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NBA Draft Preview
Those people who know me personally understand that the NBA Draft is one of my absolute favorite moments of the entire calendar year. While the Draft is still about two and a half months away, the NCAA Tournament got me thinking about the different players who have helped or hurt their status in terms of the NBA Draft. Along with profiles of these players and detailed descriptions of their statistical strengths and weakness, I also include their current projection for the 2009 and/or the 2010 draft.
Boot Up: Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, Kansas – It is a very logical argument as to why these two youngsters are suddenly shooting up draft boards: in 2008 Kansas won the national championship, then six players were drafted, and these two were entrusted with the reign of the program under Coach Bill Self. Kansas won the Big 12 regular season title again this season, and advanced to the Sweet 16 where they lost to the eventual Final 4 representative in Michigan State. Aldrich became the first person since Shaquille O'Neal to put up a triple double with blocks in an NCAA Tournament game, while Collins drew dozens of comparisons to former Chicago native point guard Tim Hardaway. Both will probably wait one more year until they jump to the pros, but at the rate they are progressing, will be guaranteed locks for the lottery when things are all said and done: Aldrich (Top 10 pick in 2010) and Collins (Mid-to-late first rounder in 2010.)
Boot Up: Toney Douglas, Florida State – One of the best players you have never heard of in the country, as Douglas, a senior, won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award and was a first-team all conference selection. He was the point guard for the improved Seminoles in 2008-2009, but would be under-skilled point guard in the NBA, and at 6-5 could be an ideal shooting guard and perimeter defender in the mold of Delonte West for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Led the ACC in scoring this year as well at 21.46 points per game, and is an above average three-pointer shooter at 37.2% over the last two seasons. The scouts might not be too high on him, but I have a good feeling about his future success in the pros, and think that he could be a real difference maker on a team like Utah, New Orleans or Phoenix if they give him a chance in the second round: Second round to undrafted in 2009.
Boot Up: Chris Wright, Dayton – What a scenery for a career game, as the sophomore Wright put up a new career-high in 27 points in the Flyers first round win over West Virginia. It was the first NCAA Tournament victory for the University of Dayton since 1990, and put Wright back on the NBA Draft radar after a disappointing season coming off knee issues in his first year. He is no longer a NBA superb prospect, but his improved scoring abilities as noticed late in the season (averaged 15.2 points in 26.2 minutes in the final ten games) should make him a decent draft pick. Derrick Brown out of Xavier will more likely than not be the first Atlantic-10 player selected in the draft next season, but I have now seen Wright as high as 26 in draft boards for next season: late first to early-second rounder in 2010.
Boot Up: JaJuan Johnson, Purdue – If NCAA Basketball had a most improved player award, it would probably go to this sophomore forward from Purdue. The 6-10 Johnson provided an amazing complement (and replacement) to Robbie Hummel late in the year for Coach Matt Painter and company, and will now be squarely in the first round of draft boards for 2010. He improved his field goal percentage from 42.1% to 54.0% this season, a big reason why his points scored per 48 minutes improved from 15.52 to 23.93 this season. As impressive however, is the fact that his non-point production raise from 11.03 per 48 minutes last season, to 17.69 this year. He has a tremendous wingspan, and if he can bulk up his 215-pound frame, could easily have the potential to be a starting power forward in the NBA in the mold of a player like LaMarcus Aldridge from Portland or David West from New Orleans: Mid-to-late first rounder in 2010.
Boot Up: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma – I wonder if any doubt remains questioning whether the Oklahoma sophomore will be the first pick in this year's NBA Draft. As improbable as it seemed two weeks ago, Blake Griffin actually improved his draft standing with an unbelievable NCAA Tournament. In his four games and 141 minutes played, he averaged 28.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per game on 78.0% shooting. None of those are typos and in fact, on the entire season, he averaged 32.71 points and 20.77 rebounds per 48 minutes played, making him a phenomenal prospect for the bigger and stronger NBA. The most accurate scouting projection I ever heard of Griffin is that he has the body and rebounding ferocity of Carlos Boozer, with the inside scoring abilities of LeBron James. His defensive rebounding (15.20 per 48 minutes this season) would easily have been the best in the NBA last year (Marcus Camby at 14.05) or even this season (Troy Murphy at 13.95.) Now if only he lands on the Oklahoma City Thunder next year, they could easily make the playoffs quickly: number one pick in 2009
Boot Up: Ben Woodside, North Dakota State – Two years ago I predicted that Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap would be a great player in the NBA because he had led the NCAA in rebounding two years in a row. Now he is on the verge of signing a massive contract in the upcoming off-season, and could likely be the franchise power forward in Utah over oft-injured Carlos Boozer. Now, listen to me on Ben Woodside, a player who opened a few eyes with his play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis against Kansas. The twenty-three year old 5-11 fifth year senior playing for Bison of North Dakota State was eighth in the nation in scoring this year, and even scored 60 points in a ball game earlier this season. In his four playing years with the Bison, he always averaged at least 16.4 points, 5.1 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game to go along with 39.2% three-point shooting. His numbers will not directly translate to the pros because of his strength of schedule in college, but I believe he has a high ceiling as a poor man's Mike Bibby or Kirk Hinrich: Second round to undrafted in 2009.
Boot Down: Everyone on Wake Forest – There was a good reason why Wake Forest started this season 16-0 and at one point was #1 in the nation; they have about as much young talent as any team in the nation. Between 6-9 freshman forward Al-Farouq Aminu, 6-9 sophomore forward James Johnson and 6-2 sophomore guard Jeff Teague, the Deamon Deacons had three legitimate prospects with NBA Lottery capabilities this season. In the NCAA Tournament, Wake Forest was a #4 seed because of their 8-6 slide leading up to March Madness, and had the pleasure to face the #13 seed Horizon League Champions from Cleveland State. We all know the story by now that the Vikings won their first Tournament game since 1985 en route to losing to #12 seed Arizona, who lost to #1 seed Louisville who lost to #2 seed Michigan State, but lost in this was the fact that all three prospects from Wake Forest took a significant hit in their draft status. Well, probably not as much as I initially thought, but all three lack strength and toughness, and it might be a while until they are impact players in the NBA: Aminu (Lottery pick in 2009), Johnson (Mid-to-late first rounder in 2009), and Teague (Mid-to-late first rounder in 2009).
Boot Down: Greivis Vasquez, Maryland – Greivis Vasquez was one of the more surprising players in the ACC this season, leading an upstart Maryland Terrapins team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He failed to make significant jumps on NBA Draft boards all season, despite a triple-double earlier in the year against North Carolina, being one of the better guard rebounders in the country at 5.4 boards per game. Then the 6-5 junior guard decided to up the ante a bit, and called on the Memphis Tigers in the Tournament declaring, "They would have a losing record in the ACC." With these carefully chosen words he emulated Joey Dorsey of Memphis two years ago he criticized Greg Oden of Ohio State, and both lost their respective games. Way to make a fool out of yourself General Greivis, but with one more similarly productive year in school you could be a lottery pick: Late-first to early-second rounder in 2010.
Boot Down: Jrue Holiday, UCLA – This standout point guard from North Hollywood, California came into the season as the #4 recruit in the nation according to the ESPNU100, ahead of such players as B.J. Mullens, Demar DeRozan, Willie Warren and Al-Farouq Aminu. Unfortunately, he was underwhelming all season and failed to live up the expectations of his Coach Ben Howland. On the season, he averaged only 14.96 points, 6.52 assists and 6.67 rebounds per 48 minutes, and played 27.14 minutes per contest. In the post-season especially, it seemed that Holiday just disappeared as the Bruins stumbled into and then out of the NCAA Tournament. In fact, in his final twelve games of the season he only averages 5.67 points per ball game with only three double-digit performances. He may have been the least impressive recruit in the nation this season, and may have a harder time sneaking into the lottery this year than Ohio State big man B.J. Mullens: Mid-to-late first rounder in 2009, or lottery pick in 2010.
Boot Down: BJ Mullens, Ohio State – Now let me move on to the #5 prospect in the nation from last season, the third Ohio State big man in as many years to declare for the NBA Draft. Ironic to a certain extent, that Mullens announced his desire to jump into the draft, on the exact same day that former Glen Oak standout and Buckeye center Kosta Koufos packed his bags for the NBDL. Mullens has bust written all over him, despite the impressive per-minute numbers from his only season in the collegiate level. He definitely has the inside scoring abilities that are critical for a soft seven-footer, but he lacks toughness, stamina and court savvy, especially to compete in the much more physical NBA. One example of this is that Mullens only registered 671 minutes played this season, sixth on a very young and inexperienced Ohio State team that only had only healthy returning starter this season. Some team will take a gamble on him, but it probably will not pay off until the time I graduate from college: Mid-to-late first rounder in 2009, or top five pick in 2010.
Boot Down: James Harden, Arizona State – I think this sophomore guard is one of the more difficult players to analyze in this year's draft despite being in the top five in the Pac-10 in scoring for the second consecutive year this season. The 6-5 guard out of Los Angeles, California is a pure scorer, and because of that is currently among the top four or five picks in this year's draft. What concerns me however, were his struggles down the stretch this season. In his first 66 games of his collegiate career, he averaged 26.68 points per 48 minutes to go along with 1.154 points per field goal attempt. In his final three games this season against Southern Cal, Temple and Syracuse, he only had 12.77 points per 48 minutes and 0.593 points per field goal attempt. He is going to have to have a very impressive workout for scouts to forget his final images in the college game, but even so, he is too talented to fall out of the top ten: Top five pick in 2009.
Boot Down: Stephen Curry, Davidson – Scouts were jittery over the possibilities with this junior guard out of a small school from North Carolina, who lit up the NCAA Tournament scene en route to the Elite Eight. This season however, things are starkly different for Curry and the Wildcats, as they lost in the Southern Conference semifinals and then in the second round of the NIT to San Diego State. Scouts are now saying that he has a very limited upside, with average athleticism and weak defensive capabilities. His game may not transfer to the professional level immediately, and it is looking like with a more impressive 2009, he could possibly be a lottery pick after he graduates. This season, I know that LeBron James is interested in having him in a Cavaliers uniform, and that would actually be a distinct possibility if the Cavaliers did not need more bodies in the frontcourt: Mid-to-late first rounder in 2009, or lottery pick in 2010.
Current Lottery for this year's Draft (averages are only for 2009 mock drafts):
1. Blake Griffin (average: 1.00, Oklahoma, #1 on ESPN Big Board)
2. James Harden (average: 2.50, Arizona State, #5 on ESPN Big Board)
3. Jordan Hill (average: 3.00, Arizona, #7 on ESPN Big Board)
4. Hasheem Thabeet (average: 3.50, Connecticut, #4 on ESPN Big Board)
5. Brandon Jennings (average: 5.25, Italy, #11 on ESPN Big Board)
6. Gerald Henderson (average: 6.50, Duke, #20 on ESPN Big Board)
7. Stephen Curry (average: 9.00, Davidson, #15 on ESPN Big Board – undecided, small sample size)
8. Demar DeRozan (average: 9.25, Southern Cal, #10 on ESPN Big Board)
9. Willie Warren (average: 9.50, Oklahoma, #9 on ESPN Big Board)
10. Al-Farouq Aminu (average: 9.67, Wake Forest, #6 on ESPN Big Board)
11. Earl Clark (average: 10.50, Louisville, #16 on ESPN Big Board)
12. Jeff Teague (average: 11.50, Wake Forest, #26 on ESPN Big Board)
13. Tyreke Evans (average: 15.50, Memphis, #14 on ESPN Big Board)
14. Ty Lawson (average: 15.75, North Carolina, #23 on ESPN Big Board)
Averages and projections are from these following Web sites:
4 Comments »
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Comment by Omigmexext | April 16, 2009 |
[…] – I absolutely love Douglas, and although he is currently ranked as a second-round draft pick, I had to include on this list. He was an elite scorer this past season for the Seminoles, averaging 21.5 points in 36.5 minutes […]
Pingback by Cavaliers NBA Draft Preview Version 2.0 | WaitingForNextYear | June 10, 2009 |


