text:
Introduction to Gerris Programming
From Gerris
This course is about how Gerris is programmed. It aims to teach the style of programming used in Gerris to an audience with limited experience of programming. The objective of the course is to understand the Gerris source code, gain the ability to program in this particular style, and adapt Gerris to one's needs.
This course is not about using Gerris or the numerical methods in Gerris (however it is necessary for students of this course to learn about them, for instance in the Journal of Computational Physics article).
Gerris is closely linked to GTS, the GNU triangulated surface library, also written by Stephane Popinet, and the programming styles of Gerris and GTS are analogous.
Prerequisites, references and supplementary reading material
- We assume that you have good knowledge of Gerris as a user. If however this was not the case, it is imperative that you master the usage of Gerris before starting to take this programming course. Read the Gerris Tutorial thoroughly and try the examples there, until Section 4. Then look at the Examples and Test suite pages, and try to adapt some of these, perhaps as suits your interests in fluid mechanics. When you get stuck, read the FAQ and then the archive of the Gerris mailing list. (Of course you have subscribed to the mailing list long ago.)
- This course is meant to serve, among other things, as an introduction to the Gerris/GTS object system.
- You may possibly want to know more about "object systems" written in C, although this is not strictly necessary for a first understanding of Gerris. You will find an introduction and in-depth discussion of the Gobject system in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GObject.
- Introduction to C: it is required to have a good knowledge of C to understand Gerris. The course will point to what you may not know, but you will need more detailed presentations, in textbook form, of the language features you do not already know. No preferences here as to the best textbook. Use a recent edition of a good text and/or manual. Read the parts about pointers to functions, structures, and pointers to structures. We assume you know about types, precedence, arrays, pointers, functions and macros.
About the difficulty to read the code
Perhaps, as I am, you are used to code that is transparent: any time you read it, you understand quickly and exactly what it does. You can debug it just by looking at it. To be fair, this mostly happens with your code, and less frequently with the codes of others ... Then you plunge into Gerris and you are depressed.
There are five reasons you may get stuck when reading the code.
- You do not know the underlying concepts.
- In the case of the user interface, these concepts are the Objects used in the parameter files, such as GfsBox or GfsOutputSimulation. You learn about these concepts by learning to use the code, see the previous Section.
- For numerical schemes, the concepts are those described in the basic bibliography, for instance the numerical scheme for advection is described in the Journal of Computational Physics article.
- There are also useful concepts from computer science, such as heaps, piles, hash tables etc... See the bibliography on the GTS site.
- You do not know C well enough. See the previous Section.
- You miss the description of some functions or macros, or you do not understand what they are used for. You can find many useful descriptions and comments in the Reference Manual.
- You miss the meaning of some variables, structures or structure members. We will describe ways in which you can figure them out.
- You lack a general familiarity with the code and its style of programming. This course is supposed to provide you with it.
How (not) to plunge into the code
- The best place to get an idea about the code is to discover the most basic components of it. Arguably, the most basic component of Gerris is the FTT tree. When studying a component, it is best to start from the header functions, which give an idea about the structures and functions used. However there are two important things you should know:
- First of all you should distinguish between public objects and private ones. Public objects a kind of higher-level stuff, which is meant to be used in several parts of the code. Private objects are meant to stay hidden from the eyes of the programmer who works at the higher level. You do not need to know about private objects at this stage. This is an important distinction that is not easy to grasp immediately.
- Second, there are parts more basic and easier to understand than others. However, at the beginning, you shall need some guidance which this course is meant to provide. In this course, we try to lead you to the easier parts first.
- A mistake that beginners frequently make is to try to look at the part of the code where their simulation failed. For instance if your simulation failed when reading some line of the tutorial's vorticity.gfs file, you will look at where
(* GTS_OBJECT_CLASS (gfs_domain_class ())->parent_class->read) (o, fp); is called. It is not a good idea: the
read and
write functions are not easy to understand without going through some preliminary concepts as in the first two sessions of this course.
- Another mistake is to read the code starting from
int main(int argc, char * argv[]). This is a mistake because the beginning of the code is full of bookkeeping stuff and is not the most interesting from the point of view of understanding the general structure and peculiarities of Gerris/GTS.
- At this stage it is also not a good idea to read the Gerris reference manual in a sequential manner, chapter after chapter. The manual is indeed for Reference, when you want to find out about the definition of a function or class. Read the manual as you discover the basic functions of one component of gerris. We will point you to it when it becomes useful for you to look up the definitions of some objects.
To conclude, this course introduces you step by step to the most used programming constructs of Gerris. After working (not just reading) the course you should be able to go back to the code and understand large portions of it just by reading the code.
Keep essential information nearby
- Keep a good C text nearby; for authoritative detail see The GNU C Reference Manual.
- A lot of macros and functions such
g_assertcome from the Glib, so keep a bookmark to the Glib documentation.
C basics
We assume you are familiar with pointers. In modern computer science, pointers are considered a technique to reference data. A reference is an object containing information which refers to data stored elsewhere, as opposed to containing the data itself. Accessing the value referred to by a reference is called dereferencing it.
Introduction to Structures
This part of the course is intended for those who have no experience programming with structures. A very simple example:
struct Point {
char name;
double x, y;
what we have written is a structure template named point.
An example of usage
struct Point {
char name;
double x, y;
struct Point my_point; /* declaration */
my_point.x = 0. ;
my_point.y = 1.;
my_point.name = 'A';
The variable my_point is sometimes also called a structure. However we should distinguish between the structure template called Point and the variable my_point. In this example, my_point is a variable of type struct, with template named Point and whose name is my_point, and Point is the tag or name of a structure template.
Programmers often operate on variables that are pointers to structure variables instead of structure variables. There are several reasons for that. One is that it is more efficient to pass a pointer to a structure in a function: it avoids the need to make a copy of the entire structure data to pass it to the function. Thus the following example:
struct Point symmetric_point(struct Point * my_point)
struct Point new_point;
new_point.x = - my_point->x;
new_point.y = - my_point->y;
new_point.name = my_point->name;
return new_point;
struct Point my_point;
my_point.x = 0. ;
my_point.y = 1.;
my_point.name = 'A';
struct Point A_point = symmetric_point(&my_point);
In that case, the members of the structure are indicated by an arrow sign "->".
There are similar structures in Gerris . In ftt.h :
struct _FttVector {
gdouble x, y, z;
Note that the gerris code uses the type gdouble from the glib library.
A similar structure exists in the gts library. In gts-stable/src/gts.h :
struct _GtsPoint {
gdouble x, y, z;
The dots indicate extra code that need not concern us at present.
Operations with structures
Below one defines several structures defining geometric figures.
typedef struct _Quadrangle Quadrangle;
typedef struct _Square Square;
typedef struct _Triangle Triangle;
struct _Quadrangle {
struct Point A, B, C, D;
struct _Square {
struct Point A, B, C, D;
struct _Triangle {
struct Point A, B, C;
Notice that we use typedef: this creates an "alias" for the structure name. This allows to define Quadrangle without typing "struct". There are other advantages of the use of typedef that we will discover later.
Structures often need to be initialized. For instance we could initialize a point as follows
struct Point * init_Point()
struct Point * Point_ptr
= (struct Point *) malloc (sizeof (struct Point));
Point_ptr->x = 0.;
Point_ptr->y = 0.;
Point_ptr->name = 'A';
return Point_ptr;
This allocates dynamically the memory space needed to hold the data in the variable pointed to by Point_ptr, and gives some value to its members. Of course these values are somewhat arbitrary and it would probably be more convenient to be able to specify the values in the argument list of the function init_Point_ptr:
struct Point * init_Point(double x, double y, char c)
struct Point * ptr
= (struct Point *) malloc (sizeof (struct Point));
ptr->x = x;
ptr->y = y;
ptr->name = c;
return ptr;
Our other structures will also have similar initialization functions, for instance
Quadrangle * init_Quadrangle(struct Point A, struct Point B, struct Point C, struct Point D)
Quadrangle * ptr
= (Quadrangle *) malloc (sizeof (Quadrangle));
ptr->A = A;
ptr->B = A;
ptr->C = C;
ptr->D = D;
return ptr;
It seems reasonable to assume that all the structures we use will need some kind of initialisation. So there will be an init_Square, init_Triangle and so on.
The init functions are only the beginning. We may have for instance area functions that compute the area of geometrical figures, so we would have an area_Quadrangle, area_Square and area_Triangle.
double area_Triangle(Triangle * T)
double x1, y1, x2, y2;
x1 = T->A.x - T->B.x;
y1 = T->A.y - T->B.y;
x2 = T->A.x - T->C.x;
y2 = T->A.y - T->C.y;
return ABS( x1*y2 - y1*x2 )/2.;
Public and Private parts
We could conceivably work with our geometrical structures above in the following way: we would do all we have to do (creating figures, transforming them, drawing them etc...) with functions such as init_triangle, area_triangle etc... without ever accessing the member points or coordinates in any other way.
Only the functions would access the inside of the structures.
This is one of the characteristics of object-oriented programming: there is a public part, the tags of the structure template, the calling sequence of the various functions, and a private part.
If you look at the source code, you will often find things like
/*< private >*/
struct _FttCell {
/*< public >*/
guint flags;
gpointer data;
/*< private >*/
struct _FttOct * parent, * children;
One way to look at it is to view the code as having two levels: a high-level part, in which we use functions that operate on structures such as init_xxx and the
<public> members of the structures, and the low-level part, in which operations on the private members are performed. In many cases in Gerris, the entire membership of a structure template is meant to be private. It is important to understand this concept. Some aspects of the English language may help us. In English, private part has a dual meaning. It is not socially acceptable (in most circumstances) to touch someone else's "private parts". Similarly, the programmer of an object-oriented language does not want you to access the members of its structures ...
One of the motivations for the various levels is that one may decide to change the way in which the various objects are represented inside the structures. If such a change is performed but only high-level functions are used in a piece of code, this piece of code will continue working even with the new implementation. For instance we may decide to represent points with polar instead of cartesian coordinates. This would affect all operation which rely on the structure to have members "x" and "y", but not those which use the functions area_xxx etc...
In languages such as C++ the access to private members of classes is guarded by the language. This is called encapsulation, or hiding implementation . In C this is not provided, but there is a way to achieve this effect, as shown in the next section.
So far, we have seen that our structures have public and private parts and that they have a list of functions associated to them. These functions are often similar to each other: for instance all the init functions are similar, and the area functions could also probably be made to derive from a single expression. These functions are the methods associated with this particular structure template. Methods are a concept of Object-Oriented programming, so we could say we have an elementary object system with elementary methods.
To further improve our object system, we could imagine having a Polygon structure template, so that all the structure templates would somehow be built on top of it. This is the parent/child or inheritance structure of Object-Oriented languages.
typedef struct _Polygon Polygon;
typedef struct Point Point_t;
struct _Polygon
int number_of_vertices;
Point_t * vertices;
More about pointers
As a short aside, we notice that we refer to the vertices by a pointer to a type Point_t . We can also refer in structures to pointers to structures without defining the structure previously:
struct _Polygon
int number_of_vertices;
struct Point * vertices;
struct Point
double x, y;
char name;
If instead we referred to a type which is struct and not a pointer to a struct, we would need to define it before. The following does not work:
struct _Polygon
int number_of_vertices;
struct Point * vertices;
struct Point useful_point; /* error: incomplete type */
struct Point
double x, y;
char name;
This is useful to understand the use of pointers! In fact, most of the variables passed to functions and macros in Gerris are pointers.
Elementary inheritance system
Obviously Triangle will share many properties of Polygon. We say it inherits these properties, and that Polygon is the parent of Triangle. How do we make Triangle a child of Polygon? We can do it as follows:
struct _Triangle
Polygon parent;
Actually our "child" structure is trivial: it need not hold any extra data in addition to the parent data. However, we may have extra methods: only the triangle has an incircle (it is a circle inside the triangle and tangent to all its faces), the general polygon does not. So we would have a new method
Point_t incircle_triangle(Triangle * t)
An example of child with extra data, we may want to have an colored polygon. Suppose we have defined a type (or structure) Color. (We could implement it as RGB values for example.)
struct _Colored_Polygon
Polygon parent;
Color color;
Type cast
Suppose we want to write a general area function
double area(Polygon * p)
How can we apply it to a Triangle t? We cannot do
Triangle * t = init_triangle();
double A = area( t ) ;
because t is of type Triangle and area expects an object of type Polygon. What we can do instead is
Triangle * t = init_triangle();
Polygon * p = (Polygon *) ( t );
double A = area( p );
we have used a very useful feature of C: we have cast the Triangle variable t to a Polygon variable p. The cast operation does not rearrange the data in the memory allocated to the variable. So the area function will expect to find it where it is in the Polygon template, for instance, number of vertices first. Thus it is important that the parent is the first member of the structure:
struct _Colored_Polygon
Polygon parent;
/* The parent should be the first object in the structure.*/
/* The whole object-inheritance mechanism in C relies on this data alignment. */
/* Extra data are here */
Color color;
We have been able to build an elementary object system in C, with encapsulation (public and private parts are distinguished), methods and inheritance. Inheritance, in particular, uses a specific cast operation. However, the use of these concepts is not yet systematic. We shall see later how Gerris/GTS organizes these concepts and operations. For a first look at Gerris, our current knowledge of structures is sufficient.
Types and "typedef"
This section is more advanced and may be omitted on first reading.
We shall see that typedef is very frequently used in Gerris. This is not only to save us the work of typing struct before each structure type. Typedef may be used to provide an incomplete definition of a structure or union type, providing the type name but not the contents. Such an incomplete type cannot be directly used, but pointers to such a type can be used (but not dereferenced). You can use this to implement a kind of encapsulation, that is, to hide implementation. Suppose the following is in a file Triangle.h :
/* Hiding implementation in C. */
/* Triangle: Header */
typedef struct _Triangle_hidden Triangle;
Triangle * init_Triangle();
double area_Triangle(Triangle * T);
and the following in another file Triangle.c:
/* Triangle: Object */
struct _Triangle_hidden {
struct Point A, B, C; /* hidden template for Triangle */
Triangle * init_Triangle()
Triangle * ptr = (Triangle *) malloc( sizeof( Triangle) );
ptr->A = *init_point(0.,0.,'A');
ptr->B = *init_point(0.,1.,'B');
ptr->C = *(init_point(1.,0.,'C'));
return ptr;
#define ABS(x) ((x) > 0 ? (x) : - (x))
double area_Triangle(Triangle * T)
double x1, y1, x2, y2;
x1 = T->A.x - T->B.x;
y1 = T->A.y - T->B.y;
x2 = T->A.x - T->C.x;
y2 = T->A.y - T->C.y;
return ABS( x1*y2 - y1*x2 )/2.;
Notice the Header and Object comments that we shall find in Gerris and GTS as well. Notice that the header Triangle.h declares the type Triangle without describing the contents of this structure.
Code including the Triangle.h header above can manipulate objects of type Triangle only through pointers (This is similar to the restriction on incomplete types, see previous section) and only using the provided functions. Code using this header cannot get access to the actual declaration of the _Triangle_hidden structure. In fact, if Triangle.c is compiled into a library and distributed that way, the programmer can't even cheat and read the code.
See IBM developer world article Everything you ever wanted to know about C types, Part 1 for more details.
This type of encapsulation is seldom used in Gerris, but it helps to reflect on the distinction between public and private parts.
Reading assignments and exercises
- Check that you have all the prerequisites that this course demands. For instance, read the Journal of Computational Physics article if you have not yet done so.
- Write a short program that implements the
Pointobjects, initializes them and prints the area of a
- Write a function that initializes the
Trianglein the case where it has the parent
- Many object systems implement a
destroyoperation for objects. In the case of
Triangle, what would that be?
- (Advanced question) How could we implement a function that checks that an object variable
tis of type
Triangle? (If you can answer that question you can probably teach the class.)
⇑ up: Gerris Flow Solver Programming Course for Dummies, ⇒ next: The Fully Threaded Tree.


