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2 User Reviews of Xpedition Cruise Ship
We just returned from a 7-night cruise of the Galapagos Islands on the Celebrity Xpedition. It was fantastic! The islands themselves were incredible, and the naturalists were very well informed and friendly. They also seemed to genuinely love seeing all of the plants and animals too, although you'd think they could easily be bored.
The ship itself was quite new and very comfortable. Showers had excellent pressure, beds were nice. Food was good, but not great, mostly probably due to the requirement that everything is grown in the Galapagos or the Ecuadorian mainland. They did the best they could. Wine was from Chile and Argentina and was quite good.
Another great thing about the cruise was that everything was included, even top shelf liquor, mixed drinks, etc. No tipping either.
A few families were on the cruise. One had an 8 year old, who was just barely able to appreciate the trip. All of the other kids seemed like they were in paradise.
The service was excellent. Since it was a small ship, the staff knew everyone's name and cabin number. At lunch, they knew that I wanted an ice tea and my husbandwanted a Fanta. They also knew everyone's mixed drink preferences and were able to suggest delicious concoctions.
I was a bit worried about sea sickness, but I only needed 2 dramamine pills the whole time. There was one woman who was sick despite a scopolamine patch, but she was the only one, I think.
Overall, fantastic cruise, the best in the Galapagos so far. My only complaint is that since we did not purchase the 10 day package (extra days on the mainland and airfare), the cruise line would not help with airplane arrangements at all. Not very nice on their part. Not at all.
When most people think of the Galapagos, they associate it with Darwin and Evolution. Maybe they remember hearing about the unique wildlife found there. Most likely they don't really know where it is, but they think it's probably a long way away, and the travel is unpleasant, and once you get there you're on a very small boat with limited services. That was my picture of it, too, but I decided that the natural history of the islands was enough to compel me to learn more. The result is that I'm writing this review aboard an airplane on my way back from the Galapagos, after spending 10 nights with Celebrity Xpeditions, seven of which were in the Galapagos proper.
Quick summary: This trip was exceptional, as was the ship, the destination, and the people. I did have one disappointment -- there were no naturalist lectures on-board – but it is impressive that I can only think of a single complaint. And that complaint is easily resolved by buying a book about the Galapagos before you leave home.
The Galapagos are a chain of islands owned by Ecuador off of the Pacific coastof South America. They are directly on the equator, as is Ecuador itself. The mainland of Ecuador is basically due south of Florida, and the Galapagos are roughly due south of Texas.
Despite being on the equator, they are not a tropical paradise like Hawaii or Polynesia. The islands are quite arid, some extremely so. Although they have some beaches, they are more akin to the rocky, volcanic style of the Kona Coast of Hawaii. Because of the islands' location, they are subject to cold currents coming up from Antarctica, making the waters surprisingly chilly, but bringing a lot of nutrients that make snorkeling and diving exciting.
Two things truly make the islands unique. First, there was no human contact with the Galapagos (according to most scientists) until very recently. Second is that there are no predators of land vertebrates native to the islands. Because of this, the local vertebrates (e.g. birds, reptiles, sea mammals) have no fear while on land, and will let you walk right up to them.
In fact, you often have to step right over them, because they plop themselves down in the middle of the trail. I've been nuzzled by a baby sea lion, come face-to-face with a sea turtle while snorkeling, and sat down right next to a giant tortoise that was looking right at me.
Human contact has taken its toll on the islands. Gigantic tortoises used to be everywhere, but they are extremely slow, don't try to hide, can survive for months on a ship with no food or water, and apparently they taste really good. European sailors killed tens of thousands of them over the years, and the cats, rats, pigs and goats brought by settlers nearly finished the job. But on several islands they do survive.
Today, 98% of the land is a protected national park, where all access is strictly controlled. Tourists must be in the company of an authorized guide at all times in the park. The remaining 2% holds a couple of towns with a total of 20,000 people or so; many of the guides were born on the Galapagos.
Some people just fly out to the islands, stay at a hotel in town, and book day-tours as they go. You can book scuba tours and surfing and beach trips if you'd like. But most people seem to get on a tour boat for a week at a time.
The Galapagos are the crown jewel of Ecuador. While this isn't the poorest country you're likely to visit, it can certainly use the help, and they milk the tourist trade as much as they can. All flights to the Galapagos leave from Ecuador, and they're pricey. So, step 1 is to get to Ecuador.
Typically you will fly from the U.S. to either Quito or Guayaquil. We went through Quito, the capital, which is high in the Andes at over 9,000 feet. Flights were on Continental through Houston or American through Miami. I believe that TACA also had flights through Mexico City. From Quito, there are limited flights to the Galapagos. They sell out, so book early if you're traveling independently.
As an aside, the official currency is the U.S. Dollar. This makes things easy for U.S. citizens, but they do press their own coinage, so if you get coins as change they may not be good in the U.S.
Due to flight schedules, it is impractical to fly straight through from the U.S. to the Galapagos, or vice versa. You have to spend a night on either end on the Ecuadorian mainland. Celebrity had us spend two nights prior to the Galapagos in Quito, giving us a full day to tour the former colonial capital.
Due to the altitude, Quito's weather is downright cool: Highs may hit 70, lows are never too cool around 50. The Galapagos were much warmer, typically 80s and sometimes 90s, somewhat humid but nothing like the mainland coast.
The above is accurate for the dates we traveled. The Galapagos have a distinct rainy/cooler season that begins in January, followed by a dry/hot season. We got lucky and had perfect weather throughout, but you might want to read up on the weather before you leave. Also, if you're interested in a specific animal, you might want to research when it is in mating season, as that is usually a more interesting time to see it.
Once you're in Galapagos National Park, your movements are controlled. There are plenty of choices for activities, with each island having several options, but once you've made your choice you must follow your guide. Each guide leads a group of up to 15 people. The guides are authorized by the Park, but are employed independently -- e.g., our guides worked for Celebrity (i.e. Royal Caribbean).
You will be told there is a 30-pound limit on bags checked to the Galapagos. I had been told that this is not enforced, and my 50-pound piece of luggage went through without a problem. A number of people were upset to have been forced down to just 30 pounds, but most of them later decided that it was better to travel light. The risk is yours to take.
On your return flight from Quito back home, you will have to pay $25 in cash, per person.
I chose Celebrity because I'd sailed with them before and enjoyed my cruise, and because I tend towards motion sickness and wanted the largest ship I could find. The Galapagos have a reputation for rocky waters.
Celebrity Xpeditions works a little differently from a standard Celebrity cruise: Nearly everything is included. It was difficult to find anything to spend money on, other than souvenirs. Even alcohol on board the ship was free, unless you asked for a top-shelf brand.
Transfers were included even though we booked our own flights. From the moment we cleared customs, Celebrity representatives were waiting. Everything was extremely smooth, with baggage whisked away at appropriate times and reappearing in appropriate places.
All the guides in Quito were friendly and helpful. Upon hotel check-in there were drinks and hot towels. The next day, all meals were included, and a full-day tour was offered. The hotel (the JW Marriott) was definitely up to U.S. standards, and the food was decent. It also had a really hot hot tub!
The next morning -- ridiculously early -- we were up for the flight to Baltra in the Galapagos. I put out my bags the day before, and I didn't touch them again until they reappeared in my cabin aboard ship. I also was able to leave a bag with the hotel for pickup upon my return a week later.
The guides took us all through the airport in Quito. Incredibly, TAME Airlines served a meal on both legs of the direct flight, even though the first leg was only 40 minutes and the second an hour and a half.
Upon arrival in Baltra, we were met (unbeknownst to us at the time) by our naturalist guides for the coming week. Buses were waiting, and we were quickly sent to the dock 10 minutes away. Within a few minutes the Zodiacs began ferrying us all to the ship, where we were welcomed with cold towels and fresh juice. This would be our standard welcome upon return to the ship throughout the week. We went to the lounge to relax and have a drink as they checked everyone in, then off to lunch.
Even that first day we had an afternoon excursion. The typical pattern all week would be one excursion in the morning and one in the afternoon after lunch. For each excursion, typically three choices would be offered. You could usually choose a low-intensity zodiac ride along the island's coast, spotting coastal wildlife, or a high-intensity hike along a trail.
High-intensity is not really that strenuous. Most trails were less than three miles roundtrip, with minimal elevation change. The big problem is walking on rocks. Many of the hikes had extended sections where you had to watch your footing carefully.
There were also several snorkeling opportunities. I believe the third opportunity was the one declared "best" by the naturalists. Don't miss it! You will swim with sea turtles and sea lions, and if you're lucky you'll spot rays, penguins, sea iguanas, and even a shark or two in the depths. (They're small, don't fear!)
I had originally wondered if traveling on a large ship, relative to local standards, would detract from the experience. Our ship had 100 guests, whereas many others had 15. No fear! This is what allowed us to have so many choices for activities on each excursion. There was still one naturalist for every 15 people or so, so we weren't herded like cattle.
There were no problems with waiting around. The ship had four Zodiacs, and they were great. Everything was so well scheduled that you never had to wait more than a few minutes to disembark or to return to the ship. Usually they would start by dropping off the hikers on the island, return to the ship for the low-intensity zodiac tour, then go out to pick up the hikers.
As on the mainland, everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. Apparently the crew has even more reason to be happy. Almost a year ago, when Celebrity decided to enter this market, they bought out the Galapagos sailing rights from a local cruise line with a similarly sized ship. They kept the crew, junked the ship, replaced it with the Xpedition, and gave everyone raises. And they deserve it.
On the last night, a local troupe came on board to sing and dance local music of Incan origins. Afterwards, a wonderful surprise was waiting for us in our staterooms -- a really nice touch. I'll leave it as a surprise.
On the way back to Quito we were escorted to the airport, and with customary efficiency we returned to our hotel. A quick shopping expedition was offered at 4 p.m., and at 6:30 p.m. we had an excellent group dinner at a local restaurant.
Throughout the trip, I never paid for a meal, a taxi, a drink, or a shore excursion. Bottled water was provided by the hotel in Quito and the ship in the Galapagos. All tips were included in the price.
It was a great ship. I've been on ships ranging from the Royal Olympic Stella Solaris to Carnival's Ecstasy to Radisson's Paul Gauguin, so I have a reasonable basis for comparison, although this is by far the smallest. We never saw another ship in the Galapagos that we would have preferred to be sailing!
The standard cabins were 160 sq. ft. and well laid out. There were no formal or informal nights, so we had plenty of space for luggage. The only requirement for dinner attire was no bathing suits. Cabins all had air conditioning and private bathroom.
There is only one indoor lounge, but it was large and had a bar that was open all day and into the night. The couches and chairs were all very comfortable, and the windows gave good views.
There were three outdoor decks: one in the stern (next to the lounge and its bar), one protected from the wind amid ship with the hot tub (which was only warm), and one in the bow. There was plenty of space for everyone, and if you chose to be lazy and skip an excursion, you could relax in the sun (or shade) with a drink. Or you could schedule a massage ($50 for 50 minutes) almost any time you liked.
There are no elevators on this ship. The Zodiacs disembark on deck 2, and rooms are variously on decks 3, 4 and 5.
Smoking is quite restricted. The only place you can smoke is on deck. All indoor spaces are non-smoking, and the park itself is non-smoking. Even in the towns I didn't see much smoking.
Exercise facilities were limited to a few exercise bikes on deck and a few basic workout devices in the room where massages were given, but massages take preference, so you can get booted out. Also, there's no wraparound deck to use for jogging. Due to the nature of the shore excursions, however, there's probably enough activity to keep you busy.
Except for the performance on the final night, almost no entertainment is provided. The exception is a keyboardist playing music as people return from excursions, and in the evening on deck.
Food was quite good, but generally not inspired. There were no showy menu options like lobster and caviar. The food was mostly of Ecuadorian origin (required by law, apparently). The beef was better than I'd been warned about, but in general the fish was always the freshest option.
Breakfast was a buffet in the restaurant. Lunch was either a buffet in the restaurant or a simple hamburger/hot-dog and mini-buffet on deck. Upon our return to the ship in the afternoon, sugar cookies were available. During the 7:45 p.m. briefing on the following day's activities, hors d'oeuvres made the rounds. Dinner was a more traditional affair in the restaurant, with open seating, except for two nights when dinner was on deck. Room service was available except during late-night hours.
For snorkelers ,the ship provided fins, snorkel and mask directly to your room before the first snorkeling opportunity, to be returned on the last night. Wet suit shorties (3mm) were also available in various sizes. Most of the passengers wore them, although admittedly most of the naturalists didn't. These could be left hanging to dry overnight on deck, so no worries about a wet smelly suit hanging in your bathroom.
As for SCUBA: I'm afraid the answer is no, they don't offer it. A Celebrity representative on our sailing was evaluating the water sports offerings, and he was looking into the possibility of offering SCUBA in the future.
The ship had a small library and a small gift shop with some basics. A doctor is on board if you need her. And the ship has an open bridge, so you can get a tour any time, day or night. There is a TV in your room, but it has no live satellite link, just pre-recorded programming.
Aesthetically I found the ship to be very pleasant, even if some of the artwork clearly predates the ship's repositioning to the Galapagos. The restaurant was very nice, and just large enough for everyone to be seated. The best word for it was "comfortable." It had most of the amenities one looks for on a larger ship, with the coziness of a ship where you recognize everyone within a few days.
The Galapagos are an amazing destination for anyone interested in seeing a unique side of nature. Celebrity seems to have found an excellent itinerary with very good guides and crew, who are helpful, friendly, and keep everything operating smoothly. And the Xpedition is a great ship from which to explore the Galapagos.
Some mornings you have to be up very early, especially if you want breakfast. If you just can't handle a short night's sleep, or varying sleep times, just accept in advance that you'll occasionally sleep through a morning excursion. It'll leave you in a better mood to enjoy the others.
I was disappointed by was the lack of a lecture series on board. They did have one lecture on the history of people in the Galapagos, and a short video I think was originally an IMAX film about the Galapagos. But I was hoping for something seriously informative regarding the theory of evolution and how it relates to what we were seeing. The Galapagos are, after all, the Mecca of evolution. Perhaps they were concerned about being too controversial for those who reject evolution. More likely the naturalist guides, while well trained, were not truly scientists prepared to give such a lecture.
And I feel compelled to mention, on behalf of a friend I made on the trip, that there were no chocolates left on the pillows at night. So be warned!


