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Entry Level Online Trader - Work from Home
Maverick Trading, established in 1997, is an award-winning trading firm that focuses primarily on equities, equity options and index options. We are currently seeking Online Traders to be trading representatives on behalf of the firm. We have some of the greatest traders in the business with backgrounds ranging from former floor traders, stock brokers and financial planners to sales professionals, accountants and engineers.
We are seeking professionals from all walks of life and a variety of professions to work from home. Ideal candidates are hard-working and disciplined professionals from a variety of backgrounds who have a passion for money and market trading. We welcome new trading associates who are trainable, dedicated and success-driven.
Entry Level Online Trader - Work from Home - Finance - Equity/Option Trading Representative
Upon completion of training, each representative will trade firm capital and keep 70-80% of trading profits generated. Most traders work from home or their personal offices on a full or part-time basis. Profitable traders will earn higher levels of trading capital over time and earn higher profit splits with the firm. Profitable traders can earn over $20K+ per month after the first year. Online Traders work remotely from various locations. When you reach the level of Elite Trader, you will be trading with enough capital to potentially earn over $100,000 per year.
Additional benefits of the position include:
Tools for success provided to you
Online training, coaching and mentoring
Flexible scheduling that suits your personal needs
Work from home
Earning potential of $100K+ a year!
Positive trading environment
Part-time or Full-time opportunities
Entry Level Online Trader - Work from Home - Finance - Equity/Option Trading Representative
Job Responsibilities
As an Online Trader our risk controls and trading strategies foster discipline and confidence. You will keep the vast majority of the profits you generate by aligning your goals for success with our methodologies. You will complete your own financial analysis of the markets and trade on behalf of clients within proper risk management strategies and procedures.
Other responsibilities of the role include:
Completing training program
Integrating into the firm
Producing returns for the firm
Participating in daily trading sessions online
Contributing to the success of all the traders in the firm
Writing trading programming for the firm
Providing teaching and mentorship for newer traders
Teaching new traders how to achieve profitability in their trading
Entry Level Online Trader - Work from Home - Finance - Equity/Option Trading Representative
Entry level Traders should have at least some understanding of how the economic environment works and how Wall Street operates. We primarily trade derivatives, but understanding stocks and commodities is also crucial. You must be passionate, committed and trainable. Day trading, quantitative trading, scalping and algorithm generation are all valid skills; however, our methodology uses different time frames and strategies that deviate from most high-frequency or automated trading. A college degree or prior trading experience may be helpful, but is not necessary.
Additional requirements of the role include:
Must be disciplined, loyal, dedicated, organized and hardworking
Great time management skills
Experience working via the internet and social media
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Multi-tasking and problem solving skills
Strong finance and current market knowledge, a plus
Background in corporate finance, financial analysis, economics, risk management or accounting, a plus
Computer programming in API languages such as Java and UNIX/Linux, a plus
Experience with programs like Sterling, Real Tick, a plus
Prior Trading Experience, a plus
Successful employees in this role have previous experience in the following Financial and Non-Financial professions:
Accounting, Economics, Banking, Finance, Financial Analyst, Financial Advisor, Mathematics, Investment Advisor, Stock Broker, Financial Planner
Engineer, Computer Programmer, Information Technology Technician, Sales and Marketing, Real Estate and Insurance Agents
Corporate Business Leadership, Human Resources, Public Speaker, Teacher/Professor, Coach, Copywriter, Law/Medical
Sales Management, Organizational Executive, Website development, Professional poker player, Psychologist/Psychiatrist, Statistics, Human Psychology
Entry Level Online Trader - Work from Home - Finance - Equity/Option Trading Representative
Online Stock Trading Community
Apply today!
Base Pay $50,000.00 - $500,000.00 /Year - Results Based
Employment Type Full-Time, Part Time


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The only flag on Dwayne Harris' 90-yard punt return for a touchdown last Sunday night against the Redskins was on Redskins special teams coach Keith Burns for making contact with an official along the sideline, but the NFL has handed out a fine for another incident during that play.
Cowboys linebacker Cameron Lawrence has been fined $21,000 for a blindside block on Redskins cornerback David Amerson while Harris was making his return. Because Lawrence, who was playing his first game after being promoted from the practice squad, will pay out the fine in installments as he's making the league minimum of $405,000 this season.
Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com reports that Lawrence will appeal the fine. Archer also reports that Cowboys safety Barry Church hasn't heard anything from the league about fines for the pair of unnecessary roughness penalties he picked up during the game.
Amerson suffered a concussion on the play. He's been limited in practice this week while making his way through the concussion protocol.

subset: commoncrawl


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s-cobar wrote:Favre use him as a SMF first and then he put him on the SB position.
Fantasista wrote:Don't you guys think he deserves a general update? He had fantastic season and he's very important player for Borussia and Polish NT. His positioning and communication with team-mates is much better than before. Not sure about numbers but IMO he should be increased in terms of response, team work, mentality, maybe slightly in defense. Maybe some other suggestions from those who watched them more frequently than I did?
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Brief Summary
The Formula 370 Super Sport (SS) successfully combines the characteristic Formula handling of the FAS3TECH hull with the fit-and-finish the company is so well known for. For the luxury, the 370 Super Sport's interior took on an entirely new persona that spawned from market research and customer feedback. Our test captain reports that the resulting combination is stunning in its presentation and a joy to operate, even in choppy conditions.
Key Features
- 10-year structural warranty
- 4 polished Bomar cabin venting hatches with screens
- Extended swim platform with concealed swim ladder and pull-up cleats
- Curved UltraLeather sofa seating with dual-height, wood dining table and filler cushions
- Aft cabin stateroom with Sensus memory foam queen mattress
- Garmin GPS navigational system with color chartplotter
- Dino tilt steering wheel with silver burl/wood and brushed metallic insets
- Dual-height cockpit tables with filler cushions
- American Cherry wood grain-finish flooring throughout cabin
- Optional transom-mounted stainless propane grill
Test Results
|Length Overall
|38' 6'' / 11.73 m
10' 9''
3.27 m
|Dry Weight
15,100 lbs.
6,849 kg
|Tested Weight
16,747 lbs.
7,596 kg
.91 m
|Max Headroom
6' 2''
1.88 m
|Bridge Clearance
10' 0''
3.05 m
|Fuel Capacity
218 gal.
|Water Capacity
43 gal.
|Total Weight
16,747 lbs.
7,596 kg
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Acceleration Times & Conditions
|Time to Plane
|5.4 sec.
|0 to 30
|15.1 sec.
|15 X 28P LH SS 4 BL Front 13.5 X 28P RH SS 3 BL Rear
|4 persons, 3/5 fuel, no water, 50 lbs. of gear
|71 deg., 73 humid.; wind: 0-5 mph; seas: calm
Engine Options
|Tested Engine
2 x 430-hp MerCruiser 8.2 HO
|Std. Power
|Opt. Power
2 x 380-hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAG ECT Bravo Three X DTS
2 x 430-hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAG H.O. ECT Bravo Three X DTS
2 x 300-hp Volvo Penta D4 DPH Electronic steering Diesel
Captain's Report
Mission Statement
The mission of the Formula 370 Super Sport is to create a synergy of performance and luxury on a level that exceeds past versions. A newly styled interior design reflects years of gleaning customer feedback and is functional as well as pleasing to the eye. Finally, Formula's basic mission is to stay ahead of all other boat builders in class when it comes to eye-appeal and rough water performance.
Distinguishing Features
FAS3TECH Hull.
This is the performance hull that the company's go-fast boats are designed on. Twin steps draw air under the hull, reducing surface friction and increasing performance. Many boats have one step, but few have two. Everything from speed to fuel economy is enhanced.
Strong Warranty.
Formula stands behind its products with a 10-year structural warranty and a 5-year transferable "Formula Guard" protection plan. This plan includes engine and outdrives for five years.
Choice of Graphics.
Most builders have a "one-and-done" policy regarding graphic choices. Not so with Formula. There are three different choices so that the 370 Super Sport can be dialed in to the specific look that owners are striving for.
Axalta ChromaPremier Paint.
Formula uses this high-quality paint that has a bright luster, then covers it with Axalta clear coat for durability and longevity of high gloss. (See below). The test boat had a Latte colored hull which blends harmoniously with her interior colors.
Polished to Perfection.
Formula's are always easy to spot among the throng of boats on the water. They're the ones that look far and away better than the rest. On our tour of the Decatur, Indiana plant, we paused at the end of the line to watch a boat being finished out. No less than four workers were at the hull with orbital buffers bringing out the perfect shine. When one of them stepped back to admire her work, we joined in and looked at the mirror-like shine. We saw no flaws or imperfections in the reflection.
The video on Formula's "polish-to-perfection" construction method…
Excellent Tooling.
