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Today is Friday, Oct. 5, the 279th day of 2012. There are 87 days left in the year.
Today's Highlights in History:
On Oct. 5, 1962, The Beatles' first hit recording, "Love Me Do," was released in the United Kingdom by Parlophone Records. The first James Bond theatrical feature, "Dr. No" starring Sean Connery as Agent 007, premiered in London.
On this date:
In 1829, the 21st president of the United States, Chester Alan Arthur, was born in Fairfield, Vt. (Some sources list 1830.)
In 1892, the Dalton Gang, notorious for its train robberies, was practically wiped out while attempting to rob a pair of banks in Coffeyville, Kan.
In 1910, Portugal was proclaimed a republic following the abdication of King Manuel II in the face of a coup d'etat.
In 1921, the World Series was covered on radio for the first time as Newark, N.J., station WJZ relayed reports from the Polo Grounds, where the New York Giants were facing the New York Yankees. (Although the Yankees won the opener, 3-0, the Giants won the series, 5 games to 3.)
In 1931, Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon completed the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean, arriving in Washington state some 41 hours after leaving Japan.
In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, speaking in Chicago, called for a "quarantine" of aggressor nations.
In 1941, former Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis — the first Jewish member of the nation's highest court — died in Washington at age 84.
In 1947, President Harry S. Truman delivered the first televised White House address as he spoke on the world food crisis.
In 1953, Earl Warren was sworn in as the 14th chief justice of the United States, succeeding Fred M. Vinson.
In 1970, British trade commissioner James Richard Cross was kidnapped in Canada by militant Quebec separatists; he was released the following December.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed a resolution granting honorary American citizenship to Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving thousands of Hungarians, most of them Jews, from the Nazis during World War II.
In 1988, Democrat Lloyd Bentsen lambasted Republican Dan Quayle during their vice-presidential debate, telling Quayle, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
Ten years ago: Addressing police and National Guardsmen in New Hampshire, President George W. Bush warned that Saddam Hussein could strike without notice and inflict "massive and sudden horror" on America. Bosnia's three nationalist parties beat moderates in the country's first self-organized elections since the 1992-1995 war.
Five years ago: President George W. Bush defended his administration's methods of detaining and questioning terrorism suspects, saying both were successful and lawful. Topps Meat Co. said it was closing its business, six days after it was forced to issue a massive beef recall. Track star Marion Jones pleaded guilty in White Plains, N.Y., to lying to federal investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs, and announced her retirement after the hearing.
One year ago: Steve Jobs, 56, the Apple founder and former chief executive who invented and master-marketed ever sleeker gadgets that transformed everyday technology from the personal computer to the iPod and iPhone, died in Palo Alto, Calif. Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, 89, a civil rights activist who endured arrests, beatings and injuries from fire hoses while fighting for racial equality in the segregated South of the 1960s, died in Birmingham, Ala.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Glynis Johns is 89. Comedian Bill Dana is 88. College Football Hall of Fame coach Barry Switzer is 75. Rhythm-and-blues singer Arlene Smith (The Chantels) is 71. Singer Richard Street is 70. Singer-musician Steve Miller is 69. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., is 69. Rock singer Brian Johnson (AC/DC) is 65. Actress Karen Allen is 61. Writer-producer-director Clive Barker is 60. Rock musician David Bryson (Counting Crows) is 58. Rock singer and famine-relief organizer Bob Geldof is 58. Architect Maya Lin is 53. Actor Daniel Baldwin is 52. Rock singer-musician Dave Dederer is 48. Hockey Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux is 47. Actor Guy Pearce is 45. Actress Josie Bissett is 42. Singer-actress Heather Headley is 38. Pop-rock singer Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) is 38. Rock musician Brian Mashburn (Save Ferris) is 37. Actress Parminder Nagra (pahr-MIHN'-da NAH'grah) is 37. Actor Scott Weinger is 37. Actress Kate Winslet is 37. Rock musician James Valentine (Maroon 5) is 34. Rock musician Paul Thomas (Good Charlotte) is 32. Actor Jesse Eisenberg is 29. TV personality Nicky Hilton is 29. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brooke Valentine is 27. Actor Joshua Logan Moore is 18.
Thought for Today: "My friends are my 'estate.' Forgive me then the avarice to hoard them." — Emily Dickinson, American poet (1830-1886).
Today in History - Friday, Oct. 5, 2012
Today is Friday, Oct. 5, the 279th day of 2012. There are 87 days left in the year.


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Removal of hard drive and false claim of copyright ownership in company website and catalogs were misconduct sufficient to disqualify former employee from receiving unemployment benefits.
Binney v. Banner Therapy Products, Inc., — S.E.2d —-, 2008 WL 2370887 (N.C. June 12, 2008)
I covered this case back in 2006 after the appellate court's decision. Now the state supreme court has reached a different conclusion.
Employee Binney was fired from her job because she claimed a copyright in the company's website and catalogs (which she had helped create) and also because she took the hard drive of her work computer home with her over the weekend without asking. After she was terminated, she sought unemployment benefits. Her employer contested the claim.
The administrative body in charge of determining unemployment benefits found that Binney was terminated for employee misconduct and therefore not entitled to receive anything. Binney appealed that decision to a trial court, which affirmed the denial. She then appealed to the state appellate court, which reversed, and found that that given Binney's position and responsibilities in the company and the reasonableness of her conclusions as to ownership of copyright, her actions did not rise to the level of misconduct that warranted a denial of benefits. [Internet Cases coverage of that decision.]
But the state supreme court reversed the appellate court, meaning that Binney is not entitled to benefits. The supreme court concluded that the appellate court incorrectly applied the standard of review, namely, whether the decision to deny benefits was based on "any competent evidence".
As for the alleged misconduct of taking the hard drive home, the supreme court found that although the employer had no policy on removing hard drives, that did not contradict the administrative body's finding that the employer did not authorize the hard drive's removal. So there was competent evidence in the record that the removal was unauthorized, and corresponding misconduct in having removed it.
And as for claiming copyright in the website and materials, the supreme court similarly found that a determination of misconduct was supported by the record. Whether Binney believed in good faith that she had a personal copyright interest in the materials was irrelevant. She never asked for nor received permission to assert a personal claim on the company's property by including the copyright statements, so in doing so, she engaged in misconduct.

subset: commoncrawl


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You just took a nice relaxing bath; or maybe it was an invigorating shower. Does your skin deserve to be wrapped in a tired, rough old towel that's difficult to secure? You're cold and wet! Wouldn't a warm, absorbent, soft wrap—one that will stay secure and caresses your skin—feel better?
Treat yourself to the velvety softness of our snug and cozy Spa Wrap. With maximum absorbency, the lightweight microfiber is quite possibly the most luxurious fabric your skin will ever touch. It's adjustable size offers a secure fit with an extra-wide elastic band and long Velcro® closure.
All Norwex Microfiber products carry a two-year warranty. Please visit www.norwex.com for complete details.


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Didn't know which area to post this to. Maybe I decided wrong.
I'd like an opinion on an issue. I am hypersensive, or hyperresponsive, to sound. These may not be the best words to describe it, but they should get the job done.
The problem isn't sound per se. It's certain noises while I am doing something else. To give a general example, imagine I'm having a conversation with people (no problem there), then I leave but remain in proximity to read a book, say. The background chatter in that case would irritate me greatly; make me psychologically and even physically uncomfortable.
I could go on, but that should suffice for my question:
Is it "wrong" to work around this (i.e. staying away from the sound) instead of through it (i.e. somehow developing the ability to always bear the situation)? That is, my understanding is that if something is "inherently" part of me, in this case a strong tendency to become irritated (and to not be able to concentrate much) with certain noises, then I have to accept and own that characteristic and take it into account in the life-equation, at least to a point. I mean, of course, the characteristic is just my observation. (And my horoscope doesn't lie.) And I don't want to develop the mindset of avoiding something. I think I have this one figured out, but I'm not sure, so...
I hope I was clear enough and that this isn't a very stupid question.


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I've just come off the phone with Adobe support after trying in vain to activate a trial version of Flash Builder 4.7 Premium with a serial number.
No matter what, I was always presented with a prompt that asked me to 'renew my subscription', referring to a Creative Cloud subscription which I do not have nor need.
What I do have is a valid serial number. I tried quitting the Creative Cloud app and relaunched FB 4.7: no joy. I chatted and phone Adobe Support: no joy. They told me to email them, and finally someone called me and fixed the issue. Here's how.
Open your Creative Cloud desktop app. On a Mac it has a little cog symbol in the top right corner. Click it.
If there's a sign out option then use that, but in my case there wasn't so I selected Preferences, then on the popup that opened selected 'Account' and then the 'Sign out of Creative Cloud' option.
After signing out I quit the Creative Cloud desktop app.
After that I launched FB 4.7 which now started properly. I wasn't prompted for a serial number at that point so I waited a minute, quit FB 4.7 and relaunched it. Now I saw the serial number prompt, entered my serial number and was all set.
Hope this helps someone.


text: So everybody keeps saying we're living in a science fictional world now, thanks to the ipod nano and the global catastrophes. So we're just waiting on the edge of our seats for more stock science fiction plots to start coming true. Vote for the summer-blockbuster storyline that'll be the first to become our everyday reality .


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The International Economic Development Council presented Riverside Public Utilities with Gold and Silver awards last night during its annual Excellence In Economic Development Awards ceremony.
The IEDC's professional economic development awards recognize excellence performed in the economic development field around the globe by individuals and organizations whose efforts have created positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Riverside Public Utilities' Economic Development and Business Retention Rates, designed to support the economic health of the City of Riverside by offering existing, expanding, and new commercial energy customers discounts on electric rates, received Gold recognition by the IEDC.
Meanwhile, RPU's informative "Business Book" publication, which outlines available rebate and incentives programs offered by the utility for commercial customers, received a Silver award in the Special Purpose Brochure category.
"We're very pleased to receive these prestigious recognitions," said RPU Assistant General Manager Mike Bacich. "We are proud of the programs we create in Riverside which help our customers and our community thrive during these challenging economic times."


