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1. Pooka
2. Joker
3. Mars Bar (Call For Gary!)
4. Ticks
5. Kahlua Blues
6. News On The March
7. Lesson In Violin
8. Pooka Soundtrack
One of the members of Jaga Jazzist has a solo project and this is it. Not entirely the same as Jaga Jazzist but you can hear some similarities. One of the reasons I enjoy this more than JJ is that this is much more ambient, more focused on strings and has some ingrained electronica roots. There is some absolutely brilliant composing going on here. It's interesting, different and evokes wonderful emotions.


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subset: commoncrawl


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DANGEROUS cigarette lighters have been banned from sale in Southport in a bid to cut deaths and injuries from fire.
With more than a billion lighters sold in the EU every year the European Commission estimates that almost three quarters of them are not compliant with existing health and safety requirements.
A new EU law means that from this week cigarette lighters must be fitted with child resistant devices, costing around 3p each, and those not meeting the strict new requirements cannot be sold.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) claims that making lighters safer will make a massive difference in preventing horrific fires that can devastate families.
In the US where child resistant lighters were introduced in 1995 there has been a 60% reduction in fires, injuries and deaths caused by children under five.
The decision is expected to prevent five deaths and 220 injuries each year in the UK.
Southport Euro MP Chris Davies has welcomed the new law as a 'sensible precaution'.
The Liberal Democrat MEP said: "Children can all too easily get their hands on cigarette lighters from their parents' bags and pockets.
"If spending an extra few pence on making the lighters saves only one burn then it has to be worth it."
The new ban also covers novelty cigarette lighters that are shaped as toys.
The European Commission has launched a joint project with national authorities to ensure the ban is fully implemented.


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|Yourself (Your*self") (?), pron.; pl. Yourselves (#).
[Your + self.]
An emphasized or reflexive form of the pronoun of the second person; -- used as a subject commonly with you; as, you yourself shall see it; also, alone in the predicate, either in the nominative or objective case; as, you have injured yourself. "Of which right now ye han yourselve heard." Chaucer. "If yourselves are old, make it your cause." Shak. "Why should you be so cruel to yourself ?" Milton. "The religious movement which you yourself, as well as I, so faithfully followed from first to last." J. H. Newman.
Encyclopedia Index
Authors Encyclopedia | Encyclopedia of the Self
Classical Authors Index | Classical Authors Directory | Classical Authors Library
Emotional Literacy Education | The Old Man of the Holy Mountain | Classical Authors Forums
Visitor Agreement | Copyright c 1999 - 2001 Mark Zimmerman. All Rights Reserved.


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With SCG Philly providing a more pressing topic, I put off writing about Fate Reforged until this week. Fortunately, that lag has afforded me the time to play some games with the new cards in the context of both Limited and Standard. I have grown increasingly weary of Prereleases over the last few years (I loathe seeded packs and playable promos), as I readily acknowledge that their target audience is precisely what I am not. I nevertheless made the trek up to my local store to get some games in with the new cards as my initial preparation for Grand Prix San Jose and Pro Tour Fate Reforged.
For my first flight, I chose the Sultai Brood. The choice was somewhat arbitrary, since I mostly wanted to play with all the colors, but I do think the blue and black cards in Fate Reforged are strong. I was greeted by a powerful pool and built the following deck:
Creatures (11)
- 1 Abomination of Gudul
- 2 Abzan Beastmaster
- 1 Abzan Guide
- 1 Gurmag Angler
- 1 Lotus Path Djinn
- 1 Sagu Mauler
- 1 Torrent Elemental
- 1 Warden of the First Tree
- 2 Whisperer of the Wilds
Lands (18)
Spells (11)
My thoughts while sleeving the deck:
1) Holy rares, Batman! Rares are good. Who knew?
2) The curve is a little high. I had just enough early plays that I did not feel compelled to play a weak two-drop like Smoke Teller or Ainok Guide. I also felt more comfortable with cards like Arcbond and Crux of Fate that could catch me up from behind. Still, the one thing I would have loved to add to the deck is a cheap defensive creature like Archers' Parapet or a cheap removal spell like Debilitating Injury.
In general, I think I have been too sensitive to my curve in Sealed Deck, as I tend to favor aggression. This leads to my Sealed decks looking more like Draft decks and falling to more powerful cards. As such, I was willing to hedge in the opposite direction and play a slower, more powerful deck.
3) I have lots of card advantage and should easily win games if they go long. That means trading early is advantageous, and I can mulligan slow hands more aggressively. It is certainly possible I should have played the Sidisi's Pet in my pool as an added defensive creature, but I ultimately cut it for the more powerful Abzan Guide, splashing the white mana off of two dual lands.
4) My mana is not ideal with only six black sources, seven blue, and eight green. Splashing the Arcbond was certainly greedy, but I was not going to pass on a chance to play with a powerful rare from the new set when I had the lands to make it work. It may be tempting to play a Plains for the Windswept Heath to help morph the Abzan Guide, but there is no way you can afford to play an effective colorless land in this deck.
My thoughts after playing four rounds with the deck:
1) Rares are really good. Seriously, who knew? Sagu Mauler, Torrent Elemental, and Warden of the First Tree all did a lot of work, while I rarely drew Arcbond and rarely needed to cast Crux of Fate.
2) I rarely had issues falling behind early, as I was consistently able to get on the board by turn 3, and a turn 2 Whisperer of the Wilds set me up to get significantly ahead by turn 4. I expected the Fate Reforged cards to speed up the format, but that did not materialize in these matches.
3) Abzan Beastmaster was my MVP. I drew approximately fifteen extra cards with my two copies, which often rendered my other draw spells moot. In a surprise to no one, this means I favored a green creature over Treasure Cruise.
4) I had some issues with the three delve cards and had few ways to enable them. I was hoping the added spell count from the manifest cards would help fuel delve, but it rarely came together easily. Even at seven mana, Gurmag Angler was likely the best lategame creature in my pool, as the other options were Ambush Krotiq, Feral Krushok, and Tusked Colossodon.
5) Ethereal Ambush was fine, if unexciting, and actively good against opposing aggressive decks. Without the five-mana morph dynamic of Khans, the slant towards Fate Reforged made this card seem even better than it will be moving forward, so I am going to hold off final judgment there.
I went into my second flight hoping to play Jeskai to cover red and white, but it ran out by the time I was able to pick. Having a strong distaste for Mardu, I landed on Temur and built the following:
Creatures (11)
- 1 Ugin's Construct
- 1 Ainok Guide
- 2 Aven Surveyor
- 1 Bear's Companion
- 1 Destructor Dragon
- 1 Mardu Heart-Piercer
- 1 Mystic of the Hidden Way
- 1 Sagu Archer
- 1 Shockmaw Dragon
- 1 Snowhorn Rider
Lands (18)
Spells (11)
This deck was certainly worse than the first but had plenty of powerful cards, a handful of evasive creatures, and lots of card advantage. I was very worried about my mana, and with the lack of two-drops in my pool, decided to play the very weak Ainok Guide. My mana was so poor I decided against playing Daghatar the Adamant with two white dual lands, instead siding for Ugin's Construct. All of my three-mana plays are colorless, so Construct would make a very strong turn 4 play, although a somewhat poor topdeck on many boards. I was willing to take the risk and play the powerful new card.
Thoughts after playing with the deck:
1) Aven Surveyor and Write into Being were excellent. I had a copy of Write into Being in my first pool and actually left a third copy in the sideboard of this one, but it consistently felt like a morph creature with a Sleight of Hand stapled to it. Surveyor allowed my deck with a rather high curve to still punish slow starts. Adding these angles to your deck with an already powerful card is incredibly valuable, as it is essentially free versatility.
2) Whisk Away was bad. I did not expect much from this card but thought that the added ability to target blockers would make it approximately as good as Kill Shot, a fine but unexciting card. I also wanted another cheaper card to help if I fell behind on board. Whisk Away was significantly worse, and I wish I had played the third Write into Being over it, even if it meant I would lose a piece of interaction. Catching up from behind on board was a role that was well-covered by Aven Surveyor.
3) I never drew Ugin's Construct when it was bad and frequently manifested it, but I was certainly lucky in that respect. I wish I had played the rare for testing purposes.
As for general impressions, I was happy with how the manifest mechanic played out. It generally rewarded players for managing variance well with cards like Write into Being, while the straight manifest cards were not appreciably better than a 2/2. I'm sure I will lose some matches to a manifest card being something I could not have predicted or played around, but those situations should not occur frequently enough to be an issue.
I rarely saw players use the dash mechanic, which is not surprising in Sealed. I hope to see more of that happening in Draft where decks can be more focused and use their mana more efficiently early in the game.
The results were, to say the least, encouraging. I won all sixteen games I played with two strong pools and more importantly, was able to see how many of the new cards interacted with each other. The caveat here is, of course, that the unorthodox format for the Prereleases (pools had a seeded pack, one Khans of Tarkir pack, and four Fate Reforged packs) means Khans makes up a significantly smaller portion of the card pool than it will in competitive level events where Draft will consist of one Fate Reforged pack and two Khans, and Sealed will have an equal amount of each.
With fewer of the powerful multi-color morphs from Khans, smaller creatures were more effective, although Manifest still made matching up well against a 2/2 very important. Leveraging these creatures in a more aggressive deck could prove difficult against the larger creatures from Khans, so I will be looking for easy ways to get through blockers. In Fate Reforged we have good options at common in Aven Surveyor and Goblin Heelcutter. I'm also looking closely at the cycle Runemarks that combine with essentially any two-drop for a very powerful opening.
I expected the heavy Fate Reforged format to be more aggressive because of these cards, but I was still able to have success with the classic Sealed Deck formula of card advantage, removal, and enough early creatures to get to the lategame. Perhaps the above mentioned aggressive options will change the Draft format more than Sealed, but I think the format will fairly closely resemble triple Khans of Tarkir. Fortunately, I greatly enjoyed that format so I'm looking forward to a break from the Constructed grind to play some forty-card decks.
Early Standard Thoughts
Unlike Limited, I have not enjoyed Standard since Khans of Tarkir was introduced. The wealth of midrange decks are not what I enjoy playing, and the two decks I saw significant success with, Green Devotion and Jeskai Tokens, were pushed out of the metagame by Abzan and Sultai. While Jeskai Tokens seems to have received some powerful tools in Monastery Mentor and Soulfire Grand Master, I was more interested in Yasova Dragonclaw and Shaman of the Great Hunt.
The G/R Aggro deck has seen some success recently, and these are two powerful options that work well together. A single +1/+1 counter from Shaman allows Yasova to steal Siege Rhino with its ability, and they form a perfect curve, especially when accelerated into play by an Elvish Mystic. Adding a lot of two toughness creatures to the deck may seem to position you poorly against Drown in Sorrow, but Shaman actually insulates you from the card by immediately pumping your team out of range of the common sweeper.
Here was my initial brew:
Creatures (30)
- 2 Ashcloud Phoenix
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 3 Fanatic of Xenagos
- 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
- 4 Heir of the Wilds
- 2 Rattleclaw Mystic
- 4 Shaman of the Great Hunt
- 4 Stormbreath Dragon
- 1 Boon Satyr
- 2 Yasova Dragonclaw
Lands (23)
Spells (7)
The sideboard would certainly have 3-4 copies of Destructive Revelry, some planeswalkers (Chandra, Pyromaster and Xenagos, the Reveler) against control decks, and added cheap removal (Lightning Strike, Scouring Sands), but the relative numbers are constantly in flux. I decided to try Wild Slash in the maindeck over Lightning Strike to test out the new card because it's cheaper. Going forward, the decision between the two will certainly be metagame-dependent, and I will oscillate between the two depending on the relative presence of Fleecemane Lion, Sidisi, Blood Tyrant, and Mantis Rider relative to Goblin Rabblemaster, Monastery Mentor, and Soulfire Grand Master, although currently, I would favor Lightning Strike.
I was able to test this deck over the weekend, and unfortunately, I came away somewhat unimpressed with the new additions. Shaman was fine but not as good as I expected it to be, and Yasova was unimpressive. The worst card, however, was Goblin Rabblemaster, which rarely did anything against Jeskai Tokens or Abzan Aggro. Overall I think the curve is too high, and I was unable to come out fast enough in most games I lost, so there is definitely still potential here.
Without the ability to gain free wins from Goblin Rabblemaster, we can try to cut Elvish Mystic and play a more red-heavy build for the powerful Flamewake Phoenix, which also plays very well with Shaman of the Great Hunt. That list would look something like this:
Creatures (28)
- 3 Ashcloud Phoenix
- 4 Fanatic of Xenagos
- 4 Flamewake Phoenix
- 4 Heir of the Wilds
- 4 Rattleclaw Mystic
- 4 Shaman of the Great Hunt
- 4 Stormbreath Dragon
- 1 Yasova Dragonclaw
Lands (24)
Spells (8)
Cutting Elvish Mystic allows us to play more lands that enter the battlefield tapped so we avoid the pain of Mana Confluence. This list seems to exacerbate the tempo issues I had with the previous list, but the added fliers means that coming out ahead of blockers is not nearly as important, so this could be a convenient sidestep of that issue.
Unfortunately, I do not have much time to test Standard for the Open in Washington D.C. this weekend because I am preparing for the Pro Tour two weeks later (playing Pod for two years straight has backfired slightly). Hopefully Anthony Lowry breaks it. No pressure, but I'm counting on you, buddy!


