text:
Rapid City (Hour 1)- Preview
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW visits one of South Dakota's greatest treasures, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, to look at presidential prints. Some notable finds in Rapid City include a suite of furniture by Thomas Molesworth from the famous "Ranch A," and signed military documents of Elvis Presley, valued at $4,000-$5,500.
Visit the Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/
Episode #1713 / Length: 56 minutes


text:
Franklin D Roosevelt is not a man I would normally turn to when trying to understand what happens on a rugby field. But sometimes you need someone who has lived through the world's toughest times to give you a little perspective.
In 1933, as the Great Depression was at its deepest and the dust bowl was in the process of being created, the newly elected US President spoke about confidence.
In his first speech to a suffering nation, he explained that confidence "thrives on honesty, on honour, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live".
Confidence is at the heart of all human success, and best of all, it is contagious. Take the England team which recently turned the rugby world on its head, putting in what many called the nation's best performance at Twickenham.
Coaches who were under growing pressure could, after that hour-and-a-half, breathe easy again. Players who had been dodging newspapers to avoid the endless calls for change, spark and victories, were probably first in the queue for breakfast or at the newsagents on Sunday.
The doubts have gone. That nagging feeling of wondering whether you are honestly, truly good enough to be an international (a feeling that everyone has no matter how talented you are) has gone.
They now know that on their day, not only can they mix it with the best, they can actually beat them. With that comes a collective shift in consciousness that will have a halo effect not just on the team's supporters but also the clubs who welcome back their internationals .
For the England squad members, the world is a better place and their club team-mates pick up on their body language. The returning heroes are not smug or arrogant, they just have an air about them.
Everyone wants a piece of the action, to hear about the stories, the little nuggets of information that bring the match together, that turn it from a TV picture into something tactile, real and achievable.
Training lifts a notch. Those who are on the edge of the senior international squad lift their game because they want in.
Those who have just delivered know they want more because the drug is intense. Those who never thought of themselves as internationals suddenly start wondering what they might be able to achieve.
They think: "He's good, but not that good, maybe I can have a crack as well".
The same players, the same teams find a new level of intensity and performance that no amount of talk or coaching can achieve in such a short space of time.
If you can feel the buzz in a pub or on the living-room sofa, imagine what it is like on a training paddock.
As the returning internationals run out of the club tunnel, home or away, they honestly believe they are as close as dammit to invincible.
It also helps when things get tough because the England players, the senior players in a club side, will have a mental photo they can return to.
The players who haunted their dreams for so long are suddenly less frightening. And as fear fades, so performance improves.
As FDR knew only too well, all it takes is one confident man and almost anything is possible.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss has created an advisory council of chief judges of the state's district courts to provide their insights into matters facing the court system.
Nuss announced Friday that he had signed an order earlier in January to create the seven-member council. The intent is to get feedback from the 31 district courts in Kansas on matters relating to court procedures and administration, including funding.
The council selected David Ricke, chief judge of the 13th Judicial District of Butler, Elk and Greenwood counties, to serve as chairman. Two of the members, including Ricke, will serve one-year terms expiring Dec. 31 while the other five will serve two-year terms ending Dec. 31, 2015.


text:
If you are thinking of selling your home, we can help you establish your home's current market value. The process is FREE and easy!
This property is not available and may not be listed in the MLS.
Listed by Cheryl Smith Realty, Inc
To manage reports, go to your Dashboard.
Select the criteria for your Market Report:
Filter results by property type:


text:
Vacuum Magic is a fast-paced action game. The point of the game is using your magical vacuum field to collect food and defend against monsters. Food and certain monsters can also be spat out and used as a projectile against other monsters.
Vacuum Magic can be played by up to six players, either cooperatively, or against each other.


text:
A wise man once said that those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.
Time for a quick history lesson…
England's recent supremacy in Ashes contests have a commmon theme running through them. In none of the last three series has any Australian fast bowler sport any facial hair.
The bristling tache has been a feature of potent Australian attacks since time immemorial.
From Frederick "The Demon" Spofforth sporting the face furniture that inspired an England batting collapse which gave birth to the Ashes legend, through Dennis Lillee and (occasionally) Jeff Thompson, the tache reigned supreme.
Having reached an exuberant zenith whilst working with Merv Hughes, the tache took a lower profile for a time as the top-half of Jason Gillespie's beard.
There was a time during the 80's when England seemed to have cottoned on to the power of the tache and managed to fight fire with fire with notable contributions evident on the upper lips of Botham, Gooch and Lamb.
More recently however, the moustache's mystic ability to make an English batting line-up do a passable impression of a deck-chair seemed to have been lost in the mists of time.
Then along came Mitchell Johnson's Movember Mush Mantle.
Johnson himself has quite a respectable test record, but it seems that he may have re-discovered the secret power of the mighty moustache.
As we've got a couple of weeks before the second test begins, the moustache has a bit of time on it's handlebars so has kindly agreed to illustrate the fun and games to be had with assigning default values to PL/SQL parameters.
Continue reading
The Movember Ashes Curse and PL/SQL Parameters
A wise man once said that those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.


text:
BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Array BioPharma Inc. (NasdaqGM: ARRY) announced today the sale of 2,700,000 shares of its common stock pursuant to the exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters in connection with Array's previously announced underwritten public offering of 18,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $3.65 per share. The total net proceeds to Array, including from the exercise of the over-allotment option, were $70.9 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated expenses. Jefferies & Company, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as joint book-running managers for the offering, with Piper Jaffray & Co., Stifel Nicolaus Weisel and William Blair acting as co-managers.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121029/LA02195LOGO )
The shares were sold pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted.
A final prospectus supplement relating to the offering was filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained from either: Jefferies & Company, Inc., Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, at 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10022, or by calling (877) 547-6340, or by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com; or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, or by calling (866) 803-9204.
About Array BioPharma
Array BioPharma Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small‑molecule drugs to treat patients afflicted with cancer. Array is evolving into a late-stage development company, with two wholly‑owned programs, ARRY-614 and ARRY-520, and three partnered programs, selumetinib (with AstraZeneca), MEK162 (with Novartis), and danoprevir (with InterMune / Roche), having the potential to begin Phase 3 or pivotal trials by the end of calendar year 2013.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the expected use of proceeds of the offering and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. These statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Because these statements reflect our current expectations concerning future events, our actual events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. Additional information concerning factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements is contained in the "Risk Factors" section of Array's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, in our other periodic reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in the prospectus supplement related to the offering. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Array on the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as required by law.
Tricia Haugeto
(303) 386-1193
|SOURCE Array BioPharma Inc.
Copyright©2012 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


text:
Report Reveals Further Details of "Operation High Roller," Explores
Evolution of Ransomware, Shows Malware Topping 100 Million Samples, and
Finds Database Breaches at All-Time High
McAfee today released the McAfee
Threats Report: Third Quarter 2012, which explores techniques in
cybercrime as well as the global evolution of cyber exploits. The latest
report uncovers new details of "Operation
High Roller," tracks that mobile malware almost doubled the previous
quarter's total, and reveals an all-time high in database breaches.
McAfee Labs also saw jumps in some categories of malware, including
ransomware and signed binaries. Rootkits and Mac malware continue to
rise, while password-stealing Trojans and AutoRun malware also trended
strongly upward.
"Cybercrime exhibits few signs of slowing down," said Vincent Weafer,
senior vice president of McAfee Labs. "Though we tend to highlight the
numbers, the fact is that we continue to see increased sophistication of
attacks. Cybercrime, hacktivism, and cyberwarfare are in a continual
state of evolution. Everyone from governments to large enterprises,
small business and home users are facing a wider range of digital
threats from these forces, as they gain more actionable intelligence on
their victims, and leverage the newest attack platforms and exploits
tools to launch their campaigns. We all need to equip ourselves with
basic situation awareness to our online risks and how best to prevent
and combat these threats."
Each quarter, the McAfee Labs team of 500 multidisciplinary researchers
in 30 countries follows the complete range of threats in real time,
identifying application vulnerabilities, analyzing and correlating
risks, and enabling instant remediation to protect enterprises and the
public. This quarter, McAfee Labs identified the following trends:
To learn more about the rise in malware in the full copy of the McAfee
Threats Report, Third Quarter 2012, please visit http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-quarterly-threat-q3-2012.pdf.
About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC),
empowers businesses, the public sector, and home users to safely
experience the benefits of the Internet. The company delivers proactive
and proven security solutions and services for systems, networks, and
mobile devices around the world. With its Security Connected strategy,
innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique Global
Threat Intelligence network, McAfee is relentlessly focused on keeping
its customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com
Note: McAfee is a trademark or registered trademark of McAfee, Inc.
in the United States and other countries. Other names and brands may be
claimed as the property of others.
McAfeeIan Bain, 408-346-3877[email protected]orZeno
GroupStephanie Chaney, 312-222-1758[email protected]


