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All security operations in SQL Server depend on the twin processes of authentication and authorization. If the server doesn't have total confidence in the user's identity and, thus, can't be sure of the permissions a user has, all attempts to control access to data fail. Microsoft has long preferred Windows NT authenticated logins over SQL Server authenticated logins because Windows has more effective mechanisms for verifying users' identities than just comparing an account and password combination. Kerberos authentication, the default authentication protocol in Windows 2000, improves on NT's authentication protocol in several ways and offers identification of both the client and the server. Let's look briefly at how Kerberos works, then examine how you can use its features to guard the data on your SQL Server 2000 servers. Note that you have to be running SQL Server 2000 on Win2K to use Kerberos; I cover the requirements in detail later.
Why Use Kerberos?
If your application uses SQL Server logins, the client sends the password to the server in clear text. (With SQL Server 2000, the password is encrypted during the handshake by default.) To protect the password during transmission, you must use either the Multiprotocol Net-Library, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), or IP Security (IPSec) encryption. Of the three, only IPSec can be managed for the entire enterprise through domain policies. The Multiprotocol Net-Library has two drawbacks: Clients can choose not to use it if the server supports any other Net-Library, and it works only against the default instance. SSL's requirement of a separate certificate for each server can increase management overhead and cost if you have multiple servers. For a comparison of IPSec and Kerberos, see the sidebar "IPSec vs. Kerberos," page 24.
In contrast, Windows-authenticated logins use Windows' authentication protocols, which always encrypt the user's identifying information. The main reason to encrypt the password is so that no one can impersonate any user. The Kerberos authentication protocol uses stronger encryption algorithms than the NT LAN Manager (NTLM) protocol that NT uses, so with Kerberos, stealing passwords is more difficult for someone who intercepts the network communication between client and server.
Kerberos' ability to ascertain the identity of both the client and the server also offers some benefits that other authentication mechanisms don't. If you're not running Win2K, SQL Server can validate the user's identity through either an NT login or a SQL Server login, but the best a client can do to validate a server's identity is to know the server's network address. SSL provides one solution to that problem because the server certificate contains the server's address, but the server certificate identifies only the computer, not the SQL Server service that the client is trying to access. Additionally, without Win2K's locally managed certificate authority, getting certificates from certificate authorities such as Verisign or Thawte is a time-consuming and expensive process. Consequently, many administrators use SSL only on servers where encryption is mandatory. Like SSL, IPSec authenticates the identities of both computers but not the SQL Server service. Only Kerberos authentication ensures that the client is communicating with the correct SQL Server service.
For Web-server access, Kerberos authentication offers a way to prevent a Web application from communicating with other SQL Servers if the Web server becomes infected with a virus such as Code Red. Within Active Directory (AD), you can grant or deny access to a particular service, so you can improve your internal network security by allowing your Web server to communicate only with a specific SQL Server.
Kerberos Authentication
The basic premise of Kerberos authentication is that if two entities share a secret known only to them, they can verify each other's identities by demonstrating that they each know the secret. By default, Win2K's implementation uses a password as the secret because the user and the domain controller always share the password. Alternatively, you can use a public key—private key combination, but the idea is the same—to prove an identity.
To protect the password, Win2K transforms it by using a one-way hashing function, then stores the hashed value instead of the password itself. The hashing function disguises the password so that you can pass the hashed value across the network in place of the password without worrying about someone using it to derive the password.
Although Win2K could safely send the hashed value over the network, it doesn't. Kerberos uses yet another safeguard to keep both the password and the hashed value safe from third parties. During the authentication process, the client-side Kerberos Security Provider in Win2K encrypts a string that contains the current time, using the hashed value of the password as a key. It then sends the resulting encrypted string to the Authentication Service (AS) that's running on a Win2K domain controller. The AS retrieves the hashed value for the specified account from the AD database and decrypts the string the client sent. If the decryption is successful and the time in the string is close enough to the current time on the domain controller, the AS can be sure that the person using the client computer knows the shared secret (the password). For a detailed discussion about how the authentication process works, see Chapter 3 in Understanding Microsoft Windows 2000 Distributed Services by David Chappell (Microsoft Press, 2000).
A shared, secret key has another value besides authentication. If the domain controller and a service are the only two entities that know the key, they can encrypt data so that only they can read it. In this way, Kerberos protects the sensitive data in the tickets it uses to permit entities to talk to each other. All services require a ticket before a user can use those services. To illustrate the ticketing process, let's look at an example.
When user Joe logs on to his computer, the Win2K Local Security Authority and Kerberos Security Provider work together with the domain controller to authenticate his account and password combination. If the process is successful, the Ticket Granting Service (TGS), which runs on the domain controller with the AS, sends a Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) to Joe's computer, as Figure 1 shows. The TGT contains information about Joe's SID and the SIDs of all the domain groups to which his account belongs. The TGS needs this information so it can create new tickets that let Joe use other services, both on his own computer and on other computers on the network.
The TGS also adds a randomly created session key that both sides can use to encrypt data, both inside the ticket and in the communications channel. To protect the session key, the TGS encrypts it with the hashed value of Joe's password and sends it to Joe's computer along with the TGT. Now, the domain controller and Joe's computer have an encryption key known only to themselves because only they know the shared, secret key that encrypted it—the hashed value of Joe's password.
In addition to the session key, the TGS encrypts parts of every ticket with the hashed value of the password for the service that's the ticket's target. The main benefit of this partial encryption is that only the two entities that share the key can view or change the encrypted data. For example, Joe can't manipulate a ticket to make himself a member of the Domain Admins global group to gain sysadmin privileges in SQL Server. Partial encryption of the ticket also proves to the service that the domain controller created the ticket because only the domain controller and the service know the key. Finally, it indirectly proves that the domain controller has authenticated Joe because there's no other way for Joe to have a ticket encrypted with the service's secret key.
After a successful login, Joe's computer has a hashed value of Joe's password that it can use as
- a shared secret key
- a TGT that lists all Joe's SIDs and other information about Joe and his computer
- a shared session key that can encrypt the data stream between Joe's computer and the domain controller
When Joe receives permission to connect to a SQL Server, his computer receives another ticket that contains information about Joe and his computer. This ticket is encrypted with the hashed value of the SQL Server service account's password. At this point, every entity involved knows that it's really Joe trying to access a SQL Server database.
How does this process affect application performance? Typically, the client computer acts as a broker for the authentication process. The client computer receives tickets from the domain controller, then presents those tickets to the services it wants to use. Because the client computer caches all tickets, which have a default 10-hour lifespan before the client must renew them, the client needs to request a ticket for a given service only twice a day at most. It can then use that ticket to connect to a service as many times as it needs to until the ticket expires. Although the authentication process might seem complicated, it shouldn't degrade the connection times with SQL Server because the tickets are cached in RAM.
Authentication between client and server is just one Kerberos option. Delegation is another option that allows one SQL Server to connect to another server, using the security credentials a user used to log in. For example, Joe might issue a query on Server A that needs some data from Server B. Under SQL Server 7.0 and 6.5, Joe can use a SQL Server login account (but not his Win2K/NT account) to connect to Server B from Server A. In SQL Server 6.5, queries to remote machines require you to use remote stored procedures. In SQL Server 7.0, the easiest way to handle this situation is to set up a remote server connection. However, SQL Server 2000 can treat data from a query that's executed on a remote server as if it came from a local table. This integration of remote data sources into the T-SQL syntax requires SQL Server to connect to those data sources without additional input from the user.
Delegation offers you the flexibility of having multiple database servers with multiple sets of permissions for the same user. For example, user Joe might have SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE permissions for a database on Server A but only SELECT permission for a database on Server B. Before SQL Server 2000, a common way to let a query running on Server A retrieve data from Server B was to use a stored procedure that allowed only reading of data. That technique requires programmatic changes to the stored procedure for every server whenever the user's rights on the underlying data change. Delegation, however, lets administrators manage permissions on all servers by using SQL Server's built-in authorization commands. If you have queries that access multiple servers, you'll find that delegation streamlines your management chores far more than alternative solutions such as remote stored procedures.
Delegation is a natural outgrowth of Kerberos authentication. If Joe passes to Server A his TGT and the session key he shares with the domain controller, Server A can request a ticket for Server B on Joe's behalf, as Figure 2 shows. The TGT is already encrypted with the domain controller's hash value, so the domain controller knows that the TGT is valid. Joe's session key that's shared with the domain controller is encrypted by using the session key he shares with Server A. Therefore, if Joe trusts Server A enough to give it the session key, the domain controller knows that Server A is making the request as if Joe were logged on to Server A.
Kerberos delegation works for as many SQL Servers as you want to use, but it also works for other services. XML and .NET Web services in the SQL Server environment give you new options for querying data from external sources. Additionally, Microsoft has released a SQL Server 2000 add-on, SQLXML (which you can obtain at http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?URL=/downloads/sample.asp?url=/msdn-files/027/001/824/msdncompositedoc.xml), which lets .NET applications use stored procedures as .NET Web services. That option presents many possibilities for using SQL Server as an intermediary for other SQL Servers or even other nonrelational data sources. Delegation, or having the user's security credentials move from server to server, is the best way to make use of these new capabilities.
To use Kerberos between SQL Server clients and servers, you must have a Win2K domain, which can be running in either mixed or native mode. You must install SQL Server 2000 on a Win2K server, and all clients accessing the server must be running Windows XP (Professional or .NET Server) or Win2K (any server version or Professional). Computers running an OS other than XP or Win2K can't use Kerberos for authentication or encryption.
Additionally, all computers and user accounts that will use Kerberos authentication must be members of the same domain as the SQL Server 2000 server or of domains that have trust relationships with that domain. In general, all computers and users should be members of the same forest, but it's possible to set up trusts with external forests and domains that will let members of those domains access SQL Server 2000. However, for this discussion, let's assume that all clients and servers reside in the same forest.
To use delegation, the MSSQLServer service needs to log in with a domain account instead of the LocalSystem account. You need to set two account options for that domain account by going into the AD Users and Computers Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in and selecting the Account tab. First, clear the Account is sensitive and cannot be delegated check box. Then, select the Account is trusted for delegation check box for the SQL Server service account, as Figure 3 shows.
Also, the server's computer account must have the Computer is trusted for delegation check box selected. You can set this option in the Properties dialog box for the computer in the AD Users and Computers tool. These settings require administrator privileges, so you'll need to enlist the aid of your network administrator if you don't have those privileges.
SQL Server Books Online (BOL) says that you also need to use the setspn utility in the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit to create a Service Principal Name (SPN) for the SQL Server service. However, SQL Server 2000 automatically creates an SPN when it starts. You can verify whether the SPN exists by using the —L parameter on setspn to view the SPN for the account the service uses to log in.
This Is a Test
To test your setup, you need at least a Win2K domain controller, a client computer running Win2K or XP Professional, and a server running Win2K as a member server with SQL Server 2000. Although keeping your service packs up-to-date is always a good idea, Kerberos authentication should work with any combination of service packs on the computers. Besides the servers, you need to install the Win2K Server Resource Kit on the Win2K Pro and SQL Server systems. Two resource kit utilities, KerbTray and setspn, let you see the contents of your Kerberos tickets.
After configuring the SPN and verifying that the SQL Server service has an entry in the AD, you need to make sure the account you'll be using on the client can connect to SQL Server. The easiest way is to use Query Analyzer and a Win2K/NT account to connect. To ensure that SQL Server logins don't cause problems, configure SQL Server to accept only Win2K/NT authenticated logins. If this connection test is successful, you know the user can authenticate correctly.
The next steps determine whether the client computer uses Kerberos for authentication. On the client, find the KerbTray tool in the resource kit's tools list and open it to see the list of tickets in the local computer's ticket cache. Make sure you have a ticket for the SQL Server. Repeat the process on the SQL Server computer to verify that you have a ticket for the client. Finally, in Query Analyzer, run SELECT SUSER_SNAME() to find out whether the client account's SID is the login ID. For SQL Server logins, the system user ID (SUID) will be blank, so if you see a SID, you know you've logged in with a Win2K/NT login.
You can gather more information about the authentication process by enabling auditing of login events and logging of Kerberos events. If you enable auditing of login events through the domain policy, you can see events on all servers in the domain. To enable logging of Kerberos events, you need to add the following subkey to the registry:
In the Parameters subkey, add a DWORD value named LogLevel and set the value to 1. You need to add these entries to every server for which you want to log Kerberos events. After you restart the server, you can see these events in the System Event log.
If you have problems getting the client to use Kerberos authentication, check the SPN setup first. If you don't configure the SPN correctly, authentication reverts to the Windows authentication protocol. Another potential problem area is the permissions granted to the computers and the client account. The local, domain, and group policies applied to the computers and accounts involved can prevent you from connecting to SQL Server. If you suspect problems with policies, security-related settings are the most likely cause.
The End Result
After all the effort of authenticating both the client and the SQL Server service, SQL Server receives the same information about the client that it gets for Win2K/NT logins that don't use Kerberos. No matter how the user authenticates, the OS creates an access token that contains the user's SID and the SIDs for all the local and domain groups the user belongs to. SQL Server then checks the list of SIDs to see whether one of them matches an entry in the master database's sysxlogins table. If a match exists, SQL Server permits access to its databases.
Permissions within the databases also operate independently of the authentication protocol the client uses to log in. For Win2K domain accounts, you still assign permissions and role memberships based on the account's SID, so once a user is logged in, nothing changes in SQL Server 2000's internal authorization structure.
The only change from SQL Server 7.0 is that in all cases, an XP/Win2K client connecting to an XP/Win2K server attempts to authenticate by using Kerberos. If that authentication fails, XP/Win2K reverts to the NTLM protocol that NT and Windows Me/9x use. Because SQL Server 2000, 7.0, and 6.5 all leave authenticating domain accounts to the OS, you can gain some of the benefits of using Kerberos just by running SQL Server on Win2K. Remember that by default, all trusted connections will authenticate with the OS before SQL Server sees the login request. Although SQL Server 7.0 and 6.5 users can't use an SPN to authenticate their identities or use delegation to connect to remote servers, they can benefit from the increased security of the Kerberos protocol over NTLM and from the better management tools that Win2K offers. IPSec is also easier to set up with Win2K than NT, so even if you don't move to SQL Server 2000, consider upgrading from NT to Win2K.
Running SQL Server 2000 on Win2K offers great flexibility in how you manage logins, how you secure both the authentication process and the channel between the client and server, and how you limit access to services enterprisewide. Much of what I discussed in this article happens automatically when you have an AD domain and Win2K on both the client and the servers, so SQL Server DBAs will find using Kerberos very straightforward. And you'll breathe a little easier when you know Kerberos is guarding the gates to your data.


