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To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
This was a really interesting article, and also a nice write-up, so I'm glad it made it onto OSnews.
However, I kind of feel the whole premise of the argument is somewhat flawed. Microsoft isn't losing the browser wars. Microsoft certainly isn't losing the PC wars. And Google isn't losing the phone wars either.
Comparing Microsoft and Apple, they both have (and have always had) very different forms of modus operandi. Apple produces a very particular type of focussed, well-designed product that perfects the user-experience of already existing technologies. Microsoft on the other hand produces very general products that perfect the developer process, and then fights a war of attrition against the existing technologies. Microsoft fought this war and won against Mozilla, Borland, Palm, Lotus Notes, Wordperfect, Java, IM, OpenGl, Real Networks, OS/2, Classic Mac OS, etc. It's currently using the same tactics against Flash, Apache, phones, tablets, advertising, OS X, games consoles and everything Google does.
Personally I fear this stifles innovation and diminishes the whole experience of using computers. But I have to admit there's a good chance Microsoft will win these latter wars as well. For example, for a long time I thought Nokia had 'won' against Microsoft. It turns out, attrition was probably the right tactic.
Apple is an amazing company that's experiencing incredible growth right now, but whenever I see an article that suggests there's a company with better business sense than Microsoft, it always seems to ring somewhat hollow. Empires will crumble though, and I'd be very happy to be proven wrong.


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10 Days Before Christmas Songs ~ What is Your Favorite Chritmas Song?
A New Favorite ~ Mary J Blige and Jessie J "Do You Hear What I Hear" from Blige's new Christmas album A Mary Christmas, released October 15, 2013. You have to get through all the adds first, but worth it!
* * *
Are you the type of person who actually LOVES Christmas songs? I am, and find it really keeps my spirits lifted during the holiday season. I enjoy playing it throughout our home and when in the car (to the dismay of my husband) and adore Christmas music of all genres; traditional carols and standards, spirituals, and most especially, pop and rock and roll Christmas songs. My list is quickly growing too long as I write this–The Pretender's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," U2's "Baby Please Come Home," Brenda Lee's "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus," Eartha Kit's "Santa Baby," and a new favorite, Michael Buble's version of "All I Want for Christmas is You," to name only a very few. If you have a favorite Christmas song, or two, or three, or more, I would love to know yours.
Here' is of one of my favorites to keep your spirits up and to get you through the holiday madness, "Christmas All Over Again," by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I think you'll enjoy the funny and sweet lyrics.
Reblogged from 2012

subset: commoncrawl


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Found this for $26 bucks on Fleabay. Probably cost US taxpayers $500
Should fit the Stanley HID or N30/L35 with a little rigging. Maybe on front of a high-powered mag mod or Polarion for wow factor...
US Military M1 Abrams Tank Infrared Blackout Glass IR Lens Cover View Port RARE
This auction is for a VERY RARE Original US Military M1 Abrams Tank Part - A Blackout Glass Lens Cover
What is called an "IR LENS" a tank has 2 of these on board, they are screwed on over the 2 front headlights and they turn the white light of the headlights to invisible Infrared light so it can be seen with the driver's night vision system and or\ Night vision goggles. 2 of these are standard issue equipment today on a tank.
Dark reflective glass with Primer Red colored Rubber seal. Measures 4 3/4" by 3/4" thick. One concave side, other obviously convex. Would make a cool ASHTRAY or paper weight. Maybe useful for something else.
Buyer to pay 6 USD for S/H anywhere within the Continental US. All items ship within 1-3 days of receipt of payment. International bids welcome!
Thank you for viewing this auction!


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HOW-TO Unbrick your Sansa View from Blue Ring of Death (Tango Digital Media Platform)
YES! It is finally done!! You can now UNBRICK the Sansa View using a port of e200tool I put together, called "viewtool".
http://i.imgur.com/ft2IdtQl.jpg http://i.imgur.com/4LXLEGDl.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IDuJ2cul.jpg http://i.imgur.com/a7A8lGIl.jpg
Tested working on Windows 7 x64 and developed on Windows XP x86 (VMWare virtual machine with Cygwin).
By relation, it should also work on Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7 x86 and x64
(pretty much anything)
Includes all source code and a Makefile, so it should also work under Linux if you're really desperate. How's that for a flip, an originally-Linux application now gets the "works on Windows and maybe Linux" treatment? ;)
Download here
Sansa View ViewTool and OneClickUnBrick v1.0.7z
And if you don't have something to extract a 7z file, go get a REAL archiving tool! 7z isn't an obscure format, you should have no trouble opening it :)
If your computer shows the 7z file as an "unknown file" (asks you how to open it), I suggest you remove whatever crap you have installed (winzip, or something "zip" I'm sure), and install something more modern... either 7-Zip (totally free but a pretty piss-poor user interface), or WinRAR (all the modern luxuries, just not free).
This also enables
Basically, here's what you do
Viewtool is a cleaned-up port of e200tool for the Sansa View. Not much has changed, but I removed a lot of excess baggage functions that don't work with the View: i2c doesn't exist (it seems), and as such, the device can't be powered off by the tool. It's basically memory I/O and "run" only. However, the memory dump and write functions are still there, and could really help someone looking to port Rockbox... I'll help however I can too!
Since the tool is very similar to e200tool, most of the functions are the same. However, it also detects if a View is already connected in "viewtool mode" (running the USB stub), and initializes automatically if needed. No more need for the "init" command, so that was removed. Run a dummy "lw" command if you _REALLY_ need to "init".
The One-Click UnBrick.cmd file walks you through the whole process of unbricking your View, and upgrading to the v1.3 firmware. If you need to swap out the firmware for a different version (e.g. for EU users), you can do so by adding that firmware to the appropriate folder. Just don't change the names OR base versions - that is, you can use v01.02.03a in place of v01.02.09a, but not v01.03.02a. v01.02.xx is required for function of the recovery process, as SanDisk screwed-up the recovery mode in later versions, and it can't write to Flash.
Thanks to MrH for the original e200tool code, the Rockbox group for the current status of work on the View (esp. the GSoC View project), and citanuL on the SanDisk forums for posting the missing piece of info about holding the UP key to initiate a Flash erase using the View bootloader. I spent days searching the disassembled code for that function! And thanks to saratoga on the abi forums for replying to my topic and keeping me inspired :)
edit 8/27/2011: Bitcoin is a great way to send thanks: 1hndQ4E6TmurfhuEzFhTZtwKejs9iTy3X - no amount is too small! Any amount goes toward paying the student loans that didn't teach me how to do this stuff ;)
edit 10/29/2012: Oops! Someone informed me the Hostfile link is dead. I re-uploaded with my Dropbox - updated the link above.
edit 7/15/2013: Apparently I forgot to update the second Hostfile link as well. Derp. Sorry... half the people still probably clicked the broken link! [hides head in shame]
edit 5/19/2017: Can you believe I'm still alive? Yeah, all the links had link-rotted to death. Updated now with imgur image hosting and Mega file hosting - can you also believe I still had the original source images and files? +100 points for data retention and personal backups with great organization! ;) (or at least, a great search function - thanks, "Everything"!)
Very nice! Maybe I'll finally get back into doing some of this stuff...
FalconFour I'm having trouble...
I'm an idiot so try to be patient with me.
When I run the unbrick tool it lists the requirements:
- Sansa View in Manufacturing Mode
- Driver for Tango Digital Media Platform to libusb installed
(see "Drivers" folder - may have to go to Device Manager to install)
- viewtool.exe with cygwin1.dll and cygusb0.dll in the same path
- Firmware version v01.02.09a in folder "1.2.09a"
- Firmware version v01.03.02a in folder "1.3.02a" (optional for upgrade)
I have no idea what that means - for example how do I go to the device manager to install the drivers for Tango Digital Media Platform?
Is there any way you can dumb this WAY down?
I really am that clueless.
JosephL, this might help you out a bit: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320929
Thanks Guymann but unfortunately those instructions really don't help.
For example they say:
Expand the category of the device that you want to configure. For example, expand Modems.
NOTE: The device may be listed under Other devices.
But I don't know what category I want and I don't have "Other Devices" in the device manager.
As I said - I'm really clueless
If you're not sure what it's referring to, most of it is for techie's reference... if you just extract the folder somewhere and click One-Click UnBrick, it'll walk you through the process and catch any problems it runs into (and provide the solution).
So if you're not sure how to use (or get to) Device Manager, if you get up to the part where it needs that driver loaded, it'll ask "Do you want to open Device Manager? (y/n)", and you just answer "y". It'll open Device Manager, which avoids a bit of work :) There, you just find your "Tango Media Platform" (which will be pretty visible with a big "!" by it), right click it, select "Update Driver", and during the wizard you will enter the location of the extracted "Drivers" folder (using Browse). It'll ask "Hey, this is unsigned!", you say "Yes, I know, shut up and do it!", and then you can go back to One-Click UnBrick and press a key (remember to go back and hold Up on the View like it says before you press a key!).
Hopefully this helps! And thanks for the replies... I was getting a little down after several days with no posts positive or negative :P
Firmwares here:
I readen your tips but it's really more difficult that what seems to be. I have downloaded another libsub rar file from another website to install the Tango Digital media platform.. after a looong search over the net. Now, after i reboot in tango mode the one click program can't find my sansa view.
"Not found under USB\VID...07 ecc..." nor USb.(numbers).....dead!" You may need to install the drivers for the viewtool mode.
Maybe you can help us telling a step by step..making a video on youtube...
You have to disconnect the sansa to rejoin in Tango mode isn't it? the command line tips are not so clear...:(
Sorry for my english..i am italian. :(
Worked like charm!
hi, i have a sansa view and....guess what? it's bricked....(blue ring of death :( )
can someone post the archive linked in the first post somewhere else? the link is not working for me :(
thanks guys!
Link should work now. :D
thank you very much ;)
My sansa is back to life! I owe you a pizza :D
very nice, very nice.
very very impressed. this might be a little long but i want to have my whole story out.
so i have probably an utterly bricked view, it was dropped quite badly but im not sure....
so when i try to turn my 8gb view on all i get is the blue ring...
i plugged in my view, installed tango drivers...
started your one click unbrick (OCU) cmd...
held the up button while running the OCU cmd.
my sansa displays sandisk, and in nice blue letters: erasing please wait...(was much surprised it even showed anything)
then it goes black as it should.
i then go to the next step all runs smoothly, finds the 16MB,
EDIT: in the pics posted, just before writing, yours says safe to disconnect. mine says LUN0 locked // LUN0 unlocked
sansa even pauses at each writing thing, but when it tries to restart or i try to turn it on its still only blue ring, so continuing is impossible... ? sansa is only tango when i plug it back in...
i noticed if i hold the center and up key while doing the erase step, then once the lights turn on, i change unlock, i can get to the point where the sansa is a sansa view on the computer. its connected to a computer, the computer can see the files on it etc. but if i unplug it, it freezes and restarts blue ring of death.
since its truely bricked im trying to run through once with the OCU cmd to where i can get to the installing new firmware step. Then start a new OCU cmd to get the sansa to fake connect, then install the new firmware etc. i will get back on that cause i have to change it to usb mass storage too. and restart is needed.
if anyone has any ideas please let me know.
Please, there is any chance to see this sansa view and also Sansa fuze+ with a rockbox installed on it? :( How long...does it takes?
Not working for me.
This isn't working for me. Does the computer have to recognize the View in order for this solution to work? I'm asking this because when I plug the View in nothing happens, my computer doesn't seem to be recognizing the device. Thanks in advance for your help.
Yes, the computer will always recognize the View in some state (recovery, bootloader, or operational). You may have a bad cable, or... you may just have a hardware-damaged View :(
@dejman: The View has its Flash memory (which it also boots from) on a little add-on board inside the main unit. It's not screwed down to anything. Dropping your View won't erase its firmware like magic. You need to pop the case open (one screw at the bottom under a tiny sticker-cover, then it snaps apart around the edges), unscrew the LCD (and carefully detach it without touching the screen), unscrew the PCB, then check that the Flash board isn't detached. Press the connector area firmly (look at the board at an angle to see where the plug is), it should "click" into place. Feel free to disconnect-reconnect it to be sure. Then, reassemble it and you should have a working View again :)
edit: A pizza may be hard to send over the 'net, but I do take Bitcoin, for those savvy: 1hndQ4E6TmurfhuEzFhTZtwKejs9iTy3X - no amount is too small, I'm ecstatic to get even 0.01 :)
Will oneclick unbrick work on an e280 and if so will it delete all the content? Have been trying for days to transfer some speeches i recorded over an FM signal. Do not want to lose this info.
I can get my computer to "see" the Sansa by locking it and holding the center button but there is the error exclamation in control panel at the "Tango Digital Media". Explorer does not see the Sansa nor does the Firmware update. I do have the Blue ring as you described. I cannot see any files anywhere. Any help???
Thanks for any help
If your Sansa already does ANYTHING MORE than absolutely nothing when you turn it on (if it's "bricked" to need OneClickUnBrick, it'll do absolutely nothing but show you the blue ring), then don't use OneClickUnBrick.
This tool is used to unbrick, i.e. "Oh my god, I have a working Sansa again! I love you forever!", not to recover, i.e. "It sure would be nice if I hadn't've erased that!".
With the buttons you appear to be holding - that is, locking -> hold center button -> plug in - that's forcing it into Bricked mode (manufacturing mode). Key word: forcing it. If it was really bricked, you wouldn't have a choice anyway, it'd just be... there anyway. So right off the bat, you're doing something very wrong.
What does it do if you DON'T force it into bricked-mode? Just switch off the hold and power the damn thing on normally? It should start up, and you could just go to the settings, turn on USB-MSC (Mass Storage Controller) mode, plug it in, then run something like Recuva on the drive to find your missing files.
If you do ANYTHING involving this recovery method (OneClickUnBrick or otherwise), you'll lose EVERYTHING. It's designed to be a "wow, I got my MP3 player working again!" tool, not a "wow, I got my stuff back!" tool. ;)
|All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:14 AM.


