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Difference between revisions of "Xonar EEPROM Failure"
m (→Booting from a USB memory stick/flash disk)
m (Xonar D2(X) EEPROM Failure moved to Xonar EEPROM Failure: not restricted to D2(X) models)
Revision as of 14:31, 9 February 2009
Xonar EEPROM Failure
Sometimes, Xonar cards randomly fail to be recognized.
The driver refused to load or to install, and in Device Manager, the card is shown as an unknown sound card or as "C-Media Oxygen audio device". Putting the card into another slot or another computer does not help.
This happens when the EEPROM on the card gets overwritten.
(This EEPROM stores the PCI subsystem vendor and product IDs; when it gets overwritten, the main chip cannot read the subsystem IDs and uses a default ID (13F6:8788) which is not recognized by the Xonar driver.)
The exact cause is unknown.
There was a guess that the EEPROM chip can misinterpret certain signals if they happen together with eletrical noise, but the EEPROM is protected against that.
It seems that the problem occurs only with certain computers or motherboards, and mostly after a (re)installation of an operating system.
Restoring the EEPROM
I have written a tool that can restore the original contents of the EEPROM; there are versions for Linux and MS-DOS:
In Linux
- Boot Linux (either from hard drisk or from a live CD);
- download the package directly from <http://www.alsa-project.org/~clemens/oxygen_restore_eeprom.tar.gz>, or download it from Windows and copy it over with a USB stick;
- open a console;
- unpack the package:
tar xvzf oxygen_restore_eeprom.tar.gz
cd oxygen_restore_eeprom
- run the program, as root:
- either run first
su, then
- or run
sudo ./oxygen_restore_eeprom_32
- either run first
- follow the instructions on the screen.
The package also contains a 64-bit version (
oxygen_restore_eeprom_64) for the unlikely case that you're running a 64-bit-only Linux.
The program has been confirmed to work.
In DOS
If you have a working DOS, you can use this method. (This tool is run in the same way as Asus' xee01.bat.)
- Download restoree.exe;
- boot DOS;
(MS-DOS or DR-DOS or FreeDOS; the DOS box of Windows or the DOS in an emulated computer (e.g. VMWare) will not work)
- run restoree.exe.
(source code: restoree.c)
Booting from a floppy
- Download this floppy image: floppy.img (1.44 MB);
- write it to a floppy with rawrite.exe (which you can get somewhere on the Internet);
- boot from the floppy.
Booting from a CD
- Download this ISO file: restore_eeprom.iso (1.8 MB);
- burn it to a blank CD-R;
- boot from the CD.
Booting from a USB memory stick/flash disk
- Make a bootable USB flash disk (see this description);
- download restoree.exe and put in on the flash disk;
- boot from the flash disk and run restoree.exe.
Bug Reports
So far, five users have reported this problem:


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Koochie-koo: Cute babies get all the attention
Q. Not to sound too hyperpragmatic, but does a baby's cuteness serve any "purpose"? –J. Fariello
A. Cuteness is a type of attractiveness associated with youth, whether a puppy, a kitten, or your offspring, says Deirdre Barrett in Supernormal Stimuli. Infants of most species have disproportionately big heads, big eyes, a small nose, chubby limbs and clumsy coordination. Playfulness and helplessness also tend to be part of the bargain.
"A few characteristics such as dimples and baby talk are unique to humans, but most are common across species," Barrett says.
To evolutionary biologists, all of these work to elicit nurturing in adults, an obvious survival adaptation.
Rather dismayingly, studies show that really cute babies get more attention not only from strangers but even from their own parents. Fortunately, adds Barrett, most babies are cute enough to attract sufficient nurturing: Mothers and fathers of the "terrible twos" are often heard to remark, "It's lucky he's so cute or I'd have left him on some church steps by now."
Q. Can we have your undivided attention, please? Or if not that, can we have at least a fraction of it? –M. O. Ceremonies
A. In today's Type A or "accelerated" culture, the "rat race" is no longer merely fast-paced but "amphetamine-paced" or even "meth-paced," with "multitaskers" everywhere, says Paul McFedries in IEEE Spectrum magazine. It really does feel like we're doing several things at the same time when we listen to music as we check for e-mails or tweets and work on a multipage memo (critic Raymond Tallis' "e-ttenuation" of work and relationships). There's a verb for this– "to background," as in ringing up a client or colleague and getting only an occasional "Hmmmm" response: You've just been "backgrounded."
Though we believe we're paragons of "polyattentiveness," more likely we're just getting good at quick-shifting our "continuous partial attention," as we rush from one thing to the next while exerting minimum effort to complete each.
That our attention has become such a precious commodity is no surprise in today's "attention economy," where the competition for our eyeballs and "earballs" (listening to music, podcasts, radio, and so on) is so intense that some companies are into full-blown "attention warfare." One solution that McFedries himself employs is to practice deliberate "disattention" to such things as celebrity gossip and Balloon Boy-type stunts.
Q. What did early humans learn to do a lot later than was previously thought, forcing them to do a lot more of something else and probably even dictating their diets? –B. Wilson
A. Humans lived in Europe for 700,000 long cold years before mastering fire, so shivering was often the order of the day, said W. Roebroeks and P. Villa at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, as reported in American Scientist magazine. Many archaeologists had thought that controlled flames must have been a prerequisite for human migration into colder climates, but more recent data from numerous sites across Europe show no evidence of fire use until 400,000 years ago.
"After that, remains of ancient hearths and scorched tools appeared with increasing frequency," the authors say. They suggest that the first humans in cold climates must have relied on high metabolism— stoked with lots of protein and an active lifestyle– to weather frosty boreal winters.
Send Strange questions to brothers Bill and Rich at firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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November 26, 2000 -- Long before the first humans boarded the International
Space Station (ISS), something else was living there.
Something unseen, but potentially dangerous. Something with an uncanny ability
to survive and reproduce in even the most hostile environments.
Something capable of attacking the Station's crew and even the
Space Station itself.
Of course we're not talking about some man-eating alien from a science fiction
movie. These lurking, mischievous life forms aboard the Space
Station are simply microbes: viruses, bacteria and fungi.
"Microbes were the first inhabitants of the Space Station," said Monsi Roman, chief
microbiologist for the Environmental
Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) project at NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center.
The Space Station's microorganisms are hitchhikers; they were carried there
on ISS hardware and by the assembly crews themselves. "When the
Station went up, microbes went with it," says Roman. "Microbes
will be the last ones in the Station, too."
Microbes are a fact of life anywhere that humans go. The majority are harmless,
and several types are actually beneficial to humans. Nevertheless,
certain microbes can pose a health threat to the Station's crew
and even attack the materials and hardware of the Station itself.
Scientists and engineers at NASA must find ways to keep such microorganisms
on the Space Station under control.
In this third article in a series about the practical
challenges of living in space, Science@NASA takes a
look at how microscopic inhabitants of the Space Station will be
kept in check.
Curator: Kim
Dismukes | Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty | Updated: 04/07/2002Web Accessibility and Policy Notices


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Colliers International – Las Vegas announced the finalization of a lease to Alamo Capital. The approximately 965-square-foot office property is located at 3770 Howard Hughes Parkway in The HC | Hughes Center in Las Vegas. Ryan Martin, CCIM, SIOR, Patti Dillon and Taber Thill of Colliers International represented the lessor, BRE/HC Las Vegas Holdings LLC.
About Colliers International
Colliers International is a global leader in commercial real estate services, with over 13,500 professionals operating out of more than 482 offices in 62 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, Colliers International delivers a full range of services to real estate users, owners and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, mortgage banking and insightful research. The latest annual survey by the Lipsey Company ranked Colliers International as the second-most recognized commercial real estate firm in the world.
For the latest news from Colliers International, visit colliers.com/us/news or follow us on Twitter: @ColliersIntl


