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Brett is the president and owner of Norton Kidd Accounting & Consulting, P.C. He graduated from Western Michigan University with a major in accounting and a minor in economics. Brett focuses on assisting individuals and closely held business owners increase their net worth through tax and financial planning strategies.
He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, and the Frankenmuth Bible Church.
Brett lives in the Frankenmuth community with his wife and three young children. He is a sports enthusiast and likes to spend time with his family at Higgins Lake.
Dear Client,
I am writing to inform you of a significant new tax deduction taking effect in 2018 under the new tax law. It should provide a substantial tax benefit to individuals with "qualified business income" from a partnership, S corporation, LLC, or sole proprietorship. This income is sometimes referred to as "pass-through" income.
The deduction is 20% of your "qualified...
The year is quickly drawing to a close, but there's still time to take steps to reduce your 2017 tax liability — you just must act by December 31
1. Pay your 2017 property tax bill that's due in early 2018.
2. Make your January 1 mortgage payment.
3. Incur deductible medical expenses (if your deductible medical expenses for the year already exceed the...
With kids back in school, it's a good time for parents (and grandparents) to think about college funding. One option, which can be especially beneficial if the children in question still have many years until they'll be starting their higher education, is a Section 529 plan. Tax-deferred compounding 529 plans are generally state-sponsored, and the savings-plan option offers the...


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First Blog Post
Obligatory Hello, world!
October 17, 2013
October 17, 2013
Hello, World! I'm Gautam Mittal, a student at Henry M. Gunn High School in Silicon Valley. I enjoy food, hacking, running, martial arts, and music of all genres.
My main intent in starting this blog is to share my thoughts, ideas, and stories. After trying out other blogging platforms (with much frustration and inconsistency), such as Medium and Wordpress, I finally decided it was time to host my own blog. My primary goal is to create content that's interesting and to share my thoughts on the world around me. The life of a high school student is more eventful than you may think! I also want to write more and continue to develop and improve my style of writing.
Here's some
LOLCODE to say Hi.
VISIBLE "Hello there."

subset: commoncrawl


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LOS ANGELES — Pia Toscano is getting over her "American Idol" heartbreak thanks to a blossoming romance with "Dancing with the Stars" pro Mark Ballas, TMZ reported Tuesday.
Viewers were left stunned when the poised and pitch-perfect New Yorker was voted off the show last week, setting off a storm of outrage on Twitter with everyone from "Jersey Shore's" Snooki to Academy Award winner Tom Hanks weighing in on the surprising result.
Toscano traveled home to the Big Apple to mourn with her family and friends, while doing the morning talk show rounds, but the dumped diva is now heading back to the Golden State as a romance heats up with "Dancing with the Stars" heartthrob Ballas, sources told TMZ.
The singing and dancing duo were first spotted together in Los Angeles last weekend and now Toscano is reportedly set to enjoy additional time with Ballas and even meet his mom, British ballroom queen Shirley Ballas.
Mark is "totally into Pia and thinks she's amazing," a source told the celebrity news website.
"They're totally smitten," another insider added.
Despite her early exit from the FOX show, Toscano, 22, is reportedly in talks to seal an album deal with Interscope Records thanks to her overwhelming support from fans and high-profile media image.
"She is an amazing talent and this is probably going to turn out good for her," Ballas, 24, told Entertainment Weekly Tuesday about his rumored love.
"There's always light at the end of the tunnel and she's got a ridiculously amazing voice and I think she'll be fine," he added, without dishing details of their relationship.
Ballas is currently paired with Disney star Chelsea Kane on season 12 of the ABC reality dance competition.
"American Idol" is broadcast on FOX, a News Corporation company that also owns NewsCore.


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Roast beef fillet with salsa verde
|1.2 kgs
|Beef fillets
|½ cup
|Red wine
|2 cloves
|Crushed garlic
|2 Tbsp
|Olive oil
Salsa Verde
|1 cup
|Coriander, packed, choppd
|4 cloves
|Crushed garlic
|1 cup
|Basil, packed, choppd
|1 cup
|Mint leaves, packed, choppd
|¼ cup
|Lime juice, up to 1/2 cup
|3 Tbsp
|Olive oil
|3 Tbsp
|Horseradish, or 4
|3 Tbsp
|Mustard, (apricot)
- Place the beef in a plastic bag with the wine, garlic and olive oil.
- Massage the marinade into the beef. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- To make the salsa verde, combine garlic, capers, herbs, lime juice and olive oil.
- Cover and keep cool until 15 minutes before serving.
- Preheat the oven to 190 degC. Remove the beef from the marinade, pat dry and place in a small roasting pan.
- Brush with horseradish mustard. Roast for about 20-25 minutes, turning twice during cooking depending on the thickness of the meat.
- For medium-rare, the internal temperature should be about 60 degC.
Note: To test for doneness: Rare beef feels soft and spongy when you push it with your finger. Medium beef feels firmer and springs back. Well-done meat feels very firm.


text: New DXA EP //12" November 16, 2012 in "DXA", "hip hop", "new release", "vinyl" DXA's new selftitled EP is available for pre-order now on Blunted Astronaut Records. My playing is featured on several tracks including the single "I Get Up" which was released on 7" earlier this year and sold out in pre-sale in a week. Pre-order it at Blunted Astronaut Records


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My kids head back to school in one week and I am already starting to think ahead to easy lunch menu items that nourish as well as please the taste buds. No small feat when your kids have vastly different ideas about what makes up a tasty meal. Enter the Tenderflake Puff Pastry Pocket. They are easy to make ahead of time and yummy even when served cold.
|1 Pkg
|Tenderflake Puff Pastry
|pizza mozzarella cut into 1-2 cm cubes
|slices of ham cut into cubes
|1/8 cup
|flour for dusting surfaces before rolling
|small bowl of water for sealing seams
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Dust your rolling surface and rolling-pin lightly with flour and roll out each square of puff pastry until it is and 11" x 11".
- Cut each square into triangles. You should end up with 8 triangles.
- Add 2 squares of cheese and ham to one corner of the puff pastry triangle.
- Brush a bit of water along the seams then fold over to form the pocket.
- Gently seal seams with a fork
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake on center rack of oven for 20-25 minutes or until pastry is a nice golden brown. I recommend checking every two minutes at the 20 minute mark to avoid burning.
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Mirko Vogel a is London based musician, formerly from Brisbane, Australia. With an illustrious and varied musical background, Mirko has spent the last few years working with Cut Copy, touring extensively with the band and also acting as chief engineer in the studio.
In the hours after these activities though, on planes, trains and in the backs of touring buses, Mirko has been busy with his own sonic investigations. Mirko's self-titled EP, a taster to his de- but LP due later this year on Room40 as part of the label's fifteenth anniversary celebrations; maintains a drifting sense of place. Unable to be pinned down, this EP hovers and shifts, pulsing with unerring clouds of texture and harmony. This is but the first breath.
THUMP: "...three tracks of lush, dark, cinematic electronics. With pulsing analog synths swathed in field recordings and ambience, it's gorgeous, melancholy and undeniably widescreen."
Sonic Masala: "There is a stillness inherent in Mirko's work that holds one in thrall, a frozen second forever caught in crystalline amber."