text:
University of Vermont
"Verify this email address" Email Phishing Scam
- 10-23-2012
- By Dean Jay Williams
Have you received email with a subject of "Verify this email address"? Please do not click on the link in the message; simply delete the message. It is a phishing scam.
This message, like any other email that asks you to to enter your UVM password on a non-UVM web site, is a phishing scam. Do not click links in such messages and do not reply.
UVM will never ask you to enter your UVM Net-ID and password on a non-UVM web page -- even if it looks like a UVM page, and even if it's on a reputable site, such as Google Docs, 123contactform.com or contactme.com, or if it contains UVM graphics and you've been directed there by an email that appears to come from a UVM email address.
What to do if you've clicked on the link
If you've followed the link in the message, or replied to this email or one like it, you should change your password immediately at www.uvm.edu/account. Contact the UVM Computing Helpline if you need assistance changing your password.
For more information about phishing scams, view our Web page on protecting your NetID and password.
If you are ever uncertain about the legitimacy of an email message concerning your uvm.edu account, please contact the Computing Help Line at 656-2604, or submit a help request online.
The "Verify this email address" Phishing Message
Here is the phishing message some of us received recently. The actual message is customized to show the recipient's own name and email address.
|From: accounts-uvm.edu [mailto:accounts-services@cc.@siapa.gob.mx]
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 4:05 PM
To: firstname.lastname@example.com
Subject: Verify this email address
Verify this email address
You recently added a new email address to your uvm.edu! account, or initiated verification of an existing email address. To verify that you own this email address, simply click on the link below.
Verify "____._____ @ uvm.edu"
Your email address was added to the uvm.edu! ID: _____.____. If this uvm.edu! ID does not belong to you, or you did not recently add your email address to this uvm.edu! ID, you may permanently stop verification process. Cancel verification process.
Verifying your email address ensures that you can securely retrieve your account information if your password is lost or stolen. You must verify your email address before you can use it on uvm.edu! services that require an email address.
For your security, please keep your email address information up-to-date.
Not your account?
If you did not create this account, click here
Copyright © 2012 uvm.edu! Inc. All rights reserved.Copyright/IP Policy | Terms of Service


text:
Lombok Cocotinos Sekotong Resort
Cocotinos Sekotong, a boutique beach resort and spa, is set amidst a coconut grove in Sekotong Bay on the south-west corner of Lombok Island. Guests arrive by air at the Seleparang Airport in Mataram and a 75-min drive brings them through well-swept towns, lush green padi fields and verdant forests; the final part of the journey follows a winding coastline from picturesque Lembar Harbour to a secluded white-sand beach at Tanjung Empet. The site where the resort is built was chosen for reasons of accessibility (the roads are paved and well-maintained all the way from the airport to the resort), and the availability of electrical power, water and telecommunication links. Furthermore, the resort faces the 3 coconut-fringed islands of Gili Nanggu, Gili Tangkong and Gili Sudak. Fronting the resort is a glorious white-sand beach which spans over 300m, part of which lies within a private cove. While the northern Gilis (Trawangan, Meno and Air) are well-known and developed, these 3 islands in the south-west are still unspoilt, tropical islands. Gili Nanggu, which is closest to the resort, is already rated as one of the world's best snorkelling destinations by Silkwind magazine. Apart from these 3 islands, there are 10 other islands within an easy boat ride. Cocotinos Sekotong was designed along similar lines to our first Cocotinos Resort in Manado, but on a grander and more luxurious scale, while still maintaining that cosy ambience and personalised service, now synonymous with our Cocotinos brand. Like our first resort in Manado, Cocotinos Sekotong also provides world- class facilities for diving and snorkelling, and much more. The white-sand beaches, turquoise-blue waters and idyllic islands nearby make the resort an ideal location for romantic getaways and a variety of water sports. Presently, there is only 1 other dive operator in the Sekotong area and no other major resort. Cocotinos Sekotong is therefore the first luxury facility to offer travellers the opportunity to explore this serene and enchanting part of Lombok while enjoying all the modern comforts of a boutique resort. South Lombok is also well known as an exciting surfing destination, offering world-class rides, for both beginners and experts. In conjunction with the opening of the new airport at Praya in central Lombok (1st October 2011), a ring road has also been planned which will ev
entually connect the new airport to Sekotong and Sengigi. It is hoped that one day soon, many international carriers will fly to Lombok direct, making it convenient for travellers to visit this beautiful island.


text:
- Home
- News
- Sports
- Opinion
- Obituaries
- Features
- Special Sections
- Classifieds
- Public Notices
Dora Patton Maiden, 99, of the English community of Carrollton, passed away Monday, April 8, 2013.
She is survived by her son, Richard Pat Maiden, of Glencoe.
The funeral services were held Friday, April 12, 2013, at the English Christian Church. Burial was in the English Cemetery in Carrollton.
Arrangements were entrusted with the Tandy-Eckler-Riley Funeral Home.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Owenton News, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
If you are new to the award winning Owenton News and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.
|ZIP Code:


text:
The confirmation hearing Thursday of John Brennan to be CIA director reopened scrutiny of a wide range of controversies that have dogged the country for more than a decade, ranging from the Obama administration's embrace of targeted killings to the Bush administration's use of enhanced interrogation techniques many equate with torture.
Senate Intelligence Committee members complained that CIA directors for the past decade, and the Obama administration more recently, had failed to fully cooperate with Congress' efforts to oversee the country's intelligence community.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., captured the flavor of the questioning when she charged that in her 10 years on the committee, every CIA director since George Tenet, with the exception of current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, had obfuscated, misled and lied to the committee. Tenet held the post from 1997 to 2004.
"With the exception of Mr. Panetta, I feel I've been jerked around by every CIA director," she said.
Brennan, 57, repeatedly said he expected things would be different during his tenure. "If I am confirmed, a trust deficit between the committee and the CIA would be wholly unacceptable to me," he pledged.
Critics of President Barack Obama's counterterrorism efforts were unconvinced.
"John Brennan's refusal to unequivocally call waterboarding torture is Orwellian, and his hollow claim that drone strike policy complies with the law is wrong," said Frank Jannuzi of Amnesty International, the human rights advocacy group. "If the last decade has taught us anything, it's that unchecked presidential power, coupled with efforts to twist and reinterpret international law to justify virtually any actions on the part of the government, leads to human rights violations."
The issues committee members raised were an indication of how unsettled many controversies remain from the last two presidential administrations. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., pointedly demanded that Brennan, once installed, take steps to declassify a memo that he said would debunk reports that 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta had met with an agent of Iraq's Saddam Hussein in Prague before the 2001 attacks -- an assertion that had been used to build enthusiasm for the Iraq war.
Later, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., blasted the current White House's slowness in surrendering documents the committee has requested for its investigation into the attacks six months ago in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador to that country and three other Americans..
Brennan, who Obama nominated after retired Army Gen. David Petraeus resigned in November following his admission of an extramarital affair, is expected to win confirmation as the agency's fifth director in nearly nine years.
But his hearing came as the Obama administration faces growing questions about the legality of its top-secret program of targeted killings of alleged terrorists, including Americans, and the number of civilians who have died in hundreds of missile strikes on Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia by the CIA's drone aircraft.
Brennan, a former CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia who serves as Obama's counterterrorism adviser, is a chief architect of the program, which the administration contends is constitutional. But the administration was compelled on Wednesday to provide the committee with the classified Justice Department legal opinion on the program's legality following the leak of a confidential white paper, which outlined its case that Obama was empowered to order the 2011 killing in Yemen by a drone of Anwar al Awlaki, an American who became a leader of al Qaida's branch in the Arabian Peninsula.
At least three other Americans, including Awlaki's 16-year-old son, and an estimated 3,500 other people have been killed in drone attacks since 2003.
Brennan vigorously defended the program, saying that targets are selected through a rigorous review procedure based on accurate intelligence. Strikes, he said, are ordered only as "a last resort" after a determination that terrorists are beyond capture. He insisted that the strikes are designed to prevent imminent terrorist attacks, not to avenge past operations.
"Any actions we take fully comport with our law," he said, pushing back on charges by some prominent legal scholars and civil and human rights groups that the program is unconstitutional.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the panel's chairwoman, who for more than a year has called on the administration to make public more information on targeted killings, said the panel has "done significant oversight" that has verified the administration's claims that annual civilian casualties have "typically been in the single digits."
But she complained that the administration is still withholding eight legal opinions pertaining to the program and said that the administration had prevented the committee's staff from reading the Justice Department opinion that had been given to the committee ahead of the hearing.
Asserting that he was a proponent of greater transparency, Brennan said that he would advocate the release of those documents to the committee.
Feinstein was joined by other lawmakers in questioning Brennan about the CIA's use on al Qaida detainees of waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other harsh interrogation practices that many experts consider torture and which were adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. At the time, Brennan served as a senior CIA executive.
Brennan reiterated that while he was aware of the program, he was not involved in it and wasn't in a position to halt the practices. He insisted that he had raised his "personal objections" in conversations with other top officials.
But Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the panel's senior Republican, seemed to question Brennan's assertion, saying that the committee has 50 emails concerning the program – and the information it produced –that Brennan had received. He added that none of Brennan's former colleagues could recall his objecting to the program.
"I was copied on thousands upon thousands . . . of e-mail distributions," Brennan said.
He declined several times to describe waterboarding as torture, but he agreed that it is "reprehensible and something that should not be done." Obama banned the use of the procedure and other hard techniques after he took office in 2009.
The hearing provided new insights into a classified six-year, 6,000-page report by the committee on the interrogation program, with several senators saying that it found CIA officials misrepresented the information produced from the use on al Qaida detainees of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques.
"There can never be that kind of situation again, where . . . we have to tell you what's going wrong in your agency," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who added that the program was "executed by personnel without relevant experience, managed incompetently by senior officials who did not pay attention to crucial details, and corrupted by personal and pecuniary conflicts of interest."
"It was sold to policymakers and lawyers of the White House, the Department of Justice and Congress, with grossly inflated claims of professionalism and effectiveness, so-called lives saved," he said.
Brennan was pressed several times on whether he concurred with former senior CIA officials who insist that the methods had produced intelligence that led to the location and death of Osama bin Laden in a Navy SEAL raid in May 2011, or if he accepted the report's findings that they had not.
He conceded that during that period he had believed that the interrogations produced "valuable information" but was shocked by the report's revelations. But he declined to say whether he accepted its conclusions, saying he first wanted a chance to review the CIA's rebuttal.


