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Overview: After Jack is joined by a group of different animals, they find their refuge in a robbers' den, chase the robbers away, and in most versions find the robbers' hidden fortune. Jack's reasons for running away vary, and in some Appalachian variants, there are no animals. In the famous German tale, "The Bremen Town Musicians," the animals do not have a human leader like Jack as they do in the British Isles and America..
See also Study Guides for Jack Tale Players Jack and the Robbers.
Chase, Richard. "Jack and the Robbers." The Jack Tales. Boston: Houghton, 1943, pp. 40-46. With two drawings by Berkeley Williams, Jr., including a dramatic full-page night-time scene of a robber flying over the fence after encountering the ox. Chase's sources were R. M. Ward of Beech Mountain, NC and Elisha Rasnick, Wise Co., VA. Chase's notes say, "Mr. Rasnik called the tale 'Jack and the Rogues.' The bull is from his version which also had a swarm of bees and a flock of geese" (p. 191). He also lists variants of tale type 130, The Animals in Night Quarters.
Stephenson, R. Rex. "Jack and the Robbers." The Jack Tales. Schulenburg, TX: I. E. Clark, 1991. Reprint Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing. Story theatre dramatization, as performed by The Ferrum Jack Tale Players. Jack leaves home because he disobeys his parents and is punished. Children especially enjoy the performances of the old ox, donkey, coon dog(s), cat(s), and rooster, who say they are "not so good" because they are worn out and their masters want to get rid of them, so they run away with Jack. The robber who returns at midnight is amusing in his stupidity as he looks for a light and mistakes the animals for men with weapons. Although he and his animal friends find the robbers' gold, Jack returns home and chops kindling wood for his parents at the end.
After many performances, the Jack Tale Players help children from the audience act out a brief version of the tale, as in the 30th anniversary performance at right, at Callaway, VA Elementary School, Dec. 12, 2005. In the photo at left, Rex Stephenson and Thomas Townsend perform with children in Woodstock, GA. On Dec. 2, 2011, children in Rocky Mount, VA joined in at an outdoor performance (Franklin News Post photo at this link). More at Study Guides for Jack Tale Players.
Stephenson, R. Rex. "The Jack Tales." In Eight Plays for Youth: Varied Theatrical Experiences for Stage and Study, edited by Christian H. Moe and R. Eugene Jackson. American University Studies Series XXVI: Theatre Arts. Vol. 8. New York: Peter Lang, 1991. Includes three tales by Stephenson with background on Jack Tales and story theatre: "Jack and the Robbers," "Jack and the Three Giants," and "Greasy-Beard."
Emily Rose Tucker plays Jack with his animal helpers at Ferrum College in 2007.
Children's responses to Stephenson's version of this tale are displayed at Appalachian Storytelling Event. Appalachian Studies Program. Virginia Tech, 2013. On June 24, 2013, children made quilt squares and recorded their own audio stories or responses to Jack Tales after seeing Stephenson and Emily Blankenship-Tucker tell stories (photos of storytellers at this link). Some of the children added another animal into "Jack and the Robbers," such as an owl that is stuck in its nest and then after Jack helps it out, the owl helps Jack scare the robbers. One child imagined Jack living in the robber's house and another mansion until he was 111 years old!
"Jack Goes to Seek His Fortune." Full text in AppLit. James Taylor Adams Collection, JTA-71. Virginia folklorist James Taylor Adams wrote that this tale from his father was the first one he set down. Several versions are published in Perdue, Charles L., Jr., ed. Outwitting the Devil: JACK TALES from Wise County Virginia. Santa Fe, NM: Ancient City, 1987. In the one Adams collected from Lenore Corene Kilgore in 1940, reprinted in this web site, Jack leaves home because his mother is dead and he has a mean stepmother; he marries at the end after he and the animals find the robbers' gold. It is also reprinted in Smith, Jimmy Neil, ed. Why the Possum's Tail is Bare and Other Classic Southern Stories. New York: Avon, 1993. pp. 176-70. Perdue identifies it as type 130, "The Animals in Night Quarters." Another version of "Jack Goes to Seek His Fortune" and one called "Jack and the Robbers" (also collected by Adams in 1940-41) are a different story about Jack fending off some robbers while taking shelter in a strange home or mill (pp. 60-62). James Taylor Adams Collection (Folder Tales IV, in notes called "Folk Tales of the Cumberlands").
"Jack and the Robbers." Full text in AppLit. James Taylor Adams Collection, JTA-74. This short tale is quite different from others with this title, since there are no animal companions. Jack finds a fortune rather easily when he has to sleep in a mill and scares away robbers by knocking down the hopper in which he has been lying. It is also published in Perdue, Charles L., Jr., ed. Outwitting the Devil: JACK TALES from Wise County Virginia. Santa Fe, NM: Ancient City, 1987, pp. 61-62. Perdue identifies it as type 1653, "The Robbers Under the Tree."
"Jack and the Robbers." In Hicks, Orville, and Julia Taylor Ebel. Jack Tales and Mountain Yarns, As Told By Orville Hicks. Illus. Sherry Jenkins Jensen. Boone, NC: Parkway Publishers, 2009. Afterword by Thomas McGowan. pp. 38-47. This book contains discussion of Jack and the Hicks storytellers by Orville Hicks, Ebel, and McGowan.
Davis, Donald. Jack and the Animals: An Appalachian Folktale. Illus. Kitty Harvill. Little Rock: August House Little Folk, 1995. This one is similar to "How Jack Went to Seek his Fortune" (in Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales, 1898) more than "The Bremen Town Musicians" or other Appalachian versions, because no motive is given for Jack and five elderly animals to leave their homes. Jack is simply going to seek his fortune, not escaping punishment resulting from his own negligence or his brothers betrayal, as in Hicks picture book and other variants. The motivation of the animals is also weakened, since they dont say that their masters want to destroy them or even get rid of them for being too old to work. At the end, Davis brings in the sheriff to assure Jack he can keep the treasures of the robbers they have scared away.
Jack and the Animals. Told by Donald Davis in Grandmas Lap Stories. Audio cassette. Little Rock, AR: August House Audio, 1995.
"Jack Seeks his Fortune" (10 min., 28 sec.) Told by Donald Davis in Storytelling the National Festival. Side 2 (of 2 LPs, c. 95 min.). Jonesborough, Tenn.: National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling, 1983. Also in 2 Audio cassettes (116 min.).
Van Laan, Nancy. "Jack Runs Off." With a Whoop and a Holler: A Bushel of Lore from Way Down South. Illus. Scott Cook. New York: Atheneum, 1998. Jack gets a whoopin' for not doing his chores. He runs off with a group of animals that are too old to be useful. They all ride on the donkey at night. After scaring away the robbers, Jack and the animals stay in the house, where "they are still havin' themselves a grand ol' time!" Retold from "Jack and the Robbers," one of the oral Jack Tales of Maud Long recorded at the Library of Congress in 1947. Cook's wacky illustrations show the frightened robber and carousing heroes. A map shows where the tales originate in different Southern regions, including the mountains. The amusing illustrations depict quirky human and animal characters in earth tones. For other details about this book, see Appalachian Folktales in General Collections.
Hicks, Ray and Lynn Salsi. Jack and the Robbers. The Jack Tales. New York: Calloway, 2000. Links between this tale and famous illustrations of The Bremen Town Musicians are dramatically suggested in Owen Smith's tall, full-page color illustration of Jack and two animals riding on the donkey. This version begins with Jack's brothers getting him in trouble by claiming he has been picking on them, so he is angry at being the one to get punished for fighting and he runs away.
Jack and the Robbers. Told by Ray Hicks on CD in The Jack Tales, 2000. The oral version is not identical to the edited text in the book.
Hicks, Ray. "Jack and the Robbers." Recorded 1951. In "Ray Hicks." American Folktales: From the Collections of the Library of Congress. Ed. Carl Lindahl. Vol. 1. Armonk NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2004, pp. 134-38. Also includes "The Unicorn and the Wild Boar," "The Witch Woman on the Stone Mountain on the Tennessee Side," "Grinding at the Mill" (a Jack tale also called "Sop Doll"), Mule Eggs." With photographs of Ray Hicks.
Hicks, Orville. "Jack and the Robbers." Full text in Orville Hicks Official Website. See also AppLit's Ray and Orville Hicks, Storytellers of North Carolina. Jack leaves home because his father beats him for being lazy, and the animals he meets are in danger of being destroyed.
Hicks, Ray and Luke Borrow. Jack and the Robbers. Videocassette (20 minutes). Appalachian Storyteller Ray Hicks Series. Part 4. Derry, NH: Chip Taylor Communications, 1997. Produced by Luke Barrow, Fandangle Films. Based on Richard Chase's The Jack Tales.
"Jack and the Robbers." Told by Richard Chase in Richard Chase Tells Three "Jack" Tales from the Southern Appalachians. LP. Sharon, Conn: Folk-Legacy Records, 1962.
Torrence, Jackie. "Jack Runs Away from Home with a Gang of Talking Animals." In More Jack Tales. Audiobook on tape. Columbia, MO: Nita, 1980. Also includes "Jack is Young," "Jack is Old," "Jack Captures the Death Angel," "Jack is Magical," "Jack is Lazy."
"Jack and the Robbers." In Kindt, Carol Lee and Linda Rockwell High. Once Upon a Mountain Tale: Eight Jack and Grandfather Tales. Lakeland, TN: Memphis Musicraft Publications, 1995. Accompanied by music and drawings with which children can make puppets and backdrops.
Jack and the Robbers. Costa Mesa, CA: Pied Piper Productions, 1987. Dramatizes a folktale about a lazy man who lives in the Appalachian Mountains and adopts five downhearted animals. Describes their rollicking encounter with a band of fierce robbers.
Pica, Tony. Tradition Will Never Die. One-man show on Richard Chase, written and performed by Ferrum College drama senior Tony Pica. Includes a retelling of "Jack and the Robbers," and a depiction of Marshall Ward as an off-stage character introducing Chase to the Jack Tales. Directed by R. Rex Stephenson. Feb. 2003.
"Jack and the Animals/Jack dap Swa'hol Wowe." In Corn Mountain/Pine Mountain: Following the Seasons. Script by Arden Kucate and Edward Wemptewa of Idiwanan An Chawe and Donna Porterfield and Ron Short of Roadside Theater. Original music by Ron Short. Directed by Dudley Cocke. This tale is about Jack winning the hand of a princess and teaching her to talk to animals. Jack's animal friends insist on following him to try for the princess; on the journey he rescues some drowning kittens and a toad-frog being tormented by boys. Because Jack can talk to animals, he rids the king's village of the wild Zuni dogs left by an angry witch, the kittens help him get rid of rats, and the frog helps turn the wart-covered princess into a beauty. Two fleas help him answer a question about the color of the princess's hair. This tale within the play ends by noting that "you don't have to be rich to be smart.... You don't even have to be smart to be rich.... And the most important language of all...is the language of the heart" (p. 90). Script published in English and Zuni in Journeys Home: Revealing a Zuni-Appalachia Collaboration. Ed. Dudley Cocke and Edward Wemytewa. Zuni, NM: Zuni A:shiwi Publishing, 2002. Foreword by Gregory Cajete. From the Publisher: "The story of the sixteen-year collaboration between artists from two of the United States' most traditional cultures, and the bilingual play they made together." Kentucky's Roadside Theater collaborated with Zuni Pueblo's Idiwanan An Chawe (Children of the Middle Place), the first Zuni language theater, in western New Mexico. Their play, which toured nationally, is included in the book. It combines "traditional and original stories, oral histories, humor, music, and dance to celebrate and comment upon two agricultural ways of life that once provided physical and spiritual sustenance for people in Zuni and Appalachia. . . . The Zuni writing in Journeys Home is the most inclusive example of written Zuni extant, and the book, with the accompanying CD, will become a primary text for teaching written Zuni."
"Jack and the Robbers." Photos at this link from Facebook page of Jack Tales Storytelling Theater of the Smoky Mountains. In this version, Jack sets off for Nashville to become a country singer at the Grand Ole Opry. Aslo a video titled "Jack and the Royal Robbers" from July 2009. "Jack Tales Storytelling Theater of the Smoky Mountains originated at Clear Creek Campground in 1987." Facebook pages include photos and videos from a variety of tales. "Jack Tales Storytelling Theater is performed at Jack's Playhouse, located in the Adventure Bound Camping Resort (also known as Crazy Horse Campground), Highway 321, between Cosby and Gatlinburg, Tennessee" (accessed 5/1/10).
Related Appalachian Tales:
"The Animals and the Robbers." In Roberts, Leonard. South From Hell-fer-Sartin': Kentucky Mountain Folk Tales. U of KY Press, 1955. Rpt. Berea, KY: The Council of the Southern Mountains, 1964. As in "The Bremen Town Musicians," there is no Jack or any man, just a group of old animals who run away from threats of death and scare away robbers by climbing on top of each other and making noise. The robber who goes back in the house thinks the rooster says, "Cock-a-doodle-do/Let me kick him too."
"The Traveling Animals." In Roberts, Leonard. Old Greasybeard: Tales From the Cumberland Gap. Illus. Leonard Epstein. Detroit: Folklore Associates, 1969. Rpt. Pikeville, KY: Pikeville College Press, 1980. pp. 28-31. An old mule, cat, dog and rooster scare robbers away by climbing on top of each other and yelling in the window (as in "The Bremen Town Musicians," see below). When one robber returns, he thinks he is attacked by fierce monsters as in "Jack and the Robbers." They keep the robbers' house and gold. A teacher wrote the tale down for Roberts.
"The Cat That Went A-Traveling." In Marie Campbell, Tales from the Cloud Walking Country (Indiana UP, 1958. Rpt. Athens: U of George Press, 2000), pp. 226-27. Collected by Campbell in Kentucky in the 1930s. A cat leads the group of animals instead of a man or boy. When an old woman says she'll kill her cat (which is bad luck), the cat gathers up her kittens and starts the journey, living off the robbers' money with the other animals in the end.
"The Fox and the Cat." Told by Dave Couch, Harlan County, KY. In Roberts, Leonard. I Bought Me a Dog: A Dozen Authentic Folktales from the Southern Mountains. Berea, KY: The Council of the Southern Mountains, 1954. This is a cumulative tale similar to "Henny-Penny" in which a hungry fox leads a growing group of animals, telling each one he is going off to seek his fortune. When it's time to eat. the fox gives them rhyming names such as "Henny Penny." The whole group agrees to his plan and eats the one he says has an ugly name, until only the fox and cat are left. Catty Latty and Foxy Loxy "fit and they fought" about who has the ugliest name until they eat each other up. Roberts notes that this is tale type 20, Animals Eat One Another Up, one of few tales descended from European Reynard the fox stories that appeared in Appalachia.
See also similar tales about Billy Bobtail:
Related Tales from Other Regions:
"How Jack Went to Seek his Fortune." In Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales, 1898. Jacobs found the tale in American Folk-Lore Journal, 1, which also contains a variant "probably derived from Grimm's 'Town Musicians of Bremen'." Jacobs also discusses Celtic sources (Dover edition, 1967, p. 235). Jacobs' version is reprinted online at Rick Walton, Children's Author: Classic Tales and Fables.
"How Jack Went Out to Seek his Fortune." Illustration at right by Arthur Rackham for Flora Annie Steel's English Folk Tales, Macmillan, 1918. Reproduced in Project Gutenberg with illustrations.
"Jack and His Comrades." In Joseph Jacobs, Celtic Fairy Tales, 1892. With a dramatic drawing of four animals on top of each other by John D. Batten. Reprinted in The Internet Sacred Text Archive. At the end, after Jack returns the stolen gold and silver to the Lord of Dunlavin, Jack is dressed as a gentleman and made steward, and brings his mother to live near the lord's castle. Jacobs' source is Kennedy's Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts.
The Grimm Brothers' German folktale "The Bremen Town Musicians," an 1884 translation of Grimms' 1857 version, with illustrations by different artists. Robert Godwin-Jones, 19th-Century German Stories. Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Foreign Languages, 1994-1999.
"The Bremen Town Musicians." Heidi Anne Heiner's annotated version of the Grimms' 1884 tale, with illustrations, parallel tales across cultures, modern interpretations, and reprints of Joseph Jacobs' "How Jack Sought his Fortune" and the Irish "Jack and His Comrades." Sur La Lune Fairy Tale Pages.
Animals in Exile, edited by D. L. Ashliman, gives notes and the texts of a number of variants of tale type 130 from the USA and Europewith or without Jack or another human hero. Tales reprinted include "The Bremen Town Musicians" from the Grimms' last (1857) edition, "Jack and His Comrades" from Ireland (from Joseph Jacobs, Celtic Fairy Tales. London: David Nutt, 1892), and several 19th-century American versions from New England and Ohio. Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts, edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman. University of Pittsburgh,1996-2005.
Photograph of bronze animals in Bremen, Germany (also shown in photograph above). "Town Musicians of Bremen." Wikipedia.org has background information and links to adaptations of the tale.
Grimms' Fairy Tales. National Geographic web site contains photographs, illustrations, audio, and 12 tales, including "The Bremen Town Musicians," based on a 1999 magazine article on the Grimm Brothers.
Price, Kathy. The Bourbon Street Musicians. Illus. Andrew Glass. Clarion, 2002. Picture book set in rural Louisiana and New Orleans, with "bluesy dialect" and comical illustrations. A mule is the leader of the animals in this adaptation of "The Bremen Town Musicians."
"Jack and His Companions." Jane Yolen's retelling of a nineteenth-century Irish tale collected by Patrick Kennedy. In Yolen's book Mightier than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys. Illus. Raul Colón. New York: Silent Whistle/Harcourt, 2003, pp. 56-63. Yolen notes that Jack is a good leader and organizer in this tale. He returns the robbers' loot to Lord Dunlavin, and is rewarded but not with marriage. He and his animal friends get prosperous posts at the castle. Jack's quest to find money for himself and his poor mother, and his care of his mother at the end, contrast with his antagonistic reasons for running away from home in some Appalachian tales.
Hispanic Connection:
"The Cat, the Cock, and the Lamb." In Cothran, Jean, ed. With a Wig, With a Wag, and Other American Folk Tales. Illus. Clifford N. Grady. New York: David McKay, 1954. pp. 49-53. From Spanish-speaking inhabitants of northern New Mexico, in the Rio Grande Valley, where Spanish tales have been told since the first visits of Spaniards to America after the conquest of Mexico. A free translation by Inez Symington of "El Gato, El Gallito y El Borreguito," reprinted from Memoirs of the American Folklore Society, 1937. A cat, cock and lamb run away from the old couple who love them after they eat the meat they are supposed to watch while the old couple are at church on fiesta day. To avoid being beaten, they flee and reach a wolves' cave. They scare away the wolves twice by falling out of a pine tree and other mishaps that make the wolves think they are men with sharp knives, a big head to butt them, and a loud voice to brag about hanging the wolves. The animals take the wolves' meat home to the old couple and they all start preparing happily for the next feast day. Cothran's book includes "Old Bluebeard" from the Southern Blue Ridge, collected by Isobel Gordon Carter. Tales from other regions also include "Rusty Jack" (see "Jack and the Bull"), "With a Wig, With a Wag" (similar to "Gallymanders"), and "Little Bear" (similar to "Mutsmag").
Links checked 11/5/05 | Top of Page | Last update: 8/4/13


