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2019 Kentucky Derby ComfortSuites
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Dear Blizzard....
When, as an L78 Affliction Warlock, I can drop into Malykriss over in Icecrown and clear out all the L80 normals without breaking a sweat, you've got some overpowered damage issues. And yes, I do have some heirlooms on, but I also have a lot of L70 PvP gear on.
However, I will give you props for the delightfully insane sounds of the Shivarra. I keep looking over at her, expecting tentacles or something.
5 comments:
Are you surprised? :) You know they tend towards crazy swings between classes being gimpy and vastly overpowered around the launch of a new expansion.ReplyDelete
(As an aside, is it me or are the CAPTCHAs getting harder and harder to make out? I keep having to refresh it several times just to get something that's even remotely legible. Maybe I'm not a real person...)Replies
The last few CAPTCHAs were really bad, but I think that's a reaction to bots being able to break the easier ones.Delete
But as for the crazy DPS swings, I'd bet that we ain't seen anything yet once Pandaren monks flood the area.
Speaking of races, you know what we need as a playable race in TOR? Togruta. We have Twi'lek, it only makes sense to have more than one race with head tails out there. Then again, we'd probably be inundated with Ahsoka Tano clones....
- AnonymousAugust 30, 2012 at 7:01:00 AM EDT
I did raid last night at 85 in DS, and the order of the DPS was a little changed, but essentially, the mage, SP, feral were mostly the top three DPS on most encounters doing roughly similar levels of DPS as pre-patch. So I'm inclined to agree with Shintar that balancing between expacs gets very strange, but I think it'll be seen most in certain parts of the levelling game. I'm not sure that max level characters are too out of whack (probably there are some exceptions but we didn't discover them in our raid last night).ReplyDelete
Not that I'm pleased about the above statement. Some freaky patch behaviour would have been a pleasant distraction from the screaming monotony of yet another eye-gougingly dull raid in DS and the unfeasible amount of alcohol I'm having to drink just to survive it. There is also a serious point here - compared to previous pre-expac patches (world events, the introduction of the achv system), 5.04 is *remarkably* bereft of shinies; it's not like there is anything to do other than the things you were doing pre-5.04 (I don't count quickly logging between alts to "score" all the achvs you didn't have on them).Replies
You're right about the lack of a pre-launch event (or something) out there; it's pretty dead.Delete
I've kind of expected more people to be active, but from what I can tell outside of Patch Day itself the server activity has gone up by an incremental amount, not a giant leap forward. I don't think Ysera(US) is back to pre-Dragon Soul levels yet, which makes me wonder how many people are just waiting for Mists proper to drop.
Oh, and for some strange reason your comment got into the spam folder. I don't see what could have triggered it, but I'm going to chalk it up to just Blogger weirdness.Delete

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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MERCE MERCE Marine Marine Selected Selected tBxqxPZ
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The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line,travelling and additional fields within the tourism industry.[1]
The hospitality industry is a multibillion-dollar industry that depends on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. A hospitality unit such as a restaurant, hotel, or an amusement park consists of multiple groups such as facility maintenance and direct operations (servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, bartenders, management, marketing, and human resources etc.).
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Travel and tourism[editMERCE MERCE Selected Selected Marine Marine ]
See also[edit]
- Convention and visitor bureau
- Hospitality
- Hospitality management
- Hospitality service
- Leisure industry
- American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute


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Message Board
Bob Gunn Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Gunn has written!
Author Gunn's Book Reviews
Sex, Ghosts and Gumshoes
Beautiful Penny Albright has just inherited a brownstone on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. What Penny doesn't know is that the brownstone is already occupied by the ghost of a handsome 1930's gumshoe, Kerby Brewster. A dead-ringer for the young Cary Grant, Kerby is a charmer who has a special way with the ladies. It's not long before sweet Penny and dashing Kerby develop a fun relationship, loaded with sexual tension despite the obvious obstacle. ...


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Thursday November 2, 2006
MICHAEL URGES THE ENTIRE OFFICE TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY BY CELEBRATING DIWALI, THE HINDU FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS -- SCRIPT WRITTEN BY SERIES STAR MINDY KALING -- Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) encourages the entire Scranton branch to support Kelly (Mindy Kaling) and attend a local celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. As Ryan (B.J. Novak) nervously faces Kelly�s family at the event, Michael, new girlfriend Carol (guest star Nancy Walls, "The Daily Show"), and the staff sample a range of Indian culture and cuisine. Meanwhile, Andy (Ed Helms) convinces Jim (John Krasinski) to turn a late night of work into a drinking game. Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Melora Hardin, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nu�ez, Phyllis Smith and Paul Lieberstein also star, and Ed Helms ("The Daily Show"), Rashida Jones ("Wanted") and Charles Esten ("Whose Line Is It Anyway?") guest star.


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President Barack Obama bluntly challenged Congress Monday to act immediately on his new jobs plan, brandishing a copy of the legislation in the Rose Garden and demanding: "No games, no politics, no delays."
Surrounded by police officers, firefighters, teachers, construction workers and others he said would be helped by the $447 billion package, the president said the only thing that would block its passage would be lawmakers deciding it wasn't good politics to work with him. "We can't afford these same political games, not now," Obama said.
The president said he was sending the package to Congress later Monday, after unveiling it last week in a speech to a joint session of Congress. Then he's heading out to try to sell it to the public, on Tuesday in Ohio — home state of House Speaker John Boehner — and Wednesday in North Carolina.
At the same time, the Democratic National Committee is backing up the effort with a new ad campaign in politically key states from Nevada to New Hampshire.
The centerpiece of the plan cuts payroll taxes that pay for Social Security, giving a tax break to workers and businesses. There's also new spending for teachers and school construction, and an extension of jobless benefits, among other elements. Republican lawmakers who control the House have promised quick review of the legislation and seem open to the tax-cutting elements, but some have already rejected new spending.
Boehner had a measured response to Obama's comments Monday, pledging to review it carefully.
"The record of the economic proposals enacted during the last Congress necessitates careful examination of the president's latest plan as well as consideration of alternative measures that may more effectively support private-sector job creation," the speaker said in a statement. "It is my hope that we will be able to work together to put in place the best ideas of both parties and help put Americans back to work."
But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., one of the president's fiercest foes on Capitol Hill, appeared to foreshadow the possibility of a fight ahead.
"For the president to sit here and say, 'It's pass my bill all or nothing,' that's just not the way things are done anywhere in Washington," he said.
The White House detailed the specifics Monday on how the legislation would be paid for. It would rely on a series of tax hikes that have all previously been proposed by the White House and rejected by Republicans. They are:
—$400 billion from limiting the itemized deductions for charitable contributions and other deductions that can be taken by individuals making over $200,000 a year and families making over $250,000;
—$40 billion from closing loopholes for oil and gas companies;
—$18 billion from requiring fund managers to pay higher taxes on certain income;
—$3 billion from changing the tax treatment of corporate jets.
White House budget director Jacob Lew said that Obama will also include those tax proposals in a broader debt-cutting package he plans to submit to a congressional supercommittee charged with finding $1.2 trillion in savings later this year. He said that the supercommittee would have the option of accepting the payment mechanisms for the jobs bill proposed by Obama, or proposing new ones.
In his Rose Garden comments, Obama adopted a newly sharp tone that has pleased dispirited Democrats, deriding Republican opposition at a time when the economy has stalled and unemployment stands at 9.1 percent.
"Instead of just talking about America's jobs creators, let's actually do something for America's jobs creators," Obama said. "We can do that by passing this bill."
But despite his suggestion that the GOP is playing politics, Obama himself has a huge political stake in success of the legislation. The 2012 presidential campaign is ramping up with Republican hopefuls attacking Obama at every turn over his stewardship of the economy, and polls showing deep public unhappiness with his economic leadership.
The new DNC ad campaign was to air beginning Monday in eight swing and early voting states, urging viewers to "Read it. Fight for it. … Pass the President's Jobs Plan."


