text:
The Needles: Master Chief Goes to Washington
Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 5 NEXT
But isn't that just the problem? The ratings systems prevent sales to the inappropriate audiences, but it reaches those people nonetheless.
Of course, this is just more proof that legislation wouldn't solve anything, but what I am saying is that this should be addressed too.
But I'm not saying that it's the games that need to be defended; as you say, violent games are meant to be so. I'm saying that the problem is that the games are filtering down to the inappropriate audiences *after* they get their ESRB stamp, meaning that despite the upholding of the ratings, the kids get the games anyways, through parents or older siblings or other friends.
I'd let a young child read American Psycho. If he can get through the book I think he's mature enough to handle the content.
That's a bit biased, don't you think? Not everyone visiting the escapist is American, and I'm sure you don't intend to write only for Americans.
Edit: Haha, I hadn't actually read to the last line yet when I wrote this post. I'm sure you get my point then. :P
No need to insult the US Supreme court. They do a better job interpreting the constitution then you might think.
So basically, you have kids that are actively attempting to get their hands on content that is only deemed to be inappropriate for a specific age range. Through parents? Well that is called parenting. Older siblings? Well that is making a judgement call or personal decision. Other friends? Same thing with older siblings.
Not everyone is a round peg in a round hole and there is no one size fits all when it comes to the human condition. Some people who are younger are more mature than those that are older and we of course have seen where older people are less mature than those that are younger. Also it is part of the human condition to try and get things that they want but is considered out of reach. I don't know how old you are but have you actually seen college students that are underage try and get alcohol? Trust me give them enough time and they will find a way. But do you also notice that when a college student does come of age getting alcohol doesn't become a big deal? Ever wonder why? It is that restriction, that ability to be "more mature" or "to rebel" and this is nothing new so we shouldn't treat it as new when it comes to video games.
Also if you are supportive of this law then you really should be active in trying to ban children from being exposed to lyrics that are adult themed. Just note that the girls you see here are all first graders.
The ESRB are meant to be basic guidelines. Would you really prevent a child who is twelve years old from getting a T rated game? And if so what is it that that child is missing that would prevent them from handling said T rated content? While people will just rail against the M rating what specific trait or qualification is actually required to be able to play a video game and handle the content that does vary from game to game? The answer is that there is no single trait or qualification a person can attain or does attain instantly that should prevent a person from having access to a video game that does no physical harm unlike consuming alcohol or smoking. Maturity is gained in time and that time is different from person to person and this includes children.
Honestly your reason to support the law because "Despite the ratings the kids are going to get them anyway" just ignores that there is a lot of enforcement within the video game industry and that includes the retail industry. First retail employees can actually lose their job if they are caught selling mature games to those who are not of age. I don't know about you but that is a pretty good incentive to follow store policy. Second, sales of Mature rated games require identification from the purchaser. So if a kid is trying to buy a game they are required to show their ID proving that they are 17 years old.
Finally, if friends, parents or older siblings have decided to give the game to their kids? That is their judgement call. They decide for better or worse that their child should be able to play the game they want. I've encountered this in stores multiple times where parents go up to me and ask me what kind of content is in a game like Metal Gear Solid or JRPGS and they make the decision if they will buy the game. Some shrug my warnings of violence and adult themes and buy games like MGS4 for their kid just to shut them up but that is the parents judgement call. If there is a problem the problem isn't the ESRB anymore, it is the parents, the friends and the siblings.
Because if we do apply that logic then why isn't it the movies rating board problem if a kid sees an R rated movie because of their parents, friends, or older siblings at home? The movie got the stamp but the kids are going to see the movie anyway. Same can be applied to books, or music. The album got the label with adult lyrics but the kids are going to get the album or listen to the album anyway because of parents, friends, or older siblings.
...wait...don't people get carded for this sorta stuff? Like, for R-rated movies, ID is required. Same for M-rated video games. How does this law change anything whatsoever?
So far, America has done well to avoid GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP. That's the difference. What's going to stop a state government from labeling a non-violent game "Adults Only" because it questions American law? Do you see free speech slowly draining away yet?
While I absolutely agree with the article, it seems odd that they're even bothering with this law. Nearly every game and electronics store will have customers show ID when they buy an M-rated game. I tried to pick up a copy of Diablo II when I was fourteen, and was denied it by the cashier. They may not be legally obligated to do so, but every game retailer I can think of enforces the restrictions anyway. If the law was such so they were legally obligated to not enforce them, that would noticeably change things for the better. After all, a preteen can go to the library and check out any number of books with violent or sexual content. I certainly agree that video games should be allowed the same freedoms.
The problem is this: A large number of lazy, inept, or otherwise substandard parents WANT it to be the government's job. They don't want to pay attention to what their children are doing; they want to be able to sit on the couch, watch American Idol or the new season of Survivor, and let their minds shut down, comfortable in the knowledge that Uncle Sam is making sure their kids can't do anything, you know, fun.
What? Other people being affected by the law? Everybody knows that only children and shut-ins play video games. Now shut up, I'm harvesting my Farmville field.
This. I cannot stress this enough. It is up to the parents to decide whether or not they want their child to view or play something. The problem is, people don't like being told that they suck at their job, which is often the case.
Okay, let me tell this. I'm as far on the sliding scale of creative freedom as one can possibly be, which I suppose means I believe depictions of pedophilia that don't involve children should be allowed (unlike that UK law that just passed), and that is pretty much the only ground I'm willing to lose. I think any attempt by the government to tell people what they can and can't enjoy is ridiculous, based on the hateful notion that, if I am a good man and I don't like this, then it must be evil; or worse, that if I am a good man and I don't like this, then those who do are evil. It is pathetic.
I honestly see nothing wrong with this law.
It's stopping minors from buying violent videogames. It's not stopping their parents from buying it from them, if they think they're fit for it. It's stopping them from buying them behind their back. It's defending a parent's right to be selective about what their children play, as much as it's possible.
You say that it would set a precedent as games being seen as an special precedent that's somehow worse than other media. Fine, I buy that. It would also take away most of the air of the large majority of video game haters. Their main argument is 'think of the children'! And our only defence for that is 'hey, there's a system here that prevents children from playing games they shouldn't, never mind that it's run by the industry and it's not enforceable on a massive degree'. If this law passes, it will become 'They can't play it, no more than they can drink alcohol. It's against the law.'
Now, I don't want this law to pass, nor do I think it would be good for the medium as a whole if it did. But it's not the end-all doomsday you make it sound like in the article. If it's the first step of a slippery slope it'll be the least slippery of the slopes.
If gamers should gather around an ideal, it should be to press developers to make better games, more varied, appealing to a greater crowd. If every senator could look at GTAIV and see a variation of something they do on his free time, as they do when they look at a violent movie, the entire argument would lose its footing. Gamers should stop sitting atop their rock and shouting at the Eberts and Atkins of the world, turn around, and ask themselves why they ended up with that opinion.
It's not. They should -all- be regulated[1]. I'm an Australian, and my system is close to perfect, with two huge, glaring omissions. No R18+ rating, and no rating above that. Which means that my government can decide what I can and can't watch/play/read/etc. This is wrong. However, the ESRB's rating system is also near perfect, except for two problems. It's not law. It should be. There's absolutely no reason why media shouldn't be rated, but at the same time, there's also no reason private companies or organisations should be allowed to determine what's in the public's interest to see or hear. That's the second problem - the ESRB is a private organisation, not a government one. It needs to be, so it can be transparent, and accountable.
As far as the pending Supreme Court challenge goes, you're dead on: games must not be regulated differently from other media. But I'm of the opinion that it should -all- be restricted to age-appropriate groups, not just opened up to anyone.
[1] This is absolutely not an advocation of censorship: regulation and restriction do not involve the banning or outlawing of media; just its viewing by specific age groups.
I think that this debate could have a middle side. Even with freedom of speech, if everyone did whatever they wanted and said whatever nasty things came to mind to people on the street, they'd get arrested. The ESRB rating system is a good one, if careful scrutiny of a game shows it to be not for minors, it should not be played by them. Then again, it is always the parent's choice what their children's priviliges and maturity level are. So, do not sell mature games to minors, unless parental confirmation is there. A 12 year old asks for GTA, the clerk confirms age, asks for parental confirmation. Parents give confirmation. Problem solved. Of course, often games are played by teens that were meant for older adults. The age minimum might just be lower than the rating permits, but its a start. A 15 year old can by Halo on their own, a 10 year old cannot.
Also, I'm Canadian, and some of this First Amendment stuff is pretty loose to me.
What do you mean there are no laws against minors seeing R-rated movies? It's illegal to sell a ticket for an R-rated movie to a minor. There are other laws like this already in effect in the US. It's not that big a deal. All the kid has to do is ask his/her misinformed parent to buy it for them.
One thing I must say: The industry already stops kids from buying violent games, which makes this law completely pointless. The gaming industry also has the highest age compliance of all other forms of media.
I can't stress this enough, this law is just pointless and redundant.
Everything else I agree with.
Incorrect. The rating system is voluntary, and movie theatres prevent minors from purchasing tickets as company policies. Laws aren't on the books, however. It isn't illegal to go see an R rated movie if you're under 17. You can't be arrested for it. The theatre has the right to throw you out because it's against their rules, but you can't be arrested. Big difference.
This is a big deal because, if this law passes, it would be a restriction against the 1st Amendment. The one that guarantees you the right to say, read, or write anything you want. The one that protects all forms of artistic expression. All it takes is one little injustice, one restriction, and that opens the door to more infringements on our rights. It's the apathy and ignorance of folks like you that make me truly afraid this country could start losing some of its defining characteristics, and some folks won't even notice.
Ahem. Sorry.
Honestly, I'm surprised that you'd come down on the "their oughta be a law" side of the equation. I would think that if anything, the Australian experience would demonstrate precisely why government regulation of creative expression (talking about all media here, not just games) is a bad thing.
They ended up with those opinions out of ignorance and a determination to apply old media standards to new media.
And I'm curious as to why you think game developers should be making games that are more palatable to politicians, but don't seem to have a problem with movie studios that churn out idiotic, blood-soaked bullshit. Why is there a double-standard?
I agree with most of your post, but I have to ask... how does that work?
Couldn't an adult just pick up the game and then give it to their kid later?
As an american I can see a new business showing up soon. Yeah that's Ed he sells drugs at this school, over there, yeah that's Jon. Jon sells M rated video games for a 10% markup, welcome to 9th grade. My parents didn't do too much damage raising me without government protection. I don't need other people's opinion of decent shoved down my throat; I learned from my parents what was required from me. I also learned many things from my own experiences, to be shown the answer is not worth as much as learning on your own. When did Cali decide to enforce laws on peoples rights, we have other crazy states for that.
Maybe we should become violent to show how well adjusted we are?
Your logic on that is rather erroneous as it relies on the fact that parents don't buy M-rated games for their kids. The problem with that fact is that is an untrue fact. There are many documented cases where a parent specifically bought an M-rated game for their child, even despite warnings from the clerk about the content in the game, then later got outraged at what they discovered within.
Basically, the problem isn't that kids are able to sneak behind their parents' backs to buy these games. The problem is that parents consistently under-estimate the amount of content in some games and then buy the games anyway. Seriously, go read some articles about parents outraged about a game. In roughly 9 of 10 articles you'll read that the parent isn't pissed that their kid was able to buy the game, they're pissed because THEY THEMSELVES bought the game and didn't know what kind of content was in the game (despite usually having been warned).
So in the end, what we're stuck with is this: Little Jimmy told mom that he wanted her to buy a game for him because Gamestop wouldn't let him buy it. She agreed to do so, bought the game, saw what was in the game, then freaked-out and is now petitioning that her son shouldn't be allowed to buy the game... that he wasn't being allowed to buy in the first place. o.O
They ended-up with their opinions because they're classic cases of old men demonizing something they aren't familiar with. Or do you forget that 60 years ago they were trying to ban Rock and Roll? Simply put, just because someone has an opinion, doesn't mean that their opinion is educated or justified (even if the person holding the opinion is usually fairly educated himself). When schools were teaching you about how an opinion is never wrong, what they were saying is that YOUR opinion is never wrong TO YOU (so long as you truly believe your reasoning behind it).
So yeah, TO EBERT, games will never be art. But let's not forget that Ebert has spent probably less than one hour total in his entire life playing them.
Brevity is the soul of wit.. and that good sir is a great way to look at it!
OT: We don't need the government concerning itself with gaming; or for that matter, how this will end some mutant form of censorship. Either way; The US is broke, we don't need to be spending money on some line of bureaucrats who's job is too restrict and enforce ratings and such.
Waste of time and money... it really is... don't we have bigger fish to fry?
The notion that restricting the sale of videogames to minors is a Freedom of Speech issue is frankly ridiculous. I would stand behind the above statement if you replaced 'videogames' with 'books, films, tv, etc ad nauseum'. The point of any such legislation is to prevent unsuitable materials being bought by children without parental involvement. They are not restricting the type of games made and published, they are merely cutting out the most vulnerable from being able to enjoy this on their own, legally. That there is already a system in place that more or less makes this happen (in each of these media areas) shows that there is probably a need for sales to be regulated and I can't see why (and you haven't provided the why, merely the 'they don't do it to films or books') backing this body with legislation infringes anyone's freedom to speak. If such a restriction really is a restriction of freedom of speech, shouldn't something be done about the ESRB (and analogues in other media) de facto restricting freedom of speech?
Basically, no, your article is intellectually wrong and doesn't really spell out any of the harms that such a move would make (mostly because there don't seem to be any). You've fallen victim the the 'Freedom of Speech' propaganda that is really Supreme Court over-relying on the First Amendment because it is one of the new commandments and therefore inherently justified rather than its relevance to the case at hand. Is it not better to harmonise the practise (restricting video games sales to minors) and the law, rather than allow non-governmental 'volunteer organisations' to decide who can and who can't buy things?
Hysterical comments like this harm your credibility. Jail is not the only sanction that infringement of a law can land someone in. Chances are that any regulatory law would impose sizeable fines for non-compliance. So no-one's going to end up in jail either way.
Addendum: My personal politics on this subject says deregulate completely, anyone should be allowed to buy whatever games, films, books, music that they want to buy, kids are a lot more resilient and parents need to be more involved in their kids' thinking about the world as a whole. Promoting a healthy understanding that media is entertainment rather than a guide for how to live your life from a young age can only benefit people. The comments before this addendum are criticism rather than an account of how I think things should be.
You know? All I can think now is "It's about time the crazy anti-videogame movement" left Australia and headed to you guys. I have strangely little sympathy, really.
Think of it this way: you guys are taking one for the team and letting us have a turn. Except that doesn't really work, since our government is already full of twits.
Considering that I live in the UK, where it is officially illegal for an under 18 to buy a PEGI 18 rated game and the power to ban games (which they've used... twice), let me remind you that these laws make exactly zero difference to the amount of games that get into the hands of the youth.
I don't suppose that the American government will listen to Australian protesters will they. Oh well.
Look, I'm from Australia, and as your all aware I can tell you EXACTLY what can happen if you remove the protections given to those who publish these products. It's simple, decide that Video Games arn't covered by the First Amendment and it will open the door to politicans and do-gooders to start censoring the games you want to play all the time. Do you really want to put up with the goreless version of L4D2? Or how about the modified version of Fallout 3? Hell, why not just remove games from shelves before they get there.
You know, I feel that gamers outside American should voice their opinion on this matter as well. I'm not an expert in games marketing, but I'm pretty sure that the U.S market for games is the largest in the world. And, I can see how forcing game publishers to alter their games for sale the American market will affect the version of the game we get here. Ok, so this law will only prevent the sale of games to children, not to everyone, but deeming that games don't share the protections from your bill of rights as other media do just makes this seem like the first step along a horrible horrible road.
I'll sum up my feelings for this by saying: I live in Australia, look at our video-game situation...it is not good.
Government regulation of any kind of expression isn't necessarily a bad thing. Censorship is. The difference being that some expression can be harmful to some people, and should never be made to view it or exposed to it unintentionally.
What my Government has is the right idea with an awful implementation. If they added the R18+ rating, it's very close to perfect, except that some content which would be AO under the ESRB's system would still be banned, which is sub-optimal.
I, working as a game retailer, have turned away people without ID when they try to buy ultraviolent videogames. Such a thing makes me proud of my government. I also have to sell people ridiculously self-censored versions of games like L4D2, which makes me angry. But we're working to fix it as best we can.
You get where I'm coming from, right? No content should ever be "banned", but restricting it so that minors don't get exposed to media which might result in potentially dangerous mindsets later is a good idea. Especially when parents can easily veto the ban; if a kid is there with the parent, all I need to do is make sure that the parent understands that the game has a restricted rating. It's fine if I get their okay. Some parents go "Oh, thanks! No, Sam, you're not having this", while some go "Yeah, it's okay. I'll play it with him", and others just don't care. It's still the parent's responsibility to parent. That's why I call it "very close to optimal".
There's not a double-standard; just a misunderstanding. His point was that there exist movies which appeal to politicians, so they're going to be more understanding of the medium. Even if they don't particularly look for "idiotic, blood-soaked bullshit", they understand it because it's still similar to whatever they enjoy. There are few to no games which would appeal to people of that age, however, and therefore the medium enjoys less understanding and comprehension than others. This is the problem that The Random One was trying to explain. Indeed, he was not suggesting that violent games should no longer be produced, merely that a greater variety would broaden the base of people who grok gaming.
Control! We know what is best for people, even more so than they do for themselves.
That is exactly how these people think and there are VERY few things, perhaps none, that piss me off more so than this. Governments, fix the roads, fund/take care of the fire and police departments, protect us from foreign aggression, STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY LIVING ROOM.
The Gaiman quote... is he saying that people in Britain don't have free speech?
You can't do that in Britain?
On the main topic:
On one hand, I, as a mother, am responsible for my children and for making sure that they only get access to media I believe is appropriate for them. Being myself a gamer helps a lot. On the other hand, telling parents to control their children so that game-selling can be free is a bit over-simplistic. As a mother, I am also responsible for letting my children experience the world without me. I would not be a good mother to my ten year old son and my six year old daughter if I supervised them every minute of every day, including at school and at their friends' houses, or even when they are alone in their rooms. Having time without your parents is part of growing up. Would you accept/have accepted that your mother retained complete control over your media access until you were 18? Or 21? Would it have been good for you?
All I am saying is that parents are not and should not be omnipotent. I know my children get exposed to things I'd rather they didn't, but in the end, all I can do is be there for them when they need to process what they have seen.
* The Swedish movie censorship is a formality. Nothing has been cut or banned for years, and the system is about to be abolished.
I can see that my opinion is definitely not shared by other Australians who are posting here in this thread, but I very strongly support the classification system in theory. The main issue is that the implementation is poor and/or corrupted by those who would impose their morality on others. Perhaps that's what I'm doing, but I do not feel that by restricting certain content from the legal viewing by minors, many people's ability to enjoy whatever they want, however they want, will be threatened. Under what I would consider an ideal system, similar to the ESRB's, there would not be any way for a piece of content to be "banned".
I should also point out that the Australian Classification Board does not just rate videogames with these same, legally-binding ratings: books, music, and movies/video content are all within the scope of the Australian Classification Board. As such, there is no inconsistency between gaming, movies, etc, except that when the Classification Act of 1995 was drafted, gaming was ill-regarded, and that poor understanding of the new medium remains enshrined in law today. That's all that needs to change for the Australian Classification Act to provide a very strong, very consistent ratings system.
However, the way that the Australian Classification Board rate content: that is, without respect for any sort of preexisting rating of similar content, going by vague, ill-defined "community" standards, etc, is a very serious problem. That, and the poor support the Board receives from legislators and Attourneys-General. More consistent terms and systems need to be installed, or the existing ones updated to become more consistent, before the ACB will truly fulfill their job well.
As a European, I fail to see a problem with this.
Parents are idiots. Hell, most people are idiots. I was once at the department store, and saw a mother trying to buy her twelve year old son a copy of GTA: Liberty City Stories, because she was too daft to look at the bloody box. Obviously, people who work at department stores are idiots, too (the kid probably knew why he didn't take his mom to Gamestop), and have no idea what it is that they're selling.
That should not happen; however, under some wishy-washy voluntary ratings system, it will. And I think that that is the bigger issue here.
As a European, I do not believe in all this "small government" rubbish Americans are so fond of (but then, nobody here elects people with sub-80 IQs like Sarah Palin - if we did, I might start being for less government, too); and my country, like most of its neighbours, HAS no freedom of speech. We have a constitutionally guaranteed freedom of opinion. BIG difference. So since children are opportunistic arseholes and parents and salespeople are morons, actual laws restricting the sale of certain content to minors is totally fine by me.
Come on now, you cannot put a breast on a magazine cover in America, your network TV and radio is home to censorship on a communist level, and you complain about a law that might actually keep Manhunt out of the hands of quite a few pre-teens?
Don't get me wrong, that shit can go over-board, like it has in Germany. But I can understand why German authorities are a bit neurotic when it comes to anything that even looks like it could be glorifying violence. Still, what Germans do, namely keeping things away from ADULTS, is also quite problematic, and I could understand people using that as a "slippery slope" argument.
Interesting fact - Britain has nothing protecting our freedom of speech. The big difference between us and America is that our government, for all it's faults, doesn't need these laws to stay off our backs - we can do pretty much anything if we aren't hurting anyone else.
Also, that Gaiman quote was (I believe) referring to just after the Thatcher years, when I'm told everything was pretty negative in England. I don't know how much it applies now...
Over here in Ireland we have a ratings law for video games that's pretty well followed, It's similar to the alcohol are tobacco law in that they don't sell over 18's games to kids without a parent (or older brother) It's really no big deal to be honest and kids get their hands on violent games but usually from stupid parents who think silent hill is good for an 8 year old.
In a weird way it kinda has legitimised games here as a valid medium. By putting the same age stickers on games as movies (which follow the same rating rules) means that there is little ambiguity as to the content. Even an 80 year old granny knows that an 18's game is not for kids.
But I guess with a whole freedom of speech thing in America I can see why people are getting up in arms.
|Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 5 NEXT


