text:
"If my experience is that something is not working, do something else."
originally titled: adapting to experiencing someone's attention as being "unavailable"
First, consider how much of a priority it is for me to have that person's attention be however available- like if life is giving me the feedback that "this one's attention may not be very available for that," so what?
Second, relax my attention from them in particular. Or maybe that comes first. Whatever.
Next, consider what could be a priority that IS available? Note: when I experience something as seeming "available" – as in accessible or practically relevant – that may be… practically relevant!
Now, with attention to what seems available (as in seems practically relevant), does any particular possibility "stand out" as an obvious focus for my time and attention? Here is an example.
Let's imagine that I happen to have a certain job. Within that job, there are certain things that I value, such as the paycheck and producing commissions that show up on the next paycheck. There are certain things that are very much within my direct influence, though other people may have some influence as well, of course.
So, I could focus on various propsective clients- like which ones do I make a priority for my attention and why? I could focus on adhering to various guidelines (or take actions to develop new ones and explore altering old ones).
Of course, I may encounter resistance, like from another person. I may encounter any variety of boundaries– money, schedule, cell phone reception issues, objections, etc….
For instance, If I am consistently re-prioritizing what to do, then that mode of operation expects to encounter boundaries sometimes. Patterns will eventually change. Boundaries will change. If I do not ever explore the boundaries, I may miss that old boundaries may no be longer binding- or I may miss that certain boundaries are more restrictive than I previously experienced.
So, one thing to do is to create a game. My experience of existing boundaries is simply part of the rules of the game as I define them. I define my experience of the boundaries and the context in which I frame them.
With regard to a paycheck, an obvious game is to (1) keep them coming and (2) maintain or even increase the amount of the pay. However, I might also choose to revise the game in terms of changing the amount of hours that I commit to the job. I could alter my schedule, increase my schedule, or reduce my schedule.
Let's move on to relationships. If the priority of my game is for personal well-being or for fun or for family, those are all distinct contexts.
A focus on personal well-being asks "what's in it for me?" By the way, if there is an immediate perceived threat to personal well-being, the importance of personal well-being may be suddenly clear.
A focus on fun asks things like "is this something that I would begin doing if I hadn't already been doing it already?" A context of fun tends to presume that personal well-being issues are already satisfied and stable. In other words, people may not focus on fun when a waterline freezes or a tree penetrates the roof and the flood waters begin to approach the height of the power outlets.
So, fun is about doing something more or doing something less- or perhaps even interrupting it. While personal well-being is essential, fun is merely favorable.
A focus on family is also distinct from either of the above. Family priorities may involve the sacrificing not only of fun, but also of personal well-being.
One can identify family as a partnership of two specific people or even a large network of loose relationships, typically involving biological similarity. People who join together in business networks which they can simply transfer by selling stock shares are not likely to intentionally sacrifice personally for the benefit of the company.
On that note, it may be surprising how much that people expect large bureaucracies (such as governments, insurance corporations, and even large church organizations) to reliably support them as individuals (and operators of business). People often complain when organizations change their internal boundaries (by making a new criminal law or shutting down one of their facilities or merging with another operation and incorporating unfamiliar rules).
So, imagine that the global economy is shifting in some noticable way. Is this the first time that a noticeable economic shift has ever happened?
One can dismiss the noticable changes (perhaps as hopefully temporary) and instead keep favoring one's old perspective on priorities and keep investing in familiar methods. That tends to produce unfavorable results which further tend to open people to re-prioritizing (to humble them or humiliate them).
Or, perhaps the seasonal climate is shifting in some noticable way. Is this the first time that a noticable climatic shift has ever happened?
Now, what if someone's attention is shifting in some noticable way? Is this the first time that a noticable attention shift has ever happened?
When someone's attention is noticably shifting, I might be open to being that someone and allowing my attention to shift, to re-prioritize. When life gives feedback for re-prioritizing, my willingness to receive that feedback and my capacity to adapt to it may produce noticable shifts in my experienced results.
My experience of personal well-being may be the result of my responsiveness to life's feedback. My experience of fun and family may also be the result of my adaptiveness to life's feedback. My relationship to my own experienced results is my relationship to life's feedback. What else would be life's feedback except for my own experienced results?
How willing I am to adapt to my own experienced results could make a difference for my future. If I am willing, then even a boundary as to my current capacity to adapt simply is experienced as an opportunity to learn and to collaborate with others who might have competence in some particularly relevant form of adaptiveness. My experience of my future may be a function of my willingness to adapt to my own experienced results, that is, my experience of responsibility for my own results as personal or "systemic."
Am I willing to define myself as "a victim of the system?" Imagine that there might be a systematic program to present people with an identity as "the responsibility of the system." I may be taught that I am the ward of the state, or the ward of the insurance company, or the ward of a particular church or business or even individual person, such as a parent as legal guardian for a minor child.
Of course, as a child presumed to be legally incompetent, such definitions might be quite accurate. So, is it all odd that there might be systematic programming to present people with an identity as "the responsibility of the system?" Consider that it would be odd if there were not such a programming.
So, we may have all been programmed as children that other particular people and groups are responsible for us. However, as adults, we may recognize that identifying one's self as "a victim of the system" (or even a victim of any particular other person) may not be in the best interest of one's own personal well-being. Some other identifying might produce favorable feedback from life as in favorably experienced results. Of course, "victim of the climate" or "victim of the global economy" or "victim of my children" are all possible identifyings in language. All identifying is adaptive, just not for any particular amount of time.
Consider that life's feedback on my self-identifying is valuable. Further, consider that both nurturing and victimization are valuable. A government or church or private corporation or individual may provide me with some valuable attention and support, then stop doing so. The organization or person may cease to function. Or, life may give me the feedback of exposing me to the question of "what if you can do it yourself?"
Personal responsibility is not for everyone. In fact, huge numbers of people may functionally reject personal responsibility by maintaining the self-identifying of "victim." With certain feedback from life, the adaptiveness of such self-identifying may eventually be noticed as only temporary.
Sometimes, personally experienced results may produce a new willingness to explore the language of one's own self-defining, self-identifying, self-binding. Whose boundaries are my boundaries? When I speak of the boundaries of my own shifting attention, do I speak of those boundaries as my own, or as boundaries that a cruel and unusual life has imposed on me unjustifiably and maliciously? Do I speak of my own experienced results as life's feedback (as in guidance or support) or as injustices and victimizations and complaints and someone else's responsibility?
My relationship to life is my self-identifying. Does life victimize me (as life's victim) or does life support and guide me (as life's beneficiary)? How willing am I to be responsible for my own self-identifying? How willing am I to be responsible for my own experienced results?
Published on: Jul 2, 2011
Kara's video response:
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Digital-Tutors Releases New Introduction to Maya 2014, Introduction to MARI 2.0 and More
May 28, 2013 1:50 am
Tags: 2D, 3D, 3ds Max, Adobe, After Effects, Animation, Autodesk, CG, Cinema 4D, Digital-Tutors, Maxon, Maya, Modeling, Nuke, Photoshop, Tutorials, VFX, Vue
Oklahoma City, OK - Digital-Tutors, providers of the world's largest CG, VFX and digital art training resource, today released eight new tutorials and 23 so far for the month of May. Today's release is highlighted by the brand new Introduction to Maya 2014 filled with over 10 hours of training on the Maya interface, modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, dynamics, lighting, rendering and more. Each section of the course features training from tutors with expertise in that specific step of the pipeline - providing valuable insights and knowledge from industry professionals.
More highly-anticipated releases this month includes the new Introduction to MARI 2.0 where the new layer-based workflow and other new tools and features are thoroughly covered, a new course on working with CINEMA 4D's powerful node-based Expression System, XPresso, and a new Introduction to the powerful game development engine Unity 4. Look for more Maya 2014 courses in the coming months, including training on new tools and features. The new Introduction to 3ds Max 2014, Introduction to Mudbox 2014 and more courses on the latest releases are on the way too.
What's New May 2013:
Joint-Based Facial Rigging in Maya
Understanding the Basics of XPresso in CINEMA 4D
Animating Cellular Behavior in CINEMA 4D
Introduction to Mecanim in Unity
Retopologizing a High-Resolution Sculpt for Games in 3D-Coat
Creating a Goblin Concept in Photoshop
Exploring Different Smoke Types in 3ds Max and FumeFX
Animating with Props in MotionBuilder
Bringing Photographs to Life with 3D Layering in After Effects
Animating an Infographic in After Effects
Creating a Sci-Fi Robot Warrior in ZBrush
Designing a Scary Female Monster in ZBrush
Creating Medieval Character Concepts in ZBrush and Maya
Retouching Photos and Adding Visual Effects in Photoshop
Camera Raw Digital Darkroom Techniques in Photoshop
Blurring the Line Between 2D and 3D in Photoshop
Introduction to Character Rigging in Toon Boom Harmony
Quickly Rendering Architectural Visualization in Maya and Maxwell Render
Creating Stationery Packages for Clients in Illustrator
Creation and Integration of a Display Font in Illustrator
Learn more about the latest releases on the May training page.
Subscriptions and Availability May's new tutorials and every tutorial in the world's largest CG, VFX and digital art training resource are available with a subscription to Digital-Tutors. Free lessons are available at the beginning of tutorials and more features can be unlocked with a free demo account to Digital-Tutors
Digital-Tutors teaches the people who make movies and games by providing the world's largest online CG, VFX and digital art tutorial and training resource. With thousands of project-based videos for more than 60 leading media and entertainment software applications, Digital-Tutors award-winning training focuses on making difficult concepts easy to understand and complex topics fun to learn.
© 2013 Digital-Tutors and the Digital-Tutors logo are registered trademarks of PL Studios, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. http://www.digitaltutors.com
Please note: If you find the color of the text hard to read, please click on "Printer-friendly" and black text will appear on a white background.
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subset: commoncrawl


