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He held the Bible out in front of him and spoke softly. "This jewel of a book, this sine qua non text on how to live the moral life — glorious . . . inspiring . . . dramatic . . . innocence lost . . . redemption . . . salvation . . . is extraordinary in the totality of its vision regarding the journey of the human spirit. Yet, I am here to tell you that this book is nothing more than . . . a pretty poem."
He uttered the last three words slowly, almost mockingly. There wasn't a sound in the lecture hall. He had set the trap. In minutes he would know whether the tactic would work. The professor turned his back to the students and walked toward the blackboard.
"Professor," a student called out. "Professor, the question is not whether the Bible is, or isn't, a pretty poem, but rather whether it is, or isn't, the word of God!" The professor listened to the remark without turning to look at the student.
Such a gesture was blatantly discourteous, but he knew the voice, and he had to be careful not to push this little scene too far. The student's comment was valid and pointed. He knew it, and the other students knew it. A rustle of whispers swept the room. The professor turned and stared at the student, who was still standing.
"The question is excellent, Mr. DeMasseo, and I commend you for it." A tension began to fill the room. The professor continued, "I wondered when we would meet formally." The student was Paul DeMasseo, doctoral candidate for a Ph.D. in religious studies. The professor had heard that he was one of the most brilliant students the university would ever graduate.
"Perhaps I can deal with your question, Mr. DeMasseo, by making an opening statement regarding the seminar we are about to begin." He gathered his papers from the table and walked to the lectern. He waited a moment and began. "The seminar you have enrolled in is 'The Bible as Literature.' In the course of our studies, it will be critically important for many of you to put a firewall in your mind between reading the Bible as a source of religious belief and moral authority and reading the Bible as a work of literary art. Approached as literature, the Bible will reveal a text rich in all the elements of great writing: myth, metaphor, simile, analogy, struggle, heroism, betrayal, justice, suspense — and that's just for starters! In short, our purpose in this course will be to enjoy the Bible as a stunning example of human literary artistry. My opening remarks a few moments ago about the Bible as pretty poetry were deliberately designed to provoke just the question that was proposed so insightfully by Mr. DeMasseo. Let me say it again. It is absolutely necessary that we agree to always keep before us the distinction between the Bible as a sacred book and the Bible as a secular one. And so, having agreed, let us begin."
Once again, he thought he had resolved the issue that was most likely to challenge the objectivity of his students in their secular journey through this holy book. He always knew his course would stir beliefs and religious feelings that had long been lying dormant. He had to do a balancing act to keep everyone objective and focused. He arranged his notes, looked out over the class, and opened the textbook to Chapter One. He read aloud: "In the beginning was the Word."
But before he could start the next sentence, a voice, Mr. DeMasseo's, cried out, "Professor!" Like a flock of birds all making the same maneuver at the same time, all the students turned their heads simultaneously to the source of the interruption. Standing alone in the back of the room was Paul DeMasseo.
The professor looked stunned by the audacity of what had occurred, but before he could issue a rebuke, he heard the student say, "Professor, wouldn't it be tremendously useful for every student here to clarify his or her position on this question of religious faith and use such clarity as a background to more richly examine Western civilization's most famous book? Logic and sense tell me that you must agree with me. Therefore, I would like to propose that we, you and I, here and now, have the audacity to hold a debate on the question of the existence of God!"
The professor was taken aback. Nothing like this had ever happened before in any of his classes. Such a discussion might get out of hand. The school's Academic Council might not even allow it. Mr. DeMasseo continued, "Professor, you have the reputation of being one of the most liberal and open-minded instructors on this campus. You also have the reputation of being a vigorous advocate of atheism. I repeat my challenge to you, and I ask you to allow any students who do not wish to participate to leave."
The professor had heard that DeMasseo had been stalking him to corner him into just such a confrontation ever since the professor's acceptance of a guest lectureship a year ago. Several students in the back row started to shout the word, "Debate." More shouts of "debate" came from several other parts of the room. Almost instantly the entire lecture hall was shouting, "Debate! Debate! Debate!"
Paul and the professor were both standing, eyeing each other across the lecture hall. The professor called for silence. The shouting faded away. Sweeping the hall in one slow glance, he found DeMasseo again at the rear and, looking directly at him, said simply and with a certain sense of inevitability, "I accept."
Pandemonium broke loose. Students went to the open windows and shouted, "Hey, everybody, listen up! Paul DeMasseo and Professor "Atheist" are going to go head-to-head on the existence of Numero Uno! Pass the word and get your tails in here!" Within minutes the lecture hall was packed. Word must have really gotten around, because a number of faculty members had entered and were standing along the back wall. Something special was about to happen and everybody knew it.
For many of the students there, this would be their first taste of genuine intellectual disquisition. To many of the others, the event was taking on the aura of a David and Goliath clash of intellects. DeMasseo had taken on numerous students in just such debates and left their intellectual reputations in shreds. For his part, the professor had written extensively on this greatest of philosophical questions and had several books to his credit. The room was pulsing with the din of many voices talking and shouting.
The professor gestured to DeMasseo to join him on the speaker's platform, and led a wave of applause to greet the young man as he came to the front of the room. There were shouts of, "Go get him, Paul!" And other shouts of, "Good luck, kid. You're going to need it!" The professor and DeMasseo shook hands, and DeMasseo led a round of applause directed toward the professor. The two of them walked to the center of the platform and spent a few minutes talking sotto voce to each other. They agreed to throw away the formal rules of debate — assertion . . . negation . . . rebuttal — and instead revert to the more informal structure of the conversational Socratic Dialogue. They took seats at a table on the speaker's platform. It fell on DeMasseo to open the debate.
He got up, strode to the front of the platform, turned to the professor, who was still seated at the table, and asked, "Professor, do you believe in God?"
The answer was, "No."
Can you prove that God does not exist?"
"You know very well that the answer to that is also no. No one can prove that."
"It is possible, then, just possible, that God does exist."
"Yes, and it is also just possible that the tooth fairy exists!" There was a burst of laughter. The professor had drawn first blood.
"What proof would you require to establish the existence of a God?"
"Nothing less than the total annihilation of Evil. That would be a good beginning."
"Well said. Theodicy, or the question of why Evil exists, is the quintessential problem confronting a belief in God. We will address this topic later, but a different question might be brought in here to lay a premise for the discussion to come. Professor, has there ever been a perfect human being?"
"The closest actual human beings who have walked this earth and who might fit that description might be Jesus, Buddha, and maybe the Dalai Lama."
"For fairness, I thought you might have at least included Mother Teresa, if only for political correctness!" Some titters and clapping. "Professor, are you willing to state that the individuals you have named, or for that matter anyone you have ever known, including yourself, are perfect?" There was a wave of laughter and applause.
The professor answered, "To paraphrase: Perfection is in the eye of the beholder. As for myself, the answer is a definite not perfect."
DeMasseo continued. "Isn't it true that the only way you can state that you have never met a perfect person would be if you didn't carry in your mind the idea of a perfect person? And doesn't that apply to all of us? We couldn't judge the perfection of any individual without having a template of individual perfection in our minds? Wouldn't that be completely logical and irrefutable?"
"I would have to concede the point."
"Does this not imply, then, that in some dimension of reality, a perfect person, or the idea of a perfect person must, of necessity, exist? And does it not also imply that a person of such total perfection, a person of whom there can be no one more perfect, must be God, who by definition is perfection itself? Therefore, the very idea of 'perfect,' applied to a person, or for that matter, even to a universe, must imply their existence."
There was a burst of applause. DeMasseo had sprung Plato's realm of perfect forms, the Ontological Argument, on the professor, thus drawing his own first debate blood. He turned and went back to his seat at the table.
TO BE CONTINUED - click to read Part Two-
Al Burrelli is a retired English teacher. This is the latest of several short stories he has published in The Star.


text:
Seashells Hospitality Group reaffirmed its position as one of Western Australia's premier luxury accommodation providers last night with Seashells Yallingup winning the AHA Aon Hotel Awards for Excellence for best Apartment/Suite Accommodation.
The Best Apartment/Suite Accommodation award is judged on the quality of both the facility and its service standards.
Seashells Hospitality Group Managing Director Paul King said the award confirmed the quality of the Group's offering of 4½ star, AAA rated, apartment-style tourism accommodation.
"Winning this award is such great recognition of our team, our clients and suppliers, all of whom have contributed to making Seashells Yallingup the region's premier accommodation provider.
This award will help in growing Seashells' reputation for excellence in the accommodation industry, with each of our properties now having won prestigious industry awards," he said.
Seashells' brand values are down-to-earth, local, community-minded, trustworthy, value-for-money, quality, memorable, coastal, comfortable and service-oriented.
The Yallingup property was designed with these values in mind. The 40 one and two-bedroom apartments and studios have an abundance of space combined with quality appointments designed to compliment the art deco ambience of adjacent Caves House. The apartments are set amongst beautiful heritage gardens.
The company's founders have been in the Tourism and Hospitality industry since 1989 and launched the Seashells brand in 1994, with the opening of the first Seashells Resort Apartments in Scarborough.
Seashells Scarborough is now complimented by properties in Yallingup, Mandurah and Broome.
Visit https://seashells.com.au/resorts/yallingup/overview/ for further details or call Reservations on 1800 800 850 to make a booking.

