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Harvard wrestling will add eight freshmen to a roster that returns two All-American's and four EIWA placewinners (Gil Talbot).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Jay Weiss, the David G. Bunning '88 Head Coach for Harvard Wrestling, has announced that eight incoming freshmen will be added to the Crimson's roster for 2012-13; Adam Bicak, Nicholas Gajdzik, Devon Gobbo, Michael Mocco, , Jeffery Ott, Todd Preston, Brennan Smith and Nicholas Stager. The eight member Class of 2016 is made up of two national prep champions, one New England prep champion and three state champions who represent six different states and weight classes.
"What a great group of young men. I am so excited for them all to join our family up here at Harvard," Jay Weiss, the David G. Bunning '88 Head Coach for Harvard Wrestling stated. "They are such a talented group but even better people. We are already a young team but this now makes us a strong, young team. This group is definitely going to make a big impact."
Class of 2016
Adam Bicak, 5-10, 174 lbs., Ripley, W. V.
Two-time captain, four-year letterwinner … Ripley High School's first ever four-time state champion … Won state titles in four different weight classes, including 145 lbs., 152 lbs., 160 lbs. and 170 lbs. … Four-time regional champion … Powerade place-winner as a senior and junior … Earned All-America status at the NHSCA Freshman Nationals … Wendy's High School Heisman state finalist as a senior … Three-time president of Collegiate Athletics Club … Two-time vice-president of student council … Member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Ripley Main Street Teens, Reading Club, Hi-Y, and Chess Club.
Nicholas Gajdzik, 6-4, HWT, Rochester, Mich.
Three-time captain, four-year letterwinner … Stoney Creek High School's first ever state champion and first three-time state placewinner … Won the heavyweight state title as a senior, finished as the runner-up as a junior and had a seventh-place finish as a sophomore … Won back-to-back regional championships and finished as the runner-up as a sophomore … Three-time district and league champion … Was named to the All-Oakland County first team, North Oakland County first team, C&G News All-Westside first team and Power 15-MI Grappler as a junior and senior … All-Oakland County honorable mention as a sophomore … Stoney Creek record holder in career wins, pins, team points, seasonal takedowns, seasonal pins and season wins … Was a member of team Michigan for three straight years and named All-America as a junior … Was a member of the MI Grappler Dream team as a senior and earned team honorable mention as a junior … Was cadet champion at the Tournament of Champions in 2010 … Also earned three varsity letters in football and severed as team captain his junior year … Academic All-State first team and All-OAA White Division first team as a junior … Two-time All-Oakland county honorable mention … Athletic Hall of Fame inductee … Valedictorian of Stoney Creek's graduating class of 2012 … Member of National Honor Society, Freshman Mentor Council and Student Council … Eight-time Scholar Athlete … Two-time Award of Excellence recipient.
Devon Gobbo, 5-10, 165/174 lbs., Basking Ridge,
Selected as a captain junior year and earned three varsity letters in wrestling … Led Delbarton School to the New Jersey non-public state championship as a junior … Also led Delbarton to three straight District IX championships, three straight conference championships, three straight Morris County championships, and three straight Newark Academy Tournament championships … Named outstanding wrestler in District IX and Morris County as a junior, as well as at the Iron Horse Invitational as a freshman … Was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for four years, acting as coordinator as a junior … Member of MENSA International High IQ Society and Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth … Volunteered at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Habitat for Humanity, Neighborhood House, EPOCH and SADD.
Michael Mocco, 5-10, 197 lbs., Bernardsville,
Four-year letterwinner … Led Blair Academy to a national championship as a senior … Blair finished the 2011-12 season ranked No. 1 in the country … Won national prep championship as a senior … Two-time academic honor roll member.
Jeffery Ott, 5-6, 125 lbs., Chelmsford, Mass.
Two-time captain, four-year letterwinner … Led Belmont High School to three league championships and a New England championship as a sophomore … Four-time New England prep champion, twice as outstanding wrestler … Four-time Prep National All-American, once as champion ... Four-time ILS champion and outstanding wrestler … Named Freestyle Junior National All-American … Three-time Flonationals All-American … Four-year honor roll student … Was a peer leader as a senior and junior … Organized an all-star wrestling dual meet for a children's hospital.
Todd Preston, 5-7, 141 lbs. , Hampton, N.J.
Selected as captain senior year and earned four varsity letters in wrestling … Blair Academy finished the 2011-12 season ranked No. 1 in the country … Led Blair to a National Championship his senior and freshman year, as well as a runner-up finish as a junior and a third place finish as a sophomore … Three-time national prep champion … As a junior was Beast of the East Champion, POWERADE champion and placed third at Ironman … Three-time Fargo Junior Nationals All-American … Made the Commended list for academics all four years at Blair … Volunteered at Flemington Food Pantry as a junior and sophomore.
Brennan Smith, 5-8, 157 lbs., Peoria, Ariz.
Three-time captain, four-year letterwinner … Won the AIA state championship and named Peoria Invitational and Cactus Classic outstanding wrestler as a senior … Was the Arizona freestyle state Cchampion as a junior … Named Brute-Adidas All-American ... Was the valedictorian at Sunrise Mountain High School, National Merit Finalist and AP Scholar … Coached North Valley Misfits, a youth wrestling club, and volunteered for National Honor Society.
Nicholas Stager, 5-6, 149 lbs., Niwot,
Two-year captain, four-year letterwinner … Set Niwot High School records in most takedowns in a season and career, most wins in a season (43) and career and most pins in a season … Named team MVP his senior and junior years … Two-time outstanding wrestler at the Boulder Valley Invitational … Two-time all-conference selection and all-conference honorable mention as a sophomore … Also earned three varsity letters in football and captained the squad as a senior … Named all-conference as a senior … As a junior he received all-state and all-conference honorable mention … Member of the National Honor Society … Earned eight academic letters … Involved with Teens Ending Relationship Abuse his senior year.


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JOSH QUIROZ, Silver Creek football -- The junior running back enjoyed a big game as the Raptors rallied for a 27-12 victory against Pueblo Central in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A state tournament. Quiroz rushed for 151 yards on 25 carries and turned in a pair of touchdown runs in the second half as Silver Creek rallied from a 12-3 halftime deficit. Quiroz's 33-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter gave the Raptors a 20-12 cushion, while his 4-yard score in the fourth quarter provided Silver Creek with a crucial insurance touchdown.
There were no high school girls sports competing last week.
Follow us on Twitter: @bocopreps

subset: commoncrawl


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St. Marys man charged in hit-and-run
ST. MARYS – A St. Marys man has been arrested and charged following a July 28 hit-and-run incident on Washington Street which left a 21-year-old woman with life-threatening injuries. For his alleged role in the hit-and-run, Dean G. Schatz, 41, of East Eschbach Road, St. Marys, is facing felony charges of aggravated assault by vehicle and accidents involving death or personal injury, as well as misdemeanor charges of providing false reports to law enforcement authorities-falsely, providing false reports to law enforcement authorities-ficticious, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. Schatz is also charged with summary offenses of duty to give information and render aid, and duty to give information and render aid-report of accident to police. According to the affidavit of probable cause, City of St. Marys Police were called to a location outside 719 Washington St. at 3:15 a.m. on July 28. Upon arriving, officers discovered Natasha "Tasha" Schmitz, 21, of St. Marys, lying on her back in the driveway at the above location with visible injuries. Police also noted shattered and detached debris from a vehicle found and collected in the immediate area. According to the affidavit, police determined that Schmitz had been carried 47 feet by the impact. She was taken to the Emergency Department at Elk Regional Health Center and later Altoona Regional Hospital. In his report, Sergeant Thomas J. Nicklas stated that in speaking with persons at the scene, he was told that Schmitz was alone at the time of the incident outside the Washington Street residence and that those inside heard "what sounded like two vehicles hitting each other." An eyewitness described hearing the vehicle involved accelerate and then seeing it flee the scene. The vehicle was described to Nicklas as a white Ford F-150. At 8:30 a.m. on July 28, Dean Schatz contacted police to inform them that his car, a 2010 white-colored Chevrolet Avalanche, had been stolen overnight.In his affidavit, Nicklas said the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Avalanche share many similar characteristics. Schatz told police he had driven home from a camp in Rasselas, arriving home between 1 and 2 a.m. on July 28, and left the keys on the floorboard of the vehicle. Schatz said it was approximately six hours later that he discovered the vehicle missing. According to the affidavit, Nicklas said he was informed that the vehicle had been recovered by police off of Curry Avenue in the Stackpole Complex with blood and hair on the fender and damage to the front end. On July 30, the Pa. State Police Forensics Unit processed the vehicle for fingerprints, tissue, hair, and fibers. Debris recovered at the scene of the hit-and-run was subsequently compared to the damaged portions of the vehicle by Nicklas, who determined them to be "precise matches." Pick up a copy of the Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012 edition of The Ridgway Record for more.


