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Few companies can strike fear into the hearts of ecommerce merchants like Amazon. Its massive scale and focus on growth over profits allows Amazon to offer pricing that many smaller merchants simply can't compete with.
As an ecommerce entrepreneur myself, I would have an easier time hating on Amazon if it wasn't such an outstanding company. But unlike many huge organizations, it does a great job of providing quality customer service. And if you're an Amazon Prime member – like I am, full disclosure – you get free, fast shipping on just about anything you'd ever want.
So how can small merchants like us compete with such an appealing giant?
Brand Yourself as a SpecialistAmazon's massive size allows it to benefit from economies of scale, but such a wide scope can also be a weakness. With so many products for sale, it's impossible for Amazon to offer specialized, expert guidance.
SonicsOnline founder Dave Huckabay has taken the opposite approach, choosing instead to become laser-focused with his ecommerce catalog. He focuses exclusively on ultrasonic cleaners for jewelry and industrial use, a niche most people probably don't even know exists.
Take a product found on both his site and Amazon: the GemOro Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner. The item costs $120 on SonicsOnline, almost double the $67.95 it's listed for on Amazon. Yet it still manages to sell well on Dave's site.
So how does SonicsOnline compete with Amazon? Though not professionally designed, the SonicsOnline page is chock full of information, including videos, manuals and detailed specs. Perhaps most important is that customers know they're buying from a company with highly focused niche expertise. They can get specialized help for specific questions or problems.
The combination of quality information and industry expertise is powerful and has helped SonicsOnline grow to approximately $300,000 in annual revenues. When asked about successfully competing with Amazon, Huckabay said:
When done properly, real expertise comes across in a website. You can't fake it, and reviews by your customers are not a substitute.
By becoming a true niche expert – and successfully conveying that through your ecommerce store – you'll be much better equipped to compete against Amazon without having to rely on razor-thin pricing.
Create Your Own ProductsCreating your own product is undeniably the hardest (and most expensive) way to get started with eCommerce. But if you have a great idea and the resources to pull it off, it's probably the best way to build a highly profitable business and successfully compete against Amazon.
Just ask Dan Andrews of ModernCatDesigns.com. He and his business partner, Ian Schoen, were surprised at how expensive – and ugly – cat furniture was. So they decided to create their own line that would blend in with modern homes. Here's their popular 'modern kitty litter box' as an example:
One of the biggest advantages of manufacturing their own product was drastically better margins, which led to increased profits and growth opportunities. While many small resellers don't have enough margin to profitably advertise, pay-per-click has been an integral part of helping Modern Cat Designs grow to approximately $120,000 in annual revenues, despite having a catalog of only eight products.
Perhaps best of all, manufacturing allows you to control product distribution and set pricing guidelines to protect your margin. On competing with Amazon and pricing issues, Andrews said:
People buy from us because our products are unique. You just can't find them on Amazon. We also make sure that the dealers we do sell through follow strict pricing guidelines to prevent pricing wars.
Creating your own product isn't for everyone, but it's a great way to successfully compete against Amazon.
Sell With a Deeper PurposeBy connecting with the core values of your customers, you can build a loyal and passionate customer base that isn't shopping based on price alone. A quick Amazon search reveals more than 330,000 different shoes for sale. Yet Tom's Shoes has built a successful business based on the premise of donating a pair of shoes for each pair sold.
Hipcycle.com is another site with a deeper purpose: to reduce waste by selling products made from previously discarded material. The concept, called "upcycling," is used to turn bike sprockets into bowls and computer waste into light fixtures. Here is one of their most popular products, Grey Goose Vodka rocks glasses:
Founded barely a year ago by Andrew Sell, the company already has two full-time employees and a sizable presence on Facebook.
When asked how Hipcycle positions itself to compete against Amazon, Sell replied:
We are passionate about diverting materials from landfills, and our customers want to support that. And we're definitely in the business of building the company one customer at a time and turning them into evangelists for our brand and for waste diversion.
Notice that he didn't mention fast shipping or insanely low prices. Instead, Hipcycle connects with customers over a deeper purpose – one that can't be found on Amazon.
Opportunities Still Exist for Small Merchants
Amazon's rapid growth, scale and pricing power make it a force to be reckoned with online. But despite its sizable influence, it's still very possible to succeed as a small merchant. You just have to be smart about how you position yourself in the market.
So how do you plan to compete against Amazon? Let us know in the comments.
Written by Andrew Youderian. For more on successfully competing with Amazon, download Andrew's popular free eBook on growing a successful ecommerce business. You can also follow him on his blog, eCommerceFuel.com.
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25 comments
October 30 2012, 11:31AM
I have my MP3s on both iTunes and Amazon and I am grateful for the sales, however, both those giants of e-commerce have a very different pricing structure leading to the same files on my being 50% cheaper. I have complete control over the pricing on my site. As the apps make the AJ brand more popular, more people will buy from me (i hope)
October 30 2012, 11:39AM
We actually do sell to Amazon – I feel that being able to take advantage of their huge existing customer base is a resource i should be fully utilizing, the increased number of sales far outweighs the smaller margin I get. However, we also brand our products and packaging clearly enough that people are often directed to our own website for repeat sales. The dynamic pricing on Amazon can be annoying, however I still make my wholesale price on products whatever they sell them for.
October 30 2012, 11:46AM
@Andrew & @Nick – Using Amazon as a sales distribution channel is an interesting strategy. Obviously, being able to tap into their massive network and platform of customers is attractive. But for some merchants, the fees will simply be too much – I know they are often around 15% or higher. In an industry where a 30% margin is good, you're giving up HALF of your profit margin for distribution.
Also, call me paranoid, but I'm not I'd want Amazon to see the raw sales numbers of how my niche was doing. I don't know if they actually do this, but this data would potentially allow them to see what niches are doing very well, and then stock up with their own inventory to take advantage of the strength of the market. For unique niches, selling through Amazon could potentially lead to increased competition from them directly.
I think @Nick's approach is smart – use their channels for distribution but make sure you're doing a lot of branding to drive customers back to your site in the future.
October 30 2012, 12:25PM
We actually sell to Amazon directly, we don't have an Amazon store. They purchase our products at wholesale price and place re-orders every week to be delivered to their various DC's to top up stock. I agree that I would never use them for a distribution house – they take far to large a %age, it works if you're making huge margins, but unfortunately that's not the case for us.
October 30 2012, 12:37PM
@Nick – Thanks for clarifying! So you're using strategy #2 – Create Your Own Products – to compete with Amazon. Having Amazon as a wholesale purchaser sounds like a big win, as long as they don't undercut your market if you're selling retail. Thanks for sharing!
October 30 2012, 01:49PM
Great post. Nice to help the little guys compete with the big guys.
October 30 2012, 02:34PM
@Eric – Thanks! Us little guys have to stick together…. ;-)
October 30 2012, 03:52PM
Right on time :)
Great post with lots of useful information that can be used.
October 30 2012, 06:21PM
Great post guys, very interesting to think about how Amazon may effectively be usurping their own customers in uncompetitive / attractive niches.
October 30 2012, 06:24PM
Thanks Sam! Glad you enjoyed it.
October 31 2012, 02:06AM
Actually I do not know SonicsOnline sells it for $120, dozens shops on the Internet sell out for less than $80. Everyone has Google and everyone can compare!
October 31 2012, 04:58AM
The best way to start would be choosing option 1. Unless you do have a high capital and already earning well, selling for a cause or even creating your own products would be a risk. Providing the best information possible to the products you sell would increase buyer's trust and reliability on your offers, IMO.
October 31 2012, 02:24PM
@Erick – Agreed! I think branding yourself as the expert is easiest way for most small shops to compete with Amazon. Creating your own product and getting involved with a broader cause are viable options too, but just may not be for everyone.
November 01 2012, 01:29AM
We also sell to Amazon as well as several other retailers. It's another channel for us (along with Urban Outfitters, Art.com/AllPosters, Fab.com, several indy retailers, etc…) with our own website (http://www.eyesonwalls.com) being the only place customers can get a complete selection of what we offer. These retailers all have their own customer bases that might never know our brand existed if we didn't put it in front of them where they like to shop. It's working well for us so far.
November 04 2012, 01:09AM
hi guys.. those who want weight gaining capsules, and skin whitening products… pls visit us on (http://www.healthlozenge.com)
December 07 2012, 08:34AM
I have a niche that I'm very active in. (Photography). I'm involved in social media like Flickr, RedBubble and Faceboook. The photography community is very generous with sharing resources, so I'm very lucky that my clients often attribute my textures in their photo descriptions.
Be involved in your community. Word will spread.
December 30 2012, 07:08AM
I sell Omega wrist watch parts. Now this is very specific niche. I started selling on eBay and became power seller + top seller with 100% feedback in one year. I am planning to build my own store. Interestingly, my prices are higher than the same item sold on eBay. My listing is simple but have all the information while others do not have… Now we have started to purchase inventory, get description and resell it..
In addition to that, I am building a store . aleady purchased a domain [ findingpart.com / omegawatchpart.com ] and will start operating on it soon
I feel description and pictures help ALOT !
In case of our niche, people are mostly looking at description..
January 01 2013, 01:44PM
We help small online retailers by providing order fulfillment that can compete with large national providers. DMIfulfillment.com has an app to connect your Shopify store to our fulfillment software with no upfront cost.
June 17 2013, 03:06PM
We just wrote a white paper on this problem at Protea Digital, readers should check it out if they want to learn more- http://www.proteadigital.com/resources-2
I agree that becoming an expert is important, but I think it is even more importance to focus on strong and unique branding.
Thanks for the interesting article!
October 23 2013, 10:43PM
How would one go about creating a custom application suite with all the bells and whistles (ios, android, and windows apps) to compete with the larger companies that are already out there doing the same thing for subscription fees? Would the best option be to charge a one time set up fee for self hosted systems, or to sell your product for less?
July 11 2014, 10:43AM
I think Amazon's lack of interest in Profit makes it a real challenge to compete with. In Scotland they had a 10Million pound government investment to create a fulfillment center now slowly the jobs will be replaced with Kiva System robotic pickers.
We also create our own products and tried listing them on amazon, did really well at the beginning but then counterfeits started appearing under our listing, with our pure 5 star reviews and our number in the category listing. Amazon refused to pull the counterfeit listings, as we are a small company we tried to take the first few sellers to court but by the time one pulled the listing down more were in its place, usually from the same provider. Net effect we were left with product to the point where we had no cash profit from the item, needed to sell below cost and the listing now has bad reviews to poor quality. The item continues to sell for less than the cost of production from other sellers, under our brand name.
The real big problem with this situation is that Profit is the part that allows people to create new products and jobs. By selling without focusing on profit, people end up buying products cheaply but there are less people employed in general to buy at all.
Also dont agree with the expert part totally as often people will research the product online but then buy from the cheapest site anyway. I would pay more not to buy on amazon but Wouldnt pay double.
It does worry me though weather some day my job and the products we've created will be lost to Amazon / Market place sellers who are happy to make a dollar on a two hundred dollar sale.
November 06 2014, 05:02PM
Yeah, you may think this giant is great from the buyer's perspective.
Have a look at what sellers say.
These people are ruthless, and have a desire for dominance… at any cost.
August 04 2016, 04:20AM
I've been doing E-commerce for some time now, and have always found it difficult to compete with Amazon on SEO rankings etc.
I'm still not sure how to beat Amazon, but got inspired by this blogpost: https://sleeknote.com/how-to-compete-with-amazon/ So now i'm trying to combine my content and SEO in a better and more creative way than i've been doing earlier. Hopefully this will make me able to compete with Amazon!
August 25 2016, 10:10AM
Living in the Netherlands I guess setting up a business in the US to be able to sell in the US is a real issue. Can you offer any help on this point?
Thanks very much!
June 03 2017, 04:19PM


