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Why Is Human Childbirth So Painful?
Having babies isn't easy—and the standard explanation may be wrong.
Humans are funny mammals. Among other things, we walk oddly (on two legs) and we have curiously big brains. We bear large babies with active and highly developed brains but with pitifully inept bodies. Despite what would seem evolutionarily unfavorable, one in 1,000 human mothers have a baby whose head is too big to fit through the birth canal, which necessitates a cesarean section, if medical care is available. Virtually all human mothers experience pain in childbirth, and delivery takes much longer than in other mammals. For example, in University of New Mexico researcher Leah Albers's 1999 study of 2,500 full-term births, labor lasted on average almost nine hours for first-time mothers. In comparison, apes and monkeys generally give birth within two hours. Cross-culturally, assistance in childbirth is almost universal. Although evolution ought to favor low-risk, easy deliveries, this is not how it turned out for humans. To understand why, we need to consider advantages and disadvantages of more developed newborns, wider hips in the mother, and the metabolic demands on the mother.
Human newborns are unique among mammals in that, unlike other singly borne offspring, our babies cannot immediately get up, feed, and walk around like a newborn foal; yet our newborns' brains are much more active than those of a litter of helpless newborn pups with their eyes still closed and their ears unable to hear. Thus, in comparison to other animals born one at a time, human babies are born at an earlier developmental stage, before their bodies have developed enough to walk around.
This strange mélange of two basic adaptive strategies—an active brain with an inept body—is widely thought to have evolved because our unusually large brains and our peculiar, bipedal mode of getting around produce conflicting demands. This explanation is called the obstetrical dilemma. In humans, the size of the head of term fetuses is a tight fit for the mother's bony birth canal. According to the obstetrical hypothesis, we need a wide pelvis to bear big-brained babies but a narrow one to walk or run efficiently. The compromise between these opposing needs is to carry babies as long as possible so that the brain can grow in utero and then—just before the baby's head gets too big to fit through the birth canal—deliver the infant earlier relative to when other mammals deliver theirs.
The work of reproduction isn't finished then. For the first year after birth, human babies continue to develop rapidly at a fetal rate in both brain size and body maturity—a risky strategy that calls for a great deal of investment by the mother. Not only must she grow the baby inside her womb for 9 months, but also she must continue to care for and protect the helpless infant for another 12 months after birth. She also continues to nourish the baby with breast milk, if we ignore the relatively recent invention of formula or other substitutes. To grow into big-brained adults, our mothers have to give us a great deal of care and feeding. Of course, fathers make genetic contributions to the baby and can ease the mother's task substantially if they provide for or protect the mother of their offspring.
As Robert Martin quips in his new book, How We Do It, "We get our brains from our mothers," genetic contributions from the father notwithstanding. What mothers do for their babies is meet their enormous metabolic needs, enabling baby brains to grow big before and immediately after birth.
The prolonged period of breastfeeding needed by a human baby is the most energetically demanding period of a female's life. A mother may even allocate her own brain during pregnancy, losing some 4 percent of its volume, to meet the energetic demands of her baby's brain. (The loss is regained, fortunately, in about six months.) Some have speculated that the reason female mammals are often much smaller in body size than males is so that the lifetime energetic needs of a female, who experiences metabolically demanding pregnancy and lactation, will equal those of a male.


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Reader(s) outside of Providence, I apologize if this post may bore you, but I feel that it is important to relay this information as a public service to cyclists traveling between Downtown and Wayland Square (or other parts of the East Side). First some background info.
San Francisco, like many North American cities has done quite a bit in the last few years to improve infrastructure for its cyclists. They've added bike lanes, designated more bike routes, and probably done some other stuff too, probably some sharrows or something (what? do I look like a journalist to you? do I really need to "research" these blog posts?) I've only ridden a bike in San Francisco once, and it was quite enjoyable. Of course, there are still a few obstacles to cycling in SF, namely those durn hills! But those resourceful Californians have created something to assist in climbing those hills and help them get from one side of their fair city to the other. And because they are a bunch of dirty hippies, they gave it a whimsical name: "The Wiggle." I guess they didn't create it so much as they discovered it, or mapped it out. Whatever, it's a good way to minimize the hill in getting between the east and west sides of town.
The Wiggle has its own Wikipedia Page, Yelp Page, and coming soon, its own PSA including a jingle.
And while the hills of Providence certainly lack the monumental nature of the hills in San Francisco, they are still an impediment to everyday cycling. College Hill, one of the steepest, lies between my office and my home. Here's the most direct route.
The map indicates that this is an official "bike route." What you can't quite tell from this map is that the hill gets to something like an 8-12% grade for a few blocks right around where it says "Rhode" in "Rhode Island School of Design." It's so steep there's even a mini-switchback at one point. So, unless I want to pretend I'm attacking on the Alpe d'Huez, I go around:
This adds about 1 mile to my trip, but it's definitely worth it. There are many different variations that one could take, but the main point is that you head down to Wickenden Street, and then attack college hill from the south where it is much less steep. Not only is it less steep, one also avoids the highest point of the hill. There's a slight issue in that there is no way to completely avoid the act of "wasting hill" that is, one goes up a hill, just to go down it again. But just repeat to yourself what the good book says, "You gotta get up to get down," and all will be well.
Here's a close-up of the more wiggly part of the wiggle:
This is my preferred route for wiggling, but every once in a while I like to take a different route.
I like to turn from Wickenden on to Brook Street, while Spouse prefers to go up Wickenden and turn at Governor Street. I feel that Wickenden is steeper and has more cars on it and due to the parked cars it's difficult for a car to pass [UPDATE FOR DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY PURPOSES: the parked cars are only on one side of the street, still I feel that it makes it difficult for cars to pass a cyclist]. Spouse prefers Wickenden's straight shot aspect and lack of stop signs. I'll also admit that I take Brook street in order to glance at the display window of Legend Bicycle, Spouse has less interest in doing that. [ADDITIONAL UPDATE: the choice of Pwiggle route continues to be a point of contention in the CarFreePVD household and although Spouse has her points, I'd like to point out that I take this route every day while Spouse only takes her Wickenden route a couple times per week and in non-peak rush hour direction]. For the inbound route, I go straight down Governor to Wickenden because it is downhill and requires fewer turns and stop signs. But really, all manner of variations are possible in this area, and the Providence cyclist is free to wiggle anywhich way the heart desires, unlike those San Franciscans who have signs telling them what to do.
For the downtown section of the route, there are two options. One can take the "bike path" which is really a walkway along RISD combined with sidewalk along the WWI and WWII memorials.
The hiccup for this option comes at around the second arrow where one must transition from the path to the street. I'm not much for curb hopping, so I don't really like this so much.
The on-street option requires moving from the right lane to the left lane and then waiting for a left turn signal.
Lately, I've been using the on-street option more, mostly because I don't like the curb hopping. Your results may vary.
There's seven turns in the Providence Wiggle (or Pwiggle, if you prefer) and I'm only counting the section from Wickenden Street to Wayland Square. It turns out there's only 6 in the San Francisco Wiggle (which I will now call the Swiggle). Although our hills may be less steep, our wiggles are evidently more epic. Point: Providence.

subset: commoncrawl


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Find California animal hospitals. Animal hospitals provide animal health services such as veterinary medical, surgical, and dental care.
An Animal Hospital is a medical facility for animals that provides a comprehensive set of animal medical care services. Services range from wellness and routine examinations to diagnostics and treatment on both an in-patient and out-patient basis. Most Animal Hospitals are private, for-profit businesses.
Animal Hospitals that provide preventive care exams and diagnostic exams typically have in-house laboratory resources that enable them to test blood, urine, and other samples without having to send samples to an outside facility. Other common testing and diagnostic resources at Animal Hospitals include radiology, electrocardiograms, and ultrasound.
In addition to routine surgeries, Animal Hospitals are capable of specialty surgeries and other specialized treatments, such as laser surgery and oxygen therapy. Full boarding facilities are available at Animal Hospitals, and they offer intensive care along with full stock pharmacies. Many Animal Hospitals also provide dental services.
The extensive in-house resources of Animal Hospitals make them suitable for emergency medical services. A veterinarian is available during all hours of operation, with sufficient staff to receive, treat, and monitor emergency patients with timely and appropriate care.
Animal or Veterinary Clinics are similar to Animal Hospitals, but they tend to have more limited resources. Animal and Veterinary Clinics emphasize preventive care, neutering, spaying, and other routine procedures and diagnostics. They are more likely to use outside facilities for test results and refer non-routine surgeries to Animal Hospitals. Animal Clinics may primarily provide out-patient services, with less capacity for in-patient care.
A Veterinary Teaching Hospital is an Animal Hospital facility which has a large staff that conducts applied research and teaches veterinary students while providing hospital services.
The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) accredits Animal Hospitals for companion animals, i.e. pets. Accreditation is based on the facility's practices regarding pain management, anesthesia, fluids therapy, preventive care, and other aspects of animal patients' care.


