text:
The second annual Ben Wheeler Book Fair on Nov. 30 brings 28 Texas authors – most of them from the Upper East Side of Texas – together to talk about and sell their books during the semi-annual 279 Artisans Trail celebration in Ben Wheeler and Edom.
"The book fair is a showcase for independent voices who might get lost in something like the recent Texas Book Festival in Austin, which attracted 230 authors and 40,000 visitors," said organizer Tom Geddie. "Our smaller event is the perfect venue for readers and aspiring writers to talk face to face with our authors. When I first began putting this together, I was pleasantly surprised with both the number and the quality of writers in the region. Last year's fair was satisfying and fun, and I expect even more this year."
The 28 authors come from 21 cities: Ben Wheeler (4), Bonham, Bryan, Bullard, Dallas, Edgewood, Frisco, Garden Ridge, Gilmer, Jacksonville, Lindale (2), Longview, Mineola, Mount Pleasant, Murchison, San Antonio, Texarkana, Troup, Tyler (3), Wills Point, and one Texan coming all the way home from Diessenhofen, Switzerland. Their works span genres including children's books, Christian fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, historical fiction, horror, humor, mystery, poetry, romance, and young adult fiction. Nonfiction authors include biography, children's advocacy, memoir, music and culture, photography, and self help. A representative of Black Beauty Ranch will also be present to talk about and sell books about the nation's largest animal sanctuary.
Evelyn M. Byrne from Gilmer will bring three paranormal romantic suspense novels and an anthology that includes some of her work: Unknown Magic, Stolen Magic, Lost Magic, and the anthology Tis the Season. She brings good Irish fairies into the human realm in the same way many authors have brought out the vampires and werewolves. The Dublin native owns White Bird Publications and is active in the East Texas Writers Association, East Texas Writers Guild, North East Writers' Organization, and Romance Writers of America.
The chosen authors represent about half of the total number of authors who applied, helping assure the highest quality in a rapidly growing segment of the book world. Some of the authors attended last year's first book fair; some are new to the fair.
University presses publish several of the authors; others are self-published, which has become a popular trend in the book world. The number of authors publishing their own books has nearly tripled since 2006, growing 287%, according to an analysis of data from Bowker, the world's leading provider of bibliographic information to help publishers, booksellers, and libraries better serve their customers.
"Now, the best of the self-published books are as good as most of what is published by large, established companies," Geddie said. "The advantage large companies have is in marketing, so that readers will be exposed to and have an opportunity to buy those books. The Ben Wheeler Book Fair is one of the many small ways for independent voices to be heard."
The book fair will be in the restored Elwood Schoolhouse, 5475 FM 858 in downtown Ben Wheeler, sharing space with the Ben Wheeler Children's Library.
The 279 Artisans Trail events support local artists. Organizers expect a good walk-in crowd to enjoy the restaurants, music venues, galleries, and retail shops along with special events in both Ben Wheeler and Edom. One of our authors, Richard Dobson, who John Prine called one of America's best songwriters and who Nanci Griffith called the Hemingway of country music, will do a show at The Forge the night of the book fair. Across the street at Moore's Store, local favorite Wesley Pruitt and his band will do an eclectic blues/soul/Americana show.
Book fair sponsors are Ben Wheeler Development Company and County Line Magazine. For more information, go to the book fair's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ben-Wheeler-Book-Fair/519483784757345?ref=ts&fref=ts; also check out www.benwheelertx.com.
Complete authors list (100-word summaries):
Avon Acker from Greenville will bring two historical fiction novels and a murder mystery. The murder mystery is Vigilante Caretaker, set in 1951 Hopkins County. The other two are Rom and the Promised Land, which depicts challenges faced by black freedmen after the Civil War and what some did to break free and start a new life, and Colfax: When Freedom Died, based on the Colfax Massacre near Alexandria in Grants Parish, Louisiana, described as one of the most shameful events in American history. Acker is an avid researcher and demands historical and geographical accuracy in all his novels.
Barbra Bass from Wills Point will bring her children's book The Crocheted Santa, which asks the question, what do you get when you combine a young man, a Santa suit, and crochet work? The Crocheted Santa teaches, by weaving together family and tradition, the art of sharing with the whole town. She will also bring the crocheted Santa suit to display, along with the tiny wooden box shown in book.
John Borgstedt from Ben Wheeler will bring half a dozen books including I Love You Mom … Please Don't Break My Heart, which tells of surviving horrendous abuse. World's Largest Book Club named it a best book and the Houston Chronicle listed it among best Texas titles worth checking out. The book has also been made into a People's Choice Telly award-winning documentary. The Texas Youth Commission chose it as an educational tool for at-risk teens and 25,000 retail stores around the world picked it up in its first three months. It has been featured by NBC, ABC, and CBS.
Jay Brakefield from Bryan will bring the expanded, updated version of Deep Ellum: The Other Side of Dallas," written with Alan Govenar. The book strips away layers of myth to tell the real story of Deep Ellum, a cultural nexus that played a vital role in the careers of such seminal blues and jazz musicians as Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and Buster Smith and influenced the development of western swing. The book explores universal themes of race, culture, and creativity. Brakefield is a retired journalist who became fascinated with African-American music while growing up in Houston and continues to research and write about the subject.
Ine Burke from Edgewood will bring three East Texas photography books. At first, she had a simple plan to pair photographs taken in random places during random journeys of running random errands, random events, and of random subjects. The books became history lessons of a sort for the region, helping her learn what has shaped today's communities and to develop a deeper respect for the places and people. The Indonesian native was introduced to photography by her father and maternal grandfather before she went to civil engineering/construction management school and practiced it for 12 years in Indonesia and Singapore.
Evelyn M. Byrne from Gilmer will bring three paranormal romantic suspense novels and an anthology that includes some of her work: Unknown Magic, Stolen Magic, Lost Magic, and the anthology Tis the Season. She brings good Irish fairies into the human realm in the same way many authors have brought out the vampires and werewolves. The Dublin native owns White Bird Publications and is active in the East Texas Writers Association, East Texas Writers Guild, North East Writers' Organization, and Romance Writers of America.
April Nunn Coker from Lindale will bring her nonfiction/Christian humor book I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas: A Holiday Survival Guide which offers tips for saving money during the holiday season, and the romantic suspense novel Night Keeper, which tells the story of a young single mom and zookeeper who works the night shift at the local zoo and falls in love with a man a coworker set her up with, while at the same time dealing with strange happenings at the zoo. Coker recently retired from a 30-year career as a schoolteacher in Lindale, Mesquite, and Mabank.
Richard Dobson is returning to Texas from Switzerland with two memoirs. John Prine called Dobson one of the best American songwriters, and Nanci Griffith called him "the Hemingway of country music." The Tyler native spent time in the 1970s in the fertile Houston music scene with Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and others. Clark, Griffith, David Allan Coe, Lacy J. Dalton, Carlene Carter and Dave Edmunds, Billie Jo Spears and Del Reeves, and the Carter Family are among those who covered his songs. Dobson will do an acoustic show at The Forge after the book fair.
Bob Doerr from Garden Ridge will bring five mystery novels, all set in the Southwest where his main character, Jim West, tries to enjoy retirement but is thrust into one murder mystery after another. Doerr grew up in a military family, graduated from the Air Force Academy, and spent his career specializing in criminal investigations and counterintelligence, gaining insight to the worlds of crime, espionage, and terrorism. One of his books won the 2013 Eric Hoffer Award and two more were finalists. Two won silver medals for fiction/mystery from the Military Writers Society of America.
Ruth Drayer from Tyler is the author of Nicholas & Helena Roerich, The Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists & Peacemakers, the biography of a visionary Russian couple who sought to unite humanity through art and culture. The book, already translated into Italian and Spanish, is now being translated into Russian. It tells of two Russian visionaries who believed beauty could solve the world's problems and unify humanity. She is also author of Numerology, The Power in Numbers and is a visual artist and art instructor who is one of the principals in the Art of Peace Festival.
Ann Everett from Mount Pleasant will bring her humorous mystery books Laid Out and Candle Lit and You're Busting My Nuptials. The series – a third book is due in 2014 – is set in Brownsboro. The widowed, single-mother Tizzy Donovan is known as the local girl who sometimes talks to the dearly departed. She becomes a murder suspect, she's stood up at the altar, and she's got plenty of sassy comebacks. For years, Everett was a stand-up comedian. Creator of the White Trash Facelift, halter tops, and beer bling bracelets, she thinks Texans are some of the funniest people on earth.
Ann Fields from Dallas will bring her horror novel Fuller's Curse, which a woman looking into her family's history finds terrifying information about her family. She hopes to disprove the legend of the BlackHeart, but family members begin to, one by one, die horrible deaths. She turns to the one person who knows everything about the family. Does she have the courage to complete the saving act and thereby end the Fuller's curse? Fields has also published four romance novels (one was nominated for best multi-cultural romance by Romance Writers of America), a nonfiction book, and numerous magazine articles.
Book fair organizer Tom Geddie from Ben Wheeler will bring half a dozen books including a memoir, poetry, music criticism, short fiction, and what he calls a novel for the 21st century. The memoir is Reasons of My Own: Life after a Death Wish, self-examination of dealing with depression. He will also bring copies of Seasons of the Heart, a book of Patrick Ray's poetry that he edited posthumously with Ray's mother, Jean. Geddie writes for County Line Magazine and Dallas-based Buddy Magazine. He is also a photographer and creative writing teacher.
Barbara Renaud Gonzalez from San Antonio's first novel, Golondrina, Why Did You Leave Me?, was the first Chicana fiction published by University of Texas Press, 2009. She will bring this novel and The Boy Made of Lightning: Willie Velasquez, American Hero. the first children's interactive book on the life of voting rights champion Willie Velasquez. Gonzalez has a master's in social work from the University of Michigan and did post-graduate work at Harvard. She publishes journalism, poetry, essays, and creative non-fiction based on her belief that writing is a way of seeking justice.
Imaj will bring her surreal, coming-of-age novel Harlow. The Dallas-area resident is also a country singer, songwriter, novelist, visual artist, actress, and humanitarian who is touring the United States with her first album and performed this summer with LeAnn Rimes and Collin Raye. She is the daughter of Philip Michael Thomas who starred in the original TV series "Miami Vice." Her novel is set in 1937 England in the fictional countryside of Mortalis, where a bi-racial girl is confined to her father's castle in a labyrinth of secrets, surfaced by the hidden agenda of a global elite.
Jim Jarvis from Ben Wheeler will bring his memoir, Try to Miss the Bob Wire, about a young boy's adventures growing up. The veteran carpenter has written stories for four local newspapers and has been honored twice by the Texas Press Association and once by the Texas House of Representatives. He writes monthly for the Lakeview News in Chandler. His book is about the life and adventures of four adolescent brothers growing up in rural east Dallas County in the 1940s and 1950s.
Patricia La Vigne from Jacksonville will bring a young adult novel, Wind-Free, which tells the
story of a teen-aged girl, the foal she helps to rescue, and her association with the animal's owners during a three-year period when she helps train the young thoroughbred for the Kentucky Derby and other races. La Vigne has taught special-needs children in the Jacksonville school district for 26 years.
Jean Lauzier from Longview will bring mystery, fantasy, and romance novels and short story collections: Six Pack Of Murder: Mystery Short Story Collection, Dragons of Jade, Dark Descent, Where the Heart is: Romance Serial, and I Wish...
Melinda Richarz Lyons from Tyler plans to bring four books: a young readers' murder mystery set at the real historic antebellum Oaklands Mansion, a grief book written by a widow that covers issues not usually included in grief books, a fictional mystery/romance with a widow as the main character; and a humorous book about aging geared towards women. She is a longtime freelance writer and a songwriter whose work has been recorded by several Western artists. Her grief book, Crossing the Minefield, has been incorporated into bereavement programs in 20 states and won a Royal Palm Best Educational/Inspirational literary award.
Marvin S. Mayer from Tyler will bring three children's picture and chapter books: Sammy Squirrel and the Sunflower Seeds, Ferdinand Frog's Flight, and The Day X Ran Away. Sammy is trapped and kidnapped; alone and frightened, he promises to find his way back home. Ferdinand Frog wants to fly, and makes a deal with Eric Eagle. X, the 24th letter in the English alphabet, feels unimportant and runs away, then discovers how people have difficulty without him. Mayer began writing children's books after retiring from a career in banking, bank regulation, and financial management, and is an active volunteer.
J.L. Mbewe from Lindale will bring three fantasy books: The Clockwork Dragon Anthology, short stories about people facing demons locked in a clockwork dragon; Secrets Kept, a novel about a young woman, after her father's death, is tossed into a chaotic world where she must join forces with a half-elf widower to find her mother and free the plains people from a curse before the sorceress unleashes an ancient evil; and The Tales of Nalu Collection One, a companion novella of three short stories set years before the opening scene of Secrets Kept.
C.R. Myers from Bullard will bring half a dozen novels – from the 25 she's written – in the mystery/suspense, paranormal mystery, and children's genres and the non-fiction book How to Write a Serial Novel & Be Ready to Publish in Less Than 24 Hours. The novels she'll bring are The Black Ice Conspiracy, Shadows of Illusion, The Coming Darkness, The Red Rose Murders, Beware of the Nothings, and Victorious Vic. As a teacher and professional speaker, she designed and implemented her own creative writing course, and now works full-time as a free-lance journalist and novelist.
J.L. "Doc" Pendland from Bonham will bring two historical fictions. Warner Law is a fast-moving novel that follows the journey of one family after the Civil War. It's loaded with humor, mixed with their quest for love, gold and justice. The Wagons of Perro Loco is a collection of nine stories set on the American frontier, during the 19th century, filled with watermelon races, a horse named Bitch, a long ride on the famous Butterfield Stage Line, and the faithful great danes Boy and Girl. Much of the humor is readily supplied by friends and relatives from their ancestors' experiences.
Anne Redelfs from Texarkana will bring her self-help book The Awakening Storm. which she calls a must-read to understand why we think, feel, and behave as we do — and, most importantly, how we can make vital changes. The book follows the retired psychiatrist's urgent evacuation from New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approached, and examines how people psychologically "evacuate" to avoid trauma. Her experiences with levee disaster survivors reveals how severe abuse and neglect can overwhelm our developing psyches when we become stuck in the youngest developmental stage where we can be unaware, unreceptive, and unwilling to alter our ways.
Bobbie J. Shafer from Troup will bring five young adult/family-friendly historical fiction books: Loves Golden Dream, Legacy of Eagle Creek, Miracle at Sycamore Grove, Mark of the Dragonfly, and Quest of the Sorcerer's Staff. She has published more than 300 short stories in various magazines including Grit, Looking Back, Good Old Days, Venture Inward, Fate, Farm and Ranch Living, Texas Gardener, Florida Gardener, Small Farmers Magazine, Country, Country Woman, Country Living, Back Yard Living, Back Home, Country Extra, OutSmart, and more.
Robert L. Stevens from Ben Wheeler will bring Master Robert, a historical fiction about a man named Robert Stafford created a peculiar plantation society on Cumberland Island, Georgia, and became one of the wealthiest men in the United States at the end of the Civil War. His life and hardships are seen through the eyes of his two surrogate children. Stevens is professor of education at the University of Texas at Tyler. He has written five books and published 45 articles in professional journals. Master Robert is his first novel.
Melissa Walker from Mineola will bring her adult horror novel A Sense of Depravity, which she describes as a cross between Charles Bukowski's "real gritty bluntness" and Stephen King's horror stories. This one's not for the kids. Walker spent years traveling with her archeologist father, moved to a foster home in Kansas where she was raised on a pig farm, and has lived in Austin, Reno, Lake Charles, Modesto, and now Mineola where she runs Uniques & Antiques, has a photography business, performs in theatrical events, gardens, and travels as often as life allows.
The book fair will also include a special guest from Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison. Offerings will include Ranch of Dreams, which tells the sanctuary's history and stories of the animals that have lived there. The Cat Who Came for Christmas is the story of a stray cat finding his home with well known author and animal welfare pioneer Cleveland Amory.


