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Logical Disk Manager (LDM)
From ForensicsWiki
Revision as of 10:44, 14 September 2012 by Joachim Metz (Talk | contribs) (→External Links)
Please help to improve this article by expanding it.
The Windows Logical Disk Manager, is commonly abbreviated to LDM.
On-disk structures
According to TECHNET:
The location of the database is determined by the partition style of the disk.
- On MBR disks, the database is contained in the last 1 megabyte (MB) of the disk.
- On GPT disks, the database is contained in a 1-MB reserved (hidden) partition known as the Logical Disk Manager (LDM) Metadata partition.
Types of dynamic volumes
- Simple volume
- Spanned volume
- Striped volume
- Mirrored volume (Server editions of Windows 2000, Windows 2003)
- RAID-5 volume (Server editions of Windows 2003)
Also see
External Links
- Basic and Dynamic Disks, by Microsoft
- What Are Dynamic Disks and Volumes?, by Microsoft, March 2003
- Dynamic disks and volumes, by Microsoft, January 2005
- Logical Disk Manager documentation


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Forrester, IDC Cut Tech Outlook on Recession RiskBy Reuters - | Posted 2008-02-11 Print
Technology research firm Forrester
Research has cut its forecast for 2008 global technology purchasing
growth by a third, citing the risk of a U.S. recession.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Technology research firm Forrester Research Inc has cut its forecast for 2008 global technology purchasing growth by a third, citing the risk of a U.S. recession.
Forrester said it now expects global technology purchases to grow 6 percent in dollar terms this year, down from an earlier projection of 9 percent. It expects U.S. purchases of technology goods and services to grow 2.8 percent, down from a previous forecast of 4.6 percent.
The revisions assume a mild recession in the United States in the first two to three quarters of 2008, Forrester said on Sunday. The United States accounts for about a third of global technology purchases.
"While it is by no means certain that the U.S. economy will in fact experience a recession, the risks of one are high enough to justify a more conservative outlook", Forrester Vice President Andrew Bartels said in a statement.
IDC, another leading research firm, also lowered its global outlook, citing similar concerns. It said on Monday that it now expects worldwide IT market growth of 5 percent this year, down from its previous forecast of 5.5 percent and off from 2007's 6 percent.
"While there is still debate over the severity and length of a U.S. economic slowdown, we do know that the IT market will not escape unscathed from any significant downturn," said Stephen Minton, vice president of Worldwide IT Markets at IDC.
Forrester's 2008 projections compare with 2007 global technology buying growth of 12 percent and U.S. expansion of 6.2 percent. Forrester estimates the global market for technology purchases to be $1.7 trillion in 2008.
It expects technology purchasing to slow in all regions, with Asia-Pacific growing 9 percent in dollar terms, down from 15 percent last year, and Western and Central Europe climbing 5 percent, compared with last year's 15 percent, which was largely fueled by the dollar's drop against the euro.
Forrester defines technology purchases as business and government investments in computer and communications equipment and software plus the value of technology and consulting services bought by companies and governments.
Within technology, software investment will likely do better than the average, growing 8 percent globally in 2008 but still down from 11 percent last year, Forrester said.
Technology outsourcing should also grow by an above-average 9 percent, but purchases of personal computers, servers, data storage equipment and computer peripheral devices will slow to 4 percent growth from 12 percent in 2007, Forrester said.
It expects global communications equipment purchases to grow by 3 percent in 2008, compared with 12 percent last year.
(Reporting by Philipp Gollner; additional reporting by Franklin Paul in New York; editing by John Wallace)
Copyright Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
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text:
BOSTON — Concerned that lax protocols have put people seeking health insurance in Massachusetts at risk of identity theft, a congressional committee is demanding answers from Gov. Deval Patrick about the state's broken Health Connector website and its security protections.
Health Connector Executive Director Jean Yang will testify about problems with the state's exchange before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday, according to committee staff. Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., last week expressed concerns about security risks with the state website in a letter to Patrick that questions why so many state websites with moderate and high risk levels were allowed to connect to a federal data hub.
"Massachusetts failed to give employees the required security awareness training, including training on handling federal tax information, and did not require background or credit checks of employees before allowing them to have access to the IT system used to operate the exchange," Issa wrote, citing a Sept. 18, 2013, security assessment. "Furthermore, the report noted that the exchange did not plan regular vulnerability scanning or penetration testing 'upon go-live date.' It is unclear when, if at all, the numerous deficiencies in the security of Massachusetts' exchange were corrected."
Patrick told reporters Monday afternoon that he had not yet read the letter from Issa but was aware of it, suggesting the congressman may have alerted the media to the letter before it was actually delivered to the governor's office.
"I don't think we have a reason to be concerned," Patrick said.
Asked whether any issues have arisen with security, Patrick said, "There haven't been that I know of."
Apart from the Sept. 18 assessment, the chief information security officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave Massachusetts and nine other states a "moderate" risk assessment and deemed 35 states "high risk," recommending only four states be allowed to connect to the data hub, according to Issa's March 25 letter.
Federal officials had flagged security concerns ahead of the Oct. 1, 2013, launch, according to emails obtained by the committee and referenced in the letter. Ryan Brewer, the former chief of information security and current advisor to CMS, wrote that allowing states to connect to the hub without an appropriate review "introduces an unknown amount of risk" to the hub and the federally facilitated marketplace.
"This in turn puts the [personally identifiable information] of potentially millions of users at risk of identity theft and fraud to the CMS marketplace health care subsidy program," Brewer wrote.
Brewer's successor as chief information security officer at CMS, Teresa Fryer, indicated a predilection for permitting states to connect to the federal hub.
"[N]ormally I just review and sign what Ryan [Brewer] gives me anyway because the front office is signing them whether or not they are a high risk," Fryer wrote in an email quoted by Issa.
Issa requested Massachusetts officials provide all communications between state and federal employees referring to the federal data hub, dating back to May 1, 2013, and any audits of the Connector's development, readiness or security dating back to July 1, 2012.
As tens of thousands were unable to use the state's Connector site to sign up for health insurance, Massachusetts policymakers have focused on providing coverage, including putting about 125,000 people into temporary Medicaid while they attempt to determine eligibility.
A concern about protecting the information of people who signed up for health insurance online has been raised by some, but has not been a focal point for policymakers.
"We should be able to report out on that perhaps even as early as Thursday," Health and Human Services Secretary John Polanowicz told Rep. Viriato deMacedo at a Feb. 10 budget hearing where the Plymouth Republican questioned the security of data on the state's site.
Asked about a report on the topic from Polanowicz, an HHS spokesman did not offer any new information, referencing a statement to the News Service earlier Monday from Connector spokesman Jason Lefferts. Asked about the concerns raised by Issa, Lefferts had written, "In order for states to connect to the federal data services hub, the federal government set high data security standards and the Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange was one of 33 states that met those standards before Oct. 1. The commonwealth's strong protections are safeguarding personal information every day and their effectiveness is backed up by the fact that we haven't had a data breach."
The Connector was late to highlight myriad problems with the Connector website, which was overhauled to comply with the federal Affordable Care Act.
The letter from Issa — who has also led investigations into a deadly attack on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, and a contentious federal law enforcement gun-trafficking investigation dubbed "Fast and Furious" — noted that Massachusetts received more than $180 million in federal grants to set up its exchange, which has enrolled fewer than 13,000 people as of March 1, Issa's letter said, calculating that every person enrolled through the exchange cost federal taxpayers $14,000.
"While the functional problems with the exchange are well known, little is publicly known about the major security vulnerabilities that were present with the exchange on Oct. 1, 2013, and which potentially remain today," Issa wrote.
Pundits have pointed to the troubled rollout of President Barack Obama's signature policy, modeled in part on the 2006 Massachusetts health reform, as a key for Republicans seeking to take back the U.S. Senate and to solidify their control of the U.S. House.
There are state-level policy considerations as well. Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker has said he would seek a waiver from the national law.
"On the hearing on Thursday, we have been invited to Thursday's hearing and are still working on the details," Lefferts wrote to the News Service. "We look forward to meeting with the subcommittees and talk about how implementing the Affordable Care Act has led to new, subsidized coverage for tens of thousands of people in Massachusetts."
The Committee on Health Care Financing, which has been without a House chairman since Jan. 21, held a hearing in February in which lawmakers questioned Yang and Patrick's special assistant, Sarah Iselin, criticizing the failed rollout and the administration's response to it.
"I'm not leaving this hearing feeling any more comforted than when I came in," said Rep. Majorie Decker, D-Cambridge, after the Feb. 12 hearing.
In addition to Yang, health insurance exchange officials from California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon will testify at the hearing in Washington, D.C., House Oversight spokeswoman Caitlin Carroll told the News Service.
"Here is to hoping we learn more details about what exactly happened in Massachusetts, as our state officials don't seem keen on speaking on the topic locally, and our elected officials on Beacon Hill have not provided a regular outlet to facilitate those conversations," wrote Pioneer Institute Director of Health Care Policy Josh Archambault, noting the directors of other troubled exchanges around the country have been fired or resigned.
In an early February report, MITRE, a consultant hired to examine the Connector site's problems, reported that it appeared the state's health insurance exchange and eligibility system had a "deficiency" in connection with its integration efforts as teams constructed functions and capabilities "in silos." The security architecture, MITRE reported, was designed to work in concert with the portal, "serving protected content such as account creation, security attribution and login."
"These two enterprise services were not designed and appropriately integrated or tested, resulting in account creation without appropriate security attributes," MITRE reported.


