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The latest bout of turmoil to grip the Middle East — Israel's offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip — could trigger a spike in U.S. crude prices past $90 a barrel if the conflict escalates, said an expert, but the move higher will be short-lived since well-stocked global inventories should cushion the blow from any supply disruption.
"There's a possibility of a $5 spike in premium over the next week if there's escalation...if there's ground movement, if the Israeli army moves its infantry into the Gaza Strip," Andrew Su, CEO of Compass Global Markets in Sydney told CNBC's "Squawk Box," on Thursday.
Brent crude oil prices rose more than 1 percent toward $110 a barrel on Wednesday, snapping a two-day slide after the offensive by Israel. U.S. December crude rose 94 cents to settle at $86.32 a barrel, off the session high of $86.65.
Hamas's military chief was killed when his car was hit by an Israeli air strike, the Palestinian Islamist group said, as multiple Israeli attacks hit the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rockets launched at Israel, according to Reuters.
(Read More: Middle East Trouble Could Steal Focus From Growth Concerns)
An Israeli official said the attack on Hamas's top commander was not the end of the assault on the coastal territory and more strikes would follow. Middle East tensions are already high in the region as the Syrian conflict drags into its 20th month.
The U.N. Security Council held a closed emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss Israeli strikes against the Gaza Strip as Israel threatened a wider offensive in the Palestinian enclave to stem rocket salvoes by Hamas militants, Reuters reported.
"What's more concerning really is not what's really happening in the Gaza Strip, but what's happening between Israel and Syria," Compass Global's Su said. "Syria has a much bigger capacity to hit back if Israel decides to launch any attack and I think what's happening now is they're already exchanging fire. So people are not focusing on the right area I think."
The next major risk event determining the risk premium could be the result of Israel's election, scheduled for January 22, 2013. If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secures a popular mandate, that may embolden his administration to pursue a harder line against Iran, analysts have said.
—By CNBC's Sri Jegarajah


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Glossy fabric Avenue flame retardant width 106 cm
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Technology preparing way for space exploration missions to come
What new technologies need development to explore deeper into space? It's a question of key significance for long-term space efforts, one that European experts gathered at ESA's technical centre to begin answering.
Some 15 delegates from 10 ESA Member States and 50 representatives of European industry met with 25 Agency experts at ESA's ESTEC site in Noordwijk, the Netherlands for the Exploration Technology Roadmaps Workshop on Wednesday 18 May.
Exploration beyond Earth orbit is high on the agenda of space agencies worldwide. There is general agreement that such exploration will be best pursued on a global, cooperative basis. Consensus has yet to be reached on the destinations, timeframe or mission details, but it is obvious that many new technologies will be demanded.
Giuseppe Morsillo, ESA's Director of ESA Policies, Planning and Control, was among those welcoming the participants: "It is not a question of if humankind will explore space, only a question of when. Technologies are on the critical path to make it happen."
Franco Ongaro, Head of ESTEC and ESA's Director of Technical and Quality Management, agreed: "New technologies are fundamental for future developments – they are essential for exploration. The possibilities for spin-off should be strongly considered, as well as existing European competences, as industry and Member States decide on which technologies make the most sense to target."
Sylvia Kainz-Hubber, Deputy Head of the European Commission's Space Policy and Coordination Unit, was on hand to welcome the national and industrial representatives.
ESA experts presented a number of technology roadmaps intended to pave the way for European participation in international space missions. These involve detailed plans of how to build expertise and technology in essential fields on an incremental basis, with intermediate concrete milestones along the way.
"The model defined by ESA is built on a sequence of capabilities that must be developed and demonstrated to reach defined steps within an exploration scenario," explained Giorgio Saccoccia, Head of ESA's Propulsion and Aerothermodynamics Division and co-organiser of the event.
The plans cover four priority fields, based on the conclusions of the Second Exploration Conference held in Brussels last October:
Life support: closed-loop systems, (including water, air and food, for long missions; microbial and chemical contaminant monitoring.
Automation and robotics: next-generation planetary explorers, orbital systems, and mobility and logistics support for planetary crews.
Advanced propulsion: 5–25 kW electric thrusters, evolved chemical propulsion systems, descent/ascent engines for planetary landings and transfer/departure stages.
- Novel energy sources: nuclear and thermoelectric power, regenerative fuel cells, high-energy-density batteries.
As well as the questions received on the day, participants will continue to return comments until mid-June, focusing on the plausibility of budget and schedule estimates, likely synergies with terrestrial research activities and potential collaborators, as well as any elements that might have been missed.
"This is just the start of the process," explained Isabelle Duvaux-Béchon, Head of the Future & Strategic Studies Office in the Directorate for ESA Policies, Planning & Control, co-organiser of the event.
"In the coming weeks, we expect comments from all participants and interaction with the experts.
"The aim is to support the preparation of an inter-Directorate Exploration proposal for the ESA's next Ministerial Council in 2012."


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Baalzamon wrote:And here I was thinking it would be hard to draft a bacchetta, how wrong I was proven I successfully drafted a CA 2.0 on sunday in Phil's Ice Vortex+. It was his CA2.0 I was drafting
I've discussed the drafting of Bacchettas with road bike riders on group rides. The consensus seems to be that it is possible and indeed worthwhile but, unsurprisingly, the draft is less than when following another road bike and it does require the drafting rider to get down low in their drops and tuck in closer than they might do usually.
How it works at all from down at trike level I don't know
Sent from my GT-P6800 using Tapatalk 2


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Rosland Park
Edina, Minnesota 1 course · 9 holes Driving directions
Course reviews
Most votes | Newest first | Oldest first
+0 votes Seth Peake › August 4, 2015
+0 votes Xavier Hernandez inc. › June 7, 2014
Fun 9 holes around mature oaks. Water park. Excellent MILF watching area, good fishing spot. A real oasis of enjoyment adjacent to the freeway in the cultural wasteland of upper middle class Edina.
+0 votes Brent N. › March 31, 2012
Played here today for the first time. This place used to be our old stompin grounds in the late 80s and early 90s. I thought it was great to see a course using all of the what was unused space in this park. Quite a few mature trees to contend with. Should make for an interestng time once the trees get some leaves on them. I had fun, I'll be playing here again for sure. My only gripe is the teepads. Way to small for a pad 8" above ground. Had they been flush with the ground, it would be fine. I can see several rolled or broken ankles happening due to this. Otherwise its a B+ course.


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New York City police said they arrested the suspected driver, Julio Acevedo, wanted for a hit-and-run crash in New York City
that killed a pregnant woman and her husband,
authorities said.
Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were killed in a hit-and-run accident in Brooklyn, New York on March 3 on their way to a hospital. The couple's baby was delivered alive, but died on March 4.


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Thousands protest Putin's victory at Moscow rally
MOSCOW – Thousands of Russians are gathering for a massive rally to challenge Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's victory in Russia's presidential election.
Putin won more than 63 percent of Sunday's vote according to the nearly complete official returns, but the opposition and independent observers say the election has been marred by widespread fraud.
International election monitors pointed at the lack of real competition in the race and said the vote count "was assessed negatively" in almost a third of polling stations observers visited.
The criticism of the vote added fuel to Monday's protest in downtown Moscow by Putin's foes who are questioning his victory and demanding an end to his 12-year rule. The rally, which follows a series of massive previous protests against Putin's rule, has been sanctioned by authorities.


