Everyday life can be filled with long list of things that need to be done. Without the necessity skills to meet these demands, it is easy to lose track of deadlines, forget appointments, or misplace important information. By consistently implementing the skills of effective time management and organization, even the most hectic of schedules can become more manageable.
The most important aspect of practicing effective time management is learning to create a schedule that provide the time you need to complete necessary task. An effective way to do this is to determine whether you will have time to add new task to your schedule. Digital calendars, task management applications, and paper agendas are all widely available tools to manage time and keep track of obligations. By making a habit of recording tasks and events as soon as you receive them, you will maintain a constant record of what time you available. By effectively managing your time through diligent scheduling, you will always know what needs to be done and when you have time to do it.
Maintaining an organized environment is an important part of finishing task quickly and effectively. One way to do this is by creating designated locations for different types of information. Whether the information is in the form of physical file folders, books, or digital materials, organization will reduce the time you spend searching for the resources and information you need.
Only with consistent practice do the skills of time management and organization become effective tool for managing your everyday schedule. When practiced on a regular basis, these skills provide you with more control as well as a more orderly approach to whatever kind of schedule you might have.
1. Which of the following proposed titles best summarizes the topic of the passage?
2. According to the passage, which of the following is the most important aspect of how the two skills it discusses are implemented?
3. Which of the following individuals exemplifies a recommendation made by the passage?
4. Which of the following words best defines the topic of this passage?
5. The passage is an example of which of the following types of writing?
6. Which of the following sentences restates the main claim of the passage?
Artist Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, in Mexico City. Kahlo began painting after she was severely injured in a bus accident in 1925. Today, she is considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists.
Kahlo grew up in the home where she was born – later known as the Blue House or Caza Azul. Her father, Guillermo, was a photographer who had emigrated from Germany to Mexico, where he met and married her mother Matilde. She had two older sisters, Matilde and Adriana. Her younger sister, Cristina, was born the year after Frida.
At age 6, Frida contracted polio, which confined her to bed for 9 months. Upon recovery, she limped when she walked because of damage to her right leg and foot. Her father encouraged her to take up soccer, swimming and even wrestling – highly unusual activities for a girl at the time – to help aid in her recovery.
On Sept. 17, 1925, Kahlo was travelling on a bus that collided with a streetcar. She sustained serious injuries in the accident, including a broken spine, collarbone, ribs and pelvis. She stayed at the Red Cross Hospital in Mexico City for several weeks, then returned home to recover. She began painting during her recuperation and finished her self-portrait the following year. Her parents supported her artwork. Her mother had an easel made that Kahlo could use while in bed and her father gave her a box of oil paints and brushes. In 1938, Kahlo had her first solo art exhibition in New York City.
As an adult, Kahlo became politically active, joining the Young Communist League and the Mexican Communist Party. She and her husband, the painter Diego Rivera, befriended Leon Trotsky in 1937 after he fled to Mexico for political asylum from the Soviet Union.
7. Which of the following lists the correct sequence of events in artist Frida Kahlo’s life?
a. Frida was born at Caza Azul, her sister Adriana was born, she began painting self-portraits.
b. Frida was in a traffic accident, began painting, learned to play soccer.
d. Frida contracted polio, learned to wrestle, her sister Cristina was born.
8. Which of the following describes the author’s tone in the passage?
9. In which of the following sources would a reader most likely find the passage?
10. A student wants to learn more about Frida Kahlo’s political activities. To which of the following articles should they refer?
11. Which of the following would be considered a primary source about Frida Kahlo?
d. A magazine article about Frida Kahlo first solo art exhibition.
– Read the label to determine the appropriate dosage. Do not take more than the recommended dosage.
– Do not combine cough and cold medicines together. Different medicines may contain the same active ingredient. When you combine medicines, you may take too much of the same medication.
– Do not combine cough and cold medicines with prescription medications. If you are taking prescription medications, do not take cough and cold medicine unless directed by your health care provider.
– Do not drink alcohol while taking cold medicines that make you drowsy: Combining alcohol with cough and cold medicine can increase drowsiness.
The following questions are based on these directions.
12. A consumer reads these directions on a box of over-the-counter cold medicine. In which of the following instances should the consumer consult with a health care provider?
d. Combining cough and cold medicines with prescription medications.
13. Which of the following signals importance in the set of directions?
This position will act as lead worker for the central office and ensure prompt processing of all office communications. Must have excellent administrative, operations, accounting, computer and communication skills.
For the first interview, mail a letter of interest and resume to Administrative Specialist Inc., 123 First St., Smith, KS 66555 by August 8. Three references required if granted a second interview.
14. Which of the following is a minimum requirement to apply for the position of administrative specialist?
15. when are the three references required?
The Kepler spacecraft was designed to investigate humanity’s last unexplored frontier: the far reaches of space. The NASA space telescope looks deep into the Milky Way galaxy for signs of habitable planets where humans could potentially thrive. In the thousands of planets, it has identified, three are in livable orbits similar to Earth.
The planet most similar to Earth is Kepler 186f, known as “Earth’s cousin.” Over 490 light years away, all that NASA knows is that Kepler 186f’s size and distance from its star are comparable to Earth. As technology advances, hopefully we will learn more about Kepler 186f’s ability to nurture life. Perhaps someday our descendants will cross the insurmountable distance to explore the surface of Earth’s cousin, maybe even contact with life on another world.
16. Which of the following best describes the main idea of the second paragraph?
17. Which of the following is evidence for the theory that Kepler -186f may be able to support life?
18. Which word below best describes the author’s point of view in the passage?
Although the name central park suggests that it has a clear organizing feature, New York’s City’s famous green space has no official center. There is no formal walkway that cuts through the park or monuments that marks its middle. Instead of symmetry, central park contains widened parks and an ever-changing landscape that appears random and rustic. Despite appearances, the park is an achievement of planning and engineering. Years of citizens campaigning for a park on New York City’s Manhattan island convinced the state to purchase 750 acres of land in 1853. After a chance meeting with the project organizer, Frank Law Olmstead who was raised in Connecticut and had been deeply impressed by the public parts of England applied for the job of Park Superintendent in 1857. Olmstead was appointed Superintendent and workers began clearing the land for construction. The park now needed a design. Calvert Vaux, a British architect, who had helped to design the grounds of the White House and the Smithsonian Institution asked Olmstead to collaborate with him. The two developed a plan that would give city dwellers a tranquil growing space. After a vote by park commissioners, Vaux and Olmstead became the official designers of Central Park. Creation of the park required years of construction. Thanks in part to the use of 166 tons of gunpowder, the swampy land was transformed into gentle slopes, scenic vistas by the movement of 2.5 million cubic yards of earth. By the time construction finished, the park included 58 miles of walking paths and 7 land made bodies of water. Today, Olmstead and Vaux’s work of art welcomes about 40 million visitors each year. Without itself having a single orientation, central park’s natural and open designs made it a central escape from the noise and unyielding grid of the city that surrounds it.
19. Which of the following paragraphs accurately summarizes the key points of this passage?
a. New York City is home to many of the nation’s most famous landmarks. This is thanks in part to the active role of New York citizens take in preserving important spaces.
b. Central Park is one of the best known historical attraction because its parks, ponds and plant-like allows visitors to combine peacefulness and exercise. Central park is one of the only growing spaces in New York City. The land has been preserved because citizens persuaded the state to purchase acreage in order to protect its natural beauty. The park has provided a peaceful escape to environmentalists to this day.
c. The beginning stages of the creation of central park occurred in 1850. Superintendent Frank Law Olmstead and architect Calvert Vaux teamed up and took the lead in designing and overseeing the construction of the park. Central park is now one of New York City’s most famous and often visited landmarks.
d. There is no logical reasoning behind the name for Central Park as it has no distinguishing features in the center and it is also not located in the geographical center of the city. English parts are typically much more organized. The same people design all United States landmarks in the 1800’s.
20. Which of the following sentences is the main idea of the passage?
a. Famous parks like Central Park in New York City take a great amount of work and planning in order to grow from swamp land to landmarks.
c. The distinctive history of central park, its birth, its design and its function makes the park an important and treasured New York City landmark.
d. The citizens of New York have played a major role in the creation and maintenance of Central Park since before its creation until present.
21. Which of the following contains the author’s opinion?
b. Olmstead was appointed Superintendent and workers began clearing the land for construction.
c. Olmstead and Vaux’s work of art welcomes about 40 million guests each year.
d. Calvert Vaux, a British architect who helped to design the grounds of the White House and Smithsonian Institution asked Olmstead to collaborate with him.
22. According to the passage, which of the following factors caused New York State to purchase that land that is now called Central Park?
b. The state need someone to oversee the construction of the park and Frank Law Olmstead volunteered.
c. The city was growing quickly and the state government was worried about running out of land.
23. Which of the following has the same meaning as the word “rustic” as used in the passage?
24. Which of the following describes the author’s main purpose in the passage?
25. Which of the following statements is a logical conclusion a reader could draw from this passage?
Henry Tudor became Henry VIII when his father died in 1509. He reigned as King of England until his own death in 1547. History remembers him as one of the most infamous kings who ever lived Henry VIII was married six times. After the Pope denied him the right to leave his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, he turned his back on the Catholic Church and created the Church of England in 1534. Now the official head of the English church, Henry could grant himself the right to a divorce. He then married Anne Boleyn who he hoped would be able to give him a son. Henry was extremely concerned about producing a male heir to the throne. In his mind, the future of the country depended on it. In 1536, Henry fell off his horse during a jousting tournament. This injury affected his health by rendering him less active. He became morbidly obese and even more impatient to have a son. When Anne Boleyn failed to have a male child, Henry had her executed. His next wife, Jane Seymour finally gave birth to a boy named Edward. After Jane Seymour passed away due to birth complications, Henry married three more times. The unluckiest of his following wives was Catherine Howard who was executed for alleged adultery. There was a rapid succession of Henry’s children to the throne after his death in 1547. Despite desperately wanting to ensure a male heir, his most prominent child turned out to be a daughter. His daughter with Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth, became Queen Elizabeth I in 1558 and reigned until 1603. Elizabeth I continued Henry VIII’s legacy of power and became one of the most renowned monarchs in the history of the world.
26. Which of the following words most closely matches the meaning of the word “infamous” as used in the passage?
27. Which of the following is the purpose of the passage?
28. In which of the following sources is the passage likely to appear?
Preparing to run in a 5- kilometer race needs to begin 8 weeks before the scheduled day of the race. The first and most important thing to do is to check with your doctor to make sure you are healthy enough to run in a 5- kilometer race.
A 5-kilometer race is a little over 3 miles long. It is best to start by running a shorter distance and then gradually increase your running distance. This chart will help you to establish a running plan to ensure you are ready for race day.
The following questions are based on this magazine clipping.
29. Which week show the greatest increase in distance over the previous week?
30. Which of the following is the purpose of the italicized words in the magazine clipping?
31. Which of the following statement about the article and the graph is correct?
a. Both the article and the graph target experienced runners.
b. Both the article and the graph provide medical advice.
c. Both the article and the graph provide information on training for a 5-km run.
d. Both the article and the graph provide statistics about developing a running plan.
32. Which of the following can be used to find journal articles on a given topic?
33. Which of the following statements is true based on the data below about elite printings customers purchases?
a. The customers who have stationary printed at elite’s printings spent the most money.
b. The customers who have brochures printed at elite’s printings are most loyal.
c. The customers who have their newsletters printed at elite’s printings also use all other services there.
d. The customers who have their shipping label printed at elite’s printings also have their brochures printed there.
34. Write all of the letters that are vowels in the order that they appear in the alphabet including Y. Switch the order of the second and third vowels in the list. Change the fourth and fifth vowels to Y. What does the list of the letters look like now?
35. He answered the attorney’s question strictly with grace and panache. To determine the detonative meaning of panache, a student should which of the following references?
Which of the following pieces of data will be best evidence to support this claim?
a. After using water that contains high levels of lead, people started experiencing joint pain.
b. After using water that contains high levels of lead, people noticed that their toothbrush is stained yellow.
c. After using water that contains high levels of lead, people reported a metallic taste.
d. After using water that contains high levels of lead, people reported leaking pipes.
37. A doctor recommends that her patient eats a diet that is high on protein but moderate in sodium. Which of the following meats will be the best choice for this diet?
38. Patrons of the medical clinic are expected to use the north entrance. All staff members are required to use staff entrance. Which of the following is a synonym of patrons?
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a cookie sheet with a non-stick spray. Roll the previously refrigerated cookie dough into 1 inch balls. Arrange on the cookie sheet 2cm apart. When the oven is hot, bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to cookie rack 5 minutes before eating.
39. Which of the following step should the baker take immediately before rolling the cookie dough into balls?
Optional: Substitute milk or chicken broth for half the butter.
Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a sauce pan and add milk. Add Alfredo mix. Whisk briskly until combined. Stir and add to a sauce.
40. Which of the following is correct according to the directions?
a. One-third of pound of pasta is required.
b. The pasta is boiled in the sauce pan.
c. This recipe is for a family-sized meal.
d. Chicken broth can be substituted for the milk.
41. Using the employment advertisement above, which of the following applicants could meet the requirements of this job?
a. A writer looking for 40 hours a week.
42. Everyone had to drive slowly because of the high volume of traffic? Which of the following is the correct meaning of the word volume as used in the sentence?
Take one tablet every 4 to 6 hours.
Not more than 3 tablets in 12 hours.
Take tablet with 8 ounces of water.
Check back with doctor if symptoms are not relieved in 2 days.
43. Using the medication label above, which of the following dosing schedules should the person follow?
S+F Media is seeking a new member for our web design team. An innovator at the top of the field, S+F media has been delivering sleek, polished websites and user interfaces to our clients for more than 5 years. We are looking for motivated, creative personalities with fresh ideas who are ready to contribute their talents to our company’s future.
1. A bachelor’s degree in art, design, programming, or a similar field.
2. Two years’ experience in web design in a professional capacity.
3. Availability to work nights and weekends.
The following questions are based on this job posting.
44. Which of the following can be inferred from this employment advertisement?
a. S+F Media is looking for a knowledgeable, creative applicant.
b. The position at S+F Media requires multiple college degrees.
c. S+F Media is looking for someone who has a sleek, polished appearance.
d. The position at S+F Media requires 5 years of experience working with clients.
45. Which of the following candidates would most be most likely to qualify for the positon at S+F Media?
a. An applicant who has a bachelor’s degree in art and no job experience.
b. An applicant who has a bachelor’s degree in music theory and 5 years’ experience in computer programming.
c. An applicant who has a bachelor’s degree in design who is taking classes at night.
d. An applicant who has a bachelor’s degree in web design and 3 years’ experience.
Herbs have been an integral part of our diet and pharmacy since humans began roaming the Earth. Dog owners can apply the results of using herbal nutrition and medicine for the dogs they love. To keep your dog healthy, use herbs to on a daily basis. If you should ever need them, you will have much better luck getting a sick pooch to agree to herbal medicines if it has been acclimated to them over the years. Before starting an herbal treatment program for a sick dog, it is best to receive a correct diagnosis from a qualified veterinarian. A veterinarian can provide blood counts, urinalysis, x-rays, and ultrasound diagnosis, which can pinpoint which organ system is compromised. Most importantly, dog owners should find good reference books and reputable herbalists to treat a sick with herbal medicines.
The following questions are based on the “Herbs” passage.
46. Which of the following would fit theme of the passage?
a. Different kinds of herbal medicines should not be given to healthy dogs.
b. Herbal medicines can be found in most places in the world.
c. Different kinds of herbal medicines can be used until the most effective is found.
d. Herbal medicines used for hundreds of years can be helpful in the treatment of a sick dog.
47. Which of the following statements would strengthen the argument?
a. Herbalists need good reference books to find herbs.
b. Humans have used herbal medicines for centuries.
c. Veterinarians treat many sick dogs each year.
d. Veterinarians often prescribe herbal treatments for dogs.
The pangolin is a critically endangered mammal native to Africa and Asia. Due to their unique appearance, pangolins ate the most trafficked mammal on the planet. About the size of a cat, the body and tail of pangolins are covered by hard, overlapping scales made of keratin, which protects them from attack. These distinctive scales are popular in making apparel. Additionally, many people believe that the scales and the blood of the pangolin possesses medicinal properties.
If the pangolin continues to be haunted at the current rate, the species will soon reach extinction. Many people have never even heard of the pangolin, and activists are attempting to raise the awareness about this unusual creature’s plight. It is important to act quickly before the pangolin is lost forever.
48. Which of the following is a concise summary of the passage?
a. While some people have never heard of a pangolin, others have haunted pangolins for years.
b. The pangolin will soon become extinct because it is the most trafficked mammal on the planet.
c. Activists hope to raise global awareness about the pangolin, a mammal native to Africa and Asia.
d. The pangolin is valuable because its scales can be used for apparel or for medical purposes.
49. Which of the following details from the passage best supports the main idea?
d. People believe the pangolin’s blood has medicinal properties.


