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About This GigapanToggle
- Taken by
- Chris
- Explore score
- 110
- Size
- 1.38 Gigapixels
- Views
- 21952
- Date added
- Jan 17, 2008
- Date taken
- Jan 16, 2008
- Gear
Canon Ixus 800is & Gigapan...
- Categories
- Galleries
- Competitions
- Tags
- 360, abbey, hexham, england, historic, interior, beta, church, cauk
- Description
My thanks to Hexham Abbey for their 'non-commercial use' permission to take this panorama.
This is a 360° panorama of the inside of Hexham Abbey (once described as the finest north of the Alps), showing some of the wonderful details in the ceilings, walls and windows.
Gigapan Comments (2)Toggle Minimize gigapan_comment
Hi Glen I've added a snapshot to show where the camera had its focus and exposure lock set. In effect it is a just short of half way point, with the assumption that it would give enough near areas clarity while anything beyond the mid-point would be in focus anyway. With some subjects its also worth remembering that near objects will show up blur (focus or shake related) more than a distant object, so near a bias to near focus is worth considering generally.
Chris, What was your procedure for determining the optimum focus setting for this gigapan? There seems to be a great difference in distance from the center of the picture to the far ends of the picture, but the entire pictures has sharp focus.


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By Chris Kieffer/NEMS Daily Journal
TODAY, THE DAILY JOURNAL CONTINUES its year-long "State of Our Schools" series with the first installment of a five-day look at the state of literacy education in Mississippi. Today's story looks at challenges faced, Monday's at a past program that has fallen short of its statewide goals and a current effort that is having success on a small scale. The next three days will look at adult literacy, the link between illiteracy and incarceration and efforts to prepare educators to teach reading.
Click here to view the entire series
Mississippi's school children are failing a critical test.
Nearly half of the state's third-grade students scored below grade level on last year's state language arts exam. That statistic is particularly biting given that most experts cite third-grade reading level as a vital predictor of future academic success.
"It is critical," said Tom Burnham, former state superintendent of education. "We say this over and over. If a child is not reading on grade level by the time they leave third grade, that child is going to have a very, very difficult progression."
More than 17,000 third-graders, or 46.5 percent of test- takers, scored below proficient on that test. Their shortcoming has spurred Gov. Phil Bryant to advocate legislation that would prevent students from exiting third-grade until they pass a state reading test. The proposal appears to be on a fast track to becoming law.
The hope is that the "third-gate" proposal will increase the stakes and force schools to put a greater emphasis on literacy instruction.
"Setting that bar and saying you can't go forward if you are not reading by third grade is certainly raising the awareness and raising the standards of expectation for everyone," said Interim State Superintendent of Education Lynn House.
Yet the effort will not be the first major attempt to combat low literacy levels in the Magnolia State. Experts cite a range of factors – from poverty to teacher capacity to adult illiteracy to lack of oversight – for sinking past attempts.
Those same pitfalls must again be considered if the home of William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Richard Wright and John Grisham is ever to become known as much for its readers as for its writers.
The reason Mississippi has failed, said Claiborne Barksdale, is that "fundamental changes have not occurred."
Those changes include attracting the state's best and brightest students to be teachers and principals, said Barksdale, the leader of the Oxford-based Barksdale Reading Institute.
"As long as I've lived in Mississippi and been halfway cognizant, we've always been at a crossroads and a crisis," Barksdale said. "So, I don't think that is anything different."
During the summer of 1990, Mississippi appeared to be gaining momentum in its literacy education efforts.
A California philanthropist and a New York City businessman gave the state $7 million to participate in Writing to Read, a computer program for all kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. Using phonics techniques, the program was designed for students to write the words they knew and then read the words they wrote.
A January 1990 article in the New York Times said the program's goal was to have students reading at the end of first grade.
It didn't happen.
That same year, Gov. Ray Mabus unveiled a program that would have spent $13.5 million on adult literacy over three years. Its announcement prompted the August 1990 issued of the Atlantic magazine to carry the headline, "Mississippi: Literate at Last."
"Mississippi under the Mabus administration has launched the most ambitious initiative in the nation to combat adult illiteracy," the article proclaimed.
The program was not funded.
Instead, it joined Writing to Read on a long list of programs that carried promise, but not results.
The problem, said Burnham and fellow former state Superintendent Richard Boyd, is that efforts were often not coordinated.
"I think it goes back to always chasing the easy fix, always chasing the silver bullet, if you will, instead of what it is going to take to fix it," said Burnham, who moved to Oxford after retiring from his second tenure leading the state's schools on June 30. "…There are many good programs out there, so all of these people haven't been wrong. When they came around and said this is a really good way to do this, they were probably right.
"The failure usually comes about in terms of fidelity."
The list includes the Reading Aide program that showed great results in Lee County during the late 1970s after receiving a $1.1 million gift from former Daily Journal Publisher George McLean.
The program was spread to the rest of the state when it was included in Mississippi's landmark 1982 Education Reform Act. Once that happened, however, its implementation changed. Reading aides that were designed to provide small-group instruction began to be used for more clerical classroom tasks.
The program did not have the same impact on the state level.
"Programs within themselves are not bad," said Angela Rutherford, director of the University of Mississippi's Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction. "I think it is how we implement.
"So if we want them implemented with fidelity in ways that impact student achievement, we have to have teachers who have the capacity to make those decisions versus just following the plan or the script or the program. States that have been successful in moving the needle on literacy instruction, they have invested resources in changing teacher practice. And you change teacher practice by building capacity."
Building capacity, Burnham said, includes increasing entry-level standards for teachers, something he began doing during his time at the Mississippi Department of Education. Additionally, the Legislature is considering requiring teacher candidates to have a 21 ACT score and 3.0 grade-point-average as part of a package endorsed by Bryant.
Doing so also includes intensive training for teachers already in the field. To be effective, Burnham said, that training must include master teachers modeling examples of the best teaching practices.
That was the example followed by Florida when it implemented its own "third-gate" program, which also included literacy coaches for all elementary schools. The coaches are experienced teachers with expertise who model lessons for school staff and discuss ways they can improve their craft.
Alabama has also implemented a highly effective reading program that also utilizes literacy coaches in all elementary schools.
Such a setting requires precise statewide training, Rutherford said, something that doesn't always harmonize with the large amount of local control given to Mississippi schools.
"In Alabama, there is a standard training that everybody participates," she said. "Not only the literacy coaches, but every school. Everybody heard the same message.
"We do not have that continuity and consistency in our state. We are so tied to local control to the detriment of children, in my opinion."
Mississippi has improved student achievement in math, reading and science since 1992 at a faster rate than the national average, according to a recent Harvard University report. However, the state still has much room to grow.
Mississippi's fourth-grade reading scores on the 2011 National Assessment of Education Progress ranked lower than 45 states/jurisdictions. Known as the "The Nation's Report Card," the NAEP test is the most reliable measure used to compare students in different states.
Compounding Mississippi's efforts to teach children to read is the large number of adults who struggle to do so themselves.
About 16 percent of Mississippi adults lack basic prose literacy skills, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The estimate is based on results from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, which was last conducted in 2003.
The figure was as high as 25 percent of adults in 13 of Mississippi's 82 counties.
If a parent is a child's first reading teacher, too many children are growing up in homes where parents have a hard time teaching them how to do something they don't do well themselves.
Most likely, those adults are also living in poverty. The state's median household income of $38,718 ranks last in the country, and its percentage of adults (21.6) and children (30.7) living in poverty is the most in America.
In those households, priorities for food and clothing likely prevent allowances for large libraries of children's books.
"The level of poverty is going to indicate in most cases, not all, but in most cases, what is happening in the home," Burnham said. "With high levels of poverty, you are going to find not a great deal of print material, you are probably going to find situations where children have not been read to.
"That is that interaction and feedback that is critical to the learning process and that is happening both at school and at home. If none of that is happening before the child ever gets to the school and if none of it happens after the child gets to school, then that child has a gap, a barrier that almost is impossible to overcome."
Beginning during the 1960s, University of Kansas researchers Betty Hart and Todd Risley led a study that observed 42 families for one hour per week over 21⁄2 years.
They analyzed every utterance spoken in those homes during that period and published their results in the 1995 book "Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children."
The researchers discovered that by age 4, children of professional parents had heard about 50 million words, about 40 million more than those of parents who were on welfare. In professional households, the majority of words were encouraging ones, while in the lowest-income families, those words tended to be discouraging.
By the age of 4, researchers said, "patterns of vocabulary growth were already established… and intractable."
"People ask is poverty caused by illiteracy or does illiteracy cause poverty and the answer is yes," Barksdale said. "It is absolutely cyclical, and I think one of the keys to breaking that is pre-K and working with children as early as possible."
Among the many educational measures being considered by Mississippi's Legislature this year are three that could all improve early-childhood education in the only Southern state that currently provides no state funds for pre-K.
Experts say funding them would be an important step in Mississippi's efforts to become more literate.
"You don't accept excuses," Rutherford said. "The kids are going to be in our state so we better do something because we will continue to have the cycles of poverty and our state will continue to be on the bottom if we don't."
The stakes are only going to get higher in the near future. Mississippi is among 46 states in the country that have agreed to adopt the Common Core State Standards, national curriculum guidelines designed to better prepare students for college and the workforce.
The new standards cover fewer topics but go much more in-depth. They also highly emphasize literacy skills in every grade and every subject. At their core, students will need to think critically, to analyze and critique texts and to draw references between multiple documents.
"There are literacy standards for history, social studies, science and technical subjects, so that teachers in those other content areas can't just say it is the English teacher's responsibility," Rutherford said.
Ole Miss' Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction currently has two major projects. It is working with Willie Price Lab School, a pre-kindergarten on the university's campus, to discover ways to better teach 3- and 4-year-old children how to read.
It is also working with low-performing schools with limited resources to coach their teachers in better literacy instruction.
Its greatest success story came in 2011 when Dundee Elementary in Tunica County became a Star school based on student results on state tests.
CELI staff had been working for three years with the school when it became one of 65 in the state to earn Mississippi's highest ranking given to schools, an A. This year, Dundee, which has a poverty rate greater than 90 percent, was ranked B, the second-highest level.
CELI staff members made frequent visits to Dundee, showing the school's teachers more effective methods to deliver instruction and answering questions.
The Barksdale Reading Institute also has had success providing literacy coaches to schools to help teachers improve their craft.
The 13-year-old institute had its greatest impact when it funded several of those coaches to teach individual reading classes. The problem, Barksdale said, is that method was far too costly to be expanded.
Now, BRI is working with four schools, funding top-tier principals it believes can alter the school climate.
"We know what it takes to teach children to read," Burnham said. "We know how to improve the quality of reading instruction in schools.
"But you come back to the same thing, how do you take that knowledge to scale?"
Doing so, said Boyd, will take a continuity of effort.
"Look at what is happening now," he said of current statewide efforts. "It is like baking a cake from 12 different recipes."

