text: foo_vst: VST 2.4 adapter Reply #50 – 2010-11-19 19:37:01 I've misunderstood you. Yes, that should be possible. The obvious problem is that such a visualization will only work with already-processed data.But I think there is a better solution for analyzer-only VSTs. I can make my dsp service to pass data to actual analyzer VST with a delay that is equal to the output buffer size. Delay would be introduced for VST only, not for the whole processing chain. Here is the only problem is to obtain the output buffer size. Is it possible?


text:
Our SW LFS got a pair of domino clownfish in yesterday. If I did not already have a full QT tank, I would have taken them home. It's amazing as it seams like every year there seams to be a new color variation from selective captive breeding becoming popular. Once I get the new anemone settled in and ready to be hosted by some clown fish, I might have to order a pair of these guys.
Below are a few pics of the ones that I saw at the store
The below is a pic of a adlut domino clown fish I found on the interwebs

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This is a home-built machine with:
- Hardware
- Hauppauge PVR-150
- Antec Overture Media Center case, Piano Black (fairly quiet)
- AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Manchester 2.2GHz Socket 939 67W Single-Core Processor
- MSI K8N Neo4-F 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard
- ASUS EN7100GS512/TD/128M GeForce 7100GS 512MB (128MB onboard) 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card
- X-Gene 01027 Black 86 Normal Keys USB RF Wireless Mini Keyboard with Optical Trackball Mouse
- TP-Link TL-WN550G 802.11g/b wifi card (Atheros chipset)
- Software
- Fedora 8, using KDE (rather than Gnome, but I'm now willing to reconsider). If I had to do this over now I would probably choose Ubuntu instead, but I was already familiar with Fedora.
- MythTV 0.22 from the SVN HEAD (and remember, the cutting edge is the bleeding edge)
Fedora 8
Database connection: I followed the directions on the page Installing_MythTV_SVN_on_Fedora with little difficulty and was able to get mythtv to build and install. (I did tweak the mythweb instructions slightly, to make it the only thing installed on the web server, and as a result to make it install without need of extra configuration). I used qmake-qt4 in place of just qmake, as instructed.
But when it got time to run mythweb-setup I had a problem. At startup I got a menu page asking me for database host, username, password, port, etc, but even though these were correct, it continued to tell me that it could not connect to the database, even though I verified that I could connect to the database "by hand" with those parameters. The error output in the shell window included:
QSqlDatabase warning: QMYSQL3 driver not loaded QSqlDatabase: available drivers: QSQLLITE Unable to connect to database! No error type from QSqlError? Strange... couldn't open db
Searching the web gave some hints about the problem, but no firm answer. But it lead me to figure out the solution: I needed the qt4-mysql package:
# yum install qt4-mysql
and then mythtv-setup worked just fine.
Livna ffmpeg-libs problem
In mid-October Livna released an updated version of the ffmpeg package, along with ffmpeg-libs, and after the update transcoding wouldn't work. I traced this to mis-matched links to the libraries. Saying ls -l /usr/lib/libav* results in (amongst a longer list):
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 2008-10-25 14:32 libavcodec.so.51 -> libavcodec.so.51.50.1 -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3679984 2008-06-25 09:25 libavcodec.so.51.48.0* lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 22 2008-10-25 14:32 libavformat.so.51 -> libavformat.so.51.19.0* -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 638064 2008-06-25 09:25 libavformat.so.51.19.0* lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 19 2008-10-25 14:32 libavutil.so.49 -> libavutil.so.49.6.0 -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 32324 2008-06-25 09:25 libavutil.so.49.5.0*
Notice how the links point to libraries which do not exist. The solution was to delete the link and re-link to the real library, like so:
rosebud:lib# rm libavutil.so.49 rm: remove symbolic link `libavutil.so.49'? y rosebud:lib# ln -s libavutil.so.49.5.0 libavutil.so.49 rosebud:lib# rm libavcodec.so.51 rm: remove symbolic link `libavcodec.so.51'? y rosebud:lib# ln -s libavcodec.so.51.48.0 libavcodec.so.51
After this dvdauthor is hanging, so I still cannot burn DVD's. I don't know yet if this is related or a separate issue.
Hauppauge PVR-150
The mythtv-setup program could not connect to the video card, with dmesg giving
ivtv0: Unable to open firmware v4l-cx2341x-enc.fw (must be 376836 bytes) ivtv0: Did you put the firmware in the hotplug firmware directory?
The firmware can be obtained from the IVTV wiki here, along with instructions on how to deploy it. The hotplug firmware directory for Fedora 8 is /lib/firmware
- Hardware status: an easy way to see the status of the hardware after reboot is
$ dmesg | grep tv
When running mythtv-setup I noticed that some of the text of messages was not showing on the screen. But it didn't seem like a big problem -- I could still get around.
But after going through all 5 steps, it kept warning me that I had not set up Storage Groups. Did I want to go back and fix the problem? Yes, I did, but there was no 6th step for setting Storage Groups.
It turns out that the 6th step was there, just not being shown. When I scrolled down past step 5 and hit Enter I was able to go through step 6 and define Storage Groups.
- After an SVN update this has been fixed. You can now see the 6th step. --Wormholio 00:28, 16 October 2008 (UTC)
Video Configuration
When I first ran mythfrontend it bombed with a problem with the X server. I was able to fix this by installing the nVidia drivers
# yum install nvidia-graphics
After that I was able to use mythfrontend to watch live TV (sans sound -- see below). But this was on the VGA monitor I had attached, not TV-out.
It turns out the video card only produces output on the composite video output at certain resolutions. On top of that, the card needed to be configured to "clone" the output from VGA to composite video. Both of these things are the default behaviour for the VESA driver, but the VESA driver won't work for video playback.
I solved this by running
# nvidia-settings
This launches a graphical tool for configuring the card. I went to the X-Server display settings, turned on "TwinView", and set the position of the TV display to "Clones". Then "save X configuration" and told it to merge with my previous settings. This resulted in modifications to xorg.conf file, including this Screen section:
Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen0" Device "Videocard0" Monitor "Monitor0" DefaultDepth 24 Option "TwinView" "1" Option "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" "CRT-0" Option "metamodes" "CRT: 1024x768 +0+0, TV: nvidia-auto-select +0+0; CRT: 800x600 +0+0, TV: nvidia-auto-select +0+0; CRT: 640x480 +0+0, TV: nvidia-auto-select +0+0" SubSection "Display" Depth 24 EndSubSection EndSection
Whew, I'm glad I didn't have to figure out all that on my own.
Initially, when the machine booted sound did not work, not even the basic sound test. I could get it to work by reloading the drivers from the Sound Card Detection control. It looked like the OSS modules were being loaded instead of ALSA, but in fact I think that's just the OSS module for ALSA.
But getting sound to work in KDE still did not help sound in MythTV. Setting the audio device to ALSA:default didn't work.
I know that sound should be recorded because the PVR-150 encodes to MPEG-2, which includes the audio channel(s).
I finally got sound playback to work by setting the audio output device in MythTV to /dev/dsp, which goes directly to the output device.
Just testing sound by trying to play a sound file would fail:
$aplay burp.au *** PULSEAUDIO: Unable to connect: Connection refused aplay: main:564: audio open error: Connection refused
I wasn't using pulseaudio, as far as I knew. I was able to fix this by removing the ALSA plugin (and KDE control):
# rpm -e alsa-plugins-pulseaudio kde-settings-pulseaudio
After this I ran alsamixer, which had the Line level at zero. I raised it to 100%. I then found that audio worked with ALSA:default, but not the volume and mute controls. With /dev/dsp the mute and volume up/down controls work, so I'm sticking with that.
MythArchive - burning DVDs
MythArchive is a plug-in which allows one to burn recorded programs to DVD. When I tried this, after wending my way through the menus and launching the burn, it hung at the log viewer, with no messages displayed. The solution, as documented here, was to install the MySQL-python and python-imaging packages:
yum install MySQL-python python-imaging
After that, I was able to get log output when trying to burn, but I kept running up against dependencies. Each time I got an error it was because some tool was not installed, so I had to find out which Fedora package contains that tool and install that package. Here is the result:
application Fedora package jpeg2yuv mjpegtools spumux dvdauthor tcrequant transcode growisofs dvd+rw-tools
Also, while there is a checkbox when setting up a recording which implies that you can overwrite a DVD-RW disk while recording, that has not worked for me. If I don't blank out the disk first I get an error in the growisofs step. The message suggests looking at the README file, which suggests that the problem is lack of proper file permissions. But it's not. I have to blank the disk manually before recording, using
cdrecord --blank=fast
Additional Notes
- Database Initialization: An observation about the initialization of the database: Running the file mythtv/database/mc.sql through MySQL only sets up the mythtv database user and user permissions, it does not create the database tables or populate them. That is done later, by mythtv-setup. So there is no one file containing the database schema that you can look at (or at least I didn't find one).
- PVR-150 Firmware: the video capture card firmware is not loaded once and stored in ROM, it has to be loaded each time the computer is booted. This is easily arranged by putting the firmware files in the hotplug directory for your system. See above.


