text:
Just a day after a Taliban-claimed attack on the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, both the U.S. and Afghanistan indicated their continued commitment to peace talks with the organization.
OnTuesday, President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai held a video conference, during which they "reaffirmed" their commitment to the promised talks. Despite the simultaneous gestures of diplomacy and the militant violence, the leaders believe talks are the best way forward. But if those talks happen, it's not clear when. Or, once they're going, precisely how the Taliban will conduct itself.
The Taliban is, essentially, trying to have it all: as the New York Times explains, their newly opened Doha office is staffed with former officials from the Taliban's rule of Afghanistan, while fighters on the ground keep up attacks on the country's infrastructure. And on Al Jazeera, Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Sohail Shaheen more or less confirmed this by saying that they would "simultaneously follow political and military options. Because there is no cease-fire now, they are attacking us, and we are attacking them."
Read the full story at TheAtlanticWire.com.


text:
jfn necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 175 diseños de 35 diseñadores freelance.
YourCharleston.TV will be a new, high-profile, kickapps social media website concentrating on videos from Charleston, SC.
Can you create our new logo that people will ooh and ahh over?
You are designing a logo for "YourCharleston.TV"
We call it CharlestonTV, so, the word "Your" should be one color, and "Charleston.TV" should be another.
With the text, there should be a design element as well - and could have an element of Charleston, or the south. Like: Spanish Moss, or old gas lamps, or antebellum homes, victorian designs, etc. But it should be designed web 2.0, feel pretty chunky, vectorish and perhaps have a bubble around the whole thing - but not necessary at all.
This logo will front a website that represents the best of the creative and business community for Charleston, South Carolina.
Sophisticated and established, but young, friendly, recognizable and very designer-ish.
Also - as an aside, please look at our other contest on 99designs for "The Cut Company". If you win both contests, we will award you a $100 bonus.
- We need logo ready to go for both WEB and PRINT.- Prefer a scalable vector image (Adobe Illustrator, EPS or AI); not JPEG, GIF, TIFF, etc. but will accept layered PSD. All please as high res layered master (@ 300dpi!)- Needs to be used for multiple functions - website, stationary, biz cards, etc.
- clip art, unlicensed art- plain, tacky, or wack- flat designs - it should have some depth
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Views: 829
Here we go.
Good list, but I don't see how "God Part II" belongs in it. U2 is a vaguely religious band. I happen to like U2 and that song in particular. The only clear point it makes about religion is that the devil is bad.
Dan Barker's "Beware of Dogma" is worth sharing!
Beware of Dogma (Dan Barker)
Beware of dogma, it has a bite.
Beware of dogma, it wants a fight.
Beware of dogma, it will ignite
A holy war by itself.
Beware of dogma, it'll entrap your mind.
Beware of dogma, it'll make you blind.
Beware of dogma, it's not designed
To let you think for yourself.
If we let it out in the universe
There will be no doubt, everything is worse.
Beware of dogma, don't let it loose.
That unchained dogma, it'll reproduce.
Tie up your dogma, there's no excuse
For ignorance anymore.
Tie up your dogma, don't let it loose.
That unchained dogma, it'll reproduce.
Tie up your dogma, there's no excuse
For ignorance anymore.
Clean up after your dogma.
(I posted about Dan Barker's "Nothing Fails Like Prayer" in a separate discussion that could have gone here.)
"Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis" by Eric Schwartz -- an "anti-Bush, anti-fundie diatribe" that's unfortunately still relevant.
"Keep your Jesus off my penis; keep your bible off my balls.
Keep your prayers out of my ears and your crosses off my walls.
You can keep the virgin mother and the resurrection too.
Keep your Jesus off my penis; I'll keep my penis off of you."
A parody of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" ("Education"), by Disqus commenter J Ascher:
We don't need no religion
We don't need no thought control
No dark phantasm in the church hall
Preachers leave those kids alone
Hey! preachers! leave those kids alone!
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
© 2019 Atheist Nexus. All rights reserved. Admin: The Nexus Group. Powered by


text:
Wisconsin recently made headlines with the news that the state has a budget surplus of nearly $1 billion. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker credited lawsuit reform, which was recently enacted there, as one of the reasons for his state�s turnaround.
The story in Illinois is dramatically different. Its unemployment rate of 8.9 percent is the fourth highest in the country. A forecast from the Pew Charitable Trusts says Illinois will have one the worst rates for job growth in the country this year.
Illinois also ranks 46th out of 50 states for legal fairness in a recent report from the non-partisan Harris Research Company. Illinois� lawsuit climate ranked beneath every bordering state, including Indiana (14), Iowa (10), Kentucky (38), Missouri (34) and Wisconsin (15).
According to the recent �Judicial Hellholes� report from the American Tort Reform Foundation, Madison and St. Clair counties are ranked jointly as the nation�s fifth-worst �judicial hellhole,� while Cook County was placed on the �Watch List,� ATRF�s second tier of �judicial hellholes,� which the group defines as �jurisdictions that bear watching due to their histories of abusive litigation and which run the risk of dropping into the hellholes abyss.�
Illinois� status as one of the country�s worst �judicial hellholes� makes it difficult to attract badly needed jobs and opportunities because businesses look to move to places where the legal system is fair, and having one the most unfair lawsuit climates in the country clearly is keeping businesses and the jobs they bring from moving to Illinois.
The only people happy with the status quo are the personal injury lawyers who strike it rich playing the lawsuit lottery in Illinois� legendarily plaintiff-friendly courts. And now the personal injury lawyers are pushing their allies in the Illinois General Assembly to pass new legislation that will lead to more lawsuits filed here.
Illinois needs to create jobs, not lawsuits, which is why legislators need to hear from their constituents who don�t want to see Illinois become even more friendly to lawsuits and less friendly to job creation.
Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch recently launched a new campaign called �Stopping Lawsuit Abuse Starts With You.� In addition to encouraging people to serve on juries when called and to take personal responsibility for their actions, this campaign also urges people to make their voices heard in Springfield by contacting their legislators.
Illinois cannot afford to fall further behind our neighboring states with our lawsuit and job growth climate. Don�t let the personal injury lawyers be the only voices heard in Springfield. Stopping lawsuit abuse in Illinois truly does start with you.
Travis Akin is executive director of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch.


text:
Celebrating our nation's Independence Day has fallen into a routine. We fire up the barbecue, head out to our hometown parade, invite friends and family over, then swat mosquitoes while watching a fireworks display, either an official conflagration or an illegal one in the cul-de-sac.
If we stop to think about what the day actually means — the first struggling steps toward democracy — it's probably because someone turned on "Jeopardy!" So, let's spend a few minutes today remembering July 4, 1776, and some of the hits and misses that came after.
What's that date again?
Even if you weren't good at history, you were feeling pretty certain about that July 4 date as the day the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and we took those first steps away from England. Except we didn't.
The declaration was drafted and debated July 1, 1776; the following day, 12 of the 13 colonies voted in favor of the motion for independence. After two more days of debate over the official language, and a lot of revisions by Thomas Jefferson, Congress adopted the declaration, and that's where the July Fourth date comes from.
Only two people signed July 4; most of the delegates didn't sign the document until Aug. 2, and several signed even later. Two of the delegates — John Dickinson and Robert R. Livingston — never got around to putting pen to parchment at all. Talk about missed opportunities.
True or false? Rebild, a village 155 miles northwest of Copenhagen, Denmark, celebrates the Fourth of July with picnics, square dances and fireworks.
True. The land that is now Rebild National Park was purchased by Americans of Danish descent and donated to the people of Denmark, asking only that July Fourth be celebrated there every year.
Oh, say can you see
We all know the stirring words to the national anthem, right? OK, we know the beginning and something about the rocket's red glare, and sort of hum until we join in on the dramatic ending.
But do you know the other verses? Francis Scott Key wasn't just twiddling his thumbs out there on the Chesapeake Bay, you know. He wrote four verses in all. Try singing this one.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And The Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
That doesn't sound right
True or false? From 1870 to 1938, federal employees were allowed to take Independence Day off, but they didn't get paid.
True. Congress declared July Fourth a national holiday in 1870, but lawmakers didn't make it a paid federal holiday for another 68 years.
Showing our colors
In 1976, patriotic fervor struck our nation as we celebrated the 200th anniversary of our country. This led to bursts of creativity that presented themselves in rather odd ways, most notably in patriotic plugs. Fire plugs, that is.
Despite laws that forbade it, cities around the country formed committees to paint hydrants in red, white and blue. Some families, caught up in bicentennial fever, impulsively took it upon themselves to decorate the ones in their neighborhoods. The result was a splendid rainbow of patriot hues that included Uncle Sam, George Washington, Revolutionary soldiers and more than one star-spangled Mickey Mouse.
The happy hydrants endured in some communities long after the celebrations faded, but those in the Bay Area that had withstood the elements, not to mention the suburban dogs, disappeared in the wake of the devastating 1991 Oakland hills fire.
After it was learned that fire crews from outside the state had been hampered in their efforts to fight the fires because the state lacked a uniform hydrant painting code, officials adopted a new policy that required all the hydrants be painted in white reflective paint and their tops painted light blue, green, orange or red to denote the capacity.
Hurrah for the red, white and blue
True or false? When adopting the national flag, Congress ordered that the colors should signify white for purity and innocence, red for hardiness and valor, and blue for vigilance, perseverance and justice.
False. There is no federal law, resolution or executive order that offers insight as to what the colors mean. The description we have comes from Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, who explained the red, white and blue color choices of Great Seal of the United States. But it's good enough for us. Historians believe the colors originally were chosen as a symbolic remake of the Union Jack.
What's wrong with this picture?
At times, in our desire to show the love of our country, we go a little off center and get some important facts wrong. Take, for example, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus' recent Rolling Stone cover, where the star of the HBO series "Veep" appears nude, save careful placement of the U.S. Constitution emblazoned on her back. Boldly above Dreyfus' derrière, John Hancock's impressive signature gleams. Just one problem. Hancock didn't sign the U.S. Constitution. He was one of 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence. But that's OK, because in "National Treasure," the Nicolas Cage movie about a clue hidden on the back of the Declaration and the search for a massive hidden treasure, Cage's character says 55 men signed the declaration. Maybe Hancock's signature document hops.
Is it a map?
True or false: There is something on the back of the Declaration of Independence.
True, but it's not a treasure map. "Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776" is written upside-down on the back, across the bottom. No one knows who wrote it, but historians surmise that it was carried from town to town rolled up during the Revolutionary War, and someone added the label to identify it. The thought of someone scribbling on it sort of takes your breath away, doesn't it?