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NYFW Wrap-Up: What You'll Be Wearing Next Fall
New York fashion week ended last Thursday night on a bright and shiny note -- literally – with Marc Jacobs' glowing production. So what does it all mean for those of us who weren't inside the tents?
Here are trends consumers can expect to see in stores this fall:
1) Shine and glimmer. Marc Jacobs showed a glamorous collection rich with lame and silk and other shiny, glittery materials, layered with lots of plush fur coats, jackets and stoles.
2) Big, sometimes oversized, coats for men and women. Statement-making coats with pronounced shoulders or lapels, and long sleeves and lengths appeared at Calvin Klein Collection women's, complete with wide belts that came with big gold buckles. Billy Reid and Todd Snyder showed everything from big furry collars to a pony hair peacoat. Michael Kors had giant, fuzzy camouflage coats for women. Ralph Lauren's show, which plumbed old-world Eastern Europe, posed a huge almond-colored furry coat for women that seemed like it walked off the set of "Doctor Zhivago."
3) Black. Almost every designer showed what seemed to be a required number of black outfits.
4) White. If Proenza Schouler, known for blending colors like blue and green, went to blinding white boucle looks this season, you can bet there will be women's white coats and jackets and yes, pants, after Labor Day.
5) Green emerged on plenty of runways including Prabal Gurung and Calvin Klein on Thursday. Green and purple also trended for men, particularly at N. Hoolywood and Patrik Ervell.
6) Patterns and textures. Expect to see English-inspired looks come fall. Herringbones, glen plaids and tweed showed up in a number of men's and women's shows from Richard Chai to Tommy Hilfiger to Calvin Klein women's.
7) Animals. Designers also reached to everything from kangaroo (Cushnie et Ochs) to goat (Thakoon) to iguana (Ruben Singer, who made Beyonce's Super Bowl outfit) to find interesting textures. All of these novel materials can make interesting dinner party conversation, or make a sales pitch in a retail store sound even more exotic and unique.
More on Fashion Week:
View a slideshow of looks from the runways
Christina Binkley's Runway Cheat Sheet
Elizabeth Holmes on Trends to Watch
Complete Fashion Week Coverage
[Correction: Michael Kors' camouflage coats are for women. An earlier version of this item said that the coats were for men and women.]

subset: commoncrawl


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(Photo by Ben Watts for ESPN The Magazine. Click image for full-size version)
We're not sure if these were supposed to be released or what*, but CP reader Travis S. found two more nude photos from Miesha Tate's "ESPN Body Issue" shoot buried deep within ESPN's website, and we just had to share them. (The second one is after the jump.) As you can see, the photo above shows a much-more generous helping of ass-crack than the first "Body Issue" photo of Tate that was released over the weekend, and the one below is of the classic hand-bra style, with those pink wraps mysteriously missing. They're all shot from the same profile angle, but who knows, maybe there's a more varied selection out there somewhere. So keep searching, perverts!
* If they weren't supposed to be released, there's no need to sue us, ESPN lawyers. A simple cease-and-desist will do just fine.
(Photo by Ben Watts for ESPN The Magazine. Click image for full-size version)


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Tryouts will take place on the field at La Jolla High School, located at 750 Nautilus St., and are free of charge. Players in first through fourth grades will begin at 10 a.m., with fifth- and sixth-graders starting at noon and seventh- and eighth-graders at 2 p.m.
If placed on a team, the cost of participation for the 2013 season is $225 for first through fourth grades and $395 for fifth through eighth grades.
The deadline for registration is Jan. 31, and players can sign up at www.lajollalacrosse.com. For more information, email email@example.com.