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Friends, family puzzled as lawyer goes missing
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Attorney Clyde F. Johnson could not have had deeper roots in his hometown of Prestonsburg, Ky.
President of the Floyd County Bar Association. City attorney in nearby Martin, Ky. Volunteer football coach for the Prestonsburg High School Blackcats.
But after Johnson, 47, told his secretary to clear his calendar for Monday, June 24, because he was "going fishing," he never came back. And no one can find him.
"It is just stunning — he is gone without a trace," said his friend and fellow lawyer, Ned Pillersdorf. "John Grisham couldn't have written this story."
Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo, Johnson's friend, said: "Everybody knows Clyde. It is very out of character for him to just up and vanish."
Johnson's law business was down, his house was in foreclosure, and he was depressed about his mother's recent death, Pillersdorf said.
But he and other friends and family members doubt that Johnson took his own life — in part because he took his dog, Pete, as well as an Xbox gaming system, a 40-inch TV and a new camper he had bought without telling his wife of 19 years.
"My only hope is that he is out somewhere clearing his head," Pillersdorf said.
It is not a crime in Kentucky for adults to disappear, even if they abandon their job and family, but Kentucky State Police have opened a missing persons investigation into Johnson's disappearance, Trooper Shaun Little said.
Pillersdorf said he has also hired a private investigator and consulted a forensic psychologist to try to find Johnson, who didn't respond to emails sent by a reporter to his office email address.
His secretary, Debbie Stumbo Woods — Greg Stumbo's sister — said he seemed upbeat June 21 when he told her to reschedule his Monday appointments for later the same week.
She said she didn't know that his home was in foreclosure. But she said he was due to get an inheritance from his mother's estate and that his financial problems were nothing he couldn't have cured. She said he'd given $100 to the local Little League just a week earlier and donated generously to other charities.
Pillersdorf said that on the morning Johnson vanished, he told his wife, the former Rose Harmon, "I love you and will see you tonight." She did not respond to a request for comment.
Chief Regional Circuit Judge John David Caudill said Johnson was well-liked by his clients.
Kentucky Bar Association President Tom Rouse said, "This is a mystery, and we are all very concerned."
Other lawyers are covering for Johnson's cases, and Johnson's clients have been advised that they can retain new counsel. But Woods said some have been reluctant to take back their files.
"They are very sad," she said. "They are saying, 'He's coming back. He's coming back.'"
Thousands of people disappear each year with no intention of returning or desire to be found. Although the exact number is impossible to determine, the National Crime Information Center says that 77,129 adults 21 or older were reported missing in 2011 and there was a reasonable concern about their safety.
While walking out on your family may be an awful thing to do, said Sgt. Donny Burbrink III of the Louisville Metro Police Department's missing persons unit, it is not illegal.
Steve Rambam, a New York-based detective who has conducted several thousand missing-person searches, including some for suspected Nazi war criminals, said most of the "he-went-out-for-a-pack-of-cigarettes-and-never-came-back type of cases" are solved.
"They make silly mistakes or really don't try to hide," he said. "They're what I call 'dilettante fugitives.'"
But he and other experts say some absconders go further, faking their own deaths.
Samuel Israel, for example, a New York hedge fund manager convicted of fraud, tried to avoid prison in 2008 by making it seem as if he'd leaped to his death from a bridge into the Hudson River, writing "Suicide is Painless" — the theme song from "M*A*S*H" — on the dusty hood of his abandoned car. He surrendered a month later.
New Zealand-born businessman Harry Gordon faked his death in a boating accident in Australia in 2000, then lived under a new identity for five years — until he inadvertently ran into his own brother on a mountain trail.
Facing criminal charges, Marcus Schrenker, a financial manager from Fishers, Ind., was piloting his own plane on Jan. 11, 2009, to Destin, Fla., when he made a distress call — saying his windshield had imploded and he was "bleeding profusely" — then set his plane to autopilot and parachuted.
Two Navy F-15 pilots reported the aircraft was in perfect condition, and Schrenker was captured three days later by U.S. marshals in a KOA campground.
In the most famous voluntary disappearance, later the subject of a best-selling book, "Exit the Rainmaker," Jay Carsey, a Maryland college president, in 1982 left behind his wife of 14 years and a 23-room mansion, prompting his successor to say that the question was not so much "Why did he do it?" as "What keeps people from doing it more frequently?"
Pillersdorf said that Johnson is probably driving a Silver 2011 Nissan Frontier.
He said that the missing lawyer had a Netflix account and that he has asked police to try to do an electronic trace of whether he has accessed it from his Xbox.
Prestonsburg football coach John Derossett is also driving from campground to campground in search of him, Pillersdorf said.
"The only good news is he took his dog," said Caudill, the circuit judge. "Normally, when somebody is going to do harm to themselves they don't take their dog — they leave it with someone who will care for it."
Another Prestonsburg lawyer, Earl M. "Mickey" McGuire, who serves on the KBA's board of governors, said he didn't know about Johnson's problems. "Lawyers help other people, but we don't ask for help ourselves," he said.
Pillersdorf said the entire community is baffled by Johnson's disappearance.
"It just breaks my heart," he said.


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I spent a week in Bunbury, a major town 2hrs south of Perth in Western Australia. I had intended to use my solitary week going for runs, working on my Masters coursework, and exploring the region with my camera, but my laziness won over my good intentions in the end. I left it to the last sunset and the last morning to explore the beach that was within stumbling distance from my serviced apartment. I'm not sure what the name of the beach is, but it's on the North side of Koombana Drive.
Above images processed with my VSCO Cam M5 inspired preset.
Images above processed with my VSCO Cam A6 inspired Lightroom preset


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services i offer
Individual Psychotherapy for Adults (18+) for depression, anxiety, life transitions, chronic medical conditions, career counseling, parenting issues, etc.
Couples & Family Therapy: I work with couples and families using a combination of Family Systems theory and Attachment theory in order to change the psychodynamics of relationship and improve emotional intimacy and fulfillment.
All races, cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations are welcome.


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Binford Luthiery is proud to present its own school of guitar luthiery. Guitar Buildshop has enjoyed several fantastic years helping many guitar enthusiasts build their very own guitars. You can enrol into either daytime or evening sessions at any stage of the year and get started on your own instrument to fit YOUR schedule. Here is what we offer:
Acoustic Guitar Buildshop – $3750+GST
Wanting to extend your creativity beyond playing the guitar? Come learn more about your favourite instrument and its design while you build your own from scratch. Experience crafted processes like bending sides, shaping braces, and cutting fret slots and much more. You have a choice of 3 sizes of steel string acoustic guitars based on Dreadnought, OM, and Parlour.
Electric/Bass Guitar Buildshop – $2500+GST and Parts
A popular choice for the lovers of solid body guitars and basses. The format is generally based on Fender bolt-on style instruments such as Strats and Teles, etc. If you have your own design concept please get in touch and we can help make a design of yours come to life.
With each course you get professional instruction, use of tools and demonstrations along the way. The process is not rushed but meant to be enjoyed.
NOTE: Guitar Buildshop does NOT use a kitset process; you will be building your guitar with many of the same tools luthiers have used for hundreds of years – with correct instruction of course. We only use proper timbers for our guitars - timbers cut and dried specifically for guitar building. (spruce, rosewoods, ebony, walnut, mahogany).
Thinking of a career? These courses can be tailored to a level to help someone seeking a career as a luthier with the freedom to take notes and photo references along the way.


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20" Bullet
The Bullet 20 has a light alloy dirt style frame with 20″ alloy wheels. With 6 Shimano gears this is a great boy's bike. We take care to design a frame that gives good stand over clearance. This can safeguard kids during the formative years when gaining confidence on the bike is important


text:
At Hayground Camp, children and their mentors do things they love and discover new passions in a safe, structured environment. We believe kids need time, care, and mentoring as they stretch in the physical world and in their physical selves.
Every day, our campers engage with the natural world, get their hands in the dirt and sand and water, make things grow, and build things of which they can be proud--gardens, cities of sand and wood, tables, go-carts, and lasting friendships.
Because campers are engaged every minute and feel a sense of mutual responsibility, we rarely face the challenge of discipline at our camp. And that may be the key: mutual responsibility and joy in one's own discoveries and those of one's friends.
Perhaps that is why most of our campers return year after year, and why so many campers come back as counselors; they want to know how the younger ones are doing, and they want to help shape what was a formative experience in their own lives. In this way, Hayground campers become part of a lasting community, one that reaches far beyond a single summer.