subset: commoncrawl


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I should blog here more often really. Does anybody actually read or care about what we write here though? I don't know.
I work part-time for CodeWeavers now. This is such an incredibly cool company, I don't know where to begin :) They pay me to hack Wine. I'm happy because I get some money to help me through university, they're happy because I don't spend all my time doing autopackage and because they get to choose what I hack on. We've got some exciting projects coming up, too bad I can't talk about them.
Unfortunately, prelink and exec-shield still break the snot out of us. I've developed 2 working prototypes for fixes now, but unfortunately the best of the two is blocked on a kernel bug. It's been reported to lkml but I'm not expecting a fix anytime soon and I don't have the time nor skills to do it myself. Probably we will just go with the original mechanism I developed on the way to and from WineConf 2004. It's 300+ lines of code and will give Wine a 3 stage init process, but it seems all our other options have been exhausted :(
We released 0.4, finally. The network retrieval code still needs some work, in particular with error handling which we don't really do at all currently. The next release (0.5) was supposed to just be focussing on documentation and demo packages, but to be honest we're going to have to do some serious hacking as well. We've discovered yet another binary portability problem as well. There's an automatic solution but it's not trivial. Looks 0.5 is going to be some time off as well.
On the upside, everybody has said it's really impressed them so far, and an old friend of mine who is also doing compsci is getting into Linux. He is thinking of working on autopackage for his 3rd year project, as apparently that's allowed. So maybe more manpower is coming soon!
I've also started putting some more thought into what comes after autopackage. There's always been something of a grand plan, but it might be time to start executing "stage 2". Daniel Stones work on the freedesktop.org platform is important, but I've got a lot of ideas on how it could be done differently.
Me and ChipX86 have also started laying the foundations for the next-gen packaging UI we're toying with.
One thing that me and Chip have repeatedly thought is that it's a very exciting time to be involved with Linux. There's so much cool stuff going on. We're on the last leg of the race to catch up with the competition, and once we've caught up - then... then is when we will start to see real innovation. There's so much stuff you can do when you have the source to everything, the possibilities are endless :)


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|Doors Open
|Live Music by Run On Sentence
|Film Begins
|Q & A with Josh Fox & Local Partners
On the lawn in front of the Levitt Pavilion
100 Concert Drive, Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA 17103
Levitt Pavilion is the white bandshell directly inside the 20th and State Streets entrance to Reservoir Park.
On this fourth stop on the tour, part of Rooftop's ongoing expansion to new cities, we bring Gasland to Harrisburg, PA. In Harrisburg, the effects of hydraulic fracturing, and the gas wells themselves, are right in local residents' backyards.
Presented in partnership with The Fledgling Fund and International WOW Company.
Gasland (Josh Fox | 24 States Across America | 1 min.)
When a natural gas mining company offered Josh Fox and his upstate New York neighbors $100,000 each for the right to drill for gas on their land, Fox thought he'd better examine what was going on before he signed away his property. The result is the powerful and eye-opening documentary Gasland. Fox playfully derides his neighbors and historical precedents as "Pete Seeger and other banjo-playing freaks," letting the audience know that he's not predisposed to being a bleeding-heart environmentalist, but a moment later Fox is there plucking the five-string, whiling away the time waiting on hold in an endless loop of phone calls to the mining companies. He is, after all, an otherwise light-hearted everyman artist, trying simply to get to the heart of the matter.
Throughout the film, Fox is the emotional divining rod, wandering and wavering throughout the US, picking up on tragic tales of people, animals and places contaminated beyond repair, pointing always toward the hazardous link between "clean" natural gas and dangerously polluted water. Explaining the problem, Fox says, "Let me start at the beginning: this is Dick Cheney." In 2005, Cheney's secretive Energy Commission designed a bill that was able to overturn parts of various decades-old environmental-protection legislation, allowing for a relatively new process of gas drilling, invented by Halliburton. Commonly referred to as "fracking," in this new process, the mining companies inject a cornucopia of toxic chemicals deep into the ground and explode the rock beds. Companies across 38 states are doing this with almost no oversight or regulations, often operating within feet of homes, schools, streams, wells and aquifers. An EPA spokesmen describes the legislation as "Orwellian" and "Un-American."
As Fox chases the companies' operations across the country, he encounters cats and horses losing their hair in clumps, men and women with sudden painful illnesses, and houses where you can literally light the tap water on fire. Cowboys and roughnecks in the far west and deep south--certainly not your granola-eating tree-huggers--decry the situation with pathos, charm and a bit of mordant humor. The gas companies deny, deny, deny.
Fox is able to explain the process and the repercussions with an easy-going verve and a dire sense of urgency. With a swelling populist love for America, Fox gets the viewer to understand the problem and care deeply. Gasland begins as a personal query about Fox's own land, morphs into a documentary as he encounters people with stories to tell, and ends as activist rallying cry exposing one of America's most dangerous environmental secrets.
Rooftop Films, The Fledgling Fund and International WOW Company are proud to help expose these horrifying stories--amazingly wide-spread and consistent wherever natural gas is drilled--in the hopes that this won't be a secret for long. Get involved at Rooftop Films and gaslandthemovie.com.
-Mark Elijah Rosenberg


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Don't let this month's showers get you down. April is springing forth with plenty of offbeat holidays and anniversaries to keep your days festive.
The name may make this holiday sound like an April Fools prank, or something you called your little brother when you were seven, but it's a bonafide holiday. According to Buffalo's official holiday website, "Historically a Polish-American tradition, Dyngus Day celebrates the end of the often restrictive observance of Lent and the joy of Easter." Some celebratory activities include men chasing around women to drench them with water, and hitting them with pussy willow branches. So basically, Dyngus Day is spring break.
Honesty is generally the best policy, according to one of our founding fathers. But today, you have carte blanche to fib your heart out.
Contrary to what you may think, this holiday is unrelated to any persons by the name of Charles or Charlie. It's actually a day to reflect upon the rejections you have experienced in life and realize the world kept spinning despite them. Sorry Charlie, maybe next time.
Getty Images
In 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act allowed production of beer to resume in the United States, with the caveat that any beer produced would not exceed 3.2 percent alcohol by weight. On April 7, the act became law, and beer production began—thus marking the imminent end of Prohibition. This is the day to honor your God-given right to throw back a refreshing cold one (if you're 21). Cheers!
Come on Old Sport, leave your old East Egg hang-ups for the go-go green lights of West Egg and relive the Roaring Twenties with F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel on this anniversary of its publication.
Getty Images
Remember the space race? Today is the 52nd anniversary of the first manned space flight. On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was launched into the great beyond and circled the Earth for almost two hours. It's a national holiday in Russia, and likely a national grudge in the United States.
Also known as D.E.A.R. Day, this holiday encourages you to abandon all prior commitments for the comfort of a good book. It also coincides with the birthday of children's book author Beverly Cleary, who is a spokesperson for the event. Though marketed towards children, celebration is open to everyone. However, if you happen to be holding a heavy object when the clock strikes 12, perhaps you should think of the holiday as "Set Everything Down Gently, and Read" Day.
National Reach as High as You Can Day is really about grounding yourself in reality. Don't reach for the stars if you can't actually touch them—know your limitations. Set attainable goals, and take pleasure in being just good enough.
Relax. It's that easy to celebrate. Maybe also turn off your computer, email, and phone.
Getty Images
In 1888, there were rumblings among English football clubs that perhaps a national league system should be developed amongst them. A meeting at the Royal Hotel in Manchester on this day yielded the name of the competition, though the first matches of the new national league did not commence until September. To this day, the English Football League has grown and evolved into a complex system, upon which the Premier League rests at the top. Americans should accept this as proof once and for all that "soccer" had the name "football" staked out first.
From Japan It Comes
Short Poetry, Fun to Write
Celebrate Haikus!
Much like Rodney Dangerfield, the lima bean doesn't get any respect. Well not today! Did you know lima beans are an excellent source of fiber? They also help balance your blood sugar and lower cholesterol. So give this white bean a break for being so bland, and try extolling its more admirable qualities for the day.
Now here's a bean everyone can get behind. Don't worry: you don't have to eat the popcorn-flavored ones if you don't want to.
To find out how you can make every day Earth Day, or just to celebrate Earth Day, check out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's dedicated website.
We have of late, but wherefore we know not, lost all our mirth. What a perfect day to get it back! In honor of the Bard's 449th birthday, drop some thous and thees, master iambic pentameter, and cast people away by exclaiming "get thee to a nunnery!" Talk Like Shakespeare Day is the one time of year you can express yourself in rhyming couplets; wethinks thou oughtest useth the opportunity.
Unlike many holidays in the Offbeat Family, DNA Day has formal U.S. Congressional recognition. Sixty years ago on this day, scientists first published papers in Nature on the structural makeup of DNA. Fifty years later in 2003, the Human Genome Project was declared to be nearly complete. The National Human Genome Research Institute has since developed activities and celebrations to honor the holiday. Their efforts thus far have been so convincing that many groups have since adopted the holiday as International DNA Day.
Created by Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcat.com, this holiday honors the folks from Down Under. Find an Aussie you love and respect, actually anyone from Oz will do, and wrap your arms tightly around them.
Break out your best dots and dashes, it's the birthday of Samuel Finley Breese Morse—co-inventor of the eponymous Morse Code. These days any Joe Schmoe can try his hand at transmitting lights, clicks, and tones to send a secret message. But this system of communication used to be a highly specialized field that required a license and a proclivity for spying on communists.
Apple first debuted iTunes in 2001, but the company's retail outlet for media entered this world as the iTunes Music Store. These days, with the addition of film, television, and podcasts to its repertoire, the "music" is gone from its name. But music still plays a large role in its dominance of the international market. Since launching in 2003, the iTunes Store has sold more than 25 billion songs.