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Not long ago, lawmakers were so piqued at France that they officially relabeled French fries as "freedom fries" in congressional cafeterias. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld designated France as part of an increasingly irrelevant "Old Europe" because of its insufficient enthusiasm for the 2003 Iraq invasion. The conservative National Review channeled Bart Simpson in deriding our erstwhile allies in Paris as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys."
What a difference a decade makes.
After Syrian President Bashar al-Ashad gassed more than a thousand people last week — the worst chemical-weapons atrocity in decades — French officials were the first to insist that continued Western inaction was unacceptable. Months earlier, France had teamed with Great Britain, its frequent partner in recent foreign policy assertiveness, to break the European Union's arms embargo on the Syrian rebels. (The British parliament voted yesterday not to intervene in Syria.) "France is ready to punish those who took the vile decision to gas innocent people," leftist French President Francoise Hollande said in a pugnacious speech this week.
This is beginning to look like a pattern. Last January, when al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and other jihadists joined with Tuareg rebels to seize two-thirds of Mali, France quickly dispatched 4,000 troops to its former colony. With a little help from the United States, they drove the Islamic extremists back into the hills and remote deserts of northern Mali. And in 2011, the French and British not only pressured NATO to intervene in Libya but also took charge of that operation. A French Mirage warplane spotted Muammar el-Qaddafi's convoy trying to leave the city of Sirte and dropped the bombs that halted the ex-leader's escape.
France has a limited sphere of influence, a number of special relationships in the Middle East and North Africa (because of its colonial history), and a narrow military capability to act on those interests, notes David Schenker, director of the program on Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "That has made France a real wild card in confronting recent crises in the region." But he also points out that "the French essentially shamed the United States into intervening in Libya."
What has gotten into France, which not so long ago seemed more interested in preserving the 35-hour workweek and criticizing American "hyper-power" than in playing an outsized role in world affairs? The simple answer: Paris sees a changing world. It is watching nervously as China ascends in the East and war-weary America increasingly withdraws in the West. As the only other NATO partners with nuclear arsenals and permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council, France and Great Britain have assumed a more prominent role in a Western alliance that both nations view as more critical than ever.
"We see the world becoming more multipolar, and as Asia continues to rise in power and influence, we believe the transatlantic partnership between Europe and America will become even more vitally important as the backbone of democracy and democratic values," says a senior French official who was not authorized to speak on the record. "Keeping that partnership strong will require more burden-sharing on the part of your European friends, which is why France and Great Britain together account for 60 percent of total military spending in the European Union."
In the past, France has insisted that only the U.N. Security Council can sanction military force, a position that protected its role as a permanent member but granted Russia and China veto power over collective Western action. Now French officials privately say they are willing to take part in military strikes against the Syrian regime even without Security Council backing. International legal legitimacy is still important, the senior official concedes, but Paris believes that two other provisions confer it in this case: the U.N. resolution on the "responsibility to protect" civilians from mass murder, and the prohibitions in international law against the use of weapons of mass destruction. "Democracies are strongest when our realpolitik interests and our values align," the official says. "That was the case when we acted together to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo two decades ago, and it's the case today in Syria where chemical weapons are being used on a massive scale to murder civilians in a civil war that is destabilizing the entire region."
Skeptics say that despite spending more on defense than all their European neighbors combined, France and Great Britain still have cut defense budgets so deeply that they'll have to share a single aircraft carrier. "There's no question that Paris has become more outspoken, and because it has political will, France still matters militarily, up to a point," says Ivo Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and, until recently, the U.S. ambassador to NATO. But even for relatively limited deployments in Libya and Mali, he notes, France needed significant U.S. military backing for airlift, intelligence collection, and precision-strike weapons. "And that will almost certainly prove the case once again if it comes to a military strike on Syria," Daalder says.
Yet France's contribution to the alliance shouldn't be judged by how many bullets and bombs it can pledge. After a decade of war, a global recession, and years of paralyzing budget battles, the political will to continue playing the global role of "indispensable nation" is precisely what is lacking in Washington. With the West's standard-bearer so strained, Paris is reaching out a hand to share the burden. It's what real allies do.