text:
The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) has awarded a grant of $1,843 to the Phelps County Historical Society in support of the project, "Family History Preservation Workshop."
The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) has awarded a grant of $1,843 to the Phelps County Historical Society in support of the project, "Family History Preservation Workshop."
The MHC is the only statewide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages.
It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971.
The objective of the half-day workshop is to provide attendees with information on techniques, materials and equipment they can use to preserve important family heirlooms.
Part of the workshop will deal with the preservation of photographs and documents.
A second element will deal with the long-term care of garments and textiles. The final portion of the workshop will deal with techniques that can be used in conducting oral history interviews of family or friends.
While the workshop is oriented to preserving family history, the information and techniques can also be used for those interested in capturing the history of civic organizations, social clubs or churches.
These activities often have photographs and documents that need preservation.
Although the workshop is sponsored by the Phelps County Historical Society, everyone is welcome to attend. There will be a $15 admission fee to cover the cost of printing handouts and other literature.
The workshop is tentatively scheduled for early May and will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Phelps County Courthouse
For more information, interested individuals or organizations can contact the Phelps Country Historical Society at P.O. Box 1861, Rolla, MO 65402 or call the office at 573-364 5977.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Attorney Kelly Mathis says he simply gave legal advice to a veterans' charity that ran a string of Internet cafes offering customers a chance to play sweepstakes while checking email and social media.
Prosecutors say the Internet cafes were a barely disguised, $290 million slot machine operation and Mathis was its mastermind. Jury selection for his trial starts Monday.
He faces over 200 counts of money laundering, lottery, possessing a slot machine and keeping a gambling house.
The prosecution says Mathis and the operators of Allied Veterans of the World were running a mostly bogus charity that got its money from dozens of casinos masquerading as Internet cafes throughout Florida. Prosecutors contend Mathis decided where to open the cafes and who would run them. They also say Allied Veterans spent only 2 percent of its proceeds on charitable works.
The arrest of Mathis and 56 other people in March prompted the Florida Legislature to ban the storefront Internet cafes and led to the resignation of former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who had worked as a consultant for Allied Veterans. She has denied wrongdoing and wasn't charged.
Mathis, a past president of the Jacksonville Bar Association, contends a successful prosecution will send a chilling effect to lawyers around the state who give legal advice to business clients.
"You can't charge a lawyer in a conspiracy unless he has done more than practice the law," said Mitch Stone, Mathis' attorney.
"Absolutely, I will be found not guilty," said Mathis, who will be the first of the co-defendants to go on trial. "I committed no crime. There is no evidence I committed any crime."
Before Florida specifically banned the cafes earlier this year, a customer would purchase a prepaid card to use a computer for a specific amount of time, purportedly to browse the Internet.
While at the computer, the customers would be offered the chance to play games with spinning wheels similar to slot machines. The game had names such as "Captain Cash," "Lucky Shamrocks" and "Money Bunny." Winners would get money added onto their prepaid card, which they could either use for more computer time or take back to a cashier and cash out. Each of the Internet cafes had rows of computers and a big sign that read: "This is not a gaming establishment."
Mathis and Stone say the sweepstakes offered at Allied Veterans' Internet cafes were no different than McDonald's offering its customers scratch-off tickets or Coca-Cola offering prizes inside its caps. They said the games weren't slot machines because the winners were predetermined, not randomly chosen by the computers.
"All of these games were designed to get people to buy more products," Stone said.
Stone said county and city attorneys agreed that the cafes were lawful. The state Department of Agriculture regulated them and some of Florida's top politicians, including state Attorney General Pam Bondi, either solicited or received money from their owners. Dozens of state lawmakers, the two major state political parties, local officials and law enforcement officials did the same.
But prosecutors say the cafes were a charade — almost every customer was there to gamble and everyone knew it. They say the operators of Allied Veterans paid themselves millions, spending it on boats, beachfront condos and Maseratis, Ferraris and Porsches. Authorities said Mathis made about $6 million from the operation, and they said he was the registered agent for 112 businesses related to their investigation.
After the arrests, Bondi called the alleged scam "callous" and "despicable" and said it "insults every American who ever wore a military uniform."
Allied Veterans' leader and former chief each have entered no contest pleas. Jerry Bass pleaded no contest to two counts of running an illegal lottery and won't face any prison time. Johnny Duncan pleaded no contest to one count of money laundering and four counts of maintaining an illegal lottery. He will be sentenced to probation at a later date. Both may testify for prosecutors and defense attorneys during Mathis' trial, which is expected to last two months.
The judge in the case rejected attorneys' request to have Bondi answer questions in a deposition about her solicitation of a $25,000 campaign contribution on behalf of the Republican Party of Florida from one of the companies whose owners are charged with crimes.
Mathis said recently that his arrest has devastated his law practice, as well as his life. Before his arrest, he was the senior partner at a thriving law firm with seven attorneys. Now, all he has left is a legal assistant, he said.
"My office is decimated. Everyone else has gone," Mathis said. "A day doesn't go by that I don't feel I have these false charges hanging over my head."
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