text:
it is man's goal to build a better mouse trap
not just a different mouse trap
but a BETTER mouse trap
is that SRAM's goal as well?
is SRAM trying to innovate better components?
or is SRAM just trying to be DIFFERENT?
recently my wife bought a righteous new bike
it is super sweet
it is super slick
except for one thing... this SRAM double click
double click?
double click is harder to use and more difficult to work on
so... why?
is this an effort to build a better mouse trap
or just an effort to be different
did the engineers at SRAM sit in a board room and say... WE NEED TO BE BETTER THAN SHIMANO!
did they sit in the board room and say WE NEED TO BE DIFFERENT THAN SHIMANO
I like it when I do not know what I am running... SHIMANO-SUN TOUR-OR SRAM
I do not care if it is different... I WANT IT TO WORK
not so sure that this DOUBLE CLICK SHIFT SYSTEM works!
pART Project
ah... to build a better mouse trap
2 comments:
- nathan shearer said...
I had similar feeling about the sram double tap at first. It was trial by fire and after 200 miles of racing on it at TdB, having never ridden it before, it seems easier.
- 9/23/2011
- gwadzilla said...
I guess we just need to have them set up right...
turned out there was a cabled that somehow got twisted inside the housing
need to swap that cable that has been removed
then get things working
yes... I am hearing that people love the SRAM Double Tap technology
- 9/25/2011
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bill Gross's bond ETF was something of an investors' "Field of Dreams." If he built it, investors would come.
In the fund's first year — it celebrated its first birthday on March 1 — Pimco Total Return BOND, +0.26% attracted $4 billion.
But ETFs proved to be a field of nightmares for a lot of other fund sponsors, the products fully constructed but with no one coming to play. While investors flocked to Gross's fund, the public greeted many ETFs with indifference.
Guggenheim Investments, for example, recently announced that it would liquidate nine ETFs in mid-March, all issues that failed to attract a following. On average, the funds held $16 million each. The news was only surprising because two of the issues were based on "equal-weight indexes," a category that is proving increasingly popular and where Guggenheim is considered the leading purveyor.
But investors typically don't want to buy new ETFs, possibly because they are applying traditional mutual fund thinking.
That would be a mistake, because one of the key differences between traditional funds and ETFs is what might be called the curing time on a new fund.
Exchange-traded funds are effectively mutual funds that are built to trade like stocks. Typically, they are based on an index, although as Gross's fund shows, there is a growing desire and demand for actively managed ETFs.
That said, the rule of thumb with traditional funds has been that investors are taking a real chance if they buy anything from a manager who has yet to develop a track record. New funds, for example, don't get ratings from Morningstar or Lipper — two of the key fund-research firms — until they have matured a bit. Morningstar does not bestow it's all-important star rating until a fund turns three.
Investors flocked to Gross's ETF in large measure because it inherited his track record as a manager.
ETFs, however, rely on the record of the underlying index to frame expectations.
If you're looking at the construction of the index and the results it has delivered — even if those returns have mostly been paper gains based on what the fund would have provided under recent market conditions — you can be reasonably sure that is what you will get if you buy the ETF.
"We start analyzing ETFs two months into their history," says Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF research for S&P Capital IQ, which also rates ETFs. "The reason you may not want to buy an ETF as soon as it launches is liquidity — the problems that can come with not having enough money — but not the strategy. Once you understand what is in it and how it works and are comfortable that there won't be liquidity problems, go for it."
Liquidity concerns surface in two main ways.
An issue that fails to attract much money will be thinly traded, which can widen the bid-ask spreads — the difference between the lowest price a seller is willing to accept and the highest price a buyer was willing to pay as of the last trade. Essentially, that can lead investors to overpay for the assets they're getting.
Secondarily, funds that don't attract assets don't live too long, because no sponsor will eat the costs for too long, even if an issue is a pet project; witness Guggenheim's decision to include the two equal-weight funds in the liquidation.
While investors don't necessarily lose money in liquidations, they do face potential tax consequences. Plus, they must reinvest the money — often right after a period of performance that failed to inspire others to invest.
"If you're waiting to see a track record, you're making a mistake, because you're not looking at the ETF's underlying holdings; if you like what a new ETF holds, where's the beef with buying something new?" says David Trainer, president of New Constructs, which analyzes stocks, funds and ETFs. "What matters in a new ETF is adequate liquidity, which is $100 million or so — maybe as little as $50 million in some cases," he says.
Experts suggest being mindful of firms that have a history of closing new products, of throwing issues up on the wall to see what sticks, so that you don't buy your way into a liquidation.
Beyond that, however, being fearful of buying into new ETFs simply because they are new is wrong-headed, old thinking for a modern investment tool.
Gross's giant ETF helped prove that pedigree means an investment can gain immediate public acceptance, a factor that will be important if firms like T. Rowe Price decide to take up residence in the ETF space or Fidelity undergoes a massive ETF expansion (as it's rumored they someday will).
But whether or not the firm is a household name, investors should shy away from a fund not because it's new but because they don't like the underlying assets, index or investment style.
"While you are busy seeing if the strategy works and if the ETF develops a track record, you're also missing out," says Rosenbluth. "If you like what a new ETF does enough to put it on your watch list, you probably like it enough to buy it."


