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Saturday, February 12, 2011
Here Comes Valentine's Day
Few people are indifferent to Valentine's Day. I have friends who plan it for months--the hearts, the flowers, the reservation, the lingerie, the seduction. Others adamantly refuse to celebrate it at all, declaring it a Hallmark Holiday. Some even consider V-Day contrary to true love, believing that you should be romantic all year long, not just on February 14. (Of course, that cohort was a group of guys who were notoriously cheap and skilled at spin, so their credibility is suspect even if the argument has merit....)
I recently read that February 13 has become one of the busiest nights for restaurants. If this doesn't kill the romantic spirit, nothing will: Cheating spouses go out with their extracurricular activity that night, saving V-Day for their husbands or wives. Ick.
But adulterers aside....In order to navigate this potential minefield with minimal casualties, I offer you some Valentine Guidelines.....
1. Gentlemen: Don't give a ring unless it is THE RING. Do not even give a gift in a box of a size and diminsion that could potentially contain a ring unless it is THE RING. No amount of smooth talk, backrubbing or chick flick attendance can restore the mood after she expectantly opens a small square box and finds a chocolate truffle, guitar pick, or ITunes gift card.
2. Know Your Valentine. I once saw a gentleman fill a Godiva box with sushi for Valentine's Day. He actually dumped the chocolates in the trash (whether I pulled a George Costanza and dug some out is really no one's concern) and gave the box to the sushi chef to fill with unagi, ebi, and maguro. I hope the love of his life was happy when she opened the box. If that had been me, (and I eat sushi at least once a week with pleasure and gusto) my Valentine would have made a colassal boo-boo. So think about your significant other before you buy tickets/make a reservation/arrange a hike and picnic. If he or she is a homebody, don't plan a party. If your valentine loves rom-coms and you don't, she'll be thrilled when you offer to take her to see No Strings Attached and don't require a future commitment to see The Mechanic in return.
3. Know Your Valentine, Part II. If he/she is not the romantic type and never has been, don't expect a sudden influx of roses, truffles and heartfelt verses expressing his/her eternal devotion to you in iambic pentameter. Either let it go or summon up the trimmings for the both of you: "Honey, Saturday is Valentine's Day. I'd really like to have a special evening with you." Plan the dinner/drinks/ movie/bubble bath and make sure s/he is on board. Who knows, s/he might even show up with some overpriced roses or at least a mushy card. But if s/he doesn't, and this is catastrophic for you, you may want to reconsider your choice of Valentine. (Or, s/he may do it for you; no one likes histrionics over what they think is silly.)
4. In the quest for good, cheap and quick Valentine gifts, you can generally only have two of the three. I know, this adage normally applies to the building trade, but it is equally apt for Valentine's gifts. Quick and good is easy, but not cheap. Head to the jewelers, his/her fave boutique, spa, gourmet shop or liquor store and prepare to pony up. If you want good and cheap, you will not get quick (at least not without the help of Grace, see below). This duo usually involves some long-term planning and/or something you make yourself. If you want quick and cheap, it probably won't be very good--no one really wants one of those grab and go stuffed animals or kitchy statuettes. And cheap chocolate ranks right up there with pleated pants on my Things That Should Not Exist List.
As promised, here are some Gracious suggestions for Valentine's gifts, whatever your budget.....
--Personal Coupon Book. These can be as naughty/nice as you like, or a combination thereof. For the naughty you will have to use your imagination; what happens in the bedroom (or living room, kitchen table, backseat, jacuzzi.....) stays there. Graces do not share details. For the nice, offer vouchers for tedious errands, cooking dinner, backrubs, laundry, bearer's choice groan-free movie rental, "get out of 'X' free" (fill in abhorrent social obligation).
--Burn a CD with all of your Valentine's favorite songs (or songs that are meaningful to the two of you--the first song you danced to, the song that was playing when you met, the first argument you had over song lyrics, etc.)
--Make a Valentine's Day Dinner for the two of you. This Romantic Menu Planner will help. If you don't cook, order takeout and have some sparkling wine.
---Jewelry. If you have been dating for more than 2 months, stay away from jewelry because of the dilemma described in #1 above. If you have been dating less than 2 months, stay away from jewelry because it's too soon to start bestowing such extravagant gifts. If you don't fit into either of these categories (i.e. everyone who is engaged, married, or in a relationship in which marriage is irrelevant) then jewelry is ideal. I am not a fan of hearts, but Elsa Peretti has some interesting designs that manage to avoid the preteen girl look. A more moderate but equally appealing choice: Janna Connor Designs. They are fun, stylish, and definitely appropriate for V-day. Not a heart person? Embrace the Valentine's Day color scheme. For the extravagant, consider a John Hardy red leather and sterling bracelet. Not so flush? Go with a more economical Kenneth Jay Lane Red or Pink Bamboo Bangle
---Spa. If you have the ability to send your beloved for a day of pampering at a grand spa, then by all means do so. If not, provide a home-grown version. Purchase some trial size lotions, bath salts, and oils. Accompany them with handwritten gift certificates for shoulder rubs, uninterrupted baths, and body massages. Who knows, the tip you get might be just the best V-Day gift there is.
--Fashion. On the high end, go for a red cashmere shawl. It's elegant, versatile, lightweight and warm as toast. Everytime she wraps it around her, she'll think of you. How romantic. Economical option: heart socks; they're fun, fanciful, very V-Day, and who doesn't run short of socks occasionally? Pair this with some foot cream and a foot massage and you've got a fabulous theme gift--a bit fetishy, but that's ok, it's V-Day after all.
Whatever you do, Graces, do it right. Despite being the shortest month, February can feel mighty long and cold if you blow it on the 14th.
Posted by Social Grace at 10:57 AM
3 comments:
- Courtney said...
Nice tips about choosing right gift for Valentines Day...
- Kati said...
sending fan love your way! great blog! thanks for sharing!
- Social Grace said...
Thanks Kati!
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subset: commoncrawl