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Welcome to all of the new readers of the IDNS, our daily roundup of everything you need to know about how the media is covering Israel, all in one place for easy reference, delivered directly to your inbox every morning. We are pleased to share our internal roundup with all of our readers.
Fatah and Hamas plot an intifada to distract Palestinians from their failure to reconcile. Might Egypt extradite Moussa Abu Marzook to the US? And why are Israeli reporters considering severing ties with the International Federation of Journalists?
Join the Israel Daily News Stream Page on Facebook.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Would Hamas and Fatah stir up an intifada to cover up their utter failure at national reconciliation? Khaled Abu Toameh says the two already doing that.
Many Palestinians are deeply disappointed with Fatah and Hamas, which have been fighting each other since the Islamist movement came to power in 2006. Hamas and Fatah are aware that many Palestinians are increasingly frustrated with the ongoing dispute between the two sides.
They are afraid that one day the Palestinians may erupt against Fatah and Hamas. Some Palestinians have even begun talking about organizing an uprising against the two parties.
To avoid such a scenario, Hamas and Fatah are now working hard to direct the heat toward Israel. Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mashaal know that only a new intifada against Israel will help them stay in power: Palestinians will be too busy fighting Israel.
• Haaretz: Palestinians plan mass march on Israel's borders on March 30 (to coincide with Land Day).
• Nice to see the Washington Post note some co-existence, a topic that too often flies under Big Media's radar.
• Jeffrey Goldberg deconstructs a Harvard conference on the one-state solution.
Iranian Atomic Urgency
• Today's big buzz: a US intelligence official told AP that Israel won't give the US advance notice of any attack on Iran — for America's own good:
Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the likelihood that the U.S. would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel's potential attack.
• The BBC assesses what an Israeli strike on Iran might look like.
• Israeli officials tell Newsweek don't underestimate Israel's ability to strike Iran.
• A Dallas Morning News staff-ed says don't underestimate the bite of sanctions or Iran's disintegrating alliances.
• Two wonks in the WSJ say don't underestimate the danger posed by Iran just because public debate "conflates intelligence assessments with policy recommendations." For an example of the phenomenon Frederick Kagan and Maseh Zarif decry, don't underestimate Comment is Free's Michael Boyle.
Spring Winter
• Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk moved to Egypt. Politico notes that the US has an outstanding indictment on the Marzouk:
The presence in Egypt of Hamas deputy political bureau chief Abu Marzouk, reported Sunday by the Associated Press, could become another point of tension in the already fraught relationship between Washington and Cairo. However, the current crisis over 16 Americans charged with running illegal non-governmental organizations in Egypt is likely to consume all the bandwidth for the time being.
Abu Marzouk was indicted on a terror-related racketeering conspiracy charge in 2003 by a federal grand jury in Chicago, along with two other men accused of being Hamas operatives . . .
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago said Sunday he believes the indictment of Abu Marzouk is still pending. The spokesman declined to comment on any efforts to bring the Hamas leader to the U.S. to stand trial.
A trial held in Chicago in 2006 and 2007 for Abu Marzouk's codefendants reached a muddled result which could lead some U.S. officials to question whether it would be wise to attempt to prosecute the Hamas leader, if the Egyptians were ever to turn him over.
• Max Boot (via Daled Amos) points out that Hamas bailing out on Syria mortally undermines one of Assad's key narratives:
This development, which I personally find astonishing (a sentiment that I have to think is shared by the Syrian regime), is a body blow to Bashar al-Assad's fundamental narrative, in which he claims to be targeted by the west and Israel because of his leadership of the "resistance" and his support for the Palestinian cause. When the party that is the Palestinian resistance chooses to desert Assad's regime, the regime's resistance and pro-Palestine narrative collapses . . .
• Mother Jones obtained what appears to be government "hit list" of Syrian dissidents. We're talking about 718-page spread sheet listing the names, phone numbers, neighborhoods and activities of thousands of people. But is this list for real?
The document does not contain any identifying government markings. But the experts consulted agree that its organization and content—which they say is striking in scope—are characteristic of lists used by intelligence services in the Middle East . . .
The list also includes military defectors and their units and ranks, Abdulhamid said. "This kind of info on this scale cannot be available to the general public, or faked."
The hactivist who alerted Mother Jones to the online document said that it was posted by members of an activist organizing committee inside Syria, but declined to provide any details confirming that, citing security concerns. It's conceivable that the document involves deception by the Syrian regime or counterintelligence operations by its adversaries . . .
• Worth reading: Homs and Khan Yunis: A Tale of Two Cities
What was imagined in Gaza is actually happening in Homs.
• If the Syrian first lady didn't exist, Disney would have to invent her. Madame Assad tells Queen Rania everything's okay and expresses concern for "worrying reports" from Jordan. I'm not making this up.
• A new attempt to evacuate two wounded Western journalists from Homs failed. The BBC explains why French reporter Edith Bouvier and British photographer Paul Conroy refused to board a Syrian Red Crescent vehicle:
Paul Conway's wife said on Sunday that her husband had rejected an earlier opportunity to leave Homs with the Syrian Red Crescent as the photographer had been advised that they were "not to be trusted".
And the UK's International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell told the BBC there was evidence of people on the ground "infiltrating the Syrian Red Crescent" and "posing an additional danger" to injured people seeking to leave Homs.
• Roger Cohen on why to arm the Free Syrian Army:
As the Bosnian war showed, the basis for any settlement must be a rough equality of forces. So I say step up the efforts, already quietly ongoing, to get weapons to the Free Syrian Army. Train those forces, just as the rebels were trained in Libya. Payback time has come around: The United States warned Assad about allowing Al Qaeda fighters to transit Syria to Iraq.
• Israel's first ambassador to Egypt since Mubarak's ouster presented his credentials to Field Marshal Tantawi. Reuters picked up on the story.
Rest O' the Roundup
• Hezbollah's using its government to push its agenda in Lebanese classrooms. Efforts to teach a required "history of the Resistance" are being met with, uh, resistance, according to Ya Libnan via EoZ.
• The National Federation of Israeli Journalists is mulling breaking ties with the International Federation of Journalists over the umbrella organization singling out Israel for criticism over the status of women reporters.
Contacted on Monday, Boumelha declined to comment on the Israeli federations' threats to leave the organization. He also turned down requests to furnish further information on Israel's alleged mistreatment of female journalists.
The latest dispute between the federation and the international body was sparked when the IFJ compared Israel to countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, Somalia, Russia and Nepal, where over the past few years women journalists have been murdered or faced violent sexual assaults while doing their jobs.
(Image of Marzook via YouTube/msmicunow1, crosshairs via US Navy/Ryan Walker)
For more, see yesterday's Israel Daily News Stream.
Clicking "Unsubscribe instantly" on your mailing will remove you from the Israel Daily News Stream list, but not from your regular HonestReporting emails.