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EDIT: I did not realise when I started writing this that there were going to be so many wieners. I guess I just started ranting and got on a wiener roll. Don't be put off by post length! You could always read half and come back to the rest later!People who start a sentence with 'no offence' and then say something really offensive. Tacking a 'no offence' onto the front doesn't actually change the meaning of whatever you're about to say. Why don't you try switching it for, "I'm about to be really rude -" or "I'm about to say something out of line." See also: "Don't take this the wrong way, but..." and "I think you'll find..."
People with over-dramatic sneezes - I admit that my sneeze is mildly ridiculous (it is a kittenish "ah-eesh-cha!") but at least it is quiet. People who sneeze loudly and dramatically annoy me. The wieners. If a sneeze takes them by surprise they are quite capable of going "ah-choo!" like a normal person, but let them feel the sneeze coming on and you are in for a treat. First there is the build-up roar - "roooaAAA-" and then the sneeze itself "-CHOOOOOOOAAA-" and then the decline "-AAsshhchhchhchh." And then they whip out a hankie and blow their nose dramatically and look like they are expecting applause. Dad: this means you. But not just you. Over-sneezers are everywhere.
P cooks messing up my cold & flu meds - Back in the day, cold & flu medication used to have pseudoephedrine in it. This was effective and made you feel better. Then people who did not actually have colds started buying the medication and making drugs out of it, and the government shouted about drugs a lot, and the medication manufacturers had to replace the pseudoephedrine with something similar but not as effective. Thank you, criminal underworld, for making it harder to get over a cold. Thanks a bunch. You fucking wieners.
Food allergies that aren't. Food allergies in general are mildly annoying, especially if you work in hospitality and have to deal with people who have an allergy or intolerance (gluten is a prime example) and get really angry when you don't have a huge range of gluten-free items. Seriously? I appreciate that it's hard(ish) to find gluten-free food, but that doesn't mean every restaurant in the world is required to provide numerous gluten-free feasts. If you want more than a couple of menu options, maybe you should go to a restaurant that specialises in gluten-free. Just like maybe if you want more than a couple of steak options you shouldn't be at a seafood place. (Just to clarify - got nothing against people with food allergies, only against people who are self-indulgent wieners about it.) Taking it to another level are the people who claim to have an allergy but actually just have a dislike - I used to work at a Mexican restaurant and this happened quite a lot:
Customer: "No onions, I'm allergic to onion."
Me: "Ok, all of our sauces are onion-based...would you like to choose something else?"
Customer: "Oh, no, it's just big bits of onion I can't eat."
You know what? It's ok to say you don't like onion and don't want any. We are ok with you not liking onion. Why is the thought process, "But there might still be onion! If I say I'm allergic, there definitely won't be any onion!" No, there won't. But you will be a wiener.
Customers who lie to get free stuff - Phone rings. It is a grumpy old man who says that on Friday he rang up to put two ads in the paper, and only one appears. Normally when an ad doesn't go in we see the ad in our systems, and it'll be on hold or not fully paid or whatever. There is no record of a second ad. I took the ad on Friday and there was no second ad. I say that there is only one ad on his account. He says he paid for the second one with credit card. I say that if he can prove we've charged him for it there will be a free ad. He gets very huffy and says that isn't necessary, he wants his free ad. I say there is no record of a second ad. He says he has a record in his head. HE IS A LIAR. And he's going to get a free ad, because I'm not allowed to say, "Sir, you are a fucking liar." I hate this, and it happens all the time - customer says one thing, staff member says the other, customer shouts at management, management backs down. Customer gets free stuff. God damn it. (I have to call him back to tell him he gets a free ad - it's very, very tempting to say, "Look, sir, just to make you aware - we know you're lying about the second ad, but we're giving you a free one because no-one can be bothered arguing with you for your piddling little $20 notice.") Oh yeah, that's another one - when people call up wanting special deals, or wanting to sneak something in after deadline. "Come on," they wheedle, "can't you do anything for a good customer," and the threat creeps into their voice, "I've been a customer of you people for years, surely you can do this for me!" Sir, with all due respect, you spend $20 a week with us. We have companies who spend $20k a week with us, and we don't hold deadlines for them (and they don't ask us to, because they understand how rules work). Don't threaten to remove your business because, quite frankly, you are not as big of a fish as you think you are, and we might say, "Ok! No more ads for you!" and then you will be fucked, won't you.
Tyra Banks - Seriously, who gave this ridiculous woman a talk show? She is a model. Her entire career is based around not talking, because she says brainless things like "Black women don't have the same body image problems as white women. They are proud of their bodies. Black men love big butts," and "I haven't seen the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre. I haven't seen anything. I don't really care." What a role model.
People who describe themselves as writers or novelists, despite having no published work. If you are a plumber who has written a poem, that does not make you a writer; it makes you a plumber who has written a poem. Same goes for being a farmer who is working on a novel - you are just that. Not a novelist. I, for example, am a salesperson who has a blog and once completed national novel writing month. This means that I don't put "blogger" or "author" as my occupation, I put "sales." If I was working on a novel then I would say, "I am a salesperson, but I'm also working on a novel." I would not say, "Well, I work in sales, but I'm actually a writer." Or, "I'm a writer, but at the moment I'm working in sales, until I finish my novel." (Don't worry, I'm not actually writing a novel.) Andrea (who is a writer) thinks, and I agree, that you don't get to put 'author' as your profession until you're doing it professionally i.e. someone is paying you to make words. It doesn't seem that hard, does it? "Oh, I'm a doctor." "Really?" "Well, I work for an advertising company, but I've done a first aid course, and I find medicine really interesting." See also: people who say things like, "When I retire, I'm going to write a novel?" Really? How charming. When I retire, I'm going to be a biologist. Or perhaps a dentist. Do that root canal I've never gotten round to.
Whaling protest boats - I've complained about this before, I know. I don't approve of whaling, but I also don't like protesters. Twice they have thrown missiles at Japanese whaling ships. Twice Japanese whaling ships have rammed them and they have run squealing to the media, yapping on about how mean the Japanese are. Are they going to stop throwing things at them? No. This is like the small child who sits there poking his brother in the nose repeatedly and then, when the brother finally loses his temper and whacks him, goes crying to Mummy that Robert hit him and it wasn't his fa-ault. (Not that I support the Japanese ramming other people, but seriously, when you know the consequences and do something anyway, you lose any right to complain. Which leads me to...)
People who try to get out of entirely justified fines - Prime example here is the woman who got fined $150 for driving in the bus lane. Bus lanes - which are painted bright green and have BUS LANE written on them in large white letters - are a relatively new thing, and their introduction was preceded by months of advertising the dates they came into effect and the fine that would be given to people who drove in the bus lane. This woman drove in the bus lane BUT she is a beneficiary and is now under extreme emotional stress and it just isn't fair because she didn't even know she was in a bus lane, and now she has gone to the (community) paper and had a tantrum about how she shouldn't have to shell out the $150. Sheesh, lady. You were in the bus lane. Are you a bus? No. You are not a bus. Shut up and pay your fine.
Jack (and her beanstalk) - I went to a party on the weekend and there was a girl there whose nickname was Jack, as in Jack and the Beanstalk, because (according to her friend) she is always disappearing from the room to 'flick the bean.' I arrived too late to be part of the incident, but apparently during a game of drunken Uno (it's the new Texas Hold'em) she left the room to, you know, spank the monkey. Seriously? In the middle of a party? Maybe I am being old-fashioned here, but last time I checked leaving the room to have a wank was not acceptable party behaviour. Perhaps she was masturbating herself out of a difficult life situation? Which leads me to...
John Mayer, Wiener Emperor, talking about his early, angst-filled years. Showing his tough side.
"If my blood were alphabet soup, it would spell, 'I'll show you, motherfucker.'"
Don't be ridiculous, John Mayer, you wiener. You are not Samuel L. Jackson. Nothing about you spells motherfucker. If your blood was alphabet soup, it would spell D-O-U-C-H-E-B-A-G, and I might just have to say so at your Wellington concert.
Flights: $150
Accommodation: $80
Concert tickets: $100
Calling John Mayer a wiener to his face: Priceless


