text:
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Classification for Kingdom
Plantae Down to
Echinocereus mojavensis (Engelm. & J.M. Bigelow) Rümpler
Click on names to expand them, and on P for
PLANTS profiles.
Enter a scientific or common name at any rank. The report
will display the kingdom and all descendants leading down to
the name you choose.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Lordshadow (talk)
|Date Created:
|Please feel free to edit constructively!
Summary::A fierce wolf-like race displaced from their home.
Galka have extreme emotions when compared to the other races. When they are happy, they will laugh loudly and boast wildly, when they are angry, they go into a fierce rage. They are also known to be mournful of their society's fall from its pinnacle in ages past, though they will quickly try to busy themselves with other things to not fall into depression.
Physical DescriptionEdit
Galka do not have a gender, though most identify themselves as male. As a race, they survive through reincarnation, departing on a journey of rebirth once they notice that their time is short. Galka are very tall, averaging about 6'8" and are very strongly built. They tend to have fierce or serious features such as piercing gray eyes or elaborate beards. They frequently adorn any part of them they see fit, from head to tail, displaying scars as proud trophies of battle.
Galka get along passably with most of the races, even thought hey hold some enmity towards humans who treat them as a lower caste in their new home of Bastok. There are two exceptions, one for the better and one for the worse. Galka get along wonderfully with dwarves who share their affinity for mining and smithing and the two often grow to see each other as kindred spirits. There is one race which fill the galka with blind, seething rage: the Anticans. This race of monstrous humanoids are the ones who destroyed the ancient galka homeland, and every galka carries a burning hatred towards them.
Galka tend to favor lawful alignments, though there are many chaotic and neutral galka. All are accepted as brothers by all galka.
Galka have no homeland of their own any longer. It was destroyed centuries ago by the Anticans. The bulk of galka now reside in the Republic of Bastok, cohabiting it with Humans.
Most galka tend to worship gods of nature, particularly those with a bent for stoneworking or worship the Goddess of the Dawn, Altana. Galka have even been known to worship the dwarven god Moradin.
Galka speak Common, but have been known to pick up smatterings of of other languages, such as Dwarven, Orcish, or even Terran.
Galka names tend to favor hard consonants such as Zs and Ks. Those that live around humans tend to pick up a "Hume given name" that is an adjective and a noun.
Galka names include: Dalzakk, Gelzerio, Balgamirob, Zeid and Zazaarg. Hume given names include: Bright Moon, Gray Wolf, Impervious Tower, and Ominous Cloud
Racial TraitsEdit
- +2 Strength +2 Constitution +2 Wisdom -2 Dexterity -2 Intelligence -2 Charisma: Galka are tough and wise, but are clumsy, slightly dim-witted, and have abrasive personalities.
- Type::Humanoid
- Size::Medium: Galka have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Galka base land speed is 30 feet.
- Reincarnation (Su): When a galka is near death, they may undergo a journey of rebirth to reincarnate as a galka child with no memory or class levels.
- Galka recieve a +2 racial bonus to Profession (Miner) and Craft (Blacksmithing) checks as well as a +4 racial bonus to saves against diseases and poisons.
- Automatic Languages: Common.
- Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Terran, Orcish, Gnomish.
- Favored Class: Monk
- Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
- Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1
Vital StatisticsEdit
|20 years
|Middle Age1
|Maximum Age
|60 years
|80 years
|100 years
|+1d20 years
|Base Height
|Height Modifier
|Base Weight
|Weight Modifier
|6' 0"
|170 lb.
|× 6 lbs.
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Races -


text:
With your support, Special Olympics can transform lives through the joy of sport, each and every day.
Every day we empower athletes to shatter stereotypes and exceed their personal bests on the playing field and in life. But for every inspiring Special Olympics athlete in Pennsylvania there are 20 more people waiting for their chance - and so many more around the world.
Special Olympics International (SOI) is committed to efficiency and transparency. We communicate with our supporters, donors, and prospective donors by email, postal mail, phone, and other means, both to request contributions to our cause and to educate the public about Special Olympics' year round sport and health programs, volunteer opportunities, and Unified events in local communities and around the world. These efforts help advance our mission to change attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities and to transform lives through the joy of sport, every day, everywhere. As a result, in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) guidelines and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance, SOI allocates a portion of our fundraising costs to program services. As a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal taxation, we ensure our donors' money is spent as efficiently and effectively as possible.
The Special Olympics mission remains as vital today as it did when the movement was founded in 1968. Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.


text:
- This event has passed.
Castle Christmas
December 20, 2018 @ 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every day that begins at 5:30 pm, repeating until December 31, 2018
Drive through Castleton Village, filled with over 2,000 holiday displays and thousands of colorful lights, creating an unforgettable experience. Open every night, Thanksgiving through New Years, 5:30pm-10pm. FREE, and donations are gratefully accepted.
Take a train ride through the Village, or ride the ponies (all weather permitting)! Stop inside The Castle for the Christmas Shoppe, free family movies, unique merchants, and the Cafe. Make ornaments in Santa's workshop and warm up by the fireplace. Open November 23rd-25th, 30th, December 1st-2nd, and 7th-9th, 14th-31st.


text:
|editYūkimaru's Mother
|Naruto Shippūden Episode #96
|Appears in
|Voice Actors
She was Yūkimaru's mother.
Yūkimaru lived with his mother in a village that was attacked by Orochimaru during his childhood. Guren was one of the ninja raiding the village, killing everyone she came across. When she collapsed, it was Yūkimaru's mother who tended her. When Guren woke up, she said she would close her eyes and let her escape as an act of gratefulness towards the kind woman. However, Guren still had to follow Orochimaru's orders, and when they met again Guren had to kill her to keep her master's approval. When Yūkimaru's mother fell, her blood fell out of her body and onto the camellias nearby. Their pure white colour was changed to red as the blood was absorbed by the camellia.
She seemed to be a very kind woman, treating to Guren's wounds even though she was the one who attacked the village where she lived. Yūkimaru described her as a loving and caring mother.
She had caramel-coloured eyes and long, soft brown hair with bangs that swept on each side of her forehead. She wore a red blouse over a purple one with a green kimono. She also wore sandals.
Part II
Three-Tails' Appearance
Years later, Guren sees a vision of Yūkimaru's mother created by the Three-Tails' mist. She told Yūkimaru's mother that she was sorry and felt regret for killing her. Guren also promised she would protect her son, Yūkimaru, forever with her life.
- She, like her son, is able to play the leaf flute. The song she plays is a song from the "Guren". The song she plays is from the Naruto Shippūden soundtrack called "Guren" (紅蓮, Guren).


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Armed robbery in Crozet reported
A gray-hoodie-wearing man robbed the University of Virginia Community Credit Union in Crozet around 10:20am March 13. The suspect is described as white, medium height and weight, and carrying a small handgun, according to an Albemarle County release. He had a blue bandana over his face and wore white sneakers. The man fled on foot in a westerly directionwith an undisclosed amount of money.
"It's like every cop in town is here," says an employee at a nearby restaurant, who declined to have his name used, around lunchtime. He counted seven police cars as well as a number of unmarked cars, and said a detective came into the business and told them about the robbery.
Police urge anyone with information about the robbery to call 296-5807.
Updated 3:25pm.
7 comments
What happened, give us the deets
I just read that the Wachovia in Locust Grove (Orange Co) was robbed this afternoon. What in the world is going on??....Oh yeah, the economy stinks!
I will be using the drive thru from now on.
Is that as a high a resolution pic as the coppers will release, or was the bank skimping on photo technology? It's gonna be hard to peg Billy Bob the Crook without better imagery. Jes sayin'.
Daily Progress reports local store exterior cameras caught nothing and the dude may have fled into the neighboring townhouse community. Interesting if he can get away on foot with nobody noticing him. Makes me think he's a local Crozet boy.
Maybe our police chiefs would benefit from reading this article.
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly has expressed concern over the frequency of bank robberies and the seeming ease in carrying them out, particularly at certain branches. He met in January with executives of major banks to push a set of ââ?¬Å?best practices" for security that were developed in 2003, during the last wave of robberies.
I go by billy bob. I did not rob the credit union. Retract your statement or you'll be hearing from my lawyers!!
kidding, btw...
Bad news has some serious tentacles...I was on vacation with my dad at a coffee shop in Vero Beach, FL and was told about it by friends there who know I work in C'ville.


text:
Lumberjacks Play in Tier 3 Final Four Today
The Granite City Lumberjacks play in the Tier 3 NA3HL final four in Geneva, Illinois today through Sunday. They are guaranteed 3 games and could play a 4th if they qualify for the finals. The Lumberjacks play at 4:30 today against St. Louis, tomorrow against Toledo at 4:30 and Sunday against Flint at 5:30. The championship game will be Monday.
The game progress can be tracked on the website lumberjackshockey.com.


