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Presidential Matching Fund Submission files -- LaRouche
In addition to regular quarterly or monthly disclosure reports, presidential candidates who seek matching funds must submit information about matchable contributions to the FEC for review. During the 2000 campaign the Commission will place these files on our Internet site. The files are in compressed form and must be unzipped. They may then be imported into database or spreadsheet software as fixed width undelimited text files.
Contributions from individuals where the aggregate amount contributed by the individual is $250 or less are eligible to be matched on a dollar for dollar basis from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. This Fund includes proceeds from the voluntary check-off of $3 per person from income tax returns of eligible taxpayers. Candidates may submit any contribution from an individual (including those where the contribution amount is more than $250) in order to receive matching funds for the first $250 of the contribution. Some contributions included in these files, therefore, will also be included as detailed entries in the regular financial disclosure reports submitted by the campaigns.
There are two types of submission, threshold and regular. The threshold submission is only used to establish the eligibility of the candidate for matching funds. (Candidates become eligible when they receive at least $5,000 in matchable contributions from individuals in each of twenty states.) All contributions appearing on threshold submissions will also appear in the first regular submission from the campaign.
All submissions are reviewed by the Commission to be sure that supporting documentation is in order and that there are no errors in the file before federal funds are certified to be paid. As a result, some contributions may be rejected and campaigns may resubmit rejected contributions if additional supporting material is provided. This means that specific contributions may appear more than once in the files of a particular candidate, so considerable care is required when interpreting these data.
Finally, note that 2 U.S.C. Section 438a(4) states that " any information copied from such reports or statements may not be sold or used by any person for the purpose of soliciting contributions or for commercial purposes. . .".
Files are provided in fixed width undelimited format. The specific format of the submission files is as follows, listing the field name, its length, the ending column position for the field (in parenthesis) and a brief description of the data.
Submission Number Length 2 (2) The number of the submission on which the contribution appeared. Submissions may be sent to the Commission at any time during 1999 but no payments are made until January of 2000. The submissions of each campaign are ordered based on receipt, with the initial "threshold" submission having the number 00 so for example there may be five files for a candidate with submission numbers 00 through 04.
Sequence Number Length 7 (9) A unique number for each transaction representing its order in the file.
Prefix Length 5 (14) Prefix to contributor names (e.g. Mr., Ms., Mrs., etc.)
Contributor Name" Length 30 (44) The name of the contributor in the format Last Name, First Name
Suffix Length 3 (47) Any suffix accompanying a contributor name (e.g. Jr. III, etc.)
Street address 1 Length 30 (77) First street address of the contributor
Street address 2 Length 30 (107) Additional street address information
City Length 20 (127)
State Length 2 (129)
Zip Length 9 (138)
Occupation Length 20 (158)
Employer Length 30 (188)
Repeating Area: (As many as 20 separate contributions from a single individual may appear in a single record submitted for matching funds (in cases where individuals give several small contributions during a short period of time which sum to less than $250, for example). The following fields appear for each contribution being submitted. If fewer than 20 are included, these fields will contain zeros for all remaining contributions.
Date Contribution 01 Length 6 (194) In the format yymmdd
Batch Number 01 Length 10 (204) for internal use
Amount 01 Length 6 (210) Amount of the single contribution All are decimal 4.2
Date Contribution 02 Length 6
Batch Number 02 Length 10
Amount 02 Length 6
Date Contribution 03 Length 6
Batch Number 03 Length 10
Amount 03 Length 6
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End Repeating Area
submission Amount Length 8 (636) In format decimal 6.2 This represents the total amount submitted for this contributor on this particular submission.
Aggregated Amount Length 9 (645) In format decimal 7.2 This represents the aggregate submitted for matching for this individual on all submissions


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Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour from Cirque du Soleil
* Additional fees apply. No coupon or promo codes necessary to enjoy the displayed discount price.
The last date listed for Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour was Sunday February 12, 2012 / 4:00pm.
Currently at Toyota Center
Lionel Richie's All the Hits Tour With Very Special Guest Mariah Carey
- Full Price:
- $72 - $155
- Our Price:
- $39 - $109
Houston's Toyota Center welcomes multi-platinum-selling, multiple Grammy Award-winning music icons… More
Venue Details
Event Website
Quotes & Highlights
Watch a preview video of the show on the Cirque du Soleil website.
The Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil_ announced the official international launch of Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour™ _written and directed by Jamie King, the leading concert director in pop music today.
This once-in-a-lifetime electrifying production will combine Michael Jackson music and choreography with Cirque du Soleil creativity to give fans worldwide a unique view into the spirit, passion and heart of the artistic genius who forever transformed global pop culture.
A riveting fusion of visuals, dance, music and fantasy that immerses audiences in Michael's creative world and literally turns his signature moves upside down, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour unfolds Michael Jackson's artistry before the eyes of the audience. Aimed at lifelong fans as well as those experiencing Michael's creative genius for the first time, the show captures the essence, soul and inspiration of the King of Pop, celebrating a legacy that continues to transcend generations.
THE IMMORTAL World Tour takes place in a fantastical realm where we discover Michael's inspirational Giving Tree—the wellspring of his creativity. The secrets of Michael's inner world are unlocked—his love of music and dance, fairy tale and magic, and the fragile beauty of nature.
The underpinnings of THE IMMORTAL World Tour_ are Michael Jackson's powerful, inspirational music and lyrics—the driving force behind the show—brought to life with extraordinary power and breathless intensity. Through unforgettable performances _Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tourunderscores Michael's global messages of love, peace and unity.
In selecting Jamie King as Writer and Director for THE IMMORTAL World Tour_, which will feature 60 international performers, The Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil_ chose a director Variety called one of the most influential "movers and shakers" in the music industry, and the "Jerry Bruckheimer of tent-pole concert tours". A multiple Emmy Award® and MTV Video Music Award® nominee, and greatly influenced by his early years working for both Prince and Michael Jackson, he has choreographed some of the most popular music videos and directed some of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. For the past 12 years, he has served as Madonna's creative director, having most recently directed her 2008 Sticky & Sweet world tour, as well as her 2006 record-breaking Confessions world tour and hit music video, "Sorry." He most recently directed Rihanna's Last Girl On Earth world tour, Celine Dion's Taking Chances world tour, The Return of the Spice Girls reunion tour, Britney Spears' Circus tour and Avril Lavigne's Best Damn tour. He previously directed and choreographed world tours for Madonna (Re-Invention and Drowned World); Asian superstar Rain (Rain's Coming); Ricky Martin (Black & White and La Vida Loca); Pink (Try This); Christina Aguilera (Back to Basics and Stripped); and his first collaboration with Britney Spears (Oops I Did It Again). He has worked with an array of superstars including Mariah Carey, Shakira, George Michael, Elton John, Diana Ross, Jennifer Lopez and even Ellen DeGeneres. This is Jamie's first show with Cirque du Soleil.
Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour will call on the diverse talents of the following creative minds: Guy Laliberté, Creative Guide; Jamie King, Writer and Director; Chantal Tremblay, Director of Creation; Mark Fisher, Set Designer; Zaldy Goco, Costume Designer; Kevin Antunes, Musical Designer; Martin Labrecque, Lighting Designer; Olivier Goulet, Projection Designer; François Desjardins, Sound Designer; Scott Osgood, Rigging and Acrobatic Equipment Designer; Germain Guillemot, Acrobatic Performance Designer; Michael Curry, Props Designer.
Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour began in Montreal in October 2011, with plans to travel to select North American cities for the first leg. Additional cities and dates will be announced.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hi Jeffrey
I've been trying to post an answer to you about the 4-hole ATV trailer I'm selling, but the system won't let the message go through. Hopefully, this will work.
The trailer was made by Randy Spangler who has made trailers for several Pros. It is approximately equivalent to an Ainley @ $15,000 new.
John Close 715-835-0709 email@example.com