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Friday, January 09, 2009
Layoffs at Oracle, SAP, and Infor
Go to latest news on Oracle layoffs, November 2009.
Several sources are reporting to me regarding layoff activity among major enterprise software vendors in January, 2009.
Oracle layoffs: An anonymous source reports this morning, "I just got laid off from oracle today. Layoffs are happening company wide today and will be done by the end of the day."
This follows several days of the Spectator receiving a large number of Google referrals on keywords such as, "Oracle layoffs," "Oracle reduction-in-force," and "Oracle severance pay." The volume of such referrals increased further this morning, consistent with this latest source.Update: My source now reports that the Oracle layoff is company wide and is in the order of 10-15%, depending on the group.SAP layoffs: A source reports that SAP is making some deep cuts in SAP's Strategic Growth Enterprise (SGE) unit (focused on the SMB space).
Update: Another source emails me, "A lot of Oracle layoffs today. Specifically NA Sales, Technology Business Unit, NA Consulting, NA Alliances & Channels, Retail Global Business Unit. Based on discussions with other Oracle employees, the number is around 8,000 globally. Some consolidation of operational groups. No warning at all. Just a call, and the FedEx truck showing up in front of the house an hour or so later."
Several sources reference the 10% number and 8,000 headcount, which would be consistent with Oracle's worldwide employment number of appoximately 84,000.
Update, Jan 13. Computerworld has a good roundup of the Oracle layoff news, including links to the Spectator. Some analysts are doubting the 8000 figure. Oracle could easily end all the speculation, but for some reason just doesn't like making layoff announcements.
Update, Jan. 13. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed "people familiar with the matter," puts the Oracle layoff count at 500, but only counts employees in North America sales and consulting units. Still, it would indicate that the 8,000 number is well overstated.
Update, Jan. 15. Brian Sommer has a thoughtful piece analyzing Oracle's cost-containment strategy. He tries to get to a more accurate count of layoffs, but can't get confirmation either.Update: a comment on this post indicates 300 sales-related positions were affected in North America.Infor layoffs: A source reports that "Infor just laid off a staggering 85% of their senior managers and executives across UK and Europe." However, I checked with Infor's PR department in North America, which reports the following:
Update: See latest post for SAP layoffs, Jan. 28.While I cannot confirm specific figures, any recent headcount reductions in Europe were part of the initiative you reported on earlier in December -- a worldwide reduction of approximately 5 percent of our workforce.The enterprise software industry is not immune to the cutbacks we are seeing among businesses in general and IT vendors and service providers in particular.
The EMEA region remains a very strategic part of Infor's overall business.
If you have further information or insights into the situation, please leave a comment or email me.by Frank Scavo, 1/09/2009 07:32:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
Reader Comments:Worked at SAP and ORCL in the recent past and still keep in touch. ORCL buddy in ATL got RIF'd and his email today said it was 10% of NA, though he couldn't confirm if it was sales-related roles only or companywide. SAP buddy called and said let go 300 sales-related roles in NA today as well.
I'm a club Ex-Oracle member too. Yep I can safely confirm that they had laid off 20% of the consulting staff.
The layoff is company wide and is 10-15% depending on the group. Lists were compiled over the holidays and all people that were to be laid off were notified this morning, with our last pay checks being next day aired to us today.
I was a former BEA employee so I got the BEA severance package from last year (which Oracle is legally required to honor until May 2009), which was 3 months severance, 3 months paid COBRA. The Oracle severance package is 2 months severance plus one week for each full year worked. December 30 was the first date that BEA employees that were acquired into Oracle could be laid off legally per the acquisition agreement. The original BEA employees that were laid off in May never received Oracle offers.
With all respect to you and your sources...you need to be on the record with this kind of stuff IMO. Otherwise it's pure speculation.
Ahh - Dennis - with all respect to you...this is fact. Its strange that it hasn't been made public yet.
L was laid off from NA Sales group on Friday. Does anyone know if WARN notices were distributed? Seems like Oracle would be requried to do so if these numbers are as large as specualted.
I don't think the layoff number is anywhere near 8000. The number I am hearing internally is 500-600. Not good, but not 10% of the workforce either.
NA field sales and consulting were done on friday but there is another round coming for other business units in the next couple of weeks.
The total layoff coming in all these mini-rounds will be around 10%
Over 600 got laid off in North america sales (that represents 11% of sales total in North america), over 1500 got laid off in consulting, several hundred got laid off in training and several hundred got laid off in india. Development layoffs are later this month and there will be another round of sales layoffs when oracle misses its q3 numbers. (I mean sales targets, not stock analyst numbers). There is no pipeline really for q3 and q4 so more layoffs are coming. I have a friend who survived who has seen the spreadsheet with the names of the next 10% in it. Brutal.
I was laid off this Friday 9th from Oracle. I am an Account Executive, based in ATL. I was told several hunderds are let go in sales, and potentially more coming. They are watching numbers by the week. Any Oracle guys, please state your accurate data here and update us all. Thank for all who contributed here. I got a call Friday 8:00AM from my boss, that your position has been eliminated. That's it. 4 weeks of severance for year1, and one week after that. Not sure why above quoted different severance package. Please state your Severance package if you get laid off. Wish everyone the best 2009. Time to start a starup!!!
Packages have to do with whether you came from an acquisition or not. I got laid off and was a former bea employee and legally they have to honor the bea acquisition package until a year from the date of acquiring bea. My package was three months severance, three months cobra. Peoplesoft, siebel, and hyperion acquiries were getting one month severance for first year, plus one week for each additional year and one month cobra. Oracle employees that were not part of an acquisition are getting two weeks severance for first year, one week for each additional year and no cobra.
Interesting comment from one "Lizzie Tudor," on Silicon Investor site at http://siliconinvestor.advfn.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=25322162:
She writes, "I was let go last Friday. I was in north america sales consulting team. I supported CRM On Demand. I was told my position was eliminated. I saw it coming. The region I supported have done lousy (closed 0 deal in Q1 and 1 deal in Q2). Our CRM On Demand product is weak compared to salesforce offering. We lost all CRM On Demand deals. I wasn't engaged enough by reps since there is no CRM On Demand deals.
I have heard that Oracle is shifting product focus from CRM On Demand to MDM and BPM. Hence, overlap teams in CRMOD and BI were hit hard."
have any one tried contacting the named HR Manager for question. The 914 area code number given in my paperwork is disconnected!
Oracle layoffs hit channel operations hard
SAP BOBJ laid off BOBJ field services in Dec (up to as much as 40% I heard, edu and consulting), then as part of the reorg hit the BOBJ sales team in early Jan. Some of SAP reps cut then as well. Heard by the end of January, BOBJ support, SEs will know their fate.
Many extra posts re severance packages.....Its probably all of the SUN employees anticipating huge layoffs once the sale is complete....
Oracle had another round of layoffs yesterday June 4th 2009. I was in NA sales and on my floor of about 80 ppl they let go 10 of us. It was pretty random who got let go and who was "saved"
Oracle Laid of Huge number off Employees in India in HR division including APAC head of Campus realtion..i was shocked to hear this news..i am conserned abt my job now...
Major layoffs in Oracle Consulting Division last week, rumors that the OCS division may be rid of because of low revenue.


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It looks as though Nokia and Apple have finally come to an agreement over the lawsuit they have been involved in since late 2009, with Apple agreeing to pay licensing fees for key Nokia patents. Originally, Nokia claimed that Apple had infringed on almost two dozen of their patents for mobile technologies. Apple argued that Nokia was demanding "unfair" licensing fees and didn't want to pay more than other companies licensing the same technology, then counter sued for UI and computer-related patents. Complaints flew back and forth, and now the end result of the lawsuit was that Apple has to pay Nokia a lump some of of cash on top of royalties for the term of the agreement with Nokia.
The financial structure of the agreement consists of a one-time payment payable by Apple and on-going royalties to be paid by Apple to Nokia for the term of the agreement. The specific terms of the contract are confidential.
"We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees," said Stephen Elop, president and chief executive officer of Nokia. "This settlement demonstrates Nokia's industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market."
Apple having to pay Nokia was never really in question. The argument was over how much. Nokia's patents were in a pool that was supposed to be freely and fairly licensed to everyone. Apple felt Nokia was violating the letter and spirit of that by asking more of Apple. Whether or not Apple eventually got the same terms as other licensees, or whether they did have to pay up more, is still a question.
Apple also remains in litigation with the three top Android makers, HTC, Samsung, and Motorola. For now, Nokia is no longer in litigation with anyone.
UPDATE: Apple has issued a statement to the New York Times [NYT]:
[Nokia via FossPatents]


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I've heard Ron Paul described as "plain-spoken" way too many times. I guess if you define "plain spoken" as simplistic and with few words — then yes, he surely fits that definition. Personally, I've never been impressed with that type of person or politician. I often wonder what they are hiding with their simplification. Is it ignorance, bias or just a desire to appeal to the populist crowd?
It is clear that many years ago, Ron Paul either authored or allowed his name to be signed on a newsletter that spewed some of the worst of the racist and anti-Semitic propaganda that was prevalent in the late 80's and 90's. To get caught up on that Ron Paul newsletter story, check out Joy Reid's writing at The Reid Report.
But this story caught my eye and adds some context to Ron Paul's denials on the newsletters. In 2006, Ron Paul was scheduled to appear and may have appeared on a White Supremacist radio show called The Political Cesspool. Charles Johnson describes it for us…
The story so far: apparently Ron Paul was scheduled to appear on the notorious radio show "The Political Cesspool," a talk show in Tennessee connected to the white separatist Council of Conservative Citizens and the Holocaust denial group Institute for Historical Review.
The announcement of Ron Paul's appearance was posted on the blog of Political Cesspool co-founder Austin Farley: Congressman Ron Paul TONIGHT On The Cesspool.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Congressman Ron Paul TONIGHT On The Cesspool
One of the only truly conservative Congressmen in office today, Ron Paul, will be doing a live interview on The Political Cesspool http://www.thepoliticalcesspool.org tonight. The show is from 7-8 PM Central time and can be heard locally (Memphis) on 1380 AM WLRM or the live stream or archives if you miss it live will be at http://www.thepoliticalcesspool.org. No matter what your opinion of the Cesspool is you will not want to miss this interview. I have heard that No Child Left Behind and possible Bush impeachment will be discussed, but I am not 100% sure on that. Tune in to find out.
posted by Austin Farley Your Hero @ 5:27 AM
If true, this would be the most direct connection yet between Ron Paul and the kind of people who cheer for David Duke. But as Adam Holland and I both discovered, the archives of The Political Cesspool radio show have apparently been scrubbed of this episode.
It's very curious that the show Ron Paul was scheduled to appear on is conveniently missing from the archives of The Political Cesspool. Maybe it never happened, last minute cancellations happen all the time. But what if it did happen as scheduled, wouldn't it be great to hear some of Ron Paul's wisdom on this station with connections to white supremacist and holocaust deniers? I bet he was plain-spoken as hell and just told them good ole' boys how it is, ya know?
Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs is all over this story, let's hope he gets to the bottom of it. I'm awfully curious what Ron Paul had to say in that interview.
Cross-posted at Angry Black Lady Chronicles


text: Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971) led the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, serving as premier from 1958 to 1964. Though he largely pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence with the West, he instigated the Cuban Missile Crisis by placing nuclear weapons 90 miles from Florida. At home, he initiated a process of "de-Stalinization" that made Soviet society less repressive. Yet Khrushchev could be authoritarian in his own right, crushing a revolt in Hungary and approving the construction of the Berlin Wall. Known for his colorful speeches, he once took off and brandished his shoe at the United Nations.


