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Monday, February 20, 2012
There are lots of experiments I would like to see MMO companies try, even if most of us think they would end badly. Of course, it's hard for an MMO to wildly experiment when the cost of a failed experiment is the loss of many subscribers. I'm sure Blizzard has regrets about some of the experiments they carried out in Cataclysm.
One experiment I would like to see is the release of new content without increasing item level. A new raid tier is released, with new loot, new item sets, but the exact same item level as the previous tier.
Now, I think that we're all in agreement that this would go over like a lead balloon. But none of us are absolutely sure. It's possible that the audience would be fine with it, maybe for a little bit.
The thing is that if the audience is okay with new content at the same item level, that would help enormously with some problems in endgame. You wouldn't have this constant ramp up of power levels. You could introduce more tiers, or space out content in a cleaner fashion, without impacting the power level. You wouldn't need as many catch-up mechanisms.
Admittedly, it's unlikely that keeping the item level the same would be popular. But we don't know for certain.
Another experiment I'd like to see is not having raid content available on release. Open it up three months afterwards, and make sure that everyone knows this is the plan. I think there is a much greater pressure to blow through leveling content among veteran MMO players. Perhaps giving those players time to digest the leveling experience, to stop and smell the roses, would be beneficial in the long run.
What experiments would you like to see an MMO try?
23 comments:
I would like to see the environment react more to players. Let's say a bunch of players quest to kill 15 coyotes, the more players kill coyotes, the more other animals spawn, then the quests shift to allow the coyotes populations to recover.ReplyDelete
I want surprised in a content patch. I would like to see something shocking and more permanent world shaking events. Like when they killed Morpheus in Matrix Online.
Didn't the release the initial raid content for Cata a month or 2 after release? Most people weren't ready for the raids within a week or even 2 and the only ones it inconveniences are the very top level guilds, who probably completed as much as possible of the raids in the beta anyway.ReplyDelete
You can try the "no ilevel increase" experiment right now.ReplyDelete
Step 1: Raid places that have zero upgrades for you.
Step 2: Repeat.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Unsubscribe.
I do not consider myself an "item whore" or "BiS-er" or whatever. However, what possible reason is there to run raid content more than once, other than gear? The fights themselves are not intrinsically fun, and failing through no fault of your own certainly is not fun either.
Does the reward always have to be gear? No. Will I be interested in 14+ new pets/titles each tier? Probably not.
- Anonymous8:35 PM, February 20, 2012
I also think that "same ilvl" would be a non-start for a lot of people. Unless it was prettier gear, or the instance had achievements and cool mounts or distinctive vanity pets or something. (Heck people run ICC now just for the mounts. They're not exactly getting gear upgrades out of there.)ReplyDelete
But, given the amount of time and optimization and theorycrafting people go through for a 0.2% increase in DPS or HPS or effective health, I see no reason why there have to be such huge gulfs either.
If each raid tier were say 5 ilvl above the previous it would seriously slow down the stat inflation vs the current 13. And people would certainly grumble. But there's this idea that each tier needs to be a set % more powerful than the previous, and I think that's the assumption that needs challenging.
Of course I'm the same guy who doesn't understand why trash drop greens from a new expansion have to be better than the best piece of heroic loot from the hardest raid of the previous expansion.
Considering people already complain about a dearth of content as is, I doubt pushing off raid content until 3 months after a release is a sound strategy.ReplyDelete
Ghostcrawler has already explained why there's an exponential rather than linear gain in stats between expansions. If it were linear from vanilla wow, each tier would only be an increase of like 10 STR for example. Now, you might think, sure, that's fine, but when level 60 gear has like 50 STR to start with, by the time you hit Tier 11, 10 STR is not nearly as big an upgrade comparatively when you're talking going from 150 to 160 STR vs the original 50 to 60 STR. And so to achieve the same feel for an upgrade you need to scale exponentially (ie: each tier is 10% more powerful than the last).
That still leaves, however, the capability that previous expansion gear can be used for the current expansion. Blizzard has stated that this is undesirable, as they want players to feel rewarded for completing current content. So the only way to fix it such that cannot happen is exponential scaling, perhaps increasing the scale significantly from on expansion to the next to ensure that you need to be on the gear treadmill to complete current content.
Now, whether you agree with that is another thing. I think you have a point in that the scale need not be quite as steep as it is, but it would be difficult to argue for a linear increase because the math just doesn't work out in favour of feeling more powerful. Getting higher tiers meaning upgrades mean less is not a good way for them to keep their customers on the gear treadmill
I think this is an interesting idea. I've always likened weekly guid raiding to intramural sports. My brother In law plays softball three nights a week. My dad plays golf once a week. Really it's not all that different. But the reward structure is quite different. To think my father plays the same golf course every week (mostly) rarely buys new equipment (gear) and really only plays for the social aspect and the can he do better than last time aspect. Can this work in an MMO? is challenge mode a step toward that? (Would be nice to find a way to compete other than speed through instance.)ReplyDelete
Except it's not new? It's still the same style- bring x players, tank takes lots of damage, needs heals, dps fights the boss while dodging some gimmick. It's only the gear that changes. Boss models and art and setting are meaningless to most players.ReplyDelete
I'm not sure I understand the logic behind a same-ilvl raid. The net result would be: people who have trouble with raid 1 have the same trouble with raid 2. People who cleared/farmed raid 1 will be able to clear/farm raid 2 from release day. What is this supposed to add to the game?ReplyDelete
Or you could nerf raid 1 over time, simulating the effect of better gear from raid 2, but then this is already what's going on....
- Anonymous2:16 AM, February 21, 2012
I think that no-ilvl increase in content works well enough in other settings. It works well in many console games. I never received a better weapon in 2 years of playing Halo 3 online. I didn't care. It works well in golf. My mother-in-law plays golf 2x per week on the same course in her late 60s and doesn't care. But in both examples, every game is different (and in the case of golf sociable). Every Halo 3 match has different dynamics, every golf game has different weather / opponents (golf is a nice example as on one level it is more PvE than PvP unless you play at high level).ReplyDelete
I think that a zero ilvl raid instance could work quite well, but it would need to be rewarding "in and of itself", which means dynamic and engaging variations in gameplay, be it procedurally generated content or whatever.
Zero ilvl raid instance would not work for a strictly linear instance when the mechanical gameplay is quite simple and easily repeatable once learned. Then, the only reason to raid is loot progression, and perhaps fun in Vent, if you are lucky to raid with people who can generate 3 hours of stand-up comedy over the mic for you each night (I'm not).
I'd love it if endgame PvP/raids weren't released right away. I do feel forced to rush through the leveling content, heroics, etc. :(ReplyDelete
The Trammel/Felucca split doesn't proves anything, though. Admittedly I wasn't connected to the community (didn't visit forums and such), but just because a company makes a decision it doesn't prove the majority of players approved of it. Bad decisions ultimately ran Ultima Online into the ground, after all.
I wish there was still an MMORPG like UO; I hate how WoW has become a bunch of minigames for people who "have lives," whose "time is important." I'm not saying all the convenience changes were bad, but I no longer feel like I'm in a living world and that sucks.
Wasn't this sort of attempted with the ilvl 353 gear from the Troll instances?ReplyDelete
If they released same-ilevel content repeatedly, it could go over better, because players would have different expectations. However I think this could create too much parallel content, risking watering it down.ReplyDelete
- NetherLands7:15 AM, February 21, 2012
Of course it could theoretically work, Pen-and-Paper RPG's are a good example (they expand content horizontally instead of vertically ie more options added instead of newer options replacing the older options).ReplyDelete
And twinked-out toons being able to clear content above their level is actually a given, it's very odd from a pure game design point that say the top-Raiders shouldn't be able to do entry level end-game content of a new Expansion right of the bat (also from a world-building perspective but perhaps a bit too RP ;)
However, it doesn't fit well with Blizzard's policy of planned obsolessence: every Expansion should make the previous one trivial and obsolete, so, to remain in the virtual rat-race, people will have to buy the new product.
That's the only real reason why we see such things as Tier resets, iLevel explosions, and Expansions adding levelling content for those that don't like levelling, period (as well as no progression/roll-back Realms, as Thou Shalt Not Escape The Rat Race)
And thus the local fishing village in a next Expansion doling out gear better than previous Expansion's Legendaries for being beset by pigs with more levels than Bosses a few tiers below.
I don't know if I'd say raid fights aren't intrinsically fun--rather they aren't inherently rewarding. Hence, the gear and titles. Winning is intrinsically fun, which is why people run old raids even when there is nothing to gain from it. It's wiping and dying that suck all the fun out. There is a certain thrill to downing a raid boss quite apart from the loot.ReplyDelete
I would like to see a move away from the 'fun' model. If you think about old WoW, there were lots of things that weren't really all that fun. Leveling, especially past 45. Getting stomped by marauding elites in a leveling zone. Grinding reputation by actually doing something rather than as a passive side effect of running dungeons. Running around on foot prior to level 40.
WoW today is more fun, but it has come at a price. It is less meaningful. As an analogy, climbing a mountain isn't fun in and of itself. But it is meaningful, which is why people do it. The really meaningful things that people do in their lives are those that are difficult, not very exciting at the time, and where there is a chance of failure. On the other hand, going on a weekend bender is a lot of fun, but isn't meaningful in the slightest.
So, I would like to see an MMO-or any game really-focus more on being meaningful to its players rather than ephemerally 'fun'.
@Hofflerand, the Felucca/Trammel split is important because Felucca and Trammel were identical except for the PvP ruleset. Trammel was consent-only PvP, while Felucca was the original anything-goes PvP.ReplyDelete
90% of the playerbase chose to stay on Trammel, which clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of the playerbase will not accept anything-goes PvP, especially player looting, if there is a choice.
It was a clear experiment which showed definitive results in player behavior.
The Felucca/Trammel split showed that, given a choice, players will be lazy. That's not surprising and it didn't make the game better. Is WoW better now that max-level is sitting in cities and queuing for all the content?ReplyDelete
Again, I'm not saying all convenience updates (dungeon finder and such) are bad, that I want a purely sandbox game, but WoW has moved too far towards the theme park style. There needs to be more incentives to travel out into the world -- for example, flying mounts disabled in certain areas and better rewards for completing a dungeon without dungeon finder. Also, the rules on PvP servers should be harsher. Players who want world PvP -- which is about that constant sense of danger, not merely ganking low-levels who can't defend themselves -- should be allowed to have it.
Reposting from my comment on the MMO melting pot which featured this post:ReplyDelete
People shouldn't make these kind of "why hasn't anyone done this???" posts becuase invairably someone has, and they just don't know about it.
LOTRO had 4 years of effectively no end game gear progression including, somewhat unbelievably, an expansion and 5-level cap increase. Yep, from Mines of Moria to the end of the Mirkwood expansion, there was effectively no end game gear inflation in lotro. The dungeon "progression" through this time was as follows (line breaks indicate the following content was released in a different patch/expansion):
(level 60)
Moria dungeons x6
Moria lair raid (Watcher)
Moria lair raid (Turtle)
Lothlorien dungeons x3
Lothlorien 6-boss raid
(level 65)
Mirkwood dungeons x4
Mirkwood 6-boss raid
In Your Absence dungons x5
In Your Absence 6-boss raid
There was almost literally no gear progression over that content. Not only was it possible to wear the armour set you got from the initial moria instances/raid in that list in the T2 hard modes of the final raid in that list, for many classes it was optimal. There was very minimal, if any, progression of jewlery - most "upgrades" were actually sidegrades - and it was perfectly feasible to wear level 60 drops or even CRAFTED items in the final raid there. The only clear progression was for weapons which had a ~5% jump in power at each tier (somewhat bigger one with the level cap increase).
I'm not going to go into whether this was necessarily good or bad (it was a bit of both), just pointing out that this "experiment" has been done.
One experiment I would like to see is the release of new content without increasing item level. A new raid tier is released, with new loot, new item sets, but the exact same item level as the previous tier.ReplyDelete
This game is called FFXI, which for over half of it's lifespan had all new content balanced to be the "same" as stuff you got in the original launch, because they didn't want people to feel bad about replacing stuff. This had a TERRIBLE effect on the game, and twisted class and mechanic balance in weird ways because basically nothing could ever be better then that one sword that naturally hit multiple times.
A variation on the idea would be if the loot had the same ilvl, but had some buff for that particular dungeon. For example, they could release a new dungeon filled with undead, and the dungeon could drop a bunch of gear that has extra damage against undead. You'd still want to get it, but mainly just while you are working on that chunk of content. When the next chunk of content comes out, you'd be onto something new.ReplyDelete
the way to make items horizontal and not vertical is to diminish their impact on stats and increase their impact on abilities.ReplyDelete
This is mostly how equipment works in ffxi and why people are still doing old endgame content in order to get their hands on equipment that has unique benefits and why people often have more than 1 set of gear for different circumstances. my dnc has evasion gear and haste gear.
I'd like to see what happens when wow makes it possible for people to join multiple guilds. People could then maintain social and raid ties with different groups.
@PB: could you tell us what you think was good and bad about the LOTRO (lack of) gear progression?ReplyDelete
- Anonymous9:01 PM, February 23, 2012
We have sortof seen this. It is akin to the phenomenon of an undertuned boss. Examples include Naxxramus in WotLK which people cleared in T6 gear. What will happen then is that gear upgrades are irrelevant; then the only use is to clear the content once for the achievement (in-game or personal), and perhaps try the meta achievements.ReplyDelete
I've also seen it this patch 4.3 in WoW. Most of my characters had ilvl 378. Doing the new dungeons would also drop ilvl 378, so there wasn't much point. They were also worse, lacking e.g. a red gem. The only use was to boost 4 random people, or to get VP.
Your experiment would not work for people who play content for just the gear upgrades. We will see how it turns out. Where? Challenge mode. That won't drop gear. But here, not everyone is forced to play this whereas we had to farm the troll HCs for VP.
Also don't forget ilvl doesn't say everything. There is always this imba trinket or staff. Shard of Woe and Taragosca. Those are extreme cases, but there are others like the 2H str from Deathwing is ilvl 390 would be higher DPS increase than say 390 gloves or shoulders from Spine.
- Anonymous6:09 AM, February 24, 2012
The same or lower iLvl raid worked in WoW vanilla (Zul'Gurub, AQ20) and TBC (Zul'Aman). However, it was under multiple-tier models. I.e. there were people who were in these lower tiers.ReplyDelete
Now all players are in the last tier. If new same-iLvl raid has the same difficulty as current raid but raiders are already in the same iLvl-gear, it is obvious that the new raid will last not as long as current, despite development cost could be the same or even highr. If the new raid has the same iLvl loot but higher difficulty then very few people will use it - why face higher difficulty for the same reward?