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I have 100,000 USD to invest in a new business. I think I have some decent ideas for some interesting games/game mechanics. And I have burning desire to build a new game company from the ground up.
Basically, I'm posting here to fetch some ideas about what would be the best strategy to get my company off the ground and on the way to becoming profitable.
I am looking for specific, detailed and technical ideas/thoughts about how I should exactly use my startup capital to accomplish my goals.
These are my goals:
1 - To complete and release one game by the end of the first year.
2 - To earn enough money to fund projects of future interest.
3 - To complete a highly-polished, buy modestly-budgeted, MMO, FPS, MOBA, or hybrid game (with interesting new game mechanics).
I have a ton of experience with FPS games (specifically on the PC), and a good knowledge of RPG games. I also am learning and becoming a fan of MOBA games (Smite) and I think this genre may have a lot to offer in terms of Return On Investment. I am interested in either a free-to-play model or low-priced DLC for all of my releases.
Thus far, my idea is to hire a programmer, modeler/animator and an artist (I can do design). I was thinking of offering 10-15k for a year's salary plus a 25% royalty for up to the first million dollars of net profit (dropping to 10% royalty after that). This puts the potential incentive for each employee at 260k+ - if the game clears a million net profit. Salaries will be re-considered/extended after the first year. Using this model I will only be out 30-45k (3 employees at 10-15k each) the first year in business and I will have 55k+ to work with for subsquent years/challenges.
Now. All employees must relocate to my location in Raleigh, NC and must work from my house (to begin with). This will keep overheard low and the team on the same page. Office space may be acquired in the future dependant upon income.
Ultimately, I would like to have a nice office with a team of 20-30 employees or so working on ground-breaking AAA titles. These titles would require some budget, but not insanely crazy budgets (probably in the ballpark of 1-2 million). This is my ultimate goal - just so you all know where I'm intending to end up.
Well. What do you guys think? I am looking for feedback on any and everything that I posted above.
Just FYI: I would prefer not to have to make a casual game/phone game for my first title as I have absolutely no experience in this catagory and this catagory is not necessarily something that interests me. An ideal first game would be more along the lines of say Braid, or Limbo, or World of Goo (2d side-scrollers) or even a game like Minecraft.
Ok, thanks then.
Edited by redfella, 04 July 2012 - 02:05 PM.


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Many religions claim to hold the answers to life's big questions: What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? From where do we get our morals? Some say it's all because of God, and that leaves us atheists throwing our hands in the air.
But now Alex Rosenberg has written a book just for us. In The Atheist's Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life Without Illusions, Dr. Rosenberg walks us through the science that succeeds in providing these answers without having to fall back on supernatural explanations. He celebrates scientism, embraces "nice nihilism" and takes us on a fast-paced, wild journey through the physics, chemistry and biology that explain our past, present and future. He shows how science influences our politics, ethics, and how we think about ourselves and the world around us.
Dr. Alexander Rosenberg is the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy at Duke University, and the co-director of Duke's Center for the Philosophy of Biology. His areas of interest include metaphysics, David Hume and causation, and the philosophy of economics, biology, and cognitive and behavioral science. He is a prolific author, with thirteen published books, contributions in two anthologies of philosophy and approximately 180 journal articles spanning from 1972 to the present.
Related Links:
- Alex Rosenberg - Duke Faculty Page
- Alex Rosenberg - Wikipedia
- Boston Globe Book Review of The Atheist's Guide to Reality
Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists, the Humanists of Minnesota, and the generous support of our members and donors. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather.
Interview by Carl Hancock and Scott Lohman, and hosted by Brianne Bilyeu.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE iTunes PODCAST
Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to email@example.com during the live show..


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Stick a battery on it, have it communicate with an Uno with a motor controller and you got yourself an RC car. Good job.
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[FONT=Courier New]I plan on it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]BTW, that picture doesn't it do it justice.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]"First of all, never bad mouth synergy..."[/FONT]
I have this on PS3 and there are 2 other figures I would like to see released. They need to re-release the Shadow Guard in the Saga Legends line and also issue it repainted as the blue Senate Guard and the red Royal Guard. Also, I believe Shaak Ti has been confirmed by Hasbro. I just hope they at least do Proxy and re-release the Stormtrooper Commander.
Message me on facebook for a quicker response: http://www.facebook.com/wesleyjamessr
SSG RECOMMENDED TRADERS: BIG MAC, cohens4, Dar' Argol, icatch9
I am getting rid of my entire carded/boxed collection. I have almost every variation from POTF2. If there is anything you need, just let me know.
I could go for a Sith Lord evolutions pack from the 3 Jedi Trials. Also, they could use TFU to finally release a Garm Bel-Iblis.
Star Wars & GI Joe Customs
HAVES: HK-50 Head, Capt Typho & GI Joe fodder available still
Wants:L8-L9 Head, YVH-1 Complete (as possible),R7-T1 Complete (as possible),R7-Z0 Complete (as possible)
We could also do with more Felucians. We only got one and it was a pack-in with the Rancor. Think of all of the variety you could produce. That and they're just outright cool looking. You can't tell me a kid wouldn't snatch them up, regardless of who they are.
Yeah, we need a Shaman and a Chieftan. Besides, these can also be REPAINTED to be "dark" Felucians/Shamans/Chieftan as was seen in the game.
I'd get about 10 of the regular Felucians, 5 dark Felucians and 2 each of the Shaman/Chieftans, BOTH regular and dark versions. So from me thats 19 figures from only 3 molds.
Move along, move along
I was going to pick up the Felucian Rancor, but I realized Hasbro would probably refuse to make Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, and Daphne to go with the Rider, and Velma would be a repaint of Monkey-Faced Leia that's exclusive to a $50 Battlepack that contained re-released 1995 figures.
That's my jacket!
Quick question: on the TFU evo pack, the Jedi hero figure, are those arm flaps removable? They look a little dumb to me....
Have: CW Yularen, CW Clone, everything from CW Slave I set except Slave I, TFU Shadow Stormtrooper x2, Evo Trooper, Saga AT-AT Driver, K-Mart Jodo Kast || Want: Vintage Fordo
Thanks to TheDarthVader, Phantom-like Menace, TheRealDubya, Jediguy, Dark Marble, Umbra, Qui-Long Gone, CrunchyNug, GH_fan and jedikiss.


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Web Stories
Artist Washburn to discuss her work, Oct. 10
Posted October 5, 2006; 12:42 p.m.
Phoebe Washburn, a New York-based sculptor and installation artist known for her unusual use of recycled materials, will speak about her work at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, in Room 219 of 185 Nassau St.
Washburn has gained attention in the contemporary art world for large installations made from an eclectic assortment of materials -- cardboard boxes, lumber, plastic cups, old newspapers -- collected from recycling bins, alleys and loading docks. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at Rice University, Grinnell College, the Zach Feuer Gallery in New York, and the Kantor/Feuer Gallery and Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, as well as in numerous group exhibitions.
Washburn's talk is sponsored by the Program in Visual Arts.


