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Studying: Where, When, and Who?
I'm sure you've heard it a hundred times from your high school teachers: "this won't fly in college!" Being late, talking in class, turning in a paper late, and many other reasons. Sometimes those can vary professor by professor in college, but one thing is certain: no more skating by. You have to study!
Yes, the dreaded s-word. (Hehe, sword.) Most people avoid studying because they just don't know how to do it, or where they can turn for help. Luckily, RIT is in no shortage of academic resources!
The Academic Support Center is the homebase for all of your... well, academic support needs. As you can see on their homepage, there are numerous services offered. I lack the space to cover them all, so I'll just talk about those which I've found the most useful in my academic career thusfar:
The Bates Science Study center is where you'd find me holed up doing most of my homework my freshman year. Conveniently located on the first floor of the College of Science, it's staffed by upperclass students, TA's, grad students, and sometimes even professors. They can help you with almost any manner of the lower level math and physics courses. Sometimes you'll find a stray bio TA in there. They're open weekdays from 9am-9pm (except on fridays where they get out at 6. What, are you doing homework on a Friday evening?)
If it's late and you don't want to haul yourself across campus to the academic side, there's also a study center in one of the residence halls (Sol) that's open Monday-Thursday from 7pm-10pm.
The Wallace Library is always a popular place to study. The first two floors have tons of tables and computers to use, and yu can talk with any study groups you might have. The 3rd and 4th floors will have tables, but also segmented cubbies to reduce distractions. As you might have guessed, these are the more intense studying floors, and as such are quiet (no talking aloud / allowed).
Here at the library you can also check out textbooks from the front desk if your professor put them on reserve (not having to buy textbooks is so cash. Pun completely intended.)
If you dig the coffeeshop atmosphere for studying, Java Wally's is also right down there. It also has convenient caffeine access! That's where I am right now. And @RIT_Erin is right across from me. Hi Erin, if you're reading this. Actually, if you're reading this, get back to studying bio. What are you doing on the internets. C'mon.
The Library also has study rooms you can reserve, with whiteboards. Their sizes range from a small room for just yourself, where it's nice and quiet, to a large table with six chairs for your entire study group.
Finally, if you're lucky / sexy enough to be a physics major or minor, you have the excellent resource of The Pac! The Physics Assistance Center is basically the phyzzie lounge. It's usually full of upperclassmen who have already taken the class you may be working on the homework for, so it's easy to ask their help. There's whiteboard up in there too, and a ton of physics textbooks.
There's also whiteboards across the entire college of science, so it's easy to find an open one if you need a lot of thinking space.
Finally, Professor's Office Hours are the greatest. All professors are required to have 4 office hours per week. You can just pop in their office and ask them any questions you might have about the work or class. If you have a more involved question or just want to talk privately, it's easy to shoot them an email and make a private meeting. To quote my current physics professor, he checks his email "10^6 times a day." That's roughly 11.5 times per second. Nevermind the network infrastructure required or the responsiveness of the email server, I'd say it's an exaggeration, but not too far off from the truth.
These are far from the only resources available, but these are the ones I've found most useful. Check out the ASC website to see what else they have to offer. But most improtantly, get off the Brick City Ambassador blogs! Get back to studying!
- Tags: @RIT_erin, java wally's, library, professors, study, studying


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POTTSTOWN — There's a lot of money to be made, a lot of money to be spent and a lot of money to be won in downtown Pottstown this year as part of the "Hometown Holiday Celebration" planned by the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority.
The money to be made and spent obviously involves shopping in local stores, but you probably want to know more about how the money can be won.
Well, there are two ways.
The first is an innovative raffle idea called "Five at $25."
For $25, shoppers buy a raffle ticket at selected locations and spend $25 in four different participating downtown stores. Return the raffle ticket to the PDIDA offices on North Hanover Street with receipts attached and you're eligible to win three prizes — $2,000, $1,000 and $500 in gift cards.
"We are only selling 300 raffles to make the odds more enticing," said Sheila Dugan, Pottstown's Main Street Manager.
The drawing will be held on Dec. 22 at 6:30 p.m.
The second way to win money — $500 worth — is to enter the 2012 "Tree Challenge."
A club, sports team or charitable organization decorates a tree, provided by PDIDA, before Nov. 28 and places it in a downtown shop window and someone stays with the tree to collect votes in December, all the way up until Dec. 22 at 4 p.m. when voting ends.
And no, you don't have to stand there all day, you determine your own hours for voting, although it needs to be at least four hours per week.
Each vote is a $1 and the winner gets $500.
The money raised will help to fund Hometown Holidays activities.
(To enter, call Dugan at 610-323-5400 or e-mail her at email@example.com)
Those activities are pretty extensive this year and include Santa and his elves arriving on bicycles; roasted chestnuts, discounted babysitting at the Babysitter's Clubhouse, a tree lighting, a Santa's village, breakfast with Santa and horse-drawn wagon rides.
It all kicks off Saturday, Nov. 24 on National Small Business Day,
In addition to many merchants having specials that day, so you can get the most for your raffle spending, you can visit Art Fusion 19464's annual holiday art show, "The Secret Life of Trees," and take a "Twelfth Night" tour of Pottsgrove Manor until 4 p.m.
Special events are planned for subsequent Fridays, Saturdays in particular and even two Sundays as Christmas draws ever nearer.
Dugan said other than the fund-raising from the two contests, the events are paid for out of the PDIDA budget.
But, Dugan said, sponsorships are available to provide additional activities and to allow PDIDA to spread its budget out to more activities later in the year, such as the return of the Schuylkill Riverfest in the fall of 2013.
• Donations between $5 and $100 will help add to the fun kids have at the Holiday Village. "Although Santa has bee paid, the amount available for coloring materials, reindeer food making and ornament decorating will depend on the money we have to draw from," Dugan said.
"We are also looking for crayons as gifts from Santa for the children to go along with the coloring books he will be distributing," she said.
• Christmas enthusiasts can also help by sponsoring one or more of the trees that will be provided for the Christmas Tree decorating contest. "We will be purchasing the trees for the local non-profit organizations to decorate and any help people would like to offer would be appreciated," said Dugan.
• The horse-drawn wagon rides can be sponsored for $3,800. They will be conducted in two phrases, Friday nights in a "wagonette," which is tighter quarters and more romantic, and on Saturdays, with a full-size wagon that will allow for more to join the fun, which includes a ride uptown and back to Smith Plaza where music and lights will adorn the night.
• Speaking of lights in Smith Plaza, multiple sponsors raising $1,000 will allow "the plaza to have much better lighting and very possibly music added," Dugan wrote.
• A $10,000 donation would pay for "exclusive rights to a Smith Plaza Light Show," said Dugan.
"PDIDA, along with our lighting company, would like to wow Pottstown with a unique music and light show, but the cost is far outside PDIDA's budget," she said. Envisioned is a light show coordinated with music, which is not being done anywhere else near Pottstown, as far as Dugan knows and "could become a great trademark for our holiday events."
• Speaking of music, PDIDA is also on the hunt for choirs and musical groups of all stripes who would like to perform for a holiday crowd on Fridays and Saturdays.
Several time slots are still open and Dugan said she hopes carolers and other musicians will take advantage of the opportunity.
"Bottom line is this is going to be a great downtown holiday this year, but we're looking for ways to make it even better," Dugan said.
Follow Evan Brandt on Twitter @PottstownNews

subset: commoncrawl


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Under Construction
End-of-the-year Recap
BC tennis team takes home second place in HCAC tournament
By Dan Crider, SID intern
April 20, 2004
HCAC Championship results
The Bluffton College men's tennis team competed in the Heartland Conference tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. last weekend. The team finished a strong season by placing second in the tournament, behind undefeated Transylvania University.
The Beavers had three players selected as all-conference performers. Seniors Owen Beck (Archbold/Archbold), Brad Boyles (Berne, Ind/South Adams), and Kyle Sprunger (Berne, Ind/South Adams) all received the all-conference honor. All three finished in second place in their respective singles positions in the HCAC tournament. Boyles and Sprunger also finished in second place in the tournament at the #2 doubles position. Their record at the #2 doubles position ended up being 13-2 for the season. The second place finish in the Heartland Conference tournament is the team's best finish in school history.
Singles (Last Matches)
No. 1- Busald (TU) defeated Beck (BC) 6-2, 6-1 (match for 1st place)
No. 2- Mitchell (TU) defeated Boyles (BC) 6-2, 6-0 (match for 1st place)
No. 3- Rifkind (HC) defeated Wott (BC) 6-4, 6-3 (match for 3rd place)
No. 4- Clayton (TU) defeated Sprunger (BC) 6-1, 7-5 (match for 1st place)
No. 5- Martin (BC) defeated Jewell (MC) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 (match for 3rd place)
No. 6- Delavernge (AU) defeated Nussbaum (BC) 6-3, 6-1 (match for 4th place)
Doubles (Last Matches)


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A Chinese city set the record for the most women to participate in a parade while wearing bikinis. Over the weekend, Ocean City, Md., set out to break the record of 1,085 — but fell far short at 325. Organizers blame the rainy weather for holding down turnout.
Ocean City, Md., Falls Short Of Bikini Record
By editor • Aug 27, 2012


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socks wrote:They sold me on this idea we were building a community once a year for a week,Nowhere else on earth can you find such a thing.I believed.That was floating world.This was going to be my 10 burn and my still be.But no thanks to BM.org.They fucked this up but their goals were met.The got the sales of 40,000 tickets in one day.Now that's a pay day going into a interest bearing account.Do they care what damage they did to the community?But i judge action much more than words.With the march sale called off to give the tickets to the "special people" of burning man just is not right.Then BM.org dealt out more pain to the burner community with the 1 ticket rule on Step.Who in hell is thinking this shit up.You start off splitting the community and now you are going after families too.
The burn this year will be different.I am sure of that.Just like New Orleans after Katrina the soul of the city has changed without the same people.It was the secret sauce.A lot of burner's who have pulled this wagon for years will not be going because of this.Bm.org is more worried about the newbies than the people that brought them to this point.That is the sad part.If i sound bitter and angry its because i am.I hope all have a good time but a little part of me is wishing for 65 mile winds and white outs for 5 days just for Karma.I hope to see you all on the playa
Giant Douche or Turd Sandwich? you be the judge


