text:
Effects of Tolvaptan vs Fluid Restriction in Hospitalized Subjects With Dilutional Hyponatremia (SALACIA)
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01227512
Recruitment Status : Terminated (Recruitment challenges and results of interim futility analysis, which showed less than likely to achieve primary endpoint goal-length of hospital stay.)
First Posted : October 25, 2010
Results First Posted : October 17, 2014
Last Update Posted : October 30, 2014
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Hyponatremia Dilutional Hyponatremia Inappropriate ADH Syndrome
|Drug: tolvaptan Other: Fluid Restriction
|Phase 3
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|124 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Single (Participant)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Phase 3b, Multicenter, Randomized, Single-blind, Parallel Group Trial of the Effects of Titrated Oral SAMSCA(r) (Tolvaptan) 15, 30, or 60 mg QD Compared to Placebo Plus Fluid Restriction on Length of Hospital Stay and Symptoms in Subjects Hospitalized With Dilutional Hyponatremia
|Study Start Date :
|October 2010
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|May 2013
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|May 2013
Experimental: Tolvaptan 15-60mg
Oral tablet without fluid restriction. After the initial dose, daily dose may be titrated based on response.
Drug: tolvaptan
15 mg titrated to 30 mg then 60 mg once daily as oral tablet for up to 7 days based on response.
Other Names:
Active Comparator: Fluid Restriction
Placebo tablet with prescribed fluid restriction. After the initial dose, level of fluid restriction may titrated based response.
Other: Fluid Restriction
Placebo tablet once daily with prescribed daily fluid intake of 1500 mL, then intensifying to 2 lower volumes of fluid intake for up to 7 days based on response.
Since all particpants were blinded to treatment, titration to stricter fluid restriction followed the same algorithm as tolvaptan, increasing both the level of fluid restriction and increasing the placebo "dose"
- Length of Hospital Stay (LoS) [ Time Frame: 45 days ]LoS was time to clinically ready to be hospital discharged (CRBD) from study treatment initiation, disregarding prolonged hospitalization due solely to social factors.
- Change From Baseline to 48 Hour Post Dose in Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) of Hyponatremia Symptoms. [ Time Frame: Baseline to 48 hours post dose ]
Change from baseline in blinded rater assessed CGI-S at 48 hours post-first dose or at discharge/rescue therapy, if earlier was assessed.
The CGI-S is a one-question rating scale which was as follows: "Considering your total clinical experience with hyponatremia symptoms in this particular population, how symptomatic is the patient at this time?" 0=not assessed; 1=normal, not at all symtpmatic; 2=borderline symptomatic; 3=mildly symptomatic; 4=moderately symptomatic; 5=markedly symptomatic; 6=severely symptomatic; 7=among the most severly symptomatic patients.
- Change From Baseline to 24 and 72 Hours Post Dose in CGI-S of Hyponatremia Symptoms. [ Time Frame: Baseline to 24 and 72 hours post dose ]
Change in CGI-S of hyponatremia symptoms from pretreatment baseline at 24 and 72 hours post-first dose, or at discharge/rescue therapy if earlier was assessed.
The CGI-S is a one-question rating scale which was as follows: "Considering your total clinical experience with hyponatremia symptoms in this particular population, how symptomatic is the patient at this time?" 0=not assessed; 1=normal, not at all symtpmatic; 2=borderline symptomatic; 3=mildly symptomatic; 4=moderately symptomatic; 5=markedly symptomatic; 6=severely symptomatic; 7=among the most severly symptomatic patients.
- Change From Baseline to 48 Hours Post Dose in Clinical Global Impression - Improvement (CGI-I) Score of Hyponatremia Symptoms. [ Time Frame: Baseline to 48 hours post dose ]
Change in CGI-I score at 48 hours post-first dose or discharge/rescue therapy, if earlier was assessed.
The CGI-I is a one-question rating scale where the participant is asked to rate total improvement whether or not, in their judgment, it is due entirely to trial treatment. Compared to his/her condition at admission to the trial, how much has he/she changed? 0=not assessed; 1=very much improved; 2=much improved; 3=minimally improved; 4=no change; 5=minimally worse; 6=much worse; 7=very much worse
- Change From Baseline in Serum Sodium Concentration (24 Hour Area Under the Curve [AUC]). [ Time Frame: 0 to 72 hours ]
Average 24 hour AUC of serum sodium concentration change from baseline, from Day 1 Hour 0 up to 72 hours post-first dose was assessed.
A serum sodium sample was drawn at pre-treament and 8, 24, 48, and 72 hours post-first dose. Serum sodium was also assessed between 36 and 72 hours after the last dose.
Analysis of AUC was for daily average AUC, hence the units or AUC are mEq/L/24 hours.
- Time to First 2-point Improvement in CGI-S Score. [ Time Frame: Up to 72 hours ]CGI-S data up to 72 hours were used to identify 2-point improvements. Please refer to outcome measure 2 for details on the scale. For the analysis of time to first 2-point improvement in CGI-S, CGI-S data up to Hour 72 were used to identify 2-point improvements. Data for participants who received rescue therapy were censored at the time of receiving rescue therapy. For participants who were discharged before Hour 72 without reaching 2-point improvement in CGI-S, data were censored at the time of discharge. Other participants who did not reach the 2-point improvement during the 72 hours also had their data censored at their last CGI-S observations within 72 hours.
- Percentage of Participants With Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) Score Improved to a Score of 1 or 2. [ Time Frame: 48 hours post dose ]Percentage of responders (defined as CGI-I score of 1 = very much improved or 2 = much improved) at 48 hours post-first dose, or at discharge/rescue therapy, if earlier. Participants given rescue therapy were given a score of 7.
- Percentage of Participants Requiring Rescue Therapy for Hyponatremia [ Time Frame: 7 days ]Percentage of participants requiring rescue therapy within first 7 days of treatment for hyponatremia.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Hyponatremia in clinically euvolemic or hypervolemic states, defined as serum sodium < 130 mEq/L prior to randomization
- Clinically significant symptoms of hyponatremia, defined as a CGI-S score between 3-6, inclusive
- Female subjects of child bearing potential who agree to remain abstinent or to practice double-barrier forms of birth control from screening through 30 days following first dose on IMP
Exclusion Criteria:
- Women who are pregnant or breast feeding, and females of childbearing potential who are not using acceptable contraceptive methods (such as barrier contraceptives or methods that result in a failure rate of less than 1%)
- Hyponatremia in hypovolemic states, defined as the presence of clinical and historical evidence of extracellular fluid volume depletion, including but not limited to skin turgor, orthostatic changes in blood pressure or heart rate, dry mucous membranes, or a response to IV saline challenge
- Subjects who are likely to require prolonged hospitalization for reasons other than hyponatremia, eg. new femoral fracture, surgeries requiring extended recovery
- Recent prior treatment for hyponatremia: hypertonic saline (including normal saline challenge) (within 8 hours of baseline) or urea, lithium, demeclocycline, conivaptan or tolvaptan (within 4 days of baseline). Includes any treatment, other than fluid restriction for the purpose of increasing serum sodium.
- Hyponatremia symptoms of a severity (eg, CGI = 7) such that they require immediate intervention with hypertonic saline; or are expected to require such therapy within 48 hours
- Causes of neurological symptoms which are attributable to psychological (psychosis), structural (dementia of the Alzheimer's type, stroke, transient ischemic attack, multi-infarct dementia) or other metabolic causes (eg. hyper- or hypo-: oxemia, glycemia, calcemia, ammonemia, etc)
- Acute and transient hyponatremia associated with head trauma or severe neurological injury (eg. stroke, subdural hematoma)or the use of recreational drugs.
- History of hyponatremia known to be due to severe, untreated hypothyroidism/adrenal insufficiency
- Subjects with psychogenic polydipsia
- Systolic arterial blood pressure < 90 mmHg at screening
- History of hypersensitivity and/or idiosyncratic reaction to benzazepine or benzazepine derivatives (such as benazepril), or tolvaptan
- History of drug or medication abuse within the 3 months prior to screening, or current alcohol abuse
- Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus defined as glucose > 300 mg/dL [16.7 mmol/L]
- Current urinary tract obstruction (eg, obstructive benign prostatic hypertrophy)
- Current condition of anuria
- Serum creatinine > 3.5 mg/dL at screening
- Terminally ill or moribund condition with little chance of short-term (eg, 30 day) survival
- Subjects whose hyponatremia is the result of any medication that can safely be withdrawn (examples of drugs often not withdrawn include: anticonvulsants [eg, carbamazepine] and antipsychotics [eg, haloperidol])
- Patients receiving DDAVP within 2 days of screening
- Patients with history of active variceal bleeding within the past 30 days, without prior approval from sponsor medical monitor
- Participation in another investigational drug trial within the past 30 days
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01227512
|Study Director:
|Ann Dandurand, MD
|Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
|Responsible Party:
|Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|October 25, 2010 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|October 17, 2014
|Last Update Posted:
|October 30, 2014
|Last Verified:
|October 2014
Dilutional Hyponatremia
Euvolemic Hyponatremia
Hypervolemic Hyponatremia
Fluid Restriction
Inappropriate ADH Syndrome
Water-Electrolyte Imbalance
Metabolic Diseases
Pituitary Diseases
Hypothalamic Diseases
Brain Diseases
Central Nervous System Diseases
Nervous System Diseases
Endocrine System Diseases
Antidiuretic Hormone Receptor Antagonists
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Natriuretic Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs


text:
The New York Times's David Herszenhorn on Friday wrote up a bizarre new conference held by the parents of the Boston Marathon bombers in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, where they have lived for the past year: "Parents Deny Son's Guilt And Accuse U.S. of Plot."
It's puzzling why Herszenhorn chose such a credulous tone to the conspiratorial rants of the bombers' mother Zubeidat Tsarnaeva (The Washington Post made do with a brief mention at the very end of a related story on Friday).
The parents of the two brothers accused in the bomb attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others near the finish line of the Boston Marathon insisted on Thursday that their sons were innocent and had no connections to radical Islamists.
In an outpouring of anguish and anger at a news conference here in the capital of Dagestan, a Russian republic on the Caspian Sea, the brothers' father, Anzor Tsarnaev, and mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, also made accusations of a conspiracy in which the American authorities killed their older son, Tamerlan, after capturing him alive.
Their answers were a mixture of denials and conspiracy accusations. They seemed exhausted, their grief raw. They expressed concern about Dzhokhar, but did not offer any condolences to the victims in Boston. Ms. Tsarnaeva -- who at times sobbed, raised her voice and pounded a table for emphasis -- said she was considering giving up her American citizenship.
The parents said they regretted having lived in the United States but wanted to return soon to see Dzhokhar, though they expressed fears that they would not be allowed to see him until he was in prison.
Another possible reason went unmentioned: the mother, who on top of everything is apparently a 9-11 truther like her younger son, faces shoplifting charges in the United States.
Herszenhorn handed over several more paragraphs to the ravings of Zubeidat Tsarnaeva:
"Yes, I would prefer not to live in America now. Like, why did I even go there -- why?" Ms. Tsarnaeva said, breaking into tears and sobs. "I thought America was going to, like, protect us, our kids. It was going to be safe for any reason. But it happened the opposite. My kids -- America took my kids away from me -- only America."
"I don't know," she said, regaining her composure. "I am sure that my kids were not involved in anything."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Jersey Boys
QRS Cat #662115
Ces Soirées-LA
The Early Years - A Scrapbook:
Cry for Me
Backup Sessions: (An Angel Cried, I Still Care)
Big Girls Don't Cry
Walk Like A Man
December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)
My Boyfriend's Back
My Eyes Adored You
Dawn( Go Away)
Big Man in Town
Dialogue: A Little Trouble
Dialogue: See How You Handle it
Medley: (a. Stay, b. Let's Hang On, c. Opus 17)
C'mon Marianne
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Working My Way Back To You
Fallen Angel
Rag Doll
Who Loves You
What You Receive: The original audio CD plus a 3-digit access code for this CD. This will access and synchronize the corresponding SyncAlong piano files for this CD, which are contained on the CompactFlash card shipped FREE to first-time SyncAlong CD purchasers. Free Updates to these Piano Files will be issued regularly via this website.
Piano Transcribed & Played by: Charles Czarnecki
Jersey Boys
QRS Cat #662115


text:
Today, let's do something a little different. I'm going to list 48 things I've learned about myself and the world around me that I only discovered thanks to frugality.
1. I really like sun tea.
2. The patience and effort in teaching yourself something new is incredibly rewarding when you begin to succeed at it (like my piano playing).
3. When you're sitting around a table with friends, it really doesn't matter where you're at.
4. Young children are usually more interested in the free packaging or other freebies than any item you might buy them.
5. A tall glass of pure water is the best first line of defense for many ailments.
6. Going nearly vegetarian when your garden is peaking in productivity is an interesting dietary adventure.
7. You don't have to go to a dealership to buy a great car.
8. Fixing a toilet isn't nearly as scary as it sounds.
9. Making a small sample batch of something before you make it in bulk is a really good idea.
10. You disagree with your spouse a lot less if you don't have a pile of debt stressing you out.
11. YouTube and a pile of old newspapers can entertain a four year old and a two year old for several hours.
12. Real friends keep in touch no matter where your path leads.
13. I used to be ashamed of who I was and bought stuff to cover it up. Then I was ashamed of who I used to be and flaunted my frugality. Now I'm okay with both and I don't really care at all.
14. You feel pretty good when you've fixed a hot water heater problem by yourself without having to call a repairperson.
15. Every time I let go of something I used to like, I have more room for the things I enjoy now.
16. Our local library has more groups going on that I could possibly be involved with.
17. When you're spending time with people you really care about – and who really care about you – it doesn't matter what you're actually doing.
18. Most generics are just as good as the name brands; they're like getting a $1 off coupon because the label looks funny.
19. Preparing something new in the kitchen and actually pulling it off makes our family dinner incredibly enjoyable.
20. You don't have to worry about the important stuff if you don't waste time and money on stuff that isn't really important to you.
21. Our city's parks and recreation department has more fun stuff going on than our family has time to participate in.
22. Netflix streaming (at $9 a month) combined with free over-the-air digital television provides better television viewing options than a $50 monthly cable bill.
23. Changing your own oil isn't nearly as scary as it sounds.
24. Life is a lot less stressful when you don't really care what the people at the grocery store think of you.
25. The flavor of fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden blows away anything you can buy at the store.
26. You don't need all of the latest and greatest equipment to really enjoy a hobby.
27. A nap is the best free vacation.
28. Vinegar is a spectacular fabric softener replacement.
29. Haggling can be a lot of fun.
30. It's a lot easier to focus on earning more money and doing something spectacular if you're not scared to death of the financial apocalypse from losing your job.
31. I like putting beans in a lot of different kinds of food.
32. Being thrifty isn't bad for the economy – it's just a different kind of consumption. Money saved and invested helps the economy as much as money spent.
33. Making your own gifts for other people can be incredibly rewarding, both for you and for the recipient.
34. Saying or thinking "I absolutely won't…" usually costs you money.
35. Getting rid of stuff you don't use can be painful, but it feels exhilirating once you've started doing it.
36. It's far better to own one thing that works than ten things that only "kind of" work.
37. The fun stuff you enjoy doing isn't tinged with guilt when you're not buried in debt while doing that fun thing.
38. Cloth diapering isn't as scary as it sounds.
39. Sharing a good money-saving tip or two is almost always a good way to start a conversation with a neighbor.
40. The less activities you jam into a vacation, the more enjoyable and relaxing it usually is.
41. The more you talk to children about money and wise money decisions, the more they emulate those decisions with the money they have.
42. If you have the storage space, you're almost always better off buying in bulk.
43. You are never too old to run through a cold sprinkler on a hot day.
44. Used paperbacks and books from the library are just as fun to read as new books from the bookstore.
45. Taking out your old thermostat and putting in a new one isn't as scary as it sounds.
46. A bit of patience on any purchase almost always saves you a mint.
47. Time is far, far more valuable than money.
48. Most of the things that genuinely make me feel good – exercising, playing with my kids, holding my wife – don't cost anything at all.
What has frugality taught you?


text:
Last fall, we launched a truly unique new line of meals: FreshDirect Frozen Entrées.
FreshDirect's Chef Tina Bourbeau designed these meals using a variety of impressive ingredients (seriously: when's the last time you saw chanterelle mushrooms, Romanesco cauliflower or crème fraîche in a frozen meal?), and they've been so popular, we had to launch five new Frozen Entrées this month.
I took a few minutes to quiz Chef Bourbeau about the Frozen Entrées and find out what's so special about them.
Q: Clearly, what you're cooking isn't what people generally think of when they picture "frozen meals." What do you do to make them taste so fresh?
Chef Bourbeau: It's the choice of ingredients we use and the quality of those ingredients. Honestly, the stuff we use is more expensive than what other people are using in their frozen meals, and it's just better. I mean, it's not like we invented frozen food. We're just making it better than everyone else….


text:
Aadat on TV One Global
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text:
Shoot a coyote, win an assault rifle in NM contest
Animal welfare advocate: Contest 'immoral and disgusting'
Coyote hunters in New Mexico will have the chance to compete for a couple of high-caliber grand prizes just in time for the holidays – a pair of Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifles.
A shooting range and gun store in Albuquerque is hosting a two-day contest to see who can kill the most coyotes, despite protests from environmentalists.
Calibers Shooting Sports Center is holding the challenge for two-member teams beginning Dec. 1.
Susan Weiss, an advocate for the "Coexist with Coyotes" group, calls the competition "immoral and disgusting."
Caliber's owner, Ryan Burt, says he came up with the idea after he was approached by several ranchers from around the state who have been dealing with coyotes harming livestock.
Coyotes have no protection under New Mexico law.