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Jere Joseph Toven, 72
Jere Joseph Toven, 72, of Brookville, beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend, passed to eternal life peacefully at McKinley Health Center, Brookville, after a strong-fought battle against leukemia, surrounded by his loving family on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014.
Jere was born on July 15, 1941, in Reynoldsville.
He was a 1959 graduate of Reynoldsville High School.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Joyce (Knapp) Toven. They were married on Oct. 27, 1962, in Mayport Pa.
He is also survived by his son, Paul Toven (Brenda) of Summerville; and his daughter, Roxanne Hetrick (Philip) of Brookville.
His surviving grandchildren are Andy Toven, Vanessa Yard, Cameron Yard, Hanna Toven and Isaac Hetrick.
His surviving step-grandchildren include Ian Hetrick, Amber Allshouse, Andrew Crissman, Heather Crissman, and Brooke Hetrick.
He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Jere retired from OI/Rexam July 1, 2013. He was employed there for 30 years.
Jere enjoyed watching his grandchildren play sports, and watching and attending the Pirates, Penguins, Steelers, and Pittsburgh Power
He also enjoyed spending his summer family vacations at North Carolina
He was predeceased by his father and mother, Angelo Toven and Grace (Pomroy) Toven; and his brother Ronald Toven.
He was also predeceased by his beloved pets, Buttons, Bows, Muff, Twoie, Callie and Taffy.
Visitation will be at the McKinney Funeral Home on Main Street, Brookville, on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014, from 4 to 8 p.m.
The funeral will be held on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, at 1 p.m.. also at McKinney Funeral Home, with Rodney Martz officiating.
Memorials may be made to the Leukemia Foundation, in care of The Clarion Cancer Center — One Hospital Drive, Clarion, PA 16214; and the Bar-None Cowboy Church, 1963 Richardsville Rd., Brookville, PA 15825.
Memorial donation cards will be available at the funeral home.
Please remember to donate blood to your local blood bank to help others who are fighting against leukemia.


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Food security critical to building peace, stability in Somalia, says FAO
26 September 2013, New York, USA - Food security is an "essential foundation" for securing "enduring peace, stability, and prosperity" in Somalia, said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, at a Thursday ministerial meeting of the east African-based Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Partners Forum in New York.
Co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of Ethiopia and Italy, the IGAD Partners Forum brought together leading Somali, regional, and international actors to UN Headquarters to discuss ways to "strengthen security and advance economic opportunity" in the country.
In addition to reaffirming their support for Somali's government, partners praised the recent Addis Ababa Agreement and urged international stakeholders to cooperate with Somalia in keeping with the provisions of the "New Deal Compact" ― a broad development roadmap endorsed at a recent EU conference on Somalia. The partners also agreed to hold an annual Partners Forum meeting in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
The Forum followed last week's lethal attack on a Kenyan shopping mall ― leaving an estimated 72 dead and 200 wounded ― by Al-Shabaab, an Al Qaeda affiliated group which contests the sovereignty of Somalia's internationally-recognized, Mogadishu-based government.
"The horrific attack in Nairobi this past weekend was a grim reminder of the potent threat posed by Al-Shabaab," remarked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Forum. "It reminds us that we must give the highest priority to our common goal of building peace in Somalia."
Speaking at the Forum, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged donors to honor their commitments to his country. "The worsening of other international crises should not draw the world's attention and resources away from Somalia," he stated.
Somalia's devastating 2010-12 famine, which claimed over 250,000 lives, should serve notice to the international community on the need to help sustain progress on other fronts too, declared FAO's Graziano da Silva. "There is a vicious circle linking violence and hunger that is not restricted by national borders. In a globalized world, hunger is not a problem of one country, it's a global problem."
To avert future such tragedies, added the FAO DG, more pro-active engagement is urgently required. "We cannot prevent a drought from happening, but we can prevent it from becoming a famine. To achieve food security, we need to act before the crisis hits, building resilience."
FAO, he noted, is working intensively with the World Bank, African Development Bank, and others to scale-up resilience measures in the Horn of Africa, with investments totalling over $300m.


