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|2013-04-15, 14:58
|Link #21
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Most of the industry doesn't want to alienate male games, which still consist of the core of the more 'hardcore' or 'traditional' gaming market. If you look at movies/book which specifically target the female audience, you'll notice there's usually a focus on the main female lead having relationships with one or more male partners. Male audiences already dismiss many of them as 'chick flicks'. It's going to be even harder to get the average male gamer to accept it in their games, hence why most games that are not targeted at the male audience are gender neutral.
It's probably going to take some indie game that specifically targets the female audience to make it big and go mainstream for more devs to follow that path.
|2013-04-15, 15:13
|Link #22
Join Date: Dec 2003
Outside of certain "sex appeal sells" games, as a guy I actually don't often notice games being too tailored toward guys. At least, other than eroges (but some girls play those too! Just look at Kirino!), game like Dead of Alive come in mind but games with "too much sex appeal" does not bode well with all the male audiences: at least as a self proclaimed hardcore gamer I need actual quality gameplay and story and not hours of boobies joggling (I also have a very very strong distaste for nukige).
Maybe its natural instincts, but one thing I learned while watching Olympic weight lifting is that I find muscular guys all right but muscular women to be... not really my thing... (I am sorry if any muscular woman read this! Don't beat me up! - and no, I am not gay :O)
But while playing this muscular guy with guns or swords kicking ass, I rarely feel as if I am really playing a guy game, but a game where I just, blow stuff up. Will women be more attached if the main character is changed to a muscular female instead? (I am curious)
There is also this stereotype brainwashed into us during our childhood: its all right for the guys to be violent or "become the hero" (this is what a lot of games are about), while girls are fawned upon if they get slightly violent. I guess here is another question to girls: do you picture yourself in place of the hero (ie: sense of immersion) while playing games? If so what type of girl do you imagine yourself to be? - the muscular type that is a male counterpart, or some good looking pretty girl by social standards (which might come around and cause the game to be classified as a male game due to the sex appeal).
As a fan of blizzard games, I find their games to be generally gender neutral.
I have seen quite a few cases where guys hit up on "girls" with girlish names... its amazing what adding some ^_^ and at the end of your lines can do .
|2013-04-15, 15:14
|Link #23
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: forever lost inside a logic error
And the link that provides statistical data on the demographic, show that the gap between female and male players nowadays is a lot smaller than people think.
47% female VS 53% male
At this point the idea that "female oriented" games wouldn't work is more of a preconception due to a long history of male oriented games than anything else. Raw data prove that best selling games are often the kind that significantly appeal the female population. "The sims" and particularly "The sims 2" and "The sims 3" are very good examples of this.
And let's not forget that the game that previously had the crown for best selling game of all time was Myst, which was an adventure game, in other words the genre that mostly attracted females to the gaming industry when "female gamers" weren't even considered.
There was a time when people thought shoujo manga would never work in the west, because "comics are for boys", and let's face it, the west comic production particularly in America has always been dominated by comics meant for a male only population. Why is that DC or Marvel never realized how much they could sell if they started making comics for girls as well? Because they never thought it would work, and we know that's absolutely wrong now.
Video Games are no different.
But to be honest things are already changing and I can't really agree that there are absolutely no games especially made for women. There are a lot of them... it's just that most of them suck... and nonetheless some of them sell fairly good.
I guess that what Joyce-steele is really complaining about is the fact that games that are traditionally male oriented, such as action games, RPG and so on, are still predominantly male oriented despite the change in demographic.
One of the main problems is the fact that women are already used to play male-oriented games, while men are not. For a company it's safer to continue as they always did. It is difficult to predict how the male population, which is still consistent, would react.
Moreover a franchise with a long history cannot suddenly make a turn on its gender orientation. Asking Tomb Raider to suddenly stop pandering the male audience isn't very sensible, since it's always been like that. It should be rather asked a new kind of game entirely.
BTW I'm not really into Tomb Raider and its sequels, so I don't know how the latest installment is, but I'd be very surprised if it was strongly male-oriented considering that the story was written by a woman.
PS: Can you honestly say that lately the Final Fantasy franchise isn't blatantly pandering female gamers?
|2013-04-15, 15:21
|Link #24
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 29
Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Tales of... are 3 admittedly large and successful game series that target men and women alike; that is probably because they are (at least were, in some cases) more focused towards the basic elements of the game (learning curve, gameplay, plot, environment, replay value) rather than what seems to be the trend these days (graphics, character/avatar customization to a ridiculous degree, cookie cutter cast, etc).
I'd say there's plenty more games that female gamers would enjoy just as much as male ones: super smash bros, puzzle quest, all the MegaTen/Persona games, kingdom hearts, gurumin, ZOE 2, monster hunter, etc. As for games with female protagonists in particular...well, the 3rd birthday is pretty recent and awesome :P There have been a few attempts in the past though, see CY-girls, Tenchu: Fatal Shadows, Dark Angel, summon night 2 and let's not forget about...miss pacman^^
P.S: FFX-2 was also one of those games that get...well, girly, at certain points.
|2013-04-15, 15:25
|Link #25
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Tales of innocence had a shota protagonist with a spunky girl who held his hand.
Tales of Symphonia had Colette, the most vanilla blonde haired blue eyed passive and weak but still plot-important little fairy that Lloyd, the man, protects.
Tales of Graces: MYSTERIOUS WAIFU GIRL WHO LOST HER MEMORIES.
Tales of Phantasia: Mint looked pretty cookie-cutter to me but I never completed this game.
Just because the females aren't dressed in bikinis with giant boobs doesn't mean it's not meant for guys.
I think a few other examples you put there are subject to the same examples as well.
|2013-04-15, 15:35
|Link #26
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 29
^ The tales of male cast pretty much evens out with the girls, there's still a variety of roles that each character gets (e.g. Suzu and Arche are the 2 strongest characters in tales of phantasia, classified as ninja and offensive mage respectively - their characters are also much more solid than Mint's, who gets the role of the pacifist). Some of the other games I listed might have a few characters who fall into stereotypes, but my point is that they don't focus on that in particular and seek to expand a title's value in other areas.
A couple of titles I forgot to mention: Breath of Fire 2 in particular, where Katt, your first female ally, proves to be the strongest fighter when fused with Shin (with over 500 ATT when final gear Ryu gets ~360) and Spar, the game's bonus character, can turn into a girl via fusion and become #1 in magic (maybe #2 after sun Nina, don't reeeally remember that one). The characters all get an equal share of focus as well, with everyone being assisted by Ryu before joining him.
...and then there's Kirby.
|2013-04-15, 15:38
|Link #27
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
But the core, main people we're paying attention to clearly fits the roles and fantasies of a male far more than they do a female, every example I've given are from the main guy character and the main girl character which is the most important.
Tales of Symphonia 2, Dawn of a new world, guy with confidence issues manages to score a hot chick who is illogically head over heels for him and spends the whole game making ''comedy'' flirtations to him.
All the main characters are in some way, dull to a point where we as players can project ourselves onto them pretty easily, so it reaches out to us as gamers and fits our ideals more than a females.
It's aimed towards men and has men in mind first over females, there may be a few little sub-parts of the game that has some awesome female who is level 9million and can wipe out entire legions with the flick of her hand, but it's still aimed towards males.
|2013-04-15, 15:56
|Link #29
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Edinburgh
Age: 36
Gamers are gamers and their gender don't matter. Most female gamers I know play games because they enjoy the stories and the game mechanics, just like male gamers. The divide of games targeted at certain genders is actually something new and heavily pushed by publishers, who don't seem to have a clue that games are different then other media, like books, films aso.
The fact that they trying to target specific games for certain genders is discriminating. What is next, games made specifically for homosexuals, just for specific ethic groups or just for old people?
Most game developers are set out to create an environment and world, where people can have fun. If people find that most games to be male centered, that is because most games are designed by men, specifically old men that pioneered the industry. The only way that is ever going to change is if more females take up programing and make their way into the industry. Yes there are a lot of female work forces in the industry, but only few are leading team and have programing experiences. Creating art, characters and sound is one thing, but if you want to be respected, you need to know how to code, this it also true for men in the industry.
Most of the arguments about gender specific things boils down to, how the hell are men suppose to know what females like or enjoy. We are two different species, we men say that we understand women, but we don't. Same is also true the other way around. For example, if i write song or a story, it will always be from a man's perspective, i'll never be able to write something from a woman's point of view, and if i try it will just end up being something stupid and then branded a sexists. Yes, I hear about female advisers dragged in for games development, but that isn't the same if the game is made by a woman, because men will always misinterpret advises from women all the time, because we don't really speak the same language.
Last edited by Sides; 2013-04-16 at 02:01.
|2013-04-15, 16:09
|Link #30
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 29
What's truly aimed towards guys anyways?
|2013-04-15, 16:10
|Link #31
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
In the first Screenshot, I don't see how that changes much, saying Shakugan no Shana is not male-oriented because Shana is a total badass is completely false, the main character is very much a guy and the romance is played through his perspective 90% of the time, unless that Screenshot was supposed to say something else.
To bring Shakugan no Shana as an example, yes she is awesome and does almost all the fighting, but she is still very Tsundere, she has girly moments and tropes that she's mostly remembered for that are cute ''Urusai urusai urusai!'', and constant pro-male stuff happens in the entire series such as Shana randomly sleeping with the main character because ''She was tired and couldn't make the proper enough judgement to realize she was jumping in bed with some guy she just met''.
Skullgirls is a fighting game with a primarily female cast, which will have at least one male character added in, is this game aimed at females?
Sailor moon is a red-card, it was one of the earlier manga/animes that were released to us as a western audience and it has constantly been sexualized, I haven't seen much of sailor moon though so I'm not sure if it's male-oriented(that second pic was of sailor moon right?)
, It's very similar to Inuyasha, which from my point of view is more centered towards females; it has a very strong male fanbase though because there are a lot of things males can enjoy in the series, so I don't know on Sailor moon.
Last edited by cronnoponno; 2013-04-15 at 16:25.
|2013-04-15, 16:31
|Link #33
Tastes Cloudy
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Snake Way
Age: 29
40% female and 60% male in gaming? Does that count small casual games as well?
|2013-04-15, 16:53
|Link #34
Join Date: Jan 2004
This video is pretty relevant to this thread:
It talks mainly how the damsel in distress trope has become so entrenched in much of gaming.
|2013-04-15, 17:13
|Link #38
Join Date: Dec 2003
As I stated in an earlier post there are a lot of "cute" cartoony games that I think are very female player oriented such as [ur="http://www.hellokittyonline.com/"]this[/url].
Just because those female oriented games don't get classified as AAA titles or gain as much popularity as other games does not mean there are no games for women.
Two esports giants: League of Legends and Starcraft, are very gender neutral. Sure, there are "pretty girls with revealing clothes", but there are also male characters of various stereotypes: once again, classifying a game as a male game because of "attractive characters" would be quite unfair.
I also do not believe in true gender equality in such area (when it becomes down to interest/entertainment genres) (food for thought: why are the products advertised on mother's day and father's day different? This has became a socially accepted stereotype). I believe in equal rights though.
You can't force others to like a certain thing until the player base is gender equal... I am sure a lot of guys do not mind that: how cool would it be in a world where gamers of all games share a 50-50 split? I can now chat with a girl about starcraft without having her hang up on me over skype and label me as a nerd.
|2013-04-15, 17:22
|Link #39
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
You're misunderstanding me, I was only trying to say that Tales of series, and many games that are considered gender neutral, are actually very male-oriented , making a bunch of badass chicks does not take away the male-oriented nature of something, the tales of series is first and foremost aimed at guys and has acceptable amounts of side-material that can take in a female audience, but that doesn't make it gender-neutral at all.
Whether or not there are plenty of female games out there is something I don't think I can say yes or no to, but the tales games is definitely designed with males in mind first, and I really hope you're not using that top example to disprove me saying Shakugan no Shana is male-oriented.
Star Craft IS male oriented, have you played the second one? It's in a cowboyish-themed setting with a total outlaw badass who meets a hot scientist chick and so on and so fourth, it has settings that are much more comfortable for a male, if I was a female I definitely wouldn't play Starcrafts story and think ''Hm, this is pretty gender neutral''. Then again, you could just ignore the entire plot and focus on the gameplay which is acceptable for Starcraft, in that case you could probably consider it more accessable for females.
|2013-04-15, 17:36
|Link #40
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Unspecified
also it's just 1st part of the video and mainly talking to old video where most of the game use excuse plot. i will see how 2nd video goes.
|Thread Tools