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Mali-trained militants are in Nigeria, Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika said yesterday.
He said security agencies are working together to track down the militants.
The Army chief spoke at the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre (NAPKC), Jaji, Kaduna State, shortly after Nigerian troops to the African-Led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) departed. He added that internal security measures and security of neighbouring countries were being stepped up.
The Army chief said, "aware of the influx of some chaps trained in Mali into the country", Nigeria is enhancing its own security and that of its immediate neighbours while participating in the peacekeeping operation in Mali.
He said: "Nigeria will not only be supporting the resolution of the international community, it will be enhancing its own security and that of its immediate neighbours by undertaking this operation."
"What we are going into could be described as peace enforcement; that is, to bring peace with the use of force. And as to whether the operations will be conventional or insurgency, the troops should have a mixture of both because of the character of the rebels in the area," Gen. Ihejirika said.
He said the Federal Government had made adequate provision for the welfare of the soldiers adding that gone were the days when "the welfare of our soldiers was an issue."
"We solved this problem (of welfare) some years back by ensuring that every soldiers is paid through the bank, so, before soldier move for a mission, they open accounts in which a certain percentage of their allowances will be paid while they are given some stipends, so the issue of welfare will not arise," he added.
Gen. Ihejirika asked the 900 soldiers who underwent the four weeks pre-deployment training at the NAPKC to be resolute, dedicated and disciplined, pointing out that the training they received was designed to refresh, polish and add some knowledge and expertise in their various fields.


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Xiaomi has a reputation for making good phones at incredible prices. That's never been more true than with the new Mi 5, a phone with specs to compete with the iPhone or Galaxy S7 — but for comparative peanuts.
Xiaomi's clearly put some effort into making the new Mi look good. It's got a premium feel, with metallic edges that are reminiscent of the Galaxy S6 Edge. Hardly surprising, given the company has a track record for borrowing design cues.
The body itself is made from a highly polished ceramic material, with a slightly curved back which makes it comfortable to hold. There's not a great deal in the way of bezel — you can reach most of the screen with your thumb — and it also feels very thin, partly because of the taper at the edge.
Under the hood there's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, the same processor that's used in the new Galaxy S7 and LG G5. There's also 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM. It's hard to tell how the phone will perform in the wild after just playing with it for a few minutes, but based on what we saw there were no UI lags — the device was responsive the whole time.
And then there's the display. Oh, the display. It's awesome: 5.15 inches of beautiful full-HD IPS panel, that looks easily as good as the one in the Galaxy S7.
On the back there's a 16 megapixel f2.0 camera, and at the front a 4 megapixel sensor with the same aperture. Again, it's hard to judge after just a few minutes, but the images it captured looked good — though probably not as good as the ones you'd capture with an iPhone 6s or a Galaxy S7. There's 4-axis OIS stabilisation in there too — the iPhone, as reference, uses just 3 axes — but some of the photos we took were still blurred if we moved the device a little more than usual.
Xiaomi sells its devices at close to cost, so this phone will go on sale in China for ¥2600 for the high-end model and ¥1999 for a more basic version. That's just £285 and £220 on conversion respectively, which is incredibly cheap for a phone that can compete with the iPhone or Galaxy S7.
Global markets are said to be getting the phone not long after the China release date of March 1, but exact release details and eventual extra-market pricing are unknown for now.


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When it comes to the afterlife, millions of faithful, Mass-going Catholics seem to think that their souls alone count. I have heard Miraculous-medal-wearing Catholics say they cannot wait to be in heaven with the Lord, yet dismiss the notion that our bodies might be part of that bliss. It's our souls that are important, they say confidently. Conservative Catholics wring their hands over The Da Vinci Code and The Gospel of Judas but have no problem thinking their souls will waft away after death and they'll be free of their pesky bodies forever. Aided by a raft of Hallmark cards, the prevailing attitude seems to be that our bodies are just anchors temporarily weighing us down.
This ideathat matter is bad and only our spirits are worthwhileis a heresy that church leaders have tried to hammer out of the Christian faith from its earliest days. It's Gnosticism, pure and simple.
Why doesn't bodily resurrection interest, much less delight, people who are otherwise devout? What's not to like?
Accepting Our Resurrection
From the beginning, notes the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Christian faith in the resurrection [of the body] has met with incomprehension and opposition. On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the resurrection of the body' (St. Augustine). It is very commonly accepted that the life of the human person continues in a spiritual fashion after death. But how can we believe that this body, so clearly mortal, could rise to everlasting life?
There are many reasons why Christians cannot easily accept the doctrine. Most obviously, it flies in the face of physics, biology and chemistry. How can something that has died be made to live again? How can cells that have disintegrated and scattered revivify? Yet lots of other things Catholics believe are similarly hard for science to explainthe real presence, the virgin birth and more.
Another aspect of the teaching challenges the imagination: how will the resurrection of the body happen? A boy born with no arm gets a transplant from a girl who died; whose arm is it once the last trumpet has sounded? A woman dies at age 88; is her resurrection body that of her 88-year-old self, her 29-year-old self or something completely different? A human body decays, feeds grass and mushrooms: at the second coming, will raised but incomplete bodies wander around, zapping the foliage to get their molecules back?
Just as we can't grasp the real presence with logic, we will never understand how our glorified bodies will be at the end of time. The how of our resurrection, says the catechism, exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith. Many Catholics tutored in Aquinas can accept the faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail response when it comes to Jesus. Yet most of us still have trouble with our own bodily resurrection.
Perhaps we shy away from the teaching because it is about the future, not the past. We have a record, however debatable, of Jesus' death and resurrection. With apologies to the authors of the Left Behind series of novels, no such document exists about our own bodies in the last days.
Or maybe, deep down, we resist the resurrection because this miracle is about us, not them: not Jesus, not Mary, not the saints. We are the ones who will be transfigured, in a way we cannot remotely understand now, and that is scary.
Maybe it is because it's so hard to love our bodies, fickle time bombs as they are, broken and failing and, yes, imprisoning. Old and ill people can be swiftly forgiven for looking toward an eternity without a body that has become a burden and a chore for them.
But anyone who remembers the best things about having a bodyshushing down a ski slope, learning the right way to kick a soccer ball, smelling a newborn baby's head, to say nothing of other delightscan find great hope and relief in the promise of a glorified body. If the risen Jesus could walk through walls and show up when and where he chose, how could our own raised bodies possibly be a hindrance in the country of salvation? How could they do anything but enhance our experience of God?
For people whose bodies betray and confine themand that's all of us, eventuallythe church points to a torture victim whose body was nearly ripped apart. Jesus, whose body did not stay in the tomb for long, turns what seems like a prison into freedomand in our flesh we shall see God.
Even more regrettable is the omission of the "communion of saints" from the Nicene Creed, surely one of the most beautiful doctrines of our faith–that we're all in this together, the living and the dead, offering one another support, praying for and to one another. It is also an excellent bridge to other cultures that revere their continuing relationship with their dead.
Finally, speculating about the mechanics of the resurrection is surely a fruitless enterprise, but we might note that all God needs to reconstruct our bodies is a bit of our DNA.
And speaking of the virgin birth, it's probably ok too,that some of us suspect a little embellishment and male politics involved here also.
However much fun to argue, it seems doubtful that any of this matters to the everyday, living, holy mystery we call God.