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The Colorado Rapids and their yet-to-be-hired coach will open their 2012 campaign against a yet-to-be-named team on March 10 at a yet-to-be-decided time at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. That's according to an official release from the club today.
Oh, and it could be snowing. March is, after all, the snowiest month of the year in Denver. And this will be the earliest start date in team history, surpassing their March 18, 2000 opener in LA against the Galaxy, and the earliest home opener, edging out last season's March 19 start against Portland Timbers.
But, those who strap on their earmuffs and make it out to DSG Park could be in for a treat. The Rapids are 10-2-4 all time in home openers, and have won three straight in Commerce City.
As far as the Rapids' coaching search goes, it's still a mystery. Goal.com reports former New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol rejected an opportunity to interview for the opening.
So who does that leave as an option? On his radio show on Nov. 13, Marcelo Balboa speculated the most likely candidates for the opening would be someone like former Rapids' defender Denis Hamlett, who parted ways with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in late October after serving as an assistant coach last season, or Paul Mariner, who is the director of player development for Toronto FC.


text:
At the Carson City Sheriff's Office, the pile of applications for concealed weapons permits is stacking up.
"Just extremely busy. There's really no downtime," says Karie Maxwell, who handles the permits. "We've more than doubled what we've normally done."
Just in the last couple of months. And the Sheriff thinks he knows why. He says he noticed the spike in CCW applications right after the Newtown, Connecticut shooting and all of the talk last month of stricter gun laws.
"So I think you have two factors taking place at the same time. And many people are making the decisions that they would like to have some sort of personal protection in the event something bad happens to them," says Ken Furlong, Sheriff of Carson City.
Demand isn't just up in the Capital City.
"In December, we saw 263 applications. And in January, we saw 387," says Deputy Armando Avina of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. That's a 32-percent jump.
Of course, just to apply for a concealed weapons permit, you have to pass a course and those are getting booked up as well. The owner of America West Guns in Carson City teaches those courses and says he has to keep adding more to keep up with the demand.
"We try to maintain at least four to six classes a month and now it's getting up into the 10 to 12 area," he says.


text:
Release Notes: Mostly small changes, including more commands for the console mode and bugfixes for the graphical mode.
Release Notes: This release adds an unresolved breakpoint annotation to the source viewer. It has a new breakpoint condition based on hit count value. The term "debuggee" is defined in the user's guide. The broken bytecodes view that does not, and never will, work has been removed. Native methods are handled gracefully in the variables view. There is a fix to avoid an infinite parsing loop when reading multiple commands. The command name in break command help has been corrected. There is a fix to avoid an NPE in the breakpoint customizer dialog on some systems. There is a fix to elide superflous 'src' parent folder in source archives.
Release Notes: The program was migrated to NetBeans Platform version 6.5.1, fixing numerous bugs, including the dreaded invisible variable views problem, brought about by JDK 6u11. Plenty of little features were introduced by the platform upgrade.
Release Notes: The class loader ID is now shown along with its name. Line numbers are shown near the beginning of lines. A label is now used instead of a text field for error messages in dialogs. Packages are now sorted before classes in the classes view. The debugger now stops listening when the connection times out. Connection timeout was set to something reasonable. NPEs are avoided in the runtime clone method.
Release Notes: This release adds no functional changes.
Release Notes: This release makes the attach dialog contents match the selected connector, avoids NPE if breakpoint deserialization timing is off, catches and/or avoids various exceptions, documents supported keywords in expression evaluator help, explains what the host field is for in the attach dialog, fixes breakpoint event request mis-management, hides the useless update center definition, removes the redundant "support" command, repaints the session toolbar when the session name changes, and includes a rewrite of the JDI event dispatcher, to be more efficient.
Release Notes: Support for many of the new JDK 6 debugging features, an upgrade to the CDDL license from SPL, and improved layout for and input validation in all of the dialogs.


text:
Two sea turtles caught in fishermen's nets were returned to the wild in late June and early July, in response to IUCN's work raising awareness in fishing communities about conservation of the marine reptiles.
On June 27, 2008, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang of Nam Hai Village, Minh Chau Island, discovered a turtle entangled in his net. Thanks to information he received from IUCN and Bai Tu Long National Park, he reported the find to local authorities and a marine turtle protection volunteer group.
Authorities classified the animal as a critically endangered Hawksbill weighing three kilos and tagged it for identification.
Two days later, Bai Tu Long National Park staff, local leaders and the volunteer group released the turtle to the sea in Cua Doi, Minh Chau, as Mr. Thang and other residents looked on.
Later, on July 1, 2008, a fisherman caught a tagged, 120-kilo endangered Green turtle in Gio Hai Commune, Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province. The turtle, measuring 110 cm in length and 95 cm in width, was released in good condition that day.
IUCN has been supporting marine turtle preservation since the development of the Viet Nam Action Plan on Marine Turtle Conservation 2006-2010 and as part of the support for the Plan's implementation. The work focuses on Bai Tu Long National Park in the North and Quang Tri coastal areas in the North Central region.
In both locations, training workshops were conducted for teachers and extra curricular activities organized for students focusing on themes of saving sea turtles and their habitat.
The latest teacher workshop in March 2008 was part of IUCN's Community-Based Management of Sea Turtle Habitat in Quang Tri Province Project.
In 2008, IUCN will continue its partnership with Bai Tu Long National Park through professional development and capacity-building work, and it will help generate revenue for the reserve by collaborating with private sector companies to establish eco-tourism excursions into the park.
IUCN enjoys the support of multiple donors for its programs in the Gulf of Tonkin, including the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the Royal Danish Embassy in Hanoi, Fish and Wildlife Services, and the US State Department through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).


text:
TORONTO — Darnell McDonald and David Ortiz hit back-to-back home runs, Daisuke Matsuzaka won for the first time in more than a month and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 Sunday.
Aaron Hill connected for Blue Jays, who lead the major leagues with 136 homers, 18 more than Boston, but Toronto's streak of multihomer games was snapped at seven, one shy of the club record.
Matsuzaka (6-3) allowed two runs and six hits in six-plus innings. He walked none and struck out five to win for the first time since June 7 at Cleveland.
Daniel Bard worked two innings and Jonathan Papelbon closed it out in the ninth for his 20th save.
Boston lost All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre in the sixth with a strained left hamstring. Bill Hall moved from second to third and Eric Patterson replaced Beltre in the lineup.
Blue Jays righthander Jesse Litsch (0-4) was perfect through the first three innings before issuing a two-out walk to Ortiz in the fourth. Kevin Youkilis followed with a flyout to right.
Marco Scutaro ended Litsch's no-hit bid in the sixth with a two-out double to right-center. Litsch's shutout bid ended when McDonald followed with a two-run drive to left, his sixth.
Ortiz followed that with a solo blast into the second deck in right, his 18th. It was the fourth time this season the Red Sox have hit back-to-back homers and the second time this series. Youkilis and Beltre did it in Friday's 14-3 win.
Litsch came in 4-1 in six career starts against Boston, including 3-0 in three home starts. The right-hander remains winless in six starts since coming off the disabled list June 9. He allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings, walked one and struck out five.
Toronto chased Matsuzaka in the seventh when Adam Lind led off with a single and Hill followed with a two-run homer to left, his 12th.
For the second time this homestand, there were mechanical problems with the retractable roof at Rogers Centre. One panel remained in place Sunday, leaving shadows over the infield. Both home plate and the mound were in shade for the first three innings but the mound was in full sun by the fourth, creating a difficult contrast for batters.
The entire roof was forced to remain closed during last Wednesday's game against Minnesota.
NOTES: Red Sox OF Mike Cameron, who was hit on the right wrist by a pitch Saturday, did not start. … LHP Ricky Romero, RHP Brandon Morrow and RHP Shaun Marcum will start Toronto's first three games following the All-Star break, manager Cito Gaston said.


text: A major part of the appeal of Apple's devices is Apple's software; it's intuitive, it's stable and if it doesn't do everything that's needed, there's always an app or two that can. To compete with iPhone, BlackBerry has to provide a device that's more than an iPhone clone, technically speaking. Based on the stable and mature QNX operating system, the BlackBerry 10 operating system must go beyond iOS 6. And in some ways it does. Take for example BlackBerry Balance, which provides separate on-device workspaces for personal and business personas. In a stroke, BlackBerry addresses the BYOD dilemma facing many of today's enterprise IT departments, in which employees seek to use their own devices to access corporate data. Other features, including Hub and Flow, are designed with today's multitasking corporate execs in mind. Messaging has been overhauled to include video chat and screen sharing with other BlackBerry users, and the UI has been optimized for one-handed use. Perhaps one day we'll see a camera that reminds users to keep their eyes on the road.


text:
The Institute communicates its scientific and educational information in a number of ways. One major outlet is peer-reviewed publications and reports. Cary Institute staff regularly publish in the best-rated journals in their respective fields.
Export 1 results:Sort by: Author Title Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is Picco, A. M. [Clear All Filters]
Susceptibility of the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense, to ranavirus infection", J. Wildlife Diseases, vol. 43, p. 286-290, 2007., "