1. Combine the vinegar, salt and ground black pepper in a large bowl then marinate the goat meat for at least an hour (this should eliminate the gamey smell and taste of the meat) then separate the meat from the marinade.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pot. Saute the garlic, onions and tomatoes.
3. Stir in the marinated goat meat and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Pour in the tomato sauce and add the crushed chilis and cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Add the water and allow to boil. Simmer for at least 45 minutes or until the meat is tender.
7. Put in the potatoes and carrots and simmer for 8 minutes.
8. Add the olives and bell pepper and simmer for another 5 minutes.


Consider the following scenario: PFC Thomas has been in the Army for 3 years. She is married with two children. She and her husband have a close, intimate relationship. They share all aspects of their lives together. At night, when the children are asleep, they snuggle on the couch and talk about the day or watch a favorite television show. They share responsibilities with the children equally. They often take the children to the park, play kickball in the backyard, and engage in play time. The children are thriving in school and hail their mother as a military hero. The oldest daughter talks openly to both of her parents, and they can share thoughts and feelings readily. When she has to be out for duty, it can get difficult, but they work on a schedule and spend time with each other as much as possible. Currently, PFC Thomas is serving in the Iraq Theater. Her unit is completing their year-long tour and is scheduled to be home in one week. PFC Thomas’s family is excited to have her home and is waiting anxiously for her return. A month after her return, PFC Thomas is withdrawn, she startles easily, and, while pleasant to her family, she is spending more time alone in the basement sorting through old pictures. Every time her husband touches her, whether a gentle touch on the shoulder or leaning in for a kiss, she immediately withdraws. She is getting angry over small things her children are doing, such as leaving a toothbrush on the bathroom sink. Before she left, she was a loving, attentive mother; upon her return, she came home a stranger. By Day 3 Post a description of two possible traumatic reactions PFC Thomas might be experiencing and explain how you might come to that initial assessment. If this was your loved one, what expectations would you have as a social worker? Be sure to support your responses with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.