text:
Dear Insurance Adviser,
My question is about disability insurance policies. I have two of them. One is clearly "private," and I've paid the premiums directly to the insurance company for decades. The second is through my employer, paid for through a payroll deduction. I'm not sure if the premiums are subsidized. I do not think so, but that could be really important to me for tax reasons. If my employer subsidizes, or pays some type of administrative cost for making these benefits available, does it throw the policy into a taxable scenario? It's an optional policy that can be chosen and purchased by employees.
Also, should I be concerned that there might be some type of limitation on coverage from either policy because of any sort of "coordination of benefits" between them?
— Sorting It All Out
Dear Sorting,
These are important issues to be concerned about — before you get disabled.
My rule of thumb regarding taxability of disability benefits is to pay the premiums with after-tax dollars whenever possible. Then, when you are disabled, you will collect benefits on a tax-free basis.
Individual, or "private," disability insurance policies are almost always purchased with after-tax dollars, and therefore the benefits come to you tax-free. Group policies, where you pay the premiums on a payroll deduction basis, can be paid for with either after-tax or before-tax dollars. If the premiums are deducted from your gross pay, your benefits will be taxable. If they are deducted from your net pay, benefits will be tax-free to you. So, make sure the premiums are being taken out of your net pay.
Employer-paid administrative expenses to make the group insurance available to you won't affect the taxability of your benefits.
Your coordination-of-benefits question asks whether or not disability benefits received under one policy will reduce or offset benefits received under the other policy. Although it's quite common for medical insurance policies to have offsetting benefits, it rarely is the case with disability insurance. Group disability policies do often offset against Social Security benefits, workers' compensation benefits, other group insurance benefits, and so on, but they almost never offset against benefits from individually purchased, private-pay disability policies.
One final suggestion: Your private policy, which is "decades old," may have outdated coverage, such as not covering partial disabilities to retirement age. And although the sort of group insurance you have is usually a pretty good buy, it also might be lacking some important features. Seek out an insurance agent or financial planner with long-term disability insurance expertise to help you determine the adequacy of your current combination of policies and determine whether or not a supplemental or replacement policy might be needed.
Good luck.
Ask the adviser
To ask a question of the Insurance Adviser, go to the"Ask the Experts" page and select "Insurance" from the drop-down box. Read more Insurance Adviser columns.
Bankrate's content, including the guidance of its advice-and-expert columns and this website, is intended only to assist you with financial decisions. The content is broad in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Bankrate recommends that you seek the advice of advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before making any final decisions or implementing any financial strategy. Please remember that your use of this website is governed by Bankrate's Terms of Use.


text: 1. The Search for the Leaven &c. / L'Examen du Levain &c. - The Passover of the Portuguese Jews / Le Repas de Paques chez les Juifs Portugais Description: Black-and-white engravings depicting the Passover custom of the mother placing bits of unleavened bread for the father and children to discover and dispose of, above, and a Passover seder of Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam, below. Engraving by Claude Du Bosc after Bernard Picart. From The Ceremonies and Religious Customs of the Various Nations of the Known World : together with historical annotations and several curious discourses... Written originally in French, and illustrated with a large number of folio copper plates designed by Mr. Bernard Picart, and curiously engraved by most of the best hands in Europe..., Volume 1, published London: William Jackson and Claude Dubosc, 1733-1739.


text:
Wada on schedule, making progress
SARASOTA, Fla. -- After undergoing Tommy John surgery in May, Orioles pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada is on a long-toss program, and all reports on the left-hander's progress have been positive.
"From what I've heard, May is about the earliest you'd see him here," manager Buck Showalter said of Wada.
"I like to say he's on schedule, and all along this is where we'd hope so far. But I have not forgotten what he could potentially bring to us. It's pretty good."
Orioles pitchers and catchers will undergo full physicals on Wednesday morning in advance of their first workout, although Showalter said Wada has already seen all the appropriate people. Signed to a two-year, $8.15 million contract last winter, Wada has yet to throw a pitch for the club as his elbow issues date back to last spring.


text:
First Drive: 2014 Maserati Quattroporte
We're holding our breath in the Quattroporte. It's not because the new 2014 Maserati Quattroporte is so beautiful that it takes your breath away - which it is -- but instead it's because this reborn sedan is a much bigger car than before. As we thread out way through tiny villages on the outskirts of Nice, France, it seems certain that we're going to inadvertently run over one of the slim young girls that ride wacky three-wheel scooters in this part of the world and squash her like a bug.
Maybe it makes sense that this dramatically revised 2014 Maserati Quattroporte is significantly bigger than before, since the company wants to go big in the luxury car scene. Right now, Maserati is small. How small? Total deliveries in 2012 are expected to tally some 6100 units. All this is about to change as the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte comes to market, as this bigger, more luxurious car will be joined in the next 24 months by forthcoming additions to the model lineup.
The first addition will be the Maserati Ghibli, a famous name for a smaller sedan that will compete against the likes of the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The second will be the Maserati Levante, the kind of luxury utility vehicle that the Range Rover Evoque has popularized. Once these new models are in place by 2015 next to the Maserati Gran Tourismo coupe and Maserati Gran Cabrio convertible, we're told the company will be peddling 50,000 cars per annum. (Well, that's the plan anyway.)
The 2014 Maserati Quattroporte is the first step, and it's a big one. And we mean this literally, as this high-fashion sedan has grown significantly in size, the better to square off against the long-wheelbase Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and the like. The overall length has grown by more than six inches to 207.2 inches. Moreover, the Quattroporte's width has swelled to 76.7 inches, which is four inches wider than an S-class. This almost makes the car too wide for European roads, as we're discovering as we thread our way through the small villages perched on the rocky hillsides above the French Riviera. Beneath the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte, you'll find an all-new platform that makes extensive use of aluminum, reducing overall weight by 220 pounds. When it has the standard V-8 under the hood, the car weighs 4200 pounds distributed equally fore and aft - some 20 percent lighter than a comparable Bimmer or Benz.
Aside from the increase in the Maserati Quattroporte's overall dimensions, the wheelbase has also been stretched 3.8 inches. The cabin grows significantly roomier as a result, as rear-seat legroom improves by four inches. The interior also has great style, but the execution is a bit disappointing, as the cabin of this sedan is missing some of that hand-sewn made-in-Milan quality. More important, this car lacks many of the latest driver-assistance systems, such as adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning and lane departure control.
The more affordable version of the 2014 Quattroporte features a new, direct-injected, 3.0-liter, 60-degree V-6 with twin turbochargers that makes 410 hp and 406 pound-feet of torque. The new direct-injected, 3.8-liter, 90-degree V-8 also has twin turbos, which help boost output to a whopping 530 hp and 479 lb-ft. Though the twin-turbo V-8 is significantly more powerful than the 4.7-liter V-8 it replaces, the new engine is 20 percent more fuel-efficient. Both engines are paired with a ZF eight-speed automatic, and all-wheel drive will be optional with the V-6.
We had only the V-8 version of the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte at our disposal in France, and the little coastal towns and crazed scooter girls along our route don't give us much chance to let this big car off its leash. Once we can get deep into the long-travel throttle pedal, the twin-turbo V-8 whips up thunderous acceleration that shows no loss of intensity even as we cross into the triple digits. Maserati claims a top speed of 191 mph, which puts the Quattroporte just behind the Bentley Flying Spur Speed (200 mph) and about even with the Porsche Panamera Turbo S (190 mph). With peak torque available from 2250 rpm, the twin-turbocharged V-8 is certainly responsive and eminently drivable. Yet this torquey V-8 gives up the free-revving quality of the previous, naturally aspirated, Ferrari-engineered V-8.
As you'd expect, big wheels are part of the new car's visual identity, so the Quattroporte rides on 19s, 20s or even 21s. Since the rear multi-link suspension faithfully reports every pavement imperfection, the 21-inch tires do the ride quality no favors and even the 19s prove fussy at low speed. Once we finally make our way out of town, the ride seems to settle down. Maserati's adaptive Skyhook dampers help make the car feel confident in the switchbacks among the mountains above the coast, and we love the hydraulically assisted steering, which feels so natural. It might have been fun to dial the stability control into a more permissive setting, but the safety net is all or nothing in this car, and the greasy, rain-slick pavement made our choice obvious. The Brembo brakes bite a bit too aggressively at low speed, but they are strong and fade-free during long descents.
The bigger, more polished 2014 Maserati Quattroporte seems ready for a bigger stage than before. At the same time, it's lost something of its lithe, light Italian quality. We'll see if this is the key to the big sales in China and the USA that Maserati executives anticipate.
2014 Maserati Quattroporte
Base price: $130,000 (estimated)
On sale: Summer 2013
Engine: twin-turbo DOHC 3.8-liter V-8
Power: 530 hp @ 6800 rpm
Torque 479lb-ft @ 2000-4000 rpm (Overboost: 524 lb-ft @ 2250-4000 rpm)
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Drive: Rear-wheel
Tires, f/r: 245/45ZR-19, 275/40ZR-19 Dunlop Sport Maxx RT
Fuel mileage: N/A
Performance (manufacturer's data): 0-62 mph 4.7 seconds