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Just wanted to give everyone in that area a suggestion, as we know
gas availability wlll be limited for about another 48 hrs but your
local Lukoil / American / Getty station may have a supply. The Lukoil on
Tarrytown Rd in WP had gas (but a long line), you could check the
Lukoil in Pleasantville etc.
I waited about an hour at American on (BP/Amoco ditched that name and its Lukoil gas) Knollwood Road / Grasslands Road
got it an hour ago , had no limit, filled up, could use CC, put some in a gas can also
Thank comrade Putin for that
Sent from my Double-Wide using Semaphore...
The message was for Jetswin and whoever else it could help.
Even though this is The Hampur - of course the usual gang of idiots- B. Hussein claquers all - has to b(l)eat off like a bunch of billy goats with scrapie. Shouldve PMd him, judging by this motley crude.
Not my fault our (D) government cant get fuel trucks up I-95 fast enough, OweBowMao cut the red tape, amirite....
It struck me as perfectly apropos that teh last gas line I was in was
in Jimmy Carter's 1st term and again now in the 2nd.
I got the gas for my wife's car. Not a Hummer. If you guys want a hummer why not buy one from your usual rent boys.
Last edited by Jungle Shift Jet; 11-04-2012 at 10:21 PM.
I like the way you started off like fog, with little cat feet. You can take a good-natured rubbing, can't ya? Every other hampur thread gets this; you'll take it and like it. THen run back to Trades and the rest of the Heritage think tank and tell them your war stories.
Last edited by WestCoastOffensive; 11-07-2012 at 01:17 PM.
How are the gas lines now? I don't have enough gas currently to drive around for a while in search of a viable station - has the demand dropped to the point that you can go out to a gas station and get gas within a half hour?


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Will it? Won't it? And for how much?
Those are the questions being asked by Dell shareholders today, regarding a rumored leverage buyout of the company by several financing partners including Silver Lake Partners, Microsoft and others.
The answers could be a few hours or a few days away, depending on the reports circulating.
One report by Reuters said negotiations were in a final state with a final price expected between $13.50 and $13.75 per share.
[Related: 6 Reasons Dell Should Go Private]
A report last Friday by the New York Post put the deal at closer to $15 to $16 per share, but Wall Street clearly believes the final price will be somewhat lower than that. Dell shares were trading at $13.28 Monday afternoon, down 35 cents or 2.6 percent. By contrast, the Dow Jones index was down 0.9 percent and Nasdaq was off 1.3 percent Monday.
Meanwhile, the waiting game continues for anxious Dell investors. The proposed LBO has been a subject of fierce speculation for weeks, with a deal seemingly getting closer each day.
Most reports, citing sources close to the negotiations, expect Silver Lake to be the lead financing partner with Microsoft contributing up to $2 billion and Dell CEO Michael Dell adding nearly $1 billion of his own money while keeping control of the company after it goes private.


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Well, we called it. Dave Perry, Gaikai's CEO, delivered a brief presentation during Sony's Playstation Meeting detailing how the 'Playstation Cloud' will evolve over time to deliver backwards-compatibility to the PS4 and streamed, full-game demos for would-be purchasers.
Perry's dream, as he put it in the presentation, is that this service might be able to stream "everything ever," however no specific games were revealed.
Perry also announced that Sony's goal is to provide all PS4 owners with the gift of "free exploration", meaning that the Gaikai will be used to power a try-before-you-buy service for PS4 software that will allow players to explore a portion of the full game (rather than a scripted demo) before they put down any money.
"By combining PlayStation Network with Gaikai Inc's cloud technology, it is SCE's goal to make free exploration possible for various games," Sony said in a statement following the event. "In the future, when a gamer sees a title of interest in PlayStation Store, they can immediately start playing a portion of the actual game — not a stripped down version of the game.
"With Gaikai and PlayStation Store, gamers will be able to experience appealing games and only pay for the games they actually love. PlayStation Network and the cloud will offer additional value to PlayStation gamers. SCE is exploring unique opportunities enabled by cloud technology with the long-term vision of making PlayStation libraries including an incredible catalog of more than 3000 PS3 titles that is unmatched in the industry, mostly ubiquitous on PS4."


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Chris Titus, Live at the Brea Improv
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Show Summary
Christopher Titus joins Adam, Alison, and Bald Bryan for a live podcast at The Brea Improv Comedy Club. Adam begins by discussing his experience at Chris's wedding. Then Chris tells an awkward story about his first time meeting Bruce Springsteen. As the show wraps up, Adam, Chris, and Bryan react to Alison's news.
Superfan Sidebar
Click Here for Superfan Giovanni's recap and commentary on today's episode.
For more, go to AdamCarolla.com/Gio.
Show Credits
Producers: Mike August, Mike Lynch, and Mike Dawson
Co-Producers: Gary Smith, Chris Laxamana, Matt Fondiler and Jeff Fox
Newsgirl: Alison Rosen
Sound Effects: Bryan Bishop
Image Gallery
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Keeping Clean
When you're employed by your baby, running a laundromat is part of the gig. I wash diapers every two days, sheets and towels once a week, and clothes twice a week. This means I get a laundry break…never! Up I go with a clean load to put away, down again with a dirty load to wash. Guess what I'm doing while I write this post? You got it! The laundry that defines my life. How in the world did women do it all 100 years ago without washers and dryers? Do you ever feel like you're eternally washing and folding?


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Grove Park Inn
December 5, 2012
$65 per person
Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC is often one of our "traditional" trips and will be taken early enough to get in some shopping for the Christmas holiday. We'll dine at the Inn and enjoy all the beautiful Christmas decorations. We will also enjoy seeing the Gingerbread Houses. The trip will include a visit to the Billy Graham Training Center and Book Store. On our way home, we will stop at the Farmer's Market. Mark your calendar for Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at a price of $65 for this Christmas shopping trip. We'll be leaving at 9:00 am from the Conover office and lunch will be at 11:30 am. This trip always fills up quickly, so please call today to reserve a place for you and maybe a friend. Call Mary Jean at 828-464-8456.
2013 Trips
In 2013 we will be offering several day and short trips.
Look for details in the upcoming editions.


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MONDOVI, Wis. (WEAU) -- "He's the best guy friend I ever had and boyfriend," said Amber Berg, who had dated Marco Perez, a student who died in a hill jumping accident last December.
Two other students, Austin Gable and McKenna Johnson died in the accident as well.
Berg knew them and considered them friends. She knew Perez a little better than most.
He got along with everybody, he didn't judge people," she said.
And that is what makes a day like this so close to Christmas, so tough.
"He just surrounded everybody with his happiness," she said.
Both she and Perez had been dating on and off for a couple years. Last year while at school, she began hearing rumors that something had gone wrong on Walnut Road the night before.
She would soon learn her boyfriend was part of an accident and in the hospital.
The news would get even worse.
"I got the text about 10 minutes after he died and that's how I found out he had died," she said.
Life had changed. The Marco she looked forward to seeing was no longer here. And it is his absence that has been the hardest part.
"Probably not seeing his face or hearing his voice, cause every time I always looked forward to listening to him and talking to him," she said.
One year later, she is trying to move her life forward. She misses Marco and hopes what happened sends a message to all drivers to be safe.
"Of course I didn't want Marco to die, but this is just showing how dangerous it is to be doing stuff you shouldn't be doing, but honestly if I could have anything back I would have Marco back," she said.
She has pictures by her side and the flower from his funeral that her dad helped preserve. All of it, keeping the memory of Marco alive.
"Even if you're a really good person, make sure you do the right decisions because it hurts when you lose people you love a lot over just one night," she said.


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Submission + - The data shows:The top H-1B users are offshore outsourcers (computerworld.com)
dcblogs writes: The largest single users of H-1B visas are offshore outsourcers, many of which are based in India, or, if U.S. based, have most employees located overseas, according to government data obtained and analyzed by Computerworld. Most of the largest H-1B users easily account for more than 35,000 H-1B visas under the "initial" or new visas. The total visa cap is 85,000. The analysis comes as supporters of the skilled-worker visa program are trying to hike the H-1B cap to 300,000. Those visas are needed, says one of the bill sponsors, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), to address "the shortage of high-skilled labor we face in this country. This shortage has reached a crisis level."


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TWO of Port Macquarie's premier horse trainers go head-to-head today in a bid to keep the Queen of the North title in town.
The pair are the area's best chance of keeping the trophy in its home town after the race has been dominated by visiting trainers in recent years.
Port Macquarie trainers account for only two wins in the last nine years of the race.
Marc Quinn has been on a roll in the last eight months. He will run Cultural from barrier 18 today.
He said some of his biggest competition came from veteran trainer Neil Godbolt, who will run Al Nova from barrier one in the big race.
Quinn said there was also strong competition from out of town once again.
But his mare is in top form, recording a number of wins in recent weeks.
He also said the 1200 metre distance suited her down to a tee.
"She has shown a lot of good form lately," he said.
"It is a step up in grade, but we're really happy with where she's at, at the moment."
Quinn said his runner was an all rounder, who could perform on both wet and dry tracks, but said she preferred firmer runs.
"She won at Taree last start which was on a dampish track so she's pretty happy with whatever," he said.
"And the distance, it's perfect for her, she should do well."
One thing against Cultural is her wide barrier draw but Quinn preferred to remain optimistic.
"It's not a completely bad thing," he said.
"It means the other horses won't crowd her and she's got good gate speed, so she should get out into a nice position early on."
Quinn said taking out the race and the trainers premiership were on his list of goals.
"This is Port Macquarie's third biggest race so it would be nice to get a winner," he said.
"I have had a good few months, and at the moment I'm about five wins in front in the trainers premiership, but there's still seven months to go in the season so I'm not going to rest on my laurels.
"It only takes a double and a treble for someone else to catch up."