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The majority of the
interface consists of Java bean-style "getter" and "setter" methods
for several properties, represented by field declarations in the
diagram at the beginning of this chapter. These properties can be
grouped into two functional categories: datastore connection
configuration and default
Transaction options.
The sections below explain the meaning of each property. Many of these
properties can be set through the
instance supplied to the
methods in
JDOHelper. Where this is the case,
Properties key is displayed along with the
method declarations.
Use the properties below to tell JDO implementations how to connect with your datastore.
public String getConnectionUserName (); public void setConnectionUserName (String user); javax.jdo.option.ConnectionUserName
The user name to specify when connecting to the datastore.
public String getConnectionPassword (); public void setConnectionPassword (String pass); javax.jdo.option.ConnectionPassword
The password to specify when connecting to the datastore.
public String getConnectionURL (); public void setConnectionURL (String url); javax.jdo.option.ConnectionURL
public String getConnectionDriverName (); public void setConnectionDriverName (String driver); javax.jdo.option.ConnectionDriverName
The full class name of the driver to use when interacting with the datastore.
public String getConnectionFactoryName (); public void setConnectionFactoryName (String name); javax.jdo.option.ConnectionFactoryName
The JNDI location of a datastore connection factory. This property overrides the other datastore connection properties above.
public Object getConnectionFactory (); public void setConnectionFactory (Object factory);
A datastore connection factory.
This property overrides all other datastore connection properties
above, including the
ConnectionFactoryName. The
exact type of the given factory is implementation-dependent.
Many JDO implementations will expect a standard Java Connector
Architecture (JCA)
Implementations layered on top of JDBC might expect a JDBC
DataSource. Still other implementations
might use other factory types.
Kodo uses JDBC
public String getConnectionFactory2Name (); public void setConnectionFactory2Name (String name); javax.jdo.option.ConnectionFactory2Name
In a managed environment, connections obtained from the primary connection factory may be automatically enlisted in any global transaction in progress. The JDO implementation might require an additional connection factory that is not configured to participate in global transactions. For example, Kodo's default algorithm for datastore identity generation requires its own non-managed transaction. Specify the JNDI location of this factory through this property.
public Object getConnectionFactory2 (); public void setConnectionFactory2 (Object factory);
The connection factory used for local transactions. Overrides
ConnectionFactory2Name above.
The settings below will become the default property values
for the
and associated
Transactions produced by
PersistenceManagerFactory. Some
implementations may not fully support all properties. If you
attempt to set a property to an unsupported value, the
operation will throw a
public boolean getMultithreaded (); public void setMultithreaded (boolean multithreaded); javax.jdo.option.Multithreaded
Set this property to
true to
indicate that
or the persistence-capable objects they manage will be
accessed concurrently by multiple threads in your application.
Some JDO implementations might optimize performance by avoiding
any synchronization when this property is left
public boolean getOptimistic (); public void setOptimistic (boolean optimistic); javax.jdo.option.Optimistic
Set to
true to use optimistic transactions by
default. Section 9.1, "Transaction Types"
discusses optimistic transactions.
public boolean getRetainValues (); public void setRetainValues (boolean retain); javax.jdo.option.RetainValues
If this property is
true, the fields
of persistent objects will not be cleared on
transaction commit. Otherwise, persistent fields are cleared
on commit and re-read from the datastore the next time they are
public boolean getRestoreValues (); public void setRestoreValues (boolean restore); javax.jdo.option.RestoreValues
Controls the behavior of persistent and transactional
fields on transaction rollback. Set this property to
true to restore the fields to the
values they had when the transaction began.
public boolean getNontransactionalRead (); public void setNontransactionalRead (boolean read); javax.jdo.option.NontransactionalRead
Specifies whether you can read persistent state outside of a
transaction. If this property is
false, any
attempt to iterate an
Extent, execute a
Query, or access non-primary key persistent
object fields outside of a transaction will result in a
public boolean getNontransactionalWrite (); public void setNontransactionalWrite (boolean write); javax.jdo.option.NontransactionalWrite
Specifies whether you can write to persistent objects and perform
persistence operations outside of a transaction. If this property
false, any attempt to modify a persistent
object outside of a transaction will
result in a
Note that changes made outside of a transaction are discarded if the modified object enters a datastore transaction, but retained if it enters an optimistic transaction. We cover transactions in Chapter 9, Transaction.
public boolean getIgnoreCache (); public void setIgnoreCache (boolean ignore); javax.jdo.option.IgnoreCache
This property controls whether changes made to
persistent instances in the current transaction are
considered when evaluating queries. A value of
true is a hint to the JDO runtime
that changes in the current transaction can be ignored;
this usually enables the implementation to run the query
using the datastore's native query interface. A value
false, on the other hand, may
force implementations to flush changes to the datastore
before running queries, or to run transactional queries in memory,
both of which can have a negative impact on performance.
public boolean getDetachAllOnCommit (); public void setDetachAllOnCommit (boolean detach); javax.jdo.option.DetachAllOnCommit
PersistenceManagers can optionally detach
their entire object cache when a transaction commits. This
setting controls the default for
PersistenceManagers produced by this factory. We
discuss detachment in Section 8.7, "Detach and Attach Functionality".
public String getMapping (); public void setMapping (String mapping); javax.jdo.option.Mapping
The name of the logical mapping between your persistent classes and the datastore. Section 15.1, "Mapping Metadata Placement" describes how the mapping name is used to locate relational mapping metadata.
public void addInstanceLifecycleListener (InstanceLifecycleListener listen, Class[] classesOfInterest); public void removeInstanceLifecycleListener (InstanceLifecycleListener listen);
Recall from Section 4.4.2, "InstanceLifecycleListener" that
InstanceLifecycleListeners consume events
fired by lifecycle changes in persistent objects. The methods above
allow you to add and remove listeners that will be passed on to
PersistenceManagers the
PersistenceManagerFactory creates in the
future. See the same-named methods of the
PersistenceManager interface in
Section 8.2, "Configuration Properties" for API details.
Kodo supports all of the properties above. It recognizes many additional properties as well; see Chapter 2, Configuration of the Reference Guide for details.


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Oshkosh Oktoberfest will be kicking off their celebration again with German food, music and culture on Saturday, October 5th. This year the festivities will be held at the Dockside Tavern parking lot. Oshkosh Mayor, Burk Tower will be tapping the ceremonial keg at 2:00 PM.
There will be many great events held this year like the 2K Bier run and costume contest, starting at 11:00 AM. The run/ walk will be utilizing the new Riverwalk while making a loop with four beer stops. Of course you have to have proper ID, so be prepared! You will also walk away with a commemorative Oshkosh Oktoberfest beer stein and shirt (while supplies last). Oktoberfest is a free event, however there is an entry fee of $15.00 prior or $20.00 the day of the run to participate. You can register at Dockside Tavern, Barely & Hops or at Run Away Shoes. All proceeds go to Cerebral Palsy of Midwest Wisconsin. Everyone participating is encouraged to dress in costume (preferably German, but definitely tasteful). Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes, in both individual and group categories.
What you don't feel like a run/walk on Saturday? How about Oktoberfest Olympics? Several different competitive games, such as a Barrel Rolling contest, Masskrugstemmen (Beer Stein Holding) contest, Stein Relay races, Fraulein Carrying races, and a Frankfurter Eating contest. This is all great fun and all for a good cause with a chance to win some great prizes. German Wine Tastings and German Bier Tastings will be available for those of age. Children's Playland Area, Cultural Displays, and Sheepshead games will be going on all day as well.
Of course there is also some great entertainment that will be provided by Blakapelle Milwaukee, Copper Box, and Greg Waters and the Broad Street Boogie from 2:00-11:00 PM. For more information, you can go to http://www.oshkoshoktoberfest.com/