subset: commoncrawl


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Before a recent system update I had pulseaudio working flawlessly, but after doing a recent system update with pacman -Syu,
pulseaudio no longer sees my sound card and only displays the Dummy audio device. Among the packages updated that I can
remember off the top of my head are the Linux keneral, udev, kmod, instead of trying to roll back my system I figured I would try
to fix the issue. The only thing suggested in the Pulseaudio wiki is that a asound.conf directory is overriding the /etc/asound.conf
file which is not the case on my system.
Looking at the output from lsmod I can see where the kernel modules for the sound card is getting loaded
snd_hda_intel 23375 0
snd_hda_codec 89160 3 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_codec_hdmi
snd_hwdep 6389 1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm 74780 3 snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_hdmi
snd_page_alloc 7153 2 snd_pcm,snd_hda_intel
snd_timer 19544 1 snd_pcm
and looking at the output from the ps command I can see that pulseaudio is getting started
1190 ? S<l 0:00 /usr/bin/pulseaudio --start
1195 ? S 0:00 \_ /usr/lib/pulse/gconf-helper
but pacmd list still reports this
0 card(s) available.
0 sink input(s) available.
0 source outputs(s) available.
0 cache entrie(s) available.
Here is the output of pacmd dump if it helps
### Configuration dump generated at Thu Feb 16 08:45:56 2012
load-module module-device-restore
load-module module-stream-restore
load-module module-card-restore
load-module module-augment-properties
load-module module-udev-detect tsched=0
load-module module-jackdbus-detect
load-module module-bluetooth-discover
load-module module-esound-protocol-unix
load-module module-native-protocol-unix
load-module module-gconf
load-module module-default-device-restore
load-module module-rescue-streams
load-module module-null-sink sink_name=auto_null sink_properties='device.description="Dummy Output"'
load-module module-always-sink
load-module module-intended-roles
load-module module-suspend-on-idle
load-module module-console-kit
load-module module-position-event-sounds
load-module module-cork-music-on-phone
load-module module-filter-heuristics
load-module module-filter-apply
load-module module-dbus-protocol
load-module module-x11-publish display=:0.0
load-module module-cli-protocol-unix
set-sink-volume auto_null 0x10000
set-sink-mute auto_null no
suspend-sink auto_null yes
set-source-volume auto_null.monitor 0x10000
set-source-mute auto_null.monitor no
suspend-source auto_null.monitor yes
set-default-sink auto_null
set-default-source auto_null.monitor
EDIT: I should also add that fuser -v /dev/snd/* returns nothing and fuser -v /dev/dsp returns "Specified filename /dev/dsp does not exist".
Last edited by vendion (2012-03-02 23:26:28)
Can anyone help me figure out what is wrong? I know it is not the sound card gone bad because I can boot a different OS and sound works there but for some reason Arch thinks I don't have a sound card on my system.
The same thing is happening to me :S
Well at least I know I'm not crazy or deaf
Digging into this further aplay -L gives different output based off of whether or not I ran is as my normal user or with sudo/as root.
As a user (which is how pulseaudio is also being ran):
> aplay -L
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
PulseAudio Sound Server
Default ALSA Output (currently PulseAudio Sound Server)
as root it does see both my sound cards when I run it with sudo or as root:
> sudo aplay -L
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
PulseAudio Sound Server
Default ALSA Output (currently PulseAudio Sound Server)
HDA ATI SB, ALC887-VD Analog
Default Audio Device
HDA ATI SB, ALC887-VD Analog
Front speakers
HDA ATI SB, ALC887-VD Analog
4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
HDA ATI SB, ALC887-VD Analog
4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
HDA ATI SB, ALC887-VD Analog
5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
HDA ATI SB, ALC887-VD Analog
5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
HDA ATI SB, ALC887-VD Analog
7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
HDA ATI SB, ALC887-VD Digital
IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output
HDMI Audio Output
This behavior is confusing to me, and if someone knows what is going on and how to fix it I really want to get sound with pulseaudio working and have sound again.
I was having this issue well until just now when I tried adding myself to the audio group ( "gpasswd -a <username> audio ). I think this update made our systems enforce needing to be in the audio group .
Ah that makes sense, some how during the update my user account was reset so the only groups it belonged to was "users" and "golang". After adding my user back to the audio group and logging out and back in I have audio back.
This is helpfull. When there are no sound devices check if user is in audio group.
Adding your user to the audio group should not be necessary on systemd.
Adding your user to the audio group should not be necessary on systemd.
Exactly, it's a crappy workaround for not setting up your logind session correctly, as has been discussed in over 9000 threads in the past week.
Exactly, it's a crappy workaround for not setting up your logind session correctly, as has been discussed in over 9000 threads in the past week.
Without any instructions or helpful link, this is just spam.
No, necrobumping a four year old topic to complain about one post taken out of context is spam. Please don't do it.
If you are having a similar issue, then here is a link for you: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ge … ermissions if you still have trouble, create a new topic.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Co … bumping.22
Mobo: MSI X299 TOMAHAWK ARCTIC // Processor: Intel Core i7-7820X 3.6GHz // GFX: nVidia GeForce GTX 970 // RAM: 32GB (4x 8GB) Corsair DDR4 (@ 3000MHz) // Storage: 1x 3TB HDD, 5x 1TB HDD, 2x 120GB SSD, 1x 275GB M2 SSD
Making lemonade from lemons since 2015.
Pages: 1
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French Classic Recipes
View All | View Summaries
Coq au Vin Recipe
04.01.14 by Jackie
Our family doesn't drink alcohol so the only time I cook with wine is after hosting a dinner party. I used leftover Cabernet Sauvignon wine and prepared coq au vin (chicken in wine sauce) for the occasion, except that instead of whole chickens I adapted the recipe with 9 pounds of chicken breasts.
The sauce was fairly standard; I used pearl onions, garlic, button mushrooms, turkey bacon, red wine, Cognac brandy, a bit of flour as the thickening agent and the authentic, standard bouquet garni used in classic French dishes. The secret in this coq au vin sauce lies in the dark chocolate that's added once the dish is cooked.
Full Recipe...


text:
Morris E. Minkel, 88, of Seattle, Washington formerly of Dysart, Iowa passed away on Sunday, September 9, 2012 at Park West Care Center in Seattle. A visitation was held on Friday, September 14, 2012 from Noon to 4 p.m. at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home.
Morris Edward Minkel was born on May 4, 1924 to Morris and Erma Cox Minkel in Traer, Iowa. He was united in marriage to Alta Siemens on October 5, 1945 in San Diego, California.
Morris lived in Traer was enjoyed going to Sunnyside Cafe and visiting with many people in town.
Article Photos
He is survived by his son, Ronald (Linda) Minkel of Seattle; daughter, Bonnie (Dave) Phillips of Campton Hills, IL; grandchildren, Jacob Minkel and Alicia (Danny) Kalan both of Seattle; Heather (Jared) Summers) of Anna, TX; Ashley Dandridge of Campton Hills, IL; great grandchildren, Isiah, Mathias, Jeremiah, and Haddie.
Morris is preceded in death by his wife, Alta and parents.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Dysart and Traer Fire Departments or Cedar Valley Hospice in Waterloo.


text:
jjmac wrote:bigjohn wrote:
(I find some of MSs' marketing techniques distasteful, but my selection of linux so that I have some choice often leaves me bewildered. Because IMO too much choice is no choice at all).
hmmmmm, MS have been very good at training their resource base to accept a particular standard level as being <cough> normal </cough>. It is a hard habit to break. When you go into a major deptment store, you are able to ignore all the things on the shelf if you want to ... but just 'cause your not into skiing (grin) does that mean they shouldn't be on offer. The whole thing is silly, but then ... i haven't really read it through yet. Is it worth it ?
Yeah OK, I can see that - but even after 3 years of trying to learn this thing that is linux (various distros), I still suffer because I find it difficult to get into the mindset.
Plus, IMO, the "how to do stuff" type articles are aimed a little too high. Why, because the uninitiated don't even know where to start.
I feel that with things explained at a "lower" level, the newbie has something to follow, the more experience have something to follow or if their levels of knowledge permit, they are better placed to be able to skip read those parts of the article as their experience is often enough to know that say, after ./configure, you normally do make, and so on.
Like my example in an earlier post. Openlaszlo, OK yes, the app is too advanced for me to make any use of it, but I can see that it appears to be "one hell of a piece of kit"!. Sure the article that reviewed it gave it a good write up, but I don't recall it saying that I'd need the java SDK, rather than the JRE that is either shipped with lots of distros or is just available straight forward rpm/deb/whatever format - I feel that it requires a bit more "bottle" to install it from the Sun site. Plus the review didn't even hint at possible problems at install stage, as though it just presumed that the reader would know.
So OK, if it's a "space" type concern of how to fit everything into the mag, then maybe some "newbie notes" for articles that requires some additional assistance or some similar arrangement.
The mag writers aren't just journo's, lots of them are very knowledgable people (well if they aren't then they need a pay rise as they're doing a vvv good job of faking it), but as with most knowledgable types, it's very easy to overlook how hard something might be to those with lesser levels of experience/knowledge - surely you must have seen the "just do whatever" type comments around the net? which then begs the question of how to "just do whatever" - if you know, you know, if you don't , you're stuffed.
My earlier example of samba. in a different thread http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=799&highlight=
"Nigel" very kindly explained how to configure "it" in a way that easily made sense of what I feel is a very complicated issue. Sure, I'd tried to read the O'Really guide on using samba, but was getting bogged down with so much extraneous info that it made it nigh on impossible to follow/understand/implement. In other words, overkill!
But the way that Nigel explained it, means that I now have the samba up and running to be getting on with, and I can now take my time (maybe with the O'Really site or something else) to see if I can get my head round configuring (actually learning why, I have to have the various options that I have in ) that most confusing of files, the smb.conf!