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SCC > all matter, coaching exodus, minutia, and 1,642 other words
The coach was dictating his final ballot last Sunday for The Day's Top 10 state coaches' poll and was insistent on voting North Haven.
North Haven, should you not know its story, finished 7-3 this season and didn't make the state playoffs. Its losses were to state champs Hand (Class L), Hillhouse (Class M) and Xavier (Class LL).
"That New Haven league is unbelievable," the coach said.
The coach was referring to the Southern Connecticut Conference. And he's right.
Anyone tired of listening to SCC teams or its boosters boast about the conference's superiority may have been nauseous after the league won three of the CIAC's four divisions.
It was the fourth straight year that the SCC won at least two state titles. It's also the first time that one league had three state champions in a season with just four divisions (the CIAC previously had six divisions).
"The conference really takes football and sports seriously," Hillhouse coach Tom Dyer said. "Our conference, I think, is very competitive, and all year long when you're playing against good teams, it prepares you for when you're up against the wall a little bit."
The SCC was founded in 1994. It is 26-6 in state finals. Two of those losses were to a league member. Eight of the conference's 19 football programs have won a state title.
Moments after Xavier crunched Norwich Free Academy in the Class LL final, Falcons defensive coordinator Andy Guyon told Sean Bowley of Hearst Inc., "Know what 'SCC' stands for? 'State Champions Conference.'"
Listen, we completely understand why the league turns some of you off. The way some of its membership talk, you'd think the league was filled with atomic supermen which destroy their foes with laser beam eyes.
The SCC may not win every season, but its track record is nutty.
Years ago, a coach from one of the biggest schools in the state discussed the SCC.
"We could never survive in that league," he said.
Survival. That's what SCC football has become. Some leagues are content to protect the meek. The SCC opted to split its membership into two divisions based on enrollment. All of its teams play at least two crossover games.
Not every SCC coach is thrilled to be in the soup every weekend. Some have groused that playing a competitive schedule cost them a playoff berth. The SCC has its bad teams, too.
The SCC has fostered a competitive environment, though. A team doesn't get better by being fed one dreg after another. A team gets better by consistently being challenged.
To quote the greatest athlete who ever lived, Ric Flair, "To be the man, you've got to beat the man."
"Here's what I would say to anybody," Hand coach Steve Filippone said. "We're graduating 29 seniors. We're looking forward to playing New Canaan (from the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference) Week 1 next year. We're looking forward to it. We're maybe not going to be very good, but you know what — we want to play the best schools.
"That's what I would encourage any high school coach in Connecticut to do — go out and play the best teams you can. That's how your team gets better. It gets better that way."
Every league in the state has a flagship program that has done it proud. The Naugatuck Valley League has Ansonia. The South-West Conference has Masuk. The Pequot (Sassacus Division) has Hyde.
There are other leagues out there with good teams that work just as hard as the rest, so it begs the question — why does the SCC keep winning?
Hand senior Peter Gerson is eminently qualified to answer that question having played for two Class L championship teams, been a catalyst for the state's No. 1 team this season, and an intellectual (he's going to Yale, ladies).
"The SEC, I mean, SCC," Gerson said. "Excuse me. A little pun. It's just ridiculous the amount of competition you play. You get so many teams with such a tradition. That's where I think it all comes from. You can say that there are better athletes on the shoreline. I don't buy into that. I buy into programs, traditions, and how much you'll buy into that.
"Hand. Tradition. You really can't beat it. Another team that's not SCC, but obviously a perennial powerhouse, is Ansonia. Look at their tradition. Then you see a West Haven, it's tradition. Ed McCarthy, their head coach, (he has) 300 something wins. The man is a legend. His teams play for him and buy into it. Notre Dame (of West Haven). Tradition. Shelton, Cheshire, all these teams have such a tradition of winning. Such a tradition of coming out and plyaing their football, their town's football, and they play it for all the people who came before them. That's where I think it comes from. It's just this deep-stemmed root of greatness."
Take solace, SCC-haters. Not every year will be like this. There will be moments like New Britain beating West Haven on its home field for the 2003 Class LL title. Or Glastonbury taking down Cheshire in the 2008 LL final.
Until then, if your league is struggling to compete in the state playoffs, then consider toughening up your membership up like the SCC does.
■ ■ ■ ■
Pardon the delay in posting this blog entry. A bit of the Andromeda Strain went through Polecat HQ early last week.
(You know you're really sick when, as you're thinking how great it would be to eat two buttered, toasted bagels, you're brain blurts out, "but what if they go for the face?")
The offseason isn't even two weeks old and already there's been an outbreak of coaching resignations or dismissals. It's been as busy and crazy as the current college carousel.
The biggest resignation happened last week when Masuk coach John Murphy called it quits after 16 years.
Murphy has the fifth-best winning percentage in state history (.822) according to the Connecticut High School Football Record Book, won a league-best six SWC titles and played in seven state finals, winning three.
Reckon it ain't going to take Murphy long to find another opportunity.
Monday, Bryan Hocter resigned at Stamford 30 minutes before he was to meet with the school's two assistant principals, Dave Ruden of the Stamford Advocate reported.
Other teams looking for a coach (deep breath) — Avon, Bacon Academy, Bridgeport Central, Fairfield Ludlowe, Fitch, Maloney, Naugatuck, New Milford, and St. Bernard/Norwich Tech.
Pretty sure that's the entire list, and there's more to come.
■ ■ ■ ■
Former Ansonia coach Jack Hunt endorsed then-assistant coach Tom Brockett to take over the program after he retired in 2005.
Hunt was on to something as the Chargers have won four state titles in Brockett's seven seasons. They've also gone 85-7. That gives Brockett a state-best .924 career winning percentage for coaches with a minimum of 40 games (thank you, Bob Barton, comptroller of the Connecticut High School Football Record Book.)
■ ■ ■ ■
Minutia: All four state champions played a schedule where their regular-season opponents had a combined record over .500:
Xavier: 63-37.
Hand: 59-41.
Ansonia: 53-47.
Hillhouse: 52-48.
On the flip side, Windsor was the only runner-up whose opponents had a combined winning record:
Windsor: 49-41.
North Branford: 45-55.
Berlin: 46-54.
What does it all mean? Beats us.
How about this — that playing a competitive schedule doesn't ruin a team's chance to make states?
■ ■ ■ ■
It's never too soon to look ahead and get excited about next football season, and we can give you THREE reasons to start drooling for 2013:
1. An 11-game regular season schedule.
2. The SCC-FCIAC Challenge.
3. The NVL-SWC Challenge.
The pairings for the 2013 and 2014 NVL-SWC Challenge were released last week. The games will take place in Week 6 both seasons, and the match-ups will be different both years.
The 2013 games: Masuk at Ansonia; Barlow at Torrington; Brookfield at Wilby; Bunnell at Naugatuck; Derby at Bethel; Holy Cross at Weston; Immaculate at Crosby; Kennedy at Stratford; New Fairfield at Sacred Heart; Newtown at Wolcott; Notre Dame-Fairfield at St. Paul; Seymour at Oxford; Watertown at New Milford; and, Woodland at Pomperaug.
The 2014 games: Ansonia at Newtown; Bethel at Seymour; Crosby at Notre Dame-Fairfield; Naugatuck at Barlow; New Milford at Kennedy; Oxford at Derby; Pomperaug at Holy Cross; Sacred Heart at Brookfield; St. Paul at Immaculate; Stratford at Watertown; Torrington at Bunnell; Wilby at New Fairfield; Weston at Woodland; and, Wolcott at Masuk.
The SCC-FCIAC Challenge was announced in late November. Every team will participate except Amity, which had already booked an interleague series with old Housatonic League friend Seymour.
Eighteen of the games will be played in Week 1 both seasons. The pairings are: Bassick vs. East Haven; Bridgeport Central vs. North Haven; Danbury vs. Hamden; Darien vs. Hillhouse; Fairfield Ludlowe vs. Lyman Hall; Fairfield Warde vs. Foran; Greenwich vs. West Haven; Harding vs. Law; McMahon vs. Wilbur Cross; New Canaan vs. Hand; Ridgefield vs. Cheshire; St. Joseph vs. Notre Dame-West Haven; Stamford vs. Fairfield Prep; Staples vs. Xavier; Trinity Catholic vs. Sheehan; Trumbull vs. Shelton; Westhill vs. Norwalk; Wilton vs. Guilford.
The other non-Week 1 matchups are St. Joseph v. Fairfield Prep (Week 2); Wilton v. Branford (Week 3); Ridgefield v. Notre Dame-West Haven (Week 4); Trinity Catholic v. Foran (Week 5); Fairfield Warde v. Sheehan (Week 8); Fairfield Ludlowe v. East Haven (Week 9); and, Darien v. North Haven (Week 10).
HATS OFF to all four conferences for agreeing to give fans some juicy interleague games. We just wish that the state's other conferences had agreed to do the same.
■ ■ ■ ■
Thanks for reading this year. We greatly appreciate you giving a dang.
Enjoy the holidays of your choosing.
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Dear AllStarHealth,
I've always taken vitamin E because there's a family history of heart disease and a few of my nutrition books say it's beneficial. But in the last few years I've come across conflicting information about vitamin E including some recent news stories that say it doesn't help and can actually be harmful to use vitamin E supplements. So what's the story?