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PlanetCCRMA@Home Installation
Installing PlanetCCRMA on your PC is not quite a labor of love, but it does take some attention. Most are coming to this process with a Windows Installation currently on their PC, so we'll take that assumption here. Questions?
Backup Your Data
You must have a backup of your data! What kind? The answer to this question will do it... "To what extent should I backup my data such that if I lose my current partition and my data is lost, will I not have an emotional reaction?" This answer to this question and what you choose to do about it is entirely your responsibility.
Here are some helpful links for Windows users:
Establish a Disk Partition
You will also need ~10Gb of unpartitioned free space. If you have only a single Windows partition on your PC, this may mean that you will need to resize this partition to make this free space. You can do this in one of two ways:
- ====gparted (free)====
gparted LiveCD
You can download this ISO Image, make your own LiveCD, and make the partition adjustments or we have several LiveCD's in SysAdmin that you can borrow and use. We can help you, too.
Partition Magic (not free)
PlanetCCRMA@Home Homepage
If you want to get this going on your own, you can visit this page:

subset: commoncrawl


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The new "trial" mode replaces the 10- 14-day free trials originally offered to new players and will now known as World of Warcraft Starter Edition. Players are free to reactivate dormant trial accounts for use with the new model or create characters based on any race and class from the base game, including The Burning Crusade races draenei and blood elf.
Starter Edition comes on the heels of new content for the 4.2 patch aimed at Cataclysm, known as "Rage of the Firelands," the patch adds, "a new raid, a legendary DPS staff quest line, the most diverse daily questing experience to date, PvP Season 10, user-interface enhancements such as the Dungeon Journal, and much more," according to the press release.
During Activision's last earnings call, a Blizzard rep said that subscriptions had fallen after the release of the last major expansion to the game. At the time, Blizzard stated it would release expansion content with higher frequency to cut subscriber churn. Allowing players to build to level 20 on their own time, may entice new customers into the world first introduced to the industry in 2004.
After World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the level cap for the MMO was raised to 85.
For those who get drawn in by the Starter Edition, Blizzard is also offering some new deals for buying the rest of the game when you're ready to go past level 20. Those who have purchased the original base game will be given all content from The Burning Crusade for free. The original game plus its first expansion, The Burning Crusade, are now available from the Blizzard online store in a special digital Battle Chest edition for $19.99.
Blizzard has added a list of limitations for the Starter Edition on its Support site:
- A level cap of 20.
- A maximum of 10 gold.
- Trade skills are capped at 100 ranks.
- Unable to trade via the Auction House, mailbox, or player-to-player.
- In-game access to public chat channels unavailable. Players are limited to communicating using only say, party, or whisper.
- Characters will be unable to create or join guilds.
- Characters are not able to send whispers to other characters unless they have been added to the characters' friends lists or have received a whisper from a character first.
- Characters will not be able to invite other players into a party.
- Characters will not be able to join parties with other characters above level 20.
- Voice chat disabled on Starter Edition accounts.
- Realms experiencing login queues will prioritize players who have full, paid accounts.
- Starter Edition accounts are not eligible for character transfers
- RealID features are disabled on all Starter Edition Accounts.


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12-12-12 Merry Christmas December 11 2012
I remember being in school and writing the date 5.5.55, and was fascinated by the numbers. The same thing happened 10 years later, 6-6-66, by then I had been married for four years and had a baby daughter. The next event was 7.7.77, everything in the garden was rosy, the sixties and seventies in London was just simply magical. The music scene, flower power, Hippies, Rock Bands galore, some of whom are still going. Like the Rolling Stones, and this year there is a 40th anniversary tour by Pink Floyd, they will be playing all of the songs from Dark Side of the Moon. and others. I will certainly be buying tickets for that event. The next date was 8-8-88 and the next ten years were very good to us and we prospered all the way through to 9-9-99. By the time 10-10-10 things had taken a backward step monetarily, but we just enjoyed watching the grand kids grow up, I had never imagined that I would be playing football with my grand kids, what fun. Then my eldest daughter moved to New Zealand and we followed in 2002, So 11-11-11 was Springtime in New Zealand. My youngest daughter and her kids followed the rest of us out here. So here we all are, Me my Wife of 50 years Wendy, two daughters, six grand kids, three of each variety, and amazingly one great grand-child. He is three years old, and guess what, I play football with him now. How amazing is that. Today is a sunny summers day, 12-12-12, we are still in New Zealand having fun and strangely enough am working again. Have set up a golf company, White Dragon Golf, web address www.whitedragongolf.com just in-case you want to visit us. Merry Christmas Everybody.