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You have probably heard various opinions about how to deal with people who write insulting or provocative remarks on various Internet forums (also known as "trolls" or people who "flame"). The most common is "Don't Feed the Trolls", which says that all the people in the forum should avoid responding to the troll. However, as you will see below, "Don't feed the trolls" is also a wrong and ineffective approach for dealing with trolls.
Luckily, I discovered a much better way to handle criticism in the book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, which is an internationally best-selling self-help book by Dr. David D. Burns for learning how to deal with periods of clinical depression. The book teaches cognitive therapy, which was proven to be effective in dealing with a variety of mood disorders. The book has helped me a lot both in learning the cause of my psychological conditions, and in giving me tools to overcome them.
This post will focus on a certain chapter in the book called "Verbal Judo: learn to talk back when you're under the fire of criticism", as adapted by me to the world of online, Internet-based, communication. What this chapter does is instruct depressive people (and other people in general) how to properly handle criticisms from their peers. The super-executive summary for this post is: "On the Internet, don't be right - be smart."
One final note: I am not a mental health professional and this is not professional psychological advice. I believe anyone is allowed to give such insights from their knowledge and experience, just like everyone is allowed to give their opinion on computing or on legal matters, while stating the usual disclaimer. So don't blame me if this thing back-fires, and use your reason and judgement with what I'm saying here.
Case Study
Someone joins a Python IRC channel and says "Perl rocks my socks and Python sucks balls, LOL. Python programmers are incompetent imbecile losers, ROTFL…"
(I'm giving it about Python to avoid Perl-elitism on my part. I'm also using "him", "he" consistently, though the troll might be female. )
What not to do?
Criticise his judgement:
- "Python does not suck, and you are being rude."
- "WTF are you saying? Everybody knows that Perl sucks."
Saying sentences like that will likely irritate the troll further, will likely yield an even more aggressive response from the troll, and will only escalate the heat in the conversation.
Don't feed the troll" - i.e: ignore him. Someone will "feed" him eventually and the troll may continue trolling and feeling he's right and superior, or alternatively that the Python people on the channel are being "jerks" for not responding.
Ban him / call for banning him - a great way to create another enemy, and can also possibly start some "was it right to ban him" converations. Will also negatively contribute to the channel's atomsphere among the channel members.
The troll may also prove to be a useful resource in the future, or can be taught to love Python eventually.
Tell him not to troll. - you're labelling him, insulting him and making him feel like he's alienated. Some people may still respond harshly.
Cancel the project, or close the channel - may seem very far-fetched but in a project I was involved in and made some suggestions which were perceived as annoying, I was told that they actually considered cancelling the project. Naturally, this is throwing the baby along with the bathwater, so you certainly must not do that.
What to do instead
So what should we do instead. It's very simple:
Ask him what he means. ; interrogate him:
- "Why do you feel that Python is so bad? What do you find wrong with it?"
Agree with him (but use a softer language):
- "Yes, Perl is a nice language, and I agree that Python has its downsides and/or trade-offs in comparison to Perl."
- "It's OK to prefer Perl, we'll still accept you here."
This will make the troll lose steam and help you find a common ground.
And eventually negotiate a common ground: "Would you agree that some people like Perl better and some like Python better? (And some may like both equally.). Maybe you can still write Python code and be productive in it while still not in love with it. Who knows, maybe you'll even grow to like it. Feel free to stick around and ask questions."
(After I originally read that in Feeling Good, I immediately thought that it made immediate sense, and that it will likely work in most cases. However, later I thought that I probably would not have thought about it myself.)
Repeat that a few times and the troll will eventually calm down and will become more friendly and hospitable. Some people who've read a draft of this article claimed that such a person will probably troll further in the future, and so one should get rid of him as quickly as possible. While this may often be the case, one should understand that it is not always the case for all trolls. Moreover, you should learn to tolerate people that have some bad personality traits which you don't like, instead of deciding right away that you hate them and don't want to have anything to do with them. I have decided to do that, and often found these Internet people to be of some value, whether in entertainment, knowledge or technical help.
On the other hand, if you dismiss every one as a "troll" for any small problem, your community will not grow a lot and you'll leave people with a lot of bad taste in the mouth.
The rest of this post gives more useful advice for communicating with people who are making provocative statements, and can be read at your own leisure. After you've read that, you may wish to practice what was said here using role-playing, by one of the following scenarios:
- Someone comes on a FreeBSD channel, and claims that Linux and the GPL have "won" and that the BSD licence and the BSD clones have no future.
- Someone joins a channel of the GNU project and claims that the GPL licence is an "evil", anti-capitalistic and anti-commercial licence, that does a lot of harm to the open source world.
- You are talking on a Perl channel, when someone joins and says that "Perl is dead".
- You are chatting on a mailing list or chatroom dedicated to development of open-source software when someone says "Why are you people spending so much time making sure your programs run on Windows? One should prohibit running FOSS on Windows! Everyone should avoid porting their software to Windows? By providing Windows users with great FOSS software, you make sure Windows remains popular and are working against the cause."
- You are discussing Emacs when someone joins and say "Emacs is a bloated operating system that lacks a good text editor. Only losers use it. vi FTW!".
- You are on a Vim channel, when someone say "Everybody knows that vi sucks! Emacs is the only one true editor. Vi users are lamers.".
You can probably think of others.
Some Advice for Communicating with Trolls Properly
Relax: don't worry if you don't get everything exactly right.
Communicate clearly: write in the best spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, idiomatic speech, etc. that you can, no matter how bad the troll's messages were in this respect.
It may be a good idea to avoid too high or complicated words, because many foreign speakers of English often have poor English vocabulary.
Don't criticise what he says directly or the way he says it (Style over substance etc.)
Avoid logical fallacies: see the Nizkor project about them and the List of fallacies on the English wikipedia.
Especially avoid ad hominem: "You're under age and much younger than me and not a lawyer, so you're not qualified to give your opinion about open-source licences."
Be polite and friendly.
Don't be too terse. Write coherently, and explain what you want.
Proper human communication has a lot of redundancy, but people prefer it this way. Even in Information Theory, you cannot compress an arbitrary amount of data to a message which is too short.
On the other hand, don't be too verbose, as people won't bother reading you. It may be better to put a claim and reiterate.
If using E-mail, always do bottom-inline post and never top-post (unless you know better than that, which you probably don't). When top-posting, the one who responds can often reply not to the point or miss many important posts:
- Quote a selected message
- Disarm the troll using the methods above.
- Repeat.
See the English Wikipedia article about posting style for more information.
Don't selectively trim the message without leaving enough context.
Don't mis-interpret or jump to conclusions - ask the troll what he means if you don't know.
Try to avoid using aphorisms, proverbs, "famous" quotes, rhymes or verse etc. Instead use free-form, coherent speech and say what you want in your own words.
The problem with aphorisms, and their ilk are that they tend to project authority, and usually backfire because a person intuitively knows that.
Sometimes they may lead to an aphorism war or for "correcting" the aphorism or discussing its larger context and origins.
All of these can sometimes spice up a friendly conversation and add humour to it, though, but your kilomterage may vary.
Don't make fun of the troll. Respect him and try to avoid unnecessary humour. Be pleasant - not funny.
Don't be rude; use soft words such as "I think", "I believe", "In my opinion", "I find that", etc.
Don't label: "open-source and Creative Commons are Socialism" (So what if they are? They are still beneficial.)
Always start the conversation with a "Hi [name-or-nick]," and possibly thank him for what he says or otherwise start with a compliment. This will better allow disarming him.
Further Reading
- "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Revised and Updated" by David D. Burns.
- "How to Protect Your Open Source Project From Poisonous People" - by Ben Collins-Sussman and Brian Fitzpatrick of Subversion fame. A Google Tech Talk - not sure if there are subtitles or a transcript.
- The Book "Producing Open Source Software" - by Karl Fogel (of CVS/Subversion fame).
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (Unported) (CC-by) or at your option any later version. Copyright © 2011, Shlomi Fish. CC-by is a common, permissive, free/libre/open licence for cultural works, which allows for almost unlimited use. See my interpretation and expectations from people who wish to build upon it (which I believe are pretty fair).
About the Author
Shlomi Fish is an Israeli software developer, essayist and humorist, who is passionate about open source, open content, and freedom and openness in general. He's been either trolling various online forums, or alternatively dealing with people who troll them, since he's been seriously involved in the Israeli and international open-source world.
Among his many sins, he can list writing many "farfetched" and avantgarde stories and screenplays, releasing a lot of open-source programs that he's not sure anyone besides him uses, adopting some programs and CPAN modules by other people that seem to be more popular, contributing to projects with many contributors (often not regularly), being called "passive-aggressive" and understanding that he is often over-domineering, regularly getting into undesirable psychomedical periods of being "hyper", (while lately deciding to openly admit it.), and writing many opinionated articles, essays and blog posts about various topics. He prides himself in being a geek, who is a person who is inclined in one or more creative or research endeavour, but does not have prejudice for or against either geek culture, popular culture or popular geek pseudo-culture. He chooses what he finds good and happens to like, not what other people consider as hip or trendy or passé. As such, he belongs to the empty set of people who like both Pink Floyd, as well as Shania Twain and Atomic Kitten (meow!).
Shlomi is interested in any contracts or commissions involving writing essays, blog posts or articles, or in publishing polished versions of his fictional stories or essays, or collections thereof, in print or E-book form. He can be contacted by various means, but please don't ask him to fix your computer or other personal help where an online forum will better do.
- On Slashdot.org
- On the Life Hacker blog (took me a lot of time to find a non-AJAX URL, because I resent AJAX URLs)
Update 1
I may have misunderstood the word "troll" to be anyone who is provocative, including by intending well (see the comments), although saying that a person is "trolling" or even "spamming" in this case may be commonplace now. I still think that even if it's a consciously malevolent troll, he can eventually lose steam and lose all the fun they wanted to have by using the techniques above. But this is just a hypothesis. See an insightful comment about that.
Update 2
A few people said that I shouldn't have given this advice because I too have made provocative statements (what was nicknamed "trolled") in several online forums in the past (while usually having good intentions). I admit this is the case, because I'm an opinionated man, who tends to want to fix "inefficiencies", and expresses his opinion a lot. However, that does not invalidate the fact that my advice may still be sound, and that you can also safely apply it to disarm me, when I'm being provocative. Or to sum up, often the "Pot calling the kettle black" accusation is a variation of the "Ad hominem tu quoque" fallacy.
Update 3
IDEA.org has written a great follow-up post to this post and other posts by other people about how to deal with malevolent comments of various types, and also attempting to fully classify them.