text:
"This is a collection of deed indexes from Troup County, Georgia, for the years 1927-1979"
WHAT? Seriously? There are 159 counties in Georgia and this collection contains deeds from only one of them, yet it's titled for the entire state. It only represents 0.62% of the state; talk about a misleading title.
If a researcher isn't looking at the details of the collection, they might think the record they're looking for doesn't exist. Ancestry.com sticks these details at the bottom of the page, under the search box. FamilySearch is both better and worse. They put a notice at the top, but they don't give as detailed a list of the contents.
I've got a pretty simple solution for Ancestry, FamilySearch and other genealogy companies: add "Select" to the title. In situations such as these, in which there are entire counties missing, the title should reflect this. This would be a signal to researchers to check the fine print. This might result in a large amount of the collections having "Select" in the title, but it would be much less misleading.
Another great feature would be a note to indicate whether or not more records are pending, like they did with the 1940 census. I know it would be more work, but if the Georgia Deeds collection is eventually intended to represent all 159 counties, a list of "coming soon" counties could be added. Or they could create an icon (an hour-glass, under construction) to indicate the collection is growing.
For me, it's about being honest in naming collections. Every time this happens, I'm disappointed. I suppose I should know better, and in the end I really do, but that doesn't stop me from being frustrated by misleading collection titles.


text:
The recent rough weekend -- and yes, that very much includes the Super Bowl -- meant that I will have to postpone the "Wrongway in Ronguay" review until this coming weekend. Hopefully, you're not reacting to the delay with the noted grace of El Capitan.
Comics, book, and DVD reviews (and occasional eruptions of other kinds)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Goo(l)d Things Come to Those Who Wait... For 400 Years, or Otherwise...
Posted by Chris Barat at 8:38 PM
Labels: Animation, Christopher Barat, Disney Afternoon, DuckTales, Football, Professional
2 comments:
- Pan Miluś said...
I hope You seen the Nostalgia Critic review... He brings up some good points about this one :)
- February 8, 2013 at 8:50 PM
- Chris Barat said...
Yes, I posted TNC's review of "Golden Suns" in my very first post introducing the DT RETROSPECTIVE SERIES. You can find it using the archive.
- February 9, 2013 at 7:43 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Memorial Day Safety Message
POSTED ON: Friday, May 23, 2014 8:00 AM by NAVAL ACADEMY PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Memorial Day, formerly called Decoration Day, originally commemorated the Union and Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. It later included honoring all Americans that served in all wars. The Memorial Day holiday weekend begins the summer safety campaign known as the 101 Critical Days of Summer; that period between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day. The summer season brings the potential for increased risk. Why is that?
- More people on the roadways
- More water recreation
- More sporting activities
- More partying
With that in mind let's look at a few safety tips that we can use as we plan our travels.
- Proper tire inflation will ensure your tires are up to the travel marathon and provide the proper traction for braking.
- Don't stop at the tires; give the whole vehicle a check. Fluids are vital to keeping your vehicle running cool.
- Clean your windshield and lights so you can see and be seen.
- Plan on using TRiPS to assess and mitigate any unnecessary risks. TRiPS is available at https://TRIPS.SAFETY.ARMY.MIL
- Keep a summer driving emergency kit with plenty of water and snacks in case you get stranded.
- Wear your seatbelts and ensure children are properly secured in safety or booster seats. Remember, 75% of those ejected from a vehicle will be killed.
- Devote 100% of your attention to the driving task. Distractions such as cell phones, eating, and programming the GPS can have deadly consequences.
- Watch for motorcycles. They can be difficult to see so, look again.
- Slow down. The chance of a crash nearly triples when driving faster than surrounding traffic.
- Every day, almost 30 people die in the USA in alcohol related traffic crashes. This is a no-brainer, keep alcohol out of the mix if any driving, boating, or swimming is involved.
- Rest up. Get plenty of sleep the night before leaving and allow plenty of time to reach your destination.
- Have some fun!
Let's not forget to celebrate the sacrifices so many have made for our country. If you are staying close to DC for the weekend, think about participating in the Rolling Thunder Run which begins on Friday, 23 May at 9PM with a candlelight vigil at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and continues to Monday with other tributes throughout the weekend. See the event site athttp://rollingthunderrun.com/ or join other Maryland Memorial Day celebrations listed at http://www.chesapeakefamily.com/index.php/fun/seasonal-events/3270-memorial-day-celebrations-in-maryland
NSA Annapolis Safety Office wish all that serve a happy and safe Memorial Day.
Category: General Interest


text:
Did you know that Pacifica has been home to 80 international high school students over the last five years? Living and going to school in Pacifica this year are four international students at Oceana — Mar from Spain, Lea from Germany, Mila from Indonesia and Ragha from Egypt. Six of the students are attending Terra Nova — Marco from Italy, Carolina from Italy, Jonas from Germany, Fitri from Indonesia, Camille from Belgium and Leire from Spain. There are also 21 international students at Alma Heights — 15 from China, two from Spain, one from Germany, two from South Korea and one from Vietnam. They are all living with wonderful host families and the high schools are very happy to have them.
International high school students can come to the United States with two types of visa a F1 or a J1 visa. Students who hold a J1 visa live with volunteer families who provide them room and board and immersion experience in an American family and public high school. It's a great experience to the students but also to the families who are hosting them and is a learning experience for all. The F1 visa is available to high school students attending private schools. In Pacifica we have a unique opportunity to get to know all these students and learn about their different countries, traditions and cultures and so if you hear a different accent around town, introduce yourself.
The students would love to talk about their countries with you.
For more information about hosting or student exchange contact Isabel Griffiths, NW Service Area Representative 290-0712 or 355-9323 www.nw-services.com (other coordinators for NW Service-Marilyn St Germain Hall and Ellen Merritt) or Steve Wright, Pacifica Rotary and Alma Height Christian Schools 355-1935.
— Contributed by exchange student coordinators


text:
Homer's beloved character, Odysseus, may have garnered international acclaim by traversing the globe in a ship, but we think the famed traveler's latest namesake represents a much hotter way to roam. Aurora Flight Sciences has unveiled a solar-powered concept plane, the Odysseus. The autonomous surveillance craft boasts the ability to fly above the earth for up to five years straight, deriving power solely from its solar panels.
The Odysseus is actually a combination of three planes made up of 164-foot-long, wing-shaped structures. The planes would be launched separately and then combine once in the stratosphere, where air is calmer. Once the craft is fully assembled, it measures 492 feet in width and is capable of zipping along at 140 miles per hour at an altitude of 60,000 to 90,000 feet. Solar panels lining the top of the plane provide power, and the craft itself is capable of autonomously changing its shape in order to maximize sunlight exposure. Researchers are currently exploring different ways the plane could store power when the sun isn't shining–possible methods include flywheels, fuel cells or even batteries.
So far, the plane is just in the concept stage, but researchers are currently working on a half-sized plane and expect to complete a full-sized prototype within the next five years. Once the company creates a fully functioning plane, the Odysseus could come in handy for the environment and national security: researchers say the craft could be used for surveillance, like patrolling borders or observing suspected nuclear reactor sites. The sun-powered plane could also be used for environmental surveillance, monitoring storm development, the ozone layer and even changes brought on by global warming.
Via Popular Science


text:
From Los Angeles, with love: We can't share our (relatively) mild weather with the rest of the country, so we'll do our best to distract you from that nasty nor'easter, nor'easterners! Enjoy these outtakes from Dmitry Tursunov's December pin-up shoot with photographer Corinne Dubreuil for the 2009 ATP Calendar.
Clearly, all of Dmitry's hard work pays off.
More: See all after the cut…
(photography by Corinne Dubreuil via MTF)


text:
Overall Internet Advertisement. Information about companies in Bulgaria. Direct contact.
We sincerely appreciate your business!We will be glad to hear your opinion about how we are doing and your suggestions or comments about our work in order to facilitate your next visit Need.bg - The Bulgarian Internet Business Catalogue.
Send opinion »
Views: 1423
Agriculture and woods - Razgrad, Razgrad, agriculture wood european funds grower


text:
Damaraland is an ancient area of arid plains, deep chasms and dramatic red, rocky peaks, dominated by the huge Brandberg Mountain. With the Atlantic coast nearby, sea mists drift inland providing sustenance to various desert life forms and natural laws of food and water dictate the movement of the desert elephant.
- Where: Erongo Region
- Ideal for viewing: black rhino, desert elephant, springbok, white-tailed shrike, augur buzzard
- Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris


text:
{ 1 } { 2 } { 3 } { 4 }
One of the nicest perks of working in academia is that every now and then a conference comes along that is in the most perfect location ever. For instance, the next World Congress of Philosophy, in August 2013, is in Greece. Yes, you heard that, Greece.
Greece, of course, is an incredibly expensive place to visit. So for a conference to pop up there, it's really as if the travel gods have smiled directly at you.
We have a year yet to submit papers / proposals for the conference, though this is certainly an opportunity that will be difficult to pass up!
Have any of you been to Greece before, or is it someplace that you'd like to escape to as well?