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This week: The school that thinks a five-year-old is a terrorist vs the people that think a dog is a rapist.
Cry-Baby #1: Mount Carmel Area School District
The incident: A five-year-old girl threatened to shoot another girl with a Hello Kitty bubble-gun.
The appropriate response: Nothing.
The actual response: The girl's school suspended her for ten days.
The unnamed five-year-old was waiting for her school bus outside Mount Carmel Area Middle School in Pennsylvania when she told another classmate that she was going to shoot her with a pink Hello Kitty gun. A gun she did not have with her at the time.
The girl was then taken away and questioned by school officials for three hours.
Somehow, at the end of this three-hour interrogation, the school decided that the child had made "terroristic threats", and she was suspended for ten days.
A school psychologist then examined the girl (seriously), and decided that she was "not a danger to others". So her suspension period was reduced to four days.
When approached for a comment, the school said, "we don't comment on issues involving staff or students because of confidentiality."
PS: How fucking irritating is the way that American newsreaders speak? The part where she was explaining what a bubble gun was for the SECOND FUCKING TIME made my entire body clench. Why do they all talk that way? Is there some kind of training you have to go through before you can present local news where they teach you how to speak like you're not a human?
Cry-Baby #2: The neighbours of Yvette Richard
The incident: A dog had sex with another dog.
The appropriate response: Nothing. Maybe filming it and putting it on your Facebook page.
The actual response: The owner of one of the dogs called the police, claiming that their dog had been raped.
Yvette Richards has several dogs that she keeps locked up in her back yard. One day, a one-year-old basset hound named Dante that she owns managed to squeeze through a gap in her fence and on to her neighbour's property.
The owners of the house called the police who came and issued Yvette with a fine for violating a city ordinance prohibiting dog owners from letting their pets roam free. On the "comment" line of the ticket Yvette was issued, it said, "this dog bred another dog unwanted".
"Basically, they're saying that my dog raped their dog," Yvette said.
When asked for a comment by a local news channel, the neighbours said that the dog-rape was not what caused them to call the police, and that Dante had attempted to bite one of their children. A claim that Yvette says is untrue.
So, which one of these unseen whiners is the bigger cry-baby? Let us know in the poll below. SRSLY.
Who is the bigger cry-baby? Previously: The homophobic restaurant owner who can't spell vs. The violent dad who hates farts
Winner: The dad!!!
Follow Jamie on Twitter - @JLCT


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Xears TD-III V2
Revision to Xears' TD-III model
Plantronics BackBeat 906 Stereo Bluetooth headset
Plantronics BackBeat 906 Stereo Bluetooth headset with Bluetooth adapter 3.5mm audio ports. This wireless headphones feature Altec Lansing sound technology for rich, full-spectrum stereo music and dual-mic AudioIQ noisecanceling technology for exceptional call clarity. This provides up to 7 hours of talk time and up to 8 days of standby time. It is equipped with A2DP technology.
PlayaZ N1
If the Playaz N1 were designed with reasonable amount of bass and they could be the steal of the century. In reality I can recommend them for EQ-friendly folks only - stay away if your source does not have a good, user customizable EQ.
Earpiece Kit 6 Sizes STARSET/H31CD
Plantronics offers products for the computer and mobile market segments, specializing in telephone products, such as amplified telephone headsets, telephones for hearing-impaired users and noise-canceling headsets, handsets for use in high-noise environments and value packs. As the world's leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of lightweight communications headset products,...


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Canterbury Ticket Shop sells tickets for a range of events, performances and festivals in the Kent region.
Be part of our family and join The Marlowe Friends.
Aged 16-26 years or a full-time student (over 16 years)? Enjoy discounted tickets at our theatre.
Wed 26 Apr 2017
Tue 7 Feb 2017
Behind the scenes access and articles from the team at The Marlowe Theatre.
The Friars, Canterbury, Kent. CT1 2AS Box Office: 01227 787787The Marlowe Theatre is owned and managed by Canterbury City Council.The New Marlowe Theatre Project is proud to be supported by:


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Items Sought for Catholic School Archive
The Museum of Work & Culture in Woonsocket, RI wants to expand its Catholic School Archive and yearbook collection according to Raymond H. Bacon and Anne D. Conway, Co-Directors of the museum.
Items Sought for Catholic School Archive
The Museum of Work & Culture in Woonsocket, RI wants to expand its Catholic School Archive and yearbook collection according to Raymond H. Bacon and Anne D. Conway, Co-Directors of the museum.
The archive is an annex of the 1929 Catholic school classroom. Lois. D. Peloquin and Albert Brunelle, Jr., archive co-directors assisted by Eugene A. Peloquin, are developing the archive, which is displayed in an exhibit designed by Bernard Fontaine, a staff member, and crafted by Henri Berthiaume, a museum volunteer.
People who taught or attended Catholic schools anywhere in the world are encouraged to donate class or group snapshots, school buildings, or pictures with nuns or brothers. The archive binder can accommodate items no larger than 8 ½" x 11."
Also welcome are baptismal, first communion, confirmation pictures or any memorabilia from Catholic school days. A one page composition recalling school days or pictures depicting later periods of life such as snapshots at work, military service, at home or any situation that captures the past is most welcomed.
The museum has a collection of yearbooks of the three high schools in Woonsocket: Mount St. Charles "Excelsior," St. Clare's "Je Me Souviens," and Woonsocket High School's "Quiver." The yearbooks not only represent the students but also tell the history and culture of the city. Yearbooks of the following years are needed to complete the collection, as well as provide duplicates.
Mount St. Charles 1926-34, 1936, 1938-39, 1941, 1944, 1956, 1976, 1978,
1993-95,1998-99. 2003-06, 2008-12
St. Clare 1928, 1931, 1935-38, 1942-44, 1949, 1959-60, 1964, 1969-73
Woonsocket HS 1907, 1909-12, 1917-18, 1924, 1927, 1937, 1952, 1958-60, 1971-72, 1084, 1977-82, 1991-92. 1994-2012
Donations of the aforementioned materials can be mailed or brought to the Museum of Work and Culture during normal business hours: Tuesday- Friday 9:30-4:00; Saturday 10:00- 4:00; and Sunday 1:00-4:00.
Materials can also be mailed to the Museum of Work & Culture, 42 South Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895. All donations will be acknowledged.


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By Ben Levisohn
Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) has gained 56% this year; Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has climbed 38%. And Deutsche Bank has nice things to say about both today.
First Pinnacle. Deutsche Bank's Carlo Santarelli ponders the stock's big move and comes away still seeing value in its shares. He writes:
When we upgraded PNK in April, our thesis centered on the FCF strength of the combined entities [Pinnacle completed its acquisition of Ameristar Casinos on Aug. 14], a handful of favorable catalysts, easing regional gaming comps, & an inexpensive relative valuation. Given the shares' sizeable move since then, we believe it is worth revisiting the investment case. Post the announcement of several asset sales and the closing of the transaction, we are adjusting our estimates, raising our PT to $30 from $24, and maintaining our bullish view at current levels given what we still believe to be an attractive free cash flow valuation, meaningful potential synergy realization beyond the $40 mm of announced benefits, and a free option on a lagging regional recovery.
Santarelli also revisited Las Vegas Sands and there too, he likes what he sees. He writes:
With…LVS at [a share price level] that have been challenging to break from over the last year plus, we believe this time is different and hence we see continued upward momentum…In the case of LVS, we see; 1) meaningful mass market strength continuing through year end, setting the stage for upward company and market estimate revisions for 2014, 2) continued cash flow appreciation and capital returns serving as downside protection and positive catalysts, and 3) continued shared gains, largely driven by table optimization and mass market strength, driving both estimates and sentiment.
He also likes Wynn Resorts (WYNN), despite its 34% gain. Santarelli writes:
As for WYNN, we believe near-term estimates continue to take a back seat to capital returns and the discounting of Cotai, though we do find near term numbers to be beatable in Macau given QTD trends, most notably on the VIP side. Net-net, we find WYNN to be the most compelling longer-term story in our coverage universe and given the scope of the Cotai development and its impact on valuation, we anticipate value attribution for the project will come well in advance of the historical rule of thumb for new openings in the space, which has generally been about one year.
As many of you are no doubt aware, I'm a big fan of comparing stocks to each other to get a sense of what investors favoring. This one shows the price of Las Vegas Sands relative to that of Pinnacle Entertainment:


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City calls off Mifflin Street Block Party
Police chief cites safety concern
MADISON, Wis. - The City of Madison is calling off the annual spring event known as the Mifflin Street Block Party, citing safety issues.
A letter issued by the police department states the spring student party will no longer be a city-permitted or sanctioned event. It states that the toll of the spring student party far outweighs any benefit to the community.
"It got to the point in 2011 where it was marred by violence. It wasn't just drinking, it was the stabbings, that was a great concern to us," said Mark Woulf, food and alcohol policy coordinator with the city.
The city says anyone considering hosting a party in the downtown area the weekend of May 4 is strongly encouraged to reconsider. Madison police went to door to door, as they do every year, warning Mifflin Street residents the law doesn't take a day off.
"Because of the event's history, people get confused about all this. You can't be underage and drinking on Mifflin just like you can't on University Avenue. Nothing new, same efforts everybody uses every day of the week, everywhere in the city, but somehow the message has gotten foggy on Mifflin," said Madison Police Lt. Dave McCaw.
The city has listed a plan for May 4, including keeping Mifflin Street open to traffic and parking, a no tolerance policy for any house parties in the downtown area and sanctions from the University of Wisconsin Dean of Students for anyone arrested or cited.
Madison city Alder Mike Verveer told WISC-TV that City Hall backs the move. He said the block party wasn't safe. He acknowledged there might be push-back from students.
The police department said criminals use the conditions created by house parties as an opportunity to commit crimes such as theft, burglary, robbery, battery and sexual assault.
The letter also notes that the party will not be held in future years.
The party draws thousands and after recent violence city officials are now referring students to an alternative school sponsored event, Revelry Music and Arts Festival.VIDEO: City calls off Mifflin Street Block Party
"It's an attempt to create an official end of the year music festival at UW-Madison, because we don't have one," said one of the event organizers, Sarah Mathews.
The festival was not intended to replace the block party, but it falls on the same day.
Woulf said this makes a big difference and the city is supportive of the event, noting it helps crowd levels and limit attendance to students.
Students living on Mifflin said they will still enjoy the day. Others have voiced their opposition to the end of the block party on Facebook.
Madison Police made 500 arrests at last year's block party.
Local And Regional News
- Kenosha teen stabbed at school dies
- Authorities: Woman fatally shot father and took her own life
- Syrian man who sued Trump brings family to US
- DATCP warns of resurgence of fake IRS calls
- Appeal rejected in death of 2 Janesville motorcyclists
- Man accused in deadly wrong-way I-94 wreck not competent, judge says


