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posted on 2015-02-21 15:18:00
For years, I've been focused on production. Even my "relaxing" activities aside from throwing dinner parties or going to concerts with friends have been productive in nature.
You get the idea. For the past 5 years or so, I've been terrible at doing things purely for recreation and fun. I struggle not to think of it as "wasting time". I'm always anxious about my technical abilities, my ability to find employment, my preparedness for the future. Rationally, I know that's all pretty ridiculous but I struggle to unwind all the same.
Work life balance has for a while seemed a relic of a bygone era. But I want to turn that around this year. Ironically, I've worked more 50 and 60+ hour weeks this year than any previous one. It turns out becoming responsible for the education of 15 people in a 12-week programming bootcamp is pretty demanding. That's why I'm listing these purely recreational goals to try and commit myself to doing some things just for fun.
posted on 2015-01-01 18:15:00
I've been in a technical rut for a while. Sure, I learned new things at my job but limited myself outside of it by sticking to projects I wasn't motived about and only working with tools I was familiar with.
As much as anything, 2015 is going to be about playing with new projects, experimenting with new tools, and focusing on fundamentals again. Seeing as I have 3 big goals here, I might just try to tackle one each semester. :)
To that end, my primary goal will be to learn Ocaml and build something cool with it. I'm leaving that just as open ended as it sounds.
I'm interested in Ocaml for a variety of reasons. Its origin dates from a time before Intel and Microsoft created a 20-year dominant platform. It was envisioned as a systems language, much like Lisp, to compete with C++.
That said, it employs pattern matching and a strong, static type system like Haskell. Unlike Haskell, it has a fairly simple runtime and compiler built to give very clear intuition about code performance. While Ocaml is strongly functional, it provides for use of imperative state without monad machinations (sorry @James).
There are other reasons but I think this is a good start. I'd be interested in everything from writing an IRC bot, to scripting tasks, to NES reverse engineering tools (i.e. lots of graph manipulation), to OpenMirage toys.
I've leaned towards backend work in my career where possible. After helping TA Tim's Frontend engineering course last semester I finally want to pick up some front end skills. I'm not angling to get much better from a design or HTML/CSS perspective, but have a definite interest in mithril and Clojurescript's om. Elm also seems really cool but I'd prefer to stick to slightly less alien tech for the time being.
I'm considering porting my Nintendo emulator to Clojurescript and getting it to use canvas but I worry about getting bogged down as I did with the Lisp version. It was fairly painless getting a rough cl-6502 port up in Clojurescript in a few days though.
To be honest, my algorithms chops have never been terribly good. I think one thing that's intimidated me working on trowel is a lack of confidence in my algorithmic reasonining. So I'll be working through the latest edition of Sedgewick's Algorithms with a particular focus on graphs. With any luck I'll actually make some progress on trowel. Maybe I'll even wire it to an om app with some logic programming or constraint propagation tricks.
posted on 2015-01-01 17:50:00
2014 was a huge year. Notably, I moved in with Norma, switched jobs from writing code to teaching how to code, and learned more about how to manage myself.
I've got plenty of things to work on in 2015 so I'm breaking this into a sequence of posts based on subject. I'd like to broadly note that for my first semester (roughly January through March) I might barely get anything done and that is okay. I've never taught before and I expect that learning curve to take up most of my time until early April. Now without any further ado ...
posted on 2014-11-30 21:20:00
I've been struggling a lot this year. I got stuck in a hole and it took me a while to find my way out. But I learned a few things along the way and I'm very excited about what's coming next.
I've accepted a job as a Ruby on Rails instructor at The Iron Yard. I'll be training people to become engineers in a very short timespan. For over a year, I've been whispering now and then about an interest in teaching, to Norma and friends. Starting January 5th, I'll have my first students. I'm equal parts nervous and exhilarated. I can't wait.
A lot of my happiness and self-worth is tied up in making visible progress on things I care about. Over the past 10 months I lost faith in what I was doing at work and enthusiasm for my personal projects. Rather than recognizing that I should find a job I was passionate about or spend time on projects that excited me, I dug my heels in. No longer.
At one point, I said a Nintendo emulator was my forever project. I'd still like to see it taken further but I'm not going to work on that now. Belligerently sticking to those guns has been limiting my own potential. The only purpose of personal projects is to learn and to grow. They are mine and no one else's.
So until further notice, the emulator is on the backburner. Coleslaw will still get maintenance work but probably not much feature development. There are new things I'm fired up about and my focus will be on deriving as much momentum from them as possible.
I'm playing with Renoise and trying to pick up some music theory. I'm still not really making songs but I'll get there. I'm continuing to learn melee and now that I have a real training regiment in place I'm seeing much faster improvement. Hopefully I'll make it out to local tournaments every now and then.
I want to become more structured about practice. That includes starting to chip away at the stacks of CS and programming books I own that I haven't gotten around to reading. And experimenting with new tools like Ocaml, OpenMirage, and Ansible. And making room for play where nothing gets done.
I need to learn how to love and care for myself in spite of how much I get done, in spite of visible progress made or unmade. Part of that is going to be taking back my online presence, away from the more cultivated space of the last few years. There's a lot I want to accomplish over the next year or so. I'm sure plenty of what I learn won't be according to plan. But it's time to get going. It's time get organized. It's time to dig in.
posted on 2014-11-22 15:00:00
This post is mostly written for myself. It assumes familiarity with various terms, people, equipment, etc. If you find it useful or entertaining, whether you play melee or not, cool. This post is not intended to be a training guide. I'm not good enough to be educating beginners, just to observe my experience over the last year.
If you do want to get started with Melee, you need a few things:
I'm not a gamer. The last time I really put substantial time into video games was high school. I also wouldn't describe myself as a competitive person. But for whatever reason, I've always been competitive in Smash Bros. I want to win.
Late last October, I stumbled on a documentary detailing the history of the competitive smash brothers scene. I was riveted. I was suddenly aware of a massive depth to the game I'd hitherto missed. I had to know more, I had to try to my hand at competitive play.
In addition, I've always struggled with things I'm not immediately good at. I'm terrible at being patient with myself, at viewing life (and goals) as a journey and not a destination to be reached post haste. Melee remains an excellent opportunity to practice being loving and patient with myself, and handling failure and defeat gracefully.
As I said before, it's a monumentally deep game. Like in chess, character positioning and board layout is paramount. As in poker, bluffing and calling your opponent's bluffs is crucial. There's also an executional aspect. Professional players routinely execute 300 actions per minute and have to perform complex controller inputs in a 20th of a second window or less. Not to mention just learning the properties of 25 characters, their moves, and the Rock Paper Scissors of what beats what in which situations.
I've been at it for a while now. I'm still not good but I'm much more at peace with that than I was when I started. Here are a few things I've learned playing melee the past year. A lot of these things are habits I've had to work hard to break. Just remember not to get discouraged. Melee can be very unforgiving.
You have to stay motivated. If things get too serious and you're not having fun you're going to play less and your skill will plateau. There are a lot of things beginners have to absorb and a plethora of suggestions, bordering on rules, about how to practice. Feel free to violate anything anyone says in order to keep things fun.
A few semi-regular suggestions I violate in the name of fun are:
I play 2 seriously (Sheik/Marth), 2 semi-seriously (Fox/Falcon), and 2 for fun (Pikachu/Doc Mario). If I don't switch it up, I find myself getting frustrated with progress on a single character. And when playing with friends, it can be surprisingly rejuvenating to go play a quick falcon ditto after an hour or more of serious play.
Additionally, I find some characters make certain kinds of practice more rewarding. For me, Fox makes it really fun to practice tech skill and Marth makes it really fun to practice spacing. Those characters really emphasize those attributes which makes the practice payoff very clear.
The big argument here is that CPUs ingrain bad habits. Especially if all you're trying to do is win. So don't try to win. PPMD talks about doing something called shadowboxing, essentially playing the CPU like a human opponent. The 20xx hack pack is supposed to improve their behavior in various ways, especially DI. I find it helpful to practice tech skill at a level where the CPU will punish me if I'm too slow or miss an input.
Editor's Note: Some of the advice in this section is specific to me because I don't attend or plan to attend lots of local tournaments. The core advice of separating different kinds of play still applies.
To play competitively, you're going to wind up doing 3 things:
It is important that you keep these things distinct. For example, I try to spend 20-30 minutes a day practicing tech skill. I move around the stage, working on flubs or things I execute too slowly. I try to learn new tech (such as waveshines). I don't go to many local tournaments so I experiment with different approaches and punishes against a CPU. Finally, when I want to be competitive I play (seriously) against friends.
Initially, you'll want to blur all this together. You'll be playing semi-seriously with a friend and be tempted to try "new stuff": platform movement, wavedashing, the "Ken combo", getting an off stage Falcon Punch. Don't give in to the temptation. Melee requires you to adapt to your opponent above all else. If you're too busy obsessing over moves you want to land, you'll limit your options and your play will suffer for it. This isn't to say you shouldn't try to work on specific things in matches with your friends. Just that tech skill you haven't mastered and particular combos are not those things.
To emphasize further, don't practice specific combos. Part of Melee's depth comes from DI, or Directional Influence, the upshot of which is that getting a specific combo might be impossible depending on the opponent's actions. Long story short, DI allows you (and your opponent) to change the direction a hit knocks them in, potentially making follow up attacks miss. The interesting choices in melee come in between hits as you watch what your opponent does and react to it. While there are "guaranteed" combos in specific situations (character a vs character b at XX%), most of our combos come from reacting not planning.
If you've spent years playing Smash casually, you'll largely see the game as hitting or being hit, offense or defense. But that brutal simplification will limit your ability to see the larger game. Two common adages fall under this section:
The takeaway is, It's better to not get hit than to get a hit.
You'll be tempted to rush in right away, ignore that impulse. You'll be dying to hit them back for hitting you, re-establish good footing instead. The "neutral game" is everything that happens outside of getting a hit or combo and trying to escape being hit. The sooner you can see encroaching on an opponent's space on the stage as a useful form of micro-aggression, the better off you'll be. Just positioning yourself in a threatening way is a hugely useful tool.
Don't force your play into a false dichotomy of attacking or defending.
Editor's Note: This rule was originally called "Stay Grounded" and came from my reflections on the Marth v Link matchup with my buddy Max. Some of this section will be dependent on the matchup.
Stage position is important. Let's say it again: Stage position is really, really important. When I first started playing Marth, I always wanted to approach in the air. Just all the time. Lord knows why. But being in the air takes away a huge number of movement options. Your opponent can plan around and react to your play more easily when you have fewer options.
I wound up above Max a lot and got punished. Even if your character has good aerial attacks, unless you're talking cross up nairs with Pikachu or Fox there are probably safer, better approaches. So, being above your opponent is usually a pretty negative situation.
In general, center stage is a great place to be, and above the opponent, in a corner, or on the ledge, are bad places to be. Platforms are a bit more of a mixed bag. But remember where on the stage you have advantage and where your good options aren't available and figure out why that is.
In addition, spacing is really important. Spacing is more than just trying to throw out attacks from a safe distance, or thinking about your opponent's range. It also has to do with thinking about the range at which your character performs best. Marth and Falcon, for example, are mid-range powerhouses, while Fox and Sheik generally need to get in close to be really effective. Know where your character performs well and remember to stay in that effective range as much as possible.
Kirbykaze's blog posts explain this much more clearly than I will. Any time you can keep most of your options open while limiting your enemy's, do it. That's a huge advantage. And any time you can narrow their range of choices you have a much better chance of predicting their play, or finding a tactic that covers every possible outcome.
Since Melee is so much about movement and positioning, being fast is key. And indeed, most of the executional aspects of high-level play are in service of eliminating as much lag as possible from your character's moves. It's useful to try to build a formal model here.
Every move in the game has a set duration, though certain moves (dash dancing, wave dashing, aerials) can be shortened to varying degrees. Once you've committed to a move, the opponent knows more or less how long the move's hitbox will be active, how long you'll be unable to execute a different move, etc.
Consequently, speed mostly comes from transitioning quickly between moves or, as Kirbykaze's blog says, "action states". The better you get at switching between shielding, standing, walking, dash dancing, wavedashing, and attacking, the faster you'll be. Seamlessly and quickly transitioning between these states is vastly more valuable than L-canceling all your down aerials.
This is something I'm just now realizing and trying to improve on. It's very appealing to just work on l-canceling or short hops or wavedashing but misses the real point. The connecting tissue between action states is where most of our sluggishness comes from.
Finally, it should be obvious that regular, focused practice makes a big difference. I'm going to try to practice 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week going forward. I'm still figuring out exactly what that practice regimen will consist of, probably mostly tech skill and movement with Sheik and Marth. Wavedashing and L-canceling are muscle memory, sure, but practicing the basics shouldn't ever really stop.
And I'm still not where I want to be but I've had a few good moments. I hope this has been an interesting post on some things I've struggled with while learning melee. Happy smashing and if you're in Atlanta and want a game, feel free to drop me a line.
I really enjoy Kirbykaze's blog and writings about the game. Two particularly good posts are Movement Drills, Part 1 and Tactics.
Various people have posted articles for beginners on getting better:
Read. Them.
posted on 2014-09-24 16:05:00
After going to Strangeloop for the first time in 2012, I was really fired up about programming. I'd only been out of school a year and was already a full-remote Clojure developer making a great salary. Even better, I had made good progress on my lisp emulation project and received some recognition from hackers I respected for it.
The last two years Strangeloop has been a lot more sobering. I told myself things in 2012 about how fast I'd get better and how good I'd be. Even though my expectations were unreasonable it's taken a long time to not feel bad about my (relative lack of) progress. I've been slow to accept the fact that I don't want to fight my way to being the best in my field.
I got in Tuesday night, dropped my bags at the hotel, and immediately ran off to drinks and phenomenal conversation at the Schlafly Tap Room. Many of the best experiences I've had at Strangeloop have been at the tap room. Sure there is excellent food, beer, and technical conversation, but I've always gotten a sense of personal acceptance at gatherings there. Strangeloop is certainly a welcoming crowd.
Wednesday was a blast as well, as any day with a trip to the STL City Museum should be, but more and more I found I cared about personal interactions more than the content of the talks I attended.
By the end of Thursday, I was stressed out. I wasn't even excited about the talks, which isn't to say they weren't good. I hated the idea that I was just an average programmer, that I didn't aspire to more than hacking bog-standard Rails apps as a career, that I'd spent almost $2000 out of my own pocket to come to a conference that someone else might have gotten more out of. I went to bed early that night.
I kept my mindset in check much better on Friday. I reminded myself to be excited about others discoveries and creations, not to demand myself learn every tool or technique. The conference wrapped up well and I particularly enjoyed some of the Distributed Systems talks, a subfield I still have no experience with. Not to say I want to go fight distributed heisenbugs soon or design highly reliable systems. The talks were quite entertaining and informative is all.
The main takeaways I've had from Strangeloop have nothing to do with tech and everything to do with me. Strangeloop has, in many ways, been a time for me to reflect these last two years. I'm not sure that's a good way to use the conference but it seems to be what I've done.
The first takeaway that comes to mind is that I need to try and respect myself for just being a decent Rails developer. I'm not great at solving algorithmically tricky problems and my CS background is, frankly, pretty damn weak. But no matter what I shouldn't beat up on myself for being "just a programmer". I need to put in an honest day's work and actually pat myself on the back at the end of it.
The second takeaway is that I need to program for me again. I got into programming mostly because I wanted to know more about how computers work. The emulator and talks surrounding it, some of my favorite work, is really more an investigation than artifact. I still want to support coleslaw. It actually has a few satisfied users and I'm one of them. But the only real purpose of the emulator is to sate my curiosity. Not to become a real thing or be special or groundbreaking.
There is plenty I'm still digesting and plenty I'm still not sure of, both technically and in terms of what I want for myself, my career, my life. But I'll leave that for another day. Cheers.
posted on 2014-09-22 10:36:00
I'm working towards 1.0 and Coleslaw's basic architecture seems to have settled down. The areas of focus for 1.0 will be better error handling, command-line conveniences, more content types, and possibly some new ways to ingest data.
Coleslaw 0.9.6 will be released this Saturday and, not long after, make it into the next quicklisp release. Seeing as it contains big changes, some of them breaking, I thought I'd put out an announcement.
Coleslaw 0.9.6 unifies how we handles URLs throughout the application and
simplifies the deploy strategy. The good news is, this makes the install
process easier for new users. The bad news is, if you've got an existing
install, you'll need to add a new plugin
(versioned) to your config
file for the old deploy behavior.
That's not so rough, right? In addition, custom themes and plugins that haven't been upstreamed may need some minor tweaks. The NEWS has more details.
Feel free to grab the
basic-deploy branch from my repo and
try it out. There are some new docs and the README has been
cleaned up. There's also a plugin for Twitter Summary Card
support and the usual smattering of bugfixes.
While I'm happy to maintain Coleslaw if no one else steps up to work on it, I'm going to try and shift my focus towards emulation work and weird lisp noodling. If you're interested in taking on a co-maintainer role or working with me on the project please get in touch. I've been very appreciative of the help and interest thus far. If there's anything I can do to make the project more approachable or help people get started, do let me know.
posted on 2014-09-16 10:10:00
It's time for the best programming conference of the year, again!
I fly out to Strangeloop later today. Here are the talks I'm planning on attending:
Wednesday the 17th: Future of Programming Workshop/Emerging Languages Camp (all day)
Thursdsay the 18th:
Friday the 19th:
!! = Denotes time slots I'm uncertain about. Open to suggestions...
posted on 2014-07-16 12:33:00
(In which I talk about my feeeeeeels)
Disclaimer: This post comes in the middle of an existential crisis. I'm struggling a lot with programming as a career choice and feeling disconnected from a community of excited hackers. These feelings and opinions are my own and I think it's totally fine if you don't subscribe to them or want to write me off as an F-ing idiot.
A lot of the ideas in this post have been buzzing around in my head since I saw Jen Myers deliver her keynote at Strangeloop last year.
I've been keeping my thoughts in my head mostly because I'm already an established programmer. A lot of the motive for the talk was to be more welcoming to newcomers and minorities that struggled to be included in our communities. But I think this problem affects all of us, every last one, regardless of gender, race, or class.
The short version is that I think the tone of programming communities, especially online ones, is horrific. It's filled with religious debate over things less important than getting people excited about and interested in computing. For me, whether it's smart people posturing for social status or individuals genuinely trying to enlighten others is irrelevant.
Our first reaction to any comrade, any other person passionate about and interested in building things with computers, any human crazy and masochistic enough to try and expand the capabilities of these absurd machines, should be empathy and love.
This may seem ridiculous at first glance. It's harder than it sounds.
You already know the religious wars I'm talking about. They're silly little things. Are static or dynamic types better? (For some, is there even such a thing as being dynamically typed?) Is Vim or Emacs better? Should I learn programming with PHP or Haskell? Should my app use JSON, XML, or a self-describing binary format? Is programming math, art, or craft? Can code be literature?
For a host of reasons, these are questions we have a vested interest in. And I think, more often than not, our motive is to encourage more learning and exploration. But the conversation is almost always full of condescension and judgment, especially if the medium for response is limited. We simply cannot let supporting curiosity become secondary to proselytizing "the right thing".
Plain and simple, turning a prompt for exploration into a right-or-wrong religious debate is curiosity destroying. And that's precisely the opposite of our intent, the opposite of what we as a community should aspire to.
Our opinions are important, and I'm not precluding the existence of a right answer. But someone pondering a tricky subject isn't best met by bludgeoning them over the head with a conclusion. As long as the principal motive of those we interact with is the fractal question "Why?", we are together.
This connects to a lot of things. It connects to people wondering if they're good at programming, or how to know such a thing. It contributes to impostor syndrome. I've struggled to hack on hobby code for fun because I don't feel like I can be proud of it. Not smart enough, not groundbreaking enough, not important enough. And I know that's silly, because there are more important things to worry about.
So the more we can get away from emphasizing that the most important thing in programming is being right, the better that will be for newcomers, for hobbyists, and I believe, for all of us.
I'm reminded of an Alan Perlis quote in SICP:
"I think that it's extraordinarily important that we keep the fun in computing. ... We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free, perfect use of these machines. I don't think we are.
I think we're responsible for stretching them, setting them off in new directions, and keeping fun in the house."
I'm not perfect at this either. It is difficult to never be dismissive, let alone to always be gentle. But sometimes people are just trying to make it through the day. Not use the best tool, not come up with a groundbreaking solution, not fix the world. We need to try to meet other programmers where they are. Not move them to our habitat before empathizing, before loving.
Ironically, I know this has been a bit of a high-horse diatribe. At least let me give you a gift for coming so far and listening to me ramble so much. Here, have something I love, bits of Milosz:
To whom do we tell what happened on the earth,
for whom do we place everywhere huge mirrors
in the hope that they will be filled up and will stay so?
I think that I am here, on this earth,
To present a report on it, but to whom I don't know.
As if I were sent so that whatever takes place
Has meaning because it changes into memory.
To find my home in one sentence, concise, as if hammered in metal.
Not to enchant anybody. Not to earn a lasting name in posterity.
An unnamed need for order, for rhythm, for form,
which three words are opposed to chaos and nothingness.
What did I really want to tell them? That I labored to transcend my place and time,
searching for the Real. And we could have been united only by what we have in common:
the same nakedness in a garden beyond time, but the moments are short
when it seems to me that, at odds with time, we hold each other's hands.
And I drink wine and I shake my head and say: "What man feels and thinks will never be expressed."
posted on 2014-05-07 15:13:00
Life is going pretty well. Norma and I have moved into a new apartment. I'm figuring out how to balance work and my other goals. My student loans will be paid off by my 28th birthday in August.
I decided to work from home today. I slept poorly, I think it's the pollen. I've been thinking a lot about what I want lately. Neither Academia nor Industry quite seem to fit. Academia only cares about work that advances the state of the art in specific subfields, Industry only cares about work that advances the bottom line.
My goals don't quite fit in with either of those things. I want to write software to help people understand how other software works. Specifically, a Nintendo Emulator and set of tools for observing and modifying old games on the fly. And so I find myself thinking about how to work fewer hours so I can find more time for my 'art projects' without sacrificing hobbies, relationships, and a social life.
I've been too drowsy today to get meaningful work done on work or hobby projects, but here's what I thought about in the shower:
Seriously, is there somewhere I can do an MFA but really just write weird artsy software for 2 years?
Oh, well. Time to take a nap and then try to write some code to find Biconnected Components in C again.
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text:
Pope Benedict XVI told priests who have abused children to submit to the "demands of justice," according to a letter released Saturday.
The pontiff said a misplaced concern for the church's reputation and inadequate methods of choosing priests had contributed to decades of sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy.
In a letter written to Catholics in the Irish Republic, the pope said he was "deeply disturbed" by the flood of allegations in Ireland and told victims he was "truly sorry." He acknowledged they had suffered "grievously."
U.S. & World
The letter did not mention similar claims in Germany.
The church has been accused of protecting priests in the past and the pope's comment about the "demands of justice" appeared to be a reference to civil court proceedings, NBC News reported.
Benedict laid out four reasons why abuse by priests had continued over the last four decades:
- a misplaced concern for the reputation of the church;
- inadequate procedures for choosing priests;
- insufficient training in seminaries;
- and a tendency to favor clergy.
However, the pope also blamed an increasing secularization of society for abuse by priests.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Is this the biggest match of Pep Guardiola's short time in charge at City? Having dropped points in their last two Champions League games, City need a positive result against Barcelona at the Etihad tonight.
And Guardiola has picked a string lineup for the occasion.
Starting XI: Caballero, Zabaleta, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Silva, Sterling, Aguero, De Bruyne
Subs: Gunn, Nolito, Navas, Clichy, Kompany, Kelechi, Fernando
TEAM NEWS | Here's how City line-up tonight! #MCFCB #mcfc pic.twitter.com/TzEUcPHjsu— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 1, 2016
Zabaleta starts
He suffered a foot injury in the first game between the two sides a fortnight ago – but Pablo Zabaleta has made a swift recovery and takes his place in the back four tonight.
Guardiola suggested yesterday he wouldn't be fit but having trained with the first team in the afternoon and suffering no adverse reaction to his recent setback, he comes in and replaces Fernando, who operated at right-back for the first time at the weekend against West Brom.
It's a huge boost to have him available.
John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi have been paired together at centre-half, with Vincent Kompany, who is continuing to recover from a series of muscle injuries in the past two seasons, taking his place on the bench.
Aguero chases more records
Having missed the game between the two sides at the Camp Nou a fortnight ago, Sergio Aguero starts this evening, much to the delight of the City fans.
Luis Enrique and Ivan Rakitic both praised the Blues striker in their press conferences yesterday, describing him as one of Europe's finest out-and-out strikers - and his pace and movement is likely to cause the Barcelona defence a headache.
After his two goals at the weekend against West Brom, he now sits sixth on City's list of all-time leading goalscorers with 149.
Can he bag his 150th against the best side in Europe?
Willy in goal
Claudio Bravo's red card in the game in Barcelona means he is suspended for this evening's game, leaving Willy Caballero to deputise.
There's no harder task in world football than stopping Barcelona's forwards. Caballero will need to be at his very best.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar…has there ever been a better front three?
It has a bit of everything: skill, trickery, pace, directness and goals.
It's a pleasure to welcome a side possessing this much quality to the Etihad Stadium on such an important night for the club.