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LU Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities offers Open House Feb. 17
The Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (TALH) at Lamar University will host an Open House Saturday, February 17, in the Mary and John Gray Library. The Academy is an early entrance college residential honors program at Lamar University.
"The Open House is a fantastic opportunity for parents and interested students to learn more about our program and hear first hand from students the benefits of an early college education," said Ted Stuberfield, director of the Academy. "We are extremely delighted to provide a venue in which gifted students can explore the possibilities of their educational careers and plan for future collegiate, career, and human development."
During the Open House, which is suggested for 9th and 10th graders and their parents, there will be presentations on the academic and social life at TALH, residence hall living and security, financial aid, and the benefits of a TALH education as well as presentations from administrators, students and parents. The Open House begins with check in at the Mary and John Gray Library at 8:30 a.m. Lunch for prospective students will be provided at the Brooks-Shivers Dining Hall. The event will conclude at 2 p.m. Pre-registration is suggested and may be done online at http://www.lamar.edu/texas-academy-of-leadership-in-the-humanities/preview-day.html.
"The academy is one of two such programs created by the Texas State Legislature," said Scott Stevenson, assistant director of the academy. Established in 1994, the program gives high school-aged juniors and seniors the opportunity to accumulate 60 or more hours of college credit by graduation. TALH is a highly selective program for students eager for an enriched intellectual experience, enhanced by programs in the humanities and leadership development.
All students accepted into the unique program receive full-tuition scholarships for up to 15 credit hours per semester and get to live on campus, as any other college student.
Stevenson believes the social and cultural nourishment the students receive may be part of the reason they display such success after graduation. In its capacity as a special-purpose school district, the Academy has been authorized to confer its own diploma.
TALH students have the opportunity to pursue the ideals of academic excellence, ethical leadership and community service within the context of a rigorous university setting, far beyond that of a high school education. Students are given the opportunity to pursue research that only a university experience can provide.
TALH uses the humanities to help create better citizens who are aware of the world around them, can think critically about their situations and work actively to better their environment.


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The organisers call it world-class but the netball venue for this year's Commonwealth Games has not impressed the Australian team's manager who has warned that her wards would not play if some of the stadium's flaws are not corrected.
The Australian netball team's manager, Margaret Molina, said she saw the Thyagaraj Sports Complex when it was completed in February and a couple of months later in May and came back with "major concerns".
"Where the actual wood met at each little line [it] had actually come apart," she was quoted as saying by 'The Sydney Morning Herald'.
"Apparently they used maple, which is very soft. They are also saying that because of the monsoon season and the humidity, that's another reason why the warping's happening and when that's finished it will all settle back down again.
"I don't think that can happen, but they seem quite confident and I suppose they live in it. The goalposts - they had actually cemented them in and left a huge, big gaping hole around the posts - and the lighting was incorrect," she added.
Molina said she pointed out the problems in an e-mail to the organisers and was assured by them that corrections would be done.
"When I got home, I emailed them and put my three major concerns to them. Since then, the lighting has (been fixed) I've been told ... but that's all that I've heard," she recalled.
Molina said if the problems are not rectified, "we wouldn't be able to play because that could be three or four broken ankles in one quarter".
However, Molina hoped that organisers would make sure that things fall in place.
"It's a shell one day and three days later, it's completed. I'm not that concerned ... because I just know what they can do overnight. They throw millions of people at it," she said.
"They are really trying their hardest to do things right. We're very happy to go (to Delhi)," she added.
Molina also had others concerns on her mind. Se is worried that the organisers would not be able to provide enough washers and dryers for the athletes.
"As a manager, you are always concerned how are you going to get all the socks and all the undies and dresses washed and dried and ready for the next competition," she said.


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Archive for Friday, March 17, 2017
Kaw Valley League's future in limbo; Tonganoxie could be headed to Frontier League
March 17, 2017
A 35-year-old Kansas high school league could be seeing its final years.
Tonganoxie High School athletics director Brian Engelken spoke at Monday's School Board meeting about the future of the Kaw Valley League, a conference THS has been in since the KVL's modern formation in 1982.
Current member Bishop Ward will head to the Crossroads League starting with the 2018-19 school year, reducing the league to six teams — Basehor-Linwood, Bonner Springs, Lansing, Piper, Turner and Tonganoxie.
Engelken said Lansing wants to create a new league that would contain all or some combination of THS, BLHS, Bonner Springs, Blue Valley Southwest, De Soto, Leavenworth, Ottawa, Piper, Spring Hill, Turner and Topeka schools Seaman, Shawnee Heights and Topeka West.
Other Topeka public schools Highland Park, Topeka High and Washburn Rural were not part of the conversation in joining the Lions in a new league.
Engelken said no THS coaches were in favor of joining that proposed league with the current proposal.
They were basically unanimous in joining the Frontier League, which has offered an invite to THS and several other schools — Lansing, Turner, Basehor-Linwood, Bonner Springs, Blue Valley Southwest, Piper and Turner.
The current seven-member Frontier League is Baldwin, De Soto, Eudora, Louisburg, Paola and Spring Hill.
It's Engelken's opinions that the Frontier League would add three schools and that Lansing and Turner would not head that way.
Engelken said KVL superintendents and athletics directors will meet to discuss where each school stands moving forward. On April 5, THS officials will join other potential suitors to discuss a possible fit in the Frontier League.
More positives for Tonganoxie coaches in joining the Frontier League were similar-sized schools and fellow one-high-school communities. Also, THS already plays some Frontier League teams regularly in non-conference contests.
Engelken said the key would be for Tonganoxie to have a conference home come the fall of 2018 and not a scenario in which the "music stops and we're left without a chair."
The modern-day KVL has already seen its fair share of shake-up since its foundation more than 30 years ago.
A reprise of a league that existed from 1925 to 1937, the current KVL began competition in 1983 with eight members — seven of which came from leagues that folded the year before.
Tonganoxie, Lansing and De Soto came to the KVL from the Pioneer League.
Meanwhile, Basehor, Eudora and Piper came from the Jayhawk II and Perry-Lecompton from the Jefferson County League. The remaining school, Leavenworth-Immaculata, came from the Big Seven, which still exists.
Eudora was only a league member for two years before leaving for its current home in the Frontier League, and the KVL remained at seven members until adding Santa Fe Trail in 1991. The only other change during that stretch was the consolidation of Basehor High School and Linwood High School in 1988. Linwood spent three separate stints in the original KVL in the 1920s and 1930s.
Mill Valley became the KVL's ninth member when it opened its doors in 2000. Two years later, the addition of Bonner Springs from the Huron League led to a split into two five-team divisions.
Membership toggled between nine and 10 members during the next several years.
De Soto left for the Frontier League in 2003, but Bishop Ward came over from the Huron League a year later. Immaculata left for the now-defunct DVL in 2007, then formerly independent Turner joined in 2009.
Perry-Lecompton and Santa Fe Trail left for the Big Seven in 2010 and Mill Valley bolted for the Eastern Kansas League in 2016.
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"Its been a real pleasure to work with you and your team and we greatly appreciate your professionalism, friendliness and flexibility.
We've debriefed thoroughly with Barry (Cole, MD) but wanted to personally thank you for dealing will all our numerous requests quickly and with humour!"
"We found the staff across the board to be helpful, polite, and friendly. Again, we have made clear to Barry (Cole) our positive impressions of all the people above."