text: You may recognize Rilynn Rae, AKA Vivian Vista, from her days as a cam girl, or even from her work on some glamcore sites like Twisty's, but if you want to see this horny hottie sucking and fucking the fattest dicks in the business, then you've got to come see us right here at Brazzers! From her beautiful smile down to her incredible long and luscious legs, this statuesque beauty is a vision of all natural womanhood right in her prime. Ass lovers take note, this tight, tanned, and toned young hottie has an booty that's absolutely out of this world, thanks to a steady routine of squats. Rilynn has earned a reputation for being especially good to her fans, going so far as to chose the name Rilynn just so she could sign her name with a big capital I-L-Y in the middle. That way, all of the devoted fans who support her career and come out to see her at trade shows will know that she loves them! So make sure to keep an eye on this sexy new up-and-cummer, because Rilynn Rae is on her way straight to the top.


text:
Pacific Opera Project's production of Mozart's "Cosi fan Tutte" is hilarious and creative from start to finish. Billed as Mozart "with a twist," it was delightful to see how this supercilious story of romantic entanglements written in 1790, plays out perfectly with the backdrop of the Old South ala "Gone with the Wind." Suddenly the machinations of plot, which can seem thin and trivial when executed too seriously, come to life as Commedia Del Arte under the adroit direction of co-founder Josh Shaw. The Chamber orchestra directed by P.O.P.'s other co-founder Stephen Karr was also a perfect match to the tone of the piece.
We have seen this masterpiece done by bigger companies with bigger orchestras weighted down with insinuations of morality tied to the plot. And the opera seemed to drag. But this production is fun, light, and wonderful all the way through. The performers are all pitch perfect and their comedic skills are tops. By tweaking the translations just a bit it is amazing how well the Mozart piece embeds itself into the Civil War southern culture. Debutantes are perfect descriptions of the young ingénues, and the superficialities of the social mores at that time coincides with Mozart's silliness. There were many big laughs throughout, something not too common in opera.
The cast, all seem quite young and yet very accomplished. The Porticoes Theatre in Pasadena has just opened and this is a wonderful opening act, and hopefully a preview of more things to come. Hearing and seeing Mozart in a local smaller venue brings to mind concerts in Italy which are frequently performed in churches and small venues.
The roles in "Cosie Fan Tutte" are all double-cast. On opening night we were delighted with the sisterly antics of Daria Somers as Fiordiligi and Elizabeth Jones as Dorabella. They sang and frolicked in harmony and billowed around the stage in their delightful hoop skirts (no costume credit found-Shaw is billed as designer.) Both performers hit it out of the park, although we were very taken with Daria in both her humorous and ultra sincere and heartfelt arias. Jessica Mamey as Despina was masterful as a mezzo soprano and with her expressive facial expressions, as a clown. The young studs Ferrando (Perry Davis Harper), and Guglielmo (Michael Blinco) were also amazing in their "in the moment" antics and their skilled and wonderful voices. Luvi Avendano as Don Alfonso the instigator was also perfect.
With tickets starting at $15 and free parking, we can wholeheartedly recommend this production to everyone who loves Mozart, opera or comedy. The only bad part of this production is that it is only planned for four shows--only one more weekend is on the books so don't get shut out!
Georja Umano is an actress/comedienne and animal advocate.
Pacific Opera Project in association wth Porticoes Theatre
2033 E. Washington Bl., Pasadena, CA
tickets from $15-$40
Sat. May 19 - 7:30 pm
Sun. May 20 - 3:00 pm


text:
MWC 15 Special
On my last week odyssey through the world wide web I found an announcement of TenGo Free. I don't like to use the soft-keyboard of my Pocket PC to write E-Mails or SMS, so I decided to have a closer look at TenGo Free.
On the website I found an incredible video (link to a WMV video), of an female typist which is crazy-fast typing with TenGO, so this was really impressive.
After the installation you have to register on the website with your name, E-Mail and the serial-number displayed on your device. Within one minute you'll get your activation code by mail. O.K. here we go lets have a look at the TenGo Settings. There are some registration information (on the left side) and some settings like "space after selecting a word" or "Set as default keyboard":
Now lets see how it works, lets type some words in "Word Mobile". My first impression was, hey this is looking pretty nice, but is it really functional?
As you can see in my video its not that easy as it seems, specially on an 2.8 inch device like the HTC Prophet, but nevertheless its more comfortable and faster than typing with the standard keyboard, and hey I'm using this the first time.
By typing on the "fn" symbol you'll have easy access to the standard operations like cut, copy, paste, delete, etc. Same functionality by typing on the "@" symbol, the special characters will be displayed.
The "123"button got two functionalities, by typing it on time, the numbers 1 to 0 will be displayed in the same area like operations and special characters. By typing it the second time, a new keyboard layout will be shown (this looks similar to the Windows Mobile standard keyboard).
Feature List:
Final Conclusion
Finally I would say this a useful enhancement for your device, surely you have to get used it. But when I think back in time, I have to get used to type on a pc keyboard with ten fingers, and this method is really faster then the "two-finger-search-system". TenGO Free has many god features which makes mobile writing much easier so feel free to test it and post your expressions in the forum.
so long | Daniel Simnacher
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text:
Tagged: Jeff King
1-28-11 Piratefest Day 1
Today was the first day of a weekend long event at the David L Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh known as 'Piratefest.'
Piratefest has been going on since the late 1980's, as I remember going to a Piratefest in Monroeville and getting a baseball signed by Jim Leyland, Bill Landrum, Mike LaVailliere, Randy Kramer, Bobby Bonilla, Jeff King, etc.
The Pirates dedicated this first day to season ticket holders only. Earlier this month, I received four tickets to this day, plus 2 additional passes that could be used for any of the three days this weekend. In essence, I was given six tickets. So, I sold two of the for $25 earlier in the week. Leaving me two for today, and two that I would use on Sunday.
Upon entering, we stood in line in the MVP zone, which is for season ticket holders only,
and got autographs from Garrett Jones and Kevin Correia.
I asked Garrett Jones to sign one of the balls from my decoy collection (which is slowly dwindling away.) Decoy balls are balls I take to games to give away on occasion.
I didn't ask Correia to sign anything, that was probably a jerk move, and in retrospect, I should've had him sign the Pirates 2011 Calendar that was given away.
Speaking of that Calendar, it was the highlight of Piratefest for me. The Pirates passed out a bag that included the Piratefest schedule and program along with a full 12 month 12 page Color calendar.
Here's the front:
It included coupons, which are pretty useless to me.
The $5 off at the Pirates Clubhouse store is only valid on non game days. Also, the buy one get one free ticket offer doesn't really help me out since I'm a season ticket holder.
Pedro Alvarez, April,
Jose Tabata, August
Andrew McCutchen, October
Pirate Parrot, December
After getting Jones to sign, we headed over to the Piratefest stage and watched 'Minute to Win It' Pirates Edition.
The game was hosted by PNC Park ballpark host Joe Klimchak and featured contestants trying to complete tasks in less than 60 seconds with every day household items. For each challenge that a contestant successfully completed in less than 60 seconds, they were awarded a prize and given the option to continue to the next 'level' or accept their prize and walk away.
The first two contestants were duds. The first was a young boy who was about 7 years old and was outmatched by the first game, known as Vacuum.
The boy had to transport five M&M's from one side of the stage to the other using only a straw and his lung capacity to suck an M&M onto the end of the straw and keep it there until dropping it into a bucket at the other side of the stage. He couldn't manage to get one M&M to even stay on his straw.
The second contestant we dubbed as 'Perfume Lady' because she had so much perfume on that it was overpowering. We could smell her from four rows away.
She managed to transport one M&M, which Joe Klimchak decided was 'good enough,' then failed miserably at the next task, which was blowing 20 cups off of a table using only a balloon that they could blow up multiple times.
The most successful contestant a fan named Bob, who went through all of the Minute to Win it tasks, before failing to keep three balloons in the air for a minute.
I recorded several of his challenges.
'Bucket Head' with Garrett Jones
There are four other videos that I'll link instead of embedding in this blog of the fan's other Minute to Win It Challenges. Click the links below to go to see them on youtube:
Defying Gravity (keeping three balloons in the air)
Junk In the Trunk (dancing around to empty 8 ping pong balls from a Kleenex box on one's hips)
Quick Draw (empty a box of Kleenex using only one hand)
Cup Blow? (blow 20 cups off of a table using a balloon – not sure of the name here)
The other entertainment at the Piratefest stage included an ask the Pirates management session:
It featured Manager Clint Hurdle, General Manager Neal Huntington, and President Frank Coonelly.
We really didn't hang around to watch because it was rather packed.
On the other side of the convention center, Garrett Jones was challenging fans at Guitar Hero. Yawn. No interest here.
Nearby were the Pirates promotional items for 2011. There aren't as many as in years past, but here's what you can expect in the coming year at PNC Park:
The most useful giveaway, and the only one that I ever keep will be Pirates T-Shirts, given away every Friday. Here are several of the shirts that you can look forward to in 2011:
There will be a 1971 Pirates World Series Celebration Canvas Photo Wrap:
A Neil Walker bobblehead (the only one of 2011) and a Pirates Stars and Stripes Floppy Hat:
An Andrew McCutchen Action Figurine and a Pirates hat:
And several of the kids Sunday giveaways:
The Friday session of Piratefest ended at 10PM, but we ended up leaving around 8, having seen enough.
Before taking off, I did the strike zone challenge, and threw two balls from about 15 feet away towards a 1 foot by 1 foot strike zone. One ball in the zone won a PNC Park photo wrap, while two out of two through the zone would win a Pirates T-Shirt.
We'll be back at Piratefest on Sunday. An entry will be forthcoming.