subset: commoncrawl


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Posted Thu September 24th, 2009 - 01:53 PM PDT
He's no Rob Pattinson, but he'll do! Stephen Moyer and his True Blood co-star Anna Paquin attended a charity event last night at LA Dogworks. Talk about puppy love!
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There was a whole lot of Turkey going on in Grapevine, Texas yesterday!
Our event was sponsored by the Bear Creek Quilt and was full to the brim with 47 quilters from all over the area.
This was my third trip back to Texas in just as many months –January, February and now April.
If you are going to visit Texas, APRIL can't be beat. Bluebonnets, Tex-Mex & BBQ!
((And friends, and antique malls!))
Sunshine and gentle breezes.
April in Texas is wonderful!
We filled this scrappy day FULL UP!
You will find the pattern for Talkin' Turkey in my book String Fling. Head on over to the Quiltville Store to get your signed copy!
The rest of our photos are in the fun slide show below – Enjoy!
There are more show & Share photos of all the quilts from the guild meeting and workshop to come.
This morning I am headed over to Mineola – I've got Irene and Sherry with me, and you can bet there will be some antique stop & shop along our way.
Two days of workshops at Stitchin' Heaven ahead!


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John Royle needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 216 designs submitted by 45 freelance designers.
We are Glanton Solutions Ltd (glanton.com).
We provide corporate web services including a content management system called WebAdvantage.
Corporations looking for Internet or Intranet solutions.
We want a logo for or main product/service WebAdvantage.
WebAdvantage is an easy to use Content Management system for building websites. It is feature rich and produces professional results without using expensive third parties or experts.
The logo is a registered trademark so need to include the superscripted ® symbol. Note, the trademark has no spaces and a capitalised 'W' and 'A' it's important that that is reflected.
Our main palette is Primary red, Black, White, Grey. But it's not restricted to these although we'd like some use of the red. The font we use for our corporate logo is 'Bailey Sans ITC' again the logo doesn't have to use this but should be compatible.
The logo will be reproduced in a number of sizes both on the web and in electronic and printed documents so don't go overboard on colour, shading or graduated tones.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Transcript Turn Conversations Into Clients
Paperback, 49 Pages
Price: $14.97
Prints in 3-5 business days
This is an intro to what I like to call "Turn Conversations Into Clients" and essentially it's how to talk about your business and what you do in a way that's engaging ...And conversational... And NO pressure. And you do it in such a way that if the person you're speaking to is in your target market, or knows someone in your target market, they know how you can help them. The ultimate goal of this and what you want to have happen is, if they're in your target market for them to be so engaged with how you can serve them that they say "That's Me!" "I Need That!" "Tell Me More." And if they're not in your target market, they don't feel like they've been "sold to" or "prospected" in any way. The conversation just moves on naturally, as it would have anyway if you had just responded with your job title…
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Product Details
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- May 4, 2010
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CHICAGO ( TheStreet) -- Shares in Boeing ( BA) were falling Friday as the Federal Aviation Administration prepared to review the design, manufacture and assembly of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, FAA administrator Michael Huerta and Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner announced the review at 9:30 a.m. EST Friday, as the markets opened. Shortly after the opening, shares were down $1.52 to $75.56. Shares opened the year at $76.55. They remain at the high end of the 52-week trading range between $66.82 and $78.02. In a prepared statement released at 9:40 a.m. Boeing said it retains confidence in the aircraft, noting: "It is a safe and efficient airplane that brings tremendous value to our customers and an improved flying experience to their passengers. "The airplane has logged 50,000 hours of flight and there are more than 150 flights occurring daily," the company said. "Its in-service performance is on par with the industry's best-ever introduction into service -- the Boeing 777. Like the 777, at 15 months of service, we are seeing the 787's fleet wide dispatch reliability well above 90 percent. "More than a year ago, the 787 completed the most robust and rigorous certification process in the history of the FAA. We remain fully confident in the airplane's design and production system." Nevertheless, Boeing said that "we have experienced in-service issues in recent months and we are never satisfied while there is room for improvement," and it welcome the FAA review. The long-awaited 787 has faced a string of problems this year. On Monday, while a Japan Airlines 787 was on the ground at Boston Logan Airport, the lithium ion battery used by the auxiliary power unit began to smoke and then caught fire. On Tuesday, a JAL 787 leaked fuel on the taxiway. An ANA flight was cancelled on Wednesday due to a brake-control issue. Since the aircraft began commercial flights last year, a number of electrical incidents have been reported; one promoted an emergency landing by a United ( UAL)787 last month. Also, "United has reportedly found a wiring problem that affects the same electrical system that was problematic for JAL," wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Stallard on Wednesday. "Boeing's 787 has been hit by a series of negative news stories over the last couple of days, with the predictable press histrionics," Stallard wrote. "We are cautious of taking an exaggerated response to any of the developments so far, but we think it fair to say that these have exacerbated Boeing's unfortunate reputation as a trouble magnet." "What these events probably do highlight is Boeing's less than stellar performance on the 787 program, and unfortunately reinforce the generally lackluster investor sentiment that appears to be holding back the stock," he said. "We could see a short term rebound from this latest 787 sell off as these issues blow over, but the broader malaise has not been addressed. " Follow @tedreednc -- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.
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iOS 7: Activation Lock + Find My iPhone
Soon after Apple debuted the completely redesigned iOS 7 on June 10, 2013, it became obvious that the iOS user experience has changed enough to merit a public re-introduction—a forward-looking discussion of the updated user interface and integrated apps. Over the next week, our series on iOS 7 will look at every key section of Apple's new operating system, starting with setting up iOS devices, the new Lock Screen and Home Screen, then continuing through other major UI elements and built-in apps. For a broad look at all of iOS 7's changes from iOS 6, check out our big picture look at iOS 7, published on June 10, as well as our articles on iOS 7 setup, the Home Screen, and Lock Screen. Note that some features and graphics may change before iOS 7's final release.
About Activation Lock
While Apple was generally ahead of the curve with Find My iPhone, an app designed to reunite users with lost or stolen devices, the feature suffered from one very important weakness: anybody who finds your device can easily erase it, thereby removing almost all of the tracking and location features before turning it into a "good as new" product.
Apple hopes to address this problem with "Activation Lock"—a new feature in iOS 7 that effectively ties your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your iCloud Apple ID even after it's been completely wiped and erased. The idea here is to deter theft of iPhones and other iOS devices by rendering them all but useless to would-be thieves.
Activation Lock is based in technology that has been used by Apple since the debut of the original iPhone in 2007. Every iPhone has had to "phone home" to Apple's servers for authorization before it can actually be used. In the early days, this was a form of secondary carrier-lock, ensuring that devices were properly signed up for service with AT&T before they could be used. For whatever reason, Apple chose to extend activation to non-carrier iOS devices such as the iPod touch. In essence, until you plugged into iTunes and "activated" your device, it was essentially a brick.
While the appropriateness of such a feature has been debated for years, it has opened the doors to a new security model. Since a device cannot be "activated" without talking to Apple's servers, it's now fairly easy for Apple to refuse to activate a device that's still registered under somebody else's Apple ID. Apple is now preventing third-party developers from using Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs), but it still has access to a virtual serial number that identifies a given device, and can associate it with a specific Apple ID.
Enabling Activation Lock
You won't find a setting in iOS 7 to specifically enable Activation Lock, however. This is because Apple has transparently integrated this into the "Find My iPhone" app and related feature that has been part of iCloud and MobileMe for several years. The assumption seems to be that if you're interested in tracking your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you're likely also interested in using Activation Lock.
In iOS 7, once Find My iPhone has been enabled, it can no longer be turned off without supplying the user's iCloud password. This prevents the Find My iPhone feature from being too easily disabled, but now more importantly prevents the Activation Lock from being easily bypassed.
Location Services can still be disabled without requiring a password, but Find My iPhone will now automatically re-enable Location Services temporarily whenever the device's location is requested.
An iOS 7 device that has Activation Lock enabled via the Find My iPhone feature cannot be restored through iTunes without specifically disabling Find My iPhone, which of course requires the iCloud password to be entered.
iOS 7 still provides an option for directly wiping an iOS device under Settings, General, Reset, however if Find My iPhone is enabled, the user will be required to enter the iCloud password before the device can be wiped. Doing this disables the Activation Lock as the user is obviously wiping the device deliberately.
Setting up an Activation Locked Device
Both iTunes and iOS prevent a device from being wiped normally while it has the Activation Lock feature enabled, which itself acts as a deterrent for the casual user. There are still ways to forcibly erase and restore an iOS device, however, and as a result the Activation Lock provides an additional line of security, preventing the device from being activated by Apple's servers until the original owner's iCloud Apple ID and password are provided.
The current shipping version of iTunes 11 seems to already know how to deal with this, and will advise the user that the connected device is locked and require that he or she enter the Apple ID that was used to set the device up originally.
This same procedure applies to using the iOS setup assistant, which will stop the user at the normal activation screen, prompting for the same information.
In fact, even iOS 6.1.3 has some awareness of the Activation Lock. Downgrading an Activation Locked iOS 7 device will still prevent it from being activated under the older iOS version.
In both scenarios, a hint is provided for the Apple ID to help the user remember which iCloud account may have been used for the device, but until those credentials are entered, the device is effectively locked and rendered useless.
Find My iPhone and Remote Erase
iOS 7 also adds a new feature to the Find My iPhone app that allows users to not only take advantage of Activation Lock but also allows you to display a phone number and custom message that will appear on the target device after it's already been erased. This message will also appear as a dialog box if the device is connected to a computer running iTunes.
While remotely wiping a device will still cause you to lose the ability to actually track the device, at least you can now guarantee that your personal information is securely erased while still leaving some contact information to hopefully allow an honest finder to return your device back to you.
The process itself works in much the same way as engaging the "Lost Mode" introduced in iOS 6, prompting you to enter a phone number and a message before erasing the iPhone. Once this has been done, the erase request is sent out and the Find My iPhone app provides a note confirming that the device has been erased and how long ago the erasure occurred.
Even with the message displayed, a user can still initiate the iOS setup assistant in the usual way, however he or she will be stopped at the activation screen and prompted to enter the iCloud Apple ID and password to continue. In this case, the note clearly indicates that the iPhone in question was "lost and erased" and provides no hint of the original Apple ID that needs to be entered to activate the iPhone. This also works in much the same way if the device is connected to iTunes.
So, How Secure Is This, Really?
The process of jailbreaking an iOS device bypasses Apple's activation process entirely. In fact, this was the reason for the very first iPhone hack about a week after the original iPhone was released, allowing users to use the iPhone without signing up with AT&T.