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Slacker Celebrates Integration With Internet Explorer 9 By Offering Free Radio Plus
Windows 7 Users With IE9 Can Pin Slacker to Their Task Bar for Free Access to Slacker Radio Plus on a Windows 7 PC for 30 Days
SAN DIEGO – April 06, 2011 – Slacker, Inc. today announced integration with Windows Internet Explorer 9 (IE9). For a limited time Slacker listeners using IE9 on a Windows 7 based PC will receive one free month of Slacker Radio Plus when they pin Slacker to their taskbar. The Slacker music experience is available on the web at www.Slacker.com.
Internet Explorer 9 was designed to bring sites front and center through Windows 7, enabling a more immersive Web experience. Features such as Pinned Sites and Jump Lists enable people to put their favorite websites directly on the Windows 7 Taskbar, as though they were native applications. Users can then quickly and easily perform tasks related to those websites, such as checking their inboxes, interacting with their music, accepting friend invitations or receiving breaking news.
The Slacker integration with IE9 is optimized for the ultimate listening experience and showcases a customized web interface that takes full advantage of all IE9 has to offer. IE9 provides Slacker Radio listeners unique functionality that includes easy access and control with the ability to mark songs as favorites, ban and skip songs as well as change stations – all from the Windows 7 Web thumbnail preview.
"Slacker and Internet Explorer 9 combine to deliver a top notch, Web-based Personal Radio experience," said Jonathan Sasse, senior vice president of marketing at Slacker. "In celebration we are excited to offer free Slacker Radio Plus for Slacker listeners to enjoy while using Internet Explorer 9 on a Windows 7 PC."
Slacker Radio offers a fully customizable and personal online radio experience that includes the most varied and compelling range of content offered by any Internet radio service. The Slacker Radio experience includes over 140 expert-programmed music stations, ABC news, comedy, custom artist-hosted showcase stations and leading music festival stations. Listeners can also create their own radio stations based on a favorite song, artist or mix of artists.
With a music catalog that is over ten times larger than the leading competitor, Slacker Radio gives listeners the ultimate music discovery resource by providing artist biographies and images as well as album reviews and art. The Slacker Radio Plus Web promotion features all the same great benefits of Slacker Basic Radio along with ad-free listening*, complete song lyrics, unlimited song skipping and song requests as well as customized content from ABC News.
Pricing and Availability
The free Slacker Radio Plus promotion for IE9 users will be available through May 31, 2011. To access the promotion listeners with IE9 simply need to pin www.Slacker.com to their Windows 7 task bar. The offer is exclusive to the Web-based version of Slacker running on a Windows 7 PC, and not available on other platforms or for Slacker smartphone apps. For additional details, please visit www.Slacker.com/IE9.
About Slacker, Inc.
Slacker is the world's first Personal Radio company offering "Your Radio Everywhere." Slacker enables music lovers to play highly personalized music online at the Slacker web site or on the go with Slacker Personal Radio players and mobile phones. Slacker mobile applications are currently available for Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, Palm webOS and BlackBerry smartphones. For more information visit www.Slacker.com/everywhere.
For regular Slacker updates follow us at www.Twitter.com/SlackerRadio, become a Fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SlackerRadio or visit www.Slacker.com.
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text:
The Skin Clinic
Medical / Health Care Facilities
Call (580) 226-0812Directions
Get directions to thisWebsite
location on Google Maps.
location on Google Maps.
Open websiteShare
in new tab.
in new tab.
Share this business
on social media.
on social media.
The Skin Clinic, a complete dermatological practice specializing in the prevention, detection and treatment of Skin Cancer and other diseases relating to the skin, hair and nails.


text:
Aerodynamic shape around a free standing spar and a partial solution.
Over the years, I have adopted many options. The track on the mast and a sail without battens is the simplest but worst scenario. Next, the track on the mast with battens is an improvement, however, track on the mast with full battens is the best normal set-up. I have also tried a "Thick" sail with foam inserts, as well as wing mast and full battens. This is certainly a valid system but is complicated and expensive. On the original 40' Freedom Cat-Ketch, Gary Hoyt adopted a double ply sail going around the mast. The result was producing too much friction, causing difficulties hoisting, lowering and reefing the sail. I propose another solution; the "SockSail" and I am using the Ocean Going Volkswagen 37 to illustrate.
The mizzen mast (aft mast) is fitted with a regular mainsail and battens. On the image, I kept it as such so that you can visualize the difference between the main and the mizzen. The Sock sail on the mainmast consists of a wrap around canvas over the free standing spar. The sock is zippered on one side to permit easy installation and removal. The sock has section cut out to give access to the fittings located on the mast
which are necessary to control the wishbone. The sock has a permanently attached headboard to the masthead. The tack has a Cunningham to control the tension at its base. The fore and aft dimension of the SockSail is sized to provide rotation around the mast without much friction. The chord is calculated to achieve that effect, respecting a reasonable span thickness ratio. A grooved luff, similar to the headfoil for a jib, is sewn on the backside of the socksail and runs the full height. The groove receives the luff of the sail with its own halyard and tack line. The sail is fitted with normal length battens. Full-length battens cannot be fitted because of the obstruction given by the rigid foil.
The behavior of wind on a circular leading edge is well known. Viscosity, pressure and friction prevent the air particles from staying attached to the mast. Therefore, the objective of this set up is the limit drag in the wake of the mast, to streamline the air flow, and to maximize sail power. The classic jiffy reefing is the preferred method for shortening the sail. After reefing, the forward part of the soft sail leaves the 'Sock" full height. The mainsail is received between the arms of the wishbone into lazyjacks which, when cruising are left in place.
A cruising boat such as this Cat-ketch can benefit in performance with a SockSail. To what extend, it is hard to say and experimentation is in order. Maybe this half measure solution ought to be interesting to follow in practice.


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When it comes to sharing data between computers and servers, none stands as strong as FileZilla does! As the world moves on to the cloud platform for all their data storage and sharing needs, some old timers like myself still depend on the good old FileZilla FTP Client to do the trick.
What is FileZilla: keeping the FTP Era alive
Introduced to the Internet in the year 2006, FileZilla has been at the forefront of file transfer protocol sharing softwares. It may be considered an ancient software considering how quickly new technologies are implemented these days, FileZilla FTP Client has stood the test of time.
The continued support from the community to reinvent their FTP software, it has brought about special features with every update.
To this day, FileZilla is the most reliable way of sharing files between computers, and downloading files from shared servers. Since large file size transfers are not supported by emailing clients, and most cloud services have a limitation on the file size.
Hence an FTP software is the easiest way to move about large file sizes with high speeds easily. With every feature you could possibly look for, the FileZilla FTP can help you navigate to your local disk drives and share your content with the external servers with ease.
The software has user friendly controls and the ability to share multiple files at once. This FTP software does not require a learning curve to understand all the important features.
Benefits of FileZilla Client
- FileZilla FTP Client offers the simplest way of sharing files of all kinds between different computers on the same network.
- With as simple user interface and easy to use drag and drop features, you can get started within minutes.
- Since the file transfer speed does not depend upon the internet connection, you can transfer large files with ease.
- With almost a decade since its launch, this file transfer protocol software has been free for use and is supported only by donations.
- FileZilla Client is a cross platform software, so you can use it to transfer data between Windows, Linux and Mac with ease.
Some Drawbacks
Although this software has made several upgrades in terms of functionality since its inception, there has not been a significant change in the old and outdated design.
Last Words
It is no secret that the FTP system to transfer data is a dying breed, especially when pitted against the latest file sharing technologies.
However, it is still a great tool for transferring data wirelessly in the workspace or at home! As long as FileZilla FTP Client keeps up its good work, the technology of file transfer protocol will continue to flourish.
Publisher: FileZilla


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|Wilson Audio CUB II Loudspeakers
|Friday, 01 September 2000
Page 3 of 3
The Downside
The CUBs are very expensive for a less than full-range speaker. Although very good within their given range, let's be honest: can we live with a big-dollar speaker that falls short of the lower frequency excitement that many of us yearn for in our music? I would love to own the CUBs myself, but could I live with them as my only speakers? Probably not, but I would sure love them for most of my music. Personally, I have a taste for high energy in my music - bass that can get into my soul. I would consider WATT Puppys as my entry-level buy in the Wilson line, but I can't yet meet the $20,000 price tag and I imagine I never will. However, I don't want to imply that the CUBs are not exciting - they just aren't full-range. At $10,000, with stands that are essential, they must be compared to other speakers in their price class and a few below. The first models that come to mind are my current reference speakers, the Revel Studios, which cost between $10,000 and $11,000 per pair depending on the finish. The Martin Logan Prodigies would also be a strong contender at $10,000 per pair, as well as several speakers in a lower price class such as B&W Nautilus at $5,000 per pair and Revel Performa F30s priced at $3,500 per pair.
Many choose to use a sub with Wilson CUBs. There are several subs available that I would consider as a good match. Of course, the Wilson XS would be amazing but, at $18,000 and over four feet tall, the XS would be overwhelming with the CUBs. Jerry Del Colliano uses two Sunfire Signature Subs with his WATT Puppy 6.0s at a cost of $1,895 per sub. One or two Sunfires would match well with the CUB IIs well.
My instinct is to not match a sub with CUB IIs, as the advantage of the CUBs is that they are very fast loudspeakers. When set up correctly, they can produce satisfying, but not physically jarring bass. In a 5.1 audio or home theater system, a sub is a must. Rumors have been flying about smaller, powered Wilson subs, but none have hit the market yet. Considering the quality of sound from Wilson subs over the years, as well as their excellent finishes, a future Wilson sub might make the best match for a CUB II, but you will not be missing out too much between now and then.
Whenever I read about a mini-monitor, it almost always generates a mental picture of a specialty product for a group of listeners that are primarily interested in pinpoint imaging of simple vocals, and perhaps some small venue instrumental music. There are inherent advantages to the smaller enclosures. Among these are less potential enclosure interaction, as well as a typically more efficient speaker. If you share in any of these misconceptions, let them go, because the Wilson CUBs are so much more. The CUBs are dynamic and exciting. They are capable of absolutely startling imaging. They lack the low-end punch of the big boys but, to their credit, the bass they do provide is good, real good. In fact, if you compare them to many full-range speakers in their price bracket, you might find the other speakers' bass to be slow and fat when contrasted with the ultra-quick bass response of the CUBs. However, I will say that the CUBs are not for everyone. Their less than rock-bottom bass response and sometimes less than polite top end makes this the speaker for the connoisseur, rather than the person looking for the ultimate full-range do-any-music speaker system. Whether you are in the market for a speaker system in this range or not, find somewhere to hear these speakers. They are simply wonderful.