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{ click on images to advance the story }posted Sunday, August 26th, 2007 leave a comment or trackback
Wow. Just…wow.
I have to agree. Great stuff.
NIce work Josh. Always look forward to this story.
Wow; even better (and bigger in scope) than the last installment. You're doing something really important here and it shines through every panel.
I tend to read this at work towards the end of the day while I listen to "All Things Considered." As I read A.D. today they were playing a story about Katrina Refugees trying to start new lives in Houston. A.D., with your images and their words, makes for a much more intimate story than the voices on the radio.
Wow - I just started reading and read the whole thing through Chapter 6. It really brought all of the details back into my head and reminded me all over again of that time. I'm so curious to see how the remaining chapters unfold. This is wonderfully and thoughtfully done. Great art! Thanks.
Brilliant work as always, Josh. You can really feel the power of the storm (and the calm in the center of the eye when Brobson ducks out to clean the drains). But what really struck me about this chapter was how much a part of it the animals are. As a cat person who evacuated with four howling felines, I especially resonated with Gucci's plight (and the very cat-like evil gleam in his eye after resisting Denise's ministrations). And Brobson's bulldog, and the mutts watching the unfolding horror story on TV with Leo, have every bit as much character as their human counterparts. It's that attention to detail that really makes A.D. come to life.
WOW is right!!! Two years and counting…and it still brings a tear…..and that sick feeling inside….Really great work, and a much needed commentary……
Hey! Thanks, everybody, for your great comments. I'm especially touched by the words of those of you who lived through the storm, whether you evacuated or stayed behind. Despite personally not being there during the hurricane, I still try my best to evoke the feeling of what it was like. And I can only do that because of the willingness of Denise, Leo & Michelle, Hamid, Kevin, and the Doctor to share their stories with me.
It really puts you in the thick of it, the fleeting hope after the eye had passed, with, for most people, no idea of what is about to hit them.
I found you on MetaFilter. I love how your story is coming together and the artwork is terrific. I appreciate that your characters are based on real-life experiences and I think each story is important to tell. My man grew up in New Orleans, coming to Chicago in January of 2002. His family and everyone we know there, save for ONE of his friends, lost everything due to the levee break at London and 17th Street.
New Orleans before and after this historical event is close to my heart and I trust that your work, and the work of those who will make sure the levees are built to Category 5 eventually, will alter the future of that great city for the better.
A.D.: New Orleans makes Katrina real in a way that other media have not. Hard to imagine that a graphic novel could pack more punch than TV coverage of the hurricane. But it does. Interesting characters, too. Gets into the human side of it all. Bravo!
Josh, I always eagerly follow A.D. as the chapters unfold and the drama of the stories evolve. During the recent special three weeks that we all spent together upstate, Bob, Sari, you and my wonderful new grandaughter, Phoebe, I benefited from yet another new experience - the opportunity to observe as you prepared the panels of Chapter 6 for production. As i enjoyed lingering over the original drawings and became familiar with each frame, i gained an appreciation of how, beyond the compelling story line, each of the artistic elements (facial expressions, lighting, figure placement and careful selection of objects in the surrounding environment) work so well together to depict the powerful physical and emotional impact of Katrina on the lives of the characters - these very real people.
P.S. As we were upstate, coincidentally over the anniversary date of Hurricane Katrina, i felt especially aware and grateful that we were able to share that time happily and safely as a family.
Now that's an amazing mama-in-law! Thanks, Nan—I'm blushin'!
This is fantastic! I just read everything through chapter 6 and I agree with everything everyone else has said about the power and talent you display here.
Josh, this comic is so compelling–I had some catching up to do with chapters 5-7, and the sense of atmosphere is so present you feel like you can touch it. Denise's panic and fear are absolutely palpable. Those panels make me so anxious I almost need to stop looking. Almost. Can't wait for chapter 8…
I like how this comic brings forth a new perspective of the situation opposed to just hearing about it throught the news. Although the pictures and live footage worked well at grabbing our attention, this comic still provides a personal aspect of Americans during Hurricane Katrina.
I know this is a sad story but I know people who act just like Neecy and I couldnt helped myself from laughing.
My roommate and cousin (I'm white) is named Nesi. Jamal is hilarious tho, I couldn't stop myself from laughing and it's not a funny topic. Thank you for saying "Americans"… We are all Americans; regardless of our ethnic background. We are all one color. That's how i feel anyway.
Nice read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch as I found it for him smile Thus let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
Aw, this was an exceptionally good post. Taking the time and actual effort to make a really good article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and never seem to get anything done.
Great ¡V I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your site. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs as well as related info ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it at all. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, website theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Nice task..
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and also the rest of the site is also really good.
I love it when folks get together and share opinions. Great blog, stick with it!
Good day here, just turned aware about your website through yahoo, and realized that it's pretty educational. I will take pleasure in should you persist this post.


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Kyle Busch on the outside, Kurt Busch on the inside. The two best at Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday night...until the final 15 miles (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR
By Mike Mulhern
How in the world did Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch throw this one away?
They may be haunted by that for quite a while....at least till Charlotte Motor Speedway reopens in a couple of days for next weekend's Coke 600.
The Busch brothers, pretty much as expected, had the two best cars here Saturday night.
And they were the first two to come down pit road for the final, mandatory four-tire stop, to line up for the 10-lap Shootout.
But Jimmie Johnson's crew and Kasey Kahne's crew turned the tables, with faster stops, and the Busches never got back into contention. Kyle finished third, Kurt fifth.
Kahne was the leader for the final restart, but his choice of the high line was questionable, and it didn't pay off.
"My pit crew did a great job of getting us out first," Kahne said. "We knew if we could get clean air we thought we would be alright.
"But Jimmie just stayed right there, and I couldn't get rid of him. And then he beat me off the corner and into three and on exit, and it was over."
Kurt Busch, who has had one of the best cars on the tour at most stops this spring, and who has learned to focus his famous temper, was calm afterwards.
"Winning a couple of segments in the All-Star race is nothing to be disappointed about," Kurt said. "You always want more... and when you lose to a guy like Jimmie Johnson, well those guys were just perfect again.
"We were just one click slow on our pit stop and one click off on the final adjustment. We came out fifth and got stuck in a little bit of that traffic. I thought we could race our way through that.
"But I couldn't race back through traffic. Even if we came out first, it would have been tough to hold those guys off.
"It's a million bucks out the window, but we are building our notebook up for the 600."
And it was Jimmie Johnson again celebrating a $1 million victory (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Johnson in clean is notoriously difficult to beat, on any track.
However most of the night he didn't have clean air.
It was Chad Knaus' pit crew that made the difference, putting Johnson on the front row for the restart for the final 15 miles.
And, again, that last 10-lap run did not provide much drama, once Johnson got around Kahne for the lead.
Knaus said if NASCAR and sponsor Sprint wanted to liven things up, they could ask Goodyear to provide teams with two types of tires, regular 60-lap tires and softer 20-lap tires, and let crews decide how to gamble.
This time it all came down to that final round of stops.
"We felt if we could come down in the top-5 and try to get a solid pit stop we would be solid," Knaus said.
"I really didn't think we would be able to have a stop that fast. Man, those guys just absolutely nailed it. My hat's off to them.
"They've been working really, really hard trying to improve. And we've had to switch some things the last month or so, and the guys really rose to the occasion.
"The pit crew is a really difficult thing to manage as a team, and especially as an organization. It's hard because a lot of the players -- much like you see in any professional sport -- get locked up under contracts and held for long periods of time.
"A step Hendrick Motorsports made a couple of years ago was to begin to recruit people straight out of college. We would have combines and pick a handful of guys or gals and run them through the paces... and then winnow them down to just a small few and work with those people.
"It's been a long process, and it has taken us quite some time. We've been fortunate over the last few years to start to develop and get that fruit from what we started four years ago.
"A lot of the individuals we brought in didn't know anything about motorsports but they were fantastic athletes. And now these athletes are starting to understand racing, and understand the pressures involved to pit a car for a guy like Jimmie Johnson.
"It's tough -- especially when you have cameras on your grille watching every move, and as soon as you make a mistake you get blasted in the media. These guys are starting to become numb to that type of pressure.
"We're fortunate to have a little bit of depth, and we've made three changes this year. We had a couple mistakes tonight on pit road, but they nailed it on the last one, and hopefully that's a good sign of things to come."
Chad Knaus' pit crew pulled it off in the clutch to help Jimmie Johnson win Saturday night's All-Star race (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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Affordable, Good viewing angles
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From A Day In The Garden on the original Woodstock site (Yasgur's Farm) in Bethel, New York.
Joni covers George Gershwin's lullaby, Summertime written for the Opera "Porgy and Bess".
Brian Blade on drums
Greg Leisz on pedal steel and lead guitar
Larry Klein on bass
Mark Isham on trumpet
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Freshly prepared ingredients, inspired creations and all the big, bold Mexican food flavors you love. Crafted in our very own kitchen, each recipe features DON MIGUEL® Brand products for quick, convenient and delicious meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any time in between.
Have a recipe from your own kitchen that features DON MIGUEL® products? Share it with us, and you might just find it here next time you visit.