text:
Pros and cons of buying doctor prescribed eyeglasses on the internet
Listening to that you'll require eyeglasses is actually in no way enjoyable information. Many people fear
the thought of putting on specifications, the actual hassle of getting all of them in your encounter just about all
day time as well as attempting to blend as well as complement these phones your own clothing.
Traditional shops
cost lots of money with regard to doctor prescribed eyeglasses, and that's why more and more people
use the web. Generally individuals can buy several
set for that cost they'd purchase 1 set inside a traditional shop.
Associated with
program buying inexpensive doctor prescribed eyeglasses on the internet offers it's benefits as well as
drawbacks. Lots of people haven't considered benefiting from the internet
provides, since they're unsure exactly how everything functions.
Taking a look at the actual
benefits, you will find a lot of such as the cost element. The internet
optician's provide inexpensive doctor prescribed portions of exactly the same high quality that you simply might
discover within the traditional. These people maintain their own expenses reduced through lacking the actual large
expenses, allowing these phones reveal this particular preserving using their clients.
Buying your own specifications by way of the web provides comfort. You do not
need to stroll through optician in order to optician, you are able to use the internet, discover a set of
structures that you simply enjoy after which buy all of them. If you possess your own
newest doctor prescribed in order to complete the required type, you could have your
specifications sent to your own doorway within a brief period of your time. This is actually the perfect
option for individuals who reside the hectic way of life and do not possess time for you to visit the actual
traditional looking for individuals ideal structures.
An additional benefit in order to
buying inexpensive doctor prescribed eyeglasses on the internet may be the choice obtainable.
Simply because a good on the internet optician is not limited with a store entrance, they could
share the broader range. Thus giving a broad range of structures in a variety of dimensions
as well as supplies, making sure you discover an ideal set to match your character as well as
Mentionened above previously there are some drawbacks in order to buying inexpensive doctor prescribed
eyeglasses on the internet, although they are drawbacks that you might believe exist,
however in truth, the internet opticians been employed by a means close to all of them, switching all of them
in to a benefit.
The very first drawback that you simply can't move away from
is actually that you'll nevertheless need to visit the actual traditional to possess your own eye examined.
You can't possess your own eye examined on the internet. The good thing is that the optician
should provide you with a duplicate of the doctor prescribed should you request this, which you'll after that
make use of to buy your specifications by way of the web.
The following drawback is actually
that you simply in no way understand if you're obtaining the greatest on the internet dishing out optician,
that is why you ought to perform a few investigation concerning the organization, go through their own
client evaluations and never help to make your own choice depending on cost on it's own.
A person
would like a good on the internet optician that provides a great support, top quality structures as well as
dependability with regards to shipping as well as coordinating your own purchase.
An additional associated with
the actual drawbacks happens because you will find this kind of a multitude of structures obtainable,
you might find selecting your own inexpensive doctor prescribed eyeglasses to become a tiresome job.
Whilst these people perform provide dimensions, it is necessary a person choose the best dimension body which
suits easily within the link of the nasal area as well as hugs a person at the rear of the actual ear.
A few of these websites will offer you the digital way to put on the actual specifications,
however you may also keep these things deliver a person a few examples of the actual structures you actually
such as, assisting you make sure they're an ideal match as well as match a person. Through right here a person
may strike inside your doctor prescribed, select from the additional functions obtainable as well as
help to make your own repayment.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Total Customer Value
SMC has built our 75 year reputation on responsiveness to our customers' needs. We pride ourselves on the mutually respectful and beneficial relationships we have with them. We look forward to add your business to our growing list of satisfied customers.
- Assigned account specialist
- Engineering and quality resources
- Scheduling and production team