text:
Natural history by sea kayak since 1983
Thailand - Day trip
Hong by Starlight
Lunch & Dinner : Round Trip Transfers
Enjoy an afternoon of sea cave exploring literally inside Phang Nga Bay's marine geology, - including the caves and hidden lagoons John Gray found in 1989. Great nature and wildlife surrounds you...
Thailand - 2 Days/1 Nights
Phang-Nga Bay : 2Days/1Night
A Week-End Getaway for regional adventurers, an overnight transfer to Krabi, or a night out of crazy Patong, the Expedition Express packs your brain with a minimum Twenty-Eight Hours of Top Quality...
Thailand - 3 Days/2 Nights
Phang-Nga Bay : 3Days/2Nights
Combine our Khao Sok Mini-Expedition with our famous Phang Nga Sea Kayaking Mini-Expedition for an excellent week of Thai mountain and sea adventure. Combine Khao Sok with our 7-Day...
Thailand - 4 Days/3 Nights
Khao Sok National Park
Khao Sok National Park : 4Days/3Nights
Khao Sok is Thailand's largest lake, artificially made by a hydro-electric dam. We depart from the dam by longtail boat and never see any trace of civilization until we return....
Thailand - 7 Days/6 Nights
South Thailand Adventure
Phang-Nga Bay - Tarutao : 7Days/6Nights
Spend 3 days exploring Phang Nga Bay, overnight near the Peninsula's summit at a waterfall/wildlife sanctuary with a mountain cave and jungle stream, then finish with 3 nights and days at Tarutao in the Far South...
What Others Say
Lying flat in my kayak to float under the rock wall just inches above my nose, I couldn't help wondering how long until the tide would rise, trapping my fellow kayakers and me on the far side of the bat-filled cave we had just paddled through. But after emerging into the secluded, pristine lagoon, with sheer limestone cliffs rising up to the blue sky above, and a family of macaque monkeys descending from the trees, I was in no hurry to leave.
At sunset we were on our private island beach (just the three of us and our two guides) with tents, a delicious hot meal, and a toasty fire. The sky was clear and Tee called this our, "million star hotel." Better than any resort! The bay was bioluminescent, and the plankton glowed much brighter than I had experience in Fajardo bay in Puerto Rico. The glowing moonlight swim was one of the best travel moments I've ever enjoyed. It rained pretty hard during the night, but we stayed dry and comfy in our tents. In the morning we were surprised to see that some monkeys were trying to join us for breakfast on the beach.
We have done the Hongs by Starlight tour FOUR times and have loved it more and more each time. The quality and integrity of John Gray's program is second to none. The pleasant, fun, informative, hard working guides make the trip extra special. They consistently went above and beyond our expectations. And the food is fantastic! I cannot overstate my recommendation for John Gray tours. The entire experience is extraordinary.
I have done plenty of excursion during all my times in Phuket and this one has been the best one! I can't believe I haven't done it before! The trip was relaxed and is not rushing you through all stops like all the other squeezed speedboat trips. You actually feel treated like a welcome guest and not a tourist. We were on a big boat with plenty of space and lovely people. They prepared lunch and dinner which was so good! They even have a Chef on the boat and are prepared for any allergies or food intolerance.The sunset and night canoe was my personal highlight during the trip!
There are not too many people in the world who would choose to call themselves "Ling Yai" - Thai for Big Monkey - or have their employees refer to them by that name. But John Gray is proud of the nickname. He signs off his emails with it, even adding another nickname, "Caveman", which was given to him by fellow runners in the Hash House Harriers. So John Gray is an unusual man. He's also fascinating to talk with - a passionate, 24/7 environmental activist with a sense of humor to match his sense of mission.
John Gray's crew cares about you and about nature, they speak a decent to good English and will tell you a lot about what you are about to see and discover. Boats never get crowded and food on board is good. You'll be asked to respect Nature around you as much as they do, which means no touching, no loud talking and of course no smoking while you are exploring the famous 'Hongs' (enclosed lagoons, usually only accessible through a narrow tunnel when tides permit). They also try to avoid crowded places: a Hong with a hundred canoes in it is not exactly a great vision of nature at its best.
The original, still the most reputable and by far the most ecologically sensitive company on the island. Like any good brand in Thailand, John Gray's 'Seacanoe' name and itineraries have been frequently copied. Located north of Phuket Town.
John Gray Sea Canoe is the best sea kayaking experience in Phang Nga Bay. It combines all that is good in Thailand, beautiful nature, enchanting culture and delicious food. "Hong By Starlight" is the ultimate in high quality low volume tourism pioneered by John "Caveman" Gray, a larger than life Hawaiian who first explored Phang Nga Bay by kayak in the eighties. Your John Gray Sea Canoe adventure starts with a midday pickup and a gentle cruise to Phang Nga Bay while enjoying a delicious lunch on board. Departing at this time means that you avoid the crowds and can enjoy an afternoon of exploration in a more tranquil setting.
Hong By Starlight draws rave reviews and is 5-Star on Trip Advisor, but many people are disappointed they didn't book one of our multi-day sea kayaking trip. Hotels aren't cheap, and most folks pre-book. Don't make the same mistake. If you are reading this, take a look at our 2- day and 3-day overnight trips in Phang Nga Bay. The camping is luxurious and comfortable, and the Nature far more stunning than Phuket or Krabi. We also have 3 and 4 day add-ons to Khao Sok and Tarutao.
John Gray's Sea Canoe
Company Profile
Why John Gray Sea Canoe?
John Gray's Sea Canoe has never compromised its approach for the highest ideals and quality of service. Read in nine short points the spirit that stands behind John Gray's Sea Canoe...


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How Stores Trick Our Senses to Make Us Buy More: Taste
Part 1 of 5: How do stores use psychology to make us buy more?
Posted Dec 08, 2012
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
...a bunch of crap I really didn't need.
With just sixteen shopping days until Christmas, it's easy to get roped into buying things we might not actually have on our gift list.
Most times, we're conscious of our impulse purchases—there's a great sale on this! I'll use that later!
But sometimes reasons for our frivolous purchases are not so obvious to us. Don't feel too bad—store chains actually hire researchers to study our shopping patterns and take advantage of our weaknesses.
Our brains are endlessly fascinatingly organs—but sometimes they betray us. The following is the first post in a five-part series on how stores trick our senses into shelling out more money than we may intend.
Did you ever take the Pepsi Challenge?
For those unfamiliar (or living under a rock), the Pepsi Challenge was a campaign started by Pepsi back in the 1970s where Coca-Cola was pitted against Pepsi in a blind taste test by consumers.
When it was revealed that most Americans chose Pepsi over Coca-Cola, sales skyrocketed.
How they tricks us: We consumers like brands, and we're loyal to them.
It make sense, right? If you love your old Chevy but are in the market for a new car, you'll probably stick to the same make. It's familiar, and it didn't let you down.
In 2004, Dr. Read Montague of the Baylor College of Medicine tested the Pepsi Challenge on people while their brains were imagined in an fMRI machine.
Among the volunteers, more than half of them, much like the national polls, claimed to prefer Pepsi.
Their enjoyment was confirmed via fMRI. Compared to Coca-Cola, activity was greater in the ventral putamen—a region associated with reward—when volunteers sipped on Pepsi.
The study then took a surprising twist when Dr. Montague conducted his second experiment. This time, the volunteers were told whether they'd be sampling Coke or Pepsi before they took a sip.
Strangely, 75% of participants suddenly claimed to prefer Coke.
Furthermore, fMRI scans showed activity in the medial prefrontal cortex—associated with higher thinking and decision-making—in addition to the ventral putamen. Now, it seemed, their brains were locked in a battle of rational thinking versus pleasurable feeling.
Why, exactly, did this happen? Montague reasoned that, suddenly, Coca-Cola's brand—its logo, color, history, the memorable ads and childhood recollections—beat out young, newfangled, inexperienced Pepsi.
One's biased, emotional link with a brand, it appears, can trump our natural, unbiased preferences.
Forget a blind taste test. If you went by brand alone, which cookies (below) would you buy without thinking?
Now guess which costs more...?
Check back later this week for "How stores trick our senses to make us buy more (Part 2 of 5: Sight)."
McClure SM, Li J, Tomlin D, Cypert KS, Montague LM, & Montague PR (2004). Neural correlates of behavioral preference for culturally familiar drinks. Neuron, 44 (2), 379-87 PMID: 15473974


text:
Item Description
Photograph, Constitutional Convention 1855
Author: Orr, J. W.
Date: 1855
Photograph of an illustration of the Topeka Constitutional Convention, Topeka, Kansas Territory, 1855 in session. Illustration from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, December 15, 1855.
Location of Original: KSHS Call Number: FK2.1 CT *1
Item Number: 100073 Number of images: 1
Keywords: Free State Convention; Free state government; Periodical illustrations; Photographs and Illustrations; Shawnee County, Kansas Territory; Topeka Constitutional Convention, October 1855; Topeka buildings; Topeka, Kansas Territory
pg. 1


text:
De fournisseur régional à leader mondial
Des acquisitions stratégiques ont fait de CEMEX, un producteur de ciment régional fournissant le nord du Mexique, un leader mondial dans le secteur des matériaux de construction.Voir la vidéo
The best acquirers are proactive, not reactive. They don't rely on investment bankers to bring them deals. They are actively engaged in the hunt. They conduct M&A thoughtfully, carefully, and with plenty of due diligence. The starting point? Identifying potential targets that make sense within the company's overall business portfolio.
For any large company, growth through acquisitions is likely to be a key component of corporate growth strategy. Growth drives value creation, and acquisitions can offer a path to growth when organic options are limited. But the hard truth is that acquisitions are more likely to destroy value than create it. On average, more than 50% of all acquisitions lead to a decline in relative total shareholder return after one year.
Effective target identification is built on the foundation of a sound portfolio strategy. Such a strategy identifies the most promising market segments for growth, assesses whether organic or acquisitive growth is the best way forward, and defines the commercial and financial hurdles for potential deals.
Companies need proven methodologies to ensure that target identification is based on solid research, not guesswork. Companies that have done their homework are prepared to take advantage of unexpected acquisition opportunities when they arise.
Acquirers that take a structured approach to acquisitions benefit from institutional learning to make better acquisitions over time. Every deal is different, but in our experience,.
The first three steps, explained below, help identify promising companies that can bring value to the corporate portfolio. The other three steps take the buyer through the due diligence process, negotiation, and preclose integration planning.
Des acquisitions stratégiques ont fait de CEMEX, un producteur de ciment régional fournissant le nord du Mexique, un leader mondial dans le secteur des matériaux de construction.Voir la vidéo


