text:
In a surprising move, Motorola Mobility (which is to be taken over by Google), has won an injunction preventing the distribution of Windows 7 and the Xbox in Germany until Microsoft starts paying royalty fees for the patents
They are unhappy that Microsoft is, legally and reasonably, getting almost 1 billion an year from various other Android manufacturers because they are using Microsoft licensed technology. After Google acquired Motorola I've been sure and waiting for them to try to hit back at Microsoft and Apple. Motorola is good for Google because it acts as both proxy in patent wars (so that Google name itself doesn't get the damage) and because then Google can control the whole Android infrastructure from the OS to devic
legally and reasonably
Legally maybe, but reasonably?
Microsoft licensed technology
Were you cheering for them as they trolled companies using Linux and demanded they pay for "Linux licenses?"
At least use MeeGo or something similar open
And if you were even remotely successful Microsoft would still threaten you. Patents are just one of Microsoft's weapons to wield against competitors.
This was dumb, assuming Google bought this patent from Motorolla as MS has a huge patent portfolio. Samsung is fine and wont be assholes to you unless you pull an Apple and try to ban its products. Then it got really nasty.
MS has not threatened Google and its patent fees from Andriod makers are only
Clean-room in this case means without using any code from Oracle's Java implementation.
It's a bit like how Mono relates to
And IBM lost.
Compaq was allowed to prevail. Clean room was the norm afterwards and made clones possible.
Reading the code and then rewriting it to do the exact same thing
Is not what Google did - they only read the API, which I believe is a defined standard. Think WINE - implements the Win32 API without the devs ever seeing a single line of Win32 source.
Is not what Google did - they only read the API
How do you know that? Nothing stops them reading the source.
Think WINE - implements the Win32 API without the devs ever seeing a single line of Win32 source.
The obvious difference is that Win32 is closed source, Java is not. So WINE developers could not have seen Win32 source where Google's developers most certainly could have seen Java source.
patent fees from Andriod makers are only
.02% according to Ars Technica
You know, that phrase almost means something.
Google has an Exchange ActiveSync license, so... um, yeah. As does Apple, actually.
SO many of these patent claims seem to be the same ones. Didn't motorola just get slapped down for trying to impose restrictions on FRAND granted H264 patents in some other case? it's all so confusing. I need a chart.
Worth noting that Google had nothing to do with this, Motorola was in this legal dispute long before they were acquired.
You can also always create your own OS.
You'd certainly save money that way by not needing to create and app store or even publish an API due to zero demand.
Wow, you really don't put much effort into the pro-MS/anti google posting, huh? Couldn't even hold until the 9th word, doing the first post on the article, *and* couldn't hint about being pro-microsoft about 4 times, right?
using a patent shakedown for extortion with manufacturers is legal and reasonable? Getting a billion a year though would certainly be in the realm of antitrust concerns though. Why do you think MS just settled with B&N for more than B&N was worth? Hint: it wasn't to work with them
Android vendors were worried google would give preference to Motorola, not "google's plans". As of so far, google is simply carrying on doing what it does day to day and not giving Motorola priority.
Google will very likely never give preference to Motorola, not because they are pure hearted and follow their "Do no evil" motto, but more because this isn't their primarry market.
Google at its core is a *search company*. A company whose skill is matching keywords to the best suited results, and it monetises these skills by turning them the other way around: by bringing the most relevant and likely to be useful ad to the users. They profit from ads.
Anything else they develop is ancillary, and from a financi
I agree, 100%. It's just not important to them. I didn't mean to tie it to the question of evil-ness or not, I was just trying to de-fud a fudster. Also having such a focus puts them into a *proper* focus for everything else. It's kind of a nice thing. It's like setting your priorities right from the start.
Oh yeah, cos Microsoft can be trusted, they have proved that repeatedly over the years.
Good ole trustworthy Microsoft
I'm neither a Google fanboy or a Microsoft shill. I like Google as a company and I enjoy a lot of their products and I use a lot of Microsoft products as well. The only thing these companies can be trusted to do is look after their bottom line. Any other community based action they take is a plus and has an expected life span of about a millisecond. You could turn around and find it gone with
Ok, so you submit stories under one name, create a new account, and then post the very second the article is submitted.
We get it, you have an agenda you want to promote, but you don't want to do it under your own account because it is already known you are just a shill and this makes it harder to ignore you.
I just have one request, fuck off.
Slashdot Editors, if you continue to be apparently complicit in helping him push his agenda then people will quit having discussions on this site. It will badly damage
You look a lot like a shill right now, brand new user with two wildly pro-MS comments.
Maybe Slashdot needs to make an update to the posting algorithm:
You may not respond directly to a story unless your karma is excellent. You can respond to other posts, but never to a story.
Eh, it does sort of solve the anonymous first posters and these shill accounts. They can be modded off-topic pretty easily and the experienced users would have a way to steer the conversations a bit more than relying on the first troll.
How about no ACs, no super-new accounts (newest 2%?) and no non-excellent-karma accounts in the first 5 replies to a story? Then newbies wouldn't be forced into top-posting, but trolls still couldn't get in the first word.
Nice to see Apple yet again resorting to the courts to... What's that? It's not Apple using the courts to stifle competition? It's sweet-and-dear Motorola/Google? Oh... Awkward...
No, it's Motorola. Google hasn't bought Motorola yet, and there's no evidence they're either in favor of Motorola's actions or against them.
I know, you already knew that, I'm correcting you so that people who don't know who paid for your post know it.
In a surprising move
I don't see what's so surprising about it.
Google has proven quite a few times as of late it's just as bad as every other company.
So why wouldn't they pull a move often used by every other bad company?
I'm sure if Google(Motorola) unilaterally disarms MS and Apple would retreat from their lawsuits/demand for trivialities from Android phone manufacturers.
I think everyone on Slashdot agrees that the end game should be patent reform. If that's not achievable, detente. But the problem with this foolishness is that the only way to defend your company from it is more foolish lawsuits.
Microsoft gets $15 per Android handset for patents so weak they won't reveal in public. So if Google sticks it to Microsoft the world is a better place and good on them.
To use Microsoft's own phrase "Whaaaaaaaa".
Don't dish it out if you can't take it.
Microsoft gets $15 per Android handset for patents so weak they won't reveal in public. So if Google sticks it to Microsoft the world is a better place and good on them.
To use Microsoft's own phrase "Whaaaaaaaa".
Don't dish it out if you can't take it.
Quoted for fucking emphasis and violent agreement.
Microsoft, may this be a big "fuck you" from all the Android licensees.
No, the world is NOT a better place. Unless you are either Google or Microsoft, that is.
The patent system is still broken.
Won't reveal in public? Patents are public.
What are you talking about? You do believe in self-defense, right? Microsoft has been running around suing Android manufacturers for patent infringementâ"that's why MS paid $300 million to BN for a share of the Nook business: to settle the lawsuit. Google has to stop Microsoft from hindering the development of Android so why not fight fire with fire?
So why wouldn't they pull a move often used by every other bad company?
The bad company here is Microsoft, making billions on Android, an OS which it did zilch to build. So Google is hitting back in self defense. Don't get our panties in a twist, yet.
They aren't shaking down MS customers. They had the decency to go directly to MS.
For the love of...
it even implies it in the summary. WTH?
So why wouldn't they pull a move often used by every other bad company?
Has everyone on this thread gone brain dead? Microsoft sued Motorola for patent infringement, so Motorola sued back. Microsoft lost, as it should, as it is the company who always chooses to litigate rather than innovate.
Microsoft has no one to blame but themselves.
All I have to say is I told you so.
Like Motorolla would be happy letting you download and use a HTML 5 browser for free. Obviously you simply can't.
With this and the potential ruling that merely syntax is copyrightable in the Oracle VS Google case 2 things will happen. Either people will see how rediculious patents and copyright are and change. Or the bribery will continue and no one but big pockets will compete. Hell, MS has big pockets and still are getting nailed. This is getting nuts.
It seems China and India are the only ones not crazy here.
I tried playing WebM on my iPod, generic Bestbuy player, radio, CD/MP3 player, and TV.
Didn't work. Didn't work. Didn't work.
Didn't work. Didn't work.
I would no sooner adopt WebM than I would throw-away my VHS VCR and go buy Betamax?!?!? As for this ruling the REAL surprise is that a U.S. judge has the power to overrule and "restrain" a German court's decision. When did Germany become a protectorate of the U.S.? Is this some leftover from the war? (In the same fashion the U.S. forbade Japan to hav
The US judge cannot overturn the German judge decision. He can however fine Motorola in the US if they enforced the ban in Germany. This is exactly what he needed to do to prevent Motorola's strategy of "get products banned in a big market and force them to settle for the whole world despite the fact that we would ultimately lose if they wait it out"
I tried playing WebM on my iPod, generic Bestbuy player, radio, CD/MP3 player, and TV.
Most of those devices weren't designed to play html5 video. So, while we can agree that h.264 is more widespread it's not such a big deal if we start using something else for the web.
Like Motorolla would be happy letting you download and use a HTML 5 browser for free. Obviously you simply can't.
Well, you can if you use the built-in licensed decoder.
An interesting question is the details - h.264, unlike cellphones, is licensed under a patent pool. That you, you can either do like we have in cellphones and license all the patents one-by-one (have fun!), or decide to license the whole group of them together in one fell swoop. This is done because the MPEG standards group created the MPEG l
As funny as this is, It really is just a further argument for why Software patents should be eradicated once and for all.
Those are not software patents. WiFi and H.264 are not software.
Despite having "software" in the name, "software patents" include all patents on algorithms and protocols—anything which can be implemented in software—of which WiFi and H.264 are obvious examples. So long as the patent would cover a software implementation, it's a software patent; the fact that any software can also be implemented in fixed hardware is irrelevant.
If the patent only covers a particular was of implementing the algorithm or protocol in hardware, and thus would not apply to any software implementation, then it's still an unjust act of aggression, and a net loss to society, but it's not a software patent.
Please. Go ahead and implement those in pure hardware. I'll wait.
(This should be good. I've never seen schematics that big.)
Seriously, ponder for a moment what would happen if Nebraska decided to ban MS products. Well? Right. People from Nebraska wanting MS products will buy them outside Nebraska.
It's not much different for the EU.
Ha ha, good one! We all know that there are no computers in Nebraska. Nice try.
It's pretty massively different, because having to go outside one's state is a nuisance. Having to go outside one's country is an even bigger one. There are all kinds of logistic reasons why that's a PITA. Additional taxes in the EU, for one.
The Motorola / Google deal hasn't closed yet, until it does Google can not control legally Motorola. Let Google take control of the company before you start blaming them. Motorola is struggling tech company with a lot IP so it really shouldn't surprise anyone that it turned to IP litigation just like so many other tech companies on their way out. Until Google takes over this is Motorola hedging in case the merger falls through.
However, in the current acquisition process, Motorola can take no action without the explicit consent of Google, especially for legal actions (suing or granting licenses) because those actions would be binding to Google after the acquisition.
However, in the current acquisition process, Motorola can take no action without the explicit consent of Google, especially for legal actions (suing or granting licenses) because those actions would be binding to Google after the acquisition.
True, but didn't Motorola start this litagion before the merger was agreed? In which case, they wouldn't have needed, or sought, Google's approval.
Funny that when it suits
For the record, you're probably right - this was Motorola's attemp
oh, if only there was a patent-free video codec [webmproject.org] available for general use instead of that horrible h.264 system that evil companies like Microsoft want to force other companies like Google to use.
oh, wait... umm. Well, at least this gives Google some ammunition to prove that they should convert all of Youtube to WebM before they get sued by, umm. errm... oh lord, it's so difficult to know which way's up in the world of IT now!
Aren't Motorola acting in self defense? As i understand it, MS has been trying to shake down android handset manufacturers for a while and motorola are one of the few that refused to give in to their demands.
Everyone will have prevented everyone else from selling anything.
And we'll all end up living in caves eating rats.
And paying Monsanto for the privilege thanks to the rats having mutated from ingesting Monsanto-proprietary DNA.
They are but their position is weak (using FRAND patents)
Yes, definitely, but they have sunk to the position of using FRAND patents to do the job, which is somewhat questionable.
If nothing else it will ensure that any standards body in the future will think long and hard before accepting any new submissions from them on future standards, so it will hurt them (and anyone owned by them) in the long run for a bit of short term gain. The point of the FRAND pool was to prevent exactly this sort of thing from happening, but it does depend on the various submitting memb
Perhaps Motorola is acting in self-defense, but that's not the point. The problem is that these companies are all setting precedents and creating a status quo that will make software development illegal in the long run -- if this patent madness continues. Yes, the big companies may have MAD and manage to settle most issues out of court, but in the course of it the absurd patent situation will become more and more accepted by courts and legislators up to the point that no small software company will be able
how a court ruling in a US court has any bearing on the German legal system and why the German legal system (and whichever authorities are responsible for enforcing the decision by the German judge) has to even care what the US court said and cant just say "screw the US, we are going to enforce the ban starting right now"
Or is there some sort of international treaty that applies here?
The German courts and legal system doesn't listen to the US judge. That much is patently obvious, because the US has no jurisdiction in Germany.
But Motorola is a US company who does business in the US. Hence it must abide by US laws and rulings. The US judge said to Motorola, "even if you win the case in Germany, you must not follow through on the ban on MS products in Germany until I have made my ruling here." That doesn't infringe on German jurisdiction.
Since Motorola does business in Germany also, what's to prevent the German court from imposing (stiffer) penalties on Motorola Germany for NOT abiding by the German ruling? Seems two can play that legal game, and then Motorola is in a Catch 22.
Since Motorola does business in Germany also, what's to prevent the German court from imposing (stiffer) penalties on Motorola Germany for NOT abiding by the German ruling?
The German ruling allows Motorola to enforce a ban, it does not require them to do so.
nobody really comes out ahead in these tit-for-tat lawsuits.
Except for The Pirate Bay.
Er, the lawyers?
I'd ban the "Motorola Xbox" too! It doesn't sound like a legitimate product to me,........
"NO MICROSOFT FOR YOU!" -- The Software Nazi
PS - I tried all caps, but I got a filter error telling me, "Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING" What if that's what I want to do? Apparently adding this post script took care of my yelling issue.
if Google has the h264 patents couldn't they just offer it free of charge instead of developing their own version?
There are many patents that apply here. Moto only owns a few - just enough to make life difficult for anyone else (especially since, apparently, they're not part of the license pool?).
I'm confused. I thought the purpose for MPEG-LA was a cross licensing of all patents required for h.264 (with payment)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Standardization_committee_and_history [wikipedia.org]
"Mach was the greatest intellectual fraud in the last ten years." "What about X?" "I said `intellectual'." ;login, 9/1990