text:
Moderate Quake Shakes Central California
A moderate earthquake was widely felt as it rattled a central California coastal area, but authorities say it didn't cause any damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey says nearly 5,000 people reported on its website feeling the magnitude 5.3 quake after it struck shortly before midnight Saturday near King City, about 40 miles southeast of Salinas.
USGS geophysicist Amy Vaughan says the temblor was followed by at least four aftershocks that were greater than magnitude 2.5.
The sheriff departments for Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties both say they have no reports of any damage, but they also report they received numerous calls from residents about the quake.
Vaughan says a magnitude 5 quake is capable of causing damage, most often knocking things to fall off shelves and making moderate cracks in walls and foundations.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


text: Golf anyone? Little Tikes Drive, Chip & Putt Golf Trainer is the latest in the golf toys for the preschool set. One of our testers with two kids (2 and 4) reported that both kids enjoyed the toy–obviously the 4 year old had better control of the clubs. She said that both had fun hitting the ball on the arm–and that the toy was sturdy enough to take all the swinging! I love that she also used the box as another golf opportunity–by cutting a small hole in the box, the boys then took turns trying to hit the ball in. Of course anytime you have clubs in the mix, adult supervision is a must if there is more than one child at play.


text:
Steve McQueen's period race drama "12 Years A Slave" has taken home the top audience prize for a film at the Toronto International Film Festival, while Jehane Noujaim's Egypt-set political documentary "The Square" has nabbed the documentary award.
McQueen's film tells the true story of a free Northern man, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Eijiofor), who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South before the Civil War; it won huge critical plaudits after its premiere on Sept. 6. Fox Searchlight brings out the movie in the U.S. on Oct 18. The film emerges from the festival with significant award buzz for its actors, which also include Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender, as well as for McQueen.
Noujaim won for her on-the-ground account of the Egyptian revolution and its aftermath, which puts the viewer in the heart of the dramatic and often violent goings-on in Cairo over the past several years. A version of the movie played the Sundance Film Festival this year; Noujaim followed new developments and cut a substantially different film that premiered at Toronto. The movie is seeking distribution in the U.S.
Audience members voted Stephen Frears' "Philomena" and Denis Villeneuve's "Prisoners" as the first and second runners-up, respectively, on the narrative side. Frears examines religious and mystery themes in the context of a buddy movie, while "Prisoners" is a revenge thriller that looks at a kidnapping in a small Pennsylvania town.
On the doc side, Alanis Obomsawin's "Hi-Ho Mistahey!" and Leanne Pooley's "Beyond the Edge" were first and second runners-up, respectively.
Sion Sono's "Why Don't You Play in Hell?," a Japanese-language film with Tarantino overtones, took home top audience honors in the Midnight Madness section of TIFF.
The prizes, known as the Blackberry People's Choice awards, tallies votes from TIFF audience members. There are no major jury prizes at TIFF.
INTERACTIVE: From Toronto to the Oscars?
The festival also announced Alan Zweig's comedy doc "When Jews Were Funny" as the winner of its City of Toronto/Canada Goose award as top Canadian film, as well as a group of smaller prizes.
TIFF is considered an important launching pad for fall films, and an audience prize can spur a movie to box-office and award-season success. Last year David O. Russell's mental-illness dramedy "Silver Linings Playbook" began its successful run by winning the top audience prize in Toronto.
TIFF wraps up its 11-day run Sunday.
PHOTOS: Memorable red carpet moments VIDEO: Go behind the scenes with the awards contenders
THE ENVELOPE: Awards insider
PHOTOS: Memorable red carpet moments
VIDEO: Go behind the scenes with the awards contenders
THE ENVELOPE: Awards insider


text:
The supporting cast of 'The Vampire Diaries'
You know them as: Steven R. McQueen plays Jeremy, the emo kid turned defender of Mystic Falls. Zach Roerig is Matt, the innocent teenager too busy trying to pay the heating bill to notice the monsters in his midst. Michael Trevino is Tyler, the tortured werewolf. Candice Accola is Caroline, the newbie vampire with a heart of gold. Why we like them: The supporting cast of "The Vampire Diaries" has effectively stolen every scene from the front-and-center Damon/Elena/Stefan love triangle this season. With more nuanced material and emotional storylines, we find ourselves focused on the B-plot instead of the series' stars. Where else you've seen them: Everywhere from "Everwood" (McQueen) to "90210" (Trevino). Roerig had an arc on "Friday Night Lights" and Accola had small roles in "Juno" and on "Greek" and "Supernatural." -- Carina Adly MacKenzie, Zap2it
Copyright © 2018, Hartford Courant


text:
|Episode Description
|Saturday, Feb 2, 2013 - 2:30 PM
"Pie Crust Tray"
On this installment of Rough Cut, Tommy builds a traditional Pie Crust Tray. For inspiration, he heads on a Rough Cut Road Trip to the new Art of the Americas wing at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There, Tommy meets with curator and chair of the Art of the Americas department, Elliot Davis, to talk about the Chippendale and Federalist-style pie crust tables they have in their collection. D
Mountain Time
|More on IDAHO (MT)
|No upcoming shows in database


text:
Enjoy the company of your favorite summer visitors after setting up one of these elegant birdbaths to attract them. These ceramic baths feature traditional pedestals that boast hand-painted renderings of a loon or cardinals in their preferred habitat. An attractive way to spruce up backyard entertaining spaces while providing a source of water to attract more birds to your yard. Free-standing baths feature easy, lock-on tops that increase sturdiness, safety, and cleaning ease. USA made. Measures 17" dia x 21-1/2" tall; 3-1/2" bathing depth; holds 3 quarts.
Please specify: Cardinal, Loon, or Bluebird (inscribed "A bluebird in the garden brings happiness to the home").


text:
Let's all pause for a moment and remember those who have gone before us.
The ones who built what we have now.
In the United States it's a weekend to remember those who died fighting for our freedom
Anyone for a Red, white and Blue Sangria?
Red, White, and Blue Sangria
Strawberries, sliced
Pineapple, cut into star shapes
2 bottles dry white wine
1 cup Triple Sec
1/2 Cup berry-flavored vodka
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup simple syrup
Combine the ingredients in a large pitcher and stir. Chill in the refridgerator for at least four hours.
It actually sounds good, and after I go out to reset the fence around the garden to bunny proof it for the year, I'm going to need it ! :p
(On a much lighter note, can we have a moment of silence for my DVR? An entire year of Formula one and Dr. Who lost to the gremlins!)