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|2012-04-07, 02:25
|Link #43
Osana-Najimi Shipper
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Mt. Ordeals
The ear wagging is just adorable (<3), though I must admit, my favourite part of the episode was them referencing Daigo's perfect parries in one of those evol tournaments.
Overall, I quite like this show. Probably the first 4koma based show in recent memory that I'll watch till the end, considering that *gasp* there's an actual hetero couple I can ship for. XD
|2012-04-07, 12:37
|Link #47
Yuuki Aoi
Join Date: Jul 2004
Highly enjoyable, once I slowed down to its pace. And I could listen to Ookubo Rumi and Okamoto Nobuhiko together all day. Tsumiki is wonderful. Now that's moe.
I wasn't so enthralled by Nabatame Hitomi's character Mayoi, but I guess I'll get used to the voice she's using: too much like a version of Arai Satomi's Kuroko voice for me. Fukuhara Kaori (Hime) was on and off for me, as well. However, I was interested and somewhat pleased to see Kaorin listed ahead of Nabatame and Asanuma Shintarou in the end-credits.
The fact that the friends are not trying to make trouble for the unconscious lovers is a relief. I've always liked shows where the main pairing was set and inviolable from the start (Lamune was the first one I saw).
Director Oizaki Fumitoshi did Astalotte's Toy. He knows how to elicit the maximum moe from a story, it appears.
Last edited by Kaoru Chujo; 2012-04-07 at 14:02.
|2012-04-07, 15:59
|Link #49
Blooming on the mountain
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light....
One of the things I liked about ep 1 (yes, I know this is still quite "early in the game" and all) is that I felt it adapted the 4koma original format well. It's also interesting how different (and in my opinion better) the "overall feel" of the story comes across - in some ways it "fleshes out" the 4koma story and gives a reference point from which to further appreciate it.
When I first read the manga ch's I got an odd impression that actually reminded me of the wilder parts of Nichijou somehow. Now I liked Nichijou as a whole, but I have a personal preference for this kind of presentation - one that recalls a (to me) pleasing cross between Sketchbook Full color'S and Lucky Star.
I also liked the extremely low key pace and interaction between the charas that I found exceedingly funny, literally lol'ing at least 5 or 6 times to myself.
BTW Kakuryu - those animated avy's are great.
And Monir? Were you (or anyone else, for that matter) also was humming the "nekomimi mode-o" song to myself mid way through the ep?
I guess I like the quiet sense of humor that comes from this odd group of characters interacting with one another ... it feels kinda ... well, as strange as it may sound "normal" to me, and greatly reminds me of the interaction I used to have with my admittedly weird group of friends back in high school as well.
|2012-04-07, 16:33
|Link #50
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Austria
|2012-04-07, 16:48
|Link #51
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Tsumiki's voice and actions were too subdued to trigger that particular 'nekomimi mode-o' reaction from me, but the thought did cross my mind. I was more reminded of Nozomi from 'Mayoi Neko Overrun'.
|2012-04-07, 16:54
|Link #52
Blooming on the mountain
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light....
I was also reminded of Nozomi - one of my fave (in the sense of memorably endearing mainly) anime charas of all time tbh!
Although come to think of it Nozomi does seem a little more ... erm ... hmm ... "sophisticated" or "cultured" in some ways, I guess, while Tsumiki is more ... umm ... "homespun"? ... "simple"? ... something like that.
Glad I was not the only one to make the connection though.
|2012-04-07, 17:14
|Link #53
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
|2012-04-07, 22:41
|Link #55
God General
Graphic Designer
dat Daigo vs JWong reference lolololololol
Last edited by Frailty; 2012-04-07 at 23:18.
|2012-04-08, 06:32
|Link #59
Critical fanboy
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Anywhere with anime and anime discussion is fine
There is no way Konata can be this cute!! At least for me, Konata never displays any form of feminine behavior that would remind you that she is actually a girl unless she cosplays which isn't the real her. That is, until Tsumiki shows me how it can be done properly. Not only that, Tsumiki isn't your typical tsundere which is a plus in my book. She only acts tsun to Mayoi but dere to Io which is not a typical way of how a tsundere behaves. Her moe level is extremely high as well. There are not many anime females that I can compare her with in terms of genuine moe but the most recent one I can recall is Towa Erio from Denpa Onna.
Io is also not what you would expect from a typical anime male protagonist. The guy is awesome. I usually dislike it when guys were added into the main cast in this kind of anime. Most male leads in anime are obnoxious; creating an unpleasant atmosphere to the series. Female casts often label them as perverts or idiots, but Io is nothing like those guys. He is kind, gentle, and able to remain composed in most situations. I don't really mind his presence at all and rather ok with the idea of him going out with Tsumiki. They're perfect for each other as master/pet couple if that term even exist.
Now moving on to the supporting casts, Mayoi is quite fun and possible trickster character but one can't help but wonder what's hidden behind her bang. Maybe there is more to it than just her eyes, that is, if she even has eyes at all.
And there is Hime, so she gets nosebleed every time she imagines Tsumiki being cute? I don't think she's into yuri either.
Lastly Sakaki, I have nothing to say about him yet until he gets more spotlight latter. For now he is just Io's only male friend and a bit of a pervert.
Last edited by teja208; 2012-04-08 at 06:42.
|2012-04-08, 07:07
|Link #60
a random Indonesian otaku
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Xanadu
Age: 26
woowww.... after watching 1st episode, I can say this show probably better than Nichijou and Lucky Star.
a tsundere and awkward Konata... I mean Tsumiki is really adorable.
usually, some shows like this can't make me laugh but Acchi Kocchi can make me smile from the beginning until the end.
I hope they will keep up the pace and quality
|comedy, manga time kirara, seinen, slice of life
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Main Content
Board of Regents Reports
Each fall, we are asked to provide a comprehensive report on enrollment trends to the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education (formerly known as the Board of Trustees, now reorganized to include the Connecticut State Universities, Connecticut Community Colleges, and Charter Oak State College). These analyses include information about admissions, registration, financial aid, retention, and graduation. Please note that as of Fall 2009, the reports were consolidated into one CSU report. The reports are provided below:


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|Episode Description
|Friday, Jun 7, 2013 - 6:00 AM
"Victoria Falls"
The largest waterfall in the world bridges the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe, dividing two natural worlds - the meandering river above the cascade and the gorge below. Large animals thrive around the shallow upper river. The gorge attracts 35 different raptor species that raise their young on a glut of fish. G
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Intro to Computer Programming
From Bloominglabs
- This 10 week long class
- The course will be taught in C and a syllabus can be found here(subject to minor changes).
- We will cover what would be covered in a rigorous freshman Intro to Programming college course.
- Text will be Kernighan and Ritchie's "The C Programming Language: 2nd edition"
- Cost is $125 non-members/$50 members and all proceeds go to Bloominglabs!
- You need to be committed to attending every week and there will be assignments to work on outside of class (but no exams!).
- Send an email to contact]at[bloominglabs.org if you are interested in attending.
- See class notes at http://harold.uits.indiana.edu/~jtillots/IntroToProgramming/


