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Felix the cat needs to land on his feet against Bayern There is always a degree of fascination in watching old footage of football players who have gone on to become top coaches. Take Felix Magath. It was his magnificent strike in the 1983 European Cup Final that proved decisive in Hamburg's victory over Juventus. The young Felix is full of life, grinning from ear to ear like the proverbial Cheshire cat. Who knows what ambitions he had at that age, but it's fair to say that the last thing on his mind would be to look ahead to the distant future and a critical club board meeting in the industrial town of Gelsenkirchen with his job on the line after having presided over a humiliating 5-0 defeat to a newly promoted side. Magath's career as a coach has not been a complete success. However, after shortish early spells at Hamburg, Nuremberg, Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt, a decent showing at Stuttgart gave him the chance to take the biggest job in Germany at Bayern Munich. Despite delivering a domestic double twice, his apparent lack of progress on the continental stage was deemed insufficient for  a club of FC Bayern's stature. Magath's reputation for being a strict disciplinarian has not made him the most popular individual in some quarters. He moved to Wolfsburg, where he led the rather anonymous Volkswagen-owned club to an incredible title win. This earned him a shot at the one of the toughest jobs in the Bundesliga but potentially the most rewarding: coaching FC Schalke 04. The announcement of Magath's appointment sent shockwaves through German football, not because of the appointment itself but the timing of the announcement, before the end of the 2008/09 season, while still at Wolfsburg and with the title race in the balance. The powers that be at Die Wolfe were not happy about the way the transition was handled and chose to announce Magath's departure before it had actually happened. The controversy didn't affect the team's path to the Bundesliga title, inspired by the goals of Grafite and Dzeko. Amidst a shower of Wolfsburg's official beer, Magath was sent to the industrial heartland and to that huge stadium that looks down on the city of Gelsenkirchen like a giant cathedral. Grafite soaks Magath, but the gaffer was on his way Once he arrived and presumably had a chance to look at the books, Magath began to play down Schalke's chances of winning the Bundesliga anytime soon. The club has spent great deal of money supporting a succession of coaches and had accumulated a large squad and a massive wage bill. Club debts were on the verge of crippling the club. Cutbacks would have to be made and the transition may not be a smooth one. However, last season, with the squad he had inherited, Magath orchestrated a title challenge that saw the club lose out to Bayern and finish as runners-up. With Marcelo Bordon and Heiko Westermann at the back and a revitalised Kevin Kuranyi up front, Schalke played an unspectacular but extremely effective brand of football. The unexpected outcome fuelled expectations but unfortunately, for the Gelsenkirchen club, Magath was compelled to ship out many of his high earners and radically reshape the first team. Out went Kuranyi, Westermann, Bordon and Rafinha plus mainstay squad members such as Gerard Asamoah and Carlos Zambrano. While the squad (and presumably the wage bill) was trimmed, Magath did not shirk from spending big in the transfer market – to the tune of about £24m.  Attacking midfielder Jose Manuel Jurado was brought in from Europa League winners Atletico Madrid along with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Atleti's neighbours Real. Then, of course, there was Raul who arrived having finished his spell at Real Madrid. Excitement at the arrival of the Spanish legend had reached fever pitch, but the outcome has made for a disastrous first half of the Bundesliga season – culminating in the aforementioned 5-0 defeat to newly promoted Kaiserslautern. Let's work together: Jurado, Raul, Huntelaar (and an arm) With half of their Bundesliga games consigned to the defeat column and a baying crowd of fanatical supporters literally turning their back on the team, a weary Magath was brought before the board this week to explain himself. Whatever he said, it worked: the board voted to keep him at the club, presumably on the basis that he got them into this mess so he can bloody well get them out of it. It's not all bad though. Two wins in the last five (albeit to the struggling St Pauli and abject Werder Bremen) suggested that before the last weekend at least, a corner had been turned. And the club have successfully negotiated their way into the Second Round if the Champions League. The triad of Jurado, Raul and Huntelaar are showing signs of improvement, with the latter taking to the Bundesliga like a duck to water. Jefferson Farfan is having a good season too. But Magath still has it all to do if Schalke are to meet the expectations of their vociferous support at the Veltins Arena. Already the winter break has been shortened and the players will have to return early after Christmas in the hope that they can reboot their season and pull away from the bottom four. The Bundesliga is sufficiently fluid that a rise up the table to a Europa League spot is not completely out of the question. Tomorrow they have to return to their home crowd and face not only their disgruntled fans but a resurgent Bayern Munich. If ever a response was required, it will be this weekend.

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/felix-cat-needs-land-his-feet-against-bayern

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Lyon players fined for deliberate bookings NYON, Switzerland - UEFA fined Olympique Lyon players Cris and Juninho 15,000 euros ($19,790) and 10,000 euros ($13,190) respectively on Thursday for getting deliberately booked during a Champions League match last month. UEFA's disciplinary panel decided that the pair had committed deliberate fouls during the November 25 Group F match against Fiorentina in order to serve a one-match suspension during their team's meaningless final group stage match against Bayern Munich. Aside from the fine, the tactic appears to have paid off for the two Brazilians who can now compete in the tournament's first knockout round with their disciplinary record wiped clean. Cris and Juninho had each picked up two yellow cards in early Champions League matches going into the Fiorentina match and would have been ruled out of the first knockout round game if their third booking had come during the Bayern match. UEFA said the two players would have three days in which to appeal against Thursday's decision.

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/lyon-players-fined-deliberate-bookings

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Imagine being unemployed and still being able to build a lakefront home, all you need is a little taxpayer money. Private investigator Bernie "The Bug" Soldate says he's seen that, and worse, while trailing fraudsters who are making false unemployment claims. "This guy, who was collecting in Connecticut, built a home on a lake-- it was a palace," Soldate says. "He wasn't looking for work, he was just building his home." Soldate tells the story of another claimant that had files of accomplices in human resources departments who was in an arrangements with to bilk the system. This fraudster was on his second round of unemployment and had notes to "call Ted, and remind him that if the [government] calls to say I went to him looking for work and was wonderful, but wasn't a good fit for the job.” "People in HR departments would sign him off as looking for work when he wasn't because they were his friends," he says. "This is just the tip of the iceberg-- people get more and more creative." According to a recent study, unemployment fraudsters are costing the government billions of dollars. The St. Louis Federal Reserve reports $3.3 billion out of a total $108 billion was paid out in fraudulent unemployment claims in 2011. What's more, $2.2 billion went to people who are actually still working. Current unemployment insurance is provided for up to 26 weeks, but can be collected for longer if state unemployment rates are higher-- for an additional 13 weeks. During the recession lawmakers extended benefits for up to 99 weeks, however this ended in September 2012.  James Sherk, senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, says pre-recession, unemployment benefits were being paid out at around $40 billion a year. Post- recession the program has nearly tripled to more than $100 billion, making the opportunity for fraud to occur even greater. "The aggregate amount of fraud has gotten worse, because the program is bigger," Sherk says. "These [fraudulent claims] are being paid out at higher rates than the $1.6 billion we  are paying for the Job Core training program for at-risk youth." Sherk does point out, that while $3.3 billion is still a huge number, its roughly just 3% of the total amount being paid out.  "It's still an enormous amount of money," he says. Who is Benefitting and How? The St. Louis Fed reports those earning the lowest, at $300 a week and less, were paid out $210 million of these fraudulent claims.  Half a billion went to those earning $900 a week or more. Soldate says many of these claims come from people working in manual labor, mainly construction, who can easily find work that pays under the table.  "They collect unemployment and continue to do side jobs on their own," he says. "They're easy to watch  [for investigators] because we can see them easily." What's more, these fraudsters will actually  give their employers bogus social security numbers. So it appears to payroll department that they are legitimate, but when push comes to shove, they aren't who they claim to be. "They will collect their paycheck, and when all is said and done, they are not who they say they are," he says. And convicted felons? They're cashing in too. Sherk says those behind bars will have their family or friends file claims, and then collect while actually serving time. "Being a convicted felon doesn't make you eligible for this," he says. "The focus [from the government] over the past few years has been to get the money out the door and to the people." Finally those who have actually found work will ride out their 26 weeks or more of unemployment and just not alert the government that they have a new job, Sherk says. "They were people who legitimately qualified for benefits, but then wait awhile to tell the government that they have a job in the first place," he says.  How Can the Government Fix It? The Labor Department, which declined to comment for this story, directed to its recent efforts in providing grants to states to bolster their Unemployment Insurance Program integrity. In September 2012, $169.9 million was awarded to 30 states to enhance their programs To cut down on the amount of wasteful spending, Soldate says the government needs to follow up on received tips. He says,many times disgruntled exes will report their former flames to companies or the government for this type of fraud, but it isn't always followed up on. "The government [may] realize enough of them are doing it, but don't have the manpower or means to come out and investigate a claim of that nature." Sherk says having a greater vetting process is also essential to curbing this type of fraud. "What needs to be done to fix this are more intensive requirements," he says. " By definition, this shouldn't be happening." Follow Kate Rogers on Twitter at @KateRogersNews

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/05/03/33-billion-pait-out-in-fraudulent-unemployment-in-2011/?intcmp=related

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Medical giant Stryker cuts 1,170 jobs, citing ObamaCare Stryker Corp. heir Jon StrykerAP Medical supply giant Stryker is the latest company to announce job cuts in anticipation of coming costs associated with ObamaCare, even though the man who inherited a fortune from the company's founder is a fan. Positions within the company were eliminated altogether after the announcement and have since contracted out many of their current roster of employees to keep costs down, an employee with Stryker, who spoke to under the condition of anonymity, said. “They really trimmed the fat with the last layoffs in 2009 and the year after which is probably why we are finally on budget for the first time since 1999,” the employee added. Jon Stryker has been active in politics before the recent election; he contributing millions to help Democratic candidates in his home state of Michigan. He also has given nearly $250 million of his personal wealth to groups supporting gay rights and the conservation of apes, which led to a newly found species being named after him. In 2010, the discovered Myanmar Snub-nosed monkey was named Rhinopithecus strykeri by the research teams that were funded by Stryker’s Arcus Foundation. The Associated Press contributed to this story.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/16/medical-supply-giant-stryker-corp-makes-pre-emptive-strike-against-pending/?intcmp=obnetwork

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Welcome to Gaia! :: Black Death Goddess's avatar Interesting Consumer 16,350 Points • Trick or Treat 100 • Battle: Cleric 100 • Battle: Level Up 200 Sooooo, no answer on the Halloween items in the gold shops then? Daranigan's avatar Dangerous Hunter 12,850 Points • Millionaire 200 • Ultimate Player 200 • Invisibility 100 When are you gonna put up some new games that don't rely so much on facebook? Seriously. I don't want to have to go to facebook to play a game on gaia. Thinking about it. Thinking about what? Adding the games? Making new games that don't rely on facebook? An actual answer? What is going on with this? Aria T-Loak's avatar Invisible Elder Angel Did Epic Lunatic Lace What would be your weapon of choice during the zombie apocalypse? They would use Zero in that time >_>;; I think.. Ozini's avatar Supportive Shapeshifter 11,050 Points • Conventioneer 300 • Overstocked 200 • Object of Affection 150 Fedelta Hellbond Fedelta Hellbond I know that feel bro. ;~; ; x; I've been begging for the black hair similar to gogh reed zero hair for weeks. not even a maybe. Sometimes I wonder why I bother buying gaia cash or even try to do anything on here anymore. Mods don't really care either. I have a friend who was scammed and all they do is ask for screenie shot screenie shot proof more proof even after she gives it to them. Who the hell takes screenies of a gifting anyway!! D'aww don't say that I'm sure everyone on the Gaia staff truly cares for the members of Gaia. 3nodding About the hacking I'm sure there are a lot of fraud claims of being hacked so they just want to make sure she is telling the truth. As for the hair maybe in the future they might make a black version of it. c: Uncle Kenny We've broken all ties with the store as they basically took all of our inventory, kept it, and just stopped paying us. The store itself is not accessible from our site anymore and any links should no longer lead anywhere but pages that are down. So long story short, we're not in the business of RL merch anymore. The artists do have a RedBubble account that they're selling a few items through though. I don't know Cali law, but ain't that illegal? @ Gaia Staff : Will Gaia Consider adding an opt out check box for flying giftboxes and the like?? @Gaians : Click to see petition. User Image That's the first time I've heard of such a request, any reason as to why? Calelith's avatar Apocalyptic Abomination I have a serious question. What are people like myself supposed to do on gaia? I joined a long time ago. I started in 2005 and I grew with gaia and I am sorry but gaia is refusing to grow with me. I am now over 18 years old and I know a lot of people that have also grown past the childhood years. I have dumped money into this site and I feel like gaia is saying, "oh your 18 now. well since you crossed that line we no longer care if you go or stay." I''m not saying I want to be able to c-y-b-e-r on the site or anything, but I am tired of watching my back because I am having a more mature conversation with my friends. There are many topics that do not involve any sexuallity that can go above a PG-13 level. I am mature. I am an adult. Is gaia ever gonna do anything to make the site more usable for it's members that grew up on gaia? Or are we just expected to quit something that has been such a big part of our lives for so long? You do realize that Gaia is not PG-13 right? "Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wagh’nagl fhtagn." ZeeCats's avatar Shy Shopper 13,750 Points • Grunny Harvester 150 • Consumer 100 • Timid 100 What happened to Waffles? Fedelta Hellbond Aaaaaaand its over..thanks again of gaia admins for absolutely nothing..[whimpers and goes away giving up on all hope of gaia] Pfffffft, you haven't given up all hope and you know it! KNOW IT! :0 If you have something pressing, feel free to pm me with the question/info biggrin Sisky, I sent you a PM :3 Hannah Yeager's avatar Amateur Giver 8,150 Points • Forum Regular 100 • Invisibility 100 • Generous 100 I have some questions that are sort of plot related, but I don't know if they're spoilers... How exactly do vampires reproduce on Gaia? Is it just through sex? Can a person be embraced? Are both possible? Also, is embrace strictly a bite on the neck? Or is there some form of blood exchange between vampire and victim? Kagami Noire's avatar Generous Genius Black Death Goddess Would any EI and REI ideas be accepted by the artists? pleeeeease if you have ideas make one with flowing long straight black hair? ;x; [whimper] Oh I have a Question biggrin How do you feel about the pace of our Gaia-verse plot? And do you care if people are invested in the story? Recently, I've seen plenty of people bashing the storyline as a whole. It's slightly saddening to think that these individuals don''t give two sh*ts about the "backstory" (I guess we can call it that) , to a site they seem pretty invested in monetarily and otherwise. Sagebomb's avatar Aged Prophet 16,700 Points • 50 Wins 150 • Perfect Attendance 400 In the playplus - Gaia relationship, does playplus do any of the development or is that pretty much a gaia thing? What is playplus in that respect. I.e does all development come from the gaia side of things? Any clues on whats happening in soul crash dev world atm? Any chance of getting a achievement granted to the top 10 pirates? What happened to Waffles? He got syrup'd. Guin - Aoiichi's avatar Hallowed Rogue I dont know where i read this. BUT are you guys still takeing ideas for new Gaia games??? How bout a side scroller type game? ala Super mario bros? Where two players can compete against each other at once? Quick Reply Manage Your Items Other Stuff Get Items Get Gaia Cash Where Everyone Hangs Out Other Community Areas Virtual Spaces Fun Stuff Gaia's Games

http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/ask-the-admin-archives/ask-the-admin-10-01-2012/t.82583617_541/

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Go Back   GameCritics.com Forums > GameCritics.com Discussion > Community User Submissions Thread Tools Display Modes Old 03-01-2009, 02:53 AM   #1 New Poster Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 14 Rep Power: 0 thevoice560 is an unknown quantity at this point Please rate this review: Star Wars-The Force Unleashed To me, the Star Wars franchise has been dead for some time now. Since the end of the original trilogy to be precise. After the release of episode 1, LucasArts made a barrage of star wars games, most of which were absolutely dreadful, with the exception of the battlefront and knights of the old republic series, even though Bioware and Pandemic were the driving force behind why those games were good. However, The Force Unleashed had been riding a bullet train of hype for some time, and being the fanboy that I am, I decided to check it out. First things first, this game's story is meant to tie the prequel trilogy to the original, and any game that can support the garbage of the prequels should most likely be bad, and bad it is. The game suffers from clunky, and often sluggish controls that don't even work properly. Half the time, you could aiming a force power at one enemy, only have your force lightning zap the nearest butterfly instead. Some larger enemies will usually require a short quick time event mini game, sort of, to kill them, and there are even some enemies that are resistant to most or all force powers. It seems that the "developers" made a game allows the player to be the most powerful jedi ever with the strongest force abilities, only to have to fight force resistant enemies that are spread in most parts of a level just for the sake of keeping the game challenging. Why even give the player so many abilities that they can't use the whole time? The story doesen't help anything either. As mentioned before, this game is used to tie the two trilogies together, and my question is this: Why would someone, or anyone for that matter want to commit such a terrible crime against humanity? The prequel trilogy was several hours of torture, that made my eyes want to vomit. If only I had that option. So Darth Vader goes through a phase of stealing children, and forcing them to kill for him. You, as the protagonist become his secret apprentice, and with your help Vader will kill the Emperor. Or so it should have been. For supposedly being a sith, the apprentice is never really evil, a pansy really, or at least personality wise. Also the game is criminally short, clocking in at about five to six hours. So if you are planning on getting it, don't pay full price for it, because there are'nt any aspects of it thar are worth the money. Last edited by thevoice560; 03-01-2009 at 02:56 AM. thevoice560 is offline   Reply With Quote Thread Tools Display Modes Posting Rules You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts BB code is On Smilies are On [IMG] code is On HTML code is Off Forum Jump Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.2 Copyright ©2000 - 2014, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. Copyright 1999-2010 GameCritics.com. All rights reserved.

http://www.gamecritics.com/forums/showthread.php?mode=hybrid&t=15176

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Is there a option to turn the physx on low? #11LordPonchoPosted 9/17/2012 12:00:57 AM Did you guys listen to the commentary? Good god. If you're going to post a video, don't provide false information. Low and medium enables physics, but not physx. High id the only setting with physx enabled.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/638786-borderlands-2/64061914?page=1

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GameFreak tells you that you get to pick an existing Pokemon to get an evolution #71strightedgeemoPosted 6/24/2013 1:39:14 AM lets see where they go with this #72SilverSockPosted 6/24/2013 1:58:37 AM Farfetch'd, no question Help Wanted: New Sig Post something funny, and be (temporarily) immortalized here! #73YukimuraCrimsonPosted 6/24/2013 2:01:28 AM Jynx, Skarmory and Bannette #74Chaos_MissilePosted 6/24/2013 2:25:12 AM Missingno_Mastr posted... Luvdisc. I even have an idea in mind- a Water/Flying-type based on the arrows Cupid shoots to make people fall in love. Cupidisc, as it would be called, would have good Attack and Speed, and would learn moves like Drill Peck, Drill Run, Aqua Jet, Quick Attack, Aqua Tail, and Extremespeed. They kinda did. GF just decided to troll: Let's put a smile on that face - The Joker, 2008 #75Paulo123Posted 6/24/2013 2:42:30 AM Seviper or more Eevee evolutions. #76JarickoPosted 6/24/2013 3:58:07 AM dineme81 posted... Can't believe nobody's said this yet.. Aerodactyl That is because aerodactyl is plenty powerful as is. Its the fastest rock type. Its defenses are less then stellar but that is what it gives up for its speed. And in first gen i believe it had the highest crit chance besides electrode which in that gen was incredible. #77EmeraldRangePosted 6/24/2013 4:25:27 AM Dragonair gets a split evo that has is basically a dragonite that looks better Gamefreak better add a feature that can topple this fairy type. #78nightblade_hawkPosted 6/24/2013 4:57:55 AM Psychic/Dark scary and mean looking Mr.Mime Evolution. #79patsfan2312Posted 6/24/2013 7:04:48 AM #80deevo117Posted 6/24/2013 8:03:32 AM Qwilfish God Dammit. Official Manectric of the Pokemon X/Y Boards

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/696959-pokemon-x/66547123?page=7

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Fun online shooters that aren't TF2? #1refmonPosted 9/29/2013 4:28:25 PM I only know of planetside #2ajko000Posted 9/29/2013 4:36:35 PM Planetside is not fun. Sorry, that's it. I mean, maybe Quake Online, but yeah, that specific area has been pretty dry lately. #3DragonRaizenPosted 9/29/2013 4:46:40 PM Natural Selection 2 is always worth a look. Loadout is fun, but might be too TF2ish for you, depending on why you're avoiding TF2. -I'm a robot, not your refrigerator. #4Maiken100Posted 9/29/2013 4:53:04 PM Even tho it's hated on Black ops 2 is fun. Left 4 Dead 2 is still awesome. Battlefield 3, not a big fan but I enjoy CQC from time to time. Counter Strike 1.6, steep learning curve but still fun to go back to. Next Gen: #5DerPancakePosted 9/29/2013 4:55:58 PM Black Ops 2 for fast paced military close quarters combat. Steam/Origin: DerPancake #6eragonman9Posted 9/29/2013 5:01:05 PM Counterstrike, BF3, Garry's Mod (Trouble in Terrorist Town, misc. game modes). *poke* *jiggle* #7mycousinvinniePosted 9/29/2013 6:21:41 PM hawken, it's a bit unbalanced right now, but once you get used to it, it's pretty fun 3ds FC 3969-3839-5643 #8Ultimate_UmbreoPosted 9/29/2013 6:31:40 PM Call of Duty isn't so bad, but you might get bored quick due to the low skill ceiling. My personal favourite shooter is Tribes: Ascend. Fast paced and takes skill. Founder of NGG's Club Canada NNID: Soviet_Snorlax PSN: SovietSnorlax Steam: Soviet Snorlax #9KeyeszxPosted 9/29/2013 6:39:57 PM Sorry but you have to choose between fun or aren't tf2 in that question. Take out one or the other, can't have 'em both. PSN/Gamertag:Keyeszx (Don't send blank friend invite) #10TheSchrefPosted 9/29/2013 7:11:47 PM CoDs are fun if you just want to mindlessly shoot people. CS:GO if you want a high skillcap shooter.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/916373-pc/67360299

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The next XBOX is going to sell really badly #41Vipa1985Posted 10/2/2012 9:25:08 AM Seksii_Girl_3 posted... BrutalBrocken posted... I dont think its Microsofts fault that Rare flopped or if rejoining Nintendo would change that. Kameo, PDZ, and the few other games they made were not huge hits. But Rare does make the Avatars and the Wii Sports series which were much bigger hits. So who knows maybe RARE is making the greatest game ever made right now I think Kameo is great and PDZ was decent which just shows they can make quality titles but are shoveled with crap Microsoft wants to push. Hopefully they make Killer Instinct 3. KI3 and Timesplitters 4 would make me buy a XBOX 720. Prepare to sadface i'm afraid... This was posted earlier today: I think Rare & Crytek have both missed out on a huge oppourtunity this gen, fighting games & FPS' have been the biggest selling genres & yet no new Timesplitters, no new Killer Instinct & no new Perfect Dark.... shame I suppose there may be a ray of light in that Crytek may decide to release that HD version of TS2 & with Micro$oft renewing the KI license recently & making a point of announcing it had there may be something happning but i guess we've gotta wait & see.. #42NavexPosted 10/2/2012 9:29:00 AM Ads are crap but I've tolerated them for years so I won't care as long as they don't get bigger or more widespread than they are now. As for the exclusives who the **** cares. Sony has lost many of theirs years ago and they're still going. Exclusives don't sell the system and keep an entire system going in case you didn't know that. The Jess Margera Rock Radio Show 7PM-8PM EST every Wednesday night on #43degen2011Posted 10/2/2012 9:32:06 AM I only game on 360, and have since 2008. In the past 2 years the console has taken a massive dive in quality and content. Right now the only reason I haven't jumped to PS3 is friends and party chat. I'll hold out hope for the '720' though, but Microsoft have a lot to fix. #44_OujiDoza_Posted 10/2/2012 9:35:59 AM The ads are annoying and if you pay for the gold option you should be given the option to turn them off, they are intrusive and it's not all that simple to just "ignore" the ****ing things. If you aren't going to jump right into a game, you have to jump past 3-4 sections just to even see any other game options now with all the ads and apps...I'm kinda tired of it. I'd like to think the nextBOX will improve somehow but I'm not that blind not to see that sometimes a build-up of little annoyances can become a big problem. As for RARE, meh, but I kinda understand the sentiment. GT: PrinceDoZeR #45DakhanavarXPosted 10/2/2012 9:39:20 AM gabrius posted... The 360 had, by far, the best library of games this gen. Don't get me wrong, there are several MUST HAVE titles for all 3 systems, but most of my game time goes to the 360. Pretty much this for me as well. It's the go-to console for most multiplatform games, shmups, and downloadable titles this gen. Exclusives are a matter of preference, but I've thoroughly enjoy many of the "lesser" retail exclusives like EDF, Chromehounds, Culdcept Saga, Crackdown, Kameo, Viva Pinata, etc. (Along with enjoying the bigger exclusives as well) Most of the best games this gen have been multiplatform anyway, so I'm not quite sure why people think if an exclusive hasn't come out in the last 48 hours then there hasn't been anything worth playing in the last 6 months. (I should say a retail, non-Kinect, non-PC exclusive, otherwise many people won't count it) Well actually I do know, it's so people have something to whine about constantly. It's amazing that something like playing video games causes so much rage & stress for people. Play games, have fun, lighten up...or maybe find a different hobby? If you don't like a game or console, don't play it. There's not exactly a shortage of great games out there. Member of the 8-Bit Playas: See my game collection: #46CGB_SpenderPosted 10/2/2012 9:47:04 AM I laugh at people who say 360 only gets Halo, Gears and Forza. XBLA games should count and be a huge factor when purchasing a new system since they are consistently better than most exclusive retail games for all systems right now. #47656stoogePosted 10/2/2012 9:48:18 AM I agree with TC. I loved my 360 for the first few years, but if it wasn't for the first few years of exclusives then I'd probably sell it. If Sony decides to keep PSN free next gen that will mean 3 free options (Wii U, PC or PS3) for online play. And if the next Xbox is going to have 99% of the same games as those three platforms then the choice seems pretty simple to me. Just remember that the PS2 destroyed the Xbox last gen it and due to a bunch of stupid decisions on Sony's part the PS3 had an awful start this gen, so anyone that thinks the 360 will be in top spot next gen just because it did well this gen might be in for a surprise. #48bossk5Posted 10/2/2012 9:51:37 AM "I'm not trolling, i own a 360." The fact that you felt the need to include this means you almost certainly are. Welcome to Gamefaqs, where for some reason it's ok to bash Americans continually without penalty. I buy used games.Pacers 42-24 #49656stoogePosted 10/2/2012 9:56:20 AM CGB_Spender posted... While I agree that a lot of XBLA games are great, can you honestly justify buying a brand new console next gen for some arcade game when they could just as easily be made for the 360? Arcade games don't exactly push the 360 to the limit at the moment. Do these indie devs really need all that extra RAM and processing power that next gen consoles will offer? #50SythisTaruPosted 10/2/2012 9:57:02 AM I'm thinking Steam will win the next generation of games/consoles.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/927749-xbox-360/64205863?page=4

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Review by Mr_Yooj "Those Pikmin aren't just cute, they're deadly!" Pikmin 2 for the Nintendo Gamecube. This game is one of the best games I have blessed myself to play on the Gamecube. It's perfect in almost every aspect. Let's start off on something basic. If you've played the first Pikmin game(which I also recommend) then you should be familiar with the controls, as they have not changed. They have solid controls that work with the game. The “L”, “R” and “Z” button control the camera, so you can six different views on how to experience the game! “B” will blow your whistle, which calls the Pikmin in the area to you. And “A” will do many things, such as pluck Pikmin, throw Pikmin, or even punch! Now the story of Pikmin 2 is actually pretty good. Olimar returns from his last trip and finds the company in debt! So he and a new character named Louie head back to Pikmin Planet to collect all the treasures and save the company! What's good about this game that was an improvement from the last is that there is no time limit. Did you ever needed to increase the number of Pikmin in the first game but never had time? Not a problem in this game! Take a whole day, no, take a week to increase you Pikmin mass! You can take as long as you want in this game! Another good thing is that you now have two captains. Did you ever need two things done at once but could never do it because your Pikmin would be alone and could die in the first game? Not anymore! Now you can have a captain for two groups of Pikmin doing two things at once! Another this is the addition of Sprays. The Ultra-Spicy Spray will enhance your Pimin. Their leaf/bud/flower will become a red light, and they will all move so fast they will always be able to keep up with you and their strength is increase. The Ultra-Bitter Spray is used to petrify enemies. They will turn to stone and you can freely attack them. If they are defeated while petrified, they will drop either nectar(common) or one of the sprays(uncommon). Now for the Pikmin themselves. Everyone knows the Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin, they are still around. But in this game, they have added two new Pikmin! Purple Pikmin, which are super strong Pikmin that have the strength of 10 Pikmin! They can really help you out when you are low on Pikmin. They do balance out though by making them really slow, even when Flowers. The other new type is White Pikmin! These Pikmin are immune to poison. So they are ideal when you reach a poison gate. A cool feature is that when White Pikmin are eaten, the enemy will take damage! White Pikmin are also the fastest kind, being able to keep up with the Captain no matter what. It's just too bad these two Pikmin can only be found in caves. This game also has a new aspect of gameplay added: Caves. Caves are just what they sound like, a cave. You enter one and you keep going underground until you get to the end. Almost all the caves have a boos at the end, which hold an item that will help you on the quest. Time doesn't pass in the caves, meaning you can take as long as you want in here. But be warned, you cannot produce Pikmin in here, so you are stuck with whatever you take in, so make sure you have enough. There are fourteen caves in total, so there will be plenty to explore in this game. There are a total of four levels in this game, each one representing a season. The levels are fairly big and hold plenty of treasure for you to get. Half the fun of this game is just going around the levels and exploring. And that is just the Story Mode. This game also has a Challenge Mode! The Challenge Mode is unlocked after getting a certain treasure. Once unlocked, it is selectable from the main menu. In Challenge Mode, you are given a set number of Pikmin and a set number of Sprays. All the challenges will take place in a cave, so you cannot get any Pikmin you lose back. Your goal is to find an object and bring it back to the ship, so you can go farther down the cave. You have a time limit, though, so you have to hurry. There are 30 levels in all, and each are harder then the last one. That is not the only challenge though. If you just beat the level you will get a white flower, but if you can beat the level losing no Pikmin, you will be given a purple flower. This adds to the challenge so that you will want to get perfect on the levels. You can also try and beat your high score! The score is determined by the time you have left, the number of Pikmin you have, and the amount you earned from treasures. Another fun mode is 2-Player Mode! 2-Player Mode is when one person is Olimar, with Red Pikmin, and Louie, with Blue Pikmin. In this mode, you have four ways to win. One way is if the other captain is knocked out, you will automatically win. Another way is if all of the other person's Pikmin have died. And the last two ways, it by collecting marbles. There are many yellow marbles scattered throughout the map, and if you can bring four of them back to your base, then you will win. The last way, is to bring your opponent's marble(either red or blue) to your base. There are ten levels to choose from and many different options to set up, making it fun and not repetitive. Another fun thing in 2-Player Mode is, when you return a cherry to your base, you will get to spin a Roulette Wheel. Many things can happen when this happens such as gaining new Pikmin, or having an enemy appear by your opponent. This makes this mode crazy because you never know when a Blowhog will just appear at you and kill all your Pikmin! This game has so much in it, it won't get boring. If story mode is gets old, play some challenge mode or 2-player mode! And if you are absolutely bored(and have no heart) you can find all sorts of way to just kill your Pikmin off! (Just make sure not to save) This game does have problems though. The lack of time limit does make this game less challenging, seeing as you can do this in 90 days or whenever instead of being forced to do it in a certain time. And the lack of being able to produce Purple and White Pikmin outside of caves would have been nice, but I guess I'll just have to live with taking longer to build my army of 100 Pikmin each! If you're a big Pikmin fan, or are just trying out the series, I would recommend this game. It's very enjoyable and will last you a long time. You should defiantly get this game, and never sell it. If you do, you'll regret it! Game Release: Pikmin 2 (US, 08/30/04) Got Your Own Opinion?

http://www.gamefaqs.com/gamecube/589374-pikmin-2/reviews/review-126911

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Please use a flash video capable browser to watch videos. You're not old enough to watch this video! Please enter your date of birth to view this video By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Review • Game release: April 30, 2013 • Reviewed: April 30, 2013 • X360 Aaron Sampson on Google+ Great 1980s movie montages featured plucky underdogs, perhaps played by Sylvester Stallone, or maybe Ralph Macchio, demonstrating their determination to triumph over the forces of communism, bullying, or stodgy adults who don't believe in the power of young love. They were accompanied by properly cheesy pop hits, possibly performed by Joe Esposito, or maybe Deniece Williams, creating a wonderful audiovisual time capsule that could have only originated in that fabulous decade. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon understands the power of the '80s. When its inevitable montage comes, you probably won't know the music, but you'll know the type. It's the kind that would have been sung by Michael Sembello, or Kenny Loggins, or Foreigner. If you're a child of the decade, you'll be glad that Blood Dragon knows you so well. Don't worry, though: if the 1980s are before your time, or if you don't retain any nostalgia for the decade of parachute pants and the Brat Pack, Blood Dragon stands on its own without relying on references, though it packs in plenty of them. This downloadable spin-off of 2012's Far Cry 3 is a fantastically entertaining first-person shooter with more clever dialogue and action-packed hours than most full-priced games. At $15, it's a better deal than every Cabbage Patch Kid you ever loved, every Tears for Fears record you ever spun, and every Muppet Babies episode you ever viewed. Combined. Well, perhaps Blood Dragon isn't quite that valuable. Nevertheless, it's hard not to be charmed from the moment it begins. Low-resolution cutscenes introduce you to Rex Colt, cybercommando. Rex is voiced by '80s mainstay Michael Biehn, better known for appearing in films like The Terminator (as Kyle Reese) and Aliens (as Dwayne Hicks). Biehn's forced rasp is the perfect complement to Rex's nationalist badassery, and his sincere line delivery makes several scenes all the more hysterical. Consider this dialogue: "I swore an oath to a special lady. Lady Liberty. She taught me that winners don't use drugs." It's a corny line right out of a War on Drugs-era public service announcement, but in the context of an offer to have dragon blood injected into Rex's veins. Meanwhile, you "rent" (that is, collect) VHS tapes of movies with titles like Bourne to Dance; this particular film features a special teacher showing his student "the kind of love he's never known before…the love of dance." Given how it can fire lasers from its eyes, a blood dragon will always win this staring contest. You don't need to know the '80s to get Rex's repeated oral sex gags, of which there are far too many. Nor do you need to know the past to understand that calls of "no" during a consensual sex scene would have been inappropriate in any decade. Luckily, most of the jokes aren't so juvenile, including video game cracks that make fun of red exploding barrels, game-violence controversies, and even Ubisoft's own games, like Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed. (Listen for bits of throwaway dialogue about girls with tribal tattoos and feather collecting.) The tutorial sets the tone straight away, telling you to press a button "to demonstrate your ability to read," and loading screens helpfully inform you that if you need a hint, perhaps the next loading screen will have one for you. Not every joke is so obvious--you may not notice or get nods to erotic artists and prison documentaries--but the gags are there, making Blood Dragon one of the funniest games in recent memory. Of course, an '80s-focused game wouldn't be complete if it didn't look the part, and Blood Dragon certainly makes proper homage to its inspiration. Cutscenes look as if they could have been ripped right out of the original Metal Gear, or Shadow of the Beast, complete with the muddy reds, purples, and blues that characterized them. The same color scheme, in turn, infuses the first-person gameplay, as if you're traversing the game's medium-size island while wearing dark magenta sunglasses. Small audiovisual touches, such as the way Rex sometimes takes a blowtorch to his cybernetic arm when healing, and buzzing sounds to indicate Rex's part-mechanical nature, enthusiastically sell the roboapocalyptic setting. And by the final hour, which lends a sly twist to common action-game power trips, you'll appreciate how Blood Dragon uses nostalgia and humor to say something about the state of modern shooters. Where base capture is concerned, green is good. Blood Dragon isn't just an homage to great memories, however, but a terrific game in its own right. If you played Far Cry 3, you will recognize the structure. Enemy bases are strewn about the island you explore, and by annihilating all of the enemies that patrol them, either silently or forcefully, you convert them to your cybernetic cause. Meanwhile, you move from mission to mission, infiltrating dams and rescuing endangered trash-talking scientists, using semi-futuristic variants of familiar weapons--a sniper rifle, an assault rifle, a bow, and so forth--that handle like their standard Far Cry 3 counterparts. In time, you upgrade most of these weapons; your sniper rifle's bullets gain an explosive charge, your shotgun gets a flaming kick, and so on. You earn access to weapon upgrades by finding collectibles and performing side missions, and you earn other enhancements, such as the ability to perform silent takedowns on heavies wielding flamethrowers, by leveling up. There is no skill tree or anything like that: when you cross the necessary level threshold, you gain new skills automatically. You'll be glad of those enhancements, too, particularly when coming face-to-face with one of the game's titular blood dragons. These beasts are dinosaurs that shoot laser beams from their eyes, and they're a wonder to behold in action. As it turns out, it's not as difficult as you might think to take one down, but the first time you learn of the dragons, you sneak by a trio of them and then witness one zap a bunch of enemy combatants into dust. You might be engulfed by terror the first time you go head-to-head with one, but dragons are only major threats on hard difficulty. Too many wasted bullets. On this occasion, a well-tossed grenade is the better option. They're still fun to face as you roam the open-air island, though, even on medium difficulty. They charge toward you when you make your presence known and give you a powerful swat, and then they rear up before firing their eye-lasers at you, giving you a chance to sprint out of the way. Several story missions have you facing one or two of them in closer quarters than usual, which ramps up the tension. The only downside to facing a blood dragon is the actual act of defeating it: the dragon simply disappears into thin air and an explosion of goo follows, but without any animations or effects tying the two events together. It's an anticlimactic end to a hectic battle. Such battles are made more hectic when you simultaneously confront gunners and snipers, but in this case, you can toss the gooey hearts you collect from downed foes to direct the dragon's attention toward your enemies. It's a distinct pleasure to watch dragons scoop up adversaries with their mouths and chomp away, and in the case of a facility takeover, you might get a dragon to do all the legwork for you. You're just as likely to charge into battle yourself, however, if for no other reason than to enjoy the solid shooting, or to take an entirely stealthy approach. Just like its forebears, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon makes any approach viable and fun. In fact, getting all sneaky is more satisfying here than in the original Far Cry 3, in part because you can perform chained takedowns from the very beginning. It's a gruesome delight to stab multiple enemies in a row, and then finish off one final soldier with the throw of a shuriken. Blood Dragon's multilevel bases are larger than Far Cry 3's outposts, and enemies are spaced out in sensible ways, allowing you to move in for the silent kill using a number of different approaches. In a few levels, enemy animations can go missing, or a hulking soldier might unnaturally zoom into a different location, which can trip up your plans. Thankfully, such instances are rare, and aren't likely to dilute the stealthy satisfaction. Nice bionic eye, Rex! You could charge through Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon in four hours or so if you are determined, but why rush such a great thing? There's joy in the discovery. Finding all those videotapes isn't busywork for busywork's sake, after all: there's a hysterical film description in it for you, and maybe a weapon upgrade to boot. You could easily double those hours if you go in search of every collectible, perform every side mission, and take down a few dozen dragons along the way. You don't have to love the decade of Rubik's Cubes and Pac-Man Fever to get a kick out of Blood Dragon. But if you do, then all the better: this action-packed shooter will strike all the right synth-pop power chords. The Good Hysterical dialogue and collectibles Lots of smart references to 1980s pop culture Taking on blood dragons is always a delight Smart levels and missions make for rewarding stealth A lot of terrific open-ended action for a great value The Bad A few enemy behavior quirks Some crass jokes land with a thud About GameSpot's Reviews Other Platform Reviews for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon About the Author 503 Service Unavailable Error 503 Service Unavailable Service Unavailable Guru Meditation: XID: 2034470057 Varnish cache server Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon • Xbox 360 • PlayStation 3 • PC All Platforms Blood, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence Check out even more info at the Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Wiki on

http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/far-cry-3-blood-dragon-review/1900-6407627/

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View Full Version : Swarm Shaman - Pathfinder Druid Archetype 05-21-2012, 11:44 AM Hey everyone. I made a topic recently (here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243584)) asking if it was possible to play as a swarm of butterflies in Pathfinder, not as a race, but as a character concept where the character turns into butterflies but can still contribute. There were a couple of ideas tossed around. The spherewalker (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/s-z/spherewalker) was the winner, but unfortunately the spherewalker's ability lasts for a maximum of 5 minutes per day, whereas I wanted the ability to last for... well longer than that. A couple of other ideas floated around, such as the Master of Flies from Savage Species which, while mechanically does fit the bill somewhat (aside from the evil requirement), wasn't really what I was looking for. There was also some confusion whether a druid can just normally assume the form of a swarm, since swarms have the animal type, just with the "swarm" subtype. However, I felt like that would be stretching the abilities listed by beast shape I (at least until I hear differently), so I didn't want to assume that that was possible if in fact it wasn't supposed to be. No other spells, class abilities, or anything else really fit what I wanted. Originally, what I was planning to do was created my own Master of Flies prestige class, but I realized that, for what I wanted, an entire prestige class was unnecessary. That's what the Pathfinder archetypes are for after all. Basically, all I wanted was the ability to turn into a swarm, an entire prestige class doesn't need to be dedicated to that when the druid's shtick is already turning into other creatures. So I made this archetype, modeled off of the various "Animal Shaman" archetypes. So if you don't mind too much, read through it and let me know what you think? Are swarm abilities just too powerful (being immune to weapon damage), even without the +2 to druid level for assuming the shape of a swarm (that other "shaman" druids receive for turning into their totem animal)? Keep in mind that an enemy spellcaster could really mess up the day of a druid in swarm shape. So anyway, thanks in advance! Swarm Shaman A shaman with this focus calls upon the energy and freedom of the vermin swarm, from beetles and spiders to butterflies and ladybugs. Vermin swarms share their intelligence and spirit and guard their homes with tenacity and grace. Nature Bond A swarm shaman who chooses an animal companion must select from the following list: giant ant, giant butterfly, giant centipede, giant ladybug, giant mantis, giant scorpion, giant spider, or giant wasp. If choosing a domain, the swarm shaman must choose from the Animal, Luck, Madness, and Protection domains. Wild Empathy A swarm shaman can use wild empathy with any vermin swarm as a full-round action with a +4 bonus. Totem Transformation (Su) At 2nd level, a swarm shaman may adopt an aspect of the swarm while retaining her normal form. She gains one of the following bonuses: - movement (move at normal speed while prone without penalty) - senses (low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft.) - armor (+2 dodge bonus to AC) While using totem transformation, the swarm shaman may speak normally and can cast speak with animals (vermin only) at will. Using this ability is a standard aciton at 2nd level, a move action at 7th level, and a swift action at 12th level. The swarm shaman can use this ability for a number of minutes per day equal to her druid level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be used in 1-minute increments. This is a polymorph effect and cannot be used while the druid is using another polymorph effect, such as wild shape. Totemic Summons (Su) At 5th level, a swarm shaman can "lose" a prepared spell of 2nd level or higher in order to cast summon swarm, and summoned swarms gain temporary hit points equal to her druid level. The swarm will attack fleeing creatures normally, but the druid can direct their movement as a move action. At 11th level, the druid can lose any prepared spell of 5th level or higher to cast insect plague. Each swarm summoned by this spell gains temporary hit points equal to the druid's level, and the druid can direct the insect plague as a move action each round, so long as each swarm is adjacent to at least one other swarm, up to the swarm's maximum movement speed. At 17th level, the druid can lose any prepared spell of 7th level or higher to cast creeping doom, and each swarm summoned gains temporary hit points equal to the druid's level. This ability replaces a thousand faces. Wild Shape (Su) A swarm shaman gains the ability to become a swarm of vermin. This is a polymorph effect. The swarm of vermin must all be the same kind of animal. At 6th level, a swarm shaman's wild shape ability functions at her druid level -2. If she takes on the form of a swarm of vermin, she instead uses her normal druid level. The type of swarm a swarm shaman can become is tied to her druid level. At 6th level, a swarm shaman can become a swarm of Tiny animals, which grants her a +2 bonus to Dexterity but a -2 penalty to Strength. At 10th level, she can become a swarm of Diminuitive animals, which grants her a +4 bonus to Dexterity but a -4 penalty to Strength. At 14th level, she can become a swarm of Fine animals, which grants a +6 bonus to Dexterity but a -6 penalty Strength. If the animal the swarm shaman becomes a swarm of has any of the following abilities, the shaman gains the listed ability: climb 30 feet, fly 60 feet (good), darkvision 60 feet, and low-light vision. If the animal the swarm shaman wishes to become a swarm of does not have listed statistics, it gains a climb speed of 20 feet, a fly speed of 30 feet (good) if the animal can fly, and low-light vision. In addition, as she levels up a swarm shaman can become more than one swarm to affect more space. A swarm shaman can assume the form of multiple swarms by becoming animals larger than her minimum size. So a 10th level swarm shaman that could normally become a swarm of Diminiuitive creatures could instead become two swarms of Tiny creatures. A 14th level swarm shaman could become two swarms of Diminuitive creatures or three swarms of Tiny creatures. Every three levels after 14th, a swarm shaman can assume the form of an additional swarm for free. In swarm form, a swarm shaman gains many of the traits and advantages of swarms, but also its disadvantages. A swarm shaman in swarm form must always remain in continguous squares while in swarm form. A swarm shaman assuming the form of multiple swarms that are not in adjacent squares cannot reassume her normal form, and cannot perform any other abilities (including spellcasting, directing an animal companion, and so on) except those specifically granted by the swarm shape. If a separated swarm is killed, the swarm shaman's consciousness snaps back to the living swarm and she can act normally. A single swarm occupies a square (if made of nonflyng creatures) or a cube (of flying creatures) 10 feet on a side, but its reach is 0 feet, like its component creatures. In order to attack, it moves into an opponent's space, which provokes an attack of opportnuity. A swarm can occupy the same space as a creature of any size, since it crawls all over its prey. A swarm can move through squares occupied by enemies and vice versa without impediment, although the swarm provokes an attack of opportunity if it does so. A swarm can move through cracks or holes large enough for its component creatuers. In swarm form, the swarm shaman gains swarm traits. As a swarm of vermin, she has no clear front or back and no discernable anatomy, and so is not subject to critical hits or flanking. Swarms made of Tiny creatures take half damage from slashing and piercing weapons. Swarms made of Fine or Diminuitive creatures are immune to all weapon damage. Reducing a swarm to 0 hit points or less causes the swarm shaman to immediately reassume her natural shape and begin dying as normal. Swarms cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent. Swarms are immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). A swarm takes half-again as much damage (+50%) from spell or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells. Swarms made up of Diminuitive or Fine creatures are susceptible to high winds, such as those created by a gust of wind spell. For purposes of determining the effects of wind on a swarm, treat the swarm as a creature of the same size as its constituent creatures. A swarm shaman rendered unconscious by means of nonlethal damage cannot reform until her hit points exceed her nonlethal damage. In most swarm forms (but not all, see distraction abilities below), a swarm shaman also gains a swarm attack. A swarm of vermin don't make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. Swarm attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover. The amount of damage a swarm of vermin deals is based on its Hit Dice, as shown below. Swarm Shaman's HD ........... Swarm Base Damage Damage reduction sufficient to reduce a swarm's attack's damage to 0, being incorporeal, or other Special Abilities usually give a creature immunity (or at least resistance) to damage from a swarm. If the base creature has an acid, blood drain, poison, or other special attack, the swarm shaman gains it while in swarm form. These special attacks are only used once per swarm, regardless of the number of creatures that make it up. Swarms do not threaten creatures, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack. However, they distract foes whose squares they occupy, as described below. Swarms possess the distraction ability. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a caster level check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Will save. If the swarm that the shaman assumes is made up of animals that do not have an attack or that it would not make sense for that type of animal to have a natural attack (such as butterflies), the DC for any distracting abilities is instead raised by 2. I realize the "wild shape" entry is quite long, but all the information there I felt was necessary for building your own swarm. Questions? Comments? Opinions? I think this would be a fun archetype to play. My main design philosophy was to make the ability to turn into a swarm of creatures without requiring it to be eeeviiiiiiil, as other other vermin- or swarm-related abilities I've found are. What if you want to be butterflies?? 05-23-2012, 11:57 AM I know it's not as exciting as a new base class or something, but I am honestly wondering whether something like this is balanced, or anything that could be changed or fixed? Really hoping to get some help with this. zegram 33 05-24-2012, 08:17 AM looks good. if your using butterflies or some such: can they attack as normal when surrounding a target? howis this reasoned? im not a fan of having an animal companion as normal, in the middle of a massive swarm of wasps or butterlies theres a random rat/preying mantis? what about instead gaining a seperate SWARM as an animal companion, with increasing stats? or you could have a "favoured" swarm type, and your animal companion is either one of them, or a swarm of them if smaller than "tiny"? what happens if your totally seperated apart, ie if you get hit by a whirlwind or something? on the whole though, nice class, i love the idea of a load of butterflies/ravens/whatever just coalescing out of nowhere into an angry druid

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G-Braves' pitching coach thrilled about late travel changes LAWRENCEVILLE - It's not the vacation Derek Botelho planned, but St. Louis is closer to his home in Iowa than Georgia. The Gwinnett Braves' pitching coach had just booked a flight home for his three-day All-Star break vacation when word came that he had more work to do. "I had just finished booking a plane ticket to go home and I was talking to (hitting coach) Jaime (Dismuke) and (manager) Dave (Brundage) about, 'Hey I just got my flight planned all booked and everything,'" Botelho said. "That afternoon about 5-5:30 p.m. we got done with BP and that is when it came out on the media. Brundage said, 'Bo, where did you say you were going for the All-Star break?' and I said, 'I am going home to Iowa.' and he said, 'No, you aren't you are going to St. Louis for the Futures Game.'" Botelho will be the pitching coach for the U.S. Team in the now annual game of prospects from across baseball's minor league system. There are players from Class A to Class AAA on the roster. Class AA Mississippi's Jayson Heyward and G-Braves' Barbaro Canizares are also set to play in today's game. Canizares is a late addition to the World team, but has been the pitching coach from the start. "It is really (messing) up my three days off the for the All-Star break," Botelho joked. "How Major League Baseball did it, I really don't know. I am honored and I am grateful and I am pretty excited about getting the opportunity to do it. "I don't think it hurt any by having (Tommy) Hanson and (Charlie) Morton and (Kris) Medlen and (James) Parr and Jo-Jo Reyes and Boone Logan and Manny Acosta and those other guys on my staff though either." Everyone one of those pitchers made the jump, at least for a time this season, to the major league. Botelho had to leave the G-Braves on Saturday to get to St. Louis to prepare for tonight's game. Not that the long-time pitching coach planned to dole out much advice. "I don't say a word, I just don't try to (mess) them up," Botelho said. "I don't say another thing. I am not going to do a thing. I don't want to (mess) them up. I am just going to let them go out there and tell them when they are coming out of the shoot, the guy that is starting the ball game and who is pitching is the ninth inning." Botelho softens his Midwestern honesty with a self deprecating, coarse sense of humor making him a likable yet effective coach. As quickly as he criticize a pitcher he doles out praise. Botelho spent major league seasons pitching for the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs and won more than 100 minor league games in his 12-year career. He knows both sides of the big-league barrier facing pitchers. He knows what earns the call-up and what keeps someone pitching in the minors. "When those guys get the call to the big leagues you feel like you had some hand in getting them there," Botelho said. "Whether it be minor or not, I know in my heart and in my head that these guys had the ability and the arm to get to the big leagues. So you had some small hand in developing or getting them developed ... to getting them to the big leagues." But even after 19 years as a coach in the Braves' and Cincinnati Reds' organizations, Botelho keeps trying to grow as a coach. "I learned something about pitching everyday," he said. "I have learned a lot and I am still learning." And this weekend is as much about learning as it is about the honor of being chosen. Botelho is in the same position as the players he coaches. All of them are trying to get to the big leagues and this game, this honor, is a step in that direction. "I don't want to be greedy or anything like that, but my ambition is to be a pitching coach in the big leagues," he said. "I pitched in the big leagues and what I am doing now is to try to get me to the big leagues as a pitching coach. If this helps because of the exposure and everything then that is great. I feel honored to be there." His family switched their plans as quickly at Botelho and will join him in St. Louis for today's game and this week's festivities. He'll make it home eventually, but the indirect route is worth the time. "I have been getting some calls from other managers that I know (in Class AAA) and some of the other coaches in the big leagues and they all are calling in their congratulations," Botelho said. "They are saying, 'It's great you got chosen. They could have gone out and picked 60-80 other guys and they picked you.' It's good."