text:
One of Our New Hotels :
Four Points by Sheraton Wuchuan, Jizhao Bay - Opening January 10, 2019
We are experiencing a problem. Please try again later.
Filter by :
Hotel Brand
SPG Category
Hotel Type & Amenities
2 hotels
Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera Hotel
Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera HotelŠetalište dr. F. Tuđmana 17 - 20207SrebrenoMlini, Croatia (385)(20) 601 500
SPG Category 3
Le Méridien Lav, Split
Le Méridien Lav, SplitGrljevacka, 2APodstranaSplit, Croatia (385)(21) 500500
SPG Category 4
- Road
- Aerial
The information detailed on these pages is subject to change. No representation is made and no warranty given as to the validity of the content, including road conditions, route usability and expeditiousness. The user assumes all risk of use. Microsoft, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Inc., and their suppliers assume no responsibility for any loss or delay resulting from such use.


text:
Brownies or Girl Scouts can earn a chance to feel like FETCH! contestants (characters in a popular PBS TV show) and along the way earn a FETCH! Patch (for the back of their vest)!
The Children's Museum in Easton is offering the special patch program.
The hands-on FETCH! activities extend the science and engineering learning introduced during the WGBH/PBS show. Girl Scouts will tackle challenges, solve problems, and devise creative solutions while doing hands-on activities that require easy-to-find materials.
the Museum's talented educators are experienced in all the FETCH! activities and make earning the FETCH! Patch a breeze for you and your Troop.
For more info on how to book a Patch program or schedule a possible Troop sleepover plus Patch program call 508-230-3789.
Museum's FETCH! Lab link: http://www.charityadvantage.com/ChildrensmuseumEaston/FETCHLab.asp
Museum Direct Link: http://www.charityadvantage.com/ChildrensmuseumEaston/scoutprograms.asp
About the Museum: http://www.charityadvantage.com/ChildrensmuseumEaston/PlanYourVisit.asp


text:
Hello everyone!
In order to rollout some new forum layout changes we are going to be bringing the forums down this Thursday morning starting at 12.30 AM CST. We estimate they will only be down for an hour.
During this time we will be archiving some of the older, unused forum categories and merging others. This is to promote a leaner forum experience for everyone!


text:
Story highlights
- The "Esimit Europa 2" yacht was founded to promote unity among EU nations
- Skipper Jochen Schümann is a three time German Olympic champion and two times America's Cup winner
- The project is backed by the Presidents of the European Parliament and the European Commission
- The "supermaxi" yacht is 30 meters long and has a top speed of over 38 knots
With austerity measures exposing sharp ideological rifts between European nations, and a shadow now hanging over the future of the single currency, it's safe to say that relations on the continent have seen better days. With this in mind, a new force has emerged to resuscitate the old ideal of a truly unified Europe.
But it's no political party, lobby group or think tank. The latest vehicle flying the flag for EU solidarity (quite literally in this case) is a 30 meter-long, 44 meter-high yacht.
According to its founders, the "Esimit Europa 2" aims to promote pan-European cooperation and a sense of common identity through the unifying power of sport.
"This boat represents the best of Europe in terms of sailing, and it shows that people from different countries can set their differences aside to compete and win as a team. When you are not working together you can't win, and without winning there is no future," said the project's Slovenian co-founder Igor Simcic.
"Esimit Europa 2" is the only yacht in the world that has been granted the right to fly the blue and gold European flag. It has also won the backing of two of Europe's most powerful men -- the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.
Effusive in his support of the yacht, Shulz recently spoke about the importance of such projects:
"A yacht, navigated by a truly European crew, sailing under the European flag, is a strong symbol of European unity and cooperation. Europe needs such symbols, which have power to unite and inspire," he said last month in a specially recorded video message, laden with suitably apt sailing metaphors:
"Today, more than ever, Europeans are all in the same boat and only together we can ride out of current storm and reach safe harbor. The "Esimit Europa" project is a bright example of the optimism that better times are ahead," he said.
If only Europe's economic prospects really were aligned with the fortune's of the "Esimit Europa 2". Its highly experienced 18-man pan-European crew, led by two-time America's Cup winner and three-time German Olympic champion Jochen Schumann, has so far claimed 11 consecutive wins -- breaking two course records in their 2010 rookie season alone.
More from Mainsail: Solo adventurer says she's relieved to be back on land
But working with so many nationalities on one boat (the crew is composed of representatives from six EU countries) poses evident communication problems.
"To become successful we had to agree on a common language," says skipper Schumann. "We chose English for obvious reasons, but as people don't have that many words in their personal English dictionary we've ended up with a very efficient and 'to-the-point' language, which works in our favor during races."
Schumann, who grew up in East Berlin, believes his experiences -- both before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall -- has made him appreciate the vision of a united Europe.
"I am proud to be German, but I am also proud to be European. Being the skipper of this boat is very much like my personal vision for Europe. Of course there are always going to be some Europeans that feel more nationalistic than others -- even in a team like ours -- but as long as we share the same goal and work together we can win," he said.
However, at the moment there are few instances of teams competing under the European flag, with the rare notable exception of the Ryder Cup - the biennial golf competition between Europe and America.
According to the University of Michigan's professor Andrei Markovits, who has written extensively on the connections between sports and politics, the reason there are so few pan-European sports teams reflects the problem of individual emotional engagement.
"In sports where the emotional stakes are very high, such as football or ice hockey, it's unlikely that these (continental) types of teams will appear because people care too much about their clubs and national teams," he said.
"In sports where the emotional stakes are low it could work -- but then it will just remain cute and nice, simply because it doesn't matter to people. It's always easy to unite in intellect but not as easy in terms of your guts," he added.
The greater issue, Markovits argues, is that sport is by its very nature combative. "In sports you will always have a winner and a loser. It's a zero-sum game. So you have to ask yourself whom is a pan-national team competing against?"
Watch related: The secret world of the America's Cup
As things stand, the "Esimit Europea 2" is only scheduled to compete against boats represented in the big European regattas. But if its visionary founder Igor Simcic has anything to do with it, there will soon be a new breed of regatta.
"I think in the future you might see continents or regions race against each other, such as Europe against the U.S. and China," he said.
But with national anti-European sentiment spreading, and the Euro on the brink of a possible collapse, can a yacht really be the a symbol which unifies a continent?
Schümann, at least, believes it can.
"For centuries sailing has been a way of connecting countries and continents," he said. "So I think 'Esimit Europa 2' is a very fitting symbol of what we are trying to achieve -- which is to show the world that we are always stronger if we work together."