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I'm fortunate enough to be spending 10 days in Arizona and Miami attending a friend's wedding, Thunder basketball game, lounging on the beach and of course, enjoying some fabulous food! I will not be posting any new recipes this week, but I will be posting about my vacation food adventures from coast to coast!
I don't consider myself a "food snob" but I definitely differentiate good food, from great food, from amazing food! In general I feel that most food at weddings is good at best!
This was not the case last night when I attended my friend Krystal's wedding in Arizona. The wedding was catered by my best friends family who owns a chain of amazing pizzerias in Arizona that I've mentioned before, Jimmy and Joe's. They went all out for Krystal's wedding as she has been a friend of the family for almost a decade and they wanted this to be their gift to her.
As a chef I realize the difficulties of making a full dinner for almost 200 guests, but every wedding caterer should take some notes from this man.
Yup, the man behind the meat is Terry Black, the founder and owner of Jimmy and Joe's Pizzeria. He's been written up in Pizza Today about being a "visible manager" which discussed his community involvement and being on the front line of all his restaurants. Jimmy and Joe's is a family business and my best friend (Terry's daughter) runs one of the locations and is heavily involved in the expansion of the business. Every once in a while you'll also catch a glimpse of the other Black woman, Mary, and Saturday's wedding was no different, check out all the Black's in action!
Now let's get to that delicious food they are cooking up back there! Terry is seen above slicing the most juicy, tender prime rib I've ever had! This main dish was served with a caesar salad, which I topped with the lemon chicken they had also prepared. Oh my gosh, it was so flavorful and moist! I feel that usually chicken made in bulk is dry and flavorless but this was so far from either of those things, loaded with lemon and garlic flavors and olive oil to keep the chicken moist it was the perfect topping on my caesar! They also served penne pasta with marinara and meatballs, because of course Italian is their bread and butter! I could have eaten 100 of those meatballs!
This was my one plate of food piled up. Yes I only had one plate. Yes I wanted three more. No I wouldn't have been able to fit in my dress anymore if I had eaten three more hence why I didn't!
Meatball = Joy!
Someday when I start cooking for more than a dozen friends I'm going to call up Terry Black for pointers!
If you're in the greater Phoenix area on Tuesday stop by Jimmy and Joe's Mesa location and find me interviewing the manager Miss Amy Black for another fabulous LLB video post! We'll be talking about how the pizzerias came to be, their mission and most importantly how they make that amazing pizza of theirs SO GOOD!!!

subset: commoncrawl


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Nov. 8, 2012 -- Crown Memorial State Beach is arguably one of the crown jewels in Alameda, with incredible views and the longest publicly accessible beach along the San Francisco Bay. For close to 50 years East Bay Regional Park District (EBPRD) has proudly managed this jewel as well as its companions, Crab Cove visitor center and the Bay Trail, for all Alameda residents to enjoy. And we're prepared to expand public access to these healthful amenities. Now we're not certain we can.
Recent actions taken by the City to re-zone an important piece of land to accommodate up to 126 condos on McKay Avenue at the west end of the beach not only thwarts EBRPD's public access expansion interests but also runs counter to the City's own Parks Master Plan which seeks "to enhance partnerships with East Bay Regional Park District … to develop and manage parks, enhance access to parks and open space, and to acquire additional parkland."
Just to be clear, EBRPD enjoys and appreciates great support from Alameda residents. In 2008, 71% of Alameda voters overwhelmingly supported the Park District's Measure WW park bond. Language in that measure specified the allocation of funds to develop much needed improvements to enhance public access to the western end of the beach. We've been meeting with Alameda officials for a number of years about this expansion plan. The City's action to adjust zoning to favor a housing developer's interest on McKay Avenue was taken without proper notice and without completion of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) as required by CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). Re-zoning in this area is incompatible with other uses of this neighborhood, namely the community access to Crab Cove and its historic public beach as well as the sensitive mudflats and habitat in the immediate vicinity. At stake is the privatization of one of the last parcels of land that could provide increased access to the popular Crab Cove visitor center, improve traffic circulation and parking, and form a buffer to protect the important natural resources at Crab Cove.
We have expressly sought amicable resolution to this conflict with the City regarding the recent re-zoning action. Unfortunately, their response has not been productive. We have no other alternative but to seek remedy by the courts, thus the District has filed a lawsuit against the City of Alameda.
We hope that the City Council will reconsider its actions and refocus its efforts to work with us in making EBRPD's expansion plans a reality for the residents of Alameda. Taking away access to this property for all to enjoy is simply heading in the wrong direction.
Robert Doyle is General Manager of East Bay Regional Park District
Carolyn Jones
(510) 544-2217


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Friday, October 7, 2011
Owl-themed decor for your home
Readers of this blog will know that I love blogging about food as well as fun and pretty home decor accessories, tableware and DIY projects. Working for Style at Home also means that I get to look at beautiful homes everyday, as well as design trends and new ways of updating your space. I'm constantly inspired to re-do parts of my apartment and on the constant lookout for pretty new pieces.
This week, I wrote about how owls-inspired accessories have become a real decor trend - they have been popping up on so many different items and can help add a whimiscal touch to your space. Here are some of my favourite finds.
What item is your favourite?
{1} Embroidered owl pillow cover
{2} Antique owl globe
{3} Owl organic dessert plate
{4} Creature kingdom hook
{5} Patterned owl print
{6} Owl catch-all dish
{7} Baby owl earrings
Posted by Chocolate Shavings at 5:16 PM
Labels: home decor, tableware
12 comments:
- Sara said...
Adorable, thanks for sharing!
- October 7, 2011 at 7:19 PM
I Love the plates!
- October 8, 2011 at 11:16 AM
- Chocolate Shavings said...
Yadsia @ShopCookMake: They're even prettier on a table, I love them too!
- October 9, 2011 at 9:29 AM
- Jay said...
wow..looks great..nice cliks..:)
Tasty Appetite
- October 11, 2011 at 7:06 AM
- rach. said...
owls are so cute.
- rach.
- October 14, 2011 at 9:02 PM
- Sylvia said...
Adorable! I love owl things!
- October 16, 2011 at 8:38 PM
- Chocolate Shavings said...
Sylvia: Me too!
- October 16, 2011 at 8:41 PM
- Desserts Divine said...
I love the plates too!
- October 19, 2011 at 9:51 AM
- Chocolate Shavings said...
Desserts Divine: Agreed!
- October 19, 2011 at 5:16 PM
- Deeba PAB said...
I love them all. WOW...what a hard choice this is!!
- October 20, 2011 at 12:22 PM
- Chocolate Shavings said...
Deeba PB: That's how I feel!
- October 25, 2011 at 8:06 AM
- Raelyan said...
So cute! I know someone that would love to have all those things =)
- January 3, 2012 at 3:35 PM
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A small established manufacturing business with two locations; in the Industrial area of Canberra and the other located in Wagga NSW called me recently with cash flow concerns. They had a number of small to medium debts that had been outstanding for over 6 months. They were following up these debtors by sending statements and letters regularly, but all attempts requesting payment had failed. This was causing serious and unwanted cash flow problems and their financial position was becoming serious.
I attended their Canberra based premises in late 2015 and went through the benefits of using EC Credit Control's Debt Recovery process, explaining how efficient and streamlined the process is. The owner spoke to his partner who runs their Wagga operation and they both agreed to give EC Credit Control the opportunity to try and collect their debts. By loading the debts to be collected via our website, were able to commence the debt recovery process quickly and efficiently which can be vital to a successful collection.
Within a week of commencing the debt recovery process we were getting results. With payments for the debts that were owed to the business from almost 12 months ago.
The debt collection process has now proven to be effective for yet another of my Canberra based clients. Subsequently we are looking to protect their cash flow even further in the future by implementing up to date Terms and Conditions of Trade, allowing them to keep their clients bound to a watertight contract moving forward which gives them significant leverage the next time they get a debtor who tries to dig their heels in.
Please contact me for a no cost, no obligation and confidential discussion.