Formula knows that much of its premium reputation is because of the exceptional cosmetic nature of its hulls. Look at any Formula hull at a boat show and notice the play of light across the surface. Their hulls do not reflect light in waves much less as a washboard. The reason is because the plugs were board sanded for hundreds of hours. Then the molds have been maintained and polished to maintain the fairness of the plugs.
In our opinion, there are no boats built like Formulas in the U.S. in class and that gives owners of the 370 Super Sport bragging rights (although most Formula owners have too much class to brag). And that is what Formulas are all about, class and performance on the water.
Not surprisingly, price ($527,250) is another distinguishing feature of the 370 Super Sport. It simply comes with the territory.
Major Features
Concealed Anchor Windlass.
This is now a standard feature. It includes 150' (45.72 m) of all-chain rode, a chain counter at the helm, a polished stainless steel anchor on a thru-the-stem anchor roller and a hand held remote.
Radar Arch.
The standard on the 370 SS is a radar arch but our test boat was fitted with an optional hardtop, a $16k upgrade, and it looked amazing. It was fitted with courtesy lights and blue LED pin lights.
7.3 kW Generator.
This is a LOW CO Kohler generator with sound shield.
Chemically Bonded Hull-to-Deck Joint.
Formula chemically bonds the hull and deck components together and then thru-bolts them for added strength. It's in this manner that the two are joined so as to become one solid component that cannot be separated from pounding seas, years of rack storage, hard beaching… The fiberglass itself will fail first. It's that strong.
Formula Cast Cleats.
The 12 cleats on the 370 SS have the Formula logo cast into them. Not a big deal but indicative of the lengths this company will go to ensure that its boats are finished to perfection.
Waterproof Stereo Components.
While the stereo itself is not protected, and therefore remains concealed, the remote at the helm is, as are the 4- 6 ½" (16.5 cm) marine-grade speakers. Naturally, an MP3 port and 12V supply for the player are included and the stereo is Bluetooth enabled.
Center Foredeck Non-Skid.
Aids in safely transitioning to the bow deck. The non-skid also angles off to the cleat areas.
ST-60 Digital Depth Sounder.
A larger and more versatile display than the gauges we usually see. And this unit is standard.
All Weather Cockpit Seating.
These are made to withstand the elements. It starts with seat bases fabricated from StarLite XL synthetic marine panels. Top it off with DriFast foam that allows water to flow right through to drain holes underneath. Then upholster it with marine-grade vinyl covered with PreFixx stain inhibitor and stitch it together with Tenera UV resistant thread and, voila, a seat that can last.
Redesigned Cockpit Seating.
The styling has been redesigned to improve the looks and comfort. A recessed "alcove" under the seatbacks allows for a way to add drink holders to the middle of the seats without sacrificing the number of available seats. LED rope lighting across the top is completely hidden from view, and its presence is not noticeable until the lights are activated. The resulting look is stunning.
Redesigned Cabin Seating.
The Ultraleather is still present for both the seat backs and bases, but a strip of suede has been added to the lumbar area. Extremely classy and eye pleasing.
Dual Height Cockpit Tables.
Filler cushions turn the U-shaped seating into a sun pad, or a bed for that matter.
Corian Themed.
All the counters are now Corian and the color scheme is carried to the mounts for the drink holders.
Molded Wet Bar.
While we've seen standard wet bars before, this one is done up with upscale features that we typically see in options listings. It has the usual integrated sink and here the Corian counter theme continues. A dual voltage pullout refrigerator with stainless steel front and beverage racks, a 17 ½ quart (16.6 L) igloo carry-on cooler and an in-counter trash receptacle are all included.
New Wood Finish.
A new finish color is offered called bourbon cherry and it was included on our test boat. It's combined with the deep cherry veneer of the cabinets.
Additional Stemware Holders.
Formula knows that this isn't a live-aboard boat but more of a high-class entertainment platform that also accommodates weekend overnights. More of the cabinet space has been changed over to dedicated stemware racks for the cocktails, and in one cabinet, the top of the door is glass inlayed and the tops of the rack project blue LED lights downward onto the stems for a cool look at night.
Corian Countertops.
Again, based on customer feedback, this theme of putting Corian everywhere continues at the galley. A single basin stainless sink has high-end Moet fixtures.
The Formula 370 Super Sport has a LOA of 38'6" (11.7 m), a beam of 10'9" (3.3 m), and a draft of 36" (91.4 cm). With an empty weight of 15,100 lbs. (6,849 kg), 60% fuel, and 4 people onboard, we had an estimated test weight of 16,747 lbs. (7,596 kg).
WOT Speed.
With a pair of 430-hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAG HO engines turning 29 pitch propsets on BIII drives we reached a top speed of 53.6 mph at 5000 rpm. At that speed we were burning 75.4 gph for a range of 150 miles. It should be noted that this is one of the fastest speeds we have recorded in class (exceeded only by .5 mph by another Formula 370).
Best cruise
came in at 3500 rpm and 36.7 mph. That speed reduced the fuel burn to 35 gph producing a range of 224 miles and an endurance of just over 6 hours while still retaining a 10% reserve of fuel.
Best Cruise, V2.
For those folks who don't want to go that fast, and sometimes conditions won't permit it, it is good to know that by easing off the throttle to 3000 rpms, the 370 will go 28.0 mph with virtually the same fuel consumption on a mpg basis -- 1.04 mpg vs. 1.05 at 3500 rpm.
We had a time to plane of 5.4 seconds. We reached 20 mph in 9.5 seconds, 30 in 15.1 seconds, and continued accelerating through 40 mph in 20.3 seconds.
Being that this boat is built on the hull of a FAS3TECH it's little surprise that she handles outstandingly well. In fact, there's virtually nothing in her handling characteristics that one would find untoward or out of line with not only the FAS3TECH line but the entire Formula line.
She accelerates cleanly
with minimal bowrise and no wandering of her heading. Once on plane add just 3-4 shots of up trim on the drives and she's in her 5-degree high optimum running angle. However, because of her length and weight, that running angle feels much more like dead level. She has a stately roll into the turns, meaning nice and slow with no jerky motions and no tendency towards chine walking in the turns or at top speed.
She also has a solid feel
that can't be denied. She cuts through wakes with little fanfare thanks to her weight, and spray is kept to a minimum. She just feels like a larger boat and that is something that most find comfortable and reassuring.
Features Walkthrough
For this model year, the theme is one of raising the bar on the level of class and luxury onboard the 370 Super Sport. We've been of the opinion that this was a hard task to accomplish given the level that already exists on this boat, but Formula managed to pull it off. One of the ways it managed this task is by adding much more Corian throughout. The fabrics have also been up-scaled along with the design of the seats themselves, and the three-tone color scheme. And now it seems the mix of colors and materials is much easier on the eyes than previous models.
As we step aboard our test boat, there is optional teak grain vinyl decking ($3,820) across the platform that adds a distinctive touch of class along with the safety of being non-skid. The double wide aft-facing chaise lounge has been upgraded to convert to a sun pad electrically now, but the standard table in the cockpit will need to be removed for it to go all the way down. Previous versions were lowered manually.
Handy Switch.
A nod to the design team for putting the switch to actuate the seatback right in the armrest. Too many times we've seen the switch located in a remote area for reasons unknown to the rest of the world. Here it makes much more sense. To lower the seatback fully, the cockpit table will have to be removed though.
There is a pair of stainless drink holders to the sides, which is good as one is always used to hold anything but a drink… sunglasses, cell phone… MP3 player….etc. And it is here that we see the start of the Corian theme that will be carried throughout the boat. This Corian is available in no less than 7 color schemes, the test boat shown has the Silverite color. Alternates are Burled Beach, Earth, Lava Rock, Night Sky, Sonora and Tumbleweed.
The Vinyl
is marine-grade but now there are three tones along with a dark piping across the seat that, on our test boat, were all a soft tone that kept the bright sun from reflecting back into the eyes.
The cockpit is entered from the port side and U-shaped seating is to port opposite an entertainment center. The seats have been re-designed for style and functionality, and now include small "alcoves" in the bottom of the seatbacks that conceal the grab handles and drink holders without impeding on the usable space of the seat itself.
Comfortable Seats.
The use of multiple foam densities in the cushions can easily be felt in the separations that are present throughout. Formula obviously tried to take a cue from German automobiles which have relatively firm seating for support, without forgetting that Americans like seats to be comfortable to sit in for a long time. Multiple densities of foam in different sections helps to achieve a special "Formula feel."
A pedestal table is covered in Corian, and of course both sections lower and accommodate filler cushions to form a sun pad.
Adding blue mood lighting
to cockpits is all the rage these days, having been started on megayachts many years ago. But Formula has a different take on this lighting theme. These lights can be seen in strategic places throughout the cockpit including in the overhead, seatbacks, headrests, and of course, the usual lighting at the deck level.
Drinks Anyone?