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On Saturday, I fine tuned the bodice fit. (Tanit-Isis, you were right! After a small FBA, things were looking good). Then, on Sunday, the sleeve drama began. I've only recently realized that the reason I own and sew so many sleeveless garments is that most sleeves don't fit me well as they are constructed and I am built. And I really have to labor on them every time I sew them. Here was my first attempt.
Let me tell you that these sleeves were not at all comfortable. They may look okay, but they were very binding when I raised my arm at all. Plus there was a lot of extra fabric in the sleeve cap and at the back of the sleeve, both at the cap and through the triceps all the way down to the wrist. Really, it seemed like there was too much fabric where I didn't need it and not enough where I did. At one point I even checked to make sure I'd put the sleeve in the right way. I had.
But by the end of the weekend, they looked like this.
Kinda looks that same, doesn't it? But the difference is immeasurable. This sleeve is comfy and I can actually move my arm without it binding and constricting. I think the noticeable difference is how the sleeve cap fits into the seam at the shoulder much better and the loads of fabric at the triceps has mostly been eliminated. But otherwise, I don't think the pictures show much difference, despite pretty significant alterations to the sleeve and armscye.
Here's what I did:
First, I lowered the sleeve cap by about 1/2 inch so there was not nearly as much ease. In addition to not needing the extra height in the sleeve cap since it caused bagging, leather does not ease well. So, I wanted the sleeve to fit pretty precisely into the armscye without having to gather and ease it in.
Second, a forward shoulder adjustment was needed. I used the instructions in Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket, and also consulted FFRP and Fitting and Pattern Alteration: A Multi-Method Approach. They basically all agreed on method..
Third - apologies for not having Phin photograph me from the front - I made the armscye higher and tighter by about 1/2 inch at the armpit, tapering up to the cap. Not only does this help with mobility, but it was recommended for leather, which will stretch to your body, as I mentioned on Tuesday.
Fourth, I narrowed the sleeve by 1 inch at the wrist, tapering to 1/4 inch where it connects to the armscye. Here's what the alterations to the sleeve pieces looked like.
It seems counter-intuitive, but a smaller sleeve sewn into a smaller armscye allows for a much greater freedom of motion.
A little more tweaking happened after the photos and then I cut into the faux leather. And let me tell you, I'm glad I opted for two rounds of muslin because I've already sewn the zipper in wrong. Three times. (oopsy!)
Next up on the leather jacket front: sewing on faux leather!


text:
Smithta needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 909 designs submitted by 244 freelance designers.
VIP Tickets
We are VIP Tickets. Whether it's courtside at a Lakers game, ringside at a Manny Pacquiao fight, or David Copperfield tickets as a treat for your kids, it is important to us at VIP Tickets that we fulfill your entertainment needs locally, nationally or worldwide. This is why you'll find more than just Los Angeles or Las Vegas tickets on our site.
Servicing our clients' ticketing needs has been our number one priority for over 28 years. Let our resourceful and professional staff work for you to ensure that you get the Los Angeles tickets you want for the event you want.
VIP Tickets provides premium and hard-to-find tickets to nearly all events. Nationally or Internationally, VIP Tickets can place you in the seat of your dreams.
Concert, Sports, and Theatre fans everywhere
We are looking for a ologo represent our ticketing company - VIP Tickets
UPDATE: Logo must contain "viptickets.com" Instead of VIP Tickets. The original brief was not clear on this.
1. No Cartoons or animations
2. Not too elegant, however we do not want to be represented as a backyard business.
3. We want something that stands out and "pops". The logo must be an attention getter
Our current logo is on http://www.viptickets.com. This is too "blah" and looks like a logo from an attorney's office.
Please feel free to experiment with colors!
The files we will require are:
Print file format - .ai (CMYK)
Web file format - .jpg and layered .psd (RGB)
Please do not use any stock images or clip art in the logo
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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text:
What Really Causes the Ice Ages?
by Jeanne Miller
The last million years on Earth have been one long ice age, interrupted regularly by interglacials, or brief periods of warmth. The warm spells have usually lasted between 10,000 and 20,000 years. We're in one now that began about 12,000 years ago. So any millennium now the temperature will drop, glaciers will grow, and ice sheets thousands of kilometers thick will advance on the continents, devouring a large fraction of the land on the planet.
For most of the last million years these cycles of glaciation have occurred worldwide every 100,000 years—80,000 to 90,000 years of ice followed by 10,000 to 20,000 years of warmth. Why are they so regular?
In the mid-1800s, when the existence of ice ages was discovered, there was no way to know the cause or frequency of these climate changes. James Croll, a self-taught Scottish scientist, suggested that variations in the Earth's orbit around the Sun produced the effect. In the 1920s, Milutin Milankovitch, a Serbian engineer, developed Croll's hypothesis further.
A Theory Takes Shape
The Croll/Milankovitch theory attributes the chilling and warming of the globe to changes in the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth. These changes result from the tilting and wobbling of the Earth on its axis, and the stretching of the path the Earth takes in its journey around the Sun. These cycles repeat every 41,000 years, 23,000 years, and 100,000 years respectively. We could expect climate records to show temperature changes at these intervals.
The history of the Earth's climate is preserved in ice in Greenland and Antarctica, and in sea-floor sediments and coral reefs in the world's oceans. Ice cores can take us back some hundreds of thousands of years, with each year's snowfall laid down on the last, like vertical tree rings. Sea-floor sediment can take us back millions of years.
For most of the last century, the Croll/Milankovitch theory seemed to fit what we knew of the cycle of the ice ages. Recently recovered evidence of ancient climate history, however, doesn't quite match the expectation of the Croll/Milankovitch theory. Of the three effects described by the theory, the wobble of the Earth's axis has the greatest influence on how much sunlight reaches the Earth. The theory predicted ice ages would occur every 23,000 years, mainly as a result of this wobble. In fact, though, the ice and sea-floor records of the last 600,000 years show a clear pattern of 100,000-year recurrences.
While another effect, the stretch of the Earth's orbit from circular to slightly oval, has an approximate 100,000-year period, the resulting difference in sunlight isn't great enough to begin or end an ice age. Supporters of the Croll/Milankovitch theory suggest that the combination of the stretch cycle and some internal process on Earth that increases the effects could create the right conditions at the right times.
Second Theory Clouds the First
Richard Muller, an astrogeophysicist at the University of California at Berkeley, isn't convinced. "There are really two problems," he says. "One is that the regularity of the 100,000-year cycle is much greater than you would expect from the Croll/Milankovitch theory. And then there's another challenge that we call the causality problem. Recently we've managed to obtain much better dates for the terminations of the ice ages." Accurate dating of calcite from a cave in Nevada and of sea-floor corals shows that one ice age ended about 135,000 years ago. The Croll/Milankovitch theory says that the warming would have begun about 7,000 years after that. So if this theory were right, the cause—the decrease in sunlight—would have come after the effect—the melting of the ice.
"Back in 1993," Muller says, "I had a hypothesis that dust from space might be affecting climate. I think it could do this through its effect on cloud cover. Clouds have a big effect on climate."
He knew that the plane of the Earth's orbit shifts back and forth over time. If you stretch a rope from the center of the Sun to the center of Jupiter, you will find that as the Earth circles the Sun, sometimes it's above that rope and sometimes it's below it. A ring of dust, probably left over from collisions between asteroids and other bodies, also orbits the Sun, on the same plane as Jupiter. When the Earth is above and below that plane, it travels through empty space. But when it orbits in the same plane as the dust, as it does every 100,000 years, we can expect some of that dust to enter the atmosphere.
Muller says, "I predicted that if anybody could ever measure the variations in dust, they would see a 100,000-year cycle that would match the 100,000-year cycle of the climate." Six months after Muller announced this, a geochemist at Caltech looking at sea-floor sediment cores found increases in extraterrestrial dust at intervals that matched those of interglacials.
The quantity of dust, however, was very small. "We now believe that the amount of dust is something like 15,000 tons per year," Muller says. "That sounds like a lot. Spread it out over the whole Earth and you have to wait ten years before it's one atom thick. It's hard to see how such a small amount of dust could have such a big effect on the climate."
He's convinced, however, that the matching 100,000-year cycles of dust and ice are not just coincidence. His space dust theory fits the climate history data very well, and doesn't have the causality problem that the Croll/Milankovitch theory has.
"I think the weakness of my theory is that we don't yet understand what's going on in the atmosphere," Muller says. "The cloud cover mechanism is actually quite complicated. The dust comes in and interferes with the electrical currents that help create the seeds of clouds."
Studying the upper atmosphere poses special problems. "It's harder to reach than the oceans," Muller says. "You can swim down in the ocean or drop things down there. You can reach the lower atmosphere—up to 150,000 feet—by balloons or very high-flying airplanes. With a satellite, you can go up 100 miles or more. But there's that gap in between that's extremely difficult to measure. Many of the measurements are made by rockets that are just passing through it. That's sort of like seeing Paris through the window of a train. You miss a lot."
Still Looking for the Key
What really causes the ice ages? We still don't know the details. "It's a field in which there's a great deal of opportunity for a young person coming in," Muller says. "Ancient climate is the key to present climate. To understand it fully, we have to figure out what happened in these huge cycles that changed climate so dramatically."
- period:
- In this case, the time interval between two successive occurrences or phases of a recurrent event; a cycle.
- How often does the Croll/Milankovitch predict that changes will occur in the Earth's climate?
[anno: The Croll/Milankovitch theory predicts that changes will occur every 23,000, 41,000, and 100,000 years.]
- What are the three causes that the Croll/Milankovitch theory attribute to the climate change?
[anno: The Croll/Milankovitch theory attributes the climate change to the wobble of the Earth on its axis, the tilt of the Earth on its axis, and the stretch of the Earth's orbit around the Sun.]
- Of the three causes proposed by the Croll/Milankovitch theory, which is the most significant cause of climate change and why?
Write a sentence or two to explain your answer.
[anno: The wobble of the Earth on its axis is the most significant cause in the Croll/Milankovitch theory. More than the other two causes, the wobble of the Earth on its axis contributes to how much sunlight reaches the Earth's surface.]
- What does Richard Muller believe has contributed to major climate changes? What kind of an effect does this cause have on the Earth? Write a few sentences to explain your answer.
[anno: Muller believes that space dust affecting the Earth's cloud cover has a bigger effect on major climate change. The Earth orbits on the same plane as the dust cloud about every 100,000 years. When this happens, there is probably so much dust in the atmosphere that the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth's surface is greatly reduced.]