text:
On the same day Microsoft loudly proclaims Windows 8 in New York, the aging-but-still-going Windows XP today quietly celebrated its 11th birthday.
On Oct. 25, 2001, Microsoft launched Windows XP, unknowingly unleashing its most successful operating system ever.
If they only could do the same today, the company's executives must think as they assemble for a day-long Windows 8 launch party.
"It was a good operating system," said David Johnson, an analyst with Forrester, in an interview today. "It was a very, very good operating system ... a superb OS because it removed a lot of pain."
So superb, in fact, that it continues to run on an enormous number of PCs across the globe. According to Web metrics firm Net Applications, Windows XP powered about 41% of all personal computers -- 45% of those running one form or another of Windows -- in September.
Only the much newer Windows 7 has a bigger share, and that only recently: It wasn't until this August that Windows 7 passed XP to take the top spot.
By Forrester's count, said Johnson, 48% of enterprise PCs now run Windows 7. But 38% of their systems continue to rely on Windows XP.
That last number is one Microsoft desperately wants -- has wanted, in fact, for over a year -- to drive to zero, preferably by getting customers to dump old hardware, upgrade to new machines and devices, and pick Windows 8 as their OS.
As far back as June 2011, a Microsoft manager claimed it was "time to move on" from XP, while even earlier that year an executive on the Internet Explorer team belittled XP as the "lowest common denominator" when he explained why the OS wouldn't run the then-new IE9.
What's the rush to dump the old XP?
On April 8, 2014, less than 18 months from now, Windows XP exits all support when it receives its final security update. From then on, most users of the OS will be exposed to attack from hackers exploiting new vulnerabilities that Microsoft simply won't patch.
That's not the only problem. ISVs, or "independent software vendors," tech-speak for third-party developers, already have or will soon drop support for their XP programs.
But with so many machines still running the venerable XP, what's the chance that all users, particularly those in enterprises, will be off the OS in 18 months when Microsoft puts it out to pasture?
Little or none, said Michael Silver, an analyst with Gartner.
"There's a good chance that 10% or 15% of organizations' PCs will still be on XP after support ends," said Silver in a Wednesday interview. "That wouldn't be atypical, actually, for a Windows operating system."
Forrester's Johnson said his firm's numbers were similar, although it posed the question differently to enterprises.
"We asked 'What are you deploying now on new PCs?' and enterprises are saying the 76% are deploying Windows 7. But 16% are still going with XP," said Johnson.
"When we ask them what they'll be deploying 12 months from now, their answer is Windows 7, with 60%, Windows 8, at 26%, and Windows XP, 3%," Johnson continued. "But enterprises are notoriously optimistic about future deployments, so I'd say that by the time it reaches retirement, XP will still be on 15% to 20% of PCs."
That's actually lower than projections run with Net Applications' data, which estimates the percentage of PCs worldwide running each version of Windows. If the trend tracked by the measurement company over the last 12 months holds true going forward -- not a certainty; XP's decline has accelerated in the past year by about 8% -- more than a quarter of the planet's PCs will be running XP in April 2014.
Now that's staying power.
But not a smart strategy for enterprises, Johnson and Silver said.
"If they haven't started migrating from Windows XP at this point, they're far behind," said Silver. "They need to get their act together."
Both Gartner and Forrester have recommended, and continue to recommend, that organizations still running Windows XP migrate not to its successor, Vista, or to the brand-spanking-new Windows 8, but to 2009's Windows 7.
"There's safety in numbers," Silver noted. "Would you rather be on Windows 7, where everyone else is, or with the 20% of those running Windows 8 [in 2014]?"
The two research firms have urged the XP-to-Windows 7 migration on clients for over two years, once it became clear that the latter was stable, successful -- meaning it would be widely supported by third-party developers -- and secure.
Microsoft has said exactly the same, although that drumbeat, once loud, has quieted considerably as Windows 8 moved towards final.
But as Silver said, firms that have left things to the last minute may be in for a world of hurt. "If [an enterprise] hasn't made any progress toward Windows 7, the time to test, verify and move from XP in just 18 months, well, that has a low probability."
Even a year after the 2014 deadline, up to 5% of enterprise PCs could still be running XP, said Silver. Among the worst offenders in that potential camp: health care.
"Health care is one of the worst," said Silver, "simply because so many vertical market health care developers drag their feet so much."
The image of a hospital, doctor's office, even a dentist's, running an out-of-support operating system isn't reassuring.
Johnson was a bit more bullish on the chances of firms winning the race. "Yes, it's still possible," he said. But to pull it off in 18 months, an organization will have to dispense with an attritional strategy -- where only new machines are deployed with Windows 7 -- and tackle an everything-at-once chore.
Companies, or even consumers, who continue to think XP is "just good enough" to handle their computing needs can take steps, of course, to reduce some of the risk of running an out-of-date OS.
Gartner has a 10-item list it uses when it talks to clients who won't, or can't, leave XP.
"They have a number of choices, they can buy Custom Support from Microsoft, they can move applications that require XP to a Remote Desktop Services Server, they can segregate XP PCs on a separate network," said Silver, ticking off three.
Custom Support is the name of the after-retirement support plans Microsoft sells to businesses to cover some products, including Windows. Among the benefits of Custom Support: Microsoft continues to provide security updates graded as "critical" for a product, say XP, after it exits general support.
One tactic everyone can use, including consumers, is to switch browsers when XP falls off the support list.
"IE8 won't be supported [after April 2014] on Windows XP," Silver noted.
Because Microsoft has refused to support IE9 or the even newer IE10 on XP, when IE8 support ends, XP users will have to dump the latter to run a secured browser.
It's likely that other browser makers -- Google and Mozilla in particular -- will continue to support their Chrome and Firefox on XP up to and well past the 2014 cut-off. Mozilla, for example, dropped support for Apple's OS X Leopard, an OS that Apple itself abandoned in June 2011, only this month.
Also off the support list when XP retires: 2001's IE6 and 2006's IE7.
Gartner has that covered on its list as well, suggesting that enterprises who worry about in-house or third-party Web applications written for IE6 and IE7 move to Windows 7 -- where those browsers are not allowed -- but turn to a third-party product that lets customers run the creaky browsers on the newer OS.
One that fits Gartner's bill is Browsium's Ion, the follow-on to the company's earlier Unibrows, or the same firm's just-released Catalyst, a browser management tool.
Silver was doubtful that Microsoft would ever repeat the longevity of Windows XP, if only because it's under pressure to pick up the OS release pace, which would make it much less likely that any single edition of Windows would gain the 85%-and-up share that XP accumulated in its salad days of 2006.
"We do think Microsoft will pick up the pace, at least for the next release," Silver said. "We think that will be a 'polishing' release, and come within about two years. It will smooth out all the rough edges of Windows 8. That's when we think a lot of folks will move [from Windows 7]."
Forrester has the same future in mind for Microsoft. On Monday, a colleague of Johnson's, Frank Gillett, predicted the Redmond, Wash. developer will shift to a schedule that, if not annual, will certainly be brisker than the every-three-years its used since 2006.
"In the face of Apple and Google, they have to figure out how to release Windows faster than every three years," Gillett said Tuesday.
Somewhere, XP is laughing.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is email@example.com.
Read more about windows in Computerworld's Windows Topic Center.
This story, "Windows XP Turns 11, Still Not Dead Yet" was originally published by Computerworld.
Next read this:
- Top 9 challenges IT leaders will face in 2020
- Top 5 strategic priorities for CIOs in 2020
- 7 'crackpot' technologies that might transform IT
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- 7 questions CIOs should ask before taking a new job
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David Plotz, the editor of Slate, makes no apology for enjoying the David Petraeus saga.
"There's a biblical element in this whole scandal which resonates with all of us," he tells me in a video interview. "Who can't be mesmerized by it and feel that great leaders are perhaps entitled to great sins, private sins?"
But doesn't the current level of coverage amount to overkill?
Plotz flashes back to the Clinton-Lewinsky investigation, the good old days in his view. He calls that "a kind of grotesque thing that got out of control and was so much fun," providing "a great time as a reporter. This Petraeus story, it doesn't implicate national security in any serious way, there's nothing that really appears to show that America is in danger, it's just an amazing human story…It's tragic, it's comic…Who wouldn't revel in it, especially all these reporters who just came off the campaign trail?"
Put Plotz down as an unabashed reveler.
Shortly before the election, Slate polled its staff and reported that 31 were voting for Barack Obama and two for Mitt Romney. What does that tell us?
The meaning, says Plotz, is that Slate staffers "live in big cities, which lean very Democratic, they work for a profession, journalism, which is a heavily Democratic profession. I don't think anyone who's spent any time around journalists can deny that the vast majority of journalists lean to the left."
And the impact on the website, for which he's worked since it launched as a joint venture with Microsoft in 1996?
"I don't think it means that the work you do is corrupted or infected necessarily," Plotz says.