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Mexico laid a marker ahead of the Men's Olympic Football Tournament by winning the 2012 Toulon Tournament with an impressive 3-0 final victory over Turkey.
El Tri had seen off fellow London 2012 qualifiers Belarus and Morocco in the group stage before twice coming from behind to eliminate the Netherlands in their semi-final on Wednesday.
Their form continued during the final too, with Candido Ramirez opening the scoring midway through the first half and second-half strikes from Hiram Mier and Alan Pulido sealing a maiden Toulon triumph for Mexico.
It was a deserved reward for the CONCACAF outfit, for whom Marco Fabian top scored with seven goals at the 40th edition of the youth tournament held annually in France.
Mexico have been drawn in Group B for the Olympic Football Tournament and will battle Gabon, Korea Republic and Switzerland for a place in the quarter-finals.


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Please use Coral Cache [nyud.net] to reduce the load on the original.
I have mirrored the PDF here too: http://www.tghost.co.uk/JamesHamilton_AmazonOpenHouse20110607.pdf [tghost.co.uk]
"Every day Amazon Web Services adds enough new capacity to support all of Amazon.com's global infrastructure through the company's first 5 years, when it was a $2.76 billion annual revenue enterprise,"
What good is that when their network design is so flawed that a single human error can bring the whole service down for a week?
Amazon Web Services? No, thanks, I prefer reliability.
presentation said average is $1450 per server which is an entry level 1U. why not just buy fewer larger servers to share the workload? it would probably save on power costs?
I'd bet that buying the cheaper, yet still powerful computers is probably more cost effective considering the rate that these machines burn out under their kinds of load. Why spend so much money on a machine that will be broken, when you can just buy multiple cheap ones instead? Then, when one burns out, you're still running at a higher capacity even with the negative of higher power draw.
They didn't say if it's per a real or virtual server methinks, and I don't know if the assumption that they pay whatever anyone else would be paying holds water either. I'm sure they can get a lot more "server" for $1.5k than me or you would.
Looking at a 3-5 years TCO, and power costs where these data centers are located, power costs are noise in the equation.
Taking advantage of commodity pricing in the lower tiers is where the savings is at. Example, single socket systems are a lot cheaper on the procs and mainboards than dual sockets. Quad socket processors are significantly more expensive per proc..
At $0.10 per KwH, a 400W server is $350/year to power. Quad socket processors (Intel I7) can be as high as $4500 each!
Don't forget to factor in PUE into the power costs. An average datacenter has a 1.5x multiplier for power. Over 3 years a 400W machine will cost about $1500 to power.
Your points are exactly why these large data centers are locating in areas with access to cheap power. I used $0.10 as an example, however, that is extremely HIGH when factoring in the deals that large data centers strike with regional power providers that are giving cheap access to hydro power. This is the exact reason folks are not putting large data centers in Europe and the Bay Area. Power has to be cheap for the economics to work out.
Also, read the papers published by Google and Facebook. These guys ar
They pay the per 1,000's price (or close to it), which is not list price. These numbers are published. This is the quantity in which they purchase the processors, so it makes sense. The number you can't see is the negotiated power deals.
The price for a quad processor capable system is still 4x to 10x what a single socket processor costs.
Larger servers are prohibitively more expensive than el cheapo low-end servers, but fail at effectively the same rate.
As for power costs, no, not necessarily - unless your large consolidation boxes are underpowered. Most of the 4U boxes I've dealt with have massive power requirements.
I would disagree at the same rate figure.
What you pay for with the bigger servers is redundancy. The higher end servers that Oracle and IBM offer cost more, but they engineer for reliability, not absolute cheapness of price as in the commodity x86 market. Yes, you can improve uptime by adding redundancy on upper layers up to and including the backend app.
On one end, you have FB's solution where reliability isn't as much as issue as deploying fast. The top layer backend app handles the redundancy. On the
Well, they did say that "Every day Amazon Web Services adds enough new capacity to support all of Amazon.com's global infrastructure through the company's first 5 years". They wouldn't be doing that if it wasn't taking off.
Keep in mind that "cloud computing" is a really vague term that is used to describe all sorts of different technologies and platforms. It's still really immature, in terms of best practices and that sort of thing. There are still a lot of people throwing around the "cloud will solve all o
It hasn't just taken off, it has already made a sonic boom that has rattled eardrums of anyone in virtually every IT shop worldwide.
Every company out there hears that the mystical Cloud can solve all computing problems, has no security issues, etc. Reality hits when the realization comes into play that choosing a cloud provider means a permanent relationship -- it is virtually impossible to change providers due to each having different APIs. The fact that one will have to pay for a data center somewhere a
it's not a reduction in costs as in a reduction in up front cash required. in finance class in college we learned that a fast growing company can easily go bankrupt due to the fact that cash comes in months after the revenue is recognized but expenses like salary and bills have to be paid out on time.
in this case small companies can pay a little at at a time to amazon and grow rather than spend a fortune on infrastructure
As people have said, it already has taken off. Personally, I use AWS for much humbler reasons than most. I use it for hosting my personal domain(s) -- web, DNS, SVN, etc. I used to just have a linux server in my basement do it all, but then you have a $500 machine to maintain, a static IP to provision, possible TOS violations with your ISP, poor upload speeds, etc. For a few dollars a month I can host everything I used to at home on a virtual linux server with redundant storage attached and excellent ba
Mainframes never worked.
It's just another swing back to what was originally promised out of the 90s "client/server computing" buzzword.
"Thin clients", and keep the data and processing power on the centralized servers.
The "new" part about this "cloud" stuff is that instead of needing to ask for your own "timeslices" on a big shared computer, they created a way to stuff your own virtualized OS on the thing, and made the "big server" out of a bunch of little ones.
Nothing really all that new here. The main
Is that they are, IMHO, extremely hypocritical in how they conduct themselves.
On the one hand, they put themselves forward as this oh so "wholesome" family environment, while doing absolutely NOTHING to stop their "Pro" sellers from listing the most vulgar items you would care to search for.
These pages are also listed with the helpful "Sell yours here!" but if you actually set up an account and attempt to sell said items yourself, you run the definite risk of having your account terminated by what might as
System checkpoint complete.


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COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The gas light started blinking with about 11 minutes left in the second half.
By that time Maryland was milking Boston College for the kinds of shots it wanted.
Logan Aronhalt got free for a 3-pointer, the shot he specifically transferred from Albany to College Park to take.
Shaquille Cleare, used mostly for muscle around the rim, was running the floor for layups.
For BC, the wildly deep 3-pointers that Lonnie Jackson hit earlier in the game from the "Gary Williams Court" logo were no longer going down, and instead Maryland's Jake Layman was knocking down corner threes.
The Terrapins were on a 12-1 run, the kind that decides games, and BC coach Steve Donahue knew his team was too gassed to do anything about it.
"I thought we looked tired at that point," Donahue said. "I thought we guarded up until that point on defense fairly well. But during that stretch, they did a very good job, they got shots, they made them and unfortunately I just thought we lost our intensity at that point."
The Eagles were never quite out of it, but relying by and large on six players in a belligerent environment in front of 13,941 fans at the Comcast Center, they didn't have enough fuel to make a push.
They had to eat a 64-59 loss, their third straight overall and their second straight on the road, dropping them to 9-9 (1-4 in the ACC).
They've dropped games to NC State, Wake Forest, and Miami by a combined 9 points, and they had to watch another winnable game slip through their fingers.
"We've just got to find a way to finish the games," said Ryan Anderson (19 points, seven rebounds).
The Terrapins got a 16-point, 13-rebound effort from center Alex Len and another 15 points from Layman.
The Eagles did everything they could to spot Maryland an early lead.
Between Patrick Heckmann missing his first four 3-pointers, Danny Rubin missing his first two, and Jackson and Olivier Hanlan each clanging one, the Eagles misfired on their first eight shots from deep.
But they've leaned on the law of averages all season when it's come to long-range shooting.
"Even if we start off slow, we know somebody's going to start hitting threes and everybody's going to build from that momentum," said Hanlan. "You don't really get nervous, it's a long game."
The only way to explain how BC was still hanging around would be to point to the seven turnovers Maryland committed in the first 13 minutes.
But the Eagles heated up to end the half, sparked by Hanlan (18 points) and Jackson.
The touch wore off in the second half, though, and it couldn't have been more evident than when Jackson (9 points) tried another three from the "Gary Williams Court" logo late in the second half and came up empty.
Nothing broke their way late. Joe Rahon got fouled on a layup attempt with a little more than four minutes left, but watched the ball rim out. Then he missed the free throws.
With a chance to cut it to 56-54 Anderson went to work in the post, but got called for a travel. A few possessions later, Hanlan went to the rack hard for a layup that would have made it a 2-point game, but it rolled off the iron and he watched the Terps' Dez Wells race the other way for a fast-break layup that put Maryland up, 58-52.
"It's not like Maryland didn't deserve to win and we deserved to win," Donahue said. "We didn't play good enough to beat them on the road. It's just little things."
In the end, it seemed like Mark Turgeon had an army of fresh legs to call on. Nine players scored from the floor the Terps. Aside from Len, no one played more than 28 minutes.
Hanlan was on the floor for all but two minutes for the Eagles. Anderson and Rahon played all but three. Jackson clocked 34.
"We don't play as many guys as other teams in the ACC,'' said Anderson. "We've got to be on the same accord when we're out there on the court."Julian Benbow can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Artist: Kyle Barnette
Title: "Elcipse"
Medium: Mixed-Medium - Photographic Collage
Size: 60" x 60" x 2"
Year Installed: 1998
Venue: Emergency Operations Center
*Please contact Meredith Clements to arrange a viewing of this work.
A well planned conceptual painting illustrates the orbital position of each planet; thus the interaction of gravity and celestial phenomenon effecting each planet to create its own unique weather pattern. This painting greets the users of the Center when they enter the office. Viewing is by appointment only.
"This painting deals with the abstraction of worlds and ideas. The long range view of the intersection of the solar system with clouds, represents the long range vision exercised by the Emergency Management Division. Our solar system has been described as ecliptical and this idea is illustrated by the placement of the Emergency Management seal which causes an eclipse of the painting just as the planets themselves create eclipses at different times. Likewise, the viewer will also eclipse some of the planets when standing in front of the painting. Spherical and elliptical elements are placed in such a way that when standing near the painting the average viewer would be on the third orbit which is the Earth."