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MALVERN -- Friday's co-ed swim meet that featured Conestoga swimming against Villa Maria Academy (girls) and host Malvern Prep (boys) was like a Las Vegas boxing card that had co-headlining bouts featuring four of the best heavyweights in the world in 12-round non-title fights.
Malvern and 'Stoga are two of the four best boys teams in Chester County this season, and there is a strong possibility that Conestoga (Class AAA) and Villa Maria (Class AA) will finish as this year's District One champions.
Both Conestoga squads swam well in Friday's meet. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, Villa and Malvern swam better. Villa Maria won the girls meet, 116-68, and Malvern Prep logged a 108-72 win in the boys meet.
If the fans in the packed stands were looking for exciting finishes, then Villa's Julie Dobson and Molly O'Brien were the biggest crowd-pleasers. In the 50-yard freestyle, they finished as close as they possibly could -- each with a time of 25.37.
After tying for first place in the 50 free, they staged another barnburner in the 100 freestyle. O'Brien touched first at 54.90 and Dobson took second with a time of 54.97.
"I like racing Molly," said Dobson. "She pushes me really well. I like practicing with her every Thursday too. The 50 was the fastest I've gone this year -- and it's my best untapered time."
O'Brien said, "Both the 50 and the 100 were pretty good today. I have good races with Julie. I'm just glad she's on our team. I was happiest with my 100. I went out faster and was able to get a better lead."
O'Brien and Dobson also swam together on the Hurricanes' winning 400 free relay along with Sarah Hitchens and Lauren Law. Dobson teamed with Emily Cornell, Olivia Tierney and Law on the first-place 200 medley relay while O'Brien joined with Kaitlyn Alvanos, Cornell and Hitchens on the victorious 200 freestyle relay.
Law and Hitchens were both quadruplewinners. Law took first in the 200 IM at 2:11.09 and the 500 freestyle at 5:18.38 while Hitchens won the 100 backstroke at 58.74 and added a victory in the 100 butterfly.
"I think back was a better race because I haven't done it a lot in dual meets and I needed a good seed time for districts," said Hitchens. "It was a good in-season time. I'm right on track for where I want to be for districts.'
Law said, "This was my first time to swim the 500 this season so it was a little hard to figure out a good pace. I just wanted to go out and see what the competition was. My IM was good. It was a fun race -- and a decent time for this point in the season."
Conestoga's lone win came when Kaitlyn Benjamin touched first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:59.99.
"I was hoping to go 1:59.50 or faster because that's automatic cut for districts," said Benjamin. "I could have had better turns."
The Pioneer boys had just one individual event winner -- Waylon Jin, who was first in the 100 breaststroke with a clocking of 1:00.56.
"That was my best time this season," said Jin. "It was my best race. I needed it to place me back on the top of the Central League."
As usual, Malvern was paced by M.P. Salinas and Paul Stockett. Salinas took first in the 200 free at 1:49.50 and the 100 free at 48.23 while Stockett won the 200 IM at 1:57.59 and placed second in the 100 backstroke at 56.61.
"Both races were pretty good," said Salinas, who was just accepted by the U.S. Naval Academy. "I just wanted to win both."
Stockett said, "My IM was good and my back time wasn't bad. I'm pretty sore right now. I lifted for the first time in awhile and I'm feeling it. I wasn't sure how things would go today."
The Friars' other individual winners were Billy Beard in the 50 freestyle (22.01), Chris Cary in the 100 butterfly (53.49), Brandon Fronczak in the 500 free (4:49.68) and C.J. Schaffer in the 100 backstroke (52.92).
"Fly felt good," said Cary. "I think it was the best I felt all year for the 100 fly. My strokes and my turns all felt good. Everything was working."
Villa Maria 116, Conestoga 68
200-yard medley relay -- Villa Maria (Cornell, Tierney, Law, Dobson) 1:51.19; 200 freestyle – Benjamin (C) 1:59.99; 200 IM – Law (V) 2:11.09; 50 freestyle – Dobson (V0 and O'Brien (V) 25.37; diving – ; 100 butterfly – Hitchens (V) time not available; 100 freestyle – O'Brien (V) 54.90; 500 freestyle -- Law (V) 5:18.38; 200 freestyle relay -- Villa Maria (O'Brien, Hitchens, Alvanos, Cornell) 1:40.51; 100 backstroke – Hitchens (V) 58.74; 100 breaststroke – Tierney (V) 1:12.01; 400 freestyle relay -- Villa Maria
(O'Brien, Hitchens, Dobson, Law) 3:39.10.
Malvern Prep 108, Conestoga 72
200-yard medley relay -- Malvern Prep (Schaffer, Stockett, Cary, Beard) 1:37.56; 200 freestyle –Salinas (M) 1:49.50; 200 IM – Stockett (M) 1:57.59; 50 freestyle – Beard (M) 22.01; diving –; 100 butterfly – Cary (M) 53.49; 100 freestyle – Salinas (M) 48.23; 500 freestyle -- Fronczak (M) 4:49.68; 200 freestyle relay -- Malvern Prep (Salinas, Cary Dresden, Beard) 1:28.75; 100 backstroke – Schaffer (M) 52.92; 100 breaststroke – Jin (C) 1:00.56; 400 freestyle relay -- Conestoga (Kolluru, Ashmead, Jay, Schon) 3:18.36.


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Ex-England international Jamie Redknapp believes Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla can be the Premier League's very own Andres Iniesta and Xavi double act.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, Redknapp says he can't wait to watch Wilshere and Cazorla in the same team.
Wilshere made his Arsenal comeback in an under-21's match last week after 14 months out injured. The England midfielder did not play against West Ham, and Arsene Wenger revealed he would not rush him back to first-team action.
Spain star Cazorla was superb against the Hammers this weekend, and scored a brilliant 25-yard goal as Arsenal beat West Ham 3-1 at Upton Park.
But Redknapp can't wait to watch Wilshere and Cazorla link up when the Englishman returns to the Gunners lineup.
"As an ex-midfielder, I'm licking my lips at Wilshere and Cazorla in the same team," wrote Redknapp.
"They could be the Premier League's Xavi and Iniesta."
Cazorla, a summer signing from Malaga, has settled quickly into life at Arsenal, and the creative playmaker was pulling the strings on Saturday as Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott helped fire the Gunners to another Premier League win.
The Spain international played alongside Xavi and Iniesta as Vincente Del Bosque's side won this summer's Euro 2012 tournament, although Cazorla was restricted to a substitutes role.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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The Second Amendment (Part 1 of 2)
NOW PLAYING: You can largely determine where a person will fall in the debate over gun control and the Second Amendment based on their view of government and the role it should play in our lives. Ultimately, the Second Amendment's right to bear arms reflects not only a concern for one's personal defense, but serves as a check on the political power of the ruling authorities. It represents an implicit warning against governmental encroachments on one's freedoms, the warning shot over the bow to discourage any unlawful violations of our persons or property. As such, it reinforces that necessary balance in the citizen-state relationship.
Audio MP3 (Click to listen, right click to download)


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A new club has been created at Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School. Since last year's upgrade to 1:1 ratio of students to computers, it became apparent to Mr. Leeman, the club advisor, that our school needed a Student Tech Committee. It consists of a group of students who enjoy spending time on their computers, and want to learn more about them and their applications.
Their main goal is to help students whenever they may have questions about certain things on their computers. The Student Tech Committee also hosts a professional development day to teach students about computers. On this day, the students follow the routine of a half-day schedule, and then spend the afternoon going room-to-room and learning about different applications on their computers. Each session is taught by a Student Tech Committee member, and are informational, educational, and helpful for everyone.
Recently, the Student Tech Committee has been selling computer covers to all the students at G-R to give them the sense of personalization, while protecting the computers at the same time. After last year's exciting, and successful response to the keyboard covers, they thought the computer covers would be a great idea, too! Student Tech Committee looks for a couple students from each grade to participate.
Students who were involved the school year previous usually carry over into the new year. They mainly focus on getting incoming freshmen involved. If someone wants to get involved, they are more than welcome to come to a meeting and join!
This club is very beneficial to our school, because they can teach students and teachers things they may not know, and makes using the computers more efficient when it comes to class time and school work. They are hoping to have a functioning website or page on the school's main site, so they can best serve students, faculty, and other internet users. For more information about the Student Tech Committee, you can check out their website at sites.google.com/a/rebel-nation.net/gr-student-tech/.