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I am creating a soap service where users will be able to interact with each other. They will have a contact list where people can be added. One of the security measures(others are in place, too) is to have a local ID assigned to a contact.
To make the process clear, imagine the following scenario:
$UserA prompts $UserB to be added to $UserA's contact list. $UserB accepts and $UserA receives a local ID to use as UserID referring to the contact. The database contains a table called USER_MAP(LocalID,UserID).
Two questions:
1) Do you think this is a valid approach when dealing with user ids security? If not, why? 2) If you deem it valid, can you suggest a formula to generate said IDs?
At the moment, the idea for the formula is: ($UserA_ID+$UserB_ID)*($UserA_RegDate+$UserB_RegDate)
Consider RegDates as being in "number of days since the 0 date value".
Each user might have 1..N local ids depending on how many users are willing to add. A local ID is local to the user but global in the user space, i.e. for every interaction between users the same local id is used. To make it clearer: if $UserA requests to see $UserB profile, he will be passing the local user id which will be mapped at the server level to the correct id.
Just to make it clear: future does not mean "in a long time from now, maybe, who knows", rather means : "it is planned, I want to do it, I want to make sure I have my pieces ready and THEN I will do it" :) Thus, it's not a "maybe" rather just a matter of WHEN.
Apparently someone has issues understanding the logic behind the approach of a local id. A couple ideas that can help you understand why it's a good idea(in my opinion):
If your ID is local instead of global, you have only access to your own resources/contacts. Useful for instance to avoid programmatically getting access to a profile you wouldn't be allowed to see. This with third parties may be a problem, especially in case of unfair uses
If your ID is local, you can use it as a shortcut for local data instead of having to go to the original account. The contact list could, for instance, hold some of the original data which isn't going to change.
If you have a local id it's much easier to "cut the wire", because all you have to do is deleting one or two records. Say that a user wants to delete a contact. All I will have to do is to remove at best two records, all the other data stays there untouched and simply filtered out by the queries.
Better now?
Thank you for your time!