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Backus council adopts final 2013 levy
The Backus City Council on Monday, Dec. 3, adopted the 2013 final levy of $134,633.
City clerk Jeff Turk recommended that the council approve a budget adjustment to the final 2013 levy. The amount budgeted for a maintenance employee for 2013 was $24,902 and the actual cost will be $17, 650, a $7,252 cost savings.
Turk asked that the council consider moving that budgeted amount over to the street budget so the city could finish filling cracks in streets throughout the city. If the amount isn't used next year to try to preserve city streets, Turk said the money could be used for future street projects.
"I think people would want to know there is money being put aside to fix the streets," said Mayor Dwight Heim.
The council approved the budget adjustment, which did not affect the final levy.
Lee Bundy, of the Pine River Area Sanitary District, reported that a motor broke on a wastewater circulation pump. He said that next week for one hour the city would be without water as a crew performed the repair work. Bundy didn't know the day or time yet.
Pine River Police Chief Paul Sand reported that his department had 12 calls and 15 verbal warnings for various traffic violations within the city of Backus. He said the new stop signs have been installed on Wood Street at the Washburn Avenue intersection.
Backus Fire Chief Karl Flier reported that the fire department, along with neighboring departments, would be conducting a live house burn for training on Fourth Street Southwest on Pig Lake. Flier said as of Monday the department had 36 fire calls so far this year.
Flier informed the council he would be stepping down as fire chief at the end of the month and a new fire chief would be elected by the department.
The council approved a $789 expense to bring a fuel piping system at the airport up to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency standards. The state will reimburse the city for the costs next summer, said Turk.
Bundy reminded the council of the city's snowplowing policy. If two inches of snow or more fall on a weekend, a city plow will be out on Sunday to plow the main roadways. Early the next day two plows will be out to finish up the rest of the plowing. If the same snowstorm occurs on a weekday, plows will be out early that day.
The council approved a $2,450 cost to insulate the ceilings at the townhomes.
The city accepted two donations for the Backus First Responders. Both donations were for $1,000 and came from the Backus Lions and Backus American Legion. The city also accepted a $1,000 donation from the Backus American Legion for the fire department.


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All Comments for
A Moment with YoubyWarmMilk©
- All
Comments (38)
- by Nitehawk2Bear11/24/09
Simply amazing
I can't believe people in real life don't "fawn" over you as you put it. You are incredibly amazing not ony with your story content but listening to your voice while you tell it as well. Don't believe for one moment that finding that special someone would be difficult. Don't ever stop recording and submitting your audios, I love them and you both.by Anonymous11/24/09by Anonymous11/25/09by DfrntLovin11/28/09by Anonymous01/16/10by Anonymous01/28/10
You are a rather good writer and convey young innocence and a growing young woman's desire, her sexual awakening and need very convincingly with your little girl voice. Wow. It is the stuff of so many mens fantasies. The only thing missing, as has been mentioned, was your delicious orgasm. Please keep recording.by Anonymous02/12/10
Hope u read thz
Again that voice,the things you say,young girl,firm body,eager, willing,eye glasses and a hint of shyness are a perfect combo for a man to enjoy!!
The things I'd love to do to your sexy self and the pleasure we'd milk from each other until only a wet exhausted pile of two spent lovers remained.
New cars smell, try a young collage girls pussy and I'll bet you'll like it much more!
When you get a chance to post again, I'll be here waiting to enjoy your seductive voice and lusty story.
I envy the lucky one that gets to pop your cherry : P Whiskey1965by Anonymous03/08/10
fantasy come true
You are every older man's fantasy come true. You have no idea how talented you are and how successful you could be if you just keep posting these sort of stories.
Can't wait to hear many more stories from you and your incredible, young, innocent and absolutely irrisistable sweet voice.by Anonymous05/07/10
Oh what a sexy voice, I love your audios. I'm new to Literotica and so far have only read the text stories, little did I know what I was missing. The audio stories is where it's at. Love your voice and the story you tell, keep up the great work. Look forward to the rest of your work and to whatever new things you may put out.by Nitehawk2Bear05/07/10
As stated previously in a comment, you are an older gentlemens dream come true. Your voice in so intoxicating and eroticly sexy. You make a daddy want to listen to you again and again. I love the content of your stories and look forward to hearing more of your audios. I hope you will submit more every chance you get. You are simply amazing. You definately create a desire to listen to you.by Canuck70306/02/10by mikej235806/05/10by James6511/11/10
Oh Babygirl!
You have done it again,now this is a damn fine reason to wake up to,coffees ok but Warmmilk served in bed is much better.
Wow gonna need a cold shower after this one,how do you do it,I mean I know what your story is going to be about but you keep it fresh,sexual charged and manage to stroke my fantasy ego and leave me happy but desiring more!
You should come with a warning(CAUTION contents can inflame male lust, create a desire to score some young girl loving!
Side effects are very pleasing and may lead to an enlarged penis,drooling and a goofy grin that last all day!)
Thanks again you are my favorite flavor of sexy sweet ear candy xxxby Anonymous02/28/11by Anonymous03/23/11
Wow! What a sexy story...
Loved listening to your story WarmMilk. Must admit, I usually turn the longer ones off after a minute or so if they fail to grab my attention but your gorgeous accent, intelligent use of language and sexy delivery had my cock throbbing in no time. I could come again and again listening to your voice. More stories please. A new fan from London, England xby deCarabas_hj06/25/11
When I first started reading this story I didn't think it was particularly good. Something about the flow of the text didn't appeal to me.
Then I realised that it wasn't supposed to be read as text, it's meant to be listened to. So I did.
Wow. Really. That is about as coherent I can be at this point. Listening to you read this story, with so much feeling in your voice... delicious.
I have read some Text with Audio stories before, and some are clearly written to be read first, only later converted to audio. It seems your stories are made mainly for the audio experience. Very well done.by erOzica09/12/11by Anonymous10/18/11by Anonymous11/01/11by Anonymous03/24/12by Anonymous05/06/12by darklightfantasy2706/25/12by Anonymous07/07/12by sexi_lexie08/09/12
I know some people said you have the sexiest voice, but I just couldnt get into it, you sound like a ..child. It was too much for me to get into it, theres a fine line between role playing and disturbing, this was just too much for my liking. You sounded like you were 7 and that just isnt arousing, at least not to meby sexi_lexie08/09/12
dont see the appeal
I know some people said you have the sexiest voice, but I just couldnt get into it, you sound like a ..child. I understand you have to play up the whole nubile/virginal girl fantasy but theres a fine line between role playing and disturbing, this was just too much for my liking. You sounded like you were 7 and that just isnt arousing, at least not to me. Im a virgin and have fantasies like this but this just seems to exploitative, it was pretty good, it was only the voice that really put me offby mikej72808/24/12by Ameme03/10/13by SweeneyT12/18/13by Anonymous01/23/14
Such a believable voice for this story. Really like the "slutty girl plays naughty tramp". Just so you know, next time, you will feel my fingers in your hair as I hold your head, gently fuck your lovely lips, and when I give you a full load in your mouth, I know you will enjoy my swelling, throbbing cock and swallow every drop of my cum.by Anonymous02/02/14by Anonymous06/07/16by VANTA_BLACK10/31/17
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text:
We're going to wind up finding out a lot about the AFC West on Friday's edition of Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network.
Broncos senior V.P. of football operations John Elway and Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie both spoke to Mike Florio at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The men are coming off very different seasons, with Elway trying to take the next step in the playoffs with a team built around Peyton Manning and McKenzie attempting to put an end to the long run of playoff-less seasons in Oakland.
Former Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli is also in Indianapolis, so he'll join Florio to run down the biggest stories from the combine on Friday. Erik Kuselias and Pete Najarian will also be on hand for another jampacked hour of PFT.
It all get started at 5 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.


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This is your friendly (sometimes), neighborhood (if you live in the right place) blog host reminding you that today is the last day for FtB community members who are not male to send me their applications for a travel grant to the Women in Secularism 2 conference this May. Details tucked below the fold for those who may have missed them the first time.
First of all, let's start with definitions. "Non-male" means just that. If you don't identify as male, you qualify. "Member of the FtB community" should mean someone who has at least commented with some frequency. I will be that "trusted intermediary", so you'll need to trust at least me with some personal information.
It is also possible that Marcus can send more than two people. If you are willing to trust him with the information to book your flight, he has rather a lot of frequent flyer miles that he is willing to use as well. He travels a lot.
A word about Marcus: He has been one of Ed Brayton's commenters as long as Ed can remember and has always been a good guy. He identifies as a feminist but doesn't make any claim to be a great one. He has supported bloggers here at FtB previously.He has a certain respect for security. He's motivated by anger here, as the harassment has gotten to be too much to him, and he can afford to indulge this angry whim.
(If getting a grant motivated by anger bothers you, or if you want to help someone else go, Secular Woman has also started raising funds for travel grants for women. Surly Amy is raising funds for
travel grantsconference registration for men.)
Still, you don't have to be willing to give him this information. You can give me information instead, and it won't be shared. So if you're interested, use the contact button down on my sidebar to send me an email by end of day Monday, February 4.
What do I need to know?
- Who are you? This means both the name you'll be traveling under and the name you use here, if they're different. If you don't comment on my blog, please also tell me where you do participate and include information (such as the email address you use to comment) that I can verify with that blogger.
- How do you identify for purposes of gender?
- What registration level do you need? Regular, CFI member, or student? (Don't be concerned that the student tickets have sold out. I bought a few for this purpose. I just need to know who can use them.)
- What will it take to get you to the conference? What airport will you be coming from, and what dates will you be traveling? (If air travel doesn't make sense for you, tell me what does.)
- Are you okay with having your airfare paid with frequent flyer miles? Remember that this means sharing your personal information with Marcus.
- Would you prefer to be identified by the name you'll use at the conference or by your commenting handle when announcing who we're sending? They won't be used together, but announcing who is going will help us maintain public accountability.
Marcus and I will discuss the applications in general terms. I won't share anyone's identities during the decision process, but he will need information on costs in order to budget and figure out how many people he can send. Decisions are not promised to be anything but arbitrary within that original criteria. We'll try to make the decisions as quickly as possible so everyone can cement their plans.
Those chosen will work with me to get their registration and either me or Marcus, depending on preference, to make travel reservations. In addition, I'll be sending each recipient a grant of $150 to be used however they see fit to cover hotel, food, or other costs from the conference.
Get them to me by the end of today (Monday) or before I wake up in the morning, which should cover all time zones.