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Because poetry's medium is a single human voice, it's an ideal vehicle for human mastery, a source of awe at the almost athletic ingenuity of saying something rhythmically and well. Or: Because poetry's medium is a single human voice, it's an ideal image of our human frailty—its serrated right margin pointing out that the page is still mostly blank, that a larger silence surrounds our speech. And: Sometimes a poet manages both, suggesting that even the most unmanageable truths are amenable to our activity, making even absence shapely, present, shareable, right.
Marcus Wicker's debut collection, Maybe the Saddest Thing, falls into that final category. It's hip-deep in pop culture's energy, but it's also, and often at the same time, a reminder of the loneliness all our culture, pop and not, has in trust. You can hear that combination in the conclusion of his poem "Love Letter to RuPaul," one of several love letters to pop icons, all of them emphasizing race and masculinity, most of them flat-out amazing. Here, Wicker is describing "one of my earliest memories," a burger ad starring RuPaul. Notice how bare the last two incomplete sentences seem:
…that commercial
ravished me. How hard, to be sandwiched
between what and who you are, tickled
by every cruel wind, critic-voyeur
playing rough beneath your skirt. How
raw you must be. To sit before a camera,
legs uncrossed.
"Raw" is right. In both sound and sense, Wicker nails the terrible courage of standing out and dignifies it with an abrupt austerity.
That's not to say that Maybe the Saddest Thing is perfect. The book—which D.A. Powell chose for the National Poetry Series, an annual contest in which five prominent poets choose books for five presses—includes some poems that seem to exhibit too much faith that writing a poem is inherently worthwhile and others that too readily take up an opposite position: Interrupting himself with skepticism about what he's up to, Wicker sets up an artistic cul-de-sac that's frustratingly prevalent in contemporary verse.
But those are small sins, and common ones as well. It's Maybe the Saddest Thing's strengths that are uncommon, and they define the majority of this book. Wicker captures pop culture's abundance—in particular the hurry and wit of hip-hop and slam—without pop's blind timeliness. He also fuses hip-hop's restless dexterity, its as-if-improvised fusion of amazement and momentum and force, with an ability to reward the less purely propulsive experience of reading on the page.
That double value shows up in another of Wicker's love letters, this one to Dave Chappelle:
This isn't a poem
about some cowboy cracking up
over a blackface skit. How his cackle
sounded like a bigot's brain
lodged inside a beating heart, thinking
out loud.
You can hear the same rhythmic extravagance that shows up in some hip-hop, the eagerness to almost overwhelm an audience with ingenuity. Imagine drawing lines between all the words that seem to be echoing each other through, for instance, alliteration (cowboy, cracking, blackface, skit, cackle, like, thinking; blackface, bigot, brain, beating; etc.), and imagine trying to account for all the overlaps and variations in those. Listen to the places where the stressed syllables pile up, loosen, then pile up again. Notice the way he establishes a pattern of "a," followed by a descriptor beginning with b, and then a noun (and the way that "bigot's brain" throws in an extra b).
Listening to something this agile, you're meant to feel your mind racing to keep up. You're meant to marvel, humbled and amazed. And yet Wicker's own humility leaves plenty of room for intimacy and contemplation, too—including, in this poem, contemplation of the ways that black culture gets used in the larger, whiter world (a subject Wicker will later take up in regards to his own standing as a poet). And if the almost-too-much of the excerpt's rhythm foreshadows Chappelle's eventual breakdown, the poem's thinking also foregrounds a compassion that takes that person more seriously than the cultural chaos that overwhelms him.
Wicker's style and success serve as a reminder that we don't need to reject world and world's delights to think about both critically. Here, for example, is another ending, this one from "Everything I Know About Jazz I Learned from Kenny G." The prose poem opens with Wicker's father discovering his eighth-grade son listening to the poem's titular lightweight, then dragging him downstairs to the father's collection of real jazz. Wicker concludes the scene many hours later:
It sounds like a welted voice wincing at the basement's night. A voice my father hears too.
He does not cave the basement door. He walks a dirge down those steps. Gently strokes my neck. Asks, Why are you crying, son? Dad, I ache. Because I've been down here forever.
Clearly, Wicker's putting on a show—"a welted voice wincing at the basement's night" almost winks with pleasure, even as it describes a wounded state—but it's a damned good show, and one that, in numerous poems, pushes us to stay aware of the ways our shows are manufactured and what they ask us to believe. Wicker does this without ever suggesting superiority to showmen, though. His writing is full of love for the songs and artists he invokes.
And that's another thing that makes Maybe the Saddest Thing so worthwhile: In spite of its title, it seeks (and finds) real delight, giddy with the joy of making language mean and sing, sound and sense and allusion all but falling over each other as they run. Take "The Break Beat Break," which riffs on the joys of being deluded (and delighted) by music:
It happens on a deserted island
of a song, when a funky-ass fault line rips through
your bass-induced Buddhist empty state and you
start thinking, Damn. What breed of human am I?
What type of man walks around with rhythm rattling
the trunk of his dome? And wherever you are you run
to the closest piece of light-reflecting glass, say Oh,
that's right, I do.
… think Yeah, that's me.
My walk alone could make tight pants fit.
But delight, all by itself, rarely seems wide enough for the persistent emptiness of a page. Wicker writes poems whose timely pleasures keep verging on timeless sorrows, and where the social issues of our time persistently evoke enduring human need. In the process, he captures the odd ways that our larger-than-life moment lives inside our pending irrelevance—and the compassion such knowledge allows. "I'm wondering if a face on fire/ looks the same in any city. In any hue," he writes, watching the inferno after a meth lab explodes. And, earlier in that same poem,
A fist
of ash like nail polish scorched with salt blasts
me to my knees. Everything disintegrates
from this angle….
From this point of view
soot cloaks stars."
Maybe the Saddest Thing by Marcus Wicker. Harper Perennial.
See all the pieces in this month's Slate Book Review.
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Mr. DiSalvo is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Florida and the district of Massachusetts, and all the State Courts of Florida and Massachusetts. For more than 25 years, Mr. DiSalvo has been fighting for people who have suffered severe personal injury because of someone else's negligence. He will put all of his resources, knowledge and experience to work in securing the best possible outcome to your case.
Theodore DiSalvo
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November 1, 2018 5:49 pm
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Cautious optimism for US-university detector R&D funding
Several recent positive developments are moving us forward on the path towards realising the ILC. These include excellent detector R&D results and significant progress on the Letters of Intent (LOI) for the various detector concepts. These advances were reported at the recent Linear Collider Workshop at the University of Illinois in Chicago. While much of the R&D of the international ILC community has benefited from continuous support, in the US and in the UK we have struggled through a tough year. Now there is news that funding for university detector R&D in the US, which was cut severely last year, may be restored. This is good news because ILC detector R&D is far from finished, and continued and reliable support remains critical.
– Jim Brau


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Take a closer look at how the movies of Tom Cruise have fared at the U.S. box office. Can you guess which film took the number-one spot?
Go behind the cameras on Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Rogue Nation, Ghost Protocol and more with these behind the scenes photos from the Mission: Impossible franchise.
Get ready for Mission: Impossible - Fallout with a look at some of our favorite on-screen masters of espionage and clandestine operations.
Take a look at the top 25 highest-grossing spy movies at the U.S. box office. Did your favorites make the cut?
Take a look back at Tom Cruise's career on and off the screen.
Ever wonder how Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Alec Baldwin, and other Mission: Impossible stars looked before they were famous? Check our gallery to find out.
Get to know Rebecca Ferguson with a look at her career on and off the screen.
Take a look at Mission: Impossible - Fallout star Henry Cavill's career on and off the screen.


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On feet that move in a blur, the Sun City Irish Dancers recently performed at the Beaufort Irish Festival. Their bright red costumes were covered with black drawings of flowers that look like a garden in the wind as they danced.
Another performance looms in the future - the 2012 Rainbow of Rhythm, the Sun City community's annual dance revue where hoofers of all kinds strut their stuff on stage with grace and speed.
The proponents of ceili dancing will be amongst those numbers. They don't take either themselves or their dancing too seriously.
"It's Irish for party, a hooley," said Charlotte Adler, who founded the group in 2005. "We have a lot of fun and it's a wonderful form of exercise. It's very aerobic."
Noreen Gallinari grew up with ceili dancing in her home, a tradition handed down through her family. When she moved to Sun City seven years ago, she was delighted to find that among the dancers was the Irish Dance group.
"You don't have to be Irish or even be a good dancer," said Gallinari. "The minute I hear that music, my feet start moving. We practice but when one of us makes a mistake we just laugh. We do a lot of laughing."
Preparation is made for such events as the festival and the dance revue. Catherina Sisodia is doing the choreography for the revue. She came from Galway and is the only one with formal training in the ceili, having danced from the age of 5.
"Ceili dancing is mostly step dancing," Sisodia said.
The steps are high, fast and exciting, and the routines are learned and danced every week. It's actually Irish folk dancing, similar to American square dancing without a caller.
Most of the dancers took up ceili when they moved to Sun City.
"I had taken step dancing when I was a child," said Tricia McLaren. She moved to Sun City seven years ago and was part of organizing the group.
"My husband's whole family came from Ireland so I am dancing in his memory and to keep up their family traditions. I love these ladies and they're like family," said Marie Rafferty. "My granddaughter dances this now."
"Anybody can dance this," said Gallinari. "We'll teach you."
A perfect example of this is Martha Greenly, the group's newest member.
"I've had eight lessons," she said, adding she has no dance background. "I started in January."
You would never have guessed that watching her dance with seven other ladies who performed at the festival.
The Irish Ceili Dance Group is a special interest group of the Sundancers Club. Practice is from 1-2:30 p.m. Fridays in the dance studio in Magnolia Hall. You don't have to be Irish to join.
Rainbow of Rhythm
When: 7 p.m. April 13; 2 and 7 p.m. April 14
Where: Magnolia Hall, Sun City
Description: The annual dance revue theme is "High School Yearbook." Catch cloggers, line dancers, ballroom performances, tap, ceili, square, jazz and everything else.
Details: Tickets are $15 and will be on sale from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays beginning Tuesday at the Magnolia Hall Box Office or one hour before curtain.


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Keep in mind these numbers are on a Mustang dyno and this happens to be VAC's Mustang dyno. Timely results as just yesterday an article was posted showing the difference in numbers between the VAC Mustang Dyno and a Dynojet. In STD correction on a dynojet these results would likely be over 500 horsepower in the wheels. Probably a good amount over possibly making for a new naturally aspirated stock motor record so somebody should get this car on a dynojet for that reason alone.
Very impressive results here with the Evolve parts and tuning.