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BP Disaster = Catastrophic Climate Change?
August 9, 2010
by the Earl of Sterling
"The breaking of a crucial warm stream ... may generate a chain reaction of unpredictable critical phenomena and ... may have serious consequences on the dynamics of the Gulf Stream thermoregulation activity of the Global Climate."
The Gulf Stream's impact on climate is well known, keeping Iceland and Scotland comfortable in winter compared to the deep-freeze of Labrador at the same latitude. The Gulf Stream directly affects weather and climate patterns over the whole Northern Hemisphere, and perhaps even world wide.
The approximately two million gallons of Corexit, plus several million gallons of other dispersants, have caused the over two hundred million gallons of crude oil to mostly sink to the bottom of the ocean. This has hidden much of the oil, with the hopes that BP can seriously reduce the mandated federal fines from the oil disaster.
However, there is no current way to effectively 'clean up' the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, which is about half covered in crude oil. Additionally, the oil has flowed up the East Coast of America and into the North Atlantic Ocean, and there is no way to effectively clean up this 'sea bottom oil'.
This massive amount of crude oil, covering such an enormous area, has seriously affected the Loop Current, the Gulf Stream, and the North Atlantic Current system, by breaking up the boundary layers of the warm water flow.
There are several names to the themo-regulation 'river of warm water' that keeps the Northern Hemisphere from going into a new Ice Age. The first section is named the "Loop Current" and it begins in the Caribbean, flows around the Yucatan Peninsula and goes into the Gulf of Mexico, then loops around the Gulf and exits on the east side and runs between Cuba and Florida.
At this point the current is called the "Florida Current" and it flows from the Keys up the East Coast of America (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and part of North Carolina) to the Outer Banks. At the Outer Banks the current heads east into the North Atlantic where it is known as the "Gulf Stream". Eventually the Gulf Stream becomes the North Atlantic Current, which itself eventually becomes the Norway Current and the Canary Current.
This 'river of warm water' does not begin with the Loop Current, it is part of a much larger system that includes the Atlantic South Equatorial Current which flows north along the coast of Brazil (the North Brazil Current), and becomes the Caribbean Current, and is renamed the Yucatan Current as it flows north into the Yucatan Channel. This entire system is one of the main global themo-regulation processes that regulates the planet's temperatures.
Based on what has already happened (to the Loop Current and the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Current/etc. and global weather patterns), and what is continuing to happen, we can project increased global climate changes that are both serious and near in terms of time. We may be entering a full new Ice Age.
There is no known way to clean up the massive amount of free crude oil, stripped of its lighter elements by dispersants, now on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and in significant parts of the Atlantic Ocean (where the Gulf Stream flows).
The use of Corexit and other dispersants by BP, with the full cooperation of the Obama Administration has created the most significant danger to the entire planet in recorded history. This is what happens when a great nation slips into being a Third World type of nation, where money alone is the key driving force in government actions.
As full knowledge of the scope of the oncoming mega-disaster to the planet becomes known, the Obama Administration will find itself in a political crisis way beyond Watergate (that cost Nixon his presidency) or the sex affair that almost cost Clinton his presidency. The effect on this years mid-term Congressional elections are apt to be dramatic.