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Some advice for when Willie Nelson slides off his sneakers personalized with the word "Texas" on them: Don't mess with him.
The country music icon who turns 81 this week received his fifth-degree black belt Monday in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul. He cinched the personalized belt around a black robe at an Austin studio.
Nelson didn't show off his chops but Grand Master Sam Um assured a packed room, including fellow Texan Lance Armstrong, that the "Red Headed Stranger" could hold his own against anyone.
Nelson's birthday is Wednesday — though he's claimed before that the date is really April 29, a day earlier.
He credits two decades of martial arts for keeping him physically and mentally fit.


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Coach Randy Edsall had said during training camp that he wanted to combine the "five best guys" on the offensive line, regardless of how they may have ranked on the depth chart entering training camp.
Maryland's starters on the line demonstrate that, indeed, Edsall wasn't afraid to shake
things up.
When the new depth chart was released today -- five days before the season opener against
Florida International -- redshirt freshman Michael Dunn and redshirt sophomore Ryan Doyle had moved into starter's spots at guard and tackle, respectively. Andrew Zeller and Nick Klemm
are no longer starters. Klemm has had an injury issue.
Dunn is from Bethesda's Whitman High School.
Tackle Mike Madaras, guard De'Onte Arnett and center Sal Conaboy are the other starters on
the line.
Edsall had noted the changes last week. The depth chart made them more formal, although coaches can always shift things around as they see fit.
Other depth chart notes:
** Redshirt freshman Kenneth Goins Jr. (Gilman) is listed as the fullback starter. Presumptive
starter Tyler Cierski, who has been out with a calf injury, does not appear on the depth chart.
** Wide receiver Deon Long has had back issues, but the transfer is listed as a starter along with Stefon Diggs and Nigel King.
** Brad Craddock has a strong leg and a year of experience. The place kicker won the
starting job despite struggling with consistency at times during camp.
** Sean Davis beat out A.J. Hendy for the safety position opposite Anthony Nixon.
** Still no announced decision on the starting running back (Brandon Ross or Albert Reid) or the backup quarterback to C.J. Brown (Caleb Rowe or Ricardo Young). The proverbial game-time decision?


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The Institute communicates its scientific and educational information in a number of ways. One major outlet is peer-reviewed publications and reports. Cary Institute staff regularly publish in the best-rated journals in their respective fields.
Export 4 results:Sort by: [ Author] Title Type Year
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Nitrogen retention in urban lawns and forests", Ecol. Appl., vol. 18, p. 1615-1626, 2008., "
Accumulation of Carbon and Nitrogen in Residential Soils with Different Land-Use Histories", Ecosystems, vol. 14, p. 287-297, 2011., "
Denitrification in suburban lawn soils", J. Environ. Qual., 2011., "
Nitrate production and availability in residential soils", Ecol. Appl., vol. 21, p. 2357-2366, 2011., "


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Orchestra passes 'Wozzeck' opera test
Updated 8:20 am, Monday, March 4, 2013
The Houston Symphony's performance of Alban Berg's opera "Wozzeck" on Friday inevitably left a great deal to the imagination.
There were no sets, only a table and chair and a few benches to give the cast something to work with. Nor were there costumes in the true sense of the word. Simple clothes suggested the characters' personas, from the tortured title character's grim black pants and shirt to the heartless doctor's gleaming white smock.
The cast, playing out the action on the stage's front section, focused on the action's broadest strokes and skipped some of the sidelights. So it was really up to the orchestra, situated onstage behind the singers, to tell the story as it's so vividly embodied in Berg's score. And the orchestra, led by Hans Graf, was up to it.
There was potent tone-painting all over: the giggling woodwinds mocking Wozzeck's loony captain in the opening; the roar that arose from the orchestra's depths when Wozzeck, out in a field, hallucinated about what was going on in the earth; the sweet, singing strings that accompanied Marie, Wozzeck's unfaithful girlfriend, when she sought solace in the Bible; the swagger that captured the pomposity of the military drum major who stole Marie; the groundswell of melody that emerged from the orchestra as an elegy for Wozzeck after his jealousy and remorse did him in.
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Of course, part of the reason such things jumped out so powerfully was that the orchestra, rather than being down in the pit, was onstage aiming directly at the audience. Especially considering the heft that the orchestra put into Berg's outbursts, that meant that the singers sometimes got drowned out.
As Wozzeck, Roman Trekel - tall, slim, gaunt - was exactly cut out to look the part of a man who's described as moving through the streets like an open switchblade. His stooped, harried posture made him appear even more beset by his troubles. But despite the danger that his dark, somber voice could deliver, he was the cast member most often left behind by the orchestra. Even when he wailed "Murder!," the orchestra came in and swamped him.
Low voices often have trouble cutting through; higher ones have an easier time. Anne Schwanewilms, as Marie, certainly demonstrated that. Her bright, clear sound had a purity that helped make Marie - who repents of her sins in one of the story's most powerful scenes - even more sympathetic. She ranged easily from tenderness to laser-beam brilliance, and I never noticed the orchestra overcoming her.
The characters who surround Wozzeck and Marie didn't always come across as vividly, because their action was minimized. When Wozzeck had his face-off with the drum major who stole Marie, the roughing-up Wozzeck suffers at the drum major's hands was left out. But Gordon Gietz sang with spirit, and the orchestra's punch symbolized what was supposed to be happening.
Nathan Berg's cold resonance played up the inhumanity of the doctor, who savors people's ailments rather than trying to cure them. Robert McPherson's hale-and-hearty singing enabled Wozzeck's fellow soldier Andres to offer some relief from the story's rush of agitation. Marc Molomot sang the captain's music with a wildness - not surprisingly, given how high it is - that redoubled the opera's mockery of him. But it was really the orchestra that drove everything home.