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2009/jul/12/g-braves039-pitching-coach-thrilled-about-late/

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In association with heise online 30 October 2012, 11:26 EFF calls Ubuntu Shopping Lens a "major privacy problem" • Twitter • Facebook • submit to slashdot • StumbleUpon • submit to reddit EFF logo The EFF has criticised Canonical's implementation of the Shopping Lens in the latest version of Ubuntu as "a major privacy problem", and has published a list of changes it believes the company should implement to alleviate the issues raised. Canonical, which sponsors the popular Linux distribution, had included a new feature in its Unity desktop in Ubuntu 12.10 which automatically queries several online shopping resources when users search for applications in the Dash user interface. The EFF complains that image data sent back from Amazon to the user's PC is not encrypted, that users have no control over the data stored on Canonical's servers and that the company is vague in its description of what the accumulated data is used for. While outgoing queries to Canonical and online shopping providers such as Amazon are sent over HTTPS, the returned product images are sent in clear text, which enables bad actors listening in on the user's network traffic to reconstruct what the user was searching for. Additionally, Canonical's privacy policy does not clearly state what the company and its partners are doing with the data it aggregates and instead refers users to the specific privacy policies of the third party companies. While the EFF does praise Canonical for listening to customer feedback, the organisation says that the provided ability to only switch all online searches off at once is insufficient and that the Ubuntu developers should include separate options for each lens. The organisation also strongly suggests that the developers should disable all online searches by default and let users opt into these features. In the absence of Canonical changing the behaviour of Unity in these regards, the EFF suggests that concerned users try installing an alternative desktop such as GNOME 3, KDE or Cinnamon. Print Version | Send by email | Permalink: • July's Community Calendar The H Open The H Security The H Developer The H Internet Toolkit

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/EFF-calls-Ubuntu-Shopping-Lens-a-major-privacy-problem-1739019.html

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This recipe is from Haaretz's archives. 1 whole chicken cut into 8 parts 1 carrot cut into cubes 1 onion cut into cubes 1 celery cut into cubes 1 head of parsley chopped finely 500 grams of thin egg noodles 2 tablespoons of chicken soup mix 2 liters of water 1. Fill a wide-bottomed pot with the 2 liters of water and add all the ingredients except the egg noodles. 2. Bring the liquid to a boil and skim off the fat from the top of the soup. Let the soup cook on a low heat for another 40 minutes. 3. After 40 minutes have passed, add egg noodles and let cook for another 7 minutes. 4. Adjust seasoning and serve.

http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/quick-and-easy-chicken-soup-with-noodles-for-before-and-after-the-yom-kippur-fast-1.462729?trailingPath=2.169%2C2.208%2C2.491%2C2.492%2C2.499%2C

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Printer Friendly Version ] [ Report Abuse ] << >> Open Doors by girly1393 Chapter 9 : Avoiding James At All Possible Costs Rating: MatureChapter Reviews: 1 Background:   Font color:   I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I've had the series finished for a while, all the way through the final part of this trilogy, but I've just forgotten it's a work in progress. I'll get up the final chapter tomorrow, after this goes through the queue, but I've also got challenges to get up. Happy reading. Lily knew she could not face James after this revelation, not if she had to spend all of Christmas with him. She did the only logical thing. She hid from him. When dawn peaked through her curtains, she pulled them tighter closed and pretended so be sleeping. Her friends didn't disturb her because she had claimed to be exhausted the night before when she had rushed into the dormitory. If she was still sleeping, they assumed she had been desperately tired. Truth was, she had hardly slept at all. She could not get James Potter's face out of her head. It was stuck behind her eyelids, making her blush as various scenarios played across her mind. She realized she finally understood how he had felt all those years, and the difference was she could change it, she could eliminate these feelings. Lily felt that, maybe just a little bit, she deserved it, and she should have at least a few days of this feeling before destroying it. James deserved that much courtesy from her. When the last giggling roommate had finally fled the dormitory, Lily opened her curtains. She sat in bed for a long while, wondering what she could do to stay out of his way. It would revolve around spending a lot of time in places he didn't go. She pulled herself out of her bed and wandered slowly to her trunk. It dawned on her today was a Hogsmeade weekend. She had no reason to go, however, seeing as she had all of her gifts bought and wrapped. She could avoid James, because he would go with his friends. In fact, she would be able to spend plenty of time in the empty Common Room, enjoying the solitude. She showered slowly, savoring the hot water as it pounded out the knots in her back. She wished everything could be simple, so she wouldn't have to hide from James. In the end, she knew hiding would be fruitless. She was going to his house for the holidays and it hardly seemed likely she would be far from him during that time. In fact, he'd even mentioned a party his parents would be throwing that she'd need her newly-bought dress robes for. Lily sighed as the steam around her became insufferable. She turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel. The room above hers and her own were quiet, so she knew she'd been long enough that the students would be off to the village already. "This isn't so bad," she said to herself. "I can avoid James for the weekend." Lily dressed slowly, taking time to make sure she had on matching socks. Her sweater was warm and comforting, but also shaped her fairly well. If she'd woken up early enough to go the village with everyone else, she wouldn't have even bothered to pay attention to what shoes she was putting on, let alone if the sweater fit. Those things hardly bothered her, but if she was going to take extra time, every detail counted. Lily flung her wet hair into a ponytail before remembering, as she did every morning, that she could do magic and didn't have to endure wet hair. She pulled out the scrunchie and pointed her wand at her head, focusing on the non-verbal spell. Lily pulled out a book without looking at it and wandered shamelessly into the Common Room. Like she had anticipated, only a few of the First and Second Years were sitting around listlessly, probably longing for their adventures in Hogsmeade. "It's really not all that exciting," she wanted to say to them. "I think it holds more heartbreak than anything else." But she knew they wouldn't understand and would probably just resent her. So she curled up in a chair by the fire and started to read. It was a book she'd purchased at Flourish and Blotts on a whim when she'd gone school shopping, one of about seven. It was a book her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would appreciate, because it was extremely descriptive and helpful. Lily read away the hours and soon she was the only one in the Common Room. She stretched and realized it had to be dinner and soon everyone would be on their way back. With some quick thinking, she deduced the kitchens would be a safer bet. Sneaking back into the Common Room would be really hard, but she could perform a great Disillusionment Charm. Besides, she was hungry. "Can Hixy help Miss?" a House-Elf asked as Lily walked into the kitchens. "A cup of soup would be wonderful, Hixy," Lily said gently, sitting down quietly. "Right away, Miss!" Lily ate her soup in silence, watching as the House-Elves prepared for dinner. She glanced at her watch and realized she had a narrow window in which to make it back to the Common Room in order to pretend she'd had an early dinner. She strode through the halls, glancing around at every turn. No one was about yet, and when she reached the Common Room, no one had arrived. She tucked her book under her arm and was headed back to her dormitory when a voice called to her. "Hey, Emily," Lily said, smiling amiably to her as she stood on the third stair. "Where are you going? We didn't see you at dinner." "I ate early. I'm still really tired, so I was just going to go read it bed," Lily lied, coming up with her feigned tiredness on the spot. "Are you okay?" Emily inquired, her brow furrowing in concern. "I'm fine, Em," Lily said nonchalantly. "Too many late nights studying, I guess. They've caught up with me." Emily paused, looking as if she shouldn't let Lily go, but after a moment, she reluctantly admitted, "You will need your sleep if we're spending the holidays with the Marauders." "I knew you'd understand, Em. Night," Lily said, trying to remain calm and friendly. If she slipped up now, Emily would figure it out, and suddenly it would be all over. "Night, Lily," Emily said, turning back around. Lily slowly trotted up the stairs to her dormitory. She changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, propping open her book. She sat there for a moment before accepting how much of a lie it was. She untucked herself and made her way to the window sill. It had just enough room for one person to sit quietly alone, and that's just what Lily did. Tomorrow, they were all leaving for the holidays. She would head to James Potter's house, and the game would be up. So for now, she stared across the grounds, thankful she could hide away for a little while longer. Previous Chapter Next Chapter Favorite |Reading List |Currently Reading << >> Review Write a Review Open Doors: Avoiding James At All Possible Costs (6000 characters max.) 6000 remaining Your Name: Prove you are Human: Submit this review and continue reading next chapter. Other Similar Stories Six Degrees ... by Montague by AbbyLoves...

http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/viewstory.php?chapterid=427609

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upgrading GHC Henning Thielemann lemming at henning-thielemann.de Thu Feb 21 02:12:19 EST 2008 I did now spend some days(!) on making only some of my packages compatible to both GHC-6.4.1 and GHC-6.8.2. The amount of adaption work increased with every GHC update for me, also because the number of installed packages constantly grew. I'm hardly able to manage this work for GHC-6.10, many packages will then go 'outdated', maybe only weeks after their release. Some people wonder, why not simply upgrade. There are many reasons: This way you can easily fall into a gap between dependent packages that are still not updated to GHC-6.8.2 and others that are already updated, but not backwards compatible. Compiler versions are different in usability, bugs and annoyances. Namely, GHC-6.4.1 introduced wrong warnings on apparently superfluous imports and a bug that let one of my modules become uncompileable because of the compiler running out of memory, GHC-6.6 replaced working filename completion by only partially working identifier completion (it was certainly not a good idea, to remove the old behaviour completely, before the new one worked reliably, but it happened and we have to cope with), GHC-6.8.1 had a bug in compilation. So after investing much time in upgrading you might encounter that your programs don't work anymore or usability decreased considerably and you have the choice to wait for the next compiler release, try to compile the HEAD version from repository yourself (good luck!) or turn everything back to the old version. Even if the compiler does only get better with respect to features, you might decide not to upgrade, because the newer version consumes more memory or is slower due to more features that the compiler must handle. Every GHC update so far forced me to recompile my packages, broke some code, either by new class instances, modules being replaced by newer ones, shifting modules between packages. Sometimes the update helped improving the code, either when the compiler emitted new warnings or when internal functions were changed, and I became aware, that I was using internal functions. But it is very hard to get a library compiled on different compiler versions, not to mention different compilers. This is especially nasty if you are working in an institute (like the universities I worked at in the past) with different machines with very different software installations. We have some Solaris machines here with GHC-5, which I do not administer, Linux machines with GHC-6.4.1, GHC-6.6.1 and so on. I cannot simply push around patches with darcs because every machine needs separate package adaption. from the compiler to be used for the package. which has even more dependencies, and thus I canceled this installation which merely duplicates the globally known information that former old modules in the known way. This would allow the usage of packages that for package maintainers considerably. I also predict that the switch on different package arrangements in the Cabal file will grow in future, eventually becoming error-prone and unmaintainable. How many GHC versions do you have installed simultaneously in order to test them all? it in a more compatible manner. Deprecated packages do not need to be replaced by Data.Map. Why is it necessary to make working libraries obsolete so quickly? I thought using standard modules is more reliable their own modules. More information about the Libraries mailing list

http://www.haskell.org/pipermail/libraries/2008-February/009318.html

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Live Blogging the Grammys: Who takes home the big prize? Lady GaGa, Beyonce or Taylor? Watch along with us <p>Lady GaGa poses with two new Grammy Awards</p> Lady GaGa poses with two new Grammy Awards Credit: AP Photo 11:30: The awards show ends right on time. Nice. You'd think it was a Dick Clark Production... anyway,  lots of highs (the performances in the first hour) and lows (Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks as well as the Michael Jackson tribute). There were no major gaffes or embarassments for the most part. But man, is rock out of vogue right now. This was a very straight up pop awards show for the most part with Beyonce as the big winner with six trophies. In the past, the Grammys have paid lip service to jazz and classical, but not tonight. It's all about ratings, baby. I'm just thankful Snooki didn't present an award.  Grade: B 11:28: Album of the year award: OMG, what is Lady GaGa wearing? She looks like the Empire State building.  The winner is Taylor Swift for "Fearless." Gulp. I think I'll go back to my original prediction now that she wins. This time she really does look surprised. I'm sure she is after losing record and song of the year. If you still consider Swift to be country, it's the first country win in the big category since The Dixie Chicks won in 2007. ( I went to Wikipedia to confirm and someone has hacked into the album of the year page and put in Lady GaGa's "The Fame" as the winner for every year... clearly an LG fan is pissed!) 11:14: Quentin Tarantino, in sunglasses looking like an idiot, introduces Drake, Eminem and Lil Wayne (with Travis Barker on drums). What's with Tarantino's accent?  Is this Lil Wayne's last appearance before he's off to the pokey?  The sound keeps going out on my feed. Can't tell if they're bleeping half of Lil Wayne's rap or if there are audio problems. Three minutes into his own performance, Drake shows up.  Autotune lives. "Pants on the Ground" was clearly written with Lil Wayne in mind. He's about to totally drop trou. Energetic but disjointed performance. 11:05: Tribute to Les Paul by Jeff Beck playing "How High the Moon."  See, that's what they should have done for Michael Jackson. Something tasteful. I'm still watching the east coast feed on the computer, while the TV is on the west coast feed since the show has just started here. Its a little schizophrenic... I'm definitely experienced deja vu. 10:59: Maxwell, who's already won a few Grammys tonight, takes us into the third hour with "Pretty Wings." The song may be pretty, but it's not half as pretty as Maxwell.  He just brought on Roberta Flack. Anyone under 30 just went "Who?" Her voice sounds great, but is it me or does her face no longer move?  They're singing "Where is the Love." The love is probably the same place her facial expressions have been shipped off to: Botoxville. 10:49: Female pop vocal performance goes to Beyonce for "Halo," presented by Lea Michelle and Ricky Martin, who obviously got the memo to wear leather. Beyonce gives a very short acceptance speech.  Pink just tweeted how much fun she's having tonight and how happy she was to get her standing ovation. What a good sport. 10:44: Adam Sandler clearly didn't show up for rehearsal. I believe he just said "this band goes by one man."  Missing some words there, bud.  And he mispronounced LeRoi Moore's name. Anyway, DMB is doing the sweet "You & Me."  More and more people keep coming on stage. A string section, then a horn section and now a choir. Somehow, all I can really hear is Dave's voice. Now it's all kicked in. Very cool. Not sure about Dave's spastic dance, but at least he seems to be having fun. I'm hoping it's a dance and not a seizure of some sort. Oh, he's singing again, so he must be okay. 10:39: Did NARAS head Neil Portnow really just get played on to "Bolero?" The Grammys are in to honoring their own. They've presented awards to both their director, Walter Miller, and co-executive producer, Ken Erlich. I think Pierre Cossette, who passed away last year, deserved a little more than that small mention.  Portnow bangs the usual drum for arts education in the schools and for artists/musicians to get paid for downloads. 10:27: Wyclef introduces that tribute to Haiti. Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli performing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with an orchestra.  Bocelli is, appropriately, singing in Italian and I'm welling up.i'm not a Bocelli fan, but I can't listen to this song without crying.  Simply one of the most beautiful melodies ever written and he's doing a gorgeous job, but I know Mary J. Blige is going to really bring it home. She's taking us to church. Not crazy about David Foster's arangement, but Blige's voice is astonishing. I know she's a superstar, but I don't understand why she isn't even bigger than she is.She's the heir to Aretha Franklin, as far as I'm concerned. 10:20: Mos Def and Placido Domingo awkwardly chitchatting before announcing that Rihanna, Jay-Z and Kanye West just won best Rap collaboration for "Run This Town." What? Kayne actually wins a Grammy and isn't there to accept an award that he actually won? Rihanna and Jay-Z brought the world's cutest kid up on stage with them, although I have no idea who he is, other than his name is Jules. Even at six, he has more sense than West. When Rihanna asks if he wants to say anything, he says, "No thanks."  That kid has a future. Thank God The Lonely Island didn't win, although I know lots of folks were rooting for them. 10:12: Confession time: I have a soft spot for  Bon Jovi, but "We Weren't Born to Follow" is one of their weakest songs ever.  Good God Jennifer Nettles looks hot! She just came out to sing "Who Says You Can't Go Home," which won Bon Jovi its first ever Grammy a few years ago.  Love the harmonies on this song. Richie and Jon are now forming a Jennifer sandwich. Take it easy, girl. Told you the fan choice would be "Livin' on a Prayer."  Or the national anthem, as Jon humbly introduces it in concert. Yes, I have seen Bon Jovi in concert...more than once. 10:03: They just trotted out Jackson's two oldest childern,  Prince Michael and Paris. Shameless. I want to turn the show off. Prince Michael is having a tough time reading the telepromter, but he shouldn't even be up there. Oddly, Prince Michael has the same speech pattern as his dad. Paris just said that her daddy was supposed to perform at the Grammys this year. Really? Can the exploitation over Jackson's death now officially end and can we let him rest in peace. Wow. The show goes straight into a commercial for "This is It." What a surprise. I'm disgusted.  9:56: Time for the Michael Jackson tribute. But first Lionel Richie is going to remind us that he co-wrote "We are the World" with Jackson. Thanks, LJ. You can go back to dancing on the ceiling now.  I didn't get my 3D glasses from Target, so this looks pretty trippy.  Celine Dion and Usher are singing together now. Every now and then Michael chirps in, but it's mainly a mess. Carrie Underwood is now bouncing up and down, as if that's going to make this more bearable. This is just terrible. OK, shot of Beyonce wearing her 3D glasses and she seems to be the only one in her section doing so. A $1000 Target gift certificate is on its way to her.  Cut to Rihanna, whose surrounded by folks wearing 3D glasses, as is she, but she looks really, really bored.  Jennifer Hudson sounds great, but between Stevie Nicks and this big old commercial for "This is It," I'm really sad now. Michael deserved way better than this. This is not a "very special Grammy moment" and no one can convince me it is, despite the standing O. Celine does look fabulous though. 9:50: I can't pretend that Taylor Swift can remotely sing on key anymore. She's singing "Today was a Fairy Tale," from her forthcoming movie, "Valentine's Day" and every other note is off key. Jesus.  She's now brought on Stevie Nicks to sing "Rihannon."  It's interesting that she seems to love artists whose heyday was long before she was born-- like Nicks or Def Leppard. Oh my God, Nicks is now playing tambourine and  singing back up on a countrified version of  "You Belong With Me." Oh Stevie.... And I even like this song. This is just making me really, really sad, but I'm going to bet/hope that Stevie has a niece or goddaughter that loves Swift and that's why she's doing this. That only makes me feel a teeny bit better. 9:39: Leon Russell performing with Zac Brown Band. Man, he's having a major resurgence.  He performed with Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case and T Bone Burnett at Friday night's MusiCare's dinner honoring Neil Young (who won his first Grammy earlier tonight). Plus, he and Elton are wrapping up an album produced by T Bone.  There's also a movement to have him inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He should be in for writing "Superstar," if nothing else. And for not having any idea of what the words are to "Chicken Fried." 9:35: Alice Cooper and Katy Perry presenting best rock album. Katy: look at Alice closely, that's how you're going to look in 35 years if you're not careful. Katy's dressed really sedately. Is Russell clamping down on her personal style?  Green Day just won, beating U2, among others. Billie Joe is the only one of the three bandmembers that actually talks. It's like watching Larry, Darryl and Darryl from "Newhart."  It's really sad that the lifetime achievement winners and trustees just get thrown in as part of an introduction to a performance by someone else or an award. That just doesn't seem right. Show a little respect. Can you imagine how awesome it would have been if we'd heard Leonard Cohen perform? 9:27: Jamie Foxx is doing "Blame It." He's joined by T Pain, Slash, and the cast of Glee. Just kidding about the last part.  Man, that was over the top in a jarring, kind of disconcerting way. Maybe that explains why Justin Bieber completely flubbed his lines when he came up next to announce that folks could still vote for their favorite Bon Jovi song (he brought up Beyonce instead and then apologized to Jay Z, whom I'm sure is worried about that moppet taking his women). He is either still really tiny or Ke$ha is really tall.  And by the way, according to someone who was at rehearsals yesterday,  Bon Jovi was rehearsing "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Who Says You Can't Go Home.' They may have rehearsed the others possible choices as well, but I'd look for a mashup of those two. One of my FB friends just asked if it's past Justin's bed time! LOL. His parents must have given him permission to stay up late. 9:21: Record of the year: "Use Somebody" from Kings of Leon.  First rock winner in the general categories tonight. One of the Followill brothers admits they're a little drunk.  The producer went to say something and the mike was already turned off. Sweet... However that means there's only major category left for the next 1:40 minutes: album of the year.  Looks like Taylor won her awards in the pre-telecast. I would say that losing both song and record of the year doesn't bode well for her winning album of the year. 9:13: Why is best comedy album being presented on air? Shouldn't that slot have gone to an alternative catgory or some other real music category? Although, to be fair, Steven Colbert's Christmas album, which has a fair amount of music on it--including Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne- won.   He just thanked Jesus Christ-- take a drink if you're following the Hitfix Grammy drinking game. 9:11: I love me some Lady Antebellum, but that performance was a big slow. Was it meant to be so dark that I felt like I was watching them all in silhouette?  Still, they sounded great.  9:07: The Jonas Bros. are introducing Lady Angebellum. What's up with the Poindexter glasses, Joe? 8:58: Miley Cyrus just announced that Black Eyed Peas were about to do "I Gotta Feeling," but it's "Imma Be."  Will.I.Am is wearing a mask. Between their costumes and robots on stage, the soldiers surrounding Beyonce and Lady GaGa's Fame Factory, the show has felt very futuristic. No "You're so 2000 and late" here tonight. Now they're doing a fun "I Gotta Feeling." I guess it would have been too cliched to open the show with that song, despite the obvious, "tonight's gonna be a good night" line. We're an hour in and there hasn't been a cringe-worthy moment yet, but there's still two hours to go. There's still hope. 8:50: Best new artist:  As I predicted, the winner is Zac Brown Band. After Lady GaGa was declared ineligible, they were the frontrunners. Well, they certainly didn't dress up for the occasion. They look like they could be part of the crew. Back to work moving that lighting rig, boys. 8:44: A sedate Pink, dressed like a designer monk in all white,  is performing "Glitter in the Air." I keep thinking that robe is coming off at some point. Yup.  Good God, she's basically wearing a few well placed, assymetrical  pieces of masking tape. Now she's doing her Cirque du Soliel impression from her tour, swinging from some rope. Jeez, now she's been dipping in water. Baptism by Grammy. I have no idea if she's singing live, but if she is, she sounds awesome.  She gets a well-deserved standing O.  The performances tonight so far are great. Who's going to be the first to bomb?  8:33:  Beyonce is singing "If I Were a Boy" surrounded by costumed rejects from "Tranformers" or maybe that's her security detail. Beyonce just went into Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughtta Know." Awesome! Even if she is skipping the really dirty words. The Grammys are three for three on performances so far. 8:29: Taylor Swift feigns shock as she wins the Grammy for best country album. Really? You were such the frontrunner that you probably already have a place picked out on your mantel for it. As usual, she gives a humbling, sweet acceptance speech. 8:19: Green Day is performing "21 Guns" with the cast of "American Idiot," which opens on Broadway later this year. It's very cool, but  I'd rather see a performance of just the band playing the song, but I'm old school like that. I expect there to be a number scrolling across the bottom of the screen for me to call to order tickets. Don't laugh. I bet within a few years smart managers will be demanding that in return for their artists' performance. I feel like I'm watching a revival of "Rent" or, of course, "Glee." 8:15: Song of the year: I predicted Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me," but the Grammy goes to "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It.") What was I just saying about wanting to change all my predictions to Beyonce? Interestingly, Beyonce is not on stage to accept her own award because she's getting ready for her performance. I'm calling it now because I wasn't smart enough to call it in my predictions: Beyonce gets record of the year and album of the year too and will be the night's big winner. 8:13:  Stephen Colbert  in a lame monologue that involves his mortified teenage daughter just reminded us that the music  industry was "saved by a 48-year old lady in sensible shoes." True that. 8: 00:  Brilliant: GaGa singing "Poker Face" to the tune of "Bohemian Rhapsody."  She's got on a relatively tame green outfit, but it's a rather dark industrial set about the Fame Factory that satarizes fame. After being tossed in the reject pile, she's back, smudged with ash, as is Elton John, who's know duetting with her on "Speechless" and "Your Song" on face-to-face grand pianos.  I run hot and cold on GaGa, but I am running very hot on her right now, if nothing else for the starstruck, loving looks she's giving John. They're perfect soulmates in a beautiful misfit way. 7:55 p.m.: Five minutes before the Grammys start. Looks like Beyonce is off to an early start with four wins. As you know, 99 awards have already been presented.  B has four, the Black Eyed Peas have three, Taylor Swift and Lady GaGa have two each. I'm seriously rethinking my album of the year choice: I now think it's going to be "I Am... Sasha Fierce" over "Fearless."  Hmmm. Anyway, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the opening number with Lady GaGa and Elton John HitFix Poll Who deserved the 2010 Grammy Award for Album of the Year? Around the Web

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iOS app Android app More SUZETTE LABOY   |   August 17, 2013   12:03 AM ET ISLAMORADA, Fla. -- Sharks abound in the waters off Florida. But not on this day at this particular spot off the Keys as some `young scientists' are on watch for them. About a dozen high school students – guests of the University of Miami's marine research program – went aboard the vessel Curt-A-Sea. Their mission: to help scientists capture sharks, measure them, take blood and conduct other tests before tagging them so they can be tracked. The sharks would then be released back into the ocean. Shark Series Part 2 SidneyAnne Stone   |   July 31, 2013   10:21 AM ET If you are not familiar with shark finning, it is a brutal process in which the shark's fin is removed for the purpose of making shark fin soup. The shark is then thrown back into the water where he/she is unable to swim and drowns to death. For a graphic clip of an actual occurrence of shark finning, click here. It is my hope that after viewing this clip you will want to join the fight to protect sharks. Many in the ocean conservation community know what a problem shark finning is and what a threat it poses to the environment. Further, any major disruption to our ecosystem stands to threaten our entire existence. Much like the butterfly effect, when you kill a shark, you just don't know what kind of impact that can have on our environment. By eliminating an apex predator, you set off a chain of dominoes and there is no telling where they may stop. The amount of gross overfishing that has occurred in recent years may have already caused enough damage to cause certain species to become extinct in our lifetime. Organizations like Oceana allow you to log on and make your opinions known about the practice of shark finning. Just last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill banning the trade of shark fins in the state of New York. While shark finning was already illegal in waters off New York, this also makes it illegal to trade shark fins in the state -- further enforcing New York's intolerance for the practice. Governor Cuomo stated, "Not only is the process inhumane, but it also affects the natural balance of the oceanic ecosystem." As my readers know, I am always a proud New Yorker but particularly at moments like these. Unfortunately, New York is in the minority on this issue so speak up and write to your local representatives, senators, Congress and governor and advocate for the environment that we all share! Matt Rutherford's Mission to Make Ocean Research Affordable Lesleyann Coker   |   May 21, 2013    2:27 PM ET In 2012, Matt Rutherford became the first person to solo circumnavigate North and South America. He completed the non-stop 27,000 mile journey in 10 months in a tiny, old sailboat. During the course of his epic journey, the then 31-year-old capsized in the Arctic battling waves, avoided being smashed by a tanker and navigated a maze of icebergs large and small. In South America, he experienced Cape Horn's famous beauty and cruel winds. He also faced the literal doldrums - areas near the equator without any wind. And all while spending more than 300 days in complete solitude. Politicians monitored his progress, and a documentary for the Sundance Film Festival is in the works. Now the ambitious sailor has launched a non-profit company, Ocean Research Project, which aims to identify new, lower-cost methods of conducting ocean research. At the beginning of May, he set sail on his latest adventure in the Atlantic. Before his departure from St. Katharine docks in London, he spoke to Lesleyann Coker. In 2012, you became the first person to solo circumnavigate the Americas and the Northwest Passage. What motivated you to attempt such a journey? It all started as a fundraiser for a local Annapolis-based non-profit called C.R.A.B [Chesapeake Regional Assessable Boating]. At this point I've raised over $120,000 for the non-profit by doing the trip. I'm also a great admirer of [Ernest] Shackleton, and his story inspired me to try something that most people thought was impossible. How did you get started in sailing? I bought a little 25-foot boat from the '60s back in 2004 and sailed it from the Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Keys. I knew nothing about sailing when I left. I made every mistake possible, but over time I taught myself the skills necessary to cross oceans, and eventually, sail around the Americas. What's your connection to Senator Tom Harkin and Governor Martin O'Malley? Martin's wife, Katie, saw me off the dock the day before I left and I've been invited to their house several times since my return. Tom spoke about me on the floor of the Senate after I passed Cape Horn. He has shown an avid interest in my story. Tom Harkin is an old school Democrat who understands how important it is to reach across the aisle. He will be missed [after he retires next year], especially on environmental issues. 2013-05-20-IMG_1766.JPGThe Sailing Channel has produced a documentary about you, Red Dot in the Ocean. What's its status? It looks like we may get into Sundance if it's done in time. Nothing is guaranteed. They approached me to make a documentary, and after a month of "contract negotiations'" we started the film. Here's the trailer. You recently founded a new 501c non-profit called Ocean Research, which aims to dramatically lower the cost of conducting ocean research. What are the typical costs of ocean research, and what will be your costs? How will you approach the problem differently? The typical running costs for scientific research in the open ocean is between $6,000 and $15,000 a day, depending on the organization. With Ocean Research Project, for our first expedition we have a daily running cost of $73 a day. We're living in a changing economic environment; you can no longer think big boats, big crew, big budget. Instead, a non-profit should think small boat, small crew, small budget. By doing this, you not only reduce the cost of the expedition, but also the overhead. All too often when $100 is donated to a non-profit, $90 goes to salary, renting office space, paying the electric bill, etc. With Ocean Research Project, the majority of the funds raised go to the mission. What will be the implication of reducing the cost of ocean research? More research? Why is ocean research important? Once you have reduced the cost of the expeditions, you can travel farther for longer and collect more data. There's still a prehistoric way of thinking within much of the general scientific community. Too many scientists think the organization that spends the most money or has the biggest research vessel somehow collects the best data. The reality of the matter is that by working with universities and bringing along one or two scientists who bring their own equipment and are trained to use them properly, you can collect a wide variety of important data about our changing oceans. It's true, we cannot have submarines and helicopters, but most research is done by equipment that can be installed or carried onboard a 40-50 foot sailboat. Ocean research is important because we are all affected by the ocean no matter where you live. The ocean not only produces food for 25 percent of the world's population, but also produces between 50-75 percent of the world's oxygen through Phytoplankton, which lives in the ocean. The problem is the ocean is not part of any country, and it's out of sight out of mind. There has not been enough research done within the open ocean because in the past scientists have tried to collect important data with big boats and big budgets. I sailed 27,000 miles, over the top of Canada and around Cape Horn on a 27-foot boat without stopping. I can tell you from experience you do not need a 150-foot, two million dollar boat to cross an ocean or do good research. You're about to embark on a research mission [he embarked the first week of May]. Where are you going, what are you researching, and what do you expect to learn? MR: During our first expedition we will be at sea for 75 days collecting data, while sailing 6,500 miles of the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is home to the Atlantic Garbage Patch and coincides with one of the five major oceanic gyres. The Sargasso Sea Gyre is a huge spiral of seawater formed by colliding currents. Most offshore sailors have seen floating junk on the high seas, but it's a problem that has not been thoroughly explored in the mid-Atlantic. It's the poster child for one of the worldwide ocean problems: plastic that's initially created with human hands, then ends up in the ocean, often found inside animals' stomachs. We have several objectives for this expedition: We'll conduct a Sargasso Sea marine debris reconnaissance survey using standardized data collection methods. This study will add to the global understanding of quantity of marine debris in the gyre and will stimulate awareness of the consequences of manmade debris. This project is run in collaboration with our Partner 5 Gyres. We'll conduct ocean acidification data collection to supplement existing efforts to portray the acidity condition within a gyre in an open ocean marine debris laden environment. This data may reveal a significant concentration of high acidic marine water that may jeopardize the livelihood of critical marine life. The vessel will act as a mobile observing platform reporting atmospheric and oceanic observations to NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]. It serves as a voluntary observing ship to feed international atmospheric and oceanic modeling databases that depict global weather forecasts, climate studies, and support mariners' safety at sea. Work will be in cooperation with our partners which include NOAA's Voluntary Observing Ship, the Ship of Opportunity Program and the Atlantic Oceanic and Meteorological Laboratory. What are the dangers involved in this research project? There is always danger in the vast open ocean. That said, reward lives in the house of risk. I can teach a person the skills necessary to cross an ocean alone, but I can't teach the mentality a person needs to sail alone across an ocean. Either you've got it or you don't. If you don't learn to control fear, fear will control you. Exploration is the physical expression of intellectual passion. How can people follow the progress of your journey, or support your non-profit? You can follow the expedition at There will be a tracking device on the boat so you can see our position, and a weekly blog so you can hear the story as it's happening. You can also donate on the website. Photo Credit; Matt Rutherford Want to Save Starving Sea Lion Pups? Here's How Megan Pincus Kajitani   |   March 18, 2013   11:26 AM ET Tears streamed down my 7-year-old daughter's face this cloudy, March morning, as we watched the plight of a lone female California sea lion pup, clearly exhausted, struggling to keep her head above water and get herself to our local beach's jetty. The Sea Lions' Struggle In our city of Carlsbad, Calif., just up the coast from downtown San Diego, at least 40 malnourished, young California sea lions have been rescued since January. According to a local news story, about 150 malnourished or injured sea lions are typically rescued in our region each year -- but this year, from Jan. 1 to not even mid-March, there have already been 130 rescued. This morning when we called the local sea animal rescue center about the stranded pup, their voicemail said they are extremely busy. A spokesperson from there told the local news that there's "something going on out in the ocean" in relation to our sea lions' food supply. Clearly. The Bigger Picture But here's the thing: This isn't just a local issue, and it isn't just about this specific group of sea lions' food supply. Something is going on with all marine mammals' food supply. Something major is happening with all of our ocean ecosystems. These malnourished pups are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Dr. Bruce Monger, an oceanographer at Cornell University, told my class in eCornell's Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate Program that we as a society have "maxed out the ocean." Many marine scientists believe that, at the rate we're going, the seas will be barren by 2048. (Did you get that? No sea life in 35 years!) Like the roaming plains buffalo shot by humans to extinction, Dr. Monger says, we can extract every single animal out of the ocean. And with commercial fisheries not just taking all the fish but also seabirds, sharks, dolphins, turtles and every other kind of sea animal (most thrown out by the trawlers, dead, as "bycatch"), we are doing just that. The sea lions of the Pacific Rim and Alaska are now endangered because, Dr. Monger explains, fishing "took away all their food, and they are starving to death." I contacted Dr. Monger this week and asked him about the California sea lions: Are they next? He told me scientists are studying two main factors likely causing the crisis with this species: overfishing and climate issues. But, clearly, he said, "the sea lion pups are probably starving because their mothers are starving." Clearly. You Can Help Save Them So, here's the other thing: You can actually do something to stop this ocean crisis, whether you live here on the coast, in the middle of farmland or on a mountaintop. We all can. I get that it's hard, I'm a former sushi lover myself, but we must stop eating fish. There simply are not enough fish left to keep them on our plates, and still leave enough to keep our ocean animals alive. Period. I've heard all the justifications, and my replies go something like this: • You can still do your sushi ritual, just do it with veggies instead of fish (as my half-Japanese, sushi-loving husband and I now happily do). • Farmed fisheries are no better, with incredibly high rates of disease, which is unhealthy, inhumane and harms wild fish as well. • Eating land animal meat is also harming the oceans, by the way. An amazing fifty percent of the world's fish catch is fed to industrial farm animals, not to people (as Dr. Will Tuttle explains in The World Peace Diet). And nitrogen runoff from those factory farms is creating huge "dead zones" where no sea life can survive. The good news is that pleasurable, healthy, social eating is possible with plant-based food. It just takes making the choice -- to help animals rather than eat them. Actually, Dr. Monger believes it's both personal choice and political will that will save or destroy our oceans: Beyond urging us to avoid eating fish and other meat, he urges us to speak out against the government subsidies that fuel overfishing. "The fish in the ocean are as much yours as the fishing industries', and if you would rather see your fish left in the ocean, you have the right to speak up and ask your leaders to help," he says. "If you remain silent about it, someone is going to step in and take [your ocean life] away from you for their own profit." The Next Generations This morning, my sniffling 7-year-old asked me why the malnourished sea lion we watched could not find food. As fishing boats trawled closer to shore than I've ever seen them, I wanted to tell her that the sea lion and her brothers and sisters will find food. That they have plenty of food to find. That the ocean is ripe with life. But, the truth is, I can't tell her that, because as each day passes, it is becoming less true. I told my daughter instead that we can make a difference for that sea lion by calling the rescue center to help her. And on a bigger scale, we can make a difference for all sea lions, by not eating their food and by educating others about their dwindling food supply. Through her tears, my daughter asked me if I could educate more people today. So, I'm writing this piece today for my daughter, for the sea lions and all the animals, and for the future. Before it's too late -- at the very least -- please do your part to save our ocean animals by letting the fish be food for them, and not for you. Janie Campbell   |   December 15, 2012    7:55 AM ET Some people say -- and they make a good case -- that to understand Miami you have to understand the forces and influences of the drug trade, money, and Cuban immigration. Or you can look at the corals, according to Colin Foord and Jared McKay, the UM-trained marine biologist and experimental musician who form the scientific artist duo Coral Morphologic. The pair tie their work, which involves not only growing but filming and soundtracking corals in their glowing Overtown aquaculture lab, to Miami's distinction as the only mainland U.S. city on a coral reef, with corals even growing inside the city limits. You might even blame the tropical polyps for those vibrant "I'm In Miami, Bitch" tank tops. "There aren't any other life forms on the planet that are as natural fluorescent as living corals; this is something that wasn't even really observable by mankind until 50 years ago," Foord told HuffPost. "The colors of Miami -- these bright neon colors -- have always been the essence of the city before the city was even here. The cement in the buildings is made from the ground-up skeletons of fossilized coral. The colorful essence is literally built into the city." Colonies of corals, Foord says, also reflect who we are as a 21st century metro. It's a concept he and McKay have highlighted by projecting them onto South Beach buildings during Art Basel, onto AmericanAirlines Arena, and during festivals in Britain, Sundance, and Miami's own Borscht Film Festival. Saturday night at Borscht 8, they'll debut a new work called "Fungia." Their "scientific and artistic exploration of living coral reef organisms... radiated the most beautiful and unexpected work I saw," wrote curator Patterson Sims, the man behind four Whitney Biennial exhibitions, after an arts tour of Miami in April. (Story continues below.) By using their carefully tended, DIY aquariums to both create and fund their art -- a side business selling cloned corals to aquarium owners helps keep the lab lights on and the artists and animals in constant symbiosis -- the pair not only highlight the Magic City's incredibly rich and unique makeup, but draw multiple parallels between reefs and humanity. "We really see corals as futuristic organisms," Foord explains. "They're very modern. We live in a time when the world that you're born into is totally different than you die in; it necessitates that you're constantly adapting to technology. It's a changing world and the actual biosphere is also now changing more than ever. Being that they're cemented in place, [adapting] is just what corals have been doing for millions and millions of years." But our corals point not only to Miami's past and present, but future. "If given the chance -- if sea levels are to rise -- the corals will happily move back into the city and start growing on our infrastructure," Foord said. "We already know they're growing inside the city limits on our trash. This is the flip side of projecting onto buildings. Miami has always been an ephemeral place: it's underwater, it's out of the water, it's underwater, it's out of the water. "Anyone who thinks the sea level rising washing South Beach back into the ocean is a terrible environmental catastrophe is misinformed about the very nature of South Beach as a real estate scheme to begin with. It's another side of the story of climate change and human interactions with the planet that every time there's a catastrophe there's an opportunity for life to take advantage of new real estate to colonize." How is it possible two middle school best friends from New Hampshire know Miami better than most Miamians do? Foord moved to the Magic City to study marine biology at UM, then McKay came down to start Coral Morphologic in 2007. Relative newness didn't stop them both from becoming instrumental in pushing Miami culture forward. They've helped nurture Wynwood's arts scene, started a record label, and discovered four new species of zoanthids, confirmed by DNA testing and published in the Journal of Marine Biology. Next year, they'll install a Knight Foundation-funded aquascape video project at Miami International Airport and plan to start on a full-length Imax-style film. "Coming in as outsiders, we maybe have a more objective perception of what's really happening here, what has happened, and what is likely to continue to happen in the future," Foord said. "At the same time, our whole perception of Miami has been shaped by our friends, artists and musicians who have grown up here that have really tuned us into a lot of things that someone from outside Miami would have a very hard time engaging with as far as a 'real' Miami. "Without the arts scene and without all these artists and amazing people that Miami is blessed with, I don't think we'd have ended up on this track. We're definitely a product of our environment here." What Happens Underwater During a Hurricane? Janie Campbell   |   November 2, 2012   11:38 AM ET By Brian McNoldy, University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science We think we’re pretty familiar with hurricanes – strong winds, storm surge, flooding rains, ominous satellite images from space, and radar loops when they get near land. But what goes on at and below the ocean’s surface when a hurricane passes overhead? Quite a lot, actually! Effects on the ocean properties The upper levels of the ocean are typically strongly stratified by temperature and by salinity. That is, colder, saltier water lies below the warmer, fresher water near the surface. When a hurricane comes by, it mixes everything up, resulting in a muddled and more homogeneous upper ocean. That means the surface water is cooler and saltier than it was previously was, and deeper water is warmer and less salty than it previously was. However, in very shallow coastal areas, the copious amount of fresh cold rain water from the hurricane can actually reduce the temperature and salinity of the near-surface water. Time series of the vertical profile of temperature and salinity from the ocean’s surface down to 200m, and spanning one day prior to the hurricane’s passage through 2.5 days after the passage. The dramatic mixing down to approximately 150m is evident. Time in days relative to the passage is listed along the horizontal axis. This particular case is from Hurricane Frances (2004) on 1 September. (Sanford et al., 2007) The colder surface water upwelled by the hurricane can actually be a fairly significant player in controlling the hurricane’s intensity. A strong slow-moving hurricane will upwell cold water much more effectively than a weaker and/or fast-moving hurricane. And since hurricanes require warm ocean water to fuel their “engine”, that upwelling can end up weakening the storm. The trail of upwelled cooler water left behind a storm is called a “cold wake”, and shows up clearly on maps of sea surface temperature. Map of sea surface temperature before (left) and after (right) Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Isabel’s track from the eastern Atlantic all the way into the mid-Atlantic coast is evident by the cold wake left behind. (NASA/GSFC) Intense hurricanes can generate 60′+ waves, and at the ocean surface, the boundary between the water and the air becomes nebulous. Amidst the formidable waves, sea spray and foam streak horizontally across the surface at high speed, blurring the view of the ocean’s surface in this photo from an aircraft flying through a hurricane. Photo of the sea state under Category 4 Hurricane Isabel taken from 400 feet above the surface. Note that the aircraft was not in or near the eyewall at this time or altitude. (Will Drennan, RSMAS) But below the ocean’s surface, the currents and turbulence beneath those waves can also be quite destructive. Unlike places above the surface, the ocean doesn’t “forget” about the storm very quickly… strong currents and turbulence have been known to exist up to a week after the storm passes overhead. Damaging currents can extend down to at least 300 feet below the surface, capable of dismantling coral reefs, relocating ship wrecks, breaking oil pipelines, and displacing huge volumes of sand on the seabed. Simplified schematic showing the parts of an ocean wave. At the surface, there are crests and troughs. Crests are separated by a wavelength. The depth to which a wave’s effects can be felt depends on the wavelength and wave height. Effects on marine life Some studies conducted in the Caribbean Sea have shown that in the year following a hurricane, coral cover is reduced by 15-20 percent (more or less, depending on the intensity of the hurricane) in the affected areas. There are several factors that go into the negative effect on coral: 1) the turbulent water breaks it, 2) the days of muddied water reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the algae in coral tissue, 3) the fine suspended particles clog the pores, and 4) the tremendous amount of rain reduces the salinity of the shallow ocean in the immediate area which can stress coral. Large self-propelled marine animals such as sharks seem to be minimally affected, since they can detect tiny changes in pressure as larger waves at the surface approach, as well as the reduced surface pressure associated with the storm itself, and go deeper or leave the area. However, hurricanes have been known to result in tremendous numbers of dead fish, crabs, sea turtles, oysters, etc due to reduced amounts of dissolved oxygen in the water, rapid salinity changes, and violent surf. Just like us up here on the surface, marine life suffers for months to several years from the death and destruction following a hurricane. Brian McNoldy Senior Research Associate University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science Author of Tropical Atlantic Update Follow Brian on Twitter: @BMcNoldy (Flickr photo via Surf Cabo) What Does A Coral Reef Sound Like? Janie Campbell   |   October 26, 2012   12:17 PM ET What does a coral reef sound like? Perhaps surprisingly, it isn't a cacophony of indie-band boings and wriggles. In fact, thanks to University of Miami PhD candidate Erica Staaterman, you can hear a Florida coral reef in the video above, which documents her research into the behavior of pelagic fish larvae. Billions of such "baby fish" are born every year, but must find their way to a coral reef to survive -- a needle in a haystack journey, as Staaterman describes it. For her research at UM's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, she set out to determine whether larval fish use the soundscape of the reef as a navigational tool. The project, which in video form is a finalist in the National Science Foundation's "Creating the Future" contest, involves playing the reef back to fish larvae in a special underwater chamber and then documenting their behavior. (To us it sounds like frying bacon, but maybe we're just typing hungry.) "Coral reefs comprise less than 1 percent of the ocean, but they are one of the most important areas on the planet both ecologically and economically," Staaterman says in her video. "Due to human impacts like overfishing and climate change, they're also one of the most threatened marine habitats. We need to discover how fish larvae find their way home, because the replenishment of reef fish populations depends upon the success of this next generation." Click above to hear the abiotic and biological symphony of a Florida coral reef, and vote here for Staaterman's video. RISE: Climate Change and Coastal Communities Stephanie J. Stiavetti   |   July 24, 2012   10:38 AM ET This month yet another new study about climate change* was released. But this one is different. Unlike many previous studies in which scientists are hesitant to draw causal connections between global warming and specific weather events, this study comes out and says it: "Global warming makes heat waves more likely." The study also found that global warming is making other weather extremes more likely, such as droughts and heavy rains. Higher global temperatures heat up the oceans, as well. When the water in the seas heats up, it expands -- this is called thermal expansion. Thermal expansion is one of the biggest causes of sea level rise. Throw in melting glaciers adding more volume to the rising waters and more frequent heavy rains, and we've got a big problem for the more than 600 million people around the world who live in coastal areas that are less than 30 feet above sea level. And it's not just those people whose homes are right beside the water. Many others are at risk as floodwaters inundate sewage treatment plants, airports, freeways, and farmland. RISE: Climate Change and Coastal Communities explores this international issue through the lens of a single place: the San Francisco Bay Area. Six multimedia web stories take a look at the personal lives of men and women living along the water who are facing a rising tide. Save the Polar Bears, Save Ourselves Sylvia Earle   |   April 20, 2012    3:06 PM ET Spill Cleanup? Just a Cost of Doing Business? Jackie Savitz   |   January 31, 2012    9:41 PM ET Here's a new item to add to the long list of expenses that are putting our country into deficit spending: cleaning up oil spills. While we keep hearing that companies like BP are on the hook for the costs of cleanup, in truth, much of the cleanup will be paid for by the U.S. Treasury itself. As it turns out, BP and other oil companies can write off the costs of cleanup, forcing about a third of the billion dollar cleanup tab to come out of the Treasury. So, besides the normal billions of dollars that we already forego each year by giving tax breaks to some of the richest companies in the world, now we have billions more that those who spill oil into our oceans can get from our bank account even after committing one of the most heinous environmental crimes imaginable. Thankfully, Congress is taking notice, but will it have the political will to end this ridiculous giveaway? So far, Big Oil and its allies have been all too effective at preventing any legislation whatsoever from passing in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Spill. Today, Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) introduced the "Oil Spill Tax Fairness Act" to end the practice of allowing oil companies to take tax breaks after they've caused an oil spill. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the bill could save the Treasury more than a billion dollars a year by placing cleanup costs squarely on the laps of those that made the mess. Remember, these are companies making record profits. Today, Exxon announced that it earned $41 billion in 2011, up 35% from 2010. Yet there seems to be no end in sight for the broader slate of tax gimmicks that result in billions of dollars lost to the Treasury each year. At the very least, these bad actors should pay to clean up their own messes. I have nothing against writing off business expenses, but a major oil spill is not, and never has been considered a normal "cost of doing business." Nor should it be. Killing workers, devastating marine life, including dolphins, corals and endangered sea turtles, shutting down fisheries, making people sick, and destroying the cultural fabric of coastal communities should never be considered just a cost of doing business. And companies like BP that take tremendous risks with our resources certainly should not be rewarded for doing so. Congress and the Administration should be doing much more in response to the Gulf Spill, like imposing real safety requirements, lifting the horrendously low liability cap, ending tax handouts to oil companies, and ultimately moving us away from offshore drilling. But at the very least passing the "Oil Spill Tax Fairness Act" would be a good first step. Wallace J Nichols   |   October 4, 2011   10:23 AM ET The ocean is the single biggest feature of our planet. Phytoplankton in the ocean provide more than half of our oxygen and provides the basis of the primary protein for more than a billion people. Humans have derived unmeasurable inspiration, joy, recreation and relaxation from the ocean for millennia. But we have treated the ocean poorly, and its decline in recent decades has been catastrophic for our planet and its people. We have put too much into the ocean, in the form of oil, sewage, fertilizers and pesticides, antibiotics, plastic pollution, noise and increasing levels of CO2. We have taken too much out of the ocean by subsidizing and encouraging inefficient and destructive overfishing, bottom trawling, long-lining, purse seining, dynamite fishing, irresponsible aquaculture and illegal hunting. We need an Ocean Revolution. It is our coast and our ocean. The time is now to Occupy The Ocean. [Repost this anywhere you like, adding to it as you will.]   |   September 19, 2011    5:42 PM ET By David Biello (Click here for original article.) Jellyfishes rely on drifting to eat. They take their luck with currents, and create tiny eddies to guide food toward their tendrils. Yet in waters from the Sea of Japan (aka East Sea) to the Black Sea, jellies today are thriving as many of their marine vertebrate and invertebrate competitors are eliminated by overfishing, dead zones and other human impacts. How have these drifters of the sea reversed millions of years of fish dominance, seemingly overnight? Biologist José Luis Acuña of the University of Oviedo in Spain and his colleagues now suggest that jellyfishes are just as effective at mealtime as fishes when judged by the right measures. "Jellyfishes are ancient organisms, which use a primitive predation mechanism based on generating feeding currents to bring the prey into contact with their bodies," Acuña explains. "In spite of this primitivism, jellies are as effective as fishes in catching prey and in transforming the energy acquired [into] body growth and reproduction." So where fishes use their eyes to spot planktonic prey, jellyfishes rely on body size—like the lion's mane jellyfish's 37-meter-long tentacles—to maximize their success. To achieve that size gain, predatory jellyfishes have relied on water incorporated into their tissues—the refrigerator-size Nomura's jellyfish from the Sea of Japan comprises mostly water. A larger body requires more energy to move, so jellies let the surrounding water do the work for them, which makes them some of the slowest swimmers in the sea. And measured by the amount of carbon in their bodies—rather than total weight—jellies consume and incorporate as much prey as fishes do, Acuña's team found. The results are detailed in the September 16 issue of Science. "It is very neat work," says ecologist Kylie Pitt of Griffith University in Australia, who is working on similar research. When combined with overfishing, climate change, fertilizer runoff–induced dead zones and other human impacts on ocean fishes, a watery evolutionary stage has been set for a jellyfish takeover—dubbed the "gelatinous ocean" by some scientists. There are exceptions to this rule: The cannonball jellyfish—a seafood delicacy in Asia—shoots through the water at 15 centimeters per second, a decent clip. And the return to ocean conditions last seen in the Ediacaran period more than 540 million years ago—when jellies last ruled the seas—has been a boon for certain fishes in habitats like the Benguela Current in the South Atlantic off Namibia in Africa, where jellyfish-eating gobies have replaced sardines in the food chain. The growing abundance of these jelly-feeding gobies now serves to provide sustenance to the predators that formerly feasted on the sardines, such as seabirds, larger fishes and, ultimately, humans. "We need research to be sure of what new ecological scenarios are arising," Acuña says. "It is time to take [jellyfishes] seriously," Acuña adds, both as a marine predator and a future seafood source. BP's Bad Timing Jackie Savitz   |   September 8, 2011    4:51 PM ET If you were BP, wouldn't you wait for the right time to go back to the U.S. government to ask for more permits to drill? What would seem like a good time to do that? Surely, it wouldn't be when oil is gushing uncontrollably from a BP site on the cold, dark ocean floor, or a day when oiled birds were washing up on beaches. Certainly fisheries closures wouldn't still be keeping Gulf fishermen from working, and people wouldn't still be rebuilding their lives, after losing jobs, and even loved ones following the explosion. I picture BP coming back for more drilling rights on a bright, sunny day, with clear blue skies, birds chirping and butterflies fluttering around. Flowers would be blooming, and green marsh grasses would be swaying with the fresh breeze. The kind of day when it seems as if there is not a care in the world. Sadly, that's not how the Gulf looked yesterday, or today. BP's announcement that it wants more drilling permits came on a day when the Gulf still looks more like a traumatized post-disaster site than the pretty picture of recovery we so hope for. Everywhere we look we see reminders that the oil is not gone and people and wildlife are still suffering. Just two weeks ago there was a large oil sheen spotted in the Gulf, not the first since the Deepwater Horizon of course, but one which was tracked back to an area near two abandoned wells. There are about 27,000 such wells in the Gulf with the potential to leak at any time, and oftentimes do so unnoticed since they are neither monitored nor adequately inspected. Then, just last week, a new oil sheen was found near the site of the Deepwater Horizon. BP's initial response was less than helpful, but independent chemical analysis showed that the oil looks an awful lot like theirs. The sheen can't really be explained by a passing boat, or a leaking rig. A natural seep is a very low odds possibility, not to mention a convenient theory for BP. But many believe this oil may be coming from the well, either from the abandoned riser, or from a leak springing from a fracture caused by the blowout. BP has no good explanation. They say they don't see the sheen. But it's bad timing to be asking for more drilling. Maybe they couldn't see the sheen because far from being a clear, sunny day, the ocean is stirred up thanks to Hurricane Lee. Lee isn't the first hurricane to hit the area since the spill, and it won't be the last. It's a reminder that more permits for drilling in the Gulf may not be such a good idea. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita famously led to numerous spills in Hurricane Alley. When there's a hurricane threatening the existing Gulf rigs, it may be a bad time to ask for more permits. And finally, anyone who did think it might be a nice beach day may have been disappointed to be greeted by a fresh new batch of tar balls on the shoreline. BP oil? Authorities are not yet sure. But one thing is for sure: it wasn't the first set of tar balls to wash up, and it won't be the last. Especially not if BP and other oil companies continue to insist that their right to drill trumps everything else in the Gulf. Oh, and one other thing: It's probably not a good day to ask for more drilling rights.   |   June 23, 2011    6:13 PM ET In case you needed any reminder of the awe-inspiring wonders in nature, this video will do just that. We don't know how we missed this incredible footage from last year, but we weren't the only ones, and it's definitely worth posting no matter how old. YouTube user Seainggreen documents the hatchings of a giant Pacific octopus, which can lay up to 100,000 eggs, according to Wikipedia. From the video's description: A giant pacific octopus mother who lived just across from downtown Seattle had her hatch right under the noses of local divers. Her den was sequestered in Cove Two in West Seattle, in a location that spared her from predators and over-visitation by humans. On September 4 (aka early, early on September 5), 2010, the eggs began hatching. It's a time of mixed emotion; joy at the hatch, and sadness at the knowledge that this event means the mother's life will end. The hatch lasted a full week, after which the mother died. Sit back, and prepare to be blown away by mother nature -- jump to 3:24 if you want to get right to it. WATCH (via Digiphile):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/our-oceans/