text:
This January, millions of Americans will ring in the New Year with the security and peace-of-mind that has eluded them for decades: They will finally have quality health insurance.
For close to 140,000 of our fellow citizens here in Alaska, the opportunity to obtain new, quality coverage will only be a click, call, or conversation away with the six-month open enrollment period for the new Health Insurance Marketplace open as of Oct. 1.
Meanwhile, the 85 percent of Americans who currently have coverage will continue to benefit from new rights and legal protections. Here in Alaska, there are 164,000 people with private insurance who are now guaranteed access to free preventive services like cholesterol tests, mammograms and blood pressure screenings. Nine-thousand young people between the ages of 19 and 25 are now able to stay on their parents' plan. Furthermore, over 2,000 of seniors in this state are better able to afford their prescription drugs, as we close the Medicare donut hole.
It is all thanks to the new health care law: The Affordable Care Act.
We have a number of resources available to help you and your family learn about your new options under the new law.
Our website – HealthCare.gov — is a great place to start. We think you will agree that it is not your typical government website. When you visit, you will find that information is clear, user-friendly and interactive. There is even an online web chat feature — just like if you are shopping for shoes or clothing online. And there are strong security safeguards to protect people's personal information from fraud.
If you'd prefer to speak with someone over the phone, we have staff standing by to answer your questions 24/7 — and in 150 languages — at our call center: 1-800-318-2596.
There are also people in your community who have been trained and certified to help you in-person at places like community health centers and pharmacies.
Coverage under the Marketplace begins as soon as January 1. But in order to access your new and better options, you have to enroll.
Make no mistake: The plans offered on the Marketplace will be actual, honest-to-goodness health insurance. By law, they must cover a set of essential benefits, including visits to your doctor, prescription medications, hospital stays and preventive care like cancer and cholesterol screenings. Furthermore, your insurance company will be prohibited — by law — from denying you coverage just because you have a pre-existing condition like high blood pressure or diabetes.
More good news: Being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition. Insurance companies are forbidden by law from discriminating against a consumer or potential consumer just because she happens to be female.
Living without health insurance can feel like you are in a non-stop game of Russian Roulette.
Even if you think that you are too healthy to need coverage, we are all just an accident or illness away from a devastating medical bill. We never know when we will need to make that unexpected trip to the Emergency Room; when we will get into a car accident, when we will get a sudden diagnosis or when we will simply need a new prescription.
Without insurance, we have to pay for all these things out of our own pockets.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, it has never been more easy, or more affordable, to obtain coverage.
January 1 will be a new day for millions of Americans. Better options for better health are only a click, call or conversation away. But to get these better options, you have to enroll.


text:
This thread is going to cause another recession.
This thread is going to cause another recession.
with two m's, like "hammock."
Spelling corrected. Can't escape the grammar/spelling police. Tony
http://www.thehangoutplace.com/html/...ck%20chair.htm I've always thought this would be great with a laptop on top, or a wireless keybord mouse combo.
Its been almost a tradition for the better part of my life to visit Nags Head Hammocks everytime I venture out to the Island. Such a beautiful place. Anyways back to the subject. Here is a link to their webpage. Alot of the cottages I have stayed in over the years in Nags Head and Kitty Hawk area have hammocks and hammock chairs from Nags Head Hammocks. Its the traditional Netted Hammocks but its still a hammock. Surprisingly even though I have been lounging in hammocks the better part of my life, that just recently I found out you could use them as camping shelters..lol....Nags Head Hammocks
This might just be what your looking for.
otter, that is a thing of beauty!!
I was thinking of an ENO hammock chair that I sat in at a store once. Didn't want to get out of that chair.
Add a little laptop table to that 2x4 between your legs and it would be just perfect...
Live, Laugh, Love, if that doesn't work. Load, Aim and Fire, repeat as necessary...
Buy, Try, Learn, Repeat
Beautiful [o]tter. Any objections to me copying your chair?
Most of us end up poorer here but richer for being here. Olddog, Fulltime hammocker, 365 nights a year.


text:
EL BARRIO — Debbie Quinones has a message for anyone planning to compete Friday in the Coquito Masters competition.
"We're searching for the unicorn in a cup. It's a culinary adventure, an opportunity to honor the culture," Quinones said. "This is not eggnog and a shot of rum. If you think it is you will come in dead last."
They don't call Quinones, who founded the International Coquito Tasting Federation more than a decade ago, the "Contessa of Coquito" for nothing.
Now entering its second decade, the contest searches for the best coquito, a traditional Puerto Rican drink served during the Christmas season up until Three Kings Day.
Made with the global ingredients of coconuts, cinnamon, condensed milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves and rum, the drink has a consistency similar to that of eggnog but a culture all its own. The ingredients come from around the world but were meshed into one in Puerto Rico, Quinones said. The drink represents the African, Taino Indian and European ancestry of Puerto Ricans.
"This beverage represents a core, cultural sense of home. You don't have to be on the island but it's a taste of the island," Quinones said.
Other countries have similar drinks. In Guatemala it's called rompopo; Trinidad and Tobago call it punch de crème; and in England, it's known as posset.
Michelle Cruz, owner of East Harlem Cafe, hosted one of the qualifiers that produced last year's winner.
"It's a tradition, it's about family and it's more than just a drink," Cruz, who is Puerto Rican, said.
The idea for the contest was born when the family friend who made coquito for Quinones passed away. She invited a bunch of friends over for a party and told them to bring their best homemade coquito with them.
Soon, it turned into a competition.
Some recipes are closely guarded family secrets. There are secret ingredients that have been passed down for generations. Each one is different. Some people, for example, swear by using egg yolks in the recipe, while others don't.
Protecting that legacy is a job that Quinones, who works for the state Department of Health and attended Le Cordon Bleu, takes seriously.
"I have tasted amazing coquito and I've tasted really bad coquito. It's about helping people to experience the best coquito they can," Quinones said.
Cruz said she has such a respect for the drink that she doesn't even try to make it herself.
That reverence for the beverage and its origins doesn't mean Quinones is not open to experimentation, though. She has had chocolate, pistachio and even pomegranate-flavored coquito.
"The traditionalists don't even want to taste those," she said.
There's also dairy-free coquito and coquito that incorporates elements from other cultures.
"I just ask that the interpretation not go too far off the rails," Quinones said.
Cruz said last year's winner produced the perfect, classic coquito.
"It was creamy with a little bit of cinnamon and not a lot of alcohol," said Cruz, who enjoyed just reminiscing about the drink.
Now the title of best coquito in New York City is once again up for grabs. Those who attend the qualifiers will get to taste the coquito concoctions.
"Everyone is going to taste. Everyone is a judge. It's going to be mad, mad, mad," Quinones said.
There are plans to expand the competition's reach to places such as Florida and Hawaii, which has a large Puerto Rican population that migrated there in the 19th century to work the sugar cane and pineapple fields.
Since she started the competition a decade ago, Quinones sees coquito pushing its way into mainstream culture.
"There are Puerto Ricans and people who love Puerto Rican culture all over the world. My goal is to serve them all coquito," she said.
A qualifier for the Coquito Masters will be held Friday, Dec. 7 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Gran Piatto Doro, 1429 Fifth Ave. A second qualifier will be held Saturday, Dec. 8 at from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the SoHarlem Creative Outlet at the Mink Building, 1361 Amsterdam Avenue, Suite 340 at West 126th Street. From 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, located at 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street, will host the finals.