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I know there are a few Colts fans on here, so I thought some team discussion would be good.
Overall, I am actually very happy with where the team is now. They have had to deal with a LOT of injuries, a trend that will continue this week. The following players have not practiced this week: Anthony Gonzalez, Mike Hart, Joseph Addai, Justin Tryon, Clint Session, Antonio Johnson, Robert Mathis, Jerraud Powers, Brody Eldridge and Bob Sanders. Not to mention Dallas Clark, who is on IR. Ouch.
On the plus side Austin Collie is back in practice, which would be huge this week, especially in 3 receiver sets.
The Eagles are very good following their bye weeks, so I am a bit nervous to say the least.
At this point I just want to team to hang onto the division lead and get healthy. If they can get many of their starters back, this is a very dangerous team that could potentially be overlooked a bit.
Oh yeah, they do have that Manning guy, who was named as the 8th best player in NFL history according to NFL Network.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The expanded St. James facility consists of approximately seven miles of rail track and a fully automated 52-spot high-speed railcar offloading rack. In support of the growth in unit train volumes, USD also has begun construction on additional rail track at SJRT to be brought into service in June.
Served by Union Pacific, SJRT currently receives unit train shipments of crude oil, condensate and related products from the Bakken, Niobrara and Eagle Ford shale plays. SJRT is connected via pipeline to an adjacent crude oil/condensate storage terminal operated by Plains Marketing, L.P.
"Working with U.S. Development on their expanded St. James Rail Terminal will result in significant value for our customers," said Diane Duren, Union Pacific vice president and general manager chemicals. "Shipping crude oil by rail is a safe and reliable transportation option that provides flexibility in delivering crude oil to markets. Union Pacific's extensive network and logistics expertise, combined with USD's state-of-the-art crude oil unit train terminal, form a comprehensive logistics solution for crude oil producers and marketers looking to transport their barrels to the Gulf Coast."


text:
This week's Accuweather forecast suggests that we may see our first snow in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, a wintry mix that starts around 4 a.m. and continues on and off until around 10 a.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday will see lows in the low 30s. The rest of the week will be warmer, with temps between the high 30s and the low 50s.
Saturday and Sunday will be warmer and pleasant, in the 40s and 50s.
Early reports of a possible nor'easter will not pan out, as the arctic front that would have caused it has veered out to sea.
Keep updated by clicking the upper left of Hudsonreporter.com.


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Italian Fig and Cheese Filled Galette Recipe
Almond Cheese Filling:
3 1/2 ounces of almond paste
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup raspberry seedless jam or other seedless jam of choice
6 large fresh brown figs sliced stems removed or (around 20 dried that have been simmered in water for 5 minutes then drained)
1 egg white
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tart dough recipe or use (to make a11 inch round circle) of pastry dough, store bought pie dough or use puff pastry dough found in frozen foods section of your local supermarkets.
In a food processor add the paste, cheese, honey, vanilla. Blend until smooth. Roll out pastry and place on a heavy duty parchment paper lined baking sheet. Pour the cheese on top of the dough almost to the edges all around. Place the sliced figs on top of the cheese mixture, (microwave jam 10 seconds) and spoon or pour on top of the figs. Fold the edges all around the exposing the center.
Serve with ice cream or plain.
19 comments
- Christine's Pantry said...
This looks wonderful! I'm saving this recipe.
- September 9, 2012 at 1:06 AM
- Lucia from Madison said...
Excellent! I am so making this today! But I still have too many figs! Do you have any more recipes for figs?
Have you every frozen them?
- September 9, 2012 at 6:41 AM
- Lizzy Do said...
Oh this is one extraordinary galette, Claudia! Figs and mascarpone sound like an amazing combination...love it!!!
- September 9, 2012 at 10:35 AM
- Pretend Chef said...
This sounds like a great flavor combo!
- September 9, 2012 at 11:26 AM
- Spicie Foodie said...
Now this is a great way to celebrate the new season! Another great recipe. Thanks for sharing Claudia:)
- September 9, 2012 at 5:34 PM
- Alida said...
wow fig and cheese! Figs are too expensive in the UK but I had a few whilst in Italy. I cannot resist them and with cheese they are just heaven. Bravissima!
- September 9, 2012 at 6:49 PM
- Belinda said...
What a beautiful tart! Someone stole 400 of your posts?? To do what??
- September 9, 2012 at 8:26 PM
- Mary said...
What a lovely treat. Your galette looks beautiful and sounds delicious. I hope you've had a wonderful weekend. Blessings...Mary
- September 10, 2012 at 10:33 AM
- Elisabeth said...
Claudia, I just adore your Italian Fig Galette with the almond paste and the mascarpone addition. Simply divine, and taste heavenly. I can imagine the aroma in your kitchen while baking it:) xo
- September 10, 2012 at 12:49 PM
- Jennifer said...
Wow, that's really clever and gorgeous to boot!
- September 10, 2012 at 3:27 PM
- Joanne said...
I keep wanting to make a galette.
Love the idea of using figs and almond paste.
- September 10, 2012 at 4:04 PM
- Lois Christensen said...
This looks delicious! Wish I had some now! Hope you're having a nice day!
- September 10, 2012 at 4:54 PM
- Natasha Price said...
Super delicious! I am loving the almond cheese filling in combination with figs!
- September 10, 2012 at 7:51 PM
- Reeni said...
That is one gorgeous fig galette! I love the filling!
- September 10, 2012 at 8:47 PM
- Vicki Bensinger said...
This is a great use of figs. I saw some at the store today and didn't want to get them until I could figure out something to make with them. This would be perfect. Easy and always delicious but I've never done one with figs. I'll pick some up tomorrow and make this.
- September 10, 2012 at 10:11 PM
- Torviewtoronto said...
delicious dessert Claudia it looks wonderful
- September 11, 2012 at 10:51 PM
- Dana DeVolk said...
This looks so yummy! I never had anything like this, might have to give it a go!
- September 12, 2012 at 3:10 PM
- Kathy said...
Oh Claudia, Gorgeous galette…filled with my favorite…figs and almond paste!! Yum!!
- September 13, 2012 at 7:41 PM
- Anita at Hungry Couple said...
I love almond flavored desserts and I just picked up some fresh figs. Hmm... :)
- September 14, 2012 at 1:07 AM