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California's Disneyland and Florida's Disney World will open 14 acres of "Star Wars Land" regions at their theme parks in 2019, company CEO Bob Iger announced Tuesday.
The parks will be Disney's largest-ever single-themed expansion, the company said. Star Wars Land, which was originally proposed in 2015, will take guests to "a never-before-seen planet — a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space — where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life." The parks will also include attractions that place guests in the midst of a battle between stormtroopers and resistance fighters and allow guests to pilot the Millennium Falcon as it comes under enemy fire.
Also coming to the Disney theme parks is "Pandora — The World of Avatar," created in collaboration with the film's director James Cameron. It will open as an expansion at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida in May 2017.
Read the full announcement from The Walt Disney Company here. Jeva Lange
Early projections put centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen in position to advance to the second round of voting in France's runoff presidential election. Per numbers from The Guardian, Macron has a slight lead with about 23.7 percent of the vote and Le Pen follows with about 22 percent.
The other two (of 11 total) candidates thought to have a shot at advancing, center-right François Fillon and far-left populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, are each projected to take around 19.5 percent. The second vote is May 7. Bonnie Kristian
A government shutdown is not what the Trump administration wants, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney told Chris Wallace in a conversation on Fox News Sunday. A shutdown will occur on Friday, April 28, if Congress cannot pass a spending package by that date.
"President Trump has talked about a number of items that he would like to see in this government funding bill," Wallace said, alluding to the White House's Thursday demand that any spending package include money for President Trump's southern border wall. "Which are so important that he's willing to see the government shut down if he doesn't get them?"
"I don't think anybody is trying to get to a shutdown," Mulvaney replied. "Shutdown is not a desired end. It's not a tool. It's not something that we want to have." Still he added, the White House wants "our priorities funded and one of the biggest priorities during the campaign was border security, keeping Americans safe and part of that was a border wall."
Also on Sunday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an ABC interview and President Trump on Twitter both reaffirmed Trump's campaign pledge that Mexico (or perhaps Mexicans, since the plausibility of the Mexican government cutting a check is miniscule) will pay for the wall eventually:
The Democrats don't want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017
Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017
Watch Mulvaney's full interview below. Bonnie Kristian
"We're going to get paid for it one way or the other," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said of President Trump's proposed border wall while speaking with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. After raising the issue, Stephanopoulos asked if Sessions has any evidence Mexico will fund construction, as Trump repeatedly promised on the campaign trail.
Sessions conceded he does not expect the government of Mexico to "appropriate money," but maintained the United States has other options to get money from Mexicans. We could "deal with our trade situation to create the revenue," he suggested, or, "I know there's $4 billion a year in excess payments," Sessions continued, "tax credits that they shouldn't get. Now, these are mostly Mexicans. And those kind of things add up — $4 billion a year for 10 years is $40 billion."
Sessions appears to be referencing a 2011 audit report Trump also cited while campaigning. As Politifact explains, the report said that in 2011, $4.2 billion in child tax credits was paid to people filing income taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security number. Some of these filers are illegal immigrants, but many are legal foreign workers, and the audit did not say how many are Mexican.
"The vast majority of that $4.2 billion, the filer may be undocumented, but you have to have a child to receive it," said Bob Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "And the children are overwhelmingly U.S. citizens." Watch an excerpt of Sessions' remarks below. Bonnie Kristian
Asked by @GStephanopoulos if he has evidence Mexico will pay for wall, Sessions says, "We're going to get it paid for one way or the other." pic.twitter.com/CPuBDQMwV4
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 23, 2017
"The last thing we can afford is to send a message to the world that the United States government, by the way, is only partially functioning," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Sunday in an interview with Face the Nation on CBS, citing tension with North Korea, the French election, and turmoil in Syria as situations that could be dangerously complicated by a U.S. government shutdown.
"I mean, that would just have catastrophic impact in my view or certainly very destabilizing I should say impact on global affairs," Rubio added. "And so we should keep that in mind going into this week." In 2013, Rubio indicated he was willing to "go all the way," which in context meant voting against a spending bill if it did not defund ObamaCare, even if that meant allowing the government to shut down.
A shutdown is expected if Congress does not pass a federal budget or spending extension by Friday, April 28. The White House has demanded any funding package include money for President Trump's proposed wall along the southern border, as well as a spending bump for the Defense Department. Congressional Democrats, suffice it to say, are not enthused.
Watch Rubio's comments in context below. Bonnie Kristian
.@marcorubio: "We cannot shut down the government right now" pic.twitter.com/ET3J926ZfM
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 23, 2017
North Korea detained a Korean-American man named Tony Kim at the airport in Pyongyang on Friday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Sunday. Kim is a professor who was in North Korea teaching a course at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST).
Kim is the third American citizen currently held by the isolated nation. The other two detainees were both arrested last year and sentenced to hard labor for subversive acts. Pyongyang has yet to comment on why Kim is in custody.
"The cause of his arrest is not known but some officials at PUST told me his arrest was not related to his work at PUST. He had been involved with some other activities outside PUST such as helping an orphanage," said PUST Chancellor Chan-Mo Park. "I sincerely hope and pray that he will be released soon." Bonnie Kristian
President Trump continues to have record-low approval ratings with the general public, but he is maintaining his core base of supporters, finds a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Sunday in advance of the 100-day mark of Trump's presidency on April 29. Just 42 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing so far, compared to an average of 69 percent approval for past presidents around the same time in their administrations.
A majority of respondents said Trump does not understand their problems, is not trustworthy, has yet to score a major accomplishment as president, and is not guided by a clear set of principles. However, more Americans say Democrats are out of step with the public than feel the same about the GOP, and 96 percent of Trump voters said they would back him again today. Bonnie Kristian
North Korea on Sunday said it is prepared to bomb the USS Carl Vinson, a U.S. aircraft carrier leading a Navy carrier strike group toward North Korea in a show of force.
"Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a U.S. nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a single strike," said an editorial in a newspaper run by the Kim Jong Un regime's Workers' Party. The article called the ship a "gross animal" and the potential strike "an actual example to show our military's force."
The carrier strike group was first said to be on its way toward North Korea in early April, only to be sighted thousands of miles away, near Singapore. The Trump administration blamed the confusion on miscommunication, and the Vinson is now in transit to the Sea of Japan off the coast of North Korea. Bonnie Kristian


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Update [2/22]: The giveaway has now ended. We'll be announcing the winner shortly. Thank you all for participating!
Hey out there in Internet Land! On February 22nd, Sony's portable gaming console, the PlayStation Vita, will be hitting store shelves. To hail the arrival of this new techno-wonder, we here at Ben's Bargains are giving away a sparkly new PlayStation Vita (Wi-Fi only) *and* Uncharted: Golden Abyss to one lucky fan!
That's right, folks, enter the giveaway and you just might get a life! (Whoa, settle down, Vita means "Life" in Latin. All right, there, that's better.)
The winner will be chosen after the giveaway comes to a close at 11:59PM (PST) on Tuesday, February 21st. Subject to these Rules & Regulations. Here's the list of Previous Winners.
Here are the ways to enter:
- 1 entry: Leave a comment on this post.
- 3 entries: Like us on Facebook.
- 3 entries: Follow us on Twitter.
- 5 entries: Share our Facebook post.
- 5 entries: ReTweet the giveaway on Twitter.
- 10 entries: Register on BensBargains.net and leave 10 comments on our site before the end of the giveaway.
Want to earn an additional 15 entries?! Check out our Bonus Meme Madness Round!
Good luck!


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Create beautiful, natural waves, curls or just add volume with the BaByliss Volume Waves hair tong. The large, 38mm titanium-ceramic coated barrel gives a smooth, shiny finish to your styling.
This styling tong heats up to 200ºC in 45 seconds, giving you salon performance and the option to control the temperature via 5 settings, depending on your hair type. The salon type 1.8m swivel cord allows for easier, more convenient use and it comes with an integrated heat rest.