text:
Prophet was created by Rob Liefeld and was published alongside Youngblood and in its own series between 1992 and 2000. This book relaunches the story of John Prophet, a enhanced human preserved through time, waiting the day when the Earth Empire shall rise again.
Prophere Volume 1 Remission is credited to collect issues #21 to #26 of the ongoing series. Just to clarify these are the first issues of the 2012 relaunch series.
How is it?
Before you read any further, please throw away all Liefeldian baggage you might have. This is a new take on a concept created by Rob Liefeld but is presented in a completely original way. Neither the writing nor the art follow the Liefeldian school of thought so, for better or worst, this book deserves to be judged on its own merits.
|John Prophet emerges
John Prophet awakes on a much different Earth much different from what he remembered. Humankind is long gone, aliens roam the Earth and there are strange animals all around. Along his path more hyber pods emerge with new gear that will help him in his journey. This is a Deus Ex Machina plot device, but it is used moderately. Prophet is rich in strangeness, from a blue amoeba looking living organism that bonds with John like a pet and helps him in the most unorthodox ways to a Robot like armor that regenerates lost limbs by eating anything it finds, you'll find odd things in every shapes and forms.
In his path John finds interesting alien races, faces moral dilemmas and fights for his life against the native fauna several times. Eventually he finds out what his mission is and fulfills it. However it is not the end of his journey, but the beginning of a much larger adventure. The Earth Empire will rise again.
|Take that ugly
This is where everything gets weird, well weirder. In the next stories we will find much about John Prophet but that only raises more questions. As it turns out there are many versions of him. Some have tails, some live inside robot like armors, some are women, some are old, but all (or most) share the same resolution towards the mission.
|Can't wait any longer for the Kid. Hope he's all right
One thing I do know, this was a unique reading experience. The narrative is odd, but in an "i don't know were this is going but I can't stop reading" way. The art style is an acquired taste at first, but then it turns into a gorgeous thing to look at. Over the first few pages its grows its own distinct identity. In fact Prophet is a very graphical story. Most the story is lightly narrated, with very little dialogue and most of the story progress is shown not told.
|The price to pay for your mission
There are books that are written to be books. There are books that are written to be movies. At times Prophet seems to be written to be a video game. Or at least to be heavily inspire in them. The inventory, the goal driven missions, the different type of enemies that include cannon fodder and boss fights.
I don't think I've ever read a book quite like Prophet Volume 1 Remission.
If sci-fi is your cup of tea then you should get this one. Love it or hate it doesn't matter. This is a weird and distinct book and that alone makes it very interesting. It truly is a unique experience.
Publisher: Image Comics
Year: 2012
Pages: 136
Authors: Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple, Giannis Milogiannis, Brandon Graham
Follow Reading Graphic Novels on Facebook and Twitter.
Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/02/reviewprophet-volume-1-remission.html


text:
Sir Ian Botham said England's batting failure in the second ODI against India was 'criminal'
Sir Ian Botham said England's batting failure in the second ODI against India was 'criminal'.
Last Updated: 15/01/13 3:15pm
The tourists slipped down to number two in the ICC ODI rankings after being bowled out for just 158 in 36 overs in reply to India's imposing 285-6, which featured 72 from skipper MS Dhoni.
Ravindra Jadeja weighed in with 61no off 37 balls and followed up by taking 2-12 to earn the man-of-the-match award as the home side made light work of rolling England over to level the five-match series 1-1.
"It was a very, very poor performance from England, it has to be said," Botham told Sky Sports. "Ok, the pitch did a bit more as the game went on but they didn't use 14 overs - that's criminal; you just can't do that in one-day cricket.
"You'd expect there to be a sting in the tail [after losing the first ODI] but England had them in a bit of trouble. But there were a couple of great partnerships and Dhoni and Jadeja both played magnificently.
"England, in reply, were going along alright but they lost a couple of wickets and suddenly the deck of cards went - again, against spin.
"Conditions did change but I don't think it's an excuse - not for that kind of performance. If India hadn't bowled Sharma in the middle of the innings for as long as they did and bowled Ravichandran Ashwin earlier, England might have been out 10 overs earlier because England looked all at sea.
"They looked clueless; they didn't keep the board ticking. There were long periods where they scored no runs; if you do that you put yourself under pressure.
"India are now back in the series and England have got to come out fighting in the next game at Ranchi."
Ashwin, who claimed 3-39, admitted that the victory would come as something of a relief for India's players, who suffered a one-day series defeat to Pakistan hard upon losing the Test series against England at the end of last year.
Botham agreed and said the manner of the victory would help to ease some of the pressure that has been growing on the team's management and senior players.
"It will lift them and the country because a lot of people have been asking questions - about Dhoni, about [coach] Duncan Fletcher, about whether senior players should still be in the side," he said.
"The fact is that everybody in India, including the players, will be breathing a big sigh of relief. As Ashwin said 'we did not need to go 2-0 down' and they didn't.
"I think the conditions will suit England a bit more up north in Ranchi because I don't think the ball will turn as much, because of the dew."
England's reply was gathering momentum at 58-1 off 10 overs when seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, playing only his fifth ODI, removed skipper Alastair Cook for 17.
Four overs later he removed Kevin Pietersen (42) and Eoin Morgan in the space of three balls to put the tourists firmly on the back foot and earn Botham's praise.
"Kumar is a good bowler - I like him; he keeps the ball up," he said. "He's not just a seam bowler - he swings it around a little bit. I think he might be a little skiddy as well. If you talk to the batsmen they might say he gets to you a little bit quicker than you might think. But his control is good.
"We first saw him in that series against Pakistan where he bowled very well and he's continued that today. His three wickets were big wickets - Cook, Pietersen and Morgan.
"That knocks the stuffing out of you and then you have to start again; the spinners come on and England didn't knock it around. It was slow and it was turning; they didn't want to go dancing down the wicket for fear of being stumped. It was just good cricket by India but poor from England, by the standards they've set themselves.
"You don't get to World No 1 in the rankings by playing poorly and today was as bad as I've seen them bat [for some time]. It was turning a bit but we're talking about orthodox finger-spin bowlers, not mystery balls."
Watch the third ODI between India and England, in Ranchi, live on Sky Sports 1 HD this Saturday from 6am.


text:
One Microsoft. That was the subject line of a memo sent from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to the entire company this morning. The software giant has crafted a new strategy, along with a series of leadership changes, all toward the goal of making Microsoft a more cohesive company with products and services that sync better together.
"Going forward, our strategy will focus on creating a family of devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value most," Ballmer wrote to Microsoft's nearly 100,000 employees.
- Microsoft will make a series of leadership and strategy changes to get its products working better together.
While Microsoft took steps to incorporate many of its services into Windows 8 last year, much of the divisions have been siloed. For instance, Xbox stands separately from the Windows, Bing and Skype teams. The mission is to change that and get everything working in unison, or as Ballmer puts it, with "One Strategy, One Microsoft." The full memo can be read here.
"We will plan across the company, so we can better deliver compelling integrated devices and services for the high-value experiences and core technologies around which we organize," the memo reads.
Windows 8.1: Eight Features to Know About
To achieve that the company is now being reorganized into core groups, which include the operating system, devices and studios, applications and cloud fractions. Terry Myerson will lead the operating systems group, which will include Windows and Windows Phone. Julie Larson-Green will head the devices and studios group, which will oversee the hardware development of everything from the Surface to the Xbox.
Larson Green, who joined Microsoft 19 years ago as a program manager for Visual C++, took over for Steve Sinofsky last year as the head of Windows.
More on Windows Leading Woman: Julie Larson-Green
Microsoft recently announced the next version of Windows -- Windows 8.1 -- which aims to fix some of the major complaints about Windows 8. While the company has a foot in the mobile world, it has struggled over the past few years to keep up with the Apple and Google in the smartphone and services race.
"It improves their consistency in operating systems. Tying them all together better -- from search to their phones and to tablets and PCs," Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, told ABC News. "The new war is an ecosystem war. It is essentially across multiple devices and multiple experiences."
Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft have emerged over the past few years as the main device and services companies, each aiming to get customers to buy their devices and spend time in their software and stores.
Microsoft's new One strategy won't be the only solution to helping the company, but industry experts certainly think it will help. "I wouldn't go as far as say it would make them more competitive, but it certainly puts them in a position where they can be as competitive," Moorhead said.


text:
New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service has created a new position for a wildland fire management specialist.
NMSU is one of only two land-grant universities in the U.S. to create this type of position. The University of Hawaii was the forerunner in developing such a position.
NMSU officials say that after back-to-back record-breaking fire seasons in New Mexico, natural resource managers are facing significant challenges in fire-damaged areas. That includes massive erosion events.
Officials say the specialist, Doug Cram, has been charged with developing programs that bring science to bear regarding all aspects of wildfires.
Cram returns to New Mexico after serving as the wildland fire specialist in Hawaii. A native of Los Alamos, he previously studied fire ecology in the Southwest at NMSU.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.