text:
Yesterday when my eyes grazed across the following headline, my heart did a little leap: "Kelly Clarkson Loses Billboard #1 To Hannah Montana." I looked around to make sure no one saw [Ohh wait! I work from home! No one can see that I haven't showered yet today either!] as a huge grin broke out on my face and I started to sing, "Who said / Who said / I can't be Superman / I said / I said that I know I can." Yes, those are the words to one of the hit songs of the first Hannah Montana album, and yes, I know them by heart because yes it's true: My name is Jennifer, and I'm a Hannah Montana-holic.
After a recent day spent watching but nothing of hours upon hours I was hooked beyond belief. My addiction ran high. I couldn't go a day without viewing the latest adventures of that precious Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) and her pop star alter-ego, Hannah Montana, on the Disney Channel show bearing the faux pop star's name. (Show premise in a nutshell: Normal girl with single dad is world's biggest pop star ever. Only no one knows and she lives normal life as geeky high school freshman girl. Discuss.) And most significantly/frighteningly: I couldn't get enough of the music. After spending way too much time covertly watching Hannah music videos on YouTube, yesterday's news about the Hannah album being tops in the country assured me I was not alone! (Even if my fellow listeners are, er, 12-year old girls.) So I downloaded the latest album: Hannah Montana 2/I Am Miley Cyrus (2-CD set! Score!), and gave the music of my favorite TV a formal listen. Here's the lowdown: The album's greatest asset, whether the songs are being sung by "Hannah" or real girl Miley, is the fact that Miley Cyrus has one hell of a voice on her. It is rich and deep and subtly-textured and sister can belt to boot. She's a shockingly-keen song stylist, considering the fact that she's 14 and is handed all her material and that material is made, uh, by Disney.
This is a huge part of the appeal of the Hannah Montana half of the 2 CD set, which features songs about not being perfect and having bad days and how lucky it is to have good friends. (Of particular note: "Make Some Noise", a gorgeous country power ballad about how it's easy to feel like you're all alone in the world. Seriously, I'm a little choked up. And wished I'd had this song telling me to love myself and not Alanis screaming at me about rain on my wedding day when I was 12). As for the 'Miley' half of the CD set, this album is a little more rock 'n' roll (and also a little overproduced) but the "girl power" vibe is not lost. In fact, is enough to give us hope that Miley Cyrus is, as we have hoped so desperately during our hours of Hannah Montana-viewing, that the girl has real and genuine talent. And that she is a real and genuine person, too. She is just like us at 14! Only with the record deal and the international stardom and more paparazzi photos being taken of her than poor little Jezebel reject Pax Jolie-Pitt.


text:
Samsung's premium LED TVs are so advanced that they're one malfunction away from taking over the human race. From Smart Hub web content and wireless media streaming to 3D, USB support and HD tuners, the Korean company's high-end sets are packed with flashy features and smart technology that make them more akin to computers than TVs.
But not everyone wants this sort of sophistication. Many people simply want a TV that allows them to watch programmes and play Blu-ray discs without having to do a degree in quantum physics first. That's where the UE32D5000 comes in. This modestly sized LED TV lacks the above bells and whistles but comes in at a very affordable price, making it an ideal second set for the bedroom or kitchen.
It's an edge-lit LED effort from Samsung's midrange 5000 series, which also includes the 27-inch UE27D5000, 37-inch UE37D5000, 40-inch UE40D5000 and the 46-inch UE46D5000.
Design wise it looks a lot classier than its rock-bottom price tag would suggest. The thin black bezel is surrounded by a transparent plastic rim that's more fetching than it sounds, while the table stand also uses transparent plastic for the neck and around the flat base, completing a very sleek and modern look.
What's more, LED technology has allowed Samsung to squeeze the UE32D5000's depth down to a wafer-thin 30mm, which, aside from being a mind-boggling achievement, makes the UE32D5000 perfect for wall mounting. The fact that we were able to lift the TV in its box with one hand is testament to the space-saving efficiency of LED technology (and not to the Herculaneum strength of Techradar's reviewers).


text:
Lawyer in Chavdar
Property Lawyer in Bulgaria
Written by lawyer 13 Aug, 2016 Category: Legal advices
Property Lawyer in Bulgaria Every Bulgarian property lawyer will inform you for all the necessary legal steps for purchasing a property in Bulgaria. Working as a trustworthy property lawyers in our country, we would like to advise you on preparation of the legal documents needed. The most popular ways for becoming real estate owners in […]read more
Bulgarian property lawyer
Written by lawyer 9 Aug, 2016 Category: Legal advices
Bulgarian Property Lawyer Sell your property in Bulgaria Selling your property in Bulgaria is not very easy, even if you have already find a buyer. That's why you are in need of assistance. Look for a Bulgarian property lawyer! If you have already bought a property in Bulgaria, you need to check up if this […]read more
Buying a Property in Bulgaria
Written by lawyer 5 Aug, 2016 Category: Legal advices
ТО BUY A PROPERTY IN BULGARIA Bulgaria is a member of the European Union since 2007. For аlmost 10 years the property market has changed in a very perspective and positive way. Bulgaria has got some advantages in the opportunity to serve foreign investors. Some of the advantages are as following: Bulgaria has got the lowest […]read more
Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers in Bulgaria
Written by lawyer Category: Legal advices
Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers in Bulgaria As a corporate and company lawyers (acquisitions lawyers) in Bulgaria, our work is connected with some company transformations. The process of mergers and acquisitions in Bulgaria is regulated by the Commerce Act. There are specific rules for public companies in Bulgaria specified in the Bulgarian Public Offerings Securities Act […]read more
Legal Advices to Import & Export in/from Bulgaria
Written by lawyer 19 Jun, 2016 Category: Legal advices
Legal services to import & export in/from Bulgaria Our legal team from corporate & company lawyers in Bulgaria works on the emerging market economy in Bulgaria. The country is a major exporter of industrial commodities. Also, it exports agricultural and food products. Bulgaria is a land with a huge growth of outsourcing industry in the […]read more
Dividend Tax in Bulgaria
Written by lawyer 19 Jun, 2016 Category: Legal advices
Dividend tax in Bulgaria Working as professional tax lawyers in Bulgaria, many clients asked us how much is the dividend tax rate in Bulgaria. We have a great expirience as tax lawyers in Bulgaria so we do inform our clients that dividends are payments made by a corporate legal entity to its shareholders, which are usually […]read more
Setting Up a Company in Bulgaria
Written by lawyer 14 Jun, 2016 Category: Legal advices
Setting Up a Company in Bulgaria Do you need a Bulgarian company lawyer? DO YOU NEED A COMPANY OR WOULD LIKE TO START A NEW BUSINESS ? Our clients asked us how they could do a company formation in Bulgaria. The procedure of company registration in Bulgaria is quite formal and requires specific documents to […]read more
Litigation Lawyer in Bulgaria
Written by lawyer 12 Jun, 2016 Category: Legal advices
Litigation Lawyer in Bulgaria The litigation procedures in Bulgaria are very interesting and conservative and could continue for different periods, depending on the complexity of every legal case. Our Bulgarian litigation lawyers are experienced in many court procedures for debt collection, commercial law cases and civil procedures. They all are ready to assist you and […]read more
Bulgarian Lawyers in Family Law
Written by lawyer 11 Jun, 2016 Category: Legal advices
Bulgarian Lawyers in Family Law How to divorce in Bulgaria according to the law Acting as divorce & family lawyers in Bulgaria, we support our clients for all circumstances from divorce procedures in Bulgaria. We are Bulgarian lawyers in family law who resolves any legal problems and relationship's conflicts based on marriage, kinship adoption, guardianship and […]read more
Liquidation of Companies in Bulgaria
Written by lawyer Category: Legal advices
Liquidation of Companies in Bulgaria Our law office, acting as company lawyers In Bulgaria, works with many legal issues & problems. However, dissolving or liquidation a companies may be a voluntary procedure. Sometimes the decision has to be adopted by the company's shareholders, or a company might merge with another legal entity. The company lawyers […]read more


text:
Crystal gazing with McKinsey on resources for the future
In 1980, the biologist Paul Ehrlich and business school professor Julian Simon famously wagered on the likelihood of resource scarcity over the coming decade. Based on his expectation that population growth would lead to a rapid growth in demand for basic resources, Ehrlich bet that the prices of five commodity metals would increase; Simon, argued that rising prices incent human innovation and consequently that resource prices should be stable or declining. In the decade that followed, despite population growth of 800 million, the prices of all five commodities chosen by Ehrlich declined and he paid the bet. In July 2011, the investor Jeremy Grantham noted that if the bet had been extended to 2011, Ehrlich would have won – by a lot.
McKinsey Global Institute, a research arm of McKinsey & Company, recently revisited the debate about economic growth and resource scarcity with the release of a major study, "Resource Revolution: Meeting the world's energy, materials, food, and water needs". One of the lead authors, McKinsey partner Jeremy Oppenheim, recently visited the World Bank in Washington DC to describe the report's conclusions and discuss its implications for development strategy, particularly for the World Bank. His presentation captivated a large audience and provoked a lively discussion.
The key findings of the report can be summarized in two categories – challenges and opportunities. The former starts from the projected increase of up to 3 billion more middle class consumers in the next 20 years, driving up demand at a time when finding and extracting resources is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive, while also resulting in enormous environmental pressures.
The good news is the existence of sufficient technically and economically feasible efficiency improvements and alternative technologies to meet nearly 30 percent of predicted demand and offset much of the projected growth. Some of these measures are already identified and well understood, such as improving the efficiency of buildings and irrigation – a "resource productivity revolution". These measures would, however, not be sufficient to alleviate poverty and avoid global warming in excess of the two degrees Centrigrade widely considered the threshold.
To meet these goals, McKinsey outlines an additional level of ambition with respect to clean energy and carbon sequestration.