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Thursday's analysis
CINCINNATI (MarketWatch) - The U.S. markets notched a mixed session on Wednesday, with each benchmark hesitating at its trendline.
The flattish price action sets the stage for a second test of major resistance as detailed below.
- Actionable trading strategies
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- Weekly market navigational tool

subset: commoncrawl


text: Well it is now almost midnight and we will be leaving for Arizona at 7 am (Well 6 am..... Thanks Time change!) Makenzie has a horrible cough! She hardly took a nap this afternoon and I have put her to bed like 8 times already tonight! Right now she is wide awake in her highchair waiting for me to get the diaper bag packed and some Motrin! Pray for some sleep tonight and a good flight in the morning! Pray for the boys to be well cared for and to be safe! That is all for tonight... I'm going to try to go get some sleep!


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Scion and Vice gave me a few copies of the JACK OBLIVIAN and the Tennessee Tear Jerkers Split 7″ with MANNEQUIN MEN. They will be given out at the Jacuzzi Boys, Fergus & Geronimo and Fungi Girls show at the Cavern on Thursday.
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Visit O'Brien Icehouse
Under 8's Ice Fun
We love introducing kids to the fun of skating - our smallest skates are a toddler size 7, so if they fit, they can skate.
Our Ice Ambassadors will take the children through games using toys, snow-play areas and seals* and give your kids an exciting first ice and snow experience.
|Every Sunday 9am - 10:45am (and daily throughout the school holidays). Last entry 30 minutes prior to session ending to ensure the full experience.
|Children under 8 that are new to the ice and their parents or guardians
|What to wear
|Warm comfortable clothes, long socks and gloves. Change of clothes is recommended as children will be playing in snow and get wet. Skates or shoes can be worn by children and adults
*Unfortunately not real seals, though they are suited to this climate. Our seals are comfortable and bright plastic seal-shaped seats that parents (in shoes) can push their kids around on.
Rink TwoSunday Sep 1st 9:00am - 10:45am
- 1st child and adult $20
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Great Guide On How To Fix Your House's Interior
Many folks want to redecorate, but they are not sure how to go about it. With a measure of research and insight, you will find many ways to improve your home. This article will give you some great ideas on how you can make your home look great.
How the room will be used is a consideration to take into account when planning a room design. If it is a kids room you are decorating, you want want brighter colors that will match their bubbly personality. Those same colors however, don't work nearly as well in a dining room for example.
Creating a mood is an often overlooked aspect of interior design by many people. Then use that mood to help you choose the proper colors and items for your room. As an example, for a cool and tranquil mood, pick colors that are in the soft blue family.
Invest in great artwork for a classy look. You may not have been putting a lot of thought into art, but one small piece of artwork can unify the look of a room. A nice painting can give your room a focal point where you can begin to decorate around it.
Follow the trends if you want to be a good interior designer. Staying current is very important to modernize the look of your home. Don't be afraid to peruse interior design blogs, magazines and television programs for inspiration.
Always pay attention, even to the smallest of details. Small objects and minor accent pieces can be selected and grouped in ways that add visual interest or create unexpected areas. You could, for instance, choose your decor, fixture, cupboard knobs and window treatments according to a theme instead of thinking about the larger picture and changing your floor or buying new furniture.
You're going to have to consider the purpose of a room as you decorate it. Determine the number of people that will be using the room simultaneously and what activities will be taking place. Consider your loved ones whenever it is time to design the living room; however, you should focus on you and your spouse whenever you are changing up your bedroom.
It is fun to incorporate modern, trendy designs into your rooms. The style of the room can be greatly impacted by these elements. Use trendy items sparingly as they can overwhelm a room if used too liberally. If a zebra-print pillow goes out of style, it is easy to replace it. But a leopard print couch isn't as simple to get rid of!
Step outside your comfort zone when painting an area of your house. The Internet is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to this topic. A little creativity when painting your walls can liven up any dull room in no time.
If your room contains a fireplace, it is of the utmost importance to decorate around that area correctly. This can be achieved by correctly balancing items placed on the mantle. If the mantle is unbalanced, then the entire look and feel of the room gets thrown off.
Your furniture doesn't necessarily have to face the television set. Create a place where people can talk by placing some chairs away from the viewing area. This area can be used for conversation.
Now that you have some good ideas swimming in your head about how to design the interior of your home, you are going to want to consult with other people about your ideas. If you ask advice of others about ideas, you can get some feedback about what you should or shouldn't do.


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Are structural changes in the agri-food sector causing the instability of parochial ag-producers?
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2009)
Parochial (Amish and Mennonites) agriculture producers have been known for their stability (historically large numbers) (Kollmorgen, 1943). Though, more recently, the percentage of parochial members who are ag-producers ...


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Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. Federal District Court in Brooklyn, New York, issued a nationwide injunction on January 28, 2017 concerning President Donald Trump's executive order barring people from seven countries from entering the United States. On the same day, BBC (America) radio reported that Trump had been stopped in his tracks. I submit that this instance points to the importance of investigative journalism prior to reporting. Alternatively, the case may illustrate a partisan or otherwise ideological penchant among journalists officially tasked with investigating and reporting rather than interpreting the news.
The full essay is at "President Trump's Muslim Ban."


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Went to the dermatologist today – as all transplant patients do – and was told that with the meds I take I'm at a 60% higher risk for squamous cell carcinoma – skin cancer.
So he used liquid nitrogen to burn the top layer of skin off all those spots. Not pleasant. So now they blister, then scab, then a new layer of skin grows back.
I have to sunscreen my face every day before going out for the rest of my life.
But, as my son Chris, said, "Yeah doesn't sound fun at all, but you're still alive and we couldn't be more thankful for God for it!!"


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The listing content relating to real estate for sale on this web site is courtesy of MRIS. Listing information comes from various brokers who participate in the MRIS IDX.Properties listed with brokerage firms other than RE/MAX Allegiance are marked with the MRIS Logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing brokers.The properties displayed may not be all the properties available. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified.All listing information copyright MRIS 2019.
Listing information last updated on December 15th, 2019 at 8:03am CST.