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Russellclow brauchte ein neues Anderes Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 49 Designs von 24 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
I'm looking for a superb, awesome looking graphic design for my new custom snowboard. See brief for more information and details on what is required!
Custom Snowboard
I've recently got myself into Snowboarding, and have already found myself getting addicted to it! With that in mind, I went shopping for a personal snowboard. I came across a website called:
Basically, they offer totally custom snowboard design. That means, ANY graphic can be placed on a professionally created snowboard by these guys. Flippin' brilliant!
What I need, is a great design (Front AND back) to get on the board.
Please make sure you do your research. The finished product will need to be the right size to send to them. So you'll need to actually visit the site, and load up their flash Build a Board system, and just have a play with the system for abit to get an idea.
Once on the flash build-a-board system, look top right, there is a button saying: Download PDF Template.
This is what I need delivered at the end, the finished design, in the PDF template - full resolution ready to send to them.
You can screenshot the design in a smaller jpg format to show me beforehand, but the final product needs to be sent full resolution in the PDF template (it's a lot bigger than the Flash system online, so make sure you download it) exactly as required to be sent for printing to them.
If you can't be bothered to do that, don't bother entering.
NOTE: The "top" of the board has two foot binding sections. Please bear that in mind with the designs - if you have "rusty" sprawled across the middle of the top section, the bindings (where I strap my feet in) will go OVER the design, and it will look rubbish - just bear that in mind when designing.
If you're really clever, you could try some sort of abstract design around the bindings, but I don't know how that would come out.
Think outside the box - I love original ideas.
Any questions just ask :)
- A really unique, exciting board design (front and back)
- Something totally personal to me
- I love the idea of having "Rusty" (my nickname) on the boards top
- I'm totally open to styles, colours and looks. I made my own recently (I'm a graphics designer) and created a nice black and white theme for the top which I quite like, but it still needed something: http://www.russclow.co.uk/snowboard.jpg
I AM TOTALLY open to styles and colours - go wild and see if you can impress me.
- Boring designs
- Copies of existing snowboards
- Skulls, Swords or anything too gruesome


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The Deer Hunter 2015 Hack is made by our team of highly trained specialists in hacking games since 2009. The Deer Hunter Hack will give you free unlimited gold, unlimited cash, and it's 100% safe. It works with both iOS and Android devices and you don't have to jailbreak or root your phone.
Deer Hunter 2014 is a game with good graphics made by Glu Mobile in which you will hunt exotic animals from Africa to America's Pacific. It has great shooting mechanics and makes you feel like a real hunter.
It's a somewhat open world game that will probably change your vision about the hunting games genre.
Now, we all know that the game is free, but we also know that you have to pay for things like Bank Vault Gold Pack, which costs $99.99. They even require you to pay for a permit, $0.99. Isn't that outrageous? It is! And our hack will change this! You will kill all your favorite animals without having to spend a dime, because our hack will provide you all the coins and cash you need to equip the best hunting gear ever! If you want to keep your hard earned money, you must download this hack. Enjoy!
The hack will give you
- Unlimited Cash
- Unlimited Gold
How to use the hack on iOS?
1-2. Download & extract the hack
3. Close the game from multitask
4. Put the extracted files into /var/mobile/Application/DH 2014/deerhunt2.app/
set permissions 777 (read write execute all)
5. Launch the game
6. Enjoy
On Android, just install the apk mod from the archive.


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Xcut Mini Die – Be A Unicorn XCU504130
Xcut Mini Die – Be A Unicorn XCU504130
Approx. size of cutting die: 110 mm x 40mm
Number of pieces supplied : 1
Suitable for cutting a range of materials including paper, card stock, felt, foamiran, vinyl and even wood veneer.
All of our cutting dies are of the finest quality and all are hand checked before we post them to you.
We post all orders on the same day we receive payment and most arrive the next day with Royal Mail.
If you have any problems cutting with any of our dies please read our FAQ's section which answers many common problems.
We add stock to the website on an almost daily basis so its always worth checking back.
Our cutting dies are suitable for use with all the major cutting machines on the market.
You will find lots of videos on YouTube showing how to use cutting dies.


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Ok, learning time. As I was told by the PHP-DevTeam...
Multiple connections are supported, but when you try to connect with exactly the same parameters, an existing
connection will be reused, leading to the behaviour you see.
You can simply omit the calls to odbc_close() since
connections get closed on script termination anyway or better:
Consider making your connection id a global variable or pass
it to your functions.