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|Britain banned two L'Oréal ads featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington for being so airbrushed they could mislead customers. From Beyoncé's lighter skin to Kim Kardashian's airbrushed abs, see photos of other extreme retouching.
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
|Talk about extreme: A British advertising regulatory group was reportedly so outraged over the retouching in two L'Oréal cosmetics ads that they were subsequently banned. The group said the ads, which feature Julia Roberts for Lancome and Christy Turlington for Maybelline, were misleading because the photos had been so altered. Lancome defended the retouching, saying Roberts' image was an "aspirational picture" and the digital enhancement was not "directly relevant" to what the product means to achieve. Maybelline, meanwhile, insisted the ad was accurate about what its foundation could achieve. British politician Jo Swinson called for the ban, saying it would "send a powerful message to advertisers—let's get back to reality."
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
| The former "Sports Illustrated" model was so outraged at an Estée Lauder ad that she says Photoshopped her image to make her older that she just sued the company for $2 million. The ad was for Plantscription, an "anti-aging serum" for women over 45—but Forsling is a mere 35. She's claiming that the enhancement—or in her view, degradation—has irreparably damaged her career. She says she never used the product and it's deceptive advertising.
(Photo: Right: FilmMagic / Getty Images)
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
| In January 2003, 27-year-old actress Kate Winslet was livid over a slimmed-down image of her already-long legs and board-flat stomach on the cover (and inside, pictured here) of British "GQ." Winslet called the retouching "excessive"—noting that "I do not look like that, and more importantly, I don't desire to look like that." Not that that mattered to "GQ." Said editor Dylan Jones: "We do that for everyone, whether they are a size six or a size 12."
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
| No, Katie Couric didn't discover a miracle diet. But over a four-month period in 2006, as the anchor prepared to take over the "CBS Evening News," it suddenly appeared as if the 53-year-old had shrunk to a third of her body weight. The photo at left, snapped in May, was widely circulated to the media as an official CBS publicity shot. Then, in September, a slimmed-down Couric, her face and waistline radically trimmed. appeared in CBS's in-house magazine, "Watch!." When the media picked up on the alteration, the network said the retouching job had been the work of an "overzealous" employee. Couric, meanwhile, said she liked the original better. "There's more of me to love," she joked.
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
| Skin bleaching has long been a controversial topic, so when Beyoncé appeared several shades lighter than usual in a L'Oreal ad in 2008, it sparked an uproar. There have been many shades of Beyoncé in photographs and ad campaigns, as evidenced by (from left) a 2008 L'Oreal ad, a 2007 cover shot from "Joy" magazine, and a 2009 image on the cover of Russian "Glamour."
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
| "So what: I have a little cellulite. What curvy girl doesn't!?" That was Kim Kardashian's response to an unretouched image of her that was mistakenly posted on "Complex" magazine's website in May 2009. The snapshot—which was quickly replaced by the Photoshopped version—showed that Kim's waist had been cinched, her thighs slimmed, and her cellulite removed.
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
| This magazine ad for Ralph Lauren, which spurred protests outside Lauren's Manhattan headquarters in 2009, features 23-year-old model Filippa Hamilton looking positively nonhuman. At 5 feet 8 and 120 pounds, Hamilton (pictured in another Lauren ad at left) later said that the brand—which ultimately apologized for the image—had quietly fired her for being overweight.
(Photo: Right: Randy Brooke, WireImage / Getty Images)
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
| Kelly Clarkson looks trim and adorable in this September issue of "Self"—under the headline "Total Body Confidence"—except that her "confident" body has been digitally slimmed down. (The image at left was taken around the same time as her magazine shoot.) Two "Self" editors explained that the cover was not "journalism," but "meant to inspire women who want to be their best." Some message.
(Photo: Right: Scott Gries / AP Photo)
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
|"Redbook" couldn't have been pleased when an unretouched image of Faith Hill, featured on the magazine's July 2007 cover, was leaked to the bloggers at Jezebel. In an annotated before-and-after shot, the bloggers pinpointed 11 digital alterations the already picture-perfect Hill underwent before she hit newsstands—next to a cover line teasing to "56 ways to unleash your sexy side." (Do 55 of them involve airbrushing?) "Redbook" was accused of contributing to an unattainable body ideal, but editor Stacy Morrison said the picture was "completely in line with industry standards."
(Photo: jezebel.com)
See the Full Story at The Daily Beast
Catch "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
The 10 worst places to start a business.
Contest winners show sky's fragile wonders.
Greatest undrafted players in NFL history.
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Daniel Ghita Discusses Desire to Fight Badr Hari and His Quest to KO Everyone
- Written by Dave Walsh
Without a doubt, the man of the hour right now in the world of Heavyweight Kickboxing is Daniel Ghita. There are other big names in the sport, like Semmy Schilt, Badr Hari, Gokhan Saki and Errol Zimmerman, but Daniel Ghita is making short work of everyone put in his path, and if the amount of opponents that pulled out of the fight with him from this past weekend's K-1 event is any indication, he's pretty well-feared. In a recent interview with a Romanian website, he discussed his recent fights, his future and talked about an interesting twist for his fight on June 30th, as Gokhan Saki was offered the fight with him, but demanded too much money. (Thanks to effin for the translation).
Until Roche, your adversaries had to be Paul Slowinski or Damian Garcia. Do you think they feared you?
Surely. Slowinski accepted the fight initially, but later he stopped answering his phone. The same happened with Garcia. Anyway, it wasn't beneficially for me to change 3 adversaries in a few days. You prepare a tactic before the fight, for a specific adversary.
You fight on 30th of june with Frederic Sinistra, in his home country, Belgium. How do you see the fight?
Sinistra is a star in Belgium, he even fought with Badr Hari. I hope to not have any problems and finish the fight by KO.
Have you set a personal target, to KO all of your adversaries?
Yes, because i know i can do it currently. I want to KO every single one of my adversaries this year.
We know you offered Gokhan Saki for a 30th of june fight, but he did not accepted.
And so it is. But Saki asked 3 times more money to fight me and the match failed to go through. If you have the heart of a lion, you fight with the best. He feared me, surely.
Check the rest of the interview out here.


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Trapper kills protected lynx in northern Idaho
A northern Idaho man who killed a protected lynx after catching it in a trap has been fined $200 and ordered to pay restitution and court costs adding up to $185.
The Coeur d'Alene Press reports in a story published Friday that the unnamed trapper told authorities he thought he was killing a bobcat when he shot it earlier this month.
Lynx are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Lynx compare in size to bobcats but are equipped with longer legs and bigger paws, making them more efficient hunters in the deep snow of the boreal forests where they live.
The lynx was killed in northeastern Boundary County in an area designated as critical lynx habitat in 2009 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


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Ok I saw the LEGO Jedi Starfighter. But I passed on the principals that it was $19.95, it would seem a little small when assembled, and the Obi-Wan minifig looks off. I think it's his hair. His hair is just wrong!
Now, the LEGO sets that have Yoda and the Tusken Raiders I'll definatly get.


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|For Sale by Owner Non-commercial items for sale!
|Topic Review (Newest First)
|Jay C.
Where can we see the boat? Is it currently in the water?
E-mail response would be preferable.
Jay C.
|Capt. Ruben Perez
21 foot Steiger Craft CC for sale...
Juro, with your permission I will like to offer this to the fly talk members....
Just in time for the fishing season... this boat has a great North East hull, the 21 foot center console Steiger Craft (long
beach model) is bult tough. Will endure big waves, or take you to the skinny water as you chase the stripers on the flats.
The boat is '94 model, with a four year old 125hp Mariner Offshore that has been professionally maitained. Comes with
3D depth finder, GPS, dual batteries, VHF radio, galvanized trailer with electric winch. Boat is ready to fish. Will take you
out miles past Nomand's land or Block Island if you want to chase sharks and Albies, or in the flats, for skinny water
fishing. All for $11,000. Email at: email@example.com
PS. For those of you who fished at the Boneclave last year, it's the same boat Juro and Al fished with me on...
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Spider "realvoice" Vertical in the Ear Headphone
" First off the disclaimer, the Realvoice IEM'S were given to me a month or two back for reviewing. I would like to thank Spider Cable for the review sample and my apologies for taking so long in writing this review. Since I have had these I have used them about 75% of the time when I am using earphones, which probably averages about two hours per day. So I have put quite a few hours..." --Carlsan
Jelly Bud Earphones
Amazing jelly earbuds!!! Each is made from silicone and has a in-ear design that is made to fit in your ear! Perfect for Ipods, MP3 players, etc! Each comes in either pink, blue, or black and a 48 inch cord. Excellent sound quality and WAREHOUSE DIRECT! These are CLEARANCE items that are selling for far cheaper that they would at ANY store. Don't be fooled by the cheap Ebay rip offs with...


text: To me, and most people I converse with, would totally agree that a black panther in black panther attire would be JUST AS outrageous as a white man in a KKK outfit with a burning cross. Are black panthers less intimidating because of what reason exactly? Sounds a little biased and as Julie said very disingenuous. They are both on extreme fringes of their respective cultures. If someone in a KKK outfit was standing outside "intimidating voters" I can almost certainly say that no one on this board would come defending them yet here you sit saying that its okay because they were in a black neighborhood and didn't actually hit anyone....ridiculous.