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A reminder that Microsoft Office can be installed on up to five devices as long as you are an employee or student at Washburn. We previously posted directions on this process in December 2014 and wanted to provide another update on that process. The process remained the same although now faculty/staff do not need to validate prior to being able to download and install the software. The process is the same whether a student, faculty, or staff is accessing the site.
- Log into Office 365.
- In the upper right hand corner, click the Gear for Settings and Options.
- Select Office 365 settings.
- Select Software.
- Click Install to install the software.
If you get a new computer or need to remove an installation, steps 1 – 3 apply above in order to remove an Office installation. Only this time, click Install Status on the left side of the screen. This will display those devices where you have installed Office. Click Deactivate to disable the Office installation on that specified computer (i.e. Home Computer).
Problems or questions, please contact ITS User Services at firstname.lastname@example.com or by calling 785.670.3000. We can also assist you in Bennett Computer Center room 104 to install the Office suite.


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"For the past three years, we have been able to put together bags of books for kindergarteners at Ocean Beach Elementary School," said Connie Goldin, founder and president of Moms to Madres.
With the community's help, Goldin said she is looking forward to handing out new bags of books when school resumes in September.
"It is such a pleasure to give children a beautiful book to take home," Goldin said.
Donations of children's books, in new or like-new condition, are being accepted from Aug. 1-16 for distribution in September.
Donors are asked to drop books at the Ocean Beach Business Center,
4876 Santa Monica Ave. Goldin said financial and in-kind donations will also be accepted.
Cash donations are accepted on the group's website, www.momtomadre.org. More information is available at (619) 309-5151, or by email at email@example.com.
Goldin said she knows children who have books in their home are more likely to become good readers. She encourages parents to read to their children, introduce them to local library resources and add to the home book collection when possible.


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Amy Brumfield Leaks She Will Be Eliminated From 'American Idol'
Contestants on reality competition shows are usually required to sign confidentially agreements about pre-taped segments, so that eliminations and results that aren't live remain a surprise to viewers. Looks like 'American Idol' wannabe Amy Brumfield AKA 'Tent Girl,' who did such a good job with her rendition of an Alicia Keys song at the Savannah auditions, broke that rule and revealed that she has already been eliminated from the show. We just haven't seen it yet.
In a move that will likely have producers taking action if a contract that demands silence about one's status on the show was signed, Brumfield leaked her elimination via a Facebook post, which the astute Starz Uncut found. Brumfield apparently got the axe during the group day segment.
She posted: "OH MAN, it Feel sooo good to be home!! i never thought i would say this but i missed Tennessee…. WHAT!?!?!?!" She also posted: "you guys should know i don't work well with others… group day i got eliminated."
That's gotta have producers hopping mad.
On another note, it's a bum out since Brumfield showed promise. She is in a bad financial situation, living in a tent because that's all she can afford, so 'Idol' could have been a bridge to something else for her. It was also revealed that she has an extensive arrest record, with her being cuffed on many occasions due to drinking incidents.
So if her Facebook status update posts were accurate, Amy Brumfield is not going on to the live performances.


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The Spaulding Rehabilitation Network provides bariatric services for patients who require inpatient rehabilitation or complex medical care for a variety of diagnoses, including neurological, orthopedic, cardiac and complex medical. Spaulding facilities work directly with referring hospitals to ensure appropriate equipment and resources are in place to help all of our patients achieve their highest level of functioning.
Our expert clinical teams may include physicians, physiatrists, rehabilitation nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, psychologists, social workers, case managers, recreational therapists, and pastoral care staff. They collaborate on each person's case to ensure maximum recovery.
Bariatric Services are offered at these Spaulding Rehabilitation Network locations:InpatientSpaulding Rehabilitation Hospital BostonSpaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape CodSpaulding Hospital for Continuing Medical Care CambridgeSpaulding Nursing and Therapy Center Brighton
Complex Medical CareWound Care
Please call for more information or to make a referral
Inpatient: 1.617.952.5350
Outpatient: 1.888.SRN.4330
Our programs provide access to a range of therapeutic activities from cycling to water sports to golf.
Learn More
Getting back in the swing after five back surgeries.


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I look down and I see my combat boots walking over the dust-filled rocky landscape again.
I feel like I am over-heating under the weight of my kit.
The sun is so bright, and the sound of the rocks rubbing together sends shivers shooting through my body.
Suddenly there is a car coming down the entry control point: siren goes off, pen flare fired.
I'm up against the Hesco barrier. I look down the top of my rifle, through my ACOG and: wait.
Control your breathing, I tell myself, deep breaths: warning shot, disabling shot; I pull the trigger.
As I lunge up in my bed I wonder why this is all happening again. Why I am having yet another nightmare? Sweat rolls off my body as I regain control of my breathing, looking around the room to ensure I am actually awake just as I have done so many times before. No one is here to witness this nightmare; I'm sitting in a barracks room at a Warrior Transition Unit in Maryland.
For five years I ignored that I was suffering internally from my service in Iraq. Rather than face that fact that I needed help I choose to "carry on" as I was taught to do as a soldier. I pushed myself constantly; I felt only anger and guilt as I had convinced myself I did not deserve to be standing there as I had not done enough during my service. I held others to high standards, myself to even higher ones.
When I fell short, there were no feelings of "Well, you did all right." It was simply failure. When I found myself divorced, in trouble and out of a job, I did what I do best—I volunteered to go back on active-duty orders. Soon those orders ended and I found myself back in college burying myself into my studies, still deflecting any sense of urgency in having to deal with what is commonly known as post-traumatic stress disorder.
As with all things, burying myself in school work and other activities was simply not enough to quell the intrinsic need to go back to war, so I volunteered once again, finding myself in Afghanistan. Soon after arrival, I started experiencing more nightmares and mood swings. I found that I was volunteering for each and every opportunity to get away from my unit, a headquarters company, and go outside where things would be more dangerous.
My tour in Afghanistan ended abruptly when I began to sleepwalk following months of violent fits of nightmares, as well as ingesting malaria and anti-anxiety medications as prescribed which, some medical sources believe cause side effects, including vivid dreams. The feeling of leaving your fellow soldiers in the middle of a deployment was one of incomparable guilt and failure.
My medical evacuation was about as routine as they come, finding myself at Fort Meade's Warrior Transition Unit within a week.
After initial in-processing with the WTU, I was sent over to behavioral health where I was seen by a psychologist, and then a psychiatrist, who both told me that I did not meet the criteria for PTSD due to the fact that I did not "actively seek to avoid" situations that might trigger a reaction. I was then shuffled off to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where I was put through a battery of tests that found that I had severe PTSD.
After these tests, I requested to be seen by an orthopedics provider and a neurologist to solve my painful legs and back, and the constant migraine headaches since experiencing a minor traumatic brain injury in Iraq. For nearly five months I sat in Maryland, separated from my second wife and family, going to one 45-minute appointment per week for behavioral health.
When I assumed responsibility for scheduling my own appointments, I was berated by a nurse case manager for not "following the program." This was often accompanied by threats of a delayed transfer to a community-based program near my wife, so that I could continue my care without being away from my support system.
I finally hit the wall in December 2012 when my wife and I visited Arlington National Cemetery.
It was the first time I had been there since I enlisted.
Walking through the rows of Section 60, I knew too many names.
Soon, I began to feel the emotions I had been avoiding for years.
I had spent five exhausting years running away from all of the thoughts now rushing through my head, five years being told by the Veterans Administration that I was not "bad enough" to receive more than 30% benefits; five years single- handedly destroying everything positive in my life.
I had spent five years pushing myself to see how much I could take before I would finally go too far. This struggle was my own; I cared not to share it with anyone as I felt few could possibly understand. I had spent five years fighting an enemy that was within my own mind.
It took five years, two deployments, a trip to Arlington and the suicidal death of the only mental health provider who ever made me feel better, Captain Pete Linnerooth.
Captain Linnerooth, a man who wrote professionally about the dangers of an overwhelmed behavioral health force in the military, had helped an untold number of soldiers while he served as 2nd BCT/1st Infantry Division psychologist from 2006 to 2007.
Two days into 2013 and five years since we had returned from Iraq, Pete Linnerooth took his own life.
To many his death symbolized the struggle that returning veterans face once out of uniform. Pete Linnerooth had fallen victim to the professional burn out he had wrote about and had become another statistic in a growing trend he fought so hard to stop. After all, if the shrink could not find a way to deal with it all where did that leave the rest of us?
It took all of this for me to realize that I was standing at on an icy edge with a single foot. I had spent five years fighting a third war in my mind; a battle that the Army abandoned through a non-sense "suicide prevention" program and a woefully lacking transition program , a battle that the Veterans Administration has wrapped tightly in red tape and delays. We are failing our veterans, losing them by the hundreds each year for nothing more than lack of support from the government they served so faithfully.
Rob Kumpf is a combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he served with the U.S. Army. He attends Norwich University in Vermont where he majors in Studies in War and Peace.


text: Nocera Tirinese, Calabria - MARCH 22: General views during the Rito Dei Battienti (rite of the beaters) March 22, 2008 in Nocera Tirinese, Calabria, Italy. A yearly Easter ritual dating back to the mid-13th century the Processione della Addolorata (procession of the Golden Madonna) and Rito dei Battienti (rite of the beaters) includes devote Catholics that flagellant themselves in the streets and jog the route of the Easter procession, enduring the pain and suffering of religious sacrifice in the name of spiritual cleansing. (Photo by Michael Bocchieri/Bocchieri Archive)Add to Lightbox Download


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Skip To Content
There is a mandatory form that also needs to be filled out - the Declaration of Finances. When filling out the application there is a "View Table of Contents" link at the bottom of the page. This will direct you to the supplemental form you need to download and send in.