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Two St. Mary's Medical Center Departments Share UVM "Best Clerkship" Award
- 07-13-2012
- By Edward Neuert
Every year, in late winter, a new group of 114 University of Vermont medical students completes the initial "Foundations" level of the College of Medicine's Vermont Integrated Curriculum. Then it's time for them to grab their white coats and set out on the year-long experience of clinical clerkship with the College's clinical educators at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Danbury Hospital in Connecticut, Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, and St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. All told, there are 28 clerkship programs that serve College of Medicine students.
Near the end of the clerkship year, the College of Medicine's Office of Student Medical Education surveys the class using the CourseEval system to rate their perception of their many clerkship experiences. Based on these evaluations, the top program is recognized with the "Best Clerkship of the Year Award." This year, two programs at St. Mary's Medical Center, the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Department of Surgery, shared the award.
At a presentation in West Palm Beach earlier this summer, UVM Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences Elise Everett, M.D., presented award plaques to obstetrician John Caravello, M.D., and surgeon Robert Borrego, M.D.
Some of the comments submitted by medical students during the rating process were read aloud at the award ceremony. Students praised the OB/GYN staff for pushing them to work outside their "comfort zones," and for allowing direct student participation in various kinds of deliveries of babies. Surgical clerkship participants cited the ample amount of one-on-one teaching time given by surgeons, and the good balance struck by the program between time in the operating room and time making rounds in the St. Mary's wards.