Wet Bar.
Across from the U-shaped settee is a wet bar covered in… guess what… Corian. A sink is plumbed to the 43-gallon (163 L) pressure water system. In the center is a trash receptacle and forward is an insulated, self-draining cooler. With the covers all closed a huge amount of counter space makes food prep a cinch.
Party Time.
Below are two doors, aft is storage for a small removable cooler and this space also serves as the location for the house battery switches and circuit breakers. Forward is a cockpit refrigerator and here's a spot where we'd like to see the acrylic door removed. The refrigerator has its own door and opening one door to get to another seems a bit counterproductive.
Also, missing from the equation is a grill. One is available on the options list -- a transom-mounted stainless propane grill with infrared technology, stainless shelf and carrying case ($1,360).
The 370 Super Sport comes standard with an arch that will accommodate the array of antennas, from radar to GPS to stereo and everything in between. It served its purpose and looks great on the boat, but there is a better option. Our test boat was fitted with the optional hardtop ($15,960) and it not only looks much better than the arch alone but it's also more functional. It includes polished stainless speaker grilles, LED courtesy lights and blue pin lights underneath, and there's a racing stripe right down the top side of it. Frankly, it really made the difference on our hot, sunny test day.
Just ahead, and across from the helm, is a doublewide chaise that can be used either facing forward, aft, or to simply face the good looking captain. All boats are tradeoffs and this seat is one such case. While it would be better to have a forward facing seat, this side facing seat allows for much more room in the cabin below. It can also be easily seen how the theme of upgraded seats continues here.
The good looks continue at the helm. The earth tones serve well to knock down the glare of the panel. Formula went with the latest gen VesselView display to the left, just below the twin analog tachs. In the center is a standard Raymarine chartplotter. Three options are available with increasing functionality with prices ranging from $5,680 to $21,355 with radar and autopilot.
Dash Details.
To the right of the nav screens is an ST-60 depth gauge, the twin trim indicators and a Lewmar chain counter. Controllability is offered by Mercury's DTS digital controls, offering a host of features including engine sync and single lever. The trim tab controls have digital indicators to the sides.
Forward is the optional Axius joystick ($16,720) that worked flawlessly when maneuvering around the dock. The level of controllability never ceases to amaze with this system and anyone having concerns about moving up to this level of boat should not be concerned when this system is fitted.
Engine Installation
The engine compartment is accessed from a switch at the helm that lifts the aft seats with a powered ram. Under the hatch we had a pair of 430-hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAG HO engines that included SeaCore saltwater corrosion protection. The installation was a little tight but it's not like we need to crawl around the engines either. (The boat's beam is 10'9"/3.27 m.)
Forward is a step that allows a more comfortable position for daily checks and light maintenance. For more involved maintenance, the lift arm can be easily undone by removing a pin and the hatch can be opened fully.
Standard Features in the engine room
include a fume detector, courtesy lighting, an automatic fire suppression system, and two bilge pumps with a high-water alarm. The engine mounts are through-bolted. This is an important detail for a boat like the 370 Super Sport which is designed to be slammed and banged around offshore in square ones.
Standard engines
are the 380-hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAGs. Our twin 8.2 MAG HO option (add $16,740) brought us to the 430-hp level. A diesel option can be had with Volvo Penta's D4 engines (add $67,380) which will bring the 300-hp each to the playing field. And since this is built on a FAS3TECH hull, it makes sense to at least offer the same engines as the FAS3TECH boats.
For People in a Hurry?
A pair of 520-hp Mercury Racing engines with B3 XR outdrives should do the trick (add $74,660). For those that like to go fast they might as well let everyone know what they're up to with the optional Captain's Call cut outs ($6,140). We have never tested the 370 Super Sport with those engines, so it is best to ask the folks at Formula what the extra 180 horsepower might accomplish.
Below Decks
As we make our way below we enter a spacious cabin trimmed in rich woods finished to perfection. The cabin is climate-controlled with an optional reverse cycle 16,000 BTU air conditioning/heating system and kept clean with an installed, standard central vac system.
Getting in the Mood.
The galley is to port, and by now we have come to expect the Corian countertops. The usual cast of appliances is present here. Plenty of storage is above and below. Forward is a unique feature. A cabinet is glassed in at the top, and this section is used to house the stemware. Blue lights shine down on the glasses adding a romantic touch at night. Beneath the stemware is a small compartment with a 110V outlet so it can be used to house a coffeemaker. The refrigerator is mounted just to the other side of the stairs.
For Cozy Gatherings.
Forward is the dinette and a classy place to be it is. The seats are butter soft Ultraleather both top and bottom, and in between is UltraSuede making a nice offset that is quite pleasing to look at. Four opening hatches are overhead, two opening portlights are to either side and flush-mounted speakers are flanking a mirrored bulkhead forward. Of course the pedestal tables will lower to form a berth.
Mid Cabin
The mid cabin is under the cockpit deck and features a queen sized berth lying next to a mirrored bulkhead. We measured 2' (.6 m) of overhead clearance. There's space for a flatscreen TV, full-width storage, phone jack and 120V outlets.
More Standard Equipment
In addition to the standard equipment mentioned all through this report there are a few other items that are standard, that often are options on other boats in this size range, and jump out at us as worth mentioning. They are--
Trim Tabs.
The 370 SS is fitted with traditional hydraulic Bennett trim tabs with switches and indicators at the helm. We think it is noteworthy that Formula does not use the newer electrical trim tabs that are becoming popular with most builders.
Electronic Entertainment Systems.
Here, Formula leaves little to be desired. Below there is a Clarion AM/FM/10-disc CD stereo, iPod docking station, and an iPod/MP3 player port with 2 6-1/2" speakers. On deck there is a remote, 4 6-1/2" 150W speakers (two in the radar arch and two facing the swim platform below the transom pad) with separate tweeters and a 200w subwoofer. Amplification is 600w. (All that is needed is Bluetooth.) There is also a standard 26" LCD HDTV/DVD combo player below.
Remote-Control Courtesy Lights.
Want to impress your guests at night when walking down the dock to the 370? The swim platform has blue/white courtesy lights that can be turned on with a remote control fob.
Bimini Top with Side Curtains.
This is an important standard feature that turns the Formula 370 Super Sport into a three-season boat and can allay the fears of friends who might melt in a passing rain shower. The standard arch comes with the ability to be fitted with a Bimini top, isinglass front, side and extended aft enclosure. The system has easy to mount zipper connectors and Sumbrella acrylic fabric with a vinyl under coating.
Formula's 370 Super Sport
as tested had a base price of $543,990 with the twin MerCruiser 8.2 L MAG HO engines with BIII-X outdrives and DTS controls.
Our test boat
was also fitted with the sport hardtop ($15,960) with a SureShade extendable awning ($8,400), the Axius Joystick ($16,720) with VesselView display, Seacore saltwater protection ($6,555), bow docking lights ($785), a VHF radio ($1,410), an upgrade to a Raymarine e127 chartplotter ($5,680) and the teak vinyl decking on the swim platform ($3,820). The Latte Metallic color with clear coat ($5,980). This brought the price as tested up to $609,300.
Are Options Necessary?
The base price of the boat with the standard 8.2 L engines and BIII drive is $527,250. The question begs: is it necessary to have all of the expensive options? The answer depends on how the boat is going to be used. In familiar waters we would say the only option necessary is the VHF radio. In saltwater, we would get the SeaCore anti corrosion system ($6,555).
Also, there is no use having a Formula, in our opinion, without also having the painted hull and clear coat. If that breaks the budget, we'd suggest considering another, less expensive brand of boat.
A half-million dollars (or more) might seem like a lot of money for a 37' (11.27 m) boat, and it is. Certainly no one needs a Formula boat, and industry statistics indicate that most people in this size range buy other, less expensive, brands. However, for certain boat owners, there are few other boats to seriously consider. For them, Formula has it all -- cache', performance, styling, features, and tremendous pride of ownership. In this case we are reminded of the old saying that, "No one ever has buyer's remorse when buying quality."
To that we would add that Formula boats never seem to go out of style -- even old ones are usually still head-turners. And for people who want to hold on to a boat for 10 years, there is something to be said for buying a boat that is well-built and will probably have the highest resale value in its size range and type.


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Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
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Reference and Trivia from Potter
"Look! I think I've got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one's that, Professor?"
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10-08-2007, 17:41
TFH Graduate
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Dec 2006
pacing outside the room of requirement
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Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
It's a Hogwarts Halloween!