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Vales of Anduin
This article or section needs expansion and/or modification. Please help the wiki by expanding it.
The Vales of Anduin was the collective name for the large valley of the Anduin, specifically the part east of the Misty Mountains. It is where the Gladden River meets the Anduin and form the Gladden Fields. Throughout history, it had been occupied by Elves, Men and Hobbits.
In the First Age, the Teleri who were too afraid to cross the Misty Mountains stopped there. They became the Nandor and their leader was Lenwe.[1] Later they were joined by the Avari, specifically the Penni, who came west. But eventually they left the Vales for the west or became the Elves of Mirkwood or the Galadhrim.
Near the end of the First Age, the Vales were occupied by Edain, the ancestors of the Northmen. Those were in confederation with the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm and provided food in return for Dwarven weapons and precious items. This cooperation continued until the reign of Durin IV.[2]
After the disastrous Battle of the Plains, some Northmen were gathereed under the leadership of Marhwini son of Marhari, who led them north between Anduin and Mirkwood, eventually settling in the Vales of Anduin between the Carrock and the Gladden Fields.[3] They were joined by many fugitives who came through Mirkwood. This was the birth of the Éothéod.
Sometime during the Third Age the Hobbits migrated to the Vales of Anduin from an unknown earlier location; the Vales are their first known location before eventually the Shadow of Dol Guldur fell on Greenwood. The Harfoots left for the west in T.A. 1050 and begin their Wandering Days. When Angmar threatened Eriador, some of the Stoors would return to the east and around T.A. 1356 settled in the Gladden Fields.[4]
Once a fair and fertile land, it became a dangerous area, beleaguered by the creatures of the Necromancer at Dol Guldur. However, when the evil Kingdom of Angmar was destroyed in T.A. 1975, freeing up land to the north, Frumgar led the Éothéod to the vale between the rivers Greylin and Langwell,[5] where they built a city.
In the later years before the War of the Ring, the Vales were inhabited by the Beornings.[6] During Grimbeorn's time, the High Pass and the Ford of Carrock were kept open and no Orc or Wolf dared to enter his land.[7]
Firs, strawberries and wild berries[source?] (cf.) grew in the Vales.
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "Of Dwarves and Men"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan", (i) The Northmen and the Wainriders, note 8
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Many Meetings"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Council of Elrond"


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A few weeks ago we demonstrated the updated version of Hey Dj!, a voice-controlled app for Windows Phone that handles your music.
The original version of the app won accolades from us for being creative and filling in a gap in the OS, namely voice control of your music library. The app worked by simply launching it, pressing a virtual button and telling it what you wanted to hear. You could say things like the artist, song title, album or even a playlist...
Version 2.0 of the app just hit the Store and features new voice command features for Windows Phone 8. Now, instead of launching the app and barking out your commands, you can simply hold down the Windows key and tell it what you want to hear [Tip: head into Settings --> Speech to enable it from the Lock screen].
The commands are simple: "Hey DJ!....play <insert artist here>" is all you need to say and off it goes to do your bidding. From our usage, we've had much better luck than the other WP8 voice app out there, UrbanSpoon, which never hears what we ask. Anyway, Hey Dj! is a solid music companion app. We're not sure why Microsoft did not include voice commands for music in Windows Phone 8 but at least one developer is picking up the slack (and doing an admirable job at it too).
Pick up Hey DJ! here in the Store for $1.49. If you've previously bought the app there is no re-purchase.