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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
WotLK Raid Makeup
1. The introduction of Deathknights as a DPS/Tanking class means that there is extra competition for the non-healing slots.
2. Blizzard has done a really good job of making non-healing specs raid-viable, and that means even more competition for the non-healing slots. Let's say you want to bring an Enhancement and an Elemental Shaman. You need at least 2 Resto Shamans to fill out the healing quota, so you're looking at 4 shamans in total. That means you are taking one slot away from a pure DPS class, and that's unfair to them.
3. The rest of the game is balanced around 20% healers, so bring raiding in line makes balancing the population easier.
4. Healers have always been the hardest role to recruit for. Requiring less healers and more DPS will make more players happy.
Take a look at this proposed WotLK raid makeup:
Group 1 - Prot Warrior, Prot Paladin, Feral Druid, Deathknight, Deathknight
Group 2 - Rogue, Rogue, DPS Warrior, Enhance Shaman, Ret Paladin
Group 3 - Balance Druid, Mage, Mage, Elemental Shaman, Shadow Priest
Group 4 - Warlock, Warlock, Warlock/Mage, Survival Hunter, Hunter
Group 5 - Disc Priest, Holy Priest, Holy Paladin, Resto Shaman, Resto Druid
To me, that looks like a gorgeous raid makeup. Every class has 2 or 3 slots. No class takes more than its share, and no class is completely left out. There's lots of different specs, and lots of synergy and options available.
However, this setup is completely useless under today's raiding conditions. There simply aren't enough healers. But if raids are balanced around 20% healing, raid compositions like this can be viable, and I think that would make raiding healthier and more enjoyable.
18 comments:
Right now, if your raid's gear is at-level with the content you're attacking, you can get away with 5 healers if they're good. But I digress. Blizz would have to reduce raid splash damage or reduce the number of tanks needed for many encounters for a 5-healer raid to become common place.ReplyDelete
Also, I moved your groups around to optimize group synergy. This is what a 25-man raid with 2 DK's would most likely look like:
Group 1 - Prot Warrior, Prot Paladin, Deathknight, Resto Druid, Holy Paladin
Group 2 - Rogue, DPS Warrior, Enhance Shaman, Ret Paladin, Deathknight
Group 3 - Balance Druid, Mage, Mage, Elemental Shaman, Shadow Priest
Group 4 - Warlock, Warlock, Warlock/Mage, Holy Priest, Imp. DS Priest
Group 5 - Resto Shaman, Rogue, Feral Druid, BM Hunter, Survival Hunter
Total count:
Plate (7) = 2 Warriors, 3 Paladins, 2 Deathknights
Mail (5) = 2 Hunters, 3 Shamans
Leather (6) = 3 Rogues, 3 Druids
Cloth (8) = 2.5 Warlocks, 2.5 Mages, 3 Priests
G1 gets 2 paladin auras and the tree of life aura
G2 has 2-3 2H wielders to reap the benefits of Windfury
G5 will get a Grace of Air totem, and all the other players in that group will be agility-mongers
Maybe 5 insanely good healers. I'm still skeptical of that. I don't see doing Gruul or Karathress or Tidewalker with only five healers.ReplyDelete
Bliz would have to reduce splash damage, and increase boss health. But that's perfectly doable. As for tanks, 5 healers can still heal up to 5 tanks easily, and I don't think there's any fights which require more than that.
The rework to have an agility group is very nice, btw. Even more synergy!
Right, it's very very tough to do most encounters with 5 healers right now. But, it's still do-able. When my guild was halfway through tier 5 content, we managed a Gruul kill with 5 healers. Hair-raising experience for them I'm sure, but it got done.ReplyDelete
The problem that's presented for the healers right now is there's too many targets to heal. A Resto Shaman and a Circle-heal Priest can take care of raid healing, but that'll leave 3 healers for the tanks. In BC raids, a lot of encounters call for at least 3 healers keeping 1 tank topped - what happens when you've got encounters that require keeping 2 tanks topped? Or 3? With the shammy/circle priest occupied, that's healer overload. You're absolutely right, they'll have to re-tune the encounters somewhat to make this sort of make-up feasible for progression content.
Farming Gruul and Mag with 5 healers is definitely possible. My guild on Destromath (l Misfits l) do it everyweek. If we get an extra healer or two, its cake walk. But we do have a core of 10 dps that kicks ass and our tanking team has alot of synergy. Unfortunately we are a casual raiding guild, so we tend to make things happen since we can't raid often. Sad part is we still haven't cleared ZA!!ReplyDelete
I like the groups you guys put together. Using the various group buffs is a nice touch to maximize the group effectiveness. I like that all classes get some action. I can't wait to see some WotLK raiding.
- Raynmaker (Uther), Alevas (Uther)2:01 PM, May 13, 2008
Farming Gruul while in T5 content is not the same... you're overgeared.ReplyDelete
Right now, fights require 7-9 healers as a general rule. On top of that, MANY fights where the raid takes splash damage also requires the raid to spread out so much that CoH priests and resto shamans can't be effective at raid healing.
I've farmed sunwell trash and already read strats/watched vids of Sunwell kills and they're crazy splash damage. The current viable strategy listed for Muru requires 11 healers... 11! (and 3 tanks, leaving only 11 dps spots).
So, I don't see Blizzard making any changes to the system.
I also disagree somewhat with the raid makeup listed above because some of those classes bring more than just tanking/dps/healing to the fights - they bring buffs. 3 or 4 pallies is much more productive to the raid as a whole. A ret pally (with the improvements blizzard has made) can do some good damage and provide all the melee with imp might. A prot pally tanks and brings more buffage with kings - improving damage and ease of the fight by giving everyone more health. Enhancement and Elemental shaman both can do some great damage and have strong buff possibilities if put in the right groups.
1 prot, 1 ret, 2 holy pallies
1 CoH priest, 1 holy priest, 1 spriest
2 warlocks, 2 mages, 2 hunters,
2 rogues
1 resto, 1 enh, 1 ele shaman
1 feral, 1 balanced, 1 resto druid
1 prot, 2 dps warriors
Add one of the following healers: resto shaman or CoH priest and you have pretty much a flawless makeup for current raiding. If needed, substite a rogue for a mage or one of the other hybrid dps for another dps class.
"Normal fights"
group 1: prot pally, prot warrior, resto druid, holy pally, warlock w/imp BP
group 2: rogue, enh shaman, 2 dps war, ret pally
group 3: mage, mage, ele shaman, balanced druid, warlock
group 4: holy priest, coh priest, holy/disc pally, resto shaman, spriest
group 5: 2 hunters, feral druid, rogue, 25th.
Change around the warlock in group 3 and the spriest in group 4 if your healers are ok on mana and your dps are losing it too quickly.
You could also switch out one of the warriors (fury most likely) or the rogue in group 2 for the feral druid in group 5... but I think it works out better the way I wrote it.
Either way, there's TONS of options, too many to write out all of them.
I really don't see Blizzard making raiding 20% healers.
What SHOULD happen is to give certain classes changes to make them better at hybrid such as feral druids at dps/tanking depending on gear.
Examples: Make prot pallies have better healing, make prot warriors have better dps.
Generally, trash takes more tanks than the boss fights do, and requires less healers than the boss fights do... it's a mess.
As a healer, sunwell trash is the first place I've actually been challenged on trash and not thought it was completely boring.
I'm sure there are many OTs who feel the same way about boss fights - nothing for them to do.
I definitely agree with the sentiment, but it's very hard for Blizzard to commit to requiring a specific number of healers and no more, regardless of where the healer cap actually gets set.ReplyDelete
The only way to actually enforce such requirements (short of the game actually forcing you to bring a certain class distribution to start an encounter) is to REQUIRE that all the other slots in the raid be filled with optimal DPS by instituting strict DPS checks. If it's possible to beat a raid designed for 5 healers, 3 tanks, and 17 DPS using only 16 DPS, the encounter will almost certainly be easier by punting a DPS and bringing an extra healer. Raids will do whatever gives them the best shot at beating the encounter, not whatever Blizzard wanted or whatever ensures that there are enough healers to go around to other guilds on the server. Moreover, instituting Brutallus style DPS checks on every single encounter would do a lot to penalize anyone who dares attempt to raid with suboptimal classes or specs, or, Light forbid, without requiring full consumables.
I don't know what the answer to this is, but I'm afraid that limiting raid design to only those encounters that five healers can handle would just force greatly decreased encounter diversity.
I'm not sure I follow why you disagree with the raid make-up listed above. It was made to demonstrate what a 5-healer raid incorporating Death Knights would most likely look like. The raid you put to paper is a 5-healer raid, but has no Death Knights. You also say that 3-4 paladins is optimal - the raid Rohan created and I shifted has 3. All you did was sub in a paladin and a DPS warrior for the 2 DK's, which defeated the purpose of the exercise.
I think this is the wrong statement to be made. Instead of making larger instances less heal-centric, make smaller ones more heal-centric. Make them less about the standard 1 tank - 3dps - 1 heal type of situation. Make more instances where two healers are better than one and make the run go extra smoothly.ReplyDelete
And make it so that healing is a bit more engaging, while you're at it.
- Anonymous4:24 PM, May 13, 2008
Classes become too specialized as you progress in WoW. It ruins group cohesion and the fun factor when 7/10 ways you can build your char simply arent allowed or work with the group chemistry.ReplyDelete
The content needs to be shortened so that normal players can participate (more healers,tanks because of this) and they also need to let players get their foot in the door without the time/farming commitment. Removing manditory flask and potion farming was a decent step towards improving raiding but there still is a line between gear-checked chars. I would love to see 5-man content that didnt require waiting for tank/healers to arrive. This could be solved in the way guildwars does it... let you choose a dumbed down NPC for those tasks. Hell, even a NPC team of DPS might be nice for those poor prot warriors and disc priest or holy pallies. The game reawlly does suck for some of those estremely specialized role classes who often dont have much of a choice on how they can participate.
I think tuning encounters around 20% healing is an excellent idea. It's hard enough to convince people to heal in the first place, and until they debut the 2nd Hero class (which I'm sure will have a healing tree) the optimization of specs dilutes the existing healing pool.ReplyDelete
A Deathknight must be like a druid and be able to either buff their group or the raid, or be able to do considerable dps with a tanking spec to be raid viable. It's already a pain in the ass having to bring a Prot Warrior and Paladin that are useless when not tanking.ReplyDelete
A ton of changes could be done to the Prot tree for Paladins to give them more healing power while not tanking. Their shield could be switched to be like Holy Shock and heal people, or you could tack on some other healing component to one of their high level Prot talents for healing.
I imagine my melee group will be an enhancement shaman, feral druid, ret paladin, bf warrior and a deathknight. Unless Rogues gain some group buff, I really don't want them in my raids anymore. I've seen rogues that can do very good damage, but at this point I would trade away 300 personal dps for more group utility, and more total dps for the group.
I agree though about the healing.
Rogue: 1
Warrior: 3
Druid: 3
Mage: 1
Warlock: 2
Hunter: 2
Shaman: 3
Paladin: 3
Priest: 2
Deathknight: ?
That would be 20 slots for one of each spec for those classes, but would only give 3 healers and no slots yet for Deathknights. Unless something changes, someone is going to get left out.
Requiring more healers, and throwing around more raid wide damage seems to be the trend in BC.
- Anonymous5:29 AM, May 14, 2008
progression kill of bloodboil required 11 healers. We did a bunch of attempts on kalecgos last week and it worked best with 10 healers and they still complained + tanks died.ReplyDelete
If the game goes more like it is now, it'll look like this:ReplyDelete
Group 1: Prot Warrior, Prot Warrior, Deathknight, Resto druid, Holy paladin
G2: Rogue, Rogue, DPS warrior, Enhance Shaman, Ret Paladin
G3: Destro Warlock, Destro Warlock, Mage, Ele Shaman, Shadowpriest
G4: Mage, Affliction lock, Resto shaman, Priestx2
G5: Resto Shaman, Shadow priest, BM hunter, BM Hunter, Survival huntawr
- Suicidal Zebra7:34 AM, May 14, 2008
Should be interesting to see if Guilds start to drop a Paladin and a warrior (or more specifically a 3rd blessing) in favour of a couple of Deathknights. Right now many see Kings/Salv/(BoM/BoW) as almost mandatory, and whilst any class has a block of 3 spots - no matter their spec - it makes fitting Deathknights in pretty hard.ReplyDelete
Of course, they could always increase the max raid size from 25 to 30, sidestepping a lot of potential complaints from hybrids (in favour of different QQ?).
What do you think the raid makeup will be for the 10-man versions of all the dungeons in WotLK? Do you think they will require a very specific class balance like Karazhan did when it first came out?ReplyDelete
In general most people like the idea of having an easier 10-man version for every raid instance though some raiders worry it will mean less people will do the 25-man ones.
- Anonymous10:57 AM, May 14, 2008
The reason people take 7-9 healers rather than 5 healers isn't due to the content necessarily requiring it. It's due to the fact that the marginal gain in safety you gain from additional healers outweighs the marginal gain in dps you get by taking your 14th-16th worst dps classes.ReplyDelete
Also, Blizzard has made content that adds to this dilemma. Most T5/T6 content has raid events that have the potential to take out healers - not merely the "don't stand in the fire" type of takeout that can be avoided by skill, but purely random "you die and become a Doomguard" type of raid event. These types of raid events essentially kill any sort of complex healing coordination and reduce healing to primarily being a spam-fest requiring excessive redundancy.
Fixing this would be relatively difficult. About the only practical solution that comes to mind is dramatically ramping up the synergy of dps specs. So if you had 15 dps'rs who each did 1000 dps individually, 10 of them might do 15,000 dps together while 15 of them would do 25,000 dps. This would mean that your 14th best dps'r wouldn't add 60% of your top dps class - they're add more like 120% of your top dps class due to the synergies.
- Nifter11:10 AM, May 14, 2008
20% healers, I doubt it. Unless they dumb down the encounters, or make tanks take less damage, there isn't a method to make it possible to reduce healing load. Making the encounters simple enough for 5x healers would simplify them too much in my opinion. Unless they make it more akin to the cube clicking in mag, where you need perfect execution, or some sort of NPC healing or location mechanic.ReplyDelete
The most likely outcome will be that some classes get shafted. Similar to how moonkin and ret pallies weren't progression viable (some stay still not viable), there will be classes that just wont be pulling their weight in a progression raid. Another possibility is that class make up wont make a huge difference, but min/max raid leader's aren't going to take a chance on it.
Most raids I have seen bring 1 melee dps group and the occasional melee tossed with the hunters. DKs will only be competing for a spot in the melee group or the tank group if they can prove to be worthwhile for anything other than magic based encounters.
Perhaps there will only be need for 1 DK in a raid. One that does dps on all encounters and racks up the tanking gear for the magic encounter fights.
What I am more interested in knowing is how the DK will work in replacing a tank in 25 mans. Will it have enough crowd tank ability to replace the pally? Or will the druid be shown the door? Unless they make 4 tank requirements for raids, or make the DK tanking junk, one tank is going to be shown the door.
- Suicidal Zebra1:30 PM, May 14, 2008
Nifter, I think the DK is envisioned as a tank for those encounters where a Warlock would have been the tank of choice (few and far between as they are right now). The question remains if this niche can be strong enough to justify a full-time position in a raid on their own strength given that it is extremely unlikely they'd have the off-tanking/DPS capabilities of a Feral Druid (a druids tanking niche). If it isn't strong enough, but DK's were genuinely required for certain encounters, then I believe you'll simply see a lot of tank-switching between encounters (which is really going to suck for each of the MT classes, be it Warrior, Paladin or DK).ReplyDelete
Strangely, I think that Druids will in fact be the class least affected by the inclusion of DK's as they stand. The Feral tree's multi-role efficiency is just too strong, and as such Ferals will probably continue to be premium off-tanks.