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Kate Sweeney on May 6, 2010
Telecommuting can be a great accommodation for employees with cancer, allowing you to avoid a lengthy commute, take a quick rest when needed. But setting up a successful telecommuting arrangement involves more than just a laptop.Read More
Kate Sweeney on March 4, 2010
If there's one thing I've learned while working at Cancer and Careers, it's to never underestimate the devastation of losing your hair during cancer treatment. Or underestimate the power of a great wig. So when a friend of Cancer and Careers' recently asked where her co-worker could find a wig for her mother who had cancer, we hunted down the bestRead More
Kate Sweeney on January 13, 2010
According to Planet Cancer, CAC is " A great resource for working women with cancer, their employers, co-workers and caregivers.Read More
Kate Sweeney on October 6, 2009
Now's your chance to tell congress that losing their insurance is the last thing that people with cancer should have to worry about. No matter what side of the healthcare debate you're on, we can all agree that:Read More
Kate Sweeney on September 1, 2009
Hi I'm Kate Sweeney, I'm the Executive Director of the Cosmetic Executive Women Foundation. I was CAC's first and only employee when we launched our website in 2001. These days, I spend my time being very grateful to have such a talented staff, and overseeing all of the Cancer andRead More
Kate Sweeney on June 22, 2009
There's good news for people worried about job and health insurance discrimination because of their genetic risk for diseases, including those with BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, which put women at an increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer.Read More
Kate Sweeney on June 22, 2009
A friend of CEW, and fellow makeup artist, passed on this tip about a great book on makeup for cancer survivors: "I recently came across a remarkable individual named Lori Ovitz. Lori is a former celebrity make-up artist who has learned firsthand the enormous boost in self-esteem that looking good delivers.Read More
Kate Sweeney on May 28, 2009
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the public service program Look Good...Feel Better has helped more than one million cancer patients across the globe cope with the cosmetic fallouts of the disease. Two-hour group workshops at hospitals and cancer centers led by experts help patients style their hair, care for their skin, apply flatteringRead More
Kate Sweeney on May 5, 2009
You may be able to save a bundle on the typically hefty premium charged for COBRA health coverage, thanks to a provision in the stimulus package (formally known as The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).Read More
Kate Sweeney on May 5, 2009
Just back from San Antonio and the Oncology Nursing Society Conference. Considering the double whammy of the economy and the H1N1 flu, attendance was pretty strong.Read More
Kate Sweeney on April 21, 2009
The New York Times ran a terrific story on April 15 about the dilemma facing cancer patients as more and more oral cancer therapies come on the market, replacing conventional intravenous cancer treatments. While the good news is that progress is being made in the development of more effective, better-targeted cancer drugs in pill and capsule form,Read More
Kate Sweeney on April 20, 2009
Cancer and Careers is proud to be the beneficiary of SELF's Workout in the Park for the 4th year in a row. With special recession-friendly pricing - only $15 per personRead More
Kate Sweeney on April 16, 2009
Welcome! Every week there's something in the news that relates to the world of work and cancer. Some are heartening--the stories of public figures like Don Imus and Patrick Swayze who continueRead More


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"Seattle has a much better defense, better special teams and it's going to be a close game. In a close game I go with the field goal."
So if I understood him correctly, he thinks it will be a close game but Seattle will win because of special teams. I think he also said that Russell Wilson is a better quarterback, and I agree. Russell has had to do much more than Griffin.


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Through the Center for International Health and Telemedicine, Cedars-Sinai is proud to secure an alliance with the following healthcare provider. Our alliance with this institution provides international patients access to this healthcare facility, as well as Cedars-Sinai on a referral basis.
Clínica Lomas Altas, Mexico City, Mexico
Clínica Lomas Altas, located in Mexico City, is the first medical institution in Mexico that offers a group practice with an integrated team of multi-disciplinary physicians in a thoroughly modern facility. Our team is dedicated to providing precise diagnosis and treatment with a collaborative approach that meets our patient health needs.
The physicians at Clínica Lomas Altas are specialists who actively stay on top of research and advances in diagnosis and treatments in their fields. To be part of the Clínica Lomas Altas, each physician must meet the highest ethical, moral and quality standards.
Clínica Lomas Altas offers the most advanced technology in diagnostic services in Latin America. General Electric Medical Systems, our instrument supplier, installed the first digital radiology (PACS, Picture Archiving and Communications System) system in Latin America. This alliance allows us to have the finest and most advanced equipment in the country.
At Clínica Lomas Altas, we developed and customized a unique electronic patient medical record system. This advanced system allows physicians to record diagnoses, treatment plans, medications, outcomes and procedures. If needed, patient information may be shared within the medical group in order to obtain global and multidisciplinary visions of patient health. Although flexible, the patient record system was developed with patient privacy as a top priority.
Our Clinical Laboratory has a collaborative relationship with Mayo Medical Laboratories that helps us to provide the most accurate diagnosis possible. Clínica Lomas Altas, through "Mayo Link" is always connected experts in the United States.
Our international alliances include physicians at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with whom we exchange knowledge and information. The support we provide each other extends to second patient opinions and medical education initiatives.


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Bob Dylan is bringing his so-called Never Ending Tour back to the Bay Area. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, considered by many to be the genre's greatest songwriter, performs Oct. 28-30 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.
Tickets are $55.50-$129.50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 5, www.ticketmaster.com.
Dylan last performed in the Bay Area in August 2013, headlining an all-star-Americana bill at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View that also included Wilco and My Morning Jacket.
Read Jim Harrington's Concert Blog at http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/category/concerts. Follow him at http://twitter.com/jimthecritic.


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Bostitch N66C-1 Coil Siding Nailer
See LARGER IMAGE
Standard Equipment:
- N66C-1 Coil Siding Nailer
- Carrying Case
Optional Accessories:
Applications include wood siding, fiber cement siding, shingles, fencing, decking, wood sheathing to light gauge steel.
- Nail Type: Wire Weld or Plastic Inserted Coil Nails
- Range: 1-1/4" to 2-1/2"
- Magazine Capacity: 350
- Driving Power: 515 in-lbs
- Operating Pressure: 70-120 psi
- Air Inlet Type: 1/4" NPT
- Firing Mode: Contact Trip
- L x H: 11.25" x 12.0"
- Weight: 4.4 lbs
- Drives wire weld and plastic inserted coil nails.
- Adjustable depth guide sets nails to desired depths quickly and conveniently.
- Lightweight aluminum design for added durability.
- Soft rubber foot prevents damage to softer woods.
- Tool-free adjustable exhaust conveniently directs exhaust away from the user.