Who won in the NBA draft?
Come back in 2018 and let's see how good these players are.
The 2014 NBA draft class won't be judge accurately until at least a few seasons down the road. Come back in 2018 and let's see how good these players are.
But since so many teams draft on potential — or upside — it's fair to gauge how teams did on draft night based on that potential.
Orlando Magic: Really liked what the Magic did, taking forward Aaron Gordon fourth and acquiring point guard Elfrid Payton. Gordon is smart and committed to both ends of the floor, and Payton fills a need at point guard. He's a small-school player with big-time potential. The Magic are putting together a nice team. Now, it needs to translate to results.
Boston Celtics: Danny Ainge drafted his backcourt of the future, selecting point guard Marcus Smart with the No. 6 pick and shooting guard James Young at No. 17. This doesn't mean Rajon Rondo is going anywhere, but if and when that time comes for Ainge to cash in on Rondo, he won't have to worry about his backcourt.
Utah Jazz: Taking Dante Exum with the fifth pick and putting him in the backcourt with Trey Burke is solid. That's a combo that will give teams trouble, especially with Gordon Hayward (if the Jazz can keep the restricted free agent) and Alec Burks also on the wings. The Jazz also added big shooting guard Rodney Hood in the first round. This is another young team that is putting together talented pieces and now need to make it work by showing progress with an increase in victories. Can't wait to see what new Jazz coach Quin Snyder does with this team.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Andrew Wiggins can be a great player, and the Cavaliers made the right choice taking a player who is ready to make the team better now — and could make them really good in a few years.
Milwaukee Bucks: A great situation for both sides — a team who wanted the player and a player who wanted the team. And Jabari Parker should contribute immediately for Milwaukee.
Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets drafted center Jusuf Nurkic No. 16, and he will spend next season in Europe and got a steal at No. 19 with shooting guard Gary Harris, who was a projected lottery pick.
Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers took two guys in the top 12, and it's possible neither will play an NBA game next season. Dario Saric, the No. 12 picks, definitely won't play next season after committing at least 2014-15 to Turkish club Anadolu Efes, and center Joel Embiid, the No. 3 pick, might not play next season as he recovers from a fractured bone in his right foot. Embiid could return at some point next season, most likely after the New Year. But the Sixers were very cautious with 2013 lottery pick Nerlens Noel who could've played near the end of last season but the Sixers played it safe.
Toronto Raptors: Raptors GM Masai Ujiri did his homework on Brazil's Bruno Caboclo, known as the Kevin Durant of Brazil. But ESPN international basketball expert Fran Fraschilla said Caboclo is "two years away from being two years away." He wasn't being mean, just telling the truth, and for the third season in the East in 2013-14, it was surprising the Raptors didn't use the 20th pick on a player who might be able to contribute sooner.
Atlanta Hawks: Not everyone was thrilled with the Hawks taking big men Adreian Payne and Walter Tavares but Payne gives the Hawks inside/outside versatility offensively and defensively and Tavares is a giant in the paint. GM Danny Ferry sometimes wondered if the ball would ever see the low post and now the Hawks have increasing options on the blocks.
New York Knicks: Even though they didn't have a first-round pick, Cleanthony Early was projected by some analysts to go in the first round, and Greek wing Thanasis Antetokounmpo has the chance to develop into a contributor. They also acquired France big man Louis Lebeyrie.
Brooklyn Nets: They didn't own a pick when the day started but selected three of the final 17 picks of the draft. Maybe none make the roster, but the Nets found a way to make something out of the night.
Houston Rockets: The Rockets had an interested draft, taking forward Clint Capela in the first round and Arizona shooting guard Nick Johnson in the second round.
Isaiah Austin: There were many great moments on Thursday — watching young people reach near-impossible dreams is always special — but nothing topped Isaiah Austin's moment between the 15th and 16th picks of the first rounds. That's when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, unbeknownst to Austin and his family, said: "The NBA selects Isaiah Austin."
A deserving standing ovation followed, and it was hard to keep a dry eye. Austin, who recently learned his basketball career is over because of rare genetic defect called Marfan syndrome, wiped away tears on stage.
"I have a whole life ahead of me,' Austin said. "I'm not going to sit here, and I'm not going to sulk about not being able to play basketball anymore because I can still be involved with the game somehow or some way.
"Coach Drew has offered me a coaching job as long as — my high school coach, Coach Ray, and Commissioner Silver has offered me a job with the NBA somewhere. So I can always be around the game that I've grown up to love and have a passion for, and I'm thankful."
Adam Silver: For making the Austin moment possible, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is again a winner. In short time, Silver has become the people's commissioner. He took a hard-line stance on Donald Sterling, and showed the compassion of a thousand hearts for Austin. It could have been a nondescript first six months as commissioner for Silver. But because of unpredictable events, Silver has emerged as a strong, likable and caring commissioner.
"For Commissioner Adam Silver to even invite me here was a tremendous blessing, and it just shows how much class that man has. I have so much respect for him and the NBA, and I'm thankful that I'm in this position today.
Canada: In addition to the No. 1 overall pick in the draft (Andrew Wiggins) for the second consecutive year (Anthony Bennett in 2013), Canada had another lottery pick (Nik Stauskas No. 8 to Sacramento) and a top-20 pick (Tyler Ennis to Phoenix). It was a strong showing for Canada, where the Vince Carter Effect is starting to show impressive results.
"At the end of the night, Canada has something to be proud of," Ennis said.


Pop Bits: This Maryland band started to form sometime around 1969 when Kayode Adeyemo met up with the four Phillips brothers (George, Ernesto, Gregory, and Orlando). They developed their sound and skills over the next few years and along the way added lead vocalist Renée Diggs. By 1978 the band was ready for the big time and they signed on with Chocolate City, a subsidiary of Casablanca Records. Their self-titled debut appeared in 1980 and over the course of four albums, they were able to grab eight minor R&B chart entries. With the closure of Chocolate City, the band moved over to Casablanca for two albums with each one sporting a Top 20 R&B hit, but they weren't really breaking through in a big way. Then Casablanca folded and the band got pushed over to the parent company Elektra for their seventh album, Restless. This final label change seemed to make a difference as this first single finally got them a wider audience. The song would be their first R&B Top 10 getting to #8 while crossing over to the Pop Top 30 and #12 Dance. It would be their biggest hit and the LP would be the best selling of their career.
ReduxReview: This song had a great beat, hot groove, top-notch production, hooky chorus, and excellent vocals by Diggs. So how in the world did this not get into the Pop Top 10? It's a true mystery as this song had "hit" written all over it. My guess is that if this had been released a year or two later, it would have done better. I think '85 was still a transition year for R&B tracks trying to get more into the mainstream, especially on MTV. Things were progressing and there were some solid hits crossing over, but there was no reason this tune should have stopped so early at Pop.
Trivia: The original name of the band was Licyndiana. Apparently, Ernesto Phillips came up with the moniker based on the names of his mother and two sisters. While the unique name was a nice tribute to his family, it didn't exactly roll off the tongue. When they got signed to Chocolate City, it was suggested by the keyboardist they were working with, Marvin Ennis, that a name change might be in order and he suggested Starpoint. The band members liked it and updated their name in time for their debut album. Although Licyndiana would no longer be the band's name, Phillips did use it for the name of his publishing company.


As film-making in The Bahamas continues to grow, it's wonderful to see that two of the countries' filmmakers will be featured for the first time at the acclaimed, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) running from October 18 - November 11, 2013 showcasing entertaining features, documentaries, and shorts from around the globe. Nassau's Kareem Mortimer, and Freeport's Nathaniel Lewis both have a short film screening in Florida and Grand Bahama for FLIFF and FLIFF On Location: Grand Bahama Island from October 29th through November 3rd.
Award-winning filmmaker, Kareem Mortimer ( Children of God, Float, I Am Not a Dummy) will be presenting his film, Passage which centers around a group of Haitians locked in the hold of a fishing vessel being smuggled through the Bahamas into the United States. On these vessels communicable diseases such as dysentery is deadly and if individuals get sick they are thrown overboard. The story is focused of Sandrine, a seventeen year old girl who must hide the fact that her brother Etienne is sick in order to save his life. Passage just won for "Best Short Film" at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.
Over the past five years Kareem has won over 25 awards for his previous three film projects. Kareem has made short music documentaries for the syndicated show Hip Hop Nation: Notes from the Underground; and has written and directed the short film Float that has won 5 festival awards and distribution in North America, Germany and Austria. Float received a US Broadcast premiere on LOGO. Moving Pictures Magazine crowned Float as one of five short films to look out for and Kareem a writer/director to watch. His Children of God has won 18 awards, distributed in 24 territories, a theatrical release in the US and currently airing on SHOWTIME. Children of God was also named by BET as one of the top ten movies of the year and one of the top features to watch by The Independent Magazine.
Screening in Florida: October 22nd at 12 noon and 7pm.
Nathaniel Lewis is a Grand Bahamian filmmaker with a background in news reporting. He attended a FLIFF On Location: Grand Bahama Island press conference, and was so inspired that in the second year of the festival he debuted as a filmmaker with, Politicking in Paradise, which won him an award at the festival. In 2012 he also created the film, Jessica's Wish before writing, starring and directing his first short that he will screen this year, Frapper Avec Mour (Hit With Love) at FLIFF.
Frapper Avec Mour centers around Camille, who is sent to Freeport, Bahamas to kill a hit. When she gets there, she discovers it's her mob boss ex-husband and during their encounter, she gets more than she bargained for. Lewis plays the mob boss and says the film was inspired by a French Canadian girl he met in Montreal, Canada some years ago. Alexis Hicks plays Camille in the film.
Screening in Grand Bahama, on Friday, November 1st at 7PM.