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May 23, 2005
LOS ANGELES — On May 26, 2005, the Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UCLA Anderson School of Management will hold the final round of the 24th annual Knapp Venture Competition. The competition consisted of 26 teams presenting their business opportunities, with 23 teams making it to the semi-final round. Five finalist teams will present their business plans to a judging panel of distinguished entrepreneurs and investors.
The Knapp Venture Competition is designed to provide UCLA Anderson students with an intensive learning experience involving the entrepreneurial process. The competition prepares students to excel in their own entrepreneurial experiences by simulating the process of starting and evaluating a venture enterprise.
The final round of competition will be held on Thursday, May 26th in Korn Convocation Hall at UCLA Anderson School. The winners of the 2005 Knapp Venture Competition will be announced at a reception following the competition.
"The quality of this year's business plans are the highest we have ever seen," said Jennifer Tooley, program manager, Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. "One possible reason for this might be the implementation of a new program called Knapp Venture Review that allowed teams to gain feedback from their peers with a student run mock judging panel prior to the semi-final rounds." "This obviously strengthened their business plans and enhanced their presenting skills," she said.
The Knapp Venture Competition requires that at least one member of a team be a current UCLA Anderson student. The competition allows students to discover the incredible resources that are available to them at UCLA and throughout the greater Los Angeles community. Fellow UCLA Anderson classmates and alumni, as well as graduate students in the other technical and professional schools, are all potential partners and sources of ideas.
The finalist teams of the 2005 Knapp Venture Competition are as follows:
A-List Magazine — A-List Magazine is a general-interest, monthly publication that takes the ranking, such a dominant and lucrative editorial device across the newsstand, and exploits it as a cover-to-cover format. In other words, a magazine of lists.
Team: Ronnie Gul, UCLA Anderson MBA '06; Andrew Lenchewski
AsiaCard — AsiaCard is the first national consumer loyalty program targeting the 900,000 Asian merchants and 13 million Asian-American consumers who represent $363 billion in annual purchasing power. Through its electronic payment-based loyalty program, AsiaCard will help both local and national businesses acquire, retain and understand the Asian consumer segment.
Team: Jason Lee, UCLA Anderson MBA '06; Lynn Wang, UCLA Anderson MBA '06; Nikao Yang, UCLA Anderson MBA '06; Eleanor Hsu, UCLA Anderson MBA '06; Amy Chiou, UCLA Anderson MBA '06.
Auditude — Auditude uses its proprietary media tracking technology to provide verification services to the $50 billion broadcast advertising industry.
Team: Nicholas Seet, UCLA Anderson MBA '05, Johanna Wright, UCLA Anderson MBA '05; Erik Haus, UCLA Anderson MBA '06
Mujisan — Mujisan is an advanced drug delivery company based on our groundbreaking proprietary drug polymer technology, PolyRx. PolyRx represents a novel sustained-release (SR) formulation that forms polymers using individual drug molecules as the building blocks. Their first reduction of the PolyRx technology, PolyOxy, is an abuse-resistant, SR opioid that targets the $3B US market for Oxycontin.
Team: Peter Catalino, UCLA Anderson MD/MBA '05; Bassel Rifai; Karoon Monfared; David Wang; Jane Lee.
Ocelot — Ocelot enables consumer electronics leasing by connecting existing value chain participants and providing the single missing capability - predicting future device resale values. Initially, Ocelot enables retailers to offer consumers flexible leases on notebook computers, digital music players and digital cameras.
Team: Jade Van Doren, UCLA Anderson MBA '05; Jeremy Milo, UCLA Anderson MBA '05; MBA '05, Marc Lebovitz, UCLA Anderson MBA '05;Courtney Cochran, UCLA Anderson MBA '05.
The Knapp Venture Competition is named for Bud and Betsy Knapp, whose $2 million gift to the school supports the annual event and other entrepreneurial initiatives. The couple serves on UCLA Anderson School's Board of Visitors.
Below is the list of judges who will evaluate the business plans and presentations of the five finalist teams:
- Betsy Wood Knapp, founder and CEO, BigPicture Investors, LLC
- Cleon T. "Bud" Knapp, trustee, The Knapp Foundation
- Abbott Brown, vice president, Ridgestone Corp.
- Lee Bailey, partner, Rustic Canyon
- Josh Empson, vice president, corporate development, United Online, Inc.
- Robert Goldberg, executive VP and managing director, venture operations, Idealab
About the Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
The Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, a recognized leader in entrepreneurial education, oversees all teaching, research, extracurricular and community activities related to entrepreneurship at UCLA Anderson School of Management. The Price Center strives to provide academic and extracurricular experiences that advance both the theory and practice of entrepreneurship.
About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management is perennially ranked among the top-tier business schools in the world. Award-winning faculty renowned for their research and teaching, highly selective admissions, successful alumni and world-class facilities combine to provide an extraordinary learning environment. UCLA Anderson students are part of a culture that values individual vision, intellectual discipline and a sense of teamwork and collegiality.
Established in 1935, UCLA Anderson School of Management provides management education to more than 1,400 students enrolled in MBA and doctoral programs, and some 2,000 executives and managers enrolled annually in executive education programs. Recognizing that the school offers unparalleled expertise in management education, the world's business community turns to UCLA Anderson School of Management as a center of influence for the ideas, innovations, strategies and talent that will shape the future.


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What a difference a year makes. Three-hundred and sixty days ago, the Charlotte Observer endorsed former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory for Governor. Today, calling it a "political stunt," the paper rightfully blasted McCrory's latest disingenuous move related to the federal shutdown and its impact on poor people:
"The photo op came off just so, and the headlines around the state were precisely what Gov. Pat McCrory intended: "McCrory announces aid for food banks struggling with shutdown."
That was only part of the story, though, and not the largest part. In fact, food banks across North Carolina – and the hungry people they serve – have been struggling more because of the state's actions and inaction than because of the partial government shutdown.
McCrory held a press conference Monday at Charlotte's Second Harvest Food Bank. He announced that he was speeding up $750,000 that the food banks had coming to them, and he said the state Department of Justice would provide an additional $2 million on top of the $3 million the food banks were already supposed to receive.
'Federal services are not political chess pieces,' McCrory said in a prepared statement. 'Real people are being impacted in very real ways. The political brinkmanship must end.'
He said this at the very moment he was moving political chess pieces and having a real impact on real people with his political brinkmanship…."
Read the entire editorial by clicking here.