text:
Prof. Dr. Georg Lausen
Institut für Informatik
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Georges-Köhler Allee, Geb. 51, Room 01-025
79110 Freiburg i. Br.
Germany +49 (761) 203-8121
+49 (761) 203-8120 (secretary)
+49 (761) 203-8122 (fax)
office hour: thursday 11-12am
After completion of an apprenticeship program Mathematisch-technischer Assistent at Bayer AG in Leverkusen 1972, Georg Lausen studied at the University of Karlsruhe (TH) and received a Diploma in Industrial Engineering majoring in Computer Science/Operations Research (Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen) in 1978. He obtained a PhD (Dr. rer. pol.) in 1982, and his Habilitation (Angewandte Informatik) in 1985 from the University of Karlsruhe (TH). From 1986 to 1987 he has been associate professor for Information Technology and its Integration Problems at the Technical University of Darmstadt, from 1987 to 1994 professor for Databases and Information Systems at the University of Mannheim. In 1990 he declined offers from the University of Essen and the University of Klagenfurt. Since 1994 he is joining the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Freiburg, where he is leading the research group on Databases and Information Systems.
His research covers the areas of databases, information systems, recommender systems and RDF-technologies. He is author of the textbook Datenbanken - Grundlagen und XML-Technologien , Elsevier Spektrum Akademischer Verlag 2005, and coauthor of the textbook Models and Languages of Object-Oriented Databases, Addison Wesley, 1998.
You can find a list of publications (as listed by the DBLP Bibliography Server), a ranked list of citations as collected by Google Scholar and postscript/pdf files of recent papers. In 1999 he has received the "Test of Time" Award from ACM SIGMOD 1989 for the paper F-Logic: A Higher-Order Language for Reasoning about Objects, Inheritance, and Scheme. He has been granted a patent on XML in LDAP through the US Patent Office (US 6,901,410 B2) and a patent on Adaptive Query Evaluation Techniques by the German Patent Office (DE 101 57 996).


text:
If you can hold a grudge decades after a perceived slight, and even after the offender is six feet in the ground.
If you can hold a beer or twelve, or think you can, and that you just get funnier with each round.
If you stare at wide green fields while pissing in the wind.
If you think that fists are better than words at solving disagreements.
If you heard Danny Boy and laughed at it as a kid but now actually get wistful when you hear it as an adult.
If you've wiped your ass with the Union Jack or kissed a picture of the Pope sometime in the past calendar year.
Congratulations, I dub thee Irish for the weekend!
No, really, you have to accept the title. How else are they going to sell any corned beef? Remember first round of
evening drinks is bumped up to 10 AM on holidays! First fight is at 11!


text:
The accommodations Pawleys Plantation are designed with you in mind. All units are tastefully decorated with the comforts of home and you can choose a variety of sizes and layouts. All are equipped with everything you need for that perfect getaway including wireless internet in select buildings.
CLICK HERE for more information on Pawleys Plantation lodging accommodations & available options.


text:
Bobcat Located in City Limits of Hannibal [Photo Gallery]
On Friday at 8:50 a.m. while investigating a call of animal neglect an Animal Control Officer with the Hannibal Police Department observed a Bobcat in the cab of a truck parked in the 2700 block of Market Street.
The Missouri Department of Conservation was contacted and a local agent arrived to seize the animal. The suspect believed to be responsible for harboring the Bobcat was identified and cited by the agent for possession of the wild animal without a permit.
Animal Control officers frequently receive calls concerning wild animals such as raccoons, coyotes and bats. Occasionally they receive calls about sightings of wild cats but they have never encountered one up close.
In addition to state law Hannibal City Ordinance also prohibits possession of wild animals.
Press release from the Hannibal Police Department


text: Sijun Forums :: View topic - Quick piece (please crit) Log in to check your private messages Goto page Previous 1, 2 Sijun Forums Forum Index >> Gallery/Finished Work View previous topic :: View next topic Author Topic : "Quick piece (please crit)" mickememberMember #Joined: 19 Jan 2000Posts: 1666Location: Oslo/Norway Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2001 12:51 am Damn you guys reply quick... I've done a couple of changes. The length between the nose and mouth is longer and i've added some details on the eye+some colour shanges. Hope it looks better It was not intended to be a girl and it was not suppose to be a selfportrait either. I guess all those selfportraits must have affected me somehow Cos: I'm sorry, but i only saved one time until i posted it. I only have it in a higher resolution. Optical: what?! NO, i don't look like Brandon Lee, hehe My father don't really look like Bruce Lee either, he had the same haircut sometime in the 70's and in one of Beet's drawings i saw some slight resemblance. Frost: He he, no worries, mate Any more suggestion on what i could do more in order to make the person look like a man? Cheers, Micke ------------------ Mikael's artwork [This message has been edited by micke (edited January 04, 2001).] Back to top ChapelmemberMember #Joined: 18 Mar 2000Posts: 1930 Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2001 12:54 am Not Brandon Lee.. Jason Scott Lee. The guy who played Bruce Lee in the movie "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" Great movie by the way.. one of my all time favorites. Back to top mickememberMember #Joined: 19 Jan 2000Posts: 1666Location: Oslo/Norway Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2001 3:03 am Argh! Please stop it with this Brandon/Jason Lee stuff!! Kjetil: Vet ikke ennå...Håper det. Glad at du likte det Det er det første jeg har lagd på lenge. Solitaire: it just ended up the way it is. I did'nt have a clear idea of it from the start, so i just did it. I did'nt use a mirror or referance, so i's a coincidence if there are any simillarity. I don't see any likeness in it though. Anthony: i left the nose alone with the hatching because it normally is more smoother and shiny than the rest. Frost:Thank you and i agree with you too. I It's easy to turn it in to a stereotype, so i think that i'll just leave it. You have valid and good points and i think you know a great deal about anatomy/proportions and faces. Don't be so hard on yourself, your'e a great artist spoogedemon: Thank you. I did'nt know what you were gonna make out of it. I tried avoiding making things without a reason for it. I have a tendency of making my stuff look too "edgy" and sharp and having trouble loosening up. I'll try and make it more simple and soft. You can feel free to try to experiment with it if you want. That would help me out a great deal. Thank you for the crits Thanks for the comments everybody! I have too much to do today so i'll probably not gonna be able to work on it until tomorrow, but i'll post it as soon as possible. Mikael ------------------ Mikael's artwork Back to top DirtyDiggermemberMember #Joined: 09 Dec 2000Posts: 115Location: NutSac, California Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2001 3:09 am Ahh the eyes, the eyes. You have captured the eyes of Christopher Walken and put them into paint. Scary indeed! ------------------ "I Hear High Heels!" - DirtyDigger Back to top A.ButtlememberMember #Joined: 20 Mar 2000Posts: 1724 Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2001 3:36 pm Eh, it's good and all, but the colors just seem a little bland to me. It's all mid range values. Give us some more tonal contrast, micke. ------------------ Larry Flint's right! You guys suck! Joe Dillingham firstname.lastname@example.com Three Times A Day Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Sijun Forums Forum Index -> Gallery/Finished Work All times are GMT - 8 HoursGoto page Previous 1, 2 Page 2 of 2 Jump to: Select a forum Digital Art----------------Digital Art DiscussionWork in ProgressGallery/Finished Work Miscellaneous----------------Random MusingsArchive : Sep99 - Dec00 You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2005 phpBB Group


text: Burned CD to OGG, bitrate? 2011-01-17 04:15:01 So I have this past year discovered the wonder that is FLAC, and I absolutely adore it. Then I discovered OGG (well, looked into it, I've known its' existence for a few years) and was overjoyed by a great solution for keeping majority of quality on my portable audio player.Sadly, before I discovered these things, I have been using Mp3. Not only that, but I started off using LOW bitrate Mp3's because I didn't realize that there was a difference! (never tested) I eventually burned something at higher quality and then realized my mistakes, which sent me on my journey to discover OGG. But now I have a problem.I have several burned CDs that are my only source for some music. Whether I burned them or a friend burned them for me (none of my friends have ever understood quality either it seems) I have them, and I know they weren't burned from lossless. So this creates a problem for me. At wot bitrate to I need to rip these files? A tough question to answer, for sure. I have no idea the original bitrate of the files put on any of these CDs (they were all either Mp3 or WMA though, some AAC maybe) and am not sure how to determine this. In fact, I am beginning to think there isn't a way. If there is, please let me know! My primary goal is sound quality, but my secondary goal if possible is low file size. I figure I might as well not waste space on quality that doesn't exist.So if there is no way, I guess this should be my question: assuming that each CD was burned from 320kbps Mp3 (which I doubt any of them were, I just want to be safe!) what would be a proper OGG bitrate to rip them to? I know I will lose quality, that's a given, but I want to lose as little as possible while minimizing my output size.Thank you for your assistance And as a side note, I do plan on obtaining as many of the original CDs for these albums as possible. This is just a temporary solution until that becomes possible (CD's may be cheap nowadays, but I still can't be constantly spending money on them!)