How big are your Armadillidium vulgare?
I have A. vulgare in two separate roach enclosures.
In my domino roach enclosure, the biggest I see are maybe 1cm long. This is about what I see in the wild populations around here in Texas, too. One that's 1cm long is pretty big compared to the rest.
In my peppered roach pen, though, I've got a few that are hitting 2cm. I didn't even know until now that they GOT that big.
My best guess is, it's down to moisture. I'm in Texas, and it's not terribly moist here. I'm keeping my domino roach enclosure relatively dry, too, with just some damp patches. My peppered roach enclosure, though, is moist everywhere. I only have the three samples, though.
Anyone else have A. vulgare? If so, how damp do you keep them, and how big do your biggest ones get?
And they're definitely not from terribly different populations. I brought some in from outside a year or so ago, those bred in a terrarium, and then I moved a piece of that terrarium's hardscape into my domino roach enclosure. From there, some got into my peppered roach pen. They're all descended from something like 50 individuals, if not fewer.
I've only had vulgare identified. I don't remember seeing any others in the area? We have what I think are powder blue isopods, also. They're called "sowbugs" locally, and are a lot less common. Flat, relatively soft-bodied, bluish-grey isopods that can't roll up and have a pair of antennae-like appendages on their hind end. They run a lot faster than the Armadillidium. I haven't seen any in awhile or I'd post some pictures.
I did look up isopod sightings in my area on an app called INaturalist, which I suggest checking out. All the sightings (and I looked at something like a hundred) were either A. vulgare or the sowbugs.
Besides armadillidium vulgare, we do have porcellio laevis and I believe it's Porcellionides floria (very similar to powder blues but not the same). To be honest, I am not sure if they are floria or pruinosus.
I was mostly wondering if I could find armadillidium nasatum here in Austin.
Thanks for that website, I'll definitely check it out!


Why Would Anyone Want to Buy Harley-Davidson Inc.?
Rumors of a possible buyout briefly excited investors, but what would a PE firm be looking for in the motorcycle maker?
There are a number of moving parts to Harley-Davidson that private equity might find of interest that would leave its biggest, most important market intact. Image source: The Motley Fool.
After Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) shares spiked 20% on rumors there may be a private equity buyout of the company in the works, the irrational exuberance brought on by the unsubstantiated speculation wore off, and shares cooled. The motorcycle maker's stock is now trading just 7% above where it was before the rumor spread, and it's likely it will fall further, simply because Harley's business remains as soft as ever.
The suggestion making the rounds was that private equity firm KKR (NYSE:KKR) was sniffing around the big bike maker. While both Harley-Davidson and KKR refused to comment, there could be some sense in KKR or some other hedge fund making a play for the business.
Harley-Davidson, of course, is the unchallenged king of big bore motorcycles. It controls half the market for motorcycles with engine displacements of 601 cubic centimeters and larger, while its next closest competitor, Polaris Industries (NYSE:PII), which owns both the Victory and Indian marques, has a market share of 5% to 10%, depending upon who is counting.
Yet despite the yawning chasm between No. 1 and No. 2, it's clear that Harley's business is struggling, particularly in the U.S., which is a problem because the domestic market accounts for 61% of its sales.
Harley-Davidson's global motorcycle shipments peaked at almost 350,000 bikes in 2006, but during the depths of the recession following the financial crisis, they plunged to just 210,000 bikes. Since then, it's worked hard to rebuild sales, and last year they hit 266,000, but that was still down from 2014, and below the management's original estimates for the year.
In the first quarter, U.S. sales fell once again. Although the decline was just 0.5%, which was a better result than what Wall Street had expected, it indicates that Polaris Industries, which enjoyed an 18% increase in motorcycle sales in the period, is continuing to steal market share.
Even so, Harley-Davidson is not a broken business. It possesses a strong balance sheet, an iconic and resilient brand, and it continues to generate significant cash flow. So here are some places to consider that might be most attractive to a hedge fund buying Harley-Davidson.
Motorcycles naturally comprise the bulk of Harley-Davidson's $6 billion in annual revenues, with the U.S. market the crown jewel of its portfolio. But its Asia Pacific market is its third-largest, and has been enjoying sustained growth, up 6.6% in the first quarter and up over 7% in 2015. In fact, it was the only market that saw growth for the company last year.
The Asia Pacific region has also seen sales grow at a 9% compounded rate annually since 2010, whereas U.S. sales are up just 3% since then. While Latin America sales have grown by over 12% annually, last year, they fell 4%, and the region is rife with political unrest and turmoil that may make it difficult for sales to get back on track any time soon.
A spinoff of the Asia Pacific division under which Harley retains an ownership stake could be one way private equity could try to carve out additional value.
We've seen just this sort of thing occurring in the restaurant industry, where both McDonald's and Yum! Brands began strategizing about how best to separate the risks from the region with its obvious growth potential.
Many people might not realize Harley-Davidson has a large and profitable financing division that helps riders buy their motorcycles. HDFS generated over $686 million in revenues for the motorcycle maker last year, up 4% from 2014, with both short- and long-term receivables totaling $7.4 billion.
The risk here is that the credit profile of Harley's customers is starting to deteriorate. Subprime loans account for fully one-fifth of HDFS's loan originations, and the division's operating profits decreased by nearly 13% in the first quarter due in part to it increasing by $13 million the provision for loan losses as it suffered higher retail credit losses.
Because Harley-Davidson has largely avoided participating in the discounting going on in the industry to sell bikes and maintain market share, it's had to take on riskier customers. But the motorcycle company isn't perturbed by this, since subprime lending remains profitable and it has been operating above historical norms for several years. It views the current weakness as just a reversion to the mean.
However, consider that retailers such as Target and Nordstrom used to own banks to operate their credit card business, but eventually sold them to third parties. In the same vein, a PE firm might find it advantageous and profitable to buy Harley-Davidson's financing business.
Worth more together than apart?
In the end the rumors may not be anything more than that, and speculating on rumor is no way to invest. Still, Harley-Davidson's strong balance sheet would allow a hedge fund to leverage it with a significant amount of debt.
Whatever happens, it still has to contend with a strong U.S. dollar, increasing competition from domestic and foreign manufacturers, declining domestic sales, layoffs, and more. However, operating away from the short-term pressures of the public market could let it focus once more on building great bikes.
Although its stock is trading 15% below its 52-week high and a third below the all-time high it hit in 2014, like its bikes, Harley-Davidson doesn't really sell at a discount, and that might be the biggest hurdle of all for any potential buyer to get over.


F.2. claim: a person's ability is determined at the time when they are born. prediction: people who born in different season will have different ability.


1. First of all, host have to arrange plastic pool, water and rubber ball.
2. Fill the pool with water and ask the kids to stand around the pool.
3. Give ball to any of the player and ask the player to toss the ball back and forth to one another and another player has to try to catch it.
5. The kid left in the end wins the game.
1. Host have to arrange plastic pool, water and rubber ball.
The kid left in the end wins the game.


``Yes, the ennui of indolence frequently leads me into a mood to hear the telephone bell.'' In this way I sometimes generate amusement, but not this time.
``Business must be dull,'' I offered.
``That's good to hear,'' I said, glancing at the pile of figures I'd been adding for the IRS.
How many delightfully sweet old folks, like me, remember that day - wasn't it in 1935? - when every United States citizen went to his town hall to pass sub jugum in our first experience with enforced regimentation? That was the day our Republic ceased to be, and we went to bed that night secure in the care of Bureaucracy. There had been some objection to this numbering, so FDR easily allayed our fears by assuring us in a fireside chat that each number would remain a sacred secret `twixt Uncle Sam and the numbered citizen. Not even the FBI would know our numbers.
It was about two weeks after that when I bought a can of flat black enamel at Wally Clarke's hardware store, and Wally asked for my S.S. number. I told him my mother fetched me up never to memorize anything I could find in the library, and that has been my answer ever since. I wondered now how Miss Hyacinth and Daffodil came to have my number, if wrong.
``I may be an outstanding exception,'' was my considered answer to her.
This was also the first time anything like this had happened to me, although I am not sure just what happened. I had no notion that Uncle Sam was in the credit-rating business - and if that, what else? Evidently, he gives me no credit for not using credit, and because he doesn't pay his bills he thinks nobody does. Then again, when the lady on my telephone said, ``Poor who?'' she probably gave us an answer.
Saving Money When is it okay to share your Social Security number?