text:
LYONS, Colo. | By truck and helicopter, thousands of people stranded by floodwaters came down from the Colorado Rockies on Friday, two days after seemingly endless rain turned normally scenic rivers and creeks into coffee-colored rapids that wrecked scores of roads and wiped out neighborhoods.
LYONS, Colo. | By truck and helicopter, thousands of people stranded by floodwaters came down from the Colorado Rockies on Friday, two days after seemingly endless rain turned normally scenic rivers and creeks into coffee-colored rapids that wrecked scores of roads and wiped out neighborhoods.
Authorities aimed to evacuate 2,500 people from the isolated mountain community of Lyons by the end of the day, either by National Guard convoys or airlifts.
One of them, Mary Hemme, recalled hearing sirens going off in the middle of the night and her husband saying they needed to leave. They stepped outside their trailer and into rushing water that nearly reached their knees.
She got in her car and tried to drive away.
"But I only got so far, because the river was rushing at me, so I threw it in reverse as fast as I could," Hemme said. "I was so afraid that I was going to die, that water came so fast."
Others were less fortunate. The body of a woman who had been swept away was found Friday near Boulder, raising the death toll to four.
National Guard troops aided by a break in the weather started airlifting 295 residents from the small community of Jamestown, which has been cut off and without power or water for more than a day.
Dean Hollenbaugh, 79, decided to take one of the helicopters after officials warned electricity and water could be disrupted for weeks.
"Essentially, what they were threatening us with is 'if you stay here, you may be here for a month,' " Hollenbaugh said as he waited for his son to pick him up from the Boulder airport. "I felt I was OK. I mean I've camped in the mountains for a week at a time."
Airlifts were taking place to the east in Larimer County for people with special medical needs.
The relentless rush of water from higher ground turned towns into muddy swamps, and the rain returned Friday afternoon after a brief lull. In at least one community, pressure from the descending water caused sewer grates to erupt into huge black geysers.
Damage assessments were on hold, with many roads impassable and the rain expected to continue.
Most of the 90 miles of Interstate 25 from Denver to Cheyenne, Wyo., was closed Friday because of flooding from the St. Vrain, Poudre and Big Thompson rivers, transportation officials said.
Hundreds of people were forced to seek emergency shelter up and down Colorado's heavily populated Front Range, which has received more than 15 inches of rain this week, according to the National Weather Service.
That's about half the amount of precipitation that normally falls in the foothills near Boulder during an entire year.
Boulder County officials said 80 people were unaccounted for Friday. But, they noted, that doesn't necessarily mean they're missing.
"It means we haven't heard back from them," county spokesman James Burrus said.
Two backpackers became stranded on Longs Peak, one of Colorado's highest mountains, after the weather turned. Suzanne Turell and Connie Yang of York, Maine, last sent a text message Thursday with their GPS coordinates, but their cellphones went dead, said Turell's mother, Barbara.
The pair hiked off the mountain themselves as the National Park Service was organizing a rescue effort. The park service closed Rocky Mountain National Park and was escorting visitors and residents of Estes Park on a trail over the Continental Divide.
In Lyons, residents took shelter on higher ground, including some at an elementary school, before convoys could push through the water and into the isolated town. The convoys carried 15 people at a time to buses beyond the roadblocks.
One person died when a structure in Jamestown collapsed. Another man drowned in floodwaters north of Boulder while trying to help the woman whose body was found Friday. To the south, Colorado Springs officers conducting flood patrols found the body of a 54-year-man in a creek.


text:
The following people were arrested on felony charges by law enforcement agencies in Davidson County, and, unless noted otherwise, were either placed in the Davidson County Detention Center or released from custody and are scheduled to appear in Lexington District Court on the date given:
• Michael Louis Casey Jr., 32, of 185 South Road, Thomasville, was charged with felony possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana up to one-half ounce, $1,000 secured bond, April 24, Thomasville.
• Johnny DeWayne Norris Jr., 23, of 102 Maymead St., was charged with possession of marijuana one-half ounce to one and one-half ounces, felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a schedule II controlled substance and felony possession of cocaine, $25,000 secured bond, March 27, Thomasville.
• Nicholas Lewis Neely, 25, of 128 Tancam Drive, was charged with felony alter/steal/destroy criminal evidence, $1,000 secured bond, March 25.
• Kyle Lewis Crabtree, 22, of 1206 E. Kivett Drive, High Point, was charged with felony breaking and entering, felony larceny after breaking and entering and assault on a female, $5,000 secured bond, March 19.
The following larcenies more than $1,000 were reported to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office and the Lexington Police Department:
• Miscellaneous jewelry items valued at $2,600 were reported stolen from a home on Eller Road between noon Tuesday and 5:55 p.m. Wednesday
• Three chain saws, motorcycle helmet, nail gun and impact wrench valued at $3,000 were reported stolen from a home on Fritts Drive near Thomasville between 5 p.m. Monday and 5 p.m. Wednesday.
• Miscellaneous metal valued at $2,500 was reported stolen from a residence on Jersey Church Road between 2 p.m. Tuesday and 9:58 a.m. Wednesday.


text:
Latest Gear Live Videos
- Subscribe:
- YouTube
- iTunes High Definition
- iTunes Standard Version
USB Cube Hub with On/Off Switch
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, USB,
Somebody finally decided to create a USB 2.0 Cube Hub that not only allows you to connect 4 devices, 2 of them can be turned off and on. What a great idea for people like us that only have two ports and one of them is solely dedicated to our mouse. At a size of 60 x 60 x 45mm and a weight of 127g, the hub works with Windows XP/Vista/200 and has a data transfer rate of up to 480Mbps. Available in 5 colors, pick one up for $12.00.
Read More | Brando
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.


text: This is Lyris. She is an orphaned, young princess who is watched over by several mannequins and spirits. The mannequins used to be people who either have passed away in the dungeon or have tried to rob her. The phantoms are nobles who had lived in the kingdom before her time. The ones she favors will be given names and some humanoid features returned to them. She is often sad because regardless of her "company" she is still lonely. One day, a few people had broken into her kingdom at night and kidnapped her, they dragged her to the dungeon and began taking turns brutally violating her, they then strung her up in her own dungeon and left her to rot. Not long after, the mannequins and spirits had hunted the people down and saw that they met a gruesome demise, her friend Rain had then entered the kingdom, found her, cleaned her up and comforted her. --- She wears a veil over her mouth because one person that broke into her kingdom had carved a Glasgow Smile into her face, leaving her with the terrible scars before being turned into a mannequin and left locked in his own cell for eternity. Her personality is easy to understand. She is softly spoken and polite, she is very shy and a bit naive. She often sneaks out of the kingdom to explore other places with her friend Rain, but the mannequins do not like it. The phantoms often argue with the mannequins that she should get out more and make more friends instead of being kept away so much. Some of her newest friends describe her as "Moe."


text:
See title, when using Glyph of Surging Mist, do you still need to be in los to your target in order for the heal to come through?
Just asking as I currently have troubles with interrupts and swaps. I can already heal from out of LOS using my serpents statue and channeling soothing mist on myself (statue automatically healing my partner), but soothing mist doesnt cut it.
I would check myself, but I'm currently at work and theorycrafting
[Monk] Glyph of Surging Mist - Need LOS?
Started by Sixdeers, Dec 04 2012 09:23 AM
3 replies to this topic
Posted 04 December 2012 - 09:23 AM
- 0
Posted 11 December 2012 - 06:50 AM
i dont think this glyph is working, tested it many times.
- 0
Posted 11 December 2012 - 08:14 AM
It is not working when you are channeling soothing, as it will then always cast on the target of soothing mist. It "should" work when casting surging by itself, which leads me to believe its supposed to be used in melee, where you get instant surgings with tiger palm. Still if it would ignore you having los to the target it could be good in some situations.
- 0
Posted 11 December 2012 - 09:44 AM
It does not ignore LoS. Would be real good glyph if it did.
- 0
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users