text:
The history of Halloween goes back more than 2,000 years. The earliest celebrations of Halloween were among the Celtic people who lived in the areas which are now Great Britain and Northern France.
The Celts were people who worshiped the beauty of nature. They worshiped a Sun God and believed that without him, they would not live. They also worshipped Samhain who was the lord of the dead and of the cold, dark winter season. They believed that on October 31 Samhain would call together all of the dead and these souls would take on the shape of an animal. They believed that all creatures wandered the Earth on that night. This was called the Vigil of Samhain.
The Druids, which were the priests of the Celtic people, would build fires on the hilltops in belief that the large fires would help to strengthen the Sun God, and give him power enough to overcome the lord of darkness so that the sun season could continue. They believed that the fires were sacred, therefore they burned dried crops and sacrificed animals to help strengthen the Sun God. At midnight they stop worshipping the Sun God and start to worship Samhain because he will be the ruler for the next six months. This is the starting of the new year. They perform ceremonies through the night to ask the spirits to tell the future of the upcoming year. In the morning each household receives an ember from the fire, this ember is used to start fires in their own homes with the belief that it will ward off evil spirits in the new year.
The Celts continued with their ceremonies until they were conquered by the Roman Catholics. The Roman Catholics brought with them their own customs and traditions. They had established All Saints Day or All Hallows Day on November 1. This was a day in which all saints who did not have their own declared holiday were honored. The church had hoped that by establishing this holiday, it would do away with the Vigil of Samhain and the other ceremonies and celebrations held on October 31 through November 1. But this was not so. Soon witchcraft came about, and October 31 was renamed Night of the Witch. It was believed that the devil and all of his followers (demons, witches) would come out on this night to perform unholy acts to make a mockery of the All Hallows Day celebration. These ceremonies and celebrations continued and October 31 was then called All Hallows Even. It was a night for superstitious beliefs and mystery. Through the years the name was shortened to Hallowe'en and then to Halloween.
The Irish brought Jack-O'-Lantern to America. Jack was a legendary, stingy drunkard. He tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree for a juicy apple and then quickly cut the sign of the cross into the tree trunk, preventing the Devil from coming down. Jack made the Devil swear that he wouldn't come after his soul in any way. The Devil promised. However, this did not prevent Jack from dying. When he arrived at the gates of heaven, he was turned away because he was a stingy, mean drunk. Desperate for a resting place, he went to the Devil. The Devil, true to his word, turned him away. "But where can I go?" pleaded Jack. "Back where you come from," spoke the Devil. The night was dark and the way was long, and the Devil tossed him a lighted coal from the fire of Hell. Jack, who was eating a turnip at the time, placed the coal inside and used it to light his way. Since that day, he has traveled the world over with his Jack-O'-Lantern in search of a place to rest. Irish children carved out turnips and potatoes to light the night on Halloween. When the Irish came to America in great numbers in the 1840s, they found that a pumpkin made an even better lantern, and so this "American" tradition came to be.
Chambers, W. Asher, S. (1983). The Celebration Book of Great American Traditions. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.
Cordello, B. (1977). Celebrations. New York: Butterick Publishing.
Hurda, D.J. (1983). Halloween. New York: Franklin Watts.
Patterson, L. (1963). Halloween. Champaign, Illinois: Garrard Publishing Company.
Shaulis, J. (1996). Battle for Halloween
surfaces once again. The Herald Journal. Logan, Utah. pg. 10
** I chose to focus on only one aspect of Halloween, the jack-o'- lantern. (pumpkins)
* Students will
organize sequence cards appropriately.
* Students will give examples of and illustrate some "Pumpkin facts".
* Students will recognize that Halloween is celebrated in different countries around the world.
* Students will recognize that Halloween traditions are different in different areas.
* Students will recognize different uses of pumpkins.
* Students will relate pumpkins to the jack-o'-lantern and Halloween.
sequence cards
Pumpkin Pumpkin book
map (world)
Pumpkins (various sizes)
measuring tapes
recipe ingredients
A. Predictions. Ask the children to make predictions about what they think the inside of a pumpkin looks like.(ex. solid, liquid, slimy, etc.) Have a small pumpkin there for them to handle and look at. Write the predictions on the board. Then cut open the pumpkin and look at the inside. Check to see if any predictions were right. Discuss about what is inside the pumpkin. (ex. seeds, meat, etc.)
B. Sequencing. This activity shows the correct growth sequence, from a seed to a pumpkin, and finally a jack-o'-lantern. Use the cards to show the correct sequence. This can be done individually or as a group. Read the story Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington. Use the cards to sequence the events in the book. Students may also retell the story using only the sequence cards. Each child should have a set of sequence cards. (see Appendix)
C. History. Discuss the history of the pumpkin and how they were spread throughout the world. Show the children on a world map that pumpkins originated in Northern, Central and South America. After the Americas were discovered the pumpkins were taken back to France and England. Show the travels on the map. Then have the children identify the areas on the map.
D. Writing Experience. Take the children to a pumpkin patch in which pumpkins are growing. Allow them to ask questions and explore. Discuss with the students the economics of growing pumpkins. Discuss that some farmers specifically grow pumpkins (fruits and vegetables) for a profit. The farmers invest time and money into growing and caring for the pumpkins which they have planted. In turn, they sell them to the public either from their own stands or to grocery stores for resale. Have the children draw a picture or write a sentence or two about what they saw. Share with the class.
E. Mini Lecture. Explain the different facts about pumpkins (see Appendix), (Hint: You may want to have visual aids for some of the "facts" for example, different types of pumpkins, vines, canned pumpkin). Also discuss how we use pumpkins for jack-o'-lanterns. Tell the brief history of the jack-o'-lantern. Have the children make books and illustrate them using the facts they have learned. They can design their own pumpkin covers. Have the children share and read their books.
F. Field Trip. Discuss with the students that Halloween is a much bigger holiday in the United States than in Europe. Although we did get the ideas and traditions from the Europeans. In England, and other european countries it is not much of a holiday. Discuss with the students about the community Halloween traditions. One of the biggest traditions in Logan, Utah is the Pumpkin Walk (in which scenes of a given theme are created by carving and painting pumpkins). Relate our local traditions to traditions in other parts of the country. In New York City they have a Halloween parade in which the people in the community dress up in silly and odd costumes and parade down the streets. Other community traditions include festivals, carnivals, and parties. Have the children attend the pumpkin walk or create their own Halloween parade.
G. Math Application. Give a pumpkin to each group of four or five students. Have students weigh, measure and find other facts about their pumpkins by answering the following questions: How long is the stem of your pumpkin? How many ridges are there going around the pumpkin? What is the circumference of your pumpkin? How much does your pumpkin weigh? How many seeds are in your pumpkin? (be sure a hole is cut in the top of the pumpkin) Have each group record their answers on a class graph. Discuss the graph. You may also discuss economic prices of the pumpkins. Have the children figure out higher and lower prices per pound by weight.
H. Hands-on. Each child will participate in making one of the following recipes: Quick and Easy Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bread, or Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. (see appendix for recipes) The children will be instructed to use correct measurements and methods. The children will then be able to taste each of the items the class has prepared. Discuss different ways to use pumpkins in celebrations (food, jack-o-lanterns, decoration, sell for profit, etc.).
I. Open Discussion. After all of the previous activities have been completed ask the students to respond to the following question. "What do you know about pumpkins?"
* Ability to
sequence the cards of the growth of a pumpkin will be
* Ability to recognize specific areas where pumpkins are grown on a world map will be assessed.
* Created books and sharing of them will be assessed.
* Math responses will be assessed.
* Responses to discussion questions will be assessed.
Hill, N. (1992). Food for Thought. Greensboro, North Carolina. Carson Dellosa Publishing Company, Inc.
Return to Celebrations Table of Contents


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http://mmajunkie.com A featherweight bout of Pablo Garza (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Yves Jabouin (15-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and a welterweight fight of Claude Patrick (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Daniel Roberts (12-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) are now official for April's UFC 129 event.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) previously reported the bouts, which UFC executives recently made official.
UFC 129 takes place April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto and features a welterweight title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Jake Shields.
The night's main card airs on pay-per-view, though both Garza vs. Jabouin and Patrick vs. Roberts both are slated for the preliminary card.
Garza, who was part of the original 28 fighters on "The Ultimate Fighter 11," recently scored a highlight-reel win over Freidson Paixao in the first featherweight bout in UFC history. Garza launched a flying knee that knocked out cold his Brazilian opponent. That win followed a disappointing Zuffa debut in which he took a short-notice WEC 51 fight with Chinese import Tiequan Zhang and suffered a first-round submission loss, the first defeat of his career.
Jabouin, who works out of Montreal's Tristar Gym under the tutelage of St-Pierre trainer and strategist Firas Zahabi, fights in his new home country. The Port-au-Price, Haiti native ended a three-fight stint with the now-defunct WEC on a winning note when he took out Brandon Visher via decision at WEC 52. The triumph reversed a two-fight slide at the hands of Rafael Assuncao and fellow Canuck Mark Hominick under the WEC banner.
Patrick, meanwhile, fights for the first time since an October 2010 win over James Wilks at UFC 120. "The Prince" also was victorious in his octagon debut when he defeated Ricardo Funch via submission at this past June's UFC 115 event. Patrick sports a 12-fight win streak overall and has not tasted defeat since a June 2002 loss to former UFC fighter Drew McFedries.
Roberts enters the matchup on a three-fight win streak. A teammate of Shields, Roberts suffered a knockout loss to John Howard in his March 2010 UFC debut but since has rebounded with victories over Greg Soto, Mike Guymon (which earned a "Submission of the Night" award) and Forrest Petz, all under the UFC banner.
The latest UFC 129 card now includes:
- Champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields (for welterweight title)
- Champ Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick (for featherweight title)*
- Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida*
- Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill
- Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson
- Brian Foster vs. Sean Pierson
- Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin
- Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts
- Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia
- Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen
- John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson
- Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald*
* – Not officially announced
For more on UFC 129, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
(Pictured: Yves Jabouin)