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If the supplier thinks WalMart is overcharging, and that the tag should only cost 20 cents, they can always do it themselves.
If, on the other hand, their cost to do it would be $5.00, why not let WalMart ding them for $2.00?
Look, WallyWorld is not my favourite store, since I'm pretty much boycotting the crap that comes out of China nowadays, and I still insist on standing in line at the grocery store to talk to a HUMAN rather than use the self-checkout machines, but rfid tags on palettes makes sense, i
Good points. I can add:
I think more Slashdotters should go into the retail business. God knows we have the music business already figured out. Too bad we're all too busy playing WoW to change the world.
If they charged their cost, then the supplier could, in effect, "hire" the Walmart guy to put the tags on. It's much simpler - no need to buy the tags or equipment, and no chance of error. Walmart's aim is not to get the $2, it's to get the supplier to put the tags on.
"So you think it's fair to charge $2 to slap a $.20 RFID tag on a pallet? As far as I can tell, this is not 1 RFID per item, it's 1 per pallet. It is -only- used to track shipments, not individual products."
I suppose we can add channel management, supply chain management and logistics to the areas of knowledge that Slashdotters know everything about.
Distribution centers have rules about receiving products. These rules are necessary to keep the inventory flowing and to keep costs down. Retail DCs (owned by Best Buy, Target and the like) have them, as do distributors, like Ingram and D&H.
The missing RFID tag is a McGuffin -- it could be anything. Missing RFID? Low pallet count? High pallet count? Pallet packed with unexpected dimensions? Unannounced change in the case pack quantity or outer box pack quantity? The product doesn't conform, so it needs to be segregated to another part of the warehouse, and people need to be assigned to rework the product. In the meantime, it's dead inventory that can't be sold.
As has already been mentioned, your estimate of the rework cost is low, but that's not the point -- Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Ingram et al aren't trying to build a profit center out of RFID tag reworks or any sort of rework! They pass the cost of the rework along to the supplier, and the goal is to have it not happen again. Product that's delayed in the warehouse or the DC means missed sales, and if it's a load-in for a holiday weekend or a scheduled promotion, lots of money is lost.
No, Wal-Mart is charging for a required service the Mfg./Supplier isn't complying with
So Wal-Mart is buying off a supplier who never RFID tagged anything, and probably never agreed to. Now Wal-Mart is going to charge the people who it's buying off a fee for tagging their stuff. This seems to me nothing more than a devious attempt by Wal-Mart to start shafting both ends of their business chain!
Two dollars per Pallet is a fair price (IMHO) as they have to tag, inventory, and verify each non-RFID pallet that enters this one facility.
I believe that turns out not to be the case. (So much nicer than saying "Bullshit," isn't it?)
My guess is that they receive an ASN - an Advance Ship Notice - for any supplier that they're contemplating hitting with this $2 surcharge (They do from us - I'm trying to remember what hierarchical levels we send, I believe we send Shipment, Order, Tare, Pack and Item level
<sarcasm>What, Walmart abusive to its suppliers? Incredible.</sarcasm>It's not illegal AFAIK but it is abusive.
2. I understand that to not-do-business with Walmart is to await death. To do business with Walmart, however, is to invite death. (Seriously, they will put so much price pressure on you... and are not at all concerned with running you, as a supplier, into the ground, since there are plenty of other suppliers out there...)
Board Games. Monopoly, Risk, Scrabble, etc. All trademark (not copyright) protected.
Video Games. All protected by copyright and trademark
Books. Copyrighted.
All brand name products, from electronics to food to motor oil to running shoes.
None of these are fungible. Ask any parent whose kid insists on Nike or Captain Crunch. Or any car owner who insists on Valvoline. Or EVERYONE who wants a Wii.
"Nintendo could sell as many Wii consoles without Wal-Mart as with Wal-Mart."
Very true. Also, I've seen games sell for less at other stores than they do at WallyWorld. This past Christmas included Cranium (bought 3 copies) and an electronic Sudoku game (5 copies).
WalMart doesn't have any sort of monopoly on lowest prices. TV DVD recorders - Worst Buy/Future Shit had the best deal - bought 3 LG-850s at $99/each. Much better than anything WallyWorld had, even at a higher price.
Also, there are manufactu [fastcompany.com]
Even at $0.02 per tag, that would significantly impact the price or profit of a lot of small items, not even counting the initial cost of creating the infrastucture.Wouldn't it make more sense to just have an rfid on each package?
Not the same technology. Those theft-deterrent tags are just a small piece of metal foil shaped/sized so it's resonant frequency falls at a particular RF frequency. Broadcast on that frequency near it and it "pings" back with a signal. Hit it with a strong enough signal, the heat generated melts the foil and the tag no longer reacts. Notice that there's no data at all here, the tag's just a reflector. The gates near the store doors transmit a low-power signal and sound an alarm if they hear an echo from a t
Imagine you run a monster distribution center. You order from a zillion vendors and pallets of merchandise appear. Some pallets have a nice list attached to them describing what is in them so you can route them to the store without unpacking them. Others just show up with a pile of boxes and you have to, at least partially, unpack and re-wrap them to confirm the contents.
1. Your next version of your terms and conditions require a packing list.
Then, you find that most of the lists have the PO number on them and list the items by part number, but a few just say something like "Here's 10 cases of green shirts." Most have the packing list printed on a label on the side of the wrapped pallet. Some have it inaccessible from the outside.
2. Your next revision of your terms and conditions require the list to be on the outside and dictate the format.
After a few rounds, you realize that these lists are very expensive to produce and to read and all of your suppliers have (or should have) computers anyway, so you have them electronically send you the packing list and specify a shipment number. That number goes on a bar-code label at a specific place on the shipment. On your receiving dock, you have someone dance around each pallet to scan it and then it disappears into your warehouse.
3. Your next Ts and Cs require the bar-code
You find that the bar-code requires stopping the flow of items in all sorts of places. You invest in RFID readers for your whole distribution line. You tag all the incoming shipments as they arrive, and you find that it works.
4. Your next Ts and Cs require RFID labels.
A grace period comes and goes. Tagged shipments fly right through your distribution center smoothly, but you have some suppliers who still don't comply with your agreements with them and you have to stop each of those shipments on your dock and slap an RFID label on them yourself. The industry gets to the point where labels with tags are down to 40 cents in tiny quantities and the equipment to program them is down to under a thousand. There are also companies that will sell tags preprogrammed for a dollar or two. Still, some of your suppliers who were eager to sell to you and signed the Ts and Cs the day they took the order, fail to follow through.
5. You start to either refuse to accept shipments that don't comply with the contract or you charge a fee to fix the sloppy shipments.
Now, a legitimate issue is where the power in the relationship is. WM is well known for holding all the power and that really can be viewed as being all about price and accepting the Ts and Cs in the first place. That's an issue that comes up anytime they meet with a supplier. If your Verizon service stinks, you cannot do anything about it because, when you "negotiated" your contract, you could either sign THEIR terms or you could go to one of a tiny number of serious competitors who seem to have conspired to have equally onerous terms. (This is exactly why legislators keep looking at things like "customer bill of rights" legislation... the individual customer doesn't have the ability to choose a better contract).
This process can check if this value is zero, and if it is, it does something child-like. -- Forbes Burkowski, CS 454, University of Washington


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2009 Men's Soccer
Mount Union 4, Bluffton 1
Mount Union controls action in 4-1 win over Beavers
September 22, 2009
ALLIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's soccer team fell behind 3-0 in the first half and never recovered as Mount Union dominated the Beavers in a 4-1 victory on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. Bluffton fell to 1-5-1 on the season while the Purple Raiders improved to 5-3 with the win.
Tim Debth put the home team on the scoreboard midway through the first half thanks to a Quebec Gibbins assist. Seven minutes later Joey Merlo converted a putback following a Brian Good (Elida) save on another Debth shot at the 29:19 mark.
Merlo converted Gibbins' cross for his second goal of the afternoon with less than three minutes to play in period one, making it 3-0 at the break.
A Jacob Graham (Elida) free kick from 20 yards out early in the second stanza cut the Purple Raiders' advantage to 3-1, but Merlo completed his hat trick following a Debth assist in minute 83 for the 4-1 final tally.
Good and Dan Saville (Toledo/Central Catholic) split the duties in goal with Good collecting seven saves while Saville had three. Bluffton managed just five shots for the contest, compared to 30 for the home team. Mount Union forced seven corner kicks, four more than the Beavers, and the Purple Raiders committed five more infractions (15-10).
Bluffton returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 26, when the Beavers host Mt. St. Joseph in their Heartland Conference opener.


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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 22nd Sep 2012 22:07 UTC
Ubuntu 12.10 will include advertisements for products on Amazon. It will look like this - if you search, product suggestions will pop up. This seems like a rather slippery slope to me, and I certainly wouldn't want this on my desktop, laptop, smartphone, tablet, or anywhere else. On the web - fine, I'm on your site, not mine - but my desktop is mine, and mine alone. Not that it matters - open source, someone will disable them. Biggest concern: does this mean my search queries get sent across the web?
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RE[5]: It's just a lens
by darknexus on Sun 23rd Sep 2012 20:02 UTC in reply to "RE[4]: It's just a lens"
Hey, don't be hating Arch.
I didn't used to, until their most recent round of "upgrades." What'd they fuck up the filesystem structure for, which completely broke my system? Why bother with systemd when they actually had something that worked before? Whose brilliant idea was it to move all libraries into /usr/lib, breaking any multi-partition setups? I guess they did what most people in Linux land do: If it actually works, let's break it so we can have some fun. Meanwhile, the rest of us have a life.