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Wedding Bands
A token of love, a witness to the testimony of togetherness, Wedding bands hold a special place in your heart. At Bands for Hands, we craft every piece of wedding band with love and finesse, sure to make it sparkle on your big day. Our range of wedding bands feature solid gold plain wedding bands, exquisite diamond studded wedding bands and classic His and Her matching Wedding rings. Eternity rings, designed with timeless devotion, represent the everlasting vow 'I Do'.
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Get free shipping on everything at Macyshop, on orders over 999 $
Money Back Guarantee
All purchases at Bands for Hands are covered by our " 7 days No Questions Asked Refund Policy"


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COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION FOR CUSTOMERS - MOST DELIVERIES CONTINUE AS NORMAL: We are currently taking online orders as normal, as encouraged by the government. We can deliver a large selection of stock products with next day delivery. Our Show Centre and offices are temporarily closed. Some office staff are working at home where possible. With fewer staff our phone lines are open 7 days a week from 10am-3pm only (except Easter Sunday). For more information CLICK HERE.
Not your postcode?
Setting the first half of your postcode shows you the full choice in your area.
Contact Us
Please use this form to contact us by email:


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A forum about Atari 16/32 computers and their clones. This forum is in no way affiliated with Atari Interactive.
Moderators: lotek_style, Mug UK, Moderator Team
Shredder11 wrote:This was discussed during the past year or so by maybe Simbo, and I would think there would be some interest in this being done; I for one would be very interested.
nativ wrote:How about a multi Rom with Cubase / Zero X / avalon / Logic etc on it switchable by hardware or software or all available at once?
Shredder11 wrote:Great idea except the price would rocket as a result?
Shredder11 wrote:Great idea except the price would rocket as a result?
I know the product is no longer supported however there are still a number of Atari users who are using Cubase on their Atari Falcon or ST.
We are a self-supporting community and are looking for ways to support users who have failed dongles. The dongles (well certainly the Falcon ROM based ones) are based on an Intel P5C060 CMOS PLD chip which requires programming with a 'schematic'.
Given that you don't support the platform anymore, we would like to ask if you could supply us with the firmware schematic file so that we can create replacement dongles in the event of future failures.
This gesture of goodwill will almost certainly turn into genuine sales when these users finally put their old hardware into storage and move onto current platforms.
I understand it's an unusual request but we would really appreciate your help on this. In return, we will ensure a very positive message is communicated in order to influence users' future DAW investments
Kind Regards,
MiggyMog wrote:I have used the Steem cart image tool to back up the CAF, ZERO-X & Audio master dongles.
Dal wrote:If STeem cart images for the CAF dongle works ok then would it be possible to design a universal cart maybe with some kind of flash memory? You flash the cart with the image you require as you need it from the ST/TT/Falcon itself...
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The irresistible little ukulele isn't native to Hawaii but it's come to be synonymous with the sounds of the islands. Tin Pan Alley music relied heavily on the charms of the four string. A later wave of ukulele popularity brought us the sweet sounds of Bruddah Iz playing Over The Rainbow, inspiring a whole new generation of ukulele musicians.
WHATEVER WITH THAT. Sure, we love the sounds of the islands, that Tin Pan Alley swing, and Iz, well, that track is a modern classic.
But it's not our music. We play the stuff we love to sing when we're driving through places where there's nothing but religion, country, and classic rock on the airwaves, Stadium rock by guys with long hair. Glittery overproduced pop. MTV new wave eyeliner live chickens on stage flash pots turn it up to 11 rock and roll. The soundtrack for the first time we [it was only a misdemeanor] or [that was totally unprovable] or [you kids think you invented sex].
Uke players hear it all the time. "You can't do that on the ukulele." We beg to differ.
|We made not quite prime time on Evening Magazine. Watch it here.
|We were featured on New Day Northwest! Check it out.
Our first video — Freeze Frame — is on YouTube.
The reviews are in!
- Oh. My. God. You sound HUGE! –JF, Renton, Wa.
- The Castaways unique sound has placed them front and center as a local favorite. — 425 Magazine
- That was nine kinds of awesome. — GT, Bellevue, WA
- It was a blast! You guys are really tight; truly a well oiled machine. — DN, Wedgewood
- I've never heard anything like that before — I mean that in a good way! — UF, Poulsbo
- Rock solid bottoms from percussion and fat rubber-stringed bass uke, rock-crazy music from a bunch of folks who were having almost as good a time as the audience – maybe more! — JL, Camano Island


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Star Traders RPG Elite v6.1.1
Requirements: 1.6 + Modded Google Play
Overview: Experience the Elite Upgrade: Epic new content includes 2,000 new Sectors, 200 additional Zones and more than 150 exclusive art files. Take your space based adventures to a huge next galaxy
Trade, battle, pirate & bounty for galactic riches in an epic space sci-fi RPG
"Star Traders RPG" is a FREE Version — play as much as you want before you go Elite. E-Mail us if you need help!
Experience the Elite Upgrade: Epic new content includes 2,000 new Sectors, 200 additional Zones and more than 150 exclusive art files. Take your space based adventures to a huge next galaxy.
The paid version adds 400 ships, 110 planets, 200% rumors, twice as many officers, awards and content.
You can copy your profile/Captain from Star Traders RPG to Elite.
* E-Mail Us If you Need a Refund After Google's 15 Minutes. for real =) *
* * * The Elite Version ONLY has a "Copy Captain" feature under the Roster in the main menu. Copy your profiles from free as many times as you want! * * *
Star Traders RPG Elite is a complex space simulation and turn-based Strategy role playing game. The game is set in a vast, dynamic galaxy torn apart by war, betrayal and commerce.
Elite supports Cory and Andrew!
Pick sides in a shifting war between 6 unique Factions. Pick a side (or two) and play as Merchant, Assassin, Explorer, Warlord, Pirate or Smuggler. Buy, Sell, Battle and Pilot over 100 unique craft. Discover, Explore and Quest on more than 140 planets.
For both Hero & Villain: Upgrade to RPG Elite!
Featuring a professional soundtrack this epic space opera is a hit with fans of Star Wars, Firefly, Serenity and Battlestar Galatica. Your command of the ship is under constant threat, both internal and external. Can you manage your resources, crew, officers well to enough to turn a profit on your contracts? Those that do will be among the Faction's elite Star Heroes — and those that fail will be branded bandits and Crimelords.
Star Traders RPG is in active development based on your feedback. Elite is regularly updated with new ships, new rumors and contract types.
Inspired by games such as EVE, Space Trader, Master of Orion, Pirates! and many other classic computer RPGs.
If you enjoy adventure, Action RPG or SciFi RPG with complex depth you may enjoy Star Traders space role playing game.
Full character control and customization. Travel the galaxy in this turn-based strategy/role-playing game. Features 5 unique skills, 8 character classes, 100 different capital space craft. Customized your craft and ships with 36 different improvements.
If you see something that needs to be fixed, e-mail or post on the forum.
Brought to you by two brothers on a mission to make fun games for your phone.
What's New
v6.1.1 – 8/17/2016 – Major Balance Update v6 – Revised Leveling System Counts Strength – Revised Enemy Generator – Revised Crazy+ AI – New Ship: Lanzo Cutter – New Ship: Sorcerer Star – Improved "Eques Tenebris" Starting Ship – Improved "Orbital Lifter" Rumor Ship – Award Updates and Fixes
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American Forces Press Service
ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT – Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta yesterday told traveling reporters about the importance of the three countries he's going to visit: Japan, China and New Zealand.
This trip, Panetta said, offers "an opportunity to further advance our strategy of rebalancing towards the Asia-Pacific."
Panetta said the strategy calls for expanding the U.S. naval presence in the region, deepening military engagement with partners and allies, and establishing rotational troop deployments in areas throughout the Asia-Pacific as outlined in his speech at the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore in June.
The U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy involves not just defense issues but diplomatic and economic concerns as well, he said.
"Secretary [of State Hillary Rodham] Clinton … spent the last 10 days in the region," the secretary said. Panetta noted that U.S. Pacific Command's top officer, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, was in China in June and that Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter spent 10 days traveling in the Asia-Pacific region in July.
These visits, Panetta said, along with this current trip, bolster the U.S. position that rebalancing focus to the Asia-Pacific region ensures stability there.
The strategy "is really about maintaining and strengthening, not just our presence, but also … a system of rules and norms and institutions in Asia that have brought decades of security and prosperity" that allowed many nations to thrive, Panetta said.
The U.S. alliance with Japan, the first stop on this trip, is a cornerstone of regional security, Panetta said. Topics to be discussed with Japanese leaders, such as Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto, include ballistic missile defense, relocating some U.S. Marines now in Okinawa to Guam and others to another more remote site on the island, and the roles, missions and capabilities of Japan's Self Defense Forces, the secretary said.
The "realignment roadmap" for U.S. Marines in Japan is an issue that has been under discussion between the two countries for many years, he noted.
"We have worked with them closely … and we were able to work out an agreement, and we are putting that into effect," Panetta said.
"Japan is making new investments for the 21st century, as are we," the secretary said. Japan's "extremely cooperative" support to U.S. troop deployments to the Asia-Pacific in the region is significant, he said.
Panetta said he looks forward to the opportunity on his first visit to China as defense secretary to deepen American-Chinese military-to-military relations. He is scheduled to meet with China's top military and civilian leaders including Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie.
"I recognize the challenges that we have in the relationship," the secretary said. "But I think it is in both of our nations' interest to work towards a healthy, stable, reliable and continuous military-to-military relationship."
Regular senior leader visits between Beijing and Washington have led to important progress toward that goal, Panetta said, adding that he views his trip to China "as an opportunity to advance that relationship even further."
Panetta acknowledged he expects the current territorial disputes over some islands in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the region involving China, Japan, the Philippines and other Asia-Pacific nations will be part of the discussions. The secretary said he will continue to urge the U.S. policy of peaceful resolution for territorial disputes, in which the United States does not take sides.
Panetta said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, has developed a code of conduct that can serve as the basis for a forum aimed at resolving such territorial disputes peacefully. Issues involving freedom of navigation and mineral or fishing rights may complicate resolution of the dispute over the islands, but Panetta said his central message is that all states involved should refrain from provocative actions.
"Countries are searching for resources; there's going to be questions raised as to who has jurisdiction over these areas," he said. "What we don't want is any kind of provocative behavior resulting in conflict."
The secretary added that issues involving nuclear proliferation, piracy, trade and humanitarian assistance are all areas in which the United States and China can work together.
That work, he said, can foster security in the Asia-Pacific and "enhance the ability of that region to really … prosper in the future."
Panetta's final stop will be New Zealand, where, he noted, his visit will be the first by a U.S. defense secretary in 30 years.
In his experience, the secretary said, New Zealand is "a very steadfast and a very valued partner to the United States. We deeply appreciate the role that they've played in Afghanistan, and the sacrifice that they've made."
The recent deaths of New Zealand troops serving in Afghanistan is tragic, Panetta said. Yet, New Zealand remains "committed to a strong and continuing role in Afghanistan," he added.
The secretary said his central purpose in traveling to New Zealand is "to see what opportunities exist to try to deepen our defense cooperation."
Even as he sets out on a trip aimed at advancing the U.S. strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, Panetta said, recent events "remind all of us of the need to maintain a strong presence in the Middle East as well."
The United States has a robust troop presence in the region and has deployed more forces to a number of areas there to respond if the State Department requests defense assistance "to protect our personnel and American property," Panetta said.
Panetta said Libyan authorities are making a strong effort "to respond to the crisis and deal with the issues involved" following the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead.
The secretary said defense leaders remain concerned about al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen, Somalia, North Africa and elsewhere, although any al-Qaida involvement in the Benghazi attack remains to be determined.
"We have to … go after al-Qaida wherever they are, and wherever they try to hide," Panetta said. The terrorist group is still working to inspire violence and undermine stability, he said, and continues to represent a threat to the United States.
Panetta said he and other U.S. defense leaders have developed a strategy and budget that can address threats around the world while cutting spending by $487 billion over 10 years.
"We are able to respond to the threats that we confront, both in the Middle East and elsewhere," he said. "Obviously, we continue to monitor … our resources and the costs involved, and to keep the Congress informed."
DOD has "great support from Congress for the work that we're doing," Panetta said, "and I feel very confident we can respond to any contingency we face."
The secretary noted that while some anti-American demonstrations continue in the Middle East, they seem to have leveled off.
"I suspect these demonstrations … are likely to continue over the next few days, if not longer," Panetta said. His primary concern, he added, is to "make sure … our people are protected, and we don't have a recurrence of what happened in Libya."