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"Oh DF is doing great and my job is going great too". Then ask questions of him to change the subject. Many elderly are easily distracted and redirected. Sit down and make an actual list of questions that you can ask him to change the subject, it will make things easier for you on the spur of the moment to have this handy.
There are no "magic words." (Did you see art's great post on that?)Can you fix it so that you stop caring about Grandpa's opinion on this? You love him, sure, but it's completely NOT necessary for him to agree with you. He can have an opinion different from yours--that's fine. You and your fiance don't need to follow his opinion. ...
This is a little OT but your fiancée IS in the market to apply for jobs now. I work for a global company and we started hiring summer grads in November. In the next month, decisions will be made about December grads. Okay so there's more of the unsolicited advice you want to avoid. I'm in a similar position to you where I often "need" to explain myself to my generous grandfather. It's gotten better since I gave him a great grandchild so maybe try that?
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1978 Jaguar XJS, XJR-3. Photo by Tim Scott for RM Auctions.
From the 1960s into the 1980s, Bob Tullius's Group 44 racing fielded some of the best-prepared and most visually appealing cars to run in the IMSA GTO, IMSA GTP and SCCA Trans-Am series. Though Group 44 fielded cars as diverse as the Dodge Dart and the Triumph TR8, it's perhaps most closely associated with Jaguar, the manufacturer that would bring the team success in the 1970s and again in the 1980s. At this year's Monterey auctions, no less than three significant Group 44 Jaguar race cars will come up for sale, all of them vintage race-ready.
The earliest Group 44 car to be sold is the 1978 Jaguar XJS, XJR-3, which Bob Tullius and Brian Fuerstenau campaigned during the 1978 SCCA Trans-Am season. Based on the lessons learned from running a 1977 Jaguar XJS (XJR-2) the previous year, Group 44 began with an acid-dipped body to shave as much weight as possible from the new car. Brian Fuerstenau and crew chief Lawton Foushee (nicknamed "Lanky") then built up XJR-3 to be as competitive as possible, fitting it with a 5.3-liter Jaguar V-12 fed by six Weber carburetors instead of the fuel injection found on production cars. Output in racing trim was said to be in the neighborhood of 500 horsepower.
In its first race, Bob Tullius drove XJR-3 to an unremarkable ninth place finish at Sears Point. Improvements to the car delivered podium finishes in subsequent outings, and by the middle of the 1978 SCCA Trans-Am season, the XJR-3 had proven itself as the car to beat. Seven class wins helped Tullius clinch the 1978 Driver's Championship (his second in two years) and gave Jaguar the 1978 Manufacturer's Championship. At the conclusion of the Trans-Am season, Tullius ran the car in IMSA's final race of the 1978 season, the Camel GT 250-Mile Challenge at Daytona. Despite running as high as third, a rare mechanical issue (uncommon, thanks to Group 44's thorough preparation) relegated Tullius to a ninth-place finish.
XJR-3's 5.3-liter V-12 engine. Photo by Tim Scott for RM Auctions.
Following its impressive debut season, XJR-3 was retired as Group 44 turned its attention to the Triumph TR8 (until 1981, that is). The car remained in Tullius's possession until 2007, when it was acquired by its current owner. Seeing its potential as a vintage racer, the new owner shipped the car to England's CKL Developments for a thorough mechanical restoration, including a complete rebuild of its 5.3-liter V-12. Though updated beneath its skin, no cosmetic work was reportedly performed on the car, and it appears today as it did under Bob Tullius's ownership. As offered by RM Auctions, the car includes an FIA Historic Technical Passport and a FIVA Passport, as well as its original SCCA log book, spares and assorted trophies.
From 1979 through the start of the 1981 season, Group 44 campaigned the Triumph TR8 instead of the Jaguar XJS. Triumph's departure from the U.S. market left the team in need of a car (and a manufacturer to partner with), so its attention once again turned to the Jaguar XJS, and development of the XJR-4 was begun ahead of the 1981 SCCA Trans-Am and IMSA GTO seasons.
1981 Jaguar XJR-4. Photo courtesy Russo and Steele.
Featuring a tube-frame chassis wrapped with a steel and aluminum body, the XJR-4 was powered by a Jaguar V-12 based on the 5.3-liter engine used in production XJS models. In racing trim, the overhead-camshaft engine produced nearly 600 horsepower, enough to give the team three Trans-Am wins and one second-place finish against the highly competitive Chevrolet Corvette. In IMSA competition, the XJR-4 became the "World's Fastest Jaguar" after posting a lap speed of 194.46 MPH at the 1982 running of the 24 Hours of Daytona.
The XJR-4 that Russo and Steele will offer for sale in Monterey represents the only one constructed by Group 44 for the 1981 season, and the car's success in Trans-Am competition certainly played a role in convincing Jaguar to return to international sports car competition in the mid-1980s with the XJR-5. The car is certified to run in numerous vintage racing series, including HSR, SVRA and VARAC, and comes complete with both logbooks and setup sheets from its time in the Group 44 stable.
It's easy to argue that the last Group 44 Jaguar racer coming up for sale is even more historically significant, as the XJR-5 ultimately paved the way for Jaguar's return to Le Mans. From the beginning, the XJR-5 was designed to meet competition rules in both the IMSA GTP class and the FIA's World Endurance Manufacturer's Championship. Designed by Lee Dykstra and built by Fabcar, the car featured an aluminum tub and a lightweight Kevlar body, while power came from the race-proven Jaguar V-12. Early XJR-5s, like chassis 001, which Mecum will offer for sale in Monterey, relied on carburetors (six dual-throat Weber 48s, to be precise) instead of fuel injection, producing over 600 horsepower in race trim.
Bob Tullius's XJR-5, chassis 001. Photo by David Newhardt for Mecum Auctions.
On the car's very first outing at Road America in August of 1982, drivers Bob Tullius and Bill Adam won the GTP class and finished third overall. The next outing, Road America, would see the car badly damaged in a practice crash, though chassis 001 would return to competition in the 1983 season. Mecum claims that chassis 001 scored a win at Road Atlanta with Bob Tullius and Bill Adam at the wheel, but evidence points to chassis 004, not 001, being campaigned at Road Atlanta in April of 1983. With Bob Tullius driving solo, chassis 001 did rack up a second place finish at the 1983 Monterey Triple Crown, ending the car's competitive career on a positive note. The car's demonstrated potential led to the construction of additional XJR-5 prototype models, including Group 44 cars that would run at Le Mans in 1984 and 1985, marking Jaguar's official return to the Circuit de la Sarthe after retiring from racing in the 1950s. Sadly, victory at Le Mans escaped Group 44, and in 1985 Jaguar turned to Tom Walkinshaw Racing to develop a car (the XJR-6) for World Sportscar Championship competition.
Purchased by its current owner directly from Group 44, XJR-5 chassis 001 was restored by Jim Busby, the man behind the restoration of XJR-010. The car's current engine (believed to be a 6.0-liter V-12, not the 5.3-liter V-12 the car was originally raced with) was rebuilt by Ed Pink, who then certified its 625hp output on the dyno. Billed as "incredibly easy to drive" by vintage racer Rick Knoop, the ex-Bob Tullius Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5 represents a significant milestone in Jaguar's motorsport history.
Bill Adam, the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee who spent time behind the wheel of both the XJR-4 and XJR-5, remembers both fondly, but admits to a special affinity for the XJR-5, his first GTP car. Adam called the XJR-5, "a delight to race, with good brakes and very predictable handling," qualifying his statement with, "for the day." As if that weren't enough of an endorsement, the former sports car racing star turned broadcaster called the song of the XJR-5's 5.3-liter V-12, "the best sound ever."
RM's Monterey sale will take place August 16-17 at the Portola Hotel & Spa and Monterey Conference Center; for more information, visit RMAuctions.com. Russo and Steele's Monterey auction will take place August 15-17 on the Monterey waterfront; for more information, visit RussoandSteele.com. Mecum's Monterey sale will take place August 15-17 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa; for more information, visit Mecum.com.
Update 8/24: The 1978 Jaguar XJS, XJR-3 sold at the RM auction for $154,000; the 1981 Jaguar XJR-4 failed to meet the reserve price and was not sold at the Russo and Steele auction; and the 1982 Jaguar XJR-5 GTP racer bid to $475,000 but failed to meet the reserve price at the Mecum sale.
My friend just posted a short video he produced about the ex-Group 44 Jaguars at The Mitty 2012. Check out the "Mag Jag" later in the video.
I was a track worker (Emergency Services) at Summit Point, WV, in the mid seventies. Group 44, and a driver named Paul Newman, were a special treat when they came to our little track in the middle of a cornfield.
used to love watching Bob Tullius in the Jaguar racing Al Holbert in the Porsche back in the 80's
Bob always enjoyed you and the wave and owning and racing you G-44 TR-4. Left it white and left small #44 in the upper corner of your National Win #1 . You walked up behind the TR at Summit Point in a race that I won there and complimented me and I said thanks but I felt like I had a anchor behind me and you replied that was because you were smooth and that is how you win races ! I always treasured that comment form you and I still have some of the tapped interviews I did with you as a photojournalist. I like you also miss Brian. I hate to see you let the "Cats" but I am more than sure they will be owned by some worthy people and enjoyed by many. Salute my friend. John H. Sheally II
I was away from the internet for a few days. So naturally I had to go through my unread Hemmings and BaT e-mails. Being a stalwart Lime Rock fan for 35+ years one of the highlights was seeing the progression of Tullius Group 44 race cars. Always pristine, usually in front and unforgettable eye candy. My favorite is still his TR6, but they are all beautifully crafted.
The one question I have is, there are 4 comments about one of the premier US race teams and 20+ about an origami Toyota with cladding that must have been outsourced to Pontiac to design and glue on. I guess if one stands far enough away and squints, it is a cool looking car. I am happy for the folks who enjoy their ownership and mean no disrespect, but beautiful the MR2 is not.
got great pics of group 44 at LRP from the 1970's.
I would like to know what body kit they have on the XJS, im building one of my own
I know a guy who worked on the Group 44 racing team. He said that the body kit was totally custom fiberglas. the original Group 44 had a less aggressive body kit. then they went with wider tires and had to go to this rendition. He is currently working on a body kit for the mass market. I have an XJS and plan on doing some fender flares, but in metal, and not anywhere as aggressive as these.
I to am looking for a supplier for the flared fenders. do you have a contact for them?
i have awesome GROUP 44 TR^ pics.
I like to see the group 44 pictures, I work for Mr Bob. My email firstname.lastname@example.com
[…] ready for vintage competition. It last crossed the block at a Mecum sale in Monterey in 2013, where bidding reached $475,000 but failed to meet the car's reserve. This time, at Bonham's Quail Lodge sale, the Jaguar went home with its new owner for […]
It says that Bob drove a TR 8. I think not. It was a TR 6.
Rick, the article is about Group 44's efforts with Jaguar, which began in the late 1970s. Bob Tullius raced a number of Triumphs over his career, including TR3s, TR4s, TR6s, TR250s and TR8s. In case you still don't believe me, here are the TR8 race results from Racing Sports Cars: http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/archive/Bob-Tullius-USA.html?page=5
I'll take your word for it. I have a garage and worked on a couple of TR 8s. If they are the cars that I am thinking of, I cannot imagine why anyone would want anything to do with them.
It might actually have been a TR 250.
It was a TR-8, the V-8 version of the TR-7 that Triumph developed in an effort to modernize its image. The most accurate statement of its inherent ugliness was that even Group 44 couldn't make it look any better than a wedge of white cheddar cheese on wheels.