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|31st July 2008, 12:27 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Ames, Iowa
Dual hi-vi mini project
Ok so i'm heading off to college for areospace engineering and airforce ROTC in about a month and i'd like to shrink my stereo a bit. I currently have 4 polk audio r15's, a polk cs1 center, yamaha 10 inch sub and a pioneer reciever.
I've been doing research into speaker building for about 3 weeks now and I think i've finally gotten to the point where i'm ready to try.
My goals are to beat the clarity of the polk r15's in the mid and high area's and allowing my sub to take the low end (sub 200hz range). My neighbor has bassbox pro so i have have access to graphs and box design and the such. I do some audio editing and creation and strongly prefer a completely flat response to anything else.
Each speaker (2 total) are going to be comprised of 2 mids and a tweeter. At this point i'm stuck between the m4n and the m3n. The m4n's seems to be overpowered before 200 ( so it's not a big deal) and then a flatter response out to 5k which is where i'd like to cut them. For the tweeter i'm not really sure. i'm thinking about the hi-vi sd1 right now
I'm totally stumped when it comes to crossover options or desing. I could build my own without a problem (soldering is no problem at all even .05 pitch and smd's) but i don't know how to go about it.
any suggestions? I have 3 weeks to get this done
|31st July 2008, 03:30 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
I'm going to make a few assumptions given the information available. One is that you would like something small and inexpensive. Two is that you don't presently have access to or experience with frequency response measurement equipment, though I'm sure you seem willing to learn. Three is that you will be trying to pack a lot of stuff and see a lot of friends in the next three weeks and that you will not be able to spend a large amount of time on this project.
Based on the time limit (3 weeks) and the lead time to get parts which will eat up a minimum of one week, I would highly recommend building an already published design if you want to have a finished pair of speakers by the time you leave for school.
I realize that this suggestion removes some of the romance from the speaker building dream, but the reality of the situation is that even for an experienced speaker designer, 3 weeks would be an insufficient amount of time to properly design and build a speaker, if for no other reason than lead time alone in ordering parts.
A nice design is the bargain mini at zaphaudio.
This design has already been thoroughly tested and was designed by a very reputable source. It has very flat response and is perfect for use with a subwoofer.
You can always build more speakers later if you want to design your own, it can be very rewarding and a great way to get some engineering practice.
Best of luck with the project, which ever way to decide to go; and best of luck with school as well!
|31st July 2008, 04:39 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Ashland, MA
Excellent Advice
He's absolutely right, build a tried 'n true. Speaker design is largely a process of refinement, and the first 'box' usually doesn't 'work'.
"The dawn of Bose created the "Man Cave" and reduced testoterone levels worldwide by 18.5 per cent" Peteleoni
|31st July 2008, 04:58 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: San Diego, CA
Here are a couple of Hi Vi designs you might consider:
Soft Dome
|31st July 2008, 10:21 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
I just noticed that the woofer used in Zaph's project is on sale at MCM. Use coupon code WA807 to get it for $9.95 (regularly $12.95). You can also get $4.99 shipping right now for orders over $50 and free shipping for orders over $100.
It is a little known fact that MCM carries Bennic capacitors as well (the brand carried by Madisound and the ones in the bill of materials for the bargain mini), and that they are often cheaper than Parts Express or Madisound.
Bill of Materials for the Bargain Mini as purchased through Madisound.
C0 - 2.7 uF Bennic Poly $1.30 ea
L1 - .25 mH 19 ga Air Core $2.75 ea
C3 - 10 uF Bennic Poly $3.75 ea
R4 - 4 ohms Eagle Metal Oxide Film $1.20 ea
R5 - 5 ohms Eagle Metal Oxide Film $1.20 ea
L7 - 1.50 mH 19 ga Air Core $5.40 ea
C9 - 3.3 uF Bennic Poly $1.60 ea
Prices at MCM (using current 15% coupon code)
C0 - 2.7 uF Bennic Poly $1.15 ea
L1 - .25 mH 19 ga Air Core (Not Available)
C3 - 10 uF Bennic Poly $2.63 ea
R4 - 3.9 ohms 25W Wirewound Resistor $0.74 ea
R5 - 5.1 ohms 25W Wirewound Resistor $0.74 ea
L7 - 1.50 mH 19 ga Air Core $5.64 ea (Cheaper at Madisound)
C9 - 3.3 uF Bennic Poly $1.44 ea
You still have to place an order to Madisound for the tweeters and inductors, but if you order the rest of the parts from MCM you can save another $4.22, on top of the $6 you save for the woofers being on sale.
The total for the components and drivers could be as low as $85 or so including shipping from both MCM and Madisound.
Best Regards,
|31st July 2008, 10:36 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Ames, Iowa
Thanks for that info! I'm going to build a pair of zbm4's. I only wish they were a tad shallower but with that frequency response i'll live. Any thing i should read to get a better understanding of all of this?
Don't worry i'll have some pictures
|1st August 2008, 01:51 AM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
A wise choice, I think you will find the build enjoyable and rewarding.
You should read the whole zbm4 page carefully, and there is at least one other thread on this forum where someone built the zbm4 and documented the build. While you are on Zaph's page, read the design mantras article to get a feel for how Zaph designs and builds his projects.
The biggest challenge on this project will be building the enclosure. You will probably want to go ahead and start on that as soon as possible, which you can do without the drivers since you have detailed drawings on the zbm4 page. Do you have a router and table saw? If not you might consider pre-built enclosures. These can be rather pricey, but are worth every dime if you don't have proper space/time/tools to do woodworking yourself.
Go ahead and start compiling your order(s) for the parts, if you are anything like me you will need a day or two to add on all the extras you might feel compelled to order.
I was wrong earlier about the shipping cost for MCM. It looks like you only have to have a minimum order of $40 to get the discounted $4.99 shipping, which should work out perfectly for you if you order the capacitors, woofers, and the 1.5mH inductor from them.
I found a 20% off code for MCM, which makes the deal even sweeter. The source code is FF020 . You will need to enter both source codes (FF020 and WA807) to get the sale price on the woofers in addition to the 20% off.
Good luck on the project and be sure to ask any questions you have and give us updates!
|1st August 2008, 08:00 AM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
I hate to butt in but you've given some great advice gtforme00, just the advice I was about to register and ask for.
Big question: Where did you find the Bennic caps and other parts on the MCM site? I've tried searching all over and can't locate any of the components you mentioned other then the speakers. If you still had the part numbers that would be fantastic.
|1st August 2008, 01:03 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Not a problem, try this link: http://www.mcmelectronics.com/browse...ponent/1000296
MCM doesn't list Bennic as the manufacturer, but if you look at the pictures you can tell that they are, and the manufacturer part number is a Bennic part number. More importantly, I have ordered them in the past and can confirm that they are Bennic branded.
MCM isn't the easiest site to browse, so sometimes searching for keywords and using filters is the only way to find what you need.
Most of the crossover components on the MCM site are listed under AMS Enterprises as the manufacturer. You can select to list items by manufacturer to help narrow the list.
|1st August 2008, 01:45 PM
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Brighton UK
Not to put too fine a point on it, both those designs are poor designs.
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Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 188.8.131.52
Forum Moderators: travelin cat
After installing Snow Leopard, I noticed some strange behavior, such as having the message pop up at the wrong time as well as having numerous instances of the same message in the message box that pops up to remind me of my event.
I found out that Snow Leopard had made events that I had set to repeat regularly, to repeat only on the day that the new OS was installed, not every other week, or every Friday as I originally set up.
This was easily fixed by changing the events in iCal, but I just wanted to give everyone a heads up to check any repeating events you might have asap.