A number of years ago, "The company" started having a Halloween party for the employees and their families. At the time there were 20 employees. Every year it just about doubled in size. There are now several hundred employees. The kids get to trick-or-treat to all of the offices and cube farms that want them. Everything everywhere is decorated. Then they troop to the other wing and get dinner, games, and a magic show in the Activities room. We also turn 2 of the conference rooms in that wing into haunted houses. 1 a little kid scary, the other big kid scary. These are little kids so it's Mr. Toad's wild ride scary - not Alien scary. We don't want anyone in years of therapy! Last year was the haunted pirate ship and the zombie island where she was forever moored... "The company" has also been recently been bought by a conglomorate. They will be shutting this office when the lease is up and moving everyone to a building they own. This means the last "company" Halloween party. - Probably the last Halloween party period.
So we want to go out with a bang. But I need a few more ideas. Luckily, Alz has provided me with a room of requirement, right here, by hosting TFH.
What I've got so far:
Children get a 'portkey' in the lobby. They are sent into the elevator so the Muggles can't see them disapperate.
The elevator doors open in 'London.' (OK, I can dream can't I?)
A right turn down the 'street' takes them to the "Leaky Cauldron" (company Lobby, which oddly enough actually looks like a bar...)
through the brick wall to Diagon Alley (Development)
They trick-or-treat through the various 'shops'.
At Gringott's (the CFO's office) they take a wrong turn down Knockturn Alley (Support) They trick or treat here too, being careful to avoid "Borgin and Burkes" (VP of new product development - the darkest magic!)
This will eventually spit them out in King's cross station (building hallway with the public bathrooms) Through the barrier at the end to platform 9 3/4 "hogwarts Express" is going to be on the glass of some empty office space.
By the time they walk to the other end of the train they are at Hogwarts. (Sales)
The Activities room is being turned into the great hall enchanted star-lit ceiling and floating candles. (A lot of plastic and black thread) and Gryffindor colors.
1 conference room is likely going to become the potions classroom. (We did Mad Scientist a few years back - so I can recycle a lot of stuff there!)
The other - I'm stuck and need ideas.
I also need ideas for games.
I thought we *might* (said with a wince) be able to do quidditch 'pre-qualifying' tryouts with 'nerf' balls throw it through a hoop for chasers, hit it with a plastic bat for beaters, catch it for seekers and keepers. But there are SOOO many kids now, I'm afraid - very afraid....
1 conference room is about 20x15 you enter one corner exit the opposite side.
the other conference room is about 25x12 with only 1 door.
What we've done the last couple of years is built a small atrium then split the room length-wise floor to ceiling so the kids walk in and down one side and cross through and back up and out the other - a big U.
And so I need ideas. I need IDEAS. I NEED ideas!
Also - How do I decorate 'London' ?????!
"If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
Friedrich Nietzsche
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10-08-2007, 18:59
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Re: Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
You can do a giant spider out of balloons,
Forbidden Forrest in one room might not be too hard to do really, if you can somehow fit it in, the Elevator as a portkey is fantastic though, and since you are going with the Diagon Alley theme, you may not be able to do a forbidden forrest.
Let me do some thinking....
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10-08-2007, 19:15
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Re: Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
You have to have a "Divination" classroom . . . someone dressed up like Trelawney looking into a fake crystal ball and giving out hillarious predictions to those who come up to her. (good idea would be to limit the number of "students" to 6 or 7 at a time so Prof. Trelawney can reuse some predictions!)
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
His memory will live on . . .
There is no place I know to compare with pure imagination; living there you'll be free, if you truly wish to be.
_Willy Wonka
Murphy's Law: "Whatever can go wrong, will."
Mad-eye Moody's Law: "Murphy was an optimist!"
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10-08-2007, 19:22
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Re: Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
If you get a co-worker to dress as Bane, we want to see the pictures LOL
OMG Look at this isn't it brilliant?
I know it's way way advanced, but I just had to share it! That is just little water balloons blown up making that sculpture
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13-08-2007, 15:51
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Re: Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
the Marketing wing is usually off-limits during the party, so that's a natural for the forbidden forest. We also have a giant inflatable spider from years past - He's about 3 to 4 foot round. He's a bit on the comical side, but with a little work could probably be a lot more menacing. We also have tons of glow-in-the-dark webbing. There is also a blow-up Frankenstein - I think 7 ft tall - but I'd have to dig him out of storage to be sure. Maybe I could turn him into Grawp? Think I can leave him green? Just slap a "Hello, my name is Grawp" sticker on his chest?
"If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
Friedrich Nietzsche
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13-08-2007, 16:59
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Re: Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
Make some of the food described in the books - I saw a recipe for butterbeer, treacle tart etc via google years ago.
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13-08-2007, 23:18
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Re: Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
i never understood pumpkin juice, do you think pumpkin juice would be nice?
"May born witches will marry muggles"
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14-08-2007, 00:19
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Abolutely not. It would be like cold runny pumpkin soup, I always imagined.
It's actually the only food they have which doesn't make me extremely hungry everytime I read about it. I got my mum to make a chicken and ham pie once. But I long for treacle tart. (Have you ever noticed the way the treacle tart is introduced? It just slips in there, until one day, JK pronounces it 'Harry's favourite...' It's just a small touch, but it makes the world and his life at Hogwarts seem that bit more real... anyway (ahem) Hallowe'en decorations...
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Re: Room of Requirement * I need ideas - I need ideas - I need ideas.
Oh a professor Threlawny is a wonderful idea, don't think I would let them throw nerf balls around, you could have like a snitch hunt though (instead of Easter Eggs) with a Prize Snitch. And even a race where they transfer snitches with spoons. It would be great if you could do a Horcrux hunt with the Snitches, but I doubt if smaller children are going to know what has gone on in the later books though. A pitch the snitch into a caldron contest might work also.
You could have broom races too, kind of borrow from the 3 legged race theory, and put two to a broom to make it more complicated (and SLOWER). A long hall would be best for this.
Pin the tail on Dudley.... lol
The food ideas are great too, be very afraid of colored beverages with children if there is carpeting though....
Maybe a tape of Moaning Myrtle in a restroom....
Instead of candy on Halloween, I give glow things, rings, and bracelets and glow sticks, and sometimes other toys. I am careful to not give a choking hazard to a smaller child though. I once made a giant pumpkin out of orange balloons and fishing line. I have as many Halloween Lights as Christmas Lights, I would LOVE to work in your building
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text:
The answer is, Al Gore didn't become a laughingstock at the Apple meeting. The guy's always been a laughingstock.
CNET reports the continuing disintegration of the Gore lore:
The presence of one of the world's pre-eminent environmentalists at Apple's shareholder meeting Thursday was the subject of much of the morning's pointed discussion.
As expected, Apple's attitude on environmental and sustainability issues was one of the main concerns of the stockholders present Thursday, followed closely by the company's immense pile of cash. But early harsh comments about former Vice President Al Gore's record set the tone.
Gore was seated in the first row, along with his six fellow board members, in Apple's Town Hall auditorium as several stockholders took turns either bashing or praising his high-profile views on climate change.
At the first opportunity for audience participation just several minutes into the proceeding, a longtime and well-known Apple (AAPL) shareholder–some would say gadfly–who introduced himself as Sheldon, stood at the microphone and urged against Gore's re-election to the board. Gore "has become a laughingstock. The glaciers have not melted," Sheldon said, referring to Gore's views on global warming. "If his advice he gives to Apple is as faulty as his views on the environment then he doesn't need to be re-elected."
While this attitude might crush the spirit of lesser men, it is not expected to bother Gore. Not being elected is nothing new to him.


text:
Governor to Education Secretary: The governor says California is just too big to be ignored when it comes to education funding and reform. [The Educated Guess]
Off the Air: It will be nothing but Internet appeals and phone calls from here on out for GOP Senate candidate Tom Campbell. [LA Times]
You Have 30 Seconds, Go: Janice Hahn refers to her father and Gavin Newsom touts his green record as the candidates for lieutenant governor roll out their TV spots. [Sacramento Bee]
Thelma and Louise Meets Meg and Carly: If the two candidates win June 8, there will be plenty of story lines from which to choose. [Calbuzz]
Banner Day: That wasn't a campaign sign that flew overhead during Meg Whitman's rally in Southern California. [Political Ticker]
880,000: That's the number of Californians who among the long-term unemployed, according to the Employment Development Department. Their ranks more than doubled in the past year. [Sacramento Bee]


text:
TALLADEGA, Ala. - He's a mathematician, a minister, a former radio talk show host and pizza magnate. But most of all, Herman Cain is a salesman.
And how he sells.
"The sleeping giant called `we the people' has awakened," Cain thunders, pacing the stage in his trademark dark suit, brown fedora and "lucky" gold tie, delivering a rollicking, 45-minute performance that evokes an old-fashioned church revival, complete with cries of "Amen" from his audience.
Whether it's selling his book or his presidential aspirations, this is Cain at his best, grinning and joking and wooing a crowd, soaking in the adulation as he vows to lead the cheering masses to a promised land of "less regulation, less legislation and less taxation."
That's simplistic, of course. But so is Cain's message, and he makes no apologies for it.