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6-2-09 PNC Park
Today was the Mets' second of four games in Pittsburgh, and my second attempt at getting a commemorative ball.
I got to the gates a little after 4 PM and was second in line. When the gates opened, I jogged into the bleachers and was the first one there. I saw a ball as I entered one of the sections. I quickly ran down and grabbed ball #1, as other ballhawks were right behind me. Much to my surprise…
it was a Shea Stadium commemorative ball from last year. Nice! I still would've rather had a Citi Field ball, but I'll take it.
Moments later as I moved towards the foul pole, I found ball #2. Finding two Easter eggs is an awesome start, usually there aren't any.
Ball #3 came from Tony Beasley. He made sure that all of the regular ballhawks got a ball today. What a good guy.
When the Mets came out to hit, there weren't many pitchers shagging in the outfield. A ball was hit to the 410 sign in center field. It was very glove "trickable." I started to make my way over to get the ball. Just as I got to the bullpen, a deep ball was hit right at me. Mike Pelfrey ran back and made the snag. I thought, "Great. He's going to pick up that ball too." Luckily, Pelfrey didn't see it, and walked back to center field. Moments later, I reeled up ball #4.
I went back towards the foul pole when a fellow ballhawk and PNC Park regular, Dan, pointed out another ball to me. It must have rolled to the 410 sign when I was walking back to my spot. I went over and reeled in ball #5 after one failed attempt. I think I will need a new rubber band soon. The one I have might be getting to stretched out.
In the middle of the Mets batting practice, Gary Sheffield launched a deep home run to my left. I could tell it was a bomb, so rather than positioning myself in line with the ball, I ran back to the cross aisle that seperates the lower bleachers from the upper deck bleachers. The ball hit in the cross aisle and rolled partly under the overhang of the upper level bleachers. I reached down and gloved ball #6.
I made a huge mistake by heading over to center field for the last group. The final group taking batting practice was predominently left handed, so I figured I'd have a better shot. There was only one right handed batter.
Check out how empty batting practice was. There aren't many people in the left field bleachers.
Within minutes, he was surrounded by security guards. A man in a suit came out with a clipboard and the negotiating began. It lasted about an inning. I'm not sure what the kid asked for, but there were about 4 things written down on the sheet of paper on the clip board.
It got me thinking what I would ask for if I had caught the home run. I decided that I'd ask for a game ball signed by Jaramillo, the chance to deliver the ball to him in person, and his word that he'd toss me 1 ball at any batting practice I attended (if he was in the outfield and I asked for one.)
Later in the game, I was getting
thirsty. I decided to go fill up my water bottle. As I was passing this Nacho Express stand, something caught my eye.
Yes, you guessed it. Another Easter Egg.
I had to almost lay on the ground to get that picture. I had to reach around the side of the stand to get ball #8. People probably thought I was a big weirdo for laying on the ground and reaching under a Nacho Express stand, but when they saw I pulled a ball out, I saw a few surprised faces.
I went back to center field in the ninth inning to try and get Nate's warm up ball. His throw hit some guys arm, richoted right in front of me, but I wasn't ready and misplayed it. Some one picked the ball up 2 rows ahead of me.
I then headed to the dugout. I had to run half of the way there, because Matt Capps got 3 quick outs. I just barely made it to the dugout as umpire Ted Barrett was coming off the field, but was in a terrible spot, off to the side of the tunnel. He gave two balls away, but not to me.
That was it for today.
When I arrived home I had this waiting for me:
I had been waiting all day for it, since I was off work today, but it didn't arrive until after I left for the Pirate game. It was my Super Deluxe copy of Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King, Dave Matthews Band's new album.
The CD was released today, and I had ordered it off of the Warehouse (fan club) so I could get some bonus items.
I spent the rest of my night looking through the booklets and watching the DVD. I didn't listen to the CD the whole way through until the next day because I wanted to blast it, and it was too late to do that. I'd reccommend picking it up at Target or Best Buy for $9.99 this week. It's their best album since 1998. Seriously.
Today's baseballs:
The sweet spots:
Game: 8 Balls (4 hit, 2 thrown, 2 device)
Season: 151 Balls (67 hit, 62 thrown, 22 device)
Games: 30 Games (26 with BP/4 without)
Average: 5.03 Balls Per Game
Career: 317 Balls
Attendance: 10,459


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10 Major Brands, 38 Pollutants
Bottled Water Quality Investigation : EWG's Guide to Safe Drinking Water
Drinking plenty of good, clean water is important for a healthy body. Read EWG researchers' top tips to learn how to stay hydrated while cutting down on your exposures to common drinking water pollutants.
Bottled water
Drink filtered tap water instead. You can read the bottle label, but you still won't know if the water is pure, or just processed, polluted, packaged tap water. EWG found 38 contaminants in 10 popular brands.
Tap water
Learn what's in it. Tap water suppliers publish all their water quality tests. Bottled water companies don't. Read your annual tap water quality report. Look up your city's water in EWG's National Tap Water Atlas. (Private well? Get it tested.)
Filtered tap water
Drink it, cook with it.
- Choose a filter certified to remove contaminants found in your water: https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/water-filter-guide.php. Effectiveness varies - read the fine print.
- Carbon filters (pitcher or tap-mounted) are affordable and reduce many common water contaminants, like lead and byproducts of the disinfection process used to treat municipal tap water.
- If you can afford it, install a reverse osmosis filter to remove contaminants that carbon filters can't eliminate, such as chromium-6, arsenic and perchlorate (rocket fuel).
Change them. Change your water filters on time. Old filters aren't safe – they harbor bacteria and let contaminants through.
On the go
Carry water in safe containers. Hard plastic bottles (#7 plastic) can leach a harmful plastics chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) into water. Carry stainless steel or other BPA-free bottles. Don't reuse bottled water bottles. The plastic can harbor bacteria and break down to release plastics chemicals.
While Pregnant
Stay hydrated with safe water. It's especially important for women to drink plenty of water during pregnancy. Follow all the tips above, and take your doctor's advice on how much to drink.
Use safe water for formula. Use filtered tap water for your baby's formula. If your water is not fluoridated, you can use a carbon filter. If it is, use a reverse osmosis filter to remove the fluoride, because fluoridated water can damage an infant's developing teeth. If you choose bottled water for your infant, make sure it's fluoride-free.
Breathe Easy
Use a whole house water filter. For extra protection, a whole house carbon filter will remove contaminants from steamy vapors you and your family inhale while showering and washing dishes.


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Get ready for a bargain that crushes in every sense of the word! If you're strapped for time or money or hoping to get some more nutrients into your diet, my favorite deal today is ready to rock.
Beginning last year, with the help of several chefs and nutrition experts, we tested four different professional-grade blenders. The price points were $850, $650, $450 and under $250. While all brands performed decently, one commercial blender crushed ice and larger vegetables and fruit faster than anything.
Where did the other blenders fall short compared to the favorite one we tested? Non-commercial grade blenders left ice un-crushed and could not handle breaking down tiny seeds. Many were overly noisy and move all over the counter during use.
The Aimores Smoothie Blender comes with a high-speed 28,000 RPM motor and can break the cell walls of ingredients to release more nutrition in seconds. Since this is made as a commercial-grade blender, the ice crushing, blending, pureeing, and controlled processing modes were stronger. The blades in this particular blender pulverized every recipe ingredient, including the tiniest seeds.
Click the play button to see our tests and hear from a professional chef.
- ETL/ FDA-approved and BPA-free
- 6-piece stainless steel blade
- Low noise and will not shake on counter
- Ideal for smoothies, shakes, pasta sauce, meat grinding, dressings, soups, marinades
- A healthier way to make your own baby food
- Outperformed blenders with retail prices over $800
- Crushed iced better than competitors
- The most durable and quiet in its class
- Gravity switch guarantees blender stops working when pitcher is removed
- Larger pitcher than competitors: ideal for creamy soups, thick dips, sticky dough, cake batters
- Top-rated and trending on Amazon (although I found a lower price below)
Was: $249.99
Now: $164.99
***One day only deal can sell out at any time
Matt Granite is a freelance consumer reporter who produces stories and video for this station, Amazon Live and others. Neither Matt nor this station are compensated by the brands featured here. Prices are subject to change at any time and products are expected to sell out.


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Lenovo at CES 2012: ThinkPads, IdeaPads, IdeaTabs, Ultrabooks, Laptops, Desktops and a TV
+Continue Reading
The Consumer Electronics Association of 2012 (CES 2012) features the biggest names in the electronics industry all bringing new toys and gadgets that will be rolled out into the market. The 2012 CES doesn't begin until the 10th; however many of the big companies have been incredibly busy boasting about some of the gadgets they will reveal in the shows later.
As one of the biggest names in computers, laptops, and other electronics, Lenovo is sure to bring some new toys with them this year at the CES – and they were kind enough to give a few sneak peeks!
So what will Lenovo be revealing at the CES this year? Let's find out!


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Mary J. Blige is hitting back at reports that she threw a punch at her hubby at a record release party in New York City earlier this week.
"Mary was not fighting with her husband," Blige spokeswoman Karynne Tencer told the New York Daily News. "Her husband and her brother got into an altercation that turned into a fight. Mary went to break up the fight."
The detailed rebuttal came after the News and New York Post cited witnesses who said the "No More Drama" hip-hop maven had smacked Kendu Isaacs at the swanky M2 Ultralounge in Chelsea on Tuesday, then warned him not to even think about "going Chris Brown on me."
U.S. & World
Sources told the tabloids Blige was fuming because her husband had apparently been stealing a few too many looks at, or had been flirting, with their waitress.
Tencer, rep for the Grammy-winning artist, couldn't answer what sparked the argument between the Blige's brother and her husband.
But Tencer denied that during the kerfuffle Blige had compared anyone to Brown, the R&B crooner and convicted Rihanna-abuser.
"She never mentioned Chris Brown," Tencer told the News. "Mary and Kendu went home together.
"They're as happy as can be. They're spending the holidays together with their three children. Everything's great."
Blige is currently promoting her new album "Stronger With Each Tear."