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Two long-time businesses in Lexington have closed their doors. Beck's Flower shop, which was in business for 72 years, closed Oct. 22, and Center Street Pharmacy, which has been in business for 54 years, closed Nov. 11.
Two long-time businesses in Lexington have closed their doors. Beck's Flower shop, which was in business for 72 years, closed Oct. 22, and Center Street Pharmacy, which has been in business for 54 years, closed Nov. 11.
Scott and Lisa Hinkle of Davidson County have owned Beck's Flower Shop at 140 W. First Ave. for the past six years. The business opened in 1941 before World War II started. It was previously owned for 14 years by Phil and Carol Jackson, and prior to that Clara Mickle owned it for 20 years.
Lisa Hinkle said the economy and recent trends made it impossible to continue with the business.
"I can't stress enough that people should keep their business local," Hinkle said. "All the larger companies, like Lowe's and Food Lion, have started carrying floral products, and when people just pick up something in passing, it hurts small local florists like us. Also, there has been a big trend of 'in lieu of flowers' at funerals. Funerals are a huge part of our business, and this trend has really impacted us."
Hinkle said she is appreciative of all the loyal customers she had the pleasure of serving in the past few years.
"We are very thankful for all the people who patronized Beck's Flower Shop," Hinkle said. "It has been difficult, and I thank everyone for their support during this time. I would also like to thank them for allowing us to share in the special times of their lives over the past six years."
Hinkle said she is disappointed to see the business closing its doors because of the special place it has held in Lexington for so many years.
"We are losing an institution of Lexington," Hinkle said. "Unfortunately, the economy and spending options to flowers leave us no alternatives."
Rick Green, co-owner of Center Street Pharmacy at 316 E. Center St., said the decision to close the business was purely a personal one.
"I have had some health issues, and I just couldn't handle the pressure anymore," Green said. "It wasn't the work, it was all the extra stuff of running an independent pharmacy."
Green, who has been a co-owner for the past 12 years, said that he and his business partner sold the business to CVS Pharmacy, which has a location directly across the street. All the records for former customers of Center Street Pharmacy have been transferred to CVS, and they can continue to have their prescriptions filled at that location. He said the closing of the pharmacy was not financially related.
"It has nothing to do with the business side of things," Green said. "We have always had a good relationship with CVS and have never felt that we were in competition with them for customers."
Green said that although he will miss seeing his long-time customers, he does not consider the closing a sad thing.
"It's not sad, it's a relief," Green said. "We have cried with each other this past week, but it is for the best."
The one thing that Green would like to say is thank you to all of his customers who have supported the business over the years. "I appreciate all of their loyalty," Green said. "I am going to miss them all. Some of my customers have been like family to me, and I hope they share the same feeling."
Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at email@example.com.


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"I love my job." You might see many wedding colleagues tweeting or facebooking this every weekend. Sweet.
Yeah, they love it because they have a consistent business, wonderful clients and bottom line well-paying jobs.
You don't have that?
Let's see what they are doing that you are not.
Building a service-based business isn't easy. Passion is only partial to business success. If Mark Zuckerberg never had Eduardo Severin (cofounder and initial CFO) to have the seed money or Sean Parker's vision, then Facebook would still be Face Mash (just a fun idea).
Would you like to also tweet every weekend how wonderful your job is? Of course you would. Let's see how "The Social Network" did it.
Note: potential spoilers
#1 – An Idea Is Just An Idea…
In the movie, the Harvard Winklevoss twins accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea for Facebook. Zuckerberg shot back, "If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you would have invented Facebook." An idea is just an idea until executed.
So if you're still on the fence about diving in, do it. When I shot my very first wedding (good thing it was a friend's), I was reading the DSLR's instruction manual the night before. No guts, no glory. Right? In the end, I did pretty well!
#2 – Investment
Without Severin's seed money of $1,000 for servers, Facebook would have never got off the ground. Without angel investors from PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel ($500,000) and others, Facebook would never become the international icon it is now (currently worth $6.5 billion).
I don't care how great a concept is, investment is necessary. The moment I decided to make wedding photography a business, I sold my Rebel XT (+$700) and dipped into my savings and bought two Canon 20D's and a couple of "L" lenses (-$5,000). Was I freaked out? Heck yes.
#3 – Startup Culture
Zuckerberg recruited his first couple of programmers through a drinking game – hack into servers all while having annoying window popups (oh and lots of shots). Eventually, he moved to California and continued this culture until angel investors came and provided him a corporate office.
You might have a home studio where you meet clients. That's all that room is supposed to do. Don't have your kid's toys lying around or pets running amuck. The room should have one goal only – close deals.
#4 – 3,000 Pound Marlin vs. 14 Trout
"This is our generation!" exclaimed Parker. Will you be known for fishing the 3,000 pound marlin or 14 trout?
In our industry, a marlin is a wedding while a trout can be a baby, landscape, maternity, or senior gig. If you want to leave a mark, the newspapers (figurative speech) should only be talking about your marlin catches.
It's okay to catch trout too, but do it strategically. I talked about it in another article, "So You Want to Photograph Weddings, Pets… and Anything that Pays. I Might Have a Solution."
#5 – Your Latest Review
Zuckerberg's character has a meltdown when Severin froze all of the financial accounts. Zuckerberg's fear was that the servers would turn off and that would be the talk of the town (or world in his case).
"The Internet isn't written in pencil, it's written in pen," Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend said after she was defaced on his blog.
One negative review will be extremely hard to erase. Equally speaking, one positive review will generate a lot more referrals. Treat every wedding as if it was your only wedding.
#6 – Business, Like Fashion, Is Always Evolving
While in their Harvard dorm, Severin asked Zuckerberg when Facebook would be done. Facebook, like fashion, "is never finished," Zuckerberg responded.
I mentioned in a previous article "that marketing is sociology. And as culture and tastes evolve, so does marketing…" In the last four years I have been in this industry, I have seen constant evolution – trash the dress, day after sessions, boudoir… What's next? Don't know. Just have to be watchful.
#7 – Added and Most Important – Contracts
Contracts, contracts, contracts… I've been screwed too many times, even this year by this industry, so protect yourself.
Zuckerberg is only successful because of the team working with him to promote the Facebook vision. Unfortunately, as small business owners, you might not have that luxury.
I will do my best to help your business and marketing end with every blog post 🙂
If you like this article, I encourage you to share it with a Retweet or Facebook share! Like always, I would love to hear your thoughts via comments below.
Your Facebook friend,
Lawrence Chan
P.S. I really enjoyed "The Social Network" and the strategies and tactics they used to make it what it is. I can't wait until they make a movie on Google!


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The Section of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery primarily focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of female disorders affecting bladder function, support of pelvic organs, defecation and improper communication (fistula) between different pelvic organs.
Bladder problems can range from urinary incontinence, increased frequency or painful urination, urgency and difficulty in emptying. Defecatory complaints include fecal incontinence, urgency and constipation.
Defects in pelvic support are referred to as prolapse. This often takes the form of a mass or bulge protruding into or out of the vagina, pelvic pressure or pain and difficulties having sexual relations.
A fistula can present as uncontrollable stool or urine coming out of the vagina. Understandably, this is extremely embarrassing and upsetting.
Women who experience any of these symptoms have negative quality of life issues, affecting their personal and professional relationships. Our section offers the most advanced and comprehensive level of expertise to evaluate and manage these conditions. This includes primary management of a particular problem or dealing with complications from previous corrective surgeries. Our goal is to restore a woman's life to a level of activity and comfort to which she was accustomed prior to the onset of these problems.
Obstetrics and Gynecology -4039Maternal-Fetal Medicine -6893Reproductive Medicine -6476Gynecologic Oncology -6673Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery -6673
Disclaimer: The information on this website is for general informational purposes only and SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical advice, evaluation or care from your physician or other qualified health care provider.


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Devin Johnson can pin point the moment.
It was then she knew what she got herself into was not only a way to help, but it was her calling.
Johnson is the Kenai Camp director for Royal Family Kids' Camps, an organization that hosts camps for foster children ages 6 through 12 for one week throughout the world.
"Our whole mission is to create positive memories," Johnson said. "It's like giving the kids another channel in their brain, a good positive one instead of the bad ones they have."
Johnson was 15 years old when she first volunteered at the camp in Anchorage as a way to give back and to help a good organization.
"When I first started it was more about going and the kids are going to have a fun week and we're all going to go and have fun," she said.
The next year, her perspective changed.
"It was when we had a girl that came back the second year and she was just completely and so drastically changed from her first year of camp," Johnson said. "She came back this broken shell of a girl I'd say. Her foster dad she was with had been molesting her, and it was putting the faces to all of the horrific stories we hear about in the training and in the news."
That was the moment.
"But when it's this girl I just call 'Sierra' — that happened to her," Johnson said. "It was realizing the camp was more than having fun, but it was a safe place for these kids."
Johnson, now 22, is in her seventh year of volunteering for Royal Family Kids' Camp, and 2012 will be her second year of being the Kenai camp director. She's the youngest director in the entire organization that spans 35 states and 11 more countries.
Wayne Tesch and his wife Diane held the first Royal Family Kids' Camp in Calif. 25 years ago.
"Her passion and her love for kids just leaks all over the place," Wayne Tesch said. "You can't help but not talk to her and eventually she talks about kids and her eyes begin to dance, there's a smile on her face, tears in her eyes, she's just one incredible young lady."
One of Johnson's favorite events during the week-long camp is the talent show that takes place on the Thursday night.
"It has absolutely nothing to do with talent," she said. "It's so cool to see those kids that really are very shy and reserved, then after the (show), how bubbly they are, and they just open up completely."
As Johnson talks about the camp, her eyes light up. It's because she knows she's where she needs to be.
"I used to be leery of talking about my faith, but that's really where all this stems from," she explained. "Knowing this is where I'm called to be and I'm very blessed to be in this position. That's really how I'm able to get through every day when my to-do list is several miles long.
"It's where I draw my strength from."
Tesch said there's an "army" of compassion that's being generated in Alaska, and Johnson is in the center of it.
"It takes people that have this deep faith in people and in children because they recognize moments do matter in the lives of children and in the lives of adults," Tesch said. "We are what we are because of a moment that took place in time."
The children Johnson has been able to help in her seven years of volunteering has had a big effect on her, she said.
"I came from a pretty good home and to have these stories and see the kids, the faces of their stories, it really impacts you pretty deeply," Johnson said. "That's why I love working with young people, because you're that mentor to these kids and that's who these kids look up to."
"To be able to tell a young person, 'You have the opportunity to change a life at your young age,' I think that's an incredible boost on their end, to be all that they can be and to set a good example."
Chris Scott is the director of the Royal Family Kids' Camp in Anchorage that Johnson started at. Scott said she could tell Johnson was going to be a great leader.
"I think first of all she's an incredibly good listener," Scott said. "She listens and then she problem solves and articulates very well. She just doesn't jump to conclusions to solve the problem. She's creative and she also uses people's skills, she identifies who does things well and uses them."
Johnson knows she's where she needs to be.
"Royal Family has definitely stolen my heart," she said. "It's my passion and I want to help these kids as much as possible."
Logan Tuttle can be reached at email@example.com.