"They want to confuse you with comp-lex-city," booms the self-styled "Hermanator," accentuating every syllable. "I want to lead you with sim-pli-city."
In the end, he takes no questions, sweeping off to his next stop to the tune of "Rock You Like a Hurricane." His smile disarms everyone whose hand he shakes along the way.
"Is he for real?" asks 75-year-old Jean Waggoner, a longtime Republican activist from Montgomery.
It is a question that has confounded political observers and pollsters alike: Just what to make of this unlikely candidate with an inspirational personal story, a magnetic personality and a campaign like nothing they have ever seen.
Allegations of sexual harassment may have tarnished the image of the 65-year-old Baptist minister. They have certainly rattled his style. His messy denials and memory lapses seem far more like the familiar evasiveness of the "inside-the-beltway" politicians he derides.
But Cain is still doing well in a series of polls, still raising money and still vowing that he's in the race to win.
So the question remains: Is he for real?
Cain himself doesn't offer much of an answer.
His speeches are mesmerizing, delivered with humor and aplomb. But they offer little insight into the man himself and his extraordinary journey from the projects of segregated Atlanta to the boardrooms of corporate America.
"I grew up po', which is even worse than being poor," Cain writes in the introduction to his book, "This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House."
The book is partly dedicated to his father Luther, a janitor, barber and chauffeur and his mother Lenora, a domestic.
Writing of his youth, Cain avoids any detailed examination of those tumultuous times. He glances over the indignities of having to sit at the back of the bus or drink from the "coloreds" water fountain.
While fellow students at the historically black Morehouse College were joining Martin Luther King Jr. in marches and staging sit-ins, Cain joined the glee club. (He is a gifted singer whose mellifluous baritone is often heard during the campaign.)
Cain gets visibly annoyed at suggestions that as a beneficiary of the civil rights movement, perhaps he should have participated more. He took his cues from his father, he says, who taught him never to expect a government handout, never to feel like a victim and to "stay out of trouble."
"Not all blacks in the `60s were activists," says Cain, who labels himself an "ABC - American, black, conservative - and proud of it."
Graduating with a degree in math, he married college sweetheart Gloria Etchison and went to work as a civilian mathematician for the Department of the Navy.
Dreaming of success in corporate America (he wanted to be president of "something ... somewhere," he writes) he left to work as an executive, first for Coca-Cola and then Pillsbury, eventually moving to its Burger King subsidiary in 1982.
Impressed by his performance, Pillsbury chose Cain in 1986 to revive the foundering Godfather's Pizza chain, based in Omaha, Neb.
"As a boss, he was demanding but fair. And he worked harder than anyone else," says longtime friend Spencer Wiggins, whom Cain first recruited as director of human resources for Burger King and then cajoled into joining him at Godfather's.
"But Herman, it's in Omaha, man!" Wiggins protested.
Cain's response: "Sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone if you want to make a difference."
Former employees says Cain blew into Godfather's like the hurricane depicted in his campaign song, shutting about 200 underperforming stores and eliminating hundreds of jobs. At Burger King, he had launched the "beamer" program, encouraging employees to smile at customers. At Godfathers, he started SIN - Solve It Now, a rapid response program to deal with customers complaints.
"He was genuine, warm, demanding and funny; he was the best leader I ever met in my life," says Paul Baird, his regional manager in Seattle. "And he sounded like a preacher! Everyone was like, who IS this guy?"
At Godfather's, Cain regaled employees with motivational speeches, often ending with the same folksy anecdotes he tells in the campaign.
When he was a boy, his grandfather hooked mules to a wagon to bring a load of potatoes to town. Grandkids were scampering all over the place, until they heard the old man roar.
"Them that's going, get on the wagon! Them that ain't, get out of the way!"
The chant was to become a campaign mantra.
In 1988 when Pillsbury decided to sell Godfather's, Cain put together a group that bought the chain in a leveraged buyout. He remained its chief until 1996 when he moved to Washington to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association, a lobbying organization.
It was during his three years with the NRA that two employees reportedly received financial settlements after accusing Cain of sexual harassment.
Cain boasts that Godfather's "had one foot in the grave and one on a banana peel" when he took over, comparing it to the state of the U.S. economy today. In reality, though his stewardship made it profitable, it was never truly competitive with the larger pizza chains.
His years in Omaha were important in other ways. They won Cain recognition as a leader, a visionary, a man on the move. He became a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas city in 1992, and would later serve one year as chairman.
He also served on other corporate boards, including Aquila, Inc., Nabisco, Reader's Digest and Whirlpool. Ambitious and driven, a brilliant orator, he was one of the most popular speakers on the local business circuit.
"When Herman Cain was speaking at lunch, you knew people would leave in a great mood, not just because he was funny, which he was," says Loretta Carroll, a local news anchor who often hosted such events. "There was always the feeling that he empowered people a bit. They came away thinking that one person can do things and make a difference in the world."
In 1994 Cain was catapulted into the national spotlight in a memorable exchange with President Bill Clinton during a televised town hall meeting in Kansas City. Speaking via satellite, Cain politely but firmly pressed the president on his proposed health care overhaul.
"If I'm forced to do this, what will I tell those people whose jobs I'm forced to eliminate?" Cain asked, referring to the employer mandate. When Clinton began to explain, Cain persisted. "Quite honestly, your calculation is inaccurate."
Says Carroll: "The Clinton people were not very happy."
But others were enthralled. Jack Kemp, a former congressman, flew to Omaha to meet Cain and later asked him to join the Economic Growth and Tax Reform Commission, a congressional study group.
Kemp, who became Cain's political mentor and friend, is quoted as saying that Cain had "the "voice of Othello, the looks of a football player, the English of Oxfordian quality and the courage of a lion."
Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio secretary of state and fellow African-American Republican who served on the commission, says he was impressed by Cain's ability to look at things analytically and state his case succinctly. Blackwell says there seemed no doubt that Cain would someday run for office.
Cain's first foray into politics was as an adviser to the Bob Dole-Kemp Republican presidential ticket in 1996. Cain flirted with running for president in 2000 but instead backed Steve Forbes.
In 2004, after moving back to Atlanta, Cain ran an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate.
Partly to stoke his political ambitions, Cain started a career as a talk-radio host, where he honed many of the ideas that later formed his platform and developed a loyal following of fiercely anti-Obama listeners, some of whom would later work for his campaign.
He also worked as a motivational speaker, most notably for Americans for Prosperity, the conservative anti-tax and regulation group founded with the support of billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.
Cain makes no apologies for his ties to big money. In a recent speech he joked, "I'm the Koch brothers' brother from another mother."
And then, in 2006, as Cain tells it, "God rocked my world."
Diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to his liver, he says doctors gave him a 30 percent chance of survival. Many supporters thought it was the end - something Cain refused to believe.
Sustained by his faith, Cain says, he took solace in signs like the fact the surgeon's incision resembled a "J" - as in Jesus. After a year of treatment, Cain says, he was declared cancer free and remains so today. God, he says, had another plan.
So with Gloria at his side, Cain announced his candidacy to cheering throngs in Atlanta on May 21.
Initially, the political establishment paid little attention, deeming him a fringe candidate more interested in promoting his book. It wasn't until Cain began leading in the polls that he came under serious scrutiny.
With that scrutiny came problems.
Cain provoked outrage with some early comments, such as that blacks had been "brainwashed" into voting for Democrats and that he would electrify a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico. Later he said he was joking.
He seemed muddled on abortion, saying while he opposed it under all circumstances, "the government shouldn't be trying to tell people what to do."
He incensed the Occupy Wall Street protesters and their supporters by saying, "If you don't have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself."
His shaky grasp of foreign policy has astounded seasoned commentators. In one interview he didn't understand a question about the "right of return" for Palestinians. In another he seemed unaware that China has nuclear weapons. In a third, he drew a blank when asked about the Obama administration's actions in Libya.
His catchy "9-9-9" tax plan - a 9 percent income tax, 9 percent corporate tax and 9 percent national sales tax - has been picked apart by experts as one that will shift more of the tax burden to the middle and lower classes and drastically reduce revenue.
"It's not just he hasn't thought it out ... he's winging it," conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News. "And that's a real problem."
Cain's initial response to critics was a breezy "I does not care", mimicking a favorite phrase of his grandfather. He'll surround himself with good people, he says, and figure out the answers when he's presented with all the facts.
In a rare moment of introspection Cain recently acknowledged that he thought the biggest misconception about him was that he was not serious. For an instant he seemed reflective. Then he turned on the salesman's charm.
"I'm Herman Cain," he said, grinning. "And I'm not running for second."
But even friends say some of the gaffes have been excruciating. "In terms of substance, he has mountains to climb," says Blackwell, a fellow cancer survivor. "I think he's smart enough to do it, but there are issues."
