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Skip to comments."Science" When It Suits Them: Forget about creationism and start worrying about the left's...
Posted on 08/24/2011 10:44:39 AM PDT by neverdem
Forget about creationism and start worrying about the left's faith-based devotion to government.
So every now and then, liberals are treated to a big self-righteous laugh at the expense of some backwoods Christian conservative candidate who "ignores science" by doubting evolution or global warmingor, gasp, both.
Much, for instance, has been made of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's recent suggestion that evolution is a "theory that's out there" with "gaps in it." He even insinuated that evolution and creationism should both be taught in schoolsbecause folks are "smart enough to figure out which one is right."
Sanctimony to red alert!
Now, I have no interest in watching my kids waste their time with creationism, but unlike progressives, I have no interest in dictating what other kids should learn. Remember that these folks, bothered by the very thought of their offspring's hearing a God-infused concept in school, have no problem forcing millions of parents to accept bureaucrat-written curricula at government-run school monopolies. They oppose home schooling. They oppose school choice. They oppose parents choosing a religious education with their tax dollars.
As a voter, like me, you may find Perry's view on creationism disconcerting and a sign of an unsophisticated candidate. But the fact is that the progressives' faith-based devotion to government is far more consequential than Perry's faith-based position on evolution.
Despite the rare political dispute, in the real world, sciencereal scienceis rarely controversial. It's politicized science that is prickly. And science is easy to politicize. Maybe if schools began teaching students that "life" begins at conception and that each zygote, embryo, and fetus is a unique human being in some early stage of development just waiting to be born, liberals would see the point.
No, my kids haven't been chewing over Charles Darwin text or the Holy Bible in elementary school. There's simply no time. Not with global warming out there.
Perry, not surprisingly, was also recently asked about "global warming." He responded that "the issue has been politicized" and that pouring billions of dollars into "a scientific theory that has not been proven and ... is more and more being put into question" is not worthwhile.
It is interesting watching the nation's defenders of reason, empirical evidence, and science fail to display a hint of skepticism over the transparently political "science" of global warming. Rarely are scientists so certain in predicting the future. Yet this is a special case. It is also curious that these supposed champions of Darwin don't believe that human beingsor naturehave the ability to adapt to changing climate.
Like 99 percent of pundits and politicians, though, I have no business chiming in on the science of climate changethough my kids' teachers sure are experts. Needless to say, there is a spectacular array of viewpoints on this issue. The answers are far from settled. There are debates over how much humans contribute. There are debates over how much warming we're seeing. There are debates over many things.
But even if one believed the most terrifying projections of global warming alarmist "science," it certainly doesn't mean one has to support the anti-capitalist technocracy to fix it. And try as some may to conflate the two, global warming policy is not "science." The left sees civilization's salvation in a massive Luddite undertaking that inhibits technological growth by turning back the clock, undoing footprints, forcing technology that doesn't exist, banning products that do, and badgering consumers who have not adhered to the plan through all kinds of punishment. Yet there is no real science that has shown that any of it makes a whit of difference.
So no doubt, it is reasonable for voters to query presidential candidates about their views on faith, religion, God, Darwin, and science. It matters. Sometimes, though, it matters less than they'd like you to think it does.
Moral equivalency alert.
Ever notice how those who call us "anti-science" want to bring us back to a Pre-Industrial Revolution civilization?
> As a voter, like me, you may find Perry's view on
> creationism disconcerting and a sign of an unsophisticated > candidate.
I don't find it disconcerting at all. I find it refreshing. I teach my children that God Created in our home school.
As for being an "unsophisticated candidate", I've had all the metrosexual sophists I can take. I'll puke if I hear another effete phony playing the highbrow.
I'd rather have someone like Jed Clampett, a mountain man, a hard working man, a simple man with simple tastes, and a Biblical perspective, than the metrosexual pansies that have been running our country into the ground for the past few generations.
But the fact is that the progressives' faith-based devotion to government is far more consequential than Perry's faith-based position on evolution.
THIS. It matters very little, what someone believes about evolution, at least in a political candidate. What matters 1000x more is what they believe about the government and its proper role in society.
Obama needs to be asked whether or not he believes that the universe was created by God.
NPR approached it like a trip to the zoo. They wanted to know what Christians believed. They noted that some of the beliefs were pretty wild. Pretty out of the ordinary. They expressed some disbelief that people in an advanced society held on to some of these ideas.
They explored the idea that Christians "hide" their beliefs by using "code words". For example "shedding of innocent blood" means -- gasp! -- abortion. And discouraging "sexual immorality" means that Christians are "anti-homosexual rights". The third point (which seems to have especially bothered NPR) was that Christians are evangelical and seek to persuade non-Christians to become Chrisian. Even Jews! They were astounded that Christians want to see Jews concert to Christianity.
The whole thing was presented as a bizarre cult, and Rick Perry as a cult member.
I'm pretty sure that NPR has never focused on the core beliefs of Islam in quite this way.
Actually, what they want is a Malthusian population purge,
followed by them being in charge of the remaining, smaller, and more controllable population.
He may waffle and say it's above his pay grade... but I think it's an excellent question.
He's either one of those "anti-science creationists", or he's not.
It would be the nails in the coffin of the "right-wingers are scary because they are creationists" argument.
Evolution should try becoming mainstream science where best answers coalesce when one observes, measures, replicates by experiment, and computes formulas for a phenomenon. Currently, examinations for many physical events have not reached this four-fold rationality.
One example is String Theory, or the theory of everything; everything for atomic, micro-processes. Elegant mathematical models utilize eleven dimensions to unify gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear strong and weak forces. Here is computation without experiment, measurement, or observation. Niels Bohr would say, Yes, yes you have the mathematics. But does it make sense? Notable critics say scientists utilize mathematics, but inadvertently venture into philosophy or religion.
The other extreme is Macroevolution or Darwinism, where all is observation. Rigorous measurements and experiments would require 1,000 to 10,000 times recorded history. Science advocates contemplate observed phenomenon, and decide evolution explains everything. Yet Macroevolution fails computational testing, with vanishing small probabilities, using Thermodynamics, which covers all macro-processes.
For just one hypothesis assume there are 82,000,000 steps from the first one cell animal to man and 81,999,500 have an absolute certainty of occurring. If the remaining 500 have a 90% probability of occurring, then the chance Macroevolution explains the presence of humans is 0.000000000000000000000013220708.
Advocates could consider natural processes in open systems, as required by natural selection and consistently note increased disorder, release of energy, and increased entropy. Even huge energy inputs result in Katrina, and not the Brooklyn Bridge absent intentionality.
Rigorous debate continues concerning String Theory, but debate is prohibited concerning Evolution. Darwinist advocates contend contrary arguments require intrusion of God. Yet good theologians of desert religions would say a god hedged in by observation, measurement, experiment, and computation ends up equivalent to the Golden Calf the Israelites constructed in the Wilderness. Their God can only be found by mystical, faith encounters.
But Brainwashing students into Homosexuality and Radical Environmentalism is now rampant.
I would say, flee now! Consider Home or Private school ASAP!
Exactly what creationists are accused of.
Except it's *bad* when creationists want to do it but *good* when libtards want to, cause they're saving the planet, donctcha know?
I read something good last night -
it was a parallel that I'm sure you'll figure out.
"If I reject arson, do I then have to not use fire to cook my food? And if I use fire to cook my food, do I then have to embrace arson as right?"
Up to and including death: No Pressure
Yep. The GOP needs to hammer away on three issues...
1. The economy.
2. The economy
3. The economy.
Thanks for the ping!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Review/Preview: 2006 and 2007 in Java
Pages: 1, 2
Beyond the Sun
2006: BD-J makes a splash as part of Blu-Ray
2007: If Blu-Ray crashes and burns, will it take BD-J with it?
One novel use of Java ME is to provide the interactivity platform of the Blu-Ray Disc standard, one of two competing formats for high-definition movie systems (the other being HD-DVD). The standard includes the Java-based "BD-J" environment, which marries Java ME with some APIs borrowed from interactive television, to provide highly interactive menus and other potentially novel content, including network access from movie discs. Blu-Ray backers point out that the standard needs more compelling interactivity than is provided by DVDs as a distinguishing feature to help the format succeed; just having a clearer picture isn't enough to get people to switch.
But will it work? Blu-Ray's main proponent, Sony, has had a miserable track record in the press recently, between its rootkit and exploding battery fiascoes. Making Blu-Ray part of the PlayStation 3 was meant to be a boost to the standard, but instead it may actually be hurting the PS3, as gamers blame Blu-Ray for increasing the price and slowing production of the PS3. Worse for BD-J, Sony's first standalone Blu-Ray player doesn't actually support BD-J , with Sony saying that BD-J functionality will be provided in a 2007 firmware update.
Earlier this year, your editor went to a JavaOne session on Blu-Ray in hopes of getting information on developing for BD-J, and came away deeply disappointed. Now that Blu-Ray's presumed success is no longer a fait accompli, the question of whether developers can get a BD-J SDK without paying enormous license fees may not even matter.
2006: Eclipse Callisto offers ten simultaneous releases
2007: What's succeeding other than the IDE?
All indications are that the Eclipse IDE remains the top choice for Java development. But Eclipse is much more than an IDE. The Eclipse developers reminded everyone of that with this summer's Callisto release, the simultaneous drop of ten different Eclipse foundation projects.
Having said that, it remains to be seen just how much success Eclipse can muster beyond the IDE. The building blocks of Eclipse can be used to create rich client applications, in the form of the Rich Client Platform (RCP), but it's not clear how many developers have adopted this model. Eclipse's Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT) was supposed to be the answer to the problems of Swing, but after years of development, it seems as common in the wild as Swing--that is to say, not very. The rival widget toolkits can each claim credit for one IDE (Eclipse and NetBeans), one file-sharing program (Azareus and LimeWire), and not much else. Will 2007 be the year SWT lands on the desktop in a big way, or are it and Swing big ducks in a small pond?
2006: Google releases GWT
2007: Is GWT the new face of Ajax?
2006: Google deprecates SOAP search API
2007: Is this the beginning of the end of SOAP?
Just this week, InfoQ noted Google's deprecation of its SOAP Search API, in favor of an Ajax-oriented alternative that's better suited for client-side use than server-side. O'Reilly Radar blogger Brady Forrest called it a "a unilateral move that is going to alienate at least some of the Google dev community and lead to defections to other services," and worried about the effect on web services as a whole, since it was in many ways the canonical web service. Steve Loughran goes further, calling it The end of SOAP, and shedding few tears: "it won't happen at once, it won't be overnight, but one day SOAP will be over. We will look back and wonder 'what were we thinking?'. It will be up there with ActiveX, EJB2, and other things that we will describe as mistakes that should never have made it past the powerpoint stage."
2006: JSR 306 proposed to reform JCP
2007: Can the JCP make all the people happy?
JCP 306 was approved in August, under the daunting title "Towards a new version of the JCP." Among its goals are improving the transparency of the Java Community Process, improving the involvement of individuals, and optimizing the duration of JSRs. Also in its charter are possible changes to improve working with other standards bodies, working with non-Java implementations, easing migration of existing technology into JSRs, and making TCK and licensing information available upon conclusion of a JSR.
The expert group's early draft review was tentatively scheduled for this month, with a public draft review in February 2007, a final draft in April, and the final approval ballot in May. This proposal needs to pass both the SE/EE and ME executive committees, and it's sure to get a close look, particularly following the criticism JSR 277 received from OSGi and others who've worked on problems similar to 277's "Java Module System."
2006: Java book sales continue to decline
2007: What's declining, Java or books?
In his most recent survey of the State of the Computer Book Market, Tim O'Reilly notes the continued slide of Java book sales, down 15 percent in the last run of the stats. He writes:
The decline of Java book sales has accelerated, while C# books have continued their steady increase. When you aggregate books on both C# ".Net Languages" (books that cover both C# and VB.Net), the C# book market is now about 12% larger than Java. (Of course, some of those .Net Languages book purchasers could be buying them for their coverage of VB.)
Perhaps it's not surprising that 2005 would have moved more books in support of the language changes in Java SE 5, and that 2006 would be slower with no such changes in SE 6. That said, the Java book market is an odd beast; few titles can be relevant to all Java programmers, and the various topic niches and programming frameworks may be too small to support books on them. How many Java web frameworks are there, and how many have enough of a professional following to sell a lot of $40 books? It's possible that the future of Java content may be in different forms, like the O'Reilly Short Cuts PDFs, or online articles like those here on ONJava and java.net.
Your Turn
So that's a brief overview of some of the 2006's most prominent Java happenings, and what you might look for in 2007. But what do you think? What's happening in Java from your point of view, and what should we be looking at next year? What did we cover too much on ONJava this year, and what would you rather see covered more in 2007?
To finish out this year-ender, let's hand it over to you, the readership. In the Comments section below, please let us know what matters to you as Java developers, and how ONJava can help you make the most of the opportunities that Java provides.
But one last thing before the comment block begins: thanks for reading this year. See you in 2007.
Chris Adamson is an author, editor, and developer specializing in iPhone and Mac.
Return to ONJava.com.
Resurrection of Java Applets & WebStart
2007-01-22 10:33:42 JohnCWalker [View]
good summary of the year
2006-12-28 05:42:31 Paul Browne | [View]
Not quite over yet...
2006-12-22 02:08:07 nachoo [View]
The Year Java became Legacy
2006-12-20 20:16:50 Robert Cooper | [View]