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Walking into the projection booth of Santa Rosa's Roxy Theater, reels of film, cans of WD-40 and specialty tools litter the workspace. Projectors hum comfortably while 35mm film flaps through the pulleys and onto giant platters. Scissors, tape and splicing mechanisms sit amid clippings of film at a nearby desk.
But soon, this will all be gone. This is the last day the Roxy is showing film. By press time, all the film projectors will havebeen replaced by digital projectors, screening content from hard drives.
"I've been fighting it for a long time," says Bonnie Zaft, the Roxy's head projectionist, walking past giant reels of film, the theater's last. "But at some point, you have to embrace change."
Zaft has been working with film for 18 years, and is known in local theater circles as one of the best film projector technicians around. But like so many other projectionists across the country, she'll soon find her skill set obsolete.
The conversion from film to digital projection is part of a nationwide trend. Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Paramount all began delivering movies on digital hard drives years ago, slowly phasing out bulky, heavy film containers and their high shipping costs.
"When the three major studios went digital, it was only a matter of time until they stopped shipping prints altogether," Zaft says. Studios still send film prints to theaters that haven't upgraded yet, but most everyone agrees that it's only a matter of time before they stop making film entirely, with some estimates as soon as three years from now.
The Roxy isn't the first local theater to convert to digital projection. Theaters in Sonoma, Petaluma, Sebastopol and Fairfax, owned by Cinema West, all use digital exclusively.
More common is a mix of both film and digital. The Smith Rafael Film Center still maintains film projectors for about half its theaters. Richard Peterson, director of programming, sees film as a diversifying agent for the theater.
"Film has been around for a hundred years," Peterson explains. "And if I want to show a movie from the 1940s that hasn't been digitized, the only way I can do that is on 35mm. The theaters that only want to show new movies will have to go digital, but we're going to keep showing old ones."
As with any analog-digital debate, aesthetics are an issue as well. "I think film looks better. A lot of people disagree with me," Zaft says. "But if you stand about halfway in the theater, you can see little pixels on the screen."
But environmentally, digital projection makes sense. A two-hour movie requires about 11,000 feet of film—film that's created using dwindling silver and oil resources. Recycling the film requires a complicated process that few studios use. Hard drives, while using more heavy metals than film, can hold new content and are recycled more easily, though they're not as easily repaired if something goes awry.
"If we have a problem with the digital projector, we turn it off, turn it back on," Zaft says. "If that doesn't work, it's a bad part—we have to wait weeks. For the film projectors, you could usually shove something in there and get it running."
Economically, the shift is much more favorable for the studios. To produce an 80-minute movie on film, it costs the studio between $1,500 and $2,500, whereas a hard drive costs a fraction of that. Shipping costs are also significantly lowered. For a theater, however, implementing the digital apparatus can cost up to $150,000. That could leave smaller one-screen theaters struggling if and when studios abandon film altogether.
Admittedly, though, film has its complications.
"On Christmas Eve, an assistant dropped a three-hour movie on the ground, and it was just everywhere," Zaft illustrates by tugging at a now-defunct reel of film on the repair tables. "It took us about four or five hours to put it back together. So, yeah, if somebody drops the movie, and you have to put it back together, that's the worst," says Zaft, working at the central controlling computer for the new digital projectors. "That said, I've been trying to load Cars 2 for four hours today."
All in all, Zaft misses the familiarity of the whirring reel.
"Downstairs in the projection room, you can't hear anything," she describes. "The actual projector itself makes no noise. It's really creepy."


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Want Fries With That? Nope! You want to upgrade to poutine. It's not authentic, but it's still awesome
Price: Single Burger, $5; Little Poutine, $5
For lunch in downtown Portland, there's no better place to go than the food carts. Throughout the city center throngs of local, independent purveyors of tasty eats are arranged in pods, selling everything from big, juicy bratwurst to heaping containers of pad thai. With such an international array of items offered, it may seem counter intuitive to get a burger, but the grass-fed, fast food-style burger at Sideshow Eatery makes a worthy argument for keeping things simple. Besides, there's also poutine.
In keeping with the "test the baseline burger before going bananas" principles of AHT reviewing, I went with the most basic burger ($5): a griddled 1/4-pound patty with the standard roughage and a gob of housemade burger sauce, which tasted like a spicy take on Thousand Island dressing. The thin grass-fed beef patty, sourced exclusively from Cascade Natural Beef, was nicely seasoned and lightly browned, with a fattier, less grassy flavor than most grass-fed beef I've tasted. If you need a little something extra, you can always add bacon, pork belly, or a second patty.
For a classic cheeseburger, it's great. All elements are executed well, and that little pop of spice from the sauce is a welcome addition.
There's also the Fancy Burger ($9.50), a more gluttonous option features a 1/3-pound patty cooked in duck fat and topped with arugula, white cheddar, Gruyère, and white truffle mayo. But going with the most standard burger presentation felt like the smart option since I also ordered what felt like a pound of poutine ($5).
Behold, the glory that is fries doused with gravy and topped with a pile of cheese curds! Sideshow does this iconic French Canadian dish up a bit differently. Namely, the gravy is a vegetable stock thickened with a roux, and the curds are cheddar.
Owner Jason Myers explained that he's tried to find a source for fresh curds (and has even attempted making them himself), both to no avail. Even though the curds aren't fresh enough to squeak, they stand up to the warm gravy, holding their shape and maintaining a chewy texture. There's also a ton of them. My best estimates put the fry-to-cheese ratio at about 60/40. Conclusion: Sideshow's poutine may not be by-the-book traditional, but it was more than good enough for me to holster my index finger, which I'm normally tempted to wag in the face of all poutine imitators. Translation: poutine good, Canadian reviewer approves.
If by some miracle you've saved room for dessert, there are beignets and soft serve. I can't comment on either since I was reserving any excess stomach real estate for poutine. I suggest you do the same.
Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter and Pinterest while you're at it!
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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A majority of voters in battleground states say they are not better off than they were four years ago, according to a USA Today/Gallup swing-states poll released Monday.
Ever since candidate Ronald Reagan asked that question, in his successful 1980 bid to unseat President Carter, it has become the quadrennial way to frame a presidential choice. Now it appears to pose a danger to President Obama, who has presided over a lackluster economic recovery and high unemployment.
The poll of 970 registered voters in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin found 56 percent say they are not better off, with 40 percent saying they are. Fifty percent of independents in those states say they are not better off, while 36 percent of Democrats and 84 percent of Republicans say that's the case – suggesting some voters may be interpreting the question in a partisan way.
But the poll, taken Aug. 6-13, also contains some good news for the president.
"[V]oters do not widely blame Obama for their circumstances," Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones writes.
Some 20 percent of swing-state voters say they are not better off and blame only Mr. Obama, the poll finds. Another 15 percent are not better off and blame both Obama and his predecessor, President George W. Bush. And 21 percent do not blame Obama, including 7 percent who say only Mr. Bush is responsible.
"It is quite possible that voters may cut Obama some slack on the economy, given that he took office during one of the worst economic downturns in US history," Mr. Jones writes.
But fewer than half of voters surveyed fall in that category: Some 46 percent said Obama has done as well as can be expected, while 52 percent said he has not. Not surprisingly, the majority of those who say Obama has done the best he could also say they personally are doing better than they were four years ago. A majority of those who are not doing better disagree that Obama has done his best to turn the economy around.
Swing-state voters also showed more pessimism than optimism about the future, regardless of who wins in November. Some 44 percent said they would be better off in four years if Mitt Romney wins, versus 49 percent who say they would not be better off. If Obama is reelected, 42 percent say they would be better off, and 52 percent say they would not be.
Gallup notes that most of the interviews were taken before Aug. 11, when Mr. Romney put Rep. Paul Ryan on the Republican ticket with him. Overall, Gallup daily tracking of voters across America finds Romney slightly ahead, 47 to 45 percent, though in the swing-state poll, Obama is slightly ahead, 47 to 44 percent. The margin of error in the swing-state poll is four percentage points.
Bottom line: "In order to get reelected, Obama must convince more voters that things are not as bad as they were four years ago, and that a major reason current conditions are not better is that the country had a long way to go to recover from the recession," writes Jones.


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29 January, 2013 | (30 min)
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In our hyper-competitive global world, there are few sustainable competitive advantages. One is a superior ability of a company to gather, filter, and use relevant information...continuously. Hear what leaders of information research and management are doing to ensure this advantage for their companies, and which actions they've chosen for their "must-do's" in 2013.
This webcast is part of the series, Your 2013 "Must-Do" List: Shaping the Future. As expectations for performance grow and resources continue to be tight, it's more important than ever to identify those "critical few" actions that drive the best results. In this new series of webcasts, we'll hear from leaders on the front lines about the issues and opportunities they will address in 2013–why they chose what they did and how the list is different from the past. By participating in the webcast, participants will gain new insights and ideas for their own 2013 lists.
Audience: Leaders and professionals involved with information research, information management, knowledge management; IT leaders and professionals involved with databases; and strategic planners
Jennifer G. Burrowes
Jennifer is a Managing Director and has worked at Accenture for 25 years. She leads the Growth Platform Research teams for the firm's in-house research capability known as Accenture Research. It is a group of over 170 research professionals located around the globe who have deep knowl...Full Bio
Teresa Wilkins
Teresa (Terri) Wilkins is the Director of the Research & Information Library, a unit within the Knowledge Resource Center at Buck Consultants, a global employee benefits and human resource consulting firm headquartered in New York and a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox. Terri has more than 25...Full Bio
Ethel M. Salonen
Ethel has extensive experience in the information services industry. She has held professional positions at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, the University of California at Riverside, Arthur D. Little, Inc., KPMG LLP, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and now The MITRE Corporation...Full Bio
Anne Greer
Anne Greer began working with The Conference Board in 2012. Along with Rita Shor, she directs the annual Innovation Master Class, designed for advanced learned among Fortune 500 executives responsible for leading innovation in their companies. She is Co-Program Director fo...Full Bio