The issues include the fallout from sexual harassment charges and allegations of financial improprieties on the part of his campaign manager. Cain has flatly denied wrongdoing, calling the accusations a smear campaign.
At first, they didn't seem to dent his popularity. His campaign said it had raised $9 million in October and November.
Even before the charges surfaced, supporters were demanding more from Cain.
At a lavish fundraising dinner in Huntsville during his fall visit to Alabama, Danielle Sanford said that while she was captivated by the candidate's message - "he seemed to hit every source of frustration the average conservative is concerned about" - she chafed at the fact that he didn't take questions or get into specifics.
Having studied Cain's tax plan in depth, the 39-year-old restaurant owner had concluded that it would force her and her husband, Republican state Sen. Paul Sanford, to pay more taxes. "I'd like more clarity," she said.
James Reagan, who runs a small trucking business, agreed that "9-9-9" was too simplistic.
"It's a starting point," he said, after posing for a photograph with Cain and asking him to "help save my business I'm being taxed to death."
"That's my plan," Cain responded.
But his speech didn't offer any new details, just more soaring oratory and thundering delivery. Claiming the mantle of President Ronald Reagan, who "became president because he touched the hearts of the American people," Cain lamented the fact that Reagan's "shining city on the hill has slid to the side of the hill."
"If you give me the opportunity to be your next president," Cain continued, his voice rising to a crescendo, "together we will move it back to the top of the hill where it belongs."
The crowd was sold. It rose to its feet in deafening applause.
"Yes we Cain," they chanted. "Yes we Cain."
AP researcher Barbara Sambriski contributed to this report.


text:
No one who was present at Seedcamp 2007 when Ryan Notz, founder of MyBuilder, made his acceptance speech could have failed to be moved.
Without any of the "Oscar gushing" , Ryan very simply explained what his mission to build his marketplace for builders and consumers meant to him and his family.
Here was a guy with real passion and deep knowledge of his industry.
A stonemason turned internet entrepreneur was always going to be a great press story - and so it proved.
It wasn't all that obvious, however, that Ryan would also build a really good business.
This he has done - or certainly is in the process of doing. The company has been profitable for a number of months now and is growing strongly.
Marketplaces are notoriously difficult to build successfully. It takes time to build critical mass and before reaching this point, your utility to both buyers and sellers is pretty limited.
Bringing the giant Travis Perkins/Wicks on board as shareholders certainly helped. They have been outstandingly supportive, contributing meaningfully to board debate and providing access to the right parts of the organisation. The direct involvement of Geoff Cooper, CEO and John Carter, COO has been meaningful and a great example of how a corporate partnership can be made to work for a small web start-up.
Now, MyBuilder welcomes 4iP to the fold. See Techcrunch 21 Sept.
4iP is Channel 4's
Channel 4 have dominated the TV landscape in the field of Home Improvement with such programmes as Grand Designs; Location, Location, Location; The Home Show etc.
The 4iP investment will be used to accelerate growth and to build out the strong team that Ryan is assembling.
"4iP (4 Innovation for the Public) is a significant new initiative designed to stimulate public service digital media across the UK. The 4iP Fund aims to deliver publicly valuable content and services on digital media platforms – this means supporting great ideas for websites, games and mobile services which help people improve their lives."


text:
This is a true story…
Today, in honor of the man, my dad,
Who brainwashed the younger me,
I'll try to live by his favorite rules
I'll do my best, let's see…
I'll start with the indoor waste
'Cause a clean trash can is a happy trash can,
Empty each one into the central outdoor bin
Then scrub each container best I can
I'll put on some classic rock
Throw in some eighties big hair greats,
There's something about cleaning your house while belting lyrics
To Bon Jovi and Whitesnake
I'll Windex every window, TV,
Anything that can gleam,
I'll clean out my cabinets, closets, and drawers
I'll douse everything in bleach
I'll try not to overdo it
Every so often I'll have to take five,
I'll spend it watching a classic war movie
With the surround sound cranked up high
I'll tackle each item on my yellow legal pad
Understand the importance of this list,
Work hard, accomplish goals, and cross off each item
After I'm done with it
I'll do good, what's right
Treat others how I want to be treated,
Have my friends over for roast
And once they are seated…
I'll tell my favorite jokes, the old, the new
And sing my favorite tunes,
We're not gonna take it, no, we ain't gonna take it
And Beans, beans, the magical fruit
Pass the sugar, Sugar, the honey, Honey,
And please pass the tea, Bag,
I'll reveal the origins of baby carrots,
How they were taken from their moms and dads
I'll ask my kids if anyone is picking on them
Offer to beat up a bully or two,
Run five thousand errands, cleaning as I go,
There's so much dirt, so much to do
I'll try to be like Dad, the birthday man
Leave a trail of laughs and smiles in my wake,
He touches lives with his humor and kindness
He's one of a kind, one of the greats
So, today, in honor of the man who taught me to dream big
Who taught me how to ski,
I'll try to accomplish this daunting list
But at the very least, I'll scrub my trashcans clean.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! I love you!
Love, Princess (AKA your favorite middle child) Sarah Louise
Last year at this time, I was preparing for my Grandpa Doc's funeral. The last time I saw him, he had asked me, yet again, when I was going to publish a book of poetry. I assured him I was still working on the collection, and I couldn't wait for him to get his hands on a copy. He sent me the kindest notes after reading the poems I was sharing on my blog at the time. When one of my poems, inspired by my love for him, Absence of You, went viral last year, I knew it had to be included in my collection. I know Grandpa is watching over me and is smiling down on me right now, seeing the release of my collection, Absence of You. This is a book for anyone who has ever fallen in love, had a broken heart, or even given love another chance. Thanks to all of my readers on my author page who have been writing to me for the past two years asking for this book. While you might recognize a few poems, there are nearly sixty brand new poems for you to enjoy. The ebook is priced at only $0.99 because I want everyone to be able to download a copy to their smartphone or device. Here are all of the links to purchase Absence of You, including one if you'd like to order an autographed copy:
Thanks to all for the love and support-(even if you're just happy dancing with me)! God bless and love to you all! XO ~Sarah


text:
Dodge County School Superintendent Dr. Melinda Dennis is pictured above throwing out the first pitch to begin the Dodge County High School Lady Indians softball season. For more news and photos see page 1B. (Photo by Claudia Lowery Graham)
Throws first pitch
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Online wholesale marketplace LA Showroom has been doing its best to keep you up to date on all the fall apparel trends. This happens both at our blog, the Buyer's Lounge, as well as here in the news at Top Ten Wholesale. Whether it is color inspiration, key textiles, specific silhouettes or trendy details, our team works hard to spot the most commercial aspects of the wholesale fashions we carry, and market them to savvy buyers who are looking for inventory solutions for their particular retail establishment. Today, however, we turn our focus away from the clothing. Instead, we are taking a look at some of the top items in terms of women's wholesale shoes, handbags and accessories that have just arrived at LA Showroom.
When it comes to the fall and winter seasons, there are a variety of accessory essentials to consider for your store. Cozy scarves, knit accessories, weather-proof boots and new handbags are just a few fundamentals to consider, but an endless array of finishing touches can always be found at LA Showroom. We love the idea of keeping a bright outlook even in the dull winter months by selecting women's wholesale shoes, handbags and accessories that can provide a pop of color. Whether it is pink and turquoise as pictured here, or something different, your customers will gravitate towards these exciting options.
For now, women's wholesale shoes, handbags and accessories make great items for your customers to buy to help amp up their outfit for the season. In the coming weeks and months, they can also be successfully marketed as great holiday gifts for your customers to give to their loved ones.
If you see items here that seem like they would make great additions to your store, come on over to the Buyer's Lounge at LA Showroom, found here, so that you can discover more information on each of these items, as well as discover more trend updates and industry analysis.
Guest Writer: Charlotte Pratt


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Mitchel Clay, Jr
100 acres
Giles County
George Wm Smith, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, To all to whom these presents shall come Greeting: Know ye, That by virtue of Land Office Treasury warrant, number 3954, issued the 2nd day of June, 1804; there is granted by the said Commonwealth, unto Mitchel Clay, junior, a certain Tract or parcel of Land, containing One hundred acres by survey bearing date, the 14th day of November 1809, lying in the County of Giles, on the east side of New river, and bounded as followeth, to wit: Beginning at a pine on a ridge, and running thence, north fifty eight degrees east, fifty two poles to a hickory and two black oaks on a hill side: north fifty two degrees west, eighty eight poles to two pines on the top of a ridge: north seventy five degrees west, one hundred and one poles to a black oak on the top of a high ridge: south one degree west, twenty poles to a double pine on the same ridge: south sixty eight degrees west, fifty eight poles to three red oaks on the bench[?] of a hill: north forty five degrees west, seventy eight poles to two pines on the point of a ridge: north twenty five degrees east, twenty three poles to three little hickories on the top of a hill: north forty seven degrees west, fourteen poles to a pine: south thirty seven degrees west, twenty six poles to two pines: south twenty degrees east, sixty poles to three small red oaks about ten poles to Reuben Roberts corner on three white oaks: thence with, or nearly with said line, south sixty degrees east, eighty poles to a black oak and poplar: and thence south seventy eight degrees east, one hundred and sixty four poles to the beginning. To have and to to [word repeated] hold the said Tract or parcel of Land with its appurtenances, to the said Mitchel Clay junior, and his heirs for ever. In witness whereof the said George Wm Smith, Esquire Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, hath hereunto set his hand, and caused the lesser Seal of the said Commonwealth to be affixed at Richmond, on the sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and eleven, and of the Commonwealth the thirty-fifth.