text:
Coach (COH), a leading American marketer of luxury handbags and other fashion accessories, posted lackluster results in Q1 fiscal 2014, which led to 8% drop in its stock price. The fashion retailer's sales increased by 2% on a constant currency basis, but a weaker yen dragged its sales down by 1% to $1.15 billion. The company reported disappointing results in the North American region, where it continues to struggle in the women's handbags and accessories market, owing to rising competition from fashion newcomers such as Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS), Kate Spade and Tory Burch.
Coach's gross margin dropped by 100 basis points during the quarter and operating margin also slipped to 27.9% as compared to 28.6% in Q1 last year. We expect the profitability to continue to decline in annual terms during the coming quarters. However, the international (ex. Japan) and men's businesses saw strong growth during the quarter and we expect them to be long-term growth drivers for the company.
Weak Performance In North America, Guidance Continues To Be Negative
Coach's sales in North America dropped by 1% in Q1 fiscal 2014, with 1% and 6.8% fall in direct sales and comparable store sales respectively. We are discouraged by this significant decline in comparable stores sales as it indicates that Coach is losing market share to newer fashion players such as Michael Kors. The decrease in sales was also attributed to weak in-store traffic trends during the quarter.
The future guidance is also less promising as the company's management projected the North American comparable stores sales growth to decline in the high single-digits for the rest of the fiscal year. [1] North America, contributes for around two-third of Coach's sales and we believe intense competition in the women's handbags and accessories market in the region will be closely tracked by the market in the coming months as it will play a vital role in the company's share price movement. We believe Coach will continue to struggle in the North American market in the near-future due to increased competition.
Coach's Transformation Strategy Being Undertaken To Boost Sales
Coach is undertaking a transformation of its brand to move from an accessories brand to a lifestyle brand. The company has introduced an innovative capsule collection of lifestyle categories such as bags, outwear and footwear in this holiday quarter as part of this move. It has also enhanced its marketing activities to spread this new brand image among customers. We believe the results of this strategy will take some time to yield significant results as a full reflection of this new brand image may take a few years to complete.
International Business Represents Long-Term Growth Driver
Coach's international sales fell by 1% in dollar terms due to the weaker yen. However, it rose by 9% in constant currency basis. China continues to be a sweet spot for the company as sales rose by over 35% in the region driven by increased distribution and double digit comparable stores sales growth. The company has major expansion plans in China as it expects to grow its square footage by around 25% in the region during the fiscal year. It also forecasts sales to grow by more than 20% in China during the entire fiscal year. (Coach's CEO Discusses F1Q 2014 Results – Earnings Call Transcript, Seeking Alpha, October 22, 2013)
Coach's sales in the other Asian markets of Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore also continued to grow at a strong rate. The fashion retailer has completed the acquisition of its European joint venture, and plans to open 50 wholesale and 10 retail stores across the region during the fiscal year. (Coach's CEO Discusses F1Q 2014 Results – Earnings Call Transcript, Seeking Alpha, October 22, 2013)
Japanese sales fell by 2% on a constant currency basis, however, in dollar terms in decreased by 22%. We believe that a weaker yen will continue to pose a headwind to the company's sales in the region in the coming quarters.
Coach also aims to grow its distributor-run business in Latin America, other Asia-Pacific countries (Australia, Thailand and Indonesia) and in the Middle East. Due to these measures, we think the proportion of international sales in Coach's overall sales will increase in the future.
Men's Business Also Holds Upside
Facing pressure in the women's handbags and accessories market, Coach is focusing on the growing men's business to increase its sales. Sales in the global men's bags and accessories business rose by 25% in the first quarter and the company further estimates sales in this business to grow by over 20% during the fiscal year. [1]
We are in the process of revising our $59.50 price estimate for Coach's stock.
- Coach's CEO Discusses F1Q 2014 Results – Earnings Call Transcript, Seeking Alpha, October 22, 2013
Disclosure: No positions


text:
Some years are significant without any of the hoopla.
We all know that a presidential election year when two new candidates are vying for a vacated seat will bring significant change. This is also true for gubernatorial races, and to a lesser degree, municipal seats.
But some years change happens all at once without a significant change at the top.
When Robert Janiszewski ran for county executive in 1987, the area was ripe for change, partly because he brought a whole new era of electioneering to Hudson County, and partly because of the powerful struggle for control of the county coffers that was underway.
That was a period of time when the county would see a significant shift in political power, and even pitted friend against former friend for control of Jersey City when Jerry McCann and Anthony Cucci fought.
When McCann was criminally charged (which he claims was politically motivated) in 1991, he was in the throes of a battle for political control of the county with Janiszewski. McCann had just won the political war, but was undone by the charges that forced him to step down as mayor of Jersey City, and shifted political control of the county to a handful of people that included Janiszewski.
Although not as dramatic a change, the election of Steven Fulop as mayor of Jersey City last year began a similarly significant change that, like falling dominos, is altering the political reality of Hudson County.
Since Janiszewski's demise in 2001, the county's political reality has largely been a balancing act between equal and opposing forces. Union City Mayor Brian Stack rose out of that turmoil to become the counterbalance against a fractured Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO). While the mayors of the 12 towns have always been the movable pieces on this strange chess board, in the past a few key players such as Janiszewski, former Union City Mayor Bruce Walters, and then-Rep. Robert Menendez manipulated those pieces.
Over the years, people like former Union City Mayor Rudy Garcia tried to edge into that inner circle only to get driven out again.
Had state Sen. and Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham lived past June 2004, the political world might have looked a lot different today. But his death denied the county a prominent leader, and created a cold war among political princes such as state Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco and Stack.
For a time, state Sen. Bernard Kenny kept the peace by balancing power against power. But Stack's bid for power drove him out. Although Stack tried to unseat the hegemony of the HCDO in 2008, his effort failed, and returned the county to a stalemate.
Enter Steve Fulop
Fulop's election changed the tone of political discourse. For the first time in a long time a third powerful political organization is emerging in Hudson County. While some of the old guard have made peace with the young Turk, not everybody is comfortable with him. But the impact of his arrival on the scene is already being felt in north and south Hudson County as if people sense that this is a time of fundamental change.
For a short time after his swearing-in as mayor of Jersey City last July, Fulop seemed destined to repeat Stack's errors and attempted to unseat political foes outside his city. Now, however, Fulop is playing his chess game less aggressively, working behind the scenes to increase his strength. His alliance with Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer gives him a solid waterfront base. He has even supported the reelection effort of Rep. Albio Sires, and appears to be on good terms with Menendez – having supported Donald Payne Jr.'s election to the House of Representatives.
Fulop also appears to have backed off political vengeance against some former opponents outside Jersey City such as Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith. Whereas Fulop once was poised to take a side against Smith in this year's municipal election, he appears to have adopted a hands-off approach. This includes his onetime threat to support a freeholder candidate in District 1. This will leave mostly Bayonne voters to choose between Smith-backed Ken Kopacz or Rafael Augusto, who is supported by Smith's mayoral challenger, James Davis.
Although the Fulop team at one time sought to gain control of the freeholder board, they appear to be staying out of North Hudson races between Henry Marrero and Anthony Vainieri and Jose Munoz and Caridad Rodriguez.
Marrero has spiced up his campaign by proposing to bring back support to Hudson County Schools of Technology, driving a wedge between some of his opponents who are split on the issue.
Inside Jersey City, however, is a whole different story, as Fulop tightens control on those votes considered Jersey City votes.
Fulop has already announced his support for Phil Cohen, who is trying to unseat Freeholder Anthony Romano. Perry Belfiore and Adela Rohena Santiago are also running in that primary fight for a district that includes all of Hoboken, a part of Jersey City Heights, and a small portion of downtown Jersey City.
Cohen, who is Zimmer's pick, would not likely beat Romano if not for Fulop's support, since Romano has a strong following in the Heights as well as among labor unions.
In backing candidate Gerard Balmir Jr., Fulop is also flexing his muscles against Freeholder Jeffrey Dublin. Although Dublin is a close friend of Fulop ally Freeholder Bill O'Dea, Dublin chose the wrong side in last year's mayoral battle between Fulop and then Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, and was a very vocal critic of Fulop.
This is not an easy race by any means, since Arnold Williams and Esmeralda Trinidad are also running, and Trinidad has not been shy in her criticism of her opponents.
Fulop's influence will likely grow over the next year. At some point, the old guard that includes Sacco and Stack will wake up to discover just how powerful Fulop has become as he quietly acquires new allies and new seats. At some point in the next two years, Fulop is going to want to have his say on who sits in the state Assembly, in both districts that split the city in half. At that point, the political fighting will not be done quietly, but with a roar.
Al Sullivan may be reached at email@example.com.