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This talk highlights a set of platform technologies, software, and data collections that close and shorten the feedback cycle in research.
A basic introduction to clinical presentation of schizophrenia, its etiology, and current treatment options.
The "connectome" is a term, coined in the past decade, that has been used to describe more than one phenomenon in neuroscience. This lecture explains the basics of structural connections at the micro-, meso- and macroscopic scales.
This lecture will highlight our current understanding and recent developments in the field of neurodegenerative disease research, as well as the future of diagnostics and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases
An overview of some of the essential concepts in neuropharmacology (e.g. receptor binding, agonism, antagonism), an introduction to pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, and an overview of the drug discovery process relative to diseases of the Central Nervous System.


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SAN FRANCISCO - Cell phones have become almost as important to American teens as the clothes they wear, according to a nationwide survey of teenagers released last week.
The wireless trade association CTIA and Harris Interactive surveyed some 2,000 teens across the country and learned that teens feel that cell phones have become a vital part of their identities. They also believe that they can gauge a peer's popularity or status by the phone he or she uses.
Findings of the survey were presented on Friday at the CTIA Fall 2008 trade show in San Francisco. Trip Hawkins, CEO of Digital Chocolate, a mobile games publisher, moderated a panel with seven teenagers ranging in age from 13 to 18 years old.
Adolescents represent an important demographic for cell phone makers and mobile operators as cell phones have become an integral part of teens' lives. About four out of every five teens carry a cell phone. This is up from 40 percent of teens owning a cell phone in 2004. And almost half of the teens surveyed today say that having a cell phone is "key" to their social lives.
"Leaving home without my phone almost feels like leaving the house naked," said Brenna, 17, who participated in the panel.
Another recent survey conducted by Nielsen revealed that kids are getting cell phones even before they hit their teens. Nearly half of kids age 8 to 12 years old own cell phones in the U.S, according to the Nielsen report. And on average kids get their first cell phone between the ages of 10 and 11 years old.
While many teens view having a cell phone as important for practical things like getting a ride or for safety reasons, many believe it also says a lot about them as people. According to the survey, about 28 percent of all teens and 34 percent of kids 13 to 15 years old said that having the latest cool cell phone is absolutely essential. A mother of a 14-year old boy on the teen panel said the social pressure to have a "cool" phone is intense.
"Marcus has told me that he is embarrassed for his friends to see his phone," Deundra, Marcus's mother, said on the sidelines after the panel discussion had ended. "I've literally had to pull the car over to have a conversation about why he would feel this way. We've had many talks about the true importance and value of things."
Most of the teens on the panel agreed that Apple's iPhone is the coolest phone on the market. But none of them owned one, largely because the devices are too expensive and so is the monthly service fee from AT&T.
Consistent with the findings of the survey, the teens on the panel said they text message as much as or more than they talk on the phone. And 42 percent of those surveyed say they could text blindfolded.
About a third of teens surveyed say they regularly play games on their phones and about 20 percent of them use their phones for social networking. The teens on the panel said they would be more willing to play games or surf the mobile Web, if those were no-cost activities.
About 59 percent of teens surveyed said they would be willing to provide personal information to wireless operators to receive targeted text messages. And roughly 40 percent of teens said they don't mind watching advertising if cell phone service is free.
The teens on the CTIA panel agreed with the results.
"We definitely like free," Brenna said.
But there are some services that some teens aren't too keen on. Roughly 36 percent of teens in the survey said they don't like buddy-tracking features that reveal their physical location to others. The teens on the panel also complained about poor battery life. Dean, 14, said he'd like phone manufacturers develop solar-powered phones.
"If they can do it for calculators, they should be able to do it for phones," he said.
According to the survey, teens also say they want phones that are waterproof and shockproof, are made of flexible materials that can bend, and have artificial intelligence that will provide answers to questions.


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You filthy white devils won't diminish Cosby's character in our eyes whether he did or he didn't – and if he didn't, with due interest, the laws of divine racial karma say you certainly deserved it anyway. Even bro. Emmett Till said so. Let them eat silence, Bill! #letthemeatsilencebill
This Cosby was so powerful bullshit. When ever in America's history has a white woman cried black male rape & regardless of evidence that black male wasn't lynched, killed or thrown in prison. It is a fact that white America, it's anti-black media & its anti-black judicial system would have taken pleausre in the racial humiliation & racist dethrowning of brother Bill Cosby.
These accusations, by this cabal of racist witches, is nothing more than a collective attempt to tarnish this great man's works. It is the devil's attempt to defraud & defame another black man with stereotypical racist lies just like it did with Michael Jackson. Though through the laws of Divine Racial Karma, we know these racist white cunts certainly deserved to be drugged, sodomized & raped by black males, DRK's due interest would have had them scalped, set on fire & dismembered too. We can only continue to support brother Cosby & sit with him in awe of the, though known, wickedness of these despicable female dogs that have learned to walk on two legs & speak English.


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The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
- Thomas Jefferson
We were inspired by the words of our Founding Father, Mr. Thomas Jefferson himself for the creation of our 'Patriots & Tyrants' line. With how current events are shaping (distorting) these great United States of America, we must, as a Nation, hold fast to the principles and values this nation was founded upon.
Wear your Patriots & Tyrants line of apparel with pride, let it help you strike up conversations with others of like minds or, perhaps sway the minds of those with differing opinions.