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Mulching is a common practice for homeowners with a garden. It has many benefits, including reducing soil erosion, suppressing weeds and helping control soil temperature. It also helps the soil retain moisture and adds nutrients to the soil when it breaks down, so your plants get all the goodness they need. There are many different types of mulch, each providing its own unique benefits that may be best for certain projects, yards or times of year. Check out the different types of garden mulch below to see how you can incorporate them into your landscape.
We're starting our list with something you might not typically think of as mulch. However, it has many of the same qualities. Gravel, pebbles or stones can be used to create walkways throughout your garden, control weed growth, provide good drainage to restrict soil erosion and keep the soil moist. Depending on the type of stone you use, they can also absorb and retain heat. If you're going to use stones on your borders and walkways, do your best to keep them contained. Stones that get into the yard can be picked up by your mower creating a safety concern and damaging your MTD lawn mower blades.
These types of mulch are often naturally occurring in your lawn making it easy and affordable to incorporate them into your garden. Mulching leaves and clippings into small pieces is essential to create proper mulch that will break down over time rather than mat and damage you yard. This is a great type of garden mulch for both your flower beds and your grassy lawn as it naturally blends into the landscape and quickly breaks down. As they decompose, grass clippings and leaves release nitrogen into the soil while pine needles are more acidic and offer the perfect balance for optimal lawn health. You can either spread this mulch as you mow or work it into your compost to give your yard what it needs. Order mulching lawn mower blades from MTD Parts to make sure you have the tools you need to create this mulch that's essential to the health of your lawn.
The definition of mulch is technically any ground cover. And whether you're trying to keep out weeds or kill the grass to start a garden, this type of mulch will keep moisture in and weeds out. Newsprint is the optimal weed barrier in flowerbeds as it lets water in and keeps weeds suppressed. Plus it can be covered by a more attractive mulch or compost for a natural look, and will break down over time. Landscaping fabric is available in plastic and biodegradable geotextiles. While it keeps the weeds out and warms the beds, it can also keep water out, and you'll need to cut slits for your plants. Finally, cardboard will kill weeds, but can also kill grass, which makes it a great natural way to kill the lawn where you want to start a vegetable garden or flower bed.
The most common type of mulch, wood chips provide aesthetic and practical value. Wood chips keep soil warm and moist, can be used on top of other coverings like newspaper, and look great in your flower beds. You can find wood chips made from different materials and colored with vegetable dye as well as thinner bark shavings to find the perfect style for your garden. Plus, the large chunks of wood chips mean it lasts longer than other types of mulch.
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Modified Mustangs & FordsFeatured Vehicles
Garage Find – Original 1969 Shelby GT500 With 8,500 Miles
Headed to Auction April 25, 2014
A few weeks ago we brought you the story of an ultra-rare Ford GT40 stashed under piles of junk in a suburban garage. Just recently, another rare Ford has been discovered -- 1969 Shelby GT500 Mustang -- just 1 of 1,000 ever built.
The owner, Larry Brown, was a resident of Centre Hall, Pennsylvania and sadly passed away late last year on his birthday. With no children or wife to pass on his estate to, Brown's prize Shelby GT500 Ford Mustang and more of his belongings including his house, televisions, snow blowers, motorbikes, etc., are all heading to auction next month on April 25, 2014.
When Brown purchased his Shelby GT500 Ford Mustang brand new on May 9, 1969, he paid just $5,245.97. The last time the car was brought in to the shop (adjusting the door glass) was in September of 1969 with just 1,665 miles on the odometer. Brown permanently parked the car back in 1973 with a mere 8,531 miles on the clock.
What makes this car even more of a gem is the heart of the beast – a 428 Cobra Jet engine mated to a 4-speed transmission. Other original parts include the paint, tires, belts, hoses, steering wheel covered and spark plug wires dated back to 1968. It has been confirmed by Dane Hooper, manager of the estate, that the tires have been replaced but wrap around the original production wheels.
Also discovered with the car was the car's original smog system, shifter assembly, snorkel, S-tube, Shelby window sticker, bill of sale, build sheet, owner's manual, warranty card, title and registration documentation. On the windshield was the last PA inspection sticker dating back to 1973.
Photo GalleryView Photo Gallery
Supposedly, the Shelby has been maintained while stored with the engine being fired up as recently as three years ago. According to locals, Brown's Ford Shelby GT500 was never driven in the rain and has never seen a wash with a hose due to fear of rust. Besides the recent washing of decades of dust, the last time this car was washed was in the detail bay of the dealership before Brown's purchase.
This Shelby GT500 Ford Mustang is said to be in good to excellent condition with original and unrestored parts. 70-75% of the paint appears to be original besides some early paint touch-ups.
Cars with less original parts sell for over $100k, who knows how much this Shelby GT500 Mustang will sell when the hammer comes down. Any questions regarding the car, visit Rgilliganauctions.com and drop them a line.
Photos Courtesy of RGilliganAuctions.com