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Ataxia-telangiectasia is a rare childhood disease that affects the brain and other parts of the body.
Ataxia refers to uncoordinated movements, such as walking. Telangiectasias are enlarged blood vessels (capillaries) just below the surface of the skin. Telangiectasias appear as tiny, red, spider-like veins.
Alternative Names
Louis-Bar syndrome
Ataxia-telangiectasia is inherited, which means it is passed down through families. It is an
The disease results from defects in the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene. Defects in this gene can lead to abnormal cell death in various places of the body, including the part of the brain that helps coordinate movement.
Boys and girls are equally affected.
- Decreased coordination of movements (ataxia) in late childhood that can include ataxic gait (cerebellar
ataxia), jerky gait, unsteadiness
- Decreasing mental development, slows or stops after age 10 – 12
- Delayed walking
- Discoloration of skin areas exposed to sunlight
- Discoloration of skin (coffee-with-milk-colored spots)
- Enlarged blood vessels in skin of nose, ears, and inside of the elbow and knee
- Enlarged blood vessels in the whites of the eyes
- Jerky or abnormal eye movements (
nystagmus) late in the disease
- Premature graying of the hair
- Seizures
- Sensitivity to radiation, including medical x-rays
- Severe respiratory infections that keep coming back (recurring)
Exams and Tests
The doctor will perform a physical exam. Examination may show signs of the following:
Below normal sized tonsils, lymph nodes, and spleen
Decreased to absent deep tendon reflexes
- Delayed or absent physical and sexual development
Growth failure
- Mask-like face
- Multiple skin coloring and texture changes
Possible tests include:
Alpha fetoprotein B and T cell screen Carcinoembryonic antigen
- Genetic testing to look for mutations in the ATM gene
- Glucose tolerance test
- Serum immunoglobulin levels (IgE, IgA)
- X-rays to look at the size of the thymus gland
There is no specific treatment for ataxia-telangiectasia. Treatment is directed at specific symptoms.
Support Groups
Ataxia Telangiectasia Children's Project –
National Ataxia Foundation (NAF) –
Outlook (Prognosis)
Early death is common, but life expectancy varies.
Because persons with this condition are very sensitive to radiation, they should never be given radiation therapy, and no unnecessary x-rays should be done.
Possible Complications
- Cancer such as
lymphoma Diabetes Kyphosis
- Progressive movement disorder that leads to wheelchair use
- Severe, recurrent
lung infections
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call your health care provider if your child develops symptoms of this disorder.
Couples with a family history of this condition who are considering pregnancy may consider genetic counseling.
Parents of a child with this disorder may have a slight increased risk of cancer. They should have genetic counseling and more intensive cancer screenings.


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Archive for the 'andrew smith' Tag
New Books Highlight: Random Awesome Picks
This week, in honor of the joyous chaos that is the END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR (OMG!!), I've got three recommendations for three brand new books that are just randomly awesome. They're a little something different to help you kick off the summer time.
The Language Inside by Holly Thompson
This novel-in-verse is completely captivating. If you're a fan of Ellen Hopkins or Carol Lynch Williams, check this one out! 10th grader Emma was raised in Japan and feels strong ties there, even when her family is uprooted back to her "home" country, the U.S.A. Her mother is ill – hence the move across the world – and so Emma has more to deal with than the average teenager struggling to fit in in a new place. Emma can't help but feel displaced, even though she's supposed to feel at home in a country where her native tongue is spoken daily. Her friends back in Japan are reeling from the devastating tsunami, and Emma is torn between wanting to be with them and needing to be with her ailing mother. To take her mind off things, her grandmother helps her find a volunteer position through which she makes friends and begins to adjust to life stateside. But when she gets the chance to return to Japan, she finds she has grown roots in America – will she leave or stay?
Sneak Peek!
"Third time it happens
I'm crossing the bridge
over a brown-green race of water
that slides through town
on my way to a long-term care center
to start volunteering
to get my courage up" (Text copyright 2013 by Holly Thompson)
You might remember Andrew Smith from the haunting, twisted sci-fi books The Marbury Lens and Passenger. In Winger, Smith does something completely different. This is classic realistic fiction from a male perspective, with a similar style to John Green. Ryan Dean West's life is complicated. He's in love with his best friend, who treats him like a little brother. His roommate is scary. And his boarding school is…well, boarding school – lots of drama and high expectations and rugby. Always, there will be rugby. Ryan Dean West makes mistakes, but who wouldn't in a situation like that? Fortunately for us, his mistakes are honest to life and hilarious to read about.
Sneak Peek! "I said a silent prayer. Actually, silent is probably the only type of prayer a guy should attempt when his head's in a toilet." (Text copyright 2013 by Andrew Smith)
Rapture Practice: My One Way Ticket to Salvation by Aaron Hartzler
This is a true story. Aaron Hartzler grew up in a home where every day was filled with thoughts of the imminent Rapture – Jesus's second coming/the end of the world. But as Aaron got older, he grew more attached to his life on Earth, and less excited about the Rapture and the prospect of Heaven. In short: he has a crisis of faith during his teenage years. Aaron tells the story of his conflict and the adventures he finds himself on as he moves from merely conflicted to full-on rebel, learning lessons that aren't found in the Bible. For anyone who has faith, questions about faith, or doesn't practice or even believe: a true and believably funny story about finding your way.
Sneak Peek! "Something you should know up front about my family: We believe that Jesus is coming back." (Text copyright 2013 by Aaron Hartzler)


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Topeak RideCase w/Mount (iPhone 6 and 6 Plus)
Topeak's RideCase and mount lets you use your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus as a cycling computer, as a GPS navigating device, to listen to music, and so much more while you're cruising the open road. The RideCase has a separate protective composite fiber panel which integrates with the high-grade engineering plastic exoskeleton to securely hold your iPhone while on the go. An integrated flipstand allows comfortable viewing in landscape or portrait orientation when you're off the bike. Its unique and full angle adjustable mount allows viewing in landscape or portrait orientation and lets you mount or remove the RideCase in seconds.
32 grams
Part Numbers
|Store SKU
|iPhone 6 Plus
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Reviewed by 1 customers
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This mount quickly replaces your stem cap, and securely holds an iPhone 6. The case fits very snugly, and has nothing in front of the phone to impede access to the screen. You can also use the handlebar mount if you don't want the phone in the center, but I think it puts my phone too far forward to reach easily. Seems to be a well-designed and durable product. Some Web reviewers have said the plastic tab to release the phone breaks off after repeated use, but I haven't seen that yet.


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Axiom Rearrunner Rear Fender
This item is currently not available.
Axiom's Rearrunner Rear Fender easily installs to your seatpost with a quick-release bracket. Axiom reduced the impact of their manufacturing and shipping methods by designing the rearrunner to fold flat. It's also made of strong, 100% recyclable plastic.
Fits 26 and 29 x 1.25-2.5 inch tires
Weight: 152 grams
Read 0 ReviewsWrite a Review


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JC Penney Can Sell Martha Stewart Line, and More
What's News: A judge says J.C. Penney can sell a line of products designed by Martha Stewart. Toyota will begin producing Lexus models in the U.S.. President Obama attends a service for victims of the Boston bombings. Photo: AP
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... yes the all clear to me was the other said this is what's news I'm WS J live unto Lanco ... in your state appeals court judge says that J C Penney can't introduce a line of bedding and other home products designed by Martha Stewart ... although the products will be sold under her name ... C C Penney plans to introduce products under the JCP everyday brand and put them on store shelves by mother's Day ... next month ... today's news a small victory for J C Penney which is locked in a legal battle with Macy's which claims its exclusive licensing agreement with Martha Stewart ... also extends to home products designed by Stewart's company ... even if they are sold under another brand name ... trio will start producing its lecturing Lexus brand cars in the U S for the first time ... a year ago will move a significant portion ... of the production of the Lexus EAS model which is currently manufactured in southern Japan ... the shift to the latest evidence of Toyota's efforts that began in two thousand tents prepared to streamline its world wide manufacturing and distribution operations ... and make them ... much more resilient to the fluctuations the value of the Japanese yen ... all all ... is the greatest with you ... whoever committed this heinous ... president Obama attending a service for the victims of the Boston Marathon explosion ... vowing that the US with buy and hold accountable those responsible ... the interface service was held in Boston ... of the Holy Cross ... president also said the city show the Phillies and predicted that next year's marathon would take place ... successfully ... Mr bomb is comments come as federal investigators say they are working to identify a person and ... in a deal with a few to leave the bank in the spot for one to bonds later exploded ... bookie keep us anomaly business about Mr upbeat and what's news I'm WS J last ...


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Vancouver Canucks blogger Richard Hodges Love Em Hate Em Canucks hockey blog. He recaps and rewinds the win on Monday night over the Phoenix Coyotes. Richard had visions of the shootout lasting 17 rounds with no one scoring. Vancouver finally won on a Ryan Kelser goal and a Roberto Luongo save combination. Kevin Bieksa dropped the gloves with Rusty Klesla at the end of overtime. No damage done.
Phoenix Coyotes vs. Canucks blog: love 'em & hate 'em
February 14, 2012 By Richard Hodges
Filed Under: Vancouver Canucks Blog Tagged With: 1st Place Problems, Aaron Rome, Alain Vigneault, Byron Bitz, Canucks articles, Canucks Blog, David Booth, game rewind, John Garrett, John Shorthouse, Keith Yandle, Kevin Bieksa, Kevin Porter, Love Em Hate Em, Mark Wheeler, NHL, NHL Rivalries, Phoenix Coyotes, Phoenix Coyotes vs. Vancouver Canucks, Roberto Luongo, Rogers, Rusty Klesla, Sportsnet, Taylor Pyatt, Taylor Pyatt has beautiful eyes, Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Canucks Blog, Vancouver Canucks Hockey Blog, Vancouver Hockey Blog, Vancouver vs. Calgary