text:
Yesterday, The Boston Globe reported that Romney was still running Bain Capital two years after he claims he left the firm, directly contradicting his campaign's denial that he was involved in deals that led to layoffs, bankruptcies, and American jobs getting shipped overseas.
Either Romney filed false SEC statements or he's making false statements to the American people now.
Stephanie Cutter, President Obama's deputy campaign manager, told reporters Thursday that either Romney was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC "which is a felony, or he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments. And if that's the case — if he was lying to American people — then that's a real character and trust issue that the American people need to take very seriously."
In response to Cutter's remarks, Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades said in a statement, "President Obama's campaign hit a new low today when one of its senior advisers made a reckless and unsubstantiated charge to reporters about Mitt Romney that was so over the top that it calls into question the integrity of their entire campaign. President Obama ought to apologize for the out-of-control behavior of his staff, which demeans the office he holds."
The Obama campaign has released two video's today about Mitt Romney's apparent "misrepresentations." Mitt must be really enjoying his Friday the 13th.
Mitt Romney's Bain Secret Exposed
Cutter wrote in an email to supporters yesterday:
It's a pattern of secrecy, and this is just the latest example of him trying to hide the truth from voters. There are a number of issues in play right now — and voters deserve answers:
- Mitt Romney refuses to release multiple years of taxes, ignoring decades of precedent.
- He won't disclose his "bundlers," the people raising millions for his campaign.
- He is the sole owner of a questionable shell corporation in Bermuda.
- Until recently, Romney kept cash in a Swiss bank account.
- According to the Globe, he hasn't been honest about when he was running Bain Capital, even though legal documents refute his claims.
Everyone deserves the right to judge for themselves whether Romney's motivations, experience, and perspective are what they want in a president. But Mitt Romney doesn't want people to have the information they need to make those judgments.


text:
A friend of mine just gave me a general interest magazine that happened to contain a feature story about Okinawan Karate. In fact, Karate was shown on the cover.
A ninth dan, hanshi, was shown executing a high mawashi geri (roundhouse kick) to the neck of a younger student, who blocked the kick. I showed the cover to my wife and asked, "Who is in a better position, the one kicking or the one who blocked?"
It was obvious the the kicker was in a precarious position. His leg was high in the air, his kick had been blocked, and his groin and supporting knee were wide open for a counterattack. To me, this cover illusrated what not to do -- don't kick high and leave yourself in a vulnerable position. However, I image that the intent was to show the opposite -- a great high kick.
Of course, magazine covers are designed by graphic artists, not martial artists. They probably told the 9th dan that they wanted a dramatic cover and asked him to show a high kick -- since everyone loves to see high kicks. The 9th dan probably explained that a high kick is not representative of the techniques of his Karate system, but gave in after many requests.
Someone wrote an article about my Karate research. This was years ago. It was for a pretty nice magazine so they sent a professional photographer to do a photo shoot. We met at a park. He wanted a dramatic photo and asked me to execute a high kick, which I did. I kicked about as high as high as my ear.
Not quite satisfied, the photographer asked me to execute the kick on the side of a hill. He crouched under me and I kicked over him. From that angle, the kick looked really high. I kicked. Snap. Not good enough. I kicked again. Not quite right. Again. Missed it. Again and again I kicked.
Now with the photographer under me, I could not set my leg down after the kick. I had to pull it back, which was difficult given the slope of the hill. After about 60 kicks, I felt pretty bow legged.
Finally the article appeared with the kicking photo. My wife looked at it and said, "Why did they take a picture of your crotch?"
You can't win. We practice Karate for decades and yet we tend to listen to photographers and graphic artists, who want to show things that do not necessary represent what we do. But then, how can you show avoiding trouble on the cover of a magazine?
Charles C. Goodin
A High Kick
A friend of mine just gave me a general interest magazine that happened to contain a feature story about Okinawan Karate. In fact, Karate was shown on the cover.
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Monday, January 22, 2007


text:
Photo by Bri Weldon
Making draft predictions is always hard. Predicting down to 13? Come on! How's a guy supposed to look competent with a draft position like that?! Oh, and we're looking at the Jets, whose scouting staff aren't afraid to go off-board. But they have to take someone… The good news is that Jets Nation is here to help you get excited about the many impact players that might be available at #13, just tempting the Jets to make a reach pick. Because it wouldn't be the Jets if you weren't confused and disappointed on draft day!
Frederik Gauthier
- 6'4.5", 214-219lbs
- Centre, Left handed
- 40th overall in 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft
- NHL Equivalency (82games): 8-14-22
- "Good-Better-Best" Comparables: Dave Steckel, Nik Antropov, Martin Hanzal
Today on NHL.com, both Mike Morreale and Adam Kimelman selected sizable two-way centre Frederik Gauthier for the Jets in their respective mock drafts, noting his 200-ft play and solid offence. Gauthier has had an unusual route for a high-end prospect, though – playing his 16 and 17 year old seasons in Midget AAA. This season was his first in Major Junior, impressively finishing 4th in scoring on Rimouski with 22 goals and 60 points in 62 games. Knowing the Jets love both size and late bloomers, there is some sense to this pick. Yet few players represent the lack of consensus in this draft better than Gauthier.
With so much talent available in this draft, is it worth risking the 13th pick on a player with only one season of Major Junior experience?
What's he like? I bet he's good. Is he good?
Despite the rankings on Gauthier fluctuating wildly – from Central Scouting's rank of 8th best North American skater to Corey Pronman at Hockey Prospectus putting him at 31 in his total draft rankings – Gauthier is widely recognized as a polished player with strong skating and impressive two-way ability.
Pronman had this to say about him:
Gauthier experienced an up-and-down campaign. He showed significant flashes, but also lapsed offensively for long stretches. He measures at 6'5", 214 pounds, has some offensive talent, and shows advanced play for his age. He is an above-average skater, well above-average for a player his size, as he has a real easiness to his stride. He exerts little effort in his pushoffs, and he picks up speed very well. He is very agile, given his size. He had good offensive numbers this season, despite lining up against the opposition's best players and taking a lot of defensive zone draws. He has a good amount of offensive hockey sense, but sometimes he is too conservative and would be better served by letting his creativity show. His pure offensive upside is a question mark. He also can be a gentle giant at times. He will engage, and I would not describe his play as soft, but he will not throw his body around, and he is not the meanest of players. Despite his frame, he does need to get stronger, and he could stand to shoot a tad more as well.
Hockey Futures were slightly more succinct and liked his use of size a little more:
Already a polished prospect, Gauthier combines great size with a mature game at both ends of the ice. The same on-ice vision and hockey sense that makes him a dangerous contributor at the offensive side of the game also serves him well in breaking up opposing plays in his own zone. He's strong on the cycle, skates well and uses his size to win battles. Though he may never be a top offensive threat, he has too many tools to ignore.
What's not to like?
If you believe McKeen's, Gauthier was two different players this year. He was aggressive, defensively responsible, and effective in using both his bulk and wing span until breaking his jaw – after which he was tentative.
It's an incident that both inspires hope and draws criticism.
We can imagine Pronman's viewing of the player through Gauthier's physical pain as a young man not being paid to play. Gauthier could be a draft steal at #13 if his play was worsened by playing injured. Further, lacking some (almost all) of the amenities and support a player like Sidney Crosby would have for such an injury, Gauthier would still be riding buses and trying to choke down Subway sandwiches for fuel.
From another perspective, it may show an unwillingness to play a role that will be expected of him in professional hockey given his size and limited offensive gifts. I loathe the suggestion (so often made about young hockey players) that Gauthier should have been reckless with his health to make a point. Yet as a late-bloomer with a limited resume in Major Junior, the team to select Gauthier will have a lot of questions left to answer. Is his offence building? Can he use his size to control the ice like Martin Hanzal? Does he think the game well enough to contribute offensively like Nik Antropov? Will he get strong enough and mean enough to play a physical game like David Steckel?
What would Winnipeg do? Gauthier is not my preferred selection for the Jets. As Craig Button is fond of pointing out, the biggest mistakes on draft day usually involve fetishizing size. The Jets, who severely lacked offensive punch this past season, can ill afford to have a David Steckel selection in the first round of a deep draft. Though picking outside the top 10 requires accepting some flaws, sacrificing offensive upside for size seems like a mistake to me. There are too many questions marks, too many flags raised by his scattered draft rankings to consider Gauthier at #13.