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The billing and invoicing software market has especially high variability, especially considering the ways in which vertical markets differ. Some organizations choose to bill by the hour; others may bill by project percent completion. The invoicing process itself is related to how a company presents its image to clients, so there is a degree of relationship management involved as well.
But that's only the beginning of how these applications can differ. Other factors that impact a business's billing and invoicing needs include:
It's not easy to find the system that fits all of these categories appropriately for a particular buyer, but this guide can make the selection process easier.
Here's what we'll cover:
What Is Billing and Invoicing Software?
Common Features of Billing and Invoicing Software
What Type of Buyer Are You?
Benefits and Potential Issues
Market Trends to Understand
Billing software organizes and automates the billing and invoicing process. This helps ensure timely and consistent collection of payments and reduces errors due to manual data entry.
A wide variety of industries employ billing and invoice software, including:
Due to the range of industries served, most vendors offer customizable systems that can support various business models, pricing structures and payment types. As such, features can vary significantly with respect to the particular organization the software is meant to serve.
For example, it's common for law firms to bill for the time spent working on a project. Other organizations, such as a manufacturing company, may charge a client upon the delivery of goods or tangible items.
For companies using time as the main measure of billing, look for software that can track time as work is completed so professionals do not have to guess their total hours logged against a project. For businesses that invoice clients upon final delivery of goods, first ensure the software can track the status of a product as it progresses from the shop floor through shipping.
Some common capabilities of billing and invoicing systems include:
|Time tracking
|Assign rates according to project, employee, flat-fee or hourly. Track billable time, import into invoices.
|Creating invoices
|Customize invoices with company logo, payment terms (e.g. upon receipt or Net 30) and client information.
|Sending invoices
|Set up one-time or recurring invoices. Some systems will send alerts when an invoice has been viewed.
|Online payment software
|Send payment reminders, add late fees to overdue invoices. Accept online payments via credit card, automatic bank transfer or payment gateway (e.g. PayPal or Stripe).
|Generate financial statements including expense report, profit and loss, payments collected, accounts aging and more.
|Integrating with other systems
|Integrate with other software systems, such as customer relationship management solution or project management application.
Of course, different types of buyers will need to consider different aspects of a software system at the time of purchase. For example, small business owners might need a more customizable invoicing system based on their needs. Here are the main types of billing and invoicing software buyers:
Stand-alone buyers. Some buyers demand a high level of customizability and flexibility in their billing systems. These buyers are often focused more on billing than other business processes, and may simply need a stand-alone system. This way, they can focus their purchase on their unique billing needs. Other business processes can be handled differently.
Integrated system buyers. Other buyers need a billing and invoicing module that's part of a larger accounting system. These buyers prefer a holistic software experience, in which billing and invoicing modules can automatically log collected payments into the accounts receivable portion of the general ledger. These buyers usually value specific billing functionality over integration with other systems.
It's important to note that billing and invoicing functionality could be a module inside of a suite other than one that's strictly accounting. Child care management software includes billing functionality specific to daycare organizations, for example, while salon software offers these features in tangent with Point-of-sale (POS). Or, for medical organizations, vendors such as MediTouch offer medical billing features for inpatient care providers, outpatient providers, specialists and outsourced billing services for health care organizations.
Highly unique buyers. These buyers have such unique billing processes that they need tools designed exclusively for their industries. In the most extreme cases, these companies need to build their own system or outsource the building to a third party for custom work. Utilities companies often fit into this category.
Buyers who successfully implement a billing and invoicing system can expect the following benefits:
Fewer late payments. By streamlining your billing and invoicing needs with the right software system, you'll find that it's much easier to collect payments on time. Keeping your information organized empowers you not to miss a collection, staying profitable in the process.
Fewer missed payments. Of course, when you keep better track of your billing obligations, you're far less likely to miss a payment. This may seem obvious, but the rewards can be astounding.
Maintaining a professional image. With a good billing and invoicing system, you can preserve a respectable company image. Most systems support customized logos and other aesthetic improvements to invoices and payment documents. Furthermore, your prompt and organized approach will also reflect well on your reputation with clients.
Potential issues with billing and invoicing software mainly involve human error and system flexibility issues. For example, a user can charge the wrong rate to a large number of clients simply by checking the wrong box or entering the wrong value for a given field. While software usually succeeds in minimizing human error, it does not eliminate it completely.
Secondly, a system that lacks sufficient flexibility can cause trouble for an organization. The legal services industry, as an example, is undergoing structural change in the way clients are billed. Alternative billing arrangements—such as flat rates—are becoming increasingly prevalent. With this in mind, users should consider flexibility in case they must change the way their bills are processed in the future. Similarly, a scalable system is always an advantage; when it can adjust to the needs of a growing business, operations run much more smoothly. This way, businesses can avoid outgrowing their technology and botching their billing and invoicing procedures.
Businesses looking to invest in a billing and invoicing system should keep the following market trends in mind as they evaluate solutions:
Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS is becoming more and more widespread for nearly all types of systems. The benefits are quite compelling; they include lower upfront cost, easier implementation and often a more user-friendly interface. Consider seeking out a SaaS solution if these advantages are important to you.
Changes to billing methods. Many industries, such as professional services organizations, undergo adjustments to their billing procedures due to market pressures. If you are in a volatile industry in terms of billing methods, consider a solution that has flexibility in this area—multiple options for billing schemes is an important consideration for some.
Our service is simple and 100% free to customers like you because software vendors pay us when we connect them with quality leads. You save time and get great advice. Vendors get great referrals. It's a win for everyone!


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Blog of Dr. Miland Brown that features different aspects of world history. Not everything can be covered but sites dealing with any historical issue or topic are possible future posts. Also includes sites which discuss teaching history. Dr. Brown is an academic in North America.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
English Only Sentiment on Facebook
I found that amusing. The obvious answer, "Because English is not the original language of North America?" Here is a response I made to one friend:
Just for the sake of argument, the original languages of the US were Native American. English was imposed later by European immigrants. In addition, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican-American War assured that Mexican citizens who came into American jurisdiction in what is now six states would have their rights recognized. The English speakers were the "immigrants."
Plus, it just makes good business sense to allow customers who speak another language the option to communicate with you in that language as you take their money. I have an online business and I have a Spanish portal there. I enjoy the dollars that result.
But yeah, I wish everyone used English. However, the history of North American does not support a universal English language. Some accommodations for Spanish, French, Hawaiian (the non-immigrant tongue of the State of Hawaii), or other native tongue will not really hurt anyone. I will gladly push one. I will become annoyed though if is becomes "Press two for English."
It really appears to me that anyone insisting on English only in the USA does not understand history very well. It may be just a populist backlash from some who do understand the historical issues but I think many are just ignorant and do not realize that large portions of the USA have been speaking another language like Spanish centuries before they became American and that English is the language of the immigrants.
3 comments:
- inkyfingers said...
You are so right! I grew up in New Mexico, and the notion of "English only" there is patently absurd.
How people in say, New England, could even have this notion seems equally ridiculous considering how many place names there are in other (mostly native) languages.
- Tom McMahon said...
I think the folks wanting English Only have a **much** better understanding of history than their critics. And one needs only to look north to Canada to see that they are right.
- Jesse Alexander said...
@Tom McMahon: I am from Canada, and I'd have to say that my understanding of our history shows that trying not to use two languages for some 200 years even though linguistic dualism was a fact on the ground severely damaged our country and using two languages officially for the last 30 has kept my country together allowed me to have a different, more nuanced view of the world than we'd otherwise have had. It's not only about history, though - it's about respect.


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The Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals has reversed a local court's decision, and the families of five individuals who believe a respiratory therapist at Hedrick Medical Center intentionally killed their loved ones can advance their claims.
The Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals has reversed a local court's decision, and the families of five individuals who believe a respiratory therapist at Hedrick Medical Center intentionally killed their loved ones can advance their claims.
The Appeals Court filed its opinion on Tuesday which reversed a Livingston County Court's judgment that the families filed their claims after the three-year statute of limitations had run out.
The Appeals Court's opinion stated that wrongful death cause of action does not necessarily accrue at the time of death; rather, it accrues at the time that 'a diligent plaintiff has knowledge of facts sufficient to put him on notice of an invasion of his legal rights.' And while, under this definition, the accrual point in a wrongful death action in many — if not in most — cases will coincide with the time of death, here, it does not."
Appellants in the case are Sally Boland (whose father died on Feb. 3, 2002), Sherri Lynn Harper (whose husband died on March 22, 2002), David Gann (whose father died on March 30, 2002), Jennirae Littrell (whose father died on April 15, 2002), and Helen Pittman (whose sister died on March 9, 2002).
The appellants allege that between January 2002 and May 2002, Hedrick experienced a number of suspicious deaths, each of which involved Jennifer Hall, a Hedrick employee at the time. The appellants allege that Hall administered an intentionally lethal overdose of succinylcholine and/or insulin and/or other medication that resulted in each of the five deaths and that respondents intentionally concealed Hall's actions. Succinylcholine is a muscle relaxant that paralyzes the respiratory muscles and is normally used in a hospital to allow the insertion of a breathing tube into the throat of a patient who is still conscious. In higher doses, succinylcholine results in paralysis and the victim slowly suffocates.
Respondents in the case are three corporate defendants affiliated with Hedrick: Saint Luke's Heath System, Inc., Saint Luke's Hospital of Chillicothe, formerly known as Grand River Health System Corp., doing business as Hedrick Medical Center, and Community Health Group.
The appellants allege that although Hedrick's doctors, nurses and administrators knew of the suspicious deaths, respondents worked systematically to conceal any indication of the spike in deaths as well as the suspicious nature of the deaths. Also attached to the pleadings was an affidavit of a Chillicothe physician who allegedly voiced concerns to hospital administration that someone on staff at Hedrick was attempting to kill and sometimes succeeding in killing patients. He said he was aware of nine suspicious deaths from Feb. 3, 2002, through May 17, 2002, all of which occurred while Hall was on duty.
The sole issue on appeal was whether the trial court erred in granting respondents' motion for judgment on the pleadings on the ground that the lawsuits were time-barred by three-year statute of limitation in the Wrongful Death Act.
The appellants advanced a number of arguments in favor of tolling and/or lack of accrual of the statute of limitations, largely grounded in the assertion that respondents fraudulently concealed the causes of death and, therefore, the statute of limitations should be tolled, or alternatively, that the statute did not begin to accrue until the date the causes of death became evident or reasonably ascertainable. Respondents argued that the causes of action accrued when the patients died, all in 2002, and not when the alleged malfeasance was discovered or reasonably discoverable.
They have asserted allegations amounting to fraudulent concealment so as to delay the accrual of the statute of limitations.
"Appellants allege that respondents (1) threatened and coerced employees of Hedrick to conceal information concerning Hall's actions, (2) failed to request autopsies so as to conceal the true causes of the patients' deaths when they knew a number of deaths were suspicious (3) informed and/or instructed Hedrick employees to intentionally mislead the patients' families that the causes of death were "natural instead of caused by Hall, (4) disbanded committees previously put in place by Hedrick to evaluate "codes" and determine preventative measures; (5) failed to inform pertinent individuals and relevant medical communities about Hall's intentional and /or negligent battery of patients; (6) failed to monitor Hall when requested to do so by law enforcement (7) discarded and /or failed to preserve crucial material evidence contained in Hall's locker pertaining to her intentional and/or negligent batteries; and (8) impeded the investigation of Hall by law enforcement."
"Such fraudulent concealment of their actions, if true, would have prevented Appellants from ascertaining that they had a cause of action..." Appeals Judge Gary D. Witt wrote in the opinion. "Indeed, rather than ensuring that tortfeasors pay for their misdeeds, granting Respondent's motion for judgment on the pleadings would suggest that tortfeasors can escape civil liability merely by concealing their misdeeds for mor than three years."