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The tragic death of Junior Seau brings to focus the struggle that many NFL players have after their professional football careers come to an end. A life forged of competitive fire, physical pain and at times unbridled mental intensity can't be cooled by a twenty minute press conference, an engraved crystal football and a pat on the back. For many NFL players, football and all its rigors on and off the field is all they've known since childhood. Those not balanced in the nuances of life used the game as an outlet, a so called "pressure valve", to release the steam that might be building.
What's next?
As a result, once the lights go out for some NFL players so does the release of this pressure and with nowhere else to go it builds up like a boiler. Some former NFL players turn to drugs and alcohol, some to bad investments, some to domestic violence and tragically as in the case of Seau, self inflicted death.
No one seems immune, though some appear to handle walking away from the game better than others. In the case of Junior Seau, it's hard for most of us to imagine a superstar falling prey to the beast of life's cruel realities. How could someone who had accomplished so much on the football field want for anything in life? Couldn't he just tackle the day to day problems like he did some opponent's running back late in the 4th quarter? Future Hall of Famers aren't supposed to take their own lives.
But imagine if you will the hundreds, if not thousands of players that never attained the notoriety of Junior Seau, players who entered and exited the League without a press conference, memento or even a handshake. Recall the stories that you may have heard of the player forced into bankruptcy, substance abuse or depression, commodities to be used and then discarded as soon as the barrel emptied.
Checking off the box
The NFL has gone to great lengths to establish programs that address the causes that lead to what seem to be insurmountable problems. But a check in the box indicating the completion of a "rookie symposium" or "mandatory meeting" doesn't necessarily establish consistent understanding and behavior. It has to be made part of a culture, not from a League wide perspective, but at the club level and then down through to the NFL player.
Cultivate your assets
NFL players should be regarded as assets in the communities that they live and play to represent. These assets should be cultivated using a comprehensive Player Performance Program tailored for each individual. Cookie cutter curriculums don't address the unique requirements of each player. This takes a lot of work and resources to truly commit to. Many clubs aren't willing to make that commitment. Our industry owes it to these men to help with the transition, before they hang up their helmets.
A new way of thinking
I propose a comprehensive and integrated program aimed at the professional athlete (specifically NFL players) using top experts in various fields of both mental and physical development to put together a training regimen centered on the needs of each individual. The primary mission will be maximizing player performance through the ongoing implementation of a developmental process designed specifically for each athlete.
In lieu of implementing the program at the club level, this proposal will allow an outreach to more athletes regardless of team or sport affiliation. It will emphasize the importance of each athlete to take control of his or her own professional training and development. It will stress the importance of managing the individual's own interests within the market place of professional sports and place the responsibility of maximized performance upon the individual, not solely on the club & its support staff.
Take it into your own hands
Every athlete in today's professional sports industry is really their own individual company or LLC. They exist in an environment that essentially contracts out for their "goods & services", and in this case their health, talent and production on & off the field of play. The athlete is then asked to combine with other athletes (companies/LLC's) to form a composite company (professional team).
The key from the club's perspective is to get all the individual companies working for the best interests of the parent company. This tends to perpetuate a "top down" emphasis of plans, programs and procedures (cookie cutter approach) to reach the overall goal of "winning" in team sports. "What's good for one is good for all." Time and resource constraints almost make this an imperative and roll into the mantra that "big brother knows best" when it comes to the development and training of their own athletes.
However it is rare that the club ever takes responsibility for the lack of production on the field or for the problems generated off it by its players.
TFE's next post will lay out the details of a comprehensive Player Performance Program.


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Dr. Helen Gelley from Hyperbaric Physicians of Georgia answers a reader's question about cancer survivors having chronic problems with radiation.
Q: Can anything be done for cancer survivors experiencing chronic problems from radiation?
A: Depending on location of their radiation treatment, cancer survivors may experience poorly-healing wounds, pain, or bleeding with urination or bowel movements, among others. Fortunately, in Atlanta hyperbaric medicine (HBO) programs are widely available, including in the suburbs. HBO has been shown in published studies to be very effective at resolving these late effects of radiation, and insurance covers HBO for problems related to previous radiation treatment. A great source for more information is the "HBO Indications" page of www.uhms.org.


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You may remember my post about Lena, the girl who claimed to not like anything in an interview with a classmate. I haven't posted about Lena in a while because I've been concerned about revealing too much about her, but since I choose to keep myself, my school, my location, etc. private, no one should really be able to identify Lena anyway--which, of course, is not her real name.
I wish I could report that Lena is doing better, but she isn't. In fact, things have only gotten worse. Lena is cutting school almost every day, and when she does come, she comes late, sometimes as late as sixth or seventh period. And when she comes late, she often doesn't come to class--she makes an appearance in the office to get marked present, goes to the bathroom, and stays there reading or doing homework. Then she'll go around to her teachers at the end of the day, hand in her work, and go home.
You could argue that this is, in some ways, an improvement over what class cutters usually do (which is nothing at best and major troublemaking at worst), but there's no bright side with Lena right now. I met with her parents last week and it was the most depressing parent meeting I've ever had, hands down. Lena is very troubled right now. She refuses to be helped--not by her family, not by her friends, not by school or medical personnel. She either withdraws tightly into herself or lashes out in bizarre rage against whoever is available.
My heart breaks for Lena and her family, who have no idea what to do. I'm starting to wonder if Lena needs to be hospitalized, if she might hurt herself or someone else. She's a bright girl with many lovely qualities, but something has taken her over, and it's doing a lot of damage, whatever it is.
I wish I could help, but I'm afraid I've already done what I could, which is to write up a guidance referral, keep my door open for her, and hope for the best. It's terrible what kids have to deal with sometimes. But I have eightysome other students to worry about, too, and Lena is being watched by people who are in a better position to give her the help she really needs. Somehow, though, none of that really makes me feel any better about it.
ICYMI: Soup Party Day Edition (11/17)
2 hours ago


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Home > Blogs > The Laid Off IT Guy! Seeking Hope, Seeking Employment
I've networked with a couple of different job clubs. I received some outplacement services when I lost my job last year and they have a nice group that meets once a month. Recently I just completed a six week class through my church entitled, Seeking Hope, Seeking Employment. This faith based program was unlike anything else that I've participated in thus far.
The group was lead by a man named Bob and he had an assistant named Ralph. As I understand it Bob felt a calling within his church to help others find jobs. He has a friend named John that had worked in a large company that had to displace over 1600 workers. John created a manual to help people understand themselves better to counsel them to find other employment. John presented this information in the first meeting and shared with us that through his program he was able to place all but 5 employees, who themselves determined that they didn't want to find another job. So, the program was quite successful.
The concept is simple. Understand what you like and what you are good at and choose a career that reflects those desires. Each person in our group had the opportunity to evaluate hundreds of key skills. Then we categorized only the top ones that matched our likes into the following categories: People, Values, Special Interests, Work Environment, Growth, Pressure, Responsibility & Salary, Geography and Favorite Skills. The complete picture is called your Career Puzzle.
Once you knew your key skills in each category, you ranked them in your Priority Grid. This means that you ranked each category against every other category to determine what you wanted the most. If you wanted more Responsibility & Salary, then perhaps you were willing to give up your current Geography to move. If your Family Values were stronger, then perhaps you didn't move and sacrificed your Work Environment, etc.
It was a time consuming exercise, but worthwhile as I got to know myself better in terms of key skills and life priorities. I've used this map as my compass in evaluating job opportunities. It has also helped in interviews to be able to rattle off some of my key skill in each of those functional areas when appropriate.
The good news is that many of these same concepts are covered in a book that is available to you called "What Color Is Your Parachute?" by Richard Nelson Bolles. Buy a copy online or find it for free at your local library.
As the class was faith based, I'd like to leave you with a Bible verse. "Commit to the Lord and all your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3.
I'd really like to hear from you. Post a comment online or send me an email.
Thank you!
The Laid Off IT Guy!
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Network Programmability with YANG: The Structure of Network Automation with YANG, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and gNMI