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Office frequently asked questions
Find answers to commonly asked questions about Office and Office 365. Visit the Office 365 for business FAQ for more questions and answers for business users.
Top questions
Office 2019 is compatible with Windows 10 or macOS. See system requirements for compatible versions of Windows and macOS, and for other feature requirements.
No. Office applications are tailored to work best on each platform and device. The Office applications available for Mac users and the version numbers may be different from those available for PC users.
People using Office 365, Office 2016, Office 2013, and Office 2010 applications can open documents created using Office 2019 without any additional action.
Yes. Documents that you have created belong fully to you. You can choose to store them online on OneDrive or locally on your PC or Mac. Learn what happens if you cancel your subscription.
Your Microsoft account is the combination of an email address and password that you use to sign in to services like Hotmail, OneDrive, Windows Phone, Xbox LIVE, and Outlook.com. If you use any of these services, you already have a Microsoft account that you can use, or you can create a new account. Learn more about a Microsoft account. As part of signing up for a trial or purchasing Office, you will be prompted to sign in with a Microsoft account. You must be signed in with this account to install and manage your Office software, or to use some subscription benefits, including OneDrive storage and Skype minutes.
Users can activate 1 subscription for Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal and up to 25 licenses for Office Home & Student 2016, Office Home & Business 2016, and Office Professional 2016.
About Office trials
If you signed up for the trial via the Office website, visit the Microsoft Account site and turn off recurring billing. With this approach, the trial will automatically expire when your month is finished and your credit card will not be charged.
Not immediately. For example, if you had a trial of Office 365 Personal, you can't sign up for a trial of Office 365 Home. However, one year after your trial or paid subscription ends, you can sign up for a new trial.
Product keys, redemption, and activation
To set up your account and install Office for the first time, visit https://setup.office.com. Learn more about setting up your account. If you have already created your account, visit https://account.microsoft.com/. Learn more about installing Office.
After you associate your Product Key to your Microsoft account, you can sign in to https://account.microsoft.com/ to install and manage Office. But it's a good idea to keep your Product Key in a secure location as proof of purchase or to help our support agents trace your product.
It's best to use your existing Microsoft account. If you use other Microsoft products or services (e.g. Xbox, OneDrive, Outlook.com, MSN or Bing), you may already have a Microsoft account and won't need to create a new one. If you forgot your username or password, recover those details by returning to sign in and clicking on Can't access your account?
Your Microsoft account can have only one subscription associated with it. If you use the same Microsoft account to buy or redeem multiple Office 365 subscriptions, you extend the amount of time for your subscription, up to a maximum of 5 years. Note that doing so does not increase the number of devices you can install Office on or increase the amount of online storage that is available with the subscription. Learn more about adding another Office 365 home subscription plan to your account.
Language support for Office
Office 365 plans are available in most countries/regions. In countries/regions where Office 365 plans are not available, you can still buy an Office 2016 suite. When buying Office 365, it's important that you select the country/region in which you will be billed and in which you'll use the software. Selecting a different country/region may cause problems with subscription setup and renewal.
About OneDrive
OneDrive is an online storage service that you can use to store documents, notes, photos, music, videos, or other types of files. With OneDrive you can access your files from nearly any device and you can share them with others. Sign up for OneDrive.
The amount of additional storage that you get depends on your subscription:
• Customers with an active Office 365 Personal subscription receive an additional 1 TB of OneDrive storage per subscription.
• Customers with an active Office 365 Home subscription receive an additional 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user, for up to 6 users. Each additional user must have their own Microsoft account and be added to the Microsoft Account site.
The additional storage is applied to the OneDrive account that is linked to the Microsoft account used to create the Office 365 subscription. For Office 365 Home, the storage is tied to the Microsoft accounts of the household members who have been added to the subscription.
To access documents stored on OneDrive, sign in to Office with the Microsoft account that you used to set up Office 365. If you have shared your Office 365 Home subscription with other members of your household, they should sign in with their Microsoft account. Learn more about signing in to Office. You can also sign in to OneDrive directly at OneDrive.com.
If you cancel your subscription or if it expires, you can still access and download all your files by signing in to OneDrive directly using the Microsoft account you used to set up Office 365. You do lose the additional storage that comes with your subscription, so you must save your files elsewhere or buy more OneDrive storage if your OneDrive account exceeds the free storage quota.
They lose the additional OneDrive storage, but they can still access and download all files. If their OneDrive account exceeds the free storage quota, they'll need to save files elsewhere or buy more OneDrive storage.
About OneNote 2016
Starting in March 2020, OneNote 2016 will be installed by default alongside Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for Office 365 subscriptions that include the client apps and Office 2019. If you require OneNote 2016 before then, see OneNote is missing after installing Office 2019 or Office 365.
Starting in March 2020, OneNote 2016 will be installed by default alongside Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for Office 365 subscriptions that include the client apps and Office 2019. For information about how to download the desktop version of OneNote 2016 see OneNote is missing after installing Office 2019 or Office 365.
About Skype minutes
Skype offers a variety of pay-as-you-go and subscription options to supplement Skype minutes. Visit www.skype.com for more details.
Download and install Office
You'll need to determine which Office product keys correspond to each PC. Learn more.
Office 365 Personal subscribers can install Office on multiple PCs/Macs, tablets, and phones, including Windows, iOS, and Android1, for one user. Office 365 Home subscribers can install Office on Multiple PCs/Macs, tablets, and phones, including Windows, iOS, and Android1 for up to six users within their household. You can count hybrid Windows devices, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro, as either a PC or a tablet.
Yes. You can purchase Office 365 subscriptions for both Mac and Windows. Office Home & Business 2019 and Office Home & Student 2019 are also available for Mac as a one-time purchase.
You can't have side-by-side installations of Office 2016 and Office 2013 on the same PC. However, you can have side-by-side installations of Office 2016 and other older versions of Office, such as Office 2010 or Office 2007. Learn more about installing different versions of Office on the same PC.
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To uninstall Office, first visit https://account.microsoft.com and follow the onscreen instructions to deactivate Office. Deactivating Office leaves the Office applications on your PC in read-only mode, which means that you can view documents but can't edit or save them, and you can't create new documents. To remove Office entirely, go to your PC's Control Panel and uninstall Office. For Mac, iPad, and Android tablets, follow the instructions on that device to uninstall an application.
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The latest version, Office 2016 for Mac, is now available to Office 365 subscribers as part of your subscription. To install Office 2016 for Mac, go to http://office.com/myaccount and follow the instructions there.
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To manage your billing information, install or remove Office from additional PCs or Macs, and manage your installations of Office on other devices at any time, visit https://account.microsoft.com.
If you purchased a recurring billing subscription, your subscription starts when you complete your purchase. Recurring billing subscriptions may be purchased from Office365.com, MicrosoftStore.com, the iTunes® Store, and some other retailers. If you purchased a pre-paid subscription, your subscription starts when you activate your subscription and land on your My Account page. Pre-paid subscriptions may be purchased from a retailer or reseller, or a Microsoft support agent.
Your Microsoft account can only have one active subscription. If you activate your Office 365 Personal subscription before your Office 365 Home subscription expires, the remaining time on your Office 365 Home subscription will be converted to the Office 365 Personal subscription. You will immediately lose the Office 365 Home benefits of installing Office on multiple PCs/Macs, tablets, and phones, including Windows, iOS, and Android for Office 365 Personal. You may choose to wait until your Office 365 Home subscription expires before activating your Office 365 Personal subscription so you do not lose installs.
Your Microsoft account can have only one active subscription. You can either convert your Office 365 Home subscription to Office 365 Personal, or you can wait until your current subscription expires before activating your Office 365 Personal subscription.
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Yes. When you renew early to the same Office 365 plan that you already have, the additional time is added to your existing subscription. For example, if you have two months left on your current subscription to Office 365 Home and you renew for one year (12 months), your subscription will run for 14 months.
• If you purchased a recurring billing subscription from Microsoft via MicrosoftStore.com or Office365.com, you have two options for cancelling:
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o To cancel immediately, contact Microsoft support and request an immediate cancellation.
• If you purchased a recurring billing subscription from Apple via the iTunes Store, you will need to cancel your subscription with Apple. Learn more.
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Recurring billing is the simplest way to ensure continued service. You can set up monthly or annual recurring billing by visiting the Microsoft Account site.
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For help and how-to content, visit www.office.com/support. For free video-based training,visit www.office.com/training.