text:
Penzance Ferries
New Email
New Mobile Number
Trailer / Caravan
Book ferries to Penzance from St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly with AFerry
Penzance, on the South Coast of England, is the largest of the villages in the far west of Cornwall, in England and it's just 75 miles from Plymouth, where the ferry coming from Santander arrives. Compare and find the cheapest ferry crossings available from Penzance with our easy to use booking form on the top of this page. Isles of Scilly operates a ferry out of Penzance and below, you can find all the Penzance ferry timetables, journey times as well as our best prices.
Special Offers
Ferries to and from Penzance
Isles of Scilly operate a ferry to Isles of Scilly from Penzance in Cornwall. The ferry crossing takes around 2 hours and 45 minutes and on board the Scillonian III you will be able to relax at the lounge areas or to have a drink or snack at the cafés.
Book your ferry to the Isles of Scilly from Cornwall simply and securely with AFerry.
About Penzance
During the last week of June you can enjoy the Festival of Golowan, where ancient Celtic traditions are celebrated, there is also music, fireworks and street performances. Everyone has a great time, especially in the giant beer tent with live music and dance until late in the evening.
Penzance Port
Penzance is the hometown of one of the fathers of electrochemistry, Humphry Davy. It is the largest of the villages in the far west of Cornwall, where you'll find over 30 pubs and many restaurants serving from traditional fish and chips to Italian, Thai, Chinese or Indian foods. Once you've sated your appetite, you have shops, a cinema and two night clubs at your disposal.
Penzance port facilities
Penzance's port is composed of an inner dry dock and a dock, accessible through a door that opens only for three hours each high tide, since the level of the water around is usually quite low. The facilities at the port are basic, but you have a shopping centre and restaurants right outside the harbour. From Easter to November the "Scillonian III" passenger ferry sets sail every day from Penzance to the island of St. Mary's, located in the Atlantic Ocean at 28 miles from Land's End. The crossing takes approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Getting to Penzance
If coming from London, take the M4 up to Bristol and then M5 up to Exeter. From there take the A30 to get to Penzance, and follow the signals to the harbour.
Penzance Map
View map
Port Addresses
Isles of Scilly Travel
Newlyn Pier & Harbour Commissioners, Cornwall, TR18 5HW, UK