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This is also why I put forth the idea in my last post of running the sporting events concurrent with Conformation for registry specific clubs so as to help keep up the excitement and participation level.
and as I said... I have never attended a show that has conformation and athletic events where they did NOT run concurrently. this actually makes it VERY difficult to compete in both, your arguement is actually the reverse of what is easier (therefore more likely for people to choose to do)


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(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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In 1934, the Threadwell Tap & Die Company was formed and located on Arch Street in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The company developed and patented method for metal thread cutting and for restoring damaged threads. This plant image is taken from a 1939 tool catalog distributed by the company. The catalog contains price lists of the various tools and parts the company sold prior to World War II. Threadwell reached its peak during World War II and was the third largest employer in Greenfield with nearly 400 employees.
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"Threadwell The Greenfield Plant That Is Making History In The Precision Tool Field!" ad from Greenfield Recorder-Gazette
Threadwell Tap and Die Company's Tap & Die set made in WWII
"Threadwell In New Industrial Era After Decades of Varying Fortunes" article from Greenfield Recorder-Gazette newspaper
Partial sample of Saleman's Kit marketed by Threadwell Tap and Die Company
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If you're going to be parked on the couch for several hours heavily invested (or not) in a sporting event, might as well have some great food to keep you company. Forget bags of chips and delivery pizza -- we're doing our game time the FOOD52 way.
Pumpkin Rugelach with Sage and Walnuts by arielleclementine
Serrano Ham and Manchego Croquetas with Smoked Pimentón Aioli by Sonali aka the Food Physician
Roasted Fennel & White Bean Dip by singing_baker
Caramelized Onion Dip by ADRIENE
Cheese Crispettes by drbabs
Korean Fried Chicken Wings by ravenouscouple
Slow Cooked Pork Tacos by merrill
Herbed Beef Skewers with Horseradish Cream by Oui, Chef
A Bowl of Red by wssmom
Peanut Butter Cookies by merrill


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Featured Ingredient: Steel-Cut Oats
Ever since Tabi and I started enjoying hearty steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast, we can't seem to go back to the rolled oat variety. I usually cook up a big batch with a mixture of water and milk to produce creamy results and spruce things up with nuts, seeds and spices. Certainly, there are worse ways to start off your day as steel-cut oats are nutritional powerhouse.
Primarily, they are a leading source of beta-glucan. This is a soluble fiber shown to help improve cholesterol numbers which makes oats a champion for heart health. They are also a wonderful source of fiber, magnesium, and folate – a B vitamin that helps cells form properly which slashes cancer risk.
Recently, Bob's Red Mill kicked off their second annual Spar for the Spurtle 2 Oatmeal Recipe Contest, which invites home cooks and professional chefs alike to submit short videos demonstrating a unique recipe that makes use of BRM steel cut oats. From the entries, three finalists will be flown to
to compete in a live cook-off. How cool is that? I don't think you'll have
Gordon Ramsey tossing four letter words your way. Portland, Oregon
Here's the best news: The winner of the cook-off will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for two to
, including $2,500 in cash, to help represent team
Bob's Red Mill in the 19th Annual
Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship! Scotland
Click here to learn more about the contest.
The kind folks over at Bob's Red Mill would love to give Muffin Tin Mania readers some of their oat products to try out in the kitchen. All you need to do is enter their Spar for the Spurtle contest and let me know that you did by commenting on this post and they will send you some product. The deadline to submit entries in the Spar for the Spurtle contest is
July 20, 2012. Sorry Gretzky fans,
this contest is only open to U.S.
If I was to enter, I think this might be the recipe because why should you just eat oatmeal from a bowl? Bake up a batch of these and you'll be set for a week's worth of nutritious breakfast meals. They are also perfect for when you need a healthy on-the-go breakfast option. I like to dress mine up with blueberries and some coconut, but you can choose other berries or toppings as you prefer.
Cocoa Oatmeal
1 cup steel-cut oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup hemp hearts (optional)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cups low-fat milk or non-dairy alternative of choice
1 large mashed banana
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Flaked coconut
In a bowl, cover oats with water and soak overnight or for several hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drain oats and add to a large bowl along with almond flour, cherries, almonds, hemp seeds, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and mix with milk, banana and maple syrup. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir to combine.
Divide oat mixture among 12 medium sized muffin cups. Cook for 22 minutes, or until a tester comes out mostly clean.
Serve baked oatmeal cups warm topped with blueberries, flaked coconut and additional maple syrup if desired.


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Wiz Khalifa - Industry Talk / Say U Will Freestyle
Wiz Khalifa talks about the industry for a second then drops a hot verse over Kanye's "Say You Will"
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"There have existed, in every age and every country, two distinct orders of men -- the lovers of freedom and the devoted advocates of power." ~ Robert Y. Hayne
Stay the Hell Out of Liberia!
Just in time for President Bush's trip to Africa comes word that we may get directly involved in the political crisis within the nation of Liberia. This is a land that has been blighted by 14 years of war and terror. Now the international community has turned to us and asked that we do something to about it.
President Bush did not hide his opinions of the situation. He said, 'One expectation is that Mr. Taylor's got to leave. That message is clear. I can't make it any more clear.' I, of course, have nothing good to say about yet another corrupt, rapacious African dictator like Charles Taylor, but the word 'another' says it all. He's been indicted by a war crimes court for his actions in Sierra Leone ; however, the standards by which he was convicted could also apply to many other African rulers. He is by no means a unique case.
Bush's words, unfortunately, are not where the matter ends. We are considering sending American soldiers there as a way to prop up the cease fire in their civil war. Specifically, 'Officials said they are considering sending 500 to 2,000 American troops, a number that will be determined after a decision is made about the force's precise mission.' I realize that this is not a tremendous number of soldiers, but if any of them start coming back in body bags (I think we all know some will), it will be far too many for most Americans, considering what we've been through in the last few months.
The battle over whether Saddam's Iraq possessed WMDs rages back and forth within Congress and the pundit class, but there cannot be even the slightest pretense on the part of our government that the Liberians pose a threat to our people in any shape or form. This would be strictly a humanitarian venture and will not in the least advance our interests. Therefore, I firmly believe that Liberian action will have little sustainable support either from the left or from the right.
We've all heard about the 'slippery slope' in the last few weeks due to recent Supreme Court decisions, but it really applies to this issue. I firmly believe that setting a new precedent for American policing is very dangerous. Perhaps we can help the people of Liberia , but how do we say no to the next basket case country? Answer: we can't. There are hundreds of geopolitical conflagrations on this planet and, should we send men to Liberia, I see no mechanism in place to prevent this administration from getting involved in all of the other crises.
Regarding Liberia, officials hold that we'd only need to be there a few months to ensure peace. Yet, such a notion is belied by the country's 14 years of strife and African history in general. Paris will always be Paris and Africa will always be Africa. It is a continent marked by decades of political instability. If we commit our military there today, it may stay overseas for the rest of the millennium. I see no reason why we should start a permanent African fire brigade. If the situation in Liberia stabilizes, do we then send the boys to Zimbabwe ? How about Sudan or the Congo ?
I believe President Bush will be making a serious foreign policy blunder with Liberia. Specifically, he said 'We're concerned when we see suffering ' people are suffering there. The political instability is such that people are panicking.' By this criteria, we could police half the world. The fact that the normal, average person in an African kleptocracy suffers terribly is undeniable, and I have tremendous sympathy for them, but, by this standard, a plethora of nations will 'leave the light on for us.' Our troops will be more omnipresent than McDonalds on the seven continents.
The article I cited above also noted: 'The military, administration officials said, remains haunted by the attempt to bring peace to Somalia, an effort that led to the deaths of 18 American troops in 1993.' To this writer and citizen, recalling past mistakes is a sound way to ensure successful decision making in the future. Our military establishment has every right to be haunted by Mogadishu. The public cannot be happy about all the deaths we've had in Iraq since May 1st and video clips of our men being dismembered and dragged through the streets of Monrovia will increase our feelings of remorse.
The bottom line here is that we already have nearly a quarter of a million soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan at the present time, and the last thing we need is to put any more American lives in jeopardy by sending them to a place specializing in early death, landmines and machine gun fire. I urge President Bush not to commit any more United States forces to Africa. The 60 plus bodies coming home from Iraq are enough for one summer.