text:
Just about the time he was going to slow down a bit from a full-time pastoral role for a large Salvation Army program in New York, Maj. John Morrison, pastor/officer, got the call from headquarters in Detroit to continue his work part-time in the community of his retirement destination: Cheboygan.
Just about the time he was going to slow down a bit from a full-time pastoral role for a large Salvation Army program in New York, Maj. John Morrison, pastor/officer, got the call from headquarters in Detroit to continue his work part-time in the community of his retirement destination: Cheboygan, MI.
And so he did. He's been on board for four years. "This is not a job. It's a calling," he said.
Morrison and his wife, Maj. Juanita Morrison, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. In The Salvation Army, it is a requirement that a pastor/officer be married to a fellow pastor/officer.
"We do what we do because we feel we are blessed by God. It's not enough to just be. We have to ask 'Why am I here, what is my purpose, where am I going,'" said Morrison.
In reflecting on his pastoral duties, Morrison said he often reminds clients of the good news:
"God gives you absolute free will to live life the way you want." Then, he reminds them of the bad news: "God gives you absolute free will to live life the way you want."
Morrison said The Salvation Army is a Protestant branch of the Christian Church. Its doctrine is Bible- based and is similar to the Wesleyan, Nazarene and United Methodist churches.
The Mission of the organization reads: "The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination."
Its founder, William Booth, began his ministerial journey in 1852, leaving behind the conventional concept of church and pulpit by stepping into the streets to preach to the wayward, homeless and destitute masses in England.
Booth and his wife, Catherine, are considered the co-founders of The Salvation Army, according to a historical summary of the organization at salvationarmyusa.org.
William Booth became a renowned religious leader throughout London, attracting an "army" of followers dedicated to the fight.
In time, Booth converts became "soldiers of Christ" and were known as "Salvationists." Between 1881 and 1885, nearly 250,000 lives were transformed under the ministry of The Salvation Army. By 1886, the Army had gained ground in the United States, and a delegation of officers was given a warm welcome by President Grover Cleveland.
In Cheboygan, Morrison's duties for The Salvation Army include working with recovering drug and alcohol addicts in the Transition House Program. He conducts devotionals at both the men's and women's houses talking about spiritual-related themes. Residents sign up for Bible lessons, are tested on what they've learned and discuss their answers.
"Right now we are covering the 12 steps of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). How does the Bible reflect AA and how does AA reflect the Bible. AA says that you must turn your life and will over to God as I understand him. It's an individual journey," said Morrison. "My job is to remind them that once their physical, mental and emotional needs are met they still have spiritual needs. We have to take care of all of them. They are what makes us the unique human beings we are.
"We take them from where they are to where they want to go in a spiritual sense. Some may move forward or leave just as they came. We don't push," said Morrison of his work with recovering addicts.
"If somebody says 'I don't believe,' I say it's OK. I'm comfortable with that, but I may ask why. I need to hear their thoughts on why. We work very hard on not being judgmental. Addicts are judgmental enough. They either beat up on themselves as pond scum or they look to blame the judge, their parents, wife; anybody but themselves."
Morrison said drug abuse is "on the rise," especially prescription drugs.
"It seems like people are wanting to solve all their problems with medication. They want to be happy all the time. We are not meant to be happy all the time. The Bible addresses suffering. Sometimes suffering makes us stronger if we learn from it," he said.
He said the major difference between drug and alcohol abuse is that one is legal and one isn't.
"If you're not caught drunk driving or beating up your wife or kids on a weekend alcohol binge, then it's legal. Using illegal drugs can put you in prison. You have a better chance of recovering from alcohol. And, there are a lot of functional alcoholics, but that doesn't mean it isn't impacting their lives.
"There is a saying that illegal drug users either end up dead or in prison," said Morrison. He added that in the time he's been in Cheboygan County he's seen between 15 and 20 fatal drug overdoses. "It happens way too often. It's harder to overdose on alcohol."
The bright side, he said, is that he bumps into people all the time who are successfully working through the program. The challenge is that a person can still relapse, crash and burn.
"You never know. The more time they have behind them without using, the less likely they are to relapse. We see lots of relapse with drugs in the first 90 days. It's a hard, complex issue," continued Morrison.
"The Salvation Army is famous for its work with alcoholism. We're not anti social drinking. It's different than heroin or coke. The grip is tighter with drug users. We have to look at the type of folks that are using drugs. What causes them to use. Intellectually they know messing with illegal drugs is playing with fire.
"Nobody wants to grow up to be an addict. We have to sort out the underlying issues. A person can get clean and sober and a hole can still be there if they haven't sorted it out."


text:
Wholething - Digital Communications
Helping you plan, design, develop and maintain your website, email and social media and more . . .
Websites large and small
We offer a range of services from bespoke websites for large corporations to budget-friendly solutions for small businesses or start-ups. We recognise that everyone has a different level of web-related knowledge and experience, so we tailor our service accordingly. If you don't know where to start, we'll help. Alternatively, if you have a design and your content ready, but need the architecture to be built, we can do that too.
A system that puts you in control
The heart of our websites is our proprietary content management system. Designed to minimise training and data entry time yet capable of delivering the features your website needs, it protects your resources. We insist on hosting all our sites, offer domain management, and of course, support. You never need to figure out who to call.
Whether you want to do all your content provision in-house, or want us to do everything for you, we are with you every step of the way - ensuring that your website always meets your needs.
We are proud to announce the launch of 33Homes and 33Group and Eelah
Featured projects
We are currently helping:
Farbrook Farm - wild bird food
Vitruvia Property Developments
Latest news
Benslow Music re-brand and site relaunch
Thu, 10 Jan 13
Wholething and Redfern Design help with Benslow Music re-brand and site relaunch.


text:
TV bosses in America are reportedly developing a sitcom based on Justin Bieber's life.
A proposed show was discussed last year and now the idea has morphed in to a full comedy project.
Bieber will executive produce the show with his manager, Scooter Braun, according to TV Guide magazine.
The untitled family show will focus on Bieber's background before he hit the big time.


text:
Raymond Felton sank six of New York's 18 3- pointers en route to 27 points as the Knicks downed the Miami Heat, 112-92, at American Airlines Arena.
Steve Novak added four shots from beyond the arc for 18 points, while J.R. Smith and Jason Kidd each connected on three from long distance for the Knicks, who won their fifth straight game despite Carmelo Anthony sitting out the contest with a lacerated middle finger on his left hand.
"I thought it was a total team effort from everybody across the board," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said. "I thought our defense was solid and then we kind of broke it open at the end."
LeBron James fell an assist short of his second consecutive triple-double as he finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Miami, which has dropped its last two.
"We're not going to brush this off," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And we're going to fix it."
Dwyane Wade contributed 13 points while shooting just 3-for-13 from the floor and Chris Bosh dropped in 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting in the loss.
The game entered the second half tied at 53-53, but Kidd sank a 3-pointer and Felton connected on a pair from beyond the arc as New York raced out of the third quarter with a 13-4 push to take a 66-57 lead.
James put an end the to run with a triple of his own, but after Mario Chalmers went 1-for-2 from the foul line to cut Miami's deficit to five, Smith and Novak drilled back-to-back treys to hand the Knicks a 72-61 cushion with just under seven minutes to play in the third.
The Heat would later close their gap to 75-67 before Felton, James White and Smith drilled consecutive 3-pointers in an 11-0 spurt to give New York an 85-67 advantage.
Miami, however, would close out the third with a 13-5 run to get within 90-80 entering the fourth quarter.
New York shot 8-for-13 from three-point range in the third quarter while outscoring Miami, 37-27, in the frame.
The Heat would only get within single digits once in the fourth quarter, when a Ray Allen jumper made it a 93-84 game with a little over eight minutes to play.
But they would get no closer as consecutive baskets by Rasheed Wallace sparked a 19-4 run to put New York comfortably ahead, 112-88, with three minutes remaining.
Novak hit a pair triples and Smith also drilled a trey in the game-sealing swing.
The Heat jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead less than two minutes into the game, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Felton and Kidd sparked a 13-2 run that gave New York a 15-9 edge.
Miami responded with a 12-5 spurt that included nine points by James to regain a 20-19 lead, and the teams exchanged blows over the next two minutes until Mike Miller's triple at the buzzer gave the Heat a 26-23 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The back-and-forth affair continued in the second quarter, which saw two lead changes and seven ties, including a 53-53 mark heading into the break after Felton's 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
James seemed to give Miami a two-point edge at the half, but a review showed his shot off an inbounds pass had not fully left his hand before the buzzer sounded.
Game Notes
Smith ended with 13 points and Kidd finished with 11 for the Knicks ... The Knicks shot 45.1 percent from the floor in the game ... Miami connected on 42.1 percent of its shots and went 6-for-16 from three-point range ... The Heat fell to 8-1 at home this season ... New York improved to 6-4 on the road.