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In the earlier episode of the show we had seen that Laxminandan and Vidyachatur patch up. They plan Jayant's daughter's wedding. Saraswatichandra apologises to Vidyachatur. Guniyal asks Kumud to apologise to Saraswatichandra, but she refuses. Dugba and Guniyal welcome Jayant's wife and daughter to the house. Kumari, Kusum and Sunny try to reunite Kumud and Saraswatichandra. Kumud and Saraswatichandra apologise to each other.
Now In Its Upcoming Episode ,Saraswatichandra will try to make Kumud jealous but she will not respond. He will feel that she doesn't love him intensely.Kumud will turn the tables on Saraswatichandra and will make Saraswatichandra jealous by dancing with another guy which will make him insecure.Kumud will not participate in any function. Saraswatichandra will write his name on Kumud's hand during the 'mehendi ceremony'.


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1. Passport!
If you have left getting your passport until pretty close to the last minute, I would highly suggest going to the office around 3 pm on a freezing cold day. Because if you have the right-sized head, you will be in and out of there, receipt in hand, in 20 mintues.
There was only one person ahead of me in the screening line. When I got to the front, the woman behind the counter recognized me. "Back again, eh?" She raised her eyebrows at me.
I do believe I made an impression.
2. The Cottage
Prince Edward County is a beautiful part of the province. The cottage was sweet and cozy, though it did have a lot of mouse poop in it. All the people there, with one exception, were charming and sweet and funny. Sadly, I was the one exception. I was completely stuffed up and miserable. Saturday night, everyone else had a fun game of cards while I sat in the corner with my nose either in a book or a tissue.
But I took a pill before I went to bed and got a gloriously bat-free sleep.
3. Boy Toys
I'm pretty happy with the latest article I wrote for the Xpress. But with only 500 words, there was so much about the skeezy marketing of sex toys for men that I couldn't get into. And I'm pretty fascinated by the sexual relationship that straight men have with their bodies. In general, it seems so different than what I take for granted. Maybe some day I'll expand this article.
That idea has now been added to the list of Very Good Ideas I Will Never Get Around To Finishing.
Don't forget to read the comment, wherein I am accused of missing my deadline and being filler. I have been quite tempted to comment back, since I most certainly did not miss my deadline. Communications Voir did not check to see whether I thought the beginning of March was a good time for a Tease and Please Special.
And what information would Dan Savage rip apart? The loose definition of sex toy? The description of cockrings? The fact that pumps are limited in use? That men like the fleshlight and the aneros? That maybe, just maybe, men should experiment with their bodies? Shocking, all of it.
Suck my cock, Ronny Pangia.
Oh wait, you probably wouldn't do that, would you. Toys being filler and all.
4. Crusader
In 1963, The Canadian Medical Association urged doctors "to stop smoking, at least during professional duties."
This came up in a Backgrounder I was editing at work.
"At least during professional duties"?
Good christ. I am glad that I was not going to the doctor in 1963.
5. Tattoos
Eric came over on Sunday night and took some photos. We weren't sure if they turned out or not, because my apartment isn't great for lighting. We took some in the kitchen, which is the brightest room, but also has the harshest lighting. We were going to take some in another room, when I allowed as how I would really rather make out with him than have photos taken.
Turns out the lighting wasn't great in most of the kitchen shots, so we'll try again soon, and then I will post them and you can see my beautiful painful sea creatures.


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I have another super simple egg recipe for you today. This one uses fresh sweet corn and spinach. I bought half a dozen ears of corn from a farm stand and then boiled all of them for a few minutes. I cut all of the kernels off into a bowl and then I stored it in the fridge and used it to make quick and easy breakfast or lunch dishes throughout the week. Prepping ingredients in advance and making quick dishes helps me to eat healthy even when in a hurry to get the kids off to school on time. This is one of my new favorite breakfast dishes.
Sweet Corn with Spinach and Egg
3/4 cup fresh corn kernels
1 cup spinach leaves
1 egg
1 T butter
salt and pepper
In a small sauté pan add a pat of butter and melt. Add corn and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted and corn is heated through. Season with salt and pepper and then transfer to a small plate. Wipe pan with paper towel if desired and add a second small pat of butter and fry egg. Place cooked egg on top of corn mixture and season with salt and pepper. Serve with toasted pita bread.


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Great sound quality, enhanced tools, and instructional features for amateur and intermediate musicians.
Casio's 61-key CTK-4200 WK, is designed for
musicians at various levels who wish to improve their keyboard skills,
compose, and realize their music. It features a 5-song/6-track recorder
and 600 dynamic, inspirational sounds to choose from, including a stereo
grand piano. Built-in reverb and chorus effects add depth and realism
to the sounds. Plus, 180 built-in rhythms provide individual drum
patterns or a full range of accompaniment, providing a virtual band at
your fingertips that follows your chord changes. The CTK-4200 has 1/8"
(3.5mm) mini input for connecting external portable MP3 players that
transforms the keyboard into a stereo speaker system. A USB port for
class-compliant MIDI operation lets you connect to a Mac or PC easily
(no drivers needed), giving you access to music education software and
the net. Includes an AC power supply, music rest, and music book.
CTK-4200 also features Casio's Step-Up Lesson System, which allows
novice users to learn at their own individual pace. Utilizing the LCD
display, aspiring musicians can learn both music notation and correct
hand positioning, while Casio's innovative lesson system evaluates
performance so you can track your progress.
Get started on your musical journey today! Order a Casio CTK-4200.


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Idol Shocker
My mouth dropped when I saw the results on American Idol. Gina Glocksen was one of my favorite contestants on Idol, and I hate to see her go. I have looked forward to her performance every week. I guess thats what happens when you don't vote though. I have continued to vote for Melinda Doolittle, and was very pleased to see her in the top 3 tonight. I hope next week doesn't have any shockers.
Posted in: american idol, gina glocksen, melinda doolittle on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 at at 9:38 PM


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For questions, please contact:
Roxbury Community College strives to meet the interests of the community by providing opportunities to let you decide how you want to take charge and progress in your life. Lifelong Learning courses offer something for everyone, whether you want to develop or hone your skills for professional or personal growth, or you just enjoy learning new things and want to take a fun class. Lifelong Learning courses are non-credit and cater to learners of all ages and backgrounds. Our team of instructors is made up of passionate, knowledgeable individuals focused on sharing their skills and expertise with you in creative, student-centered ways. Whether you are 6 years old or 76, we have a unique program designed with you, our community, in mind. Explore and register for one of our Lifelong Learning courses today!
General Information
Registration: In-Person
Students may register in-person at our office located in Building #4 (closest to the parking lot), Room 102 at Roxbury Community College. Students complete a brief registration form with us, make their payment, then get entered into the system in order to receive their schedule.
Registration: By Mail
Students may register by mail for Lifelong Learning courses by mailing us a completed registration form and a check or money order made payable to Roxbury Community College for the full amount. If you wish to register by mail, please do not send your form and payment any later than 2 weeks before your desired course starts. After this time, please register in-person as spots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. We are not responsible for lost forms or checks, or mail delays. If you have not received a confirmation from us prior to your course starting, please contact us at email@example.com or (857) 701-1605. Please mail to:
Attn: Lise Hagen Snow, 4-102
Roxbury Community College
1234 Columbus Ave
Roxbury, MA 02120
Students must pay any and all outstanding balances to the college before registering for a non-credit course. All Corporate and Community Education and Lifelong Learning course tuitions and fees must be paid at the time of registration.
Third-Party Billing
Organizations may be billed for tuition if authorization on agency letterhead to justify billing is presented at or before time of registration. Tuition, not covered by a sponsoring organization, must be paid by the student at registration.e financial aid. We do not offer scholarships.
Accepted Payment Methods
We accept checks, money orders, credit cards, and debit cards; we do not accept cash.
Financial Aid
Non-credit courses are not covered by federal or state financial aid. We do not offer scholarships.
Course Cancelations and Refunds
Our non-credit Lifelong Learning courses run based on enrollment. Upon occasion, we may have to either postpone a course start date or cancel the course. In these instances, students may opt for a full refund (including the $30 Registration Fee) or may have their account credited to enroll in a future class.
Lifelong Learning Non-Credit Course Refund Policy
Students who have registered and paid for a Lifelong Learning course and wish to receive a refund must officially* withdraw from the course at least one (1) business day before the first class meeting in order to receive a full tuition refund (the $30 Registration Fee is non-refundable). No refunds will be given after that time.
For questions, please visit us in Room 102 in Building #4.
*Please note: Students who sign up for a non-credit course and do not officially drop the course are responsible for all tuition/fees associated with that course.
Some Lifelong Learning non-credit courses provide Certificates of Completion upon successful course completion. Such applicable courses are graded on a Passing (P) or Not Passing (NP) basis.
Auditing Policy
Lifelong Learning non-credit courses are not eligible to be audited. If you have any questions regarding auditing credit courses at the college, please contact the Admissions Office at (857) 701-1207.
Diversity & Disability Statement
Roxbury Community College values diversity and is committed to providing all qualified Lifelong Learning students equal access to all programs and facilities. RCC strives to create inclusive and welcoming academic environments. Your instructor and Disability Services should be notified as soon as possible if there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that present barriers to your success in this course.
Students with known or suspected physical, medical, sensory, psychological, and or learning disabilities are encouraged to contact Disability Services in order to assess learning needs and take advantage of available academic accommodations. Disability Services is located in Building 2 in the Enrollment Center. Disability Services can be contacted directly at firstname.lastname@example.com and (857) 701-1410.
Equal Opportunity Policy
Roxbury Community College maintains and promotes a policy of non-discrimination in employment and education on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, and national origin. We are committed to a policy of affirmative action, equal opportunity, and equal education, non-discrimination, diversity, and equal access.
Statement of Publication
This is an official publication of Roxbury Community College. Course offerings, dates, tuition, fees, and other information are subject to change. The College reserves the right to revise any material described in this publication. The information in this publication is provided for convenience, and the college disclaims any liability that may be incurred. This publication is neither a contract nor an offer to make a contract.