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How Muskrat Created the World
The creation story is in every native American culture. Here are a few examples featuring Muskrat.
Creation of the World (Blackfoot)
"In the beginning, all the world was water. One day the Old Man, also called Napi, was curious to find out what might be beneath the water. So he sent animals to dive beneath the surface. First duck then otter, then Badger dived in vain. The Old Man then sent Muskrat diving to the depths. After a long time muskrat rode to the surface holding between his paws, a little ball of mud, and then blew upon it. The mud began to swell, growing larger, and larger, until it became the whole earth. Then the Old Man made the people."
The Creation Story – Turtle Island (Ojibway/Anishinabe)
Long ago, after the Great Mystery, or Kitchi-Manitou, first peopled the earth, the Anishinabe, or Original People, strayed from their harmonious ways and began to argue and fight with one another. Brother turned against brother and soon the Anishinabe were killing one another over hunting grounds and others disagreements. Seeing that harmony, brotherhood, sisterhood, and respect for all living things no longer prevailed on Earth, Kitchi-Manitou decided to purify the Earth. He did this with water.
The water came in the form of a great flood, or mush-ko'-be-wun', upon the Earth destroying the Anishinabe people and most of the animals as well. Only Nanaboozhoo, the central figure in many of the Anishinabe oral traditions, was able to survive the flood, along with a few animals and birds who managed to swim and fly. Nanaboozhoo floated on a huge log searching for land, but none was to be found as the Earth was now covered by the great flood. Nanaboozhoo allowed the remaining animals and birds to take turns resting on the log as well. Finally, Nanaboozhoo spoke.
"I am going to do something," he said. "I am going to swim to the bottom of this water and grab a handful of earth. With this small bit of Earth, I believe we can create a new land for us to live on with the help of the Four Winds and Kitchi-Manitou."
So Nanaboozhoo dived into the water and was gone for a long time. Finally he surfaced, and short of breath told the animals that the water is too deep for him to swim to the bottom. All were silent. Finally, Mahng, the Loon spoke up. "I can dive under the water for a long way, that is how I catch my food. I will try to make it to the bottom and return with some Earth in my beak."
The Loon disappeared and was gone for a very long time. Surely, thought the others, the Loon must have drowned. Then they saw him float to the surface, weak and nearly unconscious. "I couldn't make it, there must be no bottom to this water," he gasped. Then Zhing-gi-biss, the helldiver came forward and said "I will try next, everyone knows I can dive great distances." So the helldiver went under. Again, a very long time passed and the others thought he was surely drowned. At last he too floated to the surface. He was unconscious, and not till he came to could he relate to the others that he too was unable to fetch the Earth from the bottom.
Many more animals tried but failed, including Zhon-gwayzh', the mink, and even Mi-zhee-kay", the turtle. All failed and it seemed as though there was no way to get the much needed Earth from the bottom. Then a soft muffled voice was heard. "I can do it," it spoke softly. At first no one could see who it was that spoke up. Then, the little Wa-zhushk", muskrat stepped forward. "I'll try," he repeated. Some of the other, bigger, more powerful animals laughed at muskrat. Nanaboozhoo spoke up. "Only Kitchi-Manitou can place judgment on others. If muskrat wants to try, he should be allowed to."
So, muskrat dove into the water. He was gone much longer than any of the others who tried to reach the bottom. After a while Nanaboozhoo and the other animals were certain that muskrat had given his life trying to reach the bottom. Far below the water's surface, Muskrat, had in fact reached the bottom. Very weak from lack of air, he grabbed some Earth in his paw and with all the energy he could muster began to swim for the surface. One of the animals spotted Muskrat as he floated to the surface. Nanaboozhoo pulled him up onto the log. "Brothers and sisters," Nanaboozhoo said, "Muskrat went too long without air, he is dead." A song of mourning and praise was heard across the water as Muskrat's spirit passed on to the spirit world. Suddenly Nanaboozhoo exclaimed, "Look, there is something in his paw!" Nanaboozhoo carefully opened the tiny paw. All the animals gathered close to see what was held so tightly there. Muskrat's paw opened and revealed a small ball of Earth. The animals all shouted with joy. Muskrat sacrificed his life so that life on Earth could begin anew.
Nanaboozhoo took the piece of Earth from Muskrat's paw. Just then, the turtle swam forward and said, "Use my back to bear the weight of this piece of Earth. With the help of Kitchi-Manitou, we can make a new Earth." Nanaboozhoo put the piece of Earth on the turtle's back. Suddenly, the wind blew from each of the Four Directions, The tiny piece of Earth on the turtle's back began to grow. It grew and grew and grew until it formed a mi-ni-si', or island in the water. The island grew larger and larger, but still the turtle bore the weight of the Earth on his back. Nanaboozhoo and the animals all sang and danced in a widening circle on the growing island. After a while, the Four Winds ceased to blow and the waters became still. A huge island sat in the middle of the water, and today that island is known as North America.
Traditional Indian people, including the Ojibway, hold special reverence for the turtle who sacrificed his life and made life possible for the Earth's second people. To this day, the Muskrat has been given a good life. No matter that marshes have been drained and their homes destroyed in the name of progress, the Muskrat continues to survive and multiply. The Muskrats do their part today in remembering the great flood; they build their homes in the shape of the little ball of Earth and the island that was formed from it.
The Creation (Mohawk)
Tharonhiawakon ( He Who Holds Up The Sky ) uplifted the Tree of the Standing Light, he placed his pregnant wife at the edge of the hole, and he pushed her through into the space below. Aientsik fell. Below her, all of the universe was water. The animals of the water saw her falling, but because the sky was blue, as well as the water, they did not know if she was falling from the sky, or coming up from the bottom of the lake. All of the water animals had an argument about this. The otter said that she was coming up from the bottom of the lake. The beaver agreed, as did the Muskrat. The geese and the ducks, however, said that she was falling from the sky. They flew up, and breaking the fall of Aientsik, let her rest upon their backs, and brought her gently down to the surface of the water.
In the meanwhile, a great turtle came up out of the water and volunteered to be a resting place for Aientsik, or Fertile Earth. The beaver, otter and Muskrat each dove to the bottom of the lake to try to bring up a mouthful of earth to place on the back of the turtle. The beaver failed and died. The otter failed and also died. But the Muskrat was successful. He placed the mud on the back of the turtle and Aientsik was laid down to rest.
When she woke, there was a fire next to her and a pot of corn soup. The back of the turtle had grown in size and it was visibly continuing to grow with every passing minute. Aientsik stood up on the earth, and walked about it, helping in the process of its creation. Every day when she returned to her resting place, there was a fire and a supply of corn, or some beans or squash for her to eat. Corn, beans and squash have been known ever since as the three sister-providers of the Mohawk people.
Creation (Potawatomi)
In the beginning, the Old People taught, there was no land, only water. Floating on this Great Sea was a birch bark canoe. In it, weeping, sat a man, Our Grandfather. He wept because he had no idea of his fate.
After a time Chief Muskrat appeared and climbed into the canoe. "Grandfather," he asked, "Why are you crying so?"
"I weep because I have been here a long, long while, and there is no land," the man replied.
"But there is Earth down deep under the Great Sea," responded Muskrat. "If you wish, I can swim down and bring some back to you." Our Grandfather nodded, "Yes."
Muskrat disappeared beneath the Great Sea and then bobbed up again, a gob of Earth in his mouth. "Are you alone like me?" asked Our Grandfather.
"No," replied Chief Muskrat, and he called to his fellows, the other chiefs of the animals who dwelled in the waters. They appeared, one by one. First came Beaver, then Snapping Turtle, then Otter. Each in turn dove deep into the Great Sea and then reappeared, bearing a ball of Earth clenched in his mouth.
From these gobs of Earth, explained the Old People, Our Grandfather fashioned This Island. Day after day he added to it as his Grandchildren brought more Earth, until it was large enough and solidly anchored in the Great Sea. Then he planted the Great Tree and other growing things. Using a stick, he marked out the rivers and had the Muskrats dig out their channels.
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It's a living legal community making laws accessible and interactive. Click Here to get Started »
From lawbrain.com
A right to receive periodic payments, usually fixed in size, for life or a term of years that is created by a contract or other legal document.
The most common form of an annuity is akin to a savings account. The annuitant, the person who creates an annuity for his or her own benefit, deposits a sum of money, the principal, with an individual, business, or insurance company to be invested so that the principal will earn income at a certain percentage, usually specified by the terms of the annuity. This income is used by the company to pay the annuitant. Each payment received by the annuitant, sometimes called the primary beneficiary, represents a partial return of the principal and a portion of the income generated by its investment. Such annuities are employed frequently to provide a source of income to persons upon their retirement. A group annuity contract supplies periodic payments to a retired individual member of a group of employees covered by their employer's master contract. A retirement annuity is a policy paid to the annuitant after retirement. If the annuitant dies prior to the expiration of the annuity or wants to surrender the policy, an amount specified in the terms of the annuity is returned to the annuitant's estate or designated beneficiary.
Annuities are classified according to the nature of the payment and the duration of time for payment. A fixed annuity requires payment in a specified amount to be made for the term of the annuity regardless of economic changes due to inflation or the fluctuation of the ventures in which the principal is invested. A variable annuity provides for payments that fluctuate in size contingent upon the success of the investment of the principal. Such variation offsets the effect of inflation upon the annuitant. If, however, the investment has fared poorly, the size of the payments decreases.
A straight annuity is a contract by an insurance company to make variable payments at monthly or yearly intervals. A life or straight life annuity is payable to an annuitant only during the annuitant's lifetime and ceases upon his or her death. The size of the periodic payment is usually fixed based upon actuarial charts that project the expected life span of a person based upon age and physical condition. This type of annuity often contains provisions that promise payment to be made to a secondary beneficiary, named by the annuitant to receive benefits in case of the annuitant's death, or to the annuitant's heirs for a period of time even if the annuitant has died before the expiration of the designated period. A deferred annuity is one in which payments start at a stipulated future date only if the annuitant is alive at that time. Payment of the income tax due on the income generated is delayed until payments start. A deferred annuity is used primarily by a person who does not want to receive payments until he or she is in a lower tax bracket, such as upon retirement.
A refund annuity, sometimes called a cash refund annuity, is a policy that promises to pay a set amount annually during the annuitant's life. In case the annuitant dies before receiving payments for the full amount of the annuity, his or her estate will receive a sum that is the difference between the purchase price and the sum paid during the annuitant's lifetime.
A joint annuity is one that is payable to two named persons but upon the death of one, the annuity terminates. A joint and survivorship annuity is a policy payable to the named annuitants during their lives and continues for the benefit of the surviving annuitant upon the death of the other.
Tax Aspects
When an annuity is paid to an annuitant, he or she receives a portion of the principal and part of the return it has earned. For federal and state income tax purposes, only the amount attributable to the income generated by the principal, not the principal itself, is considered taxable income. The Internal Revenue Code provides an exclusion ratio to determine the amount of taxable income paid to the annuitant. Special tax rules apply to annuities that are qualified employee retirement plans.
The annuity payments made to the estate of a decedent might be subject to estate and gift tax as an asset of the decedent's gross estate. Federal and state laws governing estate tax must be consulted to determine the liability for such taxes.
See Also