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At present, Embassy of Vietnam is not available in Rwanda. So, you should visit Vietnam Embassy in the neighboring country where you're living to apply for a visa
Apply visa online at our website www.vietnamivisa.org to get approval letter for visa to enter Vietnam.
Vietnam Visa Requirements for the Rwandan?
Copyright © 2017 Visa Vietnam. All rights reserved.


text: I have sitting in my computer something old enough in computer terms to be regarded as a true survivor, an Nvidia Quadro NVS 280 graphics card. It is sitting there in a rather unassuming (although slightly coquettish) manner, but I thought it really needed a bit of recognition. Read the rest of this entry »


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|Getting Started with User-Centered Taxonomy Design
Full Day Seminar, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008, 9:00am-5:00pm (separate fee)
End users are more active than ever in the publication and consumption of information. However, many organizations are struggling to engage end users in managing the information they create and consume so that it can easily be found and reused. Information retrieval methods like metadata and controlled vocabularies, historically used only by librarians, now need to be made accessible for use by typical people. As the content management process is democratized to end users, taxonomy and metadata must adjust to suit those users. Unfortunately, many organizations have failed to make this adjustment. As a result, taxonomies currently found in user interfaces are often overly complex and far from intuitive for the end users. This problem is exacerbated by confusion about the definitions, uses, and applications for taxonomies and metadata.
This workshop will provide an introduction to taxonomy and metadata benefits, design concepts and implementation strategies. It will also provide detail on a practical design methodology that will allow you to begin designing a taxonomy for your own organization.
Learning objectives
Topics covered during the workshop include:
The workshop will be conducted over a full day. The workshop will be a mix of presentation (slideware), hands-on group activities and discussion. The group will work through two of the key taxonomy workshop activities including 1) Defining use cases and 2) Defining activities for a hypothetical organizations taxonomy. Following each activity, group discussion will reinforce the methodology and answer questions.
We also gather workshop participant questions at the start of workshops.
Core issues
Taxonomy is the key to being able to supply the appropriate content in dynamic user interfaces, and supporting information services such as personalization (e.g., portals), syndication (e.g., RSS feeds), and harvesting (e.g., search).
The audience for the workshop includes:
Maximum 30 participants
The workshop will be presented by Zach Wahl, Practice Leader, Knowledge Management, Project Performance Corporation and Joseph Busch, Founder and Principal, taxonomy Strategies.
Mr. Wahl helps public and private organizations successfully implement enterprise content management systems, portals, and other knowledge management tools. He specializes in the development of business taxonomies and ontologies and the deployment of Enterprise Information Portals for a variety of organizations including Pratt & Whitney, Columbia University, the U.S. Department of Defense, the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Wahl has developed his own taxonomy design methodology, has authored a series of courses on portal knowledge management and development, and is a frequent speaker and trainer on the subjects of eGovernance, portals, and taxonomy design.
Mr. Busch is the founder of Taxonomy Strategies and one of the principal consultants. He guides global large companies, government agencies, international organizations and not-for-profits such as Oracle, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the International Monetary Fund and Harvard Business School Publications in developing metadata frameworks and taxonomy strategies. Before founding Taxonomy Strategies, Joseph Busch held strategic positions within Interwoven, Metacode Technologies, the Getty Information Institute and PriceWaterhouse. He is a past president of the Association for Information Science and Technology, and an appointee to the Board of Directors of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. Mr. Busch is an authority in the field of information science and is a frequent speaker on metadata, taxonomy, indexing,
Members $255, non-members $285, before Sept. 12, 2008
Members $285, non-members $315, after Sept. 12, 2008


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Rep. Ralph Hall, who at 91 years old is the oldest member of Congress and its last remaining World War II veteran, on Tuesday night became the first incumbent this cycle to lose a race, falling to former U.S. Attorney John Ratcliffe in a Texas Republican primary battle. Politco says this wasn't the typical battle between the establishment and the tea party — Hall for instance had the support of Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Rep. Ron Paul. Ratcliffe meanwhile had the support of the Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund, as well as a $400,000 loan from his personal wealth. USA Today adds another tidbit — Hall as a child sold cigarettes to the outlaws Bonnie and Clyde.
Continuing the theme, the tea party had quite a strong night in Texas. Dan Patrick — not the guy on ESPN, but the Houston radio-talk show host — easily defeated Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a primary run-off, among other victories. The Blaze has five things to know about the "tea party takeover" in Texas.
But the tea-party movement hasn't been as successful elsewhere this cycle. The Wall Street Journal profiles Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, who is facing his first competitive race in 30 years. But the 76-year-old Republican has been countering the challenge from state Sen. Chris McDaniel and looks poised to win on June 3, the report says.
The National Journal makes the claim that Mitt Romney has been the most effective Republican surrogate on the campaign trail this year. Among those he's endorsed: Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, Monica Wehby in Oregon, Joni Ernst in Iowa, and Neel Kashkari in California.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post has a piece on the two things that need to be in Obama's West Point speech, that comes just a day after outlining plans to reduce troop levels to 9,800 in Afghanistan.
— Steve Goldstein
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
Apple isn't dead; it just smells funny
Waiting for a 10% correction with one Internet stock hackers love


text:
Next Episode of Cross Wits is
not planed. TV Show was canceled.
Cross Wits was quiz show hosted by Tom O'Connor. Contestants had to answer cryptic crossword clues.
Looks like something went completely wrong!
But don't worry - it can happen to the best of us,
- and it just happened to you.
Please try again later or contact us.


text:
- Status : Released
- Release Date of film : 2010-09-01
- Original title : Machete
- Tagline : He was given an offer he couldn't refuse...
- Movie Genre : Action, Comedy, Thriller,
- Languages spoken : English
- Film Note : -movie_rating-
- Societies of production : Dune Entertainment
- Vote Count : 252
- Duration of movie : 105
- Average rate : 6.4
- Youtube Id : -youtube_id-
- Danny Trejo Character (Machete)
- Michelle Rodriguez Character (Luz)
- Jessica Alba Character (Sartana)
- Robert De Niro Character (Sen. McLaughlin)
- Lindsay Lohan Character (April)
- Cheech Marin Character (Padre)
- Steven Seagal Character (Torrez)
- Rose McGowan Character (Cherry Darling)
- Daryl Sabara Character (Julio)
- Don Johnson Character (Lt. Stillman)
- Jeff Fahey Character (Benz)
- Tom Savini Character (Deputy Tolo)
- Tina Rodriguez Character (Tristana)
- Tito Larriva Character (Culebra Cruzado)
- Stacy Keach Character (Doc Franklin)
- James Parks Character (Edgar McGraw)
Machete Synopsis:
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NEW! This handy 2-in-1 accessory combines two tools in one and is designed to be used with the quick-wand on the Oreck Touch™ bagless upright vacuum cleaner. The crevice tool is ideal for getting behind and under furniture cushions as well as into narrow, hard-to reach areas where focused suction is needed. The brush tool has dozens of uses—anywhere you need a soft touch on a hard surface. (Computer keyboards and picture frames come to mind.) And the flexible portion of this accessory is helpful anytime (with either tool) when you need to get a good angle on the (cleaning) situation!
How it works
- To use, attach the 2-in-1 tool to the end of the quick-wand.
- If you need to extend the reach of the quick-wand, place your thumb on the "push" button on the longest section of the accessory and pull the tool apart in the middle. (This is where you'll also find the flexible section.)
- To reduce the extension just push the tool back together until it clicks.
- To convert from the crevice tool to the dusting brush, grip the brush tool on the "push" button and slide it out until it covers the end of the crevice tool. It easily slides back into place (and out of the way) to expose the crevice tool when the brush isn't needed.