text:
Brittany Boone, a Virginia Tech swimmer, heard from a teammate about this summer school course at Tech that sent its students to the Dominican Republic to run camps for kids, and she knew she wanted to be a part of it.
Ashley Manning, a Tech soccer player, heard about this as well, and she felt it was a great opportunity, one in which she couldn't refuse if given the chance. Ronny Vandyke, a Tech football player, found out about it, but he worried about missing summer workouts.
"I went home and I thought about it and I prayed about it," Vandyke said. "I came to the conclusion that going on this trip would be a great experience and be an eye opener. Anything that can change my perspective, I needed to take advantage of it."
The trio took advantage of this opportunity and it arguably changed their lives forever. Boone, Manning and Vandyke were three of nine Tech student-athletes who spent 11 days in the Dominican Republic as part of a summer school course entitled Global Citizen Leadership. The course focuses on things like leadership theory, international aid and service learning.
The 15-member group who went to the Dominican also included women's soccer players Shannon Mayrose and Kelly Conheeney, football player Trey Gresh, lacrosse player Becca Niles, swimmer Morgan Latimer and diver Kyle Butts. Also, former football player Michael Cole went on the trip, along with Reyna Gilbert-Lowry, Tech's assistant AD for student life; Danny White, Tech's director of student-athlete affairs; and Dr. Rick Rudd, the professor who taught the course. Undergraduate student Bria Fletcher and graduate student Reggie Stroble rounded out the group, though neither are student-athletes.
The course continued the trend of the Tech athletics department molding leaders among its student-athletes. Three years ago, the Office of Student Life started a "Habitudes" course that centers on teaching leadership habits and attitudes through the power of an image, a conversation or an experience. Also last year, the first group took part in a study abroad opportunity in the Dominican Republic.
The Global Citizen Leadership course gave the student-athletes the opportunity to put theories about leadership into practice while running the sports camps. It also gave them an opportunity to witness true poverty and to work with young children who oftentimes are victims of that poverty.
The recent group left on June 5 and stayed at the Caribbean Center for Education and Research in Punta Cana, a base for Tech faculty to conduct research as well as instruct students on biodiversity, environmental and social sustainability, global issues in natural resources, and hotel and tourism management.
The group conducted their service outreach projects during the day and attended class sessions in the evening. Like last year's group, this group toured the city of Veron, one of the poorest places in the Dominican Republic. They visited a hospital, one which had been constructed by the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine – better known in Blacksburg as VCOM. Roughly 200 patients visit this small clinic each day, with many of them being treated for HIV, as more than 88,000 Dominicans have tested positive for the virus.
"The hospital is what shocked me the most," Boone said. "Here, we have a place for students to go and a place for student-athletes to go, and a local hospital. There, it was just a small place that saw 200 people a day. They only had one doctor there. He's there all the time for emergencies, and he has a back room where he can stay. That was such a change for them. We have so many hospitals here in America, and compared to what they have in the Dominican, it's just unbelievable."
They also visited a public school in Veron. The classrooms consisted of anywhere from 30 to 70 kids, and classes only go through the eighth grade.
Perhaps more importantly, they saw the living conditions of the people. Many live in poorly built homes on dirt streets, with garbage piled up along the sides. Electricity came and went, and the water system only delivered water at certain times.
"We got to see how they lived daily and the issues within their community," Manning said. "Veron was where all the kids for the [sports] camps were coming from, so we got to see where these kids come from."
"It was unfortunate to see how they lived," Vandyke said. "The people that pick up the garbage come every 10 to 15 days, so it's just lying in the grass or along the street. It was sad to see. It was very eye opening to see because a lot of people are suffering.
"We saw the school there, and we talked to a teacher and she told us how many of the kids don't have documents to go to school or they lack money to go to school. A lot of the kids in Veron don't have the opportunity to go to school. The classrooms aren't big enough, and there aren't enough desks. Sometimes, the teachers don't come. All that really shocked me."
The main difference between this year's trip and last year's was the three-hour excursion to a "batey," which is basically a small town next to the sugar cane fields where sugar cane workers come to live and work. Many of these workers come from neighboring Haiti, where they get stripped of their identification documents and forced to work in brutal conditions for the equivalent of $7.50 per day.
The workers use this money to purchase food for their families, but the food comes from a grocery store owned by the sugar company. So the company sets the wages for labor and then the prices for food. In essence, this is the modern-day form for slavery.
Liz DeHart, a Peace Corps worker and a Tech graduate student living in the batey with a host family, gave the group a tour of the batey. Each member of the group was giving 300 pesos ($7.50) and sent to the grocery store to buy food, water and other necessities, which they gave to DeHart's host family, just to give them a feel of the life in a batey.
"We were able to buy three diapers, a can of beans, some rice and some salami," Boone said. "And most families have, like, seven people in a home, so I don't know how they feed so many. It was eye-opening, to say the least."
The hardest part, though, was seeing the kids in the batey. The kids loved seeing their visitors and enjoyed playing games with them. Their smiles told that story.
But many did not have shoes or shirts, and truthfully, few prospects of a brighter future. The Tech contingent realized that.
"They were so intrigued to see us," Manning said. "They wanted to touch us and talk with us. It was crazy to see how they lived day by day. They can't find a way out. They're stuck there, and we're in the U.S. and have the opportunity to escape from things like that. That was hard for me to see."
Following the trip to the batey, the group spent a couple of days working with Deportes Para la Vida (DPV), which means "sports for life." This non-government organization uses sports as a means to teach health and life lessons to young children. In this case, a group of three young men used sports games to teach life lessons about AIDS and HIV and both drug and child abuse – all of which are rampant in the Dominican Republic.
The Tech contingent then held sports camps over the next three days. Each morning, a bus would pick up between 70-80 children and bring them to Punta Cana Ecological Foundation. The student-athletes took turns organizing and running the camps, with the first day being dedicated to soccer and the second day to volleyball. They planned on doing basketball for the third day, but there was only one basketball goal, so they nixed those plans and took the kids for an outing on the beach.
Unfortunately, some kids weren't able to participate in the camps, as the group needed to limit numbers to run the camps effectively. Turning away children was tough for many members of the group and highlighted a need – one of many – for that area.
"It killed me to watch," Manning said when the group turned away children. "This was something that they didn't get to do every day. I wanted everyone who wanted to go to be able to go. I couldn't watch it. I couldn't make eye contact when we said no. It was so sad."
"It's different there because this was something that happens once a year for those kids," Boone said. "I used to do soccer camps and swim camps and sometimes I'd feel like I didn't want to go, but for these kids, this is a one-time experience."
The group got to enjoy a reflection day before returning back to Blacksburg on June 15. This changed bunch continues to sort out the thoughts of what they saw and what they learned. They talked about the trip with friends, but found that their friends often don't understand. So they often gravitate toward each other as a group.
This is what those in the Tech athletics department want to see. They've made an investment in developing future leaders and now 20 student-athletes over the past two years have visited the Dominican Republic and all left wanting and planning to make the world better, one small piece at a time."You know there are countries out there that are poor," Manning said. "But to be able to see it first hand changes you as a person. We didn't build anything for them or give them anything, but just seeing the kids and seeing how happy they were to see us and how hopeful they were for their future, it changes you and how you see the world. You can help others, just by doing little things."
For updates on Virginia Tech Athletics, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@hokiesports).
For updates on the Hokies, follow Jimmy Robertson on Twitter (@jrobIHS).


text:
TIAA-CREF CEO Presents Roadmap to Rebuild Trust in Financial Services Industry
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. delivers Durland Lecture at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University
October 21, 2013
Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and CEO of TIAA-CREF, called for a series of changes in the way corporations are governed as a key step in restoring trust in the financial services industry, when he delivered the 26th Durland Lecture at Johnson at Cornell University. The Durland Lecture is Johnson's most prestigious speaking event.
Ferguson, a former vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said trust in financial companies has plummeted in the aftermath of the recession and the continuing scandals — from insider trading on Wall Street and to Libor rate fixing in London — that have marred the industry.
"Against that backdrop, financial services has become one of the least trusted industries in the world," Ferguson said at the Oct. 17 speech at Ives Hall on the Ithaca, New York, campus of Cornell University. Banks and financial services firms, he noted, placed last in the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer for the third consecutive year. The measure is a global ranking of trust in key institutions.
Despite the public perception of financial services companies, Ferguson said it is critical that attitudes be reversed, because of the social role finance plays in people's lives, providing mortgages, life insurance, and retirement plans.
"Finance is really one of those tools and mechanisms that allows us to achieve whatever our dreams and aspirations may be," said Ferguson, who has led TIAA-CREF, a financial services company, since 2008.
Since weaknesses in corporate governance have been held responsible in part for the 2008 financial crisis, Ferguson said the industry needs to change the way it operates. First of all, he said, corporate boards need to ensure that management is making prudent decisions that focus on long-term value for shareholders, rather than short-term profits. Leaders of financial services companies need to promote long-term thinking, discipline, and sound risk management, he said.
"We all recognize that there will be failures even in the best-managed company," Ferguson said. "The secret for management is to recognize failures when they occur, learn from those failures, but recognize the distinction between failures that occur through past poor judgment, versus malfeasance, and make sure that malfeasance is promptly punished."
Speaking about retirement planning, Ferguson called for improving financial literacy, starting with parents teaching their children about financial management, to high schools requiring courses on the topic for graduation. Though Americans now have a longer life expectancy — 76 for men and 81 for women — they are not saving enough to support themselves in retirement, he said.
Surveys show that only 57 percent of U.S. workers are currently saving for their retirement, while 28 percent reported they had less than $1,000 in savings. "It's not surprising that Americans' measured confidence in retirement and their security around retirement has gone way down," Ferguson said.
Encouraging young people to save for retirement, Ferguson said, can be achieved by creating programs in which employees are automatically enrolled in a savings plan and by changing the current "opt-in" system to one that uses an "opt-out" for savings.
Ferguson encouraged the students in the audience to consider finance as a career option, despite the negative perception of the industry. "We in the industry are doing what we should be doing," he said. "I believe we need to pick up the pace, when it comes to corporate governance, but none of this will work well if we do not attract and retain the attention and support of students and faculty such as you."
News Headlines Index


text:
Amtrak ridership grew 0.9 percent in the first six months of FY 2013 as compared to the same period the prior year. In all, 26 of 45 routes posted ridership increases and Amtrak expects to end the fiscal year at or above last year's record of 31.2 million passengers.
"The continued ridership growth on routes across the country reinforces the need for dedicated, multi-year federal operating and capital funding to support existing intercity passenger rail services and the development of new ones," said Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman.
Northeast Corridor ridership took a significant hit from Superstorm Sandy, which is recovering and is predicted to show gains for the full fiscal year despite being down 1.2 percent for the first six months. Ridership on state-supported and other short distance routes is up 2.7 percent and long-distance ridership grew 0.5 percent.