text:
Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has emerged as a summer transfer target for Arsenal and Manchester United, reports The Sun.
The 24-year-old is regarded as one of the brightest young stoppers in the Premier League at the moment, after a series of stunning performances at the Stadium of Light.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is believed to be in the market for a new custodian at the end of the season, and has identified the Belgian international for a possible move to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal will face competition from Manchester United, though, with Sir Alex Ferguson also considering adding another goalkeeper to his Old Trafford ranks in the summer.
Former Manchester United defender Steve Bruce signed Mignolet for just £2million in June 2010, during his time as Sunderland manager. And, the ex-Sint-Truiden star - who penned a five-year deal on Wearside - has gone on to establish himself as an integral part of the Black Cats' first-team.
Mignolet is currently battling to be Belgium's No.1 with Chelsea's on-loan Atletico Madrid ace Thibaut Courtois, and might see a move to one of the Premier League's elite clubs - whether that is Arsenal or Manchester United - as beneficial to his continued career progression.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


text:
Where I live there are a lot of houses with oil furnaces, so granted some of our customers don't see the necessity in putting in an electric or gas air handler when they already have a 'perfectly' fine oil furnace*cough*. So we tend to do alot of heat pump add ons to these oil furnaces and throw a coil in the return or supply obviously depending on what is more accessible with the existing ductwork. moral of the story is new electric furnaces turn on the auxillary to keep sending warm air through the ductwork while the heat pump is in defrost. but with these old oil furnaces when defrost comes on of course cold air comes out of the registers and the oil furnace does not come on to supplement the heatpump while it is doing its defrost. of course it doesnt cool there house down due to how long defrost runs but why would someone want cold air coming out of the registers when its below 32 ambient.
it tends to be a big complaint in the winter time and I hate having to say 'sorry defrost is an essential part to a heatpump being used in winter and there is not much we can do about that'
Does anybody know of any relays or controls that we could use that would turn the oil furnace on to offset the inside coil being used as an evaporator for those few minutes.
all help and criticism is appreciatedhttp://hvac-talk.com/vbb/images/smilies/2cents.gif


text:
I've been a professional athletic trainer for about 16 years and have been able to work with a range of athletes from the high school to professional level. Right now I run in a clinic in Cincinnati and have most recently been training with some players on the Bengals.
I activated my reddit account just a moment ago and because I've been seeing the videos of Kobe's most recent dunks and the comments you guys have had to share I decided I might as well chime in what I know about the man. And let me just state by saying that this story doesn't touch on anything we don't know about Kobe but rather that he simply is not human when he is working on his craft.
I was invited to Las Vegas this past Summer to help Team USA with their conditioning before they head off to London, and as we know they would eventually bring home the Gold (USA). I've had the opportunity to work with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in the past but this would be my first interaction with Kobe. We first met three days before the first scrimmage, on the day of the first practice, early July. It was a brief conversation where we talked about conditioning, where he would like to be by the end of the Summer, and we talked a little bit about the hustle of the Select Team. Then he got my number and I let him know that if he ever wanted some extra training he could hit me up any time.
The night before the first scrimmage I remember I was just watched "Casablanca" for the first time and it was about 3:30 AM. I lay in bed, slowly fading away when I hear my cell ring. It was Kobe. I nervously picked up.
"Hey, uhh Rob, I hope I'm not disturbing anything right?"
"Uhh no, what's up Kob?"
"Just wondering if you could just help me out with some conditioning work, that's all."
I checked my clock. 4:15 AM.
"Yeah sure, I'll see you in the facility in a bit."
It took me about twenty minutes to get my gear and out of the hotel. When I arrived and opened the room to the main practice floor I saw Kobe. Alone. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a swim. It wasn't even 5AM.
We did some conditioning work for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Then we entered the weight room, where he would do a multitude of strength training exercises for the next 45 minutes. After that we parted ways and he went back to the practice floor to shoot. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wow.
I was expected to be at the floor again at about 11 AM. I woke up feeling sleepy, drowsy, and almost pretty much every side effect of sleep deprivation. Thanks, Kobe. I had a bagel and headed to the practice facility.
This next part I remember very vividly. All the Team USA players were there, feeling good for the first scrimmage. LeBron was talking to Carmelo if I remember correctly and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility was Kobe by himself shooting jumpers. And this is how our next conversation went -- I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, "Good work this morning."
"Like, the conditioning. Good work."
"Oh. Yeah, thanks Rob. I really appreciate it."
"So when did you finish?"
"Finish what?"
"Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?"
"Oh just now. I wanted 800 makes so yeah, just now."
My jaw dropped. Mother of holy God. It was then that I realized that there's no surprise to why he's been as effective as he was last season. Every story about his dedication, every quote that he's said about hard work all came together and hit me like a train. It's no surprise to me now that he's dunking on players ten years younger than him and it wasn't a surprise to me earlier this year when he led the league in scoring.
Thanks for reading and allowing me to share you my Kobe Bryant story. If anyone has any questions I can clarify. Sorry if the story was at all hard to follow as this is my first time on reddit.
EDIT: Spelling. Thank you all for your wonderful comments!


text:
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story stated that seven horses out of Bob Baffert's barn died between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012. A review of necropsy reports showed that four horses trained by Baffert died in training or racing. Three additional horses have died suddenly related to cardiovascular failure between Aug. 20, 2012, and March 14, 2013.
California racing saw a sharp increase last year in the number of fatalities due to cardiac failures. Eleven horses were reported as having died in this manner during fiscal year 2012 (July 1 through June 30) compared with six for the same period in 2011 and four in 2009, according to a California Horse Racing Board postmortem annual report.
Equally concerning is that a reported four out of the 11—or 36%—of the horses that died from cardiac failure statewide had been stabled with leading Southern California trainer and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, according to several trainers and exercise riders who watched many of horses drop during training hours. From Nov. 4, 2011, through March 14, 2013, Baffert has had a total of seven horses die suddenly.
Baffert did not respond to questions by e-mail or return phone calls. The identifications of the horses that died have not been released by the CHRB.
Cardiac failure in Thoroughbred racehorses is a relatively rare occurrence, according to trainers and racetrack veterinarians. A study published in 2010 in the Equine Veterinary Journal on sudden death in racing Thoroughbreds found it was responsible for 9% of fatalities in California. This same study showed 96 reported sudden deaths between Feb. 1990 and Aug. 2008 in California among Thoroughbreds while they were exercising, or an average of five per year. During the 18-year period, a total of five were reported in Pennsylvania; 23 in Victoria, Australia; 16 in Sydney; four in Hong Kong; and none in Japan.
"It's disturbing and unnatural," said one trainer based at Betfair Hollywood Park, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the number of sudden deaths he's seen. One of his own horses nearly collided with one of Baffert's horses that collapsed in front of it while galloping in the morning at Hollywood. "I've been in training for 25 years and not had one. I don't know why it's happening but it can't continue. It is putting horses and riders at risk."
"It is more than a trainer should have," added another Hollywood-based trainer, who would only speak if his name was withheld out of fear of retribution. Baffert has the largest racing stable in California and one of his clients is Mike Pegram, chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners of California.
"Bob has a lot of horses so, of course, he has more of everything, but this is more than any one trainer should have," the trainer said. That so many of Baffert's horses had died suddenly during training hours was confirmed by three other trainers and an outrider.
A state lab has conducted necropsies on the all horses but has not determined a reason for the rash of sudden deaths.
"We have not been able to find the cause," said Dr. Francisco Uzal, with the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System (CAHFS), during a Feb. 20 meeting of the CHRB Medication Committee. "We have done extensive toxicological studies. We have done, of course, all sorts of other things—pathology and histology. We don't know what's going on."
During a CHRB Medication and Track Safety Committee meeting April 10, it was disclosed that a trace of anticoagulant rat poisons had been found in two horses.
"The toxicologist was unclear of its significance it was so low, but both horses had internal hemorrhage problems so they took it seriously," said Dr. Rick Arthur, the CHRB medical director. "Neither of those rodenticides were used by the pest control agencies at the respective track where they are at."
Also during the April 10 meeting, Arthur dismissed any claim that California was seeing an increase in sudden deaths attributed to a cardiovascular/pulmonary cause. He said the state has about 20 cases per year and is on track to see 21 or 22 in 2012-13. In his numbers presented to the committee, he did not break out those attributable to just cardiac failure.
"About 30% of these cases are unexplained," Arthur said.
Mike Marten, spokesman for the CHRB issued the following statement regarding the sudden deaths: "Dr. Uzal and Dr. Arthur raised the issue of numerous sudden deaths during the Feb. 20 presentation to the medication committee. The CHRB takes this seriously and in addition to the work being done by Dr. Uzal's group and Dr. Arthur, we have assigned an investigator to look further into the matter."
When contacted prior to the April 10 meeting, Arthur told The Blood-Horse he could not talk about specific cases but did say in an e-mail that the state does drug testing, toxicology, and conducts special examinations of the heart in all sudden death cases.
"I personally review every necropsy report from CAHFS and as equine medical director consult with the pathologists or Dr. Uzal routinely," Arthur wrote. "There is not much that slips by our notice, nevertheless; anomalies either by surface, track, trainer or diagnosis or any combination thereof."
Correspondent Tracy Gantz contributed to this report.


text:
In Part One, Eure talked about his background, how he came into show business and shared some fun stories from DAYS set.
In Part Two, Eure recalled Mike Horton's "gay storyline" and revealed how and why he was fired from the soap.
In Part Three, Eure spoke about the dear friend and former cast member he lost because he was gay, and how he has channeled the energy from the devastating AIDS crisis in the '80s into a positive.


text:
Professional Resume Template.
3 layered PSD files – one for each color variation.
print ready – CMYK – Size: A4
Font used: Myriad pro (included in vista and w7)
You can easily add your own picture – smart object. (Picture of the man with glasses is not included)
Feel free to contact me for any question.
Like this file? Please rate it!