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Fred Bourland, cotton breeder and director of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Northeast Research and Extension Center, Keiser, Ark., has been named International Cotton Researcher of the Year by the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
Bourland won the award for his innovative breeding achievements that have led to the release of cotton germplasm and varieties, his role in the development of the COTMAN cotton management system and for the development of cotton breeding techniques for both laboratory and field.
He was selected by an independent panel from among 11 candidates from eight countries on five continents.
The ICAC Cotton Researcher of the Year award was begun in 2009 to help raise awareness of the importance of research to improvement of the cotton industry and to provide international recognition of exceptional achievements. University and public sector researchers from ICAC member countries and from all disciplines of cotton production research are eligible for the award.
Bourland will receive the award and a $1,000 honorarium during the annual ICAC Plenary Meeting.
Bourland came to the Division of Agriculture in 1988 after leading a cotton breeding program for 10 years at Mississippi State University. He continued his cotton breeding program at the Fayetteville campus and at the division's research stations in eastern Arkansas. In 1997, he moved to Keiser as director of the Northeast Research and Extension Center.
"Moving to Keiser facilitated progress in the cotton breeding program because I am in a cotton growing area and can oversee my research daily," Bourland said.
Under Bourland's direction, the Arkansas breeding program has focused on developing improved yield, fiber quality, disease resistance and early maturity.
Since the introduction of transgenic cotton varieties from private breeding programs, the Arkansas breeding program has focused on providing germplasm with Arkansas adapted traits as cotton breeding material for seed companies, Bourland said. His research has also encouraged private breeding programs toward adopting traits, such as early maturity, that benefit Arkansas cotton growers.
With the rise of glyphosate-resistant weeds, Bourland said, he has begun moving some of his breeding lines toward release as new public cotton varieties.
"This fills a niche for Arkansas cotton farmers who've expressed interest in conventional cotton varieties from our program as an alternative to the private transgenic varieties," Bourland said.
Bourland was one of the principle developers of the COTMAN cotton management program that is widely used today in Arkansas and neighboring states. A multi-disciplinary research team developed the system that monitors and responds to plant growth and development to help growers with end-of-season management decisions.
Bourland initially worked on developing critical plant measurements and determining how different varieties differed during development. Since the COTMAN system was released, he has been involved in training individuals to use COTMAN and instrumental in developing training materials.
Bourland developed numerous scientific techniques used in cotton breeding. He is continuing this work, developing means to maximize the use of basic components of lint per seed, fibers per seed and fiber density as breeding tools. He is also developing improved techniques for evaluating resistance to root-knot nematode and Verticilliim wilt and tolerance to heat stress.
Bourland is a native of northeast Arkansas, where he grew up on a cotton farm. He earned his bachelor's degree in agriculture and master's degree in plant breeding from the University of Arkansas. He earned his doctoral degree in genetics from Texas A and M University.
The ICAC, based in Washington, D.C., was founded in 1939. Its role is to raise awareness, provide information and serve as a catalyst for cooperative action on issues of international significance. It provides statistics on world cotton production consumption, trade and stocks; identifies emerging changes in the structure of the world cotton market; and represents the international cotton industry before United Nations agencies and other international organizations.


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Apparently I am one of the last people in the blogosphere to find out about using coffee filters to make wreaths, but boy am I glad I finally stumbled upon them! I've seen all the different kinds of mesh wreaths you can make and I will admit that I am a little frightened when it comes to trying to make those. I wanted to start off small, with something easy & you literally cannot get easier than this project. The finished product of this project is so beautiful you'll want to make one for everyone on your Christmas list. I followed the directions I found on Recaptured Charm.
You'll need:
200 coffee filters
Foam wreath form
Glue gun & glue
Ornaments/any decorations
You want to fold the coffee filter in half and then run it through your hands scrunching it up. After that I folded it into threes and created a small triangle on the bottom to place some hot glue on. You want to start placing the filters on the inside of the wreath and work your way around. At first I started placing them very close together & then I eventually got bored and started spacing them out more. Pick a space and stick with it to make your wreath look more uniform (I loved the way it looked packed close together & wish I stuck with this) You don't need to place coffee filters on the back of the wreath since you want it to lay flat against the door. Once you are done putting all the coffee filters on the wreath you can take scissors and trim the filters since some will be further out than others. Once you are done with that you can add your ornaments and decorations however you want. Lately I have been really into gold, which is strange for me because I usually hate it & we don't own anything gold, so I decided to go with all gold decorations. Mr. H also insisted we get nutcrackers so of course my nutcracker has gold glitter all over it! Needless to say Mr. H wasn't very happy with that choice.
There are a couple of different ways to hang your wreath, most people suggest putting the ribbon on before you glue on the coffee filters but I wasn't sure what I was going to use so I waited until I was done. I just took some ribbon I had from Dollar Tree and hot glued it to the back. If you add enough and make sure it dries 100% you shouldn't have a problem with it falling off (at least I haven't…..yet). Also sidenote: these cannot go outside! I just hung mine outside to get a good picture because our house has NO natural light, the wreath lives happily cornered on our bar.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday & I am very happy to be back! I can't wait until my next project. Follow me on Pinterest & pick what I make next!


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Views: 52
As we all get older, I find that EVERYONE is hard to buy for except my daughter! My husband, my son, who only wants really expensive things, my married son and his wife, my mother, who has everything she needs or goes and buys what she wants & doesn't wear makeup or perfume, my mother-and-father-in-law. All of them!
The hardest person to buy something for was my neice the girl has EVERYTHING! I was trying so hard to make sure I didn't duplicate any of her gifts for christmas!
My dad....It is hard to shop for men PERIOD.