text:
LMNO PeasBook - 2010 | First edition
From the critics
Community Activity
CommentAdd a Comment
this book has it all. cute story, alphabet, people whose occupations begin with those letters, it rhymes, it's teaching letters and sounds. and fun. would be good for storytime.
Our 7 month old loves this book. The story provides rhythm and rhyme which keeps his interest, the pictures and letters he finds exciting to look at. One of our favorite board books to read together!
Loved this book. Makes alphabet fun and our son loved the peas and how even though the peas look the same (small, round and green) they were still individuals. Introduces words matching to the letters in a more unique way then the usual a is for apple type alphabet book.
So I never noticed the ladybug either until reading McIndoo's post - thank you. A great, colourful and fun book! One of the better ABC books.
Great book. The peas are adorable and it teaches my son rhymes too.
Great book! My daughter absolutely loves finding the ladybug on each page. After she finds the ladybug, she repeats the letter after me.
Great book! I don't know which I like more now, this book or his book on numbers called "1-2-3 Peas". I hadn't noticed the ladybug before today @bluebelle11; it was fun trying to find it on every spread!
I've had this book on my 'to get' list for ages, since it sounded so fun, but what a disappointment! The peas are cute, but the prose is completely lacking in imagination, and so mundane. Peas as dentists, quilters, and x-ray technicians - how dull!
This book is so cute! The pictures are the best part, it's really fun to look at every single pea. And, did anyone notice the ladybug hiding in every single picture? Makes it even more fun to go through it again to find them all!
QuotesAdd a Quote
Enjoyed. Consider purchasing. Details in illustrations
Age SuitabilityAdd Age Suitability
There are no age suitabilities for this title yet.
SummaryAdd a Summary
There are no summaries for this title yet.
NoticesAdd Notices
There are no notices for this title yet.


text:
Happy Birthday Alfalfa House
Alfalfa House provides low-cost, ethically-produced and minimally-packaged wholefoods which are predominately organic, biodynamic, as well as cruelty-free, vegetarian and or vegan lines. Most lines are provided in bulk with customers supplying their own jars and bags. As would be expected, locally sourced food is also high on the agenda. Whenever possible, given contraint of seasons, fruit and vegetables are sourced direct from the co-op's own network of organic farmers. Recently a source of sea vegetables, such as wakame, was found in Australia, negating the need for Japanese imports.
Being a community-based co-operative, the 2,400 members 'own' the business and contribute by filling the suggestions box to the brim, nominating for positions on the voluntary Management Committee (MC), and for every two hours they volunteer they are rewarded with 25% off their groceries and produce. Membership in the past year or so has been booming as the general public become more attuned to the origins of what they put in their mouth. Anyone can walk in off the street and shop there, though members do receive a 10% discount, without needing to volunteer.Spoilt food is composted or fed to worm farms. Packaging is either returned to suppliers for reuse, or recycled. All electronics are turned off at night, even the electronic funds swipe machines are unplugged. Printers and faxes munch through reused paper.
Whilst it might not be possible to run all businesses this way, successful community enterprises show that it indeed more than possible. (There are two other community food co-ops in Sydney, one in the nearby Blue Mountains and three University-based food co-ops.) Transparency and accountability are paramount to such operations. For example, minutes of MC and staff meetings are published for all to read on Alfalfa House's website. Members can ask to look over the books at any time, to see if their one-off, lifetime membership fee of $20 AUD is being well accounted for. ::Alfalfa House Community Food Co-op.
Disclosure: This TreeHugger is the current co-op co-ordinator at Alfalfa House.


text:
MuPAD® notebooks will be removed in a future release. Use MATLAB® live scripts instead.
MATLAB live scripts support most MuPAD functionality, though there are some differences. For more information, see Convert MuPAD Notebooks to MATLAB Live Scripts.
When you call a procedure, MuPAD® allocates memory for the
local variables, marks them as uninitialized, and evaluates the body
of the procedure. At the end of a procedure call, MuPAD destroys
local variables freeing the allocated memory. Now suppose that the
result of a procedure call refers to local variables of that procedure.
For example, the returned value of this procedure refers to its local
f := proc(x, y) local z; begin z := x + y; return(z); end:
In this case, the variable
z is replaced
by its value at the end of the procedure call. Therefore, the returned
value of the procedure is the value of the variable
not the variable
z itself:
f(1, 2)
hold to
suppress evaluation of the variable
z. Now the
procedure returns an object of type
f := proc(x, y) local z; begin z := x + y; return(hold(z)); end: f(1, 2)
Objects of type
DOM_VAR represent local variables and can
only be used inside procedures. An object of type
DOM_VAR returned as a
result of a procedure call is useless because it does not have any
connection to the procedure.
You can access local variables of a procedure if you either
declare them in that procedure or declare them in a lexically enclosing
procedure. For example, in the following code the procedure
g can
access and modify the variable
x of the enclosing
f := proc(x) local g; begin g := proc() begin x := x+1; end: g(); end: f(2)
Instead of returning the result of the procedure call
you can return
g itself. In this case, the returned
value retains a link to the variable
x of the procedure
call. For reasons of memory management,
f must
declare that it will return something holding a reference to a local
variable. To declare it, use
option escape:
f := proc(x) local g; option escape; begin g := proc() begin x := x+1; end: g; end: h := f(2): i := f(17): h(); h(); i(); h()
This programming construct is called a closure. It is supported in many programming languages.
Many programming languages support the concept of static variables. Static variables are local variables the values of which are not reset in each call to a procedure. The value of a static variable is initialized during the first call to a procedure. In each subsequent call, a procedure remembers the value of a static variable from the previous call.
Although MuPAD does not let you declare a variable inside a procedure as a static variable, you can still use the concept of static variables while programming in MuPAD.
When defining a procedure with
proc, you often assign the procedure
to an identifier. However, MuPAD lets you use anonymous procedures.
Also, you can define one procedure inside another procedure. Thus,
you can implement the alternative to a static variable in MuPAD as
a nested procedure where:
The outer procedure has a local variable. The outer procedure can be anonymous.
The inner procedure uses the local variable of the outer procedure. For the inner procedure that variable is not local, and therefore it does not reset its value in each call.
For example, this code implements
cnt as
a static variable in MuPAD:
proc() local cnt; option escape; begin cnt := 0; f := proc() begin cnt := cnt + 1; end: end(): f(); f(); f()
The technique of creating static variables in MuPAD lets you create shared static variables by creating several inner procedures. The inner procedures use the same local variable of the outer procedure. For inner procedures that variable is not local, and therefore it does not reset its value:
proc() local x, y; option escape; begin x := 0; y := 0; f := () -> (x := x + y; [x, y]); g := n -> (y := y + n; [x, y]); end_proc(): f(); g(2); f(); f()