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Man incompetent for trial in fatal Ohio crash
FREMONT, Ohio (AP) — A driver who troopers say was traveling at more than 125 mph has been found incompetent to stand trial on charges that he killed a 77-year-old couple in a fiery crash.
The decision by a judge in northwestern Ohio means Andrew Gans, of Kent, will be sent to a psychiatric hospital in Toledo. Doctors will have a year to determine if Gans can become competent to stand trial, his attorney said.
Gans had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to vehicular homicide charges after authorities say he struck a minivan on the Ohio Turnpike in November, killing a Toledo couple.
Troopers said Gans was driving so fast that they weren't able to catch or keep up with his car before the crash near Fremont, about 40 miles southeast of Toledo.
A Sandusky County judge on Tuesday ruled that Gans was incompetent to stand trial following a mental health evaluation, said attorney Terry Rudes.
Gans has a history of mental health issues and has been hospitalized for psychiatric care before, Rudes said. Prosecutors likely would try to keep Gans at a psychiatric hospital if he can't be deemed competent for trial, his attorney said.
Troopers said Gans told them after the crash that he had been drinking and took prescription drugs, but authorities later said blood tests showed he did not have either in his system.
Gans suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation soon after the crash.
The victims, Wilbur and Margaret McCoy were trapped inside of the minivan, investigators said.
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|2012-06-06, 07:09
|Link #31961
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
A question to anyone here:
Imagine you meet someone who's killed people in cruel and unusual ways for no reason other than he/she could or some other nonesense. You then have two choices: Get him/her to realize their mistakes and go "Welp, maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Guess I'll stop" and let them go on their merry way or just kill them, which would you pick? No jail or any other option, just those two.
I'd probably pick option 2 since I hate Karma Houdini's.
|2012-06-06, 07:12
|Link #31963
Diamond is Unbreakable
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: The Middle Way
|2012-06-06, 07:20
|Link #31964
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
@ Box - Really? You have them at gunpoint and can kill them and you choose the Run away option?
@ Senpai - I was going to put a scene that might be seen as overboard.
One of the PT members, who was basically a murderer who enjoyed doing it, is talked out of killing to start anew by Ichika's messiah syndrome. Irish gets pissy and tries to beat her to death since he doesn't buy the whole "I can start a new leaf and not get punished for my past actions at all.
|2012-06-06, 07:26
|Link #31967
I am no one
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Inside your head
@ Eras
Good conflict there, not really overboard at all, though if there's option three, have Ichika stop Irish, the murderer being herself again and almost kill Ichika, and then died by an accident when she failed and tried to run (because of course, Ichika was protected by AB). Or option four, where someone else is injured in place of Ichika.
Irish' words will hammer the hell out of Ichika "This is what you get for acting like a hero"
Before anyone started meaningless morality debate (including myself), I will hammer this fact, this is for the purpose of story.
|2012-06-06, 07:31
|Link #31968
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
@ Box - I said had the choice between killing them or no, did I not? Unless you think you can kill someone while they're standing there completely fine.
@ Demi - Yeah, yeah, I already know how you operate.
@ Senpai - I don't know how to end the scene, though. Ichika's too extreme on the Power of love/friendship/harem for me to follow that while Irish is too high on the "just kill them" scale too. What do you think?
|2012-06-06, 07:38
|Link #31969
I am no one
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Inside your head
How about Follow it with inverse case, so that both of them realize that the world is not black and white, there's always overlap between, and both of them decided to follow their ideal, though with certain compromises.
|2012-06-06, 07:45
|Link #31970
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Both their flaws are, until way later, neither are willing to budge on their place. Irish remains a type IV Anti-hero throughout most of the story and Ichika goes to stupidly risky lengths to try and reform Madoka even if she's attacked him every time. In others words, they're both stubborn idiots.
|2012-06-06, 08:10
|Link #31974
I am no one
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Inside your head
@ Demi
No, err... I mean yes, the armor plating is there to protect you from combined force of armor explosion + bullet vaporization. The main purpose of electric reactive armor is to defeat armor piercing properties of solid penetrator.
@ Eras
Which is a handwave as far as I can took from manga and novel, though if you do a little research, there is a possible scientific explanation for that too. (used in ST and exaggerated in TLR Stratos)
Saruyama: "Dude, you stuffed Composite armor in your blazer?!"
Rito: "Can't be too paranoid"
As I said, her dying by a third party left the scene unresolved and became a part of continuity itself, and the cumulated problem only resolved near the end.
Last edited by ZeroXSEED; 2012-06-06 at 08:34.
|2012-06-06, 08:48
|Link #31976
I am no one
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Inside your head
As Rito said, can't be too paranoid.
The swimsuit may offer class I and even class II protection if lucky, but no more than that (anything stronger will either break through or doing the damage via sheer impact). It's only plus side is that the damn thing is extremely lightweight, barely reach 1.5 kg (minus the sock), and due to it's structural composition, feels like you having a second layer of thick skin rather than carrying heavy clothing. Awkward but acceptable.
There's few who use bulletproof material for the blazer, or even the entire uniform. Can weight anywhere from 2-7 kg. And as noted above, someone is crazy enough to stuff armor plating behind/inside it, adding up to 10 kg
|fanfic ideas, fanfiction, ff.net, harem, is fanfic, warning fanfic spoilers, wincest
|Thread Tools


text:
Our Fitness Blog
Top 9 exercises you're not doing but should be!!
I've seen a million top ten lists about exercises you should do, and have found that the majority of them are the same! Everyone knows they should be squats, pushups, and burpees, but what about exercises that will help you in real life situations? Over the course of my time training at 9Round I have found some great exercises that have really helped my client's fitness transformation, as well as their quality of life!
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1. Scapular Retractions - Stand with your back on a wall and have your feet about shoulder width apart. Lean onto the wall and use three points of contact: Your upper back, glutes, and your head. Bring your hands up in a "Y" shape and try to keep contact with your arms. From there, while keeping contact with the wall, bring your arms down in a "W" shape, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
2. Hip Bridge –Lay on your back with knees bent and feet on the floor. Push through your heels, squeeze your glutes and bring your hips up in a strait line with your shoulder. Keep everything flexed and hold for 20-30 seconds, and repeat.
3. Bird Dog – Start out on all fours with a flat back and head down. Start by lifting one arm out strait while also lifting the opposite leg out strait. Keep your hips square to keep from rounding your back. Hold for a few seconds and repeat other side.
4. The Dart - Lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides. Stretch the top of your head and feet in upwards until your upper body, legs and feet are off the floor. Reach toward your heels, and pull your shoulder blades down towards your feet. Keep your arms straight and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold for 10-15 seconds and relax, then repeat.
5. Dead Bugs – Lay on your back with arms up straight and knees and hips at 90 degrees. Keeping your back pinned to the ground, slowly lower one arm and opposite leg. Hold for a few seconds and repeat on the other side.
6. Nordic Hamstring Curl – This is a partner assisted exercise. Lay flat on your stomach. Next contract your hamstrings and glutes to lift yourself off the ground! Make sure to keep a straight line with your body from shoulder to knee.
7. Inchworm - Stand with your feet at hip width. Hinge your waist forward and touch the floor with your palms, bend your knees if necessary. Walk your hands forward until you are supporting all your weight on your hands and toes. Make sure to keep your body in a straight line! Hold this position for a few seconds, and then walk your feet forward to meet your hands. Keep your palms on the floor and bend your knees if necessary.
8. Wipers – Lay on your back with your legs up straight in the air. Keeping your back and shoulders pinned to the ground, slowly bring your legs down towards the ground to either the right or left, almost touch the ground, then repeat on the other side.
9. Superman – Lay flat on your stomach with your arms out straight, making yourself as long as you can. Contract your back, hamstrings, and glutes and lift your upper body and legs off the ground. Hold for a few seconds, relax, and repeat!


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Want to get your hands on Guilty Gear creators Arc System Works' latest fighting game? Aksys Games has announced that they'll be performing the first North American locations test for the BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger arcade cabinet at the Anime Expo in Los Angeles. Combining 2D characters with 3D backgrounds, the game is being touted as the spiritual successor to Guilty Gear. Blazblue The arcade cabinet will be available in the sweaty, smelly console gaming room for the full run of the convention, July 3rd through the 6th. As if you guys needed more incentive to get dressed up and spray your hair interesting colors.
Anime Expo [Official Webpage]


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Definition from Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary
The taking of a portion of property by a government agency which so greatly damages the use of a parcel of real property that it is the equivalent of condemnation of the entire property. Example: the city of Los Angeles widens a boulevard and thereby takes the entire parking lot of Bennison's Market. The city offers to pay for the lot, but Bennison claims the market has lost all its business since no one can park and wants the value of the entire parcel, including the market building.


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The Fun Things Experience
- Продолжительность: 5 час. (прибл.)
- Место встречи: Austin, TX
- Код предложения: PBHYL0
Welcome to the Fun Things in Austin Cover Collaboration with Austin Monthly!
We're teaming up with Austin Monthly to bring their cover stories to life, you've read the articles, now we invite you to Experience Austin Monthly!
Kick off the summer by joining us on our limited edition 101 Fun Things of Summer Experience!
Jump on board with us throughout the summer as we take you to some of our favorite spots in Austin! All stops are hand picked and were featured in Austin Monthly's June issue "101 Fun Things to do this Summer in Austin."
The best part is that the stops will be a surprise and you'll receive a custom experience at each of them. All food, beverage and fun is included. We'll visit four different places on each weekend experience. You could attend a Friday or Saturday each weekend for new experiences of Austin! Check off your list of "fun things" to hit all of the popular spots. You can also expect some surprise guests and swag throughout the day as well!We are running these exclusive experiences June 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th & July 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 22nd & 23rd. Pick your favorite weekend - or try out them all!
June 10th - Get Outside Experience
June 17th - Classic Austin Experience
June 24th - Shopping & Pampering Experience
July 8th - Family Friendly Experience
July 15th - Arts & History Experience
July 22nd - Food & Spirits Experience
Trip details will be sent out via email the week-of your experience. With limited seats available, these will sell out fast. Grab your tickets now to save your spots!


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Definitions of nares
n. pl. - The nostrils or nasal openings, -- the anterior nares being the external or proper nostrils, and the posterior nares, the openings of the nasal cavities into the mouth or pharynx. 2
plural of nare 1
The word "nares" uses 5 letters: A E N R S.
Direct anagrams of nares:
earns nears saner snare
Words formed by adding one letter before or after nares (in bold), or to aenrs in any order:
a - anears arenas c - caners casern cranes nacres rances d - denars redans sander snared e - ranees g - angers ranges sanger i - arisen arsine l - learns m - namers ramens remans o - arseno reason senora p - arpens r - snarer s - sarsen snares t - antres astern sterna v - ravens w - answer resawn y - senary yearns
Shorter words found within nares:
ae an ane anes ar are ares ars arse as ear earn ears en ens er era eras ern erns ers es na nae ne near ran ras rase re res sae sane sea sear sen ser sera
List shorter words within nares, sorted by length
Words formed from any letters in nares, plus an optional blank or existing letter
List all words starting with nares, words containing nares or words ending with nares
All words formed from nares by changing one letter
Other words with the same letter pairs: na ar re es
Browse words starting with nares by next letter
Previous word in list: nards
Next word in list: narghile
Some random words: placabilities roach mm wo waeful awn ullage
This is not a dictionary, it's a word game wordfinder.
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As I said in our 8 month post- we started swimming lessons with the Y. At first I was a little nervous, because some kids freak out at the water even if they like the bathtub.
My kid?
Walked right in.
He loved it. The only time he cried, was when we tried to take him out.
That first night we did front floats and back floats. In the subsequent lessons we've mastered cruising on the kick board and going under the water. Oh and flirting and making kissey noises at our 16 year old instructor. This.kids.going.to.be.a.handful.
Looks like this kid will be spending lots of time this summer in the water...and thats okay with this Momma. I need a tan, stat.