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Californians' long-standing support of the death penalty fits the Wild West image that -- in this regard-- still clings to the state.
"The West has always been kind of a cowboy part of the country," says Douglas Heller, a federal prosecutor who authored the initiative to expand the state's death penalty but who now opposes it. "They hang 'em high after they've committed a crime."
The last California governor to commute a death sentence was Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, who commuted 23.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Brown permitted 36 executions to go forward, more than any governor since, but throughout his two terms as governor (1959-67), Brown could not shake his anti-death penalty image. "The evidence was strong that it seriously damaged my political future," he wrote.
So it's not surprising that opposing the death penalty is not a selling point for the state's political candidates.
For decades, public opinion polls have consistently registered Californians' strong support for the death penalty and, thus, underscored the political risks for candidates who oppose it.
Most recently, SB 490, to eliminate the death penalty and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole, was pulled from the legislative calendar by its author, Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Oakland), because, she said, "The votes were not there."
Now an initiative to accomplish essentially the same thing is circulating. The proponents have until March 19 to gather enough valid signatures to put it on the November 2012 ballot.
Let's explore the political topography of this newest death penalty battle.
First, a word of caution. Where voters stand on crime and punishment depends on how you ask the question.
Californians can seem inconsistent.
We continue to favor "3-Strikes" legislation, but a recent PPIC survey found that voters prefer cuts in prisons and corrections funding to deal with the budget deficit.
Nonetheless, public support for the death penalty remains high.
Last month, a Field Poll showed 68% of California voters favor keeping the death penalty for serious crimes and only 27% want it abolished. (Conservatives are the staunchest supporters; 84% favor keeping the death penalty.)
BUT— when Californians were asked the "either-or" question, the Field poll found "more voters now prefer life imprisonment without the possibility of parole over the death penalty for someone convicted of first degree murder (48% to 40%)."
Who are these voters? Democrats, says Field, prefer life imprisonment (61% to 27%). Republicans support the death penalty (55% to 32%).
"Non-partisans" are evenly divided (43% to 43%).
The fate of the death penalty initiative, like that of potentially dozens of other propositions--and the future of candidates on the ballot, is linked with voter turnout.
A big turn-out could help this initiative, because, in a General Election--as opposed to a primary, an electorate that looks more Democratic tends to show up.
It sure doesn't look like there will be a big conservative turnout in California next November. (Even if angry conservatives do vote in large numbers, it's going to be tough for the shrinking GOP electorate to be central to the outcome.)
President Obama is likely to carry this state—he's more popular here than nationally. And majorities of two key California constituencies, Latinos (55%) and African-Americans (66%) favor life imprisonment over the death penalty.
There is still a long road ahead before voters are again faced with this hot-button political issue. But it's not inconceivable that California may someday become the 17th state to abolish the death penalty.
More Prop Zero on the Death Penalty:
Death Penalty Critics Seek Repeal
Anti-Death Penalty Budgeting Bungle
Let us know what you think. Comment below, send us your thoughts via Twitter @PropZero or add your comment to our Facebook page.


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Patina Clock 9
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Rainbow Patina Etched Metal Wall Clock
Here is one of my Funky Metal Wall Clocks. It is made from a Stainless Steel disc that I hand cut, colour and etch, it makes a great aesthetic to adorn any wall. The textures of the metal etchings are fantastic and they really catch the eye and the light. The Patinas that are created using a special application, are simply stunning and are totally unique to each one of these Metal Wall Clocks that I make.
This clock has been 100% hand crafted in the UK, from quality materials, I use a high grade stainless steel, (its not a cheap import). The clock comes fitted with a quartz movement for accurate time keeping and runs from a single AA battery.
Each Wall Clock is totally unique, so therefore it is important to remember that although your clock would look very similar to this design it will not be 100% the same, as this one has already been sold. Yours would be totally unique for you. Please ensure you are happy with this before making your purchase of one of these Patina Finish clocks.
This is a stunning, shiny, Patina and Etched, Metal Wall clock, at a very affordable price. Makes a fantastic gift for anyone and for all occasions.
The clock face diameter is 19 cm. There is a hanging point already attached to the back of the clock for easy placement on your wall so there is no fuss or bother when you unpack it!
If this is not the new and exciting clock that you have been looking for, then I have lots of other designs and colours available, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Pink, Orange, Silver, or Gold or a combination of everything, it really is up to you! Just ask me a question via my contact me page and ill let you know if I can do your colour or size. Remember in the remote chance that you are unhappy with the clock you get, I do accept returns so there is nothing to loose from buying one of my fantastic unique clocks.
Thank you for looking at a Jake Howard Clock design.


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Hi guys,
Im trying to create point mutation in domain of gene of interest using enzynomics EZ-MIX kit. I believe this kit follow quick-change site directed mutagenesis method; PCR amplification of forward-reserve complemantary primer with the introduction of mutation in the middle of primer, follow by dpn1 digestion.
I am able to get the colonies after transformation but when i sent two clones for sequencing, sequencing result turn out there is repeated region of whole mutagenesis primer in both clones. May i know if anyone had experience this and how to overcome this problem. Im thikning sending more clones for sequencing may help.Thanks!!