Although Apple fights jailbreaking with each new iOS and hardware release, by the late Steve Jobs' own admission, it is in a cat and mouse game in that regard. It is therefore very likely that jailbreak hacks will continue to be available that can bypass the Activation Lock, allowing an iOS device to be used to some degree.
How effective this is, however, largely depends on how restrictive Apple chooses to be with its Activation Lock feature. So much of what a modern iOS device does requires communication with Apple's servers in an unprecedented way. iCloud, the App Store, iTunes, iMessage, FaceTime, Game Center, and even Siri all need to "phone home" to Apple's servers, and it would not be inconceivable for Apple to block all of these services from working on an Activation Locked iPhone—even one that had been jailbroken. Without access to these services, a market for stolen iPhones isn't likely to exist outside of the hacker community. Given the white hat claims made by some hackers, the implications of this for the rest of the community are fascinating.
Further, the device identifiers that are likely being used by Apple for this purpose would be based entirely in hardware and therefore very difficult to alter.
At the end of the day, however, no system is foolproof, and much like jailbreaking in general, the hacking underground may find ways around much of this. Any security model is about deterrence, rather than outright prevention, and the new Activation Lock feature should go a long way in deterring casual theft of iOS devices by rendering the stolen devices useless to the average user.
More Information
For more information on iOS 7, check out big picture iOS 7 guide, and other articles in this series. Note that Find My iPhone will likely change considerably in appearance before the final release of iOS 7.
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Hi Jesse, thanks for this great review!
The time when a jailbreak can use a security hole to hack an locked iDevice is short, because apple mostly releases promt a software fix.
My worry is a complete release without hacking the iPhone.
In the last time you can do this if you get into the DFU/Restore Mode, connect your device with iTunes and install a clean ipsw File.
Please Jesse, can you verify this option?
P.S. Sorry for my bad english, greetings from germany.
Posted by René in Toronto on June 13, 2013 at 9:30 AM (CDT)
Sorry typing error:
"My worry is a complete ERASE without hacking the iPhone."
Posted by René in Toronto on June 13, 2013 at 9:33 AM (CDT)
René: Sadly, that's entirely possible, and truly is a difficult thing to prevent. DFU mode still exists, and is pretty necessary as it's basically a hardware override to allow an iOS device to be restored and returned to normal operation when it may otherwise be impossible to do so.
Of course, even a full DFU restore will now prevent the device from being activated and used without supplying the original owner's Apple ID and password. A DFU that applies an unofficial firmware, such as a jailbroken version, would render the device somewhat usable, since of course that would bypass any activation requirements, but the device would likely still be unable to communicate with Apple's servers for things like the App Store and even Siri, rendering if pretty useless for the average end user.
Apple has already somewhat addressed the data loss aspect of this with the existing backup features, however. You can get a backup to iTunes whenever you plug into a computer or to iCloud as long as you're on Wi-Fi and plugged in at least once every 24 hours. So even if a device is maliciously erased, most users should have a fairly recent backup. The only real risk there is for users who travel away from any Wi-Fi coverage for long periods of time.
Posted by Jesse Hollington in Toronto on June 13, 2013 at 3:28 PM (CDT)
Jesse, thanks for your answer!
I feared that a DFU restore is still possible.
My last question: I found an iPhone with activated iOS 7 feature "Activation Lock". I put this device in DFU Mode, connect to my iTunes and install an official ipsw File from the Apple Server (not "hacktivated"). In the past, at the last setup step the device would be registrated and activted automatically if a SIM Card is inserted.
Is this at iOS 7 still the case?
Posted by René in Toronto on June 14, 2013 at 2:37 AM (CDT)
I have forgot my apple id and password that was of someone else now i cant activate my iphone help me please how to activate my phone now
Posted by Sheeraz in Toronto on June 17, 2013 at 8:18 AM (CDT)
I found an bug of iOS 7 beta:
I did test how to work with Activation Lock via iCloud. I turned off location service including Find my Iphone & Activation Lock, it wasn't required login. I was shocked this bug is found. EPIC FAILED. I tweeted with Hashtag of Apple Developers. They should add further features for next beta. My suggestion: Turnoff location/AirMode must add exemption of enabled FindmyPhone and Activation Lock. IF turning off FindmyiPhone requires login for any legal reasons to protect you from spies such as CIA or NSA.
We strongly demand that security feature should tougher to defer thefts.
you can follow my nickname on Twitter
Posted by greenbychris in Toronto on June 26, 2013 at 3:52 AM (CDT)
Hi everybody.I have a problem from a mounth ago…..I have iphone 5 witch is with subscription to Cosmote ROMANIA…and ipad mini buyed from Flanco store from ROMANIA is well.Now…the both are linked to the same ID Apple and need password for activation but i don't remember that and if i go to "i forgot bla…bla…" for unlock they ask me date of birth.O.K….but seems is not correct when i put it….or….when i made the adress for icloud…they not accepr the same birthday data like in Apple ID so i change it but i don.t remember witch it was….so now i can't change the old password with a new and that block me to activate the same device's.Please help me someway…..Kind regards from Brasov-Romania.
Posted by Mircea Iosif in Toronto on July 31, 2013 at 7:16 AM (CDT)
Reported lost phones stuck on activation screen selling for
I still see a market for stolen goods, not only each iPhone released from now on is going to be worth the same or more than the iPhone 5, stuck in start screen phones can still be sold for a good heap of cash, furthermore most people aren't going to notice the activate lock when they are stealing a phone, and most thieves don't do their homework first to know this, and will steal it regardless of knowing its activation locked or not.
Posted by Kevin in Toronto on August 26, 2013 at 10:36 PM (CDT)
Hi, I have just bought an iPhone 5 off eBay. It was discribed as unlocked but when I've got it, it says its locked to a carrier and must be unlocked. I have contacted the seller many time and they swear its an unlocked phone, could this activation lock be the problem??
Posted by Connor in Toronto on September 17, 2013 at 2:16 PM (CDT)
And "one more thing" , - What is case if you lost your Activation Code, or you forget it? There is nothing on the net about this very fustrating issue happened with me.
Even apple can't resolve this till this time. I am stuck here with my phone, and no backward and no forward.
Posted by Zsolt Szekely in Toronto on September 19, 2013 at 9:56 AM (CDT)
I just updated my iPhone 4s to iOS 7 and I missed the step about Find My iPhone and the other one is about iCloud because it requires a wi-fi connection, but unfortunately I don't have wi-fi. And one more thing it also says that it may charged me about the iMessage. How do I fix it? Please badly need your help!
Posted by elise egart in Toronto on September 19, 2013 at 1:33 PM (CDT)
Hello, please I bought a second hand iphone 5 has had ios 6 after updating to ios 7 were working normally,then after connecting to the iTunes restore, and when I turn on the default setting you have to choose the country etc, then after a few steps I zobrayi activate an iPhone and want it on my apple id and password but it says to me that this device is now connected with apple id (t ***** @ v**** . cz) Login using your Apple ID that was used to set this iPhone .... I want to ask you if you would not consult me what the team needs him put into operation thanks to (former owner not known)
Posted by Tanja in Toronto on September 22, 2013 at 11:44 AM (CDT)
If you don't remember your activation info you are out of luck unless you can prove to apple with a valid receipt and ID. These things are not that hard to remember so I'm doubting some of the validity of some of these "I forgot" claims.
Posted by Faslane in Toronto on September 22, 2013 at 4:44 PM (CDT)
I just upgraded to the IPhone7 on my Iphone5. I turn on the phone many times a day just to check scores, weather, news, etc. I don't like having to enter the 4 digit password all of the time. It does not seem to matter if "Find a phone" is turned on or off, I still need to enter the password. Can I do something to avoid this extra step? Thank you.
Posted by toms in Toronto on September 24, 2013 at 10:37 PM (CDT)
Daughter has iPod Touch just upgraded to IOS7. Has forgotten 4 digit passcode.
Was following blog instructions to "Restore" from iTunes but message says need to turn off Find My iPhone to do a Restore.
Can't do this because can't get into the iPos to turn off Find My iPhone.
What do we try next ???
Posted by Nick in Toronto on September 25, 2013 at 8:52 AM (CDT)
hi there, same problem as nick above! so frustrating!
Posted by Leanne in Toronto on September 28, 2013 at 8:44 AM (CDT)
"I forgot my AppleID and Password" means you probably have a lost or stolen device in your hands. Even if you pid money for it.
Please refrain from such cries for help at this page: this is exactly the purpose of this feature, to put an end to blackmarket illegal transactions.
C'mon people get a life and invest on a 'clean' device.
Posted by miguel alvarado in Toronto on September 28, 2013 at 7:41 PM (CDT)
I need HELP URGENTLY!! SOS.
my wife changed her lock screen code and she didnt remember the paswrd anymore since she changes it every 3 days. (iphone 5 IOS 7)
we tried to put different passwords and it keeps saying its wrong. now the phone is locked. it doesnt even give me to try put the code again. only emergensy calls SOS.
I have the my apple ID user name and code but how and where do i get to use it in order to unlock my iphone again and reset a lock screen code.
please help me ASAP. thx for the understanding,
Posted by Ben Levi in Toronto on October 23, 2013 at 1:04 PM (CDT)
Two days ago my phone stolen. I logged into the cloud and set up lost mode. I rcvd' my first emails of your phone played a sound, your phone has been found, etc, but have not seen any change since. It still shows up in the find my phone cloud under devices, just as "offline". I am guessing it has been erased and hoping the culprit is having this same problem and all the bells and whistles are going off for them.
Posted by Deanna Brown in Toronto on November 5, 2013 at 8:57 AM (CST)
Posted by Donald Trevarthen in Toronto on December 29, 2013 at 12:06 PM (CST)
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Quantum Conundrum preview
A hands-on look at Quantum Conundrum, the dimension-shifting first-person puzzle game from Portal designer Kim Swift.
It's hard to find a current generation series with more goodwill than Portal. Anything even tenuously connected to Valve's first-person puzzler will probably have good vibes extended to it. In the case of Quantum Conundrum, a game from Portal designer Kim Swift with some striking similarities, that goodwill has resulted in plenty of attention. And while it seems to have all the pieces in place, a hands-on with the PAX East 2012 demo only scratched the surface of what this concept can accomplish.
The puzzle element in this particular first-person title comes from various dimensions, each with its own physical properties. The Fluffy dimension turns everything light and plush, the Heavy dimension does just the opposite, and so on. It's an easy idea to grasp at its core, and that simplicity could make for a staggering amount of puzzle applications.
This demo showed off three of the dimensions: Fluffy, Heavy, and Slow-Mo. An introductory puzzle had me blocking a deadly laser by picking up a Fluffy safe, and then turning it into a Heavy safe. From there, I had to time the Heavy/Fluffy change to allow a laser to destroy some safes in a stack, but not others, in order to make a staircase. This was the most difficult part of the demo, but that was due to its precision timing, not figuring out what to do. Finally, the demo played with some Slow-Mo, as machines spit out furniture haphazardly and various "bubbles" of the slow-motion effect made them mountable as platforms.
A look at the game provided a nice breadth of the dimensions, but it only provided the basics of each of them. I would have liked to see hints of more complex iterations for one or two dimensions, rather than the absolute basics of three. It's possible that developer Airtight Games didn't want to overwhelm the player, which is understandable. Still, this is a game that will live and breathe on brain-teasers. I'm confident that Swift and her team can pull it off, but I'd like to have seen more of it on display here.
The world is well-realized and funny, thanks in no small part to the sharp dialogue and delivery by John de Lancie. The spirit is more chipper and animated than the darkly humorous Portal, so I can imagine it being a good fit for younger players as well -- especially since the protagonist is 12 years old himself. I also noticed that the furniture looked large as a matter of perspective, which was a nice touch for seeing the world through the eyes of a kid.
In many ways, Quantum Conundrum feels like Portal's little brother. It's cuter, more colorful, relies on broader comedy, and judging by the demo, it may be a bit easier as well. This simple taste may have wanted to ease us in for more complex puzzles. If not, an easier, kid-friendly puzzle experience with this much personality can't hurt.
Steve Watts posted a new article, Quantum Conundrum preview.
A hands-on look at Quantum Conundrum, the dimension-shifting first-person puzzle game from Portal designer Kim Swift.