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|» Step 1: Tell Us About Your Case
|» Step 2: Provide Contact Information & Submit
Start a Lawyer Search
Tell us about your case so that we can connect you with the right lawyers.
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm
"Free mesothelioma book. Hire the mesothelioma firm. We will come to your home anywhere in the U.S."
Address: 368 W. Huron Street Suite 100 - Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: (800) 297-4555
Votava Nantz & Johnson, LLC
Votava Nantz & Johnson, LLC is dedicated to helping people just like you through tough law problems like injury, wrongful death and employment discrimination. Speaking with an attorney from our firm is absolutely free.
Address: 9237 Ward Pkwy Suite 240 - Kansas City, MO 64114
Phone: (816) 895-8800
Ketchmark & McCreight, P.C.
Covering Kansas and Missouri for Personal Injury clients Statewide
Address: 11161 Overbrook Rd #210 - Leawood, KS 66211
Phone: (816) 842-1515
Patterson Legal Group
Patterson Legal Group's team of experienced car accident lawyers have recovered millions on behalf of injured clients. Call us to receive a free consultation. Remember you don't pay unless you get paid.
Address: 2641 SW Wanamaker, #100 - Topeka, KS 66614
Phone: (316) 687-2400
Scott E. Sanders
Hit & Hurt? Hit Back!
Address: 300 W Douglas Suite 500 - Wichita, KS 67202
Phone: (877) 448-4657
Mann Wyatt & Rice LLC
We are devoted to victims that have suffered serious injury by accident. We represent victims of car accidents, accidents with a drunk or impaired driver, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, work or on-the-job accidents, and wrongful death.
Address: 201 East 1st Street - Hutchinson, KS 67501
Phone: (877) 768-2400
Amaro Law Firm
Serious lawyers for serious cases. No fees unless we win. Free case evaluation. Houston based trial law firm that handles personal injury, mass torts, truck wreck cases, auto accidents, work injuries, hail storm claims, and oil & gas disputes.
Address: 2500 E TC JESTER, Suite 525 - Houston, TX 77008
Phone: (713) 864-1941
D. Miller & Associates, PLLC
Based in Houston, Texas, the legal team at D. Miller & Associates, PLLC represents hard working men and women throughout the United States.
Address: 2610 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. Suite 200 - Houston, TX 77042
Phone: (713) 850-8600


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Check out Curiosity's amazing new self-portrait - a high-resolution mosaic of 55 images taken by its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). The rover is looking good, though a bit dusty. In the background to the right there's Aeolis Mons (or Mount Sharp), and to the left you can also see that Curiosity has been doing some digging.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems. Via Universe Today.


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Often, when a team that struggles to sell out its home stadium does, it's because the fans of the visiting team plan to put their butts in the seats.
With the Eagles coming to Tampa on Sunday, that's definitely not the case.
Instead, the Bucs have sold enough tickets to lift the local blackout, due in large part to the fact that the game will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the team that won the Super Bowl.
Coincidentally (or not), the Buccaneers beat the Eagles that year in the NFC title game.
As pointed out by the folks at JoeBucsFan.com, tickets are going on the secondary market at twice the face value.
Of course, it's also possible fans are buying tickets in order to witness the possibility that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie will fire Andy Reid and hire former Bucs coach Jon Gruden at halftime.


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Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Brought to you by Rabbits' Guy at 7:07 PM
5 comments:
- jane ng said...
treats don't need any excuse :)
- December 17, 2013 at 8:14 PM
- Crafty Green Poet said...
Yes treats all round!
- December 17, 2013 at 11:13 PM
- Lorna Appleby said...
Benji's looking kind of bashful, how can anyone resist that Marilyn Monroe glance? Treats on the double!
- December 17, 2013 at 11:33 PM
- speedyrabbit said...
yep it really is Benji,xx Speedy
- December 18, 2013 at 9:25 AM
- Auntie Jane (It is official!) said...
When I carefully consider this lovely photo of Benji and the previous lovely photo of Benji, I believe I can almost detect a pattern...something orderly, predictable, almost geometric...and yet it's source is organic, dynamic, unfolding,...such beauty, such harmony...a microcosm. Or, if you prefer, "It always wants the same thing, and it is alive! Yikes!" I really like that red and green lettering, too.
- December 18, 2013 at 11:45 AM
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LAS VEGAS- Bill Robinson, who played on Pittsburgh's 1979 World Series championship team and was working as the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor league hitting coordinator, died Sunday. He was 64.
Robinson was in Las Vegas to visit the Dodgers' minor league team and was supposed to meet De Jon Watson, Dodger director of player development, to drive to the ballpark together.
But Robinson failed to show up at the appointed time and he was found dead in his hotel room, Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said. The official cause of death was pending, he said.
"Bill was a wonderful family man and a great baseball player, coach, manager and friend to everyone he met," Dodger general manager Ned Colletti said. "Even though he never played for the Dodgers, it was an honor that he chose to be a part of the organization. Everyone he came into contact with was better for having known him."
Robinson was in his second season with the Dodgers after spending four years on the Florida Marlins' coaching staff, where he served as hitting coach for the 2003 world champions.
He was hitting coach for the New York Mets from 1984-89, including their 1986 World Series title.
"On behalf of the entire Mets organization, we send our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to Bill's wife, Mary and the Robinson family," Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in a statement. "As hitting coach, he played an integral role in the 1986 Mets world championship. More importantly, he was a devoted family man, a consummate professional and one of the classiest men in our sport."
Robinson played in the majors from 1966-83, with 1,127 hits, 166 home runs and 641 RBI as an outfielder for Atlanta, the New York Yankees, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He batted .264 with 24 homers and 75 RBIs for the Pirates in '79.
Robinson also served as a minor league hitting coach for the Yankees and was a minor league coach and manager in Philadelphia's farm system. He managed in the Venezuelan League and was an analyst for ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" in 1990-91.
Robinson is survived by his wife Mary Alice, a son and a daughter.
Services were pending.


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Young Buck Is A Biker Boy + Shows Proof He Aint Get Robbed & That Wasn't His Chain On Ebay
DJ Scream at Young Buck's House w DJ Smallz -- Shows off his cars and speaks on rumors
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paulpilone needed a new other design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 53 designs submitted by 15 freelance designers.
Paul Pilone
Recent college graduate with successful experience writing educational iPhone apps. Spent the last two years working on my educational app which has sold 20,000+ units. Spent the past month working on a project management app.
Visum, the project management app, focuses on tracking and managing software development projects but can be expanded to any kind of project. The aim of the app is to help solo or small teams track project progress (bugs, features, etc) during the lifecycle of the project.
Solo software devs, small software dev teams, professionals tracking projects, productive organizers.
The app focuses on software development projects, but can easily be customized and expanded to any kind of "project" or "venture" someone is working on. The app currently works best for a single person, but can used with a small team to delegate work and responsibility.
The main theme of the app is to record the work (bugs, features, tasks, etc) that need to be worked on, are currently being worked on, and have recently been finished. "Visum", the name of the app, is Latin for "to see" - not necessary to incorporate into the design but worth mentioning.
Standad App Store credentials apply: 512x512 for App Store; 72x72 for iPad; 57x57 for iPhone. I'd also like to use the icon/logo for the website.
The app uses a small wood grain background in a few places, but for the most part does not have a distinct color or pattern. I'd like the app to look modern and minimalistic, but the designer is free to do whatever they want!


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Touch and Feel IPv6 Wi-Fi!
Despite the "buzz" around IPv6 right now for many customers it's not easy to actually test drive an IPv6 connection. When we got the opportunity to sponsor the Wi-Fi customer access at the 2012 v6 World Congress, we jumped at it. It became an opportunity to showcase both the simplicity and effectiveness of the Cisco Carrier Grade IPv6 (CGv6) solution. The CGv6 solution is the industry's only IPv6 transition solution that has been performance tested and validated by a third party, in our case by EANTC.
Wi-Fi is a topic of particular interest to mobile operators today since newer generation devices are driving mobile network usage and data traffic growth. As a preview to the upcoming Cisco VNI Mobile Forecast (2011 – 2016), the updated study projects that 71% of mobile connected smartphone and tablet devices (1.6 billion) could be IPv6 capable by 2016 (meaning, that they've got the technology and operating system to support an IPv6 connection.) Rather than using limited cellular spectrum, by making IPv6 Internet access available over Wi-Fi (we call it Service Provider Wi-Fi), carriers can solve both the lack of available IPv4 addresses and make optimal use of mobile bandwidth.
The actual hardware used at the event is all available right now: a Cisco ASR 1000 router, the Aironet 1142 Access Point, and the Cisco 5508 Wireless LAN Controller. The ASR 1000 is one of Cisco's most popular routers and in use by over 8000 customers, including both enterprise and service providers. The ASR 1000 is a proven platform for IPv6 applications and has been deployed by two of the industry's earlier adopters of v6 technology: Iliad Group's Free and SFR.
Watch Alain Fiocco, Senior Director, IPv6 High Impact Program show how he's easily able to test dual stack IPv4/IPv6, IPv6 via NAT64 (to reach the majority of the Internet which is still IPv4 based), and native IPv6.
One unique aspect of the demonstration worth calling out is the specific IPv6-only SSID for users that want to try out a pure IPv6 Internet. At this point it means that you don't have a lot of web sites to visit since many of the sites that participated in World IPv6 Day last year took down their v6 implementations after the test. However, with the upcoming IPv6 World Launch on June 6, 2012, anyone who wants to stay on the IPv6 Internet should have a lot more destinations, including Facebook, Cisco, and Yahoo. We're planning to deploy the same Wi-Fi implementation at CiscoLive! 2012 in San Diego June 10-14.
Look for more news from the v6 World Congress here in SP360 this week!
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.