Wakelins is James Gorst Architects' reworking of timber-framed cottages, complemented by a beautifully crafted modern addition A decade or more ago James Gorst might have been fairly described as an intelligent traditionalist, whose architecture, in a pared-down Classical manner, eschewed replication and decorative pastiche in favour of a dialogue with the sublime geometries of the Classical tradition. Gorst's 'architectural journey' then took him on to a flirtation with Edwardian Free Style, which was reflected in the intriguing house he designed at Glebe Place in Chelsea, completed in 1997. The Prince of Wales, it seemed, warmed to his work, but its essentially progressive character was unacceptable to the Prince's design gurus, who apparently ruled out Gorst for a major phase of work at Poundbury.
Whithurst Park Cottage in Sussex (AJ 29.11.01) was the product of Gorst's maturity, explicitly non-historicist, drawing on the work of modern architects that he admires, notably Louis Kahn and Peter Zumthor. Not that Gorst has any regrets about his past excursions into history. 'The lessons and sensibilities derived from absorbing myself in those pre-existing traditions do carry over and inform the current practice, ' he says.Wakelins near Wickhambrook in Suffolk, which is part new-build, part radical reconstruction of a group of timber-framed cottages, continues his pilgrimage. (Sandy Rendel and Stephen Tierney are other members of the project team. ) Gorst's childhood was spent in East Anglia (where he still has a retreat) and he has a feel for the region and its traditions.
The client for Wakelins is an American, resident in Britain for many years, who had been dividing his time between London and Suffolk and was anxious to find a larger house in southwest Suffolk. When first seen by Gorst and the client, Wakelins was superficially unappealing, despite its Grade II listing.Originally a group of cottages with medieval origins, it had been crudely extended and altered.
A coating of cement render had accelerated the march of dampness and rot through the timber frame. Gorst proposed removing later accretions, stripping back what remained to the frame and extending the house in a modern manner - with the unsightly additions removed, the house would be too small for the client's requirements. His proposals won support from English Heritage and amenity societies. The Ancient Monuments Society said it was 'a fascinating and exciting scheme by an architect with an established reputation in handling listed buildings with both sensitivity and flair'. Though there were the inevitable objections from neighbours.
Initially there were ideas for leaving the historic timber frame exposed externally, but in consultation with conservation planners it was agreed to re-render the listed building using lime render in the local tradition. The uncompromisingly modern nature of the new extension was broadly welcomed by planners and local councillors and work was able to start on site in 2001. Consent was also given for the conversion of an adjacent barn, also in poor condition, for use as a staff residence. The applicant was advised to investigate reports that great crested newts, a protected species, were breeding in a pond on the site.
Once the lean-to additions along the south side of the house were removed, the condition of what remained was found to be worse than expected. There were no foundations. About 40 per cent of the timber frame was beyond repair and had to be replaced with English oak, jointed and pegged in the traditional manner, in a reconstruction operation extending over nearly six months. Installing foundations and a new soleplate meant propping the timber frame.
Here, as throughout the project, the architects worked closely with the 'superb' local firm of FA Valiant and Son as general contractor. The results of the collaboration are evident in the outstanding craftsmanship seen throughout the reconstructed and extended house.
Since Wakelins was essentially an amalgam of what had been quite humble dwellings, there were no interiors of note. The main staircase dated only from the 1970s and formed an intrusive presence at the centre of the house. Gorst relocated the stair to the building's southern edge, where it is lit by a full-height window that, he concedes, owes something to the inspiration of Lutyens. The planners rejected a proposal that the window be more strongly expressed, breaking the roofline, but internally the stair certainly provides a sense of light and openness.
In structural terms, the stripped-down timber frame provided a flexible envelope (conventionally divided by non-structural studded partitions) that adapted easily to a non-compartmented modern lifestyle. Most of the ground floor is now occupied by the interconnected kitchen and dining room, with an informal area for relaxing and listening to music beyond the reconfigured entrance hall to the east. A further lounge area and two bedrooms occupy the first floor, with a third guest bedroom at attic level. Internally, the repaired timber frame has been left exposed in a way it would not have been in the past. The contrast between old and new timbers is apparent.
Externally, a 100mm layer of 'breathable' sheep's wool insulation fitted between new exterior studs gives the building environmental credentials it hitherto lacked. Over this, lime render was applied onto stainless-steel mesh.
More insulation was packed into the roof, clad in locally made clay tiles. Both the chimney stacks, which had been cut down and much altered, were rebuilt as emphatic external features. The removal of the additions along the south side of the house has made the interiors far lighter; the client wanted generously day-lit spaces. Windows are single-glazed and have leaded lights, a feature that Gorst 'agonised' about, toying with the idea of plain casements.
However, he points out that the small panes of handmade glass provide an attractively dappled light when the sun shines. Moreover, the use of leaded panes seems to heighten the contrast between the restored old house and the new house that adjoins it to the east.
Gorst was insistent that, leaded panes apart, new elements should be clearly contemporary.
'What is new had to be clearly expressed as such, with no attempt to soften its impact', he insists.
Equally the new addition was envisaged as an uncompromisingly modern building. It might have been more emphatically detached from the old fabric had the two been connected at one level only, but this would have been at the expense of practicality and convenience. The diagram of the addition takes its cue from the axis of the existing house.A double-height, toplit central space, reminiscent of that at Whithurst Park, divides it into two rectangular zones. That to the north is more enclosed and secretive, with narrow slit windows, while that to the south, with the library at ground level and the master bedroom above, is transparent, open to the landscape through large areas of double glazing which give fine views over the garden and surrounding fields and woods.
The level connection between old and new was achieved by excavating the site of the addition to a depth of about half a metre. The new wing is essentially a prefabricated softwood timber structure, made in a boatyard in Beccles and erected on site in 10 days. Gorst sees it as a modern expression of the timber-building tradition, formed on a well-insulated frame clad in oak boarding and with a minimal amount of structural steel. The flat roof is sedum-planted.
The former barn, now occupied by a member of staff, is a striking marriage of old and new in its own right. Again, new foundations had to be laid and up to half of the timber frame replaced. Internally, it is now lined in fireproofed birch ply covering a layer of insulation.
Locally produced clay paviours have been used for the floor in the main living and kitchen area, laid on a screed that incorporates underfloor heating. The oak boarded screen that forms a sheltered entrance area for the barn was a testbed for the use of the same material on the cladding of the main house.
Given the extent of reconstruction of the existing house (which remains listed), the project ended up by creating, as Gorst freely admits, 'two new, connected houses'. In many respects this was a dream commission. The architect was instructed not only to design a great deal of fitted and moveable furniture but also to select other items of furnishing, floor coverings, light fittings and even cutlery and linen. Security, lighting and sound systems are controlled by a central computer system.
The marriage of old and new that is now Wakelins is a surprisingly seamless one, with a clear spatial flow between the restored and the entirely new elements in the house. Gorst has created a house for a particular lifestyle, comfortable but not showy, one that is rich in enjoyable and memorable spaces and equally rich in the pleasures of texture and form provided by fine craftsmanship. There is nothing sentimental or folksy - it wears both its age and its modernity with ease. Oh, and the greatcrested newts are still there, undisturbed by a couple of years of work on site.


To her surprise and delight, Mary received a letter from Harry the following day. Recognising the handwriting, she smiled to herself. ‘He’s got the pilot playing postman for him again, I bet.’ She sat on her bed reading slowly then gazed, rapt, the letter clutched in her hand. After a while she began to read it through again. Shaking her head she went to her bedside cupboard and took out a small dictionary.
I’m sure many a reader chuckled when they read this passage in It Never Was You, as it sums up pretty well the character of Harry and Mary’s early romance. Mary’s loquacious but unsophisticated chatter is offset so brilliantly by Harry’s intermittent yet eloquent ripostes. He is a quiet man, but one with a well-honed vocabulary that he puts to good use, often for comic and sardonic effect.
Harry’s banter often reminds me of William himself, who loved to explore and experiment with words. He peppered The Cypress Branches with a plethora of wonderful, and sometimes weird, acronyms, slang and now long forgotten, obsolete words and phrases. The way people spoke in the 1940s and 50s when the books are set was very different to how we speak now, and once common and every-day phrases now seem baffling to the contemporary reader.
More than once, as I was editing and reviewing the books, I have found myself in a similar situation to Mary, reaching for a dictionary or going online to look up the meaning of a slang phrase. I love this aspect of the books. It roots them in the time they’re set, and makes the dialogue that much richer and more believable.
So, I thought I’d start a series of posts exploring some of the more obscure and interesting words which I have encountered in the books, and share with you what I have been able to discover about them.
Are there any words or phrases you’ve seen in the trilogy that you’d love to know more about – or just know what the heck they mean? If so, let me know and I’ll add them to the list to explore in future posts.
What’s the context? Harry and Mary are on their first outing together, and have stopped to take tea in a small patisserie. Mary is on one of her never-ending “ear-bashings”, telling Harry all about her family and her past.
What does it mean? There are a number of possible definitions of a tallyman. As the name suggests, they are people employed to keep a tally – a running count – of people or items. In some countries, the tallyman is present at an election count, to keep a note of preferences when the ballot boxes are opened. In some towns and cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries, tallymen were often employed by landlords or councils to do head counts, to ensure the correct number of people were living in council owned properties.
Liverpool and its tallymen: The word has a particular association with Liverpool, where It Never Was You is set. During the early Victorian period, Liverpool was renowned for its overcrowded, unsanitary slums where dock and factory workers crammed into tiny dwellings with their extended families. In an effort to clean up the slums, and improve the health of the ever-growing population, Dr William Henry Duncan was appointed as the city’s (and the country’s) first Medical Officer of Health in 1847. He had some radical ideas, and it was undoubtedly thanks to his influence that the living conditions of Liverpool’s population improved markedly, with the slums eventually making way for the now ubiquitous Victorian “two-up two-down” terraces.
But Duncan’s legacy has a more sinister side, with tales (whether apocryphal or not, it isn’t clear) of a version of the tallyman sent to check on the number of people living in each home. So the stories go, the tallyman would visit, often at night, and if the home was considered too overcrowded or unsanitary, the authorities would remove children from their families and re-home them outside the city. The tallyman thus became an object of fear, and many who grew up in the 40s and 50s tell tales of how they were encouraged to behave, “or the tallyman will come to get you”.
Whether this was officially sanctioned, or even if it happened at all, isn’t clear, but it does make for a great “bogieman” threat to keep kids in line!
Have you heard of any tales of the tallyman? Can you shed any more light on the tallymen of Liverpool? If so, please leave a comment.


How large an area can be included in a single soil sample and can several fields be combined into one sample?
The key is to sample uniform areas with similar, manure, fertilizer and cropping histories. Soil types are also key in determining the size of a individual soil test. Too often a wrong assumption is made that if fields have the same crop then everything else is similar and one soil test is adequate for that crop. However, most of the time there is significant field-to-field variation in soil test levels. Thus, the best sampling strategy is usually to sample each field individually.
If the samples from individual fields that are managed exactly the same are very similar, these fields could be combined in the future. However, the Nutrient Management Technical Manual indicates that a single soil sample should not cover more than about 20 acres total.
How often should I take soil samples?
It is recommended that samples be taken every 3 years (the regulations for ACT 38 specify this testing for operations requiring nutrient management plans).
What is the standard procedure for soil sampling?
Do not wait until the last minute. The best time to sample is in the summer or fall.
Take cores from at least 15 to 20 spots randomly over the field to obtain a representative sample. One sample should not represent more than 20 acres.
Sample between rows. Avoid old fencerows, dead furrows, and other spots that are not representative of the whole field.
Take separate samples from problem areas if they can be treated separately.
Take two samples from no-till fields: one to a 6 inch depth for lime and fertilizer recommendations, and one to a 2 inch depth to monitor surface acidity.
Sample permanent pastures to a 3 to 4 inch depth.
Collect the samples in a clean container.
Mix the core samplings, allow to air dry and remove roots and stones.
Fill the soil test container.
Complete the information sheet, giving all of the information requested. Be sure to include the soil name. Remember, the recommendation can be only as good as the information supplied.
How can I find out more about the soils on my property?
This information is found in the USDA Soil Survey. Every county has a Soil Survey. The Soil Survey identifies the location of soil types and references the areas on aerial photographs for the entire County. It also provides information on each soil found in the County. The Sullivan County Conservation District will gladly provide assistance in obtaining soil maps for your operation. All soil mapping is now done through an internet site maintained by the USDA. Penn State has developed a soil mapping site that uses soil data from USDA but tends to be easier to navigate. The links below provides access to both websites.