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|Bonefish, Tarpon, and other Obsessions Turquoise water, silver demons on the fly
|Topic Review (Newest First)
|I tried fishing with a Rio line with a clear section at the tip on a recent trip, but the guide found it unacceptable--he could see the fish, but he couldn't see my line, so he had trouble finding the fly in relation to the fish, as well as redirecting my cast if the first one missed. Most of the spooking I've experienced has resulted from the splash of a too-heavy fly in calm conditions--not from line splash or shadow or a leader that's too short. If it's calm and the water is shallow, lead eyes will spook fish--if it's deeper, lead eyes may be necessary to get the fly to the bottom within the count of 3. I don't overline, but I wouldn't think it would be a problem if that's what you want to do. I don't use cold water lines in the tropics; they get too sticky. The line is susceptible to tangling and it doesn't shoot as well either. I prefer SA Mastery Bonefish lines, but have also used Wonderline, Rio and Teeny Flats Taper lines. The Teeny has a shorter, more aggressive taper for quicker loading on casts from 20' to 70', which is where most of the fish are seen. I rarely use leader longer than 9' or smaller than 12 lbs. Bahamas bonefish are not leader shy. You want enough breaking strength to land that rare really big one or to have a chance to survive a run to the mangroves.
I think that you should probably overline. You need to be able to load your rod as rapidly as possible and often without too much line out. It sounds like you like the feel of overllining to begin with and often the heavier line will be an advantgage in windier situations. Without quite a bit of experience it is difficult to see bones farther than 70 ft, so real long casts aren't usually necessary.
I usually have 9 to 12 ft of leader and try to drop the fly well in front of the fish, so the 'splash' from the flyline shouldn't be an issue. The are sensitive to the shadow, however. Some guides recommend dropping the fly right on top of the fish and I have had this work; the fish bolts but comes right back and grabs the fly.
I haven't fished cold salt water lines but I have tried bone fishing with a cold water bass taper line and it didn't work very well. The air and water temp turned it into a noodle. I have used SA bonefish taper or tarpon taper in a 9 wt, but the RIO bonefish taper in a sand color may be better. Wonderline is quite good as well.
|Capt. Mel Simpson
Thanks for the info. I no longer have access to the SA spec sheets and their web site dosen't have the needed details but as I remember there was a concern with the running line breaking strength of the Windmaster?!?
I used the Rio lines a couple of years ago and I liked them, not as well as the SA, but maybe it's time to check them out again this next spring.
Thanks again, Mel
|nevada caster
half weight lines
There are some half weight lines. The Rio Saltwater taper 12 weight weighs about half way between a 12 and 13 weight tarpon line.
Although I cannot find it now, I at one time read that the SA Windmaster is about a half line heavier than the SA tarpon
|Capt. Mel Simpson
Interesting question, and I like to think of it this way;
An 8wt line is probably made for all 8 weight rods, slow, medium, fast, and extra fast actions,
If that's so then they are probably all made for the medium action rods,
Therefore they may not have enough weight for the extra fast rod,
And I don't see the line companys making an 8 1/2 or an 8 3/4, etc. line sizes, so overlining or even underlining a rod makes a lot of sense. I really wish there was a 12 1/2 wt line for Tarpon.
I don't have as much of a problem with the line splashing as I do with the fish seeing the line in the air, the shadow it makes during the cast. And I don't think clear lines help this situation, they both seem to make about the same shadow.
But a very important consideration is in using tropical lines for tropical conditions. The soft coldwater lines I use for Steelhead just won't cut it here in Florida, even during the winter.
Good Luck Dave.
Dave -
I have only 9 bonefish trips under my belt but I have learned a lot just the same from these few trips. The answer is "it depends"
When fishing from a boat you have a different set of circumstances than when fishing from shore. The 20ft shadow keeps you further from the fish and you need to make longer casts, using more of the head in the air. You are fishing with an extra pair of eyes, which are almost always better than your own so you will approach pods further away than you would wade to. The guide can reposition the boat to deal with wind, where you can't do that with a mangrove stand to your back while wading. You are going to make longer shots from a boat than on foot most of the time. Long head, aggressive front taper if windy.
When wading, the average shot distance depends on the structure. If you are fishing a very broad flat in the evening for tailers, you will probably make long gentle casts several feet ahead of the direction the fish are pushing. 60 or more ft casts are called for.
If you have staked out a dead coral foundation creating a little current on an otherwise uneventful flat, 30-40ft casts to fish spotted on the approach or at the last minute (like Monomoy) are the rule. Short length head, loading quickly is best. The Rio Clouser taper might be the ticket for this, or the Wulff Bermuda Triangle (30ft head, two-tone tropical).
Since I was using a two-hander in Exuma I chose lines with a short head (30ft) and two-tone color between head and running line. I like the Rio Windcutter (not spey) on the Atlantis All-around, nice aggressive taper. I had a Wulff Bermuda Triangle line down there, nice line and two-tone for fast re-casting.
As far as line shadow, I heard Monic makes a tropical clear floater. In calm mid-day conditions when the tide was not moving I have had some trouble with line shadow as well. In fact I much prefer fishing conditions that are low angle for tailers, windy but not ridiculous, or a faster tide flow which gets the fish too excited to care about the little things.
In any case, have a great time Dave! Your Monomoy training will come in very handy and you'll be that much better on the cape flats next year as a result of the tropical "off-season training" plan.
|Rick J
|As others have said, it is site dependent - I generally do not overline but many of my friends do. If you have an idea that most shots are going to be close, I would overline. I generally have about 30 feet out the tip and hold the fly so you can roll cast the line and make one false cast. You should practice this maneuver and not just normal casting. Boat fishing for sure I would have a salt water line. Wading not as critical but still a good idea. Also a good idea is to mark your lines at 10 foot increments starting at 30 feet so you can better judge what is going on
|nevada caster
If you believe the propaganda put out by the line companies, you will have a problem with the coldwater line tangling on the deck or a boat, and you won't get the distance that you would with a stiffer line. If you are wading, the tangling may not be a problem. If you are a long distance caster, maybe 5 or 10' less won't bother you much.
the guides I have been working with recommend overlining. The splash or noise may be more dependant on the taper. I've been using a SA Windmaster which has a short front taper, and I haven't noticed any problems.
I just went on my first trip this spring and had the same question. I found that it was situation dependent. I ended up not overlining my rods but in retrospect would have due to the heavy wind I experienced. Where are you headed? If you are going to Mexico, Belize or someplace with smaller fish the 8wt is probably a good option but for the Bahamas I ended up using my 9wt especially considering the wind. It blew 25 every day. The one advantage I found was that the flies are generally much lighter than the stuff I fish for stripers on the flats which made casting easier. The harder part was seeing the fish and not spooking them which I found was more an issue of line shadow and fly placement rather than splash but again it was blowing hard. I guess what I am saying is if you can bring both and change with the situations.
overline bonefish rod?
I'm doing bonefish for the first time this fall and was hoping for some advice:
To overline or not to overline?
The weapon of choice will be a 9'6" 8wt Powell Tiburon 2 which is a very fast rod.
I usually overline all of my saltwater rods for northeast salt-chuck. I have read that this is not wise for spooky bones that are tailing in a foot of water however.
Also does anyone have first-hand experience using floating coldwater lines in the tropics? I've heard mixed opinions on this as well.
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Last Modified: Friday, May 10, 2013 9:24 AM
By Jim Gazzolo / American Press
Five of the last six years the Elizabeth Bulldogs have reached the state tournament.
Each of those times they lost in the semifinals.
Now they are back with hopes of sticking around a little longer. But their task could be a tall order.
Elizabeth will face Claiborne Christian from West Monroe at 1 p.m. today in Sulphur as the Class C tournament gets under way at McMurry Park.
That could mean 6-foot-6 Zach Osbon will be waiting.
"He is a very good pitcher, a horse for Class C," said Elizabeth head coach Rhon Morgan. "He will be tough if we get him."
The Bulldogs will counter with their own ace, undefeated Ian Morgan, who will bring an 11-0 record to Sulphur.
If Elizabeth (26-4) can get back, Claiborne Family Christian will likely be waiting. One of those two teams have knocked the Bulldogs out in the semifinals in their five previous trips.
"I like the way we match up with Claiborne one through nine," Morgan said. "Family Christian is a monster for this class. Both these teams are very good, but I think we are better than before."
Experience is the big thing for Elizabeth, but there is also the fact it is tired of losing in the semifinals.
"We have not been able to get over the hump, but maybe this year," Morgan said. "It would be great to get to Saturday and have a chance to win the state title. That is what we are looking for."
Claiborne posts an 11-18 record after playing up most of the season.
"They have had a good schedule so their record is misleading," Morgan said. "We know what we are up against but maybe this is the year we can break through."
It would be the perfect time for the Bulldogs.
No. 21 Catholic-Baton Rouge (23-13) vs. No. 13 Sulphur (24-11), 11 a.m.
No. 1 Barbe (33-3) vs. No. 9 West Monroe (23-12), 2 p.m.
No. 10 Zachary (25-11) vs. No. 18 St. Amant (26-9), 5 p.m.
No. 3 Brother Martin (30-5) vs. No. 6 Sam Houston (25-9), 8 p.m.
Catholic-Baton Rouge-Sulphur winner vs. Barbe-West Monroe winner, 11 a.m.
Zachary-St. Amant winner vs. Brother Martin-Sam Houston winner, 2 p.m.
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
No. 1 St. Thomas More (28-4) vs. No. 4 Teurlings Catholic (25-7), 7 p.m. (Field 41)
No. 6 Tioga (27-9) vs. No. 2 Lutcher (27-4), 4 p.m. (Field 41)
St. Thomas More-Teurlings Catholic winner vs. Tioga-Lutcher winner, 4 p.m. (Field 41)
No. 1 North DeSoto (28-4) vs. No. 5 Parkview Baptist (18-17), 10 a.m. (Field 41)
No. 11 Brusly (26-7) vs. No. 2 E.D. White (27-4), 1 p.m. (Field 41)
North DeSoto-Parkview Baptist winner vs. Brusly-E.D. White winner, 1 p.m. (Field 41)
No. 1 Calvary Baptist (23-3) vs. No. 4 University (28-6), 1 p.m.
No. 3 Evangel Christian (20-10) vs No. 14 Kinder (22-11), 10 a.m.
Calvary Baptist-University winner vs. Evangel Christian-Kinder winner, 1 p.m.
No. 1 Ouachita Christian (30-5) vs. No. 5 Central Catholic (23-7), 7 p.m.
No. 6 St. John (28-6) vs. No. 2 Mangham (26-8), 4 p.m.
Ouachita Christian-Central Catholic winner vs. St. John-Mangham winner, 4 p.m.
No. 16 Simpson (12-18) vs. No. 12 Hicks (22-8), 7 p.m., (Field 40)
No. 11 Hornbeck (20-13) vs. No. 2 Forest (24-8), 4 p.m., (Field 40)
Simpson-Hicks winner vs. Hornbeck-Forest winner, 3 p.m. (Field 40)
No. 1 Family Christian (24-4) vs. No. 4 Maurepas (16-11), 10 a.m., (Field 40)
No. 3 Claiborne Christian (11-18) vs. No. 2 Elizabeth (24-4), 1 p.m., (Field 40)
Family Christian-Maurepas winner vs. Claiborne Christian-Elizabeth winner, noon (Field 40)