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DailyDirt: Smarter Cars On The Way (Not Smarter Drivers)
from the urls-we-dig-up deptCars used to be fairly simple mechanical devices that gave drivers the freedom to zip around a city, but now cars are much more technologically advanced gadgets -- getting smarter and connecting with all kinds of other things (eg. sensors, phones, other cars, the internet). Pretty soon, cars could become our artificially-intelligent personal servants, helping us out with our daily tasks like KITT but without the turbo boost. Here are just a few steps towards every driver getting their own car sidekick.
- Unlocking your car with your phone via a 'passive Bluetooth keyless entry system' sounds pretty cool -- just wait for your phone and your car to pair up wirelessly, and voila, you can hop into your car. (And if your phone is out of range, all the doors lock automatically, too.) Right now, this prototype only works with an Android phone and some custom Arduino hardware in the car (and there are probably a few security concerns for this hack, but who cares when your car opens for you automagically). [url]
- The US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) says that mobile apps are making it easier for young adults (16-34yo) to drive less -- by making carsharing and public transportation more convenient than ever before. Kids these days just want to get from point A to point B without disconnecting from Facebook... Just make sure to look up from your phone every so often as a safety check, folks. [url]
- A survey of car owners suggests that consumers might be more willing to use a self-driving car from a technology company like Google, Apple or Intel -- rather than one from a traditional automaker. The survey question presumes self-driving cars are safe -- so consumers probably aren't quite ready yet to place their lives in the hands of a version 1.0 beta autonomous car. [url]
Filed Under: automaker, autonomous vehicle, cars, carsharing, keyless entry, mobile apps, prototype, self-driving car
Companies: apple, google, intel


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Bloomberg Raises Money for Charity, As Do Others
Traders Magazine Online News, November 12, 2012
Bloomberg Tradebook held its inaugural "Trick or Trade" event to raise money for charity on Thursday, November 8, after a Storm Sandy delay. Also raising money: Morgan Stanley, Jefferies & Co.
All TradersMagazine.com articles are archived after 7 days. REGISTER NOW for unlimited access to all recently archived articles, as well as thousands of searchable stories. Registered Members also gain access to exclusive industry white paper downloads, web seminars, online technology directory, the iPad App, and conference discounts. Qualified members may also choose to receive our free monthly magazine and any of our e-newsletters covering the latest breaking news, opinions from industry leaders, developing trends and trading strategies.