subset: commoncrawl


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/MV Romelia
The dive site MV Romelia or Sunset Rocks is an inshore rocky reef with recent wreck in the Llandudno area on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Get in
This site is dived from boats and from the shore.
Boat dive: The site is about 11.7km from Hout Bay harbour.
Shore dive: Turn off Victoria drive [M6] into Llandudno road. The road makes a sharp bend to the right, but drive straight on into Fisherman's Bend, and follow the signs for Sandy Bay. These will take you into Sunset Avenue, which goes down to the bottom of the mountainside. Park near to the vacant plot at the bottom of Sunset Avenue, just beyond the first house to the left on the bottom stretch of road. Entry and exit are at a gully directly opposite the vacant plot. There are alternative entries and exits but this one is said to be usable in most weather conditions you would be likely to dive.
S34°00.700' E018°19.860' (approximately)
This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2009). A permit is required.
The tankers ""MV Romelia" and "MV Antipolis" were under tow by the tug Kiyo Maru no.2 from Greece to scrap merchants in the Far East. On July 28th 1977 during a north westerly gale the tow cable to the Antipolis snagged on the sea bed. In the ensuing confusion the cables broke and the two ships were driven aground by the wind. The Antipolis ran aground at Oudekraal, and the Romelia at Sunset Rocks, Llandudno, where its back was broken by the heavy surf and the ship split in two. Later the bow section sank, leaving the stern mostly above sea level on the rocks. Over the years the stern section has also broken up and is no longer visible.
Maximum depth is about 24m, but mostly quite a bit shallower
Big granite corestone outcrops and boulders. The main line of big surface piercing rocks has lower reef to the north, much of it fairly flat, but with occasional high rocks. It slopes out gradually to about level with the end of the big rocks, then gets deeper fairly fast. Wreckage is concentrated along the line of the surface piercing rocks on the north side, in relatively shallow water (mostly 6 to 10m). The wreckage is mostly mangled plate, unrecognisable as to what part of the ship it originated from, with a few odd bits in the deeper area which can be recognised as pipe or catwalk fragments.
Geology: Late Pre-Cambrian granite of the Peninsula pluton.
Best in conditions of limited surge, as the wreck is shallow. Generally this means a low and short period south westerly component of swell.
The site is exposed to wind and swell from the south west and north west, but is protected from south easterly wind and waves, so should be dived during or after a period of calm or south easterly wind. The site is usually at it's best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities in autumn and early winter.
This is an area which sometimes has upwellings, caused by south easterly winds, resulting in clear cold water rich in nutrients, which after a few days may develop a plankton bloom resulting in poor visibility.
Limited roadside parking is available.
Marine life
Shallow rocks have the usual red-bait zone, with lots of sandy anemones and striped anemones. There is a band of Black mussels in the intertidal zone round the rocks. The Kelp is largely Ecklonia in the shallower areas, with Laminaria deeper. The wreckage is heavily grown with algae on the top, Deeper flat rocks have large groups of urchins and grey cucumbers. In deeper water there are walls and overhangs with more colourful sponge and coral growth, but not as much as some other sites on this coast.
Very broken up wreckage of a large oil tanker.
Suggested Routes
Swim out on the surface to north of the second big rock, Dive a few metres away from the rock and explore the wreckage as you see fit.
Stay safe
Cold water, Strong surge in shallow areas. Ragged, sharp edged wreckage. Sea urchins. Strong offshore winds may develop over a short time.
No special skills required.
A light is useful for looking into the debris, and a compass will help navigate back to shore at the end of the dive, once out of the influence of the huge mass of steel wreckage.
Back to Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay


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Minnesota man charged after FBI search finds suspected pipe bombs
- Article by: AMY FORLITI
- Associated Press
- May 4, 2013 - 5:55 AM
MINNEAPOLIS - A Minnesota man was arrested on a firearms charge Friday after federal authorities found Molotov cocktails, suspected pipe bombs and guns during a search of his Montevideo home, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit.
Buford Rogers, 24, was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to a federal affidavit obtained by The Associated Press, FBI agents searched a property at a mobile home park in Montevideo and discovered the Molotov cocktails, suspected pipe bombs and firearms. The affidavit said Buford was there at the time of the search, and one firearm recovered from Buford's residence was a Romanian AKM assault rifle.
In an interview with authorities, Rogers admitted firing the weapon on two separate occasions at a gun range in Granite Falls, the affidavit said. Rogers has a past conviction for felony burglary and is not allowed to have a firearm.
The affidavit was filed by a special agent assigned to the FBI's domestic terrorism squad. Details about what led to the search, or the nature of the investigation, were not being released.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jeanne Cooney confirmed federal and local law enforcement executed a search warrant in the Montevideo area Friday, which led to Rogers' arrest. FBI spokesman Kyle Loven also confirmed agents were in the area, but said he could not provide additional information. He said the public is not in danger.
Montevideo police assisted in the operation, but referred questions to the FBI. Members of the Bloomington bomb squad also assisted.
A working phone number for Rogers could be found in Montevideo. Efforts to reach family members and neighbors were unsuccessful Friday. It was not immediately clear whether Rogers had an attorney.
Rogers is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court early next week, although a day and time has not been scheduled.
Rogers' 2011 felony burglary conviction stems from an incident in Lac qui Parle County. He also has a 2009 misdemeanor conviction for dangerous handling of a weapon in Hennepin County, as well as other criminal violations, according to online court records.
Follow Amy Forliti on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amyforliti
© 2018 Star Tribune


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Welcome Class of 2017!
Enjoy these quick glimpses of Merrimack life. Or, maybe you want to submit a photo of your own? Email photos to email@example.com or add #macksnap to your social media uploads!
June 27, 2013
Campus Mom Bev Lavallee (center), and orientation staff greet the morning arrival of new students.


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KSIS Satellites Hit By Storm, Broadcasting 92.3 BOB-FM Until Repairs Are Made
Saturday night's storms caused some damage to our satellite and satellite receivers that we use to provide our news/talk programming on the weekend. Our engineers have been working to fix the satellite and receiver. In the meantime, we are simulcasting 92.3 BOB-FM on Newstalk 1050 KSIS.