How does a team grab nearly two-thirds of its offensive rebounding possibilities, shoot 57.4 percent from the floor and still lose?
Towson knows the answer to that basketball riddle. There's really only one way it could happen.
The Tigers' 25 turnovers contributed to a second-half meltdown in Monday's 85-84 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson at SECU Arena, a befuddling display of dreadful ballhandling for a team that has struggled with turnovers all season.
"I don't recall doing that badly my first year," said coach Pat Skerry, referring to the 1-31 team he piloted in 2011-12. "We have some work to do. We just can't take care of the ball. It's absolutely embarrassing."
It was the fifth consecutive loss for Towson (7-6), which led by as many as 16 early in the second half against the Knights (5-6).
Towson's problems are obvious. It doesn't have an established point guard. And, besides Four McGlynn, it doesn't have capable outside shooters.
But it especially doesn't have an established point guard.
Monday wasn't particularly rough for freshman Byron Hawkins, who had just two turnovers in 23 foul-plagued minutes. Junior college transfer Josh Ivory barely got off the bench, tossing a giveaway into his two-minute cameo late in the second half.
McGlynn handled the ball for a good chunk of the night, but he's not nearly as good as a point guard as he is as a shooter. He had six turnovers, one of five Towson players to notch at least three.
"I mean, who didn't turn it over?" Skerry asked.
Skerry tried using timeouts. He tried letting his team play through mistakes.
And by the time Fairleigh Dickinson had 20 points off turnovers in the second half alone, Towson needed an Eddie Keith II free throw just to force overtime.
"What do you tell them? Don't turn it over," Skerry said. "So then what you do? You work on dribbling, passing, catching every day. If that can't carry over when the other team's here and they put the scoreboard on, then you ask 'Do I have the right guys?' I'm not trying to hurt anybody's feelings, but you just can't turn the ball over. I don't know what else to say."
The Tigers rank 327th nationally in turnover percentage according to KenPom.com, a miserable figure that helps offset strengths on the offensive glass (fourth nationally in offensive rebounding percentage) and getting to the foul line (first in free throw rate).
But unless someone who can take care of the ball emerges, Towson's run through the CAA (however limited much of the league is) will be just as bumpy as Monday's experience.
"I like the group," Skerry said. "They practice hard. We're not mentally tough enough. We're not. You don't drop the last two games in the crunch if you have a couple guys to pull you through mentally. That's probably the most alarming to me. I like to coach tough guys. I don't think we're mentally tough."
If that's the case, Skerry's postgame plans couldn't have gone over well.
"We're going to back and watch that," Skerry said. "It'll be like a chainsaw massacre gone wild."
Towson did Saturday what it has done often this season, absorb a close defeat that simply adds to an already miserable season.
The Tigers took a 63-60 home loss to Georgia State, a setback that dropped them to 0-13 in the CAA and kept them winless in 2011.
Only five other Division I non-independents have yet to win a league game --- Fordham (Atlantic 10), DePaul (Big East), Texas-Pan American (Great West), Georgia Southern (Southern) and Centenary (Summit). And while the Tigers (4-19) have endured their share of blowouts, seven of their conference losses have come by single digits.
In short, it's not a great situation for Towson, but probably not one worthy of already knowing it will be wearing road jerseys on the first day of the CAA tournament (because 4-win Northeastern plays both 5-win Georgia State and 5-win UNC Wilmington, one of the three has to be an eighth team to reach six victories).
The Tigers also established a most unwanted mark Saturday, passing 1985 East Carolina and 2006 James Madison for the most consecutive losses at the start of a conference season in CAA history.
The good news for Towson? That comes in a couple areas. It has no more games left against the top third of the CAA, and has a recent history of improving toward the end of the regular season. Throw in the plethora of close games, and chances are the Tigers will break through with something before long.
It just won't be in time to avoid a dubious conference record.
TOWSON, Md. --- By all accounts, Towson should have been exhausted.
Less than 48 hours earlier, they fell in a tight game at UNC Wilmington. There was little sleep that night, then a flight home from Raleigh, then a practice, then a date with CAA co-leader Virginia Commonwealth.
Instead, the Tigers are simply tired of losing.
Towson has the market cornered on the art of the tight loss, suffering its 10th setback by 10 or fewer points on Monday. The 80-76 defeat was a game outing for the Tigers (4-15, 0-9 CAA), who cemented their place in the conference cellar at the midpoint of the league season with Northeastern finally collecting its first CAA win on Monday.
"Our guys have come a long way," coach Pat Kennedy said. "There's not a lot to show for it in the win-loss column, but this group of guys have come a long way."
Indeed, Towson didn't look the part of a punching bag. The Tigers never let the Rams (16-5, 8-1) build a lead bigger than six points, and immediately closed within a basket when Virginia Commonwealth was poised to finally put them away in the final eight minutes.
There are also rational reasons for the Tigers' inability to climb closer to the top half of the conference this year. Forward Robert Nwankwo, last year's blocked shots leader in the CAA, found himself in eligibility purgatory thanks to a credits snafu. Guard Cephas Oglesby, a junior college transfer, showed up with bum knees. And the program and point guard Troy Franklin parted ways in December.
"Not that people are writing about us like Duke, but it would be hard for any other program in America to go through what we went through and still be as competitive as we were," Kennedy said.
And yet the Tigers are well on their way to a 15th straight losing season, an extended drought that could be described as miserable if it wasn't for external apathy toward the basketball program in the northern Baltimore suburbs.
Towson ranks 11th in the CAA in home attendance, ahead of only Georgia State, and that figure likely won't improve substantially with the Tigers becoming the league's first 0-9 team since James Madison (0-12) and William and Mary (0-9) both struggled mightily five years ago.
Still, there are signs of life, hints Towson could progress far enough by March to be a nuisance when it arrives in Richmond. The Tigers have won at least one CAA tournament game for four years running, and enough pieces are in place for a spurt at some point in the next six weeks.
Without the aggravation of double-teams, Maryland transfer Braxton Dupree collected 22 points. Forward Isaiah Philmore is a multi-faceted player when he doesn't wander into foul trouble. Guard RaShawn Polk is a capable CAA guard.
That is, if the losing doesn't erode the hope of the eight-man roster (Kennedy is redshirting three freshmen).
"It's been tough," Dupree said. "We're competitors and we want to give our best effort when we go out there. Regardless of us not having Rob or Cephas, we're still going to go out there and play and play as hard as we can. It's tough. We want to win, and we're just going to keep fighting. We have a lot of games left."
There's 10 in the regular season, plus the conference tournament. With efforts like Monday's, chances are Towson will poach a few victories down the stretch.
The time for that might not be in the next week. Towson, a team in no need of any more hurdles, must travel to George Mason, Old Dominion and Drexel in succession.
It isn't easy. But neither is the losing --- something the Tigers have already had their fill of at the halfway juncture of the conference schedule, even if there are signs the future might not be so bad.
"To me it's been very, very encouraging. Jerry Tarkanian said once 'I've had teams I loved and I've had teams I didn't like a whole lot.' When you have those teams, it ain't fun. But these guys have been just fabulous. When you look at us statistically, we have a lot to look forward to."
The full season rewind and lookahead for Towson is coming tomorrow, but it should be noted the Tigers will be playing a heavily tweaked early-season schedule.
Tony Seaman, whose three-year extension was finalized this week, said Mount St. Mary's and Saint Joseph's will be added to the Towson's schedule, with both Bucknell and Virginia getting swapped out.
Saint Joseph's is joining the CAA as an associate member in men's lacrosse next season.
"Our league makes the schedule and uses up six Saturdays," Seaman said. "That greatly affected my preleague schedule. It's tough to move those games around. That's two pretty good teams off our schedule. We were able to keep Stony Brook, and that opened up March 5, but neither Bucknell nor Virginia had that open."
Toss in the annual date with Johns Hopkins moving to mid-February --- the season-opener for both teams --- and Towson's tentative schedule looks a whole lot different.
Perhaps the niftiest part of this whole thing is the Tigers will play five in-state opponents before the NCAA men's basketball tournament even gets underway. Toss in a date with UMBC in early April, and Towson will have faced the other six Division I programs in Maryland.
Only one other school has done that: Johns Hopkins, which went 23-1 against the rest of the state's programs from 2006 to 2009.
A little bit of anticipated lacrosse news this morning, as Towson coach Tony Seaman confirmed he received and finalized a three-year contract extension.
Seaman, who is 96-83 in 12 seasons at the CAA school, has taken the Tigers to five NCAA tournaments and reached the 2001 final four. He's the only coach in the sport's history to take three schools (Penn, Johns Hopkins, Towson) to the final four.
But he was told before this past season his contract would not be renewed if the Tigers didn't make it to the postseason for the first time since 2007, raising the stakes for 2010.
Towson wound up playing arguably the most arduous nonconference schedule in the country, but lost to Delaware in the CAA final. It added an unusual dynamic to the postgame press conference, since no one was sure whether Seaman would actually be back.
Now it's assured that he is. And, as usual, lacrosse season in the northern Baltimore 'burbs certainly won't be dull as a result.