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While prime numbers are central objects in mathematics it looks that they were ignored and forgotten for long periods of time. I am interested to get some facts and insights about this matter, in particular:
1) Were prime numbers studied in ancient times only by the ancient Greeks? At what periods were they studied by the ancient Greeks themselves?
2) Is it the case that people largely or even entirely lost their interest in the prime numbers for about fifteen centuries until Fermat? What are the facts of the matter and what are the reasons that may explain these facts.
(motivated by conversations with Ron Livne.)


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Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak qualifies for Wimbledon main draw, Frank Dancevic ousted
WIMBLEDON — Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak has qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-3 win over American Melanie Oudin.
Wozniak, from Blainville, Que., jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Thursday only to see Oudin draw level. The Canadian later broke Oudin's serve to take the first set.
The world No. 118 carried the momentum into the second set to qualify for her second consecutive Grand Slam main draw.
"This match was important for me psychologically," Wozniak said. "I played well and I did what I had to do to qualify for Wimbledon. It feels good to play a lot of matches, it helps to polish my game."
Wozniak joins No. 13 seed Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., and unseeded Sharon Fichman of Toronto in the women's draw. Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., (No. 8) and Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil (No. 31) are in the men's singles draw.
The 26-year-old Wozniak also advanced to the main draw of the French Open, where she lost to Romania's Sorana Cirstea in the first round.
Wozniak had lost her two previous meetings against Oudin. They were scheduled to play at the Bell Challenge in 2012, but Wozniak was unable to start the match because of a shoulder injury.
She will now get at least three days off before her first-round match. The draw for the singles matches will be made Friday and first-round play is scheduled to begin Monday.
Pospisil was originally unseeded but moved into the No. 31 spot when Nicolas Almagro of Spain withdrew because of a left foot injury.
Almagro was given the No. 25 seed when the list of 32 seeded players was released earlier this week. Players below him all moved up one position except for Russia's Dmitry Tursunov, who remained at No. 32.
Tournament organizers consider player rankings and previous grass-court results over the last two years when determining the seeding, which is why Pospisil was given a higher seed than Tursunov.
Toronto's Daniel Nestor and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic are seeded third in the men's doubles draw.
Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., did not qualify after dropping a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 decision to Taiwan's Jimmy Wang.


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My legion of readers — OK, three of them — have been urging me to make sport of all the knuckleheads who actually care about the birth of the royal baby.
Now, normally, I'd flock to that like seagulls to spilled French fries at Kelly's on Revere Beach. I've never been a fan of royalty, be it secular or religious.
And while not proud of this, I have, like Paula Deen, used language I now regret. I have, in private conversation, referred to Prince Charles, the expectant grandfather, as "Big Ears."
I inherited this prejudice. My father was a republican and antiroyalist, though he had no truck with the IRA. I grew up hearing him refer to British aristocrats as "royal welfare clients."
Funny how life can challenge your biases. I was in the Republic of Ireland when Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to visit. She strolled the Garden of Remembrance, dedicated to Irishmen and women who took up arms against the Crown. She reflected at Croke Park, where British forces slaughtered innocent civilians in reprisal for the IRA's assassinations of British agents in 1920.
The queen handled herself with utter class and charmed the Irish. The only criticism I could level was not at her, but at her consort, Prince Philip. Handed a perfect pint of Guinness, the prince admired it and put it down, never taking as much as a sip. It was then that I understood why some Irish republicans refer to the royals as wasters.
But the point is, up until then, I had dismissed the queen and the whole royal family as an antiquated institution devoid of any real meaning or purpose in the modern world. Her visit to Ireland proved me wrong.
More recently I was in Washington, and invariably when I'm there I visit my pal Lieutenant Colonel Matt St. Laurent. He's a New Hampshire native who helps run the amputee clinic at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda, and he is a great American. Matt and his staff work with wounded warriors, and if you ever want to be humbled, sit down with some of these kids who have literally given an arm and a leg for their country.
On my most recent visit, Matt and the wounded warriors were telling me about their new best friend: Prince Harry.
Prince Harry dropped by the clinic and hung out with the soldiers, airmen, Marines, and sailors. It wasn't a celebrity photo opportunity. Prince Harry is a soldier himself, and his empathy and concern for the American kids he met were so genuine that no one wanted him to leave.
So how can I begrudge Wills and Kate and their soon-to-be-born baby when soon-to-be Uncle Harry embraced our wounded warriors and they embraced him back?
Life throws you curve balls, which is a lousy metaphor to segue into another personal dilemma.
I have never liked the New York Yankees. It's a Boston thing.
And then, those losers from Loserstan or wherever put bombs on Boylston Street on Patriots Day, hoping to kill, maim, and divide. They did the first two things, but failed miserably at the third.
And if you needed any evidence, it was on display in Yankee Stadium that awful week, when people stood in the Bronx and sang "Sweet Caroline" to show solidarity with the people of Boston.
A couple of days later, there was a beautiful message of solidarity on my voicemail from Mindy Levine, the wife of Yankees president Randy Levine.
The Bronx Bombers are in town for a weekend series. I can't exactly give them a Bronx cheer. So I asked my pal, New York Times columnist Dan Barry, a native New Yorker who lived in New England for 11 years, for advice.
"In times of catastrophe and terrorism, Boston and New York will always be there for each other, out of mutual respect and love," he said. "But in times of baseball, all bets are off."
Thanks, Danno. Bring it on.
Kevin Cullen is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Eastern University - 2, Farmingdale State - 1
St. Davids, Penn. - Freshman forward Gennifer Vandeventer (Manorville, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal for Eastern with 1:48 remaining as the Eagles earned a 2-1 non-conference victory over Farmingdale State.
Eastern (2-5-1) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 12th minute as junior midfielder Emily Roquemore (Camp Hill, Penn.) scored after being set up by both Emily Cole (Winfield, Penn.) and Stephanie Le (York, Penn.). The Rams (4-5) responded less than four minutes later with an Alena Gannon (North Babylon, N.Y.) goal to tie the game at 1-1. The Rams held a 4-3 shot advantage in the first half.
With 1:48 remaining in regulation, Vandeventer's unassisted score led Eastern University to the 2-1 victory.
Farmingdale State next will travel to Sage for a Skyline Conference game on Saturday, September 28th at 2:00 p.m.


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Delphi Antiques is located in the historic Powerscourt Townhouse shopping centre, in the heart of Dublin's city centre. Declan Corrigan, the proprietor of Delphi Antiques, has been in the antiques business for almost a quarter of a century and the present shop has been located at Powerscourt for many years.
Delphi specializes in genuine antique jewelry, porcelain, silver and object d'art from the 18-20 century with an emphasis on original estate jewelry. It also has one of the largest selections of antique Irish Belleek porcelain available, dating from 1858-1930. Delphi does not sell reproductions and many of the pieces are one of a kind.
If you wish to acquire a unique rare and beautiful piece of antique estate jewelry, this shop is for you.