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Team Guide by shadows fiji
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why add champions?? just to get the build notice
This is originally from http://www.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=71443.
people don't read so i wanted to share with u all.
Lots of edit work has been done
Hope u learn something after this guide.. And folow the 10 commandment as i am doing in game.
I: Thou shalt realize the point of the game.
You don't win by having a positive KDR. You don't win by getting Aces *though it helps.* You don't win by making the fiddle on the other team nerd rage out and feed you a wall of text about how calling him "Feedlestix" marks you as an immature and socially underdeveloped cretin, or alternatively, t3h ghey.
You win by breaking the nexus.
That big crystal thing in the back of the enemy base. "But Condon, we know that. We just like killing the bad guys before we go in."
You are bad and you should feel bad. . That's you, me, and that Janna who wants to solo mid. They get all hard for kills and so worried about being ganked that they forget the fundamental point of the game. If you have an advantage in numbers, push. If you see them all across the map, push. If you can take down a tower and mince away with a blink/stealth/blue pill before they can conceivably react, PUSH.
If you're one of those herp-a-derp who blue pills after a team fight, even if you won, because you're "Out of mana" or at "Half health", or, as was pointed out to me "I need to go buy items" . If you killed everyone but the Ashe, that ho is going to sit at her inner turret and whimper as you stomp up the field. She will not run through your whole team and all your creep just to kill you. She will turn and burn as soon as you mongoloids walk up and start beating the tar out of the tower. If she does not, you will kill her and THEN go nurse your wounds.
If you have an inhibitor down, and you don't score a tower kill before it comes back up, your parents have failed and you should apologize to society as a whole for the inevitable drain you will be to it. You OWN the map while they nurse the big gash in their defence. Keep pressure on all the lanes, by all means jungle, but you had better be trying to push your advantage before they regain control of the map and catch you with your thumbs up your ***es trying to farm that third bloodthirster.
I will say this once more, slowly.
You need to push to win.
If I catch any of you ****ers sitting in a bush giggling to yourself waiting for someone to wander through, watching the enemy team pushing towers across the map or knowing full well that they are down two heroes, I swear to god I will come to your house and put my foot in your ***.
II: Thou shalt understand kill rewards
Plain and simple, one death does not equal another. Lets play pretend for a moment. You are the carry, let's say you're Ashe. You're merrily shooting off volley and auto attacking for 900. Super, wicked. You are credit to team. Whatever. Now, there's a teamfight. Not a full blown *everybody everybody* teamfight, but a skirmish. They have, lets say, a Hiemer that is going to slink away and survive with 10 health. . You yourself happen to be at full, but your allies have all taken a beating and are mincing away like a beaten stepchild. What do you do?
If you answered: "I run the after that little champion and get the kill! Blood for the blood god!" I commend the idea, and encourage the gusto in some playstyles. You will, most likely, die. Even if you get the kill, you are feeding each and every one of the enemy heroes gold. The kill gold, plus the assist gold, plus the time you *the most important member of the team* lose that you could be farming does NOT justify the couple hundred gold you get from icing that little champion. On top of that, you leave your now DPS light team out in the cold, playing hard D and not getting any gold themselves.
That's not to say you shouldn't try for it if you have an escape mechanism, or if you sincerely think you can get away with it, if you know it's suicide don't go in.
The same goes for ganking. If you have two extra bags in your lane coming in for a kill, it is best to run and not give them the gold spread, than to stay and kill one. They get more gold for the kill than you do. They also shut down a whole lane in terms of farming and experience, while the people they left behind get fat off of your other team mates, where you waste all the exp and gold that goes to your tower in the lane you're now a smear in.
That doesn't mean you cant try to pull gypsy and get kills while you are low. That's fine, take risks, it's the only way to pull of ridiculous and learn the limits of your hero, but no more suicide. Please.
III: Thou shalt understand team composition
You need a fat guy. You need someone who can wander face first into a bush, and actually survive long enough for the rest of you to pile in and do some damage. You need a guy who can wander into the middle of a contested lane, and scare the enemies, maybe even pulling/knocking/stunning/fearing them into the grasp of your team mates while he is at it. If you don't have this, you will fold like cheap plastic chairs and most likely be afraid to wander in the roaming phase.
EG: Alistar, Rammus, the MFing Cho'Gath, Singed
You need someone to initiate. Someone with said pull/grab/toss/flip/headlock to run in first and disable or otherwise ruin the day of the enemy carry/caster/evil genius. This can be your tank, in some cases. Sometimes it is separate. You may even be able to get away without on if you have really good map control and gankers to pick off enemy heroes, but I suggest you carry one around with you.
EG: Malphite, Fiddle, Blitzcrank, Amumu
You need a carry. A carry is, for those of you who are new to this whole scene, a character that is unstoppable late game with the right gear. That means they scale well with items, and it usually infers, you guess it, they suck early game. Thus, you need to "Carry" them through early game, and they can "Carry" you late game. These are characters that you see get triple kills end game, who do 700 damage auto attacks and generally the enemy team's day. These also tend to be super squishy or lacking in escape mechanisms, so make sure your tank knows to master blaster out of them. (That is, the big guy protects the little dangerous guy, you culturally challenged wankers)
EG: Jax, Yi, Ashe, Tristana, Sivir
You need some CC. CC = Crowd Control. We're talking things that make the enemy hero sit down and shut up. Stuns, silence, slow, movement effects, knock-up, knock-around, pull, throw. If you walk into a teamfight and Kat is sitting there spinning out being a skank, you need someone to throw a stun on her *** to shut her up. Same goes for Nunu. Hell, if you can spot fiddle charging up his ult and land a grab on him with blitz, you can turn his triple kill into a face full of lightning fist. Go ahead and try playing a game without any CC. See how it feels. See how much you want some lube after. As a rule, I like to have at least two ways to stop channeling on any given team, four is better, five gives me a ******. The more the merrier, if you're coordinated with it. Landing three different stuns on the same carry at the same time however, is kind of a waste. But I digress: Get stuns. Get blinds, and ****ing silences, and all that good ****.
EG: Sion, Teemo, Alistar, Blitzcrank, Teemo
You can also have (But can, in rare cases, get away without) a nuker. Just a tweaky little mage character who's only purpose in life is to throw out an AoE something and then donkey-**** the enemy team's most wanted. We're talking a billion kajillion damage in ten seconds, and then out for the count for the rest of the team fight. You want that enemy carry to be stunned, knocked up, and nuked so fast that the only think going through their head is their balls.
EG: Ryze, Viegar, Shaco
Other roles to consider:
Map control: Characters with wards/vision abilities that let you track the enemy team without spending gold or putting yourself in danger. Knowledge is power. TF, Teemo, and Shaco all fit here.
Defensive support: Characters who can pull your *** out of the fire if you get your **** pushed in. This generally involves putting a shield/second life/heal on the carry as they are getting CCd and nuked as stated above. Kayle, Soraka, and Zilean all fit here.
Cleanup: Characters that can move quickly in order to catch escaping enemies, and coral them back to the fight, or even just nuke heroes that may otherwise get away. This can be through speed, traps, or map-wide abilities. Karthus, Singed, and Warwick all fit here.
There are other types, and you really have to find which best suits you, but god help you if you're missing the pillars of a good team up there.
IV: Thou shalt smack talk only when dead.
People who stand their *** still to talk. The ONLY time I condone talking while alive is when you're hiding in the bush trying to set up a gank, and want to call the guy you're going to jump's some colourful things. This can be highly effective in getting him to type an angry response instead of, oh, I don't know, surviving. If you are starting a verbal war, great. Fine. It's a game.
If I ever catch one of you hating on one of your own team members instead of playing the game, I will personally make it my mission to hate you with such intensity that you suffer explosive diarrhea from sheer malice.
You may smack talk all you like while dead, and direct it at the other team members. If you see one of your team mates doing poorly, say they gave up first blood and a second early death, the solution is not to yell at them. They probably already feel rather defensive about it, maybe it wasn't even their fault. The best way of it is offer them a lane change if you feel you can do better, or keep your gorram gob shut.
Hell, it may just be that you have a bad team mate, but all that about it is going to do is waste you valuable "Not sucking" time. Pretend they don't exist during team fights, don't rely on them for help or ganking. If they pull away from the rut and hold their own, super. If not, you're not risking anything by expecting great things of them.
You may even, you know, try to help. Don't rag on their build unless its super wrong or anything *I'm talking like, two IEs wrong,* but toss in some constructive advice. Maybe they don't know that you can use Jax's new leap on friendlies. Maybe they don't notice that players are missing, or they thought tiamat was a good choice. Don't freak out, just something simple like "Hey, I know you probably know whats up and all, but you may want to try X against this team composition." Or "Everyone should probably stack a little MR, banshees all around."
V: Thou shalt know the heroes.
"OMG why did Ryze kill me so fast?!?!?"
If you have played ten games in the week, and have not tried all the free heroes at least once, you are a bad person. I mean, sure, read a guide, play a practise game, prepare before you hit MM, but FFS try them!
There is no quicker and easier way of learning the ins and outs of a character than to play it. If you're having a lot of trouble with one in specific, try playing it in MM games. A good friend of mine put it rather well:
"There is no quicker way to break the fear of a character than playing it and getting absolutely rolled with it."
So you're scared of Ryze. Play Ryze. Realize that after he blows his load hes got a few seconds of auto attacking before he can do anything again. Realize that in crowds of creep he is much less effective. Realize that the only reason he was rolling you before was because you kept meeting him in the river alone.
You think Nunu's ult is OP? Play Nunu. Try lining up a good ult in a teamfight and watch in terror as a big brass fist comes flying at you so fast you'll be combing teeth out of your fur for a week.
I promise you, even the TF or Twitch or whatever people are whining about this week won't be as scary after you go 0-10 with him.
VI: Thou shalt communicate
So you're good with map awareness. Super. You notice when middle is missing, or when someone is taking too long to come back from the fountain. You expect that the other lanes notice this, or that your partner doesn't have a finger so far up his nose that he can feel his brain. You are wrong and you should feel bad. Call mias, even if they aren't your lane. Call out when you think they are doing dragon. Don't just ping and expect people to know what you mean. Some people may take it as "Lets do dragon" and blindly run in to be greeted by an angry Trist and her little dog Warwick.
Call missing. Call late. Call when you think they're in the bushes but you aren't sure. Don't be shy. If you're wrong, or if they show up a second later, just type "Re" or "My mistake" or "I do apologize, but I seem to have misplaced my senses. It appears Trist is indeed here after all" if she happened to roll you and you've got time to type while dead.
Talk. Set up ganks. Coordinate ults, and kill orders. Let your team mates know that, despite being a good fiddle, that tristana is ****ing your **** up by ulting you out of range every time you pop crowstorm, and you'd super appreciate if they gave her the ol italian necktie while you were charging up.
Be polite, be concise *you're still typing while playing here, but it's okay because its constructive and you're being brief* and most importantly be intelligible. Some people may use different short hand, some people may be ESL.
Something like "Focus Ashe, then Soraka. Stun Cho" is short, sweet, and to the point. Look at how much better that team fight is going to go. Whether they know to focus ashe or not, it's nice to know exactly which way things are going to go. It's comforting, and when people are sure of themselves and relaxed going into a brawl, it's much less likely that they will start to panic and throw their stun/nuke on whatever comes closest.
VII: Thou shalt not call
You know what's cheap? You know what's tactically advantageous?
"OMG U use gold card! CHEAP!". Of course he's using gold card. Of course hes using flash+grab, of course hes doing everything he can to win. If you just throw your hands up and scream "Hax" every time you get your *** beat, you will fail, because you will continue to think that dying in that manner is not your fault.
Reality check: It is. It is entirely your fault. You don't get to call something broken and get moral victory points. In business, if someone is a sneaky and buys your company out from under you, you take steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.
You don't call hax and go work at Wendy's. If you are playing hockey, and you get railed in the five hole because you can't keep your legs together, you don't scream cheap at the enemy team and wait for the ref to nerf the forward. You close your and you cope. If you honestly can not figure out any way to defeat a certain tactic *Five dudes sitting in a bush waiting for your dumb ***, shaco setting trap nests, teemo laying mushrooms all over the map* then you are a in the wrong game. Go play something more your speed, like candyland, candy***.
If you're having a super ton of trouble with a certain tactic, see number V. Try it yourself.
VIII: Thou shalt think for yourselves
Guides are not 100% effective. They will have item/skill builds which are not the best path for a given game. Sometimes you really need to forsake those boots of mobility for some merc treads. Sometimes you really need to grab an EC on support Janna. Sometimes you need to get some beef on your AP Shaco. It happens. I'm not saying following a guide isn't a good idea most of the time, but you A) have to tweak it to suit your own playstyle, and B) have to be able to recognize when alterations will be useful.
Say your normal build for a tank stacks 75% reduction for phys and magic attacks. You come up against a team that is entirely AP based. All magic damage. Do you still by that thornmail? no you don't. You get yourself more MR, and HP, and maybe even a quicksilver sash. You adapt.
The same goes for "Omg wicked builds" you see on peoples profiles. Just because slappy there won 200 games with Blitz built a certain way doesn't mean it will work for you. Maybe he rolls in a premade that work very well together, and uses that build to fill a minor niche. Maybe he's just a redname and sets all his losses to wins. Who knows. Chances are, if you try it yourself, and think "This is dumb" before you even finish the game, it's probably not for you.
IX: Thou shalt practise
If you play bad with a hero, but really like it, play practise games. Get a friend or two, scrim. Hell, find random practise games, play against bots a time or two to learn the limits of the skills. If you are honestly playing a character for the first time in an MM game, I hate you and wish you to die.
Not because you may feed. Hell, you might do alright, but you won't have the time or the breathing room to learn some of the more finesse oriented skills required to play the character. You won't learn how to properly flash grab, because you're too busy trying not to die and embarass yourself. Give yourself time. I don't care how pro you think you are, if you don't know the proper AoE range of dark matter without having to measure it out, you shouldn't be playing Viegar. End of story.
Thou shalt not buy win more items
This is pretty simple. If you do not have a kill before you have enough money to drop on a majai's, or a sword of the occult, or a leviathan *If ever the last two become useful. Yes I've seen the new patch, I still have my doubts* then you do not buy it. It's that simple. Yes, after five stacks it is basically free X, but if you can't get that, you're wasting a lot of money, very early. That's the killer. You could use it to get fatter, and get actual kills. Kills net you gold. Gold you can use to buy that 18 ****ing AP you're missing.
If you MUST get one, get it later, when you have a better foothold in your build. The only reason to get this before an anchor item is if you think you can get early stacks. Late game getting stacks is easy. Teamfights, ganks, whatever. Lots of kills and assists going around, but lane phase you're usually limited in your kill opporotunities. You have to understand that paying almost a grand for a stacking item that will just be giving you the base stats for the next ten minutes is a poor choice. You're paying for the stacks whether you have them or not.
Don't buy it, unless you know you can get them. Don't be optomistic.