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UC Riverside, Sacramento State brawl leads to suspensions (Video)
UC Riverside and Sacramento State began their four-game series Friday night with a bang. The teams got into a bench-clearing brawl during the top of the third inning which led to suspensions for three players.
According to NBC Los Angeles, UCR shortstop Eddie Young was caught in a rundown after trying to advance from second to third on a laser to the Sacramento State shortstop. Young was tagged out by Sac State second baseman Andrew Ayers, the reigning WAC player of the year, who appeared to push him after applying the tag. The two exchanged words, and Young retaliated by slapping Ayers in the face. After Young missed on a second punch, he was wrestled to the ground by Sac State third baseman Will Soto Jr. The benches then cleared.
The Sacramento Bee says Ayers, Young, and UCR catcher Drake Zarate will all be suspended four games. NCAA rules state that players ejected for fighting get suspended four games.
UCR won the game 2-1 and is now 2-3 on the season. Sac State is now 1-3.
H/T Kyle Gunther


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Learn More
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Disclaimer to internal research use restriction: Any restrictions on the purchaser to utilize the product(s) for internal research purposes only does not apply to the product(s) on the web pages associated with this statement. † The term "leakproof" applies to Thermo Scientific Nalgene products that meet the following criteria: a) Bottle/flask/funnel closure systems with closures smaller than 100mm, after they are filled with water, inverted, withstand air pressure of 2psig for 2 minutes, and no water escapes;. b) Bottle/funnel/flask closure systems of larger than 100mm after they are filled with water, inverted for 15 minutes, and no water escapes. Note: these tests, using other liquids, may not yield the same results. To ensure safe usage, customers are advised to test Thermo Scientific Nalgene bottles and closures under conditions of their planned applications. Thermo Scientific Nalgene products are leakproof at ambient temperature and pressure when used with their Nalgene closures.


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WORTHAM, Texas (AP) — A slain prosecutor and his wife are to be laid to rest in the small Central Texas town where he grew up.
The funeral for Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia McLelland, is set for 10 a.m. Friday in Wortham. The town of about 1,000 residents is about 75 miles south of Dallas.
The Honor Network says dozens of law enforcement representatives from across the country and other nations are expected at the First Baptist Church of Wortham and graveside at Wortham Cemetery.
The McLellands were found shot to death Saturday in their house near Forney, about 20 miles east of Dallas. No arrests have been made, but a $200,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the killer's conviction.


text:
Valentine's Day Every Day
Forget the commercialism and express your love every day.
Featured at Aish.com:
Give Tzedakah! Help Aish.com create inspiring
articles, videos and blogs featuring timeless Jewish wisdom.
Visitor Comments: 31
(31) Jon Hallsbruck, March 7, 2011 5:18 PM
Lori's Mistake
(30) Janet Green, March 6, 2011 11:52 PM
Express love every day
Lori's so right. Love should be expressed regularly. I saw in "Together We Are One" (Rabbi Eliezer Medwed) that husband and wife are constantly doing kindness for each other and their home (family) and they should be acknowleged as such. It's so important - just like Lori says. We have to see the good in everything people do for us and to express our love to them constantly. Thank you Lori
(29) Mike, February 14, 2011 7:43 AM
V-Day is Not the Enemy (nor was it invented by Hallmark)
(28) MsFrankel, February 10, 2011 10:38 PM
Commercial holiday, andit's true
I agree with you Lori with all my heart. Why wait for a day to show your love to anyone. We have to have it everyday, thus show it everyday. If G-D's love is within you, it shows in the way you live your life. We don't need a holiday for that! And I hope people realized this, so they won't feel bad if someone forget thier birthday or was not able to send them flowers and chocolates! One thing they have to realized a box od special chocolates cost 10X more on Valentine's day!
(27) Anonymous, February 10, 2011 1:42 AM
Celebrating Love


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In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Wayne Rooney looks to offer his insight into the world of weight and hair loss. Now, you may think that these comments deserve front page on a women's gossip magazine, but there is a genuine footballing message underpinning this interview.
One of the main debates surrounding Rooney is the issue of weight. Rooney by his own admission says: "I'm like most blokes, I put on a few pounds after a holiday." However, it raises questions as to whether a professional footballer should let this happen?
In Rooney's interview with the paper, he continues his evaluation of his own weight issues by saying: "I'm not like Ryan Giggs, all bone and lean muscle." Although Rooney states that he likes to go to the gym at least 'three times a week', his weight continues to fluctuate.
This is a point proven by the man himself, who claims he was seven pounds overweight when he returned to pre-season training this season – "a few more pounds than expected."
Is this disastrous for a professional footballer? Rooney thinks that in his position as a striker for Manchester United and England – it is.
"If I were a full-back. I could hide a bit, make fewer runs into the opposition half and get away with it. But as a centre-forward for Manchester United, there's no place to hide."
Although Rooney clearly recognises that weight is an issue as a professional footballer, he does not suggest it is not under control. He highlights Sir Alex Ferguson's actions before the Blackburn fixture last season as a 'tough lesson' in which to learn.
Rooney, after a successful 5-0 victory against Wigan on Boxing Day, chose to go out for drinks after the match. It resulted in Sir Alex presenting the ex-Everton striker with a fine and dropping him for the following match against Blackburn - which they lost 3-2.
Wayne describes this as a 'desperate and helpless' day for him, one which he will not forget during his footballing career.
The footballing messages that underpin this interview consist of the need for players to manage their non-season dietaries, away from club nutritionists and doctors. There needs to be a large amount of trust and a strong relationship between club and player in order for this to be effective.
Rooney also offers an insight into the mockeries and 'mickey-taking' behaviour he was subjected to after his greatly publicised hair transplant. He described himself as being 'slaughtered' after he informed his Manchester United team-mates of his decision to undergo the surgery, choosing to inform them before sudden growth of hair.
"I knew that if I went on holiday with thinning hair and came back looking like Andy Carroll they'll slaughter me," he mused.
These admissions from the English star offer a supposed question: Are footballers under too much pressure to perform physically on the pitch, but also on their public appearance? Would Rooney have progressed with his hair transplant if he wasn't featured on various media outlets on a daily basis? Possibly not.
To summarise this perceptive article on Wayne Rooney's conduct, he does not represent the most professional of players off the field, especially when it comes to physical maintenance – "During the season, I don't think there's any harm in having a take-away now and then."
Is that such a bad thing, though. Surely everyone is entitled to enjoy the occasional bad meal, irrespective of their professional position. Providing Rooney can maintain fitness and form during a long, hard season, does it really matter. Who are we to assassinate this player's character.
Let's not forget that his effort and quality on the field of play is second-to-none and the longer it continues, the easier it will be for Manchester United to maintain their position amongst the highest echelons of English football. With 144 goals in 321 match's man, it's hard to argue with a Saturday night takeaway.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


text: The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at European Particle Physics Center (CERN) near Geneva Switzerland has performed spectacularly well in its first major running period from December 2009 through February 2013. Data of unprecedented quality and quantity have been recorded for proton-proton collisions at energies of 7 and 8 Trillion electron Volts – the highest energies ever obtained by man. In this lecture, Joe Incandela will give an overview of the decades-long, worldwide effort to construct and operate the LHC accelerator and the ATLAS and CMS experiments that together represent the largest, most complex systems ever built for physics research. The scientific goals of the LHC program will be reviewed with emphasis on the Higgs boson whose role in defining the structure and evolution of our universe is profound, and whose unusual properties may have extraordinary implications. Highlights from the discovery announced July 4th and more recent studies by CMS with much more data will be shown, followed by a brief look at preparations, expectations and hopes for future results in years to come.


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Duckathlon Leftovers
For those who couldn't get enough of the wild and woolly Duckathlon held last Sunday in New York, here are a few more pics to entertain your peepers.
As you recall from my original post on the crazy event, this was the fifth annual Duckathlon, hosted once again by D'Artagnan. Teams of chefs from some of New York's most celebrated restaurants competed in the most off-the-wall events ever conceived to garner the title of Top Duck.
The Pluckemin Inn's sardonic T-shirts:
The BLT Steak team attempts to "Put the Piggie Together Again."
Team DB Bistro Moderne competes in "What the Fork?" — in which chefs have to make mayonnaise by whipping oil and egg yolks with a barbecue fork. Yeah, you try that at home.
Members of Craft in "Just Beclaws" — in which they are timed in how long it takes to shell a lobster.
Roger Mah, chef tournant (the guy who can run any station in the kitchen) of restaurant Daniel, gets a mouthful of macarons. In this timed challenge, "It's a Mad Mac World," teams have to assemble French macarons, which are then fed to a teammate who must eat the dainty cookie sandwiches without using his/her hands.


