but somehow, Farq knows how this kite turns this power into forward upwind drive. Other kites that I have flown that sit this deep create power and grunt but this translates into downwind pull. Not so with this kite. It creates a powerful upwind drive. Nothing like the edge of course, but hey what other kite does?
Then it gets even weirder. A kite that sits this deep would normally take you downwind when boosting, great glide but the vertical dimension can be lost. Well Farq me if this kite actually goes vertical, goes big, and yet gives you decent hang time. As with most kites it needs correct redirection to land, but if done correctly soft as butter. ( not as soft as the edge of course....you guys are gonna hate me after this, sorry I will refrain from now on).
Now we were on a north wester so forget any ramps when riding natural foot as we both are. I didn't want to pull the trigger on my non preferred side as it is not my kite after all. Some discretion needed. Trying to build tension in the lines and release this energy with cross currents and no ramp is no easy feat. And yet up it went, long it went and soft it landed. By now I was seriously scratching my head. Here is a relatively high aspect kite that sits fairly deep in the window giving you immense power, nothing like the edg....oops, and yet behaves exactly as a high aspect kite should. It drives upwind and boosts like a mad machine.
I have kited with lee a fair bit and I would say he was getting as high or nearly as high as he does on his Wainmans and that was in the most ****ty conditions possible for this. I can only I imagine how big he would go out to sea using a ramp! He loads and pops really efficiently so was a shame not to see this.
Okay you still with me...so we have a relatively high aspect kite that's sits deep in the window and yet behaves like as a high aspect kite should..
Then hold onto your hats, because the next part may have the same effect beeblebrox had in hitch hikers guide to the universe when he was exposed to the universe for a few second....
We both agreed this is one of the best if not the best drifting kite we have ever used! Now work that one out your aeronautical bastards! By the second kite it was time for powered carnage, and I basically did whatever the Farq I wanted and could not drop this thing. At one stage heading right on a wave cranked right over on the toes for a heel side slash, and sent the kite way way to far. The kite was sitting well up and over the back of the wave, well and truly outside the window, well close to, and I thought oh sh1t, but it just drifted back into the mix and off I went trimming down the line.
So I thought stuff you kite, and I kept driving myself at speed under the kite, letting the bar basically go and nothing! This high aspect kite drifts....work that one out!!
Lee agreed it drifts better than his Wainmans, which we both rate as a very decent surf kite and a very decent all rounder. Not sure you'd want to bash out any wake style on this sucker though, which you can on the Wainmans if you so please, but in the surf, I think this kite has it pipped.
Some slight negatives. Well like most high aspect kites it has a very light bar pressure, now coming off the edges (actually went out on the 9m earlier when the wind was in the mid to high twenties), I had no concern with this, seems normal enough, but lee said he did find he needed to adjust from his lower aspect Wainmans. Another thing lee commented on was the kite was a tad slow to turn. Again flying edges I didn't really notice this was a problem, comparable to my 11m edge.
Lee also commented on if this turning slowness might affect its looping ability. Well on the last run I did a few down loops, forwards loops with some front and back roll transitions and I didn't find it an issue. Again lee is used to the more direct a very quick turning Wainmans.
Now there is that normal slight delay you get in turning and power delivery that comes with SLEs. You do need to adjust, well I did after riding the direct edges. But once you are familiar with this it isn't an issue. I must admit though when say looping the kite down the line, there was that occasional spongy delay then a fair spike of power as it drove around. Not unlike the VX actually but much more refined. Eventually I countered that as well, through using the depower correctly and edging harder at the right times.
Build brilliant. Bar great. Love the quick inflate system and I would say on first use it is superior to ozones. But hey minor crappy detailed they both work fine. Although embarrassingly I actually had to get lee's help to deflate it...ha ha ha. Thought sh1t dot leave yet mate got this inflated kite and I can't work out how to deflate it. What a dumb ass.
In summary this kite has its own space and seems to transcend some parts of the spectrum.
It is indeed a kite that drifts and boosts big. Didn't think one existed really, well one that drifts this well. Well it does.
You free riding gangnam stabber dog stylers you might wanna check this one out. Liquid Force have done an excellent job.
If I had the money I'd definetly have this sitting alongside my edges for those big wave days.
All the advantages of a high aspect kite without the issues.
Ps there aren't any really, you guys just have to ride harder and faster and stop being pussies. Lol


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On 18th March Youth Fight For Jobs supporters in Birmingham mounted a protest against Sports Direct's Dickensian working practices at the Birmingham City vs Newcastle United game. Newcastle and Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley has built a business based on rampant use of zero hours contracts for shop and warehouse staff, poverty pay, and workhouse-like conditions at the firm's Shirebrook warehouse.
The warehouse has become notorious even in today's super-casualised job market. Practices include intrusive searches of staff on entry and exit and a six strikes disciplinary policy which led to one woman worker giving birth in the toilets, as she was unable to afford to take (unpaid) time off while pregnant.
After these practices were exposed by Unite the Union's campaigning to get Sports Direct exposed in the press and in front of a parliamentary committee, Ashley generously promised to give his minimum wage employees a pay rise – of 15p an hour!
The protest consisted of passing out leaflets to home and away fans on their way into the ground. On one side was a hort summary of Sports Direct's shameful treatment of it's employees, whilst on the other was a sign calling on fans to boycott Sports Direct, to be held up five minutes before kickoff.
When it came to it, Newcastle fans all too eager to take anything laying into Mike Ashley! Despite being eager to get to their seats, a good number of Birmingham fans were also keen to take a leaflet after seeing that we were taking a stand against what many workers increasingly recognise as one of the worst of a bad bunch when it comes to high street employers.
Reports from inside the ground say that over 100 fans held up the leaflet before kick off. But most importantly was the chance to raise the idea among young workers that low wages and bad conditions can be fought
Youth Fight For Jobs stands for the following, and works with trade unions to make it a reality:
- A living wage of £10 an hour.
- An end to zero hours contracts, with holiday, maternity and sick pay.
- Full employment rights from day one to protect against unfair dismissal and management bullying.
- An end to the parasitic wideboys running our football clubs, with genuine fan ownership and control.