subset: commoncrawl


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IT'S often said summer in this country is about cricket and the beach, and this week Cricket Australia has brought both to the SCG.
Past greats Bill O'Reilly and Victor Trumper may turn in their graves but CA has transformed a bay of seating at ground level of the stands named after them into a "pop-up beach". About 1000 seats have been replaced by around 70 tonnes of sand, a 10m wading pool and 80 deck chairs for the winners of a competition run by a ubiquitous soft drink company.
It will be the only beach in the world where beach balls are not allowed. Pity the security guard forced to confiscate and destroy any ball which drifts onto the SCG sand.
A beach at the cricket would not have been required in years gone by but with Cricket Australia desperately trying to win over a new generation of fans, a day at the cricket is no longer just about watching the game.
The match itself has been overshadowed by events off the field, most notably the death of commentator Tony Greig and the retirement of one of Australia's favourite players, Michael Hussey.
In a heartfelt touch, the Test now has two additional dress codes. Not only will fans be instructed to wear pink to remember Jane McGrath, they have been told to wear a broad brim hat, which was Greig's trademark on Channel Nine, and zinc across the face to honour Hussey in his farewell Test.
A crowd of 25,000 is likely for the first day, which is not terrible given the prospect of another fizzer against the hapless Sri Lankans, who lost inside three days in Melbourne. Despite the sentiment surrounding the game, it will be business as usual for Michael Clarke's team, searching for a clean sweep of the three-match series.
"I want us to keep going ... and try and crush them, we're 2-0 up but 3-0's even sweeter," said opening batsman David Warner. "Hopefully we can get that done and put Mike Hussey up here in the pool afterwards."


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Continuing the Graham family legacy of sharing God's Word and love with the Chinese people, Franklin Graham proclaimed the Gospel May 15 in two different churches in Beijing, Chaoyang Church and Chongwenmen Church, where his father Billy preached in 1988.
At Chaoyang Church, Franklin told the congregation that God sent his son Jesus Christ "to die on the cross for us, yet we are the ones who are guilty. It was your sins that nailed him to the cross. But his love saved us. Today, you can be cleansed of your sins."
At Chongwenmen Church, he told the people gathered that God is the creator of the universe. "The Bible says that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Everything was created by God," said Franklin. "He made you. He made this earth. When you go out and look up at heavens, He made all the stars and the universe."
Maggie Shu from Shanghai came to Beijing to attend the morning and evening services with Franklin Graham. "We got to welcome him to preach and we thank him very much for his prayers for China, as well as for the Chinese churches," said Shu. "I hope that he can come to China again and I hope he can continue to pray for China."
Leah, who attends Chongwenmen Church, described how the church has 100 years of history and how "everyone is getting so excited. Everyone is coming here to listen to the message," she said on Saturday. "I want to say thank you to all the believers who are praying for China and the Chinese churches.
It was Franklin's grandfather, Dr. L. Nelson Bell, who came to China in 1916 and served as a medical doctor for the next 25 years. His mother Ruth Bell Graham was born in China in 1920 and fell in love with the Chinese people. The Bell family was forced to leave China when Japan invaded the country during World War II.
"My mother's desire was to come back to live in China, but she met my father Billy Graham and her life changed," Franklin has said. "My mother, in her heart, was Chinese first. She loved China."
His parents did return to China in 1988, accompanied by Franklin, to visit Ruth's birthplace. During that trip, Mr. Graham had opportunities to preach, to meet numerous church leaders and to talk with government officials.


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Obama To Agencies: Optimize Web Content For Mobile 322
CWmike writes "President Barack Obama has ordered all major government agencies to make two key services available on mobile phones within a year, in an effort to embrace a growing trend toward Web surfing on mobile devices. Obama, in a directive issued Wednesday, also ordered federal agencies to create websites to report on their mobile progress. The websites are due within 90 days. Innovators in the private sector and the government have used the Internet and powerful computers to improve customer service, but 'it is time for the federal government to do more,' Obama said in the memo. 'For far too long, the American people have been forced to navigate a labyrinth of information across different government programs in order to find the services they need.'"


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I never got around to giving you my thoughts on Saturday's spring game because I was a little tied up with other assignments -- the IndyCar 300 (Saturday night) and the Marlins opener on Monday. So, since most of that analysis may be a little stale, I've decided to do a Live Q&A segment tonight from 7 to 8 p.m. where I thought we could discuss it.
That being said, with football -- the official live blood of Eye On The U -- now on hiatus until the fall, I wanted to get some ideas from you guys on how we can keep this blog going. Obviously, we will have Canes baseball to discuss (even though I hardly cover the team) and I'm sure there will be offseason news on both football and basketball (which I do cover extensively). But I wonder if it will be enough. So, I need your help. Any other ideas and suggestions are welcome. Feel free to leave them below along with your questions for tonight.
See you at 7.


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Elvis Was In The Building
Abe Plough, a member at The Crescent Club in Memphis, was perusing some historic black-and-white framed photos of Memphis hanging on the walls of the club recently. One of the photos caught his eye and he happened to take a closer look.
The photo was of Elvis Presley and the Carnival Court taken at The Crescent Club in 1956 and there in the photo was Abe himself – then a young boy – standing right behind Elvis! He had never seen the photo before that moment and was thrilled to discover it at the club.


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There are no events scheduled for today.
Sunday, May 20Today's Hours:
Courier Article by Michael Cherry
Sunday, November 13, 2011
A Home for Peculiar Children
The first things you'll notice when you pick up Ransom Riggs's "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" are the strange photographs of children which cover the dust jacket and accompany the text. These images wouldn't be so mysterious had they not depicted levitating girls, a young boy swarming with bees, freakish twins, contortionists and a range of vintage photographs meant to elicit fear, wonder and perhaps trigger nightmares.
The debut novel by Riggs is about the peculiar children in these photographs taken from the personal archives of 10 collectors. He uses them to construct the story and invite us into possibly the most intriguing young adult book of the year.
The story centers around 16-year-old Jacob Portman, who is living a life he describes as ordinary. Jacob works at a chain store called Smart Aid where he sells Stay-Tite and Neverleak. The person with any degree of creative influence over Jacob's life is his grandfather, Abraham Portman.
Abraham has been filling Jacob's head with eccentric stories from his own childhood. These stories include his escape from the Nazis, his childhood in Miss Peregrine's orphanage and his collection of strange, black-and-white photographs. Abraham's youthful life is filled with fantastic adventures but includes a past that is haunted, which forces him to leave the orphanage.
The tragic death of Abraham leads Jacob to a remote island off the coast of Wales. It is here that he discovers Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children.
He also becomes haunted by his grandfather's past. Why did his grandfather leave the orphanage? Who was responsible for his death? And who was the mysterious Miss Peregrine?
As he later explores the abandoned house, it is unclear if the children still are alive, how they managed to not age and if they are dangerous.
Depending on their ages, readers may be reminded of David Lynch's films, X-Men comic strips, or Edward Scissorhands' lawn sculptures. There are a range of other potential references, but what makes this book so incredible is that it could borrow from previous ideas without appearing unimaginative.
In a young adult book market that thrives on its own derivativeness, this book attempts to do what its characters do. It attempts to find extraordinary things in an ordinary world. Through the use of strange and uncanny photographs, Riggs illuminates our prejudices and attitudes toward difference.
It's also no coincidence that part of the plot centers on Nazi persecution while other parts humorously evoke the ordinariness of Jacob's job and our consumer landscape.
Pick up a copy of Ransom Riggs's first novel, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." Don't expect another young adult novel about vampires or wizards. The writing is more layered, the characters more developed and the juxtaposition of text with photos is surreal and hauntingly beautiful. You'll find it in the new-read section at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library.