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When I was 16 in the mid 1970s I used to watch after two girls (11 and 12) for a friend of my mom's. It would be on weekdays after football. I'd pick them up at their school, then drive them home and watch them until their mom got home three hours later. Since I was always hot and sweaty the mom told me I could use their shower every day.
It was a huge bathroom and I loved it. The thing is, the bathroom didn't have a lock on the door and the girls had a habit of walking right in and giggling as they looked at me naked.
I told them it was not cool to walk in on someone but they kept doing it. I even threatened to tell their mom but they still kept doing it. I, of course, would never have told their mom because I was afraid my ass would get in trouble for some reason.
After awhile I just let them have their fun. Soon they would just walk in and talk to me while I showered and dried off. At one point, I just figured why even bother getting dressed? So I would arrive at their home, shower and spend the next three hours naked with them.
The girls were good sports and never said a word to their mom. I think they liked it. We used to sit and watch TV together. One time the oldest, Hailey, started tickling me. I told her to stop it and then both of them got into it. Next thing you know we were wrestling around on the floor. The movement gave me an erection which the youngest noticed because it kept bumping against her. She pointed it out to her sister who looked at it wide eyed.
They asked why it did that and I just told them they would learn when they go older. I said if we sat back down and watched TV again, it would soon go away. we did but they never took their eyes off it. That of course made it impossible for me to relax and make it go away.
Hailey the reached out and touched it. I pulled her hand away and said she should not do that. She asked why and I said because it is something you only do when you are older. She nodded but looked like she was disappointed. The younger johnny sins vs emma butt, Steph, just looked at my erection while I talked to Hailey.
She then asked if she could touch it and I said no. It was almost time for their mom to come home so I stood up and told them I had to get dressed. Hailey shook her head and said no until I let her touch my erection. I noticed my penis was just a few inches from her face as she sat on the couch, so I stepped back a little.
I said I had kinky ebony stuffing her ass with a big one get dressed because if their mom caught me I would be in trouble and would never be able to babysit again. They didn't want that to happen so they said okay and I got dressed just as their mom walked in the door. I had quickly masterbated in thee bathroom a few moments before so my erection had thankfully gone away. I was afraid the entire time that one of the girls would walk in but they didn't.
The next day, it was same as always. Pick them up, shower and be naked. This time though, Hailey said again she wanted to touch my thing. I said no.
Then she said if I didn't let her do it she would tell her mom I have been naked all this time. That sent a shock of fear through every inch of me. I said she wouldn't do that and she said yes she would. Steph said if Hailey didn't, she would because she wanted to touch it, too. I spent several minutes trying to talk them out of it but they were stubborn as hell. Finally, I saw no way out off it and had to agree.
They both smiled wide and reached for it. I grabbed their hands and said they could only do it for one minutes each and that was it. Never again. They reluctantly agreed. I lay on the sofa and put my arms behind my head. They sat on both sides of me. I said go ahead, but after one minute, I would make them stop. They both just sat there and stared at my penis, but didn't touch it. I asked what was wrong and they said they wanted to do it while it was longer so they had more to touch.
I said no, just do it and get it over with. Hailey looked at me and said it had to bee while it was longer or she would tell her mom. I let out a frustrated sigh and said fine. Then I started stroking it for aj applegate in i sure hope it fits few moments until it quickly got hard.
Both of them stared wide eyed at what just happened. They looked at my erection like it was magic. I told them to do it quickly or forget it. Hailey was the first to go. She took it in her small hand and moved it around. To my surprise, the feeling sent a shock through my system. Then Steph reached over and did the same. Again my entire body stiffened and an incredible feeling of pleasure filled every inch of me.
It felt great. Then I remembered that it was two young girls doing ti and tried to take my mind off of the sensation. I looked up at the ceiling and thought about anything but the fact that two girls were playing with my boner.
But, that was all I could think about, especially when both of them had two hands on my shaft and were gently rubbing up and down and moving it all around to look at it. I closed my eyes, but that just made it worse.
It just kept feeling better and better. Then, to my utter horror, I shot cum into the air. Both girls squealed and pulled their hands away. I had no idea I was that close to cumming. I opened my eyes and looked at both girls expecting them to be grossed out or as horrified as I was. To my surprise, they both had huge grins on their faces as they stared at my cum covered penis. They asked what just happened and I said that it's a long story and to forget it ever happened.
I got up and went to the bathroom muttering that I had to clean up. I was also feeling guilty as hell and picturing my ass being thrown in jail. In the sweet petite dakoda brookes and nicole ray I jumped in the shower and cleaned off quickly. The entire time I was angry at myself for ever letting the whole situation get crazy sexy blonde babe candy rides a kebab to orgasm far.
As I stepped out and grabbed a towel, both girls walked in. They asked why I showered again and I said I had to clean the white stuff off me because it would get sticky if I didn't. I asked if they would leave and they said they needed to clean up too because the white stuff was on their hands. They held their hands up and I saw they did have some cum on their fingers. That made it even worse. Two young girls had my cum all over their hands. I nodded at the sink and told them to wash themselves off right away.
Then I started drying myself with a towel. Next thing I knew I heard the shower water running. I turned and almost jumped through the roof when I saw that both girls were stark naked, their clothes in piles on the floor. I asked what the hell they were doing and they said they wanted to wash themselves off just like I did.
I said I meant for them to wash their hands in the sink. They shrugged, turned the shower off and went to the sink to wash up. I told them to dress but they said they needed to wash off first. So both girls stood at the sink, their bare butts staring at me as I stood naked behind them. I spotted all three of us naked in the mirror and had a panic attack, especially when I caught myself admiring how Hailey's body was really starting to develop nicely. I shook my head and ran out of the room.
I threw on my clothes and almost ran out the front door but I knew I couldn't leave them alone. A minute later both girls walked into the den still naked. I told them to put on some clothes but frisky stunner gets cumshot on her face sucking all the love juice said they liked being naked.
My eyes drifted to the brown pubic hair growing between her legs and I instantly looked away. The image of me in jail suddenly got stronger and stronger. I told them again to get dressed and they said no.
Hailey then asked why I was dressed. I said that we had done enough, in fact we had done too much, and I would no longer be naked at their house. I also said I could no longer be able to babysit them. They both looked upset and asked why.
I said I just couldn't Then I heard their mom's car pull up outside. I panicked and pushed them to towards their rooms telling them to dress quickly because their mom was home.
They ran a few feet, their little asses jiggling, but then they stopped. My eyes popped wide open and I asked why they were stopping. Hailey said that they would only get dressed if I promised to keep babysitting. I said I couldn't do that and both of them just walked into the den and sat down on the sofa, two naked little blackmailers.
I could feel the blood rushing to my face and briefly considered rushing out the back door. I heard the car door slam outside and pictured their mom walking in, seeing her two girls sitting nude on the couch, and putting a kife in my chest. I finally agreed that I would keep babysitting. They both smiled and high fived, but then Hailey said I had to agree to be naked, too. The sound of the keys in the lock made me yelp. I said okay, okay, okay, anything they wanted as long as they would just get some clothes on!
They both immediately jumped up and I watched their skinny little butts run down the hall. They vanished into their rooms and closed the doors just as their mom walked in. I almost passed out. I took a deep breath, smiled at their mom and asked how her day was. Luckily, she was exhausted and didn't even look at me. She said it had been a hell of a day (tell me about it, I thought) and that she just needed to change and lay down. She then handed me the babysitting cash and said she'd see me tomorrow.
I quickly ran out the door closing it behind me. The next day after taking the girls home, it got worse. This time as I was showering off they both walked in, stripped naked and insisted on joining me in the shower.
I was about to argue with them but Hailey said not to even try. The they stepped in. They had me over a barrel and they knew it. So did I. Funny thing is, since I knew there was nothing I could do about it, I finally just relaxed and enjoyed it. Before long we gradually started doing more and more things together.
They jacked me off several times -- separately and together. Hailey soon started giving me blowjobs. And she was damn good at it. A real natural. Steph wanted to, too, but I said no. Hailey agreed with me. I suspect it was because she enjoyed doing something her sister couldn't. Hailey's body kept getting sweeter and sweeter. By 13 she had the body of a 16yo girl. One thing lead to another and one night while her sister was at a party I popped Hailey's cherry. After that, we banged ever chance we got.
We been staretd doing it in fornt of Steph.
At that point I had shown her how to masterbate so she would do that while watching us. Steph started joining in on the sex, but I would never fuck her. She would do everything but that so we all had a great time. I stopped babysitting that year but the girls and I still got together when ever we could at my place or theirs. Somewhere along the way, Hailey and I fell in love. Cheesy, I know, but it happened. Today we are married and have two kids. She still looks fantastic, too.
Steph, who was married then divorced, still joins us in the shower and the bedroom some times. No penetration between her and I, but otherwise, anything goes. And I mean "anything". I am one lucky guy. ;)


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A preview release of the next Flash Player released. Codenamed as Square, designated as version 10.2.161.22) and available for download right from Adobe Labs. It is not only available in 32-bit but also in 64-bit for Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems. For the 64-bit release,this is the first time preview for Mac and Windows OS users.
This release has an advantage for IE9 Beta users where it has been enhanced to directly support the hardware-accelerated graphics capabilities in the newest version of IE. Flash Player "Square" leverages the new GPU support available with IE 9 Beta to deliver a faster and more responsive user experience (more than 35% improved performance).
Users are encouraged to test this release especially for the 64-bit. If you encounter any issues, please file a bug report here: https://bugs.adobe.com/flashplayer/


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from 1/23/11 News of the Wierd
A News of the Weird Classic (January 1998)
A Police Officer's Dream Come True: Vincent Morrissey's police brutality lawsuit went to trial in New Haven, Conn., in December (1997), and West Haven police officer Ralph Angelo was on the witness stand, claiming that Morrissey himself had provoked the encounter by swinging at Angelo. Morrissey's attorney, skeptical of the testimony, asked Officer Angelo to demonstrate to the jury how hard Morrissey had swung at him. Before the lawyer could clarify what he meant by "demonstrate," Officer Angelo popped the lawyer on the chin, staggering him and forcing an immediate recess. [New Haven Register, 12-20-97