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Unemployment Benefits to Shrink
- Written by Tony Hart
- Published in News
(3/16/13) Automatic federal budget cuts means Wisconsin residents who get unemployment benefits will see those checks shrink by 11 percent.
About 30 thousand people in this state will be affected starting the week of April 7th. The reductions in benefits will last at least through the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30th. Eligibility rules are not changing. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says people who get jobless benefits from the state will see no change.
Source: Wheeler News


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THQ and 4A Games have finally released footage of the E3 2011 Metro: Last Light demo that wasn't pieced together by someone with attention deficit disorder.
The video features a full-out attack against an enemy compound, something we wouldn't have attempted in the original title. The only thought going through my mind during this battle was: "You're wasting all your precious money/ammo!"
This is only the first part of the demo that was shown to attendees at June's big industry event. Metro: Last Light is due to hit the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 in 2012.
BOOM video 9729


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Dentists in Baltimore
Whether you need a cleaning or whitening treatment in Barclay, an extraction in Walbrook, or a filling in Armistead Gardens, you can use ZocDoc to make an appointment with a Baltimore, Maryland, dentist who's close to your home or office. Discover dental professionals who've been vetted by verified reviews and who participate in your insurance, and then click to confirm your visit. It's fast, easy, and always free!


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The issue that tripped up presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in a 2007 debate is gaining traction.
"The Illinois House on Tuesday approved legislation allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain temporary driver's licenses.
"Under the plan, drivers would get three-year licenses, called Temporary Visitor Driver's Licenses, but would be required to take a driver's education class and carry car insurance. Lawmakers believe there are as many as 250,000 undocumented immigrants on Illinois roads and that more than 40 percent of deadly Illinois crashes involve drivers who don't have a license. ...
"New Mexico and Washington passed similar laws that White and Grau said have seen traffic accidents involving uninsured drivers plummet. Gov. Pat Quinn applauded the House on the move, saying the bill will save lives, 'help ensure every Illinois motorist is properly licensed and empower more immigrants to become stronger contributors to our economy.'"


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The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, writing in Sunday's Observer, has fiercely rebuked Conservative Eurosceptics.
Clegg has staked out his position opposing the Conservative right by insisting that the coalition will not be taking back powers from Brussels. He warned it would be "economic suicide" for Britain to "retreat to the margins" of Europe.
The strident article raises the prospect that Britain's relationship with Europe could prove to be a dangerous sticking point within the coalition, with most Lib Dems being pro-European and the right-wing of the Conservative Party being historically Europsceptic.
Clegg fears that this is entirely the wrong time to be debating EU membership. When we should be focused on economic growth, he explains, "tampering with the EU's founding texts" would open a "Pandora's Box". Europe, instead of strengthening its economic position in the wake of the Eurozone crisis would be left "paralysed by ideological battles, institutional navel-gazing and special demands from every member state".
Clegg's forthright article comes as Mr Cameron has faced a fraught week in parliament with rebellious Conservative MPs over Europe. 81 of them defied a three-line whip last week last week in order to support a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union.


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The March 2013 Community Cinema film is Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines with screenings and discussions in both Austin and Round Rock. All screenings will start at 7 pm, are free and open to the public.
Screenings take place March 5 at Austin's Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr.) and March 28 at Round Rock Public Library (216 E. Main Street).
Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines
Guevara-Flanagan From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s, to the blockbusters of today, WONDER WOMEN! Looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society's anxieties about women's liberation.