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Colin Blackwell has collected an assist in each of his last three contests (Gil Talbot).
Complete Game Notes (pdf)
Highlights: Nov. 10, 2012 Harvard vs. Rensselaer
Series History: Rensselaer
Friday's game marks the 88th meeting between the Crimson and Engineers, with Harvard holding a 47-35-5 lead in the all-time series. The teams first faced each other in 1951, when RPI skated to a 6-2 victory at its own Christmas Tournament. Harvard has a pair of six-game winning streaks in the all-time series, but RPI entered the 2012-13 campaign unbeaten in three games against the Crimson.
Last Time Against The Engineers
The final game of a season-opening five-game homestand for Harvard culminated in a dominant, 4-0, blanking of the Engineers Nov. 10 at Bright Hockey Center. Marshall Everson started the scoring at the 9:05 mark of the first period and rookie Brian Hart netted his first collegiate goal to make it 2-0 Harvard after one. Classmate Jimmy Vesey gave Harvard a 3-0 cushion with an unassisted effort in the second, and an unassisted, empty-net tally for Vesey in the third sealed the two-goal game for him and the 4-0 win for Harvard. Goalie Raphael Girard turned aside 24 shots for his second shutout of the season.
Scouting RPI
A season-opening win over Ferris State started the Engineers' season off on the right foot, but a string of five losses that followed, including the 4-0 defeat at Harvard, set RPI back. The Engineers rallied for a signature win Dec. 7 at Yale, a 6-1 final, and swept a home weekend against Colgate (2-1) and Cornell (3-2) Jan. 18-19. In their last action, the Engineers gave No. 19 Union all it could handle in a 3-2 defeat at the Times-Union Center.
Sophomore forwards Ryan Haggerty and Jacob Laliberte are leading the way for the Engineers this season, as Haggerty has the team points (18) and goals (10) lead and Laliberte is second in points (17) and first in assists (10). Senior defenseman Nick Bailen is the team's top-scoring blueliner with 5-11-16 points, and leads the team with four power-play goals.
It has been an even split this season between goalies Bryce Merriam and Jason Kasdorf, and sophomore Scott Diebold has also played nearly 25% of the minutes as well. Kasdorf boasts the best numbers of the group, holding a 1.75 goals-against average and .935 save percentage to along with a team-best four wins.
Last Time Out
After a seven-game road swing, the Crimson returned home for its first ECAC home weekend of 2013 last weekend. Jimmy Vesey got things off on the right foot Friday against Clarkson, scoring a goal just 2:34 into the game and giving the Crimson a 1-0 lead at the first break. The lead held until late in the second when Clarkson netted a pair of scores just nine seconds apart to swing the lead to the Golden Knights after two periods. Clarkson's Joe Zarbo completed his hat trick in the third as the guests poured in three more in a 5-1 final.
A night later against St. Lawrence, the Saints took a 2-0 lead with a pair of markers before the halfway point of the opening stanza. Vesey was at it again, logging a power-play tally at 14:42 of the period to cut the Harvard deficit to one after the first frame. 11 seconds into the second period, Vesey struck again, tying the game at 2-2. A Saints power-play strike gave them the lead once again, but Alex Fallstrom's marker at 13:29 of the second leveled the score at 3-3 after two full periods. A scoreless third forced Harvard's fourth overtime game of the season and George Hughes fired true with 1:23 showing on the clock to give the Saints a 4-3 win.
It's All Too Vesey
For the third time this season, freshman Jimmy Vesey received ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors. It is also the fourth such honor for a Harvard player this season.
Vesey has been Harvard's biggest offensive threat in the 2013 portion of the schedule, and his finishing touch was on display in three games last week. Vesey netted Harvard's only goal at No. 19 Union Jan. 22, slipping home a quick shot off a Colin Blackwell faceoff win. The rookie struck again in his next game, giving Harvard a 1-0 lead at home against Clarkson Friday. A night later, Vesey collected a pair of goals against St. Lawrence, including a power-play tally and a goal just 11 seconds into the second period.
The North Reading, Mass., native leads the team with 10 goals and 14 points. His 0.62 goals-per-game average is tops among freshmen nationally, and he also ranks ninth nationally in points per game among rookies with 0.88. He is the leading rookie scorer in ECAC contests with 11 points (8g, 3a) in league games.
Jimmy Vesey has scored at least one goal in each of his last three games, giving him the longest active goals streak on the team and the longest of the season for the Crimson. Colin Blackwell has an assist in each of his last three contests, good for the second-longest assists streak this season, behind only Tommy O'Regan's string of five straight games with a helper. Vesey has the longest active points streak at four games.
I Wanna Block
The defensive unit for the Crimson has recorded 59 more blocks than its opponents through 19 games this season with a 346-287 edge in the category. Harvard has had more blocks than its opponent in 12 games this season including seven of its last nine contests. The Crimson recorded a season-high 27 blocks against Boston University Jan. 9, and has posted two games with a block differential of +16 (23-7). Harvard has eclipsed the 20-block benchmark in eight games this season, including its last three contests.
Senior captain Danny Biega holds the team lead in blocks with 47 on the season. Dan Ford is close behind with 41 and Brendan Rempel has picked up 39 on the season.
Rockin' Rookies
The Harvard class of 2016 is leading the way for first year players in ECAC Hockey. Jimmy Vesey is the top-scoring freshman in league games with 8-3-11 points and classmate Brian Hart is tied for third with 2-7-9 points in league contests. Kyle Criscuolo, who hasn't played since Dec. 10 due to injury, is tied for 14th among league rookies with 3-1-4 league points.
Young Blood
The underclassmen on the Crimson have stepped up in terms of point scoring this season. Four of Harvard's top five scorers are either freshmen or sophomores.
Century Club
Four members of the class of 2013 have eclipsed the 100-games played mark in their careers. Danny Biega leads the way with 119, followed by Luke Greiner with 110 and Marshall Everson with 106. Alex Fallstrom is the most recent member of the 100-games played club, as the game against the Saints was his 100th in a Harvard uniform. Conor Morrison also has a good chance to reach 100 games played as he currently sits at 92 for his career.
The last time Harvard had five seniors eclipse the 100-game mark was during the 2007-08 season, led by Jon Pelle '08 with 135 for his career.
Gotta Have Hart
Rookie Brian Hart has emerged as an offensive catalyst for the Crimson of late. Hart has logged a point in five of his last seven games, and has seven total points (2 goals, 5 assists) over that span.
Must Be McGregor
Harvard is 2-0-0 when sophomore Ryan McGregor scores a point. He logged an assist in a 4-0 shutout of Rensselaer Nov. 10, and collected a pair of helpers in Harvard's 6-5 comeback win over Boston University Jan. 9.


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From NBC's Abigail Williams
Yesterday, President-elect Obama gave his first virtual fireside chat. The weekly Democratic radio address, also posted as a YouTube video on change.gov, is just a taste of the new style of open governing promised by the incoming Administration.
Seated at a simple desk with the American flag draped to the right, and thick leather bound books behind, the image first seems like all presidential addresses made from the Oval Office. But something seems off in the presentation -- Obama's torso as right of center as his tie and the camera left at an awkward distance forcing Obama to lurch forward towards his viewers. It seems, well, like a YouTube video.
The uniqueness in this style of address is more than just its presentation; the video represents an adaptation to new generations who watch what they want, whenever they want, wherever they want. The video is one in a series of continuing efforts made by Obama to create a more transparent and connected democracy that brings the decision making of government directly to its citizens. The purpose of this e-government, according to Obama, is to "lift the veil" from Washington and allow people to become active participants in their own government.
Of course, the details of this citizen participation have yet to be explained and how integral a part the opinion of citizens will play in specific government proposals remains to be seen. For now the image of President-elect Obama projected on your iPod seated next to your gas-burning fireplace certainly gives the appearance of change.