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City of Lincoln
Mayor's Office
2009 Media Releases
Those wanting to reserve a practice field through the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department can now do so online at lincoln.ne.gov. Teams are able to reserve fields up to two weeks advance. About 30 different fields will be available for reservation.
"This new reservation system will make scheduling practice much easier for hundreds of youth and adult baseball, softball, rugby, football and soccer teams as we gear up for the summer season," said Steve Hiller, Assistant Director of the Parks and Recreation Department. "I want to thank the City's Information Services Division for working with us to provide this convenience for the public."
Game-quality fields can be reserved for $15, and practice-quality fields are $10. A valid credit or debit card will be needed to reserve fields. Those making reservations will be able to print a permit.
Other Parks and Recreation e-pay services available at lincoln.ne.gov are tee-time reservations at City golf courses and summer swimming passes for City pools.


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Confirmed: One U.S. Citizen Killed in Spain Crash
The U.S. State Department confirmed on Thursday that one American citizen died in the Wednesday train crash at Santiago De Compostela, Spain. Pilgrims and local residents also are coming to terms with the tragic accident. (Photo/Video: AP)
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... we are deeply saddened by his classmates train crash in Santiago to come with them ... stay ... our hearts and prayers are with the friends and family to the victims ... we extend our condolences to the people of Spain and all those affected by this terrible accident ... our consular officers are working closely with their Spanish counterparts to account for us the difference he says since ... we can confirm ... that one US citizen I ... am five U S citizens have been injured ... I would stress that these numbers may change as we receive additional information ... widow that sold but I mean ... in the North Sea ... the stimulus the economy if it does that mean ... they will decide in love with it ... the one ... that someone you don't ... it's been warm Wal-Mart Cove below for much of an interview ... with buttons no way