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Cultural Pittsfield This Week: Nov. 9 - Nov. 15
Friday: Diva Night at Bisque Beads & Beyond
It's the last Diva Night of 2012! Celebrate with all the Divas in your life while sharing the fun & freedom of being creative. Paint pottery, try mosaics, create a beaded masterpiece or play in the fused glass center. Other fun Diva Night features include a bingo game every hour, great food – including the Diva Chocolate Fountain, win Diva dollars for free merchandise and more. Seats are limited, so preregistration is required.
Friday, November 9 | 5:30pm-9pm | Bisque Beads & Beyond | 141 North Street | 413-442-9300 | $10 cover charge + cost of project
Friday: Beer and Wine Tasting
The Pittsfield Family YMCA hosts a Beer & Wine Tasting fundraiser at Berkshire Hills Country Club Friday evening. Explore rich, compelling selections of beer and wine along with light appetizers. Stroll through the silent auction and stay past 8pm for the DJ. All proceeds benefit the Y's Reach Out for Youth Campaign which provides financial assistance for youth memberships, childcare, camps, programs and more. You must be at least 21 years old to attend.
Friday, November 9 | 6pm-8pm+ | Berkshire Hills Country Club | 500 Benedict Road | 413-499-7650 x 12 | $25
Friday, Sunday & Monday: Monty Python & the Holy Grail
The classic film that inspired the Broadway hit Spamalot returns to the big screen – for the first time ever in high definition! Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 British BBC comedy film, written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin), and directed by Gilliam and Jones.
Friday, Sunday & Monday, November 9, 11, 12 | Fri & Sun 7pm Mon 1:30pm & 7pm | Little Cinema at the Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5
Friday: Henry IV at Taconic High School
Taconic Theatre presents Henry IV, Part 1 as part of the Fall Festival of Shakespeare. Henry IV, Part I depicts a span of history that begins with Hotspur's battle at Homildon against the Douglas late in 1402 and ends with the defeat of the rebels at Shrewsbury in the middle of 1403.
Friday, November 9 | 7pm | Taconic Theatre | 96 Valentine Road | 413-448-9634 | $7
Friday: Matt Cusson at the Garage
Pittsfield native Matt Cusson is an award-winning singer/songwriter and pianist. He excels in jazz, pop, and soul, as demonstrated on his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album of 2009. That same year, Matt won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest's top annual prize for his song One of Those Nights. Learn about his approach to songwriting, his inspiration and the way he overcomes the various challenges of creating a song at a songwriting workshop before the concert.
Friday, November 9 | Concert 8pm Songwriting Workshop 4pm | The Garage at The Colonial Theatre | 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $15
Friday: Live Music at Flavours
Matchstick Architects will be rocking the house at Flavours of Malaysia. The band plays their own brand of driving original rock music and a selection of cover material. For adults 21 and over.
Friday, November 9 | 10pm | Flavours of Malaysia | 75 North Street | 413-443-3188 | $5
Saturday: I Live in Stockbridge Book Signing
Susan Geller and Susan Merrill will be at Gallery 25 for a book signing of I Live in Stockbridge, a children's history of the town. Originally published in 1976, it has been republished and updated by its author Susan Geller and illustrator Susan Merrill. Geller and Merrill collaborated on the 48-page account of the town they remember from their own childhoods.
Saturday, November 10 | 12pm-1pm | Gallery 25 | 25 Union Street | email@example.com | FREE
Saturday: Met Opera: The Tempest Live in HD
The Met: Live in HD season continues with The Tempest. Composer Thomas Adès conducts the Metropolitan Opera premiere of his own work, with baritone Simon Keenlyside starring as Prospero. Director Robert Lepage recreates the interior of 18th-century La Scala in this inventive staging.
Saturday, November 10 | 12:55pm | The Beacon Cinema | 57 North Street | 413-358-4780 | $25
Saturday & Sunday: Native American Festival at Berkshire Museum
Don't miss the Chief Konkapot Festival of Native American Culture and History, presented in partnership with Healing Winds and the exhibition Rethink! American Indian Art at the Berkshire Museum. The festival features the rich history and culture of the Mohawk and Nipmuck tribes, conveyed through storytelling, music, and ritual. The performers are Jerry Thundercloud McDonald, Joseph Firecrow (pictured left), Larry Spotted Crow Mann, and Sandy Rhodes.
Saturday & Sunday, November 10 & 11 | Sat 1pm & 7pm Sun 1pm & 3pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South St. | 413-443-7171 | $3-$20
Saturday: Habitat for Humanity Benefit
Local singer-songwriter Bobby Sweet hosts the annual Giving Thanks Fundraising Benefit Concert for the Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity. The evening includes a farm-to-table dinner and a show featuring Bobby Sweet and his BSweet Band, with special guests Jordan Weller and the Feathers. There will be numerous raffles, including one for 500 gallons of home heating oil or propane, donated by Brown Oil.
Saturday, November 10 | Dinner 5pm-7pm Concert 7pm | First United Methodist Church | 55 Fenn Street | 413-442-3181 | Dinner $10/ Concert $10
Saturday: I Own A Theatre Gala Celebration at the Colonial Theatre
Celebrate Berkshire Theatre Group's Education Programs with an evening of theatrical surprises with Master of Ceremonies Ralph Petillo (pictured left). Mingle and munch throughout the theatre with surprise pop up entertainment followed by a dance party with DJ BFG in The Garage and late night munchies. Funky festive and fun attire. Leave the ties and heels at home!
Saturday, November 10 | 6pm-11pm | The Colonial Theatre | 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $75-$500
Saturday: Young Artists Open Mic Night!
The Marketplace Cafe in Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District hosts young artist open mic nights each month, inviting any and all local talent 21 years old and younger to share their performing skills in its intimate environment for many to listen to and enjoy. Come check out the talents of the next generation!
Saturday, November 10 | 6:30pm–8:30pm | The Marketplace Cafe | 53 North St. | 413-358-4777 | No cover
Saturday: Dinner and a Movie at Dottie's
Go on a date night at Dottie's for dinner and movie. A screening of the movie Sideways and pairing Dottie's four course dinner with select Pinot Noirs. The menu includes salmon, linguini in a creamy wild mushroom sauce, chicken, and more. All inclusive.
Saturday: A Night of Cabaret & Burlesque!
Join Gypsy Layne Cabaret & Company as they step back in time to the speakeasy era, Midnight in Paris style. Let the Gypsies dazzle you with bathtub gin, a poetry brothel and the Charleston. Get ready for some fun, laughs, and good times. Featuring special guest star Prudi Fresh and opening and closing music by DJ Deify. Reservations are encouraged.
Saturday, November 10 | Doors 0pen 8pm/ Show 9pm | Upstairs at Spice Dragon | 297 North Street | 413-443-1234 | $20
Sunday: Shredvember at the Pittsfield Skate Plaza
The weather gets a little cooler, but the shredding doesn't stop. Join The Garden at the Pittsfield Skate Plaza for another raucous Skate/BMX Jam, where you can show off your chops on the pipes and rails or watch as other talented riders throw down big tricks. For beginners and amateurs, there will be prizes, giveaways and raffles.
Sunday, November 11 | 12pm | Pittsfield Skate Plaza | 300 East Street | 413-442-9088 | $5
Monday: Veterans Day Parade
Honor the men and women who have served our country in the military and in harm's way this Veterans Day at the annual parade and ceremony in downtown Pittsfield. The parade, which features veterans groups and both the Pittsfield High School and Taconic High School marching bands, steps off at 10am from Fenn Street, heading down North and South Streets to the Peace Memorial on Veterans Way for a ceremony featuring William Sturgeon as the keynote speaker.
Monday, November 12 | 10am | Begins at 70 Allen Street | Free
Tuesday: PechaKucha Night
Rescheduled from Hurricane Sandy, Berkshire Museum hosts the fourth outing of the popular worldwide event featuring quick, creative, fun presentations by all kinds of folks. PechaKucha, literally translated as "chit chat" or "blah blah" in Japanese, was created in Tokyo in 2003 as an opportunity for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. Refreshments included!
Tuesday, November 13 | 7pm | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5 or FREE for Museum Members
Wednesday+: NaNoWriMo Write-Ins at Berkshire Athenaeum
The celebration continues for November's National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. More than 650 regional volunteers in more than 60 countries will hold write-ins, hosting writers in coffee shops, bookstores, and libraries. Write-ins offer a supportive environment and surprisingly effective peer pressure, turning the usually solitary act of writing into a community experience.
Wednesday, November 14 & 28 | 1pm-7pm | Berkshire Athenaeum | One Wendell Avenue | www.nanowrimo.org | FREE
Wednesday: Brooklyn Brewery Dinner at Mission
Chef James Burden and Brooklyn Brewery have teamed up to put together 4 courses of seasonally inspired dishes each featuring beer pairings from Brooklyn Brewery. The Brooklyn Brewery's John Williams will be here from Brooklyn to talk about their beers and food pairings. Please purchase your ticket in advance at Mission.
Wednesday, November 14| 6pm | Mission Bar + Tapas | 438 North Street | No Phone | $40 (tax + gratuity not included)
Wednesday: Babe Ruth Banquet of Champions at ITAM Lodge
Come say Hip Hip Hooray! The Babe Ruth Banquet of Champions honors the 15 year old World Series Team and New England Regional Champions. All proceeds from the pasta & meatball dinner will benefit the Pittsfield Babe Ruth League.
Wednesday, November 14 | 6:30pm | ITAM Lodge | 22 South Shore Street | 413-446-6546 | $12
Thursday: All That Glitters at Crawford Square
Get a jump on your holiday shopping and join the merchants at Crawford Square for a pre-holiday party. Refreshments will be served. Come fill out your holiday wish list at Ancient Language Collection, Pateez Boutique, Unusual Wedding Rings & More, Jess-et-Mia, and more!
Thursday, November 15 | 5pm-8pm | Crawford Square | 137 North Street | 413-499-0008 | NO COVER
Thursday: Apocalyptic Planet at the Lichtenstein
NPR commentator Craig Childs, author of a new book entitled Apocalyptic Planet: Field Guide to the Everending Earth, speaks about his journey to some of the harshest environments on our planet and his discoveries of just how swiftly the earth can change. Orion magazine editor Jennifer Sahn will introduce him. The book, an exhilarating, surprising exploration of our planet, takes readers on a firsthand journey through apocalypse, touching the truth behind the speculation.
Thursday, November 15 | 7pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 28 Renne Avenue | 413-499-9348 | FREE
Thursday: Warren Miller's Flow State at the Colonial Theatre
Warren Miller Entertainment brings you its 63rd film, Flow State. The Flow State is a place of such singular focus and connection with the environment that, here, the faster you ride, the slower time passes. Enter the Flow State with host Jonny Moseley and other world-class athletes like Colby West, Jess McMillan and David Wise as they throw down some of the most impressive action that Warren Miller Entertainment has ever captured.
Thursday, November 15 | 7:30pm | The Colonial Theatre | 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $21
|iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue; please keep comments focused on the issues and not on personalities. Profanity, obscenity, racist language and harassment are not allowed. iBerkshires reserves the right to ban commenters or remove commenting on any article at any time. Concerns may be sent to email@example.com.


text:
Items needed:
- 2 slices white bread
- 1 slice whole wheat bread
- Radish
- Cheese slice
- Assorted pepper slices
- Cucumber slice
- Cheese for star
- Sandwich filling of your choice
- Cut bread slices into a rocket shape from white bread.
- Fill with sandwich filling of your choice. Ham & cheese? Turkey and mayo?
- Cut rocketship legs from whole wheat bread.
- Cut cheese slice legs and orange pepper legs to add to the top of the whole wheat legs.
- Cut three thin radish slices to add for rocketship windows.
- Make flames beneath rocketship from yellow pepper.
- To finish off, cut a star from a cheese slice or orange pepper. Make a "moon" slice from cucumber. This will delight any little man in your life!


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Archive for the 'line tracking' tag
New Line Tracking Tutorials added to the VEX Cortex Video Trainer
Good news everyone! I'm excited to let you know that our latest batch of tutorials in the VEX Cortex Video Trainer are available now!
This set of 5 tutorials focuses on the VEX Line Tracking Sensors:
- The Line Tracking Sensors – Introduces the sensors and explains how they work
- Calculating Thresholds – Goes through the process of acquiring sensor values using the ROBOTC Sensor Debug window and calculating a threshold for the robot to distinguish light from dark
- Basic Line Tracking – Opens, explains, and runs a basic line tracking sample program on the robot
- Line Track for Distance – Modifies the sample program to line track for a number of encoder counts
- Optimized Line Tracking – Explains how to modify motor speeds for tracking different types of lines
These tutorials will work with the new VEX Line Tracking Sensors (in the picture above), as well as the slightly larger, previous generation. To view them, open the VEX Cortex Video Trainer and head to the Sensing > Line Tracking section. Be on the look-out for additional programming challenges and activities using the line tracking sensors early next year.
As usual, the VEX Line Tracking Sensors can be purchased at the RobotMatter store. Happy Holidays everyone!


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Funny Articles
Five Crazy-Delicious Food Combinations You Should Try
You may have seen the campaign by "Miracle Whip" with celebrities asking you to "keep an open mouth." My favorite is of course by Michael Ian Black, because he's hilarious and I like chair comedy.
Well, great, Michael now my mouth is open, and I've tried the tangy zip of Miracle Whip. Which got me thinking – what are some OTHER things I've never tried that could be delicious? Some new ways to eat food that I've never thought about? Here are five crazy-delicious food combinations you should try!
Peanut Butter Sandwich + Chili
Normally, when you are chowing down on a Peanut butter sandwich, your brain isn't going "hey, I wish we had a hearty meat and bean stew to dip this in!" Well, maybe your brain should rethink what it's thinking because dipping a PB Sandwich into some tasty chili is awesome.
Hot Dog + Cream Cheese
MADNESS, or GENIUS? Popular in Seattle, all you need to do is spread some warm delicious cream cheese on a hot dog bun, add a tasty cooked hotdog (not raw, are you crazy?), various hot dog fixins according to taste, and then eat as you normally would eat a hot dog, only with a extra big smile because of the extra tasty flavor.
French Fries + chocolate milkshake
Quick, what's the opposite of ketchup? If you said milkshake, you are wrong. It's puhctek. But since you brought it up, let's talk about how you should try dipping French fires into a chocolate milkshake. It's a great salty/sweet combination, not unlike a chocolate covered pretzel. Only it's hot and cold at the same time, like that Katy Perry song, only not annoying!
Potato chips IN a sandwich
Potato chips and sandwiches have been hanging out as BFFs forever, but normally they are content to just hang out NEAR each other. But what they should be doing is hanging out INSIDE each other (easier for the chips to get in the sandwich in this scenario.) A few crispy, salty chips inside your sandwich add great texture, and plus you save time since you were going to eat the chips anyway. WIN WIN.
Fries + Pizza Toppings
Fries + any food at all is normally a recipe for deliciousness, but when combined with the other best food of all time, you get some really epic noms.
I know this doesn't really count as an unusual food, but I think everyone should know about it.
What are some other food combos people don't know are delicious? Let us know in the comments!