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Pecan Toffee 15 Pieces
Melt-in-your mouth butter toffee centers, drench them in creamy milk chocolate and sprinkled with tree-fresh pecan pieces.
Requires 2-Day Rush Shipping during warm weather months (March 15- Nov. 15)
Pecan Toffee
Ingredients: Sugar, Butter ( Cream, Salt ) , Pecans, Milk Chocolate ( Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk Solids, Chocolate Liquor, Soy Lecithin (emulsifier) White Coating (Sugar, Non-fat and Whole Milk Solids, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin an emulsifier.
Produced in a facility where dairy ingredients, tree nuts & peanuts are processed.
No trans fat.
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text:
Bare Knuckle Humbuckers - Cold Sweat and Miracle Man Review
General Information
Original Author: Shime
Make: Bare Knuckle
Model: Cold Sweat and Miracle Man
Price paid: 100 € each (local BKP dealer Belgium)
INSTALLED IN: Gibson Explorer (2008), mahogany body and set mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard
REPLACING: stock Gibson 496R and 500T humbuckers
Description and Specs
Cold Sweat Humbucker
Web ad/description (you can find it here):
"Screaming highs and ultra fast bass response harness all the drama of thunder and lightning!
The Cold Sweat humbucker is designed for the rock guitarist seeking evolved vintage attitude with a completely modern edge. Coils of vintage correct plain enamel wire are scatterwound by hand and powered by a custom sized ceramic magnet [note: it's an alnico for the neck - Shime]. The tone is enormous with a detailed intensity and incredible amounts of high end cut and fluid sustain."
Technical Specifications (neck position)
Hand wound passive humbucker, black, open-poled
Magnet: Alnico V
Coil split option installed
Miracle Man Humbucker
Web ad/description (you can find it here)
"Straight talking attitude, colossal power and trademark harmonics. The Miracle Man features individually scatterwound exposed coils and a powerful ceramic magnet for maximum drive and clarity. Tight bass, smooth mid range response and an articulate top end prove that power need not be a substitute for tremendous sound quality."
Technical Specifications (bridge position) Hand wound passive humbucker, black, open-poled
DC: 17.5k
Magnet: Ceramic
Coil split option installed
Reasons for Replacement
My Explorer was sounding a bit one-dimensional, with stock pickups being very hot and great for hard rock and heavy metal, with full deep tone but often missing subtleness and versatility with cleaner sounds (and everyting in between). At the same time basses in the neck sounded a bit boomy and had issues of muddiness when played at the bridge with heavy distortion, especially as compared to the EMGs on my other guitar. I was looking for new pickups that could handle metal very well including drop tunings, but with enough versatility and dynamics for a range of other tones as well. Bare Knuckle's Tim Mills recommended the Cold Sweat/Miracle Man combination.
General Evaluation
This pickup combo does everything I was looking for and so much more. Tonewise the Cold Sweat and Miracle Man each deliver as advertised on the Bare Knuckle website. Both in their respective positions sound full and deep yet very clear. Excellent control and channeling of the Gibson's mahogany wood tone, no boominess or muddiness. Tight note definition, plenty of punch but retaining maximum articulation when played even with heavily saturated distortion; subtle and sparkling cleans. The pickups are perfectly voiced for their respective neck and bridge positions. The key words are balance, versatility and dynamics for both, with added 'power' (Miracle Man) and 'depth' (Cold Sweat). In combination, three positions (neck, middle, bridge) together with split coil options on both pickups provide for an incredible range of tonal options, from drop-tuned modern metal to vintage rock, blues and jazzy cleans.
Sound quality - Specific Impressions
This appreciation is inevitably subjective and also depends a great deal on the kind of gear you play. So I start with some notes on the equipment I use and which I can compare the pickups with. Then I give some impressions on sound quality from 'metal' to 'clean' and everything in between.
Equipment Used/Compared to
Pickups/guitars:- Stock Gibson 496R and 500T humbuckers in the Explorer
- EMG S-S-81 active pickups in my 1986 Aria Pro II stage III Mega Metal series (alder body, maple neck, rosewoord fingerboard)
- Fender hot single coil pickups in my American Vintage '62 reissue Jaguar (alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard)
Amps played through:
- Peavey 6505 tube 2x12 combo
- Fender 75 all tube 1x15 combo
Effects used:
None except for the amps' spring reverb; gain and overdrive on the tubes, with added distortion (boss ml-2) and dynamic exciter for metal sounds on the Fender 75
Metal (mainly Miracle Man, bridge)
The Miracle Man in the bridge is suitable for anything metal-ish from 80s thrash to contemporary metal & metalcore, in standard as well as dropped tunings (I haven't gone below dropped Db for now). Chugging is bliss on these, there's punch, attack and tight bottom end. Note articulation and definition remain intact with the heaviest of distortions, even when strumming open chords. Sound is superb on the mids as well for high-gain leads (here I tend to a/b switch from the Peavey to my mid-boosted Fender amp). On the high side no harshness is detected even in the most trebly settings. Sustain is massive, but that I think is more an issue of woods, necks and amps.
As compared to the EMG81 in my alder metal axe (**drumroll**), the Miracle Man has the same aggressiveness, tightness and punch, being slightly more organic at the same time. The EMG81 continues to have a slightly more compact edge on the lows. With the same amp settings, the Miracle Man in my mahogany Gibson is even a bit louder than the EMG81 in my Aria. In short: the EMG remains true to its metal reputation, but if ever there was a high output passive humbucker for metal, then the Miracle Man is it! Compared to the original stock pickup, the Miracle Man takes away all the boominess and muddiness of the Gibson 500T and tonewise only leaves the memory of a rather dull and lifeless sound. The same goes for the Cold Sweat in the neck as compared to the Gibson 496R.
Cleans (mainly Cold Sweat, neck plus various neck/bridge combinations with Miracle Man)
This is where this pickup combo truly takes off and leaves the other ones lightyears behind. No effects necessary; the dynamic response of the pickups, combined with the wood of the guitar, tone/volume controls, the neck/middle/bridge switch and coil splits gives me a whole spectrum of beautiful jazzy clean and bluesy semi-clean tones. I wish I knew more clean stuff! But with this combo I could just endlessly strum or arpeggiate simple clean chords in different ways and at different speeds, without ever getting bored. The depth and subtlety of esp. the Cold Sweat alnico neck pickup is amazing. On clean settings these pickups make my Peavey 6505 sound like a boutique vintage amp (I kid you not; impossible to do with EMGs nor with the Jaguar single coils). And when I switch to my Fender tube amp... Before, I thought nothing could beat the cleans of my Jaguar when played through my Fender 75. Now, with the Bare Knuckles with coil splits in my Gibson Explorer, I don't even need the Jaguar anymore (I sold it as a matter of fact). I'm sure there's plenty of good pickups for clean sounds, but for now the Cold Sweat has some of the most beautiful cleans that I have ever heard.
Blues to vintage and hard rock (Miracle Man - Cold Sweat combo)
I have only begun to scratch the surface here but as may already be obvious from the above, there's a huge range of tonal possibilities for anything from extreme metal to jazzy cleans depending on amp settings and the amount of tube gain and overdrive you use these pickups with. Most of your favourite blues rock & vintage tones can be captured without effort - Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Lynyrd Skynyrd, SRV, etc. etc. etc.
Customer Suppport
Service and support at BKP is exemplary, staff are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. All my questions by e-mail were answered within 2 hours max (!). Explain what you are looking for and Tim Mills and his people will point you in the right direction. Their recommendation of the Cold Sweat / Miracle Man combo turned out to be a full hit.
Overall Rating
These pickups may be expensive but they are well worth their money. Until now I owned and played a Gibson Explorer with Gibson 496R/500T pups, an Aria Pro II metal axe with EMG 81/S/S pickups, and a Fender USA Jaguar with hot single coils. Tonewise, this combo covers them all - and then some. Truly amazing.
Further Resources
- Harmony Central user reviews: Miracle Man; Cold Sweat
- Sound clips for these and any other Bare Knuckle pickups can be found here (recording sound clips myself didn't make any sense as I don't have the proper recording equipment)


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In this lesson, learners will discover how certain snakes (pit-vipers) can find prey using a natural infrared sensor and will extend their understandings by exploring infrared technology applications. The lesson features background information for... (View More) the teacher, pre-requisite skills and knowledge for the student, a mini-exploration of infrared image technology, multiple image sets, assessment information, student worksheets, extension and transfer activities, and additional resources. This is lesson 2 on the Infrared Zoo website. (View Less)
Keywords: Infrared light
Audience: Elementary school, Middle school, High school
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students


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Thanks for checking out the most recent posts from my visit with Four Roses. If you haven't read them yet (here and here), I feel it helps to add context to Part 1 of my chat with Master Distiller, Jim Rutledge.
The morning of this conversation was spent taking part in a Barrel Selection at Four Roses aging and bottling facility in Cox's Creek, KY. And what a treat it was. We tasted Four Roses' OBSV recipe from five single barrels. The differences were amazing, and tasting bourbon right from the barrel is special for sure. Later that day I headed up to Four Roses distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY. There I was able to sit in Jim's office and chat about Four Roses, the Bourbon industry, and all sorts of other great stuff.
Jim had planned on giving some background before we jumped into the "interview". After about 30-40 minutes I realized, "man, this is too great not to cut this camera on." So I did, and this is part 1 of an hour long conversation with Jim Rutledge. He was more than generous with his time. Enjoy.