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|Goff - Haunted
A New Jersey mechanic wracked with guilt over his alleged involvement in the 1990 murder of a 15-year-old has turned himself in to police after nightmares and visions of the teen's mother haunted him over the past 23 years, according to the man's close friend.
Steven Goff, 41, has been charged with the May 7, 1990 murder of Frederick "Ricky" Hart, 15, in Galloway, N.J. Goff allegedly stabbed Hart multiple times with a knife in the woods behind Galloway's Clubs Condominiums, according to a statement from the Atlantic County prosecutor's office. No motive for the killing has been made public.
Alan Rickel, who befriended Goff 10 years ago, said that Goff has been on edge over the past few weeks, and told him from jail that his guilt-wracked conscience led to his confession.
"He called me from jail," Rickel told ABCNews.com. "He said he'd been living with this since he was 17, 18, having nightmares. He sees the kid's mother in nightmares, saying, 'How can you do this to my family?' He had a 1,000 pound elephant sitting on his chest. He said that he had to confess, to tell the truth, and meet his maker."
Hart was reported missing on May 8, 1990, the day after the murder. It wasn't until over a year and a half later when a hunter in the area discovered human remains, which were later identified as Hart.
Rickel, 62, said that he was having a barbeque at his Ventnor City, N.J., home 10 years ago when Goff, who had only recently been living in the neighborhood, came by. Goff told him he was down on his luck, hadn't eaten in a few days, and asked for some food.
"From that point on we got friendly," Rickel said. "I gave him some food. He said he's a very skilled worker, that his father was an electrical worker. I placed him with local guys and threw him some work."
Over the years that their friendship grew, the two would often get Saturday breakfast together. Rickel, who owns Alan Rickel Plumbing & Heating, said that Goff was a talkative, friendly guy who liked to discuss economics and the stock market. At times, Goff would get overzealous, Rickel said.
"He'd get so wrapped up in politics," Rickel said. "I'd take him for breakfast, and he'd be told to calm down. He was very enthusiastic."
Two weeks ago while they were having lunch, Goff was on edge, and he shocked his friend with some ominous news.
"I asked what's wrong, and he said, 'Something's eating at me. Everyone will find out sooner or later. It's going to shock everybody.' But he wouldn't tell me. He walked out the door and said, 'That's it, you'll hear something about me in a couple of days. I'm sorry. That's it.'"
Rickel went by Goff's house the following day and found that his truck was gone, along with his Jack Russell terrier, and his apartment was wide open. He didn't pick up his phone. On Sunday, a still perplexed Rickel's phone rang.
"He called, and said, 'Al, I'm at the border of Canada. I was going to leave the country, but I'm going to come back to meet my maker.'"
Rickel wired his friend $500 for gas, tolls and food so he could get back from the Michigan-Canada border. About 20 hours later, he received another call, this time from the Galloway police, asking his to come and retrieve his friend's truck and his dog.
"When I got there, the chief came out and said he'd admitted to a murder 23 years ago, and that he wants to face his demons, reality, and to square up with God, his maker, and society," Rickel said.
Police did not immediately indict Goff, as they wanted to make sure he was not making up his involvement with the case that had gone cold years prior. Soon, though, he started divulging details that were in the sealed filed, and police knew they had enough information to indict him.
Rickel said that Goff has been calling him up to five times per day from jail since Monday. He said Goff has apologized to him, and said that he loves him and Rickel's family, and that he's sorry that he has let him down. Rickel said he has not discussed his motivation for the crime.
"It's a sad case," Rickel said. "Here's a man who did something as a juvenile, and it ate at him for over 20 years, and he couldn't take it anymore and turned himself in ... He has suffered, and he finally came to grips and turned himself in."
Goff, who was 18 at the time Hart was killed, now faces one count of murder and one count of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He has been lodged at the Atlantic County Justice Facility on $1 million cash bail.
At a court appearance Tuesday, Goff surprised the court by confessing, saying "I did the crime." Judge Michael Donio told Goff that he had to wait until being indicted by a grand jury before he could enter a plea.
Source: ABCNews


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Movie Review: Taken 2 (2012)
October 21, 2012 in Movie Reviews, Reviews by pacejmiller
The moral of the story is simple: don't f*&% with Liam Neeson.
After getting a thorough ass-whooping in the first film, which I declared was one of the best action films of the past decade, those pesky Albanians did not learn their lesson. The father of one of the human traffickers wanted revenge, and he was going to make Bryan Mills pay with a lot more inept henchmen. Bad idea.
I may sound like I'm teasing, but I actually enjoyed Taken 2 a lot. It was impossible to live up to the original anyway, which surprised just about everyone with its brutal efficiency and the total badassness of Neeson's Mills, a former CIA operative who can kill you in just about every way imaginable. True, Taken 2 is a lazy and completely unnecessary sequel that is even more far-fetched than the original, and let's face it, was made with only $$$ in mind, but it still manages to thrill by re-captivating some of the magic of the original.
The premise ofTaken 2 is about as unimaginative as it gets: the father of the dude whom Mills electrocuted in the first film in Paris promises to avenge his son's death. Mills is in Istanbul for freelance security work and is visited by his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) — who is conveniently having "problems" with her second husband — and their daughter (Maggie Grace, who is surprisingly convincing as someone young enough to be going for her driver's licence). Nasty henchmen try to "take" them all (and succeeds with two of them, hence Taken "2" — get it?), unleashing the killing machine in Mills once again.
Taken 2 steals shamelessly from its predecessor without really attempting to do anything new or different. Liam Neeson shows off some incredible secret agent brains in addition to killing enemies with guns, melee weapons and his bare hands, and Maggie Grace has a much larger role, but that's about it. Director Olivier Megaton (surely that cannot be a real name), whose previous efforts include Columbiana and Transporter 3, replaces Pierre Morel, but I didn't really feel that much of a difference in style. There are gun fights, hand-to-hand combat and car chases galore, all of it happening at break-neck speed after the predictable initial set-up.
The script, written again by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, is lazy — there's no way to deny that. It assumes we know what Bryan Mills is and what he and has family have been through, and character development is essentially provided through flashbacks to the first film. The bad guy is pretty pathetic and is driven only by revenge, but at the same time he has some strange reasons for not wanting to kill Mills when given the opportunity. The Albanians also sometimes speak to each other in what I presume is Albanian, and at other times in English with Eastern European accents — none of it makes much sense.
But on the other hand, there's nothing quite like watching the captivating Neeson — who is 60 years old in real life, by the way — run around beating up and killing a whole bunch of bad guys. It's brainless entertainment but it's fun and exciting while it lasts.
In other words, if you enjoyed Taken, there's a good chance you'll enjoy parts, or at least elements, of Taken 2. It's no secret that the film was cashing in on the success of the original, which is vastly superior in every way, but watching Liam Neeson go on a rampage for an action-packed 91 minutes is still preferable to the majority of action films these days.
3.5 stars out of 5!
PS: If there is going to be a third film, which is highly possible given the loose ends in the script, I'll definitely be watching.


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From Battlefield to Homefront: Mobile Laboratories Are Changing the Way We Respond to Crisis.
by Bill Cote
In his 18 years on the force, Cedar Rapids Police Sergeant Joe Clark thought he had seen it all. However, nothing prepared him for the sight of the department's crime lab swamped in more than eight feet of water.
"It was unbelievable. Water was almost up to the ceiling," he said. "The crime lab was completely ruined."
Luckily, in what they thought was an abundance of caution, his investigative unit had moved its new Automated Fingerprint Identification System out of the crime lab that occupied the basement of its headquarters before the flood. However, no one had anticipated that more than 30 feet of water would engulf the city. The rest of the forensic equipment was destroyed.
For a few months, the officers conducted forensics analysis in a makeshift lab set up in an unventilated garage.
"You can imagine how difficult that was — with cross-contamination and security issues," said Clark. "Not to mention how cold it got in there as fall arrived."
Clark contacted Joe Polski, chief operating officer of the International Association for Identification, who put him in touch with the National Forensic Science Technology Center in Largo, Fla., to discuss using one of its mobile labs. Within a few weeks, Clark had a 400-square-foot mobile forensics lab up and running in the parking lot.
Although the town of Cedar Rapids is still a long way from being back to normal after the historic flood, the Police Department's crime scene investigation unit is now running again. "I don't know what we would have done without this lab," said Clark. "Our evidence processing ability would have been next to nothing during the last several months. And we can't just quit investigating crimes because we get flooded."
Bill Cote is on staff at the National Forensic Science Technology Center.
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Back to: From Battlefield to Homefront: Mobile Laboratories Are Changing the Way We Respond to Crisis
National Institute of Justice, 810 Seventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531


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Surveyor 6
Goals: Carrying instruments virtually identical to those of Surveyor 5, Surveyor 6 was designed to achieve similar goals: to perform a soft landing in the Sinus Medii region of the Moon, take pictures of the lunar surface after landing, analyze the lunar soil, and conduct an experiment to see the effect on the soil of firing a rocket engine.
Accomplishments: Surveyor 6 transmitted nearly 30,000 images of the lunar surface taken from two different vantage points. Becoming the first spacecraft to be launched from the lunar surface, Surveyor 6 lifted itself to about 3 meters altitude and flew about 2.5 meters west of its initial landing point. This provided an opportunity both for stereo imaging and observing the original landing footprints to determine the soil's mechanical properties-more than adequate to support the upcoming Apollo landings. The soil's composition was found to be basaltic, similar to that of the Surveyor 5 landing site.


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The judge in actress Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful-termination suit has declared a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict on Monday.
Judge Elizabeth White sent the members of the deadlocked jury home on Friday and urged them to consider the case over the weekend, but they returned to court on Monday still stuck on a verdict.
The jury found eight to four in favour of Sheridan, one person shy of a decision.
The actress is seeking $6 million (GBP3.75 million) from creator Marc Cherry and executives at Touchstone Television Production after claiming her Desperate Housewives character was killed off because she complained to producers about an incident between herself and Cherry, during which the writer/producer allegedly struck her.
A battery charge against Cherry was dismissed last week, before jury deliberations began.
The writer and TV bosses testified in court that the decision to axe Sheridan's character was made months before the alleged incident.