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Saving the Ore Dock
Submitted: 03/15/2013
- In Rhinelander, the Hodag symbolizes the community.In another northern Wisconsin community, it's something else.And Ashland could be about to lose that icon."Everyone has an ore dock story," says Jan Cameron, the Vice President of the Ashland Historical Society Board.
Since it has jutted into Chequamegon Bay since 1916, it figures that folks here have a connection to Ashland's iconic ore dock."My grandfather helped build these ore docks," says Jeff Peters, an Ashland native."Pretty neat spot to be when it's midnight and the northern lights are out, and you're 21 years old," remembers Fred Tidstrom."We've been loving this dock as a community for a long, long, time, and it's really very difficult for us to see it go down," says Cameron.But as it nears its centennial birthday, this symbol of Ashland's fate looks like it has been written.Cameron is with the Ashland Historical Museum, a place where you can journey through time with the ore dock."It's a massive structure. If you stood it on end, it would be taller than the Sears Tower," she says.Iron ore mined in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula would come to the Ashland area by train.Rail cars would follow the tracks onto the top of the dock, and empty their cargo onto waiting barges below.That ore was shipped to the vibrant steel mills across America.Between miners and those on the trains, docks, and ships, the process was an economy in itself."People identify with a way of life. They're very proud of it, they cherish it. For so many years, so many people got their livelihood off of the ore dock," says State Rep. Janet Bewley, an Ashland Democrat.Then, in the middle of the 20th century, "as soon as the mines stopped mining, the ore stopped being shipped. It was as simple as that," Cameron says.The last ship left the dock with ore in 1965.For more than forty years, Ashland's beloved symbol sat dormant.Then, the seemingly unthinkable."It just became too much of a liability. It's been a bitter pill," Cameron says.The owners, the Canadian National railroad, after talking with several government groups, started taking it down."It's hard. It's hard to see a way of life go away," says Bewley.But the metal was rusting, the wood was deteriorating, and the concrete was breaking.The environmental and safety liability was just too much, something tough for natives here to take.The nearly 100-year old ore dock is not only an iconic image in Ashland.It's part of something deeper for people who live there, and whose families have lived there for generations. It's part of their identity."Ashland High School is named after the ore dock. They're the Oredockers," says Peters.Tidstrom was on the 1946 Ashland football team that helped give them that name.Ashland shocked Wausau High School with a 13-7 upset win.Wausau had won 46 straight games coming in.A local sportswriter captured the excitement."After the game, he wrote up the story, and he called us the Oredockers. We thought that was pretty cool," Tidstrom remembers.Now, the monument the team was named after is in danger of vanishing."Once it's gone, we get comments as bad as, 'do we get to be the No-Dockers?'" says Cameron."I tell them, it isn't the dock, it's the men. They were a proud group of men that had a dangerous job to feed their family. So you're honoring the men, not the dock," says Tidstrom.Already the upper structure is mostly gone.Other parts of the dock will continue to be dismantled.But that doesn't mean the ore dock's legacy has to disappear forever.The dock's base, everything near or below the waterline, remains in good condition."To build upon it is a very do-able thing. It's of a scale that, I think, resonates with people in a much more obtainable way," Bewley says.Peters is one of the people thinking ahead to new memories that could be made on the new look of the ore dock.He's not short of ideas."Educational interpretive center...a cruise line has expressed interest...transient boat docking facility...fishing piers for kids," says Peters. "The most important thing is if area residents, citizens, want to see the ore dock preserved and renovated, they've got to show their support right now. As I see it, we can win, but we need a real grassroots level of support.""We will always have a dock. We will always have that. Then we'll have that to build tomorrow on," Bewley says.
Story By: Ben Meyer
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Events for February 17, 2018
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Brewery Tours at Fitger's Brewhouse
Time: 2:00 pm Location: Fitger's Brewhouse Beerstore - Lower level Have you ever wanted to tour a working brewery? If your answer is yes, here's your chance! For $8, the Fitger's Brewhouse offers Brewery Tours every Saturday at 2pm & 3:30pm. To participate, sign up at the Fitger's Beerstore on Level 1. As part of…Find out more »


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posted by Thom Holwerda on Tue 24th Oct 2006 10:20 UTC, submitted by Joel Dahl
"iXsystems is a leading provider of high-performance computing clusters, blade servers, rackmount servers, and storage solutions based on FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Linux. iXsystems also recently announced its acquisition of the PC-BSD operating system. I had the opportunity to interview Kris Moore, founder and lead developer of the PC-BSD project, and Matt Olander, CTO of iXsystems, about the acquisition."


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Horseback Riding, Mountain Views, and Private Cabins on 2,000-Acre Dude Ranch
Pisgah View Ranch is set up like a dude ranch in the Old West: you might see blazing campfires, people learning how to rope and ride, or cowboy action shooting, a competition in which participants typically dress in period costume and wield old-fashioned firearms. But the ranch is miles from the western wilderness. It's located a short drive from Asheville, North Carolina, set on 2,000 acres amid the Blue Ridge Mountains and one of the first national forests in the eastern U.S., Pisgah National Forest.
The Cogburn family has owned this property for more than two centuries, and the homey cabins have a vintage, rustic feel to them, like something from the pages of Little House on the Prairie. Some have a log exterior and some are cozy A-frame buildings. Select cabins are outfitted with fireplaces, whirlpool tubs, or covered porches that overlook the lake.
Pisgah Mountain and Indian Spring Mountain are the backdrop as you horseback ride on Pisgah View Ranch's trails. Paths wind through the woods past waterfalls and streams, and you might also see local wildlife such as warblers or butterflies (all-inclusive options include horseback riding; available for a fee with other options). Or, cast out for bass, blue gill, and lily pads at the tranquil fishpond.
Southern hospitality makes guests feel right at home on the ranch. Each day, you can savor a home-cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and on Saturdays, you can eat barbecue and corn on the cob at the ranch's weekly cookout. Throughout the day, lemonade, sweet tea, and baked goodies are always on hand.
Candler, North Carolina: Outdoorsy Activities in Blue Ridge Mountains Close to Downtown Asheville
The small, unincorporated area of Candler, North Carolina, sits in the southwest corner of the state, near Pisgah National Forest and Asheville. Pisgah National Forest is made up of more than half a million acres, and you can mountain bike or horseback ride on hiking trails through tree-lined mountains.
Voted the most one of the 10 Most Beautiful Places in America by Good Morning America in 2011, Asheville is a hodgepodge of artsy shops and historical neighborhoods. Biltmore Village is perhaps the best example of this unique character: it features red brick sidewalks, wrought-iron streetlamps, and Victorian-era buildings that now house antiques stores and specialty shops. Don't miss the Biltmore Estate, the former home of multimillionaire George Vanderbilt, which features a staggering mansion and its own winery on 8,000 acres.
It's worth it to stop by West Asheville, too, where you can stock up on vintage duds at one of the area's colorful resale shops, browse eclectic art at the galleries, or sample organic produce at the weekly farmers' market.