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FebFest "Meltdown" is Feb. 9-16
In keeping with this winter's weather pattern of snow /no snow, the 2013 FebFest theme is "Meltdown." The annual winter tradition will take place Feb. 9-16 with events that include CAB Acoustic Coffeehouse featuring Josh Ritter, CAB Comedy with Michael Ian Black, the 20th annual Chili Cookoff, and the Mr. Hamilton contest. Some FebFest highlights follow.
Among Sunday's events are a Rocky Horror screening in the Red Pit at 5 p.m. and a Grammy viewing party at 8 p.m. in Sadove Living Room.
The Mr. Hamilton pageant and crowning will take place on Monday, Feb. 11, in the Annex beginning at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday's highlights include CAB Acoustic Coffee House with Josh Ritter at 8 p.m. in the Fillius Events Barn and a figure skating show in Sage Rink at 9 p.m.
On Wednesday, FebFest welcomes comedian Michael Ian Black at 9 p.m. in Wellin Hall and late night breakfast begins at 10 p.m. in Commons.
FebFest will celebrate Valentine's Day with a beer tasting in The Little Pub at 5 p.m. A performance of the Vagina Monologues will begin at 6 p.m. in the Fillius Events Barn. An IMF concert featuring Jeff Mangum is at 8 p.m. in the Chapel.
Friday's events include fireworks at Royce Field at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Late Night dinner party Snowball at the Fillius Events Barn at 9 p.m.
The 20th annual Chili Cookoff will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Little Pub. Email firstname.lastname@example.com to participate.
Hamilton's first winter carnival was held in 1938, with events such as a hockey game, dance parties, crowning of the carnival queen and a figure skating exhibition by James and Grace Madden of the U.S. Olympic Team. The tradition continued with similar events until the mid-'50s, when it lost popularity. The winter carnival returned to the Hill in 2000 through the efforts of students and Student Activities staff.


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The sun began to set behind the baseball diamond. Brent squinted, focusing on the pitcher in front of him.
Brent shifted his weight back and forth, waiting for the next pitch. As the pitcher started his windup, everything seemed to slow down. Brent watched the ball sail from the pitcher's hand and arc toward him.
Brent swung his arms and watched his bat smack the baseball with a mighty crack! The next thing he knew, Brent was watching the ball sail over the head of the outfielder.
"Great job, Brent!" Coach said. "All right, guys. Practice is over. I'll see you all in a couple of days for our big game against the Tigers."
Brent had a lot of fun playing baseball, and he was glad to be on his new team. Usually he walked home with teammates who lived in his neighborhood, but tonight he decided to walk home alone. After all, he was 11 years old and an all-star. Getting home couldn't be too hard.
After walking for a few minutes, Brent realized that nothing really looked familiar. He didn't recognize any of the houses or the people he passed by. Still, he wasn't too concerned—until he noticed that the once-bright orange sky was now turning gray.
Brent felt relieved when he crossed the railroad tracks. He knew that his neighborhood was somewhere on the other side of these tracks. But as the evening light faded into darkness, his confidence faded into panic and fear.
Brent didn't know how long or far he had walked, but he could definitely tell that he was not near his home.
Trembling with cold and fear, Brent did the only thing he could think to do. He knelt down in the tall weeds of a vacant lot and prayed more sincerely than he had ever prayed before.
Then something wonderful happened. Brent's fear and panic disappeared. A feeling of peace and joy washed over him. Brent was still lost, but he knew that Heavenly Father had heard his prayer.
Brent wiped tears from his eyes and stood up. He knew everything would be OK.
As Brent looked around, wondering which way to walk, he had a new idea.
"The temple," Brent thought. "Of course!" Brent lived only a few blocks from the temple. He knew that if he could just find the temple, he would be able to find his way home.
Brent walked up the hill that was just ahead of him. When he reached the top, he could clearly see the spire of the temple illuminating the night sky.
Brent had seen the temple many times before, but seeing the temple standing as a beacon in front of him now felt especially meaningful.
Brent changed his direction and continued to walk, always keeping his eyes on the temple. Finally, he reached his home.
Brent felt grateful that Heavenly Father had heard his prayer. And he was especially thankful that he had the gift of the temple to help him find his way home.


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I thought the 2-minute drill was great. While everyone in my section of the stadium was screaming to snap the ball, i was yelling to take your time, get the right call, make sure the protection is called, and not take sacks. This is what happened. I agree 100% with Borges in that the only negative was Fitz catching the ball, but like the coach, I also realize that the kid's instincts took over. We had plenty of time at the end, we only had to spike it once thereby not giving away downs. It was a good two-minute drill. We only needed a field-goal, guys.
We got all of our called plays run, we didn't take a sack, we had no procedure penalties, including on the spike, which is tough to execute after a huge pass play and before a huge potentially game-winning kick. And most importantly, we got in field goal range.
Mind you, I was calm even while this was going on. What the hell is everyone so worked up about now? You wanted us to run a play more? Two? For what reason? And at what cost? Should we call poor plays, should we hurry shit up and potentially mix up communication, whould we snap the ball faster and not have all of our blockers on the same page?


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Bike Specification
Review: Triumph Bonneville Classic
One day with the Bonnie, and you see why it has a special place in the hearts of its riders
These days, you can have one big bike for every day of the week (and then some), from adrenalin-pumping litre-class options to the much more relaxed cruisers. But when you're looking for some old-school biking fun, neither of these comes close to riding a Triumph Bonneville.
And we're not talking about number-shattering performance here. Call it nostalgia, or call it the pull of that retro design, but people love a Bonnie, whether they're track hooligans or cruiser club bruisers.
Which brings us to the Triumph Bonneville Classic, Triumph's entry-level model (till the much smaller 250cc derivative arrives). Simplicity is this bike's most attractive feature. Fit and finish is top-notch, and the dual-tone tank with retro badging add old-world charm.
The instrument pod houses a speedometer and a digital trip meter. If you want a tacho as well, you'll need to shell out another Rs 90,000 for the T100 variant. Riding the Bonneville is a simple affair, with the rider seated upright. The seating position makes the bike's 225kg heft fairly manageable in city traffic. The Bonnie gets extra points for the flat, wide seat, which is comfortable not just for the rider but the pillion as well.
The 865cc parallel-twin motor makes a respectable 67bhp and 68Nm, sent to the ground via a 5-speed transmission. We missed having an additional gear, especially out on the highway. The Bonneville builds speed like a hot-rod on a drag strip. Before you know it, the needle sails past the 100kph mark, with three gears to spare. It's a nice feeling as the rear tyre digs into the tarmac at the slightest dial of the throttle and the engine pulls all that mass easily, even from standstill.
Of course, like any hot-rod, the Bonneville has its reservations about taking a corner. Not that it doesn't flow into a turn well, it just feels much happier thundering down the highway. The single disc upfront and one in the rear give the bike good stopping power. There's no ABS here but it still manages to shed speed during panic braking without losing composure. The only complaint we have is with the suspension, which felt stiff going over bumps.
So, if cruisers are too heavy and laidback for you, and litre-class bikes too extreme, then the Triumph Bonneville should hit the sweet spot for you. It gives the rider breathtaking performance without asking for much in return.
The numbers
865cc, air-cooled, parallel-twin, 67bhp, 68Nm, 5M, 230kg, fuel tank: 16 litres, 21.6kpl, Rs 6.67 lakh (on-road, Mumbai)
The verdict
Stylish looks, smooth twin-pot motor, easy to use; competitively priced as well.
Tags: triumph, bonneville


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To the editor:
It took no more than two days for the campaign for Mayor to make a complete turn around for none other than the Mayor himself.
For years, months, days, the Mayor has pounded his theme of doom and gloom, the sky is falling, the sun will never shine again, here in the Cape, meals of puss and boots for the taxpayers, and facing the ultimate known as a complete destruction of our government, among many more.
He talked about his plans that would turn this City around, but...he never presented them. Whenever he presented any idea (especially the UEP plans and types of systems) he was never able to sell the item so he just voted no. In fact, just recently, he stated that, if elected, he would reverse the UEP and stop it, because no one can afford it.
And then, lo and behold, what appeared in my mailbox but the Fall 2013 Edition of ON THE MOVE, which arrived just two days after the Primary Election. In it, the Mayor's Message described a complete turn around from doom and gloom to "Happy Days Are Here Again," so get out the dancing shoes. And I quote:
"When I (Mayor Sullivan) first came into office, the real estate market in Cape Coral and new construction had come to a screeching halt. We had very little revenue to work with and things were pretty tough. Now, after 3-1/2 years it appears that this economy has turned the corner. It has not reached the street level yet (?), but the economy is getting better.
"There is hope that the Great Recession has come to an end, and we are finally on an economic upswing."
The Mayor continued with statements about the increase in commercial developments coming to the Cape, property values increasing, more and better jobs being created for our residents, and permits have increased for residential building in the last 10 months.
Direct Quote:
"I am optimistic about the future of our City and our community. I know many residents continue to struggle and, we still have work to do, but we will get through this economic challenge and Cape Coral will continue to be a great place to call home."
Well, well... For all the doom-and-gloom statements made over the last years and months about how the sky was falling, out comes this message (now is the time to clap, dance, use your cymbals)... say it John, loud and clear "It happened under my watch and I knew I could do it."
Now, which is it Mr.Mayor... "we will never recover on the path we are using," or My, my, did I do a good job or what folks."
The path is the same no matter what spin you wish to use now. In spite of your statements of doom and gloom, and those have stood right with you about the "fall of the empire," now you want us to believe YOU turned it around with your comments in this article. YOU are responsible for this recovery, that you now choose to recognize just two days after the primary.
Really not sure how this article came about, but it sure does contradict every statement you have made since you took office. You have continually downgraded our ability to recover, yet now, you want to take the credit.
Which road are you really on? When did you pen this article?
So many questions, and no real answers. What will you and your supporters do now with all of the "facts and figures" given over the years and months which you said clearly indicate our future was bleak.
Time to fight for real Unity in our Community and vote for Marni Sawicki for Mayor.
Dolores Bertolini
Concerned Citizen of Cape Coral