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Thought this should have its own thread since it is such good news!
Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been upgraded from critical to serious condition, eight days after being shot through the brain at a public event.
"The congresswoman continues to do well," University Medical Center in Tucson said Sunday in a statement.


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Reducing my Win32 GTK+ work to the status of "useless, redundant, and irrellevant," someone has created a whiz-bang, no-brainer compile script whilst I was banging my head against a wall trying to figure out the steps. Some days, it just doesn't pay. At least I got the learning experience out of it (and a working MinGW).
School must start, soon! :)


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|Great Lakes Steelhead & Salmon Amazing "Inland ocean" fisheries
|Topic Review (Newest First)
So, enjoy your rod.
BTW, the next time you ask for opinions, trying being more upfront about your agenda. I for one, don't like being played for a sucker.
I'll pass along the advice, "Lighten up."
Interesting conclusion, especially considering that I have a classic UK-style rod currently on route, a trouter being built, and I've just ordered a slow, Loomis Kispiox Skagit rod. When these arrive, I'll have traditional, Scandinavian, Skagit, and overhead rods in my arsenal. My Scandinavian casting is OK, the Skagit casting is coming along nicely, my overhead isn't bad, and the traditional is a work-in-progress. Please tell me which one of these I'm not supposed to like.
Let me try explain my POV with an example.
Imagine you have received a two-handed rod for testing. It has no identifying marks or cosmetics. As rods go, it's pretty mediocre and you know that. You attend a clave with a large group of anglers with the intent of having all of them try and comment on the rod. To half the group, you tell them that this is a prototype rod about to go into production. It's made by a famous rod company using the latest super-dooper graphite and exotic tapers. To the other half, you inform them that it is a first attempt at a two-hander by a company better known for making cheap bait rods sold at department stores.
Remember that this is a mediocre rod. How many of the first group will say something bad about it? How many in the second group will say anything good about it? Probably the number of people in the first group with something bad to say will be roughly the same as the number in the second group with something good to say. That's the power of marketing; the power of image. We're all susceptible to it; we've all been victimized by it.
The message I was trying to get across to Mr. Spock was to look beyond the marketing hype. Instead, his ultimate choice -- a Sage and a Windcutter -- is damn near a spey cliché. Obviously, he was determined to buy a Sage from the get-go and he was looking for support for his pre-determined choice. He was in effect, wasting our time with his question as his mind appeared to be already made up. By and large, he didn't get much support for his choice but he bought the rod anyway. It's his choice of course. It's his money after all, and I truly hope he is happy with it. I would not wish him ill luck just because he didn't take our advice.
and my comment to Juro was strictly TIC -- just giving him the needle -- as my ample use of smilies should've indicated to you.
and as somebody recently said to me so I'll pass along the advice, "Lighten up."
My impression is that you have a particular style of casting and demand any rod you cast must match your individual style. Everything rod that does not is poorly designed?
Fred Krow
Actually, I can read that sentence as -- "I spent big $$$$s on a crappy rod but because I busted my gut to buy it, I'd better learn to love it." (Of course, I've never done that . . . . )
About our Mr. Spock -- well, a Sage and a Windcutter -- that's a surprise. Kinda like bread and butter, eh?
i did pick his brain about lines also, he picked the windcutter as my best choice. when you are looking to buy anything do you take one person's advice or do you get more from other sources, thanks again all that replied you all have helped out alot
The Windcutter Versi Tip is one of the most versatile lines around. You can pull the center section for overhead and should decide to spey cast you still have a great line for that.
Not to be a "smarty pants" but when you had your spey casting instructor cornered for a rod recommendation why didn't you pick his brain for a line choice?
Two Handed Rod Choice
8126-3 sage is my choice after talking to our spey casting instructor here in buffalo, he asked me what i wanted to do with it and guided me to this choice after picking his brain. first off i want to thank all that replied and gave my so much info. now what kind of line should i use as iam going to use sink tips to fish the surf and over hand cast.
|Muckle Salmon
I will keep it simple. To my mind Sage has yet to beat the RPL.
Just so we're all on the same page, I've owned a number of Sage single handers and loved them all: RP896, RP789, RP490, LL389, LL586, LL590, RPL686, and SP490. Being a Sage fanatic, I lusted after their two-handers, but I was very disappointed with them once I got my hands on a few.
Having bought the St. Croix and built the Lamiglas before trying the Sage two-handers, I had a different frame of reference to someone who only had a Sage.
I am not directing this at anyone else's post, but it's meant to express where I am with Sage rods. I've had a great experience with Sage rods throughout my flyfishing years and am proud to have their support as a sponsor on the Forum. Sage rods have been a critical part of my flyfishing experience. As I wasted time with sub-standard rods of lesser price as a young fool, the day finally came when I bought an RPL. WOW
Now tell me folks, was that a rod or was that a rod! Whether 4wt or 10wt, that rod was the perfect marriage of flex, power and durability. It had soul, and balls too. I still have a few of them and with all the newfangled stuff out there I put a line on them and say WOW still. Funny how I try all of the new whizbang singlehanders at all the shows and they just don't seem to give me the love that my old RPL's do. They might have more power, be lighter, be prettier, etc - but that casting soul is hard to duplicate. Maybe it's just me, and I need to get modern but there were lots of happy campers during the RPL days across the whole range of line weights.
Then came the RPLXi, which at first was harder to tune into, but once you took that 5pc 8wt out onto a bonefish flat for the day... WOW. Then after using them for years in a 9wt for striper, the castability is as automatic as could be when a fish cruised in from an unexpected angle -or- when the wind kicked up from the wrong side and you had to cast backwards. Eventually got that love again.
With spey, like many I was weaned on lesser quality rods with overhead tapers until I bought the 10150-4 and the 7136-4 mostly with meal allowances from a contract position where I starved myself for the 27.50 per day, some days eating a snickers bar for dinner to get closer to the goal. It was worth it. I eventually hopped onto the 8126-3 euro as well, rumored to be designed by Goran Anderson. I went through the entire gamut of two-handed rods for fishing the beach and this was clearly the best at the time for the job, not to mention it was among the best Scandinavian fishing tools and well ahead of it's time.
These two rods were very different but I came to love them both. I fished the 9140-4 for a while as well but it was not mine so had a short fling with it, all before a CND touched my hands.
I caught a lot of winter fish on the Sage 10wt and a lot of summer fish on the 7wt, I even lost a good number of big winter fish on the 7wt when I shouldn't have been using it. The big rod covered the Skagit, Skykomish, Hoh, and other big rivers in winter conditions, and the 7136 did a fine job of putting flies over steelhead through the summer and fall.
I can see how some folks would not like the action of the 7136, however it's like a temperamental woman. You can fight her to act the way you want, or you can give in and act the way it wants. If you gave in, she had a sweet heart. Well I eventually fell in love and had a hard time putting her down when the river rose and the big natives came to town. As fate would have it, I would hook up and get thoroughly spanked by these big Cascade or Olympic peninsula fish because of my love for her. It was hard, but I eventually started to fish the right rod in winter.
The 10150 would put a 15ft sinktip past the main chute on the Chapel run on the Skagit with a flick. It would tame a 25# Hoh buck, if I could only hook one With the right lines, it could overhead cast almost as far as Kush could snake roll, on a good day (for me that is). It was a cannon and has been bent hard by some big winter fish in it's day.
Today we are blessed with so many good choices as the Spey phenomenon blossoms on the flyfishing scene. But let's not forget that Sage really ignited this fire with the 7136, 9140, and 10150's. So in a sense, they are a part of the new tradition, a north american rennaissance of spey.
Spey, although just a fraction of the overall industry, is probably the biggest growth area in FF. With Loomis, Loop, T&T, and of course CND also in the scene the choices have grown from the old brownie days. Who knows what the situation will be tomorrow - but for today there are lots of choices, rapid evolution, and the winners are us. Enjoy the ride as they say.
I suppose my first problem with Sages came from their use of "Traditional" to describe their soft rods. I don't consider that action to be traditional at all, unless of course, you're referring to a PNW tradition. I think that in the minds of most people, Sage is trying to evoke a connection to Scottish two-handers. A bogus connection as far as Im concerned.
I've owned two rods (both Lamiglas) that I would consider traditional in action. Very full flexing, slow recovery, but also smoothly progressive. Both these rods were powerful for their line class and supported a wide range of lines -- a characteristic of progressive rods. In contrast, the old 7136 seemed to fold over in the mid-section. In fact all of the soft Sages I've casted, except for the latest IIIe versions, seemed to have this soft middle perched on a semi-stiff butt. A characteristic suited for the short head style of casting in the PNW but hardly in the same class as what we would think of as a traditional UK-style rod designed to lift and cast long lengths of line. Some people are successfully using these rods like UK-style rods, by dropping down in line weights so that the spongy middle is not overwhelmed. This is hardly an endorsement of these rods as being traditional.