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My Favorite Flirts is a feature that lets you reach your favorite Flirts easily from My Account or on 1-800-TO-FLIRT.Manage My Favorites
Vanessa Rose
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In my old neighborhood, I used to have several young neighbors who would watch me from their windows. Oh, it would turn me on so much to know that they were watching me while they masturbated. So one day when I just couldn't take it anymore, I reached into my bikini bottoms and started rubbing my pussy while one young man was watching. I wonder how long it took him to shoot his load while he was watching me. If he was half as turned on as I was, I am sure that it didn't take him very long!
One thing I really love to do, as a mature sex Goddess, is teach young men how to fuck. I love taking a virgin and turning him into a sex god. There really isn't anything I find more satisfying than that. If more women did that, then the world would be full of men who loved to please their women instead of men who are selfish in bed. The world would be a much happier place then, don't you think?
Are you a young man who needs to be taught how to please a woman? Or maybe you had fantasies just like the ones I described when you were younger and you want to relive it. Maybe you want a total MILF slut or a woman in charge? I am here for whatever fantasy you have!
Let's talk about what makes us hot and masturbate together. I am ready and waiting for you, baby!
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This week being online I have been reading so many things that just make me shake my head and wonder about people even more.
Sadly, a guy a know from high school, has a 13 year old daughter who they thought was cured of her cancer. I read yesterday it has returned. How terrible and sad. Yet EVERY person on her CaringBridge site mentioned praying for her, telling her to have faith in 'god', etc. And she has LOTS of followers. I mean thousands. Her family has quite a story and she is quite a fighter! She has raised so much money for other kids with cancer,etc. that her site has thousands of followers. I just don't understand how, when she fought SO hard, and seemed to win, when the cancer returns, the followers have MORE faith rather than less. Does Nobody think that if there was a 'god' that this is heartless and cruel? My heart breaks for her and her family, and if I thought there was a 'god' that let this happen again, I would curse he/she/it.
On another topic, I love to read forums/blogs, etc. on frugality. It's just a thing of mine, because I love having no debt and no mortgage, so that we can spend on things that are really important to us as a family (like vacations together.) Anyway, one lady mentioneed she is a cleaning-woman in an office-building at night, and she saw a dark, creepy, evil, 'ghost' scamper behind a huge plant while she was working. All of a sudden TONS of people on the site started-in with their personal ghost-sightings. Pages and pages on this thread. REALLY???????? How come I have never seen a ghost or any evidence of any 'god'? Is it that if you already believe this stuff your mind plays tricks on you and you believe it, and if you don't believe this stuff, nothing happens because you don't believe it anyway. One woman went on and on about a ghost in her sons bedroom that he talks to and is friends with, and that it was the woman that died in that bedroom and she watches over him. Someone even said too bad the woman couldn't let the 'ghost' babysit her son, because she'd get in trouble because not everyone would believe the ghost was watching over him. I just don't get it...
Views: 316
Hi booklover!
I don't get ghost stories either. I think people imagine them. The mind is a very complex thing. Science has yet to understand it fully.
Sorry to hear about your friends daughter - that's so sad.
A couple years ago my mother told me about an occurrence she had involving her dead father. She was home alone in the living room sitting at the piano playing his favorite hymn when she felt his presence in the room behind her and heard him singing. She was very comforted by that experience. What can you possibly say to someone, especially a family member, when they tell about an experience such as that? I just listened to what she had to say and left it at that. I would feel horribly cruel and guilty if I tried to spoil her delusion.
My aunt (my mother's sister) also had a story to relate involving their dead father. Her experience included "smelling" him and then having a piece of jewelry show up that was missing. She was quite distressed about the missing item because she surmised that she accidentally threw it away with some newspapers in the outdoor recycling bin that had already been collected. She later found the lost jewelry piece wrapped up in a cloth in her dresser drawer with bits and pieces of broken leaves. My aunt is convinced that her dead father intervened and reunited her with the missing item. I know our minds play outlandish tricks on us, but the manner in which the lost jewelry piece reappeared, I admit, is strange. Of course, I wasn't there, so I may not have all the "facts" of the event.
I was working with a friend, and may still, on a quantum electrodynamic theory of ghosts. Lots of fun, though making a truly working theory is very challenging.
I work for a team of oncologists and have also had many family members die from different cancers. I've seen so much horrible suffering! Science is making progress, but apparently the christian god still sits on his duff and doesn't just end the misery as should be quick and easy for the so-called creator of an entire universe. How many deaths does he/she/it need to enjoy anyway? How many centuries does this need to go on?
Really, for me, cancer as well as all the suffering related to it, is just proof positive that there is no such thing as an "all-loving god" or an "all-powerful god." I don't know a single human being who would inflict cancer on anyone else, especially a small child, watch them suffer despite being able to just stop the disease entirely, and then witness the acute grief experienced by family members upon the death of the child. Those are NOT loving actions, but the "faithful" always make excuses for the obvious failings of their god. In fact, it makes me sick to my stomach when I listen to their baloney as they give praise to their god if the cancer goes into remission... They can't explain why it happened in the first place, why it goes on and on and on, and why their god apparently toyed with them and allowed the disease to recur. They only have sickening excuses.
As far as ghost sightings, I think that the human brain does amazing things, especially when a person is tired. I noted that I'll "see" something out of the corner of my eye if I've worked too many hours and it's very late, but truly nothing is there. It sure seems real though. I also think there is probably a gray area between being asleep and awake and sometimes an overlap occurs. My mom seems to see ghosts regularly at night and will literally be screaming on the top of her lungs. She says these ghost sightings happen immediately before someone she loves dies, but this isn't actually the case at all as many have died and she never had the sighting beforehand. She also never seems to see ghosts at any other time of the day, only at night while trying to sleep or waking from sleep. I think she's dreaming, but she's, of course, adamant that they're ghosts. I don't discuss it with her at all, or religion either, as she gets shockingly emotional (even hostile).
Hostility when one's viewpoint is challenged is a way of safeguarding one's opinion from challenges, and people do it not only with religion but other kinds of opinions too.
I live in a little lefty town, and when I first moved here I thought "alternative" was unqualified great - as in, justified variance from societal norms.
But I've found a great deal of it is pretty loony. And guarded by hostility, and when you meet anger from men in response to disagreement, it can feel physically threatening.
The internet is possibly helpful this way, since people who might violently disagree in person can encounter each other where they won't be physically hurt. Although online people make up for the lack of physical threat with astonishing emotional virulence sometimes, that has sometimes really upset me and left me reeling.
I was recently in a nursing home to visit a relative. Walking by a prayer room, I peeked in a listened a while. Around a dozen old timers, most octogenarian, were saying the rosary. What struck me is the sincerity and fervor with which they muttered their aves.
I would have liked (though it wouldn't have been cool) to make some noise to knock them out of their collective trance, and yell, "Hey, you're wasting your time. Did you ever in your whole life witness any miracle, much less any supernatural event? Try to spend your remaining time enjoying life and having fun. Most of us have only a few decades left; we're all in the same boat. So stop feeling sorry for yourself; if it weren't for death, you never would have been born. It's a trade-off. I believe we're all going back to the same place we were before we were born. What's the matter with that? Back to zero, in other words."
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Data for Investigational Tiotropium Show Improved Lung Function and Sustained Bronchodilation in Patients with Moderate Asthma Severity
New Phase 3 data presented for the first time at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress 2013
For U.S. Media Only
Ridgefield, CT, September 10, 2013 – Boehringer Ingelheim will present a pooled analysis of new data from the Phase 3 UniTinA-asthma® program at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress 2013 in Barcelona. The data from the individual MezzoTinA-asthma® Phase 3 studies (NCT01172808 and NCT01172821), from which the pooled data are derived, show the addition of tiotropium delivered via the Respimat® inhaler to medium-dose maintenance inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy (defined as 400-800 µg budesonide/day or equivalent) improved lung function and provided sustained bronchodilation over 24 hours in patients with moderate asthma and airflow limitation. Tiotropium is being investigated to determine the medicine's efficacy in treating asthma patients and is not currently approved for this indication.
These new data from the MezzoTinA-asthma® Phase 3 studies also showed the addition of once-daily tiotropium delivered via the Respimat® inhaler provided a statistically significant improvement in asthma control responder rate, as measured by the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ).
"These results give us insight into the potential efficacy of tiotropium in the subset of asthma patients who remain symptomatic despite using medium-dose ICS and show that the addition of tiotropium may provide improvements in asthma control and lung function that could be clinically meaningful," said lead study author Professor Huib A.M. Kerstjens of the University Medical Centre, Groningen, The Netherlands. "A significant proportion of asthma patients treated with ICS, as recommended in the guidelines, continue to experience symptoms that can impact their ability to lead a full life."
Despite current treatment options, at least 40 percent of patients with asthma remain symptomatic and may experience potentially life-threatening asthma exacerbations (attacks).
"We are committed to studying tiotropium across a wide range of asthma patients from mild to severe across all age groups, and we are encouraged by the results we have seen with tiotropium in asthma to date," said Tunde Otulana, MD, senior vice president, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "Results from the MezzoTinA-asthma® studies presented at ERS build on previous positive study results for tiotropium from the PrimoTinA-asthma® studies in patients with severe asthma. Collectively, these results show tiotropium, when approved, could become an important new option for asthma patients across a range of severities who remain symptomatic despite current standard treatments."
Key Results from the MezzoTinA-Asthma® Phase 3 Studies
The data are from a set of replicate Phase 3 studies; MezzoTinA-asthma® 1 and MezzoTinA-asthma® 2 are two paired international, double-blind, randomized, placebo- and active-controlled, parallel-group trials that involved asthma patients ages 18-75 years who remained symptomatic while on medium-dose ICS. A total of 2,103 patients were randomized to receive tiotropium 2.5 µg or 5 µg once daily delivered via the Respimat® inhaler, salmeterol 50 µg twice daily (as the active comparator), or placebo, for 24 weeks. Pre-specified co-primary endpoints were peak forced expiratory volume (FEV1)(0-3h) response and trough FEV1 response after 24 weeks. ACQ responder rate was the third co-primary endpoint, performed on the pooled MezzoTinA-asthma® results.
In the individual trials and the pooled analysis being presented at ERS, the mean change in peak FEV1at 24 weeks from baseline versus placebo was significantly improved for all three active treatments:
|MezzoTinA-asthma® 1
|MezzoTinA-asthma® 2
|Pooled Analysis
|Adjusted mean
difference from placebo
|Adjusted mean
difference from placebo
|Adjusted mean
difference from placebo
2.5 µg
|236 mL
|211 mL
|223 mL
5 µg
|198 mL
|169 mL
|185 mL
50 µg
|213 mL
|176 mL
|196 mL
Additionally, the mean change in trough FEV1 at 24 weeks from baseline versus placebo in the individual trials, as well as in the pooled data being presented at ERS, was significantly improved for all three active treatments:
|MezzoTinA-asthma® 1
|MezzoTinA-asthma® 2
|Pooled Analysis
|Adjusted mean
trough FEV1
difference from
|Adjusted mean
trough FEV1
difference from
|Adjusted mean
trough FEV1
difference from
2.5 µg
|185 mL
|176 mL
|180 mL
5 µg
|152 mL
|133 mL
|146 mL
50 µg
|123 mL
|106 mL
|114 mL
To characterize the treatment response as ≥ 0.5, measured by the ACQ, treatment with tiotropium (either 2.5 μg or 5 μg) resulted in a statistically significant improvement in the ACQ responder rate at 24 weeks compared with placebo and comparable to that of salmeterol. ACQ responder rates, performed on the pooled MezzoTinA-asthma results, were as follows:
- Placebo: 57.7 percent (n=299/518)
- Tiotropium 2.5 μg once daily: 64.5 percent (n=332/515; P = 0.03)
- Tiotropium 5 μg once daily: 64.3 percent (n=330/513; P = 0.03)
- Salmeterol 50 μg twice daily: 66.5 percent (n=356/535; P = 0.004)
Patients in the MezzoTinA-asthma® studies were permitted to receive additional background therapy, including antihistamines, nasal steroids and leukotriene modifiers. Long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) were not permitted during the study (salmeterol was included as an active comparator for the trial).
Adverse events were balanced across the four treatment groups in the pooled analysis with 58.2 percent of patients receiving tiotropium 2.5 μg once daily reporting an adverse event compared to 57.3 percent of patients in the tiotropium 5 μg once daily group, 54.3 percent of patients who received salmeterol 50 μg twice daily and 59.1 percent of patients receiving placebo. The most commonly reported adverse events* were asthma, peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate decreased, nasopharyngitis and upper respiratory tract infection.
About the UniTinA-Asthma® Clinical Trial Program
The MezzoTinA-asthma® studies are a part of the comprehensive Phase 3 trial program, UniTinA-asthma®, which includes a number of clinical trials in adults, adolescents and pediatric patients across different asthma severities who remain symptomatic on current treatment with ICS. The program includes over 4,000 patients in more than 150 sites globally. Results from the PrimoTinA-asthma® studies in severe asthma patients, part of the UniTinA-asthma® program, were presented at the 2012 ERS Congress in Vienna, Austria, with additional sub-analyses presented at the 2013 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference.
About Asthma
Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction. When a person with asthma comes into contact with an asthma trigger (e.g. infections, pollen, smoke), their airways can become inflamed, swollen and constricted and excess mucus is produced. These reactions can cause the airways to become narrower and irritated, making it difficult to breathe. People suffering from asthma experience recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing. Asthma attacks occur when symptoms become more intense or frequent.
As of December 2012, an estimated 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma. Estimates have shown that the number of people with asthma could grow by an additional 100 million people worldwide by 2025.
By avoiding asthma triggers, one can help to reduce the severity of asthma. Although asthma cannot be cured, appropriate management can control the disease in many patients. However, at least 40 percent of patients still suffer from uncontrolled asthma and may experience life-threatening asthma exacerbations despite the available treatment options. They can continue to have symptoms and lifestyle restrictions and might even require emergency care.
Leading Respiratory Forward
Through research, treatments and patient-centric support services, the Boehringer Ingelheim lung health portfolio is designed to help address the challenges people living with a lung disease face every day. Leveraging the company's cutting edge science and leadership in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Boehringer Ingelheim is researching new treatment approaches where needs persist. It is the company's goal to make a difference in the lives of patients with COPD, asthma, lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other respiratory diseases.
About Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation (Ridgefield, CT) and a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies.
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 140 affiliates and more than 46,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
As a central element of its culture, Boehringer Ingelheim has a demonstrated commitment to corporate social responsibility. Involvement in social projects, caring for employees and their families, and providing equal opportunities for all employees form the foundation of the global operations. Mutual cooperation and respect, as well as environmental protection and sustainability are intrinsic factors in all of Boehringer Ingelheim's endeavors.
In 2012, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about $19.1 billion (14.7 billion euro). R&D expenditure in the business area Prescription Medicines corresponds to 22.5% of its net sales.
For more information please visit www.us.boehringer-ingelheim.com
*Adverse events reported by Preferred Term; MedDRA v 15.1 was used