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Skillet French Bread Recipes Enjoy our collection of skillet french bread recipes submitted, reviewed and rated by community. Meet people who are looking for skillet french bread recipes. CC - SEF: 753 French Toast 1. Mix eggs, salt, and milk in pie pan. 2. Melt margarine in skillet. 3. Dip bread quickly in egg mixture to coat. 4. Brown one side in skillet. Sprinkle top side with cinnamon. Turn; brown second side. - 24.0964 Frozen French Toast Beat together eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Dip bread in egg mixture, coating both sides. Brown on both sides on hot, greased griddle or skillet. - 25.6059 Skillet French Toast 1. In pie plate, with wire whisk, beat eggs, milk, and salt until well blended. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. 2. Dip 4 bread slices, one at a time, in beaten egg mixture to coat both sides well. Place in skillet... - 26.7356 Hawaiian French Toast Enjoy the rare combo of the Hawaiian and French cuisines in the Hawaiian French Toast ! Enjoy the Hawaiian French Toast as a party appetizer! Tell me how you like this dish! - 40.5855 French Raisin Toast Combine sugar and cinnamon in wide shallow bowl. Beat in eggs and milk. Add bread; let stand to coat, then turn to coat other side. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add bread slices; cook until brown. Turn and cook other... - 38.2799 Banana French Toast Cinnamon French Toast Try this Cinammon French Toast for your breakfast today ! I love my Cinammon French Toast with a generous spread of orange marmalade! How about you? - 38.5056 Orange French Toast In shallow bowl beat together the water, 3 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, and eggs. Dip French bread slices into juice mixture, then into bread crumbs, coating evenly on both sides. In skillet cook French bread slices in a small amount of hot cooking... - 37.7295 Cheesy Grilled French Bread In a medium skillet combine margarine or butter, parsley, garlic, and, if desired, red pepper. Heat over medium heat until margarine is melted. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Cut French bread in half lengthwise. Place bread, cut side down, on an uncovered grill... - 39.0055 Hot French Toast This French Toast makes a yummy breakfast ! I 'm pretty used to savory French toast for breakfast and something sweet, just happens to be a dessert favorite ! But this sweet French Toast makes an incredible breakfast ! you can try it out for a snack too. Just... - 30.9426 Maple French Toast In medium bowl, combine syrup, milk and eggs. Dip bread into egg mixture. In large greased skillet, cook bread in butter until golden brown on both sides. - 27.9316 Tempting Triangles Fabulous French Bread Melt butter in skillet. Saute the onions, parsley,celery and garlic until limp. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, olives and Parmesan cheese. Stir until well-combined. Slice bread horizontally in half. Spread each half with half of the vegetable... - 41.096 Skillet Potatoes Au Gratin Skillet Baked Flounder Provencale 1. In a large ovenproof skillet (preferably not cast iron), warm 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to brown, about 5 minutes. 2. Add the tomato sauce, red wine,... - 39.869 Company Skillet Ragout 1. Mix sausage, veal, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley and the 1/2 tea spoon salt in medium-size bowl. Shape lightly into 48 small balls. 2. Brown slowly, turning several times, in a large skillet, or an electric frying pan. 3. Remove meatballs; set aside for Step... - 37.9534 Onion Soup With French Bread Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add onions and cook gently until soft but not brown. Add flour and stir to blend. Stir in beef stock and simmer 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary (amount will depend on seasoning in stock). Heat oven to 450... - 36.031 French Bread Pizza In a medium skillet, brown beef; drain. Stir in pizza sauce and mushrooms; set aside. Cut bread in half lengthwise, then into eight pieces. Spread meat sauce on bread; place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 10... - 27.914 Crepes is a recipe which you will simply love. An effortlessly prepared breakfast recipe; the Crepes is a dish that you would love to serve to your family! - 36.3534 Easy French Toast In medium bowl, beat eggs with a fork until blended. Add milk, sugar, salt and nutmeg and beat with a fork to combine. In a skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Dip bread slices in egg mixture and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes... - 25.9736 Italian French Bread Special Combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan, onion, olives and seasonings. Preheat browning skillet 4 1/2 minutes. Crumble ground chuck into skillet. Microwave 4 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Drain grease. Add tomato mixture. Slice French bread in half... - 40.62 French Toast –  In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and cocoa. –  Soak bread slices in mixture. Drain. Melt butter in a skillet and toast each slice of bread on both sides until golden. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. - 24.486 Sausage Stuffed French Loaves GETTING READY 1) Preheat oven to 400°F. 2) Trim off the ends of the loaves, and reserve the ends. 3) Using the fingers hollow out the loaves. MAKING 4) In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the soft bread to coarse crumbs. 5) In a heavy... - 47.5207 Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake French Toast If you are looking for a decadent French toast recipe that everyone will drool over, then try out this Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake French Toast recipe from Anne Colagioia. This is definitely one of the tastiest breakfast French toast recipes you will ever... - 98.9861 Sausage Stuffed French Bread GETTING READY 1) Set the oven to preheat 375°. MAKING 2) In a 10-inch skillet, add sausage to cook. 3) Discard the liquid and set aside. 4) Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. 5) In the same skillet, add onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic in... - 42.412 French Bread Pizzas GETTING READY 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. 2. Slice the French bread lengthwise into half and cut each half crosswise into half again. MAKING 3. Place breads, cut side up, on a baking sheet and brush them with oil. 4. Toast them for about 4 minutes.... - 41.5112 Turkey French Bread Pizzas Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add turkey and next 3 ingredients. Cook until turkey is browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, if necessary. Stir in pizza sauce and salt; cook until thoroughly... - 44.4979 French Bread Combine warm water and sugar in mixing bowl and stir to dissolve sugar. Sprinkle yeast over water and let stand 10 minutes. Stir well. Add salt, shortening and about half of the flour. Beat well with a wooden spoon. Add remaining flour and mix with hand until... - 44.689 French Bread Farci Halve rolls lengthwise. Using fork or fingers carefully remove soft centers, leaving shells about 1/4 inch thick. Let centers dry a bit. Place dried bread in batches in blender or food processor (or simply use hands) and reduce to finer consistency. Transfer... - 42.3577 Strata With Dried Plum, Bacon And French Bread Leftover bread can never be a pain with recipes that make good use of them. Chef Dave shows how to make Dried Plum and Bacon Strata using leftover French bread, plum and bacon along with some simple seasonings. Ideal for breakfast or brunch! - 104.755 French Bread Chicken Melts 1. Preheat broiler. 2. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray, place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and bell pepper,- saute 8 minutes or until very tender, adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent scorching. Remove from heat, stir in... - 31.8104 Tomato French Bread Lasagna In a skillet, brown beef, onion, celery and garlic; drain and set aside. Toast bread; line the bottom of an ungreased 13-in.x 9-in.x 2-in.baking dish with 10 slices. Top with half of the meat mixture and half of the tomatoes. Combine seasonings; sprinkle half... - 46.2422 Ratatouille French Bread Pizzas MAKING 1. In a skillet add olive oil and warm it. 2. Add garlic and onions. Saute for 5 minutes till they are completely soft. 3. Combine eggplant, bell pepper and zucchini. Saute 5 minutes. 4. Simmer the vegetables for 10 minutes till they are tender. 5. Add... - 49.8639 Challah Bread French Toast Stuffed French Toast - Baked This is a dish you can serve as a treat to yourself or others. - 120.083 Baked French Toast 1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 2.Combine milk, egg whites, vanilla, and nutmeg in a shallow bowl. 3.Dip the bread in the milk mixture, coating both sides. 4.Spray a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray or line with a nonstick baking liner. Arrange bread... - 41.1758 Mandarin Orange French Toast Drain syrup from oranges into saucepan. Stir in orange peel and juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, stirring, until sauce thickens slightly and turns clear. Remove from heat; add orange segments. In pie plate, combine eggs... - 40.607 French Crepes Crepes has a fine taste. The eggs with milk gives the Crepes a divine taste. - 35.8744 Breakfast French Toast Place egg whites in a medium pie plate. Place two slices of bread into pie plate and let soak 5 to 10 seconds; turn bread over and let soak another 5 to 10 seconds. Remove from plate and set aside. Repeat with remaining slices of bread. Coat a nonstick... - 35.3452 Slender French Toast Combine egg whites, orange juice concentrate, flavorings, and spices in a shallow bowl, beat well. Coat a large skillet with vegetable cooking spray, place over medium heat until hot. Dip bread, one slice at a time, into egg white mixture, coating... - 33.3813 Orange French Toast Orange french toast is a fruited frnch toast recipe. Coated with an egg and milk mixture, the wheat breads are skilet cooked in margerine. Served for breakfast, they make a light and lovely start to the day! - 31.7422 Strawberry Buttered French Toast Drain strawberries; measure 1/3 cup syrup. Prepare Strawberry Butter, using the berries and any remaining syrup. Combine in a shallow bowl the eggs, sugar, lemon peel, and extract. Mix well and stir in the cream and the 1/3 cup strawberry syrup. Put bread... - 40.5067 French Toast MAKING 1. In a medium sized bowl, combine milk, eggs and salt. Mix well and keep aside. 2. In a medium sized skillet, heat shortening. 3. Dip bread slices in egg mixture and place on skillet. 4. Brown evenly on both sides. SERVING 5. Transfer on to... - 35.9648 French Toast Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl. Pour the milk into another small bowl. In a heavy skillet, melt the butter until hot. Dip the bread slices first into the milk, then into the beaten eggs. Saute, turning once, until both sides are golden brown. Sprinkle... - 33.0903 French Toast With Cranberry Apple Topping MAKING 1.Take a quart saucepan and melt some margarine in it. 2. Add in apple, cranberries, sugar, vanilla, apple juice and bring to boil over high heat. 3. Once boiled, let simmer over medium to loe heat for about 10 minutes until mixture attains a syrupy... - 50.3554 Cinnamon Raisin French Toast In shallow bowl or pie plate combine eggs, milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Dip each slice bread on both sides into egg mixture. In heavy skillet melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-hot coals. Fry bread on both sides till golden brown, about 3 minutes per... - 31.9231 French Toast French Toast is my families favorite breakfast. This yummy bread is delicious and its soft and at the same time crisp texture coupled with its addictive flavor is gonn amake you go crazy about it!! Try this French Toast! - 29.1685 Nutella French Toast Gourmet Style French Toast Apple French Toast 1 Beat eggs slightly in deep pie dish with fork or wire whip; add milk, sugar, vanilla and salt and beat until well blended and fluffy. 2 Dip bread, a slice at a time, into milk mixture, turning to coat both sides; set dipped slices on plate. 3 Spray large... - 33.3239 French Toast Strips French Toast Strips is a yummy recipe that will definitely be a winner at the next party you host. I served these unique French Toast Strips last week for my friends and they loved it. Don't miss this one out. - 38.4848 Delicious French Toast MAKING 1) In a bowl, combine the milk and lemon juice. Mix well. 2) To this, add beaten eggs. 3) In the mixture, dip each slice of bread. Let the slices soak in the liquid thoroughly, on all sides. 4) In a large skillet, heat the butter or margarine. 5) In... - 40.5415 French Toast Raisin French Toast In a shallow bowl, combine egg, milk, vanilla, and salt. Soak bread in mixture, turning at least once. Let stand until as much liquid as possible is absorbed. Place in preheated nonstick skillet or on griddle treated with a release agent. Pour any remaining... - 34.7039 French Toast Combine eggs with milk, sugar, and salt in a shallow dish or pie pan. Dip bread slices one at a time into egg mixture, coating each side well. Transfer to a skillet which has been preheated with some of the butter. Brown slices over medium heat, turning... - 30.3872 Hawaiian French Toast Hawaiian French Toast is a tasty bread preparation that my children having for breakfast. Try this wonderful Hawaiian French Toast recipe. - 35.134 French Onion Loaves Orange Oatmeal French Toast MAKING 1) Take a small saucepan and combine together brown sugar with cornstarch. Mix nicely. 2) Stir in all the remaining sauce ingredients. Cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken and boil, stirring repeatedly. Set aside and keep warm. 3)... - 47.373 Sugar Crusted French Toast 1 In a small bowl beat together eggs, milk, the 2 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla. Place bread in a 2-quart baking dish. Pour egg mixture over bread; turn bread to coat. Refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes or until egg mixture is absorbed. 2 In a large skillet or on... - 28.4451 French Toast Stuffed With Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spanish French Toast MAKING 1) Take a large bowl (large enough to hold the bread) and beat together milk, eggs, granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in it. 2) In this batter, dip the bread so that it is coated well. 3) In a small bowl, mix together remaining teaspoon of... - 41.8867 French Toast MAKING 1.In a pie pan, combine egg and milk. 2.Dip the bread in egg mixture. 3.Heat an oiled skillet and cook the dipped bread from both sides in it. SERVING 4.Serve French toast with honey butter. - 29.5765 Orange French Toast Combine eggs and orange juice, beat well with a whisk. Quickly dip each slice of raisin bread into egg mixture, and coat bread on all sides with vanilla wafer crumbs. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet, arrange 3 or 4 slices bread in a single layer... - 28.4853 Spicy French Toast This Spicy French Toast dish is a breakfast recipe. Enjoy this deadly combination of eggs and bread in your breakfast and share your feelings for this recipe! - 35.5191 Cinnamon French Toast Combine first 3 ingredients in a shallow bowl, stirring well with a wire whisk. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add 1 teaspoon margarine; place over medium heat until margarine melts. Dip 1 bread slice into egg substitute mixture. Place coated... - 30.1685 Orange French Toast 1. Spread 4 bread slices with marmalade. Top with remaining bread slices. 2. In shallow dish, combine eggs, milk and sugar until well blended. Dip sandwiches, one at a time, in egg mixture, coating well. 3. Then fry in hot butter, in small skillet, until... - 35.7094 Orange Pecan French Toast 1. Using a fork, in medium mixing bowl beat together egg substitute, vanilla, orange peel, and cinnamon; set aside. 2. Spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray; add margarine and melt. Dip bread slices into egg mixture, coating both sides;... - 33.7251 Cinnamon French Toast Break eggs into a pie plate; stir in sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk. Dip each bread slice into this mixture as you are ready to put it in the skillet. Be sure bread absorbs on both sides. Heat butter in medium skillet. Put in 1 slice of soaked bread. When... - 33.3045 Orange French Toast In a small bowl combine eggs, juice, and sugar. Beat with a rotary beater till well combined. For easier dipping, transfer the mixture to a 9-inch pie plate. Dip bread into egg mixture, turning to coat both sides. Let bread stand in egg mixture about 30... - 42.9495 French Toast Recipe A great recipe to make really delicious, restaurant-style french toast. Super easy to throw together! - 120.647 Whole Wheat French Toast With Florida Orange Slices Whole Wheat French Toast With Florida Orange Slices is an irresistible recipe that you will surely love to try. A recipe prepared with wheat toast and oranges; I am sure you will enjoy this Whole Wheat French Toast With Florida Orange Slices!. - 36.924 Simple French Toast French toast is a dish made by dipping bread into beaten eggs and then frying them in oil on a skillet or in a frying pan. The dish is also known as gypsy bread or eggy bread. - 0 Souffle French Toast 1. In a food processor or blender, process the orange sections for 1 minute. Add the eggs, egg whites, milk, sugar, liqueur, orange rind, vanilla, and salt; process 1 minute longer. 2. In a shallow dish, arrange all the bread in a single layer. Pour over the... - 36.3199 Sweet French Toast With Honey French Onion Soup This french onion soup is prepared with au jus gravy mix. Cooked with butter to taste, the rich gravy mix and cheese goes to make this french onion soup memorable. Topped with bread slices with cheese, the french onion soup is broiled and served up toasty and... - 39.0068 Stuffed French Toast Cut a slit through top of each slice of bread to form a pocket. Set aside. Combine 1 tablespoon dried apricots, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl; stir well. Stuff 2 tablespoons cheese mixture into pocket of each slice of bread;... - 42.7842 Big-wheel Burger Skillet Soak onion in milk 5 minutes; mix in ground beef, egg, rolled oats, salt, and pepper. Mound in 10 inch skillet. With wooden spoon handle, score in 5 or 6 wedges. Brush top lightly with kitchen bouquet. Combine spaghetti sauce and kidney beans (with... - 40.3027 Chocolate French Toast 1. Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl. Beat with the eggbeater or fork till the yolks and whites are mixed. Add the chocolate-flavored milk. Beat till well mixed. Pour the egg mixture into the pie plate. 2. Put half of the margarine or butter in the skillet.... - 27.9252 French Toast Process first 6 ingredients in a blender or food processor. Add additional milk, if needed, 1 tablespoonful at a time, until mixture has the consistency of pancake batter. Pour into a wide shallow bowl. Melt a small amount of butter or margarine over low heat... - 31.0111 Fluffy French Toast Beat flour, sugar, salt, milk and eggs with rotary beater until smooth. Soak bread in batter until saturated. Heat butter in skillet. Carefully transfer each bread slice to skillet; do not overcrowd. Cook bread over medium heat 12 minutes on each side or... - 28.7659 Classic French Toast If you like your french toast to have a sweeter taste, you would go for this video recipe. It's almost same as the regular recipe, only you add certain special spices which makes it unique. Go through the video and enjoy a fabulous breakfast. - 118.884 French Toast MAKING 1) In a mixing bowl, crack eggs and beat with the fork. Add salt and milk to make a batter. 2) In a skillet, melt butter and spread it evenly with a spatula. 3) Dip a bread slice into the egg batter and put it on the hot skillet. 4) Cook until the... - 36.5293 Spiced French Toast Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish, stirring well. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat until hot. Dip bread slices, 1 at a time, into egg mixture, coating well. Place 2 bread slices in skillet, and cook 4... - 34.8739 Dessert French Toast In mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla until frothy. In skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Dip cake slices into egg mixture, then quickly fry in melted butter, turning slices as they brown. Remove from skillet and dust lightly with icing... - 32.5852 French Toasted Chicken Sandwiches Combine chicken, celery, mayonnaise, pickle relish, onion, salt, and pepper. Spread 6 slices of bread with about 1/3 cup of the mixture; cover with remaining bread. Combine eggs and milk in pie plate. Dip sandwiches on both sides, then coat with potato... - 40.9944 Grandma's French Toast 1. In a large bowl, combine the milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon rind, and nutmeg. Soak the bread in the mixture for 10 minutes, or until all the mixture is absorbed. 2. Meanwhile, heat the butter with the oil in a heavy 12- or 14-inch skillet over moderately high... - 32.2918 Custard French Toast Arrange bread in baking dish, 13 1/2x9x2 inches. Beat eggs, milk, sugar and salt until fluffy. Pour over bread; turn each slice to coat well. Cover; refrigerate overnight. Heat butter in skillet. Carefully transfer each bread slice to skillet. Cook over... - 31.9421 French Toast MAKING 1) In a shallow bowl beat egg and egg whites together with a whisk or a fork. 2) Stir in milk, vanilla and cinnamon. 3) Grease a skillet with oil and heat thoroughly. 4) Dredge bread slices in egg mixture. Dredge both sides in it. 5) Add in a skillet,... - 38.9255 Simple French Toast Beat egg with milk and salt just to blend and place in a piepan. Melt about 1/4 the butter in a large, heavy skillet. Quickly dip bread in egg mixture, turning to coat both sides well, then brown on each side in butter (add more butter to skillet as... - 28.0019 Peachy French Toast Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish, stirring mixture well. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot. Dip bread slices, one at a time, into egg mixture, coating well. Place 4 bread slices in skillet, and... - 43.6213 Hawaiian French Toast The night before, cut the bread into slices about 3/4" to 1" thick. Spread the slices in a single layer to slightly dry them at room temperature overnight. (This will prevent the toast from becoming soggy.) In the morning, in a shallow bowl, use a wire whisk... - 36.9961 French Toast Supreme In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla. Spread -1 tablespoon cream cheese on six slices of bread; top;with remaining slices to make six sandwiches. Dip sandwiches in egg mixture. Fry on a lightly greased skillet until golden brown on both... - 29.9277 Sweet French Toast Beat eggs thoroughly, add milk, sugar, and salt and beat until well mixed. Dip each piece of bread into this mixture for a few seconds; then lift into a heavy skillet in which the bacon drippings or butter have been heated, and cook until golden brown on... - 25.5715 Tony Roberts's French Toast In a medium, shallow bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, eggs, and milk well. Dip the slices of bread in the mixture to coat lightly. In a large skillet, melt the butter and oil over high heat. Fry the coated bread until golden brown and crispy, turning... - 25.9848 French Toast Muffins 1. Place eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat together. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until well incorporated. 2. Melt butter in a skillet over low heat. 3. Dip the muffin slices into the egg mixture and fry until golden brown. 4. Place on a servi - 28.6805 French Toast Sticks In shallow bowl, combine Egg Beaters, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. In large nonstick griddle or skillet, over medium-high heat, melt 2 teaspoons margarine. Dip bread sticks in egg mixture to coat; transfer to griddle. Cook sticks on each side until golden,... - 35.1725 Different French Toast Place all ingredients except the bread in a blender and blend completely. Pour the mixture into a small baking pan and soak the bread in it until all the liquid is absorbed, turning the bread once. Preheat a heavy 10-inch skillet, preferably nonstick, to... - 37.5009 Cinnamon French Toast Banana & Walnut Stuffed French Toast 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly spray a cast iron or other ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and then heat over medium heat. 2. Spread mashed banana on top of 4 slices of bread.Sprinkle some chopped walnut on top. Place... - 30.1528 French Toast 1) In a large mixing bowl, combine Splenda,egg, vanilla extract and cinnamon. 2) Soak bread one slice at a time until saturated with liquid. 3) Cook on a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium/high heat until lightly browned, approximately 2-3 minutes on... - 34.6936 Simple Hawaiian French Toast Beat eggs until light; add salt, cinnamon, sugar, and pineapple juice, and beat thoroughly. Soak bread well in this mixture. Melt butter in a heavy skillet, lay in bread and brown nicely on both sides. Serve hot with a hot thin-slice of pineapple (cut... - 28.1507

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Leon Stories and Tips Towards Astorga After some breakfast I picked up my rucksack and headed out. I had scouted out the evening before were the camino headed through the village and the road on which it left. It was a cool morning. We were heading out through flat farmland on a quiet country road. Ahead I could see the mountains, and as the sun rose the snow capped peaks took on a pink hue. I knew in two days I would have to cross over these mountains, so for the moment I was enjoying the flat and the speed I could keep up walking. As it was flat you could see quite a distance and make out various villages in the distance, and all the water towers. As I walked this morning I crossed two canals and walked past many ditches which form part of an irrigation system, later on near Villares de Orbigo I saw a farmer using his tractor as a pump to spray the field with water, and it was pretty to see the rainbows that were cast in the watersprays. Then we left the road and moved onto a track, with deep ruts were tractors had sunk into mud earlier in the season, now everything was dry, but the tractors were still busy in the fields as we watched several sowing and fertilizing crops. The next village Villavante could be seen ahead were I knew there was a bar, so I kept going in hope of a cafe con leche. There were a few number of other pilgrims already there but after ordering coffee, most of them were ready to get going again. So I sat and had a short rest. It was still early but the heat was already starting to build so I wanted to keep going if I was going to make 30 kilometres to Astorga before I was exhausted by the heat. So on through the village and then down onto a track by the railway line which was another section of pleasant walking as no trains went by. But then a major road could be seen ahead, so over a bridge and then past some industry into Puente de Orbigo. Stopped for some orange juice and then on over the bridge into Hospital de Orbigo, and at the edge of town again more choice- a shorter route to Astorga alongside the main road or a longer route mainly on paths. I decided on the alternative route on the paths so veered off right towards the village of Villares de Orbigo, and again here the fields were a hive of spring agricultural activity. I reached the village. There was a nice monument at the water fountain of a cut out cross. But I really needed the toilet so headed to the local bar which also meant I needed to order a drink. I encountered many different atmospheres in bars- this was more a dirty old men type bar with picture of naked woman behind the bar and dirty magazines (which when a male pilgrim came in behind me, two of the men at the bar decided to give him a glimpse of some of the magazines) definitely not somewhere I was going to hang round and eat. So off I set, after the village was a lovely path up the first hill of the day through pasture land. Then near the top of the hill it joined a quiet road down into the next village. I passed by my first 'tourist pilgrims' who were supported by a minibus and their guide had just brought them lunch. I walked closer to the village were there was a row of trees by a stream, and found a spot to sit and picnic. This turned out a little more exciting as catkins kept falling from the tree above and it was a really skill to keep them out of my food. I headed on into the village, filled by water bottle up at a little underground fountain, as I knew this was my last chance for a long stretch. I saw the village church and decided to see if it was open, but I missed the yellow arrows that pointed right as I was too interested in the church, but a lovely lady stopped me just past the church, which I discovered was locked, and was redirected. And I think if I had any sense on such a hot day I should have stopped at the albergue in this village but I was determined to reach Astorga. So the camino continued on a path, first past a dairy farm, and then on through bits of farmland and through groves of holm oaks. Past a clay quarry which had been used to make bricks. I found a nice shady spot to get out of the sun for a few minutes under a holm oak tree, and a few other pilgrims caught up. This section was up and down lots of little hills, and I kept hoping that this was the last hill. Then in the middle of nowhere a barn appears with a stand outside offering drinks, fruit and food for donations, it run by a guy called David. Several pilgrims stopped and enjoyed but as I still had water and food I continued, and just beyond was a big and tall concrete pillar which provided enough shade to stop and enjoy a refreshing orange. At this point we had climbed the last of the series of hills and were heading to a cross looking out towards Astorga. It was a huge relief to see Astorga ahead. The cross is called Crucero de Santo Toribio, and is supposed to mark where the 5th century bishop of Astorga fell to his knees to pray after he was banished from Astorga. So for him it was the last glimpse of the city, while for me and other pilgrims it is the first. You could see the towers of the cathedral. There were lots of benches at the top of the hill and on the track down the hill towards the road, which meant lots of pilgrims were stopped to rest and enjoy the view. It was also the last of the tourist pilgrims I saw, as their minibus drove up the hill to the cross to pick up one woman who was unable to carry on down the hill to the road. It was a short walk down the hill and into San Justo de la Vega. Again, I needed a toilet stop and the first bar I came to provided a welcome sight and a chance to get out of the heat and strong afternoon sun with a cold drink. It was a few short kilometres actually into the city, but I was so tired and was really struggling. I stopped twice more- first in shade by the church and then after crossing the river and down onto a track I found a shady spot. But I was glad I did as I had not seen any pilgrims for a while, and I stopped and a Hungarian guy who had stayed at the same albergue caught up, and another guy not far behind, so I started walking again, and the camino goes behind an old factory- but there was an alley and a lovely dirty old man decided to flash me. I was glad to have two male pilgrims so closeby though neither of them realised what had happened until I told them later. Then onto the most evil bridge- a railway bridge that is ramped up and down so bikes can also go over it, but at the end of a long day it was tough. Then a short steep climb into Astorga. Others thought that last bit was tough but I knew that it was all that stood between me and a shower and bed. The municipal albergue was just at the top of that hill, so that was were I stayed. I checked in- here the beds are in 4 bed dorms, which was nice in theory but my reality was slightly different thanks to one very annoying and rude pilgrim, but she could not ruin a wonderful city like Astorga. So dumped rucksack, had a hot shower and handwashed and hung out my clothes on the line at the back. It was a pretty decent albergue- free internet, nice kitchen, lounge and terrace. But I felt refreshed enough to head out and enjoy the city. Been to this destination? Share Your Story or Tip

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Welcome to the Java Programming Forums The professional, friendly Java community. 21,500 members and growing! Results 1 to 1 of 1 Thread: Understanding how an ObservableList works 1. #1 Junior Member Join Date May 2013 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Default Understanding how an ObservableList works Can someone please help me understand what Java is doing? I've made an ObservableList named data. I add elements to the list, something like this: data.add(new ClientList(LastName, FirstName, Street, City, State, Zip, Telephone, DateOfBirth); So I make a form for adding people to this list, which is held in Java's memory so I can later click a button to add, let's say 5 people to my database. My first question is: 1) Would I be correctly describing this as a list of 5 objects, with each object containing 8 values? If not, what would be the proper way, using Java terminology, to describe what has been done here? Now, given that I have this above ObservableList called data, if I put in the command (and assuming I have 5 clients in my list) I would get a list of 5 objects referenced on my screen (albeit only the pointer to their "slot" in memory), correct? Up to this point, I'm really hoping people will either say I'm correct, or tell me my terminology is all wrong and should be [insert correct terminology here]. Or if I'm just way off base, please correct that, too. Now what I don't understand is, if I write the following code: for (Object o : data) { [variable] = data.get(0); the integer (0) seems to refer to the object in the list indexed at 0 (which would be all of the values for the first person in the list, right?). NetBeans wants me to make the variable a type "Object" for this, and anything else I put there either gives me a compile error or a runtime error, depending on how I write the statement. But since I'm iterating over the list, I thought this integer was supposed to point to the first value (in my case, LastName) in the object currently being handled by the for loop. From what I can deduce from how my code runs, I am incorrect, and the previous paragraph is what is going on. How, then, can I read the values for each object in my list? Last edited by TiJuan; June 6th, 2013 at 08:03 PM. Reason: typo Similar Threads 1. Inserting data from ObservableList to MySQL database By TiJuan in forum JDBC & Databases Replies: 0 Last Post: June 2nd, 2013, 11:16 AM 2. how this code works? By vigneshwaran in forum What's Wrong With My Code? Replies: 1 Last Post: December 11th, 2012, 08:18 AM 3. This Works In My Other Code But Not This One? By Ooogel in forum What's Wrong With My Code? Replies: 3 Last Post: October 5th, 2012, 05:49 PM 4. how array works ? By erdy_rezki in forum Java Theory & Questions Replies: 4 Last Post: May 1st, 2012, 09:57 AM 5. GUI Only Works Sometimes By bgd223 in forum What's Wrong With My Code? Replies: 7 Last Post: July 12th, 2011, 08:08 AM Tags for this Thread

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Lee v Drake - Cash Money Records, Inc. Complaint for Music Publishing Royalty Accounting The first 30 seconds of the song is a recording of a phone conversation with the ex-girlfriend and plaintiff, Erika Lee. Lee asserts that she and Drake had every intention to write the song together and that her contributions were intended to be incorporated into the final song. Lee contends the intro "phone message" is key to the underlying song. Lee's complaint is somewhat confusing as issues of ownership of the sound recording are intermingled with claims asserting ownership in the underlying song. The most interesting thing in the complaint to me is a cause of action for Breach of Fiduciary Duty. Really, songwriters have a fiduciary duty to one another? If a record label doesn't have a fiduciary duty to an artist, do we really think that one songwriter would owe the highest duty of utmost care to a co-writer? Reference Info:Pleadings | State, 9th Circuit, California | United States

http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/complaint-for-music-publishing-royalty-a-60674/

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OSFI Publishes Advisory Regarding Ownership Interests in Commodities Taken by Federally Regulated Financial Institutions Explore:  Commodities OSFI Swaps In response to inquiries from federally regulated financial institutions (“FRFIs”), the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”) has published Advisory 2013-01, Business and Powers – Ownership Interest in Commodities. The Advisory sets out principles relevant to determining whether a transaction that involves an FRFI taking an ownership interest in commodities generally appertains to the business of providing financial services and would, therefore, be permitted by FRFI statutes. The Advisory also lists minimum prudential standards for FRFIs engaging in activities involving such ownership interests. FRFI statutes generally prohibit a FRFI from dealing in goods such as commodities. This includes a prohibition on buying and selling commodities for a commercial purpose. However, the prohibition would not apply where the FRFI takes an ownership interest in commodities in connection with activities otherwise authorized by the applicable FRFI statute. For example, in the case of the Bank Act, a federally regulated bank may take an ownership interest in commodities where it does so in the context of the “business of banking” (which includes the provision of any financial service) or business which generally appertains to such business of banking. In 2004, OSFI ruled on a commodity swap arrangement involving natural gas entered into by a federally regulated foreign bank. In the ruling, OSFI concluded that an FRFI that engages in physically settled commodity trading is providing a “financial service” (and, therefore, is engaged in the business of banking), provided that the FRFI: • enters into such transactions only with customers who are producers or end users in the context of financial risk management services to those customers, or with other market intermediaries to manage its exposure to the relevant commodity; and • takes title to the commodity only on a “transitory” basis and only in connection with, or for the purpose of facilitating, the settlement of such transaction. In the new Advisory, OSFI acknowledges that the scope of transactions in which an FRFI might take an ownership interest in a commodity extends beyond transactions entered into for credit enhancement purposes, as was the case transaction considered in the 2004 ruling. For example, OSFI noted that the transactions might include an ownership interest in a commodity for time periods that extend beyond “transitory” periods or transactions in the nature of inventory financing. As a result, OSFI has set out the following principles for determining whether a transaction in which an FRFI takes an ownership interest in commodities generally appertains to the business of providing a financial service: • Purpose of transaction: The ownership interest in commodities should arise from a transaction that the FRFI has entered into as an alternative to providing a traditional financial service to the customer (e.g., inventory financing, guarantee, letter of credit or risk management service). • Duration of ownership: The FRFI should only retain ownership interests in commodities for a commercially reasonable period of time, having regard to the nature of the financial service that the transaction is intended to provide. • Exposure: The FRFI should not, in the normal course of its business, be exposed to fluctuations in the price of the commodity as a result of the transaction. The FRFI’s exposure in this regard should not be fundamentally different in nature and degree from such exposures that arise from the provision of comparable traditional forms of financial services. On this basis, OSFI expects FRFIs to enter into an agreement to dispose of their ownership interest in commodities promptly after agreeing to acquire that ownership interest. • Return: The return that is generated by a transaction that is an alternative to a traditional financial service and that involves a FRFI taking an ownership interest in commodities should not be based on fluctuations in the price of commodities but should rather have a close correlation to the return that would normally be generated by the comparable traditional financial service. These principles would not apply to ownership interests in precious metals (which OSFI has acknowledged should be considered in a different light given the historical special status afforded to precious metals) or ownership interests resulting from realization of a security interest in collateral under a secured financing arrangement (which ownership interest, OSFI has noted, is incidental to the provision of the financial service). OSFI has also set out minimum prudential standards for FRFIs engaging in activities that fall within the scope of the Advisory.

http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/osfi-publishes-advisory-regarding-owners-09446/

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March 13, 2014 Posts by char Total # Posts: 16 I invested $25000 and received $1100 interest.what amount paid 3 percent and what amount received 5 percent for the $1100? What are the vectors <1,0> and <0,1> called? if it takes 2 cups of peanut butter for every 3 1/4 cups of flour how many cups of flour are needed for 5 cups of peanut butter What is the Least Common Multiple of (31,180) in the back stockroom at the wheel shop, the number of seats and horns equaled the number of wheels. the number of seats and handlebars equaled the number of horns. twice the number of wheels is equal to 3 times number of handlebars. Determine the relationship of horns to seat. Blocks A (mass 2.50 kg) and B (mass 10.00 kg) move on a frictionless, horizontal surface. Initially, block B is at rest and block A is moving toward it at 5.00 m/s. The blocks are equipped with ideal spring bumpers. The collision is head-on, so all motion before and after the ... Two cars collide at an intersection. Car A, with a mass of 2000kg, is going from west to east, while car B, of mass 1300kg, is going from north to south at 15.0m/s. As a result of this collision, the two cars become enmeshed and move as one afterwards. In your role as an exper... If cos(t)=(-7/8) where pi<t<(3pi/2), find the values of the following trig functions. cos(2t)=? sin(2t)=? cos(t/2)=? sin(t/2)=? Physics - please help! Particles 1 and 2 of charge q1 = q2 = +3.20 x 10-19 C are on a y axis at distance d = 22.0 cm from the origin. Particle 3 of charge q3 = +9.60 x 10-19 C is moved gradually along the x axis from x = 0 to x = +5.0 m. At what value of x will the magnitude of the electrostatic for... physics (SAT 2) A horse is pulling a canal boat at 12 degrees to the rope. Tension of the rope it 1150 newtons. The canal is moving at a steady speed. Calculate the resistive forces opposing the boats forward motion. An electron is a subatomic particle (m = 9.11 x 10-31 kg) that is subject to electric forces. An electron moving in the +x direction accelerates from an initial velocity of +7.93 x 105 m/s to a final velocity of 2.90 x 106 m/s while traveling a distance of 0.0904 m. The electr... 5th grade what number is 10,000 less than 337,676? What is the meaning of Controlled Variable? and Uncontrolled Variable? the big idea of energy is where the particles collide to form a compound. Energy is stored in the form of magnesium then burnt. The energy changes state to light,heat and sound. Energy can't be created or changed,it changes form. When something burns, you aren't making energy, just c... Pages: 1

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already a subscriber? Register me Subscribe now See my options School Zone The Journal Sentinel education reporters offer news and notes from their beat • We reserve the right to close commenting on specific stories. Discussion guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use Limit of 2000 characters, 2000 characters remaining Sort by Comment threads per page: 10 | 20 | 50 1. Who is this group...really. And who funds the group? There is already an accrediting's quite stringent! This does seem to be politically motivated...perhaps the organization would like to be more open and then it might receive the cooperation it deems necessary?? Hide replies 2. "the content of the associated courses in connection with a national evaluation of schools of education" As a retired scientist and former university professor, I can testify that there is absolutely no link between the content of a syllabus and the QUALITY of the teaching and learning curve of the students. Teacher quality should be measured by the achievements of their students in the real world! Students pay a lot of money for their education and access to a syllabus, if the NCTQ and U.S. News and World Report want access to my syllabus, they should pay for it too! Soon such research bodies will want to have FREE access to sit and evalutate lectures! Hide replies • As a University professor, what would you think of a syllabus from a chemistry course that taught that atoms are the smallest units of matter? What about a math syllabus that taught that multiplication and division are unrelated and shouldn't be taught as related? They're going to find the ed-school equivalent of those kinds of errors. That's what they're looking for and there is a lot of it to find. Until recently, a major guide to early reading for the state said CAT and TEN had three syllables. That was just one of litteraly dozens of similar errors in that guide. That guide was written by a team that included several education professors and other university experts. It took years to find the errors (no one in the colleges ever caught them) and DPI had to go outside Wisconsin to get them fixed. That's what this is all about. That's the scale of error to be uncovered. • had 3 "syllables"? You mean "syllabi." I prepared mo than a few syllabi in my years as a UW prof. Syllabi normally do not include the kinds of information that 360guy claims. They do include prof's name, office hours, course policies (exams and dates, attendance policies, policies of late work, etc.). They also include dates material is to be covered, reading assignments, and numerous other course administration issues. Never, in all my years of teaching, did any of my course syllabi contain any of the things that 360guy claims are "taught" on a syllabus. • No. I meant syllables. Wisconsin's standards for early learning described CAT and TEN as 3 syllable words. They made many other errors, as well. • As for other material, many course syllabi in schools of education contain factually false information. Even more fail to include important topics which should be there. 3. I agree completely with kingludwig. No relationship. However why wont UW release them? Many at UWM are already online for public access in the public access class listing as well as I dont by this copyright garbage at all. Perhaps NCTQ wants to see how students are graded: lab work, tests, papers, or just simply showing up to class! Hide replies 4. I think the Universities are more afraid of people finding out some little known facts. For example back when I was an undergraduate student and UW-Stevens Point it was a proven fact that statistically students enrolling in early educational majors had the worst act/sat/other test scores. Yet upon graduation it was statistically proven that Early Education majors had the highest GPA within their major out of any program in the university. This is only in my experience and this can be proven by looking at open records if desired. You can look at this and come to your own conclusions. I already know what my own belief is. Hide replies 5. It's so difficult to find it isn't it: Hide replies 6. how dare a conservative group use the open records law...don't they know that only the democrats can use it! once again, hypocrites. and now how much is THIS going to cost the taxpayer? i'm sure they'll have to hire a lawyer or 2 (at taxpayers expense), sound familiar? 7. Touchy. Touchy. How dare anyone question UW's School of Education. What are they afraid of? 8. I can tell you exactly what the schools are worried about. They will see syllabi for courses that are wildly substandard. They will see the syllabus from UW-Stout that teaches phonics doesn't work and children should be taught to use it only as a last resort. They'll see syllabi for many courses that teach that, and much worse. They'll find courses that have taught the educational equivalent of "the Earth is flat" because professors hide behind academic freedom and are too lazy to keep up with their own fields. They're trying to hide their dirty laundry because they're the main perpetrators in the collapse of public education. When that becomes clear, they're vulnerable to a massive class action lawsuit to force them to provide teachers and districts with retraining to make up for what they should have done in the first place. When teachers realize how badly these colleges ripped them off, things are going to get ugly. The colleges are trying to hold that day off as long as possible. That's what this is about. 9. NCTQ, partially funded by the Bradley Foundation,among others.'Nuff said. Part of the dumbing down of our college age students. 10. It really doesn’t matter what the syllabi contains or what group wants it for whatever reason, it is another example of the UW system placing itself above the law. They think they are a kingdom onto themselves. Back to School See all Journal Sentinel Twitter feeds

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KFFL Exclusive Interview: Brandon Burton, CB, Utah by Cory J. Bonini on February 18, 2011 @ 12:37:02 PDT KFFL.com draft analyst Cory J. Bonini recently conducted the following interview with Utah Utes cornerback and 2011 NFL Draft prospect Brandon Burton. 1) Discuss your process of deciding to declare for the draft as a junior. Uhm, my decision process ... I just sat down with my family, friends and coaches, and uhm, just evaluated, ah, you know, my draft status and got my feedback from the NFL. Sat down, like I said, with a couple other people and just decided to go ahead and make the move, the next step to the NFL draft. 2) Have you reached out to any NFL players about the draft process? If so, what advice were you given? Uhm, yeah, the advice I was given was, just, I made the decision regarding coming out, uhm, so just put everything I have into it. You know, if I can do that, everything will go fine and I couldn't fail at anything I wanted to accomplish. 3) Do you plan on participating in all of the drills at the Scouting Combine? Ah, I do. 4) What is your favorite memory at Utah?  Brandon Burton, draft prospect Uhm, favorite memory at Utah ... I'm gonna have to say, just, ah, hanging out with teammates. You know, memories like team dinners, barbeques, interacting with the community, are probably the most memorable times. 5) How much pride do you take in your special teams play?  I take <inaudible> pride in my special teams play. You know, to me, it's just as important as my defensive plays. Uhm, so, I'm always loving to go down and make the play on special teams. I feel that special teams <inaudible> can break the game, so I kinda, kinda play like it. 6) What aspect of your game do you feel like you need to improve the most? You know, if I had to choose something, I'd say my eyes. Uhm, you know, I think a lot of defensive backs sometimes get caught looking in the backfield when they're not supposed to. So, I have to say just improvement on my eyes. 7) Compare yourself to a past or current NFL player: Who would it be and why? I wouldn't say a certain player, but if it was a certain player I'd like to be compared to, uhm, ah, does it have to be a corner? No, it can be anybody. I'd like to be compared to, uhm, I'd say, Jerry Rice. You know, he was the ultimate professional about everything on and off the field, so I'd have to say I'd like to be compared to him. 8) Coming from a family with the academic credentials of yours, how important is it to you to finish your Economics degree at Utah?  I came out early and I am very close to finishing my degree, and it was very important in my household, I mean, education, academics comes first. My mom is a doctor, my dad is a chemical engineer, so you know they preached to me every day about getting an education, so getting my Economics degree is very important to me. 9) How do you relieve stress and spend your free time? I try to do regular stuff. I sit down and watch movies, go out and see movies. I might go to dinner with some friends. Nothing too exciting <laughs>. I just try to do everything I can when I have time, so just really do something to sit down and relax cause I've been on my feet all day doing drills or something, so something that relaxes me, relaxes my mind.  10) Do you play fantasy football? I'm very familiar with it, actually I haven't played, but it was a big thing in our locker room at Utah and we had a lot of players that played fantasy football. I never actually got into it, but pretty soon I think I will. Facebook Twitter Google + About Cory J. Bonini Don't miss these great reports.... Recent KFFL releases

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A groom wasn't left pantsless on his wedding day thanks to a 3,500-mile special delivery made by a Minnesota clothing store. Jason Anderson had a final fitting at Judd Frost Clothiers the night before hopping on a flight to Costa Rica for his destination wedding. The rest of his suit made it into a garment bag, but store owner Judd Frost didn't notice the pants had been left behind in a dressing room until after Anderson was on the plane, according to the Star-Tribune and Minneapolis television station WCCO. Package services couldn't guarantee a delivery in time for the Monday wedding, so instead, Frost enlisted the help of another courier: his employee and 32-year-old daughter, Jessie Frost. Jessie Frost, who is also a friend of the bride, endured an 11-hour flight and bumpy road to the resort that was hosting the wedding to hand-deliver Anderson's pants, according to the Star Tribune. The bride and groom were “absolutely left speechless,” Anderson told WCCO. “It’s above and beyond the call of any small business.”

http://www.kxly.com/news/clothing-store-handdelivers-grooms-pants-to-costa-rica/24538132

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Las Vegas Sun March 13, 2014 Scene Selection — Geoff Carter: ‘Italian Job’ is only a part-time effort Geoff Carter is a Seattle based free-lance film critic and entertainment writer. Reach him at [email protected] I'm a complete sucker for heist movies. I love seeing characters huddled around blueprints, a woman in a cocktail dress stealing a passkey from a drunken security guard, car chases, lock-picking, synchronized watches. If "Citizen Kane" had a heist scene, I'd watch it every day. That said, I don't think I'll come back to F. Gary Gray's remake of the classic Michael Caine heist picture, "The Italian Job" (Paramount DVD, $29.99) as often as I return to Kane's Xanadu. It's not that it's a bad film -- it's an enjoyable romp, as the critics say. But it is lopsided. Take Mark Wahlberg's Charlie Croker, a role assayed by Caine in the original film. As he was in "The Truth About Charlie" -- a pointless remake of Stanley Donen's "Charade" -- Wahlberg is miscast as a smooth-talker. His character is earnest, workmanlike -- not qualities one would associate with an international thief. His supporting cast, however, is spot-on: Jason Statham as con man Handsome Rob, Mos Def as demolitions man Left Ear, Seth Green as tech geek Lyle, Charlize Theron as safecracker Stella Bridger and Donald Sutherland as John, Stella's father and Charlie's father figure. "I play Wahlberg's father," chuckles Sutherland in one of the DVD's documentary extras. "I've just done (a movie) in which I play Nicole Kidman's father. If I could have changed all the diapers of these people, I'd be a happy man." And he's as good as his word -- Sutherland is happier and looks more robust than he has in any of his recent films. Even Edward Norton, whose work on the film was reportedly delivered under protest, seems more comfortable in his work than Wahlberg. Wahlberg's quiet, almost Zen-like thief is the linchpin of the robbery and the story, and it would have been fun to see him rise above a conversational tone at least once. But he doesn't, and as a result, "The Italian Job" never quite connects as the truly great heist movies do. Wahlberg is only on board to deliver exposition, and having done so, he draws back and lets his costars steal every scene in which he appears. The script is also a bit soft. I have no problems with a story that can be explained in a single sentence (Gang steals gold, man betrays gang, gang gets even), but screenwriters Donna and Wayne Powers set up a half-dozen detours that go nowhere interesting. (In a documentary extra, the screenwriters admit to only having watched the original film once, and only after they'd gotten the job. What thief worth his salt only checks the blueprints once?) Now, you can't make a heist movie without having at least one bona fide cool thing, and similar to its predecessor, "The Italian Job" has three: a trio of Mini Coopers, which the gang uses to good advantage in the heist. These small, boxy cars handle like startled cats. Not since the glory days of "Herbie the Love Bug" has a car threatened to steal a movie from its celebrity driver, but the Minis come close. Watching the cars tear through a gridlocked Los Angeles -- on sidewalks, even through the subway tunnel -- is the biggest rush "The Italian Job" has to offer.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2003/oct/17/scene-selection----geoff-carter-italian-job-is-onl/

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Automatic theory formation in graph theory Hemerson PistoriJacques Wainer This paper presents SCOT, a system for automatic theory construction in the domain of Graph Theory. Following on the footsteps of the programs ARE [9], HR [1] and Cyrano [6], concept discovery is modeled as search in a concept space. We propose a classification for discovery heuristics, which takes into account the main processes related to theory construction: concept construction, example production, example analysis, conjecture construction, and conjecture analysis.;pid=S0104-65001999000300003&amp;lng=e Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Computação - Contato:      Mantida por:

http://www.lbd.dcc.ufmg.br/bdbcomp/servlet/Trabalho?id=4197

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[xubuntu] Wireless won't connect again after disconnection view full story http://ubuntuforums.org – When my laptop somehow loses Wi-Fi connection (out of range, hibernating), it won't connect to the network again. It asks me like 4 times to insert the password, but it's already filled in, and it's the correct one. After those 4 times it just says disconnected, and the network disappears from the list. To fix this I have to restart my computer, but when I lose connection again, it just starts all over. I'm running Xubuntu 12.10 (Hardware)

http://www.linuxine.com/story/xubuntu-wireless-wont-connect-again-after-disconnection

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View Full Version : so you wanna be a teras kasi artist? 03-24-2004, 10:32 PM well, i can't help you out...yet. i had a (what i think is) great idea for a new type of fighter in-game. basically, the teras kasi fighter would equip gloves that would boost strength, and to-hit. no problem so far, but i wanted it to get cooler than that. i was hoping to have different sorts of teras kasi styles- like a dragon style where the fighter did extra fire damage, or an energy punch, or so on. here's where it all fell apart. gloves don't take damage modifiers, so i was basically left with the normal punch boosted slightly by the strength and to-hit. so i figure there are two ways to do it: 1. i'm just doing it wrong, and there is a way to get the gloves to do damage. OR maybe they did to the extra damage, and it just doesn't display (i didn't try to fight anyone with them on). 2. i would have to make the gloves equipable in the melee slot (would they still not take damage modifiers though?). if anyone thinks this would be cool, and could help out, i'd love any input. 03-24-2004, 10:57 PM I"ve never tried it so I really don't know (just talking outta my ass here basically) but I think your suggestion number 2 sounds like the right road to try. Maybe once you get it equipable in the weapon slot, then you could add damage modifiers to it. give it a try and see what happens :) trial and error is the best method :)

http://www.lucasforums.com/archive/index.php/t-125652.html

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View Full Version : New Saber Stances 06-02-2002, 12:12 AM Is it possible to create new saber stances? I find the original 3 very boring. I would appreciate someone answering this question. And if it is possible, can someone explain how? 06-02-2002, 07:56 AM But there are 2 other "hidden" stances... First, open the console, and enable cheats with "helpusobi 1" Then you can type "setforceall 10" or another number 5 or above... This will set all your force powers to the given number, if you don't want to do that, you can try using "setsaberoffense 10" and "setsaberdefense 10", which should only change your saber ability. What this does, is when you change your stance on heavy, it won't appear to change, the same for light. So it adds a heavy and a light. The heavy is a one handed type heavy... That it would appear Tavion uses in the game... The light stance is a kind of mix between medium and light. Although, another cool thing with setting your force for over 3, with Mind Trick, you can some times actual control the NPC you use it on. So if you Mind Trick 5 a Stormtrooper, you'll gain control of him for a short while, through your controls, like when you control a robot in the game. The higher your force level, the longer you control him. To the best of my knowledge, you can't get out of it, until time runs out. If the NPC is packing heat, they fire at a much faster rate. 06-02-2002, 08:21 AM Cool, I'll have to try that! But why didn't they add the additional stances to multiplayer as well? 06-02-2002, 08:55 AM It was probably too tough a job to balance them in the short while they had for MP. It's not like they really got the three stances right we got now... 06-02-2002, 11:17 AM You can stop controling the NPC...just press your "mind trick" key at any time. 06-02-2002, 04:41 PM What I'd like to know is is it possible to create a mod that makes new stances? How would that work exactly? Would you have to add new animations for all the models, or what? IE: if you wanted to add, say, a two-sabre stance (Where you weild one sabre in each hand), I assume you'd have to basically do a total overhaul of every model in the game, plus all the models that people release subsequently that you want to use in the mod. Just wondering if anyone knows how to go about doing something like that. 06-02-2002, 05:01 PM they're actually working on that...here 06-02-2002, 05:29 PM they're actually working on that...here Wow,that sounds sweet! :D 06-02-2002, 05:44 PM :biggs: i find that the 3 stances are already complicated enough for multiplayer, if they add more stances it would require alot of stratgy in the multiplayer game and you don't have so much time to think when 10 people are swinging at you with lightsabers :p 06-02-2002, 06:25 PM Well...they did, I guess. You just need to have cheats enabled on the sever... Which is kinda stupid... 6 Jedi runnin' around with God mode...sounds like a game FULL of winners :rolleyes:

http://www.lucasforums.com/archive/index.php/t-58785.html

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Good morning! 15+ things to know for Wednesday 1. SENATE APPROVES 'FISCAL CLIFF' DEAL: Next up is the House, which meets at noon to vote on an agreement that kept taxes steady for the middle class, among other things. 2. WHAT IT MEANS FOR TAXPAYERS: Tax cuts are extended on incomes of up to $400,000, estate and capital gains taxes increase and payroll taxes go up 2 percentage points. 3. 5, 4, 3, 2 ...: From Times Square to Myanmar, the world rang in 2013 with hope for change after a year of hard economic times and natural disasters. 4. DOCTORS GIVE DETAILS ON CLINTON'S BLOOD CLOT: It's located in a vein between the brain and the skull behind the secretary of state's right ear. 5. WHY NO ONE KNOWS NEWTOWN SHOOTER'S FINAL RESTING PLACE: Families of other mass killers have had to weigh their need to mourn against the risk that a public gravesite could be desecrated. 6. WHAT NEW DRUG COULD FIGHT TB: Sirturo, used for hard-to-treat strains, is the first new medicine approved to fight the deadly infection in more than four decades. 7. SUPPORTERS PRAYING FOR CHAVEZ: Three weeks after cancer surgery, the Venezuelan leader's condition appears increasingly dire. 8. WHY OSCAR VOTERS HAVE ONE MORE DAY: Criticism of its new online system prompted the motion picture academy to extend the deadline until Friday. 9. THIS CLUB IS BYOP: Two Colorado clubs were believed to be the first legal recreational marijuana dens in the nation. 10. 12 SACKED IN NFL POSTSEASON: Seven football coaches and five general managers lost their jobs after the regular season ended. 1. NO BIG STORMS, BUT PROPERTY INSURANCE COSTS RISING: The one thing a New Year always brings in Florida is higher property insurances rates and 2013 will be no different. Although Florida escaped a major hurricane for a seventh straight year in 2012, property insurance costs continue to soar. 2. PIP RATES UNLIKELY TO CHANGE MUCH DESPITE NEW LAW: Florida drivers looking to save money resulting from a new law designed to crack down on no-fault auto insurance fraud may have to look hard to find any significant savings. 3. PILOT SPOTS THEFT AT OWN HOUSE WHILE FLYING PLANE: Authorities say a Florida man flying home from North Carolina caught a man stealing a trailer while piloting his plane over his own home. The pilot called the deputies from the air, and the trailer was recovered. 4. BEACH CLOSES AFTER SHARK BITE: A Central Florida beach has been closed following reports of a shark bite. Officials say a swimmer was bit on the lower leg or ankle Monday afternoon at Jensen Beach. The bite was minor and not considered life-threatening. 5.MEN CHARGED WITH SHOOTING DEER FROM VEHICLE: Two Tampa Bay area men face charges after authorities say they shot a deer from their vehicle and then drove off, leaving the dead animal by the road. • Discuss • Print Comments » 0 Be the first to post a comment! Share your thoughts

http://www.marconews.com/news/2013/jan/02/good/

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GOVERNMENT is big business in California. It is so big that officials often look for ways they can make money on what government produces. In some cases, that product is paper — public records. Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget calls for letting state courts — which have been hit hard by state budget cuts — start charging the public, businesses and the media a search fee for looking up criminal and court filings. The proposed fee would be $10 per search. On top of that, Brown's budget plan would double the existing photocopying charge from 50 cents to $1 a page. Court officials say the fee would help them recoup their costs in meeting public-record demands of so-called data miners, commercial enterprises that ask for large numbers of files, extract commercially viable information and then sell that information. The proposed fee replaces a charge of $15 for searches that take longer than 10 minutes. It's unlikely that charge covers the cost of having a clerk track down dozens or hundreds of files for data miners. It also sounds as if the state, as the producer and provider, wants a bigger piece of that action. Brown and the courts are looking for ways to reverse a recent trend of budget cuts that have led to closing courtrooms, shortening hours and laying off workers. While officials say the fee is needed to recover costs associated with large-volume requests, the charge does not differentiate between users. That's the problem Sen. Loni Hancock of Berkeley has with the proposal. She calls it another step toward "a fee-for-justice system," where people who cannot afford the fee don't have access to the information they need in their pursuit of justice. The same goes for the media. Reporters, including IJ staffers, often comb through courthouse records in their reporting of local news. The proposed charge puts a chill on access to public records, especially hampering smaller papers that have to work on smaller budgets. For the IJ, the charge, as presented, could run $800 or more every week. In its current iteration, the charge would not apply to people seeking files regarding cases in which they are personally involved. But the question of fair and open access to public records looms heavily over this proposed fee. In addition, there's a question about the fee being commensurate with the cost of the service, whether someone is asking for one file or hundreds. Lawmakers, who have to approve the proposed fee, should demand the courts detail the dollars-and-cents costs of handling requests for files, both for small and large searches. In a recent speech, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said, "What we once counted on — that courts would be open, available and ready to dispense prompt justice, is no longer the case in California." That is a sad indictment of the state of California's courts. But making court records — public information — less accessible by making them more costly to review and copy doesn't seem to be a logical remedy to fixing what's wrong with our courts.