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1. Read 12 novels.
It was sort of a crazy month, being a wreck about my messy family life and preparing for a job interview and whatnot. I started a book, but I'm not quite through it. I'm still at six – nearly seven – for the year, so I'm not entirely concerned.
2. Find a new job or go back to school. Or, ideally, find a new job AND go back to school.
Still looking. Landed that interview, of course, but it doesn't feel promising. All I can do is keep my hopes up and my nose to the grindstone. There has to be something better out there.
3. Go to the gym with increased frequency.
Gym: Breaking my previous record of 14, I made 16 trips to the gym 14 times in May! I've hit the gym 63 times in 2007 and my goal is 175. I'm pretty much screwed, as far as making this resolution goes, but trying won't kill me.
Skating: A mere 5 times in May. Holiday weekends and traveling killed me.
Soccer: I played six times in May. And it's all going uphill from here.
4. Not make a weight-related resolution.
I weigh myself. And I do wonder why, with all that I do, I don't ever see loss. Being a consistent weight isn't a bad thing, however.
5. Knit more.
Sucked. Didn't even move my knitting bag from the table.
6. Stop the incessant purchasing.
Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale is a highly addictive substance.
7. Visit with my grandparents more.
Quality time with Grandma during The Chicago Trip From Hell. Quality time with Grandma and Grandpa on Mother's Day and again on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I enjoy spending time with them. But every time I saw them in May was marked by a quiet sadness. It's hard to see.
8. Cut back on the coffee/hazelnut cappuccino mix that I feast on allfrickingdaylong at work. It's as bad as sipping on a soda all day.
I quit coffee. Pretty much solves that problem.
9. Become a sweet-ass juggler.
I'm bad at carving away time from my day to dedicate to practicing my juggling. There was only one time this month that I got my ball out just to work on the juggling. I imagine that it will only get worse, now that I'll be playing soccer 3+ times/week.
10. Allow myself to trust Colin.
Distance made the heart grow fonder in May. Colin and I barely saw each other this month and I appreciate him more for it.
We sustained our relationship with phone calls, thoughtful text messages and blabbering emails exchanged during our workdays. I saw him only a few times, each being refreshingly tranquil and pleasant. Right now, we're comfortable. I'm looking forward to the summer.
May's resolution of the month: Wear sunscreen every day
Yeah. This was easy.
A pinch to grow an inch: June's resolution of the month
Drink water like woah
Here's the thing: if I'm going to play in three soccer games per weekend – in the sweltering Midwestern summertime – I need to do it when I'm hydrated. I'm tracking the number of glasses of water I'm drinking per day on a handy calendar, which I hope will keep me honest. I'm shooting for an 8 cup/day average for the month.
On 2007's resolutions:
The Original
Resolution Review 1
Resolution Review 2
Resolution Review 3
Resolution Review 4
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Resolution Review 5
Posted by A at 2:17 PM
Labels: resolutions
1 comments:
- Mrs. Architect said...
The water issue is EASY for me. I drink a medly of hot green tea (some flavored like pomegranite, wild berry etc), hot white tea (same thing, but time month i went with jasmine), water, and highly watered down orange juice. When you water down the oj, it cuts the boring taste of water, it doesnt give me that NASTY feeling i get when i am approaching the 8th glass, and the sugar is minimal compared to drinking straight juice. Plus, you get some vitamins out of it and it ends up being a lot of thirst quenching and refreshing.
So between all of the above, i get way more than my 64 oz a day.
LOVE the resolution updates!!! :-)
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Being a Jane Austen fanatic for decades (and I do mean decades) I read the novel Austenland when it first came out. I admit it, if there actually was an Austenland, I'd probably go. I've read fanfic at Austen Interlude, the Republic of Pemberly, and alas, the now defunct Hyacinth Gardens. I even wrote an ultimate Jane Austen movie guide for Hypable. I consider myself something of a cross between Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility and Fanny Price from Mansfield Park. I've seen every Austen movie, spin-off, loose adaptation. Yeah, I am one of those people. So to say I am picky about my Austen is an understatement.
When I read the novel version of Austenland, I was kind of meh about it. I loved the plot, but I didn't really connect to the heroine. In the novel she was too much like the 30-something, NYC-overly career obsessed and struggling to find themselves women who I have to deal with in my day job. I have to say one of the big improvements from the novel is that Jane's backstory is streamlined, and she is infinitely more likable and quirky than the Jane of the novel. Whereas, I was so-so about the novel, I liked the movie way better.
A good deal my liking the movie Jane has to do with Kerri Russell's portrayal. How can anyone not just love Kerri Russell! She is vulnerable, lovable, loyal with a streak of independence. Her character of Jane also has a great way of making lemonade when she is served lemons. She doesn't let Mrs. Wattlesbrook, played by Jane Seymour, get her down, or ruin her fun. She's also way more obsessed with the world of Austen than her book counterpart is.
Stephenie Meyer described the movie as a com-rom. It's a newly coined term for a comedy romance. First and foremost this movie is a comedy. There is the high-brow, witty comedy provided by the acerbic remarks from Mr. Nobley. He is a Darcyesque character played by JJ Feilds. There's also the low-brow comedy provided by Miss Charming played by the larger than life Jennifer Coolidge. According to director/screenwriter Jerusha Hess, Coolidge was given freedom to ad lib many of her scenes. One of her best moments is pretending to read aloud from Pride and Prejudice, only what's she say isn't regency. It goes in an entirely rated r fashion until Jane cuts her off with a blush and a curt, "I don't think Mr. Darcy would ever say that."
Secondly, the movie is a romance. Jane has two equally presented choices. Book fans will be interested to note that I did not find that the movie revealed too much about either gentleman. I saw them each as Jane viewed them, the good and bad. The question the viewer is presented with is, Can Jane find happiness, a fling, and perhaps a future with Mr. Nobley or Martin, the groundskeeper. If she makes a choice, will she want more than either is willing to give? What might be the price for giving her heart? Is it real love, or just a vacation romance?
The supporting cast is just terrific. There isn't a weak actor in the lot including the background actors who in various scene are lugging all sorts of period items from picnic supplies to luggage around and looking very weary in doing so, but then perking up when the upper classes observe them. One of the real standouts is Ricky Whittle who plays the over-the-top, swashbuckling Captain East. He doesn't miss a chance to flirt with three ladies at once while showing off his 8-pack abs at the drop of a hat.
The movie is very faithful to the novel with only minor changes. There is a slight change in the ending that I quite enjoyed. I found the novel's ending a bit too abrupt. Without spoiling, I felt the movie let the airport scene play out more naturally with a far more satisfying and believable resolution.
I only had minor quibbles with the film. As funny as Jennifer Coolidge is, the big, brassy, and loud thing works better in small doses. The humor was milked too much. It's as if the director wasn't sure we'd get the joke so it played on too long. We get it, she has a bad accent, she's the typical "ugly American". It was funny the first time, not the 5th scene where it goes on too long. I realize she is supposed to be over-the-top, but it was too much for me. It was like she was trying too hard for the gag that never seemed to end. Also the scene where Lady Amelia drags Jane aside and wants to be her bosom sister and then goes crazy jealous on her was funny, but again too long for the comedy to land.
Lastly, viewers should stick around for the credits for a HILARIOUS look at the actors doing a rap lip-synch in Regency dress. It's like a bunch of Downton Abbey wannabes trying to be the little girls from the hood. You don't want to miss it.