text:
ScienceMasterIf it's your job to develop the mind,
shouldn't you know how the brain works?
The premise of my research, speeches and workshops over the past three decades has been based on the question, "If it's your job to develop the mind, shouldn't you know how the brain works?"
Kenneth Wesson works as a keynote speaker and educational consultant for pre-school through university-level institutions and organizations. He speaks throughout the world on the neuroscience of learning and methods for creating classrooms and learning environments that are "brain-considerate."
"Each year, new findings in cognitive psychology and neuroscience will be infused into teacher preparation, curriculum, instruction, student assessment, and the classroom environment. The works of Howard Gardner (Multiple Intelligences), Daniel Goleman (Emotional Intelligence), Kenneth Wesson (Brain-considerate Learning), and others have already been influential in reshaping the independent school classroom, while programs like Mel Levine's Schools Attuned are assisting educators in using neurodevelopmental content in their classrooms to create success at learning and to provide hope and satisfaction for all students." -- National Association of Independent Schools


text:
In a remote planet on the edge of the galaxy, a Wanderer special operations team is doing research on a deserted planet when they are joined by two opposing armies, The Pellenorian Military Systems (PMS), and the Cult of the Saint Child, and are caught in the middle of their inter-planetary feud.
Most of the PMS army, including Aegisthus, the hero, near the center, the command squad in red and black, irregulars, the Ostrich cavalry, a medic, and an out of place Dr.Seuss character.
PMS vehicles; artillary, IFV, beer truck, automated walking turret with missile car attachment, and a heavy scouting vehicle.
The Wanderers, which have a mecha, Clown Car, the macabre squad, a desert squad, two command squads, an infantry battalion, and a security squad inside the ice base. They also have a truck full of flamers, a hero on horseback, and the Red Twins, both heroes.
More Wanderers, in addition to the truck full of flamers, they have a fighter full of red ninjas, plus the security squad and a few snipers inside the base. You can also see a fighter of theirs on top of the base.
Saint Child's guys- or at least the few I got pictures of. there's more out of picture, but here you can see his badass VTOL, the edge of his apocacruiser, complete with religous fanatics wielding crystal weaponry.
The rest of the Wanderers. There's the desert squad + Captain Jack, the rest of the macabres, and the edge of another fighter and a weapons platform.
I got initiative, and my mecha used its radiant wave surger against the Wanderer's Mech http://codegeass.wikia.com/wiki/Radiant_Wave_Technology
...and then I roll three 1s for use. uhhh...boom?
The artillary, however, gets a ton of GOOD crits, and blows up three guys on top of the Wanderer's speeder, including the sniper officer and Admiral Ackbar.
The ninja vehicile is shot by Saint Child's apocacruiser.
Another Overwatch. You can better see Saint Child's guys here, as well as the rest of the Macabre squad.
The VTOL gets its windshield shot out.
The flamer squad gets out of the truck, and begin to surround the Hydronauts. One flamers kills two, but I think some Flamers were shot with reaction fire.
Ogel96's Command Squad and Mecha lay down impressive firepower, stopping much of my initial advance, killing most of the irregulars, and my medic.
Combat between PMS and the Wanderers goes badly for the former as the Desert squad shoots open the Pathfinder Scout Vehicles windshield kills the pilot and the supersoldier, and secures the area, although Mr.Mental was killed in the skirmish.
The command squad moves up, cutting off the PMS advance, and kills the rest of the first strike team.
But the PMS counter, and another great shot from the artillary destroys the mecha.
The PMS command squad moves up to counter their Wanderer equivalent, and kills a few of them.
The Green Knight bludgeons the Office Wizard to death.
The pilot of the crippled IFV moves the missile car up, aiming it at the Desert squad.
The hydronauts fire back at the Flamer squad, killing two.
While the religous fanatic shoots the pilot of the green ship.
The fight between the Wanderers and Saint Child continues as much of SC's red squad is killed, along with a few religous fantatics, and the apocacruiser is damaged. However, the ninja vehicle is completely wrecked.
The VTOL takes down The Executioner.
As was the clown car, and two flamers, whose close range weapons were of little use against the long range Hydronauts, who were also on top of a hill, which prevented most of the flamers from reaching them.
But the wanderers strike back as the pilot of the VTOL is killed.
The Green Knight and rocketeer and sniped down.
The main Wanderer troops begin to advance near the destroyed Weapons platform.
While the Red ninjas reveal themselves and stab two religous fanatics in the back.


text:
Pecan Apple Strudel Recipe
Popular Videos
- 1 cup cold butter, cubed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups dry bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 4 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Confectioners' sugar, optional
- In a large bowl, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in sour cream and salt. Shape the dough into a ball; cover and refrigerate overnight.
- For filling, combine bread crumbs and butter. Add apples, sugar, raisins, pecans and cinnamon; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Divide dough into thirds; turn onto a floured surface. Roll each into a 15x12-in. rectangle. Spoon filling evenly onto dough; spread to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up from a long side; pinch seams and ends to seal.
- Carefully place each loaf seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 55-60 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire racks. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired. Yield: 3 strudels (12 slices each).
Reviews forPecan Apple Strudel
My Review
Average Rating
"My favorite strudel recipe. I find the dough very easy to work with and I love the generous amount of filling. I made a double batch last night which I froze before baking and will be baking later to add to a catering job I have. I love that this keeps so well. I do usually add a powdered sugar glaze to mine when it comes out of the oven. Just makes it extra yummy. I love that it is such an easy recipe and yet is so delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe!"
"I have made many strudels and this one is the best! I also used splenda to make it for my diabetic husband and it was also really good. I did freeze some as my apples were near their end. It was good when defrosted but the apples were a little soggy. That could probably be solved by heating it up a bit."
"undecided if i'd make again...too much filling for the amount of dough. need to have a fair amount of flour on surface, if not dough sticks and you are unaware until you start rolling up. Dough split open during baking. I had about 2 cups of leftover filling that was tossed. wasteful."
"My husband (& everyone else) loved it!! The recipe makes a very generous amount and next time I plan to split the dough in quarters and use walnuts. Definitely will continue to enjoy this pleasant blend of comforting flavors and aromas again!"
"I made this for my book club and it was so good any leftovers I had my son took care of before I even had a chance to put away. Thanks for such an awsome recipe!!!"
"I use fruit preserves sometimes instead of the apples. I add nuts and raisins."
"Can this strudel be frozen until needed. I made one on Wednesday and want to serve it on Saturday?"