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It was a week that started with the Geelong Cats winning their Premiership and ended with news of Steve Jobs losing his battle for his health. And it's not finished yet: here's still some other important things happening in the next two days at the Cake Tin and at Eden Park—and off Tauranga.
Since I've been a little busy this week (for which, I hope, my clients will thank me, if not my readers) there's not much of a Ramble to offer you. Nonetheless, since some of you have been asking for it, here's your chance for a wee ramble round some of the things that caught my eye online this week:
- The tributes for Steve Jobs are deservedly flowing in. [Please post links to any you enjoyed in the comments.] Here's a mega mash-up in tweets. [Hat tip Sally O'B.]
Steve Jobs: A Mega, Meta Mashup in Tweets – F A S T C O M P A N Y
- And here's A 1987 piece from Playboy:
Steve Jobs Lays It Down For Playboy - G I Z M O D O
- I liked the feeling in Liberty Scott's piece:
Steve Jobs: He lived - L I B E R T Y S C O T T
- It was only minutes after Steve Jobs' death that the jokes started. All of them had a point. "The economy is now so bad that even Apple are losing jobs." Boom boom. "Man ten years ago we still had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash... now we have no jobs no hope and no cash..." And my favourite, from The Onion:
Last American Who Knew What the Fuck He Was Doing Dies - T H E O N I O N
- "It's time America reintroduce freedom back into the free market." (HT
WOLF: Upgrading America – Milton Wolf, W A S H I N G T O N T I M E S
- Why Scientists Are Smarter Than Politicians [hat tip Dr Holt]
Why Scientists Are Smarter than Politicians – T I M E S C I E N C E
- Why physicists are STILL knocking on heaven's door & can't be smug.
An insider's guide to modern particle physics - N E W S C I E N T I S T
- "Quantum theory is reliable but fraught with paradox. Philip Ball asks if scientists will now find an object
existing in two places at once." [HT Geek Press]
New pursuit of Schrödinger's cat – P R O S P E C T
- The political backlash to geo-engineering begins.
Political backlash to geoengineering begins - N E W S C I E N T I S T
To quote Hayek v Keynes Rap II: 'The economy's
not a car. There's no engine to stall. No
expert can fix it. There's no 'it' at all.'"
- Russ Roberts & John Papola
- "Keith Ng rightly won an award for this one."
CPI visualizer – O F F S E T T I N G B E H A V I O U R
- "Paul Callaghan cites 20 top technology companies, not one of which is remotely a Clean Tech company, except in as much as they are all environmentally benign. 'That latter, in my view, is all that matters, that and being the best in the world at what they do and hence viable and profitable. The evidence suggests what we are actually good at is not at all what the Green Party would like us to be good at. What we are good at is a result of brilliant entrepreneurship and business expertise. Such genius does not follow politicians' prescriptions.'"
Genius does not follow politicians' prescriptions - H O M E P A D D O C K
- "Like most Keynesians, in the end, Paul Krugman is a one-trick pony who always recommends inflation as the answer to economic problems… So, I see that Krugman now is giving the "Vietnam Strategy" to the Europeans: in order to "save" the euro, you must destroy it -- via inflation."
Krugman: "Save" the euro by inflating it to death
- Don't think it's just the addle-pated Keynesians either. The followers of Milton Friedman are equally eager to pour inflationary fuel on their fire.
Inflationists in Wolves' Clothing
- Robert Murphy, M I S E S E C O N O M I C S B L O G
- "One reason that some government agencies may be failing is that their attention is directed to the wrong things. High on that list is policing against high prices during emergencies. Basic economic analysis finds that price gouging laws end up wasting state government resources and wasting consumers' time during emergencies."
'Price Gouging' Law: Why Waste State and Consumer Resources during Emergencies?
- "It was recently pointed out to me that certain free market orientated friends dislike policies that fail to restore immediate growth: Basic economic theory posits that as households and businesses..."
Do nothing: a positive proposal for recovery – C O B D E N C E N T R E
"If there's a way to solve this environmental disaster
[off Tauranga] by giving away public money to
private companies, Steven Joyce will find it."
- Tweet from Dim Post
- "What peace activists do on their holidays" - publicaddress :
Revealed: What cops filmed in Ureweras – N Z H E R A L D
- Don Brash slams Auckland planners for their hamstringing restrictions on land supply.
ACT's Brash slams Auckland's plan to replace Metropolitan Urban Limit with Rural Urban Boundary as locking out young and poor from housing for 30 years – I N T E R E S T . C O . N Z
- A Powerful Moral Argument to Get Government Out of the Housing Business.
A Powerful Moral Argument to Get Government Out of the Housing Business
– Daniel Mitchell, I N T E R N A T I O N A L L I B E R T Y
- "Apparently, Police Minister Judith Collins has a law degree. That was not evident during her performance on [the surveillance bill]. Was she deliberately misleading us, or did she simply not know what she was talking about?
Staggering bunk from Judith Collins over surveillance bill - M E D I A L A W J O U R N A L
- A Guaranteed Annual Income cannot simultaneously satisfy three goals. Gareth Morgan either knows this, or … well, you choose the appropriate word.
Gareth Morgan's impossible trifecta – O F F S E T T I N G B E H A V I O U R
- "National abandons all pretence of having any principles. The party used to have principles [when, pray tell?], but now fraudulently readies itself to secede East Cape (about 20% of North Island) for native votes. Another 'full and final settlement' coming right up."
National to give East Cape away for native vote – P M O F N Z
- 100 years later, follow Scott and Amundsen on our interactive map, with words from their own diaries to guide you.
Interactive map: Scott and Amundsen in their own words - N E W S C I E N T I S T
- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men, women, and transgendered—and any other human who is able to elude the tyranny of work for a couple of weeks—are created equal…"
Occupy Wall Street: A Manifesto – R E A S O N
- "Until recently, I haven't been paying much mind to the Occupy Wall Street protests. They're a lot like Tea Party protesters. They're upset with the status quo, and are being quite vocal about it. ..."
Occupy Wall Street Protesters Make Demands – O P E N M A R K E T . O R G
- "Quantitative Easing just forcibly redistributes wealth from the poorest in society to the richest. It's immoral….
Inequality will widen until banking is reformed – Oliver Cooper,
- "Governor Rick Perry likes to say Texas is experiencing an economic miracle because of small government and low taxes. Another take: [S]mall government still doesn't mean scant government in Texas. It means lots and lots of small government and accompanying taxes..."
Texas is another word for 'taxes' – M A D D O W B L O G
- Milestone alert: just one month left to see the Julian and Josie Robertson Promised Gift at the Auckland Art Gallery before it jets back to the US:
Julian and Josie Robertson Promised Gift – A U C K L A N D A R T G A L L E R Y
Image: Paul Cézanne, La route (Le mur d'enceinte) The Road (The Old Wall), 1875-1876,
From the Julian and Josie Robertson Promised Gift
Have a great weekend.
And let's hope Colin Slade does too.


text:
I posted a topic about this on the game's Steam page but no real help except someone saying I might just be having bad luck. This seems to have gone beyond the reaches of bad luck into outright bug territory.
To begin, as you all may be aware, in the original Dark Souls 2 the only way to get a Chaos Rapier and Chaos Shield was via drops from a caged Enhanced Undead in Aldia's Keep (in SotFS apparently you can buy them from Felkin now - I really need to play that version...). Some time ago I was farming him and got a Malformed Shell (Skull?) and eventually a Chaos Rapier. So I was glad about that. Then I left him alone for a while, made some progress in the game and decided to come back to some enemies to farm for stuff I didn't get from them before, one of them being this thing's Chaos Shield. Short answer: no luck, at all.
Longer answer: I say this goes beyond mere bad luck because I swear to god I've killed this one enemy more than every other enemy and boss I've killed combined. Not only will he not drop the Chaos Shield, he has not dropped ANYTHING at ALL. Which is what makes me really concerned. I'm still in regular NG, bonfire intensity for the area is 1, and because he's long since despawned I've been farming him via Company of Champions. Well, trying to farm him anyway.
What's stranger is that as I've said he DID drop two items before. But since the progress I've been making and coming back he just stopped all of a sudden. I can't remember what set-up I had when I got the two items. I have a Covetous Gold Serpent Ring +2 now I know that I ascetic'd the Gargoyles fight for the sole purpose of getting, and have long since pawned off Gold Serpent Ring +0 and +1 to Gavlan's Wheels and Deals. Not knowing how item discovery even works in this game (why oh why did they have to make this an invisible stat with no concrete information anywhere as to how it functions), I'm not sure if I made a mistake here, like if somehow too much item discovery is preventing him from dropping anything? Then again, I tried a TON of different set-ups, ring on, ring off, Jester's, Prisoner's Hood, Traveling Merchant Hat, Symbol of Avarice, Tatters, Watchdragon Parma, one time I tried some Rusted Coins (which I find to be useless items in all honesty) all in different combinations and quantities. Hell I even tried killing him a few times with no item discovery items on at all to see if that did anything. I wouldn't be surprised if a quarter of the hours I've put into this was spent just farming this thing for one stupid shield (probably not literally that much but it's been a LOT of hours and the poor thing has died many deaths but he doesn't want give up that shield of his... or anything else for that matter ever since I got his Chaos Rapier).
I just want to know what the hell is going on here. I can farm other enemies for their things just fine. But there's something wrong with this one enemy. If you had any idea of how long I've spent farming him you would understand why I've concluded this is some glitch that just somehow occurred with this enemy. Would setting the Bonfire Intensity up a notch do anything? I've been considering doing that but my endeavors with bonfire ascetics has so far been a risky endeavor. Bosses I've ascetic'd to get their items were surprising in how significantly more difficult they were. Belfry Gargoyles which I took down the first time I fought them slaughtered me several times before I got my +2 Gold Ring. The skeletons in Executioner's Chariot were always a pain but this time they were outright massacring me and I had to eventually use Alluring Skulls for the fight just to survive long enough to get to the second phase in which the horse actually killed me... once, then got it the next time. I didn't die to my ascetic'd Mytha, Najka, and Skeleton Lords fights but when they actually hit me they took a pretty big chunk of health off of me. I've toyed with ascetics in a number of areas but I don't want to go into NG+ with almost every area being NG++ caliber (though I know at least a few I will have to deal with that).
But anyway, that was just a thought on what to possibly do with this Chaos Shield business, if there is some bug causing the item drops to be "stuck" and if an ascetic will "unstick" it? Or going to NG+ will reset things? Or something? Just... what is happening? This can't be just bad luck. It has transcended bad luck. This is the heat death of the universe of luck. I am sincerely convinced that trying to farm him any further is just wasting my time if this is indeed a bug but I don't know what to do about it. I don't want to resort to cheating programs just to add this shield in my inventory but if it somehow comes to that...