text: News & Events / News print News View All Faculty Alumni Students General RSS Feeds YEAR 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 « Back 10.07.13 Professor Joel Gora Lends Expertise to Campaign Finance and First Amendment Issues With campaign finance law restrictions and First Amendment rights in the headlines, Professor Joel Gora — one of the country's most renowned authorities in these fields — has been frequently called upon to share his expertise. Much of the current attention has focused on McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, currently pending in the United States Supreme Court. On October 8, the Court will hear argument on the case, a revisiting of its landmark ruling in Buckley v. Valeo almost 40 years ago — a case for which Professor Gora was one of the ACLU lawyers. The 1976 decision drew a constitutional distinction between limits on contributions to candidates and political committees and limits on expenditures by such candidates and committees. The Court reasoned that expenditure limits involved direct restraints on speech, requiring strict scrutiny to pass muster. But contributions only involved a kind of second-hand speech and would be judged by lesser First Amendment standards. The McCutcheon case questions that wisdom, challenging not how much one can contribute to any one candidate or committee, but rather, how many such candidates and committees one can support. In other words, McCutcheon does not quarrel with the so-called "base" limits on how much he can contribute to any one candidate or committee, but with a series of additional "aggregate limits" that impose financial ceilings on how many such contributions he can make overall to all candidates and committees. In a recent SCOTUSblog Symposium on the case, Professor Gora described the issues as follows: "In McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, those separate aggregate limitations are being challenged as violations of the First Amendment rights of McCutcheon and the Republican Party. The argument is quite straightforward: the only basis for limiting the amount of contributions that can be made directly to candidates is the concern with quid pro quo corruption (trading dollars for political favors) and, by definition, that cannot exist because each of McCutcheon's proposed candidate contributions is within the legal base limits. And, to the extent that Congress is worried about circumvention of those limits via so-called 'conduit contributions' made to party committees that could wind up being used for particular candidates, Congress has already taken care of that problem by putting into place a number of legal baffles and filters to prevent that from happening." Professor Gora's in-depth knowledge of the issues was solicited by the Supreme Court Institute of the Georgetown University Law Center. That group invited Gora to participate as a judge in a high-level, closed-door moot court proceeding where the lawyer representing McCutcheon in the high court had a chance to rehearse her arguments before a panel of experienced Supreme Court advocates and scholars, including Professor Gora. In September, he was quoted in a USA Today article commenting on the case as well. He is currently sharing his insights into all of these issues at the Law School by teaching a Campaign Finance Law Seminar, providing students the opportunity to probe these questions in much greater depth. Professor Gora has long been a recognized authority and sought-after commentator on campaign finance. Beyond his central role in Buckley v. Valeo, he has written and spoken extensively on a range of issues, including in an article supporting the Supreme Court's ruling in the famous Citizens United case, and in his most recent article, entitled, "Free Speech, Fair Elections and Campaign Finance Laws: Can They Co-Exist?" Gora's predictions on the McCutcheon case were expressed at the conclusion of his SCOTUSblog essay: "The great sage, Yogi Berra, once supposedly said, 'when you come to a fork in the road, take it.' In Buckley, the Court followed that advice by seeming to take different doctrinal paths in judging the validity of expenditure versus contribution limitations. The McCutcheon case will tell us whether those paths are destined to merge." Read more about Professor Gora. Email this article Share Read the latest issue of Brooklyn Law Notes


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College Affordability Resources
NEA Student Program
60,000 student members are working on more than 900 campuses in all 50 states to become tomorrow's educators.They're fostering leadership, providing networking opportunities, seeking to make higher education more affordable.
Students Rally for College Affordability
Marchers and participants from Illinois State University and South Carolina State University in this video demonstrate their concerns about the costs of higher education and the resulting debt. Activities like this November 2007 event have already forced Congress to pass the College Cost Reduction and Access Act which: Increases the maximum Pell Grant award, reduces interest rates on subsidized student loans, and creates new TEACH grants.
For Many, College Still Out of Reach
The cost of college is far beyond too many families -- and soaring ever higher, according to the Campaign for America's Future. But the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, signed into law late last year, should help some by expanding federal assistance.
Financial Management and Loan Debt Resources
5 Steps to Kick Student Debt (PDF)
Did you know that more than 33 million Americans qualify for Income Driven Repayment plans? Download 5 Steps to Kick Student Debt to learn more!
Deal with Your Debt, Invest in Your Future
Credit card debt, outstanding schools loans, a mortgage, car note, daycare expenses, and other bills causing you stress? You're not alone. Many NEA members need help to gain control of their finances and find ways to reduce debt. That's why NEA Member Benefits and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling have teamed up to provide financial literacy and debt management education to NEA members and their families.
Income-Based Repayment
A new program starting July 1, 2009 will take a person's income-to-debt ratio into account. That means a borrower may never have to pay more than 15 percent of his or her discretionary annual income towards student loan debt. This is part of passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Borrowers who work in public service positions -- including teachers -- are eligible to have their federal loans forgiven after ten years of qualifying payments. Even if your loans are bank-based (like those from Sallie Mae) you can look into moving them into a federal direct consolidation loan.
Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act
Highly-qualified math, science, and special education teachers are eligible for up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness after teaching five years in a low-income school. It is available to new borrowers (teachers with no outstanding loan balances prior to October 1, 1998, who borrow eligible loans prior to October 1, 2005). Call the Federal Student Aid Customer Service hotline at 1-800-433-7327 for information on the program and to find out if you qualify.
Compare College Loan Rates
This chart shows how individual states' student loan rates stack up with one another.
Project on Student Debt
You'll find a list of financial aid terms and their definitions, ways to compare student loan discounts, and questions to ask before you sign. Additionally, their state-by-state map shows the average debt of graduating seniors at four-year colleges and the percentage of graduates with debt in 2006.
College Board Annual Report on Trends in College Tuition and Financial Aid, 2007
Federal student aid to undergraduates showed slow growth, while published tuition prices continued to increase.


text:
Objects in the shade of Silver
The closest color to #cbc8b1 in the Crayola® color palette is
Silver which has the hex code of #cdc5c2.
Perhaps you'd like to see the intersection between this color and CSS3 or CSS4 palettes?
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text: The Hex Editor That Can Do More. FlexHEX is a full-featured hex editor designed to edit binary files, OLE compound files, logical devices, and physical drives. With FlexHEX you can inspect, modify, insert, search, or replace binary, ASCII, or UNICODE data. In addition to the powerful editing functions, FlexHEX includes an unlimited Undo/Redo feature, so you are never at risk of losing your data because of a typing error. Powerful navigation and tracking functions make browsing binary data easy and convenient. File navigation cannot be simpler - you can always keep track of your position with bookmarks, area lists, jump history, and other handy tools. No matter whether your file is huge or tiny, FlexHEX handles it equally efficiently. You can open, save, paste, or drag-and-drop hundreds gigabytes of data in a wink of an eye. FlexHEX provides full support for advanced NTFS features, such as alternate streams or sparse files. Now you can edit the hidden data other hex editors simply can't see. FlexHEX has been designed to fill the needs of software professionals and you will find it powerful, convenient, and behaving exactly the way you expect it to. So Why FlexHEX. Easy and intuitive user interface makes hex editing a breeze. A rich set of features to satisfy the most demanding users. Native support for huge files up to NTFS theoretical limit. No matter how large the file is, FlexHEX handles it fast and efficiently. Logical and physical disk editing. Unique features no other hex editor offers: OLE compound files, NTFS alternate streams, sparse files, and more. Take the FlexHEX online tour or download a free 30-day trial. I have tried quite a number of hex editors and consider FlexHEX to be the best, all things considered. I often have to edit huge files, and most hex editors are simply not adequate to the task, no matter what their authors claim. So when I saw a gigabyte large chunk of data copied and pasted in a split of a second, I could not believe my eyes! Impressive. FlexHEX is a well designed, rock solid piece of software, with tons of features and an excellent, easy to use interface. I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a good hex editor. Robert Bridges Los Angeles, USA.PREVIOUS NEXT


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It took a long time to get there, but finally the European Central Bank (ECB) said it would buy unlimited quantities of bonds from countries in need of aid to drive down interest rates and keep markets from panicking. But now that the ECB has declared a willingness to act, neither Spain nor Italy, the next two countries in line, have come forward to ask for assistance. According to Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy, that is because they fear additional conditions tacked onto the aid by the ECB—and he also says that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should not be involved in the process.
Bloomberg reported late Thursday that Monti said conditions should be limited to those already imposed on the countries working to control their finances. The European Union (EU) spelled out those conditions in June, and Spain and Italy both have been working to bring their finances in line with those requirements.
Monti said countries are reluctant to ask for assistance because they don't know what else they might be asked to do, beyond the already challenging requirements the EU set forth months ago. He also said in the report that oversight should be restricted to "checks so the countries continue to behave in that positive way. If this is the conditionality that will be finally delivered, should a country be in a market situation suggesting its use, there would be nothing dishonorable."
He also said "it's not necessary" for the IMF to be part of the process, and that the EU and ECB should quickly spell out any conditions to be part of a bond purchase request. "I believe that should be really kept to a minimum, because there is no reason to delay something that was already rather well defined in June by the European Council," he was quoted saying.
Just Thursday AdvisorOne reported that internal dissent in the troika of the EU, the ECB and the IMF was stalling Greece's next tranche of funds, as the IMF was insisting on debt writedowns while the EU and ECB were willing to give Greece more time.


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Despite a slowdown in server shipments, disk-based storage revenue grew during the first quarter of 2008, with companies like Dell cashing in on the increased demand for storage.
Revenues from disk-based storage systems totaled US$6.7 billion during the quarter, an 8.4 percent year-over-year growth, IDC said in a survey released Friday.
The growth in disk-based storage revenue was healthy despite the slow growth in server shipments, Nisbet said. The growth will continue to be healthy through 2008 as more data is generated, said Brad Nisbet, research manager at IDC.
"Customers are making a statement that even in these times of cautious spending, they really need to invest in devices that store business data," Nisbet said.
The capacity of disk-based storage reached 1,642 petabytes during the quarter, growing 51.8 percent over last year, IDC said.
Dell's increased focus on storage over the last two years paid dividends, with the company's 15.5 percent disk-based storage revenue growth in the first quarter of 2008 out-muscling rivals Hewlett-Packard and IBM.
HP was in the top spot, with $1.3 billion in revenue, growing 6.9 percent year-over-year and boasting a 19.4 percent market. IBM was in second place, recorded a 4.9 percent revenue drop to $1.05 billion. EMC's revenue grew 14 percent to take third place, while Dell's disk-based storage revenues was $679 million.
The strong growth in Dell's disk-based storage sales came from the revitalization of its PowerVault storage line and the addition of the EqualLogic product line, Nisbet said.
Dell bought network storage company EqualLogic for $1.4 billion last year after sensing that stored data would grow 600 percent to 1 zettabyte by 2011.
"In one fell swoop, Dell added $34 million in revenue with EqualLogic. There's more to come," Nisbet said.
Dell also made a significant effort to revitalize its own PowerVault storage line to meet more simple storage needs. Dell also resells EMC's mid-range Clariion line but those sales have flattened, Nisbet said.
As Dell flourishes, poor execution are slowing growth of disk-based storage revenue for HP and IBM, Nisbet said.
"HP has a lot of great technology ... but they are so large and there's so much going on, they get in their own way in terms of execution," Nisbet said.
"Sometimes I wonder if their desire to integrate a large range of product lines is disabling their ability to execute," Nisbet said.
Disk-storage revenue includes revenue from three or more internal and external disk drives deployed on systems, including network-attached storage and storage-attached networks.
Revenue for disk-based storage will not be immediately impacted by arrival of flash-based solid-state drives (SSDs), Nisbet said. There's a lot of excitement around SSDs, but for now it will only appeal to customers who need performance and are willing to pay a premium for it.
"We don't believe it's storage for the masses, but Sun's approach for putting [SSDs] out there and letting the market dictate adoption could push it deeper into a broader set of opportunities," Nisbet said.
Sun earlier this week announced that it will offer SSDs later this year as a replacement for spinning disk drives on servers.