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July 28, 2011
Mark Dantonio
THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio. Go ahead with an opening statement.
COACH DANTONIO: Thank you. First of all, it's a pleasure to be back here in Chicago. 2010 was a very exciting year for us. I think we took a big step as a program moving in the direction we want to go, culminating in a championship-type season.
With that being said, 2011 brings many more challenges for us as we look to continue to gain respect here in the Big Ten Conference.
Offensively when you look at our football team very quickly, I think you always have to start with the quarterback position. Provides a lot of leadership for us. Kirk Cousins is a young man that not only is he an outstanding football player on the field, but he brings a sense of calm and confidence to our football team, got great game management skills. Maybe more importantly than that, he has great locker room management. We have great team chemistry in our locker room right now. That's where it starts for us.
Offensively we have our runningbacks back. We have three of our top four-wide receivers back, Keith Nichol, Keshawn Martin, and B.J. Cunningham, four catches away from being the all-time leading receiver at Michigan State university.
Our tightend position is strong. Offensive line, we're inexperienced but very athletic. We'll look to build on those things as we move to our non-conference schedule.
Defensively we're a young football team. We have two seniors in our top 22 players. But I do think we bring a blend of experience there. Jerel Worthy anchors our defensive line. We have a lot of experience up there, we have numbers. Our linebacker position, we're going to miss Greg Jones, Eric Gordon certainly. But I think we've got very good players coming back. We won't lose one player, all our underclassmen. Very excited with Max Bullough, some of the other kids, Chris Norman, sat out this spring, should be an outstanding player, some of the other guys, Denicos Allen.
Secondary should be solid as Wells.
Special teams, where we've won in the past four years, a lot of football games will remain solid with what we do, but also our kicker returns, Dan Conroy, who has had an outstanding season. And along with him, Mike Sadler is a young redshirted freshmen who made a decision to come to Michigan State a couple years ago and sit one year. Tremendous talent, outstanding leg, very poised as well.
We're looking forward to 2011. I think when you look at us as a football team, we need to obviously stay healthy. Health is a big concern always. We have experience. I think we have a good mindset. We have the leadership intact. Our staff remains intact with the exception of Don Treadwell who went on to Miami of Ohio. We wish him the best. Staff is very strong. We're poised and confident.
I'll take some questions.
Q. 11-win season last year gives your program a lot to be proud of. Given the fact that did not result in a BCS berth, how does that serve as motivation to your squad this year?
COACH DANTONIO: What we talked to our football team about is we climbed one mountain, you think you're getting to the top of the mountain, you find out there's another mountain to climb as well. When you look at our football team, how we performed in the bowl game, we took a step backward. Our focus is on what we can do to improve the situation and what we can do.
We have to take out the BCS, what's going on in terms of just focus on ourselves I think as a program, deal with what we can control. Some of the things are out of our control. I think the championship game in this conference will be very exciting for everybody. I think that will propel that particular team onward and settle all the problems that were involved last year. I think it was a unique season with three teams being in the top 10 for a long period of time in the BCS, the top 10.
We got left out there. But we can control our own destiny. If we would have played better in the bowl game, I could have answer that better. But it is what it is.
Q. I want to ask you about the divisional setup in the Big Ten. The Legends Division in particular, looks like you have several schools with great football tradition in there, great rivalries week in and week out in that division alone. Your thoughts about that?
COACH DANTONIO: Well, first of all, with Nebraska coming into the conference, I think it gives us, the conference as a whole, strengthens our brand, I think, as a conference. There's some pretty good football teams in that other one, too, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin. I think the thing you learn about this conference is it's very, very competitive as you move forward.
As far as the Legends side of it, we know that we'll have to play on the road at times. We're going to have to compete and win that conference. That will be our focus. We're excited about it. We've decided we'll embrace all different things we deal with in our program. This will be one of the things that will continue to strengthen us.
Even now as we sit here and say this, recruits nationally continue to call, whether it's our football team or another football team, and because of the conference, set up, structure, it will only make us a better program.
Q. You mentioned the chemistry from last year's team carried over. How much did that help in winning all the close games you did last year? How much help could that be this year with a tough schedule?
COACH DANTONIO: It should certainly make the difference. It did last year. When you look at our football team, you have to get breaks in close games, that's obvious, make great decisions as players and coaches. I think you've got to be able to handle adversity as you move through every single game. That's leadership and chemistry. We had that last year. That still exists on our football team and in our locker room.
When you talk about Michigan State right now, we have some very good players coming back, but if you had to ask me what was the strength of our team last year, what's the strength of our team this year, right now it's the chemistry as a group of people, a belief as a group of people that propels us.
Q. It's tough to build a perfect college football team. To do it in five years isn't easy. It seems as though Michigan State's heritage is a physically punishing football team. In the same way, if you had difficulties in recent years with an Iowa or with perhaps an upcoming game against Nebraska, Ohio State, whatever the case might be, it tended to be on that physical level. Is that yet in your mind a fair critique and are you closer to achieving that?
COACH DANTONIO: I think it is. Every time we've lost a game, when I talk about lost it decisively, which has not been very often, maybe three or four times in these four years, it's because we've not won the game up front. I always just tell it the way it is. No reason to change right now.
So that's what we talk about when we talk to our football team after we've gone through that. We've got to win up front. Starts on the defensive side of the ball. Have to be able to stop the run, affect the quarterback if we're going to be successful on a consistent basis. That will always lead to turnovers.
On the offensive side of the ball, we have to limit our turnovers and have to have the ability to run the ball to be multi-dimensional. Those two things, when we have lost to Iowa, couldn't run it. When we lost to Ohio State, couldn't run it. When we lost to Alabama, couldn't run it. So those three scenarios played into it, whether it's 2008 or whether it was 2011. That really is the difference maker.
You have to do those things to take that next step, which is that next mountain that I'm talking about. When you look at our team right now, maybe this is the first time since I've been there I can point to and say defensively up front solid. Jerel Worthy anchors that. Should be a phenomenal player. Quick twitch guy. You build around him, Rashad White, Gholston. Tyler Hoover is up to 290 pounds. We have physical guys that can play that level up front now.
Our linebackers are a little bit more inexperienced as I've said, offensively inexperienced, but we've moved players over. We have numbers on the offensive line and more guys that bench press 400 pounds and vertical jump 30 inches than we've ever had across the board. All they need is experience. They're extremely athletic.
You combine that with an outstanding group of runningbacks and the ability to throw the football as we continue to do, I think you have an offense that can be very, very good.
Q. There's going to be a few new starters breaking in in the offensive line group. Tell us what you expect out of that position group.
COACH DANTONIO: We lose three guys from last year's football team. We moved Blake Treadwell and Dan France over there. Dan France is a left tackle. Blake is battling the center position, offensive guard. He's an outstanding athletic. Travis Jackson, outstanding athletic, center. Chris McDonald, a guy that came in 265 pounds, ran a 51 quarter. Now he's 300-plus pounds. Joel Foreman anchors the offensive line, will be a four-year starter now for the first time, four-year starter on the offensive line since I believe 1988 when Mandarich did it. We're sort of set. Skyler is an outstanding player in his own right.
We have athletic guys up front. I can go on and name all the rest of them, but we've got some athletic guys up front. What we need to find is a blend of experience. I have a good sense we'll be fine on the offensive line, that we can make it work and be very good. That's where I'm at with it.
But, again, games will define us and we'll have to see where we're at as we move forward.
Q. You talked about your outstanding runningback. Do you see Larry Caper or Le'Veon Bell getting more share of the carries than last year?
COACH DANTONIO: Well, last year as we went into the season, they were all pretty much equal. Edwin and Larry were equal. Le'Veon was just coming into it, and Nick Hill, a true freshman, was coming into the mix as well. Larry Caper fractured his hand. Edwin took off, never looked back. Le'Veon had a great first half the season. As good as Edwin is, all four of those guys are very good.
So to me health remains the biggest thing. You have to stay healthy and be able to push your way through the off-season and the non-conference games.
Obviously, Edwin Baker, is a phenomenal player. I think the other guys are very, very good as well. I can see them having breakout years. If you look at 2009, Larry Caper was the featured guy. All those guys have the ability there and I think that's what makes us strong in that area. We have depth.
Q. With Jerel Worthy on the defensive line, the draft projections, looking ahead, how much can that sort of thing help in terms of recruiting when you start to generate that buzz, Edwin Baker, Johnny Adams as well?
COACH DANTONIO: Well, we don't want those guys to leave, obviously, okay? But I think it helps recruiting when you see young people that are having success and being recognized a year before they would be a senior.
My message to our players are, Hey, if you play well, you're good enough to go, that's what you want to do, it benefits your life, that's what you should do. I'm happy for them and happy to help.
But at the same time if we're talking about that, if Jerel's is going to be a top-15 pick, we'll be fine on the defensive line and win a lot of football games as suggested over there, so I'm good to go.
Q. You've obviously been close to Jim Tressel throughout your career. I'm assuming you had a chance to talk with him. I'm wondering your reaction of everything he's gone through?
COACH DANTONIO: Very heart wrenching for me and my family because we're close to Coach Tres. He's had a lot to do with my life as a mentor really since 1983, and that's a long time. That's a tough situation.
As I mentioned out there, he's done a lot of good for college football. Every person he's come in contact with as a player and a coach, he's made a positive impact on their lives. To me, it's tragic. He becomes a tragic hero in my respect, in my view. Usually tragic heroes have the ability to rise above it all in the end and that's what I'll look for in the end.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.
COACH DANTONIO: Thanks, guys.
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Franklin and Winston
Born in the nineteenth century and molders of the twentieth and twenty-first, Roosevelt and Churchill had much in common. Sons of the elite, students of history, politicians of the first rank, they savored power. In their own time both men were underestimated, dismissed as arrogant, and faced skeptics and haters in their own nations, yet both magnificently rose to the central challenges of the twentieth century. Theirs was a kind of love story, with an emotional Churchill courting an elusive Roosevelt.
Confronting tyranny and terror, Roosevelt and Churchill built a victorious alliance amid cataclysmic events and occasionally conflicting interests. Meacham's new sources, including unpublished letters of FDR's great secret love, Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd, the papers of Pamela Churchill Harriman, and interviews with the few surviving people who were in FDR and Churchill's joint company, shed fresh light on the characters of both men as he engagingly chronicles the hours in which they decided the course of the struggle. Charting the personal drama behind the discussions of strategy and statecraft, Meacham has written the definitive account of the most remarkable friendship of the modern age.
Critic reviews
"Jon Meacham's Franklin and Winston takes its place in the front ranks of all that has been written about these two great men." (Tom Brokaw)
"Jon Meacham brings [the relationship between FDR and Churchill] to vivid life, shedding new insights into its strange and poignant complexity, and why its legacy has helped shape the modern world." (Richard Holbrooke)
More from the same
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
- Ronald Hull
- 29-01-04
Franklin and Winston Review
Remarkable insight to perhaps the two most important figures in the 20th century. "W" is portrayed as the loyal friend for life-- an eternal optimist who delivered Britian from its darkest hour with the help from his sometimes aloof, and not so loyal Roosevelt, whom the author paints as long on charm, but sometimes as more opportunist than friend. The strong bonds that developed in the early years of the war between these men began to diverge during the pre-'44 plans for D-day, with Roosevelt loosening his ties with Churchill, to curry favor from Stalin. Stalin needed a Normandy diversion to ease Nazi pressure on the eastern front while Roosevelt, unable to predict completion of the Manhattan project, needed access to strategic Soviet airfields in Siberia for America's war against Japan. Churchill, on the other hand, mindful of the complexity of a channel naval invasion (and mindful of hard naval lessons past learned), was not quite ready to stomach the sacrifice in men that was sure to occur at D-day, at least not so soon as the proposed May '44 invasion. The fact that "F" and "W" disagreed is understandable, but the listener is left with a sense of regret that our "great" American president could have been more forthright and less political with the man who viewed Roosevelt among his closest friends. Franklin's cozy relations with "Uncle Joe" are made more distasteful by our retrospective view of the tyrant, a view, in fairness, Roosevelt did not have. While the "F" and "W" relationship was complex, and not completely devoid of emotion by Roosevelt, the traits of confidence and ego which made the "leader" Roosevelt, perhaps prevented the type of fraternal relationship we might have wished for them in retrospect. The author is masterful in providing us with the human frailties among the bundle of traits which made these men great. A very good listen indeed!
27 people found this helpful
- Richard
- 16-05-04
Disappointed at lack of insight
I had high hopes for this volume and although I enjoyed it I do not feel I understand the two men any better than before. I did come away with a distaste for Roosevelt, who seemed cruel and purposefully devious, and more respectful for Churchill, who seemed to really make an effort to form a personal bond with a man who was not capable of returning such emotions. The author seemed simply to recite what he found, rather than interpreting the data, and I felt overall the book was rather thin.
6 people found this helpful
- Michael Moore
- 22-01-09
Very Worthwhile
As one who has read Churchill's volumes on the Second World War and numerous other books related to the war years, I was skeptical that this book would offer me anything new or particularly interesting. I was wrong. The book offers a fresh understanding of the depth and importance of the personal relationship between Churchill and Roosevelt. It had its ups and downs, but it was an extraordinarily close and affectionate friendship. The relationship was critical to bolstering British morale in the early part of the war and played a key role in the strategic decisions that led to ultimate victory. It was a relationship that set the pattern for the close collaborations on military matters we have seen in subsequent years between the American and British leaders when their interests were aligned (think Reagan-Thatcher; Bush-Thatcher; and Bush-Blair).
Meacham's writing style flows well. His commentary is thoughtful and credible and shows a personal touch. He brings insights to each situation that ably complement the letters, cables, interviews and other first-hand sources that he cites.
4 people found this helpful
- Jeffrey Litvak
- 15-05-04
Excellent Companion to Churchill Biography
I listened to this book after hearing Roy Jenkins' excellent biography of Churchill (also on Audible) and found it a fine companion. I highly recommend listening to the Churchill biography before tackling this book. I found the narration excellent. Highly recommended.
9 people found this helpful
- Theresa
- 30-04-04
Gossipy and a bit dull
Overall, I liked the book. It has a lot of interesting anecdotal material, which I greatly enjoyed knowing. But the way the book is arranged is distracting and it jumps around between historical fact and quaint anecdote in a way that makes it seem trite in places. You have to pay attention to really get anything of depth from it. But if you persist, you'll probably like the book. The narrator has a style that sort of reminds you of a political commentator on TV. But he doesn't aggravate and his voice is clear.
4 people found this helpful
- 28-03-04
Excellent, but standardized history
Perhaps my disappointment in this work was because of an expectation -- that a scholarly work of this depth, after SO much has been written about these men before, would rightly reveal some new perspective or alternate interpretation of them. As such, I did not finish the book, although I did get as far as America's entry into World War II. No mention was made as to whether either Churchill or Roosevelt knew more about the impending attack on Pearl Harbor, even if only to impeach such theories. I was begging for this book to tell me something outside what conventional historical records shows. The narration for this type of hisrical work was very "audible" and well read.
7 people found this helpful
- James
- 26-02-04
Franklin and Winston Review
Outstanding analysis of the relationship between two key leaders of the Twentieth Century. For a full appreciation of the background of Churchill's interaction with Roosevelt, 'CHURCHILL" by Roy Jenkins is a must read.
6 people found this helpful
- Nancy
- 02-03-04
Historial Review
This wonderfully indebt book tended to get long, and sometimes I wished for more of the personal stories during the horrors of war. While this important historical relationship forever changed the world, this reader found the book slow and redundant. However, both Franklin and Winston gained respect and gratitude, and I did learn a lot about their lives and their relationship, as well as their wives and families.
8 people found this helpful
- carlos acosta
- 07-04-20
Wonderful. Collection of stories based on letters written by two great leaders of their time.
- Dana Terry
- 26-08-19
Fantastic History!
So damn great! I was right there with them throughout the whole book. I felt it all. Thank you .