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SRAM has issued a not-recall for their 10-speed chains.
Say What?
According to Bikebiz.com, SRAM has issued a voluntary product recall for 10-speed Powerlock chains that are date coded "M" or "N," but then the company stressed that the recall is not actually a recall, but you should still stop using it immediately.
We're actually always happy when a company pulls something from service when it might fail, and we know that a full recall has some very specific language and legal requirements. But still, when you're supposed to immediately stop riding something because it might cause injury or death, I think we can safely treat it as a recall.


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Mayor Don Wesely is inviting everyone in the Lincoln area to the city's annual Fourth of July celebration at Holmes Lake. A day full of activities, food and music for all ages will culminate with the traditional fireworks display set to music.
"With the renewed sense of patriotism that our country has experienced this year, this will be a very special Independence Day celebration," said Wesely. "We're happy to again be partnering with the Lincoln Jaycees to help make Holmes Lake the perfect setting for family and friends to gather and celebrate our nation's freedom."
Pepsi-Cola is a major sponsor for the event. Zambelli Internationale will present the fireworks display at 10 p.m., with the accompanying music broadcast on KTGL-FM, 92.9 The Eagle. The Eagle is the official radio station for the Fourth of July celebration, and the station will broadcast live during the celebration from Holmes Lake near the old marina.
StarTran will again provide free public shuttle bus service from 3 to 11 p.m. between Seacrest Field (72nd and "A"streets) and Holmes Park (Normal and Van Dorn intersection). The last bus will leave Seacrest for Holmes Lake at 8:15 p.m. Handi-Van service is also available for eligible individuals, and reservations should be made through StarTran at 441-7109. For those unable to make it to Holmes Park, 5 CITY-TV, Time Warner Cable channel 5, will carry the fireworks display live.
Six bands will perform throughout the day and evening in lot #3. Bands performing from 9:30 a.m. through approximately 9:45 p.m. are, in order, Paisty Jenny, Kick the Dog, Victims, Wishpool, Bossphilly and Three Day Meat Sale.
A variety of food will be available at lot #4 on the north shore throughout the day. The Jaycees will operate an information booth near the old marina, and the Red Cross will have first aid available.
Other events include:
Fireworks other than those used in the Zambelli show are prohibited in the park. Alcohol is also prohibited. All pets are required to wear a leash while in the park. Citizens are discouraged from bringing pets to the park during the fireworks display.
In case of bad weather, the fireworks display will occur on July 5th at Holmes Lake beginning at dusk. No other events would be rescheduled to the 5th.
click to view larger map
Media Release


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Students at Religious Schools More Likely to Perform Community Service (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999)
Religious and Character Development
Holy Cross Academy is a community of faith where each child is respected and treated as a beloved child of God. Our students are given a solid foundation in Catholic teaching and tradition which in turn provides a distinctive moral vision for the world. The substance and quality of religious education and the daily formation provide an environment that bridges religion and spirituality. Curiosity is encouraged, so that our students can learn to see the world through the eyes of God and see each other through the eyes of God.
Prayer is integrated throughout the daily student life. Generally students attend and plan weekly or bi-weekly Masses. These liturgical experiences teach our students to be confident and courageous by engaging them as active participants in the Mass, and sharing and developing their particular talents as readers, servers or musicians; some as early as kindergarten. It is said that "the way we pray is the way we believe," or we could say "the way we pray shapes the way we live our beliefs" our students are formed through the core liturgical experiences within our schools. Our families are also welcomed and encouraged to participate with the school community celebration of Mass.
While students can learn about the heroes of history in our classrooms, our distinctive religious identity allows us to also teach our children about the Community of Saints, the heroes of our Catholic faith. The heroes of faith serve to teach our students the lived experience of our Catholic tradition throughout history, allowing the saints to become formative models in the practice of virtue and the call to holiness.
Service projects allow our students to focus on the interrelationship of loving God and loving our neighbor, by serving others in our surrounding community. Our young people begin to understand the meaning of community life, interdependence and commitment, and service for others while being challenged to think critically for real-life problem solving. Learning the language of faith and its application within a variety of service learning experiences expands the meaning and relevance of Christian living for our students.


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Before her trial even concluded, Alec Baldwin's accused stalker was ordered to jail for 30 days Wednesday after a series of courtroom outbursts got her declared in contempt of court.
After Genevieve Sabourin's days of sobs, gasps, remarks and interruptions continued during some legal arguments Wednesday, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Robert Mandelbaum told her, "That's it." He found her in contempt and issued the punishment, which means she'll spend in jail while the trial continues.
Mandelbaum had warned Sabourin he might do so if she didn't stop speaking out during the proceedings. He's hearing the case without a jury.
Sabourin greeted the development with a soliloquy about the strain of the trial and the pain of hearing what she says are false allegations, calling herself "a person who is totally exhausted, humiliated, beat up, destroyed, alone."
"My life is shattered in pieces," Sabourin said.
Sabourin, 41, a Canadian publicist and actress, met Baldwin in 2000 during the filming of the sci-fi comedy "The Adventures of Pluto Nash." He had a cameo, and she was a publicist.
The two had dinner together in New York in 2010, both sides say.
Baldwin and prosecutors say she then conducted a campaign of harassment that escalated from phone calls and emails to showing up uninvited at his homes.
"It was nightmarish," Baldwin, 55, testified Tuesday. He likened the situation to an Alfred Hitchcock production.
Baldwin "became very flirtatious" at their first meeting in 2000 and invited her to visit him at his Hamptons home, Sabourin said as her testimony began Wednesday. She says the two had a sexual and romantic relationship, which Baldwin denied on the witness stand.
Meanwhile, another Hollywood figure became an issue in the case: "Scarface" and "Dog Day Afternoon" producer Martin Bregman, who was also a producer of "Pluto Nash."
Baldwin testified that Sabourin was Bregman's mistress and that Bregman asked the actor to give her advice. The married Bregman, however, later said by phone that he "never had an affair with her" and was shocked that Baldwin had said otherwise. Sabourin also says she and Bregman weren't romantically involved.
Bregman told The Associated Press on Tuesday he thought Baldwin had found Sabourin attractive, but "I don't know if anything happened between the two of them."
Prosecutors included Bregman on their list of potential witnesses but didn't call him because he told them "he had little to say about this incident," Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Zachary Stendig said Wednesday.
But Mandelbaum agreed to what's called a "missing witness" instruction, allowing him to infer that Bregman's testimony wouldn't have been favorable to the prosecution.
Bregman isn't expected to testify for the defense, either.