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Roster squeeze not so tight after all
TEMPE, Ariz. – If the Angels open the season with Joel Pineiro joining Kendrys Morales, Scott Downs and Reggie Willits on a crowded disabled list, they won't have as many difficult roster decisions to make as originally projected.
There will be room for Brandon Wood and Mark Trumbo, for Chris Pettit and Hank Conger, for Rich Thompson and Jason Bulger. All had been considered possible Opening Day discards.
Thompson, Bulger, Wood and Bobby Wilson are all out of Minor League options and must be on the 25-man roster or disabled list to avoid being subjected to waivers.
With three off days surrounding the first 12 games of the season, the club can get by with four starting pitchers. This gives Pineiro the opportunity to fully recover from a muscle issue in his back by recovering at his own speed in camp.
Willits has been slowed by a left calf strain, clearing the way for Pettit to show he's capable of being a quality backup outfielder with his slashing hitting style.
Wood's has the ability to play three infield positions well and bring the threat of thunder off the bench along with depth at third with Maicer Izturis and Alberto Callaspo.
Trumbo will open at first base in Morales' absence. Coverage there will come from Howard Kendrick, Wood and Wilson, who figures to open as Jeff Mathis' backup behind the plate.
Thompson and Bulger provide middle relief support in the early going. When Downs returns, his left big toe mended, and a decision will have to be made, assuming Pineiro already has returned to the rotation.
If Conger is dispatched to Triple-A Salt Lake, it will be with the specific purpose of keeping him sharp catching regularly. He has the ability to be a switch-hitting weapon off the bench, but that doesn't come into play in the American League as much in the National League.
Sure-handed shortstop Andrew Romine is a candidate to break camp with the club if Conger is sent to Salt Lake.
Reliever Kevin Jepsen, who felt tightness in his left hip while warming up on a cold, rainy Monday in Tempe, was feeling better on Wednesday and expects to be back in game conditions as early as Thursday. – Lyle Spencer
5 Comments
Actually, not all the players mentioned above will be on the DL. I expect our opening day 25 to look like this: Pitchers (12) – Weaver, Haren, Santana, Pineiro, Kazmir, Rodney, Jepsen, Takahashi, Thompson, Kohn, Walden and…..Bell. Bulger has had a poor Spring, but is out of options and could be released. Since Takahashi is the only left-hander in the pen, I expect another pitcher to be named to fill the "swing" role. This will be either Palmer or Bell. Palmer has had a poor Spring, making Bell the probable candidate. Palmer, on the other hand, has more experience at the major league level. Catchers – Mathis, Wilson. Infielders – Izturis, Trumbo, Kendrick, Aybar, Callaspo and Wood. Outfielders – Abreu, Hunter, Bourjos, Wells and Willits. That's our 25. The only debate in my mind is whether Scioscia will select Palmer, rather than Bell. I think Bulger is history, though he has great stuff. His selection would be a safe choice, as he is out of options.
i appreciate you trying to find a silver lining in this whole situation mr. spencer, but there is absolutely nothing good that can be said about brandon wood & chris pettit being on the opening day roster instead of pineiro, morales, & downs, regardless of the circumstances. and the fact that scott kazmir will be our #4 starter for even the shortest time is enough to make any realistically thinking fan vomit. let's not kid ourselves. the rangers (and possibly even oakland) are better than us this year. that doesn't mean we can't win the division, (san fran won the world series last year & they weren't the best team in baseball) but we cannot afford to lose quality veterans to the disabled list and replace them with triple-a trash. you just simply can't sugarcoat the fact that every game counts for us this year, and having our #1 hitter, (morales) our #1 relief pitcher, (downs) and one of the top 5 #4 starters in the league (pineiro) out with injuries for any time period could come back to haunt us @ the end of the year, particularly in the case of morales. we already know that our lead-off hitter (izturis) will be making his annual trip to the disabled list, and with our other lead-off options looking about as poor as a typical scott kazmir pitching line, that will be more than enough. we need a healthy year in order for this team to have a realistic shot at the postseason and this is not the start we wanted to get off to.
I not only see this as a silver lining… I think the ripple effects can have some long term benefit for the ballclub that far outweigh the few weeks to month without the guys in question.
Brandon Wood I have always believed is the Angels 3rd baseman of the future. While he got a late start on his productive spring, this buys time to avoid a choice that could be viewed as a HUGE mistake later. Brandon Wood looks confident… but more than that, he looks like a ballplayer who can live up to his lofty billing. His approach at the plate is light years from where it has been… he is driving through the hips, he is attacking hitter pitches and for the seemingly the first time laying off pitchers pitches. He is fouling off or laying off his achilles heel (outside curveballs). We always knew the physical tools were there, but confidence, approach and plate discipline all seemed lacking.
This is the brandon Wood that the Angels always told us they had. Now give him another shot… By May or June I expect he will have nailed down the job and wont be giving it up for years….
Giving Thompson and Bulger a chance to stick can also have some tremendous benefit to the organization not only this year… but beyond.
OK panic-monkeys…
I would venture to say that anyone who jumped on the wagon after 2002 will be completely frustrated after all the miss ludicrous signings that would have been extrememly bad business, the bad calls in the playoff's and of course the under-achieving of top prospects. The best definition I can give you of that syndrome is… MBUA or "modern baseball unnecessary aggravation".
In this day of ROI and Working Capital/Cash is King business, we need to be realistic and know that MLB and it's owners are trying to survive in some cases and fill pockets in others. We have one of the best owners in baseball period. He is a smart business man, a baseball fan and really appreciates the fan base. The coaches and players are competitive winners all with extremely high baseball IQ's.
So all that said, your lineup is as good as any… and has tons of potential. The same guys who gave us Kendrys brought us Woody. The worst thing we could do with Woody is give up, and the coaches and GM know that. But, they might have to cut their losses to, another reallity of the business of baseball.
So all we can do right now is predict, hope and watch. I for one like this look until it proves to need a tweak or two.
1.EA ss
2.BA dh
3.TH rf
4.VW lf
5.MT 1b
6.HK 2b
7.BW 3b
8.JM c
9.PB cf
If BW goes under 200 in first April, then platoon in MI or AC. If BW cannot find it by May, then get ready to trade. Same process for PB, but maybe a little more time, in that case, put VW back into center and stick BA in lf and give Trumbo lot's of AB's out of DH and train him defensively in the outfield or 3b.
Go Halo's!!! I believe!!!!
Pitching will be fine, that is just a shuffling job.
Thanks for keeping us updated even beyond the MLB articles, Lyle. Of course I wish Kendrys didn't have to start the season on the DL but given his plateau I was actually glad to hear the team made it official and took the pressure off of him to even try to be ready for opening day. I want him to play, but not before he?s really ready. That said, I'm really excited to see what Mark Trumbo can do in the regular season now that he's adapted to major league pitching. If he proves to be a good temporary fix at first, I hope there room to keep him on to spell Kendrys throughout the season. And I really hope that Pineiro doesn't have to start the season on the DL – though I would rather take precautions early in the season if it's necessary. I'm not crying gloom and doom at all, but our starting rotation is one of our biggest assets and I don't want to lose a key piece of it for even a few starts.