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|2011-12-28, 08:14
|Link #541
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
@ Godlike1889 You know me, I have no problem with working with sexy/risqué material, as long as it is quality (or at least interesting) material and is ( or can be made) AnimeSuki Safe.And BTW the signature you are talking about isn't of my own work, it's a gift from Patchy.
@ The Chaos. do you really expect someone like yourself to be forgoten because he isn't as active here as before ? There's many in such situation, like escimo, KiNA, Moonie and many more...
It's time for the last weekly update of the year, a little late as I didn't have much time thoses last few day...
A new sets of signatures and avatar, starting a new serie:
(This time, the text wasn't what ''started'' the serie, I had to search for a text than would fit with what I had had in mind.)
And some freebies, still modifiable:
2012 should be a active year. It's way too soon to say if the output will be good, but I shouldn't turn inactive/zombie because of a lack of idea...
|2011-12-28, 16:37
|Link #543
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Romania
Age: 25
I'll just critique the works on your last post, won't scroll thru all of these 28 pages.
Your current set :
Uhmm... I'm sorry but that signature is... horrible. The render itself (or the whole stock?) seems to be brightly and vividly coloured, hence those flowers and the girl's kimono and fan. You basically ruined it by giving it that dead gray over it. Why? And the text... Wouldn't it have been easier if you put that text under the sig? Like, type it on the forum's signature box. I'm sorry, but it is horrible.
The freebies :
1st : Can't you see that on that render there is a purple/blue lighting on the right? Focus, focus on the lighting and the colour especially. Dominant colours on the render are pink, purple and blue and you put yellow, orange and red in the background? Seriously? No focal point whatsoever.
2nd (on the right) : Very simple. It seems like you've just put a random bg, a slightly tilted render and a dull light source. Nothing to say here.
Same thing for the other two, they are just dull, nothing special about them.
Also I see that your thread was opened in 2009 and the sigs you posted now are very recent (today) and I see very, VERY little progress. Sorry for my strong critique, but grab some tutorials and get stuff done.
Best of luck!
|2011-12-28, 17:39
|Link #544
Senior Member
Graphic Designer
I tend to agree with Fishmeister here, to a degree he's very much right, but I will not say the same things, cause that wouldn't be constructive criticism; even tho if you do post one of your sigs on gfxschool, they will eat you alive :3. At least some of us are honest.
The huge problem you have is that you're not blending the render with your background, but prefer to add an upsetting glow to the edges or just blur it a tad. I suggest you pick up the smudge brush, and some tutorials on blending.
Your other big problem is your chromatic overall, the colors don't simply match, once you're done with the siggie, you can pull out a curve adjustment, color balance or if you don't really know how, just pick up an action and try to even the mix. Otherwise, it just gives a bad impression on the eye.
Your BG also would need some depth, there you can use the blur tool, and leave the focal intact. Also, you could add some shadows with burn tool.
How about some C4Ds? Or some other elements, like combining more than two pictures, light effects textures, clipping mask maybe? You seem to know how to do the last one, but not when and where unfortunately.
Try to diversify, I know you have your own style, but I too have noticed nothing has improved in the past two - three years. Photoshop has a bit more than 5 options you know...
I'm not saying that just to give the impression that I feel superior, but since everybody never says a word of actual advice to you, I don't see how you can get better. I hope this won't be taken in an offensive tone. I'm simply trying to help.
|2011-12-28, 23:59
|Link #545
Quietly Lurking
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Beneath the prodigious sky...
Fishmeister, you need to learn how to give C&C. While the technical portion of your critique is fine, using words like "horrible" and "ruined" is completely uncalled for. It's not that your critique was strong, but your tone throughout the entire thing was belittling. You may have been trying to help, but pointing out all the negatives and none of the positives, is counter-productive because they may either feel their self-esteem breaking under criticism, or they may feel that all criticism is negative. This can destroy the intent of constructive criticism. The only way to approach this is by being truly constructive, kind and helpful, and realizing that not all people are going to appreciate what you might have to say. Another thing is that you don't offer anything solutions to anything you pointed out. How about giving some advice on not making the tags "boring"? Or offering links to helpful tutorials that you've used?
And yes, I realize that you were trying to help, and anyone on a gfx forum would appreciate what you had to say (besides the demeaning stuff), but AS is not a gfx site, and neither is the FC subforum. The site and subforum are anime and manga-oriented. So it's best if, in the future, you figure out who your audience is before deciding on the severity of the criticism.
Lastly, there is no "right" way to judge art. Art is completely subjective; what you may find unattractive, others may find breathtaking. So please don't try to state your opinions as fact. Not every tag can be judged using the same old system--some of the best works I've seen have broken a lot of the composition rules you're talking about because those taggers dared to experiment and think outside the box (in case you were wondering, I frequent gfx sites too).
If you wish to continue to discuss this, feel free to PM me.
|2011-12-29, 01:15
|Link #546
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
@Fishmeister, First thank for the feedback, I do value honesty higher than manner.
Second, I perfectly know than I need to improve, especialy innthat kind of signature. That the point of this serie, to get better with practice and (hopefully) some C&C.
Third, I know than I might sound like a child than don't what to hear reason but,the quote are there to stay. At the exeption of this serie, the biggest intent behind the serie is the association of the text with the graphic material. To put the quote outside the signature wouldn't work. Beside, it isn't as we can put as much text outside a signature as we want on this forum.
@ Mittwoch, thank for the feedback. To be honest, I might be unnable to even try some of your suggestion as I am not using the full PhotoShop, only PhotoShop Element, I have no idea how to do curve adjustment or color balance and the few attempt to use C4d didn't let me much good memory of them.
@ Rennir contrary to you I do not frequent gfx sites, the only place I go is here. I learned by watching what other were doing, pratcicing and the occasinnal C&C ( I don't even know thoses composition rules you are refering at.
|2011-12-29, 03:14
|Link #547
is not amused
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Naval Base
Post intended to cool off the discussion a bit. Well, I haven't really read the whole thing but...
And why thank you for the xmas present, as a matter of fact, yes I do have a thing for Meganekos.
|2011-12-29, 22:06
|Link #549
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Normandy SR-2
Age: 23
In regards to the discussion above, I do think that you can try branching out some more, ganbaru. I like your style and how I can instantly recognize your work, but experimentation really can't hurt. Of course those won't all be masterpieces, in fact, they can fail very hard (like a lot of my more experimental works ), but you learn from those! And you can't not improve if you keep trying. It takes a while to get the hang of new techniques, so I have my phases like smudge, C4D fractal, etc. where I focus on a specific area. I understand that it can be frustrating when your results with, say, the C4Ds you mentioned, were not satisfactory, but it's important to get over that feeling and keep trying. I also understand that you're not working with a higher version of Photoshop but seeing from what you've already managed with your program, I'm pretty sure you can do more!
And yes, tutorials are very helpful! Try searching Deviantart (i.e. "smudge signature tutorial" "c4d signature tutorial") or asking Renir for some, maybe that awesome basics one he showed me
And Fishmeister, I have to second Rennir. It's great that you're trying to help but you really need to think about simple manners - you don't even know ganbaru. Your wording and attitude come off as rude. There're ways to give good C&C politely and nicely, especially considering this is not even a gfx forum.
Last edited by Haladflire65; 2011-12-31 at 02:25.
|2012-01-02, 23:13
|Link #551
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: David Tennant's bedroom in the TARDIS
Just to contribute to the general branch out/etc suggestions:
here are some good tutorials I've used, even when I had Elements.
There's another one in particular that I used a lot, but I can't find it >_< will give it to you if I find it.
Also, some things that can be substituted:
Instead of: Color Balance: brush some colors in certain areas or use photo filters/ gradient maps with different blend settings to change color tone, balance, and such.
Selective color: use gradient maps and photo filters, also experimenting with blend settings.
Clipping mask: lowering opacity, on solid-color things especially. lets some of the bg show through. Make sure the colors go together though!
brush settings: different brushes, at different angles (rotated) and opacities.
Glow: not much here, but soft brushes on different blending settings work, with erasing some to conform it to the render.
shadows and highlights: burn and doge tools.
hope this is helpful.
|2012-01-09, 07:49
|Link #555
Dark Energy
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: United States
I hope this was helpful.
|2012-01-10, 17:22
|Link #556
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: In the distortion of space and time..
You always seem to surprise me ganbaru. You have a very imaginative mind unlike me . Your signatures, your avatars are all amazing. I love it how your signatures and avatar mainly have a "bond" with each other connecting. To me, your signatures are like a poem. The poems are just created in my head. Your signatures are a work of art. Sorry for saying this NOW; I just joined this thread and am subscribing!
I hope you make even better signatures!
|2012-01-11, 12:00
|Link #558
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Virginia, USA
Age: 56
|2012-01-11, 12:17
|Link #559
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: In the distortion of space and time..
|2012-01-13, 00:58
|Link #560
I'm surprises that you still remember me,so i hope your skill can get better this year~
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I dunno, but I'd like to see some third party confirmation before I believe that Iran has a satellite in orbit. Launching a satellite and putting it in orbit is a tricky thing to do; only a few countries have managed it, and none the size or technology level of Iran, IIRC.
Honestly, look at this list [wikipedia.org]. One of these things in not like the others.
Or maybe your stereotypes are wrong? What one thing is not like the others? I don't see why India can launch a satellite in 1980, but Iran cannot 30 years later.
from cnn:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/03/iran.satellite/index.html [cnn.com]
"The United States has confirmed that Iran launched a low-earth orbit satellite on Monday night, two U.S. officials told CNN's Barbara Starr. "
Here in the States, we spend our resources on making sure that everyone can get TV reception and we spend money on lawsuits so that "Intelligent Design" can be taught in science class. In developing countries, science, engineering and medicine are a kid's dream career. Here, it's being famous for some reason - usually for getting drunk and doing outrageous things.
Iran isn't the only country doing this.
I'd take Iran at face value for everything they say. They are going to get a nuclear capability. They are going to get a delivery system. They are going to act to expand their values world wide. Israel is only the beginning.
We should not be surprised with this. The Western nations have been at odds with Islamic nations for 1500 years, and with Persia for nearly 3000. That Persia now Iran is acting up again is hardly a surprise. One might surmise that in the grand scheme of things, this is just a conflict between ideologies and peoples and no one side is right, but the thing is, since most of us are westerners, we would prefer that our side prevail.
To that end, I suppose that those who would argue that strategic missile defense cannot be built, or that militarization of space should be avoided, or that Iran is not a threat, need to rethink that. And similarly, those that would advocate war with Iran, might need to rethink that as well. This now a game where tens of millions of people might get killed, not just thousands.
If you Western types want to have a World War 3 so soon, count us out. We may not honor-kill and we may have high technology, but we are a Middle-Eastern civilization and we see no reason to side with a group of so-called "friends" who spend their media time calling us Nazis over ancient "friends" who turned against us in fundamentalism 30 years ago. We'll just protect ourselves like we always have.
The Jews
"Acting up"? *Sigh* Why do I respond to trolls?
Go read a bit of modern Iranian history [wikipedia.org], before you fall back on stereotypes of Islam-vs-the-rest-of-the-world. If it hadn't been for our meddling (oh, overthrowing governments, oil grabs etc--none of this is controversial), Iran would not be in confrontation with us today. Twenty years after the revolution, they tried peace overtures, but Bush decided instead to dub them an "Axis of Evil" (wow, thank god our era of world-as-cartoon presidents is over). I can't understand your claim of Iran expanding its values into Israel.
We have no right to overthrow other people's governments, and even less right to act surprised when they get pissed over it. And speaking of Israel: when they behave all might is right, others are going to try to acquire might to counter that.
To that end, I suppose that those who would argue that strategic missile defense cannot be built, or that militarization of space should be avoided, or that Iran is not a threat, need to rethink that.
Strategic missile defense is a waste of money and effort, equivalent to airport metal detectors. They're security theater - if successful, they may prevent an attack from that vector, but their real value lies in making the citizens feel safer and deterring attempts along that one vector.
Problem is, there are so many other vectors that are easier - millions if not billions of shipping containers enter the US each year entirely uninspected. Why mess with a launch and guidance system able to withstand launch and reentry stresses when you could just build a Fat Man and put it in the back of a van?
Want a scarier idea? Say we do start inspecting all the shipping containers to enter the country... where would we do it? Probably dockside in major coastal cities, so even if we do happen to check the right container, a simple deadman switch would still make for a successful attack.
Defense is not the solution, and security theater is just a waste.
Why mess with a launch and guidance system able to withstand launch and reentry stresses when you could just build a Fat Man and put it in the back of a van?
Because the missile is better.
It doesn't take more than a half an hour to hit the USA. It doesn't have any risks in transportation. You can't practically recall a ballistic missile after it has been launched. You can launch a missile ad-hoc, and finally, a missile launched high above the USA fries all of our electrical shit. Fatman in the truck can't do any of that.
The smuggled weapon in the back of the truck, on the other hand, requires every single person on the way to not notice, or actively participate in the delivery of the weapon. And, it's less effective militarily.
The thing about container ships, is that there are not that many of them, as they are so big these days, that stopping them and tracking them is actually pretty practical. You can monitor a ship as its sailing all the way from Iran or an Arabian port all the way to the USA. You can fly geiger counters over it and around it to look for neutrons coming out of it. There's just way more risk for the delivery and its not a good deterrent.
Defense is not the solution, and security theater is just a waste
If defense is not the solution, then why preach birth control? Defense doesn't solve everything, but it does increase the probability of failure to an attacker, so that he or she won't attack, and also reduces the likelihood of the attacker of spreading that attack to other parties. To put it another way, if Hitler had been stopped in France, do you think he still invades Russia?
Why mess with a launch and guidance system able to withstand launch and reentry stresses when you could just build a Fat Man and put it in the back of a van?
Because the former can go from "mere deterrent" to "enemy city exploding" in an hour, can't be countered without even more advanced technology, and gives you deterrence value for decades. The latter can go from "act of war that we'd better hope nobody discovers" to "enemy port city exploding" in days, doesn't work well if the enemy is on heightened enough alert to search or blockade approaching vans and ships, can't be demonstrated without actually committing an act of war, and so is relatively useless as a deterrent. Vans may be the delivery system of choice for terrorists planning surprise attacks, but nations hoping to commit other acts of war without reprisal are going to want nuclear weapons that can be effectively brandished without being used.
Not that I'm accusing Iran of plotting wars; the same deterrence tactics for a nation that wants to get away with an invasion apply even more strongly one that is just afraid of being invaded.
Other attack vectors (smuggling in warheads by sea/land) may be technically easier and more likely, but (being cold about it) the end damage potential is much less. If terrorists set off a bomb or two, there's lots of damage, but the rest of the country is still intact. But if a missile launches, the end result is basically that all the missiles fly. And that ruins everyone's day.
To quote Stuart Slade, defense analyst (emphasis mine):
The problem with missiles is this; once they are fired, they are on their way. Nothing can stop them (in the sense that the launch decision is final; contrary to many people's opinion, ICBMs do not have a destruct system - ones fired on range testing do, but operational ones do not) and nothing can prevent them striking their targets. The other problem is that they are very fast-moving and give the forces on the other side very little chance to decide what is happening and why. If a launch is detected now, the President has less time to make his decision over future action than most people to chose their meal at a restaurant.
Thrown into that is the inevitability of the whole thing; a missile fired means a target hit. Unless the wretched thing malfunctions, of course, but nuclear weapons are not a good place to start relying on luck. So the simple fact that a missile is on its way means that a country is about to have some fairly catastrophic damage inflicted on it. But is that all? Is that first missile the start of a salvo? Is it aimed at the deterrent forces on the ground - so that any response will be ragged? Without going too deeply into the dynamics of the decision (that would take a book rather than an answer to a question on an essay), the odds stack so that if a missile is inbound, it requires immense faith and courage not to return fire. That's step one.
Now we go to step two. The nation that has let one fly either by accident or design. Its government knows that the "other side" has immense pressure on it to return fire, that the odds in the decision-making process stack in favor of opening fire. If they hang around and wait to see what will happen, the rest of their forces get caught on the ground - and destroyed. So they require immense faith and courage not to continue firing.
Step three - the nation that is being fired on knows that the other guys are working on the basis that the odds stack in favor of continuing firing. That ends it; they know the other guys will open fire, so even if they had decided not to, they will reverse that decision. The guys who fired first know that so, even if they had decided not to fire, they reverse that decision.
Everybody fires, everybody dies. More or less. Both sides know it so they don't bother with the question. One flies, they all fly. The only question is the timing.
How does BMD figure into this? It buys time. A single missile inbound can be shot down reasonably easily. So if a single inbound is detected, it can be shot down - stopped from reaching its target. That takes the dreadful time squeeze out - both sides can afford to wait to see what happens. The side that is being shot at can see what develops and also contact the other side and ask. Not a joke - that may be the most important single step. The side that let one fly by accident knows that the other side is going to wait so they can also afford to do so. And the whole situation is a lot cooler.
That's not to say we shouldn't secure ports and borders and all that. We certainly should. But we can't ignore the less-likely but potentially more catastrophic threat, either. The "we can't stop everything, so let's do nothing" approach is stupid, too.
It should also be noted that the US had a working missile defense system in the 70s.
There is another value, and that is at the negotiating table. If you have a very good defense (which we are no way near), you basically discount the military value of the other guy's weapon, which can give you an edge in negotiations. Unfortunately, the amount of coverage necessary to protect every target might make the cost hugely preventative, unless you can put the defense near the launch point, which is probably unlikely in the case of defending against Iranian nukes.
Our feud is so old that I think reconciliation may prove impossible
The GP didn't say reconciliation is impossible. The GP said that the Western world has a history of clashing with the Islamic/Middle Eastern World. I see nothing in human history to suggest that this will change soon -- if anything it's going to get worse as the competition for limited resources heats up.
Mind you, it won't start with bullets -- it will start with economics.
Really, grow up. War isn't a game.
I think it is maybe perceived more so by the USA as the majority of their citizens have not experienced a modern war on their own mainland territory. For many people in other countries the experience of war is more direct and people are less likely to be so gung-ho about it. Mainland USA was untouched in the major conflicts of the twentieth century. While terrible events were unfolding the lights were on in Main Street, small town America and you could walk down that street eating ice cream as if nothing was happening. I honestly believe this has given Americans a profoundly different idea of what a war is from the majority of the rest of the world.
Don't talk lightly of wars, they are certainly not games.
The mark of a civilised mind would be to celebrate this achievement. Those gripped by tribal paranoia, searching for ways to disparage the Iranians should take a good look at themselves (I'm mainly looking at you now Americans). Relax, I've played football with some Iranian guys seen for myself in the shower, their dicks are not significantly bigger than the average Western male.
The next 50 years or so are going to be a serious wake up call to the west and the US in particular I think. We have enjoyed a technological advantage over the rest of the world for a good while now but it is being eroded at a fantastic rate. That advantage has allowed us to push the rest of the world and I fear that will come back to haunt us. Back when the west was first launching things into space the knowledge, skill and equipment needed to build such machines was exceedingly difficult to come by. It's still not easy to launch a payload into space but the equipment required to build a launch vehicle is no longer hard to come by and the knowledge and skill can be fairly easily "bought".
We have enjoyed a technological advantage over the rest of the world for a good while now but it is being eroded at a fantastic rate
Sounds like a reason to increase our funding of the science adviser guy at the expense of the elvis guy
From The Beeb [bbc.co.uk]: Mr Ahmadinejad said the satellite was launched to spread "monotheism, peace and justice" in the world.
Interesting. I wonder how the polytheist countries feel about this?
has nothing to do with being pro-israel, or pro-western, or anti-muslim
suspicion of iran has to do with it being a theocracy. doesn't matter that it is a muslim or christian theocracy, or whether it is located in the middle east, or south america, or antarctica. the issue is it being a theocracy. begnning of valid concern about iran, end of valid concern about iran
if someone is concerned about iran, it very well could be for mindless ethnocentrism, religious bigotry, or tibal chest thumping reasons. it is very easy to be concerned about iran for the lowest and most disgraceful reasons
but someone can also be concerned about iran simply from a strictly globalist, humanist, universal, highminded reason:
a theocracy is a very bad thing
we are talking about a government that has, ensconced in its constituion, a bunch of grumpy old men, who are above all law or ability to be questioned, who act in the name of god, and have a monopoly on interpretting the will of god, according to law. that doesn't bother you?
power in iran is not ahmadinejad. power is in the ayatollahs. ahmadinejad is a figurehead. he does not hold the final power. the ayatollahs can freely choose to disavow any candidate form office, and have done so exorbitantly in past elections to disallow popular reform candidates from running
would you consider it a problem if the pope could, without any ability to question or veto his decision, walk into the elections in germany, or the usa, or great britain, and simply cherry pick the candidates he wants to run?
again, the problem is not islam. the problem is not the middle east. the problem is not being anti-israeli. the problem is not being anti-western. all of these instincts are perfectly valid and defensible world views
the problem is with iran being a THEOCRACY. on that issue alone, is suspicion of iran perfectly valid, from either a pro-western or anti-western point of view
pay attention to the below text... this government is going to get a nuclear warhead:
http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/Government/constitution-1.html [iranonline.com]
The Islamic Republic is a system based on belief in:
1.the One God (as stated in the phrase "There is no god except Allah"), His exclusive sovereignty and the right to legislate, and the necessity of submission to His commands;
2.Divine revelation and its fundamental role in setting forth the laws;
3.the return to God in the Hereafter, and the constructive role of this belief in the course of man's ascent towards God;
4.the justice of God in creation and legislation;
5.continuous leadership (imamah) and perpetual guidance, and its fundamental role in ensuring the uninterrupted process of the revolution of Islam;
6.the exalted dignity and value of man, and his freedom coupled with responsibility before God
so these grumpy old men, with a monopoly on intepretting what the will of god is, are about to get control over a nuclear warhead
and people wish to say that if you are concerned about this, you must be some brain dead tribal pro-western muslim hater?
Air is water with holes in it.