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Irena Kilibarda-Kitch T Compact Kitchen
At Design Interviews
Interview with Irena Kilibarda : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Irena Kilibarda : When working constantly on kitchen design throughout interior projects, you experience a lot of different client needs and are familiar with what are standard possibilities of suppliers. I tried to think of something different; combine our Table T design into a kitchen, meaning link the table, work space and kitchen all in one. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Irena Kilibarda : We are living in a "fast" century where people do not have enough time for themselves and the interaction with their familly members or friends. Kitch' T gives the opportunity to be together and gather around one product/in one space. We can cook, check our emails and interact with everyone present - it is the interaction spot. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Irena Kilibarda : One month of designing, working on details, specifications as well as construction drawings. One more month of getting everything together - production. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Irena Kilibarda : I decided to pursue an inspiration. The kitchen design, if we pay attention to last few years is going towards "table/isle" kind of way of presenting the elements. This is not a part of a kitchen, but the whole kitchen :) It is all in one and easy to move when changing the living space. .Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Irena Kilibarda : Depending on opportunities.. Right now the idea is to produce it ourselves. .Frank Scott: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?. Irena Kilibarda : Table T - our last years' winning design .Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Irena Kilibarda : Target customers are young professionals mainly. The kitchen is suitable for appartements/lofts or offices. .Frank Scott: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?. Irena Kilibarda : KITCH' T - Kitch is really the abreviation for kitchen that we made up (because the kitchen is compact) and T because it uses Table T, it is really the kichen out of Table T. All the elements are underneath the table. .Frank Scott: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?. Irena Kilibarda : Everything is done inside dsignedby. .Frank Scott: What is the role of technology in this particular design?. Irena Kilibarda : We are using USB sockets, Corian DuPont as a sustainable material, Corian DuPont charger incorporated into the Corian worktop, the LED light inside every element... to Bosch new compact owen with microwave. dsignedby is always thinking in working with new technologies and materials. .Frank Scott: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?. Irena Kilibarda : The biggest challenge was incorporating all the necessary elements and appliances into a kitchen that is 92cm wide and using it from both sides. .
Irena Kilibarda-Kitch T Compact Kitchen Images:
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08/13/16 By Gary M. Baranec A large crowd gathered during Bedford's annual Riverfest to watch among other things Paul Cogar (left) of West Virgina compete against his cousin Scooter Cogar in a woodmen's competition called the spring board chop. (You chop notches in a log and insert a plank which you stand on to cut the next higher notch. then you chop through the log entirely at the top)
08/13/16 By Gary M. Baranec There were a wide range of activities at Bedford's annual Riverfest including the opportunity to learn how to make a cast while fly fishing. Terry Strait (left) of Everett gives some pointers to Steve Fochtman of New Paris.


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When you think of Beverly Hills, CA, you are more then likely to think about rich people driving expensive cars around pristine streets lined with designer stores and salons. Along with these images, you probably have already depicted the attitudes of the people occupying the famous city as either uninviting or snobbish. Whatever predetermined thoughts you have about the city of Beverly Hills and the businesses and people that occupy it, I want you to wipe them clear from your memory bank. Through the telling of my experience in the 91210 I will show you that there is much more to the city of BH than affluence and air. On one block, in particular, there lies several business and business owners that care about the average customer just as much as we care about their celebrity clientele. The love they have for their crafts exude throughout their space and penetrate all that are fortunate to cross their paths. Two businesses that are a highlight of the 400 block of Camden Drive in Beverly Hills, CA are Boniface Skin Care and Batia & Aleeza Hair Salon. Nestled in a quaint brick laden building, the businesses occupy the upstairs and downstairs spaces.
I was fortunate to have met Kathleen Boniface, Owner and esteemed Esthetician at Boniface Skin Care, during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. It was the passion and energy for her bringing forth the beauty within that drew me to want to find out more about her philosophy. Tall, blonde and reminiscent of a modern day Barbie doll, I did wonder what could we possibly have in common when it came to our experiences and definitions of beauty. How could she connect and understand the plight of average clients that only wanted to have one quarter of the amount of turning heads she had when walking down the street? The answer is easy, Kathleen Boniface connects with all people and more importantly, her knowledge of skincare and bringing forth your inner glow transcends all divisions and boundaries.
I had a chance to visit Kathleen at her Beverly Hills studio and had a first hand experience of what it means to become a part of the Boniface family. That right, when you become a client of Kathleen's you become a client of an intricately woven network of people that she has built throughout her Beverly Hills neighborhood and abroad. Whatever you need that doesn't fall under her personal conglomerate of services, she can get you with one phone call or meeting. Botox, done. Surgical cosmetic procedures, not a problem. Internal healing through Ayruveda medicine, covered. Whatever you need to complement the beauty that is within, Kathleen is sure to map out in your personal plan. And that's the thing, unlike other Esthetician's and skincare studios, she doesn't have a generic menu of services that she offers to all clients. No, no, no. Everything at Boniface Skin Care is customized to each client that walks through the door. "Every client starts out with a free consultation where I will ask as series of questions to determine their background in relation to their skin," articulates Kathleen. "I will then discuss with them their goals and proceed to do a full diagnosis of how we will work to correct their problems and meet their goals…solving problems of the skin is like solving a mathematical equation." Math was never my best subject, so I was thrilled that I found someone that could finally do all the work for me!
Kathleen has always loved the finer things in life and it was her artistic side that ultimately drew her to her present day career. As an avid painter, she decided to go to school to become a make-up artist. This is when she found out that she could also study to learn about the skin as well and opted to pursue an Esthetician license as well. "When I began my coursework at beauty school, I would get a lot of older clients and I was so amazed by how I could make them feel with certain treatments on their skin," states Kathleen. This is where she really began to hone in on the ability to utilize energy and touch in combination of treatments and techniques to bring out the best in skin and people she interacted with. During her early years, Kathleen began to apprentice at another local salon owned by a friend, but her schooling was not, and is still not, done. She continued to take courses and has been formally trained in the art of microdermabrasion and oxygen treatments among others. Once she decided to branch out on her own, Boniface Skin Care was born and it has been growing ever since.
Within her studio, Kathleen uses products such as Environ and the Echo2 Plus Oxygen Treatment and Silk Peel Dermalinfusion systems. The Environ skin care system was formulated by a prominent South African plastic surgeon whose quest to understand skin and skin cancer began after treating a couple patients with melanoma. The products are world-renowned and are rich in vitamin A and other nutrients for the skin. It is through the use of these products and state-of-the-art machinery, like the diamond-encrusted wand used for Silk Peels or Dermalinfusion that elevate your skin to the next level under Kathleen's care.
I received the Boniface treatment which was customized to my skincare needs. I tend to have problems with blemishes and breakouts, so I was anxious to get under Kathleen's care. She incorporated three specific treatments that targeted clearing away the bacteria deep within my dermal layers and embedding zit-zapping, skin nourishing products. After about an hour and a half, I rose from the comforts of her luxurious spa bed a new woman. Literally, my skin felt refreshed and most of my breakouts had already calmed down. The next day, my skin was even clearer and I could already see the dead skin began to slough off, revealing smooth and blemish free skin underneath.
The "family" consisted of a multicultural mixture from countries that spans from Japan to Africa. Despite their difference, they all had one thing in common, they all love what they did and they all made you feel like you are a part of an extraordinary hair styling, eyebrow shaping, make-up application experience. Having been in the Camden Dr. location for 7 years, Batia and Aleeza know all to well that the surrounding area salons can feel unapproachable and that's what sets them a part. "When you come into our salon, we really take the time to get to know you and make you a part of the family," says Batia.
Additionally, they take the time out to analyze your hair and to give you the best cut and style for your face and lifestyle. Instead of following trends, Batia & Aleeza sets trends that are best for you. Other stylists that comprise their empire include Seble from Ethiopia, Tomymi from Japan, Beatrice who brings the Latino flair to the salon and Barbara Gates who happened to work in New York for one of the duos assistants from 30 years back. Each of the stylists iterates that the energy of the salon is what makes it a pleasure to contribute to the thriving atmosphere. Eyebrow and make-up artist Marco will help to finish your look with his precision and apt for detail. Last, but certainly not least, is Ronnie at the front desk. He will help to orchestrate your experience at the salon.
I had the opportunity to get both my eyebrows threaded by Marco and my hair trimmed and sculpted by Seble and Batia. Utilizing Batia & Aleeza's own line of shampoo, conditioner and gel, Seble was able to enhance my own natural curl pattern. After Batia gave me a wonderful trim, Seble worked the nutrient rich products throughout my hair utilizing a twisting technique that left me with cascading corkscrew curls that were not hard and crisp, but soft to the touch. I have to admit, that this styling was different for me. However, the ease of the style is one that will keep me drawn to it for time to come.
And for those of you thinking that you will still need to venture somewhere else to get a fabulous manicure, then you got that wrong too! On the same block you will find a wonderful manicurist by the name of Berta. Don't worry, visit Kathleen and she can give you the inside scoop on who to talk to and where to go. So, your beauty oasis is all found in one compound and I am telling you that you will not only love the way you look, you will love the way you feel!
Boniface Skin Care is located at 419 N. Camden Drive, Suite 228 in Beverly Hills, CA. For a free consultation and more information about Boniface Skin Care, please visit the Website at www.bonifaceskincare.com or contact Kathleen Boniface at 310.990.8234.
Batia & Aleeza Hair Studio is located at 415 N. Camden Drive in Beverly Hills, CA. To set an appointment or for additional information, please visit the Website at
or call 310.657.4512.