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Martina McBride Announces Plans for 2012 Spring Theater Tour
Martina McBride and fellow hitmaker and country legend George Strait have been going at it together on the road for their 2012 tour, hitting arenas across the country. And while McBride enjoys playing to the packed-out venues that can fit thousands upon thousands of fans, she has a little something different up her sleeve for this spring: a more intimate theater tour that she'll be doing all on her own.
"I'm going back out in April for my own tour," the songstress tells Access Atlanta. "I'm excited. It's easier, well, not necessarily easier, but I'm looking forward to doing a more intimate show and slowing things down." McBride is on the Grammy nominee list this year for Best Country Solo Performance for her tear-jerking ballad 'I'm Gonna Love You Through It,' from her Oct. 2011 record 'Eleven.'
Speaking about her current tour with Strait, McBride says she thinks the two draw such an audience because they both bring the same thing, which is "A lot of hits." She suggests, "a lot of songs that people know. And you know, longevity. We've both been at it a long time and [for fans] it's comfortable and exciting to come and hear that many songs that you know. Even for me, watching his set, I hear all of these songs that take me back to so many places in my life."
But McBride is especially excited about one opportunity the theater tour will afford her — the chance to play some of her less up-tempo numbers that haven't been able to make it into the arena setting. "It is hard," she says of the big venues, "and the ballads are the first to go, unfortunately. But in an arena, you want to keep the pace going. In a smaller venue you can take your time. But I'm doing some songs from the new album and the classics. It's a mix of what I think people want to hear from the old stuff and the new songs."
McBride has yet to announce the tour dates and locations for her spring tour, but details are expected to come soon.


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260 – Kove
Sussex based Producer/DJ Kove first started dabbling in music production in 2006 and by 2009 he'd moved to London to produce for a synth-pop band, things didn't work out and he eventually left. However, whilst in London he discovered the world of Drum and Bass music. He hasn't looked back since.
This year saw two of his tracks being picked up by Futurebound of Viper Recordings, with one of the tracks, 'Breach' receiving a play on BBC's 1 Xtra. His next single, 'Iodine' was picked up by Andy C of Program/Ram records and is due on October 8th. Expect big things from this guy. Sum up this podcast in 10 words… Plenty of good dnb ,dancefloor action with melodic sensibility. What's your personal favourite track on it?Pure Gold, Calyx and TeeBee's new single. can't get enough of it. What's the special ingredient in this mix?I'm going to say plenty of bass, no messing around. What's the best gig you've played recently?As a DJ I've only played 4 so they've all been great. Being booked to play in Germany last week was a great experience and gave me a taste of what it's like to be on the road, (big up to Dave and the guys at MEA) and for that reason holds a special place. My first DJ gig was Ram at Fabric so again that will always be fondly remembered, certainly a baptism of fire! What have you got coming up?2 new remixes that are waiting to be released. The 1st is for an LA based musician called Big Black Delta that I finished in July thats sounding big. Heard it played out for the first time by Matrix & Futurebound who finished their set with it at Cable so its great to get that seal of approval, its due for release in November. His last single was remixed by the likes of Jimmy Edgar and Throwing Snow so it's nice to be in the mix of credible artists like that. The other was commissioned by a major record label 2 weeks ago which I only submitted a day before this mix, other than that plough on with getting my next single finished and out. And finally, do you have a special message for our readers?Be sure to check on my new single Iodine/Open Ground (released on oct. 8th on progRAM) and I hope you enjoy the mix and to keep updated all things Kove via www.facebook.com/koveofficialwww.twitter.com/koveofficial TracklistingDimension ft Cyantific – Detriot Tantrum desire – get with it Ed rush & Optical – Chubrub Wickaman, Hoodlum & Mavrik – One scratch Kove – Sleep it off Delta Heavy – Minus Calyx & TeeBee – Pure Gold Decimal bass – Jupiter Break – Framework Kove – See You Wilkinson – Automatic Metrik – Drift S.P.Y & Fasra – Surface Enei – Stonehead Kove –Open Ground Cyantific – Mirador Commix – Be True Kove – Gumbo Rene LaVice – Headlock VIP Aphrodite – Bad Ass Culture Shock – Troglodyte Kove – Iodine Hamilton – Deep In My Heart Wilkinson – Tonight Calyx & TeeTee – Perspectives Wickaman & RV – Sound Clash Frankee – Pandorum Kove – Breach DC Breaks – Move Closer Netsky – Come Alive (Culture Shock Remix) Noisia & Phace – Program S.P.Y – Love & Hate Kove – Horizon
Photographer – Oliver Clasper


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Upholstery Cleaning in SW5, SW7, SW10 Earls Court
Your furniture looks much older than it actually is. That keeps you really unsatisfied and you already worry how to put some money aside in order to buy a new sofa, a new armchair, and new dining chairs. Wait a second! There's a better solution: professional upholstery cleaning. Where? Here in Earls Court, at Nice and Clean London, of course! Why choosing us? Because our cleaning team comes to your place and that saves you from moving the furniture out of your home. Moreover, the experts use the most advanced steam-heat extraction technology which leads a merciless fight against the stubborn dirt. The stunning results are guaranteed!
Is your upholstery made of delicate materials like velvet or suede? Nice and Clean London have already predicted that too. In this case the cleaning agents use another method: dry cleaning. It protects the furniture from the residual moisture. No dust and dirt will rest in peace on your upholstery. And the biggest surprise is that you'll forget about buying new furniture, because your old one will look like brand new. Oh, here is your smile again! Call us on 020 3670 2141, we cover Earls Court and the whole SW5, SW7, SW10 district. Try this tempting service, it's worth it! Get yourself a really good looking upholstery! Mattresses, curtains, footstools, everything will be carefully cleaned. And here is the cherry of the pie : a completely affordable price. Who else wants to invest less and to receive more?
Sit on your lovely couch and relax! Now, after our professional work, the feeling is really different, isn't it? You're surrounded by fresh fragrance and soft fabric. Isn't it great that you saved money too? It's so easy when you rely on us, we've proved it so many times. Don't lose your time on calculating the budget for the new furniture, you don't need it. Nice and Clean London will make an incredible transformation of your old one. Get yourself a free quote on 020 3670 2141! May be we are just next door, here in SW5, SW7, SW10 Earls Court. Our formula works!
Finally, there is a little secret that can be applied after the professional upholstery cleaning. It's called Scotchgard. Find out more here.
Steam Cleaning
|A two-seater sofa
|A three-seater sofa
Dry Cleaning
|A two-seater sofa
|A three-seater sofa
Those prices are approximate and may vary depending on the actual size, fabric and the condition of the upholstery. Those are final prices and no more taxes will be added on top them. Minimum charges apply.


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Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to the recently released World of Warcraft patch 5.0.5. Hotfixes are updates we make on our end without requiring you to download a new patch. Some of the hotfixes below went live the moment they were implemented, while others may require your realm to be restarted to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. We will continue to update this list in the days to come as additional hotfixes are applied.
Patch Information
November 20
November 12
November 6
October 26 - Nov 1
Dungeons & Raids
Bug Fixes
October 25
October 19
October 16
Pet Battles
October 12
October 8
October 4
October 1
The periodic damage of Thrash (Bear) now deals 60% more damage. Initial direct damage remains un-changed.
September 28
September 25
September 20
September 18
September 14
September 12


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A short, intense and beautiful fugue in baroque style, reminiscent of Bach. Perfect to give your track an elegant yet exciting atmosphere, and can work in many settings – teasers, trailers, openings, game levels or even chase scenes!Other items you might enjoy:
- Bach's Air from Orchestral Suite no. 2 – Bach's beautiful masterpiece from one of his orchestral suites
- Cheerful Gigue – a positive, uplifting gigue in baroque style
- Ball at the Manor – peaceful, elegant track for string orchestra
- Largo from Vivaldis Winter – the second movement from Vivaldis Winter concerto


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This 2016 crossover set has "book style" packaging for the five figure G.I. JOE/TRANSFORMERS exclusives and is VERY collector friendly. Once the front panel is opened, the clear sleeve slides off. Figures can be removed and replaced in the internal blister tray as desired for play or display.
This Limited Edition set is available for pre-order and production quantity
will be split between the two Collectors' Clubs!


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Best Etsy Finds 2012
Our Favorite Etsy Finds of the Year
Our Favorite Etsy Finds of the Year
Whether you browse Etsy for products or for inspiration, there's no denying that the marketplace is a major source of great finds. On a given day, we'll stumble upon everything from ideas for what to do with old t-shirts (dog toys, anyone?) to affordable, beautiful wedding card holders, and this incredibly wide selection is why we love the site. Read on for some of the best that Etsy had to offer in 2012.