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Topics: "Gov. Walker Survives Recall Election" & "CORE/Gildi Project Conference"
Description: With Wisconsin's contentious recall election in the rearview mirror, our guests talked about Governor Scott Walker's policies and how they are impacting Douglas County. And CORE Resources in the Chequamegon Bay area is holding a conference to help seniors who may be suffering from depression, which often leads to suicide.
Guests: Andy Lisak, Douglas County Administrator; Doug Finn, Douglas County Board Chair; Beth Meyers, CORE Executive Director; Mel Whiteside; Kathryn Jensen, Gildi Project Chair


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|Inflatable Watercraft Rafts, pontoon boats, kickboats, etc.
|Topic Review (Newest First)
I've had experience with the Pac 1200. I've seen the other two. Since you're set on only those three, I'd go with the Scadden. Mostly based on the tubes (since it's truly the most important part of the boat). Has a higher handling capacity then the rest (which is important, even if you only plan day trips). The other two are fine. But in end, your stability and trackability is all based on your tubes. I know Dave has had some hard times, but he has been in the business awhile, and doubt is going anywhere soon (since he revamped his line of boats). I'd assume you're looking in the $2200 range for Dave's as well. It has the best handling capacity at 900#'s. You may think that you won't use that much. But the higher your boat floats, the easier it is to handle on the water. Put 400#'s on a 600# capacity boat and you're nearly taxing out the limits of the boat. But, you put same weight on a 900# capacity and boat will ride higher in the water, making it easier to maneuver.
Just remember, you do get what you pay for in these type of boats. Don't shave a buck and go with the lesser models. There is a new Fly Fish America out at your local fly shops that tell about pontoon boats and compare their construction. Will be an eye opener on the different boats on the market and prices associated with them. But I'd go with the Scadden, I've tried the Outcast, didn't care much for it fishingwise, to narrow of frame for that big of boat. Have only looked at the Bucks, looked ok but nothing to write home about. But did like the looks of the new scaddens. Of course, I prefer other boats.
Which pontoon boat?
I am new to this forum and would like to seek the advice of those who post here. Looks like you all know what you're talking about!
I've decided to purchase a two-man pontoon boat and have narrowed my choices to the Outcast Pac 1200, the Bucks Bags Double Haul and the Dave Scadden Big Horn Drifter. I looked at catarafts, too, but have decided the three mentioned will work better for my situation. I regularly fish the big rivers of Montana, and I float the Yakima (because it is close to home) fairly often. I don't do weekend-long trips, only day trips.
Have any of you had enough experience with these three boats to say which is the best? What would be your recommendations? What have you heard about their durability and their customer service?
Thanks for the help!
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A rich, caramel-pecan filling peeks out from tender layers of chocolate cake.
Toasted slivered almonds, macadamia nuts or walnuts are all great substitutes for the pecans.
To toast nuts, bake them uncovered in an ungreased shallow pan in a 350°F oven 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light brown. Or cook them in an ungreased heavy skillet over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently until browning begins, then stirring constantly until they're light brown.
For a bakery special touch, gently press pecan halves around the frosted edge on top of the cake.
© 2017 ®/TM General Mills All Rights Reserved


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Have you ever purchased from PartSelect.com before?
Thank you for helping make our site better.
Below is a list of all parts for the KitchenAid Dishwasher KDC21. To find the repair part you need, you can browse the list below or you can narrow your choices by searching for a part by name or description.
This part has been substituted by the manufacturer and has a hole in the center. It no longer has a solid bottom.
Used with some portable dishwashers and washers. NOTE: As per the factory, this is used for faucets with inside or outside threads. For female connection (outside) just remove the washers.
This electric range delta frame surface element with looped terminal ends measures eight inches and has five turns. It carries 2600 watts the center medallion is black in color.
This kit has multiple gaskets included.
This upper dishrack assembly kit comes complete with the upper spray arm, a water supply tube, and the rollers. This light blue dishrack kit is intended for use with dishwashers of the KD18 through to the KUD23 series.
This black lower wash arm support with self cleaning filter is seven inches in diameter.
This impeller pumps the water to the spray arms.
All brand logos are trademarks of their respective owners.
The PartSelect logo is a Registered Trademark of Atlantic Laundry Centres, Ltd.
Copyright © 1999-2017 , Eldis Group Partnership. All rights reserved.


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Please complete the form and click the submit button. This will notify our store that you wish to reserve this product.Our store will contact you to confirm the reservation.Please do not travel until the store has contacted you.
Please double check your phone number, if it is incorrect we will be unable to contact you.
We aim to get back to you within the hour, during shop hours (please see store details), to confirm your reservation. If you do not hear from us then please resend the request.
Building on the established global success of the Union & Cove Creek Ukuleles, the Java series is the platform for an exciting range of premium, uniquely featured high grade instruments designed for the most professional and aspiring of musicians.
As the name signifies, manufactured for the most part using genuine Java Koa, with every single instrument featuring Solid Timber soundboards and Concert size scale lengths, Java series exudes a confidence in both manufacturing detail and material provenance that rewards the most discerning of players.


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Small and nice B & B in the center of the city. Familiar and comfortable, ideal for those who love privacy. Situated in a quiet neighborhood with shops,restaurants, bars, pizzerias, banks, supermarket, laundries, bus stop and car parking.
Charming B&B near Montalcino in the hearth of Brunello veinyards. We produce Brunello di montacino and Rosso di Montalcino. It is possible to visit our cellars and to taste our wines
GALLA PLACIDIA B&B is situated right in the heart of Ravenna, just a few steps away from the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and the Basilica of San Vitale.
Podere le cave is situated in the hill only 6 miles from florence center,is a wanderfull alternative to spend same days in absolute relax ony
Comfortable surrounding, welcoming athmosphere with personalised helpful local advice, family run hotel in the heart of town that pays particular attention to environment. Laudry, change facilities and internet access.
Only one km from the famous Park of Collodi and a few km from the most beautiful cities of art and sea, only 14 km from the centre of Lucca and hlf houar from Florence and Pisa. Our villa offers five spacious and airy rooms with a beautiful view
Il Borghetto di Pedana is the perfect Bed & Breakfast to enjoy the silence of Umbrian and Marchigian nature. It's an ideal place for a walk in the woods or to relax in its beautiful swimming pool. There are 3 apartments with TV in room and fireplace.
Romantic and relaxing time on the natural island In green Umbria……… Part of the Natural Park of Lake Trasimeno "The Isle of Polvese" This place in which, nature, culture and history provide a harmonious background for new technologies Fam
Residence Santa Chiara is an ancient bourgeois house built in the second half of the 16th century, in the historical center of Lucca inside the medieval boundaries. It is located in front of the suggestive gardens of Bottini Villas, once residence of
Welcom! In our B&B are avaible single, double and triple (it is possible to add a bed) rooms at very convenient prices for vacation, touristes, traveller and business people. The House has been just renovated. All rooms are very confortable. ciao
Find a Florence, Italy bed and breakfast for your romantic weekend getaway. Intimate b & bs are cozy, romantic accommodations that are perfect for a mini-vacation, honeymoon, or wedding anniversary celebration. You will love the unique charm of our Florence, Italy inns. Many guesthouses include complimentary breakfasts and unbeatable hospitality. Browse our bed & breakfasts and plan your Florence, Italy romantic getaway today!


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Appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal
1. Overview
There are different ways to appeal if you disagree with a decision about benefits, tax credits or child maintenance.
How to appeal
Ask for 'mandatory reconsideration' before you appeal - you must usually do this within one month of the date of a decision about most benefits, tax credits or child maintenance (sometimes known as 'child support').
You can't usually appeal to the tribunal if you haven't asked for mandatory reconsideration within the time limit.
You don't need to ask for mandatory reconsideration if you're appealing a decision about Housing Benefit - you must contact the local council that made the decision before you appeal to the tribunal.
You must usually appeal to the tribunal within a month of the date of the mandatory reconsideration decision.
Help you can get
Contact Citizens Advice if you want help with your appeal; for example with filling in forms or going to a hearing.
You can also ask an adviser, friend, family member or lawyer to appeal on your behalf.