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I'm sorry, it just looks severely over-processed to me. There's no feeling of an integrated whole, just everything tuned up to maximum local "interest". And, as noted above, several of the tonalities ring false. BTW, if it's not a composite, it could pass for (a clumsy) one. Although Ansel tried in some of his later prints, he never screwed one up this tight.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=88303\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
I think there is a problem with computer viewing, in that it can't all be taken in without scrolling. A print would be quite different.
I think there is a problem with computer viewing, in that it can't all be taken in without scrolling. A print would be quite different.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=88553\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Jani, I was referring to viewing it in the thread. When viewed scaled back, detail is lost and a quick resize isn't flattering. There is too much to take in that way on a typical monitor. I think a print would allow the image to be better appreciated. Seen as a print, I think it would probably work better as one image than it does on computer.
The sky is the limit, or is it not?Comments most welcome.Cheers,Bernard[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=88207\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


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These scholarships are for early childhood or school-age professionals who have worked for at least six months in a licensed or regulated child care program in Minnesota and are:
- Working at least 15 hours per week directly with children for a minimum of 720 hours per year.
- Accepted into an approved Minnesota college and moving toward a degree in child development or early childhood, or those pursuing a National Child Development Associate Credential (CDA).
For more information regarding the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Minnesota scholarship, visit the Child Care® Aware of Minnesota's Scholarship Page.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood WISCONSIN is a scholarship program established to provide opportunities for early childhood and school-age care professionals interested in increasing their levels of education, compensation, and commitment to the field.
Students enrolled in an Early Childhood Education Associate's degree or Certificate through any of our Wisconsin campuses (Appleton, Green Bay, or Wausau) may be eligible for the T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship.
There are four scholarship models to support credit-based education:
- Credential Scholarship
- Associate's Degree Scholarship
- Bachelor's Degree Scholarship
- 3-8 Credit Scholarship
Who is Eligible for T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood WISCONSIN?
Child care providers who live and/or work in Wisconsin and meet the following criteria may be eligible for the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship:
- Have a desire to complete credit-based coursework in one of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood WISCONSIN scholarship models
- Work at least 25 hours per week in a full-time program that is licensed or legally exempt, or in the case of family child care, licensed or certified
- For part-time programs and programs licensed exclusively to serve school-age children, call the WECA office to speak to a scholarship counselor to determine eligibility
- Have the support of your sponsoring program
- Be employed by your sponsoring program for a minimum of 3 months prior to application
- Plan to attend school at a Wisconsin-based college or university
- Have a high school diploma or GED
Learn more about applying for the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® WISCONSIN Scholarship! Contact a Rasmussen College program manager today or speak with a T.E.A.C.H. representative at 1-800-783-9322.
The Hispanic College Fund, Inc. (HCF) is a private non-profit organization founded in 1993 to develop the next generation of Hispanic business leaders in America by awarding scholarships to deserving Hispanic students. HCF accomplishes its mission by securing the funds needed to award financial assistance to students seeking to afford a higher education in academic disciplines leading to careers in business.
Learn more:
The Hispanic College Fund, Inc.
The National Military Family Association Scholarship Fund (NMFA): Serving the families of those who serve.
Mission: to serve the families of the seven uniformed services through education, information, and advocacy.
Learn more: National Military Family Assoc. Scholarship Fund
Giva's Corporate Student Scholarship and Worldwide Community Ambassador Award is for anyone attending a college or university worldwide. This scholarship grant is aimed at assisting undergraduate or graduate students further their education as well as expand their social responsibility and community service footprint in the world.
Learn more: givainc.com/scholarships
Other Resources
Here are some more sites that may be able to help you find a scholarship that is right for you:
Sallie Mae Fund
United Negro College Fund
Scholarships for Hispanics
Student Scholarship Search
Adventures in Education
College Answer
College Scholarships
Mach 25
Education Planner
GraduateTutor.com (scholarships)
Foreign Born


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Maray's Marrakesh Office :: Hand stenciled type flooring
Holly over at decor8 posted some gorgeous photos of Maryam of My Marrakesh's new home office. The hand-stenciled type on the floor has about 50 stars next to it in my inspiration file. Definitely pop over to decor8 for more amazing photos.


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The March meeting of The No. 44 Society welcomes art historian Stephen Scher.
Scher is a collector and contributing curator of exhibitions at the Frick, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York.
Among his books and catalogues is The Currency of Fame: Portrait Medals of the Renaissance, a study of portrait medals.
Stephen K. Scher received his M.A. from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University in 1961 and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1966.


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Girl in Red Coat
on a bridge in Venice
February 2009
© by Merisi
Vermeer's "Girl with the Red Hat"
National Gallery of Art
Washington, DC
mais non!
it's that FAB movie "DON'T LOOK NOW" with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland!
The little kiddie they keep seeing on various bridges...
Your is a darling pic though..
At the beginning of this year I dreamt I had a Granddaughter in a red coat and hat. There were no plans for a Granddaughter, but about a week later I found out I would be a Grandmother. Now I am waiting to hear if it will be a girl with a red coat. This little girl is precious.ReplyDelete
She is so cute. How wonderful to dream in Italian. :)ReplyDelete
Red coat and red cap, and where is the red boots? :)
Nice photo!
You are right, hungarian is not an easy language. I used to write the text in english too, but not always. Please use the Google or Bing translator.
Paris Breakfast,
I have not seen the movie, thank you for the tip. I love the actors, but due to the terrible events in the story, I never dared watch it (I had it on my wish list, strangely, filed under "Movies and Venice" with the German title, "Wenn die Gondeln Trauer tragen" - "When the Gondolas Wear Mourning").
The image this picture evokes in my mind is Vermeers "Girl with a Hat" - not the girl per se, but the colors (it hangs in Washington DC, btw).
what a lovely dream and good luck, may your wish come true! :-)
si, davvero! :-)
What was it that you wanted me to photograph in Italy:
I still do, dream in Italian that is - in English too.
Mr. Paparazzo,
one of my little girls had a pair of Doc Marten's in shiny red patent leather. ;-)
It's wonderful that you have the translation app, I use it all the time!
It's best to open the Vermeer link "in a new window" -
the image itself can be enlarged considerably by simply clicking on it. Enjoy! :-)
Talking about the colour red!
Thanks, Cipriano! :-)
It reminded me of Don't Look Now as well. Strange film.ReplyDelete
I have not seen it.
i think I never will.
little red riding beanie!ReplyDelete
I love the way the colors and shapes work in this picture.ReplyDelete
Fab photo on a whole lot of levels - I love this!
Thanks for the link - I hadn't thought of the connection myself until you drew my attention to it. The little red shoes in my pic were worn by my Bella when she was three!
What a wonderful posts. Only red boots could have improved the capture. I really love this. Have a great day. Blessings...MaryReplyDelete
Vicki Lane,
some days pictures present themselves front of one's eyes, isn't it?
I must admit that the more I look at it, the more it grows on me. I feel very lucky that I caught her eyes, they talk, don't they? My girls wore similar shoes! :-)
thank you! xxx
So trendy and so sweet. It's a great capture.ReplyDelete
Oh My, that little girl in red is so precious Merisi. My youngest daughter had a red winter coat and some of my favorite images of her was in wearing it~ Happy weekend!ReplyDelete
Merisi, this little girl is so cutely dressed!
I saw you linked to a painting of Vermeer. Do you know the book "I WAS Vermeer," authored by Frank Wynne? Absolutely riveting true story about a Dutch forger of the Vermeer paintings.
thank you! :-)
precious memories! :-)
in knew about Han van Meegeren, but have not read the book. Thank you for the tip! :-)
A wonderful weekend to all,
Rambling Woods,
Little coats are red
Iron work is blue
Viennese cakes are sweet
And so are you :-)
One of your best! (so that means it's the best of the best!)ReplyDelete