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Voter apathy among Latinos and other minority voters threatens to turn traditionally blue state California into another Massachusetts-like shocker in this year's midterm elections, political experts are warning.Tony Castro in the Daily News.
The importance of the turnout among Latinos and other minorities, according to several political consultants and strategists, underscores the tenuous position of statewide Democratic candidates in a new Field Poll showing them in trouble with white voters.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer trailed Republican challenger Tom Campbell, 46 percent to 43 percent among white voters but leads him by 10 points overall because of Boxer's 74-point advantage among African-Americans and 36-point advantage among Latinos.


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The New Jersey Devils placed goaltender Martin Brodeur on injured reserve Tuesday, retroactive to Feb. 24.
Brodeur was forced to miss Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets after experiencing lower-body tightness during warmups.
The 40-year-old has defied the advance of age this season, going 8-2-3 with a 2.27 goals-against average and one shutout with a .911 save percentage in 13 appearances.
New Jersey recalled goaltender Keith Kinkaid from Albany of the American Hockey League. The 23-year-old backstop has gone 17-11-5 with a 2.69 GAA thus far this year.


text:
I was touched by this story. (There's also an angle about the coach having Lou Gehrig's disease, and her team won the state championship only because she finished.) But I wonder if officials should allow a kid who's collapsed to keep going.
[A]n assistant coach... said that if [Holland] Reynolds had appeared to be in immediate danger, he would not have let her continue. "I would have picked her up and carried her straight to the ambulance," he said. "But she was able to make eye contact with me. Her body was tired, but she was mentally all there."Is that medically right? If a kid collapses playing sports but makes eye contact, she's not in immediate danger?
Check the video. The breakdown begins at 19:30. Should this be celebrated in the national press, or should we worry that encouraging kids to this point risks death or serious injury?


text:
House Joins Senate to OK Bill That Avoids Fiscal Cliff
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 2 -- Twenty-one hours after the U.S. Senate did its part to steer the country clear of the so-called fiscal cliff, the House of Representatives settled on an 11th-hour agreement late Tuesday night that averted widespread tax increases and spending cuts that were set to kick in Jan. 1.
But the House vote was in doubt much of the day and into Tuesday evening, with many Republicans opposing the tax increases contained in the bill while favoring steeper spending cuts to further reduce the nation's debt.
The bill will now go on to President Barack Obama who is expected to quickly sign it into law.
"This shouldn't be the model for how to do things around here," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said just after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, The New York Times reported. "But I think we can say we've done some good for the country."
McConnell worked with Vice President Joseph Biden to secure the Senate's 89-8 vote, a rare show of bipartisanship in Washington. He recommended that the entire Congress act quickly to pass the measure and "continue to work on finding smarter ways to cut spending" in the coming months, the Associated Press reported.
The House vote was more fractured, with Democrats voting for the bill by an overwhelming 172-16 margin while Republicans opposed it 151-85, the AP reported.
The bill prevents a 27 percent cut in fees paid to doctors who treat Medicare patients. It also blocks middle-class taxes from going up but raises taxes on wealthier Americans. And it delays legislatively mandated spending cuts for two months, among other measures.
Failure to reach agreement on heading off spending cuts could have had a significant effect on health care in the United States, according to Kaiser Health News.
For instance, Medicare providers would have seen an $11 billion cut in payments in fiscal year 2013. According to a September report from the Office of Management and Budget, hospitals would have been hit hardest by the cuts, with payments slashed by about $5.8 billion, Kaiser Health News reported.
Seniors would have experienced no changes in their benefits, however, and Medicaid would not have faced any automatic cuts on Jan. 1.
The National Institutes of Health would have had to contend with a $2.5 billion cut in funding for 2013, which would mean the agency would "have to halt or curtail scientific research," according to the OMB analysis.
Other federal agencies would have faced funding cuts as well, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ($490 million), and the Food and Drug Administration ($318 million), Kaiser Health News said.
Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University School of Medicine's Prevention Research Center, tried to put the debate over the fiscal cliff and its potential impact on health care in layman's terms.
"To some extent, talk of a 'fiscal cliff' and its implications can seem remote. But there is a very personal element to all of this. If Medicare reimbursement is slashed, the federal government will, in essence, be cutting the income -- along with raising the taxes -- of physicians who don't work for the federal government. This certainly makes Washington gridlock personal for all of my fee-for-service colleagues. If they, in turn, translate resentment of this heavy-handed imposition into practice, this may get personal for Medicare patients who have a harder time accessing care."
And, he added, "massive cuts to the NIH (National Institutes of Health) budget may seem remote and impersonal -- unless the research that isn't funded as a result would have saved your life, or that of someone you love. Cuts to CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) may seem remote -- unless you are a victim of a neglected disease outbreak, or of a preventable chronic disease no longer the focus of research and programming.
"And cuts to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) budget may be someone else's problem, until the drug you need is languishing in the approval process; a drug is approved that should not have been and imposes its toxicity on you; or the uninspected food on your table is a vehicle for salmonella or E. coli," Katz said.
More information
For more on how the so-called fiscal cliff might affect health care in the United States, visit Kaiser Health News.
Posted: January 2013