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To celebrate International Mud Day coming up, here's 30 fun activities for the kids to have an excuse to get dirty! From construction activities to art with dirt, exploring teaching opportunities as well as the obvious mud and dirt sensory activities.
Find a dirt patch, make some mud and start digging!
Fun activities to build in the dirt:
|Build a Mud Castle:
Sun Hats & Wellie Boots
|Underground Plumbing:
My Kids Make
|Mud Brick Buildings:
|Build with Mortar:
Irresistible Ideas
for Play Based Learning
Art projects to do with dirt:
|Mud Painting:
Camp Slop
|Create Mud Sculptures:
Casa Maria's
Creative Learning Zone
|Paint Dirt:
Time for Play
|Create Art in Dirt:
Sensory play in the dirt:
|A Mud Tub:
Chasing Cheerios
|Dirt Sensory Tub:
Play & Learn with Dana
|Sensory Bin for Farming:
Teach Preschool
|Baby Dirt Terrarium:
Play Learn Love
|Dig for Worms:
The Chocolate Muffin Tree
|Mix Dirt Soup:
Kids Activities Blog
|Jump in a Mud Puddle:
Play-Based Classroom
|Sand Mud Box:
Play Create Explore
Pretend play in the dirt:
|Cook in a
Mud Pie Kitchen:
Simple Whimsy
Treasure Hunt:
Greening Sam & Avery
|Create &
Plant Caterpillars:
Child Central Station
|Pretend Paleontologist:
Habeebee Homeschooling
|Plant a Fairy Ring:
|Create a Play Garden:
The Imagination Tree
Learning activities with dirt:
|Dirt is Good:
Peaceful Parenting
|D is for Dirt:
Naturally Educational
|3 Dirt Science Projects:
Parenting Science
|Make Compost:
Spell Outloud
Paint Cut Paste
|Start a Garden:
hands on : as we grow
|Build a Bird's Nest:
hands on : as we grow
|Make a Pond:
The Work Plan


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Sesame Street Valentine
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Valentine's Day is February 14. Make a valentine for someone you love.
February is American Heart Month. Your heart is a muscle that pumps blood through your body. Moving around every day is part of keeping your heart healthy. Color the friends who are moving around.
Elmo's on his way to his birthday party. Use your finger, then a crayon, to help Elmo get there. He needs to pick up some friends along the way. Who do you see? When you get to the end, sing "Happy Birthday" to Elmo!
In many places, it's cold in February. What is the weather outside where you live? What comes next in each pattern?
Elmo is watching for the groundhog's shadow. Some people believe that if a groundhog comes out of its hole on February 2nd and sees its shadow, there will be more winter weather. What do you think?


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European Commission - Press release
Data Protection: Europeans share data online, but privacy concerns remain – new survey
Brussels, 16 June 2011 – Three out of four Europeans accept that revealing personal data is part of everyday life, but they are also worried about how companies – including search engines and social networks – use their information. These are the main conclusions of a new Eurobarometer survey on attitudes towards data protection and electronic identity, released by the European Commission today. The report reveals that 62% of people in the European Union give the minimum required information so as to protect their identity, while 75% want to be able to delete personal information online whenever they want to – the so-called right to be forgotten. There is also strong support for EU action: 90% want to have the same data protection rights across Europe.
"Most people are used to giving out personal data to shop online or use social networking sites. But they're equally worried about how this data will be used, and don't always feel in control," said Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU Justice Commissioner. "That's why when I modernise the data protection rules, I want to explicitly clarify that people shall have the right – and not only the 'possibility' – to withdraw their consent to data processing."
Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda said: "Many people are reluctant to shop online because they are worried about privacy. This is holding back the development of Europe's Digital Single Market, and hampering our economic recovery. They also have some very real concerns about ensuring the security of their identity online which I will be addressing shortly with a proposal for legislation."
The survey results come as the Commission prepares to reform EU data protection rules (see IP/10/1462) and SPEECH/11/183). The aim is to protect individuals' data in all policy areas, including law enforcement, while reducing red tape on business and guaranteeing the free circulation of data within the EU. The Commission plans to come forward with specific proposals before the end of the year.
The survey shows that 60% of Europeans who use the internet (40% of all EU citizens) shop or sell things online and use social networking sites. People disclose personal data, including biographical information (almost 90%), social information (almost 50%) and sensitive information (almost 10%) on these sites. 70% said they were concerned about how companies use this data and they think that they have only partial, if any, control of their own data. 74% want to give their specific consent before their data is collected and processed on the Internet.
The key principle of EU data protection rules is that users have to give consent before their data is used. This information cannot then be passed on without the user's approval and companies cannot use it for purposes other than what was agreed.
People's most frequent concerns are about fraud when shopping online (mentioned by 55%), information being used without their knowledge on social networking sites (44%), and data being shared by companies without their agreement (43%).
When it comes to protecting personal information, people have greater trust in public authorities – such as hospitals (78%), governments (70%) and EU institutions (55%) – than in private companies such as shops (39%), Internet providers (32%) and online services (22%).
42% are using existing tools and strategies to limit unwanted emails and 23% are changing the security settings of their browser. This implies that people are unlikely to take proper care of their personal identity data online when simple tools are not available or are difficult to use.
58% of Internet users read privacy statements online, but not all of these understand them. Overall, 62% of users either do not understand, do not read, cannot find, or ignore such privacy statements. When users do read them, they are more cautious with their information. One of the key goals of the data protection reform is to strengthen rules so that service providers increase transparency about how a service operates (what data is collected and further processed, for what purposes, where and how it is stored) and ensure appropriate security measures.
Finally, the survey reveals marked differences in attitudes towards sharing personal information between younger generations – who are more relaxed about disclosing data, and older ones – who are more likely to have privacy concerns.
On 4 November 2010, the Commission set out a strategy to strengthen EU data protection rules (IP/10/1462 and MEMO/10/542). The strategy aims to protect individuals' data in all policy areas, including law enforcement, while reducing red tape for business and guaranteeing the free circulation of data within the EU. This policy review will be used by the Commission with the results of a public consultation to revise the EU's 1995 Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC).
EU data protection rules aim to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, and in particular the right to data protection, as well as the free flow of data. This general Data Protection Directive has been complemented by other legal instruments, such as the e-Privacy Directive for the communications sector. There are also specific rules for the protection of personal data in police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA).
The right to the protection of personal data is explicitly recognised by Article 8 of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights and by the Lisbon Treaty. The Treaty provides a legal basis for rules on data protection for all activities within the scope of EU law under Article 16 (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).
The Commission's Justice, Information Society and Media departments, and its Joint Research Centre, asked for the Eurobarometer survey on data protection and electronic identity in the European Union, and the Communication department co-ordinated the work.
For more information
The Eurobarometer survey on data protection and electronic identity in the European Union:
Justice Directorate General Newsroom:
Homepage of Vice-President Viviane Reding, EU Justice Commissioner:
Digital Agenda website:
Homepage of Vice-President Neelie Kroes, Commissioner responsible for the Digital Agenda:
Follow Neelie Kroes on Twitter:
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OCZ Vertex 2 Pro SSD Review - The Sandforce Cometh
It's been a long, hard road for SSD's. Their high cost per GB makes adoption a tough sell. It also makes reviewers that much more demanding on their performance. Speeds were good for the first few generations, but random IO's suffered their true potential was not seen until Intel released their X25 series of drives, which despite a few quirks, quickly became the standard. The Intel drives scale well under heavy parallel load, leaving much of the competition behind. OCZ came along and made some good strides, innovating as far as the Indilinx controller would let them push their Vertex line, but it was not enough to dethrone the champ.
Starting late last year, OCZ began working with Sandforce. They kept it under wraps until a few weeks back when Anand broke the news with his excellent write up. I have to admit my mouth watered a bit when I saw the results. Luckily we were all headed to CES in a week. During our meeting with OCZ, I ganked us a sample of their Vertex 2 Pro so I could bring some further testing results to our readers.
I like blockdiagrams, so we'll kick this off with one for the new Sandforce controller:


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The Most Memorable TV Weddings of All Time
In honor of the highly-anticipated nuptials of Liz Lemon and Criss Chross on 30 Rock, we're taking a trip down memory lane at some of our favorite TV wedding episodes. Grab some Cheesy Blasters and enjoy!
1. General Hospital: Luke and Laura
On November 16, 1981, 30 million guests tuned in to watch the most iconic TV wedding of all time. Luke and Laura were married in a gorgeous outdoor reception, but what made their big day special was the love that radiated from the fictional couple. But what would a soap opera be without a little drama and suspense? The evil Helena Cassadine (who was lurking nearby) cast a curse upon their relationship, setting the stage for a tumultuous future.
2. Boy Meets World: Topanga and Cory
Ever since they met on the monkeybars as kids, Topanga and Cory knew they were destined to be together. Their long-awaited nuptials were held in a high-end hotel thanks to the ill-advised plan that Cory's brother, Eric, had concocted. Eric's scheme goes awry when the real Mr. Peterman (father of the bride) shows up, abruptly ending the festivities. Meanwhile, Topanga and Cory are enjoying the honeymoon suite when the police barge in and arrest the unknowing couple.
3. The Office: Pam and Jim
Pam and Jim's wedding day was equal parts quirky, hilarious, and heartwarming, just like their relationship. They outsmart everyone by sneaking off and having a private ceremony on the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. After technically getting married, they felt less pressure at the public ceremony with loved ones, and were able to truly enjoy themselves. Pam and Jim weren't even upset that their coworkers broke their promise and performed the comical "JK Wedding Entrance Dance."
4. Friends: Phoebe and Mike
Phoebe and Mike stole the hearts of fans as the most eccentric couple on the hit show. When their big day arrived, a massive blizzard hit New York, threatening to cancel the wedding. The priest got snowed in, so Joey stepped in as minister and the ceremony took place on the street outside of Central Perk, the gang's quintessential coffee spot. All of the "friends" played a part in the wedding: Monica served as maid of honor and wedding planner, Rachel was a bridesmaid, Ross carried Mike's dog (a "groomsman") down the aisle, and Chandler gave Phoebe away. Our favorite moment: Just before stepping outside in her gown, Chandler commented how Phoebe would be freezing. She responded, "I don't care, I'll be my something blue!"
Watch a clip from the beautiful ceremony here!
5. Full House: Becky and Jesse
"The King" impersonator and his Wake Up San Francisco sweetheart almost didn't make it to the altar in 1991. Jesse decided he should do one last irrational thing before settling down, so naturally, he chose skydiving. His last "adventure" didn't go as planned—he wound up getting stuck in a tree and was arrested. Becky borrowed the choir's school bus to bring Jesse back to the church while Joey and Danny stalled by holding a sing-along with the guests. Miraculously, they arrive in one piece, and the groom serenades his bride with a beautiful rendition of 'Forever' by the Beach Boys.
Plus: 10 more at the source!