text:
Mapspread is a Google Maps creation service that allows the user to create maps from spreadsheets,, KML, ESRI Shapefiles or MapInfo TAB files. The creation of maps with mapspread is very easy and the site has a very intuitive user interface.
The video below shows a map being created using mapspread:
If you want to see a map created using mapspread, Pamela Fox has created a map from the Google MyMap being run by volunteers showing the effects of Typhoon Ondoy, in the Philippines. This Ondoy Map has exactly the same data as the volunteer map but uses mapspread's clustering solution to present a tidier looking map.


text:
Reliance Industries will continue to sell natural gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields at the current rate until the next government decides on a revision in prices.
Oil minister M Veerappa Moily approved continuation of the existing rate of $4.2 per million British thermal units until the new government, which will be in place in May, decides on implementation of the Rangarajan formula.
He deferred the new pricing regime, which would have almost doubled gas rates from April 1, following advice from the Election Commission, oil ministry sources said.
The delay will not have a material bearing on 85 per cent of the gas produced in the country as firms such as ONGC can continue sales at $4.2 per mmBtu on existing contracts.
However, new contracts needed to be signed for KG-D6 as RIL's current sales pacts expire at the end of the month.
Sources said RIL and buyers of its KG-D6 gas settled most issues on the new sales pacts after a meeting called by the oil ministry.
Urea plants had flagged about 10 issues, including the duration of the contract and supplier liabilities, in the new Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) that RIL had proposed for the period starting April 1.
"Most of the issues have been resolved, barring one or two," a ministry official said. RIL agreed to a five-year validity for the new GSPA, like the current one. It previously offered three-month contracts in line with the new gas pricing policy, where rates would have changed quarterly, based on average international hub prices and the cost of imported LNG in the preceding 12 months with a lag of one quarter.
This had been opposed by the 16 fertiliser units that buy KG-D6 gas. To continue supplies from April 1, RIL has forwarded a simplified GSPA term sheet to buyers that would be valid till it is replaced by the GSPA.
For all the latest Business News, download Indian Express App


text:
Starboard Storage Systems, a startup developer of hybrid storage arrays featuring SSDs and spinning hard drives, has ceased selling products and laid off sales and marketing staff as it hopes to find a buyer, CRN has learned.
Starboard Storage executives Friday said the company is in talks with multiple storage vendors about the possibility of being acquired by one of them and confirmed reports from channel sources that the Broomfield, Colo.-based company has killed off the bulk of its sales and marketing activities while maintaining R & D in preparation for an eventual acquisition of the company.
Starboard, which sold exclusively through the channel, informed solution providers in a letter signed by President Tom Major and dated March 12 that it was "reducing our emphasis on new product sales," according to a document obtained by CRN.
"In connection with a new investment by our existing investor group, Starboard's board has decided to evaluate the interest of potential strategic acquirers of the company. In order to focus on this strategic opportunity, we will be reducing our emphasis on new product sales for the time being," Major wrote in the letter.
Starboard is headed by CEO Bill Chambers, who previously served as founder, president and CEO of LeftHand Networks, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2008 for $360 million.
It competes in a crowded market that includes not only tier-one storage vendors like EMC, NetApp, Dell EqualLogic, and X-IO, but also other hybrid SSD-hard drive array vendors such as Tegile Systems, Tintri, Nimble Storage and NexGen Storage.
The company, which came out of stealth mode in February, 2012, works with approximately 50 solution providers in the U.S.
[Related: Starboard Exits Stealth Mode With Channel-Only Unified Storage]
Major, who jointed Starboard two months ago and is also a LeftHand alumnus, told CRN in an interview Friday, that the company believes in the strength of its hybrid SSD-hard drive architecture, and that hybrid storage arrays will be the dominant architecture in enterprise and midsize business customers.
"We've been blessed with the reseller partners, and disappointed we can't take [the company] forward with them," Major said.
The company in May, 2012 received a $13-million Series B round of funding. The company's investors have since added to that amount, but Major was unable to say by how much.
The company's board of directors examined different possibilities for additional funding and decided an acquisition by a larger storage vendor would be the best option, Major said.
"Over the last few weeks, we have been working with our board in pursuit of another funding round," he said. "Given that, and the inquiries we have received from strategic players, the board decided to pursue talks with those strategic players."
As a result, Starboard is no longer actively seeking product sales, having pared its sales and marketing funds and cut staff, Major said. "But we do have a vice president of sales [Larry Petkus] handling inquiries from customers," he said. "And we are committed to supporting our existing customers."
"As you find new sales opportunities for the Starboard offering, I would ask that you engage [Petkus] for assistance," Major wrote in the letter to solution providers.
Starboard would not disclose how many employees had been cut.
NEXT: Trying To Differentiate Its Hybrid SSD-Hard Drive Tech


text: I am trying to use my own SQL to get some information about Blocking and Waiting locks. In Oracle Performance Manager Blocking/Waiting Locks Chart, there is a rowid listed. I would like to know how I can get the rowid (that is being blocked and or waited on) by writing a SQL statement rather than having to go into Oracle Performance Manager. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


text:
Cricket Web's current Premier League Tipping Champion
- As featured in The Independent.
"Like queuing at the post office, or a cardboard cup of weak milky tea there is a quality of slightly clichéd but still beautifully reassuring Englishness about watching Cook bat"
- Barney Ronay
President of SKAS - Kat is King | Proud member of CVAAS - One of the best | LRPLTAS - Rosco rocks!
Go Tigers!
R.I.P. Fardin & Craig
If they's picked Chris Martin he would have had reasonable cause to ask to bat at 10 in the second dig...
So will they enforce the follow on?
Got to look on the bright side, at least the Phantom isn't batting
It's not like Patel is exactly Jim Laker anyway, is it?
Does he average over 50 per wicket yet?
All part of McCullum's dastardly plan to get his big bro a test cap, IMHO.
Even better.
Bandwagon time! Watling is looking more and more Test quality with each innings.
Shots like that are all there's going to be to get you through the day as an NZ cricket fan in future. Small victories. Very, very, very, very small victories.
Exit pursuing a beerOriginally Posted by Jimmy Neesham
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)


text:
Orchestral and Choral works > Works for Chorus and Orchestra
Joseph Haydn
Masses no. 9-10
Editor: Günter Thomas
256.00 $
Complete Edition, Reihe XXIII, Band 3, clothbound
Orchestral material available from Bärenreiter
Pages: 287 (X, 277), Size 25,5 x 32,5 cm
Order no. HN 5582 · ISMN 979-0-2018-5582-0
Musicians throughout the world are familiar with and treasure our blue Urtext editions – top quality editions of great classical compositions. Urtext and Henle are synonymous. The musician is offered a musical text which solely reflects the composer's intentions.
« BackOrder this item now directly via our partner Hal Leonard»
Add to wish list »Added to wish list »
- Missa in Angustiis (Nelson mass) Hob. XXII:11
- Missa (Theresien mass) Hob. XXII:12


text: P.J. Higgins ODU Sports Monarchs Pound Rutgers in Game Two 12-3, Earn Doubleheader Split March 01, 2014 By ODU Athletics Game One Box Score (PDF) Game Two Box Score (PDF) Photo Album NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion University baseball defeated Rutgers 12-3 in the second game of a doubleheader to earn a split today at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex. Rutgers took game one, 4-2. Ben Slaton and P.J. Higgins led the way for the Monarchs in game two, as Higgins went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs score, while Slaton slammed a double and triple, and drove in five runs. Freshman catcher Kurt Sinnen garnered the first two hits of his collegiate career and drove in his first career run. Rutgers got off to a fast start with a pair of runs in the first, but the Monarchs stormed back with five in the third inning. Joey Burned delivered a bases loaded two-run single while Ben Slaton followed with a two-RBI double to make the score 4-2 Old Dominion. Sinnen capped the inning with an RBI groundout for a 5-2 lead. ODU blew the game open with three more runs in the fourth. Higgins started a two-out rally with a double down the left field line and moved to third on a wild pitch. Connor Myers and Burney followed with consecutive walks before Slaton ripped a line drive that fell under the glove of the diving Rutgers center fielder and rolled to the wall for the Slaton three-run triple and 8-2 Monarch lead. Rutgers got a run back in the fifth on a Mike Carter sacrifice fly, but the Monarchs struck with two in the bottom half of the inning. Brian Beard led off the inning while Tyler Urps reached on a walk. After a sacrifice bunt by Nick Walker, Higgins drove a single to left to score Beard and Urps. The Monarchs capped the scoring in the seventh as Urps scored on a wild pitch, and after reaching base on a single, Josh Eldridge scored from third on a passed ball. Tommy Alexander notched his first victory of the year, going five innings, giving up four hits and one earned run. In game one, Rutgers got two runs in the first inning and another in the third for a 3-0 lead. The Monarchs got a pair back in the eighth on a Connor Myers single and Higgins scored on a wild pitch. However, Rutgers got a run in the top of the ninth and ODU was unable to get on the board in the ninth for the 4-2 loss. The final game of the weekend series is tomorrow, March 2 at 1 p.m.