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I'm finally hooking up the diff lock in my RX trans I swapped into my GL Wagon.
Anybody have any pinouts of the solenoids and switch, or a schematic on how you've done it?
NEED to get this done ASAP
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Guest Message by DevFuse
RX Diff Lock Wiring
Started by Subarutex , Jan 07 2013 09:12 PM
2 replies to this topic
Posted 07 January 2013 - 09:12 PM
Posted 07 January 2013 - 09:33 PM
I had a wiring diagram.....but it's pretty simple. The switch is just a double throw. switched 12v in, then out one way or the other, straight to one wire on each of the solenoids, other wire to the ground.
I set mine up with relays, but once I got it set up, I tested the draw on it, and it was only a couple amps.
I set mine up with relays, but once I got it set up, I tested the draw on it, and it was only a couple amps.
Posted 08 January 2013 - 12:53 AM
I used to have it on my webshots account but somehow it's gone?
I have a FSM you could borrow
I have a FSM you could borrow
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The Morris swimming team captured the Clifton Crocodile Swim Meet on Friday night, claiming the event with 468 points. Bradley Bourbonnais was second with 465 1/2 points.
"It's a great feeling. We put a lot of kids on the podium. It was nice to see them get the recognition," Morris coach Andrew Porth said. "Overall it was a great team effort."
The Redskins' 200-yard freestyle team of Anthony Ascolani, Jimmy Merideth, Jacob MacLean and Jordan Ramirez won in 1:38.14, though the locals also added five seconds and five thirds.
Riley Jackson was second in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:04.45, Joe Perez was second in diving with a score of 147.75 and McLean was second in the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:37.86 and in the 200 freestyle in 2:02.51.
Kevin Sheridan was third for Morris in diving with a score of 119.55, Ascolani was third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:03.53, Ramirez was third in the 100 freestyle with a time of :55.84, Merideth was third in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:09.94 and the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Alex Magers, Jackson, Justin Lizalek and McLean were third in 3:49.36.
Seneca 47,
Rockford Christian 28
Seneca improved to 22-4 with the win over Christian.
Jimmy David had 12 points, Carter Gallick 11 and Peyton Schrag 10 in the non-conference win on Saturday.
In the sophomore contest, Christian won 46-45 despite Brandon Viken and Ben Rohder having 14 points each.
Coal City 64,
Clifton Central 55
Coal City finished off back-to-back wins on the weekend by beating Central by nine points on Saturday.
"After winning a big game last night, I was anxious to see how we would respond," Coal City coach Brad Boresi said. "We are definitely playing our best basketball right now."
Brennen Shetina had 19 points to lead Coal City — 12 of which came in the first quarter — while Lane Cowherd added 17. Two others also hit double digits in scoring in Nick Peters (11) and Jon West (10). Peters added 10 rebounds.
Seneca 60,
Westmont 43
Seneca improved to 9-1 in the I-8 with the win over the Sentinels.
Conlan Callahan had 14 points and both Schrag and Brian Bergeson had 10 each in Friday's game.
In the sophomore game, Seneca lost 50-48 despite 20 points from Viken and 11 points from Rohder.
Coal City 46,
Lisle 44
It was Shetina hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer to ensure the win by the Coalers in Interstate Eight Conference play.
"Big time players come up big when you need them and Brennen was huge," Boresi said. "We managed to battle the entire game and fortunately we were able to come away with a win."
Shetina ended with 20 points and he also added five rebounds. Peters added eight rebounds.
Herscher 78,
Reed-Custer 51
Dalton Kinzler had 11 points in the Interstate Eight Conference loss by the Comets. He also added nine rebounds.
Dwight 52,
Wilmington 46
A Kiefer Kious steal and layup at the end of the third quarter helped lift Dwight to the win.
Devin Connolly and Blake Huseman hit key free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
NIB12 freshman tournament
In DeKalb, Morris finished in third place in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference Tournament after beating Geneseo 34-18. Previously, Morris had lost to Sycamore 42-40.
Devin Pacheco was the leading scorer in both games for Morris. She had 18 points against Sycamore and 14 against Geneseo. Jessica Jurak had nine points against Sycamore and Kayla Cryder had 10 against Geneseo.
Coal City def. Shabbona,
25-15, 25-20
Leah Campos had 16 points for the Warriors in the win, including seven aces. She also had four assists.
Kenady Clayburn had six kills.
Saratoga Tournament
Mazon-Verona-Kinsman finished fourth at the event held in Morris on Saturday.
Seneca defeated MVK 21-15, 15-21, 15-12 in the opener, MVK defeated Coal City 21-19, 16-25, 15-12, MVK lost to St. Mary of Pontiac 21-19, 21-18, MVK beat Saratoga 21-9, 21-9 with Samantha Macchietto serving 11 straight points in the second game and MVK lost the third place match with Ottawa 20-25, 25-12, 15-11.
Morris swimmers won Clifton Crocodile Swim Meet
The Morris swimming team captured the Clifton Crocodile Swim Meet on Friday night, claiming the event with 468 points. Bradley Bourbonnais was second with 465 1/2 points.


text:
Show table of contents
Kage no Densetsu Cheats :
This page contains Kage no Densetsu cheats list for WII version. Now we have 2 cheats in our list, which includes 1 cheats code, 1 secret. We hope information that you'll find at this page help you in playing Kage no Densetsu on WII platform. If you didn't find needed cheats put request or ask question about this at special section of the game. Also you can subscribe on all new cheats that we'll find for you in the future!
Code - 10 lives
Press and hold A, B, Select & Start on the 1st controller and A & B on the 2nd controller, then press Reset. Release the buttons when the title screen starts scrolling up and while the title screen is still scrolling, press the A button on the 1st controller and the B button on the 2nd controller at the same time. If done right, you should have 10 lives when you start the game.
Secret - 1-Up
If you stay in the water of the moat and kill seven ninjas with your sword, a blue creature will fly across the screen. Catch him for a 1-Up. This will work in all of the moat scenes.
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text:
Before Magistrate Richard Vander Mey:
Two Marshalltown residents were sentenced on June 18 on 5th degree theft charges in a ruling handed down following an April 2 joint trial.
Jessica Ann Hartwig, 29, and Jason Wayne Mull, 40, both were found guilty of three counts of 5th degree theft. They were accused by Meskwaki Nation Tribal Police of obtaining cash and items from vending machines on three floors of the Meskwaki Hotel on Oct. 17. According to trial records, paper was temporarily placed over security camera lenses monitoring vending areas. The pair were observed on the security tapes prior to the action.
Article Photos
The thefts were then discovered.
Hartwig was sentenced to seven days in jail to be served concurrently with a sentence imposed in a separate case in Marshall County. She was assessed $369 in court costs.
Mull was sentenced to three days in jail also to be served concurrently with a Marshall County sentence. He was assessed court costs totaling $482.
No fines were imposed. No restitution was required because the victim did not provide any information according to court records.
Jeanne Anne Downs, 63, Montour, was found guilty of allowing a dog to run at-large following trial. She was assessed $200 in fine and court costs. The Tama County Sheriff's Office filed the charge.
Douglas Shane Duncan, 41, rural Tama, did not appear for trial on a charge of no driver's license and was adjudged guilty. He was assessed a fine and court costs totaling $490. the charge was filed by Meskwaki Nation Tribal Police on May 11.
Matthew Allen Ryan, 22, Chelsea, did not appear for trial and was adjudged guilty of driving while license suspended. He was assessed a fine and court costs totaling $485. The charge was filed by Toledo Police.


text:
The U.S. Marine Corps plans to pay a higher price for its next 99 Bell-Boeing MV-22 Ospreys because of a drop in the production rate under the recently signed multiyear contract.
The average price in fiscal 2012 was $67 million; the target price for the next multiyear is $70 million, says Col. Greg Masiello, the V-22 joint program manager. The company will deliver 40 V-22s this year. Next year, the program will deliver roughly 35 and then production drops dramatically into the 20s for the next multiyear.
The $6.5 billion contract, signed last week, includes buys of 92 MV-22s for the U.S. Marine Corps and seven CV-22s for the U.S. Air Force. Options for another 23 Ospreys are also built into the contract, and Masiello says the Marine Corps is likely to enact the first option soon.
The drop in production rate accommodates fewer available funds from the U.S. Defense Department and leaves excess capacity for foreign sales. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced a sale to Israel during a recent visit. The first six are likely to be included in a single batch with more to follow later, according to a U.S. defense official.
Israel is likely to be the first foreign customer to take delivery of a V-22, and the United Arab Emirates the second. Japan is also possibly a near-term buyer as well. Last week, the Japanese conducted trials in which V-22s landed on their Hyuga and Shimokita class ships and were stowed in the belly of the Hyuga-class ship.
Masiello expects foreign customers to buy roughly 100 V-22s within the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, Masiello says the cost per flying hour of the V-22 has decreased by 19% over time to $9,250.
To date, 214 MV-22s have been delivered to the Marine Corps. Three of 12 planned for use as executive airlift in the Washington region have been delivered to the Marines.
The service plans to buy 360 MV-22s. The Air Force wants 50 CV-22s and the Navy still holds a requirement for 48 V-22s to be used as a C-2 Greyhound replacement for the Carrier Onboard Delivery requirement.
The Navy is assessing whether the V-22 can operate efficiently with the carrier air wing on a deck, but another possible candidate is an upgraded Greyhound concept based on the E-2 airframe and pitched by Northrop Grumman.