text:
there goes my investments in learning Chinese, buying slums in Tokyo and building a crappy AI called Wintermute.
The premise here is wrong. Hard SF is not limited to technology that *will* come, it is about technology that *could* come because the science, at the time is is written (and that is a very important issue) is plausible as far as is known. It has nothing to do with the ideas "coming true", though that's not to say they could not.
Suspension of disbelief is easier in stories written this way; and contrary to the above assertion, in good hard SF, the technology doesn't serve the role of the main story, carrying the characters as an incidental; the technology can almost fade away, leaving the story to be the main theme because the technology isn't so crazy.
Can there be good, accurate ideas in hard SF? Sure. We have seen them over and over. Frederick Pohl predicted today's convergence of cell phone, PDA, browser and so on with a great deal of accuracy in "The Age of the Pussyfoot." Niven and Pournelle did a great "asteroid hits earth" novel; Gibson himself did some very intriguing speculation along the lines of interfaces, scientifically plausible but requiring considerably more horsepower than was available at the time of his writing (but not now.) Gregory Benford, James P Hogan, Asimov, Blish, Clarke, and a host of others have all dipped their hand into the "hard" SF bowl and pulled out shining fruits no one had ever thought of before, all while writing great, engaging stories about a huge variety of things.
I read both types with equal, but different, pleasure. I enjoy the flight of fancy that comes with the idea of FTL drive; I also enjoy the tweak I get from a lesser technology that I actually might live to see if things go that way. But if the story doesn't bring interesting plot lines, significant character development, thought-provoking social comment, reasons for the major technological developments being posited... odds are I'll put it down and never pick it up again.
The idea that an SF story would be devalued if the predicted technology didn't materialize or if later science narrows the hard SF window such that it could not materialize is ludicrous; on the contrary, an honest window into what people really thought was possible at any point in time has its own magnificent charm.
What Gibson writes isn't hard sf by any stretch of the imagination. Neuromancer, as I'm sure most of the
Rather than hard sf, let's call Gibson's early writings what they are: cyberpunk, stories about high technology, low lifes, and their interactions in a social millieu. The emphasis isn't technology at all, but social change. I mean, look at the importance of megacorporations and zaibatsus in Gibson's writings, something that's not characteristic of Vinge or Kim Stanley Robinson (who'd I argue is more of a hard sf writer than Charles Stross). Look at Case's first reaction when he is able to punch deck again: there's no technical details for what's been repaired in his brain, but the description of an ecstatic (in the strictest definition of the word) experience. Even the development of the relationship between humanity and AIs over the course of the first trilogy overshadows the technology that drives AIs. There aren't any scientific details and there's no attempt to reconcile science with plot in Gibson's writings. This isn't a bad thing.
To quickly wrap it up, I've always believed that cyberpunk, with its emphasis on heroes, higher [technological] beings, and grand conflicts that change the course of society are new myths for a technological society. Look at Greg Bear's "Petra," Stephenson's _Snow Crash_, Cadigan's _Mindplayers_... the emphasis on the religious/spiritual/pseudo-religious/spiritual is seemingly more important than the technology that drives each of these works. I'm very sad that Gibson is moving away from this, but given Pattern Recognition, he's moving towards an exploration of mass media and society, which is also very fascinating. (And what's this about space operas not being considered sf? Who would say this?)
Having heard Gibson talk about his past, I get the feeling that the reason his writing style changed so much since Neuromancer is because his life got better. It's harder to write about how completely shitty the world is when you can't truly believe it.
While I miss reading the old Gibson, I wouldn't want him to go back to that place.
About the singularity, my opinion is: who knows? It seems more or less like life afte
He's as wrong about this as he was his "cyberspace." It will obviously be followed by the invention of something to shut down an army of robots controlled by the world's first ultraintelligent machine. I know I'm killing a sacred cow here, but were any of his predictions all that accurate? I'm not trolling, but after recommending Neuromancer to my far more literate wife and suffering major embarrasment that she called it "the worst kind of pseudo-intellectual garbage," I had to re-read it. All I can say is that it's a good book to read in middle school 20 years ago. It doesn't hold up very well.Thus the first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make.
I completely agree. When I was in school I thought that he was a great writer and that his books were excellent. They were great books, but having read them again recently the prose and syntatic structure doesn't seem as great as it did when I first read it. None the less, I still think he has a great way with words. The opening line from Neuromancer will always be in my mind
What's "wrong" about it? It hasn't come to pass yet. Mice aside, we still interact with computers in roughly the same way as we did thirty years ago - prettier colors, some video, but still largely a keyboard, a monitor and text.
When someone comes with a truly different way to interact with information, then we can call Gibson "wrong".
He writes what he wants, but the reason Neuromancer & Co. was amazing was because he took certain aspects of the current time and extrapolated them into an interesting future.
I think this is the problem. Look at where we are right now. Extrapolating elements of our present into an interesting future is something many authors have struggled with. Because, quite frankly, the era we're living in is pretty dystopian. For an example: Today Congress passed the "Protect America Act" which grants sweeping surveillance powers to the executive branch with no judicial or legislative oversight. George Orwell didn't know the half of it. How do you work with that? Who is most likely to be able to other throw the totalitarian regime recent US governments have turned the USA into? The Chinese? The other great totalitarian surveillance state?
I really disagree that there were as many issues pressing down on us in the '80's. Barring a Strangelove-esque Doomsday device, MAD was never going to really end it all. The worst issues facing the '80's were the ones that we were blissfully unaware of, or ignoring. Global Warming, Energy crisis in the next 50 years, etc. Worst case (realistic) scenario with the Cold War was the utter destruction of the major world power bases, which doesn't sound all that bad in hindsight.
In my opinion, the best long term extrapolation from our current situation is "Earth Abides" by George R. Stewart, and its probably too optimistic.
I find it impossible. I guess that's why I can't get a job:
Interviewer: "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
Me: "If I knew what was happening in 5 years, I'd be a billionaire and NOT interviewing for some dipshit wage slave job! And maybe, if I actually knew, I'd be committing suicide for my dismal future of: commuting at least an hour in traffic one way each day, having to put up asinine reviews that are geared to make me fail, watching CEOs who get fired leave with tens of millions of dollars in severance while, the rest of us watch our jobs go overseas,and
Me, I am happy that Gibson finally admits he has no freakin' clue what the future will bring.
Maybe he will stop writing about the dark ages as if they were coming to us instead of long past.
Of course, Marx was different in this way: He did make one prediction about the future whose means of production were unknown to him: he thought there would be a people's revolution in which people would take control of the technology developed in the capitalist era, because of the inevitable resort to artificial scarcity that the capitalist system will increasingly have to turn to. Scarcity will need to be artificial because technology will be able to meet all the basic and many of the advanced needs of everyone in the world. Capitalism doesn't work in situations of plentitude, so there is no market for breathable air (yet). So the artificial scarcity that Capitalists will need to create will eventually get so ridiculous that people will just depose them. As far as futurism goes, I think this outline is aging rather well.
And by the way, this is much closer to what Marx actually said than what most "Communists" claim he said. The Marx I read never advocated a revolution, resource distibution, or any of that other socialist stuff. He was a dialectician who thought that history has an inner logic and moves forward inevitably. Pleading with people doesn't move history; technology moves history. He argued pretty forcefully that Capitalism isn't the final system, but not because he was trying to stir up a revolution. It was just to convince people that it can't last, that, like every earlier technological/ideological era, it will be undone by the tools it eventually creates. So if Capitalism creates automatic strawberry harvesters because Mexicans get too expensive, and intelligent robots and fusion powerplants and workerless factories, it will eventually make the gear of it's own demise. Marx repeatedly extolled Capitalism for being so damn good at producing new technology in the most efficient way possible. It was Lenin, not Marx, who thought that a society can leap past all the stages of industrial and post-industrial capitalism and start a revolution with just an ideological vanguard. Obviously, that didn't work out. Marx was clear that technology drives ideology and not the other way around.
Really? And which Marx did you read? Groucho?
It's true that a key difference between Marx and Lenin was Lenin's insistence that a revolutionary vanguard could guide a country into socialism without a well developed capitalism - in fact Marx wrote in The German Ideology that an economy well developed enough that redistribution would not cause need as a prerequisite for socialism or "the same shit w
"How many teamsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?" "FIFTEEN!! YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?"


text:
Help-Portrait is a campaign started in 2009 by Nashville-based photographer Jeremy Cowart to give back to the less fortunate. His simple idea was to photograph people who never dreamed of having a portrait done of themselves and/or their families, to give them something to cherish and boost their self-esteem.
Help-Portrait is a campaign started in 2009 by Nashville-based photographer Jeremy Cowart to give back to the less fortunate. His simple idea was to photograph people who never dreamed of having a portrait done of themselves and/or their families, to give them something to cherish and boost their self-esteem.
Fueled and spread by social media such as Facebook, Help-Portrait is now in its fourth year and has become a worldwide movement.
I've helped to organize Stockton's event each year at the Stockton Shelter for the Homeless to coincide with the larger movement.
Amateur photographer, and my dear friend, Karen Kline of San Leandro returned for the third time in four years. Two photographers who both were new to the project represented opposite ends of the spectrum. Gina Halftery answered my call for photographers on Facebook. A veteran shooter formerly of the Tri-Valley Herald, she now photographs weddings. Safiyyah Scoggins is a self-taught freelance photographer who's only been in the business for a few years. Both brought an eagerness and enthusiasm to their work and not only made great pictures but made the whole experience for our subjects enjoyable and memorable.
Hair stylist Jennifer Pascua has signed up to cut and style hair for all four years of Help-Portraits. Stockton resident and Mary Kay consultant Connie Layman did cosmetic makeovers in the event's first year and is back this year, bringing with her fellow consultant Alice Rabara.
In addition, seven students and two instructors from the Hollywood Beauty College, who were onboard for the first time, volunteered their time also to do hair and makeup. Together, they made the photographers' job easier.
By making our subjects look good, they helped to make them feel good about themselves and boosted their self-esteem. That in turn, made those being photographed smile more easily. The Hollywood students are making arrangements to do their makeovers at the shelter on a monthly basis.
Former Record Graphics Editor Sheldon Carpenter helped with editing and computer work. He used gentle humor and charm when working with clients in choosing the best picture to print.
Tim Ulmer of Ulmer Photo in downtown Stockton returned for the fourth year and proved, as in years past, invaluable to the project. Not only did he bring machines to provide 4-by-6 prints on site, but he also brought along studio lights, backgrounds and posing stools.
My 17-year-old daughter, Claire, has helped each year of the event. This year she mainly downloaded and edited photos. She brought along her friend Madison Whaley, 17, who also helped with everything from distracting reluctant children to downloading some images herself.
About 100 portraits were taken of residents of both the shelter's family and men's facilities and more than 400 prints given out.
I sensed a quiet pride about Doug Hoang as he posed for a picture with his 7-year-old son, Alexander. He told me that he has never had a photo of his son and himself. When our session was done he quietly thanked me with gratitude and humility for taking their picture.
Ray McCoy, a resident of the men's shelter, has lived in the Stockton area since about 1990. A friend pushed him in his wheelchair into our makeshift studio that we set up in the family shelter's dining area. He told me that he hadn't seen his family in Oklahoma and Louisiana since the 1990s and wanted to send them photos for Christmas.
McCoy's friend, Troy Thomas, then had his turn. Posing for Safiyyah Scoggins, he stood straight, tall and proud, looking like a GQ model in the resulting photos. After receiving his prints and on his way out the door with McCoy, in a deep booming voice he gave us a shout out: "Thank you photographers! And God bless you!" And although it was the photographers who got the credit, it really was a team effort to bring holiday memories and smiles to all involved.
Contact Record photographer Clifford Oto at (209) 546-8263 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/otoblog.


text:
Gallery: Amanda Seyfried Looks Pretty, Says Reasonable Things In Glamour
As we reported yesterday, a somewhat Photoshop-addled Amanda Seyfried is the cover girl for the (terribly redesigned!) March 2012 issue of Glamour. Now, the mag has released some quotes and images from the accompanying story, and she's about as honest and down-to-earth as I've come to expect her to be in interviews. She's also gorgeous, despite the overly 'shopped finish of some of the photos. Let's take a look.
(Via Glamour)


text:
Stormageddon Lord of All
Star Wars nuff said.
For twenty thousand years, the Galactic Republic has been the dominant force in the known galaxy, maintaining peace and justice alongside the noble Jedi Order, bringing light to the farthest corners of civilization. But now the Republic is in peril, beset by the despotic Sith Empire and struggling to quell turmoil in the Senate itself. Only the heroic actions of the Republic's brave citizens – smuggler, soldier, and Jedi alike – will win the war against oppression and secure freedom and justice for all beings in the galaxy. Do you have what it takes to defend the Galactic Republic?