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I've just finished Final Fantasy IX, although I won't be turning off the soundtrack anytime soon. Nobuo Uematsu refers to it as his best work of the series, he having spent a year touring medieval sites in Europe for inspiration and arranging some 160 tracks, of which 140 are used (among my favorites are the themes of Eiko and Zidane).
Unlike the Dragon Quest series, FF games are not laced with religious and historical allusions. Cinna, a member of the shady (but decent) gang of bandits appropriately known as Tantalus (a thieving son of Zeus), shares a mistaken identity with Cinna the poet. Tantalus abducts Garnet for noble reasons, but in so doing earns (or cements) their reputation as no-good vagabonds. Fortunately, none of the group's members meet the same fate the Roman does.
There are other kinda-maybes, like the group's leader, Baku. He shares his name with the capital of Azerbaijan, where more than 10% of the population is made up of displaced persons and refugees.
Freya, having been reunited with her long-lost love, is to return to Burmecia to rebuild the decimated kingdom. As much of the population has perished, enjoying the fecundity of the Norse goddess she's named after would be a blessing. Further, her last name is Crescent, as in the Fertile Crescent. This would be more satisfying if she actually had lots of children and led the flourishing revival of Burmecia, but none of this is revealed as coming to be.
Psalms 75: 10 reads, "All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted." While I think Eiko (who retains her horn) is more admirable than Garnet (who has her horn cut off), the adopted princess is certainly not wicked by any stretch of the imagination.
For the most part, the names of places that are not unique to the game do not fit into the story in a particularly meaningful way (ie, girl's equip Minerva plates, Steiner's most powerful sword is the Ragnarok, and so forth), and they are sometimes nonsensical (ie, as the universe's greatest smith, it seems a more appropriate name for Hades (!) would have been Hephaestus).
If the classics lesson isn't one of the major attractions, the shared theme of finding one's way home is. Each of the characters (and not just the controlled ones--even Choco's making the journey), in addition to the shared desire to knock out Kuja, is searching for his individual telos. The answers are as diverse as the characters, but they're not fungible. There's the proverbial one thing, absolute in its existence, but different for each person.
This presents a reality missed by Blank Stalism and what I call the Ecumenical Man (or utopianism). The former presumes that environmental circumstances mold a person, and thus his fate is solely the product of his environment. To a limited extent this does apply to Vivi and Zidane, who are unique in that both of them were artificially created (but their triumph is overcoming their man-made directives), but it mostly misses the mark.
Would any amount of prestige and prosperity have been able to persuade Amarant to swear fealty to Alexandria as the kingdom's protector? No, yet Steiner eagerly does so without a thought given to any of the accompanying benefits. Steiner would never be able to embrace a perpetual wanderlust in search of palet-pleasers as Quina does. In turn, s/he would be a poor candidate for tracking down a lost warrior (and personal love interest) and bringing him back to defend the homeland, as Freya undertakes to do.
The Blank Slate worldview is contrasted by the Ecumenical Man, in which there is a universal proscription for happiness and meaning that is desirable fo all. Life is successful to the extent that one progresses towards this. Universal religions like Christianity and Buddhism are obvious examples, although there are secular versions as well (Marxism, the Noble Savage, etc).
Zidane, initially the aimless existentialist, harnesses his abilities to protect his friends. Upon finding out that he was supposed to infiltrate their planet so as to turn it over to Terra, he realizes this to be unconscionable, and sticks with the friends who have without hesitation come to his aid in the face of mortal danger. Eiko carries the torch of her ancestors that would've been extinguished if she bit the dust (how would Garnet have otherwise discovered her homeland?). Steiner sticks to the path he'd gravitated to in the beginning, but with a greater level of sophistication in so doing. That clearly is his purpose, but it cannot be Amarant's or Quina's.
All are on a journey to find the right garden to tend, as Montaigne might say, and thus are able to act cohesively as a group, but each garden requires cultivation practices that require a unique gardner--only the right person will do.
The theme of manufacturing life for nefarious purposes runs deeply throughout. Early on, the party makes it to the village of Dali to discover an underground factory where black mages are produced using Mist and caged chocobos. Zidane, Vivi, and Kuja are all later revealed to be produced for similar purposes. This loosely borrows from The Matrix. Indeed, Hironobu Sakaguchi's team pays direct homage to the film in the set of ending sequences, when Zidane burrows down into the heart of Terra as it is imploding to rescue the defeated Kuja (at 2:10):
The mass production of beings to be used as obsequious but ruthless soldiers in a campaign of conquest necessarily pulls at a commonly held fear of what cloning might lead to. That is, in the words of Steven Pinker (p226):
An army of zombies, blanks, or organ farms... the duplication of a body without a soul.More than pulls at the fear, the game exploits it. The black mages are exactly that, an army of zombies that uncritically does the bidding of Brahne, and ultimately Kuja, who care nothing for them. Vivi's raison d'etre becomes undoing this evil, by trying to convince mages held under sway to break free of it, and by going at the source of their bondage, Kuja himself.
The mages create their own village, which they eventually share with the Genomes (Zidane's artificially created race), where the inhabitants are able to pursue their own lives in their own ways, using their own talents for their own purposes. Thus the dangerous experiment ends happily, in a way that would make Margaret Mead proud:
We must recognize the whole gamut of human [and black mage, Genome, flaming Amarant, and anthropomorphic rat!] potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human [et al] gift will find a fitting place.Does this mean manufacturing life is a good idea, since the end product can be guys like Vivi and Zidane? Hardly--Kuja, who is also created, throws a big wrench into that conclusion.
Less ambitiously, maybe it is that each living creature has a soul--there's a ghost in that war machine with the pointy hat--and thus enjoys free will, even if it's made like Frankenstien's monster.
Or, as Garland and Kuja both create living things as pawns to do their bidding, perhaps it's that slavery is bad. Fair enough!
There is also an element of Carl Jung's "collective unconsciousness" in the dreamy place called Memoria that the party travels through at the end in front of the final showdown with Kuja.
This elicits more questions than answers. It is revealed that there is a pool of memories that all people share when Zidane witnesses Garnet's escape during the destruction of Madain Sari ten years in the past. As the memories are thought to only be accessible to those who experienced the actual events that form them, it is startling that Zidane is able to see the destruction. I was anticipating a revelation that Zidane was present as a young boy on the Invincible when Madain Sari was wiped out, but instead we get the fantastical shared-pool-of-universal-memories 'explanation' that feels forced in unnecessarily towards the end of the game.
Finally, a few remarks on the characters.
In social psychology experiments, people consistently overrate their own positive qualities. In moderation, this leads to self-assurance, to confidence. In excess, to arrogance and hubris. Zidane certainly isn't an exception to this rule. He seems to straddle the fence between healthy self-confidence and reckless overconfidence.