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This week I seem to be attracted to simple tangles and Agua fits the bill perfectly.
This lovely border tangle pattern was designed by Canadian CZT®, Christina Vandervlist and this is her first tangle on TanglePatterns. Christina is from Burlington, Ontario, a little west of Toronto on the pointy end of Lake Ontario, so if you're from that area check out her classes. Christina teams up with CZT® Ruth Howell, designer of Organza, to teach Zentangle® classes.
Asked to introduce herself Christina writes she's "a CZT® from southern Ontario, who is also an international designer, author and instructor of beadwork. Her blog provides not only a look into her Zentangle® artwork, but also a Zentangle® Glossary and instructions to the tangles she has designed. She teaches Zentangle® to share the many benefits with her students and provide them with the means to explore their own creativity and access their potential."
Christina illustrates the steps for drawing her Agua tangle pattern here.
Check out the tag christinav for more of Christina's patterns on TanglePatterns.com.
Enhance your Zentangle experience ...
Current Edition! TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2019 Edition
|The 8th Edition of my TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE. This instant-download 72-page (40 MB) interactive digital eBook contains all the tangles on the site from May 2010 through December 31, 2018. Containing over 1,000 tangles, it's a must-have tool for using the site.
"Linda, Thank you! I was relying on too few and getting stuck after 3 years of daily working with Zentangle. This has inspired me to 'begin again' with renewed excitement." ~ Barbara R.
|See the BOOK REVIEWS page for more details on its features and view a sample page.
|Visit the STORE > E-BOOKS page for more information and support TanglePatterns.com by getting your copy now!
|GIFT ORDERS: To give the TANGLE GUIDE as a gift, visit this page to place your gift order.
|If you're new to Zentangle® and tangling, my TanglePatterns.com BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ZENTANGLE is just what you need to get started. Also available en Français and en Español.
|AVAILABLE IN SOFTCOVER: This is the only Zentangle book you'll ever need: the fabulous Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1. It's your CZT-in-a-book by the founders of Zentangle®! Visit the STORE tab on the top menu bar or click on the image. For more about the content and to read the rave reviews, visit the BOOK REVIEWS tab.
|"Absolutely the best Zentangle Book yet! As an accomplished artist I used to think I did not need instruction on this art form. How wrong I was! My tangling improved by leaps and bounds after reading this book. If you think you have Zentangle down then you need this book more than ever!" ~ Kris H
|Another great jump-starter for new tanglers is the original Official Zentangle Kit. The Kit includes all the supplies you'll need to get started properly: Sakura Micron Pens, Zentangle Tiles, pencil, sharpener, tortillion, a booklet and an instructional DVD by co-founder Maria Thomas. Click on the image for more information about the Kit and its contents.