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Nahanni National Park Reserve
Nahanni National Park Reserve [1] is in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site to protect the South Nahanni River, one of the most spectacular wild rivers in North America.
Nahanni National Park Reserve Headquarters, Box 348, Fort Simpson, NWT, Canada X0E 0N0, Phone: 867-695-3151 (Fax: 867-695-2446, Email:[email protected]). Hours: Winter (September 15 - June 15) M-F 8:30AM-noon, 1PM-5PM. Closed weekends. Summer (June 15 - September 15) Daily 8AM-noon, 1PM-5PM.
Flora and fauna[edit]
The park is mostly boreal forest, with a variety of ecosystems ranging from lowland wet areas to alpine tundra. The main tree species are white and black spruce, lodgepole pine, jackpine, subalpine fir, larch, balsam poplar, trembling aspen and white birch. The varied ecosystems resulting from varied altitudes, hot and cold springs, and river influence results in a diversity of vegetation.
The park is home to a variety of wildlife including Dall's sheep, mountain goats, woodland caribou, wolves, black bears, grizzly bears and trumpeter swans.
The climate is cold and highly variable and visitors should be prepared for extremes. July and August are generally warmest with temperatures between 0°C to 30°C, with frost possible at night toward the end of the period. The river begins icing in September.
Get in[edit]
To actually get to the river, a floatplane is necessary. There are a number of charter companies providing service to the Nahanni.
Other regional airlines:
Complete list of operators can be found on the Parks Canada website[8].
Parks Canada does charge visitors to Nahanni a fee. Parks Canada employees track your progress throughout the park (utilizing their Park Wardens and river check-in points) and this fee covers the costs of managing the park. For most visitors on a planned canoe trip this fee will be around C$175. [9] [10]
Get around[edit]
One can travel down the river via canoe or kayak.
See[edit][add listing]
Do[edit][add listing]
Licensed Outfitting Companies[edit]
Buy[edit][add listing]
Eat[edit][add listing]
Drink[edit][add listing]
Sleep[edit][add listing]
Stay safe[edit]
Use a licensed commercial outfitter for whitewater trips.
Get out[edit]


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Heat Wave Continues Today In New Jersey
The longest heat wave of the summer so far will really get going today with temperatures expected to be in the 90s all week with a heat index of at least 100 to 105 degrees.
An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect starting Monday for Mercer, Gloucester, Camden and Burlington counties and an Excessive Heat Advisory begins today for Morris, Somerset, Middlesex, Monmouth, Union, Essex, Bergen and Hudson counties where the heat index will be nearly 105 degrees.
A large ridge of high pressure is creating the heat wave bringing in the hot and sticky air.
Those who work outdoors work outdoors should take extra precautions with frequent breaks in air conditioned areas. It is recommended that strenuous activity be done in the early morning or evening to avoid the full impact of the sun.
Tips On Dealing With The Heat
source: Federal Alliance For Safe Homes
- The coolest part of the day is normally sunrise, so plan any necessary strenuous activity for the morning.
- Stay indoors as much as possible. If air conditioning is not available, stay on the lowest floor, out of the sunshine.
- Drink plenty of water even if you don't feel thirsty as water is most hydrating liquid to drink during a heat wave. Avoid alcohol and caffeine as they can intensify the negative effect of heat on your body.
- Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing to reflect some of the sun's energy.
- Never leave children, elderly or pets in the car even with the windows down. Although the outside air temperatures may seem comfortable, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise 40 to 50 degrees and swiftly create deadly, oven-like conditions.
Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.
The National Weather Service long range forecast calls for cooler than normal temperatures next week.