This turns out to be a tremendous asset, as he is less hindered than Vivi by his station in life. He's more willing to throw off the yoke of his intended purpose and move on with what he's made his own purpose. And even his boldness never really comes back to bite him. For example, he leads the hesitant party as they leap off the airship and into the unknown warp field between Gaia and Terra. They all could've plunged to their deaths, but instead they're all transported in one piece.
His name is French, which means "Gypsy" in English, is fitting, as he's of the mold of other spunky thieves from the series (namely Locke from the sixth title).
Vivi, whose name translates from Spanish to "I lived", has a personality that contrasts to Zidane's. He is diffident and ruminative. His lack of assertion and repeated hesitation, combined with his childlike appearance, create the sense of a befuddled being. Yet it is his thoughtfulness that allows him to grasp the big picture before anyone else in the party does.
Vivi is, understandably, the one who is inclined to "question everything". He initially flirts with solipsism. It serves as a psychological escape from his reality as a prototype of the mindless soldier who destroys stuff for a year before coming to a permanent stop. But it is through this dialectic inner-struggle that he is spurred to action, fostering independent thought--life, really--in the escaped black wizards on the outer continent.
For having the bulk of the first half of the story revolve around her, Garnet is pretty unremarkable. She doesn't make many decisions on her own, other than a futile effort to side with her adopted mother against Kuja. When she does, the outcome is either already fixed irrespective of what she decides to do (ie, when she elects to run away with Tantalus even as the group was in the process of abducting her), or things don't go well (ie, when Alexander is attacked by Kuja and she must command the Knights of Pluto).
That she uses Zidane's dagger to cut her hair shows that she continues to progress with his help*--his trusty weapon was the impetus for her alias assumption and the decision to conceal her royal status, and it is he who spurs her to cut ties with her tragic past. But even then, she is merely committing to following the rest of the crew in pursuing Kuja.
Steiner is portrayed as a silly knight who takes himself too seriously. His clunky armor and the playful moniker "Rusty" Zidane gives him accentuates this. But upon further reflection, it is hard to see him as anything other than unrelentingly noble. Somewhat naive, perhaps, but purely noble. He has sworn fealty to Alexandria, and goes about fulfilling this oath with the utmost diligence, in spite of a second-rate contingent at his command.
He appears foolish in turning his ire toward Tantalus instead of the powers that be in Alexandria, but the player has to remember that while it has become apparent to the one with the controller in his hands that the abduction is in Garnet's best interest, Steiner has no way of knowing this.
He retains a strong sense of honor even in dealing with foes, as when he rebukes the third black waltz for hurling the black mages off the cargo ship to their deaths, and when he decides to argue for a life sentence for Zidane instead of capital punishment, since Zidane did help the princess at one point, even though he abducted her and exposed her to mortal danger.
He's slow in realizing Brahne's evil intentions, but to fault him for it is to wield a double-edged sword. By all accounts, Brahne was a fair and good ruler to be trusted prior to her involvement with Kuja. That she unpredictably took an abrupt turn for the worse after so long is Steiner's tragedy, not his moral failing. If only all people were as noble as he, such deception and the need to detect it wouldn't ever come about.
Freya exits the forefront as quickly as she enters it. After meeting Zidane in Lindblum and proving her battle prowess at the hunting festival, she joins the group in a failed attempt to save Lindblum and then Cleyra. Before Cleyra is destroyed she finds Sir Fratley, who suffers from retrograde amnesia, the origin of which is never explained. But the reunion is banal and unsatisfying, and Fratley quickly leaves again. From that point on, her part is one of little significance.
Quina primarily provides comic relief. S/he's very much an epicurean (or more precisely, a gourmand) in the contemporary sense of the word, searching the world for tasty treats. That s/he, like his/her relative who adopted Vivi, ends up embracing outsiders instead of fearing them (to the irriation of his/her sensai) is a cliche victory against 'xenophobia', I suppose.
Eiko follows in the footsteps of the orphan Rydia from IV and Relm from VI. She's an audacious and precocious child (said to be six years old, putting Lisa Simpson to shame) who aspires beyond her years, usually resulting in an unhappy outcome for her but comical pleasure for the player, as with her unrequited crush on Zidane.
Like Steiner, Eiko elicits a mix of humor and pity. Also like him, she is one of the game's most admirable characters. Unlike her relative (cousin? Sister?) Garnet, she is not royalty. She does not command her own Praetorian comprised of Zidane, Beatrix, and Steiner, among others, as Garnet does (the pusillanimous Moogles who require more caring directed towards them than they dispense to Eiko don't count). Unlike the princess who commands Bahamut and Odin, her eidolon summoning is a decade away from maturity. She doesn't benefit from the beauty Garnet possesses or the education Garnet has received.
Yet she's the actionable one, the decisive one, the bold one, the vivacious one, the one not mired in paralytic self-pity. Cook for a dozen? No problem. Leap off of a flying airship? Sure thing. Persistently filch from a bunch of dwarves to feed her Moogle pals? Yep. Okay, the last one isn't without stain, but isn't she at least entitled to as much slack as Jean Valjean? She's just a kid, after all!
Amarant fills the badboy niche (like Kain from IV and Shadow from VI). He lives by a simple code that states those who are strong live and those who are weak die (sound familiar?). Except he's not really that strong, and Zidane licks him. Like a lone wolf who's been forced by the pack's alpha male to submit, he follows Zidane, remaining cynically aloof from the rest of the party until they make it to Terra, at which point he realizes that utter selfishness is self-defeating.
He isn't that dissimilar from Zidane, but however subtle the variances are, they demonstrate the difference between the ideas that genes (and by extension, organisms) are selfish in the commonly understood sense of the word and that they are selfish in that propagating themselves is the ultimate goal and so everything they do can be seen through that lens.
Amarant errantly does whatever he fancies without troubling himself with how it affects others. Ultimately, that amounts to not caring, or at least not giving adequate foresight, to what becomes of himself. He ends up without allies but with a big bounty on his head, and finds himself on his back after challenging Zidane. Amarant's but a rebel without a cause.
Zidane, on the other hand, epitomizes Richard Dawkins' selfish gene. He aids and protects a motley crew, but in Machiavellian terms, it's quite the prudent investment. His friends end up rallying to him in his most desperate moment, as he staggers along near collapse among vicious creatures in Terra. He ends up getting the young queen of one of the world's two super powers and ingratiating himself to the "regent" (a confusing term to describe Cid, who by all appearances is Lindblum's permanent king) of the other.
Just because that's the way things end up, there's no reason to ascribe such calculating motives to Zidane. This is merely a product of his natural valor and benevolent disposition. As the vignette reads, virtue means not needing a reason to help people. Zidane is 'selfish' not in that he cares only for himself, but in that he is successful in every way, as opposed to Amarant's self-absorbed (but counterproductive) dead-end selfishness.
*Humorously, after Garnet disappears from Lindblum ahead of a party meeting with Cid, Zidane knows where she's gone and shoots off to Alexandria after her. The problem? Alexandria is on the other side of the enormous Mist continent, and the crew only has one vessel for transportation, the Blue Narciss (a ship). From the cut scene, you'd think she'd just run across the street, but apparently she's run across half the world!
Next off, I continue the reclination process, to tackle the legendary Final Fantasy VII.
Also see my reflections on Dragon Quest VIII.