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Raytheon Company was awarded a $1.5 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract for phase one of the agency's Space Enabled Effects for Military Engagements (SeeMe) program. During the next nine months, the company will complete the design for small satellites to enhance warfighter situational awareness in the battlespace.
The SeeMe program will provide useful on-demand imagery information directly to the warfighter in the field from a low-cost satellite constellation launched on a schedule that conforms to Department of Defense operational tempos.
"Leveraging our state-of-the-art missile assembly lines, we can mass produce these small, lightweight satellites quickly and affordably," said Tom Bussing, Raytheon Missile Systems' vice president of Advanced Missile Systems. "As the world's only producer of exoatmospheric kill vehicles, we are already developing and building hardware to space standards."
For this contract, Raytheon has teamed with Sierra Nevada Corporation, University of Arizona and SRI International to assist with design work and eventually production. Next year, in phase two of the SeeMe program, the Raytheon team would build six satellites for ground testing.
"We are pleased to be working with DARPA to solve the challenge of providing warfighters with a tactical space sensor capability at a production rate price," said Bussing.


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Some discussions and descriptions of user experience focus solely on the qualities of the product itself, yet this is only one part of the overall story involving the user. There are many factors that over time will influence the experience. The more that organisations can do to ensure they consider and coordinate all these factors the better chance they have of designing not only good products but providing a good overall experience.
See below for some examples of these influencing factors at different times in the user relationship. I've broken it up into a number of stages although in reality these will probably blur together. For simplicity I'll use the word product but it could be a physical product, a digital product, a service, or combination of all of these.
Initial feelings and expectations can be set by how easy the product is to find, how it is marketed, and how other people talk about it. Good initial awareness of a product or brand helps ensure that you are considered at the next stage when the user starts to make a choice from perhaps many possible solutions.
When someone is deciding which product to pick they make decisions based on the information available and how desirable it appears. Independent reviews and comparisons can hold far more weight than the views of the provider of the product especially if it is in a competitive market. The price being asked will also set certain expectations with the customer about the functionality, quality and reliability of the product.
A slick shopping and purchasing experience, whether online or in a traditional shop, will often go unnoticed unless exceptional. A bad shopping experience though will not necessarily stop the user in their tracks but it will set a bad tone just before the important first contact with the product.
First Impressions
There may be certain expectations built up already and these can be heavily influenced when the product is first unboxed and turned on, or installed and used for the first time. This first contact may only be a small proportion of the overall time one spends with a product but these first impressions are strong and will be remembered. Designing to make a good first impression will make the user far more positive and forgiving towards the product in normal usage. Obviously the opposite is also true.
Assuming the product has made it this far then it needs to be usable and meet the needs of the user. Emotions are often overlooked here and the experience will be heightened if it proves a pleasure to use. Can the product make the user smile? Can it continue to impress the user over time, and not just at the beginning?
Ideally problems in using a product are anticipated and prevented as far as possible. If problems do occur however then how they are dealt with can have a huge effect on the experience in a positive or negative way. If the problem is dealt with badly or unresolved then it may be then the product may simply not be used any further. If handled well it can lead to a far better trusting relationship with the user than if there had been no problems at all.
The end of a relationship with a product is often an area that is neglected and yet like many stories the beginning and the end are the most memorable. If someone has decided to stop using a product then a clean and polite uninstall process, or upgrade path, can make sure that related products are considered in future or even recommended to others.
If the overall experience has been a good one for the user then this will have a positive effect on their attitude to the company, other current products, and other future products. If the experience is exceptional then it is likely that this will affect not only the actual user but they will champion the product to other people in their network and spread the delight!
Lining things up
The more all the influencing factors line up and reinforce each other the greater the effect. Conversely one part can let the whole side down and taint the overall experience, and we all know how bad news spreads easier and quicker than good news.
Most of this should be familiar to us as consumers of products everyday and not many people would argue that you shouldn't be designing consistent experiences across all these stages. Many companies struggle to design and implement these good holistic experience for their users mainly due to the fragmented nature of their organisation. Those that do stand out from the crowd. They don't just have happy users, they are usually the most successful companies.
What next?
Who influences the user experience and what can we do to help this holistic view take place in organisations? Sounds like a good topic for the next post!
Tags: User Experience, ux


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Automatic position reporting QRP HF beacon using CW
I have been thinking it might be a an interesting exercise to develop and build a PIC controlled device that takes the GPS serial NMEA strings, extracts the info that is required and then encode the pertinent information into CW and transmit this on a low power HF beacon. The beacon will then transmit the position say once every 2 minutes?
For example:
VVV de ZS6A = 1300 S25.123 E024.567 <AR>
VVV de ZS6A = 1315 KG01DC <AR> Using the Maidenhead grid system.
This will be a very basic form of APRS and will enable tracking without the need of computers etc.
Long live CW !!
Has this been done before? Not much point in re inventing the wheel……


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First up I had to change the measurements to Australian metric ones. So...
- 450 grams Marshmallows (I always thought it was Marshmellows but Wikipedia has proven me wrong!)
- 3/4 American cup of milk (Now, since I have a measuring cup with both metric and imperial, I didn't have to change this measurement. If you are making it at home, just be aware that mertic cups are 250ml and American ones are 240ml, so there is a bit of a difference.)
- 500 mls of cream (It actually translated to 560mls but I rounded down!)
- 100 grams dark chocolate (I was estimating for this part, as I'm not sure how "5 squares" translated to today's sizes. I used 70% cocoa because you need a bit of bitterness)
- Bake a pie crust (or use a store-bought one)
- In double boiler, melt marshmellows and milk. When smooth, mix in chocolate until melted.
- Whip cream, fold in mixture, pour in shell.
- Chill
Also, though I haven't tried my finished product I can state that it is very very sweet! Even when using the bitterest chocolate I could find. I think next time I'd like to try and even darker chocolate, and a crust with less sugar. Next time I make it I think I'll use less marshmallows and substitute with some even darker chocolate... Maybe even mix in some berries for freshness.
Alternatively, I think this recipe would be great to use as a base for a Rocky-Road pie! I'm thinking you could add some crushed peanuts to the crust (The salt and savoury might even counteract the sweet) and top with fresh or glacé cherries!


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URGENT Brochure
Budget $30-250 USD
Need this complete ASAP.
Awarded to:
Ready to start now and deliver within a few short hours ........... How many pages are we talking?? ...
77 freelancers are bidding on average $95 for this job
I can deliver your work in less than 24 hours with professionalism. I have an Experience of many years in Graphic Designing And i am also an illustrator expert Sir kindly Give me a chance. My work is very profess More
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Let,s start .....can be done with in 15 hours........... final files will provide you 7 different format ready for print cdr ai pdf png tiff jpg psd
Hello! I'm super-cool photoshoper and I can make really high-quality job for you. Of course I also work in other programs. I am working ONLY till full satisfaction of employer. You can see my profile and be con More
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These kid rockers are the real deal. Silver Shores Elementary's very own rock band - The Silver Eagles will jam out Saturday at The Pembroke Gardens Fountain Plaza located off I-75 at Pines Boulevard.
The Silver Eagles, directed by music teacher Matthew Goldberg, will be playing songs from Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, Taio Cruz, Drake Bell, KISS, Miley Cyrus and Journey.
The live concert starts at 7 p.m.
firstname.lastname@example.com or 954-747-3033, Twitter: @karen_yi


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Rich Dolarz Believes He Beat Goodz! "Lionz Den Was Biased" Plus Calls Arsenal "Booker T. Hes WWE. You College Grab. Put On A Chopper Suit" + Acapella Freestyle [Gladiators Battle Goin Down April 25]
GDEMagazine reports "Shorty Roc* (www.myspace.com/TheBlackRocky) of GDEMagazine.net interviews Rich Dolarz and responds to Arsenal's disrespectful comments on WorldStarHipHop. Rich Dolarz also goes into detail about what exactly happened at the Lionz Den Battle between him and Goodz. Video Courtesy of GDEMagazine.net
Gladiators Battle going down April 25th
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The Aperture Academy Instructor: Brian Rueb
Brian Rueb is an Aperture Academy instructor specializing in Landscape Photography. He is an award-winning photographer with years of experience teaching to students of all ages. Enjoy this sample of his work, and learn more about him through his bio on the right. You can also follow his work through the links at the end of his bio.
About Brian Rueb
Brian Rueb has been photographing for the better part of 20 years. Combining a degree in photography and a degree in art he has worked the two together to create powerful and dynamic landscape images. His love and passion for photography is evident in each and every image he shoots. In addition to his passion for art Brian also has a passion for education and has spent almost 15 years teaching art and photography in the public high school system. During that time he has developed an art and photography program that has seen numerous students win awards and go on to major in the profession. His goal is not only to be great himself, but to instill that knowledge and passion into his students.
In addition to being an internationally recognized photographer, Brian also writes for several websites sharing his interesting often comical adventures into the wilderness in search of new images. He is in the process of conducting research on a book that will chronicle an upcoming two month adventure around the country of Iceland titled Me, Myself, and Iceland. He is also a volunteer in Lassen Volcanic National Park and working on a five year project compiling images for a book on the park and its changes throughout the seasons.
Ruebs work has appeared in numerous magazines including Shutterbug and Photographers Forum. His work has won numerous awards and merit at the Local, State, National, and International levels.
Brian currently resides in Northern California with is wife, two boys, and three dogs.
Meet All Our Instructors
You will be learning from only the best!
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→ Past Workshop Photos
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Birmingham's Leading Provider of Tub Shower DoorsWith over 30 years of experience in the industry, Designs in Glass has become the premier provider and installer of tub shower doors in the Birmingham area. Our talented contractors and highly skilled team work together to deliver you an exceptional product at the best price possible. We utilize only the finest materials and are qualified to handle any shower door installation project. We ensure you the best quality, service, and pricing for any project you have in mind.
Small bathroom upgrades are proven to be one of the best ways to increase your home's value. No matter what style of shower door you have in mind - frameless, framed, European, etc. - your bathtub enclosure is made to order and beautifully crafted with great care. An updated shower door can serve as the centerpiece of your bathroom, adding a touch of luxury and elegance to a room that's often overlooked. Custom tub shower doors from Designs in Glass offers elegance, durability, and value that will last for years to come.
Turn your outdated bathroom into a place of luxury - contact our experts today for a free estimate to get started on your project!