Geo: Wm Smith
Source: Land Office Grants and Patents, Giles County, Virginia, 1810 – 1811, p. 495 – 496, LVA microfilm reel 61, Library of Virginia


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The overlords of the world's anti-doping movement really want you to focus on Lance Armstrong. He's as unsympathetic a character as Barry Bonds, with his bullying, posturing and all-around ass-holery. So since they worked hand-in-glove with federal agents to expose Armstrong's doping operation, and cornered him into confessing to Oprah, they've taken an extended victory lap. To them, their triumph validates their new approach to policing dopers—more investigations and government pressure, on top of an already invasive drug-testing regime.
But please ignore Jimmy Connelly.
Connelly, 24, a New Jersey resident and son of a police officer, who had his own run-in with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) a taxpayer funded non-profit outfit, is much more like the athletes you'll see in the upcoming Sochi Olympics. He isn't rich or famous, but playing sports was his job. And despite being born with spina bifida, he was good at it. For seven years, he was a member of the U.S. national Paralympic sled hockey team, winning gold in the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Once he joined the elite squad in 2005, though, Connelly discovered an uncomfortable fact of life faced by all such athletes: He was going to be treated like a criminal.
In short, Olympic athletes are presumed guilty when it comes to doping, leaving them subject to secretive investigations and surveillance, privacy invasions, sketchy science and, some argue, a rigged justice system. And unlike their MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL counterparts, they enjoy no union or collective body that can serve as a counterweight to the agencies and protect their rights though they are workers in the sports entertainment business just like athletes in pro leagues.
All of which leaves Olympians like Connelly on the front lines of a new War on Drugs, which is being waged much like the old, failed War on Drugs. Like the old War, this new one is fought with investigatory zealotry, plea bargains and draconian sentences, and fueled by a manufactured moral panic. All worth it, you might argue, to combat the use of PEDs in sports. But not only is the strategy doomed to fail, it carries risks for the rest of society—including you and me.
"I was a prosecutor during the war on drugs," DeMaurice Smith, head of the NFL Players Association and a former assistant U.S. attorney says of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) system, "and anti-doping has taken on this culture of enforcement while at the same time refusing to be transparent."
While some athletes object (usually privately) to the new WADA code, some do favor the tougher restrictions. Faced with a long history of drug use—from the state-sponsored doping of the former East Germany, through the individual users like sprinter Ben Johnson, to Armstrong's Postal Service cycling team—they don't want to feel like they have to take a drug to compete.
Protecting clean athletes and saving the Olympic brand was the original rationale behind the creation of WADA. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had long run its own drug-testing regime, but critics often accused it and national Olympic committees such as the USOC of playing down doping in an effort to keep the Olympic brand unsullied. Then, during the 1998 Tour de France, evidence emerged that at least one cycling team, Festina, was running an organized doping operation. The ensuing scandal nearly collapsed the Tour. Unable to downplay doping any longer, the IOC created WADA as an independent body—though IOC members make up half of WADA's board, the other half being government representatives.
WADA was set up to establish and oversee the rules and regulations used to test athletes for banned drugs. Screenings would be conducted, for the most part, at events. But even at the outset, WADA strayed from its core mission of eradicating PEDs, because the old Drug War was in its DNA, so much so that the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S. "drug czar," partly spearheaded WADA's creation. At the office's insistence, WADA's banned drugs included—and still includes—marijuana, which has no performance enhancement value. That's what got Connelly.
Connelly heard the loud rapping on his hotel room door at precisely 6 A.M. Dope testers roused him early on the morning of the 2009 World Championship gold medal game demanding a urine sample on the spot.
Under WADA's code, an athlete can be tested anywhere, any time except between the hours of 11 P.M. and 6 A.M. Finding Connelly was easy because he was at an event, but it doesn't matter where an athlete is because they have to follow the so-called Whereabouts Rule—meaning they must report where they will be for every hour, every day of their lives to a central authority, which can then share that private information with agencies all over the world. Not long ago, dope testers used the Whereabouts Rule to pull American skier Lindsey Vonn from the red carpet of a fashion event to demand that she pee in a cup.
Under the revised code taking effect in 2015, no time is off limits. Doping control officers can show up at an athlete's home or hotel room in the middle of the night and demand blood or urine. All they need is "serious and specific suspicion that the athlete may be engaged in doping." Refusal to submit will result in job loss.
Connelly was a target for testing because he was on a winning team and because he'd already been tagged with one doping offense. Connelly sometimes smoked weed to relieve nerve and muscle pain caused by his spina bifida. He always stopped before any competitions, but marijuana metabolites can linger in the body for weeks. During an April 2009 tournament in Rochester, New York, he was forced to urinate into cups while a doping control officer watched. Once his sample tested positive for THC, he was publicly labeled a doper by USADA and banned for three months. The ban didn't have much effect on his career, but it made him a preferred suspect for future testing. "I was tested at every event after that," he says, sometimes multiple times.
Positive tests come with harsh mandatory minimums. Anti-doping advocates see them as a deterrent to drug use—in much the same way legislatures employed tough sentencing guidelines for the previous War on Drugs. The standard competition ban used to be two years with time shaved off if, for example, an athlete could show that a positive test resulted from an inadvertent ingestion of something, or, as in Connelly's case, there was clearly no attempt to cheat. But under the revised code, the standard ban is four years, a career-ender for most athletes. The code does include a way to reduce that penalty, though: Finger others for doping and you can shave your time. Conversely, if you fight the charges, your ban can be extended.
Despite the expansive testing regime, it never snagged Armstrong. USADA's investigation of him and his subsequent confession crystallized a dilemma faced by every anti-doping organization in the world. "The question for WADA then became, 'How do you cope with failure?'" says University of Texas professor John Hoberman, who has long researched and written about the Olympics and drug use.
Testing typically catches athletes who ingest something by accident or who are too stupid or poor to get around the testing regimen. To catch a sophisticated doper like Armstrong, USADA proved it had to harness law enforcement. "They said, 'Throwing our lot in with the police is the way to get this done,'" Hoberman explains.
"The investigative mindset affords greater opportunity to find out who these people are and to see that they also suffer the consequences," argues Thomas Murray, president emeritus of the Hastings Center, a bioethics think tank, and the head of WADA's ethics committee. "It helps unsettle the infrastructure of doping."
"The rationale is entirely different [than the War on Drugs]," he adds. "In the War on Drugs, people using drugs of abuse like heroine and coke aren't competing with each other to see who can get higher. My use of heroin doesn't have an immediately disadvantageous effect on other people. The analogy to the war on drugs is deeply flawed."
Maybe, but based on such reasoning, ex-cops can now be found all over the anti-doping movement. A former chief constable heads the U.K.'s agency. WADA has hired Jack Robertson, a former San Diego-based DEA agent, as its "chief investigations officer." WADA has allied itself with Interpol and has begun to demand that governments share law enforcement information that might relate to doping with anti-doping agencies. (Failure to do so could result in the loss of hosting privileges for international sports events like the Olympics.)
WADA's revised code also has a new section entitled "Testing and Investigations." There, it declares that its investigations are unencumbered by national laws and restrictions placed on law enforcement. "These sport-specific rules and procedures aimed at enforcing anti-doping rules in a global and harmonized way are distinct in nature from criminal and civil proceedings," the code reads. "They are not intended to be subject to or limited by any national requirements and legal standards applicable to such proceedings…" Translation—almost any tactic is acceptable.
In Australia, which WADA holds up as a model for other countries, the CEO of ASADA, the head of the domestic anti-doping agency, can demand testimony, documents or other material things from any citizen if the CEO determines it might be useful in a doping investigation, even documents that might incriminate somebody in a crime.
In addition, the new code creates a blacklist of people with whom an athlete isn't allowed to associate. These names are kept by anti-doping agencies and reported to athletes. They include any athlete serving a competition ban, any "support person" like a coach who has been implicated in doping and any person who has been sanctioned by any court or professional panel for anything that seems doping-related.