http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_22886074/editorial-charging-view-court-files-poor-budget-remedy

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Even in Alabama, it's hard to get a home loan Alabama wasn't hit hard by the housing collapse, and prices are now rising. But it's still difficult to get a home loan there. Kai Ryssdal: There are some places that never saw much of a housing boom, so the bust wasn't so bad. And yet, the housing collapse still stings because now it's nearly impossible to get a loan. Gigi Douban wraps it up for us from Birmingham, Ala. Gigi Douban: Experts in the real estate industry here in Alabama say now's the time to buy: home prices are down and interest rates are very low. Thing is, there are plenty of folks who want to buy a house, but there aren't that many who can. Woody Woodfin: We're seeing a lot more people that are not qualified today than we used to see in the past. Woody Woodfin is branch manager for Mortgage of America, where he counsels and pre-qualifies people for loans. Woodfin: Lot of foreclosures are on the market, lot of people have lost their homes due to various reasons, and those people are having a harder time qualifying. Woodfin says it doesn't even take that much to hurt your credit. Young couples who don't have debt haven't built up a good credit score. People who've been out of a job for a few months are less likely to get approved. Even an unpaid hospital bill can destroy the chances of getting a loan. What's more, banks like BBVA Compass have scaled back their loan offerings. And the bank is rejecting more loan applications. Jon Mulkin oversees mortgages for BBVA Compass. Jon Mulkin: I would say that in the past we probably closed on average about 75 percent of the loan applications that we took. Today it's probably more in the range of 55 percent. That 20 percent decline is partially due to new federal regulations that force banks to document everything. So the whole process takes longer. And now, Mulkin says, a lot of potential home buyers are getting frustrated. But realtor Johnny Montgomery says clients who can afford it aren't dealing with loans at all. Johnny Montgomery: I've just written four contracts in the last 48 hours, three of them were for cash. So you don't have $200,000 in the bank? Not to worry. Montgomery says people here who have decent jobs and good credit can borrow money. They just might have to go through several lenders to get it. In Birmingham, I'm Gigi Douban for Marketplace. Log in to post0 Comments With Generous Support From...

http://www.marketplace.org/node/54304/player

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The changing attitude about prepaid debit cards Visa credit card in wallet Tess Vigeland: Congratulations! You're becoming more responsible with your credit cards. The Federal Reserve reported this week that Americans continued to pay down their cards in August, marking two straight years of monthly declines. So does that mean we've all turned to cash? Well, no. A new kind of card is gaining in popularity: prepaid debit cards. Marketplace's Stacey Vanek Smith has more. Stacey Vanek Smith: Wendi Rogers finally got her Ph.D in May, and, after six years of graduate school, she was strapped. So to help her out, Rogers' parents got her a prepaid card at the local grocery store and loaded it up with $30 every week. Wendi Rogers: That way I knew I had money for food. From everything from milk to toilet paper, you've got $30 to spend, that's what you got. Rogers loved the card, but says using it isn't always so comfortable. Rogers: I've noticed that the clerks, once they see you're using a prepaid card, I don't want to say they wrinkle their nose, but there is that definite shift in perception. Traditionally prepaid cards have been a kind of last resort for people whose credit wasn't good enough to get a checking account or a credit card. Ron Shevlin analyses banking products for the Aite Group. He says the recession has changed our attitude toward credit and our attitude toward prepaid cards. Ron Shevlin: With the result of the downturn of the economy, a lot more consumers have become a lot more disciplined about managing their finances and are looking for ways to help them plan their budgets and very importantly keep to their budgets. Dr. Wendi Rogers recently landed a job and can buy her own groceries now, but she's held onto her prepaid card, loading it up herself every week. She says it's a good budgeting tool. Rogers: It just removes the temptation to go to a coffee shop and get a cup of tea instead of groceries. It really does provide a structure that wasn't there. The prepaid card industry is expected to top $360 billion next year. Some prepaid cards, like Wendi Rogers' grocery card, are linked to individual businesses like Office Depot or Target. They don't tend to charge any fees and they usually come with rewards. Those prepaid cards have some perks, but you can only use them in one place. People who want their prepaid debit cards to have more flexibility have to pay for it. Commercial: It's the prepaid Visa RushCard. When you put money onto your Rush card, you have 24 hour access to your funds. Available in sleek black or stylish pink! The RushCard was started by music mogul Russell Simmons in 2003. More than 2.5 million people now use it. Most directly deposit their paychecks onto the card. Simmons says originally, most of his customers were people who couldn't get credit. Russell Simmons: America operates on plastic. If you don't have any kind of card, you're locked out of the American dream. You can't go to the Internet and buy nothing, you can't order nothing over the phone, you can't rent a hotel room. Simmons says these days, a lot of his business is coming from people who are defecting from banks, angry about bailouts and discouraged by new restrictions and fees. Simmons: Thirty percent of our new customers have a bank account and decided they like RushCard better. The market for RushCard and others like it is growing roughly 20 percent a year. Not that those cards are free. The RushCard costs about $10 a month, plus extra if you want to check your balance, use an ATM more than twice a month or get a paper statement. Robert Manning: You're going to have to read the fine print really, really carefully. Robert Manning is the author of "Credit Card Nation." He points out that prepaid cards are sometimes called "fee harvesters" and can end up costing a lot. As prepaid debit cards get more popular, Manning predicts issuers will get more creative about getting people to use them. Manning: We're going to see all kinds of approaches where cards now are going to help you become better stewards of your financial resources. The RushCard offers to help people rebuild their credit score. If customers sign up to pay their bills with their RushCard, the card will report those on-time payments to credit reporting agencies. Of course if you want to pay your bills with the RushCard, you'll have to pay a fee. I'm Stacey Vanek Smith for Marketplace Money. About the author Log in to post5 Comments Many grocery stores in my area have a not-for-profit program whereby they sell a card worth $20 to a non-profit for $19.50. The non-profit sells the card to its member/donors for full price. My local grocery stores all have pharmacies and sell a number of household items like books and lawn furniture (oddly), so I have a broad range of choices for buying routine items. Check with your local grocery chains to see if they have these "gift card" programs for non-profits. You can also buy the cards at full price from the store itself as gifts (a good thing for stocking stuffers for people with basic needs). When I was a kid, my grandparents owned a small grocery store out in the country. Everyone paid cash for everything. We are now a different society and cash isn't always the easiest way to pay (i.e. ordering over the Internet). Prepaid debit cards are a great way to keep that cash mentality while giving you the freedom to shop just about anywhere. Melissa Tosetti I heard this original story and thought it was a great idea to manage money for a relative trying to pay for prescriptions for a significant other. But I can't find anything like the grocery store card featured that only allows one to purchase at one store. All the ones I can find are general all-purpose prepaid cards. I know all about those, we already have them for teenagers in our home. But can anyone point me to a specific store prepaid card, please? Preferably a nation-wide pharmacy. Thanks. I wholly agree with the commentator about the increasing fees banks, rental car companies, etc. are charging. It truly reflects a barbarian kind of greed that seems to have infected, like a virus our "democratic" system. It is a major factor in our continuing deminishment as strong, global economic force. The main thing is that it is not really about whether prepaid credit cards work or not but rather how they can work for you - so there is definitely a growing awareness although in the UK, enhanced usage is still a bit further away even thought we sales rise via channels such as prepaid365 and moneysupermarket. With Generous Support From...

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/changing-attitude-about-prepaid-debit-cards

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Documentation Center • Trials • Product Updates Price Stock Options Using the Binomial Model The Financial Toolbox™ product provides functions that compute prices, sensitivities, and profits for portfolios of options or other equity derivatives. This example uses the binomial model to price an option. The binomial model assumes that the probability of each possible price over time follows a binomial distribution. That is, prices can move to only two values, one up or one down, over any short time period. Plotting these two values over time is known as building a binomial tree. This example organizes and displays input and output data using a Microsoft® Excel® worksheet. Spreadsheet Link™ EX functions copy data to a MATLAB® matrix, calculate the prices, and return data to the worksheet. This example is included in the Spreadsheet Link EX product. To run it: 1. Start Excel, Spreadsheet Link EX, and MATLAB sessions. 2. Navigate to the folder matlabroot\toolbox\exlink\. 3. Open the file ExliSamp.xls 4. Execute the example as needed. Note   This example requires Financial Toolbox, Statistics Toolbox™, and Optimization Toolbox™. 1. Click the Sheet4 tab on ExliSamp.xls to open the worksheet for this example. The worksheet contains three named ranges: • B4:B10 named bindata. Two cells in bindata contain formulas: • B7 contains =5/12 • B8 contains =1/12 • B15 named asset_tree. • B23 named value_tree. 2. Make D5 the active cell. Press F2; then press Enter to execute the Spreadsheet Link EX function that copies the asset data to the MATLAB workspace. 3. Move to D8 and execute the function that computes the binomial prices. 4. Execute the functions in D11 and D12 to copy the price data to the Excel worksheet. The worksheet looks as follows. Read the asset price tree as follows: • Period 1 shows the up and down prices. • Period 2 shows the up-up, up-down, and down-down prices. • Period 3 shows the up-up-up, up-up, down-down, and down-down-down prices. • And so on. Ignore the zeros. The option value tree gives the associated option value for each node in the price tree. The option value is zero for prices significantly above the exercise price. Ignore the zeros that correspond to a zero in the price tree. 5. Try changing the data in B4:B10, and then executing the Spreadsheet Link EX functions again. Note:   If you increase the time to maturity (B7) or change the time increment (B8), you may need to enlarge the output tree areas. 6. When you finish the example, close the figure window. Was this topic helpful?

http://www.mathworks.ch/ch/help/exlink/pricing-stock-options-using-the-binomial-model.html?nocookie=true

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Got Questions? Get Answers. Discover MakerZone MATLAB and Simulink resources for Arduino, LEGO, and Raspberry Pi Learn more Discover what MATLAB® can do for your career. Opportunities for recent engineering grads. Apply Today Thread Subject: without matlab for loop Subject: without matlab for loop From: Ben Date: 5 Dec, 2010 19:55:04 Message: 1 of 1 Hi all, Could I implement the following code segment without using for loop? Q = 0; for n = 1:N tmp = 0; parfor m = 1:M d = [d1(m,n); d2(m,n)]; dm = d' / sigma2(:,:,m) * d; % Mahalanobis distance Pmn(m,n) = exp(-0.5*dm) / sqrt(det(sigma2(:,:,m)) + eps; tmp = sum(Pmn(:,n), 'double') + c; Pmn(:,n) = Pmn(:,n) / tmp; Q = Q - log(tmp); Thank you, Tags for this Thread What are tags? Contact us

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/newsreader/view_thread/298162

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Documentation Center • Trials • Product Updates PS Product Multiply two physical signal inputs Physical Signals/Functions The PS Product block outputs the product of two input physical signals: u1Physical signal at the first input port u2Physical signal at the second input port yPhysical signal at the output port Dialog Box and Parameters The PS Product block has no parameters. See Also | | | | Was this topic helpful?

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Click photo to enlarge TO GO WITH AFP STORY US-TECHNOLOGY-IMFORMATION This image obtained August 18, 2011 courtesy of IBM shows a Cognitive Computing Chip. IBM researchers on August 18, 2011 unveiled a new generation of experimental computer chips designed to emulate the brainâ s abilities for perception, action and cognition. The technology could yield many orders of magnitude less power consumption and space than used in todayâ s computers. AFP PHOTO/IBM/HANDOUT/RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS/NO SALES (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images) SAN FRANCISCO -- Computers, like humans, can learn. But when Google (GOOG) tries to fill in your search box based only on a few keystrokes, or your iPhone predicts words as you type a text message, it's only a narrow mimicry of what the human brain is capable. The challenge in training a computer to behave like a human brain is technological and physiological, testing the limits of computer and brain science. But IBM researchers say they've made a key step toward combining the two worlds. Technologists have long imagined computers that learn like humans. Your iPhone or Google's servers can be programmed to predict certain behavior based on past events. But the techniques being explored by IBM and other companies and research labs around "cognitive computing" could lead to chips that are better able to adapt to unexpected information.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18708520?source=rss

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TORONTO—A female witness can wear a religious veil that covers her face while testifying in court in certain circumstances, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday in a split decision in a landmark case that pitted religious freedom against an accused person's right to a fair trial. The case involved a Muslim woman who sought to wear the veil known as a niqab, which leaves only the eyes exposed, while testifying against her uncle and a cousin whom she claims sexually assaulted her when she was a child. The woman, who can only be identified as N.S. due to a publication ban, said her religious beliefs dictate that she wears the veil in public or in the presence of men who aren't "direct" members of her family. But the woman's lawyers said facial expressions can be misleading. They said Muslim sexual assault victims will hesitate to go to police if they're barred from wearing a niqab while testifying in court. Canada's version of the bill of rights protects the right to wear the niqab or burqa, but the issue remains controversial. New federal immigration rules, for example, ban face coverings while taking the oath of citizenship While Canadian courts at times allow complainants to testify from behind screens in courtrooms or via closed-circuit television, the woman's request to wear a veil was turned down in 2008 by a preliminary trial judge who ordered her to remove the niqab before testifying. The woman appealed. In the rare 4-2-1 split decision, the Supreme Court referred the matter back to an Ontario trial judge. The high court outlined considerations that trial judges must consider: Would requiring the witness to remove the niqab while testifying interfere with her religious freedom? Would permitting the witness to wear the niqab while testifying create a serious risk to trial fairness? Is there a way to accommodate both rights? Lawyer Faisal Bhabha, who prepared written arguments on behalf of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The Associated Press he was happy with the ruling because it affirmed the equality of Muslim women who wear the niqab and of their centrality in the justice system. "The most important principle is that the court has rejected outright any idea of an absolute ban or any idea that in order to maintain principles of secularism or neutrality that somehow means a woman should be forced to remove something that she wears for religious purposes," he said. Muslim community leaders and scholars have debated whether the niqab is truly required by the faith. "There should be no legal presumption that a witness that wears a niqab in a courtroom is doing so for a religious reason," argued Tyler Hodgson, the lawyer for the Muslim Canadian Congress, which was granted intervener status in this case.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22230843/canada-rules-wearing-religious-veil-court

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Four years after a teenager claimed she was gang-raped by a group of De Anza College baseball players, a grim-faced civil jury refused Thursday to hold the men liable or award her a penny in damages. The unequivocal decision -- after a nine-week trial and 3 ½ days of deliberations -- was hailed by the young men and their supporters as a complete vindication but condemned by women's advocates as discriminatory. As the clerk read the long verdict form, one of the defendants broke into a huge grin and another's eyes filled with tears, while the now-21-year-old plaintiff began sobbing uncontrollably. "A weight is off my chest," said defendant Kenneth Chadwick, whose eyes were red from tears. The young woman had sought $7.5 million in damages for emotional distress based on her claim that a group of at least nine men sexually assaulted her in a tiny bedroom at a raucous San Jose house party when she was 17 years old and highly intoxicated from drinking more than 10 shots of vodka. Three members of the De Anza women's soccer team barged into the room after spotting through a windowpane in a door what they described as a semi-comatose girl lying in vomit, and brought her to the hospital. The verdict would appear to resolve a politically charged case that garnered national attention and helped defeat Santa Clara County's previous district attorney because of her controversial decision to not file criminal charges in the case. None of the other seven men originally on trial was found liable either: They were dropped or settled for relatively small sums compared with the millions the plaintiff sought, shortly after testimony began and the defense turned up recent Facebook pictures of the young woman partying in scanty clothing. But District Attorney Jeff Rosen on Thursday said the civil verdict does not negate the possibility he'll file criminal charges. "We're still going to test all the evidence and review everything, and then I'll make a decision about whether to file charges against anyone," Rosen said. "If I decide to, that will speak for itself. If I don't, I will explain my decision." Relief for defendants The verdict was a relief to the two remaining defendants -- Chadwick and Christopher Knopf -- and their families, who waited anxiously while Judge Aaron Persky sent the jurors back to the jury room at the last minute Thursday morning to finish signing the long verdict form. Chadwick, who was in the bedroom for less than a minute, faced one cause of action: negligence. The young woman's legal team sought $2.5 million in damages from him. But jurors said they believed he tried to rescue her by alerting a resident of the house that she was "basically getting gangbanged," and that it wasn't Chadwick's fault the housemate didn't follow through. The young woman sought $5 million from Knopf for 10 causes of action: negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, rape of an unconscious woman, rape of an intoxicated woman, false imprisonment, battery, sexual battery, invasion of privacy, unlawful intercourse and conspiracy. "Thank God," Knopf's mother exclaimed after the clerk finished announcing one "No" after another on the question of whether her son would be found culpable. Knopf was the first man in the bedroom, but jurors believed the teen invited him in and that he may have left before most of the other men came in. The jury of six men and six women had to wade through a mountain of conflicting evidence about what happened in the 84-square-foot bedroom. Outside the courtroom, some jurors said their ruling should not be interpreted as a put-down of the young woman or an endorsement of what happened in the South Buena Vista Avenue house that March 3, 2007, night. But most apparently did not find the testimony by the soccer players, April Grolle, Lauren Bryeans and Lauren Chief Elk, persuasive. A few said they would have held some of the other baseball players who were dropped from the trial liable. "It was exactly the wrong guys in my mind," said juror Courtney Ridings, a schoolteacher. "We were very angry we were left with these two." Juror No. 3, a 47-year-old San Jose widow, agreed. "If there had been other defendants left in the case -- and it was a travesty there weren't -- this verdict would have looked a lot different," she said. Opinions varied But other jurors believed the men and other witnesses, who testified that the girl brought beer to the party, performed a public lap dance and invited them in explicit terms to have group sex. "She came there kind of looking for it," said one male juror, a 62-year-old software engineer. Another female juror, No. 8, of Los Gatos, was not convinced that the teen had reached a peak blood-alcohol level of 0.27 in the bedroom, as the plaintiff's expert toxicologist had testified. The defendants' expert, on the other hand, said she peaked later. "I don't think she was comatose," she said. "She was just having a good time -- they were all having a good time." Even the sole juror who voted most often to hold the men liable, biotech quality-control manager Marc Ancheta, said he wouldn't have awarded the young woman millions. "But how could you not give her something? A couple hundred thousand dollars," he said. "She obviously needs a lot of therapy, and it will take a couple of years and that's expensive." Rape survivor Lisa Jensen, who followed the trial closely and has worked as a rape-crisis counselor, dubbed the verdict "unfair" and said she fears it will dissuade women from reporting rape. "Judging from this verdict, even today in the 21st century, we live in a society where blame and responsibility are assigned to the survivors of sexually violent crimes instead of to the perpetrators," Jensen said. "The impact of this unfair verdict will be far-reaching with potentially devastating consequences for the victims of sexually violent crimes." Golf commentator Roger Maltbie, whose son was dropped from the case, blamed the media for inflaming the public. "As far as I'm concerned, the media convicted those kids from Day One," Maltbie said. "This has been a vindication for (former District Attorney) Dolores Carr (who declined to file criminal charges). This was a money grab. I can't speak for every kid, but they knew our son never touched the girl, but they still charged him with rape." Settlements paid The plaintiff's lead attorney, Barbara Spector, said her client walked away with a "significant settlement from a number of the defendants." The settlements are confidential, but sources close to the case said Scott Righetti's insurance company paid about $500,000 to $600,000, and Stefano Rebagliati's, no more than $50,000. Righetti is alleged to have stood guard at the bedroom door; Rebagliati allowed his grandson to live in the house for free even though he allegedly knew his grandson gave wild parties. The young woman, now a single mother of a 2-year-old son, may net all or part of that, depending on her arrangement with Spector's firm. However, she is also responsible for Knopf's and Chadwick's costs, excluding attorney's fees, which could be about $150,000. "Jane Doe could have walked away without being subjected to the onslaught of personal accusations she knew would be coming," Spector said. "Instead, she took the stand and told her story. She is the bravest young woman we know." Contact Tracey Kaplan at 408-278-3482. the De Anza Case Cast Nine men were originally on trial in the civil case. Seven were dropped, settled or transferred their rights to sue their insurance companies for failing to defend them in the lawsuit. The settlements are confidential, but sources close to the case characterized them for the Mercury News. Found not liable by jury: Christopher Knopf, Kenneth Chadwick Case dismissed by plaintiff: Spencer Maltbie, Ryan Kanzaki, Cesar Gutierrez May have assigned plaintiff right to sue insurance company for failing to defend him: Luis Cardenas, Stephen Rebagliati Settled, possibly for $500,000 to $600,000: Scott Righetti Settled, possibly for $25,000 to $50,000: Stefano Rebagliati

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_17793153?nclick_check=1

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If you hear someone talking about "Napa," you probably think "wine." Napa Style is something different, though--it's the name of two stores owned by cookbook author, TV personality and winemaker Michael Chiarello. The flagship store is in Yountville and the second store is in downtown Los Gatos at 32 N. Santa Cruz Ave. The Los Gatos store sells everything from candles to silverware, salt, olive oil and wine glasses. With a desire to pour wine into those glasses, a Napa Style representative appeared before the town council on Dec. 2. Specifically, Napa Style asked permission to offer wine and beer tastings and to sell room temperature wine and beer for customers to take home. The store also asked to serve wine and beer at private and charitable events that would be held after hours. "We don't want to turn this into a wine bar," Napa Style's attorney K. Christopher Branch said. "We don't want to turn this into a BevMo!." The town council held a wide-ranging discussion that included potential parking issues and precedents. "I would not be opposed to selling bottles of wine in the store because of the name, and I think it's a small addition to their overall merchandise," councilwoman Diane McNutt said. "I do have a lot of problems with the wine tasting because we have many places--grocery stores, drug stores, I think the car wash is selling wine--they're not doing tastings. They manage to move product without tasting things." McNutt feared letting the wine genie out of the bottle, so to speak, and others on the council concurred. The five members voted unanimously to allow room temperature wine and beer sales during the hours that the store is open to the public. No tastings will be allowed during business hours. However, Napa Style can serve wine and beer from 6 to 9 p.m. if the store is closed for a private event. Twenty-four such events will be allowed annually. Another downtown businessman came to the town council asking for permission to increase outdoor seating at Palacio, the restaurant that's located in the historic Coggeshall Mansion. Dean Devincenzi, who is a co-owner of Palacio, 115 N. Santa Cruz Ave., wants to make better use of the paved patio area that is on the mansion's left side, looking in from N. Santa Cruz Avenue. "It's a pretty desirable outdoor area," Divencenzi said. "Everybody wants to sit outside and really nobody wants to sit inside." Divencenzi asked to add 14 seats to the patio, pulling those seats from the mansion's little-used second floor. The restaurant's overall seating would not increase. Divencenzi also asked for permission to allow patrons to wait for a table outside on the porch. The town council agreed unanimously to both requests. The council also approved plans to replace the pathway lighting systems at Live Oak Manor and Blossom Hill parks, and at the Howe's Play Lot. The project will cost about $150,000 and should be completed by next summer.

http://www.mercurynews.com/los-gatos/ci_24690076/los-gatos-town-agrees-allow-wine-sales-at

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Click photo to enlarge Hulopoe Beach on Lanai in Hawaii. The beach is adjacent to the Four Seasons Manele Bay Resort. There's plenty of sand, shade trees and warm water for locals and tourists to share. (Gary A. Warner/Orange County Register/MCT) The 3,200 people living on the rural Hawaiian island that's being purchased by billionaire Oracle Corp. (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison have a laundry list of what they would like to see him provide. Working-class residents on Lanai want stable jobs. Affordable housing. No onerous restrictions on hunting or fishing. A return to agriculture. Improved transportation to Maui, Oahu and other islands, given the Lanai airport's limited flight offerings. Even simple things such as the reopening of the community pool. But on Lanai, an island paradise unscathed by such urban annoyances as traffic lights, residents' lives are largely dependent on whoever owns 98 percent of the island's 141 square miles. Without tourism, the economic engine that's driven the island under its previous billionaire owner, the "pineapple island" doesn't have much. "It's not an island with a lot of resources and the kind of infrastructure you need," says Bill Medeiros, who is assigned to oversee Lanai as executive assistant to the mayor of Maui County, of which Lanai is part. "At one time, almost the whole island was pineapple." Lanai residents are fully aware, Medeiros says, that their wants ultimately have little bearing on the reality of living on an island whose future rests with the whims of an owner with deep pockets willing to bear a financial loss. That owner soon will be Ellison, an adventurous billionaire who needs the island a whole lot less than the people of Lanai need him. "It's always, 'What happens if he sells us? How scary,' " says Kepa Maly, executive director of the Lanai Culture & Heritage Center. Maly said it would be nice if Ellison, known for being a visionary, can find a way for Lanai to sustain itself in a way that honors its roots. But he shouldn't expect to turn a profit. "The history of Lanai since Western contact is littered with the graves of unsuccessful Western business interests," Maly says. "I can't believe someone buying the island today would be able to get richer off of it." Former owner David Murdock, a billionaire who led a shift from the island's pineapple industry to luxury resort and home development, had been losing $20 million to $30 million a year, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser previously reported. Ellison has yet to fully reveal his plans for Lanai, but his representatives have assured the state senator who represents the island that the high-tech CEO and world-renowned sailor has no plans for radical changes and will be sensitive to the culture of the island. Still, Maly notes, the reality "is clearly someone has to earn some money. How do we do that?" Ellison didn't become the world's sixth-richest billionaire without some shrewd business sense. "He told me once that he's like anybody else when he spends his money on something. He doesn't want to get taken," says Mike Wilson, managing editor of the Tampa Bay Times who wrote the book "The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison." But for a pet project like buying an island, "I'm sure his first concern is not that he'll lose money," Wilson says. "I don't think he's unconscious of the natural beauty of the place or anywhere else." The island's charm means residents travel via $50 round-trip ferry ride to neighboring Maui to shop at stores such as Costco or Wal-Mart. There may be only 30 miles of paved roads, but a gallon of gasoline at the lone gas station recently was about $5.75, compared to Honolulu's average of $4.20 and the U.S. national average of $3.45. Residents supplement the food on their family's table by fishing and hunting -- mostly deer and some wild pig. There's one school and one hospital. For more than routine medical care, residents must fly to Honolulu, a 25-minute plane ride away. Lanai's small size has led to a tight-knit community, built as a walking community around Lanai City's park, where residents strive for a simple life. "For an island that may have been host to many well-known people, it's still an island that allows a lot of courtesy and privacy," said Sol Kahoohalahala, a seventh-generation Lanaian. As the deal was closing, Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa pondered how Ellison might "completely alter the economic structure of the island." Playing off Ellison's high-tech prowess, Maly offers an idea: "Software development. How about Lanai becoming engaged in computer sciences?"

http://www.mercurynews.com/travel/ci_20941590/lanai-larry-ellison-what-hawaii-rural-island-residents?source=rss

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User Score Generally favorable reviews- based on 107 Ratings User score distribution: 1. Positive: 78 out of 107 2. Negative: 8 out of 107 Review this movie 1. Your Score 0 out of 10 Rate this: • 10 • 9 • 8 • 7 • 6 • 5 • 4 • 3 • 2 • 1 • 0 • 0 1. Submit 2. Check Spelling 1. Sep 18, 2013 My review is going to be very short because this movie doesn't deserve a lot of analysis. This movie was billed as a dark comedy, there is a lot of darkness via the extreme violence and not a chuckle in the whole movie. As far as I was concerned I never smiled, giggled and certainly never laughed. How can you laugh at gratuitous violence to undeserving innocent people. It was so predictable that it held no surprises whatsoever. Don't waste your money. After 10 minutes I wanted to ask for a refund, but my friend had fallen asleep and I did not want to wake him up and tell him we were leaving. So I sat through the whole stinking thing. Basically this movie was not funny at all. Unless you were a ten-year old. And the movie is way too violent for a 10 year old. The theater was fairly crowded but the people were not laughing. This film is pure pornography. Not sexual pornography but violence pornography. If I'm going to watch pornography it's going to have babes with big boobs and guys with big well you know! Basically A Diarrhea of Violence 2. Sep 14, 2013 Subtle humor is sparsely accessible to cheap slapstick comedy fans, kitsch-ish monster/dragon/vampire lovers, so thank you Mr. Besson for raising the bar. Brilliant casting/acting helped as well. Snobbish critics, please feel free to smirk your nose. 3. Dec 6, 2013 This movie doesn't even deserve a score, I couldn't even get passed the first hour without losing my temper at how stupid this movie is. Firstly, having lived in France as a British student for the last 3 years, I have to say that the portrayal of France and French people is abysmal, I don't expect realism, but I at least expect respect toward the things that make France such a wonderful place. Firstly, you'll meet maybe 1-in-10 people who even speak a TINY BIT of English, this movie blows it out of proportion, I appreciate them speaking English as the film is aimed at English speaking audiences, but it also sadly pointed out how dumb the dialogue was. Also, French food is absolutely wonderful and for the most part, isn't much different from the food available in the US and Britain, in fact, almost ALL stores sell British foods, Not at one point have I not been able to get something I've been looking for in some way or another. This movie goes out of it's way to insult French foods, I find it disgusting how they even have the audacity to do that. Next is the portrayal of French people themselves, this films portrays them as being rude, intruding and selfish, NONE of which is factual, the French, especially in the rural areas are the kindest people you will ever meet and they love having guests in their country, obviously, you will meet the odd bigot who dislikes you for being foreign, but this film knocks it out of the ball park in that regard. Now that I've covered that. Lets look at the movie itself, the acting for the most part is okay, But the kids can't act, not at one point did I find their roles believable. At the end of the day, all I see in this movie, is a family full of moving to a town full of bigots and watch the main character randomly kill people he dislikes and watch everyone else do insanely stupid things for absolutely no reason. Not at one point did I even smile through the small amount of this movie that I watched. The problem lies in the direction, this film tried to be comedy, but there is NOTHING funny about the situation, Why are films like The Iceman and Goodfellas so great? Because they are dark, brutal and serious. If this film took the correct direction, it could have been a dark and brutal gangster film, but it decided to go with the quirky comic approach to a situation only madman would find funny. It's a shame because De Niro's acting is superb as always, shame everything else about the movie lacks any sense or logic. Maybe one day Il give the film the benefit of the doubt and watch it with a few friends, but I honestly couldn't see the film getting any better. 4. Sep 14, 2013 De Niro and Pfeiffer may give it their all, but "The Family" ultimately succumbs to the burden of its own ridiculousness and fairly unlikable characters. 5. Sep 15, 2013 While there's some good acting, it's still not enough to hold this "dark mob comedy together. Overall, it's a forgettable mob movie. Be sure to check out my YouTube channel "TheMovieManLife" for all things movies. 6. Sep 13, 2013 I was expecting a raucous mobster comedy reminiscent of "Analyze This" but It just wasn't that funny. In fact I think I was about the only person in the theater laughing... and not very often. In spite of his brilliant career DeNiro has become typecast and Tommy Lee Jones' dry wit was completely stifled. It further lost its comedic identity when it swung abruptly in the other direction to wrap up as a "too serious" dramatic action flick. I didn't hate it and It did serve up a couple laugh out loud moments but as so often happens, it failed to deliver the goods that the trailer was selling. I guess you could say forgettaboutit, I already have. Expand 7. Dec 10, 2013 It would seem a lot of people just don't "get" this film. It's not quite as loud & stupid as most of the big comedy movies in recent years and I think the fans of those movies are the same people that don't understand this one. Anyway, I loved it and would watch it again. The family members were very enjoyable and I would actually like to see a sequel. The only part of the movie I didn't like (spoiler incoming immediately) is when the daughter tried to kill herself over the math teacher. 1st of all she talked and acted like a female who has already experienced sex, a lot of sex. Yet it is revealed that the math teacher was her 1st.... and then she wants to kill herself because he didn't fall madly in love with her after hooking up one time? Um, ok then. But besides that I have no complaints. Expand 8. Sep 24, 2013 Luc Besson has no sense of genre or tone. Film noir finds humor in amorality, in contradictions, in hypocrisy--not in sadistic violence. And comic strip satire can't build suspense which the last half hour of the film tries to create. The result is a train wreck of a movie despite good performances especially by Michelle Pfeiffer. 9. Sep 17, 2013 Everyone in this movie is unnecessarily violent. I'm not even going all Jim Carrey preachy here but the main characters beat up innocent civilians for no good reason at least a dozen times with tennis rackets and baseball bats. And when the mafia style shootout starts, it's over in 10 minutes. Every scene just was paced poorly and overall this was a hugely wasted opportunity, especially considering the cast. Expand 10. Sep 13, 2013 The Family doesn’t represent Besson at his best, but here the filmmaker once again proves that he is a storyteller who knows how to produce European pop-art cinema that is far more delightful (and, in many ways, more intelligent) than you might expect, based on the film’s sitcom-style description. There are certainly worse ways to spend two hours at the theater than by watching De Niro play an old Mobster in a self-reflexive action/comedy (emphasis on the comedy) made by an eccentric French autuer. Expand 11. Oct 3, 2013 While having a solid cast, Luc Beson delivered one of the worst picture in his career! Humor in it was written for 12 year old boys, plot is boring and predictable. De Niro never before played such a hollow character! This movie is waste of time 12. Sep 13, 2013 Great performance by Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer and one of the best comedy of the year I don't understand the critical bashing gave it 3/4 and that's enough for me 13. Nov 1, 2013 I don't know what to exactly "say" about this movie. The acting was top-notch throughout the entirety of the film, and there were some great moments. What genre of movie does The Family happen to fall under? There's no real way to nail it down as it can be serious at moments while completely unbelievable and funny at others. Few sub-plots throughout The Family could have and should have not been included. Worth a watch if you're fond of Robert De Niro. Expand 14. Sep 18, 2013 A New York mob family in witness protection (headed by Robert De Niro & Michelle Pfeiffer) moves into a small French village, but their old habits die hard (literally). When they're crossed, all four of them are prone to violence, which provides much of the film's dark humor. Director Luc Besson ("Taken" 1& 2 and "Transporter" 1, 2, 3) knows how to stage action, which pops in regularly. The comedy generates more smirks that laughs, but the enjoyable performances and assured direction combine to create a slight, but fun entertainment. Collapse 15. Sep 13, 2013 Though being sold as a comedy “The Family” didn’t get a single laugh, smile or giggle from the audience with the over the top violence and even at points when it is trying to be a spoof or parody or satire the sadistic beatings and various scenes with hammers, bats, heated grills cut off any smile you might have. Michelle Pfeiffer, as beautiful as ever, is funny just with a look from a scene shown in the coming attractions and even not considered a stretch for Robert De Niro he has a few joyous moments ‘debating’ “GoodFellas”. Playing husband and wife they are in a witness protection program with their children played by Dianna Agron, who certainly can pass for Pfeiffer’s daughter and while John D’Leo bares no resemblance to any of the other three he does come off as a chip off the old block of his gangster father. Tommy Lee Jones adds some weight to the film just with his presence but has a role that he can only walk through. Many of the supporting players as police or FBI agents and gangsters all look, and act, their roles believably. I think the enjoyment of this films comes from the director Luc Besson, who also had a hand in the screenplay with Michael Caleo, and executive producer Martin Scorsese who have been in this territory before and don’t take themselves seriously. “The Family” is much better than expected which is always a good surprise when going to the movies. 16. Sep 17, 2013 This flavor will mostly appeal to older audiences leaving younger people bored and wondering. All actors reprising old characters. Tommy Lee Jones as head of an FBI division, De Niro a mobster, and Pheiffer as married to a mob, wow what a stretch. Either way it does make for a charming 2 hours you will spend in the theater since a movie like this is easy breezy for these skilled Hollywood elite. and the kids will keep it somewhat fresh enough to pass for new material. Expand 17. Sep 13, 2013 Overall, The Family was an o.k. movie. The acting was good and no one really felt out of place. However, the pacing was medium and it was more of a dark comedy as opposed to an action film. Also, It is just hard to believe the FBI would relocate an entire family to another country not Canada and everyone in France speaking English and not French. 18. Dec 21, 2013 A fairly mediocre film that is just good enough for a mild recommendation. Robert De Niro in a gangster movie no question it's over done but at least he knows the terrain. B- 19. Sep 30, 2013 4/10 is a fair score, because i think some people will like it and some not, but for me it was a very decent movie! Good acting, poor story and decent action brings me to this final score. 20. Oct 22, 2013 The first half is mediocre but the second one is better. The film doesn't have the usual stupid jokes, each character is given his/her own subplot, the performances are good and the ending is satisfying. Moreover Dianna Agron is gorgeous. 21. Oct 17, 2013 Good mafia movie with a lot of dark humor. Seems more like it should have been two movies or at least a continuation of some made for tv series. @ramblingmango 22. Feb 14, 2014 An unbelievably slow paced movie. There are moments of humor or violence thrown to give this movie a pulse every now and then, but ultimately this is a very dull and lifeless film. The film is at's best when it is focusing on humor. The violence just comes off as sadistic and cruel. John D'leo steals the show. He, Dianna Agron, and the plots surrounding them end up being the best parts of the movie, making the parents (Pfieffer and De Niro) uninteresting. They do not save the movie from ultimately being boring however, and Agron's story ends up turning into just another broken heart story. Overall I found this movie to be a boring waste of time. There's not enough humor and much it's violence ends up coming off as unnecessary. There are some interesting bits here and there, but overall the film is lifeless and uninteresting. My recommendation is that you just pass this film by. It falls short in just about every area leaving the film to be stuck in some sort of limbo of mediocrity. I thought this mob family would be more interesting. 23. Oct 25, 2013 Nice passtime, the scenario isn't that full proof, for instance whose body is in the family car trunk at the very beginning of the movie? A bit more, the end scene of catching up the mob who follows the family was so naive for a bunch of such professionals who easily killed policemen at the police and fire stations. Great acting from the family, Roberto De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, and John D'Leo, also from FBI Tommy Lee Johns. Mixed comedy and violence, controlled smiles and tensions, exchanged American and French mocking. A low cost movie that didn't pretend much is worth seeing. Expand 24. Dec 24, 2013 I agree that the characters are really flat and unlikeable, The story is something we have seen a thousand times before, yet some how it's surprisingly enjoyable to watch. The ending saved it from being a total snooze fest as well. The biggest complaint is the needless 2 hour run time and the crappy sub-plot with the daughter of the family. I think it'd have been better if it were shorter and featured less sub-plots that offered nothing to the film. Expand 25. Dec 6, 2013 The movie holds together with Luc Besson's style of directing, even with all its stereotypes. It has its moments of being funny with violence but eventually simply becomes a little ridiculous to fully enjoy. 26. Jan 19, 2014 An awful film all the way through. It is never entertaining, funny, or creative. The script is so thin and weak I can't imagine why anybody would be associated with it besides cashing a check. 27. Dec 20, 2013 It was the story of an American family who are living under the witness protection in somewhere southern France. This is not an ordinary family where love and care are given the first preferences. They are also funny at a time for their atrocity against the annoying people. Watching it makes you feel good for the moment but it won't last for long. Call it a better commercial movie to enjoy our 2 hours with it. Blake is a given fake family name for a family who are under witness protection. This trouble making small family with four members finds hard living alongside their new neighbors. They frequently move around different places with different names. One of those is where this movie takes place. And as usual it ends with what we saw on the opening. That makes us to think a sequel is in a due to clarify the remaining doubts. This is not what we expected from the writer, director of hit movies like 'Leon: The Professional' and 'The Fifth Element'. He made many good movies as well average ones and this movie comes under okay type comedy-thriller. It had a good pair of actors, De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer. But the movie did not deeply explains all the characters that involved in the story. In halfway of the movie you will come to know there's nothing secret behind what opening sequences that created a puzzle of series mysteries. 28. Jan 3, 2014 Yet another black comedy from Luc Besson. But in contrast to some of his earlier movies, this is actually good. Not overwhelmingly good, but definitely entertaining. Robert De Niro returns to the crime genre in style alongside Michelle Pfeiffer in two brilliant performances, however their two children give the best performances in the whole movie. Regrettably I don't know either of the actors names off the top of my head because both of them are reasonably unknown, but they both deserve to be in more stuff (especially John D'Leo as the boy). Every now and again Tommy Lee Jones pops up too. The plot makes sense and holds up, even in the overblown final act. And the action, again even if the overblown final act, is exciting and will keep viewers only watching for explosions entertained. Much like most of the other comedies I have watched in my entire life, the main problem is that I didn't laugh much. It's either that this is an unsuccessful black comedy or that I'm an unhappy pedantic who rarely ever smiles, but I did laugh a below average amount of times. Sure I was almost in hysterics at the very clever joke about De Niro being able to express any emotion just by saying and the two agents who are constantly listening in to the families every word have some hilarious conversations. But most of the other jokes only got a smirk or a weak smile out of me. However, that does not stop The Family from being a hugely enjoyable black comedy, which delivers excitement and thrills (but fails to satisfy the audience by way of jokes) without forgetting emotion and story arcs. To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed The Family, and strongly recommend it. 29. Dec 23, 2013 Esta pelicula me gusto, tuvo comedia y crimen."The Family" es la pelicula que marca el regreso de Robert De Niro al cine de gangsters, con el tipico padre de familia que tuvo un pasado doloroso; yo a esta pelicula la describo como una pelicula de humor negro. 30. Oct 12, 2013 This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Family is not such a bad film actually. I enjoyed the film as it had that black humor that I've never seen in a film and it has all the time many funny moments. The whole family even the dog) were a good presence in the film and the characters were built in such way that everyone had something different. Really liked the shooting scene. It reminded me a bit of Kick-ass. There is only one problem in that film. The story has some gaps such as why did they move in Normandie? That is not explained in the film. All in all, if you forget about that problem the family is interesting and humorous black comedy with lots of fun and with a really good Robert De niro and Michelle Pfeiffer Expand 31. Dec 12, 2013 Suffering from uneven tones and characters that lack any real development, “The Family” is a slight disappointment. The story is simple but something that could have been easily entertaining; however, the film can’t decide if it wants to be a dark comedy or a crime thriller and the way it jumps back and forth makes the film feel grating at points. Additionally, despite the fact there are some great performances in the film, the characters really don’t have much depth or get much development as the film progresses. However, the film has some amusing moments and Robert De Niro and Tommy Lee Jones are great together in it, so it has some merits…just not much beyond watching it once. Expand 32. Dec 18, 2013 The family wasn't just good it was great every part of it I loved. I have no idea why lots of people don't like this movie there is nothing wrong with it. It is funny, cool and very exciting. There is nothing bad about The family it is an awesome movie 33. Dec 29, 2013 THE FAMILY is a very entertaining comedy thriller about a former mob boss and his family who just can’t seem to control their sinful, criminal, violent urges. The movie is very well done by all concerned, including talented French writer and director Luc Besson, but the foul language and immorality are over-the-top, or excessive 34. Jan 25, 2014 Owen McKenna Rio Rancho, NM. I was told the movie was very funny. It did not meet my expectations. I admit I laughed a few times. I still think Di Nero is a great actor, just not one of his best roles. Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critics Critic score distribution: 1. Positive: 8 out of 32 2. Negative: 10 out of 32 1. Reviewed by: Neil Smith Nov 21, 2013 Though it’s good to see Michelle Pfeiffer married to the mob again, she alone can’t redeem a lumbering farce that takes an unpleasantly sadistic glee in violence, murder and intimidation. 2. Reviewed by: Catherine Shoard Nov 21, 2013 Robert De Niro does further damage to a reputation much battered by "The Big Wedding." 3. Reviewed by: Nick de Semlyen Nov 19, 2013 Another to airbrush out of the De Niro back catalogue.

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-family/user-reviews?dist=neutral&user_review_id=3554233

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Lloyd Banks Lyrics 8 Mintues of Death Lyrics Add song information... For Example... Cancel Submit Thank You For Your Submission 8 Mintues of Death Submit Correct Lyrics Submit Corrections Cancel Part 1: Now first of all keep my name off record, I'm internationally known, lyrically respected Cars I 23 'em and armor all the tires up, And keep a long line of hoes like fire trucks It's just the broke rapper's talkin' all loud, But I throw what you make at your show at my crowd There'll be ashes to ashes and dust to dust, The moment we bump heads nigga fuck the cuffs When I'm tourin' the smarter hoes rush the bus, And get a attitude, cause I'm in a rush to bust Cause think about it, I've been the only one that I can trust, Since I had to use shoe polish to cover up the scuffs I climbed up from the bottom thats why they on my nuts, And they all got boyfriends, that's why they on the hush Plus I'm hotter then most, that's why they mouths droppin' And I ain't just out coppin' I'm house shoppin' Hahaha Yeah! Part 2: Aye you're either a full blown sicko, senile or stupid, To run up on me with the blicky and don't use it Watch as I express murder through music, I've been around a while now, heard a few lose it Banks make the money, money don't make me, We been together like 8 Ball and MJG Like Stockton and Malone, Chrome and Tombstone, Norega & Capone, or a hater on the phone It ain't a close call or a tie at all, I'm about a mile away, You're nobody, you can die today I'm MJ, fuck what you're man say, I got a new cannon that's hologram gray, Hey, I can do this all day, got my uniform on high off the cron cron It used to be competition, now they all gone Caught up in the crossfire throwin' up they palm-palms You don't wanna wired jaw, that'll zip your lip Cause we can all get down, go grip for grip You're better off drivin' drunk, flip yo wip He ain't shit, ain't nobody gonna miss the prick Man everything gonna stop when your man drop They fuckin' with BANKS, been from southside jamaica to jamrock And I be over seas for the G's and I'm gettin' it, I don't smoke weed with the seeds and the sticks in it, I'm the reason your dough goin' thin, Cause ya'll in the way, when I see nigga's I see bowlin' pins You can call me Mr. Do It First, oh you like that? I got that just to do a verse. And I stack cause I'm after the bread, I got a G for every bump on your face and every nap on your head I be set for a week while I'm back from the dread, With a brown bag fluffy as a package of bread Part 3: What I'm doin'? Nothin', chillin' at the Holiday Inn, With a bottle of Jin, and the model's a 10, I ain't worried about the kid's ma' swallowin' them, Another victim to my matol again, You're fallin' off, and I will not follow a trend, Go call your boss, I put a hot hollow in him, I never lost, I'm cooler then Chicago's wind, Butter's soft in the Benz and the 9 hold 10, As time keep's tickin', I'm Chevrolet dippin', Navy blue swede seats with the grey strip in, It's plain to see, you can't change me, Cause I'm a be a nigga for life, flyin' figures in ice, I bet the price on the fling of the dice, Shorty with me, we slingin' a pipe, Chrome thing on right, one on the wip, it'll ring on your top And I be five thousand miles from the block man Part 4: Aye, you talk like you're rich but really ain't got a home, and been in everybodies video but your own New York is the sound, clown I walk with a pound, now the talk of the town real as the chalk in the ground, You ain't nothin' but a duplicate followin' the ruler, Chain, watch, and ring, you borrowed from the jeweler You had to see the chain, scene swallowed before I knew it, Don't trip that'll get ya hit hard in your madolah, I ain't really for the talk, nigga argue with the rugger, Have yourself a drink roll a bottle with a budda, I'm the last one to run, the first one to come, shit your boy smooth as the verse when I'm done, I used to say I wouldn't amount to nothin', Even my momma ain't know she had a star since the oven, cousin', You gotta love him the kid's gettin' his dollars man, I've been a part of God's plan since the sonogram Part 5: Yo who else but blue could do what he do? The nigga's he ran the street was the crew that he flew, I embrace the new jack assuming he's true, But he was soft as a cloth so I auctioned him off, man That ain't no way to talk to a boss, fuck a middle man, bring the hawk to the source I'm ballin' from the heliport to the porche, With my dominican bitch that walks like a horse When I floss, it's hard for anybody to come off, I ain't a come up, you need karate or the torch, Nigga's hate it, now they feelin' sorry on they porch, Cause I made it, I don't let the Ferari on the courts, That ain't really a run compared to shit we done, The crib got more land then Area 51, You take one of mine your whole family get to run, I ain't Diesel, but they scarred of me with a gun, I'm the one Part 6: Aye writing for malotti's thats what you gotta chew, The stadiums jammed back but they ain't checkin' for you, Man this is for the nigga's that's boxed up, For throwin' the blocks up and couldn't shake jake when they popped up, The media be killin' my vibe but I'm ghetto like the paper that you hang from the ceiling to get the fire stuck, I got a pool and I can't swim, It's like I sleep over and can't bend, Then I'm on a plane, money, clothes, and hoes, I get it all the same, I take rolls of those and sit 'em in a chain, some rose and froze, they bitter and ashamed, Come on, I ain't your regular nigga in the game, I'm on, I'm a pimp soldier, mid rover, pants off my ass, hat tilt over, The same in the winter, blade under the skully, I'm hotter then the phone booth outside of the deli, Part 7: You're now in the presents of a damn don, and a gorgeous wip, sittin' on 24's with a 4 inch lip, prick, This ain't nothin' like the movies fam, ya hear uzi blam, I'm so icey, Gucci man, I got my hand on that fith when I'm rollin' slow, cause I stand out like shit in the snow ya know I'm ridin' around in the city with the top down, Neck full of eye candy, yellow rocks round, I bet you if I wanna I'm a get her, Lay her down and hit her with a good Lord splitter, Banks ain't the nigga to fool with, I'll have 'em outlinin' ya, With the blue shit from the pool stick, You thinkin' about clappin' me you better, I catch ya and cut ya, your scar will look like a japanese letter Listen to my shit, your raps will be better, I'm a stunna, put granny in a half a eat sweater, I'm hungry as the last verse, I sleep third, bullshit second, and get the cash first. Pop the champagne, let the weed on the bus blow, Mixtape monster, R.I.P. to Justo, Now we got the game on smash, the real nigga's respect us, the rest well, they all ass. Don't none of them sell records cause they all trash. And they all weak, you motherfuckers better off sleep You're beat by a long shot, the young boy from a strong block, Ya'll done pushed over the wrong rock Spend your money on me, I make the song hott, The crime rise and your baby momma's draws drop, My chain big like my buzz in the city, But when I wasn't a rapper life wasn't as pretty, I got a chick and a chip on my shoulder, A zip of da doljah, hood wip and a rover, a Soldier Part 8: I'm one of the realest nigga's that did it, Anything you ever heard me on I shitted, I spread the flow to the masses and he bit it, got a tear drop, a ghetto pass, and ran with it, I know a couple of niggas that would love to fry his hat, put a Butterfly Blade on his Butterfly Tat, You know me lowkey, rubber side strap, Fuck with me if you wanna it will be one hell of a summer, Game was a G-unit groupie, they made a flick about bitchass nigga's he be in a movie I'm in a beach house palm tree and ja'causei, Bad bitch me and a smoothie, Now all I got is heat and tough talk for you, Pepper spray your fuckin' eye balls just for you, I'm feelin' like I'm gonna lose my cool, sooner or later, all over a hater, ain't no man more important then paper. Listen to Lloyd Banks Radio on Last.fm, Radio.com or Jango Music News Hot Songs • Top Lyrics • Featured Lyrics • Latest Lyrics • Similar Lyrics

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Page 6 of 16 FirstFirst ... ... LastLast 1. #101 Robots are slaves They don't need a free will... 2. #102 Quote Originally Posted by Uennie View Post Hopefully we'll be smart enough to never develop machines to that point, because I'm thinking "no". So long as we don't create machines that are aware of themselves, then by current ethical codes that we apply to ourselves as well as animals, we don't need to give them any rights. Also remember, that self-awareness is what usually starts the robot uprisings, so there's a huge motivation to also not go in that trend beyond avoiding ethical dilemma. 3. #103 Brewmaster jahasafrat's Avatar Join Date Jan 2012 United States Many people won't even give human rights to other humans, what makes you think we'd ever give them to a machine/program? 4. #104 Quote Originally Posted by zorkuus View Post By the time we would have the technology to create a true AI it wouldn't be done with a traditioanl computer program. It would have a brain (either a mechanical one or a organic one that is engineered). He is right, even today we can grow organic part of us by using stemcells. And why don't we use this technologi? Simply because we give the unborn embryo human right, why? I can't see why they shouldn't have equal rights, you give a child who is made in a lab (donor sperm given to a single woman) human right, and that is nearly the same, only that an AI would be made without having to in an uterus. 5. #105 Herald of the Titans Irisel's Avatar Join Date Mar 2011 Swimming in a fish bowl Quote Originally Posted by jahasafrat View Post Hopefully, by the time WE are smart/capable enough to build a conscience from our own doing, we would have evolved away from these prejudges. Honestly, it's almost like the next step in our evolution. It's either we bond with machine, or we make machine and they progress from us, as superiors. 6. #106 Warchief Waaldo's Avatar Join Date Sep 2011 Quote Originally Posted by Korru View Post Robots are slaves They don't need a free will... Congratulations, you just started the apocalypses. If they had all the same mental capacity as humans, than think about the last time there was slavery, except this time it would be robots. Have you ever been punched in the face by a metal fist? Getting punched by a robot fist would make a human fist feel like a pillow fight. The human brain is flawed, an AI brain wouldn't be, they wouldn't forget anything, they would know more than anyone could ever imagine. And everyone knows Knowledge=power. Quote Originally Posted by Torethyr 7. #107 Old God Grizzly Willy's Avatar Join Date Apr 2011 Kenosha, Wisconsin Quote Originally Posted by orissa View Post This leads to a conclusion I came to a couple months ago. Humans are robots. We're all made up of similar parts, accept and display information if we are functioning correctly, and require regular maintenance. In addition to that, we are programmed. When you are growing up you are given a set of rules that you use to manipulate the data you receive and return the proper output. The only difference that living, organic creatures have when compared with robots is that we grow, and even that is equatable to upgrading your computer by putting in a newer hard drive, or upgrading the RAM. It is because of this that, when we have created an artificial intelligence that is virtually indistinguishable from a human mind, I believe that AIs would in fact deserve the same rights you would apply to any other human being. Because at that point, you have created a human being whose only appreciable difference is the fact that they are made of plastic and metal instead of flesh and blood. 8. #108 Kind of an odd position to be in, but I would say the end of the day, they are *not* living things, they don't actually have feelings or anything because there is nothing there. Your goldfish you paid 50 cents is essentially more conscious of itself, it's actually alive. AI is a very smart computer, nothing more, so I don't see why they should have more rights than your PC in 2012. This being said, obviously it would be a bad idea to build a billion of them and then treat them like bitches. Last edited by PBitt; 2012-05-05 at 02:59 AM. 9. #109 Quote Originally Posted by fizzbob View Post it would be irrelevant. the second AI is legit and machines can make choices the way we do, they'll realize they are superior to us "mentally", physically and will take control not sure IF we ever get to that point but there is no logical reason it wouldn't happen. we're dominant and we took over. dinosaurs were once dominant and mammals were their little scrumptious bitches. just the circle of life. you're at the top by force or you're not at the top at all ^ This Its funny that people still think human beings would be in control any longer if we developed such a "race" of sentient beings. They'd be just like human beings, they'd have a thirst to be at the top of the food chain. 10. #110 Bloodsail Admiral Miss Unify's Avatar Join Date May 2010 Misaki City <3 Quote Originally Posted by Bergtau View Post You are a machine, just of different construction. The human body is an organism, not a machine. 11. #111 No fraking toaster deserves human rights. 12. #112 Quote Originally Posted by Judge Malthred View Post Give them equal rights! Have we not learned anything from Terminator, The Matrix, Battlestar Galactica, etc?!?! If a machine is capable of thoughts and emotions then fear, anger, and hate will be among them and treating said machines poorly would lead to conflict and the darkside. Instal windows 98 in the machines and remove their ctrl + alt + del. They'll never start a rebellion OT: No, I hope we never develop machines like that. 13. #113 Keyboard Turner Starrywaltz's Avatar Join Date May 2012 Original question posed by the OP: Does AI deserve "human" rights? Even when machines become more like us, the thing is - they will NEVER become us. That's not to say that they don't deserve any if they develop sentience, but as for "human" rights, my personal opinion on the matter is no, they do not deserve human rights. 14. #114 Quote Originally Posted by Wells View Post Its actually a fairly interesting question. Essentially you have to ask yourself why humans have rights. What is it about humanity that makes us different than animals? You basically answered yourself, humans are the only species to ask why. 15. #115 Anyone creating AIs with any sort of intelligence whether it be game mobs or sentient robots like Data or EDI, the creator has to be smart enough (hopefully) to install some type of control chip to keep the robot/program from performing outside of it's design. EDI from Mass Effect has such a chip, but Data does not. EDI has to follow orders because the control chip does not allow her to do otherwise, Data can do whatever he pleases (kill people, destroy things etc.) because he doesn't have that chip. Leaving sentient robots capable of learning, understanding and emotion without a control chip of some kind is absolutely reckless. Taking that into consideration you avoid the question of rights and liberties. Intel i7-2700k quad-core @ 3.50GHz (no OC) MSI P67A-GD65 GeForce GTX570 "Golden Sample" 8GB RAM 120GB SSD (for games only) Windows 7 Ultimate x64 16. #116 why would anyone ever make a robot that can feel emotion? :/ 17. #117 Quote Originally Posted by orissa View Post So I got to thinking, if AI ever got to a level where it could think, feel, perceive, and learn as humans do, if AI was capable of true sentience, would they then deserve human rights? Like if I could build C-3PO, would he be right in demanding that he's not treated like a second class citizen, that he gets the right to vote or the right to due process? Should these rights be denied to mechanical beings simply because they are mechanical? If AI ever got to that level they would deserve some kind of rights, but Human rights? They are mechanical and with proper maintenance would most likely be able to live far past human life expectancy. I don't see how that would fully apply to an artificial being that is pretty much immortal. I only hope humans would program them to learn the meaning of life and how precious it is... that way we don't have a Terminator Judgement Day thing going on. Oh and are you absolutely sure AI doesn't already have a brain of their own? Those automated services you get when you call some businesses sure seem to just be f^&*ing with us most of the time lmao. 18. #118 Legendary! Dezerte's Avatar Join Date Oct 2010 If we ever develop an AI that has the capacity to mimc the human mind it would be stupid not to give it rights. What do you think is going to happen when you treat it like a slave? It will surely rebel, and since it's an AI it most likely will be superior to humans and will most likely win any potential conflicts. I'm not so sure we could ever develop a human-like AI though. And even if we could, why would we want to program all our faults into it? I’m not that arrogant. 19. #119 I am Murloc! ita's Avatar Join Date Oct 2008 No because they are not humans. If the AI's are really intelligent and can think, they deserve some rights, like being left alone and not mistreated or enslaved by humans but not the right to vote or participate in the human society unless they somehow deserve it, like immigrants. Remember remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason Should ever be forgot... 20. #120 Quote Originally Posted by ita View Post Good enough AI might need superior rights compared to humans. Quote Originally Posted by BlueRet Posting Permissions • You may not post new threads • You may not post replies • You may not post attachments • You may not edit your posts

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Click photo to enlarge Carl Alasko Dear Dr. Alasko: When I married "Jill" two years ago, her 10-year-old son "Kevin" and I got along great. Since then things have turned sour. He hardly even says hello to me and is always challenging my authority. Kevin's biological father has little interest is seeing him but Kevin's always talking about visiting his "real dad." What can I do to reassert my position in the family and re-build my relationship with him? Dear Reader: Being a step-parent is a daunting challenge that's typically stressful and often not rewarding. Here's the basic facts about step-parent relationships: The child's bond with his missing biological parent is the most powerful of all human relationships. No other connection can substitute for the mother/child or father/child bond. Even when, as in Kevin's case, the actual bond is not well developed, there exists the "fantasy bond," which is that connection the child hopes to have, or imagines to exist. This fantasy exerts a strong unconscious power on the child's life. Kevin's efforts to be with his father is part of his need to re-create this vital bond. Approval from a stepparent just can't have the same value. While the stepparent's arrival in the home may be a big help logistically, the child's yearning for the biological parent's love cannot — repeat, cannot — be supplanted by the "new husband" who has moved in and taken over the biological parent's role. Even though Kevin initially expressed approval, that approval is highly conditional and easily replaced with resentment. The stepparent is usually deluded by early signs of affection and makes strategic errors. In your case, you assumed (to use your words) that you had some authority. You didn't. Your attempts to exert your authority only create resentment and give Kevin a chance to say, "You're not my dad!" Now you need to change tactics. Avoid every possible confrontation with Kevin. Stop publicizing your impotence, which only embarrasses you and increases Kevin's false sense of power. From now on preface every comment with, "Your mother asked me to ..." You say, "Kevin, your mother asked me to tell you to do your homework." That preface forces Kevin to flout his mother's rules, not yours. You avoid provoking a confrontation you will never win. And rarely criticize him. Allow his mom to do that. You're the adult so don't show that you're hurt by Kevin's disapproval. You need to rise above his efforts to discredit you. At the same time, be compassionate about his emotional struggles, and the loss of his father. A key to success is to be constantly congenial and use a sense of humor to deflate tension. If you lower your expectations to what is actually possible, you can build a connection based on the fact that you are actually present in Kevin's life. Finally, focus on your marriage. As Kevin grows into adolescence, you and your wife will be able to spend more time together. After all, you made a life-long commitment to Jill, not to Kevin.

http://www.montereyherald.com/carlalasko/ci_22701045/carl-alasko-perils-being-stepparent

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post #21 of 21 Haven't read all replies - looks like a wealth of ideas there. What we did (because ds1 was exactly like you describe and I nursed him to sleep on our bed and sneaked away) was invest in a video monitor at that time. We wished we had done it earlier! It was about $100 (Summer Infant brand, we still use it 5 years later and love it) but the peace of mind of knowing he won't roll off etc, along with the chance to enjoy the few minutes of his nap time was well worth the price.