text:
I am now fully moved over to BackpackingDad.com
Please come by, update your bookmarks, etc.
Thank you.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
This blog has moved.
I am now fully moved over to BackpackingDad.com
12 comments:
- indavao said...
hi... just dropping by!
- July 26, 2009 at 8:20 AM
- london said...
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text:
Domestic Policy Debates Conclude Without Addressing HIV/AIDS
October 19, 2012
Despite efforts of AIDS United and our advocates to urge presidential and vice-presidential debate moderators to ask questions about how each administration would address HIV/AIDS, none of the three debates featured questions or answers specifically about HIV/AIDS.
Since the beginning of October, presidential candidates President Barack Obama (D) and Governor Mitt Romney (R) have faced off in two debates and vice presidential candidates Vice President Biden (D) and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) went head-to-head in one debate. Each of the debates featured discussion about some domestic policy issues, including health care, but not HIV/AIDS directly. The final debate, scheduled for Monday, October 22 at 9:00 Eastern time, will focus solely on foreign policy.
"It is certainly alarming that not a single candidate mentioned HIV/AIDS throughout these three debates," said Ronald Johnson, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at AIDS United. "This election is probably one of the most important elections for the HIV community since the epidemic began, because it will determine how -- or if -- we will use all of the tools that we now have available to end the HIV epidemic."
Johnson said that the November 6 outcome will impact how the U.S. pursues the goals of its National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the reauthorization of Ryan White Program, and funding for important institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. The next president also will determine the future of health care reform and Medicaid expansion in the United States, programs which are essential to many people living with HIV/AIDS.
"People living with HIV or affected by HIV have a lot at stake in this election," said Johnson. "We still need to hear how the next President will respond to the epidemic here in the United States."
AIDS United had been working to mobilize stakeholders and advocates to get the candidates on the record about HIV/AIDS by urging debate moderators through Facebook and Twitter to ask HIV-related questions. Advocates were asked to tweet suggested HIV questions to the moderators, and post those questions on the moderators' and/or news outlets' Facebook pages, adding the hashtag #debateHIV to create an online Twitter discussion about the debates.
"They may have not debated HIV/AIDS, but we will continue to push the discussion," said Johnson. "It is essential that we continue the dialogue about HIV/AIDS so that all candidates and elected officials are held accountable for creating an AIDS-free generation."
This article was provided by AIDS United. Visit AIDS United's website to find out more about their activities and publications.
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text:
Former Cat Matthew Egan takes legal action over foot injury
Former Geelong footballer Matthew Egan is suing the club's doctor and an orthopaedic surgeon for negligence after a foot injury prematurely ended his career.
Egan, 31, had played every home and away game for the Cats in 2007 before being injured in round 22 in a marking contest with Brisbane Lion Jonathan Brown, forcing him to miss out on playing in the team's grand final win over Port Adelaide.
In a writ filed with the Supreme Court, Egan is suing orthopaedic surgeon Mark Blackney and Geelong club doctor Chris Bradshaw for negligence over the medical treatment he received after sustaining a stress fracture to his navicular bone in his right foot when playing for the Cats on September 1, 2007.
The writ claimed Dr Bradshaw was responsible for the medical care and management of Egan's navicular fracture and owed him a duty of care to a standard expected of a qualified sports medicine physician.
Dr Bradshaw had referred Egan to Blackney for an orthopedic assessment before the surgeon operated on Egan's foot on September 3, 2007.
Egan, the 2007 All-Australian centre half-back, began a rehabilitation program about 11 days later aimed at getting him fit to play in the grand final.
But on September 18, on the fifth day of the rehabilitation program "which involved weaving and a quickened pace", according to the writ, Egan suffered pain in his foot and could not continue.
Mr Blackney decided Egan would not be able to play in the grand final and Dr Bradshaw advised him to stop the rehabilitation program.
In the writ, Egan, who played 59 games for Geelong after debuting in 2005 and is currently an assistant coach at Essendon, claimed Mr Blackney and Dr Bradshaw had failed to:
* discuss the treatment options available for Egan's navicular stress fracture;
* inform Egan of the risk involved in having an operation on his foot;
* inform Egan that even with an operation, there was "virtually no prospect" of him playing football within the month following surgery;
* inform Egan the average return time to sport following surgery was five months;
* inform Egan there were considerable risks of undergoing surgery and the rehabilitation program.
Since the surgery, Egan had been unable to return to playing AFL football; was delisted by the Cats in 2010; had undergone six more operations culminating in the fusion of his right navicular bone to his right talus bone in March 2011; and had been assessed by an independent orthopaedic surgeon who confirmed the degree of impairment resulting from his injury at more than 5 per cent.
Egan claimed that as a result of Mr Blackney and Dr Bradshaw's negligence, he had suffered injury, loss and damage.
He now had a restricted range of motion in his right ankle, scarring, on-going pain and disability, and an "emotional reaction" because of his injury.
The writ said Egan was seeking damages plus costs but was not making a claim for loss of earnings.
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text:
Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated.
Story courtesy of Ivy League Sports.
PRINCETON, N.J. -- On the heels of his meteoric rise as a member of the New York Knicks, former Harvard star Jeremy Lin '10 is latest person with Ivy League ties to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Lin is featured in the Feb. 20 edition with the article, "From Couch to Clutch," written by Pablo S. Torres, also a Harvard graduate.
Lin's presence on the SI cover marks the 52nd time the Ivy League has had a presence on the weekly magazine's storied covers since 1954. He's the second Ivy to be featured this calendar year. Columbia graduate and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was featured on the Feb. 6 cover.
Lin has been the talk of the National Basketball Association and all of sports, going from a seldom-used reserve cut by two teams to the starting point guard for a team that plays its home game in the "World's Most Famous Arena." Since getting his first significant playing time on Feb. 4 and being inserted into the starting lineup on Feb. 6, he has led the Knicks to six-straight wins averaging 26.8 points, 8.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds. For his amazing efforts after his first five games with significant playing time, Lin was named the ABC News World News Tonight Person of the Week and the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Week.