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Follow Us
When people grieve, they show that they are unhappy because of the death of other people. Recreational grievers grieve, not because they are really unhappy, but because they want to show other people that they are caring, sensitive people. So they make sure that they grieve in a way that everyone will notice. This term was created shortly after the death of Princess Diana, when many people showed their grief in public.


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MONTVALE, NJ -- Benjamin Moore is wasting no time in starting the new decade with a trailblazing industry achievement-introducing a super premium waterborne deck and siding stain, ARBORCOAT™.
ARBORCOAT is powered by the same patented Gennex waterborne colorant technology developed by Benjamin Moore over the past decade. It is a system that not merely has yielded award-winning low- and zero-VOC interior paints (Aura and Natura, respectively), but has dispelled every argument that performance is sacrificed or compromised by going "green." In fact, in divining the new Gennex formulations, Benjamin Moore has defined a new generation of paint, creating unparalleled ultimate performance coatings. Now, leapfrogging into the future, it's doing the same for the stain category, delivering a low odor/ low-VOC product that's well below the strictest VOC regulations yet astonishingly superior in performance to conventional stains.
"A waterborne exterior stain is not a new concept," explained Carl Minchew, director of product development for Benjamin Moore, "but, ARBORCOAT is succeeding where others previously have failed. In short, it's an advanced technology for preserving wood. And, it's another Benjamin Moore innovation coup-one that reflects the company's unceasing drive to research and develop high quality products respectful of the environment and the planet."
A Range of Five Opacities...
Five products comprise the family of ARBORCOAT Waterborne Exterior Stains. Transparent, Semi Transparent and Protective Clear Coat are options that promise exceptional protection while allowing the natural color and texture of the wood to show through. Distinguishing the two minimally opaque stain finishes is a unique composition of both water dispersible alkyds with acrylic resins. Thanks to the alkyds, the stain is able to deeply penetrate the wood; it's the acrylic resins that contribute to the incomparable durability over time. As for the acrylic Protective Clear Coat, it is especially effective and recommended as a final deck finish atop either of the two transparent stains, ensuring added defense against foot traffic and the punishing elements of the outdoors. In fact, an annual application of the Protective Clear Coat is optimum, providing paint contractors with the opportunity for ongoing maintenance for a client.
For those wanting to completely mask the wood grain but retain the textural qualities, there is a choice of ARBORCOAT Semi Solid or Solid finishes. These are acrylic formulations, with performance properties that are equally superior protection as their aforementioned siblings. Semi Solid is available in 75 popular colors; Solid in any color.
So many other outstanding traits are common to the entire ARBORCOAT stain family. Foremost is that they help repel damaging UV rays, are water and mildew resistant, and help prevent scuffing and the wear of constant foot traffic. When tinted, the low odor stains feature Benjamin Moore's proprietary Gennex waterborne colorant, adding no further VOCs to a low VOC count of less than 100 grams per liter. All ARBORCOAT stains have been formulated for decks or siding; they are easy to apply with roller or spray plus back brush; and, re-coating can be rapidly completed, increasing productivity and bottom line results for a contractor. Clean up also is simple with soap and water, making harsh solvents unnecessary.
"Put to the test, ARBORCOAT has outperformed even the best alkyd stains on the market," said Minchew. "An independent lab recently conducted unrelenting comparison testing, and seeing is believing. The ARBORCOAT samples versus those from leading competitors tell such a compelling story of the durability and aesthetic resilience, we've decided to include actual weathered wood panels in presentation kits to show how ARBORCOAT stacks up. It's a worthwhile investment in stating the ARBORCOAT case."
ARBORCOAT is engineered to work effectively with the full lineup of Benjamin Moore's existing Prep Products. Protective Clear Coat is $40.99 a gallon; the stains, $42.99 MSRP.
About Benjamin Moore:
Benjamin Moore & Co., a Berkshire Hathaway company, was founded in 1883. One of the country's leading manufacturers of premium quality residential, commercial and industrial maintenance coatings, its products are distributed via a network of independent paint and decorating retailers throughout North America. Benjamin Moore has been a longstanding steward of the environment with a relentless commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices plus the ongoing development of the most eco-responsible formulations possible. Its portfolio of Green Promise® products continues to grow and includes Aura, über-performance low-VOC paint; Natura, the true zero-VOC interior paint, remaining zero in any color, any sheen; and EcoSpec zero-VOC paint for commercial interiors. Benjamin Moore ranks as one of the top 35 GREEN Companies in the U.S., according to GreenBiz.com from an Eco-Insights survey conducted by Earthsense with more than 30,000 respondents.
Source: Benjamin Moore
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You shouldn't point fingers, you shouldn't label people. These adages have been instilled since the first time our mothers lovingly smacked down a pointed hand in public. But pointing at people is practical and convenient, however rude, and although they can be reductionist, labels are useful too, often giving a name or sense of self to those without it.
Within the LGBT community, animal identifiers such as bear culture have served such a purpose. Though the deepest roots of the term are contentious, "bear" resulted at least in part as a way to buck the stereotypes that all gay men behaved in the same effeminate way, said Mike Sullivan, 44, co-owner of The SoFo Tap in Andersonville. "Bears" were usually hairier, heavier gay men who defied the idea of effeminacy being their defining characteristic.
"They felt like outcasts," he said. These terms evolved, and though usually only referred to physical appearance, have become archetypes.
"Nowadays I feel like it's more of a self-identifying label for partly body appearance, but, in some respects, personality as well," Sullivan said. He did acknowledge that these distinctions have received some backlash in recent years, but believed they remained pretty harmless.
"It's as simple as the type of person someone is attracted to or perceived to be like. Now I think they're generally used in a positive way by the people who use them, but I do think some people think it's sort of over-labeling," he said. This is especially true for terms like twink, which he said has built up a negative connotation. Other terms, such as chub, though largely used as a pejorative, can be used negatively as well.
Still, the identifiers are widely used today. Sullivan refers to SoFo Tap as "a neighborhood bear bar that welcomes everyone." There are bear- or otter-related (thinner bear) groups and parties around the city, and physical qualities remain a common sort of category in that regard.
Here are some of the terms Sullivan said he hears regularly:
Bear: "A group that's pretty broad, not very rigid, but one of the most established groups. Heavier, hairier gay men."
Cub: "Definitely one that's used a lot. Bears tend to be in their 30s or 40s or older, so a cub is just a younger version of a bear."
Otter: "A guy who has the facial hair of the bear, but is slighter in build."
Chaser: "Someone who is attracted to bears but isn't a part of the culture."
Chub: "Term for a larger bear. Sometimes used as a pejorative, sometimes as a self-identifier, but it can also sometimes be used negatively."
Musclebear: "Bigger guys who have more muscle that just a regular heavier guy."
Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page.


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Main Content
School of Business MIS Position
SNP Technologies: IT Consultant/Business Process Analyst
The position requires a broad skill-set. The most important skill is both written and verbal communication. The IT Consultant frequently must breakdown technological concepts and solutions into easily understandable business solutions for a non-technical client audience. Additionally, the IT Consultant must be able to translate business needs into a technology framework to discuss with engineers and management. The position also requires significant time spent onsite at client locations throughout Connecticut. Therefore, successful candidate must be willing and able to travel to these destinations.
Successful candidates will need to be familiar and comfortable with the fundamentals of project management. At any time the candidate will be working on both consultant managed projects and consultant supported projects. Consultant managed projects will include all aspects of scheduling, resource coordination, project execution, and client communication.
The following outlines the various activities of the IT Consultant/Business Process Analyst. While it is not required that successful candidates have experience performing all of these duties, they should be willing and able to learn the concepts quickly.
Consulting Activities
- Conduct baseline evaluations to determine current status of client IT Security
- Risk Analysis process and documentation
- Remediation recommendation and planning in conjunction with engineers and management
- Compliance Assessment (HIPAA/HITECH, MA 201 CMR 17.00, etc.)
- HIPAA Security Awareness Training to small and large groups
- All User Training related to product implementation and/or process changes
- Ongoing Client Status Emails/Reports/Memos
- PowerPoint Presentation Creation
Business Process Analyst Activities
- Workflow observation and documentation
- Gap Analysis process and documentation
- Remediation recommendation and planning in conjunction with engineers and management
- All User Training related to product implementation and/or process changes
- Client Status Emails/Reports/Memos
- PowerPoint Presentation Creation
Business Development/Support Activities
- Marketing support- mailings, newsletters, website copy writing, blogging, social media contribution, etc.
- Proposal writing
- Sales Presentations/Trade Show Attendance
- Basic understanding of preferred vendors/products and their functions and features
- Keep up-to-date with industry new
Sachin Parikh
203-287-9114 x112
SNP Technologies, Inc.
1890 Dixwell Avenue, Suite 205
Hamden, CT 06514