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Christina L. Kern
Campbellsville University
Campbellsville University will serve as Taylor County's Operation Christmas Child drop-off location this year. An Operation Christmas Child kickoff and informational meeting for Adair and Taylor counties will be Saturday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. EST at Columbia Baptist Church.
Joan C. McKinney
Campbellsville University's new Log Cabin Art Shop is now open.
The art shop, located in a small log cabin at 503 N. Columbia Ave., features artwork created by CU faculty, staff, students and alumni. The shop is sponsored by the Campbellsville University Patrons of the Visual Arts, of which Campbellsville artist Carolyn Ogden is president.
Taylor Regional Hospital will host an open house for its new Taylor Regional Surgical Center on Sunday, Sept. 9, from 2 to 4 p.m. at 1700 Old Lebanon Road in Campbellsville.
The three-story 48,000-square-foot facility features five operating rooms, a cystoscopy suite and two endoscopy procedure rooms.
There are 21 private pre-op/post-op patient rooms where family will be able to wait for their loved one in privacy and comfort.
September is National Preparedness Month, a time for Americans to prepare for disasters of all types, including very personal ones that require blood transfusions. By giving blood through the American Red Cross, eligible donors can ensure blood is ready and available when any disaster strikes.
Currently, eligible donors of all blood types are needed for the Red Cross to readily meet hospital and patient needs.
"Cornbread Mafia" author James Higdon will come to Taylor County Public Library on Friday, Aug. 10, at 5 p.m. for a question and answer session and book signing.
The book details a homegrown syndicate's code of silence and the biggest marijuana bust in American history.
Steve Flinchum of Elk Horn will participate in the first Art in the Gardens at Liberty Hall on Sept. 1 and 2 in downtown Frankfort.
More than 50 of the region's artists and artisans will take part in the festival, which will be staged in gardens of Liberty Hall Historic Site. Admission is $3 daily.
Flinchum grew up on a sixth-generation farm in Taylor County, and after trying out career choices as diverse as a blackjack dealer and oil rigger, he returned to the farm in Elk Horn to establish a wood turning studio.
Campbellsville University's "Dialogue on Public Issues" television show on WLCU-FM 88.7 will air a recent call-in interview with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Friday, July 27, at 6 p.m.
John Chowning interviewed Paul from Washington, D.C., in the Campbellsville University studios at the Office of Broadcast Services recently.
Jeannie Clark, broadcast/digital media producer, and Matt Payton, graduate assistant who serves as student radio station manager, helped with the production.
A book honoring those from Taylor County who served during the Korean Conflict will be unveiled on Wednesday, July 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the lobby of Carter Hall on the Campbellsville University campus.
Calen McKinney
This year's Relay for Life fundraiser is set to begin tomorrow at 8 p.m.
Jamaal Stiles is the chair of this year's event, which will be at the Taylor County High School track.
The theme is "Colors of Cancer," representing the many different colors that represent different types of cancer.
Stiles said bands Forgiven and Driven will perform, and there will be games for adults and children.
Calen McKinney
From a magician to exotic animals to snow cones, this year's summer reading program offers a variety of events for children, teens and adults.
The library's "Dream Big ... READ!" summer reading program kicked off Monday, June 4, with registration and ends with a blowout event on July 10.
Copyright © 2017
The Central Kentucky News-Journal is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Campbellsville, KY and the surrounding area.


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September 29, 2013
Wayne DeLuca, right, sits with his son Nick after training Sept. 7 at the Hayden fire training facility. The Hayden department has four sets of father-son firefighters.
Stories this photo appears in:
Answering the call: How Routt County fire departments are coping with dwindling staffing levels
Across the United States, fire departments that rely on volunteers and minimally paid firefighters are struggling to fill their ranks. It is no different here in Routt County, and local officials increasingly are growing concerned. They said local staffing levels not only put their firefighters at risk, they also increase response times, putting lives and property at risk.
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The selling price is our official price. For retail and promotional pricing and availability, please check with an authorised dealer. Please note that product specifications are subject to change without notice and versions of products shown on this site may not yet be available in your local market. While we try to provide the most accurate information available, we cannot be responsible for typographical errors on the site.© 2014 VitecGroup Italia Spa — Manfrotto is a registered trademark of Lino Manfrotto + co. Spa and is distributed in the UK by
Manfrotto UK Limited trading as Manfrotto Lighting | Resolution Road, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, LE65 1DW, UK. Registered in England and Wales with number: 1675551 | T +44 (0) 1530 566090 F +44 (0) 1530 411515 E: firstname.lastname@example.com Operational Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm
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Full Credits
Funny Or Die
- Uploader
Jason Alexander
- Actor
Alex Fernie
- Writer/Director
- Producer
Ellie del Campo
- Production Designer
Additional Credits
Starring Jason Alexander
Featuring Alex Fernie, Stephanie Allyne & Mel Cowan
Writer/Director: Alex Fernie
Producer: Rachel Goldenberg
DP: Zach Zdziebko
Sound: Alex Hutchinson
Makeup: Megan Nicoll
Production Designer: Ellie del Campo
Gaffer: Elizabeth Yarwood
Assistant Camera: Craig Pentak
PA: Matt Lewis
Stats & Data
(crashing sound)
Low voice: Exclusive.
Male: 2011, tsunamis, wars,
earthquakes, but one tragedy
that eclipse's them all.
Netflix has raised their prices.
This is literally the worse thing that
has ever happened to white people.
These are the faces of devastation.
For a mere $6 a month,
you can help them keep
their current Netflix plans.
(soft music)
Male: This is Samantha.
She's just like you.
But, her life has been
destroyed by Netflix.
Samantha: Did they change
the pricing because
of something I did? Is it
because I said I never received
disc 2 of season 3 of The Wire?
Really, I scratched it
using it as a coaster.
Male: The world is so unjust.
Samantha is so upset, she
can barely get out of bed
to attend her advanced Pilates workshop.
Samantha: (crying)
Male: I know. I know.
With this unconscionable act, Netflix is
joined the ranks of
histories greatest monsters.
Netflix must be stopped.
(soft music)
Male: And, you can help.
Young man: What the hell am
I supposed to do now. Huh.
Go to the video store, like a poor person?
Guy with glasses: It's
just hard, you know.
I was going to watch every
movie where Jason Statham
plays a hit-man, but at
this price, I only get
to watch 10 or 12 of them. It's so good.
(soft music)
Male: Please give. Not
since Pearl Harbor have
Americans been faced ... I'm sorry.
It's just the tears are
falling on MacBook Pros,
and Pier one throw pillows
across this country today.
So, please call the number below.
For just dollars a month,
you can help an upper
middle class American
keep their access to DVDs
and streaming video.
(soft music)
Guy with glasses: Why!
Male: If not you, then who?
If Netflix can increase it's
prices, then what's next?
Will the Gap stop making
size 32 x 32 Khakis?
Will whole foods cease the stock
the granola you pretent to like?
Is that a world you want to live in?
Samantha: Screw it. I
just use Bit Torrent.
(clash sound)


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Late Registration and check-in
8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Sean T. Desmond, Esq., Tallahassee
8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Time Management: The Key to Your Success
Nora Riva Bergman, Esq., Tarpon Springs
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Adriana Linares, Winter Park
10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Money Issues & Trust Accounting
Judith Equels, Tallahassee
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Setting up the Practice
Judith Equels, Tallahassee
2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Advertising Rules
Joseph A. Corsmeier, Esq., Clearwater
2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Professional Development
Linda Calvert Hanson, Esq., Tallahassee
4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Working Effectively Across the Generations
Nora Riva Bergman, Esq., Tarpon Springs
Registrants will receive an electronic admission card prior to the scheduled course date via e-mail. If The Florida Bar does not have your e-mail address, contact the Order Entry Department at 850-561-5831, two days prior to the event for confirmation.
**Please make sure The Florida Bar has your email address on your member profile as these email notifications are automatically generated**
Florida Bar CLE Courses feature electronic course materials for all live presentations, live webcasts, webinars, teleseminars, audio CDs and video DVDs. This searchable electronic material can be downloaded and printed and is available via e-mail several days in advance of the live presentation or thereafter for purchased products. The Course Book can be purchased separately. Effective July 1, 2010.
Print the attached PDF brochure for more detailed information.
[Revised: 06-01-2008]


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Sale ends 4/24/17. Excludes select manufacturers.
Min. purchase $199.
Bathtubs & Accessories
Bathtubs are essential fixtures that no home should be without. When searching for the perfect tub for your home, you never need to sacrifice sturdy craftsmanship and a polished look to get a great price. At The Mine we have thousands of tubs to choose from, guaranteeing your satisfaction and a unique bathtub that will allow you to soak in luxurious comfort for years to come. We also have an exhaustive collection of bathtub faucets, hardware, and accessories so you can complete your bathroom shopping all in one convenient visit, in the comfort of your own home.
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It's also indicative of this artist's ever-expanding vision. Spooky (a/k/a Paul D. Miller) comes to the ICA next week in three guises — as lecturer talking about the ideas from his 2004 MIT Press book Rhythm Science (undoubtedly with multimedia aids), as headliner for a multi-DJ night, and as concert artist performing his "Subliminal Strings" with a chamber orchestra. Spooky emerged from the Brooklyn and Lower East Side alternative-DJ scene of the mid '90s, playing parties and releasing CDs that featured his "illbient" æsthetic — a term he coined to describe a more urban take on Eno-esque ambiance. Here were the same slowly morphing soundscapes familiar from Eno's work (or even from the extended drum 'n' bass tracks of folks like BT), but with an urban edge: the sounds of clacking subway doppelgänger, snatches of hip-hop rhythms. At the same time, it was often a more chill æsthetic than the downtown dance-club or rock-club scene: no beat-heavy house music, and none of the social exclusivity that went with it, the guest lists and the velvet ropes. The illbient scene was about come-as-you-are and bring-what-you-want.
"The idea was to have no idea," Spooky told me in 1996, "You never knew who was going to show up or who was going to do what. Our scene grew up in the East Village, mainly because it was word-of-mouth and it was idealistic. We tried to get rid of the barriers between stuff." Illbient, unlike Eno, "wasn't a withdrawal from the urban landscape," but "an immersion in it."
For Spooky, modern culture is DJ culture, and the mix is its operative metaphor: music is just information, divorced from context, individual sounds as signifiers. It's the kind of decontextualization that can drive some listeners (okay: me) crazy, especially when a beloved performance by a great artist like Billie Holiday is remixed to oblivion — a document of lived time obliterated in modern beats and edits.
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Taxation issues are very involving and confusing at times. The best way to go about these issues is to choose a good taxation advisory company that will help you. In the UK, the best firm in taxation advisory issues is the OneE group.
http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/OneE+Group+promotes+Gwilym+Davies/10890499.html is one of the most established independent firms that will give you a hand in most if not all your tax related issues. This firm was established in 2006 and since then, it has gone and worked with several businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals to deliver safe and reliable tax planning services. Through the vast network of introducers, solicitors and IFAs at this firm's disposal, they have been able to develop some tax efficient strategies that are very useful to the clients.
At https://companycheck.co.uk/company/06074095/ONEE-GROUP-LIMITED/summary , you will get a wide variety of specialist services under one roof. The main aim and vision of this firm is to give a hand to business entities and creators of wealth by working with partner accountants to deliver expert advice that will boost growth and development.
Some of the specialist services offered by https://www.linkedin.com/company/onee-group-limited include tax planning advice, tax disputes resolution, investment opportunities that are tax efficient, fiduciary services, tax planning on inheritance, research and development tax relief and corporation tax advice among others. The firm has well recognized accolades and it is highly regarded by some of the governing bodies in the industry.
One of the most interesting things about OneE group is the introducer program. This program is designed to help make the accountants, solicitors, and IFAs ready to pick out the clients who may benefit from the tax advisory services. It is important to note that OneE group does not offer audits and other financial services since their sole aim is to give financial advisory services to the clients.
The business model at this firm is centered on investing in the introducers. One of the benefits enjoyed by being their introducer is that you get a dedicated Business Development Manager. This manager works with the introducer to help them deliver the tax advice to the clients without any struggles. The other benefit enjoyed by being an introducer is that you get access to the collection of marketing tools. You also get invites to most of the technical training days, which will help you sharpen your skills.
As seen above, OneE group is surely one of the best and you should feel free to contact them in case you have any tax advice issues.