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Monday, April 9, 2012
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Two Marshall University scientists have been awarded grants of $25,000 each to advance their research, encourage collaborations and spur innovative approaches to healthcare.
Dr. Jingwei Xie and Dr. Pier Paolo Claudio are the recipients of the first grants awarded through the Joint Pilot Research Program set up by Marshall and the University of Kentucky (UK) as part of their Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) partnership. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the CTSA program is aimed at speeding the time for laboratory discoveries to benefit patients.
A senior scientist at the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, Xie will use his award to develop a method that may improve surgical repair of rotator cuff injuries.
Xie, who is an expert in bone growth and development, will be working with Dr. Franklin D. Shuler, associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at the university's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.
Among the most common conditions affecting the shoulder, rotator cuff injuries can occur from falls or repetitive motions like throwing a baseball. Rotator cuff repair is also one of the most common orthopedic surgeries, with approximately 300,000 procedures performed annually in the United States alone.
Xie explains that successful healing from rotator cuff surgery done with current methods has a failure rate that ranges from 20-90 percent, due in large part to the manner in which the tendons are reattached to the bone. For this project, he will use a multidisciplinary approach combining principles of engineering and biomedicine to construct a new type of biological device that will better mimic an uninjured tendon-to-bone attachment, and result in improved healing.
"We are pleased to be able to take advantage of this opportunity to combine expertise from two research groups at Marshall," Xie adds. "My background in tissue engineering and Dr. Shuler's extensive experience in clinical treatment of rotator cuff injury will allow us to do work that may very well improve the health and quality of life for individuals afflicted with these injuries. This research could also have a significant impact on the treatment of other, similar injuries of soft tissue-to-bone interfaces."
The second grant went to Claudio, associate professor in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program and the Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology and Surgery at the medical school, to help develop an assay that will potentially allow the development of personalized treatment for lung cancer. He will collaborate with Dr. Rolf J. Craven of UK's Department of Molecular and Biomedical Pharmacology on the project.
According to Claudio, lung cancer patients generally have a poor survival rate, mostly because of the high number of relapses they typically experience. Scientists believe these relapses are due to the presence of a rare population of cancer cells—called cancer stem cells—that have become resistant to conventional treatments.
Claudio's laboratory in the university's new McKown Translational Genomic Research Institute at the Edwards Cancer Center has developed an assay (ChemoIDSM) that measures the sensitivity of tumors to chemotherapy drugs. He says the work funded through this grant will provide information about how lung cancer cells respond to specific types, doses and combinations of drug therapies.
Claudio says, "Our model concentrates on recent discoveries that most tumors are derived from a small number of highly resistant cancer cells having stem cell properties, called cancer stem cells. By recognizing the existence of cancer stem cells, we have taken an important step toward understanding this complex disease.
"Once we have identified the cancer stem cells from patient tumor biopsies, we know how to identify most effective chemotherapy drugs that are already part of the standard of care. Our assay technology has particular value because it can help to determine the most effective drug for a patient's tumor based on results from an in vitro chemo sensitivity assay."
Currently, Claudio is conducting Phase-I clinical trials on lung, breast and brain cancers.
"We know that patients with the same stage and grade of cancer often vary considerably in their response to chemotherapy," he adds. "Our research will provide information that may allow development of tailored therapies for lung cancer, resulting in more effective treatment strategies and better clinical outcomes in the very near future."
Xie and Claudio both intend to use their findings from these awards as springboards to apply for larger federal grants for related research.
Dr. John M. Maher, vice president for research at Marshall, says this "seeding effect" is one of the emphases of this grant program.
"These pilot awards are relatively small from a research funding perspective, but they allow recipients to test their ideas and generate concrete results as the basis for proposals to the National Institutes of Health's large grant programs," Maher said. "It's not unusual for collaborative projects like these to lead to multimillion dollar awards down the road, after the initial results show significant promise."
The CTSA partnership between Marshall and UK supports scientists in Marshall's clinical research program, training fellowships and early stage clinical research trials. The collaboration also gives Marshall investigators access to the expertise and resources at UK's Center for Clinical and Translational Science, and opportunities to apply for significant research grants accessible only through the CTSA program.
Contact: Ginny Painter, Communications Director, Marshall University Research Corporation, 304.746.1964


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A George Town woman has pleaded not guilty to murdering her boyfriend at the weekend.
Dimity Nancy Brown, 20, appeared in the Launceston Magistrates Court yesterday after she was arrested on Saturday.
Police charged Ms Brown over the death of Aidan Andrew Dawson, 21, who died after allegedly receiving several stab wounds early Saturday in his George Town home.
Ms Brown was remanded in custody to appear in the Launceston Supreme Court on March 4.