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Since I'm new to the C Board its hard to remember what needs to go before and after the code that you insert in your posts. A lot of older members may think this is dumb, but progress is what makes the world a better place to live.
But why can't you just put like [start] and [end] in an area of a new post screen where users can just click on them and they get inserted just like a smiley face automatically. Naturally you need to substitute the proper code for start and end above.
LOL I used the proper word and my post looked funny


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MSR....it's not about how fast you drive...or how you drive fast....it's about the Dreamcast!
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Honda NSX In Early Version
Bizzare Creations statement explaining why Hondas were excluded:
As you know, some car manufacturers imposed restrictions on the game - such as no pedestrians, no proper traffic, no one-way/no entry signs, the car not allowed to leave the ground, etc.
Sega were in discussion with Honda to include their cars in the game, but the additional restrictions they asked for would have compromised the game too much. Therefore it was with sadness that we had to remove all Honda cars from the game.
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Big Fish's hit game Gummy Drop!, a free to play match-3 game, is now available on PC. Gummy Drop! makes the move to PC after a hugely successful run on iOS and Android - reaching the 8th top-grossing iPad app and the 20th top-grossing iPhone game. Concept Art House collaborated with Big Fish to create game marketing art and splash images for Gummy Drop!. In honor of Big Fish's PC release, we're excited to showcase some of the work we've contributed to Gummy Drop! in the past.
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Nick Hawley did an amazing job organizing this year's 'Get On The Road For The Trail' bike ride from Corvallis to Albany. Over 150 riders made the trip, with their final destination at our brewery and pub. Here are a couple of pictures and you can see more pictures and video on the Albany Corvallis Bike Path web site.
Thanks to everyone who attended to raise awareness for this great cause, and cheers to Nick for continuing to be an advocate for green solutions!
dc, webmaster
Nick addressing the riders before leaving for Albany:
Riders making their way on highway 20:
Our pals John and Kelly finishing the ride and looking to quench their thirst:
Nick getting interviewed outside our brewpub by KVAL TV with over a hundred bikes behind him and in the atrium:


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This is the last in a series of articles that have been written concerning my decision to stay with the life of faith. I titled this series, "Staying with My Religion: The Risk and Rewards of Sticking it Out." It has been written in response to a book by a former pastor called, "Leaving My Religion: The Risk and Rewards of Becoming Non-Religious." After twenty-five years, this former pastor left the ministry, the church and his faith. He felt that life "no longer worked for him." His book has become a workshop and he recently led a sold-out session. I don't want this series of articles to be seen as a judgment upon this former pastor's decision. His story is his own. I simply wanted to offer a different perspective.
I have worked in congregations for nearly thirty years, and there have been a few times when I was ready to throw in the towel. I have also had tragic losses in my own life and been present with many people in their own difficult circumstances. Times when the shallowness of the simplistic answers offered by too much of the religious world become so easily apparent. Times in which I have learned that a silent presence with one who is hurting may be the most powerful gift we have to offer. Yet, neither those tragic times nor the difficulties of congregational life have led me to leave my faith behind. They have led to periods of deep questioning in which I thought I might walk away, but I haven't. My faith is different than it was thirty years ago when I began in ministry, as well it should be. But my belief in the Sacred and Holy continues to be central to who I am. My trust that life has meaning and purpose, that there is a Reason behind it all, has only grown stronger over time and through my experiences. For anyone who was interested, I thought I would share at least some of the reasons why this is so. Not in judgment of the other pastor, but as an alternative.
I have written about what I call the Sacred Realities of love, joy, hope and beauty. Realities that cannot be empirically proven to exist, but are the Realities that give life its deepest sense of meaning. I also wrote about the importance of the community of faith as a place of both comfort and challenge, a place where our relationships help us to understand what it means to be fully human. In ending this series, I want to point to religious faith as being a word of hope for our world.
In her book, "A People's History of Christianity" Diana Butler Bass quotes Sojourners founder Jim Wallis:
From the perspective of the Bible hope is not simply a feeling or a mood or a rhetorical flourish. Hope is the very dynamic of history. Hope is the engine of change. Hope is the energy of transformation. . . . Between impossibility and possibility, there is a door, the door of hope. And the possibility of history's transformation lies through that door.
I believe that the message the church is called to share with our world is ultimately one of hope. Hope that the darkness of the ways things so often are, are not the way things have to be. Hope that things can be different. Hope that the people who live as enemies can live in peace. Hope that the blessings of this world, which are abundant, can be shared with all in need. Hope that every human being is treated with dignity and respect, for we recognize that all are created in the Sacred image. Hope that selflessness can overcome selfishness, that love can overcome indifference, that understanding can overcome prejudice. This is the hope-filled message of the church. This is the gospel; that in Christ an alternative way to live has been shown to us, a way that shines light into the darkness.
Suzanne Collins' trilogy, "The Hunger Games," has become quite a cultural phenomenon, especially now that the books are being made into movies. "The Hunger Games" are a stinging critique of our society's fascination with media, celebrity, and violence. The disparity between the "haves and have-nots" and the insidious nature of power also play a central role in the future dystopian society that Collins has created. She holds a haunting mirror up to us so that we might see that our ways are costing us that which is most precious, our children.
In her story about the country of Panem, there is a revolution that is beginning to take place, a dissatisfaction with the way things are is beginning to brew. The leader and symbol of the revolution is a teenage girl named Katniss Everdeen. In the second book, "Catching Fire" it is decided by the President of Panem, who is invested in keeping things just as they are, that Katniss must be eliminated. When he is asked why, the President responds, "Because she gives hope to the revolution. Without her, they have no hope and the revolution is over." In this series of books, both highly popular and highly critical of our culture, hope is understood to be that power which can change things. Hope can make a difference. Hope can bring down the oppressive structures and create a more just society.
I understand that the church doesn't always live up to what it should be. I know religious doctrines and dogma can often sound hollow amidst the complexities and tragedies of life. I seek not to judge someone who has experienced the church's failures and meager attempts to explain the unexplainable and then decided it isn't for them. I simply wanted to share another perspective. I still find the life of faith, and life lived in the community of faith, to be a life of blessing and worth my commitment. I am deeply grateful to be part of a tradition where we proclaim the hope that the power of love is greater, by far, than the love of power.
I haven't stayed with this life of faith because "it works for me." I actually find such a utilitarian approach to life to be very dangerous. I have stayed with the life of faith because I believe in things that can't be seen, but can experienced – love, joy, hope and beauty. I have stayed with this life of faith because I believe our most important journey in life is toward becoming a more complete human being and this can only happen in the relationships of a community, a community that is about so much more than just "me." And I have stayed with this life of faith because I believe it is through our faith that we provide the hope of different possibilities to our world.
These are some of reasons that I have stayed at it for the past thirty years. And I plan to keep staying at it. I hope that maybe something I have written over the past month has given you some reason to think about the place of faith in your own life. I encourage you to stay with it. I believe both you and our world will be blessed if you do.