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Boston: A state police sergeant who released striking photos of the capture of the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings faces a hearing to determine if he will be suspended until an internal investigation is complete.
Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said the agency didn`t authorise Sgt Sean Murphy to release the photos to Boston Magazine and won`t release them to other media.
Murphy told Boston Magazine he released the photos because he was furious over a Rolling Stone cover photo he believes glamorises suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He said his photos show "the real Boston bomber, not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine." The music magazine hits the shelves this week, and some retailers have said they won`t sell it.
Procopio said that Murphy has been relieved of duty for one day and there will be a hearing to decide if he will be suspended until the internal investigation is complete. He did not say when the hearing will be.
Murphy has not returned calls from The Associated Press. No one answered the door Friday at the blue cottage along the coast in Biddeford, Maine, where neighbours said he spends weekends. Someone started a "Save Sgt. Sean Murphy" Facebook page that had hundreds of "likes" in just a few hours.
"The release of these photos was completely unacceptable," said Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Carmen Ortiz, who is prosecuting the case. "We have spoken with the Massachusetts State Police, who have assured us that the release of the photos was unauthorised and that they are taking action internally in response."
Gov Deval Patrick appeared reticent on the issue Friday as he walked quickly back to his office after an event in the Statehouse.
"Talk to the state police, they violated the rules when they did it," he said in response to a question from a reporter.
Asked if he was concerned the release of the photos would compromise the investigation of Tsarnaev, Patrick again referred questions to the state police.
An aide to the governor later said Patrick was only referring to the individual officer who released the photos, not any other members of the state police.