text:
Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
Post general kiteboarding discussion topics here!
Moderator: BayAreaKite
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
That's a silly post/statement. Riding a TT doesn't mean you're new to the sport. I ride all kinds of boards (for almost 10yrs now) but still happen to prefer a TT at Crissy. I just happen to be a freestyle rider (not so much into waves, racing, etc.).
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
Agree with flippersurf -- I've been riding for 10+ years, mostly at Crissy. Depending on the conditions, I take out my twin tip or my strapless surfboard... but would rather ride the TT if I can help it.
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
I posted this thread to exactly stir it up, I do not care about an individuals twin tip preference, what are your suggestions to reduce rescues and making sure all who sail there are well informed about the conditions and helping them access there abilities for the given situation.
We as a user group need to get this figured out, we cannot have each individual have three or more rescues per season until they figure it out.
Depending on the conditions.
That is the key point, 95 percent of the rescues are twin tip board users who use them exclusively and the rescues are at near one per day and more on the weekends and Holidays. Yes it would be harsh for the competent long time riders who exercise good judgment of when to use a twin tip or not go out.
All the rescues are starting to blur there are so many.
I have seen far too many loose there twin tip board, or fly there kite into the water at the slightest wind gust or water chop. A constant scenario on the flood current is not being able to stay upwind and continues to sail while loosing ground instead of getting back to shore, resulting in the Coast Guard having to get them.
I agree with CDOG's post.
When was the last time you volunteered your time looking after the beach and talking it up with all the newbies and foreign riders that pass through Crissy.
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
1) TT ban - pretty good for getting a thread riled up, but that's about it
2) policing our own - does that ever work?
3) what are the repercussions of getting rescued? Is there a fee or fine? Has anyone ever had to been rescued more than once, or is the experience so shitty that everyone who fucks up only fucks up once?
I ask #3 is because I'm wondering if something sort of Darwinian should be kicking in here. Without even knowing how shitty it is, I definitely never want to be in a situation where I require rescue, I assume that's true for everybody. What if you just post a picture on a sign at the beach of a rescue, with a couple of words to the effect of "if you don't understand everything about why this happens, don't kite here".
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
I like this
tgautie you sound like you were getting involved trying to help got cougt in the inside hOle
and ya if the boat shows up get init
I know a hole lot of tt riders who just rip .don't get made at tonY step up and help
excuses ive herd
I don't have time
I just want to kite
I cant talk to people very good
I don't want to get involved
and winds and currents at crissy are very tricky worse then Berkeley
kiteing at crissy is in a commercial shipping lain, ships cant turn or stop well
I ve windsurfed there and kited there but would not pick it as my goto spot.
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
I think getting the thread riled up with this topic is fair game. Tony Soprano has tried in several other threads to get people to police their own at Crissy, but not enough effort (if any?) has been made by others who kite there.
In the meantime, the number of kiter rescues is increasing and more and more dangerous behaviour is happening on the beach. Something proactive needs to be done to make sure our community is still able to kite at Crissy, because the actions of a minority are putting it at risk.
A real solution is needed, not corrections over who did what on what day or bickering over legitimacy of riding a TT at Crissy.
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
When I showed up at Crissy a couple of years ago people had asked if I had been rescued yet. I shrugged and said "no". I had been kiting Crissy on and off for the past 10 years and I had always made it back. Most of the locals started laughing and said, "if you ride Crissy enough times you will get rescued." It took a year but yeah I eventually did get picked up by the Pleasure Cat. The shame...
You can be on a foil, twintip, surfboard, sup, raceboard, or a bicycle, but eventually something will happen. The wind will die, your kite line will break, your foil board will snap in half, or your kite will explode in mid air (please come up with better warranty excuses). I am not sure that the issue is actually twin tips vs surf boards and experience vs freshie.
Has anyone checked to see what percentage of people that are getting rescued are actually newbies? From my experience the newer you are to Crissy the more scared you are and tend to stick closer to shore (yes I understand this is a double edge sword). From what I have seen the real kooks that do try to ride Crissy are pretty well self policed because it's fairly difficult to launch there and the locals do a pretty good job of "Alcatrazing" Crissy by sharing stories of tides, tankers, tug boats and twintipers. It's really rare that anyone with little experience comes into Calikites and doesn't tell me they are too scared to ride Crissy.
I bet it's rare for anyone reading this post to say the've never been rescued. If you haven't I bet you are jinxed now. Rather than talk about bands and self police I think it might be a good idea to set up some sort of fine or penalty if you are rescued. Maybe something like a swear jar. $25 paid to Jeff for every rescue made. The money goes into a jar and at the end of the year we put up a poll of how to use it. Donate it to save the bay, give it to Fire Dept / Coast Guard, or just throw a bitchin party and invite all of the people who have helped save our asses time and time again. I dunno just spitballing here.
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
Thanks Jeff for starting this topic.
I def agree with what Brian said above and also CDOG.
Banning twintips in not the answer but is a very good title to bring this to attention and get people to pay attention.
Kiting at Crissy now for almost 10 years i still have a healthy fear and respect for the ever changing conditions and perils.
One of the best pieces of advise i can give for anyone who wants to kite it for the first time or the 1000th is to pay VERY close attention to the tides, wind patterns and backup plan options. Talk to others who have just been out right then or the previous few days to get an idea of what is going on and might happen.
Pay attention to signs of wind dying BEFORE it happens.
Getting a kiter rescue boat out there is the best option but requires $$ and someone to be there to run it. Both of which are very hard to find but i really think that is the best answer.
My Photography ==> www.Loscocco.com
Kites:Ocean Rodeo: Flites and Razors
Boards:Ocean Rodeo: Duke and Spotz Hydrofoil
Eyewear:Kurtis Surf Goggles www.KurtisUSA.com
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
What really bugs me is that all you guys are worried about losing Crissy as a kiteboarding spot and in the meantime the upper launch at 3rd Ave is eroding away and will disappear in a couple of years. Nobody, including the SFBA, seems to care.
Re: Twin Tip Board ban comming to Crissy
You have thread jacked my discussion, please remove your post and resurrect this thread.
You will see the SFBA position on this subject.
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text:
ALBANY >> State Police will increase driving while intoxicated and distracted driving patrols during this Fourth of July weekend.
The crackdown, beginning on Thursday July 3, through Sunday July 6, comes with a warning to motorists on the severe penalties and dangers of DWI and distracted driving. Additionally, more than 500 electronic message boards across the state will include "Don't Drink and Drive… it's the Law" and "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" notices.
"This holiday weekend, State Police will be out in force to crack down on dangerous drivers," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "The Fourth of July is one of the busiest travel periods of the year, and through this campaign we are working to keep our roads safe for all travelers. As we celebrate this important holiday, I urge all New Yorkers to drive responsibly and obey the rules of the road."
In an effort to prevent tragedies caused by impaired, distracted, aggressive or reckless driving, the State Police will initiate special traffic enforcement efforts during the holiday weekend. Drivers can expect a number of sobriety checkpoints, additional DWI patrols and underage drinking and sales to minors' details during the campaign. Drivers should also remember to put down their electronic devices and also "move over" for stopped emergency and hazard vehicles stopped on the side of the road when they travel New York roadways.
During the campaign, troopers will be using both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement vehicles as part of the operation.
Last year, the State Police issued more than 10,000 vehicle and traffic tickets during the Fourth of July weekend. That's compared to just over 3,200 in 2012. On Fourth of July weekend in 2013 alone, troopers ticketed 2,000 more speeders, and made 100 more DWI arrests than in 2012.
In New York State, the penalties for an alcohol or drug-related violation include the loss of driving privileges, fines, and a possible jail term. Depending on the violation, drivers face up to seven years in jail, up to $10,000 in fines and permanent revocation of your license.
If a driver is caught using a handheld device behind the wheel, drivers face up to 5 points on their license, up to $400 in fines and a $93 surcharge, depending on the number of offenses.
For drivers with a probationary license, Class DJ, MJ or a learner permit, conviction will result in a mandatory 60 day driver license or permit suspension. A second such conviction within six months will result in a revocation of at least 6 months of a probationary license or revocation of at least 60 days for a Class DJ or MJ driver license or learner permit.
State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D'Amico said, "The Fourth of July is known for its fun and fireworks, but New Yorkers should also remember it can also be fatal if they don't make the right decision. Remember to put down the phone, drive sober, follow the rules of the road and enjoy your time with family and friends."
Data shows that the Fourth of July holiday period is especially deadly. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration during the July 4th period in 2012, there were 179 people killed in crashes, and 44 percent of those crashes were alcohol-impaired.
The State Police and NHTSA recommend these tips to prevent drunk driving:
• Plan a safe way home before the fun begins;
• Before drinking, designate a sober driver;
• If you're impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation;
• Use your community's sober ride program;
• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement;
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements.