text:
Eden Hazard expects Fernando Torres to fill his boots this season after the Chelsea striker opened his account for the campaign in the Community Shield on Sunday.
Torres scored the opener at Villa Park against Manchester City as Chelsea fell to a 3-2 defeat, with the Spaniard's goal coming after playing a starring role at Euro 2012.
The 28-year-old has struggled terribly for form since joining Chelsea in January, but won the Golden Boot as Spain triumphed at the European Championships this summer to suggest he is heading back towards his best.
Chelsea have yet to sign a new striker since the departure of Didier Drogba and, this season, Torres is likely to find himself as the club's undoubted No.1 forward for the first time since moving to Stamford Bridge.
Hazard certainly believes his new Chelsea teammate can reach somewhere near his Liverpool pomp over the course of the coming season as the Blues look to improve on last term's Premier League showing.
"It was a great finish," Hazard said about Torres' goal. "And I know a lot more will come.
"Fernando is one of the best strikers in the world - quick and powerful and very efficient in front of goal."
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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Arts & Entertainment
Creative Writing Workshop at Cultural Arts Center Saturday
- Details
- Category: Arts & Entertainment
- Published on 10 January 2013
- Written by Mount Vernon Optic-Herald
A Creative Writing Workshop is set from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12 at the Cultural Arts Center. The workshop is open to adults and high school students at no cost. Five writers in varying genre will offer their experiences and expertise in developing the talents of those interested in writing creatively. See the Jan. 10 edition of the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald for a listing of those who will be speaking at the workshop.