text:
Article source: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
The Grey Group Roof Deck is an alternative work and entertainment space on the roof of this renowned advertising agency's Flatiron office building. The project aims to create a space with an iconic presence. A vehicle for culture building, the deck is used for work and entertainment at all scales, from a private refuge to collaborative meetings and workshops to larger events and launch parties.
- Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
- Project: Grey Group Roof Deck
- Location: New York
- Photography: Adrian Wilson, SOM


text:
Stevivor.com -- "EA Australia today revealed that you'll be able to buy Battlefield 3 for the low price of $5 through its Origin service this Friday."
cool, i suggest getting premium edition,tho. includes like 20 maps
I find on N4G, everyone hates CoD and talks about how much better BF3 is.
And then the same people hate BF3 in the BF3 articles cause they hate EA...


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madremissy wrote::shock: The pink leather with the heart conchos.. be still my heart
Rossignol wrote:Nah, not a big deal really, each strap would still be a 1/2". On my girl, Gidget, the straps are 1/2". Now do you mean the brown pictured on these in the thread or the lighter color?
TheRedQueen wrote:Hmmm...a leather collar that can take a beating? Definitely interested... Can you make a matching tiny one?
Users browsing this forum: No registered users


text:
|2006-04-12, 16:36
|Link #81
Is rather bored...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Florida USA
Age: 30
I thought that this wasn't a bad opening episode, though not a great one.
The music is alright, I LOVED .hack//signs music, so I guess I was holding this series to a higher standard than what it has.
The only thing that really made me mad was that when he nearly gets PK'd by those two "chicks" the pink haired girl (forgot her name :-/) lets them leave. When Im playing UO or WoW, if I see someone PKing noobs, I kill them!.. then again I kill noobs .
|2006-04-12, 16:46
|Link #82
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: London, UK
Age: 34
|2006-04-12, 17:53
|Link #83
Join Date: Sep 2004
Liked the OP, loved the animation quality and character design (what else is new, it's Bee Train after all...), thought the BGM was OK. Plus, it reminds me a little of my own experiences with WoW...
The ED was nothing special, though - yet another ALI Project song that sounds exactly like the last one. OK if you're hung up on exactly that type of music, but pretty boring otherwise.
Hopefully we'll get to see some *action* in this production, rather than having to wait until the game (which I won't ever play since I can't afford a console...) We know Bee Train can do it - witness Noir, Madlax or for that matter the tail end of Avenger...
|2006-04-12, 18:10
|Link #85
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Age: 29
so its anime, then the game?
and you'll be surprised how many newbies playing online games are.. one guy ruined my base in wc3 because i didnt help him.
|2006-04-12, 18:21
|Link #86
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 37
And yes, the anime comes first. In the start of the game, Haseo was already a renowned (and powerful) PK-Killer, capable of wiping out groups of PKers by himself with ease. Until TriEdge data-drained him and effectively brought him back down to level 1 with no weapons, he was much stronger than what the anime is showing him to be right now.
And in case you want to know, Hasero was known as "The Terror of Death" amongst PKers. So he has got to be quite a player. Worlds apart from who he is at the moment.
(and yes, "The Terror of Death" is the 2nd name of the boss character who attacked Sora near the end of .Hack://Sign. Full name is Sketh, The Terror of Death.)
In fact, most of the playable characters in the GU game have nicknames corresponding to the 7 Phases, the bosses of the previous game. Even Ovan is called "The Rebirth".
What does that mean? Who knows...
We know that what happened in the previous game was NOT documented in the .hack world, so only a select few would know anything about the phases. Is it destiny?^_^
List of the bosses in .Hack original game, their nicknames, and the name of the characters in .Hack GU who inherited the nicknames:
...Just another thing, the .Hack GU website listed the characters in the order the corresponding bosses appears in the first game... Main, they are such tease, aren't they? ^_^
Lets just hope that, beside Ovan and Hasero, more characters survive long enough to reach GU....
Last edited by Vallen Chaos Valiant; 2006-04-12 at 19:02.
|2006-04-12, 20:44
|Link #88
Join Date: Mar 2006
Playing Last Order in h264, I run about 20% with vlc. And I'm running:
cpu0: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3000+ ("AuthenticAMD" 686-class, 512KB L2 cache) 1.81 GHz
|2006-04-12, 21:48
|Link #89
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Malaysia
Anyway, it really sucks to be PKed when you're a noob heh. Reminds me when i was trying out a private server for Lineage 2. Quite a big server and when i first spawn in town, there's a bunch of high levels chasing around noobs killing them with their bare hands. >_>
|2006-04-12, 23:16
|Link #91
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 37
When he gets up in level he would be welding full-size chainsaws.
|2006-04-12, 23:53
|Link #92
Join Date: Mar 2006
I do think the storyline is going very well. I cannot wait to see what unfolds next.
|2006-04-13, 00:33
|Link #93
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Age: 29
but i dont get what you meant by surviving long enough to reach GU. is that another version of the world or something?
i downloaded zw's h.264 fansub and itsss awesome. it lagged like hell at first so i had to install the core avc... worked like a charm.
|2006-04-13, 00:41
|Link #94
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 37
The legend with Tri-Edge, is that he is a PKer who can make sure you never play the game EVER again. He just might make mincemeat out of a few characters in the anime before it ends and GU begins...
And those who saw the GU trailer will realise how downright hax Tri-Edge is. He blocked Hasero's 15+hit combo with one hand, without even moving his legs.
I won't be surprised if he become some sort of a Resident Evil invincible monster, haunting and hunting individuals as they ran.
|2006-04-13, 00:45
|Link #95
Senior Member
The more I read and know about GU, the more I think this anime will turn into a tragedy.
|2006-04-13, 02:01
|Link #96
Join Date: Mar 2006
While .hack//SIGN got you caught up in the mystery of the user, this series works on a more mature level. I feel like the audience for this new series was expected to be a little older, and I like that. The animation is also nice, and the music isn't as loud as before.
|2006-04-13, 03:29
|Link #97
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 37
Just watched the subbed version...
It appears Ovan had been the guild master of the guild "Twilight Brigade", with the likely purpose of locating and obtaining twilight artifacts. (Epitaph? Key? Or Bracelet? Any of the three is possible.)
But guildwars had heavily decimated his guild, with many players leaving them for ever. So with only 3 players, the Guild was "destroyed" until they could hire enough new members and get the Guild status back.
Tabi and Hasero are both newbies, and they are targeted for recruitment.
But a powerful guild with a violent disposition had been observing Ovan's actions. If a powerful secret artifact exists, they want to get their claws on it. Hasero was thought to know something because Ovan pay unusual attention to this newbie, and was harrested by them for information.
That's pretty much ep 1 in a nut shell...
(Question: What is a "Second"? Those PKers, realising that Hasero is avoiding their attacks in a way not possible for a level 3 newbie, asked if he was a "Second"... And then promptly dismissed the idea and said he was just lucky.)
Last edited by Vallen Chaos Valiant; 2006-04-13 at 03:40.
|2006-04-13, 07:45
|Link #100
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
1280x720 was the resolution of the original raw that was being worked with; only TV Osaka was giving that sort of love, much like Ergo Proxy did. The reason why they're using this resolution as well as H.264 is because of that sort of quality. Even on a modern system, don't expect to be able to play this video using FFDShow (included with CCCP). You're going to have to resort to something like CoreAVC which has less CPU usage, if you expect to try to enjoy this show in its full resolution as it is supposed to be.
704x396 is a downsized resolution that was played in all of the other channels.
|Thread Tools