text:
Ask and Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum. Stephen Shore, Editor. Foreword by Temple Grandin
An Asperger Dictionary of Everyday Expressions, 2nd edition. Ian Stuart-Hamilton
This dictionary is designed to help ease the confusion for anyone who has ever wondered why anybody would wish to "kill two birds with one stone" or "pull themselves up by their socks" by giving definitions of common everyday phrases and guidance as to their level of politeness and appropriateness.
Asperger Syndrome and Sensory Issues. Brenda Smith Myles, Katherine Tapscott Cook, Nancy E. Miller, Louann Rinner & Lisa A. Robbins
Autism Spectrum Disorders and AAC. Pat Mirenda & Teresa Iacono
For children, adolescents, and adults with autism, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) can have a tremendous positive impact on communication, social skills, and behavior. This comprehensive, up-to-date research volume looks at the most effective AAC methods; clarifies the common characteristics of effective AAC interventions and offers insights into the research required to make AAC technologies more meaningful and motivating. Essential reading for educators, SLPs, OTs, PTs, and other direct service providers working with ASDs.
Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Stephen Shore
A warm and remarkable journey into the life of an "aspie".
The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. Tony Attwood
The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome is the definitive handbook for anyone affected by Asperger's syndrome (AS). It brings together a wealth of information on all aspects of the syndrome for children through to adults.
Drawing on case studies and personal accounts from Attwood's extensive clinical experience, and from his correspondence with individuals with AS, this book is both authoritative and extremely accessible. Chapters examine:
• causes and indications of the syndrome
• the diagnosis and its effect on the individual
• theory of mind
• the perception of emotions in self and others
• social interaction, including friendships
• long-term relationships
• teasing, bullying and mental health issues
• the effect of AS on language and cognitive abilities, sensory sensitivity, movement and co-ordination skills
• career development.
There is also an invaluable frequently asked questions chapter and a section listing useful resources for anyone wishing to find further information on a particular aspect of AS, as well as literature and educational tools.
Essential reading for families and individuals affected by AS as well as teachers, professionals and employers coming in contact with people with AS, this book should be on the bookshelf of anyone who needs to know or is interested in this complex condition.
A '5' Is Against the Law! Social Boundaries Straight Up: an Honest Guide for Teens and Young Adults. Kari Dunn Buron
Building on her popular 5-Point Scale, Kari Dunn Buron takes a narrower look at challenging behavior with a particular focus on behaviors that can spell trouble for adolescents and young adults who have difficulty understanding and maintaining social boundaries. The notion behind the 5-point scale is to take an idea or behavior and break it into five parts to make it easier to understand the different degrees of behavior and, eventually, the consequences of one's behavior … Using a direct and simple style with lots of examples and hands-on activities, A '5' Is Against the Law speaks directly to adolescents and young adults.
Just Give Him the Whale! 20 Ways to Use Fascinations, Areas of Expertise, and Strengths to Support Students with Autism. Paula Kluth & Patrick Schwarz
When learners with autism have deep, consuming fascinations—trains, triangles, basketballs, whales—teachers often wonder what to do. This concise, highly practical guidebook gives educators across grade levels a powerful new way to think about students' obsessions: as positive teaching tools that calm, motivate, and improve learning.
This guide is brimming with easy tips and strategies for folding students' special interests, strengths, and areas of expertise into classroom lessons and routines. An enjoyable read with an eye-opening message, this short book will have a long-lasting impact on teachers' understanding of autism—and on their students' social and academic success.
Living with ASD: Adolescence and Beyond: Helping People on the Autism Spectrum Navigate to and Through Adulthood. Autism Ontario
This adult manual is the result of a collaborative effort of individuals with ASD, parents and professionals working in the autism field. It covers a wide range of topics including sexuality, dual diagnosis, transitions, future planning and living options.
What emerges is a panoramic picture of the challenges adults with ASDs face, the resources and community supports available to them, and their triumphs and hopes as they learn to navigate the world with independence.
The 2010 CD contains all of the pictures from 2002 through 2009 plus new material on schedules, circle time, action and animals, as well as PECS 151.
Preparing for Life: The Complete Guide for Transitioning to Adulthood for those with Autism/Asperger's Syndrome. Jed Baker
The author of the best-selling Social Skills Picture Book now speaks to the growing challenge of social skills in young, and-not-so-young, adults with autism/Asperger's Syndrome. Often the barrier to success, the lack of social skills can be frustrating and a very real challenge. This easy-to-follow resource provides a complete toolbox of skills that can open doors to opportunities. Includes sections on perspective taking, non-verbal communication, conversational skills, goal setting, and stress management.
A Self-Determined Future with Asperger Syndrome: Solution Focused Approaches. E. Veronica Bliss & Genevieve Edmonds
A Self-Determined Future with Asperger Syndrome presents an empowering, practical approach to helping people with Asperger Syndrome to succeed at college, at work, at home and in life. The authors highlight how treating AS as a 'problem' is unproductive, and advocate a solution focused approach which recognizes and uses the strengths of people with AS to foster mutual respect and understanding.
This book will be of interest to people who are affected by AS, their families, and the people who work with them.
The Ziggurat Model: a Framework for Designing Comprehensive Interventions for Individuals with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Expanded Edition. Ruth Aspy, & Barry Grossman (Includes Individual Strengths and Skills Inventory (ISSI) and a special section on Ziggurat-CAPS Integration)
The Ziggurat Model, Textbook Edition: Desigining Comprehensive Interventions for Individuals with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Ruth Aspy, & Barry Grossman
UCC-CL: Underlying Characteristics Checklist Manual, a Needs Assessment Tool to Facilitate Intervention Design for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Ruth Aspy & Barry Grossman. Includes instruction manual and 20 copies of assessment tool. UCC-CL French Edition
UCC-HF: Underlying Characteristics Checklist Manual, a Needs Assessment Tool to Facilitate Intervention Design for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Ruth Aspy & Barry Grossman. Includes instruction manual and 20 copies of assessment tool. UCC-HF French Edition