text:
Student or Learner
Divide the class into groups of about four to discuss the issues.
Does it mean that there are four groups altogether or does it mean that there are many groups, each of which consists of four students?
Thanks very much!
If I want to mean there are four groups altogether, then what should I say?
Is it simply " Divide the students into four groups"?


text:
Hotels for Brant Rock and new zoning for Enterprise Park are among the ideas under discussion for Marshfield's new master plan, but the process of collecting ideas from the public has only just begun.
In November, the town worked with Suffolk University to survey a random sample of residents by mail, invited others to complete the survey online, and held the first in a series of public workshops.
Additional workshops will be scheduled in the new year, according to Town Planner Paul Halkiotis, who hopes residents will attend as many as they can. "It's a great opportunity for them to help guide the future of the town, and the growth of the town," he said.
The plan, the town's first complete rewrite since 1997, will address major questions about Marshfield's future, such as how to improve business districts, housing options, public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian access, recreation, and open space. It may recommend policy changes that would have to be approved by Town Meeting.
The town has hired a planning company, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, to consult on the project, and has asked the company to place special emphasis on strategies for three key spots: the Enterprise Park area, near Roche Bros. supermarket; the densely developed downtown, adjacent to Town Hall; and Brant Rock, a seaside village of year-round homes and summer cottages.
Planning Board chairwoman Karen Horne said Brant Rock will probably require a workshop all its own. People have conflicting ideas about its future, she said, namely, whether Brant Rock should recruit hotels to the waterfront to boost tourism, or retain its existing character, dominated by homes and restaurants.
"We'll probably have to hold a session specific to that, with the residents down there," she said.
Henry Dunbar, owner of the Brant Rock Fish Market since 1960, expressed some skepticism about hotels. Many of the existing buildings are subject to tidal flooding, parking is limited, and sea level appears to be rising, he said; plus, some buildings are sinking.
"We don't need any high-rise here," he said. "We're all sitting on 20 feet of mud."
Among the other ideas discussed at the initial public workshop was new zoning for the Enterprise Park area to allow more mixed-use development, so a single project could include, for example, stores, a medical building, and apartments above the stores. Right now, the only housing allowed is senior housing, according to Horne.
Bill Last Sr., owner of Marshfield Tavern, is building four retail stores next to the tavern and would like to put 10 to 15 apartments on the second floor, but can't do it because of zoning. The town needs more housing for people who are just starting out and don't want a single-family home, he said, and residents would help support the businesses in the park.
When it comes to downtown, Horne said, improvements are harder to define because the area is already densely developed.
Downtown business owner Edward Bakleh of Marshfield Famous Pizza said he believes the town already does a good job supporting small businesses, and he likes to see commercial development balanced with preservation of the town's natural beauty.
Ralph Willmer, the consulting company's project manager for the Marshfield plan, said residents hope to see better sidewalks, bike paths, and mass transit.
'We're all sitting on 20 feet of mud.'
They also have significant concerns about sea level. During the first workshop Nov. 13, Willmer said, he conducted an electronic poll of attendees, and 100 percent of those polled said the master plan should take sea level rise into consideration.
The initial meeting focused on economic development, climate change, housing, and transportation. Future meetings, expected to start in February, may include the same topics, plus recreation, natural resources, public facilities, and land use.
Halkiotis said graduate students in planning at University of Massachusetts Amherst are working on a chapter for the master plan about adapting to climate change. They are scheduled to give a presentation at the Planning Board meeting Monday, he said.
Marshfield has current open space and housing plans, both of which were approved by the state. The town has asked the consultant to review the plans. Additional issues Halkiotis intends to raise during the planning process include small residential lot sizes in certain neighborhoods, as well as water quality protection for the South River.
Work on the master plan should be done at the beginning of 2014, although such projects often run longer than anticipated, he said.Jennette Barnes can be reached at email@example.com.


text:
If you love cheesecake like I do, you are probably always comparing cheesecake to the best you've ever eaten ... every time. Some cheesecake is too dry, some just too plain. And although you can get almost any cheesecake lfavor imagineable, I still love a good plain cheesecake. But my standard is pretty high and every piece of cheesecake I've ever eaten is compared to cheesecake made with this recipe.
I love sourcream topping on my cheesecake and I admit, I'm disappointed if it doesn't have that topping. It brings the cheesecake down one notch right from the get go. So, this recipe, my all time favorite, has a sour cream topping. Yum. This is a creamy type cheesecake, so if you like a really dry cheesecake this might not be your fave, but it is delish.
Best Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients for Crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3 T. sugar
- 5 T. butter (melted)
Ingredients for Filling:
- 12 oz. cream cheese (for extra creamy, use 16 oz.)
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- pinch of salt
Ingredients for Topping:
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 2 T. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Recipe Directions:
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
- Press mixture firmly on the bottom and sides of a buttered 9 inch pie plate. Chill while mixing filling.
- Beat softened cream cheese and add sugar gradually.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add salt and vanilla.
- Pour into crumb crust and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Cool for 15 minutes before adding topping.
- Mix topping ingredients and spread on top of cooled cheesecake.
- Bake at 450 degrees for only 5 minutes.
- Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
Sharon Pierce McCullough


text:
Added Jan 18, 2013
Liverpool, Unite...
This dress was made using the lovely Simplicity 2588 sewing pattern, that I think I got free with a magazine a little while back – score!
It was super easy to sew up, though the stretch knit fabric, although very beautiful, proved a bit of a challenge – think I'm going to need a bit more practice, but I don't mind, any excuse for more sewing :D
For more pictures including some of my gorgeous Chow Chow and an adorable Owl handbag, check out the Made with Hugs and Kisses Blog Post
I'd love to know what you think, and any advice you may have on sewing with knits :D
Thanks xXx
3 Comments Sign in to add a post
Jun 5, 2013, 05.44 AMby shayrays
I would like to know what adjustments you made to create the long sleeves. Did you base it off the included raglan sleeves pattern pieces or come up with it all your own?
1 Reply
Jun 17, 2013, 10.21 PMby Hugs-and-Kisses
Hi, great question, yes I based them on the sleeves included in the pattern and just extended them. I will be honest, I just kind of guessed at this and pinned and trimmed any excess fabric as needed to get the right fit around my arm. I consider myself a novice at sleeves :D xxx
Jan 22, 2013, 09.15 AMby Elena Perletti
beautiful: both the dress and the fitting!
1 Reply
Mar 18, 2013, 05.30 PMby Hugs-and-Kisses
Thank you, I really appreciate you saying that, I was worried about the fit, it is a little different to what I normally make :D xXx
Jan 19, 2013, 09.20 AMby sewuknow
The fabric that you chose is quite nice.
1 Reply
Mar 18, 2013, 05.30 PMby Hugs-and-Kisses
Add to Favorites 3 people added it