text:
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Remarks by Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
American Correctional Association's "Congress of Correction"
Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
American Correctional Association's "Congress of Correction"
Gaylord Convention Center, National Harbor, MD
12 August 2013
Gaylord Convention Center, National Harbor, MD
August 12, 2013
Good morning. I'm honored to be here with ACA—the American Correctional Association. Tom [Burns, Senior Vice President, Aramark Correctional Services], thank you for that generous introduction. Let me also acknowledge:
- Director Charles Samuels, Federal Bureau Of Prisons;
- The Honorable Rushern Baker, County Executive, Prince George's County;
- Your ACA President Chris Epps;
- Executive Director Jim Gondles and other members of ACA;
- Bill Peck, Director, Navy Corrections; COL Ledwith, Commandant, USDB; Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Clark, USMC; and Steve Lynch, Deputy Director Army Corrections Command;
- VA colleagues, fellow Veterans, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Congratulations to ACA for 143 years of distinguished service to the Nation and our citizens. Founded in 1870, ACA is 26 years older than our oldest Veterans service organization and 60 years older than my own department. Your history, in some ways, parallels the history of our American democracy. In the early 1800's, our Nation's initial prison reforms caught the attention of a young Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville, whose study of our prisons inspired a larger study about democracy in America. Through his eyes, Europe and the civilized world received an early look at how democracy was taking form in America.
De Tocqueville's work is a classic and is still read today. He was the first to describe America as "exceptional" and to make the case for what we now call "American exceptionalism." He wrote that "the greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults." [Democracy in America, I, xiii] He explained that, though Americans often made mistakes in building their new republic, they learned from and quickly corrected them.
ACA was founded to do just that—learn from the past and find better ways to handle the responsibilities for corrections in the future.
Over some of the same years, this country also sought ways to better care for those who, in President Abraham Lincoln's words, "have borne the battle"—the men and women who have fought our wars. Those efforts led to the establishment of the Veterans Administration in 1930, to the passage of the original "GI Bill" in 1944, and to the elevation of VA to cabinet-level status in 1989.
Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest integrated healthcare system in the country: 151 medical centers, 827 community-based outpatient clinics, 300 Vet centers, and 70 outreach and mobile clinics that deliver healthcare to the most remote of our rural Veterans—over 1,700 healthcare access points nationwide.
But, we are that and more:
- We are second only to the Department of Education in providing educational benefits of $10 billion annually.
- VA guarantees nearly 1.8 million home loans—the only zero-down entity in the Nation. Our foreclosure rate is the lowest in all categories of mortgage loans.
- VA is the nation's 9th largest life insurance enterprise with $1.3 trillion in coverage, 6.7 million clients, and a 95 percent satisfaction rating.
- VA operates the country's largest national cemetery system—131 cemeteries. For the past 10 years, they have been the top-rated public or private organization in customer service, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
Over 331,000 good people come to work at VA every day. One third of us—over 100,000—are Veterans, and the determination, initiative, and leadership they demonstrated in uniform continues to define VA's performance today. But, we are still always looking for better ways to serve Veterans.
hen I took office in 2009, we had an outreach problem—many Veterans didn't know about VA. We had an access problem—even if they knew about us, some couldn't get to us. And we had, and still have, a backlog problem—it takes too long to process Veterans' compensation claims.
Four-and-a-half years ago, we were also dealing with the "unfinished business" from past wars—the Gulf War, over 20 years ago; the Vietnam War, nearly 50 years ago now; and the issues of PTSD—post-traumatic stress disorder—as old as combat itself.
And four-and-a-half years ago, an estimated 107,000 Veterans were homeless on any given night, and another estimated 150,000 of them were also incarcerated.
That was the landscape back in 2009, and so, we set three key priorities for ourselves to better serve Veterans:
- Increase Veterans' access to VA benefits and services;
- Eliminate—not reduce, not better manage, but eliminate—the backlog in disability claims; and finally,
- Mobilize a national initiative to end Veterans' homelessness in this country.
Since 2009, with the leadership of the President, the support of the Congress, the advice and assistance of Veteran service organizations, and our partnership with many federal, state, and local agencies, VA has made substantial progress on all three fronts:
Access: Outreach and access initiatives have brought in more than 2 million new healthcare enrollees. We have opened a net total of 62 new community-based outpatient clinics and the first major VA hospital in 17 years, in Las Vegas, Nevada. We have also invested heavily in telehealth and other IT improvements that connect us to Veterans while saving time and money incurred by travel.
Backlog: The backlog is beginning to decline as we predicted in our plan due to a re-trained workforce, re-engineered business processes, and a new automated claims processing system. In March of this year, the backlog reached its high water mark of over 611,000 claims. Today, it is just over 492,000, a drop of about 119,000 claims in roughly 150 days. This number will continue to decline, and VA remains committed to eliminating the backlog in disability claims in 2015.
Homelessness: We have also seen Veterans' homelessness drop by 17 percent from 2009 to 2012, which will drop even further once this year's count is finalized.
Veterans homelessness, in my view, is relevant to corrections. The same factors that spiral people downward—depression, substance abuse, job loss, anger issues, failures in relationships, homelessness—also contribute to incarceration. Our commitment to end Veterans' homelessness is also intended to reduce Veterans entry into the corrections system, and everything we do to assist Veterans in transitioning from corrections back into their communities, reduces Veterans homelessness and the potential for re-incarceration.
The fight against homelessness has two arms: rescue and prevention. Rescue is about getting Veterans who live on the streets today into safe housing. We take the "housing first" approach to get homeless Veterans quickly and safely housed. Once we have them housed, then we turn to meeting their clinical and other needs. We house homeless Veterans by several means, principally a voucher program administered jointly by HUD and VA, a grant program that tries to keep Veterans and families in their own homes, and a grant-and-per-diem program to reserve space in housing activities run by our local partners.
Prevention, on the other hand, involves a wider range of services aimed at providing Veterans with education, employment, and healthcare, especially for mental health. The thinking on mental health has progressed over the years. In the past, people thought in terms of the "normal and healthy," on one hand, and the "mentally ill and unreliable," on the other—creating an obvious stigma against seeking help. If you were among the "normal and healthy," you didn't dare seek professional help for mental or emotional stress, because just seeking help moved you over into the "mentally ill and unreliable" category. And once there, you were afraid of not getting back.
Today, we know that two mutually exclusive categories based on mental health are too simplistic. We know that mental wellness is an issue for many people, and that we all, at times, could use some help in dealing with life's difficulties, including post-traumatic stress. So, at VA and DoD, we make it easier for Veterans and Servicemembers to get treatment without being ostracized for having the courage to seek help.
Through the strong leadership of the President and the support of the Congress, we continue to improve access to mental health services. The President's budget requests between 2009 and 2014 increased VA mental health funding by nearly 57 percent. For FY 2014, the VA budget request reflects nearly $7 billion for mental health funding.
Mental health staff levels have also increased to keep pace with Veterans' needs. A year ago, the President directed the hiring of 1,600 additional mental health professionals. Since then, VA has exceeded that goal, and we are also hiring 800 peer-support specialists before the end of the year.
At VA, we know that when we "identify and treat," people get better. So to maximize our opportunities for "identification and treatment," we are increasing our collaboration at the local level by hosting mental health summits at each of our 151 VA medical centers.
One of our most successful efforts is our Veterans Crisis Line. DoD knows it as the Military Crisis Line—same number, same trained VA mental health professionals answering the phone, 24/7—an example of our partnering to deliver optimal care to those in crisis. Since start-up in 2007, the Veterans Crisis Line has answered over 890,000 calls from Veterans in need. Most importantly, 30,000 of those callers were rescued from suicides in progress because our mental health providers were standing by to help.
Chatting and texting appeal to those who are comfortable with technology. So, in 2009 we added an on-line chat service, and in 2011, a texting service. Since then, we've engaged almost 118,000 people in on-line chats and by texting.
We have also developed a new mobile phone app—designed jointly by VA and DoD—called the "PTSD coach" -- to help Servicemembers and Veterans manage their readjustment challenges in real-time and to access mental health assistance anonymously.
Many Veterans just entering the justice system are already dealing with mental health or substance abuse issues. To help them get their lives together and avoid future run-ins with the law, we stood up a Veterans Justice Outreach Program (VJO)—172 full-time specialists, working directly with justice officials, to see that Veterans, in jail or before the court, get the care they need and that courts consider the best possible alternatives to incarceration. Justice outreach specialists already serve about 30,000 Veterans annually, and the plan is to hire another 70 specialists next year for greater outreach.
At the other end of the justice system, we have the Health Care for Reentry Veterans Program (HCRV)—44 full-time specialists with access to over a thousand prisons (about 80 percent of prisons in the U.S.), connecting soon to be released Veterans with a range of VA services available to them on the outside: healthcare, housing assistance, educational assistance, vocational counseling and training—services they will need to become productive, law-abiding citizens.
When our reentry specialists identify Veterans, they meet with them in prison, determine their level of eligibility, develop a reentry plan, and provide contact information for VA and other resources. Of course, inmates often make their own plans for after release, and some want nothing to do with us. But others respond eagerly to our offer of help. Being treated as a Veteran reminds them of a time when their lives made sense and they deserved the respect of others for their discipline, competence, dedication, teamwork, and courage. My ask of you is that you help encourage Veterans to link up with us upon release. We are their best chance for breaking the turnstiles in many of their lives.
We are currently assisting about 9,000 reentering Veterans each year. We know that still leaves a lot of Veterans exiting prison without our help. We don't have hard numbers on Veterans leaving prison, but the best estimate by the Bureau of Justice Statistics tells us that our reentry program is assisting about one in six Veterans released each year.
Our biggest challenge is identifying Veterans about to be released. That's also where we can use your help. Within the past year, we added a new online capability called the Veterans Reentry Search Service (VRSS). Using this service, you can identify all of the Veterans in your system in a matter of hours. All you do is, go to the secure VRSS website and upload your list of everyone you have in custody, identified by name, Social Security number, date of birth, correction ID number, location, and release date. VRSS then compares your list of inmates with our list of over 22 million Veterans, and in three or four hours, it sends you and our outreach specialists a list of Veterans in your system.
With that list, we know who to contact, and you can better manage your Veterans in custody. You might, for example, assign them to the same dorms to create a more disciplined environment, as seven states are already doing. Because inmates tend to under-report their military service, you probably have more Veterans than you realize. In California, less than 3 percent of inmates self-identified as Veterans, but VRSS found that 8 percent had actually served in the military—a difference of 5,000 Veteran inmates.
At present, VRSS is fully in use by five state prison systems, three jail systems, and one court system. Sixteen more systems, including 14 state systems, are in the process of accessing the service. There's no fee involved—VA pays for everything—but we need you to prepare your lists and upload them to the system. I encourage you to do so.
To keep Veterans out of custody as well as off the streets, we need to identify and begin working with them before they leave prison to reenter their communities. We have the tools to do that now, but we need your help.
Bottom line: Veterans, especially those who have been incarcerated and who may also be suffering from PTS, PTSD, TBI, and depression—need and deserve our help. Reentry Veterans need jobs, education, and quality healthcare—a shot at rebuilding their lives.
You see, at VA, we wrestle with harmonizing two very distinct, yet incongruent, images of those who have served. I carry these images with me all the time.
The first image is this—and it is one most familiar to everyone in this audience: Each year, something around 60 percent of high-school graduates go on to colleges, universities, community colleges—some version of higher education. Of the remaining 40 percent or so, some undergo vocational training, and some immediately enter the workforce. Fewer others join the less than 1 percent of Americans who volunteer to serve in our Nation's armed forces. Most young people today have no memory of a draft Army.
After enlisting, they undergo weeks of rigorous physical training and mental preparation for a disciplined life of values, standards, and accountability. Following graduation from basic training, they join a wide variety of units—platoons, ships, squadrons, and detachments. When they reach those first units, they quickly become valued and trusted members of high-performing teams—tough, motivated, and extremely dedicated. With excellent leadership, they go forward, each and every day, to perform the complex, the difficult, and the dangerous missions. On some days, they are asked to do the impossible. Think of what they've been asked to do, and what they've accomplished, with unwavering commitment and without complaint, these last 12 years in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But there is a second image—Veterans suffer disproportionately from depression, substance abuse, homelessness, and suicides—and they are well up there in joblessness as well. 107,000 of them were sleeping on the streets of our Nation four and a half years ago. And more than 40,000 Veterans are released from prison each year.
What's wrong with these disparate images? To be sure, there are fewer in the second image than the first, but they are the same youngsters. How did we fail to continue the kinds of successes they achieved while in uniform? How do we keep them from entering that downward spiral of joblessness, depression, and substance abuse that often leads to homelessness and, sometimes, to suicide? It's not about them; it's about us.
At VA, our goal is to never allow those in image #1 to become part of image #2, and to return those in image #2 to lives as productive as possible.
Once again, thank you for the missions you perform on behalf of the Nation. Help me get our justice-involved Veterans back to the productive lives they once led.
God bless all who serve and have served our Nation in all of its uniforms. And may God continue to bless this great country of ours. Thank you.