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|+1 855-379-3115
|Values are valid only on day of printing.
The diagnosis of a small subgroup of carcinoid tumors that produce predominately 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), but very little serotonin and chromogranin A
Follow-up of patients with known or treated carcinoid tumors that produce predominately 5-HTP, but very little serotonin and chromogranin A
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) is synthesized from the essential amino acid tryptophan via the intermediate 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). Serotonin production sites are the central nervous system (CNS), where it acts as a neurotransmitter, and neuroectodermal cells, chiefly gastrointestinal (GI) enterochromaffin cells (EC-cells). The CNS and peripheral serotonin pools are isolated from each other. EC-cell production accounts for 80% of the body's serotonin content.
Many different stimuli can release serotonin from EC-cells. Once secreted, in concert with other gut hormones, serotonin increases GI blood flow, motility, and fluid secretion. On first pass through the liver 30% to 80% of serotonin is metabolized, predominately to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), which is excreted by the kidneys. Ninety percent of the remainder is metabolized in the lungs, also to 5-HIAA. Of the remaining 10%, almost all is taken up by platelets, where it remains until it is released during clotting, promoting further platelet aggregation.
The main diseases that may be associated with measurable increases in serotonin are neuroectodermal tumors, in particular tumors arising from EC-cells, which are termed carcinoids. They are subdivided into foregut carcinoids, arising from respiratory tract, stomach, pancreas, or duodenum (approximately 15% of cases); midgut carcinoids, occurring within jejunum, ileum, or appendix (approximately 70% of cases); and hindgut carcinoids, which are found in the colon or rectum (approximately 15% of cases). The enzyme 5-HTP decarboxylase, which converts the intermediate 5-HTP to serotonin, is present in midgut tumors, but is absent or present in low concentrations in foregut and hindgut tumors.
Carcinoids display a spectrum of aggressiveness with no clear distinguishing line between benign and malignant. The majority of carcinoid tumors do not cause significant clinical disease. Those tumors that behave more aggressively tend to cause nonspecific GI disturbances, such as intermittent pain and bloating, for many years before more overt symptoms develop. In advanced tumors, morbidity and mortality relate as much, or more, to the biogenic amines, chiefly serotonin, and peptide hormones secreted, as to local and distant spread. The symptoms of this so-called carcinoid syndrome consist of flushing, diarrhea, right-sided valvular heart lesions, and bronchoconstriction. All of these symptoms are at least partly caused by serotonin. The carcinoid syndrome is usually caused by midgut tumors, as foregut and hindgut neoplasms produce far lesser amounts of serotonin. Because midgut tumors drain into the portal circulation, which passes into the liver, undergoing extensive hepatic (first-pass) serotonin degradation, symptoms do not usually occur until liver or other distant metastases have developed, producing serotonin that bypasses the hepatic degradation.
Serotonin production by disseminated carcinoid tumors can sometimes be so substantial that body tryptophan stores become depleted and clinical tryptophan deficiency, resembling pellagra (triad of diarrhea, dementia, and dermatitis), develops.
Diagnosis of carcinoid tumors with symptoms suggestive of carcinoid syndrome rests on measurements of circulating and urine serotonin, urine 5-HIAA (HIAA / 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid [5-HIAA], 24 Hour, Urine), and serum chromogranin A (CGAK / Chromogranin A, Serum), a peptide that is cosecreted alongside specific hormones by neuroectodermal cells. Urine serotonin is, in most circumstances, the least likely marker to be elevated (see Interpretation).
< or =210 mcg/24 hours
Reference values apply to all ages.
It is usually impossible to diagnose asymptomatic, small carcinoid tumors by measurement of serum or urine serotonin, urine 5 hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), or serum chromogranin A. By contrast, 1 or more of these markers are elevated in most patients with more advanced and symptomatic tumors, usually to levels several times the upper limit of the reference interval.
In patients with advanced and symptomatic tumors the following patterns of tumor marker elevations are observed:
-Serum or whole blood serotonin is elevated in nearly all patients with midgut tumors, but only in approximately 50% of those with foregut carcinoids, and in no more than 20% of individuals with hindgut tumors, because foregut and hindgut tumors often have low or absent 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) decarboxylase activity and, therefore, may produce little, if any, serotonin.
-Urine 5-HIAA is elevated in almost all carcinoid-syndrome patients with midgut tumors, in about 30% of individuals with foregut carcinoids, but almost never in hindgut tumors.
-Serum chromogranin A measurements are particularly suited for diagnosing hindgut tumors, being elevated in nearly all cases, even though serotonin and 5-HIAA are often normal. Chromogranin A is also elevated in 80% to 90% of patients with symptomatic foregut and midgut tumors.
-Urine serotonin is in most circumstances the least likely marker to be elevated. The exception is tumors (usually foregut tumors) that produce predominately 5-HTP, rather than serotonin, and also secrete little, if any, chromogranin A. In this case, circulating chromogranin A, circulating serotonin levels, and urine 5-HIAA levels would not be elevated. However, the kidneys can convert 5-HTP to serotonin, leading to high urine serotonin levels.
Urine serotonin measurements are not commonly employed in carcinoid tumor follow-up. The exceptions are patients with tumors that almost exclusively secrete 5-HTP, as summarized above. In these individuals, urine serotonin is the tumor marker of choice to monitor disease progression.
In all other patients, disease progression is monitored best using urinary 5-HIAA and serum chromogranin A measurements. These markers are usually proportional to the patient's tumor burden over a wide range of tumor extent and tumor secretory activity.
Serotonin- or tryptophan-rich foods (avocados, bananas, plums, walnuts, pineapple, eggplant, plantain, tomatoes, hickory nuts, kiwi, dates, grapefruit, cantaloupe, or honeydew melon) will elevate urinary serotonin and urinary 5 hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels markedly. Serum and blood serotonin and chromogranin A levels are not significantly affected by diet.
Medications that may elevate urine and serum serotonin concentrations include lithium, monoamine oxidase-inhibitors, methyldopa, morphine, and reserpine. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (eg, PROZAC) can lead to depletion of platelet serotonin levels and result in false-negative urine, serum, and blood serotonin tests. The effects of drugs are more marked on urine serotonin and 5-HIAA levels than on serum serotonin levels.
Heavy nicotine consumption, in particular heavy smoking, can result in false elevations of urinary serotonin levels as measured with this assay. This is due to about 1% measurement cross-reactivity of the major nicotine metabolite cotinine with serotonin. While this has no significant impact on serum or whole blood serotonin, the renal elimination of cotinine means that this metabolite is highly concentrated in urine, resulting in potential elevations in urine serotonin of 10 to 80 mcg/24 hours above the true urine serotonin level.
1. Kema IP, Schellings AM, Meibotg G, et al: Influence of a serotonin- and dopamine-rich diet on platelet serotonin content and urinary excretion of biogenic amines and their metabolites. Clin Chem 1992;38(9):1730-1736
2. Kema IP, de Vries EG, Muskiet FA: Clinical chemistry of serotonin and metabolites. J Chromatogr 2000;747(1-2):33-48
3. Meijer WG, Kema IP, Volmer M, et al: Discriminating capacity of indole markers in the diagnosis of carcinoid tumors. Clin Chem 2000;46(10):1588-1596
4. Ganim RB, Norton JA: Recent advances in carcinoid pathogenesis, diagnosis and management. Surg Oncol 2000;9(4):173-179
5. Carling RS, Degg TS, Allen KR, et al: Evaluation of whole blood serotonin and plasma and urine 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid in diagnosis of carcinoid disease. Ann Clin Biochem 2002;39(Pt 6):577-582


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Investigators for the Will County Sheriff's Department found the fetal remains in the car at a parking lot, adding to the sets of remains connected to Dr. Ulrich Klopfer that were found on Sept. 12 at his garage.
A group of Democratic Illinois lawmakers believes the group behind the SAT and Advanced Placement exams may be violating state law by selling student data to colleges, universities and scholarship providers.
Autumn is upon us, and soon Illinois will be awash in fall foliage. Here's your guide to when – and where – you can spot those red, orange, yellow and purple leaves during their peak throughout the Land of Lincoln.
Hundreds of bird species in North America are at risk of extinction from climate change, according to an alarming new report from the National Audubon Society.
Watch the Oct. 10, 2019 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."
Two Florida businessmen tied to President Donald Trump's lawyer and the Ukraine investigation were charged Thursday with federal campaign finance violations.
For years, the U.S. saw a steep decline in the number of deaths from heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension – known collectively as cardiometabolic disease. But that downturn has mostly leveled off since 2011, according to researchers.
Commonwealth Edison and its parent Exelon have received a grand jury subpoena requiring records of communications with state Sen. Martin Sandoval, among others.
On Sunday, the Chicago Marathon will host around 45,000 participants and an estimated 1.7 million spectators across the city. For 30 years, Carey Pinkowski has been at the helm of the massive event.
This week, a number of dead monarch butterflies were found along the lakefront. The sight alarmed some members of the public who spotted the insects. But one local expert says it's par for the course as the butterflies retreat south for the winter.
Two years after Cook County implemented and hastily repealed a notorious tax on sugary drinks, Board President Toni Preckwinkle proposed a $6.18 billion budget that's balanced.


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Gasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons, enhanced with iso-octane or the aromatic hydrocarbons toluene and benzene to increase its octane rating, and is primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines. Most Commonwealth countries or former Commonwealth countries, with the exception of Canada, use the term "petrol" (abbreviated from petroleum spirit). The term "gasoline" is commonly used in North America where it is often shortened in colloquial usage to "gas". This should be distinguished in usage from genuinely gaseous fuels used in internal combustion engines such as liquefied petroleum gas (which is stored pressurised as a liquid but is allowed to return naturally to a gaseous state before combustion). The term mogas, short for motor gasoline, distinguishes automobile fuel from aviation gasoline, or avgas. The word "gasoline" can also be used in British English to refer to a different petroleum derivative historically used in lamps, but this use is now uncommon.
Header from wikipedia article for full article see below;
|This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Gasoline. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons by Attribution License and/or GNU Free Documentation License. Please check page history for when the original article was copied to Wikia


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Miguel Gets His Sh*T Fuqqed Up While Performing His Hit Single "All I Want Is You"! (Pops Himself In The Face With A Mic)
In N.Y. around the 10-15 second mark
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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Jarrod Tudor Named Interim Dean of Kent State University at Geauga and the Regional Academic Center
Kent State University has named Jarrod Tudor, Ph.D., as interim dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State University at Geauga, located in Burton, Ohio, and the Kent State University Regional Academic Center in Twinsburg. Todd Diacon, Kent State's senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, made the announcement today.
Tudor, an associate professor, currently serves as the 2013-2014 Provost's Fellow and the director of Paralegal Studies. His one-year appointment begins July 1. He succeeds David Mohan, Ph.D., who is completing nearly 40 years of service to the university on June 30.
"We are very fortunate to have Jarrod at Kent State and now to have him as our interim dean of the Geauga campus," Diacon said. "Jarrod combines nearly two decades of experience on our Stark and Kent campuses, and has also taught on our Salem and Tuscarawas campuses. In short, few people understand the Kent State University system as well as Jarrod does, and he will provide effective and meaningful leadership for Geauga."
Tudor has been teaching courses at Kent State in the departments of Paralegal Studies, Higher Education Administration, Justice Studies, Political Science, Finance, History and Journalism for 18 years. He has been a member of the Faculty Senate and served on the executive committee for three years. Tudor also has served several years as grievance chair of the full-time, non-tenure track chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-KSU).
He holds Master of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Toledo, and Master of Law degrees from both Cleveland State University and the University of Akron. In addition, Tudor received a Master of Public Administration, a Master of Business Administration and a Ph.D. from Kent State.
Tudor resides in Akron, Ohio.
For more information about Kent State Geauga, visit www.geauga.kent.edu.
For more information about the Kent State Regional Academic Center, visit www.geauga.kent.edu/twinsburgcenter.
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Emily Vincent, email@example.com, 330-672-8595