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by Alison Wagener
Every picture tells a story. But what happens when that story strays from the truth – perhaps so far that it becomes a truth of its own?
That's what UW-Eau Claire archivist Greg Kocken, associate professor of English B.J. Hollars, and associate professor of photography Jyl Kelley set out to discover. And at their UWEC Foster Gallery exhibition, "Fauxtography: Real Photos, Fake Stories, and the Intersection of Fact and Fiction," you can too.
The exhibition consists of 16 photographs from Daniel Nelson and Charles Van Schaick, both turn of the 20th century western Wisconsin photographers. Displayed under each photograph is a story, written by Hollars, that features the picture's subject. To make the experience even more immersive, the team recruited several community members to read the stories aloud.
But while writing these stories came naturally to Hollars, pairing fictional, inaccurate information with historical photos was a departure from Kocken's everyday work.
"That's the difficult thing to wrap my mind around, still. Partly because my training is as a historian, and this goes absolutely against everything that a historian would do," Kocken joked. "I think we're really trying to challenge the viewer to question what they see."
In 2011, Kocken assisted a historian who was working on a small family project. The historian was intrigued by a set of glass plate negatives taken by his grandfather, Daniel Nelson, an amateur Eau Claire photographer. Over 400 in total, these negatives presented a considerable opportunity for the McIntyre Library Special Collections and Archives to partner in preserving and providing access to a piece of Eau Claire history.
"All of those images focus on Eau Claire, and more importantly, place [the researcher's] family in the context of Eau Claire at a very important time in our community's history, a time when Eau Claire was transitioning from a lumber town into this kind of post-lumber, emerging industrial town," Kocken said. "It's a very fascinating collection."
Kocken added that while Nelson's photography is obviously amateur, he was struck by the candid nature in which he captured his subjects while simultaneously placing them within a meaningful scene. Kocken later had the idea to display the Nelson images in the Foster Gallery, and he knew he wanted to pair them with Van Schaick's.
Van Schaick began as a studio photographer in Black River Falls in 1885 and served as the town's main photographer for over 50 years. His professional photographs present a contrast to Nelson's amateur work, featuring posed subjects, painted backdrops, and often blank expressions. His collection of over 6,000 images was made available by the Wisconsin Historical Society and have been featured in Wisconsin Death Trip and Hollars' own Dispatches from the Drownings.
Together, Kocken, Hollars, and Kelley narrowed down the thousands of images to just 16, a process Greg understated as being "not easy." The challenge, Greg said, was to find images that not only had a fine aesthetic quality, but that also told a story.
Hollars then took inspiration from those stories to write his own.
"It was so fun to develop the stories inspired by these photographs. In some ways, it felt like I was collaborating with Van Schaick and Nelson. And it sort of felt like I was collaborating with the subjects, too—all of whom are long dead, of course, but through the power of fiction, we were able to dream a few more stories."
Kocken said that by pairing fictional stories with these very real photographs, they hope to challenge the audience's narrative of what happens when you look at a picture.
"The photographs are perfectly real – they capture perfectly real moments in time. But often when we see a photograph, when we don't know the subject or the scene, our mind starts trying to piece that puzzle together," Kocken said. "In this way, we've taken that concept and kind of flipped it on its head, because we've absolutely built those puzzle pieces for you in your mind. But they're not accurate at all."
When I went to chat with him, Kocken showed me a sneak peek of the exhibition, and I can say that "Fauxtography" certainly subverts its audience's expectations. The true lives of the people in each historical picture are essentially unknowable, so the fictional stories Hollars has created become, in a way, more true for the audience than their real-life situations. It's a very personal experience—but still completely fabricated.
So basically, it's just your everyday art exhibition, except it makes you question everything you know about art, photography, stories, and perhaps even truth itself.
"Fauxtography: Real Photos, Fake Stories, and the Intersection of Fact and Fiction" will be displayed Nov. 4-23 in the Haas Fine Arts Center's Foster Gallery at UW-Eau Claire. Entrance to the Foster Gallery is free. Those interested in listening to the stories are encouraged to bring their smartphones and a pair of headphones.


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If you've ever wanted to get rid of stubborn cellulite, then you've likely researched all of the procedures, creams and pills out there to fight this unsightly fat that plagues so many women. But if you've come up short in your search, then there may be hope in the form of a new FDA-cleared procedure called Liposonix.
After doing a profile piece on the procedure earlier this month, we now have more details about Liposonix from the creators themselves. Upon contacting a representative from the company, we were able to dig up some more information about the cellulite-reducing procedure. Here's what we found.
Q: Your website is touting one procedure, one hour. But can a patient after the 12 week recovery period receive additional treatments?
Patients can be retreated as many times as desired as long as the patient still has sufficient fat thickness in the treatment area. You would want to wait eight to 12 weeks before retreating to give the treated tissue time to fully reabsorb.
As I mentioned in my previous piece, the fat is destroyed using a high intensity ultrasound and your immune system destroys the fat and it is eliminated by your liver. As long as you can pinch an inch of skin and have a BMI less than 30 (overweight or normal weight) you'd qualify for more treatments. You should also understand that the average person loses about an inch; some people lose more, some less. I like to think positive, but going into it with the expectation that you may be less than average may leave you feeling less disappointed afterwards.
Q: Similar to laser hair removal, will a patient need touch ups?
No, the Liposonix system uses non-invasive, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to get rid of fat on the body without surgery. The targeted fat cells are permanently destroyed, but surrounding fat cells can grow. The best way for patients to maintain their results is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Individual results and office visit time may vary among patients, but on average, patients lose one pant or dress size.
In other words, don't feed the fat. Keep your calorie count under control and limit your amount of saturated fat. Diabetics are usually told to limit saturated fats to less than seven percent of their total daily intake. Exercise is also part of the equation. Try to aim for at least 30 minutes every day most days of the week. If you're new to an exercise routine, don't go from zero to Iron Man. Try walking first and go from there. Always remember to consult a doctor before you start any exercise program especially if you have any health conditions.
Q: Right now it looks like this is just a procedure recommended for the abdominal area. Are there any other areas in the works for treatments?
Liposonix is indicated for non-invasive waist circumference reduction on the abdomen and flanks area.
Many prescription medications get approved for one indication just to get their foot in the door and then get additional indications to maintain their patent. The representative did not indicate that more areas are under investigation. But with liposuction able to remove fat from almost any area in the body, it would seem most beneficial for the makers of Liposonix to consider researching all areas of the body – especially the thigh and buttocks regions where a lot of women accumulate fat.
Q: How were the clinical trials conducted and what were the results?
In clinical trials, more than 200 patients were treated with Liposonix and the average waistline reduction was one inch (2.5 cm), which equates to one pant size. Additionally, 91 percent reported an improvement in the flatness of their abdomen. With 15 patents issued for this advanced ultrasound technology, there really is nothing else like it out there for non-invasive, permanent fat reduction.
The representative gave me a facts sheet regarding how Liposonix works and what the benefits are. What I would like to see is how these patients are doing in the future to determine if they maintained the loss in fat and inches. After many years of a prescription drug being out in the market, we find they can cause substantial damage. Post-marketing studies should be conducted to ensure there is no potential for long-term damage.
Hopefully, you now have all the information you need to decide if Liposonix is for you, or if another route is the best option.
Also Read:
5 Foods to Reduce the Appearance of Cellulite
Fat Removed from Liposuction Reappears in Mysterious Places


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What!?! The Internet is not evil?
Resources for the session "What!?! The Internet is not evil?"
Kaiser Family Foundation – "Generation M: Media in the lives of 8 to 18 year olds"
Overview - http://www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm
Full Report - http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf
NYTimes - "If your Kids Are Awake, They're Probably Online"
Jay Maynard "Tron Guy" - http://www.tronguy.net/
Toddlers even have a presence - http://mashable.com/2010/10/07/toddlers-online-presence/