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Thursday, June 09, 2011
Book with the Dusty-Rose Cover
It is an old Oxford paperback, with a cover the color of parchment and faded flowers. It was on the to-be-shelved rack in the literary criticism section of the Richardson Halfprice Books. I did not need it. We had a cart full of books already, some for us, some for the children. But when I picked up the book and felt its smooth cover, almost creamy to the touch, I felt that familiar eagerness. This book was meant to be a pleasure to hold. The Penguins and the Oxford paperbacks of the 1960s were made to satisfy the senses of the reader as well as the mind.
Last Christmas Az the husband gave me a Kindle, one of those electronic book readers. I love its ease and compact accessibility, and I especially love how many books I can get for free. But reading on it has made me aware of how much tactile pleasure I used to get from books. There is joy in holding a book just so in your hand, joy in a book that has been well-made. Acid-free paper and clear type, a spine that bends but does not break, a cover illustration that makes you wonder about the contents. All these pleasures are lost in a Kindle, where I have had to love books only for their words, a task that is not as simple as I expected.
If you love Rudyard Kipling's Kim, you can love it on an e-reader, but you will only be loving the platonic ideal of Kim. You cannot love this book, this copy I hold in my hand, the one with the dog-eared cover and the coffee-stain on page 193. Every time you pick up this book, this one here, it reminds you of that summer before junior year at the lake in Wisconsin, when you were slathered in calamine after stumbling into poison ivy. You remember how the book kept you from scratching, mostly, and you only closed it when you needed to swat a fly. Every time you read this book, it feels like coming home.
The Oxford paperback with the cream and dusty-rose cover felt good in my hand, and when I opened it, the scent of its pages took me back to the summers at my parents' house in Kansas, looking through the bookshelves in the basement for something to read. The summers were hot but the basement was cool, and thousands of books lined its walls. I could pick out whatever I wanted. The slim Penguin Classics called to me, and I read the Inferno and the Iliad and Candide, copies left over from my dad's college years. Sometimes, as a boon from the playful reading gods, I would find his notes in the margin, crisp neat writing of a younger man I never met, a man who did not yet know my mother. We would meet across the margins, and I would smile quietly and say nothing. I never give away the ending.
I bought a book today because of its scent. Because some day my children may want to browse our shelves on their own in the cool basement, and smooth slim volumes may call to them (now where did I leave that pencil?). I bought a book because reading is a dangerous endeavour, and I should be grounded in case of lightning strike, my hands touching something real, my feet rooted with the tree its paper comes from.
So I bought the book with the dusty-rose cover. I will read it with my whole body, even if I only use my eyes.
11 comments:
- Anonymous6/09/2011
This is beautiful (says she, reading a blog on her computer). Sums up everything I feel about the danger of e-readers, what they take away from us as reading people. I do think they are very useful, but reading a bound book engages all our senses (well, except maybe taste), and sticks with us so much better, and does so much more for us, than something that just requires our eyes.ReplyDelete
That's it! You have so beautifully described how I feel about books. Unfortunately I feel like my life is a war with books. I have about 8 bookcases of varying sizes, and they are...overfull. I am constantly trying to find some I can get rid of, or lobbying my husband for another book case. But really, is it possible to have too many books?ReplyDelete
So, I know I'm missing the whole point of your post here but - what book was it?ReplyDelete
- Deneen6/09/2011
I gave a little jump for joy when I read the statement " I will read it with my whole body, even if I only use my eyes." That sentence sums up perfectly how much I love to read.ReplyDelete
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here.
This is why I do not own a Kindle. Although when the baby is napping and I've run out of new books to read, I reconsider.ReplyDelete
I'm so glad you are blogging again. I landed here through sheer dumb luck, and I'm so glad. I've missed your writing.
- Karin6/09/2011
Just found you again after reading your previous blogs. I am so glad you are back. I was just telling a friend the other day about your old blog...and how much I missed your voice. You had outgrown that space but I had not, with babies underfoot. Now I get to feel that familiar feeling...the looking forward to your posts.ReplyDelete
I. so. agree. with. you. E books will just never, ever do, will they? I have been careful to teach my children the joy of the smell of books, and they often run to me full of joy to share a 'good one'! Books are precious - 'hands touching something real' - as you say.ReplyDelete
I love this post. It made me realize how much I too, enjoy other things about books besides the words, and it was beautiful to read.ReplyDelete
- Linda B.6/13/2011
This was lovely.ReplyDelete
You have no idea how happy I am that you are blogging again!


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The office, which will host a research and development facility, will employ around 200 people. Additionally, Vestas' Sales and Operations, IT and spare parts and repair divisions will be based at the new building.
Vestas' Asian-Pacific headquarters has been based in Singapore since 2006. The country will also be host to the 'Vestas Wind Forum', as part of Global Wind Day.
The theme of the forum will be "Clean and Safe Energy for Asia – Powering Wind Energy Development through Expertise in Singapore".


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My wife's uncle grew up on Cephalonia and says this is a bunch of nonsense. It is an island religious tradition with absolutely no basis in fact.
For Christ sake you call this thing a nonsense`? So thousands of people seeing this must either be blind or stupid.
For Christ sake you call this thing a nonsense`? So thousands of people seeing this must either be blind or stupid. Very sad to hear such stuff this is a miracle and still we choose to be Thomas.
Yep, you read that right. I'm not sure what to think about this interesting story. I kind of feel bad for the snakes being handled so much, but, if they're from our Lady Theotokos, then they probably enjoy their time with us.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvSsOxZfWvk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Za9-uX4b8&feature=related
The church is near the ruins of an old convent. When a band of pirates landed, the nuns sang the Paraklesis to the Theotokos, begging her to deliver the island and protect them. The Theotokos sent a swarm of snakes with painful bites which drove the pirates off. Since then, these small snakes come annually to the church and seem to venerate the icon of the Theotokos by crawling on to it. These snakes have a marking of the Cross on their heads. I've mentioned this miracle three times on the forum, and posted video links, but you all wisely ignore this old windbag.
I personally love snakes. Wasn't it St John Chrysostom who said the snake was man's best friend and that the devil took this form in order to deceive Eve?
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Judd Apatow on Directing Wife Leslie Mann to Kiss Paul Rudd
Judd Apatow Jokes: Directing Wife to Kiss Paul Rudd Was "Disgusting"
It was a family affair on the set of director Judd Apatow's new movie, This Is 40, as his two daughters and wife, Leslie Mann, star in the film, out today. But actor Paul Rudd took Judd's place as the husband and dad in the movie, which put Judd in a potentially awkward situation: directing his wife to kiss another man. Chelsea Handler got Judd to discuss the subject with humor last night on Chelsea Lately, along with how it didn't take much to get his daughters to actually have an argument on camera. Watch now.


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To improve the delivery of services and increase cost effectiveness, the Cass, Logan, Macon, Macoupin and Schuyler Long Term Care cases will be transferred to the Macon LTC Family Community Resource Center (163). A copy of the client notice CN14.10/CN14.10S (pdf) is attached.
Customer inquiries may be directed to firstname.lastname@example.com.
[signed copy on file]
Michelle R.B. Saddler
Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services
Forms referenced:


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New Offerings Include Enhanced Artist Endorser Section, Demos, Listings of Wireless Accessories NILES, IL, February 18, 2008 — Shure Incorporated has expanded its online resources to include features for both professional and personal audio product users -- musicians, contractors, installers, and audio enthusiasts alike. The new offerings include an enhanced artist endorser section, educational demos, and updates to the Audio Resource Center. With a history of audio innovation spanning more than 80 years, Shure microphones have been a part of many legendary events, recordings, and live performances. Launched at the recent NAMM trade show, a new section of the website now features popular performing artists who use Shure products, including Maroon 5, Natalie Cole, Henry Rollins, Josh Rouse, and LeAnn Rimes. This section of the website leverages Shure's existing artist relations program, ties into its advertising efforts, and features the Shure products each artist uses. In addition to gear details, the site contains more comprehensive information on the artists themselves, including biographies and exclusive interview, photo, and video content. "The artist relations team has worked with both artist management and the artists themselves to make the website an ideal destination for exclusive artist information for customers and a great promotional vehicle for artists," notes Manager of Shure Artist Relations Kevin Spiegel. In addition to the artist community, a wireless accessory wizard and KSM microphone demo represent the latest developments in the company's efforts to bring a comprehensive level of online technical support to professional users. The latest addition to the Audio Resource Center, the new Wireless Accessory Wizard, quickly creates a listing of required accessories for any given wireless microphone application. "It will tell you everything from the number of receivers you'll need right down to the number of antennas and related amplifiers, splitters, and cables," notes Shure Senior Applications Engineer Rick Waller.The Audio Resource Center also features spec sheets, software, and other tools for contractors, engineers, and installers. Additionally, a new KSM comparison demo highlights the differences among the KSM family of microphones. Recommended for use with quality headphones, earphones, or loudspeakers in a studio environment, the demo uses animation and stereo MP3 files to deliver a detailed graphic and audio portrait of KSM microphones with different vocal and instrumental selections.For on-the-go audio enthusiasts, an updated How-To-Use demo provides detailed fit, sleeve selection, and care and maintenance information for Shure's award-winning line of Sound Isolating™ earphones. Located in the Personal Audio section of the website, the demo also provides more information on inline accessories for the modular earphones, including the new Music Phone Adapter.
New Features, Resources Added to Shure.com
Contact Public Relations:
Shure Incorporated
Attn: Allison Dolegowski
Telephone: (312) 736 6000
Shure Blog
We're posting Shure news, how-to tips, and backstage stories about Shure artist endorsers. Check it out, and share your thoughts.
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Details and Discussion in the Forum Thread
It took a bit longer than expected, but release 0.9 is no officially released! There's a lot of stuff that was added and a lot that's changed, but despite it all there shouldn't be any problems bringing your 0.8 saves forward to this version if you want to.
As always, you can see the full feature list in the forum thread announcement, but I'll give you a taste right here and now:
And there's some other stuff too - this is just the highlights, as I see them.
We've been holding off on a lot of major changes recently to make sure this branch is super-stable - but that means that the Experimental, for those riding the edge, is going to be a lot LESS stable for a while, as it sees a rapid introduction of all the bits and pieces that were put off until after release.
And with that, I wish you all a good night. Enjoy, Cataclysm fans!
Side note: For everyone who's bugged me about wanting to financially support the game post-Kickstarter, you are now able to do that! Huzzah!