text:
Make anagrams with the letters chersilk .
This anagramming solver will find single word anagrams. Find multiple word anagrams with the Anagrammer. It can be used for crossword puzzles and other games too. Finds all words within a word.
Original words - 8 Letter Words You can Make With DIRECT Anagrams
Word scramble of 'chersilk' More >
Try searching for the text below in the search box.
Our Scrabble Word Finder is the best source for help at Scrabble words.
Get help when playing the Scrabble Crossword game.
Finds the original word.
Click here to see more Word scramble.
3 Letter Words of chersilk
4 Letter Words of chersilk
5 Letter Words of chersilk
6 Letter Words of chersilk
Random words:
sandschooner kiosque reversely lnvestment lumingon autotrade whitetipped
SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. Words with Friends is a trademark of Zynga with Friends.
WORDWHO.COM is not affiliated with SCRABBLE®, Mattel Inc, Hasbro Inc, Zynga with Friends or Zynga Inc in any way. This site is for entertainment purposes only.


text:
Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Get the whole family in the mood for the holidays at an annual holiday event. "A Winter's Fest Eve" will be held at the Col. Wm. Bond-Jesse Hawley House, 143 Ontario St., Lockport, from 6 until 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6.
The Col. Bond/Jesse Hawley House Museum, a National Register museum-home, is dressed up for the holidays by co-curators Gloria and Becky Pittler. The holiday event includes a full tour of each of the 12 rooms, which are adorned for the season in period decoration.
Enjoy Christmas music performed by Randy Andropolis and friends, as they sing and play timeless Christmas carols. Feast on fancy cookies and hot-mulled cider.
The younger set is welcome to take part in special children's activities in the library while Mom and Dad tour all of the other rooms. All tours and events are open to the public, and families with children ages 8 or older are encouraged to attend.
Christmas at the Col. Wm. Bond/Jesse Hawley House is a subject that has recently gained national attention through a photo-article in the Christmas edition of "Early American Life Magazine." The visiting journalist opined that Col. Bond raised seven children, who no doubt enjoyed spending holiday time in the "well appointed brick home, furnished to the Empire period."
A donation will be accepted at the door to help the History Center with this and many programs presented throughout the year. The History Center is finishing up its 92nd anniversary year with a taste of 19th century Christmas.
For those who are unable to attend "Winter's Fest Eve," additional open house hours are scheduled for December.


text:
There was no external CSS used. All styling of the tables was done with attributes or inline style elements. The styling was also not consistent throughout the page so each table looked slightly different.
Here is an example:
Some text
More text
Example
HelloWorld
More text

Java
Without rewriting the whole site at once I wanted to remove all the inline styles so I could use css to style all the tables the same. That at least looked more attractive in the short run while in the long run we could focus on a complete redesign of the site.
The first thing I wanted to do was replace all the td elements with inline styling with plain, empty td elements. As written in my previous posts, IntelliJ's structural search and replace features fits this use case nicely.
In the structural search and replace dialog I used the following:
Search template:
$text$
Replace template:
In the Edit variables dialog I specified a minimum count of zero for the $width$, $style$ and $text$ variable. The $value$ variable has a minimum count of one. For all variables I used a maximum count of one.
The template searches for all td elements with zero or one width or style attributes (or both) and with or without text. The replace template replaces the td found with the search template in a plain td. The output of the HTML after the search and replace is run is:
Some text
More text
More text
After this replacement I could just insert the appropriate CSS and style all tables consistently. Without structural search and replace I think such scenario's take considerably longer to execute.
Hope you enjoyed it.
If you have other interesting structural search and replace use cases please share them.


text:
E-Learning Information
Athens Technical College offers a number of e-learning opportunities. Many students find the online environment a convenient way to fit education into their busy lives.
E-Learning Options
- Online: Courses designated as online are delivered via the Internet. Completion of e-learning orientation and advisor preapproval are required before registering for online classes. ATC requires at least one proctored activity in each online course. A proctored activity is a required learning event such as a midterm or final exam or presentation for which students must appear in person and present photo identification (such as a driver's license or ATC student ID) to verify their identity. A proctored activity must be one that is accomplished on campus as specified by the instructor. In special circumstances, students may complete the proctored activity at an approved alternate site.
- Hybrid: Courses designated as hybrid are taught partially online and partially in the classroom at the designated campus.
- Web-Enhanced: Traditional classroom courses that use the Internet as a component of the course are designated as web-enhanced. The web-based component of the course supports classroom instruction and may require students to use the Internet in order to interact with one another and the instructor, do research, complete and/or submit assignments, or take tests.
- Interactive Audio-Video Conferencing: Courses taught face to face at two or more locations at the same time are designated as interactive audio-video. The course is delivered by interactive audio-video technologies with the instructor teaching in one of the classroom locations and broadcasting to the other classroom location.
Are you ready for e-learning? Log onto the Athens Technical College homepage and select Current Students and Technology to read more information about our e-learning offerings and to complete the e-learning orientation before meeting with your academic advisor.
You are not permitted to take an online class until you have completed the e-learning orientation and received clearance from your advisor.


text:
Fresh off his victory Tuesday, Senator-elect Edward Markey said he hoped to revive the gun control debate in Congress after 20 years of pressing for measures like a ban on assault weapons, but avoided any direct discussion of the re-election campaign he will have to mount over the next 16 months.
Fresh off his victory Tuesday, Senator-elect Edward Markey said he hoped to revive the gun control debate in Congress after 20 years of pressing for measures like a ban on assault weapons, but avoided any direct discussion of the re-election campaign he will have to mount over the next 16 months.
Markey prevailed over Republican Gabriel Gomez in a special election for U.S. Senate, winning by a 10 percentage point margin, though voters on the steamy summer day set records for the low number of ballots cast in the statewide election. The vast majority of eligible voters took a pass on the election.
"I feel great. It was a tremendous victory and I know that it was about the issues. I know it was about the differences that existed between me and my opponent, but it's very gratifying and I'm excited to be able to represent the people of Massachusetts in the United States Senate," Markey said.
Markey visited Dempsey's where he greeted voters at one of his favorite breakfast spots near his home in Malden. Medford state Rep. Paul Donato was there to meet him. Though he planned to return to Washington in afternoon to attend to House business, Markey said he did not think he would be sworn into the Senate until after the 4th of July.
His victory is less than a day old, but thoughts are already turning to the expected re-election effort the Democrat would have to mount next year, when voters will decide who will hold the Senate seat for a full six-year term.
Markey repeatedly declined opportunities during a 12-minute conversation with reporters to specify that he would seek re-election, instead saying he was focused now on working for the people of Massachusetts.
"The best way to convince people that you deserve to serve them from the state of Massachusetts is to go down and do the work to make sure you're fighting for the things that their families care about," he said.
Markey also said he had no plans to endorse a Democrat in the looming special election to take his place in Congress, which has so far drawn interest from at least four members of the Legislature and a county sheriff.
Before Tuesday's election, former Sen. Scott Brown said on television that he believed he could beat Markey, but the senator-elect would not say Wednesday whether he felt he could beat Brown should the Republican decide to challenge him in 2014.
He also declined to speculate on whether the significant, but not overwhelming 10-point margin with which he won would embolden Republicans in next year's election cycle, when at least a million more voters could be cast.
"I have no way of getting inside the internal workings of the cerebral mechanisms of the people in the other party," Markey said.
With Markey headed to the Senate, where Democrats are in the majority, Springfield Democrat Rep. Richard Neal will take over as dean of the Massachusetts House delegation. Markey said Neal will make a "great" dean.
Asked his priorities, Markey ticked off a ban on assault weapons, "unleashing a green energy revolution" and helping to pass a transportation bill that can put Bay State citizens to work building roads, bridges and tunnels.
Though Markey said he would have supported the Manchin-Toomey expansion of background checks for gun purchases that failed in the Senate, he said it didn't go far enough. "I realize that it's not easy. It's going to take an ongoing effort over some time, but I am not going to give up on the issue. I have been working on that issue for over 20 years and I am going to continue to do so until we have ultimate success," Markey said.
He also said he looked forward to working with Republican senators on issues where compromise is possible, pointing out that he recently worked across the aisle to help pass an amendment keeping knives on the restricted items list for air travel.
"I think the Senate needs to have more people who want it to work to pass legislation that helps all of the people of Massachusetts and our entire country," Markey said.
After nearly 37 years of experience in Congress, Markey will soon go by the title of junior senator from Massachusetts. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was sworn into the U.S. Senate just five months ago. Asked about being the understudy to Warren, Markey smiled.
"It's an honor to be able to go down to serve with the extraordinary Elizabeth Warren. I'm looking forward to being a partner with her representing the state," he said.