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where is she now?
is Lotus era already over?
I just cant believe it
where is she now?
is Lotus era already over?
I just cant believe it
^Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are in the Hot 100 top 10 still today. Britney at #6 and Justin Timberlake at #4.
And radio has always supported Christina when she's put out the right things. Christina was the #2 singles selling artist of 2000s, trailing only Madonna. You don't sell singles well if radio doesn't play them. Radio does play them.
Truth is nobody really cares about Lotus except Christina's core fans. Get over it and yourself.
Justin Timberlake got personal with his fans before releasing Suit & Tie with some Youtube promo. His website also started a single release countdown. Scream & Shout's video was premiered on The X Factor so it got a strong initial audience viewing.
^I'm not saying that singles that charted well are good singles. My favorite track by Christina was actually dismal in the US (Dirrty). I still like it and I think it's one of the best things she's put out.
My problem with Your Body is that it's so effing generic it looks like anything GaGa, Perry, or Rihanna didn't choose to record for their album. And it does no justice to Christina at all.
I do like Blank Page & Just a Fool and bought those off itunes.
I don't need radio to tell me what song is good as what isn't, I have my own judgement. In this case, the general public agrees with my judgement that Your Body wasn't a good lead single. There was nothing Christina about it at all.
Kelly Clarkson's biggest strength comes from her vocal consistency, versatility, and longevity. She started 10 years ago, many of the artists doing well back then (Christina included) are not doing as well now, but Kelly's latest studio album (Stronger) managed to go Platinum, her lowest selling album (My December) also went Platinum, and all her albums are certified Platinum or Multi Platinum in the US.
Like I said the general public aren't fucking retarded. If a song is good it eventually gets some sort of recognition. This would again explain why, to the above poster, that Catch My Breath is now catching on in airplay. It's uniquely Kelly. It goes back to her Breakaway sound. Nobody else out there would sound good singing it. My point about Your Body is that it's so generic they could have just called it "Anonymous - Your Body". It does Christina NO justice.
^IMO at this point you're like a food critic running around posting what's good and what's not and forcing people into believing something is nice when really they don't like it, lol. You like calamari and other people like chips & dip. Get over it, really.
Way to insult everyone by saying the general public is fucking retarded. The same public that made Christina a star in the first place. I'm sure they will repent and buy Lotus now.
Or not.
Sad thing is Christina's in a mess of a period right now...so much talent but seems like either her or more likely her studio people want her to reinvent and get current. She's 35 or so, not a kid anymore. She has an amazing voice but she's got to trust herself more and the studio people less. I loved her retro style a few years back, with "Ain't No Other Man" and "Candyman" but it's been such a long time from her last really great effort, "Stripped".
now she's busy shooting for her new fragrance
^Bitch, I don't even live in the US and I won't make an international call just to get her song played or start hitting up international radio stations on websites.
Except the general public thought it was not worth requesting too. You're requesting a song as a minority because the majority didn't like the song. And then act surprised when it doesn't play. There are probably 50 requests for other songs to 1 request for a Christina song. You think they will ditch their dedicated listener base for the 1 Christina request, or follow the 50 other requests?So don't fucking come in here acting like your personal reason of a song's quality determines whether or not a song does well.
So you truly think that you, as one person, is requesting the song plenty of times to get the radio impressions of the song alone all by yourself, when millions of people are requesting other songs?
Lol, okay hun. At this point you're not a fan, you're just delusional, so I will stop.
Beautiful at CNN Heroes for me
You don't seem to realize, the songs are sent to radio by yes, the label itself. And the label can "buy" airtime on radio depending on how well they feel a single will perform commercially. If the single isn't doing well commercially, the label will not pay radio to play it anymore, but the radio will still play songs if they get sufficient requests for it. This increases a song's audience impressions, which Billboard uses to rank songs on the Hot 100.
That's how the system works. So if Ke$ha's team decided to send her song to radio to get some sales for it, then yea good for her. In Christina's case for "Your Body", the label probably didn't see it selling well enough to consistently send it for airplay. A song cruising in the mid 30s for itunes will probably only be at the 40-70 mark on the Hot 100, which was what Your Body was at for most of its stay.
If radio acts "shady" this is actually a very legit lawsuit that any record label can unleash upon them because radio impressions are scanned by Neilsen Soundscan which in turns provides data to Billboard. There's no hiding and refusing to play songs here.
Here is a look at the top radio airplay songs for pop songs from 1992 (when Neilsen started the scanning) -2012:
Radio only dedicates a portion of its airplay to viewer request, so they will only play songs that the majority of the people want to listen to, i.e. they want to keep their viewer count as high as possible, because their viewer count is what they boast to other advertisers looking to buy airtime to advertise.
The only people who enjoyed Your Body would probably be people who have been following Christina since her Genie in a Bottle days. The younger public is generally moved on to newer waves of popstars. Look at the top 100 today and 5 or 10 years ago. Many of the artists in years past have completely fallen off.
This is also why Christina seems to sell better when she collaborates with artists that are more current (i.e Maroon 5 and recently Pitbull). The only reason Christina's song with Pitbull is doing well is because she's a feature artist with a relevant artist. If that was her own song, it would have bombed just as badly as Your Body or Not Myself Tonight, because this isn't the style of music she's best associated with.
So you can either sit here with a catcus up your ass and whine all day about radio being shady to Christina (but now magically decides to play her song that Pitbull is in?), or you can just admit that the only people who would have enjoyed Your Body were Christina's core fanbase and nobody new.
^ I never said anything about Just a Fool. I already said it was the first song I purchased off Lotus (and then Blank Page). It's true that Just a Fool and Blank Page are 10x better than Your Body. Christina probably also had similar thoughts as she I think only did 1 performance of Your Body (with a stapler IIRC). Although one could again argue that it's just another song where Christina isn't the only person singing but instead collaborating with someone doing well at the moment.
And yes singles are sent to radio by labels. This is one of the first things labels do when it comes to releasing & promoting a single. If you think about a business, RCA will not go in a loss to play a certain song on radio if they don't feel like the single can sell well. This is where it comes to resource allocation. Although both Christina and Ke$ha are signed to RCA (and even Britney is now signed to the same label), it doesn't mean they will get the same treatment even though their parent label is the same.
The label could have decided to give Ke$ha more radio airplay and save Christina's budget for a possible tour. She said she was leaving The Voice for a season to tour. Or perhaps they weren't satisfied by the dismal sales of Your Body when compared to Die Young (I hate both songs btw). Or perhaps the contract signed by Ke$ha and Christina differ in those details. We will never know.
But Your Body was terrible. I'm glad radio was, if I may quote you, "shady as fuck" towards the song, if that was true. However you can't ever convince me that the thousands of radio stations all over the country had DJs who all simultaneously thought they should not play Christina's songs. That's just stupid.
For the record I frequently have posters comment message me agreeing with my opinions, so I'm not alone when I say that Christina took the absolute worst detour possible after Back to Basics, artistically, with no signs of ever getting back on the right track as of right now. There is NOBODY out there on radio right now who can pull off the jazzy, old school sound that was associated with Back to Basics. Everything about that album was amazing. Just a Fool, Blank Page, and the other songs of Lotus do not compare with Back to Basics. Yes she still does ballads but the ballads she did for Back to Basics were 10x better.
As for Britney's vocal credibility, there are people who prefer Britney's tone over Christina's. This has nothing to do with their singing ability, it's just the sound of the voice. While Britney doesn't have the vocals Christina does, Christina's popularity never rivaled Britney's. Britney was and is a much bigger star. Britney still commands strong album and singles sales and is a very prominent figure in pop music. Christina hasn't had a #1 song as a soloist in what, a decade?
FYI I prefer more of Christina's songs over Britneys, but it's odd to see you get so pissed off over Christina's success (or lack of for Lotus).
LOL @ that gif. It's funny because Demi hasn't sold jack shit and is in no position to crack a joke.
^I don't care what anyone says, Genie in a Bottle is still my jam
I'm way late to the discussion but I'm too lazy to read everything, I kinda went through it really fast. I don't want to get into it though, just wanted to point out that someone said Christina was 35 lol...Google anyone? She just turned 32 and honestly I don't know how that has anything to do with anything. I mean, have you guys seen this somewhat known artist called MADONNA? How old is she? like 55? And she's still making fun pop music.
I believe Lotus is an amazing album and the real issue in my opinion is that Xtina doesn't care enough to promote, I feel like she's becoming more of a business woman and that's why she's focused on her perfumes instead of promoting the album.
Are you still arguing with yourself?
This is why I hate hard core fans of basically anyone. If you all say that Christina says she doesn't care about charting success anymore, then as a fan, you shouldn't go ape shit about her dismal singles and CD sales either. Lotus flopped, get over it and yourself. Radio was the only reason Christina got any recognition from the public and when she put out the right material radio backed her up all the way. It's the only reason she became known as the voice of the generation.
You may like Your Body as a fan, and good for you. Think about it from the point of view of a non fan. First of all, Christina is not at her physical peak. So seeing a video of a fat (by Hollywood standards) girl singing about wanting to fuck a guy is ironic when she doesn't even look hot enough to get laid with the fake tan and prostitute look in the video.
Secondly, the song fails to represent the rest of the album in every which way possible. It doesn't follow through with the theme of Lotus, which was basically supposed to be a "musical rebirth" for Christina. Your Body isn't a ground breaking revolutionary musical rebirth, it's about as commonplace as every other radio song out there. The only difference is that the person singing it can actually sing without relying on auto tune. Which makes you wonder, why can't a good vocalist put out stuff that showcases, I don't know, their voice?
Christina's career is done at this point if all she does is put out albums like Lotus and doesn't care enough to properly promote them. It's just that simple. And guess what, her record sales prove it. She took a hit with Bionic and an ever bigger hit with Lotus even though she performed on The Voice when it came out, and a few other shows.
Nobody who is a casual listener will take her seriously with the overly done fake tan, the way she dresses, the fucking gay rainbow explosion performances, lack of promotion, and her choice of singles.
Lotus is done. Move along. Christina is well past her golden days and unless she gets her act straight her career will keep going downhill. With the way she looks, the way she carries herself, and the songs she puts out you cannot say that she is the same person who put out Beautiful or her other successful work. Dirrty, while a poorly performing single, at least was iconic in her career. There is nothing iconic or memorable about anything she put out after Back to Basics. Nobody takes her seriously anymore because she doesn't take herself seriously.
BTW I'm done arguing about this you can keep on quoting paragraph by paragraph to reply because I guess it's too much to expect someone to read an entire post and formulate an opinion without having to break it down. And you can keep on coming into other topics and quoting 3 month old posts to track Christina's shit into other topics as well. And you can keep on changing IPs to request her songs on different forums. And you can keep on calling radio stations to request her songs. And you can keep on being miserable as a fan and never bring yourself to enjoy the album on your own without having to put blame on other factors for her recent failures.
But the truth is, millions of people in the US and all over the world do not give a flying. fuck. about Christina's music anymore, because she doesn't either.
are they really hating the name 'Christina Aguilera' on the radio? smh
wow at the argument on the last few pages
its nice of penayforay giving facts like the 'britney clearchannel dispute' as to oppose of just arguing based on personal opinion and projecting it as a general public's opinion
Before penayforay makes more accounts to message me (get a life honey), let me make my thoughts on Lotus & Christina clear.
Lotus was supposed to signify Christina's return to prominence, which is why she collaborated with some of the biggest pop-hit making producers on the album (Max Martin, Shellback, to name a few) and also with her fellow Voice judges, Blake Shelton & Cee Lo Green. But the album had a rocky start of only < 73,000 in its first week, despite a promotion performance she did on The Voice for the album alongside Cee Lo. And despite followup performances on TV on both the Voice, and other shows, the album and its singles tanked. At the end of January, 2013, the album has sold less than 200k in the US, and the singles have sold a combined less than 1 million in the US. Worldwide, this album marked some of the lowest sales figures Christina has ever posted.
So no matter how big of a fan you are, you cannot deny that Lotus wasn't exactly a comeback, because it was basically a non-event. Christina commands a massive and somewhat protective/delusional fan base (some of which you can evidence here), but it was probably wrong of her fans to expect big things from Lotus given her history with Bionic. Say all you want about it being 'ahead of its time' or whatever but album sales being what they are nowadays, that only tells half the story. It's better to look at how she's fared on the singles charts because her fans probably should have seen all this coming and tempered their expectations accordingly.
So first let's look at the facts.
- Christina has had three solo #1's on the Billboard Hot 100
- Her fourth was "Lady Marmalade" on which she's featured alongside other artists
- Her fifth was "Moves Like Jagger," where is a featured artist on a Maroon 5 song.
- Since 2002, she's only had three singles land in the top 10 (2002's "Beautiful," 2006's "Ain't No Other Man" and 2008's "Keeps Gettin' Better")
- Her best showing in recent years was "Not Myself Tonight," which made it to #23.
- Lotus' first single, "Your Body," peaked at #34, and eight weeks after it was released, it tanked at #84.
These are just facts.
Moving on,
Christina failed to replicate the chart success of pop stars like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, & Rihanna with Lotus. There are plenty of theories & prevailing thoughts (whether real or imagined) that she's not as likable, does not work overtime to channel the same outsider spirit (and therefore isn't as relatable), has radio against her (which makes no sense as the singles tanked all over the world, not just in the US) or simply hasn't been as smart with her choices of singles to release.
The truth of the matter lies in her lack of singles success, because it suggests that Christina is no longer a pop star like Rihanna or Katy Perry; she's a niche artist like Adele. Which is why I pointed out that Christina needs to put out albums like the widely acclaimed, Grammy winning Back to Basics, and not something like Lotus.
In her best moments (and I wish there were more of them on Lotus), she can out-sing just about anybody, and sings circles around GaGa, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, etc. She still releases interesting stuff, and I do love "Just a Fool" and think there are plenty of equally worthy follow-ups on Lotus, like "Blank Page" or "Best of Me".
She has a loyal fanbase, one that has thinned in recent years, but remains nonetheless. She can still work with anyone she pleases and make the kinds of albums she wants. But this doesn't mean she will be successful in doing so, as evidenced by Bionic and Lotus. As far as niche artists go, Christina's got it pretty good as evidenced by the success of Back to Basics, which focuses on the 20's and 30's jazzy style of music which she did justice.
But I really think that it's time for her to stop trying to compete with her contemporaries by releasing songs like "Your Body" and embrace the uniqueness of her situation.
As far as I'm concerned, everything about Lotus went wrong. It was inevitable that it would fail the minute she put out "Your Body". In my opinion, she never needed a comeback. She was fine exactly where she was and should have just put out music that helps her shine as a niche artist after the one misstep of Bionic. Her voice is unique and lends itself very well to such music, similar to how Adele can push ballads to the top of the charts everywhere around the world. But her voice & image doesn't fare well against her other contemporaries when she sings mainstream pop.
In good news I'm glad to have blocked penayforay for this nonsense to stop. I'm also glad camp Christina seems to have given up on Lotus. Hopefully her next album (if any) takes her back to what she's good at as opposed to trying to be good at whatever everyone else is good at.
so, i gave "lotus" a spin. i quite like aguilera, eventhough i think shes always been a little hit-or-miss.
well, her latest effort didnt impress me. basically, "just a fool" is the only song i like, and it sounds like it belongs on a different album.
"lotus" sounds generic, a little desperate, and kinda rihannabe.
i think aguileras voice sounds best against a more organic backdrop, as in "stripped" and "back to basic". "bionic" was slick, but at least it was also interesting and daring and energetic. "lotus" just sounds unflattering and boring to me.
after hearing "just a fool", im kinda hoping her next album is gonna be country/blues/folk-pop. i think that would be an interesting direction for her to explore.
luv xtina. really wished lotus did much better.
I hate to say it but just a fool was a bad choice as far as singles.army of me would've been better.just a fool should've been a fourth single to close out the album.her problem is she needs to reinvent herself instead of playing the same game.the reason why stripped and back to the basics did well was cause she brought new vibes to both.
what am i good at? haha!
I thought Christina had the flu during her People's Choice performance, but it turns out she didn't, so I don't know why she was out of tune the first 45 seconds of the performance, and then in various parts of the bridge following through as well. Kelly's most recent televised performance was that on the Grammys where she got a standing ovation from everyone in the room, and was considered by many as one of the vocal highlights of the evening.
I feel like Christina has a slightly broader range, but is more limited to what she can sing to make her voice shine through because I feel as if her voice does best in the mid range (like on tracks like Beautiful), not her lower or upper register. Her higher chest notes seemed to be forced sometimes. You can easily witness this by watching her (in the past) attempting to hit the famous F5 note in "I Turn To You" live. She usually changes the note in her live appearances
Kelly I feel has less of a range than Christina but is more versatile in what she can sing. Although like Christina Kelly has a head voice, it often seems disconnected from her chest voice. Christina I feel uses the head voice better, but Kelly I feel does a better job from going through the lower ends of her register to her soaring chest voice.
Comes down to personal preference really, but judging them as vocalists I feel lately Kelly is doing a better job than Christina.
Edit -> If you want to compare them both hitting an F5 here's Kelly's version of it
At around 8:30
Here for Christina's F5
Around 9:30
Mr. Worldwide and Legendtina Aguilera! Feel This Moment, daleee!
The video is nothing extraordinary but at least we get to see her and she looks HOT!
Love Christina Aguilera.
This may be one of the really rare moments where Mickey Mouse club graduates Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake are all in the Hot 100 top 10.
#10 - Feel This Moment
#9 - Scream and Shout
#4 - Suit & Tie
As for Feel This Moment, I don't really like any of Pitbull's lyrics and don't like the "Take on Me" melody interpolated in it either. I really wish they'd given Christina more lines in that song. She says the same lines over and over. Her voice is so much better than his (as in she can actually sing).
I was initially shocked but I got over it...I mean it's not like she was actually trying so I saw it coming. What still amazes me is that it seems like she really doesn't give a crap...It's really sad and I know a lot of fans are leaving the boat, I'm staying but if she keeps sabotaging her music career like this (I know she's doing preeetty good in other areas of the entertainment business) I don't how long she'll keep her A-List status.
And yeah Kid Choice Awards tonight and the Diana Ross tribute in April...that's all we have to look forward to right now.
I will never ever forgive her because of abandoning Just A Fool and paid it in a dust
she could make a scrap black n white music video with white background tho
She does seem to come across in her interviews as if she's the best thing that happened to music, ever. I'm not a big fan of per personality and lately not a fan of her music either. I much prefer Shakira on The Voice over Christina.
Christina's image as well (especially in recent years) has been in my opinion very terrible. Forget the weight gain/loss she's been going through ever since she gave birth. In my opinion she's always struggled with her image as an artist. She comes across as someone who's trying to be the "Voice of the Generation" but at the same time she also wants to be slutty, raunchy, and use her Lotus (that's code for vagina) to sell records. She constantly says people like Etta James and Aretha Franklin were huge influences on her but then decides to sing "all I wanna do is fuck your body".
I think she's struggling big time in trying to make herself musically immortal like Madonna or Kylie, who constantly re-invent their image. She reinvents herself in a moment's notice from performance to performance but she does is so arbitrarily, nobody can take her seriously. It doesn't ever feel genuine. It's almost as if she just keeps throwing every idea against the wall and hoping something will stick.
There is no originality, there is no direction with both her image and music lately. There is only mess after mess after mess, and judging by how Lotus failed all over the world (and not just the US), and her tour canceled (technically never even planned) the public is losing interest at a more rapid rate than ever.
Oh well, at least we can enjoy the golden days of her career.
Apparently Christina was MIA for a performance she was supposed to do!
When this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction is broadcast on HBO May 18, you can "dim all the lights" on any hopes of seeing Christina Aguilera sing in tribute to Donna Summer. Though previously advertised as a musical guest who'd be saluting the late disco queen, Aguilera was an unexplained no-show at Thursday night's ceremony, leaving curious attendees to wonder whether she'd lost her voice on top of temporarily abandoning her "Voice" post.
That left it up to planned partner Jennifer Hudson to go it solo and work doubly hard for the money...at about half her former size, judging from the skintight bodysuit she wore while serenading the crowd with a medley of "Bad Girls" and "Last Dance." Hudson looked like she was on her way to the Bob Mackie Hall of Fame ceremony in this glittery outfit, but even the Rush fanatics who packed L.A.'s Nokia Theatre for the show weren't complaining, about either her sexy get-up or the high notes she expertly hit at the climax of "Dance."
Left unspoken was whether it had been planned that Aguilera would sing one of the two Summer numbers that ended up with Hudson, or whether attendees missed out on the chance to hear Christina replicate the classic moans of "Love to Love You Baby." Aguilera did not take to her Twitter account or anywhere else to explain being MIA, and her publicist did not immediately respond to requests for comment on her absence Friday.
At least the epic glories of "Love to Love You Baby" did not go unremarked upon. In an effusively delivered induction speech, Kelly Rowland noted that producer Giorgio Moroder "laid down a 17-minute track for Donna to sing over...I'm pretty sure me and a lot of y'all out there were made to that record."
With Hudson in the lead, the dress code skewed much glitzier than it usually does at a Rock Hall of Fame ceremony certainly varied, thanks largely to an unusual number of sharply attired R&B and film/TV celebrities on hand to salute the honorees. Oprah Winfrey inducted Quincy Jones, while a typically well-dressed Harry Belafonte joined a typically jersey-ed Spike Lee in offering props to Public Enemy. Flavor Flav wore a white tux with tails, as did the young son he dressed in identical garb and literally dragged to the podium.
Usher paid homage to Quincy Jones by way of doing a Michael Jackson tribute, singing "Rock With You" in black leather formal wear accented by a tiny red bow tie and red shoes, a la Jackson's pre-militaristic garb.
It was up to the likes of John Fogerty to really let rock's freak flag fly, as he wore his usual flannel shirt while supporting honoree Randy Newman in his opening number and participating in the show-ending jam.
Perhaps the most notable sartorial surprise belonged to Foo Fighters, who made an appearance as a Rush tribute band, wearing wigs and white kimonos as they banged through some famous riffs before the real Rush came out and replaced them. The outfits represented a semi-inside reference to what Dave Grohl previously referred to in his induction speech as "the most infamous band photo of all time," a '70s shot in which Rush somehow managed to combine kimonos with embarrassingly skintight pants.
well we can do hope for her appearance at TIME Gala Event
she lost weight
and the right make up hair and black dress
I love her performance outfit too
Baby Jane is back!
Such a fun, retro thread. I totally remember late-90s artists like Christina Aguilera and Vitamin C and Hoku. "Come on over, baby!"
She dropped some pounds and looks great! Pic on the set of her video with Alejandro Fernandez from her Twitter:
and cant wait for tonight performance at Billboard Music Awards
Is RCA releasing 'Let There Be Love' as the third single? I heard it on the radio today, and learned it's currently #1 on the dance charts.
cant wait for her performance at The Voice finale