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Back in October of 2001, I demonstrated how to configure a Cisco router using a FreeBSD computer and its built-in serial communications utilities. In this article, I'll show you how to set up a TFTP server so you can back up and upgrade a hardware appliance such as a Cisco router.
If you've ever had the opportunity to work with any hardware-based routers, security appliances, or intelligent switches, you're aware that these devices typically don't have hard disks for permanent storage of their configurations and underlying operating systems. Instead, they use a combination of volatile and non-volatile RAM and an EEPROM chip.
Since chips have far less storage capacity than hard drives, things get a bit more interesting when you want to install or upgrade the operating system. The operating system itself and the utilities that come with it will be optimized to fit into a small space. Most of the utilities you're used to finding on a computer's operating system will be missing. You won't find any browsers or download utilities here! You also won't find any backup utilities, even though you know the first rule in computing land is "backup, backup, backup".
The most common utility used to accomplish device backups and upgrades is TFTP, the Trivial File Transfer Protocol. This utility is similar to FTP, except that it has been stripped down in functionality in order to fit onto a chip; hence, the "trivial." Hardware devices, such as a Cisco router or switch, contain a TFTP client. It is up to you to create a TFTP server somewhere in your network. The TFTP server will store a backup copy of your configurations and the images (or operating systems) of the hardware devices within your network.
Your FreeBSD system already contains a TFTP server, meaning you don't have to install any additional software. You only have to enable the TFTP service and properly configure a directory. Let's start by enabling the service. As the superuser, use your favorite editor to open up /etc/inetd.conf.
You'll notice that this file contains several dozen lines of names of
services, and each has been commented out with a
#. This is the
configuration file for
inetd, the Internet Super Server. This
server listens on behalf of other services. When a request comes in for a
inetd will start the appropriate service. This reduces
system load, as one service can listen for requests rather than each service
having to listen separately.
In order to tell
inetd to listen for TFTP requests, find the
two lines that start with
#tftp and remove the comment from the
first line so it looks like this:
tftp dgram udp wait root /usr/libexec/tftpd tftpd -s /tftpboot
#tftp dgram udp6 wait root /usr/libexec/tftpd tftpd -s /tftpboot
You'll note that FreeBSD supports both IPv4 and IPv6, so its
inetd is capable of listening for both types of requests. Also
note that TFTP uses UDP as its transport. This means it is not as reliable as
FTP (which uses TCP). It also means that TFTP supports broadcasts, meaning you
don't have to configure the TFTP client with the IP address of a particular
TFTP server.
Once you've removed the
#, save your changes. You now need to
inetd that you've made some changes to its configuration file
by sending what is known as a "signal one." The easiest way to do this is with
killall command:
# killall -1 inetd
If the command is successful, you will just receive your prompt back. Be
careful to include all three parts of that command. If you forget the
-1, you'll actually terminate the
inetd process. But
don't worry, you can start it again by simply typing
If you instead receive the following error message:
# killall -1 inetd
No matching processes were found
inetd is not running. Again, simply type
inetd to
start it. To make sure
inetd starts if the TFTP server reboots,
add the following line to /etc/rc.conf:
Next, ensure
inetd is listening for UDP connections on port 69,
the TFTP port:
root inetd 1713 4 udp4 *:69 *:*
Now that the server is functional, you need to create a directory that will be used by the TFTP server to store the backups of your hardware devices' configurations and operating systems. This directory must be called /tftpboot:
# mkdir /tftpboot
Next, populate this directory with the files you wish to download to your hardware devices. For example, if you wish to upgrade your Cisco IOS, download the desired image from the Cisco web site and save it to /tftpboot. Most software images have rather complicated names, such as c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin. If you'll be serving many images, you should document which devices are using which images.
You'll also want to create empty files for the files you'll upload from the hardware devices themselves. These files can be called anything that is useful to you. For example, if I wish to save the configurations from a 1602 router, a PIX 501 firewall, and a 1924 switch, I could create the following files:
# touch 1602_config PIX_config 1924_config
Finally, since TFTP is a stripped-down version of FTP, it does not support authentication. For this reason, this directory and its contents must be accessible to your TFTP clients. Typically, this is accomplished by setting the permissions like so:
# chmod -R 777 /tftpboot
Depending upon the TFTP client built into the hardware device you are using, you may be able to successfully use stricter permissions. Unfortunately, with a Cisco device, it will fail unless the permissions are set this way. When you're finished, verify the permissions in the directory:
# ls -l /tftpboot
total 0
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root wheel 0 May 18 15:24 1602_config
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root wheel 0 May 18 15:24 1924_config
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root wheel 0 May 18 15:24 PIX_config
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root wheel 4194172 May 18 15:33 c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin
You should now have an operational TFTP server. Since your FreeBSD system
also has a TFTP client, you can test that the server is set up to properly
transfer files. First,
tftp to the address of your TFTP server as
a regular user. If the server responds, your prompt will change. Here, I will
use the
tftp client from the same computer that is the TFTP
$ tftp 127.0.0.1
If you type
?, you'll see that the
tftp client
supports few commands. The ones you'll use most often are
get to
download a file,
put to upload a file, and
quit to
exit the utility. If you're used to using the
ftp client, you'll
notice the absence of
mput, and several dozen other supported FTP commands.
Now, try to
get one of the files; your transfer will be more
exciting if you pick a non-empty file. Here, I'll transfer an image file:
tftp> get c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin
Received 4194172 bytes in 1.6 seconds
I'll then quit the utility:
tftp> quit
There's a couple of important points regarding this file transfer. First, it
won't work if the file you want to transfer is not in /tftpboot.
Notice when I used the
get command that I didn't specify the path
to the file, simply the filename. If I had tried this command instead, I would
have received the following error message:
tftp> get /tftpboot/c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin
Error code 1: File not found
tftp assumes that the file you want to transfer
already exists and that it is located in /tftpboot. Second, make
sure you spell the filename correctly. This is especially important with those
long image filenames. If you're a terrible typist, you'll miss filename
completion, as it's not supported by
tftp. This is another reason
why it is a good idea to document the files stored in /tftpboot
and to check your spelling when you use the
get command.
Otherwise, you'll end up getting frustrated by "Error code 1" messages.
You may have noticed that I didn't specify where to put the file that was
transferred using
get. This is because it is automatically copied
to the current working directory. Typically, this isn't a problem on a hardware
device, but it is something to keep in mind should you ever initiate a
tftp session using your FreeBSD computer.
Finally, you should use
ls -l to verify that the number of
bytes received matches the number of bytes in the file stored on the TFTP
server. This is also a handy bit of information to have documented. If you have
a printer attached to your FreeBSD system, you can easily print out the
contents of /tftpboot once you've finished configuring the TFTP
$ ls -l /tftpboot | lpr
Now that I'm satisfied the TFTP server is operational, I'll demonstrate uploading that image file to a Cisco 1602 router. Once I'm connected to the router, I'll input the password required to enter privileged mode:
1602> enable
Before starting the TFTP client, you should always verify connectivity to
the TFTP server by
pinging its IP address:
1602# ping 10.0.0.100
On a Cisco router,
! indicates a successful
ping. If you
instead receive a series of
.s, the
ping is timing out, which
indicates a connectivity problem.
I'll then invoke the router's built-in TFTP client by using the following command:
1602# copy tftp flash
Flash load helper v1.0
This process will accept the copy options and then terminate the
current system image to use the ROM based image for the copy. Routing
functionality will not be available during that time. If you are logged
in via telnet, this connection will terminate. Users with console
access can see the results of the copy operation.
---- ^^^^^^^^ ----
Proceed? [confirm]
After reading the warning message, press Enter to confirm the operation. You'll then be presented with the name of the current operating system on the router and the amount of memory available on the EEPROM chip:
System flash directory:
File Length Name/status
1 3612396 c1600-ny-mz.110-8.P
[3612396 bytes used, 13164756 available, 16777216 total]
The client will then prompt for some information:
Address or name of remote host [255.255.255.255]
If you press Enter here, you'll receive the default value enclosed in square brackets, or the broadcast address. This means the TFTP client will send a broadcast onto the network looking for a TFTP server. If there are any intervening routers between this hardware device and the TFTP server, they will most likely discard the broadcast. To prevent that from happening, type in the IP address of your TFTP server.
Next, you'll be prompted for the source filename. That is, the filename of the image that you would like to download from the TFTP server. Remember, it's important not to mistype the name of the file in order for the transfer to succeed. I'll type in the name of my image:
Source file name? c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin
Next, you'll be prompted for the destination filename. That is, what you would like the file to be called when it is copied to the router's EEPROM chip. Technically, you could change the filename to anything you want, but usually you keep the original image name, like I have done here:
Destination file name? c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin
Now comes the moment of truth:
Accessing file 'c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin' on 10.0.0.100...
If you get an "Error code 1," the command will abort and return you to the command prompt. This means you have a typo in the "source file name," so repeat the command and try again. If you're sure you spelled the image name correctly, it's time to go to the TFTP server and ensure the file still exists in /tftpboot and is indeed spelled the way you are typing it.
If you receive a permissions problem, double-check the permissions of the
image on the TFTP server. Chances are, you forgot to set them to
If all goes well, the TFTP client will continue and give you output similar to this:
Loading c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin from 10.0.0.100 (via Ethernet0): ! [OK]
You'll then be asked to confirm the operation three times to make sure you're really, really sure that you want to replace the current operating system with the new image:
Erase flash device before writing? [confirm]
Flash contains files. Are you sure you want to erase? [confirm]
Copy 'c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin' from server
as 'c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin' into Flash WITH erase? [yes/no] yes
Once you've confirmed, you'll see a series of
es go by as the
current operating system is erased:
Erasing device...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...erased
and the new image is copied over; in this case,
!s indicate
Loading c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin from 10.0.0.100 (via Ethernet0):
[OK - 4194172 bytes/16777216 bytes]
Verifying checksum... OK (0x5FDE)
Flash copy took 0:02:16 [hh:mm:ss]
You should double-check that the bytes transferred over match up with the
number of bytes in the image file on the server. In my case, the 4194172
matches up and the checksum indicates that it is OK. If you received many
.s or timeouts during the transfer, you should check your network
connectivity and consider redoing the transfer. Finally, before rebooting the
router into the new operating system, double-check that the correct image is
indeed in the EEPROM chip:
1602# show flash
PCMCIA flash directory:
File Length Name/status
1 4194172 c1600-ny-mz.112-11.P.bin
Then, reboot the router:
1602# reload
Let's recap the steps necessary to configure your FreeBSD system as a TFTP server:
I demonstrated one use of a TFTP server: upgrading the image file on a Cisco router. If you have any hardware devices in your network, read their documentation to see the syntax of the command each uses in order to access the files you have stored on your TFTP server.
There are additional uses for a TFTP server. You may find some of the following URLs useful as launching points into your own experiments:
Just keep in mind that TFTP is designed for transferring files to and from chips on hardware devices. If you want to transfer files from one computer to another, TFTP is not the answer. There are many other options available that offer far more functionality and usually, more security.
In the next series of articles, I want to take a look at proxies and configuring proxy servers and proxy clients.
Dru Lavigne is a networking instructor at a private technical college in Kingston, ON, where she teaches the fundamentals of TCP/IP networking, routing, and security.
Return to the BSD DevCenter
oreillynet.com Copyright © 2003 O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.


text:
The FTOOLS Team
The FTOOLS tasks are primarily developed and supported by the following:
Past members of the FTOOLS team have included:
Significant contributions to the FTOOLS were also made by the following individuals: Bruce O'Neel, Ron Zellar, Jim Ingham, Eric Lufkin, Rehana Yusaf, Banashree Seifert, and Lorraine Breedon.
If FTOOLS has been useful in your research, please reference this website (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftools/) and the following:
Blackburn, J. K. 1995, in ASP Conf. Ser., Vol. 77, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems IV, ed. R. A. Shaw, H. E. Payne, and J. J. E. Hayes (San Francisco: ASP), 367.
Web page maintained by: Bryan K. Irby


text:
Announcing CUBRID 9.1 stable release with big improvements
Announcing CUBRID 9.1 stable release with big improvements
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We released CUBRID 9.0 beta version in October last year. Since then we have been working hard on stabilizing the beta features, fixing bugs, and improving the overall engine performance. Today I am excited to announce the immediate availability of the CUBRID 9.1 stable release. You can download CUBRID Database Server from http://www.cubrid.org/?mid=downloads&item=cubrid&os=detect&cubrid=9.1.0.
I would also like to announce that we will give a talk about CUBRID Database Sharding at Percona MySQL Conference on April 24, 2013, in Santa Clara, CA. Join us there to meet CUBRID Engineers and get the first-hand insight into the new CUBRID 9.1.
Below I will provide an overview of the latest changes and improvements in CUBRID 9.1.
CUBRID 9.1 is an upgraded and stabilized version of CUBRID 9.0 Beta. To learn more about the biggest features introduced in 9.x family, refer to 9.0 official announcement. Issues found in the 9.0 Beta version have been fixed and stabilized in this new 9.1 stable release. With a variety of query-related functionalities, CUBRID 9.1 offers improved query processing performance as well as improved query optimization. In addition, its multi-language related functionalities have been further improved. This new 9.1 release is accompanied by new CUBRID Tools and Drivers releases.
Backward Compatibility
Database compatibility
As a database volume of CUBRID 9.1 is not compatible with the database of CUBRID 9.0 Beta, users of CUBRID 9.0 Beta or previous versions should migrate their database. We have created a migration instructions which you can find in Upgrade section of the Release Notes.
Driver compatibility
The JDBC and CCI driver of CUBRID 9.1 are compatible with CUBRID 9.0 Beta and CUBRID 2008 R4.x version. Some features that are fixed and improved for 9.1 are not supported when 9.1 drivers connect to the previous versions.
Major enhancements
New SQL functions and index hints
- New SQL analytics functions like
LAGhave been introduced in CUBRID 9.1.
- WIDTH_BUCKET new SQL numeric function is also introduced.
ROUNDfunctions now also accept the date types.
- New SQL Hints:
- Support a new index hint clause.
- SQL hints for Multi
- SQL hints for
Performance improvements and optimizations
- The performance of data replication in HA environment has been significantly improved in CUBRID 9.1.
- Improved multi-key range optimization.
- Enhanced optimization of
ORDER BYand
GROUP BYclause.
- Improved analytic function performance.
- Improved performance of
INSERT ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATEand
- Improved search and delete performance for non-unique indexes with many duplicate keys.
- Improved delete performance when insert and delete operations are repeated.
- The overall performance of
SELECToperations has been improved by nearly 20%.
- Based on the results obtained from the basic performance test, we have found that the performance of
DELETE, and
UPDATEoperations are almost same as that of 9.0 Beta.
Multi-language support
- In CUBRID 9.1 we now support collation for tables.
SHOW COLLATIONstatement and new
COLLATION, and
COERCIBILITYfunctions are now supported.
- Support collation with expansion which sorts French with backward accent order.
- Improved and fixed restrictions and issues of 9.0 Beta version.
- We have added
cubrid shard getidcommand to verify the shard ID of the shard key.
- CUBRID SHARD is now available on Windows as well.
Administration utility
cubrid applyinfoutility now also shows information about the replication delay.
cubrid killtranutility now has the ability to show the query execution information of each transaction as well as the ability to remove transactions which executes a designated SQL.
- When a query timeout occurs, added a functionality to log the query execution information to the server error log and the CAS log files.
Behavioral Changes
CUBRID_LANGenvironment variable is no longer used.
CUBRID_CHARSETenvironment variable which sets the database charset instead of
CUBRID_LANGand the
CUBRID_MSG_LANGenvironment variable which sets the charset for utility and error messages.
- Change array execution functions such as
cci_execute_batchfunction and
PreparedStatement.executeBatchmethod of JDBC to commit whenever it executes an individual query under auto commit mode, while the previous versions commit once for entire execution.
- Change the behavior of
cci_execute_resultfunction when an error occurs while they are executing multiple statements. These functions now continue to execute the entire given queries while the previous versions stop execution and return an error. Users can access the results and identify the errors with
OFFis no longer supported for
KEEP_CONNECTIONbroker parameter.
SELECT_AUTO_COMMITbroker parameter is no longer supported.
- Change the allowed value range of a broker parameter
1 - 2,097,151.
- Change the default value of a broker parameter
100 MB to 10 MB.
- Change the behavior of the
Numerous Improvements and Bug Fixes
- Fix many critical issues of the previous versions.
- Improve of fix many issues of stability, SQL, partitioning, HA, Sharding, utilities, and drivers.
For more details on changes, see the Release Notes in English or Korean.
So far CUBRID 9.1 is our biggest release which we would like you to try. In fact we have released new improved drivers for Node.js, PHP, PDO, Python, Perl, JDBC, ODBC, OLEDB, ADO.NET, and C. So you should definitely try the new, more performant and stable CUBRID 9.1 Database.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave your comment below.
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This is a lesson about the magnetic field of a bar magnet. The lesson begins with an introductory discussion with learners about magnetism to draw out any misconceptions that may be in their minds. Then, learners freely experiment with bar magnets... (View More) and various materials, such as paper clips, rulers, copper or aluminum wire, and pencils, to discover that magnets attract metals containing iron, nickel, and/or cobalt but not most other materials. Next, learners experiment with using a magnetic compass to discover how it is affected by the magnet and then draw the magnetic field lines of the magnet by putting dots at the location of the compass arrow. This is the first lesson in the first session of the Exploring Magnetism teacher guide. (View Less)
This is a lesson to demonstrate magnetic field lines in 2- and 3-dimensions. In the first activity, learners sprinkle iron filings over a magnet underneath a paper and record their observations. The second activity involves building a 3-D magnetic... (View More) field visualizer using a clear plastic bottle, a cow magnet and iron filings. This is the second lesson in the first session of the "Exploring Magnetism" teacher guide. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
This is a lesson about measuring magnetic field directions of Earth and in the environment. First, learners go outside, far away from buildings, power lines, or anything electrical or metal, and use compasses to identify magnetic North. Next, they... (View More) use the compasses to probe whether there are any sources of magnetic fields in the local environment, including around electronic equipment such as a CD player and speakers. This is the first lesson in the second session of the Exploring Magnetism teacher guide. (View Less)