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Tropical storm Ida could become hurricane -- again
November 8, 2009 -- Updated 0222 GMT (1022 HKT)
Earlier this week, Ida made landfall as a hurricane over east central Nicaragua, grounding ships and causing damage.
The northern Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico is under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning, the National Hurricane Center said.
Pinar del Rio, in western Cuba, is also under a tropical storm warning, the center said. During a hurricane watch, hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours. Tropical storm conditions are possible within 24 hours under a tropical storm watch.
Ida made landfall as a hurricane Thursday morning over east central Nicaragua, pelting the Central American nation with heavy rain before weakening to a tropical storm.
At 7 p.m. ET, Ida was heading north-northwest at about 10 mph (17 kph) and was about 180 miles (290 km) east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, the hurricane center said.
Forecasters expect the storm, with winds of 70 mph (110 kph), to reach hurricane status by Saturday night or early Sunday. If the storm becomes a hurricane again, however, it could lose power and downgrade back to a tropical storm in the coming days.
As Ida crosses the Yucatan Channel, the Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba could get 3 to 5 inches of rain; some areas could see as many as 10 inches, the center said. The Gulf Coast could experience heavy rain and coastal flooding next week as Ida approaches the area.
Ida is the Atlantic region's ninth named storm. The Atlantic hurricane season ends November 30.
CNN meteorologists Dave Hennen and Jacqui Jeras contributed to this report.
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GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- North Dakota sophomore Nate Peterson enjoyed a third-place finish among Division I runners today at the annual UND Ron Pynn Invitational.
The race was held in front of nearly 100 UND track and field and cross country alumni on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
Peterson, a native of Horace, N.D., led all UND runners with a time of 26:16.0 on the 8K course at Ray Richards Golf Course.
Despite Peterson's best efforts, UND dropped its dual with North Dakota state and a warm and sunny afternoon.
NDSU recorded a team score of 18 points, while UND posted a team score of 40.
NDSU sophomore Brett Kelly captured medalist honors with a time of 26:11.8.
Aside from Peterson, UND's next-best performer was junior Sam Saccoman, who took seventh among dual runners (10th among 63 total runners) with a time of 26:33.4.
Several North Dakota alumni also competed in the race as part of UND's Homecoming 2012 weekend, including UND track and field/cross country legend Arjan Gelling.
Division II programs Mary and Minot State, as well as Manitoba, also competed in the meet.
Click on the PDF links for complete team and individual results.
Notes: UND's cross country/track and field reunion began this morning when alumni of the program were invited to a presentation on the UND Athletics Complex at AE2S in Grand Forks. The reunion will conclude tonight with a social at Al's Grill and Catering in Grand Fokrs from 6:30 to 10:30.