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Import, edit, render, that is how easy it is to use Arion stand-alone.
Packed with unprecedented flexibility, speed and output quality, the Arion technology is at the heart of our stand-alone renderer.
Fast learning curve, fast and beautiful renders are just three of its many great features.
One does not often get both. Arion raw raytracing speed is unprecedented and its stability legendary.
Thanks to its carefully engineered rendering core, it outputs an astonishing amount of work with stunning quality where other engines gives you one or the other.
Arion core is deeply optimized to the highest programming standards and ensure you a solid and steady workflow.
Arion is the result of 15 years of experience in unbiased, physically-based render engine production.
Arion is physically-based by the books, ensuring an over-the-top image quality.
Being physically-based more than a simple trend for RandomControl, it's the key to achieve rich, deep graphics that are naturally eye-candy.
Arion does not compromise quality or speed, it brings both to new levels.
More examples:
Arion stand-alone material system is built around the revolutionary RandomControl BSDF.
It is particularly intuitive and powerful, with just a few mouse click it can produce metal, plastic, transluscent materials, emitters...
Arion materials are predictable, incredibly realistic and never exhibit artifacts due to incomplete light transmission or energy loss.
Arion comes with an ever growing pre-made materials library for an even easier and faster learning curve.
Our customers never stop to be amazed with how much work they can get done with Arion compared to their previous solution.
When they show us their work, we approve too.
Some selected work from Arion users:
Arion can save layered OpenEXR images in full 32-bit float for post processing, enabling Arion with compositing super-powers.
The full list of AOVs is available from the features list tab of this page.
By rendering each light as a dedicated LightMixer layer, it's possible to completely re-light a scene within Photoshop without any additional second of render time.
Arion stand-alone is the perfect tool for designers using any modeling application.
With the integration of a live connection between Arion and Lightmap's flagship product HDR Light Studio©, creating stunning product shots has never been easier and faster.
HDR Light Studio© is a separate product from LightMap LTD. and is not part of the Arion stand-alone package.
Supported in Arion stand-alone
Supported in Arion for 3ds Max
Supported in Arion for Rhinoceros
The feature is supported by the core but cannot be generated from the product. The scene must be generated by a plug-in with full support of the feature.
Hybrid acceleration (GPU+CPU).
Optional CUDA-based Multi-GPU sub-core.
Optional Multi-processor / multi-core / multi-thread CPU sub-core.
Based on highly optimized and elegantly crafted code.
CPU SSE/SIMD support.
Unbiased and accurate physically-based light simulation.
The renderer explores all light paths, converging to the final image progressively.
Automatic Full Global Illumination.
Path tracing core.
Metropolis Light Transport core.
Physical atmosphere (Preetham and Hosek & Winkie models).
Image-Based Lighting (HDRI).
Mesh emitters.
Automatic camera optics and full motion blur.
Finite sampling per component.
BSDF output clamp.
Hair and fur render-time primitives.
Tubular primitive with root and tip controls.
Flat primitive with root and tip controls.
Customizable number of segments.
Highly efficient rendering on the GPU.
Works with standard Arion BSDF materials.
Works with SSS and Single-sheet SSS.
True optics and reflex camera simulation.
Focal length.
Diaphragm aperture (f-stop).
Shutter speed.
ISO film.
Focal distance.
Film shift.
Barrel and pincushion lens distortion.
Film back size.
Panoramic cameras.
Orthogonal cameras.
Advanced multi-layered material creation system.
Opacity mapping.
Global or mapped roughness.
Fresnel and falloff controls.
Colored dielectric absorption.
Dielectric dispersion (chromatic aberration).
Bump/Normal mapping.
Per-map UVW and RGB modifiers.
Plastic coatings.
Sub-Surface Scattering.
Micro-Polygon Displacement Mapping.
Local exit color.
No warm-up overhead implementation.
Memory-less render-time implementation.
Configurable micro-polygon density.
Waterlevel height (compatible with opacity mapping).
Configurable mid-point for compatibility with the most popular digital sculpting packages.
Optimized parallel (2D) displacement for flat surfaces.
Curved (3D) displacement for generic curved surfaces.
Physically-based sub-surface scattering simulation.
Configurable scattering distribution (supporting forward, isotropic, and backward scattering).
Configurable media density to simulate a wide range of media, from thin fog to skin or hard rubber.
Optimized Single-Sheet SSS (S5) for thin surfaces such as curtains or tree leaves.
Physically-based participating media simulation.
Configurable scattering distribution (uses a standard Arion BSDF material).
Automatically works with any light source in a physically-correct way.
Physically-based sun and sky simulation.
Preetham et al. Physical sky model.
Hosek and Winkie physical sky model.
Accurate geo-location and celestial body positioning simulation.
Customizable sun color temperature
Customizable sun power intensity
Customizable sun diameter
Easy-to-use and highly efficient IBL support.
High-Dynamic Range input.
Image warping (i.e., latitude/longitude, light probes, etc...).
State-of-the-art importance sampling
Background/backplate mapping.
Support for colored and mapped RGB and Kelvin emitters.
Efficient render-time spotlights with control over the emission shape.
Projection maps.
IES photometric profiles.
Automatic efficient 3D motion blur.
Camera motion blur.
Object motion blur.
Global and per-object sub-framing control.
All features are compatible with motion blur (Emitters, MPDM, hair and instancing).
No warm-up overhead implementation.
Memory-less render-time implementation.
Support for point clouds for particle rendering and object scattering.
Supported natively by the Arion plug-ins.
RGB output (8-bpp or 16-bpp).
Raw High-Dynamic Range (HDR) formats.
.jpg, .bmp, .png, .tga, .tif, .hdr, .exr.
OpenEXR support for multi-channel HDR output.
Color space control.
Exposure control.
Gamma control.
Real Camera Response tonemapping operators.
Brightness control.
Contrast control.
Saturation control.
Main (beauty)
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Material ID
Object ID
(World and camera space)
(World and camera space)
(random or custom colors)
(random or custom colors)
(Opaque or transparent modes)
Ambient occlusion
Matte floor
LightMixer channels (Ambient, sun and 8 custom layers)
No re-render needed, AOVs are rendered along with the beauty pass
Floating file-based (.lic) software licensing.
The .lic file is assigned to a user and is transportable (not node-locked).
The Arion plug-ins unlock an unlimited number of render slaves with just one master license.
Support for all CUDA-enabled nVidia graphics cards.
CUDA acceleration in Arion is optional, and can be turned off if necessary.
Arion reverts to the CPU sub-core if no CUDA-enabled devices are found.
Arion is primarily a GPU renderer that gets most of its incredible speed from the massively parallel architecture of the modern NVIDIA CUDA GPUs.
Arion can however run on any CPU and is so compatible with any computer on the market. Arion CPU core is still very fast compared to other engines.
Arion is strictly running on 64-bit Windows-based systems.
|Windows XP*
|Windows Vista
|Windows 7
|Windows 8
*Windows XP is no longer supporter by NVIDIA. Arion will run in CPU mode only.
|RandomControl .RCS
|Wavefront .OBJ
|HDR Light Studio
Arion supports the latest CUDA revisions from NVIDIA
Arion support any CUDA-compatible GPU with shader model 2.0 support minimum. For an exhaustive list, visit our compatibility page.


text:
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced the 2012 Academic All-District softball teams, Friday. Lipscomb's Whitney Kiihnl was named to the District III team.
Kiihnl, who went 22-12 with a 1.79 ERA and 211 strike outs in 39 appearances for the Lady Bisons this season, leading Lipscomb to a 34-18 record and a four-seed in next week's Atlantic Sun softball tournament.
A three-time all-conference selection, Kiihnl was a 2010 NFCA All-American and is Lipscomb's all-time leader in victories, strike outs, shutouts and complete games.
She's the first Lady Bison softball player to earn an All-District honor from CoSIDA since Kellie Sirus and Lauren Dortwegt in 2010. Sirus went on to earn Academic All-American honors; Kiihnl is now a candidate for Academic All-American, with voting concluding May 15. The team will be announced May 24.
Recently, Kiihnl was named the recipient of Lipscomb's James R. Byers Award for outstanding Christian leadership and academic and athletic success.
Kiihnl graduated Saturday with a 3.63 GPA in biology. She will attend Harding University in the fall to begin training as a physician's assistant.
Kiihnl and the rest of the Lady Bisons begin the conference tournament Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C. against Jacksonville.
Check back on Lipscombsports.com for more information on the Lady Bisons softball team, and be sure to like us on Facebook (Lipscomb Softball) and follow us on Twitter (@LU_Softball).


text:
Previous / Next
ABTO – Brazilian Organ Transplant Association – launched the campaign "Soul", signed by DDB Brasil. Under the slogan "Be an organ donor, no matter what you believe", the advertisements address the subject "life after death" under different perspectives and beliefs. The campaign includes ads, a film and spot. One of the major human questions, "Where do we go when we die?", is explored in this 100% animated movie. Its narrative explores a soul following some pre-designed paths for various religions after the body's death. Presenting several destiny alternatives, the movie ends with a message saying that, regardless of beliefs, and whatever may happen to our souls, we can all be organ donors. "Our idea came from a real problem: many people are reluctant to be organ donors because of their religious perspectives. With such information, we conducted an extensive research on different religious views about what happens after death. The fact is that, in almost all of them, what happens beyond life is only related to the soul, a new body or a new way of life. We, then, developed a campaign seeking to comprehensively and respectfully address the different views of the subject, from the mystical to the most skeptical perspectives, showing that everyone, no matter how different their beliefs may be, can be organ donors," says Estêvão Queiroga, DDB Brasil's copywriter. "Since we were addressing very different beliefs, we decided to make the movie in animation. This method allows people to be more ready to enter a dreamlike world, without worrying about reality and, from there, we could transmit our message. In the art direction, which was not attached to any specific religious language, we used a black background representing death while all possibilities of the soul are illuminated. This was an intense, daily work, developed throughout two months, when we were completely involved in every detail with Ink Animações, the animation producer, and Fábrica Sonora, the soundtrack producer", states Daniel Ottoni, Art Director.
Agency: DDB Brasil Advertiser: ABTO Product: Institutional Creative Directors: Sergio Valente, Marco Versolato, Luciano Lincoln, Wilson Mateos, Guilherme Jahara Creatives: Estêvão Queiroga, Daniel Ottoni, Fábio Benedetto Art Directors: Daniel Ottoni Copywriter: Estêvão Queiroga Media: Patricia Muratori, Patrica Rosa, Marcelo Estevão RTVC: Gilbinha Pires, Juliana Tangary Account Supervisor: Maristela Correa, Tânia Pena, Caroline Pintarelli Approved by: Dr. José Omar Medina Animation Producer: Ink Animações Sound Producer: Fábrica Sonora