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Gotcha Force
What do you need help on?Cancel X
The lid to the toy box has blown off its hinges and the toys are ready to rumble. It's toy versus toy in this over-the-top 3D action shooter. You can create your own fighting force with over 100 unique characters. Up to four players can battle for control in four-player battle mode or two against two. Play against your friends or work together to defeat your evil foes. For more characters, you can trade with your teammate to assemble a powerful unit and roll on to victory.
Game News
Game List Statistics
Now Playing
34 Users
Wish List
78 Users
Hot List
22 Users


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suneg needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 29 designs submitted by 16 freelance designers.
About us:
We are a small Copenhagen-based software consulting company that, put shortly, help software companies become better at developing software. We do that by challenging their current tools, process, leadership, training of employees and so forth.
What do we offer:
We have 3 major "products":
* Consulting services, helping IT companies getting better.
* Developing software solutions - Taking responsibility for delivering custom made software.
* Training - All sorts of workshops that fit in the Lean and Agile categories.
Our culture:
I think it's fair to say that the culture of this company is quite unique. We are a highly democratic company, working hard on reaching consensus before execution. Respect for our suppliers and customers is not a statement on our website, it's a code that we try to live by every day. We love problems - as they are the foundation of all improvement activities. We are very much inspired by japanese (business) culture.
To read more about us you can check out our blog at http://www.bestbrains.dk/blog
Our target audience can be diveded into three major categories.
* Top IT stakeholders (CTOs, development managers, etc), trying to build a more profitable company, with higher employee morale, and happier customers.
* Individual developers, testers and project managers looking for (Agile/Lean) training workshops/courses
* Stakeholders in the public sector, that needs tecnical- or process related help regarding procurement (the contract stuff), or execution of an IT project.
A simple website design that can be used on a site with somewhat dynamic content (New training courses added continously. Short articles added continously).
We just need a design of the frontpage, and we will take care of all the subpages.
The goal of this new website is quite simple - We need to improve our sales (consulting services & training), and the website should aim for this.
We are aiming at a broad audience, so we are thinking of having a couple of different appetizers on the frontpage, trying to find a soft spot regardless of whether the visitor is a CTO in a private company, or a project manager in the public sector.
Obviously we need a good colormatch with our logo.
Take a look at the example we uploaded to get an idea.


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By Steve Taylor, CFCA sponsor
In 2007 my wife, Jayne, and I began sponsoring Khain, then age 10. We enjoy a wonderful relationship through the letters we exchange on a regular basis.Jayne and I look forward to receiving the letters Ö even the one where Khain, age 14, gently questioned why I have not written for roughly 7 months, but she also offered an excuse for me, "You are probably very busy with work."
I can honestly say I've never been so pleased about a reprimand. We loved that she looked forward to the letters, even enough to ask for them.
This gentle reprimand strengthened our relationship and made us think about Khain's maturity and our interest in her future. We wanted to focus on her long-term future.
To match Khain's maturity, Jayne and I transitioned our letters from general news to asking more about her goals and ambitions.
In addition to encouraging her to do well in school, we also determined we could help her with college or technical training costs after high school.
We decided the best way to communicate our offer was face to face during the 2012 CFCA mission awareness trip to the Philippines.
Now here's the challenge. The day prior to visiting Khain and her family at their home, I was informed Khain had left home and dropped out of school for a month while only 14.
Fortunately, she returned home and is back in school. Now the long-term vision for college changes to ensuring she finishes high school.
The trip provided the opportunity to understand realities not described in the letters. We hope we never receive the letter stating she's out of the program, unexpectedly.
We did receive a letter from Khain since returning from the trip, and it appears she is back on track and focused on school.
I asked Khain's parents if they support her remaining in school versus having to go to work, and they said they do. Now Khain's parents, Jayne and I will work together to encourage and keep her in school and reach the goal of a brighter future.
The encouragement we offered Khain was, "Determine your goals in your head, but put them in your heart … and then pursue your heart.
"We want you to know, your goals will also be in Ma'am Jayne's and my heart. Now that we have met, I look forward to reading your letters, not as a sponsor but as a friend or even a grandfather."
We hope and pray her dreams come true. We look forward to being there to find out.
Also as a result of the mission awareness trip, we are now sponsoring Khain's brother, Anjo.


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This unit consists of four activities. Students begin by examining temperature cycles (current, recent and historical) then add in factors such as carbon dioxide, precipitation and cloud cover to discover regional and global differences in the... (View More) effects of climate change. The unit is one of four under the Chicago Botanic Garden curriculum entitled, "Climate Change in My Backyard." (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
This is a set of instructions for building a physical model. The model simulates the Sun's paths across the sky at summer solstice, winter solstice, and the spring and fall equinoxes. A bead simulates the Sun, moving along a cord, from rising along... (View More) the eastern horizon to setting on the western. The bead can be moved from path to path to demonstrate solar alignments, the solstices, and equinoxes. The model is created to be unique to the user's latitude, and is useful for including in lessons that teach about the seasons or archaeoastronomy. (View Less)
The 9-session NASA Family Science Night program emables middle school children and their families to discover the wide variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics being performed at NASA and in everyday life. Family Science Night... (View More) programs explore various themes on the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, and the Universe through fun, hands-on activities, including at-home experiments. Instructions for obtaining the facilitator's guide are available on the Family Science Night site. (View Less)


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Unrest in the Middle East continues to swell, but soon some grace will come their way – Grace Benton, that is.
|Grace Benton. Download image.
The recent University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Jordan. She is the second UAB student to receive the award this year and the 15th since 1993.
"I am honored," said the 21-year Newburg, Md., native who received a degree in international studies Saturday. "Thanks to the unwavering support of my parents, my grandmother and my mentors at UAB, I have been offered an incredible opportunity to further my Arabic language skills and ability to negotiate a different culture, and also to be privy to an incredibly interesting socio-political phenomenon."
Benton plans to spend the next academic year in Jordan working as an English language teacher. Upon her return to the America, she will work to complete a master's degree in either Arab studies or Middle Eastern studies. Ultimately, her goal is to teach and develop cultural exchange programs for Americans to study in the Levant region.
The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. government, gives students the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research overseas as part of the organization's goal to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. Participants are selected based on academic merit and leadership potential and help contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
"We are so proud of Grace and other recent Fulbright Scholars from UAB (five in the past two years) for their deep commitment to academic excellence and service to our global community, both of which are core values of this university," said UAB President Carol Z. Garrison, Ph.D., "As Grace serves very ably and passionately as a teacher in Jordan, I know she will represent UAB, Alabama and our nation very well."
Throughout her college career, Benton has traveled to various parts of the Middle East for several study-away programs. She is excited to return during a time where historic changes are happening in the governments there, she said.
"The Middle East is in an especially unique period of transition," Benton said, "and I am thrilled to have such an opportunity to observe and reflect such changes while in-country."
A University Honors Scholar, Benton received numerous honors while at UAB including a scholars' award, a Bryant-Jordan scholar-athlete award and induction into the Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Iota Rho (International Studies) honor societies.
In 2008, she participated in the Tunisian Community Center Study-Abroad Scholarship program as an English language fellow for the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education. She conducted discussion groups with Tunisian students at the language village in Nabeul and lived with local scholars to better facilitate the cultural and linguistic exchange.
In 2010, Benton was selected as a William Jefferson Clinton Scholar and spent the spring semester at American University in Dubai. While at UAB, she was an international mentor and a foreign language ambassador.
Her parents are Paul Benton and Martha Daughdrill of Lottie.


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Is the summer heat leaving you feeling a bit parched? Perhaps your landscaping is thirsty, too? If so, you're not alone. People all over the southwestern United States are realizing that our traditional green lawn landscapes are more difficult and expensive to keep watered in hot, dry years like this one. So much so that cities are actually paying residents to rip-up their grass and replace it with climate-appropriate plants.
No matter where you stand on the aesthetics of the issue, the fact is that losing the lawn allows cities to reduce water consumption—amazingly, by up to a third—even while the population grows.… Read more >>


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Great job bakeray. AJ should send you a ApplianceJunk Shirt to wear down in Kansas City. Good luck in Kansas City, make us all proud!
One other thing Id like to see at the store is a window decal for my truck
Would be cool to see a photo of you with the ApplianceJunk.com shirt on at the competition in Kansas City. Anyone else from your class going?
Ill be heading to Kansas City in June to do it all over again.


text: I confess: I love video games. People laugh when I say this but I"m really not joking when I say that I need to understand video games for my job. It's important to understand video games simply because of the large role they play in our popular culture. But from a more precise professional perspective, it is important for we professional communicators to understand video … [Read more...]