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YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! It's confirmed, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution (or just Naruto Storm Revolution for short) is making it's way to the Microsoft Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2014! The news comes from the latest issue of Shonen Jump and confirms team jutsus, showing Naruto and Sasuke together launching a Chidori-Rasengan! The game will have over 100 playable characters with two original characters (the silhouettes) designed by Masashi Kishimoto.
Although not confirmed, the game will likely also be released in North America and Europe in 2014. Namco Bandai Europe had made domain registrations a few months ago, hinting at Naruto Storm Revolution's release. With the launch of the new consoles, we initially thought it might be for the PS4 and Xbox One, but it seems there is still life for PS3 and Xbox 360!
This is the last game in the Naruto Storm series. More information is expected to be revealed in December's Jump Festa event. Of course, Anime Games Online hopes to provide you the latest details on the game as soon as they are released!
Thanks Yami No Tenshi for the additional details.
Stay up-to-date with this game in the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution section!


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I am pleased to announce the 1.0.3 release of Impala. Partly a maintenance release to bring Impala fully up to date to latest versions of the Spring Framework.
You can download Impala 1.0.3 from the project site. Modules have also been published to the Maven central repository.
While the core of Impala is very stable, the new release contains a few useful new features to help users of the project in development and in the field. I plan to add separate posts regarding a couple of these features. Below is a quick overview.
Selectively reloadable modules
With Impala 1.0.3 it is now possible to turn on module reloadability selectively.
In other words, some but not all of the modules in an application can be set to reloadable.
The advantage of this feature is that it opens up the possibility of supporting safer reloadability of certain modules in a production environment. Modules that may require reloading while an application is running can be set to reloadable, while core modules that should remain static can be set to non-reloadable. This allows for partial update of selective elements of a running application without disruption to users.
File system module resources
Impala web application resources are typically packaged for production in module-specific jars. On occasions, a requirement exists to change resources (such as web templates) packaged as part of the application without doing a full software build and release. Prior to 1.0.3, replacing any module-specific resource would require the to be rebuilt, which is a little awkward.
With Impala 1.0.3, the resource loading mechanism has been modified to first look in a module-specific file system location, if such a location is present. This supports a simpler mechanism for updating or 'hot fixing' resources in an application, without the overhead of a new software release.
Spring 3.2.2 support
Impala has been updated to work out of the box with the latest version of Spring, currently 3.2.2. Impala is now also compiled using Spring 3.2.
Java Generics compliance
Changes have been made in the Impala source code to support Java 5 generic compliance where this support wasn't present.
Comment syntax
With 1.0.3, the Impala module definition file (in which modules to be deployed are listed) supports a comment syntax, making it easier to comment against entries in this file.


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Monday, July 3, 2017
Fourth of July Weekend: Red Hook
I hope everyone is having the most lovely holiday weekend! I know I am. Saturday, Sean and I spent the day in Red Hook, Brooklyn. It's an adorable neighborhood with small-town vibes, just the sort you need when you live in the city. We took the ferry from Wall Street (Ikea has a free ferry that goes across to Red Hook, also handy if you're furniture shopping) and spent the day wandering around, eating and imbibing. We grabbed lunch at Hometown Barbecue, a huge joint specializing in pit-smoked meats. Sean and I split the brisket, beans and whiskey pickles—with of course a side of corn bread—and I'm honestly still full. Afterward, we took a walk down Van Brunt Street (the main drag dotted with antique shops and galleries) to The Brooklyn Ice House. I got a mule and Sean got a craft beer, which we enjoyed in the garden/patio out back. Before hopping the ferry home, we walked out to the pier to take photos and soak in the views of Lady Liberty. Happy Fourth, fashionistas!
4 comments:
Love the striped patriotic tee. Have a great 4th of July!ReplyDelete
Nice classic tee! Glad you had fun, and cute sandals!ReplyDelete
Madame X
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Infertility for easy Conception.......
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Those are the things he does, You can simply contact the spiritualist Dr Abalaka on (firstname.lastname@example.com) to get his Herbal Medication to cure your disease and put yourself on a motherhood side of life..
Beautiful photos! Love the tee!ReplyDelete
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I appreciate feedback of all kinds, and LOVE connecting with other bloggers.


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True Colours of Spring
When it comes to game viewing, winter is definitely the time for a South African safari, but spring provides food for the soul that just can't be matched. These 3 short months are simply stunning in every way.
New Beginnings
It may sound like a cliché but in our neck of the thorny scrub, spring really does herald the start of things.
Cooling rain showers have caused an uproar of new seasonal growth. The animals welcome this with a hop, skip and jump in some cases. A refreshing roll in the mud seems to do the trick for others.
Babies are emerging around every corner and bursts of colour are to be seen wherever you choose to find them.
Our Palette
The sjambok pod is already ablaze with yellow flowers, juxtaposed against the red blooms of the boerboon. The baboons are delighted to see their favourite snack – the creamy yellow, apparently delicious, knobthorn tree flowers.
One of our most beautiful indigenous shrubs, the Impala lily, is rightly famous for its pink and white flowers during winter. We are lucky enough to have a few late bloomers here at Thornybush which only started showing off in September. It's hard to believe this gorgeous plant is part of the concoction that the Bushmen use to tip their poison arrows!
Daisies are the most populous plants on earth and a universal indicator of springtime. In our reserve it is no different, with these yellow, white and even pink spots of colour popping up among the grasslands and rocky outcrops.
Here you may just encounter the most famous South African daisy of all – the Barberton Daisy. Despite its popularity as a cut flower, this hardy little plant continues to thrive in the wild for us to enjoy.
Lesser-Known Treats
One of the lesser-known spectacles usually found hiding along river valleys, is the Leopard orchid. You have to know where to look to find these fragrant yellow flowers which anchor themselves to the branches of riverine trees, but the extra effort is well worth it.
The black stick lily or Monkey's Tail is one of winter's ugliest specimens. However, it graces us with a quick spring bouquet of appealing pink flowers to mark the spots where bush fires have been through.
See For Yourself
When you visit theThornybush Collection you can embrace all the clichés of spring by experiencing them yourself. It's one of the most scenic times to visit, and we look forward to showing it off to you.


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FURLONGER, William Albert Francis – Veteran of W.W. II serving with the Royal Canadian Navy, member of the Corinthian Lodge #101 and a member of the Peterborough Shrine Club. At Royal Gardens, Peterborough, on Tuesday, September 30, 2014. Bill Furlonger of Peterborough in his 95th year. Beloved husband of Doris (Gibson) and the late Geraldine Furlonger. Dear father of Bob Anderson (Isabelle) of Peterborough, Bill Furlonger of Peterborough and Glenda (Fernado Costa) of Pickering. Loving grandfather of Jennifer (Peter Saunders), Melanie Anderson (Jeff Kennedy), and great grandfather to Kaitlin, Lauren and Joshua. Beloved son of the late Daisy (Hiscock) and William Furlonger. A Masonic Lodge Service will be held at the ASHBURNHAM FUNERAL HOME, 840 Armour Road, Peterborough on Saturday, October 4 at 10:45 a.m., followed by a memorial service to celebrate Bill's life in the Ashburnham Chapel at 11 a.m. Directions to the service, condolences to the family or donations in memory of Bill to the Canadian Cancer Society or to the Shriner's Hospital, may be made through www.AshburnhamFuneral.ca or by calling 705-740-0444.
For more information about this obituary visit http://www.communityalternative.ca.Filed Under: Peterborough


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Loved doing this cake for little Jayden's 2nd birthday – everything is handcrafted from sugar & edible. My favourite character has to be Alex – the Lion. My client requested this cake from a picture she had found on the internet. As there are quite a few versions of this cake I can't credit the original designer – If you know please advise & I will give them credit for the design.
Many thanks
Tags: birthday anniversary baby shower green brown orange cake chocolate vanilla
ClairellaCakes Essex UK
12 Comments
Lovely. well done.
The characters are incredible!!
Amazing work!! Xx
Brilliant. Perfect detail and modelling
HO!!! Clairella this is Super Cute!!! Well done!!! xxx
Thank you for your lovely comments – I really enjoyed doing this cake & my clients reaction when she saw the cake was fantastic! :-D
Brilliant job on the figurines!!
Thank you ShamsD – loved doing the penguins…. they crack me up!
Awesome! Love your attention to detail!
Cute and amazing details !! :)
so cute
amazing work!
So cool ;-)


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With the Ikea settlement, the company has agreed to pay $50M to the families of three toddlers killed in the United States. According to lawyers for the families, the children were killed by falling chests of drawers. The Malm drawers from Ikea toppled onto the kids. The three children were:
Camden Ellis, 2 years old
Curren Collas, 2 years old
Ted McGee, 23 months old
Ikea has confirmed that they have reached a "tentative settlement." Also, because the settlement still needs to be approved by the court, Ikea does not want to comment on it now.
In June of this year, the Swedish furniture firm conducted a recall for millions of Malm chests of drawers. The recalls were being issued in North America. At the beginning, Ikea has warned its customers to use wall mounts. However, the third death in February made them announce a recall.
The payout is one of the biggest of its kind. And it shows the seriousness of the case. Feldman Shepherd lawyers have said that the $50M would be split evenly between the families. Also, an undisclosed share would go to the attorneys. In addition, as part of the settlement, the company has agreed to make three separate donations of $50,000 to hospitals in memories of the children. Another $100,000 contribution they will provide for the charity focused on children's safety.
About raising awareness
Under the Ikea settlement, the company has also agreed to one more condition. Now, it will only sell chests in the US that meet the national safety standard for clothing storage units. Also, the Swedish brand will spend more money to raise awareness of the problem. They will pay mass media channels (TV, Internet media) to spread awareness through them. In-store warnings will also be carried out. Also, the US Consumer Products Safety Commission will launch an education campaign. Its mission will be to educate people about the risks of falling chests of drawers.