text:
North Korea celebrated its 61st anniversary Wednesday, as diplomats in neighboring countries and in Washington puzzled over ways to bring the defiant Communist nation back to stalled talks about its nuclear program.
North Korea "is now towering high as a political, ideological, military and scientific, and technological power, an envy of the whole world," the country's Prime Minister Kim Yong-il said, according to the official news agency.
In its latest bid to assert such a status, Pyongyang last week told the United Nations that it had nearly completed the process of uranium enrichment, which would give it a second way to make nuclear weapons.
In a letter to the head of the UN Security Council, North Korea said it was "prepared for both dialogue and sanctions," but warned that if sanctions stayed in place, it would "respond with bolstering our nuclear deterrence."
The UN imposed an arms embargo and financial sanctions on Pyongyang in June, following its test of a plutonium-based nuclear device and the earlier launch of a controversial long-range missile.
Pyongyang blows hot and cold
The announcement, and its angry tone, contrasted with conciliatory moves that the North Korean authorities had made in previous weeks.
The government freed two American TV journalists whom it had detained, along with five South Korean citizens, it restarted talks with South Korea on reunification of families divided by the Korean war, and normalized traffic into an industrial park run jointly with the South.
North Korean diplomats also traveled to Santa Fe in August to visit Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico who has taken special interest in relations with Pyongyang, apparently to press their case for direct bilateral talks with Washington.
The US special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, insisted repeatedly on his tour of Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo, which he wrapped up Tuesday, that the United States would hold bilateral talks, but only in the context of the six-party negotiations, which also include China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia.
North Korea pulled out of those negotiations in April, protesting international condemnation of its missile test. China, which leads the talks, and the US are seeking ways of restarting them.
Some observers see North Korea's recent overtures as a response to the latest sanctions; three North Korean ships suspected of carrying weapons have been boarded or otherwise deterred from reaching their destinations in recent months.
"I think they are feeling the pressure, and they want to alleviate it," says Ren Xiao, a Korea watcher at Fudan University in Shanghai.
Others are more circumspect, suggesting it is too early for the sanctions to bite. "But North Korea wants to ensure that this doesn't happen in future," says David Straub, a former US diplomat in Seoul who accompanied Bill Clinton on his mission last month to free the two American reporters.
"They see where this might be heading and they want to row back," adds Scott Snyder, director of the Center for US-Korea Policy at the Asia Foundation in Washington.
US sticks to sanctions
None of Pyongyang's recent moves, however, appear to have budged Washington or its Asian allies from their insistence that sanctions should remain in place and be properly enforced, so long as North Korea pursues a nuclear weapon.
On Tuesday, the US moved to freeze the assets of two North Korean entities believed to be supporting the regime's nuclear and missile programs.
This "chilly" response to its efforts to make nice "made them very temperamental," says Kim Tae-woo, vice president of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul.
The result: the announcement last week of progress toward a uranium-based nuclear weapon and the sudden discharge of water from a reservoir Sunday that caused a flash flood in the South, killing six people.
If the North Koreans stick to their familiar pattern of crisis and deescalation, says Dr. Kim, Pyongyang might be expected to offer a few more conciliatory gestures in the coming weeks.
But this "appeasement offensive … has nothing to do with denuclearization," he adds. "It is just a tactic to counter international sanctions."
Most experts on North Korea, in the US, China, and South Korea, seem to have given up hope that Pyongyang will ever renounce its nuclear-weapons program. Its diplomats have been calling for direct talks with Washington that would confirm its membership in the nuclear-weapons club, and that would address denuclearization by both sides.
"I am very skeptical that they are ready to give up their nuclear weapons on any terms remotely acceptable to any US government," says Mr. Straub.
Professor Ren in Shanghai shares those doubts. "I see a very low possibility that the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] will give up its nuclear programs," he says. "If that is correct, and the outside world continues to insist on denuclearization, the impasse will remain."


text:
Freedom in the World
You are here
St. Lucia
2012 Scores
Freedom Rating (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Civil Liberties (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Political Rights (1 = best, 7 = worst)
In November 2011 legislative elections, the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) captured 11 of 17 seats, while the United Worker's Party took the remaining 6 seats. Former prime minister Kenny Anthony of the SLP was returned to power.
Saint Lucia, a member of the Commonwealth, achieved independence from Britain in 1979. Kenny Anthony led the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) to victory in the 1997 legislative elections, defeating the United Workers' Party (UWP). As prime minister, Anthony began to address the concerns of an electorate that was weary of economic distress and reports of official corruption. In the 2001 general elections, the SLP retained a majority of seats in the House of Assembly, and Anthony returned to the premiership.
John Compton, Saint Lucia's first prime minister after independence, came out of retirement to lead the UWP to an unexpected victory in the December 2006 elections by winning 11 seats in the House of Assembly. He was sworn in again as prime minister at the age of 81. Compton was soon sidelined by illness and died in September 2007. He was replaced by Stephenson King, a UWP cabinet member who had served as acting prime minister for several months before Compton's death.
During 2008, the opposition SLP repeatedly threatened to mount public demonstrations and called for King's resignation. The SLP was particularly critical of the government's intention to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, while opting out of a drug interdiction agreement with Britain. The Rome Statute was eventually ratified in August 2010.
In 2009, King reshuffled his cabinet for the second time since taking office in an effort to regain political momentum in the face of a deteriorating economic situation. Damage inflicted by Hurricane Tomas in 2010 adversely affected revenues in agriculture and tourism and contributed to Saint Lucia's budget deficit. Weak economic growth, an unemployment rate of 20 percent, and a substantial rise in violent crime emboldened opposition leaders as the country prepared for the 2011 general elections.
In elections held on November 28, 2011, the SLP unseated the UWP, giving it an 11 to 6 seat majority in the House of Assembly. As a result of the elections, Kenny Anthony was returned to the position of prime minister in late November.
Saint Lucia is an electoral democracy. The 2011 legislative elections were deemed free and fair by observers. A governor-general represents the British monarch as head of state. Under the 1979 constitution, the bicameral Parliament consists of the 17-member House of Assembly, elected for five years, and an 11-member Senate. The prime minister is chosen by the majority party in the House of Assembly. Six members of the Senate are chosen by the prime minister, three by the leader of the parliamentary opposition, and two in consultation with civic and religious organizations. The island is divided into 11 regions, each with its own elected council and administrative services. Political parties are free to organize, but two parties—the UWP and the SLP—dominate politics.
Saint Lucia is generally said to have low levels of corruption and was ranked 25 out of 183 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index. Government officials are required by law to present their financial assets annually.
The constitution guarantees freedom of speech, which is respected in practice. Libel offenses were removed from the criminal code in 2006. The media carry a wide spectrum of views and are largely independent of the government. There are five privately-owned newspapers, three privately held radio stations, and one government-funded radio station. Three privately-owned television stations and one government-owned television station also operate. Internet access is not restricted.
The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and that right is respected in practice. Academic freedom is generally honored.
Constitutional guarantees regarding freedoms of assembly and association are largely upheld. Civic groups are well organized and politically active, as are labor unions, which represent the majority of wage earners.
The judicial system is independent and includes a high court under the Saint Lucia-based Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. In recent years, the record of Saint Lucia's police and judicial system has been blemished by a series of high-profile incidents, including severe beatings of inmates by police and cases of police assault. Amid other high-profile crimes in 2011, the gang-rape of two British women in May was still under investigation as the six men originally arrested for the crime were released after not being charged due to lack of evidence.
Citizens have traditionally enjoyed a high degree of personal security, though rising levels of crime have caused widespread concern. Saint Lucia has become a transit point for drugs destined for Britain. In 2011, the island experienced 50 murders, making it the bloodiest year on record. The violence was largely the result of gang-related crimes such as drug-trafficking, drive-by shootings, and armed robbery. Prison overcrowding remains a problem, with major backlogs in the judicial system leading to prolonged pretrial detentions.
Women are underrepresented in politics and other professions; there are currently three women serving in Parliament. Domestic violence is a serious concern, especially among women from low-income groups. Homosexuals are occasionally the target of hate crimes.


text:
Kris Blanks is the 201st ranked player in the world and 121st in the FedEx Cup. On Thursday and Friday, Blanks participated in the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois. He will not be playing today or tomorrow because he missed the cut by one measly stroke.
Blanks took to twitter to voice his frustration and flip off the golf gods; he's a cup half-full kind of guy.
h/t Kenneth N.