So this is the sore point for me -- these rods are suited for the fishing style they were designed for, but Sage marketing portrays them as something they're most definitely not. If these rods carried the label of a less well-known company, they'd be roundly criticised outside of their home turf if they were portrayed in this manner. I suppose Id be far less critical of them had they not been marketed in this way.
My second concern involves the linkage of casting skill with these rods. This is just a suspicion on my part, not backed up by much evidence however, we know that a lot of beginners start out with these rods because of the allure of the Sage name. Ive seen a couple of guys flog these rods using over-weight short heads and a lot of arm strength to flop out casts. These guys havent had the opportunity to learn proper casting technique on a rod that loads conventionally. When I tried my first 7136 around 97 or early 98, I was a rank beginner spey caster with a Lamiglas and a St. Croix, and I couldnt feel the load on the 7136 so I was just flopping it around. To try and get the feel for it, I went overhead and discovered that I couldnt get it to behave there either despite being able to spey and overhead cast both of my other rods with somewhat decent proficiency for a beginner. Today I wonder how my casting progression wouldve gone (ignoring my shoulder issues of a few years back) had I owned the 7136 instead of the other two rods.
I've ordered the Kispiox as a winter GL rod for basically the same reasons as why youd like the 7136 for these waters, and it should do quite a nice job in our smaller tribs. To Loomis credit, theyre marketing these rods appropriately and theyre not trying to delude the angler into thinking theyre something theyre not. There isnt a whole lot of difference between a Kispiox and a 7136 yet Ill buy the former and roundly condemn the latter. An inconsistency on my part? Not when I add the marketing behaviour of these two companies to my buying decision.
7136 brownie
my 7136 is the older softer version. It is a very soft noodle that is a blast to fish with. I do not launch huge casts off this rod. I would say it is effective out to 80 feet or so. In the hands of a better caster it could probably fish farther.
I tried a mastery spey 8/9 on it but that was overkill. Now I'm fishing the Midspey 6/7 w tips. This line is a great match for this rod. The only comment I would have is that the type VIII tip is actually an 8 wt. Thus it is a tad too heavy and you can feel it when you cast. This is the line I use for summer fishing. If I was back home in Ont I would consider using a windcutter as I would be fishing more tips.
Although this rod is soft, don't think it has no guts. Last winter I brought some nice winter runs to hand and this summer it subdued a surprise spring that attacted my fly while fishing summer runs.
From my understanding the 7136 was not designed as a shooting head rod. It came out well before that. It is a rod designed for light dry line fishing. The 7136 green (2001) and the following lt brown model were of the same action just a different colour.
When fishing my rod with a midspey I cast in a traditional style using both my upper and lower hands (probably using too much upper hand but I'm working on that). I use a mix of casts: single, double, circle, and spiral speys.
One of my friends Mark McAneeley is a guide here in BC. He was pictured holding a 26lb steelie in the last issue of Flyfisherman. The fish was caught by Lani Waller using Mark's 7136. Mark has the newer 7136 and he was using an Airflow line. He says the newer 7136 launches the Airflow Delta(can't remember the weight).
Like MJC I own a 9140 green that I built. I really like this rod. An 8/9 midspey fishes well on it. This winter I've been using an 8/9/10 windcutter modified to Ed Ward's instructions to create a Skagit line. I have been blown away by the way this outfit fishes. I can only imagine the new GLoomis rods matched up to proper Skagit lines! The 9140 will do it all from summer to winter. Again like the 7136 it is a softer rod. The 9150 is a completely different beast that is much faster. While still considered slow by many it is much faster than most traditional sages. When it comes to big water I love my 9150 but I can see few uses for this rod on the GLs besides the Niagra.
My point is not that Sage rods are the best out there. There are lots of great rods and lots that are cheaper. Just don't rule the Sages out. If I was moving back to Ontario tomorrow my rod of choice would be my 7136. I really wish Sage hadn't discontinued them.
|I also like the traditional Sages. While I don't have any experience with the 7136 (I do have one for sale in my experienced rod rack), I have fished a lot with the much maligned Sage 9140. This is a greenie and I can cast it better and farther then any rod I've ever fished, I think even better then my much beloved CND Expert 1409 which I really, really, really like. For me the line that makes both the 9140 and the Expert 1409 sing is a Delta 7/8. I am doing normal spey casting (or at least my "wham/bam" version of it) using mostly the Circle C and the Double Spey casts and flies up to 1/0 (mostly #2s). To me both of these 14' rods are a joy to cast and fish.
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Deeplinks Blog posts about Wikileaks
This month, we were reminded how important it is that social media companies do what they can to protect the sensitive data they hold from the prying eyes of the government. As many news outlets have reported, the US Department of Justice recently obtained a court order for records from Twitter on several of its users related to the WikiLeaks disclosures. Instead of just turning over this information, Twitter "beta-tested a spine" and notified its users of the court order, thus giving them the opportunity to challenge it in court.
Since late November, the whistleblower website Wikileaks has been in the process of releasing in waves over 250,000 leaked United States diplomatic cables. Known as "Cablegate," this is the largest publication of confidential documents by any organization. (Catch up on Wikileaks developments by reviewing EFF's page on this issue).
Wikileaks' disclosures have caused tremendous controversy, with critics of Wikileaks claiming the leaks of classified information could endanger lives and harm international diplomacy. Others have commended Wikileaks, pointing to a long history of over-classification and a lack of transparency by the United States government.
Wikileaks isn't the only site struggling to stay up these days because service providers are pulling their support. It appears that at least one person who wants to provide mirror access to Wikileaks documents is having the same trouble.
Recently we heard from a user who mirrored the Cablegate documents on his website. His hosting provider SiteGround suspended his account, claiming that he "severely" violated the SiteGround Terms of Use and Acceptable Use Policy. SiteGround explained that it had gotten a complaint from an upstream provider, SoftLayer, and had taken action "in order to prevent any further issues caused by the illegal activity."
The House Judiciary Committee held a surprisingly subdued hearing this morning on the legal and constitutional issues surrounding Wikileaks' publication activities. Committee members repeatedly emphasized the importance of protecting First Amendment rights and cautioned against overreaction to Wikileaks. The seven legal experts called to testify agreed, almost all of them noting that:
It has been almost two weeks since cablegate.wikileaks.org, the website hosting leaked US diplomatic cables, was taken down, and the right of Wikileaks to publish truthful information was immediately besieged. Since then, human rights organizations around the world have condemned the attacks on WikiLeaks and have raised their voices to protect freedom of expression online.
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After a seminar in Bonita Springs, Florida, I found myself waiting for my flight back to the West Coast. I was at the Ft. Myers Airport.
It dawned on me that an airplane ticket has a lot to do with goal setting.
If I were to walk up to the ticket counter at the airport, put down some money, and ask for a ticket, the agent would probably say, "Where to?"
If I were to say, "It doesn't matter. Just give me a ticket."
The agent would, once more, say, "Where to?"
I would not get a ticket because I didn't specify where I wanted to go. On the other hand, if I know exactly where I want to go, like that day in Ft. Myers, I get a ticket.
Life is the same way. If we don't identify specific goals, we're not going to get a ticket to go anywhere we like. We have to write down specific goals, exactly where we want to go, and then life will give us a ticket to the right destination.
If you don't have written goals for the next 12 months, then I suggest you write down some specific goals that you want to accomplish in the next year. If you don't believe the goals you've written down, then lower them a little bit.
What you see is what you'll get.
And then identify a specific reward as to what you're going to do for yourself once you accomplish certain goals. Then I suggest you get a picture of that reward, put it on a card about the size of a business card, laminate it and carry it with you everywhere you go.
My picture happens to be of an island off of Belize, in Central America, called Caye Chapel. I've been there. I was flown there by a Houston company to speak for all of their employees. It is just incredible.
Caye Chapel is about a 10 minute flight out of Belize City. It's a half mile wide by one and a half miles in length. Only 40 guests at any one time. The food is exquisite. The snorkeling is amazing. The fishing is fun. And the atmosphere is so very peaceful.
So, I carry a picture of Caye Chapel with me because that's my next reward. I'm going back to Caye Chapel. On the other side of my card I've got very specific affirmations of things I want to accomplish in the next 12 months.
Can you see the value of doing this? I have a picture of my reward on one side of my card and specific written goals on the other side. Get one of these for yourself and watch what it will do for your future.
You'll be able to walk up to the counter of life and get a ticket to literally anywhere you want to go.
You are special. You are unique. You are destined for greatness. I see it in you. You are a Champion!
What if your child could develop amazing confidence and a very positive attitude?
My new daily CD for children, The "30 Day Can Do Program for Kids," is a very powerful, productive and positive way for kids, 4 to 12 years of age, to gain those attributes.
As a bonus to the CD, you will get the "Can Do Workbook", a great e-book supplementary teaching tool to the daily 2-minute audio messages.
The "Can Do Program for Kids" CD is available, with the bonus e-book, for just $29, at the Boaz Power Store on my web site: Boazpower.com.
A Ticket Affirmation
I have specific written goals for the next 12 months and I have identified an exciting reward.
See more Boaz Power TV here