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Interphex Stands Test of Time (and Economy)
Despite a tough economy, few question the value of attending Interphex, and this years show promises to be as good as ever.
Let's be honest. This is not a good year for trade show attendance. The state of the economy has most companies reconsidering their travel and event budgets, and all over the pharmaceutical world the question is being asked: Do we really need to attend this show?
As the annual Interphex show returns to expensive New York City—March 17-19 at the Jacob Javits Center—the question is relevant. But Interphex veterans know the show's real worth. "Interphex is an invaluable forum to discuss critical industry issues and learn about forthcoming trends and directions," says Ian Sellick, director of marketing, Pall Life Sciences. "The show provides us with our best opportunity to showcase the initiatives we have developed to address industry challenges. New York City has proven to be an excellent venue for Interphex, helping us meet more people who are globally responsible for scientific innovation and who are helping advance patient care."
For those who say money is an issue, the argument can be made that attending Interphex makes sense because of the economy. More than ever, exhibitors will be peddling cost- and time-saving equipment and solutions, and educational tracks feature sessions devoted to improving processes and efficienciency in all manufacturing endeavors. There's an entire track on Sustainable Practices, which includes presentations on: "A Risk-Based Approach to Energy Savings in Pharmaceutical Facilities"; "Costs and Benefits of Implementing a Sustainable Energy Program"; "Cut Costs, Reduce Risk, and Protect the Environment: What Leading Companies are Doing" (jointly presented by Energy Star, Schering-Plough, and Pfizer); and "Sustainable IT Processes in a Virtualized World."
A few of the "economic" highlights from other tracks:
- "Building an Error Prevention Culture," by Michael Curran-Hayes of Kepner-Tregoe
- "Advances in Bioreactor Modeling and Control," by Greg McMillan of Emerson Process Management
- "Equipment Lifecycle Management: Cost Effective and Compliant Maintenance for Qualified Equipment," by Jason Price of Management Resources Group
- "Building and Tailoring a Lean Six Sigma Approach for Validation Processes," by Bikash Chatterjee of Pharmatech Associates
- "Case Study: Schering-Plough Global Clinical Supply Facility"
- Multiple sessions on the use of single-use equipment and materials in biopharma
Any of the above tracks and sessions—and the many others taking place at this year's Interphex—could be seen as money-saving opportunities. Knowledge is always a bargain.
Who'll Be There
Below are some of the companies headlining this year's Interphex show, and what they'll be featuring. For additional information visit our Interphex 2009 Portal.
A&B Process Systems Booth #1928
A&B is a proven leader in the design, fabrication, automation, testing and installation of high-quality stainless steel process skids/super skids, tanks, auxiliary equipment and piping systems. A&B has over 250,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity including its controlled environment facility that prevents the contamination of high purity tanks & systems.
ABB Booth #2310
ABB will showcase its Industrial IT eXtended PAT (process analytical technology) software. The latest generation of ABB's PAT solutions, xPAT provides simplified engineering and streamlined integration with enterprise systems, as well as broad connectivity to a host of analyzers to help customers achieve continuous process improvement, real-time product release and Quality by Design. (QbD).
xPAT combines process data collection and analysis with traditional process control and data management functions to produce a complete PAT solution in a single system. The product is standalone, designed for use with any process automation solution, including System 800xA, as well as non-ABB DCS systems. Its integration capability provides expanded modeling functionality with modeling tools at the analyzer, unit operation and process levels, including support for batch modeling and integration of the Umetrics SBOL (SIMCA-Batch On-Line) batch monitoring tool.
AES Clean Technology Booth #2928
Specializes in the design/build of cGMP Cleanrooms and is the exclusive US manufacturer and distributor of the AES Pharma Wall and Walk-On Ceiling System. Products feature laminar flow modules, weigh/dispense booths, air showers, modular cleanrooms, turnkey HVAC systems, process services and third-party certification/validation services.
ATMI Life Sciences Booth #1373 and #1357
ATMI provides a range of proprietary disposable mixing, storage, powder transfer, packaging and bioreactor technology solutions that maximize product integrity while optimizing manufacturing cost. ATMI will introduce: NUCLEO, its next generation of disposable, scalable, bioreactors, developed for a wide range of cell culture applications. The Nucleo and ATMI's entire Disposable Mixing System product line will be featured at booth #1357.
Also shown: Newmix-Levtech disposable mixing and storage systems; Newsafe disposable containment systems, and Newform ultraclean sterilizable flexible packaging.
ATS Automation Tooling Systems Booth #2841
ATS Automation Tooling Systems provides innovative, custom-designed, built and installed manufacturing solutions to many pharmaceutical companies. ATS also contract manufactures electro-mechanical components and machinery for global customers in the healthcare and other industries.
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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
One lonely block
20 comments:
- Fiesta said...
Janet another beauty by you.
I have never tried this type of applique.
Looks interesting and hard at the same time.
- March 11, 2009 at 10:41 AM
- Lurline said...
Just gorgeous, Janet - do add the little circles and don't put it away - one of the most difficult forms of applique, I think - those shapes are so close - beautiful!
Hugs - Lurline♥
- March 11, 2009 at 11:13 AM
- Amy said...
Oh my ,its beautiful......I think you need to do the whole quilt in your spare time,lol! Amy
- March 11, 2009 at 12:11 PM
- QuiltedSimple said...
This is gorgeous - very pretty! Very beautiful..
- March 11, 2009 at 12:39 PM
I really love your block. It is too pretty to hide.
- March 11, 2009 at 1:53 PM
- Karen said...
Lovely block! I just did a cutaway Dear Jane block and now I am hooked. Such fun. Now I want to make a Hawaiian block.
- March 11, 2009 at 2:44 PM
- Kathie said...
I am in awe of this block! and the quilt...
oh you need to try another one..
this would be such a beautiful quilt
ah yes I need to go study the blocks....
- March 11, 2009 at 7:38 PM
- Jackie said...
Absolutely beautiful work! It looks just like the original!
- March 11, 2009 at 9:42 PM
- Kaaren said...
Absolutely gorgeous work! It would be a shame to hide it away.
- March 11, 2009 at 10:31 PM
- ranette said...
Oh my....this quilt and your block took my breath away. Please make all of the blocks, please.
- March 11, 2009 at 11:02 PM
- erica e said...
gorgeous! absolutely stunning.
- March 12, 2009 at 12:21 AM
- Janet said...
Your block is lovely! You definately need to do something with it!! The antique quilt is amazing and very inspiring - just imagine the number of hours put into making it.
- March 12, 2009 at 3:02 AM
- Lucy said...
Oh janet, this block is a stunner! Amazing beautiful. Love the quilt too.
- March 12, 2009 at 7:32 AM
- Carrie P. said...
Your block is great and so is that quilt. Just keep making more and you will have a quilt in no time. LOL
- March 13, 2009 at 5:27 AM
- Janet said...
This is gorgeous. This is traditional done right! Seeing your work makes me want to do it too. Great project to take on a trip.
- March 13, 2009 at 8:52 AM
- Kerstin said...
Dear Janet, the block looks really great! Please make some more of them, maybe for a small quilt or a large one. Beautiful done!
- March 13, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Goergeous appliqué once more
- March 14, 2009 at 12:13 AM
- Quilts And Pieces said...
Wow! Can you imagine making this! Heck I would be happy to own it!
- March 14, 2009 at 3:24 PM
- KateOz said...
Hi - I have just found your blog and saw the red and white quilt in your March 11 posting - wow!! That quilt was for sale on ebay last year, and I printed it off as I was so amazed by it. I thought I would remake it...but of course still haven't. I am very impressed by your block!
Kate in Australia
- March 18, 2009 at 8:57 PM
- Leslie said...
Clear red and white is such a stunning combination, and these patterns just make it sing! I know why you wanted to try this one.
- March 25, 2009 at 3:32 AM


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At The Cameraman's Revenge, James Russell offers smart appraisals of Cushing's two mid-Sixties sorties as Dr. Who.
Brian Solomon of The Vault of Horror contemplates the last stretch in Cushing's career, and the missed opportunities in a piece called What Might Have Been.
There's one more review to go from Ray, coming up later this evening.
This week, RayRay of WeirdFlix walked us through the Hammer Frankenstein series starring Peter Cushing. Now we come to the end when the Mad Baron, wearing what Cushing called his Helen Hayes wig, undertakes his last experiments, with predictably chaotic results. "This may be his swan song, Ray writes, "but in his final moments on film, he reminds us that he'll never, ever stop."
Ray's review of Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) is entitled All Good Things.
Peter Cushing's Last Bow, posted on The Secret Sanctum of Captain Video, features links to a trailer and the whole film, available on YouTube.
Over the last seven days, I have posted some 80 links from over 30 sources, all discussing and celebrating the exceptional work and the remarkable life of Peter Cushing on this, his 100th Anniversary.
I am amazed by the variety, the originality and the quality of research and writing that I have been privileged to share here. Thank you so much to all the contributors, and thank you to all our visitors — I hope you have all enjoyed the Blogathon as much as I did.
Peter Cushing has been gone now for almost 20 years, but his films are being preserved, his work is widely available and he may very well be as popular today as he ever was. To us, his fans, he remains a vibrant presence in our lives.
"He really was the most gentle and generous of men. I have often said he died because he was too good for this world."
— Christopher Lee, on Peter Cushing.


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This is web proxy server you can use to grant access to blocked web resources (such as facebook, twitter, youtube) and all over the world.
Free, secure and anonymous. Just type the address you want to visit and don't worry about your identity. Also blocked websites are not an issue any more.