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The new Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said some people had been replaced. He did not say what happened to those people. Promoted? Transferred to another position? He mentioned the former Acting IRS Commissioner Miller.
Well, Danny, we know Miller was asked to resign and he did.. but it was only 2 weeks before he was scheduled to resign anyway. He is still on the payroll until his resignation date. He was not fired. He leaves with his pension, etc.l
Joseph Grant resigned, was not fired. Anybody know where he is now?
Lois Lerner, Director of the Tax Exempt Division (located in Wash. DC) took the 5th and was put on paid administrative leave. No loss of paycheck, no accountability, no punishment.
Werfel said more than once that part of his job is to make sure those who ordered the targeting are held accountable. When asked just what their punishment might be, he did not respond. Werfel danced off into a different direction.


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I stop by here rarely.
I'm locking this one, and I'd imagine there are others that would be locked for the same reasons.
Tone the language down please.
Talk the way some of this thread is written in private correspondence or live. RTF can't have it out there on the WWW on the bulletin board.
Fair enough?


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First lady dances with Jimmy Fallon, jokes about hosting 'Tonight Show'
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama says she's eyeing another job in 2016 and, contrary to speculation, it doesn't involve running for public office.
Find: Who challenged the first lady to a pushup contest?
During her first appearance on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," the host asked her Friday to consider a Michelle-Hillary ticket for president in 2016. The latter is former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who lost the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination to Mrs. Obama's husband. Speculation is rampant that Clinton will run again in 2016.
The first lady replies that she's thinking about "putting my hat in the ring" for the "Tonight Show" when host Jay Leno retires.
Fallon says he has his hat in the ring, too. But when Mrs. Obama asks for his opinion, he suggests he won't challenge her. Says Fallon: "I'm done thinking about it."
Mrs. Obama also danced with Fallon, who was dressed like a woman, as the pair demonstrated "The Evolution of Mom Dancing." Watch below:MsnVideoUx.render("msne_tv_article", "VxPDivId", {}, { csid: "ux-hub-entertainment" , overrideId: "obamatonight022313" });
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- Apr. 24, 2017 Check out Tom Hanks' most underwhelming movie moments


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Toll Free: 877-831-8885
International Calls: 248-547-2400
Wire units with two shelves provide tons of room for a tight space. You can use 8"d shelving to keep items off the ground. You can go big with the 24"d shelves to use as a bench in the entry or hall way. You can even get creative and use our two shelf units as a night stand or end table by adding shelf liners .


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In the years following WW II, American Studies began as an interdisciplinary approach to the history and culture of the United States. In the post-Vietnam era, however, students have become more deeply curious about the Western Hemisphere itself - the life of its peoples before the advent of Europeans, the languages and cultures of countries from Antarctica to Tierra del Fuego, the interaction of economies and governments. We now think of American Studies as legitimately comprising issues and subjects found throughout the Western Hemisphere, broadening our scope and permitting us to see connections beyond national boundaries.
American Studies focuses on issues, problems, topics - and then examines them using methods of study drawn from several disciplines. For example, one might study country music, using an approach through gender and methods of literary analysis, or examine the history of early mechanization in the US through a study of language and economics. Interdisciplinary study offers an added dimension to subjects or issues and a lively freedom of approach.
Message From the Director, Bette S. Weidman
More Reasons to Consider the Program (from a letter dated 2007)
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PVL; Brain injury - infants
Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a type of brain injury that affects infants. The condition involves the death of small areas of brain tissue around fluid-filled areas called ventricles. The damage creates "holes" in the brain. "Leuko" refers to the brain's white matter and "periventricular" refers to the area around the ventricles.
PVL is much more common in premature infants than in full-term infants.
A major cause is thought to be changes in blood flow to the area around the ventricles of the brain. This area is fragile and prone to injury, especially before 32 weeks of gestation.
Infection around the time of delivery may also play a role in causing PVL. The more premature your baby is and the sicker your baby is, the higher the risk for PVL.
Premature babies who have intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) are also at increased risk for developing this condition.
Tests used to diagnose PVL include ultrasound and MRI of the head.
There is no treatment for PVL. Premature babies' heart, lung, intestine, and kidney functions are closely monitored and treated in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) in order to reduce the risk of developing PVL.
PVL often leads to nervous system and developmental problems in growing babies, usually during the first to second year of life. It may cause cerebral palsy (CP), especially tightness or increased muscle tone (spasticity) in the legs.
Babies with PVL are at risk for major nervous system problems, especially involving movements such as sitting, crawling, walking, and moving the arms. These babies may need physical therapy.
A baby who is diagnosed with PVL should be monitored by a developmental pediatrician or a pediatric neurologist, in addition to the child's regular pediatrician.
Volpe JJ. Neurology of the Newborn. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 8.
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I'm trying to use my LM317t to take the arduino 5v to 1.5v...
I can use my nixie tubes off a AA battery from the transformer just fine.
Can anyone help me out, what's going on here?
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Facilities Information Technology
Facilities IT's mission is to provide valuable computing and communication hardware, information system management, and quality support to enhance Facilities services through the use of technology. Through active leadership and technology management we strive to extend the capabilities of Facilities employees to effectively communicate, innovate, and perform their job duties at the highest levels.
Our staff assists Facilities Management employees in the many areas including:
- Hardware (desktops, laptops, printers, etc)
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Last Updated: April 17, 2014


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Just like its name, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ is a convoluted mess. It's only by a great feat of skill, or luck, that it avoids being a complete disaster. The story is quite simply, all over the place. Jumping from mediocre action scenes to the tedium of daily life under the main characters (being enslaved to a criminal syndicate doesn't really lead to much excitement outside the workplace) to the inner workings and politics behind Inferno. Individually these elements would have a hard time cracking mediocre. Unsurprisingly, when thrown together they're not any better. To... See full review
When I first saw the original Hajime no Ippo series it quickly became one of my favorites, so naturally I went into this new season with high hopes. Sadly those hopes were never fully realized. The first thing that sticks out about New Challenger as opposed to the original series is the jump in the quality of the animation. Everything, from the characters to the fights, look sharp and fluid in a way not often seen in shounen series (i.e. Bleach and Naruto). While the animation is probably the biggest improvement New Challenger has over its predecessor it's not without its flaws. Some features of the... See full review
For the most part I found the series quite enjoyable, which was especially nice since my experiences with other comedies really haven't been. The animation was nothing special and a bit bland compared to many of the more recent shows. While being far from outstanding it wasn't bad either. The animation was simple and worked well enough as to not detract from the show. In general this is true for most of the elements of the show. As far as the actual comedy goes, I found Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei funnier than the other comedies I've watched, eliciting laughs and snickers throughout its duration... See full review
If you've ever seen any offerings of xxxHOLiC you should know what to expect from xxxHOLiC Shunmuki. In xxxHOLiC Shunmuki the quirky art style presented in the other xxxHOLiC series remains unchanged. Additionally, when compared to many of the newer higher resolution series xxxHOLiC Shunmuki seems inferior, presented in the lower resolution format, reminiscent of the original series. Visually, xxxHOLiC Shunmuki's offerings are subpart and vastly inferior to many of Production I.G.'s other offerings, possessing nothing more than mediocre animation with a gimmicky art style. As for the actual... See full review
In Spice and Wolf II, Brain Base manages to create a sequel that should easily satisfy fans of the first series. Fans will be relieved to know that the second season matches up rather well with the first. The interactions between Horo and Lawrence are still the centerpiece of the show and haven't lost anything in the months between the two series. The interactions between the two do go a bit deeper this time around however. The animation hasn't changed much and looks rather good, despite a lack of variety in the environments. Much of the show takes place inside of cities and towns with ample screen... See full review