text:
by Tom Utescher
Near the end, it seemed like last Wednesday's Inter-Ac League girls lacrosse battle between Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and host Penn Charter would be one of those games in which the last team with the ball would be the victor.
In didn't quite turn out that way, as SCH was unable to convert on a free position with six seconds left and a goal by PC freshman Avery Shoemaker with 17.1 seconds on the clock held up as the gamewinner.
The final score was 16-15, and it was the only lead the host Quakers enjoyed the entire afternoon. They trailed by as many as seven goals in the first half (twice) before cutting their deficit to four points at halftime. PC pulled even at 13-13 with a little over 17 minutes to go, and then there were two more ties before the decisive strike by Shoemaker, who was one of four players to score four times in the game.
Junior Emma Ebert had four markers for Charter, which improved to 2-3 in the league and 4-5 overall, while Springside Chestnut Hill got four goals each from seniors Casey Sullivan and Libbie Maine, but still slipped to 2-4, 7-7.
There were scoring hat tricks for PC's Molly Pighini and the Lions' Kitty Morrissey, both juniors. Quakers junior Allison Rogers, who started both halves in goal, finished with eight saves, and senior Rachel Wiener, who was in the cage for the last 10 minutes of the first period, made two stops. SCH received 11 saves from eighth-grader Elsa Rall.
Taking the opening draw (and the next three, as well), Springside got on the board a minute into the game on a free-position bouncer by Sullivan, and a dozen seconds later Maine assisted classmate Carly Schwartz on a sidearm shot that made it 2-0. Shoemaker drove through the middle of the arc and netted PC's first goal with three minutes elapsed, but the Lions' Morrissey and Sullivan each converted off of a free position for a 4-1 tally.
The Quakers climbed right back in contention with a 3-1 spurt in which a lone goal by the Lions' Maine was outweighed by Charter markers by Pighini, Ebert, and Shoemaker. On this and some of her other goals, Shoemaker displayed sophisticated shot selection and placement for a ninth-grader.
With its lead down to one point (5-4) with 11 minutes left in the half, the SCH attack reasserted itself in a goal-a-minute spree over the next six minutes, with freshmen Sinead Brierley and Francesca Fabiani joining the principal scorers for the visitors. Before the outburst concluded with an 11-4 tally, Charter had called a time-out, and put Wiener in goal in place of the starter, Rogers.
"We just wanted to give her kind of a mental break," said first-year PC coach Channing Weymouth. "She was coming under a lot of pressure because the other team was tearing right into our defensive eight without getting stopped. We kind of hit rock bottom, so something had to go our way.
"We needed to play tougher defense," she went on, "but I also wanted the girls to be aware that we already had three yellow cards, so if we got one more we were going to be down a man for the rest of the game. We had to get our feet in position rather than just swinging our sticks on the defensive end, and then we needed to take care of the ball in transition. We needed to clean up a lot of our unforced errors."
There wasn't an immediate impact from the peptalk, as a goal by Ebert was matched by SCH's Sullivan for a 12-5 score. However, Charter gained both momentum and confidence by whipping in three goals in the final 34 seconds of the first half. Shoemaker started the string, then senior Sarah Butler cashed in on a free position with a dozen ticks left on the clock. The real stinger for Springside Chestnut Hill came when sophomore Julia Flemming scored from just off the crease on the left side only half-a-second before the halftime horn.
"That's when you started to see that they really wanted it, and our girls didn't rise to that level," pointed out Lydia Imperiale, the Lions' second-year skipper. "We came out really strong and set the tone early in the game, and then we relaxed and sort of grew complacent."
The Quakers built on the offensive surge that ended the first half. As the second period got underway, they scored the first three goals, and then two of the next three, tying the match at 13-all with 11:17 left to play.
"Penn Charter got more draws and just had a lot more possession in the second half," said SCH's Imperiale. "They were playing tough defense and really pressuring our attack, and we didn't handle that with composure. We didn't get the looks that we had in the first half, and that kind of paralyzed us."
Still, as the scoreboard clock continued to click away, Penn Charter couldn't get over the hump and take the lead. Maine flipped the ball into the Quakers' cage from six meters out in the middle, nudging SCH ahead 14-13 with 10:34 left to play. Charter captured the next draw, then quickly turned the ball over, but although the Lions kept possession for the next three minutes, they were unable to add to their lead.
From just beyond the top of the eight meter loop PC's Ebert slipped a pass inside, hitting sophomore Leigh Steinberg coming out around the crease on the left. With 5:53 showing, the score was even at 14-all, but the visitors would forge ahead one last time. Picking off a floating Penn Charter pass in the midfield, Maine went up along the right edge of the eight-meter loop and sent the ball across the arc to fellow senior Ellie Stout, who scored from a few feet off the crease with 3:59 to go.
From the same relative location at the other end of the field, sophomore Lauren Flemming pulled PC even at 15-15, with the clock now down to 1:41. On a foul off the draw the ball was given to Maine of SCH, but the visitors' possession ended with a missed shot and the Quakers took over with half-a-minute to play.
"Late in the game there were times when we didn't take care of the ball and we didn't make smart decisions," commented the Lions' Imperiale.
Charter came up the field and Butler got the ball to Shoemaker out to the right of the goal, and she drove in to sink a low shot with 17.1 seconds remaining. What proved to be the final draw of the day was pocketed by Brierley, but off of a free position in the arc with 6.1 seconds left the Lions' last shot was blocked and the ball ended up on the ground.
This season Penn Charter has been a team without a dominant superstar, but Weymouth was pleased to point out "Leaders are emerging and that's making a big difference. The players are taking control of what's happening out there."


text:
Hot Cocoa uploaded by Flickr User Theta Sigma
When I checked the temperature this morning, I immediately thought of all my friends who have recently moved to warmer climates. 16 degrees with a windchill of 6 degrees.
So, Leah and Greg, how's California?
Really though, I don't mind. Riding my bike the 6 miles to work this morning, I just thought, well this keeps us all hardcore. However, on days like this, there's nothing better then a warm cup of hot cocoa when you come in from the cold. Here is my favorite recipe for a warm tummy.
Hot Cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps
- milk- any percent or skim
- cocoa powder
- powdered sugar
- peppermint schnapps
The schnapps unfortunately makes this not so appropriate for work.


text:
Sur notre site, vous pouvez découvrir les books d'environ 200 des meilleurs illustrateurs au monde.
Leurs styles varient, tous passionnants, certains classiques, d'autres contemporains ou avant gardistes…
Nous sommes une agence professionnelle, engagée auprès de nos auteurs qui viennent des quatre coins du monde et nous proposons un important éventail de ressources créatives.
Je suis votre interlocuteur, je suis basée à Paris et je travaille avec Illustration Ltd, en parallèle de ma propre agence, depuis plus de 20 ans. Si vous avez des questions ou des projets dont vous aimeriez parler, je serais ravie d'échanger avec vous, par téléphone ou par e-mail.
Marie Bastille 01 45 26 70 09 email@example.com
Hello. Its an absolute delight to have joined Illustration Ltd as the Indian agent for one of the finest and most professional illustrator groups in the world. We already represent a few fabulous artists based in India and I am looking forward to developing the local team to broaden the range and impact we can offer you and the whole world.
Illustration Ltd has been the resource of choice for thousands of art directors and designers in all the creative hot spots of the world, not only for the quality of our talent, which always evolves with fashion and technical prowess, but also for the professionalism in delivering beyond what the art director wants, in a friendly and open way. This is something I will be ever keen to bring here.
The India creative market is one of the fastest growing, innovative and exciting places in the world, and set to become an international leader. Illustration, as a creative service, has always been at the forefront of creative tools employed by the marketing professionals, and it is our profound hope that by making our incredible artist team locally available to you, it will give you new opportunities and choice in creating the best results possible.
Please feel free to call or email me any time to discuss projects which we could be of help with.
Neha Shah Mistri
Hi there!
Anne and Simona are delighted to represent Illustration Ltd in Dubai; introducing its world-class artists to clients in Dubai and the GCC. Dubai is the region's most dynamic and cosmopolitan city with a growing number of national, regional and international companies in all fields - from energy to education, healthcare to finance, IT to publishing and retail. Illustration Ltd offers the creativity of first classillustrators, delivered with the same professionalism that has made the agency such a great brand elsewhere. We're looking forward to connecting our illustrators with discerning clients in Dubai and the GCC.
The Middle East has a rich tradition in the creative arts and a rapidly developing contemporary art scene. Whilst our focus is on ensuring client satisfaction with the whole process of choosing and working with an illustrator, we are also keen to discover new artistic talents here in the GCC who can bring fresh inspiration to international assignments.
So, whether you are a client looking for exceptional illustration for your next project, or an artist looking for a professional agency to represent you globally, please feel free to call or email anytime to discuss how we can help.
Anne & Simona
Anne: + 971 50 5518938 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Simona: +971 50 7848443 Email: email@example.com
It is an honour to be representing some of the world's finest artists as Illustration Ltd's Agent in Singapore and Southeast Asia!
Singapore is a cosmopolitan hub that reaches out to the region and I'm delighted to be connecting world-class illustration talents with discerning clients here for their global audiences. Illustration Ltd is the resource of choice bringing a new level of artistry and creative sophistication to one of the world's fastest growing markets, delivered with the same professionalism, and always going beyond the brief, that has made the agency such a great brand elsewhere.
In the same vein, Southeast Asia is a diverse region steeped in local culture - from the paintings of Bali to street art in Malaysia - and I'm equally excited to engage with the creative talents here to bring fresh inspiration to international assignments.
Please feel free to call or email me anytime to discuss any projects we can be of assistance with.
Choon Meng Tel: +65 9834 2745, Email: email@example.com
It's with great excitement I join the Illustration Ltd team as their Australian and New Zealand Agent.
I welcome the opportunity to introduce the incredible international talent we represent and look forward to sharing our own homegrown talent with the creative industry worldwide.
Australia and New Zealand hold a unique position in the world in terms of their cultural evolutions. Our thriving artistic ecosystem encompasses galleries, architectural and industrial design, motion graphics and of course, we are home to some of the most established and revered street artists in the world. It is an exciting time to be involved in Art and Design in the region.
I look forward to continuing our legacy of professionalism, delivering beyond the brief and bringing our wealth of incredible Illustration and Animation talent to clients in the region.
Please call or email me to discuss any projects we can assist you with
Hi, Illustration Ltd is on the look out for a brilliant agent to represent us in Tokyo, and to manage all our Japanese business.
The successful candidate will have a good knowledge and appreciation of the Japanese advertising, graphic and illustration markets, a great personality, and an organised, empathetic and determined nature.
We are looking for someone who wants to start their own business as an exclusive agent for Illustration Ltd representing and promoting the whole agencies amazing roster of international illustrators to the Japan advertising, editorial and graphic markets. They would also find and recruit a group of leading local illustrators to join the agency for international as well as local representation.
Renumeration will be by way of commission on all jobs.
If you are interested and you are a very fluent English speaker with a strong track record in success and integrity, please email your CV, references and your message to firstname.lastname@example.com.
I look forward to hearing from you
Harry Lyon-Smith
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Please click here to remain on to the international site.
Thank you.
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text:
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Product #: IDSR030
Manufacturer: Littelfuse Inc.
Unit of Measure: Each (1)
Quantity of Units/Case: 20
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IDSR Series UL Class RK5 Dual-Element Time Delay Fuse With Indication. The Littelfuse IDSR Indicator fuse is the first indicating power fuse ever. Its solid-state design provides state-of-the-art reliability; it will forever change the way you look at modern circuit protection. Money is wasted each time a circuit opens and halts production. Thousands of dollars can be lost with every minute spent testing to discover the cause. The Littelfuse IDSR Indicator fuse offers you a better way. Just a simple glance a the IDSR Indicator window tells which circuit is open. The circuit can be tested and any problem corrected without unnecessary delay. No time wasted finding the faulted circuit. No system damage. And no costly down time. Applications: All general-purpose circuits, Motors, Transformers, Solenoids, Fluorescent lighting, All system components with high inrush currents.
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text:
Why have your shoes professionally fitted?
Because shoes that don't fit will cause pain and can actually damage your feet. And amazingly, 60% of all people are wearing improperly fitting shoes right now.
At New Balance Edmond for a professional fit analysis. Our specially trained Fit Specialists will measure every aspect of your foot, and find you the right size and width from the large selection of widths we offer. They'll even analyze your gait to determine what level of support and motion control you need. It all adds up to a perfect-fitting pair of shoes.
Only New Balance stores offer this kind of professional fit experience. Stop by one of our stores today or set up an appointment with a Fit Specialist. Your feet will thank you.