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Cook Inlet Academy
* Dec. 13 – 15 is CIA's Annual "Classic" Basketball Tournament.
* Dec. 21 is the end of the 2nd Quarter and school will be dismissed at noon to kick off Christmas Break.
* Jan. 2-5, Third Annual Hoops for the Holidays Basketball Camp.
* Jan. 7 is a Teacher In Service Day, classes will resume on Tuesday, January 8th.
* Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m. is Parent Night.
* Dec. 13-15 CIA's Annual "Classic" Basketball Tournament needs you. There are plenty of jobs, big and small, that need to be filled. Please consider helping out once again help make this a successful community event. Contact Rhonda at firstname.lastname@example.com or 398-7220 if you are able to help in any way.
* Jan. 2-5 CIA's Third Annual HOOPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS, our elementary basketball camp, is back! This is a date change from December and a fourth day was added! This is put on by the high school boys and girls basketball teams and their coaches. It's an awesome opportunity to develop skills, make a friend, foster mentoring with secondary students, and give parents a "break" during the "break"! Camp is open to Kindergarten – 6th grade. The cost is $90 per child for four days or $30 per day (includes a camp t-shirt and snacks). Wednesday through Saturday camp is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Kids will need to pack their own lunch. It's a popular camp, so don't miss out and register early. If you have any questions, contact Coach Justin at 252-8854,
Make sure to check out Sycamore for important school information, especially if your student is involved in athletics. All practice information and anything pertaining to sports will be posted here. If you need assistance with accessing Sycamore, please do not hesitate to contact the office for assistance.
Idea students are practicing for the National Geo Bee at the office on December 7 at 1:30 p.m. Students will practice map skills, play geography games and learn terms for the Bee final. All students in grades 4th through 8th are invited.
Families start planning now for the Winter Party. This year's celebration will be at Solid Rock Camp on December 14th. Families please bring snow clothes and finger food to share.
Students in grades 3 through high school may participate in the Alaska Library Association's Battle of the Books. This reading enhancement program will encourage readers of all abilities and will improve comprehension and fluency. Please contact Omie to receive the practice lists.
The office will be closed for the holiday on December 24th and 25th.
Congratulations to fifth grade student Blake Smith, the winner of the school Spelling Bee, and fourth grade student Molly Cook who took second place. Way to go! Blake will represent K-Beach at the State Spelling Bee in March for the second year in a row! Great job to all 25 students who participated in the Spelling Bee. A special thank you to Gail Moore, Sammy Crawford, and Jeanne Duhan for judging the competition, and to Terese Kashi for being the pronouncer. We would also like to thank Suzanne Klaben for all of her hard work in organizing the Spelling Bee and making this event run smoothly.
K-Beach Elementary is collecting Toys for Tots. If you would like to donate a new, unwrapped toy, please drop off in the K-Beach office.
* Dec. 10-14 Kids go Shopping
* Dec. 10 Joint Site Council and PTA meeting at 2:45 p.m. in the library
* Dec. 13 Grade 3-6 Art Show at 6 p.m. in the gym
* Dec. 18 K-3 Winter Concert at Soldotna High School at 7 p.m.
* Dec. 20 Holiday Sing at 1:15 p.m. in the gym
* Dec. 20 Band Concert at 6:30 pm in the K-Beach gym
* Dec. 21 No School, Inservice Day
The library will be doing inventory the week of December 17th, and parent volunteers are welcome. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Heather Stockton or Shana Butler in the library.
* Dec. 11 The Holiday Concert will be at 7 p.m. at the Kenai Central High School Auditorium. Students will be bused to the high school for dress rehearsal tomorrow morning at 9:15 a.m. Please make sure you have signed the field trip permission slip and returned it to the school!
* Dec. 13
-Don't forget all Christmas Drive donations need to be delivered to the school by this date. Families receiving donations will pick them up on December 15th at 10 a.m.
-The Kindergarten classes will be holding a Cookie Sharing event at 11 a.m. Information on this event was sent home in your Friday Folder.
-Band Concert for 5th and 6th grade bands at 6 p.m.
* Dec. 14
-3rd-6th grade classes will be holding a health fair for families, students and community members. Each class will be preparing health activities and sharing them in the gym from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Please plan to join them for this fun event.
-Band Assembly for the whole school
* Dec. 20 Family fun night at 6 p.m.
Kenai Central High School
* Dec. 13-15 The Kenai Kardinals will once again host the Kenai River Challenge Girls' Basketball Tip-off Tournament. Games will begin at 4 p.m.
-Thursday- Kenai vs. Service at 7 p.m.
-Friday- Kenai vs. North Pole at 7 p.m.
-Saturday- Kenai vs. Mt. Edgecombe 3 p.m.
Congratulations to November's 2012 Student of the Month.
Rotary – Kaitlyn Louthan, Chamber – Brandi Wagoner, Elks – Natalya Oskolkoff, Super Staffer – Mr. Clucas, Kard of the Deck – Jessica Roper, LA 10 – Kendrick O'Rourke, Algebra – Taylor Kenney, Life Activities – Madaleine Michaud, Art – Katy Knackstedt, Raising Academic Performance – Tommy Phillips, LA 9 – Sarah Every, Band – Duane Reitter, Physics - Brandi Wagoner, Study Skills – Bailey Holt, World History – Brandon Sorhus & Brenner Musgrove (Skyview), Geometry & Spanish 1 – Allison Steinbeck, Performing Arts/Choir – Tom Randall, LA 9 – Cipriana Castellano, Biology – Austin Brazell,
Kenai Middle
* Dec. 11, 12, 13, 18 and 19 After school tutoring will be held until 4 p.m.
* Dec. 13 Our Holiday Choir concert will be at 7 p.m. at KCHS.
* Dec. 14 We will have an Activity Night from 6-8 p.m.
* Dec. 20 The last day of school before break
Nikiski Middle High
* Dec. 11 – Middle/High School Choir & Band Concert and Lasagna Dinner – 5:30 p.m. Come enjoy a fantastic dinner, take part in the silent auction and bake sale, all to support the High School Choir program! Join us for our first concert of the year immediately following the dinner at 7:00 p.m. Cost for the dinner is $5:00 for Adults, $3.00 for Children, and $10.00 for Families up to 5. Call 776-9400 for more information.
* Dec. 13 - 15 Saturday, Girls Basketball at Kenai River Classic Tournament
- Thursday at 4 p.m. Nikiski vs. North Pole
- Friday at 5:30 p.m. Nikiski vs. Mt. Edgcumbe
- Saturday at 12 p.m. Nikiski vs. Service
* Dec. 13-15 Boys Basketball at Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off Tournament
- Thursday 8:15 p.m. Nikiski vs. SoHi
- Friday and Saturday TBA
* Dec. 13 PTSA Meeting at 6 p.m. in the library
* Dec. 14 HS Cross Country Skiing at Homer
Congratulations to Annaleah Ernst for being one of three students on the Kenai Peninsula who qualified as a semi-finalist in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic Competition for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships.
Nikiski North Star
Congratulations to the November Character Counts! Students of the Month: Destiny Richie, Vanessa Lopez, Sam Smith, Ethan Ellis, Patrick Anderson, Hunter Fraley, TJ Fallon, Braeden Porter, Charlie Chamberlain, Shelby Edgar, Jakobee Anderson, Bryce Dedrick, Conner Cook, Kameron Bird, Kellee Martin, Zoey Ellis, Tyler VanSky, and Shannon Pitt. These students will be treated to a pizza lunch with Principal Callahan today at noon in the library.
Congratulations to fourth grader Savannah Ley who earned 2nd place in the HEA Energy - Writing Contest. Out of many entries from the peninsula, Savannah's energy limericks earned her 2nd place in the 3rd - 4th grade division. Savannah shared her writing at the HEA Energy Fair in Kenai. Awesome job Savannah!
Today through Friday is our Kids Holiday Shoppe being held in the library. This shopping opportunity is being sponsored by the NNS PTA and offers the children a chance to shop for gifts for their family and friends. Each class will have a time set aside for them to come in and shop then wrap gifts before taking them home. If you have any question, please call the school at 776-2600 or the library at 776-2630.
Mountain View Elementary
* Dec. 10-13 "The Holiday Wonderland" will be open in the library. This is a program hosted by the PTA to allow students to shop for inexpensive Christmas gifts for family & friends. We need volunteers! If you would like to volunteer to help students shop please call the office at 283-8600 to schedule a time.
* Dec. 18 Our winter concert for 1st & 2nd grade students will be in the KCHS auditorium. The dress rehearsal will take place the morning of Dec. 18 at KCHS. The students will be traveling by bus leaving Mountain View at 8:50 a.m. and returning at 11:30 a.m.
* Dec. 19 The 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade Choir students will perform for their families.. Dress rehearsal will be at 3:30 PM with the performance starting at 4:30 PM in the Mountain View gym.
* Dec 21 Staff inservice day. There will be no school for students. Assessing Learning, Bully Proofing Mountain View & Professional Learning Community Development are on the agenda.
Redoubt Elementary
Redoubt's third graders are getting ready to start their annual Seward Sea Life Center field trip fundraiser. Third grade classes will be delivering candy cane candy-grams on Thursday, December 20. If you would like to send someone a candy-gram, fill out a holiday delivery form, include $.50 each or $10.00 for a whole class, and drop it by the school office. Candy canes will also be sold at lunch time. Forms will be in the weekly newsletter as well as in the school office.
Thank you to all of the volunteers who ran the Elf Shelf store for 3 days. Thank you for making it possible for Redoubt students to do a little early holiday shopping for friends and family. We would like to thank all the generous people who donated gifts for our Christmas Kindness Program. This program would not be possible without your generosity, thank you for opening your hearts during this holiday season. A special thank you to Angela Massey for coordinating the Holiday Kindness Program again this year!
Congratulations to our 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders who performed the musical "Snow Day". You did a fabulous job!
Title One Families "Sweet Rewards" Tuesday, December 11th, 7:45—8:38 a.m. or 3:30—4:15 p.m. Title One Families are invited to enjoy donuts, juice, books & play time with their child. We hope you can join us during one of the times listed above.
Skyview High School
* Dec. 10 – The music department will present its Christmas concert tonight at 7 p.m. in the Skyview Commons. The public is invited to attend. Come out and enjoy some holiday music!
* Dec. 12 – Soldotna Rotary Students of the Month for December are: Kyle Austin, Dakota Bittick, Lana Chesley, Stephanie Dolan, Sierra Glonek, Makinna Halverson, LeAnn Meier, Joann Padgett, Lukas Patten, Jonathan Pedginski, Kyliera Quincy, and Bradford Swanson. They will be treated to a pizza lunch Wednesday, provided by the Soldotna Rotary Club.
* Dec. 18 – Winter sports teams will be introduced during an afternoon assembly. The altered class schedule is posted on the school's calendar at http://skyviewhighschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/calendar/
* Dec. 19 – Final exams for periods 1, 4, and 6 will be given.
* Dec. 20 – Final exams for periods 2, 5, and 7 will be given.
Soldotna High
Yearbooks can be ordered at Jostens.com or in room 76 for $55. Personalization features are available. Prices go up Jan. 1. Senior ad space for parents to recognize their child is still available. Don't delay. Call 260-7000 for more info.
Soldotna High School's National Honor Society Students of the Month for September and October are: Tanner Best –Construction; Kaitlin Christenson-Personal Finance; Ila Cobb – Physical Science; Ali Dusek -Child Development; Ali Dusek – World History; Audrey Helgevold –Algebra B; Dillon Jensen- Symphonic Band; Johnathon Kreider – AP English Lit; Nicole Mills –Algebra B; Gabrielle Saldivar- Spanish; Kaillee Skjold- U.S. Government; Courtney Weston- Geology. They were honored at a pizza luncheon in the SoHi commons on Wednesday November 28th at noon.
Soldotna High School's National Honor Society inducted the following students: Josiah Martin, Lacey Cashman, Shara Leaders, Clarie Gabler, Sawyer Rickman, Kaitlyn Groleske, Alissa Garcia, Emma Selden, Kamlin Cain, Justin Dahlgren, Ali Dusek, Kylie Dimick, Meg English, Claire Kincaid, Haley Miller, Bailey Rosin, Nicholas Truesdell, Alex Weeks and Tyler Fenton. The induction ceremony took place in the SOHI library on Tuesday November 27th.
The Soldotna High School Child Development class is having a free daycare 12/13-12/14 from 12:45-2:00pm. Games, crafts, snacks, and other activities will be provided. Children must be potty trained and between 2-5 years of age. Registration is required. Please email Meggean at firstname.lastname@example.com for an enrollment form.
Yearbook Art Contest: Chance to win a free yearbook. Do you want your own artwork to be in the 2012-2013 yearbook? Enter in the Yearbook Art contest for the title page and it could be! The theme for the yearbook is "Written in the Stars" The artwork needs to be completed and turned in by Friday, December 14th to Ms. Cox or Mrs. Bartman. If your artwork is digital, it need to be high resolution or on a page that is 8.5 by 11 inches or smaller. If you don't win, it could still be used in the yearbook on other pages so hurry up and turn it in!
Soldotna Middle
Congratulations to the SMS Students of the Month for November 2012!
Science – Sara Faris, Marshal Cameron, Jared Brandon McCormick, Kianna Steadman, Jay Frost, Kellie Arthur, Chloe Kincaid, John Holland, Sadie Hutchings; Social Studies – Chantel Warfield, Ava Gabler, Cassidy Miller, Portia Padilla; Language Arts – Katie Richmond, Kamala Martin, Alyssa Webb, Joseph Tre Rybak, Selena Stem; Reading – Sean Verg-In, Cody Watkins; Study Skills – Christian Hames, Cheyanna Hutchings, William Rogers; Algebra – Ashlyn Johnson; Math – Shyann Jones, Anthony Carrasco, Cody Nill, Bryce Martin, Trevor Reid, Kellsi Ulrich, Henry Bob, Grace Graham, Steven McKendry, Kevin Tautfest; Math Study Skills – Sarah Baktuit, Shaylynn Zener, Jace Urban, Dennis Levi Poquette; Physical Education – Taylor Earll, Aaron Barba, Jaela Hubbard, Reid Casey, Emilie Fuhrman, Samantha Kompkoff, Kayla Hemphill, Jessica Davis, Lucero Hugarte; Band – Jode Sparks; Choir – Devin Fena; Drumline – Philip Gibson Platt; Woods I – Ian Reger; Construction – Conner Fowler, Raven Eppler; Exploratory Shop – Tyler Larrow, Caleb Spence; Spanish I – Elijah Elsey, Afton Carlson, Caitlin Sturman; Homeroom – John Mark Pothast, Gage Burns Hankins; 2D Art – Arianna Hiler; Ceramics – Melinda Anderson; Sculpture – Brianna Sipes; Art Intro – Jeremy Coletti Jamrock, Delaney Risley, Brian Dusek; Yearbook – Kinley Glaves; Business/Info – Madeline Kindred, Caroline Cho; Digital Photography I – Portia Padilla; Digital Storytelling I – Aleksander Hansen; Robotics/Sketchup – Ethan Bott
* Dec. 12 The P.E. Department will have a 12 minute run … 12-12-12-12!
* Dec. 14 FORT NIGHTLY! from 6-8 p.m. – Parent Volunteers Needed! Please contact the Front Office at 260-2500 if you can help!
* Dec. 18 Winter Band & Choir Concert in the SMS Big Gym at 7 p.m. The SMS Music Boosters will be holding a Silent Auction and Raffle Drawing an hour before and immediately after the concert. Items for auction are donations from SMS families and local businesses. All proceeds go to the Soldotna Middle School Music Program.
* Dec. 20 Final Day of Second Quarter
* Dec. 21 No school for students – Winter Break Begins / Teacher Work Day.
The Study
The Study wants to compliment Kelsi Ulrich on earning student of the month at Soldotna Middle School. Our guitar teacher Melissa Glaves wants to award Caleb Fredrickson with a diligence award. We are excited to announce Miss Dee Dee's Christmas workshop! On December 22nd she will be focusing on a very merry "Clay Christmas!" Students will have a blast working with clay, cooking and exploring various art techniques. This workshop is 12-3, call The Study to reserve a spot. Drop your little darlings off for 3 hours and enjoy some Christmas shopping without the kids. Hey high schoolers!! Do you need your Alaska Studies Credit? Starting January 7th-March 13th Mrs. McCown and Mrs. Nelson will take students on a journey through our state exploring history, land, government and culture. Upon completion, students will recieve a .5 credit. We are also offering a Lewis and Clark mini workshop for grades fifth through eighth. This course is perfect for Home-school students needing a bit more history. This course meets two days a week starting January 8th and runs through January 31st from 1:30-3. We would also like to offer a private pilot ground school with the purpose of allowing students to gain all required knowledge to take the private pilot written exam required for pilot certification. Let us know what you think by emailing us at email@example.com Thanks for an amazing year and have an amazing Holiday!
Tustumena Elementary
Here are the results of our Hoop Shoot competition for this year: In the 8 & 9 year old category; the winners are: Autumn Fischer & Alex Smith. In the 10 & 11 year old category; the winners are: Amanda Wylie & Brayden VanMeter. In the 12 & 13 year old category; the winners are Jemma Lane & Skyler Checketts.
* Dec. 21 the Kasilof Eagles and Boys & Girls Club are inviting Tustumena students to our school from 4 - 7 p.m., Santa Claus is Coming to Kasilof. There The Jolly Ol' Fella has confirmed his early arrival at Tustumena. He will have presents for the kids, plus there will be reindeer games, cookie decorating and more. To get ready for him we could use any extra wrapping paper or Christmas LED lights you have around and can send in to school by December 7th.
There will be no PTO or Site Council Meetings in December
* Dec. 13 Music Concert grades 4-6 at 6 p.m.
* Dec. 14 Spelling Bee grades 4-6, 9:30 a.m.
* Dec. 21 End of Quarter, No school for students, inservice day for teachers
Free Training for High School Students
KPBSD Career and Tech Department is offering free after school academies to train students in the Welding, Construction and Medical Field.
Any high school student is able to participate in any of our academies. If a student successfully completes the 60 hour academy they will receive a 1/2 practical art credit. Transportation may be provided if needed.
Nikiski High School: Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD-CAM) academy starting Jan 22nd-Feb 15th. Mon-Fri 2:30-5:30. Students will be learning how to use drafting/design software for computer aided machining. They will learn how to use 3 different CNC machines: Plasma Cam for metal, Shop Bot for wood and Versa Cam for vinyl.
Skyview High School: Personal Care Attendant (PCA) academy starting January 8th at 3:00pm in room C106. This first day is a mandatory meeting. Academy schedule TBD by students and instructor. This academy is open to Juniors and Seniors only. The PCA course is a state program. Students will learn Personal Care Services, Employability Awareness, Earn First Aid & State Certification, and participate in Job Shadowing.
Soldotna High School: Emergency Trauma Technician (ETT) academy starting February 21st-April 20th. Class days will be on Thursdays from 3:30-6:30 and Saturdays from 8:00am-1:00PM (Sat. class times vary). This course will cover all areas required to receive certification as an Emergency Medical Technician. The last week of class will be for review and the final exam. If you pass the exam you'll receive your certification and an ETT patch.
Workforce Development Center (WDC-located behind KCHS): Welding academy starting February 26th-May 9th. Class days will be Tues, Wed and Thursdays from 2:30-4:30. Students will be building a 18' flatbed trailer.
For more information contact Debbie Pearson at 283-2145 or you can sign up by going to: http://onestop.kpbsd.k12.ak.us