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Colorado Sunrise
Michelle Alton 11/8/2012 1:06:07 PMVery striking image. #1497231
Joan Classen 11/9/2012 12:03:17 PMThank you, Michelle!
This was the view in August from Mt. Evans, CO. The haze was caused by the wildfires in Colorado this past summer.
f/16@23mm, SS 1/20th sec. ISO 100. Flash. Tripod.
Exif: F Number: 16, Exposure Bias Value: -1.33, ExposureTime: 1/20 seconds, Flash: fired., ISO: 100, FocalLength: 23.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Uploaded on 11/8/2012 11:15:46 AM
Copyright for this gallery photo belongs solely to Joan Classen. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Contact photographer via gallery.
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They also pound on the door if we lock them out of the bedroom.
QuoteThey also pound on the door if we lock them out of the bedroom.Cats seem to really resent a closed door. If I close my bathroom door when doing business, my girl is waiting when I come out. If I leave the door open a crack while showering, she slithers in. I have to be careful if she's still there when I step out.And closets, oh my. Sometimes I open all closet doors for awhile and she's in heaven!
I'm lucky if some members of my menagerie don't try and join me in the shower. They don't respect water the way cats are supposed to...
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By Kristen Noel
Special to American Forces Press Service
Dec. 12, 2008 - More emphasis on "holistic development" of rural Afghanistan is needed to weaken the enemy, a recently redeployed officer told bloggers in a teleconference. Marine Corps Col. Jeffrey M. Haynes participated in the Defense Department's bloggers roundtable program Dec. 9 to share observations from his nine-month tour in Afghanistan, where he led the Regional Corps Advisory Command Central. He redeployed from Afghanistan a month ago, and is now serving in Okinawa, Japan.
Haynes pointed to rural populations as a source of strength for the insurgency in Afghanistan. "Sometimes I think we're a little bit too focused on the urban areas," he said, "but this is a rural ... insurgency."
The majority of his observations centered on a recommendation for a holistic approach -- addressing security, governance, information and economic growth -- to developing rural areas so insurgents can be rooted out.
"We need to synergize resources for a permanent transformation of the environment to permanently isolate the insurgent from the population," Haynes explained.
Under the mentorship of the Regional Corps Advisory Command Central, Haynes said, the Afghan National Army 201st Corps began implementing such an approach in the rural Tagab valley of Afghanistan's Kapisa province during his deployment.
"We chose Tagab valley in Kapisa province to start this transformation process," he said. "If we could transform, strategically, our well-picked valleys, I think we could start to transform the environment and turn this fight around."
Haynes offered nine other observations from his deployment, which included:
-- Good leadership contributes more to the Afghan National Army's ability to excel in the counterinsurgency fight than equipment and supplies.
-- The ANA should conduct more independent operations because they intuitively understand counterinsurgency and excel when they own the problem.
-- Regional advisory commands should mentor the ANA to develop and execute campaigns that transform rural areas and win the population to defeat the rural insurgency.
-- A clearly articulated plan to transfer battlespace to the ANA is needed, because they are ready to assume ownership in some areas.
-- The ANA needs to be given access to counterinsurgency enablers, such as various ministries and U.S. Agency for International Development assistance, to better synchronize developmental resources with security operations.
-- Provincial reconstruction teams should migrate under the control of the ANA, along with battlespace.
-- The coalition must enable the population to be part of the solution for achieving a sustainable level of prosperity and security for them to be motivated to fight for it.
-- An expeditionary forward-operating base concept is key for allowing the ANA to influence the rural insurgency.
-- Over-partnering between coalition and ANA forces can lead to a "needy" Afghan Army.
(Kristen Noel works for the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)
Friday, December 12, 2008
Rural Development Will Weaken Afghan Insurgency, Colonel Says
Posted by Raymond Foster at 2:14 PM
Labels: army, leadership, marine corps
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product details
$20 PlayStation Network Card US
Product Details:$20 Playstation Network Pre paid code
Delivery:Emailed to your email address
Instructions:For details on how to use this product Click here
- review
Manufacturers Description System in place that allows users to report another player who has broken the Xbox Live Terms of Use System for Parental control in place, the 'Family Setting' limits children's exposure and giving parents peace of mind. A common way of buying games now is to buy online and download it. This is becoming extremely popular for PC with applications favour over going to a shop and buying the game. It usually avoids need for licence keys and compatability issues and means that if you are lazy (like me!) you can still sit on your comfortable seat and not have to move to get your hands on new releases. Same now applies for consoles like the Sony Playstation 3. Downloading content has become increasingly popular. You need two things for it. One is a fast internet connection which essentially every household with someone over the age of 10 has!. Another thing is a credit card, which isn't at everyone's disposal and here's where the problem lies.
Thankfully, Sony have sorted this out with Playstation Network Cards (PSN). Introduced in the UK in 2009, these cards are basically just online wallets. You purchase a card and use it just like you'd use any gift voucher. £20 card will get you £20 worth of credit which can be used on the Playstation Network to download various software. You can top up with more credit whenever you like from a vendor, which will probably be sprouting up in most game shops around the country. These can be used by children ages 6 and up. The content varies widely of what you can download. Some examples would be games, demos, map packs, expansion packs and other content that would not be sold in a shop, such as classic Playatation 1 titles. PSN cards will also work on PSP.
Purchasing is simple. When you buy content on the stores, it's saved in a download list. This copy of the game is now yours can be installed on up to 5 different Playstation 3?s. There is a downside however. It's worth noting that you can only purchase on the store relevant to the country where you bought the card. For example, if you buy a card in the UK, you can only download games from the UK store. You won't be able to download from an American store and vice versa. This isn't a problem if you are staying in the same place but it's worth remembering for people doing a bit of travelling.
Happily, the content isn't limited to being strictly game related. The Playstation Store houses movies, add ons for PSP, shows, TV series and even digital comics. The store actually makes the most out of the console as a multimedia centre. This makes it an ideal gift, especially if it's coming up to Christmas and you're a bit old and out of touch and you "haven't got a bloody clue what those kids want on their gamestation machines!" Just stick a PSN card in the envelope and let them do the hard work instead.
Where do I get them?
You can buy PSN cards from us at www.Electronicfirst.net
At the moment PlayStation cards are available in £20 and £50 denominations for the UK and $10, $20 and $50 for the US How do I redeem them? After purchasing a card, follow these three simple steps:
1. Sign in to PlayStation Network on your PS3, your PSP or a PC using Media Go
2. Head to PlayStation Store and select the Redeems Codes icon at the top of the page
3. Enter the 12-digit code printed on the card and the funds will be added to your wallet instantly Are there separate cards for PlayStation 3 and PSP? No, You are free to spend your points for both PS3 and PSP. Do the cards have an expiry date? Your PSN card must be redeem within 12 months of purchasing from us. Once you have redeemed the card, the funds will remain in your PlayStation Network wallet until you decide to spent. for more information please visit www.uk.playstation.com
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There will be several new faces joining Palo Alto County offices following action by the Palo Alto County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Approvals for salaries for a new staff member in the County Auditor's Office and two new Sheriff's deputies were granted by the Supervisors during the weekly board meeting.
Palo Alto County Sheriff Lynn Schultes informed the board than testing for candidates for the two vacancies in the sheriff's office was conducted on Saturday, Jan. 5.
"We had a total of 14 applications for our positions and 11 individuals tested for those openings," Schultes explained. "Five of the applicants did not pass the written test. Of the six who did, five are certified peace officers in the State of Iowa and would not have to attend the academy."
After the initial testing, the six individuals were interviewed by the members of the Palo Alto County Civil Service Commission, who then certified a list of candidates to Schultes, who then conducted interviews with the candidates.
"As of January 14, I made conditional offers of employment to Seth Nelson and Ben Morey," Schultes told the board.
Nelson is a native of Vail, IA, and a graduate of the Iowa Lakes Community College Criminal Justice program. Since 2003, he has been a police officer for the City of Emmetsburg, and is fully certified as a peace officer in the State of Iowa.
Morey is an Emmetsburg native and received a Bachelors' degree from the University of Northern Iowa in Criminal Justice. He is a member of the Palo Alto County Sheriff's Reserves, and has most recently served as a patrol officer for the Northwood Police Department. He is also fully certified as a peace officer in the State of Iowa.
"We don't have to send either of these men to the academy, which will be a great savings to our budget," Schultes noted. "I would request you authorize their hiring at the salary of $45,357.90 yearly."
Schultes continued, "We are so thankful to bring these two on board starting Feb. 1. They are both enthusiastic young men who will do a very good job for the citizens of Palo Alto County."
Palo Alto County Auditor Carmen Moser informed the board of the hiring to fill a vacancy in her office.
"I have hired Amber Brownell for the position in the Auditor's Office," Moser explained. "We had a total of 38 applications for the position created by the retirement of Duane Sandberg. I held six interviews and then had three final interviews. Amber graduated from Iowa Lakes in the Office Specialist program."
Brownell will start at a salary of $32,500, which will rise to $35,000 on July 1, and then to $36,000 on July 1, 2014 until reaching the current standard office deputy salary of $37,752 in Feb. of 2015, according to Moser.
"When we have vacancies for county jobs, we always seem to have plenty of applicants," Supervisor Keith Wirtz said to Moser "How many of the 38 applicants for this job were really qualified for it?"
"Realistically, about 12, and I cut that down to five," Moser replied.
"How did you do that?" Supervisor Ed Noonan asked.
"I used their resumes` and applications and then evaluated their qualifications, based on their resumes`," Moser replied.
The Supervisors gave unanimous approval to all three hirings and the respective salaries.
In other business, the board was briefed on plans by the Secondary Road Department to purchase two new gravel/snowplow trucks, one in the current fiscal year and the second at the start of the new fiscal year. County Engineer Joel Fantz explained that by bidding the two trucks at the same time, better pricing could be expected, rather than individually.
"These gravel-plowing trucks are very expensive anymore, but they are a necessity for snow plowing," Fantz explained. "For graveling our roads, we have purchased the four used semi-tractors and four belly-dump trailers for $37,000 each for the tractors and $35,000 each for the trailers, which has proven to be more economical."
According to the engineer, the semis can haul almost double the gravel in a trip as a regular dump truck, using the same amount of fuel.
"The semis do save a lot of wear and tear on the plow trucks," Fantz noted. "And, the last two trucks we bought were in 2007 and have 182,000 miles on them."
Fantz noted that the Environmental Protection Agency had introduced new standards of particulate emissions for diesel engines that have made new trucks less efficient, fuel-wise, for more money.
In a telephone conference call with Kossuth County regarding Joint Drainage District One Lateral M, the boards voted to obtain bids for two options; re-routing a tile line or construction of a grass waterway to address a drainage issue. The bid letting was set for 9:35 a.m. on Tuesday, March 5, via a telephone conference call.


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I know we are 26 games above .500. We are in 1st place. We have also feasted on some bad teams...which we should.
What concerns me is our run production against good and just plain OK starting pitching. If we make the playoffs,(we will know how good we are against the Phillies and Cards) we will face good if not great starting pitching every game.
This is what should be done in my opinion, to help this line-up get more runners on base in more crucial times.
1) Hannigan should be moved up to bat 2nd. The dude is batting .284 with a 368 on base percentage. Do you know how hard this is batting 8th...with the pitcher hitting behind you? Absolutely no protection. What would be his average with Phillips hitting behind him or Votto when he returns? How many more RBI's would Phillips or Votto have? Stubbs in comparison, has a horrible .295 OBP with 116 STRIKEOUTS.. Hannigan has only 30 K's..Stubbs has 140 more AB's. If we make the playoff's...Hannigan should start every game...I don't remember Molina taking off any days last year in October.
2) Frazier has to play over Rolan. I'm a huge Scotty fan, but Frazier is an everyday player. Scotty plays on Sunday and pinch hits. Start Frazier. He has to be in the everyday lineup.
3) When Votto comes back, Paul has to stay on this team. Cairo has to be released. I'm assuming Dusty want's to keep the same number in the bullpen. Heisey has a lot more pop in his bat and can play all OF positions...you keep him too. I love ya Cairo but Paul has taken your spot.
Do you agree?