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Inkscape for Cutting Design
Help and Support => Help Using Inkscape => Topic started by: scuttleboose on June 23, 2017, 04:20:35 PM
Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 23, 2017, 04:20:35 PM
Hi everyone! I am attempting to use Inkscape to make cut lines for some planner stickers.
So I imported a JPEG (and a PNG file in other trials) into Inkscape and did a Trace Bitmap. I've followed lots of tutorials.
I saved the traced file as a .svg and as a .dxf
Well the first one I did turned out great!
But every other time that I try to do this, I get a weird file coming up with lots of lines.
Any idea why?
I've attached a picture of the good file and one of the (17) bad files that have extra lines in them.
Help, please!
Thank you!
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 23, 2017, 11:32:33 PM
Welcome to the forum!
Could you please share the SVG file of the PNG which shows the problems. We can't learn much by looking at the PNG. But with the SVG file, we can see what's actually in the file.
The outward appearance makes me think you might have some open paths, and that the conversion process is causing them to be closed. However, on the other hand, the places where such end nodes would be placed doesn't make sense. Plus, the fact they were created with Trace Bitmap - I've never known Trace Bitmap to produce anything except closed paths.
After you run Trace Bitmap, do you send the file directly to the cutter? Or do you edit further, to remove the extra paths? If you aren't removing the extra paths, it could be that the cutter is confused by the 2 closely placed paths. Or there could be a bug, which I can research, after I've had a change to look at the file.
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 24, 2017, 02:58:52 AM
Thank you so much for the answer! :ur: I'm attaching the SVG file and the DXF file.
I'm not sure whether or not I have open paths or closed paths (I'm a completely newbie) but I'm sure there's a place around this wonderful forum that will help me figure that part out.
Thank you again!
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 24, 2017, 07:48:13 AM
You must have done some editing after using Trace Bitmap. There aren't open paths at all the places showing the extra lines, but there are in many places.
So I'm not sure what's causing this, in every case. I've searched for bugs, but the fact I didn't find any to match your problem doesn't mean there isn't one. It just means I can't find. (For a couple of reasons, it's hard to use the search feature of the bug tracker.)
I have a couple of ideas you can try. But first, tell me about the editing you must have done after using Trace Bitmap, with as much detail as possible.
Also, which version of Inkscape are you using, and on which kind of operating system? It must not be the current stable version. I see a clue about that, but I don't know the specific version. One thing that I can suggest, before we get to the editing, is to upgrade to the current stable version, which is 0.92.1. (Because if there was a bug with your version, there's a good chance it's been fixed by now.) Unless you have a specific reason not to upgrade?
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 24, 2017, 08:43:16 AM
Brynn, You're a lifesaver!
I'm running version 0.91 (http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Release_notes/0.91) on a Mac with XQuartz 2.7.11. Version 0.92 hasn't got a .dmg file yet for Mac.
Here's exactly what I do:
Open a JPEG, PNG, etc.
Go to Trace Bitmap
I change the scans to 3 because it's a black file. I unclick Smooth and unclick Smooth Corners in the Options.
I also change the Brightness Cutoff threshold to 0.95 because when I have it lower, it leaves open spots in the lines.
I click OK and then delete the original image, leaving only the trace.
Remove fill and Change Stroke to flat (and make it 0.05 inches in stroke style tab)
And then I save it as an .svg and .dxf file.
I just went through all those processes and am attaching the files that I ended up with to this message.
Is this a :help2:??
Perhaps I will uninstall and go with the 32bit version and see if it makes a difference.
Thank you so much for your help! :)
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 24, 2017, 08:50:52 AM
I'm sorry, I also forgot to mention that this issue didn't happen with another file where I only used boxes. I'm attaching that one so that you can see that it worked properly (followed the same process) and it opened fine in Silhouette Studio.
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 24, 2017, 09:32:00 AM
:clap1: :clap1: :clap1: This forum rocks!
I think I discovered the solution! - I had ticked these two boxes when saving as a DXF. Could that have been the problem?
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Thank you so much for your help, and I'm sorry to be so annoying with my repeat questions. As we say here in Spain, "I weigh more than a cow carried in your arms" (in English, it's like saying very, very annoying)
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 24, 2017, 03:35:42 PM
Well I have to say, I'm not terribly familiar with DXF. You could always just make a test run, trying different options. I mean, don't actually cut anything. But just export the DXF and load it to the cutter, to see if it looks proper. It is possible that one of those options should or should not be checked.
If you know what those options are or do, then you know whether you should use them or not. If you don't know what they are....well, the rule I generally go by, is if I don't understand what an option is or does, I guess I probably don't need it. (haha)
I doubt whether the 32-bit version would make much difference. But I thought we did have a DMG for 0.92..... Hhm, no, you're correct, we don't. The last I heard, when they made the DMG for 0.91, it was considered the beta release, because I think this was the first time the guy (or maybe it was a small team) had tried packaging Inkscape. As I recall, the 0.92 version was going to be the stable release. But I guess things didn't work out. I hope they can eventually get it out.
Here's where I'm confused with the steps you mentioned. When you use an auto trace (like Trace Bitmap) it never creates a single path. It always creates 2 - one along the outer edge of the line that's being traced, and one along the inner edge. But in your files, somehow you have managed to end up with a single path. At some point, you either deleted all the nodes for one path or the other, or you used Path menu > Break Apart, which would enable to you to delete the unwanted path (paths, in this case).
Ooohh.... Ok I've been thinking you're tracing an image that starts out as outlines of stickers. But if the image you're tracing is like a solid black circle, for example, or solid black rectangle, then you would get a single path. Ok, now I'm on the right track.
Nothing in the steps you mentioned would account for the open paths. I think you may have found the solution, with the export options. Just give a try without those options, if you've been using them previously. Or if you haven't been, then try using them.
However, I think you'd get a much better result by drawing the files yourself, instead of tracing them. Those are very simple shapes, which don't need hardly any knowledge about math or geometry. The circles, squares and rectangles can be made by rank novices. A couple of those I've seen so far might need a little extra thought, the ones that are sort of like the end of a ribbon, with either a point or a notch on the end. But still, very much do-able by a beginner.
And the reason I say that, is if you look very closely.... Oh, by the way, I meant to point out that you've been working with Inkscape zoomed way, way in, so that the actual drawings are huge. I'm thinking of planner stickers as not much bigger than an inch wide. But some of them are 5 or 6 inches wide. Inkscape has a zoom tool, and various ways of zooming and stuff. But to be sure you're drawing a the correct size, you can just press the 1 key, and it puts the zoom at 100%.
So anyway, when I look at just 100% zoom, I can see that some of the corners aren't very sharp. In the last SVG file you attached, even though the stickers are supposed to have a straight edge, they all have a node in between the corners. That means those edges might not be perfectly straight. The auto trace is a nice convenience, but it can only approximate the image. There's nothing precise about tracing. So by drawing the objects yourself, you can be sure the sides are straight.
Besides the trace adding a node a long a straight segment, it also tends to add way too many nodes, in some cases. For example, in the last file you attached, those objects which are sort of like a teardrop on its side. The curved edges of those have relatively tons of nodes. Actually drawing that kind of shape yourself could be a little challenging. But I still would try it. We can always give you some tips if you get stuck.
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 24, 2017, 04:09:36 PM
Brynn, you are amazing! Thank you so much for the time you've spent helping me!
Yes, it turns out that the extra lines were created by having those boxes checked (it was a default from Inkscape). I unchecked them and am getting good files! Sometimes I still have to close some open parts by myself, but I'm getting better at it.
Yes, I'm using black files that I was previously using to trace in Silhouette Studio. I have templates made in another design program, so it would be hard to transfer those templates (and some of my stickers, like a gradient-colored check list) might be a pain to make until I get a better idea of how to do it.
But perhaps I'll start with just very simple shapes in Inkscape and learn it little by little, which means you will be hearing from me a lot in the future! hahaha
My first question is: how do you fill an object with an image from another file? For example, if I create a circle and want to fill it with the pattern from a digital paper...
Thank you so much!
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 25, 2017, 05:05:12 PM
Well, if you've already figured out how to close open paths, then drawing those simple shapes should be no problem!
In case you haven't figured it out yet. When you're using the Ellipse tool or Rectangle tool, holding the Ctrl key while you drag out the shape, will make a perfect circle or perfect square. If you don't use the Ctrl key, you'll be lucky to make perfect circles or squares.