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The Patriot influence continues to infiltrate the AFC West.
First, the Raiders trade for Richard Seymour.
Then the Chiefs coach Todd Haley, influenced by former Patriots exec Scott Pioli, hires a pair of new coordinators in Bill Belichick disciples Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel.
Now the Denver Broncos, with former Pats' assistant Josh McDaniels in charge, have split with defensive coordinator Mike Nolan with Profootballtalk.com reporting the new coordinator could be ex-Patriot Dean Pees.
The only New England-free zone is in San Diego, which did performed another playoff face-plant against the Jets Sunday.
But here's the thing about all the former Patriots making their way to other organizations. Their effect has been far from spectacular.
After Seymour's debut, weren't you thinking along the lines of double-digit sacks, instead of just the four he ended up with? And if Seymour took care of business to the extent he says he did, the rest of the line must be really bad, considering the way the Raiders defended the run.
Weis was asked to leave Notre Dame with millions and Crennel was replaced in Cleveland by another former Patriot Eric Mangini, who held on to the job by his fingernails.
— Good read in the Los Angeles Times on former Raider Napoleon McCallum, hoping to run a marathon and philosophical about the grotesque injury in the 1994 season opener that ended his career.
— Nnamdi Asomugha isn't going to complain, not with $45.3 million over three years headed his way, but he had to be at least a little envious watching the Jets' Darrelle Revis play as spectacularly as he did on the biggest stage in New York's win over the Chargers.
It only makes sense for a defense to adjust its scheme to put its best players in position to make plays. It's something John Marshall should be thinking hard about this offseason, doing what Rex Ryan has done with Revis.
— At some point, Tom Cable and Warren Sapp must have had words. Sapp has taken to trashing Cable every chance he gets. He's said Cable couldn't lead a team to a backyard barbecue, hammered him last week on the Dan Patrick Show, claiming he knew which way Cable's center was going before the snap 90 percent of the time, and then had this to say on his NFL.com live chat:
Q: Cable, Russell, who would you keep?
Sapp: Tom Cable couldn't guard my dog house. At least I know Russell has skills. I don't think Cable will be back.
— LaDainian Tomlinson has always been good on conference calls and has long had a great reputation, but his sideline demeanor when things aren't going his way, particularly in the Chargers' postseason meltdowns, has been awful. He has defeat written all over his face while sitting on the bench while his teammates are fighting it out.
Looks like LT has played his last game in the Raiders-Chargers series, which, considering his production against Oakland, won't bother Raiders fans one bit.
— If the Vikings want to jam in one more touchdown against the Cowboys, so be it. Keith Brooking can complain all he wants, but as he conceded, it was up to Dallas to stop it.
Here's the reason why the Raiders would take a knee in the same situation (if they ever happen to be up by 24 points in a playoff game) _ taking a knee is more deflating to the opposition than scoring the touchdown.
You score the touchdown, they get angry and can temporarily focus on something else other than the whipping they received. Take a knee and you're saying, "We could score if we wanted. We just don't have to. We're taking it easy on you."
Taking a knee is not only better sportsmanship and prevents fluke injury, but it's a crushing symbol of superiority.
— Time will tell if the Raiders are in the market for a head coach, but if Buffalo is really zeroing in on Chan Gailey as its head coach, Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier ought to make the highly speculative "candidates" list despite being on the "wrong" side of the ball.
— Sure, it would be nice if Nate Kaeding to vacate his Pro Bowl spot after three missed field goals. Not that it would help Sebastian Janikowski any. Seabass' shortest miss was from 45 yards, but he wasn't even an alternate.