text:
Motocross of Nations Team Great Britain star Nathan Watson talks about the bounce from elite level enduro to back to motocrossRead Article
Congratulations to everyone who voted Maverick Viñales in the pole below.
Signing for 2 years puts Viñales in the driving seat at Yamaha. He leads the project now.
23 years ago today Trevor Sinclair gave us the Scissorbastard to end all Scissorbastards.
Have that.
The #mxgp of #spain has been announced with what can only be described as an ambitious new circuit and facility being built southwest of Madrid. Apparently a hard-pack track and one of 3 new/unseen on the 2020 schedule. Hope they get it right: https://t.co/a9rpLYnFeF
Still waiting for the book...
Fair play to Ricky Brabec for becoming the first American to win the #dakar in what was the first edition in Saudi Arabia and a difficult one for the loss of Paulo Gonçalves. KTM's amazing streak of eighteen consecutive victories comes to an end #rally #racing. Pic by Honda
Final dose of #mxgp #motocross exclusive content this week and @benwatsonmx explains why 2020 will be different and how the #yamaha man is not fazed by his last term in #mx2: https://t.co/KQTwI7d3eS
More #mxgp #motocross exclusive material and this time the MX2 World Champion @jorgeprado61 talks about his training crash, injury, Jeffrey Herlings and how expecations for 2020 could have altered: https://t.co/UXIrWnRwAo #racing #ktm #spain
Some #mxgp #motocross news/views coming up this week. Firstly some exclusive words with new #krt recruit @RFebvre461 on #kawasaki, recovery and his teammate: https://t.co/RRCACIrjC0
Sorry to see this, seemed a lovely guy when we did an interview two years ago...


text:
Traditional foundation and face powder makeup are an important part of the consumer's beauty routine and several new trends are contributing to the rise in number and type of cosmetics available for the face. The "alphabet cream" trend has resulted in the development of BB (followed by CC, DD and EE) creams, which have the color correction properties of foundation and a multitude of other benefits from ingredients like sunscreens, antioxidants and botanicals.
Contouring is the latest buzzword, with many online tutorials available. Contouring utilizes lighter and darker shades of face make-up to enhance bone structure and enhance facial features.
It is necessary to create numerous shades of face makeup to accommodate the diversity of consumer skin tones. Combinations of the pigments titanium dioxide and iron oxide (red, yellow, and black) are used to create various skin tones in face makeup. Occasionally, ultramarine blue is used in products for very dark complexions, as long at the pH is above 7. Exposure to acid causes the evolution of hydrogen sulfide gas which has a very unpleasant odor.
Most pigments and powders used in cosmetics have a hydrophilic surface comprised of polar hydroxyl groups where water is adsorbed. Consequences of hydrophilic surface in formulation include:
- Agglomeration of particles contributing to poor skin feel
- Poor dispersion/wetting in cosmetic fluids
- Poor dispersion stability and poor formulation stability
- Poor compression in pressed powder
- Poor chemical stability of metal oxides
Treated pigments overcome these challenges and provide additional benefits in makeup formulation. They are easier to disperse leading to more consistent color and quality in finished goods and provide long wear, improved sensory attributes or other characteristics.
Color cosmetic history
As more women began to powder their faces in the early 20th century and found the need to 'touch up' during the day, they were confronted with the problems of carrying powder around in their handbag. Early loose powder containers suffered from numerous issues – bulkiness, the need for frequent filling, as well as leaks and spills – all of which were sources of annoyance.
In an effort to improve the durability of decorative cosmetics, silicone treated pigments were developed and introduced in Japanese formulations in 1976. These early treatments paved the way for the development of "two-way" make up cakes which could be applied dry or with a wet sponge. Higher in bulk density, metal soap treatments were introduced in 1977 to improve compressibility and impart a creamy skin feel. Amino acid treatments were introduced in 1979. This treatment was particularly useful in the formulation of long wearing liquid foundation.
Treated Pigments
The combinations of surface treatments and substrates have grown dramatically including innovative natural and super hydrophobic options. Below are some currently available surface treatment types from Sun Chemical and their benefits.
- Disodium stearoyl glutamate – This amino acid based treatment is well suited for liquid makeup. It enhances the perception of moisturization, improves compressibility, and has good compatibility with skin. It is also naturally derived. The slight acidity of this treatment renders the pigments more compatible with skin pH and thus helps preserve the delicate chemistry of the stratum corneum.
- Dimethicone –Dimethicone treated pigments provides long wear and waterproofing properties, improves dispersion and compatibility with silicones used in emulsions for foundations and other liquid makeup. This treatment also imparts a smooth, creamy feel during application


text:
|Source: News Mobile
So, there was a big dilemma which every hindi movie lover faced this week - which movie to watch? Having just one free day, the confusion grew between Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale. Being a democratic family, we voted and Bajirao Mastani won! Well, it turned out to be a really good decision.
The Story:
Bajirao Mastani is a story of a Maratha Peshwa, Shreemant Bajirao Balaji Bhat, portrayed by Ranveer Singh, who served to the fifth Chhatrapati Shahu Raje Bhosle of the Maratha Empire from 1720 till 1740. He was married to Kashibai portrayed by Priyanka Chopra. He meets Mastani, born in Bundela Rajput clan to Maharaja Chhatrasal, portrayed by Deepika Padukone and falls in love with her. Bajirao was an excellent warrior and fought 41 battles and never lost in any of them. He is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire in the Northern part of India. The movie beautifully shows Bajirao's journey as a Peshwa and as a guy in love.
The movie is based on a real-life historical journey of a Maratha Peshwa with slight modifications to history. Yet the way Sanjay Leela Bhansali has directed the story is brilliant. His way of story-telling is unique that you'll not feel disconnected for even a second. All the three main characters and the family members have been well portrayed. To bring out hatred against a character or love for a character is a director's art! Also, the larger-than-life set-up, the amazing dialogues, the royal clothes -it's all just adds up to form the epic!
Ranveer has acquired a marathi accent for the movie and it seems real. He has delivered one of the best performances of his career in this movie and done extreme justice to the character of Bajirao. From his entry in the movie to the end of the film, he just kept me in awe! He has joined the list of my most favorite actors! :D Deepika has played the character of a strong willed woman who is an outstanding warrior along with a great dancer! Deepika has become my favorite nowadays. I do not remember a recent film of hers in which I didn't like her. I might not have liked the movie, but she always wins my heart! She has looked gorgeous throughout the film! She has danced wonderfully in "Deewani Mastani" and also stands out in "Pinga". I never took my eyes off her! Well for Priyanka, I really liked her in Dil Dhadakne Do and Quantico, but this movie, I just didn't like her. Maybe it was the character or just her, I couldn't decide that. Deepika and Ranveer overshadowed Priyanka in Bajirao Mastani!
Just like Bajirao-Mastani, Ranveer-Deepika's jodi just melts your heart! Love them together! :D :D
My Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.
My favourite Character: Mastani
My favourite Song: Deewani Mastani
Who will like this movie? Anyone who likes to see intense movies!