text:
Thu 6 Mar 2014
SlickEdit Defeats "patent troll" Uniloc in Patent Lawsuit
I wanted to keep you up to date on whats going on with SlickEdit.
In October of 2012, Uniloc USA, Inc. filed a lawsuit against SlickEdit, Inc., alleging patent infringement (U.S. patent 5,579,222) concerning a license management system.
Uniloc USA, Inc. is a patent-assertion entity or "patent troll," i.e. a company whose sole business is to sue software companies including Adobe, Microsoft, Sony, and Symantec. It has sued more than a dozen companies over this patent.
In an unusual turn of events, after more than a year of litigation Uniloc USA, Inc. asked the Court to dismiss its own lawsuit against SlickEdit, Inc. This came a week after the court held a three-hour Markman hearing on February 13, 2014 in which SlickEdit argued that Uniloc's patent covered far less than what Uniloc was claiming.
Make no mistake, this is a BIG win for SlickEdit in what amounts to be a David vs. Goliath scenario.
Patent infringement suits are considered extremely costly to defend against. Even in cases like this where there is no infringement, small companies are often forced to settle due to the astronomical legal fees associated with patent cases.
I knew SlickEdit did not infringe. I hired a great attorney and worked closely with him. We were able to put together a solid case and ultimately saved the company a lot of money.
I interviewed nine different patent attorneys at nine different firms and easily chose Tim Shannon of Verrill Dana, LLP. Tim and his team mastered the patent, mastered our product inside and out, and led a claim construction argument that literally threatened to derail Uniloc's entire national campaign. Tim never let up and got us a great result. I highly recommend his service.
Glad to be done with this mess. Now I can continue to have a blast working on the product!
Clark, CEO
One Response to " SlickEdit Defeats "patent troll" Uniloc in Patent Lawsuit "
Phileosophos says:
March 12th, 2014 at 2:17 pm
Nice! Congratulations on an important victory! It's always nice when companies stand up to legal bullies and shut them down.


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China Struggles to Curb Tibetan Unrest
Beijing has tightened its grip on Tibetan regions in China at a time when activists say the number of self-immolations in protest of Chinese rule has reached a grim milestone. The WSJ's Brian Spegele explains the conflict.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... the ... get him to protest Chinese rule and I are increasingly willing to die of the Kai's ... and ever con joining me is Brian Spegele from Beijing are becoming more on the frequent its they become more frequent in recent months so these self relations began as early as two thousandnine we were seen at ... the beginning and the province of Sichuan and southwestern China ... they really picked up steam in two thousand eleven that in late two thousand eleven they begin to pick up steam ... and then throughout two thousand twelve and two two in late two thousand twelve ... we saw the vast majority of these happened ... on size China's government as China's Communist Party began to go through it since its transition of leadership ... you know we saw and I think according to the podiatrist Group and looking at the numbers use all of a very rapid ... uptick in numbers and frequency ... of these of the South relations ... I can't appear to be growing any day it feels like time is really trying to crack down on these ... types of protests is it not ... so yeah they did it does feel that way in the one of the important thing to note that it's it's become in Christ increasingly difficult to get ... your objective in their objective information out of the region per couple of reasons I think communications can be physically very tough to reach people out there ... foreign journalists and diplomats are often are either blocked or were very restricted from from from from traveling there ... in residence or will we found over the past two years have become increasingly reluctant to talk of foreigners um it was a reason for that reason for that is that the government increased the painting you these protests in the South relations ... is being driven by it by foreign actors by foreign interests ... um and and and and that it becomes you know who you'll be maybe they have very harshly crackdown on people who are seen as spreading rumors are spreading information about what's going on ... at the Empress and the Dalai Lama to that spiritual leader a battle that has been living in exile since nineteen ... fifty nine ... aam ... is ... is there really any attempt for middle ground here I mean the fact that China will recognize the Dalai Lama ICI's exiled ... aam what a state of relations today and and and I have they've really taken any step in in in any direction forward ... in the past year for Tibet China relations have been ... have been a real struggle to say the very least ... so we are seeing were seen some changes going on in in ... in the inside Tibet government in exile for sample the Die Lama gave up his role as the the the political leader of Tibetan and that was taken on by another man loves them Sunday was essentially starting I was the prime minister to bed ... so with all that said we seen ... over the past month as he suffer Malaysians have ... really picked up steam ... is the Chinese government with increasing aggressiveness is painting the South relations as being instigated or were being encouraged even ... five by the Tibet government in exile in by the Dalai Lama and his supporters ... on any of these are very serious accusations and that what the said Central Tibetan Administration with the Tibet government in exile is saying is ... they will be watching a common investing in our role at a loss on Sunday that the Prime Minister put out a statement yesterday ... that Lilly inviting the Chinese to come to Darts Island India when their base ... and an uncommon you offer them access to their offices to come investigate ... oh what they believe was going on basically saying ... we aren't in instigating these are the so the Malaysians come by yourself ... you know that that's unlikely that will happen if the dialogue between the sides of these new publicly announced dialogue between the sizes in ... that little to none ... aam and and so I think everybody's kind of waiting to see ... as the new leadership in China takes hold comes and comes into play you are they going to be different from from the leadership of of of the work of his party separate secretary Hu Jintao who was generally seen as a hard liner on two conditions ... that can and you mention in your story aam and a hundred people had ... um let themselves on fire of that decline since two thousand and nine for that's quite staggering figure


text:
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Running Time: 55 minutes
Released: 03/2016
Studio Name: Image Video
Series: Monsters of Jizz
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December 12, 2017 10:00 am to December 12, 2017 11:00 am Save to calendar
Categories: Memory Loss Care, Parkinson's Care, Fitness
The Bethesda Outpatient Services is happy to offer Fitness 1 for Parkinson's and Memory Loss, which provides unique exercise opportunities that stress important components:
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Dress in comfortable clothes and tennis shoes.
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Please call 651-326-2150 to schedule a fitness assessment.
You are currently using an outdated browser.
The new HealthEast web site was built using the latest technology for improved features and to allow mobile access. This requires a modern browser for the best experience in layout and functionality. The browsers at HealthEast are outdated because of requirements for clinical applications. You can still click вЂclose' and browse the site with an outdated browser, however, it will not display correctly or support all features. We recommend you either upgrade your browser at home, or view the site with a mobile device. We apologize for this inconvenience.on