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Deeplinks Blog posts about DMCA
Ending the scourge of DRM has long been an important goal for EFF, and the need has only increased in recent years. As the evidence mounts that we're already deep into what EFF Special Consultant Cory Doctorow has dubbed the War On General Purpose Computing, efforts like the Free Software Foundation's International Day Against DRM take on a new meaning.
It's not just about what we can do with the books, music, movies, and games that we buy, though that remains an important fight. It's a matter of basic consumer rights and security.
YouTube is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. We're glad YouTube has managed to survive the copyright wars, when so many other services did not. We hope we even helped. So, congratulations YouTube, well done. Wouldn't fixing ContentID be a great way to celebrate it?
Vehicle manufacturers like General Motors and John Deere are citing a particularly strange and onerous provision in copyright law to claim that you need permission to tinker with, repair, and innovate around your own car. According to them, you may own the parts, but you don't own your copies of the car software that makes them work. For months, we have been working to fix that by calling on the Librarian of Congress to issue an exemption to this provision.
Videogame Publishers: No Preserving Abandoned Games, Even for Museums and Archives, Because All "Hacking" is Illegal
The Entertainment Software Association doesn't want anyone to restore the functionality of older videogames that are no longer supported by their publisher, because, says ESA, this is "hacking," and all hacking is "associated with piracy."
Thailand, after the 2014 coup by the Royal Thai Armed Forces unseated its democratic government, sits a disturbing gray area with regard to the due process and the rule of law. While martial law was, in theory, revoked last week, and ordinary governance restored, the military are still clearly in charge, and the current junta still expressly reserve the right to intervene at will. As with the last coup, the current dictatorship has taken advantage of its powers to prepare or pass statutes that will persist, even when (or if) full democratic rule is restored. Among the barrage of laws passed were modifications to Thai copyright and computer crime law. Curiously, a detailed examination of the changes shows among the expected set of restrictions on online freedoms, some positive improvements: that is, if the junta and future Thai governments can be trusted to follow their own rules.
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Tag Archives: romance literature
Careers of Love: Black Professionals Banking on Romance
Matchmaker, romance novelist and wedding planner talk business of amour
For these entrepreneurs, love does pay the bills. We talk to a matchmaker, romance novelist…
By Demetria Irwin
February 13, 2012 Tags: Career Advancement, career transition, erotica, K.I.M. Media L.L.C., Leslie Short, Lisa Short, literature, love, matchmaker, One Degree From Me, Oprah Winfrey, OWN, Paul Carrick Brunson, Publishing, romance literature, romance novels, Valentine's Day, writers


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How brands can use customer insight to inspire true loyalty.
Reward the interactions within your transactions and create real relationships with your customers.
Read Aimia's latest white paper on incentive program measurement.
Airline frequent flyer programs face many challenges. Whether it's designing effective partner portfolios, expanding rewards beyond the travel sector, managing reward access and unit cost, optimizing program breakage, engaging non-frequent flyers, airlines continue to look for ways to increase the reach and effectiveness of their programs.
That's where Aimia can help. Our roots in the airline industry run deep — all the way back to 1984, when we began life as Aeroplan, the frequent flyer program of Air Canada. In 2002, Aeroplan became the world's first successful spin-off frequent flyer program. Today Aimia has evolved from that airline core into a global leader in loyalty management.
See more
At Aimia we have the expertise to develop the right strategy to engage, retain and motivate your audience. For nearly 50 years, we have been providing marketing services to automotive clients. We have served more than 25 brands including all divisions of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors as well as Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda, Navistar, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo. Our experience extends to auto- related clients and programs such as Ally, Fifth Third Bank and Michelin.
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At Aimia we have the capabilities to develop the right strategy to engage, retain and motivate your audience. For more than 30 years, Aimia has been a business partner with some of the world's leading Healthcare and Pharmaceutical brands including Pfizer, UnitedHealth Group, Medtronic, Merck, Roche, Boehringer Inglheim, Stryker, Bayer Healthcare, Forest Labs, Shire, Allergan and GSK. We understand that as a healthcare organization you manage complex deliverables in a regulated environment. We will help you turn core investments into your leading assets. We build loyalty for your employees, partners and consumers to get closer to your brand and enhance profitability.
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We are pioneers in designing and managing programs with a full suite of capabilities including our proprietary self-serve reporting tool and a data/channel monetization solution. Our experienced employees utilize data and tools to provide our partners with the strategies to execute and enhance successful retail loyalty programs.
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Aimia has worked with the most visible brands in the telecommunication industry including: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, DIRECTV and CenturyLink. Our client initiatives reach more than 200,000 employees, partners and business customers worldwide each year in more than 105 countries
Since 1984, Aimia has been a global leader in the travel and hospitality rewards industry. Beginning with Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition program, we have evolved into a global leader in loyalty management.
Today, we act as a strategic advisor, investor, and service provider to travel hospitality companies around the world including: Delta Air Lines, Etihad, Virgin Australia, Malaysia Airlines, Jet Blue, LAN, KLM, Kingfisher, Kuwait Airlines, China Southern, British Airways in the airline space, Carlson Hotels in the hotel space, Amtrak in the rail space and Avis Budget in the car rental space.


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Delicious Mediterranean flavors top a surprise ingredient in these pretty appetizers.
For curved wonton dippers, slightly crumble aluminum foil and place on cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray and arrange wonton skins in single layer. Spray with cooking spray and bake as directed.
Look from wonton skins in the refrigerated area of your grocers produce section.
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