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Yesterday I met with my blogger friends and spent a lovely afternoon in a magical place, I have never been to before, a place that really took my heart. You know my passion for old furniture, and fashion, in general, the aesthetic that belongs to a distant epoch, in which I long to exist even for a few hours. This place, called Thomas Antiques is the perfect place to do just that. It is a shop and a caffe every table and chair distinguished from another because they are for sale and this is what makes this place so interesting. Every saloon is filled with so much history, all that remains is you to imagine, like me, what it was like to live back then and to reconstruct parties, sophisticated ladies and beautiful dresses. I am often said that I live in the past..but that is just the melancholic version of myself . I'll let you enjoy the pictures now:
With Sandra and Eve, and below with Laura:
Wearing: vintage dress, Botinelli shoes, Mondex tights.


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Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced legislation last month that would allow Israel to continue racially profiling Americans of Arab and Muslim heritage who travel to Israel, even as it confers new privileges on Israelis traveling to the United States.
I wonder whether she understands what it's like for her Arab American constituents to enter Israel.
I always bet myself how long it will take for Ben Gurion Airport's security screeners to detect my heritage. My given names are European, and my family name is an unusual pluralization of a common Arab name that sometimes throws even Arabic speakers. My hair is graying and my complexion, somewhere between that of my Palestinian father and my blue-blood American mother (a descendant of William Samuel Johnson, a signer of the U.S. Constitution), does not distinguish me. I dress like a typical American law professor, albeit one who is on vacation.
But the moment always arrives. The screeners, typically youngsters half my age, grow tenser and the questions begin: "Where was your father born? Where are you going in Israel? What is your purpose here? Where will you stay? How many times have you been here before? Who do you know in Israel?" I respond, patiently and truthfully. On it goes for hours, punctuated by long waits on hard benches as increasingly senior interrogators shuttle in. Occasionally I am strip-searched. When I clear customs, the non-Arab passengers from my flight have long since departed the airport. I endure this whether traveling alone or with my family. In 2000, my daughter spent a substantial part of her ninth birthday contending with such a Ben Gurion Airport welcome committee.


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Mook needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 21 designs submitted by 9 freelance designers.
Charleston Beverage Barn
We are creating an all inclusive wine, beer, liquor superstore called Charleston Beverage Barn, Warehouse Wine, Beer, Liquor. Logo I would like will have BEVERAGE BARN displayed distinctly and boldly. Charleston will be displayed to a lesser extent, on the side almost secondarily. The sub-title will be Warehouse Wine, Beer, Liquor. Use your creative license but it needs to be fairly simple and distinct. The use of a wine glass or bottle with some sort of farm theme (silo, animal, barn) in design works for me.
We are trying to attract all types to our store, so design needs to be fairly simple and direct but eye catching.
Beverage Barn needs to stand out.
Charleston off to the side.
SubTitle: Warehouse Wine, Beer, Liquor needs to be present
Tying the beverage business with a farm object is the key.
Needs to be straightforward.
Color is not important so much.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Mike Dunleavy scored all of his 21 points in the second half, Joakim Noah flirted with another triple-double and the Chicago Bulls posted a 111-87 wire-to-wire victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
Noah finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score.
Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for Chicago, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers, Carlos Boozer added 18 points, D.J. Augustin 13 and Jimmy Butler 11.
The Bulls improved to 2-2 on their six-game home stand.
The Rockets have dropped two straight. Reserve guard Jeremy Lin led Houston with 21 points, while Dwight Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. James Harden had eight points on 2-for-7 shooting in 27 minutes.
The Bulls were coming off a humiliating loss to San Antonio on Tuesday. Although they lost by just eight points (104-96), the game was essentially over after they fell behind by 32 points in the first half. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said his team simply wasn't ready to play following an emotional win against the Miami Heat two days earlier.
"If we don't play with great intensity, we're in trouble," Thibodeau said before the game. "Two or three minutes when you don't have that edge, that's 15 or 20 points."
The Bulls were ready to play from the start Thursday, jumping out to an 18-10 lead eight minutes into the game behind 10 points from Boozer.
They never trailed in the first half, taking a 50-42 halftime advantage.
Any thoughts of a Houston comeback were quickly dismissed at the start of the second half when the Bulls opened the third quarter with 16 straight points for a 66-42 edge. The final 12 points of the run came on four straight 3-pointers by Dunleavy and Hinrich. They each had two, alternating after Hinrich started the streak.
Later in the quarter, the Bulls stretched the lead to 77-48 on a 3-pointer by Augustin. They led 85-58 entering the fourth quarter.
Dunleavy, who was hit above the right eye while drawing a charge in the second quarter and ran into the locker room gushing blood, finished with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting. He was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and the Bulls were 6 for 8 from behind the line in the quarter.
The Bulls were able to open up the big lead because of the hot shooting, but Noah's defense on Howard was a key to the victory. Noah's ability to contain the Rockets' big man straight up hampered the Rockets' offense.
It was a far cry from early in his career when Noah usually was overpowered by Howard.
"The biggest improvement for Joakim has been his overall strength," Thibodeau said before the game. "He's obviously gotten great experience, he continues to grow and we play him on just about everybody, from point guards to centers.
"I think he has a really good understanding of what a player's strengths are and trying to make them get away from their strengths. He's much stronger than he was, even two years ago."
NOTES: The Rockets won 109-94 in the teams' previous meeting on Dec. 18. Houston had 66 points in the paint in that game, the most the Bulls have allowed this season. … Rockets coach Kevin McHale, despite having Dwight Howard on his team, said before the game that Bulls center Joakim Noah should be the league's defensive player of the year. "Especially after the (Loul) Deng trade, Noah's played with such high intensity," McHale said. "They've been winning a lot of games just on his grit and toughness.". Before Thursday, the Rockets were 13-3 since Feb. 1 and had won four straight against the Bulls.


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An artist and filmmaker, McDonald is the director of "Woodstock: Can't Get There From Here":
Here's a clip from McDonald's "The Culture Wars":
Daily Freeman Life Editor Ivan Lajara talks about journalism, living in the Hudson Valley, language, the Web, cats and even politics. But he shouldn't.
* "Olympic opening uses girl's voice, not face" by the Associated Press.
* Olympic Beat, a podcast by the Associated Press
* Also from the AP, an interactive feature about what's in the air in Beijing (hint: Love is not in the air).
* AP Video: Fake fireworks, lip synching:
* Here's a watchdog group with proof the media is liberal: http://www.aim.org/
* Here's a watchdog group with proof the media is conservative: http://www.fair.org/
The International Space Station was in position to view the umbral (ground) shadow cast by the moon as it moved between Earth and the sun during a solar eclipse on March 29, 2006. This astronaut image captures the umbral shadow across southern Turkey, northern Cyprus and the Mediterranean Sea.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov
NASA TV, which is online, has a live feed, if you happen to be up at 6 a.m.
The video will most likely be archived, and will be linked and/or posted here as well.
Visit www.themummy.com. The site is pretty cool, though the movie is getting buried with bad reviews.
"Swing vote"


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Reports suggesting sluggish demand for the latest iPhone spooked Apple investors and sent the company's stock sliding Monday.
When the markets opened Monday morning, the Apple's stock dropped $16.23, or 3.1%, to $504.07.
The latest news to shake the stock came Sunday night from the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Apple had significantly cut orders for various components for the iPhone 5, such as its screens, for the current quarter.
PHOTOS: Top 10 tech products of 2012
Sources told the Journal the reason for the pullback was soft sales: "The move indicates that sales of the new iPhone haven't been as strong as previously anticipated and demand may be waning."
Reuters also reported a reduction in orders from Apple for screens: "Apple has asked Japan Display Inc., Sharp Corp. and South Korea's LG Display Co. to roughly halve supplies of LCD panels from an initial plan for about 65 million screens in January-March, the Japanese daily said, citing people familiar with the situation, adding the U.S. firm also cut orders for other iPhone components."