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I hope the British readers here didn't have any urgent business with the UK Hydrographic Office site!
The Joint Academic Network also pays per unit of data transferred over the transatlantic link. You've just bankrupted them!
On a slightly more serious note, I think the fact that Slashdot can bring down some fairly beefy servers demonstrates that there is a f
some links explaining black smokers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_smokers [wikipedia.org]
http://www.oceansonline.com/hydrothe.htm [oceansonline.com]
http://www.ocean.udel.edu/kiosk/bsmoker.html [udel.edu]
Slashdotters' guns were aimed and requests were comin' fast,
The first link hit the website, they knew she couldn't last,
That mighty Naval server room is just a memory,
"Avenge the Bismarck" was the battle cry, sent over TCP.
We found the freakin' powerpoint that's makin' such a fuss!
We slashdotted the website 'cause the world depends on us!
It hit the front page runnin, when we spun our browsers 'round,
Yeah, we found the Royal Navy, and then we shut 'er down!
With apologies to Johnny Horton's Sink the Bismarck, 1960 [allthelyrics.com], and those who served aboard both the Hood and the Bismarck.)
BZZZT! The surface of the earth cannot be damaged. Changed, yes, but not damaged. Unless you're suggesting that we need to get back to Pangaea somehow.
Look, there are natural tectonic processes that have been going on for as long as the earth existed. Volcanoes and earthquakes are CONSTANTLY reshaping the surface of the earth. THIS IS NOT DAMAGE. This is normal behavior for the ecosystem.
Come on now, you're not even attempting to understand what they are talking about. I don't know how this was modded insightful, but it is damage my friend. Animals died, habitats were destroyed, plant life uprooted/moved/destroyed, rare/endangered species killed (not that I know for a fact, can't see the webpage). This is damage. It doesn't matter that these animals would die eventually anyway, it doesn't matter that in 200,000 years that piece of ocean floor won't exist anymore.
Your cocky presumptiousness does not bely intelligence, it belies a refusal to understand something. Damaged, changed, modified, whatever it all means the same thing. And gee, the two "ridiculous" examples you list probably already happen somewhere in the world! People hunt to keep animal populations down (those bastard deer come to mind); I'm sure somewhere in the world predators are being kept away from herbavors to "protect" the herbavors from being "damaged". Hmm, maybe we should just ban the word "damaged", because obviously every thing that happens in the universe is due to nature. Therefore everything that happens would have happened eventually anyway, and it can not possibly be considered damage because it is "all in the natural order of things."
Why don't you use your self-proclaimed knowledge for something useful, like understanding that words can mean multiple things and not everything people write about is a semantic argument?
I have some issues with your other statements. but I don't feel like a nitpick war. Instead, I'll just address what I perceive to be your basic argument. It's a common one: "Change and evolution are a part of nature. Nature is capable of fixing itself. Let'
I wouldn't say it's not damage, I would rather say that it's this type of damage is just a normal part of the Earth's processes. It's still damage, although I understand your point that that is probably too abstract for Joe Public to grasp by him/herself, and so the term is misleading to the public, who only think of damage in purely negative terms.
Next we'll be hearing that the predator/prey relationship needs to be banned because it damages animal populations
Similar but true: For a long time people tho
I just love saying.... "Tootie"
"Every time you say 'I don't believe in torrents', a server falls down and dies."
Sadly, the submitter of the story must have reasoned that torrents really do not exist.
Images of Ocean Floor Show Effects of Tsunami
The damage to the ocean floor was a result of the cause of the tsunami - not the effect thereof. Tsunamis do not damage the ocean floor until they get into very shallow water (i.e. the coastline).
Heh.. I was going to make the same comment but you got it first.
When a tree grows out of the ground, it pushes soil aside -- would you then describe the ground as "damaged?" Is the moon damaged because it has craters?
The word "damage" is only meaningful in the context of human activities. As you succinctly stated, this is change, not damage.
Also, a big monster with a head like an squid is walking from there to Tokio. Press there don't know if call it Godzilla, or if they must call Godzilla to save them.
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by Matt Kelly
Make your users happy by building webapps without page loads. People waiting 2,000ms or more for a page on your app to load are losing interest and focus. Learn how to create an interface that responds in less then 100ms with Backbone.js, a JavaScript library created to keep large amounts of JavaScript organized and reusable. Examples from real applications will be used to demonstrate how pageless apps can be used to implement great interactions and make people happy. Both implementation and design decisions will be discussed.
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Griffin dominates, Oakland increases West lead
Righty gives up two hits in seven; A's now 3 1/2 games over Rangers
By Patrick Donnelly / 9/12/2013 6:07 PM ET
MINNEAPOLIS -- With an AL West showdown against the Rangers looming, the A's picked a good time to be firing on all cylinders.
A.J. Griffin pitched seven strong innings to win his fourth consecutive start, and Josh Reddick homered in his return to the starting lineup as the A's beat the Twins, 8-2, on Thursday afternoon at Target Field.
The A's have won 10 of their last 13 and picked up a half-game on idle Texas with this win. They now lead the AL West by 3 1/2 games, with a three-game series between the teams set to begin on Friday in Arlington.
Oakland outscored Minnesota 29-9 -- 26-5 the last two days after dropping the first game of the series on Tuesday night when Josh Willingham homered in the eighth to carry the Twins to a 4-3 win. The A's pounded out 33 hits the last two days, and three starting pitchers combined for a 2.50 ERA over 18 innings.
"I thought we played well this series," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "The first game was closely contested, and one pitch ends up putting us on the other side of it. Other than that, I think we played well -- a lot of focus, good defense at times. Josh Donaldson made I don't know how many good plays today at third. Pitching pretty good, swinging the bats -- it's been a good time for us here recently."
Griffin (14-9) allowed one run on two hits while walking one and striking out eight, including six of the first nine batters he faced. He retired 10 straight to begin the game, before Josmil Pinto singled to left with one out in the fourth. He faced one batter over the minimum through six innings and didn't lose his shutout until Oswaldo Arcia hit an opposite-field homer with two outs in the seventh.
"I was working quick. I had a good rhythm. I felt like me again. It was fun," said Griffin, who went almost a month without a victory before his current four-game winning streak. "I feel like I can throw any pitch in any count and throw it effectively, and it's a lot more fun when that's going on."
After scoring multiple runs in four separate innings on Wednesday night, the A's put another crooked number on the scoreboard Thursday with a four-run outburst in the third. With one out, Derek Norris doubled and Daric Barton followed with a single to put runners on the corners against Twins starter Scott Diamond (5-11).
Coco Crisp then hit a ground ball to shortstop, but he beat the relay throw to first to stay out of the double play and drive in the first run of the game. Donaldson walked and Jed Lowrie laced an RBI single to center before Yoenis Cespedes provided the big blow, a triple to deep right-center field that scored two and gave the A's a 4-0 lead.
Oakland tacked on a run on Donaldson's single in the fifth, and Chris Young tripled and scored on Reddick's sacrifice fly in the sixth to build Griffin's cushion to 6-0. In the eighth, Young led off with a double and scored on Reddick's 11th home run of the season, a two-run blast to right off reliever Brian Duensing.
Reddick, who led the A's with 32 home runs last year, has been hampered by a wrist injury all season. He's spent two stints on the disabled list, the last of which ended on Tuesday. He entered Wednesday's 18-3 win as a substitute in the fourth inning, got three plate appearances under his belt and appeared locked in again in his return to the starting lineup Thursday.
"I felt like [Wednesday] was a great rehab game -- I just didn't have to go anywhere," Reddick said. "I have to thank these guys for scoring all those runs early on for me to be able to get in there and get three at-bats, kind of get my feet back and jump back in there and get some rhythm going. It really led up to today with me feeling comfortable at the plate."
One key for Reddick is improving his productivity against left-handers. Last year he posted a .473 slugging percentage against lefties, while he entered Thursday's game slugging just .373 against them. His home run against the left-handed Duensing was a no-doubter, and he said the wrist felt fine afterward.
"I pulled my hands in on a pitch that was 92 miles-an-hour from a lefty," Reddick said. "For me to be able to do that -- hitting it out was a bonus, but just being able to hit it hard and barrel it up and pull the hands inside without the wrist hurting really felt good."
One theme for the A's this season has been the depth of their offensive attack, even with Reddick and Cespedes -- their top two run producers last year -- struggling much of the season. Now both of them are heating up; Cespedes has at least one RBI in six consecutive games and drove in six runs in the three games against the Twins.
Reddick is just happy to be part of the conversation again after a rough five months.
"It's fun to be a part of, and it's been fun watching the last two weeks," Reddick said. "It kind of stunk not being able to be a part of it, but I was hoping to come back and just jump on board and not screw up the rhythm. Hopefully, more days like this are coming. I'm not going to try to put the team on my back. I'm just going to try to do the basic baseball, move runners and try to drive them in."


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Granby, Massachusetts
Granby Police Department Receives Grant to Participate in 2013 Traffic Enforcement Program
|Posted on Dec 05 2012
|Press Releases >>
The Granby Police Department has been rewarded a grant in the amount of $3,000.00, from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, to participate in the 2013 Traffic Enforcement Program. The Program consists of three different mobilization periods over the next several months. The first mobilization, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, begins soon and runs through the holiday season. The Granby Police Department would also like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season, and to remind everyone to celebrate responsibly.
Last changed: Dec 05 2012 at 7:33 AMBack