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Honolulu CC students to conduct mock emergency response to chemical spill
Participation is part of final exam for student respondersHonolulu Community College
Chulee Grove, (808) 845-9434
Occupational & Environmental Safety Management
HONOLULU - Honolulu Community College (HCC) students enrolled in the Emergency Response to Hazardous Materials class will respond to a mock chemical spill as part of their final exam on Saturday, November 3, from 9 to10 a.m. HCC's Building 5 courtyard will be littered with 55-gallon drums, flour, shaving cream and semiconscious "victims," all posing as obstacles and potential scenarios for the students to manage during the response.
The 16 students involved in the exercise will don chemical protective suits, nicknamed the "moonsuit." The "moonsuit" is an encapsulating suit with a self-contained breathing apparatus used to assess hazards, conduct sampling, control spills, and rescue victims. During the mock spill, students will be expected to demonstrate competencies in the use, care, and decontamination of the moonsuit, as well as proper emergency response procedures. They must properly remove the contaminated "victims," stop the spill, and mitigate any immediate public threat.
Occupational and Environmental Safety Management Professor Chulee Grove will coordinate a group of volunteers to play the role of reporters and bystanders in order to simulate as realistic an incident as possible. The class meets OSHA's standards on training requirements for hazardous waste operations and emergency response.
For more information, contact Chulee Grove at (808) 845-9434 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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|View Poll Results: Spice and Wolf Total Series Rating
|Perfect 10
|9 out of 10 : Excellent
|8 out of 10 : Very Good
|7 out of 10 : Good
|6 out of 10 : Average
|5 out of 10 : Below Average
|4 out of 10 : Poor
|3 out of 10 : Bad
|2 out of 10 : Very Bad
|1 out of 10 : Painful
|Voters: 221. You may not vote on this poll
|Thread Tools
|2008-04-20, 13:19
|Link #23
Hina is my goddess
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Dec 2005
my rating 7/10, which is quite low for any series i actually finish.
Started off strong with lots of characters and interesting plot lines. But as it moved on it focused too much on the economics and told us nothing about Horo's past. Also it seems like Lawrence is a bigger idiot than i first thought. Near the end it was a surprise if things actually went according to his plans.
|2008-04-22, 08:19
|Link #24
Tsundere Killer
Mine is 9/10.
Positives (+)
* What did I say about Horo being 3 dimensional? Well, she's not! She's more than 3 dimensional! If I take a few stock characters and combine them, I'd have Horo as a result. Yeah Horo FTW!
* Same goes to Lawrence, and yes as expected, he's no spineless moot despite getting a tsuntsun from Horo, and yes he counters her most of the time. Sure he tends to be a softie, but he's Horo's kind of softie.
* Voice acting is great, I love Jun Fukuyama and Ami Koshimizu and Mai Nakahara's voice projection there. Come of think of it, it's like Geass (Jun nd Ami) again, he he he he he!
* Great story, though it needs some adjustment, but still a great one
* The music's nice, blends well with the atmosphere of the show
Negatives (-)
* Only 13 episodes, I wish it went 15-20
* Some points in the story tend to be confusing
Overall, I love it! I wish there's a 2nd season.
|2008-05-01, 21:30
|Link #26
Payback is a b*t#8, huh?
Join Date: May 2007
It is one of those animes that teaches you a lesson such as greed and the result of forcing one to do the most shameful of method, such as begging for gold while being abused on the way. I find it rather interesting that the story focused a detail idea of economics in the medieval ages as well as some historic facts. I love it how they put up information at the end of every ending credits to further explain to us - the noob economic fans - of the situation involved by the settlement and decline of kingdoms.
I also love - and I really mean in love - with Horo's character. She is beautiful, cold, sweet, sensitive, strong, cunning, and all the other elements that couldn't be blend well enough to synchronize into one great character. Horo was so well built. She was the reason why I actually started watching the anime. Though I can't say the same about the other one.
To be honest, Craft Lawrence (with a nice name but doesn't suit his characterization) wasn't what I would liked him to be. I would have liked it more if the whole series doesn't involve him teaching us specific economics and that he was not a merchant. He doesn't suit Horo with his position. Its not like his status and reputation can take a dutiful role as a male (as how the anime keeps pointing out, the gender card) to protect her. Craft done many wrongs throughout the series, such as getting too greedy and merciless like during the event where he counter-scammed the scammer. An eye for an eye is an ideal and "real" logic, but such schemes doesn't really suit the Craft that was exposed to us so far from the very few episodes. However, it was a nice way to give us lessons about humanity, where there is full of greed, guilt, arrogance, ignorance, shame, etc etc.
**Too bad he wasn't replaced with some good-looking-youthfull-rare-vampire-that-is-a-flower-but-is-crimson-underneath-that-tries
to-live-with-humanity-while-have-experienced-long-generations-of-tragedy-and-angst. Now that will really teach us lessons and fit into the fantasy theme along with it. Who wouldn't want a dirtily evil, attractive "hero(?)" such as Lelouch in Code Geass? (I'm going to start a fanfic :P)
Speaking of fantasy, the anime seemed to have a problem of balancing it. And they did a rather bad job at it till the end. Too much left unknown in the whole actually fantasy tab. You know, gods and those sort of things. How did gods coexist with humanity in the first place? All the anime did was telling you in like 3 sentences how animal gods blesses humanity with good fortune while they were worshiped back; while the rest of the series never given us any evidence of the pre-worshipped religion (except from the first village we saw) I can only guess that Christianity got to the point where they whipped 99.99% of them from history, while expanding their religious superpowers and brainwashing the people so they won't go towards their old polytheistic Shintoism-like religion. (i.e: Chloe with the Church and their master plan on killing off Horo.) In addition to that, the whole [goddamn in some aspects] anime was drilled with economics and therefor focused themselves way too much - if not completely - on the humans when they should have also focused it on Horo's divine status tree as well.
I can only hope that this alluded but very cunning and well drawn anime is a trail run, and that they will improve on them drastically in the possible season 2. I guess this anime is not that much of physical violence like the good animes these days. Heck I was so disappointed when we didn't get to see Lawrence slit some throats with his dagger (if he has any talents at all) and Horo bites some limbs off. I caught the signs of non-aggressive approach during Craft's flashback of the wolf attack during the second episode. I was like "no blood?? Suspicious, suspicious." I hate it when I'm right. It is not so good that it's at a philosophical level and neither as it is in comedy; but I'm fine with it. It is a new approach to something great with the characterization involved, though there needs to be some fix on Lawrence to be suitable for the interactions with Horo..
Overall 9/10
(7/10 originally but my love for Horo gave the score +2 points) XDDD Alright, maybe I'm way too kind to this particular anime...
Last edited by Methuselah; 2008-05-01 at 21:41.
|2008-05-03, 09:26
|Link #27
There there, Maggie-chan
Join Date: Sep 2007
I gave it a nine, i really liked the artwork and i never noticed an animation problem. Music was great, the characters and their interaction were good as well. I might have given it a 10 if they had more space to flesh it out some, especially the second arc which was kinda confusing at points. My biggest problem tho was that lawrence really started to fade near the end. In the beginning he was very clever as a merchant and it was his strong suit, but as the story went on he seemed to get dummer and dummer....
|2008-05-07, 15:46
|Link #28
It's Horo, not Han Solo.
Join Date: Jun 2006
|2008-05-11, 20:56
|Link #29
stuck in a harem genre
Join Date: Feb 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed this series
I agree, the animation isn't stellar. But hey, who cares... The story was great and fascinating and pulls you in.
The characters were definately different from stereotype and gave it a more "human" qualities. I do wish the series was longer, just because I didn't want it to end.
Awesome I'd definately recommend this series to everyone.
By the way, have they announced anything on a second season?
|2008-07-07, 11:14
|Link #31
death by animeoverdos X_X
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: hinamizawa in an endless cycle of death
Age: 27
i gave it a 6 out of 10 - average. nothing good really happened in the story. it was just lawrance riding around with horo selling stuff all day and talking about nothing. then lawrence gets jipped and they go to that city to smuggle the gold and get out of the hole (wow real exciting :/). however im sure the next season will be better. probably more going on.
|2008-07-08, 00:04
|Link #32
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 60
Hate to tip your boat - but the overall story is pretty much a verbal romance tale --- like the old Cary Grant / Hepburn romantic comedies or even Shakespearean comedies.
Lots of verbal jousting and flirting, occasional action -- somewhat like real life. The depth is in the characterizations, not necessarily in the action. They *do* have some rough'n'tumble adventures but not on a frequent basis.
There are 8 volumes of the story so far in light novel form and the anime covered the first volume.
This spring - a manga adaptation was started and there is one manga volume released. I'm trying to decide if I have enough hubris in my japanese skills to scanlate it or not.
Last edited by Vexx; 2008-07-08 at 00:28.
|2008-07-08, 04:00
|Link #33
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Somewhere...
Age: 29
8/10. One of the best in romantic + fantasy genre ever. Nice atmosphere, interesting characters and very good scenario. But something is missed and some parts are not so interesting enough. Yes, scenario has a really good potential (that based on novels), and I hope, that there will be the second season.
|2008-07-11, 23:02
|Link #34
wolfen programmer
There's so many ways I felt a connection with Horo it was kind of scary, but at least it was a good story that I could get into. I hate how it has a "ride off into the sunset" kind of ending and nothing really big actually happened with that ugly unfinished feeling. It actually looks like they were going to make 24 episodes and then just randomly quit at the end of a scenario. The music was OK, I actually kind of hated the Opening and the Ending tracks.
One thing that was sad was the way that the village citizens neglected Horo and tossed her aside for a new god, and that now she feels lonely and no one really actually sees or cares about her anymore (or even believes she exists anymore for that matter). She probably even had fun with the village in the beginning (otherwise she probably wouldn't have made the contract to begin with). Eh, good riddance ^^ Horo heads back north~
|2008-08-06, 13:24
|Link #35
Dango Master
IT Support
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Buenos Aires Argentina
Age: 28
That is exactly how i feel about this series although i gave it a 9/10... i hope we get a great ending for this anime in the next season. Im specially interested how will the romance between Lawrence and Horo end... after all we are talking about a 250 years old wolf and a mere human merchant =?
|2008-08-06, 13:49
|Link #36
Can't think of a title^_^
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Lithuania
Age: 30
and another issue is that the anime covered 2 light novels, out of 8 (I think) available now ^_^
for more info check the novels ^_^
PS.. S&W is the anime that made me interested in l. novels ^_^
|2008-08-10, 01:55
|Link #37
Wiggle Your Big Toe
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Milwaukee
Age: 27
This was one of those animes where it was all about the characters. And I enjoyed it for that. Horo is one of the most well built female character I've seen. I dailogues between Horo and Lawrence were a joy and they felt natural and real. For a show with really not much going on in the sense of "big things" it did really well. The only down side was that it had a lack of backstory with Horo, but of course another season could easily fix that.
And with that I give it a 8.5/10
|2008-08-25, 04:15
|Link #39
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Idaho
Age: 26
I should probably come back to this series and post my final thoughts:
I had to give Spice and Wolf a nine out of ten, which is pretty good.
I'd say it'd be easier to point out negatives with such a high score. Most of the negatives result from the fact that the series (or supposed first season?) is left VERY open and gives an extreme lack of any fulfillment. There was so much potential in this show that doesn't seem to get used to any noticeable degree beyond what's really shown in the thirteen episodes provided. Within those thirteen episodes are some great story, but my main complaint truly is the lack of extortion for the possibilities.
I suppose realistically I should give this show a much lower score, but it was a great show none-the-less and all things considered it hasn't been proven that there will be no second season. However if there is none, then I will have immense disappointment.
|2008-08-25, 04:57
|Link #40
Can't think of a title^_^
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Lithuania
Age: 30
I suppose that it is because the 1-st season (let hope it is so) is based on the novels and it is said that it follows the novels closely.. So it would be natural that the ending should leave people wanting more.. actually such an open ending is what actually made me interested in the S&W novels..
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text:
I just gave birth to our third and fourth children, and my husband has now stated on multiple occasions in the month since they were born that he plans to get "cut". My suspicion is that he is totally overwhelmed right now. Knowing him, he would regret the choice. Regardless, this is upsetting me for two reasons.
1- Getting "cut" is a circumcision. Getting "snipped" is a vasectomy. I have held my tongue, but I feel every inch of my body tense up every time he says it. It sounds stupid. He doesn't need to get "cut". He was circumcised 30 years ago.
2- He knew very well from the beginning of our relationship that I am opposed to permanent sterilization as a birth control method within the context of marriage. I very clearly stated that a vasectomy or tubal ligation would not be something that I would consider. I said that I could not feel good about making that choice as a couple, and I was not willing to enter a marriage that kept that possibility open. And years later, here we are... married. And here he is... talking about getting a vasectomy.
This is not about beliefs on vasectomies. It isn't about who gets to decide. It's about honoring your partner enough to respect their beliefs and make good on the promises that were made and arrangements that were agreed to before the marriage.
Am I wrong?
I would respect the arrangement that we made prior to getting married.
Quoting KeenaStarr:How would you feel if the roles were reversed?
Does your husband have a say in any of this? You'd better listen to his side unless you're looking to be a single mom with 4 kids.