text:
Sunday, October 9, 2011
autumn nature table, harvest stew, and snowy days!
Last week it rained and rained and rained. We knew that up next was going to be some very cold days, temperatures dropping below freezing, so we had no choice but to go out into the downpour and do lots and lots of garden harvesting. It was cold and wet but fun nevertheless.
By Thursday the rained turned to snow. Snow! It snowed all day long, and much of the next day too. It was beautiful, and exciting, but kind of concerning too. This year we had snow even in June so wow, 3 months only without snowfall!
We are so grateful for our bountiful garden harvest! This stew had a little bit of everything we had harvested in recent days... onions, carrots, yellow summer squash and zucchini, potatoes, beets, beet greens, collards, kale, and swiss chard. I threw in a handful of millet but other than that it was a completely homegrown stew. And it was so so yummy!
Autumn days are feeling good!
Michaelmas pictures drawn by the girls...
Michael has chased the dragon back into his cave, that's the dragons tail sticking out. I like the stars shooting across the sky.
Harvest day picture in progress. The little girl is munching a carrot. The girls had to carve out a bit of drawing space amongst all the winter squash covering the table.
The other day Chloe found this picture she had drawn when she was in 1st grade. The women seem to me to be dancing with their brooms. And I love the pumpkin border.
Pumpkins make me very happy! I have always wanted to grow an entire pumpkin patch, and someday we will. This year we planted just one hill, because I wasn't sure if they would even have time to mature or not. But they did (mostly, close enough) and so now we have four of our very own homegrown pumpkins.
I have been having a nature table dilemma. Due to the fact that we have a new kitty who is quite mischievous! That little rascal gets into everything! I was too scared to put anything handmade out on the nature table. Leaves, grasses, flowers, nothing would be safe. So I did a bit of bookshelf rearranging and am hoping that kitty will let it be.
The girls have been bundling grasses and gathering acorns. Rosehips and fallen leaves have since been added to the shelf.
My first needlefelted figure made a couple years ago, and a knitted pumpkin that took me so so long to make, I think this year I have knit almost an entire sweater in the same amount of time.
Our littlest pumpkin, and sweet acorn fairy made by my truly dear friend Rae, who I am so happy to have just spent the day with, as she is visiting this week. We will cherish our brief time together.
I still have our original nature table set up, I am too attached to it to let it go. Wooden trees are safe from kitty. A favorite autumn print and the leaf garland the girls and I made last year keep it simple yet festive I think.
Thankfully the snow has passed for now, but I think the chill is here to stay.
We are all feeling so excited for all that this season has to offer!
17 comments:
- a little crafty nest said...
Oh my, Renee, snow!!!?!!! How can that be when it seems like we were just running about in short sleeved shirts at the beach? But we are just north of you a ways and the cool is settling in here, and we are harvesting and putting gardens to bed, too. How you four shall cherish those four pumpkins! And I love your nature table(s). Do you have a pattern to share for the pumpkin...I love it!!! Will write more soon, the tryptophan from our Thanksgiving turkey is hitting me just now and I must go sit by the fire and (yup), knit!
xo Jules
- October 9, 2011 at 10:01 PM
- Linda said...
Dear Renee,
It's amazing that you have already had snow, the weather does seem to be changing though, we had a tornado here last week and that is unheard of in South Africa. Your girls drawings are beautiful and I understand about the kitty and the nature table, our Labrador puppy kept trying to take our little treasures and her favourite was a wooden, carved owl. Now she has grown and does not bother with the nature table anymore:) Your nature table looks beautiful and your stew, so delicious. How wonderful that the ingredients were from your garden.
Be well my friend and stay warm...
xo xo
- October 9, 2011 at 10:25 PM
- Lisa said...
Hello dear Renee, oh my gosh, snow! it all looks so inviting and nourishing, beautiful, warm and cosy. Stay warm.
Warm wishes from across the land,
- October 10, 2011 at 1:33 AM
- Melanie~Our Ash Grove said...
Dear Renee, I always get excited for a new post by you!
Snow already. . . ? My that seems unfair!
That stew looks so delicious, I love "soup season!" Especially soup made from your own harvest! Your garden bounty was awesome this year!
The girls are so artistic- I always love to see their work! That is so funny about the pumpkin taking you so long, versus the sweater this year! I remember when it took me as long to do a hat, as did my shawl! You get faster, which is what I tell people who are new to knitting and get frustrated with how slow and awkward it seems.
We have not been able to have a nature table since getting our kitties. Harry Kitty has a deep passion for eating anything plant like, and both kitties have a passion for wool. Who can blame them, really, but it makes a nature table impossible! Anyhow our "nature table" is everywhere really, on the mantle, a shelf, etc.
Love to you~
- October 10, 2011 at 4:19 AM
- charlotte said...
hello, what lovely drawing your girls have made, a real sense of atumn, my favourite time of year. Harvesting and planning projects, although snow seems a little to early! x x x
- October 10, 2011 at 5:31 AM
- W-S Wanderings said...
I love the movement your girls are able to convey in their beautiful drawings. Their work is full of life.
Your rearranged nature spaces are a delight. I like their simplicity. It just resonates Autumn.
- October 10, 2011 at 6:32 AM
- Star said...
Hi first time commenting... What a nice space, might follow you if you don't mind , love the homeschool, waldorf, garden, knitting inspiration! Blessings be Star
- October 10, 2011 at 2:56 PM
- earthboysblog said...
It was so nice to get a little letter from you the other day.. I shall reply soon. Preparing our farm for a showing tomorrow.. Hold thumbs!
Your harvest stew looks quite delicious and wholesome, bringing much warmth for a family tucked away in their little home amidst the snow. We are still warm or should I say hot and eating lots of papayas we have an abundance of them. The girls drawings are always delightful.. give them a big kiss for me and you of course.
- October 10, 2011 at 5:04 PM
- barefoot mama said...
Your blog is so peaceful, I LOVE it!
- October 11, 2011 at 8:56 AM
- Nicola said...
Beautiful photos in your header! I love these seasonal posts, especially autumn. I love your pumpkins and their tilted stems. Your little family looks like it is thriving!
- October 13, 2011 at 10:39 AM
- Jaime said...
Just found my way here from The Magic Onions blog. Such a nice space you have here. It was funny to read about your kitty. We also have a new kitty that keeps eating the little fairy people on our nature table while we sleep. I like her....but the fairy eating...well, that could just stop anytime. That would be nice.
- October 14, 2011 at 11:43 AM
- April's Homemaking said...
Your Harvest Stew sounds delicious- soups and stews are our favorites this time of year as well- love all of the drawings, and your nature table areas are great. Such a wonderful time of year :) Visiting from The Magic Onions Hop ~April
- October 16, 2011 at 12:16 AM
- Plain and Joyful Living said...
Dear Renee,
Your autumn shelf looks just beautiful - hope that kitten stays away - but how fun to have a little kitten! I made our first soup of the season yesterday as we have had a very mild autumn and I just refuse to make soup on the conventional stove top.
Thinking of you,
- October 17, 2011 at 2:46 PM
- Kimmy said...
I have nominated your blog for the versatile blogger award on my blog!
Kimmy x
- October 22, 2011 at 1:05 AM
Oh, I wish we could have needle felted things out, but our cats just love them too much. I needle felted Mary and Joseph for our creche a few years ago and woke to a horrid scene one morning! We grew our own pumpkins by accident this year, so exciting!
- October 23, 2011 at 2:51 PM
- Heather said...
Mmm, I love dinners like that - ones that use up all sorts of garden goodness bits. Looks delcious and comforting.
- November 15, 2011 at 10:53 AM
- Redbeet Mama said...
I am so inspired by you Renee!
- September 11, 2013 at 10:16 AM


text:
Customer Feedback
Thank you!
Your information was successfully submitted and has been forwarded to the selected franchise location.
You should receive a confirmation email shortly.
Thanks again for choosing MOLLY MAID!
There was a problem submitting your information.
Please contact the MOLLY MAID office by phone to make sure they have received your information.


text:
Bronze Membership
The ARM is proud of the fact that our operations are funded by our members.
Thanks to you, there is significant momentum building toward a transition to an Australian head of state.
Your membership is helping to make this possible, and it also entitles you to stand and vote in ARM elections.
Bronze membership can be organised as a $2 monthly deduction or renewed annually. For an annual payment, just hit the "next" button, or click here to make a monthly payment.


text:
Windermere Golf needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 159 designs submitted by 47 freelance designers.
Windermere Golf Center is a golf driving range and golf acadamy in Orlando Florida. We are looking for a new vibrant logo design to co-inside with a re-launch (new ownership). We are open to looking at any designs and do not have anything in particular in mind so please feel free to "think outside the box"!
Windermere Golf Center
We would like the logo to incorporate in some way golf. (either golf balls, golf clubs etc) The logo itself would need to be flexible in a way that it could sit next next to both Windermere Golf Center, Windermere Golf Range and Windermere Golf Acadamy.
Windermere Golf Center is a high class golf practice facility and teaching school in Windermere, (orange county), Orlando Florida.
We are very open into looking at all designs and colour schemes.
We do not have a tagline but would we would like the logo to sit next to the following:
Windermere Golf Center
Windermere Golf Range
Windermere Golf Acadamy
Nothing too complex as the logo will be printed on Golf shirts etc.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
TheRedQueen wrote:That's what I've been asking...someone that lives near there told me that the cop's dog had no bite wounds...but I don't remember who told me that, or where they read it.
It's in the original police report. It says the cop didn't say his dog was injured and "appeared to be ok"


text:
With box office records broken by movies like The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises and a slate of even more superhero movies coming like Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel in 2013, it's time to face facts: The Golden Age of superhero flicks is over. We are now into the Silver Age, that period of refinement and invention. The movies from that naïve era of the early '00s are now officially old school. The franchises like Spider-man and X-Men have already been successfully rebooted! That doesn't mean there isn't still room for some of the old in the new school, though. The cast of X-Men: Days of Future Past will have cast alums from both First Class and the decade-old franchise.
Director Bryan Singer confirmed via Twitter on Tuesday that Ian McKellen would play Erik "Magneto" Lensher opposite Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier in the new movie. The elder mutant leaders will appear alongside their younger counterparts as Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy will return as Magneto and Professor X respectively as well.
It's been ten years exactly since Singer's last X-Men movie, X2, which is still a gold standard for movies about aged super beings yelling at each other in plastic prisons.
Editors' Recommendations
- 'Men in Black International': Everything we know about the new MiB movie
- First 'Men in Black International' trailer introduces new agents and aliens
- The best movie and TV bromances, from Kirk and Spock to Wayne and Garth
- The best video gaming consoles of 2019
- The most common Xbox One X problems, and how to fix them


text:
Larry A. Thompson has long been fascinated with celebrity couples who "fly so close to the sun." Sonny and Cher, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor are duos featured in several television movies developed by the veteran producer.
For years, he's wanted to create a movie around one of Hollywood's most famous and scandalous couples, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. He contends — and who could argue? — that the volcanic emotions fueling the courtship, marriages and breakups of the on- and off-screen couple gave birth to the obsessive celebrity culture that blossomed into the tsunami of today's tabloids, paparazzi and gossip websites: "They were the first Brangelina."
Thompson has finally realized his dream with "Liz & Dick," which premieres Sunday night on Lifetime 20 months after Taylor's death at 79. But dreams can have nightmare elements.
The executive producer of the film discovered the hard way that those developing projects about celebrities flying close to the sun can wind up getting a bit burned themselves — especially if their wingman is Lindsay Lohan, the troubled actress he cast to step into Taylor's shoes and jewelry. "Liz & Dick" is being touted as Lohan's comeback vehicle after years of substance abuse, run-ins with the law, rehab stints and antics that have all but shattered her once-promising career.