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2012-09-26 / Columnists
Pets pets pets
Our Bully Breed Brigade last Saturday was all about changing the public perception of Pit Bulls and putting them in a more positive light. The fact that many "scaredy cat" Pits in the parade had to be carried up the steps and cradled in the arms of their handlers so they would pose on stage while their adoption plea was announced actually helped our efforts. These big galoots, viewed as monsters by so many, are for the most part, big, mushy babies.
On Sat., Sept. 22, Hempstead Town Shelter and Last Hope Animal Rescue co-hosted the second annual Bully Breed Brigade as a daylong event to promote Pit Bull awareness, adoption and welfare, and to show solidarity among metropolitan area shelters on behalf of these often misunderstood dogs. We were there to work together to remedy the problem of far too many Pits languishing in municipal shelters, competing for far too few responsible homes and, as a more lasting solution, to brainstorm ways to stop the rampant breeding of these poor dogs in low-income areas for profit via dog fighting and other unscrupulous reasons.
More than 30 rescues, shelters and vendors from as far away as Southampton and Connecticut descended on the Hempstead Shelter parking lot, bringing their "ambassadogs" to march in the Pit Parade on Beltagh Avenue, which is the street that connects our shelters. Dogs and handlers looped around Last Hope's parking lot and back to Hempstead Shelter where many dogs then walked across the stage, one at a time, while Brooke and David from Bruised Not Broken, a NYC-based Pit advocacy initiative, read each dog's bio.
Since the dogs couldn't write, their handlers provided the PR. "Bryant is a snuggler and a couch potato. He's been at our shelter over two years," says League for Animal Protection about this Huntington Shelter boy. "Almost ready to pass his Canine Good Citizen test. Very affectionate. Loves dogs and belly rubs," describes Jiggs from N. Hempstead Shelter; whereas "Bishop" from Canine Counsel was "rescued from a fighting ring. He was heartworm positive and is now ready to be someone's new best friend." Another favorite- "Trevor's head is so big because he is all brains," boasts Heart and Soul Rescue.
Among the adoptables were some lucky Pits, now cherished pets. "Ernie" adopted from Hempstead Shelter a year ago "loves all animals. He helps foster orphaned kittens by licking them to clean them." "Popeye," from Manhattan Animal Care & Control, "loves to watch TV, especially football." He was at the event looking for a little sister to love. The owner of Zeus adopted from Ruff House Rescue described him as "our three-yearold daughter's best friend." The little girl accompanied Zeus on stage.
Last Hope volunteers were thrilled to see "Weebles" move across the stage. Eight months ago, Weebles came to Last Hope as a tiny Brookhaven Shelter Pit pup with a neurological disorder. He was adopted by a loving family who soon discovered he was also deaf. He is now learning hand signals. Weebles returned for the Bully Breed Brigade festivities with his big Pit brother "Diesel," an excellent canine role model, Hempstead Shelter alumnus and an ace when catching fast balls.
Earlier in the day, some Pits got to test their muscle power in LugNuts™, the informal weight-pulling competition which, besides offering the kenneled dogs mental and physical stimulation, serves as an antidote to dog fighting in urban areas. Jane Kopelman, a specialist in this component of the Training Wheels® program, came from Upstate NY to introduce this exercise to the various shelters. Each dog, wearing a padded harness, is hooked to a plastic sled by a dogsled line. The sled is loaded with bags of dog food, while the dog is lured with hot dogs.
Dogs must pull the sled at least 16 feet in less than two minutes to complete the pull. The dog that pulls the most weight in relation to his own weight is the winner. In this way, smaller dogs can compete against larger dogs. During inner city meets, cash prizes are given, with more money if the dog is altered. The dogs win a toy or treat. The winner of the Bully Breed Brigade Lug- Nuts™ contest was "Rialto," a resident Pit at Hempstead Shelter. The load he pulled represented 38% of his body weight. He was so proud of himself on stage! Now if he only had a home. Perhaps he could move tree stumps or do other useful, brawny jobs. (Only kidding.)
As promised, Tia Torres and her twin sons from "Pit Bulls & Parolees" on Animal Planet arrived in the afternoon to give the crowd a Pit pep talk, sign autographs and pose for photos. Tia and the whole Animal Planet crew had been at "Yappy Hour," our Bully Breed Brigade benefit on Friday night where they quietly filmed a dog adoption in the courtyard of Mulcahy's in Wantagh, unbeknownst to most guests. (We weren't allowed to spill the beans.) On her drive here from her Villalobos Rescue facility in New Orleans, Tia brought "Jolie," a once-emaciated and heartworm positive stray, now nursed back to fine health to meet her new family. Jolie will be living on 12 acres in New Hampshire alongside several other Pits that she met during the weekend meet and greet.
Filming continued on Saturday during the Bully Breed Brigade. After the crowd left, Tia spoke to the Hempstead staff and Last Hope volunteers, detailing how much worse the Pit problem is - really all dog problems are - in New Orleans as compared to Los Angeles, her former sanctuary location. She said she wasn't prepared for her intake of discarded dogs when she moved to New Orleans.
As we hear over and over, the Pit plethora is a whole culture, whole mindset that we need to change. Tia explained that in New Orleans stray dogs are regarded as property and allowed to roam. Rather than being grateful, owners resent those who try to rescue a dog in distress or bring a lost dog home, even dogs that almost drowned after Hurricane Isaac. They insist the dog would have come home on its own.
This is a new battle for Tia. It's hard to combat such a callous attitude- no matter how seasoned a rescuer you are, and even if you have your own show on Animal Planet. The fourth season of "Pit Bulls & Parolees" begins Oct. 6.


text:
Ooops. I almost forgot. My latest musings can be found over at MedPage Today:
I made a mistake recently, a fairly serious one. We don't much like to talk about our mistakes in medicine; when they're not so obvious that the lawyers get involved, or if they aren't so egregious that they get sent to the medical staff quality committee, then they tend to get swept quietly under the rug.
More after the link
19 February 2008
Ooops. I almost forgot. My latest musings can be found over at MedPage Today:
Posted by shadowfax at 10:22 PM
3 comments:
- Anonymous2/20/2008 3:26 AM
Looking forward to ROOT CAUSES: Part Two.ReplyDelete
And, CONGRATULATIONS on exceeding your goal for
St Baldrick's Foundation this year!
Henry's "Granya"
Can't wait for part two. I've been aware of the aviation analogy for years, and have been waiting for medicine to catch up in its attitude about analyzing mistakes. I left the nursing profession 20 years ago--the public "we don't make mistakes" stance was part of what scared me off! What factors do you see as needed to make changes?ReplyDelete
Interesting timing.ReplyDelete
My sister-in-law died yesterday at the completion of a medical procedure. Her heart rate dropped suddenly at the end of the procedure and although they tried to bring her back for close to an hour, she died.
Now my brother is not out for blood or money, just answers as to why his wife died. The doctors said they have no idea and she shouldn't have died. The coroner is now involved since no one can figure out why she died.
It will be interesting to see what,if anything, the autopsy reveals.


text:
In the Matter of
Fleet Specialist, Inc.,
1. On March 30, 2004, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") issued an Order Instituting Administrative and Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions and a Cease-and-Desist Order Pursuant to Sections 15(b)(4) and 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("March 30 Order") against Fleet Specialist, Inc. ("FSI"). The March 30 Order directed FSI, among other things, to pay disgorgement in the amount of $38,013,594 and a civil penalty in the amount of $21,083,875.
2. The March 30 Order further states that the civil penalty shall be added to a Fair Fund (the "Distribution Fund") to be distributed pursuant to a distribution plan (the "Plan") drawn up by an administrator (the "Administrator") to be chosen by the staff of the Commission and the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). The March 30 Order provides that the Distribution Fund shall be used to pay the costs of administering the Plan.
3. In accordance with the provisions of the March 30 Order, on April 8, 2004, FSI made payments totaling $59,097,469 to the Commission.
4. The Division of Enforcement and the NYSE have selected Heffler, Radetich & Saitta L.L.P. ("Heffler Radetich") as the Administrator of the Distribution Fund. Heffler Radetich is a public accounting firm that specializes in class action and other fund administrations. Heffler Radetich will maintain the Distribution Fund in an escrow account pending distribution.
In view of the foregoing, it is ORDERED that:
1. Pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, a Fair Fund is hereby established for the disgorgement and penalty funds described in the March 30 Order.
2. Pursuant to Rule 1105(a) of the Commission's Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans, Heffler Radetich is hereby appointed to act as Administrator of the Distribution Fund.
3. The bond requirement of Rule 1105(c) of the Commission's Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans is waived for good cause shown, specifically, Heffler Radetich's use of an escrow account to maintain the Distribution Fund pending distribution.
4. Within ten days of the entry of this Order, Heffler Radetich shall open an escrow account (the "Escrow Account") at a federally insured banking institution pursuant to an escrow agreement (the "Escrow Agreement") not unacceptable to the staff of the Commission. Such banking institution must be (a) well capitalized within the meaning of Section 38(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Depository Insurance Act; (b) have a peer rating of 1; (c) have adequate insurance; and (d) be supervised by federal banking regulators.
5. The Escrow Agreement shall, among other things: (a) require that all funds in escrow be invested, as soon as reasonably possible and to the extent practicable, in short-term U.S. Treasury securities with maturities not to exceed six months; (b) name an escrow agent who shall be appropriately bonded; (c) provide that escrowed funds be disbursed by the escrow agent only upon further order of the Commission, except as provided for in section II.7 hereof. The costs associated with the Escrow Account shall be paid from the Distribution Fund.
6. Heffler Radetich shall promptly notify the Commission in writing that the Escrow Account has been established. Following receipt of the written notification, the Commission will transfer $59,097,469 to the Escrow Account specified in the written notification.
7. Within 120 days of the entry of this Order, Heffler Radetich shall draw up a Plan, for approval by the Commission, to identify the customers who were injured as a result of FSI's trading violations as determined in the March 30 Order by the Commission staff and the NYSE. As provided for in the March 30 Order, the Distribution Fund shall be used (a) to pay the costs of administering the Plan; (b) to reimburse injured customers for their loss; and (c) to pay prejudgment interest to injured customers. Heffler Radetich shall receive payment for its fees and expenses on a monthly basis, provided that Heffler Radetich submits to the Commission staff for advance approval a schedule of such fees and expenses in sufficient detail to identify each item thereof. Funds to cover Heffler Radetich's fees and expenses shall be disbursed from the Escrow Account only upon the written authorization of the Commission staff.
8. Pursuant to Rule 1105(f) of the Commission's Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans, Heffler Radetich shall file an accounting of the Distribution Fund by November 15, 2004, and during the first ten days of every calendar quarter thereafter until a final accounting is made. If as of September 30, 2005, the Distribution Fund has not been entirely distributed, Heffler Radetich shall procure an independent audit by an auditor not unacceptable to the staff of the Commission, of the Distribution Fund and direct the auditor to deliver a copy of the audit directly to the Commission's Office of the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 5th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549, for approval by the Commission. Heffler Radetich shall mail all accountings and copies of any audit required by this paragraph to David Rosenfeld, Assistant Regional Director, Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission, 233 Broadway, New York, New York, 10279.
9. Heffler Radetich shall file on a timely basis all required federal, state, and local tax returns with respect to the Distribution Fund, and provide copies of such filings to the Commission's Office of Financial Management, Securities and Exchange Commission, Operations Center, 6432 General Green Way, Stop 0-3, Alexandria, VA 22312, and to David Rosenfeld at the address in paragraph II.8.
10. Heffler Radetich is authorized to engage and employ persons necessary to assist it in carrying out its duties and responsibilities hereunder.
By the Commission.
Jonathan G. Katz
|Home | Previous Page
Modified: 10/14/2004