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Angels' Shuck recognized for defensive work
ANAHEIM -- Left fielder J.B. Shuck was named the Angels' winner for the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award on Thursday.
Shuck probably turned in the best catch of the year, helping his case for the award.
ANAHEIM -- Left fielder J.B. Shuck was named the Angels' winner for the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award on Thursday.
Shuck probably turned in the best catch of the year, helping his case for the award.
On Aug. 2 at Angel Stadium, he ranged back to the short wall near the left-field foul pole, timed his jump perfectly, ranged full extension, fell into the stands and came away with the catch that robbed Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista of a home run and instantly went viral.
Afterwards, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said: "I don't know if you're going to see a better play than that."
Peter Bourjos and Mike Trout -- and Josh Hamilton, too, for that matter -- probably rate as better defensive outfielders, but Bourjos played in only 55 games and Trout's defensive metrics actually dropped this season, going from a total Ultimate Zone Rating of 13.3 to 4.4.
Shuck's UZR in left field was minus-4.4, but he apparently gained a lot of points for turning in one of the most improbable plays of 2013.
Wilson began the awards last season and said through a press release that winners "are determined by using a formula that balances scouting information, sabermetric analysis and basic fielding statistics."
Last year, Trout and then-Braves center fielder Michael Bourn were named the defensive players of the year for each league and the Braves were the best defensive team in baseball. This year, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia won for the American League and D-backs outfielder Gerardo Parra won for the National League. The Orioles and Royals were the best defensive teams in the AL and the D-backs won in the NL.
Shuck wasn't named a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year Award -- falling behind the Rays' Chris Archer and Wil Myers, as well as the Tigers' Jose Iglesias -- but turned in a very solid season after being released by the Astros, batting .293 with a .331 on-base percentage while staying consistent throughout the year.
"For me, it was more of a learning thing," Shuck said of what he's most proud of in 2013. "The best part of it was learning how to be up here every day. … Getting to be around this clubhouse, you learn quite a bit. There's some guys in here that have some descent years in already. And just to learn from those guys has been the best thing for me."
The GIBBYs trophy for Defensive Player of the Year will be awarded as part of the 2013 Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards, which are based on voting by media, front-office personnel, MLB alumni and the Society for American Baseball Research, as well as fan balloting on MLB.com.
Through Sunday, Dec. 1, fans will be able to cast their ballots at MLB.com for the year's top defensive star, with no individual league affiliation.
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Gonzo and "The Show", and follow him on Twitter @Alden_Gonzalez.


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Breaking News Emails
And what a year it was.
Old names returned amid new peccadilloes (here's looking at you, Carlos Danger), while an obscure government contractor took to the international stage propelled by shocking revelations about the extent of government snooping. Canadians everywhere turned red at crack-smoking Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's antics, Lance Armstrong fessed up, and suddenly everyone was twerking like they were in a non-stop 'Harlem Shake' video.
Here's our rogues gallery for 2013:The football girlfriend who wasn'tNotre Dame football player and Heisman runner-up Manti Te'o was known mostly for two things in the sports community until this year: His performance as a member of the Fighting Irish's storied squad, and the heartbreaking tale of his girlfriend who had died from leukemia. That was until the sports website Deadspin broke the news that Lennay Kekua, the linebacker's girlfriend about whom he had spoken about emotionally on numerous occasions, was an elaborate online hoax that allegedly began in 2009. Te'o had been expected to crack the top 10 draft picks, but when April rolled around, the first round passed without any team tapping the linebacker, likely costing him millions in pay and endorsements. After being selected in the second round, Te'o ended the year playing middle linebacker with the San Diego Chargers.
Lance Armstrong comes cleanStripped of his seven Tour de France titles in 2012 after years of denying that he used performance-enhancing drugs, cyclist Lance Armstrong finally admitted to doping in a 2.5 hour interview with Oprah in January. The tell-all left some in the sports community shocked, while for others it was a mea culpa long overdue. Armstrong had made his name whipping past other competitors with an ease that made his bicycle appear to be part of his body, but it was battle with testicular cancer and the Livestrong foundation he founded that brought him widespread appeal. Armstrong stepped away from his role in the organization amid doping allegations in 2012.
The man who would be mayorHe was going to be the comeback kid. Or something. After resigning from Congress in disgrace in 2011, Brooklyn's own Anthony Weiner launched an earnest – if altogether quixotic – bid to succeed billionaire Michael Bloomberg at Gotham's helm. Whatever cred Weiner and long-suffering wife Huma Abedin had going into the race pretty much went poof after a young woman with the better-than-fiction name Sydney Leathers posted anonymously on gossip website The Dirty that she and Weiner, under the name Carlos Danger, had an online liaison after he resigned. Weiner ultimately lost the race for City Hall to Bill de Blasio – but not before flipping a reporter the bird at his concession speech.
Paula Deen: The fall of a fried and buttered empireThe queen of down-home celebrity cooking watched her empire crumble like a poorly made pecan pie this year after a deposition emerged in which Deen admitted using the N-word and planning a "plantation-style" wedding. All claims in the lawsuit were dismissed in August, but not before companies including Walgreens, the Food Network, and Smithfield Foods cut ties with the popular cook. "While this has been a difficult time for both my family and myself, I am pleased that the judge dismissed the race claims and I am looking forward to getting this behind me, now that the remaining claims have been resolved," Deen said in a statement to TODAY after the claims were dismissed.
The NSA: We're not spying on you – reallyAmerican citizens took a sideways glance at their smartphones and wondered what National Security Agency analysts might find among their Google searches after a then 29-year-old, born and raised in North Carolina, left behind his girlfriend, a secret government contracting job, and home in Hawaii to blow the lid off massive U.S. intelligence programs. The international hunt to track down whistleblower Edward Snowden hopped across continents, with the bespectacled document leaker finally turning up in Vladimir Putin's Russia, while back in the States he was charged with espionage and felony theft of government property.
"I am not trying to bring down the NSA, I am working to improve the NSA," Snowden told the Washington Post on Dec. 23. "I am still working for the NSA right now. They are the only ones who don't realize it."
The shame of CanadaTo many Americans, their neighbor to the north seems like a peaceable land where front doors are left unlocked, bacon is ovoid, and hockey season never ends. That placid image was shattered this fall when the world learned that their politicians can be just as crazy as those in Washington. Ruddy and a bit on the egg-shaped side himself, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was accused of, denied, and finally admitted to smoking crack. That was only the beginning. After owning up to smoking crack cocaine in one of his "drunken stupors" and refusing to resign, Ford reiterated that he was not an addict even as he went on to bowl over a female city councilor, admit drunk driving, and have his powers stripped away.
Miley CyrusWhat does a girl have to do to show she's not a Disney confection anymore? Chop off her hair, then reference the party drug Molly and bounce with cartoon bears in a diaper-like costume on national television? Stick out her tongue while dancing all up on 'Blurred Lines' singer Robin Thicke? All of the above? Miley Cyrus did all this and more in 2013, then proceeded to light up what MTV reported was a marijuana joint at the MTV European Music Awards in Amsterdam. In a tough field this year with Kanye West and Justin Bieber also vying for the crown, Cyrus was arguably the most gleefully scandalous pop star of 2013.


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Our Fitness Blog
Can a busy mom stay in shape?
It's important first to know, you CAN have a great body after kids. The whole myth that you have to accept a less than desirable figure after baby is so 1975! Throw that idea out, along with the polyester of the past! The trick is, knowing exactly what to do with your precious time in order to maximize efforts into actual RESULTS! Want to know the secret?
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With the flexibility of a circuit workout, I can work out whenever I happen to get those few precious moments. I pop in 9Round, and a trainer gets me in the circuit fast. I do 9 quick stations and leave pouring sweat! In that quick 30 minutes I know I toned my legs, butt, abs and arms. It's a total body tone with fat melting results. I heart 9Round and just can't live without it!


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ACT BM2-HDMM Heavy Duty Pressure Plate w/ Modified Street 02-08 Mini Cooper S
This Performance Race Kit features ACT's most popular Heavy Duty Pressure plate. ACT Heavy Duty pressure plates use exclusive diaphragm design to increase clamp load, reduce deflection and maximize clutch life. All diaphragms endure an exclusive four-stage, heat-treating process for unparalleled performance. ACT pressure plates have precision cover stampings to provide rigidity and consistency. ACT Modified Sprung Street discs feature premium organic friction material with higher copper content for better heat transfer and steel-backed lining for greater burst strength and durability. These discs are modified with reduced marcel for faster shift action to complement ACT pressure plates. The heavy duty torsional dampening springs are stronger in most cases than standard springs and are provided in the best sizes and spring rates to suit the application. Modified Street discs allow for quicker shifting and engagement. Quiet operation with increased strength and reliability.


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Jay-Z Performing "Wonderwall" Live At Glastonbury! (Taking Shots @ Noel Gallagher & Critics Who Said Hip Hop Don't Belong In Glastonbury
Heres the story Noel Gallagher of Oasis said that hip hop didn't belong at Glasonbury so Jay dissed him by singing Oasis most famous song Wonderwall.
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