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text:
OSWEGO — Minooka totaled 6,367 pins Saturday to claim first place, by a margin of 315 pins over Oswego, at the Oswego East varsity boys bowling invitational.
Zach Segatto of Minooka was individual champion with a 1,458 series that included game totals of 246, 258, 267, 202, 238 and 247. Justin Shepard was third individually with a 1,333 series that included a 278 third game, and John Kaufmann placed fifth with a 1,283 series.
The Minooka junior varsity team also bowled and placed seventh with 5,569 pins. The Indians were led by Chris Koesema with a 1,147 and Dylan Pickett with a 1,118.
Minooka 3,394,
Lincoln-Way East 3,012
CHANNAHON — Kaufmann had a 267 and a 274 in his first 2 games on his way to a 766 series Monday for the Indians (6-1). Shepard added a 730 series.
Minooka won 2,939-2,436 at the J.V. level behind a 600 from Chris Dombrowski.
Seneca 67,
Dwight 36
DWIGHT — Brian Bergeson scored 13 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with 4 late Friday for the Fighting Irish. Their scoring attack featured 12 from Conlan Callahan, 10 from Chris Lee, 9 from Carter Gallick and 7 from Brad Wyss.
Eight points from Blake Huseman was the high total for the Trojans.
Coal City 48,
Manteno 41
COAL CITY — Brennen Shetina went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and finished with 16 points late Friday for the Coalers (3-2, 1-0) late Friday in I-8 play. They got 14 points from Nick Peters, 8 from Jon West and 6 from T.J. Washington.
"This was a great way to start our conference season," Coal City coach Brad Boresi said.
Sengal Arias scored 20 points and Kurtis Smith was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, but the sophomore Coalers lost 36-32.
St. Anne 67,
ST. ANNE — Tristan Noon had 9 points and Kaidon Hibler 8 for Gardner-South Wilmington, which was down just 26-22 at halftime, late Friday in River Valley Conference play.
Plano 80,
Reed-Custer 56
PLANO — Connor Anderson was 4-for-5 from 3-point land late Friday for the Comets (1-5, 0-1) in the I-8 game.
Reed-Custer (3-2, 0-1) also lost 63-38 at the sophomore level.
DeKalb 50,
Morris 36
The "A" Redskins were led by Jackson Shannon with 10 points and Trey Ward and Jacob Webb with 8 each Monday in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference East game.
Anthony Mare's 6 points were not enough for Morris in a 32-9 "B" game loss.
Donovan 36
DONOVAN — Breann Fisher's 16 points were high Monday for Gardner-South Wilmington (3-5, 1-2) in the River Valley Conference win. Sam Schultz had 13 points and Chelsea Schultz added 12.
"This was our first game back with Miranda Faletti," GSW coach Adam Leigh said. "She had 4 points ... but we are expecting much bigger things from her coming up."
Dwight 52,
Reed-Custer 49
DWIGHT — Alyssa Wiemken had 14 points, Lisa Bruner 11 and Regina Dawson 10 for Dwight (2-5, 2-1) Monday in I-8 play.
Leading scorers for Reed-Custer (1-5, 0-3) were Caitlyn Welch with 18 points and Courtney Welch with 16.
Morris 42,
DeKalb 8
Devin Pacheco totaled 11 points and 11 rebounds and Leona Burton had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 steals for Morris (9-0) Monday in NIB12 East play.
Ottawa Tournament
OTTAWA — Morris won all 3 of its games Saturday for the championship. The Redskins took down Mendota 75-10 behind 26 points from Jessica Jurak and 16 from Burton. They defeated La Salle-Peru 34-18 behind 16 points from Burton and 9 from Pancheo. Burton then had 21 points and Jurak 10 in a 43-19 win over Ottawa.
Minooka 38,
Plainfield North 37
MINOOKA — The Indians moved to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in Southwest Prairie Conference play Monday at the "A" level. Minooka (3-0, 2-0) also won 31-8 in the "B" game.
Minooka Duals
MINOOKA — The Indians tied Libertyville 34-34 and defeated both Yorkvile, 41-20, and Joliet West, 41-27, on Saturday. K.J. Minor (106), Joe Koenig (170), Nate Gunn (182) and Josh Bouie (195) went 3-0 on the day for the Indians. Dan Ruettiger (126), Mike McNulty (138), Carson Oughton (145), Jeff Klank (160) and Eric Velazquez (220) were 2-1. Andrew Potts (113) and Shane Mart (120) added wins.
Seneca Regional
SENECA — The host Lady Raiders (16-5) held Herscher scoreless in the third quarter Thursday and won 23-12 in eighth-grade girls regional championship action. Team members are Eva Bruno, Raquelle Dahlman, Emily Davis, Paige Hacker, Sarah Haines, Abby Hawk, Amaraini Munoz, Rachel Sangston, Chloe Struck and Madison Van Ness.
Seneca beat Marseilles 35-14 last week in the regional semifinal.
ROUNDUP: Segatto, Indians win Oswego East titles
OSWEGO — Minooka totaled 6,367 pins Saturday to claim first place, by a margin of 315 pins over Oswego, at the Oswego East varsity boys bowling invitational.


text:
US attorney general Eric Holder has denied feeling "completely screwed" by Theresa May after she blocked the extradition of computer hacker Gary McKinnon last month.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Holder said his relationship with the home secretary "is and remains strong" despite her decision to halt McKinnon's extradition in October.
Asked whether he felt "completely screwed" by the decision he said: "No, not at all.
"We were certainly disappointed by the decision, given the fact that prior home secretaries and judges here in the UK had made the determination that he could be extradited.
"But the relationship we have with the UK is a special one and the relationship I have with Theresa May is indeed a good one."
McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, had been accused by US prosecutors of "the biggest military computer hack of all time", but he claimed he was simply looking for evidence of UFOs.
Holder also said the extradition treaty between Britain and America, which many campaigners describe as unbalanced, was "fair."
"If you look at the relationship in its totality and in a fact-based way, I think you can see the extradition relationship is indeed a balanced one, the appropriate standards are used by both nations, and that we work together in extradition as we do in other areas to foster our common needs," he said.
"We work together with our British counterparts in trying to determine where cases can best be tried. If one also looks at these statistics, you'll see that there have been 11 times when the UK has refused to send somebody to the United States, one time when the United States has refused to send someone to the UK.
"Again, you can focus too much on particular cases and draw too much from some statistical information when, I want to assure the population in this great nation that the relationship is indeed a balance and its one we are constantly working on to make better.
The UK's extradition laws are set to be changed to include a 'forum bar', which would mean a court hearing has to be held to decide whether a person should stand trial in the UK or abroad.
Conservative MP Dominic Raab, who sits on the committee, told The Huffington Post UK last month the forum bar would "help to depoliticise these cases and remove a thorn in the side of the special relationship."