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Adobe's Creative Suite comes in variety of different bundles (such as Web, design, production, and master collection), and these include popular applications such as Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Flash. However, not all of the products in Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 have been upgraded in this release.
Major applications, such as Acrobat and Photoshop, have received only minimal changes since the previous version 5 release. However, products such as Dreamweaver, InDesign, and the Flash development tools have all added significant new features in this release.
The rise of mobile devices and the need to develop applications for the many new smartphones and tablets in use today is addressed by Creative Suite 5.5. Plus, much of the new functionality is geared towards developing applications and websites that take advantage of the emerging HTML 5 standard. Several new capabilities available within Creative Suite 5.5 also take advantage of the touch interfaces available in devices such as Apple's iPad.
Although much of Creative Suite 5.5 has improved features for creating content for Apple iOS devices, for the most part these capabilities aren't fully available for Windows-based developers and will often require a Mac version of the suite in order to build and deploy the iOS apps.
Recommended Reading
Mobile, HTML 5 Headline Adobe CS 5.5 Advances
Google Debuts Flash-To-HTML5 Converter
Adobe Content Platform Banks On Boosting Customer Experience
Adobe CEO Confident Android Tablets Will Beat iPad
Adobe Accelerates Release Cycle With CS 5.5
Adobe Joins Social Network Analysis Bandwagon
Adobe 'Wallaby' Turns Flash Into HTML5
Great Lost Software: 16 Gone But Not Forgotten
Adobe Launches Web Forms Software


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California AB 1953 (or Vermont S152 if you get a Vermont query) is a law that further limits the weighted average (amount of) lead content in pipes, fittings and plumbing fixtures used to convey drinking to a maximum of .25% on wetted services. This is less than the allowable level in most states whose standards are based on the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, which has been very effective in making drinking water safer.
January 1, 2010.
This icon is used to signify any model that is CA (California) or VT (Vermont) or MD (Maryland) compliant.
It appears on the Product Detail page of any faucet that complies.
Any devices designed for purposes of dispensing water for human consumption. Examples of faucets or products impacted by AB1953 include Kitchen Faucets, Pot Fillers, Bar Faucets, Bathroom Faucets, Hot Water Dispensers, Cold Water Dispensers, Supply Stops, and Water Fountains.
Any devices designed for purposes other than dispensing water for human consumption. Examples of faucets or products not impacted by AB1953 include Shower Faucets, Sinks, Bathroom Accessories, Electronic products, Laundry Faucets, and Lavatory Fittings.
All consumers and businesses distributing plumbing products in California. What products are affected by AB1953? All devices at the point-of-use that are intended to dispense water for human consumption. According to AB1953: "No person shall introduce into commerce, for use in California, any pipe, pipe or plumbing fitting, or fixture intended to convey or dispense water for human consumption through drinking water or cooking that is not lead free. This includes kitchen faucets, bathroom faucets, and any other end-use devices intended to convey or dispense water for human consumption through drinking or cooking." Examples of the products this bill will cover include kitchen faucets, bar faucets, manual lavatory faucets, supply stops, bubblers, glass fillers and pot fillers.
Products that do not meet the criteria as outlined by AB1953 by January 1, 2010 cannot be sold in the State of California.
No. Previously installed faucets are not affected. Only faucets sold in California, Vermont and Maryland beginning in January, 2010 must meet the new standard.
The AB1953 lead content standard does not distinguish between residential and commercial uses. Any installation of a product intended to dispense water for human consumption must meet the lead content standards of this new law.
Products must receive certification from an independent ANSI-approved, third-party testing organization. The manufacturer and the third-party organization that tested the products to the AB1953 standard will be able to provide proper documentation.
No. According to the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute (PMI), lead levels have been reduced to nearly immeasurable amounts due to advancements in materials and manufacturing processes. Where trace amounts of lead have been found in drinking water, aging infrastructure, including pipe and plumbing system components, have been the main contributors of trace amounts of lead in the water supply.
AB1953 does not replace NSF61. AB1953 specifically addresses the lead content used in manufacturing the products, while NSF61 is a performance standard that measures the amount of lead and other metals that may leach into the water at the point-of-use. Chicago Faucets will continue to meet the NSF61, Section 9 requirement on applicable products.
Still Need Help? Contact Customer Service at 1-800-891-0896


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Set 25 years before the events of the original Deus Ex, the world of Human Revolution may require some explanation, even for series vets. A new dev diary released by Square Enix focuses on the rise of augmentations, and the two companies that vie for control over the market: Sarif Industries and Tai Yong Medical.
Of course, there wouldn't be much of a game if there wasn't any conflict. Inevitably, the rise of augmentation means that some are willing to exploit the technology. It'll be interesting to see how the consequences of your actions in Human Revolution set up the backdrop for the original Deus Ex.
BOOM video 9638
Deus Ex: Human Revolution launches on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 August 23.