text:
New mentor program out to create 'firing' marketing teams
A new mentor program designed to help marketers get the most out of their agency relationships launches today.
With an impressive list that reads like a who's-who of Australia's advertising Legends & Leaders has more than 90 mentors on hand to run "intimate mentoring sessions" for individual marketing teams.
Founder Adrianne Nixon (pictured) said there is "much room for improvement" when it comes to business integrity and leadership in client/agency relationships as evidenced by a recent Communications Council and Media Federation of Australia report.
The report found that the amount of time spent managing agency relationships was a concern and revealed a number of discrepancies between what clients and marketers viewed to be integral in effective business relationships.
"This was one of the catalysts for the Legends & Leaders concept. Marketers simply don't have access to structured, independent, customised mentoring and advice that can really make a difference to their business," Nixon said.
"The goal is to create teams that are united, engaged, enthused and firing."
The program is tailored to individual client teams with 20 modules built around the different disciplines, including digital, finance and inter-agency relationships, on offer.
Clients will able to choose their modules and then select a mentor from within each chosen module.
Mentors lined up for the program include consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier, Malcolm Auld, Phil Hayden, Alwill Associates' Ian Alwill, Jane Caro and Tom Moult.
Margaret Zabel, The Communications Council CEO, said: "The Legends & Leaders initiative presents a unique opportunity for clients to strengthen not only their agency relationships but significantly improve their marketing and business results. The bespoke approach can build team capability and unlock new opportunities by leveraging the insights and experience of experts in the industry."
STW Group CEO Mike Connaghan added: "Any investment in helping client and agency teams achieve a better result is welcome. We have a saying at STW, 'experience is usually a thing you get just after you need it'. Leaning on the experience and knowledge of this group seems invaluable."
Full list of Legends & Leaders mentors:
Ian Alwill, Principal, Alwill Associates
Andy Antonini, Marketing Director, Onthehouse Holdings
Malcolm Auld, Principal, Malcolm Auld Direct
Alicia Beachley, CEO, April5
Mike Beckerleg, Co-founder, Hatch Solutions
Simon Bellamy, Senior consultant
Stan Bennett, Senior consultant
George Betsis, Creativity Director, VCD
Grant Blackley, CEO, Four Seasons Media; Founder & Director, RGM Artists Group
Sophie Blue, Founder & Managing Director, Blue Planet PR
Alex Boyall, Head of Sales Engineering, Temando
Jon Bradshaw, Director, Brand Traction
Jeremy Brook, Global Head of Digital Strategy & Media Innovation, Heineken
Rochelle Burbury, Principal, Third Avenue Consulting
Glen Campbell, Managing Director, Brandheart
Roger Camplisson, Senior Consultant
Jane Caro, Author, Novelist, Lecturer, Mentor, Social Commentator, Award winning copywriter
Murray Chenery, Executive General Manager, Brand, CPA Australia
Damian Damjanovski, Co-Founder, Common Ventures
Mark de Teliga, Psychologist & Psychotherapist
Rowan Dean, Columnist, satirist, panelist and media commentator
John Doumani, Senior consultant
Suzanne Dutton, Owner, Onion
Russell Easther, Director, digital brief
Jeff Estok, Managing Partner, Navigare
John Fawcett, Managing Director, Balucate; Chairman, Headstrong Cognitive Fitness
Adam Ferrier, Consumer Psychologist, Chief Strategy Officer, CumminsRoss
Brian Fine, CEO, Australia Online Research; Chairman, Quality Online Research
John Finkelsen, Senior consultant
Errol Flanagan, Strategy & InnovationDirector, The Holla Agency
John Gerrie, Managing Partner, KN3W IDEAS
Kara Geyer, Founder/Partner, The Media Hut
Anna Godfrey, Innovation Facilitator, RAW Innovation
Donna Hampton (Svanberg), Founding Owner and Executive Producer, Capitol Productions
Phil Hayden, Senior Consultant
Ashadi Hopper, Executive Creative Director, Soap
Ross Howarth, Partner, Kinesis Media
Brett Howlett, Co-founder, Hatch Solutions
Martin Kellard, Senior Consultant
Dr. Ralph Kerle, Global Strategic Innovation Specialist, "Leading Change Through Creative Insight" Fergus
Kibble, Founder & Managing Director, F4 Consulting
Andrew Knox, Senior Consultant
Neer Korn, Director, The Korn Group
John Lamble, Founding Partner, VisionVault
Jan Mathews, Founder, Magthews Consulting
Carolyne "Caro" McCourtie, Owner, Double O Marketing Consultant
Tim McDermott, National Sales Director, V8 Supercars
Andy McKeon, Global Customer Marketing Lead, Facebook
Preya McMahon, Owner/Chairman, Zing
Allan Medforth, Partner, Kinesis Media
Barry "Baz" Milas, Producer, Fresh Produce
Lisa Miles, Director/Principal, Ahead by Miles
Robert "Bob" Miller AM, Senior Consultant, Speaker, commentator, adjunct Professor, Macquarie University
Chris Mitchell, Co-Founder, Chris+Geoff
Joe Moujalli, Executive Producer, Little Mou Productions
Tom Moult, Principal, Walker Moult
Douglas Nicol, Creative Partner/Owner, The Works
Jane Neale, Managing Director, Hattonneale
Nerida Newman, Owner/Director, Cat Bird Seat
Sandy Oldham, Owner, Sandy Oldham People
Sharon Parker, Senior consultant, currently Head of Media and Digital, GlaxoSmithKline
Tim Parker, Senior consultant, currently MD Publicis Mojo
Jason Penrose, Principal Consultant & Managing Director, Jamecam Consulting
Rob Pyne, Founder, X or Y Decisions
Carolyn Reid, Principal, Buyology Lab
Peter Resanceff, Founder & Principal, Resanceff Research & Planning Pty Ltd.
Martin Rippon, Senior consultant
Alan Robertson, Partner, Kinesis Media
John "Skippy" Rogers, Senior Producer, Director
Vivian Rowden, Director, Through the Looking Glass
George Saada, Producer/Execitive Producer, Get George
Mike Satterthwaite, Chairman, Pegasus Systems
Robyn Sefiani, Founder & Managing Director, Sefiani
Chris Sewell, CEO, The Gaia Partnership
Philip Sheldon, Founder, Storymining
Jeff Simpson, CFO Consultant
Sharon Skeggs, Senior consultant
Simon Skidmore, Founder & Managing Partner, One Partners
Ian Smith, Partner, Heidrick & Struggles
George Stent, Founder, the stent partnership
Joe Talcott, Chief Creative Officer, CREATISM.IS
David Thomason, Senior consultant
Neil Travers, Senior Consultant
Brent Wallace, CEO & Founder, Galileo Kaleidoscope
David Westgate, Principal, Westgate + Friends
Jenny Williams, Managing Partner, Ideagarden
Kathryn Williams, Owner, Kathryn's Mint
Rick Wilson, Director, Advantage Australia
Colin Wilson-Brown, Founder, The Clinic
Glenda Wynyard, Founder, Chaos Media


text:
Month: February 2013
By Jessica Ravitz, CNN
Atlanta (CNN) – According to Jewish tradition, a boy becomes a man at 13, when he's called before his community to read from the Torah and become a bar mitzvah, meaning "son of the commandments."
In the case of Daniel Blumen, who will make this rite of passage in May, this homestretch of childhood has suddenly become a viral event.
Rather than send out simple save-the-date cards or e-mail announcements, Daniel busted out and did something different. A fan of rap music, this only child and "clever little guy," as described by his father, made a music video – for which he wrote most of his own lyrics – playing off Jermaine Dupri's "Welcome to Atlanta," featuring Ludacris.
View original post 1,190 more words
'Accidental' Mitzvahs
'Accidental' Mitzvahs
By: Molly Resnick
Two weeks ago I found myself at the International Conference of Chabad Shluchos in Crown Heights running a program together with my friend Rivka Kotlarsky for 120 Guests of Shluchos – many of them not yet especially observant. On Motzei Shabbos, while ascending the elevator of the Jewish Children's Museum – where we had organized an elegant melave malkah banquet – I suddenly saw the woman next to me point in my direction and say to a third woman, "That's the person you're looking for."
"Oh, you're in charge of the Shluchos Program?" the lady asked me.
"No," I said, "I'm one of the women in charge of the Guest of Shluchos program. If you want the Shluchos program, you'll have to walk a block and a half where the main program is taking place."
"I don't want to walk," she said. She was holding 25 beautifully embroidered challah covers that her husband – the rabbi of the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem – had asked her to distribute among the shluchos as a promotion for the hotel.
So I have a confession to make: I've been cheating on this blog. I've taken up with a new writing endeavor, a hot inter-disciplinary thing, and today is the day we go public with our (current) affairs.
A group of highly talented graduate students at King's College in Cambridge have launched a new web magazine today, and I'm honored to be a part of it. The first issue tackles everything from US national security and the CIA to the uprising of artists in Germany over state funding cuts. I've even contributed my own article, which dedicated Brain Study followers might recognize as the mutant off-spring of a piece I posted last year on 'pathologizing the norm'. It's been beefed up and fleshed out as I attempt to tackle some of the proposed changes in the upcoming DSM-V, slated to be published later this year.
Here's a brief teaser…
View original post 136 more words
what bs alert!!!!!!!!!!!