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The Euler Method is a very simple method used for numerical solution of initial-value problems. Although there are much better methods in practise, it is a nice intuitive mechanism.
The objective is to find a solution to the equation
$$ \frac{dy}{dt} = f(t,y) $$
over a grid of points (equally spaced, in our case). Euler's method uses the relation (basically a truncated form of Taylor's approximation theorem with the error terms chopped off):
$$ y(t_{i+1}) = y(t_i) + h\frac{df(t_i, y(t_i))}{dt}$$
In R, we can express this iterative solution as:
[source lang="R"]
euler <- function(dy.dx=function(x,y){}, h=1E-7, y0=1, start=0, end=1) {
nsteps <- (end-start)/h
ys <- numeric(nsteps+1)
ys[1] <- y0
for (i in 1:nsteps) {
x <- start + (i-1)*h
ys[i+1] <- ys[i] + h*dy.dx(x,ys[i])
Note that given the start and end points, and the size of each step, we figure out the number of steps. Inside the loop, we calculate each successive approximation.
An example using the difference equation
$$ \frac{df(x,y)}{dx} = 3x – y + 8$$
[source lang="R"]
dy.dx <- function(x,y) { 3*x – y + 8 }
euler(dy.dx, start=0, end=0.5, h=0.1, y0=3)
[1] 3.00000 3.50000 3.98000 4.44200 4.88780 5.31902


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Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat will keep a wire rope isolator from performing its appointed job, which is withstanding shock. In spite of that, engineers often pick elastomer products, like rubber mounts, to deflect shock. That's because elastomers are cheap, as low as $3 apiece, and people don't always consider the benefits of wire rope isolators.
The wire rope isolator, which has been around for at least 30 years, is made of stainless-steel strands of cable threaded through aluminum alloy retaining bars and crimped. When the strands flex from vibration input or shock impulse, they convert kinetic energy into thermal energy, which then dissipates to atmosphere. This protects whatever product the wire rope isolator is cushioning as it acts to decouple the equipment from the vibration or shock source. For example, GPS gear mounted to an agricultural tractor or communications equipment aboard a warship are applications for wire rope isolators.
The increased deflection capability of the wire rope isolator enables the product to withstand shock and protect whatever equipment it's mounted to, deflecting up to an inch or more under a high force shock impulse. Under similar conditions, an elastomeric compound gets very stiff and may deflect only 0.060 inch to 0.100 inch. The larger wire rope isolators can deflect up to 6 inches under extreme input conditions, while supporting up to 5,000 lb (2200 kg) per isolator.
The wire rope isolator also withstands temperatures as high as 500F (260C), chemicals, and ozone without compromising performance. In contrast, heat and weather degrade elastomers. And washdown environments corrode them. But it's easier to mold hundreds or thousands of rubber mounts, and thus cheaper to buy these products than handmade wire rope isolators. Finally, wire rope isolators enhance protection. When sized properly, they can outlast the equipment that they support.- Greg Herman is the product manager for ITT Enidine, part of ITT Control Technologies.
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2008 was another great year for new Hard Rock and Heavy Metal albums and I was lucky to have heard a great many of them. There were hundreds of new albums released by hundreds of bands over a wide range of Metal genres, it was very hard to keep up especially when I'm spending my hard-earned cash! Unfortunately, I can't buy every new album so there are more than a few that I have missed. I buy a lot of music but the failing economy took it's toll on my music budget. I was very lucky to have caught the attention of many labels, PR firms, and bands sending in their CDs for review (to all of them I would like to extend a very grateful THANK YOU), without these promotions I would have never heard some great releases.
The only criteria I followed for my Top 30 was that the album had to be a studio album, not a live record, best of, or covers collection. The ranking of the Top 30 is based solely on my enjoyment of the album and not some scientific formula. Bottom line: I had to like it! There were so many releases this year that I doubled the list this year so I will be splitting it into two posts. Be sure to check out the links to the album reviews. So here it is, my Top 30 Albums of 2008 (#1-#15):
Avantasia – The Scarecrow
Tobias Sammet (Edguy) has the magic touch this year and his new concept album THE SCARECROW takes the top spot as Album Of The Year. The album is similar to the first two Avantasia albums, METAL OPERA 1 & 2, in that it is full of guest stars (Alice Cooper, Jorn Lande, Rudolf Schenker, Michael Kiske, Eric Singer, and more) performing this combination of epic Power Metal blended with hard Rock, Classic Rock, Classical and Folk. That's a lot to take in at once! Every song is very melodic and I found myself easily singing along after a couple of spins. A good album is one that leaves a lasting impression and THE SCARECROW has been part of my weekly playlist since it's release in January.
Ayreon – 01011001
A close second! Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Ayreon project is similar to Avantasia with all of the guest stars performing and the epic nature of the music. The difference is that Ayreon's music is longer, more epic and follows a storyline that started on previous albums. (For a good explanation of the plot, read this album's Wikipedia page.) This album is almost 2 hours of Progressive Rock & Metal, Power Metal, and Symphonic Metal that is both melodic and heavy…..there is a lot to take in! Even the packaging is complex! There are layers of sound in each song that you sometimes here something different the next time you here it. 01011001 is a little less accessible than THE SCARECROW due to it's length (2 CDs) and heavy concept but it was a very close second. So close in fact that I almost called a tie!
It took 11 years but we finally got a new Whitesnake record and it is a great comeback for David Coverdale. Most of the album retains the Blues Rock that was the basis of the early Whitesnake album while leaning on that big '80s sound. The songs are full of hooks and great guitar work (Doug Aldrich & Reb Beach) along with that thick Coverdale voice. I had seen the band tour with the Scorpions a couple of years earlier and they were awesome in concert. I knew a new record would have a great sound. It was also good to see this album get a ton of promotion, especially on U.S. television, I didn't expect to see constant commercials on different channels advertising the CD. In a year full of comebacks (AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Journey), I have to give Whitesnake the best comeback of the year!
Judas Priest – Nostradamus
Let the debate begin! Of all the big releases this year from big time bands, no album had more debate then Judas Priest's double concept album NOSTRADAMUS. I've heard all the arguements from "it's not straight forward Judas Priest" to "it's too long" to "the concept sucks" to "Iron Maiden could have done it better"…..I think a lot of fans were down on the project due to purely nostalgic reasons. We aren't going to get the BRITISH STEEL era Judas Priest because they have evolved as musicians and this concept album is what they wanted to do. I'll admit that Priest isn't known for their albums being complete epics, they're more straight forward in their approach, but that doesn't mean that NOSTRADAMUS is devoid of what makes Priest great. Half the album is instrumental intros that kind of make the album drawn out but the songs do have the Metal that Priest is known for. Rob Halford's voice sounds better than it has in years and he puts in perhaps the performance of his career. The music is really good if you listen without prejudice and I don't want to get into that synth guitar arguement because KK Downing & Glenn Tipton have been using them all along. Give NOSTRADAMUS a spin without hoping for 1980 Judas Priest and you will find a great album. This album was tough to get through due to the length (close to 2 hours) but repeated listens have pushed this album from a grower to #4.
Royal Hunt – Collision Course: Paradox II
This has to be the year of the concept album because the latest offering from Royal Hunt is the 4th concept album in the Top 5! Let's not even get into the conceptual aspect, the music alone is melodic Power/Progressive Metal with solid musicianship and great vocal performance from new singer Mark Boals. The last few Royal Hunt albums have been disappointing but COLLISION COURSE proves that the band is still a force. I was surprised at how melodic this album really is because some of the band's previous efforts were held down by too much keyboard noodling, I think adding Mark Boals to the band adds a fresh influence and creativity.
Like the entire Top 5, GLOBAL DRAMA has remained part of my weekly playlist since it's release. I've had the album since late July and I just keep playing it…..that's the sign of a good record! Cloudscape is a Progressive Metal band but they are very melodic (like Royal Hunt) while retaining their heaviness. The first couple of spins made me think of Kamelot, Balance Of Power and Symphony X…..that's a good group to be in. Cloudscape was on my list to check out and now they are one of the best newer bands I've heard in a long time, I'm currently on the hunt for the band's previous albums.
Michael Schenker Group – In The Midst Of Beauty
When guitar legend Michael Schenker puts his head down and stays focused, he makes truly great records. There is no denying his talent on guitar but his career has been plagued with different challenges and the subsequent results aren't always the best musically. IN THE MIDST OF BEAUTY is an almost full reunion of the original MSG: Gary Barden is back on the mic, Don Airey on keys, Simon Phillips on drums and Neil Murray handling bass instead of Mo Foster. That's as solid a lineup as you're going to get and I think the strong supporting cast influenced Michael because he created some of the best music of his career, it's as if you can hear Michael's happiness in his playing. The album is melodic and heavy with a ton of riffs for the guitar enthusiast but the music is enhanced by that cool Hammond organ Airey commands giving the album a late '70s/early '80s sound, almost like classic UFO. If Whitesnake was my comeback of the year then Michael Schenker is a close second.
If there ever was a band that described AOR/Melodic Rock then Journey is that band. The last couple of years have been trying for the band with all the rotation at the lead singer slot (Steve Augeri, Jeff Scott Soto) but the band grabbed a virtual unknown, Filipino singer Arnel Pineda, and made an album that is pure classic Journey. Melodic Rock at it's finest, Journey's new songs are full of harmonies, good melodies, soaring vocals and really good guitar. Let me add they are also well written and produced too. The band new that another new lead singer would be a gamble but Pineda puts on a great performance that is on par with Steve Perry's legacy. There was also great value here with a second disc of re-recorded greatest hits and a bonus live DVD…..you can't beat that for $15! All year long I have been saying that if the music industry wasn't so screwed up then Journey would have a multi-platinum hit album with REVELATION.
Def Leppard – Songs From the Sparkle Lounge
I know it's not fashionable to like Def Leppard because they have "sold out" and downplayed their NWOBHM and Hard Rock roots over the years but they do make very good records. SPARKLE LOUNGE is one of those albums that just has that mix of catchy '80s Hard Rock and current modern Rock that mainstream radio lives for. The music is full of hooks and melody and the songs are all well done except for one repetitive dud ('C'mon C'mon'). The Leps know how to make a catchy record and this one had me hooked in and singing along. I like the trademark big sound combined with the '70s influences and modern updates. Def Leppard takes a lot of criticism but they make good music.
I wasn't expecting much from a new Moonspell album but I was completely surprised by NIGHT ETERNAL and it's variety of sound. Moonspell plays a blend of Black, Death, Gothic and Power Metals all rolled into one with grand orchestration and both clean and harsh vocals. Get all that? The album is dark and heavy but it's also very melodic and there are some beautiful orchestrations that enhance the overall sound. As I started re-listening to my 2008 CDs to make this Top 30, NIGHT ETERNAL kept creeping closer and closer to the Top 10. I had the promo for a long time but I ended up buying a proper copy at the local shop for around $13 and the value was really good: a bonus track 'Age Of Mothers' and a two alternate versions of 'Scorpion Flower' along with a bonus DVD of live Wacken 2007 performances. This kind of music isn't my usual first choice but I expanded my horizons this year and I rediscovered Moonspell.
Benedictum – Seasons Of Tragedy
I've had SEASONS OF TRAGEDY since it's U.S. release in March and it is one of the best Traditional Metal albums of the year. A lot of Metal fans might be thrown off by having a female frontwoman but I can tell you that Veronica Freeman kicks a whole lot of ass on the mic! Her vocals are extremely powerful to go along with the fast pummelling music that's behind her. This is Benedictum's second album and they steer clear of the sophomore jinx with an album heavy on Power Metal and Thrash that I can only describe as an aural assault. One of the best new U.S. Metal bands out there.
Alice Cooper – Along Came A Spider
Another concept album making the Top 30? Of course! Especially if it's an Alice Cooper album! I'm a huge Alice Cooper fan, always have been, and this is one of the best albums he's released in the last few years. ALONG CAME A SPIDER has a perfect character for Alice to play (a serial killer named Spider) and he adds his own blend of shock, horror and humor to the performance. The one thing that Alice has done successfully with his last few albums is to revisit some of the classic '70s sounds that made him the king of Shock Rock and he incorporates this sound with enough modern tendencies to make it sound fresh. the concept might not be all that original but Alice plays it perfectly and the songs are all very good with top production.
Uriah Heep – Wake The Sleeper
I'll bet a lot of you are scratching your heads. If you don't know who Uriah Heep is then you are missing out, the band has been around for close to 40 years and their sound is similar to Deep Purple but with a bit more Progressive Rock. WAKE THE SLEEPER is the first Heep album in a decade and I wasn't really expecting much but these elder statesman have roared back with a heavy melodic album. Mick Box still plays a mean guitar and Phil Lanzon adds his Hammond organ in to fill out the sound but the performance of the album goes to long time singer Bernie Shaw who puts in one of the best vocal performances of the year.
ANGEL IN DISGUISE turned out to be one of the surprises of 2008. I had the album in my growing pile for a couple of months before I got to it and I wasted all that listening time because the record is top flight melodic Metal. Usually, there are a couple of duds in the tracklisting but each song is well done and has plenty of melodic hooks and Euro-Metal power to satisfy a wide range of Metal fans. It's always a great year when you discover new bands, Shannon will be a band I watch closely in 2009.
Testament – The Formation Of Damnation
2008 was the year of the concept album and the year of the comeback and Testament came back in a big way with this pounding Thrash assault. This is the album that we all wish Metallica had in them, it's an in your face old school Thrash attack by a band that I consider one of the best in the genre but sometimes overlooked. This album is one heavy record that easily blows away a lot of modern Thrash out in the last couple of years.
Please check out the Top 30 Albums of 2008 (#16-#30) for the other half of my Top 30 list.
In case my list wasn't enough, or you simply don't agree, some other great Music blogs have listed their Top Albums of 2008:
All Metal Resource
Bring Back Glam
Hair Metal Mansion
Hard Rock Hideout
Heavy Metal Time Machine
Imagine Echoes
Layla's Classic Rock
Metal Excess
The Metal Minute
The Ripple Effect
Rock And Roll and Meandering Nonsense
Rock Of Ages