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Good morning, ladies! Hope everyone's week is off to a fabulous start! I'm already ready for the weekend LOL. Let's get straight to my challenge spotlight for this week. Today I'm spotlight a FREEBIE challenge…and isn't free everyone's favorite price? 😉 This week we're taking a look at the July Mini Kit Challenge hosted by Kathy of Kathy Winters Designs! I just love Kathy's designs and this cute mini is no exception. Here's what she's got for us this month:
Perfect for July! I love the vintage tones here with the cream and muted blue/red. So pretty! I know you're got some cute Fourth of July pics you're dying to scrap–why not start with this adorable little kit? 🙂 We've already got pages of completed layouts and they're all fabulous, as usual. Here's some inspiration from the forum!
By jrmminga
By gwtwred
By Neverland Scraps
Such gorgeous works of art! It was superhard picking which LOs to highlight from all the beautiful pages that has been posted so far! Now let's see some MORE great scraps! Your turn! 🙂
There's a NEW rewards system that started this month, so read up on the fabulous new goodies we've got in store for everyone who participates! You'll need to keep track of your completed LOs for credit in the July Challenge points tracking thread so the mighty powers that be can get you your reward at the end of the month! There's a multitude of challenges going on right now, so check them all out and jump right in! We love new people and joining in on the challenges is a great way to meet new people and pick up some skills from all the talented ladies we've got here at GS! 🙂
If you have any questions about this or any other challenge, direct them to the Cookie Jar; someone amazing will answer your question with speed and superknowledge. 🙂 Hope y'all have a great rest of the week; see everyone back here next week for another challenge spotlight…now get to scrapping!


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Leave of Absence / Stop-Out Policy
For GRADUATE AND CREDENTIAL STUDENT leave of absence, please go to: Graduate Studies (click on the link for "Graduate Forms and Documents").
Undergraduate and Second Bachelor Students
What does Stop-Out policy have to do with my request for a leave of absence? Undergraduate and post-baccalaureate second bachelor's students who need to be absent from the University should first make use of a stop-out semester before seeking to use the leave of absence policy, as explained below.
Important - Are all students elgible for using the Stop-Out policy?
Not eligible for a stop-out semester:
- Academically disqualified students
- Foreign visa students
- Graduate students
- Credential students
- Students who have been on an approved leave of absence for two semesters or more cannot add a stop-out semester at the end of their approved leave period in an effort to extend their period of absence from the university.
Stop-Out Policy
- pertains to Spring and Fall semesters only (Summer Session and Intersession do not count as terms that are a part of the stop‐out policy)
- no form to fill out (can be non-enrolled for one semester)
- must return to enrolled status in the semester immediately following a stop-out semester
- registration information will be automatically available for the term following stop-out
- can be used more than once, but not for two semesters in a row (students are not permitted to use stop-out policy for consecutive semesters)
- cannot be used the first semester you are admitted to CSUF
Example: (please note: Intersession and Summer Session do not pertain to stop-out policy)
|Spring 2009
|Fall 2009
|Spring 2010
|Fall 2010
|Spring 2011
|Fall 2011
|Spring 2012
On Stop-Out
Must Enroll (or request Leave of Absence)
On Stop-Out
Must Enroll (or request Leave of Absence)
WARNING: If the student does not enroll in the semester immediately following a stop-out semester, the student is discontinued and must apply for readmission to Cal State Fullerton should the student wish to return as a matriculated student.
Leave of Absence
If the student has used a stop-out semester, but still needs to be absent from the university, the student can submit a request for a leave of absence if the reason for the request is one of the circumstances listed on the leave of absence request form that follows these instructions. Leave of Absence requests are reviewed and can either be granted or denied.
When submitting a leave of absence request:
- Make sure you first make use of a stop‐out semester (if eligible to use stop‐out, as explained above)
- Make sure the reason for your leave request is one of the reasons listed on the form
- Complete and sign the 'Request for Leave of Absence' form
- Attach documentation as explained below.
Documentation for a Leave of Absence request - It is important to provide appropriate documentation for your leave of absence request:
- An attached statement from the student describing the reason for requesting a leave of absence is not considered documentation.
- Documentation must be from a source other than the student to verify the reason for the request (example: verification letter from a health care provider, military orders, study abroad contract, etc).
If your Leave of Absence request is submitted without any documentation, your form will be returned to you without processing. The form can only be resubmitted when appropriate documentation is attached.
Download forms and instructions:
- Request for Leave of Absence (PDF 112 KB) *
* Note About PDF
If you encounter trouble opening the PDF file above in Internet Explorer right click on the link and select Save Target As... and save the file to your local drive for opening.


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Following news of Larry Hagman's death Friday, the "Dallas" star's colleagues, industry friends and loved ones shared memories, tributes and kind words in honor of his legacy.
Linda Gray said in a statement to NBC News: "Larry Hagman was my best friend for 35 years and he was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he new. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest. The world was a brighter place because of Larry Hagman."
Another "Dallas" costar and longtime friend, Patrick Duffy, told E! News: "Friday I lost one of the greatest friends ever to grace my life. The loneliness is only what is difficult, as Larry's peace and comfort is always what is important to me, now as when he was here. He was a fighter in the gentlest way, against his obstacles and for his friends. I wear his friendship with honor."
U.S. & World
"Dallas" reboot costar Jesse Metcalfe said: "It was truly an honor to share the screen with Mr. Larry Hagman. With piercing wit and undeniable charm he brought to life one of the most legendary television characters of all time. But to know the man, however briefly, was to know a passion and dedication for life and acting that was profoundly inspirational."
Larry Hagman's five greatest roles
Brenda Strong, who also worked with Hagman on the "Dallas" reboot, told E!: "Being able to work with one of my childhood idols was a dream come true. He was one of the most resilient and positive people I've ever known. Larry's tremendous talent and contribution as an artist is only surpassed by his gigantic heart and how beloved he was by his friends, especially Patrick and Linda. He is a one of a kind and will be deeply missed. My heart breaks for his family's loss. Quite honestly, I can't believe he is gone. He lived life to the fullest and was the embodiment of the term 'light hearted.' He was and will continue to be an icon in our hearts and minds."
"I Dream of Jeannie" co-star Barbara Eden said: "I still cannot completely express the shock and impact from the news that Larry Hagman has passed...Larry was the center of so many fun, wild, shocking...and in retrospect, memorable moments that will remain in my heart forever.
"I, like many others, believed he had beat cancer, and yet we are reminded that life is never guaranteed. My deepest condolences go out to his wife Maj, his son and daughter and his grandchildren, as well as his friends in this time of his passing. I can honestly say that we've lost not just a great actor, not just a television icon, but an element of pure Americana. Goodbye Larry, there was no one like you before and there will never be anyone like you again."
Several celebs remembered Hagman on Twitter, as well...
Sharon Osbourne: So sad to hear about the passing of Larry Hagman. Sending love and respect to his family.
Piers Morgan: Very sad to hear that Larry Hagman has died. His JR Ewing character was the greatest TV villain of them all. Wonderful actor. #RIP
Larry King: #RIP Larry Hagman- he was a very special man - he helped me quit smoking &I'll always be grateful [King also linked to a picture of himself with Hagman.]
Simon Cowell: Very sad to hear about larry hagman. He was the best tv baddie and from people who met him all said he was a great guy. He will be missed.
Sanaa Lathan: Rip Larry Hagman. A kind man &full of joie de vivre.


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Subway Duo Deliver Viral Taylor Swift 'I Knew You Were Trouble' Violin Cover
If you have ever doubted that an edgy dubstep song could be perfectly performed by two violinists, then you'll want to watch the latest rendition of Taylor Swift's single 'I Knew You Were Trouble,' which was recently covered by two guys in their early twenties known as the Subway Violinists.
Rhett Price and Josh Knowles make up the subway-performing duo, according to Boston.com. They have been performing together since 2010, and they played Swift's single in a dingy subway station in Boston for over two hours -- much to the delight of commuters, who crowded around the pair, tossing money into the violin case and capturing videos with their phones.
Their video has definitely gone viral, with more than 250,000 views since its debut on April 6. It's a simple clip, with two guys dressed in street clothes with their violins. Yet when the music begins, it's clear their talent drives the video and their following, as they deliver 'I Knew You Were Trouble' with passion and technical perfection.
This isn't the first time one of Swift's songs has been covered, but it's certainly one of the most original. Maybe the songstress should consider adding these two talented musicians to her Red Tour, as they're certainly able to turn up the heat with their fantastic violin skills!