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Dear Editor,
Where does our food come from? If you're like most Americans, the answer is the grocery store. This is very disturbing. The grocery store isn't where food comes from - it's just from where food is distributed. Just a few generations ago, most people were a part of, or had family or relatives involved with agriculture. People still need to be aware of agriculture in their lives, and what it takes to put food on the dinner table.
The Agricultural Council of America (ACA) has announced that March 25, 2014 will be the 41st anniversary of National Ag Day, to be celebrated in classrooms and communities across the country.
National Ag Day is a time when producers, agricultural associations, government agencies and countless others across American gather to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by American agriculture. As the world's population soars, there is an even greater demand for food, fiber, and renewable resources produced by farmers.
American farmers are continuing to work harder than ever, and it shows. Today, each farmer feeds more than 144 people. The need for food produced in the United States is increasing yearly. Agriculture is the nation's #1 export and is very important in sustaining a healthy economy.
National Ag Day is a good time to reflect and to be grateful for American agriculture.
Julia Babinat


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- BUY TICKETS ONLINE or CALL 612.332.5299
- DINNER RESERVATIONS or CALL 612.332.1010
Music Calendar
- This event has passed.
Chris Speed Trio
Original Modern Jazz
- Date:
- Friday, Aug 9, 2013
- Time:
- 11:30pm
- Cost:
- $10
- Category:
- Late Night
Chris Speed Trio w/Dave King, Chris Tordini Media
- Website:
- chrisspeed.com/
About Chris Speed Trio w/Dave King, Chris Tordini
Saxophonist-clarinetist Chris Speed is one of the most in-demand reedmen in New York. For over 20 years his brilliant tone and imaginative compositions have made him one of the busiest collaborators in the Brooklyn scene.
Speed has appeared on stage and on record with Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, Tim Berne, Myra Melford, John Hollenbeck, Cuong Vu, Kurt Rosenwinkel and many more. Speed is a member of a number of ensembles, including the Claudia Quintet, Human Feel, Orange Then Blue, Bloodcount and several others.
Chris is the co-founder of Skirl Records, an independent record label that is described as "an artist-run collective documenting work by a Brooklyn-centered community of musicians channeling a vast array of ideas and experience into new music."
Dave King is one of the most celebrated drummers in modern jazz. His contributions to the Minneapolis and New York jazz scenes are incalculable, and his imagination and boundless enthusiasm behind (and around) the drum set are singular and stunning. King can be seen regularly with Happy Apple, The Bad Plus, the Dave King Trucking Company, Halloween Alaska, Buffalo Collision, Gang Font, and others.
Christopher Tordini is a bassist in the New York City music scene, where he performs with established jazz icons as well as a diverse range of emerging musicians. He has toured and recorded with Andy Milne's Dapp Theory for over 4 years, and has also played and recorded in bands led by other artists such as Greg Osby, Jeremy Pelt, Ari Hoening, Steve Lehman, Jim Black, Andrew D'Angelo, and the Becca Stevens Band. Tordini is also a collaborator in projects led by drummer/composer Tyshawn Sorey and trombonist/composer Michael Dessen.
What Other People Have Been Saying...
"Speed is a compelling soloist; he possesses a lovely round tone on the clarinet and his wailing tenor can be powerful at even quiet volumes. He also employs a wide range of extended techniques on both his horns, and is highly imaginative in discovering new textures and timbres to explore." -All Music


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Bored? Stupid? Then feel free to kill an hour or two and several brain cells today with unemployed, Canadian right-wing screech harpy Kathy Shaidle:
Don't forget my talk tomorrow afternoon:
To reserve your spot by credit card, call:
Anna at the Faculty Club
(416) 978-6326
Thursday, March 6, 2008
12:30 to 1:30PM
The University of Toronto Faculty Club
41 Willcocks Street (Spadina & Harbourd)
Sandwich buffet lunch then cookies, coffee and tea: $20
If you pop by and there's a question-and-answer session, be sure to ask Kathy whether she still thinks it's acceptable to ridicule fat kids. Or whether she still believes there are no desperately poor people in America.
And point out that she's fat. I understand she's good with that.


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The Center Line Public Safety Department is preparing to sell more than five dozen firearms to the public, a decision that troubles one city councilman who worked as a police officer but defended by other city officials as safe and lawful.
Like many communities, the city has long conducted public auctions of used office equipment, government vehicles, bicycles and other forfeited and unclaimed property. But pistols, rifles and shotguns weren�t for sale, stored away by Center Line for years.
For the first time, the firearms will be available for purchase by the public under a new agreement with Internet-based auction company Repocast.com.
The city plans to dispose of 40 handguns and 26 long guns. Officials believe the firearms accumulated for at least 10 years. Some of the handguns were duty weapons issued over the years to the city�s public safety officers and later taken out of service. Others may have been seized or forfeited to the city.
�I don�t feel like this is the right way to get rid of guns. I don�t think I could ever forgive myself if we sold a gun to somebody and the person killed somebody,� said Councilman Ronald Lapham, a retired police officer who worked in the Public Safety Department from 1968-78 and later at the Macomb
County Sheriff�s Office.
�For lack of a better word, I�m a little bit shocked there was a company that auctioned off guns,� he said. �They�re trying to tell me we�ve got no liability.�
The four council members who passed the auction agreement are Mayor David Hanselman, Mary Hafner, Nicholas Chakur and Robert Binson. Chakur is a retired Center Line Public Safety deputy director.
The city�s top-ranking first responder defended the arrangement, which is expected to be a money-maker for the 8,200-resident city.
�This is going to be a win right out of the gate,� Public Safety Director Paul Myszenski told The Macomb Daily. �If there was any chance of anything that didn�t appear right at all in the least bit, we wouldn�t even dream of doing this.�
Center Line officials said previous annual weekend auctions at City Hall made little or no profit once the cost of city employee wages, sometimes at overtime rates, to prepare and conduct the auctions were factored. Light bidder turnout also was a detriment.
�Needless to say, the prices don�t go up� with few bidders, Myszenski said.
Nearly a year ago, Center Line began exploring ways to dispose of the stored firearms. Officials contacted licensed firearm dealers, including vendors who had sold guns and ammunition for use by the Public Safety Department. Myszenski said that would yield about $6,000 that the city could use as in-store credit for future purchases.
�We weren�t really sold on it,� he said.
According to the Repocast agreement approved by the City Council, the online auction firm will charge $2.50 for each lot � or group � of items. Some goods could be package for sale together, such as city hall phones, because they might be difficult to sell individually. The company will receive a commission of 8 percent for any lot that sells for over $1,000 and 15 percent for items with a winning bid of less than $1,000. Advertising costs also are deducted from gross proceeds.
Repocast says all of the surplus items will be sold. They range from computer equipment, two dispatch center consoles, a golf cart and two 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe�s from the Public Safety Department, to 50 bicycles to dishes from the Recreation Department.
For years, police departments in Macomb County have taken steps to keep seized and unclaimed handguns from the public�s hand. Pistols often are taken to the Michigan State Police in Lansing, where they are destroyed. Those include the Sheriff�s Office and the Warren Police Department.
�We�ve done it for as long as I can remember, and there�s nothing to prompt me to change our protocol,� Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green said.
County government officials usually hold two public auctions of used equipment every year, sans firearms. Handguns have been turned over to State Police.
Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said his department is studying whether to contract with Repocast to auction stored firearms.
�From a law enforcement standpoint, we�re always going to want to know where they go. We want to make sure they don�t get into the wrong hands,� he said.
Roseville contracted with Repocast for the city�s first online auction of seized and forfeited property this year. Vehicles and guns were not included.
�We wanted to see how it worked before we committed to anything higher,� Police Chief James Berlin said.
The auction yield about $2,800 for the city�s coffers.
�We were happy with the outcome and we�re going to use them again,� said the chief, adding that cars may be included in the next round.
If Roseville decides to sell its stockpile of handguns, it could produce a minor windfall. The Police Department has �several hundred� guns that consume considerable storage space, Berlin said. The amount has grown because logging each one and checking the ownership history is very time-consuming in a department already short of manpower, he said.
Clinton Township also is working with Repocast for an auction of government-held property.
Myszenski, the Center Line public safety boss, said the contracted auction firm holds a federal firearms dealer license issued by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Repocast has existed for 12 years and is one of eight companies of Miedema Asset Management Group, headquartered in Byron Center, Mich., near Grand Rapids. It boasts more than $500 million in sales during that period and claims it has more than 190,000 registered bidders.
For its municipal clients, the company picks up their surplus property and transports it in preparation for the sale.
The sale of firearms is handled through sister firm SSL Corporate, which holds a federal firearms license from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said Andrew Hill, account executive at Repocast. That entity was established two years ago in response to �very strong demand� by consumers for used firearms, he said.
An SSL brochure shows pictures of five used firearms recently sold. Hill said four were sold at auction on behalf of the Fraser Department of Public Safety: a Vector Arms semi-automatic rifle, for $555; a Norinco model B-west, for $455; a Colt 1911, popular with collectors because the model was used in World War II, for $1,016; and a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver, $425.
Hill said all it takes to bid at its weekly online auctions is to pre-register and provide a credit card number.
�You can be the biggest criminal in the world,� he admitted.
However, the company requires winning bidders to pick up merchandise from a designative facility. At that point or before, names are submitted to the ATF for a background check for eligibility to complete the purchase of any firearm before the weapon is handed over. Some buyers are approved on the spot, but any red flags can result in a delay � or rejection � up to three days later.
If a gun sold at one of the auctions is later used in a crime and someone wants to know who owned the gun before the auction, they may have difficulty getting an answer. Repocast � and not a municipality or police department trying to dispose of firearms � is shown as the seller to shield the government client from publicity.
A Repocast brochure states: �SSL Corporation becomes the seller of record for any firearms, making it invisible yet transparent, eliminating any bad press!�
The Center Line city administration also pointed that out for council members, according to a document that outlined the proposed auction agreement for the five elected officials. However, the proposed and unsigned �internet auction employment agreement� describes anyone who appoints Repocast as their selling agent, as the �seller.�
Hill said he realizes the auctioning of guns to the public has naysayers. He considers the notion that re-sold guns end up on the streets as false.
Repocast also will require Center Line to maintain insurance and hold the auction firm harmless for any damage or liability claims involving equipment or property, up until the city is paid for the sold property. Agreement terms also show the city will be liable for any theft, damage, fire damage or vandalism that may occur on auction premises or while handled by the company, city records show.
�I don�t see this as an unreasonable course of action,� Center Line City Manager John Michrina, formerly the police chief of Monroe, Mich., said of the contract.
Lapham, the councilman and retired police officer, isn�t convinced that potential revenue is worth the risk.
�Is it worth somebody�s life?� he said.