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Ousted Ducati MotoGP boss Filippo Preziosi says he is optimistic that the Bologna factory is destined for a successful future.
The Italian will no longer serve as Ducati Corse's General and Technical Manager from January, 2013 after Ducati owners Audi implemented a major management restructure today (Tuesday).
For the rest click HERE


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Creative Play Challenge Day 9: Play Your Holiday Tunes LOUD!
We love looking for ways to build key skills through play-and music play is no exception! One way to keep the magic alive throughout your holiday season is to enjoy your favorite holiday music together as a family! Play it in the car or at home for some good old-fashioned "dance party" fun. Print out the lyrics the whole family sings along together. This always puts everyone in the holiday spirit!
What song did your family dance and sing to today?
(P.S. Here are some musical instrument ideas to accompany your creative play!)
If you missed yesterday's activity, you can find it here. If you haven't signed up for the Creative Play Every Day Challenge yet, you can do so here!
My daughter has tons of instruments and is all about Boom Boom Pow.
We've been playing Christmas music all week!! It's actually playing right now lol.
Merry Christmas. I agree nothing gets me in the spirit of Christmas more than great Christmas music, we have been listening at home and in the car and singing. we will continue to do this everyday! we listen while we clean, bake, play ect... I notice that it calms everyone down. puts smiles on their little faces. the effect is truly magical.
Quoting Angelanscalf89:
Both of my kids (ds 3 dd 5) love music they love singing and dancing my dd even wants to be a dancer when she grows up. My son walks around the house singing frosty the snowman and jingle bells. The other day my daughter was singing santa claus is coming to town I didnt even know she knew the words. I love listening to christmas music it gets me in the holiday spirit especially when it doesnt feel like december. Like how its been in the 60s for the last 4 days or so.
Have to play that music LOUD. Kids songs and Transiberian Ocestra.


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The shortlist for the Ballon d'Or has been announced and the debate begins over which of world football's biggest stars will lift the trophy at the beginning of next year.
There are representatives from some of the most successful teams in Europe on the list, but only a small handful are expected to have any real chance of being voted as the world's best player by the coaches and captains of National teams, as well as some journalists.
So who do the bookies think will take the prize? GMF compiled a gallery of the five favourites according to the betting market and here they are:
Neymar, Santos
The Brazilian has been doing amazing things with the ball this year and comes in joint fourth, but his price of 33-1 suggests he isn't quite ready yet.
Andrea Pirlo, Juventus
It has been a great year for the Serie A veteran and he will get a few votes purely for showing such great form in his advanced years. However, a price of 33-1 means he isn't likely to get enough.
Andres Iniesta, Barcelona
Possibly a dark horse having beaten off the inevitable golden two in the race for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award and a price of around 6-1 could be worth a punt, but don't hold your breath.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
Miles too long at 3-1 in places, the Portugal captain could make someone a lot of money, as a title-winning year in La Liga – toppling Real's great rivals in the process – will hold a lot of weight with many.
Lionel Messi, Barcelona
The little magician can be backed from 1-2 to 8-11 and is the heavy favourite to take the title for a fourth year in a row. How can you argue with 73 goals in a season?
Those are the bookies choices, but who do you think should lift the trophy in January 2013? Leave a comment below to let us know...
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... Jeans
Dude I love the links. I'm going to buy a kilt tomorrow.
I believe this is especially true for people named gene
I eat lot of junk food, so only my junk dna is affected. And my sweatpants don't fit anymore. But that's ok; my virtual girlfriend still says I look good.
Wow, eating a lot of junk food makes your junk bigger. You heard it here first.
Erh... no.
Wait, wait, what I mean is, I only eat salad! Honestly!
This is amazing and one more nail in the coffin of our long-held dogma of genes being passed down from two parents, expressed but otherwise unaltered, then passed down to our children, all with just a little bit of mixing and mutation. From epigenetic modifications, to massive variances of stomach flora even between relatives, now to food's ability to affect our very gene expression... we've got some serious reconsidering to do about what makes us who we are.
Very cool.
Most people have only read the intro-level stuff. What those in the field know needs wider circulation.
It might be your long held dogma, but people in the field have long known about epigenetic changes to DNA and it's implications. We've known about mitochondrial DNA for decades, same with DNA methylation. The microRNAs are fairly new and an open field but it has been realized that the "Central Dogma" (DNA -> RNA -> Protein) has been barking up the wrong tree for some time.
TFA is interesting and rather unexpected. Small, unprotected RNA molecules aren't "supposed" to survive long outside. If this is true, if it can be repeated it might explain some of the more confusing relationships between diet, growth, cancer and other diseases. The nice thing is that this experiment should be 'relatively' easy to replicate (at least from the detail one gets in TFA - they're not using anything all that unique, weird or expensive).
Since it is such a potentially high profile experiment, the cynic in me wonders why it didn't get published in a higher profile journal. Of course, not every important discovery is published in Nature or Science, but one wonders.
Since it is such a potentially high profile experiment, the cynic in me wonders why it didn't get published in a higher profile journal. Of course, not every important discovery is published in Nature or Science, but one wonders.
I hate to nit-pick, but it was published in Nature [nature.com]
But the title is wrong/hyperbole though, isn't it?
It's not genes which are affected, but the function they regulate in the body.
This is why we have the phrase 'You are what you eat," after all.
I'm going to start eating cats, to make me faster and cuter. I will become the king of Quake 3, and girls.
Sorry kittehs but I must consume you for your positive attributes.
Diet-based gene expression regulation sounds like a fun way to semi-plausibly rationalize the idea of eating animals to gain their traits.
While it's true that eating lots of pussy could make you king of the girls, I doubt it'll help your Quake 3 skills.
I'm afraid your grammar skills will deteriorate, however.
Can you really give up these +5 moderated slashdot comments for the sake of enjoying life?
No that will make your kids promiscuous and playing Quake.
Might want to reconsider.
Ah, that explains why most cultures frown on cannibalism so much - I guess it results in a stack overflow somewhere in the universe.
More a problem of the stack growing into code. Remember, kids, we're old, old, old designs, we don't have fancy stuff like endless ram.
This is why we have the phrase 'You are what you eat," after all.
Unless you are an autophage, in which case you eat what you are.
In ten years we could have scientifically proven "homeopathic" remedies.
Gene-doping through diet manipulation. Lose weight, increase brain function, increase blood flow while reducing blood pressure, even creating or discovering new gene functions. Perhaps a mutation that gives blood plasma a lubricating effect that prevents arterial plaque.
Or, for the vain men (and women) in the audience, truly reversing hair loss.
Except for a small portion of the populace, all of those things are better controlled via diet and exercise. Ultimately, if you're too lazy to take care of yourself, perhaps you shouldn't expect to live to be a hundred.
Except for a small portion of the populace, all of those things are better controlled via diet and exercise. Ultimately, if you're too lazy to take care of yourself, perhaps you shouldn't expect to live to be a hundred.
Legitimate question: Do you really want that last 20 years? There are healthy prosperous people at 80+ but they are the exception not the rule. Is that time you spend in your youth keeping healthy going to be repaid at the end of your life with extended misery?
But it comes with a free frogurt.
Never mind, that was potassium benzoate.
K or Na does not matter. It's the benzoate (benzoic acid anion) that matters.
I had read that ascorbic acid (vitamin C) could react with benzoate to make benzene, which is a known carcinogen.
Oh then it's easy! Just cut back your Vitamin C intake, cancel all those oranges and lemons from your diet and you're set!
How long do these changes last?
If this were a permanent change, one would wonder why all those Southeast Asian people who consume white rice regularly don't end up with high LDL counts counts and subsequently a high per-capita rate of heart attacks.
Is this a short-lived change, like until the affected cells undergo Mitosis again (~30 mins.), or is there another food in tyhese people's diets that counteracts this genetic change?
actually, there are people in China who are becoming allergic to rice.... which turns out to be the mono-crop mass-produced Genetically-Modified variety that is, thanks to its lower price, not only making it difficult to re-establish native varieties, but is also killing people in the process. well, i guess that solves several problems all at once, then, doesn't it.
such a trite, annoying phrase... yet, even more annoyingly, it damn well turns out to be true! i remember seeing this mural, done by some ayurvedic indian guru thousands of years ago. it depicted a tiger mauling its prey violently, and eating it. underneath was an obese man, mouth open and wide-eyed in the same expression as the tiger. i thought at the time, "yes very interesting" and really didn't give it much more thought. yet here we are, in 2011, and "modern science" now backs up "ancient wisdom" y
so tell me... why is Genetic Modification of food allowed? what's a direct consequence of introducing or removing genes from food that we eat? (answer: RTA). so how are we to know that Genetic Modified food will not have unintended consequences, as a direct result of the removal or insertion of genes that would otherwise never have gotten there?
it's been shown years ago that gut bacteria adopt the genetically-modified soya bean genes into their own RNA. what happens when someone decides to "leverage" foo
Well then do it. Create a drug producing plant and get it to cross pollinate purely by chance.
Put up or shut up.
so tell me... why is Genetic Modification of food allowed?
Selective breeding over generations is genetic modification, and it's been going on for the past four millennia. Did you mean " recombinant genetic modification"?
what happens when someone decides to "leverage" food crops to produce drugs, and those accidentally cross-pollinate with the world's food supply?
Patent lawsuits like Monsanto v. Schmeiser.
Selective breeding over generations is genetic modification, and it's been going on for the past four millennia. Did you mean " recombinant genetic modification"?
The phrase "genetically modified" means genetically engineered. No one uses the term to mean selective breeding.
Selective breeding over generations is genetic modification, and it's been going on for the past four millennia. Did you mean " recombinant genetic modification"?
The phrase "genetically modified" means genetically engineered. No one uses the term to mean selective breeding.
Uh, selective breeding is engineering.
However, everybody knows what you meant. The parent's point is that the only difference between modern and ancient techniques for food modification is the speed with which it happens. That in itself does have some level of impact I'll grant, but then again our ability to detect disease is also greatly increased - for all we know half the problems with eating modern foods is that ancient farmers selectively bred foods that kill you over time and had no way to tell t
so tell me... why is Genetic Modification of food allowed?
Because corporations rule the world and they don't a fuck about anything other than the next few quarters' profits.
Well, those genes ain't some sort of "plastic" that our body can't use, they grow in a more or less normal organism, so you get some jellyfish with your corn or whatever.
In a nutshell, I'm more scared of trans fats than genecrap. Though, given the choice, I could do without either.
I wonder if this will have relevant effects on research into addiction to nicotine and other drugs? Such as the addiction to those drugs possibly being written into our genes?
A Fat Man's Prayer:
Lord, my soul is ripped with riot,
Incited by my wicked diet.
"We are what we eat!" said a wise old man;
And Lord, if that's true, I'm a garbage can.
I want to rise on Judgment Day, that's plain;
But at my present weight, I'll need a crane.
So grant me strength, that I may not fall,
Into the clutches of cholesterol.
May my flesh with carrot-curls be sated,
That my soul may be poly-unsaturated.
And show me the light, that I may bear witness,
To the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
And at oleomargarine I'll never mutter,
For the road to Hell is spread with butter.
And cream is cursed; and cake is awful;
And Satan is hiding in every waffle.
Mephistopheles lurks in provolone;
The Devil is in each slice of baloney;
Beelzebub is a chocolate drop;
And Lucifer is a lollipop.
Give me this day my daily slice,
But cut it thin and toast it twice.
I beg upon my dimpled knees;
Deliver me from jujubes.
And when my days of trial are done,
And my war with malted milks is won,
Let me stand with the heavenly throng
In a shining robe - size 44 long.
I can do it, Lord, if you'll show to me
The virtues of lettuce and celery;
If you'll teach me the evils of mayonnaise,
The sinfulness of Hollandaise.
Of Pasta a la Milannaise,
Potatoes a la Lyonnaise.
And crisp-fried chicken from the South,
Lord, if you love me, shut my mouth.
Genes are made out of what you eat!
I'm going to have a hard time believing this, until we get a couple more labs to replicate the findings.
Just about every animal on earth, including us, produces copious amounts of RNAse, an enzyme that shreds RNA molecules. And while most enzymes are rather fragile, RNAse is unusally robust -- you can boil some RNAses for hours, and they will retain their activity. They're everywhere, on your skin, in your body -- and it's a pain in the butt when you're working with RNA (you put RNAse inhibitors in everything to keep them from chewing up your material).
It's almost as if it were being produced as some kind of defense mechanism against... hmm....
I'm still waiting for confirmation that the sun is the center of the universe. So far, that seems not to be the case. Earth is not conclusively the center of anything, either. So until I have a few more labs saying the sun is the center of the universe, I'll plug my ears.
I guess it's good to see it mainstreamed. I just wonder what people with complete faith in genes believed activated genes.
And just to mention here, why call it "white" rice in the summary? Same genes, whole grain or not. TDA doesn't suggest that white rice puts more microRNA into the bloodstream. It doesn't make a distinction anywhere.
This is fucked up if true.
Antibodies from women with a rare condition known as immune infertility are used in the creation of GMO food
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/may282011/gmo-not-food-cs.php [salem-news.com]
Today is a good day for information-gathering. Read someone else's mail file.