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Mount Elbrus: how to climb Europe's highest peak
Europe's watchtower
When people think of mountaineering in Europe, they tend to think of the Alps, ski resorts and prettily perched mountain villages. Forget the French Alps though – it's the Russian Caucasus that is home to Europe's highest mountain, Elbrus.
At 5642m, Elbrus and its double-coned volcano is 832m higher than Western Europe's highest mountain, Mont Blanc. It's a certified member of the 'seven summits' – the highest point on every continent – and is coveted by mountaineers everywhere.
Despite its formidable stature, Europe's highest peak can be climbed by most, but it doesn't come without challenge or commitment.
What to expect
Terrain: Snowfields of blinding white ascend gradually, allowing climbers to see far and wide. The snow can be deep and soft or, in peak season, firm and crunchy underfoot. In one section, climbers must use fixed ropes. Here, the gradient is steeper with a vertiginous drop to the basin below. Guides will be on hand to help.
Weather: Like on all mountains, the weather on Elbrus can be harsh and unpredictable. It's quite normal to start a climb sweating beneath clear skies and minutes later be pulling on protective clothing under lashing wind and snowfall. Already icy temperatures regularly drop to well below freezing, particularly at night.
Accommodation: Climbers usually spend the first two nights in a tourist-class hotel at Terskol village, where they will organise equipment and complete acclimatisation treks. On the mountain most climbers stay at a refuge, in simple huts located at 4000m. These are accessed by a series of cable cars and chairlifts or a day's trek from Garabashi.
Altitude sickness: Everybody who climbs Elbrus will suffer some form of altitude sickness. On the summit there is around 50% less oxygen than at sea level. Symptoms usually occur shortly after ascending above 2400m and include headaches, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping, nausea, vomiting and an increased heart rate. It is essential to take regular acclimatisation treks, drink plenty of fluids and rest whenever possible.
Acclimatisation: Climbers should take at least three acclimatisation treks before their summit push: one from Terskol village up to 3000m on Cheget Peak and at least two more from the refuge on Elbrus, the first to Priyut 11 (at 4200m) and the second to Pashtuhova Rocks (at 4750m). A rest day should be included between the final acclimatisation trek and summit day.
Summit day: Most climbers rise around midnight and depart by 1am for the most rewarding day of the trip. The first few hours are spent climbing in the dark using head torches. Ideally, climbers should reach the summit between 10am and midday before descending to the refuge by 3pm. Summit views are nothing short of magnificent. On a clear day, the peaks of the Caucasus stretch out as far as the eye can see. Even on an overcast day, summiteers will stand proudly above a serene sea of cloud.
Training: There's no two ways about it: you need to be fit to climb Elbrus. The trekking is demanding, particularly on summit day when climbers can expect a 12- to 15-hour round trip. Training should include climbing conditioning, cardiovascular training and strength building. Climbers should be comfortable carrying a 12kg pack on long hikes ascending 1500m a day. A training program should include a mix of uphill hiking with a loaded pack, jogging and running, and weight training. This should begin at least eight weeks before your climb.
Skills: Ideally, climbers will have experience of winter hillwalking using mountaineering boots, crampons, a harness and an ice axe. However, if climbing with a guide, crash courses in all of this should be included in your itinerary.
Equipment: The most important items are warm winter clothing that can be easily layered for maximum insulation and waterproof Gore-Tex outerwear. Additionally, mountaineering-specific equipment such as a climbing harness, mountaineering boots and crampons, ice axe and ropes are all required. Guiding companies should supply clients with full lists upon booking. There are rental shops in the Elbrus region that can provide all essentials.
When to go: The climbing season on Elbrus runs from the end of April through to mid-September. The best time to climb Elbrus is July to August when the weather is more stable. If you prefer quieter slopes, climbing later or earlier in the season is possible, but the weather will be colder and less predictable.
Choosing a guide: Unless you're an experienced mountaineer, it's strongly recommended that you organise your climb through a guiding company. A standard eight-day program should include all accommodation, meals, internal transfers, guides and mountain passes.
International outfits will guarantee English-speaking guides and often help with formalities such as visas and international flights, but will be far more expensive. The following are all widely regarded as reliable and experienced international guiding companies (prices range from US$2500 to as much US$6000 depending on what's included):
If you go with a Russian-based outfit, you may be the only non-Russian climber in the team, although the guides will have at least a basic level of English. A Russian-based outfit will be cheaper and have better deals with local hire shops, but won't include international flights. 7 Summits Club is a reliable Russian-based guiding company with prices starting from US$1360.
Flights and visas: Mineralnye Vody is the primary gateway to the Russian Caucasus. International flights to the airport usually connect in Moscow, Istanbul or Dubai. Most visitors to Russia need a visa. You should apply for the visa at least a month before the trip; more information can be found here.
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So, yeah, daisies in the middle of autumn!
I did most of the crochet for this last spring, when the daisy colours were very apt.
I did the assembly of the parts (ingenious) and the sewing in of most of the ends last summer, and then I started acting up at work and all things crafty took a backseat.
Back in my normal position at work now so I have a bit more free time at my disposal.
One thing I wanted to do was thicken the straps to make them stronger, and that seems to have worked well.
Here is my Daisy Bag then, my version of Inga's Hakelbeutel, which you can look up on Ravelry if you are so inclined.
It's made from Rowan Cotton Glace, 1 1/2 balls of the blue, less than one ball of white, yellow and green.
Don't let the time it took me to finish this trick into thinking that I didn't enjoy making it. On the contrary, I thought it was great, and I would gladly make another.
There are more shots of this in progress, such as how it it constructed, in this post from last year.
Daisy bag post last year
I'll use this as a wee project bag I think, certainly until next spring.
And lastly a shout goes out to karie bookish who first brought this pattern to my attention in 2010. x K