Due to the high cost of flowers in Alberta, Yraglac decided it would be a good idea to plant his own flower garden instead of buying flowers for his girlfriend. We can model his flower garden on a two-dimensional grid, where the position of each flower is given by an $(x,y)$ coordinate. Today, Yraglac decided it would be a good idea to water his flowers one by one, starting at the origin $(0,0)$ and walking to each flower. He will take the shortest path at each step. However, it turns out that Yraglac has an important meeting today and has a limited amount of time available to water the flowers. Thus, he has ranked all of the flowers in his garden from most to least important and will water them in that order. For religious reasons, the number of flowers watered by Yraglac must be a prime number, or zero. Help Yraglac find the maximum number of flowers he can water.
The first line contains a single integer $T \leq 10$ giving the number of test cases. Each test case starts with a line containing an integer $N$ ($1 \leq N \leq 20\, 000$), the number of flowers in the garden, and an integer $D$ ($0 \leq D \leq 10^9$), the maximum total distance that can be travelled by Yraglac. The next $N$ lines contain two integers $x_ i$ and $y_ i$ ($-500 \leq x_ i,y_ i \leq 500$), the coordinates of the $i$th flower. The flowers are ordered from most to least important. Every flower has a different position, and there will not be a flower at the origin $(0,0)$.
For each test case, output a single line containing the maximum number of flowers that Yraglac can water.


I was soaking wet from the water rapids, and my head was spinning from whizzing around in a giant teacup on the Mad Tea Party ride.
We'd eaten so many burgers, I wouldn't have been surprised if we'd turned into one!
But I didn't care. We were on the holiday of a lifetime at Walt Disney World in Florida.
As my kids waved madly at me from Splash Mountain, I almost managed to forget everything. Almost.
You see, this holiday was the last one we'd have as a family. It was a time to create cherished memories. I didn't know how many more times I'd hear the sound of my children's laughter.
The nightmare had started a year earlier, when I'd woken up with pins and needles in my hand.
I must have slept on it funny, I'd thought.
But even in the shower, the numbness didn't disappear.
‘I'm sure it's nothing to worry about,' Pete had said.
‘That's how it all started for Dad, though,' I'd whispered.
My dad had died when I was just 13 from motor neurone disease (MND), a group of neurological disorders that affected the muscles in his body.
Over the next three years, I'd had to watch this vicious disease destroy his body bit by bit. By the end, he couldn't walk or talk.
a couple of years later, a doctor had warned me. ‘You know, it could be hereditary. You should get tested,' she'd urged.
‘No, I'd rather not know,' I'd cried. Deep down, I'd felt that if I didn't think about it, then it couldn't happen. I'd been wrong.
pins and needles spread to my legs and my co-ordination started to deteriorate.
‘You look like you're drunk,' Pete had frowned, as I'd staggered to the bathroom.
So I'd finally decided to find out the truth. I was sent for a whirlwind of MRI scans and blood tests.
Pete had been with me when I'd gone to my GP for the results. He'd held my hand so tightly.
‘It is motor neurone disease,' the doctor had explained. ‘I'm so sorry.' Why me? I'd thought.
eyes, tears were streaming down his face. They were the eyes I'd been looking into since I was 18.
We'd met through mutual friends, and loved Sunday afternoons in the pub or cuddling up to watch one of his favourite horror films.
When I'd fallen pregnant soon after we'd moved in together, we'd both been over the moon. Before we knew it, we'd had seven gorgeous kids!
‘I just have to hold your hand and you fall pregnant,' Pete would joke.
Although we didn't have much money and it was hard work, I'd never once wished for anything different.
Returning home from the doctor's, we'd opened the door and the sounds of my kids had hit me. Our five boys were watching football on TV. With them all supporting different teams, I'd normally end up being the referee!
‘Come on, Liverpool!' Alex, 17, would shout.
‘Nah, Leeds all the way!' Andrew, 19, would cheer.
I don't know how long we'd stood there, but I'd realised that all those simple moments - like listening to Andrew's girlfriend problems, watching TV with Dom, 11, or braiding 13-year-old Megan's blonde hair - were so precious now.
We'd decided not to tell them straight away, but they'd guessed something was up.
‘Is everything okay, Mum?' Shaunna, 20, had asked.
‘You'd better sit down, love,' I'd whispered.
It'd broken me watching her devastated face. After that, we'd told the rest of the kids.
Andrew and Alex were in denial, and my youngest, Josh, just didn't understand.
‘I'm so angry that I'll miss so much,' I'd sob to Pete at night.
It should've been me taking Josh, 10, to his first day at secondary school, and helping 14-year-old Mathew revise for his exams.
I was also scared that all the responsibility would fall on Shaunna. She was mum to Skye, two, and didn't need that burden, too. But, somehow, we'd managed not to let it control our lives, and I'd carried on my job as a nursery assistant.
Me and Pete had always dreamt of a family holiday there, and we'd planned on saving up over the next couple of years. Time I now didn't have.
‘Why don't you put the deposit down and we'll raise the rest?' Michaela suggested.
‘You can't do that!' I gasped.
‘We want to,' she smiled.
So, my friends started a huge fundraising campaign. In five months, they'd raised £10,500.
It was how we'd ended up on this trip of a lifetime.
We got back home six weeks ago. I now need a wheelchair to get around. It will be tough for me and my family, but I hope when the time comes, they will find the strength to cope.
We're waiting for the results at the moment, but again we're trying not to let it loom over us. Time is too precious. Forever wouldn't be long enough with my kids. I definitely don't have that - I just have to make sure every day counts.


I have a task tracking list in an Excel table. I have a macro (attached to a userform CommandButton) that, after I fill out the form, it adds the data to the last row of the table and then creates meeting invites based on the due date and time on each row. To avoid duplication of appointments, the code also adds "Created" in the 18th column, then only creates new appointments if that cell is empty.
This is working relatively well, but I'd like my appointment category to update based on the value in one of the columns (PENDING when created, and changed to CLOSED when it's completed).
Here is the code that creates the appointment invite. How do I construct VBA code to look at the Excel table again to change the category of appointments from PENDING to CLOSED if I have changed it to CLOSED in the table?
.Subject = Cells(r, 10).Value & " (" & Cells(r, 14).Value & Cells(r, 15).Value & ")"
.Body = "Follow up with task lead"
category of appointments from PENDING to CLOSED if I have changed it to CLOSED in the table?
if you change it to closed in the excel sheet, you should use an 'update' macro that searches the calendar for matches and updates the found entry. You may need to use a column to show the appt was updated, so the macro doesn't lookup all entries with closed as the category.
You'll need a filter - this sample uses the subject to find the appt, but you could use other values too.
strFilter = "@SQL=" & Chr(34) & "urn:schemas:httpmail:subject" & Chr(34) & " like '%" & strsubject & "%'"
Thos page: How to print a list of recurring dates using VBA shows how to filter by dates.
Thanks! How do I incorporate my subject, which is a string (see .subject line), into the strFilter?
strSubject = Cells(r, 10).Value & " (" & Cells(r, 14).Value & Cells(r, 15).Value & ")"
Appointments do not update properly!
How do I disable the message: The contents of this appointment have been updated.


Why do some police think they're above the law?
Last Friday, I was sitting at traffic lights, when the driver of the car beside me got sick of waiting for them to turn green, and drove on through.
Now, most of us have known the frustration of waiting at a red light for what seems like an age. But we don't tend to give into it, and this person certainly should have been setting a better example because he was a policeman in a marked Vauxhall Astra.
There was clearly no emergency to which he was responding. Neither his flashing lights or siren were on. And I caught up with him about two minutes later at another red light; one where there was too much traffic for him to perform the same trick.
Sadly, such bad driving is far from unusual. Not so long ago I watched two officers switch on their siren so they could turn right at a no-right turn - to get to a petrol station and buy some chocolate. And the police can regularly be seen driving too close to the car in front or flouting the speed limits they tell the rest of us are so important.
I'm reminded of Gene Hackman's submarine captain in the movie Crimson Tide, who says to his first officer "We're here to preserve democracy, not to practise it". These days too many police officers seem to see it as their role to enforce the rules of the road, but not to obey them.
To be fair, there are plenty who don't think the right to break the law is a perk of the job. Indeed, the proper traffic police - as opposed to those who can be found in panda cars - are generally among the best drivers on the road, no doubt because they are all too familiar with the potential consequences of bad driving.
But too many of their colleagues are contributing to the lack of confidence much of the public have in the police these days. After all, if officers have such little respect for the law that they won't wait at traffic lights or slow to 30mph in town, how can we trust they'll do the right thing when faced with something more serious?