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Veterinarians can typically diagnose a horse with late-stage pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, or equine Cushing's disease) easily. Diagnosing early stage PPID and, thus, allowing treatment to begin earlier in the course of the disease, remains more challenging. Fortunately, research is ongoing and more reliable diagnostic tests are being developed.
At the 2013 Western Veterinary Conference, held Feb. 17-21 in Las Vegas, Nev., Hal Schott II, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of equine medicine at Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, described the current diagnostic options for PPID.
PPID Basics
Schott first reviewed PPID, a disease caused by an enlargement of the pars intermedia of the pituitary gland (the central part of the pituitary gland located at the base of the brain) that affects all breeds and types of horses. Many affected horses are older than 20; however, the disease has been recognized in some younger horses, as well. There's no gender predilection.
Schott described some common clinical signs of horses with advanced PPID:
- They have a characteristic long hair coat that fails to shed properly (a condition formerly known as hirsutism in these horses, but recently studied and renamed hypertrichosis, which means hair growth that is abnormal in quantity or location, Schott said);
- Affected horses often have abnormal sweating patterns;
- They experience polyuria and polydypsia (excessive urination and drinking, respectively); and
- About 60% of affected horses experience muscle wasting with or without associated weight loss.
But, Schott said, there are some other less obvious clinical signs seen in affected horses that could possibly indicate early stage PPID, including:
- Chronic infections;
- Chronic laminitis (only about 50% of PPID horses develop laminitis, Schott said);
- Poor wound healing;
- "Silent" urinary tract infections;
- Persistent mammary secretions;
- Decreased fertility;
- Abnormal fat depositions;
- Insulin resistance; and
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
He noted that suspensory apparatus breakdowns, "bizarre" neurologic signs, and blindness have also been associated with PPID onset; however, researchers still don't fully understand the connection between the signs and the disease.
The challenge with most clinical signs, Schott said, is that "it can be hard to separate the effects of PPID with the effects of aging."
Diagnosing PPID
"Practically, the diagnosis of PPID is most commonly made by the observation of hypertrichosis and other clinical signs in older equids," Schott said. "Establishing a diagnosis of PPID in less severely affected horses can be challenging."
Due to the need for better PPID testing protocol, Schott said the Equine Endocrine Society's (EES) PPID Diagnosis Working Group evaluated current diagnostic options, narrowed the options down to identify the most useful tests, and then developed a two-tier system of recommended evaluations. He explained that Tier 1 options are screening tests whereas Tier 2 options can be used to further evaluate horses with inconclusive Tier 1 test results.
Tier 1 Tests: The EES recommended two Tier 1 tests: a resting adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) plasma concentration test and an overnight dexamethasone suppression test.
When the pars intermedia becomes enlarged, it secretes excessive amounts of several hormones, including ACTH, which ends up in horses' blood plasma. "Measuring plasma ACTH concentration is a logical choice for a single simple screening test for initial evaluation of equids suspected to have PPID," Schott said.
He noted that the ACTH test has a few drawbacks; however, the test is still useful as long as certain factors are considered:
- ACTH levels can change throughout the day. To combat this, Schott recommended taking two blood samples, 10 to 30 minutes apart, and submitting a mixed sample for testing.
- Both healthy and PPID-affected horses experience a rise in ACTH levels in the autumn. However, PPID horses have an exaggerated ACTH level rise, and Schott recommended that fall might be the best time of year to test ACTH concentrations, especially in the earlier stages of the disease.
- Assays and results vary between laboratories. Schott recommends using the same laboratory for ACTH testing to ensure consistent results.
- Results are often normal for horses with early stage PPID.
The other Tier 1 test, the overnight dexamethasone suppression test (ODST), measures circulating cortisol (stress hormone) levels about 19 hours after administration of the steroid dexamethasone.
"Failure of dexamethasone to induce suppression of circulating … cortisol concentration is strongly supportive of PPID," Schott said.
The ODST was long considered the gold standard PPID test by many veterinarians, Schott said. However, more recent research indicates that the ODST is not superior to measuring ACTH to diagnose PPID or to detect earlier stages of the disease. Further, dexamethasone administration carries a slight risk of exacerbating laminitis in some PPID-affected horses, he noted.
Based upon the results of a Tier 1 test, Schott said, the attending veterinarian can begin treatment, conclude that the horse is not affected by PPID, or—if test results are inconclusive—employ another Tier 1 test or proceed to Tier 2 testing.
Tier 2 Test: Schott said The EES' Teir 2 test is a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test. The TRH test stimulates the pars intermedia, resulting in a greater increase in plasma ACTH concentrations in PPID-affected horses when compared to normal horses. This test involves collecting two blood samples--before and 10 to 30 minutes after intravenous TRH administration--to measure ACTH concentrations.
Schott said that "the TRH stimulation test is currently being advocated as a more sensitive test for detection of PPID in the earlier stages of disease." However, additional research is needed, and the test should be employed in a larger number of horses, he added. Nonetheless, Schott said, the TRH stimulation test appears "promising" in confirming PPID in horses with "gray zone" test results from Tier 1 evaluations and those with earlier stage disease.
"A further reason that this test may be pursued, rather than an overnight dexamethasone suppression test, would be to alleviate owner concerns about possible exacerbation of laminitis following dexamethasone administration," Schott said.
Take-Home Message
Although PPID diagnosis remains a challenge for veterinarians, using the two-tier series of tests Schott described can help confirm a diagnosis. Still, owners must remain vigilant for changes in horses' behavior, appearance, and health status; alerting a veterinarian to clinical signs associated with PPID can help veterinarians make an earlier diagnosis and initiate treatment sooner.
Disclaimer: Seek the advice of a qualified veterinarian before proceeding with any diagnosis, treatment, or therapy.


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Powergen is closing its Indian call centres and re-opening five in Britain after admitting that outsourcing had affected customer satisfaction.
The company, which is part of German group E.ON, admitted on Thursday that its use of Indian call centres had in effect had a negative impact on its customer services. The announcement was immediately seized upon by union leaders as evidence that offshoring does not work.
From Friday, the company said, all calls made by customers would be answered in the UK rather than by call centres in India. It plans to expand its centres in Bedford, Bolton, Leicester, Nottingham and Rayleigh in Essex, and aims to recruit and train 980 new staff by the end of the year.
For the past five years the company, which has six million domestic customers, has used workers in the subcontinent to answer about 10% of incoming calls, predominately queries or complaints. Over the same period it saw the number of complaints reach record levels
Nick Horler, Powergen's managing director, said: "Offshore call centres may have their place for certain industries. However, we believe that we can best achieve industry-leading customer service by operating solely in the UK.
"When customers contact us they need to be confident that their query will be fully resolved quickly. Although the cost of overseas outsourcing can be low, we're simply not prepared to achieve savings at the risk or expense of customer satisfaction," he said.
Powergen said on Thursday that the decision was part of a radical reorganisation of its customer-facing operation that would also focus on improving staff training. It said some calls to customers and letter writing would continue to be made from India until the end of the year. It declined to say how much the move would cost.
"This change builds on the vast improvements that we've already made to our customer service - improvements highlighted in the latest Energywatch tables, which show that we're improving faster than any other supplier," said Mr Horler.
A spokeswoman for the consumer body Energywatch confirmed that last autumn it was receiving complaints about Powergen at a rate "twice the industry average".
"In 2002 the company took over TXU Energy and it had serious problems merging the two databases," she said. "Customers with billing problems have been phoning the company, and when those problems weren't resolved properly they complained to us."
Amicus's national secretary, David Fleming, who has been at the forefront of the campaign against offshoring, welcomed the Powergen announcement.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that the business case for offshoring is being eroded by the day. There is a growing crisis in the Indian call centre and back-office industry. Labour costs are rising, turnover is spinning out of control and middle management are ill equipped to deal with the challenges of managing offshore services.
"We will see more and more companies looking back towards the UK as they realise the high-skilled, low-cost spin sold to them by consultants was exactly that: spin," he said.
Powergen is not the first company to return call-centre work from abroad. Last year Abbey announced it was bringing call-centre work back to the UK from Bangalore after a number of complaints from customers.