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Hillsborough retreat frames views of Mount Diablo
Twice a week, The Chronicle features a local home on the market that caught our eye for its architecture, history or character. More photos: www.sfgate.com/columns/walkthrough.
Address: 320 Robinwood Lane, Hillsborough.
Asking price: $5 million.
Description: Floor-to-ceiling windows, views of Mount Diablo and luxury amenities like a sauna in the master suite highlight this home, rebuilt in 2005. The home sits on a fully developed half-acre lot and includes a pool, multiple outdoor decks and a stone patio. The four-bedroom home includes an 800-square-foot office with huge windows and direct access to the landscaped yard. The modern kitchen includes a terraced breakfast island and stainless steel appliances as well as dual skylights. The family room includes a fireplace and accesses a balcony, and a multipurpose room downstairs opens to the backyard and pool.
Don't miss: The master suite, which includes a fireplace, private balcony and soaking tub, as well as a sauna.
Built: 1955.
Square feet: 5,042.
For more information: Ralph Davies Lewis, McGuire Real Estate, (650) 375-5221, firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Walk-Through is produced by Sentinel Media Services specifically for The San Francisco Chronicle. Send submissions to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Al Bedaya Consultancy & Marine Survey LLC offers a comprehensive Marine Lubrication consultancy service, a range of surveying and cargo inspection services by well qualified and expert staff across the Middle East.
Al Bedaya is a privately owned company founded in 2010. Located in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Ten Minutes from Dubai International Airport and with an easy reachable distance to all United Arab Emirates ports. We aim to be your preferred professional marine surveyors and a provider of quality technical marine Lubrication consultancy. We are specialized in Marine and provide a bundle of Marine Surveys that covers most of our customer survey needs, serve the maritime community of the Middle East and prepared to travel at short notice to any location.
At the helm of this business, the founder of Al Bedaya Consultancy & Marine Survey has over 26 years of experience in total as a senior surveyor running an office for an international classification society, as a fleet manager for an international Ship owner, as a Shipyard Manager for Kuwait Shipyard, as a Middle East Territory Manager for an international Marine Lubrication firm and at sea onboard VLCC, LPG, Bulk Carriers as Licensed Marine Chief Engineer.
Al Bedaya now acts as an agent for the Polish Registry of Shipping. "PRS is an independent expert institution acting on the international market, whose business is conducted for the benefit of the community. Through the formulation of the requirements, survey and issue of the appropriate documents, PRS assists State Administrations, Underwriters and the Society's clients in ensuring the safety of people, floating objects, land undertakings, the safety of carried cargo and that of the natural environment."
In addition Al Bedaya represents the Kittiwake Monitoring Innovation services a leading global provider of monitoring and testing technology solutions with offices in the UK, Germany, USA, and Asia. As an expert in machinery condition monitoring and fuel and lube oil analysis Kittiwake pride on the record of investment and commitment to developing the talented workforce to create innovative technology solutions that make a real difference to the customers.
Joining Al Bedaya efforts with KEW Engineering we can also help the marine industry achieve success through world class lubrication activity. We can help with your lubrication training needs, with reliability consulting, and with a complete lubrication planned maintenance program design for your industry.
Our quality assure that our services are performed by highly qualified and competent staff in conformance with international safety standards, codes and rules and that performance is verified at every stage of the process.
The lubrication cost is typically more than 8% of the vessel's operating expenses budget, with the continuing rise of base oil prices, that 8% is growing even higher, whilst profit margins are continually being eroded by stiffer competition.
Al Bedaya can help you establish Lubrication procedures. This leads to optimizing your Lubricants consumption and enhancing your Vessel Equipments reliability.
Al Bedaya can work closely with your team to provide a prompt practical and experienced technical advice. Many companies we serve recognize the value of working with us and trust us to help them improve safety and quality within the marine industry.
Al Bedaya will propose and attractive offer and would be delighted for the opportunity to present high performance reliable service that can be used as the basis for a long term and mutually beneficial partnership.
Al Bedaya Consultancy & Marine Survey undertake survey and Inspections in accordance with international Codes, Rules or customer specifications. Our procedures introduce the required scope of survey & inspection accordingly.
The following types of surveys & inspection services are offered:
Issue of work permits within UAE (EHSS Trakhees Approval)
Issue of Gas Free certificate to confined spaces (EHSS Trakhees approval)
Vessel condition surveys.
Sale-purchase, Evaluation, suitability surveys.
On and Off Hire surveys.
Towage approval surveys.
Contamination and pollution investigation.
Repair supervision and cost control.
Charter Party disputes.
Oilfield services (rig inspections).
Insurance surveys and claims
Salvage supervision.
Pre Shipment Inspections / Monitoring / Certification
Monitoring loading and/or discharging.
Quality and quantity Container cargoes inspection.
Draft surveys.
Steel condition evaluation.
Stowage and lashing
Bulk cargo quality assessment surveys.
Bunker sampling and quantity calculations
Hull surveys and damage assessment for all types of steel vessels.
Repair assessment, structural repairs.
Steel renewals, weight calculations.
Dry-docking repairs and specifications review.
Damage surveys and investigations.
Repair assessment supervision and cost control
Evaluation, pressure vessel inspection and weld testing
Lifting appliances inspections and certification.
Hotel boilers inspection and certification
Hours Currently Open
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Classification Societies
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Flag Inspection
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Flag State / Ship Registry
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Marine Consultants
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Marine Inspection
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Marine Surveyors
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Safety Environment & Quality Certification
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Ship Registry Consultants
MARINE INSPECTION & SURVEYORS » Vessel Inspection Services
MARINE SUPPLIERS - Manufacturers & Dealers » Lubricants
SHIPYARDS & SHIPBUILDERS » Naval Architects
SHIPYARDS & SHIPBUILDERS » Yachts, Boats, Crafts & Luxury Boats Builders
Related Listings:
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Horizon Survey Company (FZC)-Sharjah
Sea Enter Marine Consultancy-Dubai
Mare Nostrum Marine Consultancy Services-Dubai
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Tech Field Day 5 Is Over. Now What?
I made it back to Nashville before noon on Saturday. A cross country red eye flight with a short layover in Atlanta put me into Nashville just in time. I was able to get a few hours with my kids, dinner with my wife and a bunch of friends from church, followed by dessert and more socializing with all those church friends over at my house. Sunday was full with church, time spent with my father explaining what this San Jose trip was all about(he was very interested in it all), a cub scout hike with my son, and more church. I'm still exhausted. I feel like I haven't slept in days. I've had a nagging cough that air travel made worse and the weather is now 50 degrees warmer than when I left last week to go to California. My co-worker left my company to go work for a well known hardware vendor. His last day was Friday when I was in San Jose. As luck would have it, we had a major data center outage Friday afternoon. I spent the remaining hours in San Jose on the phone and glued to my laptop staring at switch configs. I didn't get to really say proper goodbyes or even enjoy the final meal with everyone else as I was constantly jumping off and on a conference bridge to deal with the problems in the data center back home. In the end, the problem ended up being something outside of my control, so it was an extra kick in the teeth from the data center gods. In spite of it all, I feel like a million bucks!
Let me tell you why.
1. I love technology. – I love it to the core of my being. There is no greater joy for me than to immerse myself in the 1's and 0's of networking and consume mass quantities of information. I've never been one to understand people who do what I do for a living and have no real interest in technology outside of 8 to 5 Monday-Friday. Maybe that sounds somewhat elitist. Maybe that's not a realistic attitude to have. I get paid to learn. That's the coolest thing in the world. I guess I just recognize that opportunity for what it is and want to be around people who think the same way.
I have been a part of IT groups before where a core group of us had similar attitudes regarding the world of technology. We would feed off of each other and our efficiency and skillsets advanced much faster than all the other environments I have been in where not a whole lot of people shared the same drive and desires. Things change and our careers take us other places. Over time you start to shift back to what is normal for everyone else. You no longer look at Friday afternoon as an inconvenience since you have to put the toys away and go home for 2 days. You no longer wake up Monday morning excited to go into work. For a couple of days last week, I got that spark back.
Now, I don't want you to think I have a depressing life. I LOVE my life. I love what I do for a living. I love just about everything about my life, and I work in a cubicle! My point, is that I was in the midst of a large group of technology zealots once again. Over the next couple of days, I would either witness or take part in countless discussions regarding networking, storage, virtualization, backups, or systems in general. These were discussions with people who were well versed in their respective areas. People who actually thought about technology as opposed to parroting talking points gleaned from a vendor slide deck. Some of them were published authors. I have a book collecting addiction. Being around authors rates pretty high on my scale of coolness.
2. I love talking to vendors. – My typical exposure to vendors is via their sales channel or third party reseller/integrator. This time, I was able to go straight to the source. I liked the fact that the companies I was exposed to at Tech Field Day 5 ranged from the very large like Symantec and HP, to the very small like Drobo, and Druva. I also saw the companies that fit in between those 2 groups like Xangati, Infoblox, and NetEx. I like talking to the vendors because they all want to differentiate themselves from one another. This means that in general, they have differing points of view as to how to solve a problem. By understanding each vendor's approach, you can make a more informed decision.
I live on the corporate side of IT. If I make a recommendation in regards to the network, I need to make sure I make the BEST one possible. Yes it takes a lot of time and effort, but choices around hardware and software need to be treated with more care than one uses when selecting which brand of breakfast cereal to buy at the grocery store. I'll talk to just about any vendor that lives within the network space. No matter how insignificant the product or company may seem, I want to know what it is they do. There is no such thing as being too prepared when it comes to making decisions about your network.
That was Tech Field Day in a nutshell for me. Lots of discussions with my peers and lots of discussions with vendors. For now, I am still trying to digest it all. Two full days worth of briefings and discussions will take a bit to sink in for me. If anything, I have a sincere desire to shore up my virtualization and storage knowledge. I just have to find the time to fit it in. Networking on its own is enough to keep me busy for years to come!
I met some really great and SMART people at this event. Several of them I already knew from Twitter, and some of them I had read their blogs prior to this event. Others were affiliated with vendors, so I had never heard of them, except for some of the people from the larger companies. My RSS feed list has grown by quite a few entries as a result of this trip.
If I could give any advice in regards to this kind of event, it would be this. Go register to be a Gestalt IT Tech Field Day delegate. Do it NOW. If you love technology, if you love talking about technology, and if you want to mix it up with vendors in their own back yard, this is the event for you. I was taken care of very well by Claire and Steven. Nothing was overlooked. Every single vendor that presented seemed interested in us being there. Nothing was off limits in terms of what you could ask. Of course, there's no guarantee they are going to answer it. The vendors still have to protect their intellectual property and rightfully so. Never in a million years would I have imagined that I would be able to engage someone like the CEO of Symantec and ask a direct question and get a direct answer. I also wouldn't have imagined myself ever talking to the CEO and CTO of a company like Druva. I spent at least 15 minutes talking with them about their company, social media, and other similar things at the Computer History Museum. Without a doubt it was one of the high points of my trip to San Jose. I could go on and on about other incidents, but it wasn't my intention to ramble on in this post.
Oh, and lest I forget to tie into the title of this post I should answer the question: "Now what?" Well, I still have to finish preparing to take the CCIE Route/Switch lab. However, I find myself wanting to give equal time to ramping up in the VMware and storage networking worlds. I spent several days in the midst of some storage and virtualization experts. What can I say? They have made me a convert. Or maybe it's just that I want to understand a bit more of what they were talking about if I ever run into them again. 🙂 In the near future, I want to write a bit about the various vendors. In particular, I will focus on Xangati, HP, Infoblox, and NetEx. They have more of a network-ish focus and that's the area I focus on. That's not to say that I won't comment on the others. I really enjoyed the data deduplication talk from Symantec!
I cannot say thank you enough to everyone who made this event possible. Stephen Foskett played the role of our fearless leader very well. Claire was the driving force behind the scenes making sure everything went off without a hitch. The audio/visual crew produced some very high quality stuff even in the face of several technological glitches. The vendors were very gracious in hosting all of us. I appreciate their interaction from the presentation standpoint as well as their active Twitter presence. Bonus points to Xangati for the bacon and chocolate espresso beans! As for the delegates, well I am humbled to have been among you. Some of you are used to interfacing with these companies at this level. I personally, am not. I do look forward to reading your writings and hope to run into you again at some point!
As a Tech Field Day delegate for Gestalt IT, my flights, hotel room, food, and transportation were provided by all of the vendors that presented during this event. This was not provided in exchange for any type of publicity on my part. I am not required to write about any of the presentations or vendors. I received a few "souveniers" from the vendors which were limited to t-shirts, water bottles, pens, flash drives, notepads, and bottle openers.
Wrapping My Head Around The Nexus1000v – Part 1
****Note – I am NOT in any way shape or form a VMware expert. I can't guarantee you that I will be 100% correct in my terminology or representation of VMware, VMotion, VSphere, etc. I apologize in advance. I am just a network guy trying to understand how the Nexus 1000V ties into the VMware ecosystem. I also understand that companies other than VMware are doing virtualization. Please feel free to correct my inaccuracies via the comments.
Paradigm shifts are coming. Some of them are already here. About 5 or 6 years ago I was first introduced to server virtualization in the form of VMware ESX server. For you old mainframe people, you probably weren't as impressed as I was when I learned about this particular technology.
When it came to VMware, I wasn't doing anything fancy. I was just using it to host a few Windows servers. When these boxes were physical, they were only using a fraction of their CPU, memory, and disk space. In most cases, they were specific applications that vendors would only support if they were on their own server. From a networking standpoint, there was absolutely nothing fancy that I was doing. All of the traffic from the virtual machines came out of a shared 1 gig port. For me, VMware was a fantastic product in that it allowed me to reduce power, rack space, and cooling requirements.
I realize that some people will take issue with my use of the term "server virtualization". To some, software and hardware virtualization are different animals. For the purposes of non-VMware people like myself, the fact that I used VMware to reduce the physical server sprawl means that I refer to it as "server virtualization".
Fast forward to today. It is getting harder and harder to find a company that isn't doing some sort of server virtualization. It isn't just about reducing physical server footprint and maximizing CPU and memory resources. These days, you can achieve phenomenal uptime rates due to things like VMotion. For those who are unfamiliar with VMotion, it is a service within VMware that can move a virtual machine from one physical host(ie ESX/ESXi server) to another. This can happen as a result of hardware failure on the physical host itself, additional CPU/memory resource requirements, or other reasons that the VMware administrator deems important.
Today, from a networking standpoint, there are 3 options when it comes to networking inside the VMware vSphere 4 ecosystem:
vNetwork Standard Switch – 1 or more of these standard switches reside on a single ESX host. This would be the vSwitch in older versions of ESX. This is basically a no frills switch. Think of this as managing switches without the use of VTP. You have to touch a lot of these switches if certain VLAN's reside on multiple ESX hosts.
vNetwork Distributed Switch – 1 or more of these will reside in a "Datacenter". By "Datacenter", I am not referring to a physical location. Rather, in VMware lingo, it is a logical grouping of ESX clusters(comprised of ESX hosts). This is the equivalent of running VTP across a network of Cisco switches. You can make changes and have them show up on each ESX host that is part of the "Datacenter". This particular switch type has several advantages over the standard switch in terms of feature availability. It also allows you to move virtual hosts between multiple servers via vMotion and have the policies associated with that host
Cisco Nexus 1000V – Similar to the distributed switch, except it was built on NX-OS and you can manage it almost like you would any physical Cisco switch. It also has a few more features that the regular VMware distributed switch does not.
That's the basic overview as I understand it. What I had been struggling with was the actual architecture behind it. How does it work? I can look at a physical switch like the 3750 or 6500 and get a fairly decent understanding of it. Not the level I would like to have, but I understand that vendors like Cisco don't want to give away their "secret sauce" to everyone that comes along and asks for it.
As luck would have it, my company has purchased several instances of the Nexus 1000V and last week, I was able to spend a day with a Cisco corporate resource and one of the server/storage engineers my company employs. I didn't realize how deficient I was in the world of VMware until I got into a room with these 2 guys and we started talking through how we would design and implement the Nexus 1000V. I kept asking them to explain things over and over. In the end, a fair amount of pictures on the white board caused the light bulb in my head to go active. I still have much reading to do, but for now I understand it a LOT more than I did. Now, let's see if I can have it make sense to you. 🙂
The Nexus 1000V is basically comprised of 2 different parts. The VEM and the VSM. If we were to assign these 2 things to actual hardware pieces, the VEM(Virtual Ethernet Module) would be the equivalent of a line card in a switch like the Nexus 7000 or a Catalyst 6500. In essence, this is the data plane. The second piece is the VSM(Virtual Supervisor Module). This is the same as the supervisor module in the Nexus 7000 or Catalyst 6500. As you probably already guessed, this is the control plane piece.
Here's where it gets a bit crazy. The VSM can support up to 64 VEM's per 1000V. You can also have a second VSM that operates in standby mode until the active fails. In theory, you have a virtual chassis with 66 slots. In the Nexus 1000V CLI, you can actually type a "show module" and they will all show up. Each ESX host will show up as its own module. Will you ever have 64 VEM's in a single VSM? Maybe. However, there are limitations around the Nexus 1000V that make that unlikely.
The VEM lives on each ESX server, but where does the VSM reside? It resides in its own guest VM. You actually create a separate virtual machine for the VSM when installing the Nexus 1000V. That guest VM resides on one of the ESX servers within the "datacenter" that the Nexus 1000V controls. You access that guest VM just like you would a physical switch in your network by using the CLI. Once the VSM is installed, the network resource can go in via SSH or Telnet and configure away.
That's the basic components of the Nexus 1000V. There are other things that need to be mentioned such as how communication happens from the guest VM perspective to the rest of the network and vice versa. Additionally, we need to discuss the benefits of using the Nexus 1000V over the standard VMware distributed switch. There's a lot more than just the management aspect of it. I will cover that in part 2. Additionally, I plan on doing a write up on the Nexus 1010 appliance. This allows you to REALLY move the control plane piece out of the VMware environment and put it on a box with a Cisco logo on it.