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Research In Motion Posts Surprise Loss
Research In Motion reported a surprise loss for its fiscal first quarter and said shipments of its new line of smartphones came in at about 2.7 million devices for the period, at the low end of a wide range of analysts' forecasts. Will Connors reports. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... and I he ... will Connors joins us from Toronto to break down the breakdown the breakdown ... Up will what's so surprising about this earnings report ... well my ... Aniston although ... she indicators in it ... shipments of altered our achievements of their new funds but it said bonds were down ... subscriber numbers are down overall ... um you know revenues the people are expecting ... a much better numbers they were expecting you know anything amazing but expect a lot better than the company reported today right and they reported a loss there are expected to report some froth and I believe right ... why was the quarter so much worse than what is going wrong let its research on ... the comedy the millet change in name or a Research in motion to BlackBerry ... what's going wrong his company ... well I mean primarily its ... selected a new funds are taking off the ... the CEO sourcing ... is an earnings call today ... several times pleaded for patience for more time services unit said it's early in the launch process ... but it's been about five months ... and that it seems like these songs just aren't doing well at the old phones which ... we are still available in a lot of emerging markets ... actually outselling the new phones still so ... a good sign ... that I it's the word is pulling up some some photos of people in the stores by looking at Lygon thereby I'm ... really looking at the busy ten the new phone ... the BlackBerry put a lot into that phone right I mean what happens now ok pleaded for patience but ... what happens now that they're not so nice ... plus there are the key question somebody's what analysts asset of ... all how long you as you board giving you a lot ... did you give yourselves to ... enter make this transition to a new ... a new operating system it's a subtle new phones ... and he didn't I have ... a strong answer he said you know there are several more devices coming ... they expect to have ... six devices ... you know eventually of this new operating system ... but I think a lot of people out of the mini expecting ... a more aggressive shift away or a least marketing ... software and services only ... because ... for them the hardware game ... and isn't picking up right ... now ... as the letters that they are so saying that in the newsroom that they do the job a lot of cash on the ball to be wrong but that that that they said ... candy was kind of dried out the storm and is Khona him keep trying to get back to where they work or does this become a situation where ... yet to start thinking about the really big think about them are the future this company ... does get broken up is going on and the other the real sort of bad things until I think about ... I mean ... the numbers continue to get worse subscribers didn't go down in service revenue which was always ... a really strong number for them is also going down ... and that cash number ... is due to start ... weakening ... and then ... those important questions are going to become more pressing I think ... you know maybe one more quarter or two I've talked a lot of ... people one analysts even said the company has said that ... so aam you know they might've given in this quarter ... but towards the end the year to fall and winter ... to come is really have to start thinking about ... options and what it means ... to them are with business entirely ... but it's a partnership with intervening Asian company ... lots of rumors about that lots of speculation but they have something about it more seriously ... in the coming months ... will Connors and Procter think very much for ...


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Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
Chris Comish is a Reiki Healer and Reiki Master Teacher. Reiki is Japanese for Universal Life Energy. He offers distant healing and various Reiki attunements. He is the author of fifteen books: The Living Light, Manifest Divinity Through Reiki, 24 Free Reiki Attunements, 28 Powerful Reiki Attunements, 36 Free Reiki Attunements, 45 Free Reiki Attunements, Alpha Omega Healing Session, Eternal Spirit, The Earth Gate and the six books of the Ascension Rays Book Series. Chris is also the founder of the City of Shamballa social network.


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I, of course, have my own profile. But I have one set up for my daughter also, so she can save her own games, avatars, achievements, etc.
Is it possible to get her profile logged in also when we play a local a match against each other? So far it appears that we can only access one, so she can't level up, design her avatar, etc.
On a related note, is it possible to rate generated courses during a local match? I can do so in a solo match, but can't figure out how in local multiplayer.


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Alphabet Plates, Customizable Plates for Kids
Alphabet Plates, created by graphic designer (and mom) Laura Paresky Gould, allows you to personalize plates with your little one's name and favorite food from 14 popular choices. Although geared towards kids, there's no reason you can't get a plate plate as a fun gift for a burger or broccoli-loving, postadolescent friend.
Besides food, other designs include sports, monograms, and customizable faces starting at $22 a plate. Personalized placemats in different colors and languages are also available for $18. A portion of the proceeds are donated to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation. [via swissmiss]
Frame Plates
Map Plates
Colorful, Pattern-Stitched Servingware
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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Dekalb Trade Voice is the manufacturer and exporter of Safety Apparel and Gloves. We have been making leather and textile goods for more than 3 decades. Begining with gloves, Dekalb later expanded its offerings to the retail markets with working garments. Over the past 2 decades, nationally and internationally recognised levels of quality have been achived.
The whole leather tanning process is specially controlled in our tannery by using advanced technology to ensure best quality with minimum environmental impact.
Quality and Service are always a priority at Dekalb Trade Voice, we have never lost sight of the personal attention each individual customer deserves. We offer excelent service with the most competitve pricing.
FAQ | Request Information | Contact Us | Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin


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What's New
Improved performance & bug fixed.
App Description
The little helpless birds looks lost, match the right destination for them.
Well the challenge is they can just move end to end, ex – Right to left or top to bottom.
The levels are designed very logically and tested for a great challenge. You will be really puzzled at the game play and its sure to deliver you great excitement.
Twitties are little birds that can rattle your brains. Adorable little Twitties of different colors are lost in the middle of nowhere and they don't know where to go (They are just pretending though)..! Twitties need your help. Be their savior and help them to reach their nest. But it's not easy as you think.
You have to move the Twitties either vertically or horizontally and use the movable blocks to change the directions.
This is an exhilarating strategy game that you can pick up in seconds. The challenge keeps getting tougher as you proceed to advance levels. Unlock these mind rattling levels and score more.
• 50 exciting levels
• Excellent sound and animation
• Suitable for all age group
• Integrated with OpenFeint and Game Center
App Changes
- June 24, 2011 New version 1.1
- November 12, 2011 New version 1.2


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adidas and Major League Soccer today unveiled the adidas PRIME, the new official match ball for the 2012 MLS season. Designed to improve accuracy, consistency and performance in all conditions, the PRIME is created exclusively for MLS with a unique graphic design and will be used by all 19 clubs beginning in 2012.
The adidas PRIME's new panel design provides more accurate and consistent ball movement to support the modern soccer game which is faster than ever. The Prime also features a matte finish for better grip and improved sealing for better performance in all weather conditions.
"We worked directly with both field players and goalies to rigorously develop a ball with the truest and most stable flight path," said Ernesto Bruce, MLS manager for adidas.
The PRIME features the official blue, green and white colors of MLS and a unique graphic design inspired by the handles and shape of the Philip F. Anschutz trophy, awarded to the MLS Cup champion.
The adidas PRIME official MLS match ball is available at www.MLSGear.com for $150 USD.


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WORTHINGTON, Ohio, April 8 (UPI) -- The customers of McDonald's, Taco Bell and Wendy's report they are most unhappy with their health, a U.S. survey indicates.
The Monthly Consumer Survey from BIGinsight indicated McDonald's patrons were the unhappiest -- 24 percent who ate at the Gold Arches said they were unhappy or totally unhappy with their health, followed by 22.7 percent who ate at Taco Bell, 22.1 percent who ate at Wendy's and 21.5 percent at Burger King. Customers of these restaurants tend to have a more negative opinion of their own physical condition versus the general population.
Almost 54 percent of the general public said they were happy with their health, while 21.4 percent of Americans said they were unhappy with their health, the survey said.
On the other hand, Chick-fil-A diners report being the happiest with their health -- 58.9 percent said their were happy or totally happy with their health, followed by Subway and Arby's customers at 57.1 percent and 56.6 percent, respectively.
"Given that Chick-fil-A, Subway and Arby's all offer menu items with a calorific punch, it's apparent that Americans' overall personal health perceptions aren't specific to their fast food chain of choice," Pam Goodfellow, consumer insights director at BIGinsight, said in a statement. "We've found that it boils down to their health habits, including exercising regularly and watching fat and calorie intake."
The survey involved 8,716 people and was conducted in February. The margin of error is 1.1 percentage point.


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Is monetisation the only ammo left in the BoJ's arsenal?
Ahead of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) meeting this week, Bob Jolly, global head of Macro Strategy at Schroders comments on whether monetisation is fast becoming the only option left to ensure Japan's economy doesn't enter another lost decade.
"Negative interest rates and quantitative easing (QE) have so far failed to breathe life into Japan's stagnant economy. Low inflation and low growth still blot Japan's economic landscape, and despite the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) best efforts, the yen has strengthened since the introduction of its latest package of measures. The BoJ is officially stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Are we approaching the point at which the BoJ will need to consider more drastic measures? At this stage, the only option left to trigger a positive shift in inflation might be a more dramatic shift towards monetisation.
What is monetisation and how will it work?
Monetisation is the issuance of cash by a central bank without the need or pretence of an "IOU".
We have long held the view that the accumulation of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) by the BoJ is really a soft form of monetisation, rather than QE.
QE and negative rates have attempted to boost final demand and drive an acceleration in both recorded inflation and, importantly, inflation expectations.
If inflation is generated, the outstanding nominal liabilities of borrowers decline in real terms. This increases the net balance sheet and the potential for demand continues to grow.
Savers will be incentivised to spend to maintain the real value of their purchases and as labour demand picks up, wage demands will rise to increase the real purchasing power of their income. Inflation expectations rise, sustainable nominal growth accelerates and companies invest and hire to meet the higher level of demand. Well, that's the theory.
QE is also, in theory, a temporary fix. The central bank will ultimately need to sell the government debt it has purchased from the market back to the market, potentially supressing inflation.
However, in the post global financial crisis world, since QE has been introduced no developed central bank has openly gone into partnership with the government without some form of IOU.
Using monetisation in its purest form, the central bank can print a potentially infinite supply of notes and coins for the government to spend, importantly without there being an equal and opposite liability on the governments' balance sheet.
The government can spend that cash on anything from tax cuts for households and corporates to infrastructure investment. Importantly, because it doesn't create new government liabilities, the spending can continue until such time as the economy has enough demand for goods, services and labour to cause inflation and inflation expectations to rise.
Why hasn't BoJ policy worked so far?
Japan is a relatively closed economy. Using the exchange rate as a policy lever to boost inflation was never going to be an easy win and was most likely to provide only a temporary inflation boost.
Compounding the issue is the fact that Japan's export mix is among the most inelastic in terms of developed economies. A lower currency will only really boost corporate profits, rather than the final demand for goods.
Essentially, while Japan has managed to boost growth and employment, it hasn't yet succeeded in getting enough economic momentum to shift longer term inflation expectations higher.
The apparent tacit agreement between G-20 nations not to use currency as a policy lever aggravates the BoJ's position further.
Whether, like the ECB, it can explain more aggressive policy intervention as purely domestic policy which does not impact the exchange rate, I have my doubts.
Japan now runs a hefty current account surplus, so the yen may once again be seen as a safe haven currency.
This could exacerbate the Japanese challenge, especially when most commentators recognise the yen is already cheap compared to most measures of long term fair value.
What does Japan need?
Japan needs its economy to run too hot; to get to a point where inflation expectations become entrenched rather than any pick-up in inflation being seen as short-term. To achieve this, it needs the following:
To create demand-pull inflation, which occurs when aggregate demand is growing at an unsustainable rate, leading to increased pressure on scarce resources and a positive output gap.
For households and companies to view demand and inflation as a permanent feature, requiring more investment to meet demand, more hiring, higher wages and ultimately a virtuous cycle leading to more growth.
While the most recent shift in BoJ policy has seen long-term interest rates decline significantly, which may boost housing demand, monetary policy can't really do much more. It is already close to its effective limits.
Fiscal policy has limits too, given the debt dynamics of the sovereign and the side effects of negative rates on the Japanese banking system.
So why hasn't Japan used monetisation?
Monetisation targets inflation, but inflation is a lagging indicator. Just how much money does the BoJ need to print and spend?
It's impossible to know in advance. The risk of a policy error that generates too much inflation – or potentially hyper-inflation which historical precedent suggests is the principal risk – would potentially cause:
- The yen to plummet.
- The market to pressure China / Asia to devalue to maintain a competitive position.
- After a degree of market mayhem, inflation expectations may rise globally.
- Valuations could fall. Real assets, such as property and gold, are probably the best performers in this scenario. Nominal assets such as bonds could tumble.
- The euro will likely rally substantially. While the US and UK might be willing to follow the Japanese experiment, German history suggests they would never condone the ECB printing money. This could ultimately trigger a breakup of the eurozone.
Monetisation would be the final roll of the dice, a truly big bazooka, but the fallout for the global economy could be unbridled.
Cash in wheelbarrows is not a panacea.