text:
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The effects of L-carnitine L-tartrate supplementation on hormonal responses to resistance exercise and recovery.
The purpose of this investigation was to examine the influence of L-carnitine L-tartrate (LCLT) supplementation using a balanced, cross-over, placebo-controlled research design on the anabolic hormone response (i.e., testosterone [T], insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 [IGFBP-3], and immunofunctional and immunoreactive growth hormone [GHif and GHir]) to acute resistance exercise. Ten healthy, recreationally weight-trained men (mean +/- SD age 23.7 +/- 2.3 years, weight 78.7 +/- 8.5 kg, and height 179.2 +/- 4.6 cm) volunteered and were matched, and after 3 weeks of supplementation (2 g LCLT per day), fasting morning blood samples were obtained on six consecutive days (D1-D6). Subjects performed a squat protocol (5 sets of 15-20 repetitions) on D2. During the squat protocol, blood samples were obtained before exercise and 0, 15, 30, 120, and 180 minutes postexercise. After a 1-week washout period, subjects consumed the other supplement for a 3-week period, and the same experimental protocol was repeated using the exact same procedures. Expected exercise-induced increases in all of the hormones were observed for GHir, GHif, IGFBP-3, and T. Over the recovery period, LCLT reduced the amount of exercise-induced muscle tissue damage, which was assessed via magnetic resonance imaging scans of the thigh. LCLT supplementation significantly (p < 0.05) increased IGFBP-3 concentrations prior to and at 30, 120, and 180 minutes after acute exercise. No other direct effects of LCLT supplementation were observed on the absolute concentrations of the hormones examined, but with more undamaged tissue, a greater number of intact receptors would be available for hormonal interactions. These data support the use of LCLT as a recovery supplement for hypoxic exercise and lend further insights into the hormonal mechanisms that may help to mediate quicker recovery.Androgenic responses to resistance exercise: effects of feeding and L-carnitine.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of 3 wk of L-carnitine L-tartrate (LCLT) supplementation and post-resistance-exercise (RE) feeding on hormonal and androgen receptor (AR) responses.
METHODS: Ten resistance-trained men (mean+/-SD: age, 22+/-1 yr; mass, 86.3+/-15.3 kg; height, 181+/-11 cm) supplemented with LCLT (equivalent to 2 g of L-carnitine per day) or placebo (PL) for 21 d, provided muscle biopsies for AR determinations, then performed two RE protocols: one followed by water intake, and one followed by feeding (8 kcal.kg body mass, consisting of 56% carbohydrate, 16% protein, and 28% fat). RE protocols were randomized and included serial blood draws and a 1-h post-RE biopsy. After a 7-d washout period, subjects crossed over, and all experimental procedures were repeated.
RESULTS: LCLT supplementation upregulated (P<0.05) preexercise AR content compared with PL (12.9+/-5.9 vs 11.2+/-4.0 au, respectively). RE increased (P<0.05) AR content compared with pre-RE values in the PL trial only. Post-RE feeding significantly increased AR content compared with baseline and water trials for both LCLT and PL. Serum total testosterone concentrations were suppressed (P<0.05) during feeding trials with respect to corresponding water and pre-RE values. Luteinizing hormone demonstrated subtle, yet significant changes in response to feeding and LCLT.
CONCLUSION: In summary, these data demonstrated that: 1) feeding after RE increased AR content, which may result in increased testosterone uptake, and thus enhanced luteinizing hormone secretion via feedback mechanisms; and 2) LCLT supplementation upregulated AR content, which may promote recovery from RE.Effects of L-carnitine L-tartrate supplementation on muscle oxygenation responses to resistance exercise.
Previous research has shown that L-carnitine L-tartrate (LCLT) supplementation beneficially affects markers of hypoxic stress following resistance exercise. However, the mechanism of this response is unclear. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the effects of LCLT supplementation on muscle tissue oxygenation during and after multiple sets of squat exercise. Nine healthy, previously resistance-trained men (25.2 +/- 6.years, 91.2 +/- 10.2 kg, 180.2 +/- 6.3 cm) ingested 2 g.d of LCLT or an identical placebo for 23 days in a randomized, balanced, crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures study design. On day 21, forearm muscle oxygenation was measured during and after an upper arm occlusion protocol using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which measures the balance of oxygen delivery in relation to oxygen consumption. On day 22, subjects performed 5 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions of squat exercise with corresponding measures of thigh muscle oxygenation, via NIRS, and serial blood draws. Compared to the placebo trial, muscle oxygenation was reduced in the LCLT trial during upper arm occlusion and following each set of resistance exercise. Despite reduced oxygenation, plasma malondealdehyde, a marker of membrane damage, was attenuated during the LCLT trial. There were no differences between trials in the vasoactive substance prostacyclin. In conclusion, because oxygen delivery was occluded during the forearm protocol, it is proposed that enhanced oxygen consumption mediated the reduced muscle oxygenation during the LCLT trial. Enhanced oxygen consumption would explain why hypoxic stress was attenuated with LCLT supplementation.L-Carnitine L-tartrate supplementation favorably affects markers of recovery from exercise stress
We examined the influence ofL-carnitine L-tartrate (LCLT) on markers of purine catabolism, free radical formation, and muscle tissue disruption after squat exercise. With the use of a balanced, crossover design (1 wk washout), 10 resistance-trained men consumed a placebo or LCLT supplement (2 g L-carnitine/day) for 3 wk before obtaining blood samples on six consecutive days (D1 to D6). Blood was also sampled before and after a squat protocol (5 sets, 15-20 repetitions) on D2. Muscle tissue disruption at the midthigh was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before exercise and on D3 and D6. Exercise-induced increases in plasma markers of purine catabolism (hypoxanthine, xanthine oxidase, and serum uric acid) and circulating cytosolic proteins (myoglobin, fatty acid-binding protein, and creatine kinase) were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) attenuated by LCLT. Exercise-induced increases in plasma malondialdehyde returned to resting values sooner during LCLT compared with placebo. The amount of muscle disruption from MRI scans during LCLT was 41-45% of the placebo area. These data indicate that LCLT supplementation is effective in assisting recovery from high-repetition squat exercise.
Ten healthy, recreationally weight-trained men (mean +/- SD age 23.7 +/- 2.3 years, weight 78.7 +/- 8.5 kg, and height 179.2 +/- 4.6 cm) volunteered and were matched, and after 3 weeks of supplementation (2 g LCLT per day), fasting morning blood samples were obtained on six consecutive days (D1-D6). Subjects performed a squat protocol (5 sets of 15-20 repetitions) on D2. During the squat protocol, blood samples were obtained before exercise and 0, 15, 30, 120, and 180 minutes postexercise. After a 1-week washout period, subjects consumed the other supplement for a 3-week period, and the same experimental protocol was repeated using the exact same procedures. Expected exercise-induced increases in all of the hormones were observed for GHir, GHif, IGFBP-3, and T. Over the recovery period, LCLT reduced the amount of exercise-induced muscle tissue damage, which was assessed via magnetic resonance imaging scans of the thigh. LCLT supplementation significantly (p < 0.05) increased IGFBP-3 concentrations prior to and at 30, 120, and 180 minutes after acute exercise. No other direct effects of LCLT supplementation were observed on the absolute concentrations of the hormones examined, but with more undamaged tissue, a greater number of intact receptors would be available for hormonal interactions. These data support the use of LCLT as a recovery supplement for hypoxic exercise and lend further insights into the hormonal mechanisms that may help to mediate quicker recovery.
(C) 2003 National Strength and Conditioning Association
Conclusion: In summary, these data demonstrated that: 1) feeding after RE increased AR content, which may result in increased testosterone uptake, and thus enhanced luteinizing hormone secretion via feedback mechanisms; and 2) LCLT supplementation upregulated AR content, which may promote recovery from RE."The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance." - Socrates
write up by David Barr
Optimizing Muscle Strength and Recovery with CLT
By David Barr
Through the haze of misinformation clouding the supplement industry, strength athletes are often left wondering if anything will actually help them. Recently, a little known supplement has emerged that can do just that. In this article, we'll take a look at this product and see how it can help with muscle growth, strength, and recovery.
Before we go any further, you need to know what we're talking about. The supplement in question is called carnitine-l-tartrate (CLT), and there's a good chance you'll be using it for a long time to come. It's different in both structure and mechanism of action from acetyl-l-carnitine, which is commonly sold as a fat loss supplement. So don't worry if you've tried "carnitine" as an over-hyped "fat burner" and were disappointed by the results.
What does it do? CLT is a unique supplement because it increases the androgen receptor content of tissues. This means that there are more docking sites for our most plentiful anabolic hormone to function. In short, more testosterone/androgens reaching their target = a greater anabolic effect.
This sounds pretty amazing, right? Almost too good to be true, huh? I appreciate such skepticism, and in fact, quite encourage it. However, fortunately we have a growing body of evidence for this one. Better still, this evidence comes from one of the most prestigious exercise labs on the planet, with each study showing the efficacy of this supplement (Kraemer, et al. 2003; Kraemer, et al. 2006; Volek, et al. 2002).
Enter the Anabolic Index Score
So just how effective is CLT? Using the Anabolic Index Score, which objectively measures the anabolic potential of foods and supplements, CLT ranks as one of the most potent products available. When combined with protein pulse feeding, especially after a workout, the impact on muscle growth is great. This combined effect is so powerful because post-training meals also increase androgen receptor content. So you're really maximizing the effect by combining the two (Kraemer, et al. 2006).
Quick Ttip: For those who are using HRT or other androgen related pharmaceuticals, CLT greatly increases the effectiveness of the cycle. In this situation, you would not only be gaining a pharmaceutically-induced elevation of androgen receptors but also a supplemental elevation.
Anabolism and recovery
We often get so wrapped up in our subculture that words adopt new meanings. Specifically in this case, I'm referring to anabolism (or "anabolic"), which is most commonly used in reference to muscle building, and ultimately, strength. Although this isn't completely inaccurate for our purposes, it ignores a critical component of anabolism--muscle recovery.
By increasing muscle anabolism, regardless of the means, we're definitively increasing the rate at which our muscle can recover from the training-induced stress we impose on it. Greater recovery means less down time and increased opportunity to incur the training stresses we seek (i.e. growth and strength). I'm sure you're probably well aware of this fact, but it never hurts to have an occasional reminder.
To sum things up, by increasing the androgen receptor content of our muscle, CLT will be able to assist with the following critical variables:
* Muscle strength
* Muscle growth
* Muscle recovery
* Magnified effects of androgen use
* Enhanced effects of post-workout meals
CLT is a legal supplement with potentially powerful effects on everything we want that is related to muscle. Better yet, it also has strong potential to improve neural strength and recovery--highly sought after processes that continue to elude us. Considering that we don't fully understand neural adaptability, there's much to be covered, which means that we'll be discussing this in the next article.
Note: I have no stake, financial or otherwise, in any supplement.
Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, French DN, Rubin MR, Sharman MJ, Gómez AL, Ratamess NA, Newton RU, Jemiolo B, Craig BW, Häkkinen K (2003) The effects of L-carnitine L-tartrate supplementation on hormonal responses to resistance exercise and recovery. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 17(3):455-62.
Kraemer WJ, Spiering BA, Volek JS, Ratamess NA, Sharman MJ, Rubin MR, French DN, Silvestre R, Hatfield DL, Van Heest JL, Vingren JL, Judelson DA, Deschenes MR, Maresh CM (2006) Androgenic responses to resistance exercise: effects of feeding and L-carnitine. Medical Science and Sports Exercise 38(7):1288-96.
Volek JS, Kraemer WJ, Rubin MR, Gómez AL, Ratamess NA, Gaynor P (2002) L-Carnitine L-tartrate supplementation favorably affects markers of recovery from exercise stress. American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism 282(2):E474-82.Neural Performance and Recovery with Carnitine-L-Tartrate
By David Barr
For www.EliteFTS.com
In the last article, we looked at the potential for a supplement called carnitine-l-tartrate (CLT) to improve muscle growth, strength, and recovery. In this article, we'll take a look at the theoretical basis for CLT to improve something even more elusive--neural performance and recovery.
CLT is the most bioavailable form of the common fat loss supplement carnitine. Although it's generally not marketed for performance and strength, recent data have emerged to suggest that it may play a positive role in these processes. Information on neural stress and recovery is limited, but a tenuous connection can be made between our applied physiology and supplementation.