text:
Nice work. The story is moving along smoothly.This is the fourteenth part of my short story,"The Poet." Please would you correct my mistakes.
Mr Novak, she said one day, let us assume that everything youve told me is true. But how do you explain your insane behaviour and your frenzied attack on the Prime Minister? Even if he has stolen your poems, as you so stubbornly allege, would a rational human being behave like an animal? After all, we live in a society founded on the rule of law. There are courts where people resolve their disputes in a civilised way. Nobody is above the law, not even the Prime Minister.
Do you have children, Miss White, I asked her. Her answer was negative and I continued, If you had children, you would have understood me. My poems are my soul and my blood. Without them Ill never be well again.
But Mr Boris, you dont even have copies of your poems. No real poet would ever separate from his poems without first making copies of them. Isnt true that your poems, Mr Katz, breakfast with the Prime Minister and all other parts of your story are just your vivid imagination? And if you are such a great poet as you assert, please write a few poems until our next appointment and prove your greatness. (I would have used "before" rather than "until". Besides being used to "before" it is difficult to say why "until" doesn't seem to fit here. It might be that there is the sense that he should write and continue writing poems prior to the next appointment)
After our conversation, I felt angry and immediately sat at my desk, put in front of me an empty sheet of paper, took a pen and was ready to write my first poem after so long a time. I was resolved to silence them all: the psychologist, Dr Schwarzkopf, the nurses, and others who had treated me as a madman. However, as much as I tried, I was unable to pen a verse, let alone a complete poem. My mind was empty and dark. Sorrow and pain had shattered my soul and I could do nothing but admit my ("my" is optional, it's probably better without it) defeat. Next time when I met Miss White, she was beaming and told me she knew that I would return to her empty-handed. I must understand that the sooner I began to realize my delusions the easier my rehabilitation was going to be. She assured me that I was not a prisoner but a patient who needed help and support to comprehend fully what I had done and how to avoid such incidents in the future. It was not about punishment but healing and learning to live with my illness in the best possible way.
One day I was eating lunch at the same table with Painter. He was the oldest patient on the ward. He was nearing seventy. His hair was grey and dishevelled, his face covered in wrinkles, his mouth hidden behind a drooping white moustache. We did not speak before except for exchanging greetings, but now while he was chewing his food, he said, Poet, how do you feel here? I was surprised and looked at his blue eyes, which had something mischievous about them.
Im a victim of terrible injustice.
We all here are victim of something, he said, but in the end we can only blame ourselves. We all had our opportunities and chances but didnt take them, and finally we paid for our failures with our freedom. And not because were mad but because were losers. Real madmen are somewhere else, governing countries, managing major companies and banks, or commanding armies and sacrificing their own citizens for their sick ideas. But theyre highly respectable people, praised by the establishment and the media as geniuses and visionaries. Were just the small fry, wholl die in anonymity. By the way, I read in the papers about you. They called you deranged already from the very first day. They didnt bother to wait for the results from your psychiatric examinations. But why did you attack him? Was it something to do with politics?
I told him my story and he gave me a pitying look.
Poor boy! he said and sighed heavily. Its really terrible what has happened to you. I really feel your pain and your sorrow, but believe me, it could have been even worse.
You could have lost your kidneys, liver, heart or some other organ. You could have returned to your home without limbs. Do you believe that someone would have believed in your story then? (This is a bit confusing. I know that "Painter" is relating the loss of the poems to the loss of body parts, but this part seems to go in another direction; one that is never reached. I would delete the second sentence completely because losing all of the limbs, and still being alive, would have meant a long time in a hospital. Somebody would have had to ask how a person lost all of his limbs. Assuming that a person can cut off his own legs and one arm, how does he cut off the last arm? Regarding this, I'm not sure of whether someone would have believed him or not.)
My boy, you were easy prey for the Prime Minister. He saw his chance and grabbed it right away. And you can blame yourself for the rest of your life and shout at the people that youre a victim. But they are going to ignore you and laugh at you just as they did to other fools before you. Im sure that despite all what happened to you, you still havent learnt your lesson. You probably still tell your psychologist and Dr Schwarzkopf that you are a victim of injustice. But every time youre telling them your story, they simply add more weeks and months which youll spend in this wretched place. You dont want to grow old here, boy, do you?
Of course not, I answered. But I cant lie. Its against my principles.
Listen, boy. You cant go to a confessor and tell him youre as pure as an angel. Hell laugh at you. Likewise, you cant talk to Mr White and tell her youre an innocent man. Shell laugh at you too. You must look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, Im a madman. Ive attacked an innocent man because of my illness. Ive never written one single poem and
knewknow nothing about poetry. Ive never been in the Prime Ministers residence and he has never promised me anything. Everything is the product of my sick mind. My main goal in life is to be healthy again and live a normal life.
This is your prayer which you have to repeat day and night. This is your only chance to come sane out of this hospital. Otherwise youll
bebecome beyond repair.
But how am I going to admit something which I havent done? How am I going to look at (in) the mirror one day and not feel ashamed of myself?
You silly boy, he said. We live in a time when therere no principles, no absolute truths. Everything is relative; everybody changes and adjusts themselves to the circumstances. Only idiots remain the same.
He asked me if I had some other interests or hobbies. When I told him that poetry was my only interest, he proposed to teach me painting. He told me that patients who showed interest in different activities were looked more favourably upon than those who spend their time doing nothing.
I pondered about his advice for some time and then concluded that the old man was right. After all, I had nothing to lose and I did not want to spend years behind these thick walls. Next time when I met Mr White I told her that I started to understand what I had done. I had a pang of regret. I had caused so many problems for society and myself because of my irrationality. I just hoped I was going to be well again.
Thats the way or right thinking, Mr Novak. You dont need to have a bad conscience. You havent chosen your illness, just like people suffering from cancers, tumours or sclerosis do not chose their illnesses. But youre not alone, we all here are with you to help you in your rehabilitation and recovery. Itll take time, but your patience and perseverance will certainly bear fruit.
Painter took me one day to the workshop where patients could spend their time designing their own t-shirts, making chess-pieces on a wood-turning lathe, repairing furniture and building model boats and aircrafts. Painter opened the cupboard and took out some painting materials. He also picked up a few chess pieces from the shelf beside the lathe and put them on the table in the large window where we sat down.
You see, boy, all this expensive material is paid by the taxpayers money. Whereas many painters have to struggle to survive in the outside world, we can indulge ourselves in the most expensive brushes, colours and canvases. And all this thanks to the word rehabilitation. This is the most sacred word in this institution. Those who are willing to rehabilitate are also willing to comply. That means there is a chance for them to come out of this place alive. But those who are stubborn and persist in their stubbornness will die behind these bars. So, take your chance, boy because it will never come up again. (This sentence would be stronger without "up")
To be continued.
Student or Learner


text:
Sisters Are Getting It By Themselves: Solange And Beyonce Dance To New Orleans Bounce Music
There is nothing like some bounce music to get you in the mood to shake something. So DJ Solange knew that's what she needed to play at the after party for the premiere of Beyonce's new documentary, "Life Is But A Dream." The two did a little two step, Solange putting more back into it of course, behind the DJ booth. Loving the sister moment and the sway of Solange's fro is giving me all the life.
And in case you're like me and must know the name of that song, it's "Get It Ready, Ready" by DJ Jubilee. Check it out.