text:
Infocrossing and S/390 Linux: An ASP's Story
A Visit to the Co-Lo PenitentiaryThey keep their computers in cages at Infocrossing, like a gigantic prison for miscreant microchips. The cages aren't to keep the computers in, though, but to keep intruders out. Infocrossing, Incorporated, headquartered in Leonia, New Jersey, is in the Application Service Provider (ASP) hosting business. With a strong background in traditional mainframe environments, IBM's System/390 architecture was a natural choice for Infocrossing as they started branching out into the Linux hosting business.
Application Service Providers, for those not familiar with the term, are companies that offer application software to clients on a centrally-located (and centrally-managed) host. The idea is that businesses gain the benefit of running sophisticated applications while avoiding the cost of deploying the needed hardware and software in-house. In the days before the Internet, such arrangements were common and were built using mainframe computers and remote timesharing connections. It was in this environment that Infocrossing was born, over twenty years ago. Now the Internet -- and virtual private networks (VPNs) that exploit its ubiquity -- give companies like Infocrossing a new way to bring their services to customers. At the same time, ASPs are creating new opportunities for mainframe systems, especially now that Linux is a reality at the high end.
The colocation business, housed in three large, geographically dispersed data centers, is the reason for the cages. They prevent one colocation customer from gaining console access to another customer's equipment, and they are an essential part of physical security at the site. "Customers are allowed access to the facility," says Laudati. "We're a blended environment." The part of the site that handles traditional mainframe (timesharing) outsourcing not accessible to customers, but the colocation facility is. The standard environment has a 7x8 foot cage for each customer's own equipment. The S/390 Linux host, by contrast, is accessible to customers via remote login only. Even when you understand the purpose of those cages, though, the effect is somewhat surreal.
Between their traditional mainframe hosting services, and the new UNIX, Linux, and NT managed hosting, and the colocation facilities, Infocrossing has grown into a US$40 million company with several hundred employees. About three-fourths of the employees are technical people, according to Laudati. The company operates a thirty thousand square foot (about 2800 square meters) facility in Leonia, New Jersey and a fifty-two thousand square foot (about 4800 square meters) facility in Norcrosse, Georgia. They are building an even larger facility in Sterling, Virginia.
Though the company is nominally operating system and hardware agnostic, they have a definite preference for IBM hardware and infrastructural software and are a long-term partner with IBM. Laudati says the mainframe bias is a result of two factors, scalability and reliability, and cites the specific example of ACTS, a company that provides an educational testing and scoring service to many clients, including a statewide public school system. Laudati says this kind of customer needs a very dynamic hosting environment because the workload of the system can vary widely. "One time in the public schools it could be ten students," he remarks, "and the next time it could be ten thousand."
- Skip Ahead
- 1. A Visit to the Co-Lo Penitentiary
- 2. A Visit to the Co-Lo Penitentiary
- 3. A Visit to the Co-Lo Penitentiary
- 4. A Visit to the Co-Lo Penitentiary
- 5. A Visit to the Co-Lo Penitentiary


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[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Netcong 12-13-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-20. Amendments noted where applicable.]Schedule A
The Borough Council of the Borough of Netcong (hereinafter "Council") authorized a study and the development of special plans and specifications relating to the creation of a special improvement district and the Council finds as follows:
That the reports and recommendations submitted and dated November 1, 2001, concludes that an area within the Borough of Netcong, as shall be described hereinafter by lot and block numbers as well as by street addresses, would benefit from being designated as a special improvement district; and
That a District Management Corporation would assist the Borough in promoting economic growth and employment within the business district by providing administrative and other services to benefit the businesses, employees, residents and consumers in the special improvement district; and
That a special assessment shall be imposed and collected by the Borough of Netcong with the regular property tax payment or payment in lieu of taxes or otherwise and that such special assessment shall be transferred to the District Management Corporation to exercise the powers given it by this chapter and to effectuate the purposes of N.J.S.A. 40:56-65 et seq.; and
That it is in the best interests of the Borough of Netcong and the public to create such special improvement district and to designate such District Management Corporation, except that no District Management Corporation shall be designated to receive any funds or to exercise any powers, unless the Board of Directors of that Corporation shall include at least one member of the Council.
The public policy of the State of New Jersey permits this governing body to protect the public welfare and health and the interests of the public in the safe and effective movement of persons and to preserve and enhance the function and appearance of the business districts of the Borough of Netcong and adoption of a Special Improvement Ordinance.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
- An entity created by municipal ordinance or incorporated pursuant to N.J.S.A. 15A:1-1 et seq. and designated by municipal ordinance to receive funds collected by a special assessment within a special improvement district as authorized by this chapter.
- An area within the Borough of Netcong designated by this chapter as an area in which a special assessment on all property within the district shall be imposed for the purposes of promoting the economic and general welfare of the district and the Borough of Netcong. This shall not include those properties exclusively used for residential purposes.
There is hereby designated a special improvement district (hereinafter "SID") which is more particularly described on Schedule A[1] attached hereto and made a part hereof. Any property listed on Schedule A and which is incorporated within the SID, and is exclusively used for residential purposes, is exempt from the payment of any special assessment.
The special improvement district as described on Schedule A,[1] shall be an area in which all of the property included therein, except as hereinafter stated, shall have imposed a special assessment for the purposes of promoting the economic and general welfare of the district and the Borough of Netcong. For purposes of establishing any assessment under § 75-9 of this chapter, the SID shall be divided into three tiers as described in Schedule A, based upon their respective proximity to the Borough's central business district. Any property located within the SID which is tax-exempt shall not be subject to the special assessment. In the event any tax-exempt entity makes a payment in lieu of taxes to the Borough of Netcong, then and in that event, said entity shall be subject to the imposition of a special assessment. The improvements and supplemental services in the SID will involve annual costs peculiar only to the SID and will be distinguished from improvements and services normally provided by the Borough. While the improvements and supplemental services shall be maintained and operated pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and to N.J.S.A. 40:56-65 et seq. and the costs thereof assessed or taxed to the benefited properties pursuant to this chapter, such improvements and supplemental services shall not be substituted by the Borough for improvements and services now supplied to the proposed SID nor be grounds for curtailment of future improvements and services planned.
Special Improvement District of Netcong Borough, Inc. is hereby designated the District Management Corporation which shall assist the Borough of Netcong in promoting economic growth and development within the SID. Said District Management Corporation is incorporated pursuant to the provisions of Title 15A of the New Jersey Statutes and is hereby designated as eligible to receive the funds collected as special assessment within the SID. In addition, the District Management Corporation shall:
Have a Board of Trustees consisting of nine members, chosen as follows:
[Amended 12-12-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-15; 12-11-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-13]
The Mayor of the Borough and one Council member appointed by the Council, each to serve a one-year term.
One resident of the Borough, who is not a member of the Special Improvement District, to be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Borough Council for a two-year term.
Six Trustees to be appointed by the currently serving Trustees of the Special Improvement District of Netcong Borough, Inc. ("District Management Corporation"), with the advice and consent of the Borough Council in accordance with the bylaws of the District Management Corporation.
Exercise the following powers:
[Amended 12-12-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-15]
Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business and to prescribe rules, regulations and policies in connection with the performance of its functions and duties;
Employ such persons as may be required and fix and pay their compensation from funds available to the corporation;
Apply for, accept, administer and comply with the requirements respecting an appropriation of funds or a gift, grant or donation of property or money;
Make and execute agreements which may be necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers and functions of the corporation, including contracts with any person, firm, corporation, governmental agency or other entity;
Administer and manage its own funds and accounts and pay its own obligations;
Borrow money from private lenders for periods not to exceed 180 days and from governmental entities for that or longer periods;
Accept, purchase, rehabilitate, sell, lease or manage property in the SID;
Provide security, sanitation and other services to the SID supplemental to those provided normally by the Borough;
Undertake improvements designed to increase the safety or attractiveness of the SID to businesses which may wish to locate there or to visitors of the SID, including, but not limited to, litter cleanup and control, landscaping, parking areas and facilities, recreational and rest areas and facilities, and those improvements generally permitted for pedestrian malls under Section 2 of P.L. 1972, c. 134 (N.J.S.A. 40:56-66), pursuant to pertinent regulations of the governing body;
Publicize the district and the businesses included within the district boundaries and create programs furthering the promotion of the district and businesses;
Organize special events in the district;
Provide special parking arrangements for the district;
Provide temporary decorative lighting in the district;
Fund the improvement of the exterior appearance of properties in the district through grants or loans;
Fund the rehabilitation of properties in the district;
Enforce the conditions of any loan, grant, sale or lease made by the corporation; and
Recruit new business to fill vacancies in, and to balance the business mix of, the district.
The District Management Corporation shall submit a detailed annual budget for approval by resolution of the Council. The budget shall be submitted with a report which explains how the budget contributes to the goals and objectives of the special improvement district.
The budget shall be introduced, approved, amended and adopted by resolution passed by not less then a majority of the full membership of the Council. The procedure shall be as follows:
The budget shall be introduced in writing at a meeting of the Council. Approval thereof shall constitute a first reading which may be by title. Upon approval of the budget by the governing body, it shall fix the time and place for the holding of a public hearing upon the budget.
The budget shall be advertised after approval. The advertisement shall contain a copy of the budget and shall set forth the date, the time and place of the hearing. It shall be published at least 10 days prior to the date fixed therefor in a newspaper circulating in the Borough of Netcong.
No budget shall be adopted until a public hearing has been held thereof and all persons having an interest therein shall have been given an opportunity to present objections. The hearing shall be held not less than 28 days after approval of the budget.
The public hearing shall be held at the time and place specified in the advertisement thereof, but may be adjourned from time to time until the hearing is closed. The budget as advertised shall be read at the public hearing in full or it may be read by its title, if:
At least one week prior to the date of the hearing a complete copy of the approved budget, as advertised:
The Council shall, by resolution passed by no less than a majority of the full membership, determine that the budget shall be read by its title and declare that the condition set forth in Subsection F(1) have been met. After closing the hearing, the Council may adopt the budget, by title without amendments, or may approve amendments as provided in Subsection G of this section before adoption.
The Council may amend the budget during or after the public hearing. No amendment by the Council shall be effective until taxpayers and all persons having an interest therein shall have been granted a public hearing thereon if the amendment shall:
Add a new item in an amount in excess of 1% of the total amount as stated in the approved budget; or
Increase or decrease an item by more than 10%; or
Increase the amount to be raised pursuant to Section 16 of P.L. 1972, c. 134 (N.J.S.A. 40:56-80) or Section 19 of P.L. 1984, c. 151 (N.J.S.A. 40:56-85) by more than 5% unless the same is made pursuant to an emergency temporary appropriation only. Notice of hearing on an amendment shall be advertised at least three days before the date set therefor. The amendment shall be published in full in the same manner as an original publication and shall be read in full at the hearing and before adoption.
[Amended 12-12-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-15]
Final adoption shall be by resolution, adopted by a majority of the full membership of the Council and may be by title.
The District Management Corporation shall cause an annual audit of its books, accounts and financial transactions to be made and filed with the Council, and for that purpose the corporation shall employ a Certified Public Accountant licensed with the State of New Jersey. The annual audit shall be completed and filed with the governing body within four months after the close of the fiscal year of the corporation and a certified duplicate copy of the audit shall be filed with the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs within five days of the filing of the audit with the Council.
The District Management Corporation shall, within 30 days of the close of each fiscal year, make an annual report of its activities for the preceding fiscal year to the Council.
The annual costs of operating, maintaining and improving the special improvement district shall be reported to the governing body, assessed, collected and appropriated as provided in N.J.S.A. 40:56-80.
[Amended 4-13-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-8; 12-12-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-15]
The 2014 SID assessment imposed against any property shall not increase in the year 2015 unless there is an increase in the net property assessment determined by the Borough Tax Assessor.