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With the recent rollout of their One Channel design, YouTube is aiming to evolve from – in Google's own words – "a video-based site to a channels-based site, where subscriptions rule."
Essentially, YouTube is working to help advertisers better engage their target customer base by encouraging and emphasizing channel subscriptions, allowing advertisers to cultivate a community on YouTube.
In addition, there are plenty of core benefits to the One Channel design, such as the ability to scale the design and branding across different devices and screen sizes, having channels be only one click away for subscribers, and streamlined channel management, wherein updating content for desktop will automatically allow the change to scale across all devices. One Channel's new features also allow for increased opportunities to optimize your video PPC campaigns.
Timeline for Migration
Google's current migration timeline for One Channel allows until mid-May for most users to complete the migration, with a little additional time allotted to advertisers with gadgets or those in the pharmaceutical industry. By June 5, any advertisers who haven't yet migrated will automatically be transitioned to the new design.
So don't wait, the sooner you can test the waters with One Channel, the more time you will have to resolve any issues before you are forced to make the transition.
Top 3 Success Tips
Before getting started, keep in mind the following top tips to set yourself up for maximum success.
1. Optimizing the Basics
To give your channel more prominence and appeal to users of the site, take advantage of the following:
Channel Metadata
Just like with SEO, having strong channel titles and descriptions will serve to increase the likelihood of your channel being found, both in searches and via YouTube's recommendations. Since only the first 45 characters of your channel description will appear next to your avatar across YouTube, make sure you are concise in summing up what the channel is about, and use calls to action to encourage users to subscribe.
YouTube will now use the channel title as opposed to your user name in searches and recommendations, so ensure you do some searches of your channel name to see how your channel is being presented, and modify as needed.
Channel Avatar
This serves as your main marketing image on the site, branding you more effectively to your audience. It is also used in search, suggestions and recommendations as well as in comments. Since it can also appear in different sizes based both on where it shows up as well as on screen size, ensure that it is clear in both larger and smaller sizes.
For example, Dior's logo looks great under the video on their watch page:
But the name is lost in the smaller size on the guide on the left side of the screen:
Video Metadata
Since the feed is becoming a bigger part of the YouTube experience in the new design, having compelling metadata is incredibly important. For the titles, lead with the core keywords first, and save any branding for the end of the title.
Also since more of the descriptions will be visible for each video moving forward, ensure the descriptions are interesting and the most important parts of the description are used first. Consider adding links to the subscribe page, playlists and channel page in the latter half of the description.
The new design also showcases playlists more prominently to the right of the video being viewed on the watch page, so carefully curate your videos into playlists and share playlist URLs with visitors and subscribers alike.
A good tip here is to use a URL shortener like bit.ly or goo.gl to shorten the URL and make sharing easier, since the typical URLs for playlists tend to be very long and slightly unwieldy.
Featured and Related Channels
On the right hand side of your channel, One Channel gives you the option to list both featured and related channels.
Featured channels show up on the upper right side, and showcase other channels that are selected by you, and you have control over how they appear. YouTube will also serve a subscribe option alongside these featured channels.
Related channels are selected by YouTube algorithms to help users discover other content that likely shares similar themes with your content. The likelihood of this list including competitors is high, since they too will have similar content, so you do have the option to disable related channels from showing up on your page. Related channels show up by default, so you will have to actively select the disable option if you don't wish them to appear.
If you decide not to list any featured channels and disable related channels, the right side of your channel will remain blank and not display any content.
2. Curating Content for Subscribers vs. Non-Subscribers
On YouTube, your channel subscribers are highly engaged viewers who visit your channel often and are very likely to share it with friends. They are also potentially your strongest brand advocates on this platform.
One Channel makes your channel more visible to subscribers; with their new "Guide" being present on every page, your channel is always going to be just a single click away every time. With this new feature, you'll be able to more easily expose your brand messaging to subscribers at regular intervals and create stronger brand enthusiasts.
YouTube's research has shown that subscribers tend to watch twice as much video as non-subscribers, thus having a robust video strategy is important to be able to foster real engagement around your brand as you build your community.
Tips for Engaging Your Subscribers
Put the emphasis on creating compelling content first, and branding later. Just like you would on your social media channels, try to focus 60 percent of your content to entertain your viewers, 30 percent to inspire them and only 10 percent to try to sell your product.
Create playlists not just to showcase your own content, but consider also including the occasional video from other channels if you feel it can provide value.
Stick to a regular schedule for posting videos to keep viewers better engaged and coming back to check for new posts.
Use calls to action creatively within your videos, either as annotations, mentions within the videos or within the descriptions of the videos.
Work on the community management aspect on YouTube as well, responding to comments and asking questions to create a dialogue with the viewers.
Here's what CapitalOne's channel page looks like for subscribers:
One Channel offers two options to help convert visitors into subscribers:
Browse Tab
As a channel owner, you have the option to set the default landing page for non-subscribers to be the "browse" tab, which allows you to present a curated view of your channel content to show off your channel in the best possible light. Pick the videos that have seen the best response from viewers to feature on this page, and provide different options that viewers with different motivations could relate to.
Channel Trailer
Essentially a featured video that auto-plays when unsubscribed viewers reach your "Browse" tab, this video provides you the option to really showcase what your channel is all about. For this, you can choose a video that highlights the value of your channel, a video about any special promotions, or simply choose your best performing video that has proven to engage the audience.
When setting up your trailer it is important to note that:
- You should already have the video you wish to use uploaded to the account and set as public.
- Descriptions longer than 144 characters may get truncated.
- Titles longer than 45 characters may get truncated.
- The video count information in the trailer location might differ from what is seen on the watch page, owing to the different timing of data updates in each location.
Here's their page for non-subscribers, which features the channel trailer on the browse tab:
3. Impact on YouTube Advertising
While the impact for those advertising on YouTube will be minimal, there are some changes to keep in mind.
Destination URLs to Direct to Custom Tab
Before One Channel, the norm was that one had to employ deep-linking or set the Custom Tab as default in order to run media that landed users on the custom experience. Now we have the option to set a unique URL for the Custom Tab, and can use this unique URL as the destination URL for the paid media.
TrueView In-Search Ads
Unless selected otherwise while setting up the ad, video playback for TrueView In-Search ads previously defaulted to the video Watch Page. The new design generates URLs such that, if enabled, playback of these ads can instead happen on the channel page itself.
This added level of control with the destination URLs will help ensure that ads play on the channel page itself, which is recommended for several reasons, including the ability to have calls to action within the banner and better showcase your own related videos. Here the video will play in the space reserved for the Channel trailer that shows to non-subscribers – whether the viewer is a subscriber or not.
Elimination of the Brand Channel's Clickable Channel Banner
The old design allowed for the entire channel banner on brand channels to be clickable to the destination URL of the advertiser's choice. For example:
However, all channels, brand and regular, are being moved to the new One Channel design which does include a banner in their channel art, but only allows for a small section in the lower right corner to be clickable. Example:
Since One Channel scales across multiple devices and screen sizes, Google recommends uploading a single 2120 x 1192 px image that has been optimized to fit the following template:
You can still use this banner art not just for branding, but to also include specific calls to action and feature any special promotions, in order to optimize your advertising spend – since there is no cost for clicks on this banner.
Ensure that your main copy fits into the safe area, and is cohesive with the larger image as a whole. Head & Shoulders does a good job with theirs:
You can still select a Custom Link to an external site to show up as the link on this new channel banner – so take advantage of this feature to encourage visitors to visit a specific landing page or go to your social media sites.
Pre-Migration Checklist
Now that you are better prepared to make the transition, here is a recommended pre-migration checklist to help:
- Timing: Decide when to test the new One Channel design, ideally well before the automatic conversion deadline, keeping in mind any marketing campaign flight dates.
- Design and Branding: Decide if you wish to develop a new channel avatar, create or update your channel and video metadata and create new channel art that fits the larger specs. Additionally, decide if you wish to feature any other channels or wish to have the related videos section enabled or disabled.
- Video Selection: Choose the video you will use as the trailer for non-subscribers, select the videos you want to feature on the browse tab, list out the playlists you will want to create and determine your video upload frequency strategy.
- Community Management: Ensure you have a resource in place to engage with your viewers, both subscribers and non-subscribers, to help build your community and engage your audience.
- Advertising: Ensure all destination URLs are properly updated.
Get started testing the new channel design soon, and give yourself plenty of time to optimize and make changes while you know you have the security of switching back to the previous design while you hone your strategy.
Have additional ideas? Please share in the comments.
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At the recent Governor's Conference on International Trade, Gov. Bob Graham described Florida's ''time of distress'' in the export sector and offered his suggestions for relief.
To his credit, Graham did not suggest export subsidies or import quotas to ease our exporters' distress by transferring it to our trade partners. Nor did he use as the easy scapegoat the notion of the overvalued dollar, although he correctly admitted that the strong dollar caused a temporary problem for exporters which would correct itself in a relatively short time.


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Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn comes to the race for lieutenant governor with a solid grasp of the duties she would face, which include serving on the state Lands Commission, the Ocean Protection Council, the California Commission for Economic Development and the UC Board of Regents. She would clearly hit the ground running in those positions. Her rival in the Democratic primary, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, is a recent convert to the lieutenant governor's race, having ridiculed the position when he was running instead for governor.
On the Republican side, state Sen. Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley enters the contest with a record of consistent and principled conservatism. He often backs positions The Times editorial page opposes, and vice versa, but it's hard to argue against the need in California's budget-busted environment for someone in a high-profile position who can skillfully articulate why we cannot continue spending more money than we have. He is facing off against Abel Maldonado, confirmed just this week as the appointed lieutenant governor after weeks of allegations from both sides of the aisle about his state Senate vote more than a year ago in favor of a compromise budget deal. That vote, critics charge, was less a matter of crossing the aisle in a spirit of cooperation than it was part of a bargain made in service of his own ambition.


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LOWELL -- The City Council's vote to select the location and design of the new Lowell High School will be held Tuesday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers.
The vote had been scheduled for June 13, but was postponed because Councilor Bill Samaras was in the hospital.
Next Tuesday, the 19-member School Building Committee will meet at 10 a.m. in the mayor's reception room to recommend one of the five remaining high school options to the council.
"That recommendation will be put forth that evening at the council to either accept or reject it," Mayor Edward Kennedy said. "And if the recommendation is rejected, then someone will put forward another motion (for a different option)."
Samaras sought medical attention early Monday evening at Massachusetts General Hospital when the pain from kidney stones become too great.
In an interview with The Sun Thursday, Samaras said he is feeling better and was hoping to be released late Thursday.
Samaras became a city councilor in 2013, having retired from a 44-year career with Lowell Public Schools in 2010. He spent the last 19 of those years working as the headmaster of Lowell High School.
The city council is currently on its summer schedule -- meeting every other week -- so Tuesday's meeting will be a special session called specifically to decide the high school issue.
Follow Todd Feathers on Twitter @ToddFeathers.


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well question is simple basically what do most guys like make up or no make up?
Most Helpful Guy
I don't date trashy girls. I date women who know how to wear make-up, so it's not like I'm saying no because all I've encountered is caked-on makeup. I really do like to see a woman's natural face, flaws and all. No one looks perfect- only an idiot would expect that. One of the best f***s I ever had took off her makeup in the middle of the night and I gotta say, the woman looked gorgeous.