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Dolphin TaleRSS
Movie Description(Click Here To Hide)
A young boy, Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble), befriends Winter, an injured bottlenose dolphin who loses her tail due to being entrapped in a crab trap in the Indian River in Fort Pierce, Florida. He motivates everyone around him to help save the dolphin by creating a prosthetic appendage to replace the dolphin's missing tail.
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Not long ago, Barbara and Ethan Gruska — the fresh-faced siblings at the core of L.A.'s Belle Brigade — were deep in a rehearsal with their two bandmates. The goal that afternoon was reworking the songs on the Belle Brigade's self-titled 2011 debut so that they fit alongside tunes from the group's just-finished follow-up.
It took some doing.
A sunny blast of retro West Coast folk-pop, "The Belle Brigade" pulled deeply (and openly) from crowd-pleasing forebears such as the Beach Boys and Fleetwood Mac. The new album, by contrast, begins with a digitally processed train whistle laid atop a booming drumbeat.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mayor Bill de Blasio joined forces Tuesday for a cause dear to both, initiating a public service campaign encouraging Hispanic families to read, sing and talk more to their young children so they're better prepared for school.
About a quarter of all babies and toddlers in the U.S. are Hispanic, but these kids are half as likely to have family members read to them and a third less likely to have songs sung to them than white, non-Latino children, according to a recent report by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
The effort is part of the Too Small to Fail campaign started last year by the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation and Next Generation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit. A partner in the effort is Univision Communications Inc., a New York-based Spanish language media company, which will run public service announcements and news programs with segments focused on the topic.
Clinton and de Blasio participated in the campaign launch at a bilingual Head Start program in East Harlem. Clinton, a longtime supporter of early childhood programs, is a former U.S. secretary of state, first lady and senator from New York. She is considering another White House bid in 2016 and expects to make a decision this year.
Clinton, smiling and exuberant, sat at a table with the mayor, his wife and leaders from the education, business, media and Hispanic communities, plus parents.
The newly minted mayor, glancing at his wife, Chirlane McCray, said Clinton "has been giving Chirlane free lessons on how to be a first lady; they're not available in stores."
De Blasio, who was campaign manager for Clinton's first Senate race in 2000, credited her with putting early childhood education "on the map" years ago, including with her book "It Takes a Village."
Clinton said her family practiced what she advocates.
"Bill and I probably took it to the extreme, reading to our poor, little baby girl," she said of their now grown daughter, Chelsea Clinton. "We brought her to bed, and I'd sit in a rocking chair, and I'd read to her, and then I'd sing to her."
In "our little house in Little Rock (Ark.)," Clinton said, she'd sing "Moon River" to her baby. But when Chelsea was about 16 months old, she put her finger on her mother's lips "and she said, 'No sing, Mommy,'" Clinton said, chuckling.
Before the round table, Clinton participated in a closed-door reading session with children under 5. She emerged saying it was "one of the liveliest" reading sessions she's experienced.
"It was so exciting!" she said. "They were putting in editorial comments, asking questions."
The aim of the new campaign is to close what's known as the word gap by encouraging Hispanic families to focus on these activities for at least 15 minutes daily.
"The evidence is overwhelming that you're literally building brain cells when you talk to your child, when you sing to your child," Clinton said.
Research published by child psychologists Betty Hart and Todd Risley in the 1990s highlighted the phenomenon in which children in professional families hear an average of 30 million more words by the time they are 4 than children of parents accepting public assistance and 15 million more words than children from working-class families. Children with less exposure are more likely to start school behind their peers and not catch up.
Hispanic children are more likely than their white peers to face other barriers such as poverty, frequent moves and hunger. About a third of Hispanic children live with parents without high school degrees.
Some parents, particularly immigrants, are reluctant to engage in educational activities in Spanish because they want their children to learn English, said Delia Pompa, a senior vice president for programs at National Council of La Raza who serves on the Too Small to Fail advisory board.
Pascuala Natalia Leal, a 25-year-old mother of three who immigrated from Mexico as a girl, said she thinks some low-income parents feel inadequate to teach the kids. At the same time, she said, families she knows can't get their children into Head Start programs because of long waiting lists or travel long distances each day so their children can participate.
"There's a lot of lack of information for families and parents," said Leal, whose daughter attends the Head Start in East Harlem.
A large percentage of U.S. children don't have access to pre-school. President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union, renewed his call for universal access to pre-K.
De Blasio wants to enact a tax increase on wealthy New York residents to pay for universal prekindergarten and has named a deputy mayor whose top priority is the pre-K program.
"Strike while the iron is hot," de Blasio said of the years when young children absorb knowledge "like sponges."
Hefling reported from Washington.
Online: http://toosmall.org


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Sunday, July 01, 2012
Detention Barn for Saratoga Bad Political Theater
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, July 1, 2021—Last week, when we were dealing with issues resulting from a corrupt server, there was a Daily Racing Form story that trainer Larry Jones decided to decline the 11 stalls he was allocated for the upcoming Saratoga meet.
Unlike several weeks ago, when Jones sounded off on the raceday Lasix ban issue, this time I'm behind Jones' decision 110 percent.
I could not disagree with Jones' thought process more than when he stated that he would refuse to buy horses under the auspices of any jurisdiction that would prohibit horses from being treated with Lasix on raceday.
With that message, Jones was telling proponents of the ban he would do anything within his power to stem the tide of the proposed ban of the diuretic on raceday.
We think that Jones, and other high-percentage trainers, should be sending a different message to the betting public and sports fans; that the industry will do whatever it can to gain and regain their trust.
As with anything that relates to integrity, the sport's stand on medication, legal and otherwise, is the #1 issue in racing and it will continue to be until the Thoroughbred industry shows the world it's really serious about cleaning up its act.
However, I do stand with Jones, and any other horseman, who is railing against the New York State Racing and Wagering Board proposed edict to ban the cooking of oats—for goodness sakes—at Saratoga somehow is a security issue.
How absurd, really. How much advice did the SRWB ignore from the practitioners they consulted on this—if they consulted anyone, that is?
And I hope nobody ever tells The Chief about this idea; this news could send him back to the hospital. What are the chances any state regulatory agent ever walked the shedrow with Allen Jerkens at feed time?
While proposing this security measure for Saratoga, did anyone bother to ask whether the feeding of dry oats is a healthy regimen? Horses don't digest dry oats very well. In fact, they could get colic as a result. Colic can cause a horse to founder. Founder causes horses to die.
Jones said the primary reason for cooking oats is to help horses digest their food easier. He's still gnawed by the time when, during the detention barn era a few years back, he needed to get the stewards' permission to feed his horses yellow corn.
According to the DRF story, Jones was irritated when regulators gave Doug O'Neill a hard time when he was cooking oats for I'll Have Another outside the Belmont Stakes detention barn.
And now the SRWB is considering instituting a detention barn for the Travers and other important stakes at the upcoming Spa meet, in addition to testing jockeys for alcohol.
This is known as political expediency. While the Belmont detention barn might have been a good idea in that it would help to safeguard the integrity of a potentially controversial Triple Crown champion, its institution at Saratoga is unnecessary overkill.There's enough lead-up time to ensure that the clumsy procedures put in place at Belmont would work better this time around, but upsetting a horse's routine unnecessarily does the animal--and the bettor--no favors.
"The board consistently seeks to improve security and safety measures for horses at New York's tracks," a spokesperson said recently. Here's a thought; increase the number of security guards, or install video surveillance and forget the detention barn.
"There's no reason for it," a horseman said recently. "No reason for having it. There's plenty of testing in place to catch anyone cheating."
The problem with that thinking, of course, is that testing is under-funded, standardized rules are non-existent and the process of keeping up with cheaters arduous and time consuming. But make no mistake, there's tons of room for improvement.
Jones said his decision not to accept the 11 stalls he was allotted was not a boycott on New York racing; he will ship in to race.
But Jones is making a statement that when it comes to well-meaning but ill-informed regulators, enough is enough, that decisions having an adverse effect on an animal can do as much damage to form as medication.
So police the back-side, and the security personnel if you must, but leave the care and welfare of the animal to the people who live with them 24/7/365.
Racetrack professionals have earned the right to do a job the best way they know how.
Written by John Pricci