Oh! And I just learned this trick the other day. If you drawn an ellipse and later want it to be a circle, you can place your mouse over one the of the square handles on the ellipse. Then just click, and it changes to a circle! Don't know if it works for rectangles.... Hhm, I guess not.
To fill a shape or closed path with a pattern:
Import the raster file.
Object menu > Object to Pattern.
Select the shape or closed path.
Object menu > Fill and Stroke > Fill tab > Pattern
The Pattern button is the 2nd blue and white button (from the left), the one with the smaller checkered pattern. If you created the new pattern immediately before, then your new pattern will automatically fill the shape. But the dialog will still be showing you a menu of pre-installed patterns. I'm pretty sure your new pattern will be at the top of that menu (I don't use it much). So if you come back later (and you haven't deleted the new pattern) you can find it in that menu. You can also draw your own patterns.
Also, Help menu > Inkscape manual is where you can find answers on your own. Well, at least you can try. It's not written with newbies in mind. But I have a feeling you'll be able to use it :)
Re: Problem with .dxf file in Silhouette Studio
Post by:
June 26, 2017, 05:43:04 PM
Sorry I didn't answer earlier, I was out of town and without internet. It looks like most of your questions have been answered, but I don't think fill patterns will transfer to a dxf file. I think you are better off creating your dxf and then adding the pattern after you open the file in Studio.
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6:30 am
Clifford The Big Red Dog "Birdy Makes Three/Home Is Where The Fun Is" And Birdy Makes Three - When Emily finds a baby bird, she decides to take care of it until it learns to fly. Clifford learns that even when she's busy with other things Emily never stops loving him. Home Is Where the Fun Is - First, Emily feels jealous that Jetta gets to go and see the amazing Titanic Tower in the exciting big city. D
7:00 am
Arthur "Lights, Camera.... Opera!/All Worked Up" Lights, Camera .Opera! - When Muffy's Dad gives her concert tickets, she couldn't be more excited, until she discovers that she's going to . gasp! . D
7:30 am
Martha Speaks "Skits under the Weather/Martha the Weather Dog" Skits under the Weather - Martha and Skits hate the sound of thunder. One day Skits gets fed up and tries to outrun the storm, but soon discovers that all roads somehow lead back home. Martha the Weather Dog - Windy McCloud, Wagstaff City's meteorologist, wants Martha to be her weather dog.G
8:00 am
Curious George "Grease Monkeys In Space/Pinata Vision" It's up to George to complete a space mission and replace a large telescope's batteries.G
8:30 am
Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That! "Trees Company/Now You See Me" Trees Company - Sally and Nick are playing up in their treehouse when Nick's mom calls them for lunch. Nick wonders what it would be like to stay up in that tree all the time! The Cat in the Hat knows! Or at least he has friends that do. In Jimmer Jammer Jungle the kids learn how different animals spend their entire lives in trees. D
9:00 am
Super Why! "Cinderella: The Prince's Side of the Story" Red and Little Boy Blue are playing some music together when Little Boy Blue suddenly disappears! This is just like when Cinderella left the ball without finishing her dance. To solve the mystery, Super Why and his friends soar into Cinderella's fairytale once again, and this time they talk to the prince! Educational Objectives: To learn about thinking creatively, investigate the alphabet, practice the magic of spelling, and use the power to read to change the story. D
9:30 am
Dinosaur Train "Dinosaur Big City, Pt. 1/Dinosaur Big City, Pt. 2" Dinosaur Big City Part I - Buddy and the Pteranodon family begin their journey on the Dinosaur Train, gathering all their Theropod friends together to travel to a really big Theropod Club Convention which is being held in Laramidia, the "Dinosaur Big City"! Dinosaur Big City Part II - The Pteranodon family continues their journey to the Theropod Convention in Laramidia, the Dinosaur Big City! Among the Theropod dinosaurs that ride the Train with them is King Cryolophosaurus, who sings his songs "Big Ol' Whistle-Stop Rock-n-Roll Dinosaur Tour" and "Whole Lotta Theropods"!. D
10:00 am
Sesame Street "Porridge Art" Baby Bear is excited to learn that his favorite porridge brand "Quaker Porridge" is holding a Porridge Art Contest, where contestants create edible art of the Quaker Duck Man that's made of porridge. Alan mixes up a batch of porridge, Baby Bear runs off to get is art supplies, and Telly volunteers to pose as the Quaker Duck Man. First, Baby Bear gets inspiration to paint with porridge, but when the picture is placed upright on the easel, the mushy porridge slides right off the canvas. D
11:00 am
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood "Daniel Waits For Show And Tell/A Night Out At The Restaurant" Daniel Waits for Show and Tell - Daniel is so excited to share a book he made with his class at "show and tell," but he's finding it very difficult to wait. He finds that singing on Trolley, playing during science time and imagining make the waiting much easier! A Night Out at the Restaurant - Daniel and his family are going out to dinner, and Katerina is coming too. Daniel and Katerina have a hard time waiting at the restaurant, but soon learn ways to make the waiting time easier. D
11:30 am
Sid The Science Kid "The Big Sneeze" Sid's parents tell him to wash his hands to keep away germs. But Sid can't see any germs on his hands, so why should he wash them? Sid and his friends learn that germs are so small that you can't see them. And they discover that a great way to stay healthy and keep germs away is by washing their hands with soap and water!. D
12:00 pm
WordWorld "Robots to the Rescue!/Radio Read-A-Thon" Robots to the Rescue! - When Frog discovers that you can make a word "more than one" by adding the letter S to the end of it, he becomes a mad scientist of sorts, making more and more of everything! Frog learns that while having a lot of stuff might seem like a good idea, too much of anything soon leads to chaos. Frog fortunately has a robot who likes to clean up! Build a Word: ROBOTS. Radio Read-a-thon - Duck asks Frog to read his favorite book on Ant's radio station because he can't read it himself. D
12:30 pm
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1:30 pm
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2:00 pm
Curious George "Grease Monkeys In Space/Pinata Vision" It's up to George to complete a space mission and replace a large telescope's batteries.G
2:30 pm
Martha Speaks "Skits under the Weather/Martha the Weather Dog" Skits under the Weather - Martha and Skits hate the sound of thunder. One day Skits gets fed up and tries to outrun the storm, but soon discovers that all roads somehow lead back home. Martha the Weather Dog - Windy McCloud, Wagstaff City's meteorologist, wants Martha to be her weather dog.G
3:00 pm
The Electric Company "The Limerick Slam" Jessica and Manny compete in the annual Limerick Slam. D
3:30 pm
WordGirl "I Think I'm a Clone Now/Answer All My Questions and Win Stuff" I Think I'm a Clone Now - Lady Redundant Woman has an evil plan to destroy WordGirl's reputation. When she creates an evil WordGirl copy the real WordGirl has to prove that she hasn't turned to a life of crime. Vocabulary Words: Thesaurus, Malicious. D
4:00 pm
Wild Kratts "Mystery of the Weird Looking Walrus" Chris and Martin are on a mission to discover why walrus look so weird, but discover that Zach Varmitech has kidnapped a herd to mine precious pearls for Donita Donata's fashion line. The Wild Kratts team must use the walrus features against Zach to save the creatures and return them to their Arctic domain. Science Concepts: Suction. D
4:30 pm
Cyberchase "Team Spirit" Interest is lagging in the annual Mount Olympus Games, attendance is sagging, and Zeus is not happy. How can he restore the spirit of competition? With lightning bolt speed, he pits Team Motherboard, coached by Digit, against Team Hacker, coached by Wicked, The teams have to compete in the Triadditon, a relay-type race made up of an obstacle course, a swim race, and a foot race where each competitor does one event and tags their teammate to do the next. Bragging rights and hero worship go to the winners. D
5:00 pm
Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman "Ruff's Yard Sale Makes A Racket" Ruff realizes that he's a horrible shopper. (He just bought a sock at a yard sale for sixteen dollars, after talking the price UP from a quarter!) He also bought a broken tennis racquet at the same sale, which he plans on using in an upcoming match against his nemesis Spot Spotnick! Ruff sends Liza and Talia to the headquarters of Wilson Sporting Goods to design a new tennis racquet for him; and he gets some shopping tips from Bethany and Brian, as they head out to Brimfield Fair, the biggest flea market in the world!. D
5:30 pm
Nightly Business Report Tonight on Nightly Business Report, as the temperature outside heats up, so does volatility in the stock market. NBR will make sense of today's big swings and what it may mean for the long-term investor. And, why is immigration reform so important to business? As the Senate takes up the issue, we'll speak with Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman about his meeting today with President Obama. D
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Helen of Troy Bettany Hughes travels across the eastern Mediterranean to find the truth about Helen of Troy. Hughes sorts reality from myth as she traces the historical remnants of the woman blamed for causing the Trojan War.G
9:00 pm
10 Buildings That Changed America Host Geoffrey Baer journeys across America to visit 10 groundbreaking works of art and engineering. These architectural marvels include a state capitol designed by Thomas Jefferson, the original indoor shopping mall, the first airport of the Jet Age, and a futuristic concert hall.G
10:00 pm
Frontline "Syria Behind The Lines" FRONTLINE's Olly Lambert is the first Western filmmaker to spend an extended period living on both sides of Syria's sectarian frontline. He documents the realities of everyday life for rebels, government soldiers and civilians in the once peaceful area of Syria's heartland. The film is a portrait of a disintegrating nation and the dividing lines between communities and between life and death.G
11:00 pm
Charlie Rose NULL