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text: Ice MountainsThe Ice Mountains tower over the northern part of the western continent. Immense and foreboding peaks, shrouded throughout the year by low-laden clouds hang over the landscape. Within their vastness, dwell the Dragons Of Darksmoke, Gnolls, Dwarves, Ice Trolls and many other races and creatures. The Dwarves are a sturdy and industrious race, that live longer than Humans. Generally friendly and outgoing, they enjoy carousing and decorating their clothes, with bright pieces of cloth and metal. On the other hand, the carnivorous Ice Trolls, lead by Icer, attack anything in their path, with their clawed hands and feet, but fear the Dwarves. The Intelligent, but evil Gnolls, live in the old, used up Dwarf Mines. Their bear wolf-like features and sport armor and weapons, although they tend to be lazy and try to avoid fighting whenever possible. The most prominent race in the Ice Mountains, is the Dragons Of Darksmoke.


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ACCEPTANCE, TROUSER ARMADILLOS and TEXAS
Tonight April 21, 2009 (Tues) at 7:30 I'll be at Legacy Books 7300 Dallas Parkway, Plano, Texas 75024. Be there! Then it's on to Montreal, Detroit and Saskatoon. The dates for the rest of the tour are linked to your left<<<<<<.
I just got done with Austin, San Antonio and Houston. I must say I'm very well impressed by the great state of Zen in the great state of Texas. All three Zen centers I visited were terrific. Those of you who live nearby should be glad there are such solid places in your area and you should visit them often.
It always makes me a little sad when I visit tremendous Zen places like these and then afterward get told, "That's the most people we've had in here in ages! We've never seen half those people before." It's hard for me to comprehend anyone going out of their way to hear the likes of me talk. But, then again, I'd travel a long way to see KISS. So quality may not be a factor in what makes people go see stuff.
I think a lot of people are afraid of Zen. It reminds me of what the members of Spinal Tap say in the film This is Spinal Tap when asked why there are so few women in their audience.
Martin DeBergi(interviewer): The make up of your audience seems to be predominantly young boys.
David St. Hubbins: It's a sexual thing really. Aside from the identifying thing the boys do with us, there's also a reaction of the female to our music.
Nigel Tufnel: Really they're quite fearful. They see us on stage with tight trousers and we've got, like, armadillos in our trousers. It's really quite frightening, the size. And they run screaming.
I think a lot of people see the "armadillos in the trousers" of Zen and run screaming. If you've seen the film, it's revealed later on that the bulges in the trousers of the band are zucchinis taped to their legs. Such is the way of Zen. What might appear metaphorically to be "armadillos in the trousers" of Zen teachers* are nothing more than zucchinis.
What I mean by that is much of the fear people have of going to Zen centers is based on unreal images of what they think goes on inside. For example, many people are terrified they might get some of the steps wrong in the various rituals. But, really, it doesn't matter. Everybody gets the steps wrong! Even the most highly trained monks sometimes make big errors.
And you know what happens then? Nothing. Nobody cares. You just recover and move on. In most Zen centers they won't say anything or even look askance at you if you blow some of the steps. The worst that might happen is someone whispers in your ear or just waits till you notice what everyone else is doing. There is no need to fear the trouser armadillos of Zen. How's that for a quotable quote?
ANYWAY, I had an especially great time with Gaelyn Godwin of the Houston Zen Center. She is a truly terrific Zen person. Very impressive.
I started thinking about her and why I liked her so much and what she had in common with other Zen teachers -- and just people in general -- who I like and respect. It's acceptance. Most religious teachers are extremely unaccepting. They want to push you into a mold they've created. There was some nastiness in the comments section of this very blog recently created by a Zen teacher who wanted to force others into the mold he created. So even Zen teachers are not beyond this.
But the Zen teachers (and other people, but leaving them aside for the moment) I have the most respect for are the ones who accept everyone as they are. This might be a good answer for the question I always get asked; "What should I look for in a good Zen teacher? And what should I look for as a sign a Zen teacher might not be so good?" Acceptance is the key. Can they accept you or do they want to force you into a mold?
There's a funny thing about this in Zen, which relates to the whole "trouser armadillos" matter above. And that is that communal Zen is often very ritualized and depends upon people doing the same thing at the same time. It stresses conformity and discourages overt displays of individuality. But this aspect of the practice is fairly superficial (with some caveats, see below). It's there to make sure the group functions smoothly.
But it's also not superficial. We human beings have individual personalities that are not alike. Yet we are social animals who cannot survive on our own. We're a lot like ants or bees in that respect. We love to pretend we aren't entirely dependent on others. But it's all bullshit.
So we have to learn to function smoothly in a group. And much of Zen training is aimed at making that happen. But it should do so without denying what each individual is. We do not want to strip people of their uniqueness. Far from it! We want to celebrate that uniqueness. But we also strive to show people how to blend smoothly into society.
I've been well impressed by a number of teachers I've met in my travels and in my life. To name a few, Tim McCarthy, Gudo Nishijima, Tonen O'Connor, Gaelyn Godwin, Zuiko Redding, Greg Fain, Dokai Georgeson, Mel Weitsman... There are many more whose names I'm blanking on right now. But they've all exhibited the quality of radical acceptance.
They all could accept anyone, whether they agreed with or even understood them or not. And that's such a rare thing. You can't overstate the preciousness of meeting someone who accepts you as you are. I've fallen in love with people solely because they showed me that kind of total acceptance (there's a dating tip for you!).
When I interviewed her, Nina Hartley said of Mel Weitsman (abbot of Berkeley Zen Center), "He was the first person who ever showed me compassion. Mel was the first person who ever looked me in the eye. He was very direct, very there, relaxed, open, not expecting, not judging. I recognized it as something I'd never had before, something I wanted more of, but something I could barely stand. For 37 years I have been circling that moment, really trying to become centered in it." That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Find that and you've found something really special.
I was also interested to learn from Gaelyn that much of her congregation is -- gasp! -- Republican and even -- deeper gasp!! -- supporters of George W. Bush and John McCain. Why should this strike anyone as ironic? A koan for you all!
(Secret Answer: It isn't ironic at all.)
Big, big thanks to Mr. Lauren Crane for all his help in making the Texas leg of the tour happen!
*Or literally in my case!


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