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I hate the existence legendary weapons.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a Legendary staff on my moonkin, or the daggers on my rogue, but even if I had either of those I would still hate the concept of legendary weapons or at least the ways that Blizzard has chosen to implement them over the past 7 years. The problems are already well documented, but let me go over them again.
The Problems:
- Group Effort/Individual Reward: Every legendary implemented so far has required a group effort to acquire it. Even the random drops of TBC required a group to clear the instance. There are literally thousands of tales of players getting their legendary and then quitting the game a month later or leaving to join another guild. So, the guild works for something over an extended period of time but loses it because the individual has to make an individual decision rightly or wrongly.
- Lopsided Results: When I first joined my current guild we were working on Yor'shaj and I was whispered by another player that I was doing significantly less then the WoL ranked logs. My response back was that I didn't have top 200 gear. There were other issues with my DPS strategy at the time, but a significant part of the difference is that I don't have a legendary staff. Legendarys are such a performance boost that players without them are penalized because they can't get one. How many recruiting posts have you seen where it says "1 ranged DPS (with Legendary)?"
The fact of the matter is that Legendary weapons create lopsided results that are based more on the gear a player has then the skill of the individual. Given Blizzards mantra of "Bring the Player, Not the Class," this doesn't really seem to fair.
- Unfair Distribution: Every time Blizzard announces a new legendary, there is always some argument of "why does class X get the legendary instead of class Z". But to be honest, much of the time the complainers have a point. Blizzard has implemented nine legendarys in WoW's seven year history. So far, five of the nine have been melee focused, three are caster focused, and one was a ranged weapon. There has been a melee legendary in every stage/expansion of this game and four of them have been usable by Warriors. I would also point out that there has been only one healing legendary, one of the caster legendarys was only available for a few months before the content was obsolete, and that feral druids after seven years still haven't gotten a legendary.
I don't think there is some Blizzard conspiracy that loves melee and more specifically warriors, but hates ferals. However, it's clear that their decision making process is more dominated by lore which favors pointy metal sticks than fair distribution.
For example, why is there a rogue specific Legendary in Dragon Soul? Yes, it's a very cool quest line that allows rogues to use infrequently used abilities like pick pocket and distract, but if you're going to make a class specific legendary why not make it feral the spec that has yet to have a legendary? I'm sure the creative people over at blizzard could have made a similar story centered around a feral druid instead, where they use abilities like Soothe, Hibernate, and Seacow form.
- Individual Effort is Irrelevant: Finally, I have never taken a break from this game in 5 years. I ran Firelands almost every week from when 4.2 was released until 4.3 was released. I have the gold to buy the expensive vendor mats needed to create the Legendary. Yet, I do not have a legendary because I was in four different guilds during the Firelands progression cycle. I have done everything I can to get a legendary, but it's extremely hard to find nine other people that want to go to FL now that it's old news even though it would take me just 9 weeks to get the legendary and other people could get mounts.
The proposed solutions to the legendary issues are just as numerous as the issues themselves. If you look around the official forums and blogosphere you will find a lot of suggestions. Let me take a look at a few of the most common and suggest a couple of my own.
- Bind On Guild Legendarys: This is probably the most common proposed solution, and it fixes the "guild effort, individual reward" problem I've described above. A player can't leave the guild with a legendary because it's the guilds legendary. However, this solution raises other questions and creates some additional issues. For example, is there only one legendary per guild or is it something everyone could buy from the guild rep vendor? If a guild has only one, many guilds will feel forced to trade it around so that every one gets a turn which seems a little silly and confusing. If everyone can get one, then it would be to common which Blizzard clearly sees as an issue. Finally, what happens to the player that need to transfer guilds for legitimate reasons who has a legendary? It's hard to expect the person with a legendary to have back up weapon, because the guild is likely to give those to players with out a legendary, yet you also can't expect them to be tied to one guild forever. Many guilds die or become unworkable for many legitimate reasons. Ultimately, I think this solution crates more problems then it fixes.
- Reward Individual Effort: Another idea, is to make the legendary process a completely individual process, that players can complete at the same time as other players. For example, if the FL legendary had all the same steps but allowed players to do them a the same time, you would see a lot less complaining about losing a legendary, because any caster who raided FL for three months would likely have one. However, this would make them extremely common, which I said above was not something Blizzard would like and it also would seem silly to give every caster the last weapon they would use in the expansion half way through.
- Get Rid of Legendarys: There's two things that make Legendarys great. First, most of the time they have come with a cool story. If you look at the last three, they were a major part of defeating the Lich King, naming a new aspect of magic, and helping the last pure black dragon. The second thing is someone gets an extremely powerful item that will likely last them the rest of the expansion. Both are very cool, but I Blizzard has proven that you don't need a legendary to tell a good story, and Blizzard has argued before that it's not always a good thing to have a player get an item they will not replace.
So, why not get rid of legendarys. Yes, Blizzard would be getting rid of a cool element of the game, but it could easily be argued that this "cool" element has caused more problems and anguish then the reverse. I doubt a whole lot of people would miss them if they were discontinued because in reality, very few people have a realistic chance of getting them anyway.
The general design principle for legendarys is create a normal weapon, but add special proc that is powerful and somewhat unique. Currently, those proc have only helped the individual with the legendary, but what if the benefits were raid wide?
I think a legendary could be designed in such a way that, it is slight benefit for the individual to use a legendary, but a big benefit to the raid if someone in the raid has a legendary.For example, the proc on Dragonwrath is "When you deal damage, you have a chance to gain the Wrath of Tarecgosa, duplicating the harmful spell." That same buff could be applied to all the casters in the raid if someone in the raid has the staff. If done correctly this could fix most of the problems people complain about today, without big balancing issues.
- Individual players wouldn't be penalized severely for not having a legendary since the primary benefit to a legendary (the proc) would be raid wide.
- After multiple people get a legendary in a tier, losing one of them to real life or a guild transfer is less significant because the buff is covered by multiple players.
- Guilds aren't encouraged to recruit legendary users if they already have one in the guild.
- Also, the proc doesn't have to benefit just one type of player in the raid. It could be truly raid wide where a caster weapon could buff melee or a tank legendary could buff DPS.


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Road to Rio: Women 'out of sight, out of mind'| Helen Clark
11 Apr 2012
Today, there are only eight women heads of state – representing slightly more than five per cent of the total. This seems extraordinary in the second decade of the 21st century. The global average of women holding parliamentary seats remains under twenty per cent, which is well below the thirty per cent target set in the Millennium Development Goals. At the current rate of progress, that target will not be reached globally before 2025, and long beyond that in many countries. That is too long for women and the world to wait.
The proportions of women in national legislatures in the world's regions range from roughly 22 per cent in the Americas and Europe (with the 42 per cent in Nordic countries pushing the average figures up) to 20.2 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, 17.9 per cent in Asia, 14.9 per cent in the Pacific, and 10.7 per cent in the Arab States. Five countries – all in the Gulf and the Pacific – have no women parliamentarians at all. Only sixteen per cent of ministers are women, and most often they are allocated portfolios like those for social welfare, women, and children.
When women are "out of sight, out of mind", meeting their needs does not get prioritized. Conversely, when there is a critical mass of women decision-makers, the issues which previously went unaddressed can become priorities.
Rwanda provides a compelling example of a society where the empowerment of women as decision-makers has played a key role in its transformation. Quotas helped place Rwanda in the first place in the world for the proportion of its parliamentarians who are women. A thirty per cent quota for women MPs was established in the country's 2003 constitution. Rwandan women now hold 56 per cent of seats in their parliament's lower chamber. In addition, 32 per cent of ministerial positions are held by women.
Having women well presented in Rwanda's political landscape has put the country on the path to sustainable development. Other countries have to follow suit if we want to achieve a truly sustainable future. The time for talking about what to do next is over. It is time for action and it is time for change for women.
Talk to me: How can we ensure that women are better represented in leadership and decision-making world-wide?
"Road to Rio" is a series of posts by senior officials of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), outlining some of the key challenges around human development central for achieving the sustainable future we want.


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I can't recall where I ran across this one, but while going through my photos, I found that I had snapped a pic of a frog in an anthropomorphized position. After a little googling,it seem that these images come from a postcard book available on amazon. If you like frogs doing people stuff--who doesn't?!-- or if you would like an odd taste of the everyday in Japan through a froggy perspective, maybe this book is for you.
Here is a post with more of these frogs/books.
I also found カエル国へようこそ! (Welcome to frog country).
Japanese Study LinksSign/Ad J | J Slang | J News w/Pics | J Vids
Karaoke | J Commercials | Let's Yoji! | Kanji


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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Raymond Tremblay, a loyal McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) customer from Los Angeles, thinks the fast-food chain sells tasty food at reasonable prices and he cannot think of a quick fix that would help end the company's disappointing U.S. performance.
"I know it's there and it's always good," Tremblay, 46, said of McDonald's. "Maybe we just kind of take it for granted."
Such customer feedback underscores the challenges faced by the world's biggest restaurant company, which has reported 19 months of turbulent sales at established U.S. restaurants amid sluggish economic growth, stepped-up competition and internal missteps that have complicated its menus and slowed service.
In a recent call with analysts, McDonald's Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson vowed to "create more of a coffee culture through high-quality McCafe products" as well as to double-down on breakfast and sales of food priced around $1 — in a bid to bolster sales.
Once or twice a week, Tremblay makes a slight detour from his morning commute to pick up coffee and a sausage McMuffin with egg or a sausage burrito.
He has bought the company's flavored coffees, but never orders the espresso drinks made from pricey McCafe machines that McDonald's franchisees installed to compete with Starbucks Corp
Tremblay, a production artist for an animation firm, is happy when his favorite items are on sale - but he and other customers say that discounts are not enough to change their morning routines.
Mel Yu, a 32-year-old automotive industry consultant from Grand Blanc, Michigan, still goes to McDonald's three to four times a week — but that is down significantly from a decade ago, when McDonald's was just about the only place to grab a quick morning meal.
These days, breakfast competition is fierce. Starbucks is introducing new pastries, fast-food chains Burger King BKW.N and Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN.O) have come on strong with food and drinks, and bakery chain Panera Bread PNRA.O has rapidly expanded.
McDonald's owners in Yu's area have been couponing and matching discounts from competitors. Still, Yu said that has not increased the frequency of his visits to the Golden Arches: "I'm going there anyhow."
McDonald's did not immediately respond to requests for comment via telephone or email.
McDonald's on Monday said U.S. sales at restaurants open at least 13 months fell 3.3 percent in January - more than twice as steep as the drop that analysts polled by Consensus Metrix expected.
McDonald's blamed the frigid cold and snow that hit large parts of the United States, but analysts said McDonald's domestic patrons continue to be pinched by the slow economy.
It is a trend playing out across the industry.
McDonald's and other restaurants that cater to the financially strapped low-to-middle income masses — including Darden Restaurant Inc's (DRI.N) Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains — are struggling to bring in sales.
At the same time, Starbucks, Panera, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.N) and Darden's Capital Grille steak house, which cater to somewhat wealthier diners, are outperforming.
McDonald's was the undisputed leader in the U.S. quick-service breakfast category with 19 percent market share in 2013, according to Nielsen Co consumer data firm Scarborough.
Its closest rivals last year were Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, each with 7 percent market share.
"When you're No. 1, you've got one direction to go and that's down. Everybody's got a target on your back," Investment Technology Group restaurant analyst Steve West said.
Some analysts expect investors to give Thompson, McDonald's CEO who took the helm in July 2012, most of this year to turn the ship.
Thompson championed the McCafe push during his tenure as president of McDonald's USA from 2006 to 2010. That program required franchisees to renovate restaurants to create space for equipment, such as an espresso machine that cost between $10,000 and $15,000 per restaurant.
The McCafe expansion — which also included blended fruit smoothies and other drinks — is widely viewed as a success.
While regular coffee sales are reported to be brisk, some franchisees have complained in surveys that sales of espresso drinks fall far short of covering the cost of the high-maintenance machines that crank out lattes and mochas with the press of a button.
Howard Penney, restaurant analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management, said McCafe is at the heart of McDonald's operational woes.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Penney says the McCafe business has been slowing down service and that the recent roll-outs of too many new food products and limited-time offers have only exaggerated the problem.
For now, McDonald's is focusing on making its food preparation more efficient. It has called on restaurant operators to install a $25,000 to $50,000 "high density table" that stores sandwich toppings and other items. Executives say that new equipment will help workers turn out sandwiches and other food faster.
If that investment does not boost sales at established restaurants in the second half of 2014, Penney said McDonald's would be forced to look at McCafe.
"McCafe is a sacred cow right now," Penney said.
Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker