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While the iPhone 7 is still the most popular smartphone on the market, it is still very little inspired. Despite several changes, the Apple iPhone 7 was not very different from the iPhone 6s. In contrast, Samsung has shown impressive improvements in its smartphones in recent years. For example, the camera on Galaxy S6 and S7, IP68 certification, curved edge display, wireless charge, and much more.
This time, Samsung has again done something remarkable with the Galaxy S8. Whether it's design, camera, display or hardware. But again, there are areas that did not satisfy the demanding human nature.
Samsung has always preferred an early start unlike Apple which announces its Flagship to Q3 every year. This proves to be both positive and negative for Samsung. Although it receives an anticipated demand from consumers, it also allows the competitor to prepare his device after a long-term analysis of the Galaxy S smartphone. By joining Apple, Google also adds heat to competition with its Pixel phones since last year.
Honestly, there is no comparison between an iOS device and an Android device. But when you go out to buy a high-end flagship smartphone, Samsung and Apple are the main competitors that make the list of the best options. When you spend a huge amount for these smartphones, it is wise to consider all aspects before making a purchase.
It often happens that users regret to buy this smartphone and wish they waited for the iPhone. Samsung Galaxy S8 is one of those smartphones that has all the qualities to remove this regret.
So if you do not want to wait until the last moment, here are some points that could help you decide whether you should wait for the iPhone 8 or not.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is considered the most beautiful smartphone from 2016, and it is not an easy job to move to the next level of this standard. But Samsung did it in style. On the other hand, Apple used the same iPhone 6 as the design on the iPhone 7, which did not do well with critics accusing lack of innovation. The addition of the Matte Black and Jet Black variants was indeed a better move.
So if you consider design, I think the Galaxy S8 has a design that is no less than any other smartphone that has been broadcast so far. Even if the iPhone 8 comes with something cool, it's hard to make sure the Galaxy S8 is dull in front of it.
One of the most beautiful features of the Galaxy S8 is its display. If we look at the past, the curved display Galaxy S6 and S7 Edge was the greatest performance factor for the love it received. This time again, Samsung's Super AMOLED Infinity display stole the show right away. It gives an immersive experience that is nothing less than a beauty.
So if you are concerned about display, the Galaxy S8 will not disappoint you. Even if Apple reduces the glasses to increase the screen / body ratio, it will not be easy to beat the Infinity display of S8.
The Galaxy S8 camera is very similar to the Galaxy S7, which is also the highest-ranked camera in 2017. It comes with a dual-pixel revolutionary autofocus and low-light technology. There are also improvements in the service of the cameras this time, but nothing major.
While many headlights, including the iPhone 7 Plus, were transferred to a two-camera module, Samsung decided to stick to a single camera. Why not? When a single camera performs the job whose dual cameras fail.
However, if you have one thing for two cameras and liked that of the iPhone 7 Plus, then you should definitely expect the next iPhone.
Samsung Galaxy S8 is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, which is the highest ranked by the manufacturers this year. This will be the only competitor of the next Apple chip on the next iPhone.
The Galaxy S8 is a device based on Android and iPhones running on iOS. If you like a lot of customization options on your smartphone, the Galaxy S8 can be handy for you. The best part is that Samsung has also simplified this time the exclusive skin of Samsung. The interface is much clearer and lighter this time.
On the other hand, iOS has some restrictions, but it has a totally different feel to it. It is said if for once you have used an iOS device, it is not easy to get back to Android. IOS is much smoother and uncomplicated compared to Android.
In terms of software features, Galaxy S devices have always played a superior role compared to iPhones.
Why wait you wait for the iPhone 8?
There is almost nothing that the Galaxy S8 does not offer. It has been tested and judged unbeatable in the industry. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com
It's fun, but we can not ignore the fact that Apple's tenth anniversary is one of the reasons we suspect something special coming from the company. What is special about this "something special" is still a mystery.
If you use the iPhone, you have to do it for iPhone. Otherwise, the Galaxy S8 did not give us enough reasons to ignore it for the iPhone to come.


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Agriculture has seen a lot of changes in the last 25 years, says Brad Minton, Syngenta Specialty Crop Product Evaluation, Houston, Texas.
Many of those advances have paralleled the creation and growth of the Texas Plant Protection Association (TPPA), which celebrates its 25th annual conference Dec. 10 and 11 at the Brazos Center in College Station.
Minton cites herbicide resistance crops, new herbicides, insect resistant varieties, seed treatments and global positioning system (GPS) agriculture as key advancements in the last quarter century.
"Round-up Ready and Liberty Link are two of the best changes for producers," he said. "But now we have to deal with herbicide tolerant weeds."
He said herbicides with new modes of action have allowed farmers to go from "pounds of active ingredient to grams per acre. That's a significant benefit."
If you are enjoying reading this article, please check out Southwest Farm Press Daily and receive the latest news right to your inbox.
Producers now have products that are easier to handle and are effective at much lower rates, improving efficiency and with less impact on the environment.
Bt cotton and corn have also improved production economy, Minton added.
"We also now have a full package of seed treatments available that improves efficiency and allows growers to get away from granular application to easy-to-use boxes.
"And GPS technology, including land preparation, spraying and harvest, increases productivity."
He says farmers are "getting better yields from better varieties."
But farmers face new challenges, including pest resistance. "Challenges also represent opportunities for the next advancements," Minton said. "Changing irrigation practice will be critical. We will see more split pivots (different crops, requiring different irrigation demands planted in portions of pivot circles). We also expect to see more subsurface drip irrigation."
Minton said technology also will provide varieties that are more water efficient. And companies like the ones that created and nurtured TPPA will remain in the forefront of new developments, advances and new production systems, he said.
Also of Interest:
Ron Lacewell recalls 25 years of TPPA


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Maury - Dealing With Out-Of-Control Teen Girls (Ranging From 14 To 19 Years Old) "Mommy If You Keep Pissing Me Off. I Will Punch You In The Face" [Full TV Episode]
Maury - Dealing With Out-Of-Control Teen Girls
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There is no pipeline full of new herbicides headed your way to stem the growing problem of weeds resistant to glyphosate or any other herbicide for that matter.
However, representatives of the major chemical companies developing new cotton varieties told growers and others at the Beltwide Cotton Conference in Atlanta that they are developing new varieties resistant to a trio of older herbicides.
The final results will likely be varieties from different companies resistant to an alphabet soup of herbicides; 2, 4-D, dicamba and HPPD-inhibitors.
Two of those, 2, 4-D and dicamba, are bad environmental actors with histories of volatility, unwanted drift and odor issues. Companies are working to re-formulate those products to work with the new herbicide resistant cottons.
Representatives of Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences/Phytogen and Monsanto readily admitted during an industry update that rapidly growing glyphosate-resistant weeds like pigweed, marestail and others are problematic. However, none are abandoning glyphosate-resistance in new varieties.
"There are 300 weeds glyphosate still controls. It is the cornerstone (of weed control) in all crops," said Monsanto's Ty Vaughn.
However, Monsanto's Roundup is no longer the silver bullet it once was. No single mode of action will do the job, Vaughn acknowledged.
"We need to be thinking in different ways to control weeds," Vaughn said. Specifically weed burn down before planting; after planting/post directed herbicide use; rescue treatments as needed; and a return to residual herbicides.
In fact, Bayer CropScience is getting into the glyphosate-resistant game by offering new FiberMax GlyTol cottons for the first time this season, company representative Walt Mullin said. He called this new proprietary Bayer trait technology an "alternative" to using glyphosate "without obligation of buying a specific brand of glyphosate." Bayer is targeting the West Texas market with commercial, sizeable quantities of FiberMax 9101GT and FiberMax 9103 GT. There also will be limited supplies of another GlyTol FM 2011GT for the Southwest.
Bayer is going even farther by combining its new generic glyphosate resistance trait with its Liberty Link (Ignite resistance) trait in FiberMax and Stoneville cotton varieties, according to Walt Mullin of Bayer. "Small quantities" of this double stack herbicide resistance package will be available this season in FiberMax FM 9250GL, the first cotton variety available with full tolerance to both glyphosate and Ignite herbicides.
Mullin said Bayer CropScience will also offer varieties in the future with the two herbicide traits, GlyTol and Liberty Link plus Bollgard II.
Bayer is also developing HPPD-inhibitor resistance traits in cotton. This, Mullin said, will allow growers to control pigweed in its later growth states (10 to 12 inches tall). This is several years down the road.
Mullin said Bayer also has either biotech or molecular breeding programs in developing varieties that are nematode resistant, insect resistant as well as having improved fiber and yield enhancement traits.
Bio-engineered fibers
Bio-engineered fibers from Bayer are targeting changing the polarity of the cotton fibers. This would make it easier to dye cottons with less dye. It would make the dyeing process in the mill "more environmentally friendly" with fewer chemicals needed.
Many of Dow AgroSciences Phytogen cotton varieties already have Roundup Flex traits. Joel Faircloth, Phytogen cotton development specialist, said his company will attack the growing glyphosate resistance problem with a 2,4-D gene trait in new Phytogen cottons. It will be stacked with the Roundup Flex gene as well as a glufosinate-resistant gene, giving some Phytogen cotton resistance to three different post emergence cotton herbicides.
Dow AgroSciences has applied for a federal registration for the new 2, 4-D formulation to reduce volatility, odor and drift potential.
"This is very exciting new technology," he said.
It will be commercialized for corn in 2013; soybeans in 2015; and cotton in 2015 or 2016, according to Faircloth.
Dow AgroSciences is also developing new Phytogen varieties with WideStrike III technology and Syngenta's Vip3A protein for insect control.
Faircloth said Phytogen has "a lot of new varieties in pipeline" that will continue bring Acala fiber quality into the upland market. Phytogen is the only major seed company in the San Joaquin Valley where Acala cotton is now grown.
Monsanto is hanging its hat on dicamba and glufosinate for its strategy to control glyphosate-resistant weeds, according Vaughn. It will be four or five years before the three-way mix will be deregulated, estimated Vaughn.
Vaughn admitted diacamba has a bad reputation for drift, and Monsanto is working with BASF to develop a new formulation to reduce offsite movement of the post emergence herbicide.
Monsanto is also ramping up its nematode resistance breeding program in the wake of the loss of Temik.
"We have been working for several years on reniform and root-knot nematode resistance and are getting closer in the development stage," he said.
Vaughn admitted the development of Bollgard III technology is "a little bit redundant," but he defended its introduction by saying it broadens the lepidopterous pest control spectrum, particularly late season worms like fall armyworms.
Bollard III also "extends the durability" of Monsanto's Bt technology franchise and will help avoid insect resistance.
With the control of worm pests using Bt, plant bugs/lygus have emerged as major cotton pests. Vaughn said Cotton Belt entomologists are working on new ways to measure thresholds to hopefully reduce sprays. "The biotech solution to plant bug control is in the future," said Vaughn. However, he did say early development had produced a 10 percent reduction in boll drop. For now, however, growers will continue to rely on chemistry to control plant bugs.
Stress tolerance to bolster water-use efficient cotton is also a goal of Monsanto's biotech efforts. He expects Monsanto to have a biotech stress solution for the dryland corn market in the next few years. From that, cotton can piggyback on the technology to reduce cotton's water use.