text:
And if you want to sing that title to the Backstreet Boys song, feel free. Yes, I admit it - I love the Backstreet Boys and even have their latest cd which is fab. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about today - actually, it's more like a complaint. You see, there's something else I really love - shopping - and clothes designers are not making things easy.
So since my big life changing event, I have lost some weight - like 2-3 pants sizes in weight depending on the designer. Good news, right? Yeah, until you try to find something to wear. Now, since I'm one of those people that keep all my smaller clothes because I figured one day I'd get back in them, I DO have a decent wardrobe in four different sizes - of course I'm already past two of them but hey - progress. So I don't need all new stuff but I need a couple of simple tops to compliment the capris I already have.
So for the past two weekends, I have made passes by stores in search of some simple, inexpensive tops. The new trend this year (and quite frankly most of last) is the baby doll tops like the one pictured above. Cute, huh? Yeah, I thought so too, but there's one big problem I've found with these tops. First off, they come in two types of material - a light breezy cotton or a cotton/spandex blend that makes me sweat just thinking about it. So the light breezy cotton is definitely the top for me. But the light breezy cotton doesn't "give" so an exact fit is required. And that's where the problem comes in.
Can someone please tell me why in this age of vanity and affordable breast implants, all tops are made to house ten-year olds in the bust??????? Sorry, folks, but I'm built like a woman - boobs, hips, you know the drill. And even if I lost more weight, the girls still wouldn't fit in one of those tops because I'd just have to go down another size and I'm figuring the boob area doesn't get bigger as the top gets smaller. So in order to fit my boobs in one of these tops, I'd have to buy it bigger than I need. Sometimes this is a doable thing, but take a good look at that top again. See how it's fitted under the boobs then blouses out over the tummy (which is a great idea for hiding a little too much tummy), well the bigger the top, the bigger the tummy area - so by the time I'm in one that fits my boobs, I look like I'm pregnant with an elephant that's been gestating for four years.
By the way - I have the same boob problem with bathing suits, but since the whole topic of bathing suits is subject to moaning and crying (mostly by me) we're going to skip that for today.
Second complaint - length of pants. I'm 5'8" - not an Amazon, but not the average height for women either. And damned if I can find pants long enough. Ever once and a while I can locate a Tall but for the most part they all skim the tops of my ankles, giving me the whole "high-waters" look that I think was popular before I was born. And let's just go ahead and say a small prayer of thanks that I HAVE lost some weight and left women's sizes behind. Because apparently, if you are fat, you MUST be 4 foot 2.
Summer is much easier for me to manage - capris are still "in" (thank God) and I don't have to search the ends of the earth looking for 32 length pants.
So after two weekends of searching for my prey, I am still topless. Well, you know what I mean. :)
So what's your fashion complaint?
Deadly (DD) DeLeon
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tell Me Why
And if you want to sing that title to the Backstreet Boys song, feel free. Yes, I admit it - I love the Backstreet Boys and even have their latest cd which is fab. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about today - actually, it's more like a complaint. You see, there's something else I really love - shopping - and clothes designers are not making things easy.
Posted by Jana DeLeon at 6:22 AM
28 comments:
- Amie Stuart said...
FWIW Old Navy and Eddie Bauer do different length pants. That said if you're still losing weight, it can get pricey! I'm 5'6 (barely) and I even have trouble finding pants that are long enough.
Good luck with the tops!
- March 31, 2008 at 9:32 AM
- Gemma Halliday said...
Oh I hate those tops! The girls never fit right in them. There are certain styles I just don't even try anymore. Anything fitted or cut to look 'just so' in the bust area aint gonna work for me.
But I have the opposite problem with pants, though. They're all way too long. Capris hit my ankles.
- March 31, 2008 at 9:42 AM
- Jana DeLeon said...
amie - yeah, I know. I struggle with the whole how much do I buy now since I'm hoping it won't fit in a month deal. So I'm limiting myself to just a couple of additions to cover work and that's it. Thanks for the info!
- March 31, 2008 at 9:47 AM
- Jana DeLeon said...
Gemma - You'd think someone would take care of the girls. :)
Well, at least with the pants, you can have them hemmed. But unless I want to sew a decorative bottom on all my jeans, I'm out of luck. lol
- March 31, 2008 at 9:48 AM
- Christie Craig said...
Hi Jana,
Okay...too funny. Those baby doll tops make me look about six months pregnant. AGG! And only then if I can find a top that will fit across my top.
I'm on my rant about clothes, too. Gotta go shopping for the RT conference. I'll be discussing this my next blog.
So I'm interested in seeing any help you might get on the subject as well.
Crime Scene Christie
- March 31, 2008 at 9:56 AM
- Lucy said...
I have the opposite problem in pants. I'm 5'2" and if I get the petite size (which is supposed to work for those under 5'4"), they're too short. Anything else is too long and has to be hemmed.
Oh, and like you, I kept all the "skinny" clothes but once I lost the weight, the "fat" clothes got tossed. I want to know that if I gain weight again, it's going to cost me. For me that's a pretty good incentive to keep the weight off.
- March 31, 2008 at 10:05 AM
- Jana DeLeon said...
LOL Christie - I'm thinking breast reduction but that sounds a bit drastic. (and your husband would probably kill me, right?) :)
- March 31, 2008 at 10:11 AM
- Jana DeLeon said...
Lucy - EXACTLY! That's why I spent all day Sunday removing 162 items from my closets/drawers and putting them in give to friends stack or send to salvation army stack or simply throw away. :)
- March 31, 2008 at 10:12 AM
- Wendy Roberts said...
I wore one of those baby doll tops last year at Thrillerfest and was crushed when the bookseller actually asked me when I was due. This after I'd lost 20 pounds. The top has never seen the light of day since then. Good luck with your search!
- March 31, 2008 at 10:35 AM
- Jana DeLeon said...
Sorry Wendy - but I had to giggle. You SOOOOO don't look pregnant and what the hell are people thinking when they ask questions like that?????? You're just asking to eat shoe.
- March 31, 2008 at 11:03 AM
- Keri Ford said...
For your jean shopping pleasure, buy online. normally you can get any size in any length. I LOVE jeans from venusswimmwear.com. Last I was there, they were cheaper than other places. For tops that are different, go to Fredericks of Hollywood online. Yep, THAT Fredericks. They have real clothes too, and I can tell you, anytime I wear something from there, I get compliments on the clothes.
I love clothes, but have a number of complaints in this area. For starters. Jeans. I have two options:
1)choose pants that fit my hips and be baggy on my waist
2)choose pants that fit my waist and be so snug on my hips I can't sit down.
What is up with that? the really, really-just above your crack-low ride jeans work best because there is no waist :O) I can fit to the hips. But then I can't sit down either or else I get a draft.
And then I had a baby. I'm not sure what happened. I weigh the same as before, but none of my before pregancy clothes fit right any more. It's like all the weight' hanging out in different places.
okay, I've yabbered long enough! keri
- March 31, 2008 at 12:13 PM
- Jana DeLeon said...
Keri - LOL on the draft - I know what you mean. I like Frederick's clothes but haven't looked there in a long time. Now that I'm on my way to thin, I'll have to check them out again. Thanks! :)
- March 31, 2008 at 12:53 PM
- Kathy Bacus said...
At 5'9" I've had to buy 'Tall' jeans since I was a freshman in high school, Jana. I'm at least 3/4 legs! And I'm really picky about how my jeans fit--especially where they ride on the ol' hips. And they absolutely have to be either boot cut or slightly flared. No straight leg for me. So, needless to say, it's a challenge to shop for pants.
Being in the midst of the winter that won't end, I'm SO looking forward to wearing Capris, tees, and flip flops again.
My daughters wear those baby doll tops and they look really cute. I'd look like a woman trying to reclaim her youth--and failing miserably.
~Bullet Hole~
- March 31, 2008 at 2:11 PM
- Jana DeLeon said...
Kathy - I'm all legs too! Great back in the days when I was thin and tan and wore short shorts. Kinda of inconvenient now.
- March 31, 2008 at 2:27 PM
- Beth said...
Oh Jana, I am totally with you on the girls not fitting in those type of tops. And I'm also finding that a lot of the dresses are cut that way too. So what's a generously blessed woman to do? Keep shopping and shopping and shopping. I can't stand those tops (they came in fashion right after I had my youngest and I was TIRED of big flowy tops). I've found a few nice tops but I had to search for them which was not that fun since I'm a freak of nature woman who doesn't like to shop. Not even for shoes. And it's really hard to do some good shopping when you refuse to go to the mall. Hello online shopping!
I've had some great luck with Old Navy jeans because you can get them in different lengths (I am 5'6'' and had to buy short because reg was too long) and I love the 'at waist' fit-just say no to crack. Good luck and enjoy the smaller sizes!
- March 31, 2008 at 2:44 PM
- Estella said...
I also dislike the tops made for teenyboppers.
- March 31, 2008 at 3:49 PM
- Tori Lennox said...
Oh, Lord, do NOT get me started on the way some clothes are designed to fit (or not fit, as the case may be). *rolling eyes*
- March 31, 2008 at 3:57 PM
- Jana DeLeon said...
Thanks, Beth! Maybe I'll enjoy the smaller sizes as soon as the style changes. :)
And one should DEFINITELY always say no to crack. lol
- March 31, 2008 at 4:51 PM
- Jana DeLeon said...
estella - but I'm trying to cling to my youth........not really, but darned if there's anything else on the racks!
- March 31, 2008 at 4:52 PM
- Jana DeLeon said...
tori - if you were with me on Saturday, you would have been rolling boobs. :) Not that it helped any except to get it all shoved in there.
- March 31, 2008 at 4:52 PM
- Gemma Halliday said...
OMG - Wendy, that's awful!! :O
She does know you will have to murder a bookseller in your next book now, right?
- March 31, 2008 at 7:40 PM
- Jana DeLeon said...
LOL Gemma - the author's ultimate revenge. :)
- March 31, 2008 at 10:49 PM
- Michele L. said...
I have had goodluck ordering from catalogs. They usually list all the sizes. If you need help they have a number you can call. The one I use the most is Newport News. They also have a 20% club discount if you join for a year which costs $25.00. I think they mail out 6 different catalogs with the saying on the front, "20% discount on all items for club members". I am busty and hippy. Most of the clothes I have ordered in my size always fit me. There have been a couple times and I had to send something back. You might want to try them.
Also, I used to order from Blair but then there sizing is so weird anymore. A medium is 10 - 12 and large is 14 - 16. I take a large but their large is like a tent on me. So then I tried the medium and it was to small. Therefore, I think their clothes are sized wrong.
Good luck with your clothes search! I hope you find some great clothes!
Michele L.
- March 31, 2008 at 11:23 PM
- Jenyfer Matthews said...
I tried on one of those baby doll tops ONCE. My girls fit in just fine but I didn't like that maternity look so I left it in the store. I really like tank tops with skinny straps (and inside support!) though.
Jeans are tough. I found a pair last summer at The Gap that fit my rear great but they really need to be hemmed. I folded them up a couple of inches with my boots and still the drag the ground! I'm reluctant to hem them myself and have them *look* home hemmed, KWIM?
- April 1, 2008 at 1:06 AM
- Jana DeLeon said...
Thanks, Michele! I ordered from Newport News years ago and have since forgotten about them - I'll take a look again!
- April 1, 2008 at 7:18 AM
- Jana DeLeon said...
Jenyfer - Okay, it's official - I have decided that clothes are designed ONLY for runway models.
On this blog we've all all shapes and sizes with the same complaint. So WHO exactly are clothes designed for??????
- April 1, 2008 at 7:20 AM
I'm very much a big ole girl. At 5'8", I find that the average height of lane bryant jeans works for me, plus they make talls as well.
My biggest complaints as a big woman:
-- bra bands that roll and try to cut you in half under the armpits. "Guaranteed no-roll band" is a lie. The Oprah bra has been sold out as long as I've been trying to find one. Every lingerie fitter I've been to gives me a different size, and none of them fit right.
-- long sleeve shirts that aren't; inevitably they hit about 1 inch above the wrist, and shrink to 2 or 3 inches above the wrist. Or maybe I'm an orangutan.
-- cropped shirts. I want 30" to 32" lengths on all my shirts, to cover the belly. For the past 3 seasons, though, the standard shirt length has been 26" to 28". Some things are not flattering on fat women.
Pink Pelican
- April 2, 2008 at 3:43 PM
big shoulder pads and shorts shorts
kim h
- April 7, 2008 at 8:42 PM


text:
We are only minutes away from showtime here at the new BlackBerry 10 launch event in New York City and in cities around the world London, Dubai, Toronto, Paris and Johannesburg. The press has filed in and the anticipation is building. The show is about to kick off with a montage of guests and interviews from excited fans, analysts and media from around the world. It has definitely been a spirited journey and a fantastic build-up to launch – check out a few of the stories being highlighted.
[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]
[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]
There you have it – I definitely echo the host's sentiment when he said, "I hope after today Lil' E can get some sleep." Stay tuned – all your BlackBerry 10 launch news is coming up next. Are you excited? Be sure to leave us a comment telling us your journey to BlackBerry 10.