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MLB 2K12 cover athlete announced
2K Sports
Detroit Tigers Pitcher Justin Verlander has been named cover athlete for Major League Baseball 2K12.
Video game news headlines delivered to your inbox daily. Click here to subscribe.
|From 2K Sports:
"It's a dream come true to be on the cover of Major League Baseball 2K12," said Verlander, who pitched the second no-hitter of his career this season. "I've worked closely with 2K Sports on the MLB 2K series since 2007, and I couldn't be more excited to continue my relationship with such a great baseball game."
Only the thirteenth pitcher in baseball history to throw multiple no-hitters and the first Detroit Tiger to win 20 games since 1991, Verlander pitched the Tigers to an AL Central title and into the 2011 American League Championship Series. Verlander is favored to win the American League Cy Young Award for pitching excellence during the 2011 season, and could even become the first pitcher since 1992 to win the Most Valuable Player Award.
"Justin's amazing performance this season speaks for itself," added Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "Between his second career no-hitter and leading the league in virtually every pitching category, I can't think of anyone else but Justin Verlander to serve as the face of Major League Baseball 2K12."
Related Games:


text:
http://wnpv1440.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/985wnpv-logo-white-2018-lg-300x124.png 0 0 WNPV http://wnpv1440.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/985wnpv-logo-white-2018-lg-300x124.png WNPV2016-02-24 09:26:122016-02-25 09:26:56Schools Could Be Impacted By Unresolved State Budget
Schools Could Be Impacted By Unresolved State Budget
The failure of lawmakers and the Wolf Administration to pass a State budget for 2015-16 could soon impact some schools on Montgomery County.
County Commissioner Chair Josh Shapiro says it's a serious concern.
"Especially for schools that may not be able to make it to the end of the year here in Montgomery County and across the Commonwealth. I think you're going to begin to see school districts in March really struggle to stay open."


text:
- Ace of Winds
- Item Level 85
- Use: Combine the Ace through Eight of Winds to complete the set.
- Sell Price: 1 25
This item is created by scribes with [Darkmoon Card of Destruction]. It can be combined with the other seven Wind cards to create a [Hurricane Deck].
Patches and hotfixesEdit
Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Added.


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kind of shy, this is my first time showing off my butt. what do you think?
kind of shy, this is my first time showing off my butt. what do you think?
Absolutely Gorgeous! Would it be wrong of me to ask for more?
Sir Ron enjoyed the video!
The Three Musketeers... Bashful, Chrisglass, and Ronboy!
Nice!! Hot video and Hot ass!!
Hot ass and gorgeous smooth chest.
Hot vid - you've got a great butt and I loved the bit where you showed your hole. Lovely!
Nice ass!
nice vid..cute undies
MORE, Please!!
Keep smilin'!!
WISDOM is the Knowledge you've gained ... After you could have used it! _Me
SHY???????????? Can't wait to see you when you're feeling nice and wild!!!
Nice body, nice booty, NICE shakin'!
All I gotta say is, you are DEF my type. Check my profile for my pics. I'd love to skype with you, so send a message if you're with it. Trust me, we could have a lot of fun, cutie =)
Damn vids been removed!!!


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A body pulled from Belmont Harbor this morning has been identified as that of a man missing since early Saturday, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
The body was found about 30 feet from the gate of Belmont Harbor, in an area police divers had been searching for Philip Patnaude, 28. The medical examiner's office identified the body as that of Patnaude this afternoon, a spokesman said about 3 p.m.
After the body was positively indentified, investigators told family members that it appeared Patnaude died trying to get out of the water, said Patnaude's aunt, Barbara Moore.
"It was a tragic accident—it looked like he slipped in," Moore said.
Patnaude apparently took off his jacket--which was found Sunday in Belmont Harbor—as he struggled to get out of the water, Moore said. When he was found, he still had his wallet, identification, keys and iPhone on him, indicating there likely was no foul play, she said.
"He died trying to save himself," Moore said.
While relatives were not allowed to view the body at the scene, police told them they believed it was Patnaude based on his clothing and where he went missing, Moore said.
"They felt pretty sure based on what he was wearing,'' Moore said. "Divers felt like they found him in an area where they thought he was trying to get out.''
Moore complimented the police divers for their efforts. "We thank them so much. They each came up to us and talked to each family member after the body was found,'' Moore said. "They were awesome -- they were out there all night.''
The family is "relieved" that his body was finally found.
Patnaude disappeared early Saturday morning after telling friends he was headed to the lakefront. Family and friends said they found the Patnaude's jacket south of Belmont Avenue in the harbor on Sunday afternoon.
Patnaude was last seen about 2:30 a.m. Saturday in a cab near Wellington Avenue and Broadway, where he told a friend he was going to the lakefront, police said.
According to family members, Patnaude left the East Lakeview neighborhood where he and a large group of friends had been out drinking a little after 2 a.m. and took a cab to Belmont Harbor.
Many of the people who had been with Patnaude searched the lakefront in small groups Sunday afternoon. Loved ones posted updates using the hash tag (#findphilip) and set up a Facebook page to aid in the search.
Colette Patnaude, 23, of Downers Grove described her brother as a nature enthusiast and avid adventure seeker. "I think he wanted to go and look out at the water and take a walk," she said, describing her brother as outgoing and social.
Patnaude lived with his fiancée in the 3200 block of North Ashland Avenue in the Lakeview neighborhood on the North Side, graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in aeronautical engineering and works for Sargent & Lundy, which offers consulting services to the energy industry.
Arrangements were pending.
firstname.lastname@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com
Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking


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At the Pepsi Center? Stuck at work and wondering how locals are faring? Take part in our live chat and add your two cents on the state wrestling action.
- Share
Nick Jones, Dove Creek, pinned Kanyon Raper, Lyons, 4:37#copreps @BoCoPreps
Lamar's Michael Johnson defeated Holy Family's Vincent Casados 2-1 in the opening round of the 3A 113s bracket#copreps
Earlier local action so far included Lyons' Will Hickman getting pinned in 62 seconds by Nucla's Aaron Morgan at 106 pounds (2A).by Joshua Lindenstein 3:54 PM yesterday
Holy Family's Prieto twins meanwhile got off to hot starts at 120 and 126 pounds in 3A, pinning their first-round foes in a combined 2 minutes, 31 seconds.by Joshua Lindenstein 3:57 PM yesterday
Our Brad Cochi is covering Lyons and Holy Family in the 2A/3A action this afternoon. Elwood K. Shelton and Pat Rooney will be on the scene to cover our local 4A and 5A teams this evening. Lots to keep track of locally in 4A especially.by Joshua Lindenstein 4:01 PM yesterday
Holy Family's Julian Prieto pinned The Classical Academy's Nathaniel Johnston in 1:19 to advance to the 3A 120s quarterfinals #copreps
Holy Family's Joseph Prieto pinned Gunnison's Zack O'Dell in 1:12 to advance to the 3A 126s quarterfinals #copreps@BoCoPreps
Jon Hickman provides first win of weekend for Lyons at 170 pounds in 2Aby Joshua Lindenstein 5:15 PM yesterday
Lyons' Jon Hickman pinned Fowler's Chance Chambers in 1:42 in the first round of the 2A 170s bracket #copreps
Holy Family's Ben Lavoie got pinned in the first round by Lamar 195-pounder Tanner Crist in 1:29 #copreps @bocopreps
Lyons' David Plute was pinned in the first round by top-ranked Tony Darling from Paonia in 2:29 in the first round #copreps@bocopreps
A break now at Pepsi Center. 4A/5A first round session begins at 7:15 p.m. Check back then. We've got 26 local 4A qualifiers and six local 5A guys to keep tabs on.by Joshua Lindenstein 6:10 PM yesterday
How did Prierto twins do?by lln 6:10 PM yesterday
lin, Both Prieto twins won via pin. Total of about 2 and a half minutes.by Joshua Lindenstein 6:11 PM yesterday
Thank you!by lln 6:16 PM yesterday
No problem. Thanks for checking in.by Joshua Lindenstein 6:16 PM yesterday
Holy Family sitting 11th in 3A team race after Day 1.by Joshua Lindenstein 6:20 PM yesterday
4A/5A first round action set to begin in 10 minutes!by Joshua Lindenstein 7:03 PM yesterday
About ready to rock on the opening rounds of the 4A/5A state tourney. #copreps http://img.ly/sQQv
Erie's Anthony Nieto pinned in 1st round of 4A wrestling finals at 106 pounds #copreps
RT @BoCoPreps: Holy Family wrestlers go 3-2 on Day 1 of 3A state tournament: http://bit.ly/XDqNQP #copreps
Legacy's 106-lbs Deakin comes up with an 8-2 decision in his opening match. #copreps
STORY: Holy Family's Preto twins, Jansen notch day 1 wins at state #copreps @http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BDrMZ7QCEAE2fL5.jpg
RT @BoCoPreps: Holy Family wrestlers go 3-2 on Day 1 of 3A state tournament: http://bit.ly/XDqNQP #copreps
STORY: Holy Family's Prieto twins, Jansen notch day 1 wins at state http://www.bocopreps.com/winter-sports/wrestling/ci_22640697/wrestling-state-holy-family-prieto-jansen #copreps @BoCoPrepshttp://pbs.twimg.com/media/BDrNSi8CMAEzqgQ.jpg
STORY: Lyons sophomore Jon Hickman wins swiftly in Pepsi Center debut http://www.bocopreps.com/winter-sports/wrestling/ci_22640806/state-wrestling-jon-hickman-lyons #copreps @BoCoPrepshttp://pbs.twimg.com/media/BDrOey4CMAAfXUS.jpg
St.Vrain wins so far in 1st round of 4A state wrestling: Niwot's Clay Robinson (pin) Frederick's Jesse Ortiz, Mead's Sage Budd #copreps
Broomfield's Drew Romero on track for third state title in a row with 10-4 decision in first round.by Joshua Lindenstein 8:09 PM yesterday
Erie's Brandon Wetsch and Niwot's Joey Lambert both win at 132 pounds in 4Aby Joshua Lindenstein 8:20 PM yesterday
Erie's Brandon Wetsch records pin at 1:38 mark of 1st round 132-pound match in 4A state wrestling finals #copreps
Monarch's lone qualifier Preston McQuade fell in first round to Cherry Creek's Finesilver.by Joshua Lindenstein 8:21 PM yesterday
Broomfield's Phil Downing logs a 56-second pin at 145 pounds as quest for third straight state title begins.by Joshua Lindenstein 8:41 PM yesterday
Erie's William Schell, who our Brad Cochi profiled yesterdaywww.bocopreps.com fell in the first round tonight.by Joshua Lindenstein 8:44 PM yesterday
Mead's Kyle Couch needs only 35 seconds to post pin vs J.Beighey of Green Mtn in 1st round of 182-lb bracket at 4A wrestling finals #copreps
Erie's Ladd Bunker records pin in 57 seconds in 1st-rnd match of 160-pound bracket of 4A state finals #copreps
Recap of Frederick sophomore Jesse Ortiz's big Day 1 is live on our homepage now.by Joshua Lindenstein 9:56 PM yesterday
Frederick's lone rep at 4A state wrestling, Jesse Ortiz, turns in strong start to tourney: http://www.bocopreps.com/winter-sports/wrestling/ci_22642079/state-wrestling-frederick-ortiz #copreps @fredwrestling
Longmont suffers losses in 4 of 5 1st-round matches at 4A state finals #copreps