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The days when divided and conflicted Presbyterians could gloss over or ignore their differences are over, General Assembly Vice-moderator Larissa Kwong Abazia said today (Nov. 7).
"This day," she told more than 120 presbytery and synod leaders gathered here for the annual Moderators Conference, "we are called to move through the pain and suffering, to have the tough conversations, to face one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, and take the hard together."
Preaching from John 20:19-29 (Jesus' post-resurrection appearances to the disciples), Kwong Abazia said the church faces the same temptation as those disciples: "to hunker down and hit preservation mode. If we can't save what's inside, then we surely can't save anyone outside. It's time to focus on us."
But even with their doubts and fears, their seeming loss of identity and community, the disciples experienced "that [Jesus] was still there and among them…" she continued.
"There are real, deep scars out there in our churches, mourning and vulnerabilities torn open from our denomination's decisions," Kwong Abazia said. "But you don't need me to tell you that do you?"
The church's procedures ― with up and down votes, winners and losers ― "have failed us," she said. We've pitted our communities against one another. We've allowed the debates of our presbyteries through the General Assembly to define who we are and what we stand for, forgetting that, embodied, we are the Church."
On the General Assembly's recent vote to permit same-sex marriages in the church, there are those who are celebrating and those who are mourning, Kwong Abazia acknowledged. More than 220 churches have left the PC(USA). "And those who stay are faced with the ongoing pressure that they have conformed, giving up their long held beliefs to together as a denomination," she said.
Conversations around the Belhar Confession ― the South African anti-apartheid inspired creed currently being debated and voted on by the presbyteries ― are prompting "individuals and communities of color … to wonder if the denomination is capable of wrestling with the call to racial reconciliation," Kwong Abazia said, noting that "we are a 90 percent white denomination in a country that is becoming increasingly more diverse."
The good news in the sermon text from John 20, Kwong Abazia said, is that "the disciples know it was Jesus because they saw his hands and his sides. The scars and wounds didn't disappear from his resurrected body, they were still right there as an acknowledgement of everything he had endured …"
She challenged her fellow Presbyterian leaders "to be like Thomas. Go out in the midst of the crowds, and, even without answers, meet people where they are. Go to touch and experience the broken body of the Church, and then believe for yourself that resurrection is possible."
Over the course of their weekend together, the moderators will hear from the six national agencies of the PC(USA) ― the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the Office of the General Assembly, the Board of Pensions, the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, the Presbyterian Foundation and the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program ―and will engage in workshops on such topics and skills as meeting management, parliamentary procedure, worship leadership, the responsibilities of presbyteries and synods in relationship to the General Assembly, and policies and procedures for dismissing congregations to other denominations.
The conference concludes Sunday morning with worship and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, presided over by General Assembly Moderator Heath Rada.


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So here we have another game (Cleopatra and the Society of Architects) which had horrible advance press – terribly overproduced, very random, and uninteresting.
But you know what, I liked the game a lot. I thought it was a wonderful game with layers of subtlety, interesting decisions, tension, and good player inter...
Hold on, wait, that's the wrong script. Hang on a sec ...
Seriously, while it's definitely no Beowulf, I did kinda like Cleopatra and the Society of Architects (and if you think I'm going to type in that whole game title again, you're mistaken). It's basically a drafting game a la Ticket to Ride. Each turn you either draft new cards, or use those cards in various combinations (in roughly descending order of frequency: Artisans, Stone, Marble, Wood, Lapis) to build a piece of Cleopatra's new palace. The catch is, the better cards (ones which have more resources pictured on them, or ones that convey special powers) give you corruption. The player(s) with the most corruption at the end of the game loses, and the player with the best score amongst the survivors wins.
For me, the whole corruption thing gave the game a nice edge, a tension, that is lacking in the similar but purely tactical Ticket to Ride, a game to which it otherwise bears more than a passing resemblance. Since players' corruption totals are hidden in an overproduced pyramid-like thing (everyone gets their own!), there is some real uncertainty about this critical game element.
Outside of the drafting and corruption elements, there are admittedly a bunch of issues with the scoring, which I'm sure will cut into the game's replayability. Ideally, you want some interconnectedness in the building and scoring elements: if I build an Obelisk instead of a Sphinx, we hope that changes the game state for future builds in interesting ways, as it does in say Tower of Babel or Blue Moon City. Or maybe building a Door piece has some future implication for me personally, like building a road in Settlers or acquiring a Monument in Ra. In Cleopatra, etc., these associations are too weak, in my opinion. The dynamic on the Sphinx for example (2 points for odd-numbered Sphinxes, 5 points for even-numbered ones) just means you're an idiot if you don't build them in pairs. There is some interaction between the Mosaics and the Columns, but in practice it seems little more than random noise since it's almost impossible to benefit from them yourself. Same with the interaction between the Walls and the Doors. In short, the process of building is usually little more than figuring out which one scores you the most points at this juncture. Because there is still some tension on what can be drafted from the available lots, and since the building costs on different items differ, it's not that bad. But it's still a missed opportunity. The sole exception are the Mosaics, which have a nice little mini-game associated with them: each mosaic is a tetris piece, and if you can build your mosaic so that it creates open parks, you can get rid of corruption.
This is a game that reminds me a lot of Shadows over Camelot: it's a game with one interesting idea (the Traitor in Shadows, Corruption here) surrounded by a fairly by-the-numbers design. The difference is, in Cleopatra, etc., the one idea works; in Shadows, it didn't. Cleopatra, etc., is no Blue Moon City, a game to which it has some (very superficial) similarities, but it's an interesting game, and the tension involved with the corruption for me gives it an edge that Ticket to Ride doesn't have. Not one I'll play a lot, but on the other hand I'll be happy to play again.
Mykerinos: When Ys first came out, I wasn't a huge fan, but it was a good shot from a first-time publisher I thought, I enjoyed it well enough, and looked forward to what Ystari might come out with next. If Caylus and Mykerinos is it, though, I think this is just not my brand. Mykerinos may in fact be the best of the three games, but the reality is that it's still dry as dust, pretty unoriginal, has a totally pasted-on theme, and is too long for its own good.
In fairness, previous Ystari games had some fairly obvious problems. In Ys, it was the fact that it was a blind-placement game with a head-banging level of calculation required, an awkward combination (since blind placement is a mechanism that has a pretty high level of inherent chaos). In Caylus, it was the obvious level of imbalance in the building costs and payoff and favor tracks. The good news is that Mykerinos appears, on first inspection, to be lacking these sorts of red flags. It is not too calculational, has a reasonably functional area-control thing going on (although it is overly tactical when it really doesn't need to be), and the obvious imbalance in the special powers is not terribly painful in this case, since the game is light. There is still awkwardness – Mykerinos wants to be light without giving up it's brand's "analytical" label, so you get both a slightly overwrought tactical game and a card deck that can totally hose you. But really, it's not that bad.
Still, it's definitely not a "buy" for me. A lack of theme and a slightly overlong playing time might just be issues in an otherwise very good game, but either alone will break a game that otherwise is unspectacular. As they do here.
The Nacho Incident: I have this vision of the design process for The Nacho Incident. It goes like this: someone at 8 Foot Llama says "Hey, I know; let's make a game about smuggling Mexican food into Canada! Canadian Mexican food really sucks." Possibly after a trip to Canada. This is then the last time the wisdom of this project is ever evaluated.
As things move on, the game loses sight of its original conception, and has some complexity overruns. It turns out that maybe the theme isn't as funny as hoped and isn't enough to support the game, and so we end up with an odd mix of abstract elements. Still fixated on the wacky concept, though, the project has a momentum of its own.
What we end up with is far from bad, but it's one of those games that even with only a couple pages of fairly simple rules, your eyes are still glazing over halfway through the explanation because of a serious theme–mechanisms disconnect. So you play it a couple turns, things start to come together, and it's OK. Not great, but OK; the major failing here is that it's just not that funny. I think this sort of game needs a better theme integration or to be a lot more streamlined and faster-playing (or, preferably, both) to really tap into the humor. As it is, it seems to combines a German-style theme with American-style design rigor. You could do a lot worse, and the game is short and cheap, so it's tough to come down on it too hard; and good-quality filler is hard to find. But for me anyway, this just doesn't manage to do it.
Hey! That's My Fish!: Phalanx' many travails left me completely unprepared for this wonderful little gem of a game. Fast-playing, simple, fun, and interesting, this is a great opener and/or closer and is surprisingly involving for a small-box, light game. The theme is wonderful, and the Phalanx production is great. Although mechanically totally dissimilar, the game does sort of remind me of Günter Coronett's similarly engrossing Flaschenteufel - a compact, quick-playing game with a good theme with a lot of tension that really sucks you in.
This was a surprise hit, and I'm sorry I missed playing it last year when it came out in English, because it would have comfortably made my "best of 2005" list. As I say, good filler is hard to find, and Hey! That's My Fish! scores big.


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Following woody with Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch and Kate kindly producing the correct pronounciation, I thought we might start a thread for Places said differently than their spelling would suggest.
Starting off with Milngavie just outside Glasgow - Its said as Mill-guy.
There's a story of a couple of folk passing through Milngavie who weren't too sure how it was pronounced. So they thought they'd check before saying it to anyone. Stopping for a bite to eat, they asked at the counter: ""Can you tell us how you pronounce the name of this place?"" Lad behind the counter said, slowly and clearly ""Costa Coffee"".


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Double Zip Vegan Wallet in Wine
Double Zip Vegan Wallet in Wine
Double zip-around wallet with two separate compartments. First side holds 8 card slots and 2 bill slots. Second side has full zip change pocket and 2 bill slots. Fits most smartphones up to iPhone 6.Gunmetal hardware.
Vegan leather. 100% Polyurethane.
Dimensions: 7.5"(W) x 4"(T) x 2"(D)
Available in: Wine, Black, Camel


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By Abbie Schepps
In Brussels, earlier this month, thousands of European farmers protested to demand emergency aid to offset falling prices for milk, pork, and other products. Blame can be divided amongst many factors, but dairy farmers point fingers at a European Union decision earlier this year to end a quota system that has helped maintain prices. Now, agriculture ministers gathered to consider proposals by the European Commission with the hopes of promoting upward pressure on prices. A proposed plan will provide new funding to national governments and will hopefully halt price decreases by removing products from the market and placing them into storage. It remains to be seen how European farmers will fair, as market prices are not expected to increase until sometime next year.