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NEW: RE/MAX New England 2013 Housing Forecast Projects Growth
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
RE/MAX of New England 2013 Housing Forecast, New England should expect to see continued improvement in the housing market this year with further growth in both total transactions and median price in most areas. The report also projects New England will largely shift from a buyer's market to a more balanced market as 2013 progresses.
According to the report, record low interest rates were a driving force behind strong growth in year-over-year single-family, multi-family and condominium sales in 2012. With the exception of Connecticut, which experienced a -2.3% decline in multi-family home sales, each state experienced growth in all three categories of transactions.
Rhode Island + the region
Rhode Island single-family home sales posted the largest year-over-year gains in New England in 2012, up 24.2% year-over-year. Condominium sales increased 13.7%, and multi-family home sales grew 10.1%. Average median price for single-family homes declined -5.9% compared to 2011.
Connecticut single-family home sales increased 14.9% year-over-year while the median price declined -3.1% to $213,873. Condominium sales rose 8.2%. A closer look at Fairfield County home sales is included in the report.
Home transactions in all three categories surged ahead in Massachusetts. Single-family and condominium transactions both increased 21.6% year-over-year, while multi-family home sales grew 5.3%. The median price of single-family home sales also continues to stabilize. In 2012, it remained virtually flat, declining only -0.1% to $287,920.
Holding steady at just over $201,000, the average median sales price of a single-family home in New Hampshire remained flat in 2012. Single-family home transactions increased 21.2% year-over-year, while condominium transactions grew 19.3%. Multi-family home transactions also increased 2.2%.
Single-family home transactions increased 15.2% in Vermont, while the median price declined -2.2%. Condominium transactions rose 18.1% but the average median price dropped -3.4%. Multi-family home transactions virtually doubled, up 49.3% while the average median price declined -7.9%.
Ending 2012 on a high note
"The New England housing market finished 2012 on a high note, with each state experiencing strong year-over-year growth in total transactions, and RE/MAX of New England is excited to see that momentum continue in 2013," said Dan Breault, Executive Vice President and Regional Director of RE/MAX of New England. "As the amount of available inventory continues to shrink, watch for a gradual appreciation in median home prices in the second half of 2013 as the market begins to shift from a buyer's market to a balanced market which favors both the buyer and the seller."
Strong home sales during 2012, especially in the second half of the year, helped reduce the amount of available inventory. Breault says as this pool of properties continues to shrink in 2013, it will lead to a slow but gradual increase in median home prices, which will result in more homes being sold at their actual fair market value.
"Shifting from a buyer's market to a more balanced market is an important sign that the housing market is recovering in a healthy manner," said Breault. "This big step in the recovery should instill further confidence in both buyers and sellers."
Related Articles
- Housing Market Shows Signs of Life - RE/MAX
- NEW: Encouraging Growth in RE/MAX November Housing Report
- NEW: RI Home Sales Are Up Nearly 25% - RE/MAX
- NEW: RI Leads in Year-Over-Year Home Sales Increase—RE/MAX
- RE/MAX Donates 3,000 Pounds of Food to RI Food Bank


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The 2014 Senate race between incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor and Republican challenger Rep. Tom Cotton will feature many contrasts between the candidates.
Most notably, the Cotton campaign will continue to highlight Pryor's vote for ObamaCare and his mostly reliable votes for President Obama's policies in the Senate. Meanwhile, Pryor's campaign will focus on Cotton's ties to the Tea Party and conservative groups who try to paint him as too far to the right for Arkansas.
But there are others issues where voters can find contrasts, as we saw this past week on the issue of abortion.
Every January, pro-lifers mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states — with marches and rallies opposing legalized abortion. Making it clear where he stands, Cotton spoke at the Arkansas March for Life in Little Rock where he promised to continue to promote a culture of life.
"Like all people, unborn children are entitled to the God-given right to life and liberty enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed in our Constitution," said Cotton. "And I'm working in Congress to defend the sanctity of human life and to preserve and protect the rights of all children, born and unborn. I've sponsored legislation that would stop taxpayer dollars from going to organizations that perform abortions. I've also supported a bill that would declare that life begins at conception and, as we continue in our efforts to protect the unborn, a bill that stops abortions after the fetus is capable of feeling pain. And I continue to oppose Obamacare and its regulations, with its unconstitutional mandates that private organizations, including churches, pay for abortion."
Cotton's voting record backs his words, scoring 100 percent on votes tracked by the National Right to Life. Pryor scores a 35 percent on his votes tracked by the same group in his 12 years in the Senate.
The voting record goes along with a position by Pryor which has been all over the map during his career. Asked about his position on abortion in 1998 while running for attorney general, Pryor simply said, "I am pro-choice."
But by 2013, his position seems to have evolved from clearly pro-choice to basically somewhere in the middle
"I've always leaned toward the pro-life side of that, but I don't fit neatly into any of the categories," Pryor told a Northwest Arkansas television station when asked about his view on abortion last April. "I certainly respect that there are circumstances where the woman should be able to make that decision. Of course, I want that to be as infrequent as possible. But I do think that there are times when a woman should make that decision."
This past week, Pryor has ducked reporters' questions about his upcoming vote on a Senate bill that would ban abortion after the point at which unborn babies can experience pain. This is a federal bill similar to a 20-week ban passed by the Arkansas General Assembly last year.
Regardless of a voter's views on the issue of abortion, they ought to be able to get a clear answer on where the candidates stand. With Cotton, it is clear he favors laws that will limit abortion and protect life. With Pryor, it seems to depend on the year.
Jason Tolbert is an accountant and conservative political blogger. His blog — The Tolbert Report — is linked at ArkansasNews.com. His e-mail is firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Lord have mercy, Jesus Christ
He's just nice, he just slice like a ginnsu
Look at the life that I been through
We the last real niggas alive, that's official
[Kendrick Lamar]
Let me tell you when it all started
Game dropped Documentary and made plenty enemies
It was a classic album, but prior to that
Guerilla Black debuted and put the city on wax
A lot of Biggie comparisons, we all was aware of them
But that wasn't my M.O., I just thought he was dope
Can't understand why Game would say his name in that manner
Many years went by, still no legitimate answer
Anyway, I put out a mixtape in 12th grade
Hub City threat, minor of the year, DJ Dave
And his brother designed, put together the music
Put it out to the people, the people said I was stupid
With the flow, went to the barbershop to show off my skills
Mike and Himey and some other cat said I was real
Himey was Games barber, the other cat made a statement
Saying that Game was his partner, so I gave him my tape
Said he'd play it for him, hoping that I'd get my big break
But never got a response.. anyway
This nigga named ?Pop Givs? came to my school with a camera
I freestyled on his DVD for a minute then after
It hit the streets, I was known as K. Dot from Compton
Man Hootie probably was the youngest out that was poppin'
But I didn't have a home yet, Hootie had ? in me
Until I met Top Dawg, told Dave that he'd like to meet
Me at the studio, made me freestyle for an hour
Told me come back tomorrow, but I came back in a hour
Jay Rock was in the booth, recording his first mixtape
Was skeptical homie at first because he knew where I stayed
But we got over that, heard the beat, wrote a rap
Did our first collaboration on the Nephew track
He got signed months later, Warner Brothers
We started on his album, he wrote his rhymes on paper
Before Sidekicks became a modern day phone
Same time our buzz was generated from G Malone
He had a song called 200, White Lightnin, the streets loved it
Said that Sony had gave him an unbelievable budget
Now that's a smart nigga, I'm tryna make my raps bigger than life
But not knowing how to market it right
Turned on the radio
Only cat he knew from the West Coast was playin' was Bishop
And by then this nigga' buzz was tremendous
In the lab, me and Rock tryna perfect our craft
What the fuck? Next thing you know, we came across Lift Me Up
It was a hit
When I heard it
But all we had was the instrumental and the hook
But when
Rock jump on it for certain, it was to smash
Gave it to Julio, just to get his opinion
Next thing you know, the record was
That was a good look, it set the coast on fire
Niggas in Garden projects presents Watts Riot
Then these rappers start hating, callin' up to the station
Ask why they record ain't playin', what you niggas complaining, about?
Shit was funny to us tho
Niggas hate to see a nigga from the bottom come up, yo
In the midst of the single poppin' and niggas tryna seek and destroy
I had a situation with Def Jam, premature
Shit went sour after Jay-Z left but they didn't care
I was glad Jay-Z gave me respect
See I was young, fast forward, hot dollah had the streets on lock
Far as radio play, obvious, he got a lot
Beefing' with Daz Dilinger, Jay Rock spoke on it
Which in my opinion, I didn't think the shit was impo'tant
But that's a whole 'nother story, we hit the lab with Game
And a few other names like Juice and Young, ya boy
Did the cypher freestyle and everybody's like, "Wow"
These Top Dawg niggas 'bout to make noise"
Surely after Game took us on tour, I love you for that
But right after that, we didn't see him no more
G Malone came with a smash hit with Akon
Mistah FAB battled Royce Nickel with napalm
Then everybody start to scream out the new West
And claim that West Coast legends don't want to see him at best
I think that's just an excuse, because their music ain't tight
Tell 'em that Ab-soul said it, they can quote him twice
Then Crooked I came with Hip-Hop Weekly, killin' the internet
But he been a threat since Deathrow, then Rocky came about
And all I thought about was Ab-Soul 2-11-2
It finally started to look like the West was makin' moves
Western Union had the whole block boomin' because of Snoop
Matter fact, Bad Luck was my favorite about the group
Then ?Problem? took off, another Compton native
We both Compton niggas, but Compton still ain't made it
By this time, Jay Rock and All My Life hit the airwaves
We almost got into some major beef over Lil' Wayne
That part I'mma leave out
Theres certain things that the streets only should know about
Shout out to Nipsey
Bishop win that game, then had a fight with ?
That's when I dropped C4 and had the critics mad at me
Because they didn't see my views, grab the hottest album out and re-do it
That's a goddamn power move stupid
You foolish, don't know shit about this war shit
Theres mo' shit to wanting to be the king of the coast shit
[Hook x2]
[Outro: Kendrick Lamar]
So two weeks ago I finally run into the nigga I gave my mixtape too
And said he was partners with Game
The nigga finally told me what he said
He said he didn't like it
But the niggas like
"See, see, look at you, look at you now, I tried to tell him you was tight"
Nigga probably never even gave it to him and shit