text:
Standard & Poor's misled investors by giving its highest credit grade to securities whose value plunged during the global financial crisis, an Australian judge ruled. The ratings company said it will appeal.
S&P was "misleading and deceptive" in its rating of two structured debt issues in 2006, Federal Court Justice Jayne Jagot said in her ruling released today in Sydney. The Australian municipalities that brought the case are entitled to damages from S&P and two other defendants, ABN Amro Bank NV and Local Government Financial Services Pty., she ruled.
Twelve Australian councils claimed they lost more than 90 percent of the A$16 million ($16.6 million) they invested in so-called Rembrandt notes rated AAA by S&P and linked to credit-default swaps on investment grade companies. The repackaging of debt into securities with top rankings from S&P and other rating companies contributed to more than $2 trillion in losses and writedowns as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed in 2008 and the world fell into recession.
"This is the first time that a ratings agency has been held liable for their opinion in this way," said Harald Scheule, as associate professor of finance at the University of Technology Sydney. It may spur efforts to move the industry toward a model in which consumers instead of issuers pay for credit opinions, he said.
The 1,459-page ruling is a "major blow to the ratings agencies, which for years have had the benefit of profiting from the assignment of these ratings," Amanda Banton, a partner at law firm Piper Alderman, which represents the councils, said in an e-mailed statement. It will promote transparency in the ratings process, she said.
"We reject any suggestion our opinions were inappropriate and we will appeal the Australian ruling, which relates to a specific rating," S&P said in a statement. The New York-based unit of McGraw-Hill Cos. had argued that a report provided to the Australian towns said investors can't rely on the ratings themselves as investment advice.
S&P reported $502 million in revenue in the third quarter, the highest in 19 quarters as companies around the world tapped debt markets at the fastest pace ever. McGraw-Hill is splitting its ratings business from its education unit.
European Sales
The ruling may have implications in other jurisdictions, said John Walker, executive director of IMF (Australia) Ltd., a company that invests in litigation and funded the action. IMF is funding a claim in the Netherlands over 2 billion euro ($2.6 billion) in similar securities sold in Europe by ABN Amro and rated by S&P, he said in an e-mailed statement.
The notes, known as a constant proportion debt obligation, or CPDO, were arranged by ABN Amro, an affiliate of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, rated by S&P, and sold to the Australian councils by municipal adviser Local Government Financial Services.
The securities were unwound less than two years after the towns bought them because credit spreads kept increasing and their cash value was exhausted, according to a court filing.
Town officials said during the trial they hadn't read all of the accompanying documents and relied on the AAA rating to make the decision to invest in the notes. Among the councils that bought the notes was Corowa Shire, a three-hour drive from Melbourne and home to the country's biggest hog farm.
Cooma-Monaro Shire, a region in the Snowy Mountains south of Canberra which lost A$1.9 million on the notes, had to cancel planned upgrades to its footpaths and public toilets after the event wiped out about half of its discretionary budget, mayor Dean Lynch said by phone.
"That was a massive blow to our budget," he said by phone. "That money was essentially put aside for a rainy day."
Local Government Financial Services purchased A$45 million of the Rembrandt notes from ABN Amro and resold A$18.5 million in 2006 and 2007, including A$17 million to the Australian towns that sued, according to court documents. A 13th township sued separately after losing more than 90 percent of its A$1 million investment in the securities.
LGFS also sued S&P, accusing the company of breach of duty and negligence in giving the notes the highest investment rating. LGFS and the Australian councils also sued ABN Amro, claiming it was negligent in passing on S&P's AAA ratings.
The municipal adviser is entitled to damages from S&P and ABN Amro, Jagot ruled. The councils are entitled to damages equivalent to their A$15.8 million in losses. A separate hearing will be held to make final orders, she said.
"We are studying this long and complex judgment," RBS spokesman Allan Watt said in a statement.
ABN Amro was "knowingly concerned in S&P's contraventions" and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, according to today's ruling.
The case is: Bathurst Regional Council v. Local Government Financial Services Pty. NSD1268/2010. Federal Court of Australia (Sydney).
Bloomberg News


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For their New Year's resolutions, some people vow to eat less or exercise more. Others vow to perform more acts of kindness or to work even harder to get that big promotion. And some people's New Year's Resolution is simply to visit New Orleans in 2013.
Whether you're traveling for the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, or New Orleans' fall food fests, your next visit to the city should include a few of New Orleans' favorite eateries and attractions. We've compiled a list of some of the traditional and lesser known sights, tastes, and sounds that should be on your to-do list the next time you visit:
1. Eat oysters. Various restaurants around the city shuck some of the biggest and best tasting oysters in the world—sure, we'll a little biased—so you've got quite a few options on this one. Whether its happy hour or dinnertime, you should check out places like Acme Oyster House, Felix's, Royal House Oyster Bar, or Bourbon House in the French Quarter, Drago's or Lüke in the CBD, or Casamento's or the Blind Pelican Uptown. And just about all of them are accessible via the St. Charles streetcar line just steps from Southern Comfort B&B.
2. Live music on Frenchmen St. Bourbon St may be a top destination for many tourists. And while the strip admittedly has a few decent jazz clubs, Frenchmen St is one of New Orleans' hidden treasures. The Blue Nile and d.b.a. consistently host some of New Orleans' favorites of all genres, and you can catch other up-and-coming acts at the Maison (check out their huge window showcase of the musicians performing on stage) or the more intimate, acoustic atmosphere at the Apple Barrel. Located at the far edge of the French Quarter from Canal St, just follow Decatur St all the way down past Esplanade Ave.
3. Sample gumbo. Dark roux, light roux, seafood, chicken, and sausage—gumbo comes in all colors, textures, and sizes in restaurants throughout the city. Especially in the winter months, few things warm the soul like a steamy bowl of this Cajun-Creole delicacy. There are too many to even begin to name them all, but restaurants like the New Orleans Gumbo Shop, Li'l Dizzy's Café, Coop's Place, Liuzza's by the Track, Galatoire's, and Dooky Chase, are just a sampling of the plethora of restaurants serving up some of the best gumbo you'll ever try. And if you don't yet know what a roux is, you'll know by the time you head home.
4. Ride the streetcar. Ever felt the breeze on your face while taking in the open-window ride on a streetcar heading downtown? Whether you're taking the Canal St, Riverfront, or St. Charles Ave streetcars, the experience is not one to miss. The sights are a thrill, from the gorgeous oaks and mansions lining St. Charles Ave to the exciting—albeit tiny—strip of downtown you'll catch on the Canal line. Even if you just take a ride down the line and back up to your same starting point, you'll be glad you made the trip.


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Last year I recieved a Silicon Graphics 1600SW from my brother who picked it up from an auction. The problem is that I'm stuck with using the video card it came with and I really want to upgrade. The connector on the monitor isn't XVGA. In fact, it's a connector I've never seen in my life. The best I can describe it is to say it looks like a SCSI.
Does anyone know if there's a conveter out there?
If not, is there anywhere that I can go to purchase a stronger video card. I'm not expecting to do any gaming, I have my CRT for that. However, I do feel I need a bit more power out of my system.
Thanks in Advance