text:
There's never been a better time
to apply to Otterbein University.
Apply online today!
Persons interested in a position as a police officer or supervisor with the Otterbein University Police Department must be a certified police officer through the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC) prior to the submission date of the application.
We are currently hiring new positions.
Visit "Jobs At Otterbein" to view job openings as they are posted.
The Otterbein University Police Department offers full testing services for the position of police officer through National Testing Network, Inc. To fill out an application and schedule a test, go to www.nationaltestingnetwork.com, select Law Enforcement and sign up for the Otterbein University Police Department.
What to expect at www.nationaltestingnetwork.com:
Upon completion of the entry level exam and PAT testing, all candidate scores are automatically forwarded to the Otterbein University Police Department. Candidates who attain a passing score on both the entry level exam and the physical abilities test will be placed on the department's eligibility list. Otterbein University Police Department will contact candidates on the list and will invite them to continue to participate in other stages of the department selection process.
National Testing Network is a service provided to conduct entry level testing and PAT testing in a standardized, professional environment. National Testing Network does not replace the Otterbein University Police Department's responsibility and decision making in the testing process. All candidate results are provided to Otterbein University Police Department where the final decisions are made.
In Case of Emergency
Dial 9-1-1
Call (24 hours)
p/ (614) 823-1222
e/ firstname.lastname@example.com
f/ (614) 823-1999
194 West Main St.
Westerville, OH 43081
Office Hours
Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Otterbein University, 1 South Grove Street, Westerville, OH 43081 614.890.3000
Otterbein University is a private, non-profit, United Methodist affiliated, regionally-accredited institution.
© 2019 Otterbein University. Otterbein University is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer


text:
Palm Sunday
An excerpt from Laurence Freeman, FIRST SIGHT: The Experience of Faith (London: Continuum, 2011), pp. 61-62. Meditation reunites the pure beam of light which is fragmented in our perception by the prism of the ego. It leads to a new way of seeing, a way of perception that merges the daily practice of meditation with daily life and work as an integrated way of faith. When we see something, as a child, for the first time we are amazed. The world is teeming with undiscovered wonders and we cannot understand why our elders seem so unimpressed by them.
I was waiting once for my bags to appear on the carousel at an airport terminal. It seemed an interminable wait and I just wanted to get out into the fresh air after hours of breathing in artificial environments. Then I noticed a small boy staring at the carousel with transfigured attention. When the light flashed and the bell rang to announce the bags were finally arriving his excitement escalated. When his own bags appeared he shouted the news to his father with an unbearable joy and wonder. I was just pleased my bags had not got lost again.
Whoever loved that loved not at first sight? Whoever did not see the world for the first time and fall in love with it? But we gradually forget this first-sight thrill as life becomes routine and stress filters out the joy and wonder. But the first sight experience is recoverable at another level of perception. In fact, if it is not recovered we fail to develop. Faith is the capacity to see again for the first time.
After meditation: Mary Oliver, "Invitation" in REDBIRD (Boston: Beacon Press, 2008) pp. 18-19.
Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy
and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles
for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,
or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air
as they strive
not for your sake
and not for mine
and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude—
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in this broken world.
I beg of you,
do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.
It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.
Carla Cooper - email@example.com


text:
You are hereHome ›
Narrow Search
Now showing results 1-2 of 2
This lesson plan teaches how to select the landing site for a planetary surface investigation, using the 5E learning cycle. Students will be able to determine a landing site for their Mars rover; work with their team to summarize information and... (View More) identify important details in non-fiction writing; research Gale Crater through an online interactive module; use Google Earth Mars to learn about Mars surface features; gather and analyze data to conduct a scientific experiment; collect and record data in a science notebook to draw logical and scientific conclusions; define and identify the role of controls and variables in teams' scientific or technical questions; and differentiate between weather and climate. The lesson plan has a number of appendices, including standards alignment. This is Lesson 8 of the elementary school version of the 6 week Mars Rover Celebration curriculum. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
This activity is a short engineering design challenge to be completed by individual students or small teams. A real-world problem is presented, designing buildings for hurricane-prone areas, but in a simulated way that works in a classroom, after... (View More) school club, or informal education setting. Students are given simple materials and design requirements, and must plan and build a tower as tall as possible that will hold up a tennis ball while resisting the force of wind from a fan. After the towers are built, the group comes together to test them. If there is time after testing, which can be observational or framed as a contest between teams, students can redesign their towers to improve their performance, or simply discuss what worked well and what didn't in their designs. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students


text:
There are so many things you have to learn when you're involved in a game that relies on other people. I've been pretty much winging it on my own, with the exception of the dungeon runs I've done with my guild leader. He's a great guy who explains things to me and has the patience to put up with the horrible mis-steps my old computer frequently causes. In one dungeon, I had the hideous luck to keep falling into molten lava on the way in because at the time I did not have a winged beast to fly over it (or to be more exact, wasn't at a high enough level to use my winged beast for flight). He's also been great at helping me collect armor for my priest and bags with enough slots to actually carry and store things in. He's generously found both cloth and leather whenever I've asked (from what he has left over) and informed me those hard to find dusts and essences can be found by disenchanting the things I have to make to move my tailoring skill up. I can say as men go he's probably treated me better than most of the real men in my life.
Sooner or later though, you have to start stepping out on your own just to prove you are capable of learning things that may seem easy to others, but are weaving new neural pathways in a much older brain. When I hit level 60 and was finally able to upgrade my riding ability to fly I was feeling pretty good. While other quests had taken forever to get to some of the places via the road (often stopped by aggressive NPCs on the way to get where I was going), I now fly over their heads. Quest lines are much easier to finish as I no longer have to follow the roads to where I want to go. I simply take a direct line and drop down right in the middle of everything. This is especially handy when you have to go some place on the other side of Horde territory.
Feeling good about my new found freedom I thought I would trip the light fantastic and take a stab at joining a group through the dungeon finder. BAD IDEA. I had THE WORST dungeon experience in my life! I've read you should go in as a DPS (only there to cause damage) person if you don't know how to run a dungeon, but if you get put into an experienced group it doesn't hold true. I indicated on the dungeon finder that I would not be using my priestly skills, mostly due to the age of my computer and the buffer lag I have to deal with due to an inadequate graphics card and low processor speed.
Unfortunately, if you get into a group of experienced players they are off and running before you even have time to start the quests in the dungeon. Before I even found out who the tank in my group was, he was barking instructions and criticism my way. I had no idea what he was talking about though, since it was clear the words coming out of his mouth were foreign to me.
I brought this to the WoW forums and was blessed with some great responses. While it took a couple of explanations to get all the information I needed, I found out that priests who wish to be both healers and damage creators need to sign up for dual specialization. I suppose this is true for all the other classes as well. Each class comes with three different types of skills or spells, dependent upon what they wish to do. I chose the Discipline Priest specialty when I created my character (even though most guides said to create a Shadow Priest), because at the time I wanted an equal balance between healer and fighter. Being a Holy Priest would have taken too long to level and being a Shadow Priest made me a damage character, not a healer. The whole time the leader of this dungeon group was screaming SHADOW, SHADOW, SHADOW at me, he wanted me to switch over to a Shadow Priest. I had no idea what he was talking about, but later I found out how easy it is to go to your class trainer and request dual specialization (having two bright tabs on your specialization as shown above indicates you can switch back and forth between the two). Something else I also found interesting was the other priest in the group was using his Shadow skills and was also being targeted by the NPCs run amok, while I as a Discipline Priest was being left alone by random aggressive NPCs.
You really can find any piece of information you need on the Wow forum. I post all my inquiries to the Newbie area since I know so little about the game. I received links to some GREAT class guides, was helped by being given a list of spells people would expect me to use in a dungeon run, had the loot system explained to me in a way that made sense and was given insight on what experienced people DO expect. One person replying told me that her dungeon experiences yielded a one in five rate of having a leader who flew like the wind trying to take the course at his own pace – lucky me! Of course, there is always the other extreme, which was pointed out to me by another poster, where people go through the dungeon slowly as they consider it more of a social opportunity than a speed drill.
In between my last blog entry and this one, I also went to some pretty interesting quests. The Un'Goro Crater quest line seemed to take FOREVER. I was never so thankful to receive an increase in movement speed. In addition, it seemed to have the highest amount of aggressive NPCs that were always in the way of getting from here to there. It would have been much easier to get through that area with a flying mount. By the time I was through with all the quests in that area, all I wanted to do was get out of it.
Then there was the exorcism of Colonel Jules. I had been running quest lines that were pretty self explanatory for so long, I forgot about the ones where you just stand there and observe. I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do when I got to this quest (buffer lag played a part in my confusion waiting for the NPC to speak), but I finally stood still for a while and realized the NPC I interacted with was beginning an exorcism complete with green goo and flying skulls.
The most ANNOYING quest came from Silithus on the continent of Kalimdor. This was the first time I was ever tricked into PvP play by a quest. I'm sure I spent hours trying to figure out why, when I clicked on the geyser, I couldn't get to the apparatus which sucked the geyser energy I was carrying out of me as the quest required. After a lot of frustration and wasted time, I finally found a web page with comments about the quest. It appeared that you must not only have your PvP indicator turned on when starting the quest (right click on your face in the upper left corner where it shows how many hit points you have left and you'll see the Player vs. Player options), but you CANNOT ride any mount after interacting with the Silithyst Geyser; i.e. you better run fast to get to the machine that sucks the geyser energy back out of you. Sometimes it was a VERY long run hoping no one would spot me.
Part of the quest was the Alliance/Horde challenge you see above. I suppose you win some type of honor points if your faction gets to 200. I never saw the score indicator get close to 200 on either side. To move the numbers (and they reset every day I believe), you have to complete the geyser run. There are several geysers in Silithus, but I found them to not respawn all that fast. I think you do better going into Silithus as a group and trying to get as many as you can that way.
I had my second chance to go to the Darkmoon Faire this month. The games were much easier to play this time having learned more about the user interface and my mouse. The cannon game is still a bit iffy due to the age of my computer and poor graphics card. The lag is horrible when I play, which doesn't bode well for hitting a button when you get over a certain area in the ocean. I still found myself distracted enough by trying to complete quests to not make it to the Faire every day to gather more tickets. I suppose the special quests benefit people who are at their highest level already.
I am thrilled to be able to say I can now make my own 16 slot bags! I made a bunch of them with the tons of Netherweave Cloth I had gathered from all the quests. I've had the misfortune to be very far behind in Tailoring from the level I'm at. Here's a good tip for anyone winding up in the same situation. If you are predominantly behind in Tailoring (i.e. the cloth you're getting from kills is a few levels above what you can create), try to keep in mind that if you find a good area to farm cloth during your quests, spend some time there and get as many as you can while you're at that level (and don't think for a minute that having 140 pieces is enough – the higher you get, the more pieces it takes to make a bolt of cloth)! I am finding that once I pass the player level of the area where certain cloth spawns, I can't farm ANYTHING to save my soul! I'm sure they put that stopgap in the game to keep people from making millions farming different types of cloth, but I would hope one day they would re-code the ability to pick up cloth based on your Tailoring level, NOT your player level. The last seven levels of Tailoring were incredibly painful for me. I was too big to farm any more runecloth, but I didn't have enough to make items that would raise my level (grayed out items don't raise your Tailoring level, green does sometimes, but not always). The prices for cloth through the auction house (for those of us who were too impatient to wait until our non-tailoring characters got up to that cloth level) were HORRIBLE. At a time when I should be saving up for flying lessons, I'm spending my gold on cloth I should have spent the time to farm. Oh well, at least now I know.
If you're having any problems as a newbie or have questions about things that aren't working well for you, please visit the battle.net WoW forum. The people there are full of all kinds of information. You just have to be specific about what you want to know and they will happily share their experience and expertise. It's always been a positive experience for me. 🙂