Recall that CLT use results in both improved muscular performance and an increase in muscle testosterone receptors. The implications of the former are clear, but it is the latter effect that may be neurally ergogenic. That is because the more docking sites we have available for the anabolic hormone testosterone, the greater its ability to deliver its powerful message.
Getting neural
For the most part, exercise physiology has a decent understanding of muscle stress and recovery, which means that we have a few good ideas about how to improve or even optimize them. However, strength athletes are often more concerned about nervous system stresses, the details of which are far more obscure. After all, it's easy enough to perform some kind of exercise intervention and take a muscle biopsy to see what's going on. However, you can't just cut out someone's nerves for a study.
This lack of information is unfortunate considering that it is these nerve cells (a.k.a. neurons) that transmit all of the signals from our brain to our limbs (among other things). More specifically, it is our motor neurons that are in contact with our muscles, which deliver the message to contract. As we adapt in our training, our neurons are better able to transmit these signals, which is one of the more important mechanisms of becoming stronger, and we are better able to resist fatigue.
Androgenic adaptation
There are plenty of data to show the relation between testosterone and our neural development, protection, and adaptation. That is to say that androgens acting directly on our nerve cells are largely responsible for the changes that occur, and this can ultimately lead to performance. For example, during exogenous anabolic use, neurons grow in size. This size increase can lead to greater signal transmission to our working muscle as well as a resistance to neural fatigue (i.e. improved strength and strength endurance).
Interestingly, it is this specific "connection" or signaling area that ends up receiving much of the benefit from androgen use because this is where androgen receptor up-regulation occurs during androgen use. Again, more androgen receptors mean that more growth and recovery signals can be delivered to the cell.
Up-regulation: An ideal mechanism
If we consider the effect of increasing androgen uptake due to an increase in receptors, we can begin to see why this is such a powerful mechanism of action. In traditional hormonal manipulation schemes, it is our goal to increase the quantity of hormone in the blood. This transient effect usually has some kind of backlash in which the hormonal concentration is ultimately reduced, thus largely negating any positive outcome. However, by simply increasing the number of docking sites for the hormone, we're actually increasing the clearance of the hormone from the blood. This signals the brain that we're running low on that hormone after which more of it will be produced.
It's clear that this latter mechanism is not only far more elegant but also more effective for our purposes.
Putting it all together
The point of all of this is that an increase in androgen receptor content in our working nerve cells would ultimately result in positive adaptations for strength and performance. If you'll recall that CLT has the ability to elevate muscle androgen receptor content in response to training, the picture will become clearer.
If CLT can exert its protective effect on our working nerve cells, particularly at the level of the nerve-muscle connection, we'll reap the benefit of increased androgenic adaptation. In fact, if such an adaptation exists, this could be the first supplement available to improve neural functioning and recovery.
Because neural recovery is far more limiting to performance and training than muscle recovery, the implications are quite powerful.
Although direct evidence for the performance enhancing effect of CLT exists, there is a theoretical basis for this supplement to positively interact with our nerve cells. Such an interaction would entail an increase in androgen receptor content, which would lead to greater anabolic signal delivery. In turn, this would ultimately increase strength, performance, and recovery at the neural level.
Where do you get CLT? I've been asked this quite a bit lately so it's worth discussing here. CLT is a ubiquitous product. You simply have to read the actual label to ensure that the "l-carnitine" you're looking at is actually CLT.
How much do you use? I recommend starting with 1.5 grams per 200 lbs with a minimum of 1 gram for lighter athletes. Moving up from 200 lbs would involve non-linear scaling, depending on numerous factors. The optimization of such a protocol is currently in development, and I'll report on it shortly.
Herbst KL, Bhasin S (2004) Testosterone action on skeletal muscle. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 7(3):271-7.
Jones KJ, Brown TJ, Damaser M (2001) Neuroprotective effects of gonadal steroids on regenerating peripheral motoneurons. Brain Res Brain Res Rev 37(1-3):372-82.
Jordan CL, Price RH Jr, Handa RJ (2002) Androgen receptor messenger RNA and protein in adult rat sciatic nerve: Implications for site of androgen action. J Neurosci Res 69(4):509-18.
Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, French DN, Rubin MR, Sharman MJ, Gómez AL, Ratamess NA, Newton RU, Jemiolo B, Craig BW, Häkkinen K (2003) The effects of L-carnitine L-tartrate supplementation on hormonal responses to resistance exercise and recovery. J Strength Cond Res 17(3):455-62.
Kraemer WJ, Spiering BA, Volek JS, Ratamess NA, Sharman MJ, Rubin MR, French DN, Silvestre R, Hatfield DL, Van Heest JL, Vingren JL, Judelson DA, Deschenes MR, Maresh CM (2006) Androgenic responses to resistance exercise: Effects of feeding and l-carnitine. Med Sci Sports Exerc 38(7):1288-96.
Kujawa KA, Jacob JM, Jones KJ (1993) Testosterone regulation of the regenerative properties of injured rat sciatic motor neurons. J Neurosci Res 35(3):268-73.
Monks DA, O'Bryant EL, Jordan CL (2004) Androgen receptor immunoreactivity in skeletal muscle: enrichment at the neuromuscular junction. J Comp Neurol 473(1):59-72.
O'Bryant EL, Jordan CL (2005) Expression of nuclear receptor coactivators in androgen-responsive and -unresponsive motoneurons. Horm Behav 47(1):29-38.
Spiering BA, Kraemer WJ, Vingren JL, Hatfield DL, Fragala MS, Ho JY, Maresh CM, Anderson JM, Volek JS (2007) Responses of criterion variables to different supplemental doses of L-carnitine L-tartrate. J Strength Cond Res 21(1):259-64.
David Barr is widely recognized as an industry innovator, most recently for his work on developing the Anabolic Index nutrition system. As a strength coach and scientist, he brings a unique perspective to the areas of supplementation, diet, and training. He holds certifications with the NSCA as well as USA Track and Field."The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance." - Socrates
If im not mistaken there was an idea that the beneficial effects of LCLT was from the l-tartrate and had nothing to do with the carnitine
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance." - Socrates
I have been pondering about LCLT and its use in women. Over the years I've seen a lot of discussion about optimising natty test levels in women. LCLT should have the same effect of increasing androgen receptors in women as it does in men. So should LCLT be a staple for women whatever there physical goals? As it should aid women in their body composition efforts as well as boost athletic performance
But because we are dealing with female androgens, could a lesser effect go a long way to maximise the androgens that are present?
I know a woman who is just about to run her 2nd ostarine cycle; could it then be of use for women who run low cycles with low androgenic side effects? Or Women who run heavy cycles?
I hope this isn't a stupid question, but here it is anyways: even if that is the case would the bonding(assuming it's bonded) to carnitine possibly increase/decrease bioavailability? Meaning the carnitine could still be beneficial to the tartaric acid?Originally Posted by JudoJosh
Training Log
"Jackie Treehorn treats objects like woman man."
as regular lcarnitine also boosts test levels and sperm count I would say that a tartate group makes it more beneficial/potent
Someone should do a study on equivalent doses of carnitine and tartrate combined. They would be surprised of the results
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Interesting... from experimental dermatology.
L-carnitine-L-tartrate promotes human hair growth in vitro.Abstract
The trimethylated amino acid l-carnitine plays a key role in the intramitochondrial transport of fatty acids for beta-oxidation and thus serves important functions in energy metabolism. Here, we have tested the hypothesis that l-carnitine, a frequently employed dietary supplement, may also stimulate hair growth by increasing energy supply to the massively proliferating and energy-consuming anagen hair matrix. Hair follicles (HFs) in the anagen VI stage of the hair cycle were cultured in the presence of 0.5-50 microm of l-carnitine-l-tartrate (CT) for 9 days. At day 9, HFs treated with 5 microm or 0.5 microm of CT showed a moderate, but significant stimulation of hair shaft elongation compared with vehicle-treated controls (P < 0.05). Also, CT prolonged the duration of anagen VI, down regulated apoptosis (as measured by TUNEL assay) and up regulated proliferation (as measured by Ki67 immunohistology) of hair matrix keratinocytes (P < 0.5). By immunohistology, intrafollicular immunoreactivity for TGFbeta2, a key catagen-promoting growth factor, in the dermal papilla and TGF-beta II receptor protein in the outer root sheath and dermal papilla was down regulated. As shown by caspase activity assay, caspase 3 and 7, which are known to initiate apoptosis, are down regulated at day 2 and day 4 after treatment of HFs with CT compared with vehicle-treated control indicating that CT has an immediate protective effect on HFs to undergo programmed cell death. Our findings suggest that l-carnitine stimulates human scalp hair growth by up regulation of proliferation and down regulation of apoptosis in follicular keratinocytes in vitro. They further encourage one to explore topical and nutraceutical administration of l-carnitine as a well-tolerated, relatively safe adjuvant treatment in the management of androgenetic alopecia and other forms of hair loss.
Asian J Androl. 2006 Mar;8(2):143-57.
Male idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia.
Cavallini G.
Operative Unit of Andrology, Società Italiana di Medicina della Riproduzione, Via Mazzini 12, 40138 Bologna, Italy. [email protected]
Idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (iOAT) affects approximately 30% of all infertile men. This mini-review discussed recent data in this field. Age, non-inflammatory functional alterations in post-testicular organs, infective agents (Chlamydia trachomatis, herpes virus and adeno-associated viruses), alterations in gamete genome, mitochondrial alterations, environmental pollutants and "subtle" hormonal alterations are all considered possible causes of iOAT. Increase of reactive oxygen species in tubules and in seminal plasma and of apoptosis are reputed to affect sperm concentration, motility and morphology. iOAT is commonly diagnosed by exclusion, nevertheless spectral traces of the main testicular artery may be used as a diagnostic tool for iOAT. The following can be considered therapies for iOAT: 1) tamoxifen citrate (20 mg/d) + testosterone undecanoate (120 mg/d) (pregnancy rate per couple/month [prcm]: 3.8%); 2) folic acid (66 mg/d) + zinc sulfate (5 mg/d); 3) L-carnitine (2 g/d) alone or in combination with acetyl-L-carnitine (1 g/d) (prcm: 2.3%); and 4) both carnitines = one 30 mg cinnoxicam suppository every 4 days (prcm: 8.5%). Alpha-blocking drugs improved sperm concentration but not morphology, motility or pregnancy rate. Tranilast (300 mg/d) increased sperm parameters and pregnancy rates in an initial uncontrolled study. Its efficacy on sperm concentration (but not on sperm motility, morphology or prcm) was confirmed in subsequent published reports. The efficacy of tamoxifen + testosterone undecanoate, tamoxifen alone, and recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone is still a matter for discussion.
Dirk Tanis, BA, MSci
Chief Operating Officer, Applied Nutriceuticals
Interesting articles all around!
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Quoting this from a smart individual from another site:
There's no reason to believe tartrate is ergogenic. It's addition to carnitine does improve carnitine uptake though. Increasing muscle carnitine via LCLT improves the rate of FA transport into the mitochondrial matrix, thus leading to more rapid ATP formation via b-oxidation and less purinergic degradation via hypoxanthine dumping, which occurs in response to high cellular AMP. This is how LCLT is:
1. Ergogenic
2. Cell-protective (xanthine oxidase creates ROS in detoxifying xanthine to uric acid...to make matters worse, it also acts on hypoxanthine -> xanthine, so you get a double whammy for each molecule of hypoxanthine)
3. Able to improve the VO2 max (hypoxia is also a trigger for hypoxanthine dumping)
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Hi All,
I have developed a application in jsp. I need to achieve a count down timer(days,hours,minutes,seconds) between from date to todate, considering below cases.
All below are assumed
(1) I have 4 product, for each product i have different end date stored in Oracle in DB.
(2) I need to calculate time time remaining for the end date for each product, for eg;
Product 1 end date : 31/12/2012 (i need to show the time remaining for the end of 31/12/2012 from current time and date). Like wise i need to show for different products.and the countdown timer must be refresh free.plz help me out by posting CODE ...
How to achieve this. Solutions for this would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.