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Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Can Roy Williams Be The #1 Receiver?
1. New Orleans Saints: Lance Moore (79 rec., 928 yds., 10 TD)
2. Denver Broncos: Brandon Marshall (104 rec., 1265 yds., 6 TD)
3. Houston Texans: Andre Johnson (115 rec., 1575 yds., 8 TD)
4. Arizona Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald (96 rec., 1431 yds., 12 TD)
5. New England Patriots: Wes Welker (111 rec., 1165 yds., 3 TD)
6. Atlanta Falcons: Roddy White (88 rec., 1382 yds., 7 TD)
7. New York Giants: Steve Smith (57 rec., 574 yds., 1 TD)
8. Green Bay Packers: Greg Jennings (80 rec., 1292 yds., 9 TD)
9. Philadelphia Eagles: Desean Jackson (62 rec., 912 yds., 2 TD)
10. Carolina Panthers: Steve Smith (78 rec., 1421 yds., 6 TD)
13. Dallas Cowboys: Terrell Owens (69 rec., 1052 yds., 10 TD)
Things get really interesting when you average out the number from each category for the top receivers in each of the top 10 offenses. Here are the results.
Top 10 avg. receptions: 87
Top 10 avg. yards: 1194.5
Top 10 avg. TD's: 6.4 TD
Roy Williams had his best season with the Detroit Lions in 2006. The numbers he put up are suprisingly similar to the averages of the top 10 #1 receivers from last season. Here are his numbers from 2006.
Roy Williams 2006 season stats: 82 rec., 1310 yds., 7 TD
What these numbers show me is that Roy Williams has the ability to serve as one of the focal points of the offense but he is going to have to prove that he has the work ethic to earn the trust of Tony Romo. I don't think Roy Williams has to put up typical #1 receiver numbers to earn his keep since there are so many weapons for Tony Romo to choose from. Jason Witten is certainly still going to be a primary target and Felix Jones will need more touches in 2009. At least we can rest easy knowing that Roy Williams has shown the ability to be a top receiver in the past. Now it is time for Roy to prove his worth to his teammates, the coaches, and the fans in 2009.
4 comments:
I think the biggest difference with Williams will be the short routes. I expect him run alot of slants and out routes. In the red zone he will be a great target because he can go get the ball. I don't think he is a deep threat, his speed isn't near the speed of Owens. Williams will be a great reciever for us. I think Crayton and Austin are more of a question mark than Williams.ReplyDelete
I agree with you. The offense is going to be much different next year with Roy as the lead receiver. The key is going to be whether Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, and Miles Austin can step up and be major contributors to the offense. We have seen Crayton do it for a few years, but the other guys are still question marks.ReplyDelete
I actually think Crayton isn't as good as he was 2 years ago. The cowboys should run alot of 2 tight end sets this year. Witten and Bennett are both way above average tight ends.ReplyDelete
- michael moApril 11, 2009 at 1:27 AM
are you guys just blind watching the game! regardless of how u look at it the cowboys are in the same boat with a lesser wide reciever u already had a problem with finding a number 2 receiver so u brought in roy.....now u let t.o. go so hear comes the double teams again lets just say on williams this time which mean 8 in the box and stuff the run now who do you throw too witten again how long is that combination gonna last before they double him and play williams one on one corners are too good now in the nfc cowboys are goin 6-10 mark my word i been a fan of cowboys since77 but cowboys need to really give themselves a kick with them boots they wear in dallasReplyDelete


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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
Israel this week officially launched "Operation Dove" to bring home the last of Ethiopia's Jews. The first flight in Operation Dove landed in Tel Aviv on Monday with 240 of Ethiopia's "Falash Mura."
The Falash Mura are part of an Ethiopian tribe that long went by the name of "Beta Israel" - the House of Israel. Sometime during the past two centuries, a large number of Beta Israel tribesmen converted to Christianity. For some the conversion was forced, for others adopting Christianity was the only way to gain full human rights.
But conversion notwithstanding, when Ethiopia entered a period of civil war in the 1980s, the Jews living there began to face increased persecution. Israel sprung into action, and in two dramatic airlift operations, one in 1984 and another in 1991, managed to transplant over 20,000 members of a previously "lost tribe" of Israel to the reborn Jewish state.
But a large number were left behind, and eventually moved into refugee camps. Some have been waiting there for over 10 years to be reunited with family and friends in Israel.
Between now and March 2014, Operation Dove will see the remainder of those Ethiopian Jews returned to the land of their forefathers.
However, touching down in Israel does not mean the end of troubles for many of these returning Jews. More than any other immigrant group, Ethiopian Jews have a difficult time adjusting to life in Israel. The language and Western-influenced customs are so totally foreign to them, leaving most Ethiopian Jews to scratch out a meager living.
Israel Today is honored to be one of the local organizations striving to make life a little easier for the returning Ethiopian Jews.
More than providing food and clothing, an Israel Today "Bundle of Love" package provides comfort and demonstrates to these immigrants that there are Christians out there who love them and are rooting for their success as part of the Nation of Israel.
CLICK HERE to visit our online store and bless an Ethiopian family in Israel.
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The housing market has been at the center of U.S. woes for years, but it is also key to the nation's economic recovery. Although April's Case-Shiller home price index offered a cloudy outlookon home prices, real estate website Zillowis forecasting that the end may be near, expecting home values nationwide to bottom during the final three months of 2012.
Applying a statistical approach that uses inputs from individual local markets including unemployment, vacancies, foreclosure rates and more, Zillow provides an estimate of when home values will hit a turning point. According to its model, some cities have already reached the bottom for prices and are on the way up. The following list represents markets that Zillow predicts have bottomed between Q3 2011 and Q1 2012.
While Case-Shiller directly takes into account foreclosure resales, Zillow's model looks primarily at the seasonally adjusted market for nonforeclosure sales and includes all homes in the area, not just ones for sale or that have been sold. This provides broader insight into how consumers are buying and selling homes in conventional transactions, says Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist. "If you look over a year-over-year basis, both new and existing home sales are showing trends anywhere from 5 to 10 percent above where they were last year," Humphries told CNBC. "If this continues for the balance of the year, it is likely to offset the imbalance of supply and demand. Overall, the excess of supply has been what has been pushing prices down."
But what would a true bottom in home prices look like? Humphries expects that a true turn would see prices gradually increase for three to six months following the national bottom, which would include an end to sustained declines on the local level. However, instead of home price appreciation of between 2.5 percent and 5 percent per year experienced before the bust, he expects growth rates to be below this historical norm, settling between 1 percent and 3 percent annually. The big cause for this slower pace of price growth is the high rate of negative equity, which stood at 28.5 percent in in the third quarter of 2011, says Humphries.
Based on the Zillow analysis, 19 of the 30 largest U.S. real estate markets will reach a bottom in 2012 or have already reached a bottom. In the markets that are predicted to have already made the turn, prices are expected to appreciate by 0.3 percent to 6.5 percent by March 2013, depending on the city. However, the biggest threats to a sustained recovery are systemic concerns, which are most strongly tied to domestic employment growth and the state of the global economy.
So, which metro areas have already reached a bottom in home prices, according to Zillow? Click ahead to find out.
By Paul Toscano
Posted 9 May 2012


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MIDDLEBURY — Burlington Democrat Doug Hoffer knows that some Vermont politicians have looked at the state auditor's job as a stepping stone to higher office.
Hoffer, 61, wants voters to know that he would be more than content to serve as auditor for the rest of his professional career.
"It's the only job I am interested in," Hoffer said. "I want it to be the last job I ever have."
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