text:
Hi, i'm having a problkem with a search box i customised in CSS.
IE7 correctly shows the submit button with the text vertially aligned in the middle of the button but the text area box shows the text at the very top of the box. Screenshot
Firefox does not show any of these correct. FF shows the submit button text at the very bottom and the text in the search box at the very top the same as IE7. Screenshot
Here is my CSS code:
I was wanting to know if there is anyway of making the text in both the text area and submit button verticaly aligned in the middle.Code:} .textInput { border: 1px solid #000000; background: #FFFFFF; color: #000000; height: 20px; width: 152px; padding: 0px; float: left; font-size: 14px; } .submitInput { border: 1px solid #000000; background: #FFFFFF; color: #000000; height: 22px; width: 100px; text-top: 1px; float: right; margin-left: 2px; font-size: 14px;
Also here is a site to my website where the search box is in the top right: http://www.ryanfitton.co.uk.


text:
|2013-04-29, 10:18
|Link #6382
Emperor of the Expected
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Florida
|2013-04-29, 10:21
|Link #6383
Summary Machine
Join Date: Apr 2011
The grail is what held Athena's stolen essence and transformed into the new goddess.
The medallion is what holds the stolen steel authorities of Lancelot, Sun Wukong and Perseus.
Two separate artifacts.
|2013-04-29, 10:53
|Link #6385
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2011
|2013-04-29, 11:04
|Link #6386
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
so this is the arrowhead of the king of the end. (ability to steal authority)
is the ability of the "king if the end" is temporary revived o copy the beaten god by campione?
i came to this conclusion because of what verhagna said "Thou art the first person to usurp mine -- the authority of the god of victory! Becomest stronger than anyone else! Until the day I shall fight thee again, possessest my undefeatable body!")
anyway this is just a guess
|2013-04-29, 11:18
|Link #6387
The Mage of Four Hearts
Join Date: Mar 2010
Age: 28
Come to think of it, JPS has conditions on his authorities, but he can reuse them even after switching to a different one, yet Godou can't. I wonder if this is part of his issues with acceptong himself.
|2013-04-29, 12:11
|Link #6388
U mad?
Join Date: Apr 2012
Any reason why Pandora pronounces his name Godoh? Is it some pet name for her new stepchild?
|2013-04-29, 14:24
|Link #6389
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Poland
Age: 32
Personally, I'm glad that Godou has such a limited access to the authorities that he obtained from Verethragna, since having an unlimited access to them, would make him a little too powerful (think, what would happen, if he could cast the White stallion + the Boar + the Sword, at the same time - I think only a few gods could survive a combo like that. )
After all, Godou has obtained all the forms that Verethragna had - which, makes him pretty unique among the Campione that we have been introduced to so far.
In other words, while I think the restrictions on Godou's authorities are going to be lessened, once he gets more used to the mentality of a warrior - personally, I doubt they will be fully gone, since that would make Godou a little too powerful - and there would be no point, for the girls to stick around him - or at the very least, we wouldn't see him ... having lip to lip contact with them, since if Godou had an unlimited access to his authorities - he wouldn't need the sword, for each (or most of them) of his fights against a God.
|2013-04-29, 15:14
|Link #6390
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Florida, USA
A few things you need to remember. First Verethragna was a god who transformed into 10 different forms to obtain victory, even he did not try to wield two powers at once. The most he ever did was use duel-wield the sword and even that was very draining but was still the same form. Using two forms at once is a taboo move because of the major backlash, pain and great strain on the mind and body. Think of trying to shape-shift into a bull and a bird of pray (raptor) at the same time in the end you get a form that is neither and most likely not able to even move let alone fight. Godou used the white stailion and warrior at the same time but the end result was that he could not even move while the two forms where active, not to mention that he was just barely able to withstand the mental and physical pain thanks to Yuri's help.
Also on the restriction of using the forms only once a day, I do believe that can be lowered and even removed with time as long as Godou can gain mastery of the authority. If this does happen it would happen gradually and would go from once a day to two times a day as long as the form still has power. An example would be he could call the boar and it gets beaten to hell. Later on he calls the boar again but the boar is still injured from his previous summon and has not healed. (Think DxD's balance breaker time limit, you can call it out as much as you want but the over all time you can use it is still set.) What I do not believe however is that the conditions on using the powers will ever be removed. John Pluto Smith can take anyone of his transformations at any time but each time the price must be made to activate the transformation. In this way even if Godou was able to reuse the ten forms in a day he would still need to meet the necessary conditions to use them.
Now in regards to the fight so far in chapter 5 lets review what could still happen.
Wind - Currently active - use Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi to dispell and absorb the wind
Bull - defeated
White Stallion - defeated
Boar - active - heh heh pray she cannot use it I cannot think of how to deal with this one
Raptor - active - beat it to a pulp when it tries to attack Godou (camel or the girls intercept it)
Ram - active - ...i have no idea what this form could do other than reviving one of the defeated forms
Goat - active thou depleted in power - should no longer be a threat atm
Cannot wait for the fight to continue. ty again zzhk.
Last edited by Nihgthawk; 2013-04-29 at 15:32.
|2013-04-29, 16:59
|Link #6391
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: At the Edge of the World
personally I think its fine for Godou to have restrictions on his authorities because if he didn't have it I think he will be a little OP,come to think of it if he can freely use his authorities then he will be unbeatable like Verethragna
|2013-04-29, 19:29
|Link #6393
A pervert
Join Date: Oct 2012
And what mistake in illustration Reaper?
|2013-04-29, 22:20
|Link #6394
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
|2013-04-30, 00:28
|Link #6395
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Poland
Age: 32
Thinking about it, the reason why Godou and the rest of the Campione have some restrictions put on the powers that they obtain from the god ('s) they killed, might be caused by the fact that they have been originally human.
In other words, killing a god, lessens (blur's) the differences between a god and a human, but it probably, can't completely fill up the gap, that exist between a human and a god.
Basically, what I want to say, is that there exists a limit, of how much "essence" of the slain god, a humans body - which, probably depends on the compatibility between the defeated god and the human who has "killed" him - since, if that hasn't been the case, there would be pretty much, no difference between a godslayer and an actual god.
Now, the differences, are going to lessen, once the human body, gets a little more used to the "essence" of the god, that is contained in it - which, most likely requires a few years of being a godslayer, but they won't be fully gone, since ... there is pretty much nothing indicating that humans can actually become "gods", in this novel. ( I know, that there exist something like a Divine Ancestor in this series, but I think that it's not the same as being a god.)
|2013-04-30, 05:40
|Link #6396
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Dollars
Either if he becomes god or not, he'll still be not-human with a long life... it just saddens me that his harem are going to die first before him if he manages to live that long That last illustration where Godou and his harem are walking together feels saddening too when I realized that fact
|2013-04-30, 06:50
|Link #6397
A pervert
Join Date: Oct 2012
As for if Godou's harem die while he himself is still alive, maybe Godou will kill some death god so he can got authority to ressurect the dead or maybe he will even invade the realm of the death himself. Thats going to be awesome.
|2013-04-30, 07:43
|Link #6398
Join Date: Mar 2012
|2013-04-30, 09:56
|Link #6400
The Mage of Four Hearts
Join Date: Mar 2010
Age: 28
|action, campione, ecchi, godslayer, harem, light novel, myth, romance, sd bunko, shounen, supernatural, time travel, true harem
|Thread Tools


text:
The polls are closed and the votes are counted. Anderson County voters decided Tuesday who they would like to vote for in the August 7 general election and by 10 p.m. the election commission had tallied the results.
The polls are closed and the votes are counted. Anderson County voters decided Tuesday who they would like to vote for in the August 7 general election and by 10 p.m. the election commission had tallied the results.
The Republican race for Chancellor saw Nichole "Nicki" Cantrell prevail over opponents Michael Farley and Phil Harber. Cantrell ended the night with 3,895 votes, Farley had 2,979 and Harber was a distant third with 368 votes.
Incumbent County Mayor Terry Frank held on for a narrow victory over challenger Zach Bates in the Republican race for Anderson County Mayor. Frank finished with 3,896 votes and will face Democrat Jim Hackworth in August. Hackworth, a Democrat, had 1,214 votes and Bates had 3,406 votes.
Republican incumbent for General Sessions Judge Division I, Don A. Layton, had 4,696 votes. He will face Democrat Randy M. Spitzer in the August election. Spitzer had 1,077 votes.
General Sessions Judge Division II Republican candidate Roger Miller had 4,024 votes. Incumbent Democrat Ron Murch had 1,142 votes.
Republican Brian J. Hunt will face Democrat J. Michael Clement for the position of Juvenile Court Judge in August. Hunt had 3,022 votes and his Republican opponents, Lauren Biloski and Victoria "Vickie" Bannach had 2,078 and 1,626 votes respectively. Democrat David R. Dunkirk had 494 votes and Clement had 765.
Republicans Anthony Lay and Randy Myers faced off for the nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent Paul N. White for Anderson County Sheriff in August. Lay was victorious with 3,671 votes compared to Myers' 2,677 votes. White had 1,280 votes.
William Jones, Republican candidate for Circuit Court Clerk, had 4,114 votes. Jones will face incumbent Democrat Tyler Mayes in August. Mayes had 1,128 votes.
For Register of Deeds Republican Bill Gallaher had 4,480 votes while Democratic candidate and incumbent Tim Shelton had 1,233 votes.
Road Superintendent Gary Long faced no challengers and will remain in his position with 5,763 votes. Democrat incumbent for Circuit and Criminal Court Judge, 7th Judicial District Donald R. Eledge also faced no challengers and had 1,245 votes.
The District Attorney General's race was also unchallenged and Democrat incumbent Dave Clark had 1,214 votes. Likewise for incumbent Public Defender and Democrat Tom Marshall who had 1,180 votes. Democrat Rodeny Archer will keep his seat as County Trustee. Archer faced no challengers and had 1,263 votes.
Incumbent Democrat Jeff Cole will keep his seat. Cole had 1,262 votes in his uncontested race.
Winners in Tuesday's election will face the candidates from opposing parties in the August 7 General Election.
These results were updated by the Anderson County Election Commission and were obtained via their website. The list was updated at 9:32 p.m. and 100 percent of precincts had reported. Information from the Election Commission said that the election would not be certified until May 15.
Russel Langley can be reached at (865)220-5514.