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There are times that the only way you can do something is to do it alone.
thanks everyone one that donated,no i am not directing money to my trooper build up,not enough donating members to pay for it lolneo
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How do you donate anyway? I haven't found the link or info on that yet.
Must be by Scottish heritage
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It is definitely time for me to donate. Thanks to all of you hammock gurus for sharing your knowledge and wisdom.
Everybody wang chung tonight!


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An average JAG. Take a look at the rosters of the 14 AFC teams. He's not even close.
Cromartie is the only Def Pro Bowl potential.
oh, and great game by QC
Wilkerson was downright unblockable today. On the drive where he got his sack, he got pressure up the middle on first and second down and hit Henne both times, forcing quicker throws. Then on third down he finished the job!
GREAT game, great player...
Great game for Wilk
Great game for Coples.
Definitely been the 2nd best 3-4 DE in the NFL this year, but its tough for 3-4 DE's to get noticed for stuff like the pro bowl unless your having a year like Watt (probably the best season ever for a 3-4 DE).
Ngata has fallen off big time this year.
Very good games by Mo and Coples today.
I thought they were busts????
Wilkerson has really come into his own this year. Him and Coples are gonna be good ones here for years to come.


text:
NYT: Obama's slow response to oil spill "is damning"
Rep. John Boehner: GOP will repeal ObamaCare . . . "at least 100 seats" in play
The Democrat Party is The Bully Party
USS John Murtha memorializes a corrupt congressman
Twerp David Kernell is convicted for hacking into Sarah Palin's email account
Trial begins Monday against Ocean County, NJ Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt
Baltimore, MD Councilwoman Helen Holton juggles corruption charges & official duties


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Jakks Pacific was honored with the 2013 Product Launch of the Year award from Toys "R" Us Canada. Toys "R" Us recognized Jakks Pacific both for its overall business partnership, as well as the exceptional launch of the 30th anniversary of Cabbage Patch Kids last year.
"We accept this award with gratitude and look forward to continually growing our partnership with Toys "R" Us, as we bring innovative products to all children," said Steve Morris, senior vice president of Jakks Pacific Canada.
For the anniversary, Jakks Pacific Canada and Toys "R" Us Canada appealed to multiple generations with a program that included media events, exclusive product offerings, and a 30th birthday celebration in select Toys "R" Us stores throughout Canada. The award marks the third consecutive year that Jakks has received an honor by the toy retailer.


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A horse clomping by and a cell phone's
psychotic ring.
Across the tundra earth
a shy city slowly advances.
As always the upstairs spirits of the Danish sisters
take their time coming down,
navigating behind the precarious balance
of their breasts, quasi-content
as buds of ink. Here, please be
a pair of astronautical asterisks,
or, alright, this indwelling of snowfall. I hear
its awkward down-shift of gears.
I catch its whiff of oblivion.
* *
A nod to stoic ice, to the backwards-streaming stars,
as from our old Singer a scarlet gown
flows out. I am so very me
in you: invisible seams,
buoyant bodice.
* *
Calls out of time. Hooves kick up loose cobbles.
In the aunts' old mirror over my dresser familiar frowns,
torrents and tidepools, I wade in.
Camphor, mustard plasters, dark clots on the X-ray.
Recall, won't you, my hand
with the dropper descending: three drops
and goodnight, six and so long.
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So, I'm going about my day yesterday, and I see this little bit of nonsense from the Bill O'Reilly show.
It seems that this past Tuesday night, the ex-Governoratrix appeared on O'Reilly's show in her capacity as a Fox News analyst, and was questioned about an episode of The Family Guy in which a female character with Down syndrome is on a date with Chris and says that her mother is the former governor of Alaska. As you all know, Palin, resigned from that post last year, has a son, Trig, who has Down syndrome.
After showing the clip from the episode, O'Reilly asked Palin, "It's pretty nasty, is it not?"
Palin replied, "This world is full of cruel, cold-hearted people who would do such a thing."
The odd thing about this bit, for this observer is that, well, to anyone who has watched more than the odd clip or two of the show knows that it is safe to say that, as Chris is something of a brain-dead moron, and his father, Peter is — quite literally — too stupid to live (and was once declared retarded on the show) are both probably more mentally handicapped than the Down syndrome gal on the date with Chris.
Seth McFarlane (the show's creator) has literally mocked every target in his sights, so to say that he is a hater, seems, well, a bit odd. Further, every episode holds virtually every cast member (especially Peter) up for ridicule. So, when watching you have to look past what you are seeing, to try and see what McFarlane is really saying.
What this (and various other tactics from the Right) seem to indicate the lopsided notion that free speech is for everyone, so long as you agree with what we have to say. This was never clearer than in the Presidential campaign when Former Secretary of State, Colin Powell came out in support of Obama, and the Republican spin machine stepped up to say that "Real West Virginians" were squarely behind McCain.
Such a dick move is the way these people try to discredit anyone who disagrees with them, as if there is only one opinion and it ids theirs. Sure you want to spin the story to you, but I'm so tired of the way they try to do it by running the other guy down. This is such a juvenile way to do it, and well, it is really starting to backfire.
Needless to say, Family Guy Rules, ad Palin (and O'Reilly) are tools.
The Perfessor


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The 35,000-square-foot former Circuit City has been transformed over the past several months at the Shoppes at University Town Center plaza.
Nordstrom fans rejoice: Sarasota's first Nordstrom Rack is finally here, and will open its doors to shoppers on Nov. 7.
The 35,000-square-foot former Circuit City has transformed over the past several months and parking lots inside the Shoppes at University Town Center plaza have been extended in preparation for the store's opening.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited.
This means I can take advantage of Nordstrom's fantastic line of apparel and accessories and pay half the price I would if I drove up to the department store at International Plaza in Tampa.
And apparently I'm not alone.
Rack stores, Nordstrom's outline line, has grown over the years following the Great Recession. In 2013 alone, Nordstrom plans to open 15 new Rack stores across the country. Compare that with the one single full-line department store it opened this year.
The company operates 117 full-line stores and 95 Rack stores at present, but the number of Rack stores is expected to surpass the full-line total by the end of this year.
Interestingly enough, the majority of the nine Rack stores in Florida are all in relatively close proximity to Nordstrom full-line stores.
While there are no officials plans for Nordstrom to join the list of anchors at the neighboring 880,000-square-feet Mall at University Town Center, a girl can dream.
Retailers opening earlier on Thanksgiving Day
Kohl's stores join the ranks of Macy's and JCPenney and open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day this year.
Stores will be open for 28 hours straight beginning Thanksgiving night with Black Friday doorbuster deals beginning just after families finish their holiday meals together.
Last year, Walmart, Target and Toys R Us began offering deals as early as 9 p.m. Other chains, like Kohl's and Best Buy, held out until midnight.
Macy's and JC Penney announced the earlier this month that store hours would begin at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
Levoie's Salads closes
A longtime restaurant in Sarasota, known for its lunchtime specials of salads and sandwiches, has closed its doors for good.
Levoie's Salads & Sandwiches, 2241 Ringling Boulevard, has closed. It is unclear at this time why the restaurant has closed, but nearby business owners say the owners have sold the business.
Calls to the owners were not returned.
The restaurant often attracted a crowd from the nearby courthouse for lunch. Melva Hipps and her husband, owners of Levoie's, had been supporters of the proposed Walmart Supercenter on Ringling Boulevard.
Justine Griffin, the Herald-Tribune's retail and tourism reporter, can be reached at 361-4951 or at justine.griffin@ heraldtribune.com. Follow her on Twitter @SunBizGriffin and her daily blog at whatsinstore.blogs. heraldtribune.com.