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For some products it does not make sense to wait for a better deal. You need to be happy to even get your hands on them at the regular price.
The Holiday shopping season seem still far away, but over 34 million* Americans are already shopping for Holiday gifts. Besides avoiding the hassle of crowded stores, shopping early is also advisable for select new products that are predicted to be in short supply closer to the Holidays.
We have identified three consumer electronics products that will be likely in short supply and are not featured in Black Friday 2016 ads. One of the items is already in short supply.
The $34.99 Pokemon Go Plus has been seen in stock last on October 4. Sales of the must have accessory for Pokemon Go trainer went on sale on September 16. The next major shipment is expected to arrive end of October. If you want to gift your loved ones with a Pokemon Go Plus you should definitely check amazon.com, gamestop.com and walmart.com at the end of the month and buy right away when stock arrives.
The Sony PlayStation VR is on sale now ahead of Friday, October 13. The pre-order inventory has long been sold out. Depending on how many units Sony has prepared will determine if there will be enough stock available into the Holiday season. The Sony PS VR sells for $399.99 as core bundle and for $499.99 has launch bundle that includes the PS4 camera and the motion controllers. There will be new inventory of the PS VR available on October 13. GameStop and Best Buy will host midnight launches for the PlayStation VR. We don't think you need to be shopping at midnight to get your hands on a PS VR, but Sony's Virtual Reality headset might sell out in the first 24 hours.
If it does than there will be no PlayStation VR Black Friday deals. Sony and retailers will just sell through available inventory with the regular price. Maybe there are PS VR and console bundles. If the demand is not causing the PS VR to sell out in the first 24 hours then their will likely be deals on the PlayStation VR on Black Friday and during the Holidays. Sony needs to see as many as possible to put a stack in the ground for home virtual reality.
The third item on our current list of items you want to buy as soon as possible is the Nintendo NES Classic Edition console. The $59.99 mini retro console is the perfect holiday gift for old and young video game fans. This console will be the surprise hit for nintendo this Holiday Shopping season.
The NES Classic console goes on sale on November 11. The shrunk NES console features the classic Nintendo NES controller many geeks have grown up with. The retro console comes pre-installed with 30 classic NES games including Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man, Metroid, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda and Kirby's Adventures. The NES Classic Edition system is a miniaturized version of the groundbreaking NES, originally released in 1985.
The hype around the NES Classic is already huge and demand will be very high. The NES Classic could become really hard to find in the holiday season. As this item is very affordable, we recommend to buy it on November 11, when it hits stores. The NES Classic will be available on amazon.com, bestbuy.com and target.com.
Holiday Gifts To Buy Now
Nintendo NES Classic Edition console
We will update you on more hard to find holiday gifts as soon as we spot them. Find the latest news about Holiday shopping and Black Friday 2016.
*Source: CreditCards.com survey.


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What is Kombucha?
What is Kombucha? An ancient health tonic, made with tea and culture, originating in China and Russia ~ 2,000 years ago and passed down from generations and cultures providing revitalizing refreshment wherever it goes. A potent and delicious probiotic brew recognized worldwide for detoxifying, energizing and overall health supportive properties. A great morning or afternoon … [Read more…]


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Three years after first offering good eats to downtown workers and visitors, the San Bernardino Third Thursdays Food Fest will serve its last hungry patron on Oct. 19.
"SB Third Thursdays was designed to draw people to downtown because we needed the attraction to downtown," said Monica Lagos, city spokeswoman. "Over the course of its existence, it actually drew about 50,000 attendees.
"But throughout the last few months, we've seen a decline in attendance, and we believe it's due to the event just running its course."
Introduced in October 2014, the monthly food truck festival endeavored to breathe life into downtown San Bernardino by attracting lunch-time crowds to the largely vacant area.
The inaugural event featured five food trucks and a surprisingly positive response.
From 900 attendees that first afternoon to 2,500 a few months later, the food festival drew city, county and state government officials looking for a quick bite. Also, more trucks to satisfy demand.
"This was innovative for San Bernardino County," said Jason Tang, co-owner of Yucaipa-based JoJo's Grill-a-Dog, one of two dozen regular vendors. "There's not much in terms of regular spots for food trucks here … that you would see in other counties that are more densely populated.
"We're sad to see it go because it was innovative and new and exciting for the county."
County worker Rosina Motta said the festival was a "great addition to our downtown area," an event she and her coworkers looked forward to every month. While meal prices could be high for some, "most see the food trucks as a convenient option, so it's worth the cost," she said.
"It's a shame it will no longer be a staple."
Councilwoman Virginia Marquez, whose district includes downtown, said the monthly festival offered her "an opportunity to break bread with others, and to meet new people during our lunch hours.
"To this day, I still keep in touch with friends I met three years ago," she said. "I truly enjoyed the camaraderie, the food, the entertainment. It certainly was a good thing while it lasted, and I'm going to miss it in the future."
The final Third Thursdays Food Fest is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at Court Street Square, 349 N. E St. in San Bernardino.
Vendors include Piaggio On Wheels; Smoke'em If You Got'em BBQ; Richeeze Melts; Go Beyond The Bowl; JoJo's Grill-a-Dog; and My Delight Cupcakery.
Motta said she will "definitely" attend the finale.
"We've always had a good experience when we've been there," Tang said. "Anytime we could go, we would definitely go. Always excited to be part of the community and county."