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By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
April 1, 2006
Craig Marquardo voluntarily turned himself in to the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections facility on Tuesday evening.
He paid $2,500 in cash to bail himself out of jail that same night.
"It's just standard procedure for this kind of thing; this is a felony charge," said Marquardo, who has been accused of election fraud.
A warrant was issued for his arrest following the grand jury decision in mid-March that there was sufficient evidence to pursue a case against him. Marquardo's prosecution is being handled by the Attorney General's office because it involves a violation of state election laws.
He is facing penalties for allegedly falsifying his work history on a candidate filing form in 2005. Marquardo unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Kathy Watson for the Position 3 seat on the Hood River Port Commission.
His first court appearance will be 8:30 a.m. on April 17 in Hood River Circuit Court. On Thursday morning, Marquardo said he did not expect the case to go to trial, alluding to a possible plea deal with the AG's legal staff.
"This won't see a courtroom because we're working on something right now. But I still have to go through the process between now and then," he said.
In a telephone interview last week, Marquardo, 33, admitted that he could not provide proof of employment with Warner Brothers. On his filing form, he had claimed to be the senior vice president of distribution for the California company while in his early 20s.
Marquardo said he had not retained pay stubs, or tax returns from the job that he had held more than 10 years ago.
"They want to prove that I didn't do something and I don't have the paperwork to prove that I did, it's that simple," he said.
Marquardo also stated the belief that the state would have difficulty proving to a jury "beyond a shadow of a doubt" that he had done anything wrong.
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Dolibarr is a simple Web application with ERP and CRM capabilities. It is designed for small and medium companies, freelancers or foundations, and can be used to deal with all things you require to manage your activities, such as management of products, stocks, commercial proposals, invoices, orders, members of a foundation, and mailings. A single executable that installs the server and database is available for people with no technical knowledge.
OpenERP is a complete business application suite. It covers CRM, accounting (analytic and financial), production management (MRP), stock management, sales and purchases management, task automation, marketing campaigns, help desk, POS, and more. Technical features include a distributed server, flexible workflows, an object database, a dynamic GUI, an XML-RPC interface, and customizable reports.
libguestfs is a set of tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine (VM) disk images. You can use this for viewing and editing files inside guests, scripting changes to VMs, monitoring disk used/free statistics, P2V, V2V, performing partial backups, cloning VMs, and much more. libguestfs can access nearly any type of filesystem including: all known types of Linux filesystem (ext2/3/4, XFS, btrfs, etc.), any Windows filesystem (VFAT and NTFS), any Mac OS X and BSD filesystems, LVM2 volumes, MBR and GPT disk partitions, raw disks, qcow2, CD and DVD ISO images, SD cards, and dozens more. libguestfs doesn't need root permissions.
Virtual Planner is a Web-based project management application which sits on top of multiple Trac projects, providing a unified view of them all. It allows for weekly assignment of work, estimated versus actual job times, a drag and drop Web-based UI, and direct linking to your Trac projects.
Symbolic is an enterprise platform designed to build, configure, and manage your huge and globally distributed data centers. It features cloud computing, Web manager virtual environments (Xen, KVM, and libvirt), clustering support, custom operations and scripts support, and user and role definitions.
Google Apps Manager (GAM) is a command line tool that allows Administrators to control their Google Apps domain and accounts. With GAM you can create users, turn on/off services for users like POP and Forwarding and much more. It requires Google Apps Education or Premier Edition. Standard Edition is not supported. Future plans for GAM include even more management capabilities as well as a graphical and Web-based interface.
nc-cms is a simple, fast, easy-to-use content management system (CMS). As you may know, these systems are traditionally very large, complex, and can take many weeks to integrate into a Web site. nc-cms can be integrated within an hour. It's great for managing a site with a set amount of pages.
UnifiedSessionsManager is a unified and simplified interface for the use and management of local and remote sessions on physical and virtual machines. It provides management of distributed and stacked virtual machines, management of desktops and workspaces on multiple monitors, seamless access to all types of sessions, and support of encrypted connections using SSH.
Karesansui is a virtualization management console with a Web-based user interface that supports Linux servers. It allows virtual machine creation, start up, suspension, snapshot, and CPU/RAM allocation, all from a Web browser. The Xen hypervisor is supported. A RESTful architecture is implemented with HTTP-based APIs.


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Of course an anti-abortion web site would make a claim like this. It's bogus. And since when is a zygote considered a human being?
The website is taking into effect the use of birth control and babies not born because of using it.If the number of missing children includes those aborted by IUDs, RU-486, sterilization and abortifacients, the figure climbs to over $70 trillion
Do a google search on the author:
He's a rabid anti-abortionist. Of course he will write a story like this.


text: Welcome to the Viking Backers website for spiritwear. For questions concerning anything you see, please call Elaine at EYE OF THE NEEDLE EMBROIDERY at 410-461-1306 or email email@example.com. Prices indicated are for individual pieces and include the MH logo. Further customization will be done for individual sports, clubs, music, etc. Please indicate your preference in the "Imprint Information" box when checking out. If no request is made "VIKINGS" will be below the MH. For quantities 12 or more, please call for discounted prices. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Viking Backers.


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Sakic gave every indication the Avs are likely to take the first pick Sunday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
"Nothing's changed," the Avs' executive vice president of hockey operations said after an NHL board of governors meeting. "It's quiet right now."
A trade of the first pick seems unlikely, but nothing is final in the NHL until the picks are made. Lots of big draft-day trades have happened in the past, but none of the teams right below the Avs in the draft order seem desperate to get the top pick.
Sakic reiterated Nathan MacKinnon is the Avs' likely choice. But Avs personnel will meet more over the next couple of days to formulate final draft strategy.
"It's going to be an exciting three days for our organization," Sakic said. "At No. 1, we've got the player that we're looking forward to selecting, and we're looking forward to Sunday."
About MacKinnon, the center from the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Sakic said: "He's definitely a skill guy, but he's a powerful skater. He loves going to the net, to the hard areas. He's just a tremendous player.
Baizley dies
Sakic was somber Thursday after learning of the death of his longtime agent, Don Baizley, 71, a victim of lung cancer.
Baizley was Sakic's agent his entire playing career, and the Winnipeg, Manitoba-based lawyer also represented Peter Forsberg and other NHL stars such as Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne and Ulf Nilsson.
"My billet family (in Swift Current, Saskatchewan), they knew Don, and when I was 17 on my way back to Swift Current from practicing with some world junior guys, I stopped in Winnipeg and had lunch with Don," Sakic said. "I felt very comfortable with him right away and that's when I knew I wanted him as an agent for my whole career. He was a wonderful man and did a lot of great things for me. I'm going to miss him a lot."
Sakic said he plans to attend services for Baizley next week in Winnipeg.
Tanguay returns to Avs
in deal with Flames
The Calgary Flames traded left wing Alex Tanguay and defenseman Cory Sarich to the Avalanche for right wing David Jones and defenseman Shane O'Brien.
The 33-year-old Tanguay is returning to Colorado, where he scored a career-high 29 goals in 2005-06. In 13 seasons with Colorado, Calgary, Montreal and Tampa Bay, he has 249 goals and 513 assists in 922 games.


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Do you know what we need for Christmas? A bit of old school glamour, and Estee Lauder's Ultimate Red collection is kinda what I was looking for:
The key is, I suppose, getting these products and making them look wearable for the day and looking youthful too.
There are two variations, Gold Opulence (what I have) and Lavish Plum:
At first glance, its not not so 'gold- there's one gold but the warm reddish brown and black aren't necessarily in the typical "gold" category.
For a closer look –
I wasn't sure how pigmented these would be, but they are just lovely and super creamy. This is from one layer of shadow:
The shadow is not as reddish as I thought it would be, its more of a golden brown with highlights.
I got two lipsticks too, in Gold and Simply Red:
I LOVE the fluted pattern on the lipstick!
Gold (this is a very true, rich gold, almost like an old gold):
This is Simply Red, which seems to be neither overly blue or orange in tone:
The lipsticks are very pretty pigmented, last quite a long time although it felt more comfortable on if I use lip balm first.
My two Opulent Shimmer Glosses:
Cranberry (shimmer red):
Gold (love this – it has lots of micro sparkles in it, I even detect some green sparkles):
The lipglosses are lovely, definitely a nice way to wear some colour if the lipsticks are a bit too scary for you.
I am going to use these products for some Tutorials/Looks so tune back!
What do you think? Would you go for the Ultimate Red collection?


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Meanwhile, the Boston franchise now finds itself holding onto a slim one banner lead in all time championships. While the chance for Boston to make a repeat appearance in the Finals next year is marginal, it wouldn't be unrealistic to picture Kobe and co. repeating for the third straight year. That would put the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers tied with Boston at 17 trophies.
The Celtics' standing as the top franchise in the NBA is rapidly slipping away. In the '50s and '60s, Bill Russell dominated LA on the way to giving Boston a nice buffer with 11 championships. Yet, the Lakers have caught up. While Boston still holds a decisive 9-3 advantage in Finals head-to-heads, the stat is a bit misleading.
Boston has a lot of ground to make up on LA. If they want to re-establish themselves as the class of the league, they need to continue to stand in the Lakers' way. Their best chance to do that is with Rondo.