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Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.
Ever since Ghostcrawler's Q&A session last week, it seems like everyone wants to talk about dual specs, so I might as well give in. A few readers have written me to ask how I will handle loot distribution in this crazy double-speccing future. Does having two easily switchable specs entitle a player to double the loot? One reader details his struggle to formulate a fair and effective system:
Dear Scott,
As I'm sure you're aware by now, Blizzard recently stated that dual specs are definitely in the foreseeable future. This brings a huge dilemma on raid loot distribution. How do I distribute loot when everyone can use it now?
The issue was brought up on our guild's forum recently, and I had not even thought about the possible ramifications til now. Is there any good solution? Let me give a little run down of my thoughts so far.
[. . .]One officer suggested that we up the amount of DKP people can earn on a boss and let everyone bid on the item if they could use it in their dual specs. My thoughts were that this would highly inflate the DKP of the "pure" classes seeing as they only need one set of gear so would be bidding on only half as many times as "hybrid" classes. And that would not be fair to those who play hybrid classes but for the sole purpose of DPS. Also, it would open up the floodgates on tier tokens. If everyone had the right to roll on whatever they could use, they'd be bidding on more than one tier token, possibly alienating the newcomers who could afford said token but just didn't have enough DKP to outroll the weekly raider who already has that tier item for another spec essentially making loot distribution less even across the board.
I also feel that this would encourage too much role switching. [. . .] I feel like people are going to take this as basically a flavor-of-the-week situation. Mr. Druid thinks, "Hey, I want to tank today!", then next raid he thinks "Let's try Moonkin form!", and then the next "I'm a kitty cat! RAWR!" This would be an extreme hassle to schedule against, and the druid would be splitting his gear to the point that he'd have a few good items here and there but no solid raid spec.
A second officer suggested that we stay the same on our loot distribution, making everyone declare a Main and an Alt spec. Initially, I thought this was the best route to go. But the longer I sit on it, the more I have doubts about this too.
Say we have a raid group made out and need one melee dps. We have a spare tank floating around that day and tell him he can come as DPS. During the raid, it makes the fights easier if said warrior switches to his tank spec for fights like Gluth but switches back to DPS for others like Thaddius. We down the boss and a tank item and a DPS item drops. Since he declared Tank as his main, does he have to forgo the DPS item even though it could be a huge upgrade to him?
I may be overthinking this problem, but it's been chewing at me since I've read the news. How do you think your guild will handle it?
Perplexed Paladin
I've been overthinking it myself lately. My officers and I have been grappling with this issue for a few days now, bouncing posts back and forth in our private forum. I'm not going to claim to have definitive answers in this column, so look elsewhere if you want to read an authoritative solution. I'm just going to bounce ideas around, and I invite all of our readers out there to post their ideas below. With a little bit of community thought-sharing, and some experience under our belts once these situations start cropping up, we'll get it all sorted out eventually.
Perplexed, I almost wish my guild were using DKP like you are. We dropped it for this expansion and it's going to make life more difficult for us when this dual spec feature becomes a reality. I'll get into that conundrum later. For now, let's look at how DKP will be affected.
The beauty of DKP is that you have to make sure you really want an item before you bid on it. You have a finite resource that must be spent wisely. Players will be reluctant to bid recklessly for offspec drops. This facet of the system, in and of itself, will police most of your worries, Perplexed.
Assuming you're using a zero-sum system, newer players with fewer points will eventually get their chances, even if some old-timers get an offspec drop or two first. It's just the nature of the beast.
The raiders who jump from spec to spec are going find that they are far less effective than raiders who have stuck with one spec. If they want to spend their points on three or four different specs, that's their prerogative. You can't tell someone how to spend their points. But they shouldn't be surprised when they are asked to sit out for someone who's better geared at their role. Also, most players do eventually find a spec that they want to play most of the time, even if it takes a couple of weeks of experimentation to figure it out. So I wouldn't consider this a major concern.
As far as your tank/DPS example goes, the easy answer is to let the player bid on the items she wants. She'll be spreading herself thin if she goes for two specs at once. The smart bet for hybrids will be to gear up one spec and then a second spec once the first spec is complete. But again, it's going to be up to her. They're her points.
If you start telling people what they can and can't bid on, you're making extra work for yourself and opening yourself up for drama. So one school of thought is to let the DKP do its work and let the chips fall where they may. In essence, you'd be ignoring the dual spec option and just allowing people to gear up as they've always done. If you want to discount offspec items, as many guilds do, that can only help the inflation problem.
Your point about inflation for pure DPS classes is a good one. It's true that, if all drops cost roughly the same, a high-attendance mage or hunter is going to have an excess of points compared to a hybrid who's putting together two, three, or even four sets.
You could do what Blizzard is doing with badges: use different points for different tiers of content. Naxx/OS/Malygos -- your Tier 7 raids -- would use one set of points, while Ulduar and any other Tier 8 raids would use another. That way, everyone sets foot into Tier 8 on an even playing field.
The downside to this is that it will require more effort from the officers to track multiple point sets. Not to mention that it would discourage people from attending the Tier 7 farming runs if they know they'll never be able to spend the points. You may lose some of your pure classes on those nights, but if you have enough hybrids and newer players to keep farming the old zones, separate point systems could be one solution for you.
Another option would be to make drops that are purely for tanking and healing (such as they are these days) cost a certain fraction of the points of a DPS item. That would encourage players to build up their tanking and healing sets first, which is desirable for making sure you have enough of each to keep raiding. It would also mean less inflation with regards to your DPS. Hybrids with multiple sets would still find themselves behind the pure DPS classes, particularly if your hybrids are gearing up DPS sets, too. But the effect in general would be less drastic.
My guild has a very different problem, since we've abandoned our DKP system in favor of rolling on everything. When you've got two specs, you've got a legitimate reason to roll on two sets of gear, whereas the pure classes will only ever roll on one. That wouldn't be a problem if hybrids weren't rolling on DPS gear, but they do and they will.
You're going to have people with a primary spec, a secondary spec, and one or two offspecs. Does that mean you have three different levels of priority, or should dual specs have equal priority for rolls? How do you track each person's spec priorities?
Once you bring alts into the equation, it makes things even more messy. For example, does a main's second spec get priority over an alt's main spec? Does a main's offspec get priority over an alt's second spec?
One way to look at it is that secondary specs, offspecs, and alts all serve the same purpose: they give your raid flexibility for many different situations. So you could enforce a priority system whereby main specs of main characters trump all other considerations, and let every other spec or alt duke it out for what's left.
As a raid leader, however, you may want to encourage people to bring their mains -- and to have flexible mains -- so that (a) you minimize downtime for swapping roles and (b) you have the most effective characters in the raid as much as possible for faster, more efficient clears. In this system, you'd let mains roll on whatever they wanted and only give loot to alts when all the mains were passing. That would greatly discourage alting on all but the most farmed-out content.
However, that means you may be sharding a lot of items that alts would have gotten if people weren't so reluctant to bring them. Someday you may need one of those alts to tank or heal or DPS, and they won't be anywhere near the gear level of your guild's mains.
You could also get into loot drama when hybrids just roll away on every drop they could ever equip, regardless of who would actually use the drops. For this system, you'd need mature, generous players who know each other's main specs. That way, intelligent decisions could be made about who's going to roll and who's going to pass. Given that my guild has such players, we're leaning toward this system right now.
A third option is far more complex but also probably the most fair. You would allow people to roll based on some combination of the following priorities: main character, primary spec; main character, secondary spec; alt character, primary spec; alt character, secondary spec; main character, offspec; alt character, offspec. Yes, that's six different priority levels. You can order them as you see fit, and you can combine them into equivalent categories. However, you still need to keep track of every player's spec priorities. And when loot drops, you'll have to establish who wants to roll on it and for which priority level.
Here's one way it could work. Suppose you combine priorities and assign each level a letter for easy reference, like so:
A-level priority: main character, primary specs
B-level priority: main character, secondary specs and alt character, primary specs
C-level priority: alt character, secondary specs, and offspecs for any character
Then you could ask everyone on our raiding roster who played any kind of hybrid class, main or alt, to post their priority level for each spec. That way you'd have it all in writing should any controversies arise. And you can also make sure that people understand what the priority levels mean before everyone finds themselves in a loot-assignment situation.
When loot does drop, whoever wants to roll should roll, but they should also identify the priority level of their roll at the same time. For example, a player would have to type B before she types /random. That way, the raid leader can quickly scan down the chat log, picking out the highest roll of the highest priority level. If there's only one A roll, then the decision is already made.
In a DKP system, pure classes come out ahead. When you're rolling for loot, pure classes are at a disadvantage. By making your A-level priority a single spec in a rolling system, you're making sure everyone is on equal footing for the gear they really need.
Ultimately it comes down to what type of guild you lead. A smaller, friendlier guild can probably get by with an informal system. A larger guild may want to stratify its players' specs into firmly defined, descending levels of priority.
I'm curious to hear what other officers plan to do once the dual spec feature goes live. Share your ideas below!


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West county kids slam stock exchange with powerful poetry
By Theresa Harrington
Monday, May 3rd, 2010 at 7:06 pm in Education, Pinole, Richmond, Theresa Harrington.
By Theresa Harrington
West Contra Costa County education reporter Shelly Meron wrote Friday about students from Richmond and Pinole who recited their poems at the New Stock Exchange.
Elishama Vallare of Ford Elementary in Richmond read his poem "Devasatation of Povery on the Streets," and Shannon Chand from Stewart Elementary in Pinole shared her poem "Slavery." They recited the poems as part of National Poetry Month in April.
The poetry event was organized by America SCORES, an organization that empowers students in urban communities using soccer, writing, creative expression and service learning, Meron reported.
I spoke to Elishama and Shannon today to find out how they got the ideas for their poetry and talk about their trip to New York, which neither of them had visited.
Elishama said he got the idea for his poem because he knows what it's like to be on the street.
"I had the experience of being a poor person," said the 11-year-old. "My aunt put us out, so we stayed in a mission for a while."
Here is his poem:
"Devastation of Poverty on the Streets," by Elishama Vallare
Did you know almost 39.1 million people in California are poor?
Poor people are older people, children, maybe even families.
On the street, I see gangs, dark mysterious alleys, and as I'm turning a corner
I see a poor man asking for money.
He looks sad, I can tell by the look on his face.
His clothes are tattered with holes.
You may not know what it feels like to be poor.
But I do.
When I was seven years old,
my auntie kicked me, my mom and my 24-month-old baby brother out.
A few days afterwards, we stayed at a mission in Seattle, Washington.
Living in a house with strangers, everyone looks dull without energy.
Strong feelings of frustration because an aggravated lady yells at my mom.
This is my story.
I try to help people who are poor by giving them a buck or two.
So pitch in to help your community!
You might be the one to end poverty in California.
This is it — you can "make the change."
Although he was a little nervous about reading his poem at first, Elishama said he soon gained his confidence.
"It was like, 'Okay, I can do this,'" he said. "Afterwards, a lot of people asked me to sign their pamphlets and some people said my poem made them cry."
The people in the audience received pamphlets with information about the students. Elishama was happy about their reaction.
"It made me feel great inside," he said, "like I was doing the right thing."
Shannon, 11, said she enjoys soccer and poetry in the SCORES program. She didn't find it difficult to write about slavery, she said.
"The subject just popped in my mind and I just started writing," she said.
Here's her poem:
"Slavery," by Shannon Chand.
I have a dozen, or two, of friends.
They all are different colors.
Colors of black, brown, white, and others.
I would never judge on how they look.
Long before I was born, slavery was all over the world.
Slavery was bad.
Slaves were taken from their homes.
They were beaten for no cause.
They died from diseases and the lack of food and water.
They were shoved around, treated badly; creating bruises and chances of dying.
I don't know how it felt, but I'm positive my ancestors knew slavery was a huge deal.
Martin Luther King Jr. did a lot to save us.
Maybe today we would be suffering with slavery, if it weren't for him.
We should be proud of ourselves.
Also, we should be happy we aren't a part of it.
Both children said they plan to write more poetry in the future.
"I like writing," Elishama said. "It's something I'm good at."
How did Elishama and Shannon's poems make you feel?
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]


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By Jillian Rael, Library Director
We have a number of exciting things taking place here at the library. First, we have begun our regular Story Hours every Wednesday with our preschool/kindergarten children having activities at 10 a.m. and our Trail Blazers Club at 4 p.m. March topics include Fayetteville in the Depression, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle, Spring!, and of course St. Patrick's Day.
Keeping with our children's and youth programming, the Junior Round Dozen has provided the library with a yearly subscription to Tumblebooks, an online library for children that includes animated books, read alongs and literary games. Everyone with a library card is welcome to utilize this fantastic resource; all you need is an internet connection!
February 19 is the first meeting of our Mother-Daughter Book Club. The group will be discussing "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer and promises to be a great time.
The library's essay contest is officially open! Information has been sent out to schools and the local home-school association. First place winners will receive a Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight (perfect for bedtime reading!) and the library staff will assist in loading the READS online library. Second place winners will receive a $10 gift certificate to The Book Inn! We cannot wait to hear why local students find their public library important and valuable!
The Friends of the Library will be having a book sale on March 23 from 10 a.m. until noon in the library basement with some great titles up for grabs.
Plans are well underway for this season's Friends Lecture Series, which will run from March through August. The proposed lineup is fantastic! March 26 we welcome Dr. Sarah Newman Shouse, retired history professor, to discuss Fayettevillians who went west with the Gold Rush. Speaker arrangements and scheduling is still tentative, but I can tell you that topics include photo and document preservation. All the talks will be held in the Library Genealogy Room and will run from 6 until 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights throughout the season. These events are free, and all donations made benefit the library directly. Last season's series generated a few hundred dollars that is now going toward improving the Genealogy Room. We are so fortunate to have such an active Friends organization and hope that the community will come out and show their support!
Information about all our events can be found on our blog at www.flcpubliclibrary.blogspot.com and on our Facebook and Twitter pages, or call the library at 433-3286, and of course, we'd love to see you at the library!