text:
It's been a roller coaster ride of training since I started this trial. From smooth preparations and training all going to plan, to head injury and completely housebound, and back again (almost).
It's been six weeks since the cycling accident and I wouldn't say I was out of the woods yet. Not by a long way. But, I am did get on that plane to China (5th sept) to take part in the aquathlon world championships on the 7th, and the triathlon world championships on the 10th, and I will consider myself lucky to be alive and very lucky to be a least partially back to fitness and able to wear that GB suit proudly, knowing the even tougher road I have had to get to that start line.
POWERbreathe definitely seems to be quietly but steadily improving me too, and on level 6, perhaps ready to go up one to level 7, I have very rarely needed the inhaler lately.
My run coach doesn't trust that I don't need it though, and still always asks me to bring it to the track.
If you want to follow my progress in China you will find me on Facebook and twitter (@nuuutymel and @ryding2health). You can find the world championship coverage on http://www.Beijing.triathlon.org
I predict it to be a great elite race and am looking forward to seeing Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee and Helen Jenkins both take the world titles (I hope!)
Melanie Ryding


text:
Rihanna was notably absent at the 2014 Grammys when her Unapologetic album nabbed the award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
On Tuesday's Good Morning America, the "We Found Love" singer said she was "so shocked—really" about winning a Grammy (her seventh one to date).
"I was at home and one of my friends hit me and said, 'You just won a Grammy,' and I was like, 'What?'" she said. "And when I went on the Internet I just saw Unapologetic! It was quite an emotional moment surprisingly, but I was in shock. I'm excited. It was a good feeling to still be that excited at this point in my career."


text:
Welcome to Part 3 in my series on protecting your computer from prying eyes (Part 1, Part 2). In today's segment, we will be going over drive encryption using the TrueCrypt program on Windows OS. Drive encryption is a technique that masks your data with a cryptographic function. The encryption header stores the password that you have entered for the archive, which allows the data to be reversed and read from. Encrypted data is safe from anyone who wants to read it, other than people with the password. As long as the password is strong enough, the data can never be read, thus, it is protected.
Encryption can exist on a whole hard drive, or just a partition. TrueCrypt even allows you to use it to create encrypted containers that can store files in them.
In today's Null Byte, we are going to be using Windows and TrueCrypt to encrypt our data. This is useful for a number of reasons; keeping data private, negating negative side-effects of having data stolen, viruses/malware can't read your files, and more. This protects all of your data, regardless of circumstances.
Let's get started.
- Minimal computer literacy
- Admin privileges
- Windows OS
- If you edit partition sizes, you may lose data (not required).
Step 1 Download & Install TrueCrypt
First we need to install the TrueCrypt software.
- Download TrueCrypt here.
- Navigate to the Downloads directory.
- Double-click the installer.
- Click Next > Next > Install.
Step 2 Encrypt a Drive or Partition
Follow along with me in this vTutorial on my quest to encrypt my Virtual Machine's "HDD".
For more Null Byte action, follow me on Twitter and join the IRC. You can also start some chatter in the forums!
- Follow Null Byte on Twitter or Flipboard
- Sign up for Null Byte's weekly newsletter
- Find all of our latest videos on our YouTube channel


text:
PW; Lee Camp (Redacted Tonight on RT, July 1, 2016); Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly
|"This is all very, very normal: 12 months of Trump" (Tom Tomorrow/thismodernworld.org)
|What should be do about Camp, lover?
In this week's episode Lee Camp discusses the lawsuit filed to stop the certification of the California primary because of massive election fraud by the establishment Democrats working to select Hillary Clinton even if the majority of people want Bernie Sanders and a revolution. Also the DNC rejected every step to deal with climate change.
Camp then explains the hidden story behind Brexit, the people's vote for Britain to exist the Eurozone. Naomi Karavani and Camp discuss the newest in criminal algorithm technology. And Carlos Delgado breaks down the privatization of ambulance services on this summer episode of "Redacted Tonight."
|What a phony. Just look at her, Lying Hillary
|"The Bowtie Rebellion" (JenSorensen.com)
- Exit poll expert proves Hillary's election fraud
- NEW Primary fraud details REVEALED, Hillary's money laundering, how UFC abuses...
- VIDEO: Jesus Christ's WIFE a hoax?
- NY Times reporter says there's NO WAY to tell whether election is legit
- Things I wish I knew about going veg
- Edward Snowden says there are UFOs
- VIDEO: Snowden: US has known about ETs and UFOs since at least 1945
- VIDEO: Alien Greys caught on tape 2016 (scary)
- VIDEO: Space aliens caught on tape, Pt. 1 (scary
- VIDEO: Footage of Inner Earth through history
- LISTING: Shakespeare all over Los Angeles


text:
He entered the clubhouse with the same purposeful stride with which he exits the bullpen. Into the big room came Mariano Rivera as if protecting a one-run lead in the ninth inning, the middle of the order due up.
"I can talk to you, but I need to get dressed so I won't be looking at you," he told a reporter before a recent game at Yankee Stadium, while hanging his sports coat.
But he would, in fact, turn to answer the questions because Rivera by nature is as direct — and minimalist — with words as he is with a pitching motion aptly described by Curtis Granderson, the Yankees' center fielder, as "calm violence."
New to the clubhouse this season, Granderson dresses a few stalls from Rivera but said they had yet to have what he would call a real conversation.
"I don't really see him too much," he said. "In passing, if I'm walking out to the dugout and he's getting ready, I'll say what's up to him, he'll say what's up to me, and that's kind of it. For the most part, he gets his business done. He just keeps going."
On and on he goes, with one devastating pitch, his famed cut fastball, while generally keeping to himself off the field in the way he composes himself on it.
"I'm a simple guy, you know?" Rivera said. "If I do something, it's not going to be, 'Look at this, look at that.' It just happens."
In his 16th year with the Yankees, his 14th as their inscrutable closer — can it really be something that just happened? Quietly, calmly and, yes, violently, considering how many bats he has broken — Rivera has at the very least put himself in the discussion of the most understated superstars in the history of American team sports.
He rarely seeks attention though he recently scolded the umpire Joe West for saying the Yankees and the Red Sox should speed up their games. "If Mariano has something to say, he will say it," said Ray Negron, a longtime adviser to George Steinbrenner and the Yankees. "But if you go talk to him, you'd better have something solid, too."
A religious man, Rivera is quick to say his success is God's plan. Others say it is at least as much a man-made path. "A lot of guys have ability — more ability than Mariano," said Rivera's longtime agent, Fernando Cuza. "But they don't have that discipline, that self-control."
Rivera, 40, has been so good for so long that Reggie Jackson ranks him not in the category of the bullpen specialist but in the transcendent grouping of sports icons.
"For what he does, he's maybe the most dominant athlete other than Bill Russell that I know," Jackson said. "But it's also in the way he does it. Quiet. Humble. Mariano is regal, baseball royalty."
Over time, on five World Series winners, Rivera has developed a mesmerizing aura based almost purely on performance in an era of wanton — and often rewarding — pomposity. He is a power pitcher who intimidates without threatening hitters or showing them up. He is the face of metronomic end-game execution for baseball's bully franchise but has, almost miraculously, never drawn public resentment or rebuke.
Recently, Rivera became the star of an advertising campaign for Canali, a high-end clothing company, and did not so much as suffer the fraternal clubhouse consequences he predicted he would to one Canali employee.
"We've seen the ads in the magazines, but he's such a great guy, man, you don't even want to try to get on him," said outfielder Nick Swisher, a likely candidate for the role of comic antagonist. "I mean, I don't think there's one bad thing I can say about him. Educated man, family man, dresses nice all the time, carries himself with class."
In the global melting pot of sports and entertainment, such was the matrimonial criteria for the Italian manufacturer to the Panamanian pitcher, the first athlete Canali has used in a marketing campaign.
"He reflects the positive attitude that we would like to deliver to our consumer," Elisabetta Canali, the company's global communications director, said in a telephone interview from Milan. "He is solid."
The courtship, Rivera said, was no superficial whirlwind. Shopping in a Westchester store five years ago, he found a Canali jacket he liked but not in his size. He was directed to Lisa Ranieri-Emanuel, an executive in the company's New York office and a Yankees fan. Canali has outfitted Rivera ever since.
In December, Rivera flew to Milan for the shoot, his first visit to the city and the country. On the day he landed, he worked half a day, striking Elisabetta Canali as "an uncommon celebrity." She said the campaign, which began in the United States in March, would expand to other baseball-loving countries in the Americas and Asia.
Click on the English language section of the Canali Web site, and a smiling Rivera appears in a Yankees blue pinstriped blazer and a striped shirt with an open collar. The design and color are a coincidence, according to Elisabetta Canali.
"He just looked so good in the pinstripes," she said, an observation that could double as a baseball career epitaph.
Negron said Rivera as a male model was a stroke of marketing genius. "If I had to go with one guy in here for something like a clothing campaign, it would be him, without question," he said.
Asked why not Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez, Yankees who perhaps have higher profiles, Negron shook his head.
"Jeter's great, but he's a different guy, more jeans, more soft drink — that's the aura you get from him," Negron said. "Alex is great, but Alex is Alex, too much behind him. With Mariano, what you see is what you get, and you can see him in a fine Italian suit."
Cuza, the agent, said Rivera was also a "head-to-toe Nike guy," meaning he used and endorsed the sporting giant's brand wear and equipment. He is also typically sought out for personal appearances but is selective in what he does, citing baseball demands and time with his wife and three sons.
"The endorsements are nice, but that's not something I've been actively seeking," Rivera said, perhaps camouflaging his intentions, as he does his pitching, by not appearing to try very hard.
Steve Rosner, a founder of the New Jersey-based sports marketing company 16W, said that Rivera had been "undermarketed throughout his career," while acknowledging that his English — accented but clear — was a likely factor. But Rosner added that Rivera would have a lasting cachet because his appeal was more rooted in imagery than personality.
Rosner, who mostly represents retired athletes, said there was growing currency in the combination of success, maturity and predictability in the wake of debacles involving Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger.
"If you look at the great Yankees — the really, really great Yankees — they tend to stay within the organization, remain Yankees forever," he said. "There's a huge benefit for Mariano playing his entire career here. Unless there is something we don't know, I think he will always be revered."
There is risk in putting anyone on a promotional pedestal, he said, but there are also degrees. Fifteen years into an almost-certain Hall of Fame career, Rivera's character remains unblemished.
Though Granderson has been in uniform with the Yankees only since February, the only flaw he could think of was the spring training occasion when a communal bottle of lotion disappeared in the clubhouse.
"He had it in his locker," Granderson said. "I guess he's the lotion thief."
No charges were filed. Smooth as can be, Rivera got out of the jam.