More troubling is that WADA seems to favor policing non-elite athletes as well. According to the revised code, "An anti-doping organization has discretion to apply anti-doping rules to an athlete who is neither an international-level athlete nor a national-level athlete, and thus to bring them within the definition of 'athlete.'" In an explanatory note, the code states that this language "allows each national anti-doping organization, if it chooses to do so, to expand its anti-doping program beyond international- or national-level athletes to competitors at lower levels of competition or to individuals who engage in fitness activities but do not compete at all." Translation—anybody who goes to the gym or runs or plays in a softball rec league (or any other kind of rec league for that matter).
If it seems far-fetched that just by working out you could be a suspect, consider what's happening in Denmark. There, the national anti-doping agency can go into gyms that have elected to join the national anti-doping scheme (and there is pressure for all gyms to join—those that don't fall under suspicion and must display a frowny-face sticker announcing their abstention from the scheme) and demand a doping test from anybody inside.
So far, USADA's power outside Olympic sports is more circumscribed, says Dionne Koller, a University of Baltimore professor of sports law who studies the relationship between governments and anti-doping. "We still have the Cold War mentality that government stays out of sports," she says.
Technically, USADA could use its taxpayer money to have you followed, or go through your trash. But while the WADA code might seem scary from a civil liberties and due process perspective, Koller believes that, at least in the United States, non-athletes are protected. Even so, "I do think it's true that if you find a government agent willing to work with USADA, then yes, [USADA] will have access [to law enforcement power]."
That's exactly what happened in the Armstrong investigation. For now, though, his case is an outlier. Prosecutors work on cases involving everything from spying to murder to human trafficking; so they can be loathe to invest time and resources to investigate an athlete suspected of doping, which isn't a crime in the U.S.
The anti-doping agencies are acutely aware of this reluctance, so they know they have to rally public and political support. In response, they play up the same two dangers the old drug warriors did: organized crime and kids using drugs.
There has long been an illicit market in PEDs, mainly steroids, most of which are used by gym rats and body builders. WADA and its allies say PED (mainly steroid) rings supplying the drugs are run by organized crime and that governments must work hand-in-hand with WADA in order to save the world from the scourge of such crime syndicates.
It might be the case, however, that criminalization has created crime, just as during Prohibition. Some evidence: In 1983, the United States pressured the maker of Dianabol, a popular steroid, to stop domestic production. David Jenkins, who once held the U.K.'s 400-meter record and who won a silver medal in the 1,600-meter relay during the 1972 Olympics, then began pasting fake labels onto steroids formulated in Tijuana and bringing them across the border. At first, he recalls, his operation was made up of "enthusiasts, bright, non-violent" people who carried drugs in duffel bags. But the business grew and attracted the attention of U.S. Customs and federal prosecutors. The operation was broken up, and Jenkins pled guilty to smuggling mislabeled drugs in 1987.
Three years later, the U.S. Congress passed the Anabolic Steroids Control Act. Even some prosecutors and drug enforcement experts objected, arguing that naming steroids as a "scheduled" drug in the same class as some addictive substances would only attract hardened criminal drug gangs. Jenkins thinks those objections were correct. "It damn well did bring rougher characters into the trade," he says. But in 2004, after baseball's steroid mess, Congress acted again—with full support from USADA and WADA—making more substances, including some dietary supplements, scheduled drugs.
But "increased penalties usually don't dramatically reduce demand and/or supply," says Julilly Kohler-Hausmann, a Cornell University historian who studies punitive transformations in social and criminal policy. Nor do they prevent steroid use among gym members and body builders, adds Harrison Pope, an expert in steroid culture at Harvard University. The only effective deterrents, Pope believes, are concerns about "health and safety."
That's where the kids come in. Yes, PEDs can be harmful to young, growing bodies. However, WADA, USADA and some USADA-allied groups, like the Taylor Hooton Foundation, play up the "crisis" of steroid abuse among kids, despite scant evidence a crisis exists. For instance, according to an ongoing national survey run by the University of Michigan called Monitoring the Future, only 1.5 percent of male high school seniors said they used a steroid during the past year.
Anti-doping advocates ignore this data because it would undermine the moral imperative of what they believe is their larger mission. "USADA recognizes that the time is right to lead the charge in transforming the role of sport in our culture to a collective good that serves as a training ground for cultivating responsible and ethical global citizens," the agency wrote in its 2012 annual report. These groups perceive not just sports, but society as a whole to be in decay, and want to use their growing power to stop the rot.
In the current climate, tainted by the likes of Armstrong, WADA and its affiliates go widely unchecked in their accumulation and use of that power. But anti-doping organizations' actions deserve further scrutiny, as evidenced by their handling of Human Growth Hormone (HGH).
Despite no proof that HGH improves athletic performance WADA has banned HGH and grown obsessed with detecting its use. The organization claims its current test is foolproof. In turn, NFL owners, sensing a PR coup, placed intense pressure on the NFLPA to let the league institute it. The union questioned the test's validity, which opened a floodgate of criticism from the sports media, owners, politicians and WADA.
Then came the case of Estonian cross-country skier Andrus Veerpalu. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and national hero tested positive for HGH in 2011, incurring a three-year ban. The test effectively ended Veerpalu's career; he retired in disgrace but continued to appeal the results in an effort to clear his name. WADA vigorously defended the test, but in March 2013, in a rare instance of the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport finding in favor of an athlete, Veerpalu was cleared of wrongdoing. The court found the HGH test "unreliable" for assessing the guilt of an athlete, just as the NFLPA had argued. WADA still uses that HGH test, though it claims a second "blood test, in its final development stage, will be combined with the current test…."
Had the NFLPA folded under pressure from WADA, its players would have been subjected to a test now deemed unreliable. That's one reason why Smith says, echoing the sentiments of other players associations from America's major sports, "This union will never subject ourselves to WADA."
Olympians, like Connelly, who are worker bees in a multibillion-dollar entertainment franchise, don't enjoy similar advocates for their rights against anti-doping organizations. As such, they face an ever-expanding testing regime, in addition to a persistent investigatory force that will invade their privacy, restrict their freedoms of association, conduct warrantless searches and threaten their careers on the basis of unreliable tests and coerced witnesses. And that's just the start. If WADA succeeds in extending its reach beyond sports, you and I could find ourselves under the same sort of suffocating scrutiny.
Brian Alexander is a writer and author based in California. A frequent contributor to NBCNews and Outside magazine, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times magazine, Wired, Esquire, The Los Angeles Times magazine, and many others. His most recent book is The Chemistry Between Us: Love, Sex, and the Science of Attraction, written with neuroscientist Larry Young. Follow him on Twitter at @BrianRAlexander.
This article was originally published on Playboy for iPhone. For more exclusive content and the best articles from the latest issue of Playboy, download the app in the iTunes Store.
Photo courtesy of © AFP/Getty Images


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You can now stare at the Blizzcon 2010 schedule and dream. What will they reveal at the keynote if we got Cataclysm revealed last year? What's with the Diablo III panels? Where is StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm?
This is the official Blizzcon schedule, revealed today for anyone attending the annual convention for all games Blizzard. The convention will be held in Anaheim, California on October 22 and 23.
(Click image to enlarge.)
It was unlikely that the schedule would show any update on Heart of the Swarm, the next installment to follow summer's StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Here's what we do know about Heart of the Swarm.)
The convention runs less than seven weeks before the release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, so that WoW expansion will be a big part of the event.
And Diablo III? It's the Blizzard game for 2011, isn't it? Maybe? Blizzard hasn't publicly nailed that down, of course.
I'm thinking this first post-keynote panel will reveal plenty.
Diablo III Gameplay
Friday 12pm, Main Stage
What's in store next for the heroes of Sanctuary? Learn about the latest game developments in this don't-miss panel for Diablo players.
You can expect full Blizzcon 2010 coverage from Kotaku come showtime. Our Mike Fahey will be there, cosplaying as our Mike Fahey.


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Top Ogden Community Colleges
- For the 2020 school year, there are 2 top community colleges in Ogden, Utah, serving 2,820 students.
- Minority enrollment is 26% of the student body (majority Hispanic), and the student:teacher ratio is 27:1.
Top Ogden, UT Community Colleges (2020)
- College Location Students
- 200 N Washington Blvd
Ogden,  UT 84404
2,615 students
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Recent Articles
We continue to report on the ongoing saga in the California community college system. Schools are now opening for fall semester with fewer courses due to serious budget cuts, and students are feeling the academic pain.
The role of community colleges in the world of higher education has expanded over the years and, as the country works to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, they may be more important now than ever. Read on to learn more about the changing role of community colleges.
Colleges across the country are struggling to recover from the massive upheaval to the 2019-20 semester wrought by COVID-19. Housing refunds and slashed budgets are bound to have long-term impacts for the institutions that survive. Some experts suggest community colleges may be the best equipped to ride out the storm and may have the greatest impact in helping America recover.