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Hello there Twang fans, or if you are German, Guten Tag.
We hope you're all well.
Just a quick heads up.
We are excited to announce that we will be releasing a single on 13th February. Entitled 'We're a crowd' the song will be the first Twang release since our Guapa EP back in 2011. It will be available to download from the 13th February and will be accompanied by two wunderbar B sides.
We have just finished the video to accompany the song and it will be posted on YouTube very soon.
We hope you like it.
See you soon.
The Twang x
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text:
There's no cheering allowed in the press box.
The TV studio? A different story, evidently.
Sports anchor for KOTV 6 in Tulsa, Oklahoma Harold Kuntz was on air Sunday night, working while his beloved Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl.
[Yahoo Store: Get your Philadelphia Eagles championship gear here!]
When his colleague delivered the news during the broadcast, this happened.
That moment I surprised @HaroldRKuntz3 on air that his beloved @Eagles finally won the #SuperBowl . Congrats man! #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/LnoEoJaIJ5
— Scott Pfeil (@scottpfeil) February 5, 2018
Sports media professionals tend to see their careers spawn from a childhood love of sports as either an athlete, a fan or both. That team fandom often fades over the years of covering games.
For Kuntz, this is clearly not the case.
Enjoy the win, Harold.


text:
Justice Nicholas M. Pette was born around the year 1891. Prior to his career on the bench, he served as an Assemblyman in Queens. In March 1921, he introduced a bill to the Assembly to add a new section to the penal law concerning gambling, with the purpose of clarifying the definition of bookmaking not done in writing.
Pette served on the Queens Municipal Court from 1931 until 1950, when he was appointed by Governor Dewey to the State Supreme Court for the Tenth Judicial District. Justice Pette was designated to the Appellate Division, Second Department in 1959. He retired from the bench in 1967 and thereafter served as counsel to the firm of Lipsig, Liapakis & Sullivan until the year preceding his death.
He was married to Ruth and had one child and two stepchildren. He died on December 26, 1988 in Manhattan at the age of 97.
"Justice Pette is Sworn in." New York Times (1923-Current file): 18. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Jan 26 1950. Web. 12 June 2012.
"New Bookmaking Law is Reported." New York Times (1857-1922): 24. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Apr 13 1921. Web. 12 June 2012.
"Nicholas M. Pette." New York Times (1923-Current file): B5. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Dec 28 1988. Web. 12 June 2012.


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Connecting Families to Senior Living
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There are a wide variety of memory care providers throughout Michigan. Whether you're looking in cities like Detroit or Lansing, or one of the many smaller cities, we can help. Memory care for seniors with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia offers safe and comfortable housing with care from specially trained staff.
Get the latest tips, news, and advice on aging and caregiving.
A Place for Mom is the largest assisted living referral service. We are paid by our participating communities, therefore our service is offered at no charge to families.
Copyright ©2019 A Place for Mom, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Barack Obama Is The Democratic Nominee For President! (Maybe Getting In The White House)
CNN and MSNBC announce that Barack Obama will be the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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text:
If you are interested in becoming an ICANN Accredited Registrar, join CORE and take advantage of our experience.
We've helped several CORE members with the ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) process, all of whom are now ICANN Accredited Registrars.
The accreditation process is a several steps procedure, where our tools and experience will allow you to gain time and efforts.
The first step is to determine if your business meets the minimum requirements set by ICANN -- bank guarantee, insurance, technical capabilities and human resources). CORE will help you compiling your application.
Once the application is sent to ICANN we will help you validate your application with ICANN and provide any additional information ICANN may require, and when ICANN approves your application CORE can assist you with the business and technical requirements of the registries.
Accreditation for CORE members currently takes about three months from start to finish, and during those three months your business will be able to register domains at CORE's member prices, and when your accreditation is complete, using CORE's Agent-Mode, you'll be able to register domains at CORE's Agent-Mode price.
The CORE secretariat will provide more information about the accreditation service upon request.