text:
Last Saturday, as part of the Lee County Library System's "Be Creative @ Your Library" summer program, the Captiva Memorial Library invited papier-mache expert and island favorite DiVitto Kelly back for another fun summer art project.
Last year it was clown fish and, in years past, a variety of sea creatures. But this time, Captiva kids and visitors were given the opportunity to make their very own neon pink flamingos.
Kelly, a reference librarian in Hollywood, Fla., brought along art teacher wife Andrea and their two children, Ronan and Fiona.
Article Photos
Andrea, DiVitto, Fiona and Ronan Kelly are from Hollywood, Fla., where DiVitto works as a reference librarian and Andrea works as an art teacher. The Kelly family has a time share on Captiva and have been coming to the island every summer for the past seven years to teach art programs at the Captiva Memorial Library.
The Kellys have a time share on Captiva and have been coming to the island every summer for the past seven years to teach various art programs at the library.
Inspirational sources ran the gammut at the library, as some of these young artists were inspired by their favorite movies and television programs, while others prefered to go a more realistic route.
"I wanted it to look like a real flamingo. Daddy helped me with the tail," said Summer Smiciklas of Boca Raton.
The final 2009 summer program - "Get Magically Creative @ Your Library" with Brent Gregory - will take place on Thursday, July 23 at 3 p.m.
In addition, there is still a reading incentive program - complete with prizes - going on in the Captiva Library.
To learn more about the library programs, call 472-2133.
The Captiva Memorial Library is located at 11560 Chapin Lane.


text:
2008 Volleyball
Bluffton 3, Franklin 0
Beavers nail down berth in HCAC tourney with 3-0 win over Franklin
October 28, 2008
Click here for box score
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team dominated Franklin in the opener and went on to a convincing three-set win over the Grizzlies on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. With the victory Bluffton is guaranteed of its first winning season since the 2003 squad went 17-10. It also earned the Beavers a slot in the upcoming six-team Heartland Conference tournament that is slated to start on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the regular-season champion's home venue. Bluffton has won three consecutive HCAC battles in Founders, all with tournament implications, during the past five days.
Bluffton bolted to a 17-4 lead in the lidlifter and never looked back in trouncing the Grizzlies by a 25-8 count in the first set. Allison Streicher (Continental) served five straight points that included a pair of kills by Shawna Rowland (Bucyrus/Wynford) to give the Beavers a 12-point advantage and freshman Morgan Hicks (Convoy/Crestview) ended the set with six consecutive points from the service line.
The second set bore no resemblance to the opener as a 16-12 lead by Bluffton midway through was the biggest advantage for either team. After Bluffton went up 16-12, Franklin rallied for four straight points to tie the set and led 22-20 before Bluffton evened the set at 23. Jenna Eshleman (Landisville, Penn./Hempfield) pounded a spike to make it 28-27 and Hicks finished off Franklin with one of her four service aces on the night.
The Beavers wasted no time putting their stamp on the final set, opening up a 16-7 spread following five straight Rowland serves that included a pair of Heather Rodman (Mansfield/Mansfield Christian) throwdowns. Franklin battled back to make it 20-14, but a pair of points on Streicher's serve and two solo blocks by Crystal Augsburger (Bowling Green) guaranteed a sweep that pushes Bluffton into the conference tournament for the first time since it went to a six-team format.
Eshleman paced the Beavers with 13 kills and just two errors for a superb .478 hitting percentage. She also picked up eight digs and had two service aces. Wood was right behind Eshleman with 12 spikes and a .370 hitting percentage. Rodman stuffed the Grizzlies with one solo and three block assists while Augsburger had two crucial solo blocks in the final set.
Rowland was spectacular, hitting her teammates with 30 assists and finding the Franklin holes for seven kills and just one hitting error (.462). She also added six digs and three block assists. Junior libero Brittany Roth (Findlay) led the defense with 14 digs and Amy Simindinger (Lima/Bath) chipped in with eight.
The Beavers pounded 45 kills, giving Bluffton a solid .284 team hitting percentage. Bluffton again made its mark at the service line, smoking 10 service aces while only committing three miscues. The front line finished with nine total team blocks and the Beavers cleaned up Franklin's serves to the tune of a single reception error.
Bluffton returns to action on Friday, Oct. 31, when the Beavers travel to face Wilmington College of the Ohio Athletic Conference. The match with the Quakers is slated to start at 7 PM.


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Release Notes: This is mainly a maintainance release, with some new features added.
Release Notes: This release changes to the AGPL, improves thread safety, produces "Direct Web View" PDFs directly, extends the Font API to support PCL/PXL and XPS as well as Postscript/PDF, adds new options adding flexibility to the color management workflow, and adds a BigTIFF output option.
Release Notes: PDF/A-2 support was added to the pdfwrite output device. Suport was added to pdfwrite to be run in "server mode" and for the "%d" format in the OutputFile switch, for writing individual files. The output created by ps2write was modified to support the deficiencies in a range of recent PostScript devices. Support for large numbers of separations was improved for the tiffsep* devices, resolving "unencodable pixels" errors. The devices tiffsep, psdcmyk, and psdrgb gained "downscaler" support. Many other bugfixes, compatibility changes, and incremental improvements were made.
Release Notes: The PDF interpreter now can make use of the DroidSansFallback TrueType font to automatically substitute for missing CIDFonts. Support for "unmanaged color transformations" (with the command line option "-dUseFastColor") for source DeviceXXX colors was added. A simple ink-coverage device is now included. The TIFF, JPEG, and PNG output devices now support embedding of the device ICC profile. Optimized OpenJPEG sources (for JPEG2000 decoding) are now included in the distribution. jbig2dec gained simple halftone region support. The ps2write device gained output quality and stability improvements.
Release Notes: Flexibility for controlling color based upon the graphic object type was introduced. New tiffscaled8, tiffscaled24, and pngmonod devices were added. Downscaling is now supported for png16m and pnggray. The PDF interpreter now tries continue interpreting a PDF after encountering an error in a stream. x11alpha was re-enabled as the default device on Unix systems, now that compatibility problems between anti-aliased output and transparency are resolved. A new experimental text output/extraction device was introduced. The XFonts functionality was removed. Source revision control was moved to Git.
Release Notes: A new halftone technique for sampled image data was introduced for monochrome devices, avoiding performance problems with the existing implementation. Further performance, memory use, and stability improvements were made for recently introduced features. Unix/Linux build fixes and various other bug fixes were made.
Release Notes: A new, robust CFF parser was implemented in C, replacing the previous PostScript one. The tiffscaled device was added, which renders internally as tiffgray, but then downsamples by an integer scale factor and error diffuses to 1bpp output. DSC compatible output was added to ps2write. A number of performance, memory use, and stability improvements with the new features introduced in 9.00 were made, plus the usual bug fixes.
Release Notes: This release includes a move to an ICC-based color rendering workflow. The second major change in this release is that glyph rendering for all font types except Type 3 is now handled by Freetype (via a much improved and enhanced Font API).
Release Notes: This release features improved handling of fonts, nesting and color fixes with transparency objects, reduced memory footprint for the halftone cache, improvements to the pxl output devices, and several bug and robustness fixes. Support for TIFF file output is now provided using libtiff. Support for halftoned TIFF separations at 1 bit-per-pixel was added. Support for using FreeType as a type rasterizer was greatly improved, but is not yet stable. The graphics library was updated to provide more accurate scan conversion of vector art.