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Difference between revisions of "Murders by Niko Bellic"
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(Undo revision 213691 by NYYankees333 (talk))
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*Unnamed Jewish Mobster - Niko can kill him in the Majestic Hotel or walk away.
*Unnamed Jewish Mobster - Niko can kill him in the Majestic Hotel or walk away.
*[[Vasily]] - [[Niko Bellic|Niko]] can kill him in a drive-by in the mission [[Wrong is Right]]
*[[Vasily]] - [[Niko Bellic|Niko]] can kill him in a drive-by in the mission [[Wrong is Right]]
==Kill One or the Other==
==Kill One or the Other==
Revision as of 00:31, 29 April 2010
There are many hit missions in Grand Theft Auto IV, and Niko Bellic has accrued the greatest body count of any GTA protagonist thus far. Here is a list of his intended targets ("collateral" murders such as those of unidentified gunmen, pedestrians, or police are not included):
|Spoiler Warning: Plot and/or ending details are in the text which follows.
- Kalem and Bledar Morina – They are the first murders by Niko in Liberty City. Niko murdered the two in the defense of Roman Bellic.
- Dardan Petrela - Murdered for assaulting Roman Bellic.
- Vladimir Glebov - Niko shoots him in the eye for sleeping with Mallorie Bardas.
- Lenny Petrovic - Murdered on orders of Mikhail Faustin.
- Jason Michaels - Murdered on Faustin's order for "messing around" with Faustin's daughter.
- Lyle Rivas - Chased and killed on orders of Bruce Kibbutz.
- Mikhail Faustin - Murdered on orders of Dimitri Rascalov, and to appease Kenny Petrovic.
- Tom Rivas - Murdered for not paying off his debt to Bruce Kibbutz.
- Jayvon Simson - Murdered for ratting on Dwayne Forge.
- Charlie - Murdered for having attempted to arrest Niko Bellic, Trey Stewart and Johnny Klebitz.
- Tom Goldberg - Murdered for giving Francis McReary potential legal trouble.
- Marlon Bridges - Murdered on Trey Stewart's orders.
- Trunchez Brothers - Murdered so that Dwayne Forge can get the Triangle Club back.
- Oleg Minkov - Murdered on orders of The United Liberty Paper
- Teddy Benavidez - Murdered for failing to pay Ray Boccino.
- Kim Young-Guk - Murdered on Jon Gravelli's orders.
- Aiden O'Malley - Murdered for trying to testify against Derrick McReary.
- Bucky Sligo - Murdered on Derrick McReary's orders for threatening the McReary family.
- Anthony Spoleto - Murdered on Gerald McReary's orders, to sour the relationship between the Ancelotti crime family and the Albanian mob (who were framed for the killing).
- Frank Garone - See above.
- Charles Matteo - Murdered for discovering Phil Bell's role in sabotaging a cocaine deal between the the Ancelotti crime family and the Russian Mafia.
- Jim Fitzgerald - Murdered after causing trouble for Ray Boccino
- Isaac Roth - Murdered for threatening Ray Boccino.
- Luca Silvestri - Murdered for stealing diamonds from Ray Boccino.
- Joseph DiLeo - Murdered in a shootout with Niko Bellic.
- John Barbosa - Murdered in a shootout with Niko Bellic.
- Ray Boccino - Murdered for being a potential rat on James Pegorino's orders.
- Anthony Corrado - Murdered for leaking information to the FIB via wire, for James Pegorino.
- Dimitri Rascalov - Murdered for betraying and trying to kill Niko.
Random Encounter Kills
- Eddie Low - Murdered by Niko in self-defense (Eddie Low is a random character, so killing him or even encountering him in the first place is optional).
- Clarence Little - Can be spared, although in a later random encounter, he must be killed anyway, unless the encounter is avoided altogether.
- Jimmy - Niko can kill him during the mission Clean Getaway. It would change the dialogue with Vlad through the phone.
- Ivan Bytchkov - Niko can let him fall from the building, on Vlad's orders, or help him up.
- Cherise Glover - Niko can shoot her in Ruff Rider, or let her live.
- Clarence Little - Niko can kill him, on Francis McReary's orders, or let him live.
- Alonzo - Niko can kill him, or let him warn Teddy.
- Adam Dimayev - Niko can kill on orders of The United Liberty Paper or just leave.
- Darko Brevic - Niko can either take revenge by shooting him multiple times, or spare him.
- Unnamed Jewish Mobster - Niko can kill him in the Majestic Hotel or walk away.
- Vasily - Niko can kill him in a drive-by in the mission Wrong is Right
Kill One or the Other
- Trey "Playboy X" Stewart or Dwayne Forge - Both characters ask Niko to kill the other.
- Francis McReary or Derrick McReary - Niko can shoot either with his sniper rifle; again, both have asked Niko to kill their opposite number.


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"Search Document Records - Rosetta Crawford Results "
Viewing 1 to 2 of 2
Female Blues 1921 - 1928
This collection casts a wide net to capture two dozen un-reissued recordings by a dozen blues singers whose material has been collected already in this series, but these sides are by no means mere stragglers or stray sides, but in fact feature both well known and obscure vaudeville singers in good excellent form. Lavina Turner provides an energetic performance of When The Rain Turns To Snow and Josie Miles turns in a great bluesy performance on Flora's Weary Blues. Hazel Myers uses an aggressive, strong vocal for The Man Ain't Born Who Can Treat Me Like You Do and Laura Smith feels low down as she moans the blues with her Lake Ponchartrain. Continued...
More Info on our New Store >>
Clarence Williams & The Blues Singers Vol 1 1923 - 1928
More Info on our New Store >>


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Story highlights
- Most CNN Heroes are selected after being nominated by someone like you
- Here are some suggestions we hope will help you in crafting a nomination
- 2014 nominations are being accepted online through August 31, 2014
They're your neighbors, your friends, your colleagues, your parents.
They are CNN Heroes, each of whom shows how one person can truly make a difference.
Again this year, CNN encourages you to tell us about these everyday people changing the world -- by nominating them at CNNHeroes.com. Taking a few minutes to share their story with us could propel them to worldwide recognition.
Maybe someone's selflessness has directly impacted your life.
Destiny Bush nominated her mentor and "second mother," Tawanda Jones, whose drill team provides discipline and inspiration to thousands of children in the violent city of Camden, New Jersey.
"It was important for the world to see this wonderful individual who commits herself effortlessly -- her heart, her body, her soul -- to our youth," said Bush, now a graduate student.
Or maybe you know an individual in your community whose personal story and dedication inspires you.
Denada Jackson's mom used to style Robin Emmons' hair. When Jackson bumped into Emmons years later, she learned about Emmons' efforts to help low-income neighborhoods access healthy, fresh food.
"It just seemed right that I would nominate her, because I've never seen anyone that happy about helping other people," Jackson said. "She's making it happen for others in her community. Just to watch her be honored for that, to get a thank you, that was awesome."
But you don't have to personally know the individual you nominate. Just be familiar with their work.
Johanna Robinette, for example, lives in the same small town as Dale Beatty, who helps build and modify homes for injured veterans. Robinette had heard about Beatty's organization, and she saw nominating him as a way to help draw attention to his efforts.
"To be able to take that time to do that, I was thankful that I did and thankful that (he was) honored in that way," Robinette said. "It felt great to be a part of that."
It's easy to nominate an everyday person changing the world, but a thoughtful, well-written nomination is essential to help yours stand out from the thousands we receive. Here are some suggestions we hope will help you in crafting your nomination for consideration.
• Think about what makes your hero special. Ask yourself: What makes my nominee unique? What specific accomplishment has he or she achieved that is truly remarkable? What impact has his or her work had on others? We encourage you to watch videos of previous CNN Heroes to familiarize yourself with the achievements of the inspiring individuals we honor as "everyday people changing the world."
• Take a look at our nomination form. We suggest you review the information requested about yourself, your nominee and his or her work before filling out your submission.
• Tell us about your hero. Take your time and write from the heart. Remember: What you share -- in your own words -- is the most important factor in advancing a nomination for further consideration. You can enter your answers to the essay questions directly on the form, or write them first in a word-processing document and "cut and paste" them into each answer field. Please note the information you provide will be used in accordance with our privacy policy.
• Click "Submit." If your nomination has been successfully transmitted, you'll see a "thank you" message on your screen. If you provided us with your e-mail address, we'll also send a confirmation your nomination has been received. And yes, we read each and every one.
That's it. Nominations for 2014 CNN Heroes remain open through August 31, 2014.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is eligible to be considered as a CNN Hero
A: Nominations must be in the name of a single individual, at least 13 years of age, whose accomplishment occurred (or continued) after November 1, 2013. Groups and organizations are ineligible for consideration. Self-nominations will not be accepted. Citizens of voided countries are also ineligible. For complete details on eligibility requirements and other rules governing selection of CNN Heroes, please read our legal disclosures.
A: Nominations must be in the name of a single individual, at least 13 years of age, whose accomplishment occurred (or continued) after November 1, 2013. Groups and organizations are ineligible for consideration. Self-nominations will not be accepted. Citizens of voided countries are also ineligible. For complete details on eligibility requirements and other rules governing selection of CNN Heroes, please read our legal disclosures.
Q: How will I know if my hero is selected?A: Because of the high volume of nominations received, we cannot respond individually to each submission. However, if your nomination advances, we will contact you and your nominee through the contact information you provide.
Q: What if I don't know my nominee's address, e-mail and telephone number?A: Please make every effort to provide as much contact information as possible. We require either an e-mail address or telephone number so we may quickly contact your nominee to obtain permission for consideration as a CNN Hero.
Q: May I submit additional supportive information about my nominee?A: There's space at the end of the form to provide links to articles or websites with more information about your hero. Please do not send additional material unless requested.
Q: May I mail or fax my nomination?A: No. All nominations must be submitted online through our website.
Q: What if my nomination form is rejected?A: When filling out your form, please note that certain information is required. Those fields are marked with an asterisk (*). If you are not certain of your hero's nationality, select "Other" from the country drop-down menu. Likewise, if you're unsure which category his or her cause belongs in, just click "Other."
CNN is not responsible for technical problems that may prevent your submission from being successfully transmitted. You may wish to first write and save the answers to essay questions in a word-processing document. That way, if you need to resubmit your nomination, you can "cut and paste" those answers into the form without rewriting them.
Q: Can I buy tickets to "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute"?
A: Unfortunately, seating is limited and by invitation only. Air dates and times for the global broadcast of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" will be announced in October.
A: Unfortunately, seating is limited and by invitation only. Air dates and times for the global broadcast of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" will be announced in October.
Have other questions or comments about CNN Heroes? Contact us.