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CHARLOTTE – The popular black-on-black uniform the Panthers featured once in each of the last two regular seasons is ready to make its postseason debut.
Players were informed Wednesday that when they take to the Bank of America Stadium field on Jan. 12 for an NFC Divisional Playoff, they'll do so in black jerseys and pants.
"It's sweet," defensive end
Thanks to overwhelming fan response, the all-black look won a 64-uniform bracket contest last summer on NFL.com that crowned the "Greatest Uniform in NFL History."
"I know our fans love it," kicker
"We love all of our uniforms, but because we haven't worn black-on-black too often, it's still pretty exciting."
The Panthers wore white jerseys and white pants for the first nine playoff games in franchise history, winning six times – including both times they wore the combination at home. They sported black jerseys and silver pants in their most recent playoff game, a home loss to Arizona that ended the 2008 season.
Carolina lost when the black-on-black look debuted in 2012 versus Denver but defeated the New York Jets while wearing it in Week 15 this season.
"You're not going to win or lose a game on what you wear," Johnson said. "It's all about preparation."
TICKET TAKERS: Playoff tickets went on sale Wednesday morning but didn't stay on sale very long.
Approximately 7,000 tickets sold out in three minutes.
"That's crazy," cornerback
Added head coach Ron Rivera: "That's exciting. It really is. It speaks very well to our fans and the support we've gotten all year. They've been outstanding."
Phil Youtsey, the Panthers' longtime director of ticketing, thanked fans who bought tickets Wednesday as well as the team's PSL Owners for helping make the Panthers' 114th consecutive sellout possible.
"We want to thank fans for their tremendous support for this game, throughout the season and for the past 19 years," Youtsey said. "We are very proud of our fans, who are loud and respectful and help make one of the best stadiums in the NFL even better."
INJURY UPDATE: The Panthers will hold wide receiver
"I think Steve will be where we need him to be," Rivera said. "Steve is right on schedule and is doing a great job. He's feeling better every day – at least that's what he's telling me. You know Steve, he's going to do everything he can."
Smith and tight end
"If we would have had another guy go down, I probably would have been pushed back in there," Hartsock said. "This is just a setback on the initial injury. The MRI didn't show any new damage or anything like that, and that's a good thing."
Defensive tackle
"I'll be ready when it's time to start the game next week," Cole said.
NUMBERS GAME: Rivera said practices this week would focus on improving the things the Panthers do but would also include some preparation for their playoff opponent.
The Panthers won't know until this weekend who their opponent will be, but they do know some things about the three potential teams – the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers.
"One beneficial thing on the offensive side is that all three teams we can potentially face have 3-4 defenses," Rivera said. "That's a plus as far as our preparation is concerned."
ROSTER MOVE: The Panthers have signed rookie tight end
"He's a nice-sized guy with good, physical athletic ability," Rivera said. "He has long arms, good hands, runs decent routes and is good at the point of the attack."
The 6-6, 255-pounder from Rutgers was selected in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He spent the first eight games on the roster, playing in four games, before being waived on Nov. 4.


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Try this: Call a TV station and tell them that you know the Antichrist is already on earth and is an adult Jewish male. See how far you get. Then try the same thing and add that you are the Rev. Jim-Bob Vermin. "Why, Reverend, come right on the show!" What a fool Don Imus was. If he had paid the paltry few bucks to make himself a certified clergyman, he could be jeering and sneering to the present hour.
Yeah, well, I saw you on TV jeering and sneering over the death of a man. How did you get on?
I love the way Anderson Cooper preens about how CNN presents all sides of a story and brings on Hitchens to piss about "the empty life of this ugly little charlatan." Okay, fine, Anderson, but I want to see all your death stories spiced up like this from now on.


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Marked down so far? But they look perfectly fine!
What could be easier than a cake that looks like an obese porpoise? No problem!
If he can do that with 30 peeps, imagine what he could do to the Stay-Puft marshmallow man!
I bet that peep's liver tastes extra sweet with a nice chianti.
You might as well give them marshmallow guns since we all know they can't hit anything anyway.


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We're remembering, this morning, the life of Nelson Mandela, who died last night in Johannesburg. He was a public and charismatic figure for more than 60 years. Let's take a few moments to revisit some of his memorable speeches.
In 1963, he went on trial in South Africa. Mandela and others in the African National Congress were accused of plotting the violent overthrown of the white minority government. And he spoke in his defense when the trial began.
NELSON MANDELA: I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society, in which all persons will live together in harmony, and with equal opportunities. It is an idea for which I hope to live for. But, my Lord, if it needs be, it is an idea for which I am prepared to die.
MONTAGNE: Democracy, freedom and equality: ideals for which he was prepared to die. Nelson Mandela was convicted in that trial, and then jailed for 27 years. Four years after he was released in 1990, he stood before all South Africans, taking the oath of office as the country's first black president.
MANDELA: I, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa.
INSKEEP: His 1994 election victory ended centuries of domination by South Africa's white minority.
MANDELA: Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity, and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement. Let freedom ring. God bless Africa. I thank you.
MONTAGNE: Nelson Mandela, after becoming South Africa's first black president. He died yesterday at the age of 95.
INSKEEP: And we will continue to hear responses to Mandela's life and death throughout today's program. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Ray Lewis, who retired from the NFL after lifting a second SuperBowl title back in February, is set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity.
The Baltimore Ravens legend, who spent 16-years with the team who drafted him in the 1996 first round, has been relatively quiet since calling time on his career.
However, that's about to change as Lewis embarks on a trek up the 19,336-foot peak in Africa. Former Chicago Bears tackle Tommie Harris and Doug Pitt, the brother of Hollywood actor Brad, are also taking up the challenge.
The cause is a good one, with the trio looking to raise money for "TackleKili", which looks to raise both awareness and money for clean water projects in East Africa.
And, the climb up the tallest free-standing mountain in the world began on Wednesday, with the intrepid trio scheduled to reach the summit of the mountain at some point on Sunday.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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The Knoxville Police Department responded to a report of a dog fight inside a home on South Attica Road at approximately 6:16pm Sunday. Police Chief Dan Losada says officers arrived on the scene they were able to get everyone out of the house, though a woman in the home who tried to separate the two pit bulls suffered a severe injury on her foot and was taken to Knoxville Hospital and Clinics for treatment. The officers were eventually able to dart the dogs with their tranquilizer gun and stood by until the male owner of the animals arrived. The dogs were then turned over to the man and taken to a vet clinic in Des Moines for treatment.
Losada says the city will be holding a hearing later this week to decide if the dogs are "dangerous animals" as defined by the City Code. If City officials determine they are dangerous the must be removed from the City limits or destroyed.
Losada says if an animal attacks it is important for people to protect themselves first. He encourages residents to get away as quickly as possibly by either trapping the animal in a room by itself or leaving the area.
KNIA/KRLS news will bring you more information as soon as it becomes official.


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Veteran left-arm spin bowler Gary Keedy swaps Lancashire for Surrey
Surrey have signed veteran left-arm spinner Gary Keedy from Lancashire, ending his 18-year association with the county.
Last Updated: 12/10/12 8:02am
The 37-year-old, who made over 400 appearances for Lancashire and claimed more than 800 wickets in all competitions, has signed a two-year contract with Surrey that ties him to the Kia Oval until the end of the 2015 season.
Keedy said: "I have had a fantastic 18 seasons at Lancashire and would like to thank all the players, staff and members there for everything they have done for me.
"However, I have reached the time in my career when I need to move on in order to fulfil my ambitions and I am very excited to be joining Surrey at this time.
"They are a great club with a long history and an exciting future and I am really looking to playing my part over the next few seasons."
Surrey team director Chris Adams said: "Gary Keedy has been one of the leading bowlers in county cricket for over a decade and I am delighted he will be joining us for the next two seasons.
"As well as his fantastic ability with the ball, he will play a valuable role in the dressing room throughout the year - helping to impart his experience to the younger members of our squad."