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The thunder of hooves and the clash of steel heralds the arrival of the cavalier on the field of battle, and the opposition knows they have but two choices: To break and run, or to die. The mounted knight is the dominant force in any open arena of war. He lacks the overwhelming might of the barbarian and the flexibility of the fighter, but the cavalier can hold his own beside either of them, and when allowed to fight atop a trained mount, with sufficient room to bring all his skills to bear, he is nigh unstoppable. Yet war is not all the cavalier knows, for his noble heritage and code of honor mean more to him than life itself.
- 0.1 Making a Cavalier
- 0.2 Cavalier Bonus Feats
- 1 Ex-Cavaliers
Making a Cavalier
The cavalier is, quite literally, the iconic knight in shining armor. He fights not for himself, but for a liege, a nation, or a cause. His code of honor binds him more tightly, and weighs upon him more heavily, than any suit of armor, yet it is a burden he gladly bears. While he serves well at the frontline of any battle, or in any party of adventurers, he is by far best suited to mounted combat. On foot, he at best equal—perhaps even slightly inferior—to a fighter or barbarian, but when sitting astride a war-trained mount, he puts them all to shame.
Historically, knights were almost exclusively male, but unless your setting makes use of similar distinctions of gender roles, cavaliers can be of either gender.
Abilities: The cavalier is first and foremost a warrior, making Strength his most vital ability. Constitution is nearly as important, allowing him to take damage as well as deal it out, and Dexterity influences his ability to ride, perhaps his most essential skill. A cavalier who intends to lead others into battle would do well to have a reasonable Charisma score.
Races: The majority of cavaliers are human, for it is this race that forms the largest numbers of vassal kingdoms, and thus makes use of systems of fealty that give birth to the noble warrior. Half-elves and half-orcs raised in human lands are next most numerous. Only a rare few members of other races become cavaliers, as elves, gnomes, and halflings prefer fighting styles that rely less on heavy armor, and dwarves tend to eschew mounted combat.
Alignment: All cavaliers are bound, to a greater or lesser extent, by a code of conduct and chivalry. Thus, all members of the class must be lawful. Lawful good cavaliers seek to protect the weak and downtrodden, and to ensure that evil goes neither unopposed nor unpunished. Lawful neutral cavaliers are concerned primarily with obedience and service to their liege, to an extent that even other cavaliers might not match. Lawful evil cavaliers believe strongly in the rule of law, but also in reaping the full rewards and benefits of their station in life. They see no problem in oppressing the peasants below them, so long as the law is on their side in doing so.
Starting Gold: 6d4 x 10 (150 gp).
Alignment: Any lawful.
Hit Die: d12.
Attack Bonus
|Code of honor, mounted combat, warhorse
|Mounted warrior
|Bonus feat
|Mounted warrior
|Bonus feat
|Mounted warrior
|Bonus feat
|Mounted warrior
|Bonus feat, mounted warrior
Class Features
The cavalier focuses almost exclusively on heavily armored and mounted combat, considering other means of fighting inferior. He gains a great many abilities, but most of them are devoted exclusively to his favored form of warfare.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
You are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor, and with shields (except tower shields).
Code of Honor
You have a strict code of behavior to which you must adhere. Failure to follow the code results in an inability to advance any further as a cavalier, as well as substantial loss of face among those who know you and your reputation. See sidebar for details on the code.
Mounted Combat (Ex)
You gain the Mounted Combat feat, even if you lack the prerequisites.
You begin play with a light warhorse (or other mount, more suited to your size), without the necessity of paying for it. This includes a saddle and bridle as well. You may, of course, pay to acquire a better mount, or to further equip the mount, but this requires the expenditure of actual funds.
Fearless (Ex)
Beginning at 2nd level, your code and your honor armor you against fear. You gain a resistance bonus to saving throws against fear effects equal to one-half your cavalier level.
Mounted Warrior (Ex)
Beginning at 4th level, you gain a new technique of mounted warfare every four levels. Each time you gain this feature, select one of the abilities below. If an ability requires you to choose a specific weapon to which it applies, you may gain that ability multiple times, focusing on a different weapon each time.
Favored Weapon
Choose one of the following weapons. You have learned to make use of that weapon's strengths against certain types of defense. Whenever you fight with that weapon, you gain a +1 competence bonus to your attack rolls when fighting humanoids, monstrous humanoids, fey, or giants wearing certain types of armor. (Unlike the other benefits you might select, this applies to all forms of combat, not just when you are mounted.) Improved Charge: Choose one of the following weapons: battleaxe, flail, longsword, or heavy pick.
When making a mounted charge attack with that weapon, you do double damage (or triple, with the Spirited Charge feat), just as if it were a lance.
Improved Mounted Combat
You may roll to negate a hit on your mount, as per the Mounted Combat feat, more than once per round. You may do so one extra time per point of Dexterity bonus you have (minimum 1).
Mounted Lunge
You have learned to use the height and momentum of your mount to augment your attacks. Choose one of the following weapons: battleaxe, flail, lance, longsword, or heavy pick. When utilizing the Power Attack feat with that weapon, from atop a mount, you gain a bonus to damage from Power Attack as though the weapon were wielded two-handed, even if you are wielding it one-handed. (In other words, you do twice as much extra damage as your penalty to hit.) Obviously, you must have the Power Attack feat to make use of this ability.
Shield Mount
You have learned to twist and turn to protect your mount from injury. When wielding a shield, you add your Shield bonus to AC as a bonus to your Ride check to negate a hit on your mount (as per the Mounted Combat feat).
|Bonus When Enemy
|is wearing medium armor
|is wielding a shield
|is wearing light armor
|Pick, heavy
|is wearing heavy armor
Steadfast Rider: You have learned to use brute strength to augment some of your riding techniques. You may, if you so choose, substitute your Strength modifier for your Dexterity modifier when making use of any of the following uses of the Ride skill: stay in the saddle, fight with warhorse, spur mount, or control mount in battle.
Bonus Feat: At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, you gain a bonus feat. These feats must be drawn from the following list. You must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat.
Cavalier Bonus Feats
Animal Affinity
Combat Reflexes
Improved Critical1
Power Attack
Ride-By Attack
Spirited Charge
Weapon Focus1
Weapon Specialization1, 2
1 When choosing this feat as a bonus feat, the cavalier may only apply it to one of the following weapons: battleaxe, flail, lance, longsword, heavy pick.
2 The cavalier may select this feat even though it is normally limited to fighters only. He must still meet the level-based prerequisite, as well as all other prerequisites. The cavalier is limited to the following weapon choices, whether he takes this feat as a bonus feat or a normal one: battleaxe, flail, lance, longsword, heavy pick.
If a cavalier ever becomes non-lawful, or repeatedly violates the precepts of the code, he loses the ability to advance any further as a cavalier, though he retains any benefits of the class he has already acquired.
Playing a Cavalier
You are the epitome of nobility and martial skill. Battle is glory, glory is honor, and honor is everything. You brook no insult, either to yourself or to your liege, and your life is just one more weapon to be wielded — and, if necessary, lost — for your chosen cause. You see adventuring as a means to an end, whether that end is the advancement of a particular goal, the righting of wrongs, or simply the acquisition of personal glory.
You are not necessarily ambitious or arrogant, but you do demand to be treated with the respect you are due. You hold high station in life, and you must comport yourself accordingly. You respond to crudeness with icy politeness and withering wit, rather than resorting to same. You wield and carry only the best equipment, for to do any less would be to disparage your own abilities, and the liege whom you serve.
Religion: Many cavaliers are religious, often honoring deities of war, valor, chivalry, or conquest.
Those who serve a Church or religious institution obviously worship the deity of that order. Their faith does not, however, directly impact their class abilities, and many cavaliers keep their religious affiliation private, feeling that to make a public show of it would detract from their service to their chosen liege.
Other Classes: Cavaliers are most comfortable around other martial characters. Assuming compatible alignments, they prefer the company of fighters and, particularly, paladins. They respect the abilities of the barbarian, but consider him undisciplined. Cavaliers honor clerics as servants of a greater power, even as the cavalier sees himself. They are often distrustful of arcanists and rogues.
Combat: You are very much a straightforward combatant. This doesn't mean you ignore tactics and strategy — in fact, you may well be expert at both — it simply means that once battle is engaged, you prefer direct confrontation. Your hit points and AC ensure that you can absorb a substantial amount of punishment, allowing you to move in close and smite your foes at close range.
While you can certainly hold your own on foot, you are truly devastating in mounted combat.
Seek out opportunities to make use of these abilities, even where they aren't obvious. If you have arcanist allies, encourage them to prepare spells such as mount. If you are fighting mounted, focusing your attacks on the strongest of your opponents, using your powerful charges to take them down quickly.
You never retreat from battle, unless failure to do so is blatantly suicidal. The exception to this is if your companions are likely to fall. Your honor is everything to you, but it is not admirable to sacrifice an ally for your own glory. Be prepared, if necessary, to stand against impossible odds to allow your allies time to escape, or at least regroup.
Advancement: You were highborn, from a noble or at least upper-class family, and you have been groomed for this role since you were a child.
You learned the basics of your skills—not merely combat, but riding, animal care, and behavior — as a squire for another cavalier. You may have loved your master or hated him, but either way you soaked up the knowledge you needed. The day you knelt before your liege, or a representative of your cause, to become a knight was the greatest of your life.
While you'll obviously want to select feats that augment your mounted combat abilities, choose specifically based on your favored weapons.
Remember, as well, that you cannot count on always having your mount available, so devote at least some attention to other forms of battle as well. Consider keeping your Ride skill maxed, or at least reasonably high.
The requirements on equipment and weaponry are not mere rhetoric, where cavaliers are concerned, but actual restrictions.
You must, even from the point of character creation, acquire the best armor and weapons you can afford, paying for additional equipment out of whatever remains. Where weapons are concerned, you must upgrade to masterwork as soon as you can afford to do so. You must constantly acquire the heaviest armor you can afford — full plate is optimal — and attempt to acquire it in masterwork as well. A cavalier prefers heavy armor even when other options are available. Only if he is sacrificing a tactical advantage would he choose otherwise. For instance, +3 chainmail offers the same AC bonus as normal full plate; the cavalier always prefers the full plate. Only if the chainmail was of sufficient enchantment to offer a better armor class would he go that route.
You should keep your mount fully barded and equipped as well. Your mount is an extension of your own combat ability.
The Cavalier's Code
All cavaliers are sworn to uphold a code that resembles, at least to some extent, the Medieval code of chivalry. While the specifics of the code can certainly vary from campaign to campaign, region to region, or even (to an extent) knight to knight, the following aspects are considered the core of that code.
Loyal Service: Cavaliers swear service to some master or greater power. This might be a king or other noble liege, a church or deity, a specific region, or a knightly order. Any quest or service demanded by the cavalier's liege must be undertaken with all due diligence and effort. Failure or refusal to serve is a black mark against the cavalier's honor, and repeated failures constitute a violation of the code.
Courage in the Face of Adversity: A cavalier shows no fear, and never flees in the face of battle.
This does not mean the cavalier must be suicidal, but if his cause requires him to fight in anything shy of a truly hopeless battle, he must do so.
Deference and Respect: A cavalier shows honor and etiquette to those of equal or higher station, even if they are an enemy. A cavalier is never crude or ill-mannered. Similarly, a cavalier is owed respect by those beneath his station, and is entitled to seek redress for any slight or insult.
Battle is Glory: A cavalier prefers melee combat to any other form of conflict resolution. He does not start battles that need not be fought, but he would rather destroy an enemy of his cause than to compromise with them. A cavalier engages in missile combat only when circumstances require it, and enters melee as soon as he may reasonably do so. When given a choice of opponents, a cavalier seeks battle with the toughest or highest-ranking.
Conduct Becoming a Knight: A cavalier always behaves, dresses, and equips himself as appropriate to his station. He girds himself only in the best equipment and wields only the best weapons.
Death Before Dishonor: A cavalier prefers to fall than to besmirch his honor, or the honor of his lord. If charged with a task, or answering an offense, it is better to die in the effort than to cravenly abandon it.