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Texas CASA Logo with Tagline Vertical White
Get Involved
Be a part of the solution!
VolunteerTake the first step to becoming a CASA advocate!
NominateIf you know someone who has what it takes to be a CASA advocate, let them know!
DonateSupport Texas CASA & invest in the future of Texas' children!
Click here to view all CASA programs in Texas. For a CASA program outside of Texas, please visit the National CASA website.


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Missoni scion on plane missing in Venezuela
Rescue crews used boats and aircraft on Saturday to search for a small plane that disappeared off Venezuela carrying the CEO of Italy's iconic Missoni fashion house and five other people.
But more than a day after the BN-2 Islander aircraft disappeared from radar screens on its short flight from the Venezuelan resort islands of Los Roques to Caracas, no sign of the plane had been found, officials said.
`'We have no other news" about the plane carrying 58-year-old Vittorio Missoni, the head of the company; his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni; two of their Italian friends; and two Venezuelan crew members, said Paolo Marchetti, a Missoni SpA official. He spoke briefly to reporters as he left company headquarters in the northern Italian town of Sumirago on Saturday afternoon.
Missoni's younger brother, Luca, who is active in the family-run business, was reportedly traveling to Venezuela on Saturday to monitor search efforts.
`'We're holding onto a glimmer of hope," said Oswaldo Scalvenzi , a relative of Elda Scalvenzi, one of the Missoni friends aboard the flight. `'Until we can see the wreckage" hope will remain, Scalvenzi told Italian state TV on Saturday night.
Search teams were using a plane and a helicopter, working together with the Venezuelan coast guard, Venezuela's National Civil Aviation Institute said in a statement Saturday.
The twin-engine plane had enough fuel on board for a three-hour flight, said Francisco Paz Fleitas, president of the civil aviation agency. Paz said the plane took off at 11:39 a.m. on Friday and had been expected to arrive at Caracas' Simon Bolivar International Airport 42 minutes later.
The civil aviation agency said the authorities declared an alert after the plane didn't make contact with the control tower at the Caracas airport or with the tower in Los Roques.
"The last position registered in radar data and those supplied by a system on board the aircraft" was about 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of Los Roques, the agency said in the statement.
The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that Venezuelan aircraft, boats and helicopters took off at dawn Saturday to resume the search for the missing plane, which had been suspended on Friday night.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol announced that the plane was missing hours after it took off from Los Roques, a string of islands popular for scuba diving, white beaches and coral reefs, and where the Missonis and their friends were on vacation.
Reverol said on Friday that two navy patrol boats were involved in the search and that a specialized oceanographic ship, the Guaicamacuto, also had been deployed.
Vittorio Missoni is the eldest son of the company's founder, Ottavio, who at 91 still follows the business.
The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that Ottavio and his wife Rosita were at their home in Italy, along with their daughter Angela, waiting for information about the search. Rosita Missoni designs housewares for the company, and Angela is the company's creative director.
The Missoni fashion house, with its trademark zigzag and other geometric patterns in sweaters, scarves and other knitwear, is one of Italy's most famous fashion brands abroad. It is scheduled to display its latest menswear creations at a fashion show in Milan later this month.
Vittorio Missoni played a key role in marketing the Missoni family creations in Asia, especially in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea as general director of marketing for Missoni SpA. He also spearheaded a push for the company's products in the United States and France. His efforts to expand the brand abroad led Missoni to be dubbed the company's "ambassador."
Vittorio Missoni has been described as an active sportsman and lover of the outdoors. He and his wife and their friends from northern Italy were scheduled to fly back from Caracas to Italy on Friday after spending the Christmas and New Year's holidays in the islands.
The plane disappeared shortly after takeoff on a flight of about 95 miles (150 kilometers) from the islands to the Caracas airport.
Other small planes have gone down or vanished on flights between the archipelago and the mainland.
On Jan. 4, 2008, a plane on a flight from Caracas to Los Roques disappeared after crashing with 14 people aboard, including eight Italians, a Swiss man and five Venezuelans. The pilot had radioed to controllers that he was having engine trouble before the plane went down as it approached the islands. The body of the Venezuelan co-pilot later washed ashore, but no wreckage was found and most of those on board remain missing.
In 2009, a small plane returning from Los Roques with nine people aboard plunged into the Caribbean Sea, but all survived.
Associated Press writer Frances D'Emilio contributed reporting from Rome. Ian James reported in Caracas.


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In case of an emergency, you can also request a cash advance on your account, subject to transaction approval by your bank. The Visa Customer Service Center will make all necessary arrangements to send you the cash wherever you are through the fastest method available.


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News and information about trekking in Nepal
Comments and advisories about safety and travel problems after the 1 February political changes. Please use this only for information relating to trekking, it is NOT a forum for political discussion.
29th May 2018, 05:33 PM
8th April 2020, 10:28 AM
If you're looking for someone to trek with, post a note here.
Note to Nepal Trekking Guides - the people who post messages here are looking for OTHER TREKKERS to travel with, NOT guides!
You can also put an entry in the calendar to show your arrival date in Nepal.
5th April 2019, 11:18 PM
18th May 2018, 03:09 PM
Suggestions, experiences and advice about dealing with maoists on treks. Let us know the going rate for "donations"
collision and the number of...
29th January 2018, 12:04 AM
17th August 2018, 03:12 PM
Guides looking for clients should post their advertising here. If you are a past client recommending a guide, please post that information in the Endorsements section.
Dhaulagiri Circuit Trekking...
10th August 2018, 03:47 PM
Stories of experiences - good and bad - while trekking. The funnier they are the more we like them.
14th December 2015, 05:36 PM
Trekking companies and other advertisers can display their information here. Casino, porn and poker game posts will be deleted
13th March 2018, 09:36 PM
Tell us about your favourite or worst guide or trekking company here.
15th May 2018, 12:38 PM
A new forum - Rafting in Nepal
21st February 2014, 09:44 PM


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SC Bag PM
Other Sizes
SC Bag PM
- SC Bag MM
Detailed Features
( length x height x width )
- Calf leather trimmings
- Golden brass pieces
- Padlock and key bell
- Wide zipped closure
- Suede calf leather lining
- Interior zipped and patch pockets
- Strap: Removable, adjustable
- Strap Drop: 22.0 cm
- Strap Drop Max.: 30.0 cm
- Handle: Double
The reference is either made in France, Spain, Italy or in the US.
Product Care
To preserve the beauty of your product, we recommend following these guidelines for its care:
- Be careful not to scratch or rub your product against abrasive surfaces.
- Protect your product from humidity and keep it away from direct sources of heat, such as radiators and the inside of cars in summer.
- Avoid contact with liquid, hand cream, hand sanitizer, make-up and perfume, or any material that may stain the product through colour transfer (such as magazines, other leathers, etc.)
- If your product gets wet, blot it dry with a clean, absorbent cloth. Never use soap or solvent.
- When not in use, store the item in the dust bag provided with your purchase. Do not store in high temperatures, high humidity or unventilated areas.
Specific care instructions
Natural cowhide leather
To uphold the highest standards of quality, Louis Vuitton has selected only the most perfect skins. This calf leather was chosen for its refined look and sleek feel. It is uniquely full and supple, ensuring the bag retains its structure when in use. The grain is also highly characteristic: fine and narrow, underlining its authenticity.
Suede is a natural leather with a velvet touch, which is untreated in order to retain its unique softness. This natural state means the leather is more sensitive to sunlight, dust, stains and pigment release. We therefore recommend that you handle your bag with care and avoid repeated contact with light-coloured objects or clothing, especially in a humid environment.
Metallic leather
This leather is made from supple, lightweight lambskin, to which a thin metallic film has been applied, creating a mirror effect. Like most leathers, lambskin is permeable to grease and makeup, and is very sensitive to stains. Metallic lambskin is a fragile material and therefore sensitive to scratches and stains.