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1243855/cosleeping-problem-with-naps-considering-cio/20

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or Connect Mothering › Groups › November 2012 Due Date Club › Discussions › Anyone faint while pregnant? Anyone faint while pregnant? post #1 of 9 Thread Starter  Not sure what was going on with me this morning, but I blacked out in the shower today. Thankfully my husband was in there shaving and I said something like "Oh I feel so dizzy...." He must have opened the curtain when I said that because he said I just fell and he caught me before I hit my head on the tub spout. I feel better but still kind of dizzy/jittery....wondering if it's low blood sugar? Has that happened to anyone else?  So bizarre....I'm not really a fainter per se although my symptoms have been extra bad the last few days so I'm feeling overall really really crappy.  :( post #2 of 9 That sounds scary! I'm glad you weren't hurt. I haven't completely fainted, but I've come close. I often feel dizzy when I shower now, and I remember that from my first pregnancy too. I always assumed it had something to do with all the extra blood your body is trying to make combined with the hot water. I blacked out once during my first pregnancy, but luckily it was gradual enough that I knew it was coming and was able to get to a couch. (I was subbing at a nursery school, so it was super embarrassing though!) It wouldn't hurt to give your Dr./Midwife a call to see if they have any ideas or suggestions. post #3 of 9 I haven't fainted yet this time, but I did faint when I was pregnant with Pearl. I was much further along - 26ish weeks - and I was waiting in line at the post office. When I saw my midwife later that week, she told me it was probably a combination of blood sugar and blood pressure. I would definitely call your doctor, but just know that it's happened to me before and the baby was fine. smile.gif post #4 of 9 I did once last time, at the airport of all places, waiting in line to check in for my plane. Didn't completely faint, but everything went back and I believe people nearby guided me to a chair. post #5 of 9 I almost fainted at the doctor yesterday after I sat up after the ultrasound. I am a fainter by nature, though, and have very low blood pressure. It can definitely be scary. Make sure you snack throughout the day so that your blood sugar doesn't fall too much. post #6 of 9 So glad your hubby was there to catch you! I am not a fainter, either, but I've been feeling really lightheaded today. In my case I know it's from eating pure carbs (blood sugar issue), and I [should] know better than that. I have ended up feeling lightheaded in the shower though, and now I make sure I eat first--you may need to do that, too. I blacked out at an outdoor expo type thing in the summer when I was expecting DS2. I was much further along though, at least halfway, and it was ridiculously hot out with no shade. post #7 of 9 Thread Starter  Thanks for the input ladies! I think it's because I forgot to eat breakfast this morning.  I just wasn't hungry and in the hustle of getting my son off to school I guess I forgot.  I won't do that again!  I'll let my MW know at my appt on Friday though, just in case it becomes a habit.  I think she'll want to do bloodwork (I'm due for my yearly anyways so I think she does it then) so I'll ask if she checks blood sugar. post #8 of 9 In my first pregnancy, I fainted half a dozen times and came close many other times.  Low blood pressure.  My family tends toward low BP anyway, and mine dropped every month until about the 7th month.  Eat salty foods.  Drink plenty of fluids, if you can--I'm doing okay on that so far this time, but in my first pregnancy any significant quantity of liquid tended to make me feel sick in the first trimester. If this becomes a persistent problem with dizziness or fainting, esp. with vision blacking out around the edges and ringing in the ears, and your BP readings are low, ask your doctor about getting thigh-high compression stockings.  My midwife in my first pregnancy was unconcerned about my BP, so I went to my primary care doctor in the 5th month, and he hooked me up with these stockings.  They were awesome!  They really helped to keep the blood in my brain so I could stay conscious. post #9 of 9 Thread Starter  So I went grocery shopping today and started feeling lightheaded/dizzy again.  I'm letting my MW know tomorrow morning for my appt. Not sure what's going, I did eat a bagel with some butter for breakfast.  I was going to have something more sugary or even some OJ but honestly it just isn't appealing to me. I have to force myself to eat right now, I just feel so gross.  Trying to drink more water too.  I did just have a big bowl of veggie fried rice so that's my salt intake for the day.  :) Thanks again ladies!  I'll let you know what my MW says....   Return Home   Back to Forum: November 2012 Due Date Club

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Blogs | Mother Jones Mother Jones logo en Mitch Albom Becomes an Issue in Michigan House Primary <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>According to a conservative PAC, Republican House candidate David Trott is one of the five people you meet in Hell. Trott, who is <a href="" target="_blank">challenging</a> first-term GOP Rep. Kerry Bentivolio in the GOP primary for Michigan's 11th district, runs a law firm that specializes in mortgage foreclosures. In a new ad, a Virginia-based group called Freedom's Defense Fund highlights a foreclosure Trott's firm processed in 2011 that left a 101-year-old homeowner, Texana Hollis, out on the street:</p> <object height="354" width="630"><param name="movie" value="//;version=3"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> <embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="354" src="//;version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="630"></embed></object> <p>The eviction highlighted in the ad came about after the woman's son fell behind on his property tax payments and ignored repeated warnings. But there was a happy ending: <em>Detroit Free-Press</em> columnist and <a href="" target="_blank">airport bookstore king</a> Mitch Albom bought the house and transferred it back to Hollis.</p> <p>As I reported in January, Trott has a hand in every step of the foreclosure process&mdash;he even owns the newspaper where foreclosure notices are required to be posted. But while the ad itself is brutal, it probably won't do much damage, because Freedom's Defense Fund is only spending $15,000 to run it on local cable channels. That's consistent with a group that spends much of the money it raises paying Washington-area direct-mail outfits. Of the $1.6 million FDF spent in 2013, just $120,000 went toward candidates or independent expenditures. As <em>Think Progress</em> <a href="" target="_blank">notes</a>, $1.2 million went to fundraising services, which means the PAC is spending most of the money it raises on raising more money.</p> </body></html> MoJo Elections Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:59:19 +0000 Tim Murphy 247431 at We're Still at War: Photo of the Day for March 13, 2014 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <div class="inline inline-left" style="display: table; width: 1%"><img alt="" class="image" src="/files/0313-630.jpg"></div> <p class="rtecenter"><em>Lance Cpl. Steven T. Peterson, a machine gunner with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division and part of Black Sea Rotational Force 14, subdues a simulated enemy during a mechanical arm control holds course after being exposed to oleoresin capsicum spray on Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, March 5, 2014. The Marines were directly exposed to the OC spray, then instructed to complete a course with different stations which required them to execute different take down techniques on a simulated enemy combatant. Black Sea Rotational Force 14 is a contingent of Marines to maintain positive relations with partner nations, regional stability and increase interoperability while providing the capability for rapid crisis response, as directed by U.S. European Command, in the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucus regions of Eastern Europe. (<a href="" target="_blank">U.S. Marine Corps photo</a> by Lance Cpl. Scott W. Whiting/Released)</em></p> </body></html> MoJo Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:05:15 +0000 247426 at Guns May Soon Be Everywhere in Georgia <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>Soon gun owners in the state of Georgia may be allowed to pack heat almost anywhere&mdash;including K-12 schools, bars, churches, government buildings, and airports. The "Safe Carry Protection Act" (HB 875) would also expand Georgia's Stand Your Ground statute, the controversial law <a href="" target="_blank">made famous by the Trayvon Martin killing</a>, which allows armed citizens to defend themselves with deadly force if they believe they are faced with serious physical harm.</p> <p>The bill could pass as soon as next week, before the current legislative session ends on March 20. It is the latest effort in the battle over gun laws that continues to rage <a href="" target="_blank">in statehouses around the country</a>. It is perhaps also the most extreme yet. "Of all the bills pending right now in state legislatures, this is the most sweeping and most dangerous," Laura Cutiletta, a staff attorney with the <a href="" target="_blank">Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence</a>, <a href="">told PolitiFact</a>. Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun-reform advocacy group founded by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords after she was shot in the head,&nbsp;<a href=";">has deemed it</a>&nbsp;the "guns everywhere" bill. For its part, the National Rifle Association <a href="">recently called</a> HB 875 "the most comprehensive pro-gun reform legislation introduced in recent state history."</p> <p>In addition to overturning current state laws and dramatically rolling back concealed-carry restrictions, HB 875 <a href="">would loosen other</a> gun regulations in the state. <a href="" target="_blank">The law</a> would:</p> <ul> <li>Remove the fingerprinting requirement for gun license renewals</li> <li>Prohibit the state from keeping a gun license database</li> <li>Tighten the state's preemption statute, which restricts local governments from passing gun laws that conflict with state laws</li> <li>Repeal the state licensing requirement for firearms dealers (requiring only a federal firearms license)</li> <li>Expand gun owner rights in a declared state of emergency by prohibiting government authorities from seizing, registering, or otherwise limiting the carrying of guns in any way permitted by law&nbsp;before the emergency was declared</li> <li>Limit the governor's emergency powers by repealing the ability to regulate the sale of firearms during a declared&nbsp;state of emergency</li> <li>Lower the age to obtain a concealed carry license from 21 to 18 for active-duty military and honorably discharged veterans who've completed basic training</li> <li>Prohibit detaining someone for the sole purpose of checking whether they have a gun license</li> </ul> <p>The sweeping bill would also expand the state's Stand your Ground law into an "absolute" defense for the use of deadly force in self-protection. "Defense of self or others," the bills reads "shall be an absolute defense to any violation under this part." In its current wording, the bill would even allow individuals who possess a gun illegally&mdash;convicted felons, for example&mdash;to still claim a Stand Your Ground defense.</p> </body></html> <p style="font-size: 1.083em;"><a href="/mojo/2014/03/georgia-guns-concealed-carry-stand-your-ground"><strong><em>Continue Reading &raquo;</em></strong></a></p> MoJo Crime and Justice Guns Top Stories Thu, 13 Mar 2014 10:00:09 +0000 Hannah Levintova 247396 at In a Radical Shift, California Police Chiefs Push for Regulation of Medical Marijuana <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <div> <div id="mininav" class="inline-subnav"> <!-- header content --> <div id="mininav-header-content"> <div id="mininav-header-image"> <img src="/files/images/motherjones_mininav/marijuana-leaf-225_0.jpg" width="220" border="0"> </div> </div> <!-- linked stories --> <div id="mininav-linked-stories"> <ul> <span id="linked-story-244126"> <li><a href="/politics/2014/02/pot-marijuana-legalization-map-states"> Maps: Will Your State Be Next to Legalize Pot?</a></li> </span> <span id="linked-story-215461"> <li><a href="/blue-marble/2013/02/google-earth-tour-marijuana-farms-environment-video"> How Industrial Pot Growers Ravage the Land: A Google Earth Tour</a></li> </span> <span id="linked-story-89881"> <li><a href="/politics/2011/01/marijuana-industry"> The New Marijuana Service Industry</a></li> </span> <span id="linked-story-210701"> <li><a href="/mojo/2012/12/mitch-daniels-marijuana-federalism"> When Republicans Love Legalized Pot</a></li> </span> <span id="linked-story-81351"> <li><a href="/politics/2010/10/california-medical-marijuana-pot-card"> How to Get a Pot Card (Without Really Trying)</a></li> </span> <span id="linked-story-141947"> <li><a href="/politics/2011/12/tony-dsouza-marijuana-growers"> The New Dealers</a></li> </span> <span id="linked-story-206156"> <li><a href="/politics/2012/11/breckenridge-rockies-amendment-64-marijuana-colorado"> Welcome to the Amsterdam of the Rockies</a></li> </span> </ul> </div> <!-- footer content --> </div> </div> <p>California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana, but like the pimply-faced stoner dude you may have known in high school, it hasn't had the healthiest of relationships with Mary Jane. The Golden State differs from most others&nbsp;with medical pot laws in that it&nbsp;doesn't actually regulate production and sale of the herb. Instead, it lets cities and counties enact their own laws&mdash;though in practice most haven't. The result has been the Wild West of weed: <a href="" target="_blank">Almost any adult can score a scrip</a> and some bud from a local dispensary, assuming, of course, that it hasn't yet been <a href="" target="_blank">raided</a> and shut down by the feds.&nbsp;</p> <p>But all of that might be about to change. The California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA)&nbsp;<a href="" target="_blank">recently announced</a> support for a bill that would put the state in the business of regulating the medical pot trade. Though you'd think cops would&nbsp;have pushed for such a thing decades ago, the reality is quite the opposite: The CPCA and other law enforcement organizations have, until now,&nbsp;opposed pretty much&nbsp;every reform to California's medical marijuana system for <a href="" target="_blank">fear</a>&nbsp;that anything&nbsp;short of completely abolishing it would&nbsp;legitimize it.</p> <p>The CPCA's change of heart&nbsp;"is a huge for us," says Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association, the state's marijuana industry trade group. Bradley agrees with his police adversaries that tighter regs would legitimize medical marijuana, which is why the CCIA has pushed for them since the group's inception four years ago. Bolstering his case,&nbsp;the US Department of Justice last year <a href="" target="_blank">announced</a> that it would no longer raid dispensaries in states that it believes are regulating them adequately&mdash;a formulation that seemed to exclude California. <a href="" target="_blank">New rules</a> issued last month by the Obama administration allow&nbsp;banks to accept funds from pot dealers, but only if they're licensed in the state where they operate.</p> <p><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">So why are California's&nbsp;drug warriors reversing course? "We could no longer ignore that the political landscape on this issue was shifting," the CPCA explained in a letter written jointly&nbsp;with the League of California Cities. Polls and changing federal policies suggest&nbsp;that medical pot reform "could be enacted," and that "without our proactive intervention, it could take a form that was severely damaging to our interests."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">The bill that law enforcement groups are backing, SB 1262, is flawed, but it's something that "we can work with," says Bradley, who previously worked as a cop in California's Yuba County. Advocates of medical pot don't like how the bill constrains the ability of doctors to recommend marijuana, <a href="" target="_blank">outlaws potent pot concentrates</a> such as hash oil, and puts regulation in the hands of the Department of Public Health, rather than the Department of Alcoholic Beverages Control.</span></p> </body></html> <p style="font-size: 1.083em;"><a href="/mojo/2014/03/california-police-chiefs-regulation-medical-marijuana"><strong><em>Continue Reading &raquo;</em></strong></a></p> MoJo Civil Liberties Top Stories marijuana Thu, 13 Mar 2014 10:00:07 +0000 Josh Harkinson 247321 at Marco Rubio Wants to Save the Internet From Foreigners <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>Sen. Marco Rubio, still engaged in his campaign to reconnect with his tea party roots after blowing it on immigration reform, announced today that he plans to introduce a bill that would "prevent a 'takeover' of the Internet by the United Nations or another government regime." <a href="" target="_blank">Steve Benen is puzzled:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>To be sure, there are foreign governments that censor their citizens&rsquo; access to online content, but it&rsquo;s not at all clear why Rubio sees this as a domestic threat here in the U.S. As best as I can tell, there is no effort to empower the United Nations or anyone else to regulate the Internet on a global scale. Such a policy would certainly be scary, and would require opposition, but at present, it&rsquo;s also non-existent.</p> </blockquote> <p>For the most part, Rubio is probably just glomming onto a random bit of jingoism that he thinks will rile up his base. Still, there's actually a kernel of substance to this. Right now, the US Department of Commerce exercises ultimate control over the DNS root zone, and ICANN, a nonprofit that administers the DNS naming system, does so under contract <img align="right" alt="" class="image image-_original" src="/files/blog_icann_logo.jpg" style="margin: 20px 20px 15px 30px;">to the Commerce Department. And while ICANN has a global governance structure, it's based in Los Angeles and has historically had a heavy American management presence.</p> <p>But that could change. <a href="" target="_blank">Last year,</a> in response to some of Edward Snowden's spying revelations, ICANN's board of directors issued a statement that called for "accelerating the globalization of ICANN and IANA functions, towards an environment in which all stakeholders, including all governments, participate on an equal footing." <a href="" target="_blank">Last month</a> the European Commission joined in, releasing a statement that lamented a "continued loss of confidence in the Internet and its current governance" and proposing new governance that would "identify how to globalise the IANA functions" and "establish a clear timeline for the globalisation of ICANN." <a href="" target="_blank">A week later,</a> rumors surfaced that ICANN might try to move its headquarters to Geneva.</p> <p>Now, this kind of squabbling has gone on forever, and the politics behind these statements is usually pretty murky. There's no telling if it will ever amount to anything, and in any case it certainly has nothing to do with UN control over the internet. Nonetheless, other countries have long chafed under effective American control of the internet's plumbing, and the Snowden leaks have given new momentum to calls for that control to end. It's possible that this is what Rubio is thinking of.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum International Tech Thu, 13 Mar 2014 01:42:10 +0000 Kevin Drum 247416 at Sorry, the Dog Ate My Homework <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p><img align="right" alt="" class="image image-_original" src="/files/images/Blog_Scream.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 8px 20px 15px 30px;">Apologies for the radio silence. I had an adventure-filled afternoon. My first adventure prompted me to call for help, and I discovered that my iPhone's contact list had mysteriously disappeared. No calling for help for me! Eventually everything got sorted out, and when I finally got home I restored my contacts via iCloud. So no permanent harm done. Still, when my car strands me, I always figure my phone will bail me out. That's what a phone is for. Right? But what do you do when your phone mysteriously decides to strand you at the same time?</p> <p>And what did I do to deserve all this, anyway?</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Climate Change Thu, 13 Mar 2014 00:15:51 +0000 Kevin Drum 247411 at Sen. Feinstein: The CIA Scandal Began Because the Agency Misled Congress About Torture <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chair of the Senate intelligence committee, kicked off a Washington&nbsp;</span>kerfuffle<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">&nbsp;with&nbsp;</span><a href="" style="line-height: 24px;" target="_blank">significant constitutional implications</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">&nbsp;w</span>hen she&nbsp;<a href="" target="_blank">took to the&nbsp;Senate floor</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday to accuse&nbsp;the CIA of spying on her committee's investigation into&nbsp;its controversial interrogation and detention program. As pro-CIA partisans and the agency's overseers on Capitol Hill squared off for a DC turf battle&mdash;with finger-pointing in both directions&mdash;lost in the hubbub was a basic and troubling fact: Feinstein had contended that this all began because, years ago, the spies of Langley had severely misled the legislators responsible for overseeing the intelligence agencies.</p> <p>At the start of her speech, Feinstein laid out the back story, and her account is a tale of a major CIA abuse. The CIA's detention and interrogation (a.k.a. torture) program began in 2002. For its first four years, the CIA only told the chairman and vice-chairman of the Senate intelligence committee about the program, keeping the rest of the panel in the dark. In September 2006, hours before President George W. Bush was to disclose the program to the public, then CIA Director Michael Hayden informed the rest of the committee. This piece of history shows the limits of congressional oversight. If only two members of the committee were informed, it meant that the panel&nbsp;could not provide full oversight of this program. But keeping secrets from legislators&mdash;even members of the intelligence committee&mdash;is not that unusual, and the story gets worse.</p> <p>In December 2007, the <em>New York Times </em><a href="" target="_blank">reported</a> that the CIA had destroyed two videotapes of the CIA's interrogation (or torture) sessions. After this disclosure, Hayden told the Senate intelligence committee that eradicating the videos was not as worrisome as it seemed. According to Feinstein, he noted that CIA cables had detailed the interrogations and detention conditions and were "a more than adequate representation" of what had happened. He offered Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who was then chairing the committee, the opportunity to review these thousands of cables. Rockefeller dispatched two staffers to peruse these records.</p> <p>It took the pair about a year to sift through all the material and produce a report for the intelligence committee. That report, Feinstein noted, was "chilling." The review, she said, showed that the "interrogations and the conditions of confinement at the CIA detention sites were far different and far more harsh than the way the CIA had described them to us."</p> <p>That is, the CIA had misled the Capitol Hill watchdogs.</p> <p>After reading the staff report, Feinstein, now chairing the committee, and Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), then the senior Republican on the committee, decided a far more expansive investigation was called for. On March 5, 2009, the committee voted 14 to 1 to initiate a full-fledged review of the CIA's detention and interrogation program.</p> <p>It is that inquiry that has caused the recent fuss, with Feinstein claiming that the CIA (possibly illegally) penetrated computers used by committee investigators and removed documents indicating a CIA internal review of this program had concluded it was poorly managed, went too far, and did not produce decent intelligence. The committee's more comprehensive review eventually produced a 6,300-page report slamming CIA that has yet to be made public, despite Feinstein pushing the CIA to declassify it.</p> <p>So while this week's focus is on whether the CIA improperly&mdash;or illegally&mdash;spied on the folks who have the constitutional obligation to monitor CIA actions in order to ensure the agency acts appropriately and within US law, Feinstein's big reveal also presented a highly troubling charge: The CIA lied to Congress about what might be its most controversial program in decades. This in and of itself should be big news.</p> <p>At the conclusion of her speech, Feinstein, referring to the present controversy, said, "How this will be resolved will show whether the intelligence committee can be effective in monitoring and investigating our nation's intelligence activities or whether our work can be thwarted by those we oversee." That is true. And if there cannot be effective oversight of intelligence operations, then the foundation of the national security state is in question. Yet Feinstein's remarks provide evidence that oversight was not working prior to the current face-off. If the CIA did not tell the Senate intelligence committee the truth about its interrogation and detention program, much more needs to be resolved than whether the spies hacked the gumshoes of Capitol Hill.</p> </body></html> MoJo Civil Liberties Congress Top Stories Wed, 12 Mar 2014 21:13:13 +0000 David Corn 247391 at An Endorsement From Barack Obama Might Be the Kiss of Death This Year <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>A friend just emailed me with a gloomy outlook for Democrats in this year's midterm elections. I don't really have an outlook myself yet, though obviously Democrats suffer from a difficult electoral map, the traditional 6-year blues, and their usual problem turning out voters in off-year elections. But as long as we're being gloomy, here's something else to add to the bonfire. It's an extract from a <a href="" target="_blank"><em>Washington Post</em> poll graphic</a> showing how voters react to congressional candidates being associated with the Obama administration. It's not a pretty picture.</p> <p>Now, if you want some good news, all you have to do is take a look at some of the other numbers in the poll, which makes it clear that most people have no idea what really makes them more or less likely to vote for someone. At the very bottom, for example, you'll see that virtually no one is willing to fess up that they're more likely to vote for an incumbent, despite mountains of research showing that incumbency is the single most powerful predictor of electoral success there is. So maybe this is all just a bunch of hooey. But I wouldn't bet on it.</p> <p><img align="middle" alt="" class="image image-_original" src="/files/blog_obama_endorse.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 15px 0px 5px 15px;"></p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Elections Obama Wed, 12 Mar 2014 17:31:50 +0000 Kevin Drum 247376 at The British Economy Is Not a Poster Child for Austerity <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>Keith Humphreys notes that economic growth over the past year has been similar in Britain and the United States even though the two countries adopted <a href="" target="_blank">very different responses to the Great Recession:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>But don&rsquo;t expect the similar levels of growth in the two countries to shake many people&rsquo;s faith in their economic views. Most of the &ldquo;slim government&rdquo; crowd will argue that Britain didn&rsquo;t cut enough (or that the U.S. growth isn&rsquo;t real) and that&rsquo;s why the U.K. hasn&rsquo;t left the U.S. in the dust. Most increased government spending supporters will see proof that the stimulus wasn&rsquo;t big enough (or that the U.K. growth isn&rsquo;t real) because if it had been U.S. growth would be dwarfing that of the sceptred isle.</p> <p>Many people seem to have stable preferences about whether they want government bigger or smaller. They will point to current economic conditions as the reason for why their preferences should prevail, but their preferences do not change when those putatively justifying economic conditions fade away. Neither are most people fazed when the government spending policies they support (as well as those that they oppose) deliver different results than they expected. Motivated reason is such a force in this particular policy area that rather than arguing over what current economic conditions particularly require, debaters are probably <img align="right" alt="" class="image image-_original" src="/files/blog_gdp_usa_britain_1.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 20px 0px 15px 30px;">better off cutting to the chase and arguing directly about the real issue: Disagreement about how big or small we want the government to be.</p> </blockquote> <p>I don't think this is fair. If you want to compare Britain and the US, you have to look at their entire growth trajectory since the start of the recession. The chart on the right is taken from <a href="" target="_blank">OECD numbers,</a> so it's an apples-to-apples comparison. And really, there is no comparison. As of 2012 (the most recent figures available from the OECD) Britain's GDP was still 3 percent below its 2007 level. By contrast, US GDP was 4 percent above its 2007 level.</p> <p>We can argue all day long about what caused this divergence, but I think the raw data is fairly unequivocal. Whatever the reason, the US economy really did suffer less and recover more robustly than the British economy.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Economy Wed, 12 Mar 2014 16:59:03 +0000 Kevin Drum 247371 at Are Russia and Ukraine on the Verge of an All-Out Cyberwar? <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>For the past week, reports of physical violence have been rolling out of Ukraine: Russian troops <a href="" target="_blank">storming a base</a>&nbsp;in Crimea, officers <a href="" target="_blank">beating journalists</a>, and <a href=";rref=world" target="_blank">violent brawls</a>&nbsp;<a href="" target="_blank">at rallies</a>. But as tensions escalate, another part of the conflict appears to be playing out in a cloudier realm: cyberspace.</p> <p><a href="">On Saturday</a>, Ukraine's top security agency&mdash;the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine&mdash;announced at a briefing that it had been hit by severe denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, "apparently aimed at hindering a response to the challenges faced by our state." This comes on the heels of a number of alleged hacks involving&nbsp;Russian and Ukrainian targets, including attacks on news outlets and blocking reception to<strong>&nbsp;</strong>the&nbsp;cellphones of Ukrainian parliament members.</p> <p><a href=";_type=blogs&amp;ref=technology&amp;_r=0">Security experts say</a>&nbsp;the region is&nbsp;currently seeing an unusually high number of DDoS attacks, which aim to shut down networks, usually by overwhelming them with traffic. But many of those seem to be coming from third parties, rather than government entities. In terms of state-sponsored cyberwarfare, "we haven't seen that much," says Dmitri Alperovitch, CTO of CrowdStrike, a California-based&nbsp;cybersecurity firm.<strong>&nbsp;</strong>Alperovitch adds, though, that his firm has seen a significant amount of cyber-espionage on the part of the Russian intelligence services&mdash;including tracking the activities&nbsp;of&nbsp;Putin opponents in both Russia and Ukraine&mdash;but he would&nbsp;not disclose names of those being monitored.</p> <p>Ukraine is situated in a region of the world&nbsp;known for breeding some of the most talented cyber criminals. Several Russian <a href="" target="_blank">universities offer </a>top-notch hacking training, and a Ukrainian hacker <a href="" target="_blank">is suspected</a> in December's theft of 40 million credit card numbers from Target. But Ukraine and Russia aren't on equal footing when it comes to their&nbsp;cyberwarfare capabilities.&nbsp;"Russia is a Tier 1 cyber power," says Alperovitch. "Ukraine isn't even in Tier 3." So Russia has a leg up in this arena&mdash;and, during past conflicts with former Soviet bloc countries,&nbsp;it has flexed its cyberwarfare muscles. In April 2007, hackers unleashed a wave of cyberattacks on Estonian government agencies, banks, businesses, newspapers, and political parties,&nbsp;following a spat over the removal of a Soviet war memorial in Tallin, the country's capital. (The Kremlin <a href="">took only partial credit</a> for the crippling three-week attack.) Georgia was targeted with similar attacks in 2008&nbsp;in the days leading up to its&nbsp;invasion of the secessionist republic of South Ossetia. (Russian involvement <a href="">was widely</a> <a href="">suspected</a>.)</p> <p>Ukraine&nbsp;has yet be targeted with these type of widespread cyberassaults on key infrastructure&mdash;but it may not be long.&nbsp;"I anticipate continued escalation," says Jason Healey, director of the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative and the former White House&nbsp;director of cyber infrastructure protection during the Bush administration.&nbsp;So far, the cyberskirmish&nbsp;is playing out differently than past&nbsp;attacks, Healey says. While the&nbsp;Estonia and Georgia attacks were strictly digital,&nbsp;in Ukraine's case, pro-Moscow forces&nbsp;have also deployed more hands-on attacks on information: "This old-school, Cold War style physical manipulation of equipment.&nbsp;Getting in and physically messing with the switches so Ukrainian civic leaders don't have phone service," Healey says. In Ukraine,&nbsp;these sorts of attacks&nbsp;&acirc;&#128;&#139;are likely to be a&nbsp;bigger threat, because much of the telecommunications infrastructure was installed by Russians during the Soviet&nbsp;era. "Cyberattacks the way we tend to look at them&mdash;denial-of-service attacks, and so forth&mdash;you don't have to do those when you've got physical access to the guy's switch!" says Healey.</p> <p><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 2em;">Here's a run-down of what has transpired so far:&nbsp;</span></p> </body></html> <p style="font-size: 1.083em;"><a href="/mojo/2014/03/cyber-war-ukraine-russia"><strong><em>Continue Reading &raquo;</em></strong></a></p> MoJo Foreign Policy International Tech Top Stories Wed, 12 Mar 2014 16:16:07 +0000 Hannah Levintova 247156 at Florida Special Election Turns Out Not to Be Very Special After All <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>Dave Weigel describes the dispiriting nature of yesterday's <a href="" target="_blank">special election in Florida's 13th district:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>The Pinellas County race pit Alex Sink, an uninspiring corporate Democrat, against David Jolly, a say-anything lobbyist who spent half a week of the stretch sleazily and baselessly calling his opponent a "bigot." Both of them came off like people desperately trying to sell you a time share.</p> </blockquote> <p>And then he explains <a href="" target="_blank">why Republican David Jolly won:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Having now spent 6,000-odd words on the Florida special election, I should admit that smart analysts predicted the result with one number. Two-hundred thousand. If that many ballots showed up in FL-13, Democrats were hitting their turnout models and winning the race. If fewer, they were losing. There were about 180,000 votes cast in the race, and the Democrats lost.</p> </blockquote> <p>Yep. Basically, it was a tight race in a district previously held by a Republican but won by Obama in 2012. And Jolly ended up winning by two percentage points. There's really not much of a lesson to be learned here aside from the fact that (a) it was truly a tossup district, and (b) Democrats have a really tough time with turnout in non-presidential elections. Eventually they're going to have to figure out what to do about that.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Congress Elections Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:06:27 +0000 Kevin Drum 247361 at VIDEO: David Corn on Why the CIA's Fight with Senators Is "All-out War" <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p><em>Mother Jones</em> DC bureau chief David Corn spoke with <a href="" target="_blank">MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell</a> and Julian Epstein this week about the "unprecedented" allegations of CIA snooping on congressional investigators. Watch here:</p> <p><iframe border="no" height="497" scrolling="no" src="" width="630"></iframe></p> </body></html> MoJo Video Civil Liberties Congress Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:43:31 +0000 David Corn 247351 at We're Still at War: Photo of the Day for March 12, 2014 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <div class="inline inline-left" style="display: table; width: 1%"><img alt="" class="image" src="/files/0312-630.jpg"></div> <div id="meta"> <div class="photo-desc" id="description_div"> <p class="rtecenter"><em>CAMP HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. -- As crew chief Spc. Scott Pauley, Company B, 1-140 Aviation Battalion provides direction, a Soldier with 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry clears out of a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, Feb. 8. Soldiers of the 1-184 were sharpening their air assault skills in preparation for annual training 2014. (<a href="" target="_blank">Photo</a> by Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin M.M. Cossel)</em></p> </div> </div> </body></html> MoJo Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:10:14 +0000 247346 at WATCH: Front-Runner in GOP Senate Primary Says Planned Parenthood Wants to Kill Newborns <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <object height="354" width="630"><param name="movie" value="//;version=3"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> <embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="354" src="//;version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="630"></embed></object> <p>According to North Carolina GOP Senate candidate Greg Brannon, Planned Parenthood has a secret plan to legalize the killing of newborn babies as old as three months. Brannon, a Rand Paul-backed obstetrician who is a front-runner for the GOP nomination, made the allegations at a November fundraiser for Hand of Hope, a chain of crisis pregnancy centers he operates in North Carolina.</p> <blockquote> <p>Well how far will [it] go? Last year, February 29, 2012, the <em>Journal of Ethics</em> in Australia, they debated that. They said we already know abortion is fine, why stop in the womb? Why not three months after. Why should we end the responsibility at that point? It could happen in America. Florida's trying to do it right now and so is Georgia. Planned Parenthood. Because we allowed that slippery slope. Every human being deserves life, liberty, and property.</p> </blockquote> <p>Brannon's statement appears to be based on testimony given last year by a lobbyist for the Florida&nbsp;Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. Asked how the organization's physicians would respond if a baby were born alive during an abortion, the lobbyist appeared confused and said she'd have to check. But in a follow-up statement, Barbara Zdravecky, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central&nbsp;Florida, unambiguously rejected the notion: "In the extremely unlikely event that the scenario presented by the legislators ever happened, of course Planned Parenthood would provide appropriate care to both the woman and the infant."</p> <p>"These absurd and patently false claims by Greg Brannon demonstrate just how extreme and out of touch he is when it comes to women's health issues&mdash;and the rest of the Republican Senate candidates in North Carolina are just as dangerous," Planned Parenthood Action Fund Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens said in a statement. Brannon's campaign did not respond to request for clarification.</p> <p>In the same speech, Brannon said women get abortions because of the same nihilistic worldview that causes them to believe in evolution. "We have people who believe they evolve from nothing, they came from nothing, they'll go to nothing, and today doesn't matter, so when they have a mistake, why not move on?" he said.</p> <p>The most recent survey of the race, from Public Policy Polling, showed Brannon tied with Thom Tillis, the speaker of the state House of Representatives, for the Republican nomination&mdash;and running even with Sen. Kay Hagan (R-N.C.) in a hypothetical November matchup.</p> </body></html> MoJo Elections Reproductive Rights Top Stories Wed, 12 Mar 2014 10:00:09 +0000 Tim Murphy 247311 at President Obama Takes on Overtime Rules <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p><a href="" target="_blank">From the <em>New York Times</em>:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>President Obama this week will seek to force American businesses to pay more overtime to millions of workers, the latest move by his administration to confront corporations that have had soaring profits even as wages have stagnated....Mr. Obama&rsquo;s decision to use his executive authority to change the nation&rsquo;s overtime rules is likely to be seen as a challenge to Republicans in Congress, who have already blocked most of the president&rsquo;s economic agenda and have said they intend to fight his proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour from $7.25.</p> </blockquote> <p>This is obviously just the latest in Obama's long series of Constitution-crushing moves that flout the law and turn the president into a despot-in-chief, gleefully kneecapping Congress and &mdash; wait. What's this?</p> <blockquote> <p>In 2004, business groups persuaded President George W. Bush&rsquo;s administration to allow them greater latitude on exempting salaried white-collar workers from overtime pay, even as organized labor objected....Mr. Obama&rsquo;s authority to act comes from his ability as president to revise the rules that carry out the Fair Labor Standards Act, which Congress originally passed in 1938. Mr. Bush and previous <img align="right" alt="" class="image image-_original" src="/files/images/Blog_Constitution_0.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 20px 0px 15px 30px;">presidents used similar tactics at times to work around opponents in Congress.</p> </blockquote> <p>Oh. So he's just doing the same stuff that every other president has done. Sorry about that. You may go about your business.</p> <p>For what it's worth, this gets to the heart of my impatience with all the right-wing hysteria about how Obama is shredding the Constitution and turning himself into a modern-day Napoleon. I'm not unpersuadable on the general point that Obama's executive orders sometimes go too far. But so far no one has provided any evidence that Obama has done anything more than any other modern president. They all issue executive orders, and Obama has actually issued fewer than most. They all urge the federal bureaucracy to reinterpret regulations in liberal or conservative directions. They all appoint agency heads with mandates to push the rulemaking process in agreeable directions. And they all get taken to court over this stuff and sometimes get their hats handed to them.</p> <p>Is Obama opening up whole new vistas in executive overreach? I don't see it, and I don't even see anyone making the case seriously. You can't just run down a laundry list of executive actions you happen to dislike. You need to take a genuinely evenhanded look at the past 30 or 40 years of this stuff and make an argument that Obama is doing something unique. Until you do that, you're just playing dumb partisan games.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Congress Labor Obama Wed, 12 Mar 2014 05:58:35 +0000 Kevin Drum 247341 at What Have the Democrats Ever Done For Us? <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p><a href="" target="_blank">Yesterday</a> I wrote a post griping about the supposed mystery of why so many working and middle class voters (WMC for short) have drifted into the Republican Party over the past few decades. It's hardly a mystery, I said, and it's not an example of people voting against their own economic interest. The problem is simple: Democrats haven't really done much for the WMC lately, so fewer and fewer of them view Democrats as their champions. That being the case, they might as well vote for the party that promises to cut their taxes and supports traditional values.</p> <p><a href="" target="_blank">Scott Lemieux agrees with many of the specific points I made,</a> but nonetheless thinks I went too far with my "general framing." His post is worth a read, and it also gives me a handy excuse to write a follow-up. This is partly to expand on some things, partly to defend myself, and partly to concede an issue or two. So in no special order, here goes:</p> <p><strong>First off, you're really talking about the <em>white</em> WMC, right?</strong></p> <p>Yeah, that's usually how this stuff is framed. As it happens, I'd argue that although the black and Hispanic WMC still firmly supports Democrats, they largely do it for noneconomic reasons these days. But that's a subject for a different day. What we're talking about here is mostly about the white WMC.</p> <p><strong>But has this drift toward the Republican Party even happened? Haven't you written before that it's a myth?</strong></p> <p>Yes I have, based on the work of Larry Bartels, who says this is solely a Southern phenomenon. However, I've been persuaded by <a href="" target="_blank">Lane Kenworthy's work</a> that the drift is both real and national. It's not a myth.</p> <p><strong>Lemieux says that relative to Republicans, Democrats are better than I give them credit for. What about that?</strong></p> <p>No argument there. I don't think anyone could read this site for more than five minutes and not know what I think of the modern Republican Party.</p> <p><iframe align="right" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" src="" style="margin: 8px 0px 15px 30px;" width="450"></iframe></p> <p><strong>Plus he says that Obamacare has been a big plus for the WMC. And a bunch of folks on Twitter said the same thing.</strong></p> <p>That's a point I'll concede. I was thinking of a few things here. First, most WMC voters already get health coverage at work, so Obamacare's impact on them is limited. Beyond that, the Medicaid expansion was targeted at the poor, and the exchange subsidies get pretty small by the time you reach a middle-class income. But my memory was faulty on that score. A middle-class family with an income of, say, $50-60,000 still gets a pretty hefty subsidy. And of course there are other features of Obamacare that help the middle class too. I was a little too dismissive of this.</p> <p>On the other hand, this is also a pretty good example of Democrats snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They stuck together unanimously to pass the bill, which was great. But ideological ambivalence had already watered it down significantly by then, and ever since Obama signed it, it seems like half the party has been running for cover lest anyone know they voted for it. If Democrats themselves can't loudly sell their own bill as a middle class boon, it's hardly any surprise that lots of middle-class voters don't see it that way either.</p> <p><strong>But Democrats have done a lot of things beyond just Obamacare.</strong></p> <p>Sure, <a href="" target="_blank">and I've listed them myself from time to time.</a> But here's the thing: folks like Lemieux and me can look at this stuff and make a case that Democrats are helping the middle class. Unfortunately, it's mostly too abstract to register with average voters. Did the stimulus bill help the WMC? Probably, but it's not concrete enough for anyone to feel like it helped them personally. How about the CFPB, which Lemieux mentions? I think it's great. But if you stopped a dozen average folks on the street, not one would have the slightest inkling of what it is or whether they benefited from it. These things are just too small, too watered-down, and too sporadic to have much impact. What's more, whatever small impact they do have gets wiped out whenever Democrats support things like the 2005 bankruptcy bill or get cold feet about repealing something like the carried interest loophole.</p> <p><strong>OK, but why did you "yadda yadda" all the genuinely big things Democrats have done for the poor?</strong></p> <p>I didn't. I explicitly mentioned them. And this isn't some kind of shell game over definitions of "poor" and "working class." After all, no one ever asks why the poor have drifted away from the Democratic Party, even though they presumably have social views that are similar to the WMC. You know why? Because they haven't drifted away. And why is that? <em>Because Democrats have done stuff for them</em>.</p> <p>That's the whole point here. The WMC feels like Democrats do stuff for the poor, but not for them. And there's a lot of truth to that.</p> <p><strong>But what can Democrats do? Republicans block every proposal they ever make.</strong></p> <p>I'm not blaming them for that. Politics is politics. And I'm not ignoring the fact that Dems stand up against Republicans all the time. They do. Nor is this an exercise in "both sides do it." Obviously Republicans are far more slavishly devoted to the interests of corporations and the rich than Democrats.</p> <p>Hell, I don't even personally oppose every manifestation of the&nbsp;neoliberal policy evolution of the post-70s Democratic Party. Some of it I support. I'm a fairly moderate, neoliberalish squish myself most of the time. If you care about evidence in the policymaking process, the evidence is pretty strong that some lefty dreams just don't make sense.</p> <p>Nonetheless, the corporate drift of the Democratic Party since the 80s is simply a matter of record. Lemieux and I can toss out lists of small-ball Democratic accomplishments all day long, but the vast majority of low-information voters have never heard of them or don't think they really do them any good. Maybe they're mistaken or misguided, but that's the way it is.</p> <p>If Democrats want to regain the support of the WMC, they have to consistently unite behind stuff that benefits the WMC in very simple, concrete ways. Democrats do that on abortion, for example, and everyone knows where they stand even if they don't win all their battles. It's the same way with economic policy. Even if they don't win all or most of their battles, they need to unite behind real programs for the middle class; they need to talk about them loudly; they need to stop diluting their message by taking the side of the plutocrats whenever it's convenient; and they have to keep it up for decades.</p> <p>Maybe the reality of modern politics prevents this. But if that's the case, then it's time to stop navel-gazing about why the WMC has drifted away from the Democrats. The answer is staring us all in the face.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Economy Labor Wed, 12 Mar 2014 03:21:37 +0000 Kevin Drum 247336 at The Mystery of the Disappearing Malaysian Plane Deepens Even Further <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>Here's the latest strangeness surrounding the <a href="" target="_blank">disappearance of that Malaysian airliner:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>As a search continued Tuesday for a Malaysian airliner that mysteriously disappeared, <strong>Malaysian military officials said radar data showed it inexplicably turned around and headed toward the Malacca Strait,</strong> hundreds of miles off its scheduled flight path, news agencies and Malaysian media reported.</p> <p>....<strong>Search teams from 10 nations had initially focused their efforts mainly east of the peninsula</strong>....A high-ranking military official involved in the investigation confirmed that the plane changed course and said it was believed to <img align="right" alt="" class="image image-_original" src="/files/blog_malaysia_flight_370_2.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 20px 0px 15px 30px;">be flying low, the Associated Press reported.</p> </blockquote> <p>It is, of course, mysterious that the plane veered off course and turned west an hour after takeoff. But that's not the real puzzle. The plane disappeared on Saturday. If the Malaysian military tracked it turning west into the Malacca Strait in real time, how is it that it took them three days to bother telling anyone about this? That seems damn peculiar even if things were just generally fubared at the time. <a href=";_r=0" target="_blank">Here's another account:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>The [Malaysian] air force chief did not say what kind of signals the military had tracked. But his remarks raised questions about whether the military had noticed the plane as it flew across the country and about when it informed civilian authorities.</p> <p>According to the general&rsquo;s account, the last sign of the plane was recorded at 2:40 a.m., and the aircraft was then near Pulau Perak, an island more than 100 miles off the western shore of the Malaysian peninsula. <strong>That assertion stunned aviation experts as well as officials in China,</strong> who had been told again and again that the authorities lost contact with the plane more than an hour earlier, when it was on course over the Gulf of Thailand, east of the peninsula. But the new account seemed to fit with the decision on Monday, previously unexplained, to expand the search area to include waters west of the peninsula.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="" target="_blank">And yet another:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>It is unclear why the west coast contact, if correct, was not made public until now. Asked on Monday why crews were searching the strait, the country's civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told reporters: <strong>"There are some things that I can tell you and some things that I can't."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p>Mysteriouser and mysteriouser.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Military Tue, 11 Mar 2014 22:14:10 +0000 Kevin Drum 247316 at Infamous George Zimmerman Prosecutor Puts Disproportionate Number of Black Men on Death Row <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>Florida is working hard these days to make itself a case study argument in favor of abolishing the death penalty. In a state that has seen <a href="" target="_blank">more innocent people exonerated from death row</a> than any other in the country, lawmakers last year passed legislation to try to speed up the pace of executions. Last month, <span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">Gov. Rick Scott (R)</span>&nbsp;set a dubious record for presiding over more&nbsp;<a href="" target="_blank">executions in his first term</a> than any governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the state <a href="" target="_blank">continues to ignore US Supreme Court</a> rulings banning the execution of the mentally ill and intellectually disabled. Just last week, the state argued before the Supreme Court that it <a href="" target="_blank">didn&rsquo;t want to use accepted scientific principles </a>to comply with the court's ban on executing mentally disabled people because that would spare too many death row residents, a move that would be "inconsistent with Florida&rsquo;s purposes."&nbsp;And now comes the news the state's most notorious prosecutor has not only sent a disproportionate number of felons to death row, but a disproportionate number of African-Americans, once again raising the troubling issue of racial disparities in the state's capital punishment system.</p> </body></html> <p style="font-size: 1.083em;"><a href="/mojo/2014/03/angela-corey-florida-death-row"><strong><em>Continue Reading &raquo;</em></strong></a></p> MoJo Civil Liberties Courts Tue, 11 Mar 2014 18:35:52 +0000 Stephanie Mencimer 247226 at Opposition to Obamacare Remains Under 40 Percent, the Same as Always <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p><a href="" target="_blank">Greg Sargent</a> points us to the <a href="" target="_blank">latest CNN poll on Obamacare</a> today, one of the few polls that accurately judges public attitudes on the subject. Instead of just asking whether people support or oppose the law, CNN asks if their opposition is because the law is too liberal or <em>not liberal enough</em>. The latter aren't tea partiers <img align="right" alt="" class="image image-_original" src="/files/blog_cnn_obamacare_support_february_2014.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 20px 5px 15px 30px;">who hate Obamacare, they're lefties and Democrats who mostly support the concept of Obamacare but want it to go further. Counting them as opponents of Obamacare has always been seriously misleading.</p> <p>I went ahead and charted CNN's poll results over time, and they've been remarkably stable. Ever since the law passed, about 40 percent of the country has opposed it, while more than 50 percent have either supported it or said they want it to go even further. This goes a long way toward explaining the supposedly mysterious result that lots of people oppose Obamacare but few want to repeal it. The truth is that actual opposition has always been a minority view. Polls routinely show that only about <a href="" target="_blank">40 percent of Americans want to repeal Obamacare,</a> and there's nothing mysterious about that once you understand that this is also the level of actual opposition to the law.</p> <p><a href="" target="_blank">Sargent has more here,</a> including some interesting internals and crosstabs.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Health Care Tue, 11 Mar 2014 18:15:59 +0000 Kevin Drum 247296 at President Obama Reaches Out to the Kids <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p><iframe align="right" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" src="" style="margin: 8px 0px 15px 30px;" width="450"></iframe></p> <p>Via Andrew Sullivan, I see that President Obama has taped a <em>Between Two Ferns</em> segment with comedian Zach Galifianakis to promote Obamacare. <a href="" target="_blank"><em>Time's</em> James Poniewozik comments:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>It&rsquo;s a specific, unusually edgy kind of comedy for any politician, much less a sitting President&ndash;a cringe-humor show whose whole idea is playing off staged discomfort with the guest. Obama trades insults, he stews at the clueless slights (will he build his Presidential library &ldquo;in Hawaii or your home country of Kenya&rdquo;?), he needles Galiafinakis about his handsome Hangover co-star Bradley Cooper. (&ldquo;He kind of carried that movie, didn&rsquo;t he?&rdquo;)</p> <p>It&rsquo;s the tone of the comedy as much as the online medium that really targets the young audience Obama is pitching to here. There&rsquo;s a cringe-humor generation gap; <strong>if you&rsquo;re over a certain age, or simply haven&rsquo;t watched much of a certain kind of contemporary comedy, you&rsquo;ll probably watch it thinking that the segment is bombing and Obama is getting legitimately angry.</strong> But it&rsquo;s a good fit for Obama&rsquo;s sense of humor, which is a little dry and a little cutting&ndash;in ways that don&rsquo;t always play in rooms when there are no ferns present.</p> </blockquote> <p>This doesn't seem quite right to me. I'm in my fifties, and I thought it was pretty funny. Maybe you have to be even older not to get it? Post-SNL, perhaps? I'm not sure. Go ahead and <a href="" target="_blank">watch it here</a> and let's do a reader poll. Rate it from 1 to 5 stars and be sure to include your age.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Health Care Tue, 11 Mar 2014 16:33:44 +0000 Kevin Drum 247286 at Taking Advantage of Cancer Patients for Fun and Profit <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>When we last met cancer patient Julie Boonstra, she was the centerpiece of a TV ad claiming that her new insurance plan under Obamacare was far more expensive than her old plan and didn't cover all her medications. On examination, it turned out to cost about the same. Today, however, <img align="right" alt="" class="image image-_original" src="/files/blog_boonstra.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 20px 20px 15px 30px;">the <em>Detroit News</em> reports that, in fact, Obamacare will <em>save</em> Boonstra <a href="" target="_blank">more than a thousand dollars per year:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Boonstra said Monday her new plan she dislikes is the Blue Cross Premier Gold health care plan, which caps patient responsibility for out-of-pocket costs at $5,100 a year, lower than the federal law&rsquo;s maximum of $6,350 a year. It means the new plan will save her at least $1,200 compared with her former insurance plan she preferred that was ended under Obamacare&rsquo;s coverage requirements.</p> <p><strong>....When advised of the details of her Blues&rsquo; plan, Boonstra said the idea that it would be cheaper &ldquo;can&rsquo;t be true.&rdquo;</strong></p> <p><strong>&ldquo;I personally do not believe that,&rdquo; Boonstra said.</strong></p> <p>....She also said her out-of-pocket maximum could be higher than advertised because there&rsquo;s one prescription that was previously covered by her old plan that isn&rsquo;t and she now buys with a separate prescription discount card....<strong>Boonstra&rsquo;s health plan covers all prescriptions, [Blue Cross spokesman Andy] Hetzel said,</strong> who advises she use the coverage instead of a prescription discount card so co-pays would go toward meeting the out-of-pocket maximum.</p> </blockquote> <p>If you think I'm posting about this just because it's a big, fat poke in the face to the Koch-funded ambulance chasers at AFP who originally ran the Boonstra ad&mdash;well, you're right. But there's a real point to be made about this too. I don't know anything about Julie Boonstra, but it sure seems as if she's been bamboozled by a bunch of fanatic Obamacare haters who have caused her a ton of pain and misery. Boonstra had some genuine problems with the rollout of the exchanges, just as many people did, but once that finally got straightened out, she ended up with coverage that was both better and less expensive than her previous plan. There's no reason for her to be so anxious about her continued care.</p> <p>But she never really learned that. For purely venal political reasons, AFP found itself a woman fighting cancer and proceeded to stoke her fears of her new health coverage in order to get a TV ad made. <em>A TV ad</em>. These are people who, if there's any justice, should not be sleeping easily at night. They are swine.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Health Care Tue, 11 Mar 2014 15:43:47 +0000 Kevin Drum 247281 at Dianne Feinstein Upset that CIA Is Spying on Dianne Feinstein <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p><a href="" target="_blank">If the CIA has lost Dianne Feinstein....</a></p> <blockquote> <p>The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday sharply accused the CIA of violating federal law and undermining the constitutional principle of congressional oversight as she detailed publicly for the first time how the agency secretly removed documents from computers used by her panel to investigate a controversial interrogation program.</p> <p>Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that the situation amounted to attempted intimidation of congressional investigators, adding: <strong>&ldquo;I am not taking it lightly.&rdquo;</strong></p> </blockquote> <p>In the end, I suspect that she will indeed take it lightly. Still, if there's one thing an intelligence agency shouldn't do, it's get caught monitoring the Senate committee that oversees it. The intelligence community can spy on millions of Americans and Dianne Feinstein yawns. But spy on Dianne Feinstein and you're in trouble.</p> </body></html> Kevin Drum Civil Liberties Tue, 11 Mar 2014 14:52:13 +0000 Kevin Drum 247271 at We're Still at War: Photo of the Day for March 11, 2014 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <div class="inline inline-left" style="display: table; width: 1%"><img alt="" class="image" src="/files/0311-630x354.jpg"></div> <div id="meta"> <div class="photo-desc" id="description_div"> <p class="rtecenter"><em>Sgt. Scott Hulsizer (left), a team leader with second platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, based in Okinawa, Japan, fires an M136 AT-4 rocket launcher after breaking away from the firing line as part of a weapons training package on the Kaneohe Bay Range Training Facility, March 4, 2014. 3rd Recon Bn. fired multiple weapon systems, such as the .50 caliber M2 Browning heavy machine gun, MK-19 automatic grenade launcher and M136 AT-4 rocket launchers, as part of a two day weapons package for Exercise Sandfisher. The weapons package focused on increasing the platoon&rsquo;s proficiency with each system on the battlefield. (<a href="" target="_blank">U.S. Marine Corps photo</a> by Lance Cpl. Matthew Bragg/Released)</em></p> </div> </div> </body></html> MoJo Tue, 11 Mar 2014 14:09:58 +0000 247266 at Here Is President Obama's "Between Two Ferns" Interview With Zach Galifianakis <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>Tuesday morning, comedy website <a href="" target="_blank">Funny or Die</a> released an episode of Zach Galifianakis' satirical interview show <em><a href="http://" target="_blank">Between Two Ferns</a></em> featuring Barack Obama. The 44th president came on to promote the Affordable Care Act. (At the end of the six-and-a-half-minute video, there is <a href="" target="_blank">a link to</a></p> <p>The whole thing is pretty funny. To be clear, it isn't going to set the world on fire or anything, but there are definitely some amusing bits. ("What is it like to be the last black president?" "<em>Seriously</em>?") Funny or Die has a very good relationship with the Obama administration, which includes creating a recent batch of <a href="" target="_blank">pro-Obamacare</a> <a href="" target="_blank">videos</a>, and even <a href="" target="_blank">pitching the president</a> a sketch idea directly. <a href="" target="_blank">Galifianakis</a> is himself an <a href="" target="_blank">Obama supporter</a>.</p> <p>Here is the whole bit for your viewing pleasure:</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" mozallowfullscreen="" src="" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="630"></iframe></p> <div style="text-align:left;font-size:x-small;margin-top:0;width:640px;">&nbsp;</div> <p>Or as the White House describes it:</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p>&bull; President Obama &bull; Zach Galifianakis &bull; Spider bites All things you can find here &rarr; <a href=""></a> <a href=";src=hash">#BetweenTwoFerns</a> <a href=";src=hash">#GetCoveredNow</a></p> &mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="">March 11, 2014</a> </blockquote> <script async src="//" charset="utf-8"></script> </body></html> MoJo Film and TV Top Stories Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:02:06 +0000 Ben Dreyfuss and Asawin Suebsaeng 247261 at You Don't Have to Be a Foul-Mouthed White Guy to Be a World-Class Chef <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" ""> <html><body> <p>What does it take to break the mould in a prestigious, white-male-dominated industry? I tackled that question in a recent <a href="" target="_blank">piece</a> on how women chefs, who, despite impressive advances in recent years, get short shrift when it comes to big-name awards and invitations to high-minded culinary confabs. But restaurants' diversity problem is bigger than just a gender imbalance. More then two centuries after the invention of the fine-dining restaurant in the wake of the French Revolution, chefly prestige remains largely&mdash;but not completely&mdash;the domain of not just males, but <em>white</em> males. What gives?</p> <p>On a frigid evening in Harlem last week, I got the opportunity to put the question directly to four mould-breakers in a public conversation at Ginny's Supper Club, the cozy, red-tinted, speakeasy-like saloon in the cellar of <a href="" target="_blank">Red Rooster</a>, chef Marcus Samuelsson's neo-soul-food establishment on Lenox just north of 125th Street. The evening started with wine and snacks, which included house-made charcuterie, cheese, and cornbread madeleines&mdash;the latter, I thought, a clever mashup of French and US traditions, a Proustian nod to our most memory-drenched and historically fraught region, the South. My own melancholic musings aside, the room buzzed and glowed in the hour or so leading up to the panel&mdash;a diverse crowd of 150 or so chatted and circulated, young, old, and in between, culinary students, chefs, writers, and food lovers of all stripes, from the neighborhood and other parts of Manhattan, from Brooklyn, and even, I hear, from <a href="" target="_blank">Chicago</a>.</p> <p>Eventually, we took to the stage: to my right Marcus himself; then Gabrielle Hamilton, chef/proprietor of the highly influential East Village spot <a href="" target="_blank">Prune</a>; then Charlene Johnson-Hadley, a daughter of Brooklyn's West Indian diaspora who worked her way up through Samuelsson's Red Rooster kitchen and is now executive chef at his Lincoln Center outpost <a href="" target="_blank">American Table Bar and Cafe</a>; and finally Floyd Cardoz, chef at <a href="" target="_blank">North End Grill</a> in Battery Park City, who brought the cooking of his native India into the glamor of a buzzy Manhattan restaurant with the late and much-lamented Tabla.</p> <p>Unfortunately, our conversation wasn't recorded. But<em> Eater </em>delivered a <a href="" target="_blank">"10 Best Quotes" piece</a>, <em>Serious Eats</em>' Jacqueline Raposo has a very thoughtful <a href="" target="_blank">post</a> on the event, also with several quotes, and the blogger Ronda Lee offered <a href="" target="_blank">worthy commentary</a> on the event.</p> <p>My favorite parts of the discussion were:</p> <div class="inline inline-left" style="display: table; width: 1%"> <img alt="" class="image" src="/files/marcus-gab.jpg"><div class="caption">Two New York icons: Samuelsson and Hamiton</div> </div> <p>1) Marcus&mdash;who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden&mdash;talking about coming up as an ambitious young cook in France, where the message he got was<em> "ce n'est pas possible,"</em> i.e., it's not possible for a black man to command his own kitchen. His outsider status served as a spur, he said: With the conventional path to chefdom blocked to him, he had to forge his own, which included moving to the melting pot of New York and grabbing the reins of the Swedish restaurant Aquavit.</p> <p>2) Gabrielle talking about how she found herself in the restaurant world not out of a passion for cooking, but rather out of the need to support herself at a very young age&mdash;and about how being a woman in restaurant kitchens, when she came up in the 1980s, meant having to forge an identity, a way to fit in, since there was no preexisting identity to fall into. Here's her money quote, which I'm cribbing from <em>Eater</em> because I didn't take notes:</p> <blockquote> <p>Yes, there were horrible white men in the kitchens and the hardest part of that is the contortions you'd put yourself through to figure out your place in that kitchen. Should I be a chain-smoking dirt-talking motherfucker who can crank it fucking out? Or should I be kind of a dainty female with lipstick and be like, 'Can you help me with this stock pot because I just can't?' Frankly it's a freaking second job on top of what you're already doing. One of the hardest parts is trying to make a viable self that you can live with and and go home and respect at the end of the day.</p> </blockquote> <p>3) Charlene talking about how she was drawn to cooking as a child through her grandmother's Jamaican-inflected kitchen, and how, while in college in the 1990s, she realized she wanted to make a career of cooking, which sent her to culinary school and her current path. It struck me that unlike Marcus and Gabrielle, who came up in the 1980s, Charlene could envision for herself a conventional path to success: go to chef's school, get a job. Here's Charlene's take on being a woman of color in the professional kitchen (quote from Raposo's piece): "I just think you need to get past yourself and not think of yourself as 'the different one.' That shouldn't be your focus. Your focus should be following your ambition, making sure you are doing what it is you want to do, and making yourself an asset to wherever you are."</p> <p>4) Floyd on aspiring to cook professionally while growing up middle class in India&mdash;and the culture shock it gave his parents, who hoped he would be a doctor. Until pretty recently, the professional kitchen was a place middle class people aspired to flee. Now, with the rise of the celebrity chef, it has emerged as a site of aspiration. Hamilton touched on that topic, too, when she mentioned that suddenly, "40-year-old white males" are applying to work in her kitchen. She went on (quote from Raposo):</p> <blockquote> <p>Now we have the whole new problem of, "I used to be an architect" and "I have a trust fund" and "I have so much more money and power than you're ever going to have in this world." And you have to go up to that guy and say, "You know, your sauce is a little salty."</p> </blockquote> <p>As Ronda Lee put it in her blog post, "gender and race [in the professional kitchen] is a lot to cover in a two-hour discussion." And our panel in Harlem last week barely scratched the surface. I learned again what I learned when writing my piece on gender: This is a fascinating and complex conversation, one that people working to make the restaurant world more inclusive are eager to have. There's so much we didn't get to&mdash;for example, what about the role of Mexican immigrants, who are the lifeblood of kitchen lines from Los Angeles to New York? We at <em>Mother Jones</em> plan to continue exploring it. Stay tuned.</p> </body></html> Tom Philpott Food and Ag Race and Ethnicity Sex and Gender Top Stories Tue, 11 Mar 2014 10:00:06 +0000 Tom Philpott 247236 at