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- The Arthurdale Community School: Education and Reform in Depression-Era Appalachia by Sam F. Stack Jr
In 1934 the doors opened to the Arthurdale School, a progressive experiment located in a government-backed subsistence farming community in Appalachia in north-central West Virginia. Sam F. Stack Jr. explores the school and its curriculum. His book responds to William J. Reese's recent call for scholarly investigations of how teachers actually taught in progressive schools ("In Search of American Progressives and Teachers," History of Education, 42, no. 3 [2013], 320-34). Indeed, much of the scholarship on progressive education examines its definitional and theoretical dimensions—save for a few well-known studies—at the expense of ground-level investigations. The Arthurdale Community School: Education and Reform in Depression-Era Appalachia addresses progressive education in practice and in an unusual setting, one that was neither urban nor private.
In Depression-era Appalachia, Arthurdale was the first federal subsistence homestead community funded by the New Deal. It was created with the belief that workers could support themselves if they moved to rural settings to grow their own food and work part-time in local factories. The school was intended to be the glue that held the village together. Elsie Ripley Clapp, a graduate student and colleague of John Dewey's, was selected by none other than Eleanor Roosevelt to serve both as school principal and as director of community affairs to coordinate communication between and among the school, families, and federal representatives. As Stack explains, while New Deal historians know well the history of the Arthurdale community experiment, they have overlooked the school and its importance.
The book, an institutional and curriculum history, is organized chronologically around an investigation of how the school came to be and how Clapp applied the principles of progressive education. Stack's narrative moves from discussing the context of Depression-era America to the origins of the back-to-the-land movement and a biographical sketch of Clapp. The second half of the book focuses on the successes and the failures of the school. During the school's first two years, progressive principles guided the curriculum, but the school soon changed to a more traditional approach beginning with Clapp's departure before its third year. The progressive school curriculum comes to life in Stack's narrative as the reader discovers that students at every level learned about local history, geography, folklore, and art. For example, during the first year, students learned about farming, visited a bank, and studied pioneer life in the region. The experiment lasted only two years. Clapp left due to declining federal funding and growing insistence by community members who wanted their children [End Page 466] to have a traditional education in order to succeed in the post-Depression economy.
Throughout the book, Stack weaves together two important themes. The first is the tension between local residents and the federal government. The Arthurdale School was challenged from the start because Clapp sought to draw on grassroots support and leadership to build a community from the ground up, all the while answering to the federal government. Another important theme is Stack's exploration of the meaning of progressive education in this context. He locates this study squarely in 1930s progressive ideals that viewed schools as tools of social reform, rather than as focusing only on the physical and emotional development of children. Concerning the concept of community as central to progressive education, Stack observes, "The community itself was a classroom and included the homes and gardens, the school kitchen, various club meetings, square dances, and any informal gatherings" (p. 81). This history of progressive teaching, curriculum, and institution building adds to our understanding of the challenges of implementing progressive education principles and the multiple constituencies that are involved in such an endeavor. It is a much-needed study of progressive education on the local level in a rural, poor region.


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Interactive Storytelling
Dailygraphics Next
The Profanity Peak wolves
Not only did they have one of the great trivia team names of all time, the Profanity Peak wolves were part of a Washington success story: wolves have mounted a successful comeback since being hunted almost to extension in the 1900's. But the story doesn't end so well for this pack—in this story, reported by Lynda V. Mapes, I downloaded DEM files, reverse-engineered reports from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and built a hand-rolled WebGL renderer to bring readers into the wolves' territory. A fuller write-up of my process is available on the Seattle Times developer blog.
Great movies
Based on an earlier project (Great reads, itself inspired by the NPR Book Concierge), this interactive provides an index of five years of the best movies reviewed by the Seattle Times. It's filterable by genre, rating, and year, and animates smoothly thanks to FLIP-powered CSS animations.
Sound Transit 3 Guide
In anticipation of the vote for Seattle's ST3 transit initiative, we published this in-depth guide to what the package included, and how funds would be allocated. This project served as an opportunity to polish many of our in-house libraries for working with SVG, including the ability to easily move the "camera" by manipulating the SVG viewbox. Based on this experience, our graphics team was able to greatly improve the process of bringing print graphics to life on the web.
Flying high
Boeing celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2016, and the paper re-ran a graphic in print that collected all of the aerospace giant's commercial planes. For online, that format wouldn't work, so I built this interactive, which extracted the planes from their SVG and moved them onto GPU-composited layers to soar across the background.
Elwha: Roaring back to life
Since the largest dam removal project in the world, the Elwha has experienced a resurgence, with plants and animals returning to the river. I worked with Lynda Mapes and our graphics department to tell the story online in a way that was evocative and beautiful. More details are available at our dev blog.
Shielded by the law
As the controversy over police killings grew around the country, the Seattle Times investigative team dug into the data to uncover every person killed by police in Washington over the last decade. They discovered that it's almost impossible to prosecute a cop in this state, due to a legal loophole. I worked on the presentation and opening animation of this report.
Touring Chambers Bay
The site of the US Open in 2015, Chambers Bay is not a typical American golf course. To demonstrate its steep verticality and unconventional hazards, I loaded the course architect's CAD file into Three.js and created this interactive tour, including hole-by-hole descriptions and video.
Mayday Map
Seattle's May Day "celebration" is always a unique news opportunity. To help readers follow the protests, I built a Node.js app that attached to the Twitter streaming API and tracked reporters via geotagging on a map, including photo and video. The result was a riveting live feed of movement between protestors and police.
The Mobile Home Trap
For this investigative series, the Seattle Times examined the shady business practices of the Warren Buffett-owned Clayton Homes. This particular piece detailed how proposed legislation would largely exempt Clayton's loans from regulations. For my interactive, I tried to highlight the effects of that change on the market, and show how the law would barely affect other mobile home vendors.
Sell Block
Another enterprise Seattle Times investigation, this piece focused on the broken promises of the Washington State prison labor industry. I worked on the visualizations for this piece, including the logo design. But it's most interesting to me because it serves as the debut for two new custom elements — <responsive-frame> for embedding elements, and <leaflet-map> for assembling the state map.
Software Development
You could argue that it's as much as web company as a game company — certainly the thousands of lines of JavaScript in its services cloud can speak to that. At ArenaNet, I wrote front- and back-end code for our NodeJS-like platform, including the marketing, account infrastructure, and developer APIs. I also worked on improvements to the in-game UI for Guild Wars 2, the company's award-winning MMO, which is partially embedded in a web view and uses cutting-edge, single-page application technology.
In 2013, I bought a Chromebook and was shocked to discover that there wasn't a good offline text editor available for Chrome OS, so I built one myself. Caret is a professional-grade tabbed text editor built around the Ace editing component. It features fully-configurable menus and keybindings, open file memory, a command/go-to palette, and more. It's the best offline editor available on Chrome OS, and it's battle-tested--every version since 0.0.16 has been written in Caret, and it's been used by members of the Chromium team to work on the browser itself.
In the wake of the Google Reader shutdown announcement, I decided to try writing my own self-hosted RSS reader before I would move to another third-party service. Weir was completed right before the deadline, and I've been using it since. It's written in Node and PostgreSQL for the server-side components and Angular on the front-end, and it boasts a fully-responsive design for viewing on phones or desktop machines alike.
Seattle Central College
At CQ, I had often trained journalists as part of my multimedia team, but when my wife and I moved to Seattle I decided to take the next step, and began teaching classes in JavaScript and web development at Seattle Central College. As always, teaching others is a great way to really learn a topic yourself, and I've learned quite a bit. I'm also working with the full-time faculty to shape and improve the curriculum for front-end development.
NPR for Android
In my spare time, starting in 2009, I started contributing to NPR's open-source Android client, primarily by splitting the playback function apart from the UI code. This helped lay the groundwork for the 2.0 version of the application, and it makes the application much more Android-friendly for users. Working with NPR and Google on this application was a fantastic learning experience for source control, code review, and mobile application design.
SRCCON 2018: Visualization as a Civil Right
Riffing off Marcy Sutton's Accessibility is a Civil Right, this session set out to gather new strategies and best practices for creating accessible news visualizations. Attendees were taught how to use a mobile screen reader and given a chance to discover common mistakes by test driving their own projects.[Slides] [Notes] [Transcript]
SeattleJS 2017: Hacks and Hackers
How do news teams create interesting, interactive storytelling on a deadline, without technical support or funding? The answers are in this talk, which breaks down the Seattle Times news app template, dissects our Google Apps Script strategy, and makes a passionate case for the web as the only future of digital journalism.[Video] [Slides]
SeattleJS: SVG without losing a finger
A tour of scalable vector graphics in the browser, with a stress on using modern tooling (like React or Vue) to generate SVG quickly and easily without resorting to D3. Includes demos of some of my favorite SVG features, such as "camera" control with the view box.[Slides]
SeattleJS: A Packaged Apps Carol
After Chrome's deprecation of packaged apps on non-ChromeOS platforms (and the increasing use of Android as a runtime there), I gave this talk based on my experience with Caret, including a deep history of the "web as desktop runtime" and some visions of its future.[Slides]
Cascadia 2016: Custom Elements in Production
In this talk at the final Cascadiafest, I gave an overview of our successful use of custom elements and web components at the Seattle Times, and provided some rules of thumb for others who might be considering this exciting and intuitive new technique. As a bonus, the slides themselves are built as a set of custom elements![Video] [Slides]
SRCCON 2016: Designing News Apps for Humanity
Increasingly relevant as we build news sites that are more customized, more dependent on third-party code, and more automated, this SRCCON session examined the dangers of algorithmic design as it applied to journalism. Inspired by Eric Meyer and Sarah Wachter-Boettcher's Design for Real Life, participants talked about how we've tried to safeguard readers, and how we've failed.[Slides] [Notes]
- An accessibility starter kit is already at your fingertips Tips and tricks for using a mobile screen reader as a busy journalist who cares about accessibility....
- Visualization as a civil right How to create accessible news apps and interactives, from the Seattle Times dev blog....
- Tag Soup An article detailing our use of custom elements at the Seattle Times for the Knight-Mozilla OpenNews blog....
- The AudioFile, Part One Originally published at Ars Technica, September 18, 2007...
- The AudioFile, Part Two Originally published at Ars Technica, October 3, 2007...
- The AudioFile, Part Three Originally published at Ars Technica, November 11, 2007...
- JavaScript for the Web Savvy A textbook all about JavaScript, written for my classes at SCCC....