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Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon, voted with many of his fellow Senate Republicans this week against a pension bill sponsored by Democratic Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago. The measure passed 40-16.
Bivins had a different reason for his no vote.
The other Republicans argued the bill didn't go far enough to reduce the state's seemingly insurmountable pension debt.
Bivins, however, said he leaned toward supporting Cullerton's bill but decided against doing so because the Senate leader failed to include the teacher retirees association at the table.
The unions supported Cullerton's plan, which involves giving workers and retirees choices for their benefits. For instance, they could choose between getting 3 percent cost-of-living increases compounded annually or health insurance.
Bivins, a former Lee County sheriff who makes $77,256 a year from his government pension, wanted a voice for the retirees.
"My position has been consistent from the beginning, that the state constitution – whether we agree with it or not – says that you cannot diminish those benefits," Bivins said in a news release. "I also had concerns about this proposal because retired teachers were not part of the discussion in putting it together, and they are planning on filing a lawsuit if this bill passes both chambers."
Bivins is right about the state constitution. Unions read that language to mean that the terms of pensions should not change after a public employee's career starts. Others, including top law firms, say the provision bars the state from removing pension benefits employees have already received, but changes can be made going forward.
Some Senate Republicans argue the constitutionality should be left to the courts.
"It's not our job to be the judiciary," Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said during a Senate debate.
Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said the bill didn't do enough.
"We will be back here reliving this nightmare," he told the Senate.
Two Democrats, Daniel Biss of Evanston and Heather Steans of Chicago, joined the dissenters. But they agreed with many of the Republicans: More needed to be done to curtail pensions.
Most of the dissenters favored Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan's much more ambitious pension bill, which passed the House last week. It would require workers to contribute more, cut benefits, and raise the retirement age for younger workers.
Joining the House majority was Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon. On the biggest issue of this year's legislative session, the two Dixon GOP lawmakers are far apart. And so are the Senate and House.
Will our leaders find a solution soon?
David Giuliani is a reporter for Sauk Valley Media. He can be reached at dgiuliani@saukvalley or at 800-798-4085, ext. 525.


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For God's sake, Woody, just let the guy have coach whoever he wants.
They can be PC and say it's not Rex, but Rex fosters this "circus."
What a joke. They can't even get somebody to agree to be their GM.
the media did not follow rex down there. The pictures where taken by more than likely Jet fans or football fans then sent to media outlets. If they where following him I would have thought someone there would have asked him questions and gottent the typical "no Comment" If They did the confrence after the season this would have been a non issue.
For God's sake, Woody, just let the guy have coach whoever he wants.
They can be PC and say it's not Rex, but Rex fosters this "circus."
What a joke. They can't even get somebody to agree to be their GM.
It looks like we may have picked the wrong year to fire tannenbaum. Part of me wonders if woody wishes he could bring him back.
So we again have Jets fans, some more then others, spending hours speculating on a situation they have no clue about.
Again I say, " let it play out and see what the results brings".
If Rex falls flat on his face, well then he is gone and all the fire Rex folks will be in all there glory with a cap situation finally cleared up any ready to work.
On the other hand if Rex is successful, then you folks can spend all of next off season telling anyone who will listen, how now that the cap is cleared out, we should still get rid of Rex.
im as aggravated as anyone else here but this is the jets and we are the most resilent fans in the nfl.
it seems this guy could be our next gm with the way woody and rex run the organization.
Again, I've had it with this search. So many conflicting reports saying one thing and then another. It feels like an eternity when this began. Just get it over with.
I don't think he has a vision of what he wants the position to entail. Right from the start I thought the organization needed a Director of Football ops guy. I thought Marty and still do. But Polian, Wolf, Peterson, Acorsi, somebody along that line. Woody seems to be swayed by the last guy he talks to.
I don't like Mark Sanchez. I merely feel that we owe it to ourselves to give him another look with a rebuilt offense, new coordinator, and new QB coach.
If you two knew anything about playoff football, you'd know that Mark Sanchez stacks up very nicely and played very well. Just like you think Rex Ryan deserves another chance based on his postseason success, so too does Mark Sanchez.