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The Dartmouth College Marching Band (abbr. DCMB) is an officially recognized student organization of Dartmouth College, and is the oldest marching band in the Ivy League.
Formed during the 1889 season, the Dartmouth College Marching Band is the oldest marching band in the Ivy League. Since the 1960s, the DCMB has been a "scatter band" like every Ivy League marching band except Cornell's band.
During the fall, the band attends all home football games and usually two to three of the away games. For the pre-game and halftime of each game, the band writes a script, intended to be humorous, which is read over the loudspeaker as the band scrambles into a formation which relates to the jokes in the script. During the football game, the band plays during offensive first downs and after any points are scored, and supplies various chants and songs.
Once football season is over, the DCMB remains active by acting as a pep band at hockey and basketball games, as well as by playing at various special events on campus such as Winter Carnival.
The band includes a kazoo section as well as a "liquid percussion" section, in which kegs and jugs are used as percussion instruments. Although many other scatter bands have similar percussion groups (such as Princeton's "Trash Percussion" section), the DCMB is the only band in the Ivy League to include a kazoo section..
While the band does have official faculty representatives, the organization is primarily student-run. The President holds overarching power, the General Manager organizes on-campus and off-campus events, the Drum Major creates the formations and leads marching, and the Conductor picks songs to play and conducts the band. In addition, other members of the "Directorate" deal with equipment management, show writing, publicity, social life, supplying music, maintaining lists, and other various necessary tasks. Positions are filled with a mixture of election and appointment. By DCMB tradition, the Governor of Hawaii is an ex officio member of directorate, and supreme authority rests with the Coke Machine. The coke machine in Morton Hall was elected to the directorate in November 1988 when Tor Blaisdell ran for president unopposed. Mr. Blaisdell was elected as president, while the Coke Machine became a member of the DCMB directorate.
The uniform consists of black pants, a white turtleneck shirt, and a green blazer for football games. As with other scatter bands, this uniform was traditionally customarily accessorized with silly hats and buttons, but this has changed in recent years to a more professional look.. In the winter, these uniforms are traded in for rugby shirts striped in green and white.
The Dartmouth College Marching Band maintains itself as one of the most tradition-centric organizations on campus, and as a group on the forefront of student spirit. The band's goofy nature and non-traditional attire are characteristics shared with most other Ivy League bands. The band's motto, which distinguishes it from many student groups on campus for its non-Latin origin, is "The Band Always Wins!" and "Hey Band!-Hey What!"
As much a social organization as a musical group, members of the group participate in intramural sports, maintain an active e-mail discussion list, and hold various social events throughout the year. The e-mail list is known as the "Socialist," a name that reflects upon its addictively communal nature and combines the words "social" and "list."
The band continues to play the old fight songs that have been played at football games for nearly a century. These songs include "Dartmouth's in Town Again," "Come Stand Up Men," "As the Backs Go Tearing By," and "Glory to Dartmouth" - collectively known as the "Dartmouth Tunes" or "DT's". The conclusion of each game is cause to play the Alma Mater, to which the football team and audience members sing, followed by an arrangement of Hey Baby from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack. Before football games, the band marches to tailgate parties, as well as through Hanover, New Hampshire's Main Street for home games, playing "Louie, Louie" and the Dartmouth Tunes.
Every Dartmouth Night Weekend, the band doubles in size as alumni return wearing sweaters knitted by the Faculty Advisor's wife, and march with the band. Some alumni have come back for more than 50 homecomings. The band demonstrates its only fancy marching during the halftime show, as band members march directly into a "D" formation.
Each year, one away game is picked to be a three-day trip, during which time band members climb a skyscraper and sing Dartmouth songs on its top floor. Other yearly social events include a bowling trip, a potluck dinner for the freshmen, a scavenger hunt, a tradition-filled 'banquet' dinner, and others.
The song repertoire consists primarily of TV and movie theme music as well as some classic rock, though new additions are constantly being added by students. Some of the band's favorite songs include:


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How Zach Braff's Films Changed My Lifeby Maggie Malach | PopCrush
Once upon a time — before hashtags or selfies were a form of self-expression and when Facebook was just a blip in Silicon Valley — there was a movie that changed the way young adults saw the world.
I was 15 when 'Garden State' was released in the summer of 2004, although its slow burn onto my radar meant that it didn't really impact my suburban Ohio high school until early 2005. At the time, I was like any other high schooler: confused, appropriately angsty and just trying to figure things out. But when the underground buzz about this 'Garden State' movie finally bubbled up into my high school world, it affected me like many things do — music first.
I was at the beginning of what has become an unending exploration of music (the tight indie rock band T-shirts and car keys clipped to the belt loop of my jeans would come later), when I first heard the infectious tambourine tap of the Shins' 'New Slang.' A friend lent me the 'Garden State' soundtrack in response to my inquiries, and I was immediately taken by the fact that, well, it didn't seem like a soundtrack at all. It was compiled more like a finely tuned mixtape — one curated by a close friend with exceptional taste in music, to boot. From the cryptic lyrics of the Shins' 'Caring Is Creepy' to the longing narrative of Cary Brothers' 'Blue Eyes' to Frou Fou's climactic "Let Go,' the soundtrack tapped into everything my 16-year-old self was trying to understand. To quote Natalie Portman's character, Samantha, "It'll change your life, I swear."
After falling in love with the 'Garden State' soundtrack, I saw the movie and was excited — and a bit relieved — to see that the story was a perfect fit with the musical component. Honestly, what girl didn't admire pint-sized Natalie Portman's spunky personality or empathize with Zach Braff's disconnect with the world around him? The movie was artistic, but relatable. Smart, witty, beautiful and unpretentious. For a generation of young adults looking for answers beyond Holden Caulfield's rebellion, this was something.
Whether it's the memories of long night drives with the soundtrack humming through the speakers of my Toyota Corolla, my now-permanent romantic outlook on airport phone booths or the strong role that writing and music still play in my life, I decided to revisit the movie that had so strongly impacted my youth. Not having properly watched 'Garden State' end-to-end in a few years, its upcoming 10th anniversary — as well as the release of Zach Braff's upcoming film 'Wish I Was Here' — seemed like the perfect moment to do so.
Watching the movie again immediately brought me back to being 16 years old. It wasn't hard to recall exactly how I felt as I saw the film the first time and experienced the 'Garden State' buzz growing around me. Some lines were just as straight-forward and true as I remembered them ("If you can't laugh at yourself, life's gonna seem a whole lot longer than you like"), while the bittersweet return of Zach's character Andrew to his hometown was all too relatable to me, as someone who waited only a month after graduating college to leave Ohio for New York City.
Nearly 10 years after watching 'Garden State' for the first time, I have a few of the answers to the questions I had in high school, but I'm still looking for a lot of them. I'm no longer anticipating life when I'm Andrew's age — I am Andrew's age. And, of course, I live literally minutes from the Garden State itself. (In fact, I can see New Jersey from the end of my block.) But most of all, seeing how 'Garden State' has stood the test of time — at least, 10 years of it — I'm looking forward to seeing Zach's latest movie, 'Wish I Was Here.'
Since 'Wish I Was Here' doesn't hit theaters until July 18, I've only seen the trailer, but it immediately resonates with many of the same qualities 'Garden State' possesses. While the plot is only loosely addressed, the trailer flashes from one beautiful image to the next. The trailer's music, to my joy, is yet another offering from the Shins. (According to NPR, 'So Now What' was written by the Shins' James Mercer especially for 'Wish I Was Here' and gives Zach "goosebumps.")
Above all, the teaser leaves me with lots and lots of questions, which leads me to believe the movie will do the same. 'Garden State' made you work to catch the subtleties, to appreciate the wisdom woven into the conversational dialogue. And, if the 'Wish I Was Here' trailer is any indication, Zach is still looking for some of the answers too. Let's not overlook one of the shots in the trailer, which shows three of the characters silhouetted and looking into what could easily be described as an "infinite abyss."
Speaking of characters, no one can recall 'Garden State' without noting Natalie Portman's inimitable role as compulsive liar Samantha. Years before her Oscar nominations (and subsequent 2011 win), Natalie lit up the movie alongside Zach. While 'Wish I Was Here' features notable actors such as Ashley Greene, Kate Hudson and Mandy Patinkin, it also stands to be the jumping point for lesser-known talents as well. Joey King — most recognizable from her work in 'Ramona and Beezus' and 'Crazy, Stupid, Love.' — is a promising actress with the same electricity Natalie radiates in each of her roles. This could be a standout role for 15-year-old Joey, much like 'Garden State' was for the Oscar-winning actress.
Once again, Zach Braff's character is a decade or so older than me, this time with children and a whole new set of problems to work through. Even in the two-minute clip, the characters seem as vividly multi-faceted and unique as those in 'Garden State,' while the trailer's West Coast backdrop suggests it's a long, long way from New Jersey. The scenery might be different, but the trailer indicates that the plot, characters and dialogue — all things that made 'Garden State' so iconic — are just as present in this new film.
My biggest hope for 'Wish I Was Here' — but also my greatest confidence in Zach's ability as a writer and director — is that in 10 years, 'Wish I Was Here' will do the same thing that 'Garden State' does for me now. Provide me with a moving vignette of what it is like to be in this particular stage of adulthood, give me comfort in the fact that I still don't have all of the answers to the questions I've had for years and, of course, curate a soundtrack that innately taps into exactly what I'm feeling this moment. Oh, and continue to stand the test of time.
It's a tall order, but experience shows that Zach Braff is up for the challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing 'Wish I Was Here' when it hits theaters, but I'm also excited for a whole new generation of young adults to try to make some sense of their lives by watching the movie that started it all, 'Garden State.'
Watch the 'Wish I Was Here' Trailer
This post was created in partnership with the Zach Braff movie 'Wish I Was Here,' which hits theaters on July 18.