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- Financial Aid


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Dollar Surges as Bernanke Sparks Carry Trade Plunge; Rupee Falls
The dollar surged against counterparts worldwide ranging from Australia's currency to Turkey's lira as the Federal Reserve's signal it is getting closer to reducing monetary stimulus pushed volatility to the highest in a year and spurred losses in carry trades.
The U.S. currency strengthened versus a majority of its 16-most-traded peers and Deutsche Bank AG's G10 FX Carry Basket index fell to the lowest level since October as Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke yesterday outlined the case for reduced monetary stimulus this year if the U.S. economy keeps improving. India is among leaders for carry losses among the 31 most-traded currencies versus the dollar this month with a 4.8 percent decline while its central bank likely intervened to protect the rupee.
"The market is in a shoot first and ask questions later kind of a mode, and you see massive dollar strength, unwind of carry trades," Eric Stein, a portfolio manager at Eaton Vance Corp. (EV) who helps oversee about $17.5 billion of fixed-income assets in Boston, said in a telephone interview. "The Fed has pulled forward volatility."
The dollar rose 0.6 percent to $1.3220 per euro at 5 p.m. in New York, reaching the biggest gain since May 9. The U.S. currency advanced 0.9 percent to 97.28 per yen. Japan's currency fell 0.3 percent to 128.61 per euro.
Dollar Measure
The Dollar Index, which Intercontinental Exchange Inc. uses to monitor the greenback against the currencies of six U.S. trade partners, gained 0.6 percent to 81.779, reaching its strongest level since June 6. The gauge may climb to 85.7 by the end of the year, according to the median forecast of economists and strategists surveyed by Bloomberg.
The JPMorgan Global FX Volatility Index increased to 11.51 percent, the highest level since June 7, 2012. The average in the past year is 8.66 percent.
Yields on benchmark Treasuries touched 2.47 percent, the highest since August 2011. Treasuries due in 10 years yielded 1.07 percentage points less than similar-maturity Australian debt yesterday, almost the narrowest spread since November 2008. U.S. bonds yielded 1.54 percentage points more than Japanese debt yesterday, the biggest gap since August 2011.
"The leveraged carry trades have been taken to the woodshed pretty aggressively over the last little while," Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, said by phone from Toronto. "As rates rise in the U.S. that makes funding for some of these carry trades into emerging markets and some of the high yielding G-10 markets that much more expensive to carry."
Carry Out
Deutsche Bank's G10 FX Carry Basket index gained 6.8 percent in 2012 after declining the previous two years as weak economic data in the U.S., Japan and the euro region led to speculation that central banks would keep rates low and inject money to boost growth. With those conditions waning, volatility has increased, which is negative for the carry trade because it depends on predictable interest rates across jurisdictions.
India's rupee dropped 1.5 percent to 59.5750 per dollar after depreciating to a record 59.98. South Korea's won declined to as low as 1,146.55 per dollar, the weakest since July 26, before closing 1.3 percent lower at 1,145.63. The Turkish lira dropped to an all-time low versus the dollar, weakening as much as 1.9 percent to 1.9373.
Chile's peso weakened 2.9 percent to 514.08 against the greenback and Poland's zloty fell 1.9 percent to 3.2872.
Fed Shift
"QE3 is now likely to end in the middle of next year so we've had an initial rise in the dollar," said Gavin Friend, a currency strategist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in London, referring to quantitative easing, or QE. "People are reading this as the end the cheap money that's gone into emerging markets from the U.S. and Europe. If today's U.S. data is reasonable, the dollar will continue to rally against currencies like the Aussie in particular."
More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, showing progress on reducing joblessness remains uneven amid slower growth this quarter.
Australia's dollar dropped for a fifth day versus the greenback amid the prospect of reduced Fed stimulus and after HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said the preliminary reading of their Purchasing Managers' Index for China's manufacturing was at 48.3 in June, below the 49.1 estimated by economists in a Bloomberg survey.
Aussie Forces
"The link between the China growth story and the Aussie dollar remains crucial," said Michael Judge, a dealer at OZForex Pty Ltd. in Sydney. "We all know the only way interest rates are heading in this country at the moment is south, and obviously weakening China growth doesn't help that prognosis."
UBS AG strategists said in a report they lowered their forecast for the Aussie to 90 U.S. cents in one to three months, from 95.
The Aussie slid 1.1 percent to 91.97 U.S. cents after dropping to the weakest since Sept. 8, 2010. The New Zealand dollar fell 1.8 percent to 77.57 cents after reaching the lowest since June 12, 2012.
The Federal Open Market Committee yesterday left the monthly pace of bond purchases at $85 billion, saying "downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market" have diminished. Policy makers raised their growth forecasts for next year to a range of 3 percent to 3.5 percent and reduced their outlook for unemployment to as low as 6.5 percent.
"If the incoming data are broadly consistent with this forecast, the committee currently anticipates that it would be appropriate to moderate the pace of purchases later this year," Bernanke said in a press conference in Washington. If later reports meet the Fed's expectations, "we will continue to reduce the pace of purchases in measured steps through the first half of next year, ending purchases around mid-year."
Option Activity
Trading in over-the-counter foreign-exchange options totaled $53 billion, compared with $30.6 billion yesterday, according to data reported by U.S. banks to the Depository Trust Clearing Corp. and tracked by Bloomberg. Volume in options on the dollar-yen exchange rate was $11.2 billion, the largest share of trades at 21 percent. Dollar-yuan options were the second most actively traded, at $7.5 billion, or 14 percent.
Dollar-yen options trading was 1.1 percent less than the average for the past five Thursdays at a similar time in the day. U.S. dollar-yuan options trading was 90 percent more than average.
Norway's currency declined the most since 2011 against the dollar. The central bank kept its benchmark rate at 1.5 percent at its meeting today, as forecast by 21 of the 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The central bank predicted the key rate would be 1.38 percent in the fourth quarter of this year, versus an earlier forecast of 1.45 percent.
The krone slumped 3.3 percent to 7.9296 per euro, reaching the biggest one-day drop since December 2008. It slid to the weakest since May 2011.
"It's partially the QE trade and risk getting hit across the board," said Brad Bechtel, managing director at Faros Trading LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, via e-mail. "The krone had been a favorite long for many months and the position is still unwinding."
To contact the reporters on this story: John Detrixhe in New York at email@example.com; Neal Armstrong in London at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at email@example.com


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Seven members of the East Central University softball team collected honors at the 2013 Great American Conference Softball Banquet, on the eve of the 2013 GAC Championship Tournament. Senior Shelby Simmons and freshman Lacey Paulk led the group by earning All-GAC First Team honors and picking up one of the five major awards.
Simmons was named the GAC Player of the Year after leading the league in batting average (.476), triples (5), and on-base percentage (.503). The North Richland Hills, Texas, native also ranked No. 2 in hits (68), four in total bases (94) and No. 5 in slugging percentage (.657). She has helped pace the Lady Tigers (39-11, 23-7 GAC) to a .355 team batting average, which ranks No. 4 in the NCAA.
Paulk earned the GAC Freshman of the Year honor going 17-2 in the circle through the season and recording a 2.14 ERA. The Goldsby, Okla., native has struck out 124 batters in 117.2 innings of action and recorded 17-straight wins in the circle during the season. Paulk allowed 106 hits and just 47 runs and held her opponents to a .236 batting average.
Simmons (SS) and Paulk (P) are joined on the 2013 All-GAC First Team by junior Gina Mengwasser (C). The Edmond, Okla., native had a .393 average on the season. Mengwasser has tallied 57 hits, including 12 home runs and is first in the GAC with her 51 RBIs.
Three members of the squad earned All-GAC Second Team honors, with senior Ali Manship (3B), sophomore Chelsea Patterson (2B) and freshman Leah Tigert (OF) being named to the team. Manship tallied a .362 average, with 55 hits, 10 home runs and 38 RBIs. Patterson is third on the team with a .378 batting average, with 51 hits and 11 RBIs. Tigert has hit .362 this season, with 20 RBIs.
The final member of the team to earn all-conference honors is freshman Jordynn VanPelt, who was named to the honorable mention team (OF). VanPelt has a .343 average, with 37 hits and 26 RBIs.
The Lady Tigers will open the 2013 GAC Championship Tournament, Thursday, April 25 at noon against Ouachita Baptist at the Tiger Athletic Complex in Bentonville, Ark.


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WASHINGTON The hacker-activist group Anonymous says it hijacked the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed suicide.
The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch, was taken over early Saturday and replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago "a line was crossed."
The message read in part:
Citizens of the world,
Anonymous has observed for some time now the trajectory of justice in the United States with growing concern. We have marked the departure of this system from the noble ideals in which it was born and enshrined. We have seen the erosion of due process, the dilution of constitutional rights, the usurpation of the rightful authority of courts by the "discretion" or prosecutors. We have seen how the law is wielded less and less to uphold justice, and more and more to exercise control, authority and power in the interests of oppression or personal gain."
The hackers say they've infiltrated several government computer systems and copied secret information that they now threaten to make public.
Read More>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-...avenge-swartz/
This story is not getting a lot of play but i think that like Wiki-leaks and Assange it will have lasting consequences and effects down the road.
At first it will be a round up and arrests but then it may lead to a crack down and control of the internet .


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ATLANTA (AP) -- Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into law a bill that changes oversight of video poker machines in the state and also opens the door for some proceeds to be directed to the HOPE scholarship program.
House Bill 487 moves oversight of video poker and other similar coin-operated machines to the Georgia Lottery Corp. and away from the state Department of Revenue. The bill, signed by Deal on Wednesday, calls for 5 percent of net receipts to be retained and directed to the HOPE scholarship program, reaching a maximum of 10 percent over time.
The bill had garnered opposition from anti-gambling groups, but supporters said the goal was to crack down on illegal gambling by making it easier to identify rogue machines.
The machines provide non-cash prizes, including merchandise and vouchers.