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I stopped down at Mirage Studios a couple of days ago to deliver a box full of one hundred copies of TMNT Volume 4 #31, copies which I'd autographed and also within which I had drawn a large Turtle head sketch on the inside back cover.
I decided to lay them all out, with the sketch pages exposed, on the Mirage conference room table, and take a photo. Why? Who the heck knows.
This photo only shows part of the group -- I couldn't get a good angle to show them all, and the photos I took to create a panoramic image (using the PanoramaMaker5 software) which would show them all didn't work with that program, for some reason unknown to me.
While taking the photographs, I decided to count the copies to make sure there were actually one hundred… and was startled to find that there were only eighty-eight.
D'oh! I thought I was done with this! I guess I have to get out another twelve copies and grab my Sharpie markers again. -- PL
[Note -- these signed and sketched-in copies are for a special Mirage Licensing promotion seen here:
Go towards the bottom of the page to find the details.]


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10 Things to Know for Today
Photo: FR25092 AP
In this Nov. 17, 2012, photo, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o sings the alma mater following their NCAA college football game against Stanford in South Bend, Ind. A story that Te'o's girlfriend had died of leukemia _ a loss he said inspired him to help lead the Irish to the BCS championship game _ was dismissed by the university Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, as a hoax perpetrated against the linebacker. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)