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Track Large, hindfoot human like but more flatfooted, forefoot print resembles front portion of human footprint, impression of heelpad of forefoot only registers in mud and soft sand. All 5 toes print although innermost (smallest toe) may not register. Forefoot claws usually longer than toes, and with long, relatively straight forefoot claws farther ahead of toe pads; hindfoot claws register only occasionally. Hindprint of large Grizzly may be 1012" (250300 mm) long and 78" (175200 mm) wide in front; foreprint often as wide, about half as long. In soft mud, tracks may be larger. Even on hard ground, Alaskan Brown Bears often leave bigger prints, with hind tracks more than 16" (400 mm) long, 10 1/2" (265 mm) wide, and sunk 2" (50 mm) deep. Stride averages 24" (600 mm); may be 89' (2.42.75 m) during a bounding run.
Bear tracks, because of their size and shape are distinctive. Field analysis usually concerns determining whether the tracks were made by Black or Grizzly Bears in regions where the two overlap. The main difference between the two is size, although there is some overlap, particularly between subadult Grizzlies and adult Black Bears. Primary difference should be claw length; distance between front of any toe and tip of claw (claw length) should be compared to toe length. Claw length greater than toe length in Grizzly. Grizzly tracks usually show less space between toes than those of Black Bear. Black Bear toes are usually arranged in more of an arc than those of Grizzlies.
Sign Feeding signs: Shallowly dug depression and high, loose mound of branches, earth, or natural debris heaped over it may conceal cache of carrion or a kill. Beware of this sign, for a bear will not be far away. Also, overturned rocks, torn-up berry patches, and raggedly torn logs. Large, gaping pits indicate that Grizzlies have dug for rodents.
Trees and other signs: Girdled, bark-stripped, clawed, and bitten bear trees, with largest tooth marks higher than 6' (2 m) and claw slashes perhaps twice as high (marks higher than those made by Black Bears). Hair tufts on trees, which may be polished from rubbing over several seasons. Wide, deep snowslide occasionally gouged by Grizzly sliding down short incline on its haunches.
Bed: Usually in thickets, oval depression about 1' (300 mm) deep, 3' (900 mm) wide, 4' (1.2 m) long, matted with leaves, needles, or small boughs.
Scat: Usually cylindrical, often more than 2" (50 mm) wide, possibly showing animal hair, vegetation fibers, or husks. May be rounded, or massed in areas where vegetation is the primary food.
Trails: Trampled in tall grass and marked by deep depressions; may undulate.


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annular eclipse, where the sun does not disappear entirely, but instead becomes a ring of fire (since the apparent size of the moon is not large enough to block the full disk of the sun). For us at Maker Faire in San Mateo, it was a spectacular partial eclipse, which we were able to view through solar viewing filters, kindly handed out by the Exploratorium.
Of course, it turns out that you don't actually need a solar filter to watch the eclipse. Any little aperture— in this case the cap between my hand and the camera —can act as the pinhole in a pinhole camera and project the image of the sun onto a surface.
So if you're not sure if an eclipse has started, or how much of an eclipse it is, just hold out your hands and make some little apertures; the shadows will show up with little bright spots in the shape of the sun, whether that's a circle, ring, or crescent.
There are actually five outstreched fingers on my hand here, but you can hardly tell that when every bit of light that seeps through (or around the edges) projects a crescent-shaped image. We take for granted that the shadow of an object will the same shape as the object, but as you can see, that isn't necessarily the case when the light source isn't round.


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Every week, Inside Africa takes its viewers on a journey across Africa, exploring the true diversity and depth of different cultures, countries and regions. Follow host Errol Barnett on Twitter and Facebook.
Gondar, Ethiopia (CNN) -- France has Lourdes, India has the Ganges. Ethiopia, meanwhile, has Gondar.
Situated about 450 miles north of Addis Ababa, encapsulated by hills and tall trees, and dotted with 17th-century relics from the city's glory days (when it was the country's capital), Gondar today can seem somewhat remote. During the religious festival of "Timket," however, the city is inundated with pilgrims who come to re-enact the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, and take a dip in the holy waters at the historical Fasilides Bath.
Nearly two thirds of Ethiopia's 94 million population is Christian, and the majority of those belong to the Orthodox church. For them, Timket -- celebrating the Epiphany -- is among the most important occasions of the year. It's is a two-day affair that begins with a procession of "tabots," holy replicas of the Ark of the Covenant -- the sacred chests described in the Book of Exodus as carrying the stone tablets on which the 10 Commandments were written.
The tabots are wrapped in cloth and placed on the heads of Ethiopian Orthodox Christian priests, who parade the streets en route to the bath. The priests, clad in ceremonial robes, are escorted by drums and by the clapping and singing of worshipers, who hold an overnight vigil until dawn.
There are services the following morning which culminate in the priests blessing the waters of the historic bath, while onlookers crowd every nook surrounding the bath -- some getting a pristine view from nearby trees.
When the priests are done, the mood turns jubilant, and the spectators rush to jump into the pool.
"The water is blessed in the name of the Holy Trinity ... in the name of God. The water is now sacred, and the sick shall be cured," explains Ezra Adis, the head priest at the local Medhanelem Church.
"That is why the young people who jump in first get excited; it is a spiritual love," he adds.
Read this: Ethiopia's churches "built by angels"
The plunge is so swift that some participants get battered in the process -- though most are unperturbed by a few scratches.
"I jumped from high above," boasts one man who dived into the waters from one of the nearby trees.
"I was apprehensive," he adds. "The branches could give way and you could fall on the rock edge of the pool, and there was a possibility I could have lost my life, but at this moment, I am doing what I feel good about, and that possibility of death doesn't scare me."
The Timket festival dates back to the 16th century, but it was marked only in churches until the baptismal ceremonies were introduced, explains Bantalem Tadesse Tedla, a historian at the University of Gondar.
The baptisms, usually held on January 19, are celebrated differently in other parts of the country. "There are three options for Timket," says Tedla. "To be immersed, to collect water from three pipes and pour it on people, or to collect water and sprinkle it -- it depends on the availability of water.
"In Gondar, the first is implemented, because of the existence of this very important building," he adds, referring to the stone bath -- a UNESCO world heritage site built in 1632 for King Fasil (Fasiledes).
As the afternoon winds down, people begin to leave the pool and head back to the streets, but the festivities aren't quite over. Each tabot is now paraded back to its respective church with crowds of onlookers eager to get one last look at them.
Back at the churches, it's a different, quieter scene. Congregants fill the church grounds to listen in on a final service, and after a closing prayer it's time to send the tabot back inside the church to its resting place.
The locals will eventually return to their homes for a special feast, but in the meantime, the celebrations on the streets of Gondar continue -- a chance for orthodox Christians to celebrate and come together for one of the most sacred and festive days of the year.
Read more: Mysterious stone kingdom of Great Zimbabwe
Read more: Cameroon: The next tourism hotspot?


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Icebox Hacking
I converted all of the mod_perl handlers in the Icebox project to method handlers yesterday, and derived them all from a base ApacheHandler.pm class that I wrote for a client. It's nice to see the code shrink so much, and to be able to refactor lots of the common tasks out of the individual classes into a common base class.
The stream daemon is nearly done, so I should be releasing a 1.0 version of Icebox soonish.


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It would be very useful in Suneido to have a way to automatically release resources such as Windows "handles" and open files. Suneido's garbage collection will automatically release the memory but it doesn't know anything about resources. Currently, programs must explicitly release their resources when they're finished with them e.g. close files. In user interface code this is often done in response to the WM_DESTROY message. But in other places e.g. report formats, there is no obvious place to do this. It can be especially hard to ensure that resources are released in the event of exceptions (errors). It's really the same kind of problem that garbage collection solves for releasing memory.
Initially, I thought the way to do this would be to support "finalization" methods in Suneido. But after looking into it further, I think a better approach is to add "weak references" to Suneido, and to use them to release resources. My current feeling is that this is something that should be added to Suneido in the near future.
The garbage collector calls finalization methods after determining an object is no longer referenced, but prior to free'ing it. Finalization methods can release resources such as file handles that are used by the object. Java has finalization. It seems like a simple, obvious solution. However, there are a number of subtle problems with finalization. One problem is that the order of finalization is not predictable. Another problem is that it is possible for finalization methods to "resurrect" an object by storing a reference to it. This in turn "resurrects" any objects that this one references. But these other objects may already have been finalized! There are ways to work around these issues, but obviously it's not as simple as it might seem.
"Weak references" are another memory management facility. A weak reference stores a reference so a memory object in a way that doesn't stop the object from being free'd by garbage collection. At the end of garbage collection, any weak references that refer to objects that are now free'd are cleared. This might work as follows:
wr = WeakReference(value) wr.Get() => value // value is still "live" // some time later wr.Get() => False // value has been free'd
Weak references are a more primitive mechanism; they are simpler to implement and do not have the same problems as finalization.
The key idea is that you can use weak references to implement a scheme to automatically release resources. The basic method is:
- When you allocate a resource, you add it to a
- The table contains an entry for each resource,
including a weak reference
to the object using the resource, and information about how
to release the
resource (e.g. the handle value and a "release" function)
- Periodically (possibly by a background thread) the table is scanned for entries whose weak reference has been cleared. Using the information in the entry, the resource is released, and the entry is then removed from the table.
One enhancement is to have the garbage collector add cleared weak references to a queue. You can then eliminate the linear scan of the resource table by keying it on the weak reference.
A form of weak references can also be used to reference memory objects that can be free'd if memory space is required, for example, a cached copy of an external file. Java calls these "soft references". The garbage collector treats these references slightly differently in that it only free's the objects if memory space is running low.
For more information on weak references in Java see: Java finalization