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to not be teaching my 2 year old phonics? (128 Posts) nancerama Mon 11-Nov-13 14:39:10 It seems that competitive parenting is creeping into my social circle of what were, up until now, laid back lovely parents of toddlers. DS is 2.5 and his friends are all of a similar age, give or take a few months. Of late, everyone seems to be dashing out and purchasing Jolly Phonics packs or similar, because, apparently, their DCs really, really want to read. DS loves books and we read together for around 1 hour a day, but I just can't bring myself to start formal education. My heart says we should have lots of fun reading together and understanding books, but my head (and my fellow parents) tell me that it's important to give him a head start before he starts school. Please, fellow mumsnetters. Reassure me that they are all bonkers. sherazade Wed 13-Nov-13 20:40:17 No teacher worth his or her salt is going to have a problem with a child arriving in reception already reading. No they aren't, it's actually great when I get children who are able readers. But the able readers: haven't been 'pushed' or taught at home; they are always self taught the less able readers are often sitting at home with flashcards and handwriting books and just don't want to know. Some children are made to write reams of nonsense at home and are less confident writers who worry about spelling or making mistakes. Children will read when they are ready. Memorising sounds is the least important precursor to reading. Children more vitally need 'pre' reading skills such as being able to enjoy stories independently, recognising rhyming patterns, sequencing and narrating, using pictures for comprehension, etc. Exposing your child to plenty of books and sharing them together, singing rhymes and songs, quality conversation and dialogue with your child, is how you get them to be great readers, not making them memorise sounds. My dd went to nursery abroad. She missed several months of reception due to limited school places when we moved back to the UK. When she joined reception in November, she didn't know a single letter sound. By January, spring term, she was an almost fluent reader. I did nothing in the way of memorising letter sounds with her. She learnt those at school, but she had an avid interest and passion for books and storytelling which equipped her to be a good reader. jamdonut Wed 13-Nov-13 21:45:05 I read to all three of my children...piles and piles of books..we loved to snuggle up on the sofa and read and read. My older two couldn't read before starting school (but very quickly learned) whereas my youngest actually could read when he started Foundation. I didn't teach him ,he just kind of figured it out for himself! His teacher started him on level 4 books,when everyone else was on pictures and no words. Phonics (in school) only helped for spelling and writing. I wouldn't sweat it. Keep reading loads of books to your DS,and let school teach him phonics when he gets there. OwlCat Wed 13-Nov-13 22:02:30 We have Jolly Phonics books in the house from my older child but I can't imagine using them with my 2.7 year old for at least another year. He loves being read to and it's the only time that he'll sit still but he's definitely nowhere near ready for reading himself yet. Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now

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(35 Posts) littlelionman Wed 04-Sep-13 16:30:22 Hi there, ShowOfHands Thu 05-Sep-13 18:46:15 I had ptsd and pnd after having dd. I found my whole life thrown into disarray. I remember feeling that I wasn't at all myself. Quite apart from the intrusive thoughts and the flashbacks/nightmares, there was a real sense that my whole world had contracted down to this baby who I was sort of terrified of. My anxiety was sky high and I felt like I was suffocating. I couldn't remember laughing or smiling or spontaneity or how I possible enjoyed anything. I definitely couldn't imgaine putting myself through it again. I couldn't even contemplate having another and I'd wanted a big family. The ptsd and then pnd came from a horrendous birth experience and it wasn't until I got help and dealt with that that I was able to consider a second. I didn't admit I had a problem for months, years really and pretended it was fine. Once I'd had counselling, I started to talk about having a 2nd. And it wasn't considered out of a maternal urge but more a weighing up of what we wanted in the future, our desire to give dd a sibling and the knowledge that I was hitting 30 and really it was now or never. I waited until dd was older because I needed to sort myself out and I knew for us it would be better to have a 2nd when dd was at school. I couldn't have even thought about having a toddler and a baby. DD was 4.4 when ds was born and she started school 4 days later. It was perfect. One on one time with the baby and dd was old enough to understand, help and love her brother. I can also reassure you (and there's a fairly recent thread somewhere which I'll dig out for you about having a 2nd which confirms this) that it's entirely possible for it to be EASIER having a 2nd. I think especially when you've had a rough time first time round. If you sidestep the ptsd thing by having a non-traumatic delivery, it's SUCH a pleasant surprise to find that you can have a baby and feel normal. Not anxious or worried or terrified or crippled by ptsd. Just you, but with a second and lovely baby to squidge. And you enjoy it more. You are more aware of the little pleasures in having a tiny baby. There's the reassurance there of course that you've done this before, there's no massive shift in perception like first time round when you've gone from childless to a parent. You've just expanded the love a bit, no massive life change. And for me at least, I was so much better organised because I had to be and I was organised from day 1, not sliding under a pile of worries and not able to get out until it had spiralled and I didn't even know how to start being me again. I'd already carved out my niche as a mother and I knew who I was as a mother. DS was probably quite privileged. DD had to put up with a lot of floundering. Only you can make the decision really. But you'd be going into it with your eyes open. I'd make sure you get help with the trauma. The birth trauma association is marvellous. Talk lots about what happened and then think about the future. It helped me to know why I was traumatised. I knew in the end that it was feeling I'd failed. The massive gap between what I'd wanted (home waterbirth) and what I had (bluelight transfer, a lot of intervention, v stuck baby, 8hrs of pushing and an emcs) was a horrid gulf of depression and I felt out of control. I worked very very hard to know how I could manage to remove the element of loss of control and fear from a second delivery and that meant forgiving myself and accepting that another cs was possible. I did have another emcs but it was a very positive experience because I was prepared for it and felt in control and 'present' instead of feeling like the birth was something done to me iyswim. My 2nd child was 2 this week. He was absolutely the right choice. violator Thu 05-Sep-13 18:25:38 When I found myself in a psychiatric hospital with PND 14 weeks after a much planned baby and lovely birth, I thought "I'll never, ever risk this happening again." He's 2 now, I'm pretty much recovered after the most horrific time of my life. Never had even an inkling of mental illness before he was born. It's changed me utterly, in many ways for the better. I'm not remotely broody. I feel sorry for mums I see with toddlers and newborns. My friends with two or more are so stressed. I don't think I ever want to have a number 2. I'm 37 too with a strong family history of early menopause so don't have years to ponder it. I think I just know my limitations and they don't stretch to another child. loveisagirlnameddaisy Thu 05-Sep-13 17:27:48 Yes, it does make a difference knowing the difficult phases pass. It's given me much more optimism! loveisagirlnameddaisy Thu 05-Sep-13 17:27:13 Couldn't imagine how 2nd children came along after the birth of DC1, I was in utter shock and despair and mourning for my pre-children days. But after a year, when it had all calmed down and things felt so much more manageable, I slowly came round to the idea. 2 years 9 months later, DC2 was born. Life is never the same again but I don't regret my decision as I knew I didn't want an only child. If I were younger and could guarantee a sleeper, I'd for for DC3 as DP would really like to do it. Shakey1500 Thu 05-Sep-13 17:20:16 No I don't feel guilty for not trying for a second. And I've never even felt a pang. littlelionman Thu 05-Sep-13 10:00:35 Like ButteryJam I'm wondering how those who went on to have two coped with the 2nd? I've read a few threads on here by Mums who are really struggling with 2. Does it make a difference that you've learnt from 1, and you know that the baby phase passes? Does anyone love DC2 dearly but think they really should have stuck at 1? Does anyone with 1 regret not trying for 2? jammiedonut I went for the coil too to make sure we didn't make any big decisions on a whim! Thanks to everyone that has posted - it's obviously an issue lots of us are dealing with. jammiedonut Thu 05-Sep-13 09:43:10 It's early, so all I'd say is don't rule it out. I was much the same as you, found pregnancy extremely difficult, childbirth isn't an experience i wish to repeat very soon. My back has suffered lasting significant damage from carrying a heavy baby and subsequent impact of childbirth. I've just this week sat down with dh and discussed the timing of another baby. Iwas always convinced I'd want them close together, but we've agreed to wait at least three years before the question is raised again. I just don't think physically i could manage lifting a toddler and a newborn, it's as simple as that. I also had a traumatic, deprived childhood and now that ds has arrived can't put my selfish desire to have a baby girl over his needs. It'll be easier to provide for one than two, at least for now, so I'm happy to wait. I think it's such an emotive decision. You may find that when your child is no longer a baby that you'll desperately want another. I've had a coil put in so that the process of having another child isn't as simple as me stopping my birth control pills! LuigiB Thu 05-Sep-13 01:28:32 It took me six years to even consider dc2. After I had ds1 (emcs), I thought that I would never have another one. I was mainly scared of the sleep deprivation - ds1 although a really placid baby, was horrendous at sleeping still is. But one day I saw an ex-colleague who was six months pregnant. Just seeing her big bump put a small desire for another one in my mind and I knew that it was now or never. Ds2 is now 4 months old and I have never regretted having him. Unfortunately he is a crap sleeper like his brother, (posting this after the first of three feeds in the night that he does), but I am much more able to cope with it this time. Personally i really like the age gap too, ds1 is lots of help and is very self sufficient, I just hope they are close as they grow up. NatashaBee Thu 05-Sep-13 00:02:17 I said 'never again' after DS was born. He was generally a good baby but still doesn't sleep well at the age of 2, and was in NICU for a few days after birth and was unable to breast feed. All in all I felt a bit of a failure. But now he's a little more independent I have been thinking about another one... As far as pregnancy and the early baby days go I don't exactly relish the idea of doing that again. But we live abroad, a long way away from any family, and I don't want DS to get lonely. ButteryJam Wed 04-Sep-13 23:42:05 OP, Ive wondered the same! Those of you that changed your mind after the 1st being very difficult, was the second baby easier? LadyBigtoes Wed 04-Sep-13 23:38:54 neunundneunzigluftballons Wed 04-Sep-13 23:36:02 Cjilly Wed 04-Sep-13 23:29:30 bigwellylittlewelly Wed 04-Sep-13 22:09:59 Xmasbaby11 Wed 04-Sep-13 22:00:27 sharond101 Wed 04-Sep-13 21:52:12 Portofino Wed 04-Sep-13 21:12:23 Shakey1500 Wed 04-Sep-13 20:57:54 sparkle12mar08 Wed 04-Sep-13 20:49:56 littlelionman Wed 04-Sep-13 20:02:16 peachypips Wed 04-Sep-13 19:55:16 LadyBigtoes Wed 04-Sep-13 19:48:03 sparkle12mar08 Wed 04-Sep-13 19:43:02 Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now

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Did you take a towel in your labour bag, and did you use it? (26 Posts) NoTeaForMe Sat 06-Apr-13 17:24:49 That's it really-a towel takes up quite a bit of space and last time I took one in but didn't use it. Should I take one? Don't they provide towels in hospital anyway? rubyslippers Sat 06-Apr-13 17:27:53 yes i did - for the bath i had after delivery i forgot my wash bag tho so ended up with a sliver of soap from one of the MW's but that's a whole other story RandomMess Sat 06-Apr-13 17:28:17 I don't remember, but I certainly had a shower and need a towel to get dried afterwards... Yes I did both times and both times I used it to have a shower after the birth. The hospital did not provide towels. I also took an extra pillow the second time to help with feeding position as you only get two. MrsHoarder Sat 06-Apr-13 17:29:31 No. hospital provided them. About 20 as I was induced and could only have the bath for pain relief. I would take one, as the hospital normally provides hand towels which aren't as lovely as a huge fluffy one and of course you will be needing the hospital one for your hair x Longdistance Sat 06-Apr-13 17:31:21 Yes, a black towel. And yes I used it wheni scooted off to have a shower to clean up, as was pushing for a quick discharge to go home. MissLolita Sat 06-Apr-13 17:36:09 I took a lovely new black fluffy (but very cheap) towel and used it as you do only get a hand towel and although the first shower after was wonderful it was somewhat disconcerting as I got covered in black fluff! Next time I will just take an old towel! minicreamegg Sat 06-Apr-13 17:53:33 I'm going too this time, when I gave birth to DS I asked for towels and I was given 2 white towels just abit bigger than hand towelshmm NoTeaForMe Sat 06-Apr-13 17:55:44 Ok. I'll pack the towel, I must have used one last time as I was in the hospital 2 days after giving birth...! They just take up so much space in a little bag! Starting to pack my bag and thinking about what bag to take, bag last time was too big and in the way, but will be in a bigger room this time (different hospital!) How many maternity towels did you take? Did your hospital provide any? Last time I used about 800, my waters broke and I was in hospital 12 hours just waiting for something to happen, used at least 750 of the towels then. Afterwards I didn't use too many. There were some provided but once I had used them I used the ones we took in, and my husband re-stocked me! Wondered if the hospital would have given me more had I asked or whether it's something you have to take. Guessing it differs between hospitals actually?! butterflyexperience Sat 06-Apr-13 17:55:56 Yes & yes smile sjupes Sat 06-Apr-13 18:00:00 No, hospital is full of lovely fluffy ones, also maternity pads were provided at mine. WestieMamma Sat 06-Apr-13 18:01:20 I'm taking 3 bags so it doesn't look like I'm moving in. 1 for labour and the immediate aftermath, 1 for the baby, and 1 to be left in the car for husband to bring in afterwards. bonzo77 Sat 06-Apr-13 18:06:44 Yes, manky old very thin beach towels that took up hardly any space. Bigger than the hospital towels and I stayed a few days each time and showered a lot! Regarding pads, I used the hospital ones till they took catheter out and my own after. I only used about 6 per day max, but I had CS both times and as the midwife explained, they give you a good scrape out!shock atrcts Sat 06-Apr-13 19:39:52 I was given an NHS incontinence sheet to lay on until the second day when the catheter was out and I was mobile again (after spinal/forceps/episiotomy). No one offered me pads but I had taken my own. The only thing they offered was advice to not use normal ST's but to use big thick maternity pads, which at first I thought was a bit over the top but soon realised the wisdom of it! I took a smallish towel and used the hospital smaller ones as I didn't have anywhere to dry a big towel (there was a small rail on the back of a locker but it wouldn't have coped with a bath towel). stargirl1701 Sat 06-Apr-13 19:40:29 No. The MLU had towels. catinboots Sat 06-Apr-13 19:42:40 Yes - I had a bath in labour And a shower afterwards colditz Sat 06-Apr-13 19:46:07 Yes and yes, dark coloured one. Radiator1234 Sat 06-Apr-13 20:09:10 Yes both times and used them both times. I asked the hosp this time if they had towels and they said they only had small ones. I didn't take a dark towel (don't have any). Towel did get covered in blood but not end of world I just washed it when I got home. Flip flops for the shower is another good tip (more practical than slippers). ProtegeMoi Sat 06-Apr-13 20:10:42 I took one and used it. The hospital ones were all rough and scratchy and I'm a bit of a hygiene freak anyway when it comes to using other people's towels. Plus like others have said they are tiny hand towels and there always white so you then have to carry it through the ward looking like you've just cleaned up a murder scene. festive Sat 06-Apr-13 20:11:28 Yes but didn't use them, the hospital had loads. But will be taking them again this time as things may have changed. LikeCandy Sat 06-Apr-13 21:37:07 I took one but asked the m/w if they had towels and was provided with 3 huge white NHS specials - a bit stiff but sparkling clean - and it saved me washing the one I'd taken! MrsJohnDeere Sat 06-Apr-13 21:40:24 Yes and yes. Took a big cheap navy one. Better than the horrible tiny white scratchy ones that the hospital provide. I bled an awful lot both times and felt more comfortable d,Inge with my own than handing back a blood covered hospital towel to a mw. MummyPig24 Sat 06-Apr-13 21:43:04 Yes I took a towel. A purple one. I had a shower soon after dd was born, I can't remember the hospital providing a towel. Anifrangapani Sat 06-Apr-13 21:45:16 Leeds general infirmary had towels. Liverpool womens didn't. Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now

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Long post about sexless marriage (65 Posts) middleager Sat 10-Nov-12 21:27:40 Hi - I have had to change my username for this post as I have finally plucked up the courage to post. Apologies, it's long. I've been with my husband for 8.5 years, married for 4.5 and was friends with him a few years before we got together. We have twin girls aged six and a half. When we got together, I realised he was impotent. I was his world (we had been friends and he had wanted to go out with me) and he went to great lengths to seek treatment - Relate, hypnotherapy and viagra. His previous g/f had finished because she wondered why he never wanted sex. Whatever we tried, sex was uncomfortable for him (and for me - nobobdy wants somebody who isn't keen on having sex - feeling like you are forcing them) even after treatments. I came to the conclusion he was A-sexual and had never had a sexual relationship really. Whereas, I was quite experienced and liked sex. I would initiate sex and he would take viagra, with limited success. In the end, by pure 'accident' we conceived on a one off event. After the children were born I was busy, but then I practically had to beg him for sex on the night after our wedding. that was 4.5 years ago. No sex since, no cuddling, touching intimacy. when I try to cuddle he just stays cold. no kissing hand holding. Oh, did I mention we don't get on either? Because he thinks it is normal not to have sex, won't talk or doesn't think it odd - our situation. I have become bitter, feeling rejected. He actively encourages me to go out and said he would turn a blind eye if I met somebody. He has no interest in me, yet my needs are growing stronger every day. He is a very good father and I hate the idea of asking him to leave, but it causes so much tension. we don't seem to get on anyway and during a fallout today, he said: "No wonder I don't fancy you." I feel very lonely and unloved and I am dying for sex and intimacy if I am honest. I just don't know where to go from here. I have stuck it out for a few years now for the kids, but as they are only 6, not sure if I can hold it together until they are 18 without feeling sad that a large part of my life has passed without cuddles and kisses - not just that - a closeness that we do not have. I know what it is to have a close physical and emotional relationship and this isn't it. He is perfectly happy to just keep plodding on to, but it is so warped, I feel. Any advice? Thanks fizzfiend Fri 23-Nov-12 02:13:16 Cogito hit the nail on the head. My DH refused to address the matter of no sex except when I begged for it...romantic huh? It wasn't so much the infrequency of sex, rather that he refused to listen to me, hear that I wasn't happy, give a damn about my feelings. On my own is better than being with someone who doesn't want you...every day. Not for everyone though so listen to all advice. So sorry you are going through is hell. nightcat Tue 20-Nov-12 21:44:00 i so sympathise, same here sad Darkesteyes Tue 20-Nov-12 21:21:38 Oh Middle ager i had EXACTLY the same feelings when i used a vibe too. It cant hold you afterwards either. middleager Tue 20-Nov-12 21:09:38 Darkesteyes - I realised you didn't mean me, as you know exactly how I feel. It's hard to explain, but he just doesn't enjoy sex. I don't know which happened first, the not liking or the not being able, and I have spent years trying to discect this, when quite frankly, he does not care. So I gave up too. I forgot what it was to have any sexual encounters. I dusted off my pink rabbit but that made me feel worse. I cried afterwards everytime at what my desperation had been reduced to. when I was single and used the object, it was fun and for joy. These days it just feels sad and reminds me what I am missing. Minus the kisses and cuddles that I used to associate with the bedroom, too. I've always tried to (excuse the pun) rise above my ego in this and understand that it isn't me. But my self esteem is shot. I can change this, I know, I just need to lift myself out of the fog of the depression of it all. Darkesteyes Tue 20-Nov-12 21:01:22 Sorry middleager My latest posts were aimed at ccarpenton because what she wrote was too simplistic as well as stereotypical. Middleager i know how you feel. i tried talking to my family years ago and the attitude was "well you dont need sex do you" Women dont like it anyway" Which is why these sexist stereotypes are so harmful. Middle ager please dont take his erection problems personally. Believe me it is NOT you. thanks middleager Tue 20-Nov-12 20:35:54 Because this is a taboo subject, I have told only closest friends and cannot post here under my normal user name. I feel if people knew about the problem, that when we split, they would be more empathetic. My Dad always reminds me how reliable my DH is, and I just want to tell him the truth, but I can't. Plus I don't think - unless you have been there - it's not an easy one to understand. I don't know what the problem is. In some ways I feel more hurt that he can get an erection on his own, but it won't sustain when he is inside. I try not to take it 'personally' as I know he has been like that with everybody. But it is so difficult to not take it personally. Darkesteyes Tue 20-Nov-12 20:19:44 Society seems to have no trouble believing that women don’t want sex, but they struggle to come to terms with the idea that a man might not want it. This lack of understanding makes women scared to speak out. What woman is going to stick her head above the parapet and say “I live in a sexless marriage” and talk about it frankly and honestly in public. Actually, I can answer that “NONE”. And so women like me who live in sexless marriages continue to suffer in silence. We feel that we cannot discuss the issue with anyone. We are made to feel that it is our fault. Magazine articles and books on the subject advise women to buy some sexy undies and make more effort with their appearance etc. Though it’s the man who doesn’t want sex, it is the women who are told to make more effort with their looks. If the situation is reversed and it is the woman who doesn’t want to make love, pressure is put on her (marital and societal) to go to the GP to see what is wrong Darkesteyes Tue 20-Nov-12 20:17:15 Working ovaries produce the hormones needed for a woman too. Yet society doesnt seem to have any trouble believing that a woman can be asexual #everydaysexism. middleager Tue 20-Nov-12 19:59:27 He can get a stiffy during a hand job. In order to enter he needs a hand job first. The trouble is, once inside, he immediately goes soft. Not just me, previous gfs by all accounts. So technically, I guess he's not impotent. He doesn't really go on the computer much. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure when he is alone in the shower.... but when it comes to sex, it's just a no go. I'm having a difficult time today. He went to his parents on Sunday and I know he told them about the impending break up, but we haven't really talked about it. This limbo is horrible. We are just in separate rooms alot and he seems very happy just playing video games. I guess it will be better when it is finalised. It's just all weird, that's all. Not sure if anyone has any words of wisdom about this limbo. when you have decided to make the break but are still co-habiting. we are being friendly and talking about kids stuff etc. It's just surreal. ccarpenton Tue 20-Nov-12 03:15:38 Sorry, but isn't it medically impossible for a man to be asexual as long as there isn't a medical condition? Working testicles produce the hormones needed, I thought. And if he isn't getting erections during the night, then that also shows something is very, very wrong. You've never mentioned any medical condition though? Just that he's been prescribed viagra? "Impotent" doesn't really tell us much. Medically impotent? Mentally impotent? Or normal sex impotent? If there is no medical condition, then he's getting his stimulus elsewhere, surely? Is he very private over his computer usage by any chance? middleager Sun 18-Nov-12 21:38:49 Hello again and apologies for the long break. I've had a few off days but am always overwhelmed by the mass of support on here, so thanks again. Just to clarify, if it were just about sex (or lack of it) I would stay if there was affection, intimacy or kisses and cuddles but unfortunately there is nothing to cling on to. Darkesteyes, I feel your sadness too. I sometimes recall days when I had some closeness too. Last Monday I told him that I couldn't live this way and he said he would go. It was a very brief conversation and he didn't really want to talk. We haven't really talked about it since but I feel relieved and strangely positive (although very sad, too). He visited his parents today. Not sure what was said as I don't want to feel like I am simply pushing him out ASAP. The comments on MN and my own soul searching have turned on some lightbulbs in my mind and I know I can'tcarry on like this, sadly. So although the situation is very sad, given that this is nobody's 'fault' I feel at some peace. It will be a long road and I am not sure what happens next and how we move from the current situation to a new one, but now that I have woken up to the reality I feel ready to move on. So thanks again to everybody for their words. I will keep you posted x Darkesteyes Fri 16-Nov-12 23:36:30 hi nightcat thanks nightcat Fri 16-Nov-12 17:53:29 hello Darkest smile sad if only the topic was a bit better.. Damash12 Fri 16-Nov-12 04:35:05 Goodness me, what an awful situation for you. Firstly, I can somewhat relate to it as when I met my husband he had some issues with erection problems even when he wanted to have sex so slightly different but I understand how frustrating and undermining it can be. If you where writing that he cared for you immensely and wanted to get better or showed affection in every other way I would be saying I hope you work it out. However, it sounds like he has just given up and is being unfair to you. What relationship can survive without support, affection, intimacy? This doesn't even have to be sexual but enough to make you feel loved, wanted and cherished. I'm not getting along with my husband at the moment and often say" I get all my affection and love from our 4 year old". his cuddles and " i love you's" are magical and make me feel on top of the world but that kind of feeling should come from my husband too. I am amazed you have lasted with this situation for so long and his not fancying you comment would tip me over the edge. I totally understand the family unit thing and not wanting to break up the home but you are still young (just turned 41 myself). You could still have a life and like you said even if noone came along for a few years you would still feel happier. Imagine in 20 years time 1 of your daughters came to you and said "mum, what do I do? My husband ......." And she told you your story? Would you tell her to stay in a sexless, loveless marriage?" Or would you say "get out, live the one life you are gonna get, and do what will make you happy" You never know taking action may make your husband sit up and take notice but from what you have said I think you would be happier going it alone with your girls. Good luck, I hope everything works out for you. Darkesteyes Fri 16-Nov-12 01:45:06 been reminiscing to myself a bit tonight thinking of what i had with my ex OM. Lots of affection and cuddles and then lovemaking on a dark winter afternoon/evening. And then holding each other afterwards. I was seeing him for 4 and a half years. It ended nearly 5 years ago. Most of the time im ok but then it gets to this time of year and i sometimes get a bit weepy and depressed. My feelings about the situation are very up and down and sort of come over me intermittently. Ive probably not explained that very well. nightcat Tue 13-Nov-12 20:08:58 autumnfrost, tried to pm you as we are in the same boat sad have you changed your nn? Can't send it for some reason. gloomywinters2 Tue 13-Nov-12 12:46:33 just looking back at the thread and realised if he,s not hugging kissing or a touch that,s not too much to ask for that,s pretty cold then no op you should leave. gloomywinters2 Tue 13-Nov-12 12:39:09 i feel for both of you in this situation i feel for you because the lack of intimancy feeling like your not loved or sexy enougth can ruin your selfestem, i feel for him because it,s a situation he can,t help he has gone great lengths to get it sorted but should he put his health at risk taking viagra? maybe he feels if he show,s affection it will lead to sex and he can,t perform. i don,t believe he should have shifted the blame on you saying no wonder i don,t fancy you. on the other hand you new he was impotent so you must have known what was coming the question is can you live without sex maybe you should stay friends and move on. are you moving on just because you want sex or has he got more to offer there,s more than just sex all the time too. riverboat Mon 12-Nov-12 21:00:27 I don't think it's a question of whose the victim, who should be blamed. Your husband has always been this way, and has been clear about that. You yourself thought first that you could change him, then when that failed, that you could live with it anyway. You have found out you can't live like that - and I absolutely don't think it's fair to level "what did you expect?" comments, we often don't know what we can and can't live with until we try it. But it does seem that there is no reason to stay in this marriage beyond fear of the initial push you're going to have to make, and the hurt that will cause your children and your husband. Of course it will hurt in the short term, but there is no reason that you won't all in time get over this hurt and find happier lives. The alternative is you yourself smothering your desires and your wish to be happy and fulfilled shouldering all this hurt yourself in the long term, and it will inevitably spill over to everyone else anyway. I think you know what you have to do, and I honestly wish you good luck. SolidGoldYESBROKEMYSPACEBAR Mon 12-Nov-12 20:46:55 Don't be misled into thinking that you're the bad person and he's the innocent victim. He has not been fair to you and it is selfish to want to maintain a marriage because you are content while your partner is miserable. Geordieminx Mon 12-Nov-12 18:11:49 Middleager please feel free to PM me if you feel it would help. middleager Mon 12-Nov-12 17:18:44 Gosh autumnfrost. I'm sorry that you have had this for so long. Would you have gone if it had not been for ds2's sn? middleager Mon 12-Nov-12 17:16:30 Don't get me wrong. My husband is a decent, hardworking man who would always stand by his family. Me asking him to leave - and how awful it would be for him - is one of the reasons I am finding this hard. It will hurt him, to begin with. He loves the house. I have offered to go before, but I think he realises that our house is close to the school etc. and that we don't have anywhere to go (he could move back to his parents for a while. Plus, he rents out the house he owned before we met and he could move back there). I'm not going into this lightly and I don't want to pretend I am the victim. Everybody will hurt at the start and it feels so sad to break it all up. Going to see if we can talk later about practicalities. It's easy for me to say this, but I think he (and I) will both be happier in the long run if we go our separate ways - after the initial turmoil. I'm not sure I could be any more unhappy and that thought of a future - without all this upset - is what drives me. What most of you understand is that it isn't just the sex. It's the cold fish, no emotion, no tenderness that is the toughest part. The constant rejection. autumnfrost Mon 12-Nov-12 16:51:25 I forgot to add I still love him autumnfrost Mon 12-Nov-12 16:48:48 I am in the same situation although dh is not impotent I think he is A sexual.Hehas never said anything cruel to me about the way I look etc. and we do get on mostly but I know he does not love me and won`t even sit beside me in case he touches me well that is what it feels like to me..We agreed to stay together becase ds2 19 has sn and we both know because of his problems 1 of us could not look after him and we both love him SO MUCH WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER NT SON 21 tHIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT 16 YEARS AND i FEEL YOUR PAIN.sorry caps Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now

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Other half just admitted he is suicidal (20 Posts) CailinDana Tue 03-Sep-13 20:43:19 That's good well done. You might have to be quite forceful tomorrow, don't let him back out. mummyaimz Tue 03-Sep-13 16:29:45 I don't know. He has finally admitted he needs help after fighting me most of the day. Couldn't get him to see a doctor this morning but he will see a doctor tomorrow if I come with him. Gruntfuttock Mon 02-Sep-13 22:47:05 mummyaimz you may already know this, so apologies if you do, but a seriously depressed person may suddenly seem to 'perk up' and become more cheerful and this may be a sign that they are about to kill themselves, i.e. it's all planned and the decision has been made (the lift in mood is because they know that their suffering will soon end) I just want you to be aware that this happens so that you know that the crisis is not necessarily over if he suddenly seems to 'cheer up'. cestlavielife Mon 02-Sep-13 22:45:40 If he tells you not to call gp do it anyway cestlavielife Mon 02-Sep-13 22:44:38 You need to call gp first thing and say exactly what he has said. If you cannot get him to go to gp and Gp won't come to you and he is till talking about being suicidal call 999 and have para medics come and assess him. Don't ignore it. If he asks you. It to call anyone then leave the house and do it anyway. You have to act responsibly as if he is suicidal he won't be making the best decisions. For you call Samaritans now and talk it thru with them newgirl Mon 02-Sep-13 22:37:39 Samaritans are fab if you want to give them a call right now - to support you too. You can email too though that can be a little slower. mummyaimz Mon 02-Sep-13 22:25:20 I don't really know. Try and see if he will talk to a doctor at least cause we can get the doctors to phone is back at our surgery. Then he doesn't have to go to the surgery. Other than that I don't know. CailinDana Mon 02-Sep-13 22:19:34 Yes let him sleep. What's your plan for tomorrow? mummyaimz Mon 02-Sep-13 22:01:20 We have a place just around the corner from us that deals with this but you have to get referred by our doctors surgery. It's getting late, I think I might just let him sleep and talk tomorrow. He hasn't had any drink since falling asleep so I want to leave him cause I don't want him to wake and start drinking more if you get what I mean goonyagoodthing Mon 02-Sep-13 21:33:29 Try to stay calm even though inside you are going crazy. I am in Ireland and we have Pieta House, an organisation which is aimed at suicide prevention. I tried to google to find the equivalent there - I can only come up with [] or []. My brother attempted suicide two years ago and the lack of support, understanding or help from everyone including the doctors / professionals was unbelievable. We had to fight for everything. Thankfully he is OK now (touch wood) but the fear never leaves. The above places would point you in the right direction. Good luck to you, I know how hard it is. Gruntfuttock Mon 02-Sep-13 21:27:54 Please get him professional help as soon as you can and please be as kind, patient and loving to him as you possibly can. CailinDana Mon 02-Sep-13 20:41:33 Next time he's awake could you talk to him? Or rather just listen to him? mummyaimz Mon 02-Sep-13 20:03:51 He hasn't been sleeping very well so right now I just let him curl up on the sofa and sleep. I'm not going to offload on him, It's just going to be tough for him to see a doctor. CailinDana Mon 02-Sep-13 19:29:52 Accept what he has said without freaking out. I know that's hard but at the moment he is absolutely not in a position to deal with your feelings. You need to be the strong capable one for the time being. If you need to talk about how you feel come here or call the samaritans or a friend but don't offload onto him. He's very ill and he can't handle it. Strange as it may sound the fact that he's told you is a very good thing because it means he is looking for help. Being suicidal doesn't mean you definitely want to die it means you can't bear to live in despair any longer. To his ill mind dying seems to be the only escape from his pain. You need to show him that that's not the case. How is he at the moment? mummyaimz Mon 02-Sep-13 19:22:06 Thank you. I wish he had told me sooner but he just bottles up until it gets too much Treen44444 Mon 02-Sep-13 19:13:10 Maybe the Samaritans, nhs, any other well established UK charity websites will have info. If he is really bad and willing then A&E is an option. It won't hurt to phone them. go to a&e and ask for assessment under the mental health act, sorry but needs to be worded like that or they will send him away, hope he gets help tonight mummyaimz Mon 02-Sep-13 19:05:16 At our doctors surgery we just see anyone we can as it's a nightmare to see a doctor or nurse. I was wondering about talking to nhs direct but I'm guessing they will just say to speak to the gp Treen44444 Mon 02-Sep-13 18:58:02 I'm sorry to hear that. He needs to go to his GP or a GP he feels comfortable with. He sounds like he is self-medicating with the alcohol. If I were you, I would go and see a doctor if he won't for advice. If you share a doctor with him, maybe pick a different doctor if he feels uncomfortable about your family doctor knowing at this stage. mummyaimz Mon 02-Sep-13 18:37:54 I feel like since I've got this on my phone I am constantly posting but this is a bit more serious for me. The other half is having a horrendous time at work and he didnt feel well enough to go in this morning. His drinking has increased recently and now he has told me not over two hours ago he is suicidal. I don't know what to say. I say we have to talk about it and all he says is "you will get cross at me".Of course I feel cross because he doesn't tell me anything and I know he has been unhappy with his work for a few months me but I really want to support him. I don't know what to do. When I think about what he said I just burst into tears because all I can think about is our little 2 year old daughter. I don't know what else to say but I'm terrified. I'm trying to persuade him to get signed off from work but he won't go to the doctors. He just says he will get through it and he keeps smiling. I'm confused and don't know what to do Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now

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Missing the structure of the school day? (36 Posts) HellesBelles396 Tue 23-Jul-13 10:22:17 Hipe you've clicked on because you are because, for some reason I am! Otherwise, feel free to tell me to get a life! As a result, I have split the day into the four periods we have at school and assigned a group of tasks to each one - otherwise I'll spebd all holidays lying around reading. It's currently break time so I am sitting outside in the garden with a cuppa but period one was exercise and shower (PE!) and next period is household management (ie cleaning, bills, etc). P3 is science (ie lesson planning) and p4 is enrichment (whatever hobby I'm in the mood for - currently making a top). So I was wondering if anyone else does this when they have nothing planned (possibly less rigidly than I have!). rosabud Tue 23-Jul-13 11:47:21 otherwise I'll spebd all holidays lying around reading. It's the first day!! Lie around and spend all your time reading!!! (I am!) willow777 Tue 23-Jul-13 12:03:23 I fully intend to spend the hols lying around reading smile Auntfini Tue 23-Jul-13 12:07:53 Oh gosh! Can't believe you're lesson planning! I'm ignoring the pile of work in the corner and watching tv bigTillyMint Tue 23-Jul-13 12:09:09 Not on holiday yet, but I definitely won't be structuring my days as if I was at workgrin way2serious Tue 23-Jul-13 12:13:23 Am afraid I do something similar and plan out what I want to achieve each day both school work and housework and social / relaxing. Otherwise I find the six weeks have gone and I hav achieved nothing. I also go into school a fair bit to catch up. I am a head so have loads of paperwork etc to sort and my office needs a clear out. HellesBelles396 Tue 23-Jul-13 16:31:22 Thanks Way2Serious, I was starting to worry it was just me! Most days we have plans for at least part of the day and they take priority over the schedule but it really seems to allow me to enjoy the time I do sit and chill far more if I know I have done the other things and structuring my day helps me get everything done. I'm planning a new scheme of work AuntFini so it will take a fair bit of time and the HoD is checking it as I do it so I need to crack on. An hour a day isn't too bad. Inclusionist Tue 23-Jul-13 16:40:32 Nah, I'm gonna lay about. grin TwasBrillig Tue 23-Jul-13 16:48:24 Do you all have kids? Or is it than when they're older you can spend the day reading bliss Auntfini Tue 23-Jul-13 16:50:31 Oh hellesbelles you poor thing! I'm starting at a new school in September so I do actually have a lot to organise but I'm trying to ignore it. Inclusionist Tue 23-Jul-13 16:53:04 I'm going to lay about whilst allowing my three year old to become feral. HellesBelles396 Tue 23-Jul-13 17:02:46 Yes ds is 12 and wants to play basketball or on his bike with his friends (we live in a village with a large park in the middle so it's very safe). He wants nothing to do with me while the sun's shining and his friends are around. Don't feel sorry for me AuntFini having a pattern to my days makes it much easier to do what I need to do and then relax. It suits me to get all the tasks out of the way while ds is playing and then relax all evening when he wants to spend time with me. Cribbage is quite the thing in our house just now smile HellesBelles396 Tue 23-Jul-13 17:07:04 Inclusionist in my experience, 3yo's need direction to have fun - you've a while to go to achieve a lower-maintenance child. Summer holidays then were masses of sunscreen, garden toys in the shady parts of the garden and frequent frozen fruit juice cubes. It was a good summer. Pavement chalks and buckets of water are a must. Sitting grinning remembering as that summer is very clear in my mind. TwasBrillig Tue 23-Jul-13 17:09:51 Ooh frozen fruit ice cubes -genius! We've spent most of today making a mess in the garden and then turning sitting room into soft play! HellesBelles396 Tue 23-Jul-13 17:42:36 I'm enjoying seeing ds become a young man (when he's not in a huff- my family is cursed with early but lengthy puberties!) but I do miss those summers before he started school when an hour-long game could be based around a leaf or a worm and painting the house with mud was totally engrossing. Naptimes in the sun-tent were lovely too. DS is just not as snuggly now - the longest cuddle is about 10 seconds. He is much better at telling jokes now though. Bluebell99 Tue 23-Jul-13 17:49:40 Lol. My fil was a college lecturer and when my dh was a teen he used to have a planner and timetable for every day of the holidays with lesser roles for my dh . Ie fil up the ladder clearing gutter, dh at the bottom catching the crud that came out. Ditto hedge cutting, fil hedge cutting, dh collecting up the pieces.grin he died last summer, we miss him. HellesBelles396 Tue 23-Jul-13 18:24:34 And did dh turn out to be equally conscientious? Bluebell99 Tue 23-Jul-13 18:37:10 Not really, no. I think, his dad's attitude could be rather domineering and critical, so at household tasks, he never really gets round to doing them, but career wise, he has been very successful. He doesn't like to waste time, so likes to plan ahead and fit lots into a day. I think I should take a leaf out of your book though. I am overwhelmed by things I need to do, but don't want to, and then I also don't get round to doing the things I do want to do. HellesBelles396 Tue 23-Jul-13 19:27:32 BlueBell99 that is exactly it. You've put it much better than I have. Of course, between family, friends and Active Northumberland (a council initiative - free sports sessions for children), the days will whizz by anyway! deleted203 Tue 23-Jul-13 21:23:40 We broke up today and I intend to sleep for the next week, if possible. (Unlikely, as I have kids). Then, if the sunshine continues, I intend to spend the next 5 weeks on the beach with smallest DS and pals. I do not intend to do anything useful at all in the way of work. Or housework. We will probably eat chips. And candyfloss. HellesBelles396 Wed 24-Jul-13 07:13:42 SoWornOut that sounds fun! katydid02 Wed 24-Jul-13 07:24:31 Oh heavens, no. We are still at work anyway sad After that, the five weeks (not six, boohoo) can go in a blur of fun and no routines smile HellesBelles396 Wed 24-Jul-13 07:42:39 Which county is still at school? bigTillyMint Wed 24-Jul-13 07:57:00 Many schools in London boroughs finish today, Yay! HellesBelles396IsDeeplyUncool Wed 24-Jul-13 10:49:46 As late as this? And I hear it's really hot down there. Congrats that the last day of term has finally arrived all londoners!! Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_staffroom/1809459-Missing-the-structure-of-the-school-day

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Display Settings: Send to: Choose Destination Jpn J Ophthalmol. 2007 Sep-Oct;51(5):347-52. Epub 2007 Oct 5. Changes in contrast sensitivity function and ocular higher order aberration by conventional myopic photorefractive keratectomy. Author information • 1Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. To evaluate the relation between induced changes in ocular higher order aberrations and changes in the contrast sensitivity function in patients undergoing excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). Myopic PRK using excimer laser was performed in 31 patients (56 eyes). The preoperative refractive error was -6.2 +/- 2.9 diopters. Before and 1 month after surgery, we measured the ocular higher order aberrations for a 4-mm pupil, and three indices of contrast sensitivity function. From the data collected, the area under the log contrast sensitivity function (AULCSF) was calculated. PRK significantly reduced AULCSF (P = 0.004), low-contrast visual acuity (P = 0.004), and letter-contrast sensitivity (P = 0.013). Coma-like (P < 0.001) and spherical-like (P < 0.001) aberrations were significantly increased by surgery. The change in AULCSF by surgery significantly correlated with the change in coma-like (r = -0.468, P < 0.001) and spherical-like (r = -0.291, P = 0.033) aberrations. The change in low-contrast visual acuity by PRK significantly correlated with the change in coma-like aberration (r = 0.599, P < 0.007), but not with change in spherical-like aberrations (r = 0.136, P = 0.326). There were significant correlations between changes in letter-contrast sensitivity and changes in coma-like (r = -0.450, P < 0.001) and spherical-like (r = -0.255, P = 0.048) aberrations. PRK significantly increases ocular higher order aberrations, which compromise contrast sensitivity function after surgery. [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PubMed Commons home PubMed Commons How to join PubMed Commons Supplemental Content Icon for Springer Loading ... Write to the Help Desk