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Recent Posts
A-Z guide
- About – Spanish history and culture
- Culture and history of Spain a
- Culture and history of Spain b
- Culture and history of Spain c
- Culture and history of Spain d
- Culture and history of Spain e
- Culture and history of Spain f
- Culture and history of Spain g
- Culture and history of Spain h
- Culture and history of Spain i
- Culture and history of Spain jk
- Culture and history of Spain l
- Culture and history of Spain m
- Culture and history of Spain n
- Culture and history of Spain q
- Culture and history of Spain r
- Culture and history of Spain s
- Culture and history of Spain t
- Culture and history of Spain u – v
- Culture and history of Spain wxyz
- Culture and history of Spain o
- Culture and history of Spain p
- Home
- Timeline of Spain
- Catalonia
- Girona
- Ampurdan – inland and context
- Placenames in the Ampurdan
- Artists and writers in the Ampurdan
- History of the Ampurdan
- Geography of the Ampurdan
- Figueres
- Peraleda
- The Alberes Mountains
- Around Figueres
- Albons
- Bellcaire d'Empordà
- Verges and around
- Ullastret
- Peratallada, Palau Sator and Juliá de Boada
- La Bisbal d'Empordà
- Cruïlles, Monells, Madremanya and Bordils
- La Pera and Pubol
- Girona city
- Other information
- Costa Brava
- Lloret de Mar
- Blanes to Lloret de Mar
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- San Feliu de Guíxols to San Pol
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- Montgrí massif
- L´Estartit to L'Escala
- Sant Martí d'Empúries to the Aiguamolls de l´Empordà (1)
- Castelló d´Empúries and the Aiguamolls de l´Empordà (2)
- Cadaqués
- Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes
- The Gaverres Mountains
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- Ampurdan – inland and context
- Guided tours around Barcelona
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- Map of places in Catalonia
- Girona
- Asturias
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- The Spanish Civil War
- Spanish Civil War links
- Places in the Spanish Civil War
- People in the Spanish Civil War
- International involvement
- Exhile and post war resistance
- Events and battles
- Spanish Civil War museums, exhibitions and sites
Words and concepts in Spanish that don't exist in English
Here are a few words and expressions in Castilian Spanish that don't exist in English, and perhaps could be borrowed. Foreigners speakers of Spanish in Spain certainly use so of them with alarming frequency with other English speakers in Spain, as do our Spanish friends and spouses. The list does not include food terms (covered elsewhere on iberianature) and most cultural terms (architectural, historical, bullfighting terms, etc) In some cases, a simple word doesn't exist in English (tuerto – one-eyed man) while in others the whole concept doesn't exist (consuegros – a child's spouse's parents) More to come
- compaginar: slot together" or "integrate timetables
- consuegros – child's spouse's parents
- El de la verguenza – that last tasty morsel (e.g. a biscuit) which everybody feels embarrassed about taking. I suggest from now on calling this the shameful one in English, as members of my family now do.
- enchufe – beyond the simple dictionary definition of plug, enchufe means a connection, knowing somebody, being well connected, knowing the right people, that sort of thing when you want something done. So, if you have an enchufe, it might very well make it easier to get a job.
- estrenar – to try out something for the first time, often in the sense of wear estrenar zapatos. A football team might also estrenar un nuevo estadio An estreno is the first night of a film.
- gestor – a kind of financial administrator, not quite an accountant, not quite a solicitor.
One word that you will hear a lot in Spain is gestor. The position is difficult to describe, simply because this agency does not exist in many countries. His main role is the interface between the public – in this case you – and the public administration. Generally, in UK you do not need any kind of interface, and when you do, it is clear that you should see a solicitor. In some other countries there will also be some person, or official in this kind of position. From here (continue reading)
- homologar – compare and equate standards of
- lampiño – without a beard or with little hair. Note, also inberbe, a beardless youth.
- lustro – five years
- manco – one-armed man
- mimoso – as an adjective somebody who loves to be pampered/made a fuss of. Also a noun.
- monte – in the sense of wild land (as opposed to just hill) monte does not exist in British English but equates to the Southern African English bush and the Australian outback. Echarse al monte means to take to the hills, and by extension, los del monte, the maquis fighters.
- morbo – a dark fascination
- muda – change of underwear
- palomina: pigeon guano
En la localidad de Oliete (Teruel, España) se recogía la palomina que se acumulaba en la sima de San Pedro, lugar donde crían palomas. Existía una plataforma con torno en el borde de la sima para descender a los que recogían la palomina y luego elevarlos con la carga. Wikipedia
- recogerse – to go indoors in the evening
- resol – Reflected sunshine off the wall, floor, etc. that some Spaniards try to avoid in summer… as in, "We can't sit at that table" (at a terrazza) "it's got a parasol, but there's a lot of resol" (Michael)
- sobremesa – the time spent after lunch sitting round the table and talking
- tertulia – a learned discussion, often as a regular event in a bar
- tuerto – one-eyed man
- zurdo – left-hander
Women do most of care work in Spain
In spite of significant advances of recent decades, women are still the main caregivers for the elderly in 80 percent of the cases, according to a study by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M). More here
Largest towns and cities in Spain
List of metropolitan areas in Spain by population. I was surprised to see Oviedo–Gijón–Avilés as high as it is.More...
A history of Mojácar
I enjoyed this potted history of Mojácar:
Mojácar used to be a town of around 6,000 people in as far back as 1870. It maintained this number of inhabitants until round about 1900 when, slowly, numbers began to fall, speeding its descent in the 1930s. Through the various local vicissitudes of the drop in the local water-table, the end of the de-forestation, a peculiar plague of locusts in 1901, the end of the mines in the 1920s and the troubled times of the Civil War, the area in general eventually became depopulated with mass emigrations to Barcelona, Algeria, Germany and even Argentina, and Mojácar itself began its long descent into what was, by 1960, a moribund village of just 600 souls. Read complete post on Spanish Shilling
Paddy Woodworth on the Basque Country
Paddy Woodworth is an Irish reporter who has lived and worked in the Basque Country. His book The Basque Country: a cultural history, was described by the Irish Times as a terrific modern introduction to the Basque Country… succeeds in showing us the complexities of the Basque struggle for identity" Here's an the introduction from his book from his website. "The Basque Country has had more than its fair share of stereotypes thrust upon it. The Basques have sometimes resisted this typecasting, but they have not been shy about making their own contributions, some as extravagant as any foreigner's, to stock images of their homeland. More...
Tomato trek
I thought this cartoon strip was amusing. "Since a tomato leaves its branch of the plant in one of the hundreds of greenhouses from Almeria, until a consumer in Madrid take it into its meal, the price "grows" by 500% respect to the price given to the farmer".
Recent history entries on Iberianature.com
- Altamira to reopen to visitorsSpain has decided to reopen the Altamira cave complex in Cantabria after eight years being closed to visitors, despite scientists warnings' that heat from human visitors damages the art. Visits are to resume next year on a restricted basis. The main chamber at Altamira features 21 bisons painted in ochre, red and black, which seem […]
- George Orwell in the MonegrosGeorge Orwell fought during the Spanish Civil War in the Sierra de Alcubierre in the Monegros on the Aragonese Front, during the freezing winter of 1937 (above photo by batiskafo on Flickr). He famously described his experiences in Homage to Catalonia. Unlike the diaries he wrote in the very late 1930s and 40s, which have […]
- Altamira to reopen to visitors
Spain tagsAnís del Juliano Badalona Badalona anis factory Beatus manuscript Bilbao Bilbao in the 20th century Bottle of Anis del Mono by Juan Gris Bottle of Anís del Mono Bull's Anisette Caceres Caixaforum Catalan landscape artists Celtic languages in Spain Charles Darwin icons Colla del Safrà Comer bien o comer mal es una cuestión cultural Cypress of Silos Ea El ciprés de Silos etymology of Spanish placenames etymology of Spanish towns Gaulish Spanish Geographical placenames in Spain Hemingway and Anis History of Las Hurdes Jean Gaumy Joaquim Mir Joaquim Mir in Mallorca King Alfonso XVIII Land Without Bread Luis Buñuel Manual Vázquez Montalbán monstrance origin of Spanish words Romanesque architecture in Spain shipwrecks in Spain Spanish alcoholic drinks Spanish Gregorian chants Spanish shipwrecks Spanish sonnets Spanish toponyms The Monkey's Anisette The Rock in the Pond Toponyms in Spain Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja
Barcelona blog
The Guardian on Spain
- Scotland to keep 14-day quarantine for travellers from SpainSturgeon warns Scots not to bypass restriction by flying to or from airport in EnglandCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFourteen-day quarantine restrictions for travellers from Spain will remain in force in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has announced, prompting calls for an urgent review from airline and tourist industry chiefs.The first minister confirmed that Scotland […]
- Global report: Catalonia makes mask-wearing in public compulsorySpanish region's move comes amid new outbreak; two charged with murder over bus driver assault in France; WHO says coronavirus cases are increasing by 200,000 a dayCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSpain's northern Catalonia region will make wearing a mask in public spaces compulsory at all times from Thursday morning, as French prosecutors […]
- Scotland to keep 14-day quarantine for travellers from Spain
Blog de lengua española


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There's nothing like a bit of DIY to make you feel like a strong, independent person. That goes double if it involves bending sheet steel with your bare hands, and that's just what you have to do with this lamp.
It's called Flaca, and it was designed by three young industrial designers at the Mexico-based Masiosare Studio. Undoubtedly the best thing about it is that it's created from a single sheet of stainless steel, which you have to bend into shape at home.
It doesn't require any tools, just a bit of effort and some adhesive tape. It uses LEDs and draws just 6 watts, so it's green, too. You can order it via the Masiosare Studio web site. [Masiosare Studio via 2modern]


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A new app has raced into the App Store, driven by the famous race girl herself, Gyu-Ri Lee. Yup, she is a race-girl; you know, the type who at races waves the bits of cloth that should be covering her bits. The App Store has endured a virtual rainbow of borderline apps and currently, rushes to bolster its line by providing the discriminating pervert racially segregated fetish software. K-Girls is a suite of apps which retail for 1.99$ and caters to the bloke (or bloket) who cannot get enough of cute, pocketable Korean girls. By the way, she has 3 friends at the App Store.
TrueMobile Inc., K-Girls Gyu-Ri Lee, 1.99$, 21.6 MB


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Louise Read's Coffee crunch cake
Nutrition and extra info
- kcal565
- fat33g
- saturates19g
- carbs66g
- sugars49g
- fibre1g
- protein6g
- salt1g
- 175g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
Butter is a dairy product made from separating whole milk or cream into fat and…
- 175g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition packed with protein and a…
- 175g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
Baking powderbay-king pow-dah
Baking powder is a raising agent that is commonly used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali…
For the meringue topping
- 2 egg whites
- 100g caster sugar
- 3 tsp instant coffee granules
- 25g chopped walnuts
Walnuts are one of the most popular and versatile of all nuts. When picked young, they're…
For the filling
- 100g softened butter
Butter is a dairy product made from separating whole milk or cream into fat and…
- 50g icing sugar, sifted
For the drizzle icing
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
Make the meringue: whisk the egg whites until stiff, add half the sugar, whisk again until stiff, then repeat with the remaining sugar. Mix the coffee with 3 tbsp boiling water to dissolve the granules. Gently fold the walnuts and 1 tsp of the coffee into the meringue. Set aside while you make the cake mixture.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease 2 x 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually whisk in the eggs. Fold in the flour and baking powder, then finally fold in 2 tsp of the coffee liquid. Divide the mixture between the 2 tins, putting a little more mixture in one than the other.
Spread the meringue on top of the tin containing less cake mix. Bake the untopped sponge for about 20 mins until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Continue baking the meringue-topped sponge for an additional 20 mins, then carefully remove both cakes from their tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
To make the filling, beat the butter and icing sugar together, adding 2 tsp more coffee. To make the icing, mix a final tsp of the coffee into the icing sugar. Add a drop more water to make a runny icing. 5 Sandwich the 2 cakes together with the coffee filling, putting the meringuetopped sponge on top. Drizzle all over with the coffee icing to finish.


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The HTML5 Photo Gallery – Resizable Album Grid XML is size flexible or fluid, it will adapt it's size (width and height) based on the parent container (div or some other html tag) and every piece of the gallery will align and position accordingly, this basically mean that it can be used in any kind of website, it dose not matter if you need a small or large gallery, all you have to do is to add the gallery in a place which you have chosen in your website and the gallery will adapt. Also if you like you can instantiate the gallery to fit the browser's viewport regardless of the screen resolution.
Amazing performance for mobile using css3, you can see in the video demo that it runs just like a native app!, it was coded and optimized for mobile devices and it is 100% mobile compatible and of course it will run just as great on PC. We have tested it on IPAD3 and it runs great, you will interact with it as you would with a native app, you can see a video demo at this link.
WordPress support, the gallery can be embedded in WordPress, a demo can be seen at this link, full instructions about how to embed it are found in the help file.
- Fully XML driven this makes it really easy to install and maintain.
- Size flexible or fluid layout!
- Support for multiple instances in the same page: you may have as many galleries as you want in the same page and each one of the galleries / instances has its unique set of images and settings. You can have as many galleries as you wish.
- All buttons are optional.
- The entire color theme and graphics skin can be modified the buttons are actually images (.png or .jpg) so you can replace them with your own graphics, the button graphics can be any size or shape, basically the look of this gallery can be completely modified.
- The background color can be modified or it can be left transparent.
- Bulk image preloader, it's a feature for fast loading and displaying the photos, the images are loading in the background.
- The thumb size can be any size or format.
- Border support for the thumb images, the border color, size and radius can be set.
- Full screen button, if the browser dose not support fullscreen the gallery will fit the browser's viewport regardless of the screen resolution (optional).
- Slide show button, (optional).
- Slide show delay, can be specified in seconds.
- Slide show autoplay option.
- Slide show preloader and images preloader, this preloders are highly customizable, you can change the radius, thickness and color theme.
- Maximize / minimize button for the big image with panning, (optional).
- Support any type of image format, (landscape, portrait or whatever)!
- Border support for the large images, the border color, size and radius can be set.
- Next and previous buttons to navigate between images, as mentioned above the graphics for this buttons can be modified.
- Keyboard support you can navigate between the large images with the right and left key and start or stop the slideshow with the space key.
- Info window for each image, each image can have a info/description window, this window can be styled with css, it has full css support (optional).