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2018 Annual Performance Plan
The FDIC's Corporate Annual Performance Plan sets out specific annual performance goals, indicators and targets for each of FDIC's three major business lines - Insurance, Supervision, and Receivership Management. The Annual Performance Plan is driven by the Mission and Strategic Goals outlined in FDIC's Strategic Plan.
Printable version: FDIC 2018 Performance Plan - PDF 613k (PDF help)


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The MIX07 Keynote includes a brief screen capture from the Daily Mail eReader and reminded me that I had meant to blog about the speech synthesis portion of the app. It's something which many users might not have seen, because it's only available on Windows Vista. Vista includes the Speech API (SAPI) version 5.3 which provides a text-to-speech (TTS) engine which is greatly superior to SAPI 5.2 which shipped with Windows XP.
How it looks
The way the UI works is pretty straightforward - it's meant to mimic an autocue. So a user will trigger the functionality and the window you see on the right will appear. As the user's computer begins speaking the news story, the text will slowly scroll up. The word currently being spoken will always be bold and will always appear in the letterbox.
I'm personally a bit tickled that this bit of UI made it into Ray Ozzie's keynote presentation (even if it was only for about a quarter of a second) because I developed this part of the eReader and wrote this UI.
Getting SAPI to produce speech
The TTS functionality is actually quite easy to kick off. All it takes is a call to the appropriate function, passing in a string holding the text to be read, and SAPI will begin to speak. Specifically, .Net 3.0 provides a System.Speech assembly which does all the hard work for you. This assembly includes the class System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer which has a method public void Speak(string textToSpeak). This is easy to use if all you want is text-to-speech.
The problem is that this is a synchronous call. So the call will block until the speech rendering is complete. To get around this, the SpeechSynthesizer class also includes a method SpeakAsync. This does pretty much what you'd expect and runs the TTS activity on a background thread.
Getting updated with TTS progress
Now the SpeechSynthesizer class even provides some helpful events relating to the progress of the speech rendering. However, it turns out that the SAPI libraries regard these events as sort of incidental to their main job - i.e. they will raise the events when they can. So there is every possibility that these events will occur some time after the actual speech rendering of a word (or phoneme, etc) has started. The SAPI library also seems to stop raising the events altogether, if the event handlers are consuming too much time. This was probably a design decision made by Microsoft that the quality of the speech shouldn't be affected by calls to user code.
This last point means that you need to be very careful how you write your event handlers. I suspect that a fair amount of time is consumed with the transition from the unmanaged SAPI libraries back into the System.Speech assembly, which doesn't leave much time for your C# code to do anything useful. It certainly doesn't leave enough time to update a XAML UI. The initial approach I used would update the UI with about 2 or 3 words and then UI updating would cease altogether.
The solution was (a) to be very, very careful to write efficient code; (b) use the Output window for debug info rather than trying to break into the running code; and (c) make good use of asynchronous delegates. The SAPI events are called on a background thread, which means that a Dispatcher.Invoke call is needed before code can update the UI at all. So the simplest solution was to replace this with a Dispatcher.BeginInvoke call which then updated the UI asynchronously to the event handler.
Constructing the UI
It took a little bit of trial and error to get a XAML UI that could efficiently update without continually doing a lot of layout work. Ironically, the grey letterbox with its opacity and the opacity gradient of the textual content were the easy bits! And getting a thick window border of Vista glass was also pretty trivial. The part which took some effort was working out that to display the content I needed to use a ScrollViewer control with three separate Run elements - one for the text which had been read, one for the text being read and one for the text which is still to be read. The updates from the TTS engine can then simply be translated into shuffling characters between the various Run elements.
Getting the highlighted word to stay in the letterbox also took some trial and error. The solution lay in the following line of code:
Rect screenPosition = CurrentlyReadingRun.ContentStart.GetCharacterRect(LogicalDirection.Forward);
This gave me the screen co-ordinates of the currently bold word, which I then used like so:
_scrollViewer.ScrollToVerticalOffset(screenPosition.Top + _scrollViewer.VerticalOffset - _paddingHeight);


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The Morris movie theater is going all out and having a midnight premier of the new Iron Man 3 movie, and I was mildly disappointed that I was going to have to postpone seeing it because I'll be at the Orange County Freethought Alliance convention. But now I am greatly disappointed, because I have seen the trailer, and it blows my mind.
Awesome. So awesome. I hope I'm not disappointed when I finally see the whole movie, because this sets expectations phenomenally high.


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Integrated Circuit Image Gallery
IBM 386SLC Microprocessor
As a low-power version of the stellar 386 microprocessor released in late 1991, the IBM 386SLC was equipped with extra pins assigned for power management and a software-enabled 8-Kbyte cache memory. Designed with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the 161-square millimeter die featured three models with clock speeds of 16, 20, and 25 MHz. The fastest model produced only 2.5 watts of dissipated power, suiting it well for laptops and other portable devices.
View a medium magnification image of the IBM 386SLC processor.
View a high magnification image of the IBM 386SLC processor.
Released in 1992, the IBM PS/2 (Models 35 and 40 SLC) was often outfitted with the IBM 386SLC processor as that company's first attempt to improve the performance of 386SX-based systems without having to replace the system boards. Coupled with a Cyrix 83S87 math coprocessor, the addition of an internal cache of 16 kilobytes of memory, and optional random access memory up to 16 Mbytes, the processor provided roughly a 50-percent improvement in performance over a typical 386SX/20-based system. Still, the 386SLC-based computers were limited because of slow and narrow memory interfaces.
The SLC versions of the 386 chip featured additional power management modes that conserved batteries for extended use in portable computing applications and garnered "Green Machine" awards. The IBM 386SLC differed from Intel's i386SL and its clones by virtue of the on-chip 16-kilobyte cache memory. IBM also marketed upgrade units for their highly successful IBM PS/2 Model 25, as the IBM 7386 planar model, which was equipped with an 80386SLC processor operating at 20 MHz clock speed. Tapping into the older 8086, 286, or 386SX-based system's hard drive and utilizing existing peripherals, this unusual upgrade solution provided SVGA video and a maximum of 16 Mbytes of system memory packaged in four 4-Mbyte parity single-in-line memory modules (SIMMs).
Contributing Authors
Omar Alvarado, Thomas J. Fellers and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.
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- About Us
- News
- Projects
- MODEL 97: Microlight Model 97 is a two-place, side-by-side airplane of the 300 lb empty weight class. It has a slightly swept-back canard forward and swept back wings with winglets at the tips.
- MODEL 115: Starship A subscale version of an eleven-place, twin turboprop, high-performance business aircraft developed for Beech Aircraft Corporation.
- MODEL 133: ATTT The Model 133-4.62 ATTT proof-of-concept demonstrator is a 62% scaled version of an airplane designed to challenging STOL and long range requirements.
- MODEL 143: Triumph The all-composite Triumph, an 8,500 lb, pressurized 8-place business aircraft, was designed around the brand-new, never flown, Williams FJ-44 turbofan engine.
- MODEL H1, H2: Stars & Stripes Scaled did the structural design, tooling, fabrication, and static testing of an 85 ft span and a 108 ft span rigid sail/airfoil for the America's Cup Challenge Race.
- MODEL 151: ARES The ARES, Scaled Model 151, was designed initially in response to a U.S. Army request for a Low Cost Battlefield Attack Aircraft (LCBAA).
- General Motors Ultralite Show Car The Advanced Engineering Staff of General Motors designed a technology demonstration vehicle called the Ultralite, an automobile with interior room capable of seating four full size adults, and with excellent visibility, handling, performance, emissions and fuel consumption.
- MODEL 226: Raptor The Raptor Demonstrator high-altitude, long endurance, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program was conducted under a contract from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to Scaled Composites, LLC.
- MODEL 247: VisionAire Vantage In early 1993, Jim Rice and Tom Stark of the fledgling VisionAire Corporation visited Scaled with conceptual designs for a new single-engine business jet.
- MODEL 271: V-Jet II Walled Lake, Michigan, June 23, 1997 -- Williams International today announced that its all-composite, turbofan- powered "V-JET II" light aircraft is on schedule for its July 31 fly-in and follow-on demonstration flights and exhibition at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) convention at Oshkosh, July 30 to August 5, 1997.
- MODEL 281: Proteus Proteus is a twin-turbofan, high-altitude, multi-mission aircraft powered by Williams International FJ44-2E engines.
- MODEL 309: Adam M-309 The Model 309 is a proof-of-concept aircraft built for Adam Aircraft Industries.
- MODEL 311: Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer The GlobalFlyer is a single seat, turbofan powered airplane designed to fly around the world nonstop, unrefueled, with a solo pilot.
- MODEL 316: SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOne, the first private manned spacecraft, is a three-place, high-altitude research rocket.
- MODEL 318: White Knight White Knight is a three-place, high-altitude, flexible and capable research aircraft.
- MODEL 326: Northrop Grumman X-47A The Model 326 aircraft (or Pegasus X-47A) is an unmanned aerial vehicle built for Northrop Grumman.
- MODEL 339: SpaceShipTwo SpaceShipTwo will be powered by a unique hybrid rocket motor, which is currently under development.
- MODEL 348: WhiteKnightTwo WhiteKnightTwo, or Eve, is the mothership and launch platform for SpaceShipTwo.
- MODEL 355: Firebird Firebird is an optionally-piloted intelligence-gathering aircraft system.
- MODEL 367: BiPod BiPod is a hybrid gasoline-electric roadable aircraft.
- Stratolaunch Stratolaunch is a mobile launch system with three primary components.
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"Our best performance comes from structuring a specific blend of creative talent with others whose passion is to apply an innovative breakthrough to the building and testing of a real product" - Burt Rutan
"Our best performance comes from structuring a specific blend of creative talent with others whose passion is to apply an innovative breakthrough to the building and testing of a real product" - Burt Rutan
- The Company
- The Management Team
- Burt Rutan
- Scaled Overview Video
Video Gallery
Scaled Overview
This video was created in-house to highlight some of the aircraft we've produced over our thirty years of operation. You'll see aircraft from our 85% scale Starship POC up to our flying car concept, BiPod. Please sit back and enjoy the fun!