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Base Training - Advanced Schedule, Week 9
Monday: Begin the week with an easy run of 3 miles followed by your strength training routine. Eight weeks down now and four weeks remaining in our 12-week Base Training program. You're two-thirds of the way toward your goal, whether to run some fast 5-K and 10-K times at the end or to improve your speed base before starting my 18-week marathon training program. Regardless of your goal, it is now in sight. Think about this today as you run. Also, check the schedule for the full week. This is a race week with a 10-K penciled in for Sunday. Your workouts change as a result of getting ready to race. (As before, if the local schedule doesn't yield a convenient race at this distance on that day, adjust accordingly.)
Tuesday: Today's track workout is 16 x 200 meters, jogging and/or walking 200 between. Run at the pace you would race an 800. Don't forget to warm up thoroughly and cool down afterwards. Warm-up is particularly important when you train this fast. It's too easy to injure yourself if your muscles are cold. Here's a tip on form related to head carry that you can consider while running the 200 reps. Look straight down the track. Your eyes should be focused straight on a point moving about 10 meters in front of you. Try to run in a straight line and not wander back and forth in your lane. While running the curve, focus on staying just right of the inside line and don't wobble across it. Interval training is an excellent way to improve your concentration, which becomes critical when you race.
Wednesday: Three miles running with stretching to follow. Continuing a discussion thread begun yesterday, how is your running form? Usually I tell beginners not to worry about form; just get out and run. But once runners rise to the advanced level, how they run is worth some consideration. As you run 3 miles today, consider your posture. You should run upright. Your back should be straight, roughly at a 90-degree angle to the ground. Ignore anyone who tells you to "lean into it," even when running uphill.
Thursday: Thirty minutes is your tempo run for today, so with the stress level lowered somewhat focus on how you run, particularly during the brief period when you are at maximum speed. Swing your arms naturally. The angle at the elbow between your upper and lower arms should be about 90 degrees. Your hands should be loosely cupped, about belly level. Let your arms swing in rhythm with your legs. The legs should control arm swing, not the other way around.
Friday: Three miles plus strength training. Form is important in strength training exercises, as well as when you stretch. Don't be sloppy in anything you do connected with your running. That includes eating. It's interesting how running often forces people to change their lifestyles. When people become runners, they often modify their diets, eating more carbohydrates than they might have before. (The proper form for eating spaghetti, by the way, is to stick your fork straight into the spaghetti and twirl it to entrap strands, which then can be raised to your mouth. You can use a spoon beneath the fork, if you want, to assist in this process.) Typically, runners change their drinking habits too, realizing that moderation is the key. Rarely do I see runners drinking alcoholic beverages other than wine or beer--and usually not much of that. That's because when you start to run, you quickly realize that it's no fun to run with a hangover. Thus does running create positive habits for those who pursue it.
Saturday: With a race scheduled tomorrow, I'll give you the option of running an easy 3 miles or taking a day of rest to make sure you compete well. Or do some easy jogging and a few strides. One final word on form, and it concerns footplant. The most natural landing is mid-foot, the ball of the foot landing first, the heel contacting the ground a fraction of a second later. The toes push off a fraction after that. Some runners land further forward, or backward, than others, based on what feels natural to them. Attempt to modify this natural gait at your own risk.
Sunday: Today is race day. The schedule suggests a 10-K race, although the exact distance you run isn't that important. I would prefer, however, that you race less than 10-K given the focus of this program on speed and quality. St. Paul once said, "Do you not know that those who run in a race, all indeed run, but only one receives the prize? So run as to obtain it." (St. Paul, 9:24) I don't know, Pauly, that message might have been accurate 2,000 years ago, but if you were around today and had an opportunity to experience today's mass-participation marathons, you might agree that more than one runner receives the prize, or benefits from their participation. (That would make a good sermon subject for my former teammate at Carleton College, Bill Hendren, who is now a minister in Ventura, California.) Regardless of whether you expect to win a prize in tomorrow's race, take St. Paul's advice and run so as to obtain it.
Running Tips: Frequently when people start to run, their first steps look and feel awkward. This is natural. You wouldn't expect to go out and hit a hole-in-one the first day you played golf. So take your time learning to run correctly. After you have been running for a while, your running form will begin to improve somewhat as you condition your body. A good coach may be able to suggest some form improvements (as I have attempted to do this week), but most runners develop the form best suited for them without much prompting.
Click her to get an interactive Base Training Program from TrainingPeaks


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jabberd is a Jabber/XMPP instant messaging server. It implements XMPP-Core (RFC3920), XMPP-IM (RFC3921), and a range of protocol extensions: XEP-0012, XEP-0016, XEP-0030, XEP-0049, XEP-0054, XEP-0077, XEP-0079, XEP-0092, XEP-0114, XEP-0138, XEP-0153, XEP-0157, XEP-0160, XEP-0191, XEP-0192, XEP-0193, XEP-0198, XEP-0199, XEP-0202, XEP-0203.
123 Web Messenger can add a Facebook-like messenger bar to the bottom of the browser window of a visitor to your Web site, keeping your visitors active and connected. It offers both Web-based IM and an optional desktop IM application. 123 Web Messenger supports text and video chat options. The Web-based IM includes an invitation button in the user list page to initiate a one-to-one private chat.
JBuddy Messenger is an instant messaging client designed for everyday business use. It supports public instant messaging networks including AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo. With a paid license, JBuddy Messenger adds support for Google Talk, IBM Lotus Sametime, XMPP/Jabber, Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS 2007) and Live Communications Server (LCS 2005), and the JBuddy Message Server. JBuddy Messenger offers the concept of a Meta-Buddy (Trillian calls them Meta Contacts), which is an aggregation of the presence of multiple screen names under one buddy. Also, buddy groups of the same name across multiple accounts can be visually merged to simplify large buddy lists.
JBuddy Developer Tools is a robust suite of APIs and software development frameworks for creating instant messaging applications and solutions. It is comprised of the JBuddy SDK, JBuddy Bot Builder, and JBuddy Bot Framework. The JBuddy SDK is a unified IM client API supporting public IM services including AIM, ICQ, Windows Live (MSN), Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and enterprise IM servers including Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS 2005), Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS 2007), and XMPP (Jabber) servers. The core JBuddy SDK implementation and APIs are available in Java while a tight C++ wrapper exposes the JBuddy APIs for Microsoft COM and .NET. The JBuddy Bot Builder and JBuddy Bot Framework are built on top of the JBuddy SDK and greatly simplify building, testing, and deploying powerful IM Bots.
Amatix Office is a complete communication platform for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides email, calendar, contacts, conventional telephony like ISDN, new generation VoIP telephony like SIP, instant messaging, presence, and other features needed to power a business. Amatix Office is very easy to install and use and does not require any special IT skills. It is a live software appliance which boots a computer directly from a CD or USB flash drive without any software installation.


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The Spike TV Video Game Awards may be short on actual award-giving, but it will certainly have a lot of new game announcements. Add one more to the list: Epic Games' North Carolina studio, best known for its work on the Gears of War trilogy, will be revealing a new game this Saturday.
Cliff Bleszinski describes the new project as "entirely new and fresh," which should be a refreshing change after six years on the Gears franchise.
Bleszinski was supposed to reveal a new IP during Games Developer Conference earlier this year. However, that never came to fruition--likely due to the lengthy delay Gears of War 3 received. It's likely that this VGA announcement is the same one meant for GDC.
Make sure stay tuned to all our coverage of the Video Game Awards.


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On the way to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel "Hardy" Mays is a plan by the Shelby County Commission to convert the countywide school board to a 13-member single-district body effective Sept. 1.
The plan approved by the commission Monday, March 18, includes district lines that are almost but not an identical match of the 13 single districts to be used in County Commission elections in 2014.
If Mays approves, the commission would appoint six citizens to the added positions who begin serving Sept. 1.
That is when the 23-member board loses 16 members – nine from the old Memphis City Schools board and seven from the old Shelby County Schools board. That leaves the seven school board members elected in 2012 to staggered terms.
Ten of the 13 newly configured district seats go on the 2014 ballot. The remaining three are on the 2016 ballot for the first time.
The terms of office for those elected vary in a complex plan that requires staggered school board terms by state law.
– Terry Roland Shelby County Commissioner
It would mark the second and third sets of school board races in five years in which some school board members are elected to one-time-only terms of two years in order to stagger terms.
The commission had a solid eight-vote majority to move ahead with the plan that consisted of all seven Democrats on the 13-member commission along with Republican Mike Ritz, who is chairman of the commission.
The eight-vote majority voted down several attempts by the remaining five Republican commissioners to delay a vote on the resolution.
The group of five commissioners opposed to the new plan or to approving it this week argued there were too many undecided factors. Those include what happens to the restructured board if leaders of the six suburban towns and cities in Shelby County are able to form their own municipal school districts.
And some of the opponents argued that the expansion was a way to keep some school board members on the body instead of them exiting when the board slims down effective Sept. 1.
"They want to appoint them back on the school board," said Commissioner Terry Roland. "They already know who's going to be on the school board."
Those favoring the restructuring largely avoided the debate and instead moved ahead with the series of votes.
With the decision, the county awaits legal opinions and possibly guidance from the court on what happens to the 13-member structure if the six suburban cities and towns in Shelby County are able to create separate municipal school districts.
"There is not an easy answer to that," Shelby County Attorney Kelly Rayne told commissioners Monday.
Rayne said just because courts upheld the late 1990s model of an elected Shelby County Schools board that excluded representation of city of Memphis citizens, it doesn't necessarily translate to a decision that a countywide school system without the suburban towns and cities would mean no suburban seats on that school board.
"It's a case-by-case very intensive review. We don't know," she said.
Rayne added the legal decision on that question will likely revolve around the concept of what constitutes a "substantial interest" by suburban citizens in the affairs of a public school district that does not take in the places they live in.
Ritz said the commission could always change the plan if there cannot be representation of the suburban towns and cities.
There also could be questions about whether the terms of board members elected in 2014 could be shortened in that event.
The 13 school board districts in the plan are not an exact match of County Commission districts effective in 2014. That was the initial reasoning behind the restructuring – to only draw one set of district lines for both elected bodies every decade.
The lines in four school board districts differ to avoid pairing school board incumbents Billy Orgel and Kevin Woods in the same district and Chris Caldwell and Teresa Jones in the same district.
In other action, the commission changed its ordinance that would have given Memphis City Schools teachers who live outside Shelby County five years to move within the county and meet county government residency requirements that apply with the schools merger.
The commission dropped the five-year grace period and instead approved an amendment by Commissioner Steve Basar to grandfather in all current MCS employees – that is make them exempt from having to meet the residency requirement.
Because the ordinance was amended on what would have been its third and final reading, it comes back to the commission next month for a final vote.
And the commission voted down the second of three readings of a referendum ordinance to ask voters across the county in the August 2014 elections to abolish the county residency requirement in the county charter. The measure failed on a 5-5 vote with three commissioners abstaining. Despite the defeat, the ordinance advances to third reading in April.