text:
IntelliRope® PE 6.0
Excellent for both permanent and portable fence situations because PE (polyethylene) filaments resist wear and abrasion.
Common Uses
- 10 years probable life*
- Use for: Permanent & portable fences
- Color: White/black/white
- Size: 6mm (1/4") diameter
- Portability: Good
- Conductivity: 41 ohms per 1000 ft (lower number is better and more conductive)
- Ability to carry a charge: Very good
- Type of conductive filaments: Tinned copper & stainless steel—makes this 400 times more conductive than stainless steel polywires
- Number of conductive filaments: 3 tinned copper & 3 stainless steel
- Ability to be seen by animals: Very good
- Type of non-conductive filaments: Polyethylene
- Ability to resist mildew: Very good
- Breaking strength: 1200 lbs
Excellent built-in elasticity. Particularly suited for humid climates because mildew does not "thrive" on PE.
- Install wood end, corner and line posts.
- Attach insulators to posts.
- Attach rope to one end.
- Clip rope into insulators. Pull until the P Spring is 50% compressed. Terminate it.
- Connect ropes together electrically at one end with a piece of insulated wire.
- Install and connect the energizer. Voltage should be over 1500 volts.
- Note: If run is 1000' feet or longer, use a P Spring at both ends of the fence instead of 1 end.
Suggested Height:
- For Horses:
- 5 strands—60", 48", 36", 24", 12"
- 2 strands—48", 24"
- For Sheep/Goats:
- 5 strands—36", 27", 20", 13", 7"
- 3 strands—27", 15", 7"
- For Cattle:
- 3 strands—40", 27", 15"
- 2 strands—34", 27"
- 1 strand—34"
*Probable life is not a warranty by Premier. Why not? Because we know that longevity is highly dependent upon, but not limited to, quality of installation, insulator(s) used, rope tension, animal/wind/snow/ice/vegetation pressure and UV exposure (altitude and climate).
Listed below are recommended optional components. Your particular situation may require alternative recommendations. Please call and talk to our fence consultants if there are any questions at 800-282-6631.
Windup Systems and Accessories
EzeReel™ Complete (includes spool & support)Item #238600 -
An effective reel for winding, unwinding and storing conductors. Less costly to use than other reels.$32.00
Fence Connectors and Accessories
P SpringItem #255010 -
Used to maintain desired tension on electrified low-tension conductors.$3.10
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Rope Tensioner/InsulatorItem #255020 -
Conductor is inserted into a center spindle that's then tightened to the desired point.$0.81
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Rope Connector 1.0Item #256200 -
An effective electrical connection for 4.5mm and 6.0mm electric fence rope conductors.$1.00
Fence Connectors and Accessories
RopeLink 2.6 (for 6 mm rope)Item #256210 -
For splicing or terminating 4.5mm and 6.0mm fence conductors. A fast, yet secure connection.$0.81
Premier Combo Insulator, whiteItem #380321 -
For insulating and attaching a conductor to a steel T post. Designed to fit between the post studs. Combines wrap around design with a pin lock style face.$0.28
Wood Line Post Insulator, whiteItem #380711 -
For attaching low-tension conductors to wood line posts. Premier alternative to the common ring insulator. Wider, deeper threads stay in wood posts better.$0.32
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Litzclip®, 6mmItem #200005 -
For instant repairs to electric fence and other 6mm conductors.$8.50
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Safety Link, 6mmItem #200007 -
Separates if a frightened animal charges. Repairs are as easy as replacement of the plastic breakaway button.$18.00
Posts and Accessories
SmoothCote™ FiberRods, 5 ft. (3/8 in. dia)Item #321851 -
Portable inexpensive post that are used as line post on multi-strand fences and as extra support post for netting.$2.56
Handling Equipment
Steel T Posts, 6 ft.Item #327600 -
Thick galvanized coating protects these posts from the elements for years on end. Excellent support for portable, permanent and HT fence systems.$18.50
Posts and Accessories
PigTail, 35" tallItem #320506 -
Step-in temporary line post ideal for strip-grazing cattle and sheep. Optional snap-on PigTail Clips allow use of extra conductors.$3.05
Posts and Accessories
PowerPost, gray, 35 in., (8 clips)Item #320730 -
Temporary plastic fence posts with a steel spike. Use for extra support (corner support also) in electric netting and as line posts for temporary fences.$4.15
Posts and Accessories
FiberTuff™ Post, 18" tall, 19mm diaItem #208050 -
Strong, stiff step-in support post for ends and corners of temporary and semi-permanent netting.$3.10
Posts and Accessories
Step-In FiberRods, 4 ft.Item #321843 -
This step-in post has a special black ball top with a "harp" clip for holding rope/twine/tape as well as netting twine.$3.25
Write a Review
You must be logged in to leave a review. Please sign in.
Diane from Michigan
Like the product, however the only issue I've had is that the rolls were inconsistent in length. I bought 5 rolls and when I positioned my posts I used the first roll that I grabbed it happened to be the longest one by over 30 feet. This may not seem to big a deal but I ended up cutting down 3 trees that were now in the way.
Tim P from Ohio
I had some issues with this rope and breakage. Premier responded very promptly, offered several suggestions and likely causes. They also offered to analyze the broken sections of the rope when I got it out in the spring. Customer service is outstanding, and I have plan and no concerns about returning this rope to work in the spring.
Kim C from Maryland
Just ordered a new roll to make some repairs and build some new fence after tornado damage. This rope is great! Very versatile and portable for changing situations, and I actually use it as permanent fence with three or four strands uncharged for my two horses who do not challenge a fence. We put our existing fence up in 2000 and it is still going strong and is still very visible, showing very little wear or mildew. We also have Endurasoft and that has been excellent as well. Fence has not needed tightening since the first time after installation. We have it installed with p-springs. Premier is a great company.... their products really last way beyond what you can get at the farm supply stores.
Valerie T from North Carolina
So far so good. I have had this fence up for a few weeks and have had my horses in it for a couple of weeks. I put the fence up by myself in the dark with no problem. No trouble getting it hot. It is easy to see, looks clean and neat. Very please so far.
Christina S from New York
Love this fence. Very easy to see horse and person. Durable. Lasts forever. Conducts electricity easily, becomes very hot with good charger. Will always own this for my horse fencing.


text:
Former HP chief signs on as co-president
Former Hewlett-Packard chairman and CEO Mark Hurd wasn't out of a job for long. Oracle late Monday announced it has hired Hurd as co-president, replacing Charles Phillips, who simultaneously resigned.
Hurd will be co-president with Safra Catz, both of whom will report to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. The move suddenly pits Hurd against his former employer. While HP and Oracle were once partners, the two companies became rivals upon Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems earlier this year.
Largely as a result of that acquisition, HP shifted its integration efforts toward Microsoft, where Hurd signed a $250 million pact with the company to engineer advanced data center solutions.
Now Hurd is in a position to help Oracle integrate Sun's hardware business and potentially help the company move into services, having done that both at HP and as CEO of NCR. "Mark did a brilliant job at HP and I expect he'll do even better at Oracle," said Ellison said in a statement. That Oracle hired Hurd is not totally suprising. Ellison lashed out at HP last month in a letter to The New York Times calling it the worst personnel decision since Apple fired Steve Jobs decades ago.
Hurd, who was HP's CEO for five years and is credited with growing HP's revenues and profits through acquisitions and cost-cutting, was forced to resign last month following allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a sub-contractor. While he was exonerated of that misconduct, HP's board found improprieties in his use of company expenses and behavior.
During his tenure, Hurd oversaw a significant expansion of HP's business, overseeing the acquisitions of Mercury Interactive, Opsware, EDS, 3com and Palm, among others. It remains to be seen whether HP will move to block Hurd's appointment at HP. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Hurd had a 24-month confidentiality agreement. Signing with a competitor could violate that provision, according to the report.
About the Author
Jeffrey Schwartz is executive editor of Redmond Channel Partner and an editor-at-large at Redmond magazine, affiliate publications of Government Computer News.
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'The Dog Strikes Back' in Volkswagen's Extended Super Bowl 2012 Commercial [VIDEO]
In the extended version of this year's highly anticipated Volkswagen Super Bowl ad, a chubby dog named Bolt puts himself on a weight loss plan so he can catch a 2012 VW Beetle. And Darth Vader himself appears in a reference to VW's awesome "Vader Kid" commercial from last year.
In the first part of the ad, the overweight dog excercises religiously so he can give chase to a shiny red Beetle. In the second half, the menacing Sith Lord briefly appears onscreen as two undesirables debate this VW commercial versus last year's in Mos Eisley Cantina. Is this better than last year's Little Darth Vader?


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text:
|Oracle FAQ
|Your Portal to the Oracle Knowledge Grid
Home -> Community -> Mailing Lists -> Oracle-L -> RE: options for read only mirror with 10g SE or SE One
Manual standby has worked just fine since at least 6.0.36. (Earlier than about then certain race conditions on SMP systems could leave you with corrupt redo logs and no documented way to verify them to know that you should reinstantiate.) Oracle made it into a product much later after they figured that out, along with the complications that homegrown solutions required such as being very careful about adding files and new tablespaces and issues such as whether to allow unlogged actions (which were not an issue in 6.0.36, anyway.)
When Oracle indicated that they did not "support" standby databases at those earlier versions, it was indeed pointed out nearly immediately that a standby configuration was nothing more nor less than a recovery, and the question was asked whether Oracle was de-supporting recovery from hot backups.
Clarification was made that getting individual manual standby strategies correct was not generally supported, and support did not cover getting free consulting in this regard, but physical recovery was most certainly NOT desupported. License issues regarding the recovery machine were not generally addressed until much later, probably when standby recovery became an official feature with more robust built in support for keeping it "right."
I'm not sure who did it "first." I do remember hearing "but you're only allowed to do that with support from Oracle Consulting" some number of years after I had considered it a routine way to support rapid recovery and the creation of databases (cancel recovery, copy, startup with rename open resetlogs) as a convenient frozen image for decision support and loading time series information into long term data stores (warehouses, marts, etc.).
At this writing, though, I believe that Oracle will insist that you must license the additional machine. If you don't plan that the machine would actually be for fail-over, though, I suppose that the additional license for a manual solution could be for quite a modest machine and a small number of users. I'm not sure whether the latest specification for the DataGuard license requires licensing for the same level as the primary machine (albeit with discounts), but a small machine manual standby certainly opens the question of possible major savings. Some folks over the years have negotiated things such as loading an alternate system for verification of the integrity and recoverability of backups, but I think Oracle tends to put a "certain number of times per year" limit in new licenses covering that issue.
-----Original Message-----
From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org
[mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org]On Behalf Of Rachel Carmichael Sent: Monday, September 27, 2004 5:43 AM To: niall.litchfield_at_gmail.com; identd_at_gmail.com Cc: oracle-l_at_freelists.org
Subject: Re: options for read only mirror with 10g SE or SE One
major deletions to not fail the 80% rule..
Manual standby was unsupported in 7.3.4 but was possible as part of "recovery". I learned this by playing when I was testing my recovery scripts.... I was able to just keep handing the recovery process archived logs that were past the date of the crash and Oracle merrily kept up.
I *think* this was documented in a white paper by Lawrence To at that time .
> I'm afraid I don't understand this. You are asking for a read-only
> copy of a database and don't require automated failover. Manual
> standby gives you this and has done since at least version 8 (I
> *believe* since 7.3.4) . It isn't DataGuard but it doesn't sound like
> it needs to be for you (or the cost of DataGuard is unattractive for
> you - which I understand).
-- http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l -- http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-lReceived on Mon Sep 27 2004 - 09:02:25 CDT
Original text of this message


text:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Here's the song that inspired this post, "Sleepwalking" by Chain Gang of 1974.
I feel like a lot of people make New Year's resolutions, but I'm never really honestly sure what to make mine. To eat more vegetables and be healthier? To be a nicer person and less angry? To appreciate things before you're already at the finish line and it's too late? I don't think I could ever pick just one. Because really, we're all works of art in the making, and we're far from our final brushstroke. There's so many things to work on, for all of us, and I don't want to rope myself into thinking I should just focus on one thing. I think I'm just going to take things as they come.
On New Years day I had a strange dream. I'm not sure what it meant, or if it meant anything at all. But I was surrounded by all my friends and family, and I guess the world was coming to an end, and for some reason everyone had to jump through portals to escape to another world. (lol). In the end, there wasn't enough energy for everyone to pass through, so me and my boyfriend Josh stayed behind because he was injured. We sat out in the yard of my childhood home with one of my cats, Saber, and waited for it to all end. We heard a low but loud rumble, and all the earth started falling away into nothing. For one short moment, there was nothing, and everything was one and the same, everything was pure and white. Then everything snapped back to normality--just the same as it had always been. And all across the earth, everyone who had been left behind heard a voice that said:
"Every ending is a beginning."
I look gross in this one but everyone else looks cute so oh well! :P
Sky & Mitchell the kitties make their cameo appearances!! (As does Ariel's butt)
Me & Ariel!
Some of these are kind of blurry, sorry! Although I feel like that's how a good portion of the party remembers this night anyway, so it's probably more accurate, haha.
All swagged out! Let's go to sleep, now...
...and close the door to 2013....
But before I forget, I still wanted to share a few photos from the gift exchange Christmas party that was at my best friend Jenna's house!!
The tree, with most of the presents under it!
Schoolgirl Matt!
Oh Mileeeeey! Christmas time Miley!
Maniacally flippant :P
Concerned Anna!
Jenna, Matt, and Yaz all hangin' out
Miley & Rylee kisses!
Goodbye, 2013. Hello, 2014.
...Hope you're as excited for this year as I am...
All photos in this post by Josh & Ariel
[[Post dedicated to Miley the dog, 1/6/14, R.I.P.]]


text:
Broadcaster Huson says Rox shouldn't be overlooked
The Rockies will open the 2014 season with big dreams after a couple of tough seasons. Jeff Huson, an analyst for ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain and a former Major League infielder, has been there.
Huson played for seven teams during a 12-year career. Some of those clubs were contenders who made it close, although he never played in the postseason, and some weren't as close. From experience, he can identify with today's Rockies, who are coming off consecutive last-place finishes in the National League West, but sees a contending club.
The Rockies will open the 2014 season with big dreams after a couple of tough seasons. Jeff Huson, an analyst for ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain and a former Major League infielder, has been there.
Huson played for seven teams during a 12-year career. Some of those clubs were contenders who made it close, although he never played in the postseason, and some weren't as close. From experience, he can identify with today's Rockies, who are coming off consecutive last-place finishes in the National League West, but sees a contending club.
"What every player has to make it to this point is pride," Huson said. "That pride, and that playing with the chip on your shoulder, can carry you a long way. It can overcome a lot of different adversities. I look at that as a real motivating factor this year. The combination of having the talent and motivation, those can be money anytime."
The Rockies enter the season with a payroll just under $100 million, in a division with the Dodgers spending more than twice that on their roster and the Giants having spent well for years. Yet Huson, in discussing the Colorado's chances to be a contender in 2014, noted that the Rockies aren't your typical small spenders, because they have two of the game's best players -- shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and left fielder Carlos Gonzalez.
Keeping them healthy and on the field simultaneously has at times been difficult. The team was close in the standings, but it fell apart after both were hurt last season -- Tulowitzki with a broken rib suffered in June, and Gonzalez with a sprained right middle finger suffered in July.
"Even if you have a payroll not up there with some of the other big-market teams, you still have to have a couple of superstars to win, and that's where the Rockies have the advantage," Huson said. "When you do, you also have to be able to mix in young players -- not just young players but young players that can play. That's what they have in Nolan Arenado, a DJ LeMahieu that flies under the radar or a Wilin Rosario."
Last year's Rockies had production from starting pitchers Jorge De La Rosa (set to start on Opening Day on Monday in Miami), Jhoulys Chacin and Tyler Chatwood in the form of a combined 38-21 record. They return, although Chacin will miss anywhere from the first half of April to the first month-plus with a right shoulder strain. The Rockies addressed the rotation by trading with Oakland for lefty Brett Anderson, the A's Opening Day starter last year. If righty Juan Nicasio shows the improvement the Rockies want and the rotation is healthy, Colorado can dream of 2009, when a mostly healthy rotation went 69-50 and the team went to the playoffs.
In trading for lefty Franklin Morales (from the Red Sox) and righty Jordan Lyles (from the Astros), watching southpaw Christian Friedrich return to health from a back injury (he'll start the year in Triple-A Colorado Spring to become reaccustomed to game action) and having top right-handed prospects Jon Gray and Eddie Butler -- Nos. 1 and 3, according to MLB.com -- display their talent in Spring Training, there is depth that has been lacking at times.
"You think back to '09 and the staff was pretty healthy, but in 2007, [when the Rockies went to the World Series], we had injuries, and Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales came up and pitched well at the end of the season," Huson said. "You need guys who can step in for three or four starts or whatever it may be. Plus, you look at some of the power arms that they have, as opposed to finesse guys, because power works at Coors Field."
One place the Rockies can overcome the payroll disadvantage is in the bullpen, if their young power pitchers can produce.
The Rockies have just four relievers who have reached arbitration or free agency (not counting Morales, who could end up in the bullpen if he doesn't start), and they'll be paid a total of $13.7 million. The keys to the Rockies' bullpen success could lie with their younger relievers, such as lefty Rex Brothers -- who will be the closer when right-hander LaTroy Hawkins is overused or the matchup works that way -- and righties Chad Bettis and Adam Ottavino.
The Rockies have increased the number of power pitchers with the addition of free agents Hawkins and lefty Boone Logan, with Brothers and Wilton Lopez returning and with Bettis demonstrating quick development. Colorado also has former Reds setup man Nick Masset, under a Minor League contract, regaining health after missing the past two years from a right shoulder injury.
"The Rockies see the value in those power arms late in the game," Huson said. "If you have a guy throwing 94-97, he has a greater margin for error than a guy who throws 89-92. To have three or four guys on the back side, that makes it better for the manager. There are more options."
With injuries to the starters last year, several young performers were pressed into extensive duty. There was success, but there were games when their efforts simply weren't enough. Many of those players are back this season, and will need to take the next step if they're to be contributors.
"The game has changed to where you really don't have guys playing every day -- last year, the average was 135 games played, so you don't have the Cal Ripkens," Huson said. "You need to be able to put guys in the starting lineup, not just to fill the spot but produce. I think about guys like Jamey Carroll [an infielder now with the Nationals who was a sparkplug on the 2007 Rockies], where if you needed him, you could play him every day.
"Someone like Charlie Culberson reminds me of Jamey Carroll in that he can play all the positions, he has speed and he can contribute with the bat. If you need him in the outfield in an emergency, he can do it. Or you could have someone like Josh Rutledge, who showed what he could do two years ago when Tulo was out. Last year, he struggled, but sometimes you learn more about yourself and you're ready when the opportunity arises again."
Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @harding_at_mlb.


text:
It was a late night on November 5 in Schmitt Hall — despite the fact that the gubernatorial race was called for Chris Christie just past 8 p.m.
Students from Director of NJ Commons Debbie Galant's local media class and English Professor Diane Herbst's public affairs reporting class in Montclair State University's School of Communication and Media were busy culling numbers from 21 county websites across the state to generate an interactive results map for the 120 senate and assembly races in New Jersey. The spreadsheet and map, created by Colleen O'Dea, was posted on the NJ Spotlight website and shared with media throughout the state.
In some cases, counties were slow to release data, prompting students to get on the phone and call clerks offices to expedite the process. "It was great experience for the students to see their work in real time on local media and to get their hands dirty mining and reading data," said Galant. Students were fueled by pizza and enjoyed a visit from School of Communication and Media Director Merrill Brown. Andrew Gaudagnino, NJ News Commons intern and senior student in the Communication and Media Arts program created a Storify of the election and was interviewed on air by WMSC staff.