text:
American College Personnel Association
Sunday, March 11, 2018 (All day) to Wednesday, March 14, 2018 (All day)
JHUP will be exhibiting at the annual meeting of the American College Personnel Association.
More information on this conference can be found at http://convention.myacpa.org/houston2018/.
George R. Brown Convention Center 1001 Avenida De Las Americas, Houston, TX 77010


text:
On May 17, I had the pleasure of participating in a Skype conference call with Matthew Rowley, Mike McCaw, and Ian Smiley, who will present the Hausgemacht panel at Tales. Hausgemacht, of course, is a German word that simply means "homemade." Their panel will address the rise of modern nano-distilling–the art of distilling at home. Messrs. Rowley, McCaw, and Smiley were, as you'll see, eager to talk nano-distilling with me, and so I wound up with a lot of material. With Paul Clarke's blessing, I'm breaking this into three parts.In part 1, we'll discuss the cultural perceptions of home-distilling and the current laws on the ground, focusing specifically on Europe, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Belly on up to the computer and we'll begin! [This interview has been lightly edited for brevity.]
• • •
Michael Dietsch: To begin, Matt mentioned in an e-mail to me that when he's been interviewed on the radio about his book Moonshine, radio interviewers have played up the sort of cornpone, hillbilly humorous aspects of it, which I think we all think is unfortunate. So I wanted to start by talking about perceptions of home-distilling in other parts of the world.
Mike McCaw: In much of Southern Europe, it's fully legal and always has been to distill at home. You go to any village in Portugal, Spain, during the spring or summer, Greece, much of Italy, Austria for sure, you're going to find a stand or a store that's specializing in hand-hammered copper brandy stills.In Southern Europe, basically what everybody's doing is making fruit brandies from their excess fruit production. In Scandinavia, it's widely practiced, but is illegal, and several times I've set next to a Swede or a Finn or a Norwegian on an airplane and started talking to them about the book and what I do and then they'll look at me and they'll say, "Two things you need to know: first, it's illegal; second, everybody does it." And it's pretty widely tolerated.New Zealand actually is a really interesting story, because it's been illegal since about the time of the first world war, like in Australia, but in 1996, the government realized that it wasn't cost-effective to prosecute people for noncommercial home distilling, and they had a right-wing government or a fiscally responsible government or whateveryou want to call it at the time that looked at all of their laws in terms of whether they're cost-effective and do they do what they're intended to do. So they legalized it over the protests of the big distilleries. And what's happened is, in contrast to Southern Europe, where it's always been legal and it's a very traditional art and there's not a lot of innovation, after it suddenly became legal in New Zealand, there was just an explosion of experimenting and tinkering and people trying stuff and trying new things. That's really the center of development at this time for new processes and new ways of doing home distilling, to be able to make high-quality products across a wide spectrum instead of just one traditional thing.Ian can probably talk to the legal situation in Canada much better than I could. As you know in the States, it's quite dire. They're not lookin' for ya, but they will follow up any leads they get, but if they do catch a home distiller, your house is forfeit.
Ian Smiley: In Canada, it is still technically illegal to home distill, but a lot of my customers have contacted their local law enforcement, to ask about it, just in case, before they bought into anything, and the answers they're always giving now are that if you're not selling it, we're not interested. And I know that my website probably would have been closed down by now if the Canadian government were actively pursuing home distilling. So it's pretty slack here with respect to that, but I don't think they have actually legalized it per se. I've read the legislation over—it was rewritten in 2002—and they may not have legalized it, but they are very close to having legalized it. It's almost to the point where maybe lawyers could argue that it is technically legal right now.
McCaw: They made it the lowest priority, right?
Smiley: That's right.
McCaw: I had a conversation a couple of years back with an ATF officer, who I happened to bump into some place and asked him about that without identifying myself and what he said fits sort of that same pattern. He said, "We're not interested in people who are only doing it for themselves. You would just about have to go out and tack up flyers around your neighborhood to bring yourself to our attention, but if a disgruntled ex-girlfriend or nosy neighbor turns you in, we will follow it up."
Smiley: I do know that that has actually happened to a friend of mine and the police literally refused to pursue it. They just said, "Tell me, what is it doing to you?" And the person could not identify any kind of a deleterious effect on the complainer, so they didn't even follow up on the complaint.
McCaw: The difference there is that the enforcement in the States is at a federal level and it's in the taxing sphere rather than the law-enforcement sphere. So when it does come to their attention, they do get diligent.
Dietsch: Now, Mike or Matt, either one of you might answer this. You've both spoken with home distillers in the States, people who are just doing this for their own home use, are they getting in legal trouble because of it?
McCaw: I've got some anecdotal information—it's not first hand, and you can find that same information if you go out and search the archives on the Yahoo distillers group. People do get busted, a few a year, and I don't know what the follow-up is. I do know what the law states, though, and the law states that they can seize your house if it's been used for illegal distillation. It's considered the same in that sense—because it's run out of the tax laws—as if you had illegal drugs and were running a drug operation where they will seize your house and your car and everything.
Matthew Rowley: And that aligns pretty closely with what I've found, as well, that when I was writing my book and also the kinds of distillers I like to talk to are generally not the guys who are cranking out a thousand gallons a week. If they're firing up their still, it's only just a few liters or a few gallons at a time. While they've certainly had their share of legal troubles, it's never really been about alcohol. It's other things not related to that at all. And the impression seems to be that, as long as they're just sort of keeping a low profile and not telling just everybody what they're doing, they tend to get left alone these days. But like Mike says, it is technically illegal and, if you come to their attention—the Feds—they'll bust just as if you were running a meth lab.
Dietsch: So if you go into it, you really need to be aware of the legal risks.
McCaw: Yes, you really do, and it's surprising how many would-be customers don't. They just assume that since brewing is legal and winemaking is legal, that distilling is too. Which is a real rational point of view and, politically, it's a point of view that we in the Amphora Society really like to push, but it's not the facts on the ground, as of this date. And as somebody who actually sells distillation equipment, we take the point of view—and we're real straight up front with our customers—that we're working on the assumption that you have a license. And if you tell us you don't have a license, we won't sell to you.
Dietsch: I've seen contradictory reports on the Internet as to whether it's legal to purchase distillation equipment without a license.
McCaw: It absolutely is.
Dietsch: It is legal to purchase it?
McCaw: It's perfectly legal to own a still, and it's legal to use it for anything but ethyl alcohol production.
Dietsch: You can use it for distilling water…
McCaw: Oh, absolutely, essential oils, anything like that. And that's the grounds under which most of them are sold in the States. The government will give you a permit to distill alcohol for fuel. They'll give it to you and they'll give it to you eagerly. Once again, you cannot do it in your house. In the United States, distillation in a building in which anybody resides is just flat out illegal. You can do it in your garage if it's a separate building. And all you have to do to get the federal permit is give them a plan drawing of your proposed facility and then keep scrupulous records on what you produce.Your still is then legally available for inspection at [any] time, but I know a lot of people who have fuel permits, and I don't anybody who's ever had a drop-by inspection.
Dietsch: And then of course, the process for becoming a legal distiller of beverage alcohol, from what I understand, takes a considerable time.
McCaw: Many months to a few years. And really that depends upon the particular inspector you draw.
Smiley: There's one thing I can contribute there. Getting through the TTB [Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau]—that's the Federal part of it—is the easy part of it. It's the state governments that tend to be the most difficult to get past and because you've got 50 states it becomes very difficult to get your product into the entire country.
McCaw: Yes, and the same is true also for that fuel permit—that the Fed permit is easy, but every state has its own rules and some don't permit it and some do and in general that fuel is only really legally useful for off-road use. So farmers [are] really the target market there.The beverage alcohol thing, one of the nasty pieces of that process is, you cannot have your permit in hand, they will not give it to you, until they have physically inspected your plant. So you have to invest all of the capital and labor up front to build your distillation plant and have it ready to go before they will even give you the Federal license. And in general, you can't even begin pursuing your state license until after you have the Federal license.
Dietsch: So, the irony there, obviously, is that you need to build the equipment to do something that, because you're not licensed, you can't legally be doing in the first place.
McCaw: Right.
Smiley: Yeah.
Rowley: Mm-hm.
Dietsch: But then, of course, if you've got the equipment ready, you're going to want to test it in some fashion, I assume, and so the product that you make is then illegal, but you have to have the thing set up before they can come out and inspect.
McCaw: It's not just the product that's illegal. That's the nasty twist to the U.S. Federal laws. It's the tax. There are two taxes involved. So the product is untaxed alcohol which is illegal to possess. But the tax is on the act of distillation.
Dietsch: So they getcha both ways. That's interesting. That's a really messed-up system.
McCaw: Well, it dates back to the Whiskey Rebellion. And basically the U.S. Government caved to the interests of the big distillers and brewers in Philadelphia to squelch the farmers on the west side of the Appalachians who were using whiskey as currency at that time because it was much easier to transport than grain. That's a fascinating history if you've never read it.
Rowley: You can see why a lot of them packed up and moved to the Carolinas and Kentucky.
• • •
That's it for part 1. Later entries will cover the panelists' backgrounds and discuss what kinds of people are drawn to home-distilling.
Hausgemacht takes place Thursday, July 17, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Hotel Monteleone. Tickets may be purchased here.


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Non-Degree Seeking Students
Students who do not plan to earn a degree, but are seeking the opportunity to earn some college credit from UTSA must apply as either a special undergraduate or transient applicant. Non-degree seeking applicants must adhere to the same application deadline requirements as degree-seeking transfer students.
! Non-degree seeking students are not eligible for financial aid.
Non-degree seeking students are:
- Transfer students who enroll in courses only at the undergraduate level without pursuing a degree at UTSA
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Non-degree Seeking Students Requirement:
- Have at least a C average (2.25 CGPA on a 4.0 scale) on the last 30 undergraduate hours attempted
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- Select The University of Texas at San Antonio
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- For First Choice School, select Non-Degree. Do NOT select a second choice school, just continue.
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- You can then proceed to complete the remainder of the application.
Additional Notes:
- UTSA Undergraduate Admissions Office does not accept faxed documents.
- Applicants using a Visa card should submit payment with their ApplyTexas application.