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Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Women
NetWellness experts receive many questions about Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS, the most commonly diagnosed gastrointestinal condition. Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with IBS than men, but this may be due to the fact that women are more likely to seek medical care than men. Younger people are also more likely to be diagnosed with IBS.
The common features of IBS are chronic abdominal pain and a change in bowel habits. The specific cause of irritable bowel syndrome is uncertain, but it is believed that the intestines of patients with irritable bowel syndrome may be more sensitive to stimulation than other people.
Symptoms of IBS include:
- Crampy abdominal pain
- Diarrhea, constipation or both
- Mucus in the stool
Many people who suffer from IBS are embarrassed and reluctant to discuss their symptoms with their doctor. Although this is understandable, it is important to communicate with your healthcare provider. An accurate and detailed description of your symptoms will help your healthcare provider detect other conditions that mimic IBS as well as help them recommend the best treatment of your symptoms.
It is helpful to become aware of some of the triggers of IBS. They include the following:
Food – Some people find that their symptoms become worse when they eat certain foods. For instance, beans, dairy products, and some vegetables are commonly associated with an exacerbation of irritable bowel syndrome. Temporarily eliminating foods that seem to aggravate IBS may be helpful for determining if symptoms are indeed secondary to IBS or another medical condition such as lactose intolerance.
Stress – If you are like most people with IBS, you probably find that your symptoms become worse or more frequent during stressful events such as a change in your daily routine or family arguments. While anxiety and stress may aggravate symptoms, they are probably not the cause of them.
Other illnesses – Sometimes other illnesses, such as an acute episode of infectious diarrhea (gastroenteritis) can trigger IBS.
There are different treatment options available for IBS depending on the predominant symptoms. Currently, there are no drugs available that cure IBS. There are however, numerous medications available to treat the predominant symptoms. Some people can eliminate or minimize their symptoms by becoming aware of the triggers and managing their diet. Other individuals, however, require medical assistance. Some of the current options for treatment include the following:
Fiber supplements – Fiber supplements such as psyllium (Metamucil) or methylcellulose (Citrucel) with fluids may improve constipation.
Anti-diarrheal medications – Over-the-counter medications such as loperamide (Imodium) can help control diarrhea.
Diet modification – Foods such as beans, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower may cause bloating and cramping. Since these are foods that typically are associated with gas production in the intestines, patients that minimize eating these foods may have less intestinal symptoms.
Anticholinergic medications – Drugs such as hyoscyamine and dicyclomine can be used for individuals with abdominal cramping and spasms as the predominant symptoms of their IBS. Some of the side effects of these medications include difficulty urinating and blurry vision.
Antidepressant medications – If your symptoms include pain and depression, your doctor may recommend a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). These medications help relieve depression as well as inhibit the activity of neurons that control the intestines. For patients with IBS and diarrhea, your healthcare provider may suggest antidepressants such as imipramine or amitriptyline. Antidepressants such as fluoxetine or paroxetine may be helpful for patients with abdominal pain and constipation.
Drugs specifically for IBS
There are currently two drugs available to treat IBS: tegaserod (Zelnorm*), and alosetron (Lotronex).
Tegaserod – For women who have IBS with constipation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the medication tegaserod (Zelnorm). It is approved for short-term use in women. The efficacy of tegaserod in men with IBS has not been established. It imitates the action of the neurotransmitter serotonin and helps coordinate the nerves and muscles in the intestine. Individuals with a history of bowel obstruction or gallbladder disease should not take this medication.
Alosetron – This drug relaxes the colon and slows the movement of waste through the lower bowel, thereby treating diarrhea. Alosetron was removed from the market nine months after its initial approval when it was linked to four deaths and side effects including severe constipation and ischemic colitis. In 2002, FDA decided to allow alosetron to be sold again – with restrictions. The drug can only be prescribed by doctors enrolled in a special program. It is only approved for use in women with severe cases of diarrhea-predominant IBS who have not responded to other treatments. Alosetron is not approved for use by men.
Stress Management
People frequently experience worsening of their digestive symptoms when worried or anxious. The following are recommendations for managing stress, anxiety and depression, all of which may exacerbate IBS symptoms.
Counseling – Health care professionals such as psychologists and psychiatrists can help identify sources of stress in your life, and provide guidance on ways to respond to these stressful situations. There are also support groups available in most communities for people with irritable bowel syndrome.
Regular exercise, yoga, massage or meditation – These can all be effective ways to relieve stress. You can take classes in yoga and meditation or practice at home using books or tapes. Relaxation exercises and deep breathing (as described in the next section) are a primary focus in yoga, massage and meditation.
Progressive relaxation exercises – These help you relax muscles in your body, one by one. Start by tightening the muscles in your feet, then concentrate on slowly releasing the tension in your feet. Next, tighten and relax your calves. Continue until the muscles in your body, including those in your eyes and scalp are completely relaxed.
Deep breathing – Most adults breathe from their chests. Try breathing from the diaphragm (the muscle separating your chest from your abdomen). When you inhale, allow your belly to expand with air; when you exhale, your belly naturally contracts. Deep breathing can also help relax your abdominal muscles..
Hypnosis – Hypnosis may reduce abdominal pain and bloating. A trained professional can teach you how to enter a relaxed state and help you to imagine your intestinal muscles becoming smooth and calm.
Biofeedback – This stress-reduction technique helps reduce muscle tension and slow your heart rate with the feedback help of a machine. You are then taught to produce these changes yourself without a machine. The goal is to help you enter a relaxed state so that you can cope more easily with stress. Biofeedback is usually taught in hospitals and medical centers.
Other techniques – Set aside at least 20 minutes a day for any activity you find relaxing – listening to music, reading, playing computer games or just soaking in a warm bath.
Talk to Your Doctor
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is extremely common. Each person with IBS has different symptoms that occur with variable frequency and intensity. It is important to communicate with your healthcare provider. An accurate and detailed description of your symptoms will not only help your healthcare provider detect other conditions that mimic IBS, but also help them recommend the best treatment for your symptoms.
|* Learn important new information concerning the medication Zelnorm (tegaserod maleate)
For more information:
Go to the Women's Health health topic.


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Design that combines comfort with a natural look
The power of nature has an almost irresistible fascination, particularly when the materials are authentic and the design radiates a sense of wellbeing.
The rustic charm of the TUCSON OUTDOOR20 vilbostone porcelain stoneware range exudes warmth and effectively and agreeably links the indoor and outdoor areas.
The 80 x 80 cm and 60 x 60 cm tiles reflect the diverse structures and colours of natural stone – an attractive selection for imaginative designs in two light and two dark versions.


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Mr. Robins Lives in New York. The conductor lives exactly halfway between Columbus and New York. Mr. John earns exactly $20,000 per year. The conductor's nearest neighbor, one of the passengers, earns exactly three times as much as the conductor. Smithe beats the fireman in billiards. The passenger whose name is the same as the conductor's lives in Columbus.
Who is the Engineer?


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Did Selena Gomez Unfriend Kylie Jenner Because She Was Texting Justin Bieber?
Selena Gomez raised eyebrows after seemingly dropping Kendall and Kylie Jenner as friends post-Coachella, purging her Instagram account of all pictures with them. While the deletion was first explained as a way to remove negative influences in her life, now sources are claiming that the real reason Gomez defriended Kylie was because she was texting Justin Bieber.
According to RadarOnline, Gomez found flirtatious texts and photos from Kylie on the Biebs' phone, and needless to say, she was not happy.
"Selena flipped out and there was a huge fight between the girls," the source claims. "She now wants nothing to do with Kylie or Kendall."
But according to TMZ, it looks like the shoe may be on the other foot. While the site confirms that drama went down between the trio at Coachella, a different source maintains that it is the Jenner sisters who believe that Gomez is a bad influence and don't care that she has cut them out of her life.
Still, yet another insider tells E! News that all is now simpatico with the group. While Gomez was initially pissed that Kylie and Bieber got "flirty" with each other, she and Kylie are now "fine," the source claims.
Oh, what a tangled web they weave.
Beliebers and Selenators, which account do you believe? Do you think Selena and Kylie should be friends again?