text:
State lawmakers set the stage when they redrew the boundaries of congressional districts following the 2010 Census.
WASHINGTON | The 2012 election should have been a good one for Democrats running for Congress in North Carolina.
They received a total of 2.2 million votes — about 81,000 more than their Republican opponents. But when those votes were divvied up among the state's 13 House districts, Democrats came up short. Way short.
Republicans won nine seats and Democrats only four.
How did Republicans pull off this unlikely feat? State lawmakers set the stage when they redrew the boundaries of congressional districts following the 2010 Census.
Before redistricting, North Carolina's congressional delegation was closely divided. Democrats held seven seats and Republicans held six. In any given election, three or four races could be competitive.
But the 2010 election was historic for Republicans in North Carolina, and the ramifications are still being felt. In 2010, Republicans won control of North Carolina's entire state legislature for the first time since 1870, giving them control of the redistricting process.
North Carolina still had a Democratic governor, Beverly Perdue. But in North Carolina, the governor has no say over the congressional map. The entire process is controlled by the legislature.
Two neighboring districts illustrate how GOP lawmakers remade the map in North Carolina: Districts 10 and 11.
Before redistricting, the 11th District covered most of western North Carolina, including the city of Asheville. The district leaned slightly Republican, but it was competitive. Democrat Heath Shuler, a former NFL quarterback, represented it in Congress.
Shuler was helped by a strong Democratic base in Asheville. But following the 2010 Census, Republicans in the legislature carved much of Asheville out of the district. Democratic voters were replaced by Republicans to the north and east, making the district solidly Republican.
Facing a tough re-election campaign, Shuler retired in 2012 and Republican Mark Meadows won the seat with 57 percent of the vote.
Asheville, meanwhile, was placed in the 10th district, which is overwhelmingly Republican. Rep. Patrick McHenry is in his fifth term representing the district. The change made McHenry's district more Democratic, but not enough to threaten his seat.
In 2010, before redistricting, McHenry won re-election with 71 percent of the vote. In 2012, he won the redrawn district with 57 percent.
Where did the rest of North Carolina's Democratic voters go? Many of them were packed into three districts: District 1 in the northeastern part of the state, District 4 in the center of the state, and District 12, a long, narrow district that snakes from Winston-Salem to Charlotte.
All three districts are so politically lopsided that the three Democratic incumbents overwhelmingly won re-election in 2012.
Rep. Mel Watt got 80 percent of the vote in District 12; Rep. G.K Butterfield got 75 percent in District 1, and Rep. David Price got 74 percent in District 4.
Both the 1st district and 12th district have black majorities. The share of black voters increased in both districts after redistricting, according to the Census Bureau.
Two lawsuits were filed in late 2011 to challenge the districts. The lawsuits allege the boundaries are unconstitutional racial gerrymanders that cluster black voters in the districts so that seats around them are more likely to elect Republicans.
"I think Republicans got very greedy," said Scott Falmlen, a former executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party. "They just went to the extreme to maximize their power."
Republicans say the districts are lawful and were designed to protect the state from legal claims under the Voting Rights Act, which generally prohibits states from diluting the voting power of racial and ethnic minorities. Republicans note that the Justice Department signed off on the maps and decided not to challenge them.
Partisan gerrymandering played a role in shaping the map, said John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank in Raleigh. But GOP lawmakers also were guided by the Voting Rights Act, he said.
"It's gerrymandering, but there's another part to it," Hood said.
The lawsuits are still pending before the North Carolina Supreme Court.


text:
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.– UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team put together a complete game effort to blowout Occidental College 76-54 in their season opener. The Gauchos' point total was the team's highest since they dropped an identical amount at Loyola Marymount last season.
"Overall, I was extremely proud of our effort tonight," UCSB Head Coach Carlene Mitchell said. "We had three players score in the double-digits, so we could live with a giving up 16 turnovers with the amount of possessions we had on the offensive end."
It was a game where the offense played free thanks to timely turnovers and rebounds UCSB posted on defense.
To close out the half, Nicole Nesbit was involved with UCSB's final six points, as she scored on a pair of jumpers and garnered an assist after zipping the ball from the top of the key to find Kendra Morrison who finished at the left block.
Nesbit also swiped the ball away from Tiffany Kho at midcourt, but could not get her lay up to fall before the halftime buzzer sounded. Regardless, UCSB went into the break with the commanding 39-26 advantage.
Nesbit lead the high-octane UCSB offense with 17 points, going 7-11 from the field, while also dishing out a game-high six assists.
Behind her was fellow senior Destini Mason who hit a career-best 16 points, eight of which she netted in the first four and a half minutes of the second half.
Having a career afternoon was sophomore Jasmine Ware who added career-highs of 12 points and four steals to go along with her five rebounds and three assists. Her previous high mark of seven points was garnered in last season's home opener against New Mexico State.
The Gauchos also edged the Tigers in the rebound category 42 to 27. Morrison and Mi'Chael Wright led UCSB with seven boards each.
UCSB did not break out on offense until they went on a 22-8 run to close out the first half, starting at the 7:09 mark. Occidental College had the 18-17 lead and were ahead for the previous two and a half minutes.
Morrison put the Gauchos back on top after she corralled an offensive rebound and laid it back up for the score.
Those two points were the first of 16 unanswered by the Gauchos as they jumped out ahead 33-18. Six Gauchos were involved in the scoring frenzy, and it was Mason and Ware who led the run with four points each.
Starting the second half, the Gauchos picked up right where they left off as they stormed out of the break with a 17-2 run to gain the 56-28 lead.
Nesbit gave UCSB its first points of the half with a pair of free throws. However, it was Mason who led the offensive charge as she scored six unanswered points following Nesbit's trip to the charity stripe.
From there, UCSB coasted to their largest win margin in the Carlene Mitchell era with the 22-point differential.
The Gauchos will return to game action on Saturday when they host Arizona at 2 p.m. Season tickets are still available. Get yours today by calling the Ticketing Office at 805-893-UCSB (8272) or by clicking here.


text:
Thank You for your continued support and contributions!
So, let me be more precise:can you access recovery menu (by holding play button on boot) ?did you select "Reload firmware" in it ?when you plug the device after that, does Windows detect a device ? (it does not necessarily appear as a drive)did you try to uninstall the device in windows device manager ?have you tried another usb cable ?
Therefore zen x fi is not recognised by Windows 10 in the first place, not to mention sendfirm.exe.The solution is:
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Genome Statute and Legislation Database SearchStart a New Search Glossary of Terms
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|Genetic information contained in reports or records held by hospitals, laboratories, physicians, insurance institutions and others named in the statute may not be divulged without informed written consent with some exceptions, which include in connection with life, disability, and long term care insurance, as allowable, or as confidential research information for use in epidemiological or clinical research conducted for the purpose of generating scientific knowledge about genes or learning about the genetic basis of disease or for developing pharmaceutical and other treatments of disease. Additional provisions concerning the performance of genetic tests apply to laboratories and other facilities. Organizations conducting pharmoco-economic studies in systematic research to determine the cost benefits of specific treatment for genetic based disease are exempt from the need to re-obtain informed consent. A person whose rights have been violated may bring a civil action.
Last Reviewed: May 25, 2018