text:
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Brussels, 27 June 2011
Preparation of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Luxembourg, 28 June 2011
The Agriculture and Fisheries Council will meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday 28 June, under the presidency of Mr Sandor Fazekas, Hungarian Minister of Rural Development. Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki, Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli and Agriculture & Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Cioloş will represent the Commission at the meeting. The Fisheries points will be dealt with in the morning, followed by a press conference. In the afternoon, ministers will continue the meeting on the Agriculture points with a second press conference at the end of the meeting.
The fisheries-related items on the Council agenda are the Commission's Communication on the Consultation on Fishing Opportunities for 2012 as well as three points under Any Other Business.
Consultation on Fishing Opportunities for 2011
The Council will hold an exchange of views on the Commission's Communication on Fishing Opportunities for 2012, published on 25 May (IP/11/638). In parallel to the discussions at Council, a consultation of stakeholders and the public is running until 1 September on the Commission's website.
The Communication sets out how the Commission intends to act on the scientific advice it receives about the state of fish stocks when proposing catch limits and quotas for the next year fish stocks. The document outlines the state of the stocks, and highlights the Commission's continued commitment to long-term plans management and to fishing management in accordance with scientific advice.
The Communication also includes, for stocks for which no long-term plans have yet been proposed, the intention to base TAC (Total Allowable Catches) proposals on a new form of scientific advice developed by ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) in 2010. The aim is to achieve the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2015, as agreed in World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.
Furthermore, the Communication indicates the Commission's intention to apply a 25% reduction in TAC when no or incomplete scientific advice is available.
Another new element introduced by the Communication is the intention to present two Commission proposals this year (splitting the current TAC and quotas proposal): one on internal stocks and another one on shared and international stocks. The first formal proposal will be submitted to Council in September, the second formal proposal in November. Commission proposals for the Baltic and the Black Sea will be submitted to Council in September and November, respectively.
Any other business
E-Coli outbreak
The Council will have a discussion on the follow-up of the E-Coli outbreak. Commissioner John Dalli will inform the Ministers on the health aspects and Commissioner Dacian Cioloş on the market implications of the E-Coli outbreak and the measures taken by the Commission.
Any other business
Side Bar


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Girl's Heart Regenerates With Artificial Assist 184
Socguy writes with news about a 15-year-old girl who has become the first Canadian to have an artificial heart removed after her own heart healed itself. "Doctors at the Stollery Children's hospital implanted the Berlin Heart, a portable mechanical device that keeps blood pumping in an ailing heart, so she could survive until a transplant became available. But over the next few months, Melissa's overall condition improved dramatically, and her heart muscle regained much of its strength. After 146 days on the Berlin Heart, Melissa underwent surgery to have the device removed."


text:
Book Review: JIRA 4 Essentials 33
|JIRA 4 Essentials: Track bugs, issues, and manage your software development projects with JIRA
|Patrick Li
|Peter Flynn
|A step-by-step tutorial and is packed with practical examples that will make learning JIRA easy.
Pricing is scaled by number of users in bands, and is for a perpetual license with a year's support. Although it is commercial software, Atlassian provides it free of charge to open source projects — one reason for its popularity in the movement — and a limited set of non-profit organization types. Academic and developer licenses are also available at a reduced rate.
JIRA 4 Essentials: Track bugs, issues, and manage your software development projects with JIRA is aimed at the administrator who needs a comprehensive description, explanation, and reference to JIRA that goes beyond the online documentation. Patrick Li has also provided a book that the end user can use and learn from (I administer systems, but not JIRA; but I use it for several applications).
So why this book? JIRA's online documentation is very good, and fine for reference and searching, but the book explains the features in much more detail, with more background on factors like why you might want to use one particular feature rather than another. Patrick Li has done what few authors of the "About..." style of book do: produce a readable yet detailed explanation of how to use an application, without simply reproducing each menu in turn.
The book is divided into ten chapters, approaching the topic from the project management and issue management point of view. This approach means that newcomers learns why they might want to do something rather than just how.
Chapter 1 covers getting started: a description of the JIRA architecture (I did say this was for admins and developers), followed by installation options and the installation process itself (Java, MySQL, and JIRA). The examples and screenshots here are for Microsoft Windows users of the standalone version (which comes bundled with Tomcat): experienced admins on Unix-based systems are assumed to know how to install Tomcat and deploy an application. Very sensibly it includes a section on installing HTTPS, something neglected by many web-based systems.
Chapters 2 and 3 are on project management and issue management as dealt with in JIRA. They take an outward-in approach, describing the overall management facilities (project administration and configuration) before going on to the finer detail of components, issues, priorities, and resolutions. This can be a little frustrating for the admin taking over a running system, and needing to perform individual tasks; or for the user wanting to add an issue rather than configure an entire project, but the four-level table of contents provides enough overview to let you find the right section. The running example used for illustration is a project support desk, and the many screenshots are detailed and accurate. Chapter 3 ("Issue Management") in particular is very detailed: this is one area where most users will spend most of their time, so it merits this approach.
Chapters 4 and 5 deal with field and screen management respectively. The fields available in any interface are always an annoyance to the end user: the one you need is never there, and there are dozens that you can't imaging ever wanting. Getting the fields and their configuration right is critical to the success of any installation, and Li rightly spends a lot of the chapter on customizing the field set. A similar approach pays off in Chapter 5 on screen management, although it would have been useful to cover some of the concepts of usability such as field order logic, data entry types, and flow logic between screens, which tend to be neglected by busy admins, only to raise issues later with the interface to the issue management software itself.
Chapter 6 is on workflows and business processes: how to adapt the concepts of Chapters 4 and 5 to the business logic of your organization. This is possibly one of the most important configurations, as it forms the interface with the rest of the company, but it is the only chapter I would take issue with, as the writing seems to be less coherent and convincing than elsewhere, as if it was done in haste. It's perfectly accurate, so far as I can tell, and the screenshots are carefully detailed; it's just slightly less easy to read, particularly the central part on transitions and conditions. But this is a small defect overall.
Chapter 7 is on setting up email notification and SMTP. As with most collaborative systems, email can be used both as an input and an output, and there is a set of templates that can be edited to reflect the way your company wants users to be notified. (I live in hope that some company will say "Thanks for submitting ticket XYZ. I'm sorry we screwed up on that one: we're fixing it and we'll let you know." which would be much more honest than the usual marketing claptrap.) Mail submission is an often-neglected way of communicating, and it's good to see it get decent attention.
I mentioned earlier that it was good to see HTTPS being covered: the same is true of Chapter 8 ("Securing your JIRA") which covers the benefits and shortfalls of signup, captchas, the permission hierarchy, and the roles of JIRA sysadmin and JIRA admin.
The final two chapters cover searching and general administration. Searching is one of the biggest bugbears in bug^H^H^Hissue submission: people have so many different ways of expressing what they feel to be the matter that no amount of urging will make them write the same topic when they submit the same bug. Dev teams have to deal with repeated duplicate submissions which would be avoided if search engines would only let people find earlier reports of the same thing, but this magic continues to elude us. JIRA introduced JQL in an attempt to help: this is based on a field=value query syntax which is fine for token list fields, but not much use for freetext searches, where a thesaurus would be more useful. However, Li explains the problem and the solutions available, and also covers setting up stored filters, and creating dashboards and reports. The last chapter (10) deals with customizing the general look and feel, colors, logos, date and time configs, and the use of plugins (the Google Docs Connector is illustrated).
Each chapter has a summary, but they are rather short. It would be more useful to see a whole page summarizing the material covered, rather than just a few lines: this would then provide a valuable resource when using the book for training. Perhaps a re-issue of the book for v.5 could address this.
There are some minor cultural/linguistic problems with the use of "a software" and "softwares" as nouns, and the occasional appearance of "manual" for "manually", which indicates that some tighter copy-editing might be appropriate for a future edition. There is a good two-level index, but it is unclear from simple capitalization what the semantics of entries are (a reserved word or phrase? a key value? a prompt or GUI widget?). A minor annoyance is the otherwise very good Table of Contents, which appears to have been done by a PowerPoint user, with the font-size continually shrinking and the margin indenting as the depth increases (for the page numbers as well as the entries!): better control of the design is needed.
Overall, I found the book both readable and useful. It is well illustrated with very clear screenshots, using tooltip-yellow callouts to explain fields and prompts. The writing style is light and illustrative, explaining why an action is needed before how to do it.
On the subject of training, the book would probably be useful to trainers for the same of its detailed procedures (go here, click this, type that, click there). Li does state that JIRA can be used for managing issues outside the software issue-tracking field, which implies that it could be used by non-IT people at some stage, and training would certainly be needed. The HelpDesk application example, which recurs throughout, will probably be a useful point of reference for the majority of readers. If the future plans for JIRA are to extend its reach outside the IT issue-tracking field, it might be useful to develop a non-IT application example for another edition.
You can purchase JIRA 4 Essentials from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.


text: New York City has always been the focal point of the music industry -- not to mention its overall cultural, financial, and media influence worldwide. With Manhattan becoming more and more cost-prohibitive, musicians have gradually begun to migrate across the bridge to Brooklyn. A borough that was once perceived as dangerous and remote has indisputably become the most creative and successful music scene of the past decade.