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Well, here we are. Another holiday season gone by, and you were actually fortunate enough for your Great-Aunt Sue Ann to give you a gift card to Borders or Barnes & Noble or Amazon rather than the usual pair of puce and cream macramé socks. But what to get with it?
Here are my unsung, or sometimes sung at too low of a volume, gems of the past year. This won't be a list with your Skinny Bitches and Looming Towers and Eat Pray Loves and Ann Coulters and Water For Elephants and Oprah Book Clubs and Age of Turbulences and James Patterson's team of ghost writers and et bloody ceteras. (C'mon. You can't tell me that you expect a single person to crank out 5 new novels in a calendar year without using ghost writers, even with such incomprehensible twaddle as Patterson usually releases under his name. That's just crazy talk.) This is for the real book lovers that can venture beyond the best-sellers list.
I know what you're thinking. Dude. How come this strange OC person could be qualified to judge what could be a good book, much less one of the best books of the year. Simply put, and most of you don't know this, I've been working at the bookstores in Denver International Airport for the past 6 months. So I'm constantly picking up random books and leafing through them. And when I start unconsciously reaching for a handy place to sit, I know I have a good one. (Now all I need is a way to spot my manager before he spots me first.) (And no. I don't get any kickbacks from these links. So click away without fear of accidentally supporting an anonymous blogger.)
First, for the occasional high-school girl that randomly gets to this page via the Next Blog button while still laughing at the incompetent emo threatening to cut his fingernails, I give you the Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. Gabrielle Zevin brings us the occasional daydream of every high-school student: What if I was able to start here at school all over again? In this one, one high-school junior is is about to do so after falling down some icy stairs and waking up to zero memory of the last four years of her life. Remarkably well-written and highly accessible, even to those odd socialites that insist they only read the Clique series and are very stuck-up about it.
Next up on the list… Hmmm. Let me guess. You've heard of the Dangerous Book for Boys, right? And the Daring Book for Girls as well? Good. Now have you read the Dangerous Book for Dogs? I didn't think so. This is every good dog's essential companion in the ever-lasting quest to become the bad dog that they always wanted to be. From proper ways to get out of the yard undetected, to cat-chasing tips, to a taste comparison between Dolce & Gabanna leather slides and Kenneth Cole moccasin-stitched loafers, it's all here. Pay special attention to the etiquette section on crotch-sniffing. Please. Your humans will thank you. (And yes. It is a parody. But I'm still waiting for the Daring Book for Cats to come out.)
Now, for you cooking fanatics out there comes this collection of sordid tales of the kitchen called Don't Try This At Home. All of us have a war story about when things go horribly wrong in that strange place-where-food-is-put-together-place. (Yes, even when you accidentally microwaved the foil-wrapped leftovers because you were too hungover to notice. That counts.) With little of the pretension of Anthony Bourdain's ego-stroke known as Kitchen Confidential, this collection of Murphy's Law-related stories will cheer you up immensely. Whether it is the lobsters that are off or the kitchen is flooded or the cake is in 15 pieces on the Long Island Expressway, it is proof positive that the more (self?)important the chef, the larger the associated screw-ups.
Music lovers and musicians alike will enjoy this book by Daniel Levitin called This Is Your Brain On Music. A former music producer turned cognitive psychologist, Levitin delves into such obscure elements as neurobiology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, empirical philosophy, Gestalt psychology, memory theory, and neurochemistry; and all in language that is easily accessible to anyone, regardless of whether you can carry a tune in a bucket or not. Read it. Love it. Pass it on. Only try to get it back afterwards. Unfortunately, my copy is still in the hands of my manager's family in El Paso. Hopefully I can get it back one of these days. (Then again, I'm on my 9th copy of Ishmael, 6th copy of Atlas Shrugged and 3rd copy of Shampoo Planet, so probably not. I have a habit of buying books that migrate.)
For us science-fiction lovers out there, a new release of an old trilogy has hit the shelves. The Chronicles of the Black Company, from way back in the '80s, has returned to print once more. Not individually, mind you, but in an onmibus edition that will keep you well and truly happy with life for a serious stretch of time. This is one of those books that most of the "professional" booksellers never believe would sell, but it marches straight out of the store whenever new copies arrive, in lockstep with a very happy new owner.
For you current affairs fanatics, I have three words for you: Band of Sisters. With the ever-increasing number of females serving in the military, and particularly in the Iraqi theater of operations, this is one of the first books to chronicle their stories. If I had time, I could wax poetic for hours about this book, but I would run out of metaphors far too quickly for my taste. Pick up a copy at the next possible opportunity. Just don't ask me for one. I'm sold out.
And finally, for those fiction lovers out there, comes my one extraordinary odd choice: The Gum Thief. Of course, for those that know the Me-Behind-The-Keyboard, any Coupland novel is far from an odd choice. I've been a raving fanboy since I first read Generation X in college. It's practically expected that I love and promote a new Coupland novel, sometimes before I even read it. Which, unfortunately, was what I was doing with JPod, which I tossed aside in disgust at the self-aggrandizing and self-promotion even while chortling at the occasional self-abuse. In the Gum Thief, he returns to what he does best: real people in real situation talking about their real lives… and how much they really suck. Most people wouldn't expect a novel about a 40-something alcoholic and 20-something overweight goth girl, both working at a Staples, to be interesting. Most people would be sadly mistaken.
So what are you still reading this for? Go and read something with quality for a change. G'wan. Shoo.


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MythTV System Events
MythTV System Events are a new feature in MythTV 0.23. Historically MythEvents have been used to communicate between components of the system when blocking was not required for proper operation. Now it is possible for the end user to tap into a number of events as well as defining up to ten keypress events. These events are handled by running an external script with appropriate parameters. MythTV System Events are configured on a per box basis so each machine can have it's own system specific handlers.
These are the currently defined events:
- Recording pending
- Recording started
- Recording finished
- Recording deleted
- Recording expired
- Playback started
- Playback stopped
- Playback paused
- Playback unpaused
- Playback program changed
- Master backend started
- Master backend shutdown
- Client connected to master backend
- Client disconnected from master backend
- Slave backend connected to master
- Slave backend disconnected from master
- Network Control client connected
- Network Control client disconnected
- mythfilldatabase ran
- Scheduler ran
- Settings cache cleared
These events are all sent automatically when the appropriate condition is met, but it is also possible to send events from the command line, for example:
mythbackend --systemevent USER_1
sends the first user event to whatever handler has been defined for that event.
Defining event handlers
Events handlers are edited in the System Events section in mythtv-setup. Select the event you would like to edit in the event list and then type in the script path and name followed by any parameters that you would like to pass to the script. For example to run a script whenever a recording is pending you could select the "Recording pending" event and type:
/opt/bin/RecordingPending.sh %STARTTIME%
That script could be a priming script to get a set top box out of it's sleep mode:
#!/bin/bash flock -x /tmp/chch.lock DEVICE="--address=cherry:5000" REMOTE_NAME=dish1 irsend $DEVICE SEND_ONCE $REMOTE_NAME select echo "Sent priming shortly before %1" >> /tmp/priming-debug.log
Parameters available to event handlers
The parameters that it is possible to pass to an event depends on the event.
Recording events have the following substitutions available:
- %DIR% -- Recording directory, may be undefined prior to recording start
- %FILE% -- Recording file, may be undefined prior to recording start
- %TITLE% -- Program title, may be undefined
- %SUBTITLE% -- Program subtitle, may be undefined
- %DESCRIPTION% -- Program title, may be undefined
- %CATEGORY% -- Program subject category, may be undefined
- %HOSTNAME% -- Backend which will or is handling the recording
- %RECGROUP% -- Recording group for recording
- %PLAYGROUP% -- Play group for recording
- %CHANID% -- Channel ID (for database lookups of tuning data)
- %STARTTIME% %STARTTIMEISO% %STARTTIMEISOUTC% -- Recording start time (estimated)
- %ENDTIME% %ENDTIMEISO% %ENDTIMEISOUTC% -- Recording end time (estimated)
- %PROGSTART% %PROGSTARTISO% %PROGSTARTISOUTC% -- Program's scheduled start time
- %PROGEND% %PROGENDISO% %PROGENDISOUTC% -- Program's scheduled end time
- %RECID% -- Recording rule ID, for DB lookups
- %PARENTID% -- Parent recording rule ID, for DB lookups
- %FINDID% -- Find ID, for DB lookups
- %RECSTATUS% -- Recording status as an integer for completeness, not currently useful.
- %RECTYPE% -- This is the recording rule type as an integer, in the priming script example this could be used to do an extensive priming prior to some recordings and not others. These integers are listed in recordingtypes.h in the RecordingType enum.
- %REACTIVATE% -- 1 if this recording was reactivated after failing to start on time, 0 otherwise.
With time parameters, the first listed is in locale time & format suitable for user display, the second is in locale time & ISO format suitable for some scripts, the third is in UTC time & ISO format suitable for some script and generally preferred for scripts to avoid daylight savings issues. Parameters that may be undefined should be quoted to avoid parameter aliasing bugs.