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In a modification proceeding under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (K.S.A. 38-1301 et seq.), where an initial decree was based upon the written stipulation of the parties with no substantial development of the underlying facts, the district court may enter such custody order that is in the best interests of the minor child regardless of whether a material change in circumstances has been shown.
Appeal from Shawnee District Court; NANCY E. PARRISH, judge. Opinion filed August 28, 1998. Affirmed.
Rene M. Netherton, of Topeka, for appellant.
Charles A. Briscoe, of Lawrence, for appellee.
Before MARQUARDT, P.J., GERNON and KNUDSON, JJ.
KNUDSON, J.: Lynette M. Burden, B.P.'s mother, appeals from the district court's modification decree entered under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (K.S.A. 38-1301 et seq.), designating B.P.'s primary residence to be with her father, Joseph M. Perry, in Kansas. On appeal, Lynette contends that the Kansas court improvidently entered a temporary custody order inconsistent with the previous custody order entered in California and that the district court's final order was erroneous as the evidence did not demonstrate a material change of circumstances that would warrant transferring B.P.'s primary residence from her mother to her father.
We affirm because the district court properly asserted jurisdiction, Lynette's notice of appeal did not designate the district court's temporary custody order, and under Hill v. Hill, 228 Kan. 680, 685, 620 P.2d 1114 (1980), the district court's final order properly considered and decided the question of whether B.P.'s best interests would be served by living primarily with her mother or with her father.
The underlying facts are not in material dispute. Lynette and Joseph have one child, B.P., born on January 26, 1991. The parties were divorced after a 7-year marriage in 1993. As divorces go, this one was amicable, with the parties entering into a written stipulation that was approved by the California divorce court as to B.P.'s custody and the visitation rights of the parties. The parties agreed to joint legal and physical custody, alternating residential custody every 6 months; when B.P. was old enough to begin school, she would live with Joseph during the school year and with Lynette during the summer months.
In 1995, Joseph believed he would enter the United States Marine Corps. He and Lynette executed a custody agreement that left undisturbed joint legal and physical custody but provided that Lynette would have primary residential custody. However, the agreement also provided that "[i]f [Joseph] fails to transfer to the United States Marine Corps, visitation shall remain as set forth in the Judgment entered herein [in 1993]." This agreement was approved by the California divorce court.
In 1996, Lynette lived in Alaska, and Joseph had moved to Kansas. In April, Joseph informed Lynette that he was planning to get married and that he would not be entering the Marines. Shortly thereafter, B.P. went to stay with Lynette for 6 months, consistent with the 1993 custody order.
In August 1996, Lynette filed a motion with the California divorce court, requesting that Joseph's visitation under the 1995 custody order be clarified and spelled out for the parties' benefit. Joseph opposed the motion, contending that because he did not enter the Marine Corps, the 1993 order controlled, and he would have B.P.'s residential custody during school months.
Curiously and inexplicably, Lynette returned B.P. to Joseph in August 1996 so that B.P. could start school in Kansas.
It is apparent to this court after reading the transcript of the 1996 proceedings before the California court, that the hearing officer understood Lynette to have primary residential custody based upon the 1995 order and that the only issue pending was Joseph's visitation. It serves no useful purpose to delve into the prolonged discussion between the hearing officer and the attorneys for Joseph and Lynette; it is sufficient for our purposes to simply note that the hearing officer was unequivocal that California would not decide the custody dispute between the parties and directed that they litigate the matter in either Alaska or Kansas, whichever of those states would be most appropriate. The hearing officer ordered that B.P. was to remain with Joseph until January 15, 1997, and then be returned to Lynette.
Joseph, upon returning to Kansas with B.P., immediately filed the underlying petition in this litigation, requesting a child custody determination. Upon Joseph's ex parte application, the district court granted him temporary custody of B.P. Lynette promptly filed a motion to set aside the temporary custody order, contending that
"if [the district court's order] extends [Joseph's] temporary custody past January 15, 1997, [the order] is in violation of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, K.S.A. 38-1313, as this Court's Order conflicts with the previous Order issued in California, and [Joseph] has alleged no change of circumstances which warrants a modification of that Order."
After Lynette's motion to set aside the temporary custody order was denied by the district court, she next filed a motion for reconsideration. The district court, after conferring with the California hearing officer and taking evidence, denied Lynette's motion.
Ultimately, after a full evidentiary hearing upon Joseph's petition, the district court concluded: (a) Joseph did not enter the United States Marine Corps, and the custodial arrangement agreed upon in 1993 should be followed, and (b) based upon the evidence presented, it would be in B.P.'s best interests that Joseph be the primary residential custodian.
At oral argument, Lynette's attorney conceded Kansas had jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act but contended the district court abused its discretion in entering the temporary custody order. We lack jurisdiction to consider this issue because Lynette's notice of appeal is only from the district court's final decision dated October 14, 1997. See Anderson v. Scheffler, 242 Kan. 857, 861, 752 P.2d 667 (1988). In addition, there are two other reasons we decline to consider this issue: The issue does not address a final order and was superseded by a final order.
Lynette also contends that the district court erred in finding that a material change of circumstances had occurred that warranted a change of B.P.'s residential custody. This contention contains a false premise and is otherwise fatally flawed. As we have noted, the district court reasoned under the evidence presented that Joseph already had primary residential custody under the 1993 agreement that was found to be controlling and that it was in B.P.'s best interests that Joseph have primary residential custody.
The district court's detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law in its final journal entry include the following:
"D. There is ambiguity in the Stipulation Re: Modification of Custody dated December 4, 1995. The parties did not litigate the issue of custody during the hearing before the Superior Court on October 22, 1996. During the hearing on October 22, 1996, Commissioner Anderson misconstrued the parties' agreement as set forth in the Stipulation Re: Modification of Custody, as he only considered paragraph 1 of that document when he stated Lynette had custody of [B.P.].
"E. As Joseph did not transfer to the United States Marine Corps, paragraph 3 of the Stipulation Re: Modification of Custody requires that the parties adhere to the custodial arrangement that is set forth in paragraph 6 of the Attachment To Judgment. Therefore, Joseph should have primary residential custody of [B.P.] during the school year, and Lynette should have generous periods of visitation during the child's summer vacation and holidays.
"F. After considering the testimony of witnesses and two home study reports, this Court further finds that it is in the best interests of [B.P.] that Joseph be the primary residential custodian, subject to Lynette's right to liberal periods of visitation."
The issue now raised on appeal by Lynette ignores the above findings. The district court found that the 1995 custody agreement was ambiguous and that the California hearing officer misconstrued that agreement when setting the visitation order in 1996. The district court went on to find that the 1993 agreement is determinative of where custody vested immediately prior to the Kansas litigation. Lynette's mantra continues to be that the 1995 custody order controls; that, however, flies in the face of the findings and conclusions of the district court from which there has been no issue raised or briefed by the appellant.
Of equal significance, Lynette also fails to recognize the alternative basis relied upon by the district court to support its custody order. Lynette's argument presumes the district court must find a material change of circumstance before custody could be modified. She is incorrect. As previously noted, there were no full blown evidentiary proceedings in either 1993 or 1995 concerning B.P.'s custody. Consequently, the district court may consider, based upon the totality of circumstances, what custody order would be in the best interests of B.P. See Hill v. Hill, 228 Kan. 680, Syl. ¶ 2.
Our standard of review is whether the district court abused its judicial discretion. See Struble v. Struble, 19 Kan. App. 2d 947, 948, 879 P.2d 37 (1994).
The evidence considered by the district judge included: the 1993 and 1995 agreements, including the ambiguity in the latter document; the fact that Joseph did not join the Marine Corps; the periods of time when B.P. lived with each of her parents; the fact that Lynette allowed B.P. to return to Kansas with Joseph in August 1996 to enroll in school; B.P.'s circumstances at home and school; and B.P.'s socialization with Joseph, other significant adults, and school children.
After considering the evidence shown by the record and the findings entered by the district court, we hold the district court did not abuse its discretion in deciding that it would be in B.P.'s best interests to be in Joseph's custody during the school term each year.


text:
Smith, Cynthia Petrie.
Animal Welfare Information Center (U.S.)
Beltsville, Md. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library, Animal Welfare Information Center, [2004]
xiv, 246 p. ; 28 cm.
Electronic Resource: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS55063
NAL Call Number: aHV4701 .A94 no. 24
Information Resources on the Care and Welfare of Beef Cattle, 2004
Smith, Cynthia Petrie.Link to File(s):
Information Center: AWIC – Animal Welfare Information Center
Subject: Animals and Livestock


text:
Category : Spreadsheet.
Topic : Online spreadsheet creator. Author : Kayley Sparks.
Posted : Mon, Oct 08th 2018 21:55 PM.
Format : jpg/jpeg.
Producing an income and expenditure statement using single entry bookkeeping is little more than making two lists of financial transactions. Those lists being one of sales income received from sales invoices or receipts issued to customers and the other of purchase expenditure being from purchase invoices received from suppliers. To record sales income it would not normally be sufficient to simply add up the total of the invoices as such a summation does not leave an audit trail of the items which have been included. A written list of sales invoices does provide an audit trail.


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Possums, as you know only too well, we love nothing better than saying, "We told you so." And possums, we told you so, and we'll tell you again—Dale Levitski, of Top Chef: Miami, wuz robbed!
These aren't just the ravings of a tottering-on-Louboutins fan. We have the evidence to prove it. Well, actually, we ate the evidence, but there is nothing we'd like better than to go in search of more at Sprout, the new Chicago restaurant headed by Dale. The meal we ate there was among the most delicious and stimulating we have had in years, and even though it's been a couple of months since our visit, we think about that meal all the time.
From the fabulous, "crowdsourced" décor to the ultra-accommodating staff, I knew a mere six steps into Sprout, located in Lincoln Park, that we were in for an exceptional dining experience. The setting is relaxed luxury, and lives up to Sprout's own philosophy of offering "upscale dining with a relax-your-shoulders vibe."
The Executive Chef of Sprout is Amuse-Biatch favorite Dale Levitski, and while still in its infancy, Sprout has the feel of a well-honed, long-running operation. Sprout's Sous Chef is the talented Sara Nguyen, also of Top Chef fame. Sara is as gracious and welcoming as she appeared on screen, and the best thing is that, together, she and Dale have the same culinary chemistry and rhythm they exhibited while dancing on the balcony in Miami during Top Chef.
While Sprout's menu is geared toward an organic-focused $60 prix fixe tasting menu, including intermezzi, à la carte items are available as well. My dining companion and I both opted for the prix fixe menu. My first course was a cooked-to-perfection scallop, surrounded by freeze-dried corn, parsnip, and popcorn. This was a toothsome dish composed of a witty series of pairings, the texture and color of the caramelized scallop picked up by the parsnip, the sweetness of the scallop picked up by the corn, with crunch added by the popcorn. For her first course, my dining companion, a vegetarian, chose a pear salad featuring watercress, goat cheese, peppermint and shaved licorice root. It was an exquisitely composed plate of food, both visually and flavor-wise. (Indeed, the great thing was that my dining companion was able to find a superb vegetarian dish for every course.) In case we had any doubts, the first course announced loud and clear that we were in the hands of someone who is absolutely on his game.
For the main course, I selected the Wagyu beef. Set atop pillowy, rich brandade and haricots verts, with a garlic drizzle, the beef was luscious and vibrant. When presented with the opportunity, I could not resist sampling two additional courses. First there was chilled octopus served with white bean puree and arugula—the octopus perfectly cooked, and perfectly complemented by the richness of the puree and the slight bitterness of the arugula. Dale has a real talent for mixing not only flavors, but textures. There was also a course of veal cheek, which was richness and opulence distilled. We also had a tasting of gnocchi à la Parisienne, French-style gnocchi that are made with choux pastry rather than potatoes, which were new to me and which made me curse all the years I had gone without trying them.
In between the courses, the intermezzi included a shaved ice of passion fruit and Riesling, at once bracing and seductive. Speaking of which, the white bean butter served with the bread is nothing short of creamy crack.
My dessert course was called "lemon." There are no words. The combination of the lemon curd, goat cheese mousse and sour cherry, while surprisingly new to me, rendered me speechless—a difficult thing—and is now one of my favorites. My dining companion opted for creamy melted chocolate with a dunk-worthy cookie.
The cheese course was witty and the ne plus ultra of comfort food, the cheese melted and sandwiched between two crêpe-like crisps, the perfect end to a truly memorable meal.
As reported elsewhere, Dale went through a great deal of difficulty and sorrow in his personal life in the period between Top Chef and the opening of Sprout, but you wouldn't know it from the polished, effortless cooking. Or maybe you would. Perhaps food this joyous, this focused, this representative of earthly delight, could only come from a man who has emerged from a dark night of the soul. Sprout could not be more aptly named, and we are all the beneficiaries of those tender shoots. Speaking of which, the new spring menu should now be in place, so get thee to Lincoln Park, possums. Dale may have been robbed, but don't rob yourselves of an extraordinary dining experience.
1417 West Fullerton Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614-2011
(773) 348-0706
Find them online:
Sprout can also be found on Facebook and Twitter @SproutChi