text:
After playing three regular-season games in eight days, the Revolution changes focus for a midweek U.S. Open Cup play-in match against the New York Red Bulls | VIDEO: Revolution GameDay >>
HARRISON, N.J. – The busiest month of the New England Revolution's 2010 schedule is well underway, and the breakneck pace will continue on Wednesday, May 12, when the club visits the New York Red Bulls for a U.S. Open Cup play-in match. Kickoff from Red Bull Arena is set for 8 p.m.
The Revs are the top-seeded team in Major League Soccer's "play-in" round of competition, in which nine MLS clubs vie for the final two (of eight total) MLS spots in the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup draw. This will mark the Revolution's entrance into the competition, but the Red Bulls have already played one play-in match – defeating the Philadelphia Union, 2-1, at Red Bull Arena on April 27 – just to get to this point.
The winner of Wednesday night's match will advance to host the Colorado Rapids in the final round of the play-in competition with a spot in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on the line.
Despite New England's top seed, New York won the right to host Wednesday night's match via coin toss. This will be the Revolution's first-ever visit to the brand new Red Bull Arena, the state-of-the-art venue which opened at the start of this season.
In order to advance to the next round of play-in matches, the Revs will have to overcome more than simply playing on the road. The Revolution has been battered with a slew of injuries and suspensions in recent weeks, culminating with last weekend's trip to Columbus in which the club only traveled 16 healthy bodies.
Of the group that traveled to Columbus, goalkeeper Preston Burpo, defenders Cory Gibbs and Darrius Barnes, and midfielder Mauricio Castro did not make the trip to New York. Even with Marko Perovic – who was suspended for the Crew match – and third-string goalkeeper Tim Murray joining the travel party, just 14 players boarded New England's bus to head down I-95.
For that reason, the importance of avoiding more injuries on Wednesday night cannot be overstated.
"It's vitally important," said assistant coach Stephen Myles. "I think that's there for everybody to see. We're just hoping now that even during training and especially through games that we get out of there without too serious an injury."
With a whopping 11 players staying behind in New England, the Revolution will once again name a relatively makeshift lineup against the Red Bulls. One particular area of focus is in defense, as just one natural defender – Seth Sinovic – has made the trip. That leaves midfielders Pat Phelan, Chris Tierney and Khano Smith as the most likely players to plug the holes in the backline. Second-year goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth – who has yet to make his Revolution debut in any competition – is likely to get the start between the pipes.
No matter the lineup, a few of the players taking the field for the Revolution on Wednesday night – namely Nico Colaluca, Kenny Mansally and Shuttleworth – will be looking to make an impression with their playing time in the league limited.
"It's an opportunity for them to show us what they can do," said Myles. "In all honesty, whether it's training or whether it's games, you're (always) looking for guys to try and impress."
Those players looking to prove themselves likely won't need any extra motivation, but there's the small matter of the New England – New York rivalry to take into account, as well. An Open Cup game may not have quite the same allure as a regular-season meeting, but the feelings of animosity between these two teams won't fade simply because of the competition. Especially since the Red Bulls currently sit on top of the Eastern Conference with a record of 5-2-0.
"Whenever two teams with the quality of New England and New York step on the field, it's always going to be a battle," said Tierney, who grew up in Massachusetts and is well-acquainted with the inter-city rivalry. "We don't care [which competition it is]. Whenever you step on the field as a pro, you want to win games, so I expect this game to be pretty intense. We're going to go for the win, for sure."
Even further motivation can be found in the Revolution's storied history in the U.S. Open Cup. It was just three years ago that the Revs lifted the 2007 U.S. Open Cup trophy as they celebrated their first-ever cup championship.
Although he didn't join the Revolution until 2008, Tierney claims that because his team's name is already on that trophy, it gives everyone another reason to want to lift it again.
"I've heard great things about that Open Cup run," he said. "It's a tournament that any team would be really proud to win, so we're going into the (New York) game looking for a win. We want to win the tournament, so we're looking for a good result."


text:
The 2013 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and like it or not, Canuck fans now know exactly what the Vancouver Canucks look like as they head into the final quarter of the Regular Season and Playoffs.
GM Mike Gillis was able to make one trade the day before the deadline, acquiring skilled centre Derek Roy from the Dallas Stars, with prospect Defenseman Kevin Connauton. Considering the cost of a rental player at the deadline this season, I feel it was a more than fair price to pay to address a need that could be considered critical if the Canucks are to make any sort of long run in the postseason this year. It's no secret that an effective, consistent centre for the second and third line in the wake of injuries to Ryan Kesler and Manny Malhotra has virtually been nonexistent. Rookie Jordan Schroeder has had a decent beginning to his NHL rookie season, but has not been consistent game in and game out. Max Lapierre has been "OK" yet still takes the mind numbing penalty every second or third game that just makes you shake your head, and is not an offensive catalyst to say the least, and is best served in a 4th line capacity. And although Alex Burrows and Chris Higgins have done an admirable job in attempting to Center a second line at times, it is not the natural position for either player and has created holes all throughout the line-up that have led the once high-octane Canucks offense to become a check like crazy and hope to score two goals a game team that has brought comparisons to the dreadful style of hockey that Jacques Lemaire's Minnesota Wild used to play. Tolerable, as long as you are winning, but brutal to watch when your goalie or defence has an off night, as has been the case in the last two losses to the youthful, exciting to watch Edmonton Oilers and the physical well-coached San Jose Sharks.
With Derek Roy making his Canucks debut against the Oilers, Zack Kassian returning from his surprise "wake up call" conditioning stint with the Chicago Wolves, and Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond, Dale Weise and Keith Ballard all appearing to be close to returning from short and long term injuries, the Canucks are almost as close as they have been all season to being 'healthy' for the stretch drive and a battle with the much improved Minnesota Wild for the NW title. And lest we forget the Oilers, who have found confidence to go along with their undeniable youth and talent, now sit only five points back in the chase for the NW, with all three teams having twelve games left in their schedule. It made last night's matchup with Edmonton even more important, as the Canucks needed to find a way to stop a short two game slide and do what they can to keep the Oilers at bay, if not for division title purposes, then at least for playoff seeding. With the return of the injured bodies, I firmly believe that we will see a return of the offense that has been in hibernation since the second Kesler injury.
As glum as it has appeared at times for Vancouver this season, it is worth keeping in mind that only Chicago, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Montreal and Boston have more points. Granted, Vancouver is stuck in a pack of several other teams either tied or right behind them for overall points this season, but considering this club has virtually played all season with only one legitimate offensive center, a "goalie controversy" that will now not be addressed at least until the summer. The fact that the Canucks are still in the race for another division crown and are getting healthy at the right time, should bode well for this team's chances of locking up home ice for the only season that matters…the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I still firmly believe that it is much more important to be playing your best hockey and important games late in the season, and this club has not really had to play important games down the homestretch the last couple of years.
Sure, there are many reasons to be discouraged by the play of the two-time defending Presidents Trophy winning club, but in the end those teams did not end up winning the ultimate prize. This team needs much to go right over the next month (and hopefully beyond) to make some serious noise. Just like the LA Kings did last season, and the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings did before them. The key is getting to the dance in the first place and we'll have the answers to these questions soon enough.
Follow me on Twitter: @RayRay2233


text:
Getting in shape can be difficult, but it's a little bit easier if you have a routine. Reebok's new fitness app should help you out in that department.
What does it do?
Lets you set up a 6-12 week long fitness program that includes running, walking, yoga, and dance. It then generates a schedule for the next week.
Why do we like it?
It's easy to get sick of your workout routine, and it's easy to find an excuse not to exercise all together. Reebok's app shuts down all of your excuses. Have a conflict during your scheduled session? You can edit it to a time that works for you. Getting sick of yoga or running? You can change it up to another activity. You also won't have to worry about not knowing how to do something—the app provides a bunch of instructional videos. And a no BS policy is strictly enforced, because the app syncs with your calendar so it'll remind you when it's time to get off your butt.
Reebok Fitness
Download this app for:
The Best:
Variety of activity
The Worst:
Have to make a Reebok account


text:
EXCLUSIVELauren Conrad might be old as the "Hills" ... but she's still rich as ever ... plunking down $3.74 million on her new L.A. mansion.
Sources close to the deal tell TMZ, the 27-year-old former MTV star purchased the 4,300 sq. ft. 6-bedroom, 5-bathroom Brentwood home this week.
It's two stories ... with a brand, spanking new kitchen, huge backyard and a basketball court. It was remodeled recently by celeb interior designer Jeff Lewis from Bravo's "Flipping Out."
Not a bad purchase ... especially for someone who used to be best friends with Heidi Montag.