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text:
|2004-04-07, 12:51
|Link #21
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: new york city
Airsoft. Ahahahahahahahahahhahaha.
Airsoft... lol
|2004-04-07, 15:08
|Link #22
Join Date: Jan 2004
|2004-04-07, 16:00
|Link #23
Senior Member
yknow...its the paintballers that are the immature pricks over here
i guess its the same thing all over eh?
|2004-04-07, 16:20
|Link #24
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Looking for his book...
|2004-04-07, 16:28
|Link #25
Tekkaman Blade!
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bakersfield, CA, USA,
Age: 30
Mwyc: I still don't get exactly what wnkyro was implying in his post, but that was uncalled for. Does it offend you that much? Get a life. You remind me of those guys who whine and curse when they die in Counter-Strike.
I've never been airsofting, so I wouldn't know. It looks fun.
IMO Paintball is cheaper to start, but more expensive to maintain.
Airsoft is more expensive to start, but less expensive to maintain.
|2004-04-07, 16:30
|Link #26
Senior Member
read his post
do i really have to spell it out?
but let me count the ways...
not having barrel plugs in safezone...throwing paintballs in the parking lot...looking down their barrels...and...this is the best - hosing down a bystander in the safezone starting from the waist to the chest..but "its not his fault, the safety and barrel plug are on"
mix in with numerous other incidents like shots being fired in the rental area
and that case involving paintballers and drive by shootings...
well i guess posting something stupid like that wouldnt qualify him for immature prick status, but stupidly bashing airsoft like that without any reason earns him 1/2 of that
at least 80% of paintballers are kids who are like city slicker hunters - "huur's mah money, so gimme a gun and ammo so i kin shoot stuff"
|2004-04-07, 16:38
|Link #27
Senior Member
sigh....that saying, "get a life" has to be one of the stupidest phrases ever coined
how do i remind you of those CS nerds?
and yes....that second paragraph is pretty much all true...
but you can always go nuts and spend 2 grand on one gun, paintball or airsoft
|2004-04-07, 16:59
|Link #28
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Looking for his book...
You've seen plenty of stupid paintball players, I've seen just as many stupid Airsoft players.
80% of all paintball players are kids?! Where do you get this information? I've been playing paintball for seven years, with the exception of one or two people who got their's in the end, I have yet to meet these "huur's mah money, so gimme a gun and ammo so i kin shoot stuff" people you seem to think everybody is.
Paintball and Airsoft are basically the same. The only difference is that at the end of the day, I go home and have a shower while you disinfect your wounds.
|2004-04-07, 17:07
|Link #29
Senior Member
thats how paintball is over here
kids...and lots of them...and the refs dont seem to have the guts to confront most of the offenders
it sounds different where you play, but ive been to numerous paintball fields and that is what i have observed
airsofters have that 18+ group playing and I have had no incidents like what you have described
|2004-04-07, 17:20
|Link #30
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
It's not for everyone b'cos of the pain and the fear/terror of being hit or being shot at in general. Just as not everyone can enjoy a thrill ride at a local amusement park or a terror / horror movie. IMO it's too much for the common person, it takes a certain mindset to enjoy the thrill and challenge of trying to shoot others while you are under fire yourself. Hence the ridicule some feel compelled to express.
For some of us, it's great exercise, great fun, and it's honestly not that expensive if you take the time to learn fire discipline and the effective range of your weapon.
As far as complaints, some fields are good, some aren't. Once a field gets labelled as having bad refs, that's where all the cheaters go b'cos that's where they can get away with it. At this point you have to either stick with private groups (of people you trust or invite-only) or find another field if you are lucky enough to have many choices in your town.
|2004-04-07, 18:12
|Link #31
Join Date: Jan 2004
[QUOTE=Access]It's not for everyone b'cos of the pain and the fear/terror of being hit or being shot at in general. Just as not everyone can enjoy a thrill ride at a local amusement park or a terror / horror movie.[QUOTE]
This is what seperates the men from the boys(or the steroid-pumped dikes from the girls. LOL, j/k). You must be fearless!
|2004-04-07, 18:20
|Link #32
shush! I was only helping
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Under ur skin
Age: 27
i went home with some bruises..
|2004-04-07, 18:23
|Link #33
AT Field
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: #animesuki
Age: 21
i play softair/airsoft with that thing
sexy uh?
we play various scenarios with pps from my association. i take part in writing stories for special events (week ends, holidays, i mean a real storyline for more phun ), creating accessories (i work on a FAKE bomb right now).
i've been playing for two years. the only annoying things is when people get much too serious about it :/
|2004-04-07, 18:45
|Link #35
illusion control
Went paintballing once at what was probably one of the very few paintball venues in Singapore. (Don't ask me where, I forget. It was part of a country club/golf course, though.)
The guns were... weak, to say the least. I got hit several times, but the pellets just kind of bounced off. Didn't hurt a lot.
Zeroing the paintball guns was also kind of pointless. Not so much a straight line as a definite arc.
Having said that, it was one of the more fun times of my life. Although I would give anything for a rematch, especially after the opposing team ran out of ammo, but kept on squeezing the trigger (and making the firing noise) to keep us under cover until time ran out...
|2004-04-07, 19:15
|Link #36
Senior Member
It's sad but all the places i've played paintball at had there share of punks. The field i play at now dont take any shit and kicks people out if they act stupid. They tend not to come back after that so right now we have a pretty good group of aout 30-50 people that play. I've never really had a hit that hurt to much or left a scar, even tho i play in shorts and a t shirt sometimes. i've been hit in the nuts a few times from a fair distance so it dint hurt to much. The worst shot i took would have to be in the fingers, me and the other guy came around the bunker at the same time i let off about 6-10 into his neck and he got me 6 times in the fingers his barrel was touching my finger, left marks for a good 3 weeks.
|2004-04-07, 21:20
|Link #37
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Looking for his book...
I either play outdoor, there is a nice 100 acre paintball/airsoft field not to far
away, or I play technical one on one at a converted warehouse. The outdoor
place is one of the best, they have nearly every terrain could want to play on
including a small abandoned town. ^^;
For the indoor my marker rifle can't be used, indoor limits the psi to 1200 (the
marker is 3000 psi @ 98ci ^_-), so the weapons of choice are:
(Core Zx Pistol)
I have two black ones. I've changed the grips and triggers on mine and
removed the standard semi-auto setting (semi-auto sucks when you don't
have that many shots per clip to begin with). I've also modified the CO2
cartridge adapter to make it easier to switch CO2 cartridges and reload in a
hurry then rifled the barrel for increased acuraccy.
I have to keep them locked in a safe box because without the clips on the top
they actually look like real handguns. I have two holsters (one for each
leg) and about ten extra clips for each gun. For outdoor and general use:
(Kapp KXS Autococker the marker - mine's red >.>)
Once again I changed the grip and trigger assembly then changed all the seals
and valves configurating it to run off N2 instead of CO2. After modifying the
tank adapter is now holds the larger 3000 psi tanks instead of the little 800 psi
ones >.> I also purchased two barrels for it (one 14", the other 21" - both are
rifled for accuracy), a top mount sight and a removable shoulder brace. The
marker's awesome accuracy, silent operation and speed make it the perfect
weaon for picking off opponents at long range.
|2004-04-07, 22:10
|Link #38
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: new york city
You hit it straight on the dot when you said it's hard to maintain piantballing because it is. You probably will go through $20+ just for a day of piantballing. It sucks, but it's worth the fun
Edit: You have some nice guns there Mr. Paper. They look like semi-automatics (where the gun only shoots one at a time). I usually have my snigma7 (another custom side gun) with me incase my automatic runs out. Are those guns you have used for regular play or back up?
|2004-04-08, 00:08
|Link #40
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Looking for his book...
I use the handguns as the primary weapon in one on one matches. The narrow corridoors and tight corners favor the use of the handguns indoors. I know some people that simply remove the barrels from their rifles and use them indoors. Although that gives them the ability to fire off more rounds, their relative accuracy sucks. I have been in and seen many matches in the indoor arena that end within three seconds of the start buzzer. (quickdraw )
I have done a number of indoor matches using my marker and both hand guns, the marker being used only in the beginning to try and get a quick victory. I don't use the handguns outdoors that mush since it's a pain to try and clean dirt out of them (it isn't fun trying to disassemble and reassemble them).
I removed the semi-auto ability from the handguns, it confuses some people, and made it so that I have to release then repull the trigger between shots.
pull trigger -> shoot -> release trigger -> pull trigger -> shoot
This is because the handguns chamber and recharge from the force of the previous shot, if your not careful you can actually fire off an entire clip in under a few seconds. Not good since that leaves you wide open to be shot while reloading.
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It's good to know others are doing some decluttering and organizing, too, and all the ideas and tips help, a lot. I was going to say, "misery loves company", but it feels so good to be doing this, I don't find it at all miserable!I did get two Spider plants today and the living room already feels fresher and nicer. I love those. Each of them had tons of little baby plants on long stems. I cut them off and will probably give them to my daughter to make starts she might be able to sell at her craft fair booth. She does nature photos so it seems like plants would fit right in.I am definitely celebrating this breath of fresh air being breathed into the house by paring down all that stuff that keeps staring at me from every surface and corner. Oh, and I was going to say, something that is kind of spurring me on to keep at it is this: I tend to not open the drapes on the big windows in the living room, mainly because it puts a glare on the TV when I watch it . Even though they are light in color, it makes for a gloomy room, so I am trying to open them every morning. I'm beginning to think it makes me feel better, or more energetic, to have them open. Has anyone experienced this?
I'm so happy that this thread has been started up again because my clean-up efforts have stalled badly and I need the motivation.The situation isn't desperate but it's annoying. We can certainly easily move around the house but there are things that could be improved. Back in the days of Ancient Sites, I would write human interest articles on life in Ancient Egypt. As a result, I have three big Taskets of articles copied from the library. There's a lot of interesting stuff like an 18th dynasty Egyptian reference to 'French Toast', a story about a man who adopted his wife and the the possible ancient origins of baseball. Still, I'm not likely to use them again and they're not current. Like it or not, out they have to go because we need the Taskets for other uses. The 'Toss Ten' idea is certainly something to consider.
Bijou, well poo, I checked your profile to see if you might live nearby. I could use some art supplies for DD and I. But, you aren't central time zone. So, no chance.
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According to a new post on the tilllate blog today, "unit testing makes coding more fun":
"Unit testing is a test that validates that individual units of source code are working properly", that's what Wikipedia says about unit testing. That's general knowledge.
But what motivates me even more than the increased software quality is that it saves me development time. This sounds odd as you might believe that TDD means writing more code.
A real-life example is included (an internal invoicing system) with the steps they'd follow to test it normally via the browser (slow) or through the automated tests (fast!)


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The WSJ reports that Best Buy [NASDAQ:BBY] issued a guidance to their investors in a conference call, warning them that their earnings for the quarter that just closed would not be as good as many had expected. Best Buy's fiscal quarters do not line up with the calendar quarters of the year as their fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 (calendar 4Q of 2013) starts in November and ends in February. However, they do have a holiday sales briefing, which was scheduled for today (January 16th) where they broke the bad news.
Basically, it comes down to the fact that everyone has been taking different pieces of Best Buy's cake and Best Buy hasn't really improved their business model to adjust to that. Sure, they've adopted more consumer friendly policies like price matching Amazon and 30-day returns, but they still fail in other key segments that we'll address after we go over Best Buy's explanation.
One of their key reasons for the decline in revenue and profitability was their discounting of items. They claimed to discount products in order to preserve market share, even though it didn't help to boost demand. This clearly indicates that perhaps price isn't necessarily as much of a factor as Best Buy believes it to be. Part of this is the idea that many consumers nowadays refuse to buy things unless they are marked as a sale item, which is partially true, but at the same time is a byproduct of the recession. Best Buy needs to adjust their marketing and branding to properly reflect this change in some consumers' perspectives.
The biggest competition that Best Buy faced this holiday season undoubtedly came from online sales. The company reported that their online sales accounted for 11.5% of the company's November/December revenue, an increase from 9% a year ago. However, their CFO still stated, ?We were out-competed from an online marketing standpoint because of our systems? capabilities related to personalization.? Part of their problem was noted by me firsthand during our Cyber Monday deals article, which pretty much noted a complete lacking assortment of deals that were attractive compared to their competitors online. This, combined with an arguably dated online store and lack of online promotion resulted in a clearly weak online presence for the company. Part of the problem with having a competitive online presence for Best Buy is that they inevitably put their entire business model in jeopardy by being competitive online. With a highly competitive online store, they simply make their brick and mortar stores less relevant.
They also talked about their goals to cut costs by around $700 million and had already achieved cuts of over $500 million, but due to margin losses from the above moves, they are forced to cut even deeper. Which, I believe, may be the wrong move for a company that is clearly still in turmoil. However, the management does not believe that they are shaken by these December results (their biggest month of the fiscal year). They are still going to maintain course and their "opportunities have not changed."
Best Buy's management also had difficulty selling in mobile with smartphone and tablet sales disappointing, even though Best Buy still has one of the best handset warranty policy among all the carriers and device manufacturers. Sure, programs like JUMP negatively affected Best Buy's sales, which simply keep people within the carrier's own sales structure, but another thing is that T-Mobile is one of the hottest carriers right now. Part of the problem with this is that from my recollection, a lot of the deals that T-Mobile offers may be in-store only and not applicable at 3rd party places like Best Buy.
Additionally, from my past experience, T-Mobile doesn't pay Best Buy as much to sign a contract as AT&T and Verizon do, which partly could affect Best Buy's willingness to sell T-Mobile and their profitability even when they do. They also mentioned a shortage of high-end devices from Samsung and Apple, however, I am not entirely convinced of this argument because from my recollection even the iPhones were readily available around Christmas. Another factor could also be the success of Google's Play Store in selling devices direct to consumers who would normally go to Best Buy or a carrier, my experience with Best Buy's pricing of the Nexus 5 was that they charged $499 for a phone that Google Charges $349, that's almost 50% more. Of course nobody is going to buy that.
Another thing that sort-of makes me happy about Best Buy's failure to perform during the holiday season is that it may be that some consumers were simply turned off by Best Buy's willingness to ruing their employee's Thanksgiving Day. While I don't know how much the negative perception has affected the company, clearly it wasn't a factor in their success, since they didn't have any.
From my own personal experiences at Best Buy over the years, the problem with Best Buy is their constant battle with the concept of being a physical retailer. They need to decide what makes them the most money and what they believe they can be profitable in. They've already gotten rid of physical media and pivoted towards a more broad consumer electronics offering. The company itself needs to get rid of stores that they simply don't need, for example, in the greater San Diego Area alone there are 10 stores with two groups of three within close proximity of each other. Sure, I like the convenience of having 3 stores within 5 minutes of me, but I only really need one. Yes, this will mean layoffs, but by doing so, Best Buy will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their stores. San Diego could easily be served by 5 or 6 stores, not 10.
In addition to reducing the amount of stores and addressing their online presence problem, Best Buy also needs to figure out whether or not they are going to be a retailer or a marketplace. Because right now, if you walk into Best Buy's flagship stores, they look like different marketplaces for different manufacturers. Google has a section, Apple has a section, Samsung has a section, Microsoft has a section and so on and so forth. If Best Buy wants to make money they need to either find a way to service this 'marketplace' idea or they need to do away with it. Best Buy continually fails to leverage their most valuable asset, Geek Squad, and make it a part of every sale. Sure, they make all of their employees go through a checklist when selling things to customers, but that isn't the way that you sell your brand and your services. It needs to be a part of the product, not an option or a menu. Best Buy needs to make itself Geek Squad and improve the knowledge and quality of their sales staff in order to be able to sell more Geek Squad services. Geek Squad services should sell themselves through the salespeople's knowledge and and understanding and ability to weave this into their sales pitch rather than using a physical checklist.
I could muse on and on about the problems that Best Buy has, but this holiday season really made them more evident than ever. And so did that 28% drop in BBY's price.