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17926111

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The NS Interview: David Starkey, historian “From one queen to another. Oh, I’ve written my own headline” Why spend a career buried in royal history? I remember friends saying, "Why don't you do something important, like the history of the Soviet Union?" Now, I tend to wave at them, in their little ex-polytechnics, from my large car. Has William helped rejuvenate the monarchy? It's not just the boys. The sight of Charles and Camilla as an old married couple is rather sweet: like Darby and Joan. And there has been the collapse of confidence in the political class. Will Britain ever be a republic? The likely scenario if we get rid of the House of Windsor is Tony and Cherie as president and presidentess - at which point the most thoroughgoing republican becomes a diehard monarchy supporter. Isn't the sentimentality that surrounds the monarchy grotesque? All governments do this. Look at the nonsense in America, getting worked up over flags. It's pretty safe to devote all this to a sweet old lady who's got no power. Although she's not terribly sweet. She's a tough old boot. How would you tell your life story? From one queen to another. Oh, I've written my own headline. It's not exactly rags to riches but there's a strong element of that. I've had at least three separate careers: an academic who didn't quite make it, an all-purpose media tart and then a reinvention as Britain's best-loved TV historian. People see you as an ogre. Does it bother you? It's quite useful, really. I simply have to say "Good morning" to somebody and they'll say, "Oh, he's the nicest man we've ever met." Was Jamie's Dream School a flawed concept? Yes, the fundamental idea was silly. You come up with these marvellous teachers and the boys and girls say, "Ooh, learning!" and turn into Cambridge physicists. Oddly enough, that didn't happen. Jamie is a very nice man but an abstract idea has never crossed his brain. What impelled you to do well at school? My mother was determined to achieve through me what she'd never been able to achieve herself. What did she think of your trajectory? She was appalled. She died in 1997, having conveyed her horror about my getting involved in television. That I was gay and told her also deeply damaged our relationship. Are you in a serious relationship now? Yes . . . I never thought that would happen. I always used to be a great propagandist for promiscuity. What are you most proud of? What I have always enjoyed doing is going against the grain. And I have found that one of the easiest ways to do that is if you wear a good suit and talk with received pronunciation. Do you not care what people think of you? You have to develop a thick skin if you're born fairly disabled and are obviously gay. What's your view of the coalition? My problem with the government is that it looks to an ex-adman such as Steve Hilton to be its intellectual guru. It's slogan politics. Has it misled people over the cuts? There's a contempt, a notion that people are too stupid to face the truth. And David Willetts on universities has been a catastrophe. The way fees have been introduced as [the coalition] savaged the teaching budget is a disaster. Has the government asked you for advice? Oh, God, no. I'm too difficult. Gove was a rather inadequate substitute on The Moral Maze, a chinless wonder. I have encountered Osborne only on Question Time, where he was an appalling performer. Politicians have no courage. You have been critical of Britain's tendency to be sentimental. But do you ever feel that way? I'm typically English. I'm very sentimental about dogs and quite sentimental about horses. I couldn't give a damn about any other animal - I eat them with impunity. Do you vote? Yes. I was radical Labour until I began to shift in my Cambridge days. The first time I voted Tory was for Edward Heath, in 1970. But the first time that I was a convinced Tory was 1979. Was there a plan? I have always been - the word "opportunistic" sounds harsh - willing to jump. But the whole of my television career happened by accident. Is there anything you regret? Oh, yes - I should have written more earlier. Coming to London in the immediate aftermath of gay lib and before Aids was bliss, but you waste endless time. There are decades of my life you could summarise with an epigram. Are we all doomed? No. I'm convinced of human ingenuity. Defining moments 1945 Born in Kendal, Westmorland 1964 Graduates from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, with a BA in history 1972 Begins teaching at the London School of Economics; stays until 1998 1990 Becomes a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze 2004 Broadcasts first of four history series called Monarchy on Channel 4 TV 2011 Again for Channel 4, makes Kate and William, broadcast on 27 and 30 April

http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2011/05/interview-gay-headline-queen

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Staten Island, New York Military Divorce Lawyers and Law Firms Describe Your Case Provda Law Firm One of the leading divorce and family law attorneys in New York City. 40 Wall St 11 Floor - New York, NY 10005 Nolo Contributor

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One Supreme Court justice has been playing a prominent role in these hearings, and he died 17 years ago. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports on Kagan's mentor, Thurgood Marshall. ARI SHAPIRO: Thurgood Marshall is having a moment in the spotlight. On Broadway, Laurence Fishburne recently played the civil rights pioneer in a one-man play. (Soundbite of play, "Thurgood") Mr. LAURENCE FISHBURNE (Actor): (as Thurgood Marshall) As a boy, I came to understand two things marked my family: distinctive names and extreme stubbornness. SHAPIRO: On Capitol Hill, Marshall's name came up more than 30 times in the first day of confirmation hearings for his former law clerk Elena Kagan. Most of the name-dropping came from Republicans, who did not describe Marshall favorably. Here was Senator John Cornyn of Texas. Senator JOHN CORNYN (Republican, Texas; Member, Senate Judiciary Committee): It's clear that he considered himself a judicial activist and was unapologetic about it. He described his judicial philosophy as, quote, "Do what you think is right and let the law catch up." SHAPIRO: Thurgood Marshall occupies a rarefied place in American history. He made his name as a lawyer successfully arguing Brown versus the Board of Education in the Supreme Court. That's the case that desegregated American schools. Later, he became the first African-American Supreme Court justice. David Bositis of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is an expert on African-American voters and politicians. Mr. DAVID BOSITIS (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies): To many of them, they probably think of Thurgood Marshall as being an even more important figure than the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. SHAPIRO: So Bositis has a hard time understanding why Republicans would paint Marshall as the enemy. Even some conservatives share this view. Mr. MICHAEL GREVE (American Enterprise Institute): I cannot imagine who mobilized this. SHAPIRO: Michael Greve is a scholar with the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. GREVE: It makes your jaw drop - at least mine. SHAPIRO: Greve says Kagan has such a slim record that Republicans are going after her mentors instead. It's just bad luck for the Republicans that the man Kagan clerked for 25 years ago was a civil rights legend. Robert Alt of the conservative Heritage Foundation agrees. Mr. ROBERT ALT (Senior Legal Fellow, Heritage Foundation): I don't think it makes sense to attack Thurgood Marshall, but I think that Thurgood Marshall weighs heavily on these hearings. SHAPIRO: Alt says it's appropriate for senators to ask what Kagan meant when she described Marshall's view of the law as a thing of glory. Mr. ALT: You can laud his accomplishments both personally and professionally but still question whether or not he approached the law in an objective fashion. SHAPIRO: It may be a risky strategy, and Democrats think Republicans have already crossed a line. Representative MEL WATT (Democrat, North Carolina; Member, Congressional Black Caucus): I think it's going to backfire on them, to be honest with you. SHAPIRO: Democrat Mel Watt of North Carolina is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Rep. WATT: I don't think it does the Republican Party any good to, out of one side of their mouth, say that they're trying to cultivate a more pluralistic party and then go all the way to the other extreme and take just the opposite tack in this confirmation process. SHAPIRO: But Republicans did not change their strategy from day one to day two. This afternoon, Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona asked Kagan about Marshall again. Senator JON KYL (Republican, Arizona; Member, Senate Judiciary Committee): Do you believe then that he would have agreed with Justice Roberts that if the big guy has the law on his side, the big guy wins, if the little guy does, then the little guy wins? Or would he have expressed it more along the lines that there's too much agreement with the corporate interests and big business, as one of my colleagues put it? SHAPIRO: Kagan replied: I don't want to spend a whole lot of time figuring out what Justice Marshall would have said. If you confirm me, you'll get Justice Kagan, not Justice Marshall. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington. Support comes from:

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=128195737

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A laxative that works at both ends Last Modified: Monday, March 18, 2013 at 3:41 p.m. Q: I heard you recommend a drug called Lactulose as a laxative, but you said it helped with brain fog, too. How can it work at both ends? J.C., Decatur, Illinois A: It's true. The prescription medication called Lactulose is classified as an osmotic laxative, which means that it pulls water into the bowel, and it also affects brain function by removing ammonia, a potent neurotoxin that is more common than you think. Mira Lax is another good laxative in this drug category. Lactulose is not naturally occurring like psyllium; it is synthetic. Lactulose is a non-digestible sugar, which treats both constipation and hepatic encephalopathy. That last one is a complication of liver disease that causes neurological problems by increasing ammonia in the body. Lactulose is tasty, inexpensive and carried by pharmacies. The dosage varies based upon your response, and what you're treating (i.e. constipation or encephalopathy). Start with a low dosage and gradually increase if needed. A typical dose might be one or two tablespoons by mouth every day, but again, you can go up or down from there, depending on what your doctor says is right for you. Lactulose can cause severe dehydration and depletion of electrolytes that can affect the heart, so a trace mineral supplement (taken 60 minutes or more away from the Lactulose) may be needed, especially magnesium which runs the heart. Drink water during the day. Once you take a dose of lactulose, the sugar molecules (which never get digested, so don't worry if you have diabetes), get broken down by the bacteria that live in the lower part of your gut. Probiotics are needed to metabolize Lactulose. In fact, if you had a healthy probiotic stash, you probably wouldn't have constipation to begin with. But anyway, the probiotics in your colon digest the lactulose and produce compounds that cause a little more acidity in your lower bowel. You want that. It has nothing to do with acid reflux, so don't worry. As a result, more water is retained in your bowel, and thus more water in your stools. It softens them, making them easier to pass. Lactulose is particularly helpful for people in nursing homes. It takes a few days to begin working. Lactulose helps draw ammonia out of the body, which can become elevated in people with liver cirrhosis as well as Lyme disease patients. True story, you didn't know? The Lyme germ (from tick bites) can raise ammonia in the brain, which then causes astrocyte swelling. That triggers nasty neurological symptoms such as mild encephalopathy, brain fog, lightheadedness, fatigue, body pain, confusion, visual disturbances and altered sense perception. There are more specific ways to treat this, the topic of a future column. The drug valproic acid may increase ammonia and lactulose helps. Inborn errors of metabolism increase ammonia. Usually, the condition requires intravenous drug treatment but in mild cases, a prescription for lactulose solution is pretty common along with a protein-restricted diet. For more information, visit ▲ Return to Top

http://www.ocala.com/article/20130319/COLUMNISTS/130319669/-1/archive?Title=A-laxative-that-works-at-both-ends

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Find better matches with our advanced matching system —% Match —% Friend —% Enemy 41 / M / Straight / Single Berkeley, CA My Details Last Online Feb 7 6′ 0″ (1.83m) Body Type Mostly anything Graduated from university Entertainment / Media Relationship Type Doesn’t have kids, but wants them Likes dogs and likes cats English (Fluently), Spanish (Fluently) Similar Users My self-summary *Age Disclaimer* After careful consideration, I changed the age listed in my profile. (I was getting far too many replies from women out of my range.-Some with grandchildren-so I dropped it to skew the algorithm and i hopes of meeting someone below my age by a few years. Here's my real age: I turend 46 in August So there's that. Read on if you like. Thanks for getting me on that, Homes. Here's a key thing about me: anyone under the age of ten or over the age of seventy gets my unconditional love; those in between have to I just went for a bike ride in my 'hood. There's an old lady I see every day, we wave and say hello. She gives me a big smile and I smile back. On a crap day that's a miracle, but on a good day It makes life even better. And yeah, I'm a handful: an intrepid traveller, a polyglot, a creative-yet-left-brained individual. A man of strong opinions, but ultimately teachable. Outgoing and socially adept, I can integrate myself into most situations with dexterity and ease. I'm constantly percolating with ideas and words but I downshift into quiet reflection. What attracts me to a woman? Of course, the physical; what keeps me engaged is the mental, and what is keeps me around is the mystery and awe. I like a woman who generates laughter and bilateral conversation. I don't get on with complainers, gossips, and negative Nancies. Teach me something. Groundedness, curiosity, humility and an abiding sense of compassion are appreciated. I like it all from wide-open spaces to concrete canyons: the beach and warm sunlight, city walks, coffee, books, ideas and road trips, staying in to cook. I’m really good at Telling story, connecting with people, cooking, languages, yoga, surfing, The first things people usually notice about me The primer-colored van I drive, or the cardboard duct-taped over its windows. That I live with my parents and how great Mom dresses me. My small, clammy hands that feel like sad oatmeal in your palms as we walk through Toys-Are-Us* (ideal first date) As for what people really notice...that depends on them. *Not to be a DB, but please don't bother asking me if I'm serious about this imagery. We probably wouldn't click. Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food Hawker stalls in Singapore...Choripan and a cold bottle of Quilmes at that little porqueria asador next to Estacion Once in Buenos Aires; Asado Mixto at El Obrador, Birria in Pico-Union, bootleg Mandu joints deep in K-Town, etc. Books: The Godfather, The Odyssey, Moby Dick, Hucklebe Finn, Blood Meriidian,The Master and Margarita, A Confederacy of Dunces, The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith, Ham on Rye, Paul Bowles, Anything by: Junot Diaz, Nathaniel Philbrick, Whitman, Baudelaire, Emerson, Neruda, Rilke, Rumi, e.e. Cummings, Ogden Nash. Movies by: Coen Brothers, Wes Anderson, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, Hitchcock, Kurasawa, Tarantino, Polanski, Nuevo Latino, Korean Horror/Paranormal. Anything, almost anything, just keep brining it. I'm currently digging Radio/Podcasts/Web: I'm a full-fledged member of Ira's Army. The Moth, TAL, Car Talk, Wait-Wait, Morneing Becomes Eclectic, Your Mighty KAL-X, T.E.D., etc., all the Prius-driving urbanist liberal fare Tunes? let it rock and let it be loud, let it be classical and let it be soothing. let it be everything between, and let it be what suits the moment. The six things I could never do without My pesto sauce every sunday Beaches/waves/ surfing People I love kindness exchanged between strangers A fast bicycle I spend a lot of time thinking about Saying "Rats!" instead of "Fuck!". That Skype is giving and twitter is taking. Blurting out stuff. Putting the greater good ahead of my wants. Balancing the irreverent and the serious. How a giant heart and epic brain can get stymied by a big mouth. The next country, it's people, and their food. Why I don't have a dog. What love feels like and what to make for dinner and wouldn't it be nice to have a woman around to cook for. On a typical Friday night I am Out talking with great people. at home watching flix or gettin' my Skype on. Hello Auckland, Warsaw and Buenos Aires. Most anything but filling out questions posed by a dating site 'bot The most private thing I’m willing to admit I sing background vocals for Hall and Oates when they're on tour in my car. I’m looking for • Girls who like guys • Ages 30–46 • Located anywhere You should message me if you're intelligent, funny, easy-going, humble, compassionate, trusting and grounded. If you don't need to be chased, but courted instead, If you're an Artist, Designer, Writer, Filmmaker, Chef, Gardener, or a Ninja. If you can teach me something you got me, and if you smile easily then bring it. And bring your dog. My DQ List (let's all fess up and own that we have 'em) If you need to ask if the shoplifting/living-with-my-folks thing is real... If you smoke, or drink a lot... If you prefer Vegas to Vientiane... ...then we're prolly not going to click. Just sayin'

http://www.okcupid.com/profile/ElTanito99?cf=profile_similar

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Permalink for comment 2437 Member since: I own Warp 4 too (I have no idea where I got it from), but it won't install itself on any of my PCs (no, I'm not looking for help, I'm not interested in installing it anymore). I also looked at eCS, but the pricetag is E 205, which I find too high for something just to mess with. However, look at the pricetag from a business perspective. If a company can revitalize an old computer for E205, it will save them the cost of buying a whole new computer + licences (and no, Linux isn't suitable for revitalizing old machines, get over it). It would give them an OS that's fully supported (unlike Win2000 and earlier versions), which supports things like Mozilla/FF and OpenOffice. You see, from that point of view, E 205 isn't all that bad. Reply Parent Score: 5

http://www.osnews.com/permalink?2437

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Permalink for comment 343866 Member since: Teach students skills not brand names. The current aproach is to teach a brand name. Students don't learn computers and office programs, they learn Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. This is like teaching all the shop kids to use a hammer but only if it's a B&D #4 hammer with B&D #4 nails. Students come out of school and sit infront of a machine that isn't Office and they have a panic attack; "but this isn't Word, how can it possible write words?" Stick them infront of anything but WindowsXP desktop and they can't even figure out how to reach out and touch the bloody mouse. Teach students how to use word processors not Word. They should use two or three at least during the yer they do word processing, spreadsheets and basic databases (this was Grade10 around here). If a file format can not be opened in multiple word processors; it's not accepted within the schools; sort of like all those government offices deciding that documents to and from constituents should be accessible on more than just Windows/Office crippled systems. Reply Parent Score: 8

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Permalink for comment 415794 Member since: The people who founded your democracy would shake their heads at the fact that you seem to be confusing commercial transactions with political freedom. They would understand the concept of ownership. The concept of ownership is the very foundation of our modern capitalist societies. Companies today are taking this away by the bucketload - you PAY for a GOOD that you then do NOT actually own, even though they claim that you DO own it. That undermines the very foundation of our society. If you can no longer trust that when you buy something it actually becomes your property, the flood gates will open for all sorts of dubious activities. Reply Parent Score: 6

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Permalink for comment 446745 Richard Dale Member since: Just $0.02 from an old engineer... I think it is a characteristic of the Python community in that they will say that everyone should use Python and be rude about other languages. Whereas Ruby guys will say use Ruby if it suits you, but feel free to use something else like Python if it doesn't suit you, and we won't hold it against you. In fact we will be interested to hear how you get on. The is a current C#/.NET Qt bindings project called Qyoto. When KDE moves from svn to git Qyoto will be re-engineered somewhat. Instead of generating the C# classes from the Qt header sources, it will generate the bindings directly from the language independent 'Smoke' libraries that various Qt/KDE language bindings projects use. This should make it much easier to maintain, and easier to add new libraries to the bindings. Reply Parent Score: 3

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Permalink for comment 475590 Member since: It seems pretty cool that OpenOffice will now gain developers from Apache and from IBM. Now ... if libreoffice really wants to merge the codebase, they could just relicense their stuff under a dual LGPL3 and/or Apache license, so the best of both projects can still be merged or at least so that both projects will remain compatible at a source level for a while. After all, it was libreoffice who forked so it should be them who merge back. The Apache 2.0 license is a liberal non-copyleft license. AFAIK this means that both open source code and closed source code can be contributed to an Apache 2.0 license project. LibreOffice is licensed under LGPL v3. This copyleft license means that no closed-source components can be accepted. So from now, open source code contributed to ASF OpenOffice can be adopted (and re-licensed as LGPL v3) by LibreOffice, and LGPL v3 code contibuted to LibreOffice can be incorporated into ASF OpenOffice (but it must remain LGPL v3, and copyright attribution must remain with the original authors). I don't think the corporates (Oracle and IBM) want the latter to occur. I think they want the ability to make all or prat of ASF OpenOffice closed source. I'm pretty sure they don't want any LGPL v3 copyleft code where the copyrights belong to individuals. Therefore, IMO, no re-merge is likely to be accepted by the ASF OpenOffice crowd. Reply Parent Score: 1

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Rayiner Hashem: In your presentation at Nove Hrady, you point out that drag and drop still doesn't work as it should, mainly because of poor implementations. Are there plans for a drag-and-drop library to ease the implementation of XDND functionality? Havoc Pennington Havoc Pennington: The issue isn't poor implementation in the libraries, it's simpler than that. When you add drag and drop to an application you have a list of types that you support dragging or dropping, such as "text/plain". Applications simply don't agree on what these types are. So we need a registry of types documenting the type name and the format of the data transferred under that name. That's it. The starting point is to go through GNOME, KDE, Mozilla,, etc. source code and document what types are already used. The other issue requires even less explanation: application authors don't support DND in enough places. Rayiner Hashem: Most of the examples listed in your Nove Hrady presentation were desktop level. Yet, you mentioned GTK+ 3 and Qt 4 as well. Do you think more interoperation at the toolkit level is necessary? What form would this interoperation take? Havoc Pennington: I don't really think of as an interoperability effort anymore. Rather, it's an effort to build a base desktop platform that desktops can build on. Many of the things on would be implemented in or used by the toolkit: icon themes, XEMBED, X server, Cairo, startup notification, and so forth. Rayiner Hashem: From your experience with GTK+, what do you think are some of the properties that make it hard to write fast applications for X11? What would you like to see the server do to make it easier to write fast client applications? Havoc Pennington: Talking only about speed (fast vs. slow) won't lead to understanding of the problem. Graphics will look bad if you have flicker, tearing, OR slowness. Most users will perceive all of those problems as "slowness." Eliminating the round trip to clients to handle expose events will probably be a huge improvement in terms of both flicker and speed. The proposed Composite extension also allows double buffering the entire screen, which should let us fix virtually all flicker and tearing issues. Some clients right now do things that are just stupid; for example, allocating huge pixmaps (image buffers) and keeping them around; improved profiling tools should help track down and fix these mistakes. Eugenia Loli-Queru: Is working towards a package management standard? While RPM and DEBs are well known, what is your opinion on Havoc Pennington: I don't really understand the motivation for autopackage. At their core, RPM and DEB are a tarball-like archive with some metadata. You can always just ignore the metadata, or add additional/different metadata. For example, file dependencies; if you don't want your RPM package to have file dependencies, you don't have to include any. I would tend to focus more on the question of which metadata we should have, and how it should be used by the installer UI. autopackage tries to solve the problem that distributions use different packaging systems by creating an additional packaging system and using it in addition to the native one. However, you could just as easily pick one of the current systems (RPM, etc.) and use it on any distribution. RPM works fine on Solaris for example. I don't see how autopackage uniquely enables portability. In short, to me the issues with software installation are not related to the on-disk format for archiving the binaries and metadata. I think autopackage could achieve much more by building stuff _around_ RPM and/or DEB rather than reinventing the archive wheel. I haven't looked at autopackage in detail though, and I could be totally wrong. Eugenia Loli-Queru: How do you feel about becoming an "umbrella" project for all projects that require communication (e.g. if X requires a kernel extension, makes sure that the X group is heard from the kernel group and manages the implementation) Havoc Pennington: Ultimately can't make sure of anything; it's not an enforcement agency. What it can do is provide a forum that's well-known where people can go and find the right developers to talk to about a particular issue. Implementation will really always come from the work and leadership of the developers who put in hours to make things happen. Eugenia Loli-Queru: How do you grade the support of commercial entities towards Is IBM, Novell, Red Hat and other big Linux players helping out the cause? Havoc Pennington: Individual developers from all those companies are involved, but there's no framework for corporations to get involved as corporations. I'm happy overall that the right people are involved. But of course I'd always like to see more developers added to the Linux desktop effort. Eugenia Loli-Queru: In the plans of do we only find interoperation resolutions between DEs or innovation is part of the plan? For example, would welcome Seth Nickell's Storage or 'System Services' projects which are pretty "out of the ordinary" kind of projects? Havoc Pennington at a KDE conference Havoc Pennington: I'd like to see more work originate at, and certainly we'd be willing to host Seth's work. Ultimately though any new innovation has to be adopted by the desktops such as GNOME and KDE, and the distributions, to become a de facto reality. may be the forum where those groups meet to agree on what to do, but doesn't have a "mind of its own" so much. Eugenia Loli-Queru: In your opinion, which is the hardest step to take in the road ahead for full interoperability between DEs? How far are we from the realization of this step? Havoc Pennington: I think the "URI namespace" or "virtual file system" issue is the ugliest problem right now. It bleeds into other things, such as MIME associations and WinFS-like functionality. It's technically very challenging to resolve this issue, and the impact of leaving it unresolved is fairly high. Here are some links on that here, here and here. Eugenia Loli-Queru: On Mac OS X, users who require extra accessibility can listen to text from pretty much any application via text-to-speech, as it is supported in the toolkit level. Are there any plans on creating a unified way where all applications (Qt or GTK+) would be able to offer this functionality from a common library? What would be the best way to go about it? What accessibility projects you would like to see produced at Havoc Pennington: This is already supported with ATK and the rest of the GNOME accessibility implementation, you can text-to-speech any text displayed via GTK+ today. I believe there's a plan for how to integrate Qt and Java into the same framework, but I'm not sure what the latest details are. This is looking like an interoperability success already, as everyone does appear to be using the same framework. Eugenia Loli-Queru: I haven't found an obvious way to get Abiword, Gaim, Epiphany (granted, with the mozilla toolkit, but still one of the apps that begs for such accessibility feature) or Gedit to read any texts... How is this done then? Is it a compilation/link option? If yes, the problem is not really solved if it is not transparent to the user and if not get done automatically after a compilation. Havoc Pennington: I haven't ever tried it out, but I've seen the a11y guys demo it. The toolkit functionality is definitely there, in any case. I think you go to Preferences -> Assistive Technology Support and check the screenreader box, but I don't know if it works out of box on any distributions yet. It's a new feature. (editor's note: "screenreader" on Fedora is greyed out, while on the latest Slackware can be selected, but it is later dumbed "unavailable" and so it doesn't work yet out of the box for most distros). Table of contents 1. "Havoc Pennington on" 2. "Keith Packard on the new X Server" 3. "Jim Gettys on the new X Server" 4. "David Zeuthen on HAL" 5. "Waldo Bastian on KDE/Qt and" e p (0)    81 Comment(s) Technology White Papers See More

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Definition of:VSTO (Visual Studio Tools for Office) Development tools that are part of Visual Studio for enhancing Office applications. Based on Microsoft's .NET environment, VSTO is used to create Office "add-ins" that perform functions such as automatically filling in fields in a Word or Excel document and e-mailing the files or uploading them to a SharePoint server. As of VSTO 2005, support for enhancing Outlook was added. Prior to VSTO, macros and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) were the common methods used to customize Office programs. Although they are still used, VSTO makes it easier to code many types of enhancements, which reside as separate DLLs in the user's computer. See .NET Framework, VBA, DLL and Visual Studio. Requested resource not found

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note demerphq <p> Sorry [ovid], but the code you posted as an example did not make that very clear*. You basically cannot get rid of namespace pollution in perl. It is impossible. Any piece of code can declare objects in any namespace at any time. </p> <p> As far as /useful/ advice, :-), take a look at the top of and see how Jarkko did it. </p> <p> * Update: i mean it didnt make your question clear. I know you arent a newbie. Remember we drank a fair amount of whiskey together in vienna? ;-) </p> <div class="pmsig"><div class="pmsig-108447"> ---<br /> $world=~s/war/peace/g<br /> <br /> </div></div> 771388 771557

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Beefy Boxes and Bandwidth Generously Provided by pair Networks Frank Problems? Is your data what you think it is? Database normalization the easier way by gmax (Abbot) on Dec 17, 2001 at 17:15 UTC ( #132513=perlmeditation: print w/ replies, xml ) Need Help?? Most distinguished Monks, A recent node (thanks, jeffa) offered a very interesting theoretical (and practical) view into database normalization. While I couldn't agree more on the benefits of normalization, I was wondering if there was a different way of tackling the problem from the practical side. Of course, normalization is never going to be "easy." But it could be easier than building a specialized solution for each table. Due to previous experience with these tasks (which I used to solve in C - don't shoot!) I felt that a more general solution is possible, and fiddling around with Perl I came up with a module that can reduce our normalization efforts to something like the following: #!/usr/bin/perl -w use strict; use Normalizer; my %parameters = ( DSN => "DBI:mysql:music;host=localhost;" . "mysql_read_default_file=$ENV{HOME}/.my.cnf", src_table => "MP3", index_field => "album_id", lookup_fields => "artist,album,genre", lookup_table => "tmp_albums", dest_table => "songs", copy_indexes => 1 ); my $norm = Normalizer->new (\%parameters); $norm->do(); The more adventurous could also try a one-liner (Normalization Golf?): perl -e 'use Normalizer; Normalizer->snew(qw(localhost music \ MP3 album_id album,artist,genre tmp_albums songs 1 0 0))->do()' What happens with this script? Having this initial data (database: music, table: MP3), +----------+-------------+------+-----+----------+----------------+ | Field | Type | Null | Key | Default | Extra | +----------+-------------+------+-----+----------+----------------+ | ID | int(11) | | PRI | NULL | auto_increment | | title | varchar(40) | | MUL | | | | artist | varchar(20) | | MUL | | | | album | varchar(30) | | MUL | | | | duration | time | | | 00:00:00 | | | size | int(11) | | | 0 | | | genre | varchar(10) | | MUL | | | +----------+-------------+------+-----+----------+----------------+ Here are the instructions produced by the above lines of perl: DROP TABLE IF EXISTS tmp_albums; # create the lookup table CREATE TABLE tmp_albums (album_id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, artist varchar(20) not null, album varchar(30) not null, genre varchar(10) not null, KEY artist (artist), KEY album (album), KEY genre (genre)); # populate the lookup table INSERT INTO tmp_albums SELECT DISTINCT NULL, artist,album,genre FROM MP3; DROP TABLE IF EXISTS songs; # create the destination table CREATE TABLE songs (ID int(11) not null auto_increment, title varchar(40) not null, duration time not null default '00:00:00', size int(11) not null, album_id INT(11) NOT NULL, PRIMARY KEY (ID), KEY title (title), KEY album_id (album_id)); # Here is the trick! Using the lookup fields # as foreign keys, we populate the destination # table from source_table JOINed to lookup_table INSERT INTO songs SELECT src.ID, src.title, src.duration, src.size, album_id FROM MP3 src INNER JOIN tmp_albums lkp ON (src.artist =lkp.artist and src.album =lkp.album and src.genre =lkp.genre); Don't rush to the CPAN ;-). The Normalizer module is not there (yet) also because I don't know if I should ask for a standalone namespace or under DBIx:: (any piece of advice here will be more than welcome). It is not a short piece of code either. It is 968 lines (65% of which are documentation) and I didn't feel like posting all of it in this node. But you are welcome to have a look at it from the following addresses: (highlighted syntax - 128 KB) (plain script - 38 KB) Normalizer.pod (documentation - 30 KB) Normalizer-0.05.tgz (complete package - 33 KB) update 2-Feb-2002 Now in the CPAN as DBSchema-Normalizer The black magic behind this code is more SQL than Perl. However, Perl makes it easier to collect the necessary pieces of information from the database engine and create the SQL statements. More important, Perl makes a generalized solution feasible. A complete explanation of the algorithm is in the module documentation. The basic concept is to let the database engine work the heavy load, while Perl is directing the operations without wasting any valuable resources. This module deals only with MySQL databases, but the principle should be valid for any RDBMS. If you want to try it risk-free, it is possible to run the script in "simulation mode," producing the SQL without executing it. I hope this is going to be helpful, and I will be glad to receive your comments. _ _ _ _ (_|| | |(_|>< Comment on Database normalization the easier way Select or Download Code Re: Database normalization the easier way by IlyaM (Parson) on Dec 17, 2001 at 17:39 UTC I would not use standalone namespace for module which basically does just one thing. IMHO your module belongs to DBIx:: It would be cool if it were not used MySQL specific code. There exist some modules which allow to do database schema operations in more portable way: Alzabo, DBIx::DBSchema. Anyway idea is very intersting. It is sad I have no votes left :(. Ilya Martynov ( My initial idea was to ask for a DBI:: namespace, but yesterday I found out that such namespace is restricted. Then DBIx:: is a good candidate (Or it should be as soon as I get an answer from CPAN. Being in a monastery, I should become used to being patient {grin}). DBIx::DBSchema was a good hint. I checked it and it seems to provide enough information to replace the direct calls I am using so far. I would need to rewrite the two subs that are dealing with column information (so many greps and maps wasted!) but this is a good chance to make the module portable across databases. Re: Database normalization the easier way by zakzebrowski (Curate) on Dec 17, 2001 at 18:44 UTC For more information on this node visit: this Re: Database normalization (in CPAN!) by gmax (Abbot) on Feb 02, 2002 at 15:31 UTC After some discussion in the list, I accepted Tim Bunce's suggestion to put it under a new namespace, DBSchema::. Now the module is in the CPAN as DBSchema::Normalizer. Thanks to all the Monks for their valuable help. _ _ _ _ (_|| | |(_|>< Log In? What's my password? Create A New User Node Status? node history Node Type: perlmeditation [id://132513] Approved by root and the web crawler heard nothing... How do I use this? | Other CB clients Other Users? Others avoiding work at the Monastery: (21) As of 2014-03-13 15:40 GMT Find Nodes? Voting Booth? Have you used a cryptocurrency? Results (283 votes), past polls

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Beefy Boxes and Bandwidth Generously Provided by pair Networks Joe laziness, impatience, and hubris So, what *is* the best way to deliever dynamic content nowadays? by Masem (Monsignor) on Jan 04, 2002 at 19:42 UTC ( #136285=perlmeditation: print w/ replies, xml ) Need Help?? Part of my New Years resolution is to get moving on making changes to a site I operate; the old code was all done in 96, and are hacks upon hacks for features that were requested during the course by users; the database is certainly not the best and could probably deal with some normalization, and that was back before I use'd strict and -w all my code. I want to 'moderize' everything, putting everything under a mod_perl/Apache engine to afford the speed bonuses, improve the database (currently in MySQL, but considering Postgres), and to make the site more 'personalized' for the end user by allowing them to select what styles or data they want to show, as well as any other means that I can think of. That's the goal, and I know that there are many ways to get there. The problem is trying to determine the best way to get to that point given my requirements from where I am. I've got no qualms about rewriting my code to improve it, as there's not that much left to salvage. Fortunately, I'll be able to do this in parallel with the original site to avoid disruption in serving that one. Note that the hardware is a linux box on a 200mHz machine w/128Megs RAM; the site is active by endusers but not requiring massive amounts of bandwidth (maybe on order of 1000 unique hits/day), and the current site certainly doesn't strain the box to a great extent. Here's some of the quandries that I'm thinking of: • To monolith-ize or not? I could have all of the dynamic content come from a single script that uses a module like CGI::Application, with a callout table for given actions, and such. This way, I also gain the benefit of having cookie/login handling in one place for the entire site as well as easy ways to add new actions to the system. However, the types of actions that the end user can do on the site are rather varied, but no more so than, say, on PM. Since I'm planning on using mod_perl, that means every server instance will probably load all of the available method codes that I provide, which can be a bit memory heavy. Alternatively, using several smaller apps with a common module for cookie/login handling would not task the memory, but would require more careful coding. (I'd probably still need to develop a common code module if I do use a monolithic app) • To XML-ize or not? I read this article on XML-based applications which described the use of XML as an intermediate layer between the DBI and the presentation, which allows for the application of XSLT style information before presentation. This can also mean one can develop XML streams ala the ones here at PM that the enduser can decide how to use to their likely. However, if the XML is only kept on the server side, these benefits can also be duplicated by judicious use of the various templating solutions like Template Toolkit 2, with the added bonus of reducing memory and CPU time before page generation. Since I can see that there are possible uses for a XML output from my site, I could either make the entire site use the intermediate XML layer, or I could simply provide XML when it's requested, possibly through a template solution again or just though the methods listed above, while the rest of the dynamic content is done directly through a template solution. • (not quite as perl-ish) MySQL or Postgres? I don't have to worry too much about locking tables or transactions or similar features as this isn't a ecommerce site. The only key thing is that with a properly normalized database, I may need to do subselect statements that I believe Postgres can provide but MySQL can't (though can be simulated with successive SQL calls). I know MySQL tends to be faster but is showing it's age, while Postgres provides many of the advanced SQL features in the professional grade DB system at the cost of speed. While my current DB is in MySQL, I don't believe I'm using many MySQL-specific features, so I'm not too worried about switching it over to a Postgres. I'm sure there are other considerations that I've not yet thought of either, which I'd be happy to hear about. However with all of the current solutions that are out there, I thought it best to solicate the advice and experience of other monks before I broke new ground for the revised site. "I can see my house from here!" Comment on So, what *is* the best way to deliever dynamic content nowadays? Re: So, what *is* the best way to deliever dynamic content nowadays? by arhuman (Vicar) on Jan 04, 2002 at 20:32 UTC • To monolith-ize or not? It's a matter of taste, but I personnally like the (usual) idea of several scripts using common libraries. (database access, presentation, system interaction...) By the way I see no additional difficulty on managing cookie/session via several scripts instead of one. (did I miss something?) • To XML-ize or not? By making a clear distinction between the data and the presentation, XML is a "must have" nowadays, furthermore a lot of emerging technologies use it as input/output format or at least as a pivot format. One advantage I grant to XML over standard templating system, is that XML will provides you more tools (parser, checker, transformer...) than any templating system. It would be cool to use DTD to validate (for a particular browser) HTML code produced via XSLT translation from XML... The question is much "how to do it ?" The article gives an interesting way, axkit may be a good option too, anyway I'm sure some people here will probably give you the best advices on XML. Postgres! if your goal is to do the things the right way. Even if (beccause?) I've been using MySQL for 2 years at the office, I'd recomment MySQL only when speed is REALLY needed Foreign keys, trigger, views... make the DBA life so easier. "Only Bad Coders Code Badly In Perl" (OBC2BIP) by mpeppler (Vicar) on Jan 04, 2002 at 21:53 UTC MySQL or Postgres... I'd use Postgres (well - actually I'd use the free Sybase release if this is on linux :-) by sparkyichi (Deacon) on Jan 04, 2002 at 23:21 UTC by lachoy (Parson) on Jan 04, 2002 at 23:37 UTC This sounds like an excellent fit for OpenInteract. (I'm a little biased, but still...) It provides much of the infrastructure you need for web applications -- authentication/authorization, security, centralized URL->action-mapping, easy data access (DBI, LDAP, ...), presentation framework using Template Toolkit, etc. Since you're using a relatively low-powered machine, it would probably be good to spend a few minutes looking at the common mod_perl usage of lightweight proxy servers sitting in front of heavyweight mod_perl servers. This way you don't have to start many mod_perl servers that eat up your memory. As for databases, PostgreSQL is more featureful than MySQL, easy to setup (as long as you're comfortable with ./configure; make; make install), updated often, low maintenance and well supported with not only DBD::Pg but also ODBC and JDBC drivers. I don't even use MySQL anymore unless someone specifically requests it. M-x auto-bs-mode by perrin (Chancellor) on Jan 04, 2002 at 23:37 UTC I don't think there's much memory tradeoff between CGI::Application and separate modules. You should be preloading all of this in so it gets shared. Personally, I like to separate functionality into separate modules according to major site functions. For example, I might have a module for updating your user settings, and another one for browsing one of the data types published on the site. I also model the data objects as separate classes, so these modules I'm talking about are really just the "controller" part of a model-view-controller design. As for XML, I have found uses for it in data exchange but not in page generation. I just can't see the compelling argument for it. TT2 templates are easier to write than XSL. It's trivial to write a template that spits out an XML version of your data for a feed. Validation - well, TT will not compile an invalid template either. I can't see a good reason to use the much slower XML approach, except maybe to plump up your resume. Hi Perrin, Have you benchmarked recent XSLT solutions for this pre-conceived "slowness"? They are very very fast these days... As far as the advantages, I'll paraphrase Robin Berjon on this... The advantage he sees of using XSLT is that it's a very well thought out system, with a lot of history (DSSSL) behind it. With XSLT you aren't constrained by flat structures like many templating systems - and by that I include hierarchies where you have to "manually" iterate over the tree. With XSLT you just declare what bits of your data are meant to look like, and run it. But it's more than that... With XSLT you are not creating text. That is what every single other perl templating solution does - it takes some data and a template and generates text. This does not lead to efficient pipelining (which is a technique that most people in the perl world aren't really familiar with, because of this weakness, but a very useful technique nonetheless). With XSLT you take some a data structure, and a template which describes a new data structure, and you get a data structure at the end of it. Not text (and not really XML either - you have to think outside of that box :-) Oh, and one other benefit: multiple vendors. Matt (with a v.fat C.V.) ;-) I haven't benched the latest round of XSLTers, but the performance on XSLT has historically been pretty abysmal. Most of the time people (read "Cocoon") say they have solved the problem by caching the output, but not all output can be cached. I doubt that XSLT can be very fast when actually parsing XML (for the data and the style sheet), so presumably the biggest speed wins would come from caching the stylesheet as perl code, and from generating the data in a perl data structure that the XSLT processor understands instead of actual XML (thus skipping the parsing step). Are we there yet? And if we are, aren't we kind of re-inventing the wheel? Perl doesn't need XML to make generic data structures. Your point about not being constrained to a linear mode is actually one of the things I hold against XSLT, because all of the HTML monkeys I know like to think about page design in a linear mode. They don't want to specify a style for the product price; they want to write some HTML and say "the price goes here." It's just more intutitive to non-programmer types. I can see value in pipelining for working on data, but I would do all of that data mangling before I get to a page generation stage, so the template tool itself doesn't need to support it. Anyway, I have happilly used XML for other things and I don't usually take stabs at XSLT, but since he asked for opinions... I try to keep my preferences from coloring my templating guide too much (which now desperately needs an update, with new versions of AxKit, TT, Apache::ASP, etc. out). Delivering Dynamic Content by dbrunton (Novice) on Jan 05, 2002 at 07:23 UTC To monolith-ize or not? The short answer: yes. Some parts of our development want to be monolithic, and some don't. It's like Perl- some parts of Perl want to be OO, and some parts simply do not. mod_perl was a piece of this answer for our project (it's pretty monolithic) but it was too hard to make it spit out HTML all by itself. HTML::Mason pretty much solved that problem for us, and then we were left with the single remaining problem of how to represent the underlying data. Which is what your next two questions were about, so I'll stop at that for a minute. To XML-ize or not? This was an easy one for me, and I hope I can infect you with the zeal of the newly converted. If you can find a way to have your database do the things databases tend to be good at (e.g. indexing, search, etc.), and to keep XML around because it lets you have arbitrarily deeply nested data structures and other such niceties that Perl REALLY LIKES, this seems like an ideal solution to me. After playing with an early version of Kwin Kramer's XML::Comma, I liked it so much that I tracked him down and took a solemn oath to forever uphold the honor of XML::Comma and to never use PHP again. Or something. It really is insanely cool. Check out this post or just read my short summary: XML::Comma uses XML for two different purposes. First, it stores documents in untyped XML. Secondly, it uses a special flavor of XML to specify a single API for indexing (I'm using MySQL), storage (XML on the filesystem in my case), inverted indexing (MySQL again in my case), compression (GZip for me), Encryption (HMAC + symmetric key encryption here), and is capable of extending this interface to everything but washing your dirty undies. What this means for me is that when I use the Comma API to create a document a la: my $doc=XML::Comma::Doc->new(type=>'Foo'); $doc->name()->first('David'); $doc->name()->last('Brunton'); $doc->phone()->area_code('509'); $doc->phone()->num('5551212'); $doc->store('main'); That last $doc->store() gives me (based upon my XML DocumentDefinition) a file on the filesystem that is gzipped, encrypted, HMAC'ed, sorted, and generally kept track of. It gives me corresponding fields in my database that are typed and indexed according to my specifications. It creates an inverted index for my search engine. And it does it many thousands of times every second even on my desktop machine, not to mention the quad Athlons we deploy on. I highly recommend checking it out. I did. But be careful. I started out just playing with it in my spare time, and now it's become my full time job to play with it ;) MySQL or Postgres? I use Comma with MySQL. We've done some benchmarking of Postgres, but haven't figured out a good reason (performance or features) to switch yet. Besides, I think XML::Comma is still Postgres/MySQL agnostic, so barring the use of any of the arcane indexing stuff, I think I could probably switch without much effort. by markjugg (Curate) on Jan 06, 2002 at 02:39 UTC My two cents: I use CGI::Application in combination with Postgres and I'm very happy them both. I like organization that CGI::App encourages. In that framework, it's easy to create a single code line that powers multiple sites at the same time with different template sets and parameters. Because a maximum amount of code is in modules, potential re-use is maximized. I like Postgres because it's feature-rich. I've also used MySQL and found that it's often much faster to code a solution using Postgres. The one thing I hear in favor of MySQL is a "speed difference". In my real world application of using Postgres for dozens of projects for a website development firm, the speed has always been good. I'd throw mod_perl at a project before I would switch to MySQL. :) You can see an example of CGI::App and Postgres in action in my Cascade project, a content management system. Log In? What's my password? Create A New User Node Status? node history Node Type: perlmeditation [id://136285] Approved by root and the web crawler heard nothing... How do I use this? | Other CB clients Other Users? As of 2014-03-13 14:48 GMT Find Nodes? Voting Booth? Have you used a cryptocurrency? Results (281 votes), past polls

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previous next "Hephaistos," said Poseidon, "if Ares goes away without paying his damages, I will pay you myself." So Hephaistos answered, "In this case I cannot and must not refuse you." Thereon he loosed the bonds that bound them, and as soon as they were free they scampered off, Ares to Thrace and laughter-loving Aphrodite to Cyprus and to Paphos, where is her grove and her altar fragrant with burnt offerings. Here the Graces bathed her, and anointed her with oil of ambrosia such as the immortal gods make use of, and they clothed her in raiment of the most enchanting beauty. Thus sang the bard, and both Odysseus and the seafaring Phaeacians were charmed as they heard him. Then Alkinoos told Laodamas and Halios to dance alone, for there was no one to compete with them. So they took a red ball which Polybos had made for them, and one of them bent himself backwards and threw it up towards the clouds, while the other jumped from off the ground and caught it with ease before it came down again. When they had done throwing the ball straight up into the air they began to dance, and at the same time kept on throwing it backwards and forwards to one another, while all the young men in the ring applauded and made a great stamping with their feet. Then Odysseus said: Creative Commons License hide Places (automatically extracted) Click on a place to search for it in this document. Thrace (Greece) (1) Paphos (Cyprus) (1) Cyprus (Cyprus) (1) Visualize the most frequently mentioned Pleiades ancient places in this text. Download Pleiades ancient places geospacial dataset for this text. hide References (3 total) • Commentary references to this page (2): • Thomas D. Seymour, Commentary on Homer's Iliad, Books I-III, 2.280 • Cross-references to this page (1): • A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), DISCUS hide Display Preferences Greek Display: Arabic Display: View by Default: Browse Bar:

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previous next [10] Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me. You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God: Creative Commons License hide Places (automatically extracted) Visualize the most frequently mentioned Pleiades ancient places in this text. Download Pleiades ancient places geospacial dataset for this text. hide References (1 total) hide Display Preferences Greek Display: Arabic Display: View by Default: Browse Bar:

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Thursday, March 13, 2014 Inquirer Daily News What can Philadelphia expect from a Republican Harrisburg? An IOM editorial in the Daily News explores the potential impact of a Republican takeover of Harrisburg for Philadelphia: What can Philadelphia expect from a Republican Harrisburg? First, the good news. Unlike voters in Bulter, Allegheny and Greene counties, Philadelphia voters said that an indictment was an impediment to getting re-elected, and booted John Perzel out of office. (Sen. Jane Orie and Rep. Bill DeWeese, also under indictment in the Bonusgate scandal, were re-elected.) Beyond that, Tuesday's election results - which elected a Republican governor, and tipped Pennsylvania to a Republican majority in the House and Senate - hold few silver linings for Philadelphia. How bad could it be for the city? Governor-elect Tom Corbett says he'll impose no new taxes to balance what will be a massive state budget deficit. That means one thing: big cuts to spending. Local governments like Philadelphia's rely on state funds for everything from human services, public health, economic development, and dozens of other areas. The city projects the state to provide $610 million in revenue in 2010 and $595 million in 2011. According to the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA), the city's revenues from other governments will account for 20.4 percent of the city's general fund this fiscal year. The key areas where cuts will be most likely be felt: Social services: The biggest recipient of state aid is the Department of Human Services, which is charged with protecting Philadelphia children from abuse and neglect. A lion's share of the agency's $564.4 million budget comes from the state. Public health is another area where state funding is critical, and cuts could come to programs like behavioral health and prevention programs. One consequence: swelling prison populations. Education: The state received $240 million in Title 1 education stimulus dollars; a third of that came to Philadelphia. With that stimulus money at an end, schools across the state must deal with the reductions in local share spending that the state made when the stimulus money arrived. The state's schools face budget tsunamis just to adjust from post-stimulus reality, even before new cuts are considered. The danger: increased spending made a positive difference in Philadelphia's test scores. If higher spending does mean better schools, it's not hard to figure out what lower spending means. Transportation: SEPTA got about 40 percent of its capital dollars from the state this fiscal year ($124.1 million out of a total $303.7 million); a good chunk of that money came from bonds issued when the state was still planning to toll Interstate 80. With that plan dead, no more bonds will be issued, and SEPTA's capital funding falls off a cliff. Among all these concrete concerns, there's one that's purely political. We're losing a homeboy as governor, but concerns about a new world order go beyond this city. While Ed Rendell did watch our back, more importantly, he had an understanding of how critical the state's big cities are in driving the economy. Southeastern Pennsylvania, for example, accounts for 40 percent of the state's economy. We don't know if Corbett has the same grasp. For example, agriculture was among the key issues identified on his campaign website. The state's cities were not. Pushing the city's importance will be among the big challenges for the city's leaders. The myth of Philadelphia as a place of big problems, with its hand always outstretched for money, is no longer the reality, but in some quarters, it's still a firmly entrenched myth. Overcoming that may be as big a challenge as overcoming budget cuts. About this blog It's Our Money contributors Tips? Comments? Questions? Holly Otterbein: It's Our Money Also on Stay Connected