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Moyer, Stairs talk joining booth and Phillies' outlook
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Matt Stairs arrived at Bright House Field last month as one of two new Phillies broadcasters.
He quickly ran into Chase Utley, one of the five remaining members of the 2008 World Series championship roster. Stairs and Jamie Moyer, who joins Stairs in the broadcast booth this season, played with Utley on that championship team.
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Matt Stairs arrived at Bright House Field last month as one of two new Phillies broadcasters.
He quickly ran into Chase Utley, one of the five remaining members of the 2008 World Series championship roster. Stairs and Jamie Moyer, who joins Stairs in the broadcast booth this season, played with Utley on that championship team.
They share a common bond as champions in a city that has seen its baseball team parade down Broad Street just twice.
"Stairsy, just remember …" Utley said.
"I know, I played the game," Stairs replied. "I know how hard it is."
Stairs and Moyer chuckled at the story on Wednesday. It is a common complaint from players about former players turned color analysts: Sure, now that you're in the booth everything is so easy, isn't it? Stairs and Moyer said they have not forgotten, but they also know they have been hired to analyze the game for Phillies fans. That includes acknowledging when something happens on the field that shouldn't have happened. That includes honest assessments of the team's play.
"Being ex-players we know this game is hard," Stairs said. "We're not going to bash somebody for not getting a bunt down or making an error."
But they will talk about what went wrong and why.
"It's not being critical," Moyer said. "It's taking it one step further and being educational."
They shared their opinions on the Phillies' chances in 2014 following a mostly disappointing spring. The Phillies entered Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers at 9-15-3, although there had been signs of life recently. They had hit just .211 (127-for-603) through their first 19 games, which was the worst mark in baseball, but had hit .295 (81-for-275) in their previous nine.
"The Phillies have guys coming off some subpar years, some injuries," Moyer said. "I think from what I've seen from the beginning of Spring Training now toward the end of Spring Training, I've seen a big turnaround. Obviously, early in camp, defense suffered a little bit. They've filled those gaps. They've filled those voids. They've played very good defense. I think their pitching has really opened some eyes. Obviously, the big question is the hitting.
"Early on, they didn't hit really well, left a lot of guys in scoring position. Here in the last couple days, the Phillies hit the ball a lot better. This is a long season. A season is not won or lost in April. The direction can be created in April, but it's a long season. ... I think right now they need time. Every team is still trying to create who they are as they get to the end of Spring Training and into the beginning of the season. Once we get into April and into May, we'll have a really good idea of where this club could potentially go."
There has been plenty of focus on Ryan Howard, who has been limited to 151 games the past two seasons because of left leg injuries. He has hit a combined .244 with 25 home runs, 99 RBIs and a .752 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in that span.
The Phillies believe their offense can be productive again if Howard is healthy and productive.
That is a lot of weight on the big man's shoulders.
Howard entered Wednesday hitting .254 (15-for-59) with three home runs, seven RBIs, five walks, 22 strikeouts and a .753 OPS.
"He came into Spring Training with probably 300 at-bats less than anybody else, missing the second half of last year," Stairs said. "I said from Day 1 he's going to need about 100-150 at-bats before he feels comfortable. The nice thing about Spring Training is, as soon as they go to Texas for Opening Day, everything you work on, you forget. A guy like Chase Utley, who might not be hitting for great power, he might be working on things during the game, tracking balls, trying to hit the ball to left field. As soon as he gets into a regular season game, he's going to get right back to where he's going to be aggressive, getting the ball out in front. So there are a lot of things people work on in Spring Training for older guys. Younger guys have to make the team, so their numbers are very important to make the team.
"Ryan Howard, he's starting to use his lower half again. He got into a bad habit last year. He was injured, he didn't use his lower half when he hit. Now all of a sudden it's mind over matter and muscle memory is saying, OK, I have to get back to that power spot. And he is."
Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com.


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November 20, 2012 16:47 ET
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Nov. 20, 2012) - TransCanada Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) (TransCanada) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire BP's 40 per cent interest in the assets of the Crossfield Gas Storage facility. In addition, TransCanada will acquire BP's interest in CrossAlta Gas Storage & Services Ltd., an affiliated marketing joint venture between the two companies.
This $210 million transaction will give TransCanada 100 per cent ownership in the facility located in Crossfield, Alberta, about 50 kilometres north of the City of Calgary. This acquisition adds an additional 27 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity to TransCanada's existing portfolio in Alberta. TransCanada has operated the Crossfield Gas Storage facility since 2011.
"The addition of the Crossfield Gas Storage facility into our existing portfolio will increase our ability to offer unique services to our customers in Alberta, and provide another organic growth platform for our storage business," said Russ Girling, president and chief executive officer, TransCanada. "This latest energy infrastructure acquisition enhances TransCanada's ability to reliably deliver an essential balancing service to the gas markets in western Canada."
As part of the transaction, TransCanada will acquire BP's base gas in the facility, all of BP's mineral interests in the Crossfield area including BP's ownership interest in the Elkton production unit and related surface land. BP will maintain a transactional relationship with TransCanada as a storage customer going forward.
Closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions being satisfied and is expected to occur by the first quarter of 2013.
With more than 60 years' experience, TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure including natural gas and oil pipelines, power generation and gas storage facilities. TransCanada operates a network of natural gas pipelines that extends more than 68,500 kilometres (42,500 miles), tapping into virtually all major gas supply basins in North America. TransCanada is one of the continent's largest providers of gas storage and related services with approximately 380 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. A growing independent power producer, TransCanada owns or has interests in over 10,900 megawatts of power generation in Canada and the United States. TransCanada is developing one of North America's largest oil delivery systems. TransCanada's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TRP. For more information visit: http://www.transcanada.com/ or check us out on Twitter @TransCanada.
This publication contains certain information that is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties (such statements are usually accompanied by words such as "anticipate", "expect", "would" or other similar words). Forward-looking statements in this document are intended to provide TransCanada security holders and potential investors with information regarding TransCanada and its subsidiaries, including management's assessment of TransCanada's and its subsidiaries' future financial and operation plans and outlook. All forward-looking statements reflect TransCanada's beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statements were made. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. TransCanada undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information except as required by law. For additional information on the assumptions made, and the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results, refer to TransCanada's Management's Discussion and Analysis filed February 15, 2012 under TransCanada's profile on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com/ and other reports filed by TransCanada with Canadian securities regulators and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
TransCanadaMedia Enquiries:Shawn Howard/Grady Semmens403.920.7859 or 800.608.7859TransCanadaInvestor & Analyst Enquiries:David Moneta/Terry Hook/Lee Evans403.920.7911 or 800.361.6522www.transcanada.com
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We Proudly Accept:
The Garmin Approach S2 GPS Golf Watch is stylish and comfortable. It features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver giving precise yardage to the front, back and middle of greens. The Garmin Approach S2 also has the ability to measure shot distances and a course odometer. It's similar to the Garmin Approach S1, but the Approach S2 takes it up a notch with layup and dogleg distances and a digital scorecard.
The Approach S2 GPS Golf Watch is preloaded with more than 30,000 courses from around the world. Whether you're on a course near home, a course at a holiday resort or the Old Course at St. Andrews, the Garmin Approach S2 knows where you are and how far you are to the front middle and back of the green. Every Approach S2 includes free lifetime course updates, without additional subscriptions. Updates are added up to 4 times a year.
The high-sensitivity GPS receiver gives you yardage to the front, middle and back of the green, plus layup and dogleg distances to improve usability over the entire golf hole. The Garmin Approach S2 GPS Golf Watch also measures precise yardages for shots played from anywhere on the course, regardless of wether you're in the fairway, or off in the trees, or rough. And for those who like to walk, there's an odometer to track how far you've walked for the round.
The Garmin Approach S2 easily keeps track of your score throughout your round. When you're done, use the included USB cable to connect the Approach S2 to your computer to download, store and print your scorecards. Then, chart your progress, or brag to your friends.
The Garmin Approach S2 GPS Golf Watch is flexible, lightweight and comfortable enough for everyday wear. It's rugged, durable and waterproof (to 10 meters). A variety of colorful bands are available to customize the look. With automatic time and date, an alarm and rechargeable lithium-ion battery, you'll never miss a tee time.
Garmin is excited to introduce a new model to our popular Approach S-series of golf watches the Approach S2. With the golf world still
buzzing over the successful Approach S-series, the stylish S2 is the perfect addition for the upcoming golf season. Now offering three
fashionable color options, all with preloaded worldwide courses, the S2 provides a similar easy-to-use watch with a high-sensitivity GPS
receiver in a lightweight, comfortable design. This trendy new addition also offers removable watch bands fastened by pins for a simple and
enhanced fit.
Golfers will get all of the amazing benefits of the S1; including precise yardage to the front, back and middle of
the greens, ability to measure shot distances, and a course odometer. In addition, the S2 offers layup and
dogleg distances to improve usability over the entire hole, plus a digital scorecard that is conveniently accessed
by the user throughout the round. And there is no need for downloads or subscriptions the S2 comes ready to
go out of the box with over 30,000 preloaded worldwide courses and free lifetime course updates!
If you have any questions regarding the Garmin Approach S2 GPS Golf Watch - Blue, please give us a call, we would be happy to help you with any questions you may have.