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The Home Depot Inc. operates the best e-gift card program among the 99 retailers and restaurant chains analyzed by research and advisory firm Retail Systems Research LLC for a new report that is set to be released tomorrow at Shop.org's Annual Summit in Chicago. RSR provided the report exclusively to Internet Retailer.
The study, which digital gift card provider CashStar sponsored, analyzed digital gift card purchases made in July and August. It evaluated the programs offered by retailers and restaurants using 21 criteria, including whether consumers can easily find the gift cards on the merchant's web site and how easy it is for recipients to redeem the cards.
RSR used a 3-point scale to rate merchants on each of its 21 criteria, which meant the best possible score was 63 points. Here are the top three merchants, along with their rankings in the 2013 Top 500 Guide, and point totals:
• Home Depot, No. 46, 54 points
• Sephora USA Inc., No. 144, 48 points
• Starbucks Corp., No. 454, 48 points
The Home Depot scored well because the retailer makes its e-gift card easy to find—it features a Gift Cards button at the top of its e-commerce site, near its shopping cart—it offers multiple gift options, including the ability for multiple consumers to send a friend one gift card, and because its e-gift cards are easy to personalize, RSR says.
The report also praised Sephora and other retailers that can deliver an e-gift card quickly. The report says that when RSR sent a Sephora e-gift card it arrived in the recipient's inbox in "near real time."
While many retailers can still improve, the report finds that merchants' digital gifting programs are improving. Retailers such as Home Depot and Sephora have recognized that digital gifting differs from traditional online product sales, the report says, and have taken steps to make electronic gift cards more convenient to buy and use. For instance, many merchants have streamlined the checkout process to include fewer screens, added personalization capabilities and made it easy for shoppers to redeem the e-gift cards when using tablets or smartphones.
However, while e-gift cards are becoming more common, many retailers and restaurants still do not sell them. The study found that 69 out of the 99 merchants studied sell e-gift cards, up from 59 in 2011, the last time RSR did a similar analysis.
Retailers that don't sell digital gift cards miss potential sales, according to the report. For instance, neither American Girl nor Lego Brand Retail Inc. sells e-gift cards. That is "almost inexcusable," RSR says in the report, because widely dispersed family members might want to send gift cards to each other and e-gift cards are "probably more secure and convenient" than sending a physical gift card in the mail.
Lego is No. 141 in the Top 500 Guide. Neither Lego nor American Girl offered immediate comment.


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I asked C.J. how many times he had been to Italy. He said 25 times. That was in 1971. I thought how amazing that someone could get there so many times. Now it is 2008 and I have passed that milestone.
Stefano Illuminati and I have been traveling around Texas with his importer and regional manager. We traveled 1,000 miles in four days, did wine dinners in three cities and consumed thousands and thousands of calories in food and wine. It was a bit like a rock concert blitz with wine. Instead of a bus we had a minivan.
Tonight Stefano is in Vancouver and I am back home. Very tired.
Looking back over my 25 trips in 37 years I have spent a lot of time with Stefano. We have grown up together. I met him first in 1984 when he was 20. Stefano was always overshadowed by the larger than life personality of his father, Dino. Big tree. But now Stefano is taking on more of the direction of the winery, steering it into the future until his son can come up and become involved.
Mandola family pictures
Another side to this story is the Mandola family in Houston. Brothers Vincent, Tony and Damian forged a lifelong friendship with the Illuminati family though Eugenio Spinozzi. Many trips to the winery, many dinners in the Luperia, the dining hall at the estate. Lots of laughs, some tears, many great memories. Eugenio, sadly, left us too soon, but destiny called him away from here. We talk about people who have died like it isn't ever going to happen to us. Some day someone might talk about our passing as if it will never happen to them. And so on.
All this to say, through the vine we have made lifelong friendships with each other, the Illuminati and the Mandola families. And while sometimes it seems I am on the sidelines watching the unfolding of these two famous and powerful families, what can I do? Some of us observe and record the deeds of others. Am I diminished by their swath? Only if I think all this is about me.
The vine and the road leading to the vine have created bonds that ally us to Italy and the grape. And while it may seem we are out of Italy more than in it, I long ago realized the Italy that I refer to, daily, is embedded on a molecular level. Sure I am not an Italian like Stefano. And he is not an Italian like me. And most Italians are not precisely like each other. In fact there is sufficient evidence that we are all unique. All 6 billion of us. Comforting, no?
Food, wine, tomatoes, family, Italy, Texas, time, memories, love life and enduring amicizia.
Not something you can bid for on eBay or barter for on craigslist or find on some winery direct press release.
It is only something earned from time spent on the wine (and relationship) trail in Italy.
1984 ~ I'm on the far left and Stefano on the far right
1990 ~ Stefano on left and AC on right
2008 ~ AC on left and Stefano on right
Photos from the author
written by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy


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Fun movie from start to finish. I am surprised it only gets 4 stars. I guess you can not please everyone.
We were pleasantly surprised! A fun, light escape. Very well cast. Some good laughs for sure.
The movie was well liked by my teenage sons and myself. I thought there were a few "inappropriate" bits that would most likely go over heads of younger audience members. (Hopefully) My 15 year old summed it up well by saying that some parts were "a bit cringey." There was a kiss at school at the end, which nobody seemed to think was at all unusual, but had me squirming a bit, as a teacher. We were rolling with laughter at several points, though, and the language, violence, and "sex" typical for a PG-13 movie nowadays was refreshingly not-present. My younger son especially liked the scene where a character is eaten by a hippo, and when the character played by Kevin Hart argued that he couldn't help because he was carrying a backpack. We loved Jack Black's character, and the premise of the movie was unique and fun. I thought it presented great moral lessons, but promoted "sexy" as powerful for teen girls, which rubbed me as wrong. Smart should have been valued more than sexy, but. . .I'm not the writer. At least the main female character made an attempt at modesty. I'd would recommend for ages 12 and up, more for boys.
A stoogeapalooza of silly scenes and actors. The best part was the rhino runaway action when the helicopter tried to flee in the rift valley! WOW
I think this is a great movie for the kids; there were a lot of them in the theater, but it was a little disappointing from an adult perspective, I was expecting more considering the caliber of the cast .
I loved this movie..lots of fun and action..really felt I got my money's worth!!!!
don't waste your money !!
I went expecting a remake and some humour. It's actually a continuation and it's funnier than I could've expected. Story was good and this movie delivers in much the way the original did. Definitely worth the price of admission, IMO.
The main girl was hot
Zzzzzzzzzz! Wait for it on the internet, anyone giving this more is looking at a red shirt/short shorts or love the rock! Love blinds sorry!
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Item Code: VC08009CDF
Suggested Price: Cdn $0.01 or US $0.01
CDF Augers: Fabricated boring head utilizing bolt-on teeth. Recommended Use: Light to moderate ground conditions. Extremely popular for the economy buyer. 3', 5', and 6' augers are also available in this style - please inquire for pricing and availability.
For more information about this product, please use our online contact form, call Eastern Farm Machinery at (519) 763-2400, or contact one of our dealers.