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Hi, my DS is 6.5 months old and we've just started solids a couple of weeks ago. We're doing mostly BLS with occasional baby oatmeal and purees thrown in. My concern is that regardless of whether I'm spoonfeeding him or he's feeding himself, he's eating very little. Like if I spoonfeed him, he'll take 4-5 tiny spoonfuls before losing interest. If I give him food to feed himself, he'll pick it up and take it to his mouth, and suck on it, but doesn't really swallow anything. He seems to think it's great fun to try to feed himself but it's as if the food is a toy; I'm not sure he understands it's meant to be eaten. I have tried putting the food in my mouth and showing him how to chew and he finds that entertaining but isn't getting the point.
My concern is whether breastmilk alone is still adequate nutritionally at this point? I doubt he's taking in more than 10-20 calories a day in solids. I nurse on demand while at home and he gets bottles of EBF--again, fed on demand--while I am at work. He seems to get plenty of milk, has 5-6 wet diapers/day and 1-2 poopy ones. We haven't been to the doctor since his 4 month shots (we have an appointment next week for the 6 month ones) so I don't have a recent formal weight. However, on my home scale he is between 17-18 lbs, and he was 14lbs 12oz at his 4 month appointment so I think he's gained about 3 lbs in 2.5 months. He is growing out of his clothes every other day, it seems. He is happy and healthy and meeting milestones like crazy.
I just need to know whether it's okay that he's taking very little solids and whether breastmilk is still adequate nutritionally at this point. At what point does he really need to be eating more solids? Thanks in advance!


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International News
Newark Star-Ledger Examines Challenges for Iraq's HIV-Positive People
November 1, 2005
The Newark Star-Ledger on Monday examined how HIV-positive people living in Iraq -- where the population is "consumed with survival and rebuilding their lives" -- are "perhaps the loneliest and most unfortunate minority ... trapped in a society that can do little to help them or understand their situation." The Iraqi government does not have access to all of the medications that are used to treat HIV/AIDS, and health care workers say that most of the estimated 72 HIV-positive people living in the country are forced to "conceal their illness to nearly everyone," the Star-Ledger reports. According to the AIDS Research Center in Baghdad, the country has identified 448 HIV cases since 1987, including 21 new cases since 2003. Physicians say the first HIV cases were traced to tainted blood that was imported from the French pharmaceutical company Merieux in 1986. The government so far has unsuccessfully tried to sue Merieux, formerly known as Aventis Pasteur. Some physicians say that the primary route of HIV transmission in the country has shifted from blood transfusions to sexual intercourse, "a topic not openly discussed in Iraq," the Star-Ledger reports. Wisan Shaker, a doctor at the HIV/AIDS unit of the Infectious Disease Control Center in Baghdad, said the health ministry is providing awareness programs in schools, but a UNICEF survey released earlier this year found that about 70% of young people in the country had never heard of HIV or AIDS and that 55% were not interested in learning more about the disease (Palmer, Newark Star-Ledger, 10/31).
Back to other news for November 1, 2005
This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.


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There's a crass old joke about how you can never buy beer, just rent it. Who would think that the same joke applies to book buying in the digital age?
But that's the case. Many people who were unwrapping iPads, Amazon Kindles or Barnes & Noble Nooks last week and loading them with bestsellers or classics won't have any idea how limited their rights are as their books' "owners."
In fact, they won't be owners at all. They'll be licensees. Unlike the owners of a physical tome, they won't have the unlimited right to lend an e-book, give it away, resell it or leave it to their heirs. If it's bought for their iPad, they won't be able to read it on their Kindle. (The reverse, however, is true, if you register your Kindle.) And if Amazon or the other sellers don't like what they've done with it, they can take it back, without warning.
All these restrictions "raise obvious questions about what 'ownership' is," observes Dan Gillmor, an expert on digital media at Arizona State University. "The companies that license stuff digitally have made it clear that you own nothing."
Typically, e-book buyers have no idea about these complexities. How could they? The rules and limitations are embodied in "terms of service" documents that Amazon, Apple, B&N and other sellers shroud in legalese and bury deep in their websites. That tells you how little they want you to know.
The rules are based, in turn, on the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, with which Congress hoped to balance the rights of copyright holders and content users. "In the digital environment, that's always been the trickiest balance to strike," Annemarie Bridy, a specialist in intellectual property law at the University of Idaho, told me. In those terms, the DMCA looks like a failure.
Both camps have important rights to protect. Let's start with copyright owners.
In the non-digital world, copyright ends with the first sale of each copyrighted object. Under the "first sale" doctrine, once you buy a book, that physical book is yours to lend, give away, or resell. Copyright is safeguarded by the limitations of physical transfer — once the book is given or loaned, the original buyer no longer has access to it. If a library owns five copies of a book, only five borrowers can read it at the same time. Theoretically a book can be photocopied, but only at great effort and with a perceptible loss of quality.
In digital-dom, however, technology allows infinite copies to be made, with no loss of quality. Absent the usual restrictions, one could give away an e-book and still have it to read. Unrestricted transferability becomes a genuine threat to the livelihood of authors, artists, filmmakers, musicians.
So some limitation is sensible. That's usually done through digital rights management, or DRM, which encodes copy or usage limitations into the digital file.
The question is whether the balance has tipped too far in favor of the booksellers, at the consumers' expense. The answer is yes.
Amazon keeps your purchased content for free "in the cloud" for downloading to your readers as needed. You pay once for an e-book and can use it on all the Kindles you own. I can't find any written promise by Amazon that this storage will always be free. If it announces a few years from now that henceforth there will be a monthly fee to store books purchased, say, more than 10 years ago, what rights will you have to resist? None.
It should be a top priority for Congress to clear out the murk. Buyers of e-books must have the explicit right to reformat their purchases and save backup copies for their own use, permanently. The sale of an e-book must be irrevocable.
On the other side, it must remain strictly illegal to make multiple unauthorized copies of any copyrighted work for distribution. Lending by libraries, one digital copy at a time, should be facilitated — it tends to widen the audience for books.
Clarify these rules of e-book commerce, and the book market will reap the benefit. The power of electronic booksellers over publishers might be reduced, and consumers would know what they were buying — and would own what they bought.
Leave the rules as vague as they are, and the victims will be authors, consumers and publishers.


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Despite major concerns being raised about the future of peace between Egypt and Israel in the wake of Egypt's decision to terminate the a contract to provide natural gas to the Jewish State, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that he hopes the dispute will be solved in a business environment, and that relations between the two countries will return to normal.
"We want to believe this is a commercial dispute, and not a political one," Lieberman told Army Radio on Monday. "The peace agreement is important to Israel, and no less so to Egypt."
On Sunday, Egypt announced that it would no longer provide natural gas to Israel, a $2.5 billion, 15 year arrangement made between Israel and then-president Hosni Mubarak in June 2005, but predated and bolstered by the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, which stipulates that the countries will trade normally for products such as oil.
Egyptian officials say the decision to stop supplying gas to Israel was a commercial one and that Israel has not paid for gas Egypt has been sending. Israeli officials say Israel was up to date in payments, and paying a fair price for the product. "EMG (East Mediterranean Gas) considers the termination attempt unlawful and in bad faith," said Ampal-American Israel Corp., which owns 12.5 percent of East Mediterranean Gas .
The provision of gas by Egypt to Israel has been mired in controversy and difficulties, with Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic party representatives decrying the agreement, and the pipeline between the countries being bombed 14 times in Sinai since the Arab Spring took hold of Egypt in January 2011. The latest attack was on April 8. Ampal has been in international arbitration to get compensation for the supply shortages it has suffered due to the attacks.
Though Israel has continued to function normally despite the frequent gas disruptions and the current halt in supply, electricity prices have risen significantly since the pipeline attacks began, and the possibility of periodic blackouts during the summer has risen. Prior to the attacks, 40% of Israeli electricity needs were being met by Egyptian gas.
The failure of the natural gas deal was viewed ominously by Israeli leaders on Sunday night, with the Finance Ministry calling Egypt's actions "a dangerous precedent that casts clouds over the peace agreements and the atmosphere of peace between Egypt and Israel."
Minister of Energy and Water Dr. Uzi Landau said that he instructed officials already two years ago to prepare for a halt in gas imports from Egypt.
Dr. Landau has spent the last few years in office preparing the country for energy independence, which is proving an even more vital strategy due to yesterday's announcement in Egypt.