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Really? I had a couple burns going this weekend. Burn #2 was spectactular. Sounded like a jet engine taking off with flames shooting about 18-22 feet in the air . . . I noticed my wife kept backing up as the fire kept growing. She claims it was due to the heat, but I personally suspect she was just edging closer and closer to the phone in the house.Originally Posted by Hiram357
Man, oh man . . . I wish there was a career for folks who can start fires and get them going in good shape . . . I think I would be a shoe-in for a job like that.


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A child drowned Saturday at the Cape Coral Yacht Club.
A Cape Coral police office was flagged down at the facility 5819 Driftwood Parkway at 2:20. p.m. and was told that a child had gone missing in the water.
After a extensive search of the area by Patrol Officers, members of the Cape Coral Fire Department as well as CCPD Marine Officers, divers were sent in to the water and the child was located, but was unresponsivem offiicals said in a release issued Saturday afternoon.
The child was transported to a local hospital for treatment, but was pronounced dead.
Notification of the next-of-kin has not been made, so no further information will be released at this time, officials said.
Source: Cape Coral Police Department


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Patricia Seidler 2/27/2010 1:52:36 PMBeautiful winter scene Derek. Great DOF, lighting and composition. #1243377
Nikki McDonald 2/27/2010 2:38:16 PMExcellent colors and lines, Derek. I love the way the long shadows are working to complete this composition -- which is terrific in my book #8420773
Joao Martinho 2/27/2010 3:08:54 PMGreat play with light! #8420835
Derek Houseworth 2/28/2010 9:13:57 AMThanks Patricia, Nikki & Joao! #8422093
Mary E. Lake 3/26/2010 1:39:12 PMWOW!! Congratulations on this beautiful image!!! :) #8482871
Derek Houseworth 3/26/2010 3:33:22 PMThank you Mary! #8483831
Patti Coblentz 3/26/2010 4:22:36 PMCongratulations on this gorgeous finalist, Derek!
Patti #8484171
Derek Houseworth 3/26/2010 8:44:30 PMThanks Patti! #8485887
Marilyn K. Lincecum 3/26/2010 9:33:32 PMBeautiful landscape. Congrtulations on your finalist. #8485973
Derek Houseworth 3/27/2010 9:17:30 AMThanks Marilyn! #8487366
Kathryn Wesserling 3/30/2010 11:47:40 AMExquisite on so many levels! #8497929
Derek Houseworth 3/30/2010 7:42:45 PMThank you Kathy! #8498994
Blacktail Mountain, northwest Montana
Nikon D300, F/11, 1/320, ISO100, 18mm, 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 G VR lens, polarizer
Exif: F Number: 11, Exposure Bias Value: -0.33, ExposureTime: 1/320 seconds, Flash: did not fire., ISO: 100, White balance: Manual white balance, FocalLength: 18.00 mm, Model: NIKON D300
Uploaded on 2/27/2010 12:36:59 PM
Camera: Nikon D300 Digital SLR Camera
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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is spending the summer weighing a presidential run, announced her political action committee raised about $1.7 million during the first half of 2011, leaving her with $1.4 million in the bank.The full story is HERE.
Ms. Palin's money haul is not in the same ballpark as some major Republican presidential candidates; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney raised $18.25 million in the second quarter, and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty raised $4.2 million in the same three-month stretch.
But Ms. Palin has more than enough money to travel the country as she gauges support for a run. Last month, Ms. Palin caused a media sensation when she launched a short bus tour up the East Coast, a trip she can pay for with her PAC.
According to one report That bust trip wasn't cheap.
According to a list of itemized expenditures filed by SarahPAC to the Federal Elections Committee and published Thursday, Palin's committee spent nearly $14,000 on the "bus wrap" that festooned the family's tour bus with images of the Liberty Bell, Constitution and American flag. The committee spent $10,000 on "logistical trip consulting," $3,600 to the bus driver and at least $7,000 on lodging
But the total for the trip is likely much more, because many bills came in after the June 30 filing deadline, Sarah PAC treasurer Tim Crawford said in an interviewThe full story is HERE.