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Tanglewood Jazz Festival 2011
September 1, 2011 by Applegate Inn
The 2011 Tanglewood Jazz Festival and the Tanglewood Wine and Food Classic take place this weekend, September 2 – 4. Since we still have availability at our Lenox Massachusetts Bed and Breakfast, we encourage you to be spontaneous. Fill your Labor Day weekend with the sweet sounds of jazz, delicious food, and great wine.
The Tanglewood Jazz Festival line-up is guaranteed to be as impressive as ever, featuring the rising stars of jazz as well as some of the greatest jazz musicians alive. You'll be able to listen to some of your old favorites, then check out the newest sounds sweeping the genre. For jazz aficionados, this is an event not to be missed.
Read the rest of this page »


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Popular Video Games Integrated Into K-12 Learning
People who worried that the technology boom would lead to children playing video games in class were right.
Around the country, students are playing such games as Minecraft, World of Warcraft, and Angry Birds—and their teachers are encouraging it.
"Video games are not the great evil that people make them out to be," said Trish Cloud, a technology instructor at Torrence Creek Elementary School in Huntersville, N.C., where she created a popular Minecraft club.
Ms. Cloud is part of a growing community of educators who love gaming and want to share that passion to help students learn. Those educators say that good video games can help students develop an array of skills, from writing and physics analysis to teamwork and problem-solving.
Lucas Gillispie, a former biology teacher in coastal Pender County in North Carolina, is a leader in this national movement. He helped create a language arts curriculum tied to World of Warcraft, and he launched a grant program for local teachers to incorporate Minecraft into their classes.
He notes that the fast-paced, globally connected world of digital learning lets educators build new career paths and emerge as leaders, no matter where they work or what their job titles are. And that is exactly the kind of versatility teachers are trying to spark in their students through gaming.
But what about parents, who may feel clueless and confused about the value of digital games? Ms. Cloud and Mr. Gillispie say the answer is simple: Play the games with your children.
"Just pay attention and be willing to set aside those tired stereotypes," said Mr. Gillispie, now an instructional technology coordinator for the 8,000-student Pender County schools. "We've come a long way since Pac-Man."
But some gaming experts say educators should be cautious when harnessing commercial games for educational purposes.
"A commercial game is necessarily designed with entertainment as its primary goal," said Chris Dede, a professor of learning technologies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
While commercial games may make it easy for educators to capture students' attention, he said, "if there's too much extrinsic motivation"—that is, motivation that does not come from the learning itself but from the game instead—"in the long run, it can send a message that [the learning] is something that you should always be bribed to do, and it's not worth doing for its own sake."
In addition, games like World of Warcraft require a significant amount of time to learn how to play, which may not be the best use of students' time, said Mr. Dede.
"The results would have to be pretty dramatic for me to say, 'Wow, this is worth doing.' I wonder if there wouldn't be something else ... that could engage the student, maybe not in the same way, but just as much, that would be more closely related to the academic learning," he said.
Fantasy Realm
Pender County's Mr. Gillispie, 37, grew up playing computer games. He enjoys talking with his high school students about gaming, and it was a student who introduced him to online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft, often known as "WoW."
WoW players create an avatar who completes quests in the fantasy realm of Azeroth. They choose a profession, join guilds, and ally themselves with one of two warring factions—the Alliance or the Horde—then face creatures such as dwarfs, orcs, and trolls. Players interact with others around the world.
Mr. Gillispie's love of gaming led him from the classroom to the district technology job, where he created a WoW club for at-risk middle school students in 2009. He teamed up with a New York teacher launching a similar club, and the two schools created a guild.
That experience evolved into the WoW curriculum, which is designed to meet some of the Common Core State Standards. For instance, one "quest" requires students to study riddle poetry and share their notes within the guild. They write their own riddle poems based on Azeroth, edit and critique each other, then take their riddles into the wider game world to challenge outsiders.
The free-form nature of gaming creates unexpected lessons, Mr. Gillispie pointed out.
Once, he said, a group of his students figured out how to cheat another player out of gold coins. The students were triumphant until Mr. Gillispie confronted them about their ethics. They agreed to return the money and write an apology—and they were delighted when the other player commended their honesty.
"It was a moment for us to teach some morality in the virtual world," he said.
Virtual 'Lego'
While WoW isn't graphically violent, it does involve battles, which may make it inappropriate for younger students.
Enter Minecraft, a game that pops players into various environments and requires them to construct shelter from roving "creepers," spiders, and zombies. There's also a creative mode that lets players build without facing attacks.
"It is an infinite sandbox made up of Lego-like blocks," said Ms. Cloud of Torrence Creek Elementary, who learned about the game from her students and her own children, ages 10 and 13.
Ms. Cloud, a self-professed "Star Wars" geek, started playing WoW a couple of years ago—at age 50—and grew to love it. A teacher's assistant, she was assigned to run one of Torrence Creek's two computer labs. When the PTA bought 60 iPads, Ms. Cloud said, "it was love at first sight."
When she announced the Minecraft club at the start of this school year, the 60 slots were filled in two days—with almost 40 more students on the waiting list. It's an after-school club, but she is talking to classroom teachers about ways to use the game in lessons.
For instance, she has her older students research North Carolina landmarks and build them to scale in Minecraft.
Sam Gilbert, a 4th grader, has built a model of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. And on a recent afternoon, 2nd grader Ross Dorfman was tunneling deep into his world, while 3rd grader Maddie Kester built a house of diamonds.
Maddie said that when she's waiting for dinner at home, she asks to use her parents' iPad to play Minecraft.
"It makes time go by fast," she said.
Ms. Cloud calls that "flow," a total absorption that characterizes people playing challenging computer games. "If we can turn this in a way to take it and make it our own, there's no limit to what they can do," she said.
The best games, whether digital or physical, motivate players to master skills, said Tim Chartier, an associate professor of math at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. Classroom math, on the other hand, can seem painfully abstract.
Mr. Chartier taught a session on math and pop culture for the Charlotte Teachers Institute in North Carolina, which brought together K-12 teachers from public and private schools in the state. During one class, he mentioned that Angry Birds, a popular video game that involves catapulting cartoon birds at pigs, uses a parabola without air resistance for the red birds' trajectory.
Kristianna Luce, a math teacher at North Mecklenburg High School in Huntersville, N.C., seized on that remark and started working Angry Birds into her algebra classes. Mr. Chartier built on her work to create a blog and a webinar on Angry Birds and algebra.
The dynamic nature of video games entices students in a way that simply working toward a grade may not, Mr. Chartier said.
"Self-motivation does a lot to keep people moving forward," he said.
Vol. 32, Issue 18, Pages 8-9Published in Print: January 23, 2013, as Mainstream Video Games Move Into Ed.
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From Len G – Mr. Pop – With so many sports shows on ESPN, the Bob Costas NFL program on HBO and all the networks, can you tell me the first sports "personality' show that set the standard?
Mr. Pop History – I don't think there's any doubt it was "The NFL Today" on CBS, back during the 1970's and into the 1980's. Brent Musberger and Jimmy the Greek were just terrific. There was such a give and take energy and I'm not sure if these two got along off camera. Jimmy the Greek Snyder once punched Musberger in a bar. On the following program, they broke out an oversize boxing glove and laughed about it.
You get the picture – those dynamics made for a great sports show. Other members of the program included Irv Cross and over the years, folks such as Phyllis George and Jayne Kennedy. As good as some of these shows are today – and I love the Costas HBO program myself, I can't help think it all began with the original "NFL Today." It set the standard.


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About Us
Message from the Dean
This is a most exciting time to be at Cornell Engineering. Engineers have always been problem solvers, but today's emphasis on breakthrough thinking that transcends traditional departmental boundaries brings together the best minds from across the disciplines to invent disruptive technologies: Robotic devices that can think, swim, play soccer; wireless sensor networks to monitor and control our environment; living machines small enough to navigate and repair human tissue or dispense drugs; strategies for curing Alzheimer's and heart disease; chip-sized systems for rapid detection of deadly pathogens.
At Cornell Engineering, research questions established paradigms as intellectually rebellious students and faculty challenge accepted explanations and inherited habits of mind. Discovery stretches across disciplines to find surprising answers to complex and challenging problems in such fields as nanoscience, biomedical engineering, molecular and cellular biology, advanced materials, and information science.
The impact of first-rate research on the educational enterprise is immeasurable. Our engineering students, empowered by this atmosphere of discovery, learn from and work with faculty members who are pushing the limits of engineering. Participation in this research-enhanced environment opens a world of possibilities for students and produces inspired individuals: critical thinkers and creative leaders to address the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow.
Adding to the capabilities of specialized laboratory and research facilities across the Engineering Quad, Cornell Engineering has Duffield Hall, one of the country's most sophisticated research and teaching facilities for nanoscience and nano-engineering—continuing our preeminent leadership in the field since its inception more than 30 years ago.
Faculty and students also break the intellectual barriers to finding solutions at the national research centers on campus, including the Center for Nanoscale Systems, the Cornell Center for Materials Research, the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, the Cornell Nanoscale Facility, the Cornell Theory Center, and the Nanobiotechnology Center-many of which were established and are led by engineering faculty members. Cornell is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary centers, institutes, laboratories and programs that support research and enhance education.
The forward focus of our college stands on a tradition of innovation; with our roots in the college of mechanic arts—one of the original units of Ezra Cornell's university—we have a proud history of creativity, integrity, and success. Grounded in more than a century of invention and excellence, Cornell Engineering is committed to breaking from the past to build a better future. This is the calling, the responsibility, and the opportunity in being a Cornell Engineer.
We invite you to break the mold and sweep aside the barriers to progress. We welcome the opportunity to share with you our community of talented individuals and their commitment to excellence in research, education, and service.