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- $14.99
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When an evil oil man discovers black gold beneath Muppet Theater, Kermit recruits a Muppet super-fan and his two best friends to help gather up the gang for a telethon that will save the venue from being razed and replaced with a giant oil pump. Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) never met an oil field he couldn't suck dry. So when Tex discovers a bountiful reservoir right underneath Muppet Theater, he begins drawing up plans to claim the land and start drilling. Little does Tex realize that devoted Muppets fan Walter is currently in Los Angeles with his best friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams), and that he's not about to let one man's greed spoil a good thing for everyone. With Kermit by their side, Walter, Gary, and Mary hatch a plan to put on a big telethon that will help them raise the ten million dollars needed to keep Muppet Theater standing. But rounding up the gang won't be easy, because these days Miss Piggy's got a posh job at Vogue Paris; Fozzie has landed a gig at a Reno casino; Gonzo has become the owner of a successful plumbing company; and Animal is dealing with anger management issues in a Santa Barbara clinic. With the drilling deadline fast drawing near and Tex wringing his hands in anticipation, the gang races to put on the performance of a lifetime and save Muppet Theater from certain destruction. Directed by James Bobin and written by Segel and Nicholas Stoller, THE MUPPETS MOVIE features cameos by Zach Galifianakis, Billy Crystal, Jack Black, Alan Arkin, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, among others.
Cast List
Don Burgess
Mitchell Dubin
Gigi Williams - Makeup Artist/Hairstylist
Allan Graf
Josh King
Nina Paskowitz
Christophe Beck
John G. Scotti
Jason Segel - Actor, SLACKERS/How I Met Your Mother
Centro Digital Pictures
J. Alan Scott
Audrey Anzures
Inc. Look Effects
Troy Dederick
Lisa Jaime
Gintar Repecka
Michael Rooney - Choreography
Tracey Levy
James Bobin
Matthew Moriarty
Cynthia N. Braga
Jesse Noel
Jill Breitzman
Robert Bell - Special Effects Technician
Bret McKenzie - Actor; Screenwriter; Producer
Tracey Doyle - SET DECORATOR
Richard Schwalm
Nicholas Stoller - Director, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
Shade VFX
Legacy Effects
Bret Mardock
Gabriel Sanchez
West Wing Studios
PJF Productions
Aris Archontis
Chen Neeman
Bill Cobbs - Supporting Actor
Chris Cooper - Actor, ADAPTATION (2002)
Dave Goelz - Muppeteer, voice of the Great Gonzo
Whoopi Goldberg - Oscar-winning actress/comedian, GHOST
Caryn Johnson - Oscar-winning actress/comedian, GHOST
Neil Patrick Harris - American film & telelvison actor, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, STA
Judd Hirsch - American Actor, TAXI
David Rudman - Voice, JACK'S BIG MUSIC SHOW (2005)
Steve Whitmire
Alan Arkin - Oscar-winning actor, director, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Eric Jacobson - Voice/Puppeteer For Miss Piggy In Muppets Wizard Of Oz 2005
Mickey Rooney - American actor, singer, THE BOLD AND THE BRAVE
Joe Yule Jr. - American actor, singer, THE BOLD AND THE BRAVE
Mickey McGuire - American actor, singer, THE BOLD AND THE BRAVE
Raymond Ma
Eddie Pepitone
Aria Noelle Curzon
Don Yanan
Dave Grohl - Rock Musician--Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Also Score Composer
David Grohl - Rock Musician--Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Also Score Composer
Rashida Jones - American actress
James Carville - Political Pundit
Sarah Silverman - Actress
Amy Adams - Actress, JUNEBUG
Zach Galifianakis - American comedian/actor
Matt Vogel - Actor
Peter Linz
Kristen Schaal - Actress
Michael Albala
Bill Barretta
Jonathan Palmer - Actor
Selena Gomez - Actress, WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE: WIZARD SCHOOL
Jim Parsons
Tuan Shu Lan
Dahlia Waingort
Emily Blunt - British actress, MY SUMMER OF LOVE (2005)
John Krasinski - American actor, THE OFFICE (U.S. VERSION)
Piolin - Actor
Ken Jeong
Donald Glover - Actor/writer
Justin Marco
Rico Rodriguez
Leslie Feist
Julia Marie Franzese
Gunnar Smith
Connor Gallagher
Cameron Kasal
Justin Tinucci
Alex Long
More Details
3 stars out of 4 -- "The Muppet franchise is revitalized with THE MUPPETS, a funny, wickedly self-aware musical..." - 11/18/2011 Chicago Sun-Times
"[A] very warm and fuzzy musical comedy....One of the movie's delights is all the subversive parody slipped into its very smart script by co-writers Segel and Nicholas Stoller ." - 11/23/2011 Los Angeles Times
"More fresh than retro, THE MUPPETS bursts with charm and cheeky humor." - 11/22/2011 USA Today
4.5 stars out of 5 -- "The film is beautifully crafted by Bobin, as technicolored and happy as a musical picture has any right to be, and there are plenty of affectionate tips-of-the-hat to the core of Muppet mania." - 11/19/2011 Box Office
"These are the same old, adorable Muppets, as sweetly innocent and likable as ever. Winking at itself, the movie is casually, amusingly self-reflexive." - 11/23/2011 New York Times
"[T]he love Segel has for the Muppets is a genuine, perceivable and positive quality that suffuses this good-hearted revitalization of the franchise..." - 11/22/2011 Movieline
"[A] breezy, keen-to-please attitudes prevails, and director James Bobin moves things along with good cheer..." - 11/17/2011 Hollywood Reporter
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "THE MUPPETS is both a delightful family film about the Muppets and a winking, self-referential satire..." - 11/23/2011 Washington Post
"[T]he film finds the Muppets heart....The songs, largely written by FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS' Bret McKenzie, are cute and clever, and the gags are witty..." - 11/22/2011 A.V. Club
"For adults, the movie's gentle, clever, unironic humor feels freshly, trendily retro now....And for kids...the movie is just shiny, funny, and filled with songs..." -- Grade: B+ - 12/02/2011 Entertainment Weekly
3 stars out of 4 -- "[I]t's Kermie, Piggy and the gang who rightly steal the show. THE MUPPETS slaps a smile on your face you won't want to wipe off." - 12/08/2011 Rolling Stone
4 stars out of 5 -- "This update's great strength is that it marries classic Muppet antics with the most Muppety aspects of modern culture. You couldn't find two more apt human sidekicks than duo Segel and Adams..." - 04/01/2012 Total Film


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By Robin Bairner
Paris Saint-Germain will hold a 2-1 advantage heading into the second leg of their last-16 tie against Valencia at Parc des Princes, but while Carlo Ancelotti will regret the loss of a late Adil Rami goal and the even later expulsion of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Italian can be largely delighted with the fare on offer from his side at Mestalla.
Les Parisiens absorbed the pressure of the home side brilliantly for 89 minutes and hit dangerously on the break as they constructed what was nearly the perfect away performance in Spain.
While Ibrahimovic served to frustrate and underachieve all evening, those men directly behind him would all have fine matches. Ezequiel Lavezzi continued his fine Champions League form with the opening goal, while Javier Pastore was also on target. It was, however, the performance of Lucas out on the right that offered the greatest cause for encouragement.
|Valencia had the perfect chance to prove they could compete in Europe's premier club competition against a team still feeling their way at this level - and they blew it.
Adil Rami's late goal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's dismissal right at the end gives the Spanish side hope in this tie and their ability on the counter-attack will mean they still have a chance of progressing to the last eight, but losing at home to a side like PSG will be disappointing - particularly after holding both Real Madrid and Barcelona at Mestalla recently.
On this evidence, cash-rich PSG look like the future, while poor old Valencia are doing their best to hang in there at this level with damaging debts and, with Champions League qualification for next season by no means a guarantee, the Spanish side should savour nights like these. On Tuesday, they didn't.
Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer
Already he looks a player capable of starring on the biggest stage, and he turned in perhaps the best performance of his fledgling PSG career in Spain, where he was found gliding gracefully yet powerfully down the right wing on numerous occasions during a 50 minute burst that was ended due to concern over an ankle problem.
Questions that he might be burdened by his giant transfer fee already seem to have been brushed aside, as the 20-year-old produced a performance that belied his years to announce himself on the European stage.
As a physical specimen, he already looks tough enough to cope with the rigours of football in the Champions League, as he possesses a strong frame yet boasts incredible pace, much like a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.
He has also proved that he has an eye for an assist. Heading into Tuesday night's match, he boasted three decisive passes from only two away matches, and he added to that tally in Valencia. Having produced the kind of powerful burst down the right that was characteristic of his evening, he then showed nice skill to create a crossing angle, and from that position he retained the composure to pick out Pastore, who slammed home.
Had he been allowed to stay on a little longer, it is entirely conceivable that PSG would have completed one of the many dangerous counterattacks they fashioned and put the tie firmly to bed.
Rami's late strike keeps things alive for the Spaniards, particularly as both Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi will miss the second leg due to suspension.
Ancelotti will be able to welcome back Thiago Silva and Thiago Motta, assuming all goes according to plan, in Paris, where the hosts have not lost by two goals since the closing day of the 2009-10 season.
Despite their last-minute Mestalla hiccup, they remain firmly in command of the tie. PSG can be grateful for Lucas' contribution in putting them in that position, and they can look forward to more of the same in the weeks, months and years ahead.
Follow Robin Bairner on


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The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, announced the selection of William N. Ruud (ROOD) as the 10th president of the University of Northern Iowa. Ruud currently serves as president of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.
"We're very pleased to have Dr. Ruud named as the next president of UNI," said Farzad Moussavi, Presidential Search and Screen Committee co-chair. "Dr. Ruud will bring years of presidential experience to UNI. While visiting UNI, he received strong support from the campus and the community. He also was uniformly endorsed by various constituent groups that have worked with him in his capacity as president. The search committee was unanimous in its decision to advance his name for the Board of Regents' consideration."
"We want to thank all of the members of the search committee for their tireless efforts, and the many hundreds of people on campus and in the Cedar Valley who actively participated in the process and provided invaluable input, insight and feedback," said Mark Oman, Presidential Search and Screen Committee co-chair.
Ruud will assume the duties of UNI president on June 1 and will be paid an annual salary of $340,000. The date for an official welcoming on the UNI campus will be announced later.
For more information about Ruud, visit the presidential search website.