text:
Do you remember this banner?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
We made it our group's banner 2 years ago, and took it to pretty much all the demonstrations and actions we attended.
We also took it to the Calais No Borders camp last June. This is where it got confiscated by the French CRS riot police during a leaflet distribution in the town centre. All people who took part in the (apparently illegal) flyering session got arrested, some quite brutally.
Manc No Borders people got away with it that time (though 3 of us were detained for no obvious reason a couple of weeks ago in Calais). But our banner couldn't be rescued. There was a dramatic-looking photograph in the local paper the next morning, with two anarchists from Lille running away with the banner from a group of riot cops.
That landed them with the charge of 'rebellion' (as far as we understand it that's similar to 'resisting arrest' over here). They were in court in Boulogne today, and we're still waiting to hear if they got sentenced. What we did hear however was that our banner was used in court as evidence against them! And it's never to be returned.
We've already made a replacement for it, which we took to London last week for a picket of Becket House reporting centre:
There's a report and more pictures of the picket on indymedia. So look out for it on future demos and come join us.
Posted byManchester No Borders at 2:11 PM
Labels: action reports


text:
Are you aged 11 this year, or up to age 16? Come and enjoy a team sport, make new friends and have a lot of fun. Football is for girls and boys.
Registration day: Thursday, 1 and Tuesday, 6 March, 5 - 6:30pm at the
St Peter's College School Hall.
You can also register online at MyCOMET www.tiny.cc/mycomet
Our website is www.tiny.cc/jw or email email@example.com
Leave a Reply.


text:
Results realized for our prestigious partners
Explore how our client-centric, results-driven approach has uplifted our partners and the community we engage with.
Case Studies
Michelle Lauer
Technical Project Manager, BioRAFT
Savas was extremely professional and produced extremely high quality work for us. Our internal development team thoroughly reviewed their work and found their code and approaches to be impeccable and aligned with our demanding quality standards.
Our Partners
Some of the amazing organizations we've worked with.
Elevate Your Organization
Have a vision for a better future but need help getting there?
Let's talk.


text:
CapRock Farm Bar Set to Roll
At the center of The Source—which continues to shape up in ways that suggest the reality will match the ambitious vision for this urban marketplace (see also my report on the opening of Cantina Comida)—is an island bar, flanked by a handful of cafe tables, called CapRock Farm Bar.
(Can you spot the rock-star chef in this snap? Here's a hint. Here's another)
Behind the venture is Lance Hanson, owner of organic/biodynamic Hotchkiss winery Jack Rabbit Hill as well as Peak Spirits Farm Distillery, whose list of nips & nibbles (click to enlarge)
is as neat & clean as his grappas, of which I've long been a huge fan—though it's his celebrated gin, whose key botanicals make for a nifty display on 1 corner of the bar,
that stars in the majority of the libations.
Like a good neighbor, Mondo Market is there
to provide the edibles—
& sell me a bottle of the locally, organically made Elevation Ketchup in the process, which I first fell for at Punch Bowl Social—as is Babette's Artisan Breads.
The grand opening's Tuesday; to whet your thirst, here's the text of an article I wrote about Hanson's grappa a couple of years ago for the now-defunct Denver Magazine.
Grappa. Even the word is hard to swallow; it sounds like something that's going to grab hold of your gullet and wring it out with gusto. Admittedly, that's a fairly accurate description of the role grappa has played in the Italian diet for centuries. Distilled from the pomace of skins, stems, and seeds left behind in a wine press, this grape-based spirit has historically amounted to firewater — good for digestion but rough on the palate. Since the 1970s, however, its reputation has improved markedly, thanks to the efforts of Italian producers who began incorporating single varietals and small-batch techniques to yield sipping grappas every bit as fine as France's great marcs, or clear brandies (which is essentially what they are).
Here in the States, where the European tradition of after-dinner digestifs is finally catching on, grappa is slowly but surely earning its place among the liqueurs, cognacs, and dessert wines with which we're already familiar. It's even being produced domestically nowadays; in fact, Peak Spirits, the acclaimed Colorado distiller behind CapRock, makes five — one of which, distilled from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (two of the three varietals used in Champagne), has become my nightcap of choice.
"Grappa was a slam dunk for us," says Lance Hanson, who, with his wife, Anna, owns Peak Spirits and Jack Rabbit Hill Winery in Hotchkiss. "Here we were making wine; we had the material. And I have a soft spot for grappa, because it's a fun challenge — what you get is totally different" than the wine of which it's a byproduct. Like his Chardonnay and Riesling grappas, Hanson's Pinot blend is made in a pot still using only estate-grown grapes. "While we wanted to preserve some of the cherry and dark-berry aromas that are in the wine, we were hoping for a woodsy spiciness" from the distillation process, he says. The result "is very true to the character of the fruit." Remarkable smoothness is its hallmark, along with a hint of herbs and flowers on the nose; you can drink it neat in copitas (sherry glasses), or add a splash to espresso to yield what Italians call caffè corretto—"coffee the correct way."


text:
Maintenance Free Outdoor Gliders
Your home is the truest representation of who you are. It's where you spend the majority of your time; it's where you get to see your family most often; it's where you want to feel your most comfortable and, well, most at home.
For many, a place where they spend a good portion of their time relaxing is in the outdoors of their home. Whether that is on the front porch, on the back porch, or just somewhere in the yard in general, many people like to feel like they have more space to enjoy than just that within the walls of their home.
At Yoder Woodcrafters, our Luxcraft outdoor glider chairs are the perfect solution providing comfort and relaxation.