text:
brian d foy
Monday morning Randal and I made it down to the Oregon Convention Center around 10:30. Everyone was in their tutorial sessions so the place had the feel of a slepy airport. It's spacious, mostly on one level, and there are several indoor shops, including Starbucks, Kinko's, and a gift shop. There are some, but not a lot, inflatable seats and sofas along some of the walls, and a few small tables outside the Starbucks. It's too bad that there aren't more tables---the conference support for the "hallway sessions" isn't there, or at least not yet. Some bigger tables, especially with power pulled to them), would sure help people sit next to each other.
I wander around a bit, find my press pass, get a speaker pass somehow, and also end up with a decent conference back
As I wander around I notice a lot of nice Dell monitors. That's right: Dell, not Apple. Apple decided in one of their fits of cultish behavior not to sponsor things that aren't them. There are no shiny Apple displays, the registration desks are missing the cool Apple displays, and there is no Apple terminal room. Actually, there might not even be a terminal room. I haven't found it yet, but I haven't looked that hard either.
A large group led by Schwern heads out for lunch. I guess the conference isn't providing food this year (and I realize that I don't see any snacks in the afternoon either). There are plenty of places close by, including which serves all-fresh-never-frozen food. Schwern's group ends up there, but the line is already long so a group splinters off to go to Red Robin>, a burger chain only a short block away. The splinter group ends comprising Randal, I, Adam Kennedy (Perl Parsing, JavaScript Archive Network (JSAN), Perl modules list), Bill Odom (The Perl Foundation), Ricardo Signes (Rubric), Kevin Altis (Pythoncard.org), and one more Python guy I'm forgetting.
The conversation at lunch is good: it's not the fistfight that people expect between proponents of different languages. The toughest part of the whole affair is the waitress who wants to ask too many questions, and pauses a bit too long between them. Just when we think she's finished bothering us and we start talking again, she asks another question. It was so effectively distracting that I started to smell intent. No matter: once we got our lunch and she left us alone, we spent a lot of time talking about CPAN and JSAN, the new JavaScript Archive Network, and how all of that might apply to Python. The short answer is that these things work because there is no barrier to entry (i.e. no editorial control) and that the base layer is just a storage mechanism. Everything else is a separate project the build on top of (or to the side of) everything else. That way, you don't have to have all the answers to start building the archive. At first it's just the storage, and you have to be patient enough for eveything else to show up incrementally. All the CPAN add-ons weren't built in a day, or even by the same people.
After lunch I set up camp outside the Starbucks in the convention center. It's at the nexus of two major halls, so just about everybody has to walk by the table. Chip Salzenberg (Geeksunite and now Cloudmark spam ninjas) shows up and joins the camp, followed by Dave Adler (New York Perl Mongers), Ricardo, Jan Dubois (ActiveState), Gisle Aas (creator of libwww-perl), Josh McAdams (PerlCast, which is podcasting from OSCON), and many other people who join and part throughout the afternoon. It's definitely the cool table (there are only six to choose from, so the odds where already good and we had already stolen the chairs from the surrounding tables, lessening their chances). That was the afternoon hallway session and many people wandered by with a longing look in their eye not realizing they could just pull up a chair and we wouldn't mind (and I'd talk about that later in the "Conference for Beginner's" BOF later that night.
The best thing about conferences are the things that don't happen in the talks, known as the "hallway sessions". A conference is all about getting people together, so it's kinda silly to program their whole day to make them sit in a dark room and not say anything. Get out and met people! Seee the faces behind the screen names. Autrijus Tang and his Pugs crew turned conferences and workshops into multi-day hack fests. They discovered that although online collaboration is good, in person is even better. Unfortunately, the United States government is so paranoid about foreigners and air travel that Autrijus has given up being mistreated by our government and won't come back to the US until we fix it (and that's not looking good).
I skipped dinner, still digesting my lunch, because the Perl Trainer's BOF started at 6. I had just enough time to take a backstage tour of the convention hall with Randal and Jim Brandt led by Ted, the guy in charge of the electrons for the facility. We got to see the network closet which collects allthe internal traffic and sends it up a radio antenna "pointed somewhere". We saw where they store hundreds of chairs, tables, whatevers, and got to ride in the staff golf cart. It looks big in the user space, but it's even bigger behind those locked doors. Ted was able to explain to me why my laptop wasn't charging from the wall outlet in the conference hall: the janitorial staff run high powered vacuum cleaners from those wall outlets and don't bother to tell anyone when they short them out.
Peter Scott's annual Perl Trainer's BOF (Birds Of a Feather) had 15 or so people, but this year a lot of the people where teaching in academic environments. Although we all introduced ourselves at the beginning, some people didn't recognize Randal's or my name, so when one guy started talking rather unfairly about "Learning Perl" (he hadn't seen the latest or the previous edition, so was operating on very, very dated information, but maybe he didn't see the press release that turned up on my RSS reader while he was talking---now that's internet time for you), he not only didn't realize we were the authors, but also thought we were O'Reilly editors and wanted to pitch a book. No biggee, stuff happens and I've done that sort of thing myself.
Following that, Jim Brandt led the "Conferences for Beginners" BOF. At YAPC::NA in Toronto he had noticed that about half the people had never been to a conference before. They didn't quite understand the culture (Why is everyone looking at their laptops during talks? Why are all the laptops Powerbooks?) and that they were reticent to join in conversations or groups since they didn't know anyone. This is our first time putting together a talk like this and we hope to do it at other conferences as a sort of training camp or kindergarten so that people can get the most out of their conference dollars.
That was about all I could handle for the night, and although it was late (8-ish?), the sun was still up. My body was still on East Coast time though. Despite that, I needed some marionberries. It's a local Oregon food: a cross between the tart raspberry and the sweet blackberry made in Marion County, Oregon. You end up with a killer super-sized berry that ends up in cobblers, pies, jams, and milkshakes at Burgerville. I'd already been to several restaurants in the area but hadn't found the marionberry yet. Randal, Jim Brandt, and I ended up at McMenamins Pub, an Oregon chain. In fact, we ended up in the same pub where Randal had his first beer, the "Ruby", a raspberry ale. I felt like a part of history, and definitely had a new trivial item since his first wasn't "Pearl". I didn't see a "Python" ale on the menu.
Glory be, McMenamins had Marionberry Cobbler, although the server apologized that they were out of whipped cream. Damn the whipped cream, full marionberries ahead! Marionberry Cobbler all around my good man!
As promised, the cobbler was good, but Randal also noted it was probably made from frozen berries so I shouldn't think that I've had the true marionberry experience just yet. I should wait for a marionberry milkshake at burgerville, although I'm unlikely to get one. I can also stop by The Oregon Store in the airport to by some preserves on my way out.
So ended day one, exhausted and sated. To me, it already felt like wednesday.
brian d foy is a Perl trainer for Stonehenge Consulting Services and is the publisher of The Perl Review.
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text:
Nov. 6, 2010
Box Score (HTML)
Box Score (PDF)
KINGSTON, R.I. - Three turnovers and a blocked punt ultimately proved to be too much to overcome and No. 3 Villanova (6-3, 4-2 CAA) fell by a final score of 17-14 to Rhode Island (4-5, 3-3 CAA) at Meade Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Wildcats, who had turned the ball over just three times in their last six games prior to today's contest.
In the fourth quarter, Villanova trailed 10-7 with 2:19 remaining when a punt from its own 23-yard line was blocked and recovered in the end zone for a Rams touchdown that stretched the score to 17-7. A quick answer from the Wildcats trimmed the margin back to 17-14 with 1:43 left but when Villanova got the ball back a final time with just over a minute left a lost fumble on the second play sealed the outcome.
The strong defense of host Rhode Island held the Wildcats to a season-low 218 yards of total offense and Villanova was held off the scoreboard until the middle of the third quarter. In particular, the Wildcats vaunted running game was limited to just 68 net yards on 32 carries.
Senior running back Angelo Babbaro (Canfield, Ohio) had a three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and senior quarterback Chris Whitney (Warminster, Pa.) threw a five-yard pass for a touchdown to junior wide receiver Norman White (Hammonton, N.J.) in the fourth period for the only Villanova points of the game.
Babbaro's touchdown run with 7:53 remaining in the third quarter tied the score at 7-7 and were the first points by either team since an interception return for a touchdown late in the first quarter spotted the Rams a 7-0 lead.
Whitney completed 22-of-33 passes for 150 yards with the one touchdown and the one pick. White came up with eight receptions for 75 yards and sophomore wide receiver Dorian Wells (West Covina, Calif.) made six catches for 29 yards. On the ground, Whitney finished with 32 yards on 12 carries.
After the touchdown by Babbaro in the third period the score remained tied at 7-7 until the closing minutes of the game. Louis Feinstein put Rhode Island ahead to stay at 10-7 with 3:43 remaining on a 19-yard field goal, points which were the decisive margin when the teams traded touchdowns on their successive possessions.
In the first quarter, Jarrod Williams returned an intercepted Whitney pass 33 yards to open the scoring. Willie McGinnis first blocked and then recovered the Wildcats punt in the fourth quarter which led to the final Rams points of the game.
Sophomore defensive back Eric Loper (Sicklerville, N.J.) led Villanova with eight tackles, including seven solo stops. He also had an interception.
Rhode Island was led offensively by quarterback Steve Probst, who ran for 101 yards on 18 carries and went 14-of-21 for 107 yards through the air with the one interception by Loper.
Next up for the Wildcats is a home game against New Hampshire next Saturday at Noon.
NOTES: Both touchdowns scored by the Rams in today's game came from the defense ... Villanova has limited opposing offenses to zero or one touchdown six times in nine outings this season ... The last time the Wildcats had a punt blocked was on October 4, 2008 at William & Mary ... Villanova has been held to fewer than 100 rushing yards in a game just five times in its last 43 contests ... Prior to today's game the Wildcats had surpassed 200 yards in all three games of its winning streak ... Villanova leads the all-time series against Rhode Island by a 14-3 margin and today's loss was its first in the series since 2005.


text:
Professor Charles ffrench-Constant told The Observer this weekend why this is such an important breakthrough: "A patient's neurones can tell us a great deal about the psychological conditions that affect them, but you cannot stick a needle in someone's brain and take out its cells. However, we have found a way round that. We can take a skin sample, make stem cells from it and then direct these stem cells to grow into brain cells."
Making brain cells from skin cells
One area where this breakthrough will be important is in mental health. Professor Andrew McIntosh says, "We are making different types of brain cells out of skin samples from people with schizophrenia and bipolar depression. Once we have assembled these, we look at standard psychological medicines, such as lithium, to see how they affect these cells in the laboratory. After that, we can start to screen new medicines. Our lines of brain cells would become testing platforms for new drugs. We should be able to start that work in a couple of years."
Previously, brain cells were mainly procured by autopsy after the patient's death. McIntosh points out the problems with this method, saying that the brain tissue is often affected, "by whatever killed them and by the impact of the medication they had been taking for their condition, possibly for several decades."
Few could argue research that will help us better understand such debilitating mental illnesses as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder could be a bad thing. One of the major ethical concerns in cloning was that scientists were taking stem cells from embryos and destroying them in the process. By using the skin to make stem cells this no longer becomes an issue.
Bypassing Stem cells
In fact, the BBC reported that researchers in California had managed to convert skin cells directly into brain cells from a mouse. Though it will be a while until this process can happen with humans, it would mean cloning could bypass the ethical dilemma of using stem cells altogether.
Humans Invent sees these advances in Science as incredibly exciting and important but what do you think? Is cloning still morally reprehensible? Is man playing God?
By Leo Kent


text:
Jason Taylor played 13 years for the Miami Dolphins.
So, darn it, he's going to speak to the South Florida media first before he goes to New York for a press conference.
I'm told Taylor will conduct a press conference at his foundation's headquarters at 8:30 p.m. I will be there.
By the way, 790 The Ticket here in Miami is quoting "a source," as saying Taylor had a contract from both the Dolphins and Jets on the table ...
... And that Taylor picked the Jets.
Sorry, fellas, not true.
Where do people come up with this stuff?
Anyway, what would you ask JT tonight?


text:
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If the remote starter is just a dongle on your keychain, could you remove it and not carry it with you when you know you are going to this supermarket? I assume that you still have car keys and could still lock, unlock, and turn on your car without the remote starter...I do sympathize... back in the days when I was a grad student who walked everywhere, and liked to listen to music when I walked, my portable CD player used to set off the alarms at the grad school library every single time.
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text: After update to 4.2.1 - When trying to build matching php: Found Errors ERROR: /usr/local/bin/php -i returns 139 You can try to build matching PHP from command line: "/usr/local/cpanel/whostmgr/cgi/lsws/cmd_buildmatchingphp.sh" When I tried "build matching PHP from command line" I just get error 500 pages with nothing much in the logs. Same goes for trying to do the build my own in the config. Any ideas? Thanks!