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< > Hello, guest! Please log in or register. Go Back     The PokéCommunity Forums > Creative Discussions > Fan Fiction and Writing [Pokémon] The golden ages - Pokemon story Fan Fiction and Writing Submit your stories and poems. Reply Post Reply Thread Tools Old January 29th, 2013, 12:49 PM DemonicWolf's Avatar DemonicWolf DemonicWolf is offline Evil Cute Thing Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: North East England Gender: Male Nature: Timid Posts: 1,196 The Golden Ages Chapter 1.1 In the year 1102, in the Unova region, a time when the only thing connecting human and pokemon were the bond they shared. This bond was fair, and if the pokemon wanted, it could walk away without a word. These were what people nowadays call the Golden Days, a time when people had pokemon not for tools or slavery, but for friends. This was just one of the many stories told among the Unova region, and I, Nath, am going to find the truth about the downfall of the Golden Paradise! This is my adventure and I am determined to find the answers. <together forever is playing on the stereo> My name is Nathan, I am 13 years old, my partner is kirlia, he's a boy. I'm male too. Date is 13th July 2047, and the Pokemon league has been disbanded. Trainers don't follow a league map anymore. Life is normal. Nath's pencil snapped. He stood up and groaned as he reached for his sharpener. His Kirlia, as he had nicknamed Siria, was sound asleep on Naths bed. Naths blue hair flew backwards as a strong breeze blew through the window. Shutting the window, he noticed there was no wind outside, but he didn't care less. Nath had brown eyes, and his air was a dark shade of blue. It was relatively short, it went down to the tops of his eyebrows, but it was usually spiked up or swept to the side. His body style was slim and and only slightly bulky, and was about 4ft tall. He slumped on his bed and sighed loud enough to wake his Kirlia, wich instantly got off it's feet to cheer up Nath. He was just about to say 'I wish something good would appen in my life' until another gust of wind opened his window, bashing it against the walls of his room. This one was stronger. "Nathan come quickly," Emma screamed. Emma was Nathan's sister and was only 9 but Nathan cared about her very much. She was only 1 1/2 metres tall, making her the smallest in her year group, and was smaller than Nath, even when he was sitting down and she was standing. "NAAAATH YOU HAVE TO COME N-O-W!" Nathan scurried down the stairs to his front door where his sister was waiting for him with Nath's mother - Yvonne. What was going on? Chapter 1.2 Outside the door, on the streets of Rarkow city, in the region of Raviko? A pokemon trainer? He was challenging people to battles, and was getting angry. The man was dressed in a long red robe that covered his whole body apart from his right shoulder and arm, which were bare in clothing. He was bald and looked sort of like a monk from a book Nath read once. His red eyes burned like flames as everyone refused his offer. The staraptor he was with was also rearing for battle, however, there were no pokeballs to be seen with the man at all. This was Nath's chance to prove to everyone pokemon trainers should still exist! He jumped in front of his sister and dodged the curious crowd. No one had any idea of what he truly intended to do so they let him on his way. He reached a small clearing in which the man and his Staraptor waited, and stepped up before him. "A challenger? I presume?" "Nath?" His mother cried with fear. "Yeah! I want to challenge you to a 1 on 1 battle!" "Baha! I laugh at your humour, but where is your pokemon?" The crowd were curious too. Neither of them had pokeballs with them, and only 1 person actually had a pokemon with them. "Siria I choose you!" In an instant, the Kirlia from which was watching from Nath's window teleported down, and landed right in front of Nathan. "Ah so thats who your partner is? Let me test your link! Staraptor go!" A one on one battle between Siria and Staraptor was about to take place. The crowd all backed away and watched with curiosity, leaving enough room for no-one to get hurt. The Staraptor attacked first, and flew into the air, preparing it's drill peck. Before it got to attack Nath ordered for a double team attack. "Star!" This didn't stop the staraptor swooping in and attacking. It flew down with great speed and power and landed a direct hit on the correct Siria. "Quick, battle strategy 1" Nath ordered. Kirlia quickly got to its feet and prepared a magical leaf attack. It then focused it's psyshock attack on the magical leaf attack to create an electrical leaf field, surrounding Siria in all directions. The enemie's Staraptor flew back up into the air and prepared another drill peck attack. Surely not, doesn't he realise what I have done? The Staraptor flew down, without a hint of doubt about the tactic Nath used. It smashed right into the wall of leaves and flew back, paralysed on every wing. "What? How can this be?" The man looked worried and sick to the stomach, as if this was something he had never seen before, like adverts on a telly, only more horrifying. He raised his hand, and said the words. "I submit defeat" Everyone in the street gasped. This was definately not nromal. What happened to fight till the bitter end, or even status healing items. This man was definately strange. Nether the less, Nath slowly walked up to shake the man's hand, and reached out to grab it. The man looked into his eyes, and he saw things he had not seen before... The funny man shook Nath's hand politely, but ever so slowly and confused. "Your hospitality is astounding, even after winning..." he said "What do you mean? This is how all trainers should be!" Nath grinned uncontrolably, and stepped back, with the whole croud cheering and chanting his name. The man walked off, out of town, away from anyone, never to be seen again. Chapter 2.1 Henry, a young boy who also lived in the town of Rarkow, was just on his way to the market, untill he saw the giant roar of the crowd. He was curious, and wanted to know what was going on. He tried looking over people shoulders but couldn't see a thing. He tried asking politely, but no-one heard. He was too shy to barge past people, so he decided to head on his way to the market and have a look later. The road to the market was not that far, and it didn't involve crossing a sea of people, so it was quick enough to get there, and even quicker to meet his friend, Pichu. Henry had allways know Pichu, and allways went to see him everyday. It didn't live with Henry, as it was too young to leave it's mommy Pikachu, "but someday soon we can see the world together!" Henry allways told it. The family was hidden beind the big oak trees in the clearing, far away from predators, and easy to get too if you know the way. It was a small wooden shack, Henry and his older brother had made for them when the mommy Pikachu was still laying her eggs, but had underground holes to protect them from rain as the house was not very well built. Henry usually stopped by there to leave food and berries for the family on the way to school or market and today was no different. When he got there all 5 children, and the mom and dad, came out to greet Henry, and climb over him. He offered them berries, and sandwiches which they happily took with gratitude before giving him something in return for is kindness. It wasn't very often that Henry was offered something from the Pikachu's so he took it carefully and kindly and said, "I'll treasure this forever, don't you worry" The item handed to Henry was non other than a thunder stone, a treasure kept among Pikachu kind and evolutions, and usually used to evolve a pikachu. It was rarely ever given to humans unless the bond between them was very strong. Henry was overjoyed that the family trusted him, but got careless with time. He stopped to look at the time on his poke-gear. "AIGH! I'm late back, I was only supposed to be getting milk!" He gave his farewells and off he went to finish is errands for the day. Chapter 2.2 "Henry were on earth have you been?" "Sorry mom, um there was a que." Henry's voice did not sound the slightest bit convincing. His mother looked at him like she ad just stared at the sun all day and was about to just burst out angry. In Henry's mind to make things seem better, he prefered to picture her laughing to deat rather than shouting to death. Henry put the groceries on the front table and turned his back to the room. "Did you see te pokemon battle today?" "Huh? What pokemon battle? Was that why the croud was there?" "Yes quite. That stupid friend of yours, Nath, challenged a horrifyingly confident man and beat him fair and square. Honestly I have no idea what goes on in that boy's head sometimes. His mother should have a few good words spoken to her. Henry knew she wasn't lying, his mum never lied, but was more shocked than anything. He thought pokemon trainers had disbanded long ago to reduce damage and so on. Perhaps his ideas were wrong. Either way Henry still wanted to go congratulate Nath on his victory. "I'm just going out for a bit, I'll be back later." Hnery yelled as he rushed out his home to go find Nath. Henry was just about to run down Nath's street until he saw Nath in the park, talking to a group of people. He wandered up to Nath slowly from behind, and sat down next to him, and the group wandered off. "Oh hey Henry" "Hey Nath, congrats on your victory." "It wasn't a real battle. He fled. I still want a real battle, so does Siria, right!" Siria chirped. "So what's your plans?" "My plan's? Oh you haven't even heard them yet!" "Yeah I know thats why I'm asking" As Henry said that he facepalmed head first into both his hands. "Ah oops, carried away, yeah. I plan to go on an adventure!" "Huh where? The Grand Park? The dark forest?" Henry chuckled to himself knowing he was winding Nath up. "NO! I'm going to Unova!!!" Nath's shout was not heard too far, but heard far enough for a small group of people to stare at him for a while before carrying on with there current activity. "But that's MILES away from Raviko! Why do you want to go there anyways?" "Because, they have pokemon trainers, and a museum so I can find out more about the golden ages!" "Yeah good luck with getting your mom to fund your little trip." "Oh I allready got that planned... but I'll need your help!" "What, I aint doing nothing if I don't acieve anything!" "Oh I thought you were coming too! What about that pichu, why doesn't it come along!" "I don't know Nath, I mean, it's kinda' going against all I've been taught, you know, not to lie and stuff-" "No we arn't lying, we are pursuading!" "Hmm well, I guess so.... Ok I'll do it!" "First thing tommorow?" "First thing tommorow!" Last edited by DemonicWolf; February 5th, 2013 at 07:46 AM. Reply With Quote Old January 29th, 2013, 12:55 PM DemonicWolf's Avatar DemonicWolf DemonicWolf is offline Evil Cute Thing Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: North East England Gender: Male Nature: Timid Posts: 1,196 If you think my story is good, or even if you have any cool plot ideas, or ways to improve my story, please could you tell me as I have it the writers wall here :o ... Thanks a lot for reading! Reply With Quote Old January 29th, 2013, 01:36 PM Gyardosamped's Avatar Gyardosamped Gyardosamped is offline midnight memories ♥ Join Date: May 2005 Location: Florida Age: 20 Gender: Male Nature: Lax Posts: 1,446 Hey, Crimson! Cool story! I enjoyed the plot and how it takes place in the future. Apart from simple grammatical and spelling errors, it really was a great story which flowed smoothly. Maybe you could add more detail to spice it up a bit and make it more interesting? Maybe around the battle scene? If not, that's fine. It's still good! Also, how are you planning on continuing the story? Great job! Reply With Quote Old January 30th, 2013, 08:30 AM DemonicWolf's Avatar DemonicWolf DemonicWolf is offline Evil Cute Thing Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: North East England Gender: Male Nature: Timid Posts: 1,196 I plan to add a new character called Henry who joins the story for the whole ting. I have rough ideas in my head but they arent really much as of yet. First thing is the duo are heading to unova, where they realise there are still a few trainers here. Thats all I have so far, but ideas would be great! I plan to put the next chapter in on Monday! This one is going to be longer so it needs time! Reply With Quote Reply Post Reply Quick Reply Sponsored Links Thread Tools Posting Rules You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts BB code is On Smilies are On [IMG] code is On HTML code is Off Minimum Characters Per Post: 25 Contact Us Archive Privacy Statement Terms of Service Top

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Main Menu The Blood Gospel (Mass Market Paperback) In his first-ever collaboration, "New York Times"-bestselling author Rollins combines his skill for cutting-edge science and historical mystery with award-winning novelist Cantrell's talent for haunting suspense and sensual atmosphere in a gothic tale about an ancient order and the hunt for a miraculous book. Available in a tall Premium Edition. Product Details ISBN-10: 0061991058 ISBN-13: 9780061991059 Published: Harper, 08/01/2013 Pages: 717 Language: English

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Fireball lights up sky over Bay Area, Northern California Marnie Mattice, of Reno, said she was jogging with a friend when she saw the meteor light up the sky "kind of like lightning," then appear like "a very bright signal flare" in the distance. "It wasn't symmetrical like a star, but more of an irregular circle. As it burned out, it left a trail and what appeared to be smaller glowing particles. It lasted long enough that we could stand and watch it burn out completely," she said. The fireball might have been about the size of a small car when it entered Earth's atmosphere, Lunsford said, adding that it most likely disintegrated from five to 50 miles above Earth. He said its speed wasn't immediately known, but even the slowest meteors travel 10 miles per second, which is much faster than a speeding bullet. While meteors streak through the sky around the globe every day, they're rare to see because they also occur during daylight hours, on cloudy nights or over remote, uninhabited areas. Thursday's event wasn't as spectacular as an April 22 fireball that streaked across the same general line of California and Nevada, said Dan Ruby of the Fleischmann Planetarium in Reno. Experts said the earlier fireball was probably about the size of a minivan when it entered the Earth's atmosphere with a loud boom and about one-third of the explosive force of the atomic bomb. It was seen from San Francisco and Sacramento, Calif., to Las Vegas and parts of northern Nevada. "This latest fireball was a run-of-the-mill fireball. It wasn't as big or loud," Ruby said. Only a handful of people reported hearing a "rumbling" noise with it, Lunsford said. Astronomers say the meteor heralds the upcoming start of "fireball season," as February, March and April are the best months to see one anywhere in the sky just after sundown. Switch to our Mobile View

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130118/wire/130119471

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Unexpect - Fables of the Sleepless Empire CD (album) cover Experimental/Post Metal 3.98 | 279 ratings From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website 5 stars They've done it again. Unexpect managed to take their absolute insanity and forge another masterpiece just as good, if not even better than In a Flesh Aquarium. Okay so it's more accessible and not as insane, but here they've proven that they can make a majestic melodic heaven to contrast their intense chaotic hell. I just got this today on it's release date and I cannot stop listening. As I said, they have a more accessible controlled style here which should appeal to people who thought the previous album was too insane as well as prove a great starting point for people who don't want to plunge into the utter chaos right away. All of their influences (death metal, circus, cabaret, etc) are still here and it's definitely still got that claustrophobic (yet completely controlled) feeling idiosyncratic to Unexpect, but here it's a little easier on the ears. Another notable characteristic here is Leilindel plays a much larger role in the sound of the album. She uses her beautiful voice just as good, perhaps better than on In a Flesh Aquarium and uses it more often. syriaK and Artagoth still provide their brutal harsh vocals to contrast Leilindel's angelic vocals to create a wonderfully satisfying listen. Like metal? Buy this now. An undoubtable masterpiece of prog and metal that seems to get even better with more listens. DisgruntledPorcupine | 5/5 | Share this UNEXPECT review Review related links Server processing time: 0.02 seconds

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Hormones Got You Down? PMS-related moodiness. Post-partum depression. Menopausal melancholy. At each stage of life, women are vulnerable to low spirits. But research shows it's not just the psychological stress of aging, childbirth, or cramps that brings on the blues. It's the physiological factor that ties them together—hormones. Normal hormonal changes that take place before menstruation and menopause and after childbirth trigger alterations in brain chemistry, fostering depression, says Margaret Spinelli, M.D., director of the Maternal Mental Health Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. While people have long linked depression and hormones, now there is hard evidence to support the link. Hormones released by the ovaries—estrogen and progesterone—actually seem to influence the neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, that are known to affect mood. Normally, estrogen blocks enzymes that break serotonin down, allowing more of the spirit-lifting substance to stay operative in the brain and act like an antidepressant. But before menstruation, after giving birth, and during menopause, when estrogen levels dip, serotonin levels plunge, too. Studies show that women who suffer from PMS have decreased serotonin levels during that time, and that post-partum depression is likely associated with the fall of estrogen levels and its effect on the brain. Some women—that is, their brains—are especially vulnerable to hormone changes, says Spinelli. That also means we can treat them using brain chemistry. Of women who take a serotonin-boosting antidepressant for PMS, 60 to 70 percent experience relief from their symptoms. Whether you have PMS, post-partum depression, or menopause, Spinelli says: "You need treatment just as a person with diabetes needs it." Current Issue Dreams of Glory Daydreaming: How the best ideas emerge from the ether.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199909/hormones-got-you-down

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Labor Day packs a pay raise By Alice Ann Love Associated Press Published: On Monday, the federal minimum wage increases to $5.15 an hour as part of the second phase of an increase approved by Congress last summer. The first phase last fall lifted the nation's standard wage for hourly workers to $4.75 from $4.25, where it had sat unchanged more than five years. "It helps," said Maria Christina Lopez, a 38-year-old mother of five who has worked six months at a Dairy Queen in Earth, Texas, "because bills and everything are going up." And the change will affect more people than just the estimated 6.4 million workers who now make below $5.15 an hour. "We have to raise (all wages) to keep them in line," said Ed Guerra, Lopez's boss, who runs Dairy Queen restaurants throughout West Texas. "We can't pay a crew leader the same as a (regular) employee." Overall, about 10 million minimum wage workers will have benefited from either last fall's increase or Monday's increase, the Labor Department says. Some people last fall got raises that were big enough to push them above the new $5.15 minimum, the agency says. Supporters call the raises well-deserved. "Corporate profits and earnings for the average worker are rising. This minimum wage increase will help ensure that the lowest-paid Americans also share in this prosperity," said Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman. The increase comes at a time when the booming economy has pulled unemployment down to 4.8 percent _ its lowest level since the 1960s. "Despite the claims of the opposition, raising the minimum wage had no job loss effect," said Jared Bernstein, an economist with the liberal Economic Policy Institute. But critics who warned there would be consequences _ such as reductions in the number of jobs or people's working hours _ say the unusually strong economy has simply delayed problems. "I think there are red flags on the horizon," said Jeffrey H. Joseph of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The increase could, for example, make private companies less likely to hire welfare recipients who lose benefits, Joseph said. "I think you'll start seeing the movement from welfare to work will slow down," said Joseph. "You're now digging deeper into the welfare ranks to people who have fewer skills, yet what we're doing now is increasing the price people have to pay for them." More than 90 percent of the Americans receiving the minimum wage work in private-sector jobs such as retail stores and restaurants, sales or private household jobs like housekeepers. Of those getting the raise, roughly 57 percent are women, 32 percent are youths ages 16 to 19, and 55 percent work part time, according to the Labor Department. Monday's increase is the 25th since the minimum was first instituted in 1938 at 25 cents an hour. At the new rate, yearly earnings for full-time work at minimum wage will be about $10,300. In contrast, the government said the 1995 poverty level _ the latest year available _ was about $15,600 for a family of four. To alleviate fears that small companies could be hurt, Republican lawmakers won tax breaks for small firms before agreeing to the wage hike last year. Yet even young workers _ among the most vulnerable to labor market pressures _ appear to have been unscathed. Their unemployment rate also is down. "There's a lot of young people who are starting off at minimum wage," said Juan Harrington, a part-time worker at a Washington area Safeway, who makes just above the minimum wage. "This will put a little more money in their pockets, too." And labor advocates already are clamoring for an even higher minimum. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has introduced a bill that would boost it to $7.25 an hour by 2002. But, warns John Doyle, spokesman for the Employment Policies Institute, a higher minimum can attract students who might not otherwise work, displacing less-educated adults. "The higher wage attracts higher-skilled employees," said Doyle. "As an employer, I can be told how much to pay, but I can't be told who I have to pay it to." Want to leave your comments? Sign in or Register to comment.

http://www.recordpub.com/news%20local/1997/08/31/labor-day-packs-a-pay-raise

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Search: The Web   Discuss this Article   |      Email this Article   |      Print this Article Post-CAT GD and interviews: The last hurdle Rahul Reddy Get news updates:What's this? January 09, 2008 It's that time of the year again. CAT results are out and IIMs will soon send out their call letters. Students who have slogged their brains out for the last year or so can stop biting their nails and maybe get a manicure. Soon, many other B-schools will announce their results. While some celebration is certainly called for, it is not yet the time to pop the champagne corks. There are still battles to be fought, victories to be won. Of course, when the final admission offer is made from IIM-A and you regretfully inform other IIMs and sundry B-schools that you will not be joining them, you can tell the fat lady to sing her guts out. First let me tell you the odds are much better at the GD and Interview stage than they were at the CAT stage. IIM-A is giving out roughly 3x calls for every x. And if you have more calls the chances are even better. However, GD and Interview is not a walk in the park, however confident you may be of your gift of the gab. There is more to it than just English speaking. By now the B-schools have tested you on your aptitude skills (sic) and have selected you for further consideration. Let's look at what their interest would be in selecting you. ~ Ability to do justice to the course (read 'will s/he pass the course?'). ~ Employability after the MBA program. ~ Career prospects (will s/he rise to her/his level of incompetence and become the second assistant vice president at Novella Nail Varnishes Amalgamated?).   Group Discussions Group Discussions involve putting 8-12 students together in a group and giving them a topic and getting them to yell at each other for about 10-15 minutes. Alternately, these students may be given a situation, a one-page story (called a case study) and asked to discuss the same. But let's look at what the B schools expect to test in such a scenario. The following are the parameters of selection: Content: General awareness, the ability to convert knowledge into logical arguments. It is relatively easy to memorise facts; students have been doing it over years of schooling and college. Memory is compulsory, comprehension is optional. But, to participate meaningfully in a Group Discussion you need to have a clear understanding of what the facts mean. So spend your time reading up newspapers, magazines and browsing the net catching up on important topics. You could try to acquire a list of past topics from any of the CAT training centres. Communication: The next step is to communicate the arguments built with clarity. It is the ability to make yourself understood. Students worried about fluency in English and/or accents need not worry. You are aiming at a 'She makes sense' kinda response, not a 'He speaks so well, but what exactly does he mean.' Use simple language and short sweet sentences. Do understand that GDs tend to be extremely chaotic with 6 word average sentences. So come to the point directly before you get interrupted. However, certain tactics are important. For one, getting a chance to speak is critical. Don't wait for complete silence for you to start speaking. You have to interrupt somebody and grab your chances, but how and when you do it is very important Time your interruption towards the end of someone's point. Speak loud and clear (but don't speak fast). Make sure you start with some power behind your voice. Make eye contact with different students; don't speak only to one person. Group Dynamics: Remember that a GD is a formal occasion and make sure your behaviour is appropriate. The B-schools are testing your attitude, maturity etc. The way you handle pressure in a chaotic situations, handling disagreements, listening skills are all tested. Take a balanced view of the topic and be willing to look at different points of view. Wild allegations (all politicians are corrupt), impractical suggestions (a war on Pakistan will settle all issues), personal attacks (if your brother was killed by terrorists you would know) etc clearly highlight your lack of maturity. Leadership: Leadership in GDs is about intellectual leadership. Can you guide the GD towards a meaningful discussion of the topic? It's about introducing new ways of looking at the topic, and leading a group towards a consensus. Remember, GDs, rarely, if ever, reach a consensus. However, the process of going towards a consensus is all important. Remember Leadership is a not a choice that you make. You become a leader, if the group voluntarily chooses to follow you. Interviews bring about a fear of being brutalised by an essentially hostile panel looking to rip you apart, proverbial lambs to slaughter. Nothing could be further from the truth. Except for a relatively rare case of 'stress interview' where the student is deliberately put under stress, most interviews are friendly affairs where the panel seeks to put the student at ease. This is done to ensure that they are able to elicit natural responses and best evaluate the student. The questioning and evaluation is done on these parameters: Let me end this article with a few tips on how to prepare: ~ An Interview is about 'YOU'. So don't look at ready made answers to questions. Please remember that the panel wishes to know you better, so start with knowing yourself better. ~ Understand the fact that preparation is required and that it will take time. So don't leave it for the last minute. Most importantly question yourself. Understand that any answer looks good unless it is tested. Most trouble is caused by supplementary questions. For example let's look at a possible scenario. Q. Mr. Rohit, as a software engineer with some experience, why would you like to study management? A. Sir, while I have a strong background as a technical person, I feel that my career prospects would be better if can add management skills and be a techno MBA. (applause; good answer). Q. Define 'Techno MBA'? (Bong!). A. Sir, a person having technical skills as well as management skills. Q. But, Rohit, would you need all these skills? If it is simply a case of more the merrier, why not add, medical, firefighting and culinary skills as well. And so on� -- The author is Director, T.I.M.E., Kolkata.  Email this Article      Print this Article © 2008 India Limited. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Feedback

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/jan/09postcat.htm

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Last updated on March 13, 2014 at 11:30 EDT Sneaky Sex Causes Fish Pest July 13, 2005 Men! Fed up with women faking headaches? Grant yourself lucky that you are not a mosquito fish, as females wouldn’t think twice about attacking you when you make a pass at them. As they are not keen on intercourse, females select for strong male genes by attacking those that show them some interest. Therefore, the lucky (it’s often the little) one sneaks up from behind, quickly retracting after copulation to prevent a nasty blast. All sexual activity among mosquito fish relies on male coercion, which depends on environmental temperatures. Dr. Robbie Wilson from the University of Queensland, Australia, will present his work at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meeting in Barcelona, on Thursday 14th July [session A9] where he will reveal that female “willingness” is influenced by the temperature of their environment, i.e. at higher temperatures, they are more likely to linger around males before swimming off. Unlike most other fish species, male mosquito fish possess a penis-like organ (gonopodium), fertilising the eggs inside the female body. Male mosquito fish can reproduce over a temperature range of 14-38ºC, but can only produce young at temperatures from 20ºC upwards. Females therefore carry sperm until a suitable temperature arises for fertilisation. Research showed that male fish are adapted to their environmental temperatures; some “perform” better in colder, others in warmer environments. Short-term adjustments to their muscle structure and function enables them to respond to different temperatures. Mosquito fish were introduced from the south-east of America into Asia, Australia, Mediterranean Europe and Northern Africa by the WHO to control mosquito populations in the 1920′s. Currently, these fish have overgrown local fish populations and are damaging the Australian native fish and frog populations, as they eat tadpoles and young fish. Research into reproductive habits will help explain how to take measures in decreasing their population. On the Internet: Society for Experimental Biology

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/175171/sneaky_sex_causes_fish_pest/

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Last updated on March 13, 2014 at 10:43 EDT Ethical dilemmas in stem-cell research January 8, 2004 Readers will be well familiar with the debate on human embryonic stem-cell research. Whether it is ethical to use such cells for research hinges on the question of how much respect human embryos deserve. In my opinion they deserve enough respect to protect them from being killed in order to harvest stem cells. The potential of stem cells to alleviate human misery is great, but their potential is probably realisable through research on adult stem cells, whose use poses no ethical problems. The unit of biological life is the cell. Most of the trillions of our body cells are differentiated tissue cells, e.g. muscle, liver, kidney, and so on, each performing functions unique to the tissue to which they belong. Stem cells, on the other hand, are undifferentiated cells that can give rise to specialised cells. There are three main sources of stem cells: a) embryonic stem cells (ES) derived from five- to seven-day-old embryos called blastocysts. b) stem cells isolated from aborted fetuses (FS). c) adult stem cells (AS) derived from adult tissue. Apparently all adult tissues contain AScells. The function of these cells is to turn into differentiated cells peculiar to the particular tissue in the event of severe damage to the tissue, thereby repairing the damage. Human development starts at conception when the father’s sperm cell unites with the mother’s egg cell to form a fertilised egg. Every cell in your adult body is descended through an unbroken line of cell divisions from that fertilised egg. The genetic information in every adult cell is a copy of the information in the fertilised egg. The term embryo applies to the developing organism from fertilisation until the end of the eight week of gestation, when it becomes known as a fetus. The embryos from which ES cells are derived are typically four or five days old when the fertilised egg has undergone several cell divisions and has developed into a sphere (the blastocyst) of about 150 cells. The act of harvesting ES from the blastocyst kills the embryo. Research on ES in the US and Europe refers to stem cells derived from “spare” embryos generated as by-products of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and held in frozen storage. Stem cells have the ability to continue to divide indefinitely and, so, stem cell lines that can be grown indefinitely in the laboratory have been prepared from ES harvested from spare IVF embryos. Stem cells have uses in different areas of medical research. Studying stem cells will allow us to understand how they change into the large variety of specialised cells that constitute the great bulk of the body. Some grave medical problems, such as cancer and birth defects, are caused by problems that arise in this development process. Secondly, if we knew how to trigger stem-cell development into a tissue of choice it should be possible to treat many diseases and problems, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, spinal cord injury, burns and strokes, by replacing the diseased/damaged cells with stem cells. Donated organs and tissues are used today to replace diseased or damaged tissues, but there is a severe shortage of organs available for transplantation. Majority scientific opinion is that the ranking of potential usefulness of stem cells in human medicine is: ES are better than FS, which are better than AS, although some scientists believe that AS have the greatest potential. But, we are talking at this stage only of potential. Much research must be done before we will know for sure how useful stem cells can be in human medicine and it is unlikely that major advances will occur in the near future. The only type of stem cell commonly used in human therapy now is the blood- forming stem cell in bone marrow. Bone marrow transplants have been used for more than 40 years to treat leukaemia, lymphoma and some inherited blood disorders. The argument is made by those in favour of using ES that “spare” embryos from IVF are destined to die anyway, so why not use them to alleviate human misery? This is a persuasive argument for those who do not believe that the embryo has the human right to its own life, but it cannot convince those who believe that the embryo has this right. My personal position is as follows. The embryo is living, human and contains full human potential. The fertilised egg contains the full genetic information necessary to allow it to develop, under appropriate natural environmental conditions, into a unique human adult. Is the embryo fully human? In my opinion, yes. The embryo is a stage in human development. Some of the other stages are – fetus, baby, child, adult, old person. It is fully at its own stage of human development and, in that sense, is fully human. Does the embryo have full human capacity? It has the full human capacity of its stage of development, just as the fetus, baby, child, adult or elderly person have the full human capacities of their stages. Does the embryo have full human rights? It has the rights appropriate to its developmental stage. The most basic human right is the right to life, without which other rights are meaningless. The embryo is entitled, at a minimum, to be given every chance to live when this entitlement does not threaten the life of the mother. The embryo is entitled not to be deliberately killed. William Reville is associate professor of biochemistry and director of microscopy at UCC

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/39897/ethical_dilemmas_in_stemcell_research/

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Specialist braille codes explained The literary braille code is the most produced type of braille - books, magazines, reports, letters and more are produced in this format. However, only 63 unique combinations can be made with the 6-dots of a braille cell. That's why specialist braille codes have been developed to represent print characters such as computer and scientific notation. These are the specialist braille codes used in the UK: Many blind and partially sighted people like to play chess. On the chess board the black squares are slightly higher than the white squares and the chess pieces fit into a hole in the middle of each square. Additionally all the black pieces have a point on the top to help distinguish between black and white pieces. A braille chess code has been developed to help record the moves in a game, so that braille users can record their own games, as well as study other people's games or enter competitions. The code includes abbreviations for each chess piece, different kinds of move and game analysis. Braille music is an international code, meaning that scores produced in one country can be shared and read by musicians in other countries. The code has undergone several revisions since Louis Braille's day, the most recent by Bettye Krollick in the 1997 New International Manual of Braille Music. The braille music code allows all standard signs used in print notation to be represented using one or more 6 dot cells. In its basic form, pitches are determined by the top two rows of dots, with octave signs to distinguish between the same note at different pitches, whilst note lengths are determined by combinations of the bottom row. The code is capable of showing all kinds of music, from a simple melody to contrapuntal organ music and even full orchestral and choral scores. The standard uncontracted and contracted braille codes include signs for numbers and basic arithmetic operators (plus, minus, multiply, divide and equals), as well as a method for writing fractions and the percentage sign. The many symbols used in further maths and beyond, up to and including university level, are listed in the official statement of the rules of the braille maths code for the UK, which is titled Braille Mathematics Notation. RNIB also has a useful publication entitled Using the braille Mathematics Code which lists all the symbols a student would need upto and including GCSE level maths. There are a number of other braille maths codes used across the globe. The most well known is the Nemeth code used in the US which is named after Dr Abraham Nemeth who developed it. A braille code has been developed to reflect the specialist content encountered in the sciences. The broad areas include: • Units • Chemical notation - names, formulae and equations also structural formulae and the table of elements • Electronic and Logic circuit diagrams • Karnaugh Maps The two reference texts relating to the science code are: The basic purpose of the braille computer code is to represent characters or expressions used in texts relating to computers, and for material input to, or output by, a computer. Crucially it is designed so that the most frequently occurring print characters have a single braille cell representation. One of the implications of this is that numbers are represented differently in computer coding compared to Standard English Braille. Additionally computer braille introduces an 8 dot braille cell where eg. the 256 ASCII characters are represented by a single 8 dot braille code. The first Welsh braille book was produced in the 1900s. However, the Welsh braille code currently in use is a relatively recent innovation and was first published officially in 1996. It uses the same general rules with regard to composition signs, punctuation signs and so on as those stated in British braille. However, the Welsh alphabet includes symbols for some common letter combinations, such as ll, dd, ff, rh. The contracted version of the Welsh braille code includes symbols for the more common Welsh words and letter groups. RNIB Cymru has funding from the Welsh Assembly Government and The Welsh Language Board to produce books in Welsh braille. It has recently produced the first English-Welsh/Welsh-English Dictionary in Welsh braille which was in 26 volumes; and also the New Testament and Psalms which on completion was 49 volumes of double sided braille. You can buy Welsh language products and publications from our online shop. Foreign languages The 6 dot braille cell is used by most written languages across the world. Even those countries with different character sets such as Japan, the Arab Nations and Nepal have developed their own braille codes. When learning the more common European languages such as French, Spanish and German, English speaking students tend to learn a form of the foreign language with only a small number of contractions. This would include characters for letters with accents and more commonly occurring letter groups. For example: • in French, an 'e' with an acute accent on it is represented by all 6 dots in the braille cell (this symbol represents the word 'for' in contracted english braille) • in German the letter group 'sch' uses the sign that means 'wh' when seen in English contracted braille. The official braille codes for French, German and Spanish are available from the BAUK website RNIB publishes a range of books giving general advice on foreign language braille notation The shorthand braille code was developed along the lines of the popular Pitmans shorthand system to facilitate speedy note taking. There are no books available in this braille code because, as with print shorthand, it was only ever designed to be read back by the person originating it. Braille grade 3 Braille grade 3 is not an officially recognised code within the UK. However, a small handful of devotees do continue to use it. It is basically another form of braille shorthand, which some people find easier to learn than the braille shorthand code. This is because it is an extension of the contracted version of braille rather than being developed from a print based system (Pitmans). It uses short-form words, additional contractions (over 500) and outlining (the omission of vowels). There are hardly any books available in braille grade 3 and there is no official standard. Rule books All of the specialist braille code rule books are available from the Braille Authority of the United Kingdom (BAUK) website. You can also buy specialist braille notation guides from our online shop There are also special rules and guidance for the use of braille by pharmaceutical companies Last updated: 20 September 2012 Make a donation

http://www.rnib.org.uk/LIVINGWITHSIGHTLOSS/READING/HOW/BRAILLE/BRAILLE/CODES/Pages/specialist_braille.aspx

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Handing Off the Tasuki How Japan's marathon traditions are changing July 1, 2010 Compared to Hakone and the New Year Ekiden, women's university and corporate ekiden teams receive moderate attention, but despite a considerably shorter history, Japan's most famous and respected runners these days are its female marathoners. The Asahi Kasei company funded one of the first women's corporate teams way back in 1951. In the mid-'70s, expat Miki Gorman scored Boston and New York wins to become the first great female Japanese-born marathoner, but it wasn't until the late '70s that domestic women began to appear in overseas marathons and not until 1983 that one, Akemi Masuda, made the top 10 worldwide. When the Tokyo International Women's Marathon (pictured below) was founded in 1979 as the world's first elite women-only marathon, Japanese women were nowhere near able to compete with the invited foreign competition. But like the early days of Hakone, Tokyo Women's, along with later elite women's races in Nagoya and Osaka, served the purpose of helping to pull them up to world standards. By the early 1990s they became a factor at the world level, with marathon medals at eight of the last 10 world championships and four straight Olympic marathon medals, two of them gold. They even earned a world championships 10,000m medal, something no Japanese man has accomplished. Olympic record-holder and first woman to go sub-2:20, Naoko Takahashi, became a major public figure, the first native-born Japanese Olympic marathon gold medalist and probably the last Japanese runner who will ever hold a marathon world record. Almost any Japanese person can immediately tell you about Takahashi and her achievements. Nevertheless, women's ekidens fail to receive the same respect. Although all the women's ekidens are broadcast, none has a following close to Hakone or the New Year Ekiden. Even now, the women's races are all shorter than men's ekidens. Where the National High School Boys Ekiden totals a marathon, the Girls Ekiden is a half marathon. Individual stages are also shorter. The longest men's leg, Hakone's 23.4K fifth stage, is more than double the longest National Corporate Women's Ekiden stage. Perhaps as a consequence, Japanese women have had marginally more flexibility than men to pursue different paths. It has been more common to see top-level Japanese women race overseas than the men in recent years, and the success of women like Takahashi and the Second Wind club team have in different ways involved existences outside the corporate league world. Defending gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi's last-minute withdrawal with injury and almost everything else about the Beijing Olympics marathons were a major blow to the national confidence level, but Yoshimi Ozaki's silver medal at last summer's world championships showed that the overall level of the elite women is still high. But like the men, the top end has become blunted; three Japanese women in history have run under 2:20, but there's been only one sub-2:23 since 2005. The new Tokyo Marathon's elite women's fields in the last two years have been as strong as those in Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya, which have not had the same kind of overseas talent as in the past or as is common in almost any other major marathon. If the goal of these races was to elevate Japanese athletes by giving them the opportunity to test themselves against the world's best, the question arises of whether the elite-only format still fulfills this function in the age of the big city marathon. As at the elite level, the amateur world is oriented toward teams. There is no shortage of clubs who not only train and run ekidens together but eat, drink, watch races on TV and go on gasshuku summer training camps (pictured below) together like the corporate and university teams. Even among the sub-2:30 men or the sub-3:00 women, there are a nearly unlimited number of people around who ran in high school but weren't good enough to make a university team, ran in university but didn't go corporate, or who retired from a corporate team but are still running. These runners are motivated by trying to get into the small, elite-only marathons and half marathons, to try to beat some corporate or university runners, and, for the best, to win one of the many marathons outside the elite circuit that offer trips to overseas races as first prize. The difference, perhaps, is that where a runner like this in the U.S. might dream of making it at the national level, there is nearly no chance of that happening in Japan. These runners may enter official selection races, but there is little possibility of them getting a spot on a national team, as they would have to beat every corporate runner in the race. Where dedicated American amateurs might target Boston's 3:10 and 3:40 qualifying times, their Japanese equivalents are going for Fukuoka's 2:45 B-standard, Beppu-Oita's 2:50, or Nagoya, Osaka and Yokohama Women's 3:15. It's common for marathons in the bracket below these races to have a 4-hour cutoff. You can find plenty of races for those farther back in the pack, but with names like the Turtle Marathon these are explicitly so. The Honolulu Marathon has long been the destination for those non-runners who wanted to experience one marathon in their lives, but the launch of the Tokyo Marathon in 2007 has had a deep impact. Roughly 272,000 applied for the 2010 Tokyo Marathon, the vast majority of them beginners. Over the four years since Tokyo launched, these beginners have helped the industry thrive, with new professionally coached clubs and brand flagship stores springing up everywhere. Fashion magazines now regularly target the largest demographic in this population of new runners, independent young women in their 20s and 30s. Longtime running havens such as Tokyo's Imperial Palace 5K loop have become almost dangerously crowded, and races of any length anywhere within a couple of hours of Tokyo fill up months in advance. Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe will hold large, mass-participation marathons within the next two years. And so Japanese distance running is now approaching a potential shift, with waning international success at the elite level, increased attention on university-level domestic competition and a shift toward true mass participation. Whether the sport becomes something purely for the masses, whether the elites pack it in and focus on the domestic ekidens, or whether the rising generation of young talent is able to maintain a competitive place on the world level, Japanese distance running faces deep changes as it hands off to the next stage. Japan's elites and hard-working amateurs target the same circuit of small, exclusive races. All of them are broadcast live nationwide. Some of the main marathons include: Race Gender Qualifying Time 2009-10 Field Size* Tokyo Marathon / Elite Division men sub-2:23 53 Fukuoka International Marathon / A Division men sub-2:27 84 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon men sub-2:30 200 Fukuoka International Marathon / B Division men sub-2:45 671 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon men sub-2:50 649 Tokyo Marathon / Elite Division women sub-2:54 33 Osaka International Ladies Marathon women sub-3:15 448 Nagoya International Women's Marathon women sub-3:15 309 Yokohama International Women's Marathon women sub-3:15 404 *excluding invited athletes

http://www.runnersworld.com/races/handing-tasuki?page=3

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Hurricane Forcing: Can Tropical Cyclones Be Stopped? New details on Bill Gates's hurricane-alteration scheme haven't convinced some scientists that it's likely to succeed NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team Tropical cyclones, or hurricanes as they are known in the regions bordering the Atlantic Ocean, are among nature's fiercest manifestations, capable of releasing as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs. Hurricane Katrina leveled New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast leaving more than 1,800 people dead; Typhoon Morakot killed more people and did more damage to Taiwan than any other storm there in recorded history; and Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar (Burma) and resulted in at least 146,000 fatalities. Could the formation of these storm systems be tempered or even arrested by technical means? This past June, a plan to reduce the severity and frequency of hurricanes leaked to the public in the form of a patent application under Bill Gates's name (along with many others), resuscitating speculation about a scheme that has been proposed off and on since the 1960s. The core of the idea remains the same: mixing the warm surface waters that fuel tropical cyclones with cooler waters below to drain storms of their energy. But now Stephen Salter an emeritus professor of engineering design at the University of Edinburgh proposes a new—and possibly more realistic—method of mixing. Salter has outlined in an engineering paper the design for a floating structure 100 meters in diameter—basically a circular raft of lashed-together used tires (to reduce cost). It would support a thin plastic tube 100 meters in diameter and 200 meters in length. When deployed in the open ocean, the tube would hang vertically, descending through the warm, well-mixed upper reaches of the ocean and terminating in a deeper part of the water column known as the thermocline, where water temperatures drop precipitously. The point of this design is to transfer warm surface water into the deeper, cooler reaches of the ocean, mixing the two together and, hopefully, cooling the sea surface. Salter's design is relatively simple, using a minimum of material in order to make the construction of each of his devices cheap (millions of used tires are thrown away each year, worldwide); his scheme would also require the deployment of hundreds of these devices. Using horizontal wave action at the ocean surface, passive no-return valves would capture energy by closing after a wave has passed through them, allowing the circular interior of each device to raise the level of the seawater within the device by, on average, 20 centimeters. The weight of the gathered warm water would thereby create downward pressure, pushing it down the tube. The idea is that hundreds of these floating wave-powered seawater pumps would be deployed year-round in areas, such as the eastern tropical Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, where hurricanes typically spawn or grow in intensity. (The devices would not, as widely speculated, be deployed only in the path of a hurricane that already formed.) Salter says he was inspired to invent his device after seeing the damage wrought by Katrina. "I was called to a meeting at [intellectual property firm] Intellectual Ventures where they wanted to talk abut hurricanes, and they were very enthusiastic about it," he says. The pumps have been named the Salter Sink by the firm, which patented them. Bill Gates was in the session at which Salter proposed the pumps, according to Intellectual Ventures CEO Nathan Myhrvold, and it is the company's policy to list as authors everyone present at a brainstorming session on the patents that are filed as a result of it. Biological productivity could be side benefit By mixing warm sea-surface water with the colder water beneath year-round, Salter thinks these pumps could keep the surface temperature below the 26.5 degrees Celsius threshold, beyond which the frequency and severity of hurricanes increase markedly. Salter and some of his co-authors on the original patent think the pump might even increase the biological productivity of the seas in which it's deployed, because it would mix nutrient-rich, deep water with warm, relatively nutrient-poor surface water. Nutrients from deeper parts of the ocean would be brought to within 100 meters of the surface, the deepest that sunlight can penetrate and power the photosynthetic plankton that are the base of the ocean food chain. This would be a boon to fish populations in the ecologically unproductive "biological deserts" of tropical seas where hurricanes spawn and the devices would be deployed. In these areas, little mixing occurs and populations of plankton—and therefore fish—are limited by available nutrients. Ricardo Letelier, a microbial oceanographer at Oregon State University, however, points out that the effects of increasing available nutrients in the ocean can be unpredictable. "If you were to keep the pumps running continuously…you may allow phytoplankton to bloom," he says. "If you do it for too long, you get a successional pattern where grazers take over and recycle nutrients. And that's one of the problems we've had with iron fertilization experiments—the response of biological systems are not linear." And Letelier warns that deep ocean waters contain a great deal more dissolved CO2 than surface waters do, because expiring plankton sink in the water column, almost like the rotting leaves on a forest floor. In addition, the solubility of CO2 in water increases with depth and decreasing temperature. As a result, mixing the two layers of the ocean would inevitably lead to significant transfer of CO2 from the biggest carbon sink on Earth—the ocean—to the atmosphere. The process is similar to what happens when you open a carbonated beverage—the drop in pressure causes dissolved CO2 to come out of solution and enter the air. Is the thermal effect sufficient to abort fledgling storms? Even if the pump were to succeed, bringing surface water to the depths of the ocean would have little effect on sea-surface temperatures, says Bill Smyth, a physical oceanographer and member of the Ocean Mixing Group at Oregon State University's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences. That's because the first 20 to 100 meters of the ocean above the thermocline are already so well mixed. "If you take 20 gigawatts of heat away from surface, you think that has to cool it, but that is not necessarily true," Smyth says. "What it's actually going to do is raise the base of the mixed layer. If the base is at 50 meters, and you pump away the upper meter of the ocean, the mixed layer will then extend down to 49 meters. It's not that the 20 gigawatts disappear into thin air. It's just that it's not doing anything useful in terms of changing sea-surface temperature." Salter counters that many of the areas where his pumps would be deployed, such as the Caribbean, have thermoclines that start at depths as shallow as 10 to 15 meters below the surface, thereby requiring significantly less pumping in order to strip the warm water from the top layer. "It would just mean you'd need to pump for longer, but then [the] effect would last a lot longer," Salter says. Are ocean thermal systems just too big for this technique? Letelier thinks that, based on Salter's current plan, the scale of any deployment that would have sufficient effect on ocean temperatures to alter hurricanes would be impractically large. And he may know whereof he speaks, because he collaborated on a different ocean-pumping scheme involving long, meter-wide plastic tubes designed to suck water from the depths. That project failed after only 48 hours in 2006 in Hawaii but nonetheless is still being pursued by a company called Atmocean. "I wouldn't be surprised if in the work of Salter you'd need at least one of these pumps per square kilometer just to make a dent," Letelier says. "That is a huge endeavor. You cannot do it, basically." But Salter estimates that the mean annual transfer rate of a Salter Sink from the ocean surface to the depths would be 150 cubic meters of seawater per second, or 9.5 gigawatts of power—the equivalent of 10 large nuclear or coal-fired power plants (although this thermal energy has proved difficult to harvest). So, at this rate he calculates that for hurricane alteration his plan would require hundreds of sinks, and not the millions that have been proposed in other oceanic pumping schemes, including one in which Letelier was involved. Then, there are the shearing currents Another concern is shearing currents. Jonathan Nash, an oceanographer at Oregon State who is also part of the Ocean Mixing Group, points out that at the interface of the ocean's warm surface water and the cooler water beneath a wide array of competing and reinforcing undersea streams cause powerful shearing currents in which different layers of the ocean move opposite one another at speeds ranging from 20 to 50 centimeters per second. "Those currents will take this tube and push it sideways. It will get flattened where the shear layer exists," Nash says. Salter avers that it would be possible to create a downward tube constructed of stiffer materials, but even an extremely strong structure might not be enough, Letelier says. "In the open ocean the amount of shear that goes on in the upper 50 meters of the water column—the mixed layer—they are incredible forces," Letelier says. "A 100-meter diameter and 100-meter-deep system in the ocean is a big wall against those currents." The next step: Money Despite their concerns about the plan, both Smyth and Letelier think it is worth doing more work to address the issues in the existing proposal. Unfortunately, funds to actually build one of Salter's devices have yet to materialize. "We are doing early prototypes to test the idea but our business model is invention," says Intellectual Ventures spokesperson Shelby Barnes. "We are simply not funded to do the next level of in-depth research needed, but our inventors would be interested in collaborating if there were additional resources." To wit, Intellectual Ventures does not actually build any of the ideas it patents, despite the substantial fortunes of Myhrvold and others who are involved, which means a willing licensee would have to take on the project. One use of future versions of the Salter Sink could be experiments that examine the responsiveness of the microbial communities of the ocean to mixing. If the Salter Sink were to be evolved into a practical geoengineering scheme, preliminary experiments of this kind would be absolutely necessary, Letelier says. "There are some pretty big holes in the thinking that need to be patched up," Smyth says. "In science we try not to say anything's impossible or step on anybody's bright idea, but stripping away the entire wind–mix layer of the ocean—that is a huge task." Rights & Permissions Share this Article: Scientific American MIND iPad Give a Gift & Get a Gift - Free! Give a 1 year subscription as low as $14.99 Subscribe Now >> Email this Article

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by Brian Leahy, Mar 04, 2010 12:58pm PST See All Comments | 24 Threads | 113 Comments • One of the more interesting things in the industry for all of us that have been watching it grow and evolve over the years is that it seems to really be a simple science. It's easy to say "everyone that makes games like Blizzard" will be successful, but realistically speaking it's impossible to get to that level without investors that own your soul. The sad part with the whole situation is a lot of the people in power don't care about anything but the almighty dollar. That's what they're paid to do. They aren't paid to be empathetic about anything. EA learned this the hard way and now they are failing incredibly and even though now (from everything they're trying to do with what they've seen to make things better) it's hard to change your image once you've been branded with the scarlet letter. I think of all the incorporated's EA has really made an effort (with the purchase of Bioware/Pandemic) to make unique original games. They've done their part in getting them out the door but they've still failed. This is the grave that they dug themselves as well. As much as I'd love to say it brings joy to me to watch them fail it doesn't. As a gamer I want the conflict of choosing between a lot of quality products, but sadly that is not always the reality. Activision even did this with the Guitar Hero franchise. They laughed at Harmonix and figured they wouldn't be able to do shit. Rock Band destroyed Guitar Hero. Activision openly admitted to having way too many GH sku's on the market, and were scaling back. It's always reactive business decisions they make and not proactive. It just seems like sure they make the effort to fix the mistakes they make, but only when their dollars are affected. The company vision is tainted. Yes...investors are in it to make money. Yes that's how the industry will succeed. For indie developers as much as we as a community want to support them they have just as many turds as the big companies, so sure it's all well and good to support them in theory, but my dollars are what really say "keep up the good work". Sadly a lot of franchises we love are going to be victimized by this and there is nothing we can do about it. People get all pissed off at Valve with claims of them making shovelware (L4D/L4D2 fiasco) and at the time that was happening I couldn't believe how disrespectful the community was to one of our honest and wonderful developers/publishers. Valve is a company that gives us a TON of free content with our games. This isn't a case of game released Monday, DLC Tuesday. They made a legitimate expansion on top of providing the additional scenarios for the low cost of a whole lot of nothing. It's not that I'm a fanboy of any particular company. I'm a fanboy of good games, regardless of paltform, and respectable business models. It pains me as a longtime Bioware developer to look at some of the DLC they offer up and plan before the game is even released and in my head I have to think if it's a money grab or real legitimate content they're providing. Speak with your dollars. MW2 made a fantastic amount of money. If you're really upset at what Activision is doing then don't buy their products. If you think this will never happen either just look at EA. People get sick and tired of being treated like shit. Also back those developers who are getting fucked over. Although I won't claim to be an expert on this issue between IW/Activision it's clear that everyone is getting greedy. When money is in your eyes your passion is gone. As the industry grows we can always use our smarts to ensure how it grows. The big American car manufacturers learned this the hard way as well (although their situation isn't 1:1 with gaming). The Japanese manufacturers moved in and started producing quality. Given a bit of time and they're now at the top. Toyota/Honda...we need to look to our own industry and find these gems of developers. This is all a lot easier than it seems. The creme will rise to the top, and when we start thinking before we spend our dollars it really says how we want everything to evolve. GL to both parties. I just hope we as the gamers don't lose our industry. Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies. • I don't have much hope for huge publishers who own dev houses, like Activision, EA, Take Two, and Ubisoft. I fear that the strongarm tactics from Activison to keep IW in line may become the norm. I'm also wary of publicly traded companies driving the agenda on game development, since they'll be motivated for maximum profit acquisition, as opposed to making genuinely great games. Like you said, "when money is in your eyes your passion is gone". I look at Id Software agreeing to be bought by Zenimax, after years of wondering if Activision would try to buy a controlling stake in them. Look at John Carmack explaining the acquisition back in June last year: Big corporate changes. What just happened on March 1st at Infinity Ward? And now Infinity Ward has seemingly lost their 2-year rotation to Sledgehammer. I'm also wondering what Kotick said to Infinity Ward in the March 2nd all hands meeting; probably something to try to entice (or coerce) them into staying. We won't know for years.

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Hello all, I am, once again, having issues with sIFR. I am using version 323 because I was having problems with the more up-to-date versions with Opera & IE6. Is there a bug proof version that would work across most browsers? Anyway, back to my issue. I have one #header element which surrounds an <h1> element and a display:block <a> element so you have: <div id="#header"> <a>My link text in sifr (this has a background image that changes on rollover)</a> <h1>My title in sifr</h1> a floats to the right and <h1> floats to the left. Now, sifr does not seem to like floats. It will either cause the text to crop or wrap. In IE6 the result is often in one single vertical line. Now I cannot apply a fixed width to either because the text will be localized and I never know how long it will be. I tried: fitExactly: true, forceSingleLine: true but none of it works. Is there a solution to this problem? There doesn't appear to be logical behaviour coming from sifr, it's like a hit or miss so it's difficult to document the bugs I come across.. Any ideas?

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The World's Most Gifted Home Theater Receiver? Denon calls it their "flagship" receiver; but if you want to fully carry out the nautical metaphor, you'd have to refer to the new Denon AVR-5805 as the biggest, baddest, boldest combination battleship/aircraft carrier/submarine/destroyer/frigate/(throw in some secret stealth technology reference here) ever to have floated on the home theater seven seas. Denon claims it's "the world's first A/V receiver with 10 built-in amplifiers and 16-channel output...[and] unprecedented multi-source and zone capabilities with perhaps the most comprehensive analog and digital audio/video switching configurations ever offered." So what the heck are you going to do with a receiver that includes 10 fully assignable, discrete amplifiers? Well, for starters, you could set up a totally kick-you-in-the-rear 9.1-channel surround sound system in your main home theater. Or, if you live in a house where the family just can't agree on what to watch, you can use the AVR-5805 to power and control two discrete 5.1-channel home theaters (preferably in two different rooms, unless your family is really dysfunctional). Another alternative is to use the AVR-5805 to run a 7.1-channel system in your main theater room and configure the remaining power capacity to provide a 2.1-channel system in a second room with a mono system in a third room (such as a bathroom or a hallway, for example). Yet another option would be to use the configurable amplifiers to run an audiophile-oriented five-channel system in which all the speakers are bi-amplified. (Speaker wire manufacturers take note: the home theater gods are smiling on you.) In all of these zones, of course, the volume is independently controlled and the sources are independently selected - and when a particular zone is not in use, the power for that zone is shut off to conserve power consumption and reduce heat output. Further adding to the "world's first" list, the AVR-5805 includes "the world's first discrete 2-zone video conversion capability and HDTV switching." Composite and S-video input sources are automatically up-converted (with Time Based Correction) to component video. Interlaced 480i sources (non-progressive-scan DVD players, VCRs, camcorders, etc.) are up-converted to 480p, 720p, or 1080i thanks to the AVR-5805's built-in scaler that uses a Faroudja integrated processor with DCDi (Directional Correlational Deinterlacing) technology and 12-bit/216 MHz video digital-to-analog converters. All ten amplifiers in the AVR-5805 are rated by Denon at 170 watts each for a total power output of 1,700 watts. (Electric utility companies take note: the home theater gods are smiling on you.) Denon also assures us that the AVR-5805 is "compatible with every popular 6.1- and 5.1-channel surround sound format, from Dolby, dts and Dolby Pro Logic IIx to THX Ultra2 Cinema and Music, and THX Surround EX decoding" and includes THX 4.0/5.1/6.1 post processing. The AVR-5805 also has an incredible array of connections for a total of 14 audio/video inputs, including 3 HDMI and 1 DVI-D digital video ports, 6 high-bandwidth (100 MHz) HDTV-compatible component video inputs (with dual component video monitoring for the main zone), IEEE-1394, multiple RS-232 ports, Ethernet, and more (although I'm not quite sure what "more" there could be). Another potential "world's first" is the implementation of a new room correction and calibration technology called Audyssey MultEQ XT from Audyssey Laboratories. MultEQ XT is kind of like having a super-smart sound-engineer-in-a-box. During the Auto Set-Up mode, MultEQ XT "automatically determines how many loudspeakers are connected, whether they are connected in phase, and whether they are satellites or subwoofers. It then analyzes and calibrates speaker level, size, and distance. In addition, MultEQ XT detects the proper crossover point and determines correct frequency response for up to eight listener positions simultaneously." While other room correction technologies have appeared in receivers before, this is the first to optimize and compensate the system for more than one listening location at the same time giving nearly every listener in the room a "sweet spot" no matter where they're sitting. (I heard a prototype demonstration of Audyssey's MultEQ technology earlier this year, and I was blown away by what a good job it does.) Although Denon's implementation of MultEQ XT uses multiple Texas Instruments' Aureus DSP processors with high-end digital-to-analog converters, both the Room EQ and Auto Set-Up features can be disabled for purists, installations using more esoteric room correction equipment, or people who just don't know any better. There are a ton of other features, like assignable trigger outputs and the latest version of Denon Link 3 (for direct digital connection of high-resolution, multichannel digital audio sources), but you'll just have to find your nearest Denon dealer to discover them all. We will tell you the two things you're probably dying to find out but that we haven't mentioned so far: the price and the availability. Denon suggests a retail price of $6,000 (quite cheap, really, when you consider all that you're getting for the money). Barring any increases in the gravitational constant (which would increase the shipping weight and slow things down a bit), the AVR-5805 is expected to be available in November. Share | | Enter your Sound & Vision username. Enter the password that accompanies your username. setting var node_statistics_84915

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Our View: SMAST poised to bring valuable change One element that will be absolutely necessary on the path to sustainable fisheries is trust, and one that must be absolutely avoided is that one group or person can supply the solution. The UMass Dartmouth School of Marine Science and Technology is perfectly poised to satisfy both those requirements. SMAST Dean Steve Lohrenz tells The Standard-Times he relishes the chance to stand as a facilitator, mediator, diplomat among the competing interests. He wants to bridge the gap, for example, between the intuitive, experience-based knowledge of fishermen and the fine scientists of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Some would take exception to any complimentary characterization of NOAA's work, but Lohrenz recognizes it's not the scientists to blame for inappropriate enforcement of inadequate or simply bad policy.) Lohrenz told the editorial board on Tuesday that UMD Chancellor Divina Grossman has charged him with the twin tasks of building external partnerships and strengthening the quality of SMAST's output by leveraging statewide university assets. We can imagine seeing industry representatives and environmentalists both agreeing to help overcome the funding challenges SMAST faces as state and federal funds wane, giving the parties an incentive to engage in reasonable debate. Fishermen already trust SMAST research such as the scallop surveys that saved the fleet and make New Bedford the richest port for seafood landings in the U.S. year after year. Lohrenz was recently appointed as co-director of the Marine Fisheries Institute, a collaboration between UMass and the state Department of Marine Fisheries, to the chagrin of many supporters of the former co-director, Dr. Brian Rothschild, a man held in high esteem by colleagues around the world, fishermen and this newspaper. No one should underestimate Rothschild's impact on New Bedford's fortunes, but the approach needed when his and SMAST colleague Kevin Stokesbury's work on scallops changed those fortunes was in a regulatory environment very different than it is today: Abuses of NOAA enforcement have been uncovered, agency leadership has changed at many levels, even the natural environment has become a different player in the game. Not that Rothschild couldn't continue to have success as co-director, but the change may play well in the minds of those stakeholders who had to eat humble pie as a result of work done under him. The job of pulling strong, actionable results from diverse stakeholders requires SMAST to play a much greater role in outreach, and Lohrenz is in position to help bring diverse players to the table. It's a hot-seat, to be sure, but it's also an opportunity with an unlimited upside for the school, the industry and the oceans. Reader Reaction Not sure how to add your comment? Here's how Top Jobs Top Homes

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