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Reviewed by Ashley V. (age 8)
Amelia is kind of like me because my family has moved a few times. I have been to three different schools so I know how Amelia feels when she starts at a new school.
What I liked about this book was that one time when Amelia was moving somewhere else she buried her treasures until she came back the next time. I felt happy that she buried her treasures because she could come back to them.
I think Amelia was an interesting character. I liked how she was always thinking, planning, and dreaming about her future.
I think the story will be enjoyed by 3rd-6th graders because everybody needs a place to call home and that is the message in this book.


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Billflitter necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 273 diseños de 81 diseñadores freelance.
Content Marketing Strategies Conference
Dlvr.it (http://dlvr.it) is hosting a conference on the subject of content marketing. We are a technology and media company that helps bloggers, brands and publishers distribute their content to the social web. We believe in simple, clean design.
This is the first of many conferences to follow on the subject of content marketing. We need a logo for the conference that will stand out from other conferences and communicate our message (see below).
The event focuses on strategies that will help our audience be better content marketers. Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases. You can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_marketing
- Brand managers
- Ad Agency executives
- Media companies (large commercial publishers - ie. New York Times)
- PR Firms
- Looking for cleanly designed logo
- Nothing that is to "web 2.0" or too trendy
- No clipart or stock images
- Avoid being whimsical
- Characteristics of the event: educational, elegant, well produced, high-end
- Logo needs to be fun and yet professional
- Logo should speak to content marketing
Color palettes have not been chosen so we are open as long as it aligns with our message. Want avoid the logo being to close to our company's logo.
The files we will require are:
Print file format - .ai (CMYK)
Web file format - .jpg and layered .psd (RGB)
event logos we like:
- simple, good use of a font in the design
- simple, good use of a font, incorporates the action of pivoting in the letter "o"
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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I have 3 kids which means in our time and like everyone else, we've sold a lot of crap. We've sold cookie dough, pizza making kits, wrapping paper, God awful things they considered "gifts", magazine subscriptions and of course, Girl Scout cookies. We are VERY lucky that the elementary school we're at now doesn't participate in item sales – they just ask us for pledges and donations at the beginning of the year. And then nickel and dime us the rest of the year, but that's a different post.
Since 2 out of the 3 girls are scouts and sell cookies, I try to always buy from other parents when their kids are selling things for their clubs or schools.
With one exception.
There is a person (who shall go nameless unless you force me to tell) whose kids play football and are in the Boy Scouts. Every year said scout came to my door selling popcorn, I bought some. Actually, I bought a lot. Like $50 in popcorn each time (Cassie could make popcorn a meal). When their son who played ball came selling booster club items for his football team, I bought. Even if I didn't need whatever it was, I thought it was good manners and the neighborly thing to do. But, when my girls would go to their door and try to sell Girl Scout cookies, the favor was returned with a whopping ONE box purchase.
A box of cookies is $4 so let me help you with the math… I buy $75 of your kids crap and you buy $4 worth of cookies.
Uhm… hell no.
And before you ask, Yes.. they can afford it. And it's not just the fact that she doesn't buy... it's the fact that she's just SO nasty and condescending about it.
The next year they came a knockin', I delighted in telling them that I had already bought from another scout that year and that no.. I don't need a tumbler from a high school that we won't be at for another 4 years. Yes, I feel bad saying no to a kid, but come on, really? One box?
It felt great.
I'm not saying you have to buy every little thing from every little kid, but if I'm buying from yours, you better buy from mine at least once or twice. I don't work in a big office anymore but when I did, I was grateful that they instituted the "no selling" rule. There's a time and place for everything and an office isn't it. My approach is if the girls are selling something, I put it out to the masses a couple of times and whoever buys, buys.
But after being screwed by our neighbor… I take notes of who does or doesn't….
Views: 28


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Ross extends streak of quality starts to 13
SAN DIEGO -- No matter how much offensive support Tyson Ross has received this season, his mantra in postgame interviews has always been the same.
"The only thing I can really control is going out there every fifth day and giving us a chance to win," Ross said. "It's just focusing on executing on the things you can control."View Full Game Coverage
SAN DIEGO -- No matter how much offensive support Tyson Ross has received this season, his mantra in postgame interviews has always been the same.
"The only thing I can really control is going out there every fifth day and giving us a chance to win," Ross said. "It's just focusing on executing on the things you can control."View Full Game Coverage
It's a cliché that many Major League pitchers recycle over and over again, even though run support certainly can affect how they approach hitters and their state of mind on the mound.
But one gets the feeling that with Ross, he truly has not gotten frustrated with the offense -- or rather, lack thereof -- that the Padres have often provided him with this season. Because no matter what, he just keeps on chugging along.
Ross (12-12) extended his franchise-record streak of quality starts to 13 on Tuesday and even added a double that sparked a three-run third inning to lead the Padres past Milwaukee, 4-1, in front of a crowd of 21,786 at Petco Park.
Ross' streak, which dates back to June 21, ties him with Clayton Kershaw and Jon Lester for the most consecutive quality starts in the Majors. During that span, he's recorded a 1.96 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings against 24 walks.
"He's growing into one of those pitchers in baseball where other players, managers and coaches are talking about Tyson Ross as a guy that is becoming a force in the National League," said Padres manager Bud Black. "You have to do it [pitch well] over a period of time to get that chatter about you, and he's gotten that this season."
Ross allowed four hits and one run in 6 1/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts, helping the Padres (61-70) bounce back from an ugly loss to the Brewers (73-59) on Monday night.
He's not doing too shabby at the dish, either. The decisive third inning all started with Ross, who ripped a screaming liner down the right-field line for a leadoff double. In his five August starts, Ross is 4-for-10 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI.
"I got lucky. I always get lucky with hitting," Ross said. "Just close my eyes and sometimes hit the ball."
Abraham Almonte plated Ross with a single for his second RBI of the night after initially giving him some early wiggle room with a solo homer in the opening frame, his second since joining the Padres on July 31.
"We'll continue to watch Abraham and really get to know this fella," Black said. "But he's got a nice set of skills that plays in the Major Leagues. We'll continue to run him out there."
Almonte then ran into a little bit of luck when Jean Segura simply whiffed on grabbing the exchange on a potential double-play ball from Seth Smith. Instead, both runners were safe, and Yasmani Grandal followed with a long RBI single off the wall in right-center. Jedd Gyorko, making his first start in four games after nursing a sore hamstring, added an RBI groundout before the end of the frame.
With Ross dominating on the mound, that four-run advantage would be enough.
"He was filthy. The fastball was right on the corner. The slider was good. He was aggressive," said Padres catcher Rene Rivera. "From last year to this year, his fastball command is really good. The hitters don't want to get to two strikes. They don't want to face him."
The Brewers didn't get a runner in scoring position until the fourth, when Jonathan Lucroy led off with a double down the line in right. Rymer Liriano fumbled it for an error, letting Lucroy advance to third with no outs.
Ross buckled down, however, retiring Ryan Braun on a seven-pitch strikeout before fanning Aramis Ramirez with a seemingly unhittable 0-2 slider in the dirt. He then allowed an RBI ground-rule double to Scooter Gennett, but still went on to escape the inning with a 4-1 advantage.
"The key was just keeping it there with that one run," Ross said. "Anytime you get a runner on third base with no outs, it's all about minimizing."
From there, Ross and the Padres bullpen combined to face just one batter over the minimum, as the Brewers never advanced another runner past first base.
Jimmy Nelson (2-5) set a career high with seven strikeouts, but lasted only five innings and gave up four runs (two earned) off five hits and two walks.
Liriano had an all-around poor night, striking out three times in four at-bats to go along with his first career error in the fourth. He's now 1 for his last 17 with no walks and six strikeouts.
That was just about the only bad news to crop up, though. Joaquin Benoit, who's been nursing a cranky shoulder, hurled a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances to follow scoreless holds by Nick Vincent and Kevin Quackenbush.
Will Laws is an associate reporter for MLB.com.