Does GMO make the plant produce different chemicals? If so, then if you wanted the plant to grow bigger, what chemical would it produce?
A GMO plant can be made to produce different chemicals. At the initial level the products of added genes are proteins, but proteins can also function as enzymes i.e., they cause chemical reactions and these chemicals can affect growth.
A bigger plant could be one that produces more tissue in a given time, or it could be one that is taller; these are different situations.
More mass: For a plant to grow bigger it has to make better use of the available resources, such as light and CO2 for photosynthesis, water, or minerals. There are currently no such crops in production, but research has been progressing on several fronts.
A “Holy grail” of plant production would be to change the way plants photosynthesize: there are two main biochemical pathways of CO2 fixation termed C3 and C4: wheat and rice are C3, corn (maize) C4; C4 is favored in warm climates so if the genes for C4 could be transferred to rice there could, theoretically be a bump in rice yields. However, this is easier said than done as C4 is a multistep process also involving a different leaf anatomy, but it is being researched at several institutions. Interestingly some of the increase in corn yield has been by a conventional breeding change in plant architecture, enabling more plants to be grown per acre.
Another sought-for change would be to add the ability of non-legume (pea family) crops to gain the ability to fix nitrogen, a required ingredient for proteins, as occurs in legumes via the hosting of Rhizobium bacteria in root nodules. Again, this would involve inserting multiple genes for a complex process, but it may be possible in the future. One way around this is to enhance the uptake of nitrogen from the soil via nitrogen-ion uptake-proteins, and this has been achieved in rice allowing larger plants to be produced at low levels of nitrogen fertilizer. For example, Arcadia Biosciences recently reported that genetically-engineered rice carrying the nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency, and salinity tolerance traits outperformed non-modified lines by an average of 25 percent under limiting nitrogen applications, and up to 50 percent under drought conditions. The caveat here is that these traits only display advantages under appropriate nutrient-poor/adverse conditions, but as that is the case in many places, especially in developing countries, these traits can provide desirable yield increases.
Increased height: Changes in plant height are regulated by plant hormones, specifically auxin and gibberellin. Increasing the general auxin level does not work as auxin regulates many developmental processes. Indeed, the original vector for genetic engineering is the bacterium Agrobacterium, which produces galls on plants by transferring multiple genes into the plant cells, including genes for auxin and cytokinin synthesis. As the hormone genes induced unregulated growth the molecular biologists stripped the hormone genes from the transferred DNA, thus removing the gall-forming characteristic, while retaining the gene-vector capacity for the insertion of other desired genes. Gibberellin has a more direct effect on stem elongation; for example, dwarf beans have a low gibberellin and pole beans a high gibberellin content, and you can convert a dwarf bean into a tall bean by spraying gibberellin or transferring a gene for the final step in gibberellin biosynthesis. But would you want to? A problem with older varieties of wheat is that they were too tall and frequently lodged (fell over) in the rain and wind. Dwarf varieties could be produced by blocking the production of gibberellin using genetic engineering. However modern high-yielding, stiff-strawed wheats are the result of a block in the gibberellin response system. Within the plant there is a natural brake on the growth system and what gibberellin does is take the brake off. A mutation in the brake gene means that the plant grows tall without gibberellin. However, if the gibberellin receptor is modified so it doesn’t respond to gibberellin then the resulting plant is dwarf. As these genes are known other tall or dwarf crops could be produced by genetic editing using CRISPR-Cas9, which simply makes gene modifications but does not add any genetic material. Interestingly the current dwarf wheats are the result of a long-ago spontaneous mutations and most derive from dwarf wheats from Japan that have genes for the blocked gibberellin-signaling system.


JAlbum In order to generate a brand-new project, you need to provide information about the name of the album, tags, description, and location. Additionally, you may save the album to your computer and upload it in your future editing projects. Each project may be personalized using different skins and styles, and you may upload albums to jalbum.net or your own website. The album is also saved locally on your computer and can be previewed in your web browser. jAlbum gives you the possibility to add images, video or folders using the drag-and-drop support or built-in browse button.There are three ways of adding files, as you can copy files to an album project, make use of links (they take less space on the disk and any editing tasks applied to the image are automatically revealed in the final album) or work with a custom folder (changes are applied to the physical files in that directory too). JAlbum is a gallery software that makes web albums from your digital images. We aim to make it the easiest to use and most powerful tool in this category and always keep it free! So far over 7 million photo albums have been published with JAlbum and the software is started every 7 seconds somewhere in the world. Slimjet is a fast and powerful web browser that is based on the Blink engine and is built on top of the Chromium open source project, so if you use Google Chrome as your browser of choice then you will already be familiar with Slimjet. Slimjet integrates numerous powerful and convenient features to assist you in maximizing your online productivity. The browser includes many options and settings to let you, the user, customize it to suit your own preferences. Slimjet does keep most of the existing features that are already in Chrome whilst adding some major features on top.
OBS Studio is a free and open source software for video recording and live streaming. Download and start streaming quickly and easily on Windows, Mac or Linux. Control your stream from your Windows PC desktop with OBS Studio! Download OBS Studio Offline Installer Setup for Windows. Work with developers in the streaming community to get the features you need. OBS has been rebuilt from the ground up to be even more lightweight and high performance than before. FileZilla Client for Mac is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive graphical user interface. It includes a site manager to store all your connection details and logins as well as an Explorer style interface that shows the local and remote folders and can be customized independently. The program offers support for firewalls and proxy connections as well as SSL and Kerberos GSS security. Additional features include keep alive, auto ascii/binary transfer and more. A nice program for beginners and advanced user alike. Download FileZilla for Mac is a powerful file management software for FTP access to your Web site’s server! Furthermore, you are allowed to alter brightness, contrast and saturation, change the gamma value for each color channel (red, green and blue), as well as apply special effects (e.g. gray, sepia, sharpen, pixelate, invert), enable red-eye corrections, and insert custom text messages. The tool lets you check out a histogram, edit metadata (name, title, date and time), give ratings, set flags, view camera info (e.g. name, auto exposure), and insert description about the creation, keywords, copyright and copyright URL. jAlbum surely doesn’t let you down when it comes to configuration settings. It provides support for a multitude of parameters designed to help you change direction locations, alter the image ordering and thumbnail layout, and define the image linking from thumbnails.


POWER OUTPUT 150 watts per channel continuous from20Hz to 20kHz. 1kHz total harmonic distortion typically 0.6% at 150 watts, below 0.03% at 1 watt. Approximate actual power available at 'clipping' 160 watts (1kHz). (Note that actual power output is dependent upon both line voltage and 'condition' i. e. if power line has high distortion, maximum power will be affected adversely, although from a listening standpoint this is not very critical.)POWER BANDWIDTH (-3dB points) 5Hz to 80kHz. FREQUENCY RESPONSE (-3dB points at 1 watt) 0.5Hz to 120 kHz. INPUT SENSITIVITY 2.0V RMS BAL for rated output. (24 dB Bal gain into 8 ohms.) INPUT IMPEDANCE 300K ohms Balanced. OUTPUT POLARITY Non-inverting. Balanced input pin 2+ (IEC-268). OUTPUT TAPS 16 ohms, 8 ohms, 4 ohms. OUTPUT REGULATION Approximately 0.6dB 16 ohm load to open circuit (Damping factor approximately 14).
OVERALL NEGATIVE FEEDBACK 14dB.SLEW RATE 13 volts/microsecond. RISE TIME 2.0 microseconds. HUM & NOISE Less than 0.1mV RMS – 114dB below rated output (IHF weighted, input shorted). POWER SUPPLY ENERGY STORAGE Approximately 1040 joules. POWER REQUIREMENTS 105-125VAC 60Hz (210-250VAC 50Hz) 730 watts at rated output, 900 watts maximum, 420 watts idle. TUBES REQUIRED 2 – Matched quad KT150 – Power Output; 4 – 6H30 Driver. DIMENSIONS 19"(48.3cm) W x 83⁄4" (22.2cm) H x 191⁄2" (49.5cm) D. Handlesextend 11⁄2" (3.8cm) forward. WEIGHT 75lbs. (34.2kg) Net; 90lbs. (41kg) Shipping.


 He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, And cursed be every one that curseth thee.
 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed [is] he that blesseth thee, and cursed [is] he that curseth thee.
 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall rouse him? Blessed [is] he that blesseth thee, and cursed [is] he that curseth thee.
 He stooped, he lay down like a lion, and like a lioness: who will stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
 He hath knelthath lain down, Like a strong lion, yea like a lioness, Who shall rouse him up? Such as bless thee, are each one blessed, But, such as curse thee, are each one cursed.
 Lying down he hath slept as a lion, and as a lioness, whom none shall dare to rouse. He that blesseth thee, shall also himself be blessed: he that curseth thee shall be reckoned accursed.
 Hee couched, he lay downe as a Lyon, and as a great Lyon: who shal stirre him vp? Blessed [is] hee that blesseth thee, and cursed [is] hee that curseth thee.
 He lay down, he rested as a lion, and as a young lion; who shall stir him up? they that bless thee are blessed, and they that curse thee are cursed.
A primitive root; to bend the knee; by implication to sink, to prostrate.
From H0717 (in the sense of violence); a lion.
From an unused root meaning to roar; a lion (properly a lioness as the fiercer (although not a roarer; compare H0738)).
See commentary on Numbers 24:1-9.
He lay down  Having conquered his enemies the Canaanites, and their land, he shall quietly rest and settle himself there.
Genesis 49:9 Judah [is] a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Job 38:39-40 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, ... When they couch in [their] dens, [and] abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Numbers 23:24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat [of] the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
Gn 12:3; 27:29; 49:9. Nu 23:24. Jb 38:39; 41:10. Ps 2:12; 122:6. Mt 25:40, 45. Ac 9:5.
Please post your comment on Numbers 24:9.


The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu was published originally in French as La Mécanique du coeur and later turned into a 3D animated film, Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart. As I saw the film (also translated to English) before reading the book, I will be comparing the two.
Both begin with a birth during the coldest winter day in Edinburgh's history. Both have a child with a poor APGAR score given a second chance of life with the help of a wind-up heart. Both have a horrendous school experience with a bully named Joe. Both have a brief encounter with a flamenco dancing singer named Miss Acacia. Both have a trip to Andulusia and the help of Méliès.
But the journeys through those way stations are completely different and the final destination is a 180 degrees different between book and film. This different destination in the film, though, isn't a bad thing.
The written word — even one that's translated — has the freedom of word play. Within the bounds of multiple definitions, idiomatic phrasing, double entendre, and so forth, is the magic of the metaphor and the simile. There's no reason to push things beyond the word play to tell the story.
The photoplay — to use the word popular when Georges Méliès was making his fantasy and science fiction films, is an art-form that thrives on special effects. The animated film has a long tradition of being a favorite for the fantasy genre.
So when given a choice between metaphor or reality, the book chose metaphor and the film chose reality.
Which one do I prefer? I like them both.